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Almost Real
When Margot signs on to pose as one half of a married couple for the cloning company she works for, she doesn’t expect her partner to interest her in the slightest. It’s just a job—albeit one that comes with a fake marriage. To an undeniably sexy fake husband.
Sergei is an immense stone fortress, cold and calm and—worst of all—so compelling Margot can hardly stand it. She’s supposed to be protecting and maintaining the labs, but all she can think about is unearthing the man beneath the controlled façade and wrapping herself around him.
Even if the man she uncovers is far more than she ever bargained for.
A Romantica® sci-fi/futuristic erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
141 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2014
2 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Stein
112 books2,136 followersCharlotte Stein is the RT and DABWAHA nominated author of over fifty short stories, novellas and novels. When not writing deeply emotional and intensely sexy books, she can be found eating jelly turtles, watching terrible sitcoms and occasionally lusting after hunks. For more on Charlotte, visit: www.charlottestein.net
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
December 5, 2014
4.0 Very Real Stars (adjusted rating after contemplation)
Such a different read than what I'm used to. I was sucked in from the first paragraph. I know for certain that this author's writing style won't be for everyone, though. It's more of a lyrical love letter than a typically written romance novel...and that worked perfectly well for me. Ms. Stein stretches the erotic tension so thin you can feel it straining between Sergei and Margot like a plucked violin string.
The actual story appears to barely matter. The reader's doled out information almost as an afterthought. A man and woman, security for a futuristic and controversial cloning company, sign up for a fake marriage assignment in order to protect the clones kept in the lab below the house they're to reside in for a year.
Told exclusively from the emotionally stunted Margot's POV, she fumbles through startled feelings of first-love like a teenager. Or, perhaps, more accurately like a clone, almost real, but not quite, instead of the stoic soldier she is.
"She was in the middle of emotions, like always. Nothing weird, no highs, no lows—just a flat, endless ocean that never encountered a storm. In truth, she didn’t even know what a storm was. The closest she’d come was her hand on the curve he’d left behind in the bed..."
Similarly Sergei, a quiet brute of a man, shuns his feelings choosing to move through life untouched by emotions.
"His stillness was so fraught, so forced, it had almost become a kind of living thing. It vibrated around him like a second self, negating the lie that his real body was trying to perpetuate."
It's not a long or complicated story, but CS's writing is just spot on, capturing so well the couple's emotional barrenness which eerily reminded me of the clones, perpetually silent, existing but not, beneath the very floors they walk.
The “barked out” dialogue between the couple adds necessary moments of levity to the story as they begin to “thaw” for each other. And their physical encounters are so profoundly awkward and restrained, it's no shock how humorous and intense they are. There's a particularly humorous moment with the attempted removal of a t-shirt as well as the moment below:
“Are you trying to shove my pants down with your toes?”
"...She was pretty sure she’d put her foot in one of his pockets."
And yet, these moments somehow manage to remain incredibly erotic as the couple fumble, desperate to reach their climax.
The story slowly builds to an out-of-left-field, but satisfying, conclusion. This reader realizes it could not have ended any differently really. Of course, I wanted to replace a squeaky floorboard here and there, but that's just me. Overall, I was very satisfied and I look forward to reading more of this author’s work
Such a different read than what I'm used to. I was sucked in from the first paragraph. I know for certain that this author's writing style won't be for everyone, though. It's more of a lyrical love letter than a typically written romance novel...and that worked perfectly well for me. Ms. Stein stretches the erotic tension so thin you can feel it straining between Sergei and Margot like a plucked violin string.
The actual story appears to barely matter. The reader's doled out information almost as an afterthought. A man and woman, security for a futuristic and controversial cloning company, sign up for a fake marriage assignment in order to protect the clones kept in the lab below the house they're to reside in for a year.
Told exclusively from the emotionally stunted Margot's POV, she fumbles through startled feelings of first-love like a teenager. Or, perhaps, more accurately like a clone, almost real, but not quite, instead of the stoic soldier she is.
