Dara Joy

Dara Joy's Tonight or Never is a delightful romp that is equal parts humor, tender emotion, and red hot lovin'. All the characters are pretty lighthearted, and the whole story embodies a hilarity that frequently had me smiling and laughing. One example is a scene in which Chloe coshes John over the head with a vase (on purpose), followed by the couple running through the halls of the manor house stark naked. It nearly had me rolling on the floor. Many a time I found myself thinking that this show more book would make a great romantic comedy movie. It isn't just about the ruckus of fun and games though. There is a very sweetly emotional element to the plot as well, in the form of a long-held love between two best friends slowly being realized by one and then admitted by the other. The love scenes are frequent, thoroughly hot, and exquisitely sensual without crossing the line into the erotic. With the exception of Lisa Kleypas, I don't believe I have yet read any other author who can write multiple love scenes in one book so creatively, with each one being as luscious as the last, but still completely different from all the ones before. Anyone who is enchanted by the idea of love-making involving bathtubs, balconies, flower gardens and sensual massage should definitely read this book. Each scene was masterfully crafted and had me sighing with satisfaction. Tonight or Never doesn't have any suspense, danger or real villains. It's just good old-fashioned romance that is all about the relationship. There is a light mystery sub-plot surrounding French nobles, who had supposedly gone to the guillotine, but later show up on John and Chloe's doorstep, and the identity of their savior, The Black Rose. This made for a fun little side plot that I actually didn't figure out until nearly the moment it was revealed, but there was never anything to weigh down the overall lightness of the story.

I absolutely loved John and Chloe, and thought they were just made for each other. John is a dissolute rake, nicknamed “The Lord of Sex” by the ton, but he is actually hiding a sensitive soul behind his shameless womanizing ways. After seeing the pain of his mother's broken heart over his father's destructive gambling and early death, John subconsciously decided that he would never risk putting himself through the same thing and locked his heart up tight. John is mostly a beta hero with just a dash of alpha protectiveness and possessiveness. He tries a few times to play the dominating husband card with endearing results, because he's just too nice of a guy to make it stick. He's also the consummate lover who is more interested in sharing pleasure than conquering his lovely wife. He isn't a swashbuckling hero and isn't even particularly good at business. He's just simply the paramour who flits from one lady's bedroom to the next until Chloe puts a stop to that once and for all, giving him everything he's always wanted and more. Chloe is John's best friend in the whole world, and she is the only person he has ever felt like he could truly be himself with. They met when she was only six and he was sixteen, and for years he has played the big brother-type protector. By the time she was a teenager, Chloe knew exactly who she wanted to marry, and that was John. She bided her time until she was grown up, hoping that John would take notice of her as a woman. When he still didn't seem to, she put into action a cunning scheme to bring this notorious rake to heel. I love Chloe's determination to go after what she wanted, and that even from a young age, she seemed to always understand John better than he understood himself. She knew exactly the right “carrots” to dangle in front of him to gain his cooperation, and all it took was luring him into her web to get him to realize what he had always known, but couldn't acknowledge: Chloe was his soulmate. I thought that John's journey to that realization was rendered in a very natural and gradual way, making it seem more realistic. I also thoroughly enjoyed their witty bantering, and some of their interactions were reminiscent of my own relationship with my husband, making them completely relatable to me.

Tonight or Never had a riotous cast of supporting characters, starting with Chloe's grandmother, Simone and John's uncle, Maurice, who have a sweet long-term romance of their own that mirrors John and Chloe's. Again, I loved the sneakiness that Maurice used to get what he wanted as well. Then there is John's self-declared best friend, Percy, a hilarious fop who seems to think that fashion and what color to wear is cause for a personal emergency. The French guests who keep showing up at the door were equally funny, from the self-involved Zu-zu who thinks the world revolves around her, to Baronne Dufond who decides to wear John's prized model ship in her hair, to the seven Cyns, the Cyndreac brothers, who all look alike, chase every female in sight and cause general mayhem everywhere they go. In spite of their foibles, all were strangely likable. In fact, thinking of all their exploits is still making me laugh as I'm writing this.

After my last read which was quite dark, I was looking for something to lighten my mood, and I couldn't have made a better choice than Tonight or Never. It was a near perfect read for me in every way. The only thing that I thought could have improved it, would have been more explanation of John and Chloe's connection. As written, it was a rather magical thing that simply was. Their relationship was so sweet, tender and passionate, it wasn't at all difficult to see that their unbreakable bond was very real. It just would have been nice if the author had demonstrated it a little more, perhaps by adding more scenes from their youth. This was a fairly small thing though, that didn't really detract much from my overall enjoyment of the novel. Ms. Joy certainly has a talent with words, describing the character's expressions, actions and interactions in a way that drew me into the book and made me feel like I was right there with them. Any romance lover looking for a rollicking good read to lighten the day and lift their spirits, but that still has plenty of touching emotional depth, should look no further. Tonight or Never was a wonderful feel-good story that was a pure pleasure for me to read. It has earned a place on my keeper shelf for those times when I just need a little boost. This was my first read by Dara Joy, but it most definitely will not be my last. Tonight or Never is part of Lovespell's multi-author series, Legendary Lovers, but to my knowledge the books are all stand-alones with no connection to each other besides a running theme of them being based on the stories and legends of famous lovers. This one parodies Don Juan mixed with a sub-plot of The Scarlet Pimpernel. show less

