What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gift
Note: Original cover edition for ISBN# 9781451609158
After reading her journal of erotic fantasies, a husband gives his loving wife the ultimate gift—a forty-eight-hour pass to fulfill the desire of her choosing.
Aleesa Avis is happily married and deeply in love with her husband, a Special Forces officer serving in Afghanistan. But when Wade returns home from the war, he is psychologically injured, impotent, and struggling with the idea that he can’t satisfy the woman he loves. Aleesa still loves her husband, but she’s struggling with the loss of their once-great sex life.
While Wade was at war, Aleesa kept a journal of her secret fantasies, all featuring her husband, that she planned to give him as a gift when he returned. But since his return, their sex life has been nonexistent and Aleesa puts the journal away, hoping their marriage will go back to normal at some point.
When Aleesa heads off on a spa weekend, Wade finds the hidden diary and spends two days reading it, lost in his wife’s fantasies. His emotions run the gamut from hurt and anger to gratitude and love. To show her his love, Wade decides to give Aleesa the ultimate gift: a weekend pass for her forty-fifth birthday. She has forty-eight hours to fulfill any sexual fantasy of her choosing, outside of their marriage, no questions asked. Will Aleesa accept the gift? What would a weekend pass do to their troubled marriage?
Featuring stories for the grown and sexy, the Eden Davis series novels feature dynamic women in their forties and fifties, each dealing with life, love, and sex, working to become the confident, empowered women they were born to be.
After reading her journal of erotic fantasies, a husband gives his loving wife the ultimate gift—a forty-eight-hour pass to fulfill the desire of her choosing.
Aleesa Avis is happily married and deeply in love with her husband, a Special Forces officer serving in Afghanistan. But when Wade returns home from the war, he is psychologically injured, impotent, and struggling with the idea that he can’t satisfy the woman he loves. Aleesa still loves her husband, but she’s struggling with the loss of their once-great sex life.
While Wade was at war, Aleesa kept a journal of her secret fantasies, all featuring her husband, that she planned to give him as a gift when he returned. But since his return, their sex life has been nonexistent and Aleesa puts the journal away, hoping their marriage will go back to normal at some point.
When Aleesa heads off on a spa weekend, Wade finds the hidden diary and spends two days reading it, lost in his wife’s fantasies. His emotions run the gamut from hurt and anger to gratitude and love. To show her his love, Wade decides to give Aleesa the ultimate gift: a weekend pass for her forty-fifth birthday. She has forty-eight hours to fulfill any sexual fantasy of her choosing, outside of their marriage, no questions asked. Will Aleesa accept the gift? What would a weekend pass do to their troubled marriage?
Featuring stories for the grown and sexy, the Eden Davis series novels feature dynamic women in their forties and fifties, each dealing with life, love, and sex, working to become the confident, empowered women they were born to be.
272 pages, ebook
First published September 13, 2011
272 people want to read
About the author
Eden Davis
7 books10 followersEden Davis is the erotic alter ego of one grown and sexy Essence best-selling author. An accomplished writer of both fiction and nonfiction, she created the Eden Davis Series featuring women of a certain age, to be enjoyed by lusty women of all ages. Eden lives in the New York area and is currently working on her next series.
Okay, so that’s the official, mysterious book jacket blurb about me. All of it is true but I know it doesn’t really tell you much about me, so here’s a bit more information. I published my first book over fourteen years ago. Since then, I’ve successfully published five books (each with major publishing companies) under my real name, and now the Eden Davis “Dare” series brings my total to nine. I’m an Emmy award winning writer and have blogged for the Huffington Post—again all under my real name. So why the plume de nom?
