“Taking Turns” Book Review

January 22, 2017 / 5 comments

“Taking Turns” Book ReviewTaking Turns by J. A. Huss
Series: Turning #1
Published by Self-Published on January 18th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: ARC
Purchase @ AMAZON  or  BN
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Rating 

Chella plays the game of Taking Turns with three men as she comes to terms with her sexuality.

I’ve never been afraid of the dark...but that doesn’t mean I wanted to live in it. And maybe everyone wants what they can’t have, but I should’ve thought it over before I accepted the key and unlocked the door to their forbidden world.

Number One is mostly silent. He watches me with them very carefully. His gaze never wanders. His interest never wanes.

Number Two is mostly gentle. But it’s the other side of him I like best. The wild side.

Number Three is mostly reserved. He refuses to cross the line. Even when I beg.

It was carnal, it was sensual, and it was erotic. That’s it. That’s all it was supposed to be. A trip into the dark. A peek into the forbidden.

I just didn’t expect to like them.

Q&A Review by Angie & Liezel:

If you were single could you picture yourself in the same arrangement as Chella?

Angie: Yes I could. If someone, specifically 3 handsome men, told me they would give me my dream for in exchange of sex and living in an amazing apartment I would in a heartbeat. Even if it meant I might be broken when I left. Broken I’m used to, money I’m not.

Liezel: I’m with Angie on this one. The appeal to me isn’t just about making a dream come true but also the idea of escaping, of temporarily giving up full control,  letting go of all inhibitions and counting on someone to make you feel appreciated, well cared for and perhaps loved.

What did you love about each character? Dislike?

Angie: I love Quin. His heart is so full of love and mine breaks for him.

I love Bric because he is dark so the dark side of me reaches for him. But I also think there’s more behind the dominating side.

I love Smith because he showed a side to him that I was not expecting at all.

Chella is just someone trying to find her way and these three men are her way, her answer to finding herself.

There’s nothing I can say that I disliked about them other than Smith can be an obnoxious asshole at times but other than that I can’t complain.

Liezel: All three men were very different but and in this first installment, I loved them all equally. This may, however, change down the road as we read further into the series.

I loved Quin because of his sensitive side – his willingness to put in the work in making Chella comfortable in the arrangement and the way that he just couldn’t let go.  Bric for his protectiveness. Despite the secrets, he cared for his friends and their well beings. Smith was the most difficult to get a grasp on but he too shined through especially towards the end.

Of all of the characters, it was Chella who was the most intriguing. She was the major draw of the story. From the very start, she captivated me. The allure was the mystery – discovering the why’s and the how’s she agreed to be in such a position.

What is it about Julie’s writing that keeps you coming back for more?

Angie: I love how she can completely make you forget everything that is happening in your life and completely immersing you into her books without a blink of the eye. Her writing is flawless and each book you read you don’t even have to turn your brain off from the outside. It closes automatically and when it wakes up you’re in Julie’s world. The one she wrote for us.

Liezel:  I’ve been a fan of JA Huss since Rook and Ronin and I tell you I have never been disappointed with anything she releases. What I love most about her work are her complex characters. Every single one of them is each and their own way distinct. From the very first chapters, you want to discover every single detail about them and find out what makes them tick. I love the twist and turns, the way she has you at the edge of your seat and keep you guessing until the very end.

What’s one piece of advice you would give for anyone scared to read Taking Turns?

Angie: Don’t be scared. Take the leap. We’re all sick here.

Liezel: The title and cover may come off as intimidating for some but the storyline isn’t all that you expect. It is so much more! Definitely take the plunge. I personally loved it and can not wait to read more about these men.

The Verdict:

 

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Excerpt:

Smith

I flick the light on and she closes her eyes, hiding her face to shield herself from the sudden brightness.

She’s… pretty. Dark hair, long and straight, kind of like Rochelle’s, but nothing at all like Rochelle’s at the same time. Her skin is fair, which isn’t surprising since it’s winter and the sun seems to have gone missing in Denver for the past month. Her hands are tied behind her back, so I can’t see them. And she’s sitting up, knees to chest, completely naked, and I can see her pussy.

I stare for a moment longer than I should and then I finally look at her face—a sweet face. Wide blue eyes looking up at me, the remnants of her make-up streaked down her cheeks like she’s been crying.

But she isn’t crying now.

Her nose is small and her plump lips are wrapped around the ball of the gag. Drool is dripping out of her mouth. One long strand hangs just above her left breast, ready to fall.

“Well,” I say, far beyond curious at this point, “I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say about this.”

I crouch down in front of her legs and catch her scent. The flowers. Or citrus, whichever it is. I inhale deeply and can’t help but take in the smell of sex.

