Ok, if I walked into a sex shop and an employee immediately called me "pretty lady" I would turn around and walk right back out. Gross. So... this didn't have a great start for me. And unfortunately the cringeworthy nicknames didn't stop there; over the course of only about 60 pages, he also calls her blue eyes, hot stuff, woman, and Coug/cougar (because you know, 33 and 30 is such an age gap).

In addition to the pet names, their whole meet cute (and especially the fact that he looks up her info from her credit card to contact her and ask her out) just felt a bit too skeevy to me and sort of put me off right from the beginning. The rest of the story was fine, I guess, but I never really grew to particularly like either of them, and the conflict toward the end felt very manufactured and unrealistic.

ALSO, you would think that a story about the owner of a sex shop would involve more toys, no? That was a bit disappointing to me as well.

Overall, this is a quick little novella so I don't overly feel like I wasted my time, but at the same time there's much better erotica out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Behind closed doors was a very short read, but despite this it had a backstory and likeable characters. I really enjoyed reading about a librarian who is working in a middle school. Julia was a sweet character and I'm glad her relationship with Clay worked out in the end. I wasn't sure about some of his pet names for her, in particular 'Coug', since Julia is only three years older than he is. The story is fast-paced, and full of steamy scenes. If you are looking for a quick erotica read, give this one a try.

Julia, a school librarian, is instantly attracted to the owner of a new sex shop in town. This book was ok. I loved the characters of Julia & Clay, but felt their connection could have been deeper on paper. I believe they were in love, but the story mainly focuses on their sexual chemistry. The thing that bugged me in the story is that the "issue" towards the end of the story was never fully solved. It was a rushed resolution. Behind Closed Doors would have been better as a full length story rather than a novella. I would have loved more of the story- especially seeing Bryce & Kyle punished for being jerks.

I loved this short book. Julia and Clay were adorable together. I couldn’t help but cheer them on from the beginning. I have to warn that there was some very hot and explicit scenes. My only complaint was it was too short of a book. 😊 I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review. Thank you!

Hot and short!

This is the story of Julia and Clay, a librarian and the owner of a sex shop, who met in his shop and fell in love. There is a little drama, an ex boyfriend causing trouble and a whole lot of sexy time.

I couldn't relate much to the characters as their actions don't seem very plausible, at least in the beginning, but at times you just need the fantasy so this is the perfect read for a quick, short fix of a hot story topped with a happy ending.

This is a short story (60 pages or so) and can be read very quickly. I had no idea what to expect as I was going into it, but boy it didn't really turn out to be what I expected.

This is the story of a middle school librarian who has recently broken up with her boyfriend after discovering he had cheated on her numerous times. She meets a business owner and they start dating and soon discover that they really like each other and want to become exclusive.

Sounds innocent, right? Well, add in the fact that the "shop" that Clay owns is a sex toy shop and apparently little miss librarian has a thing for learning about the kinky way of life and now you've got a whole different book than what I was expecting.

I think they have sex, talk about sex, or daydream about sex for 90% of this book. Novellas are hard for character development and this one just never felt quite deep enough, although Julia and Clay are two very likable people. I feel the book wild have been better if it was longer and allowed more time for some true depth to occur.

I was provided this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions states above are mine without biases.

Wished it were longer.. But a good story overall... And hey Clay sounds super hot! A librarian and a sex toy shop owner talk about opposites attract!

I really wanted to love this book. It starts off great with a good hook: A Librarian walks into a sex store... and off we go!

Julia is a very likable character, as is Clay. They're great together and their relationship is fun and open in a way that's really wonderful. However, dialogue between the two... I rolled my eyes one too many times when they were being flirty or during sex scenes. This is really just a preference thing for me and I feel like others will enjoy this story more than I did, they'll not mind the dialogue. It just wasn't for me.

Also, I felt like the story had a good footing, there was somewhere the author could take it, and then the book had a simple solution and ended. Julia has a real problem that is probably something that many people, especially women, go through all the time in their professional career, and it was so easily dealt with and of course it was Clay who fixed it. And you know, I love that Clay was supportive and there for her, made things okay for her and encouraged her to follow her dream. I did not like that it just stopped like that and there were no consequences with her employer.

Alas, I suppose this is an erotica book and more people will be looking to read this for the fun and sexy times. And that's great! If you're looking for sun sexy times with a couple that clicks, go for it.

This is a fun and hot short love story. Julia is a librarian in a school library and meets Clayton in his sex shop, Behind Closed Doors, and the chemistry is instantaneous.
I really enjoy the dialogs between them and the way he helps her to feel treasured and sexy. There are a lot of amazing sex scenes, but and I would have liked reading a bit more about them enjoying other activities.
It´s an easy reading and I totally recommended.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I'm not really sure where to start with this review. This book was incredibly short. I felt like it tried too hard to be dirty and erotic. I just didn't care for it, it felt too forced.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’m a fan of novellas. I don’t want to read them ALL the time - after all, I’m also a fan of big, long books that are part of a nice long series! But when I don’t feel like I can get in the right headspace for a regular length book (which happens on occasion for various reasons), I still want to read. So it’s novellas to the rescue!

Do I expect the same amount of character and plot development? No.

Do I still expect there to be some? Yes.

Do readers get that in Behind Closed Doors? Eh, that’s iffy.

