His Every Kiss

Everything I want my romances to be. Loved both the hero and heroine in this book. No ridiculous misunderstandings or crazy roadblocks, just two interesting characters finding their way to one another. This book is very sexy, but there is no sex beyond kissing until close to page 300. Excellent brain candy.

I had trouble liking the hero in this one - not to mention the plot line, for that matter. Yes, our hero, Dylan Moore, had some issues. But he was much too self centered and by the time he began to change, it seemed it was only out of guilt (hence the series' name) but I didn't find it all that romantic. Grace, the heroine, seemed to "all of a sudden" want to go to bed with him one night! (I hate it when that happens) Frankly, there just wasn't anything about this book I liked - including the annoying daughter who was a younger clone of her father. Others by this author are much better, this unfortunately was a miss.

His Every Kiss started with a bang and ended with a whimper - after a sagging middle. Dylan Moore is a fascinating character - a man of genius, a composer, an artist. After a riding accident, however, he's been afflicted with a ringing in his ears that interferes with his art. He hasn't composed anything for five years and when the book opens is on the verge of madness. The author does a great job with his character, I think. It may be a bit stereotypical - the temperamental, egotistical, slightly unhinged artist personality - but still very credible. Whenever we see Dylan at his work, composing and playing music, it's evident how much his music means to him, how much it defines and consumes him.

If only his interactions with the show more heroine were so powerful. Their relationship starts out promising enough. She seems like a strong woman - wounded at the outset from misadventures in love with another similar artist figure: her departed husband Etienne Cheval, a famous painter who led her a merry life on the continent for a while before turning nasty and breaking her heart. Needless to say, Grace Cheval is wary of artists and not enthusiastic about the prospect of another man mistaking her for his muse, which is exactly what Dylan does when he first sees her.

All this sounds great to me. So what went wrong? I think it has something to do with the introduction of Dylan's daughter, Isabel - a musical prodigy and the by blow from one of his many affairs. She shows up on his doorstep one day and he has to take her in. Supposedly an eight year old, she talks like she's twenty. I just couldn't handle it. If it's not one extreme (the kids talking like deranged Elmer Fudds) it's the other. I found her very annoying. Inevitably, it seems, Grace ends up as the daughter's governess, and everything went downhill from there. Together, Isabel and Grace manage to save Dylan from himself and reclaim him from his wastrel, rakehell ways. That's what the story boils down to - the undermining of a powerful personality who is slowly won around to the idea of how wrong his life is and has always been before his discovery of the joys of fatherhood and marriage. I guess I expected the book to be more than a reformed rake tale, and so ended up being disappointed. I was still able to enjoy the book, though, so I'll give it four stars for the readable prose. show less

Better than I expected. I hadn't enjoyed the first book in the series as much as I had hoped which impacted on my expectations of this one. The resolution at the end was a bit too fast and easy... But still, I enjoyed the overall story and situation.

Good story. Guhrke writes beautiful endings that bring tears to my eyes, however, the story seemed to end rather abruptly and a little too cleanly. Still, I enjoyed the characters and the writing.

Ms Guhrke has done it again. It is a wonder to watch 2 people fall in love. Character development is great, Isabel is a delight, Dylan was a beautifully tormented hero and Grace was lovely. There were some lovely and tender moments, and some lines that could make you melt. Don't know if I'd buy it but it's great for a mooch or to borrow.

why didn't i like it? it was forgettable.