I look her in the eyes as I reach behind her head and unstrap the gag. It falls forward, dropping into her lap as I watch her adjust, swallow down the drool, and then take a deep breath.

She says nothing.

Hmmm.

Just stares at me.

My hand is between her legs. My finger slipping inside her pussy. She is wet. So fucking wet. She doesn’t close her eyes or moan. In fact, her eyes never leave mine. Not once.

She likes it.

I remove my slick fingers from her pussy and bring them to her mouth.

She opens, sucks them.

My God.

Still, she stares into my eyes.

I envision her mouth on my cock and grow hard at the thought.

And then I close my eyes.

But only for a moment. Barely a blink. I’m back in control. I reach for her upper arm and pull her to her feet. She complies willingly. And then I spin her around and begin untying her wrists.

The rope is tight. Tighter than it should be. Quin knows how to tie a girl up, I’ve seen him do it enough times to be sure of that. But he was probably panicking, so I don’t judge.

When I get the rope off there is a deep red burn ringing her wrists.

She brings her hands in front of her to get a look at her wrists. I take them, looking closely at her wounds. “I have something for that. But first, let’s make progress on your clothes.”

“I have clothes,” she says, her voice not weak, not small, but firm and strong. “On the chair.”

I walk over to the chair and pick them up. Jeans. Nondescript sweater. Winter shearling boots. Some semi-nice lingerie and thick cotton socks.

“Well, that won’t do,” I say, walking back to the closets. I open the one across the short hallway from the one I share with Bric and Quin. Rochelle’s closet.

I don’t know what I expected, but I’m kinda taken aback that everything Rochelle owns is still in there. Her many, many, many pairs of thrift-store shoes, and skirts, and those horrible long dresses. Even her purses are still here. She never shopped for purses at the thrift stores. They are all designer. Even the fringy ones. They live in soft cloth bags that come inside the purse when you purchase it, and they are lined up on the top shelf like little surprises wrapped in velvet.

I only know this because I bought her a few purses myself that first year. A Prada, a Gucci, and some other brand she asked for that I had never heard of, but which set me back almost three thousand dollars.

If Rochelle ever tells someone the story of us, she better not call me cheap.

I sigh and divert my attention to the limited number of classy, five-star-restaurant-worthy dresses hanging on the far end of a rack. I look back at the new girl for a moment, then choose a red one. To set off her hair.

“Here,” I say, holding the hanger out to her. “Put this on, please.”

“What?” the girl asks, taking the hanger from me.

“I didn’t stutter. Put on the dress. I have to walk you out, obviously. You can’t walk out in jeans, for fuck’s sake. This is Turning Point Club. We have a dress code.”

“Why can’t I go out the back?”

I stop looking for shoes to match the dress and turn to stare at her. “Is that how you got in?”

She nods. “The freight elevator.”

“Figures. Fucking Rochelle hated the dress code. Well, the freight elevator isn’t going to work for me, I’m afraid. I don’t leave by way of the freight elevator. I walk in. Everybody sees me. I walk out. Everybody sees me. And since I have to walk you out, you’re going to look the part. Now put on the fucking dress.”

I turn back to the shoes.

“I need my bra and underwear,” she says.

“Not for that dress, you don’t.”

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About J. A. Huss

J.A. Huss never wanted to be a writer and she still dreams of that elusive career as an astronaut. She originally went to school to become an equine veterinarian but soon figured out they keep horrible hours and decided to go to grad school instead. That Ph.D wasn’t all it was cracked up to be (and she really sucked at the whole scientist thing), so she dropped out and got a M.S. in forensic toxicology just to get the whole thing over with as soon as possible.

After graduation she got a job with the state of Colorado as their one and only hog farm inspector and spent her days wandering the Eastern Plains shooting the shit with farmers. After a few years of that, she got bored. And since she was a homeschool mom and actually does love science, she decided to write science textbooks and make online classes for other homeschool moms. She wrote more than two hundred of those workbooks and was the number one publisher at the online homeschool store many times, but eventually she covered every science topic she could think of and ran out of shit to say.

So in 2012 she decided to write fiction instead. That year she released her first three books and started a career that would make her a New York Times bestseller and land her on the USA Today Bestseller’s List eighteen times in the next three years. Her books have sold millions of copies all over the world, the audio version of her semi-autobiographical book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and an Audie award in 2016 and 2017 respectively, her audiobook Mr. Perfect was nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017, and her book, Taking Turns, was nominated for an Audie Award in 2018. Johnathan McClain is her first (and only) writing partner and even though they are worlds apart in just about every way imaginable, it works.

She lives on a ranch in Central Colorado with her family.

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