Posts
 |
| Book Cover via Amazon.com |
Opinion
Olivia Saxton contacted me on my blog and asked me to review her book, and wanted an honest review of it. I picked up her book for 99 cents, which as of writing this review it still is that price, and was treated to one very interesting take from the Erotica genre. I’m really pleased that Olivia did contact me because I have no idea when I would have found her book. It has been a lovely little read.
We have a short story here, it doesn’t take very long to read at all, and I can proudly say off of the bat that it’s fun from a plot perspective. Erotica as a whole has a bad reputation for zero to little on the plot scale, and rampant sex that generally is flowered in words that shouldn’t be used in polite society. I’m pleased to tell you all that “Garvey’s” is not one of those books. There’s no bare-chested Lothario on the cover with his rippling muscles holding onto a damsel in distress. The cover is mysterious and shows a lovely woman, and it matches the book because it’s lovely to read.
As far as plots go, this is a believable plot, albeit one I don’t personally think I’d do. We have a pair of sisters who ultimately are trying to pay the bills for their father who is dying and to do so they are keeping the family hotel and bar afloat. I know the difficulties of taking care of a disabled parent, and I’m very aware that running a business is very tough. The plot, therefore, has very strong roots in the soil of reality.
What happens, however, to help them get money is astonishing and had me pleasantly amused and of course, because it’s erotica, intrigued. The girls don’t open a brothel if that’s what you are thinking, they do something far better and I will not be giving spoilers. The results of their actions though effects the entire small town they live in and begins a series of issues that were amazing.
Critique time, and it only is an issue because of how many examples I found. Essentially, there is an excessive use of commas in the wrong spots, even by non-oxford standards. They happen in dialogue and in regular sentences. There also is confusion between ellipsis use and commas. Now I fully realize as a reader of erotica, you need pauses in dialogue and you need to have things trail off in actions. However, it gets confusing from a grammatical stance when it’s mixed between commas and ellipsis. Everyone is different though, and I’d be shocked if anyone is reading erotica for its grammatical stance. That said, every book is important, and I believe plot and drive for an erotica novel is just as important as it is for mystery or paranormal or even historical fiction.
That’s basically it for critiques, the fault is not in structure nor in plot, pacing or tension. The issue I found primarily was in grammar, so let me talk about the really positive things about this book for a few moments. The plot drives well, and I liked it. I like that it’s not just sex with sprinklings of the plot, but rather a living and breathing story with sex in it. The plot itself is intriguing, it has a lot of interesting things going on in it, and there are a couple of subplots that I enjoyed as well. There wasn’t any real romance aside from the lovely little interlude between one of the cooks and one of the waitresses. I really enjoyed this small little piece that was in the story, I felt there was a nugget there that could eventually become a fully formed love story someday. I truly love stories of young love, finding someone who is perfect for you and enjoying the life you build with them, and I feel like those characters have the ability to do that.
The other nugget I truly enjoyed was this madcap plot involving the antagonist’s evil plans, and how the secondary characters conspired against him with the help of both protagonists. Oh, it was amazing! I need more plots that bring enjoyment into my everyday life among the other stuff happening.
“So um, how was the… well, you know…” you might be asking yourself right about now, as I have not covered how the erotica was to the story. As this is an SFW blog for your book review needs, I will gladly answer in prudish terms.
It was realistic, very intense, and hot. Detail work on the scenes was great, so was the actions. I never once had to diagram any of the choreography out in an effort to establish if what was described was realistic or not, which was nice. Yeah, I’m that kind of person, I want to know if what is described sexually is possible given gravity or, depending on the book, trajectory. I assure you that Newton’s second and third laws held well in this story. You may have to Google what I said to get the joke, but for any of you physics nerds out there, I hope you enjoy my humor.
The main positive of this story is it is a complete and rewarding story with all of the plotlines coming together at the end beautifully except one very minor one, that’s I think has the potential to become a hook for the next book. It’s very minor this subplot to this specific story by the way, so I’m not going to hold this story as unfinished because of a very minor plot point. For a short story, “Garvey’s” was completed and well structured, and Olivia should feel very good about how well she did with it.
Score
With the math, and all of my points considered soup to nuts, I am giving “Garvey’s” an 89/100. That’s a 4-star review on Amazon and Goodreads, and I think well deserved and earned. This would be a lovely book to grab for some naughty night, or just to read when you want to be uplifted by a spicy but fun plot.
