Hi there! Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the tomes they enjoyed most over the previous month.  Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun.

This has been a totally wild year for me at V’s Reads. Today is my 1 year “blog-iversary” and I think I’ve done well. I went from “the million-ish” ranking as a reviewer at Amazon to #7000-something. I have gained a good batch of friends at Goodreads. I have made almost 260 posts, reviewed something close to 200 books–which I have actually read–and most of all I have proved to myself that I could do it.

See, I am a scientist–by trade. This year was meant to be an “experiment” in “can Veronica squeeze time.” I already read a ton–but blogging? That was a whole different beast. What I have learned in all the reads and posts and reviews has helped me as a writer and a critique partner in my writing group.  Anywho, thanks for following me or checking out my reviews. Hope I’ve offered up something with which you have connected.

To that end, I got my summer reads on early–in preparation for my June blog tour schedule. Still, I’ve had a chance to read some that I picked out just for the heck of it. And that’s how I stumbled across Alessandra Torre’s SEX LOVE REPEAT, a scorching, unconventional romance.

You need a spicy summer read? One to chase away the winter doldrums and put that spark back in your eye? Well, this book may just be for you! (Disclaimer: Hella lotta sex. You don’t like erotica? You don’t crack open this book. Period.)

My Review:

I would STRONGLY recommend this to any fan of erotica. It is not BDSM. It is vanilla. A whole bunch of vanilla…

Here’s why:

Madison has two lovers. Stewart is wealthy and wants her as a beck-and-call girl. Paul is her live-in boyfriend. They each know there is another man. They each know that Madison loves them both. They each love her.

It never becomes a ménage. This is good, because Paul and Stewart have a lot of history that is almost completely unbelievable, but thoroughly intriguing. I’m not saying more. You need to read the book if you want the juicy details. And, there are plenty of juicy details to be had.

A lot of reviews complain about the epilogue. Meh. There is room in the heart to love more than one person. If you think a character needs to be oblivious in order to be likeable, well, I’m gonna disagree. I think it would be naive to assume Madison couldn’t figure out the connection between Paul and Stewart in two years of dating both of them. And Madison is not naive. Nor is she stupid.

In fact, Madison admits that we, the reader, will likely hate her. She’s probably right. (Too damn lucky, that girl!)

Okay–usually I put a lot more detail in the review, but divulging more will ruin the tension. I loved all the beach/surfing references. The language is beautiful, and I adored Madison. Probably because I was totally channeling her. She has the best of everything. And, she’s surprisingly unaffected by the LA lifestyle. She is a candid narrator, and I respected her feelings for both Stewart and Paul. The smexytimes are graphic and copious–making this a perfect beach read, IMHO.

If you’re interested, you can pick this one up at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and probably your library.

Thanks for popping in! Don’t forget to check out the other blogs featuring their fave reads for May. And, as always, keep reading my friends! 🙂