I thought the suspense plot was pointless, so this book loses a few points for that. I loved the relationship between the h/h.
Every single character in this book is a caricature...the horribly mean hero who only acts that way because he's been so hurt and just needs the love of a good woman; the oh-so-perfect heroine--she's intelligent, educated, a crack shot, not at all shocked or scared over sex even though she's, of course!, a virgin; the obviously-dropped-on-the-head-too-many-times-as-a-baby brother; the fun, feisty grandmother who I would have loved if the rest of the book weren't so awful; and, finally, the savior child who "cures" the hero of his issues. I was so flabbergasted that THIS was the most popular book in the online romance world that I read it a second time, just to make sure it wasn't a case of a book not living up to the hype. But no, I hated it even more upon rereading.
A part of me is convinced that Loretta Chase wrote this as a parody of historical romance, and when readers actually loved it as a real romance she just played along.
A part of me is convinced that Loretta Chase wrote this as a parody of historical romance, and when readers actually loved it as a real romance she just played along.
Boring. The whole book was just a constant back and forth argument about ONE event, and while the arguments themselves were well-written and made sense* considering the characters, by the end I just didn't care if this couple got back together. There was nothing romantic about this story.
*Made sense, that is, until the hero suffered from an acute drop in IQ points and said, right when things were starting to look up, "Why do women always turn everything into a major drama?" Really, jackass? That's how you go about trying to win back your wife.
*Made sense, that is, until the hero suffered from an acute drop in IQ points and said, right when things were starting to look up, "Why do women always turn everything into a major drama?" Really, jackass? That's how you go about trying to win back your wife.
More like 3.5 stars. The relationship between Mick and Winnie was wonderful and Mick is officially my favorite Romance hero now. But this book loses major points for the plot. The ending with the whole long-lost heir bit felt tacked on as a last minute resolution and it really took away from the story. It really served no purpose other than as an easy fix to the problem of how to make the HEA happy. and I was so happy with the idea of Mick becoming a valet...
More like 3.5 stars. An incredibly hot read, but I had a hard time understanding the characters and where they were coming from, and some of the dynamics of the relationship just didn't work for me. The fact that Serena could never say "No" to anything without ending the entire arrangement bugged me...it was emotionally manipulative on Damon's part.
The stilted and awkward dialogue cost this book half a star.
The stilted and awkward dialogue cost this book half a star.
I had to give up on this one. When I can't tell if I'm reading a contemporary or historical, something's seriously wrong. This book is the epitome of everything I hate about small-town romances.
The story was slow-moving and kind of boring, but I just loved the heroine.
I can't believe I'm giving a Sherry Thomas book two star (and really, the only reason it's not one star is because at least the grammar is good). This book lost me at the prologue, and it never got me back.
Christian sees Venetia once, from a distance, and falls instantly in love. Doesn't speak to her at all, doesn't even make eye contact because she doesn't notice him, but that's it--she's so other-worldly beautiful that he falls in love and stays in love for 10 years, during which time she's widowed twice over and he grows resentful because the love of his life--whom he's never met--is just too beautiful for him to forget and he can't stand that she lives her life in a way he doesn't approve. Not that he knows how she lives her life, because, again, he doesn't know her and doesn't know anyone who's close enough to her to provide him with any details about her life.
Ten years after not meeting her and falling in love with her anyway, he gives a lecture at Harvard about evolution. During the Q&A, in order to make a point about how dangerous beautiful women are, he, without revealing her name, recites a whole bunch of details about her life. Venetia, of course, is in the audience and is understandably horrified. Now, even though a lot of people in England would know who Christian was talking about, there's no reason for her to believe that anyone in audience would have any idea. So, as far as she knows, there are no consequences to Christian's indiscretion other than her show more justifiably hurt feelings. No matter, after a few days she decides she wants revenge, and the best revenge would be to get him to fall in love with her on the ship that will take them back to England. That sounds like an incredibly petty reason to seek out that level of revenge, but whatever, I'm always game for a good revenge plot. Except that doesn't happen, because after one night of hot lovin', Venetia (who's hiding her identity with a veil) is in love with Christian and now she's in a state because how can he ever forgive her?! Venetia girl, I sympathize with that long dry spell, but ain't no orgasm that great.