It’s been three months since middle school librarian Julia found out her boyfriend was cheating on her, so she’s been, uh...flying solo...ever since. One night she decides to visit a sex toy shop in the next county. There she meets Clay, who she later learns is not just an employee, but also the owner. When he hunts her down in a way that’s not creepy at all (<<<---sarcasm font), Julia decides to let herself enjoy her time with him.

There wasn’t much that appealed to me about this story - and it’s not just because 90% of the story was the heroine thinking about sex, the hero thinking about sex, or the heroine and hero actually having sex. Mostly the hero gave me the heebie jeebies - right off the bat he calls her pretty lady, then continues with the eye rolling, cringe-inducing pet names like blue eyes, and my “fave” Coug (short for cougar, ‘cause she’s three years older). The story goes from one steamy interlude to the next, until they finally have some conflict, which was dealt with in a cliched, immature way.

Here’s the deal: if you’re going to write a story like this - one that’s short on plot and long on ridiculous amounts of steam - own it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with writing that kind of story! But don’t try to pass it off as something it’s not. I have a favorite erotic romance writer who has a little blurb at the end of each synopsis that basically says “this insta-love, insta-sex story is ridiculous, so hang on and enjoy!” And I LOVE that! There’s a time and a place for this kind of cotton candy story. Sadly, I just didn’t happen to be in the mood for a book so “nutritionally” deficient.

* thank you to NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press, Inc for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

3.5 super short stars.

This book is like sniffing coffee beans between smelling candles.

You know sometimes candles smell so good or so bad that the scent lingers to the next and you can't get the true smell. Well if you smell coffee beans in between it cleanses your scents.

That is definitely the purpose of this book. Even a slow reader can finish this in under 2 hrs. I think its like 60-something pages.

I'm not going to lie, I went into this with absolutely no thoughts of my next great novel. Seriously it is 60 pages, so if you go in expecting your next great romantic novel, then you will be sadly disappointed. But if you need something to cleanse your scents, something super smutty and fun. Something with absolutely no angst, no push/pull and two people who know what they want and don't need 400 pages to get to it, then this is perfect!!

I would be curious to see how this author does with a long book. I enjoyed the main characters. I totally love that they saw each other and then immediately stalked each other online and then went after what they wanted. And seriously who wouldn't want to date a guy who owns 6 sex toy stores!!

Julia's friend Macy is pretty hilarious - wondering if her and Dev are the next characters to come from this author.

ARC kindly provided by NetGallery and The Wild Rose Press, Inc in exchange for an honest review.

dnf at 10%. this book was just so boring, and i feel like this was just a really weird book. but, i do feel like this is really similar to the kiss quotient, which i loved. but, this book didn't vibe well with me, and i think that it was just so annoying.

fun entertaining read, quick read too! Julia is a middle school librarian that broke up with her last boyfriend because he cheated on her, now after being along she decides to bring some spice into her loneliness and visits a sex toy story. Her quiet nature has her blushing as she looks around, she'd die if a parent of her students' saw her going into the questionable store. But when Julia see the hottie working her imagination went totally south! Clay is taken by the quiet beauty that he regrets not getting her number, good thing she used her credit card and not cash...stalker much? Fun banter, hot chemistry and fun read!

While it was a quick read, Behind Closed Door is the story between Julia, a middle school librarian and Clay, the owner of a sex store. The instant chemistry between them is hot and I wish we got to explore it more. The characters have such genuine personalities and it was great to see Clay pull Julie out of her tiny comfort shell and see how so much more is possible.

While focusing as a romance story I find it interesting how the part of an old school boss trying to control their employee's past time behaviour helped drive some of the story. This is such a very old way of thinking and something that is even a problem now a days for many people.

Thank You to Wild Rose Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Excuse me while I fan myself off!! But seriously this book, while a quick read, was very very good. The was actually a story in the pages along with a few scenarios that make you want to fan yourself.

Well well well, that was a short and enjoyable story. Nothing ridiculous, just a good fun read.
Totally recommend it to unwind one afternoon.

This was not for me. I didn't realize this was just a short story with basically no plot. If you want a steamy read and don't care about plot, this would be good to pick up. Personally, I need characters to think about more than just sex.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and The Wild Press for the advanced reading copy of Behind Closed Doors by Rachael Reilly.

Behind Closed Doors is a short well crafted debut novella. With how short this story was I was worried about the writing but Reilly hit the mark.

Julia is a middle school librarian who after a bad breakup meets Clay at Behind Closed Doors, the local sex toy shop. Lust pursues.

I liked that there was written consent and protection. I also loved the friendship between Julia and Macy.

If you are looking for a fast, fun, and steamy novella under 100 pages this one is for you.

This made for a quick and steamy read.
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Julia, a thirty something librarian, tired of her dry-spell ventures into a sex-shop Behind Closed Doors to take things into her own hands. While there, she meets the hot owner Clay who might be the answer to her problems, if she lets him.
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The story was quick to read, and flowed seamlessly. I wish it was a bit longer to leave some room for some story development. The relationship went from 1 to a 100 in the span of a few pages. I needed a bit more pages to see the relationship develop further. However, let's not forget this is an erotica, and it delivered on its promise.
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3/5
#fridayinaprilbookreview
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I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.