"She was in the middle of emotions, like always. Nothing weird, no highs, no lows—just a flat, endless ocean that never encountered a storm. In truth, she didn’t even know what a storm was. The closest she’d come was her hand on the curve he’d left behind in the bed..."
Similarly Sergei, a quiet brute of a man, shuns his feelings choosing to move through life untouched by emotions.
"His stillness was so fraught, so forced, it had almost become a kind of living thing. It vibrated around him like a second self, negating the lie that his real body was trying to perpetuate."
It's not a long or complicated story, but CS's writing is just spot on, capturing so well the couple's emotional barrenness which eerily reminded me of the clones, perpetually silent, existing but not, beneath the very floors they walk.
The “barked out” dialogue between the couple adds necessary moments of levity to the story as they begin to “thaw” for each other. And their physical encounters are so profoundly awkward and restrained, it's no shock how humorous and intense they are. There's a particularly humorous moment with the attempted removal of a t-shirt as well as the moment below:
“Are you trying to shove my pants down with your toes?”
"...She was pretty sure she’d put her foot in one of his pockets."
And yet, these moments somehow manage to remain incredibly erotic as the couple fumble, desperate to reach their climax.
The story slowly builds to an out-of-left-field, but satisfying, conclusion. This reader realizes it could not have ended any differently really. Of course, I wanted to replace a squeaky floorboard here and there, but that's just me. Overall, I was very satisfied and I look forward to reading more of this author’s work
August 26, 2016
Normally I would give the side-eye to $6 for a 141 page ebook, but I'd probably pay $6 to read a Post-it Charlotte Fucking Stein wrote to remind herself to drop by Tesco for milk, so it's all good.
However...I have to say that I do kind of wish this one had...gone somewhere in the end. The obvious place, actually. Or maybe it did, and it was too subtle for me? I'm pretty distracted by my Olicity shipping right now and had fic to get back to, so I only read this once and may haven't quite picked up on it. But seriously, why didn't he have any sort of ?Was that nothing or did I overlook the payoff to those things?
Anyway, if you like her frequent "Massive, Stimulated to Distraction By You and Telling You You Make Him Crazy Guy" (and I do, keep writing that guy#!) you'll like this one anyway. It just seems like she was less inspired here than in other books.
# The return of "Dude Who Is So Into You He'll Bang Other Guys Just to Be With You" would also be welcome!
However...I have to say that I do kind of wish this one had...gone somewhere in the end. The obvious place, actually. Or maybe it did, and it was too subtle for me? I'm pretty distracted by my Olicity shipping right now and had fic to get back to, so I only read this once and may haven't quite picked up on it. But seriously, why didn't he have any sort of ?Was that nothing or did I overlook the payoff to those things?
Anyway, if you like her frequent "Massive, Stimulated to Distraction By You and Telling You You Make Him Crazy Guy" (and I do, keep writing that guy#!) you'll like this one anyway. It just seems like she was less inspired here than in other books.
# The return of "Dude Who Is So Into You He'll Bang Other Guys Just to Be With You" would also be welcome!
July 20, 2016
Cool!
Awkward naive sexy and...with a heavy emphasis on the sex-y part.
there's something about Charlotte Stein's writing that just got me hook up and can't put the book down. Aside from her writing style that gets weirder by a mile and the heroine's internal monologue that will make you so connected with her. yep I'm used to it. And I love how she shapes her characters from the insecure part to breaking that part to making them strong willed and stand up to what they feel to someone. *swoon*
And oh I love Sergei!!!*drools*
Awkward naive sexy and...with a heavy emphasis on the sex-y part.
there's something about Charlotte Stein's writing that just got me hook up and can't put the book down. Aside from her writing style that gets weirder by a mile and the heroine's internal monologue that will make you so connected with her. yep I'm used to it. And I love how she shapes her characters from the insecure part to breaking that part to making them strong willed and stand up to what they feel to someone. *swoon*
And oh I love Sergei!!!*drools*
July 23, 2021
“I’d never leave you. God I’d never leave you.”The angsty foreplay is intense in this short novella!
