Author: Ian Saul Whitcomb
Genre: Erotic Romance, Humor
Purchase link: http://amzn.to/2jZi9gD
My rating: 5 out of 5
Blurb: When the sweet little old lady down the road dies and leaves Nick half ownership of her house, he really has no idea what he’s getting into. His co-owner, Lindsey, gives every appearance of being Nick’s dream girl… smart, talented, funny, and drop-dead gorgeous.
But Lindsey has a secret.
And when Nick finds out, his fantasies of dream-girl romance get turned upside-down.
He’s already signed on to remodel the house with Lindsey and flip it for a big profit. They’re going to be in constant, almost daily contact. She’s absolutely perfect in every way but one. Only that one is a doozy.
Will Nick be able to make things work with a woman whose equipment isn’t what he expected?
Will Lindsey open up after a lifetime of misunderstandings and bigotry?
Is this house flip headed for a happy ending … or a wrecking ball?
Big Flipping Deal is an award-winning, highly charged erotic romance full of humor, heart, and the opening of minds. The story is intended for adult audiences only.
Review: Similar to the leading male of Big Flipping Deal, Nick, I had plenty of my firsts with this book. It was my first book by author Ian Saul Whitcomb and the first transgender story I’ve ever read. I never had any reservations about the theme of the book, I started it with an open mind but I never expected to love it so much. The writer defines his work as “weird smut” but I beg to differ. It’s so much more than that.
First of all, Big Flipping Deal is a story of self-discovery, growing and as the blurb stated, opening of minds (and other things… hearts, what did you think I was talking about? Get your minds out of the gutter). It’s the story of a man who has gotten the unique chance of meeting the woman of his dreams and his perfect match in every way… if he has the guts to push himself out of his own boundaries and ideas of himself and his sexuality. It’s the story of a woman (I thought of Lindsay as a woman the whole time) and her struggles with self-esteem, acceptance, getting over past traumas and embracing her chance to feel safe and loved in a relationship. It’s a beautiful story of love blossoming between a very unlikely couple (I was seriously wondering how they’d ever be suitable for each other or make it work given their initial awkwardness). It’s a hot and sexy, steamy tale of passion and eroticism. Even if transgender stories are not your kind of sexy reading, the author does a perfect job of drawing all the emotions two new lovers experience as they open up for the first time, the insecurity, vulnerability, nervous excitement followed by an explosive pleasure and sense of relief.
As a bonus, you can also learn a bit of house renovation, interior design and how to pick the perfect tiles color for a bathroom.
A few words for the characters. Lindsay made it to my top ten list of favorite heroines in erotica (a heroine with a little something between her legs is still a heroine in my point of view). Apart from her amazing looks, golden hair and blue eyes, Nick was obsessed with she was smart, sensitive, with a wonderful sense of humor, talented and professional. At some point, I wondered if she wasn’t too perfect, more of a role model. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. She had her flaws, doubts about her own gender and identity and at times it was really getting difficult to predict what was going on in her mind. Lindsay did a fine job in keeping both Nick and the reader on their toes.
Nick was a bit of a goofball at the beginning though I could relate to his nervousness and discomfort. I liked that he never went into a rant about how he was so nice and all those bad women don’t appreciate his niceness. Usually, the “nice guy who gets used by women” stereotype makes me roll my eyes. However, that character was genuinely kind and with wide emotional range. Once he sorted his internal mess out, at least to a great degree, he also showed he was strong and open minded. Nick didn’t give up on Lindsay but he was also never pushy or trying to force her into something she wasn’t ready for.
Were they perfect for each other after all, can their unusual love story have a happy ending? You’d have to read Big Flipping Deal to find out.
The writing was fluent, allured me and kept my attention from the very first page. I couldn’t keep it down until the end. The characters were easy to relate to, the build up between them was nicely paced, with thick sensual and sexual tension. There were also some beautiful and well-written, visual scenes, such as one very unusual art exhibition our characters visit. The parallel between the exposed paintings, Lindsay, her worth as a woman and a human being, her place in society and how it treated her was exceptional.
In a nutshell, I really enjoyed that book and I look forward to any future titles by Ian Whitcomb. If you keep an open mind and you love well-written, realistic characters, witty dialogue, emotional stories that don’t get sappy, you should give this story a try. Five Flipping Stars.