Second Chance Romance, Blackmail, and a Counterfeiter, Oh my! The Pleasures of Passion by Sabrina Jeffries Book Review

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Well, would you look at that! I actually enjoyed The Pleasures of Passion! And to be honest, I wasn’t such a fan of this series. That is something since I absolutely ADORE Sabrina Jeffries! But this series has been ho-hum for me from the start.

Sure, I enjoyed the first book, The Art of Sinning, but the next two books, The Study of Seduction, and The Danger of Desire were filed as abandoned last year. I’m just not really sure why but I just wasn’t feeling those two.

So, it was with great trepidation that I started The Pleasures of Passion and I was really surprised that I ended up enjoying it!

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE Second Chance Romance

This book is a classic second chance romance. Nial and Brilliana were seeing each other on the sly because ISSUES! Obviously, class was a major issue for these two, since Brilliana was a non-titled gentleman’s daughter. Something happened, a few months into their relationship and Niall had to leave England for the continent because he killed someone (the reason was revealed in The Study of Seduction). He begs Bree to go with him to the continent with the promise of marriage. The catch, they had to leave ASAP. Bree, fearing the worst, was hesitant. And she was also concerned of her sickly mother.

Oh, the Promises

Fast forward seven years and Brilliana is newly widowed, with Niall back and pardoned. This is exactly where most of the story starts. The CHEMISTRY between the two was just off the charts! I absolutely adore them together.

Since the reason for Niall’s banishment to the continent was already revealed, I just wanted to smack Niall on the head because he was being such a jerk to Bree. Sure, he had a reason to be (which is revealed later in the book) but still!!

Glorious Blackmail

Niall and Bree are then forced to work together by the Home Office. They pretend to be engaged to uncover the identity of the counterfeiter, who was believed to be Bree’s estranged father!

Too SOON!

Bree was understandably pissed off at Niall for a very legit reason however, I felt that her forgiving  Niall came too soon in the story. I mean, suuuure they had sexy times (outside, mind you) but that doesn’t mean that he still had feelings for her, right? I mean, sure he did, but that’s not the point! I wanted Niall to suffer more, or at least, make him work for Bree’s love.

Lost Steam

Also, once Bree and Niall hooked up, their chemistry pretty much went on a downhill from there. I felt that their banter stopped because they were now together and also, I felt that Niall didn’t really work for Bree’s love.

Villainy – Not so much!

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a clear villain here. So even if they finally solved the case of the counterfeit, I didn’t felt the resolution as much since this villain didn’t really come in between the two lovers.

It felt like their romance was a victim of circumstance, which wasn’t really strong enough to make me root for these two as much as I hoped I would.

A Pleasurable Read

Overall, The Pleasures of Passion, surprised me since I wasn’t as interested in reading books 2 and 3 of the series.

For fans of Sabrina Jeffries, this is still a book worth visiting. Although not as fun as her Hellions of Halstead Hall series, it is still entertaining.

Books like The Pleasures of Passion

• Again the Magic – One of my favorite second-chance romance (also between the classes) is written by the amazing Lisa Kleypas! Aline and McKenna’s HEA was heartbreaking and absolutely satisfying.
• The Handmaiden’s Necklace – Another second-chance romance that also as heart breaking as Again the Magic and was also caused by a misunderstanding.

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Do you love the second chance romance trope? If you do, any book recs?

If you don’t, please share your thoughts why.