The story begins as Margot and Sergei are getting married. You know as much about Sergei as Margot does, nothing. He’s intense, tall, protective and cold. They are secret agents of sorts for a cloning company, and her work must be hidden from the public.
This is a wonderful slow burn, sci-fi romance all stuffed into a novella. Margo can’t figure out who or what Sergei is, and that’s a mystery the reader has to figure out as well.
"Have you any idea what every day here is like for me? I can’t eat, I can’t focus, I can’t sleep. I spend my nights frozen in one position, afraid to move in case I accidentally do all the things I really, really want to do. I want to do them so much that just having you look at me is a kind of torture. Just being near you, just getting a hint of that maddening marzipan scent that’s all over your hair—”I’m a sucker for sci-fi anything, but put in a clone/machine/AI/alien in it and I’m all over that story! Sergei is such a sweetheart.
“I want to grab you. I want to grab you now, really bad. Is that okay?”I can’t say enough about Charlotte Stein’s writing. She has a way of cracking open her characters that make you feel as if you KNOW them. I love losing myself in her stories.
“Oh my God that is really, really okay”
January 4, 2014
In typical Stein fashion, it's deep POV, subterranean. But it's in 3rd person... but a third person that could be first person. All from the heroine's POV. And she's insecure, unsure, in an arrange marriage just for work purposes for a year. He's a brick outhouse/tombstone who says little but gets under her guard.
And you're there, with Margot, with all her concerns about him and the situation and how she should deal with it.
There are joyful descriptions like, "For a while she found herself mesmerized by the play of muscles in his back as he moved from task to task. They shifted like tectonic plates beneath his clingy vest, so solid and far too big to miss." and "HIs face was so stuffed sull of warmth it was practically leaking out of his ears."
And then something shifts and she's not so needy or insecure. And it's riveting to watch this shift. It's incredible to see the tiny changes, the tiny glimmers of confidence.
And then when you think it's all a psychological book, SMACK! Stein hits you with adrenalin and I could not put the book down towards the end. It's gripping and gorgeous and so very very strong.
And then it's over...and you have to wait more months for the next Charlotte Stein offering. Lucky there are other books to read in between shots :)
And you're there, with Margot, with all her concerns about him and the situation and how she should deal with it.
There are joyful descriptions like, "For a while she found herself mesmerized by the play of muscles in his back as he moved from task to task. They shifted like tectonic plates beneath his clingy vest, so solid and far too big to miss." and "HIs face was so stuffed sull of warmth it was practically leaking out of his ears."
And then something shifts and she's not so needy or insecure. And it's riveting to watch this shift. It's incredible to see the tiny changes, the tiny glimmers of confidence.
And then when you think it's all a psychological book, SMACK! Stein hits you with adrenalin and I could not put the book down towards the end. It's gripping and gorgeous and so very very strong.
And then it's over...and you have to wait more months for the next Charlotte Stein offering. Lucky there are other books to read in between shots :)
January 5, 2014
I wasn't sure if I would like this futuristic storyline about clones but I thought I would give it a shot since I like CS's writing. I'm glad I did because I loved this story. CS's characters are always so fucked up but you just fall in love with them. Margot and Sergei were wonderfully flawed and insecure. Margot really came through as one tough woman at the end and I had high hopes for them.
Great story.
Great story.
August 27, 2016
You know how there are authors that no matter what they write about you know it’s going to be great just for the way they articulate themselves? Charlotte Stein is one of them. I’m always at awe of her way with words.
This somewhat futuristic erotic romance is very unique. It deals with clones and humanity and shyness and it makes you think.
