A ROSE WITHOUT THORNS - Yvonne Sarah Lewis
Whiskey Creek Press Torrid - www.whiskeycreekpress.com
ISBN: 978-1-60313-297-8
April 2008
Erotic Contemporary Romance

Present Day

Carol pulled a muscle in her leg in an injury she sustains while playing netball.  As she sits in her doctor’s waiting room, she notices a man who seems have a very muscular body, but for some reason she thinks he is just fat. Brian is a bodybuilder, as he introduces himself to Carol. At first Carol is annoyed that this man keeps talking to her, and when he asks her out for dinner, she decides to meet him on her terms.

Slowly but surely, Brian breaks through Carol’s defenses because this is a very sweet guy who wants to get to know Carol in every way. Brian even helps her train at the gym, hoping for a friendship to start between the two. As they become friends and workout buddies, Carol can’t help but change her tune regarding Brian. She now finds his body very appealing, and finally they fall into bed with each other. Carol enjoys the way Brian makes her feel, especially during sex, but as for a more meaningful relationship, she is not sure. Brian wants everything Carol can offer, but Carol has to decide how much she is willing to give a man like Brian who lives to workout and professionally compete.

Carol and Brian are such total opposites, I was really skeptical if their relationship would work out. I did not warm up to Carol right away because of her initial reaction to Brian. And for some reason, I couldn’t figure out when her opinion of him changed to one of lust and someone to bring into her bed. Brian, on the other hand, is a big old teddy bear! He is one guy who would make any woman lucky, and it was hard to see him give his heart to a woman who always seemed to be on the fence about him. How could she deny a man who wants her to be the mother of her children?

A ROSE WITHOUT THORNS has some interesting moments where Carol and Brian act out their secret fantasies. But some of these scenes may seem a bit out of place because at one point, Carol and Brian watch a gay couple pleasure each other. There is also another scene where Carol is almost open to the possibility of being seduced by Rhoda, a girlfriend of one Brian’s friends who doesn’t mind showing Carol how much she loves her own body. She ends up masturbating as Carol is in the same room. Again, this is not my cup of tea.

I would say this is more a traditional romance than anything else because it all comes down to Carol and Brian. Yvonne Sarah Lewis has written a very different type of story than I am used to, but in the end, A ROSE WITHOUT THORNS is about love, and whom you fall in love with is not always perfect.

Kate Garrabrant