Review: Guilty Pleasure

Guilty Pleasure (Bound Hearts #11)

by Lora Leigh

Theme Warning: this book contains slight bondage, ménage à trois  and intensely erotic themes that might not be suitable for younger or move conservative readers.

Blurb:

The sizzling new erotic tale from New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh

 Marty Mathews had always known about the secret, forbidden pleasures that the women she had grown up with enjoyed. Women whose husbands or lovers were members of the exclusive “Club,” where they took a selected “third” into their beds.  And there is one man—a dangerous, forbidden man—who is part of this world and who has haunted Marty’s dreams for years.  But she had been the FBI agent assigned to shadow him, making him completely off limits . . . That is until Khalid is cleared and Marty is released from her assignment.  Now, all bets are off. . .

The beautiful, fierce Marty Mathews is the one woman Khalid hungers for like no other and is the one woman he dare not let himself have.  His past dogs his every step and danger lurks around every corner.  If he wants to keep her safe, he must stay away from her.  But the power of their desire is something they cannot deny—and once Marty is his, Khalid will do whatever it takes to keep her in his bed and in his arms.

Review:

I enjoyed this story for both the plot and the extremely erotic and sensual relationship between Khalid and Marty (and of course Shane).  Though I have read several of Lora Leigh’s more erotic novels, this was the first of the Bound Hearts series for me.

Marty has been forced to deal with Khalid and the fact that she’s loved him for years.  Khalid during all that time has been resisting Marty and pushing her away to keep her safe from an old enemy. But Marty is done waiting.  When she finally takes a much needed vacation, she decides that the time has come for her to either earn Khalid’s heart and have the relationship she’s always wanted with the man she loves or cut him out of her life completely.

When Khalid’s enemy comes after Marty anyway, he decides that the only way to protect her now might just be to take her into her bed.  Asking his CIA agent friend and occasional partner, to serve as his third in their new relationship, Khalid sets out to bring Marty into his bed and show her once and for all that she’s his—body, heart and soul.  Just as she owns him.

The energy of this book wavered a lot for me.  There were some intensely sensual moments of course, but there were just as many overly emotional moments.  There were a lot of arguments in the book between Marty and Khalid, Marty and her Fathers, Marty’s fathers and Khalid, and many times the arguments were a bit contrite feeling.  It felt more like the arguments were there just to create stress and tension as opposed to being in the story because they are needed for the plot.   A bit more reasonable conversation could have prevented a lot of the misunderstandings between all the very alpha and commanding men in Marty’s life.

The passion and heat between Marty and Khalid was explosive and love overdue.  From the first moment Marty attempts to seduce Khalid in her parents kitchen, to the very last love scene, their sexual interactions are intense, carnal, and full of power plays.  When Shane joins them, that something extra he adds up the heat exponentially. Marty embraces the sexuality that previously was only hinted at in h3r own personality and by embracing it she forces herself to face her own fears and Khalid’s doubts.

When their enemies finally do come after them, both Khalid and Marty are faced with the truth of their feelings.  While Khalid has always known Marty belonged with him, he’s refused to allow his heart to get involved. Knowing that the last woman he offered his heart to was brutally killed and it almost killed him, he is unwilling to risk loving Marty because if he loses her it will not only shatter him, but most likely send him on a killing spree with no end, until all his enemies pay for her death.

The book was extremely erotic and full of extreme emotional turmoil.  I enjoyed that addition of Shane into the relationship, but I was a bit disappointed that he didn’t end with more involvement in their lives.  Ultimately I would have like to have seen Marty in a relationship similar to her parents.  The terrorist plot was definitely just created as a reason for Marty and Khalid to ultimately come together, however it was a well thought out and planned part of the plot thankfully.  I am looking forward to hopefully getting a book for both Shane and Khalid’s brother.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Rose Rating: