Book review, Chalet of Desire by Hazel Porter

Hazel and I crossed paths in the NaNoWriMo community. Well, strictly speaking, I crossed her path. Once I found out that she writes kinky erotica I decided we absolutely needed to get in touch. I kept nagging her with private messages until she finally responded to me. We compared notes, and the more we learned about each others projects, the more intrigued we became. It was as if we had both discovered our literary twin, somehow.

Hazel was kind enough to give me a copy of “Chalet of Desire”, the first book in her Chalet series to read. And I absolutely loved it. So I’m really excited to tell you all about it, because I’m pretty sure if you’ll like my books, you’ll enjoy hers as well and vice versa. So, what’s it about?

Alex is selected as a candidate for his favorite TV show. The Chalet is like a near future BDSM version of Big Brother. The candidates are guaranteed complete anonymity, made possible by body suits that completely change their appearance on a daily basis. So theoretically, they should not even be able to recognize each other. But Alex is perceptive enough to see through the disguise. He falls for another occupant of the Chalet and always is able to tell when he is with her. So, it turns out, is she.

If you are into explicit, bizarre and kinky BDSM scenes, this book is a page turner for that alone. Some of the scenes are quite extreme, but all of it is depicted as consensual and safe (which I find super important). Things like the importance of aftercare and the mental and emotional repercussions an intense scene might have are addressed as well. The book is about much more than just kinky sex, though. It also has quite an emotional story arc that includes not just romance, but also great friendships.

The only thing I missed in the book is, that we never get to see the reality TV show from the outside, like a viewer would. That made me feel a bit disoriented and lost, especially in the beginning. It would have been nice to be able to compare how the show appeared to the viewers on the screen to what it felt like for Alex when he was actually there.

There is a wonderful intimate and sexy bondage scene at the start, when Alex says goodbye to his friends before entering the show. It would have been fun, if they had watched an episode of the show together on that occasion as well.

But, since this is only the first part of a four book series, maybe we get this view in one of the other books.

If you are curious now, you can find “Chalet of Desire” here on Amazon and also on Goodreads. If you want to know more about Hazel Porter and her other books, you can find her homepage here or you can follow her on Twitter.