Gentrified: A Wife Seduced

I received an ARC of the book for review; I have also purchased the book. McCurran has been writing in the hotwife genre for a number of years, and her books run the gamut on length, variety, and yes, rating. Potential readers needn't have any concerns about the length or quality of this book. Gentrified is a tour de force. In my opinion, it might be one of the most satisfying hotwife stories to date, and is a serious contender for THE top spot in the entire genre. I'll have to re-read it in a couple months to see whether that impression holds up, but that's my initial reaction. Erotica preferences vary; my rating is based on the following preferences (for the hotwife genre). Cuckolding (i.e. humiliation of the husband) or cruel or uncaring wives are not interesting to me. The wife's character and believability are important. Typically, I find that short stories or novellas need to earn my interest through some type of ingenuity; they don't allow sufficient development to be effective "standard" hotwife tales. I like introspection, but it has to feel natural, and has to be balanced with story progression events. I also have a preference for long, detailed sex scenes; although teasing sex scenes can be great, they're (by definition) not as satisfying. On all of these counts and many others, Gentrified delivers on a stellar level. There are quite a few top shelf hotwife books; recent ones include Separated with Benefits (Wright), The Game (Sebastian), and The Houseguest (Butler). This book sits right there with the best that the genre has to offer. At its core, this is a love story, full of longing and trust and denial and sweet passion and bittersweet decisions. It's much longer than most books in the genre and this allows for a beautifully paced unfolding of the tale. There were no places where the book dragged, or hurried through a situation, and it was engaging throughout. The characters in this story have their own distinct personality that they stay true to; Jessica, in particular, comes across as realistic and likeably sweet. The characters are are caught up in a common current of events as the book begins with a low simmer and steadily builds momentum before going supernova. By the time I finished it, I was already feeling nostalgic about all the things that happened in it. Little plot surprises in a hotwife book are worth savoring, and I don't want to spoil anything. The blurb captures the essence of the story nicely; the book has all the ingredients necessary to satisfy most hotwife enthusiasts. It's written in third person, from the viewpoints of Jessica and Winston; this allows for a very detailed view of everything that goes on and contributes to the feeling that it's very satisfying. This is a bit different from the way in which many hotwife novels are written (usually from the husband's POV, which can also be great but is often more titillating than satisfying because he doesn't see everything that's happening). But perhaps the most important ingredient is that there appears to be a real connection between Jessica and Winston. Jessica and her husband Kyle care about each other. But the connection with Winston really raises this book to a whole other level compared with other books where it's just sex. The book does have some minor flaws. There are a few typos etc., although those are actually less frequent than in most other books in the genre. I may see more flaws on a second reading, but right now the only thing wrong with this book is that it ended. This is a top quality hotwife love story. An unqualified 5-star experience, and in my opinion, a contender for greatest of all time in the genre.

The other reviewers have covered this one quite well and I agree with most of what was said so I will not rehash those things. For me, there were things that I really did not like and things that I thought were great. Overall, it was a good read and I would recommend it so I give it 4 stars. Things I didn't like: lack of believability in some situations (sneaking off unnoticed at social gatherings, not being alarmed when a male stranger who apparently doesn't work becomes enamored with your female child), cheesy dialogue at times, Winston frequently dressed in "gym shorts" and a "wife beater." I would have liked the story better if the author had simply brought Winston into the picture by doing remodeling work on the house rather than interacting with the child. And this story could have been much shorter if refined and just as good. Things I did like: the explicit scenes in the second half of the book are amongst the hottest in the genre...hands down!, the interaction between Jessie and Kyle, the lack of obsession with the husband's angst and introspection, and for this author the lack of illicit drug use (something that I haven't liked about the author's other titles). I'm not a writer but I suspect that the author should have set this one aside after completing it then gone back to it after some time and "gentrified" the story. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it overall and the parts that were good were actually awesome!

