Was this book what I was expecting? No. Did I enjoy it? Sort of.

I was expecting more of a girls' weekend away with talks, and fun, maybe a bit of skiing. What I got was a sex party. It's clear from the beginning of the book that that is what your getting, but going by the blurb and definitely the cover as well, I wasn't expecting that. Honestly, if I would have known, I wouldn't have picked this up, this is not something I enjoy reading. I guess that's what you get for judging a book by its cover, something I do rather regularly and in lesfic you actually can't do that. Some lesfic books have awful covers, but turn out the be great reads. This one was a fine read, just the subject isn't for me.

Emily is a personal chef and one of her clients invites her to a weekend away in Aspen, she even pays for her first-class plane ticket. Emily needs a lot of convincing from her best friend to jump on the plane and let loose at this party. Fresh out of a 10-year marriage, without any real physical contact for 7 years (what???), she is rather unsure of what she wants and a little ashamed as well. On the plane Emily meets Alex, a hot shot IT consultant. The have some flirty banter and it is rather nice. That is until it all goes wrong, at least for me. When the story continues at the mansion in Aspen where the sex party is being held, it is all just too much for me. I skipped over a lot of things only to get to the flirty banter between our two mains. I actually like both characters, I think they fit pretty well together, but the romance I was expecting is one sided for too long. There is so much focus on the sex party that I feel like the romance takes a back seat, and I would have liked to see more of the romance. And the character who hosts these sex parties, Katherine, I dislike her from the beginning Such a manulipitive character with no redeeming qualities.
The other secondary characters seem fine enough, but for something qualified as a romance there is just way too much focus on sex for me. Very explicit sex, with BDSM and role playing.

I'm sure this storyline will work for some people, I'm just not one of those people. I feel like I've been misled by the cover and the blurb. The writing is good, mains are likeable enough, but the storysetting just isn't my cup of tea. 3 stars because the writing is good and I can see people will enjoy it, but it just isn't my thing.

Personal chef Emily Brookstone has been invited to a very exclusive event. Apparently something that is known throughout the lesbian community because her best friend is incredibly jealous. But she's also happy for Emily. It seems that Emily has just gotten out of a bad relationship and is on the rebound. A no-strings-attached weekend in Aspen should be a great place for her to get her mojo back.
Alex Murphy is sort of tired of these weekends. She's been friends (and sometimes more) with Katherine, the ultra-rich hostess, for a long time but she's trying to extricate herself from the relationship. Or at least dial it back to just friendship. But Katherine doesn't want to let her go. On the other hand, Alex has just met a mysterious woman on the plane ride into Aspen. And a snowstorm diverting them to Denver gives Alex the chance to share a car with the woman and find out more about her.
I actually liked broad swaths of this story and it was hard to put down (but I needed to sleep). However, I didn't like all the sturm and drang caused by the weekend. Or, I would have liked it better had it a) been a smaller part of the story and b) not been smack in the middle of the real relationship development of the story. Clevenger is a good writer and I look forward to more of their stories.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out May 18th, 2021
Ebook from Netgalley
Opinions are my own

When I read the description for this book by Jaime Clevenger I thought I would likely enjoy the story of Emily Brookstone, a personal chef, and Alex Murphy, a travelling IT consultant, set in Aspen. This book exceeded all of my expectations. From the first moment that Alex spots Emily and helps her store her carry on luggage in the first class section of a plane in San Francisco I was hooked. Due to bad weather conditions the plane is forced to land in Denver and Alex offers to drive Emily to their respective destination of Aspen. They immediately have a smoldering chemistry, enjoy easy conversation, and the little things in life like pie and french fries. Emily refuses to tell Alex what she will be doing in Aspen and Alex tells Emily that she will skiing and staying at her cabin. Needless to say that they are both surprised when they see each other at a sex party of a mutual acquaintance/friend/customer, Katherine.

Without giving too much away, there are eight women at this sex party with Emily being new to this scene (or a sex party virgin to use the book's term). Emily was invited in order to try to get on with her life after a ten year marriage where the last several years had no intimacy. With their striking chemistry Alex hopes to pair off with Emily at this party, but there many challenges to be faced, including the host Katherine.

I enjoyed both of the main characters, their relationship concerns, and the fact that both Emily and Alex know what they wanted for their lives so that they did not have to compromise. The book was a little emotional in some spots because the reader just didn't know if these two were going to be to establish a relationship for the long haul. 4.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

𝗔𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆?

This book is hot, kinky hot and it is about this weekend sex party in Aspen involving nine gorgeous women. This includes one irresistible MC whom half the party wants to shag.

Most in the group are familiar with each other and they do this regularly. But this time, it is different for Alex. Alex is almost over casual sex and is eager to start a more sustainable relationship. She also can't get over the woman she met the day before on the inbound flight. Coincidentally, the same woman shows up to the party.

