| Title: | Erotic Amusements | |
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| Author: | Justine Elyot | |
| Publication Date: | August 2011 | |
| Publisher's Description | In Goldsands, there are many amusements to be had for those willing to give in to their deepest desires... The seaside resort town of Goldsands is a place of dreamers and transients who wash in and out like the tide. But its picture-postcard prettiness conceals some sinister realities. Coldhearted mogul Charles Cordwainer owns most of the local businesses, both legitimate and illicit, and more than a few of its residents. Michelle, Cordwainer's submissive: despite her loyalty, he plans to turn her over to another man. Flipp, the new girl in town: she has a dark past and a penchant for bondage. Rocky, Cordwainer's right-hand man: a sexy biker with eyes for Flipp. Laura, Goldsands's carnival queen: an über-bitch with her sights fixed on Rocky. Secrets, betrayals, lovers all become intertwined-and when someone starts digging up the dirt on Cordwainer's empire, nothing will ever be the same... |
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| My rating: | ** | |
This book was nearly incomprehensible to me. Too much happened in it, and while trying to provide decent erotic romance and compelling mystery, Ms. Elyot really provided neither. What was the deal with Flip and Rocky? I get that they liked to have sex with one another, but I never really believed in their romance. I read this entire book, and didn’t come out of it liking even one character. Well, maybe Flip. Rocky seemed irredeemable. He was the enforcer for a thug, and we’re to understand that he did some awful things in the name of work, so how was he better than any other crook in this novel? I don’t believe in love as redemptive, so to me, he’s just the same scum, only with somebody who knows and (possibly) loves that scumminess. Um, yay?
Also, regardless of how much I didn’t like this book, I do not see how this title was chosen for it. There was an amusement area in the town, but I wouldn’t say that it really factored hugely into what happened in this book. And what happened in other parts of this book is so far away from my idea of amusing that I’m having trouble reconciling the discrepancy. A woman with low self-esteem who allows herself to be owned and traded by men is not something that I find erotic or amusing. So why the title? This may be the only mystery related to this book that I would like to have solved.
Ugh.
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