After ten gratifying years of being “Just Julia,” a sought after, high-end escort in Toronto, it's time to hang up the lingerie. In Gail Treasure’s debut novel, Wife by the Hour, Julia attempts to retire from her services, but her final client, Alex, proves to be anything but forgettable. With an instant steamy connection, what begins as a transactional relationship quickly evolves into something far more complicated—tender, dangerous, and real. The only problem? Alex is married to Zoe, Julia’s once-upon-a-time best friend from their gap year abroad in a small town in France twenty-five years ago. Though Julia and Zoe have lost touch since, Alex eventually invites Julia to join him and his family in that very same town for a vacation. As Julia navigates her growing feelings for Alex, proximity to his family threatens to unravel everything. Emotions deepen, boundaries blur, and secrets come to light, culminating in a messy, sexy romance that barrels through two families and a beautiful French town, revealing everyone’s truths along the way. Treasure took a simple man-meets-woman romance and layered it with the elegance of French culture, the fragility of female friendship, and the ache of infidelity, creating a beautifully complicated story of love and womanhood. At first glance, Julia might seem like a character difficult to relate to: a high-end escort who seems to be obsessed with a married man. But soon, readers get to know the real Julia behind her alter ego: a mother, a friend, a person who understands the complexities of family, marriage, and being a woman—a character that women of 2025 can heavily relate to. Treasure gives us a heroine who is bold, flawed, and refreshingly self-aware—a woman who writes her own rules even when the world pushes back. It’s rare to find a romance that’s both scorching and emotionally intelligent—Wife by the Hour delivers both in spades. The plot dynamically shifts between stories of the past, scandalous moments with Alex, and scenes set in the picturesque town of St. Paul de Vence, offering a Fifty Shades of Grey vibe, while also delving into the complexities of female friendships and the challenges of motherhood. Treasure also sprinkles in excerpts from Julia’s blog throughout the narrative, exploring larger topics such as sex work and infidelity—these infuse the novel with both intellectual heft and emotional depth. Ultimately, Wife by the Hour is a bold debut that blends heat, heartbreak, and hard truths. Set against a sun-soaked French backdrop, Treasure offers a sharp, refreshingly sex-positive take on modern love—one that dares to ask what we owe each other, and what we owe ourselves. Perfect for fans of morally messy heroines, slow-burning scandal, and the grey areas of modern relationships, this is a novel that proves romance can be both fearless and deeply felt. Kudos to Treasure for crafting a powerful romance novel with a larger outlook on life. —CANREADS BOOK REVIEW