Pleasure Carousel

The Carousel #1

by Josh Steele

Page-one spice. No fade-to-black. Feelings included.

Pleasure Carousel is a spicy contemporary erotic romance novella with open-door, vividly described scenes throughout. Two people collide, push each other’s boundaries, and fall hard on a ticking clock—heat first, heart right behind it.

What you’ll get

• High-heat, open-door scenes (frequent and explicit)
• Dirty talk, sensory detail, and aftercare
• An emotionally charged, time-limited fling with a bittersweet ache

Tropes (9):

• Slow burn + high heat
• Time-limit / “goodbye countdown”
• Risky public rendezvous (semi-public)
• Mirror play
• Handcuffs / light bondage (consensual)
• Tantric night
• Costume / roleplay
• “Naked dinner” (tasteful exhibition vibe)
• Texts / journal

Perfect for readers searching contemporary erotic romance, high-heat romance, open-door romance, roleplay romance, and deadline love—with vivid scenes and real emotion.

Content Adults only (18+). Consensual, aftercare present, light bondage, semi-public intimacy, emotionally bittersweet ending.

Genres: Romance, Spicy, Novella

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 9, 2025

About the author

Josh never planned to become an erotic writer—until a muse named Emma whispered her story into his ear. Now he writes to remember, to relive, and to feel. His stories are confessions, fantasies, and sometimes, a little too real.

When he’s not writing, you’ll likely find him in the corner of a café pretending to work while eavesdropping on strangers’ conversations and over analyzing their body language like it’s a thesis on human desire. He tells himself it’s research.

The baristas are skeptical.

See some of the lines I like most from the book -

IG - https://www.instagram.com/joshsteelea...

Reviews

[Amy Bullocke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved how fast paced this book was, a great quick read, fell in love with the characters almost instantly. Left me wanting more of their story! Really enjoyed this!

[Courtney Pityer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this in a giveaway. I will say that is is a short book but really it's more of a pwp book. if your someone who is looking for just smut thia is the book for you.

[Rene Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this novella is heavy on the spice, it still had enough emotional depth to leave me tearing up at the end.

Josh and Emma become so close, so quickly. Both body and soul. Their level of intimacy was beautiful.

Something I really loved was that the story was primary told from Josh’s POV, but in between, we got snippets of Emma’s diary to see her POV as well.

[Leanne Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short story, I can’t wait for book 2! But the chemistry between the Josh and Emma is so hot!

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likable characters, short story with good balance of plot and smut scenes

[Shannon Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this as a quick fast paced read, still had so much depth for such a short book. The spice is heavy throughout and is 10/10 but still such a touching emotional romance.
Beautifully written

[Sneha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, Pleasure Carousel is not just spicy, it’s a whole ride. Josh and Emma start with playful flirting, but things get steamy real quick. What begins as lust slowly turns into something messier, deeper, and kinda beautiful.

The dual POV? Loved it. You get to live inside both their heads, and trust me, it’s chaotic in the best way. The confessional emails, hotel meetups, and those wild naked dinners? Chef’s kiss.

Sure, this book serves all the heat, but it’s not just about that. It’s about control, connection, and learning when to hold on and when to let go. Sometimes love is just meant to change you, not stay forever.

And that ending? Oof. It hits. It’s bittersweet but feels so right. Definitely gives The Idea of You and It Ends With Usvibes, but with more edge and a whole lot more spice.

If you love messy, addictive love stories that keep you hooked, Pleasure Carousel is your next read. Just be ready, it’s gonna get hot in here.

[Wing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read more romance and erotica novels than I can count over the years, and Pleasure Carousel still managed to surprise me. What I thought would just be another hot hookup story turned out to have so much more depth and emotional honesty than I expected. The dynamic between Josh and Emma is messy, tender, and very real. Their chemistry jumps off the page — both in the bedroom and outside of it — but what really got me was the little moments, the quiet vulnerability beneath all the heat.

