Lip Service by MJ Rose Review

***WARNING!!!! MATURE EYES ONLY!! CONTAINS SEMI-GRAPHIC ADULT SCENES!!!***

Okay so I'm just going to come out and say it...

Lip Service??  That sounds pretty gross right??

Well, what a surprise I was in for!! And let me just tell you I'm SOOOO glad it wasn't what I thought it meant!!

So anyway, Lip Service by MJ Rose was originally released in 1999, and while it has been compared to the NYT Bestselling series Fifty Shades of Grey EL James, let us all do the math...If Lip Service was originally released in 1999 and Fifty Shades in 2011, shouldn't we be comparing Fifty Shades to Lip Service, not the other way around???

Anyhow, to be honest I don't actually know why they have been compared, because other than similarity in genre...Erotica, they are both completely different novels!

Description from Goodreads:

Lip Service is the prequel to M.J. Rose's Bestselling Butterfield Institute Series which includes three novels - The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex, The Venus Fix - and the short story collection In Session.

Lip Service probes the secret world of phone sex and one woman who becomes empowered by what she discovers there. Not since Erica Jong's Fear of Flying has a novel so masterfully examined the relationship between sexuality and identity.

On the surface, Julia Sterling's life seems blessed. Married to a renowned psychiatrist, living on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side, Julia deeply loves her stepson, and is forging a career as a journalist.

When a writing job at The Butterfield Institute - a sex therapy clinic - exposes her to the world of phone sex, Julia glimpses a world that stirs her erotic fantasies but threatens her
carefully constructed reality. As she explores her emotional and sexual
connections to the men she knows and several she will never meet, she confronts evil, perversity, and her own passions.

Tracing the currents of desire, illusion, and psychological manipulation,Lip Service is an astonishingly vivid glimpse into one woman's inner life. At the same time, this electrifying
thriller grips the reader as it builds toward a battering climax.

My thoughts:

There was a lot to this book that I found unique.  First off, OH MY GOD!!! I HATED Julia's husband!! What a JACK-ASS!!! This guy! I would have filed those divorce papers at year one not 14! If my husband were to continuously tell me that I have mental problems, and that I need help and just continues to shove medication down my throat, I would have waited for him to be asleep one night, and shoved that medication down HIS throat!! What a dick!

Second, I really enjoyed Julia.  I thought she was an interesting character, who I enjoyed getting into her head.  She had an interesting story to tell, and I thought her finally becoming her own person and standing up to her over-controlling husband was awesome!  

The idea behind this entire novel was really enthralling I thought.  It kept me on my toes from beginning until end, because I just wanted to know what Julia would do next.  I saw the whole book play out in my head like a movie.  It was a great experience!

I recommend this book to any woman looking first off for a sexy but NOT TOO sexy read.  I mean, don't get me wrong there were a couple of explicit parts regarding Julia's phone talk, but other than that I was honestly expecting worse...like Fifty Shades worse!  Also for anyone looking for a good captivating book that deals with some every day issues...such as marital problems, kid going off to college and dealing with being alone, and learning to become your person and controlling your own life!  

It's available where ever books are sold!  Barnes and Noble and Amazon!

Happy Reading! :)

The Romance Bookie :)