A romance set in England during the French Revolution. Chloe and John have known each other since childhood. John is now the most notorious rake in England and Chloe is finally grown up and has returned from a trip to France. She's determined that they belong together and decides to seduce him and convince him of the same. They marry for convenience (never mind why), and then Chloe enacts her plan. Meanwhile, everyone is speculating about the identity of the Black Rose, a master of disguise show more who is saving French aristocrats from the the guillotine and bringing them to England. When a lot of those saved aristocrats start showing up at Chloe and John's estate, John suspects that the Black Rose is one of their many house guests, and he and Chloe try to spy out his identity.

Dara Joy is quite good at writing suuuper ridiculous and over-the-top plots and keeping them fun. This is no different. The interplay between Chloe and John gets just a smidge unbelievable (they are both trying to keep the fact that they love and adore each other from one another, and it's a little hard to believe that they can't see this about each other--I mean, they are beyond wooby), and the second half of the book (which is mostly about discovering the Black Rose) feels a bit like a different book than the first half, but, honestly, it's all fun. My only real complaint is the absurd use of euphemisms for the bits of ladies and gents. (A "women's portal" is, like, the entrance to a communal time machine in a sci-fi novel about a segregated society, okay? Not a piece of anatomy.) I can never decide if Joy is doing this tongue-in-cheek or not, but the use doesn't feel coy, so it's not bad enough to ruin the read. show less

A cracking good read for me, though I suspect it's not for everyone. This is a genderflipped Regency romance in space. Yes. (Yeesss.) A thousand years before the story begins, a ship crewed by women landed on Forus and set up a society in which the initially genetically manipulated test-tube-born men are the "weaker" sex--protected, oppressed, and expected to obey their mothers and then wives in all things, including remaining virginal until marriage. Jorlan (oh, lord, the names are, to a show more one, soooo bad) is a sheltered, highly sought after young aristocrat with no intention of ever agreeing to marry. Green is a well-respected politician and landowner with no intention of seeking to marry. When Green gets wind of villainy afoot with regards to Jorlan's future, she maneuvers them into a marriage, at which point Jorlan and Green must negotiate their personalities, conflicting ideologies (Jorlan is determined (single-handedly?) to bring equality to men), and further villainy as they make a life together. The plot is a bit predictable and the story has some flaws (the vague workings of the matriarchal society, the occasional wooby nature stuff, the silly names), but the world building, characterization, and writing are surprisingly good. There's also some very neat play with traditionally gendered language in the sex scenes. Recommended if you like this sort of thing. show less

3.5 stars

*This is a #TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion.

Zanita scrunched her shoulders and warily glanced around the room. She had no idea what he had been talking about, and now she had no idea what she had been talking about. But he thought he knew what she was talking about.

I'm going to start by saying that 97% (admittedly not up to Tyber scientific standards) of this story is goofy fun, show more which makes the extremely dark moment at 90% whiplash the hell out of you. I'm going to try and recapture the light fun I had reading for most of the story but I can't help but feel that 90% moment as I look back at the story.
Buckle your seat-belts, because Mario Cart wishes it had banana peels to make you spin-out the way this book does.

Tyber stared at her, speechless. Again. When he did speak, his voice held a note of awe. "You are completely non-linear, Zanita."

Zanita is a reporter for her local paper, in which her grandfather is the editor. She's been regulated to soft stories as her grandpa doesn't want her in any danger. In an effort to break out and maybe get picked up by a bigger newspaper, she decides to go rogue and investigate Xavier LaLeche, a man claiming to be able to heal with psychic energy. However, Zanita is a bit left of center and she mistakes signing up for the psychic seminar with a physics one, taught by the world renowned Tyberius Augustus Evans (I will refrain from always typing out his full name, but know in my heart I am). Tyber is delightfully confounded attracted to her and he's pretty much instaloved from the moment they speak. Zanita's favorite saying at the moment is “Men, boil them in oil!” and wants nothing to do with a relationship, but Tyber is a Chris Hemsworth look-a-like with a PHD, she's only human, folks! Tyber creates situations to get her back in his orbit, a movie night, and a pool party, where she's the only guest!, you sly Dr., you, and when he learns that she's trying to investigate LaLeche, he comes up with a plan to help her, make sure she's safe, and work to lower her guard towards a relationship.

He was shameless. An unconventional, incredibly alluring, no-holds-barred kook! Zanita really liked him.

