The Pleasures of Winter is the first Erotic Romance Novel by Evie Hunter, a pen name for the combined work of two authors. Abbie Marshall is an independent, hard-working, serious journalist. In dire need of getting out of Honduras, she launches herself on the private jet of Jack Winter, a well-known womanising A-list Hollywood actor. The plane drops as their interests are piqued, and a fight to get back to civilization is not enough to prevent how drawn they are to one another. After a near disaster, they both catch a glimpse of each other that cannot be easily forgotten. When reality returns, the jungle is all that can be thought of, leaving Abbie little choice but to explore this side of herself she was not aware she had, and Jack is far too eager to be the only one to mentor her. But only a rocky road can be travelled when obsession and the watchful eyes of the outside world make hiding secrets impossible.
Abbie Marshall had me smiling quite a bit throughout The Pleasures of Winter, especially when ‘Good girl,’ turned from chauvinism to welcome praise. I was with her and absolutely backed her up when she fierily gave Jack a piece of her mind, and it was such a shame to find she was not as sharp-tongued with everyone in her life. Abbie was full fire when it came to her job, and she was not always so quiet when conversing with her friend Kit, but it was sad to see just how much more subdued she became when it came to her family and her fiancé. It was almost as if it were easier just to let them walk all over her life; maybe that was one of her unrecognised submissive qualities, but her conversations with Jack were different. She allowed herself to be more outspoken; she liked pushing him just as much as he enjoyed pushing her. It was fun watching her blossom into the woman that she had been hiding from herself. Abbie at the end of the book was so much more than Abbie at the beginning, and I loved watching her grow, even if at times I felt sad for how she was made to feel less than others.
I have a love-hate relationship with Jack Winter; his chauvinism at the beginning of the book made me want to punch him in the face. Then, the more time he spent with Abbie, the more you got to see different sides of him; maybe that was the problem. Jack had too many sides to his character to know who he truly was. Actor and Dom most definitely, but other than that, he seemed to be lost in the webs he had wrapped around himself. I adored his gentler, humorous, playful side and his protective, more dominant side, but the uglier parts of lashing out and taking easy shots left much to be desired. I understand he was running away from a mistake that was not his fault but that of those around him at the time, but to assume Abbie was just the same because of her profession and how she started to make him feel more than like he was playing a role was annoying to me. Most of us have baggage, but to act out of fear because you are losing precious control makes for miserable reading. I’m glad those chapters did not last very long.
I know miscommunication can make for an interesting read and hopefully draw out the inevitable HEA, but it makes me want to scream internally. Jack Winter had me screaming internally because he turned into a spiralling pig at one point when all he had to do was ask Abbie—no, scrap that—all he had to do was put down the bottle and bloody listen to her for a second. Instead, he screamed and raged for far too long, making them both miserable and me scream.
Of course, I am happy that the miscommunication ended how I had hoped, but it dragged out the end of the book for me. I was really enjoying Abbie and Jack’s ever-growing relationship, and it was like freezing cold water being dumped on an ever-heating journey. Seeing the more vulnerable side of Jack Winter and the stronger side of Abbie Marshall at the end of the book allowed the book to keep its Four out of Five Stars rating.
I would recommend The Pleasures of Winter to an adult audience, but in particular to those who are interested in seeing a female main character strengthen in her sexual awakening, watching vulnerable cracks thread through a dominant male main character, an equally obsessive love story that eclipses everything, and learning parts of the BDSM world along with the female main character. This is my first Evie Hunter book, and I look forward to reading Summer’s BDSM adventure in the next installment.
Favourite Quotes
“Being held by Jack was like being in the eye of a storm. She had never felt so safe.”
page 24
“Her back stiffened and her eyes flared. “I don’t know what century it is in Ireland but here you do not call a grown woman “girl”, not if you value your body parts.””
page 32
“This wasn’t a gentle getting-to-know-you first kiss, it was possessive and raw. She had offered and, by god, he was going to take.”
page 65
“But in the end, there was always one man that through the defences of the feisty heroine.”
page 67
“You can’t live a lie and be happy. You have to face who you are.”
page 145
“She had never felt so restrained, or so free.”
page 293
Finer Details
Title: The Pleasures of Winter
Author: Evie Hunter
Pages: 388
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication: 2012
Language: English
Rating: 4/5