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vtzeni's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bldownunder's review against another edition
2.0
Disclaimer: I was provided a pre-release copy as part of a competition with Dymocks Australia. This has in no way influenced my response to the novel.
The premise is thus: Judith works a boring job at an Art House, and happens upon a 'friend' from her school days while waiting for the tube one evening after a particularly unsatisfying day at work. For some reason, she goes for an overpriced cocktail and is taken to the gentlemen's club that her friend works at. She then balances her every day life with her club life, which rapidly spirals out of control with the death of a client on a trip to France.
Let me be clear: DNF. I'm so disappointed. The premise led me to believe we were going to get a character involved in some shady business, working hard to uncover the truth beneath. Instead, we get extremely erratic character development - one minute, she's a bland art historian-esque figure struggling against mid-level management, the next she's performing visceral sex acts in the house of a former acquaintance that happens to be a casual heroin user, and it only continues to get more difficult to follow. Bizarre is not necessarily bad; in fact, I highly enjoy bizarre, and I enjoy erotica when it's good. If the 'facts' in Judith's history had not just been launched on the reader without any sort of build up, pre-warning or context behind them, it would have flowed well with the story. I'm not sure what happened here.
The plot itself moved along at a manageable pace, but I'm honestly so thrown by Judith's development and found myself actually saying, "What the hell is going on?" at the book so much, my partner asked me if I was alright. I got about two-thirds of the way through and had to stop.
Positives I found within were definitely the presence of a strong female lead (no matter how sporadic her character development), acknowledgement of key issues like alcoholism, consumerism and sexual assault, and a decently plotted overall story arc. Her editor did well with the small things - in that the English was grammatically correct, the sentences didn't feel rushed, and were properly structured.
All in all, I'm sure there will be a lot of readers who enjoy L.S. Hilton's work, unfortunately I am not one of them.
The premise is thus: Judith works a boring job at an Art House, and happens upon a 'friend' from her school days while waiting for the tube one evening after a particularly unsatisfying day at work. For some reason, she goes for an overpriced cocktail and is taken to the gentlemen's club that her friend works at. She then balances her every day life with her club life, which rapidly spirals out of control with the death of a client on a trip to France.
Let me be clear: DNF. I'm so disappointed. The premise led me to believe we were going to get a character involved in some shady business, working hard to uncover the truth beneath. Instead, we get extremely erratic character development - one minute, she's a bland art historian-esque figure struggling against mid-level management, the next she's performing visceral sex acts in the house of a former acquaintance that happens to be a casual heroin user, and it only continues to get more difficult to follow. Bizarre is not necessarily bad; in fact, I highly enjoy bizarre, and I enjoy erotica when it's good. If the 'facts' in Judith's history had not just been launched on the reader without any sort of build up, pre-warning or context behind them, it would have flowed well with the story. I'm not sure what happened here.
The plot itself moved along at a manageable pace, but I'm honestly so thrown by Judith's development and found myself actually saying, "What the hell is going on?" at the book so much, my partner asked me if I was alright. I got about two-thirds of the way through and had to stop.
Positives I found within were definitely the presence of a strong female lead (no matter how sporadic her character development), acknowledgement of key issues like alcoholism, consumerism and sexual assault, and a decently plotted overall story arc. Her editor did well with the small things - in that the English was grammatically correct, the sentences didn't feel rushed, and were properly structured.
All in all, I'm sure there will be a lot of readers who enjoy L.S. Hilton's work, unfortunately I am not one of them.
ladyflufficorn's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
lareske's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
recycledwords's review against another edition
1.0
Maestra describes the descent of protagonist Judith from a respectable position as an auctioneers assistant to the high-flying dark underbelly of the art world via exclusive sex parties. Judith uncovers some art fraud and is promptly fired, so she starts working at a champagne bar which she quickly packs in to join a 'client' on a luxury trip to Cannes that goes wrong.
The blurb sets the story up as a sort of hybrid romance/thriller but in reality it fails to fit into either category. The romance aspect is described in crude yet oddly clinical language and feels entirely transactional. The story is not in any way thrilling, perhaps in part due to Judith seemingly having absolutely no emotion.
This book is an abomination from start to finish. The characters have no depth, the plot is all over the place and the writing is poor. My best advice to potential readers would be to just put it down and find something else.
The blurb sets the story up as a sort of hybrid romance/thriller but in reality it fails to fit into either category. The romance aspect is described in crude yet oddly clinical language and feels entirely transactional. The story is not in any way thrilling, perhaps in part due to Judith seemingly having absolutely no emotion.
This book is an abomination from start to finish. The characters have no depth, the plot is all over the place and the writing is poor. My best advice to potential readers would be to just put it down and find something else.
smorrison4's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
This book has been on my TBR for so ling, I completely forgot what it was about.
I was pleasantly surprised that it was like a spy thriller with some smut. I have never read a book that uses c**t so much to describe a vagina and I was honestly surprised that someone hasn't tried to get it banned (not me, I think that word needs to be used more often, people give it way too much power).
I am excited because this is the first book in a series and I can't wait to read the next one. Judith really comes into her own in this book and seems to find her true calling. Can't wait to see what she gets up to in the next book.
I was pleasantly surprised that it was like a spy thriller with some smut. I have never read a book that uses c**t so much to describe a vagina and I was honestly surprised that someone hasn't tried to get it banned (not me, I think that word needs to be used more often, people give it way too much power).
I am excited because this is the first book in a series and I can't wait to read the next one. Judith really comes into her own in this book and seems to find her true calling. Can't wait to see what she gets up to in the next book.
flintsloveofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes you just want to listen to Emilia Fox narrate some crime and murder....
moi_stephanie's review against another edition
1.0
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS BOOK. Sadly, I can't grade it any less than one star.
More that's half of the plot line doesn't make any sense: she goes from auction house employee to rich guy spoiled girlfriend and finally, murderess (?)
There's a try at making a sex-loving character a cultured one too. Not that both things can't live together, but the author doesn't succeed at it.
If what you're after are the sex scenes, you can probably find better things online.
More that's half of the plot line doesn't make any sense: she goes from auction house employee to rich guy spoiled girlfriend and finally, murderess (?)
There's a try at making a sex-loving character a cultured one too. Not that both things can't live together, but the author doesn't succeed at it.
If what you're after are the sex scenes, you can probably find better things online.