This is a spoiler-free review!
My enjoyment of browsing the free book section on iBooks will continue to make me put off my own TBR pile for a new read at least once a month, and Escort is no exception. Told from Hugo's point of view, we see the perspective of a male escort as he comes in contact with Bea, a young woman who is not the typical clientele to hire an escort.
If you watched Toy Boy or Diary of a Giglio on Netflix, this quick standalone will be right up your alley. This book would make such a fun Passionflix adaptation, especially since it is few and far between that we get to see the male escort perspective in romance novels. I am not a super big fan of first-person perspective, but I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed reading Hugo's story. The way he views himself and the way he slowly allows Bea to become a presence in his life was well-incorporated throughout the book.
Bea is a shy twenty-something that lives alone in a very large penthouse when she hires Hugo for the night -- she is not the typical penthouse resident, with a quiet personality and well-lived in furniture, Hugo is immediately intrigued. Warren does a pretty decent job of giving us a look inside Hugo's thoughts as he begins to meet with Bea over time, especially when it comes to linking his present job to his childhood past. While we are only given Hugo's point of view, the author was able to capture a lot of Bea's emotions through Hugo's eyes.
Hugo's past was interesting to get into and certainly moved the story forward regarding why he does what he does, but it came to the point where I no longer wanted to read about his past, and wanted the story to move on with him and Bea. Their mutual connection provided somewhat of a plot point to the story and a wedge in their relationship, but it was resolved so quickly I thought I imagined it myself.
Both of the leads are gentle in their own ways, and even though they are very much opposites of each other, they compliment one another very well, and it was a couple that I was rooting for from the beginning. I enjoyed how their dynamic slowly began to form and emerge the longer they knew each other, and their characters each had their own development that was not just for their partner, but for themselves.
There were a few things here and there that could have been left out of the book to make more room for Bea and Hugo's growing relationship, but overall the story pieced together nicely. I do wish it was a touch longer, especially as a standalone, because I felt like I was left hanging at the end. A few more chapters would have done their story well, especially because we only saw some glances of Bea and Hugo's relationship. I would have loved to see more of Hugo's friends to be quite honest -- they seemed interesting enough that I would read books about them if this was an interconnected standalone series, but alas it is not.
I would not go as far to say that this qualifies as erotica -- it is pretty tame spice compared to other romance books, and has just enough scenes to make it interesting but not push it over the edge. This was a fun and quick read, but I expected a little more from the story than what was given. If you are looking for a somewhat spicy fluff romance, then this is definitely the read for you.
You can add Escort on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.
No comments:
Post a Comment