cover image Passionate Pleasures

Passionate Pleasures

Bertrice Small, NAL, $15 paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-451-22700-3

In Small's so-so latest installment to the Pleasures series (after Dangerous Pleasures), small town librarian Kathryn St. John is approaching 50, happy to be single, and totally satisfied about her addiction to "the Channel," a secret interactive porn cable channel run by Lucifer Nichols—yes, that Lucifer, played as a devious media executive who would love to snare the sexy cougar's soul. But as hot as her Channel sessions are, they begin to pale in comparison to the real-life charms of New York transplant Timothy Blair. As they get to know one another, their sweet romance threatens Lucifer's plans for Kathryn. Small fulfills expectations to a point—there's a ton of sex, some hot, some a touch weird—but Lucifer is surprisingly muted, and Timothy's a bit too vanilla. (Aug.)