Give & Take: A Tale of Erotica

Erotica with a story and a moral to it

 How refreshing an erotica with a story and a moral to it. Now you don’t find that kind of material in your run of the mill erotic books. Give & Take follows the sexual inhibitions of Kirsten and the sexual desires of her live-in boyfriend Nick.

Kirsten is at her wits end with her insensitive and greedy lover. With Nick it is all take, take, take. Above all she does love him and wants their relationship to work.
Tom Benson, without being overly disgusting with his description in the sex scenes portrays Give & Take as sensual. His command of the written word enables him to depict BDSM, ménage, gay and lots more in a subtle way that allows female readers to relate to the story.

Give & Take is a well written story based erotic novel and the characters are developed so much so they could live next door to you. They are believable, as is the dialogue. I went out my comfort zone with Tom Benson’s novel and I am glad I did. It definitely is an eye-opener but not in any way offensive or degrading to either sex.

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An erotic love story that lives up to its title

(An excerpt from the review)

Before starting to read this book I probably would have described myself as erotica-curious, as it’s a genre that has always left me cold – which is obviously not the desired effect… However, having enjoyed other books by this author I was intrigued to see how he approached it. Almost immediately I was struck by what a clever book it is. There is never a word out of place, which is what I would expect from an author like Tom Benson. He tells a good tale, and the plot here is once again on one level a mystery and a thriller (in the more conventional sense.)

The initial premise is that sexually inhibited Kirsten wants to find a way to preserve what is good in her relationship with Nick while educating him in mastering the selfishness in some of his desires. I was intrigued at how the story unfolded, and although some of the graphically explicit descriptions of sexual activity took me out of my reading comfort zone, I nevertheless didn’t want to miss any of it. It was a real page-turner and kept my interest roused throughout.

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Great Book

This was an interesting read for me because it’s soooooo very far from my normal genres. Yes, I sometimes read NA, but I wouldn’t say this falls into the same category.

Nick and Kristen have been together for a while now but they’re having problems in the bedroom. Nick is too selfish and Kristen isn’t adventurous enough. Nick doesn’t seem to think anythings wrong but Kristen knows she must take action if she’s going to keep her relationship from imploding altogether. So she does what we’d all do (if we were a little insane) she drugs him and takes him to a place where he can spend a week having sexual experiences with people that aren’t her – all while she explores her own sexuality.

It sounds very strange, doesn’t it? Well, it is – but in a good way. The story unexpectedly turns into a tale of finding yourself rather than just a tale of sex like so many erotica stories these days. Nick and Kristen must fully know themselves before they can be happy with each other. What they find surprises them but it doesn’t scare them away from each other. It only makes them stronger.

When I decided to try something new and give this book a chance, I didn’t expect to like it so much. I didn’t expect it to really make me think. Nick isn’t a particularly likable character but that didn’t even matter. He left the house a better man than he was when he entered it and that was the point. Mr. Benson’s writing is just fantastic. I can’t wait to read more of his work.

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From inhibitions to desires

Be prepared to be taken out of your comfort zone with this book. Fans of erotica certainly won’t be disappointed in the variety of sexual activities and fantasies included. I’m no expert but I suspect there’s a little something here to satisfy most tastes, naughty and nice.

For readers like me, who are not quite so familiar with this genre, the term erotica really doesn’t do it justice. With this book, you get real characters and a fascinating plot as well as the obvious salacious naughtiness. The main characters were very believable; I detested Nick, found Kirsten endearing and loved Lauren. If there were to be a sequel to this book, I would like to see it centred around Lauren and her experiences working at the clinic.

At times Nick’s thoughts and reactions were a little explicit for my liking, taking me well beyond my comfort zone. These graphic scenes however, provided a good contrast to the sensual experiences of his girlfriend Kirsten as she tentatively explored her own desires. Some chapters are perhaps more suited to a male reader but all are written in a manner sensitive to a female reader.

I already have Tom Benson’s other books downloaded and look forward to reading his work in different genres.

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