Shocking Pink

Disclosure: Got an advance copy of the book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. Nobody has gotten a copy of this review before it went live.

This is a book for those 18+ (21+ in some areas) about the porn industry. If that doesn't appeal to you then don't read this review or book.

Trigger warnings for the book (does contain spoiler): pornography, sex, violence, suicide, hint of racism, courthouse, trial, driving / car decency, funeral, pyrotechnics

[a:Stuart Canterbury|8367483|Stuart Canterbury|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is the perfect person to write this book, not only does he do a great job of covering the industry within this book, he was an writer, director and producer on many movies so he knows what happens.

The book covers not just what happens in front of (or behind) the camera, but also what happens outside of "action" and "cut". You see that everyone is a person, who has their own things going on.

"For a group who made a living out of make-believe, it was all too real now; even on such a flawless day in the flux of life, nobody could ignore what ending came to all."

"The story behind the movie was always more interesting than the story on the screen. "

The book seems to take place over the course of a year, but there aren't any exact date, which makes it a bit harder to read when periods of time seem to be skipped.

The author does include many details which helps with the book, and some places the author doesn't include any detail. For example, the author mentions that someone says thank you. The author didn't have to include that, but they did.

The industry and relationships may look good on the outside, but you don't really know what is happening. And there are many things that happen that you wouldn't see every day.

"Only does scenes with other girls. This always happens when the girls get involved in off-camera relationships with men. Very hard on the male to see her going off to work in the morning to swallow an anaconda.”
Travis did not want to get into such serpentine details. “Understood. You have to respect the girl’s feelings. Especially given the proportions.”"

"If any neutral witness had seen what he had written, the random list on the paper would have been baffling: Pegging. Uniforms. Secretary. Brazilian. Grandma."

The author does include multiple stories within the book, and I wish they had finished one story before moving onto the next one as it was confusing at some times (and to ensure the reader doesn't forget anything).

There were times the book seemed to be in third-person, and other times it was in first-person. But it was all done in a way that allowed to reader to understand what was going on.

The author includes a major quote from someone near the end of the book, that could have been used to end the book in a really powerful way, but the author chose to end the book in a different way.

"Sometimes, you think you really know someone well. And maybe you think the worst of them. But they can surprise you. It turns out that there can be good in everyone. But as far as I am concerned he should win an award, you know, as a human being."