ARC Review: Wicked Pleasure: Part One by Lora Leigh

Let me first start by telling you that this is a menage romance. If you don't do trios, this is not going to be the book for you. I am not typically a menage romance girl but I've found that if a relationship begins as a trio, I'm ok with it. I don't like a monogamous relationship that later adds another party. So if you've written off trio romance but want to try again, I recommend a book like this where the trio is there from the beginning.

I'm just not sure how to feel about this specific book. I really struggled to come up with an accurate rating. I like erotic romance and this book is definitely that. The erotic content is creative and thorough and I appreciate that. The problem for me was the plot....or the lack thereof. When I started this book, I thought I was going to be reading the story of Jaci and Cam. I think Cam thought she was going to be living the story of Jaci and Cam but that isn't how it worked out. Cam ONLY sleeps with women with his twin brother Chase. There is some really deep reason for that but that's the situation. The thing that gets me almost immediately when Cam hooks up with Jaci is that he wants her fiercely to himself but it's not a choice he can even make. He feels like he CAN'T be with Jaci without his brother being present. It gets even weirder because he has lots of inner conversation with himself about how he wants Jaci all to himself and will have her some day but then he can't or he won't.

The problem with this for me is that it made Cam seem weak. Like, you can't be the dominating alpha male if you can't bang your girl without assistance from your brother. I just was not feeling that at all. As for Jaci's part, she gets that Cam has some issue preventing him from being with her without Chase so she pretty much just goes along with it. In that way, this isn't truly a trio relationship. It's a two person relationship with a mandatory third for sexual encounters only. And that is weird as it sounds. It's almost like Chase is a sex toy that they clean off and pull out of the drawer when it's time to get it on. That's extremely weird because Chase happens to be an actual human being.

The author builds some back story for Jaci involving a scandal that has landed her in the position of needing to take the job that lands her back in Cam's world. I was interested to hear more about the scandal but the story never really develops in this book. There is also the issue of the super secret sex club that Jaci signs up to work for. I thought that was going to be a part of this book but beyond being mentioned, it's not actually a part of this installment. So, there really isn't much to this book but a constantly repeating scene between Jaci and Cam with a guest staring role by Cam. Cam wants Jaci and tells himself that one day he will have her to himself. He then decides that day is not today. Chase comes in right in time so they can both bang Jaci's brain out. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

My writing was somewhere between two and three stars. I tilt towards two because the first time Cam is with Jaci makes absolutely no sense in the real world and it just irritated me (I'm not spoiling it, you have to read that part for yourself). I lean towards three stars because I did enjoy all the super hot steam. I'm going with three stars because there are pieces in this book that make me think the series could improve. I just think this first installment could have been better.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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