{Book Review} 44 Chapters About 4 Men by B.B. Easton

From Goodreads

School psychologists aren’t supposed to write books about sex. Doing so would be considered “unethical” and “a fireable offense.” Lucky for you, ethics was never my strong suit. 

After spending years trying to spice up my sex life, I gave up and took to my journal. Perhaps my gorgeous, cold, number crunching husband simply wasn’t capable of the kind of passion I’d come to expect. After all, my ex-boyfriends—a skinhead turned US Marine turned motorcycle club outlaw, a baby-faced punk rocker out on parole, and a heavy-metal bass player—were every bit as tattooed and testosterone-fueled as the leading men in my favorite romance novels. If I couldn’t have that kind of passion again in real life, at least I could write about it. Right? Nobody had to know. It would be my little secret. 

Well, guess what? My husband read that shit. 

And guess what else? He upped his fucking game. 

Drunk with power and under the dubious advisement of my best friend and colleague, I began testing the limits—crafting journal entries specifically designed to manipulate Ken’s behavior. For the most part, he responded beautifully…except when he didn’t. 

Told through actual journal entries, steamy short stories, personal emails, a few haikus, and at least one dirty limerick, 44 Chapters About 4 Men chronicles the year I spent toying with my husband’s mind and ignoring all ethical standards of psychology. I decided to publish it in the hopes that someone out there might benefit from my discovery—or at least laugh at it—but in doing so I’m risking more than just my career. If word of this book gets back to Ken, I could lose the very man I’ve worked so hard to perfect. 

My Thoughts

4.5 "Be My BFF!" Stars

I usually don't read memoirs, but this book received a lot of buzz in several of the author Facebook groups I'm on when it released in February, and combined with the hilarious summary, I decided to try it out. I can't believe I waited two months to dive into this wildly amusing and sinfully sexy story!

44 Chapters About 4 Men is about one woman, and the four men (at different times! I see you snickering, my little pervs) that left the biggest impression on her sexuality identity, from her mid teens to her late twenties/early thirties. The story is told in different ways (journal entries, dirty stories, poems, texts, emails) that really fleshes it out and gives you a deeper insight on our heroine, Brooke. 

Frustrated by her lackadaisical sex life with her husband, Brooke begins writing her woes and fantasies in a journal. When her husband finds and reads it, Brooke decides that, instead of panicking and denying, she's going to...well, fuck with his head a bit. She wonders whether she can modify her husband's bedroom habits via this journal, and decides to dive right in. She recollects her sexual journey in vivid detail, and shares incredibly provocative fantasies about her husband. He takes it hook, line and sinker, and Brooke is thrilled to see her little experiment working.

I have three degrees in psychology, and I still don't know what's wrong with me, other than the fact that I'm a bad psychologist, obviously.

Meanwhile, Brooke crafts another journal in the form of a well hidden word document on her laptop, and here is where she shares what really happened with those ex-lovers. While her journal for her husband is steamy and salacious, this personal journal is hilarious and awkward, filled with all the confusion and mess of growing into your own person.


This is also where she shares progress reports on her husband's behavior, and summaries of their sexapades and dates. 

Thrown in with both of those is a mix of texts and emails between Brooke and her best friend and fellow phycologist, random dirty poems, photos, and emails between Brooke and her husband.

This was a wonderfully refreshing and entertaining read. I've never read a book that was so open and frank about a woman's sexual history, and I loved it. It was great to not have a woman be crucified for not being this virginal girl. It was fresh, honest, and incredibly relatable.

For a sex act to be new to me, it would require a stolen college  mascot uniform, twelve yards of rappelling cable, a handful of gerbils, and thirty CCs of vampire blood. 

Brooke was delightful, and I feel as though I've found my bookish spirit animal. Her hilariously inappropriate thoughts, random musings, and curiosity for kink endeared her to me in every way. Her voice was easy to slip into, and I was rooting for her the entire time.

Unless the number on the caller ID belongs to someone I would ask to bail me out of jail, I do not answer.

The four men...well, they were something else! In the best way, but what a motley crew. From a weird but strangely endearing skinhead to a lovably dumb stoner, to a sensitive, guy-liner loving rocker to a straight-laced businessman with a small affinity for pain, these men were all over. They each brought something entirely different to the table, and each relationship had a huge impact on Brooke's life.

I want to take him with me everywhere. I want us to live a hundred years and die at the same time. I want them to mix our cremated remains together, dump us into a river, and watch our mingled ashes swirl like coffee creamer all the way to the ocean. I want our souls (okay, my soul and his, whatever he has, operating system?) to find each other on the other side as soon as possible, just so we can fall in love and make more babies and do it all over again.

I just also want him to fuck my brains out. 

The writing was engaging, and I couldn't put the book down. I finished in less than a day, and was left satisfied, but wanting more. The hallmark of a good book, in my opinion!

I was suppose to be taking a walk with this adorable little shit, but I wound up finishing 44 Chapters instead. Sorry, love-bug!

I highly recommend this one, and am looking forward to seeing what else this author comes up with!

I was going to fuck him. I was going to break him. I was going to have him safe-wording on me by the end of the night.