Bertrice Small – Private Pleasures

The first book in the Channel series, published July 6, 2004
Genre: erotica
Cover: nice
Re-read for the .nth time.



Nora Buckley’s worst nightmare has just come true. After years of being a devoted, dutiful housewife, she’s found out that her husband is leaving her for a younger woman. Her only comfort comes from her friends – the woman of Ansley Court, who meet every Monday morning for coffee and gossip. Seeing Nora’s desperation, her friends decide it’s time to let her in on their delicious and dirty little secret. It’s called The Channel ... and it lets every woman unleash passions beyond her wildest dreams. Suddenly Nora is living out her most intimate and sensuous fantasies – and before long, she realizes she can have everything she ever wanted. But she’ll soon remember the old saying: be careful what you wish for ...


I know some of you are a bit shocked right now: Aurian, reading erotica? Nooo, that can’t be? But yes, you see, this is Bertrice Small, my most favourite author of all of my favourite authors. And face it, her historical romances are often steamier than erotica. And have you read her fantasy series, The World of Hetar? Wow. I love everything she writes, and this series is not an exception. Her books are like comfort food to me.
This series has all older women as heroines, so no virgin meets millionaire thing, and I enjoy that even more. Normal, every day women.


After 26 years of marriage, Nora Buckley’s husband Jeff is throwing her away for a younger woman. This would not really be so bad, as they have grown apart over the years and Nora is no longer in love with him. But he intends to leave her and their children penniless and homeless. Nora has nothing in her own name, the house is on his name, and she doesn’t even have her own checking account. Jeff gives her a weekly allowance to pay for the household, and that is it. Her friends and her mother are appalled of course, that kind of behaviour was normal in the fifties, but not now!
Jeff expects her to roll over and meekly sign the divorce papers, but for her children Nora can fight. He won’t support them through college any more, and even defrauded them of the college funds he started as soon as they were born. He will not get her house! Her best friend Carla’s husband is a lawyer, and he will help her fight for a fair share. Even though Jeff has hired one of the most famous divorce lawyers out there to make this go fast, he will not give up easily.

And to help Nora through the stress and problems of it all, her friends tell her about The Channel. It is an interactive tv channel, that will allow them to live their fantasies from 8 p.m. till 4 a.m. in the morning. At first Nora doesn’t believe in it, or understands how it works, but it is very real. Jeff was a lousy lover, never wanting her to do more than lay on her back and close her eyes, as that is how a wife should behave. And now she can have all the sex she has ever imagined ... all free of consequences. And Nora sure has wanted to be adventurous in the bedroom. A bit of spanking, a threesome, oral and anal sex, and more. What she does not intend to do is fall in love with her imaginary partner, Kyle. Or for him to fall in love with her, after all, he is not real, or is he?

And spending time in the Channel, gives Nora an idea of how to fight Jeff ... But of course, everything has its price, but for Nora, it is worth it.


I do love this story. How Nora finds herself, and from an insecure mousy housewife becomes a confident woman. She stands up for herself and her children, she starts taking classes so she can get a real job, something she has never done before as she married right out of college and Jeff did not want her to work. I love how she takes her revenge on Jeff, who is a really spoiled and narrow-minded man. Through it all she becomes prettier as well, but that was never the goal, just a side-effect.

I love Bertrice Small’s writing style, and her sense of humor, but above all, the strong heroines she creates. They are never doormats, they are survivors.

And I for sure would love for The Channel to be real and live some fantasies of my own ...

9 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian