Pleasure Bound

by Opal Carew

When Marie meets Zeke—a tattooed, motorcycle-riding bad boy with a body built for sin—she’s swept up in a torrid affair that rocks her world. He’s so different from the dependable Mr.-Nice-guy-types she’s always dated in the past—and after a few nights in his arms, she vows never to go back.

Little does she know that her best friend Ty, the quintessential Mr. Nice guy, is gearing up to make his move and finally admit his true feelings for her. When Ty learns that Marie thinks he’s “too nice” for her, he sets out to prove that he can be the overpowering dominant she wants and overwhelm her senses in ways Zeke never could.

What Marie never expected to discover is that Zeke and Ty share a secret history together—one that changes everything she thought she knew about both men. A past that went far beyond the bounds of friendship…and now they’re about to take Marie beyond the bounds of pleasure…and into a world of soul-shattering ecstasy

Genres: Erotica, Romance, Menage, BDSM, Erotic Romance, M M F, Contemporary Romance

267 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2010

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Opal Carew loves cats, Zentangle, and wild nail polish!

http://www.opalcarew.com/
http://us.macmillan.com/author/opalcarew

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

A few years ago I read Blush by the same author, and it was quite good; this is her newest book and I thought, why not. Well, I'll tell you why not: it's bad. Really bad. Hard to believe it's her 8th novel. It reads like diarrhea all over the page. Not sexy, and very amateurish.

It begins with Marie having sex with a complete stranger by the lake on her weekend retreat, a man called Zeke who has tattoos, rides a motorbike and screams "bad boy" at her - just the type of man she's looking for, after her failure with the "Mr nice guy" types (she's all into typecasting, is Marie). The sex is so good (apparently) that they continue their relationship back in the city - only it gets complicated, because the Mr nice guy who lives in the apartment next to her, Ty, knows Zeke. And Ty wants Marie to himself.

There's more, but I'll spare you. Between the increasingly badly written characters, dialogue and sex scenes, there's very little on offer here except some cringing. It was like reading tacky 80s porn (I know, I'm hard on the 80s, but face it, it was an incredibly daggy decade!) I read it with something of a stunned look on my face, I'm sure. It was laughable, the set-up, the "hot bad boy guys", the sex, the plays at dominance and submission - even their feelings were corny and infantile. Save yourself some wasted time, and give this one a miss.

[Andrea Lujano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Protagonistas: Marie, Zeke & Ty

Profesiones: Escritora & Empresario

País:

[Sassafrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

The review was originally done for The Romance Reviews and can be found here:

http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/vie...

Pleasure Bound is an intensely sensual journey for three people who are exploring their personal boundaries to arrive at a pleasure that will bind them together forever. This book was so erotic and emotional that it was impossible for me to put down. I feel like I've been on a roller-coaster with twists and turns, highs and lows, and when I got to the end, I wanted to immediately get back in line to get on again!

This is the story of Ty, Marie and Zeke. Ty is in love with his best friend, Marie, and has been for a while, but he's been waiting for just the right time to reveal his feelings. Now is that time. Marie has just broken up with her umpteenth "Mr. Nice Guy" type--the kind of guy that she always goes for, but gets upset because the relationship doesn't go anywhere. So, she wants to get away after the break-up. Ty plans to reveal all when she gets back.

In the meantime, Marie falls in instant lust with the guy in the neighboring beach house while she's away and thinks he's perfect. Zeke is bad-boy personified. He's got tattoos, piercings, rides a Harley, and is oh-so-dominant. She brings him back home with her, much to Ty's dismay. He feels like he's too late. But when he finds out who the new guy is, it's even worse.

Ty and Zeke have a past, and their friendship didn't end pleasantly. But when Zeke offers Ty a chance to be a third with him and Marie, he jumps at the chance. And the story takes off from there with sexual exploration, deepening emotion, and development of a bond that could either hold them all together or tear them apart.

