BLUSH – Opal Carew
St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-36779-4
July 2008
Erotic Contemporary Romance

Mid Atlantic State – Present day

For a beautiful woman living with the man she loves, Hanna should be happy. But Hanna has two problems, one is she has never reached an orgasm; and her boyfriend Grey, won't say he loves her. After living together for a year, she finally told Grey that she loved him, but he never replied. It's been two months since Hanna decided they should break up, and he has moved to New York. Before he moved out, Grey signed them both up for a class at the university called "Kama Sutra for the Beginner." Hanna is too embarrassed to take the class by herself, even though she is determined that by hook or by crook she wants an orgasm, she needs an orgasm, and feels she deserves one. Let's join Hanna on her quest to find sexual fulfillment.

J.M. is the teacher of the Kama Sutra class and, as a master of tantric sex, he’s able to hold off an orgasm for as long as he wants. He’s met a beautiful woman in the Hot Spot Cafe who piques his interest, and has been returning there several days a week. But one night when he goes to the cafe to ask the beautiful woman on a date, she surprises him. Before you can blink an eye, they are having sex at a table, but she is definitely trying too hard. He can tell she is putting herself under too much tension, and the tentative orgasm she almost reaches escapes her.  After this wild but totally unexpected sexual romp, J.M. becomes determined to be the one to help her achieve the ultimate sensual experience.  He has the credentials to be her teacher, and when he hears she is thinking of taking his class he is excited, until she chickens out. How can he bring up the fact that he’s the teacher of her class when her old boyfriend comes back to attend?

Grey Bennet loves Hanna.  He really does, he has since he first met her, and their life together was great, except for her inability to achieve sexual completeness. But the reason he was afraid to tell Hanna he loved her was because he's scared of the next step. An illness as a child has left him sterile, and he doesn't want to put pressure on Hanna to decide whether she wants to forget about having children someday. But after moving away from Hanna's, he is still determined to take the Kama Sutra class even if she doesn't. He knows she loves him, and now he has to kick it up and satisfy her body in all ways.

Well, Hanna has quite a conundrum to solve. J.M. is almost at the point of giving her the orgasm she's looked for all her life, and she knows he can do it. Grey is still in her life, and it's hard to ignore someone you spent over a year living with and loving, even if he couldn't make the ultimate decision for their future. Trying to juggle two men takes all her time and all her mental abilities. Is it really possible to desire two men? Where can this all lead to?

Opal Carew is a new writer to me, and has written one sizzling hot story that will grab your interest and keep you avidly turning the pages to see what she has up her sleeve next. The story is told in each of the individual’s point of view, and their fears and hidden desires are revealed to us as they try to all come to terms with their intertwined sexual desires. Hot sex, interesting characters and personalities that we can empathize with make BLUSH a story that will keep your attention all the way through. Like her name, BLUSH is a gem of a story, and perhaps tantric sex is something we might be interested in.

The three central characters are the only ones worth mentioning, along with Hanna's sister Grace who makes brief appearances to give Hanna advice. Hanna, Grey and J.M. form a group of lovers who grab your attention and don't leave room for anyone else.

If hot sex and a menage a trois excites your interest, BLUSH is sure to fit the bill. Full of erotic sex and superlative writing, it should be on your reading list this month.

CeCe Johns