Rush by Maya Banks

#1 in the Breathless Trilogy

Date:  January, 2013

Publisher: Berkely

Pages: 396

Genre: Adult romance, erotica

ISBN: 0425267040

Rating: 3.5/5

Before I begin talking about the book, can we take a moment to admire this amazing cover!? What an impact!

I decided to check out this book because Maya Banks is suppose to be a good author in this genre. I read 50 Shades of Grey and was interested in seeing what other books in this genre were like. I didn't realize it at first, but Rush has similarities to 50 Shades such as elements of BDSM, a super rich & damanged man, and a recent college graduate that gets thrown into a world of sex.

Let's get this out of the way first - the sex scenes were well written. I suspect many people that read books like these are trying to live out a fantasy. Maya Banks does an excellent job writing about the surprising feelings these activities bring on for an audience that may only experience these situations in books. The protagonist is blunt and vague enough during sex that it is easy to imagine yourself in that situation. You could say it felt like I was reading a porno but with real people instead of a wailing woman that seems to somehow keep her lipstick looking flawless while she balances on her stilettos. For a book about BDSM, there was a good amount of variety in what happened and where.

Mia is vague enough that the reader can imagine themselves as her, but she does develop as the book progresses. She begins as a sheltered college grad with a crush on her brother's friend, and ends the book as a woman who knows exactly what she wants.

Gabe is our hunky, arrogant, controlling, dominant, and damaged man. There is something wrong with him, and it is that he just loves being dominant over women, especially Mia. He hates that it turns him on so much, but he is the way he is. Having a dominant man is a trait I've picked up on in a few romance novels, so this was nothing new to me. He felt like a stereotype for much of the novel, but on a book that feeds off of a primitive emotion (sex), sometimes it is easier to see others as being either attractive or unattractive. We focus in on what turns us on, and that is what Maya Banks did in her book. Did it work? For the most part,I think it did. But if you took out the sex scenes, then the book would definitely fall a bit flat. Related, the plot itself was heavily focused on their relationship without too much outside interference. But, the book did accomplish what it was set out to do.

I'm a psychology grad, so for me it was interesting to try to figure out the minds of Mia and Gabe. Throughout the book, I had that in the back of my mind so it enhanced the story for me. I would recommend that other readers try to do that too, unless you just want to read a sexy book for the sake of sexiness.

If you are interested in reading this book, please consider purchasing it from the link below. No embarrassing cashier conversations when you buy online!