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| 0785159207
| 9780785159209
| 0785159207
| 3.92
| 685
| Sep 26, 2012
| Jan 01, 2012
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really liked it
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"You said Castle was doing us a favor. Castle doesn't do favors, Walter. Who lives, who dies, that's not for us to say. We serve the law. Like it or n
"You said Castle was doing us a favor. Castle doesn't do favors, Walter. Who lives, who dies, that's not for us to say. We serve the law. Like it or not, that's our job. Castle serves himself." Seeing Rachel start to murder people is good. I like the idea of a 'female Punisher,' although it's disappointing that this is all people see her as. She deserves to stand on her own. There's nothing tying her to Frank besides similar pasts. And honestly, many superheroes have similar stories. The Marvel heroes dismissal of her as a "female Frank" is IMO unfair. Then Daredevil and Spiderman come in, and I kind of lose interest. This is comic book universes big problem: they always want to get together and have a big party with their whole cast of characters. It's annoying. If I'm reading a Spiderman comic, I want it to be about Spiderman. If I'm reading a Punisher comic, I want it to be about Punisher. No need to all bleed together, I find it annoying and unnecessary 95% of the time. I like Spiderman, don't get me wrong, but I don't need him and that fucking Daredevil showing up in comics where they don't belong. He's so self-righteous and annoying. Grrrrr. Although I have to say Spiderman's shocked reaction to Punisher making a joke completely stonefaced is pretty damn funny. TL;DR Pretty good. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Mar 2020
not set
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Mar 2020
not set
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Mar 01, 2020
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Paperback
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| 0785163743
| 9780785163749
| 0785163743
| 3.94
| 881
| Mar 14, 2012
| Jan 01, 2012
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really liked it
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"Let me ask you a question, Norah: Is there a story here, one you need to report?" "Yeah, there's a story here. A big story, maybe." "Not every truth we "Let me ask you a question, Norah: Is there a story here, one you need to report?" "Yeah, there's a story here. A big story, maybe." "Not every truth we learn is a story, Norah. Not every story needs to be told. Back when I was on the beat, I learned a secret. A big one, one about a costume. The kind of story that, had I broken it, would've made me famous. Would've made me rich." "And being that you're neither..." "Never told a soul what I knew. To this day." "Why not?" "Because the only person it would have served is me. And that's the litmus test, Norah. You tell what you know, who are you serving? The public... or yourself?" I also liked this: "Just because you don't weep for the people he kills, Detective, doesn't make Castle a hero." A Marine's whole wedding is slaughtered and she, the bride, is the only survivor. Needless to say, she and Castle have a lot in common. I like the way this set of comics is laid out. I like the set up. I like the artwork. I like the interrogation of Bolt taking credit for Punisher's kills and him feeding Punisher information. I like Norah and her subplot in all this. It's weird that the bad guys hire Vulture to murder Castle, but I guess the weird thing actually is that this doesn't happen more frequently. Castle saying "Five by five" like he's Faith Lehane cracks me up, even though I know the term predates her by a few decades. :D Weird ending comic about how lots of people in NYC end up with Spiderman's powers. TL;DR Actually this is pretty good. Even the kid subplot didn't annoy me, and that's difficult to do. Nice art, nice set-up. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 2020
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Mar 2020
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Mar 01, 2020
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Hardcover
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| B008LZZNE4
| 3.79
| 1,481
| Jul 17, 2012
| Jul 17, 2012
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liked it
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Seems to imply Thomas Wayne was murdered because he was running for mayor. Alfred Pennyworth and Thomas Wayne served overseas together in 'the desert.
Seems to imply Thomas Wayne was murdered because he was running for mayor. Alfred Pennyworth and Thomas Wayne served overseas together in 'the desert.' Shows Batman giving cash money to a homeless person begging him for mercy. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 04, 2019
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May 04, 2019
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May 04, 2019
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Kindle Edition
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| 0373068603
| 9780373068609
| 0373068603
| 3.75
| 204
| Sep 20, 2012
| Dec 2012
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did not like it
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Tasha walked into the kitchen, knowing that every movement she made was being followed by those fierce black eyes. She remembered him telling her that
Tasha walked into the kitchen, knowing that every movement she made was being followed by those fierce black eyes. She remembered him telling her that his ancestors had been warriors, descendents [sic] of the Romans who had once colonised the Mediterranean island of San Savarre that was his home. It was all too easy to imagine Alessandro Cavalieri in warrior mode. 24% Oh, please. *Carmen rolls her eyes* So there's a whole Harlequin line that specializes in "foreign" "alphas" who are super-rich. It's called Harlequin Presents. Example titles might be The Greek Claims His Shock Heir or The Sicilian's Bought Cinderella or The Spaniard's Stolen Bride or The Italian's Christmas Housekeeper. Stop laughing. No, I'm not making this up. This book isn't part of Harlequin Presents and it doesn't belong in that line. It's part of Harlequin's Medical Romance line which I usually avoid. Like lawyer romances, doctor romances veer off into long tangents about medicine and medical details which I find frankly uninteresting and unnecessary. I have no desire to binge-watch The Resident, either. But this Medical Romance is kind of like a mash-up. Sure, our heroine Tasha is a doctor and there's a lot of medical talk and medical jargon in here. But we also have our "foreign" Italian prince. Well, they don't say he's from Italy, they say he rules some made up island off the coast of Italy. And he's all 'dark and smoldering' and 'commanding and authoritative.' Although, Medical Romance HAS been getting a bit strange lately. With titles like Heart Surgeon, Prince...Husband! and Island Doctor to Royal Bride?, I think it's going slightly off the deep end... But oh well. ANYWAY. Where was I? Oh, yeah. So. Tasha (Natasha) has just quit her job as a pediatrician because she is tired of red tape and bureaucracy. She still wants to practice, just somewhere that always puts the health of the patient above budget. When she tells this to her brother, he offers her a temporary job to tide her over: caring for a prince who was injured in a polo match. The catch? Tasha and Alessandro have a past. She had such a crush on him as a teenager and this culminated in her begging him to take her virginity when she was 17. He turned her down. Well, "turned her down" is too nice of a way to say it. He humiliated her and was very hurtful. This was the man who had destroyed her dreams. He could have treated her kindly and let her down gently, but instead he'd been brutal. Cruel. She should thank him, Tasha thought numbly. He'd screwed up her confidence and her relationships with men, but he'd done wonders for her career. 12% So. He's rich. Ick. A prince. Ick. An asshole. Double ick. Not really someone who I am eager to meet or read a romance about. You'd think Tasha would want to stay as far away from this guy as possible. But no. She takes the job. "For revenge." "What kind of revenge?" I can hear you wondering. Well. Wait until you get a load of this. She makes him a cup of herbal tea. WHAT??!?!! Yeah, he wanted a glass of whisky and she brought him a cup of herbal tea. Isn't that devious? Um... no? And then... get this... get this... She cooks him spicy food. She... cooks him spicy food? Yeah. A spicy stir-fry. Isn't that EVIL?!?!?!? Ummmmmmmmm.... She also has another great idea for revenge: strip naked in front of him! o.O Yeah, I know. It doesn't make any fucking sense. So. He's fine with her. He's not an asshole now, only was an asshole in the past. She ends up getting with him. I really don't understand why. The main complaint I have about this book is not the relatively bland 'love story' between Alessandro and Tasha, but the rampant, totally pervasive sexism that permeates every page. Women cook. Men eat. Men can't cook. This veers into ridiculous territory. At one point Tasha is preparing food for the men, then 'remembers' she is cooking for men, so completely randomly fries up a stack of bacon. You know. Because MEN. You could get away with serving a bacon-less meal to women, but MEN?!?!?! Forget it. Men love sports. Women have conversations, but men are unable to hold conversations because only women can truly communicate. "In the morning, I'm going to pick you up some extra tablets. I think it will help and so do the guys at the hospital. They should have thought of it, but sometimes it takes a woman to get these things right." 33% I mean, I'm baffled. I'm honestly baffled. She's not the only female who works at the hospital. For one thing. For another thing, is she saying... male doctors don't know how to prescribe medicine correctly?!!?!?! Surely she can't be saying that?!?!?!!? I mean, what the fuck? Honestly, sometimes the random and completely unnecessary sexism in this book was so out of left field I was left scratching my head in confusion. The hero, at one point, calls the heroine "a bright girl." "You're a bright girl!" She's a 28-year-old pediatrician. This just boggles my mind. What condescending patriarchal shit. Played as totally a normal and complimentary thing to say to a woman with a Ph.D. o.O Horrible body-hate. Tasha thinks she has to 'lose a stone' to go to a wedding. She jokes about getting plastic surgery. The book tells us she is a thin, gorgeous woman. I'm depressed. There's a scene in a coffee shop where the heroine (of course) orders a skinny latte extra shot - which is fine, not my order, but fine - but she debates eating a croissant. Should she have these carbs? She suggests halving one with her friend. Her friend physically recoils with her hand 'shielding her flat tummy.' I'm paraphrasing, but really horrifying. Or perhaps depressing is a better way of describing it. Slut-shaming. Book completely unironically blames the woman. Tasha views the women Alessandro has dated in the past with disdain. She automatically thinks they are stupid and weak, shallow and vain. Based on... nothing. He sleeps with all these women, but the WOMEN are the bad ones. Not him. When Tasha and her friend discuss a male who has gotten a female pregnant, they blame the female. "She probably wore lingerie! The poor, dumb brute. She's a slut. He had no chance." You know, it's not like he could consider NOT sticking his dick in her. Or at the very least putting on a condom first. No man can resist a woman wearing lingerie!!!! /s What a bunch of crap. >.< I want to point out, as an extra aside, that the woman being described as a "slut" here by the heroine is MARRIED to the man who got her pregnant. So yeah. Think about this. The horror just keeps on giving. Alessandro and Tasha's brother basically get into a fight right in front of her about who owns her and who gets to decide who she has sex with. Does Josh get to tell Tasha she's not allowed to have sex with Alessandro? Does Alessandro have 'the right' to sleep with Josh's sister-property? I mean, they don't word it like that, but that's what it basically boils down to. Sickening. This is what her brother says to her at 5% in the book: "Tasha, I'm too tired to wade through hours of female waffle. Just tell me what you've done. Facts." 5% ARGH! I mean, you could dnf right there and I wouldn't have blamed you. The best thing I can say about the book is that the women don't passively lie down and take crap. There's some sexism they believe in - they seem to be fine with doing all the cooking and they seem to sincerely believe shit like "men can't converse" and "all men love sports" and "if a man and woman have sex, it's the woman's 'fault' and she is a 'slut,' while the man is a 'poor dumb brute' who is unable to refuse sex or resist it" but on other points they fight hard. For instance, when Alessandro kisses her (suddenly) the first time, Tasha shuts that shit down. When Josh and Alessandro start arguing over who has a right to control Tasha's body, she's like, "I'm standing right here! I'm an adult! I can make my own sexual decisions!" She tells her brother that she didn't interfere in his sex life when she caught him with a woman last week! She demands the same respect. At the end when things are reaching the big 'fight, we can't be together' part, Tasha reads Alessandro the riot act. I mean, sexism aside - and it was BAD - I really had to give Morgan props for making her female characters actually stand up. A lot of books that feature both sexism and 'commanding' males have women who are more browbeaten and who easily give in to things. I was glad that dynamic was not in here. Despite Morgan off-handedly talking about how 'regal and powerful' Alessandro was, she wasn't making him into an alpha asshole and she made Tasha into a character who stood up to him. This is probably why it wasn't a Harlequin Presents. LOL HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Undescribed and useless. I couldn't tell you what these two were doing in bed. But they used condoms! That was good. Thankfully, Morgan didn't make Tasha a virgin, which was what I was really fearing. TL;DR Baffling, pervasive sexism for NO REASON. And the sexism was often bizarre, too. Morgan took it way beyond locking in and enforcing typical gender roles. She had some pretty strange ideas IMO. It would make me laugh if I didn't take this stuff so seriously. Despite this, I admired the women for standing up for themselves strongly at various points in the book. Even though the hero could have easily been a domineering asshole, he really wasn't. The worst thing he did as an adult was randomly and suddenly kiss her sometimes. This could be jarring - both for her and the reader. But compared to his behavior 12 years ago, he was practically angelic. Morgan made the right choice on this one, IMO. It would have been so easy for her to easily write him into the asshole-hero category. I can't say I ENJOYED the book - the sexism was egregious - but it wasn't unreadable garbage. I can't recommend it, although I'm sure there's an audience for this. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Second Chance Romance - kinda? STEM Heroine - She's a pediatrician Non-Virgin Heroine Doctor Romance Royalty Romance He's a Prince, She's a Pediatrician NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Tasha f Natasha Josh m Rebecca f Cheapskate – dog Hugo m Alessandro m Sandro Eleanor f Miranda f Megan f Analisa f Antonio m Achilles – horse Hattie f Toby m Arabella f Mario m (hide spoiler)] NOW A FILM: called Christmas with a Prince. https://youtu.be/8Mx8cUNfNCE Terrible movie. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 2019
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Jan 2019
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Jan 01, 2019
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Paperback
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| 9781502213587
| 3.91
| 13,354
| Dec 15, 2012
| Apr 2014
|
did not like it
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Virginal woman hires male prostitute to get rid of her virginity. This is a VERY COMMON erotica trope. It also seems to be popular to make the woman h
Virginal woman hires male prostitute to get rid of her virginity. This is a VERY COMMON erotica trope. It also seems to be popular to make the woman have a position of sexual knowledge: she works writing a sex column, she works as a romance novelist, etc. etc. Here Lori is a romance novelist and 26-year-old virgin. Ander is a male prostitute who hates his rich father. I don't have an opening quote for this. Also, I'm going to do this review a bit backwards. Which means we start out with HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? In my opinion, the sex was boring. It was not sexually exciting to me at any time or in any way. Nothing the characters did to each other was objectionable by my standards... but neither was it interesting or sexy. If you are reading erotica to get off, which is why I read erotica, this is a failure. I couldn't get sexually aroused reading this. It was blah. This is because Kent is not writing sex in an exciting way (IMO). Not because the situation is inherently unsexy, although I will get into that later. I DIDN'T LIKE THE MCS SUBSECTION ONE: THE HEROINE I found the heroine annoying. Very annoying. I wanted to smack her for most of the novel. I have no idea how Ander tolerated her, much less fell in love with her. What was there to fall in love with?!!!?!? I suppose the BEST thing you could say about her was that she treated Ander as a human being and not like a piece of meat. But that's it. Otherwise she was generally annoying, pretty dumb, very nosy with no respect for Ander's privacy, and grating. She drove me up a fucking wall. Kent seemed to believe Lori was a charming and sweet character. She was not. I don't like reading romance books where I just CANNOT understand why the hero is falling in love with the heroine. It makes no sense. I was scratching my head the entire time Kent was trying to convince me Ander was crazy about this woman. Why? Why would Ander be crazy about this woman? I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA. She sounded like a nightmare to me, tbh. SUBSECTION TWO: THE HERO This tale is only told from Lori's POV. Which is kind of unique. But it doesn't give me a grasp of what is going on inside Ander's mind. But let me just say, from what I see of him through Lori's eyes, he was annoying me. He annoyed me in bed, he annoyed me out of bed. He was just fucking annoying. For one thing, he fucking brings porn videos to Lori and they watch them for literally hours. So, she's hired him for a five hour session, let's say this costs $1,500. Are you telling me he's charging $300 an hour to sit on the couch and watch fucking porn with her!?!?!?!!??!!?!? JFC. I'm not fucking paying you $300 to show me porn. She can watch porn on her own! Why the fuck is that worth $300 an hour?!?!!? And he says this is what he's doing to get her turned on. FUCK THAT SHIT. Can we please get her turned on the old-fashioned way? Isn't that what she's FUCKING PAYING YOU FOR?!?!!?!?!?! Put your hands on her. Say sweet things to her. Have a lovely makeout session, I don't give a fuck, just don't charge her $300 to watch porn. JFC. SIDESTEP: THE WHOLE PROSTITUTE THING I have to say, personally, that this whole prostitute scenario is not sexy to me. The idea of a man having sex with me BECAUSE I'M GIVING HIM MONEY is just sad. It's not sexy to me. It's not romantic to me. It's fucking depressing. It's depressing not only because I think sex work is soul-crushing for most people and also a lot of people get into it at too young of an age or out of desperation or due to sexual slavery... Don't @ me, bro. I know tons of people want to argue with me about this, but that's my take. Forgetting this depressing aspect of it - let's pretend people ONLY get into sex-for-cash because they LOVE sex and selling themselves gives them joy-joy feelings. Let's pretend we live in a utopia where people would ONLY become prostitutes because they love every second and it's their true calling. This is complete bullshit, but let's pretend. She's PAYING someone to have sex with her. She's PAYING someone to be nice to her and tell her she's pretty and act like she turns them on physically. That's sad. Not because she's desperate (honestly, tons of men would fuck her and wouldn't make her pay), but because - I personally believe - sex should be because two people want to do it. I PERSONALLY would prefer for it to be romantic and involve love and feelings, snuggles and caring. But even if two people are fucking because they want to fuck, that's fine. You're attracted to someone you meet at the laundromat, you take them home. You fuck. You are attracted to them - not because one of them needs to pay rent this week so they accept money for oral sex. That's just depressing to me on a lot of levels. One, the person who has to put on this big pretend about liking the jill/john, pretending the acts they are doing on the jill/john turn them on, pretending they are attracted to the jill/john. Not being able to be themselves, having to be polite, having to obey the jill/john to a certain extent, having to put up with the jill /john's baggage. For money. Emotional labor taken to the EXTREME. Two, the jill/john herself. She's PAYING someone to fuck her. I don't find this sexy or romantic. It does not play into any of my romantic or sexual fantasies. I just don't get it. I would not want a man to be with me because I paid him. That makes me feel the opposite of sexually aroused. It makes me sexually depressed. It has nothing to do with looking down on the sex worker - people have to do what they have to do to make a living. I certainly understand the burdens and hardships of emotional labor. Sex work just takes it to the extreme. And it has nothing to do with me "pitying" a "poor virgin" who wants to lose her virginity. I understand that. She sees her virginity as a burden to get rid of. Okay. Instead, it has to do with the fact that someone is paying someone else to fuck them or to fake romantic/sexual interest in them. This is the fact that makes me depressed. Depressed for the prostitute and depressed for the john/jill. Just doesn't seem happy or sexy to me in any way. And that's throwing out (as most romantic eroticas do) the subproblems of sexual slavery, what age they got into The Life, and other stuff that's considered really not romantic and sexy and is always glossed over in these glamorized portrayals of sex work where every prostitute loves his/her job and loves having sex with whoever is paying them to. Where was I? Oh, yeah, the fucking annoying hero. He was definitely annoying me with the sex. First there was the porn thing. Then the way he took her virginity and acted with her in bed I found highly annoying and frustrating. He's kind of bossy. I get it - he's supposed to be teaching her basically from scratch, but he just keeps telling her to breathe all the time. The sex is awkward and boring, and even though they have tons and tons of sex in the book, the sex never gets exciting or not awkward. I'm afraid these two simply have no chemistry and are awkward together. I find a lot of female virgin/male prostitute erotica has this problem. Awkward, non-sexy sex. I know it's not just me and my lack of interest in having sex with a prostitute, because books CAN write this in a more sexy way, like Skye Warren's Escort. But many books that focus on this trope suffer for it. It would be awkward to do this, and books that don't shy away from that are more realistic... but also not helping anyone who is reading them for erotica purposes get turned-on. OK, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GOOD, CARMEN? Okay, now that we've discussed that a.) the sex is awkward and boring. For the entire book. b.) The heroine is fucking annoying and I can't for the life of me figure out what on earth the hero sees in her. And c.) The hero is also fucking annoying and if I met him in real life he'd drive me up a fucking wall, let's discuss what Kent actually does well in this novel. One, it's free. There's that. Bad sign when I bring that up. But still: the price is right. Two, Kent wasn't making me DNF. Even though both of the characters were annoying and the sex was boring, I was kind of interested in where Kent was going with this. Was Ander in love with Lori? Could Lori be any stupider? Was Ander ever going to make a facial expression? Was there going to be a big showdown with Ander's father? I have to give Kent props for making this book semi-realistic. The sex would be awkward. Lori and Ander would face a lot of problems due to his work. Getting romantically involved with a prostitute is a bad, bad idea for A LOT of reasons. TL;DR Not sexy. It's not a scenario I find sexy, and added onto that is Kent's sex scenes which do NOTHING for me. Both the hero and heroine were incredibly annoying. I didn't like either of them, which just made the book that much worse. I was able to finish the book. It wasn't exasperating me. I didn't want to light it on fire. It wasn't making me froth at the mouth. If you want female-virgin-hires-male-prostitute erotica, you can do better than this. Maybe try Escort by Skye Warren or if I find any other decent ones I'll update this. It's free, so if you really want to give it a try, go for it. I prefer prostitute stories where someone gets the other person out of The Life, and not ones where they hire a prostitute and then they and the prostitute 'fall in love.' Or, alternatively, I prefer books about strippers if we are having to have a male or female who is in a sell-your-body profession. For instance, A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan or Wound Up by Kelli Ireland. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 20, 2018
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Nov 20, 2018
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Nov 19, 2018
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ebook
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0373829361
| 9780373829361
| 0373829361
| 4.16
| 155
| Jan 01, 2012
| Oct 09, 2012
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really liked it
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She found herself thinking about how his full, soft lips might feel. This is the second Amish romance I've read that takes place during the Great Depre She found herself thinking about how his full, soft lips might feel. This is the second Amish romance I've read that takes place during the Great Depression. I don't know if this is a thing. The book opens with Greta getting horribly dumped by her beau of five years - the man she thought she was going to be married to - Josef. He breaks it off with her right outside of Luke's blacksmith shop. Luke offers her comfort and help. She's embarrassed about the breakup, and promises to help him court her older sister, Lydia, if he keeps his mouth shut about what happened. She's always coming up with harebrained schemes like this. As for Luke, he came here to Florida from Ontario. There are hints of a dark secret in his past. He mysteriously came to town, no one really knows his background or his people. Okay, let's break this book down. 1.) I really enjoyed this book. Schmidt kept my attention and kept me glued to every page. I was truly interested in what was going to happen to the characters. It was gripping and suspenseful. Her character descriptions were vivid. 2.) The hero is a huge, strapping blacksmith. He's kind, and although not as even-tempered as I like, he's pretty close. So he was someone interesting to me. I could see why Greta was into him. He also wasn't so rigid. Some of these Christian heroes - Amish or not - can be real uptight. Luke wasn't like that. Luke sent up a silent prayer for forgiveness for the lie he was about to tell. - page 255 He lies to (male) gossips to protect his woman. That's good. The biggest gossip in the book is a man, not a woman. Refreshing. Greta did not appear to be quite so blind in her faith and Luke realized that this was a trait that the two of them shared. - page 303 Both he and Greta struggle with completely trusting God and going through life without worry. Watching him, Luke found himself curling his hands into fists. He had never in his life wanted to strike another human being the way he wanted to strike Josef. - page 303 Luke never strikes Josef in this book, even though Josef definitely is an asshole and you would completely understand anyone kicking his ass. But he thinks about it! This is about as much as you'll get in a Christian romance. There's a scene where something bad happens and Luke - even though he doesn't have to and it would be understandable if he ran away or ignored it - just goes out to take care of shit. You know it's going to be uncomfortable and painful for him but he just faces it head-on. This is super-attractive in a man. He also kisses Greta! I know, you are like, "Well, this is a romance, of course he did." But plenty of Christian romances have zero kissing (tragic) and if the couple does kiss, it's a quick asexual lipsmack that takes 0.02 seconds. There is actual kissing in here that makes me think these two might have a hope of a good and satisfying sex life. They both seem to enjoy kissing. :D So, in conclusion, Luke was a little bit nom. He wasn't perfect, he had flaws, but he had an attractive personality. 3.) The heroine. At first I didn't exactly know what Schmidt was doing with this character. Greta is what most would call 'a drama queen.' Her moods fluctuate wildly. She can change her mood on a dime. She is overly dramatic. She makes instantaneous and poorly-thought-out decisions. She's rash and impulsive. She's meddling and conniving (not in a malicious way, but still). Schmidt might have been trying to make this a little humorous. A la Tales of a Drama Queen. Greta has great qualities, too. She is fun, funny, full of laughter and light. She loves people and gets along with almost everyone. She's curious and outspoken. I personally wouldn't date someone with this personality - too much drama and manufactured excitement for me - but I can see why certain people would find her appealing. I also really relate to her struggles with men. One, she dated Josef (a jerk) for five years. He wanted to change her and didn't love her for who she was. Two, she feels like men are too jealous and needy. She's right. I feel ya, sister. She's exasperated with trying to have to please and appease men all the time. It's exhausting, for sure. "So, you're jealous." Relief mixed with irritation flooded her veins. This was not the first time that Josef had been upset with her for what he saw as flirting and she saw as simply being herself. - page 242 How many times had she reassured this man over the course of their lives together? How many more times would she have to apologize for being herself? She closed her eyes and prayed for guidance - and patience. - page 242 Cowardly. Yes, that explained it. For as long as shed known him, Josef had allowed her to have her way and deep down she had known that even the hint that she might be attracted to some other boy could have Josef falling all over himself to win favor with her. On the other hand, he had made it clear on more than one occasion that once they married, he would determine where she went and who she saw and when. Greta had accepted that, once she married, the man was in charge. But she had always assumed that after marriage she would be able to find her way around Josef's jealousies and strict ways the same way she had during their courtship. - page 258 As the evening wore on, Greta realized that the smiles Josef and Esther were exchanging were far too familiar to be the start of something new. No, those smiles were the smiles of two people who shared a secret. So there had been someone else, Greta fumed silently and she made no pretense at keeping up with the words the others were singing. A combination of jealousy and guilt overwhelmed her and this time she needed no excuse to leave the table. Without a word she stumbled toward the open doors of the barn and the sanctity of the darkness beyond. She felt all eyes follow her as she hurried away and once outside she gulped in the humid night air and fought against the tears that she simply refused to allow herself to shed. Cry over Josef Bontrager after everything she had put up with all these years? His moods, his insistence that everything be done to his satisfaction, his constantly trying to change her - mold her into some ideal he held of the perfect wife and mother? That was it, she realized. All the time that Josef had courted her, he had been trying to change her. He didn't love HER, she realized. He loved her appearance - took sinful pride in being seen with such a pretty and popular woman. But how many times when he spoke of their future had he reminded her that, once they were married, she would need to temper her curiosity and natural instinct to speak her mind? And truth be told she had thought she could change him, as well - once they were married. She had imagined that he would become less reserved and more outgoing. She had been certain that the children they would have would soften his strict demeanor. But now, as she walked a distance from the barn to the bench where Lydia had sat earlier, she had to admit that she had been wrong - as wrong about Josef as he had been about her. And in her heart she forgave him for the pain he had caused her and she prayed for God's forgiveness for her own selfishness. "But, heavenly Father, I cannot understand what You have in mind for me." page 300 Greta was all too aware that Josef's gaze followed her wherever she went. If she spent too much time lingering over conversation with any one of the men - even the married ones - that gaze became a glare. More disturbing was the fact that Luke Starns also seemed to be watching her - and he appeared to be no more pleased than Josef was with her behavior. Well, let them gawk all they wanted. Greta was so very tired of trying to live up to somebody else's ideal of how she should conduct herself. She liked people. She found the sheer variety and diversity of them a source of endless fascination. Wasn't it amazing how God had given each of his creatures their very own unique qualities? If Josef - and Luke, for that matter - chose to view her behavior as inappropriate, that was hardly her problem. Josef had made his choice and as for Luke - well, if he wanted to be her friend, or more than that - then he would just have to accept her for the way she was. After all, that's what true friends did. - page 370 Greta had to wonder if all men were like this - always questioning what her feelings might be, what they were going to be in the future. Josef had done that repeatedly, taking every conversation she had with any male and turning it in his mind into a flirtation or abandonment of him. - page 390 Greta's far from perfect: she can be meddling, conniving, jealous and petty at times. But she's a good person and you can see many sides of her in this book. 4.) Josef, the villain and Greta's ex. The way Schmidt illustrates Josef and his bad character in a variety of ways is skilled. You can picture him exactly. I feel like she put a lot of work into her characters in this book. You are going to want to brain Josef with a shovel... I know I did. But at the same time, he's not one-dimensional. 5.) Same thing goes for Lydia, Greta's older sister. This is no shallow character, but a living, breathing person whom you can see in your mind's eye. Not only are Greta and Lydia best friends - refreshing and great - but Lydia's interactions with Luke are also stellar. I love seeing strong female friendships in romance novels, and I love how Luke and Lydia have long talks, are honest with each other, and relate to each other. After all, they will be family. Rarely is this shown or focused on in romance novels, usually the heroine's sister(s) are very minor and not developed. Schmidt puts in the extra time here to flesh out all the major players. It's easy to make them cookie-cutter, but Schmidt respects her readers more than that. I appreciate her hard work. 6.) MENTIONS OF GOD: ~95 7.) HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? There's no sex, this is a Christian romance. Minus one star. There is some actually good kissing in here, though. As in: they seem to be enjoying themselves and they are not half-assing it. Schmidt doesn't seem to be as terrified about writing sexual attraction as some Christian authors. TL;DR This is not getting five stars because a.) no sex and b.) there's one part of the book where Greta acts like a complete moron for no reason other than Schmidt using it as a ploy to make the plot more dramatic. That's lazy writing. But overall I have to say this was very enjoyable. Schmidt certainly had my full attention. I really cared about the characters and what happened to them. I was definitely rooting for them to end up together - even run away together if necessary. It felt good to read about a couple I was behind 100%. If you like no-sex Christian romances, you can't really do better than this. I highly recommend it to people who are interested in that sort of thing. Personally, I can't give five stars to a romance novel that doesn't have sex in it (especially if it features a big, burly blacksmith... I mean COME ON!) but I know not everyone enjoys sex scenes in romance novels. This is a win if you like that subgenre of romance. Schmidt should feel proud. P.S. I actually laughed out loud at one point reading this book - during the scene where Luke eats Lydia's pie. So extra points to Schmidt. I usually don't laugh out loud while reading. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Historical Romance - 1934 Inspirational Romance Virgin Hero Amish Romance Great Depression Romance - 1934 She doesn't work for pay. I mean, she works hard from dawn to dusk but it's unpaid 'women's labor' like cooking, cleaning, baking, laundry, childcare. He's a Blacksmith. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 18, 2018
