INTERVIEW WITH KATY EVANS - AUTHOR OF REAL

When Courtney and I were finally able form coherent thoughts and words after reading Real, we both found that we had many questions for Katy Evans. We're so very grateful that she took the time to answer our questions. 

Q: Do you have a medical background or how were able to so naturally integrate the technical details in a way that didn't bog down the story? 

Katy: I’ve had medical “issues”  which have required me to extensively research my circumstances and way to improve and conquer them. I believe, and this is only my opinion of what I did before, that sometimes when we are diagnosed with anything, we are so shocked and so frightened that we “cede” control of our health to our doctors. We go sit before them, and pleadingly say, “Fix me.” This happened to me, but when the doctors couldn’t fix me, and the medicines made me worse, I realized that the control of my health was in ME. And that there were things that I could do to take back my control. Such as research many treatments, many natural ways of healing, realize that I was the one calling the shots, and I had the choice to decide in which manner I (and my family) felt most worked for me. I love this about Remy!! I heart him so much.

Q: What was the first scene that you wrote or thought about when you first had the idea to write this?

Katy: I always knew the “reveal”  scene would be the first sex scene. Remington just wouldn’t cave sooner, Brooke was too important to him.

Q: OMG. The sexual tension--was it hard to hold those characters back from each other?

Katy: They definitely had me on edge too!! I’ve said before Brooke and Remington will be the end of me, but in a great way, hah. Except Remington’s willpower is such a strong force, I knew I wouldn’t get away with anything until he was ready.

Q: How much research did you do on boxing? Were you able to talk to a fighter, because that whole side of things is very realistic?

Katy: I love exercise. It keeps you alive, sane, and healthy, and that’s the truth. But a lot my knowledge comes not only from the few times I’ve boxed (which is an amazing experience) but also thanks to my own sports specialist, Stacey Suarez, a fantastic, very knowledgeable trainer!

Q: If Remington wanted to send a message to, say, Scorpion through music--what song would he select?

Katy: Remington loves his music and I don’t think he’d share something so prized to him with Scorpion, not even in a fuck-you song. The only way Remington will communicate with Scorpion is with his knuckles!

Q: Will you share more of Remington's back story in the next book? Also, will Nora or Melanie or Pete or Riley be featured more? Will we have more of Remy's POV?

Katy: Yes. We get to know more of Remy’s past in MINE, and also in his POV story, REMY. And yes, after these two stories, we get a story for Melanie, and a fifth one which is a surprise. I hope you all enjoy!

Q: Do you have a release date for new book? Will you release excerpts? (We'd love to help you with that :) )

Katy: Lovely! Thank you! MINE should release mid June, but I will confirm the exact day in a couple of weeks. I am definitely going to release excerpts around mid May and would love your help. So yes! :) 

Q: We saw in another interview that you are a runner. Do you have a running playlist to keep you motivated while running? Care to share a few titles? 

Katy: I love my running playlist. I always get pumped up to Kelly Clarkson, she’s so great. Also, Pink? Love me some Pink!

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. We'd love to help you promote Real and anything else you are doing, so don't hesitate to ask if you need reviews or us to feature you on our blog, etc.

On the contrary, thank you so so much for having me and for helping me spread the Real love!! Warm hugs!!! And thanks to all of you amazing readers who have fallen in love with Real, Remy, Brooke, and the cast, like I have. HUGS!

READ ALONG: THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY BY KATJA MILLAY PART I

I've been singing the praises of this book to anyone who will hear me. It's definitely high on my list of all time favorites..and I LOVE that I can suggest it to my senior students who like to read outside of what I assign for class. So, you can imagine my excitement when Courtney was looking for something to read. As we began this read along it took a lot of willpower to give her 'non-answers' to her questions, but I didn't want to spoil any part of this story for her. I wanted her to have the same, unspoiled, beautiful experience that I did. I could keep on gushing about all of the wonderful in this book...but let's get to the first 50%...

The first time I read this novel I was a bit hesitant. I am surrounded by high school students all day (I'm a high school English teacher)...and there is ALWAYS angst and drama. Sooooo I told myself I'd read the sample pages of what I'd downloaded and decide if I wanted to submerge myself into high school angst on my time off. Well, after reading the prologue I hit the "buy it now" button on Amazon and settled in for the journey.

