My latest review of Amorous Woman is out in the January issue of Romantic Times Book Review Magazine (which unfortunately only lists availability through Amazon US and not my Web site where you can actually buy it now). I’m generally happy with this review—four stars out of five, which means they liked it—plus I think the reviewer “gets” a lot of what the book is about. Here's the review text:
“Storey chronicles 30 years in a woman's life, from the hopes of matrimony to the shame of prostitution, from America to Japan and back again. The scope of this story is tremendous, and the settings are palpable in their completeness. It's clear the author has a strong understanding of Japanese culture. Vivid sexual scenes abound, encompassing a vast range of pleasures. But some readers may not like the lead character, who is ruled so completely by her lust that she's a bad friend and an unfaithful lover. Even so, this book is hard to put down.”
So, yes, I can’t complain at all about such observations as “the scope of the story is tremendous,” “the settings are palpable in their completeness,” vivid sex scenes, authorial expertise in Japanese culture. And of course, the reaction I love best: “this book is hard to put down.”
Maybe it’s a romance genre thing, but a few readers—just two, actually—have told me Lydia’s high-wattage sexual desire was a turn-off. Of course, the Japanese model for her, the original Amorous Woman, was a real slut, so maybe by comparison Lydia seems thoughtful and reserved to me! Fortunately, the majority of people say they do like her, especially her humor, her self-insight and her honesty about sex. Not to mention, she does learn a few things in the end and makes an admirable sacrifice as a friend and a lover.
I’m wondering, though, if I should have my next heroine save a child from a burning building and help lost animals find good homes? Nah, I think I like naughty girls a little too much to go there….
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