Book Review: 31 Days: A Memoir of Seduction

Book: 31 Days: A Memoir of Seduction by Marcia Gloster

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

This was an interesting read, I may not have agreed with some of the author's romantic choices but I enjoyed reading this. I loved all the art and travel descriptions and the way this memoir was told.

31 Days follows author Marcia Gloster as she attended a special art school in Salzburg, Austria during the 1960s. As she and her friend and roommate Kate walked around their new school, Marcia met one of the professors, Bill Thomson. It was an instant attraction between the two but Marcia scared of the reaction knew she needed to stay far away from him. It didn't help that two other students Tony and Paul (who also liked her) told her all about how Thomson has a reputation of being with many women and not to mention that he's married and also has a girlfriend.

It wasn't long before Marcia's resolve started to fade and she was soon being seduced by Thomson. Nothing about this situation was easy for her but she didn't want to stop seeing him. To me it seemed like she lost focus of why she was there attending school and instead became wrapped up in this pseudo-relationship with Thomson.

For some reason I can't understand what she saw in Bill Thomson he was an arrogant and egocentric person. She even said it herself that he wasn't very attractive but he gave off this air of sensuality that attracted her to him.

The book details the ups and downs of this romance with Bill Thomson and how her life changed from meeting him. The relationship didn't quite subside once she return back to the United States. Part 2 of the book, focused on Marcia's time back home and also flashed back from the past and the present (2011 at the time) as it detailed her current situation. It also showed her being motivated by a friend to turn her life story into a memoir. There were sex scenes in the book but they weren't overly explicit or graphic.

This was very well written and interesting and this was a time in the author's life that she experienced that she wanted to share because it left such an impact on her life.