This is a though provoking book that delves into a distressing subject matter. It is a journey that is not for the faint of heart as it mixes some fiction with the real life of a sex worker. Lilian was persuaded to start stripping to pay her sick mother’s bills. Unfortunately once she was brought into that life, she graduated to prostitution along with drug and alcohol abuse to cope with her new found life. The longer she stayed, the more she felt the pull of the money that can be earned and was not able to disentangle herself from it leading her to the ultimate tragic ending, and that is only part one. As the second part of the story begins Vivian, Lilian’s twin, is seeking answers and begins her own investigation into Lilian’s death as the police are not helping. Vivian pursues the killers all over the world to avenge her sister’s death and met out her own brand of punishment, in the name of justice.
This is an agonizing story that leaves the reader feeling a range of emotions from hatred and anger to empathy and hope. It just goes to show that sometimes in life we are pulled into things that we never expected due to unforeseen circumstances and no matter what we are resilient.

Wasn't able to finish even though I was really looking forward to it. I couldn't get into the story.

This book now holds the title as the most challenging book I’ve read so far. Fifty Shades of Grey can’t even reach 30% in comparison with this story.

I received an email from the author, Olivia Wild a few months ago but even though I agreed to read it, I’m still finding some excuses to set it aside. I’m not really sure why, I guess I’m just preparing myself with the wild adventure this book is going to bring.

And after quite a long time of making excuses, I finally gave in and braved myself into reading this story. And man!!! The first page was already intense. I dreaded reading stories about the character being raped or is selling her body for money so imagine what I felt with the first part of this story.

Oops, I blabbered already without giving you an idea about this story eh? You see, this one is a true to life story, it was written by both the author and her deceased sister and it tackled the dark world of sex trafficking. That idea alone sealed my decision about accepting to review this book. And heck! I can’t wipe this smug look in my face because I did the right choice.

The first part of this story were full of SPG scenes so it’s really not suitable for younger readers. I heard about sex trafficking before but is shameful to admit that I never really given it some time to read news about it. But man! Reading this story made me understand why there are some girls who chose to do it. Whatever reason each of us has, I know it’s still wrong, but I can totally sympathize. Your mother was sick, the bills are piling up and it won’t disappear on their own and with a boyfriend who pimp you into doing it, I’m not even sure what I would do if I were in that situation.

I don’t want to drop some spoiler so I guess I’ll make this review a little mysterious instead eh? While the first part of this story was about Lilian’s story as a sex worker, the part two started right after her death which was continued by her twin sister Vivian. And man! It’s been a long time since I’ve been this agitated reading a story. The suspense was just too overwhelming but once in a while it got cut off when Paul and Vivian acting sweet to each other. I dunno but there’s always an unwritten role about your friend’s ex right? How much more with your sister! I’m not judging, I’m just not feeling it.

While I sympathize with the first part of this story, I have to say that my favorite would be part two. It’s been mentioned that Lilian wasn’t that good in English yet so I understand some grammar issues, the part two even though it’s continuing what the part one left off, I can easily notice the difference. I know I’m not in the right position to judge but there were times that I encounter some grammar issues but so far it was better than the first part. Though there’s nothing remarkable with the way this story was written, the idea and emotion was in there. I love the honesty and I admire the courage the author put into this story. It’s like being naked in front of many people and it’s absolutely the best memorial for Lilian. To her family, especially her dad and her sister, I hope of all you were now living peacefully after finally achieving justice for Lilian. I don’t recommend putting the justice into your hands and will never ever recommend such, but I can totally understand what needs to be done, besides, the guy totally deserves it.

You see, it’s a true to life story and I don’t usually talks about the character and scrutinized them and this story is no different. There were ofcourse some parts that I wish weren’t in this story but that’s what happened. But let me comment about Vivian. If I’ve been in her situation, I’m not sure I can ever do what she did. She’s been very courageous and was very wise especially about the scene with her dad and the guy who raped her sister.

While I was reading the first part, I’m already sure I’m going to give this one a 3.5 star rating but after reading the second part, man! I love the suspense, the mystery and the sleuthing. Plus, I’m just happy it has a happy ending. So cheers for 4 stars!

Another consolation is their father, even when he’s already divorced with their mother, he’s still there for them and supporting them especially Vivian when he found her plan to avenge her sister. It’s just pure luck you know, that Vivian is studying veterinary and knows a lot about DNA sampling and was quick to judge about her sister’s murder even when she was shocked to find it out.

