An exact, candid, and multifaceted tale of love, lust, and passion…
Burr’s engrossing debut installment in the Uncommon Partnership series explores love, passion, sexual fantasy, trust and betrayal, and business and religious intrigue. It was on December 7, years after Japan bombed the Pacific fleet, when the authorities arrested Judy Burr on wire fraud. Married and divorced four times, Judy has no intention to fall for another man, considering she’s neck deep in legal trouble with federal authorities at her heels. But when half her age, the charismatic Rod, a shrewd entrepreneur, comes into her life, Judy is unable to resist his charm. A close friendship soon turns into a business partnership followed by a passionate romance. But Judy is a free soul, and Rod has his own ideas about love and relationship. And with big guys taking a stake in the couple’s business venture, Judy’s position suddenly becomes vulnerable. Will Rod be able to save her? Burr successfully evokes her two protagonists’ determination, strong drive, and fiery spirit along with their questionable moral precariousness, and the seemingly impossible romantic relationship between the two, with its roots in deep friendship is portrayed with perception and clarity. Readers should be prepared for plenty of highly erotic, hot sex scenes. With Judy and Rod’s romance dominating the narrative, the secondary characters don’t get much space in the story, but they are sketched with equal conviction. Burr skillfully weaves several plot strands, including Judy’s past relationships and her panache for falling for wrong men again and again, with well-developed characters. She makes her characters’ self-doubts, fears, insecurities, desires, and the moral compromises they make, thoroughly palpable. The drama, which involves sexual fantasies, betrayals, business rivalries, religious intrigue, is both appealing and compelling. Burr’s portrayal of mother-daughter intimacy (Judy’s relationship both with her mother and her daughter) evokes tender emotions, and her interpersonal dynamic with secondary characters, including Rod’s wife is beautifully rendered. The narrative moves at a good pace, the prose stays crisp, and there’s enough tension that propels the suspenseful plot forward to a satisfying ending. With all the passion and hotness of highly erotic, sizzling sex (which dominates most of the novel’s narrative) but grounded in the warmth of true love, this engrossing tale of love, lust, passion, and power is wholly gripping. Readers will be eager to see the next installment.
Lion Song
(Uncommon Partnership I)
By Judy Burr
Pub date December 4, 2020
ASIN B08KYJL3XX
Price $3.07 (Kindle edition, $13.99 Paperback