Review: Ecstasy by Bella Andre

Author - Bella Andre
Genre - Erotica
Series - N/A
Format - eBook (158p.)
Rating - 1/5 stars

Candace, a newcomer to writing erotica, is thrilled when Charlie, a veteran of the industry, agrees to be her mentor. But neither of them ever expected that Charlie's lessons on new positions, using toys, varying locations and role playing would spiral from verbal instruction into hot, hands on education. Unfortunately, Candace's deception about the new erotic romance she's writing—where Charlie plays the starring role—is about to threaten their one chance at true love.

• Review •
This book was disappointing. I had heard so many great things about this author, but I really struggled with Ecstasy. Not in the writing sense but with plot and characters. Although, the writing did delve into the cheesy category too. Especially during the sex scenes. Which, being an erotic novella, there was a lot of. No, the writing flowed well enough, even though it tended to be exaggerated and over-the-top. Actually, some of the cheesy cliches were silly enough to make me laugh.

I felt the story was lacking, for the most part. I thought the plot was weak, the sex was ho-hum, the characters were a joke. Outside of the mediocre sex, nothing was believable. Character development is another weak link, I have no clue who these people are, and why they do what they do. Or, in the case of falling in love, why they feel the way they feel.

As for the conflict… it was elementary level at best in predictability. Which made me feel like my intelligence was being insulted. I don't think I will give this author another shot in the future for that reason. That and the fact that not a lot of thought went into character creation when one of them is named after one of the most famous news anchors in American history… I can understand not watching much TV… but, hello? Charlie Gibson?! Overall, this book just did not work for me at all. I finished it because it was short and I had never read anything that cliched before. By the time I was done though, the novelty had worn off.

★