And I guess I can’t belittle Paul’s great help with the vengeance ofcourse. His knowledge about computer totally was badass. But what’s more badass was what Vivian did to avenge her sister.

I understand that this story isn’t what people normally reads, but for readers out there especially women, I highly recommend this book. It maybe a little challenging to read especially the first part but all you need to have is an open mind. Thanks and enjoy!

Note: You can also read this review in my blog

This book was such a surprise! I fell in love with the people throughout. The women broadened my perspective on the day-to-day lives of working women. I really enjoyed visiting the locations (they were so well described). Thank you to the author for your raw candor. I'm so sorry for the loss of your sister; I felt her loss..

Olivia Wild has become one of my favorite authors. This story had well developed characters who sucked you in and kept you turning the page late into the night. I have found myself drawn to darker reads and this one did not disappoint.

Viviane goes on a manhunt for her sister's killer that takes her across 3 continents. What she finds out about her sister's secret life is more than she could ever imagine. Her sister was a sex worker. What makes this story more interesting is it's based on a true story from the author's life. Olivia is a moniker for Viviane. When her sister died all she left behind was a diary and a half written book on her laptop. This is how this story was formed. Part is her sisters writing and part is hers. Very moving!

I cannot say enough about this book. The Sex Tourist is written in two parts. Book one is an unfiltered, graphic, and heartbreaking glimpse into drugs and prostitution. Book is a crime thriller and shows to what great lengths family will take to avenge justice. Sex, drugs, murder, abuse, suspense, love ... This book covers it all.

The Sex Tourist ranks as one of my top reads, I highly recommend for anyone interested in thrillers. You can't finish this book without being deeply touched and it's a story you won't soon forget. I cannot wait to see what Olivia Wild writes next.

Loved it!! Youget ideas and just enjoy the read, cigarette anyone??

Hi, sweeties! The last week I finished a book so shocking that I couldn’t even find words to describe it. The worst of this situation was that I also got a terrible cold and I stuck in bed until yesterday. So I’m back, feeling not totally well but ready to review this wonderful book!

PREMISE
I was excited when the publishing house allowed me to review this book. I’m not new to this literary genre (erotic thriller) but I’ve been deceived by an Italian author who has written a book of the same genre, but it was written really badly. I hoped that this book could reassure me about that Italian writer, and I’m happy to say that not only this book has satisfied my high expectations. I recommend you all it.

SYNOPSIS (FROM GOODREADS)
When sex worker Lilian falls for a British guy she can’t help but imagine a better life for herself, but the temptation of easy money will ultimately seal her fate.

After finding Lilian’s diary, her sister, Vivian, sparks a private international man hunt across three continents, using whatever resource she can and without any help from the authorities, in the hope of catching her sister’s killer. But to do so Vivian must also face the shocking reality of the life her sister had led. The trail to discover the truth is often more complicated than it first seems…

**This story contains explicit sexual content and graphic language and is only suitable for readers aged 18+**

EDITORIAL REVIEWS
“This novel will seductively draw you into the hidden world of sex workers, whilst also a tender love story - love between two sisters and a test of how far we will go for love” - Amazon Review

“Her approach to life makes this book an absolute page turner. I simply couldn’t put it down” - Amazon Review

