Rebecca’s Lost Journals: THE CONTRACT

TITLE: THE CONTRACT

AUTHOR: LISA RENEE JONES

Pages: 40

Date: 30/04/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: Rebecca’s Lost Journals no. 2

            An Inside Out Novella

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The Blurb:

In the second sultry e-short of excerpts from Rebecca’s Lost Journals, Rebecca is faced with a contract to be a submissive that she doesn’t want to sign—and her would-be Master has unusual methods of convincing her…

As the relationship between Rebecca and her rich, darkly alluring man intensifies she must decide just how deep she will go into his intensely erotic world.

This is the second Inside Out novella and should be read after the first one, “The Seduction”, just as both should be read after “If I Were You”.

After her enticing night with the man she only refers to as “Him” and “Master”, Rebecca is left conflicted about what she wants. He has sent her away with a contract; a contract which, once she signs it, would make her His submissive. The contract however is filled with conditions which are just as confusing as her reaction to them:

“In so many ways, it’s what I want. No ties. No emotions. No interference in my job and career goals. Yet he wants to own my mind, time, body and heart. It’s very confusing.”

While the rational part of her tells Rebecca to just reject the whole idea, she finds herself returning to the contract time and again, contemplating the idea of signing it and submitting to Him, rejecting it and considering it again.

“What’s even more confusing is that I’m not saying no to this.”

The rest of her life is going from strength to strength though. She loves her job in the Riptide art gallery and is delighted with the successes she achieves there. But even underneath her pride and pleasure at doing the job she loves well, is the constant push and pull of the contract. The thing and the man are never far from her mind.

And she is still having nightmares about her mother and icy water. Nightmares that leave her mother’s perfume lingering in the air, even after she wakes up.

I’m enjoying these short looks at Rebecca’s journals and her journey towards submission. I especially like that Rebecca isn’t blindly falling into a relationship she doesn’t understand. She is asking the sort of questions I would be asking if I found myself in her position. The sort of questions I imagine any sensible and independent person would ask themselves, such as:

“I don’t buy into me having all the control just because I have a safe word. I have no control where this man is concerned.”

And:

“I can’t be special to him, or he’d want me all to himself, right?”

Once again the sex is more alluded to than described in graphic detail. And although I do enjoy a well written and enticing description of intimacy between two (or more) lovers, I have to say that the way in which Lisa Renee Jones leaves a lot to the readers imagination while giving enough information to make the story truly erotic, is working very well for me.

I find myself getting very curious about who this Master might be. Reason seems to indicate that it can’t be any of the men we’ve met in If I Were You, men Rebecca meets in her work environment regularly. Yet, I can’t help feeling that there wouldn’t be any need for all this mystery surrounding his identity if he wasn’t part of the bigger story as well. I know it is going to be a while before we find out who this mysterious man actually is. And I know I’m going to enjoy every minute and every word of the journey towards that revelation.

CONFESSION

TITLE: CONFESSION

AUTHOR: SELENA KITT

Pages: 226

Date: 29/04/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: No. 2 Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed

            Received from author

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The Blurb:

"With the mouth, confession is made into salvation..." ~ Romans 10:10.

The shocking discovery best friends Leah and Erica have made under Mr. Nolan's bed has them down the wicked path of temptation, both girls veering far from the narrow path dictated by their strict Catholic upbringing, and their sexual transgressions have had unintended consequences.

Erica finds her life turned upside down when Leah falls for Erica's father, but just as Erica is beginning to accept their love for each other, Leah disappears. Bewildered and abandoned, Erica and Mr. Nolan are faced with sadness and confusion at their loss, but while Mr. Nolan spirals into mourning, Erica is determined to find her friend.

Erica can't possibly know why Leah has vanished, but when she enlists the help of Father Michael, her search and the real reason for Leah's disappearance intersect to uncover a multitude of shocking confessions and a secret that will shake not only the foundation of their faith, but the entire institution of the Catholic Church itself.

I've been in two minds about whether or not to post this review here. This blog is meant for erotic works of fiction and I'm not sure I would qualify this book as such. However, since it is the second book in a trilogy of which the first instalment was very erotic and I have no idea what the third book is going to be like I decided that yes, I should publish the review here; if only to keep the three reviews together. On the other hand, this will be my first review here without a second picture. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone, and adding a relevant picture might well do that.  So, for what it is worth, here is my not very erotic review of a wonderful and shocking story.

