Review: Requisite Vices by Miranda Veil

Print Length: 412 pages

Publisher: Miranda Veil (October 31, 2015)

From Goodreads.com:  Fleeing from a tumultuous past in NYC, budding journalist Cassandra Roman finds herself in a laid-back town on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, where a twist of fate drowns her in the charms of prominent, upcoming author, Alexander Delacroix. 

With honeyed words and a firm hand, he sparks the dark, deep-seated fantasies that Cass tries so hard to control. Beneath his gaze, she’s laid bare, with the demons of her past ripping away a false façade as she struggles to fabricate her perfect life. 

Fighting against the tortures of her own mind, will Cassandra be able to find peace and solace to pursue the normal life she so badly desires? Or will she cave to her demons, and fall into the impassioned insanity held by Alexander Delacroix? 

Requisite Vices is an erotica unlike many others. It touches on the deep, dark desires of sex, addiction, obsession, and betrayal that will have you questioning what is real, and what is fantasy. 

Requisite Vices contains LGBT, BDSM, and other explicit activities. It is intended for mature audiences only. 

This is a debut novel; the first of two. It's sequel is due to be released Summer of 2016.

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My Rating:  stars out of 5

Right off the bat, I have to admit that I really did not care for Riley at all. I found myself loathing her passive aggressive attitude towards Cass, and the way she oftentimes treated Cass as though she were her child instead of her friend (for example getting worried when Cass is gone for two hours when Cass had told her she would be gone for at least two hours), or when she told Cass "We will talk about this more when we get home" - like Cass was an errant child in need of scolding. It was a bunch of little things that took place over the course of the story that in all made me wish Riley would just shut up and let Cass live her life. 

But lets face it - Riley isn't a main character in the same sense that Cassandra is. And I adored Cassandra. Even when I wanted to dislike her (like when she doesn't hear from a guy for two months, but still drops everything to be with him); however she was just such a perfectly written (and flawed) character that it was easy to overlook the smaller details that otherwise would have been a turn off for myself personally. This is a character with deep emotional scars and a past that you only begin to scratch the surface of, and I felt that the author did an amazing job weaving Cassandra into this character who was still trying to figure out how to love herself while at the same time also trying to balance her personal and professional life. 

In fact, while we are on the subject of the author, I feel like Cassandra wasn't the only thing that she brought to life. Her writing style draws you in, settling you comfortably in the ever busy city of New Orleans - a place that through her writing alone you can see, smell, hear and taste. Even if you have never had the pleasure of visiting the area in person, Miranda Veil takes you there. There is an attention to detail (even to the smallest ones), that she possesses that I have not seen from very many other authors. 

Although the ending is a cliffhanger - and the way it was done left me feeling a strong desire to smack a character or two, I absolutely cannot wait for the second installment of this story! 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. 

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Requisite Vices is available from Amazon.com