My disclaimer for this book is that it is definitely an erotic romance. Anyone interested in reading it should approach it as such and I will review it as one. That being said, as far as erotica goes, this is an excellent book. It had a fantastic balance of kink and romance that kept me reading. The characters are enjoyable and well rounded. There was the right amount of plot to carry the sex scenes. Overall, if you are looking for a sexy read, it would be hard to beat The Naughty Corner.

Technical writer Lola Cook has agreed to take care of her two teenage nephews while their parents are traveling abroad. Up to this point in their life, the twins have led a spoiled existence and have the bratty personalities to prove it. To get them out of her hair, and hopefully teach them some discipline, Lola sends the boys to football camp. However, Coach Gray Barnett isn’t putting up with their disrespectful behavior.

Gray is a divorced father and CEO who started the camp to bond with his own teenage son. The coach is tough and expects discipline from his players; when he doesn’t get it from Harry and William, he decides their sexy aunt Lola will take the punishment for them.

My biggest caveat to the high rating I gave The Naughty Corner is how quickly Gray and Lola jump in to their affair. They meet for the very first time to discuss the boys’ unruly behavior and Gray instantly jumps into telling Lola she will be coming over for a spanking to make up for the nephews’ transgressions. Lola agrees so that the boys will not be kicked out of camp and become even more of an interruption to her busy work schedule. I think that, in real life, if a complete stranger proposed such an outlandish agreement to a woman, she would probably run from the room and file harassment charges. However, as I said, if you approach this book as the erotic story it is, then it is more acceptable for the characters to abruptly come to such an agreement.

Gray and Lola begin sneaking around for illicit trysts that involve some fairly kinky stuff. Gray is in to dominating women and takes great pleasure in spanking, blindfolding, and light bondage. That being said, I greatly appreciate how Haynes managed to include these elements without going over the top. At no point while I was reading did I feel uncomfortable with any of the interactions. While Gray talks like a dominant, he really is mostly concerned in pleasing Lola and making sure she is comfortable. He is actually surprisingly respectful of her during all of their interactions. While this book really isn’t for those who prefer their sex scenes more sweet than sexy, and prefer their characters to have vanilla sex, there is nothing overtly taboo. I actually appreciated that so much since some of Haynes’ other books have been off-putting to me because of some of the more risqué elements. All of the sexual scenes in this book are between just Gray and Lola and focus more on their chemistry than pure kink.

I really enjoyed both leads and felt that the characters had been fully fleshed out. During the course of the book, Lola is involved in the eleventh hour of a project for work, which takes much of her attention. We get to hear about her work, but not so much that it becomes dry or boring. I also really liked Lola’s relationship with her friend Charlotte, who is a counselor. They discussed Lola’s feelings toward Gray but it never came off in that cheesy, Sex and the City, gab-over-martinis-and-ice-cream way that happens all too often in romance novels. Gray is struggling to rebuild his relationship with his son despite his ex-wife’s constant attempts to tear it down. He seems to be mature and responsible when dealing with his son and his job, and I loved how playful he could be with Lola. Although the book focuses more on the sexual encounters than pure romance, I think that Lola and Gray’s relationship is believable and sweet. They both had things to overcome and it wasn’t always easy for them, but you really rooted for them to fall in love. I also had to appreciate how Lola had her insecurities and doubts about getting into a relationship with Gray, which made sense considering her failed married, but at no point did she come off as whiny or weak.

There is a secondary plot with some disturbing things happening with Lola. It is not the real focus of the book, but it was enough to add interest to the overall story. It also fit well with the characters that are involved and, while the resolution could have been a little better, was a satisfying storyline.

Both leads are strong and independent, their romance develops nicely from their original no-strings agreement, and the sex scenes are plentiful without being overly long or offensive. Plus, I really loved Gray’s feelings for Lola and how he manages to turn their initial punishment-based arrangement around on her and into more. I highly recommend The Naughty Corner for anyone in the mood for a really steamy book that plays with domination without going into Fifty Shades of Grey – clone mode.