Exposure (#5 Curio Vignettes) by Cara McKenna (Exotica)

Blurb from Goodreads.com
This is the fifth title in the Curio Vignettes series, follow-up stories to the novel Curio.

Love can drive a normal man to extraordinary feats—inspire him to scale a mountain, swim an ocean, brave a raging fire.

Didier Pedra wouldn’t consider himself a normal man, but an unexpected romance has changed him nonetheless. A severe agoraphobe, he left his flat for the first time in years to prove himself worthy of the woman he loves. A long-enabled prostitute, he’s now given up the clients who’ve warmed his bed, padded his bank account and coddled his disorder, ensuring he need never venture outside the safety of his home.

For Caroly, he’s taken the ultimate leap of faith—boarded a train to travel farther than he has in half a lifetime, so they can celebrate the start of their future together with a trip to Provence. There are no gains without struggle, and this love is a prize worth fighting for.

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Exposure: 5 (Curio Vignettes)

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OMG, I love Didier!!!! Yes he was a Parisian male prostitute, agoraphobic and a total pampered pet. This is how he was when we first met him in the original story, Curio but who would have thought that such a man could become the hero of a whole series of short stories? As Caroly states "You're the bravest man I know." At the end of the original story, Didier is about to lose Caroly as a client and realizes that he wants her as more than a client and takes his first steps outside in years to show her how much she means to him. It's such a simple thing but it's huge for him and as a reader, it leaves you all a flutter, yep super romantic. As the vignettes have come about, each one has been building upon those same simple steps. We get to follow along as Didier and Caroly take the first steps from prostitute and client to boyfriend and girlfriend. We get to eavesdrop on how best to plan the simple act of telling the other person that you love them and hoping that they won't laugh at you or reject your statement. We also get to see them make plans for the future and talk about all the things that should be talked about when a relationship is new. Someone smarter than me once said that the key to a good relationship is in the small details and this is brought home in blazing clarity in the Curio vignettes. Didier and Caroly know they have something special and will do whatever it takes to turn that small spark into a blazing fire that will last a lifetime. As stated above, love can drive a normal man to extaordinary feats and Didier has decided that if he wants a future with Caroly, he needs to change. Each vignette is a major milestone for Didier and Caroly but this one is by far the biggest.

In this vignette, Didier and Caroly decide to take a vacation. Now knowing that Didier is agoraphobic, you can imagine how huge this is. Didier is doing this to prove to himself that he is bigger than his disorder and to prove he can have a normal life with Caroly. Caroly has also decided to move in with Didier but she also has a surprise up her sleeve. She knows Didier's deepest, darkest desire and she has made plans to make it come true.

Cara McKenna is an artist at writing unconventional relationships and making them some of the most romantic things I've ever read. If someone said that I want you to read a story about a prostitute who's a pampered pooch, agoraphobic and gets lost in fixing watches. Who falls in love with one of his clients, oh and it's going to be the most romantic thing you've read to date. I'd probably have laughed, rolled my eyes, patted their arm in reassurance but ultimately would likely have passed on it. It would have been my biggest mistake.

Even though this is considered Exotica, I personally wouldn't place it in that category. Yes, it's steamy but I would say it's more in the CR category. I have loved, laughed, sighed heavily with dreamy wanting, cringed while Didier got lost, reveled in his stories, got frustrated along with Caroly, had my heart soar with the pigeons and got hot and bothered all at the same time. I'm going to miss these characters, as I'm pretty sure this was the last vignette but I know they are going to have a bright future. I just hope maybe in a few years Cara McKenna will write a short follow up story with their wedding and maybe their kids *grin and wink with my fingers crossed*.

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5 out of 5 books!