Yet, it also packs a decent amount of humor, which if you’re following Stein on twitter, it’s probably the most fun thing when chatting with her. But Margot, the heroine has her own:
He was practically a ninja, only without the mask and the outfit and the little booties.
and possibly my favorite:
He seemed to be attempting algebra in his head, and when she strained hard she could almost hear what the equation entailed - my second refusal multiplied by an assumption that she isn’t capable equals I’m an asshole.
In the story we are face with Margot and Sergei (with whom I fell completely in love right off the bat and he has yet to even say anything) and they work undercover as a married couple. However, Sergei hasn’t been in personal contact with another person in years, or has not communicated personally with one in as long, and Margot is a very “need to communicate” person, lest she feels like she’s done something wrong. Almost like she’s seeking approval.
Margot is very sensitive to Sergei’s state of being and very much wants to break through his walls, probably mostly because she wants to hump him to the next life. She sees his beauty and not only the tough, impenetrable exterior. And her way to success is the story. Or that’s how I saw it.
Of course, we get a whole story behind both of them, and we get an explanation for the setting and the time and the situation, but I’m not going to touch that. Apart from the humanity aspect of the situation, it just wasn’t the point for me.
If you’re looking for a well written erotica with a unique twist - Almost Real is the book for you.
This somewhat futuristic erotic romance is very unique. It deals with clones and humanity and shyness and it makes you think.
Yet, it also packs a decent amount of humor, which if you’re following Stein on twitter, it’s probably the most fun thing when chatting with her. But Margot, the heroine has her own:
He was practically a ninja, only without the mask and the outfit and the little booties.
and possibly my favorite:
He seemed to be attempting algebra in his head, and when she strained hard she could almost hear what the equation entailed - my second refusal multiplied by an assumption that she isn’t capable equals I’m an asshole.
In the story we are face with Margot and Sergei (with whom I fell completely in love right off the bat and he has yet to even say anything) and they work undercover as a married couple. However, Sergei hasn’t been in personal contact with another person in years, or has not communicated personally with one in as long, and Margot is a very “need to communicate” person, lest she feels like she’s done something wrong. Almost like she’s seeking approval.
Margot is very sensitive to Sergei’s state of being and very much wants to break through his walls, probably mostly because she wants to hump him to the next life. She sees his beauty and not only the tough, impenetrable exterior. And her way to success is the story. Or that’s how I saw it.
Of course, we get a whole story behind both of them, and we get an explanation for the setting and the time and the situation, but I’m not going to touch that. Apart from the humanity aspect of the situation, it just wasn’t the point for me.
If you’re looking for a well written erotica with a unique twist - Almost Real is the book for you.
March 2, 2017
I think what I love most about Charlotte Stein's writing is that she has so little dialogue (which is usually something I hate in a book), but when the characters do speak it is so meaningful and beautiful (and/or really dirty). This book really nailed that. It is written in very deep POV from the heroine, as is typical of Stein's writing, but you still get such a fabulous grasp of the hero's character and the connection between the two. Not to mention some smokin' hot sex scenes (would it be a Stein book without those?)
January 19, 2014
Do not read Almost Real by Charlotte Stein. It's a cyborg story, which usually I like.
The heroine is a moron. We spend the first 50 pages in her head, because heroine and the cyborg barely talk. It's ridiculous. "Does he like me?" "Is he thinking about me?" "Was he awake when I accidentally touched him?"
I felt like I was stuck in a 13 year old's mind. It was so boring. The hero cyborg was the strong, silent type. He barely said a word. I just got bored with the hero and annoyed with the heroine.
The heroine is a moron. We spend the first 50 pages in her head, because heroine and the cyborg barely talk. It's ridiculous. "Does he like me?" "Is he thinking about me?" "Was he awake when I accidentally touched him?"
I felt like I was stuck in a 13 year old's mind. It was so boring. The hero cyborg was the strong, silent type. He barely said a word. I just got bored with the hero and annoyed with the heroine.
