A Cup Of Sugar by Jenna Byrnes

The Pagan & The Pen

Title:  A Cup Of Sugar

Author:  Jenna Byrnes 

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Publisher:  Noble Romance Publishing

Genre: Contemporary erotica

Length: 28 pgs.

Other:  M/F/Swinging/Wife/spouse-swapping

Pagan & Pagan Elements: None

Reviewed by:  Russ Allen

About The Book: Lisa Porter's been in love with her husband for twelve years. Brian was her high school sweetheart, and their relationship has grown stronger with time. But when Lisa spots their neighbors having sex, she starts fantasizing like never before.

Rod and Kathy Stevens not only live next door, they’ve been the Porters’ best friends for practically their whole lives. Lisa never realized Rod was so well endowed, until she caught a glimpse of him. Now she can’t get the man out of her mind. Will her obsession be the end of normal life as they know it, or the beginning of something new, kinky and wild?

The Review: This is a pleasant and well-written story about two couples, long-time friends, who become sexually involved with each other. There are a few weaknesses and one obvious [if minor] flaw, but overall it is interesting, erotic, enjoyable and satisfying.

The one flaw: when Lisa Porter tells her husband, Brian about seeing their next-door neighbors and friends, Kathy and Ron Stevens having sex on their dining room table, she directs him to “Pause” the football game he is watching, having already made clear that Brian is not taping it, and after hearing Lisa’s news he turns the game back on. But perhaps they have DiVo?

Among the positive elements are the portrayal of the couple’s pre-pubescent teen Tabitha, the playfulness of the banter between Lisa and Brian as they process what she has seen and her evident desire to see [and experience] more. The revelation that Brian and Ron at some time had gay sex is a little startling, but overall there is a positive and healthy aspect to the sexual dimension of both marriages, individually and together. This is especially true in the scene where, the next morning, Brian asserts his primacy in Lisa’s sex life, which may be a key to the successful development of their new relationship with Rod and Kathy.

The description of Lisa and Ron’s sex is sensitive and at the same time arousing.

The rationale that having sex with their friends would enliven both marriages is a little lame, since the real motivation is Lisa’s lust for Ron’s bigger than Brian’s cock. 

There is an inconsistency in the employment and sports interest of Brian and Ron, for their overall characters come across as more educated and sophisticated than might be expected given that information.

The story does raise some questions:

Would a couple move so quickly and easily into swapping sex partners [more accurate than wife swapping]?

Lisa wants to experience being fucked by Ron; Ron and Brian want to get laid by someone other than their wives without getting into trouble. But what is Kathy’s motivation?

Wife swapping carries several pitfalls that lie outside this story, and the reader is obviously given no insight as to how the future will play out. Lisa’s fantasies of threesomes and foursomes, possibly involving gay sex, are just that-fantasies. There is a real challenge to the relationship of these old friends in their new sexual arrangements, and all four will need time to work out how to engage in group, or shared sex, without damaging that basic connection. The rapidity by which the couples’ second sexual episode happens challenges their ability to process what is occurring.

None of the above really detracts from a delightful story of two couples, four friends, who trust and love each other enough to let each into the sex lives of the others, with humorous, caring, and physically satisfying results.

Pagan Elements:  None  

Cover (Rated 1-10): 3-There are several weaknesses in the cover.  The phrase “Naughty Nibble” is not explained [I discovered its meaning on the publisher’s website]. The two couples portrayed on the cover are much younger than those in the story [at first glance I did not even see one of the couples], and, frankly, the two largest figures could be mistaken for two women. While the theme [wife swapping] might be considered as kinky, “Extreme Kink” exaggerates the nature of the sexual content of the story. I might be interested in reading it based on that phrase [and disappointed], but overall the cover suggests more of a teenage love story than one about swinging.

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