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Jul 19, 2018
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Jul 18, 2018
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Mass Market Paperback
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| 0373754272
| 9780373754274
| 0373754272
| 4.00
| 39
| Jan 01, 2012
| Oct 09, 2012
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really liked it
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...and he kissed her, hard, his tongue touching hers, his mouth both soft and hungry against her lips. Tiny quivers sped along her nerve endings, twis
...and he kissed her, hard, his tongue touching hers, his mouth both soft and hungry against her lips. Tiny quivers sped along her nerve endings, twisting up inside her belly. Never had she been kissed like this. Never had she wanted a man more. She felt lightheaded and dizzy with desire. Okay, I have a lot to say about this book. A LOT. *sips coffee* First of all, I have to say that even though the book has a rough start... some would even say a rough first half, it ends up being a cute and engaging story. Maggie's sister is pregnant with twins. Maggie's BIL is away at war. Maggie comes from L.A. to Briggs, Idaho in order to help her sister after Maggie quit her high-powered job. Maggie steps into her sister's job, being a receptionist for pediatric dentist Blake. Blake and Maggie are attracted to each other. I wasn't really believing their instant attraction, BUT OKAY. Blake lives with his daughter, his father, his two brothers, and his three nephews in a big ranch house. Let's talk. ONE: The hero is mustachioed. You almost never see this in modern-day romance. No beard, just a mustache. TWO: This takes place in Idaho. I don't read a lot of romance novels that take place in Idaho. THREE: The whole title and summary of this book are extremely misleading. Blake is not a cowboy. He is a PEDIATRIC DENTIST. I guess that doesn't sound sexy. I guess Harlequin wasn't eager to name a book Falling for the Pediatric Dentist. The book insists on calling him a cowboy a lot, even though he is NOT a cowboy. I mean, he lives on a ranch... but he does no cow things, no horse things, and no ranching things. "..." Colt said, looking as he'd fought a tough battle that morning. Both he and Travis had bad hat hair, and their shirts were dusty. Unlike Blake, who looked as if he'd been working in his office all morning. Clearly, they were different types of cowboys. Uh, no, Maggie. Colt and Travis are cowboys. They work the ranch. They ride horses. They do manual labor. BLAKE is a PEDIATRIC DENTIST. Let's just tell it like it is. FOUR: Names in this book. Colt Travis Blake Dodge Scout Jethro Kitty Maggie Helen Amanda Buddy Gavin Parker Esther Cori Tanner Phyllis Milo Colt (Colton) is SO overused by Harlequin in "western" romances, it's insane. Along with "Dylan." Noticeably, there was no "Dylan" in this, but that is another huge AR go-to. FIVE: WEIGHT/ DIETING I swear, I could write a thesis on weight, dieting, and body image as presented in romance novels. Maggie is the typical "she can eat like a horse and not gain any weight" romance heroine. This is simply not the case with the vast majority of women. I admit there are exceptions, but they are not the rule. This is surprisingly both a male and female fantasy. IME, men want you to be able to eat like they do, chow down on the meals they enjoy, but also weigh 110 pounds. It's frustrating, especially when you are dating. I want to stress, SUPER-IMPORTANT, that men have no say into how you eat, when you eat, how much you eat, what you eat, and how frequently you eat. Only you do. As an extra reminder, if you think a man is with you solely because of your body shape or physical beauty, be extra careful. I'm not going to tell you not to proceed, but proceed with caution. You do not want to be with a man who values you because you are thin / beautiful. And you do not want to be with a man who will not 'forgive' you when you gain 20 pounds after birthing four children. Maggie nodded and forked two onto her plate, then smeared on butter, drenched them in maple syrup, and took a monster bite. One thing was true about this woman, she could eat more food than most men he knew and still fit into those tight jeans of hers. He wondered how that was even possible. His ex hardly ate, and when she did, it was usually only a few bites and she'd claim she was full. Maggie eats a lot, but is thin and very beautiful. He's so happy. She 'eats' like a 'normal person' but is also slender and also beautiful. This is the male fantasy IME. His ex, who is evil, just solidifies her evilness by dieting and watching what she eats. This disgusts him. He ex should have been able to eat steak and pasta every single day but still remain very thin. I find this attitude A LOT in real life and it's very baffling. Maggie eats a lot, and foods that are... not conducive to weight-loss, let's just put it that way. This is reiterated A LOT. Finally, Leo gives us this scene: In the meantime, Maggie felt like a kid herself what with all the goodies they'd had, particularly the Junior Mints from Milo, which had been her all-time favorite movie treat when she was a kid. Aside from the few that she shared with Blake, she had consumed the entire box. "What are you feelings toward large women?" Maggie asked Blake once she'd eaten the last Junior Mint. She wanted to know how shallow he was when it came to a woman's curves. "Tall or round?" Blake teased. "Round." "You could probably use a few pounds. Remember, I've seen the way you eat, and it's not likely that'll be happening with a puny box of Junior Mints.' "You never know. They might be my tipping point." "Then tip right on over here and let's just see if round makes any difference." He pulled her in closer, giving her a gentle kiss. "Umm, as sweet as honey. Can I fetch you another box?" "You'd do that for me?" "Sweetheart, I'd get you an entire truckload." He kissed her again, then turned back to the movie screen, a great big smile on his face. Maggie felt a buzz down to her toes. Looking at him now, while he stroked Joey's hair as he rested his head on Blake's long legs, she knew shallow wasn't part of his DNA. The man was one hundred percent down-home warmth, and if she wanted to be a part of that warmth, she had to leave her city world behind. Well, on one hand, if he was a dick who worried about her diet, her eating, or what she weighed, she'd probably know it by now. Even if he didn't say anything to her directly, it's usually hard to hide if you are someone who hates fat people. If you hate fat people it comes out pretty quickly in some form or another. On the other hand, I don't think asking people directly if they hate fat people is effective. Of course people lie like rugs when directly confronted. On the third hand, (LOL!), I find the comment "You could probably use a few pounds" to be unnecessary and hurtful and something that should get her hackles up or at least ping her radar. A more interesting approach and a better one would be if Leo had Maggie actually gain weight. We see at the beginning that she is meticulous about her diet and shuns 'yummy' foods for 'healthy' ones. Due to her happiness and being around Blake, she is eating more and she is eating delicious foods instead of ones she chokes down because she's desperate to keep fitting into her size four jeans, or whatever. (Just picking a random size, every (American?) female knows jean sizes are all over the place and mean nothing). What if her more relaxed, happy eating habits made her gain weight? That would actually be an interesting feature of a romance novel - how Leo would have dealt with it and how Blake would have reacted would have been very interesting. We could truly see if Blake is a mensch or a piece of shit. ANYWAY, moving on. SIX: WEIRD SAYINGS I'm not sure why Leo puts so many weird sayings in this book. I'm not sure if she thinks she's being funny, I'm not sure if she thinks doing this is adding extra 'country flavor' to her book, or if this is just the way she talks? IDK. At first, I found all these weird sayings to be jarring and rather baffling. However, as the novel went on, I started to see them as funny. I thought maybe Leo was pulling my leg, and if so, she was doing a good job of it. Take them as a joke and you will enjoy this book a lot more. She winked at him, turned and walked away, leaving Blake as happy as a naughty pup with a new shoe. ... His sweet daughter was about as happy as a puppy with two tails. ... She assumed she'd be as unlike Colt's deceased wife as apple pie from a skinny latte. ... Maggie seemed as pleased as a little heifer heading for its mama's teat. ... He could no more keep Maggie from the city than he could teach a bird to jog. ... ... but by then it was too late to do anything about it. The horse was out of the barn. The die had been cast. The pickle had been brined. Or, Maggie's new-found favorite, the bull had sniffed the heifer. ... He tried to act as if she didn't matter; however, it was like trying to scratch your ear with your elbow. ... As Blake drove away, he felt about as melancholy as a hound dog sitting on the porch of a deserted cabin. Then we have THIS whole conversation, which pretty much illustrates what I'm saying. "You can stop her if you want to." "I tried that once before with my ex. It doesn't work. Light." "Maggie's different." He held the spectrometer, a blue LED light, on the filling waiting for it to set and harden. "Cut from the same cloth." "The design might be the same, but this fabric's pure silk." "Silk's expensive. I don't have that kind of money. Never will." "Maggie's capable of spinning her own silk." "Not in Briggs she's not. This town's not made for silk. We're more into potato sacks." He handed the spectrometer back to Liza. She handed him the small blue articulating paper. "She's a clever girl. Don't sell her short." He placed the blue paper in Jethro's mouth above the new filling while still holding on to it with tweezers. "Bite down," he told Jethro in a loud voice. Jethro obliged. "I'm not selling her. She sold me, and the sale was final." No excess blue on Jethro's upper teeth. The filling was perfect. Blake pulled his mask down below his chin and tapped his patient's shoulder to get his attention. "All finished, Jethro. You were great." Jethro beamed as the chair automatically moved upright. He pulled his earphones out of his ears and said, "No sale is ever final, Doc. You can always change your mind." Sigh. SEVEN: COUNTRY VS. CITY Leo seems to think that country folk and city folk are polar opposites, can never understand each other, and are fundamentally different. While I understand there is a difference between rural culture and values and urban culture and values, I found her ideas to be questionable. Darn it all, he couldn't hire a woman who didn't own a pair of cowboy boots. They were a necessity in these parts, like a Leatherman tool or a trophy buckle. That fact alone proved she was just like his ex, and he didn't want or need a woman like her anywhere around him. Way too many bad memories of her disgust of everything Country. Doesn't own cowboy boots. CAN'T BE TRUSTED. Can't wait to see how he reacts when he finds out she doesn't drive a pickup truck. "No offense to you or any of the other women in this town, but I just don't get what all the fuss is about. Yeah, he's cute, in that country sort of way, but I'm a rock and roll kind of girl. Coldplay, U2 and Daughtry turn me on, not George Jones." What. Maggie was a good ol' girl at heart, who could probably knock back a cold one with the best of them, if it ever came to that. But right then, sitting across from her, he knew getting her to drink a beer was out of the question. She was still carrying around the city in her back pocket, and as long as she did, Briggs was simply a town where her baby sister lived. Country folk like beer, city folk like wine. You can 'prove' you're 'country' if you drink beer. He could see himself getting carried away here, only to lose her to the big city. That part of Maggie was ingrained in her DNA. Of that, he was certain. But if a man was worth his name, that man would figure out a way to change her city thinking into Country reason. Fortunately, he was just the cowboy to do it. You're not a cowboy. YOU'RE A PEDIATRIC DENTIST. FFS. She had a Country heart, and there was no amount of city that was ever going to change that. OK. Maggie took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she climbed the front stairs of Blake's porch. The ranch house was bigger than she had expected, and much more civilized-looking than her imagination had conjured up. Old Westerns hadn't prepared her for this kind of rugged charm. What. I don't get this. If you live in the country, you live in a shack? The house smelled of bacon and maple syrup, two culinary delights she would give her left arm for... well, maybe not her left arm, but her Coach purse could easily be swapped. She followed him through the living room, a rich blend of dark woods, comfortable-looking chairs and sofas, red blankets and decorative pillows. A massive two-story fireplace anchored the room, and bookshelves loaded down with hard-back books covered three walls. What she didn't see was any taxidermied wildlife, a relief if there ever was one. Stereotyping. He'd known from the very first time he'd met her that she had a Country heart, although, he had no idea that she'd embrace it so quickly. She has a Country Heart! She can be SAVED from her evil, Big City ways. EIGHT: KIDS We are told Maggie is a.) terrible with kids and b.) terrified of kids, but she is instantly loving and good with them and very naturally talented. So that is a big old lie. When Leo told me she was bad with children, I believed her. Then she charmed and helped and was wonderful with the first child she interacted with in the book. This only continues. So that is some falsehood. NINE: MENSCH Even though Blake is just a normal man for most of the book, he does pull out some mensch-behavior at the end which was pleasing me. As much as it ripped his insides apart, he said, "You know there were no strings attached to last night. Whatever I said wasn't meant to keep you here if you don't want to stay." Mmmm, this is MAN right here. Fuck. Even though she just ripped his heart out by (view spoiler)[having sex with him (during which he told her he loved her) and then he finds out she has a job offer in L.A. (hide spoiler)] he is acting like such a mensch. So hot. Caring. Kind. There's another AMAZING mensch scene where he takes his five-year-old out to eat and explains to her that (view spoiler)[Maggie is leaving and why (hide spoiler)] and coaches her on how to be kind to Maggie and allow her to (view spoiler)[leave (hide spoiler)] without guilt. It's so mensch-like. Damn. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Okay. Well. It's not bad, but nor is it sexually exciting. They use a condom, which is good. He kissed her again, his hand moving from the side of her face to brush her ear, before stroking her hair. Maggie paused to wonder if Blake could ever love her the way Tim loved Kitty. If she was meant for that kind of unconditional love, and if he did ever fall in love with her like that, would she be able to love him in return? Would she be able to love deeply, without fear that he would leave her for someone else? Then she stopped thinking. His kiss deepened, their tongues pressing together, tasting, licking, sending shivers up and down her body. She pulsed with yearning for him and all doubt vanished, replaced with an intense need to love and be loved. Cori had been right, never in her entire adult life had she been kissed like this. They kept kissing, exploring, lying alongside each other, holding each other so close she could barely breathe. Somewhere during the past twenty-four hours, watching Tim and Kitty, seeing their babies being born, spending time with Scout and the boys, with Blake, all Maggie's apprehensions had vanished, and what she had left was a human desire to be loved. Truly and deeply loved. The kind of love she once could only dream of. The kind of love she desperately wanted. Needed. Longed for. They moved together in complete silence, as if they were trying to guard their lovemaking from the rest of the world. Every kiss, every touch brought on an emotion that Maggie had never experienced with any other man. She felt as if she was making love, truly making love, for the first time. When they finally shed the rest of their clothes and lay in each other's arms, naked, a fire raged deep within her. A fire that rendered her helpless each time he caressed her body. The need to have him inside her was almost more than she could bear. "Now," she whispered as he moved on top of her, deliberately taking his time, tormenting her with each touch, then slowly slipping a condom over his firm erection. "I want you now." When he entered her, he let out a deep groan that seemed to come from his soul. A rush of excitement tingled over her body and she allowed a low, heavy sigh to escape. "Where have you been all my life?" he whispered. "Trying to find you," she told him while looking deeply into his eyes. "I'm right here darlin'. Not going anywhere. I'm in love with you." A tinge of doubt flitted through her head. Could this be real? Could she trust him? Could she trust herself? She dismissed the questions. Right now all she wanted was Blake, and nothing else mattered. "Me, too" slipped from her mouth before she could stop herself. The intensity of their passion increased with the speed of his movements, and just when she thought she couldn't endure the sensation another second, they shuddered their release together, as if they had planned it to happen that way. She couldn't help but groan out her pleasure, causing Blake to hold on to her even tighter. Afterward, while he rested on top of her, their breathing slowing to a normal rhythm, she marveled at the power of her passion for him, and the emotions surrounding it. Then, as she cuddled up next to him, cradled in his strong arms with their legs twined, she cried. She cries after sex. I don't know why. She never explains, he never asks or even comments on it - which I find strange. He could have at least asked her if she was okay. IDK, I don't think crying after sex is expected. They should talk about this. Also, as a reader, I want to know why the hell she is crying. They are having sex for the first time. I think if I were a man and I had sex with a woman whom I'd never had sex with before, and she started crying after it was over, I would be concerned, worried, and curious. Just a thought. TL;DR The book grew on me. NGL, it was off to a rough start. Leo writes in a weird way. Not only does she pop in all these weird similes, but her characters thought processes are hard to figure out, a real puzzle sometimes. When Blake and Maggie first meet and have an instant lust attraction (especially on Blake's part) I couldn't really understand why. "She's hot" is not really a reason for me. There's tons of hot people in life, I need a bit more than that. But the book just got better and better. I got used to Leo's obsession with 'country' similes. Blake and Maggie became more and more developed and I started to care about them as people. When they get together at the end, I genuinely thought it was cute and sweet. I was rooting for them. That's the sign someone has written a good romance. There's some great stuff in here, that is cute and touching. There's an amazing scene between Maggie and the children. There is cute stuff like line dancing, country fair, and tug-of-war. I'm waffling between a three and a four on this rating. The book is kind of at a midway point. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Dentist Romance He's a Pediatric Dentist, She's a Businesswoman ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 23, 2018