My intention was to write under my name. But then one day, my fifteen year old daughter was nosing around my desk and found my list of creative synonyms for private parts. Now most kids would cringe with embarrassment, ignore it and move on. But not mine! She marched right upstairs to ask me why I had a list with words like “vajayjay,” “vadge” “snatch” “trim” “coochie” “nib” “girl dick” “rod” “cock” and “heavenly johnson” pinned to my bulletin board. I wanted to tell her it was because you can’t just use “dick” and “pussy” in every other sentence, but instead, I just told her the truth—that my editor had asked me to write some adult stories, stories she was not allowed to read. She said the whole thing was “nasty,” and walked out. After that episode, I didn’t feel it was fair for my kids to be stuck with a mom who wrote “nasty” stories, so Eden Davis was born.
Writing under a pen name is both exciting and disconcerting. Professionally, I feel like I’m starting all over again. It’s like being a virgin but with experience and hindsight. But in many ways, particularly when writing erotica, it’s very liberating. I’d been asked for years to write erotica, and I dabbled with a few short stories here and there in various bestselling anthologies, but I really didn’t think I had much to add to the market. Zane was kicking butt and taking names, and there were a slew of authors behind her, chasing her success. I saw no need to join the race.
But then something happened. I stopped connecting to the erotic stories I used to love. Suddenly, they didn’t speak to me anymore. What I discovered was that I was getting older but the characters in the stories weren’t. I’d long since left my twenties and thirties and the sexual shenanigans that went with them, but the characters in the vast majority of erotic stories were still fast and single and screwing their horny contemporaries. I could no longer relate, and that’s when I saw my niche and Eden Davis was born.
With The Eden Davis series I am hoping to fill a void in the genre that exists for women of a certain age. Women who have a long-term relationship and a wisdom about sex that can only come with life experience. Savvy, knowledgeable women who (like me) are transitioning into different life stages but still want to feel alive and sexy and sexual! So the Eden Davis stories are romantic and sexy and are about grown women embracing their naughty along with their nice. I hope to speak to the inner freak in every good girl no matter what her age. In each book, I even give you a Ticket to Paradise Tip—step-by-step instructions on how you might incorporate some of what you learned in the book into your own love life.
The Eden Davis Series is elegant, luxurious, lusty erotica for the grown and sexy, but women of all ages will enjoy what they find between the covers. I hope you’ll read the entire ‘Dare’ series and let me know what you think. You can contact me here or on twitter @EdensStories or on Facebook at Eden’s Stories. And please let others know what you think by leaving reviews where ever you can
Okay, so that’s the official, mysterious book jacket blurb about me. All of it is true but I know it doesn’t really tell you much about me, so here’s a bit more information. I published my first book over fourteen years ago. Since then, I’ve successfully published five books (each with major publishing companies) under my real name, and now the Eden Davis “Dare” series brings my total to nine. I’m an Emmy award winning writer and have blogged for the Huffington Post—again all under my real name. So why the plume de nom?
My intention was to write under my name. But then one day, my fifteen year old daughter was nosing around my desk and found my list of creative synonyms for private parts. Now most kids would cringe with embarrassment, ignore it and move on. But not mine! She marched right upstairs to ask me why I had a list with words like “vajayjay,” “vadge” “snatch” “trim” “coochie” “nib” “girl dick” “rod” “cock” and “heavenly johnson” pinned to my bulletin board. I wanted to tell her it was because you can’t just use “dick” and “pussy” in every other sentence, but instead, I just told her the truth—that my editor had asked me to write some adult stories, stories she was not allowed to read. She said the whole thing was “nasty,” and walked out. After that episode, I didn’t feel it was fair for my kids to be stuck with a mom who wrote “nasty” stories, so Eden Davis was born.
Writing under a pen name is both exciting and disconcerting. Professionally, I feel like I’m starting all over again. It’s like being a virgin but with experience and hindsight. But in many ways, particularly when writing erotica, it’s very liberating. I’d been asked for years to write erotica, and I dabbled with a few short stories here and there in various bestselling anthologies, but I really didn’t think I had much to add to the market. Zane was kicking butt and taking names, and there were a slew of authors behind her, chasing her success. I saw no need to join the race.
