Review of One Weekend in Aspen by Jaime Clevenger

Jaime Clevenger is on my automatic list of authors to read so when I saw she had a new release, I already knew that I was going to read it. But when I read the blurb, it definitely caught my attention. I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed.

Emily Brookstone has just ended a ten-year-old relationship when her most important client invites her to a no-strings-attached sex party weekend with a group of women. She cannot say no but she’s not the partying type either. Alex Murphy is exactly the woman who goes to sex party weekends but she’s tired of casual relationships and is ready to commit. Since meeting Emily on the plane, she feels a connection but being part of a sex party is not exactly conducive to a serious relationship. Or is it?

I knew that Ms. Clevenger can write awesome sex scenes since I’ve read her erotica book Party Favors followed by her Paradise Romance series. So, I wasn’t surprised to see that One Weekend in Aspen was seriously hot. No, scratch that, this book is smoking, sizzling hot. I wouldn’t put the erotica label on this one (and the publisher doesn’t do it either) because there are more things to this novel: romance, chemistry and lesbian drama, all in equal parts. Having said that, the amount of sex and the level of heat makes it very close to it. So, if you are looking for serious steam in your romance you should add this book to your list.

Apart from excelling at writing sex scenes, this author can write lesbian drama as well. I admit I’m not a fan of relationship drama but this story called for it and Ms. Clevenger delivered it in spades. The kind of drama that sounds plausible and keeps the reader turning pages. It never felt too much or unjustified. Coming from a drama-phobic like me, it’s a huge compliment.

This novel has a cast of secondary characters that play an important role in the story. Ms. Clevenger did a good job at making them all distinct in personalities and backgrounds which made them easy to recognise. However, the leads steal the show: both Alex and Emily are very well fleshed out and their chemistry is both sweet and sizzling so much so that it’s impossible not to root for them. So if you are looking for an equal part hot, romantic and drama-filled read, this one is for you. 5 stars.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.