Book Review: ‘Hot to the Touch’ by Samara King

Hot To The Touch has no plot, so I’ll do the best I can to explain the essence of this mini novella: Belinda Gilles is a gold-digging opportunist who marries a rich fella for comfort, prestige and the glamorous life. Meanwhile, an old paramour resurfaces and spins her memory back to the glory days of thug life. Like mechanical repetition of a Ford assembly line, King constantly reminds us that Belinda once loved Jordan – who was also the best friend of her slain husband. Beyond this we get no story, just Belinda longing for a good fuck. There is no passion, feeling, emotion (which is odd for Erotica Romance) or DRAMA! The characters are nameless and unbelievable. The dialogue is exceedingly trite, Belinda is inarticulate, and the novel is stuck between King’s under-developed premise and the backdrop of erotica-less romance. In this dispassionate context, Ms. King seems unsure of which direction to go, ultimately leaving us ambushed and stranded at the literary intersection of Dilettante Drive and Crestfallen Lane. At page 85 I felt as though HTTT had pilfered enough of my time and patience (since I had received nothing beyond a trivial glimpse into the banal life of a middle-aged club owner starving for attention….and dick). Even the gratuitous sex scenes sucked (mainly due to bad dialogue and lack of creativity)…continue