Judith’s review of The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed

Imagine a world where a woman’s every pleasure, every wish and wildest fantasy is granted by the man of her dreams…

Such a world exists inside the walls of Avalon, an elite private club that caters to women’s deepest desires. Billie Cort, a reporter from the raunchy magazine Illicit, has come to Avalon to interview the club’s most popular escort, the breathtakingly sexy Adrian.

Expecting nothing less from a place like Avalon, Billie is still stunned at how effortlessly Adrian brings out her sexual side. Adrian, too, is surprised to find himself thinking about Billie long after their interview is over. Adrian, of course, is irresistible, but Billie isn’t accustomed to being pursued by outrageously attractive male escorts. Adrian wants her, but soon realizes that she can fill a role in his life that’s more than just physical….

As an avid reader for many years I have always appreciated those writers who make words work very hard in expressing exactly what they want to convey.  And as a reviewer I want to do the same thing and have the same quality to my writing.  So when I say this book is compelling I am using the strongest work I can think of the express my response to a book that was so intense I couldn’t stop thinking about it long after I read the last page.  And when I use the term “journey” I am seeking to convey the process of discovery that both Adrian and Billie experienced about each other and more importantly, about themselves.

Adrian was one of those men who can rightfully be called “beautiful.”  His appearance and his demeanor were so flawless that he literally took Billie’s breath away.  He had also been trained superbly in the art of pleasing women, so much so that one of his clients flew from London twice a year to spend two days with him, all to the tune of thousands of dollars.   But Adrian’s life was deeply hidden, buried for the protection of his “madam” and keeping his true identity a deep secret.  When he agreed to be interviewed it was with serious and very limiting constraints, and yet these two people saw something in each other that began to break through Adrian’s carefully constructed protecting walls to reveal a deeply dissatisfied and troubled human being.

This is the kind of book that will take the reader into a world that most people don’t realize exists, one that only the rare few discover.  And while it may be a world bent on providing the stuff of magnificent fantasies and dreams of supreme sexual pleasure, it was also a world that was sucking the humanity out of those involved in providing those services to their clients.  The madam appears to care about the men who work for her, but she is revealed to be a person who is the quintessential “user” who is driven by self-interest and greed.   It was a mark of Adrian’s growing maturity that he began to realize her true nature and slowly began to distance himself from her games and manipulations.  And in the final analysis, this book is about how Billie was instrumental in helping Adrian reclaim his true manhood and humanity.  But don’t get me wrong:  there are deep hurts here, lots of emotional potholes and the kinds of introspection that will suck the reader into the internal recesses of a man who needs to be loved and accepted for who he is on the inside and not just because he is the consummate sexual professional.

The author has crafted a story that will be like an emotional gut punch for the reader and will be one of those books that certainly made me feel emotionally drained.   I think hubby heard me muttering as I finished — I think I said, “OMG, that was an incredible story!”  And that’s putting it mildly.  I have not read anything by this author previously but I am in hope to find another book by her.  She has exhibited an extraordinary capacity to make words work in telling a story that is griping and fascinating and will probably make the reader fall in love with Adrian many times over.  Good think he is fictional.

I hope you will look this one up and buy it when it is released.  It ranks right up there with some of the best I have read in a long time!

I happily give it a rating of 5 out of 5

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This title is available from Berkley Trade.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.