Exposure by Annie Jocoby
(Exposure #1)
Publication date: January 16th 2015
Genres: Erotica, Romance
BOOK ONE OF A THREE BOOK TRILOGY
Photographer CJ Parker is a woman who has literally not gone outside for the past six months. She’s been hiding from the world, and from life, ever since an unimaginable tragedy forced her into seclusion.
On the one day where she decides to finally venture outside, she meets the mysterious billionaire, Asher Sloane. Dark-headed, magnetic, and gorgeous, Asher drips sex and animal magnetism. He draws CJ out of her shell and into the world, while showing her things that she never knew existed.
What CJ doesn’t know is that Asher has a dangerous past. Behind his beautiful blue eyes and confident demeanor lies dark secrets that, if they are brought to light, could mean the end of CJ and Asher’s relationship.
Will the exposure of Asher’s past destroy them?
Warning: This book has plenty of hot and steamy sex scenes featuring an alpha male who knows what he wants and knows exactly how to get it.
**I received an ebook ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review**
CJ Parker has agoraphobia following a traumatic event. Asher is gorgeous and wealthy, and rescues her when she loses consciousness while attempting to venture outside of her home. He keeps coming around, they start spending time together, and eventually a romance blossoms. As with any romance there are complications—obstacles of sorts—that threaten to put a permanent wedge between them.
Let me start with what I liked about this book. I enjoyed the romantic aspects of the story, the hard and fast fall for someone, craving them in all ways. I also enjoyed the plot line, and I definitely think it had the elements that are needed to keep it going into a trilogy like it’s set up. It was also really easy to read and it was a good length.
There were a number of things I struggled with while reading this book, however. Things between CJ and Asher felt very rushed to me, especially given CJ’s condition. Immediately trusting a complete stranger and venturing all over town with him after being petrified to do so for months … didn’t feel real to me at all. I work in mental health and I can’t see anyone who has undergone such trauma and been so anxious for so long turning things around in the blink of an eye like this. I also had a hard time with how quickly CJ jumped into bed with Asher. I understand what physical attraction can do, but once again, coming back to the agoraphobia thing, I don’t see someone who suffers from that condition realistically launching into a physical relationship so quickly. I think if these aspects were different, then this could easily have been a four or even a five star read for me.
I liked how Jocoby created the stories behind both CJ and Asher, and as individual characters, I liked each of them. They were well-developed an had good individual storylines going on. I had a hard time relating to the characters though, and I think a lot of that was because of the realism issues I mention above.
Technicalities aside, this was a good read. Jocoby is a good writer, I like her style a lot, and there was a lot of attention and creativity put into this piece. If you’re looking for an easy-to-read romance that has some suspense and drama nicely woven into it, check this one out. It’s good for a quick summer read as well!
Three stars to this book!
Ryan, Nick, Luke and Asher are all complicated characters who have experienced plenty of darkness, yet always seek the light. They would all go to the ends of the earth to protect the women they love. And they’re all sexy, enigmatic, magnetic and great in bed.
All of Annie’s books have things in common: they all combine a touch of mystery and intrigue with drama, love, and lots of hot sex. Some of the books have action and even some criminal elements in them. Her current book, in fact, is her first book that would be classified as straight romantic suspense, although it also combines definite elements of the thriller genre! If you’re in the market for a book that is fast-paced, where the heroes are beautiful and wealthy, and the heroines are strong, vulnerable and flawed, then try these books out!
