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WORK TITLE: Exiled
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://jasindawilder.com/
CITY:
STATE: MI
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in MI; married Jack Wilder (an author); children: six.
ADDRESS
CAREER
WRITINGS
Also author of other romance novels, including Alpha, Stripped, Wounded, and Falling into You.
SIDELIGHTS
Jasinda Wilder is an author of romance novels. Based in her native Michigan, she has written several books besides her “Madame X” trilogy, including Alpha, Wounded, Stripped, and Falling into You.
Madame X
In 2015 Wilder launched a new series with the novel Madame X. In this volume she introduces the title character, who lives in Manhattan and works for a company called Indigo Services LLC. Her job entails training the children of ultrarich businessmen to succeed their fathers one day. Madame X, also simply called X, teaches them how to act with refinement and class. She began working for Indigo Services because of her connection to Caleb Indigo. Caleb, a very wealthy man, found X after she experienced terrible trauma that left her body broken and her memories destroyed. For the six years since X’s accident, she has been Caleb’s sex slave. She is too afraid to leave her apartment, and Caleb abuses her physically and emotionally. X develops a sort of Stockholm Syndrome with Caleb and desires a relationship with him. However, Caleb does not have the emotional capacity to be her boyfriend. Lonely X begins collecting books, but in a fit of anger, Caleb has her library removed. When Caleb crosses the line with her in an act of physical abuse, X vows never to forgive him. She leaves her apartment for the first time in many months in order to attend a work function. There, she meets Logan Ryder, a kindhearted businessman. Logan in interested in X, but after having been in her gilded cage for so long, she does not know how to handle a real relationship.
In a review of the volume in Publishers Weekly, a critic remarked: “Wilder … pulls out all the stops for this spellbinding novel of identity, passion, and fear.” A contributor to the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Web site commented: “Reading this book was an emotional experience. … Madame X relies less on action propelling the plot and more on self-discovery. You want what’s best for X. You want her to be happy. You want her to make good choices and think of herself and her health. But life isn’t like that.” The same contributor added: “This is one of those stories that will leave you thinking about it for days afterward.” Amanda Diehl, a reviewer on the online version of BookPage, suggested: “Wilder does a wonderful job of creating something unique.” Diehl concluded: “Readers will anxiously await the continuation of X’s story. It’s one of those books that you will want your friends to read, just so you have someone with whom to discuss it.”
Exposed
X, Logan, and Caleb return in Exposed: A Madame X Novel. In this installment in the series, X begins remembering snippets of her life before Caleb. Her flashbacks and Caleb’s explanations do not jibe, and X begins to wonder how much Caleb has lied to her. She witnesses Caleb having violent sex with a prostitute named Rachel whom X has befriended. Afterwards, X and Caleb have a dramatic argument about it. X leaves her apartment and goes to Logan. X makes steps toward becoming independent from Caleb and seriously considers cutting him out of her life completely.
“Fans may rank this second entry in Wilder’s intensely erotic “Madame X” series above the previous one,” suggested a contributor to Publishers Weekly. A reviewer on the Harlequin Junkie Web site commented: “Exposed is a spellbinding journey of discovery. Jasinda Wilder continues to tantalize and weave her web as X begins to reemerge. Ms. Wilder provides compelling characters.” A critic on the Book Crack Web site remarked: “Exposed is a dark, twisty, … and worthy follow-up to Jasinda Wilder’s Madame X.”
Exiled
The third book in the “Madame X” trilogy is Exiled: A Madame X Novel. This volume finds X having reclaimed her real name, Isabel Maria de la Vega. At the beginning of the story, she is still finding it difficult to separate from the abusive and manipulative Caleb. However, when Logan’s life is threatened, she finally decides to make the difficult move away from Caleb. After she leaves, Isabel remembers more snippets from her life before her accident. She recalls barely surviving a car crash that killed her loving parents. Meanwhile, Caleb tries desperately to get Isabel back, but she leans on Logan for strength in resisting him. Isabel tentatively learns what it means to live her own life.