 

This was a very good book. Not at all what I expected, but very good indeed. Usually when you read a trilogy, the first book is a pretty good indication of what all three books are going to be like and about. This trilogy is a bit different. Don’t get me wrong; there is no doubt that this is the second part of the same story. There is continuity both in story-line and in character development. However, whereas the first book was a highly erotic description of sexual discovery, be it with a somewhat controversial story-line, this second book is far less erotic. The sexual scenes found in this book are fewer in number, not really all that erotic and far mostly far more shocking and controversial than those in “Temptation”. It is difficult to say a lot about exactly what is happening in this book without giving away too much of the story. What I can say is that there was a lot in this book to break my heart and make me angry. And most of my anger was due to the fact that everything described here was so believable that I had to turn to Google to find what part of the story was based on fact and which parts were purely fictional.

It is impossible to read this book and not think about the recent scandals involving the Catholic Church here in Ireland. It isn’t too long ago that the reports on the treatment of women in the “Magdalene Laundries” were published. With Leah having been sent to Magdalene House, the parallels are strong. Very strong indeed, because wouldn’t you know it, Magdalene House also contains a laundry where the girls who can’t knit or sew are put to work. Though why I thought that those places might have been uniquely Irish is beyond me. After all, the Roman Catholic Church is a worldwide organization and as such its institutions would be too.

I have to compliment Selena Kitt on the way in which she made the journeys of both Leah and Erica realistic and convincing. Separated from each other they discover the same secrets. Alone they have to go through their own personal hells, struggle with questions, secrets and devastating events. Two very young women find themselves in the clutches of a powerful institution determined to have them do as ordered, regardless of what their personal wishes might be. My only, minor, objection is that there was one secret Erica, clever as she is, should and could have figured out earlier.

I’m glad I already have the third book, "Grace", in my possession. The title of that book gives me some indication of what the book will be about, but I have no idea what sort of book to expect. Will there be a return to the erotica of the first book, is the story about to turn into a full blown thriller, could it be a combination of those two or something else again? I like it when an author keeps me guessing, and Miss Kitt certainly does that.

VALENTINA ON THE EDGE

TITLE: VALENTINA ON THE EDGE

AUTHOR: EVIE BLAKE

Pages: 446

Date: 23/04/2013

Grade: 5-

Details: no. 2 Valentina

            Received from Headline

            Through the author

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“When you climax, it has been called the “little death”, and thus eroticism can actually be a celebration of life within the knowledge of our mortality.”

The first Valentina book ended with our heroine losing the man who loves her because she is unable to admit to her feelings for him. When this book starts, several months have passed and Valentina has had no contact whatsoever with Theo and no idea where he is. That doesn’t stop her from thinking about him and mourning the fact that she allowed herself to chase him away though. An opportunity to participate in a show of erotic photography in London could be just what she needs to distract herself from obsessing about the man she misses more than she could ever have expected.

Back in 1948 Maria Brzezinska leaves Venice and her two mothers for post-war London where she is to study contemporary dance. It isn’t long after arriving that Maria falls for the charming but significantly older Felix, a French filmmaker. When Felix has to return to his native Paris shortly after a rather disastrous dance performance by Maria, she begs him to take her with him. It is in Paris that Maria will discover love and passion like she never imagined, unleashing a side of her that she never knew existed. 

London in 2012 will be a place filled with revelations for Valentina. Not only does she discover that the father she hasn’t seen since she was a young girl lives there, she also finds herself face to face with Theo once again. But although all the signals he sends out seem to indicate that he still has feelings for her, the fact that he is going out with Anita, a burlesque dancer, point in a totally different direction. When Theo asks Valentina to trust him, she knows that this is her opportunity to prove to him that she does love him. Putting her trust in a man who appears to be dating somebody else may well be a demand too far for Valentina and her huge issues with commitment though. But while Anita may appear to be her adversary when it comes to Theo’s affections, she is also the means through which Valentina discovers a side to her maternal grandmother she was completely unaware of.

