For Her Pleasure

Maya Banks

Publisher:
Berkley Trade

Release Date:
September 4, 2007

Genres:
Erotica
Contemporary Romance
Ménage M/F/M
Anthology

ISBN:
Print
9780425217498

Bookmark Rating:

Reviewed by
Jennifer Ray

Review Posted:
April 2008

Popular e-book author Maya Banks brings her imagination and writing skill to the mass public with her very first NY release, For Her Pleasure!  Readers of digital books have long had a place for Banks on their auto-buy lists, and it is very exciting to see a writer whose work you admire so much advance to the next level in their career.  I have no doubt that the fans born of this new publication will soon be searching out her previous works while awaiting her next NY release.

In this collection of three connected stories, Banks does what she does oh so well – ménage.  The first two stories focus on the same three characters, and their evolving relationship together.  The third story sees these three in a supporting role as a character we met in the second story stars as the heroine, introducing a new male lead as her hero. 

~What She Wants~

Kit, Mac, and Ryder have been best friends since they were kids, but as they matured into adulthood, they began to want more from each other.  Kit knows her two male friends have long indulged in that most erotic of female fantasies – ménage, with both men pleasuring one woman.  She dreams of experiencing sensual heights with the only two men in the world she will ever trust.  Mac and Ryder are all too willing to give Kit what she wants, but Mac wants much more from Kit than she is prepared for… 

The first story in this collection kicks it off with a bang!  Not only do we have some pretty explosive love scenes between Kit, Mac and Ryder, but the story is rife with suspense and danger as Kit is stalked by the man who raped her just six months earlier.  As policeman Mac and bad boy Ryder work as a team to protect her and uncover the identity of her attacker, the attraction between Kit and the two men ramps up to a fever pitch.  In addition to the intense sexuality in this story, Banks infuses a hefty dose of love as two friends finally admit what they’ve really felt for each other all of these years. 

~What She Needs~

Kit and Mac are finally a couple, with their best friend Ryder joining them for the occasional threesome.  But having taken a step back to allow Mac and Kit to be together, Ryder now realizes his feelings for Kit lean more towards everlasting romantic love than the simple friendship he thought before.  While he doesn’t begrudge his friends their happiness, he finds it harder and harder to be near Kit and not be able to claim her for his own...

Just when we think the story of this threesome is finished, Banks returns to it immediately showing the aftermath of what happens when Mac and Kit’s relationship turns serious and Ryder begins to realize he feels more for Kit than even he ever suspected.  His anguish is very real as he tries to do the right thing and step away from his friends so they can be happy together.  But as he backs off, the pain he causes both of his friends is more than they can bear, until they all realize they must find a solution that can make them all happy for the long haul. 

~What She Craves~

Long ago, Mia Malone loved Jack Kincaid with everything she had, enjoying one night of perfect passion – right before he disappeared without a trace.  Now she’s reluctantly working as a stripper and he’s back in her life, and not one bit happy about her stripping career.  But Mia isn’t exactly working as a dancer by choice – she has been blackmailed into it, and things are about to get much worse from her.  Unless Jack can save her in time, he’ll lose her again just when he has finally found her!

Unlike the first two stories, the last stars a different couple, Jack and Mia, who are connected to the first trio through Mia’s friendship with Ryder.  Although this story focuses on Jack and Mia, our friends from the other tales make and appearance as they help the couple in their most dire hour.

Jack is a Dominant to top all Dominants, and he is reluctant to consummate his love for Mia out of fear that his needs will be too much for the inexperienced young woman.  In the very beginning of the story, she breaks through his defenses easily, but is left out in the cold when his job takes him away without warning. 

In his absence, Mia finds herself the victim of a scam that leaves her in a much more precarious position than even she realizes.  An affable person, she makes the best of her situation, while retaining as much of her dignity and morals as possible.  Having resigned herself to the situation, she doesn’t believe even Jack can pull her out of it until things turn far more dangerous than she could ever imagine.  The danger they face together rebuilds her trust in Jack faster than might otherwise have been possible, paving the way for a very happy ending to this exciting book!

Note:  This review was originally written by Jennifer Ray for another review site.  It is being reposted at Wild on Books.

Buy it in Print
at Amazon: