After nineteen years as a society housewife, Jessa Kincaid is staring divorce in the face and is realizing that she just plain doesn’t care. They have no kids, sex is uninteresting, and her husband has been having affairs for years. So when her husband announces that he’s leaving her for a younger woman with children, Jessa feels the shock of abandonment, but she is not exactly broken-hearted. She goes out and in a bout of madness buys racy lingerie and a sex toy, and then she wanders into a seedy bar downtown and comes face-to-face with the most gorgeous creature she’s ever seen – Connor Archuleta.

Connor owns the bar called Phoenix Rising, and he gives her both a job and his undivided attention. He’s not what Jessa is used to. He’s more real, earthier, more masculine, and he is more than willing to introduce Jessa to the wilder side of sex. For the first time, she feels attractive – sexy even – and even though Connor is afraid of commitment, Jessa finds herself falling in love with him. Her evenings in the Phoenix Rising are the happiest of her life, until the day that her estranged husband decides that he wants his obedient and well-trained society wife back.

Kaitlin Maitland’s Phoenix Rising documents a woman’s self-discovery as she realizes that for the past nineteen years she has not lived but merely existed. Readers will enjoy the character Jessa and will root for her as she tosses away her privileged and snobbish past and embraces the alternative world of the bar. She morphs from a frumpy and middle-aged housewife to something of a sex kitten in this story, and while I’m not sure that this transformation is all that realistic, it is definitely entertaining to witness. Jessa’s rich society friends are amusing and make great antagonists, as does her ex-husband. They are shown as shallow, greedy, and just plain mean, and the reader will love to hate all of them. The sex in this novel is enthusiastic to say the least, as the bar encourages exhibitionistic behavior. I’m not sure that this worked for me as the reader, but it certainly works for Jessa. Overall, Phoenix Rising is a sexy and diverting read and will make you wonder if such a bar actually exists out there somewhere.

Reviewed by: Whitney