Review: Temptation's Edge by Eve Berlin (Pleasure Dome #3)

Publisher - Black Lace
Publication Date - 23rd May 2013
Paperback - 336 pages
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 3 out of 5: I liked it

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - What happens when you let yourself fall…
Mischa Kennon isn’t one to take it lying down, at least not until she meets sexy Connor Galloway , a green-eyed Irishman with an air of authority she finds hard to resist. While performing duties as maid of honor to her best friend, Mischa indulges in a casual relationship with Connor. She’s surprised by the thrill of his dominance, and lusts for more feisty battles before surrender.

…over the edge
It’s all fun and games in the BDSM Pleasure Dome Club, until Mischa realizes Connor could master her heart.

…and into temptation?
If she gives in to desire, will it be too much to handle, or will it open her to a kind of love she never thought possible?

My Thoughts - I have read the first two books in this series already and I really enjoyed the first one, liked the second one a little less and, if I'm honest, liked the third one the least in the trilogy. I think the problem is that they all feel a little bit the same to me so by the time I got to the third book I was already bored of the regular format.

I like how the characters in the book are strong. Mischa and Conner have both had a tough time of it through their lives but they have managed to pull themselves up and become successful people in life and in their chosen careers. And I like that it shows that the submissive partner can also be strong with a personality of their own, as well as just the dominant partner. What did irritate me a little bit, and this has been becoming more of an issue as the series has progressed, is how all of the characters seem to believe that love is a weakness and something to be avoided at all costs. I understand that there has to be some kind of conflict in a romance novel otherwise the Happy Ever After will happen too soon and there will be no story. But I just wish there could be more variety with what that conflict is. It just made all the books feel much the same and even now they are all starting to blur into one another a little bit.

I did enjoy the steamy scenes, as I always do with any of Eve Berlin's work. They are always well written and in this one I found that she pushed things a little further in terms of the kink aspect and didn't just stick to spankings, which has been a complaint of mine of the previous books in the series. So because of that, the power play between Mischa and Conner felt a little more real than it had in the first two books. I also really enjoyed the ending, but I can't say a whole lot about that as I don't want to include any spoilers.

Summary - Overall, Temptation's Edge was an enjoyable read with likeable characters and a more believable sense of the power play than the previous books in the series. However, some elements of the books were all very similar so by book three I was starting to get a little bored. But still well worth a read for fans of the erotic romance genre.

Other books in the series:
1. Pleasure's Edge
2. Desire's Edge
3. Temptation's Edge

Review: Desire's Edge by Eve Berlin (Pleasure Dome #2)

Publisher - Piatkus
Publication Date - 14th March 2013
Paperback - 320 pages
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Kara Crawford doesn't expect to find anyone who can fulfil her dark fantasies until she experiences one of the most incredible nights of her life with a man she's always admired from afar.

Dante De Matteo may be a master of control now, but his troubled past means he won't let anyone ever get too close...

My Thoughts - I read the first book in this series, Pleasure's Edge, a while ago and absolutely loved it. So I picked up this book with some very high expectations for it to live up to... and I'm pleased to say that it met them with no real trouble at all.

As I have now come to expect from this author, the chemistry between the two main characters was off the charts! This is made more believable by the fact that Kara and Dante have known each other since school so it isn't some kind of insta-lust situation. What heats up the pages even more is the fact that they work together so there is a whole "forbidden" element to their relationship too.

The plot line was fairly basic and, with it being a romance, the ending was pretty predictable. I didn't really feel as though the events from their past that were given as reasons for their fear of commitment really warranted the amount of drama that they were treated with. But this was just a minor peeve of mine about the book and didn't really spoil my enjoyment of it at all.

Summary - A very enjoyable second instalment to the Pleasure Dome series... one full of passion, amazing sex and a great pair of main characters. I can't wait to get started on the third book of the series - Temptation's Edge.

Other books in the series:
1. Pleasure's Edge
2. Desire's Edge
3. Temptation's Edge

Review: Pleasure's Edge by Eve Berlin (Pleasure Dome #1)

Publisher - Black Lace
Publication Date - 3rd January 2013
Paperback - 320 pages
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it.

Book Info - Alec Walker should come with a warning.

A man who lives on the edge, he is famous for his love of dangerous sports, kinky sex and independent women.

Dylan Ivory has come to interview him for her latest book but instead he issues her with a challenge - and the perfect way to do her research.

My Thoughts - As soon as I got this book through the post I knew that I really really wanted to read it. And it didn't disappoint in the slightest.

I fell in love with the characters from the very first page. Dylan is a great character and as the reader learns more about her past and her terrible experiences with her mother, it becomes clear that she is incredibly strong and brave. She has always had to be in control of her own life, and often responsible for others, so when she first meets with Alec to do research for her new erotic novel, she believes that she has dominat tendencies. However, Alec has many years experience as a Dom and he can see her natural submissiveness from the start. This leads to Alec setting her a very interesting challenge - one that she couldn't possibly refuse. I loved reading about the struggle that occurs inside Dylan as she comes to realise that she does have a submissive side and eventually comes to accept that part of herself.

Alec is another character that I enjoyed reading about. He is a very experienced Dom and this dominance is obvious through his every word and action (please excuse me while I fan myself). He also cares deeply for Dylan and takes care of her, which just made me swoon even more. The only thing that I didn't like quite so much is that he is a self-confessed commitment-phobe and the reason that the author gives for this just didn't seem enough for the extent of this fear that he feels. But even so, I still fell a little bit in love with Alec.

What I really liked about this book is how it doesn't just focus on the sexual aspects of BDSM. A lot of the emotional side is explored too through talking about issues such as subspace and subdrop. And the sex in this book is seriously hot, although if I were being picky I would probably say that for a BDSM novel the sex felt pretty "vanilla". It was only the very frequent spankings that gave it a BDSM feel and I even felt that the spankings were over-used a little, to the point where I became a little bored with it. I would have liked a little bit more variety. But this was only a minor gripe I had with the book - it didn't hinder my enjoyment of it at all.

Summary - A great novel that explores the world of BDSM, while giving the reader characters to fall in love with and a very sweet romance. This is a must-read for fans of erotic romance

Other books in the series:
1. Pleasure's Edge
2. Desire's Edge
3. Temptation's Edge