Here's the thing

This might not be as anonymous as I want it to be, but I don't think there's any way to say what I want to say without it being obvious who I'm talking about. Let's just pretend the veil of privacy has remained drawn because I have to say this.

I started reading a book, and I fully expect to enjoy it because it's by an author I have very much enjoyed before. This author has a particular erotic kink... she likes her women to be hair-free 'down there.' (It's a pg-13 blog, forgive me.) In fact, she often makes a point of explaining how much better nookie is for the woman when there's no hair to get in the way of sensation.

And I'm all for it.

I like erotica, I'm happy to explore kink, even in its mildest form, which waxing is. But the thing is, this particular heroine is part animal, it's a paranormal book. But, this particular author likes her women to achieve their hair-free status via waxing.

So, it's page 25 or so, and the hero and heroine are getting it on, and the magical kitty is revealed. The waxed magical kitty. And I'm just thrown right out of the story. I mean, what animal do you know that will stand still for its hair to be ripped out from the root? It's tough enough to get human-beings to do that, but human-animal hybrids that are supposedly more in touch with their animal side? Human-animal hybrids that are all about their instincts, who switch themselves in and out of fur suits all day long?

You want me to believe that this chick gets her kitty waxed? This heroine who isn't even sexually active has chosen to have hot wax smeared over the most intimate part of her body and have her bits ripped free of naturally occurring hair? Does. Not. Compute.

It's clearly an instance of the author exerting her personal preferences over what's natural for the character. I see this so rarely nowadays that I am shocked when it occurs. Where was the editor, the agent, the critique partners? Why didn't her self-editor kick in?

I want to finish the book, because I'm sure I'll be drawn in eventually, but this whole incident has thrown me so far out of it that I can't even get engaged. Maybe after I finish the other books I'm reading I'll see if I can recapture my willing suspension of disbelief. I don't have high hopes though.




(The Now Reading section has been left out of this post for obvious reasons.)