Review | Opulence

Opulence by Angelica Chase
April 2015
112 pages
3/5 stars
Amazon + Good Reads

"When I was twenty-eight years old, I wrote my own winning lottery ticket. A simple idea thrust me onto the fast track to wealth, and into a world I had only ever dreamt about. I submerged myself in the unfamiliar, a life that seemed all too alluring … until it lost its appeal.

I made my fortune, built my castle, and then exiled myself within its comforts once reality set in.

Far too late, I discovered I was drowning in a sea of hungry sharks. Given the choice to sink or swim, I chose the latter … and it cost me everything.

Devin McIntyre, the most dangerous shark of them all, was the last nail in my naïve coffin. His beautiful smile and amazing cock tainted me in ways I could have never imagined. 

I craved him. I needed him. I loved him.

Miserable with the outcome of my prosperity, I set out to change what disgusted me most—the first decision being to rid myself of Devin. Little did I know that taking that first step would make me a slave to a man far more tempting … or that my addiction to Devin would threaten to ruin it all."

-Good Reads

For the most part, this novella has outstanding reviews that rave about how sexy the story is and how steamy the characters are. So, imagine my surprise when the story lived up to none of the reviews. Was Opulence steamy? Yeah, sure... but no more than your standard erotica that you can find literally every where. The main character was okay, I guess... but in 112 pages how much development and depth should I have really expected? Apparently I set my expectations too high and was forcing myself to get through the story.

There was nothing in Opulence that I haven't seen before and again, I think I may have been expecting too much. I think that the story was way too short - there was simply not enough page space to fully develop the characters and I did not have enough time to be convinced of and accepting of their relationships. I have no idea why or how Devin and Nina got together in the first place... and Nina and Aiden? Their relationship seemed way too insta-lust... One moment Aiden was wooing Nina with a guitar and the next moment, he's exerting dominance over her? 

I was all set and ready to review this book as I crept closer to the end of the book... No quotes or passages stuck out at me and not a single part of the story inspired me to recommend it to anyone. 

And then we get the last line of the book.

I have to know what happens next. Damn you, Angelica Chase.