Amara Simmons got burned bad by love so for the last four years she's kept herself away from the dating scene. A rowdy girl's night full of food, wine and talk of an intriguing new dating site called betterthan8.com have her reconsidering her single lifestyle. Through this website she finds a man who changes her life and as their relationship progresses the things he has to offer her leads her to even more life-altering decisions.
This is a very steamy read that starts out slowly and becomes more scorching as the story progresses. Once Amara admits what she wants, she goes after it wholeheartedly by visiting the website and placing an ad where a Lonely Gal Seeking King Kong starts an online relationship with Sevastien. For three months, their relationship only consists of chatting online. It's an intriguing concept and really amps up the sexual tension. The pages of chat transcripts equals a lot of foreplay.
Because of how her ex betrayed her, she's very uncertain of how a fulfilling relationship should be. She's full of doubts and jeopardizes what she has with Sevastien because of those self-doubts. Her ex, Adrian feeds in to her self-doubts and makes her question what she has with Sevastien. I actually found Adrian to be a very creepy character. He shows up uninvited, frequently asks to have sex, all this even though he's married to another. By remaining his friend it proves how low her self-worth is when it comes to men. At least her relationship with her girlfriends is positive. They're a strong-willed group of friends who are able to speak openly about every topic. It's fun watching their girl nights and seeing how realistic their interactions are. I looked forward to these scenes and wish there were more of them.
In the latter stages of the book is when things got very thought-provoking and when my enjoyment dimmed a bit. Amara and Sevastien have finally connected in person and the reader is introduced to the man in Seva's life, Renaldo. This aspect of the story came out of nowhere and felt very awkward. Renaldo immediately proclaims his love, which doesn't feel believable to me since they've had no one-on-one interactions. Having another man in the relationship certainly makes things hotter but coming so late in the story makes me question the believability of what Renaldo wants with her and Seva. I enjoy menage stories, but the couplings have to feel believable, the love has to feel honest. I unfortunately don't feel that here. Her and Seva have a very strong physical connection, but I'm not so sure I'd call it love either. The story ends on a positive note but in my heart I don't feel fully invested in the relationship Amara's chosen because it doesn't feel honest.
The storyline Ms. Jamison created is unique and very intriguing. The female friendships in this story are strong and positive and definitely the highlight. The men in this story weren't as well presented. They ran the gamut from stalker-like to being seen as a sexual object. The sexual interludes, both in chat form and in person, were hot and flowed seamlessly within the story. For the most part I found this to be an enjoyable read, and although I had some issues with where the story went, I do think others would like the concept.
My rating for this is a B-
*This book was given to me by the author for my honest opinion.
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