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Familien- Geheimnisse. Erotischer Roman.
When Katie decides to start a new life in a French farmhouse, she is horrified to find two men living illegally in her property. However, she soon discovers how much illicit pleasure can be had by allowing them to stay. When her ex-boyfriend shows up, the tension reaches breaking point.
- GenresAdultContemporaryErotica
Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 2, 2008
I am a fan of several of the books in the Black Lace series, since I value well-written erotica (i.e. by authors who have spell-checkers, write about sexual people instead of nameless bodies, have more than ten words to refer to the act of intercourse, etc.), regardless if it is, as these propose, "by women, for women". Just turn me on, mind and body, k?
I wanted to like this book; I seriously did. The subject matter itself is enough to get me going: a woman who stumbles onto two men in an apparent relationship and they all start to explore the erotic possibilities amongst them? As a chick who finds m/m material hotter than hot, and bisexual threesomes even hotter, it should have been right up my alley. And hearing that there would be an intriguing storyline full of mystery and romance only helped to get me excited for this purchase.
But right from the get-go it rubbed me the wrong way. Probably worst of all is that Kate is so incredibly naive even to the point of stupidity, about sexual matters. For far too long she operates on the belief that Miguel and Eric are gay and "out of bounds" (hence the title) because she saw them sleeping in one another's arms, even after they both come onto her and make it impossible to doubt their interest. That ticked me off immensely. Even if we forget that, Kate is a clone of every other woman I read about described in erotica that makes a big deal of being written by women: "I want crazy sex, but it feels so naughty and dirty! Oh this is so wrong but mmm so good! I want to be dominated without giving up my independence and womanliness!". I think Mandy Dickinson does a good job of fleshing out Kate, getting into a women's mind, etc., etc., but God if I don't hate the kind of character that she is.
In that same vein are the other characters, Miguel, Eric, and Robert (her ex who comes back in). Robert is the most sympathetic character, and, correspondingly, leaves just as things start to perk up. Like almost everything that features two men and a woman (be it threesome or simply love triangle), the two men are archetypes so that the woman can get (or has to choose between) everything that's out there. So Miguel is Spanish and dark, moody, tempermental, artistic, tra-la-la; Eric is Viking blonde, surfer-cool, dominating but with a tender side. Readers, of course, can pick their favorite, but I'd rather choose neither. Miguel is perfectly romantic and charming and slightly dangerous and all that, which at first did reel me in. But once he "fell in love" with Kate and everything was gooey, goppy sweet between them, I found him extremely dislikable. Again, Eric fell somewhat into the same category for me: very interesting in the beginning, even more interesting as things deepened, and then just yuck. His sexual orientation just runs all over the place to lead readers down the wrong paths but melts under the freakish power of Kate. Both Miguel and Eric's actions make little sense when you examine them. I'm all for intruige and emotionally-laden behavior (let's face it, it makes sex a lot more fun to read than just 'they got into bed because they were horny'), but the boys flip-flop insanely, are hard to understand, and in the end, all their wishy-washy weirdness never really changed anything, plot-wise.
The plot was just too thin. People have said it was amazing, but it really wasn't. I was never overly motivated to figure out what was going on, because it wasn't ever given utmost importance, and Dickinson dragged it out soooo long. I could see everything coming from a mile away; Eric looks just like Kate and is living in her house, so they share a connection, Robert had cheated and comes with them to notice Eric's uncanny resemblance- duh, he was cheating with guys, is gay, and they get together. The one thing I never saw coming- that Miguel had been waiting for Kate all his life- was so lame and ridiculous that it ruined things for me completely. I just hated it.
In terms of the part that matters the most- the sexual/erotic stuff- it's just not there, not in all its sizzling glory the way it should be. In the beginning, there is a definite lack of sex. I understand that its necessary to develop something before everyone jumps into bed, but usually other authors throw in memories, fantasies, etc. to get things going until the actual characters start going at it. When it does start to happen, it's so short and undeveloped that it just falls flat. Honestly- almost every sex scene consists of 1) Kate somehow glancing one of the boy's out-and-about erections and getting "dripping wet", 2) the boys rubbing her until she can't stand it, 3) some penetration she's been begging for, and 4) a final shuddering orgasm. An entire sex scene might take three paragraphs, maybe up to six if something extra is added on, but it rarely is. It's boring and repetitive. The only time we get a little extra zing is in the nice occasions that have everyone involved or the kinky stuff, which really isn't that kinky. Moreover, for anyone who got this book for the m/m stuff, it just hardly isn't there. The boys weren't really bisexual in the way I hoped. The sex is there, but not in the strong way it could be.
Overall, this didn't do it for me. I was bored, I was skeptical, I was dry as a bone 'down there', and in the end, I tossed it. If you want real m/m/f erotica, try reading Emma Holly's 'Strange Attractions' (many cite her 'Menage', but I found it somewhat like this book). That's just my opinion, though . . .
I wanted to like this book; I seriously did. The subject matter itself is enough to get me going: a woman who stumbles onto two men in an apparent relationship and they all start to explore the erotic possibilities amongst them? As a chick who finds m/m material hotter than hot, and bisexual threesomes even hotter, it should have been right up my alley. And hearing that there would be an intriguing storyline full of mystery and romance only helped to get me excited for this purchase.
