Gimme all the kinky married couples! // Crosstown Crush by Cara McKenna

Happy Thursday, guys! 

I hope everything is going well on your end. I just realized that I missed two weeks of posting; I had a family emergency the first week and misread the calendar the second (which was still the stupidest thing that’s happened to me by far),

but ANYWAY, I’m back!

And I’m happy to report that my reading slump is no more. I’m finally making a dent in my ARCs list. Hopefully this reading streak sticks.

For today, I'm reviewing a book I finished recently that featured a married couple! If you missed it, I did a rec list of some of my favourite ‘married romance’ here.

CROSSTOWN CRUSH 

by Cara McKenna

Series: Sins in the City #1
Genres: Erotic
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: February 1st 2015
Source: Library copy
Rating: ★★★★

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I’m a huge fan of Cara McKenna’s works. Her characters are usually so flawed and complex, and I love how she writes emotions and relationship developments. I’ve always wanted to read Crosstown Crush but the e-book price is ridiculous ($11, really?), so when a library copy was available, I quickly jumped on it.

Crosstown Crush is about a married couple, Samira and Mike. On paper they’re your ordinary couple: Mike’s a detective and Sam’s an actuary, and they have a pretty good marriage. Except that Mike has a kink called cuckolding; so once or twice a month, Sam comes home late and pretends that she’s been out with some random guy and being super obvious about it, and Mike ‘catches’ her and questions her about it. Cue the do where Sam tells Mike everything she’s done with the imaginary dude and Mike proves that he’s still the alpha in bed. Which sounds ridiculous when I put it this way (pretend cheating???) but trust me, it totally works in the book. Then the couple decided to up the level on their game by actually inviting a guy into their bed, and the rest is history.  

Nick called me a weirdo for liking this so much, LOL.

What I really love about the whole set-up is how open Mike and Samira are with each other in regards to their thoughts and feelings. They talk a lot to each other, especially after starting a sexual relationship with the new guy, Bern, because they want to make sure that everyone’s on the same page. I love that Sam is so attuned to Mike’s wants and needs, and that she finds something for herself in the whole thing as she indulges Mike’s fetish. I actually have never heard of this kink before; cuckolding has a lot to do with masochistic pleasure a man finds in humiliation (so not my kink), in this case being 'forced' to watch his wife being unfaithful. It was kind of interesting to read from Mike's POV and see what he got from the whole set-up. I also love Sam's friendship/relationship with Bern. They have a lot of chemistry, and they genuinely like each other. Speaking of Bern, I love him. He’s such a lovable guy. He’s mature, sweet, and knows what he wants, and he has an exhibitionist streak that works well with the arrangement with Mike and Sam. 

As I read, I wondered how the story would end because I reckoned feelings would get in a way anyhow and lines would get blurred. When the conflict in the end happened, I think it was handled and resolved well, and it showed how strong Mike and Sam’s foundation was, and how clear and honest communication is really the key to every thriving relationship. I also love the HFN.

Overall, this is a very satisfying and emotional read. It's probably not for everyone because of the kink, but if you feel like trying something new, I'd totally recommend it!

I also recommend checking out Cara's other titles, they're all super sexy:

Willing Victim 

- underground fighter hero, prickly heroine (and I love her), CW: rape roleplay

After Hours 

- workplace romance, H/h work in a psych hospital, BDSM-ish

Have you ever read any of these titles?

Let me know in the comments below!