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May 28, 2018
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May 23, 2018
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Paperback
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| 037381657X
| 9780373816576
| 037381657X
| 4.20
| 333
| Oct 16, 2012
| Oct 23, 2012
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it was ok
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For her, God's forgiveness, faith and the love of family and community had to come first. Becoming Amish was the only way she could see to make up for
For her, God's forgiveness, faith and the love of family and community had to come first. Becoming Amish was the only way she could see to make up for her past. She had to choose a life of service and worship over a life of self. She had to choose God over the world; she believed there was mercy and peace waiting if she could step away from temptation. Grace Yoder and her little boy, Dakota, appear on Hannah's doorstep. Hannah's husband had sex with Grace's mother, and Grace is the result of that union. This book is interesting in the fact that it is dealing with the Amish community as a sanctuary or refuge. Grace has had a relatively hard life, she sees running away to join an Amish community as a way to escape her life and her problems. Interesting. Funny to think of the Amish recruiting and getting new members by offering their hard-working way of life as an escape or a haven from reality. I have to hand it to Miller. I do. I do. Not only is she one of the few, few Amish Christian Romance authors who can convincingly write a romantic/sexual spark between leads... but she is brutal, BRUTAL in depicting the horrid sides to Amish life, like the patriarchy and the sometimes hurtful laws. So Grace wants to become Amish. Everyone laughs at this, saying she's got a snowball's chance in hell of doing so. Good guy John Hartman sees Grace and has a sexual and romantic interest in her. Too bad he's Mennonite and she refuses to have anything to do with him. I liked John. He's a veterinarian. It's funny how Miller depicts him as always showing up at the Yoder house just in time for meals. He always conveniently is coming by at these times, and he's always hungry and he always gets offered food, which he happily accepts. He's a cute guy. As we all know from reading a few of these Amish Christian Romance novels, it is IMPOSSIBLE for a man to cook or learn how to cook. IMPOSSIBLE. So, since John lives with his uncle and his grandfather, all the men live on slop, because ONLY women know how to cook and clean or are physically capable of cooking or cleaning. I mean, I understand the strong patriarchy and the worship of the patriarchy in these novels, but I find it a little bit ridiculous that NO MAN EVER has been able to learn how to cook. o.O The main point of this novel is that Grace has some codswallop in her head about "having to be Amish, being hellbent on becoming Amish" and, for some crazy reason, believing that joining the Amish is the ONLY WAY God will forgive her. I just didn't get it. Miller was trying to make it work, but I didn't understand Grace's logic and all and she came off as a dummkopf sometimes. Here's a perfectly kind, cute man who is crazy over Grace and she refuses to have anything to do with him because he's not Amish. Even though the Amish won't let Grace go to college, won't let any photographs be taken, won't celebrate Christmas except by fasting, won't celebrate Thanksgiving except by fasting, don't have Santa Claus or gift-giving traditions, and force the women to eat only after the men have eaten and then after the boys have eaten... Grace still wants in on this. And what about Grace's HORRIBLE secret? I was honestly thinking she had been a stripper. I knew Miller wouldn't have allowed her heroine to be a prostitute, so 'stripper' was what I thought Grace's huge secret was. But no, it was something a lot more innocuous than that, and - while embarrassing - I was confused as to how much angst Grace had over her secret, something that was honestly not her fault. TL;DR - Interesting premise. Miller isn't a bad author. In fact, she might be the best the Amish Christian Romance world has to offer. However, I can't say I got much out of this book except for to be horrified by the Amish community. ~68 references to God ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Animal Lovers Romance - I'm saying this because John is a veterinarian and Grace is a veterinarian's assistant. Not because animals feature heavily in the story, they don't. Contemporary Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Inspirational Romance I have no idea if the hero is a virgin or not. Non-Virgin Heroine Amish Romance He's a Veterinarian, She's a Vet's Assistant. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 18, 2018
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Mar 19, 2018
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Mar 18, 2018
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Mass Market Paperback
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| 0373754167
| 9780373754168
| 0373754167
| 3.87
| 46
| Jul 01, 2012
| Jul 10, 2012
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it was ok
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"You talked to him?" Matt slid a hand down her spine, fitting her against him. "And Celia. My dad. Luz. Sully. A few more of the McCabes. And, of cours "You talked to him?" Matt slid a hand down her spine, fitting her against him. "And Celia. My dad. Luz. Sully. A few more of the McCabes. And, of course, Emily and Dylan." Jen stared at him, aware their hearts were beating in the same quick cadence. "Anyone else?" Matt tilted his head to the side. Obviously, he had to think about that. "Well, my horse." Jen laughed. "You're really funny, you know that?" His eyes darkened. "I'm trying." So, this had the bones of a good novel. And the potential to be a good novel. But it was just falling flat for me. Let's explore. SYNOPSIS Jennifer is a divorcée whose ex-husband is a rich man. She is struggling to make ends meet while running a little bronzing/sculpture studio. She gets hired by an older rich Texan to make bronzes of his life. The rich man's son, Matt, is worried about his dad's welfare and thinks his dad plans to marry Jen. He tries to buy Jen off. Jen refuses. Now she is living on the ranch, sculpting day in and day out, and Matt and her start up an affair. Matt is rich, he's also still grieving the death of his mom. She died ten years ago. ANALYSIS So. Thacker actually does some great things in this book. First off, Jen and Matt have some great conversations where they really explore each other's pasts and the influence each other their pasts on their psyches. The problem with this is that the conversations happen VERY early in their relationship. It's hard for me to believe they each open up so much so quickly. Secondly, Jen went still. Valiantly, he pushed on. "I'm asking you if you want to be exclusive." Well, this is surprising. Usually a romance novel couple doesn't bother with this part of the relationship. Instead, the hero and heroine start having sex and then everyone just automatically assumes (knows) that they are exclusive now. I'm surprised Thacker brought this up. Yes, Jen and Matt have been having sex, but he doesn't take anything for granted and actually asks her if they are going to be exclusive now. Impressive. Thacker actually addresses issues like, "Matt has thousands of dollars of repair done to Jen's beloved beater, and Jen is upset about it. Matt can't understand why." Matt struggled to get to the source of the problem. "Is this because I got you car repairs instead of a diamond necklace?" Some women wanted only highly romantic gifts, he knew. He hadn't figured Jen was one of them. Had he been wrong? Of course we, as the audience, know it's because Matt stepped in and took care of things without making sure it was okay with Jen. Being - Feeling indebted to a man for thousands of dollars is no joke. Sometimes I don't think men understand the implications of being a woman in this situation. It's the farthest thing from his mind that he might ask her to pay off the debt on her back, but of course that's the first thing any woman thinks of, because men are dangerous predators and you can't be too careful. But that's not the only problem here. Jen also used to be married to a rich man who was relatively controlling, and Matt's actions remind her of him. Which isn't good. These two get it all sorted out, but there's a lot of stupidity flying around for a while. The weirdness also kicks up when Emmett (Matt's dad) "catches" them in bed together. Now, the whole thing is - on the surface - ridiculous. They're grown. Both above thirty in age. But getting caught by daddy still makes you feel shame and guilt. Right? And he disapproves of them having sex... for whatever reason. He thinks they should be married first. That's a bad situation to be in. Fourth, we have to deal with the main misunderstanding and point of conflict between hero and heroine in this book. Emmett is exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson's and hiding them from Matt. Jen notices, and Emmett swears her to secrecy, which puts her in a really hard position. I didn't know where Thacker was going with this, and I expected Jen to be punished in some way. It wasn't her fault, but I expected her to be punished, anyway. In a completely unexpected turn of events, Jen is absolved of any wrongdoing and Matt ends up apologizing to her. o.O Wow. So rare in this kind of book. I was impressed. I don't know if we can ever resolve the problem of "Jen is poor-ish" and "Matt is very rich." Thacker tries to show the problems they are going to run into, and succeeds. Jen can't trust rich people or their motives. Rich people knee-jerk try to solve problems by throwing cash at it. Jen is going to be ostracized, pitied, and accused of being a 'whore' or gold-digger by Matt's rich-people circle. This isn't ever resolved to my satisfaction by Thacker. Matt - although willing to tackle problems as they crop up in front of him - is unable to dig deep enough and make enough root changes to help Jen in her day-to-day life. She enlightens him on what was problematic about making thousands of dollars in repairs on her van. He physically assaults another rich man who insinuates she is prostituting herself to Matt and Emmett. But those quick fixes - which are fixes, so that's good - don't address the underlying problems. Matt is a rich man and likes to control his environment. This is not what Jen likes or needs. The rich community is going to sneer at Jen, pity her at best, and think she is a gold-digger or a prostitute. She tries desperately to explain this to Matt. He - like he does with most of her concerns - just blatantly says, "That won't happen." And just refuses to "let it happen." But Jen and I both know that's not how things work. It isn't that easy. She even points out, "Well, that's what they think of the last three wives your dad had. That they were gold-diggers." And Matt says, easily, "Well, that's easy - they WERE gold-diggers" and starts kissing her and I'm like, "OMG YOU ARE SO STUPID." He's really dumb a lot in here, and this is a good example of him missing the entire point. He can easily, without a shred of guilt, label the three women who married his dad after his mom died as gold-diggers who are heartless. Why he thinks anyone will look at Jen in different way than that baffles both her and me. And this is never resolved. Neither is his need to be an in-control rich man who automatically throws money at all of Jen's concerns. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Actually detailed. Although I did have some problems. One, this is the way he proposes sex with her. His eyes were two dark pools. "Take a shower with me." WHAT?!!? I just... okay. Another laughable part came up when they were in the shower together. Feeling left out of what looked like an awful lot of fun, Jen caught his hand, extricated the cloth. "Allow me." He chuckled, his eyes darkening. Acquiescing, he leaned against the shower wall. "I'm an artist," she whispered, grabbing the sprayer, too. "I learn best through touch." And what she wanted to learn most, Jen discovered breathlessly, was him. Okay, I burst out laughing here. Can't imagine someone saying this during sex, too funny. :D Surprised he didn't start laughing. But overall, I think Thacker did a good job on the sex. She doesn't skimp on detail. It's not detailed enough for me, but plenty detailed for a HAR. The sex didn't turn me on, but I'm going to have to shrug that one off. It's not really Thacker's fault. And she makes sure there is plenty of sex in this book. Unlike most HARs, where there is only one sex scene and sometimes the characters only go to bed once before getting engaged/married, Jen and Matt are quite sexually active. I think that is a plus. TL;DR Eh. I think this was a bit too rushed. There was some great potential here, and the bones of the book were strong, but Thacker hurries things a bit too much (might be Harlequin's fault) and we don't get the slow, in-depth explorations that we should. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Millionaire/Billionaire Romance Non-Virgin Heroine She's a Sculptor, He's a Rancher ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 14, 2018
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Mar 15, 2018
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Mar 14, 2018
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Paperback
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| 0062049879
| 9780062049872
| 0062049879
| 4.10
| 36,255
| Mar 27, 2012
| Mar 27, 2012
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it was ok
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She couldn't 'heal' him. No woman could. Events that far in the past just couldn't be undone. But perhaps he didn't need a cure, but... a lens. Someon
