Review: 'Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist' by Kay Marie (2015)

My name is Skylar Quinn. I just moved to New York with my best friend Bridget, and I have a confession. Well, more than one. Okay, quite a few really. Fine, here goes!
Confession #1: I'm a sex columnist. Hold on, that's not really the confession. You see, I'm sort of a virgin...sex columnist.
Confession #2: I'm kind of in love with Bridget's older brother, Oliver. No, I was. No, I am. Wait, was? Am? Crap.
Confession #3: I've been avoiding Oliver for four years. Or I was until today, because he just moved in. Yes, you read that correctly. He's my new roommate. So that night we've both been pretending never happened, well, we might not be able to keep it a secret any longer. 
And trust me, this is only the beginning.
'Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist' was first released in May 2015 and written by Kay Marie, a pseudonym for best-selling author Kaitlyn Davis who decided to also give the romantic comedy genre a try. I was contacted by the author herself and got quite excited about both the cover and blurb, so looked forward to reviewing the book and be introduced to the author's writing. Unfortunately, it took me a bit longer than expected to finally sit down with the novel (sorry about that, Kaitlyn!) and post my review online, but here we finally are...!
Twenty-two-year-old Skylar Quinn, known to her friends as Skye, is a college graduate who has managed to land herself the kind of job she always wanted: writing her own column. Being upgraded from interning at the book review section to having her very own column at the lifestyle section was something Skylar definitely couldn't say 'no' to. Even though it's the dating/sex column, and Skylar is technically still a virgin... Being in love with her best friend's older brother Ollie for the past couple of years hasn't really done a lot of good for Skylar's love life, but she's determined to make this new column a success. Even though the fact that Ollie suddenly moves in and becomes her new roommate might make getting over and forgetting about him a bit more difficult than Skylar initially planned...
'Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist' is author Kay Marie's first venture into the romantic comedy genre, and coincidentally also my own first experience with her writing, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it! The story's protagonist is twenty-something Skylar, who has just landed a new job as a sex columnist even though she is actually still a virgin. The book focuses on Skylar's job and love life, with big secondary roles for her best friend Bridget and Bridget's brother and Skylar's crush, Ollie. It took some time for me to warm to Skylar (her panic attacks and constant worrying annoyed me a bit in the beginning), but I immediately really liked Bridget and the sparks between Ollie and Skylar were definitely there.
I have to admit the book was just a bit too slow-paced for me. I think it would have been a stronger read if there had been another element added to the storyline to keep the reader entertained, for example something more exciting at Skylar's work and with her new job as a sex columnist, or perhaps a storyline involving Bridget. Right now I did want to continue reading to finish the novel, but I couldn't help but feel something was missing to completely grab my attention. Like some other reviewers I was also quite surprised when I discovered the book finishes on a cliffhanger, this being the first part of a series, which wasn't mentioned anywhere before I picked up the book. I am quite sure I will pick up the second part, though, because I'm curious to see what will happen to Skylar and her friends. Overall, 'Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist' is a light and fun romantic comedy which I quite enjoyed reading and a promising first step into the genre by author Kay Marie!

Rating:8,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.