A writer on the Parajunkee.com Web site remarked: “Overall, it was predictable.” A critic in Publishers Weekly offered a more favorable assessment of Exiled. The critic asserted: “This superb contemporary erotic novel stands alone but will best be appreciated as the culmination of a remarkable trilogy.” A reviewer on the Harlequin Junkie Web site suggested: “Exiled is a sensual, heartbreaking experience. Jasinda Wilder draws you into a world of obsession, love, confusion, lies, and lust. Ms. Wilder expertly bookends your experience and leaves you reeling.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, August 31, 2015, review of Madame X, p. 67; February 1, 2016, review of Exposed: A Madame X Novel, p. 54; June 20, 2016, review of Exiled: A Madame X Novel, p. 140.
ONLINE
Book Crack, http://www.bookcrack.com/ (October 7, 2015), review of Madame X; (August 2, 2016), review of Exposed.
BookPage Online, https://bookpage.com/ (October 6, 2015), Amanda Diehl, review of Madame X.
Harlequin Junkie, http://harlequinjunkie.com/ (February 23, 2016), review of Exposed; (July 25, 2016), review of Exiled.
Jasinda Wilder Home Page, http://jasindawilder.com (April 9, 2017), author profile.
Parajunkee.com, http://www.parajunkee.com/ (August 21, 2016), review of Exiled.
Smart Bitches Trashy Books, http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ (October 6, 2015), review of Madame X.
About Jasinda
NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, WALL STREET JOURNAL and international bestselling author Jasinda Wilder is a Michigan native with a penchant for titillating tales about sexy men and strong women. Her bestselling titles include ALPHA, STRIPPED, WOUNDED, and the #1 Amazon and international bestseller FALLING INTO YOU. You can find her on her farm in Northern Michigan with her husband, author Jack Wilder, her six children and menagerie of animals.
Jasinda is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.
QUOTED: "This superb contemporary erotic novel stands alone but will
best be appreciated as the culmination of a remarkable trilogy."
Exiled: A Madame X Novel
Publishers Weekly.
263.25 (June 20, 2016): p140.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Exiled: A Madame X Novel
Jasinda Wilder. Berkley, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 9781101986912
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Books one and two of Wilder's dark, addictive erotic trilogy depicted the amnesiac Xnow known by her birth name,
Isabel Maria de la Vegaas a captive; in this powerful third book, she emerges as her own woman. It takes the near
death of her lover Logan to snap her out of her selfdestructive concupiscence for the brutal Caleb. However, once she's
partially free of his ferocious grasp, Isabel begins to have flashbacks to an idyllic childhood that ended when a fatal car
crash left her orphaned, in a coma, and easy prey for the much older Caleb. The more she learns, the more she
understands how Caleb's obsession may have saved her body, only to imprison her soul. He refuses to let go of her even
now that she's living with Logan. As Isabel gains emotional strength, Wilder gradually dials back the use of secondperson
voice that marked the earlier books, allowing her to claim her own story; Logan calls her Is, a fitting name for a
woman finally learning how to exist on her own terms. This superb contemporary erotic novel stands alone but will
best be appreciated as the culmination of a remarkable trilogy. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Exiled: A Madame X Novel." Publishers Weekly, 20 June 2016, p. 140. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA456344751&it=r&asid=60b46d8cfc42966d5074ba18ba856536.
Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A456344751
QUOTED: "Fans may rank this second entry in Wilder's intensely erotic Madame X series above the previous one."
3/5/2017 General OneFile Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1488763653266 2/3
Exposed
Publishers Weekly.
263.5 (Feb. 1, 2016): p54.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Exposed
Jasinda Wilder. Berkley, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 9781101986899
Fans may rank this second entry in Wilder's intensely erotic Madame X series above the previous one, as it delves more
compellingly into X's identity and her burgeoning desire for independence. The cause of her amnesia becomes a matter
of greater distress when X begins to have flashbacks that contradict what her multimillionaire
boss/rescuer/lover/warden Caleb Indigo has told her. After she befriends Rachel, one of Caleb's socalled apprentices
(who are actually prostitutes), X witnesses a scene of brutal sex between Caleb and Rachel. The charged confrontation
between X and Caleb that follows propels her straight into the arms of another man. Much of the book is written in the
second person, as if it's a letter from X to Caleb, and it gives the narrative an uncomfortable intimacy, particularly when
his psychological brutality sends her reeling. More so than in Madame X (2015), the consequences of Caleb's dark
possessiveness and how it affects X are vividly drawn as she takes tentative steps toward an autonomy she has never
known. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Exposed." Publishers Weekly, 1 Feb. 2016, p. 54. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA442780320&it=r&asid=eedc9ffad410153e98aea03747aabc35.
Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A442780320
QUOTED: "Wilder ... pulls out all the stops for this spellbinding novel of identity, passion, and fear."
3/5/2017 General OneFile Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1488763653266 3/3
Madame X
Publishers Weekly.
262.35 (Aug. 31, 2015): p67.
COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Madame X
Jasinda Wilder. Berkley, $15 trade paper (320p) ISBN 9781101986882
Wilder (Alpha) pulls out all the stops for this spellbinding novel of identity, passion, and fear. Madame X, the star
employee of Indigo Services LLC, never leaves her Manhattan condo; clients come to her. Her job is to imbue young,
entitled scions with the refinement and style they will one day need in order to command the reins of their fathers'
international businesses. Multibillionaire Caleb Indigo has kept X as a slave for the six years since he found her
bleeding from nearfatal injuries that also destroyed her memories. Though Caleb promises to keep her safe from her
wouldbe killer, his dominance of X frequently crosses the line into assault. She bravely identifies Caleb's abuse and
her own Stockholm syndrome, hungering for "a breath taken in privacy, a word spoken without ulterior motive," but
when charming entrepreneur Logan Ryder offers her a chance at a normal life, she has no idea howor whetherto
accept. The intense, violent, erotic story is told in the firstperson voice of X herself, with impressively wellhandled
secondperson passages directed at her often odious clients ("You quiver. You want to bluff, you want to bluster"). This
narrative device smoothly guides the reader between X's internal monologue and her professional facade, never feeling
contrived. Once readers fall into X's story, they'll be desperate for the next installments. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson
Literary Agency. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Madame X." Publishers Weekly, 31 Aug. 2015, p. 67. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA427664833&it=r&asid=d372da7371679dc2f7526124661f6f49.
Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A427664833
QUOTED: "Exiled is a sensual, heartbreaking experience. Jasinda Wilder draws you into a world of obsession, love, confusion, lies, and lust. Ms. Wilder expertly bookends your experience and leaves you reeling."
REVIEW: Exiled by Jasinda Wilder
Posted July 25th, 2016 by Sara @HarlequinJunkie in Blog, Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance, HJ Recommends, Review / 4 comments
HJ_Recommends
Exiled by Jasinda Wilder: There are continued twists and turns as Madame X works to figure Exiledout who she is now, who she was, and the secrets of her past. There are surprising parallels in the lives of two of the characters. She continues to struggle with her relationships to the two sexy men in her life; both are wealthy, powerful, generous, and prone to jealously, but one is an enigma yet commanding, demanding, and utterly in absolute control while the other is open yet holds back and is conflicted.
Logan and Caleb’s adversarial relationship continues to deteriorate as they each fight for the heart and mind of the one woman they both love. She has startlingly different relationships to both men, and she’s hindered by her overall lack of dating experience.
She is swept up in this unlikely triangle with no clear path forward. She can’t move forward into her future while being hindered by the lies and missing pieces of her past. She has virtually no knowledge or memories of her life prior to Caleb and assuming her Madame X persona. Caleb is the only person who can gift to her the truth of her past, as she can otherwise only rely on brief snippets of memories triggered by seemingly random things.
Humans can invent memories from whole cloth.
We can convince ourselves a lie is truth, and truth is lie.
So then, in the absence of memory, what do I believe?
In the presence of contradiction, what is truth?
Your questions will finally be answered.
Exiled is a sensual, heartbreaking experience. Jasinda Wilder draws you into a world of obsession, love, confusion, lies, and lust. Ms. Wilder expertly bookends your experience and leaves you reeling until the very last page. The Madame X series needs to be read in order, as each book picks up where the previous one ended. Fans of R.K. Lilley, Beth Kery, and Lisa Renee Jones will love Entitled.
QUOTED: "Overall, it was predictable."
