Author: M.J. Rose
Review: With the great success of 50 Shades of Grey, which I
have not read, Atria decided to re-release Rose’s Lip Service. A Grey before
Grey, so to speak. While it enjoyed
moderate sales originally it was before its time being mainstream erotic
fiction. So I anticipated to read this
book on two levels; as a fiction piece by an author I like, and a erotic piece
too (or to be crude, a dirty book).
As a MJ Rose novel it works quite well detailing the life of
a repressed wife of a controlling, yet distant husband. With the departure of her step son to college
she becomes restless in a dysfunctional marriage and begins looking for ways to
find her old self. She decides to begin writing
again, choosing to do a nonfiction book on a revolutionary sexual therapy
institute, run by a close family friend.
Part of the process to really understand what is really going in the
inside of the institute, she trains to be a phone sex counselor (or in layman’s
terms, a phone sex operator).
The story progresses and our heroine gets caught up in the
excitement and release these interactions bring, slowly discovering her old
self and seeing her current life for what it is, unsatisfactory. All is well until she is called by a patient
who is a little beyond her control, who scares her. Rose creates a great thriller laced with a
lot of sexual tension. My only complaint
was the ending seemed really abrupt after all the build up that went into the story.
As for the second aspect of the book, the erotica of it all;
I was disappointed. It seemed to be a
continuing process of building to the sexy part, edging ever so close, almost
there, and then nothing. I have read
more erotic bits in regular fiction that wasn’t billed as erotica, so I
expected a lot more. I at least thought
someone somewhere would have sex with someone else, but maybe I expected too
much. Like I said, I haven’t read a lot
of erotic fiction so I may have too high of expectations.
This may say more about me than the book: Fun read, but way
too vanilla to excite this reader.
Publisher: Atria
ISBN: 978-1-4767-1042-6
Copyright: 1998
Pages: 307
Quick Review: 3 stars
out of 5
Why I Read It: I enjoy MJ Rose’s work.
Where I Obtained the Book: Sent to me by the publisher for
review.
Synopsis: Lip Service is the prequel to M.J. Rose's
Bestselling Butterfield Institute Series which includes three novels - The Halo
Effect, The Delilah Complex, The Venus Fix - and the short story collection In
Session.
Lip Service probes the secret world of phone sex and one
woman who becomes empowered by what she discovers there. Not since Erica Jong's
Fear of Flying has a novel so masterfully examined the relationship between
sexuality and identity.
On the surface, Julia Sterling's life seems blessed. Married
to a renowned psychiatrist, living on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side, Julia
deeply loves her stepson, and is forging a career as a journalist.
When a writing job at The Butterfield Institute - a sex
therapy clinic - exposes her to the world of phone sex, Julia glimpses a world
that stirs her erotic fantasies but threatens her carefully constructed
reality. As she explores her emotional and sexual connections to the men she
knows and several she will never meet, she confronts evil, perversity, and her
own passions.
Tracing the currents of desire, illusion, and psychological
manipulation,Lip Service is an astonishingly vivid glimpse into one woman's
inner life. At the same time, this electrifying thriller grips the reader as it
builds toward a battering climax.
Author Biography: M.J. Rose, is the international
bestselling author of 12 novels;Lip Service, In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, Sheet
Music, Lying in Bed, The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex, The Venus Fix,The
Reincarnationist, The Memorist, The Hypnotist, and The Book of Lost Fragrances.
Rose is also the co-author with Angela Adair Hoy of How to
Publish and Promote Online, and with Doug Clegg of Buzz Your Book.
She is a founding member and board member of International
Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors:
AuthorBuzz.com. She runs two popular blogs; Buzz, Balls & Hype and
Backstory.
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