Rating: 
Summary: Julie Hilden has a sexy brain
Review: 3 combines intelligence, wit, and, yes, some nice dirty bits. It's proof that sex doesn't have to be mindless.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely, dark and thoroughly touching
Review: 3 is a novel that captivates the reader as it explores a drak sexuality that everyone knows exists, yet most strive to avoid. The raw passion that Ms. Hilden evokes in her novel is extraordinary. Her capacity to create prose that is so gripping and gorgeous contrasts with what she chooses to present. And what she does present is fascinating, terrfiying, beautiful, sorrowful and intensely addictive. I read this novel by candlelight during the blackout, and only with effort tore myself away for an evening out with friends. Once in the world that 3 created, I didn't want to leave, even as I felt chords of sadness pricked alive by the depth of human experience Ms. Hilden created. This novel is also wickedly naughty and taps into the fantasies that each person can relate to of sexual looseness free from the constructed stigma and real danger society and reality impose.
Ms. Hilden exposes herself by writing lucidly, poetically and crisply about sex and about the unhealthy ties that feed an endless emotional yearning. The vulnerability on display in this novel is brave, deep and unadulterated.
Ms. Hilden's characters are compelling. Both their pleasure and their pain are palpable as Ms. Hilden's deftly woven plot unfolds.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely, dark and thoroughly touching
Review: 3 is a novel that captivates the reader as it explores a drak sexuality that everyone knows exists, yet most strive to avoid. The raw passion that Ms. Hilden evokes in her novel is extraordinary. Her capacity to create prose that is so gripping and gorgeous contrasts with what she chooses to present. And what she does present is fascinating, terrfiying, beautiful, sorrowful and intensely addictive. I read this novel by candlelight during the blackout, and only with effort tore myself away for an evening out with friends. Once in the world that 3 created, I didn't want to leave, even as I felt chords of sadness pricked alive by the depth of human experience Ms. Hilden created. This novel is also wickedly naughty and taps into the fantasies that each person can relate to of sexual looseness free from the constructed stigma and real danger society and reality impose.
Ms. Hilden exposes herself by writing lucidly, poetically and crisply about sex and about the unhealthy ties that feed an endless emotional yearning. The vulnerability on display in this novel is brave, deep and unadulterated.
Ms. Hilden's characters are compelling. Both their pleasure and their pain are palpable as Ms. Hilden's deftly woven plot unfolds.
Rating: 
Summary: Three
Review: A riveting and suspenseful tale of sexual experimentation, female sensuality, and also about the wider trials of life. The author does a skillful job with Maya's first person narration. The only thing I found lacking was greater depth with the other characters as to their actions and motivations. As a reader, Maya is the only person who comes across in full dimension. With the possible exception of Ilan, everyone else seems superficial and cursory. Otherwise, in terms of plot and style, a fine novel.
Rating:
Summary: Three
Review: A riveting and suspenseful tale of sexual experimentation, female sensuality, and also about the wider trials of life. The author does a skillful job with Maya's first person narration. The only thing I found lacking was greater depth with the other characters as to their actions and motivations. As a reader, Maya is the only person who comes across in full dimension. With the possible exception of Ilan, everyone else seems superficial and cursory. Otherwise, in terms of plot and style, a fine novel.
Rating:
Summary: Success
Review: Anyone who knows anything about erotica knows that it is at least, in abundance. Simple smut is readily available and punchy porn, even more so. There are scads of nicely written erotic short stories, but this is something more difficult to find. Julie Hilden's 3 is beautifully written and more than just an erotic novel. It is literature; lyrical, delicate, sensual and haunting. It is, from the start, impossible to put down.According to 3's back cover, it is a modern day Story of O. This isn't the first time that a piece of erotica has used this tag, but in Maya there is the same selfless love and willingness to give up anything as her offering. And so, like O, Hilden's Maya knows love through sacrifice, submission and degradation. As a result of the intense love she feels for Ilan, she agrees to accept his infidelity, as long as she is always there. The result of this bargain is a series of one time encounters with various women, all of whom physically resemble Maya. As Maya realizes her own power, Ilan is threatened and that is when their sexual adventures take a frightening turn. Even as she is disgusted with herself she is aroused. This is where the similarities with O end and why 3 is compelling as a modern day Story of O. It is the road O might have taken if it had been written today. 3 is not the story of a woman being whipped and beaten to tears. Nor is it the story of a woman having her body used by the nameless and faceless at the whim of her lover. There is no Chateau in Hilden's tale. Maya's torment is is self imposed. She is never held captive but by her own heart. She knows that she can leave, but what would life be without Ilan? And in that question lies Maya's fear and this story. The reader who picks up this book simply to re-live the Story of O with all of the sadomasochistic play may be disappointed. But let me make it clear that 3 is anything but disappointing. Hilden's Maya feels real and the pain and confusion of her journey, genuine. 3 isn't just thrilling, invigorating and erotic, it's empowering. It is a success.
Rating: 
Summary: Very interesting read
Review: Definitely twisted and dark, but also sexy. Not for the conservative. Gives you an inside look at abusive relationships and the twisted sexuality that often encompasses these relationships.
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting read
Review: Definitely twisted and dark, but also sexy. Not for the conservative. Gives you an inside look at abusive relationships and the twisted sexuality that often encompasses these relationships.
Rating:
Summary: A Work of Genius
Review: Easily the best book of the summer. 3 is the story of a relationship gone awry. Maya meets Ilan in college. They fall into a love that is both beautiful and terrifying and later marry. But the marriage is predicated on a bargain: Ilan will not give up other women, and Maya agrees to the infidelity as long as she is present. 3 then dissects the ramifications of this love. It is the story of what we will cede to another, what we will risk, and what we put ourselves through to find out who we really are. The beauty of 3 is that it's a clean story with complex ramifications. Where so much modern fiction takes some convoluted (even tortuous) plot and deals with it superficially, Hilden takes a fundamental matter and unearths its every element. And this, will keep your heart beating fast, and your fingers turning pages late into the night. I should say something about Hilden's writing as well. Hilden makes you feel what the characters feel. You are no longer reading about the characters, you are there with them, experiencing their lives with them, seeing the world as they do. For instance, there's a surgery scene in the book that when I read it I felt the same queasiness as if the surgery had happened to me. Hilden's powerful, even fearsome, writing will stay with you. So much so that the book becomes a part of your own past. At once shocking and subtle, 3 is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Totally hot!
Review: I found this book to be a fast and sexy read -- I sped through it in one sitting and wanted more....Julie Hlden is an author who knows how to please a reader!
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