Review: Original, erotic, entertaining
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 30, 2013
"Gabriella" by Alan Hardy is an erotic although not overly explicit novel about aristocratic Gabriella, a promiscuous and at first rather unlikable little princess of a girl, who plays sexual power games with one of the players, Algy, during a cricket match. As the game progresses her interest however shifts slightly towards a different boy, working class and not at all her usual object of desire.This short piece is cleverly written with great plays on words, inventive and enjoyable descriptions of the sexual games and with an intriguing, surprising yet very believable character development in such a short space of time.The book is provocative in parts, shocking but in a very good sense and highly entertaining with its humorous but not untrue portrayal of the class system still in place in the UK.The book is playful and manages to keep your attention throughout, smoothly written, well paced and a surprise find for me.A set of interesting side characters, such as Chivers, the chauffeur, or Mary Collier, a 'runt' of a girl and sister of the newly desired boy, make this a well rounded affair with a lot going for it. If you don't mind erotic scenes this is definitely recommended.