Dirty Diana, the first in a three part series will leave you anxiously waiting for book two! A lot of women will relate to this novel, a funny and sexy story of someone trying to remember the person they were before they married. Amazing storytelling that will leave you wanting more!

Another wild read in the series really enjoyed the latest story and the cliffhanger certainly left me hanging on.Well written characters ready for next book.#netgalley #dirtydiana

I knew this book was based on a podcast but have never really listened to it prior to requesting because of its intriguing premise and gorgeous cover.

I DNFed this early on since I wasn’t connecting with Diana. In the book’s defense, I think my headspace just wasn’t in the right place and this book became an unfortunate collateral damage.

Thank you to The Dial Press, NetGalley and the authors for my copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

thank you to Random House Publishing, The Dial Press, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book!

I don’t have too many comments as I had to DNF this book at 60%. The amount of typos in this book made it so hard to get through and the plot seemed to be heavily influenced by the tv show Sex Life which made me uninterested in the characters and story overall.

I really enjoyed this story and characters. The writing was captivating and the story was never stagnant. My biggest complaint was the big cliff hanger at the end of the book.

This book was so good! My only issue is that it ended so fast and I want to know what happens next. Did they get divorced? Do they reconcile? Why is Jasper back in her life? I have to know! This book was nothing like what I expected in the best way possible. It was heartfelt and moving and bare. I loved this and I desperately want to see more from the authors, including a sequel!

This book was captivating and I loved the writing. I was very dissatisfied in the cliffhanger ending and prefer a happy ending.

Really liked a lot of this - loved the cliffhanger and I know it is a series but just felt unfinished. Like I think this should end on its own fully.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Diana is a married woman with an interesting artistic past.

Wasn't particularly my favorite story.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

This book was super interesting to me, but at times it was hard to read- as it really focused on sex. At times I felt like the development of the characters and plot was lacking. I wanted to know more about her husband, and felt like was needed to know more of his story. I didn't connect with the characters as much as I hope I would have.

Unfortunately, I just don't think Dirty Diana is the book for me! I found the premise interesting, (although I had no connection or knowledge of the podcast it's based on, so I was bit confused by that), but I just couldn't relate to it overall. I'm not a big fan of lots of sex scenes, and since this book focused primarily on sex life, I had to skim pretty often. The jaw-dropping moments (Raleigh sleeping with Oliver, Jasper showing up at the end,) were certainly shocking, but didn't feel like very satisfying moments. I probably won't read any sequels, but that's due to my own preference, not an objective dislike of the premise or writing.

Thank you for this ARC!

I received a review copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.

The basic premise of this book is interesting in that it centers on a former artist whose frustrations boil to the surface in midlife with the monotony of suburban life with her young daughter, a mind-numbing job, and a husband who doesn’t fully comprehend who she is or has been. I have never listened to the podcast but I was interested in reading it since it was marketed as similar to Miranda July’s All Fours.

While the novel has a similar approach in an honest and unapologetic portrayal of intimacy and desire, the plot is quite slow and disjointed. At the beginning of the book, it is established that the main character has been nicknamed Dirty Diana by her college friend due to her boldness and ease in communicating and projecting her desire onto men. Unfortunately it is not clear how that is the case other than in recordings of other women’s sexual fantasies that she transfers into painted portraitures. Diana seems to weave slowly back and forth between the monotony of her present life, how she had a supposedly exciting relationship with a cutting edge landscape photographer, and how she fell in love with her husband during random illicit encounters at the office job she began and is still in through present day.

I wouldn’t say the book is awful but it is lagging in that I couldn’t quite understand why it was worthwhile to remain interested in these characters. Nothing really major happens until the last two chapters of the book. Sadly only the instances of sex made the rest of the book interesting but that is not enough to carry a plot. Secondly, the authors have a rather irritating tendency to use analogies in describing feelings and situations. Everything and everyone is “like something … “. Good writing establishes setting, place, and emotion establishing things as they are, not what they are like. This reliance on analogies and lack of forward movement within the plot is what weakens the book. It is a shame because the premise has a lot of potential.

This was an interesting book. It’s a women’s fiction that is about Diana finding herself because her marriage is in a rut and she’s struggling. The writing in this book was good but I found myself frustrated at times. It vividly painted a picture of what was going on and be prepared at times this was very explicit. This is not a romance book per say, but there is romance and things that usually go along with romance on page. I felt that the scenes flowed naturally and fit the narrative of the book to a T, so they didn’t feel like they were there just to be there for the shock factor. I did struggle a little because I find cheating a hard thing for me personally to get on board with, and I felt that is what this book flirted with a whole lot and the lack of honesty on her part was downright frustrating for me. I personally found Diana to be self-centered and not willing to put her efforts into working on her marriage, rather choosing to focus on me, me, me the whole time, which is probably why her marriage is struggling. Despite my frustrations there is a deeper meaning of feminism present, and I found myself trying to stay focused on that vs what was written as I feel like it was the intent. I think this book would have benefited from having dual POV from both Diana and her husband’s perspectives. This book does end on a cliffhanger and is the first book in a trilogy, so I’m curious where the author will go.

