Some More Reviews

Okay, time for some more reviews. I'm certainly getting great workouts lately!I figured I should put my thoughts on these books down while they're still fairly fresh, and I have more that I've read recently. But these are the ones with characters that have stayed in my head, and keep me thinking about them.

This time around, I'm talking about Carly Phillips "Dare to Love" series. The first, Dare to Love, was a great story about Ian Dare and Riley Taylor. Ms. Phillips sure does know how to create characters with lots of baggage, and these two are no exception. As usual, I was hooked right from the start, the chemistry between Ian and Riley was tangible, and the love scenes smoking hot. I liked watching the two of them learn to give in in various respects, though of course, Ian takes longer to get there. Typical man. lol  

In Dare to Desire, Alex Dare meets his match in Madison Evans. Actually, he met her in the previous book, and when Dare to Desire opens, he's rather a jerk to her. My kind of hero. ;) He eventually comes around, but is it too late for him to convince Madison to take another chance? Alex is determined, that's for sure. Again, talk about emotional baggage for these two. It was done so realistically, I could feel their emotions as if they were my own. There was one part of the book that left me a bit disappointed, and I'm not going to talk about it here for spoiler purposes, but the reason being is that I want the characters to get and do everything they want and deserve. Since it is romance fiction, sometimes, when that doesn't happen, I feel a little blindsided. Other than that one thing, though, another seriously hot love story that I hated to see end.

Dare to Surrender was quite an interesting read. All three of the Dare books contain some aspect of sexual domination, which of course I love and was thrilled to read in these books, but Dare to Surrender dove into it a little deeper. This book is part of the Invitation to Eden series, and you can bet I'll be picking up more of these titles.

Anyway, back to the review. Dare to Surrender has the heroine, Isabelle Masters', POV written in the first person. I'm not usually a fan of first person narrative, too often, you don't get enough of the other characters' POV, but Ms. Phillips wrote Isabelle perfectly. ASnd we got plenty of Gabriel Dare's POV, so I was quite happy about that. I was sucked right into her woes, and loved how Gabriel came in and saved the day. Temporarily of course, but when he finally gets Isabelle back into his life, the chemistry between the two is electric. The love scenes were the best I'd read in first person in a very long time. Kudos to Ms. Phillips. I know I could never handle that as well as she did here. I am anxiously awaiting the next books in the series.

A repeat author here, J.J. Rose, has a new novella out, titled Other Options. I really enjoyed this – again first person, but done very well. This is the story of Ala, her mate/husband Kivol and her lover Vivia. Kivol quickly is sent away, leaving Ala confused and longing for both her absent mate and her female lover. But because of the laws of their culture, she cannot be with her lover in her mate's absence. A really neat world was developed her and Rose really paints a beautiful picture without overcomplicating or overwriting, not an easy feat. The comfortable sexuality in the culture lends to some really beautiful and erotic scenes, and Ala's emotions are all too real and make me feel for her dilemma. My only complaint – the novella is a little too short! I wanted more! ;)

One of the best rewards I get from reading these awesome books is they inspire and motivate me. I'm hard at work on multiple projects, as usual, but I find the words come easier when I've just finished a sexy and satisfying read.

We'll Miss You

Nothing else really to say. Except maybe this:

Heroes - Jerks or Nice Guys?

I was posting out on Twitter and Facebook tonight, bemoaning the fact that yet another set of characters has reared their heads and demanded to be written. This book will take some research, like they all do, but even so, the words are flowing out of my fingers at a pace I don't dare interrupt. When I'm inspired like that, I tend to write like gangbusters, getting as many as 25K words down in a week. Problem is, I have a book I REALLY want (and need) to finish, but it's just not calling to me. The reason being is that my hero is too nice.

Yup, you heard that right. My hero is too nice. He's basically a good guy. Nothing wrong with that, but when I write, a good guy is not who I'm looking for. If you've read any of my books, you know that my heroes tend to be, well, assholes. At least that's how they come off to the heroine. Yet, somehow, she sees behind the jerkface façade to the man underneath. And basically, he's an honorable guy. So why am I having such trouble with the hero who's the honorable guy from the start?

Couple things I suppose. The fantasy of "taming the bad boy" lurks in many women's hearts. Because who doesn't want to be the one who makes him fall in love to the point he'd risk everything he is and has to make her happy? Make him see being the honorable guy in himself is acceptable. Isn't that what romance is all about?