But then something happened. I stopped connecting to the erotic stories I used to love. Suddenly, they didn’t speak to me anymore. What I discovered was that I was getting older but the characters in the stories weren’t. I’d long since left my twenties and thirties and the sexual shenanigans that went with them, but the characters in the vast majority of erotic stories were still fast and single and screwing their horny contemporaries. I could no longer relate, and that’s when I saw my niche and Eden Davis was born.
With The Eden Davis series I am hoping to fill a void in the genre that exists for women of a certain age. Women who have a long-term relationship and a wisdom about sex that can only come with life experience. Savvy, knowledgeable women who (like me) are transitioning into different life stages but still want to feel alive and sexy and sexual! So the Eden Davis stories are romantic and sexy and are about grown women embracing their naughty along with their nice. I hope to speak to the inner freak in every good girl no matter what her age. In each book, I even give you a Ticket to Paradise Tip—step-by-step instructions on how you might incorporate some of what you learned in the book into your own love life.
The Eden Davis Series is elegant, luxurious, lusty erotica for the grown and sexy, but women of all ages will enjoy what they find between the covers. I hope you’ll read the entire ‘Dare’ series and let me know what you think. You can contact me here or on twitter @EdensStories or on Facebook at Eden’s Stories. And please let others know what you think by leaving reviews where ever you can
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 26, 2013
"Dare to be Tempted" was a touching novel.
The synopsis wasn't anything I haven't heard of before, but I'd be lying if I said that it didn't keep me interested.
Theoretically speaking, I could feel for both characters and their predicaments. Sexually depraved Aleesa loves her husband Wade with all her heart and can't wait for him to return home from Afghanistan. When he does come home he's a changed man and they're sex life is nonexistent and she's devastated. To give her some leverage, he makes a deal with her that allows her a 48 hour period to fulfill her greatest desires. ONLY, WILL THIS BE ENOUGH OR WILL THIS BACKFIRE AND TEAR THEM APART?
My thoughts:
So like I mentioned before, I felt for Aleesa and Wade's characters. Aleesa is just your typical wifey who can't wait for her hubby to come home but because of the war he's mentally obscured and has a hard time readjusting to normal life.
I've never been in a relationship with a guy in the military but I know a couple of girls who have and it's not an easy life. Some have had their guy's return with mental disorders like PTSD and such and so I could really sympathize with how broken and hurt Wade felt after he returned home and the predicament he finds himself when he comes home to his wife.
"Dare to be Tempted" is a heartwarming and heart-wrenching read that truly shows the testament of trust and true love. Pick it up when it comes out. :)
The synopsis wasn't anything I haven't heard of before, but I'd be lying if I said that it didn't keep me interested.
Theoretically speaking, I could feel for both characters and their predicaments. Sexually depraved Aleesa loves her husband Wade with all her heart and can't wait for him to return home from Afghanistan. When he does come home he's a changed man and they're sex life is nonexistent and she's devastated. To give her some leverage, he makes a deal with her that allows her a 48 hour period to fulfill her greatest desires. ONLY, WILL THIS BE ENOUGH OR WILL THIS BACKFIRE AND TEAR THEM APART?
My thoughts:
So like I mentioned before, I felt for Aleesa and Wade's characters. Aleesa is just your typical wifey who can't wait for her hubby to come home but because of the war he's mentally obscured and has a hard time readjusting to normal life.
I've never been in a relationship with a guy in the military but I know a couple of girls who have and it's not an easy life. Some have had their guy's return with mental disorders like PTSD and such and so I could really sympathize with how broken and hurt Wade felt after he returned home and the predicament he finds himself when he comes home to his wife.
"Dare to be Tempted" is a heartwarming and heart-wrenching read that truly shows the testament of trust and true love. Pick it up when it comes out. :)
June 25, 2013
I dont know much about Eden Davis other than she has written a really interesting book. About a woman my age and dealing with issues a woman my age would and does deal with. She manages to bring real life into the story while all the while keeping the fantasy up front and personal.
