Well, I’m having a helluva week (month?) here, but I don’t like to dwell on negative stuff, so I’ll tell you about what I’ve been reading instead. Nothing like great fiction to pull you away from your own problems! :)First up for me was my pal Portia Da Costa’s forthcoming novel IN TOO DEEP, which I was lucky enough to have an ARC of. Rush out and order it! Here’s the cover copy:
YOU'VE GOT MAIL AND IT'LL MAKE YOUR HAIR CURL!
Librarian Gwendolyne Price starts finding indecent proposals and sexy stories in her suggestion box. Shocked that they seem to be tailored specifically to her own deepest sexual fantasies, she begins a tantalising relationship with a man she's never met. But, pretty soon, erotic letters and toe-curlingly sensual emails just aren't enough. She has to meet her mysterious correspondent in the flesh.
I adored this story! Portia’s novels always have a a locked-in kind of romantic eroticism that seduces the reader, and IN TOO DEEP is a particularly good example of this. The story maintains a really tight focus on a developing relationship, which makes it a totally compelling read. Once you start a novel that has that quality, it gets very hard to put it down.
What impresses me whenever I read Portia’s work is that her work is highly erotic throughout the story and at the very same time it’s charting the growth in the relationship. With IN TOO DEEP, this means exploring the relationship from a very raunchy, almost dangerous set up, through desire, need, passion, emotional enrichment to the deep dark point and beyond. It’s her talent of binding it all up together whilst also remaining erotic through out that is (for me) the key to Portia’s talent.
IN TOO DEEP is another first person story and it works well for the storyline, with the mystery male protag expressing himself in letters and online chat. Only a few writers can do 1st person well over a full-length erotic novel, and this one is a great example. IN TOO DEEP is also full of witty descriptions and humorous, often laugh-out-loud moments. Portia has got a great sense of humour and I love that she’s letting it rip! :) Another of her skills is portraying the well-rounded, down to earth and realistic character. Her characters are totally engaging.
IN TOO DEEP is out in the UK in just a couple of days, with publication in the US in November. Treat yourself to this lusty librarians love story and you won’t be disappointed!
Amazon UK
Amazon com
