Romancing the Weekends: The Siren by Tiffany Reisz

PJV Quickie: Dark, edgy, thought-provoking and erotic; The Siren is not for the faint at heart:  It sucked me in, spit me out, and left me pleading “again!”

Title: The Siren
Author: Tiffany Reisz
Type: Erotica
Published: July 24, 2012 by Harlequin MIRA
Source: Received from Publisher

Rating:  

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Review

Nora Sutherlin is a woman with many talents; she’s a best-selling author of BDSM erotica who’s just written what is possibly her most meaningful book to date.  She’s switching to a bigger publisher and really wants this book to succeed.  To that end, her new publisher has given her book to editor Zachary Easton.  Zach is the editor who’s going to make or break Nora’s book.  He says the book is good but she’s going to have to take it apart and rebuild it from the ground up.  It’s going to be brutal work, but what comes out on the other side is going to be extraordinary…

I’m torn.  On one hand, I loved The Siren.   On the other hand, I had some serious problems with it.

Let’s start with what I loved:

Tiffany Reisz writes the hell out of a story.  The writing is absolutely fabulous.  Honestly, If not for two issues that I had with the story, I would be giving it 5 stars.  These characters Ms. Reisz has written leap off the page and into my brain where they settle in and stay, even when I’m not reading.  She is able to work together a story that is bleak, sexy, alarming, and hopeful.   Make no mistake, The Siren is brutal.  But it’s also sensual and smart.

The entire book is a study in contradiction:  Nora’s past as a sub and her present career as a Dom;  her former Dom Soren, so brutal and controlling, who is an antithesis to her live-in student, sweet, virginal Wesley.  The contrast between Nora’s past and present, between her professional life and her home life pull the reader in and tangle your thoughts until you don’t know which is the ‘real’ Nora and which is a front.  You will be helpless to stop reading as Zach slowly gets pulled into Nora’s life, bit by bit, fighting to hold on to himself even as he lets go.  He’s in charge, but he’s not.  Zach is struggling with his own extremes: married yet separate, working but finished, tethered to the things in his life but feeling adrift.

Now, after all that raving about the awesomeness of The Siren, what could possibly cause me to complain about this amazing book?  Two things:

I really feel like the author’s writing stands on its own and doesn’t need a sensational “twist” for word of mouth to spread about The Siren.  I promise, if you read this book you will be thinking about it for a long, long time; the next book you read after you finish The Siren will pale in comparison.

I will definitely be picking up the second book in this series, The Angel, as soon as possible.

Recommendations

Fans of erotic romance looking for a dark, thoughtful read that’s going to take you someplace slightly uncomfortable; you’ll be glad you did.

Other Novels you might like, similar to ‘The Siren’:

Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas

Willing Victim by Cara McKenna

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Patti

Introvert, Worrier, Owner of the blog “Caught in a FAB Romance”, and resident Romance Guru on Parajunkee’s View. I’ve been blogging about books for over 3 years – if it’s got romance in it, I’ll read it! You can also find me on twitter, tweeting about books, my family, and sometimes, The Saints: @lovesfabromance

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