THE DEBUT OF THE YEAR?

ABSO – FUCKING – LUTELY

I haven’t read in a long, long time a book that I so loved and hated simultaneously, as fascinated as I was horrified. A train wreck of a relationship, as beautiful as it is broken, brutally raw, poignant, passionate, tragic and destructive. If the Devil had a fucked up contemporary fairy tale it would be this and the ride has only just begun…

Eighteen year old Tatum O’Shea is a naive, shy, little rich girl. Twenty-three year old Jameson Kane is smart, seductive, and richer. They come together for one night, one explosion, one mistake, and Tate is hurled into space – no family, no money, and no Jameson. 

Seven years later, life is going pretty good for Tate, when she runs into Jameson again. This time, she thinks she’s ready for him. She doesn’t have a naive bone left in her body, and she can’t even remember what shy feels like. Jameson has evolved into Satan – sharp teeth, sharper claws, and a tongue that can cut her in half. It all sounds like fun to a girl like Tate, and she is ready to play, determined to prove that she isn’t the same girl he conquered once before. A series of games start, each one more devious than the last. 

But the devil likes to play dirty, and she learns that playing for souls is playing for keeps. The lines between games and reality, heaven and hell, get blurry. Can she beat Jameson at his own game before someone gets hurt? Or will he leave her soulless, making him the winner, once and for all? 

WARNING: contains a wannabe B-rate porn star, an impersonal personal assistant, and the F-word, A LOT. Also graphic sexual situations and sadomasochistic themes. 

Degradation is Pretty Woman with a hint of Coyote Ugly having a psychotic episode and starring the Devil. I bloody loved every minute of it and yet it’s so far outside my usual comfort zone it’s ridiculous. Stylo Fantome engaged me such that I could not put it down even when uncomfortable, even when screaming “Hell No” in my head. Her writing is flawless and captivating, her characters have so much depth. It’s emotional, funny and sad and a total page turner the whole way through.

Jameson – yeah, hated him with a fiery vengeance most of the time! He’s everything I usually avoid, billionaire playboy with a kink, all I can say without giving spoilers is that this is such a fresh take on that whole overdone genre that it’s in a class of its own. This is not the alpha with virgin who doesn’t know what she wants till he shows her bullshit. This is two adults having a totally consensual, bizarre to most of us, sexual relationship/game that goes so far off the plan the question is where will it end and how??

Tate – the very first explosive mistake with Jameson has profound and far reaching consequences for Tate – totally alters the course of her life and the person she becomes. Seven years later when she runs into him again she believes she’s ready for him. Where’s the harm? She’s all grown up, a woman not a naïve girl, she can have him on her terms and walk away unscathed, right?

“I like sex. I like having sex, I like being sexy, I like being single. I like being me, and fuck anyone who doesn’t like it.”

The lines and rules between these two as this game progresses become so blurry, convoluted and confused that Tate stops knowing right from wrong, up from down and is so far out of depth will she find her way back?

I adored Tate even while not understanding her, she’s a contradiction in a good way. The chemistry between her and Jameson is off the charts and explosive, and even knowing that this train wreck is not going to end well they are fascinating to read.

The supporting cast has a couple who stand out for me – Ang and Sanders – so different and yet both I loved. The banter and interactions with these two was a pleasure – both more complex than you may initially think and much more to come I hope….

Degradation is the first of a trilogy. Separation is out next week and Reparation will be out in December so, even though it’s a massive cliff hanger, there is no long wait to find out what happens next.