This book was sexy with a capital SEX. Sex in every place imaginable, in every way imaginable, and what was amazing about it was the fact that it was interwoven with emotion and love amongst the characters as well as real vulnerability. The three of them each open up some part of themselves that leaves them exposed, and it's unsettling for them. But as much as it gives them unease, it also gives them intense pleasure. There is a lot of BDSM aspects in the book, but it's mild overall without any intense scenes. But the steam that went along with it made me reach for water more than once.

If I had to choose, I would say that I loved Zeke's character the best. He has this tough exterior but underneath it all, he wants what's best for those that he loves. There are things revealed about him that make the kind of sacrifice that he's willing to make for them even more heartfelt.

The story doesn't go much beyond the relationship between the three main characters, but the author does a wonderful job illustrating some of the problems that can occur when dealing with any new relationship, even a threesome. The story was so engrossing that I didn't realize that there really weren't any other characters in the book besides the three main ones until I reached the end of the book.

The development of the relationship between Ty and Zeke was amazing. The way the author provided both men's points of view really helped shape the story and added extra depth to the characters. From childhood friends to something more is not easy. With the bad blood between them, Marie becomes the glue that binds them back together--and in ways neither of them ever imagined or expected.

Underneath all the sex and Domination/submission, bondage and everything else, this was truly about the joining of three people. And to me, that's what captivated me most about the book. Marie said it best in the book when she said: "And even though it's clear that any of the two of us would make a great couple, we'd always know that we were missing so much by denying the third". I really think that explains it all.

[Marcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was HOT...HOT...HOT! At first I thought that the book had a little too much sex and not enough story. Than I thought about the genre and said Duh what did I expect.

I'm not used to reading these types of books and wasn't sure what to expect. The sex was intense and way hot. The main reason I loved this book was for the underlying story. As unrealistic as the scenario is I couldn't help but be drawn to the 3 main characters. They were intoxicating and mesmerizing. Their strong connection had me coming back for more. They were well written and extremely likable.

I'm definitely going to be reading more of these author's books.

[Jessica Eck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!!!... Sex sex and more sex....

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun fantasy story. Lots of sex, lots of role playing, great friendships, all hot makings for a super sexy relationship. Fun how the guys meet back up again, wonder how cold the Chinese was from their first date lol

[Mariar53 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viejo, pero igual de bueno 😂

[Angela]

0

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One woman, two men, a weekend away, explosive attraction, adventurous spirit, and an old friendship rekindled make for one wildly exciting time.

A chance encounter with sexy vacation neighbor Zeke on Labor Day weekend introduces a whole new world to Marie. Natural curiosity makes her open to Zeke's suggestion of having her real-life neighbor Ty join in the fun.

[Book Binge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasure Bound was a frustrating book for me to read. Labelled Erotic Romance, there is an HEA, but the focus was too much on the sex so when it came time for the emotions, I didn't really believe them.

Marie has just broken up with her latest Mr. Nice Guy boyfriend and she decides she wants her next man to be a bad boy. Someone to dominate her. She meets the perfect guy in Zeke at her friend's cabin. He knows exactly how to please her and dominate her at the same time. After going out a few more times and getting to know him, she realizes he's practically perfect. Especially when she lays down the law that she only wants that dominance in the bedroom - and Zeke is ok with that. He realizes that the games they play are for their mutual benefit, not power games.

Marie's best friend and neighbor, Ty, has been in love with Marie for a while and he's just been waiting to make his move (but not in a skeevy way). But when Marie comes home from her weekend at the cabin with a new guy, Ty realizes he's missed his chance again. What Marie doesn't know is that Ty can be just as dominating as Zeke, but that something happened in his past to make him lock down that part of himself.

Then Zeke and Ty accidentally meet in the hallway of Marie's building and this is where the real sexual hijinks kick in. You see, five years ago, Zeke and Ty were best friends but when Ty's girlfriend wanted a threesome with Zeke, their friendship went down the tubes. Ty's girl actually wanted Zeke, not Ty, and used the threesome to get to Zeke.

