A review by 00leah00
One Weekend in Aspen by Jaime Clevenger

3.0

3.5 Stars

“One Weekend in Aspen” is about Emily and Alex who spend one weekend in Aspen…

Hah, I’m funny right?

I’m not sure if this is considered an erotic romance as there really isn’t that much actual sex happening for a lot of the book. On the other hand, this weekend in Aspen is centered around a sex party with 9 gorgeous, queer people and there is a lot of sexual tension going around.

To be honest, had I known this was about a sex party I wouldn’t have read this book to begin with but I misread the blurb and already had the book when I saw another review mentioning the sex party weekend. I went in thinking I would hate it but it turns out the sex party theme didn’t turn me off too much. While I don’t understand it myself, I could appreciate the escapism from reality with this book.

Emily is a personal chef and recently separated from her wife of 10 years. One of her clients, Katherine, invites her to an invitation only party and she can’t resist going. On her flight to Aspen, she meets Alex and they hit it off instantly. They are surprised later to discover one another at Katherine’s party. Emily is hoping to finally have a no strings attached good time and Alex seemingly fits that description perfectly.

In the beginning, I wasn’t entirely sold on Emily being ready for another relationship as she’s not even divorced yet. Also, all the comparisons and mentions of Cass, her soon-to-be ex-wife, got old very quickly. I’m not sure if this was Clevenger’s way of showing how perfect Alex was for Emily but I didn’t need Emily pitting Cass and Alex against one another (even if only to herself) to sell it.

However, I really enjoyed Alex and Emily together. I think they complemented each other well and had great sexual chemistry. Sadly, I didn’t feel much of an emotional connection. Granted, a sex party isn’t really conducive to an emotional connection but it’s necessary for me in a romance. I did appreciate the small time jump in the end to let me see that even though I didn’t see in on the page, an emotional connection seems to be established.

I did enjoy this overall and think most others will too, I recommend this to readers looking for a steamy romance that doesn’t dig too deep emotionally.

*As a note to people like me (those who don’t like seeing our mains in sexual situations with others) there are no explicit scenes with other people with either of our mains.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books in exchange for an honest review.