REVIEW
This book isn’t suitable for those people who have a feeble tolerance to books that are strikingly shocking. I knew it before I even started the book. I was ready for this. I have read three/four Italian books that treat the same subject, so this topic wasn’t new for me. But there’s a huge difference between this and the book I’ve read at the end of January. This book is not only well written but also exciting and thrilling. Lilian Biro, called “Lily” by her relatives and her “not so good boyfriend” Tibor “Tibi”, lives a difficult life: she has to take care of her mother, who is fighting against cancer. But reality is harder than it seems. Lily doesn’t have much money, her dad lives in the UK with his new family. But here, in Budapest, things don’t go very well. That’s why Lily decides to being stripping and then hooking, and in the middle of this, she became addict to drugs and alcohol. Lily dreams to become an English teacher, but why English? She loves English literature, especially the Brontë sisters (Anne Brontë is her favorite writer) and, during a stag party, she meets Paul Taylor, who is also a book lover who loves classical books. Four years will pass until they will meet again. And in those years, the two won’t stop thinking about each other. Their love begin platonic and became a tryst when they finally meet again in London and make love close to the ruins described in one of the novels of Anne Brontë. After that, Lily decides to stay clean, to not use any kind of drugs, but she became addict to the worst one: easy money. Easy money is one of the main themes of this novel, and it shows how people who lives hard times will use their body to get the money they need in the easy way possible, even if it’s degrading, even if it means to sell your body and your soul. Everything changes for the worst when Lily decides to have sex with her last punter. What she doesn’t know is that this will be the last time Vivian sees her alive. After the discovering of the death of her sister, Vivian decides to hunt her killer and to chase him in all the three continents. A journey, that of Vivian, that will show her the abuses and the badness of the man, that will show her that many men treat women only as sexual objects, that they can use and use until they get tired. A sexualization of women so strong that it’s undeniably true. The prostitution it’s an exasperation of the sexualization of women. I must say, there’s one episode in the book that shocked me above all, and it’s when one Moroccan punter have sex with Lily in a very rude way, and says that if she’d said no, he would have raped a teenage girl. This book shows the dark side of men. I mean, what have happened in Hungary could happen as well as in Italy or Spain or even Germany. Few are the men who treat women with respect, but the most of them see women only as a sexual object.

Lilian and Vivian Biro couldn’t be more different from one another: while Lilian loves literature and books, Vivian is the scientific one, the one who would probably get the nickname “the smart one”. Not that Lily wasn’t smart. She was, but in a different way. The fact that the novel begins with a preface written by Vivian about the world of prostitution and of the callers, was a narrative plot device that I’ve never read. It clearly uses the suspension of disbelief with the reader, but also when I read it I was convinced that what I was reading was a true story; which explains the use of the suspension of disbelief. Tibor is the character responsible for getting Lily started with stripping and hooking, and, as Vivian, I hated him for most part of the book. Tibor is a nut crackhead who steals money from Lily and never give them back to her, he became a pimp and then started to sell drugs again. Paul is the “dreamy boy” of the situation, but after Lily’s death he became a man of action and not only words. Paul is the only one who will help Vivian to get revenge for Lily, and something else will happen between them that I cannot say. Death is the fil rouge in this novel, we have many times a sense of impeding death and of impending doom from the moment in which Lily decides to begin hooking. The family is also one of the main themes, become Lily decides to start hooking to get the money for her mother’s exams, because the money that her dad send them from the UK isn’t enough.

I found this book really interesting, a good mix of reality and fiction. I also liked the explicit sex scenes, sometimes I don’t like them too explicit but I think it depends on the genre of the book I’m reading… and in this case the explicit scenes were perfect. If I had to describe this book, the first term that comes to my mind is surely exciting and eye-opening. It really has opened my eyes about a reality which I didn’t know, which most people don’t know, that of the callers, of the punters and of the pimps. I also love reading dark books, so I liked a lot how the scenes were rendered: they were vivid and graphically well written. I empathasized a lot with Lilian, because I also love classic books and Charlotte Brontë is one of my favourite writers, I loved Jane Eyre. There were times in which I felt my heart breaking in pieces when I read how Lily felt when she had sex with her punters, how many times she brushed her skin to peel off the sense of filthiness that she felt in her skin. Five rocking stars for an author that conquered me from the first line.
I liked a lot also the structure of the novel: first we have an introduction written by Vivian, then we have two major divisions, the first part is written from Lily’s POV and the second from Vivian’s POV. I would like to read the sequel. When I finished the book I dreamt of another book in which Vivian and Paul maybe have a child and name her after her sister, or maybe the evil brother of the killer returns to avenge his brother by trying to kill Paul and Vivian.

Farewell you all with a quote from this book that I recommend to all who love dark romance and obscure characters:
“Lying to people is like faking reality. You’re becoming their slave by creating and maitaning a world for them which doesn’t exist.”
(Lilian Biro)

xoxo,
Giada

NOTE: This review can be read both in Italian and English in my blog.

This book was repetitive and could have been much shorter if the author didn't keep repeating parts of the story that we already knew. I felt that the characters were cold hearted and found it very difficult to muster up any sympathy for them. However, I did read it to the end, even though I didn't want to. I had to see if it ended as predictably as I thought it would. It did.

OMG!!! This book is absolutely phenomenal!! It provides a heart-wrenching, eye-opening, stomach churning experience into a world most of us will never know. It helps you connect, relate, and understand the characters and their choices. I was captivated from the beginning to the end. I highly recommend this book. It's definitely not a book for prudes. I will be recommending this to all my friends! Wow!