Zeke has been guilt ridden ever since and he misses his best friend. He's willing to step aside and let Ty have Marie if that's what Ty wants. But what about what Marie wants? She wants both guys...but can they put aside what happened in the past and be friends again?

Where to begin? First, I guess with the reconciliation between the guys. You know how Zeke reconciles with Ty? To set it up so that Ty gets to sleep with Marie, while Zeke watches. Yeah....there was really no discussion on the guys' part about what went down and to put aside those old feelings of resentment. Everything was answered with sex. Whenever the guys would start discussing stuff, before anything would get resolved they'd start having sex with Marie.

And that happened a few times - sex would trump the emotional discussion that was about to take place. Frustrating!

That was my main beef with Pleasure Bound. The sex was hot and plentiful though, so if you want a book that's more focused on the sexin' than the emotional connection, PB is the book for you. This was one hot book!

Pleasure Bound gets a 3 out of 5 from me.

This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Ames. You can view her post here: http://thebookbinge.com/2011/01/guest...

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This honestly felt like reading someone's NaNoWriMo project. The sentence structure was choppy and perpetually short, and there was a lot of unnecessary descriptions of food, furniture, weather, &c. &c.

It was also badly paced in terms of the actual erotic content--I didn't keep, like, a count or anything, but I'm pretty confident that you couldn't go two pages without a sex scene. While yes, this is erotica, obviously there's going to be a lot of those, it was still excessive to the point of glutting. Midway through, I was skimming whole chunks of pages just to get to the scraps of character development between the scenes that would make me actually invested in the three's relationship.

Overall it isn't a bad book. Carew set it in a very sex positive world, which was awesome; and the only bits of homophobia within were tied very clearly to one character and were mainly just a way of him trying to drive himself away from having feelings he was uncomfortable with for a man who was once his best friend. And Carew did a good job of touching on a lot of issues that come up in D/s and threesomes, like Marie's concern with enjoying being a sub when it's been such a struggle for women to be respected as equals, and all three characters' worries that they might be dropped or become accessories if the other two developed a more exclusive relationship. It was also extremely nice that Zeke and Ty were not stereotypical alphas outside the bedroom, and that the three mixed up roles occasionally (A+ for Marie trying out being a Domme; A+++ for the guys' helping her out while she was learning how to treat them as subs).

Carew did a really good job with the characters--enough so that I kept reading even after becoming exasperated, because I wanted to know if they got their HEA--which is probably why it was so frustrating that the bulk of the book was repetitive and somewhat unrealistic sex scenes (refractory periods are a thing, and a great plateau place for foreplay/character development! also, seriously, more lube needed to be involved in some of that stuff). Again, yes, this is erotica and meant for fantasies, but a pinch of realism can go a long way.

The characters are engaging and the story is overall light and enjoyable, but this book desperately needed tighter editing, and also would have benefited from improved pacing and moderately more realism between/within the sex scenes.

[Farmers Wife · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say this book was a bit much for me. I'm not giving it a bad review in any way. It was exactly what the reviews I read on amazon said. One sold me with the detailed s-e-x scenes (chooka-chooka, bown, bown) and the other dissed it BECAUSE of the detailed and explicit s-e-x scenes.

Farmer*s Wife is thinking, "Whoop! Great erotica and smut for me!" But, about half way through I realized that this might be too much for me. A little more *spoiler alert* bondage and stuff than I am used to reading. And, I CAPITALIZE READING. Because, let's face it. This Farmer*s Wife is no where in the realm of leather straps and tie rings and whatever all that other stuff was. It was fun to read about but I'm not running to the LT to order online.

I stuck with it though, because I did enjoy how 'lucky' the MC was. And, I too was trying to decide with her on which beau to choose *another spoiler alert* (though, the way this book was going I ultimately knew the THREE were going to stick together). I finally came to the denouement (say the last page and a half) and there was a scene where something happened that I just had to turn my head and say, "NO WAY". Impossee-bleee as the French would say.

