Unwrapping a Review of BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION, a Pleasure Wars novel by Jess Michaels

Already a huge fan of Jess Michaels, it wasn’t difficult to fall in love with the characters she conjured for the Pleasure Wars series. After we got Liam and Violet’s story in BEAUTY AND THE EARL, I thought the series was at an end but no, we’re gifted with the story from Olivia and Malcom’s side in BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION. So very worthwhile and besides, it keeps this amazing series going just a little longer.

***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review

Blurb for BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION:

Can true love begin with a lie?

It has been a particularly trying day for Olivia Cranfield. Despite her impeccable manners, stylish clothing and posh accent, another protector has detected her lowborn status and rejected her out of hand.

When fellow courtesan Violet invites her to come to Bath to help with the wicked seduction of the scarred, reclusive Earl of Windbury, Olivia jumps at the offer, eager for some excitement and a change of scenery.

The moment Malcolm Graham lays eyes on the delectable woman lurking in the bathhouse alley, he knows she’s a decoy to keep him busy while her friend seduces the earl inside. For a moment, he allows her to play her game…but one touch, and all he can think about is ending the two years of self-denial he’s endured in the name of friendship.

Instant attraction quickly turns into a decidedly erotic affair that makes Olivia question all she’s ever known about passion. But when the truth behind Violet’s assignment comes to light, betrayal threatens to bring everything they’ve built crashing down around Olivia’s broken heart.

Warning: This book contains a lady lying for a good cause, a gentleman as loyal to his friends as he is passionate in the bedchamber, and a steamy affair that will change them both forever.

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Olivia Cranfield accompanies her best friend to Bath when Violet accepts the assignment of getting close to and seducing the Earl of Windbury. Wanting to help in any way possible, Olivia agrees to act as a distraction when Violet needs to get past the large man watching the entrance to the private bath where the Earl is trying to relax undisturbed. Disturbing the Earl is the last thing in Violet’s mind but without Olivia’s assistance, she’ll surely not gain entrance.

Malcolm Graham isn’t a fool and he’s fully aware that while the lovely and desirable Olivia is distracting him, her eager friend is inside the baths entertaining his old friend who had become entirely too curmudgeonly lately and would surely benefit from the delights the beauty might bestow on him. Meanwhile, his own attentions are fully held by the lovely woman he’d like very much to get to know better.

When Olivia accompanies Violet to stay at the Earl’s estate, Malcolm and Olivia get to know each other much better. There attraction to each other is fast, thrilling, and very passionate. Both begin to wonder if there is something more to life than the path each has accepted as their place in life. Each begins to question whether two people from such different worlds can come together and build a life together. But when the truth comes out as to the reason for Violet being with the Earl and the part Olivia played in the deception, everything falls apart leaving broken hearts in the wake.

Jess Michaels writes such amazing characters they easily become like old friends to us by the end of her series making it that much harder to say good-bye but in giving us Olivia and Malcolm’s story, even though it’s simply the same story from another side, we get the full story of the amazing cast of the Pleasure Wars series.

BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION, book four in the Pleasure Wars series by Jess Michaels is as endearing, enlightening, and passionate as its predecessor, BEAUTY AND THE EARL, but this one has our hero and heroine battling their individual loyalties to dear friends when telling the truth threatens to destroy a blossoming love. Jess always manages to pull at our heartstrings with such finesse that we forgive her in the end when everyone gets their happily-ever-after.

I highly recommend BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION by Jess Michaels to anyone who loves a well-written, heartwarming, romance filled with mischief, passion, and containing enough angst to keep us on the edge worrying if there will truly be an HEA for Olivia and Malcolm. If you haven’t read this amazing Pleasure Wars series, I truly recommend that you do and start at the beginning with TAKEN BY THE DUKE, you’ll be hooked and reading straight through until you gain your closure as I did with BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION.

Happy Reading Everyone!

BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION, a Pleasure Wars novel by Jess Michaels, Samhain Publishing, available now in ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on the links above or cover below for purchasing information

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