Our 4.5 star review
Jack McLachan doesn’t do relationships, but he does do short
term, mutually consensual sex affairs. In fact he’s done those twelve times
in the last four years. Laurelyn Prescott does relationships, that is until
she discovers that the one she thought she was in is a lie. When
she joins her best friend Addison for a 3 month visit to Australia,
relationships aren’t on her agenda. She prefers to find romance in a good
book.
“…pick up where I stopped on the slutmance I‘d started earlier.
“
Laurelyn is a singer, whose mother has a history of addiction and
neglect and her father is someone she refers
to as the “sperm donor”. She was
the result of her mother’s fling with a famous country singer, who chose
not to be a part of Laurelyn’s life.
Addison’s family owns vineyards
in California and her brother Ben and his friend Zac are students studying
wine in Australia. Addison and Zac strike sparks off each
other immediately, Laurelyn and Ben, not so much. At least not on her
side, leading to a little bit of drama. Addison welcomes a short term fling
and knows how to keep Zac from taking her for granted. Laurelyn is a bit
skeptical on her friend’s strategy.
“You know me. I don’t want to be
that girl, the one who wears out her welcome.” Right, because dude doesn’t
owe you anything after he gets in your pants.
From the moment Jack
spots Laurelyn singing in a bar he is impressed and utilizes both his brain
and wallet to learn the necessary information to arrange for their
next “coincidental” meeting. His proposal: three months of mind blowing
sex and a fantastic time followed by a parting of the ways. Not least of
which is one of the important rules of this game; anonymity. False names, no
important shared details of their backgrounds. Laurelyn is still smarting
from her last disastrous breakup, and is hesitant to enter into such an
unconventional agreement. Although Addison offers another one of her pearls
of wisdom,
“The best way to get over somebody is to get under
someone else.”
Who can argue with such sage advice? What starts out as
the perfect uncomplicated set up quickly becomes complicated. Realizing
that they both enjoy more than a little off the charts sex (and there is
plenty of that) they reveal more details of their histories and truths about
themselves than they intended. Thrown in the mix are a couple of ex’s
who want back in, Jack’s meddling family and Laurelyn’s daddy issues and
there is plenty to keep a reader interested.
What happens when the
agreed upon three months is over, and both find that they are not ready to
say goodbye? Cates has managed to create interesting, intelligent, humorous
and sensual characters with Laurelyn and Jack. Their relationship
develops at just the right pace and there is enough heat to satisfy the
appetite. I am not normally a fan of cliffhangers and sequels, but this is
one series that I
look forward to continuing.
Purchase on Amazon
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