I discussed my feelings in light with Hubby to which he said. "Oh, it's just fantasy." I replied, "Oh really? Have you ever heard of ***** in *****?" To which he replied a mere, "Ah...No." ha ha!

So, I found a less heavy genre of romance with some erotica mixed in and added a few new 'to-reads' to my list. I have to give credit the author, Opal Carew, because if you want it hot and heavy with some HAWT men (not man, men) and you favor leather - she's your author. Totally. You'll blush regardless of who is or is not in the room.

Good book, but color me green and naive when it comes to the heavy-heavy stuff. :-D

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: M/F/M, bondage, D/s, use of toys, 1 scene of playful pony play, 1 DP scene, 1 mini flogging scene and male on male interaction.

Marie goes away to a weekend retreat to rest and relax. Until she runs into Zeke and has amazing sex, so she takes him home. He is the sexy bad-boy type with a dominating personality she is coming to love. Then enter the her nieghbor/friend who they both have a secret crush on each other. Ty, the neighbor, happens to be Zeke's ex-bf from highschool.

So basic story Marie is attracted to both doesn't want to choose. Ty and Zeke both are falling in love with Marie but secretly fighting their attraction to each other. See basic story line but with the added bonus of lots and lots and lots of sex. Marie/Zeke, Marie/Ty, and many scenes of all three in many intresting venues. A little bit of playful domination, bondage and sex toys all thrown in with all this lustful attraction between all three.

Overall I really enjoyed the story. The BDSM aspect was fun not too serious. I didn't like how all of a sudden Ty flipped his switch and boom everything is ok. Umm I get that he battled his whole attraction to Zeke but to get over it just like that was hard to believe. I felt the character development was alright, creative intimate scenes were refreshing.

[Jessica Alcazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sexual content of the book was phenomenal, but the story fell short for me.
So here you have a guy, Zeke, who meets a girl, Marie, who happens to be neighbors with his ex-best friend, Ty. Alrighty then, small world but nothing wrong with that, it happens every day. What I didn't like, is that in this story, as soon as Zeke figures out who Ty is, all of a sudden he's all consumed with fixing their friendship and he never wanted it to end and he's willing to give up the best girl he's ever met for said friendship. um, ok, if Ty was so important to you and you've been living in the same city since like ever, why didnt you try to fix this in the last five years? I dunno why, but that part of the whole storyline was major, and it wasnt dealt with very well and it took something away from the book for me.
Also, I'm ALL about good sex with my smut, but when it over shadows the story and all you read is sex after sex after sex when there are obvious plot developments lacking, THAT also looses something and you stop enjoying the sex scenes as you should.
I wasnt totally disappointed in this book, just enough that it didnt rate any higher than 3 stars for me. And it had a lot of potential, so that kinda made me pissy ....

[Kate]

"When Marie meets Zeke -- a tattooed, motorcycle-riding bad boy with a body built for sin -- she's swept up in a torrid affair that rocks her world. He's so different from the dependable Mr. Nice Guy types she'd always dated in the past -- and after a few night in his arms, she vows never to go back to them.

"Little does she know tht her best friend, Ty, the quintessential Mr. Nice Guy, is gearing up to make his move and finally admit his true feelings for her. When Ty learns that Marie thinks he's 'too nice' for her, he sets out to prove tht he can be the overpowering Dominant she wants and overwhelm her senses in ways Zeke never could.

"What Marie never expected to discover is that Zeke and Ty share a secret history together. Ad secret history that changes every thing she thought she knew about them -- a past that went far beyond the bounds of friendship. Now both men, together, are about to take Marie beyond the bounds of pleasure ... and into a world of soul-shattering ecstasy."

