A warning! This New Adult book is definitely leaning much more toward Adult than Young Adult!
Another warning! The title is a misnomer. While the book is quite lengthy, it only contains nineteen first times, not fifty. I wonder if the title was chosen because of the use of the word "fifty" in both it and the oh-so-infamous Fifty Shades trilogy?
I read this short story collection and blushed a number of times. I haven't actually read any true steamy graphic Adult romance books, so I can't say for sure how it measures up, but there's not much detail left out of these stories. There is, however, enough story to balance the steam, so that's a positive. Even though the stories are short, the characters are strong. I didn't feel like any of them were outrageously 2D or caricaturistic. (I think I just made up that word. It's ok- I work in a library.) So while I did do some blushing, I was able to skim a few extra-steamy paragraphs and still keep up with the story.
There is also definite variety here! There was one story where the characters are quite young, but they are newlywed before they have their "first time." There are other stories where the characters are in college- the target New Adult audience. There's one where the characters are fresh out of a tour of duty with the Army, which was cool. With the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, more and more teens see the Armed Forces as a good career choice (and I agree), and this story reveals a little of how a tour of duty will change and mature a person. There's also two (maybe three?) homosexual stories to satisfy that crowd.
I don't know that I'd personally choose another book like this one, but I can see a definite audience out there for it. I would recommend this to much older teens or very young adults. Oh, and J. Lynn/Jennifer L. Armentrout did a really good job arranging the stories. Nothing felt repetitious.
*I received a copy of Fifty First Times from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review. Thank you!
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