First Touch

October 19, 2015
Paige (Find Me) treads the gothic side of contemporary erotic romance in this discomfiting series launch. TV actor Emily Wayborn is distressed when her former friend and mentor Amber goes missing after leaving her a strange voice mail message. Emily tracks down Amber’s ex-lover, the wealthy, domineering Reeve Sallis, and she seduces him for information, suspecting he’s behind Amber’s disappearance but willing to take the risk. Amber looms large in Emily’s mind even after a six-year separation; her possible fate and the suspicious death of Reeve’s lover Missy remain a dark undercurrent throughout. Emily revels in Reeve’s potential danger to her, both thrilled and tormented by her overwhelming desire for Reeve’s possessive actions and sexual forcefulness, while finding it difficult to accept his intense feelings for her. Paige connects these emotional agonies with Emily’s past experiences of violent abuse, which are depicted in disturbing detail. Amber’s fate is ultimately overshadowed by revelations from Reeve that propel Emily toward self-discovery, forging a new level of intimacy between them. Positive comparisons to E.L. James’s Fifty Shades trilogy are somewhat justified, but every unlikable aspect of those books is on display here as well. Agent: Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Friedman Literary.

October 15, 2015
A missing person case leads an actress down a dangerous path of seduction in this raw duology opener from Paige (Find Me, 2015, etc.). On hiatus from her TV show, Emily Wayborn is shocked to come home to a message from her estranged friend, Amber, on her mother's answering machine. When Amber uses a safe word they established long ago, Emily knows the message is a cry for help. She goes undercover to track down Reeve Sallis, the billionaire hotelier with whom Amber was last seen. While Emily pumps him for information, he'll go to increasingly disturbing lengths to have his way with her--even hijacking Emily's massage session while she's face down on the table. But he awakens Emily's submissive side, and pleasing Reeve keeps Emily tied up (so to speak) when she should be looking for clues. Emily's history with Amber is told in flashbacks that are painful to read--the two girls moved in with a sugar daddy before they were old enough to consent to such an arrangement--but the distinction between Amber's situation and Emily's becomes increasingly clear. Emily has grown up to be an independent woman, and while she claims she has never fallen in love, she at least seems to enjoy submitting to her willing dominant partner. One memorable encounter with Reeve leaves her literally gasping for air, blurring the line between titillation and terror. Amber, meanwhile, is caught in a downward spiral of addiction and abuse. The harrowing scene when Reeve and Emily tentatively reveal what they each know about Amber brings a surprising moment of tenderness between the two damaged characters--and the cliffhanger ending sets up an even greater conflict for Book 2. Paige is unflinching in her depiction of a complicated relationship, and the results are explosive.

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