Knockin' Boots

Don't be fooled by the inane title—there's more to Price-Thompson's latest than raunchy sex, although in a novel about sex addiction, you can be sure she covers everything from threesomes to brothers on the "downlow."

Brothers Kevin and Emile are soldiers stationed at Fort Dix, and though they've made a success of themselves, it was a hard-won victory with a price. Traumatized by their foster mother Dirty Sue, Kevin is now a sex addict and Emile is a self-hating black man who'll only be seen on the arm of a white woman. Trouble is not far off as Kevin pushes his wife Fancy into more and more sordid scenarios (he emails her with the evening's instructions, usually involving some stranger who fits into any one of Kevin's given fantasies) and Emile degrades every black woman in his command, including Fancy's best friend Sparkle. Miss Sparkle is all that and then some, but when her friendship with Phil (a fellow soldier, but white) starts to heat up, she has to question everything that's important to her regarding family, race and identity. Meanwhile, when Kevin and Fancy meet another swinging couple, Fancy surprises herself by loving the sex she's having with Mica (her first time with a woman) and wonders what that means about her sexual orientation. While Fancy is enjoying Mica, Mica's husband Derek takes Kevin to (unbeknownst to him) a downlow club, where Kevin is slipped a roofie and raped. The novel begins with a sassy wit, but becomes increasingly serious as the man who raped Kevin is diagnosed with HIV, Emile becomes desperately obsessed with his white girlfriend and Kevin plans a rape of his own. The author explores some provocative issues but it's the sex talk that carries the book. Frisky and erotically honest, occasionally the language slips into the realm of silliness.

Sexy fun, lewd language and a little bit of reflection on sex and race in America.