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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rose Shows You How Erotica Should Be Written, August 12, 2006
This review is from: Lying In Bed (Paperback)
Marlowe Wyatt works in a New York boutique writing erotic love letters for people who can't manage the words themselves. Still grieving for a lover who was killed in an accident before she could explain dark secrets from her past, her life is empty and unhappy, and she doesn't want it any other way because those secrets are still, years later, just too painful. Then a man comes into the store and hires her to write five letters for someone--only he wants to be part of the process, not just a customer.
They begin to visit various places together to explore different sensory possibilities for these letters--for which she's going to earn two thousand dollars--but unexpected feelings for this man, Gideon Brown, begin to boil to the surface.
Cold words in a review can't begin to express the beautiful prose Rose uses all throughout this story, in every syllable, every nuance. Rose is a master at subtle prose anyhow, I've read all of her books and she always tells her stories with strength and brilliant, deft class. While this book doesn't have the swift complexity of her thrillers, it's impossible to put down once you start reading because of the way her soft words weave you into the fabric of her story.
This book outdoes any other erotica novel I've ever read. Rose puts to sleep once and for all the myth that in order to write erotica, you have to use every single physical movement and so-called erotic euphemism you can drag off of a long, long list of euphemisms. But it's not in the words, it's what the author does with the words she chooses. Read M.J. Rose's LYING IN BED and you'll see how it's done when it's done well. BA
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Erotic and haunting, September 9, 2007
This review is from: Lying In Bed (Paperback)
Lying In Bed tells the story of Marlowe Wyatt, a woman who writes erotic letters and stories for others. She brings the depths of her secret desires and longings through her creative and sensual writing, though she is unaware of the fact that she does that. It is the enigmatic Gideon who points it out to her. When Gideon enters her life, Marlowe is forced to face her inner demons, including old issues regarding her stepbrother, her cynicism and her past relationships with men.
M.J. Rose has once again created a story that is both erotic and haunting. I have noticed that most, if not all, of her novels are based on women who repress themselves one way or another, with personal issues and angsts that run deep. The erotica here is subtle, not the in-your-face stuff you often find in romantic erotica these days. Though I like the aforementioned in-your-face stuff, I also love this kind of writing, for it reminds me of authors like Anais Nin and D.H. Lawrence. Spice is a great imprint, it seems, with great eye for erotic writing. I hope this Harlequin imprint will deliver a variety of romantic erotica -- from somewhat literary (like this one) to stories that are just sexy and fun. I also like to read contemporary romantica with no gimmicks (meaning not paranormal, suspense, whatever). Just a well-told story with equal amounts of eroticism and romance. All sorts are great for reading, depends on the mood I'm in. If you like beautiful prose and sensual reading, you will love Lying In Bed. I also recommend the other books by this author.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, February 21, 2007
This review is from: Lying In Bed (Paperback)
This is the first book I have read from this author, but the reviews for it were so good (the 1 star had not been posted yet) that I gave it a chance. I did not give it 1 star because the erotic stories the heroine writes were very well done. But outside of the fantasies, the relationship between the H/H was a downer. She is depressed about her past, and finds someone to bring her out of it, but he is taken. Fine, I could deal with that for part of the book, but not nearly the entire thing. I just felt sadder and sadder for her, that she was falling in love with this great guy who was asking her to help him get another girl. And I liked him less and less as it went along, because he knew she was falling for him yet kept stringing her along. Not romantic, at all. It's good as a sample of erotic writing, but lousy as a love story.
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