This is definitely an erotic book (and the scenes are explicit and creative, so be ready), but it’s not just smut for the sake of it. The author weaves in feelings of longing, timing, and heartbreak alongside all the desire, which made it feel more authentic to me than many books in this genre. It’s bittersweet in the best way, and I’m still thinking about them days later. Highly recommend if you want a story that’s as emotional as it is steamy.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a good short smut book with diff kinks, this is it for you.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good short smutty read

[Ramona Mead · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a hot mess. First of all it's called Pleasure Carousel and there's a carousel on the cover but this is figurative and a real one doesn't appear in the book. I was disappointed.

I'm not a fan of sex in the first scene because I hven't emotionally connected to the characters yet so I didn't love that. I did like how their relationship progressed and getting to see her journal entries. But then something comes up that makes NO SENSE and is never explained well.

The steamy scenes were good but overall I'm glad it was short because I didn't like it as a whole.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ because what do you mean that’s how they ended!

Book 1 was recommended to read before book 2 arc. I was SO invested in Josh and Emma! Their relationship for the time they are together is so passionate and loving! It reminds me of when relationships first start and you get to know the person and all the fun stuff in between! This story sat with me in the best way! Also only took me 1 day to read it 😅

I would recommend 100%!

[Nicole Sapriken · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is a quick, hot, and entertaining one. The hard part for me is that Josh continued to go from speaking to the reader, to speaking to the FMC. Some times it is “she did …” and others it is “you did …” sometimes even in the same paragraph. It was extremely distracting and annoying. Some of the first few chapters in the pov of Josh were almost too clinical in feeling.

[Tauna Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect this spicy novella to be so sweet. Full of green flags throughout and felt bittersweet when it ended. Will be diving directly into After The Carousel because I need more of this ASAP!

[Kayla]

It was so bad that I can't even justify giving it 1 star. The writing was terrible.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was short and sweet, lots of spice. But kind of corny. And lots of typos.

[Alex S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book! Very quick read in modern day romance! I received an arc of this novella. So fun!

[Athena Peterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s not to love, it’s short and steamy and ultra spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️. With good plot and decent character development, despite the book is only 100 pages. Wish the ending is happier though…..
⚠️⚠️⚠️For those who seek for HEA, be warned. ⚠️⚠️⚠️

[Kyria Eastman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense & super spicy novella. Cant wait for part 2 that comes out in a few days! 🥳

(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because of the ending)

[Carolyn Richmond · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

One of the reasons: her orgasm was described as “she shook all over” and then told him “I came”. He said: “I know.” Then his orgasm was full description……. Yeah. Nah.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this only becoz I got picked to be an ARC reader for second book. Lots of steamy scenes throughout and it was a super quick read. But I love second book a lot more.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleasure Carousel is one of the smuttiest, most action packed books I’ve ever read. It’s a 100 pages novella, smut from literally the first sentence.

The smut is explicit and vivid in details, perhaps it’s written from the MMC POV, so it makes it special and a standout from this kind of genre.

Would recommend anyone who’s looking for a good short smutty read that explores diff kinks and actions.

[Allison Morein · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a short, ~100 page erotic novella this had some good emotion and characters. Definitely going to read the next.
Four stars only because the writing confused me when it would go from the MMC speaking as if to Emma (example: “you did…”) to him speaking to the audience (example: “she did…”).

[The Lady Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, I'll give it 1.25 stars. It was hot, after all. If you're looking for smut, this is it. Just be prepared for the writing to be so bad that it will make you laugh too.

[Morgan Rae · Rating 1 out of 5]

more pwp but alright if that's the goal. the writing style made me mad, though

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5/5, if I'm being generous (I did finish it and survived, right?). Generally, just - no, thank you.

The half a star is because I liked the idea of the countdown near the end (idea, not execution).

I’ve never read something so clearly written by a man (derogative). I honestly kind of thought that it can't be that different and maybe it would be nice to see erotica/romance written from a guy's perspective, but oh my god, no. This was so bad.

I don't want to be rude and not explain, though, so I have a list of complaints.

