20876406Title: Claudine

Author: Barbara Palmer

Publisher: Berkley Penguin

Publication Date: September 2014

Genre: Adult Fiction/Thriller, Erotica

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

 

 

Synopsis can be found here.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Review:

Maria Lantos is a post grad Yale student who works as Claudine at night, selling sex and exotic role play to her very rich clientele. But one day things start to unravel, blending both of her worlds together. And someone is out to kill Claudine because one night was not enough.

The beginning moved fast and I didn’t have a hard time getting into the story or Claudine’s world. This is mostly erotica with some suspense mixed in, which I really like. Maria/Claudine is not an overwhelming character. Nothing about her really stands out, besides her beauty and her occupation. While I didn’t mind her, I didn’t fall in love with her either. Andre, her bodyguard and driver and Lillian, her makeup artist and friend, have more color and character than Claudine so they were good foils.

But somewhere towards the middle, the book lagged. The suspense wasn’t escalating as quickly for me and the sexy scenes, while still hot, seemed to prove distracting when all I wanted to do was read about who may be trying to kill her. I was pretty interested in Maria’s backstory as well as this plays a major part in the book.

Sadly, I was disappointed. The ending lacks excitement for me (no pun intended). The villian seems weak and while obviously sinister, not much more than that. The character isn’t very well drawn out, nor is his motivation really explored. A feather light character, more of a boogeyman. Even the big moment of truth at the end I was disappointed with.

Sigh.

If you’re looking for some steamy erotica, Claudine is good for that. But the suspense left me wanting so much more.

 

Rating 4 Not My Cup Of Tea