But here's the other issue – this nice hero is boring me. He was fun at first, but he quickly became bland to me. I've gone back and tried to make him darker, but it's simply not working. Even when he's being dominating (cause ALL my heroes are), he's not daunting enough. I don't necessarily want him to be evil, or innately cruel, but he has to have something in his past that makes him behave somewhat "un-heroically" at times. He has what he believes is a reason to behave the way he does.  Because if he doesn't have that reason, and realize at some point that reason may no longer be valid, how can he learn from his mistakes and be redeemed? Right?

My heroes, for all of their meanness, always feel some sort of remorse for their actions, even if they stubbornly refuse to let that regret guide them at whatever moment. The heroine is the one who ensures he learns what he needs to. She teaches him that it's all right to forgive, accept, admit mistakes. And sometimes, she encourages him, or helps him, take brutal action against his enemies. Showing him that sometimes, being a jerk is perfectly acceptable!

What do you think? Jerks or nice guys? 

My Stab at Reviewing

In an effort to keep this blog from fading into obscurity, I may have mentioned some things I am planning to do with it. I have some author interviews coming up and thought I'd also start including reviews for books I've recently read. So to start off, I've got a few books I'm going to talk about. 

First, I wanted to give a review of some recent books by Kat Attalla. If you haven't read any of her books, you really should. Kat writes some of the best dialogue I've ever read, and she nails the chemistry between her characters with absolute perfection. In the Married to a Prince series, she has created a Middle Eastern world that I think many of us would like to see actually exist. Book One, A Marriage of Convenience, involves a secret baby and misunderstandings between Honor and Yusef. But even through all that, there is no doubt that these two are deeply in love. I laughed through a lot of this book, and was sorry to see it end. Book Two, An Inconvenient Marriage, Lila learns she was married as a baby to Sami, the heir in line to the throne of Nadiar. She plans to end the marriage, but finds herself falling for the husband she never met or knew existed. Some really tense moments in this one, but as usual the chemistry of the couple just sweeps you off your feet. Book Three, The Prodigal Prince, also involves a lot of secrets. Mona, being the daughter of Nadiar's emir, needs protection while she studies in Boston. Rashid is the man hired to protect her, without her knowledge. Not to mention, he's a prince in his own right, even though he's cut himself off from his father's family. Mona's innocence is endearing (and humorous at times) and Rashid's determination to resist his growing feelings makes for some really comical moments. There are more in the series to come, and I am salivating while waiting for them.

Next up is J.J. Rose's Shell Game, Volume One and Two (book one is Learning the Ropes and book two is Breaking the Rules) Sarah and Michael are a really intense couple, but they are written so realistically, with lots of human flaws, that I felt as if they were real people I actually knew. I found myself immersed in both books and hated for them to end. I highly recommend reading them for those who enjoy BDSM romance. That aspect is also done very realistically and true to people in the lifestyle, and smoking hot, as well! The supporting characters are also very well-written, and spurred lots of intense reactions on my part. These are two more books that I had trouble putting down until the very end, and was still left wanting more.

Also recently read is a romantic suspense by debut author Kelly Janicello. Remember Me is a spooky tale about two cops hunting a serial killer. Ryli has much more to do with this than either she or Brody realize, due to her repressed memories. The chemistry between the two left me squirming, and the humor throughout the story is so well-written, I literally laughed out loud many times. Since a lot of my reading lately has been done at the gym (thank you Kindle app for my phone), my reactions earn me a lot of strange looks from those on the treadmills beside me!

Lastly, for this post, is Elizabeth Shore's Hot Bayou Knights. Carla, a corporate consultant, has to complete a "fear assignment" in order to achieve her much-desired promotion. She never expected to be at a research facility deep in the Louisiana Bayou, one where King Cobras and their venom are studied for medicinal purposes. Luckily for her, Jackson, who runs the facility with intensity and drive, is smoking hot and shares her attraction. The realistic touches of life in the Bayou dragged me right into the story and didn't let me go until the end.

I have a few more recent reads I will be talking about, as soon as I get myself organized. Between my e-reader and the Kindle app on my phone I am getting caught up on my TBR list while I debate which story to tackle writing next. I have five options I am considering, and as usual, I will end up working on two at the same time, because why make it easy on myself?

So, go read some of these books. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.