Naughty Little Secret by Shelley Bradley

I'm really surprised I've never blogged about any of the erotica I've read. Maybe I just haven't found one to talk about until now. And this is going to be more of a rant than a review. This book really bugged me and now I'm going to tell you why.

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

First, a bit of a discussion on erotica/erotic romance. From now on I'm calling it ER, because I get tired of writing such a long description every time. he-he. Anyway, here are a couple of thoughts. I know ER is supposed to be tittilating and kinky. I get that. That's actually why I read it. Sometimes I'm looking for something that's a little bit out there sexually and it's fun to view it through someone else's eyes.

However, I hate ER when there's really no plot and it's all about the sex. And that's where this book comes in.

To give you some background. Lauren is a divorcee who is secretly lusting after her boss, who is a friend of her ex-husband (complicated much?). Nick, the "hero" is in love with Lauren, but has hidden it all these years by sleeping with a gazillion women to try to "wipe" her from his mind. *eye roll*

One day, while working on a project together, Lauren discovers a note on her desk with the words You. Me. Naked skin. Shared fantasies. A whole night. Soon. Instead of freaking out like a normal woman, Lauren brushes it off and acts like she'd actually be interested in seeing where this messed up note goes. At this point, I was rolling my eyes so hard they almost rolled out of my head. I persevered though, just because I had a morbid case of curiosity going on and couldn't "put" the book down. *sigh* I should've know better.

She goes home that night, gets ready for bed and thinks about Nick. Whoop-ti-do. I don’t know if I’m psychic, but by that point I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen. And I was right. I’m going to go into detail here. If you don’t want to know, do not highlight.

*start spoiler*Nick sneaks into her house late at night, wearing a ski mask, leather gloves and goes up to her room where he proceeds to handcuff her to her bed and start touching her intimately. He basically starts having sex with her before she’s even awake. She puts up the most token of protests, but as soon as he starts playing with her nipples, she’s all gung-ho about him having his way with her. Her husband didn’t care about her sexual needs, so she’s been hard-up for years. After having a powerful orgasm because of him going down on her, they get to the point where they have sex. And this is where I completely lost all interest in this book. Instead of doing something like insisting he wear a condom, she lets him enter her bareback. I was so aghast by this point that I wanted to reach out and smack the author for the sheer stupidity behind that whole thing. *End Spoiler*

*ahem* Sorry, but that really, really bugged me. And to add insult to injury, the heroine is a complete and total moron. Once things are revealed and they are a true couple (of idiots) and after Nick has basically bent over backwards trying to prove his love for her, she does something so completely obnoxious, that I was hard-pressed to finish the book.

It’s only through the “wisdom” of her sister that she finally decides. And the end? Talk about a cop-out. Completely changes her tune. I won’t give it all away, though I’m sorely tempted, but in the end this book irritated me so much I deleted it as soon as I was done.

And as to the whited-out area up above, I’m going to say something here that will make me sound like a complete weirdo, I’m sure. But I feel the need to say it especially after what happened up above. *ahem* And it’s going to be in white…crap, hate doing that, but it’s necessary.

I think just about every woman out there have the fantasy of being dominated in bed by a man or has a “rape” fantasy where she is completely powerless in bed. It’s completely normal and healthy to have a fantasy. Perfectly normal, in fact. What bugs me about this book, is that it’s the reality of this story. Nick might think he’s fulfilling her fantasy, but when the first sex scene rolls around? It might as well be rape, because SHE WAS ASLEEP!!! I don’t know how much clearer I can make it. If you’re going to actually act out that particular fantasy, it should be with someone you’ve already been with and whom you have a lot a trust in. It’s not easy for a woman to give up her power, even if it is in bed. Just saying. And that’s my 2 cents.

And that’s why this book is being graded so low for me. I hate being the bearer of bad tidings, but this book would only be worth reading if you have a sadistic streak and like banging your head against the wall.

My Rating: D-