The Yearning, by Kate Belle, is being marketed as New Adult and age-wise I am a long way from New Adult! But I have been curious about Kate’s new novel. Then I saw the cover (yet another mesmerizing design from Simon & Schuster) and I decided to give this book a shot.
Since erotic fiction hit mainstream publishing lists, I have been wondering if the genre is for me, trying several books to see what all the fuss is about. I can be a bit of a fuddy duddy, and with my reading-for-pleasure time in short supply these days, erotic fiction is not on the top of my list. What I noticed most was that the ‘mechanics’ of the sex scenes tended to add a clunkiness and overshadow the plot (when there is one!)
My first comment about The Yearning is this…
It’s a shame a novel like this has to be categorized (largely so a bookseller knows where to plonk it on a shelf—cyber or real). It’s a shame because there will be people who’ll have their perception skewed as a result of a generic genre label and miss out on a wonderful reading experience.
I loved everything about this story: the writing is evocative, the storyline compelling, the biblical references intriguing. The Yearning is a truly unique and superbly crafted novel and while the author leaves nothing to the imagination, she handles the most intimate scenes deftly, delivering a soft, flowing, sensual (and sensory) journey of a teenage girl’s sexual awakening. I initially worried about the basic premise (blurb)—small town schoolgirl and older, unconventional male teacher in the free and easy seventies. I also thought I knew how the story would pan out. (Pretty predictable stuff this erotic fiction, you know?)
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! And all I can say (after scraping the egg off my face) is Wow! Wow! Wow!
Wow to the clever, clever plot that, despite the small format paperback of only 300-odd pages, packs a punch in so many ways. Wow to the hauntingly beautiful prose and description that will transport you to a different time and place (and if you are my age, to a few fond memories of that fun-loving decade). Wow to the complex characters, the divine descriptions of small town life, and the delicious metaphors that bring this story to life. The Yearning is a fully dimensional read with great characterisations, beautiful prose, a proper narrative arc and a well-developed theme. The erotic elements are integral and necessary to the story—hence the label!
So… not into erotic fiction? I didn’t think I was either. Still not sure I am. I just know I loved The Yearning and I am so glad I took the genre plunge.
If you don’t want to be like me—a fuddy-duddy—and should you choose to lose your erotic genre virginity and see what all the fuss is about, this is the book—although I fear this novel may have ruined me for any other!
(I have to disclose that Kate Belle and I share the same publisher and I’m very glad. If not for that I may have missed out on reading this novel, which would’ve been a shame because it is absolutely beautiful—from the cover until the very last page.)
The Yearning has left me with a craving, so I look forward to more from Kate Belle.
Need more? Check this article out – written by Kate Belle.
Buy the book. Available in print om May 1. But you can download it now to your e-reader. Buy links.