Review: Exiled by Jasina Wilder
Posted by Patti | Aug 21, 2016 | Book Review | 0 |
Review: Exiled by Jasina Wilder
PJV QUICKIE:
Madame X was a surprise hit for me last year, and the second book, Exposed, left me waiting excitedly for the final book in the trilogy, Exiled. I want to say it was everything I expected, and while parts of it did have what I’d been hoping for in a conclusion, overall it was predictable and I’m embarrassed to say I skimmed over quite a bit. I guess you could say that I have mixed feelings about Exiled, and as a result, the trilogy as a whole.
PJ header
The Madame X series has been my guilty pleasure ever since I picked up the first book, Madame X: amnesia, kidnapping, billionaire alpha-hole, illicit goings-on, a potential love triangle, a secret past, I loved it all. So when Exiled was offered for review, I jumped on it – I had to know what was going to happen to Isabel (Madame X) – could Caleb change? Would she pick freedom or the devil she knows? I had to know!
Exiled answered a lot of questions about Caleb’s past, and Isabel’s past. And while I was grateful for that, I didn’t like the way it was told – Caleb told Jakob’s story to Isabel, while Isabel’s past was in flashbacks. Unfortunately, I found I didn’t care for the flashbacks – to the point where I kind of skimmed them. Most of the interaction between Isabel and Caleb in Exiled is about the past, and that set the pace for their relationship.
Logan stayed true to his character from the previous books, wanting to get Isabel away from Caleb and secure her affections for himself. Which, wow, when I write that it looks pretty shady, which was not the vibe I got from Logan. He was actually almost too good to be true, and maybe that’s why I found myself a little frustrated with Logan.
While I was happy Isabel was finally getting some personal growth, I felt like she was still wishy-washy about Caleb and after all that had happened I wanted her to choose herself over both men. As the story progressed, I realized that she had switched the “You” from Caleb to Logan, and that made me feel like her character had no sense of herself as an individual person, which made me sad.
My main complaint with Exiled was the use of deus ex machina on several plot points: Logan’s injury, a pregnancy (insert eyeroll here over THAT whole plot line), the death of Isabel’s parents…so much of it was predictable but I knew there would be a great story behind it – but there wasn’t. I almost feel like the trilogy could have been pared down to two longer books, because Exiled was too long and rambling. I don’t know how I feel about the trilogy after reading Exiled – I loved the first two books but can I recommend them knowing what happens in the last book? Or recommend that you read the first two and then imagine your own HEA? I’m on the fence.
QUOTED: "Exposed is a spellbinding journey of discovery. Jasinda Wilder continues to tantalize and weave her web as X begins to reemerge. Ms. Wilder provides compelling characters."
REVIEW: Exposed by Jasinda Wilder
Posted February 23rd, 2016 by Sara @HarlequinJunkie in Blog, Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance, HJ Recommends, Review / 4 comments
HJ_Recommends
Exposed by Jasinda Wilder: Madame X had just been existing and going Exposedthrough the motions of life. X is in a unique situation and she’s beginning to question who she is and what she knows about her own life. Her world has expanded in different ways since meeting Logan. They share an intense chemistry that X can’t entirely ignore.
“Kitten’s got teeth,” Logan murmurs.
“I’m a lioness, Logan, isn’t that what you told me?”
He rumbles a laugh. “I did say that once, didn’t I?”
As much as X is drawn to Logan, she’s connected to Caleb. Caleb and Logan are very different men with a complicated relationship. Both men want X and are unwilling to share. X has largely only seen one side to Caleb, but she’s beginning to get a better understanding of the man who has been her entire world for years. She is challenging Caleb in new ways.
“You know me better than that, obviously.”
“No one knows you, Caleb.”
You finish your water and crumple the bottle into a ball, twisting on the cap. “Not true. You know me. Better than anyone, I think.”
Exposed is a spellbinding journey of discovery. Jasinda Wilder continues to tantalize and weave her web as X begins to reemerge. Ms. Wilder provides compelling characters in a story that makes you wonder how it all will end. Exposed should be read after Madame X, since the story picks up from there. Exposed will answer some of your questions, but will leave you with many more. Fans of Beth Kery and Lisa Renee Jones will enjoy Exposed.
