Double Dare
by Saskia Walker

Book Review by Ashley Lister

Many people fail to realise I have a deeply romantic side.

When I worked as an undertaker I was often bringing home flowers for my lovely wife. Candlelit meals? I romantically told her I prefer candlelight so I don’t have to see the f***ing awful mess of food she’s dumped on the plate. Jewellery? She once asked if her engagement ring was a real diamond. I said: if it wasn’t, the bloke in the pub had swindled me out of three quid.

So, yes. I do have a romantic side, although I prefer to keep this sensitive aspect of my nature hidden beneath my shy and self-deprecating exterior.

But it’s because of my excessively romantic side that I took so much pleasure in reading Saskia Walker’s latest title: Double Dare. Regardless of the erotic content (and the content is extremely erotic) Double Dare is a heartfelt and uplifting romance.

Abby Douglas is a beautiful, self-assured investment advisor. Strong, confident and exuding sexuality, Abby is instantly drawn to the handsome Zac Bordino. The pair make an instant connection, in more ways than one. But Abby is aware that her executive status has intimidated previous lovers and she doesn’t want to frighten away Zac by revealing who she really is. Consequently the couple play a pleasing game throughout the novel: hiding their outer selves as they reveal their most inner secrets.

As I said before, the sexual content is extremely erotic. Saskia Walker writes passion with a very erect pen and she uses ink that is warm and fluid. She tells a story that is captivating, powerful and bloody entertaining. It’s no small wonder that Alison Tyler has said, "Saskia Walker is one of the top erotic writers of the millennium."

Steamy embraces occur in darkened alleyways, taxicabs, boardrooms and Parisian parties for the playfully perverted. And, whenever Saskia Walker writes anything erotic, you can be sure it will be hot enough to sizzle and sufficiently descriptive to brand itself in your memory.

Although it’s no surprise that Saskia writes such strong romances. She lives in Yorkshire, not far from Bronte Country, and anyone who has ever spent time in that particular part of the world knows the scenery is conducive to extremes of heartfelt passion. But Double Dare is far removed from the dry and disappointing tale of Heathcliff and Catherine, or the curiously contrived lives of Jayne Eyre and Rochester.

Instead the action takes place in the thriving heart of a bustling city populated with real people and plausible incidents. Saskia conveys the mechanics of Abby’s workload with sufficient detail to help the plot glide smoothly along. She does this without boring the reader with the minutiae that undoubtedly makes investment advice as interminable as it seems to the outside world.

Abby and Zac’s romance is mirrored by the budding relationship between their close friends Nathan and Suzanne: a subplot that is as powerful and compelling as the central storyline. The minefields of office politics, fuck-buddies and bisexual best friends provide a 3D backdrop that allows the narrative to hurtle along in an entertaining and glorious blaze of sexual excitement.

Double Dare is wonderfully put together and marvellously entertaining. If you like your romance to be credible and erotic I dare you not to enjoy this one. In fact: I double dare you.

Double Dare by Saskia Walker
(Berkley Trade (October 3, 2006); ISBN: 0425212971)
Available at: Amazon.com / Amazon UK 

Ashley Lister
November 2006

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© 2006 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.

About the Author:  Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms. His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books; ISBN: 0753511355), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica.  Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto.  He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Email: Ashley Lister
Website: www.ashleylister.co.uk

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