She couldn't 'heal' him. No woman could. Events that far in the past just couldn't be undone. But perhaps he didn't need a cure, but... a lens. Someone who accepted him for the imperfect person he was, and then helped him see the world clear. Like spectacles did for her. It's amazing to me how Tessa Dare can just NAIL some things, and then wildly misstep on others. And the sex, don't get me started on the sex. Let's work on breaking this down. PREMISE: Dare creates the best set-ups. She really does. This one is about a bookworm who wears spectacles and loves geology who teams up with a roué with PTSD who can't sleep alone at night, which is the 'tragic' reason he gives for the fact that there's a woman in his bed every single night. Needless to say this is a goldmine. Scientist female with low self-esteem, an overbearing mother, who has been told she's ugly and unappealing her whole life paired with a life-loving rake who struggles with PTSD and night terrors. Perfect. What could be more perfect? Unfortunately, Dare's execution is flawed. THE ON-POINT SHIT: Sometimes Dare kills it, I'm not gonna lie. Let me give you some examples: - Well, the opening quote for starters. Here Dare just tackles the 'you can't heal a man with your magical vagina' protestations that often emerge. She just addresses it head-on. No, Minerva can't heal Colin's mental trauma. But she does listen to him talk, comforts him, provides a safe space and a refuge for him. I think that's very important and nicely illustrated by Dare. - When Dare pours on the pain. She should do this more frequently in the novel, IMO. I know, she is going for sweet, cute, humorous and fluffy, but I like my heart to be bruised while reading a romance novel. She does have some great ideas, my complaint is that she doesn't follow through with them. Here are some great angst examples: A hot tear spilled down her cheek. She hated that tear. Hated that he'd seen it. A man like this wasn't worth weeping over. It was just... for that moment by the fire, after years of being overlooked, she'd finally felt NOTICED. Appreciated. WANTED. And it had all been a lie. A ridiculous, laughable joke. This part. Where she's crying and he can see her crying and he hates himself and she feels so betrayed and hurt. - Also, when Dare discusses if their love (or love affair, I guess) is real or just a pretense by Colin who is 'humoring' and 'pitying' a little virginal ugly duckling. "Just keep your eyes closed and your lips parted. And learn how this should feel." Learn how this should feel. Shouldn't this feel tender and romantic? Shouldn't lovemaking feel like love? But this wasn't love. It was just a diversion, a lesson. Just another elaborate pretense. - When Dare talks about people and their personalities and how society sees them (vs. how they truly are inside), she really makes some great points. Perhaps, she thought, people were more like ammonites than one would suppose. Perhaps they too built shells on a consistent, unchanging factor - some quality or circumstance established in youth. Each chamber in the shell just an enlargement of the previous. Growing year after year, until they spiraled around and locked themselves in place. Colin's shell had been formed by tragedy. His parents' deaths had defined the shape of that first protective chamber. He'd owned it, grown to fill the shape of it, enlarged it with room after mournful room. But what if the person inside those many hollow, echoing chambers wasn't a tragedy at all? Just a man who genuinely enjoyed life and loved people, but happened to have two dead parents and a stubborn case of insomnia? And who was SHE, beneath all her layers? A bookish, awkward girl who couldn't be bothered to care for anything but fossils and rocks? Or a bold, adventurous woman who'd risked everything - not on the hopes of achieving professional acclaim, but on the slim chance of finding love. Of finding that one person who could understand her, appreciate her, and let her understand and appreciate him. - "Don't. Don't tease me." I can't bear to be hurt like that again. "I'm not teasing you. I'm complimenting you." "That's just it. I don't want compliments. I'm not fanciful that way." More pain, which I think needs to be explored more by Dare. - "No matter what occurs, you will never lack for anything. Once I gain control of my accounts, I'll quietly settle some money on you. Enough that you'll be able to live as you desire. Set up house in any place you wish. Devote your life to scholarship. You and your sisters will always have my protection." "Your PROTECTION? Am I to be your mistress, then?" "God, no." "Oh." She swallowed a sob. "Not even that?" More pain, but unfortunately it gets resolved in about point three seconds. Dare just doesn't understand how to milk things and make her readers suffer. - "No. Don't speak that way." He propped a finger under her chin. "I hate it when you speak ill of yourself, Min. I'd visit bodily harm on anyone who dared insult you, but I don't know how to guard you from yourself. So kindly do me a favor, and just... don't. All right?" This is good. - Minerva frequently tells Colin to STFU in bed. Thank heavens. At last someone has said it. Like... she's trying to concentrate on getting to that orgasm, you know. This isn't the time for long conversations. Really like that Dare addresses this, since it's one of my pet peeves in novels. Good Lord, did the man never stop talking? Minerva didn't want to converse right now. She just wanted... deeper. Harder. More. - Charging toward her on horseback, dashing through the early-morning mist. The wind rippling through his wavy hair. The sight was just like something from a fairy tale. Oh, he wasn't riding a white stallion, but rather a serviceable, sturdy bay gelding. And he was dressed not in shining armor or regal attire, but in a simple, well-tailored blue topcoat and buckskin riding breeches. That was a nice little bit of mental-image porn. THE BAD AND THE UGLY. Besides practicing sexual behavior that I find distasteful, Dare also makes Colin an asshole for NO REASON. Seriously, there is enough conflict in here without him being a dick. "I won't be made to look slatternly." He held her tight. His breath fell hot and rough on her neck. "You'll be made to look the way I wish you to look. That's the point of a mistress, after all." What about this scene, where, in a fit of irrational jealousy, he rends Minerva's clothing, tells her to dress and act like a 'mistress' and takes her to a place where the men expect her to be passed around as a party favor? Now Minerva wanted to sink through the floor and die there. She understood Colin was angry, but how could he do this to her? UGH. He just acts so horrid in this whole scene, and I know Dare plays it up as an 'adventure' but it was pretty miserable to this reader. "Believe me, those women would not call themselves debased. And what makes you think they're whores? Perhaps they're ladies, every bit as pedigreed and well-bred as you, who understand what you don't. How to enjoy themselves. How to have a good time." This pretty much encapsulates the problem I have with Dare. See how she is trying to reach for the feminist idea that slut-shaming is wrong? See it? But see how her asshole hero twists it into 'making Minerva feel like a shit person for being humiliated, ashamed, and afraid after being taken to what is essentially a pleasure-house where she is apt to become public property?' But he's shaming her for feeling this way. And he's doing it with FEMINISM. It's sick. It's so fucking sick. I don't even know how to begin to address this, but I'm severely grossed out. Notice how he also neatly sandwiches in the insult that goes, "Well, you just don't know how to HAVE FUN. Or have a GOOD TIME by allowing your body to be a sex toy for men. You're so stupid and virginal. A REAL woman would enjoy being able to be 'free' and act this way." UGH. Later in the book, Colin muses He wondered what it would take to coax THIS Minerva out into the world, permanently. She would need a steady supply of assurance, he supposed. Perhaps her participation in the Royal Geological Society could give her that, to some degree. But the right man could do far more. The right man could plant seeds of confidence... Is that what YOU think you're doing, you fucker? I mean... no, you're not. Way to fail, asshole. You've been the opposite of nurturing, considerate and kind here. Honestly, Minerva deserves better, but we all know she's not going to get it and you're the best she can hope for. Considering the time period, you are golden, but to a modern reader you are trash. Work it out. - She points a loaded gun at him. - She slaps him around a little bit, but I'm willing to shrug this off as play-acting and honestly I'm tired of harping on Dare's physically abusive heroines. At least she doesn't punch him, kick him, or knife him like the previous heroines did to their men. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? *Carmen bashes her head into the table repeatedly* WHY. I don't understand how this perfect setup doesn't yield amazing sex and amazing sex/romance scenes. This is (IMO) where Dare always fucks up. Take for example the scene where he makes out with Minerva. It's her second kiss (she got her first from him also) and her first makeout session, obviously. I was thrilled. I was delighted. KISSING. And I love makeout sessions that just exhibit the joys of kissing and don't end in sex. More books need makeout scenes. It had been ages since he'd kissed a girl simply for kissing's sake, and he'd forgotten what a pure, heady pleasure it could be. Cue excited squeeing from Carmen! Anyway, in the middle of this Colin tells Minerva, "You can do better." Wow, OKAY. Just killed any happy-feelings I had about this scene, thanks. He doesn't seem to be able to get it together in bed, either. First, at around 38% he decides to discuss - well, not really discuss. More like fantasize about and use as personal mind porn - her masturbation habits in a really creepy and gross way. "I'm not telling you anything." Her breath grew shaky. "Surely it can't be," he said, his hand stealing over her thigh, "that this intrepid explorer of underwater caverns hasn't explored her own little cove?"... [starts touching her vulva] "Hm. I think you do understand pleasure." His touch moved in a devious circle. "But only the hushed, secret kind. You've always been surrounded, haven't you? By sisters, servants. Did you stroke yourself this way? Clamping that jaw shut, turning your head to the pillow to be very, very quiet?" [he continues to play with her vulva] "No, no. If I'm wrong, don't tell me. I'm enjoying this idea far too much. The little scientist, conducting quiet surveys beneath her night rail. Or in the bath, perhaps. Curious fingers wandering, exploring. Chasing that pleasure 'round and 'round as it builds... and builds." His voice dark, decadent. "Until the crisis shudders through you in perfect, devastating silence." Some women may find this very exciting - and that's perfectly fine! - but I was turned-off. I found it creepy and gross. Talking about her and her masturbation habits like that, I don't know, it was very skeevy to me. Ugh. Then he does whatever the unclothed version of dry humping is to her, comes on her, rolls over, and goes to sleep. Like... what the fuck. Are you doing. Dare never goes into details about how Minerva deals with this, but is she sleeping with a puddle of his cum on her belly? Fucker didn't even help her clean up? Does she even really understand about ejaculate, is this inconsiderate jerk just dry humping with her and then leaving her to clean up the mess? Which I'm not even sure she understands needs to be cleaned up? Couldn't he have been a little tender here? Does she sleep in the wet spot or what? Utter fail. I leave the scene feeling like Colin is trash who is not caring for his woman properly or being kind and respectful with her. :( And I hate 'This is how you please a man' lessons. Ugh. Please stop that. It's gross. "I'm not..." She gasped at another greedy kiss. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable being the instrument of your release." "You make it sound so one-sided. I promise, you'll enjoy it, too." 49% Wow, she's coming to you with concerns that you are using her body to get off. Instead of reassuring her that you care about her, that she is important to you, that she is not just a masturbation aid for you, your response is to be like, "Well, I'll make sure you get off, too." WOW, how ROMANTIC. Yeah, no. It's gross and not loving or romantic at all. THIS is exactly why I can never get into Dare's sex scenes. "You have so much fire in you, Min. A natural talent for passion." I wish Dare would stop having her heroes tell their virginal women that they have 'natural aptitude' for kissing and 'natural talent' for sex and other gross things. It's very demeaning. It makes it sound like they are grooming them for future use or something. I hate it. THEN, at around 58% he wants this little virgin to give him a blowjob. If this isn't horrifying enough, he initiates it by putting his thumb in her mouth. "This." He slid his thumb between her startled lips, pressing it deep into her hot, wet mouth. "Yes." I'm just gobsmacked. Woody Allen much? Aziz Ansari much? Am I just totally missing something in which men stuff their fingers down women's throats as a kind of harsh, unappealing way to get them to give them a blowjob? I'm not talking about porn here. I'm talking about IRL. Do men do this IRL? Because let me tell you, if a man ever tried this shit with me... *Carmen trails off* Well, let's just say it wouldn't end well. First and foremost because I'd immediately vomit all over him. Not on purpose, just what comes naturally when people shove their fingers in my mouth. And after that, I'm sure things would only get worse. >.< More to the point, is this ROMANTIC or SEXY at all?!?!!??! No, absolutely not. It goes beyond the other shit into a whole new territory of gross that I'm not prepared to deal with, especially not in what I thought was going to be a sweet and cute novel. Fast forward through an absolutely disgusting blowjob scene that I don't want to hear about. NEXT! 68% Taking her virginity is unpleasant. Moreso because the man doesn't seem to understand the importance of foreplay. WITH A VIRGIN. "Damn it, I know I should be selfless. I should give you pleasure first. But I want to be in you. I want to be so deep inside you when you come." Ah, I see. You KNOW you should be kinder, more compassionate, and more orgasm-giving to her before you painfully take her virginity but you JUST CAN'T help yourself. Right. Got it. Very romantic, sexy, and merciful of you. You inconsiderate fucker. I honestly thought a rake who knew women SO WELL would actually be a good partner for her, but you've let me down SO MUCH. In so many ways. :( - To cap it all off, the fucker goes down on her at 85% but doesn't even finish the job. He decides she wants the D more. I can't tell you how irate this makes me. One, it's her first experience with cunnilingus, fucker. You could have at least put in a little effort. JFC, do I have to walk you through every little thing?! This hero is so fucking selfish. Two, she finished your blowjob! The blowjob I don't even think you should have been asking for, but she finished that! You can't even reciprocate?!!?!? Fuck this shit. FUCK IT. TL;DR Well. It was better than A Night to Surrender and Once Upon a Winter's Eve, I'll say that much. Dare has an amazing scenario to use for her book. Too bad she ruins it. I did like some of the philosophical and psychological points she was trying to make here. And it's refreshing to see a heroine that calls the hero on his shit most of the time. If you like realism in your historicals (I don't give a fig if historicals are accurate, so this is not me) I would advise you to stay away from Tessa Dare. She takes modern ideals, ideas, and viewpoints and just sets them in the past, which is no more than window-dressing. I personally have no beef with this, but I know it bothers some people. I don't understand why Dare had to make Colin an asshole... or at least an intermittent asshole in this book. There really was NO need for it. There was plenty of conflict, excitement, and issues between the couple and acting on the couple without him being a jerk. It was unnecessary and just made me dislike him a whole lot. The sex was gross. I mean... opinions may vary, I am grading on my own standards and expectations and of course judging by my own personal tastes. If you love the sex in this book, I am very happy for you. :D However, it wasn't pleasing to me. I know tons of people love this book, and I can understand the appeal. It has a perfect set-up. But IMO Dare fails to deliver on this promising premise. If you love it, I am so happy for you. :D But for me, personally, it didn't work out. In my personal opinion, this was not enjoyable. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Historical Romance Regency Romance STEM Heroine Romance She's a Geologist, He's a... nothing. Rich man, I guess. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 25, 2018
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Feb 26, 2018
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Feb 25, 2018
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Mass Market Paperback
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| unknown
| 3.71
| 17
| Jul 24, 2003
| unknown
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liked it
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In 2005, after the peace agreement was signed, I made a decision to go back home to Sudan. At my arrival I began to have feelings that I might have ma
In 2005, after the peace agreement was signed, I made a decision to go back home to Sudan. At my arrival I began to have feelings that I might have made a mistake returning home. Many people I knew and grew up with who are no longer alive. Whenever I asked about my colleagues, the answer was that they were dead. The first three people I asked gave the same answer. So I stopped asking. This was the turning point of my Christian belief. I found this short story on Ann Morgan's website, A Year of Reading the World. The story is here: https://soundcloud.com/ann-morgan/to-... Julia Aker Duany reads it herself. I guess this GR link also links Duany's book, Making Peace and Nurturing Life: Memoir of an African Woman about a Journey of Struggle and Hope. But that is a book that was published in 2003, before South Sudan became a country in 2011. This short story is published in 2012. The story is Duany's feelings on the civil war, the vast amount of death that came with it, and how this tried her Christian beliefs. It was interesting, but I find Duany a bit hard to understand. I listened to the story three times in order to make sure I was getting everything correct, sometimes what she says is hard to make out. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Jan 2018
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Jan 2018
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Jan 01, 2018
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| 030797572X
| 9780307975720
| 030797572X
| 3.77
| 385
| Jan 01, 2012
| Jan 01, 2012
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it was amazing
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Can a crane pick up a crane? It could! And billions of bundles of builders' wood. This is a funny book which explores what a crane can lift. Answer: any Can a crane pick up a crane? It could! And billions of bundles of builders' wood. This is a funny book which explores what a crane can lift. Answer: anything! The book is not realistic - mixed in with the real things a crane might lift (a truck, wood, railroad car) it also lists things that would unlikely for a crane to pick up (cuckoo clocks, library books, and baseball caps). Little kids who are interested in earth movers will love this. It's very engaging for two and three-year-olds. The book rhymes, which makes it even more appealing to the toddler crowd. The simple, scratchy drawings are not to my taste, but kids don't seem to care. [image] ...more |
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Jan 09, 2017
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Jan 09, 2017
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Jan 09, 2017
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Unknown Binding
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| 1401235441
| 9781401235444
| 1401235441
| 3.81
| 9,582
| Jul 10, 2012
| Jul 10, 2012
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really liked it
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Interesting. I wonder where they are going with this?
