5 #LustSquare Stars
The Calendar Girl novella series continues with Mia heading home to Las Vegas for a quick stop, then going onto Hawaii for a modeling assignment. The first thing that pops out at me about the storyline of May, the fifth installment in Audrey Carlans’ Calendar Girl series, is that in May get a more detailed picture of Mia and her relationship with her sister Maddy. Maddy is the key reason that Mia signed up for a year in her aunt’s escort business. The work she does, the money she makes, is all about protecting Maddy from the potential wrath in the payback for their fathers’ gambling marker.
Maddy is refreshingly chaste and naive and Mia is a mama bear with her. But her absence is starting to show its impact, which just seems to drive Mia’s protective nature even more. It’s really endearing. In May, Mia also gets to spend a little more time with her bestie Ginelle, who is probably one of my favorite secondary characters in Audrey’s library. Their relationship, the banter, the jibs and jabs at each other point to a unique comfort level and the trust that they share is enviable. Mia’s strong self confidence makes her a joy to read. She started down a path, took the job purely for practical reasons, but quickly discovered that it would be a transformative time for her heart. Going into her May assignment, there was definitely an air of melancholy in her thoughts. Hell, I was sad and a little distraught for her. But in her trip to Hawaii, she finds that her emotional connection and expectations of Wes (Mr. January) is waning and she isn’t as preoccupied with his life.
Her adventures in her May assignment lead her straight into the arms of an extremely sexually charged men, Tai Niko, and makes this chapter in Calendar Girls series the STEAMIEST yet. This is Audrey’s finest erotic writing with the most sexually raw scenes. Tai Niko is sex incarnate and Mia is an extremely sexual individual - so the two connecting on this level is dazzling. Tai also treats Mia with an intense amount of respect - he seems to read her heart and uses their time in Hawaii together to remind her of her strength and uniqueness. So while her time and experiences with Tai replenish her slightly bruised heart and soul, Mia’s gift to Tai is to remind him that life works out the way its supposed to. She lightens the heaviness of his heart reminding him that “Things happen for a reason, we just might not know what the reason is.” Her lesson to Tai, keep your eyes and heart open to greatness.
Among the myriad of reasons that I love Audreys’ writing is the layered storylines and ultra witty dialogue - Mia has a strong hold on my heart and I’m thankful we have seven more installments to follow her path to happiness.
5 Stars and recommendation!