"Featuring stories for the grown and sexy, the Eden Davis series novels feature dynamic women in their forties and fifties, each dealing with life, love, and sex, working to become the confident, empowered women they were born to be."
I know part of you wants to step back and think well how sexy is that? and my answer is.... PLENTY!!
Aleesa Davis is a war wife.. Her reservest husband has been sent to Afghanistan and has been gone for the last 18months.. Finally his tour is over and he is on his way home... While Aleesa is madly in love with her knight in shining armor husband, she has become a different woman while he is gone. One of the things she has explored was her sexuality through fantasy. She wanted to make sure and include Wade so she wrote a "Freaky Book" with all of her fantasies inside. She even made an appointment to have herself photographed in some sensual poses.. What a surprise Wade has coming to him.. Welcome Home.
Wade Davis has been going through some issues of his own.. namely that he has been wounded and been recovering for the last 5 months. Some of it right down the street in Washington DC.. All without letting Aleesa know because he didn't want to "worry" her. Now he is home still recovering and not able to perform sexually. Wade loves his wife, his guilt has has lead him to make some really bad choices.. and believe me they were bad.. When he finds the book at first he is furious, then intrigued and finally eaten by guilt he offers her a 48 hour pass to have an affair with anyone of her choice (did I mention BAD CHOICES?).
This book while incredibly sizzling was not about sex.. it was about a marriage and how two people who completely love each other grow apart. I will say war didn't help but Wade just ticked me off.. There were things that I don't know if I could have forgiven, like not telling his wife he was recovering in the states..or even telling her he was wounded.. There were more but spoilers.. and I want you all to read this book.
Honestly, while Aleesa is trying to deal with a husband who no longer wants her she is dealing with forbidden fruit. There was an instant attraction with the photographer who took her naughty shots and the more Wade pushes her away the more. I know there are always attractions, people that send a sizzle down our spine even when we are married..that's life. The story is always in whether or not to act upon them. It's hard enough to remain supportive to a husband who won't help himself, but now he is literally pushing her into the arms of another man... What will Aleesa do? And more honestly, what should she do?
This is a tough subject yet written in such a loving manner that Ms Davis nails it. I am sure there are plenty of military wives who have to deal with similar issues..
I want you all to read this book, seriously read it.. then come back and discuss it here. Dare to be Tempted deserves more than a quick read and a faster review. It deserves to be tested, tasted and enjoyed..
Shauni
This review is based on the ARC of Dare to Be Tempted provided by netgalley
"Featuring stories for the grown and sexy, the Eden Davis series novels feature dynamic women in their forties and fifties, each dealing with life, love, and sex, working to become the confident, empowered women they were born to be."
I know part of you wants to step back and think well how sexy is that? and my answer is.... PLENTY!!
Aleesa Davis is a war wife.. Her reservest husband has been sent to Afghanistan and has been gone for the last 18months.. Finally his tour is over and he is on his way home... While Aleesa is madly in love with her knight in shining armor husband, she has become a different woman while he is gone. One of the things she has explored was her sexuality through fantasy. She wanted to make sure and include Wade so she wrote a "Freaky Book" with all of her fantasies inside. She even made an appointment to have herself photographed in some sensual poses.. What a surprise Wade has coming to him.. Welcome Home.
Wade Davis has been going through some issues of his own.. namely that he has been wounded and been recovering for the last 5 months. Some of it right down the street in Washington DC.. All without letting Aleesa know because he didn't want to "worry" her. Now he is home still recovering and not able to perform sexually. Wade loves his wife, his guilt has has lead him to make some really bad choices.. and believe me they were bad.. When he finds the book at first he is furious, then intrigued and finally eaten by guilt he offers her a 48 hour pass to have an affair with anyone of her choice (did I mention BAD CHOICES?).
