Window by Michele Renae

The Basics:

Window by Michele Renae
Swell Cat Press
Erotica
Pub Date: Oct 22 at amazon.com

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Back cover text taken from the author's website:

An erotic romance behind glass

The first time she sees her new neighbor, his sexy smile arouses her curiosity — and her desires. His hard, chiseled muscles and playful invitations are irresistible.

Bared before their windows, framed and displayed above the streets of Paris, they embark upon a provocative affair.

Their daring game of exhibitionism lures her back for more and more, and she quickly realizes he is the man she has dreamed about.

Yet she’s never heard his voice. Never felt his touch. Never thought she’d experience something this exquisite.

Or this bold…

The sensual give and take of the exhibitionism is supported by the heroine's active imagination. Her fantasies about "Monsieur Sexy" (her nickname for her neighbor) emphasize how the mind works as an erogenous zone.

What worked for me:

This book was hot hot hot! from start to finish. While the action itself builds slowly from teasing glimpses of naked skin to more erotic displays, the heroine's constantly imagining one hot scenario after another. This takes what could have been a really slow story and turns it into a sizzling romp from start to finish.

I loved that the heroine was so self-aware. She knows what she likes in a lover and she's happy to take inspiration from her life to build a new erotic daydream. The way the heroine described the sexual power she derived from her new Louboutins and the ensuing fantasy about a lover slowly removing them was a compelling argument for shoe/foot fetishes. Being able to relate to the confidence that a really sexy pair of shoes can bestow, I found this a particularly convincing scene in the book.

The hero - Monsieur sexy - is a dream in and of himself. As we get to know him through the window, he seems almost to good to be true. Sexy, intelligent, playful, eager to be with our heroine and happy to let her set the pace, he certainly makes an impression. After reading so much erotica featuring alpha males/dominants who need to control every encounter or who push the heroine to go beyond her limits, it was a novelty and a pleasure to read about a man who happily let the woman expand and explore her sexuality on her own schedule. 

There's a secondary plot involving the heroine's day job that I hope will dovetail into the affair over the rest of the trilogy. I was so caught up in the developing sexual relationship that I wasn't as engaged with the heroine's day job. Still, there's something of a mystery here, and it's clear that she values variety in her day to day as much as in her sexual play - a detail that I appreciated for its consistency.

What didn't work for me:

Have you ever watched one of the reality tv shows that feature buyers looking for homes on the international market?  I've seen a handful that feature young people looking for apartments in Paris and the apartments are always the size of a breadbox. So I had a few twinges about these two individuals who could afford apartments with seemingly large bedrooms as well as living rooms. It's such a minor quibble, and the more I thought about it, the more I accepted that she was making really good money as a research assistant and that the trust fund she mentions must also have been rather large.  

Bottom Line:

If you read erotica, buy this book. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. This super sexy erotic novel was fun from start to finish. It was light-hearted without feeling like fluff.

I loved the equality in the relationship, I loved the playfulness of it. I loved the slow shedding of inhibitions, the active inner life of our narrator and the realm of possibilities left open at the book's end.

This series easily makes it on to my 'must acquire' list - I look forward to Screen by Michele Renae, coming in Feb 2014.  

I'm looking forward to hearing what you think about this book - remember, October 22nd from Amazon.com!

4.5 stars
For anyone who likes erotica, fans of exhibitionism/voyeurism, anyone with a foot or shoe fetish.