a touch of temptation by julie blairA Touch Of Temptation by Julie Blair is an erotic romance I’ve been waiting a long time to see. This specific story or scenario? Not necessarily, but it’s the first time I’ve seen an erotic story tackle challenges around learning how to meet your body where it’s at to have a fulfilling sex life.

Kate Dawson’s life is on track for high-society success: she’s dating a man with excellent political prospects, she’ll write the bar exam, and when she passes (no doubt, with flying colours), she’ll take her place as partner in the family law firm. Her mother has every detail planned, and Kate just needs to follow the path exactly as it’s laid out for her.

But an unexpected illness means putting off the bar exam, and Todd is great but Kate doesn’t know if she wants to marry him–not to mention the painful, terrible sex. When Kate moves into her grandmother’s cabin in the mountains to continue studying for a couple of months, she meets Chris. The gorgeous, flirty butch living next door may not be into relationships, but she sure knows a lot about sex. Maybe she’s just the right person to teach Kate everything she’s been missing so far…

The Characters

Kate and Chris are so different from each other, and yet they work beautifully together. Kate has the adult equivalent of a pageant mother, is from a wealthy family, and has been raised with the goal of making an advantageous marriage. Chris was raised by a single dad, owns her own landscaping business, and doesn’t believe in settling down at all, preferring casual sex with friends and attending monthly sex parties.

It’s only as Chris teaches Kate about her body and they spend more time together that each begins to open to the possibility of something different. Their growth, both individually and as a couple, makes for a satisfying ending.

A Touch Of Temptation by Julie Blair also features a handful of notable side characters. I wanted to punt Kate’s best friend, Nicole, and her mother into the ocean. Her grandmother, Katherine, is wonderful, a kindred spirit and partner in crime to Kate, and good friend to Chris. Todd is also a sweet guy, and I love the place he ends up having in Kate’s life.

[tweetthis]Chris’s heart did a double beat. What would it be like to scoop Kate up and take her to bed?[/tweetthis]

The Writing Style

A Touch Of Temptation by Julie Blair is well-written, with great pacing, an interesting story, and complex characters. There’s a lot of sex in it, as is expected in an erotic romance, but sex isn’t the point of the story and it reflects who Chris and Kate are as they change throughout the book.

The Pros

I hinted at this in the intro, but I love that Julie Blair included some of the realistic challenges of learning how to have sex. It was refreshing to see someone who couldn’t figure out how to masturbate on her own, and who didn’t know that some women need to use lube every time because they just don’t get wet at the thought/sight of their partner, even if they are aroused. I particularly loved seeing Kate exploring new things and deciding that they’re not for her at all. I was also ecstatic to see condoms being used on dildos, because there isn’t enough safer sex in lesbian fiction. If there had been a dam, I might have died on the spot, but alas.

The Cons

Is it a con that I constantly wanted Kate to push her mother and Nicole straight out of her life? No? Oh, right. I guess nothing, then.

The Conclusion

A Touch Of Temptation is an excellent erotic romance and I wholeheartedly recommend it. This is a book I know I’ll come back to.

Tara's Favourite Novels reviewed on on TheLesbianReview.comExcerpt from A Touch Of Temptation by Julie Blair

“Want to take a class with me?”

“You wear tight spandex pants to yoga, right? And those little…” Chris ran her fingers under her breasts. “Crop tops?”

“You don’t have to. They’d let you in in jeans and a…” She pointed to Chris’s shirt. “Polo shirt.”

“501s.” Not just jeans. “No, the pants would get me to class. Nothing I like better than a woman in tight, tight, tight…” She grinned when Kate looked at her as if she wasn’t following the conversation. Waited.

“Are you a lesbian?” Kate’s cheeks colored a bit. Adorable.

“Since I was twelve.” Sleepover at her best friend’s house. Fool-around kisses she liked way too much. “You’re straight?”

“Seven-year boyfriend.”

“You can’t be perfect.”

[tweetthis]She wanted Chris to stop kissing her and never stop kissing her.[/tweetthis]

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Bits and Bobs

  • ISBN number: 9781626394889
  • Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

Julie Blair Online