QUOTED: "Exposed is a dark, twisty, ... and worthy follow up to Jasinda Wilder's Madame X."
Review: Exposed by Jasinda Wilder
Smexyness:
Love it or Leave it?
Summary: Exposed is a dark, twisty, smexy and worthy follow up to Jasinda Wilder's Madame X where the heroine, X, suffers from amnesia and is torn between Caleb, a rich, powerful secretive man, the only lover and person she knows, and Logan, a man who claims to love her and threatens to reveal the truth X begins to desperately seek. Exposed is the 2nd book in the trilogy, and thankfully, X gets answers and begins to grow and flee her guided cage existence, but will revealing the truth ruin them all?
4.0
Smexy, unique plot w/secrets revealed!
Exposed, the follow up novel to NY Times bestselling author Jasinda Wilder’s Madame X, is just as darkly seductive and mysterious, but truths are beginning to reveal themselves…
My name is Madame X.
My life is not my own.
But it could be…
Everything Madame X has ever known is contained within the four walls of the penthouse owned by her lover—the man who controls her every move and desire.
While Caleb owns her body, someone else has touched her soul. X’s awakening at the hands of Logan’s raw, honest masculinity has led her down a new path, one that is as exciting as it is terrifying.
But Caleb’s need to own X completely knows no bounds, and he isn’t about to let her go. Not without a fight that could destroy them all…
Purchase Links:
exposedKindle//Nook
Release date: March 2016
Genre/Length: Erotic romantic suspense/301 pgs.
Source: ARC from publisher/Berkley
Rating: 4 STARS / 5 for Smexy
In Madame X, Wilder introduced readers to a unique heroine who has no memory, except for the past six years. That premise alone intrigued me. Add to it that she has no recollection after a “horrific experience” and she’s indebted to the dark, erotic and demanding man who rescued her and made her a madame of sorts who grooms rich spoiled men into commanding powerful men? I was hooked!
Fans of TV’s Scandal, and Lisa Renee Jones’ romantic suspense books will love this trilogy!
I love a gritty erotic romance and Jasinda Wilder has taken a huge leap from her previous NA bestsellers to her most recent Alpha series to this a much darker, intimate erotic world in her Madame X series.
In book 1, Madame X is the epitome of cultured, cool, sophisticated. Complicated. The POV is a bit of a reading challenge, but it’s an effective tool to keep readers in the dark and yet totally immersed, feeling the intensity and conflicting emotions a women with no memory would feel. I enjoyed X’s intelligence and wit, but had a hard time liking her. But she was made that way by her employer, her savior, Caleb… wasn’t she?
Soon we can feel it in our bones…X wants and needs more than Caleb is willing to give, but she is a queen who is kept in a guilded cage, and fear is a powerful warden. Even more confusing is the carnal pleasure between them and the deep erotic desire only Caleb awakens in her, even after she dares to hope she could have a simple life with Logan.
In book 2, Exposed, X gets bolder, and answers start coming to the forefront…YIPEE!
Thankfully, Wilder begins to give us glimpses of who X may have been before she was “rescued” by the enigmatic and mysterious millionaire Caleb Indigo; more importantly, X begins to take risks to be with Logan, the man who promises the love, connection and answers Caleb is withholding.
That’s not to say Caleb doesn’t continue to have plenty of power over X, or that he’s not beginning to crack and show more of himself than ever before.
It’s gratifying to see X shed her Rapunzel/amnesiac Beauty role and start to question her stockholm syndrome existence with Caleb. Logan finds he can’t stay away and in an effort to prove his love and loyalty, he presents X with shocking information that is as inconceivable and full of holes as the life she’s been forced to live for as long as she can recall.
But who is telling the truth?
Knowing Exposed is book 2 of 3, I knew we wouldn’t get all the answers this time, and we appear to get many for X, but I must confess, more than a few times I wished this were a duology rather than a trilogy. I love Wilder’s work, I just am not in love with either of her questionable heroes-Caleb OR Logan. That’s what’s making me impatient for a HEA.
But it seems Caleb has plenty of truths he needs to reveal about himself as well…
IMHO, the stand out/take-away here in Exposed is the gratification I felt experiencing X’s growing unrest and character development, and chances she begins to take.This time rather than putting me off a bit, the POV feels personal and amps up the mystery nicely. X thaws greatly and starts becoming relatable. WIN!
