Dirty

By: Megan Hart

Narrated by: Elenna Stauffer

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

This is what happened: I met him at the candy store. He turned and smiled at me and I was surprised enough to smile back. This was not a children's candy store, mind you, this was the kind of place you went to buy expensive imported chocolate truffles for your boss' wife because you felt guilty for having sex with him when you were both at a conference in Milwaukee.

Hypothetically speaking, of course. I've been hit on plenty of times, mostly by men with little finesse who thought what was between their legs made up for what they lacked between their ears. Sometimes I went home with them anyway, just because it felt good to want and be wanted, even if it was mostly fake. The problem with wanting is that it's like pouring water into a vase full of stones. It fills you up before you know it, leaving no room for anything else.

I don't apologize for who I am or what I've done in or out of bed. I have my job, my house, and my life, and for a long time I haven't wanted anything else. Until Dan. Until now.

©2007 Megan Hart (P)2007 Audible, Inc.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Read in this Order: DIRTY, BROKEN, STRANGER

Read in this ORDER: "Dirty", "Broken", then "Stranger".

Tears, joy, sadness, empathy... your emotions will flow.

Hart weaves characters from "Dirty" throughout "Broken" & "Stranger" making it personal, helping you identify more closely with the relationships.

I highly recommend these 3 books. The narrarator for "Dirty" is not the best. Keep in mind the story line and try to ignore the terrible male voices she tries to portray.

Can't get enough!

Megan Hart is a master. She knows how to weave a story that features real characters who love and live.. but also suffer and cry. Their lives are far from easy. In fact most are painful, but the author finds a way to explore their deepest secrets with beauty and grace. She helps the reader find the light even in the darkest circumstances. Don't we all need a little of that? Hope? I plan to download everything Hart writes. "Dirty" is Elle's story, but the title is deceiving. She is far from dirty. That's just how her mother's critcism and her abusive past make her feel. She is a woman with emotional scars (like so many of us) and she is trying to find a way to let go of the past and trust. If you like the story, listen to "Broken" because there you'll find out more about what happens to Elle. Don't listen to the critics that focus on use of the "F" word or the sex scenes. If you are squeamish about those sort of things, don't buy this selection. If you need a little hope, a little excitement, a lots of love this is for you!

Suprising

I bought this book just wanting some mindless "smut". I've read some of Megan Harts books before, and always found the story line good, and the sex better. This book suprised me. Of course there are heated sex scenes(and if blunt descriptions of sex acts offend you, this is not the book for you). The book suprised me because I was invested in the characters...aside from the fact that this is erotica, it is some of the best I have ever read...and my shelves are chalked full of it. The characters were very well written and I found myself looking more forward to the next revelation of their lives more than the next love scene. Very much worth my time.

Erotica with a dark and depressing subplot

Think chick lit meets erotica with a small sprinkle of romance. This is not a lighthearted “fun and frolic” romance story, but a deeply erotic story laced with a dark and even depressing sub plot. The story is told strictly through the eyes of El, our heroine. Therefore, she is the only person we really delve deep into knowing. El is an emotionally messed up individual who has a great fear of intimacy. Sex is one thing, but true intimacy is quite another. At times, you will not like El. Guaranteed. But you will care for her and wish her the best. Her history will explain all, which is part of the dark and depressing subplot. Dan, our hero, is a great guy. He is a perfect match for a person who has such emotional issues, and they enjoy the same level of sexual pleasures -- including threesomes. (Tastefully done I might add.) He is willing to give El the emotional space she requests, but over time his love for her challenges them both to re-look at their relationship.

It is an odd mix of stories. The main story is the erotic adventures of El and Dan, but the subplot includes, among other things, sexual abuse. These stories go together like toothpaste and orange juice. Individually I can handle these stories, but woven together it leaves a bad taste in ones mouth. It's not a bad book, but if you are looking for a fun feel good book then be warned there are darker and more depressing subplots that may kill the buzz.

the reader sounds bad

I liked all her books but..this one I could not listen to. The reader ruined the book by her voice and I could not listen past the second chapter. I think that a good voice in an audio book is very important.

Shocking Progression

This book started, as expected, with hardcore sex. What shocked me was its progression to a worthwhile catholic novel. It actually becomes a book about devil wrestling and personal growth, a salvation. I am shocked at the mixing of raunch and theology, but it worked for me.

Why the raspy voice?

I have not finished the book yet and am not sure I will be able to due to the narrator's way of distinguishing the man's voice. Instead of just lowering her voice, she uses an irritating raspy voice. It's extremely annoying and hard to take seriously. It sounds so ridiculous that I want to laugh or throw my mp3 player out the window. Very hard to get into the book.

More than I expected

This was a good book. I'm glad i chose it despite the previous reviews. There's a good amount of erotica with deep story content nicely intertwined. I laughed, i cried, i couldn't help but be engrossed in the story.

Good and Dirty

This was a great story. Well written and realistic, it carried the reader along effortlessly and made you care about the characters.

It's not often that an erotic tale so neatly blends the harsher things in life with a happy ending. All too often we get all the sex with none of the substance, or when we do get a more complex tale, it ends badly.

I appreciate that Ms. Hart told us the tale of a realistic woman, learning that it's okay to love.

not what I expected

This story was not what I suspected it to be, and there was no indication of what I was getting into from the blurb, so in one way I felt a little tricked into being pulled into a story addressing issues far more serious than I was looking for.

It didn't take long before I started to suspect, what was simmering beneath the surface of the main character, but by half way through I needed to see Elle overcome her past. It was a good book, but I was looking for sexy romantic/erotic escapism, but got sucked into the "overcoming child-hood trauma and/or neglect" story which I purposely stopped reading years ago (now I think about it - around the time I became a parent myself).

The narration was good, but male voices were not great, it didn't spoil the experience but there are some female narrators who do great male voices (I'm yet to hear a male narrator who can go a great female voice LOL).