The plot of them investigating LaLeche is definitely there but, it's also kind of loosely strung together. Your enjoyment of this is going to hinge on if you want bananapants additives, Tyber lives in a reworked Victorian mansion that has a labyrinth of mythological topiary creatures and generally sounds like the Winchester mansion, Tyber's bed is a giant oyster, maple syrup is at one point drizzled down into her bush (seriously, this seems more logistically problematic than sexy??), and Zanita can't get any sleep in the beginning because of The Hogs (rogue pack of pigs) and goofy side-characters, Tyber lives with a former scientist that now thinks he's the cook on a pirate ship, talking/acting accordingly, a cat named Hambone, that well, this was Zanita meeting him: "And this is Hambone."
The cat raised a chubby paw.
Zanita knelt down to shake his paw. "Hi, Hambone, pleased to meet you." She swore the cat grinned at her, an aunt of Zanita's that might just put a Lady Danbury in her place, a little kid that when asked what his father does, he answers with: He replied innocently, "He does women.", and a My-Maggy, which frankly, I'm not totally sure where she came from but she's described as a “battleaxe” once, so welcome to the party.

For the first time in her life, she lost her inhibitions; she screamed and hollered and had one hell of a time.

These two had off-center byplay that I enjoyed and you're also going to get some steamy scenes. Can I just say, can we get back to the main female character getting to “screamed and hollered and having had one hell of a time”? I mean: He slid into her like a steel pylon through molten ore., we used to be a proper genre. I really enjoyed their brand of chemistry, sure it's goofy interactions with physics cross-talk at times but there was absolute sweetness in the way Tyber handled Zanita: Zanita never knew if it was Tyber's regular routine to sit on the porch swing at that hour, or if he stopped his work just to wait for her to come home so they could sit and unwind together after the day. All she knew for sure was that she began looking forward to their quiet hour before dinner. And tell me why this goofy little scene had my eyes watering out of nowhere: Courage. She sucked in a deep breath. "Tyber, we need to talk about this—"
"Hey, look," he interrupted her, "one of the tropical fish is staring straight at you with a strange glint in its eye."
"Where?" She peered over her shoulder at the tank.
He swooped across her. "Zanita, really, how could a fish affect a strange glint?"
His eyes danced with mirth. And something else. Something suspiciously close to the quarter deck. "If they're your fish, they could. Get off!"
"Know how fish kiss? Like this." His open mouth covered her own. He raised his head, strands of his hair brushing across the peaks of her breasts. "They look like this, don't they?" Pressing his lips together, he sucked in his cheeks, causing his lips to bow out like a fish's mouth. Leaving his mouth tightly closed, he moved his pursed lips up and down while crossing his eyes. It was the funniest thing she had ever seen. Peals of laughter caused her to clutch her stomach. Tyber untied the sash on her robe, bending over to nibble her midriff with his undulating fish lips. Zanita couldn't stop laughing. It tickled and every time he raised his head to stare at her with those crossed eyes and moving lips, she was gone.
Zanita is about to say that she thinks she should move out of Tyber's house, she feels herself getting too attached and is ready to run, Tyber feels her fear and with a little panic of his own and understanding of her, he distracts her and brings her back to him. You can read manipulation in his actions throughout the book, sure, but this is also romance fiction, so I inherently know (also add in some of those emotional nuances) that Zanita loves him, so you can also read his love and understanding of her. It could read corny but I've been reading some newer contemporary romance that could use a return to some of this sweet and “corny” fun between two people falling in love; fun can have depth, too!

"To remove the temptation from you; it's obvious to me, Tyber, you can't help yourself from acting like a boyfriend."
Think. Think. "You've got this all wrong, baby."
"I do?"
"Yes. I'm not acting like your boyfriend. I—" Think! "I'm conducting an experiment."
"An experiment?" Her brows furrowed as she mulled this over. "What kind of an experiment?"
What kind of an experiment! I'm testing my sanity. "It's… it's an experiment on… High Energy."

Now, on to that ending, it was a bit rushed in regards to how they find out the way to prove that LaLeche is a fraud and without much fanfare, Zanita writes her article. The article angers LaLeche in a way that has him acting out a villain that felt wildly too dark for this story. He traps Zanita in her apartment and physically acts to rape her until she fends him off by saying that the FBI is onto him. Oops, yeah, I forget to say that the FBI is sideline in this. The real fear felt by Zanita in this moment was heavy hitting, made even more so by how the previous 90% of the tone was goofy fun. This dark moment just didn't fit and honestly threw me enough that I lost a ton of the light fun I was having reading this and colored my experience. We get Tyber comforting her and dealing with LaLeche (he does literally dick punch him before the FBI arrests him, so slight return of good feelings) and then Zanita finally making a move, which I loved, Tyber deserved that after all the putting himself out there he did. I did see this has a sequel, with Tyber and Zanita back in action, and if I ever feel like goofy fun again, I'll probably read but I'm not sure I'll be able to fully relax as I'll be on guard for another really dark moment.

*I was in love with the Tyber tightie whitey book cover but my god, look at that Kindle cover. THE LIGHTENING show less