I was pleasantly surprised on many levels to find Iceberg Tempting an amusing story that never takes itself too seriously and entertains with its unorthodox storyline and style

The story begins as our storyteller goes to lunch with a group of coworkers and winds up sitting next to someone he isn't familiar with. He finds her 'iceberg tempting' and only knows her name is Maria. Lunch is a bust on finding out anything further about her and nothing seems to come of the chance meeting.

Then out of the blue Maria calls him at work and they agree to meet at a bar. There, Maria confides she is a painter while the narrator, now introduced as 'Steve', is a budding writer. Their relationship has its up's and down's; one of the ups being great sex. But neither Maria nor Steve have had much luck in past relationships so they take this one as casual with deeper feeling simmering underneath.

Maria comes with her own stalker, which she takes in stride, while Steve suffers from this past entanglement as the stalker turns his attention on Maria's new lover. The couple shares a love of the arts (through Maria's painting and Steve's writing) but this almost tears them apart as each struggles to understand the other's manic devotion to their craft. After each break-up they find themselves unable to stay away from each other and their relationship, both in bed and out, solidifies.

While this story contained nothing deep and profound and wasn't all that sexy in context, it did leave me with a 'feel good' feeling each time I read a chapter. And though it wasn't a book I would describe as a 'can't put down read', it did put a smile on my face and was amusing with its quirkiness. I would call it 'a good read with an attitude.'

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Torie West
April 2, 2004