This is a very good sequel to the first book. Often a second book in a trilogy can feel a bit like filler material; a means for getting from the start of the story to the ending without any real value of its own. Not so in this case. This book really does further the story. Through the events in this book, both in the present and in the past, the reader gets a far better understanding of Valentina and her commitment issues. Mind you, Valentina is still a hard character to like and very insecure when it comes to men and commitment, especially for a woman who is supposed to be 30-ish. But, after what we learned about her great-grandmother (in the first book) and her grand-mother (in this book) and their passionate but doomed encounters with love, it becomes easier to understand why Valentina would be distrustful of lasting love. I’ve got a feeling that the third book will give both the reader and Valentina a closer look at Valentina’s mother. Hints in this book indicate that there is a lot Valentina doesn’t know about her mother’s life as well as her own past. I’m looking forward to finding out what exactly happened to make Valentina’s mother such a distant character and if discovering the truth will be enough to bring the two women back together and help Valentina trust her own feelings.

This book is filled with clever references. There is a tenuous link between the movies Felix makes and “The Story of O”. Also Evie Blake pays a nice tribute to the original creator of her main character when Anita dresses up to look just like Valentina:

“The angular perfection of her black wig and her heavily made-up eyes make her look like a graphic novel character more than a real woman.”

The Valentina as described in these books is, of course, based on an iconic Italian graphic novel character created by Guido Crepax. 

And then there are the names. Theo’s surname is Steen and we discover that Valentina’s father is called Rembrandt. Both names create a wonderful and inspired link between Valentina’s story and the important role art plays in these books. I am sure there are more clever references and links, but these are a few that stood out for me.

While this is still a very sensual and at times sexy story, sex plays a different role in this second book. Valentina is no longer trying to discover her boundaries, no longer driven to see how far she is willing to go. In this book it is Maria who is constantly pushing her sexual boundaries but although she does get adventurous, her experiences are beautiful and enticing rather than shocking. In fact, as much as sexual freedom was the theme for the first book, this second instalment seems to reverse direction. Relationships without boundaries may have been fun, but they are not without their problems as various characters discover.

I said it in my review of Valentina, and I’ll say it again here: Noelle Harrison, the author behind the name Evie Blake, is a wonderful writer. She weaves her stories rather than tell them. Her words are at times almost poetic, creating a tangible atmosphere which allows the reader to not just observe events as they take place but also experience them. In fact, I’m convinced that I wouldn’t have felt as strongly as I did about Valentina’s character if it hadn’t been for the life-like fashion in which she is portrayed on these pages.

It breaks my heart that I now have to wait until November before I find out how this story ends. Between the hints about Valentina’s mother and the cliff-hanger this book ends on, it is going to be hard to contain my curiosity. The title of the third book, “Valentina Unblocked”, makes me hopeful that it will all end on a positive note though.

IMMERSED IN PLEASURE

TITLE: IMMERSED IN PLEASURE

AUTHOR: TIFFANY REISZ

Pages: 50

Date: 17/04/2013

Grade: 5

Details: an Original Sinners Short

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The Blurb:

The Manhattan Mermaids: Believed to be the most beautiful women in the city, they entertain wealthy, powerful men in an exclusive club called Fathoms...and are all virgins. Derek Prince doesn't believe they really exist, until he meets the stunningly sensual Xenia. She drives him wild with desire, but giving in to temptation means losing her position at Fathoms. Derek is incredibly turned on by the thought of being Xenia's first...but will he be willing to wait for her?

I love Tiffany Reisz. I adore her books and the characters in them. In fact, if I have a reading crush, she is it. So I can’t explain how this story could have been on my Kindle, unread, for at least a few months. Mind you, I’m not complaining. It was very nice to have a new to me Tiffany Reisz story while I’m impatiently waiting for summer and the release of The Mistress Files and The Mistress. I intend to re-read every single Original Sinners book and short between now and the release dates, but still, reading something I had never read before was like finding an unexpected present.

