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Curio #3
Craving: Curio, Book 3
This is the second title in the Curio Vignettes series, follow-up stories to the novel Curio.
What a difference a season makes.
In the spring, Caroly arrived on Didier Pedra’s doorstep in Paris as so many women have—ready to buy an evening’s pleasure with a gorgeous man skilled in the craft of seduction. She was a trembling virgin then, but so much has changed. It’s summer now, and she no longer pays for his company…nor suffers from the delusion that he’s as perfect as he seems. He’s a shut-in with a crippling fear of the outdoors, but he’s also the most kind and passionate man she’s ever known.
Having grown bolder with every visit and carnal lesson, Caroly’s ready to venture where she’s always feared—into the mysterious chest at the foot of Didier’s bed, filled with the accouterments to cater to the appetites of a hundred different women. Dozens of toys offering infinite delights…all hers to enjoy tonight.
What a difference a season makes.
In the spring, Caroly arrived on Didier Pedra’s doorstep in Paris as so many women have—ready to buy an evening’s pleasure with a gorgeous man skilled in the craft of seduction. She was a trembling virgin then, but so much has changed. It’s summer now, and she no longer pays for his company…nor suffers from the delusion that he’s as perfect as he seems. He’s a shut-in with a crippling fear of the outdoors, but he’s also the most kind and passionate man she’s ever known.
Having grown bolder with every visit and carnal lesson, Caroly’s ready to venture where she’s always feared—into the mysterious chest at the foot of Didier’s bed, filled with the accouterments to cater to the appetites of a hundred different women. Dozens of toys offering infinite delights…all hers to enjoy tonight.
Audible Audio
First published September 26, 2012
About the author
Cara McKenna
41 books2,259 followersSince she began writing in 2008, Cara McKenna has published nearly forty romances and erotic novels with a variety of publishers, sometimes under the pen names Meg Maguire and C.M. McKenna. Her stories have been acclaimed for their smart, modern voice and defiance of convention. She was a 2015 RITA Award finalist, a 2014 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award winner, a 2012 and 2011 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee, and a 2010 Golden Heart Award finalist. She lives with her husband and baby son in the Pacific Northwest, though she’ll always be a Boston girl at heart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
May 13, 2016
2.5 stars. Review posted May 15, 2016.
This is awkward because there's not even much to review here. Anyway, I feel compelled to keep it short then.
Not enough depth, too much focus on the sex. It's even used as some kind of aid. The sex, I mean. I would have expected more story development at this point of their "journey". Just doesn't hold any appeal to me anymore; it also feels repetitive and rather boring. Yes, sexually speaking, we know that Didier would do anything as long as the woman gets excited. He's been mentioning it ad nauseam. Blah blah blah.
I'd do anything for a lover, be anything she wanted.
Waving the white flag and movin' on to other and hopefully better things.
As a side note:
I have been reading Reversal as #3. Whether it's a Goodreads or Amazon "mistake", I don't know. It's confusing because the numeration is different and Curio is #1 on GR.
Bought on Amazon.de:
*********************************
Pre-readingCraving Reversal:
The third time is the charm. This better be good.
This is awkward because there's not even much to review here. Anyway, I feel compelled to keep it short then.
Not enough depth, too much focus on the sex. It's even used as some kind of aid. The sex, I mean. I would have expected more story development at this point of their "journey". Just doesn't hold any appeal to me anymore; it also feels repetitive and rather boring. Yes, sexually speaking, we know that Didier would do anything as long as the woman gets excited. He's been mentioning it ad nauseam. Blah blah blah.
I'd do anything for a lover, be anything she wanted.
Waving the white flag and movin' on to other and hopefully better things.
As a side note:
I have been reading Reversal as #3. Whether it's a Goodreads or Amazon "mistake", I don't know. It's confusing because the numeration is different and Curio is #1 on GR.
Bought on Amazon.de:
*********************************
Pre-reading
The third time is the charm. This better be good.
October 25, 2013
Okay. So this is another night with Didier & Caroly. But tonight's game includes his chest of goodies.
Let me just get how much I love these stories out of the way. These are just little bits of pure erotic heaven. I want so much more after finishing each one and am trying to read them as slowly as possible to prolong the experience. Amazing that such a short story can be so perfect.
But what is the fantasy in this one? Where is Caroly letting Didier lead her...
Didier:
Caroly, do you know what this is and where it goes?
Caroly:
Didier:
But turnabout is fair play and having this man acting it all out in my head, priceless .
Take a already erotic and consuming story and throw in some mutual ass play and I am a goner. Didier coming completely undone with his own passion, no act for the lady sharing his bed - just his own lust taking over and I was a hot mess.
Let me just get how much I love these stories out of the way. These are just little bits of pure erotic heaven. I want so much more after finishing each one and am trying to read them as slowly as possible to prolong the experience. Amazing that such a short story can be so perfect.
But what is the fantasy in this one? Where is Caroly letting Didier lead her...
Didier:
Caroly, do you know what this is and where it goes?
Caroly:
Didier:
But turnabout is fair play and having this man acting it all out in my head, priceless .
Take a already erotic and consuming story and throw in some mutual ass play and I am a goner. Didier coming completely undone with his own passion, no act for the lady sharing his bed - just his own lust taking over and I was a hot mess.
February 14, 2017
He loves the insides of complex objects, queer little puzzles in need of solving. Hours a day he sometimes spends fixing broken things, and it doesn't take a psychiatrist to find the metaphor. [..] I'd prefer he see himself as a keyless lock - a conundrum, but one that can be solved with patience and gentle experimentation.