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Notes are private!
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Jun 19, 2016
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Jun 20, 2016
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May 24, 2016
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Paperback
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| 3.43
| 14
| unknown
| 2012
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really liked it
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MS. MARVEL: "We'll find him. We'll find him and kick him back into space." THOR: "Aye." IRON MAN: "You don't understand... We're not going to find him. MS. MARVEL: "We'll find him. We'll find him and kick him back into space." THOR: "Aye." IRON MAN: "You don't understand... We're not going to find him. That's not how this works. Ultron is smarter than all of us. There's nothing I know, that any of us knows, that it doesn't. He will unveil himself to us when he is ready. And when he is ready, it will be because he has brought the human apocalypse. I have seen the future... This is going to happen and there's nothing we can do to stop it." Jeez Louise, Tony. Fatalistic much? Whose SIDE are you on anyway!?!!? *Carmen speaks in a mocking voice* "We're all going to die! Ultron is a god!!! There's nothing we can do to stop him!!! We might as well give up and hand him the planet now!!!" *Carmen switches back to her normal voice* What a drama king. UGH. ANYWAY. Where was I? Oh, yes, the plot. SO, the book starts out with sheer ridiculousness, running down the CV of Spider-Woman. "Her name is Jessica Drew. Spider-Woman. She used to be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. She used to be an agent of Hydra. All this before she became a card-carrying member of the Avengers. But what you may NOT have known is that she is also an agent of S.W.O.R.D." Who the fuck cares and what is with all these acronyms, anyway? Do we NEED more acronyms in the Marvel universe?!!? Heck no. Anyway, Spider-Woman went alien hunting and was captured by a bunch of freaks. The Avengers are a bunch of freaks. I know, I mean a DIFFERENT bunch of freaks. Captain America swears and says 'hell.' He is finding out about this whole S.W.O.R.D. thing for the first time. Beast tries to explain S.W.O.R.D. to him. CAPTAIN AMERICA: "How do YOU know about this, Beast?" BEAST: "I AM an Agent of S.W.O.R.D. *pauses* Also." This is too cute. Beast looks so cute here. CAPTAIN AMERICA: "Anybody else here an agent of a clandestine specialized covert operation and forgot to BRING IT UP?" SPIDER-MAN: "I'm a level 27 Rogue on World of Warcraft. Does that count?" CAPTAIN AMERICA: "What is THAT?" *Ms. Marvel puts a reassuring hand on Cap's shoulder* MS. MARVEL: "He's joking." Cute, cute, cute. Beast adorably admitting he's in on S.W.O.R.D. Spidey nonchalantly clinging to a wall while cracking wise about WoW. Cap not knowing what WoW is. Ms. Marvel cutely stepping in to reassure him. OMG, so much cuteness. Glad to see my baby, wisecracking Spider-Man, back in top form. The Avengers go off to save Spider-Woman. The men who have her captive (yes, they are all male) are the most annoying people. For one thing, they call themselves the intelligencia (yes, they spell it like this) and think they are super-geniuses, or something. WIZARD: "You may or may not realize that I am one of the smartest people on the planet." THINKER: "As am I." WIZARD: "As is he. The Avengers can't find you, dear. We are tucked away." THINKER: "Safe from prying eyes." WIZARD: "Our work cannot be interrupted." Worse than this, Wizard is a sexist pig who keeps calling her "dear," "sweetie," and "Jessica" because he is a smarmy asshole. I'm willing to kill him on these grounds alone. Despite their insistence that the Avengers won't find them, the Avengers immediately find them and start beating on them. Other cute things happen like Ms. Marvel punching Wizard out and Wolverine getting all pouty because HE wanted to be the one to do it. After all, early they were speculating on if Jessica was going to be found alive and Wolvie was all, "She'd better be. Because it's the only leverage they'll have for keeping me from ripping them into tiny, bloody pieces." Awwwwwww, he's such a sweetie! So cute. Tony Stark is also adorable here (which is strange) breaking in and aiming his lethal glowy hands at the bad guys while purring, "Gentlemen." It's cute. Suddenly, for no apparent reason whatsoever, somehow the "Spaceknight" the baddies were working on is Ultron?!?! And Ultron "escapes?!?!!!?" Or something something. It didn't make much sense. Then Iron Man is all "DOOM! DOOM! We're all going to die!!!! Don't even bother fighting!!!!" and it's el fin. Tl;dr - Well, the artwork is amazing and cuteness abounds. I can't really complain about this one even though the bad guys annoyed me (this was on purpose, presumedly) and the Ultron angle made zero sense. ...more |
Notes are private!
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3
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May 23, 2016
not set
not set
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May 23, 2016
not set
not set
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May 23, 2016
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Paperback
| |||||||||||||||||
| 0373754078
| 9780373754076
| 0373754078
| 4.14
| 137
| May 01, 2012
| May 08, 2012
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liked it
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Some people looked to fate as a shining beacon of hope. She knew better. Fate was a cruel, heartless bitch who did nothing but take. Simon, a sheriff, Some people looked to fate as a shining beacon of hope. She knew better. Fate was a cruel, heartless bitch who did nothing but take. Simon, a sheriff, has to go and tell Keri, a bakery owner, that her sister and brother-in-law have died in a car accident. Their baby girl (Hannah) is the sole survivor. THE GOOD: 1.) Milburn actually does grief pretty well. It bothers me in books and movies when someone dies and the MC(s) just get over it in two seconds. That's not how grief works. Milburn is good here because she allows Keri to grieve and Keri doesn't just get over her sister's death easily. Keri is physically and mentally fucked up from her sister's death. Even by the end of the book, she's not really 'over it' which is good, because you never really get 'over' something like that. Simon certainly doesn't heal her with his magic penis! LOL She's also slammed with being a sudden, unexpected mom. It's rough. 2.) The hero. Simon. He is my kind of hero. He is kind, patient, takes things slow, understanding, and calm. This is exactly the kind of man I'm attracted to. He was kind and low-key. I really liked it. 3.) The heroine. Keri. She was a bit unusual. She was fierce and sporty. Keri Mehler had always been one part girl, one part ball of fire. Didn't matter if she was making moves on the basketball court in high school, yanking her younger brother into line or telling Simon to take a soaring nosedive off the nearest bridge, she did everything full out. But now? Now the fire was nowhere to be found, replaced by a detachment as cold as the ice that coated the world outside. Simon knows Keri won't hesitate to tell him to fuck off. Also, she played basketball in high school and is still really into it. At one point in the book he's going to take her for a birthday surprise and she keeps trying to guess what it is, and he takes her to a Spurs game. She has so much fun, and is so wrapped up in the game. It's refreshing. I don't see a lot of romance heroines who are into sports. THE BAD: The bad in this book consists mainly of stupid, ridiculous plot contrivances that make no sense but Milburn insists on including. It gets especially egregious near the end. Some of the mild stuff at the beginning includes: - Keri hates Simon and hasn't spoken to him in years due to a misunderstanding when she was 16. Either one could have stopped this nonsense by just having an honest talk, but it's not until during this book, years later, that they clear things up. - Simon asks out another woman right in front of Keri in the middle of the book. True, they are not dating and are not together yet, but I'd rather he not cause her pain by asking out another woman right in front of her. It's cruel and not very gentlemanly. - Her brother is into pranks and gets in trouble with the law, and I understand they are serious and sometimes misdemeanors, but I still think the parents could have handled it better and turned the kid around instead of driving him away. Some of the more crazy, ridiculous stuff is put by Milburn at the end: - Some crazy illegal immigrant plot that is not only RIDICULOUS but totally unnecessary is tacked onto the tail end of the book for some reason. I was not a fan. - Milburn has Keri get angry at Simon for THE STUPIDEST THING, just like one of those classically stupid romance-misunderstandings that always set readers' teeth on edge. And it was SO near the end of the book. This wasn't necessary. You could have had a great and satisfying ending WITHOUT adding on one more stupid misunderstanding. Lame. It's really dumb. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? I've got a lot of points to cover here. 1.) Simon decides to kiss Keri for the first time when she has fallen and twisted or broken her ankle. I mean, bad form. How can she truly enjoy KISSING if she is in pain like this? Why are you choosing now to do so? I don't like it. 2.) The sleep on a couch together. I have slept on a lot of couches and I'm not sure this is physically possible. I was unclear how the author was trying to indicate this was a snuggle-fest when logistically, it didn't make any sense. Also, why not both sleep ON A BED? Too scandalous? But 10x more comfortable. Beds were invented for a reason! It wouldn't mean you'd have to have sex. Please save yourself from uncomfortable couch-sleep. 3.) She has some issues with his (extensive) sexual past. This is never truly resolved. Now, I want to remind you that this isn't A Big City. This is A Small Town. So, it's one thing to know your boyfriend/lover has been around. In A Big City those women can remain anonymous. I mean, anything can happen, but theoretically they are anonymous. Keri's problem is that his ex-lovers are friends and locals, women whom she went to high school with, women she has to see every day, and women who are close to her and in her daily life. He eventually catches on that she is uncomfortable with this, and valiantly attempts to resolve the issue with this conversation. "Don't tell me the famous playboy Simon Teague can't stand a bit of teasing himself." He moved so quickly, rolling her onto her back, that she gasped then laughed. But she stopped laughing when she saw the serious look on his face. "You're not like anyone else, Keri." What did he mean by that? "And I want you to know that half the things that are said about me aren't true. Just because I go out and have a good time doesn't mean I've slept with half the women in town. Not even close." He planted a soft kiss on her lips. "And not for a long time." His words were doing funny things to her heart, things that were going to make her more vulnerable than she ever wanted to be. But she was powerless to fight it as he made love to her again, this time slowly and with lots of kissing and gentle exploration. As she drifted toward sleep blah blah blah Anyway. While I applaud Simon for grabbing the bull by the horns, I don't feel like this solves things. She's still squirrelly about his sexual past. Secondly, I don't think he has to justify his sexual past to her. I'm not into punishing people or making them feel ashamed for their sexual past. Although I understand she is different than I am. Thirdly, saying something like, "And I want you to know that half the things that are said about me aren't true. Just because I go out and have a good time doesn't mean I've slept with half the women in town. Not even close." He planted a soft kiss on her lips. "And not for a long time." is just going to open up a whole can of worms. She would immediately ask for names, numbers, and details. That's just the kind of person she is. *shrug* Milburn ignores this and pretends like Keri DOESN'T grill him after this statement, but we all know she would and that he would deeply regret it. I feel like Milburn COULD satisfactorily solve this little problem if she wanted to, but for whatever reason she just half-asses it this way. 4.) The first time they have sex. Okay, he (without telling her) arranges for Hannah (baby) to be taken care of by his SIL. So he's bringing her back home to an empty house and expects to stay the night and have sex. THIS IS SO PRESUMPTUOUS. How dare you assume she's going to have sex with you. I'm serious. If a man pulled this kind of shit with me I would be pissed. Really pissed. This is not cool. 5.) Simon turns out be be good with consent during the actual sex act, though. This is a hallmark of Milburn, one I adore and appreciate. Her heroes are (from what I can tell in the books I've read by her so far) always good at checking in with the heroine, making sure she's okay with what is going down sexually, making sure she is okay with having sex, and making sure she knows they can stop at any time. Not only is this mensch-like, but it's hot. I'm turned on by kind, caring men who make sure women are on board with sexual acts. I'm not turned on by this recent spate of romance heroes who just throw women down and forcefully do stuff to her - I know this is considered 'alpha' and 'hot' by the general audience but it doesn't fly with me. 6.) On a really bad note, though, Keri and Simon engage in unprotected sex. Multiple times. NO EXPLANATION IS GIVEN. What on earth are they thinking?! I mean, seriously, what the fuck. I can't understand in these contemporaries where two non-virgin adults have unprotected sex for no reason. It's ludicrous. She just inherited a baby she has to raise. He has quite a past. Is no one concerned about pregnancy and STDs? Really, no one? And the issue is never addressed. As if Milburn thinks I just won't notice, la-di-dah, and everything will be okay because we all know (view spoiler)[they will be married by the end (hide spoiler)]. No, I'm not okay with it. It does nothing but make me think they are both idiots, even more so since there's not even any freak-out afterwards or any concerns raised or anything. And they have sex multiple times in this book, y'all. Condoms, the Pill, any form of birth control... never mentioned. Tl;dr - Baby. Grief. Kind hero. Completely ludicrous plotlines and 'problems' that are tacked on and contrived. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Police Romance He's a Sheriff, She's a Bakery Owner ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 11, 2018
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Feb 12, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0373754000
| 9780373754007
| 0373754000
| 4.08
| 155
| Mar 01, 2012
| Mar 13, 2012
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it was ok
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Brooke felt as if her heart had been coated in lead and left to hang heavy and painful in her chest. This book was great until about page 166 where it Brooke felt as if her heart had been coated in lead and left to hang heavy and painful in her chest. This book was great until about page 166 where it quickly started to spiral downward and didn't recover. Let's talk about it. Brooke is on the run under the radar from her abusive ex, a powerful Washington D.C. man. She gets a job as chef at a Texas ranch. Her goal is to keep her head down and not be found by her evil ex. The ranch owners have three grown sons, and Ryan is the one that catches her eyes. He's quiet and withdrawn, and she likes that. Ryan is a veteran of the Iraqi war who has PTSD. He's a carpenter and woodcarver. He struggling with what happened during the war and struggling to return to civilian life. Sounds great, right? Sounds fucking great. And it is for about 166 pages. Ryan and Brooke slowly get to know each other and eventually end up in bed together. Brooke observing Ryan's kindness and mercy on a daily basis is what makes her attracted to him. So far, so good. Both walk carefully around what they can see is each other's wounds. My only complaint at this point was that I wish the book was twice as long, so that it would take twice as long for them to go to bed together. I like long, slow seductions. This isn't Milburn's fault, though. Harlequin is what it is in its series books. But around page 166, things rapidly start to fall apart. Brooke pushes Ryan away when she suspects her ex might come after her. When she ends up coming clean about her past, it's in a tearful confession to Ryan's mom, instead of Ryan. He's hurt and feels betrayed instead of being the kind, understanding and compassionate man I was expecting him to be. It's true - the time to explain her past was after Ryan told her what happened to him in the war and about his PTSD, after they'd had sex. That would have been the ideal time for Brooke to tell him what was going on. So he has a point, but I didn't expect him to be such a dick about it and hold a grudge against her. His behavior and decision-making was petulant and childish to me, and was annoying me. He was shoving Brooke away at the exact moment she needed him the most. Then Milburn makes the terrible decision to (view spoiler)[have Evil Ex steal Brooke's nieces and force her to come to him. (hide spoiler)] I was hoping Evil Ex would come to the ranch and get shot to death by a veteran of the Iraqi war. That would have been ideal, I would have really liked to see that. You're bloodthirsty. Yes. BUT ANYWAY, that's not the route Milburn chose to take. It was disappointing. I mean, the book still has a happy ending, but Ryan has nothing to do with her rescue, which is realistic but not terribly romantic. Plus, I was mad at him for his earlier behavior. Even though Brooke and Ryan end up together at the end, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in Ryan. He let me down. He wasn't the man I thought he was. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? It was actually pretty good. For an American Romance book. I mean, they are not allowed to get too steamy in American Romance, and I thought Milburn did a great job with the constraints she was given. She's the one who suggests they have sex, he's mildly surprised. He keeps checking in with her to make sure she's okay. The whole scene is pretty cute. It's not as graphic as I like (American Romance never is) and it's not something to get sexually aroused over, but it's cute and sweet and described enough that you are not grinding your teeth in frustration. TL;DR - This would have gotten a four from me if it had cut off before hitting page 166. But the direction Milburn chose to take this novel in was not pleasing to me. Why didn't she keep Ryan on mensch-behavior for the entire novel? Carmen, him failing and having doubts is real. He's human. I don't care, I want a HERO. I want a ROMANCE HERO. That's the whole fucking point of reading ROMANCE BOOKS. He's not meeting my standards and I'm calling him out for it. Not to mention she took the Romantic Suspense aspect of this book in (IMO) the completely wrong way, and it irked me. 2 out of 5 stars. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Romantic Suspense Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Rape/Abuse Survivor Abused-woman-escapes-from-her-abuser-and-finds-love-in-the-arms-of-a-good-man trope Non-Virgin Heroine He's a Carpenter, She's a Chef ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 23, 2018
