Book Review: Gilded Lily by Vivian Winslow

Gilded Lily by Vivian Winslow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

** I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. **

Gilded Lily is the first book in the Lily Trilogy. The story begins with heiress Lily Baron finding her fiancé and twin sister in bed together. With little family support, Lily decides to do what any woman in this situation should do: go on the honeymoon ALONE. Before leaving Lily goes out with her best friend, Vi. On their night out, the two run into Vi’s friend-with-benefits, Chad as well as his friend Todd. Lily decides to give Todd a try after a few drinks but then backs out. She then heads on her solo honeymoon.

In Rio, where Lily has always wanted to visit, she has an encounter with a masseuse, Marcelo. After Marcelo brings her to an orgasm, Lily books more sessions with him. When she realizes that she would never get more from Marcelo, she allows herself to form a relationship with a Brazillionaire, Gustev. Lily had a brief encounter with Gustev when she first arrived in Rio. She learns a lot about Gustev, including that he is married. At first she resists him, but then she allows herself to spend 2 days with him, which includes sexual encounters. I won’t give away the ending of the book.

Now, I wavered back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this book. It is a novella, therefore I finished it in no time once I began reading it. I would have liked the characters to be more developed as well as the storylines being more developed to make for a longer read. I also could not get past the names for the sexual body parts. I’m more of a straightforward person and prefer for authors to use the common words. I also had a huge problem with Lily and and Gustev’s relationship. Earlier in the book, she was upset over her fiancé cheating on her and refused to look past the infidelity. She also refused to speak to her sister because she was the “other woman”. However, she did exactly the same thing with Gustev. I ended up giving this book 4 stars because as a novella and with the storylines being as they are, it is a good short read that is enjoyable. I would have been able to give it 5 stars had the above things been different (minus the Lily/Gustev storyline. That had no bearing on the rating).

I will be continuing the series.


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