Caroly is still taking some time to warm upto. Or maybe it's just her hangups, her ever present obsession with beautiful men, and pretty things. It'd be easy to say these are shallow wants and desires and yet we've all been there, we all understand, we all want. We just maybe aren't always honest about it. And speaking of honesty, I'm so glad she's finally admitted that she does get jealous of her not-boyfriend being a prostitute.
When I feel jealous I remind myself they've never crouched at the edge of the sidewalk, stroking Didier's hair until he stopped hyperventilating. Many know he's a shut-in -- for years he's relied on them to run errands so he could stay inside. He's very easy to be kind to. But none of them have seen him as I do. They've seen him naked, seen him turned on and watched him come, but I know him even more intimately. I've seen him so scared I swear I could hear his bones rattling, and I wouldn't trade the shivering baby bird for its pretty shell, never in a hundred years.
That being said I love seeing Didier from Caroly's POV when she isn't too focused on his outward appearance. It makes me love him more. The same way I feel a few more Didier POVs will make me like Caroly more. Because they take turns acknowledging each others' whole selves. Not just the pretty easy bits. But everything true and ugly and real and beautiful.
Just now he's as comfortable as an arachnophobe crawling with tarantulas, but I look past the fear to find his beauty, and past his beauty to all the fascinating depths beneath his skin.
And while they explore each others' inner selves, they also explore their physical connection. Didier is beautiful. Caroly is not. But we already know that he sees in her more than just her average looks. We've seen him battle the hypocrisy of being a whore and yet being completely possessive of Caroly because he was her first. And we get to see her possessiveness revealed in how she's able to break him down, break him out of his control, discover his desires, not just the desires he feels based on what a woman wants of him. But what he wants and when and how he wants it.
He's a hundred different things to a hundred women, a different pretty bauble reflecting their unique tastes. But he's my kaleidoscope. I want to keep turning him, discovering new patterns, seeing him through new eyes.
She might have been the virgin but for all his experience sometimes Didier is just as innocent as she. And I love that their journey is so reciprocal and balanced. He takes care of her in his home, in his bed, and during his journeys into the outside world he's forced to rely on Caroly. And with the title of vignette four being REVERSAL.. I think we're about to see a whole lot more evolution between these two and their relationship.
3.5 "I'll never look at peppermint tea the same way again" stars
Caroly is still taking some time to warm upto. Or maybe it's just her hangups, her ever present obsession with beautiful men, and pretty things. It'd be easy to say these are shallow wants and desires and yet we've all been there, we all understand, we all want. We just maybe aren't always honest about it. And speaking of honesty, I'm so glad she's finally admitted that she does get jealous of her not-boyfriend being a prostitute.
When I feel jealous I remind myself they've never crouched at the edge of the sidewalk, stroking Didier's hair until he stopped hyperventilating. Many know he's a shut-in -- for years he's relied on them to run errands so he could stay inside. He's very easy to be kind to. But none of them have seen him as I do. They've seen him naked, seen him turned on and watched him come, but I know him even more intimately. I've seen him so scared I swear I could hear his bones rattling, and I wouldn't trade the shivering baby bird for its pretty shell, never in a hundred years.
That being said I love seeing Didier from Caroly's POV when she isn't too focused on his outward appearance. It makes me love him more. The same way I feel a few more Didier POVs will make me like Caroly more. Because they take turns acknowledging each others' whole selves. Not just the pretty easy bits. But everything true and ugly and real and beautiful.
Just now he's as comfortable as an arachnophobe crawling with tarantulas, but I look past the fear to find his beauty, and past his beauty to all the fascinating depths beneath his skin.
And while they explore each others' inner selves, they also explore their physical connection. Didier is beautiful. Caroly is not. But we already know that he sees in her more than just her average looks. We've seen him battle the hypocrisy of being a whore and yet being completely possessive of Caroly because he was her first. And we get to see her possessiveness revealed in how she's able to break him down, break him out of his control, discover his desires, not just the desires he feels based on what a woman wants of him. But what he wants and when and how he wants it.
He's a hundred different things to a hundred women, a different pretty bauble reflecting their unique tastes. But he's my kaleidoscope. I want to keep turning him, discovering new patterns, seeing him through new eyes.
She might have been the virgin but for all his experience sometimes Didier is just as innocent as she. And I love that their journey is so reciprocal and balanced. He takes care of her in his home, in his bed, and during his journeys into the outside world he's forced to rely on Caroly. And with the title of vignette four being REVERSAL.. I think we're about to see a whole lot more evolution between these two and their relationship.
3.5 "I'll never look at peppermint tea the same way again" stars
May 8, 2014
Did someone say this book has ass play?
And kudos to one of the best dedications I've read! Epic!
For the ugly ducklings and the nervous wrecks. Pick your fruit from the highest, most improbable branches and leave those bruised, mealy cast-offs to the folks who aren't willing to risk a fall.
That said, moving on to my review. Loving this series. Each novella is another snippet along the timeline of Didier and Caroly. Craving takes place a few months since they've met. He continues to be a prostitute and a lover to Caroly. Both clearly have feelings for each other but what do you call him? Her boyfriend? When he's fucking other women on her "off nights?"
In Craving, Caroly ventures into the mysterious chest at the foot of Didier's bed...a chest of toys....sex toys. Hot hot hot.
Loving the gradual evolution of their love story. Both are learning new things from one another. Caroly is a lifeline to Didier's
Moving on....