This is a story featuring Kingsley Edge, although it is not really about him. The story is about Derek who tells his friends about his meeting with a mermaid a year previously. He was sitting in a club, waiting for his date, when he noticed a beautiful and completely wet young woman. When she comes over to his table and puts out the fire in his table’s centre-piece he is mesmerized, and although he almost loses her when she has to leave he follows her and discovers the club where she works. A club, with a mythical reputation and owned by Kingsley Edge. This is the club with the mermaids; young virgins entertaining men while never allowing intimacy. Once a mermaid loses her virginity she has to leave the club.

Xenia, the mermaid who has bewitched Derek, seems to be as attracted to him as he is to her but is very reluctant to leave the safety of the club that has not only offered her very well paid work but has also been her home for three years. With Xenia determined to hang on to her virginity and Derek struggling to hold himself back a happy ending appears unlikely.

Like I said above, I’m a huge fan of Tiffany Reisz so I’m not surprised that I loved this story. Neither am I surprised that she managed to tell a complete story with interesting and fully fleshed characters in only 50 pages. This story is as clever and surprising as I’ve come to expect from this author. Reisz doesn’t write predictable tales, she doesn’t rehash old refrains or fall back on the tried and tested. Her remarkable imagination means that every character Reisz introduces in each of her stories is a true original. And because Kingsley Edge does play an important role in this story it is very much connected to the Original Sinners books. And any opportunity to revisit that world is like a little bit of heaven to me. Only Tiffany Reisz could come up with mermaids in the middle of Manhattan and have it come across as completely normal and realistic. And she is the only author I can think of who would combine the heat of sexual attraction with the relative innocence of “The Little Mermaid”.

This wouldn’t be a Tiffany Reisz story if it wasn’t also incredibly sexy. Who knew that not giving in to your desires could be as hot as a fully fleshed sex scene? I didn’t, but I do now. After reading this story I can’t help thinking that there should be some sort of ritual every time a girl or woman is about to lose her virginity. Just to make the big transition as special as it should be but rarely is.

SHARING PLEASURES - THE RICHMOND

TITLE: SHARING PLEASURES: THE RICHMOND

AUTHOR: Victoria Dunne

Length: 816 locations

Date: 15/04/2013

Grade: 5

Details: no. 1 Sharing Pleasures

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The Blurb:

“Alex has always fantasized about seeing his wife, Diane, pleasured by other men. With the purchase of a very realistic dildo, Alex is now ready to introduce Diane to the idea of taking on other lovers while he watches.

Will Diane accept this new direction in their relationship?

And what will happen when they go back to their favorite bar -- The Richmond?”

So, this author starts following my husband on Twitter and she turns out to write erotic stories. When she mentions one of her titles and that she is looking for reviewers, he informs her that he has a wife who reads and reviews (erotic) books. And once he’d done that I felt I had to go and read Sharing Pleasures, especially since I already had the title on my Kindle. I wouldn’t want to make a liar out of my husband, now would I? Boy, am I glad I did.

I have to be honest and say that my expectations weren’t too high. I like to be able to relate, in some way, shape or form, to the erotic stories I read and the idea of a husband sharing his wife with others is so far away from my reality and my fantasies that I was afraid the story and I just wouldn’t click. I’m also slightly suspicious of shorter stories since they often lack real character description and development. I shouldn’t have worried though, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

This was a wonderful novella. Not very long but very well written, with interesting and well developed characters and a fascinating story. I guess it was the characters who hooked me first. It is so nice to read a story about characters who are more or less my own age. I don’t mind reading about twenty-somethings or people in their thirties, but those years are well and truly behind me. It made a wonderful change to read about a couple who are at the same place in life as I am; happily married, with their only child in university and rediscovering life as a couple after being a full-time family for almost twenty years. I loved the way in which Alex and Diana were still able to surprise each other almost as much as I loved the care they took of each others feelings. The fact that they continued to make sure that the other was still okay with and excited by their plan made the story more realistic and very endearing.

The description of the fantasies Alex and Diana have, the realistic dildo he buys for his wife and the dancing scenes in the Richmond were all incredibly hot and very well written. And I haven’t even mentioned the steamy action they engaged in with Paul in their car. If I have one objection to this story it is the lack of protection once Diana engages with Paul, who is after all only a vague acquaintance.

