Review: Secret Pleasure (Bound Hearts #13)

Secret Pleasure (Bound Hearts #13)

by Lora Leigh

Blurb:

Once a member of the Sinclair men’s club as their honorary female member, Alyssa Hampstead broke one of the most important rules of the club and gracefully accepted Ian Sinclair’s request to leave.

For a reason.

Now, caught between two men she’s terrified of, and a father determined to destroy her, she turns to the only safety she’s ever known, that of the men’s club she forced herself to walk away from.

Only to learn that the very men she’s running from are awaiting for her there. And the man determined to destroy her, has just been waiting for her to return.

Themes: Ménage, erotica

Rating: 3.75 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

 Ok so to be honest I only requested this story because I’m a huge fan of Lora Leigh’s other series and I have read a few stories in this series, completely inadvertently, and I thought it would be a fun read.  While I enjoyed the story for the most part and the sensuality and sexiness of the main characters was definitely intense, the overall story was missing a lot of important facts and details for me.  Being that it is supposed to be a stand-alone novel, though part of a series, I felt there were a LOT of details missing about the “Club” and how Sebastian and Alyssa were involved in it.  While I recognized several of the side-characters that were part of the club, I read those stories so long ago that if Bastian or Alyssa were mentioned in them I just don’t recall, which left me a little frustrated and wanting explanation.  So I can imagine someone who’s never read any of the stories having the same problem. That being said, I loved the story revolving around the lovers even though it was often heartbreaking and had me crying in a lot of moments.  But to me that’s the sign of a great story so that’s why I’m willing to bump up the rating even with my little issue.  

The story covers a lot of years and brings together three lovers, before brutally tearing them apart, and then throwing them back together almost a decade later.  Alyssa was a character that I loved at times and hated at others;  while she knew that she needed to stand up for herself in her relationships, due to mommy issues, she takes it too far a few times with Bastian and Shane.  Watching her deal with true tragedy showed her as someone that really couldn’t handle the shit that can be thrown at us in life.  I get that she was broken for a long time, but it shouldn’t have taken the men returning to her life to make her fix herself.  Shane and Sebastian were both intensely sexual, alpha males that were not really ready for the love they found so early.  I understood the choices they made were all in the name of protecting the woman they loved, but I really wanted to castrate them a few times. Once they came back into Alyssa’s life and forced her to deal with them they became much more interesting characters.  With all the character love and hate moments, the trauma of their early relationship, and the tragedies they each had to face in the intervening time, it amazed me they were able to still love one another, but I guess the heart wants what the heart wants, and the soul deep connection between them was undeniable.  The sensuality in their story was of course off the charts, just as I’d expect from a Lora Leigh novel, but I would have loved a little more time for the lovers to relearn each other (in non-sexual ways) before they rediscovered their love.  So if you’re not afraid of some intense sexuality, crazy drama, tearing up a bit, and falling in love right along with the characters, give this book a whirl, just don’t try to follow the arc about the “club” too much or you’ll get frustrated.  Looking forward to the next story which will hopefully be Summer and Falcone, but we shall see.

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