Review: Naughty Bits part 1
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 25, 2014
When Madison's sister dies and she inherits the Naughty Bits lingerie shop she sees it as the perfect opportunity to get away from her boring job and start a new life for herself. She didn't realise how hard it would be to turn her hand to selling sex toys though and it looks like she's going to need some help learning how to make her customers comfortable. She has been burying her submissive side for so long that she has no idea who she really is any more and the incredibly sexy Dom from the shop next door seems to be more than willing to help her loosen up a little. Can she be brave enough to take a risk with Logan or will her new career end in disaster?I have a confession - I've never read anything by Joey W. Hill before. I've heard so many good things about her books though so when I got the opportunity to review this one I jumped at the chance to read it. I have to admit that while I liked the story it didn't wow me as much as I hoped it would. I have now come to the conclusion that serial novels are just not for me. I want to be able to read the whole story in one sitting and I do honestly think that if this story had been released as a full length novel I would have happily carried on to the end and probably really enjoyed it. The problem is that this part didn't grab me enough to make me spend the money it will cost to buy the remaining three instalments. Another issue with serials is that they nearly always work out more expensive than buying a full length book and that makes me very reluctant to part with my money. Add in the fact that this book is releasing in monthly instalments so the final part won't be available until July and I can pretty much guarantee these characters will be completely off my radar by then (when you consider that I'll probably read at least 80 books between now and then it's no surprise that something has to be INCREDIBLY special to hold my attention for that length of time).Madison is an interesting character but I found it very hard to relate to her, she is so sexually repressed and embarrassed about her desires and I don't like the way she pushes everyone away. We do see her start to explore her fantasies a little by the end of the novella though and I have a feeling she's going to go on a real emotional journey as well as a sexual awakening throughout the series which should be interesting to see. I'm hoping she'll become a lot more likeable by the end of the series because I really did want shake her and tell her to get a grip at times. I enjoyed the humour of seeing Madison thrown in the deep end with her sister's lingerie shop though, she is so incredibly naive and now she's supposed to be advising customers and selling sex toys which was very amusing.At the moment I think Logan is the main draw for me to want to continue the series, he runs the hardware shop next door to Naughty Bits but he also builds custom made BDSM equipment and trains submissives on the side. Logan was also good friends with Madison's sister Alice and she asked him to keep an eye on her after she was gone. Alice knew Madison inside out even though they've been estranged so I think she was aware of how much Madison needs to be pushed if she's ever going to learn to let herself go and loosen up and I'm pretty sure Logan is the perfect man for the job. My main complaint was that we didn't get enough of him in this instalment but hopefully that will be remedied as the series continues.Unfortunately this novella cuts off the story just as things are starting to get interesting, I would like to know what happens next but I doubt I'll continue with the series unless it is released as a bind up for a reasonable price. I'm not going to be forced into paying more than normal for a novel just because it has been split into four chunks. Die hard Joey W. Hill fans or people who like this new trend of serial novels will probably be happy to start the series now but otherwise my suggestion is to wait until July & then give it a try when at least you're not going to have to wait on a cliffhanger between each new instalment.