Full Exposure takes us into the heart of Mardi Gras with all of its glitter and pageantry. Two lovers find romance unexpectedly, but is what they have real enough to last?
Josie Parks and Spencer Pham meet in a New Orleans urgent care center and strike up a banter-filled conversation after she whacks him in the head by mistake after trying to grab some Mardi Gras beads. Josie is a boudoir photographer who’s without a gig after her client cancels on her; she decides not to get a refund for her trip and heads into town hoping to find inspiration. Spencer is in town making a documentary about his family; they were the first Vietnamese Krewe members in the history of New Orleans. Hoping to break out of their old corporate hellholes, Spencer and Josie make a deal: Josie will help Spencer with his documentary if he’ll show her around town. Love follows, but what happens when Josie has to go back to Washington D.C.?
This is a warm, sweet contemporary that’s touched with the sweetness of New Orleans and the golden glow of possible romance. Josie is good at her job but wants to be better, wants to get to make a different kind of art. Spencer has rejected a whole corporate ethos to be where he is now. They are both likable, they both adore their families - Spencer’s relationship with his sister and mom is particularly touching.
The romance makes sense, builds slowly and utterly captivates the reader by the time it’s over. There’s a sense of beauty to their bonding and how they figure out how to build a future together.
New Orleans springs to life under Lam’s pen – there’s a great sense of the city and how it ticks in the writing and I appreciated how much detail goes into each description of Mardi Gras and the world beyond it.
It’s a book that absolutely knows how to pop to life with attitude and spirit. Full Exposure is a great little romance, and one of the best reads of early spring.
Buy it at: Amazon
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Sensuality: Warm
Publication Date: 02/2023
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