A La Recherche Du Plaisir (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Marked this down to 2 stars for serious frustration with the main couple never having the intelligent conversation that would have cleared up most of the plot. It hasn't stopped me glomming everything else I can find by the author; so far her other books do have this problem but far less seriously, and there are Reasons. No Reasons here. TALK TO EACH OTHER OMG. Still lots to enjoy, but I'd suggest starting elsewhere. 22yo heroine accepts the proposal of her childhood best friend 24yo Hero who she hasn't seen in 10 years since he joined the Navy & who just overheard her talk about wanting to be a widow to attain independence. Hero is to leave for another commission and they only spend 1 night together as husband and wife. Their goodbye is harder than heroine expected and she pines for him while carrying on with making their house more to her liking. She soon gets a letter informing her that Hero died during the mission and her grief turns to anguish when she later gets implicated and imprisoned for planning his death. Hero visits her in jail while pretending to be a priest & seeing him alive & realizing he lied & deceived her all this time makes her vengeful. How can she trust Hero again after all this?This was an inconsistent read for me. There were times especially at the start when Hero & heroine's chemistry was exciting & even sensual. But after their first major foreplay their sexual chemistry, conversation, & relationship dragged. Maybe the author prolonged their sex scene to build anticipation but it failed. It particularly grated on my nerves when heroine kept on repeating how she wanted her independence while worrying that Hero would be leaving her soon. She sounded more like a wishy-washy spoiled brat than a level-headed progressive young woman. Also the anticipated sex scene wasn't all that. The foreplay was much more exciting detail-wise and emotion-wise.I started liking the heroine when Hero's secrets & deceptions showed what a manipulative and selfish liar he was. He let her hang out to dry while he was doing his secret spy mission. He married her for sex and played with her emotions by letting her think he was dead. His actions led her into prison where she suffered through her claustrophobia. His apologies were not sufficient for his betrayal. I liked that she let him know that what he did was awful and that she was out for his blood. His betrayal made her grow up and out of her whiny "I want my independence" mode. She became more emotionally stable and wiser. And she was out to show everybody that she can take care of herself. She figured out the mission and the people involved in no time. I liked heroine towards the end but Hero not as much.Partially recommended.
What do You think about A La Recherche Du Plaisir (2014)?
It was a srughle to read this book. I found the heroine to be childish and annoying.
—becky
