Review: The Whored's Prayer

The Whored's Prayer by Lucy V. Morgan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars





Lei-lei, what are you doing? Are you on drugs? Are you on an acid trip? We return to Leila's train wreck of a relationship with Joseph, Matt, Aidan and Charlie. Joseph is still her boss and his nickname is "Chairman of the Whore". Seriously, who dates a man known for whoring around and is proud of it? That would be Leila who is uniquely qualified as her alter-ego Charlotte, a high paid prostitute, er…escort.

I did tell myself I wouldn't read the follow up book to Leila's whoring ways because it was a hot mess. I'm glad I changed my mind because this book was better and the conclusion satisfied me. In this second installment, Leila is now dating Joseph. They are into a bit of edge play with some blood play. It's not really knife play because knife play doesn't usually involve blood. When there is actually blood dripping, then it is a bit more than just knife play.

The writing style of Ms. Morgan is different. There are flashbacks in the middle of a scene as well as inner dialogue during a scene between two characters. This is deliberate as even the other character mentions it in the story. Leila tends to zone out in the book which Joseph calls her on. The reader can sense Joseph's frustration. As a reader, I'm just as frustrated as Joseph. The random allusions to Alice in Wonderland did make me feel like I was on an acid trip. Even Joseph mentioned this oddity in Leila's non sequitur references. I think these types of tangent works better visually in movie or TV show. I recommend Ms. Morgan refrain from this type of style because it breaks up the flow of the story and tends to throw the reader out of the storyline. I also recommend better transitions between these scenes to smooth out the flow.

The struggle and conflict in this story was more realistic and I enjoyed it. I liked the blackmail theme and while I wanted to slap Leila upside the head, I guess I can forgive her since she is young and stupid. Her response is not how I would have done it, but then again, I don't have a big secret like she does. I would like to clarify that I'm not against prostitution or high paid call girls. I'm actually indifferent to this industry. What I take exception to is Leila's issue with it. The fact that she has to disassociate her time as an escort with a different personality is disturbing for me. I actually prefer Charlotte more than Leila. At least Charlotte is honest in her feelings and desires, even if she is merely a persona Leila slips on.

As far as the characters go, I am completely enamoured of Joseph. He is dominating and just so bloody HAWT. I'm not sure why the other characters in the book accuse him of being a prick. I like him just the way he is – ruthless at times. When he takes care of business, he does it so well. I think my favourite character is still Aidan. He's a blatant bisexual who is over the top and comfortable in his own skin. I love his self-confidence. He's not flawless but he's a perfect friend. Moving on to Charlie, why does he keep getting pulled into Leila's messes? I think he receives a bad rap. I like the pieces of Charlie we see. Finally, there is Matt. Matt, stop, just stop. I really don't like Matt. I am happy with his last gesture for Leila at the end, but it really didn't need to happen if he didn't initiate the events forcing Leila into the position of blackmail. Overall, I am much more engaged with the characters this second time around.

The conclusion to this story met my needs and I felt good as each issue was tied off and resolved. I admire how Joseph fixed everything. I lost more respect for Leila due to her amazing ability to make situations from worse to totally screwed up. I give this story a three and a half star. I recommend this story to kinky readers who enjoy conflict and a main character who finally realizes she needs to be comfortable with herself.



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