Book Review - The Sex Education of M.E. by L.B. Dunbar • Ana's Attic Book Blog

The Sex Education of M.E. by L.B. Dunbar

Contemporary Romance, Older couple, standalone.

I’m forty, flabby, and frustrated. Don’t get me wrong, I have a good home, a decent job, and great children. I had a loving marriage for twenty years where we had our ups and downs. It wasn’t perfect; but it wasn’t awful. Then he died.

After the grief took its course, and the reality of my life set in, I grew frustrated. It wasn’t the bills or the struggle to keep my interest in my work. It was life without a man – the only man I’d been with for twenty years. And before you go all feminist on me, it isn’t that I can’t be an independent woman, but there are certain areas where a man is necessary.

You need a fuck buddy, my friend said.
I didn’t even know what that meant.
Is it friends with benefits?, I asked.
Better, you don’t even have to be friends, she offered.

Boy, did I need an education in the modern workings of dating, and sex.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A coming-of-an-older-age novel.
Something new from L.B. Dunbar — a stand alone!

As a woman in my forties with a 19 year old kid, I just can’t read about teenagers having sex that much anymore. I love books with older couples. Widowed, divorced, or just career minded, I love “old love”. I love it even more when there are kids and families involved. Guess what? We still fuck! We still crave and need love! Most of my reading friends are in their 30s and 40s, many are single, and they want to read about women they can relate to. In fact, because they are hard to find, I have actually started to write a few books with older characters, but alas, I’m not a novelist, so while I have the stories in my head, I can’t seem to write them. I’m so glad Ms. Dunbar did!

The Sex Education of M.E. by LB Dunbar hit the spot in all ways. The couple are both in their early 40s and there are some older kids involved. I don’t want to give too much away, because you don’t find out a lot till later in the book, especially about the hero.

“You’re forty-two years old. You’re still young, beautiful, and vibrant. You have life in you. Live it. Take charge. Take what you want.”

Mary Elizabeth (Emme) is the widowed mom of two girls. After being married for 20 years and losing her husband over a year ago, Emme needs sex. BOB (Battery operated boyfriend) doesn’t do it for her, she wants a real live man. But after 20 years of only one man seeing her naked, and having 2 babies change her body, she isn’t all fired up to put herself out there.

“Whoever said forty was the new twenty clearly didn’t live in my body. It was curvy, but not in the seductive, luscious, twenty-something way. There were no toned abs and sculpted thighs on my body. These were the lumps and bumps of a woman who’d bore children, nursed them until her breasts sagged, and carried them until her back spread. Each child added pounds, and each decade refused to remove them.”

Emme had some major insecurities. I can so relate to her because I am exactly the same, if not worse. But hearing it come from someone else did get to be a little much at times, I really wanted her to have a little more confidence and ‘chutzpah’ and go after what she wanted. A guy my age recently told me that it doesn’t matter how much extra weight you carry, it is all about the confidence, and there is nothing sexier than a confident woman. (He said this while giving me shit about how down on myself I am).

Merek was HOT. It’s so unfair that guys can get hotter as they age! I love a silver fox! My husband still has the body of a 25 year old and he’s in his 50s. (Fucker.) Merek has been hurt in the past, so he has not committed in 20 years, he just slept with random younger women, so of course Emme is wary. Plus, he shares very little about himself, and initiates a ‘friends with benefits’ type relationship. But Emme really isn’t cut out for that, as much as she wants the D.

“Are you wet for me, dirty girl?”

Despite the age, there is plenty of hot sex, but it never overwhelms the story. Also, I’m not really sure why, but it took me a few days to read The Sex Education of M.E.. I thought it was much longer than it was. While the story didn’t drag, it didn’t quite deliver the ‘I can’t put it down’ desperation to read. Still, I very much enjoyed it, and will totally read more, especially about Gia, the divorced BFF with large hips who acted like a teenager. I loved her. Plus, I need to find out about Marshall!

Likes:

Older couple.
Kids.
Very sexy.
Dirty innuendos.
Such relatable characters.
Emme’s BFF.
She is a romance reader, and let that taint how she thought things should go down.
Emma’s late husband was not made out to be the most wonderful man ever, in fact, he was a bit of a douche, again, great realism.
The text flirting.
Set up for two more books; one about his brother, one about Gia.

Dislikes:

She seemed a bit too naive for a woman with teenage daughters and who deals with college students daily (who doesn’t know what a fuck buddy is?)
Wish there was an epilogue.
Too much angst an miscommunication, I thought they’d be a little more mature. I got tired of Emme assuming the worst (she is so like me!)

The Down & Dirty:

I absolutely LOVE the concept of The Sex Education of M.E.. Emme was one of the most relatable characters ever, but her lack of self confidence and always assuming the worst caused a lot of angst that I think was a bit too much. As sexy as Merek was, his secrets pissed me off. But all-in-all, this was an amazing intro to LB Dunbar’s work. I like her writing style and I am hoping to get more about side characters. Don’t get me wrong, I actually loved Emme’s lack of self esteem, it’s what made her so relatable, but sometimes it was just a bit too much.

Sadly, it’s so rare to get a story about adults getting a second chance at love and life. With 50%+ of marriages ending in divorce, it’s great to be able to read about people who are older, more mature, with tons more baggage and history finding their way to love. I am hoping that The Sex Education of M.E. is the beginning of a new trend of books featuring older characters, and I am hoping that LB writes more in this world.

Rating: 4.25 Story, 4.25 Heat

PS: How cool was this?

Purchase The Sex Education of M.E. by L.B. Dunbar

Amazon

L.B. Dunbar Bio:

I’d love to say I’ve written for 10,000 hours, and that makes me a pro. But I can’t say that. What I can say is I had a story in my head that wouldn’t go away. I thought typing it in my computer would be the end of things, but it only led to another story and another. I love reading, so characters in my head isn’t something new. What is new is my creation of them. Hope you enjoy my favorites as much as I do. Happy reading!

Author Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lbdunbarauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lbdunbarwrites
Web: http://www.lbdunbar.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2c3j3YT
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8195738.L_B_Dunbar