The Soft Sounds of Pleasure by Eden Connor

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BUY-US

One of the nice things about being a reviewer of a wide number of genres is that you can put your hand in the lucky-dip tub of your TBRs to vary your reading and pull out a nice surprise such as an erotic romance—like this one—which seems to be in the minority group of my extensive ‘to do’ list. 

I really enjoyed this novel by Eden. It had depth and substance. Colton De Marco, the youngest of three brothers who own a garage, has harboured a ten-year unrequited desire for the older very attractive Lila whose wheelchair-bound husband, he recently discovers, has died. Her only son has enlisted with the Marines, so she is now alone with just memories, a furniture-restoring business, and a meddling, bitter old mother-in-law who has very little time for Lila’s new life. As luck would have it, Colton finds himself presented with an opportunity to get into Lila’s life…and her bed, as it happens. A 41-year-old widow attracted to and idolised by a 29-year-old hunk: a recipe for happiness? Lila has to consider old-fashioned prejudices (how long is long enough to be a lonely widow?), a not inconsiderable age gap (her child-bearing days are over), and the inability to depend on a man whom she is sure will lose interest when a younger model comes along. 

Oh yes, there's plenty of page-sizzling, hot, erotic sex—all scenes were perfectly executed. They were varied (I never thought, oh no, here we go again), charged, sensual, tastefully graphic and passionate. The irresistibility of both characters was well conceived. It was evident that Eden had an in-depth knowledge of furniture restoring and baseball and these elements helped to make a well-rounded novel, perfectly balanced between a solid story and erotic sex. 

It’s well written—with heart and feeling—and with strong characters—Eden gives them enough of a past to make them interesting without being stereotyped or shallow. I gather there is more to come from the De Marco brothers, and since the car mechanics near me are nowhere near as gorgeous as Colton, I shall just have to sit back and wait for the next book.