In this book we meet Addison George a self-proclaimed workaholic who has had a helluva year. Finding out 6 months ago your fiancé not only came out of the closet was but also revealed he was in love with someone else (a month before your wedding) would make anyone want to shut out the world, curl up with a good book and drift off.
In this case, it's her favorite author Sebastian Hawk's latest novel that is, until her best friend Amber, a dominant personality in and out of the bedroom, interrupts with an invitation to the coveted Sebastian Hawk's New Year Eve's Indulgence erotic masquerade party.
The story picks up a few months later while touching on her relationships with Jacoby (the aforementioned ex-fiancé), their yoga instructor, Brix, and Amber before the action really begins.
Addison is intrigued by the idea of the erotic masquerade, mostly because she is obsessed with Sebastian Hawk, but this is clearly not her scene. Amber, however, fits right in explaining how things work alongside fellow party-goer and repeat visitor, David while they wait for the fun to begin.
Once inside, Addison takes refuge at the bar while Amber and David go off to indulge. She starts chatting it up with the bartender, Luke, who takes her under his wing as he takes her on his own personal tour of Indulgence.
It's clear from the smoke coming off the pages just how much chemistry Addison & Luke share despite his being off-limits. Then again, Addison was never very good at following the rules.
My Take:
What I liked most from this was how descriptive Ms. McDonald words were to describe the masquerade. I felt like I was there, in that world, seeing everything Addison was seeing so clearly. It wasn't just the setting of the scene that was described in vivid detail, but also the masquerade events themselves told through not only Addison's eyes but the mysterious bartender, Luke.
It left me wondering if the author herself had ever been to a sex club or if this was all a part of her wonderful imagination. For someone like me, who doesn't really like BDSM books, it was a primer of sorts to explain the differences without being so clinical about it. I think that was my favorite part, how everything was introduced and allowed Addison to come to terms with it, to accept it and decide if it was something she wanted to participate in.
I will not spoil this fun read but I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a change of pace on the erotica front. I liked that it wasn't about anyone dominating her or even written as a book that focuses heavily on sex and the story takes a backseat. I did like the way this book ends and wondered if maybe there would be another story, either from Amber's P.O.V. or continuing Addison's that would pick up from where this story ends.
I would have liked it to be a little longer, but for a quick read I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I gave it this rating because it wasn't what I was expecting, I enjoyed how vividly detailed everything was, how unique the story concept was and the general story progression.