An Indecent Proposition (The Indecent series Book 1)

The story within An Indecent Proposition by Stephanie Julian is pretty much as described in the book synopsis. However, there is an even more interesting and intriguing background story that is never properly developed and expanded that could have made this series set so much better. The following are my pros and cons.

Pros:
Jules, Keegan and Erik each had their own strengths and weaknesses.
The supporting characters were essential to the story.
The writing style was easy to read and the pace was steady.
The dialogue, for the most part, was believable.
The emotions were varied within the range of tender to volatile.

Cons:
The overall story was weakened because the back story mystery was not pursued in more depth.
The deeper story behind the explosion should have been expanded to set up a more suspenseful reveal.
The editing should have scrapped some of the repetitive and explicit sex scenes and internal thoughts to pursue a deeper story.
There was enough ordinary vulgarities that the religious expletives were not necessary.

Next time I consider downloading a free book, someone please stop me. This was awful. Beyond awful. I like a steamy book as much as the next gal but this was smut and poorly written and edited smut at that.

The story within An Indecent Proposition by Stephanie Julian is pretty much as described in the book synopsis. However, there is an even more interesting and intriguing background story that is never properly developed and expanded that could have made this series set so much better. The following are my pros and cons.

Pros:
Jules, Keegan and Erik each had their own strengths and weaknesses.
The supporting characters were essential to the story.
The writing style was easy to read and the pace was steady.
The dialogue, for the most part, was believable.
The emotions were varied within the range of tender to volatile.

Cons:
The overall story was weakened because the back story mystery was not pursued in more depth.
The deeper story behind the explosion should have been expanded to set up a more suspenseful reveal.
The editing should have scrapped some of the repetitive and explicit sex scenes and internal thoughts to pursue a deeper story.
There was enough ordinary vulgarities that the religious expletives were not necessary.

Next time I consider downloading a free book, someone please stop me. This was awful. Beyond awful. I like a steamy book as much as the next gal but this was smut and poorly written and edited smut at that.

Wow what to say about this book? The author evidently knows how too write erotic romance it got my engine going! I won't go and write any spoil alert. The descriptions of this book is pretty much what happened in the first half of the story then the middle of the book is sexy! Sexy! Sexy! Then the last half is where the story gets into the problems that goes with having a relationship with three people the real drama starts.I really liked this story it wasn't all about sex there was a plot why Erik got disfigured and who and how. But it was mostly about sex. Great sex!

Hot hot hot... love the friendship between the heroes, and how they put other first. When the heroine comes into their lives they draw her into that emotional circle making their friendship even better. So much heart in this book!

This is a story about a man scarred both emotionally and physically by a lab explosion, another man trying desperately to pull his best friend back from the brink, and the woman who fixes them both.

I cannot say enough good things about this book! Stephanie Julian is a true gem! This book was packed with emotion, longing, and love, topped of with a big heaping of lust! BUY THIS NOW!!!!!

I purchased this based on the recommendation of an author I like. I wouldn't have known about it otherwise. I might have seen it when it was in serial form, but I refuse to read serials. I'll wait until the entire story is written, and even then it has to be an omnibus edition. So, this one looked like a good idea. And generally speaking, it was well written, but there were some things that kinda niggled at my mind. But what really caused the rating is that the story didn't feel finished. Sure, everyone's all happy at the end, but there were questions that weren't answered about their future. They basically just proclaimed their love at the end and that was it. So I just felt unfulfilled by the story. It was interesting getting to that point, but the abrupt ending kinda brought it down a notch for me.

I like erotica books but in reading this book, by the third sex scene, I was bored and more interested in the mystery. Also, the “relationship” didn’t seem believable. What man only sees himself in a relationship with his woman and his best friend. Or wishes his best friend was there every time he has sex with this woman. And the girl was a silly 21 year old. The story really didn’t explain the long term attraction that guys had for her. I did wish more for Keegan.

The author did an excellent job writing this book. The story line was awesome and amazingly keep you on your toes. The characters were awesome together entwined with each other. I enjoyed reading this book, but I hate cliff hanger.

I was enjoying An Indecent Proposition - my first by S. Julian - until Keegan stated acting like a violent jerk.

Hitting a woman during sex *or anytime) is NOT erotic or romantic. Only sociopaths get excited by hurting someone weaker.

The rest of the story was entertaining but Jules needed to dumped him after the first strike...and knee him in the balls.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at SeductiveMusings.blogspot.com.

AN INDECENT PROPOSITION starts out as the story of how a young woman at the end of her financial rope agrees to sex with a stranger for an outrageous amount of money. Julianne’s father left both her and her mother in a deep financial hole on his permanent way out of town after her mother’s bout with breast cancer. Five hundred thousand dollars is too much for Julianne to turn down, even if it means a night of sex with a stranger. What she didn't count on was losing her heart to not just one, but two men who were worth so much more to her than the cash she desperately needed.

Keegan and Erik have been inseparable since they met in college and soon after formed their own wildly profitable bio-metrics company, but not in the way most people thought. They prefer to share a woman sexually, and had done so successfully until Erik was nearly killed in a lab explosion. The years of reconstructive surgeries and painful rehabilitation have done little to restore Erik’s confidence in his appearance, and his withdrawal from the world weighs heavily on Keegan. But when Erik spots Julianne working as a catering server at their company event, he knew he had to have her. And Keegan will do everything he can to make sure that happens, even if it means walking away from both of them for good.

AN INDECENT PROPOSITION was originally published as a five part e-serial, and that was how I originally read it, waiting impatiently for weeks between releases. The passionate romance and scorching sex scenes kept me reading, even as the individual cliffhangers made me crazy wanting to know what happened next. But I wondered if the read would be just as satisfying when glued together as one complete story.

The good news is that yes, AN INDECENT PROPOSITION does work well without the forced reading delay between each of its five segments. Some serials have a real issue with maintaining continuity, one that isn't obvious until repackaged as a full length book, but this never happened here. The sections flow naturally into each other, even though the originally defined separations are still used (i.e. five sections labeled as “Chapter One”), and the transitions hold up with the closer proximity.

Best of all, the relationship between Erik, Julianne and Keegan still packs the emotional punch that kept me reading for months. It never veers into overkill, even with the compressed timeline and often problematic “insta-lust” trope transforming a bizarre business transaction into a 3 way affair that may or may not become a lasting 3 way relationship. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read AN INDECENT PROPOSITION in both incarnations, and I’m looking forward to a follow-up book featuring Erik’s sister Katrina.

Ratings:

Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (MFM menage, light BDSM, voyeur play, semi-public sex)

I love a good menage, and this one certainly didn't let me down. A bit "beauty and the beast", this book will have you turning page after page, unable to get to the next fast enough. The plot is well thought out and just fast enough to make it extremely difficult to put it down. Eric has lived the life of the "pretty boy millionaire" until an explosion disfigures him, leaving him without confidence thanks to a select few extremely inconsiderate, spiteful and superficial people, and their stinging words thrown at him. He's retreated into himself, rarely leaving his own home or office, unless it is with his best friend and partner, Keegan. That is, until a staff party, watched through security cameras, a woman changes their worlds. An offer that can't be refused gives them the introductions needed, but the chemistry between this trio flares to heights that none of them expected. Now, will they be able to clear the many obstacles thrown in their way to happiness? Or will they all end up with more insecurities than before?
I love the fact that this is a complete standalone, even though I believe it to have previously been in four separate parts. If you love menage, you won't want to miss this one!