An equal part hot, romantic and drama-filled listen
I read this book when it was released in June and loved it but for some reason, I kept postponing listening to the audio version. I finally got to do it and 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. Lori Prince, in her narration also conveys this with her use of different voices and accents. 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.
I have to say that this is the first time that an audiobook performance made me change my perception of a character. When I read the book I didn’t grasp Alex’s playful personality as much as when listening to Lori Prince deliver the written words. I was amazed by the amount of banter between the mains, it didn’t feel as much as in the written version. It definitely is due to Ms. Prince’s comedic timing for which she’s so gifted. The narrator also delivered the sex scenes like the pro she is and made Katherine sound even more bitchy.
If you are looking for an equal part hot, romantic and drama-filled listen, this one is for you. 5 stars.
Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
