Thank you for joining us in the promotional event for The Reality O by Candy Sloane, aka Lisa Burstein, hosted by Wordsmith Publicity. Be sure to check out the excerpts, guest posts, and more!
Sloane/Lisa Burstein
Group: Adult
Romance
titled Sneaking Candy was released. It was about a creative writing graduate
student (Candice Salinas) and her erotic romance author alter-ego (Candy
Sloane). Readers fell in love with Candy and so did author Lisa Burstein.
love SHE WROTE A BOOK as Candy Sloane.
Sloane’s first standalone debut erotic romance novel, but it may not be her
last…
Fifteen Contestants, Twelve Episodes & One Chance to Rock Her WorldWhen my best friend Allie posted about my need for an inaugural O on a
prominent dating website it was meant to be a joke.
A joke she was supposed to delete.
But her post started an internet and media frenzy and, when I was offered fifty
thousand dollars to star in my own reality competition show, I had no choice
but to say yes.
The show was supposed to help me meet a carnal companion who could finally
bring me to climax.
Unfortunately, the one person I want to win the undying allegiance of my, well,
you know, can’t be in the running at all.
Now in an L.A. mansion with fifteen very persuasive contestants vying for my
attention and one undeniably sexy Production Assistant secretly getting it all
the word ACTION has a whole new meaning…
Author’s Note: This book is about
sex. There are men kissing women, women kissing women, and men kissing lady
parts. It is not meant for readers under eighteen, or my mother.
The Reality O, but if you would like to it’s $1.99 right now on all e-book
platforms!
an erotic romance author and the fictional creation of Lisa Burstein from the
New Adult Novel Sneaking Candy. The Reality O is her
debut novel.
the author of the Young Adult Novels: Pretty Amy and Dear Cassie, and the New
Adult Novels & Novellas: Sneaking Candy, The Next Forever, The Possibility
of Us, and Again. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband,
a neurotic dog and two cats.
Chris has had the big O, just never from anyone else besides herself. Despite multiple attempts, no guy has managed to please her. After Allie, her best friend jokingly posts a Craigslist ad look for a talented man to liberate Chris that goes viral, Chris is swept away in a MTV offer to make a reality show about The Orgasm Virgin. From there she meets eleven men and four women willing to try to rock her world the way no one before them has. She also meets Scott, the completely hot (and completely off limits) production assistant. With each day that passes forcing Chris to consider these people and the reality of getting busy with one of them (and NOT Scott), the more she wonders if signing up for a reality show was really her best idea. Will she finally find the big O with some else, or will she head back home to her library just as unsatisfied as she arrived?
I loved Chris almost immediately. She’s somewhat deprived, spending her days in a library rather than carousing with the “normal” people and mostly she likes it that way. But there are moments when hearing about Allie’s sexscapades make Chris incredibly jealous and that’s something I can always relate to. That’s the same feeling I get when I read those romance novels where couples go at it consistently. Food, hydration, work, normal life are all apparently not as important as going one more round. I’m always awed and a little jealous of those fictional worlds. It was nice to read about a heroine who was out of the loop for once instead of the party girl. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she is a librarian. I was not determined enough to get a masters of library science, but I have to admire those who do. Where would be we without them? It saddens me that they are becoming a little obsolete in this digital age. ANYWAY, Chris is that best friend who is a bit more straight laced than her friends. She seemed more of a normal girl character, but a realist one, not the ideal one we get fed in a lot of novels. I was immediately rooting for her to find her magical orgasm…and hopefully a nice boyfriend too. I wasn’t disappointed.
I didn’t love Scott immediately. I felt like he was risking A LOT just to sleep around with Chris and I didn’t know if that was justified. I mean, the boy has worked towards getting his own show for a while and now, on the cusp of that dream becoming a reality, he is willing to throw it all away to sleep with this one girl? I mean, I get attraction and lust and all that, but really, is it that preposterous to think that he couldn’t have waited 2 weeks for the filming to be over to go after her? Maybe that’s just me, but I felt like his interest was a little too much too quickly. Beyond that, though, he is sweet and thoughtful and does everything to help Chris through this mess she has gotten herself into. He laughs at her jobs, cracks ones of his own, and does everything he can to support Chris and lighten her load on the show. He is always there with advice and alcohol (because, really, there is no way for a shy-ish librarian to get through this without copious amounts of booze) in the background for the taking.
What I really loved about this was the humor. This is laugh out loud funny, with awkward moments, dirty sex jokes, and even a few smart jokes tossed in just to throw you off. Page one will have you snorting, page two will garner a laugh, and things escalate from there. I don’t think I stress enough how important comedy is in novels, but it really is a necessity. I hope I see more novels like this. I need more erotica that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The only thing I didn’t like was that this felt too short. An argument can be made that a well written (and entertaining) novel always feels too short, but this felt especially….clipped? I would have liked to have seen more of the interactions with the contestants and rounded that side out. We know pretty early on where this is going to go and who Chris fancies, but I just felt like some scenes where cut short or a bit more explanation would have helped. Or even just added fluff to allow me time to digest what I’ve read. It was just one thing straight after another with little space between to really get a feel for what just happened. Leaving me wanting more is definitely the best probably to have in any novel, so I guess I can’t complain too much, right?
This is the second novel I’ve read this year labeled erotic comedy and I hope this becomes the next big trend because I definitely need more of this in my life. I know dark romance and new adult is all the rage right now and there are great, but don’t we need something a little lighter? Isn’t there room for more fluff? I certainly hope so. This novel was everything I expected it to be and more. I must admit that when I initially read Burstein’s Sneaking Candy, I never expected her to actually write Candy Sloane’s book, but I’m incredibly glad she did! This novel has the humor and the heart to keep me begging for me. I will happily continue to devour anything else Candy (and Lisa) decides to write!
****Thank you to Lisa Burstein and WordSmith Publicity for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest review****
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