Slate, by Brian Rowe

Vivien is a successful Hollywood casting director.  With a son starting to dabble in acting, and a successful dentist for a husband, it would seem her life is picture perfect.  However, when she finds out her husband is cheating on her, revenge is the only thing on her mind.  She must find a way to get back at him, and regain her confidence, no matter who she steps on in the process.

This book was a bit confusing to me.  For the majority of the time, it was a mostly sex, not even enough romance to justify calling it a romance novel, just sex.  Then, toward the end the romance creeps in, and you start feeling the vibe, and them WHAM you are sideswiped by overt violence.  It is was so, in a word, Hollywood.

I liked the character of Vivien a lot, most of the time, but there were times, usually when the writing became sexually graphic, that I felt she seemed, well, out of character.  It made for a very bipolar effect for me.  I loved the idea of her casting men of various ages to scope out the goods.  The whole "cougar" phenomenon is still pretty hot right now, so the fact that she was checking out younger men was actually pretty believable.

I was certainly more interested in what happened in Vivien's office than in her personal life.  I loved the various characters around the office, and in some ways I saw them as more her family than her real family was, something many working professionals experience.  The twist at the end made me see how important that office family really was to her.

I am not one for sexually gratuitous novels, so in a lot of ways, this book was not a good fit for me, but for those readers who just cannot get enough heat, this book is sure to singe your fingertips.



I received a review copy of this book courtesy of the author.