THE PLEASURES OF SPRING

TITLE: THE PLEASURES OF SPRING

AUTHOR: EVIE HUNTER

Pages: 320

Date: 27/04/2014

Grade: 4

Details: No. 4 Pleasures

             Received from Penguin Ireland

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

An invitation to the hot and steamy world of bestselling Irish erotica author Evie Hunter...

He picked up her hand where it grasped the water glass, felt her pulse and looked into her eyes. 'You don't want a man with manners. You want someone who will let you walk on the wild side, who knows what you're really like ...'

Roz Spring is an actress and a chameleon, the kind of woman who always lands on her feet. But even Roz can't talk her way out of witnessing a murder, and she must go into hiding before the murderer comes for her.

Andy McTavish has turned his back on a life of privilege to prove himself in the world of international security. Tall, dark and dangerous, Andy is the ultimate seducer who has never met a woman who can tame him.

Roz needs his protection and, to get his family off his back, Andy needs a fake fiancée. The solution is obvious: pretend to be a couple. Getting up close and personal won't be hard, as the chemistry between them is electrifying.

As two practiced charmers drive each other beyond the limits of sensual endurance, they find their usual defences are no good. When the barriers come crashing down, a raw passion emerges that neither wants to admit.

They know that when the murderer shows his hand, they will face a fight for life and freedom. And if they survive, what will happen when the need to pretend is over?

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My thoughts:

Once again the two authors who are Evie Hunter have provided their readers with a fun, intense, intriguing and hot story. This is the fourth book in ‘The Pleasures’ series and didn’t disappoint.

Both Roz and Andy were wonderful characters, although Roz managed to captivate me most. None of Evie Hunter’s female characters have been shrinking violets or walk-overs but Roz is in a category of her own when it comes to independence and living life according to her own rules. Her slow progression from complete self- sufficiency and deep distrust of others to acceptance of her past and her own desire to share her life with others, was wonderful and almost overshadowed Andy’s journey from playboy adventure seeker to loving lord of the manor.

Did I mention that these two characters were hot together? Well, they were. Roz is a former professional dominatrix, convinced that she hasn’t a submissive bone in her body. Yet every time Andy takes control she finds herself not only, reluctantly and after a huge internal fight, submitting but also thriving on it. Andy has the time of his life giving this independent woman what she didn’t even know she wanted and needed. As for the reader, they are the lucky beneficiaries of Roz and Andy’s hot exploration of each other.

If I had an ‘issue’ with this book it would be that it took so long to get Roz and Andy together. Apart from a short interlude early on in the story they spend a lot of time apart while Roz is trying to hide and Andy is either trying to find her or spending time with his parents. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with those parts of the story but more that the story was so much more fascinating when the two of them were together. And I don’t just mean in the biblical sense, hot as those encounters were. The way Andy and Roz spark off each other and the constant struggle between them for the upper hand was entertaining overall and panty-melting when they got to the sexy stuff.

This book has it all, adventure, danger, hot sex, angsty romance and quite a few laugh out loud moments. Not to mention two fascinating main characters as well as interesting secondary characters. I can think of quite a few less enjoyable ways to spend a spring day.

While this is the fourth book in this series it can, without any problem, be read as a stand-alone title. Having said that, all the characters from the previous three books make an appearance here and already knowing their stories would probably add to your reading enjoyment. Taking into account that the three previous books are wonderful reads in their own right I can only recommend that you read those books as well.

If you’re interested links to my reviews of the previous titles can be found through the links below:

The Pleasures of Winter

The Pleasures of Summer

The Pleasures of Autumn

Don’t forget to take a look at the fascinating guest post the author wrote for me. Everything you might want to know about ‘Research for writing BDSM’ explained in a fun narrative.

And finally the authors have been kind enough to provide their readers with a free Kindle novella accompanying this book. If you want a taste of their writing or need more Roz and Andy, make your way over to Amazon and help yourself to ‘A Touch of Spring’.

Amazon UK

Amazon US.

GUEST POST: EVIE HUNTER ON RESEARCH FOR WRITING BDSM

Today, April 24, 2014, 'The Pleasures of Spring', Evie Hunter's final novel in the 'Pleasures' series is released. To celebrate the fact I'm happy to share a fascinating post the author wrote about the research involved in writing BDSM. And don't forget to keep an eye out for my review which should be going up over the next few days.

