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The Pleasure of Pain #1

The Pleasure of Pain

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In this twisted tale you will be introduced to Tess, Iris, Vanessa, Ebony and Bless who find out that The Pleasure of Pain is a true testament that we always want what we shouldn’t have. Tess is a strong determined business woman by the day and queen of the streets by night. She will stop at nothing to get the life she wants for herself and her three best friends along with her man, even if it means breaking old bonds and creating lifetime enemies. What she doesn’t realize is in the game of cut- throat there are no rules. Bless emerges on the scene after being recently released from prison only to find that things are not the way they were before he got locked up. The worst part is the person he has to fight is the person he least expected would betray him. He is out for blood and hell bent on destroying anyone who gets in his way. Iris is secretly in love with Tess, but plays the friend card in order to get closer to her. She knows that Tess is in love with another man, however that doesn’t stop her from plotting to get Tess’ heart. Vanessa and Ebony are sisters who share the same father and they happen to be Tess’ top lieutenants. Their loyalty and love run deep for Tess and has never been questioned until now… With pleasure there is always a little pain as Tess and her girlfriends will soon find out. Will they break under pressure or will they show why women rule the world?

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2011

657 people are currently reading
1307 people want to read

About the author

Shameek Speight

91 books531 followers
Shameek A. Speight was born and raised in Brooklyn New York. His writing journey began as a way to escape the madness and mayhem that had become his life. He shares his true life experiences with his readers giving them a taste of his struggle. His stories are so profound that they will genuially touch your heart and soul. to learn more about Shameek Novels, visit his Face Book page Shameek A Speight.

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5 stars
1,531 (66%)
4 stars
428 (18%)
3 stars
203 (8%)
2 stars
75 (3%)
1 star
66 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
Profile Image for Charmer (+ Vibes Only).
598 reviews18 followers
March 9, 2016
Where to start? I liked the narrators voice. The sex scenes (which take place in every single chapter) read like a porno. I don't need that in every chapter. I started skipping them. The details of these scenes were not needed, and they had me rolling my eyes. Especially that one horrible scene. When I purchased this book, I thought a woman wrote it (I thought Shameek was a woman's name). As I listened to the sex scenes, I told my husband that it sounded like a man wrote it, and it turns out I was right. It shouldn’t be obvious that a man wrote a sex scene. The story leaves you with a cliffhanger, so I want to know what happens with the rest of the story. But because of those porn scenes, Ima have to pass.
Profile Image for Lord' Williams.
Author 2 books60 followers
July 22, 2014
The Pleasure of Pain


I really don't know where to start. I'm not sure if I ever stated that I really don't read books about the drug game, it's not that I don't like them, I'm just not interested in them, but I'm branching out some and I have a few in my lineup to be read.

I have this novel in a Kindle format, and as an audiobook, from Audible.com. First the Kindle version, which I purchased on Sept. 10, 2012. I mentioned my purchased date because I have seen that this title now shows an update published date of: May 14, 2014. The reason why I'm pointing out the publication date is because the version, which I purchased back in 2012 was poorly formatted. This was why it took me some time to complete it. Once I learned there were an audio version of the novel, I ventured in once more. Ebooks are supposed to read just the same as its printed version, so they should look similar, even if they are not by their nature. -There should be no space between paragraphs, margins should be set properly and so on, and so on. This was not the case with this novel (he is far from alone with this problem, even I screwed it up first uploaded version, and haven't corrected it yet, but this isn't about me). So I hope the revised version cleaned up the mishaps and produced a better reading product.

There were many editing errors found throughout the novel. The audio version from Audible.com, narrated by: Mr. Gates, length: 3 hrs and 46 min., format: Unabridged, offered some help, but even with the audio version you can hear the errors, and formatting mistakes through the narration.

I heard a lot about this book and about the author, Shameek Speight, so I decided to download the book and see what all the fuss was about. I hate to say, I didn't see it. I won't take nothing away from the author. This man is selling more books than I am, but I just could not find what the rave was all about, which makes not question the author, I'm questioning the readers. Yeah think about that for a second. I know pretty covers will draw you in, and this 'Pleasure Series' covers are top notch.

The story moved fast, damn near too fast, which I think if the author would have eased up off the gas, the characters would have been better developed. The back story on the characters didn't really tell me who they were and why I should care for them. The character Bless was defined well, and I understood him. I got the story on the four ladies but there wasn't enough information there for to me develop a relationship with them, or to even care for them, and they really undergo some shit in this novel, but without a well defined back story it can weaken the development of the character and that is what happen here.

Now if you like action, and drama, this novel has it. If you like erotica, there is a whole lot of f**king going on between these pages, almost too much, but its not erotica, its porn, so if you're young, put the book down and back away.

