Tag Archives: spicyreads

Book Review- The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

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The idea of you by Robinne Lee

Synopsis:
Art-gallery owner and newly divorced single mum Solene Marchard expectedly finds herself escorting her daughter to see August Moon, her favourite band, in Vegas. But it’s during VIP meet and greet backstage, that Solene meets band member Hayes Campbell.

An instant attraction between the two leads to an agreement to lockup, only for Hayes and Solene to embark on a globe trotting love affair. Solene more reluctantly so, with the weight of their age gap and the lack of privacy that comes with dating someone famous, weighing heavily on her.


I remember rolling my eyes when I first read the blurb for this book. It sounded cheesy as hell and not my usual kind of read. But any preconceptions I had were soon dispelled when I found myself finishing the book in two days.

Like the novel’s protagonist, The Idea of You is a classy, sexy affair. Despite the outlandish premise of an older woman dating a famous musician and following him around the world, it all felt very believable, which is no small feat.

The sexual tension between Solene and Hayes was some of the best I’ve ever read. Its never cheesy or smutty, just adult descriptions of two people enjoying sex.

What I loved was the way the book used this relationship to explore societies double standards when it comes to an older woman dating a young man. This is held in contrast to Solene’s ex-husband’s relationship with a younger woman, one that goes unquestioned. It showed the price Solene pays an older woman, the judgements and the extremes of fandom.

The band, August Moon, reminded me of One Direction, and Hayes is a Harry Styles doppelganger, particularly his early relationship with an older woman, Caroline Flack and the abuse she received.

Undoubtedly, The Idea of You has become one of my favourite books of 2021 and one of the hottest, at that.

Rating: 5/5
Spice rating 5/5

BOOK REVIEW: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

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The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang


Thirty year old Stella is under pressure from her mother to settle down. Stella has Aspergers which makes her socially awkward and sex is uncomfortable for her.

“Husbands meant boyfriends. Boyfriends meant dating. Dating meant sex. She shuddered.”

But it’s a passing comment by Philip, a colleague, and just the type of man that her mum wants her to marry, that starts her thinking. He says,” a word of advice from a man who’s been around the block a few times: Get some practice. When you’re good at it, you like it better, and when you like it better, men like you better.”

If practice makes perfect, she thinks, “then maybe sex was just another interpersonal thing she needed to exert extra effort on.”

So she comes up with the idea of hiring Michael, a male escort, to teach her about sex and how to be a good girlfriend.

The premise of a Pretty Woman style role reversal (which they even joke about at one point) was what drew me to this novel.

The Kiss Quotient has quickly become one of my favourite novels this year. Not only is it a heartwarming story but boy is it steamy! I have to hand it to Helen Hoang, this book had some of the hottest sex scenes I’ve read in a while. The girl knows how to write a good sex scene, or five.

As a former teacher, I laughed out loud at Stella’s “lesson plans” with Micheal which included, ‘hand job lecture and demonstration’, ‘hand job practice’ and ‘performance review’.

The only reason I didn’t give this a full 5/5 was that i didnt quite buy into Stella suddenly losing some of autistic traits, such as those to do with the way Micheal smells and being touched by him.

What I did love, besides the smut, was the sense of community when exploring Michael’s Vietnamese heritage and the lighthearted scenes with his family and this is probably where the book works best.
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Rating:4/5
Spice rating: 5/5

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence, a classic erotic novel

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Lady Chatterley’s Lover

A classic I never get tired of re-reading is D.H.Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

This sexually explicit novel caused a scandal in Britain at the time and saw the publishers Penguin Books put on trial for obscenity.

It became notorious for its explicit descriptions of sex, its use of then-unprintable four-letter words and a reference to anal sex, which was illegal at the time.

Lawrence’s 1928 novel tells the story of a love affair between an upper class woman and a working class man. 

Constance Chatterley’s husband is paralysed from the waist down due to a war injury. Sexually and emotionally unfulfilled in her marriage, she begins an affair with the gamekeeper Mellors.

Lawrence,in this book, writes some of the best descriptions of sexual experience in the English language. He maps the full erotic experience by talking openly and honestly about it.

Lawrence, rather than writing a work of pornography, as some claimed (and still claim) has produced an passionately erotic novel that shows sex should be about pleasure and not shame.

Sex in literature still provokes strong reactions and it was one of the reasons why I wanted to set up this account, to address society’s continued discomfort with these kinds of books.
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My TBR pile for August

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August to-be-read pile

I’ve been on a bit of a book buying spree this week so i thought I’d share with you guys some of the reads I’ve picked up.

First up is Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman. I seem to be one of the few people who hasn’t seen the film, but I’ve heard great reviews so I decided to start with the novel it’s based on. I’m going in blind, knowing very little about the story other than it involves a relationship that develops between a teenage boy and his father’s assistant.

As I shared on my stories, A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister has been one I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I’m a few chapters in and it doesnt disappoint.

I’ve been looking for an easy read to balance out some of the heavier books I’ve been reading lately so I opted for The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. I was never a big reader of romance novels until lockdown when all I wanted was light reads. I also find I zip through them quite quickly which makes me feel like I’m getting a lot read.

Finally, a book by R. J. McBrien called Reckless. I saw another bookstagrammer reading this and was intrigued to see if it was any good.

Has anyone read any of these or plan to?