Simply Sensual

I read this book simply as a mindless book to read in between heavier, more 'intelligent' books. Or so I thought. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I loved this book, despite the fact that romance is definitely not my genre.

I liked Carly Phillips' writing style: easy to follow and entertaining. I loved the characters: three-dimensional and full. And the storyline was wonderful - I was not only relieved to find that this book HAD a storyline but also to find that it was a story of self discovery and empowerment. And of course the love scenes - very exciting, extremely arousing, what more can I say!

Oh, and did I mention that I finished this book within a few hours? (I'm usually a very slow reader.)

I'll definitely read more of Carly show more Phillips' works! show less

Simply Sensual is the third stand-alone novel in the Simply Series by Carly Phillips. It's the first book in the series I got to read and I didn't feel like I was missing anything. The story was originally written about 20 years ago and I got to say, I prefer the author's newest books. Nowadays I found her characters more relatable. Simply Sensual is one of her best old books if you ask me though. I had no problem reading it and I liked the story and the characters. The story didn't have a wow factor, but it wasn't bad and I had a good time reading it. I would recommend it as a light and relaxing read.

Although I now see that this is the third of a series, it isn't one that requires the reading of the preceding books to be understood. We start off with Grace Montgomery, the poor little rich girl who parents never understood her and who has forsaken her fortune to live life on her own. Although by the description it sounds rather route I was surprised that I actually liked Grace's character. At least she wasn't as whining or self-pitying as some I've read about in the past. Her hero turns about to be private investigator, Ben Callahan who is originally hired by Grace's grandmother to find out what on earth she could be doing in NYC without benefit of her trust. Of course, despite his (meek) resistance, untamed, from the wrong side of show more the tracks, Ben ultimately falls for the pretty little former debutant. No big surprise there either. What I did like is that the author allowed her heroine to do things more on her own than many in the situation and what could have been a more clichéd approach to the danger facing Grace was handled in a manner that although was a little less climactic than it could have been, was a surprise nonetheless. Also, as the author must have intended given the title, there was quite a bit of sensuality in the lovemaking, from their first interlude in a Mustang to Ben’s shanghaiing of the masseuse’s massage table, but it was never over the top.

For me this was a better than average contemporary romance (not being a big fan of the contemporary genre) and I wouldn't hesitate recommending this delightful little story. show less