Read - The Red

Title: The Red

Author: Tiffany Reisz

Genre(s): erotica, fantasy, paranormal

Series?: no

Publication Date: July 11th 2017

Rating: 8.5/10

*ARC received from NetGalley*

Before we even open this book just take a moment to admire this gorgeous cover.  It's super sexy without even trying, no over the top facial expressions, no hands in suggestive places, no man on the cover at all in fact.  This book is a fantastic example of what I will call elegant/intelligent kink.  I'm not really a connoisseur of erotica, but after reading this I think maybe I've just been reading all the wrong stories.

So, as our erotic adventure begins we meet Mona who's just realizing that the art gallery her mother left her, The Red, is sinking fast and this after she promised on her mother's deathbed she'd do anything to save it.  "Ah wait, I know!  I'll take that dark-eyed stranger up on his offer, my body for a year in exchange for $500,000!"  And so begins their arrangement of very elaborate trysts.  When I say elaborate I mean costumes, other players when the fantasy calls for them, and sometimes the bedroom isn't exactly where Mona left it.

As in most erotica I've come across there is a very evident S/M element, but unlike the other erotica I've read Mona is no naive virgin taken against her will until she likes it.  Mona may not know much about S/M, but she's told exactly what she's agreeing to from the start, mostly.  Each tryst is based on a painting that Malcolm picks out ahead of time which I really like the idea of since the "bedroom" is in the back of a gallery.  The only encounter that I wanted to skim over was the caning, personally it's not for me and one hundred lashings sounds like a bit much.  I can't go into much detail about the fantasy/paranormal elements because they are woven throughout the story and I don't want to give anything away other than to say that I loved them and they only made the book that much better.  While this book may not appeal to all erotica fans it may be a door opener for those who want their paranormal romances a bit kinkier.