And I thank you,
July 2, 2012
"He deserves the entire ocean, not just some lonely shell."
I wrote a post a while back at http://www.fictionvixen.com/book-crav... talking about authors and their work that I constantly crave. The authors that stir me on a totally different emotional level than most. Cara McKenna made that list and her creation of Didier and Caroly is the main reason why. I seriously cannot get enough of this uniquely entrancing couple. I love that McKenna allows us more insight into their everyday lives as a couple falling in love and yet I always feel like it's an appetizer and I'm ravenous for a five course meal.
Craving is the second vignette derived from the main story, Curio. In Craving we witness how deep Caroly's feelings have developed for Didier, how much she loves him and how scared she is to verbalize it.
"I love you. I think the words I'm afraid to say. If I say them it'll make all this real, and real things rarely last. They get lost and broken and worn, and you look back and try to remember the time when this faded object meant so much to you. If I say them he'll know beyond a doubt I'm his, and we never yearn for things as deeply once we know they're ours to keep."
So instead of verbalizing her love, Caroly decides to explore more of the sexuality of Didier in the form of the contents in his "toy box". The contents are normally used for/with his clients, but Caroly is ready to experiment with what is inside. Still harboring some insecurities, Caroly wants to be and give everything Didier desires sexually, with the hope of one day being his only sexual companion.
"Here in my body, I feel so much. This is what it feels like to be wanted. Wanted as badly as you want him. All these props and games have made him wild and needy--the thinks I feel from merely picturing his face. Take what you can get."
This vignette/scene is raw, emotional, and sexually freeing for both and we witness them become that much more intimate as a couple. I'm dying for their HEA. They both are so deserving of one.
"I want you. I've never not wanted him. Even in the moments when he frustrates me, I would never wish I were elsewhere. He's a hundred things to a hundred women, a different pretty bauble reflecting their unique tastes. But he's my kaleidoscope. I want to keep turning him, discovering new patterns, seeing him through new eyes."
"Show me the things other women want from you. And what you want from them, so I can be everything. So I can maybe, just maybe, be enough."
July 4, 2014
Loving these little stories. As I read the overall tone feels so calming. It's strange, given the content. Cara McKenna is a wonderful writer.
March 26, 2013
This one blew me away!
Beautiful, elegant and subtle. This series has been overall fantastic.
Caroly is as adventurous as Didier is talented!
...It's time to get out the toy box! It's going to get even hot in here!
She's in love with a prostitute, but nothing other than the moment matters, it's time to open the back door!
These vingettes drip erotica, you feel it in every smartly written page. They really are just sooo good. But, I can't help wondering if Caroly's waiting for her heart to be broken.
http://cariads-sizzling-pages.blogspo... - come visit me!
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Beautiful, elegant and subtle. This series has been overall fantastic.
Caroly is as adventurous as Didier is talented!
...It's time to get out the toy box! It's going to get even hot in here!
She's in love with a prostitute, but nothing other than the moment matters, it's time to open the back door!
These vingettes drip erotica, you feel it in every smartly written page. They really are just sooo good. But, I can't help wondering if Caroly's waiting for her heart to be broken.
http://cariads-sizzling-pages.blogspo... - come visit me!
Sizzling Pages Romance Reviews
Sizzling Pages @ Facebook
Twitter:@Sizzlingpages
May 12, 2014
Well hot damn for some seriously HOT back door action.....with dual participants!!
More than the hottness of this installment, I felt a real progression in Didier and Caroly's relationship. I can finally, and whole-heartedly say that I'm truly invested in them and can't wait to see what awaits. Didier's "issue" oddly, or should I say ironically, is a breath of fresh air. What an interesting twist to this tale.
Off I go to see where the next novella takes me.
More than the hottness of this installment, I felt a real progression in Didier and Caroly's relationship. I can finally, and whole-heartedly say that I'm truly invested in them and can't wait to see what awaits. Didier's "issue" oddly, or should I say ironically, is a breath of fresh air. What an interesting twist to this tale.
Off I go to see where the next novella takes me.
August 30, 2012
Note: Not a standalone. Read Curio first!
I love these little visits with Caroly and Didier. I'm really enjoying their growing and evolving relationship. I feel like I got spoiled in the last story with Didier's POV - I kind of missed it this time.
This story is about Caroly exploring Didier's toy chest. While very sexy, what I really loved is how I see them both changing together - each working on gaining confidence (in different ways!) and growing as a couple.
Another delightful short story from Cara McKenna. I can't wait for the next one!
I love these little visits with Caroly and Didier. I'm really enjoying their growing and evolving relationship. I feel like I got spoiled in the last story with Didier's POV - I kind of missed it this time.
This story is about Caroly exploring Didier's toy chest. While very sexy, what I really loved is how I see them both changing together - each working on gaining confidence (in different ways!) and growing as a couple.
Another delightful short story from Cara McKenna. I can't wait for the next one!
July 19, 2014
At the end of my review of Coercion I wrote: I'm not too excited to read Craving, because it appears to be in Caroly's POV, but perhaps she'll win me over this time around. Let's be honest, I wasn't keeping my hopes up for that ever happening, but, damn, she came very close.
I believe I've made my opinion of Caroly perfectly clear several times now--it's not a good one. However, more accurate now would be "it wasn't a good one". For the first time I can say that I sympathize with her, that I get her. Or at least starting to understand her. She has issues, insecurities like everyone else, and that affects her behavior. I may have judged her too harshly in Curio. So she likes beautiful men? Who doesn't? She likes pretty things? Again, who doesn't?! I guess it was the way she explained herself was off-putting, and turned me judgey. She is still obsessed with Didier's good looks. I guess over time she became more tolerable.