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Jan 24, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0373754264
| 9780373754267
| 0373754264
| 3.82
| 39
| Jan 01, 2012
| Oct 09, 2012
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did not like it
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"You owe me nothing," he said in a remote tone of voice. "I felt like kissing you and I did, until you stopped me. We both know it happens to males an
"You owe me nothing," he said in a remote tone of voice. "I felt like kissing you and I did, until you stopped me. We both know it happens to males and females all the time. It's just as well I got it out of my system so I can concentrate on finding the people invading your domain." What a fucking psycho. This was a terrible book. Travis is a Texas Ranger-cum-P.I. Melissa is a pediatric orthopedic physical therapist. Melissa looks just like Travis's dead wife. SO CREEPY. Travis's wife was murdered 15 months ago. Melissa got divorced six years ago from a man who was a controlling wifebeater. Travis has a little boy named Casey. Casey goes to Melissa to get help with his leg. Melissa's dad hires Travis to solve the case of who is breaking into Melissa's mountain cabin. The writing in here is just awful. Nothing anyone does makes any sense. Travis is prone to these kind of romantic drama fits. "There's nothing more beautiful than nature's creations." "You're right." Without conscious thought he removed the goggles and set them down. "I'm looking at one of them right now. You have no idea how beautiful you are to me, Melissa." He'd loved watching her move quietly through the forest, a gorgeous human creature if there ever was one. His hands closed around her upper arms. "I want to kiss you, but you already know that." - 57% *Carmen gags* Ew, gross. Then when they kiss and she stops him after a while, he goes into full robot mode, as illustrated by the opening quote. He just shuts down and starts talking very weirdly. She has to explain to him about her abusive husband so he starts acting like a human being again. It's very weird. Then, when they get into situations where they are going to have sex, he starts acting like a drama queen soap opera star. For no reason. "MELISSA," he cried urgently. "I need you tonight. Hold me. Kiss me." He was actually trembling. - 79% What the fuck. I was baffled. Here's the second time they attempt to have sex: He returned her kiss as he carried her over the threshold of her bedroom. "You're so precious to me, Melissa. I adore you. Love me tonight, darling. You have on idea how much I need you." - 95% *Carmen vomits* What the fuck. This isn't DAYS OF OUR LIVES. The fact that she looks exactly like his dead wife is only heightening the creepiness factor here. Melissa has horrible moments, too, like this one where a nurse smiles at Travis. Melissa was feeling well enough not to like the way the pretty nurse smiled at Travis before she left the room. Melissa wanted Travis out of the line of fire from all the females working here. - 89% Oh, yeah, how DARE nurses smile at your man! Gut them! FFS. Calm down. This isn't appealing at all. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? As you can see, Travis starts to get very... fawning and effusive when he thinks he is going to have sex with Melissa. It's very weird. It has nothing to do with his personality the rest of the time. And Melissa fluctuates from telling him to get the hell away from her to being ready to stab other females for looking at him. They only have sex (view spoiler)[after they are married. (hide spoiler)] And it's not described at all, which I can't help but be grateful for. TL;DR - Horrible book. Weirdass hero who said weirdass things. Heroine who went from not wanting to date a man who sees her as his dead wife to being overly angry at nurses smiling at said man. I couldn't figure out this hero, he was such a weirdo. And if any men said that kind of thing to me in bed, I'd laugh him into next Sunday. You can't be serious with this shit. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Romantic Suspense Non-Virgin Heroine Widower Hero Rape/Abuse Survivor He's a Texas Ranger-cum-Private Investigator, She's a Pediatric Orthopedic Physical Therapist. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
May 23, 2018
|
May 23, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0373754116
| 9780373754113
| 0373754116
| 3.53
| 47
| Jun 01, 2012
| Jun 12, 2012
|
liked it
|
He'd wanted to touch her out there by the lake. Wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her how much he admired her fortitude. Except he couldn't, a
He'd wanted to touch her out there by the lake. Wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her how much he admired her fortitude. Except he couldn't, and it wasn't because of his engagement to Laurel. Even if he wasn't engaged he'd give a woman like Jorie a wide berth. They weren't the settling down type and he needed a woman that would be a partner, a woman like Laurel, as mismatched as they were. That's probably why he'd agreed to marry her. Laurel knew the deal. She knew what it meant to be a rancher's wife. Jorie would never be happy stuck in Texas on the ranch. This was a temporary stop for her, no doubt about it. I was dreading reading this book. It did not sound enjoyable. But Britton was actually pretty captivating here, despite my resistance. I'm not saying it is a good book and I'd recommend it, just that it (surprisingly) had its good points. BASIC PREMISE 30-year-old rancher Ryan Clayborne lives under his overbearing, bossy mother's thumb. It's highly, highly unattractive. He's engaged to Laurel - a woman who is like a sister to him, whom he has grown up with since childhood. He is not romantically or sexually interested in her. They are marrying only because Laurel is pregnant with Thad's baby, Thad ran away when she told him she was pregnant like complete garbage, and she has a bossy, controlling, conservative father with a short temper and I guess she thinks marrying Ryan will 'solve' all her problems. Stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why on EARTH would he go along with this plan?! I understand wanting to help a friend in need, but this is taking it way too far. As for our heroine: She's almost the complete opposite. No father - he abandoned her pregnant mother. Mother remarried a rapist/child-abuser. Jorie left home at 17, struggled hard to earn a degree. When she comes to the ranch in this book she just owns a car and her clothes. She really needs this job and to make it work. Let's address some stuff. ONE: Ryan's mom, Odelia, is so horrible. And this is one of those books where at the end she apologizes to the heroine and we are supposed to believe she is not so horrible. But she is. She says awful, cruel things to Jorie and treats her cruelly. She planned on marrying her son to someone he didn't love and wasn't attracted to. She apparently doesn't give a fuck about her son's needs, wants, or happiness and is just fine in forcing him into a loveless, sexless marriage with a woman who is pregnant by another man. Treating Jorie like shit is one thing (a bad thing) but treating her own blood - her son - this way is beyond the pale. I couldn't stand her. And when the author wants me to end up on board with her in the end, I was like, "Hell no." And of course Jorie and Ryan end up (view spoiler)[getting married at the end and I was like, "Girrrrrrrrl, let's think about this. Do you want ODELIA as your mother-in-law?!!?! Really think about this, girl. That is a huge burden to be saddled with." (hide spoiler)] On one hand I like when, in romance novels, there is no villain and people are layered, but Britton asking me to like and forgive Odelia in this was a bit of a stretch. She was awful. TWO: Ryan is so fucking weak. If weak, spineless heroes bother you... skip this book. I mean, it is INFURIATING how spineless Ryan is. Living with your mom, fine. They are running the ranch together. Allowing your mom to run your life? Not fine. He can't stand up to her, it is so weak. Even when she is doing really bad or detrimental things that will damage his life severely. Jorie is disappointed in his weakness, and so am I. It's a huge turn-off. I mean, here Jorie is with a hero who 'loves' her and wants to have sex with her, etc.... but he is fucking engaged to a woman he doesn't romantically love, and it seems like he's actually going to go through with it because he's too chickenshit to say 'no' to anyone. He's so, so weak and Jorie actually calls him out on it, so... I mean, does he expect her to just love him and have sex with him while he's married to another woman and raising up his wife's child?!!?!? I can't deal with this. Luckily, Jorie is strong and she tells him she can't be party to this. "There's nothing for me here." "You have me." "No, Ryan, I don't. You'll do what your mother says. That's the sort of man you are. And don't get me wrong, it's one of the things I admire most about you, but I can see the handwriting on the wall, and I want to leave before that handwriting tears me apart." THREE: This book is completely cockamamie. Think about a plot in which the hero is damning himself to a loveless, sexless marriage for... reasons I can't quite figure out. Just another example of his spinelessness. His friend Laurel comes to him in tears and asks him to marry her (she's pregnant with Thad's baby and when Thad found out he ran away like a chicken) and he just AGREES, even though this is going to ruin his life. FOUR: Cheating. Personal question for you. Is it cheating if you are 'cheating' on your fake, loveless, sexless fiancée? Actually curious. I am going to file this book under 'cheating' because technically he is engaged to someone, but IRL I don't know about this. Laurel is not in love with him, will not have sex with him (he doesn't want to have sex with her either), hasn't even kissed him, and is like a little sister to him. I'm not sure he can cheat on her. Would you owe this woman sexual loyalty? Genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts. Does she have a right to demand sexual loyalty from him? Does he have an obligation to be sexually loyal to her? FIVE: Creepy part. There is a creepy part where he breaks into Jorie's house and watches her sleep. SIX: Laughs. I did get a few laughs out of this book. It surprised me and was a hidden bonus to reading it. I mean, it wasn't a laugh-fest, but there was humor in it. There's a whole scene where Jorie gets on a horse which is so funny, and sometimes Britton's way of writing things made me laugh. She definitely tries to include some humor in the book, which I always think is a good idea. SEVEN: Some... interesting writing. Let's take a look: The hot breath of Texas enveloped Jorie Peters like a steamy wet blanket. ... Okay, so that might be the polite thing to do, but he felt as jumpy as a flea in a vet's office. ... And there it was again, the splash of color that crept up from his jawline and spilled into his cheeks. It matched the color of his shirt, a soft red that reminded Jorie of cranberries. He looked like a painted cherub with those blotches of red. ... The arcs the wipers left behind were like colorless rainbows. ... "This is Texas. We're not fancy like Georgia." ... A smile bloomed on Odelia's face like a rose in winter. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Wow. Wow. Okay, I was reading this, and then I was like, "Am I actually reading a GOOD SEX SCENE right now?!?!!?!?" Somebody pinch me. This was surprising for a number of reasons. American Romance usually has vague, undescribed, or flowery sex scenes. So the very fact that there was a decent sex scene in this line was shocking to me. Also, who on Earth would have imagined that these two characters could have enjoyable sex together?! Honestly, I was bracing myself for the worst. GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE SEX SCENE - It's long. About eight pages. This is very impressive for American Romance, I know some of them have been literally two paragraphs. - Britton actually makes it clear what they are doing in bed. Hallelujah! This is a huge, huge deal as I have suffered through hundreds of American Romance sex scenes in which you would have no idea what the characters were doing. They are usually bogged down by flowery, nonsensical language and extreme vagueness as if readers will be offended to read about sex. I want to give Britton MAJOR props here for actually describing stuff. Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. - Jorie asks for stuff in bed. She makes her wants and needs known. I like this. She's actually a bit aggressive. This is SO RARE in romance novels, I have to say. Points. - Ryan is into a lot of foreplay and teasing. I like this. - Makes her cum twice before allowing himself to cum. Good job! BAD THINGS ABOUT THE SEX SCENE - He literally sticks his penis inside her and then asks about condoms. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. *Carmen bangs her head on the table repeatedly* These two are MORONS. MORONS. And they don't end up using any sort of protection at all, which I find infuriating. And unrealistic. - It's not sexually arousing. I'm saying it is good - for an American Romance scene. Not good, as in "I got turned on reading this." Obviously, it could be much, much better. But for an American Romance sex scene, it was pretty tops. - Earlobe suckling. - Goes down on her, but then doesn't finish the job. Extremely irritating to me. Tl;dr - Even though I was dreading reading this book, and the premise seemed deeply stupid... I actually ended up enjoying myself. Wow. That is points to Britton. I read another book of hers, which I hated, called The Wrangler. But I'm glad I gave her a second chance. The book is definitely flawed. Weak, spineless hero. Ludicrous storyline. Cruel mother of the hero whom the author tells us we are supposed to like at the end. But there were strengths, as well. Britton made me laugh. She wrote a sex scene that was highly impressive for this Harlequin line. They should have her give tips to the other American Romance writers. Seriously, kudos to her. So, I'm not RECOMMENDING it, but I was pleasantly surprised that it has some redeeming qualities. :D ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Cheating ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 14, 2018
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Feb 14, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0373754361
| 9780373754366
| 0373754361
| 3.59
| 69
| Jan 01, 2012
| Dec 04, 2012
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it was ok
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He offered a hand to seal the deal. "It's a date." She shook it. "A fake date." "Make that two fake dates." He smiled and her insides turned to Jell-O. He offered a hand to seal the deal. "It's a date." She shook it. "A fake date." "Make that two fake dates." He smiled and her insides turned to Jell-O. 25% Like most American Romances, this book focuses on family, parenting, and children as well as the story of two adults falling in love. That may or may not be pleasing to you. Kristi is hired to do the interior decorating on Nate's house. Nate's wife died two years ago. He is raising twin four-year-old daughters (Molly and Martha) on his own. He has a Saint Bernard named Hegemone, Gemmy for short. Kristi is also the single mother of a 14-year-old daughter, Jenna. Her 'deadbeat ex' left her twelve years ago. She has a little Yorkie named Hercules. They agree to 'fake date' in order to get their respective families of their backs. THE GOOD Kristi and Nate seem like real people. Kristi is clumsy. She is a bit awkward. She's constantly running late. Nate is a dork who puts his foot in his mouth a lot. He is the opposite of smooth. The book has a sweet, cute ending. I like that Kristi stopped school after graduating high school. She is quite a contrast with PhD-having Nate. And they show this. "My dog's name is Hercules. That's a Greek god, too. I think." "Roman, actually. Borrowed from the Greek Heracles, son of Zeus. He was half mortal and half god." "Oh. We thought he was the god of strength or something." 13% Nate never makes fun of Kristi for not knowing stuff. Nor does he ever express shock that she doesn't know something. She had no idea what a behemoth was, but she guessed it was large. 39% Even though Kristi (naturally) worries about the differences in their educations, on the whole it makes no difference to this couple. "It should, except I'm not smart enough to know what he's talking about." "Excuse me?" Claire took exception to that. "Don't you dare sell yourself short. You are one of the smartest women I know. Not to mention creative, compassionate and gorgeous." 74% Like this book, I don't believe educational differences are insurmountable for a couple. Not going to college doesn't mean you are dumb, and it is a perfectly valid life-choice. Even more so nowadays, when college degrees DO NOT guarantee a job and many degree-holders are unemployed or underemployed. Another good point is that Kristi is great with the children. Nate has some trouble parenting, and he learns a lot from Kristi. Kristi isn't a perfect parent, but she's better than Nate and has a lot more experience than he does. I feel like she really helps him and the girls. And there it was, proof that she was a better parent than he was, or at least a more conscientious one. It hadn't even occurred to him to call. Fake dates aside, it was good that Kristi had come into his life. He had a lot to learn. 