I like Alex and I can visualise how hot she is and how great in bed she must be. And I do believe her when she says she wants a change and share the white picket fence life with somebody. Emily is a suitable choice considering how different she is from the people Alex mixes with. Her ten year marriage had been the opposite of Alex’s stream of orgies. The refreshing differences between them make it believable that they would be attached to each other quickly and I must admit that they have chemistry even if I'm not usually a fan of insta-love.

But I am not convinced that their relationship is built to last. I don’t trust Alex’s lack of self-control around party mastermind, Katherine. And honestly, it is hard to tell if Alex and Emily are compatible in just one weekend.

I think Clevenger writes sex scenes well although I don't find bringing up an ex constantly in bed to be sexy. (Talking about exes in bed ought to be criminalised with two spanks as punishment.) But I thought Clevenger could have been more adventurous in Emily's sexual exploration. And considering all the hype about Alex in bed, I was left a tad disappointed that sex between the MCs was more vanilla that I expected.

I think there will be a continuation to this story and I’m looking forward to it because despite everything, I still want to see more of Alex and Emily. Some of the other women are also really fascinating. I’m rounding this up to four stars for the entertainment value.

Thanks to Netgalley for the digital ARC for my honest review!

The premise of this book just stands out from all the other romance books I've read. And the story totally meets the expectation I had if not beyond.
I love how the women in this book went on a journey to explore their sexuality in the best way possible. Besides that, this book is also filled with emotions and very romantic. The characters in this book are mature, sophisticated and independent thinkers. We definitely need more of these type of characters in the romance world.

Highly recommend!

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Emily just ended her marriage of ten years although it was already breaking through the years. She decides she ready for fresh start although she doesn’t want to dive into another relationship she does mind having causal hook up to get into the groove.

Alex travel for work doesn’t have a problem getting anyone in her bed but she wants more then that and doesn’t think she will find it.

Emily gets invited to spend a vacation in Aspen from her client Katherine where she hopes she can rediscover herself while on the plane she meets Alex and there a bit of flirting going on they both surprise to learn their going to same weekend party.

This was a good read. I like that MCs chemistry was sizzling and love their bantering and the time it took to explore their relationship. I like the other guests we got to know.

Although I have her books on my to be read list, this is the first book I’ve read by Jaime Clevenger.
Heading into the story, I expected the story to be filled with sex, sex, sex and little else....boy was I wrong! This booked surprised me in the best ways, with layers and layers of emotion and romance. I’m big fans of both MC’s, especially Emily who took her time to fall into the relationship. This is so much more reflective of real life than other stories! I found it slightly tricky to catch up with all of the supporting characters names, but this became much easier once the weekend in Aspen rolled on and each character really showed their own personality.

Overall 4.25- great romance and sizzling hot. Will being move the authors books further up my TBR list

Who’d have thought a book about a sex party would be full of suspense? I couldn’t put One Weekend in Aspen down, I had to know what would happen next. I would have read it in one sitting if life had let me, but as it is, I had to stop reading it for a whole day. Yet now that I have turned the last page, I’m sad it’s over. I really didn’t want it to end.

Emily’s marriage of ten years just ended but the breakup had been years in the making. Even so, she doesn’t feel ready for a new relationship, yet probably wouldn’t say no to casual sex, an easy re-entry into the world of dating, without pressure. Would a sex party fit that definition? Probably not but Gianna, Emily’s best friend, won’t let Emily decline the invitation to one of Katherine’s famous women-only weekends. Who cares that Katherine is Emily’s client? There will be eight other women to choose from. On the plane to Aspen, Emily finds herself seated next to Alex, who turns out to be as charming as she’s gorgeous. Easy flirting entertains them on the flight, phone numbers are exchanged but Emily doesn’t think she’ll ever see Alex again.

With this book, Jaime Clevenger did something that I didn’t think was possible, not to that level: she wrote an incredibly hot story that will, at the same time, give you all the feels. Without even a puppy or a kitten (which for the sexy parts is actually a good thing, I don’t even know why my mind went there). The only other book that made me feel this way is Party Favors by Erin McLellan, but it’s a novella, whereas One Weekend in Aspen is a full-length novel.

What makes this book remarkable isn’t beautiful literary writing – it’s very well-written but I don’t think any sentence will make the reader pause in wonder. It’s an accumulation of little things. The very sex-positive stance is glorious. Sex is wonderful, and there’s no shame in enjoying it, in whichever – consensual – way it comes, contrary to what we, especially girls and women, are often thoughtlessly taught. That’s something Emily has forgotten over the course of her marriage. The pace is excellent, there’s humour and banter (flirtatious and not), tension and passion. All characters are complex and multilayered, and the two mains are enchanting. Quite a few of the secondary characters deserve their own story. Just saying.

ARC provided to Les Rêveur for an honest review.