I started reading this series in the hopes of spending some time reading hot, short, fun escort stories, but I ended up so wrapped in the main characters' problems that when I'm reading they make me so sad, which gets in the way of me enjoying the erotic parts. But I'm no stranger to sad erotica, and ever since I've stopped expecting fun from this, I've been enjoying it. Caroly and Didier depress me somewhat, but I don't mind anymore.
Now, what happened in Craving?
What little bedroom games Didier and Caroly played in Coercion is pretty much obvious from the title. Here Caroly decided to finally indulge her curiosity about the the chest of toys Didier has, and have him use some of them on her. And interestingly enough, some she got to use on him. It was all so very nice. No wonder Didier's popular with the ladies.
Of course, questions about what Didider's clients prefer to do with those toys were present. Caroly seems awfully inquisitive about the desires of the women who frequent Didier's bed on weekdays. It could be just pure curiosity, or for educational purposes, but how Caroly can just ask such questions, and hear the answers without being consumed by jealous rage is beyond me.
But enough about Caroly. Didider's POV is up next!
September 26, 2012
Posted on Under the Covers
Before I unleash my fangirl side, I’d just like to remind readers once again that this series needs to be read in order, starting from the very beginning with CURIO. Otherwise, the scenes you read here probably won’t resonate with you as greatly. Okay, on to review....
It is springtime and Caroly and Didier’s Paris romance continues to bloom at a steadfast pace. In CRAVING, we find Caroly waiting for Didier at a restaurant. This meeting is monumental, not because it’s the first time Caroly is seen with someone known to be a prostitute in tight circles, but because Didier suffers from an extreme case of agoraphobia. The fact that he is even willing to confront his fears to see Caroly in a place so beyond his comfort zone shows just how much he cares about her.
Cara McKenna delivers yet another tightly-written slow-burning romance that boils to a fevering point! CRAVING is written in Caroly’s POV this time and I enjoyed it very much. I loved that readers were able to get inside her head and see the vulnerability that lies there. Even though she has bedded - and been bedded - by Didier many times already, there is still wonder in her eyes whenever she sees him. There’s this constant thought in the back of her mind wondering if one day Didier will finally tire of his job and simply wish to be with her in a long-term sense. Until then, Caroly cherishes each moment she has with him now. McKenna writes so that each word is necessary and infused with such warmth and electricity, bringing these characters to life again and again.
In this vignette, Didier and Caroly explore each other’s more darker desires. A little bit of bondage and anal play is involved, but there is passion is spades! As they explore Didier’s toy chest, they discover far more than just the carnal pleasures that it can bring, but also the trust in which they give to each other.
If you haven’t read Cara McKenna before, then you are surely missing out! She is a definite auto-buy for me and I will be waiting to see what she has in store for one of my favorite couple.
*Review Copy provided by publisher
Before I unleash my fangirl side, I’d just like to remind readers once again that this series needs to be read in order, starting from the very beginning with CURIO. Otherwise, the scenes you read here probably won’t resonate with you as greatly. Okay, on to review....
It is springtime and Caroly and Didier’s Paris romance continues to bloom at a steadfast pace. In CRAVING, we find Caroly waiting for Didier at a restaurant. This meeting is monumental, not because it’s the first time Caroly is seen with someone known to be a prostitute in tight circles, but because Didier suffers from an extreme case of agoraphobia. The fact that he is even willing to confront his fears to see Caroly in a place so beyond his comfort zone shows just how much he cares about her.
Cara McKenna delivers yet another tightly-written slow-burning romance that boils to a fevering point! CRAVING is written in Caroly’s POV this time and I enjoyed it very much. I loved that readers were able to get inside her head and see the vulnerability that lies there. Even though she has bedded - and been bedded - by Didier many times already, there is still wonder in her eyes whenever she sees him. There’s this constant thought in the back of her mind wondering if one day Didier will finally tire of his job and simply wish to be with her in a long-term sense. Until then, Caroly cherishes each moment she has with him now. McKenna writes so that each word is necessary and infused with such warmth and electricity, bringing these characters to life again and again.
In this vignette, Didier and Caroly explore each other’s more darker desires. A little bit of bondage and anal play is involved, but there is passion is spades! As they explore Didier’s toy chest, they discover far more than just the carnal pleasures that it can bring, but also the trust in which they give to each other.
If you haven’t read Cara McKenna before, then you are surely missing out! She is a definite auto-buy for me and I will be waiting to see what she has in store for one of my favorite couple.
*Review Copy provided by publisher
June 26, 2025
3.25⭐️
By the time we reach Craving, the tension between intimacy and fear has deepened. The sex scenes become less about desire (still a focus, but not THE focus) and more about communication—each touch is laced with uncertainty and craving in the truest emotional sense. Although this novella remains quite seductive, I am particularly fond of the way in which we can observe them evolving together. Each is striving to improve their self-assurance (albeit in distinct manners) and develop as a couple (even though the words are still not uttered).
This novella also quietly broke my heart a bit. Didier’s layers continue to peel back, and while Caroly becomes braver in how she articulates her needs, you can feel the undercurrent of avoidance and self-protection still lingering on both sides.
