Weekly Reads: Glitter, Buyer Beware & Copping To It

This week I was kind of all over the place with my reading selections, but that's how I like it! This week I read a book that was inspirational in an unconventional way. One that was pretty good and has some potential. And one that was a complete and utter disappointment.

How is that for variety!

Glitter by Mona Darling

Description via Goodreads: Glitter is about the female sexual experience, which contrary to what the media would have you believe, is not all bubble baths and chick flicks.

Women are constantly judged as slutty, or uptight, but the reality is somewhere in between those two, and sometimes, nowhere near either. We have secret shames and private desires and we all feel we are the only one.

We are good church-going girls with a fondness for the paddle, PTA moms who hire escorts, feminists who like to bottom in the bedroom, slutty virgins, bi-curious married laddies and women with a past. We are gay, straight, and undecided.

We are all over the map, and we are amazing.

Ok-honesty is the best policy right? Here it is. Read this one. Pick up a copy. Read the stories and support woman everywhere. Random "review" I know, but this is one of those books that as soon as I received a copy, I devoured it. Not because of the subject matter, but because it reminded me that I'm not alone. It reminded me that despite all the trappings of a small town and small town thinking, there is a bigger world out there and that it's good.....NORMAL to want/desire what I want/desire without feeling weird or guilty about it. Make sense? Meh.....just read the book. 

Buyer, Beware by Diane Vallere
Description via Goodreads: Out of work fashion expert Samantha Kidd is strapped, until the buyer of handbags for a hot new retailer turns up murdered. When Samantha is recruited for the job, it comes with a caveat: she’s expected to find some answers. The police name a suspect but Samantha's convinced the label doesn’t fit. With patent determination and a tote bag of tenacity, she turns to a sexy stranger for help. As the walls close around her like a snug satin lining, Samantha must get a handle on the suspects, or risk being caught in the killer’s clutches.

First things first. There were some major formatting and editing issues that I found to be quite distracting. It's hard to follow a story when there is an errant line (or two) of text that doesn't exactly fit the scene you are reading. My initial thought was that it deserved 2 stars because of the wonky text/typos/editing issues, but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and go with 3 stars. Here is to hoping someone gives it another look over before it is released!

All that aside, the story was pretty entertaining. It is about Samantha Kidd, an unemployed designer retailer buyer who is caught up in a murder mystery that really did have me guessing "who did it!" until the end.

I liked Vallere's writing style, using the perspective of Samantha to tell the story so we learn the the facts of the case as she learns them. All the characters were pretty well developed and kept things interesting. This is the second book in the series (Designer Dirty Laundry preceded this one) and there were a couple times I wished I had read the first book, well first. It wasn't enough though to make me feel like I was missing anything--just bits and pieces at the beginning as to why Samantha was at the point of her life this book started at. Overall it was o.k. and I could definitely see this being a perfect summer reading series.

 

Copping To It by Ava Meyers
Description via Goodreads: Respected journalist Claire Fullerton fantasizes about being a bad girl, but she also fears that revealing her dark fantasies will open her up to being hurt. 

When undercover cop Ty Williamson enters her life, the intense passion she feels for him scares her. Even though Claire is tempted to reveal the vixen inside her, she decides to play it safe and walk away, when walking away is the last thing she wants to do. Months later, Claire is captured by a notorious gang of bikers, the Demon Guardians, the same gang Ty has infiltrated. 

Ty and his partner, Luke, have managed to earn the trust of the gang they are trying to shut down. When a senior gang member orders Ty to prove his loyalty by having sex with Claire, all he can think about is getting her to safety - until he sees the desire burning in her eyes. 

Reunited with the woman he's been unable to forget, Ty becomes determined to bind Claire to him. He'll prove he wants all of her, the good with the bad. In fact, the badder she is, the better they'll be - together.

Are. You. Kidding. Me? I am by no means a prude (despite what my friends might think) but for crying out loud. If you're going to write a short story that is essentially just about sex, then go with it! Don't try to dress it up with some fancy schmancy description that has NOTHING to do with the "story" except telling the reader where it takes place.  Seriously, the description given on Goodreads---don't pay attention to it. There is no talk about the gang, or how/why Ty the undercover cop joined the gang or even what makes Claire Fullerton a "respected journalist".  Really all this is, is a sexual encounter that just keeps going and going and going. If you want to read something that is straight up sexy time (and don't mind a little m/m/f action) then have at it! There is plenty to share.