Strictly Pleasure by Sheryl Nantus

She knows how to stand on her own two feet. Can she find power on her knees?

Veronica Locksley is a Domme without a club to play in. Suspended from Boots ’n’ Chains for not being gentle with her submissives, she’s offered one chance to regain her status. Spend some time as one of them.

Everything in her rebels at the idea, but she has no choice but to agree.

Oliver Greenwood is a sexy, powerful but widowed Dom who’s ready to emerge from his grieving period. All that stands between him and his return to the dating scene is one last assignment for Hooded Pleasures—to put a Domme under his thumb for six sessions to teach her greater respect for her subs.

Veronica turns out to be more than a handful. Yet even as she butts heads with him every step of the way, he discovers that beneath her tiger-in-the-boardroom personality hides the heart of a true submissive. One that’s extraordinarily easy to fall in love with.

But before she can become anyone’s dream—including her own—he has to let her go. And hope she finds the path that will lead back to his arms.

Warning: Brooding Dom bookstore owner who’s looking to begin living again and a tough businesswoman who doesn’t realize that being on her knees makes her stronger, not weaker.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Samhain  Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
A delicious story about a woman who self-identified as a Domme in college and now is faced with learning the art of submission to retain her membership in her BDSM club. Not sure what she's doing wrong, Veronica is opposed to taking the classes until she realizes it’s her only way of keeping her membership in the club. Not wanting to make her suspension permanent, she agrees to meet with a Dom to learn how to treat submissives under her care.

Oliver is a man who is part of Hooded Pleasures – a private business that caters to helping people determine if submission is truly a part of who they are. As a Dom, Oliver craves the submission a woman can give him, but as a man, he's holding on to the memories of his dead wife, Mel. As a way to keep his inner Dom from raging out of control, he mentors would be submissives in the ways of BDSM.

When Oliver and Veronica meet, you can tell that more is going on for both of them than just meets the eye. Oliver is intrigued and can see through the defensive wall that Veronica has built around herself. Veronica believes that Oliver is just doing this make a fellow dominant crack, until she feels the power of true submission.

This story takes the reader on a winding path of what it’s like to embrace your inner submissive side, letting the pieces fall into place, and then revealing the bliss of finding one’s true self. I loved the pace of the book, the way the characters took the time to sort through the emotional angst, and the way that they cared enough to step back when it all seemed too overwhelming.

I look forward to more stories in this series.


Veronica – ☆☆☆
Oliver has six weekly sessions to teach Veronica how to be a better Domme. Complaints from subs have her banned from the city's BDSM clubs.

It doesn't take long for Oliver to realise that Veronica's a natural submissive. Along her journey we realise as a Domme she doesn't really know what she is doing or what the whole purpose of the D/s relationship is.

I fought with this book. The way Oliver goes about teaching Veronica annoyed me. The relationship felt too much like one of parent child for the first half and I hated it. The scene with the mittens I found particularly difficult and while it was good to see Veronica's learning, surely there were less degrading ways to go about it.

As the story goes on, it was Oliver and Veronica's contact outside of the sessions that actually pulled me in and got me on board with their love story. While the events in the latter part of the book were predictable they were still enjoyable.

I liked the love story in the book and I enjoyed seeing a strong, independent business woman as our lead. Oliver is a good man, even though I wanted to hit him over the head with something heavy on more than one occasion. Some BDSM books really make the lifestyle appealing, but for me this book did the opposite. Strictly Pleasure is a good story but I found it to be a very challenging read.


Stephanie – ☆☆☆☆
I am really enjoying the Hooded Pleasure Series and Sheryl Nantus' style of writing. The main character, Veronica made an appearance in Strictly Business and I didn't care much for her then. But with Strictly Pleasure, I couldn't help but get invested in her character. I found myself rooting for her and Oliver to find their happy ending.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed this book – even though I was a little nervous as Veronica was NOT a nice person at all in the previous book in the series. If you have not yet read it yet, I would recommend that you do – as it puts things in an even better context. That said, it is a good read in its own right too.

I think the most shocking thing in this book is that she has been allowed to behave the way that she has in a number of different clubs and has clearly never been taught anything. Most BDSM club books that I have read, have mentors, classes, or similar ways of ensuring that both Doms and subs understand their role. Clearly, Veronica has had everyone convinced...or has she?

The storyline about her business and the bookstores is sweet, and I have to say that it is well signposted, but plays out effectively, as it exposes more of her life and challenges. Oliver is an interesting man, with an amazing level of self-control! Getting both sides of the story is just what every reader wants, so Ms. Nantus does a great job of keeping us one step ahead of them, and on a track that every romance reader wants – even those who love a D/s ending. It is humorous, sweet, hot, sexy and satisfying – perfect weekend reading.

Also Available in the Hooded Pleasures Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Samhain Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Strictly Business post.

Sheryl Nantus was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in Toronto, Canada. A rabid reader almost from birth, she attended Sheridan College in Oakville, graduating in 1984 with a diploma in media arts writing. She met Martin Nantus through the online fanfiction community in 1993 and moved to the United States in 2000 in order to marry.

She loves to play board games and write haiku, although not usually at the same time.

A firm believer in the healing properties of peppermint and chai, she continues to search for the perfect cuppa.

She has published multiple books with Samhain Publishing. In 2011 she won two second-place Prism Awards from the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter of RWA for her steampunk romance, Wild Cards and Iron Horses and the first volume of her superhero romance trilogy, Blaze of Glory.

Connect with Sheryl

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Strictly Pleasure (Hooded Pleasures #2) by Sheryl Nantus to read and review.