Customer Reviews

Gotta Have It

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Gotta Have It by Renee Alexis is a collection of three short stories. In each story, the women are in control. Caroline meets Marc after last seeing the love of her life in high school. Marliss owns a massage parlor (so to speak) and meets Commander Carrington when he comes in to her establishment to be serviced by one of her employees . Finally, Arlene, a college student, meets her soon to be college professor by accident and the sparks fly.

Although the sex scenes were steamy, I found the storyline in each of these short stories to be a little unrealistic. For instance, several years after high school, Caroline is still pining for Marc. Although they only had one sexual encounter in high school, her body is still hot for Marc even though she is a grown woman in her thirties. In the second story, although the main character, Marliss is a massage parlor owner/prostitute, the Base Commander takes one look at her and instantly falls in love. Because he was portrayed as this nice, level-headed and polite brother, it was difficult to believe that he would instantly make a prostitute his wife. Since the story lacked the development to make this relationship believable, it made storyline completely unrealistic for me.

With plots that are a little more believable, Alexis has the makings of an excellent erotic writer. Despite my opinion on her lack of plot development, I look forward to reading other works from her in the future.

T. RHYTHM KNIGHT
APOOO BookClub

Despite all the other negative comments, I found this book to be very erotic. The three stories were great. It kept my attention and it was easy to read and follow. I would definately recommend others to read it.

Reacquainted

No one looks forward to a four hour delay, but modeling agency owner Caroline Pierce finds a way to liven up her airport wait. While wondering what to do, Caroline unexpectedly spies former high school sweetheart turned Major League Baseball star, Marc Brown. He is definitely something to do! In high school things didn't work out for brainy Caroline and jock Marc. Now, they are older, wiser, and have a second chance. Both are eager to see what takes flight when their passionate fire rekindles.

Of the three stories, Reacquainted is the best. Caroline and Marc are both engaging. More than just sexual heat, the pair share a true emotional connection rooted in the past. With real feeling and blazing hot sex, Reacquainted is a quick, satisfying read.



Atten-tion!

Located near Fort Benning Army Base, Marliss Tanner's massage parlor provides some much needed stress relief to countless GI's. Indeed, the women of the Sensation Station always deliver a happy ending! At the top of her game, Marliss knows how to work it. That is, until she meets the new Base Commander, David Allen Carrington. Smooth talking and drop dead gorgeous, David causes Marliss to forget the golden rule: never fall for a client. David's pursuit and sexual prowess are more than Marliss can handle. Will David lead her down a path to ruin that she has traveled before, or can he show her a new path to happiness?

Atten-tion! gave me some problems. Although told in first person, I had trouble relating to Marliss. While I felt her attraction to David, I never felt their emotional connection. David was hot and commanding, but little else. It struck me as odd that he continued his appointments with another working girl as he pursued Marliss. David's tale, for the most part, remains untold. A good hooker-john love story needs more complexity and exploration of the inherent issues than Atten-tion! offers.



A Note to Mr. Fine

Professor Aaron Ford is known among his female students as Mr. Fine. His Penn State writing and performing seminars are a hot ticket and have given starts to numerous talented young writers. On the way to their first Mr. Fine class, sophomore Arlene Cannon and her best friend are caught in a downpour. Much to the ladies' delight, they find a scrumptious man with a cab to share. Instantly attracted, Arlene has no idea the delicious Aaron Ford is in fact Mr. Fine. Aware of the conflict of interest, Aaron is powerless to resist the beautiful Arlene. She's not really his student yet, right? With the seminar postponed a day, Aaron and Arlene explore their mutual desire. Once classes begin, though, Aaron firmly draws the line between teacher and student. How can Aaron ignore the temptation that Arlene provokes?

A Note to Mr. Fine was my least favorite story. Arlene, only interested in a man's bank account, is immature and unappealing. She is downright mean to her best friend. She never displayed any personal growth or anything else to make her more likable. I didn't think she deserved a happy ending. Arlene simply stumbles upon a hot guy with money who is also hot for her. There was very little emotional depth in the couple's relationship. There were a couple of hot scenes, but they only provide some titillation. Without a compelling story, those erotic moments provide no real satisfaction.


Gotta Have It is like too many anthologies. There is one decent story, but unfortunately not much more. Any sensual heat was dampened by a distinct lack of emotion, thus leaving these sexually explicit tales wooden, perfunctory, and unbelievable.



Cheryl
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

"Reacquainted". They were sweethearts years ago, but drifted apart. Both prepare to "veg" out at their perspective gate at Midway Airport when Caroline Pierce and Marc Brown accidentally meet and sparks fly. Both think destiny wants them to soar to new sensual highs.

"Atten-Tion!" Marlisse Tanner the masseuse has the touch that can take the aches out of the most stressed military officers and enlisted men from nearby Fort Benning who visit her. However, new base commander David Carrington looks so good she wants him to massage and caress her entire body to bring the heat to special pleasure spots.

