Madam, May I

April 15, 2019
A high-end madam revisits her own difficult past when she decides to follow her dreams and face her ambivalence toward her life choices. Thirty years after her mother's death, Desdemona Dean wakes up bored and weary. As a high-end madam, she has every material thing she wants, but nothing makes her happy. She cares about her employees and makes sure they're safe from violence and legal risk, but the older she gets, the more she wonders why she's still in the game. Her life is so filled with secrecy she's never had a friend, and no one knows her real name. "There was no part of her life that felt complete." When Desi decides to further her education, she connects with Loren, a tutor who's a decade younger, and she finds herself charmed by his positivity, gratitude, and sense of possibility. They enter into a sexual relationship--which starts when she offers to tutor him with her own expertise--that is ultimately derailed when she convinces herself that their differences are too complicated even as she begins to ask herself what will make her happy and makes life changes influenced by his worldview. As she does, she looks back at her life, honoring her strengths and re-evaluating her measures of success, making choices which may lead her back to love and self-respect. Bryant opens up her book with a young Desi holding a Tickle Me Elmo in 1988, an impossibility since the product launched in 1996 yet a good prop for the scene. Much of the book is like this--not quite perfect yet compelling nonetheless, and where Bryant's writing sometimes lacks polish, Desi's thought-provoking backstory and transformation keep the reader engaged and sympathetic. The heroine is the hook, and she rocks it.

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May 1, 2019

Desdemona Dean is a wildly successful madam, and she's bored. Bored of her luxurious life, bored of the consorts and ego-stroking and elegant discretion that have now become routine. She has everything she thought she'd ever want--but it's not enough to outrun her traumatic past. Desi wants a freer, simpler life and to leave her escort service behind; mainly, she'd like to get the formal education she was denied. But Loren, the hot younger tutor she hires to assist in earning her GED, is eager to learn some lessons of his own, ones that Desdemona is all too happy to break her celibacy streak to provide. The arrival of a promising protégé gives Desi hope that change is in the air--but loose-lipped clients, a potential new love, and troubling childhood flashbacks soon threaten everything the madam has worked tirelessly to build. Passionate and compelling, Bryant's latest (after A Billionaire Affair) skillfully weaves drama, tragedy, and sex into one fast-paced narrative. Audiences will connect with Desdemona and her quest for fulfillment as well as her dedication to protecting those in her charge. Those seeking a spicy read will be waiting a while; this erotica has a lot to achieve by way of backstory and personal development first. VERDICT An engaging, sexy tale of one woman's path to accomplishment. Recommended where racy urban fiction is popular.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2019
Desdemona Dean runs an elite escort service that has made her a rich woman, a far cry from the teen who had to live on the streets after her stepmother threatened her life. Mademoiselle, as her employees call her, knows her escorts depend on her to be on call while they work, to protect them from violence and other dangers. But she's also conscious of wanting something beyond her luxurious lifestyle, so she hires a tutor to help her pass her GED. Desdemona sure didn't expect to fall in love with Loren, a quiet academic. She also finds herself saving another young woman from sex work. As she starts to pull back from her business, she is able to discover what really makes her happy. Bryant (Mistress for Hire, 2018) delivers a faceted, sympathetic heroine in Desdemona, and readers will also enjoy seeing Loren and Desdemona's assistant, Denzin, grow. There's plenty of heat in this absorbing romance, along with memorable details about the dangers faced by women without a safety net.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)