45% In case you're wondering, it's not always the female who is the better parent in AR Harlequins. For instance, in Rancher's Son the male is the one who makes a better parent. Yet another good thing about this book is Kristi's ability to call Nate on his bullshit and stand up to him. She always pushes back. This often is in little ways, but we see a big example of it at 45%: "I don't suppose there's any chance you still have that condom in your purse." She pulled away. "Seriously? A couple of kisses and you think, you think - ?" SHIT. He wanted to smack his head on the steering wheel. "Sorry. I think it's safe to say I wasn't thinking." "But you think that because I'm a single mom, and because I had a condom in my bag that I'm... what? Easy?" "I did NOT think that." Not completely. Wow, that was great. She's never afraid to call him out; I really admire that. He apologizes A LOT for this one. I like how they talk about Kristi's perfume a lot, and how she always smells of lilacs. THE BAD Nate has no spine. His evil m-i-l runs all over him. It makes me anxious to read about his interactions with his MIL. Throughout the book, Kristi coaches him into how to grow a spine. It eventually works at the end when he tells the MIL off - calmly and firmly. It's almost funny that Kristi is giving him advice on how to grow a spine, though. Sure, she is more self-confident than him. She certainly stands up to him and calls him on his bullshit, which is GREAT. But they end up fake dating because he can't stand up to his parents and sister, and she can't stand up to her mom. Both are being forced into blind date after blind date and fix-up after fix-up by their interfering families. If either of them had a spine, they wouldn't have tolerated this shit for so long. Being so cowed by your family that you are LYING and MAKING UP A FAKE BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND is not attractive. And, I know this is a romance, but in the real world lying about this shit only makes things worse. You might consider it bad that this book is so family-oriented. As I said at the beginning, this is a book that is as much about parenting and family life as it is about romance. That might be annoying to some readers. There's an ugly side to Nate I didn't like so much. "Sam has a lot of tools," Martha said. "I'm going to be a carpenter when I grow up." "You are?" Not if he had anything to say about it. His daughters were going to college, not trade school, and definitely not beauty school, but that conversation could wait. 57% That's so... I have a problem with that. Also, since he ends up with a woman who has a high school degree, I hope he doesn't teach his girls that people who don't go on to get a higher education are lesser. There are a few scenes where I feel like he is a bit of a pretentious, elitist, overprotective prick. It's not all the time, like I said, he never belittles Kristi for not going to college. But sometimes his thoughts and actions remind me of people I know IRL that I don't like so much. He is a classist - like here where he sneers at learning a trade or not going to college. Or, when, like a lot of fathers, he has some bizarre notion that his girls should NEVER be interested in things like princesses, dresses, makeup, or being pretty. He also thinks he can raise girls who NEVER think about boyfriends, dating, whether they are pretty or not, etc. etc. That's just not possible in our society. A lot of times I see men struggling with this. I can completely understand - it is very hard when you have daughters and you suddenly realize on a different level how evil the patriarchy is, how much society hates women, how fucked up society is about sex, and how sexualized the messages are that society sends. I agree, it's totally fucked up. However, usually these men make the decision to stamp out all 'girly' things: forbid nail polish, forbid makeup, don't allow any Barbies in the house, forbid Disney movies, etc. etc. etc. (Now, his girls are four... I'm talking about a bit older for a lot of these things, here). That strategy usually is untenable and oftentimes can backfire in unexpected ways. I'm hoping Kristi and her daughter Jenna can counterbalance him a little bit. If he is this way when the girls are four, it's hard to believe he is going to survive their teenage years. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? No on-page sex. The couple does have sex, once, but it's completely unseen. It goes from 'they were kissing' to 'she woke up the next morning.' The book also falls into the trap a lot of American Romances do, and that is pretending that a couple will have sex for the first time, then just stop having sex for months. It's very bizarre. I don't know what it stems from. The fact that Harlequin wants only one sex scene per book in this line? The idea that sex before marriage is sinful? I don't really know. Even though I adore sexual content in my romance novels, this really doesn't make any sense to me. It makes more sense that the couple waits and has no sex before marriage if that is the author's intent or the line's intent. Having sex once, and then just stopping all sexual activity for months is just very bizarre. I can't quite wrap my head around it, and all the books cheerfully act as if this is just normal. As for the sex, Kristi does the most horrible thing - she leaves the next morning without saying goodbye or even telling Nate that she's leaving. She wakes up and he is in the shower. She has panic/regret about having sex with him, and she throws on her clothes and flees his house. He comes out of the shower to find her missing. Of course he is baffled and hurt. Then she doesn't talk to him for four days. This is such asshole behavior. I was very angry with her, that is not an acceptable way to act after having sex with someone, especially first-time sex. Nate is surprisingly mensch-like and forgiving of this. I would have been irate. She's lucky. The only part of the book I found sexually exciting was this part: Kristi felt his hand slide beneath her hair, the light stroke of his thumb across the nape of her neck. This is for his mother's benefit, she reminded herself. Not yours. But that didn't lessen the sensations that shimmered along her spine. 40% This is how he touches her while in the kitchen talking to his mother. The sexual tension was through the roof. OMGosh. But unfortunately that was the one and only time this book got my blood pumping. TL;DR A mixed bag. True to American Romance form, this book is just as much about family and parenting as it is about love and romance. Both of our MCs were flawed, which was great at times and annoying at others. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Widower Hero He's a Botanist and Professor, She's an Interior Decorator ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 04, 2018
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Jun 04, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0373754353
| 9780373754359
| 0373754353
| 4.34
| 571
| Jan 01, 2012
| Dec 04, 2012
|
it was ok
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It would be easy to succumb to Ty's personality, Sara realized. The rancher had a generous nature, a ready smile she could get used to. 42% Sarah works It would be easy to succumb to Ty's personality, Sara realized. The rancher had a generous nature, a ready smile she could get used to. 42% Sarah works at DCF. One day, a woman comes in and drops off a five-year-old, telling Sarah the boy's mom is dead. The boy's name is James Tyrone Parker. Sarah knows a Tyrone Parker, he is a rancher in the area. We are in Florida. Tyrone is an investment-banker-cum-rancher. The ranch has been in his family for four generations. His wife left him six years ago. Sarah says the boy is Tyrone's. Tyrone says the boy isn't his. He demands a DNA test. Smart man! In the meantime, he and Sarah take the boy out on the trail for a ten-day cattle roundup. THE GOOD The story is cute. There are some funny moments with the kid. One of the best is when one of Sarah's frequent grammar lessons gets misinterpreted. Before Sarah could say she didn't mind, something slammed into the back of her legs. Her knees buckling, she stumbled forward a step. Several sets of hands reached to steady her. The others could have saved themselves the trouble. One strong arm wrapped around her waist and kept her upright. "Watch out, boy. You almost knocked Ms. Sarah off her feet." "Sorry, Ms. Sarah." "Jimmy," she said, quickly stepping out of Ty's embrace. "It's okay." "Did you see me, Ms. Sarah? Me and Ranger are pals. I steered him all by myself." All too aware of the brooding male presence behind the little boy, Sarah fixed her focus on Jimmy's upturned face. "Ranger and I are pals." Jimmy's cheeks scrunched. "Oh. Did you ride Ranger, too?" "No, I meant... Well, yes, I..." Her thoughts created a log jam that her mouth couldn't get past. Oblivious, Jimmy rushed on. "He's high off the ground, isn't he? I was afraid I'd fall, but Mr. Ty, he held me tight." 52% Another 'good' in the book is Ty. I like this man. He's forgiving, kind, generous. He's a great guy. Sarah fears the worst from him, As his gaze drifted across the gathering of ranch hands and guests, Sarah felt her heart stutter. She'd known from the beginning that forgiveness didn't play a big role in Ty's vocabulary. For proof, she only had to look at the way he'd treated Chris and Tim. Snuggled against his chest as he carried her to safety, she hadn't given a single thought to the possibility that he'd use her mistake against her. - 49% He doesn't humiliate her or shame her, of course. He's a kind and merciful guy. He's also a better parent than Sarah is. He knows you have to set boundaries for kids and he knows kids are going to mess up once in a while, both concepts Sarah doesn't seem to grasp. Although they clash sometimes where raising the boy is concerned, I was mainly on Ty's side of things. A third good thing about the book is that Sarah is being burned out by the hard work of being a social worker. The job is grinding her down and turning her into a worse and worse human being every day. The horrors of working for DCF and the changes it can cause in an idealistic, caring person are realistically portrayed here, even though I think the inner workings of DCF in this book are a big stretch. (For instance, a social worker taking home a little abandoned boy and then going on a cattle roundup with him and his maybe-father.) THE BAD: I didn't really like Sarah. I didn't HATE her, she wasn't a horrible person, but I didn't understand why Ty was falling in love with her. "She's hot" is NOT a good reason to fall in love with someone IMO. I expect more from a romance. If it's erotica and solely about fucking, that's one thing. But if you expect me to believe two people are in love, you'd better give me something. The woman brought new meaning to the word BOSSY. She found him sadly lacking as father material. She worked at a demanding job a hundred miles away from the ranch that occupied all his time and effort. And yet... 55% And yet nothing. It boggled my mind that he was 'in love' with her after ten days. She's anxious, and also the kind of person who KNOWS she's right and feels like she has to guide others in the correct way to go... which is so annoying. Sure, she loves Jimmy. But beyond that I just could not get a handle on why Ty would want to spend the rest of his life with her. "She has red hair and is pretty" is not cutting it for me. MYSTERY The question of 'who is Jimmy's father?' can be answered by anyone with half a brain by page 60. SO. Not really keeping me on my toes there. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? No sex. I don't want to call this a 'clean' romance because I resent the implication that sex is dirty, but it is a sexless romance. They kiss a couple of times and he cops a feel of her breast one time. That's all. Ty leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Searing heat passed through her at his touch. Slowly, he kissed her again, this time lingering to plunder her mouth until her breath quickened and she silently cursed the layers of sweaters and coats between them. When he finally drew back, she felt dazed and confused and a little uncertain. - 67% TL;DR Mediocre romance about an uptight social worker and a kind rancher falling in love. Due, basically, to a child being thrust into their lives. This is par for the course in American Romance. It's not a bad little book, but neither is it good IMO. It has a really sweet conclusion, though. I like the book's message, about (view spoiler)[adopted kids being as much of your 'real' children even if they are not biologically yours. The way Ty loves Jimmy and is a father to him even though Jimmy is not Tyrone's kid is a touching and good message. Sarah is also adopting a kid who has no biological ties to her. (hide spoiler)] ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Animal Lovers' Romance - Sarah is an animal lover who can't stand a cow being killed. Jimmy might be on his way to being an animal lover, although a combination of his animal-loving mom who is softhearted and his rancher dad who is not softhearted might make him harder than his mother. Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Enemies to Lovers, kind of Holiday/Christmas Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Secret Baby He's a Rancher, She's a Social Worker. But at the end she becomes a Gardener. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 02, 2018
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Jun 04, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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Paperback
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my rating |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 3.92
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really liked it
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Mar 2020
not set
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Mar 01, 2020
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| 3.94
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really liked it
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Mar 2020
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Mar 01, 2020
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| 3.79
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liked it
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May 04, 2019
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May 04, 2019
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| 3.75
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did not like it
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Jan 2019
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Jan 01, 2019
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| 3.91
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did not like it
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Nov 20, 2018
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Nov 19, 2018
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| 4.16
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really liked it
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Jul 19, 2018
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Jul 18, 2018
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| 4.00
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really liked it
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May 28, 2018
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May 23, 2018
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| 4.20
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it was ok
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Mar 19, 2018
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Mar 18, 2018
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| 3.87
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it was ok
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Mar 15, 2018
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Mar 14, 2018
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| 4.10
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it was ok
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Feb 26, 2018
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Feb 25, 2018
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| 3.71
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liked it
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Jan 2018
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Jan 01, 2018
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| 3.77
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it was amazing
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Jan 09, 2017
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Jan 09, 2017
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| 3.81
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really liked it
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Jun 20, 2016
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May 24, 2016
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| 3.43
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really liked it
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May 23, 2016
not set
not set
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May 23, 2016
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| 4.14
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liked it
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Feb 12, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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| 4.08
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it was ok
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Jan 24, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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| 3.82
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did not like it
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May 23, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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| 3.53
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liked it
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Feb 14, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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| 3.59
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it was ok
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Jun 04, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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| 4.34
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it was ok
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Jun 04, 2018
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Apr 30, 2016
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