By Evie Hunter:

“Write what you know.” Great advice, except when you don’t know.

A very experienced friend of mine read one of my stories and said, “You are clearly kinky as hell, but you have no experience and it shows. You need to learn what this stuff feels like.”

So, in the interests of accuracy, I put my ass on the line, delved into the depths of depravity and whipped myself into a sweat in my quest for information about all things kink.

First stop, the internet. My friend had given me a list of websites so I joined them all and started reading. There wasn’t just Dom and sub. Oh no, there was Master and slave, top and bottom, rigger and bunny, hedonist, littles, Domme, switches and all sorts of variations. And that was before we got to the actual fetishes.

Next stop, workshops. 

I went to a bondage workshop with no idea of what to expect, but ventured in and found a dozen people tying each other to chairs. The friendly woman running the workshop, realizing I was a totally novice, showed me some basic knots and loaned me a length of gorgeous hemp rope to practice with. She ran though the safety stuff: “Tie rope to rope, not to skin. Make sure circulation is not compromised. Avoid nerve clusters. Always check with your bunny.”

During the workshop, we tied people to each other, did some breast bondage (I got a shock when half the women there whipped off their tops so the rope could go on bare skin) and the session finished with the instructor blindfolding me and tying my wrists.

I was amazed at how different reality was from my imagination. The physical sense of her beside me, the smell of her skin and the sound of her breathing was a revelation, not to mention how disorientated I became when she moved me.

Next I dragged Caroline to a Pervertables workshop: using household items for kinky fun. Flyswats, shoehorns and spatulas are all excellent spanking implements. Certain types of candles are good for wax play, but not beeswax, it gets too hot. Feather dusters tickle. Rice torments. There was a competition to find the best kinky use of a bag of chopsticks, and the winner used them as nipple clamps.

The flogging workshop was great fun, and dispelled my fear that it was all pain and torture. A good flogging feels more like an intense massage. 

The needle-play workshop was a bust. I took notes on the hygiene stuff (more precise than any doctor’s surgery I’ve ever seen) but my husband fainted when the first sterile needle went in, so that was the end of that. 

But no workshop could tell me what it’s like to be a man. So I lined up all the Doms in Dublin and interviewed them, getting them to give me a minute by minute account of how a scene feels to them, what they experience and what kink feels like from inside their skin.

Then came Nimhneach, Ireland’s BDSM nightclub, complete with A-frame, spanking benches, bondage points and a cage for misbehaving slaves. Everyone was in full fetish gear, which ranged from a mini-codpiece to head-to-toe rubber gear. The rules were clear: no nudity (even if sometimes an outfit consisted of a few pieces of strategically placed duct tape), no sex, and always, always play with consent. 

After the first ten minutes, I went from feeling half-naked to over-dressed in my slutty schoolgirl outfit. I was surprised at how formal it was. I was introduced to people and got recommendations as to who would be a good play partner. Swallowing hard, I was led to the X-cross for my first spanking, but only after a discussion about my experience, expectations and safe-words. Yeah baby, I did it.

I was surprised at how welcoming people were to me, especially as they knew I’m a writer, but no one gave me a hard time. Well, not unless I asked him to!

I’ve been to private parties and clubs where the dress code is anything or nothing and where the play is extreme and I’ve tried all sorts of things, discovering along the way that I’m claustrophobic when I’m tied tightly, that I love impact, that elector-stim can leave me quivering two days later, that I look great in corsets, that mixed changing rooms can be amazing craic and that “Fuck!” is not a safe word. 

But above all, I learned that consent is key and the person who can give or withhold the consent controls the scene. 

About the book:

An invitation to the hot and steamy world of bestselling Irish erotica author Evie Hunter...

He picked up her hand where it grasped the water glass, felt her pulse and looked into her eyes. 'You don't want a man with manners. You want someone who will let you walk on the wild side, who knows what you're really like ...'

Roz Spring is an actress and a chameleon, the kind of woman who always lands on her feet. But even Roz can't talk her way out of witnessing a murder, and she must go into hiding before the murderer comes for her.

