Review: 3.5 Stars!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2013
Imagine this:  A tawdry threesome results in the conception of a child.  The parents: the book "Fifty Shades of Grey", the movie "The Graduate" and the TV show "Chuck".  The resulting offspring: this book.  It's part romance, part coming of age story, part mystery...and I enjoyed it.This was a different read for me primarily because it's from the male perspective, which I both appreciate and find abhorrent.  Our hero Aaden is just a dude's dude being a dude, dutifully. As a result, this book is the fantasy of every 130 pound nerdy, frat boy in the world who dreams that after he graduates from college with a computer degree, he will then manage to land his dream job and kinky dream lady in the same day.  As I was reading this, I kept wondering if this is how men really think (and how much they think of their wang).  If they do, I seriously need to reassess my 20's, because that is an entire decade that I have misconstrued the hell out of.  In the first chapter alone we are treated to Aaden's thoughts on "obvious double chins" (doesn't like `em) and "cottage cheese ass" (shockingly--not a fan, as appetizing as he makes it sound), and he mentions his penis at least 63 times.  Ok, maybe not 63, but there's a lot of penis involved.  As a woman, I had a difficult time connecting with Aaden as a character, though he was entertaining and engaging...I thought he was jerk.I will say that this book took me someplace I did not expect when I began it.  Aaden is smart, and it serves both him and the reader well as he unravels the mysteries and intrigue of his new place of employment, West Coast Companies, and his love interest, Destiny.  Ahhh Destiny...to quote one of my favorite movies, she has "A head for business, and a bod for sin" (bonus if you can name that 80's flick!).I should also mention that the sex is HOT.  Really hot.  Destiny is a, ahem, strong and independent woman.  That's nice to see.  So many stories these days follow the alpha male formula and it's a breath of fresh air to read a book that deviates from that with strong female characters.  Destiny takes both Aaden and the reader on a journey of sexual awakening and adventure.  She's naughty...so very, very naughty.All in all, this was a 3.5 star read for me.  The writing, character development, pacing and plot development were all good.  The computer jargon was bit too much for me in parts...since my tech skills don't really go beyond searching Google and pressing "control/alt/delete" if there's a problem, I was a bit lost.  I couldn't help but feel that while I found this to be an exciting and enjoyable read that as a woman in her mid-thirties, perhaps I am not the target audience for this book.  Though don't let this dissuade you from reading it if it appeals to you...it's a solid and diverting read!