So, basically, what we have here is a romance between two immature people who are too stupid to know their own minds. A heartbroken Venetia disappears, intending to never let Christian know the truth. Christian is hopeful that she'd come to him like she promised, even though he's all conflicted when he sees Venetia and once again is in thrall, because he doesn't know that Venetia is his Baroness. And it turns out that a fellow Englishwoman was in that audience at Harvard, and she knew exactly who Christian was talking about, so she happily spread the word. And around this time, the presumed infertile Venetia finds out she's pregnant (I can't believe Sherry Thomas went there). Yada yada yada, Venetia confesses everything right after Christian figures it all out on his own. They get married. Christian's pissed and Venetia is heartbroken but hopeful.
And then, the most ridiculous resolution to the most asinine conflict occurs, in the form of the gossip who spread the word about Christian's badmouthing of Venetia. I seriously considered DNFing right there, but with 10 pages to go I carried on, with my eyes rolled way back into my head.
I wasn't crazy about His at Night...it just wasn't for me, but it wasn't a bad book by any means. But Beguiling the Beauty was just awful. The characters were dumb, the plot was weak, the conflict was nonsense. Not a good start to this trilogy, although the secondary characters were a hell of a lot more interesting than the "hero" and "heroine," so here's hoping for the kind of writing that made Sherry Thomas an autobuy for me in the next book. show less
Christian sees Venetia once, from a distance, and falls instantly in love. Doesn't speak to her at all, doesn't even make eye contact because she doesn't notice him, but that's it--she's so other-worldly beautiful that he falls in love and stays in love for 10 years, during which time she's widowed twice over and he grows resentful because the love of his life--whom he's never met--is just too beautiful for him to forget and he can't stand that she lives her life in a way he doesn't approve. Not that he knows how she lives her life, because, again, he doesn't know her and doesn't know anyone who's close enough to her to provide him with any details about her life.
Ten years after not meeting her and falling in love with her anyway, he gives a lecture at Harvard about evolution. During the Q&A, in order to make a point about how dangerous beautiful women are, he, without revealing her name, recites a whole bunch of details about her life. Venetia, of course, is in the audience and is understandably horrified. Now, even though a lot of people in England would know who Christian was talking about, there's no reason for her to believe that anyone in audience would have any idea. So, as far as she knows, there are no consequences to Christian's indiscretion other than her show more justifiably hurt feelings. No matter, after a few days she decides she wants revenge, and the best revenge would be to get him to fall in love with her on the ship that will take them back to England. That sounds like an incredibly petty reason to seek out that level of revenge, but whatever, I'm always game for a good revenge plot. Except that doesn't happen, because after one night of hot lovin', Venetia (who's hiding her identity with a veil) is in love with Christian and now she's in a state because how can he ever forgive her?! Venetia girl, I sympathize with that long dry spell, but ain't no orgasm that great.
So, basically, what we have here is a romance between two immature people who are too stupid to know their own minds. A heartbroken Venetia disappears, intending to never let Christian know the truth. Christian is hopeful that she'd come to him like she promised, even though he's all conflicted when he sees Venetia and once again is in thrall, because he doesn't know that Venetia is his Baroness. And it turns out that a fellow Englishwoman was in that audience at Harvard, and she knew exactly who Christian was talking about, so she happily spread the word. And around this time, the presumed infertile Venetia finds out she's pregnant (I can't believe Sherry Thomas went there). Yada yada yada, Venetia confesses everything right after Christian figures it all out on his own. They get married. Christian's pissed and Venetia is heartbroken but hopeful.
And then, the most ridiculous resolution to the most asinine conflict occurs, in the form of the gossip who spread the word about Christian's badmouthing of Venetia. I seriously considered DNFing right there, but with 10 pages to go I carried on, with my eyes rolled way back into my head.
I wasn't crazy about His at Night...it just wasn't for me, but it wasn't a bad book by any means. But Beguiling the Beauty was just awful. The characters were dumb, the plot was weak, the conflict was nonsense. Not a good start to this trilogy, although the secondary characters were a hell of a lot more interesting than the "hero" and "heroine," so here's hoping for the kind of writing that made Sherry Thomas an autobuy for me in the next book. show less
2.5 stars. I'm too lazy to write all my thoughts (and there are a LOT of thoughts) on this one. Super brief synopsis:
1. I liked Adria and Riaz well enough. No problem with how the mating issue was handled, though I'm really sick of the whole mating thing in this series and hope the next book isn't about another changeling couple for that reason.
2. Too damn much Hawke and Sienna. I'm never going to be okay with them as a couple, so there's that. But the way they were written here just emphasized the age difference and was frankly creepy at times.
3. Dark River's absence was jarring considering what was going on. Completely inconsistent with the rules Nalini had established throughout the series.
