Vivid and rich and sensual ~ By Jaycie D TOP 500 REVIEWER
This book really took me by surprise. I went in expecting some titillating erotica, but what I got was an emotional depth that blew me away. Told in first person POV, Alexandria lays herself bare from the very beginning. Her emotions are raw and ever on the surface, from the love she feels for her husband as she describes the patch of above his tailbone to the gut wrenching pain she endures when the marriage comes to an admittedly well deserved end. Her life takes a turn she never anticipated then, one that changes everything for the better.
Alexandria is a fantastic character, flawed and at times a hot mess, but who among us isn't? Connecting with her is as easy as exhaling, and that is in no small way due to Bogenholm's skills in bringing this story to life. The characters, the story, the settings, it's all vivid and rich and sensual and utterly engaging.
The Moral Line by Vanessa Bogenholm (Book Description below)
After being rejected and left alone, Alexandria finds herself going down a moral line. Slightly desperate for money, she takes a one-time 'job' as a paid for companion by a not so attractive but very nice wealthy man. Is getting paid to be in the company of men really such a bad thing if it feels good?
She falls into a world of clients that are wealthy, powerful, successful men with fancy cars and country club lifestyles. But she sees the fragility in all of these men, the loneliness and need for acceptance that is the human condition.
Alexandria becomes 'Catherine' a high-end escort with a beautiful laugh who finds the goodness and attractiveness in all men, falling in love with all of her clients just a little.
By accepting these men and seeing the goodness in them, she pleases these men in many ways. Is it possible by pleasing others maybe Alexandria/Catherine can find her true self and find happiness?
HOW MY INTEREST IN PROSTITUTION/ESCORTS ALL STARTED
If you don't know, this is a famous street in San Francisco. I grew up economically challenged so this was the first vacation my family took, three days in San Francisco. Because my name is Vanessa, I begged my parents to stay in a hotel on Van Ness St.
Back then in the 70s, the nightclub tour was all the rage. My parents were going out on this tour where you got two drinks at a bunch of nightclubs. I was to stay alone in the hotel room and watch TV and eat candy, I was always being placated by candy.
As the evening progressed, I looked down from my hotel room and saw women in high heels and short dresses laughing and walking around. I really had no clue who or what they were.
I had lots of candy so thought I would go down and share, I was always trying and failing at making new friends. Please understand I was 10 years old and came from a small town so was fairly sheltered.
The women were nice and laughed at the silly girl with candy in the plastic white coat and big glasses. Some came and some went, I didn't understand where, but I wanted to be part of their group and laughter, I was always trying to be part of the laughing group. A nice man in a big car told me I should go back upstairs, I imagine he was their pimp, before I got too cold. He walked me back to my hotel room to make sure I was safe, I didn't want to leave the company of the women.
When my parents came back from their night of drinking, I was trying to walk in my mother's heels around the hotel room because I wanted 'to be happy like my new friends on the street.'
Ever since that night, the idea of prostitution, the hatred some people have of it, the reason's women go into it as a profession, the illegality of it, etc. has always fascinated me.
