This article was published by Book Thingo via RSS. If you're not reading this through your feedreader or via a Feedburner email subscription, please report it to us here. Thank you.
A taut, intense and brilliantly written erotic read in the first book of a trilogy that Fifty Shades wants to be when it grows up.
Zachary Easton is the most brutal editor of ‘high brow’ literature around, and Nora Sutherlin, best-selling erotica writer, wants him for her next book. Unbeknownst to Zach, Nora is also New York’s top dominatrix, but she’s afraid that this would cloud his impartiality in editing her work as a writer of erotic BDSM fiction. In addition, she’s running from a former lover and trying to keep her hands off Wesley, the virginal (and vanilla) nineteen-year-old she lives with.
Everything about The Siren is deliciously complicated and it’s an experience I don’t want to spoil (plus I’m not in the habit of killing fairies, so to speak).
“I like doing things that hurt.” She gave him a Cheshire cat grin.
Nora pretty much introduced herself as one of my new favourite literary heroines of all time. Full of contradictions, she epitomizes female sexuality and is so wonderfully glib about all things sex that it’s both amusing and horrifying. Not to mention exciting. No wonder she’s considered dangerous. The banter between Nora and [insert any character she comes into contact with in the novel here] is fantastic, and her chemistry with all the men in her life is palpable.
There’s her editor, the tall, dark and handsome Zach, the mysterious former lover Zoren (who Alexander Skarsgard must have been the inspiration for, I just know it) and Southern gentleman Wesley. We get only glimpses of Kingsley, Nora’s friend slash ’employer’ and reluctant connection to Zoren, but he’s sure to feature in the following books. I should mention here that all these men have sexy accents. (An Englishman, an American, a Frenchman walk into a bar…)
It’s been a while since I’ve been this impressed by any book, let alone one classified as erotic fiction, but oh, my did Tiffany Reisz’s The Siren leave me breathless and, yes, at one point in tears. It was exhausting. I loved it. As an outsider going merely by those I consider as excellent writers of the genre—namely, Cherise Sinclair and Joey W. Hill—the book felt and read like a much more accurate depiction of the BDSM lifestyle.
The Siren also explores somewhat the phenomenon behind the popularity of erotic fiction, providing some insightful reasons behind its demographic not only in the dialogue but also in its situations and characters—embodied especially by Nora. Make no mistake however, the book is not at all pretentious—it’s an erotic work of romantic fiction. But to all the haters and the doubters, just because it’s erotic doesn’t mean it can’t be well written. This book is unconventional but, in my opinion, a truthful depiction of how love works and operates.
Waiting for the next two instalments (The Angel and The Prince) is agonising, but I’m sure Reisz would make the wait worthwhile.
Yay or nay?
A taut, intense and brilliantly written erotic read in the first book of a trilogy that Fifty Shades wants to be when it grows up.
Who might enjoy it: Anyone who loved or immensely disliked or is allergic to the Fifty Shades Bandwagon Phenomenon
Who might not enjoy it: Readers who want a more traditional romance, erotic or otherwise
A review copy of this book was generously provided by Harlequin Australia.
Title: The Siren (excerpt — PDF)
Series: The Original Sinners (Book 1)
Author: Tiffany Reisz
Publisher: Harlequin Spice
AUSTRALIA: Booktopia | Fishpond | Harlequin (publisher) | Other
EBOOKS: Booku | eBooks.com | Kindle UK | Kindle US
WORLDWIDE: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository | Library