Adam Kingsley is the rags-to-riches billionaire of Wall Street that everyone is talking about. He and three of his buddies from his college days at MIT went into business together and found success beyond their dreams. Adam’s mother died right before he graduated from college, and the turmoil he harbors from this loss keeps him from getting close to anyone. Even his business partner friends are kept at arm’s length. Instead, Adam takes his relationships in the form of one-night stands with various women. This all changes when he meets Kathryn Delcour. Sure, he wants to sleep with her, but he suddenly wants to know her and understand her too. Kathryn, on the other hand, thinks she knows all about the type of man Adam is because she is both a psychologist and a tantric sex teacher.
The first thing to note is that the book is told entirely from Adam’s point of view, which is a little unusual for a romance novel. I didn’t have a problem with the single-person POV except for the fact that I didn’t feel I was able to get a good understanding of Kathryn as a character. She sometimes acted demure or embarrassed when it came to things like relationships or sex when it seemed that her chosen career(s) would have cured her of such naïveté.
Adam was a wonderful character, in my opinion, in spite of the fact that he used women so openly and freely for his own pleasure. This made the introduction of Kathryn into Adam’s life and the changes she forced from him so profound. However, I did feel that Adam changed much too suddenly without giving enough explanation to the reader. I understood the instant attraction and even the thrill of the chase when she denies him. But how those things suddenly became real emotion and caring was unclear and happened too fast.
In spite of the description, there isn’t a lot of tantra in this book. In fact, there isn’t any physical relationship at all in the first half to two-thirds of the book. At first this annoyed me, since it was the mention of tantra that got my interest. Then, I realized the irony. The book has a very slow buildup—in plot, in tension, and in the growing relationship between the characters. Every time you think they are getting closer, something pulls them away from each other. This is a reflection of the tantric mindset which is explained during Kathryn and Adam’s tantric session. While the symbolism and writing were well done in this regard, I suspect many people will be bored with it because the plot moves so slow.
This is the second audiobook I’ve listened to with Christian Fox as the narrator. I love his voice; it’s so smooth and dreamy. He brings the character of Adam to life. A male narrator works especially well for this book since the POV is that of the male lead.
NARRATED BY: CHRISTIAN FOX
LENGTH: 8 HRS AND 24 MINS
RELEASE DATE: 1/6/2014
PUBLISHER: TANTOR AUDIO