Susan Napier (1)

This read was funny to me in that I'd actually been trying out a few things with format. I wasn't planning on reading the book when I did. I simply opened it one time to see how it had converted from ePub to mobi and then couldn't stop reading. Next thing I knew I was on chapter 3 and had absolutely no intentions of stopping. And I had to go pick up kids and such! So I had to quickly transfer it to my phone so I could read while sitting in parking lots and such. :-) So I think you can pretty show more much tell what my assessment of this book is--I love, love, loved it!!! It has been a long time since I felt sucked into a book told only from the heroines pov. That in itself was interesting to me. Usually I like a strong male pov throughout. And this one wasn't all bitter as so many single pov books I've read have been. That was cool too. It could have been, the conflicts were there but I loved how the heroine herself pointedly chose not to be bitter but to find a way to see a good in things. Totally loved it. Gonna have to get more of Susan's books. Which makes me laugh. Every time I think, 'Why am I picking up books by new authors when so often they are not panning out?' Then I run across a gem and know why. And once again because of a free book given to me, I'm now buying more. :-) show less

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

I rarely re-read books because there are so many out there, but the right time, place, and mood had me queue up Price of Passion for a second time. I knew I’d read it before, and remembered a bunch of things, but still enjoyed the book. I thought it might be interesting to compare my original review with the notes I wrote down this time, eight years later, as different aspects stood out.

Here is the original review:

Price of Passion by Susan Napier show more was a very interesting take on the series theme of pregnant mistresses. In true proof that you can take an old idea and make it new, this story has a twist I couldn’t see coming at all, but when I got there, it made sense and worked on multiple levels. Add that the male lead is a writer, and I was quite amused. Unlike Dragonfly, this was pure candy and perfect for that role. Besides, it has a three-legged dog and a kitten. What else could you ask for? If that’s not enough, it also has wonderful personal conflicts, and the introduction of secondary characters who love to cause trouble for the male lead.

And my thoughts on the reread:

This is a delightful, somewhat old-style, Harlequin with neat cultural differences for Australia and interesting characters. It does fall under the assumption romance category, but there are reasons for what she believes, which drive her actions so that he assumes the rules are her own rather than a desperate attempt not to trigger his need to escape. The animals, a dog and kitten, are a good stand-in for the humans’ need for attachments, and though I’d read this before, the twist about her pregnancy came as a surprise, a sign there’s enough story beyond the traditional theme to stand on its own.

Despite this being about two people actively involved in a long-term relationship with each other, the story was one of discovery and seeing beyond the facade. They felt quite real, and the reasons for their defenses did as well. Interesting choice not to make everything come up roses at the end, but it’s a traditional romance so it still did for the two main characters, Drake and Kate.

I quite enjoyed the read, even though it never brought me to tears, so I wasn’t that deeply engaged with the characters.

Ultimately, the story proved an entertaining, quick read both times. I find it interesting how the twist caught me twice, indicating it is an unexpected turn on a very traditional theme, but one that works. Of course, the animals deserved a mention, and my notes about their nature and purpose in the story grew more detailed by the second read. show less

I don't think Susan Napier can write a bad HP. I mean, I usually hate deception-based plots - there's always cringing as the lies crumble, and it's hard to sympathize with a liar caught in his/her own trap - but Napier can apparently make me like one.

Anne Tremaine is our liar. Her sister Katlin is an author and single mother who won a lucrative grant to write a novel. Lovely as this is, she feels she can only write at her secluded cabin and without her infant to fuss over. As the grant show more requires the recipient to reside at an Auckland university, they plan to have Anne stay with the baby in Auckland and pretend to be her sister.

Anne's neighbor Hunter Lewis turns out to be a visiting professor, a famous author and a personal friend of the grant giver. Naturally, he's also gorgeous, overbearing, mercurial and absolutely irresistable. Cue the angst over competing wants and needs.

Regardless, I loved the characters and their conversation. Anne is fiercely devoted to her family, and the book seems to agree that it's both a strength and a flaw of hers, so her ruse is a bit more palatable. Watching her brazen it out with Hunter is pretty amusing, seeing her mix truth, half-truth and outright fabrication, and occasionally painting herself into a corner doing it. Hunter was a big cuddly bear with Anne and the baby, and just a straight up bear with Anne, and she was all up ons, more than a match for his moods, whatever they were.

These two were made for each other. Anne's eternal optimism and pragmatism complement Hunter's cynical pessimism, and neither would ever be able to run roughshod over the other. Exactly what I love to see in an HP - a strong alpha male and a woman who can take him down a notch. show less

Unexpectedly expecting, Kate decides the best course of action is to temporarily move in to the beach house next door to her sometime lover, Drake, while at the same time, she’s in seemingly no hurry to clue him in about her condition. Drake, meantime, as an author, is very adamant about his alone time, and as a man, he’s even more adamant about never becoming a father.

This book most appealed to me in its quieter moments, like the walks on the beach or the morning she first meets the show more dog. And there was an interesting twist that I absolutely did not see coming, although that was followed up with a misunderstanding that I just sort of shook my head over and then I get that a certain ending would seem like a traditionally satisfying way to wrap things up, but for me, for that to have happened, and for a certain character to have been good with it, insisting that was what they wanted, was quite a leap. I could see that character getting there at some point, but that just felt too quick for such a turnaround.

Speaking of the characters, I was good with the animals, I thought they brought out the best in Kate and Drake more than Kate and Drake brought out the best in each other, but the humans on their own, I definitely struggled with them.

I struggled with Kate’s passive aggressive plan to move in next door without telling Drake about the pregnancy, I probably would have preferred seeing her upfront say, hey, I’m having a baby, be a part of it, or don’t, instead of her sitting around in a bathing suit desperate to catch his eye and the stereotypical claws out squabbling with another woman over Drake. Kate’s actions, her game playing, too often made her seem like she didn’t have much dignity.

I struggled with Drake’s sexual innuendo in and out of the bedroom, there were just times where for me, the words coming out of his mouth seemed like a bit much, though there are probably other readers who will find it attractive. Also not so attractive to me, like Kate, Drake’s a game player, he keeps her guessing about his involvement with other women when there was no reason to do so other than he likes making her jealous even though she seemingly couldn’t have a conversation with a man, including Drake’s own friends without Drake becoming territorial, and I just thought if jealousy makes him that miserable why would he inflict the same anguish on someone I’m supposed to believe that he loves. Add to that the way he responds in a moment where Kate emotionally really needs someone (a moment he even thought was worse than it was) and I just felt like yeah, he’s angry and has every right to be, but my kind of hero, in that moment, would say to himself, I’ll be there for her now in a deeper way than just driving her where she needs to go and save the anger for later. I guess that’s the bottom line, he just wasn’t my kind of hero.

I guess this wasn’t even really my kind of romance novel, it’s weird how much I love soap operas on television yet in books, the older I get the less tolerance I seem to have for melodrama and game playing, however, I do think someone with different sensibilities than mine could be quite entertained by this book. show less