Some people earn the right to write about something just because they were there, where the action took place. Imagine a book from a Chilean miner who was trapped in the mine pit. I would buy it.
But it takes at least some talent and honesty in order to tell a good story, even if you are a first hand witness. Lauren has neither.
First of all, maybe 30% of the book is about the "harem". The rest is about a vain, self-absorbed, pretentious girl trying to convince us that she is great because of her inner qualities (not true), and not because she is pretty and guys want to have sex with her (true).
We don't need a spoilers alert, because nothing happens. The Prince has a compound with a mansion and several cottages (small houses) around a swimming pool. He uses an agent who enrolls prostitutes to live there for some months at a time and leave with a lot of money. The only thing they do is to have a sort of karaoke party every night at the mansion. The Prince comes and stays for half an hour, picks up a girl and leaves. That's all. Day after day is the same routine. They never leave the compound, they never get to know the country, they practically don't talk to the prince. If you are expecting adventure, romance, exotism, you won't find it in this book. There is more action in the bar in the corner of your street than in this so-called harem.
Lauren is so insignificant to the Prince that the only time she leaves the compound to see him at his office, they leave her waiting for four hours locked in an office without a bathroom, waiting for his arrival. When she is taken to see the Sultan (the Prince's brother) he doesn't even care to sleep with her, only asking for oral sex. His dogs probably get more consideration. All the while, Lauren thinks she is special and romanticizes the whole sordid thing. When Penthouse playmates arrive at the compound, she tries to convince us that she is so much better than they are. (why?)
But what is worst in the book is the inability of Lauren as an author to describe the personalities and the environment. That's what makes a good book, especially a good travelogue. People are like wax dolls, without real souls. She only talks about the color of their hair, their clothes, but she never tries to go deeper in understanding the personalities of the other girls. Her stay there reminds me of people who travel to Europe but only eat at McDonald's. Unfortunately, Lauren threw away a great opportunity, because the Asian girls there came from very interesting and diverse backgrounds, and must have had great stories to tell.
The other 70% of the book is all about her glorification of herself. What we see are ramblings about a girl who learns to take advantage of men and her looks when she is 14, by having sex with a stranger after losing her ride off a rock concert, just to have a place to spend the night. She is a person who cruises through life by using sex to get what she wants, but she wants us to believe that she is a natural artist. Of course, she meets weak guys (betas) who drool after her and support her delusions. She would be a great dancer if only she practiced enough, she would be a great actress if only she had more luck. Her boyfriend who works hard is a sad "workaholic". She is not a prostitute, she is the sister of all courtesans in history. What she can't face is that she wouldn't even be around her hipster friends were not for her sexual attractiveness (and availability). She needs to build some excuse to hide the fact that everything she received in life was because of her looks. Unfortunately, it seems she is still milking the same cow, since she is publishing another book on the tail of the success of this one, even though she can't write at all.
Maybe if Lauren was born a Plain Jane, she would be more humble and have invest in true human qualities and be a better person. For some girls, beauty is a curse.
