Review: Do yourself a favor and Read This Series!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 11, 2013
Confession time - I love me a geek. Smart guys make me swoon. Keep your big-and-stupids, and I will take the smart-and-sarcastics. Obviously, I was predisposed to love this book. And I did love it. So much.Brief synopsis - Ed is a nice, smart, slightly socially inept guy who is stunned utterly speechless when he first meets Beth. Beth is also smart, but with better social graces. She is coming off of a breakup with her boyfriend/Dom of 8 years, her only relationship. Aaron, said Dom/boyfriend, was a domineering jerk who made Beth feel bad about herself. Ed, on the other hand, can't even believe someone like Beth is giving him the time of day. When Ed bumbles into the BDSM club his friends and Beth belong to, unbeknownst to Ed, he helps Beth convince Aaron she has a new boy toy to go with her newly discovered Domme side. Ed is more than happy to oblige.Beth can't quite believe how attracted she is to the oh, so vanilla Ed. She is also having a hard time moving on from her relationship from Aaron. Ed desperately wants to be with Beth, but knows if he is clingy, he will push her away.What works - Almost everything worked for me in The Principle of Desire. Beth's inability to let go of how she thought her life would look, Ed's willingness and openness to trying new things, Aaron's desperate attempts to win Beth back...All of it rang true. The character motivations were clear and believable. The dialogue is fresh and funny. There are awkward moments, the kind we all have experienced in the wide world of dating, described in excruciatingly funny detail. There are tender moments, as well.I love that Ed isn't the "perfect specimen". He is a real guy, a little too hairy, not cut, and not groomed within an inch of his life. Ed's idea of good jeans are the ones with only one hole in the knee. I love that Beth appreciated that about Ed, too, describing him as comfortable and comforting. I love that Ed got Beth completely, and tried so hard to respect her boundaries.Beth is coming out of a relationship that began when she was 20. Her entire adult formative life was spent with Aaron, and when Beth and Ed get together, she has a hard time not thinking about Aaron. When Aaron unexpectedly needs her, she reluctantly helps him out, confusing the issue even more. This felt so true to me. You are with someone for a longgg time. You have plans and dreams that involve that person. It's hard to walk away. Beth has to examine her goals and requirements from a different angle, and that can be a really hard thing to do.What didn't work - I honestly can't think of one thing.Bottom line - I freakin' loved this little book. It hit all the right notes for me. And, by the way, it really isn't as much of a love triangle as it sounds from my review. I don't like love triangles, as a rule. This one made sense, in the context of character growth for Beth. I have read all three of the Science of Temptation series, and have enjoyed all of them. If you like smart, funny erotica with a good story, you owe it to yourself to check out these titles.