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Meghan O'Brien
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The Muse Paperback – 15 Jun. 2015

by Meghan O'Brien (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 134 ratings
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Erotica author Kate McMannis has crippling writer's block and a deadline in less than two months. When a beautiful woman named Erato appears at her house and claims to be her muse, Kate isn't certain whether Erato is mentally ill or truly her supernatural savior. Either way, when the incredible sex Erato offers leads to genuine inspiration, Kate isn't inclined to refuse her unusual brand of help. When a little fantasy fulfillment with Erato inadvertently leads her to the shy and gorgeous Olive Johnson, unexpected feelings threaten to derail Kate's motivation once again. Erato is just as determined to keep her writing on track as Kate is to explore her very real attraction to Olive-which leads to friction that threatens not only Kate's ability to meet her deadline, but also her burgeoning romance with Olive. Caught between a contractual obligation and her heart, is there any way for Kate to have it all?
Previous page
  1. Print length
    290 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bold Strokes Books
  4. Publication date
    15 Jun. 2015
  5. Dimensions
    14.12 x 1.91 x 21.74 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1626392234
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1626392236
  8. See all details
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Product description

About the Author

Born in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Meghan O'Brien relocated to Windsor, California. As a recent transplant, she's enjoying the moderate weather and gorgeous scenery of the Bay Area. Meghan lives with her partner Angie, their young son, three cats, and three dogs. Yes, it can be just as chaotic as it sounds.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bold Strokes Books (15 Jun. 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1626392234
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1626392236
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.12 x 1.91 x 21.74 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

About the author

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Meghan O'Brien

Meghan O'Brien

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Meghan O'Brien lives in Northern California with her wife, their son, and a not-quite-insane number of cats and dogs. She has published seven lesbian romance/erotica novels: The Muse, The Night Off, Wild, Battle Scars, Thirteen Hours, The Three, and Infinite Loop. Her short stories appear in numerous Bold Strokes Books erotica and romance anthologies. Standalone shorts include The Chasing Game. When she's not writing, she's being a geek.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
134 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 June 2015
Verified Purchase
Another brilliant book from this author. Sit back and enjoy the very hot and sexy romps with Kate, her Muse and Olive.
You wont be disappointed.
One person found this helpful
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Mizz E
4.0 out of 5 stars Delicious!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2015
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I loved it... Deliciously sexy and very funny in parts...

Anyone that likes Meghan O'Brien's work will love this. If you are new to this author I suggest you read 'The Three' first as that's her best book by far!

**Spoilers**

I really felt sorry for the Muse in this, I thought the main character was so horrible to her... Alls well that ends well though!
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C Mack
4.0 out of 5 stars The muse
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 August 2018
Verified Purchase
This is pretty much what I expected from Meghan O'Brien, a raunchy well written erotic novel with an intriguing storyline.
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Vic
2.0 out of 5 stars Failed to measure up to previous books for me.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2015
Verified Purchase
I wanted to like this, as I've really enjoyed most of this author's work, but I just couldn't get in to it. I persevered and read to the end, but I didn't particularly like the main character. I thought she was whiny and annoying unfortunately. The whole situation was just a bit too silly (for want of a better word), and I had no real interest in the 'romantic' pairing I think we were meant to be rooting for.

A shame really, as I do like Meghan's other books, and she's not a bad writer at all. This book just did nothing for me, and if I can really pick at one particular annoyance, I'd have to mention the multiple references to anal shenanigans during most of the sex scenes - which were numerous throughout the book. I'm no prude, and I do enjoy a well written erotic tale (I absolutely loved Meghan's Thirteen Hours), but there were times when reading this that I got tired of trying to overlook some aspects of a scene. Fair play to anybody into that particular sexual 'kink', but it's really, really not my thing. Kinda spoiled the fun bits of the book that Meghan normally writes so well.

