An honest, often hilarious and occasionally sluggish tale of a man who loves sex too much.
The fictional account of a self-confessed sexaholic reviewing the path that led to his addiction.
After attending a meeting of Sex Addicts Anonymous, young Dash reflects upon his extensive sexual history. At 15, a coming-of-age visit to a brothel, underwritten by friend Troy’s military father, introduced both teenagers to the pleasures of the flesh. Now, in his ongoing quest for female companionship, Dash is often accompanied by impulsive, devil-may-care buddy Ted, who introduces Dash to AAMP (Asian Massage Parlors), where a request for ‘full service’ gets you more than a deep-tissue rubdown. After Ted makes a hasty exit, Dash falls in with redheaded Fergus, a colorful Irishman with a ravenous libido and money to burn. As Dash beds hundreds of women, he must decide whether to limit his palate to one-night stands or open himself to love and intimacy. For Dash and compatriots, a “hobbyist”—someone keen on prostitutes—is but one of a host of insider terms, many of which are code for ladies of the evening and “the act,” in all its variations. Although Dash, who’s funny as hell and generous to a fault, usually pays for sex, he makes an earnest effort to please his partner, even if she doesn’t excel at her job. As a narrator, Dash isn’t preachy, and mercifully, his story is more confession than cautionary tale. Dialogue is sharp and the narrative witty, although at times the pacing lags. A caveat for the easily offended: Although Dash isn’t misogynistic, some of his acquaintances may be construed as such; e.g., good-time Ted refers to the services of an Asian beauty as “Bang-Bang Chicken.” The book has no profound theme, no impressive story arc, no big takeaway; yet the ending is surprisingly touching. Adult females may delight in discovering what certain men really think and feel about women, in and out of bed.
An honest, often hilarious and occasionally sluggish tale of a man who loves sex too much.Pub Date: March 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615746524
Page Count: 298
Publisher: Bexley Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 20, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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