Roadhouse Blues by Malin James

Like most females, my first introduction to erotica was through Mills and Boon. It got boring too fast but strangely continues to sell like hot cakes despite the same formula in every book.

Girl and boy meet. Girl and boy fight. Girl is dainty and feminine. Boy is strong and macho. Have amazing chemistry. Girl gives in, despite herself (without venturing into the rape territory). They almost have sex but don't. Misunderstanding. Parting. Getting back together. Sex in the end, described in the most cheesy way.
Tell me am wrong.

I know there is good erotica out there but it is hard to find. What is the difference between erotica and porn? Erotica is what would be termed as soft porn. Which means the focus is on chemistry rather than penetration. Porn is sex, mainly penetration. In erotica the subjects need not be pretty, have big breasts or dicks or muscular bodies. Porn is all about that. Erotica is real. Porn is make believe. Erotica makes you have sex in your head. Porn isn't anything close to the kind of sex you have in real life.

I have been reading Malin James blog for a few years now. Writing erotica is very difficult. Ask any writer. To the extent that most writers avoid it. If you are not careful, erotica can turn into humour; or worse, rape-y. 50 shades of grey is the best example. It was funny and rape-y, in some scenes at the same time. Takes a genius to do that. Oh My My.

But am digressing because I have bad news. While I love love love Malin's blog and the stories on it, the book left me cold. I couldn't finish it. When I read erotica, am trying to get off. I don't care about the protagonist's back story. All I want the story line to establish is the chemistry between the characters for the sex to seem real. The stories in the book have less sex and a complicated story. The issue is that the storyline is so complicated that a few pages does not suffice to do them justice. Each story seems muddled.

This book won't find a place on my night stand. Maybe it's me because all the reviews online are extremely positive. But then again the hard copy hasn't released and the few reviews online could be from her friends.

For now, am going to stick to re reading the stories on her blog. Blog link here.

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