4. The Psy stuff was the saving grace of this book.
1. I liked Adria and Riaz well enough. No problem with how the mating issue was handled, though I'm really sick of the whole mating thing in this series and hope the next book isn't about another changeling couple for that reason.
2. Too damn much Hawke and Sienna. I'm never going to be okay with them as a couple, so there's that. But the way they were written here just emphasized the age difference and was frankly creepy at times.
3. Dark River's absence was jarring considering what was going on. Completely inconsistent with the rules Nalini had established throughout the series.
4. The Psy stuff was the saving grace of this book.
There's so much I liked about this book, but Soren almost ruined it for me.
I had no problems with him being a priest--hell, that's the reason I decided to read this. And I was fine with his deep sadism. But as written Soren just does not fit in with the rest of the characters. Nora, Zachary, Wesley, and even the other characters that we only caught glimpses of all felt like real people. But Soren shows up and the story goes from rich and nuanced to ham fisted. What was obviously supposed to come across as mysterious and intriguing just made me roll my eyes. Soren knows everyone and everything, manipulates the people around him, and everyone just lets him. He goes on and on as if he knows some deep truth...that scene with Zachary where he pontificated about the meaning of pain was ridiculous. Dude, you like inflicting pain because it makes your dick hard. That's it. No need to justify it by pretending it's somehow a virtue.
If the whole story was this darkly over the top tale, then Soren would have fit in just fine. But it wasn't, so Soren just stuck out like a sore thumb, and I was left frustrated that no one saw through his nonsense.
I had no problems with him being a priest--hell, that's the reason I decided to read this. And I was fine with his deep sadism. But as written Soren just does not fit in with the rest of the characters. Nora, Zachary, Wesley, and even the other characters that we only caught glimpses of all felt like real people. But Soren shows up and the story goes from rich and nuanced to ham fisted. What was obviously supposed to come across as mysterious and intriguing just made me roll my eyes. Soren knows everyone and everything, manipulates the people around him, and everyone just lets him. He goes on and on as if he knows some deep truth...that scene with Zachary where he pontificated about the meaning of pain was ridiculous. Dude, you like inflicting pain because it makes your dick hard. That's it. No need to justify it by pretending it's somehow a virtue.
If the whole story was this darkly over the top tale, then Soren would have fit in just fine. But it wasn't, so Soren just stuck out like a sore thumb, and I was left frustrated that no one saw through his nonsense.
Why hadn't I heard of Shelly Laurenston before? I loved Pack Challenge. Such a fun read. Awesome friends--we really don't see enough of that in romance--a heroine with a temper, a hero who likes his woman mean-tempered...that's my idea of romance heaven, right there. The world-building needed work and I sometimes felt I was being hit over the head with the fact that Sarah and her friends were such badasses, but all is forgiven. I spent most of this book with a grin on my face, a rare occurrence.
Secret baby, tortured alphahole, martyr heroine, one Big Misunderstanding one after another...typical HP in other words, and exactly what I was in the mood for.
Bonus points for the heroine actually recognizing that she's beautiful and that men like her for it, because what usually happens is that we get a pages long description of a goddess and then are told that the heroine is completely unaware of how gorgeous she is. I also really liked that she knows how to hold a grudge when it comes to the Alexis, and she regularly tells him off for his behavior and assumptions about her. She's a martyr is many ways--she becomes destitute because of choices she makes to help the father who abandoned her when she was a child, FFS--but her spine makes its presence known when the hero oversteps.
This book would have been 3-4 stars but the misunderstandings were too much. There was enough drama without them, and they made both characters look stupid.
Bonus points for the heroine actually recognizing that she's beautiful and that men like her for it, because what usually happens is that we get a pages long description of a goddess and then are told that the heroine is completely unaware of how gorgeous she is. I also really liked that she knows how to hold a grudge when it comes to the Alexis, and she regularly tells him off for his behavior and assumptions about her. She's a martyr is many ways--she becomes destitute because of choices she makes to help the father who abandoned her when she was a child, FFS--but her spine makes its presence known when the hero oversteps.
This book would have been 3-4 stars but the misunderstandings were too much. There was enough drama without them, and they made both characters look stupid.
The world-building was a bit weak and the characters weren't fully drawn. The romance came out of nowhere so all emotion felt melodramatic. There was just enough there that I might read the next story in the series.
I liked the setup and the characters, but the romance fell flat for me. Madeline Hunter is very good at showing her characters longing for each other, and that was missing in this book. The declarations of love felt like they came out of nowhere.
The plot was interesting enough that I'm going to read the first book of the series.