January 20, 2014
I love when Charlotte Stein (with whom I am Twitter friends and will some day squeeze in person if I ever make it to England) ventures into SFF territory. First she got me with the space hustlers, then she hooked me on the zombie apocalypse survivors, so it's no surprise that I'd be a fan of the clone lab story. Plus there's all the non-stop chatter in the heroine's head with her insecurities and panic that is vintage Stein. That woman can make running your hand over the dent left in the mattress by your fake husband a sexual event.
My only wish for this book would be for it to be longer. I feel like there's this bigger story being told here and I'm hoping that there will be a sequel someday so that we can find out more about the mysterious Sergei, who I firmly believe is something other than ordinary. :)
My only wish for this book would be for it to be longer. I feel like there's this bigger story being told here and I'm hoping that there will be a sequel someday so that we can find out more about the mysterious Sergei, who I firmly believe is something other than ordinary. :)
February 12, 2014
There wasn't much story to this one and the heroine reminded me so much of Alissa from Stein's Run to You that I felt like I already read it before.
I enjoyed the part where the romance and characters backgrounds were explored but it was such a tiny part of the book. I'm also not sure why sic-fi. Sure it's about clones but the world building is kept to a bare minimum, so it doesn't really matter. This is about lust and sex. Which fine but just didn't work for me this time.
I enjoyed the part where the romance and characters backgrounds were explored but it was such a tiny part of the book. I'm also not sure why sic-fi. Sure it's about clones but the world building is kept to a bare minimum, so it doesn't really matter. This is about lust and sex. Which fine but just didn't work for me this time.
July 5, 2024
4.5/5 rounding up to 5
I absolutely devoured it. I wish it was longer! Man what I wouldn't give to get like 200 more pages?!?!!?? This was so good. But like it was such a slow freaking burn, a delicious one, but I want to read more of the after, the getting together for reals part. I wanted the plot to be explored further. Idk I just wanted more!
I think Margot may be my favorite FMC to date. I thought she felt super real and authentic, her inner dialogue was spot on. If we had had some chapters from Sergei POV and one or two more spicy scenes I would have given this 6 stars lol
Additionally, a huge, huge shout out and thank you to my library that added basically Charlotte's entire back catalog. Freaking amazing 😍
I absolutely devoured it. I wish it was longer! Man what I wouldn't give to get like 200 more pages?!?!!?? This was so good. But like it was such a slow freaking burn, a delicious one, but I want to read more of the after, the getting together for reals part. I wanted the plot to be explored further. Idk I just wanted more!
I think Margot may be my favorite FMC to date. I thought she felt super real and authentic, her inner dialogue was spot on. If we had had some chapters from Sergei POV and one or two more spicy scenes I would have given this 6 stars lol
Additionally, a huge, huge shout out and thank you to my library that added basically Charlotte's entire back catalog. Freaking amazing 😍
January 13, 2014
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
When you want to get deep into a character's mind, Charlotte Stein should be your first choice. There's clones and bad guys with big guns, questions of apocalyptical and ethical proportions, but the real reason to read this book is to be completely subsumed by Margot.
Margot is tough, used to having no emotion, has more relationship with her computer systems than people, and is pretty much completely enclosed in her head. But then somehow she ends up in a job where she needs to be married to Sergei. He's the grunt and she's the brains for keeping their installation of “the corporation” running and hidden. If Margot thinks she doesn't show emotions, Sergei is like a stone compared to her. He barely speaks for the first half of the book. I was honestly expecting some twists with him that never happened, but that didn't impact my enjoyment of the story. He was big and bad-ass and silent as a tomb, until he finds out that Margot really wants to know him. He opens up and blossoms into a normal, crazy, every day, mostly insecure person – who still happens to be big and tough and bad-ass.
The sex is hot, awkward, insecure and tentative most of the time, but still really awesome and intense. If you haven't guessed already from something like the cover, it's really explicit too.