I wasn’t even remotely interested in the scenario as suggested in this book before I started reading it and I can’t say reading it changed my mind. I have to admit though that the way it was described was not only very hot but also made it understandable that for others this may be the ultimate fantasy and experience. I do hope that Victoria Dunne decides to write more about this couple. If she does she has one guaranteed reader in me.

THE MAGICIAN'S LOVER

TITLE: THE MAGICIAN’S LOVER

AUTHOR: DANIELLE AUSTEN

Pages: 202

Date: 14/04/2013

Grade: 3.5

Details: no. 1 The Prophecy Girl

             Received from author

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The Blurb:

“Shy receptionist Lindsey Wade can’t believe her luck when a chance encounter with world-famous stage magician Angelito Tarrago leads to an affair. But when he tries to convince her that he possesses genuine supernatural powers – and she might too – her life changes for ever.

Pulled between her safe, comfortable life and the glamorous, erotic world of magic, Lindsey delves deeper; uncovering a secret society, long-buried lies, and sides to herself that she didn’t know existed.

Is her lover telling the truth? Could she really be the subject of an ancient prophecy? And who is the mysterious man following her around?”

Well, this was some story. It starts off innocently enough with Lindsey Wade winning a ticket to see Angelito Tarrago, world famous magician, perform his spectacular show. And we meet Lindsey as a shy, quiet and repressed young woman. That shyness disappears the moment she meets Angelito; suddenly the woman who was afraid to show her naked body to her best friend finds herself wanting and needing physical closeness and sexual attention.

“Her mind repeatedly took her to places she had never been before; sordid thoughts making her feel desires she had never known existed.”

All it takes is one night and Lindsey is captivated both by Angelito and the pleasures sex bring her. The only blemish on her new found delight is the man with yellow eyes who follows her, threatens her and tells her to stay away from Angelito. Lindsey doesn’t heed the warning though. Although she is sceptical about Angelito’s claims that they are both Magi with extra-ordinary powers she can’t stay away from him and is delighted that he appears to be feeling the same way about her.

But Lindsey is out of her depths. She has been suddenly dropped into a world she knows nothing about surrounded by powers she doesn’t understand but she seems to possess as well. She is in more danger than she could ever imagine and will have to figure out who her friends and her enemies really are before she loses everything, including her life.

This book mixes several themes; paranormal, fantasy, mystery, suspense and, of course, erotica. In fact this is a very sex-driven story featuring m/f as well as f/f scenes, ménage, sex in public, involuntary sex and anal play. Set in a world where magical powers seem to come with a more then healthy sexual appetite, a lot of the (inter)action in this book takes the form of sexual acts because:

“Sexual energy is always one of the first manifestations of our abilities.”

And Danielle Austen, having created this opportunity for herself, doesn’t shy away from introducing steamy and explicit scenes into nearly every encounter between characters, be they primary or secondary. And while that will delight anyone who is hoping to read a mostly erotic story it will put off those who enjoy a sex scene when it enhances the story but don’t like it when sex seems to be (most of) the story. On the other hand, in the context of the story it all makes sense since sex is a vital part of who these Magi are.

Copied from Korner Kafe Exposed

I’m a bit conflicted when it comes to this book. I have to admit that I enjoyed it. I had no trouble getting into the story and even less problems staying with it until the very last page. On the other hand I couldn’t help feeling that this book could have been a lot more; the story a lot better. Maybe with a bit more background information and a bit more character development this story would have been great rather than good. Although I’m a huge fan of erotic fiction and get a kick out of any well written sex scene I do feel that the author went a bit over the top once or twice. Especially the scene near the end of the book which was so extreme that, for me, it lost all erotic beauty and just became a blur.

Having said that, the story managed to grab me and excite me. More importantly, the book left me curious as to how things will progress. Austen left us with, not so much a cliff-hanger, as a teasing hint as to what may be happening next. A hint intriguing enough to leave me wanting more.

FORBIDDEN FIRES

TITLE: FORBIDDEN FIRES

AUTHOR: Jodie Griffin

Pages: 139

Date: 06/04/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 3 Bondage & Breakfast

            Received from Carina Press

            Through NetGalley     

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The Blurb:

A year ago, Detective Delia Robinson and Fire Marshal Colin Butler got up close and personal while working a case. But their sizzling relationship didn’t last. Now there’s a serial arsonist on the loose, and it’s up to Delia and Colin to bring him down—if they can resist their attraction long enough to concentrate on the investigation.