The plot was interesting enough that I'm going to read the first book of the series.
I had to DNF this one. I just couldn't accept the premise. I'm supposed to believe that a man who's as popular among men as Johnny is so hopeless with women? Then the disgusting conversation with his lesbian friend, where she tells him that he's an idiot for not raping--because, yes, that would have most definitely been rape--a woman who was passed out drunk just made the book unreadable.
The small bit I read reminded me too much of self-described Nice Guys complaining about woman only preferring jerks. In my experience, those guys aren't "nice" at all. I really don't want to see one as the hero of a book.
That said, I found the author's style appealing, and while this book was a disaster for me, I will definitely browse through her other books.
The small bit I read reminded me too much of self-described Nice Guys complaining about woman only preferring jerks. In my experience, those guys aren't "nice" at all. I really don't want to see one as the hero of a book.
That said, I found the author's style appealing, and while this book was a disaster for me, I will definitely browse through her other books.
Really cute story. I would have loved for it to have been longer.
A fine story on it's own but it suffers when compared to the first two books of the series. And I had such a problem with the conflict of this story that it was hard for me to get into this book. In the first two books, the heros' actions were so bad--on paper--that they were a bit over-the-top (in a good way) and it was easier for me to forgive them. But in Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss, the conflict felt way too real. Because I got to read things from his POV, I knew he deeply regretted it, but I couldn't accept that the Ashley forgiving him. He essentially told her that he disliked everything about her...how do you get past that?
The pacing was a bit off which was sometimes distracting, but otherwise I really like this one. This is my second book by this author and I plan to read a lot more.
Liked the characters, good story, hot read. Now on to the complaints:
Cherise Sinclair makes the same mistake as many romance authors when writing a Latina/Hispanic character--she has her using random Spanish words to make her seen authentic. To all writers out there...
DON'T DO THAT!
Maybe non-Spanish speakers don't notice, but those of us who do know the language can tell you that there is nothing less authentic than a bilingual character mixing up both languages when speaking to someone who only speaks one of them. It's particularly egregious in "Lean on Me," because:
1)Andrea was born and raised in the US, which means she's fluent in English and therefore wouldn't randomly throw in a Spanish word;
2)Her mother was Hispanic, but her father wasn't. And since her mother died when she was a child and she lived with her father until her late teens, that makes it even less likely that she would think in Spanish. It would have been more realistic to make her not very fluent in Spanish. Every time she said or thought, "Oh, Dios!" and "Jesus, Maria, y Jose!" and "Senor," I was taken out of the story.
Another issue I had was Andrea's cleaning business. Now, I was perfectly happy to let that stereotype slide, but making her broke on top of that? Did Sinclair not do any research there? Because cleaning businesses make big money. And Andrea OWNS her own cleaning business, she has employees, and her clientele includes offices. What, did Sinclair fear that a financially successful Latina show more business owner would be too much for her readers' to believe? show less
Cherise Sinclair makes the same mistake as many romance authors when writing a Latina/Hispanic character--she has her using random Spanish words to make her seen authentic. To all writers out there...
DON'T DO THAT!
Maybe non-Spanish speakers don't notice, but those of us who do know the language can tell you that there is nothing less authentic than a bilingual character mixing up both languages when speaking to someone who only speaks one of them. It's particularly egregious in "Lean on Me," because:
1)Andrea was born and raised in the US, which means she's fluent in English and therefore wouldn't randomly throw in a Spanish word;
2)Her mother was Hispanic, but her father wasn't. And since her mother died when she was a child and she lived with her father until her late teens, that makes it even less likely that she would think in Spanish. It would have been more realistic to make her not very fluent in Spanish. Every time she said or thought, "Oh, Dios!" and "Jesus, Maria, y Jose!" and "Senor," I was taken out of the story.
Another issue I had was Andrea's cleaning business. Now, I was perfectly happy to let that stereotype slide, but making her broke on top of that? Did Sinclair not do any research there? Because cleaning businesses make big money. And Andrea OWNS her own cleaning business, she has employees, and her clientele includes offices. What, did Sinclair fear that a financially successful Latina show more business owner would be too much for her readers' to believe? show less
Considering the characters and the plot, the contemporary setting didn't make a bit of sense. It was extremely distracting... an arranged marriaged? A young woman completely clueless about, well, everything? I would have happily suspended disbelief if this had been a historical (I don't care the slightest bit about historical "accuracy"), but since it's a contemporary I just couldn't accept some things.
