Series: Something #4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
~Synopsis~
Catherine Davenport is successful in her career, but doesn't have the same skill when it comes to her love life. After a painful divorce, she's finding the new world of dating both intimidating and frustrating.
Tired of striking out, she takes the extreme measure of enlisting the help of an instructor in a private club who offers sessions on how to improve her dating strategy as well as her overall sexual confidence.
'Calvin', the masked man with the piercing blue eyes and husky voice not only challenges her to step out of her comfort zone, but encourages her to unlock her repressed adventurous side with various lessons.
She feels like she's making progress until her worlds collide and the identity of the man privy to her most intimate details is shockingly revealed as someone she knows.
Can Catherine put her insecurities aside to take a chance on love where she least expected it, or will her past interfere with her ability to plan a future with the one man who truly knows the real her.
~Book Review~
4 Stars
If you’ve been reading this series from the beginning like I have, then you know that Catherine Davenport, 34, is a divorced fashion editor and mutual friend of the couples from the previous books. But if you haven’t read the other stories, this can easily be read as a standalone too.
So Catherine sees herself as boring, and in an effort to push the boundaries of her orderly life, she seeks some relationship guidance through the help of a local risqué club. Don’t worry if sex clubs aren’t your thing because Catherine has a non-physical membership where she’s simply paired with a relationship adviser, not a kinky sex partner. Still, Catherine is open to new experiences and hopes her love life gets a jump start on her journey to find self confidence.
“‘Sometimes a woman just wants to be fucked against a wall, hard.’”
This is a story about growth for both characters really. While “Calvin” seems to have it all together upon first masked appearances, he actually needs to embark on a little self journey too, and through some twists of fate, he and Catherine go down the road together. Who will teach who?
“‘Are you saying we can’t be friendly with my fingers inside of you?’”
Full disclosure, one of the romantic angles between them is not generally my go to for a few reasons, some of which play out in the story, but it was engaging and I liked both characters. “Calvin” was hot and sweet, a real down to earth guy. Told via Catherine’s first person POV, I felt like she was a person you might meet in real life and initially lump her into a stereotype, but once you got to know her, you’d find a much fuller and livelier person below the surface. And through the course of the tale, Catherine finds that in herself as well.
“‘I’m living on the edge and defying all social conventions because his balls told me to.’”
There’s some witty dialogue and quite a few steamy scenes.
“‘You’re going to turn your brain off and listen to your body, which I plan on being inside of in about five minutes.’”
The ending left me wanting just a tad more of the future—particularly a fulfillment I so wanted to see Catherine get so I hope their HEA keeps playing out in the background of the next and last book.
One last thing I have to note: Catherine’s parents are hilarious and a great addition to the story. Her mom was a hoot! I'm rooting for a book about how Dr. and Mrs. Davenport met.
~Excerpt~
When I entered the room, I was once again taken aback with the simple elegance of the setting. It was decorated much like a comfortable living room, with two chairs at a center point of the space, tastefully done in burgundy and crème. The first time I’d come, I’d imagined I’d find the stereotype of leather and sex toys, but clearly Club Travesty’s reputation of being classy was merited.
I hadn’t expected the gentleman named Calvin, which I assumed wasn’t his real name, would already be in the room, greeting me the moment I arrived. As Derek had, Calvin wore a black mask which hid the top half of his face. He was easily six foot tall, sexual self-assurance clinging to him with perfection, as did his tailored, white, button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up and the black trousers showing off his well-built physique. There was something about seeing a man in dress trousers and being able to make out muscular thighs that had me staring. Maybe it was because, in the professional world, I didn’t see it often. Then again, if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d be very productive.
His stunning smile, revealing perfectly white teeth, was only eclipsed by his gorgeous blue eyes as he moved closer to greet me. “Hello, Kat. It’s nice to meet you.”
Holy hell. What a voice. Husky and sincere in his welcome. His warm hand took my ice-cold one in greeting.
I nearly erupted into a nervous giggle when the tingle traveled all the way through my body down to my toes. A spark some people called it. I dubbed it the: I haven’t been laid in so long that a handshake is making me desperate effect.
Probably a good thing Calvin was wearing a mask because if his face was half as attractive as his body or voice, I was certain I wouldn’t have been able to get out an actual coherent word. You would have thought I was sixteen with the way I was acting. Pulling my hand away, I reminded myself I was in fact a grown woman who happened to be paying for his time and had an agenda in coming here that didn’t include standing here ogling him.
His voice broke me away from my thoughts as he motioned towards a chair. “Please have a seat. Can I offer you a beverage?”
I shook my head, realizing Mavis had quietly backed out of the room, leaving us alone. “No, thank you.” Sitting down, I took a deep breath, trying to quiet my nerves and keep puking off the list of my accomplishments for this evening.
He poured some water and took a sip and then sat across from me. “So, it’s been a few months since you’ve been here.”
“Right, I was pretty busy and…” I sighed, thinking if I couldn’t be candid regarding my actual reason for staying away, there’d be no hope I could be honest about anything else.
~Also in the Series~
#1 Tell Me Something
Aubrey Bondurant is a working mom who loves to write, read and travel.
She describes her writing style as: “Adult Contemporary Erotic Romantic Comedy”. (How's that for a mouthful?) Picture chick-lit with the sex scenes or “smutty chick lit” and there you have it!
When Aubrey isn't working her day job, or spending time with her family, she’s on her laptop typing away on her next story. She only wishes there were more hours of the day!
She’s a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps and passionate about veteran charities and giving back to the community. She loves a big drooly dog, a fantastic margarita, and football.
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