SHOCKING PINK - Stuart Canterbury

The adult movie industry (aka 'porn') is a billion dollar industry, meaning there are a lot of people watching (and paying to watch) porn. But few people really know the industry - the ins and outs and what happens off-screen.

Travis Lazar is a porn producer and Tiffany West is the hottest actress in the industry at the moment. The two of them working together could bring the industry to its knees before them. But because there's big money in porn, there are a lot of investors and would-be investors all wanting a piece of the action. And despite the money, there are laws on the books and federal agents always looking to make an example of workers in porn.

But the biggest threats to both Travis and Tiffany aren't the investors or the feds - it's the other men and women (especially the women) working in the industry. And now, with the biggest awards night on the horizon, tensions are tighter than ... well, tensions are tight.

The 'hook' to this book is not the book or the story, but the author.  Stuart Canterbury is a long-time adult industry film (porn) producer. But having insider knowledge of something doesn't mean you can suddenly write about it or tell a good story.

The writing here is, at best, fine. There is a lack of focus here, stemming, most likely, from the author's insider knowledge and trying to make sure to include clever tidbits. I struggled to find an interesting storyline (there are a couple).

But the bigger problem with the book is the flatness of the characters. Tiffany and Travis are the most well defined, but that's not saying much. Neither really steps beyond the anticipated stereotype of a porn actress and a porn producer.  It certainly tries to show that these people are more than what we see on the screen - the unbridled lust and constant 'need' for sex - is just an act, but the non-screen personas are greatly less interesting than the characters they play.  And we also get an awkward dichotomy - the characters want to show us they are more than the porn movies they make, but the porn movies and porn industry is all consuming to them (as evidenced by the anxiety surrounding the awards).

The book is supposed to be funny, but even here, Canterbury doesn't quite play this very well.  The humor either comes off as forced or in the wrong place (and the reader asks "is that humor or just a comment?").

There are plenty of adult industry themed books out there, with many of them written by 'insiders' but no matter what the subject, a novel needs to tell a story and this just doesn't click.

Looking for a good book? Shocking Pink by Stuart Canterbury is a novel set in the world of the porn industry, but it lacks focus and characters that we can actually get interested in.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through LibraryThing, in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

* * * * * *

Shocking Pink

author: Stuart Canterbury

publisher: Running Wild Press

ISBN: 9781955062572

paperback, 282 pages


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