Not sure how or why I passed this one up initially, but re-reading Hawaiian Swing and A Swinging New Year's Eve, I again came upon the teaser first chapter of Gentrified. So I decided to give it a try. Well, it's hard to find the words. This story was amazing, and an apparent quantum leap in Ms. McCurran's writing. At least in comparison with her fun, but comparatively easy-going swinging stories. Jessica and Kyle have moved from Kingston (!) to a fixer upper in the city, hoping to raise their daughter Maddie in a more diverse environment. As in the film Take This Waltz, there's a handsome guy living across the street, in this case a big black handsome guy named Winston. I did find Winston uncomfortably predatory, especially early on, but perhaps the plot rather depends on this. Jess, of course, becomes his intended prey. I always prefer the "other guy" to be likable, but I think Winston does become a bit easier to appreciate further in, especially in his later interactions with Kyle. Although he initially seems to have no problem with betraying Kyle, this becomes somehow less credible as the story progresses. Jess's best friend Nicole wastes no time getting to know Winston and perhaps this makes him a slightly conflicted predator. Nicole has some complexity that puts things on edge. On the one hand, she makes it clear that she doesn't want her friends hurt, but then she assures Winston that she "has his back". So what happens if these commitments cannot be reconciled? As others have said, the sex scenes are intense and vividly described. But for me, the peaks of erotic energy are not to be found there, but rather with the decisions leading up to those scenes. Realistically, this is not easy for Kyle or for Jess. There is the tension between intense arousal on the one hand (on both their parts), and fear of where it may lead on the other. But once decisions are made, we are finally treated to the communication, both verbal and non-verbal of those decisions. The erotic energy at this point is overwhelming, even before Jess crosses the street. The story ends in a state of unresolved tension between Jess and Winston. She has recognized that the forces drawing her toward him have become too intense to control. Although the whole experience has left Jess and Kyle strongly tempted toward further explorations, Jess is convinced that this can never be with Winston (but Kyle may not be so sure). We are left wondering whether Jess will really be able to hold to this. In this sense, there is a similarity to the end of Because He's Watching/Ian's Obsession, written jointly with Kenny Wright (still waiting for the promised sequel to that one and potentially, an answer). Gentrified similarly leaves us dying to discover what will happen next. Another great thing about Gentrified is the way it shows that you can have an edgy, complex and powerfully erotic story without resorting to deceit on the part of husband or wife. Jess tells Kyle everything, without hesitation. More specifically, this story makes the point that there is no conflict in Jess's determination that she is doing this for herself, while remaining open and honest with her husband.

I am one of those many guys who get totally turned on when my partner gets turned on. If you are too then this is a real sizzler!

One of the better erotic novels on Amazon, well written with enough character dimension and depth to make you care. This book benefits for being longer than most here and I do hope there is a follow up. The only small criticism is that I did think there was a couple of points in the story line that could of been better especially towards the later stages but that just my personal opinion others will think different. UPDATE June 2020:- I reread this book yesterday, two and a half years since I first read it and left the above review. I still think this is probably Kirsten McCurran best book other than the last couple of chapters which I say no more on as I do not want to give anything away. What I would say again though is that this book would be a better book if a sequel was written taking Jess and Kyles story further. Hopefully one day Kirsten will revisit the world she created in this story and take it further.

Second favourite book by this author, very well written. highly recommended

Very well written. I'll say this about author Kirsten McCurran, she can actually write. In fact she's a very good story-teller indeed, and I say this as so many 'writers' of the Interracial BMWW cheating wife genre are more akin to producing what seems like third-rate school essays. Here's what I thought of the book's characters: JESS: is a middle-class conservative housewife with high morals who values the vows of marriage highly. EXCELLENT, I loved the Jess character. 10/10 WINSTON: Blonde & beautiful Jess and black as coal Winston are strongly attracted to one another. Winston is tall and broad. He also smart, works out and is well endowed. GREAT! Unfortunately, he isn't ruthless enough and cares too much about other people's hurt feelings. 7/10 JESS' PARENTS: are even more conservative than Jess and would howl in horror at the thought of Jess cheating on her husband. Much worse, with a black man! WONDERFUL! 10/10 KYLE: is a bit kinky and would love his wife to get laid by the black man across the street and he would suffer no angst whatsoever. Very, very disappointing. 2/10. I didn't like Kyle one bit NICOLE: is Jess' easy-lay friend. I liked that she helped Jess and Winston get it together, but she should have played a much-lesser role in this story. Lesbian sex or threesomes doesn't press any of my buttons. 3/10 Like another reviewer on here, I'm “worn out by Cinderella happy endings” and the possibility of hurting other people's feelings. I'd rather Jess' resolve had crumbled to the rugged maleness and overpowering charismatic charm of Winston. I wanted Kyle to have feel the angst that any man would have felt and the knowledge of this black man sexually satisfying his beautiful wife in a manner far more superior than he could hope to do, and that Winston had been a “real man,” as opposed to a “modern man,” steamed in, got Jess pregnant and ended up with her, or maybe left the couple to pick out the pieces of being a white couple with a brown baby. That would have been a lot more edgy. I want edginess from a skilled writer! Kirsten McCurran could have did this! That was the disappointing side and I hope I didn't put anyone off. This was a well-written, lustful, sexy read and I highly recommend it

Typical interracial