In the first 50% we know that Nastya doesn't talk, she lives with her aunt, she dresses like a "profanity spewing guttersnipe", she runs so that she can sleep, she journals with an OCD- type consistency, she's an amazing baker, and the two people she 'befriends' are Josh and Drew. It's what we don't know that is intriguing. We are given a bread trail of crumbs...teeny tiny crumbs of answers to the questions that plague us. What happened to her? Why did it happen? Who did it? 

In this first 50% we also get to know Josh. Nastya describes him as having a force field around him that keeps people from approaching him. He's settled in his life, accepting of his loss, and trying just to live in that force field.  He leads a fairly solitary existence (with the exception Drew's family) until Nastya shows up. 

By the time you get to the end of the first 50% the questions are still there. Unanswered. The questions are the subtext; they hover on every page and in all of the unsaid things. Not having the answers should have been agonizing, but I found the journey to figuring it all out to be wonderful.

 Katja Millay is an absolutely superb writer. The characters are rich, the dialogue is exactly what you would expect spewing from many  high school students' mouths (and it's funny, and sad, and angry, and just perfect), and the unraveling of the story is wonderfully paced--no rushing, no dragging. 

I cannot wait until we write about the last half of this book. Warning...there will be spoilers...no way around it. Until next time...

I had saw a few things here and there last year about this book, mostly being how heart wrenching it was and I put it off for a long, long time. I regret that now, but I am so glad we decided to do this read along so that I had you as a sounding board when things got intense! I begged and begged for you to give me hints, but being the amazing book soulmate that you are you knew when to help me out, and when to tell me "hhmmm" which I think is code for suck it up and keep reading! 

So...my goal is to keep this read along as spoiler free as possible, so there will probably be a lot of OMG and WHAT throughout. I say this because it is truly THE MOST compelling, well-written, beautiful, tragic but romantic story I have read in a long time, or maybe ever. I have put it on my list of all-time favorite reads, which is actually a pretty short list (mostly just containing Harry Potter). So, on to the first 50% of TSoT....

The prologue itself was intense. Who knew that 5 sentences would have the power to create like 50 questions! For a long time, things seem fairly normal. You don't know why Nastya is going back to school for her senior year after being home schooled for the last two, or what could be going on with the doctor's notes for the principal. All is well. We get our first glimpses of Drew, and don't really know which way he's going to go on the scale of good guy to douche bag. I adore stories that have both main characters point of views that alternate, so here we get to meet Josh BEFORE Nastya does. Which I felt was a good thing, and  majorly expanded TSoT because Nastya sure isn't giving anything away. 

So the game changer for me almost immediately was the fact that NASTYA DOESN'T TALK. Outloud that is. Her thoughts are glaringly blunt and honest, but she doesn't say a word to other people, ever. Talk about an original idea. At 7% I was wondering how is all of this going to go, because the main character not speaking a syllable to another person started the cacophony of OMG and WHAT!

The day to day stuff, with the running and classes and players at school was very realistic to teenage life (well, except for her practically trying to outrun hell running like she does) but was perfectly balanced to not drive me crazy. (You being WITH teenagers all day long makes us have very different reasons for this being an issue!) It also doesn't stray to far into the realm of impossibility either, and be "too smart" if you will for the age of the characters. It was interesting to witness how each character developed from going to not knowing each other, how they notice one another, and start to intertwine their lives together. This was without adding too much and bogging down the story and uh, the writing was incredible! I usually don't think to much about this, by thinking well who am I to judge their writing style? But, I feel like I have come to be able to recognize GREAT writing when it practically slaps me in the face! Katja hit a home run with this novel, and made me fall in absolute loooovvveeee with Nastya, Josh, and Drew from the start.

I'll shut up now, but want to say the first 50% did definitely dole out as little information as possible from Nastya but focused more, to me anyways, on the "building" side of things. Building their routines, building trust, and definitely building furniture! There were so many funny moments, with Nastya busting Drew's balls every time she got the chance (can't let his ego get too fresh) and her with the ice cream made me LOL!
  

REVIEW: AVOIDING INTIMACY BY K.A. LINDE

Growing up, Chyna was handed everything on a silver platter. She never wanted for anything, except love—unconditional love from her parents. Love was a foreign emotion, and watching her parents love/hate relationship was never easy.

So when it came to her personal life, she made sure she never had to relive that. With looks that could kill, it was simple for Chyna to be the love 'em and leave 'em kind of girl. And she had always been okay with it. She would rather be single the rest of her life then end up as miserable as her parents. So when a man rescued her after she was drugged in a night club, she never expected to start a relationship with him.