I'll still look forward to seeing what O'Brien comes out with next, but this one was a "nope" for me.
2 people found this helpful
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1cookie58
2.0 out of 5 stars Sorry Megan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 August 2015
Verified Purchase
I'm a really big fan of Megan Obrien, so I was delighted after such a long wait to purchase her latest offering. So disappointed, not one of her best efforts, although well written I found the storyline weak and lacked the usual build up of sexual tension between the characters. The sex was instantaneous took up the vast majority of the book and at one point I thought please enough of the sex give us a bit of a story.
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Top reviews from other countries

G-Rogue
5.0 out of 5 stars my good gawd!
Reviewed in the United States on 26 March 2023
Verified Purchase
This was an amazing story. Like nothing I’ve ever read before. I’ve read all but two of this authors books. My first book read was “Wild” and I was hooked. I struggled with “The Three” not because of writing style or anything, just the premise of the love interest in the story. I always have a hard time with “polyamory.”

I knew Erato was problems from first meet. I knew the promises that Kate was seeking was going to bite her in the ass at some point.

However, Erato made for some very delicious scenes. They wrecked those three bucket list items. I wasn’t sure how this story was going to play out with so much angst that was caused.

How could you not like Olive? How could you not root for her. At first I liked Erato, until…. She lied to Kate about the texts. Olive and the confrontation with her proved it.

I am glad this story is over. I couldn’t rest while reading it. The things that Kate endured to write this epic novel kept me too anxious. Although her final run in with Olive had me howling when Olive told her story. I never laughed so hard. Actually, I laughed a lot when Olive was around with some of the things that she said.

It was also nice to read a story with an interracial couple. Being a black woman, it is hard to read some of the portrayals in interracial relationships. But Meghan O’Brien is one of the few that gets it right when written by a “white” person. She rights the same even when the race changes. I knew that Olive was black. Because I was told that she was. I wasn’t beaten over the head with it. And she spoke like I speak. A regular black woman that doesn’t speak AAVE. It was quite refreshing to be portrayed normally like I see a lot of black people in my life.

Well done and so creatively written.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in Canada on 5 August 2015
Verified Purchase
Using a term from the book, the best definition I can give is "sex plus". In the first part of the book, it might seem as if it would be only sex with a relatively inane setup. However, it soon becomes more than that. Kate's character becomes very well developed as the book progresses, and the author manages to make the character's feelings pass to the reader extremely well, as well as some interesting morals. Note that the story is a bit "meta": It is a lesbian erotic novel about a character writing a lesbian erotic novel after all.

As strange as it sounds, I ended up finding the novel very inspiring. Yes, the sex parts were darn good, but its honestly the other parts that grabbed me most. I was 'merely' expecting an entertainment read, but I got way more than I expected out of this novel. Let's just say I'm going to watch fewer cat videos from now on.
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Hushed Echo
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Story
Reviewed in Canada on 18 February 2017
Verified Purchase
I never wanted this book to end. Could never get enough. Never put it down. So in love with Erato. Writer did an amazing job of capturing this reader's heart.
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R.
4.0 out of 5 stars 4.25 Stars for Literary Porn
Reviewed in the United States on 26 August 2015
Verified Purchase
Yeah I called it! Another reviewer referred to this story as PORN, and I'm inclined to agree. Don't worry, though. It's the good kind...you know-with a plot (albeit not the thickest plot, but it gives legitimate reason for all the juicy sex going on). And wow is it JUICY! And Creamy. And Slippery. In other words, be sure to read with a play partner or some ice on hand. Of course both together can be lots of fun!!

That being said, I almost didn't buy this book. I had the sample sitting in my queue for about a couple months before I finally got around to reading it since I've been STARVING for some authentic gog loving-in which the 2 women together GENUINELY love being with another woman. It's not just for show or to impress/please a man or to tide each other over til they can insert a dude into the equation. These women all truly love being together. Even after reading the sample I was hesitant to buy. I didn't want JUST a sex story, which was the impression I got from several other reviews. I hearts a love story with lots of kink, but at the end of the day, I still want a story and O'brien delivered.
Btw, shout out to @RLynne whose review actually pushed me over the fence into buying. I wondered about Olive's role since most mentionings concern Erato. I wanted some romance and kinda figured that wasn't going to be the case with Erato's character.

What I liked about the story:

* The main character, Kate, is super likeable and provides several lol moments throughout. I was pleasantly surprised by how humorous the story was and impressed by the realistic dialog.
* Although we're only allowed inside Kate's head, I appreciate this being told from 3rd person POV. I'm not a fan of 1st person stories, especially love stories. The author did a great job of fleshing out the main character. Through her inner monologue and actions, I think the reader can get a good sense of Kate as a person.
* The mystery. The mystique surrounding Erato and how things would play out in the end (in addition to all the hot sex, of course!) kept me "flipping" Kindle pages. I had to see how MO would work it all out, and I wasn't disappointed in the ending. I sort of figured out Erato's motivations somewhere along the way, but it was still interesting to watch everything play out.
* The ethnic diversity of the characters. I'm a sucker for stories featuring sexy women of color-particularly a nice variety, which this story provides without becoming political or in your face.

