Tag: book reviews

29

Silence

Yep, I know it’s been nearly a week since the last Chintz post. Sorry ’bout that. I’m currently at the mercy of Half-term and a rather interesting writing project that kicked off a few weeks ago. In other words, updates over the next few days are going to continue to be sporadic. Lest you think that I’m swanning about in my underpants in front of the T.V. and eating chocolate, however, let me assure you that there is stuff going on behind the florals: Michael and I have just finished another joint-read (Cherise Sinclair’s This is Who I Am), I’m currently drafting another My Life in Books entry as well as some additional reviews, and there are two toys of the vibrating variety currently being put through their paces for the Toy Box.

So it’s busy silence. Honestly!

Jane
xxx

 

01

For the love of an index

Search

Image: Lupa – Julo (own work)

Since July of last year:

  • Thirty-five book reviews.
  • Fourteen Garden of Earthly Delights episodes [*please note these are no longer available on the blog].
  • Three five-minute erotica stories.
  • Twenty-eight sex toy reviews and countless other sex toy references.

As I’ve added more and more reviews and articles to Chintz, I’ve become increasingly aware that it’s more difficult for visitors to find what they want quickly. Chances are, if you’re diving into the Toy Box or Words sections, you want to know what’s in them without having to scroll through all the pages.

Behold.

Two hyperlinked lists to make your Chintz navigation life easier: the Toy Box Index and the Words Index. Continue reading →

21

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all you lovely kinky folk

Merry Christmas from Behind the Chintz Curtain

The very last Behind the Chintz Curtain post for 2012. I can’t quite believe how fast the past five-and-a-half months have gone. Since Chintz went live on 3 July, over 13,000 of you have visited and I’d just like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who’s taken the time to stop by.

I also need to send some serious festive love to the following amazing people, without whom I would have been totally lost on this blogging journey! Continue reading →

23

On Dublin Street – Samantha Young

Title: On Dublin Street
Author: Samantha Young
Publisher: Samantha Young (31 August 2012), Penguin (17 January 2013)
ASIN: B0094J01VG
ISBN: 978-1405912983

On Dublin Street has been gathering some serious, serious momentum since its release in August of this year. Originally self-published by its author, Samantha Young, in less than three months it’s been picked up for re-release by Penguin, has over 16,000 Goodreads reader ratings (most four stars and above), and made it into the final round of the latter’s Choice Awards for 2012. That’s pretty damn impressive.

Jocelyn Butler (Joss) is hiding from the life she once knew. Having lost her immediate family in a tragic accident at the age of fourteen, she has spent her adulthood getting as far away from her past as possible. Quite literally, by packing up her entire life and escaping to her mother’s country of birth, Scotland. Emotionally shuttered and unwilling to properly deal with the deaths of parents and sister, Joss is living in a self-imposed bubble, existing without actually living.

Enter Braden Carmichael, a stubborn, sexy and irreverent Scotsman who refuses to let her lock herself away – physically or emotionally. Continue reading →

15

Willing Victim – Cara McKenna

Title: Willing Victim
Author: Cara McKenna
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave (06 August 2010)
ISBN: 9781419928482

If you have a penchant for non-con (non-consent) role-play, a man with a dirty mouth, and rough-and-ready sex, you’re going to love this one. Willing Victim is all about indulging those slightly darker and more aggressive fantasies that many of us have but are often afraid to admit to.

First thing’s first. If you’re at all sensitive to reading about rape – in either a real or imagined capacity – then this is definitely not the book for you. (Note my over-zealous use of bold and italics here.) Per Willing Victim’s Reader Advisory warning:

 

‘Although all sex acts are 100-percent consensual, Willing Victim contains role-playing scenarios that may upset some readers who are sensitive about rape, even in a simulated capacity.’

 

Still here? Good. Then on with the review …

Laurel’s not really sure what she’s doing with her life. Despite being a qualified engineer, she’s simply drifting from one day to the next, making ends meet by waitressing. Then one day, quite by chance, she meets Flynn, a native Bostonian who works construction. There’s just something about this hulk of a man that draws Laurel and she finds herself doing something completely out of character: asking him out. Initially, he refuses her offer, but Laurel refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer and, eventually, Flynn capitulates – after a fashion: Continue reading →

12

Onwards! More books, more writing, more toys

Yes, we’re back to our regular posting programme after a much-needed bout of housekeeping.

I’ve read some fabulous books over the past few days – including Cherri Lynn’s Leave me Breathless and Riley Murphy’s Reclaimed Surrender (reviews ahoy-hoy) – and also managed to pen another episode of The Garden of Earthly Delights [*no longer available on the blog], so expect to see a bit of a focus on books and writing in the next few Chintz posts.

More toy reviews in the pipeline, too – and perhaps some new reviewers …

 

 

05

Hiatus

We’re taking a bit of a break this week, so there won’t be any new posts until Monday 12 November. If you’re new to Behind the Chintz Curtain and want to know what we’re all about (or you haven’t stopped by in a while), here’s a selection of last month’s most popular posts:

 

TOYS

Continue reading →

03

A floral milestone

I can’t quite believe it but Behind the Chintz Curtain has been live for three months as of today.

Nearly 3,000 of you have visited since the first post went up and every day, more and more of you stop by. So a massive ‘thank you’ to all my regulars, and a warm ‘hello’ to those who are here for the first time.

Sixty posts in (this is number sixty one) and guess what the most popular entry has been so far? No real surprise – it’s Lizzie’s Fifty Shades of Grey-inspired review of jiggle balls, which is sitting at the top of the pile with over 500 pageviews. But I think E.L. James’s ben was may be in for a bit of competition; also making appearances in the top ten, C is for clitoris, c is for clip and the wonderfully erotic Victorian birching story, Uncle Charles’ Girls by Anne Randolph. (Clearly, there’s call for more toys in the Toy Box and some red-bottomed literature!) Continue reading →

20

‘I’d like more … ‘ survey results

Back in July, we ran a poll asking what you’d like to see more of on Behind the Chintz Curtain. Interestingly, the results were very close, with an identical number of you voting for the two most popular options:

More Garden of Earthly Delights posts – 33.33%

An equal mix of all three – 33.33%

More book reviews – 22.22%

More Toy Box reviews – 11.11%

So, given your feedback it seems the current balance of posts is about right for now – albeit there’s a bit of a bias towards book and Garden [*no longer available on the blog] entries. We’ll try and include a few more of these going forwards but we may also start introducing some new topics during August, too.

There’s more Garden on the way this week (unfortunately, I’m a bit behind on writing this as the 40 degree heat in Italy played havoc with my ability to do much beyond recline on a sun lounger like lady muck) and you’ll be pleased to know that Nick and Grace have actually made it to the dinner table …

Finally, I have something I’d like your help with. I’m curious to know how many of us actually have ‘toy boxes’. Have we finally moved past hiding things in our knicker drawers and, if so, what are we now keeping our playthings in? This may seem like a bit of a random question but I’m currently researching sex toy storage options and I’ll be publishing the results of my findings here on Chintz for you. (Don’t worry – the poll is completely anonymous, so if you click on one of the voting buttons we’re not going to know that it’s you who’s hiding your vibrator in the freezer or linen cupboard!)