By the time we reach Craving, the tension between intimacy and fear has deepened. The sex scenes become less about desire (still a focus, but not THE focus) and more about communication—each touch is laced with uncertainty and craving in the truest emotional sense. Although this novella remains quite seductive, I am particularly fond of the way in which we can observe them evolving together. Each is striving to improve their self-assurance (albeit in distinct manners) and develop as a couple (even though the words are still not uttered).
This novella also quietly broke my heart a bit. Didier’s layers continue to peel back, and while Caroly becomes braver in how she articulates her needs, you can feel the undercurrent of avoidance and self-protection still lingering on both sides.
September 26, 2012
Enjoyed a lot. I love Didier. I soooo want a HEA for these two. *waits* :)
September 26, 2012
I hate that I am only getting Caroly and Didier in very small doses, but its better then nothing...they better get their HEA though!
November 3, 2012
I have to tell you that I originally discovered Cara McKenna from a story on the site Heroes and Heartbreakers (http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com) about similar stories to the now infamous Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (http://www.eljamesauthor.com/). Cara's story called Willing Victim was listed as one of the articles' authors' favorites. I had just finished Fifty Shades and was finding myself eager to read more in that genre. I decided to try it on the recommendation. I was totally blown away!!!! Cara McKenna writes very erotic novellas/novels that deal with unique sexual situations or appetites. Her stories are usually quick snippets that take place over 24 hours or a few days but what she excels at is the characters and the understanding why they like what they do. In just a few pages, you have a depth of character that leaves you with lasting impressions and I have not seen anyone who writes as real as she does for normal every day people. There's nothing supernatural about her characters. They are everyday people in everyday lives who just might have a different sex life then plain vanilla. After reading Willing Victim, I gobbled up all her stories and too this day, I love them all! One girl on twitter even said "Cara McKenna is like crack" and I totally agree.
So now onto Craving. This is a vignette or short story follow up to the main novel Curio. Curio is about a male prostitute with agoraphobia (fear of the outside) named Didier Pedra who lives in Paris and one of his clients named Caroly (I highly recommend this original story btw). So a few months ago, Cara McKenna released a follow up story to this wonderful novel called Coercion and is planning on two more, the first of which is Craving. all of these stories are just revisiting these wonderful characters and seeing what they are up to. Coercion and Craving are more a glimpse of 24 hours in their lives. Coercion is taken from Didier's point of view, which up until that novella was always done from Caroly's point of view, I gotta say it was great seeing into his mind. Craving is back to Caroly's point of view.
Craving sees Didier working more on getting out of the house and we get to see why he is all of a sudden trying so hard to overcome his agoraphobia. We also see Caroly struggle with her slowly approaching jealousy of his other clients. She likes to dabble in their fantasies but she is realizing that she wants him for him and all to herself. These two characters are slowly falling in love with each other but there is so much standing in their way that they have yet to even say it or admit it out loud. I'm hoping when the final vignette come out that we will see them with a HEA or a HEFN (Happily Ever For Now). All I have to say is this, I loved it, I love the characters and I will take any little crumbs I can get from Cara McKenna.
So now onto Craving. This is a vignette or short story follow up to the main novel Curio. Curio is about a male prostitute with agoraphobia (fear of the outside) named Didier Pedra who lives in Paris and one of his clients named Caroly (I highly recommend this original story btw). So a few months ago, Cara McKenna released a follow up story to this wonderful novel called Coercion and is planning on two more, the first of which is Craving. all of these stories are just revisiting these wonderful characters and seeing what they are up to. Coercion and Craving are more a glimpse of 24 hours in their lives. Coercion is taken from Didier's point of view, which up until that novella was always done from Caroly's point of view, I gotta say it was great seeing into his mind. Craving is back to Caroly's point of view.
Craving sees Didier working more on getting out of the house and we get to see why he is all of a sudden trying so hard to overcome his agoraphobia. We also see Caroly struggle with her slowly approaching jealousy of his other clients. She likes to dabble in their fantasies but she is realizing that she wants him for him and all to herself. These two characters are slowly falling in love with each other but there is so much standing in their way that they have yet to even say it or admit it out loud. I'm hoping when the final vignette come out that we will see them with a HEA or a HEFN (Happily Ever For Now). All I have to say is this, I loved it, I love the characters and I will take any little crumbs I can get from Cara McKenna.
April 20, 2022
De todas las curio vignettes ésta, la segunda, es la que más me gusta, y también es la más compleja sexualmente hablando. De nuevo, no es un cuentecillo que puedas leer por separado, sino un episodio más dentro del esquema general de la historia entre Didier, el agorafóbico que se prostituye convirtiéndose en la fantasía que su clienta prefiera, y Caroly, su clienta / amiga / amante, enamorada de él en secreto. Estas viñetas siguen todas el mismo esquema: 1) planteamiento, que se centra más en el estado de su relación, y en cómo Didier va intentando superar sus limitaciones; 2) escena erótica, que se desarrolla muy detallada y extensa y 3) resumen o recapitulación de en qué punto están. El punto fuerte es lo erótico, que en esta viñeta es «Caroly explorando el cofre del tesoro», o sea, la caja donde Didier guarda diversos juguetes eróticos.
Crítica más amplia, en mi blog.
Crítica más amplia, en mi blog.
September 26, 2012
I checked on the off chance to see if this was available yet and it was and so then I was all happy and full of giddiness. And now I am sad cos I've bloody finished it already. Just as good as the first vignette, but with a lovely added kink of mine towards the end that just made it so, so orsum. Now, I cannot WAIT for the next one. I'm literally salivating - but not just because I'm a horny devil. I'm also salivating because the last line squeezed my heart in its fist and kind of made me all emotional. Dammit.