But right from the get-go it rubbed me the wrong way. Probably worst of all is that Kate is so incredibly naive even to the point of stupidity, about sexual matters. For far too long she operates on the belief that Miguel and Eric are gay and "out of bounds" (hence the title) because she saw them sleeping in one another's arms, even after they both come onto her and make it impossible to doubt their interest. That ticked me off immensely. Even if we forget that, Kate is a clone of every other woman I read about described in erotica that makes a big deal of being written by women: "I want crazy sex, but it feels so naughty and dirty! Oh this is so wrong but mmm so good! I want to be dominated without giving up my independence and womanliness!". I think Mandy Dickinson does a good job of fleshing out Kate, getting into a women's mind, etc., etc., but God if I don't hate the kind of character that she is.
In that same vein are the other characters, Miguel, Eric, and Robert (her ex who comes back in). Robert is the most sympathetic character, and, correspondingly, leaves just as things start to perk up. Like almost everything that features two men and a woman (be it threesome or simply love triangle), the two men are archetypes so that the woman can get (or has to choose between) everything that's out there. So Miguel is Spanish and dark, moody, tempermental, artistic, tra-la-la; Eric is Viking blonde, surfer-cool, dominating but with a tender side. Readers, of course, can pick their favorite, but I'd rather choose neither. Miguel is perfectly romantic and charming and slightly dangerous and all that, which at first did reel me in. But once he "fell in love" with Kate and everything was gooey, goppy sweet between them, I found him extremely dislikable. Again, Eric fell somewhat into the same category for me: very interesting in the beginning, even more interesting as things deepened, and then just yuck. His sexual orientation just runs all over the place to lead readers down the wrong paths but melts under the freakish power of Kate. Both Miguel and Eric's actions make little sense when you examine them. I'm all for intruige and emotionally-laden behavior (let's face it, it makes sex a lot more fun to read than just 'they got into bed because they were horny'), but the boys flip-flop insanely, are hard to understand, and in the end, all their wishy-washy weirdness never really changed anything, plot-wise.
The plot was just too thin. People have said it was amazing, but it really wasn't. I was never overly motivated to figure out what was going on, because it wasn't ever given utmost importance, and Dickinson dragged it out soooo long. I could see everything coming from a mile away; Eric looks just like Kate and is living in her house, so they share a connection, Robert had cheated and comes with them to notice Eric's uncanny resemblance- duh, he was cheating with guys, is gay, and they get together. The one thing I never saw coming- that Miguel had been waiting for Kate all his life- was so lame and ridiculous that it ruined things for me completely. I just hated it.
In terms of the part that matters the most- the sexual/erotic stuff- it's just not there, not in all its sizzling glory the way it should be. In the beginning, there is a definite lack of sex. I understand that its necessary to develop something before everyone jumps into bed, but usually other authors throw in memories, fantasies, etc. to get things going until the actual characters start going at it. When it does start to happen, it's so short and undeveloped that it just falls flat. Honestly- almost every sex scene consists of 1) Kate somehow glancing one of the boy's out-and-about erections and getting "dripping wet", 2) the boys rubbing her until she can't stand it, 3) some penetration she's been begging for, and 4) a final shuddering orgasm. An entire sex scene might take three paragraphs, maybe up to six if something extra is added on, but it rarely is. It's boring and repetitive. The only time we get a little extra zing is in the nice occasions that have everyone involved or the kinky stuff, which really isn't that kinky. Moreover, for anyone who got this book for the m/m stuff, it just hardly isn't there. The boys weren't really bisexual in the way I hoped. The sex is there, but not in the strong way it could be.
Overall, this didn't do it for me. I was bored, I was skeptical, I was dry as a bone 'down there', and in the end, I tossed it. If you want real m/m/f erotica, try reading Emma Holly's 'Strange Attractions' (many cite her 'Menage', but I found it somewhat like this book). That's just my opinion, though . . .
December 8, 2009
It's about a gorgeous young blond hoping to regroup after a devastating breakup. She travels to her grandfather's old cabin & is shocked to find two naked men camping out in it. They're up to some sort of nefarious business (the 2 guys) and end up keeping her a prisoner in the cabin. One is darkly handsome, the other as blond as she. She's instantly smitten with the dark guy (even though he pulls a gun on her on more than one occasion ~ and I'm talking a real gun here not the thing in his jeans) but alas it can never be since he's obviously in a relationship with another man. It's sexy, not exactly a stellar story, but at least it wasn't boring.
October 10, 2011
I am sooo glad I picked this one up. I had started to become totally disillusioned by black lace books - I enjoyed the early ones I read but it was also a novelty to read books of erotica for women. Recently I was beginning to worry that I was getting too old for them or something - I just found them boring. This book made me realized I was bored with those books because they were boring! Although the supersonic speed with which Kate and Eric fell in love was anything but credible (Miguel's long term quasi-stalker adoration is in another type of category), the story was still fun, fast-paced and a page turner.
March 19, 2011
Gotta admit - I adore this book..... REALLY adore.... not only is it terribly hot, but there is such a great plot with it.
July 26, 2012
I LOVE this book, it always comes with me on holiday.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews