Private Show Tour Stop! ~ Crystal's Many Reviewers

Tess has just discovered sex. And now, she’s about to discover sex as a weapon.

The Seattle barista and art student is happy with her beautiful Brit boyfriend, Ben — especially in the bedroom. But while Ben’s her first, she’s hardly his. And Ben’s sexual history seems to be popping up in Tess’s face like something out of a zombie movie, and it has her questioning his commitment — and questioning whether his appealing alpha maleness is just a cover for a controlling personality.

Maybe one that’s meant to keep her from asking too many questions.

Is Ben the problem, or is everybody from his past the problem?

Tess is asking the questions, and pushing hard for answers.

Is Nicole, the ex-fiancé who cheated on Ben, trying to worm her way back into his life? Was there something between Ben and Tess’s best friend, Erin? Or what’s going on with Ben’s adored teenage sister, Caroline, and Ben’s best friend Dan? And how did Ben get Tess a job interview with Mr. Andrews, his sophisticated but slimy boss at the music magazine?

As Tess comes to learn, relationships — especially sexual ones — are as much about power as love. With each new discovery, she finds herself in a struggle to hold her head together as much as her heart.

And to find where her own power lies.

I read the first book in this series, Private Message, and was less than enamored by it. But I thought I would give Private Show a chance just to see and I’m afraid I ended up with the same disappointments.

This book basically starts where the first one left off (and yes, you need to read the first to read this one). Tess and Ben are in a relationship but there are still trust issues on Tess’s part. Ben is her first everything and she is not his, which causes some issues. Ben is secretive and a bit shady at times, which only adds to Tess’s insecurities in the relationship. This book is basically just a chronicle of Tess trying to navigate the world of sexual relationships, to which she is a novice.

I had the same problem with this book that I had with the first, which is that Tess and Ben’s relationship just didn’t feel very authentic to me at all. I thought they moved way to fast in the first, there was no build up to it all, it was just like BAM! And I think that carried over into this book. They have so many problems for such a new relationship…it’s like they skipped over the honeymoon phase all together. And without a foundation for me as a reader to build off of, I found myself not really wanting to go along for the ride with them in this story. If it were me, I just would have thrown my hands up and been like “Nice knowing you, thanks for popping my cherry, I’m out!” It just didn’t do it for me.

This book does have a cliffhanger, so consider yourself warned! I will read book 3 to see if that puts the final nail in the coffin for me with this series. Maybe that will make all of this unnecessary angst more worth it. I’m intrigued to find out. This book, I give 3 stars.

AMAZON / AMAZON CA / AMAZON UK / BARNES & NOBLE / SMASHWORDS

I smack him. Hard.

He stumbles back in pure shock and I was able to turn his head with my swing. I once again have an audience in a Starbucks. Damn … I better stop this, before I can no longer show my face in another one… He looks back at me and he looks pissed. Oh, shit. He closes his eyes stretches his neck and I can see him push his tongue to the left side of his cheek, making it look like he has a ball in his mouth.

He takes in a deep breath, points at me and says, “You’d better keep quiet, unless you want to hear all about what Ben’s been up to.”

Whew. I thought for a second there he was going to hit me back. Wait, what does he mean about what Ben’s been up to? I take a look around the shop and people quickly turn away. I am so pissed off and my wrist is killing me. I grab my jacket and bag and head out the door myself.

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Hi! I am Danielle live in Western New York with my husband and two sons. I never knew I had a dream to become a writer until I started becoming obsessed with reading in the last two years. The obsession began with Twilight and then matured to Fifty Shades. While used to reading mainstream best sellers, found a new love for indie authors. I love to do paintings related to the books I read and eventually turning into Pushy Girl Paintings and now do work for other indie writers and readers. My first book idea started from a dream I had one night and became obsessed with the story and started writing. Now having arguments with the people in my head and loving every moment of it, even when they take control of the story.