Charming Olivia

The Geary Brothers Book 1,  Grace Harper

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, erotica
 
I’ve mixed feelings over this, as an erotic novel it’s great, lots of hot and steamy scenes but as a romance...well, I felt that part of the story got overtaken by the sex. That's fine for many readers but I need a solid story backing up the sex and didn’t feel I had it here.
 
I liked both Jack and Olivia as characters, but didn’t really feel their online connections would have been strong enough to make her meet and agree to all the things she did. After all he is a total stranger, we all know online people can be and are anyone, truth can be found online but so can far too many lies.
 
The attraction when they met was terrific and I could feel that, but maybe its just me I couldn’t watch a man I was attracted to be with other lovers and not feel a twinge of jealousy. I’d got the idea that Olivia was going to be a participant, but (at least to begin) she’s more of a voyeur. I was puzzled too – she was happy to watch two women and be aroused (Jack was also taking part) but the next night surprised at how watching two men aroused her, and comments that she didn’t think seeing two gay men having sex would be so sensual. What's the difference to the two ladies?
 
I was puzzled by the married aspect, and didn’t see what was coming there – I was totally up the wrong track ;-) but I like being surprised. Its good as an erotic novel, but like I said the story aspect fell down for me. That’s personal though as always, and this will be perfect for others. We all want different things. Its first in a series so if you like this there’s more to look out for, but for me I’ll pass.

Stars: Three and a half

ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers.

Really not a bad read at all. I liked the pace the author used. She sucked you in without it feeling over embellished. It was tasteful and steamy. Electricity was in the air. You could feel it! Olivia has a big secret and so does he! I like that we were able to see his POV. That made a big difference for me in that aspect of things. I did enjoy it and would like to read Elijah's story!

I received this ARC from the publisher via Net Galley for my honest opinion.

I got this title for an honest review and I enjoyed every minute of it!
Olivia and Jack were amazing characters and they had perfect chemistry.

She is strong and confident in her talent, but she lives for her job, for a couple of years she has let go of life's passions and she keeps a secret close to her heart.

Jack is no different he works and f@!#ks and he has forgotten what it feels like to have a real connection with someone.

They are so different and at the same time, perfect for each other... that was what captivated me about this story.

He was passionate and sexual and she was shy and timid, but when the story starts to heat up their roles begin to flip. Now what they need is to survive each other.

The sex scenes were perfection! The intimacy level was off the charts! You could feel the heaviness in the air around you when they touched.

I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

The plot of this book (which I am not going to give away as I dislike spoilers) is quite original and fun. The characters are likeable, well-developed, and the secondary characters are excellent. I intend to read the next books in the series.

I have read complaints by other posters that there is too much sex and not enough story in this book. Respectfully, I have to disagree. For reasons intrinsic to the plot there has a to a lot of sex, and what there was was nice and steamy. This is definitely not a book for kids. The story is well told and without any holes, and although it was predictable in places, it was none the worse for that.

I hate having to be critical, but I have to be honest and say that the main drawback to this book is that in places the language is stilted, particularly in the dialogue. It was not so bad that it made the book unreadable, but it was noticeable and jarring in places.

I am hooked. I am a seasoned reader and I found my throat tighten and tears start to form TWICE while reading this. I canceled plans, read through the night, bookmarked Ms Harper's other novels on both my Kindle and Kobo reading lists. I genuinely liked these characters. I loved that Olivia had really life experiences rather than pat, formulaic, history. Vivid and breath-catching. I occasionally felt like I was being voyeuristic.