Verdict: "Caught in the Net" is an intriguing romance, examining a modern woman’s psyche as she deals with the dilemma of her online fantasy colliding with reality.

“Caught in the Net” is a modern day erotica/romance tale about Ellen Stiles.  A wife and mother of two, Ellen indulges her sexy alter ego in an on-line fantasy world, only to get caught in a net of deception and confusion, balancing precariously between what’s real and what’s not.

Author J.G. Mère effectively captures the protagonist’s distracted stream of consciousness as she intermingles her experiences online with her day-to-day experiences and how the fantasy of her internet world make her own life pale in comparison. But, Mère also reveals what happens when the internet life comes to life, with sobering results.

Mère creates a sense of the protagonist’s adrenalin rush and anticipation at meeting her online lover, through her erratic shifts from one thought to another, from her constant comparison of one world and another, but also conveys soft, smooth and dream-like moments when Ellen is lost in her own freedom of fantasy and imagination: “She felt as though she were tumbling through space, a woman without boundaries.”

Though there are some monotonous moments in the chit-chat dialogue between the protagonist and her friends, repetitive sexual responses to her online lover, and confusion about whether the narrator or Ellen is speaking, the writing is mostly succinct and clear of typos.

“Caught in the Net” reveals the enticement of the internet chat world, but also the reality of it in with candor and also, humor. When Ellen is chatting with her girlfriend about meeting Bennie, her online mate, Suzy reminds Ellen why online chatting is preferable to meeting the person:

“The three physical things people on the Internet don’t have:

1 Bellies. 2. Bulges. 3. Open sores.

The three physical things Internet people do have:

1. Big breasts (women). 2. Manes of hair (men). 3. Lotsa muscle tone.”

Mère effectively brings out Ellen’s dilemma between wanting excitement and the freedom that her internet fantasy gives her, but also the comfort that her familiar relationship gives her. She describes her relationship with her husband to her online mate: “We move slowly together, but we do move. Our pace is a life-long pace. This is very comforting to me. He is my cornerstone.” Ellen’s guilt is also well conveyed as it drifts in and out of her passion and lustful moments. Though the ending is not altogether unpredictable, it makes for a touching ending that is well woven into Ellen’s transformation.

“Caught in the Net” is an intriguing romance, examining a modern woman’s psyche as she deals with the dilemma of her online fantasy colliding with reality.

Reviewed by Maya Fleischmann for IndieReader