Name: Online
ISBN: 9781916265318

Madeleine Taylor

I'm Valerie, a recently divorced CFO from LA. After discovering lesbian erotica, I joined an online book club and have been indulging in steamy novels ever since. A new chapter in my life starts when Syd, a fellow member I've been sharing a sexy online exchange with, invites me to her house in Quebec. It seems excessive to get on a flight for someone I don't know, but my curiosity wins over my deeply grounded sensibilities, and soon I find myself tangled in a web of discovery and raging desire.

Online

Izza

Jude Silberfeld

Edit: February 3rd, 2021.

I’ve enjoyed reading all of Madeleine Taylor’s books so far and this second one is my least favourite. It’s great (except the end, which really doesn’t work for me), I just like the others even more.

In Online, I love how a virtual relationship becomes real, how what started as “just sex” for both characters and an experiment for Valerie becomes so much more for both and an entire journey for Valerie. I like how different both characters are and how open they are to pushing boundaries. Val, in particular, keeps stepping out of her comfort zone, which shows both how brave she can be and how safe Syd makes her feel even as she unsettles her. Madeleine Taylor writes these situations perfectly, the self-discovery, the temptation, the letting go. Tessa Stavers‘ narration is as good as usual, even though I found it slightly too dramatic at times. But I liked her voices for the different characters.

------------------------------------------------

Madeleine Taylor’s first book, The Good Girl, was a surprisingly tender erotic romance, hot and well-written. Part of the appeal was MC Emily’s ingenuity and the contrast with the mysterious woman she met at a hotel bar. I wouldn’t say Valerie, in whose point of view Online is told, is as naive but she’s nevertheless much less experienced than Syd, the woman from her online book club she fantasises about.

Valerie, a Los Angeles straight (as far as she knows) divorcee, joined a lesbian erotica online book club after buying her first lesbian erotic novel by mistake. She loved it and has kept buying more since. She figures her crush on Syd, another member of the club living in Quebec, is harmless, until Syd suggests they start chatting more privately. Chatting being an entirely inaccurate word for what they do. Val soon realises that, as much as she relishes being in control as a top financial executive, she delights in being a submissive in the bedroom just as much.

While I enjoyed this second novella tremendously, it lacks the sense of novelty the previous one had. Maybe The Good Girl had me set my expectations too high but it felt at times as if Online was trying a tad too hard. That said, it’s as deliciously written as the first novella was and delves deeper into the exploration of one’s sexuality. Both MCs are multilayered and sexy, each in her own way; the only real secondary character, Ellen, Val’s best friend, is a breath of fresh air and brings just the right amount of levity into the situation to allow Val to talk about the changes her life is going through without feeling judged, at the same time giving the reader further insight. Once again, the characters are taken by surprise by their own feelings and what was supposed to be a bit of fun – or, rather, extremely hot sex – morphs unexpectedly (to them) into a whole lot more. Madeleine Taylor is extremely good at making this turn of events sound plausible when it could seem artificial, and the novella format fits perfectly. With this second book, Madeleine Taylor is now firmly set on my must-read-authors list.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Abi Baker

okay now when is it going to be my turn to fall for a hot woman from an online lesbian erotica book club?