Desert Rose Hook-Ups, Book 1
Heat Factor: Masturbation → shower sex → light BDSM
Character Chemistry: More focus on sex than deep emotional connection
Plot: “I need to stop fantasizing about my friend’s little sister!” / “Why won’t my brother’s friend go for my seduction already?!?”
Overall: If you want something short and steamy without any annoying alpha males or unnecessary conflict, this hits the spot
If you are looking for lots of angst and people not communicating with each other, this it not the book for you.
What we have instead is a breezy novella with lots of sexytimes. And while Kiki and Charley do have some bumps to negotiate, they do so quickly and efficiently by doing this rare and crazy thing called: talking to each other with both directness and honesty. What is this madness?!?!?! Honestly, it’s refreshing.
For example: Charley seems to be flirting with Kiki, but Kiki thinks Charley is straight. Spoiler alert: Charley walking around in nothing but provocative underwear is definitely a sign that she’s trying to get laid. The solution? Charley lays the question to rest by directly asking Kiki to kiss her. So there’s a mini bump (is Charley into girls?), a little bit of internal back and forth (is it wrong for me to be attracted to her if she’s straight? I can’t tell what’s going on?), and then the problem solved by the characters being upfront with each other.
See? Communication skills! As a bonus, they navigate the early stages of a Dom/Sub relationship in what seems to be a responsible manner. They establish a safe word. They decide that before they do anything more than light spanking that they need to do research and join the local kink community in order to know about best practices.
All of this is to say: there are definitely way worse romance novels to model your relationship after.
The prose is unremarkable and gets the job done. No distracting errors, but no poetic flights of fancy either. Except for this bit, which made me guffaw:
“It’s all good. Besides I’m a growed up. He needs to see me as such.”
I tilted my head to the side. “A ‘growed’ up. Um, yeah, using language like that is a sure fire way to show off your adult status,” I said through laughs.
I highlight this passage because it also effectively and efficiently establishes a lot about the characters. Charley (the “growed up”) is young and goofy. Kiki finds Charley’s ridiculousness charming. So while Kiki and Charley are not fully fleshed out (reminder: it’s a novella that emphasizes sex), there’s enough there to make the connection believable as the two women navigate the early stages of their romantic relationship.
I say: thumbs up.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
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