Self's Blossom

"Self's Blossom, by David Russell, is one of those romantic, erotic tales of discovery that's filled with detailed imagery, well-defined characters, and scenes that are loaded with emotion. Selene is portrayed well as a vibrant main character, and I fell in love with her from the start. The organized mix of realism combined with escapism had me respecting her throughout the entire book, which is extremely important in any erotic romance. This is a very well-written book, with a distinct literary flair, where careful attention is paid to intelligent (and again, very well-written) dialogue that is constantly moving the story forward. The settings are described so well, in fact, I thought I was on holiday myself. The characters are crafted with such detail I felt as if I knew them. And when I was finished reading, I knew they would remain with me for a long time." (5 Stars) - Ryan Field

"This is the story of Selene and her quest to find inner truth. It is not your traditional romance story and Selene is not the type of heroine you normally think of when reading a romance novel. My first impression of her is that she is vane and totally self-absorbed. Not to mention conceited. She is beautiful and sexy and knows it. Yet despite all of this, I found I could relate to her and I found her story interesting. Her search to find herself is one that many women go through. 
The story begins on a lush tropical beach in Central America. Selene, whose outlook is cynical, longs to escape her current life. She wants a reckless adventure; an affair filled with seduction and passion. Past relationships and experiences thus far have been disappointing and she has become quite jaded when it comes to love and romance. 

She has planned this vacation with excruciating attention to the details; the location, a tropical paradise, is key for seduction. She also has the perfect man in mind and with cold calculation goes after him. 

I liked the author’s use of Selene’s memories and her reflections of past events throughout the story to show me why she has evolved into the woman she is today and why she wants to break free of these shackles.
The story has strong characters that keep you engaged and David Russell has done a great job in capturing the feminine point of view. This may not be one for all readers but I found it compelling and interesting throughout." (4 Stars) - Anna James

"First off, I’d like to make it clear to readers that Selene, for me, didn’t come across as the usual romance heroine. If you expect to like her a lot, you may be disappointed. I, however, loved her because she isn’t your usual romance heroine. I saw her as conceited, vain, totally self-absorbed, and a pure delight for being this way.

She knows she looks good, knows her workouts have given her a body most women would envy, and the kind of woman she is was portrayed perfectly with this line: Selene had a far better body than the mousy little model in the photograph. While this isn’t something you might expect a romance heroine to think of herself, I loved it because she was made real by Mr Russell creating her this way. We have all thought things like this, perhaps not about our bodies, but about other things—I have a nicer hairstyle than her…I have a better car than her…I have prettier eyes than her—and Selene’s inner thoughts, of which there are many, gave me a glimpse into one of the realest women I’ve ever read. She was human, with, in my opinion, many flaws that might make her distasteful to some, but by God, she riveted me with her self-absorption and brutal honesty.

She goes on holiday alone, and I liked the way the book showed what was happening now but also took me into her mind, showing me memories and why she acted the way she did. I didn’t feel any sympathy for her at any time, just accepted she is like she is and let myself be sucked in by the way she thinks and acts. She’s a breath of fresh air, a person who has the courage to say what she thinks and damn the consequences, and also to think what she does with no remorse whatsoever.

The writing is very good, a touch of literary with an almost languid air to it that gives you the feeling it is slow-paced but it actually isn’t. I think it’s the dreamy state it gives you that creates that slow-moving feeling, and this is not a negative in any way. I loved the way it coasted along like that, where her thoughts and memories came into play and showed me Selene’s psyche. It’s a delve into the mind and life of a woman who knows what she wants and plots to get it. Although she plots, it never came across as malicious plotting. She went on holiday to meet someone, to ensnare them and have glorious sex with them—she makes that clear right from the start—and she is going to get it.

She has a sexual encounter on the beach with a young man—not in her plan at all because it didn’t play out quite as she envisaged—and she knew it was wrong. Not wrong that she had sex, but wrong for her, for her plan, and she walks away afterwards knowing the man is distraught she has gone but…oh, she’s so blasé in that she shrugs it off somewhat and continues on her original mission. 

She meets Hudson, and here is where her plan comes fully into play. She is a manipulator, a master at it, in my opinion, and I adored watching her plan unfold, loved knowing what the next step would be and how she would make things go her way. Selene is, quite simply, not someone I would wish to know in real life, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her in fiction.

BEST BITS: …and make sure it’s your side of the slice that gets the butter.

Half asleep, she pondered on the aura she projected. She knew how good her body was, toned up by lots of squash and swimming at her health club.

It was essential for her to have some comparables, some implicit rivals around . . .

After it, before it, through it, and finally beyond it, she would be a glistening scale of the purest pigment of a butterfly’s wing, but in pure sensation, outshine all the finest plumage, so carefully, but so abundantly structured, proudly strutting.

Selene came to the conclusion that she read too much, thought too much, and lived too little.

VERDICT: Self’s Blossom is not all hearts and flowers. It’s a journey that amazed me with the portrayal of Selene being so herself and human, flaws right out there for all to see. The prose is also mesmerising. Maybe it won’t be so for you, maybe Selene will seem totally different to you, but I really did enjoy this book very much and am very glad to have been given the chance to read it." (5 Stars) - Miz Love 

"My Thoughts: Self's Blossom is a story that should be in the Tate Gallery, were the Tate a gallery for literature as opposed to art.

With this story, you are getting a highly unusual and in-depth style of writing that you don't usually find in the erotica genre. Some people may regard it as abstract, although in truth it is actually very detailed. (Just like many of the paintings in the Tate -- you see where I'm going with this?)

It took me a while to get into this story, and I think it's because when reading erotica, I've become accustomed to an "easy" read -- a book that you can open and, wham-bam, there you are in the story. While some readers may have that experience with this, I can't say that I did at first, and I suspect that most will not. There is an array of back story and character development from page one, and I'm glad I found the patience to stick with it, because I enjoyed the read.

It's the story of Selene. She's an intellectual. She's independent. She's seeking freedom because she's an adventurer at heart. Or at least, that was my interpretation: for me, this was a story about the search for freedom, through sexuality, sensuality and emotions of the heart.

I dare say that not everyone will take to Selene, but she's very real. She's a restless soul, and she is not the "flouncy" kind of heroine you usually get in erotica novels, but can be quite blunt and analytical in her thinking. Yes, it's unusual, but when I got into the story and her character, I found it refreshingly so.

The male lead is likeable and patient, giving her the space she needs to learn and grow throughout the story, but there is a two-way exchange here, and he learns from Selene as well.

This book is prose at its best. The language used is eloquent and intelligent. You won't find crude words or phrases here, but a rhetoric that is closer to that of Charlotte Bronte (yes, I did say Charlotte Bronte -- well, if she wrote erotica that is....) The narrative is highly descriptive and even a little "gothic" in some places. Here's a brief example:

"Each, to the other, became universe god and goddess. After so many times in their pasts when the brakes had been applied, when both had been frozen by reticence, or had their yearnings derided -- the universe's currents now galvanized their bodies. Now words could be uttered in acceptance of total immersion. With their slow speed, they generated maelstroms. Their every part revealed with deep exuberance, two bodies showing themselves as two complete presences."

Maybe it could even be considered poetry.

If you want an easy read that gets to the point, hard-hitting, direct language and a lot of instant action, this book is not for you. If you want a different, eloquent and intelligent erotic story, that indulges in every emotion and thought from the characters, that works towards a specific goal of self discovery, this is the book for you. I urge you to read the sample chapters from eBook retailers. If you can accept that it's a different style of erotica, you will not be disappointed with it." (4 Stars) - Dianna Hardy