Book Review: A Washington Square Romance - Maxim Jakubowski

I originally wrote a review of A Washington Square Romance by the inimitable Maxim Jakubowski for the Simply Erotic Reviews blogsite, way back in July 2011.  Unfortunately, like many sites in the transient world of Internet publications, S.E.R, went bye-byes a short while ago, much to the sorrow of myself and a few other Erotica writers and reviewers, and I have been unable to get access to my original reviews.

I still get a lot of hits for the A Washington Square Romance review, so I am putting up another review of the work, which will be as close as possible to my first review and impressions of the book.

Blurb from the Xcite website:

Maxim Jakubowski takes the reader through an intoxicating journey through four of the world's most exciting cities: New York, Dublin, Paris and London.

Known for his daring and sexy tales of men and women in love and lust and once described by both The Times and Time Out as 'the King of the Erotic Thriller', Jakubowski here examines Sex in the City through a daring new angle which will leave you breathless.

My Review:

My first reaction to reading the four stories in this book was - WOW!

This is certainly no "Wham, Bam, Thank You, Ma'am!" collection of stories, but an absolutely breath-taking series of erotic tales that take you to the extremes of emotion and sexuality, against the back-drop of some of the greatest cities in the world.  Mr Jakubowski takes us on an expedition through New York, Dublin, Paris and London, delivering erotica in extremis that is detailed, raw and psychologically disturbing, to say the least. 

The heroes and heroines of these tales are not experiencing sex as a pleasurable pastime in the company of loved ones. Each of them goes through a catharsis where their current or past sexual encounters play the most important part of their emotional and/or physical transformation - and some of those encounters are detailed and disturbing - and yet compelling.  Jakubowski takes us through the beauty and the bitterness, the passion and the utter loneliness, the power and the saddening depravity that sex can be.  And he does it with wonderful, passionate prose that shows his love for his subject - even tackling the usual no-no of switching mid-stream from third to first person and then back again with aplomb and grace.

I found these tales and their characters compelling inspite - or maybe even because - of their extreme situations, and had to finish each tale even when my heart or mind was telling me to walk away. Maxim builds on his own experiences to deliver a transformative work that is a must read for any would-be eroticists looking to build their craft.

An absolute and well-deserved 5 star read!

Ashen