This book while incredibly sizzling was not about sex.. it was about a marriage and how two people who completely love each other grow apart. I will say war didn't help but Wade just ticked me off.. There were things that I don't know if I could have forgiven, like not telling his wife he was recovering in the states..or even telling her he was wounded.. There were more but spoilers.. and I want you all to read this book.
Honestly, while Aleesa is trying to deal with a husband who no longer wants her she is dealing with forbidden fruit. There was an instant attraction with the photographer who took her naughty shots and the more Wade pushes her away the more. I know there are always attractions, people that send a sizzle down our spine even when we are married..that's life. The story is always in whether or not to act upon them. It's hard enough to remain supportive to a husband who won't help himself, but now he is literally pushing her into the arms of another man... What will Aleesa do? And more honestly, what should she do?
This is a tough subject yet written in such a loving manner that Ms Davis nails it. I am sure there are plenty of military wives who have to deal with similar issues..
I want you all to read this book, seriously read it.. then come back and discuss it here. Dare to be Tempted deserves more than a quick read and a faster review. It deserves to be tested, tasted and enjoyed..
Shauni
This review is based on the ARC of Dare to Be Tempted provided by netgalley
June 30, 2013
Synopsis:
The second book in the sexy Elle Series comes alive when an impotent husband gives his loving wife the ultimate gift—a forty-eight- hour pass to fulfill any sexual fantasy of her choosing.
Aleesa is happily married and deeply in love with her second husband, and knight in shining armor, Army Reservist Walter Davis. After a two-year tour in Afghanistan, he returns home injured, impotent and struggling to keep a wartime secret that is sure to end his marriage. While Walter was away at war, Aleesa worked hard on his homecoming gift, a bound “freak book” featuring all of her delightfully decadent sexual fantasies, complete with boudoir photos taken by the talented and oh-so tempting Josiah Newman. But since his return, sex has been a nonstarter, the freak book a dismal failure, and as Walter struggles to come to terms with the ghosts of his warrior past, Aleesa finds her storybook marriage spiraling into the abyss of anger and depression.
While she’s off on a girls’ getaway, Walter spends his days reading and getting lost in her sexual scenarios. His emotions span the gamut from anger to empathy and gratitude. Hoping it will assuage his guilt for being a failed husband, and allow them to move on, he gives his wife the ultimate anniversary gift—forty-eight hours to fulfill any sexual fantasy of her choosing. Aleesa, hurt and angry that Walt would even suggest such a thing, initially declines, but when his secret comes out and the truth is revealed, his gift becomes her ticket to ultimate revenge. But if she accepts, will it also unwrap the final bow holding together their troubled marriage?
The Gift explores the complicated journey of marital relations and the intriguing concept of sexual healing.
Review:
Dare To Be Tempted finds Aleesa Davis preparing for the arrival of her husband Walter, after a two-year stint in Afghanistan. She goes all out to make this homecoming a memorable one by creating a “freak book” of her sexual fantasies and photos to spice up their first night reunited as husband and wife. After time and effort when the big homecoming arrives, Walter comes home injured and unable to perform his husbandly duties. As the story progresses the couple experience a myriad of emotions and challenges that forces Walter to offer Aleesa an anniversary gift to fulfill one of her sexual fantasies from her “freak book” Did Aleesa accept the gift and did Walter ever come to terms with his ghosts and injury, readers will need to read the book to find out.
The theme of the story touched on several aspects dealing with marital relations, sexual healing, honesty, communication and selfishness. While this was an ok read, the female character in this book sometimes came across as being understanding one minute and then displaying selfish tendencies the next. The male character was not totally innocent in this story, however it felt as if this marriage so solely based just on sex alone. This was my first book by the author and am curious to see how the next installment pans out.
Deborah A. Fortner
Urban Divaz Reviews
The second book in the sexy Elle Series comes alive when an impotent husband gives his loving wife the ultimate gift—a forty-eight- hour pass to fulfill any sexual fantasy of her choosing.
