The Siren Review

Notorious Nora Sutherlin is famous for her delicious works of erotica, each one more popular with readers than the last. But her latest manuscript is different—more serious, more personal—and she's sure it'll be her breakout book...if it ever sees the light of day.

Zachary Easton holds Nora's fate in his well-manicured hands. The demanding British editor agrees to handle the book on one condition: he wants complete control. Nora must rewrite the entire novel to his exacting standards—in six weeks—or it's no deal.

Nora's grueling writing sessions with Zach are draining…and shockingly arousing. And a dangerous former lover has her wondering which is more torturous—staying away from him...or returning to his bed?

Nora thought she knew everything about being pushed to your limits. But in a world where passion is pain, nothing is ever that simple.
Forgive me if this sounds like the start of a bad joke but what do you get when you cross a teenage virgin, a priest, and a stuffy British guy with a dominatrix? Why, The Siren by Tiffany Reisz of course!  I think it goes without saying that this is a VERY adult book and so please proceed with caution.  If that’s not your thing, then I would suggest you avert your eyes now.

I don’t know why I’m surprised but the thing that stands out most for me about The Siren is how exceptionally well written it is.  Nora is smart and quick witted, and I often laughed out loud at her flirtatious comments. She’s admirable in the sense that she is confident about her sexuality and isn’t afraid of going out there and getting what she wants.  Her life is somewhat complicated however by three men in particular – Wesley (her teenage friend and part time lodger), Zach (her new editor who hasn’t quite signed on until Nora proves herself as a writer) and Soren, a man who she has a sordid history with.  There were a lot of different relationship dynamics explored in this book and I have to say that I really enjoyed that, especially Nora’s relationship with Wesley.

I had no real problems with Zach or Wesley but I did not like Soren at first.  Nora’s relationship with him seemed creepy and disturbed but the more I read, the more I changed my opinion and warmed to him, even if only a little.  I really like when an author can make you change your mind about a character and I look forward to more of that with the next book.  I want to see if Soren can truly win me over.

I will say that some of the more explicit content made for uncomfortable reading at times and I don’t agree with the beatings – I’m sorry but to me, it’s not love when someone is crying in pain and the one inflicting pain is getting pleasure out of it but perhaps I don’t understand the world that these people are part of and I accept that. It doesn’t mean that I’m not intrigued by their story however as I want to understand what drives them, like they’re a puzzle I need to figure out.

I can see now why someone said that the Fifty Shades series was tame in comparison but what I did like about that series was there was a love story at the heart of it and whilst it might have a bit of kinkyfuckery, it didn’t cross any major lines, it was just sexy.  The Siren arguably crosses lines and perhaps even draws some new ones but make no mistake, it WILL draw you in and not let you go.  This is definitely a DIFFERENT kind of love story and one that I’m still figuring out.

Despite some reservations, I did enjoy the book and I definitely want to read the rest of the series.  I’m uber impressed with the writing and it makes me want to check out all of Tiffany’s other books immediately.

The Siren was published on 31st July, 2012 in the US and 1st June, 2012 in the UK.  Currently on Amazon UK, you can buy a digital version of The Siren for just 20p and there is a prequel entitled Little Red Riding Crop that is free at present.  To find out more about Tiffany Reisz, please click here to visit her website.