Shelby Reed

We've all read this story/seen this movie. Jaded Hooker With a Heart of Gold is redeemed by One True Love.

God, what a snooze cruise. Sydney's motivations made no sense, she waffled all over the place. The questionable sexual relationship in her past was a clear bid for narrative tension. She's afraid to paint alone with a new male model, but 2 new male models would be ok? What kind of sense does that make? Oh, right, none. And Colm was a total selfish dick. He was an successful architect show more before the accident that caused his sister to be a quadriplegic, why did he have to turn to sex work? Oh, right, so he could use his sister's disability and the sex work as an excuse to flagellate himself. The Dead Wife would have been sufficient as a motivator for self-hate, did we really need not one but two personality-void disabled characters to move the story along? What the hell? Colm's sister was the Perfect Angel Who Rose Above her disability and Max was the Bitter Jerk. Blech. show less

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Associate Reviewer - Marta C:

This book is a heartbreaking tale of the shady world of gigolos and the women who seek them out. It's set in a very select club -Avalon- where affluent women seek out male company. Billie is a reporter for the magazine Illicit that has been granted an in-depth interview with one of their most experienced male companions, Adrian. She's unsure what to expect from their meeting, but from the outset is intrigued by the very suave show more and sinful escort.

Billie goes into her meeting with Adrian expecting something seedy and maybe even demeaning, but what she finds is a young man full of charm and guile. Adrian quickly turns the tables on Billie and proceeds to press buttons that she never knew she had. His almost incidental attempted seduction of her wakes her up to challenges she has never before encountered. Deeply attracted to Adrian and unsure just what his motives are, Billie finds herself becoming more then a little immersed in the sexy yet remote man. As they get to know each other Adrian takes charge more and it's apparent that his interest in her could reveal a part of himself that he tries to deny.

Tragedy strikes when Luke a fellow gigolo feels that his life of excess and debauchery is pointless. ,Feeling an unrequited love for his friend, he commits suicide whilst staying at Adrian's apartment. Suspicions run high, and Billie finds her new feelings for Adrian tested as he struggles to prove his innocence.

This is a book that surprised me. I expected it to be an erotic ride full of sex and thrills. Yes it is a sexy read, but the two main characters constantly keep each other at a distance in so many ways. It's a sensuous read full of hot interludes, but the author doesn't rush the pace. The build up between Adrian and Billie allows the reader to connect and care about them.

A thoroughly engaging read that keeps you on the edge as you wait for the young couple to hopefully find a way forward together.

Well done Ms.Reed on creating characters that actually grow as the book progresses! Recommended. show less

Extremely good writing and a story filled with so many emotions that I caught myself a little lightheaded sometimes and this has absolutely everything to do with Adrian's sexyness. Billie is just as great as he is, but he has all the right male parts going on for him. The ending was so excrutiating that at some point I thought that there wasn't going to be a HEA at all and that last scene made my heart to a triple jump. Loved it.

Usually authors have trouble developing characters in 80 pages or so. These three did not. All three stories were fun reads that were well written.