Aussie Book Review: Six Degrees by Honey Brown

“Weaving an intricate web of interconnected characters and their six stories, Six Degrees explores the powerful role sexual attraction plays in everyday life.

Written by Honey Brown, best selling author of several critically acclaimed novels, Six Degrees is Honey’s first exploit into rural romance.

Strong female protagonists lead a cast of characters with lives we recognize and know, crossing paths in intimate, surprising and erotic ways. The ripple effect of one tragic event shapes each character’s experiences, but in the end it is their individual need for connection that truly binds them.

Six Degrees uses the allure, the action or the absence of physical connection to explore these everyday character’s flaws, quirks and strengths. For the first time, Honey has made sexual attraction the intriguing hero of each story.”

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anais Nin

Having been a huge fan of Honey Brown’s psychological suspense novels for some time now, I was genuinely intrigued when I was asked to review this latest by her. A bold deviation from her usually dark suspense-filled novels, Honey explains that “After 50 Shades of Grey and the flood of erotic literature, I was frustrated. So few of the characters hit the mark for me. I was craving some relatable sexuality – female characters that brought their own brand of sex to the table and male characters that were more than the suit and tie they wore”.

Told with an engaging and emotive voice in her signature style, Six Degrees by Honey Brown is an exploration of sexuality and how one seemingly unconnected incident brings this normal, everyday cast of relatable characters together. It is a sensual and provocative read that had me feeling slightly voyeuristic as I was given a deeper insight into the most intimate parts of her characters’ lives.

With simply headed introductions, giving the reader an indication as to what to expect, Honey has separated her story into six journeys, allowing her to explore her characters’ feelings and motives. Infused with an atmosphere of erotically-charged tension and the slow burn and release of their deepest desires, she slowly begins to wrap the reader in an intoxicating and sensual bubble, with realistic characters who are each vulnerable in their own way – from unsure to shy, unfulfilled, bold and lost - arousing sexual desire in all of them as they yearn for fulfilment and seek solace in the only way they know how and, sometimes, in ways they didn’t think were possible.

Her aptitude for placing on paper the depth of human emotion and extracting feelings of desire and sensuality from her reader, is exceptional and in the hands of this astute and skilled author, this is erotica at its best – as decadent and indulgent as the softest of chocolate melting in your mouth.

An intimate read, it’s one with characters who are unapologetic about their sexual preferences and should be read with an open mind. The difference between Honey’s version of erotic romance and everyone else’s is that the storyline and the emotions invoked make it so much more than just about the sex.

For those who enjoy well-written erotic fiction and are looking for an intoxicating escape in the wake of your disappointment with Fifty Shades of Grey, give this one a go. It's pure carnal pleasure without the dominance!

I wish to thank Ventura Press (formerly Jane Curry Publishing) for providing me with a hard copy ARC for review.

About the Author

Honey Brown lives in country Victoria, Australia, with her husband and two teenage children. She began writing in 2000 and is the author of five critically acclaimed novels. Before settling down to raise a family she worked and lived in various remote places throughout Australia. She spent her childhood in Campbell Town, Tasmania, growing up in the convict built “Mill House”.

Better suited to the world beyond the classroom, Honey left school in year 11. Some of the more memorable jobs she recalls over the years include her time working as a barmaid at the infamous Kalgoorlie pubs, caretaking an isolated Trout Farm in the Snowy Mountains, and scallop shucking in tropical North Queensland.

Active and a keen bushwalker, a life-changing blow came for Honey in her late-twenties when she was involved in a farm accident. The resulting spinal injury left her confined to a wheelchair. Honey turned to writing as a way back from the trauma and the depression that followed.

Candid about the tough road back from acquiring a disability, Honey now focuses her energy on writing, traveling with her family and engaging in the promotional side of being a popular novelist.