As things get close to the finish line WOOO-HOO does this get more satisfying!
And yet, we still have so much to learn!
For Wilder fans, you will find lots of mystery, plot twists, and smexy times to sink your teeth into, just know that while there’s plenty of reveals and action in this one (YAY!)– it’s one hell of a cliffy leading to book 3!
Exposed is a worthy follow up to Madame X, and while I wish it were a shorter book/series, I’m sure the finale will be well worth it.
Bring on the story of Caleb!
And please make it so good I actually like him, maybe? That would be a TWIST!
Fans of erotic romantic suspense, Lisa Renee Jones (REVIEW) or M. O’Keefe’s 2015’s RT Award winning Everything I Left Unsaid (REVIEW) will enjoy this trilogy!
Happy reading xo
Tina
QUOTED: "Reading this book was an emotional experience. ... Madame X relies less on action propelling the plot and more on self-discovery. You want what’s best for X. You want her to be happy. You want her to make good choices and think of herself and her health. But life isn’t like that."
"This is one of those stories that will leave you thinking about it for days afterward."
Madame X by Jasinda Wilder
by Amanda · Oct 6, 2015 at 4:00 am · View all 5 comments
Madame X by Jasinda Wilder
SBTB Media Page
Madame X
by Jasinda Wilder
OCTOBER 6, 2015 · BERKLEY
Order →
B+
GENRE: Romance, Erotica/Erotic Romance
THEME: Amnesia, Trauma
ARCHETYPE: Billionaire
Madame X isn’t going to be for everyone. There are quite a number of things it has that I know will be automatic turn-offs for people. It’s written in first person. It does end on a cliffhanger. It deals with abuse (trigger warning) – physically, financially, and psychologically. There’s no HEA in this book as it’s an ongoing series following the same heroine. And there are also themes of infidelity.
But, if you’re still with me, it’s also one of the most unique books I’ve read in a while. It sucked me in and broke my heart. The next book cannot come soon enough.
Madame X – or just X – is our heroine. She doesn’t remember anything beyond six years ago. A man named Caleb (I’m not going to call him the hero) found X battered and bloody, inches away from death. He stayed with her at the hospital. No one came to claim X and she had no ID. No one had been able to figure out who she was. So he took her to his home. He helped her pick out a name – X is named for the John Singer Sargent painting. (If you haven’t seen it, it’s pretty gorgeous by the way.) He gave her a place to stay – an entire floor in a fancy building. He gave her a job – an etiquette instructor for the grown children of the rich and wealthy. He also became her lover.
However, X starts to see this arrangement as nothing more than a gilded cage. She doesn’t leave the apartment. She’s tried in the past and it often leads to panic attacks. She wants more with Caleb, though he can’t give her the relationship she wants. He’s also a horrible person, but more on that later. X doesn’t have friends or an outlet. Any hobbies are subject to being taken away from her by Caleb at his discretion. I nearly cried when he removed her entire library as a punishment. This poor woman doesn’t even own a television to keep her busy.
It’s truly heartbreaking once you begin to realize that X’s glamorous lifestyle – the clothes, the apartment, the powerful people she deals with – all come at a hefty price.
At first, I thought Caleb was meant to be the hero. This dark mysterious savior. But he’s not. At one point, he chokes X out of anger. This was the first time such a thing had happened. And X is appalled. I was proud of her when she tells Caleb that she does not and will not forgive him.
At one point, X finally does leave her apartment to attend a function as part of her work. That’s when her Cinderella story begins and she meets a kind man, Logan, though she refuses to give him her name. Once X gets a taste for someone other than Caleb, it becomes clearer that she wants to experience more. Not necessarily that she wants out, but she wants a choice. Of course, the knight in shining armor tracks her down and makes an appointment to see her at work, which enrages Caleb.
Which is where readers find out how horrible Caleb actually is.
Caleb Spoiler
It’s a hard book to read because there’s very little romance. I struggle to even call this first book a romance in the first place. But something about it really resonated with me. It reminded me a lot of my previous abusive relationship, warring with staying because it was familiar or leaving because it was better, yet scary.
