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A review by thebritishbibliophile
Natural Obsession by Anna Durand, Anna Durand
5.0
'Back where I belong with Anna Durand and a brand new series, a truly brilliant place to be. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else'
What a way to welcome in the New Year than with a read from one of my favourite, go-to, must read authors. I could think of no one I would've wanted to kickstart off a brand new reading year with than with Anna Durand. Starting a brand new series only makes it all the sweeter or in this case, more pleasurable.
This book sees a return to the Au Naturel series, if you are a reader of the previous novels in that series. I'm not one of those people. I joined Anna's ARC team after those books and this was my first introduction to anything and everything Au Naturel. I had no idea what was headed my way, but that's what made things all the more exciting as I ventured into this unknown world and meeting the characters that lay within it.
Natural Obsession has all the things that I know and love about Anna and her writing. It feels like coming home while also discovering something new. The best of both worlds. This world this time, however, was promised to us to be something else. Sexier. Sinful. Sans clothes. What happens on the island, stays on the island. And a lot is being offered up on the island without a care in the world or inhibition. All bets--and clothes--are off, for the guests. But what happens when one of the guests has her eyes set on loftier pursuits? The job of the island manager is to cater to the guests' every needs, but is this one need he won't be able to cater to? There's only one way to find out.
As a seasoned reader of all things smutty, steamy and spicy, I was keen to see just how much Natural Obsession lived up to its promise of delivering those things while on the island resort. Thankfully, there were no worries in that department. Natural Obsession offers up its own brand of sexy, steamy and spicy, something only a nudist resort could offer that other romance novels couldn't get away with in a more rural setting. I was definitely a fan of how Anna set things up here in this novel, and it's all thanks to our main characters of Holly Temple and James Bythesea.
James and Holly have their own reasons for coming to the island, and their paths inevitably cross when fate decides to throw them both a bone. James is a natural-born leader, authority figure and determined man when he puts his mind to something, despite his natural anxieties. He's determined to not live up to past mistakes while resisting temptation. Holly is that temptation. Here for her own reasons, Holly narrows in on her fixation for James as he is forbidden to her both by guest-employee and personal boundaries set by James himself. They are well suited for one another more than they--mores so James--thinks, and have to ride out more than a physical storm to get to the better, greener grass side. I fell for these two instantly, and genuinely wish I could've read even more about them.
Though this was my first trip to the island, I sure hope it won't be my last. Regardless of where the series takes us next, I see a repeat visit to this story firmly in my sights. I'm not ready to say adieu to James and Holly yet.
Thank you, Anna, for writing such a brilliant introduction to a series (even though it's a follow-up to a previous one), for a first-time reader to this enticing world. I couldn't have asked for a better start to 2023!
Five stars!
What a way to welcome in the New Year than with a read from one of my favourite, go-to, must read authors. I could think of no one I would've wanted to kickstart off a brand new reading year with than with Anna Durand. Starting a brand new series only makes it all the sweeter or in this case, more pleasurable.
This book sees a return to the Au Naturel series, if you are a reader of the previous novels in that series. I'm not one of those people. I joined Anna's ARC team after those books and this was my first introduction to anything and everything Au Naturel. I had no idea what was headed my way, but that's what made things all the more exciting as I ventured into this unknown world and meeting the characters that lay within it.
Natural Obsession has all the things that I know and love about Anna and her writing. It feels like coming home while also discovering something new. The best of both worlds. This world this time, however, was promised to us to be something else. Sexier. Sinful. Sans clothes. What happens on the island, stays on the island. And a lot is being offered up on the island without a care in the world or inhibition. All bets--and clothes--are off, for the guests. But what happens when one of the guests has her eyes set on loftier pursuits? The job of the island manager is to cater to the guests' every needs, but is this one need he won't be able to cater to? There's only one way to find out.
As a seasoned reader of all things smutty, steamy and spicy, I was keen to see just how much Natural Obsession lived up to its promise of delivering those things while on the island resort. Thankfully, there were no worries in that department. Natural Obsession offers up its own brand of sexy, steamy and spicy, something only a nudist resort could offer that other romance novels couldn't get away with in a more rural setting. I was definitely a fan of how Anna set things up here in this novel, and it's all thanks to our main characters of Holly Temple and James Bythesea.
James and Holly have their own reasons for coming to the island, and their paths inevitably cross when fate decides to throw them both a bone. James is a natural-born leader, authority figure and determined man when he puts his mind to something, despite his natural anxieties. He's determined to not live up to past mistakes while resisting temptation. Holly is that temptation. Here for her own reasons, Holly narrows in on her fixation for James as he is forbidden to her both by guest-employee and personal boundaries set by James himself. They are well suited for one another more than they--mores so James--thinks, and have to ride out more than a physical storm to get to the better, greener grass side. I fell for these two instantly, and genuinely wish I could've read even more about them.
Though this was my first trip to the island, I sure hope it won't be my last. Regardless of where the series takes us next, I see a repeat visit to this story firmly in my sights. I'm not ready to say adieu to James and Holly yet.
Thank you, Anna, for writing such a brilliant introduction to a series (even though it's a follow-up to a previous one), for a first-time reader to this enticing world. I couldn't have asked for a better start to 2023!
Five stars!