cover image 30 Nights

30 Nights

Christine D’Abo. Kensington, $9.95 ISBN 978-1-61773-956-9

In this steamy, but somewhat awkward sequel to 30 Days (2015), the cards outlining “Alyssa’s 30 Days of Sex” fall into the hands of Glenna O’Donald, a 28-year-old research assistant at a college in Toronto. In recent years, her focus has largely been on her job, but when her beloved great-grandmother dies, she decides it’s time to have some adventures. She begins journeying through the cards’ instructions with a coworker, sociology professor Eric Morris, whom she’s been lusting after for a year. Their sensual studies are intense and fulfilling, and Glenna quickly finds herself growing attached to Eric. The sex scenes are delightfully stimulating and kinky, but Eric remains more reticent than is comfortable for either Glenna or the reader, and the lack of communication leads to conflict. Furthermore, the lighthearted erotic exploration clashes with the weighty concerns that the couple blunders into, from issues with Glenna’s best friend, Jasmine, to tensions inherent in a workplace romance. The erotic aspects of the story are well worth reading, but the rest leaves much to be desired. [em](June) [/em]