"A Note to Mr. Fine". All the female students attending his Penn State seminars think Professor Aaron Ford is hot. Butler College sophomore Arlene Cannon writes a sexual fantasy co-starring the two of them. When the teacher gets a copy of the student's dreams, he finds his own appetite wet though he was dripping from the moment he first saw her. Still even if she is a summer student and he a visiting instructor, he should not cross the line; yet Aaron and Arlene teach each other anatomy lessons in spite of interference from her best friend.

These three torrid contemporary romantic novellas will elate erotica fans (and their mates) as they contain fun sexually explicit stories starring hot to trot lead protagonists. The tales need a warning label to have a vibrator or significant other handy (pun intended).

Harriet Klausner

I LOVE reading books by black authors because as a black person you like to read about people that you can relate to. But I felt like this was a white book that someone just deleted out the description of a white person and replaced the description to say brown skin. If that was what I was looking for then that was what I would have made it my business to buy. The cover
is deceitful don't believe the hype it was made to remind you of "No More Playas" or "Mr Satisfaction". Ms Alexis please pick up some of Ms Jacksons books she can really put it down.

THIS WAS GREAT. IT'S THREE STORIES, BUT THEY ARE GREAT. IT'S LIKE THESE THREE STORIES SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE OWN BOOK, CUZ I WANTED MORE.

1ST STORY: CAROLINE IS A WEALTHY INSECURE WOMAN WHO THINKS SO LOW OF HERSELF. ONE DAY SHE MEETS AN OLD FRIEND, MARC. THE ONE MAN SHE HAS ALWAYS LOVED. THEY REALIZE HOW MUCH THEY LOVE EACHOTHER, AND END UP BEING TOGETHER.

2ND STORY: MARLISSA IS A WOMAN WHO ALWAYS GOTTEN OTHER WOMEN'S MEN. WELL SHE HAS THIS 'MESSAGE PARLOR' ON AN ARMY, BASE, ONLY THEY DON'T GIV OUT 'REAL MESSAGES'. SHE MEETS COMMANDER DAVIS AND FALLS IN LOVE. ONLY THERE'S ONE PROBLEM, SHE HAS A RULE TO NEVER DATE A CLIENT OR A FRIEND'S CLIENT. BUT SHE CAN'T RESIST HIS SEXYNESS

3RD STORY: ARLENE IS A WOMAN WHO DATES MEN ATM CARDS. SHE'S CUTE AND SHE KNOWS IT. ON HER WAY TO A WRITING SEMINAR SHE SHARES A CAB WITH MR. FINE, THEY SLEEP TOGETHER, HE BECOMES HER PROFESSOR, AND THINGS HEAT UP



THIS IS A GOOD BOOK!

Let me first begin by telling you I did not finish the book. I couldn't. I would prefer to go get a root canal than finish. It was torture. I didn't get very far either. So let me tell you the problems I had with the book that made me stop
1. The language - The character language did not fit the characters. There narrative was plain and unimaginative. Overall the dialogue was tedious
2. Inconsistency - There was a scene at the airport that would have never happened, post 9/11. In fact, I had to double check the copyright to make sure it wasn't an old book I was reading.
3. No depth - The characters were just there
4. Boring - It was simply a drag to get from one word to the next

This was my first book in the Aphrodesia series, and I was sooo excited to see that it featured African Americans on the cover. I delved in eagerly...and five minutes later, threw the book across the room.

This is the most horribly written piece of drivel I have read in the romance genre in a long time. Congrats to Ms. Alexis for getting a publishing contract, but I found her characters to be capricious, unsympathetic, and not very smart. The story about the young woman and her professor was a true groaner. Mr. Fine spent the entire time fantasizing about having the two friends together, yet never even broached the subject. The protagonist was a hood-rat and I was rooting against her hootchie behind the entire story!

The reunion story had much more of an emotional connection between the characters, and I really liked them both, but I couldn't understand what their actions were motivated by. They seemed to be puppets manipulated by the author, rather than three-dimensional humans with their own thoughts, hopes and dreams. Their reactions were unrealistic, given their storyline.

I can't bring myself to read the middle story, afraid that I will do permanent damage to my wall (and insult its intelligence with this book). Save your money, and browse heavily any other Aphrodesia titles, if this is their "good stuff."

I was extremely disappointed by Gotta Have It. There was much more "telling" than "showing" going on in all three of the stories Ms. Alexis has written. I knew what the characters were thinking, since their thoughts were all in first person, but there was no descriptive actions or emotions that matched these thoughts. I felt that this lead to very little chemistry and no emotional connection between any of her characters - other than he's hot/she's hot, lets do it. As any romantica/erotica fan knows, there has to be chemistry for anything else to be believable. Since I couldn't feel the heat, all of the sex scenes were mechanical at best and downright boring at worst.

Renee Alexis is a wonderful new author. I enjoyed every story in "Gotta Have It," and would definitely recommend it to everyone who loves a sexy romance. I found the characters to be real and fascinating with real lives and concerns. I will buy anything she writes. R.G