I went into this with a very open mind, despite some not so great reviews.
It seemed like an interesting premise, which it was, it was just badly executed.
It reads like a 15 year old boys porn fan-fiction, I can't say I was very impressed.
I'm sorry, but I can not, in sound mind, recommend this book to anyone with any real taste. ( )

Absolute trash. What a waste of time. ( )

I didn't realize when I picked this up that it would be pretty soft core porn. I should have expected it, but it was not done well. It made my stomach turn. Would not recommend it. At all.

Where to begin? The inconsistent characterization? The horribly flowery purple prose with the most ridiculous metaphors and euphemisms I've ever seen? The sexual double standards? The unrealistic anatomy of every male character introduced?

I picked up the book expecting something light and fluffy, but it had been a while since I'd read a truly erotic novel. And she manages to write one with the main character not having sex until the novel is 3/4 of the way over. Although there are plenty of elaborate sexual fantasies. More than I think is normal, but that's forgiveable, seeing as it's an erotic novel.

The metaphors are ridiculous. They might not be that bad if they weren't so frequent, but they're constant, and they're painful. I read some aloud to my english major husband, and he was groaning in horror. I mean, come on, moon grotto? Dear little slit? How can anyone read a phrase like that and find it erotic? How can anyone find it anything but laughable?

Every male character in the novel is enormously well endowed, too. And extremely handsome. There are no ugly men in this book. And there are no, ahem, small men.

I found the main character to be incredibly inconsistent. First, she desperately wants to have sex and desperately wants to become a geisha. She sees them as sexually liberated, knows their job is to please men. Yet when it comes time for her to "sell spring" she's suddenly not for sale and will only make love to a man she loves? What was up with the servant boy she almost slept with only a very short time earlier? And what in the world did she think was going to be expected of her as a geisha? I suppose it's POSSIBLE that she's simply painfully stupid rather than inconsistent.

Also, I don't know ANY woman who has become aroused by the sight of a man exposing himself. That alone is not gonna do it. In fact, if anything, it's a turn off. But every female in this novel seems to be deeply turned on by the sight alone of a man's equipment. Yeah, right. I don't buy it.

And don't buy this book. If you want a good erotic novel, try Fanny Hill or Kushiel's Dart. ( )