A middle aged woman finds herself stuck in a rut of laundry, kids and marriage that she doesn't know how to get out of. She feels trapped, and wonders what happened to the fresh young girl that she used to be, the one who was adventurous and erotic, the one who had dreams of becoming something. She finds herself remembering her teenage years in Australia, where she was an uncouth bush girl. She remembers her first sexual experience with an older man, where she learned everything there is to know about sex and love and reciprocity. She thinks about the present, and her sexless marriage with her husband, and longs for that feeling of first love again. This feeling takes her back to Australia to find the man who she lost. From her journey, comes a new understanding of herself.
This book was quite graphic. I won't say that it was a bodice ripper, but there was plenty of sex. However, it was really raw, emotionally. She is a young girl, and she wants to learn everything. In trying to learn about sex, she also learns a lot about life. It really kept me reading. I wanted to put it down because at times it was a little overwhelming emotionally, but at the same time, I couldn't, because I had to find out what happened next. It really made me remember those days of young love and that carefree, give-it-your-all feeling. Relationships now seem very complicated comparatively.
The only thing I did not like about this book was that there are over 200 "chapters". Each one is only a few pages long and there is a quote at the start of each one. I found that the quotes distracted the flow of the story, as did the short chapters. However, they didn't stop me from reading this book in one day.
If you are looking for a book that is a little bit racy but also poignantly honest, you should give this book a go. I may not have immediately chosen this one off the shelf, but after finishing it, I am glad that I gave it a chance!
You can find the rest of the tour info and other reviews here. Here's the author's website, Facebook page, and the Facebook page for With My Body. Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary copy of this book by TLC Booktours in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Do you remember your first love? How have things changed for you, relationship-wise, since then?