First of all, they have no personality whatsoever and even if they did, we don’t get to learn it, because they never actually talk. The minimal amount of dialogue that's in this is mostly just during smashing. I guess they have amazing banter and talks about crypto, but it's off-page, so you have to imagine it yourself, because the author simply couldn't be bothered to make anyone care about anything.

Secondly, it spans over many months, but they always go to a hotel, which is so impersonal and never explained. Do they not have their own places? Are they homeless? Do they live with their parents or have a secret family? What's going on there? They clearly care about each other, so just... why? I'd like to have more information about pretty much anything.

Next, I can’t stand the constant praise of the MMC’s pretty much everything by the FMC, how much she admires him and doesn’t think about anything else other than lusting after him. He's infallible, perfect, amazing, just the best specimen there ever was to exist and she's completely ruined for anyone else. She is truly an empty vessel for him to fill, and it reads like a self-insert fic of someone who's so full of himself it's coming out of his every orifice. Some of the things she writes are so absurd no self-respecting woman would ever. But I guess someone needed an ego boost or whatever.

It’s repetitive to the extreme and the writing did nothing for me, I was just bored. You don't read erotica for the plot, sure (there is none, just FYI), but it does have a purpose. This one doesn't even check that box. It promises a lot of variation and kinks, but everything goes in circles, blends together and is written in a way that's boring. My mind kept wandering to other stuff, because I didn't want to read the same thing over and over again. At one point, I started guessing what they would do in the next line and being right.

Am I done? No, but almost. The hypocrisy and the shallowness of the MMC was an ick. The beginning is just him whining about women not having profile pictures, because he's afraid they're ugly, while he himself doesn't have a profile picture. What's that about? And I've never seen a woman's dating profile that didn't have both a picture and a description, so that's just unrealistic to me, but that's besides the point.

Also, ask first if you’re going to stick something up a person’s behind. I know this is fiction but basic human decency would be nice.

I have more, but I don't want to hate on every single detail. It took enough of my mental space as is, I'd like to move on.

To conclude, I didn't like anyone in this novella, the (lack of) a plot, the spice, the ending, the writing style, and the whole experience.

[Zoey · Rating 2 out of 5]

umm, this was definitely a read. i will give props for no spelling mistakes but the POVs could be confusing at times. we would be reading as Josh but he would say something like “i hugged you for a long time. Emma pulled away from me and walked away.” now, i’m no writer with no desire to be, but i don’t think that’s proper grammar.

this book is also very spice heavy and that’s not my cup of tea (yes i knew from the title what kind of book this was going to be. i figured it’d be like a one shot but then the author said “juicy paradise” and i knew i wasn’t the target audience) i prefer more showing of why they love each other instead of telling. the text exchange between them was also very juvenile and cringey to read.

the author also said “role play- pretend rape” and i’m not quite sure what that was about????? i was about to dnf at that point until the other reviews said it had a sad ending. still, i can’t forget about that sequence of words. i’ve gotta be the first in my bloodline to read that

[Courtney Reads Smut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow! This is sensual romance. The kisses, caresses and scenes go on for pages. The characters meet from a dating app and it blossoms into more. The chemistry and emotional energy between the characters pulls you in. Before I knew it, I was on the last page of the book. I can’t wait to see what the author does for book 2.

❤️ Dating App
❤️ Age gap -7 Yrs
🌶️🌶️🌶️
📖 97 pages

[Pat Bohn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am giving this book 1 star because the spelling and grammar were correct. I couldn't connect with either character. In fact, I really disliked Josh. I found his description to be arrogant and conceited. I didn't have a problem with the subject matter but actually found his description of his sexual encounters to be boring and repetitive.

[Jae ☪︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was a quick read and definitely had page one spice BUT i didn't love it. definitely written by a man bc why was he always finishing in her mouth after sex? 🤮

i don't love how she seems like she's obsessed with him and he could careless?
idk maaaan, but i'll probably read the second one just to find out what happens.