I'm just totally in awe of this gal's skill. I bow to the master. I rage that these vignettes are so short (yet perfectly formed) and pray for the day when Cara McKenna is my personal writer-monkey. I would feed her nice cheeses, and cuddle her, and never let her go. #fangurl
I'm just totally in awe of this gal's skill. I bow to the master. I rage that these vignettes are so short (yet perfectly formed) and pray for the day when Cara McKenna is my personal writer-monkey. I would feed her nice cheeses, and cuddle her, and never let her go. #fangurl
September 22, 2012
Well written with wonderful metaphors. Sexy as hell and taught me something new!
Half of this story is sex, yet still I felt like it was a very satisfying story arc and the type of sex and its mechanics furthered the character development. Wow! My favorite part is that there's tension here for the reader who's read Curio #2 and knows that Didier has caught feelings too. And now to be back in Caroly's head as she tries to tamp down on her feelings...yum! My only issue is that McKenna kept telling us over and over how attractive Didier is. I got that in the first book.
Half of this story is sex, yet still I felt like it was a very satisfying story arc and the type of sex and its mechanics furthered the character development. Wow! My favorite part is that there's tension here for the reader who's read Curio #2 and knows that Didier has caught feelings too. And now to be back in Caroly's head as she tries to tamp down on her feelings...yum! My only issue is that McKenna kept telling us over and over how attractive Didier is. I got that in the first book.
March 28, 2014
Another delightful installment in the Curio series, told once again from Caroly's point of view. I'm really enjoying the progression of this relationship as they continue the push the boundaries - both of Didier's agoraphobia and Caroly's sexual innocence. As always the sex scene is inventive and interesting. 5 stars!
September 26, 2012
Another 5 star review for the Curio series. The author seems to painstakingly select each word, economically, methodically and perfectly, to a stunning result. I can't wait to see what's next for Caroly and Didier.
July 6, 2012
As always so layered and complex. Caroly is in love and wants to confess, but is scared because she doesn't want to lose Didier. Throw in hot sex scene and the novella is pure magic. Loved it.
November 29, 2012
Cara Mckenna knows how to write--enjoying these short stories
February 26, 2013
*sigh*
Short review soon!
4.5 stars
Carina Approved
Carina Recommends
Carina Endorsed
Carina says Awesomness
Short review soon!
4.5 stars
Carina Approved
Carina Recommends
Carina Endorsed
Carina says Awesomness
November 24, 2013
Another brief glimpse into the beautifully written, emotionally compelling, and intensely erotic story of Didier & Caroly.
October 17, 2016
So sweet, sexy little book, scorching hot and sweet and warm like melted caramel , im really enjoying this story
March 22, 2024
2017 = 3 stars (good)
2025 = 2.5 stars (pretty good)
Caroly's POV
Caroly and Didier learn more about each other. What's changed for Caroly: She feels some jealousy about Dider's clients, she briefly thinks about having children, and she's fallen in love. Despite the MCs having strong feelings, neither of them shares how they truly feel.
Parts of the sex scene were sexy, but I didn't like the dildo that was used on Didier or the butt plugs.
Opening Scene: Caroly waits at a restaurant four blocks from Didier’s flat, but he’s an hour late. His agoraphobia still makes it hard for him to go out alone. When he arrives, he's anxious. Caroly patiently give him time and then shares her good news: she got promoted to assistant director.
The MCs' Relationship:
Behind closed doors in the safety of the familiar, he's warm and kind and wonderful. Not my boyfriend―his occupation doesn't allow such an easy label. But he's my first and only lover, my friend, and what feels more and more like a partner as the weeks past.
Beauty-obsessed Caroly likes all of Didier.
I look past the fear to find his beauty, and past his beauty to all the fascinating depths beneath his skin.
🔒 Caroly gives Didier old locks, a lock-pick set, and a guide to lock-picking. Didier enjoys fixing broken things because he sees himself as broken.
▪️Didier shares that he went to the laundromat.
▪️Despite his fear of crowds and noise, he refuses to leave Paris. He's attached to his flat, job, and routines.
▪️He thanks Caroly, the only one encouraging him to go beyond his comfort zone and be free. He wants to impress her and become a stronger man. She stays by his side even when he's vulnerable.
🧰 The sex scene includes Didier's chest of sex toys. They discuss some toys, and Didier's shares what he's done with clients. What the MCs use: a glass dildo, a paddle, butt plugs and a scarf.
Didier mentions that clients have used a dildo on him. Caroly asks if he enjoyed it. He replies that if it excites the woman he's with, it excites him. Caroly feels irritated by this response, as it makes her feel unnecessary and destroys her hope that they are perfectly suited.
Caroly wants to be enough for Didier.
While he’s a hundred things to a hundred women, she sees him as her kaleidoscope. She wants to keep turning him and discovering new sides of him. She asks him to show her what other women want from him, and what he wants from them, hoping to become everything he needs and maybe be enough.
🔥 Caroly admits that she doesn't want to be shared, and Didier tells her that he's more possessive than she realizes. He has Caroly say that she's only his. (Seeing Didier act possessive and dominant was sexy.)
❤️ Caroly loves Didier and fears saying "I love you" would make things too real, risking their fragile happiness. She worries that once expressed, those words would forever mark her as his, and they'd lose the deep longing that comes with uncertainty. But seeing his collection of old, broken, and repaired objects, she realizes he values the old and familiar over newness. She feels she might be just one more object in his collection, wanting more than just a place on the shelf, and wonders if her desire for something deeper makes her greedy.
