cover image Perfect Pleasures

Perfect Pleasures

Deborah Fletcher Mello. Dafina, $7.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-4967-0432-0

Mello’s second Bad Boys of Boulder contemporary (after Playing for Keeps) successfully finds love for MMA superstar Zachary, one of the sexy, athletic Barrett twins, “poster children for everything right in the sports industry.” Freelance sports writer Kenzie Monroe doesn’t exactly hit it off with Zachary when they first meet at Revolution, his world-famous training camp in Phuket, Thailand. Soon enough, however, mutual attraction (she thinks he’s “orgasmic eye candy”; he lusts after her “voluptuous curves”) overcomes their qualms and the two become lovers. There’s only one thing between them: Kenzie’s quest to find the father she’s never met, Kai Tamura, a legendary Thai fighter and Zachary’s beloved trainer and mentor. Zachary promised to keep his whereabouts secret—but that could mean losing Kenzie forever. Mello heaps on the sensuality with lush descriptions of Thailand’s tropical attractions and local color as well as plenty of lusty sex. Readers who appreciate splashy locations and earthy lovers will find much to enjoy here. (Nov.)