Review: PRIVATE TASTING is best enjoyed with a glass of wine...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 25, 2014
This is going to be what I term a "drive by review". The author didn't request a review and I downloaded the book during a free day on Amazon. My head phones were recently destroyed so I found myself at the gym with nothing to do. With a solid hour ahead of me on the exercise bike, I opened my e-reader and stabbed the first cover that appealed to me.PRIVATE TASTING is a short, intensely erotic contemporary romance story that I managed to finish in under an hour.  Well written prose and sensual descriptions of both sex and wine, enough so that I'm planning on having myself a nice glass of pinot and Mr. Snark this lovely evening.The story jumps straight to the sizzling component without much word count devoted to plot or characterization. It helped that the hero and heroine were already friends who had been pining for each other for some time. The author did a really nice job of capturing their longing. Most of the conflict is internal and arises from the doubts and insecurities of two people who are in love with each other but are afraid of taking chances and don't really know how to communicate very well.Normally, I'd like to see more relationship development but I can let it roll since this story delivers exactly what it's designed to  do--provide the reader with a literary aphrodisiac. I enjoyed Beth's characterization but I found Lucio to be less arrogant than I'd expect of an Italian playboy. (He needed a bit more edginess.)PRIVATE TASTING is best enjoyed with a glass of wine and one's significant other close at hand.  Buona lettura.