RevIew: Serving Pleasure (Pleasures #2)

Serving Pleasure (Pleasure #2)

by Alisha Rai 

 Blurb:

Hungry for a touch…
Rana Malik is over being her family’s resident black sheep. She’s on a mission: ditch the casual hook-ups, revamp her bad-girl image, and fall in love with a proper Mr. Right even her conservative mama can’t find fault with. Not on the menu? The beautiful, brooding Mr. Right Now who lives next door, and all the ways he whets her appetite.
Starving for love…
Artist Micah Hale had it all–women, success, friends and family–until his world changed in a single act of senseless violence. Now struggling to conceal his scars and get his life and career back on track, he knows he has nothing to offer a woman except his body. He’s not looking for love…but he can’t control his craving for the sexy bombshell voyeur he’s caught looking at him.
Just one bite.
Their attraction boils over, and their defenses are stripped off along with their clothes. They promise they’ll walk away if it gets too hot. But it’s hard to do the right thing…when being wrong feels so good.

Themes: erotica, contemporary

Rating: 4.75 stars
Heat Rating:
Review:

 I have waited so long for this story, following up on my all-time favorite erotic romance ever, Glutton for Pleasure, and letting us see more of Devi and her passionate family.  This story revolves around the oldest of the three sisters Rana and her attempt to change her life to find the happiness Devi has found with her two lovers.  Rana was marked as the terrible big sister, judgmental and slutty in the previous novel, but we really get to learn more about her and her choices in this story reminding us that there is another side to every story. Rana and Micah are both pretty screwed up characters but their sensual connection and their obvious need to be together is one that we all wish we could find one day.  This series is turning into one of my favorite and I am really looking forward to getting Leena's story soon, hopefully.   In the meantime this one will definitely be going onto my frequent re-reads list alongside its predecessor.  Sexy, sweet, and loving Rana has finally taken a stand with her family so she can have her happy ending. 

Rana has been trying, so hard, not to give in to her natural impulses and sensual desires in an effort to change her life and earn her mother's respect, but resisting her sexy and enigmatic neighbor has become truly impossible.  When she finally finds herself face to face with Micah there is no way she can give up the chance to be in his arms, or his bed.   Micah has come a long way to escape his past, in hopes of rebuilding  his career, but his passion for his art has been MIA, until he finds himself wrapped up in the magic that is Rana.  When their relationship deepens there are no way they can deny that they each have issues, but both want to have a future together.  If Rana can find herself after being lost in her mission to please her mother there is a chance for her and Micah, but only if he too will embrace and overcome his distressing past.

Micah is a guy that has not found a way to get past the trauma of his life altering attack two years earlier.  He left his family in London and came to Florida in hopes he has a chance to find contentment in his life.  His passion for his art is rekindled when Rana enters his life, and determination to keep his muse, blends with his desire to have a woman as sexy and beautiful as her, even though he knows he cannot commit to a real relationship with her.  He needs her to keep the momentum going in his work, but the more time he spends sketching her and having her in his bed, the less able he is to forget their initial rules.  Micah's a good guy, but his biggest fear is being in love, even though he knows he will ultimately break her heart. 

Rana never believed that her voyeuristic tendency to spy on her neighbor would lead to the love of her life.  Her embarrassment at being caught is nowhere near strong enough to keep her from giving in to her desire for him.  She has turned over a new leaf, abstaining from sex for over a year, in an attempt to find her Mr. Right, but she gives in for her desire for Micah.  Her insecurities about her love life, her professional life, and her place in the world, all stem from some serious issues with her family, but when the issues all come to a head, Rana's sisters stand by her to the end.  Her love for Micah  is challenged several times, but in the end she is able to find a way to forgive him and have a way for them to be happy together.  I loved seeing Rana embrace her greatness and demand that those around her see her for who she truly is, whether they decided to love that person or not, even though it could mean losing the love of her life, she will stay true to herself and be the person she was always meant to be. 

Serving Pleasure, while certainly tamer than the previous novel in the series, was sensual, passionate and loving.  Bringing together two unlikely individuals with serious issues, Rai shows that only when you are true to yourself can you find someone to truly love you.  Micah is often an ass, but his sweetness and fears keep him from crossing into jerk territory.  He is dealing with the changes Rana is bringing about in him and his life, but until he is forced to live without her, he doesn’t really understand just how much he has come to love her.  Rana on the other hand is totally outgoing, determined to find her perfect match, but willing to embrace even the temporary chance to explore the depths of her infatuation with Micah.  Becoming his model and lover wasn't anything she ever planned and falling in love along with way was definitely a surprise, but she quickly embraces the experience and decides that maybe he just might be the one to make her happy. As always the sexiness and romance of Alisha Rai erotic novels keeps me coming back for more and more, but the love between her characters is what takes it even beyond simple erotic and into the stratosphere of the best romances around.   When the next novel is released you can bet I’ll be one of the first in line to get to read this.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't keep us waiting for years until the next novel releases. 

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.