What I didn't like (& what ultimately led to the loss of points):
* I wanted just a little more interaction between Kate & Olive beyond the bed (/futon/wall...etc.). Much of their coming together is told not shown, and I wanted to witness more of their falling in love. The sex between them is done well (not as good IMO as 13H but still "yummy"-*winks*-). I just wanted more of the nonsexual between these two.
* On the flip side, I could have done without so many details of the story Kate was writing. It was interesting and I think it would make a pretty decent book, but it wasn't as pertinent to THIS story as the interaction between the Kate & Olive. I get why it was included, but I think the point could have still been made without Molly & Rose taking up quite so much of the story.
* The constant asking of permission during the sex, ESPECIALLY at the end. I get that you want to ask for consent and that it can be sexy depending on the circumstances and delivery, but it got a little out of hand at some points and totally took me out of the story...
May I untie your shoe? ...May I take it off your foot?...Now I'll remove your sock with your permission. (I exaggerate-but only slightly.) I kept waiting for someone to say F this just DO IT! Take them/it/me...whatever you want! Just STOP asking and start doing!!!
* Finally, and this was kind of a huge one for me, I desperately wanted to know what Kate looked like. MO was very generous with her description of Erato and I even had an acceptable idea of what Olive looks like, but I couldn't seem to find anything on Kate other than being slim. Of course, every time I really REALLY wanted to envision her was when the action started heating up and I tried to visualize what was being done to whom and how. I could never quite get the picture clear because I didn't have a good description of Kate. While I was tempted to search the beginning, I found myself too caught up in what sexy shenanigans the two (and often 3) of them were getting up to at the time and couldn't drag myself away.
If anyone out there can tell me at what location to find Kate's description, I'd truly appreciate it!

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for some unique literary porn featuring smart, attractive women who genuinely love satisfying each other. If you go in with that in mind, I doubt you'll be disappointed!

Happy Reading! ;)
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Darla Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Meghan O'Brien in The Muse takes the reader on an erotic roller coaster ride that is every bit as thrilling as a theme park ride
Reviewed in the United States on 16 January 2016
Verified Purchase
Kate McMannis is a writer of lesbian erotica. The story begins with Kate suffering from crippling writer's block and a contract deadline just two months away. She's in full on panic mode, and yet she can't bring herself to stop watching cat videos on the Internet. Just when she thinks all hope is lost, Erato, a drop dead gorgeous woman who claims to be her muse (in true Greek Mythology form), shows up at her doorstep bearing groceries and a desire to meet all of Kate's needs thus providing the environment and inspiration she needs in order to complete her book on time and in good form.

This book is full of the erotica we expect from Meghan O'Brien. You will not be disappointed. Emotionally this books takes you on a ride which definitely begins immediately with the thrill of the first big drop and the thrills don't stop till you're pulling into the gate at the end of the ride. Along the journey you will scream as your find your own hand has involuntarily slipped between your legs to ease the pain you find there. You will cry in frustration. You will find yourself entertaining homicidal fantasies you didn't think you were capable of. And as you round the last curve, you spot the light at the end of the tunnel as a wave of peace and love and a sense that all is right with the world washes over you.

I recently joined a Facebook Group, Lesbian Books, writers, readers. A few days ago Robin Hicks posed the question,

"You are stranded on an island for two weeks. You are stranded with two lesbian fiction books, two beverages, two foods that can't be cooked and a dream. What do you want these to be?"

I highly recommend joining the group and reading the responses. Since I was reading this book when I responded, I thought it made sense to take The Muse with me along with Immortality or Something Like It by Kelli Jae Baeli. Now that I've finished the book, I'm certain I wouldn't get off the island until I'd written, to Erato's satisfaction, two books of my own.

Meghan O'Brien, I give you five stars for The Muse. It was a joy to read and if I'm ever stranded, kidnapped or imprisoned, I hope I have this book with me.
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