I was a bit surprised at how emotional this book was. I just saw it was an FFM and thought, "Cool!" I was expecting a sexy romp, which it was, but there was also some angst that I wasn't expecting and that wasn't very well written (I'm blaming the contemporary setting).
I was a bit surprised at how emotional this book was. I just saw it was an FFM and thought, "Cool!" I was expecting a sexy romp, which it was, but there was also some angst that I wasn't expecting and that wasn't very well written (I'm blaming the contemporary setting).
More like 2.5 stars. There's a lot I liked about this Birth of a Dom story. A woman goes from falling into a submissive role in a sort of BDSM "relationship" with her superior at work. When that ends abruptly, she falls into the dom role with a subordinate, learning as she goes along and enjoying (and worrying over) every minute of it.
There were few things that bothered me about the story, plot-wise. The only two that really jump to mind: not enough buildup to that scene with Aiden, so it felt a bit random; and the whole Woods stuff near the end. No, what really took away from the story for me was the strange, almost cryptic prose coupled with the first person POV. I like cryptic, but if you're writing in the first person that's just not going to work. I couldn't get a handle on who Eleanor was--I actually understood Ben and even Woods more than I did her. It was a huge distraction, and because I had no idea where she was coming from, everything she thought and did felt almost out of character.
This story would have rated a lot higher if either it had written in the third person or if the prose were more straight forward. As it is it makes for an awkward, frustrating reading experience.
There were few things that bothered me about the story, plot-wise. The only two that really jump to mind: not enough buildup to that scene with Aiden, so it felt a bit random; and the whole Woods stuff near the end. No, what really took away from the story for me was the strange, almost cryptic prose coupled with the first person POV. I like cryptic, but if you're writing in the first person that's just not going to work. I couldn't get a handle on who Eleanor was--I actually understood Ben and even Woods more than I did her. It was a huge distraction, and because I had no idea where she was coming from, everything she thought and did felt almost out of character.
This story would have rated a lot higher if either it had written in the third person or if the prose were more straight forward. As it is it makes for an awkward, frustrating reading experience.
The plot was way too complex for a short story. Beautifully written, as usual for Courtney Milan, but what would have been character growth and evolution in a full-length novel came across as out-of-character behavior and lazy shortcuts in this novella.
I liked the idea much more than the execution. Ren was Cole's first love, and he left her for what I thought was a really immature reason. He never got over her. Ren, while never forgetting him, was able to move and have several successful D/s relationships. She's currently in a fufulling relationship with Lucas, and, wow. Let me just say that the whole 24/7 D/s thing makes no sense to me whatsoever, but Maya Banks did such a great job with Ren and Lucas's characterizations, especially Ren's, that I had no trouble getting into it.
And then Cole happened. I just did not care about him or Ren's feelings for him. To be fair, I'm not a fan of the whole reunited first loves trope, so that right there was a hill that not many authors can get me to climb. But the reason for him leaving her was just so petty, and while I could believe that both he and Ren would feel some bittersweet nostalgia for that time in their lives, I could not accept that their feelings for each other would still be so strong. For that reason, the ending just didn't work for me (though there are plenty of stories out there where I would have loved such an ending).
And then Cole happened. I just did not care about him or Ren's feelings for him. To be fair, I'm not a fan of the whole reunited first loves trope, so that right there was a hill that not many authors can get me to climb. But the reason for him leaving her was just so petty, and while I could believe that both he and Ren would feel some bittersweet nostalgia for that time in their lives, I could not accept that their feelings for each other would still be so strong. For that reason, the ending just didn't work for me (though there are plenty of stories out there where I would have loved such an ending).
I have no problem with angst or dark, even depressing stories. I do have a problem with torture porn. I'm not just talking about physical violence--which, while Trust in Me had plenty, isn't what I object to. No it's when nothing but bad things happen to a character that it becomes almost farcical. After a while it's, "Oh come on! How much shit can happen to one person?"
Mia has never had a single moment of happiness in her life. Raped by her father throughout her childhood until she ran away, she became a prostitute to survive, until Carlos, a crime boss, "rescues" her, only to turn her into his own personal sex toy/punching bag. Tyler, a childhood neighbor of Mia's who she always had a crush on, infiltrates Carlos' lair in an attempt to rescue the women he plans to sell as sex slaves. I won't bother with details of the plot--it wasn't bad, but I felt the writing was a bit spotty and it was hard to tell what was going on. Maybe that was deliberate, since this was told in Mia's POV.
