Review: The Pleasures of Winter – Evie Hunter

The Pleasures of Winter is a steamy erotic story of romantic obsession and explosive sexual chemistry for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You.
When reporter Abbie Marshall needs to escape Honduras, a private jet carrying a Hollywood A-lister is her only way out. She has a ride home with Irish actor Jack Winter – notorious womanizer and all round bad boy. Abbie is shaken to the core by Winter’s blazing beauty and provocative mind.
After the plane’s nose-dive into the remote rainforest forces them to fight for survival, Abbie catches tantalizing glimpses of the complicated man behind the image. And the more she sees of him, the more he touches some primal part of her that she is determined to suppress. But after a devastating encounter with Winter’s shadow side, Abbie’s detachment is shattered.
On returning to normal life, Abbie cannot forget what happened, nor ignore the shocking rumours about the star’s private life. Her struggle to make sense of her torment leads straight back to Winter, who is just as obsessed by her. But if they are to have a relationship, Abbie knows she must embrace his hidden desires … and accept her own.
No longer caring about anything but their intoxicating love affair, Abbie is drawn deeper into the dark heart of Winter – and the secret that threatens to destroy everything …

Series:
Release Date:  November 1, 2012
Publisher:  Penguin Ireland
Source:  Provided by Publisher, NetGalley
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

I wanted to love Jack and Abbie.  And to be truthful, I did love the way their characters came together at the beginning of the story.  But as Jack and Abbie’s relationship started to build, I got tired of Abbie always running away. 

Abbie was new to the D/s lifestyle, but she willingly went into the relationship/contract with Jack.  The minute things would get tough, Abbie would run.  I can understand why she might have a hard time embracing her submissive sexual side, seeing as she was a woman who was used to being in control as she investigated world leaders and drug lords, but for as much as she claimed to trust Jack she constantly second guessed him and ran when she was uncomfortable with where things were going.

Not that Jack is without fault.  He had he secret about why he left Ireland, but he never really let Abbie in on who the real Jack Winter was.  There was so much more to Jack than the dominate Hollywood A-list actor, but he didn’t really share that with Abbie.  I think if he was willing to open up more about his past, she might not have felt the need to question their relationship as frequently as she did. 

This was a solid read and one that I enjoyed (especially since it was different from 50 Shades like books), but I really wanted a little bit more from Jack and Abbie to give it a solid 4 Cocktails.