A review by friends2lovers
Simply Pleasure by Kate Pearce

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

4.0

Simply Pleasure is a prequel novella to Pearce’s House of Pleasure series.  The prequel fills in the tragic backstory of Val (hero of book 1, Simply Sexual) and Peter (hero of book 2, Simply Sinful).  Other readers may disagree but, if you’re new to the series, I would not recommend starting with the prequel.  Read Simply Sexual first, then Simply Pleasure afterwards if you are interested in Val and Peter’s fraught history.

Val and Peter were both abducted as children (around age 10) and forced into sex slavery in a Turkish brothel.  8 years later, they are rescued by Mr. John Harrison (the father of the heroine in book 1).  The first half of the prequel follows their journey and return to England.  Then there’s a 3-year time jump, and it’s clear that neither of them have adjusted well to their new lives and freedom.    

When I read Simply Sexual and Simply Sinful, I was not aware this prequel novella existed!  My favorite arc through those two books was the evolution of the relationship between Val and Peter, so I was excited to read a story that focused on them alone.  They have a complicated, co-dependent dynamic and I’m honestly not sure I understand what they are to each other by the end of Simply Sinful.  At the end of the prequel, they are business partners, best friends, and lovers.  Then in books 1 and 2, they both fall in love with women and where they fit into each other’s HEAs is murky, at least to me.  The ambiguity frustrates me!
 
The prequel feels like the set-up for an epic romance between Val and Peter—one that (in my wishful thinking) spans many years, weathers ups and downs, and ends with them recognizing each other as their soulmate.  Instead, in the following books, their love story is sidelined in favor of developing the central M/F romances.  After reading the prequel, I now want to reread books 1 and 2 and see if my perception of Val/Peter as being tangential to the main story changes.  I also need to read, and plan to, the novella Simply Irresistible (#2.5), because the blurb makes it sound like the polyamorous dynamics between Val, Peter, Sara, and Abigail are explored.  I’m hoping reading all 4 books in succession will give me a better sense of Val and Peter being settled and committed to each other, like they are with their female partners.

Finally, I want to mention that I love the structure of the story, how the erotic parts fit in with the relationship parts, and the placement of the sex scenes.  All the sex in this was important for characterization and didn’t feel superfluous.  The Val/Peter scenes at the beginning and end contrast each other in a beautiful way.  
 
Overall, I recommend Simply Pleasure to anyone who loves and wants more Val/Peter!  It was gut wrenching, heartbreaking, but ultimately ended on a hopeful note.  Now on to a reread of Simply Sexual… 


Endnotes


Series: House of Pleasure #0.5
Genre: Historical Romantic Erotica
Setting: 1803 and 1806 (Georgian era, pre-Regency), on a ship traveling from Turkey to England, then London, England.
Hero: Valentin “Val” Sokorvsky, age 18 then 21, long black hair, violet eyes
Hero: Peter Howard, age 18 then 21, blonde hair, blue eyes (?)
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, caretaking/nursed back to health, traumatic pasts, unrequited love
Format: Kindle ebook borrowed from Libby, copyright 2014
Length: novella, 87 pages, 23k words
Read Date: January 18, 2022

Heat Index: 5 🌡️🌡️🌡️🌡️🌡️
Heat Notes:
4 full, explicit sex scenes (2 Val/Peter, 1 Val/other man, 1 Peter/other man) and 1 fade-to-black scene (Val/Peter). M/M, anal, spanking, light bondage, power play.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings