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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Charlotte Stein is a master at combining sexual hangups with past trauma and turning it into a quirky, erotic love story, and this was definitely an example of that. I thought this was interesting, I didn’t get wholly sucked in by the characters and kind of wished for more of CS’s lovely fun dialogue which I always enjoy when she lets it out to play. A decent read, but not one of my favs from her.
This book...
this book was beautiful.
And ugly.
And heartbreaking.
And heartwarming.
And lovely.
And terrifying.
And funny.
And sad.
And poetic.
And choppy.
It was just right.
Something things are just right.
And it was.
Perfect.
Charlotte Stein had this way of describing damaged, lost people, who happen to find each other and find their ways to fit. Abby comes from an abusive relationship, Ivan from a tragedy, and somehow they come to terms with their stories.
And then of course her male characters are the dreamiest of them all
And then of course her male characters are the dreamiest of them all
What is this? Charlotte Stein has a new book out?
I'm convinced no one can write smut like she can... I'll be the first to admit that not everything in her collection is my taste, but it is all smutastic... (is that a word?)
I follow Ms. Stein around on twitter and when she asked if anyone wanted to read her upcoming book, I jumped at the chance. I found that in the past I have really enjoyed her writing style and the characters in the books that I have liked, are ones I really find that I can feel something for. Deep Desires was no exception for me.
There is no better way to summarize this book than to steal from the actual summary.
Abbie Gough has done her best to escape a violent past. But in the process, she’s avoided life, desire and love. So when she sees her equally closed off neighbour, Ivan, performing for her one night through his window, she can’t stop looking.
Ms. Stein dives right in and within the first chapter we're getting a glimpse of the buttoned up, severe neighbor Ivan... through her window... touching himself. And Abbie can't seem to look away.
But then he strokes one hand over himself, long and slow, and I forget I've ever had any thoughts about anything at all, ever.
It just looks so good. The way he does it, all nice and easy as though he's got all the time in the world and he's absolutely not stood in front of his own window right now."
yeah... I'd be staring too!
Abbie and Ivan both have secrets,(though he seems to know hers before she even has any kind of inkling about what his is) they are both living lives that they seem to be trapped in, and so this makes their building relationship different. It happens quite non-traditionally you could say. LOLZ What starts as kinky games she plays with a neighbor quickly becomes something more as they learn to trust each other and their feelings.
Throughout the story you get bits and pieces of what happened to Abbie previously and how it has affected her life and what it is now, and so as a reader I could see why she was so withdrawn and had trust issues. Ivan, however, is like a locked vault. We get nothing of his past, only that he has trouble with physical aspects of love not emotional. One of my favorite passages was this:
We've practically been weird boyfriend and girlfriend for over a month. We've had more intense conversations about feelings and issues than I've ever had with anyone, not to mention all the talk about BLTs
His stance on tomatoes alone means we should be married by now.
If you want a quick smutty read with a dirty talking Russian guy this is the book for you! It's a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Be warned there is one m/m scene in this book, but even if that's not your bag, I don't think this will ruin anything for you!
This review can be found on my blog, Fic Fare
I'm convinced no one can write smut like she can... I'll be the first to admit that not everything in her collection is my taste, but it is all smutastic... (is that a word?)
I follow Ms. Stein around on twitter and when she asked if anyone wanted to read her upcoming book, I jumped at the chance. I found that in the past I have really enjoyed her writing style and the characters in the books that I have liked, are ones I really find that I can feel something for. Deep Desires was no exception for me.
There is no better way to summarize this book than to steal from the actual summary.
Abbie Gough has done her best to escape a violent past. But in the process, she’s avoided life, desire and love. So when she sees her equally closed off neighbour, Ivan, performing for her one night through his window, she can’t stop looking.
Ms. Stein dives right in and within the first chapter we're getting a glimpse of the buttoned up, severe neighbor Ivan... through her window... touching himself. And Abbie can't seem to look away.
But then he strokes one hand over himself, long and slow, and I forget I've ever had any thoughts about anything at all, ever.
It just looks so good. The way he does it, all nice and easy as though he's got all the time in the world and he's absolutely not stood in front of his own window right now."
yeah... I'd be staring too!
Abbie and Ivan both have secrets,(though he seems to know hers before she even has any kind of inkling about what his is) they are both living lives that they seem to be trapped in, and so this makes their building relationship different. It happens quite non-traditionally you could say. LOLZ What starts as kinky games she plays with a neighbor quickly becomes something more as they learn to trust each other and their feelings.
Throughout the story you get bits and pieces of what happened to Abbie previously and how it has affected her life and what it is now, and so as a reader I could see why she was so withdrawn and had trust issues. Ivan, however, is like a locked vault. We get nothing of his past, only that he has trouble with physical aspects of love not emotional. One of my favorite passages was this:
We've practically been weird boyfriend and girlfriend for over a month. We've had more intense conversations about feelings and issues than I've ever had with anyone, not to mention all the talk about BLTs
His stance on tomatoes alone means we should be married by now.
If you want a quick smutty read with a dirty talking Russian guy this is the book for you! It's a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Be warned there is one m/m scene in this book, but even if that's not your bag, I don't think this will ruin anything for you!
This review can be found on my blog, Fic Fare
Because of a previous violent relationship, Abbie has low self-esteem and hides herself in plain clothes, barely looks at her surroundings. She doesn't seem to have friends or a family.
One night, she watches her hot neighbor masturbate through the windows and is beginning to be obsessed with him. His nickname in the neighborhood is the Serial Killer, because he looks so cold and nobody knows anything about him !
At first, without talking to each other, just looking through the windows, they begin to do dirty things. Then he offers her presents through her mailbox. Still no direct interaction. You think that if they don't touch each other, it's not hot ? But it's not only hot, it's steamy !
And then, they progressively get closer and intimate, two people broken by life who try to mend each other.
This story was... steamy, touching, endearing, hearbreaking ! Charlotte Stein's writing strikes right at your guts, this was a wonderful read ! I have to read more of her books !
One night, she watches her hot neighbor masturbate through the windows and is beginning to be obsessed with him. His nickname in the neighborhood is the Serial Killer, because he looks so cold and nobody knows anything about him !
At first, without talking to each other, just looking through the windows, they begin to do dirty things. Then he offers her presents through her mailbox. Still no direct interaction. You think that if they don't touch each other, it's not hot ? But it's not only hot, it's steamy !
And then, they progressively get closer and intimate, two people broken by life who try to mend each other.
This story was... steamy, touching, endearing, hearbreaking ! Charlotte Stein's writing strikes right at your guts, this was a wonderful read ! I have to read more of her books !
emotional
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Grief
First, I received a copy of Deep Desires with the understanding that I would provide a review so here it is.
I enthusiastically volunteered to read this book because I am an unabashed Charlotte Stein fanwoman. I like her style of first person POV, I adore her “weird” characters, and she puts beautifully poetic, often stealthily hilarious, down and dirty sex words together like no one else.
Deep Desires has all of those things but it’s also darker and a bit ominous. Without spoiling anything, I’ll warn you that the main characters have been through some difficult stuff. I’m okay with that because it makes the story more real. Real people go through painful, awful things. They struggle silently while the world goes on, trying to stay under the radar to keep from getting smacked down again, but they have the same wants and needs as everyone else.
This is where emotionally damaged Abbie Gough is when we meet her in her first voyeuristic encounter with mysterious and equally broken neighbor Ivan Orlinsky. The entire time I was reading, I was feeling this mix of arousal, dread and joy as Abbie and Ivan dismantled each other’s walls to come together. One minute I was near tears with empathy and the next, gasping in shocked delight at how they got so into each other that practically nothing was off limits. How can you not love writing that makes your panties wet and puts a lump in your throat at the same time? And Ivan is another heartbreakingly sweet Stein hero, right up there with Van from Sheltered and Gabriel from Control for me.
So yeah, I really liked Deep Desires. I’ll read it again, all the way through for the story, and in bits and pieces for the language and the words and the feelings they invoke. The only problem I had with it was that it was too short.
I enthusiastically volunteered to read this book because I am an unabashed Charlotte Stein fanwoman. I like her style of first person POV, I adore her “weird” characters, and she puts beautifully poetic, often stealthily hilarious, down and dirty sex words together like no one else.
Deep Desires has all of those things but it’s also darker and a bit ominous. Without spoiling anything, I’ll warn you that the main characters have been through some difficult stuff. I’m okay with that because it makes the story more real. Real people go through painful, awful things. They struggle silently while the world goes on, trying to stay under the radar to keep from getting smacked down again, but they have the same wants and needs as everyone else.
This is where emotionally damaged Abbie Gough is when we meet her in her first voyeuristic encounter with mysterious and equally broken neighbor Ivan Orlinsky. The entire time I was reading, I was feeling this mix of arousal, dread and joy as Abbie and Ivan dismantled each other’s walls to come together. One minute I was near tears with empathy and the next, gasping in shocked delight at how they got so into each other that practically nothing was off limits. How can you not love writing that makes your panties wet and puts a lump in your throat at the same time? And Ivan is another heartbreakingly sweet Stein hero, right up there with Van from Sheltered and Gabriel from Control for me.
So yeah, I really liked Deep Desires. I’ll read it again, all the way through for the story, and in bits and pieces for the language and the words and the feelings they invoke. The only problem I had with it was that it was too short.