This review was first published in July 2016. Remarks in parenthesis are current comments:
Recently while doing some posting on Facebook I had an ad pop up on my feed for a free Kindle download of a book by DC based author Phoebe Alexander
I will have to say the type of stories that Phoebe Alexander writes aren’t really the types of stories that a man in his late 50’s are drawn toward reading. She doesn’t write your usual stories that take place on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the Delmarva Peninsula either. Her stories could be classified as love stories written from a women’s point of view and slanted towards the woman reader. Not only do they have a few sexually explicit scenes, they also take place in the alternative lifestyle of swinging.
Some of the action in these stories are sex scenes. But as a young man I read the books of Harold Robbins, Jacqueline Susann and others of that era and Phoebe Alexander’s aren’t any more explicit than those.
So far I have read two of her books. (Since this review I have read the majority of Ms Alexander’s books) The first was Mountains Wanted
I did find that when I finished Mountains Wanted there still seemed to be more story left. It turns out it’s the first book of a trilogy. (I have read all of the books in the series and with the following book, the story comes to a better conclusion. A third as well as a short Christmas Theme novella that came out during the 2017 holiday season followed. My favorite of the series is the third Mountains Loved).
This first book of Ms Alexander came out in December of 2012. I discovered she has been a very busy author releasing quite a few books since then. The rest of Mountains Wanted Trilogy among them.
From here I learned that she has written books that take place completely on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. One scene in Mountains Wanted did take place in Assateague, I went in search for one of those to read and review. I do try to keep things related to the Delmarva Peninsula.
I found Playground
The story is about Journey West, yes that’s the character’s name, and a change in her life as a 3rd grade teacher and mom of twin boys living in Salisbury, MD. The boys are leaving the nest to go to college in Pennsylvania. And if that wasn’t enough she is transferred to another school in the district. Her husband, a Doctor, and the only man who she has even been with, seems to show no sexual interest in her. Her world is being turned upside down.
She becomes friends with some of the other teachers in her new school and they invite her to a party one Friday evening shortly after the start of school. It turns out not to be an ordinary party, but a sex toy party. Which with the problems with her husband turns out to be helpful since she gets a sex toy to help.
Soon Journey discovers that hew new friends are swingers and they invite her to join them. She discusses it with her husband who let’s her go and encourages her to have fun. Now her world is really being turned in many different directions.
Not that I am an expert on the Swinging Lifestyle but from this man’s view of someone on the outside looking in, I found that Mountains Wanted to be more believable than The Playground. It just seemed that the pace of a woman who met her husband when she was 15 and had no others in the next 27 years just went into the lifestyle a bit quicker than I would have expected. The entire book takes place in those first 9 months that the twins are off to college.
I did feel like the character were true to life and that the bottom line it is a story of love, friendship, and loyalty.
I found both books to be very enjoyable. One review I have seen on Amazon said something to the like that the books have too much sex. I haven’t really read too many books in the genre of what a friend of mine calls ”mommy porn”, but from what I heard the sex in books like those in the ”Grey” series are much more sex filled and more graphic.\
As part of her Amazon bio it says that “She also advocates for ethical non-monogamy and sex-positive attitudes through her writing.” And I do believe that the portrayal of her characters shows this. My understanding are that these books are self-published, but they are well written and edited. The kindle editions of most of her books are all under $3, The Playground is priced at $3.99 and are currently available as selections with Kindle Unlimited.
I would recommend reading these and other others by Phoebe Alexander. I may read more of them myself. Follow Phoebe on Twitter @EroticPhoebe,
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/phoebealexanderauthor, or
on Instagram @authorphoebealexander