Sample Reading #1: An Introduction to Pleasure by Jess Michaels

In this e-book age, most of us do our book browsing and shopping online -- with thousands of books available, how do we choose which one to buy?

I'm glad that most e-book retailers offer a free sample of the books, which is similar (but not the same) to flipping through the first few pages of a book at the bookstore. It's a great way to check out new authors and new titles.

I'm starting a new feature on my blog called Sample Reading. This is where I will talk about book samples that I've gotten online. I'll read the sample and will answer the very important question:

Will I buy it?

The first sample I'm featuring is An Introduction to Pleasure by Jess Michaels which was released last June 2012. It's the first book of her Mistress Matchmaker series.

The blurb:

An innocent lady’s education could be a gentleman’s wicked seduction.

Lysandra Keates is running out of options. Her father is dead, her mother is ill, and her efforts to find respectable employment have ended in failure. With her small savings bleeding away, she swallows her pride -- and her terror -- and turns to Vivien Manning, an infamous courtesan, to match her with a wealthy protector.

For years, Viscount Andrew Callis has lived a monastic existence at his country estate, hardening his body against the snobbish, lazy young man he once was, hardening his heart against grief over the deaths of his wife and infant son. When Vivien asks him to spend one month training a young woman in the ways of a mistress, his mind resists ... but his body responds with an ache he thought long dead.

As Andrew begins his gentle tutelage, he finds himself falling under the spell of Lysandra’s innocent charms. And as they give in to the powerful hunger, the last thing Andrew ever expected, or wanted, forms between them. An emotional connection that could carry them well past the training period -- if only Andrew can open his heart to the possibility of love.
- from Jess Michaels' website

I got the sample from: Amazon, Kindle format
# of Pages: First 2 chapters

My impressions: The first two chapters do a great job of introducing the premise of the series: a courtesan known to match mistresses with their protectors. And also introduces the characters, Lysandra and Andrew. The author shares enough of Lysandra's situation to show how truly desperate she is -- she has very little money and has a sick mother and no other viable, respectable prospect.

I especially loved this scene between Miss Manning's butler and Lysandra:

"Do you have a card?" he asked.

Lysandra sucked in a breath. A card. Of course that was what someone who mattered would present.

"No," she whispered and couldn't help it when her gaze slipped down to her feet.
- loc 44

The writing is beautiful and the little details that Michaels includes all add up to paint a very compelling (and very heartbreaking) picture of Lysandra.

Price: $4.59 on Amazon
Will I buy it? Definitely, yes! I'm excited to read Lysandra and Andrew's story. ^_^ (Watch out for my full review this July.)


Fellow readers, have you discovered gems by reading the samples first? What do you think of this feature? Would you like to participate? ^_^

Lastly, I did a Google search to check if there are other blogs doing the same/similar feature so I could give them proper credit. I could not find any. If anyone knows, please let me know? Thanks!