⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.5 STARS💫⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, damn…I didn’t expect that…this chick….Slay, girl! Slayyyyyy!!!!! Your writing was on point.

Talk about stepping outside of the box and killing it. I FLOVED this book. For those who don’t know, that means I fucking loved it.

This book gave me the feels. Lust by Leddy Harper surprised the shit out of me. I don’t know what I was expecting, I really don’t, but I was pleasantly surprised.

This was my second book by Leddy Harper and I cannot wait to let y’all know what is going on in the ADHD mind of mine.

I’m going to keep it pretty with just a little bit mess thrown in here and there.

First, let’s see what Leddy Harper has to say about her book…

Synopsis

Lust…
My darkness was born in it.
Her secret was created by it.
My job was immersed in it.
It would either ruin us or save us.

My name is Caden Morgan, and I’m a sex surrogate.
After years of seclusion and fear-induced abstinence, Ivy Jaymes came to me for help. I had done this sort of thing hundreds of times…but she was different.

Ivy’s secrets threatened my own.
Her darkness paralleled mine.
And my obsession for her was sure to break me.

We would either heal each other with love,
Or decimate one another with Lust.

****************************************************************

Before I get messy, I want to give a shout out to Leddy Harper for not following the trend of using the term “you’re mine” 30 million times like so many other authors. She showed her skill and found a different term to convey the same message. I was getting sick of that “you’re mine” shit. Finally a writer with who used their own style and didn’t follow trends. Hallelujah!

Now on to my review…

There are not many female authors who can write a book told completely from a male POV very realistically, but Leddy knocked it out of the park. She killed it! Hat’s off to you baby girl.

The topic itself was not one I ever read before and took me by surprise. One might even say it was taboo. Caden Morgan is a sex surrogate/therapist – I didn’t even know that was a thing, but hey, I’m all about finding a way to be your best sexual self. Damn, maybe I need to find one of those myself. 🙂

Ivy Jaymes is a 30 year old woman with some major, major issues who goes to Caden to help her find a way to enjoy sex. Her head is all the way fucked up to where at one point I thought only Jesus could help that poor child.

Little does she know, Caden has sexual issues of his owns. You know what they say that most therapists get into the business of therapy to heal and/or understand themselves and Caden was the perfect example of that.

Ivy had no idea that throughout their sessions they became more about Caden healing himself vs. giving 100% of his energy into healing Ivy. This could have been perceived as a wee bit creepy, but that’s not what I took away from it. As much as he was using Ivy to come to terms with his path, he still had good intentions and didn’t want to hurt her. I don’t know if I can say he was using her, but I can see how others (closed-mined folks – clears throat) could come to that conclusion.

I was left alone, and that’s when it hit me. The darkness grew pervasive, and the need to fill the deep hole with something worthwhile grew larger. I needed to know why Ivy was the way she was and why she wanted to change. – Caden

Caden’s odd obsession with Ivy became borderline stalker like after a while, or 5 days actually. He would just do these random pop-ups at Ivy’s house like they’ve known each other for longer than a week.

Their entire love affair takes place over the course of two weeks which normally I hate that rushed kind of love affair and find so unrealistic. This is the first book that I’ve read in a while where a quick love affair seemed plausible.

This book had me seeing everything I thought I hated so differently. The writing was just that damn good.

One of the things that made this book, for me, is how much Caden talked. Usually when I read books where men talk about their feelings too much or just plain talk out too much, I find it difficult to believe. The thing about Caden was the fact that he was a therapist, which made it more realistic and pulled me in. Ivy was the one who was closed off and could barely speak two words in a sentences.

Ivy was a very insecure woman which I normally HATE in the female character, but for her it worked. It was who she was. That’s a sign of a brilliant writer, when they can take something that you normally hate about a book and turn it into something you understand and can eventually love. This ladies and gentleman is why Leddy is officially been added to my favorite authors list.

I’ve read other reviews for Lust so I know many people had a hang up on how credible Caden was as a therapist but I would urge those folks to think about something real quick…

If Caden was a woman and Ivy was a man, would you think differently? If the roles where reversed I truly believe more people would have found a way to connect to a female playing Caden’s role more. They would have seen Ivy as a woman attempting to find anyway she could, to bring this man out of the dark and into the light. Personal opinion here folks.

Caden even speaks about it in the book.

…for some reason, when a man admits to a woman he’s incapable of such emotion (love), they feel the need to fix you. Their twisted logic made sense, but it just wasn’t true. – Caden

I just want to say that I don’t give a damn how fucked up Caden was, I would still fuck him. Personally, I love a fucked in the head man because I’m just as fucked up too. Fact. He could get it. 

All in all, this book made me think and it gave me the feels. I 1000% recommend this book for those reading and are willing to step outside of their comfort zone and open up a wee bit more.

TTYL…