Andy McTavish has turned his back on a life of privilege to prove himself in the world of international security. Tall, dark and dangerous, Andy is the ultimate seducer who has never met a woman who can tame him.

Roz needs his protection and, to get his family off his back, Andy needs a fake fiancée. The solution is obvious: pretend to be a couple. Getting up close and personal won't be hard, as the chemistry between them is electrifying.

As two practiced charmers drive each other beyond the limits of sensual endurance, they find their usual defences are no good. When the barriers come crashing down, a raw passion emerges that neither wants to admit.

They know that when the murderer shows his hand, they will face a fight for life and freedom. And if they survive, what will happen when the need to pretend is over?

The Pleasures of Spring is the latest sizzling standalone novel from Evie Hunter whose trademark combination is an addictive erotic story and a page-turning plot. If you're an Evie fan, you won't be disappointed. And if you're new to Evie, well, you're in for quite the delicious treat...

PRAISE FOR EVIE HUNTER:

• 'More colour and better written than EL James and a more exciting read than any of Sylvia Day's books' Irish Independent
• 'As near perfection as a Suspense/Romance/Erotic/BDSM novel could EVER get!' Ripe for Reader
• 'Every delicious moment comes with amazing tension and believability ... masterfully written, artfully told, and yummy to read.' My Book Boyfriend
• 'All I can say is, holy yowza, Batman! Yes, this book falls firmly into the 'What to read after Fifty Shades of Grey' category, but in my opinion ... this book blows Fifty Shades out of the water. I unabashedly adored this book.' This Bookish Endeavor
• 'Danger, heat, obsession and unexplored desires come together to form a combustive and sizzling tale, not soon forgotten.' Romancing The Book
• 'One of those rare books that has stolen my heart, my mind and my soul ... a flawless, exciting and down-right steamy read that will stay with you long after your finish.' Totally Bookalicious

 About the author:

Evie Hunter is actually two authors, Caroline McCall and Eileen Gormley, who met at a creative writing workshop in Dublin in 2010.

Eileen Gormley grew up in the midlands of Ireland.  Within a couple of years of leaving college, she started writing articles for local papers and graduated to becoming a full-time freelance journalist for the Irish National newspapers, specializing in court and crime reporting. Her first novel, DON’T FEED THE FAIRIES, made it to the quarter-final of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and was published by Ragz Books.

Caroline McCall lives with her partner, and several spoilt, ungrateful felines, on the windswept east coast of Ireland. Raised on a diet of romance and science fiction, Caroline turned to writing time travel and paranormal romance. A mild mannered paralegal by day, Caroline spends most of her evenings and weekends dreaming up alpha males and feisty heroines.

On discovering that they shared a passion for erotic fiction, they became the best of friends. In early 2012 they got a chance to co-write a series of erotic novellas for an American publisher. When they completed the second one without killing each other, they decided to take on something bigger.

Eventually, they emerged into daylight, clutching THE PLEASURES OF WINTER, saying ‘Never again’ … until the next time.

Find out more about  Evie Hunter on their Facebook fan page or follow the authors tweets on Twitter.

Buy links:

Amazon UK
Amazon US

Author Website: 

Evie Hunter

The books:

The Pleasures Series 

Link to my reviews by clicking on the covers.

                     

Other:

   

THE PLEASURES OF AUTUMN

TITLE: THE PLEASURES OF AUTUMN

AUTHOR: EVIE HUNTER

Pages: 436

Date: 23/11/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 3 Pleasures

            Received from Penguin

Own

Blurb, taken from the back cover:

“Passion must have it’s way

When Sinead O’Sullivan is charged with stealing the Fire of Autumn - a dazzling ruby with a notorious history - investigator Niall Moore is hired to stop her fleeing and to find the jewel. Though Sinead needs to convince Niall of her innocence, telling him everything she knows will expose secrets she is desperate to keep hidden.

Sinead and Niall may not trust each other an inch, but they find it impossible to ignore the fierce carnal heat between them. Niall an expert interrogator, uses every trick of the trade - and every weapon in his erotic armoury - to get at the truth. Sinead, a fast learner, counters his every move with one of her own. Thief and thief-taker fight for dominance and there can only be one winner.

But what happens in their red-hot game of cat and mouse when criminals chasing the precious jewel come after Sinead...and the stakes become deadly?”

