Jaime Clevenger

If you had the chance to have one fantasy fulfilled, what would it be?

One Weekend in Aspen

Cheri Fuller

What to say about One Weekend in Aspen... Well, the first thing I'd say is stick to the ebook instead of the audio. I struggled to get into the story but couldn't get past the voices the narrator chose. It was killing it for me. I finally decided to quit and nearly didn't pick the ebook up but I'm glad I did.

I don't think I've ever read a romance novel that involves a sex party before. I think Jaime Clevenger did a nice job of making that work. We got a nice assortment of secondary characters that really didn't have any depth but that was fine. Katherine was a bit much and I don't see why anyone would want to befriend her but, meh, okay. 

The two protagonists were good together and had a lot of chemistry. Emily's ex, Cass, was so incredibly over the top awful - and she got worse and worse as we went along - I found it impossible to believe and, between her and Katherine, liked the book less because of it.

But it wasn't a bad read. Plenty of angst and hot sex. And I really liked Alex a lot. I felt for her and was happy that she found some happy. 

Thanks to Bella and Netgalley for the ARC ebook!

Jude Silberfeld

Who’d have thought a book about a sex party would be full of suspense? I couldn’t put One Weekend in Aspen down, I had to know what would happen next. I would have read it in one sitting if life had let me, but as it is, I had to stop reading it for a whole day. Yet now that I have turned the last page, I’m sad it’s over. I really didn’t want it to end.

Emily’s marriage of ten years just ended but the breakup had been years in the making. Even so, she doesn’t feel ready for a new relationship, yet probably wouldn’t say no to casual sex, an easy re-entry into the world of dating, without pressure. Would a sex party fit that definition? Probably not but Gianna, Emily’s best friend, won’t let Emily decline the invitation to one of Katherine’s famous women-only weekends. Who cares that Katherine is Emily’s client? There will be eight other women to choose from. On the plane to Aspen, Emily finds herself seated next to Alex, who turns out to be as charming as she’s gorgeous. Easy flirting entertains them on the flight, phone numbers are exchanged but Emily doesn’t think she’ll ever see Alex again.

With this book, Jaime Clevenger did something that I didn’t think was possible, not to that level: she wrote an incredibly hot story that will, at the same time, give you all the feels. Without even a puppy or a kitten (which for the sexy parts is actually a good thing, I don’t even know why my mind went there). The only other book that made me feel this way is Party Favors by Erin McLellan, but it’s a novella, whereas One Weekend in Aspen is a full-length novel.

What makes this book remarkable isn’t beautiful literary writing – it’s very well-written but I don’t think any sentence will make the reader pause in wonder. It’s an accumulation of little things. The very sex-positive stance is glorious. Sex is wonderful, and there’s no shame in enjoying it, in whichever – consensual – way it comes, contrary to what we, especially girls and women, are often thoughtlessly taught. That’s something Emily has forgotten over the course of her marriage. The pace is excellent, there’s humour and banter (flirtatious and not), tension and passion. All characters are complex and multilayered, and the two mains are enchanting. Quite a few of the secondary characters deserve their own story. Just saying.

ARC provided to Les Rêveur for an honest review.

One Weekend in Aspen

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