But one chance meeting changes it all. Chyna is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity that could sky rocket her career, and she is forced to make a decision that could ruin everything.

GoodReads | Amazon | B&N

***3.5 Stars***

If you read the first two books in the Avoiding series, you know about Chyna. This book gives us a glimpse into her life.

1) Chyna: She’s a hot mess. By the end of the novella I still wasn’t sure if I liked her or not. I decided that the best way to describe my feelings toward her is that I have a love/hate relationship with her. There is a part of me that admires her confidence…she’s definitely not lacking in that, at all. She knows that she is beautiful and desirable. She knows what she wants and focuses on going after it. Chyna also know where her weaknesses are and is trying hard not to fall prey to them.  Then, there is a part of me that finds her self-absorption a little…off putting. She doesn’t appear to have a humble bone in her body. She doesn’t always seem to know how to handle being in a relationship and when she doesn’t get her way, she doesn’t really handle it well.

2) The men: Adam/John/Marco: Each of these men give us different insights into Chyna. With Adam we get to see her as more vulnerable and desiring of his love. She doesn't ever seem to quite 'get' how the whole relationship thing works but she keeps trying with him. With John we see the 'old' Chyna. She's interested in his bad boy ways and finds him extremely hard to resist (even though he's Adam's brother and should be off limits). With Marco we see Chyna empowered and weak with the temptations of what he has to offer. With each of these men, we see the many facets of Chyna. 

3) The writing: This story is very detailed which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone familiar with the other two books in the series. K.A. Linde uses her words like a paint brush, creating vivid scenes and descriptions of every place Chyna visits. The structure of the novella should seem familiar too--each chapter toggles between the past and the present. As with the other two novels, she also provides a lot of steamy scenes between Chyna and the men she's involved with.

This novella was a gift from K.A. Linde to her readers. She shared Chyna with us. I found myself curious and put off by Chyna all the way through the novel but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. I don't think Linde's aim was for us to be in gooey love with Chyna; I think she wanted us to feel conflicted about her. I did. 

***3.5 Stars***

When we started this, I really found myself glad it was a Novella. I really, really like K.A. Linde's writing and style, but I had forgotten (how I still don't know) what a crazy train, circus act this particular group of people are! And you know what, I applauded Linde in the first two Avoiding books and even went with 5 stars because of the myriad of emotions that I felt while reading them. I think the bad taste in my mouth after this one was just because of Chyna. 

1) Chyna. I don't really like her, and maybe this is because Lexie seems like a much more relatable character no matter how many times she falls into the black hole that is Jack. On one hand, like you said, she isn't humble, she knows what she's got and how to use it to her advantage. It works for her, and the title says it perfectly because she has always Avoided Intimacy. Everything she knows, as a product of her raising, really makes it to where she can't recognize real love of any kind until it's almost too late. The situations she finds herself in, just...wow! With Adam, John, or Marco...pick any one at random, everything gets screwed up because of her skewed view of reality. Especially John! I liked how Linde put hints in the dialogue hints that just maaayyybbbeee she was omitting a few of the details because they weren't significant to her. BUT! I felt by the end she realizes things about herself and becomes more vulnerable and was redeemed a little bit with me! 

2) The guys. They are all so very different and as you said, bring out all different sides of Chyna! I wouldn't mind any one of them *ahem* well okay I would pick John, but I felt like her choices and direction of her life would definitely have had a significant impact depending on who she picked. Look at how things turned out after she left Italy. The main thing I take away from this story is how much I want a book revolving around John. I hope that is on the table someday, because she created a really compelling and promising book boyfriend in him! 

3) The story. Your description of the writing was incredible (jealous over here!) and I completely agree. She always does a great job of weaving the past and present and keeping things aligned where we only get information when she's ready for us to. I can't wait to see what is to come from this author! I am pretty sure I read (my memory isn't great) on her website that she is one of those people who like raw, realistic stories for her characters modeling real life and we may not always get the happy ending we're hoping for. We don't usually get what we want without something else being taken is a way that I can describe it, and while sometimes angsty and painful I will always keep coming back for more! 

Ooh, I also wanted to mention that a major selling point for this story is that it is what Chyna is doing during a large portion of Avoiding Responsibility. It really helped me enjoy it more because I knew how things turned out in the end of book two, so I was not feeling like dying during the shit hitting the fan part, as we have dubbed it, or shit/fan for short. I honestly hope that you all give or have given this series a chance, but I definitely recommend reading the first two either with a good friend (Shelley, I wish we had read THAT together!) or a large bottle of wine!

REVIEW: REAL BY KATY EVANS

A fallen boxer.
A woman with a broken dream.
A competition…

He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting…

Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I’ve ever met in my life.

He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I’ve never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong–but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents . . .

But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.

I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.

If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?

REAL – April 9 2013

Book #1 of The Real, Raw & Ripped Series

***Mature New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance - recommended for ages 18 and up.***

GoodReads | Amazon 

*4 1/2 Stars*

Okay Courtney, I know I've probably said this before and I'll probably say it again...but Holy Cow and thank you for recommending it!!!! This book was H-O-T. Let me warn people: your Kindle may be ash in your hands by the time you finish reading this book.

1) Remy. Remington Tate. He's a fighter. He's hot. Maybe even hotness personified? Like you look up the word hot in the dictionary and there he is. He's got a reputation of being sex on a stick, violent in the boxing ring, and living a life in the fast lane. Interestingly, he appears to be none of that, once you get to know him. He surprised me from the very beginning of the novel by some of his actions (like how he and Brooke first speak to each other) and he continued to surprise me until the very end. Remy is definitely one of those strong and silent types. I kept waiting for him to have a word explosion because he really didn't say much for the first half of the book, but he didn't. There's a reason. You'll have to read to find out. His back story is so different than anything I've read before and once you know it, everything clicks into place. The things he does for and with and to Brooke: swoon. 

2) Brooke. Brooke also surprised me; I thought she'd put up more resistance to her desire for Remy. She didn't seem all that interested in the first page..or two but then she seems helpless to fight her intense attraction to him. To her credit, she tries to keep her interactions with him professional but under all of that professionalism is animalistic attraction. As we get to know Brooke, we learn about an accident that could have embittered her, an interesting story involving her sister Nora, and see that even in the heat of her desire for Remy she can make hard choices and stand up for things she believes in. Brooke isn't my traditional sassy, overly confident, funny heroine, but I really like her. She's smart, and sarcastic,and sure of herself but not too sure of herself, and she's compassionate. I won't give anything away--but I can totally appreciate her actions and reactions to Remy in the last 25% of the novel.

3) The tension. OMGosh. The sexual tension between these two was enough to make you want to throw something...or better yet, find the characters and lock them in a room together and tell them to DO IT, ALREADY. Sheesh. Then when they finally do DO IT...um, wow. I almost had to call in sick just to recover from it. 

4) The technicalities. Katy Evans did a fantastic job of balancing the technical details of Brooke's knowledge of being a trainer and how much a reader could grasp without being lost or confused. I liked that she didn't dumb down information but she didn't lose us in jargon either. I also appreciated the writing; I found some of her lines so pretty to read and so beautifully expressed and also sometimes very raw. I found myself highlighting several passages on my Kindle. 

My desire for more information is the main thing that dropped my rating from a 5 to a 4 1/2. I wanted to know more about Remy's past and more about Nora. I'm so excited that Katy Evans is extending this story-line to another novel and I cannot wait to see how their journey continues.

*5 Stars*

EEEPPP!!! I am so glad we moved this book up too! I just couldn't help it. Every single time I opened up my kindle app there it was taunting me. That little star tattoo that is. If you haven't noticed it, well play a little Where's Waldo and you won't be disappointed. Moving on...(hee!)...I think we've both been riding this crazy Remy high for a few days and it's a great one to be on! I have to say, this did not turn out to be the typical fighter/tattoo, good girl/virgin that a friend of mine has dubbed my MO. (I know! I gasp at this too, it's not my fault, I swear!) But I'll shut up and get on with it...

1) Remy. Remington. Strong and silent, Remy. When I told you that for the first basically HALF of the book he hadn't really said much, I think you about said a resounding NO to starting it yet. It really was amazing that I was still loving it so much, because what happens still kept me hooked. I will elaborate on another hook later, but need to say actions speak louder than words is a huge understatement for this story. Actions make this story, both in and out of the ring. As does the music...oh my, the music. I am a reader who can't take silence of any kind, and have my favorite tunes playing as I am writing this. Pretty much all of my favorite songs have some good memories attached, and I love you Katy Evans for using this as such a huge "character" if you will for this story. While I don't have quite the 20,000 song library Remy has, I have a pretty good one and just...I get this! I cried (I know, I always cry) when Remy finally starts talking, and wanted to crawl in and comfort this tortured soul myself. 

2) Brooke. I really liked her. It's cool because she's my age, and the some of the best characters are the relatable characters. She's beautiful, but she doesn't a) think she's the most gorgeous thing to have hit planet earth or b) have horrible self esteem. While those things can make compelling stories, I am glad this one didn't have it or need it. That's not to say though that she had it all figured out. Her loyalty shined through early, and I was impressed by it. She's rebuilt her hopes and dreams, and discovers herself through this crazy journey into the Underground. She stands up for what she believes in, and in the end stands up for herself. I admire her for that, because there's nothing worse than letting such an alpha male make you a doormat. 

3) I really thought Kristen Ashley had the Academy Award for building sexual tension and prolonging it on and on and on and on. Well...the Oscar officially goes to Katy Evans. Keep the speech short please! ;) Even though it takes a while, you will definitely not be disappointed if that is why you came to the show. Poor Brooke, she was a take charge woman and told him over and over what she wanted, and for once it was the Remy who was trying to be a gentleman. It was really sweet, but I thought she was going to tackle him at some point. I'm honestly surprised she didn't. 

4) The technicalities. Here it the point where I am going to gush my love for Katy and this is my HOOK. The orthopaedic side of things was awesome. Nerd Alert here: but I am an ortho nurse, so I discuss ACL injuries/surgery/rehab protocols, blah blah blah to most people, all day long, every single day. It was well written, like you said, but not dumbed down completely for people who aren't like me and have been surrounded by orthopaedic surgeons every single day for the last five years to make a person annoyed or feel stupid. It was all well researched and made me proud. 

I will be waiting patiently, okay impatiently, for any news on book new which I have found is to be called MINE. Buy this book! The second half of this book completely took me by surprise, and was riveting, tragic, beautiful, heartbreaking, and really took a very original topic and made an even more original story. I haven't read a plot like this that I can think of so that made it even better! 

REVIEW: BLINDFOLDED INNOCENCE

Brad De Luca is incorrigible. The premier divorce attorney in town, he is a forty-year old walking hunk of sex, bedding half the town, including his own clients. Brad is used to getting whatever, and whomever, he wants, and when the newest intern arrives - Julia Campbell, a pre-law student fresh off a failed engagement - he embraces the challenge. Only, happy in her new independence, the last thing Julia wants, or needs, is an older man who could destroy her job prospects, and possibly her innocence.

Julia is confident in her sexuality, and her effect on men. But she is far out of her league. Before she knows it, Brad is stretching her boundaries and opening up a forbidden world of sensual and sexual exploration.

***Warning: This book contains explicit sex scenes, including a MFM menage.***

Kindle Edition, 307 pages

Published July 19th 2012

Amazon | GoodReads

*4 Stars*

To celebrate a little bit more of Alessandra Torre week on the blog, we have a review for her first book of the Innocence series called Blindfolded Innocence. Make sure to check this one out, as well as her new release called The Girl in 6E. Our review for that is HERE! But, back to business...

I can tell you're already thinking...50 Shades knock off? I attest to that not being in any way the case! I asked Shelley after if it's bad that I enjoyed this erotic romance more for the story? We don't think this is a bad thing, and is truly a testament to Alessandra's talent as a writer, because even having an erotic classification there was a well built story behind the steamy situations.

1) Julia. She's a young, 21 actually, intern for the law firm Brad is a partner at. She's hiding away from her stalker boyfriend, and gets warned over and over what a big bad womanizer Brad De Luca is and to stay away from him. Do our lovely, young, vivacious heroines ever do what they're told? No, they don't. Or we wouldn't care about them so dang much. BUT! I looovveeeddd Julia, because she does her best to knock this guy down a few notches. I was really glad this wasn't one of those BDSM novels. I am in a mood at the moment where that "I'm always in control/topping/do what I say" alphas are annoying. I had a lot of moments where I was literally laughing out loud...seafood tray, Shelley? It's also a fun idea to keep track how many times she hangs up on or ignores him. Girl power! I think Brad helped her realize a few things about herself and spread her wings a little, which was nice. 

