PLEASURE
Eric Jerome Dickey
Dutton
Romance
ISBN: 9780525950455

I was a bit hesitant when I heard that PLEASURE was erotic fiction, since I have always imagined this genre to be full of plotless stories. But as one reads PLEASURE, one will find out that there is more to the book than just plain sex. Yes, Nia Simone Bijou makes her living as a writer who dabbles in erotic fiction and admires the writings of Anais Nin, who was famous for her erotica. But there is a plot! The themes and storylines are not as simple as I had expected them to be, and as readers will discover, the characters are multi-dimensional and help create the fascinating story that plays out.

Nia is having an erotic fantasy when she receives a text message from her ex-boyfriend Logan. It doesn’t take long to figure out that Logan is stalking her; he can't accept that their relationship is over and that she has moved to a different state to get rid of him. Still, he continues to pursue her, which only angers her every time he tries to contact her. Thank God he doesn’t know where she lives...

We then move to a scene with Nia going for a run when she spots a really fine-looking black man. Surprise! She finds out that he's one of two identical twin brothers. Their meeting is the first of many future encounters that opens up a new world of sexual delights for Nia, and as she gets acquainted with the siblings, she realizes that she likes them both but for different reasons. One is married, but he is able to touch her soul and she relates to him on a deeper level. The other brother has a rougher edge; he is single but has a past that still haunts him. A tattoo of KENYA is his secret, and she's a woman he cannot let go.

The sex doesn’t just involve the two brothers. Nia is introduced to a female friend of single brother Karl, and soon it’s Nia, Karl and Kiki Sunshine having the most sensuous day Nia has had in a long time. She is attracted to Kiki's beauty, but it's a one-on-one encounter later on between the two of them that gets Nia excited. She can’t get Kiki off her mind. And it doesn’t end there. The three of them meet up with Mark, the married brother, making it a foursome.

It’s a lot of fun and sexual fantasies come true, until a complication enters the picture. Mark’s wife happens to be Jewell Stewark, a television morning-show reporter in Atlanta. On TV Jewell appears to be a very classy and sophisticated woman, a professional who is well-liked and beloved by all. But when Nia encounters Jewell by accident as she and Karl are driving to his condo, Jewell appears on the scene and it's not pretty. Jewell yells and screams at Karl, embarrassing both him and Nia. Why is there such anger coming from Jewell? Jewell’s story is the missing link when it comes to Karl and Mark, and until Nia understands how Jewell fits into the picture, she will continue to wonder why Mark is married to such an awful person. Why won’t Mark leave his wife if he says he’s so unhappy? And what does Karl have to do with Jewell?

PLEASURE is Eric Jerome Dickey’s wildest book yet, filled with hot, erotic, over-the-top exhibitions of sex any which way you want. But the novel also concerns a woman's search for happiness as she explores her sexual side, while at the same time coming to terms with a relationship that had gone wrong. The subplot involving the twins and their story of tangled love is tawdry as it is tragic. Dickey has written a fast-moving book that readers will not be able to put down. I’m recommending PLEASURE for all true Dickey fans and for those who want to add a little spice to their reading.

    --- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton (Ratmammy@lofton.org)

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