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Review: HOTELLES by Emma Mars

HOTELLES is an eloquent and enveloping exploration in sensual intrigue. It balances suspense, mystery, sexual awakening, and romance with a craftsmanship that will endear this writer to many fans of reading. Mars takes readers on a journey that'll not only strip the surface off characters who feel like neighbors, but gives readers the chance to reveal intimate details about themselves to themselves. Buckle up and prepare for an erotic roller-coaster ride of a lifetime.

Hotel des Charmes is a special hotel in Paris, France where each room is designed and dedicated to a historically famous mistress, lady of the night, or woman who used her wiles to seduce men. It is an apt setting for our female protagonist, Annabelle- aka Elle, the escort.

Putting herself through school for journalism and caring for a cancer-stricken mother, Annabelle turns to escorting as a way to keep her head above water. She's not as sexually free as her fellow escorting friend, Sophia, but she does what she musts and starts to "sleeps" with her clients to command higher fees. She never feels quite that satisfied after these illicit encounters but her purpose resonates deeply within her and she's resolved to do whatever it takes.

Soon Annabelle grabs the attention of a well-to-do producer/businessman whom quickly falls in love and proposes to her. He doesn't know of her nighttime activities and Annabelle hopes she'll be able to keep it secret, but she'll soon face some opposition that'll threaten what she hopes to build with David.

All seems well until her fiancé's brother Louie starts to pursue (and blackmail!) her. Louie brings out the sexual vixen in Annabelle, but why does something that is so obviously wrong feel so damn good? All the while the increasingly personal and salacious anonymous notes Annabelle has been receiving begin to get bolder and more insane threatening her "way out" with David. Is this mystery author Louie?

Between investigating the demons of the Barlet brothers' pasts and getting closer to solving the mystery of the silver notebook that was slipped into her bag and for which the anonymous notes belong, Annabelle receives a sexual education of a lifetime (from someone other than her betrothed) and leaves behind a story of her own fit for the decadent hotel rooms she has been liberated in.

My Rating:

My Favorite Part of the Book: Was reading the overall journey Annabelle went through in discovering sexual freedom and seeing how everything connected. A lot of it was internally sorted- which I usually dislike- but it was written in a very compelling way. Annabelle's exploration happened under the dynamic circumstances of the plot which intricacies added to its allure.

This story was a marvelous introduction to Emma Mars. You could feel the French influence in every elegantly-strung sentence and reference. It was a bit of an adjustment getting use to the writing style, but an entertaining one. It didn't all work for me- like the fast progression of Annabelle and David's relationship irked me and the sequence some details were revealed. Early on, Annabelle's detachment from the situation, which isn't an outrageous reaction given the circumstances,started to rub off on me (the reader) and made it harder for me to connect with her character at first- but eventually as Annabelle started opening up, I started to connect more. There was a lot going on both internally and externally with this book, but 500+ pages might have been pushing it just a tad; The story is so intricate and distinct, however, that you won't be too perturbed at the extra hour or so of sleep you'll lose finishing it. I'd say, if you're open, adventurous, and looking for something a bit different from your usual erotic romance give this book a read!

Author Interview with Emma Mars

Hey everyone! Today is a fun day on the blog. Debut-to-states author Emma Mars and I did an interview you have to check out! Her novel, HOTELLES, just released today with Harper Perennial and I've got all the juicy details on this one.

This steamy and romantic tale has it all! Without further adieu….

About the Book:

Paris, a hotel room, the middle of the afternoon . . .

So begins the story of Annabelle, a young escort in Paris who has accepted her final proposition before marrying the powerful and generous man of her dreams, media mogul David Barlet. But the mysterious handwritten notes she has been receiving—notes that detail personal fantasies no one could possibly know—don't prepare her for the fact that her new client is her fiancé's brother, Louie. Through visits to the Hotel des Charmes, where each chamber is dedicated to one of French history's great seductresses, Louie awakens Annabelle's body and her psyche, delivering her to heights of ecstasy and fits of passion.He pushes her beyond her limitations to tap into her deep seductive power—and she discovers that true freedom comes only when you fully surrender to desire.

Funny, sensual, candid, and revealing, Hotelles is a titillating novel of mysteries and surprises by a radiant new voice.

Get Your Copy Today:

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Interview:

RJ: Hey Emma! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. Firstly, congratulations on the release of HOTELLES (Harper Perennial; Original Trade Paperback; on-sale TODAY: April 8, 2014). You’re a new author for me and this appears to be a debut novel – Mind telling me and my readers a bit more about you as an author and your journey to publication?

EM:You’re right, this is my debut novel in the States, which thrills me a lot. But I already wrote a few books here in France (where I come from), in several genres, and under various pen names.

In a previous professional life, I was a journalist, and a photographer. But It appeared to me that I was more skilled to write my own (fiction) stories than other people's real lives.

RJ: What drew me to HOTELLES was the scandalous and intricate plot line the blurb hints at. It’s also part one of a trilogy. What is the book and trilogy about and where did the inspiration for the stories/characters/settings come from?

EM: HOTELLES is a romance, an erotica and a family saga at the same time. My goal was to mix all that up in a sole story, one thrilling and sensual cocktail. I hope the mix is convincing enough!

Annabelle, my central character, is an aspiring journalist whose mother needs expensive medical care—so Annabelle becomes Elle, a paid escort for one of Paris’s most exclusive agencies. When she meets high-flying businessman David Barlet and he proposes marriage, Elle thinks her problems are over, but they’re just beginning. David’s brother, Louie, is one of Elle’s past clients, and he’s not above blackmailing her. Meanwhile, someone is sending Elle anonymous erotic notes.

RJ: Escorts and fiancés brothers- Sounds pretty risqué! How/what was the research process like and did you learn about anything particularly outrageous you can share?

EM: I read and watched a lot about casual escorting and prostitution, which is a growing phenomenon in Europe, especially amongst young female students. Rental fares are so high nowadays that some of them do not find other solution to make ends meet each month. But I also found it interesting that Annabelle might have some romantic reason (she wants to offer a luxurious engagement watch to David) to do such thing for the very last time.

RJ: What do you value in a good novel and what sort of characteristics do you like to find in the protagonists?

EM: I value pace and cliffhangers, but most of all I need to feel that characters are not only puppets made up in a convenient way to fit in my script, but real personalities who live and feel the situations they are stuck in, just like we could live them you and me.

RJ: What is the best and worst part about living in France?

EM: France is a wonderful place to live… If you manage to forget that it is full of French people! I'm kidding, but some people here are very pessimistic, and grumpy, so sometimes it is hard to stay as open and as positive you'd like to be. Sometimes I think that I was born at the right time period, but not under the good latitude. If I live again, I think I would rather pick some place in North America !

RJ: What projects are you currently working on and what do the readers (and me!) have to look forward to next from you?

EM: I’m working on an historical drama, set during WWII, mostly taking place in Poland. Less fun than Hotelles, but also very thrilling, I hope. My other releases in the US this year are the two following volumes of the Hotelles trilogy.

RJ: Final Question: What is something shocking or interesting about you that the readers may not know?

EM: I smell everything. I’m mad about smells I like, whether this is a perfume or a natural flavor. I could kill to smell again something that I smelled only once, even years before.

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RJ: I would like to thank Emma for taking the time to sate my curiosity and whet the appetite for her delicious read! Check back tomorrow for my review!