Title: Deeper
Author: Megan Hart
Genre: Erotica/Romance (Harlequin’s Spice line)
Rating: ★★★
Back Cover: Twenty years ago she had her whole life spread out before her. She was Bess Walsh, a fresh-scrubbed, middle-class student ready to conquer the design world. And she was taken. Absolutely and completely.
But not by Andy, her well-groomed, intellectual boyfriend who had hinted more than once about a ring. No. During that hot summer as a waitress and living on the beach, she met Nick, the moody, dark-haired, local bad boy. He was, to put it mildly, not someone she could take home to Daddy.
Instead, Nick became her dirty little secret— a fervent sexual accomplice who knew how to ignite an all-consuming obsession she had no idea she carried deep within her.
Bess had always wondered what happened to Nick after that summer, after their promise to meet again. And now, back at the beach house and taking a break from responsibility, from marriage, from life, she discovers his heartbreaking fate—and why he never came back for her. Suddenly Nick’s name is on her lips…his hands on her thighs…dark hair and eyes called back from the swirling gray of purgatory’s depths.
Dead, alive, or something in between, they can’t stop their hunger.
She wouldn’t dare.
Side note: I wonder who was writing this back cover copy. It doesn’t match some of the story. She wasn’t studying design, and she wasn’t a waitress.
REVIEW:
First, let me say that this was my maiden venture into the very popular genre of Erotic Romance, sometimes called Romantica. Typically, straight up erotica is focused on the sexual side of the story and not much else. Those kinds of books don’t hold much interest for me. My favorite part of any romantic story is the build-up and tension. If the characters just jump in bed from the get-go, I don’t really feel engaged with the story.
So, when I heard that there is a new crop of erotica that includes romantic plots, I was intrigued. (Plus, I could use it as research, since I am writing a romance. I wanted to see what delineated erotic romance from the sensual romance.)
However, after reading Deeper, I’m a little on the fence about the novel and the genre.
Things that made me happy:
–The novel alternates “Then” chapters (the story of Bess’s summer with Nick when she was 21) with “Now” chapters (the story of Nick’s supernatural return and the ensuing relationship when Beth comes back to the beach 20 years later). I enjoyed reading the two parallel narratives.
–I cared enough about the characters to feel sad at points in the book
–the relationship was monogamous
–the MC was likable and believable
–there was a little bit of happily ever after
Things I didn’t love:
–Okay, so I know it’s erotica, but sometimes the sex scenes seemed to just be there because the author was afraid too many pages had passed without any nookie. Perhaps this is a genre issue for me more than this specific book. I found myself skimming a lot of these scenes–something I never do in a regular romance. : )
–There were a lot of loose strings that never tied to anything. For instance, she goes into a new age store and buys books on spirits to try to help figure out what’s going on. But, she never reads them. As a reader, I’m making mental notes on things like–oh, that will be important later. But then they weren’t. So what was the point of mentioning them in the first place?
–The climax (ha, punny) was quick and not fully explored. I don’t want to write spoilers, but at the end I still had a number of questions unanswered.
Overall: I’m giving this three stars because I’m not giving up on the author or genre yet. The book held my interest and I think with a few tweaks, could have been great. The majority of reviewers on Amazon gave it the full five stars, so maybe I’m just picky.
Warning: This book is an 18 and over read. Also, if you are offended by frank language or fully described sex scenes, this won’t be for you.
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