Review: Appetite for A Good, Sexy Book

Jan 25, 2009

I have added 77 ebooks to my reader in the past 6 months.  I’ve read most of them.  There are romance and erotica, mysteries, sci-fi, fantasy and I’ve even read one or two things that have been dubbed as classics and a couple of non-fiction books on writing.

Out of these, I’d say only a handful, a bare dozen perhaps, could really be described as “good reads”.  The rest were perhaps entertaining, but nothing I’d rush back to find out if the author had anything else I could add to my read list.  A few were downright dreadful.

Having read so many erotica novels, and many many sexy short stories, some downloaded, some sent to me by aspiring authors, and some free online, I think I’ve gotten a tad immune to the turn-on factor of words.  At least I thought I had.  Then I found Appetite for Passion by Jesse Blair Kensington.

The real shocker of this story is that it wasn’t the sex scenes that turned me on.  Kensington took two characters, gave them talents, flaws, attitudes and beliefs and set them in motion.  I didn’t always like the characters (as in want to have them over for a cup of coffee… I loved them in the literary sense), but I always believed them.  Not as common as one might think.  Too often heroines are always spunky and their love interest moody (with a huge penis and rippling muscles… or vice versa).

The engrossing story takes place all over the world, following an author and a chef who are collaborating on a cookbook.  Both take many varied lovers through the course of the story, but still wonder about true love and struggle with their feelings.  Yes.  You read that right.  In an erotica novel, characters face an inner struggle.  How refreshing for them to face conflicts more believable than who to screw next.

This novel is full of spicy sex with an amazing and delicious variety.  Kensington does not shy away from the desires of her characters, but embraces them in a way that does something interesting.  Of all the erotica books I’ve read, this is one that doesn’t seem “dirty”.  I do love a good dirty book, but I’m fascinated with how she celebrates sexuality without it ever seeming tired or tawdry. I felt compelled, as a writer, to go back and read several times to try to figure out how she did it. Beautiful.

If I had one criticism to make of this novel it’s that toward the end of the book, one of the characters faces an attack.  I won’t spoil it by telling what happens, but I felt this should have been dealt with more directly by the author, and resolved for the reader.  Instead we were left wondering what ever happened to the perpetrator.  The incident was brushed aside in favour of resolving the romance of the story, but it niggled at me.

However, the one thing that stands out to me about this book is that although there is sex in every chapter, the story would stand alone without the sex.  Not only does it stand, it does it a little dance too.  I felt the pull of the character’s thoughts and the complexity of their situation and would recommend that anyone (over 18) definitely read this book. If you love romance with spice, not to mention sexy food, then you will love this novel.

Appetite For Passion is available from Ravenous Romance