The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien is an erotic romance that is not for the faint of heart. But if you can handle BDSM that includes hard spanking, humiliation, and anal play, then you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful, emotional romance.
Emily Parker’s life is regimented around working and raising her younger sister, and after four years of celibacy, she’s decided it’s time to do something for herself. After paying Xtreme Encounters for a night of domination at the hands of their most sought-after escort, the gorgeous butch delivers her fantasy better than she could have ever imagined.
The abduction job was like something ripped straight out of Nat Swayne’s fantasies, and when their paid time comes to an end, she doesn’t want her night with Emily to be over. As an evening turns into a weekend of sex, conversation and emotional connection, it’s clear they both feel a connection. Can they make a relationship work when they have such different lifestyles?
The Characters
Oh, Nat Swayne. She’s so damn swoonworthy, with her kind heart and gentlewomanly ways, perfectly contrasted against her ability to dominate Emily. I love that she has goals and the courage to go after them when the right opportunity comes up. I also ached for her when the moment of crisis came, because she deserves so much better.
Emily’s lived through more difficulties in her 25 years than most of us go through in a lifetime, between having junkies for parents and then having to raise her little sister when they pass away just as she’s finishing high school. Her caution is well earned, but her arc from loneliness to understanding that she deserves love just as much as anyone is excellent.
The Writing Style
So… there’s a lot of sex in this book. Like a lot of it. It’s all graphic and some of it is intense. And yet, for this story, it’s exactly right because the way Nat and Emily have sex demonstrates the way each recognizes the other is special and reflects how their feelings deepen as time goes on. This makes it one of the best erotic romances I’ve ever read and is why it lives on my reread list.
I also love that The Night Off offers a careful, non-judgmental take on sex work. Nat might be happy now as a high-paid escort working for an exclusive agency, but her past shows a reality that’s not nearly as happy or safe. Meghan O’Brien presents Nat’s backstory in a way that addresses some of the difficulties of sex work on the streets, and circumstances that can lead to it, without ever condescending or condemning.
The Pros
Everything? I love this book.
The Cons
This is not a cover you can take out in public. Then again, you probably don’t want to read this book in public anyway.
The Conclusion
If you’ve been looking for an erotic romance that is super dirty but has big, big feelings, you won’t find anything better than The Night Off. Meghan O’Brien is the queen of lesbian erotic romance, and this book is an absolute must.
Excerpt from The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien
Emily Parker nearly dropped her car keys when a strong arm caught her around the waist and a hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her surprised yelp. Heart hammering crazily, she struggled to reach her driver’s side door handle, then froze when her attacker’s lips brushed against her ear.
“Unicorn.”
The nonsense word immediately turned her body to jelly as fear of real injury dissipated. Anxiety and anticipation remained. She had known to expect that this could happen at any time, and now that the big night had arrived, she hoped she could go through with it.
The woman behind her spoke again. “Unicorn, darling.” She removed her hand from Emily’s mouth.
“Unicorn,” Emily repeated in a voice that quavered more than she preferred. “Understood.”
Bits and Bobs
- ISBN number: 9781602826731
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Meghan O’Brien Online