This is one of those books I’m curious to see how other rate it and what their take-away’s are. I think it would be a great book club discussion book.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

This book was inspired by a podcast with actress Demi Moore. The story focuses on the marital crisis of Diana and Oliver as she suddenly finds herself reluctant in the bedroom, while he's still interested. Then it reaches back in time before Diana's marriage when she was interning in the art field and developing her own art projects involving sketching/painting nude women while also taping their intimate confessions. At this time she had also experienced an intense attraction and brief relationship with a handsome and charismatic photographer.

This book was a lightweight experience for me; heavy on the random sexual encounters but weak on keeping me mentally engaged. Even though this was a book about a couple with a young daughter whose marriage is unravelling, it lacked depth, had no very likeable characters, and I won't be thinking about this one as the days go by.

Thank you to the publisher Random House / Dial Press for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

First, let me start off by saying that I have read all kinds of dark, twisted, dirty romances—I am not a prude, no subject matter is off limits, and I have no triggers. That said, I’m going to take a hard pass on “Dirty Diana.” Not because of the subject matter, but because I felt emotionally disconnected to the characters. After many years of marriage, I can certainly relate to this couple’s situational feelings--after all, it is only natural to look back on your youth, your life, and wonder about the “what-might-have-beens.” But it’s the characters’ self-serving, narcissistic behavior and utter lack of understanding and compassion toward their partner that I struggle to relate to or empathize with. Hence, I found both Diana and Oliver to be both very unlikeable and unrelatable.

Right from the get-go, Diana and Oliver’s actions are purely self-motivated and deceitful; reckless, even. Oliver, in particular, displayed unconscionable behavior for which he felt no remorse. At the forefront of this couple’s issues is sex. Past behavior demonstrates that Diana once enjoyed an active and healthy sex life. So, what then, has changed? Clearly, something is broken in their marriage. In which case, you either work on fixing it or you call it quits. You don’t lie about playing poker and then head to a strip club. You don’t push away your wife in horror when she makes a desperate attempt to spice up your sex life, and, break or no break, you certainly don’t sleep with one of her friends and then lay the blame at her feet instead of taking ownership of your actions.

While I’m sure there are others who will find some merit in this 3-book series, I’m just not one of them. Knowing what is yet to come in the next book that follows, I just can’t walk down that particular road again.

I'm not usually a romance fan, but thought I'd give this a try. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I didn't think the characters were very well developed, and the romance/steamy points seemed clunky. I do like that this was a book developed from a podcast series, that's really cool and I hope we see more of this in the future!

Diana Wood seems to have it all: a handsome husband, Oliver, who’s a wonderful partner and father, great jobs, and a beautiful home in Dallas. They appear to be the perfect couple. But beneath the surface, their marriage is missing one crucial element—chemistry. Despite the picture-perfect exterior, the emotional and physical connection between them is fading.

When Diana returns to her hometown of Santa Fe after the death of an old friend, she rediscovers the vibrant, creative woman she used to be. Determined to reignite the passion she once felt, both creatively and sexually, she throws herself into an art project. Using transcripts of women sharing their desires, Diana creates something powerful—until her last subject challenges everything she thought she knew, completely turning her world upside down.

This book was not at all what I was expecting! It’s so, so good!

Diana is struggling with her now self and her former self. Her marriage is in a rut and she’s searching for something new, although she isn’t quite sure what that new thing is or might be.

There are parts that are VERY sexually explicit so if that bothers you, be forewarned. I found it to actually enhance the story and it fit in well.

I cannot wait for part 2! Usually I am annoyed with cliffhangers but this one was so well done.

Huge thank you to the publisher, Random House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Deeply sensual, tantalizing, and absolute delight! I want to SCREAM about how great this book was. If this book isn't on your radar yet, it definitely should be. This was one of those reads that had me going "I support womens' rights AND women's wrongs" 🫣 Diana is a 41 year old mom, wife, and artist (exactly in that order). Anyone who has been in a long-term intimate relationship can attest to when things start fizzling out ESPECIALLY after giving birth to a child(ren). It's rough to go through, and I'm learning also to read through. I felt so, so deeply for Diana (and Oliver and Jasper..? possibly? tbd). I think I fell in love with Jen & Shana's writing. I really enjoyed the "Dirty Diana" excerpts inspired by its eponymous podcast. I loved the conversations around sex and intimacy. I could not for the life of me put this one down. I'm a romance reader to my CORE so to read something and feel so many conflicting things and not reach any kind of solace or resolution by the end is so jarring. But damn if I'm not invested in what happens next.

Many thanks to Dial press for the eARC!