2 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of an escort entails? Are you curious as to how some have felt about their job? Vividly detailing the main character’s experiences at work and interactions with her clients, Clarice Journey Trilogy by Francesca Demont opens readers to the world of an escort. Though sold as a fictionalized account, it is in part inspired by actual events and the author’s experience in the industry.
When Clarice received an unusual request from a new client through the escort agency, many questions ran through her mind. After deciding to go forward with the date anyway, Clarice does more research on her client to ease her nerves as the day approaches. Upon meeting the mystery client, she’s impressed by his confidence and relieved that he, as an experienced dominant, knows how to take control and appreciate her genuine submissive nature and love for latex. However, not everything is as it seems with her new client. In reality, the man holds a deep dark secret that could change her life forever. Will she ever find out his true intentions for her? When she finds out her client’s secret, will she stick by his side or run for the hills?
What I liked most about this book is that it dispelled nearly everything I thought I knew about escorting. I was completely surprised when I discovered that the information I heard years ago was completely false. It was also interesting to learn the various roles played by the agency beyond connecting clients to the company’s escorts.
The first-person narrator, Clarice, was an interesting character to follow — she exuded confidence and was unapologetic about her sexuality, desires, fetishes, and sexual encounters with her clients. Her clear descriptions painted vivid images of items that held meaning to her, places she visited, and experiences. I especially liked Clarice’s wild imagination when she pondered on the possibilities of what her mystery client’s job might be.
Another element that held my attention was the suspense — just like Clarice, I wanted to find out more about her mysterious client and his occupation. That being said, there were a number of aspects that took away from the novel. For one, the writing style — although I don’t mind simple writing styles, I did notice certain words the author seemed to use a lot, which made reading the sentences a little monotonous. Another aspect I did not enjoy was all the mundane details and the narrator’s constant repetition.
Despite Clarice being an interesting character, the author missed the opportunity to mold her into a multidimensional character — her character felt two-dimensional at best. The author neglected to show us different sides of Clarice. Her interactions with actual friends were minimal, and their friendship dynamics weren’t well defined. Also, there were times she just seemed to be going with the flow (when it came to decision making) yet somehow always convincing herself that she made the decision. In addition, we hardly get to know her client regardless of the fact that he is the person she spent the most time with in this book.
It goes without saying that this novel contains strong language and vivid descriptions of sexual acts. Thus, it is only suitable for a mature audience. This book would appeal best to those who have an interest in BDSM, fetishes, and an escort’s work life. I did find a number of errors such as awkward sentences, misuse of homophones, and incorrect verb tense usage. Additional glaring hiccups I encountered include the use of the wrong character’s name in a scene that involved two people. Another is that there was a shift in the flow of narration; this is because, at one point, the story goes from being told in first person to third person. All of this did affect my reading experience. Everything considered, I rate this book a generous 2 out of 4 stars.
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Clarice Journey Trilogy: Part 1
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