Reading this book was an emotional experience. Not a bad one! I love romance novels because they make you feel – mainly happy things, but sometimes they touch on the deeper stuff. Madame X relies less on action propelling the plot and more on self-discovery. You want what’s best for X. You want her to be happy. You want her to make good choices and think of herself and her health. But life isn’t like that. Sometimes, people need to learn on their own despite how much you want to guide them.
There were a few bumps in the plot for me. Some events seemed out of left field or completely random, and you will most likely get some whiplash in the last quarter of the book. I would definitely describe this book as erotica or an erotic romance because of the amount of sex, but oddly enough, there’s no romance in it. Not something that I found bad, but rather interesting.
However, these problems were merely outliers to an otherwise absorbing book. The ARC I received included the first few pages of the next book, which made the original cliffhanger even more cliffhanger-y, but I’ll explain the ending/cliffhanger for those that would prefer to peek ahead.
Cliffhanger Spoiler
X runs off with Logan briefly, but ultimately goes back to Caleb despite finding out all that crazy fucking shit. He gives her a choice: If she leaves, she leaves only with the dress he found her in. For some reason, he still fucking has it – the weirdo. It’s ripped and bloody and clearly not fit to walk around in. He’ll leave her an envelope with money to let her go wherever so wants, and she can take her books.
Or she can join him in his penthouse, naked. She chooses the naked option, though it’s obvious that she’s hesitant about wanting to be with this man. But it’s not a happy ending, so clearly there’s more that needs to happen.
The sneak peek at the beginning of the next book opens with Logan finding his way into X’s apartment with a note. In it is her real name and a cryptic message that Caleb knows more about who she is than he’s letting on, and that he’s most likely keeping information from her.
This is one of those stories that will leave you thinking about it for days afterward, regardless of whether you enjoyed it as much as I did. I also need book two to get here like now.
QUOTED: "Wilder does a wonderful job of creating something unique."
"Readers will anxiously await the continuation of X’s story. It’s one of those books that you will want your friends to read, just so you have someone with whom to discuss it."
MADAME X
By Jasinda Wilder
Berkley
$15.00
ISBN 9781101986882
Published 10/06/2015
Erotic Romance / Romance / Romantic Suspense / Contemporary Romance
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Web Exclusive – October 06, 2015
MADAME X
The devil you know
BookPage review by Amanda Diehl
Without a doubt, Jasinda Wilder’s Madame X, the first book in a new series, is unlike anything else I’ve read. In this compelling and dark novel, one woman will question everything she knows—everything she can remember, at least—as she slowly realizes her savior might not be the hero she imagines him to be.
Madame X can’t remember her life before Caleb. He discovers her bloodied and beaten, takes her to a hospital and oversees her care. After she heals, he employs X and helps her rebuild her identity—keeping her housed, clothed, loved. Caleb is all she knows, and he keeps her locked away like a bird in a cage. And while X wishes for a taste of something more, sometimes the comfort of familiarity is easier to accept than the lure of the new.
Though X is an adult, there are still things she hasn’t experienced, or at least remembers experiencing—first kisses, celebrating birthdays or the taste of wine, to name a few. When her job teaching etiquette to the protégés of the wealthy forces her to step foot outside of her plush apartment, it’s both heartbreaking and beautiful to see the way she adjusts to the outside world. X wants more, especially from Caleb, though it quickly becomes clear that what she’s asking for is something he isn’t capable of giving.
Wilder does a wonderful job of creating something unique with Madame X. The assumed hero isn’t much of a hero at all, despite how much X wishes him to be. However, a knight in shining armor waits in the wings, though Caleb isn’t keen on letting his prized possession go. It’s complicated, and Wilder fully intends to make readers work for X’s happy ending. X is still growing and learning about herself, and she builds strength and confidence as the novel progresses. It’s a delicate metamorphosis that Wilder handles well, writing from X’s insightful and alluring point of view.
Readers will anxiously await the continuation of X’s story. It’s one of those books that you will want your friends to read, just so you have someone with whom to discuss it. X reaches a point where she must decide between the devil she knows or the devil she doesn’t, and her story isn’t one you’ll soon forget.