Review: Misbehaving by Tiffany Reisz

My Thoughts

A sexy, funny, fast-paced modern-day comedy
about finding a second chance at love.

•  Misbehaving: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis

Wanted: Adventurous, open-minded man willing to try anything…

As a popular sex blogger, Beatriz gets paid to have orgasms. So being on deadline the week of her sister’s wedding isn’t as rough as it sounds. There’s just one hitch: Bea’s assignment is to write a review of a sex position manual, but she doesn’t have a plus one to play with.

The good news: Ben, the one who got away back in college, is also attending stag–and he’s as temptingly gorgeous as ever.

The bad news: Ben turned down Bea’s offer of graduation night sex five years ago.

The best news: He’s not planning on making the same mistake twice. 

My Review

Fans of the Original Sinners series should note that this is a very different style story. You honestly cannot compare the two at all. First off, it’s a fast-paced novella infused with lots of wit and humor. We don’t have the runway to dig deep into character complexities or motivations, nor does the story really interlace in a way where that’s warranted. This is a modern-day take on Much Ado About Nothing… a witty repartee between two confident adults who loved each other once, but never really had the chance to pursue a future together. Ben and Bea (modeled after Benedick and Beatrice) are thrust together once again five years after college… five years after she stood naked before him only to be shut down so completely.

Beatriz (Bea) is a sex blogger and she’s been unexpectedly tasked with reviewing a sex manual book while at her sister’s wedding. Understanding that reviewing aforementioned manual requires a partner, she realizes that her week away suddenly must include one willing, male participant.

“… she would have to find someone to sleep with.
“Fuck,” she breathed.
“Fuck what?” the cabdriver repeated, a smile on her face.
“No,” Beatriz said. “Fuck who.”
That was the question.”

Her sister Claudia is marrying Henry (modeled after Claudio and Hero), bringing Bea and Ben together for the first time in so long. We realize that the sting of rejection is still fresh to Bea… she hasn’t really forgotten that boy she loved despite her bold sexual escapades… all which she’s enjoyed tremendously over the years.  Ben, in turn, also has a story to tell. He’s been following Bea’s blog and still actively working to get over her despite his own misadventures in love. So when Claudia and Henry trick them into seeing each other once again, sparks fly. The chemistry and longing they feel is veiled, however, under the shroud of solely fulfilling the prerequisite of Bea’s assignment. Ben is a willing man… Bea needs a man and there’s no reason to see sex as anything beyond the act itself… or in this case, beyond the 20 chapters of positions they must try.

“Ben took a deep breath and released it slowly. Think about it, she’d said. What was there to think about? sex with the most beautiful woman in the world? Yes, please. Then again… this was work, she’d said. Just work. Nothing more than work. Did he want to be work? Cock for hire?… How was he supposed to get over Beatriz if Beatriz was under him?

“To do Bea… or not to do Bea…?”

I loved their banter. I loved that despite their confidence, they still had very sincere feelings that quickly roused to life again the moment they were together.  But when the wedding seems to fall apart over a misunderstanding (which I should note was very comical in nature given the Claudio/Hero story line in Much Ado About Nothing), Ben must once again prove to Bea that he won’t make the same mistake twice and give up in the face of external forces. Expect lots of humor, lots of sex and lots of smiling with this funny, sexy novella which was really enjoyable to read.

“I thought I was over you. But then I was under you. And now I’m in love with you.”

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