My problem with this story--other than the constant misery suffered by Mia--is the relationship. Mia has never been anything but a man's plaything, it's all she knows, and she therefore has a very low opinion of men (who can blame her). And while she believes Tyler is a decent guy, she also knows that he's a man and isn't surprised when he treats her like men have always treated her. We're supposed to believe that Tyler has good intentions, even when Mia mentally calls Tyler out on his shit show more she ignores those feelings because she wants to be with him. Like when he wants sex when she's bruised and bloody--Mia knows that that's fucked up, thinks that he just a man like every other man, but still want him. And what kills me is that, considering her history, all of that makes perfect sense for Mia. I can't argue that any of her thinking or actions is not realistic or consistent. What I do take issue with is the framing the ending as a happily ever after. It may be what Mia wanted, it may make sense for her to feel that way, but it's certainly not a good thing. A happy-for-now would have worked better for me, with Tyler being her first stop on the road to better life. show less
Mia has never had a single moment of happiness in her life. Raped by her father throughout her childhood until she ran away, she became a prostitute to survive, until Carlos, a crime boss, "rescues" her, only to turn her into his own personal sex toy/punching bag. Tyler, a childhood neighbor of Mia's who she always had a crush on, infiltrates Carlos' lair in an attempt to rescue the women he plans to sell as sex slaves. I won't bother with details of the plot--it wasn't bad, but I felt the writing was a bit spotty and it was hard to tell what was going on. Maybe that was deliberate, since this was told in Mia's POV.
My problem with this story--other than the constant misery suffered by Mia--is the relationship. Mia has never been anything but a man's plaything, it's all she knows, and she therefore has a very low opinion of men (who can blame her). And while she believes Tyler is a decent guy, she also knows that he's a man and isn't surprised when he treats her like men have always treated her. We're supposed to believe that Tyler has good intentions, even when Mia mentally calls Tyler out on his shit show more she ignores those feelings because she wants to be with him. Like when he wants sex when she's bruised and bloody--Mia knows that that's fucked up, thinks that he just a man like every other man, but still want him. And what kills me is that, considering her history, all of that makes perfect sense for Mia. I can't argue that any of her thinking or actions is not realistic or consistent. What I do take issue with is the framing the ending as a happily ever after. It may be what Mia wanted, it may make sense for her to feel that way, but it's certainly not a good thing. A happy-for-now would have worked better for me, with Tyler being her first stop on the road to better life. show less
My thoughts were all over the place with this book (this is the first romance I've read that I felt compelled to highlight and take notes). In many ways I enjoyed it much more than the 2 star rating implies, but the story had too many problems that I couldn't ignore, and eventually they drowned out what I did like.
This is my first Kristen Ashley book, and I fell in love with her voice immediately. I found myself charmed--or, at least, not annoyed--by things that would normally bug the hell out of me. There's Cabe "Hawk" Delgado, typical romance super-alpha hero with a tortured past, ex-Army, has some business involving a group of commandos (I'm still not exactly sure what it is he does). He's bossy as hell, doesn't share much about himself but has had Gwen followed and investigated in the year and a half they've been fuck buddies, which is creepy as hell but for the most part I was able to just roll with it and go with the fantasy. The one thing that I genuinely liked about him is how he obviously cared about Gwen. Not just lusted, though there's plenty of that, but he so obviously wanted her in his life. That's pretty rare in romance with this type of hero. And considering this story is told from Gwen's first person pov, it's pretty impressive.
Then there's Gwen. In Hawk's word:
"I found out you showed too much skin when you went out. I found out you talk to strangers like they're your best friends. I found out you don't live in the real world, you live in a dream world show more where you don't pay a fuckuva lot of attention to what's happening around you and you make questionable life decisions..."
Gwen's a ditz, in the best way. She does some stupid shit but not in a tstl way. There's a tiny bit of Manic Pixie Dream Girl in her--she can be quirky, says some off-the-wall things, and pretty much every man she meets falls for her. Normally this would annoy me, but I like her a lot. I have absolutely nothing in common with her, I can't relate to her at all, but I want to hang out with her. And that's all Ashley's writing. Seriously charming. Another thing that I love about Gwen is that she immediately recognizes when Hawk is being an asshole and calls him on it. That's my top requirement for a romance heroine.
The plot mostly involves her bad-seed sister, Ginger, screwing over some really bad people, and Tack, the leader of a motorcycle gang, and Gwen gets dragged into it. It was okay, but it involved way too many people.
