Rose, MJ

Average customer rating:

Absolutely fabulous
Fascinating
Pretty Good!
Read this author again and again
NOTE from the author - I've not written any reviews:

Lip Service
Mj Rose
Manufacturer: Lady Chaterlys Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0739405047

Amazon.com

Ad writer M.J. Rose's self-published novel is the first-person account of Julia Sterling, age 38, a Manhattan wife of the silver spoon set who, without telling her control-freak husband, takes a job as a phone-fantasy therapist at the high-toned Butterfield Institute. (This "progressive sex clinic" is no doubt named after John O'Hara's call girl novel, Butterfield 8.) It's not just a job, it's an adventure, about which Julia plans to write a book. Though Julia is a therapist, not a call girl, her role-playing conversations do get steamy, and she discovers unsettling things about her call-in clients. Her own banked fires of passion become aroused there, too; at home Julia's husband is far more interested in the TV's remote control than unbuttoning her blouse. Worse, he's an infuriatingly smug shrink (trained by her shrink father!) who belittles her; tries to define her as the nervous-breakdown case she was in her promiscuous, screwed-up youth; and attempts to shut her up with anti-anxiety pills. He's emotionally AWOL and refuses to discuss it, nor will he heed Julia's urgent decorating needs (there should be a green Chinese art deco area rug in their apartment, darn it). Men!

Will Julia succumb to the Butterfield Institute's director, who quotes Robert Herrick and "To His Coy Mistress" with classy lasciviousness? Or will her college newspaper chum--newly divorced and in New York--escalate their ancient flirtation? Will Julia's husband's charity foundation get nailed by the IRS? Will the Butterfield Institute get exposed as a sex shop? Julia's adventures are more logical than a Danielle Steel heroine's, although Rose lacks Steel's dizzy velocity. But if Julia's plight piques your interest, then you might be interested to find out what happens when she discards her fear of flying. --Tim Appelo

Book Description

Lip Service is the seductive new novel that everyone is talking about. Crackling with eroticism and suspense, Lip Service probes the secret world of phone sex and one woman who becomes empowered by what she discovers there. Not since Erica Jong's Fear of Flying has a novel so masterfully examined the relationship between sexuality and identity.

On the surface, Julia Sterling's life seems blessed. Married to a renowned psychiatrist, living on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side, Julia deeply loves her stepson, and is forging a career as a journalist.

When a writing job exposes her to the world of phone sex, Julia glimpses a world that stirs her erotic fantasies but threatens her carefully constructed reality. As she explores her emotional and sexual connections to the men she knows and several she will never meet, she confronts evil, perversity, and her own passions.

Tracing the currents of desire, illusion, and psychological manipulation,Lip Service is an astonishingly vivid glimpse into one woman's inner life. At the same time, this electrifying thriller grips the reader as it builds toward a battering climax.

Download Description

Although everyone thinks she's just being paranoid, psychotherapist Jordan Sloan knows better. Long haunted by the murder of her father years ago, Jordan has learned that his killer has been paroled, and now she fears his inevitable revenge. Only she knows the dark secret of her relationship with the man called Mallory, and the depth of her deception in providing the testimony that put him away. She sees him in shadows, in mirrors, and in the photographs her teenage daughter takes in the park. Still suffering the bruises of her husband's betrayal, Jordan grapples with ambiguous emotions even as she is drawn to her estranged spouse. Clinging desperately to the hard-earned stability of her life, she maneuvers through the meshwork of love's fragile bonds, layers of longing, and the chaos of human relationships. All the while, a mysterious new patient seems intent on contributing to Jordan's unraveling. For as she struggles to prove that her fear of Mallory is justified, she also wrestles with how it might feel to finally forgive Robert's infidelity.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely fabulous.......2005-12-25

As a writer, I am particularly picky. Haven't read another excellent author since Nora Roberts in her golden years. I picked this up because MJ drummed up unheard of interest in this book over the internet - and originally self pubbed it. Had to check it out. Couldn't put it down! Instantly ordered all of her other stuff. MJ, where ever you are, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??? So glad to have found you.

Fascinating.......2004-04-16

This novel offers a fascinating view into the world of phone sex. The believable heroine does not anticipate how becoming a telephone sex therapist will force her to confront some of her own sexual issues, blowing apart her carefully constructed world. The book is fun to read and hard to put down.

Pretty Good!.......2003-06-02

Lip Service is a very interesting book. The author draws you into the world of phone sex in a concept that I didn't expect. The conclusion of the story seems abrupt and could have used a bit more detail. However, it's an interesting story and is very enjoyable.

Read this author again and again.......2003-06-02

Lip Service sizzles. Everyone has wondered what the phone sex world must be like. This erotic taste of that world is exciting and suspenseful, like M.J. Rose's other books. Pick it up for a super summer read. It's hotter than the beach.

NOTE from the author - I've not written any reviews:.......2003-05-24

The reviews that you see with my name on them were sent to me by honest to God real readers who asked me to post for them. This was done becuase these folk were not very savvy with the net and I have all their origninal notes and emails to me.

I wasn't aware that the posts would appear with my name on them as well as the readers. I'm sorry if it is misleading. And the only reason I've given the book four starts is that I couldn't submit this note without stars.

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