This was not my cup of tea. I wasn't able to finish reviewing the book.

Wow! What a difficult book to get through. Olivia Wild wrote an amazing book based on actual events in her life and it was a subject so very hard to read about. The book takes place primarily in Budapest where Lilian Biro is responsible for taking care of her ailing mother. Her twin sister, Vivian, lives in England with their father and isn't able to come home much or to help financially since she is at university. Lilian makes some tough choices to pay the bills starting with stripping and then moving on to prostitution. The majority of the book came directly from the author's sister's journal and to hear of the hash treatment she received as a prostitute was truly sad. She was treated as less than human when she was just trying to take care of her family. She had big dreams of leaving the life she was in, going to school, and had aspirations of writing a book. The fact that with every step she took to leave prostitution, something else would cause her to stay in. The characters were so well written and you really felt the sorrow Lilian felt at living a life she hated. The second portion of the book focuses on her sister, Vivian, and Paul, a man Lilian met and fell in love with. Vivian and Paul have to come together to find the truth of Lilian's life and what happened to her while she lived that life. The first part of the book is full of such sorrow and the second part is purely mystery and crime solving, but overall is was a great book and very well written from this new author.

The story was engaging in parts, but in need of editing. It was just too long with too much extraneous detail.

This was a hard read due to the subject matter esp because of Lilian's disappearance and the life she led. Her story is so heartbreaking. But as Vivian starts to unravel her sister's life to find out what happened, one can feel her love for her sister. The story catches the reader's attention to the satisfying conclusion. It definitely worth the time!

This book takes you on a journey into the life of a Hungarian prostitute, Lily, her motives, her love and eventually her murder. Her sister, Vivian, picks up where she leaves off. From her we see the aftermath of her death and Vivian's quest to find find her sister's murder. Through their eyes you see the world of prostitution, and the abuse they suffer through. This book is NOT for the faint of heart it includes mature scenes that will make you want to put it down and come back to it later.

Starting out I had my doubt as it seemed rather raw. Prostitutes, drugs, strip clubs, just not my thing. Sure enough the book evolved into a good story, albeit a bit far-fetched at times but again what do I know of such incidents. Sadly, just recently there was a news article about what young people are doing to pay for college and this made the story somewhat more realistic. As the story progressed it turned into a case of revenge and from that point in the story I became engrossed and found myself rooting for the surviving twin. Not to give anything away but to entice readers to give this book a try I will mention the elements of the story. Already mentioned the prostitution and drugs, but there is also a multi continent chase, elements of romance, murder, violence, the latest spy ware technology and seemingly an explanation for why a young woman would put herself through this. I personally despise anyone who would abuse a woman, but there is some physical violence involved and let’s face it, it does exist and its insertion into the story appears as brutal realism. When reaching the part about DNA forensics I was astonished at the knowledge shown, over my head but still impressive. This being the author’s first book gives me an expectation of some great reading in the future and as such I will be following this young lady’s work and sincerely hope others will also. Her Bio states this book to be based on her own true life events which further validates the story. Must give all the stars allowed on this one.

I loved this book. It pulls you in straight away. It's gritty, honest and at times hard to read but is worth every second of your time.

4.75-5 STARS

“The Sex Tourist” is a starkly graphic depiction of the life of a Hungarian call girl named Lily and the events that transpired leading to her subsequent murder. Written in two halves, the first part of the book is taken from Lily’s own diary accounts. The second half chronicles the events AFTER Lily’s death, written by her twin sister, Vivian.

While many aspects of this story are disturbing, I found it fascinating, nonetheless. No one aspires to become a prostitute. But sometimes life takes you on an unexpected journey, riddled with bumps and turns along the way. At the onset, "The Sex Tourist" details Lily's horrific life's journey, then later diverges into Vivian's. It's the story of twin sisters that started out together, but ultimately traveled two entirely different paths.

How much is fact and how much is fiction, is difficult to assess. I suspect, however, that much of what is written is reality-based, taken from actual events. That being said, one cannot read Lily & Vivian’s story and not find that they have been touched in a very significant way. Their story is poignant, disconcerting and alarmingly real. And a story I won't easily forget.

I did not find this interesting it did not hold my attention and I gave up after the first chapter.