A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW | Reviewed by: Erona Diane Hill
My heart was pounding to near bursting at the end of this incredible, delicious, dreamy, and creamy story! Charlotte Stein is a master of her craft. She is in a league all her own...All of us should applaud her and her prowess! From the get-go, I was held entranced. Each word spoke to me and while there was the story-within-a-story bit, I found myself falling into this profound world and desperately wanting to be Allie. Allie is our heroine, she writes erotica when she thinks no one is looking, but someone has been looking. His name is Cameron and I could melt in his embrace. I have to say, Cameron is my favorite character created by Charlotte Stein. I have read her catalog, but Cameron makes me want to wrap my arms around him and never let go! He is the perfect blend of Beta and Alpha--not too demanding that he's frightening and not too submissive that I get bored. He's just...perfect. I fell hard for him because of his prim demeanor that hid devilishly wicked thoughts and I could practically see his beautiful smile that concealed just a bit of vulnerability. Even though this story was rich in decadent eroticism, the descriptions of the characters were vivid and well-written. This line had me laughing out loud because it was so Cameron that I knew him instantly, "Sometimes it’s hard to read the expressions on his immense face, and it gets even harder when he says things like this: ‘You look really ... great. Just very ... pleasant.’ Because I remember how often he used to search for words, as though the real, normal, sane ones eluded him. As though his brain constantly wanted to put weird things in there instead, like You look really pumpkin. Just very bicycle." Too funny, Ms. Stein. And then Charlotte Stein would add odd descriptive factors that made the scene even more detailed like this one, "and then I have to tell them why and it’s mortifying somehow. It’s like pulling a tooth. Out of my vagina." "Sadly, this only puts me in the spotlight again. I feel like a Vegas stripper, only without the feathers. Or spangly nipple-covers. Or skin." "Sue me – he’s just interrupted the most profound moment of my life. I think I had minor embolism, I epiphanied so hard." I absolutely adore Ms. Stein's unique writing voice. Her descriptions, her plots, her characters are all their own. She had made them real to me and as a reader, that is what I crave from my fiction. Bravo, Charlotte Stein, Bravo! Now I just have to find a few dozen roses to throw on the stage...
Feb 09, 2012 | B005KT24L4
5 - Rare Top Pick | 4.5 - Top Pick | 4 - I Liked It | 3.5 - Enjoyable | 3 - OK | 2.5 - It just didn't click
Book Blurb for Telling Tales
Allie has held a brightly burning torch for Wade since college. They were part of a writing group together, and everything about those days with him, Corin and Kitty fills her with longing. All of her old and most decadent fantasies are coming back to her as though they never left, and when their former Professor leaves them his rambling mansion in his will, it’s a chance for them all to reunite. But there’s more than friendship bubbling beneath the surface. As secrets are revealed and relationships rekindled, the stories get dirtier and the stakes get higher. And now Allie’s realized that she isn’t quite sure who she wants…fun-loving Wade, or quiet, restrained Corin. Neither of them have been honest with her about their feelings. And now all four have the chance to act on the tales that ignite their most primal desires.
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