Delia quickly sees the connection between the crime scenes: elements of BDSM. Though she denies it, Colin is stunned by the realization that his former lover is aroused by the idea of bondage play. And suddenly he can’t stop fantasizing about being the one to bind her…

Unsure how Colin would react, Delia never revealed her desire to be dominated in the bedroom. But she’ll finally have the chance to find out when they go deep undercover—as a married couple at a B and B offering classes in domination and submission…

From the moment Colin and Delia meet again after not having seen each other for a year it is clear that the attraction between them is still strong. On the other hand both of them were wounded by the way in which their two month relationship ended back then, and are reluctant to give in to their desires for fear that they’ll only break their hearts again. Determined to be professional they set out to investigate a string of arson attacks and ignore their feelings. The fact that the case seems to have sexual if not kinky undertones doesn’t make this easy though. Delia’s desire to be dominated by Colin is as strong as it was a year ago, when she couldn’t find the words to tell him about her fantasies and Colin can’t stop his mind from imagining the beautiful redhead naked and in his arms.

Although BDSM is not something Colin has ever even thought, never mind fantasized about, he can’t help being intrigued by the idea once he notices how it affects Delia. The undercover mission to a training session in the Bed & Breakfast specializing in BDSM and the instruction they receive there doesn’t only exceed every fantasy Delia ever had, it also awakens in Colin a deep desire to dominate Delia. With an arsonist closing in on the B&B, and them, our two investigators have to make sure they keep their minds on their job though, no matter how distracting their new found sexual compatibility might be.

This was my second visit to the wonderful place that is Bondage & Breakfast, and once again I enjoyed my stay with Master Gabriel McConnell. Like Forbidden Desires, this book is a wonderful love story with strong sexual undertones. The attraction between the two main characters is so strong that it jumps of the page and their reluctance to give into it makes perfect sense given the heartbreak they’ve both been through with each other in the past. And, as in the previous title in this series, there is a lot more to this story than just an excuse to write lots of sexy scenes (although there are plenty of those and boy are they steamy). There is a great balance between the arson investigation, Colin and Delia struggling with their feelings and their sexual encounters. The dialogue between our two main characters sparkles and sounds real and their feelings come across as realistic rather than contrived.

To say I got pulled into this story would be an understatement. Once Colin and Delia get to the B&B and start their BDSM training together I found myself so submerged in their scene that I completely forgot there was a mystery to be solved. Just like Colin and Delia I had a ‘oh, that’s right we’re here to investigate arson’ moment once the scene was over. Because that particular scene, when Delia and Colin get their first instruction in the dynamics of dominance and submission and are introduced to the delights of spanking, is fascinating and hot. I loved the way Delia just switched to submissive mode once she was spoken to in a certain tone of voice as much as I enjoyed Colin’s amazement at what he is feeling. The conflicts he experiences between arousal, jealousy and doubt are intriguing and ring very true. Most of the interaction centres around spanking although we are also treated to oral, anal play and one very sexy, sweet and imaginative shower scene towards the end of the book. I can honestly say that the scenes in this story and the way in which they were written had a strong effect on me; I found myself curious, slightly jealous of Delia and yes, aroused.

Having said all that, I feel there is nothing in this book to offend or upset anybody (too) much. And I appreciate that Jodie Griffin makes a good and important distinction between BDSM and abuse in this book; pain may be enjoyable but there is never an excuse for violence. That, in my mind, is a message that can’t be repeated often enough. Griffin is not out to shock or even lecture the reader though; she gives us a wonderful and romantic story with added value.

This is a light, sexy and entertaining read, written by someone who knows how to use her words to draw the reader in and keep them hooked until the very last page. It is high time that I went back and read the first book in this series: Forbidden Pleasures. I also hope that Jodie Griffin will continue with this series and maybe, one day, give Gabriel McConnell his own story and his own happy ending. After all, he could run his B and B and give his training with a partner at least as well as he does on his own. And I have gotten quite fond of him after reading these books. In fact, I can’t stop fantasizing about paying a visit to McConnell and his very special B & B. Anybody got the address for me?

