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Author: Keri Arthur
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Release Date: 31 January 2006
Date Finished: 26 September 2010
Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid
Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Women UnBound, GLBT Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge, R.I.P. V
The Short and Sweet of It
Riley Jensen, half-werewolf half-vampire, works as a liaison for an organization designed to police the nonhuman part of society, but when her brother goes missing, Riley finds herself forced to take a more active role. And it just had to happen right before the full moon when the more basic urges of werewolves take over.
The Sex of It aka Why It's Banned
We're talking lots and lots of explicitly described, down and dirty sex. Book banners may actually have heart attacks and die if they read this one. Even I wouldn't suggest a younger person to read this.
While Riley's brother is gay, the sex remains hetero throughout, but we're not exactly talking about missionary-position, virginal wedding night type stuff here. Instead we have writhing, naked bodies pressed together on a dance floor and indiscriminate, unapologetic sex in public with multiple partners - whether simultaneously or one after the other.
The basic reasoning behind these activities is interesting: werewolves go into heat the week before the full moon and their lust is practically uncontrollable. Because of these natural urges, they have created an ideology of casual sex. It is their way, and they do not feel like they should apologize for it just because current human morality frowns upon such activities. I appreciate Arthur's logic here, and I applaud the premise that different cultures vary in morality and these variances should be respected.
I think I'll pass on giving you the actual sex scenes from the book, but rest assured that passages are full of words such as the following: urges, erotic, lick, thrumming, sensual, hunger, caress, heat, quivering, deep, scream, intimate, electricity, carnal, skin, vibrated, roll over...you get the picture.
Overall Recommendation
Obviously, there was a whole lot of sex in this story, but I have to admit that it left me a bit cold. I'm not sure why exactly, but while the author kept telling me how hot the sex was, I just wasn't feeling it. This is the first in a series of books, and I don't think I'll keep going. Harris, Roberts, and Lowell satisfy my need for sexy novels, and really I just have enough series to read that I don't need to spend time on ones I feel lukewarm about.
This Book Around the Web
If I've missed your review, let me know!
Damn Heart; GoodReads;
A Sexy Question: How old do you think a person has to be before he/she can reasonably read "romance" novels? And I mean that in the "throbbing member", Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Lowell, Jayne Ann Krentz, etc. sense not the Nicholas Sparks sense.
Sexiness Kiss Quotient:
I definitely think that the "best" sex in books is that which is left mostly to the imagination!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if this book would be for me basically for the same reasons that you and the above poster mentioned. I like the sex in my book to be a little more understated. I definitely don't think the book should be banned though, because there is a reader and audience for every book under the sun!
ReplyDeleteYeah this sounds like it would leave me cold too. Sometimes sex scenes just don't do it at all for me. And I'm not sure there is a set age, but rather that it would depend on the kid and the family. Possibly?
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about the werewolf "culture" being casual about sex. There's a similar theme in The Better To Hold You, though in that case it is more of the "primal urge" and the concept of a female being "in heat." Have you read that one? It would definitely fit for your sexy week!
ReplyDeleteAnother book that I'm sure would be highly controversial (though I don't know if it was every actually challenged or banned) is A Companion to Wolves. That one has a great deal of m/m sex in it, as well as group sex, in the context of a wolf pack.
I've reviewed both books on my blog if you are interested in checking them out. Not that you need MORE sexy things to read this week though ... :)
Although some of them are good, I don't think "naughty books" should be read by even most high schoolers, and certainly not below the age of 13 or so.
ReplyDeleteI'm also tempted to say that no one who hasn't had sex should read these kinds of books. They're somewhat like pornography, in the sense that they can give an impression of sex that's not entirely (or even REMOTELY) accurate.
That being said, I did read some of this type of literature in high school, and I'm mostly okay. *twitch, twitch*
Jill - Exactly!
ReplyDeleteHeather - I agree. This may be someone's idea of a great book, and I am a-okay with that.
Amy - I definitely think every individual case is different, but I'm wondering if there's sort of an average...or would you let a really really mature 13 year old read a book like this? I'm just not sure.
Heather - Thanks for the suggestions! Werewolves definitely lend themselves to some naughty sex because of their animal nature.
Bookzilla - Good point about virgins getting fuzzy ideas about sex from books like this. I started reading romance novels pretty earlier and was a bit surprised... :)
I started reading the kind of books that feature throbbing members when I was about 12 or 13 and avidly curious. Ah, the delightful dirtiness of it! I reveled in it. Then I quickly got them out of my system and don't read romances to this day.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what age I think people should read this kind of stuff, because people vary so widely in their development. The first time my daughter wanted to read a relatively explicit book, I chose to read it with her, so I could gauge her reactions and discuss any questions that might arise. If I'd said "no," I would have missed a great parenting opportunity. And if she's anything like me, she would've read it anyway.
I have found that sometimes the more explicit a sex scene is, the less sexy it becomes. Odd, huh?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure about the book, but I am now humming CCR. Not exactly the same title, but close enough to get the song stuck in my head! lol
ReplyDeleteI don't enjoy reading too explicit sex scenes but maybe I have never read a book that handled it well? Banning-no way.
ReplyDeleteStephanie - I'm laughing so hard at that last line! Kids always find a way don't they? I was really young when I read my first romance novel too, and while reading it was deliciously dirty, it didn't exactly shock me. Kids know about sex pretty early in this world.
ReplyDeleteJenners - That is so very true. Our imaginations are so much sexier than the words on the page.
Kailana - I had that problem the entire book! Glad to see another CCR fan - or at least someone who knows their music. :)
Caroline - If the sex scenes are too explicit, it ends up sounding too clinical I think. Besides leaving a bit of it up to the imagination can be much sexier.
I have read this book so many times I lost count but each time it sucks me in and I still can't put it down once I start it. So there is no surprise I have to read all nine once I start book one. It's "The evolution of Quinn and Riley". Well that's what I call it. A timeless love that goes through many ups and downs.
ReplyDelete