2) Brad. I was prepared to not like him. I thought he was going to be one of those guys who like I said earlier was a grade A asshole and thought he was the greatest thing to ever grace her with his presence, but he surprised me. Don't get me wrong, he tried and sometimes pulled out the hot, rich guy, big shot lawyer card, but I think eventually he realized Julia had wedged herself under his skin without trying by being herself. He was absolutely flabbergasted by her food choices when in an opulent VIP section, which again made me laugh out loud. I didn't always agree with his philosophies, but at least he talked with her about them, and didn't ever coerce her into doing something she didn't want to do. I especially liked when she called him out for "lawyering" her and not just answering the question. 

3) The steam. I knew it was going to be in here, I mean hello, look at the cover! But I thoroughly enjoyed that it wasn't every single page, with those cliche phrases that I have come to loathe. You know which ones they are! Well done, Alessandra, because I think sometimes it's hard to be original in this sort of genre, and in my opinion it really was. Shelley, you can attest to my horror and utter surprise to that whole stripper situation. I mean, what! Why did he freaking do that? But cheers again for creating a strong female lead character who didn't get offended or emotional over someone who wasn't committed to her. I personally wouldn't  have reacted as mature as she did, but then again I probably wouldn't have gone on the trip to begin with. They set no expectations and she listened to what he was telling her. I also liked that they didn't pronounce undying love to one another after only a few days of being acquaintances and let too much jealousy take up space in this story. 

4) The story. I felt like it was a well rounded story for building in a solid background to lead into book 2. (That blurb is c-r-a-z-y!) I cannot wait to see where this goes, but enjoyed that I had a fantastic before vegas, during, and then after when all sorts of outside factors added to it. It wasn't just erotica for me. I may have over said that in this review, but I mean it! I really liked this book and am looking forward to Masked Innocence! 

Check out this book, we don't think you'll regret it. There is great writing and editing, which is really, really important. Torre gives us a story with depth that made me laugh out loud over and over (also important, who wants 100% angst) and even when it surprised me, swoon! 

***4 Stars***

You know, I've come to respect Alessandra Torre because not only does she have a great sense of humor (follow her twitter, you'll see!) but she has no qualms about publishing work that might be seen as controversial.

1) Julia. Funny and snarky and strong and vulnerable. I really enjoyed her story. I think many people could identify with her. For instance as a new intern, she knows that she needs to impress her boss so that she can use the internship to help her career but she feels overworked with mundane tasks and resentful of the 'fun' team of interns and lawyers down the hall. instead of pouting, Julia follows the rules made by her boss (expressly forbidding her to interact with the 'fun' ones) and reserves her snarky comments for only her ears to hear. She resists the temptation of the fun lawyers for as long as she can, but eventually she draws the attention of Brad (THE fun lawyer) and soon finds that her resistance is futile. She does, though, put up a good fight for a little while --the aforementioned hanging up on him, the cold shoulder, and her ability to stand up to him--all made me love her. Another way people could identify with Julia is how she struggles with the idea Brad presents of relationships and how they work--her conflicts with Brad about sex and love seemed like struggles many women would have.

2)Brad. So arrogant. I understand why he'd appear so--he's good at his job (although I'm sure he'd quibble with that adjective), wealthy, and seems to have no trouble acquiring the attention of women. He's also older and had time to experience a little more of the world and relationships. I found his philosophies on relationships and sex to be...interesting. I think I might even call him a feminist, in some ways, because of how he views the double standard women face for engaging in the same activities men do. I feel conflicted about him. He makes valid points but I, still, sometimes find him slimy (especially the strip club scene. hmph.). But just when I think I've decided that I don't like him, I see a different side of him (Evelyn).

3. The sex. At first there really wasn't any. It was all backstory and conflict and character development (I appreciated this, too--not a disappointment at all to have a good story!). Then the trip to Las Vegas happens and sex starts happening. The strip club scenes--HOLY GUACAMOLE...  whole lotta sexual things happening there and well, WHOA. Then there's the ending. I guess I should've seen it coming, and I guess I sorta did, but that was ...well...HOLY SMOKES (because really what I want to say would probably NOT make it through the internet smart filter at work).

4. The story. It's not finished. I'm gonna kill you Alessandra Torre for leaving it like you did....but Courtney's right;  this is an erotic story--emphasis on story, I think. It wasn't all sex, all the time. The story of the lawyers and their internal conflicts and the story of Julia the intern and Julia as Brad's new lover make this so much more than some smutty little secret that you don't want to tell your friends your reading. 

I hope Torre can hurry up and get the second book out so that we can see how this story ends. She left us on the cliff, with this one, and I have a feeling she's gonna knock us over  it with the next one.