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The Official Blurb
“The year is 2375 and the world is finally emerging from strife and war to present a unified struggle for peace. Life has returned to normal and once again, technology’s focus can move from war and bullets to peace . . . and pleasure. Sexuality has changed, disease and unwanted pregnancies now controlled.
Riding close on the heels of this new sexuality are the B.O.B.s-Battery Operated Boyfriends-a cybernetic invention created to please and pleasure. Life-size, life-like, the most sensual, most creatively arousing sex toys ever to be created were programmed for sex and were the answer to every woman’s-or man’s-dreams. Into this new world of heightened sexuality, erotic romance has re-emerged. Written and led by free-spirited sensualist Elyiana Richards, it has taken the world by storm.
But Elyiana, living a contented existence far from the perks of conventional society, never dreamed she would experience a B.O.B., never thought that her greatest fantasy — to be touched, to be held by one certain man — would ever come true, especially in the way it did. Neither did her nemesis, The MacDougal, leader of Cyber-Tronics, creator of the B.O.B.
Full of repressed sexuality and smoldering sensuality, The MacDougal, a man who has closed off his emotions and his needs, now leads the most advanced sexual design ever envisioned by man. But when the man re-awakens, and the BOB sleeps once again, The MacDougal will remember what the BOB discovered-that there is nothing more sensual, more sensuous or heated, than love and the arousal that builds from it.”
My book for Season 2 Episode 18: Hot Swap, is B.O.B.’s Fall by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. My podcast co-host, Meghan Leigh, picked this book out for me for our first September book swap. She thought it would be cute and funny because my husband’s name is Bob. She didn’t (allegedly) realize what B.O.B. actually stood for and neither did I until I started my pre-cursory flip through the pages. Uff dah is all I can say. Let’s just dive right into this like I had to.
The Book Stats
Published: 2005
Genre: Erotica (Sci-Fi, Futuristic)
Spice Level: 🌶️ Habanero (almost Carolina Reaper — our highest level)
Spoilers + Trigger Warnings: Forced sodomy and you’d want to read the publisher’s full warnings at the front of the book before diving in.
Hot Take
This book gave me some seriously wild vibes — imagine Penthouse Letters meets Highlander II: The Quickening meets A.I. (the movie). Yeah. That’s the vibe.
The Main Players
- Elyiana Richards – an Aussie romance writer who finds herself in quite the futuristic predicament.
- “Mac” The MacDougal – Scottish CEO of a mega-corporation (including the publisher of Elyiana’s books). He thinks romance novels are frivolous and Elyiana is naïve and clueless about sex. (Spoiler: he has opinions … and they’re wrong.)
- Amareth – Mac’s sister and head of security, the one trying to keep him alive and out of trouble and doing a terrible job at it.
The Plot (Buckle Up)
The year is 2375. Mac’s life is on the line after an assassination attempt. His sister Amareth decides the best way to keep him alive (temporarily) is to transfer his consciousness into … wait for it … a sex droid.
And not just any droid — one modeled after a younger version of Mac. (He didn’t know about this. She did. Weird sibling move, Amareth.)
The transfer works but instead of just lying low while they figure out what to do, Mac the Sex Droid wakes up with one singular mission:
Find Elyiana Richards … and f*ck her.
And boy, does he. A lot. A lot a lot. Like, A LOT.
Meanwhile, Amareth is still trying to solve the mystery of who tried to kill her brother and figure out how to get his consciousness back into his healed body before things go completely sideways. After some close calls, Mac gets restored to his real body, marries Elyiana and whisks her off to a Scottish castle.
Because of course he does.
The Spice Factor 🌶️
If you’re here for spice, you’ll get plenty: masturbation, mutual masturbation, oral, anal and a whole lot of sex in every configuration. But even though it was heavy on the steam, it didn’t hit Carolina Reaper level for me — more of a steady Habanero.
Things I Like
- It was a quick read. (Thank goodness. Oof.)
- I appreciated how Elyiana’s choices around sex and masturbation weren’t treated with judgement — she was free to enjoy herself and that’s always refreshing to see.
Challenges for Me
This book was about 90% sex and 10% plot, which isn’t my ideal ratio. I like my books spicy (but not THIS spicy) and I also need some believability and storyline to balance it out.
Also … some red flags:
- Elyiana jumps into bed with Mac immediately even though she doesn’t know who he is. Maybe that’s just how things roll in 2375 but it felt questionable.
- Mac ignores Elyiana’s “exit only” boundary and forces anal play/sex, literally claiming that hole belongs to him. Major nope for me.
- He’s possessive, jealous and not great at communicating — which makes him hard to root for as a love interest. (You’d think a sex droid manufactured to please women would be devoid of these problematic traits.)
Final Thoughts
I’m open to reading more erotica but I don’t think the sci-fi/futuristic sub-genre is my thing. (Funny enough, I love sci-fi TV shows and movies but it just didn’t click for me as a romance/erotica read.)
On the bright side, I did get a new all-time quotable line to add to my collection (right alongside J. T. Montgomery’s “Breath for me, baby. Breath for Daddy Montgomery” from Jude Deveraux’s The Princess from Season 1 Episode 2: Playing House):
“Bloom for me, baby.” – Mac the MacDougal
Oh, and let’s not forget the unintentionally hilarious anatomy references: “snug portal” and “snug clasp.” Priceless.
Verdict: If you want wall-to-wall spice with a sprinkle of futuristic weirdness, this might be your jam. But if you’re like me and want a bit more plot with your heat, you might be left wanting.
Catch the Podcast Episode
If you want to hear more of my thoughts on the book, you can listen to the podcast episode on your favorite podcast streaming service. Or click here for our in-house podcast player. I share some fun anatomy references as well as my Romantic Reminder. You can also find out if I won the episode Boobie Prize. Want to read the book for yourself? You can get it here.
Have you read B.O.B.’s Fall? Let me know your thoughts on this book in the comments!
