Pleasure by Eric Jerome Dickey

From the Publisher

The bold new blockbuster from the New York Times bestselling author.

Born in Trinidad and living in Atlanta after a relationship gone bad, Nia Simone Bijou is an ambitious writer who has it all. Except for the one thing that'll give her the control she craves-and the power she deserves: absolute, uninhibited sexual satisfaction. Now, in the sweltering days and nights of summer, the heat is on. Nia's fantasies will become a reality-with man after man after man. She will shatter the limits of erotic love. She will open herself up to experiences she never dared before. And as her fantasies begin to spin out of control, she'll discover the unexpected price of the extreme.

Publishers Weekly

Is obsession required to experience the ultimate in sexual fulfillment? Dickey searches for the answer to that question in his latest steamy romance (after Waking with Enemies) via Nia Simone Bijoux, a ghostwriter recently moved to Atlanta. A devout Anaïs Nin fan, Nia's in hot pursuit of the perfect lay. Enlivened by sometimes catchy narration ("Self-pleasuring was popcorn.... My body was telling me it needed steak"), Nia's adventures with "identical sins," twins Mark and Karl, introduce her to the dubious delights of threesomes and more, leading eventually to a showdown with Mark's wife, Jewell Stewark, a TV anchorwoman. Marred somewhat by Nia's pretentious airs (her self-involvement can be crippling to the narrative), this erotic potboiler still delivers its message that saying "yes" to pleasure can also lead to self-enlightenment. (Apr.)

Sandy Glover - Library Journal

Asked in an April National Public Radio interview whether his latest novel, about a ghostwriter pursuing pleasure and exploring sex while avoiding overwhelming relationships, fit into the literary, romance, erotica, or pornography genres, New York Times best-selling author Dickey (Waking with Enemies) replied, "Probably all." Though some listeners may be put off by the graphic descriptions of Nia's sexual encounters, Susan Spain's (Satin Nights) emotionally nuanced reading successfully translates the book to audio format. Recommended primarily for urban libraries with Dickey fans. [Audio clip available through library.brillianceaudio.com; the Dutton hc, released in April, is currently an Essence best seller.-Ed.]

Kirkus Reviews

Dickey (Waking with Enemies, 2007, etc.) shifts focus to pure erotica, peeping in at a beautiful, frustrated woman anxious to explore her deepest desires. Fresh from breaking up with a lover who refuses to believe it's over, writer Nia Simone Bijou is ready for some no-holds-barred, commitment-free sex. She thinks she's found it with a pair of identical, constantly competing twins, a married real-estate developer and a single erotic photographer. Nia tries to keep it simple-well, as simple as it can be with two men in the same bed-but complications (particularly the photographer's bisexual female client, who's crushing on Nia, and the developer's unsettlingly angry wife, a locally famous newscaster) insist on intruding. Readers in search of steamy, kinky sex scenes in various locations and combinations will probably be happy with what they find here. The problem is that Dickey is clearly aiming for something more profound, an emotional and spiritual release as rich as the many physical releases Nia experiences. That doesn't happen. Nia is a bundle of incompletely realized attitudes, not a person. Supposedly she's an intellectual with a fierce regard for grammar, but her first-person narration (overstuffed with references intended to indicate how well-read she is) is riddled with sentence fragments and grammatical errors. The reader is meant to admire her for assuming a role that she believes only men claim: someone who seeks pleasure without guilt and without implying commitment, but instead, she comes across as petty and selfish-a narcissistic little girl who has had the good fortune to get lost in a candy store. And unfortunately, her faults aren't interesting, or real, enough to makeher a true villain. Will leave you hot and bothered, but mentally unsatisfied.

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