Kate Granger (–2016)

I wanted to love this book.

Emma's husband, Justin, has been pressuring her to open their marriage. After resisting the proposal through many requests, she finally gives in and agrees.

I love the energy and enthusiasm with which Emma adopts her new lifestyle. Her first step is taking Justin's sister as a live-in lover, moving into a spare bedroom with her, and freeing up her marital bed for her husband's adventures.

It becomes immediately apparent that Emma is more comfortable in an open show more marriage than her husband. Emma finds herself "entertaining" a succession of new male partners while Justin observes them coming and going with more than a little jealousy, to which Emma's response is to remind him he is getting what he asked for.

What I loved about this book is its examination of the practicalities of consensual non-monogamy. Emma has many conversations (and internal monologues) on the subject, making for compelling reading.

When she's not dissecting open marriage, Emma is on one sexual adventure after another. The author's "purple prose" is littered with similes and unusual - verging on ludicrous - phrasing, and by the end of the book this began to irritate more than it enticed.

Read it for a strong, determined woman who goes after what she wants and gets it and for a fascinating look at the ins and outs of ethical non-monogamy. And maybe it'll turn you on more than it did me. show less