Review by airion01 -- Lost and Love: Thailand (Book One ...

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airion01
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Latest Review: Lost and Love: Thailand (Book One of the Lost and Love Series) by Stella Knights

Review by airion01 -- Lost and Love: Thailand (Book One ...

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[Following is a volunteer review of "Lost and Love: Thailand (Book One of the Lost and Love Series)" by Stella Knights.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Stella Knights weaves a playful narrative in her novel Lost and Love: Thailand, and it’s sure to have you playing along. The novel kicks off when the main character, Savannah, is forced to realize that her love life isn’t what it used to be. In attempts to drag her workaholic husband away from the daily grind, Savannah books a romantic getaway to Thailand. In between sightseeing and tour guides, Savannah pulls out all the stops to spark passion in their sex life. Lingerie, flashy nightclubs, and relentless flirting do little to spice things up the way Savannah hopes. However, a discussion about fantasies turns into something much more serious—something that might’ve been better left to the imagination. This novel will most likely appeal to young women seeking erotic stories with adventure and travel involved. Knights creates completely believable characters and keeps a consistent pace throughout the story. The plot is easy to follow, and the erotic scenes are natural and keep the reader engaged. This review will elaborate on these points.

Lost and Love: Thailand earns a star for its authentic characters. We meet Savannah as she interacts with a client at her workplace. Knights does a great job of making sure we understand Savannah’s distaste for her job by showing us rather than telling us. While there is a lot of introspection throughout the novel that could’ve reinforced the “show don’t tell” rule, I think Lost and Love: Thailand does a decent job of driving the plot through the characters’ actions. Savannah becomes more active as the story progress which is great character development for her, as she tends to take a passive role in her marriage. The supporting characters are realistic and retain importance throughout the story. Through Savannah’s perception of her husband, Johnny, we slowly grow as irritated as Savannah with his personality and actions. This dislike for him might’ve been too much—or perhaps that was the author’s intention—but his presence really ruins some of the erotic scenes. Even scenes where he’s just griping are hard to get through without wanting Savannah to completely abandon this man in the middle of Thailand. If it was the author’s intention to garner empathy, she did a great job. Otherwise, she created a character who was too easy to despise.

The pace of the story is excellently executed considering the short length of this novel. For that reason, Lost and Love: Thailand earns another star. Before the Thailand trip, we get to see the rut that Savannah and Johnny have found themselves in. It was easy for me to fall into their routine lifestyle and feel the itch for something exciting. When the characters are in Thailand, it’s easy to track their time, and everything flows at a realistic speed. As Savannah tries time and time again to amp up their sex life, we feel the disappointment with each failure. The resentment towards Johnny really shines through when we’re introduced to the catalyst, Zander. We meet Zander in the middle of the novel, and I’m glad Knights didn’t rush the story after his introduction. Knights took her time letting us warm up to him; she also gave Savannah and Johnny a realistic timeframe to discuss and explore their fantasy.

I will give Lost and Love: Thailand another star for its convincing sex scenes. Readers should be aware that there are several erotic scenes written in explicit detail. The intimacy between Savannah and Johnny is clearly lacking, albeit to the plot’s benefit. There are so many moments when the sensual build up is there and suddenly taken away from us when Johnny ruins the mood, whether just by his vexing presence or selfish gains. However, these moments really set up our introduction to Zander as much of an escape as Thailand was in and of itself. I wanted to escape Savannah’s marriage perhaps more so than Savannah did, and Zander was the perfect means to do just that. But even Zander’s most remarkable moments are tainted with Johnny’s presence, and that is probably the only regrettable thing I can mention about this novel.

The novel was especially well edited, which allows me to give Lost and Love: Thailand one more star. I can tell the author is an experienced writer and took the time to find a great editor to polish her work. The story itself is solid, and the end leaves us wanting more. Be warned: Lost and Love: Thailand does end on a cliffhanger. But if I had to guess, the title probably gives away the direction of the next novel in this series. Savannah is just starting her adventures!

I give Lost and Love: Thailand four out of four stars.

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Lost and Love: Thailand (Book One of the Lost and Love Series)
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