Narrated by Sebastian York & Andi Arndt
The V Card is a novella length story about CJ Murphy, a 25-year-old virgin who wants to get rid of her pesky hymen. Who better to help her solve her little problem than her brother’s best friend, Graham Campbell? He’s got a reputation of knowing what he’s doing between the sheets (and up against a wall and on the kitchen bench…) and he’s extremely easy on the eyes. Of course, that CJ is secretly all but in love with Graham doesn’t hurt either.
The set up isn’t particularly revolutionary. But, as is the case in many romance novels, it’s all about the execution.
Graham and his business partner, Sean, started upscale lingerie company Adored together. Two years before the book begins, Sean was killed in a car accident and CJ inherited Sean’s stock in the company. There is far more than that business link tying them together however. Graham and CJ had been friendly since they first met when both men were in college, but after Sean died, Graham stepped up and he and CJ have forged a strong friendship of their own.
When The V Card starts, Graham has sworn off women – he’s on a “sexbbatical” – because the last woman he dated (for a couple of months) went a bit Fatal Attraction on him. He hasn’t quite managed to extricate himself from Lucy’s continued contact and he’s decided he needs to examine what it is about himself that attracts women such as Lucy in the first place. Also, he has a big board meeting coming up and he feels it’s a good time to focus on his business anyway. So, when CJ asks Graham for sex lessons, he is single and has been for a while.
There are no prizes for guessing what his answer is when CJ makes her unexpected request.
I admit I was uncomfortable with the idea of Lucy. Mostly she came across as sad rather than dangerous but it still was the only representation of one of Graham’s exes in the book (apparently they are legion) and it was not positive. I’d have been happier with Lucy as a character if there were other former lovers Graham had stayed friends with (for instance) – shown on page – or some other balancing representation. I’m glad that Lucy was depicted, particularly from CJ’s point of view, as sympathetic but really, Lucy didn’t need to be there at all for the story to work. Graham could easily have had other reasons to take a sexbbatical.
The interactions between Graham and CJ were well done. They have great chemistry, a solid friendship and complementary interests. CJ is a business owner too and I liked that she was shown as being capable and successful in her own right. I found it somewhat hard to believe that she had so little experience in even flirting. (The virginity thing was no problem, but she had barely dated and that didn’t quite jibe for me.)
The deal CJ and Graham make is for seven days of seduction. CJ wants to learn how to please a man. Graham tells CJ she has things ass backwards – it should be about pleasing her. Of course, mutual pleasure is better. And that’s what they give and get, and plenty of it.
Unsurprisingly, they catch feelings for each other – although my impression was that they were already there, laying dormant just waiting for a little sweaty sex to water the seeds (it’s like sex-agriculture). The end is predictable but their time apart is very brief and they never treat each other badly, which I appreciated.
The narration was, of course, excellent. Sebastian York and Andi Arndt make a great team, Mr. York voicing Graham’s sections and Ms. Arndt delivering CJ’s. The quirky humour I’ve come to expect from Lauren Blakely books (Ms. Valente is new to me) works even better with this narrator pair. Both of them are very familiar with the style and syntax and they sink into the story so easily it makes it seamless for the listener.
Sebastian York has a wonderfully deep voice and he speaks dirty talk fluently, lending an extra intensity to the intimate scenes. Andi Arndt’s performance makes CJ more relatable. Both together make for an easy, pleasurable listen.
It seemed to me that Graham and CJ were perfect for one another. The story doesn’t try to manufacture conflict where none exists – perfect for the length of the book. Apart from the way Lucy was depicted The V Card was fun, sexy and enjoyable even if it went over well-trodden Romancelandia ground.
Kaetrin
Buy The V Card by Lauren Blakely & Lili Valente on Amazon