This is not a post-apocalyptic story about clones and the establishment, with some romance and sex thrown in. This is a deep dive into Margot's character as she finds out what love is and experiences awesome sex and a closeness with someone for the first time, in a world that just happens to be post-apocalyptic with a clone war going on. As well as her being a bad-ass, like Sarah Connor, for the man she loves - which is awesome all by itself.
This was a book that took my entire brain while reading. The language is awesome, but so subtle that you really have to pay attention to catch everything. If you just skim read, you'll end up missing half of the reasons behind things and that would be really sad. We only get Margot's perspective here, but she ruminates so deeply that you'd think you're a part of both characters and I had trouble pulling myself back out of the book once I was finished.
When you want to get deep into a character's mind, Charlotte Stein should be your first choice. There's clones and bad guys with big guns, questions of apocalyptical and ethical proportions, but the real reason to read this book is to be completely subsumed by Margot.
Margot is tough, used to having no emotion, has more relationship with her computer systems than people, and is pretty much completely enclosed in her head. But then somehow she ends up in a job where she needs to be married to Sergei. He's the grunt and she's the brains for keeping their installation of “the corporation” running and hidden. If Margot thinks she doesn't show emotions, Sergei is like a stone compared to her. He barely speaks for the first half of the book. I was honestly expecting some twists with him that never happened, but that didn't impact my enjoyment of the story. He was big and bad-ass and silent as a tomb, until he finds out that Margot really wants to know him. He opens up and blossoms into a normal, crazy, every day, mostly insecure person – who still happens to be big and tough and bad-ass.
The sex is hot, awkward, insecure and tentative most of the time, but still really awesome and intense. If you haven't guessed already from something like the cover, it's really explicit too.
This is not a post-apocalyptic story about clones and the establishment, with some romance and sex thrown in. This is a deep dive into Margot's character as she finds out what love is and experiences awesome sex and a closeness with someone for the first time, in a world that just happens to be post-apocalyptic with a clone war going on. As well as her being a bad-ass, like Sarah Connor, for the man she loves - which is awesome all by itself.
This was a book that took my entire brain while reading. The language is awesome, but so subtle that you really have to pay attention to catch everything. If you just skim read, you'll end up missing half of the reasons behind things and that would be really sad. We only get Margot's perspective here, but she ruminates so deeply that you'd think you're a part of both characters and I had trouble pulling myself back out of the book once I was finished.
February 27, 2014
Why I read it: I was fortunate enough to be provided with a review copy.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’m a fan of Charlotte Stein and I love her to bits on Twitter. That said, this wasn’t my favourite of her books. The first … half? of the book was very internally focused on Margot. In fact, it was so focused on her/in her head, I was only sure of her name because of the blurb. The book is told from her deep first person POV and it isn’t until the second half of the story that there is much dialogue (not that there is a lot because Sergei isn’t a big talker) or much emotion (there is much more of this in the second half and this was the part of the story which shone to me and which I liked best).
Read the rest of the review here: http://www.kaetrinsmusings.com/2014/0...
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’m a fan of Charlotte Stein and I love her to bits on Twitter. That said, this wasn’t my favourite of her books. The first … half? of the book was very internally focused on Margot. In fact, it was so focused on her/in her head, I was only sure of her name because of the blurb. The book is told from her deep first person POV and it isn’t until the second half of the story that there is much dialogue (not that there is a lot because Sergei isn’t a big talker) or much emotion (there is much more of this in the second half and this was the part of the story which shone to me and which I liked best).
Read the rest of the review here: http://www.kaetrinsmusings.com/2014/0...
January 11, 2014
3.5
Stein has a powerful voice that resonates through her characters and story lines. An interesting premise of a human and a clone who have to pretend to be married. Told in the 3rd person form the first persons POV (kind of confusing), we watch as forbidden attraction morph into a physical affair.
