This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce
New York reporter Abbie Marshall is trying to uncover a story about drugs and shady government officials in Honduras when her life becomes endangered. She’s been found out and must make a hasty exit. The quickest way out of the country is on a private jet, which is scheduled to take off at any minute. On board is Hollywood heartthrob, Jack Winter, best known for his womanising and bad antics, so Abbie manages to talk her way onto the jet under the pretence of interviewing the celebrity. Abbie and Jack don’t get off to the best of starts as Abbie not only finds Jack incredibly attractive, she also finds him arrogant and domineering.
During the flight, the pilot becomes ill and the plane crash lands in the jungle. Abbie is forced to stick with Jack, his best friend, Kevin, and Jack’s hypochondriac agent, Zeke, until they can find their way back to civilisation.
Once home, Abbie can’t stop thinking about Jack and the effect he had on her in the jungle. Jack has awaken a part of Abbie she never knew existed and while she is scared about the kind of kinky sex Jack is clearly into, she is willing to experiment if it brings her closer to him. Abbie and Jack become caught up in one another, quickly becoming obsessed, but Abbie wants much more than just sex. She wants to know the real Jack, the part he keeps hidden from everyone, but Jack finds it difficult to let Abbie in completely. He ran away from his old life a long time ago and though he is falling for Abbie, he can’t trust her with the secrets from his past.
There is an awful lot of erotica on the shelves these days and they all seem to look the same, but I have to say I enjoyed The Pleasures of Winter immensely. I was intrigued when I read that Evie Hunter is actually two writers who decided to join together to pen The Pleasures of Winter and it worked. Having two writers didn’t make the book feel disjointed – in fact it was the opposite. The story is told from two different points of view and the change from Abbie’s perspective to Jack’s flowed seamlessly.
Jack’s character is domineering from the start, but with Abbie’s smart mouth and defiant attitude, you wouldn’t think she had submissive tendencies, which I think explains why she is a little reluctant to unleash that part of herself to begin with. Abbie had never even given BDSM a thought before, so I liked that she was hesitant and took their relationship one step at a time. It made it more believable for me rather than her going straight for whips and canes with ease.
If I really had to pick a fault with The Pleasures of Winter, it would be the Honduras storyline. It was built up throughout the novel and I was expecting something big to happen, but it just seemed to fizzle away. But other than that, I thought The Pleasures of Winter was well-written and compelling and would recommend it to fans of erotica.
8/10
Evie Hunter's Website for links to buy The Pleasures of Winter, and also for the free standalone short story – exclusive to Kindle – featuring the same characters called A Touch of Winter written by Evie (or Eileen and Caroline) to coincide with the launch of this book. It will be free to download from November 1st-4th. We also have one copy of The Pleasures of Winter to give away – all countries – so please leave a 'Pick Me' comment below to be in with a chance. Winners will be announced next Thursday.