Zane~ Addicted: With a Twist
- Zebra Reads
- May 2, 2023
- 4 min read
Addicted with a Twist is a sequel to the erotica novel by Zane called just Addicted. It was published in 2014.
Zane is a pseudonym for a woman named Kristina Laferne Roberts. She is a beautiful woman, born in the mid 1960s and grew up in the northeast. Her father was a theologian and author and her mom was an elementary school teacher. She actually attended Howard university to get a degree in chemical engineering, but did not graduate. She is a single mom of 3 children.
She loved writing even as a child, but she started her erotica writing in the late 1990s out of boredom, really. Originally she wrote some short stories and published them on the internet, and they were really well received. So, she started writing seriously.
And then she just took off from there. Her book Addicted (the prequel to this book) was made into a movie. She has her own publishing company. She has started her own line of sex toys and continued to write and publish her own books (at least 20 of them so far).
What I love about Zane is that she is a black woman who is unapologetically writing about sex. It is, according to one of her interviews, about female empowerment through sex. And we know that women have traditionally been relegated as not having agency in their own sexuality. But this is especially the case for black women in the US whose bodies were not just figuratively, but literally owned by white men. During the free love movement of the 60s and 70s, that allowed many white women to get agency of their own sex lives, black women were faced with grappling with civil rights issues instead. And then there was the stereotypical “welfare queen” of the 1980s and 90s. Portrayed most often as black women, and further proof that they should not be trusted to make good choices when it comes to sex. The fact that Zane is able to create stories with strong, successful, black female leads who can and do control their own sexuality, and that they should be so popular, is huge for women and especially black women in this country.
Zane (or Roberts) is not without some controversy in her personal life, mostly dealing with not paying taxes as far as I can tell, but she appears to remain fairly private about those things so I couldn’t find much otherwise.
What it’s about: Sex. Pretty much, what any erotic book would be about. Definitely sex. There is some kind of plot point: A man and woman using code names, meeting in secret, cheating on their respective spouses. It is a novella sequel to another Zane book, simply titled Addicted (without the twist) and it seems as if the woman involved in this little escapade was also the main character in that story where she was, not surprisingly, addicted to sex. There is, though, actually a twist at the very end, so I guess it can’t be said to be false advertising.
My take: I cheated on this one. There are a slew of Zane books at Barnes and Nobel and I looked at them all very dubiously and I cried a little inside thinking I would spend $10 for any one of them. So, I trudged home and got onto my Nook and found this little novella for a mere 99 cents. That I could stomach. I am not a fan of erotica. I am definitely that person who would read Playboy for the articles. I am definitely not interested in 50 Shades of any color, let alone gray, and I don’t believe I’ve ever managed to get past the first chapter of a Harlequin Romance. Just not my thing. If I am reading something, I want it to have some substance. I am not in any way a prude. I have no issues with sex or romance in books, but I do not seek it out. So, I went into this book having very little interest in reading it, and I came out of this book, very happy I only spent the 99 cents. God, there was a lot of sex. Big, crazy, unrealistic, unabashed, sex that was only possible basically because these two people happen to have a lot of money between them despite both of their sex addictions. In other words, even if I wanted to have sex like that, I wouldn’t be able to because I couldn’t afford it. At least there was a twist. A completely predictable twist that when you realized what was happening totally negated most of the “naughtiness” of the situation. Ah well, beggars can’t be choosers I guess.
Who should read it: Anyone who really likes to read about sex. It’s short, so you could get through it quickly and get onto your own personal enjoyment, however you might like it. That’s about all I can think of. I feel like it might go a bit beyond just your basic mommy porn, but it’ll end you up at the same place. I suppose there are few things you could “learn” from it if you are inclined in that way, but really it’s all just your basic run of the mill sex, but performed by people who are really great at it and who just have a lot to say about how incredible it is. I am not sure you can pick up the proper technique from a novella.
Who should not read it: Anyone averse to reading the word “c**k” 150 times in a 40 page book. Or insert any other sexually explicit term that you would prefer not to read about. They are all in there. Anyone who is currently in a relationship that is completely sexually unsatisfying. This will really just make you feel bad about yourself. These people have some majorly great sex it seems. It also lasts for a really long time. And the men are really well endowed. And the women lack any kind of gag reflex. Yeah, just avoid it if you are feeling a little anxious about your own bedroom-based abilities.
Bottom Line: It’s a sex book. You read it for the sex.
Want to read it? I will first link you to Addicted in case you haven't read that one yet.
Addicted with a Twist appears to be an e-book only.
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