Friday, July 26, 2013

Buying Thyme by TJ Hamilton


Miranda is a high-class escort at the most prestigious escort agency in Sydney, Australia. Her Madam, Miss Stephanie commands the highest standard from her working girls and has taught Miranda the very best in the art of seducing men. Although it was never the life Miranda imagined for herself, she makes more than a decent living from it and always seems to be in demand from the Agency’s top clients.

American-born Joe Tench is one of Sydney’s most prominent businessman, owning the majority of the nightlife in Sydney, and across the country, but there is a dark side to Joe Tench. He is a regular client of Miranda's, he is also demanding, dominating and hard to handle. Miranda finds herself falling for Joe Tench’s unfamiliar, yet enticing charm. Until she meets Tom Smythe, heir to a wealthy mining company and amongst the top ten wealthiest families in Australia. The two develop a strong friendship after a chance meeting.

Miranda is caught between her feelings for these two very different men until a personal tragedy sees Miranda embark on a journey of discovery... and into a world she finds difficult to escape from.

Type: Not really sure. Romantic Suspense, Dark Romance, maybe?
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

Buying Thyme was a fascinating read and pretty damn unique. The heroine? She's a hooker. Really. A hooker. I mean, how often can you say that?!

Miranda's been a high-class escort for a handful of years and is good at what she does but seems to be at a turning point in her life. It was really interesting being in her head and seeing how she viewed her career and coped with what she did. It's not always pretty and definitely not the lifestyle for me but it was interesting getting a peek into her life. The glamorous parts, the dangers that come with her work, the way emotions can twist and lines can easily be crossed. I found myself liking her more and more as the book went along and really wanting the best for her. She's also brutally frank about her life.
Watching the moonlight across the harbour again, I think this could almost be magical and romantic, if I wasn't his whore and he wasn't a criminal. Or are we more suited to one another than I like to admit? Could I ever be involved with this man more than just his paid for company? I try and stop myself from over analyzing everything and lose myself in his embrace. The music seizes my thoughts, Maroon 5 surprisingly capturing my life in their song. I close my eyes and allow myself to be carried into the moment again.
Now, the men. There are a handful of guys involved. Johns she's had relations with or that have just come into the picture. And they all kept me guessing for most of the book. Especially after a young woman disappears that seems to be connected to one of the men. It was one where I couldn't decide who to root for as her hero or who was even hero material at all. Because some of the things that happen? Not hero quality stuff. More landing on the 'you need to be neutered' side of things. They're what kept me reading though because they're each so different and not quite predictable.

While there were some writing things to get used to--an abundance of !s towards the start and slang due to it's locale of Australia that I just wasn't familiar with-- I soon found myself really getting lost in the world and kept reaching for my ereader instead of doing everything else I really needed to be doing. The book was addictive and I just had to know what happened next. With the men, with Miranda, with the missing woman. I just...needed to turn that next page and couldn't stop myself.

Buying Thyme definitely explores an alternative lifestyle and isn't the book for everyone but if you enjoy reads that push boundaries and aren't your typical romances, like I do, then this is one to try. It's captivating and really made me want to know more about the people involved. The good and the bad about them. There are a lot of secrets being kept on all fronts and I'm really looking forward to seeing how they unfold during the next two installments--especially after some nice little twists in the storyline towards the end.


Have you read Hamilton? What did you think?
Do you enjoy characters with alternate lifestyles or do you like more traditional heroes and heroines?

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