Sexual Healing

June 20, 2016
Hobbs (Power Couple) and Cairo (The Pleasure Zone) collaborate on a salacious, raunchy tale as two damaged characters journey from their darker inner impulses to the hopeful promise of redemptive love. Polished diva Arabia Knight, an advertising agency owner, loves being in control; it helps her ignore painful childhood memories. The urge for hot, naughty, raw sex drives Arabia to a Philadelphia club, where she prowls for a one-time adventure. Cruze Fontaine, dashingly handsome and rough around the edges, normally avoids public venues; it’s been a long time since he left New York, but the drug dealers who despise him have long memories. Like Arabia, Cruze thrives on control and is always looking for new sex partners, as trust and intimacy are not part of his repertoire. Cruze locks eyes with Arabia when she’s performing suggestive dance moves; they quickly proceed to a mutually exhilarating sexual encounter on the dance floor and an equally quick departure by Arabia. A chance business meeting reignites their sexual attraction, but both are hesitant to reveal their inner secrets. As the buds of a relationship start to bloom, an unexpected violent event may throw everything off track. Drama and scorching sex abound, and there’s more than a nod to romance, but readers may be dismayed by the abrupt ending, which leaves many issues unresolved.

July 1, 2016
A classic Zane Presents novel with lots of steamy sex, complicated relationships, and over-the-top situations.Gorgeous Arabia Knight is proud of her lifestyle as a "top shelf sidepiece trophy" of older, wealthy married men neglected by their wives. Typical of heroines written by Cairo (The Pleasure Zone, 2016) and Hobbs (No Boundaries, 2015), Arabia doesn't want love, just lust and money, and "happens to be a woman who is very comfortable in her skin, in her sexuality." So when she sees self-made millionaire Cruze Fontaine at a nightclub, she entices him with her sultry dancing, and they have a quick, hot coupling right then and there. Cruze is a playboy who doesn't get attached, yet he can't stop thinking about the mystery woman who gave him the orgasm of his life but not her name. When they do reconnect, Arabia and Cruze have a sweet rapport, even if it's usually in the midst of incredibly dirty talk and wild sex. The profane language throughout the novel will be an acquired taste for new readers. Cruze, a "young cat from the streets," is trying to rebuild his life on the right side of the law after running from a career in hustling back in Brooklyn. He owns HYPE, the Huntingdon's Young People's Enrichment Center, and coaches one of their basketball teams. Arabia's materialistic and narcissistic personality overshadows Cruze's more sedate one. She can be hard to take with her constant self-praise (she considers bottling and marketing her own "sweet nectar"), but her sisters and disparaging mother help bring her down to earth. Both Cruze and Arabia have multiple other sex partners, only sharing their feelings at the very end, which makes their sudden changes of heart a little dubious. Little in the way of romance or plot, but readers who enjoy lots of raunchy sex with a confident and unapologetic female protagonist won't complain.

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