The novel was very predicable, if you're a mystery solver, you won't have any problems figuring out who betrayed the crew, and you won't have a problem figuring out who was going to die and who wasn't. Even thought I knew what was going to happen at the end of the novel, damn did I enjoy reading it! -I love action and drama and it played out like a movie in my head, and I liked that.

I have part two of the series, "The Pleasure of Pain 2" in my Kindle ebook collection already and I will read it, as well as part 3. I hope I will be able to deliver a better review. This novel I give 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars.

~LW~


Profile Image for ☺~Tina~☺.
380 reviews1 follower
May 29, 2024
This book was very predictable. Even when the author tried to throw me off on who was behind all the problems, it wasn't believable. It also needs more editing. I would have liked the story more if, instead of the author telling me what was going on, he pulled me in with more creativity so I could connect with the story. Sometimes new ideas are not needed if you can take old ideas and make them new.

There is quite a bit of sex in this book and that is okay, sometimes. Here it was too much and also, if you are going to have this much sex in a book you need to be more stimulating. There is more to sex and having your reader connect with the characters than just the act itself. Here it was just reading the words and after the first couple of times, I didn’t even bother. It was the same thing over and over again.

The book has a bit of everything. Typical of this type of story there is murder, robberies, fights, and cursing. Also, there is the scene of pedophilia that was a bit too detailed (even though it was just a few lines) for me. There are also men beating women and rape.

Group Read: African American Fiction Book Club
Profile Image for Brittney G.
555 reviews22 followers
January 29, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought that Shameek brought it on this one and I can not wait to start part 2! Tess & Iris have been down for one another since the beginning...then they met Ebony and Vanessa and the four of them formed a sisterhood!!! The day that Tess and Iris find themselves in trouble, Bless comes out of no where and saves them!!! From that day on Tess and Bless became official....

Bless puts the girls onto the game and they start puttin the game on lock...When Bless gets knocked for a three year bid, Tess and the girls step up and keep it on smash...wanting to make more money than what the drug game provided, Tess and the girls began to do contract killing on the side from their connect...

Now Tess has her hand in the drug game, killing,
and real estate...she now has enough money to
make sure that her & Bless' exit out the game is
clean...but everyone knows once the game has you,
it doesn't let you walk away easily.
Profile Image for Tina.
228 reviews7 followers
May 8, 2014
This book was horrible. The grammar was all over the place. There was an excessive amount of gratuitous sex. There was no flow to the story because it was broken up by more explicit sex scenes. This would have rated much better to me if the focus was on the drug game and not on Tess & Bless ( rhyming names? Really?)
Profile Image for Teaguem2005.
495 reviews12 followers
February 13, 2013
This book was a pretty quick read with lots of drama. It's the story of Tess and Bless (which I thought was pretty funny but I digress) who met at the age of 16 and formed a ride or die duo that extended to Tess' bffs from high school. Bless was a take charge kind of dude who goes to jail for 3 years leaving Tess to run the empire. She and her crew Iris, Vanessa & Ebony took on a "side" job while Bless did his bid. That "side" job is now the source of all the drama. I enjoyed the earlier flow of the story but felt the name of the weapons was overkill for telling the tale. For me, I'd rather the author tell the story than tell me the gun was an AK47. I felt that the gun descriptions (too many to name) overshadowed the scenes. On a side note, the sex scenes had me seeing dejavu; it was almost as if the author did a cut and paste, lol. Overall good read though. I will try other books by this author.
Profile Image for Stacey.
340 reviews16 followers
November 1, 2012
I was hooked on this book from page 1. The concept was great, the characters were “real” and the book was action packed. There were a few grammatical errors but not enough to really distract me from the story. Towards the middle I felt things were a little predictable but it was still a great read. I will definitely be picking up part 2. Can’t wait to find out what happens!!!
15 reviews
September 6, 2017
Good plot, poor writing

The book was littered with typos and broken sentences. The story line became unbelievable a third of the way through and I knew who the killer was almost immediately. With a few rewrites, it could be a good book. But just to much sex, rape and unbelievable violence.
Profile Image for Dee Cherry.
2,945 reviews66 followers
July 18, 2014
Page turner, good read. Lots of action. Bless & the 4 females were a powerful team. Even when he went away, they were able to get the job done. Although all didn't survive, the ones who did are going to be surprised when they meet again. Looking forward to part 2.
Profile Image for Carmen.
111 reviews3 followers
March 23, 2012
lots of twists and turns. i would give it a c
Profile Image for Keyamma whindleton.
7 reviews
April 3, 2014
OMG!!!!