Before going to sleep, Didier tells Caroly that he no longer takes clients on Fridays and Saturdays, because those are her days. He shares what he wants them to do together on Saturday in Paris. Caroly worries he’s being too ambitious but will do whatever he wants.
♥ "Good night, Caroly,"
♥ "Good night." (I love you so.)
2025 = 2.5 stars (pretty good)
Caroly's POV
Caroly and Didier learn more about each other. What's changed for Caroly: She feels some jealousy about Dider's clients, she briefly thinks about having children, and she's fallen in love. Despite the MCs having strong feelings, neither of them shares how they truly feel.
Parts of the sex scene were sexy, but I didn't like the dildo that was used on Didier or the butt plugs.
Opening Scene: Caroly waits at a restaurant four blocks from Didier’s flat, but he’s an hour late. His agoraphobia still makes it hard for him to go out alone. When he arrives, he's anxious. Caroly patiently give him time and then shares her good news: she got promoted to assistant director.
The MCs' Relationship:
Behind closed doors in the safety of the familiar, he's warm and kind and wonderful. Not my boyfriend―his occupation doesn't allow such an easy label. But he's my first and only lover, my friend, and what feels more and more like a partner as the weeks past.
Beauty-obsessed Caroly likes all of Didier.
I look past the fear to find his beauty, and past his beauty to all the fascinating depths beneath his skin.
🔒 Caroly gives Didier old locks, a lock-pick set, and a guide to lock-picking. Didier enjoys fixing broken things because he sees himself as broken.
▪️Didier shares that he went to the laundromat.
▪️Despite his fear of crowds and noise, he refuses to leave Paris. He's attached to his flat, job, and routines.
▪️He thanks Caroly, the only one encouraging him to go beyond his comfort zone and be free. He wants to impress her and become a stronger man. She stays by his side even when he's vulnerable.
🧰 The sex scene includes Didier's chest of sex toys. They discuss some toys, and Didier's shares what he's done with clients. What the MCs use: a glass dildo, a paddle, butt plugs and a scarf.
Didier mentions that clients have used a dildo on him. Caroly asks if he enjoyed it. He replies that if it excites the woman he's with, it excites him. Caroly feels irritated by this response, as it makes her feel unnecessary and destroys her hope that they are perfectly suited.
Caroly wants to be enough for Didier.
While he’s a hundred things to a hundred women, she sees him as her kaleidoscope. She wants to keep turning him and discovering new sides of him. She asks him to show her what other women want from him, and what he wants from them, hoping to become everything he needs and maybe be enough.
🔥 Caroly admits that she doesn't want to be shared, and Didier tells her that he's more possessive than she realizes. He has Caroly say that she's only his. (Seeing Didier act possessive and dominant was sexy.)
❤️ Caroly loves Didier and fears saying "I love you" would make things too real, risking their fragile happiness. She worries that once expressed, those words would forever mark her as his, and they'd lose the deep longing that comes with uncertainty. But seeing his collection of old, broken, and repaired objects, she realizes he values the old and familiar over newness. She feels she might be just one more object in his collection, wanting more than just a place on the shelf, and wonders if her desire for something deeper makes her greedy.
Before going to sleep, Didier tells Caroly that he no longer takes clients on Fridays and Saturdays, because those are her days. He shares what he wants them to do together on Saturday in Paris. Caroly worries he’s being too ambitious but will do whatever he wants.
♥ "Good night, Caroly,"
♥ "Good night." (I love you so.)
September 26, 2012
The Curio books are like addiction. And every time a new vignette comes out, it feeds that addiction. It's better than Christmas!
I know some people will read these stories, and think oh this is erotica, not really looking beyond the smut. And I know some people, like me, will look beyond the smut, and connect with the characters and their joys and pains.
Having written Curio, and having captured all those little nuances that makes a person, I can't even imagine having to go back into that mindset and write five more stories like this. The way that Cara McKenna manages to get under her characters' skins, is a rare skill. And it is one she has honed well.
A lot of the time, when reading erotica, you'll get the smut, you'll get characters you'll either hate or love, but you won't get that glimpse into their imperfections and fears. This is what you get when you read something Cara McKenna has written. This is what you get when you read Curio, Coercion or this one, Craving.
Coercion was from Didier's point of view, and we finally got to find out a little more about what makes him tick, so to speak. We found out about his hopes and dreams and insecurities. With Craving we're back with Caroly and her hopes and dreams and insecurities.
What gets me the most with Caroly and Didier, is how much they feel for each other, and how hard it is for them to admit to one another exactly what they feel. I just want them to talk and move on! I want Didier to quit his 'job' and just ask Caroly to move in with him already. They need each other. More than anything, I really want a happy ending for these two. And I want them to stop hurting with all these insecurities.
But that's the thing with Cara McKenna, she'll give you "real" people that stay with you instead of glossy characters you'll soon forget. And there just is no telling if she'll give you a book with a standard happy ending where everyone lives happily ever after, or if she'll leave you with an ending where the characters have a sad goodbye and move on without each other. With Cara McKenna all bets are off. And I kinda like that about her.
I know some people will read these stories, and think oh this is erotica, not really looking beyond the smut. And I know some people, like me, will look beyond the smut, and connect with the characters and their joys and pains.
Having written Curio, and having captured all those little nuances that makes a person, I can't even imagine having to go back into that mindset and write five more stories like this. The way that Cara McKenna manages to get under her characters' skins, is a rare skill. And it is one she has honed well.
A lot of the time, when reading erotica, you'll get the smut, you'll get characters you'll either hate or love, but you won't get that glimpse into their imperfections and fears. This is what you get when you read something Cara McKenna has written. This is what you get when you read Curio, Coercion or this one, Craving.
Coercion was from Didier's point of view, and we finally got to find out a little more about what makes him tick, so to speak. We found out about his hopes and dreams and insecurities. With Craving we're back with Caroly and her hopes and dreams and insecurities.
What gets me the most with Caroly and Didier, is how much they feel for each other, and how hard it is for them to admit to one another exactly what they feel. I just want them to talk and move on! I want Didier to quit his 'job' and just ask Caroly to move in with him already. They need each other. More than anything, I really want a happy ending for these two. And I want them to stop hurting with all these insecurities.
But that's the thing with Cara McKenna, she'll give you "real" people that stay with you instead of glossy characters you'll soon forget. And there just is no telling if she'll give you a book with a standard happy ending where everyone lives happily ever after, or if she'll leave you with an ending where the characters have a sad goodbye and move on without each other. With Cara McKenna all bets are off. And I kinda like that about her.
February 24, 2014
Here we are in the third installment, returning to Caroly's POV. I really enjoyed this one, we started with Caroly and Didier having dinner together outside his apartment. I loved listening to Caroly's inner voice, explaining how she is the one who really knows Didier, the only one seeing him this vulnerable with hands shaking and a haunted face, and she is the one who experience these things with him without looking at him with pity or disrespect. She loves him for who he really is not just the beautiful guy or the one who really knows how to make a girl happy. From his perspective it's quite obvious that he truly trusts her and want to sort of "impress" her and "be normal" for her, so he can really be with her like "regular" couples are (naturally it's funny writing that when he is not "faithful" to her).
Returning home we get back to "tutoring" when Caroly looks inside the "treasure box" where Dider keeps his toys. It was an extremely sexy and naughty read! Unlike the sexual "session" they had in the previous part where they played two people they're not, I enjoyed much better reading their own experience, who they are, where they can go with their curiosity and sexual attraction.
It's so much fun reading these small novellas. Each bringing us a different view - either Caroly or Didier, and getting to see how their relationship develops in those small glimpses each a few weeks / months apart making the built of the relationship feel more realistic.
I just remembered this morning I got a recommendation to another short series by Cara - Shivaree. It has three parts, each quite short (80-140 pages). I'm not sure when I'll have time to read it, but I'll keep it for those times where I finish my planned reading for the month (like I did with this series).
Returning home we get back to "tutoring" when Caroly looks inside the "treasure box" where Dider keeps his toys. It was an extremely sexy and naughty read! Unlike the sexual "session" they had in the previous part where they played two people they're not, I enjoyed much better reading their own experience, who they are, where they can go with their curiosity and sexual attraction.
It's so much fun reading these small novellas. Each bringing us a different view - either Caroly or Didier, and getting to see how their relationship develops in those small glimpses each a few weeks / months apart making the built of the relationship feel more realistic.
I just remembered this morning I got a recommendation to another short series by Cara - Shivaree. It has three parts, each quite short (80-140 pages). I'm not sure when I'll have time to read it, but I'll keep it for those times where I finish my planned reading for the month (like I did with this series).
April 17, 2022
Honestly was not expecting anything from this series but somehow it's really good??? I like listening to audiobooks to fall asleep, and I know this sounds weird, but I usually listen to the spicy stuff because it doesnt keep me awake. Usually the characters arent compelling or multidimensional enough to be more than just background noise for my brain to shut off but this series...I actually had to go through and listen to all of the audiobooks because I kept getting distracted and invested when I was supposed to be sleeping. Caroly and Didier are some of the most complex and interesting and unexpected characters I've encountered in the genre. It's refreshing to have a heroine that isnt completely pure of heart, isnt perfect without realizing it, and with some semblance of superficiality. She's completely relatable and she experiences meaningful growth. Didier is an even more unlikely MC. If you told me you read an erotic romance novel the image that comes to mind is not that of a Parisian Male prostitute with agoraphobia. The psychology of these characters runs deep and their interactions with each other are not only extremely well written, but satisfying.
January 2, 2013
SO glad i hazarded to buy kick mckenna's follow-ups to Curio, about which i was initially ambivalent. these little snapshots into the progressing relationship between caroly and didier do not disappoint but, rather, augment everything mckenna has written previously.
the portrait of didier in particular is so lovingly drawn that further exposure* leaves me starry eyed, craving** more.
this installment builds so beautifully and credibly on what we've previously seen of didier, his occupation, and caroly's decreasingly timid Education. this fleshes out*** didier's psychology -- especially his professional psychology -- so completely beautifully and devastatingly and dovetails with his increased devotion to caroly, his peculiar little client who's increasingly coming**** into her own.
good stuff here. buddies, let me know if you read it.
* as it were
** title pun!!
*** !2ble entendres FTW!
**** idem!
the portrait of didier in particular is so lovingly drawn that further exposure* leaves me starry eyed, craving** more.
this installment builds so beautifully and credibly on what we've previously seen of didier, his occupation, and caroly's decreasingly timid Education. this fleshes out*** didier's psychology -- especially his professional psychology -- so completely beautifully and devastatingly and dovetails with his increased devotion to caroly, his peculiar little client who's increasingly coming**** into her own.
good stuff here. buddies, let me know if you read it.
* as it were
** title pun!!
*** !2ble entendres FTW!
**** idem!
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