Holly‘s review of Pillow Talk by Maya Banks
Zoe Michaels may be in a committed relationship with her boyfriend Chase, but there’s no lack of heat between her and her other two roommates Brody and Tate. After all, the three guys are all firefighters. Then one night, Chase reveals his number-one fantasy: for Zoe to perform an everything-goes strip tease for his two best buddies. A turn-on for them means a turn-on for him. And for Zoe? It proves to be even more, and it opens the door for a secret desire all her own to come true.
This was a super spicy read. Not that I expected anything different from Maya Banks.
Zoe and Chase have a great relationship. They care about each other a great deal, have a good time together and burn things up between the sheets. One night during sex they share some of their fantasies with each other. As a birthday gift, Zoe decides to enact one of Chase’s fantasies for him – so she rents out a strip club and dances for him and some of his closest friends.
In return, Chase decides to give Zoe one of her’s – a threesome with their two roommates, Brody and Tate. Zoe is worried things will be weird between them after that, but surprisingly it isn’t. She realizes she cares for all three men…and worries about what that means for her relationship with Chase. Things are comfortable – if a little strange – until Chase decides to take it one further and give Zoe another fantasy. This one will leave them all reeling…
I’m kind of morbidly fascinated by the idea of a permanent threesome – or foursome, as the case may be. I’m not entirely sure this could work in real life. Aside from the jealousy and trust issues associated with such an arrangement, there’s society’s take on it and what that means for the parties involved. It’s easy enough to say “We don’t care what others think of us” until you’re actually living that life.
I think Banks does a credible job of addressing some of those issues here. The first half of the book is dedicated to the sexy-times, with Zoe and Chase getting it on, sharing their fantasies and then working to give them to one another. But halfway through the game changes and it becomes something more real. Tate and Brody truly care for Zoe, which makes things both harder and easier when it comes to their relationship – both the sexual and non-sexual aspects.
There was one particular fantasy that made me uncomfortable, and I’m glad Banks addressed that and used it as a pivotal plot point, instead of brushing it aside. That aside, I don’t know that she fully explored the impact a plural relationship would have on the four of them. I would have liked to see a bit more time centered on that aspect.
While this is an erotic read, it also has a surprising amount of emotional depth. I would recommend it for both.
4 out of 5
This book is available from Berkley InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Great review.