I have been super skeptical of MC books, worried that the Alpha grunting of it all would just turn me off. I avoided the genre in its totality for ages, citing that I hated Sons of Anarchy and the roar of a Harley did nothing to jump start any of my engines. However, a few months ago, a trusted friend who knows my reading tastes encouraged me to give them a try. "Start with Maisey Yates", she said. "She's one of the plumb lines. If you like her, then you can wade deeper."

I, being a good friend who trusted that wise friend, tucked this information away in my wee little brain, swearing when a Maisey Yates book next came up for review, I'd choose to be daring and request it. Thus, when STRIP YOU BARE arrived in the options pile, I clicked, not sure what I was going to discover.

Good news to report, folks, I didn't hate it. I'm not about to convert my reading choices, but much like New Adult, I think I'll add MC to my repertoire as a seasoning when I'm in a bit of a rut with my bog standard go to's. This story got me from the very beginning and the crafting of Sarah and Micah as characters is so compelling I was smitten immediately. I love how Sarah needed to find her true self and how she found it in the least likely of places, and, to be honest, it was the same with Micah. Romance novels are at their best when two folks come together and become even more real and full versions of themselves. It's like you know if the two broke up it wouldn't decimate the other person because while they need their partner, they're not dependent upon them. Those are my favorites, and I get the feeling Micah and Sarah are that way.

The new understandings of family Sarah gaines were simply icing on the cake for a fantastic story. I read another good MC story recently, and while I feel confident this is still not a genre I'm going to dive in and swim around in, it's - as I said above - a good one to season my other reading with.

STRIP YOU BARE is recommended for folks who like MC stories (obviously), stories set in New Orleans (of which I feel there are not enough), stories where two adults find both home and happiness in each other in new and exciting ways but are not lost in the new relationship, and books (it must be said) with acrobatic and ambitious sex. Because there is a delightful amount of that.