Shelley: Box Set 1

by J.C. Winchester

Books 1-4 of the Shelley series!Book 1:What is love? Does it know boundaries? Or is it really blind to our physical appearance? Shelley is a young woman working at a local restaurant and has been for the last couple of years. While she is often asked out, every man is gently turned away in order to preserve her secret. Matt is a lawyer, married to his work with one weekly joy, sitting in the same booth enjoying the occasion chat with a certain skirt whirling waitress. Our emotions can only be bottled up for so long, keep them hidden away and they only grow stronger until eventually they can no longer be denied. Held down too long and they can cause us to act without thought. Emotions bottle up over several years of flirting at a restaurant can prove exceptionally dangerous, putting secrets on the line and placing long held friendships at risk. Come explore the perils of love, of placing secrets on the line to hope for something more. Find out if love really is blind or if there are more consequences than it is worth.Book 2:Sometimes a door opens to a new life. For Shelley she's finding her new love is just the start of an awakening. As much as finding love and acceptance from one person is beautiful in and of itself, as humans we need the love, support, and knowledge of many. Sometimes finding the right network of help can be difficult, even nearly impossible, until a surprise door opens. Matt's taking Shelley on a little cruise to celebrate their relationship and how far they've come since that first night. For Shelley she's both excited about the opportunity and nervous because she can't just behave like any other woman. There are always extra things she has to do to blend in and she's oh so tired of having to hide herself from the rest of the world. The cruise starts out just as one would expect, the excited customers, the fun of setting out to sea, and the introductory gathering while the sponsor of the cruise speaks. But the sponsor makes one comment that Shelley doesn't expect, one that changes her life and perspective. An opportunity to be who she'd like to be. Cruise of Lust is the second book of the Shelley series, a look into the growth and change of a young MtF transgender person going through the trials of love, friendship, and accepting herself.Book 3:Life is full of new experiences and new opportunities, we only need to shelve our fears to earn the chance to enjoy them. Shelley is wrapping up from her semester and looking forwards to having time to herself and with Matt. For her that means getting back into the group that held the cruise and checking in with the local chapter. She finds they've started the process of building a private getaway for the members and are looking for volunteers to help lay the groundwork during a weekend camping trip. One of the biggest things about the group that Shelley is learning to grasp is all of the identities that people have for gender, relationships, and sexuality. Sure she'd had an inkling about some of them, but there were many more than she'd ever come to appreciate. The group exposed her to the variety of people and piqued her curiosity, reminding her of the relatively few experiences she'd ever had in love and sex. How to go about these experiences and would Matt be willing to let her have them? Or will he be upset that she's pushing too far too fast? Has she pushed enough with getting him to explore his own sexuality, of which he still has yet to fully embrace her. The Resort is a book about exploring one's own self and learning to put aside social standards in order to become more comfortable with ourselves.

135 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 27, 2015

Reviews

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelley: Box Set 1 collects the first four erotic transsexual romances by J.C. Winchester, and it is an altogether lovely collection with a wonderful romantic progression and significant character development throughout.

In First Meeting we are introduced to a waitress by the name of Shelley, and a regular customer named Matt. The two have been happily flirting for years, but have never taken their relationship beyond the restaurant . . . until Shelley finally puts her heart on the line and invites him back to her place for a drink. Winchester does a great job of establishing the characters here, making us care about them from the start, and handles the reveal of Shelley's transsexual nature both realistically and compassionately.

With the relationship secure, Cruise of Lust sees the wonderful couple enjoying a little romance at sea. As if the gift of a cruise were not enough, Matt surprises Shelley with one run by and for an LGBT crowd. It is an environment where she can freely be herself, without the need to hide the evidence of her transsexual nature, and that leads to a wonderfully exhibitionist sort of freedom. Here we really get to see Shelley's playful side, sharing in her joy of acceptance. There is some interesting talk of LGBT relationships as well, which not only develops their relationship, but expand Matt's legal clientele.

In The Resort, Shelley is exhausted from her first semester at school, and Matt is overwhelmed at the office. Still very much in love, they decide to join their friends from the cruise to help build an exclusive forest getaway and enjoy some open-minded camping. It is here where the story really begins to open up, as Shelley continues exploring the newfound freedom to express her sexuality, and Matt begins preparing himself to confront his own sexual inhibitions. The introduction of Allie and Katie makes for a wonderful addition to the story, opening up an interesting exploration of pansexual attraction, and allowing Shelley to bring a transsexual lover to their bed who understands her needs, her desires, and her emotions.

The Cabin takes the idea of pansexuality and open relationships even further, with the two couples taking a private vacation together. With a cisgender man and woman, and the two transsexual women who love them, the variety here of experience here is wonderful. There is a testing limits, an exploration of hidden desires, and the revelation of a new level of intimacy for all. There are firsts for both Shelley and Matt that are too exciting to spoil by talking about here, but I loved the way Winchester detailed those encounters, really making the reader appreciate how different sex can be. This chapter is about far more than just sex, however, as the experiences bring Shelley and Matt even closer, bonding them emotionally.

A lovely collection of sweet romance and tasteful erotica, Shelley: Box Set 1 is an absolute delight to read.


As reviewed by Sally at Bending the Bookshelf

[Karen Raines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this four part tale from J.C. Winchester. The journey of Matt and Shelley was both interesting and endearing. These characters had a beautiful depth to them that people could learn a thing or two from... that acceptance, love and understanding knows no gender or social boundary. I look forward to reading more from this author.