==========================================================

The books in this series are, for lack of a better word, great fun. Evie Hunter - a partnership of two Irish authors - has managed to find the perfect balance between suspense and sexy. What’s even better the author manages to integrate these two aspects of the story in a very satisfactory and unputdownable manner.

In this, the third ‘Pleasures’, title we meet Sinead who has been leading a double life to finance her way through college. When she’s offered a job in a museum in Zurich she abandons her alter ego - Lottie, a burlesque dancer - and embraces the more serious life she’s worked so hard to achieve. Sinead has only been working in the museum for a short while when a precious ruby is stolen and she is the main and only suspect. Security camera footage clearly shows her stealing the ‘Fire of Autumn’ and leaving the museum with it. With proof as obvious as this, nobody is likely to believe Sinead’s claims that she is innocent.

Enter Niall Moore, owner of Moore Enterprises, a security firm. Initially he is hired by the Zurich museum to recover the stolen ruby which seems easy enough since the thief and her whereabouts are known. Things get more complicated when Sinead’s uncle, Tim O’Sullivan, also hires Niall to keep an eye on his niece and help her. The situation becomes near impossible when Niall meets Sinead and discovers there is an instant attraction between himself and the museum curator who may appear to be boring and plain but soon discloses her adventurous side as well as her well hidden beauty.

What follows in an adventure in which Sinead is so desperate to hang on to the secret of her double life that other things she tells Niall are dismissed as lies as well. These two characters shouldn’t be getting on at all but find themselves unable to keep their hands off each other. Add to that an American operative known for his cruelty and violence and you find yourself reading a book that doesn’t contain a single boring moment.

Did I mention that this book is sexy? Trust me it is. Niall is a Dominant who has long ago resigned himself to the fact that he won’t ever find a woman who could put up with his demands.

“He wanted an equal, and had never found one. Until now. Until Sinead.”

While Sinead, despite her history as a burlesque dancer, has relatively little experience when it comes to men and sex. When these two characters get together it turns into an instant and very heated battle for power.

There were two things I particularly liked when it came to the kinky scenes in this book. The first is that Sinead and Niall’s quest for the Ruby demands that the pair of them attend a fetish party where Niall will have to pretend to be Sinead’s slave. And while Sinead, thanks to her burlesque past, has no problems portraying “she who holds the whip”, having to submit nearly kills Niall. It made for a wonderful and very exciting scene.

The second thing that really impressed me is that this book has a realistic approach to the familiar ‘experienced Dom meets new sub’ story-line. Most if not all of the books I’ve read with a similar story-line feature Dom’s who are either geniuses or mind-readers. They never seem to demand anything of their novice that they can’t or won’t do. I loved that Niall did run into Sinead’s boundaries when they first started, and respected them. A rather refreshing approach which did a lot to make the story more believable.

As far as I know there is one more ‘Pleasures’ title to come: The Pleasures of Spring, which is due to be released next April. I’ve got a feeling this title will feature Andy and I hope that we will also get to see more of Roisin. Regardless of whether or not that will be the case, I’ll be looking forward to reading the book when it comes out.

THE PLEASURES OF SUMMER and A TOUCH OF SUMMER

TITLE: THE PLEASURES OF SUMMER

AUTHOR: EVIE HUNTER

Pages: 433

Date: 15/06/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: no. 2 Pleasures

               Received from Penguin

               Through Nudge

Own

Summer O’Sullivan. It is a name and face most people know from the scandalous headlines in the tabloids. With one broken engagement behind her, the daughter of a self-made and very rich airline owner is known for her outrageous exploits and scandalous adventures. But, it would appear that she is in danger and when her father has to travel from London to America for a month and Summer refuses to spend that time with her grandmother in Ireland, he decides to hire a body-guard to keep her safe. To say that Summer is less than impressed with this idea would be an understatement and she manages to get rid of several hired minders within little or no time.

Enter Flynn Grant, a former Army Ranger with little patience for spoiled little rich girls. Summer’s tricks won’t work with him. He may not like the job, but since he has been hired to keep this girl safe that is exactly what he will do. And what is more, he will do it on his terms; Summer will just have to get used to following orders.

