New Kirkus Reviews review boosts sex-positive thriller romance Clitapalooza: Her flower blooms power by Billie Best
“A cheeky exploration of sex and feminism…” – Kirkus Reviews
Widowspeak Publishing is pleased to announce the Kirkus Reviews summary review of Billie Best’s third book, Clitapalooza: Her flower blooms power. In this sex-positive thriller romance, a 60-ish woman blows up her comfortable life feeling the years ahead are her last chance to break the rules of adulting, be adventurous and explore herself. What she discovers is her capacity for pleasure, her need for intimacy, and her affection for her own anatomy.
From Kirkus Reviews:
All in all, Meryl has it pretty good: She’s a well-liked math professor at a university, she has a gaggle of friends, and her sex life with her husband, Bob, hasn’t yet cooled in their 40 years together. But at 60, she suddenly feels restless, fretting that she has settled for a stable life rather than an adventurous one. So, she makes a quick run of rash decisions, including abruptly retiring, tending butterflies, adopting a pig, and splurging on a $10,000 toothbrush from tech company NanoSmile, largely for its customizable AI companion, which she names Hamish. During a session of self-gratification, using both the toothbrush and her trusty vibrator, a piece of the toothbrush—a nanobot named Quanta—breaks off and enters Meryl’s bloodstream, setting up camp in her clitoris. Meryl investigates the incident with some of her former students and a close friend, Uma, uncovering a broader experiment by NanoSmile’s parent company, BioMantrix—an experiment Meryl may not be able to get herself out of. Through Meryl and her circle of female friends, Best explores multiple feminist and sociological themes that cross generational lines, such as female pleasure stigma, tech surveillance, and what defines true intimacy between two people. The presence of a mega-corporation masquerading as a stable of wellness companies that harvests personal data rather than truly addressing individual needs feels all too relevant, though the author tempers her dark subject with humor; upon discovering the robot in Meryl’s intimate anatomy, the morally bankrupt scientist Dr. Skimmerhorn debates whether to call the new device “iClitoris” or “ClitBit.” … Still, the message of the book, particularly for women who have never had affirming sexual education, is clear: “your body was made to orgasm…You have the right to an orgasm.”
Billie Best is the author of 3 books and 200+ blog posts at her website billiebest.com where she explores midlife reinvention, relationships, wellness and tech from a feminist perspective. She is available for interviews, podcasts and public appearances. Her memoir How I Made a Huge Mess of My Life (or Couples Therapy with a Dead Man) released in 2020 has received stellar reviews. Currently she lives in Oregon with her boyfriend and her dog. Articulate, entertaining and relatable, she is an engaging interview guest.
Available in paperback and ebook on Amazon.
Crazy Wife Farm is the location for most of How I Made a Huge Mess of My Life (or Couples Therapy with a Dead Man).
In this uplifting memoir Billie Best tells the truth about her life. Things look perfect on the outside, but she’s faking it. Inside she’s a mess. After 32 years of marriage, she’s a widow alone in her dream house keeping up appearances as she discovers the details of her husband’s affair. Yet she protects his secret, even from her friends, because she feels like a failure. It takes years for her to embrace her mistakes, let go of her past, and reinvent herself, but with gutsy determination she does it. Women challenged by the need to adapt to a new life, downsize and start over, will be inspired by this story of strength and resilience.
Most of the story takes place at Crazy Wife Farm in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, a small scale livestock farm where Billie farmed alone for seven years after her husband died.
Get the details at Widowspeak Publishing
Read Billie Best’s blog Aging Beyond 60 — Loving Life, Staying Relevant at billiebest.com