I was having fun with the over-the-topness of the characters and plot, brushing of some WTF behavior because, hey, fantasy right? And then about half-way through it just got old. I got sick of the whole, "Let's not tell the womenfolk everything because we don't want to upset them," shit. Seriously, Hawk tells Gwen's father things that he keeps from Gwen, and leaves him to decide if he wants to tell his wife about Ginger. As much as I loved Gwen calling Hawk out, I got sick of him never, not once, taking her seriously. I got really sick of Gwen letting herself be dragged around by whichever man happens to reach her first. Like I said, she's not stupid, but she can be quite passive when a man shows up to tell her what to do. Sure, this happens in some really dangerous situations, but it got ridiculous after a while. Oh, and the whispering. There's a lot of whispering, mostly by Gwen but most characters do it at least once. And it's not the type of whispering where they're trying to be as quiet as possible, it just happens for no real reason. I think it was supposed to be indicative of strong emotion, but after 250 instances of whispering (yes, I went back to count), it lost whatever symbolic power it was supposed to have.
Even after I started having trouble suspending disbelief, there was still so many great moments that I was all set to give this 3 stars. But then I got pissed off. Hawk insists that Gwen is keeping herself distant from him, that she has to give him her all. Excuse me? Look up cryptic in the dictionary and you'll see this man's picture, but he tells her that she has to open up more? And when she rightfully points out that she's been through some hard things (shitty ex-husband) and that she's afraid that if she gives her all he might decide he doesn't want her anymore, he tells her, that yeah, that's a possibility but she needs to let down her walls anyway. And she does! (And I thought she wasn't stupid.) And of course, it happens--he dumps her because he can't handle it because of the things that happened to him. Long story short...it's all her fault. She's the "selfish cow" and she's the one who has to grovel. That's it. The story was completely over for me at that point. I read until the end, right through another dangerous situation to the HEA, and then through the epilogue where ANOTHER life-and-death situation happens.
I ended this book pretty much hating everyone. It needed to be at about 1/3 shorter. show less
This is my first Kristen Ashley book, and I fell in love with her voice immediately. I found myself charmed--or, at least, not annoyed--by things that would normally bug the hell out of me. There's Cabe "Hawk" Delgado, typical romance super-alpha hero with a tortured past, ex-Army, has some business involving a group of commandos (I'm still not exactly sure what it is he does). He's bossy as hell, doesn't share much about himself but has had Gwen followed and investigated in the year and a half they've been fuck buddies, which is creepy as hell but for the most part I was able to just roll with it and go with the fantasy. The one thing that I genuinely liked about him is how he obviously cared about Gwen. Not just lusted, though there's plenty of that, but he so obviously wanted her in his life. That's pretty rare in romance with this type of hero. And considering this story is told from Gwen's first person pov, it's pretty impressive.
Then there's Gwen. In Hawk's word:
"I found out you showed too much skin when you went out. I found out you talk to strangers like they're your best friends. I found out you don't live in the real world, you live in a dream world show more where you don't pay a fuckuva lot of attention to what's happening around you and you make questionable life decisions..."
Gwen's a ditz, in the best way. She does some stupid shit but not in a tstl way. There's a tiny bit of Manic Pixie Dream Girl in her--she can be quirky, says some off-the-wall things, and pretty much every man she meets falls for her. Normally this would annoy me, but I like her a lot. I have absolutely nothing in common with her, I can't relate to her at all, but I want to hang out with her. And that's all Ashley's writing. Seriously charming. Another thing that I love about Gwen is that she immediately recognizes when Hawk is being an asshole and calls him on it. That's my top requirement for a romance heroine.
The plot mostly involves her bad-seed sister, Ginger, screwing over some really bad people, and Tack, the leader of a motorcycle gang, and Gwen gets dragged into it. It was okay, but it involved way too many people.
I was having fun with the over-the-topness of the characters and plot, brushing of some WTF behavior because, hey, fantasy right? And then about half-way through it just got old. I got sick of the whole, "Let's not tell the womenfolk everything because we don't want to upset them," shit. Seriously, Hawk tells Gwen's father things that he keeps from Gwen, and leaves him to decide if he wants to tell his wife about Ginger. As much as I loved Gwen calling Hawk out, I got sick of him never, not once, taking her seriously. I got really sick of Gwen letting herself be dragged around by whichever man happens to reach her first. Like I said, she's not stupid, but she can be quite passive when a man shows up to tell her what to do. Sure, this happens in some really dangerous situations, but it got ridiculous after a while. Oh, and the whispering. There's a lot of whispering, mostly by Gwen but most characters do it at least once. And it's not the type of whispering where they're trying to be as quiet as possible, it just happens for no real reason. I think it was supposed to be indicative of strong emotion, but after 250 instances of whispering (yes, I went back to count), it lost whatever symbolic power it was supposed to have.