The plot was trite and entirely too predicable. Abandoned at page 144.
~~back cover

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

After another failed relationship Marie finds herself drawn to the man she has just met, Zeke. Zeke is a biker, the epitome of sinful, and covered in tattoos that she finds fascinating. Not sure where the chemistry between the two is going, Marie decides to hold on for the ride as long as she can, because she has never felt this good.

Ty, Marie's best friend and neighbor, has decided she has had ample time to recover from her recent breakup and is determined to make her his. When he finds her dating Zeke he is stunned, but that is not the worst part, he has a past relationship with Zeke that Marie is determined to uncover. When Zeke proposes they bring in Ty as a trio, Marie is all for it, but she is in for a shock as Mr. Nice Guy is incredibly naughty.

There were certain aspects of this book I had a hard time with, but overall pretty good.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much in the way of character development, but it's still exciting in the sexual department. However, having been a faithful reader of O. Carew, I do feel that her erotic writing has plateaued. I mean, she can get you going and excited over the possibilities of the way her scenes play out, but then somehow they fall just short of actual satisfaction. I think she can raise the bar higher; maybe that's just because I expect more from her. I mean, she's right there! I wish she'd push it right over the edge. Good, but not great. 3.5 stars.

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marie is searching for that special type of "bad boy": the bad boy who is really a good boy. In "Pleasure Bound", she discovers two potential Mr. Naughty But Nice guys - Zeke and Ty. Of course, she's going to have to try them out in every position and combination of positions possible, right? That said, expect M/F/M scenarios galore, BDSM light, plus some M/M/F action, as well. If what you're searching for in a naughty weekend read is "Fifty Shades of Gray" taken to the next level, here it is.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read anything by this author before, but WOW!!! Well written and just about every page hot enough to scorch your skin, this book was AMAZING! Beware: There is NOTHING appropriate for anyone under 18...and I'd dare say perhaps a little older. This book is definitely for an adult audience only. Be advised, sex scenes are explicit and contain multiple partners. Bondage/Domination/Submission/Threesomes are themes that are explored in this book.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As my first book I read by opal Carew, I found it to be tantalizing. But as the book wore on I got bored of the sexual aspect as I didn't like the main character, she sounded whiny and spoiled. She tried to hard to be fragile and broken, this made it less enjoyable towards the end, it could have had more development, and she could have made the main character better. It was a good read didn't take more then 4 hours but I still didn't like the girl at the end

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's be real - the sex pretty much started on page 3, so I didn't expect much in the way of character development or plot. In that respect I wasn't disappointed. Were there a lot of sex scenes? HELL YEAH! But I liked how each one had its own flavour at least. Given I knew what I was getting into with this book, I have to say I quite enjoyed it, and whipped through it (pardon the BDSM pun ;) ) in under 4 hours. There is definitely more Opal Carew in my future.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read all of Opal Carew's books and have enjoyed them all. I have to say this was not one of my favorites. I don't quite know what it was that I didn't enjoy, it just wasn't the best that's she's written. It won't stop me from reading her books but I can't say that I would recommend this one.

[Joy Boutwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasure Bound by Opal Carew is a hot book. Marie is best friends with Ty and he likes her and wants to wait till the right time to ask her out. But while Marie goes off for a weekend getaway she meets Bad boy Zeke. Turns out Zeke and Ty know each other. If you like sex you will love this book. I recommend it.

[Lindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow... hot, hot, hot and very satisfying. I found myself feeling a bit skeptical about Zeke and Ty's Energizer Bunny capabilities, and there was a lot more sex than story development, but otherwise I've got no complaints. :) 4 1/2 stars

[LaFleurBleue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the characters whose feelings seemed more real than often.
The plot was simple though nicely managed.
However very quickly the hot scenes turned very repetitive - I had the feeling to read the same one over and over again; however good, I would have preferred more variety.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opal Carew does it again and never ceases to amaze me with her views on many types of relationships~

[Jayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of sex. No real story line.

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It was my first m/m read and I didn't think I would like it, but it was so well written I couldn't help but like it.

[laurie stith-tenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one better.