Joint Review: Glimmer by Beth Kery

Publisher: Berkley
Where did you get the book: e-ARC from publisher
Reviewed by Has and Lou
Release date: Out now

From the New York Times bestselling author of Because You Are Mine, a scorching new novel about forbidden desire…

After graduating from her M.B.A. program, Alice Reed is surprised when she’s recruited for the management training experience at legendary Camp Durand, owned by Durand Inc.’s young, billionaire CEO, Dylan Fall. The company usually recruits from Ivy League schools, not insignificant colleges like Alice’s.

Alice enthusiastically accepts, but she still wonders why Dylan would choose a girl from the wrong side of the tracks for the prestigious program. But after a passionate encounter one night, she discovers exactly why—Dylan wants her, and Alice can hardly resist his fierce sexual appetites, though she is amazed that she could appeal to an experienced, sophisticated man like Dylan.

As Dylan introduces her to thrilling, erotic territory, Alice discovers a delicious new part of herself. Night after night, she steals away to find ecstasy and escape in Dylan’s arms. But behind her lover’s powerfully magnetic facade, Alice senses darkness, secrets from Dylan’s past lurking in his beautiful, lonely mansion—secrets that are starting to haunt Alice. And the ghosts of the truth might tear Dylan and Alice apart forever . . .

*blurb taken from Goodreads*

Lou: Glimmer, you naughty book! Your blurb give me an impression of an erotic romance with a NA vibe. I love NA (and I need to rethink why I automatically assume NA when protag’s age is between 20-25) but I loved the sneaky direction this book took because OMG, the sex scenes and passion were off the fucking charts. Glimmer is an erotic romance with a gothic feel which took me by complete and wonderful surprise. Glimmer sort of reminded me of early Linda Howard. Dylan is rawr. Alice is rawr. Both combined = RAWR. Sometimes I can get bored with umpteen sex scenes but Beth Kery managed a story where the sex scenes build up the gothic atmosphere. Not to mention the plot worked perfectly in time with Dylan and Alice’s romance.

Has: I loved Kery’s previous books, and I definitely agree with you with the gothic elements which was cleverly intertwined with a raw and intense romance that truly sizzled on the page. I also enjoyed the suspense aspects, which took me by surprise because it had so many twists and turns and really heightened the mystery that surrounded Alice. I also loved their characters. I especially loved Alice, who was really prickly, independent, smart–as well vulnerable–and it was great to see that despite her own insecurities and fears she was in control.Dylan was pretty alpha-male, and like Lou said, he had the RAWR factor to infinity, but I also loved that he never ran roughshod over Alice, and was very protective and supportive over her. This was really refreshing because a lot of books I’ve read recently totally failed in reflecting this.

Lou: Alice’s childhood history is not kept secret. It’s revealed early on about her poor upbringing living in a trailer park with a druggie for a mum, and uncles and cousins who could be heavy with their hands. Alice is prickly and I loved her from the start, especially her interview with Dylan. She gives an awful interview and yet I still loved her with her attitude. She’s smart, brilliant, sarcastic, and she knows deep down that something is not quite right with this company recruiting candidates from her neck of the woods. But Dylan is not your typical zillionaire hero. Yes, he’s rich. Yes, he’s an arrogant son of a bitch. But he’s not a douchecanoe. He has his own history. And like Has said above, he never ever ran roughshod over Alice. He was possessive and domineering when it came to the sexual side of their relationship and it worked incredibly well. Their first sex scene was amazing. Raw, earthy and this continued through the book and story. There is a light suspense running through the book but it grows in stature when Alice begins to experience strange visions. I won’t spoil the reveal but there is a real spooky vibe where you can’t figure out what game Dylan is playing.

Has: I think this is why their relationship worked so well, not only did they have red hot chemistry, but they also learned from each other even when they made mistakes or assumptions and worked through it. There wasn’t any forced angst or inane reasons to drag out tension. You were rooting for them to get together from the beginning and I really got invested in their romance. Plus the sex scenes was amazingly scorching, and I loved that there was a real plot to go alongside the erotic aspects of the book. This book was a winner for me from page one.

Lou: The setting also worked incredibly well with the secondary characters. The secondary characters only appear in small scenes (there’s no secondary romance whatsoever. the entire book is concentrated on Dylan and Alice) but it amps up the mystery vibe, especially when Alice believes there is someone nefarious out there. Alice may be submissive when it comes to Dylan’s smexy times (omg, the stool scene!!!) but she fights him nail and tooth and doesn’t cave in to his demands outside of the relationship. The ending is a big reveal and I still can’t make up my mind if I wanted it to go into another direction entirely, especially with the gothic vibe. But despite my nit-picking of the ending, Glimmer was such an entertaining read. It’s one of my favourite Beth Kery’s books and I cannot wait for the sequel.

I was going to give Glimmer a B but I’m thinking to myself, why am I skimping on the grade? I loved the book. I’m giving it a big, fat A.

Has: I definitely agree with you about the setting which was so different from other books, but I also loved the focus and development of the plot remained on Dylan and Alice because it made the romance so much richer. However, I did think the ending was a tad abrupt but that’s just because I was totally sucked into the plot and characters. I have to say that Beth Kery really struck the ball out of the ballpark with Gimmer. I love that even though she used established tropes with glamorous settings and rich heroes, she goes against the grain and twist those tropes to create something different. I really appreciate that because it makes reading her books exciting. GLIMMER had everything I love in a good romance; memorable characters; a hot romance filled with well written sex scenes; and a wonderful plot that added to the story.

I can’t wait for the for the sequel, GLOW, because this was definitely one of the best books I read this year! I give Glimmer an A!

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