All I'm going to say is this book was awesome. I couldn't put it down. I love everything about it can't wait to read the next one.
Profile Image for Danni.M.
372 reviews11 followers
June 12, 2021
Oh shit

I knew Bless wasn’t dead.
Iris got us good!!
I can’t believe she did all of that just to have one of them to love her which they both did just not the way she wanted them too.
This is why you don’t become intimate or share your bedroom with anyone outside of your spouse/partner.
Now both women are pregnant smh.
One is a loyal and the other is a snake
Damuo is Bless brother and I hope he finds out what’s going on with his brother.
Idk what they going to do about Iris but she has to be punished. She set this whole thing in motion and has to be handled.
Now that Richardo and everyone associated with him are erased what will happen now.
The girls are all moved to Atlanta so what’s the love now?
So glad I don’t have to wait and see because his first installment was everything!!!
I saw a few bad reviews but I can’t see why because this book was definitely lit!! So much drama, sex, scandalous acts, betrayal and more.
Profile Image for Antionette Smith.
1 review
September 12, 2019
Such great reading! It kept me intrigued to the point I couldn't put it down until I finished the entire book. The artist did a wonderful job of creating the characters and their roles in this awesome read...talk about a page turner. Yasss!


Great artist....awesome read. Kept me intrigued the entire time. Talk about a page turner...Thissss is definitely that...a must read! Yasss!
358 reviews3 followers
October 5, 2024
Heavy Hitters.....

This is only the first book out of six, and so much has happened that quick. Tess, Iris, Vanessa, & Ebony was the truth, Iris lost her last piece of mind for what she did, now her Tess both pregnant by a dead man (as they think), Since Ebony's death the crew really started falling apart, 2 down and 3 to go.....Let's see how this play out cuz we still got plenty of books to go💯🎯💯GREAT READ💯🎯💯
Profile Image for Rasheeda.
6 reviews
August 13, 2025
This book is definitely 2011 coded 😂. Very reminiscent of the $5 books sold by the train station on the streets of NY (grammatical errors included), and I loved the nostalgia of it. The story itself was pretty good. You could tell it was written by a male author, but with all the female written romance I've been consuming lately, I actually enjoyed the fast paced, thrilling, "hood" perspective of the story.
The ending was a cliffhanger, and I love a good series, so I guess I'll be on this ride for a couple more books to see this story through.
Profile Image for Lanekias Burley.
1 review
November 27, 2017
Very good book

I've just finished reading this book. I found it to be very interesting. I've enjoyed the characters. I'm about to purchase the next book. I can't wait to start reading it😀
Profile Image for BiblioMaja.
196 reviews29 followers
March 12, 2018
More around 2.75*
It was just what I needed, but I felt the story could've been edited a lot more. A lot of my problems could've been fixed with simple editing. I have already read all the books in this series, so I'm really loving it.
Profile Image for Peggy Barnett.
739 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2018
My word!l!! Talk about keeping me riveted to the chair!!

What an awesome read!! Kept me glued to the chair. The characters are fantastic and I followed his and her story. I simply cannot wait to read more!!!
Profile Image for Juanita.
114 reviews
November 1, 2018
All for one

I would say this is a good read I'm looking forward to the second book where test and Iris find out that they're both pregnant. It'll also be interesting to find out that Bliss is still alive.
3 reviews
January 21, 2024
Couldn't put it down!

It began a bit slow for me but, baybeeeee when I tell you I read this book in a few hours please BELIEVE ME! Mr.Speight knows how to grab and keep your undivided attention! BRAVO!
4 reviews
May 8, 2017
Good read

I read the whole thing in one sitting but I would have liked to see the characters developed a little more great story though definite page turner
Profile Image for denise santiago.
1 review
May 21, 2017
Love it

The best book I ever read point blank period a must read book for real.you won't be disappointed I tell u that
Profile Image for Florence Michauex.
1 review
July 31, 2017
Re reading all the books until

I loved all the pkeasure of pain books cant wait til part 4 .Is there a date for The Pleasure of Pain 4 release ????
Profile Image for Meka.
83 reviews22 followers
August 10, 2017
This book is entertaining but it is a little too gory for me. I read the entire book but decided not to read the subsequent books in the series.
11 reviews
September 26, 2017
It was a good read, I enjoyed reading the books so far but I'm not going to be paying $9.99 for the last book sorry.
Profile Image for Carrie Rembert.
276 reviews4 followers
October 4, 2017
Tlk bout females with power

I love to read bout females making thug moves. These four females wasn't no joke but everybody ain't always loyal. Book 2 here I come.
Profile Image for Danyale.
1 review
January 31, 2018
Must read

I kinda figured it out only because i love reading booking it was somewhat predictable after reading so much but it’s worth reading.
3 reviews
August 2, 2018
Gooooddddd

Fast and straight to the point. The author left no table unturned. Bless was really blessed. Glad the main characters were not killed. I hope there's a part 2.
4 reviews
August 29, 2018
Good and dirty

Even though it was very hood, I liked the way the story played out, very interesting ready that really kept my attention.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews

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