Let's Talk About Sex By: Liz Carlyle Star Rating: Sensuality Rating:

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Synopsis

Dr. Delia Sydney is a psychologist and host of her own radio talk show, "Lets Talk About Sex". After a tough day at work, Delia comes home to find that the power company has cut down the trees bordering her property line. Although somewhat annoying, this unexpected occurrence leads to an equally unexpected introduction to (and newly unobstructed view of) her sexy next-door neighbor, Nick Woodruff. Things don't exactly get off to a great start between them, and after another trying day at the office, Delia's rattletrap car conks out in front of Nick's driveway just as he is pulling out, causing him to nearly hit her.

Having just been put on administrative leave from his job in law enforcement, Nick has had a trying day himself, and the two end up exchanging some rather heated words before Nick finally remembers his manners. Working on cars is Nick's hobby, and since he has nothing better to do for the next two weeks, he offers to fix Delia's car for her. As it happens, Nick is a fan of "Lets Talk About Sex", and he'd like nothing more than to do just that (and a whole lot more) with Delia. Soon car repairs turn into a torrid affair as a slightly repressed divorcee discovers scorching passion in the arms of a man she's barely met. Delia is having the time of her life and loosing her heart in the bargain as well, but all Nick promised her was great sex and all good things must eventually come to an end. Or do they?

Review

I think it can be difficult for an author to write a short story that is still satisfying, but in Let's Talk About Sex, Liz Carlyle has, in my opinion, put together a tale that has both tight plotting and good character development. The narrative flowed smoothly, and I thought it was the perfect length. Rather than being left with that "I-wish-there-were-more-to-the-story" feeling when it ended, I felt like Goldilocks, that it was "just right".

As the title might imply, the main focus was on the sex, but emotions got tangled up in the mix pretty quickly. The love scenes were both creative and scorching hot and there were plenty of them too, but there were also some romantic moments as well. I haven't seen many real proposals in the romances I've read, so I thought the proposal scene was a particularly nice touch. I also thought that the author progressing the narrative through a few months time, made this scenario more believable.

I found both the hero and heroine to be very likable, and neither one was bringing a ton of baggage into the relationship. Sometimes it's just refreshing to read a story about relatively normal people with normal problems. I thought it was sweet that Delia dealt with the topic of sex every day in her work, but in real life was still slightly repressed. Nick was a hot, sexy guy (not to mention an animal lover, which I find hard to resist), who was also a patient and accomplished lover. He knew exactly how to rebuild Delia's self-confidence and release her inner sex kitten to make her purr.

While the story did not contain many of the getting-to-know-you moments that I love and that really help to build a more believable relationship, I found Let's Talk About Sex to be a fun, enjoyable romp. Readers who like lust turned to love or love at first sight stories should appreciate this one, and while those are not my favorite plot lines, Ms. Carlyle's writing was strong enough to make me overlook that. Liz Carlyle has been one of my favorite authors of historical romance for a while, and even though Let's Talk About Sex was her first and only foray into contemporary romance to date, I found it to be equally as good. In my opinion, it was the overall best and most well written novella in the Big Guns Out of Uniform anthology in which it is found, definitely worthy of keeper status.

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Liz Carlyle

Themes

Men in Uniform - Law Enforcement
Psychology 101