Unsurprisingly it is a major culture clash when these two characters meet, but despite the anger and exasperation they ignite in each other there is no denying the attraction between Summer and Flynn. When Summer goes a bit too far while satisfying her curiosity it is only Flynn’s timely arrival that prevents her from ending up in a situation she was completely unprepared for. Flynn however is furious and this anger combined with the attraction he has been feeling leads to a night that more than answers Summer’s curious questions and gives them both something to think about.

A month in a remote Scottish hiding-place takes Summer completely out of her comfort-zone and gives both her and Flynn the opportunity to discover sides of each other that they never expected. Flynn may be on a mission and getting intimate with his principle may be against all his rules but when the attraction is this strong and the location this isolated it is almost impossible not to give in to the sexual tension.

When the threat against Summer finally catches up with her it will take a heroic effort from Flynn as well as everything she has learned in her month in the middle of nowhere to ensure her survival. But even that may not be enough to ensure their happily ever after.

I enjoyed this book. It is well written and Summer and Flynn are exciting characters to read about. Not to mention that the attraction between them and the way they handle it make this one steamy read. But, this is much more than a work of erotic fiction. There is a real sense of danger all through this story. The erotic scenes alternate nicely with those that explore the rest of Summer and Flynn’s relationship and the thriller-like aspects of this book.

I liked that there was so much more to Summer’s character than the flighty, spoiled young heiress we meet in the first few chapters. It was wonderful to see her grow into herself and really develop. Flynn goes through some changes as well, although his are less pronounced. I also enjoyed the brief reference to Jack Winter and Abbie Marshall from “The Pleasures of Winter”. Although these books are definitely stand-alone stories the mention of Jack and Abbie’s upcoming wedding brings a little bit of continuity to this series of books without creating the need to read them in order.

And this is one hot read. With Flynn being a Dominant with a lot of experience when it comes to BDSM and Summer being curious about the life-style, there is a lot of room for a good dose of steamy action. As it is I would call this BDSM-light. There is some bondage and quite a bit of spanking but it never gets so heavy that it might leave the reader uncomfortable. Having said that, I have to admit that I was surprised as well as intrigued by the alternative uses that were found for both Alka-Seltzer and tiger balm in this story. Who knew?

There were a few things in this book I was less than charmed with.  First of all, I had the identity of the threat to Summer identified as soon as they made their first appearance in the story. Also, I did get a bit fed up with the way in which both Summer and Flynn kept on going backwards and forwards as far as their feelings were concerned. And finally, I wasn’t convinced that this book needed the addition of Flynn’s former submissive and her upcoming marriage to his brother. Having said that, these were minor issues for me and didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. Because this is a fun, tension filled and a very sexy romance, sure to give its reader hours of entertainment.

A TOUCH OF SUMMER

Size: 218KB

Date: 15/06/2013

Grade: 4+

Details:  no. 2.5 Pleasures

             Companion read to “The Pleasures of Summer”

Own / Kindle

Chronologically, this story is set in the middle of “The Pleasures of Summer” and takes place during the time Summer and Flynn spend in the Scottish highlands.

Finding themselves in the middle of nowhere with little to keep them occupied except the sexual attraction between them – an attraction Flynn is determined not to give in to – Summer and her bodyguard desperately need a diversion. An opportunity arises when it transpires that some of Flynn’s colleagues are involved in war-games with other groups of special forces on a deserted Island off the Scottish coast. While Flynn sees this weekend as a welcome diversion for the two of them, Summer treats it as a second opportunity to launch operation “Defeat the bodyguard”.

“Consequences. She liked the sound of those. The ones following her escapade in London had been spectacular, to say the least.”

But, best laid plains being what they are, their days away with the army don’t work out quite the way either Flynn or Summer has hoped. While Flynn discovers that even participating in war-games won’t kill his attraction to Summer, she finds out that maybe getting rid of Flynn isn’t her first priority after all.

This was a short but very nice addition to The Pleasures of Summer. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a discarded chapter, published as a short story, although I may well be wrong about that. Having said that, this story could easily be read on its own strength. I’m not sure I’d advise anyone to do that though. I’m convinced this story is more enjoyable if you are familiar with what has happened to get these characters to this place. On the other hand, if you need convincing before purchasing “The Pleasures of Summer”, do read this story; it will leave you yearning for more. And more is exactly what the main book will give you.