Aleesa is happily married and deeply in love with her second husband, and knight in shining armor, Army Reservist Walter Davis. After a two-year tour in Afghanistan, he returns home injured, impotent and struggling to keep a wartime secret that is sure to end his marriage. While Walter was away at war, Aleesa worked hard on his homecoming gift, a bound “freak book” featuring all of her delightfully decadent sexual fantasies, complete with boudoir photos taken by the talented and oh-so tempting Josiah Newman. But since his return, sex has been a nonstarter, the freak book a dismal failure, and as Walter struggles to come to terms with the ghosts of his warrior past, Aleesa finds her storybook marriage spiraling into the abyss of anger and depression.
While she’s off on a girls’ getaway, Walter spends his days reading and getting lost in her sexual scenarios. His emotions span the gamut from anger to empathy and gratitude. Hoping it will assuage his guilt for being a failed husband, and allow them to move on, he gives his wife the ultimate anniversary gift—forty-eight hours to fulfill any sexual fantasy of her choosing. Aleesa, hurt and angry that Walt would even suggest such a thing, initially declines, but when his secret comes out and the truth is revealed, his gift becomes her ticket to ultimate revenge. But if she accepts, will it also unwrap the final bow holding together their troubled marriage?
The Gift explores the complicated journey of marital relations and the intriguing concept of sexual healing.
Review:
Dare To Be Tempted finds Aleesa Davis preparing for the arrival of her husband Walter, after a two-year stint in Afghanistan. She goes all out to make this homecoming a memorable one by creating a “freak book” of her sexual fantasies and photos to spice up their first night reunited as husband and wife. After time and effort when the big homecoming arrives, Walter comes home injured and unable to perform his husbandly duties. As the story progresses the couple experience a myriad of emotions and challenges that forces Walter to offer Aleesa an anniversary gift to fulfill one of her sexual fantasies from her “freak book” Did Aleesa accept the gift and did Walter ever come to terms with his ghosts and injury, readers will need to read the book to find out.
The theme of the story touched on several aspects dealing with marital relations, sexual healing, honesty, communication and selfishness. While this was an ok read, the female character in this book sometimes came across as being understanding one minute and then displaying selfish tendencies the next. The male character was not totally innocent in this story, however it felt as if this marriage so solely based just on sex alone. This was my first book by the author and am curious to see how the next installment pans out.
Deborah A. Fortner
Urban Divaz Reviews
September 5, 2016
Over all it was a decent read. I didn't enjoy the writing style that the woman in the book had for her "journal" it was so ridiculous, I ended up skipping most of it because of the nick names for her pussy and clit and all the other over the top trying to hard to sound sexy type of writing. I liked the authors writing style, I wish she would have kept it more like that in the 'journal' she gave her husband.
Now other than that I connected with the story on a different level. My husband was in the military so I know or have known people who have gone through situations similar to the one in the book.
It was a decent read.
Now other than that I connected with the story on a different level. My husband was in the military so I know or have known people who have gone through situations similar to the one in the book.
It was a decent read.
July 9, 2013
'Dare to be Tempted' was my first read by Eden Davis and was enjoyable. I was thrilled to finally read a book about a woman older than 30! The storyline was interesting, as was the concept. The book was easy to read and while the storyline flowed nicely, I found myself dissatisfied. I didn't really love either Aleesa or Walter, although I felt more sympathetic toward him! Aleesa seemed very selfish to me, while trying to be selfless.
Throughout the book I was also bothered by the complete absence of Aleesa's sons in the novel. While her friends and cousin figured prominently, I felt like something was off by not featuring the boys who Walter raised. Overall, a good book and I would definitely read another by this author. *Received free through Goodreads First Reads.
Throughout the book I was also bothered by the complete absence of Aleesa's sons in the novel. While her friends and cousin figured prominently, I felt like something was off by not featuring the boys who Walter raised. Overall, a good book and I would definitely read another by this author. *Received free through Goodreads First Reads.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews