About A Book Mondays

The Sweetest Taboo by Risque



Here’s the blurb:

The sweetest taboo–if you want it, come get it. . . .

Yuri and Drae are keeping secrets–each caught up in her own whirlwind of scandal and passion. They swore as children that they would never conceal anything from each other, but now, as adults, they realize that not everything is meant to be told. Yuri is married to Jeff, a man she never really loved yet settled for. During a trip to the Caribbean she begins a torrid affair with her longtime friend Britt, a rising reggae star she has always secretly desired. Drae, a high school guidance counselor, is married to Hassan, a sadistic porn king who makes her “audition” his actors and actresses while he gets off on the wild, and not always consensual, sex. As Yuri and Drae struggle to keep up their double lives, their clandestine cover-ups come to light–and the consequences are more than either of them bargained for.

Here’s what I thought:

Last December when I made my usual monthly… err… okay… bi-weekly… err… okay, fine… weekly trip to the book store, I saw this book by an author whom I hadn’t heard of before. I have to admit I made a couple of trips past the book before picking it up. There was something about the cover... It didn’t really speak to me. I guess I’m just not all that turned on by naked women on a cover. But something, I don’t know what, kept bringing me back to this book, beckoning me to pick it up. Maybe it was the author’s name. Bold, one word, cool: Risque . In any case, I picked up the book after about the third time walking by it and read the blub. 'Hmm, interesting blurb. Seems like it’s going to be full of drama,' I thought. So I purchased the book. I started reading it that night and stayed up all night to finish it. The book was so good I went back and re-read parts right after I finished it. I had one of those 'how in the hell did she do that' moments that we writers get when we read a really good book. The book was so amazing to me that I got up from my bed, went to the computer to try and figure out who this Risque person was. By now you can probably sense this isn’t a typical book review. That’s because I can’t really put into words all the things that I loved about this book. It was funny, full of drama, hot as all get out, took my emotions through the ringer and back again, and it even had some romantic elements. The characterization was crisp, on-point and made for a dynamic read. I had so many laugh-out loud moments as I read it. And the sex scenes had me searching for a fan… or something. It’s like Risque figured out a way to combine the best of a variety of genres and mold them all together in this one fantastic read. I think the book should be a case study for how to mix and blend elements from a variety of genres. It has become one of my favorite books. And I’ve since figured out who this author is and found some of the books she has written under her real name and she has become one of my must-read authors. If you are interested in reading a fantastic blend of erotic, urban, romantic and comedic fiction that will make you laugh, cry and get good and mad all while you turn the pages as quickly as your little fingers will allow, then you are looking for The Sweetest Taboo . If anyone else has read this book, I’d love to hear what you thought about it.

much love and peace,

Gwyneth