The premise of THE RED DIARY is the big reason why I loved this book. Lauren Ash is rich and often seen as prim and proper because of that. However, her shy nature is nicely juxtaposed by this sensual habit she has of recording her sexual fantasies in a small red book. The notebook is meant for her eyes only and allows herself to free her body and mind of decorum.

When she hires a painter named Nick Armstrong to redo her house, Nick stumbles upon the red diary and curious, he reads it. Nick cannot believe that the prim and proper Lauren Ash documents her fantasies, but he also cannot deny the fact that it has intrigued him.

Both secretive and seductive, THE RED DIARY is a smartly written story by author Toni Blake. Blake has a huge challenge on her hands with writing this story. She has to have the hero find the book and read it without making him look too sneaky or a pervert. I thought Blake found a balance that works well with the story. Nick reading her diary did not feel invasive but instead thrilling and seductive. Accomplishing that should not have been such an easy task, but Blake manages it with ease. That's true talent in a writer.

The only thing that bothered me a little was Nick's revenge. Lauren and Nick's family have a past and I felt that sometimes Nick focused too much on gaining revenge that it made him seem a little malicious. If those parts were placed a little more sparsely, then I think I would have fallen in love with him easier.

However, that is not to say that Blake pens an alarmingly hot book for Lauren and Nick. The fantasies Lauren writes in her diary are inventive and passionate and that only paves a hot streak for Lauren and Nick to follow in reality. Blake writes some of the hottest sex scenes I've ever read and THE RED DIARY is no exception!

For a smartly written romance that is uninhibited by boundaries, try THE RED DIARY! You won't be disappointed!