A Review of Possession (Explicitly Yours Series, Book One) by Jessica Hawkins
This is
the first time I’m reading anything by Jessica Hawkins and it won’t be the
last. This novel takes you on a sexy, edgy, emotional, conflict of morals, and erotic
journey.
So, let’s
meet Lola Winters, a waitress who works with her boyfriend/manager, Johnny at
Hey Joe, a bar located on the Sunset Strip. Hey Joe used to be a vibrant hangout
spot with bands playing, but now there’s an empty stage, a few regulars and not
enough customers to keep the doors open for long.
One night,
Lola goes outside the bar to handle a rowdy group of drivers revving their car
engines and disturbing the customers inside. With a swift kick, she puts a dent
in one of the driver’s cars. After everyone leaves including Johnny who comes
outside to act as muscle, Lola locks eyes with Beau Olivier, a wealthy
businessman. His attractiveness (green almond-shaped, watchful eyes, his tall,
straight back and swagger) pulls her in and the chemistry between them is
undeniable. Beau flirts with her even though she tells him Johnny is her
boyfriend. The flirting continues even after he goes inside to meet some
colleagues to discuss business and well after his colleagues leave.
With the
bar on the verge of closing, both Johnny and Lola begin to wonder what’s next
for them if Hey Joe is bought and under new management. They would love to buy
the place because it has “rock and roll” history and name recognition, but they
are broke. Beau then proposes to give them the Money to buy the bar if he can
have one night alone with Lola with explicit conditions. Johnny and Lola contemplate
the prospect of financial freedom should they get this money. Ultimately,
Johnny leaves the decision to Lola, who agrees. For their one night, Beau introduces
Lola to a taste of luxury: expensive clothes, shoes, jewelry, and purses to choose
from, services of a makeup artist, a black-tie gala to benefit the L.A.
Philharmonic, a high-end hotel as well as a seedy side: going to a strip club
where she dances for him.
Overall,
this was a quick, fun, and sexy read. The movie-tie in leaped off the pages
evoking the 1993 movie “Indecent Proposal.” I enjoyed the parallelism between
the book narrative and the movie: young couple strapped for cash and yielding to
temptation by striking a deal with a wealthy man for a night with the woman. The
storyline was sexy, unpredictable at times, the characters exuded vulnerability,
and the dialogue was realistic. At the end of the day, it’s all about whether
one is satisfied with who they are with and whether they want to take a chance
to live a different life. Two thumbs up!
Rating: 4
stars
Some of my
favorite lines:
“Yes,
Lola?”
Alone with
his voice.
“Why me?”
she asked.
She put
the purple dress back on its hanger while he took his time responding. “I
suppose I should’ve been prepared for this question.”
“You could
just be honest,” she suggested.
“All
right. It started with the first moment I saw you. Everything else just…ceased
to exist. Time. People. Music. You stood there like a prize waiting to be
claimed. It stopped me in my tracks.”
Jesus. Had he
claimed her yet? Or was that to come? Her face flushed as if she were back
outside the bar, having just put a dent in a teenager’s car with her tennis
shoe. “That’s who I am.”
“Who are
you?”
“The girl
you saw that night. I’m not expensive silk dresses and Friday-night events. I’m
just the scrappy kid I always was, a girl who’s made some bad decisions, good
ones too. Nothing special.”
Originally Published on https://vocalexpressions.blogspot.com