I enjoyed it overall, very sexy in which our heroine confides all her thought and emotions to us as they appear. My only qualms was the story focuses so much on the couple that there was no real back story. What is this company they work for? Why did they have to be married? I felt it was a cover and they were in the middle of a war but there was nothing to back it up. The ending is abrubt and we are left wondering what happened and where will they go from here.
Stein has a powerful voice that resonates through her characters and story lines. An interesting premise of a human and a clone who have to pretend to be married. Told in the 3rd person form the first persons POV (kind of confusing), we watch as forbidden attraction morph into a physical affair.
I enjoyed it overall, very sexy in which our heroine confides all her thought and emotions to us as they appear. My only qualms was the story focuses so much on the couple that there was no real back story. What is this company they work for? Why did they have to be married? I felt it was a cover and they were in the middle of a war but there was nothing to back it up. The ending is abrubt and we are left wondering what happened and where will they go from here.
July 27, 2017
I don't know what the backstory plot was....something about clones? World building is obviously not this author's strong point. Was Sergei a clone? One minute the author tells us he has asexual Ken doll parts, then another he has a massive boner. I don't know. And why did he have such a low self-esteem? Why did he not think he was worthy? This book was awful. Just terrible. This read like scifi porn that comes on Sk-inemax, and the sex scenes were just as lame. And er....how did he not have injuries at the end? Is he immortal? No, seriously.
September 6, 2016
There is nothing 'almost' about Charlotte Stein's phenomenally erotic Almost Real. This book is a keeper. A sensual futuristic sci-fi that combines mega-angst with mega-heat to deliver sexual tension that would put even the most frigid on edge.
Tongue Wagger – Almost Real by Charlotte Stein
Tongue Wagger – Almost Real by Charlotte Stein
August 10, 2014
Charlotte Stein's voice is amazingly one of a kind. I really can't think of another author that is remotely similar and it's always such a decedent pleasure to experience one of her books. Another fabulous, sexy, filthy good read like only Charlotte can pen.
January 8, 2014
Oh, My gosh, I loved this book so much. Have to gush. She writes such great descriptions of feelings. So does so great for two people who just haven't really talked to anyone in a long long time. I recommend this to everyone.
November 13, 2024
3.5 Stars
I do not understand what that book cover has to do with anything. Still, the novella was quite an interesting futuristic story about two people posing as a married couple to protect clones in a camouflaged facility. I loved Sergei.
January 5, 2014
My first finished book of 2014 is a winner! Though that was never in doubt when I'm reading Charlotte Stein. Loved it :)
March 26, 2015
sci fi erotica... who would have guessed they could mix so well? a little bit of sci fi and a lot more erotica and voila!
June 27, 2016
I like Stein book yet this one was the same but Sci-fi. That did not add much and I found that her heroine are THE SAME!!!!!!!!!
Curious how they survive after all that gas.
Curious how they survive after all that gas.
August 27, 2020
I didn’t really get into this one, it didn’t quite have the usual balance CS achieves between emotional development, story and the sexual / romantic journey. It was a lot more story heavy and didn’t get all that steamy, comparative to some of her other work. It wasn’t terrible, but it’s not one of CS’s more memorable tales.
November 14, 2022
This book was SO good! I like Charlotte Stein's books a lot, but this one was a particular favorite. She did a nice job of sketching in the setting with just enough details to make it interesting (clones, people don't think they're human but the MC does, freedom fighters are constantly trying to free them), without getting bogged down. And the MCs were compelling.
January 29, 2019
I’ve read this one so many times but this is my first re read of 2019. It’s one of my favorite romances by Stein. I also 100% believe that she is the absolute best writer of cunnilingus. Period
March 30, 2020
4.5 nothing, absolutely nothing beats a Charlotte Stein story for full force, absolute intensity of love, lust & tenderness. She is incomparable.
February 23, 2023
This one was so so. Decent read but so so
Read
July 6, 2025why are we always in her head?
this book is too bland for my liking…
this book is too bland for my liking…
August 9, 2025
not a fan of the action 😩
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews