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Free Spirit #2
Bridget's Calling
Brilliant, creative, charming Bridget Torjesen could have picked any career. She chose to be a high-priced escort, providing pleasure and companionship to those willing to pay. With the anarchist hacker Charlie as her booker, her friends in the Free Spirit Connection, and her diverse clientele,, Bridget's adventurous life is filled with erotic bliss - and fraught with many risks. But she is determined to rise to every challenge in pursuit of her calling.
345 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 15, 2016
When I read “Peri’s Bliss” – the first book in this author’s Free Spirit series – I found the character of Bridget intriguing. Apparently, I wasn’t alone, because the input from other readers led to her becoming the central character of this novel.
Writing about the life of a prostitute, even a high-class call girl, is not without controversy. Too many times, they are either tragic tales of moralism, flawed love stories where the woman “escapes” her life with the help of some hero figure, or a bunch of farcical escapades.
Rikki de la Vega has chosen to break all those stereotypes. Bridget Torjesen is the true hero of this book – intelligent, resourceful, with an awareness of her own power and how best to use it. She didn’t “fall into” sex work; she deliberately chose it, does so to help others, and enjoys what she does. She doesn’t need to be rescued by anyone, and in fact helps a couple of people out of scary situations. She has no pimp or madam; in fact, she hires her own assistant, a savvy and smart-ass hacker named Charlie. She was never abused as a child, and indeed had a positive relationship with her father, marred only by his rigid adherence to conservative religious dogma. Bridget is not just a “hooker with a golden heart,” but an assertive and independent woman who commands respect, even from police in her home city.
The sex scenes are breathless gems, as with the author’s other novels, but what really stands out is how she humanizes Bridget’s clients – the Italian tycoon who sees her whenever he comes to America, the bicurious woman with a fantasy of being seduced, the disabled artist, the awkward geek, the battered husband whom Bridget helps to escape with his daughter, and more.
Perhaps my favorite story is her interaction with a Marine Lieutenant, hideously scarred both physically and emotionally. In the three days she accompanies him, she not only provides him with strength and comfort, but helps him find himself again. When you get to chapter 26, have a box of tissues handy – you’ll need them!
Some might find this novel preachy, because Bridget several times goes into the case to decriminalize sex work, and criticizes contemporary efforts such as Sweden’s anti-purchase law. But I’d argue that this is in full keeping with her character, and with her approach to sex work. And just as the author garnered stories from real-life sex workers and clients, the facts Bridget gives to support her arguments can also be found online.
“Bridget’s Calling” is an ambitious and multi-faceted work, and one worth reading. It could even help to change people’s thinking about the buying and selling of sex. Well worth the read, I highly recommend it!
Writing about the life of a prostitute, even a high-class call girl, is not without controversy. Too many times, they are either tragic tales of moralism, flawed love stories where the woman “escapes” her life with the help of some hero figure, or a bunch of farcical escapades.
Rikki de la Vega has chosen to break all those stereotypes. Bridget Torjesen is the true hero of this book – intelligent, resourceful, with an awareness of her own power and how best to use it. She didn’t “fall into” sex work; she deliberately chose it, does so to help others, and enjoys what she does. She doesn’t need to be rescued by anyone, and in fact helps a couple of people out of scary situations. She has no pimp or madam; in fact, she hires her own assistant, a savvy and smart-ass hacker named Charlie. She was never abused as a child, and indeed had a positive relationship with her father, marred only by his rigid adherence to conservative religious dogma. Bridget is not just a “hooker with a golden heart,” but an assertive and independent woman who commands respect, even from police in her home city.
The sex scenes are breathless gems, as with the author’s other novels, but what really stands out is how she humanizes Bridget’s clients – the Italian tycoon who sees her whenever he comes to America, the bicurious woman with a fantasy of being seduced, the disabled artist, the awkward geek, the battered husband whom Bridget helps to escape with his daughter, and more.
Perhaps my favorite story is her interaction with a Marine Lieutenant, hideously scarred both physically and emotionally. In the three days she accompanies him, she not only provides him with strength and comfort, but helps him find himself again. When you get to chapter 26, have a box of tissues handy – you’ll need them!
Some might find this novel preachy, because Bridget several times goes into the case to decriminalize sex work, and criticizes contemporary efforts such as Sweden’s anti-purchase law. But I’d argue that this is in full keeping with her character, and with her approach to sex work. And just as the author garnered stories from real-life sex workers and clients, the facts Bridget gives to support her arguments can also be found online.
“Bridget’s Calling” is an ambitious and multi-faceted work, and one worth reading. It could even help to change people’s thinking about the buying and selling of sex. Well worth the read, I highly recommend it!
August 30, 2016
I'd say 3.5 or 3.75 stars. The writing is very good, clear and descriptive with interesting dialogue. The characters come across as realistic, I especially like how the author makes the clients much more human and likeable than you'd expect. The story seems to follow Bridget's life over the span of a few weeks, seeing clients, juggling her escort work with personal friendships and her "side business" (won't spoil it here saying what, or why she does it), and there are some touching and even exciting parts. For the sex scenes, this author likes to use a kind of fevered pace to give the sense of passion and hunger, but there are also tender moments. One criticism I have is that Bridget devotes a lot of time talking about the politics of sex work, which I'm sure some would say is appropriate since she's also an activist, but it sometimes makes the book feel preachy and propagandish. I also wonder if the police chief and the way he runs his department is too idealized. Still, it gives food for thought in an overall entertaining package.
August 6, 2016
Perhaps the author's best work yet. Both sensual and thoughtful, presenting a sex worker character who shatters stereotypes. Bridget is intelligent, outgoing, with a bevy of friends and a sense of personal fulfillment. Equally inspiring are the portrayals of her clients; they are not "pathetic losers" as often portrayed, but sympathetic three-dimensional characters with emotional as well as sexual needs. And not only does Bridget have no need of being "rescued" or "saved", she actually winds up doing so for others. A welcome addition to erotica in general, and fictional accounts of sex work in particular.
May 4, 2019
Plenty of hot sex mixed with great character portrayals, intelligent talk about sex worker issues .. I know she's an idealized figure for sex workers but WAY better than either the victim narrative or the glam versions, she's a healer with a great mind and huge heart.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews