Mutual Release (Stewart Realty)

Title: Mutual Release
Author: Liz Crowe
Publisher: Tri Destiny Publishing
ISBN: 9780985991180
Reviewer: Jane

Romance for Real Life.

That’s the proposition for Liz Crowe’s latest book in her Stewart Realty series, Mutual Release. In fact, that’s the proposition for all her books. According to a press release from Liz’s publisher:

“My characters are real. They have flaws, quirks, and a multi-layered histories that motivate them. They could be your best friend. Or the girl in your office that drives you crazy. Maybe my readers even sees [sic] a little of themselves in my characters. Whoever you see, you will identify with the characters and their lives.”

So what does that mean, exactly? Characters who aren’t filthy rich? Who argue about mundane things? Who shop at Primark or GAP because they’re on a budget? Who forget to put the rubbish out for the dustman and spend the next seven days trying to jam bags into an overflowing bin? Who don’t automatically know how to get each other off the first time they have sex?

Er, no.

I’ve not read any of Ms Crowe’s other books but in the case of Mutual Release it means that they have very detailed and tortured backstories, enough emotional angst to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and mood swings that rival a roomful of women with severe PMS.

There’s no other way to say it: Mutual Release was exhausting. It just didn’t let up. From start to finish, scene to scene, the protagonists, Evan and Julie, lurched from one drama to another, littering 429 pages with confrontations, personal demons and soul searching. Not all of it was related to their dealings with one another, either. In fact, the first third of Mutual Release was devoted entirely to their early lives and the horrors therein. They don’t start interacting significantly until roughly 180 have gone by and, while I understand that need for scene setting, the lengthy build-up didn’t make me overly predisposed to be sympathetic by the time they eventually found one another. My angst quota had been well and truly used up.

I think I may have been expecting something different going into this; my interpretation of the Romance for Real Life concept, from the quote above, was something far more down-to-earth. Characters estranged from their families, dealing with abuse, learning to Top at lightening speed, driving about in luxury cars, staying in the Presidential Suite at The Ritz, wearing Burberry and booking out an entire First Class cabin so they can have sex? Not really how real life plays out for most of the people I know. It’s far less dramatic and far less luxurious.

If I put aside the Romance for Real Life label for a moment, do I feel any differently about the story that unfolded in Mutual Release? Hmm. Perhaps a little. If I’d approached it thinking ‘saga’, I think my reaction might have been slightly different. I can’t fault Ms Crowe’s writing and kudos to Tri Destiny Publishing for turning out one of the cleanest manuscripts I’ve seen from an indie in some time. That said, the characters weren’t really for me. Evan was like an emotional yo-yo – I lost count of how many times he was affected by ‘fury’ (‘white’, ‘numbing’, ‘agonising’, ‘smouldering’, ‘raw’ or otherwise) – and the BDSM scenes felt unrealistic and, at times, dangerous, to me. Starting to play without a safeword and striking someone near vital organs? No. No, no, no. I didn’t find Julie particularly likeable, either. I kept wanting to yell at her to go and see a counsellor. And what she pulls on Evan towards the end of the book? Seriously not cool.

I would love (and I mean love) to read a romance or an erotica that doesn’t shy away from portraying real people in real situations. That is brave enough to ditch the moneyed protagonists, high-powered jobs, glamourised BDSM clubs, overblown conflict and show real people finding one another. Mutual Release isn’t that book. But if you’re a fan of angsty drama – and I mean really angsty drama – with ‘super emotional wringer’ action, then this may be one for you.

*Please note that Mutual Release was supplied free of charge by Tri Destiny Publishing in exchange for a fair review.

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