Exposed: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Ashley Weis' novel Exposed is a well-written, fast-paced novel. Weis examines the fictional lives of two women: Allyson Graham and Taylor Adams. Allyson's character, although somewhat of a drama queen, reacts to her husband's addiction in the way I imagine most women would. Taylor is very much a predictable, cliche character. Her daddy issues have lead her to working in the porn industry, and she has dismissed all religion from her life. The novel was tastefully written, and minimally graphic.

The pace of the book kept me thinking about it whenever I couldn't read it. I was definitely "hooked". I did find it to be predictable and, at times, super cliche. The ending was a bit of a disappointment, because I feel there should have been a few more pages of development.

The surprising part of the novel for me was that this is Christian Fiction. I had not expected that, based on the description on the back. Weis does a wonderful job of incorporating Christianity without making it consume the storyline in the novel.

I recommend this novel for anyone interested in reading a racier Christian Fiction novel, or anyone who is going through the same situations as the two main characters.

There is something so powerful about a book told by someone who has lived through the devastation of a marriage upheaved by a spouse's porn addiction. In trying to understand the sin, Ashley does a wonderful job at getting inside the skin of the victims on both side of this troubling but very real fence. Ashley Weis takes us where few in Christian fiction dare to tread. She addresses every woman's nightmare with frankness, truth and love. Her style is clean and efficient, her story line, powerful. Weis shows that hope can shine just as brilliantly among the neon of the sex industry as it does through a stained glass church window. Anyone who claims that Christian fiction is pat and irrelevant hasn't read this novel.

I recommend this book to men and women who struggle with porn addiction or love someone who has. In no way does this novel glorify or accept the sin. It simply offers grace, compassion and the hope of restoration and redemption.

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The title Exposed is very fitting! Ashley Weis opens readers eyes to the real truths about porn. It's more than a fantasy. As a wife of a porn addicted husband I know how it ruins lives and cuts to the core of a woman. This novel shows the pain on both sides of the story, as a wife of an addict and a young woman becoming a porn star. I could not put down this book! I was so intrigued with both Taylor and Ally's stories! Each chapter keeps you wanting to know what happens next! It's powerful, emotional, and beautiful all in one. I loved this book! It will show you that there is hope in God even when life seems hopeless! I recommend anyone to read Exposed, especially hurting wives! Thank you Ashley for writing this book!

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It appears that 90+% of the reviews for this book are written by women, so I'll try to offer a slightly different perspective and conclusion that I hope will give men a reason to read the book.

First, I obviously liked the book a lot. It is well written overall, offers unique perspectives from the point of view of two women who couldn't be more different, and in the end weaves the two stories together in a way I didn't see coming at first (although, once the two character's stories start to merge, the ending becomes very predictable). I found the story engrossing, and it made me want to keep reading.

But be prepared to be depressed. This is a very depresssing story even though it ends on a hopeful note.

The story of Taylor, the young woman who flees a terrible home situation only to end up in an equally terrible life as a porn star, is heartbreaking and believable. The story of Allyson was much harder for me to believe. Here is a woman who has been happily married for several years to a man she loves deeply and who apparently treats her very well. Then, with just one discovery that her husband views porn on the internet, everything falls apart. Suddenly, she sees him as unfaithful, a cheater, a man who doesn't love her, a liar, a pervert and basically scum she wants no part of. And remember, all this is before she knows he is addicted. How can you go from feeling for many years that he treats her like gold to this overreaction? Did anything happen during the good years to lead her to feel she wasn't loved? Apparently not. So, for all those years, his addiction didn't seem to impact their lives together in the slightest. Why is the discovery that a man looks at porn (who hasn't?) such a life changing event for Allyson? Even the very religious President Carter admitted to feeling "lust in his heart," and his wife seemed to accept it so long as it wasn't acted upon.

The husband's addiction is revealed to Allyson a little at a time, each time with a profuse apology, no mean words of justification, and endless declarations that he loves her and it means nothing to him. He tries and tries to make it up to her. Yet her response, time and again, is to ask him if he thinks the woman he looked at is more beautiful than she is, prodding him to disprove his own words. What a Catch 22: answer no, and she thinks he's lying again; answer yes and she feels worse. His answer: yes, the woman is more beautiful than her, but Allyson has an inner beauty she can't match. Wow! Truly an unbelievable response. No man in his right mind who claims to love his wife would answer that way and throw fuel on the fire.

So her husband looks at porn and that makes Allyson feels justified in having her own affair with her real former boyfriend. But how can looking at porn be considered equally as bad as having a real life affair?

I found her reactions irritating and hard to believe. However, I will defer to the many women who reviewed the book and said that is exactly how they would feel, and I accept it as fact, since I'm not in a position to know.

Without revealing the ending, I again found it hard to believe that Allyson would change her very judgmental attitudes so radically without going through a gradual transformation.

That said, it was still a compelling storyline. And I learned something new about how differently women may react to things that most men don't view as a big deal. (A big thanks to the women reviewers here for making it clear that Allyson's feelings were realistic. I wouldn't have known otherwise.)

Definitely worth a read by both women and men.

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Ashley Weis came up with the idea for Exposed, from the depths of her own painful experience. After discovering her husband was addicted to pornography, she slowly made her way through her own personal nightmare. After she blogged about the healing process that she and her husband went through, she was bombarded with emails and contacts from women who had gone through the same heartache or were currently experiencing something similar.

Ashley wrote this novel so that other women will know they are not alone. Part of the proceeds from the sale of Exposed will go to help support various non-profit organizations that are helping those who are affected by pornography. You can read more about these organizations in the back of the book or by visiting the author's blog at Exposed A Novel

Exposed is the fictional story of Jessie and Ally Graham whose fairy tale marriage is shattered within seconds. When Ally accidentally bumps her husband's computer mouse, the image on the screen stops her cold.

As the realization begins to sink in of what her husband has been looking at Ally feels that her whole life has been a lie. From the sweet courtship and proposal to her seemingly "perfect" marriage it all collapses into a mess right before Ally's eyes.

When Jessie admits that he has an addiction, Ally struggles with the choice of whether to stay or go. The more they try to work things out, the more details she discovers and is taken to the brink of what she feels she is able to handle. The heartache deepens before it begins to heal and Jessie and Ally's marriage hangs in the balance.

What I found so interesting about this book is that it also tells the story of Taylor Adams, a young women who is desperate to support herself. Lonely, broke, and suffering from very low self-esteem, Taylor turns to the only man who has ever made her feel valued and finds herself slowly sinking into the dark, painful profession of a porn star.

This is not an easy read. It's very difficult at times to stomach what Taylor is being put through and though the details on both sides of this story are gritty and somewhat graphic, Ashley Weis handles the subject matter with grace.

This book is the perfect example of victims on both sides of this industry. Those who are paid to work it and those who pay to watch it.

I applaud the author for taking on such a sensitive topic and admitting the struggles that she and her husband faced. I think this book will be an encouragement for other women and I highly recommend it.