Even after I started having trouble suspending disbelief, there was still so many great moments that I was all set to give this 3 stars. But then I got pissed off. Hawk insists that Gwen is keeping herself distant from him, that she has to give him her all. Excuse me? Look up cryptic in the dictionary and you'll see this man's picture, but he tells her that she has to open up more? And when she rightfully points out that she's been through some hard things (shitty ex-husband) and that she's afraid that if she gives her all he might decide he doesn't want her anymore, he tells her, that yeah, that's a possibility but she needs to let down her walls anyway. And she does! (And I thought she wasn't stupid.) And of course, it happens--he dumps her because he can't handle it because of the things that happened to him. Long story short...it's all her fault. She's the "selfish cow" and she's the one who has to grovel. That's it. The story was completely over for me at that point. I read until the end, right through another dangerous situation to the HEA, and then through the epilogue where ANOTHER life-and-death situation happens.
I ended this book pretty much hating everyone. It needed to be at about 1/3 shorter. show less
I won a copy of this from Jackie Barbosa on Twitter...
Many historical romances have a corrupt vicar, usually a man who was the third son and had no other means of income. Not being a religious person at all, I've always been intrigued but that type of character. How must it have been for a person who doesn't have the desire or beliefs for such a position to have no other option to be be a vicar? It's not something I can imagine handling well myself, so it was interesting reading about Walter, a decent man who's making the best of his life as a vicar. And I'm a fan of the "fallen woman" trope, so this story was right up my alley.
Artemesia was a great character. Like Walter, she made the best of a bad situation with limited options. After having a (stillborn) child out of wedlock, there was no hope of her marrying, so she went to London and became a courtesan. When she goes back to care for her father, she has enough money of her own to live independently. She's still a pariah in her town, but she deals with it.
My one big complaint about this story is when Walter and Artemesia meet. Walter almost immediate says, "I want you," and while I, the reader, have enough of his POV to know his intentions, I felt that Artemesia should have been put off. That's the kind of behavior I'd expect of the stereotypical corrupt vicar, you know?
Other than that, I really like the way the relationship developed, and I believed that they could make it in the end, though the resolution was a show more little to easy for my tastes. But it's a short story, so that's understandable. show less
Many historical romances have a corrupt vicar, usually a man who was the third son and had no other means of income. Not being a religious person at all, I've always been intrigued but that type of character. How must it have been for a person who doesn't have the desire or beliefs for such a position to have no other option to be be a vicar? It's not something I can imagine handling well myself, so it was interesting reading about Walter, a decent man who's making the best of his life as a vicar. And I'm a fan of the "fallen woman" trope, so this story was right up my alley.
Artemesia was a great character. Like Walter, she made the best of a bad situation with limited options. After having a (stillborn) child out of wedlock, there was no hope of her marrying, so she went to London and became a courtesan. When she goes back to care for her father, she has enough money of her own to live independently. She's still a pariah in her town, but she deals with it.
My one big complaint about this story is when Walter and Artemesia meet. Walter almost immediate says, "I want you," and while I, the reader, have enough of his POV to know his intentions, I felt that Artemesia should have been put off. That's the kind of behavior I'd expect of the stereotypical corrupt vicar, you know?
Other than that, I really like the way the relationship developed, and I believed that they could make it in the end, though the resolution was a show more little to easy for my tastes. But it's a short story, so that's understandable. show less
A pretty good read, though I think the story was too short for all it was trying to do. There was no transition between scenes, and the characters each had issues that deserved deeper exploration. It all ended up feeling a bit rushed.
Lots of hot sex (though there was a scene involving a bench, restraints, and four people that I had to read twice and tackle like an algebra problem to figure out) but the romance came out of nowhere. Noelle and Jasper formed an emotional attachment immediately, and while I mostly liked both characters (thought neither of them were as interesting as the other characters), I felt their romance was almost out-of-place and I just didn't care about their HEA. I would have preferred for their feelings to start later in the story.
I liked the world building and there's an interesting cast of characters. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
I liked the world building and there's an interesting cast of characters. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
Not quite 3 stars. This book features an inexperienced Dom, which is a pleasant change from every other BDSM book I've read. The heroine is an experienced sub who had been away from the scene for a while due to an abusive relationship, which seems to be the only type of experienced subs that exist in BDSM fiction. Both characters were likable, though not particularly interesting.