Intimate Exposure

By: Portia Da Costa

Narrated by: Lola Holiday

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

From the moment Red Webster arrived at executive Vicki Renard's firm, sparks flew between them. The photographer is supposed to create a company profile for its new owner, but he spends most of his time flirting with her. His sexy teasing infuriates Vicki... and piques a desire to submit to him. His hypnotic eyes promise what she's been secretly craving: a sexually dominant master, like the ones in her favorite erotic novels.

Investigating his new business incognito, billionaire F. W. Shanley - aka Red - is turned on by Vicki's fiery personality and undeniable beauty. When he discovers her reading a BDSM novel on her e-reader, he knows he's found a woman who shares his desires and promises to be a challenging submissive.

When Red arranges a weekend at a secluded hotel, Vicki agrees to indulge in no-strings-attached erotic fun. But can she commit to this kind of life with Red when he realizes they can have so much more?

©2012 Portia Da Costa (P)2012 Audible, Inc

Fell a little short....

Like I said, the story is good, but there were times that the chemistry between Vicki and Red just didn't seem to be there. There was also a BDSM scene that seemed just a little too close to the edge of abuse for my comfort level, especially when Vicki was still smarting from it a few days later. That just doesn't seem right to me, but that is a personal thing.

I liked how Red maneuvered Vicki into his lifestyle. The hotel was an interesting surprise...very intriguing. I liked the fact that Red came into the company undercover as a photographer. I liked the hints about Vicki being unsatisfied at the company...and actually wished that had been pursued a bit more.

I don't feel like reading this book was a waste of my time, but it won't be going onto my re-read pile. It was entertaining enough, just not amazing.

Lola Holiday ruins the audio version

Normally, I love Portia DaCosta books. She's written some different types of stories that I've loved in the past. This book seemed to be a rather formulaic romance and was much too short. I felt no tug from the characters because the length of the book wasn't long enough to flesh them out and make you either love or hate them. The story was a sweet romance but I would have expected Vickie to be more angry about the deception. And I know Portia DaCosta can do a much better story.

Having read the other reviews that were written about the kindle edition, not the audio one, I'd just like to say that many people experience what is known as 'sub-frenzy' and when the opportunity presents itself to 'play' in the bdsm world, women don't always make the best choices and jump into play quickly. So Vickie's experience isn't all that unsual, even though you do wish she'd had a mentor to educate her some about safety prior to accepting an offer to play.

Another reviewer was unhappy about the intensity of the big spanking scene in the hotel room and felt it bordered on abuse because she was still feeling twinges of pain from it days later. Perhaps it was a bit intense for a first big scene, but being in the lifestyle, I think of that spanking scene as pretty normal. And she also only had to say stop and he would have stopped. Since her thoughts during the scene were open to the reader, I think it's pretty clear she was happy with what was happening. Suspend your own thoughts and feelings about whether or not bdsm is abuse and accept that she seemed happy. Generally, masochists are thrilled to have bruises they can poke a couple of days later to remind them of the fun they had. ;-)

I'd say to read this book instead of listening to it. Unfortunately, I didn't remember that I'd hated this narrator in another book in my library because it's been a long time ago. But as soon as she'd read a few sentences, I remembered her and her annoying way of reading. I did manage to make it all the way through the book, but the narrator really detracted from the story.

Not sure where the title came from...

I listen / read a lot of books in this category. I thought this book was slow, boring, predictable and not very erotic. The narrator voice sounds computer generated and I found it hard to listen to. I probably shouldn't be writing a review on this because I couldn't listen through the whole book, so maybe it got better somewhere, sometime.