TEMPTATION

TITLE: TEMPTATION

AUTHOR: SELENA KITT

Pages: 160

Date: 01/04/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: No. 1 Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed

             Received from the author

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The blurb:

"Lead us not into temptation..." ~Matthew 6:13

What happens when you fall in love with your best friend's father?

Leah is a good, Catholic girl, and she and Erica have been best friends since their first communion. Sure, Erica's father is handsome and charming, but Leah spends so much time at the Nolan's--just Erica and her famous, photographer father now, since Erica's mother died--that she's practically part of the family.

Both girls have led privileged, sheltered lives and are on the "good girl" track at St. Mary Magdalene's Preparatory College, Leah pursuing her love of dance and Erica sating her endless curiosity as editor of the newspaper. Neither of them could have ever imagined that one fateful discovery will not only push the boundaries of their strict, repressive upbringing, but the bonds of their friendship as well.

Leah certainly never could have imagined finding herself torn between her best friend and her best friend's father. Sure, Leah's mother had always talked about Mr. Nolan as "a catch," but Leah herself had never thought of him as anything other than just Erica's dad--until the girls discover something darkly erotic under Mr. Nolan's bed, a deep, shameful secret that will not only lead them into temptation, but will deliver them into a far greater revelation than any of them could ever have imagined.”

Set in the 1950’s this is a wonderful and imaginative story of sexual awakening and forbidden love. And, as awakenings go, this is a rather abrupt one. It takes young Leah little or no time to change from an inexperienced innocent into a wanton sex vixen. What starts of as guiltily exploring unknown pleasures soon turns into actively pursuing and creating every opportunity to be intimate with the man she has fallen in love and in lust with.

The sexual tension spills off the page. The writing is so good that you can feel the excitement yourself while reading. It is almost as if, with Leah, you are discovering your own sexuality all over again. I can’t speak for anybody else, but it brought some delightful memories back to me. In fact, I think I enjoyed those early scenes, when the whole sexual experience is still completely new to Leah more than the later ones. Reading Leah's reluctance to give in to the urge to masturbate while the pictures she is viewing get her increasingly hot, was very stimulating. And the description of how her pleasure slowly overcomes her shame was even better. It doesn't take long for young Leah to move from reluctantly giving in to her urges to seeking out situations in which to pleasure herself. The scene in which she and her friend Erica pleasure each other is beautiful and completely believable as is the description of her watching Mr. Nolan while he is masturbating. While I had a hard time believing that anyone would move from complete innocence to sexually needy and experienced almost overnight, I did enjoy watching while Mr. Nolan shows Leah all the pleasures she had up until then not even imagined. And all of these scenes are written in such a way that it is impossible not to react to them.

This is definitely an erotic story rather than a romance with erotic overtones. The scenes are well written, descriptive and very easy to visualise. In fact, the whole book is well written. The story is told from Leah’s point of view and it is especially easy to get a good picture of her character. The one thing I did question in this story is the confidence with which Leah interprets Mr. Nolan’s thoughts and feelings. It just doesn’t seem realistic that she would have such a well developed intuition or insight into his emotions. Not only do I not quite believe an inexperienced 18 year old would be so insightful, I have a hard time believing anybody could.

I actually went so far as to google the average age people start college at, and that turns out to be 17 or 18. The fact that these girls seem younger than that is due to the story being set in 1953 when young people were supposed to stay innocent longer – I would love to say when the world was a more innocent place but I don’t think that would be true -. The fact that the two girls in this story are as young as they are and that Leah falls for and gets intimate with her friend’s father may be a step too far for some readers. Just as I’m sure that some people will take offence at some descriptions relating to the Catholic Church and the two priests in the book. I didn’t feel offended or embarrassed at anything described in this book, but I have been told that I’m a bit more liberal than a lot of people around me.

This book is a re-written version of both “Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed” and “Plaid Skirt Confessions”. Since I’ve read neither of those two earlier stories I can’t say how they compare to this one. What I can say is that I enjoyed this book so much that I’m delighted that I already have a copy of the sequel on my Kindle. I’m not entirely sure where this story may be going next but I do know that I’m going to enjoy finding out.