Glad I read this 6-series book in its whole-book format coz I don't like cliffhanger endings.
A good read because it: **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Glad I read this 6-series book in its whole-book format coz I don't like cliffhanger endings.
A good read because it: #1. was unpredictable and well-paced It started with a fun & sexy challenge to get h to agree to sign H’s dom-sub hush-contract (NDA) and became a deeper emotional connection as h’s past unraveled later. The addition of the mystery-suspense of h’s kidnapping past & how she got kidnapped again by the same man towards the end provided some unpredictability and kept my interest overall.
#2. was emotional involving with good sexual tension Funny, sexy, and had some angsty moments too. Hot detailed bareback S scenes but wished that h discussed condom-use before smexxing H coz he knew about her birth-control but she didn’t know about his sex-safety.
#3. had likable chars and good character development Liked h’s combo of sass and caution/sexy online Tweets but tight-lipped in person/realistic yet liked to fantasize. Also liked her candid introspection and ability to laugh and let go of her issues once she’s figured things out. Her character growth came from having major denial issues re: being kidnapped & brainwashed for 8 months by her family’s unknown masked killer as a kid.
Liked H’s mix of kinky controlling lover and his kindness/generosity with his family. His character growth was linked to their romance progress. At first, he tried to control h like he did with his other subs. But became deeply in love with h, despite her emotionally distancing from him. Love how he persisted with her--unwilling to take her rejections of his love and her self-denials re: her traumatic past.
Sexual History: 23yo h was celibate for 8 months before she and H 1st smexxed. She’s had casual lovers since high school or college. But no emotional attachments and no desire to get married due to her traumatic past (She was abducted when she was 13 by a masked stranger, after he shot her parents and brother in their farm home. He mostly kept her in a closet for 8 months and brainwashed her to eventually believe that she was his wife and belonged to him and would get rewarded some freedoms (i.e., be out of the closet, able to talk to him) if she obeyed his demands. He never touched her sexually but let it be known that he was going to sexually claim her when she’s legal age. She was upset when he suddenly freed her 1 day and wouldn’t talk to anybody for weeks after she was rescued.).
32yo H has a voracious sex appetite and likes to have various submissives, whom he requires to sign a NDA to protect his actor image. Many are 1-time only and others are longer but always ends their dom-sub relationship when he tires of them. He’s had 15 subs within the past 4 years. He never takes them on a public date. Public dates are reserved for his public girlfriends who he never sleeps with since they’re strictly business-only set up by his manager. He’s only had 2 real girlfriends ever—1 with his Disney teen-movie co-star when he was 16 and the other with a party girl he broke up with when he was 18....more
Michelle Reid's 1st HP ever, back in 1988. And it's not a comfortable romance due to:
#1. Lots of turbulent emot**Major SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Michelle Reid's 1st HP ever, back in 1988. And it's not a comfortable romance due to:
#1. Lots of turbulent emotion, sexual tension, and secrets. The book starts right away with h breaking up her secret affair with her boss H, who's both clueless and upset about it. The whole book felt dramatic and messy, as reflected by H and h's emotional mess. Definitely not a boring read.
#2. Both characters were not the most likable but weren’t totally horrible either. h was understandably bitter and resentful over her unrequited love for H. Yet accepted responsibility for her choices (including messing up on her birth control pills) since H was clear about keeping their affair limited to after-work and a secret.
Interesting character progression for h to start out as a shy quiet virgin to becoming more passive-aggressive about being a secret mistress to her boss H. Then, to progress even more to her being frank and cutting to H about being his dirty little secret/his lack of interest in her aside from sex/and his emotional cheating on her by dating another woman the weekend h couldn’t make their date.
H was harder to get to know for most of the book, aside from his obvious clueless-ness when it came to h and romance in general. He was a player who was frank re: his sex-only interest in women he dated. So, his keeping h for 5 months and even him hiring her knowing he was very attracted to her made h different than other women. But this wasn’t obvious until his ending confession. As a result, H just appeared cold, controlling, and even potentially abusive when he got mad enough (I.e., he almost slapped/hit h after she told him about her accidental pregnancy but she was saved by fainting). Wished that H showed his vulnerable side much earlier than his confession @ the end.
#3. H's cheating on h was ambiguous. His dating another woman before their breakup made H look worse, despite him saying he never touched her. Wished his reasons for dating OW was made apparent or hinted at way before the ending.
#4. Romance progression was iffy. Their romance was iffy until H finally opened up @ the end. Liked that h didn’t pursue him and made him work for their relationship and confronted him on his lack of care for her/interest in getting to know her/cheating on her by taking out another woman for dinner/wanting to marry her only for their baby’s sake.
Sexual History: 20yo h was de-virginized by her boss H, when she agreed to have an affair with him a few weeks after he upgraded her to be his secretary. Their affair occurred in her apartment since H kept firm boundaries about their workplace and his apartment. In their 5-month affair, he never invited her to his apartment nor offered to drive her to work with him since both came from her apartment or date her publicly.
]34yo H was known as a workaholic womanizer who liked to keep things in order. He’s known to never mix business with pleasure. So, him hiring h as his secretary with the intention of having an affair with her was a 1st for him. As well as his maintaining an exclusive relationship with her for 5 months until his dinner date with another woman. He told h that he dated OW to keep himself back under control since he began realizing that h meant a lot to him than just a usual sexual affair. Very possible that during the 6-7 months after he’d been trying to get resistant h back that he went out with 4 other women per h’s casual mention of it to try to move on from h. But H said that he “(hasn't) touched any other woman with any intimacy since (h). (He didn't) even want them—which was a shock to (his) system”:...more
Funny and romantic with a secretly-obsessed manwhore Hero.
#1. I loved how H loved her: a.) how he fell in lo4.5-star **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Funny and romantic with a secretly-obsessed manwhore Hero.
#1. I loved how H loved her: a.) how he fell in love with h's character. It wasn't lust-centered, although their sex chemistry was obvious.
b.) how secretly obsessed he was with her @ 1st sight. But couldn’t act on it due to her friend’s warning re: her current life situation.
c.) his somewhat-secretive jealous-possessiveness over her so he showed up on her date with OM and joined them the whole time,
d.) how he made time for her to do things she liked to do without her knowing that he was doing it just to spend time with her.
#2. Good romance/rom dev and emotion with bits of angst and humor. Some LOL-snickering moments due to h’s wit and snark.
#3. Likable chars with good char dev. Loved h’s char with her combo of realism and hope/frankness and secrecy/sexiness and sweetness/kindness and limit-setting. Loved how she handled life crises with practicality and general good attitude.
Loved how usually-controlled and -distant manwhore H became celibate and vulnerable with h because she mattered more and more to him. And, as used to sexual sharing as he was, he was adamant about not wanting to ever sexually-share h, whether it be with another man or woman.
Sexual History: 25yo temp-PA h had 2 lovers before H. Her 1st lover was her BF since high school who she was with for 10 years (lived with him in college and moved to LA from NYC with him for his acting career). Her 2nd lover was a ONS with her ex-BF’s friend as revenge sex and then ghosted him after. H was her 3rd lover and her first received-oral.
Popular 30s British plastic-surgeon H had some previous Gfs including his last GF who he was with for a couple years and who he was kinda engaged to when he agreed with her that it was “time” for them to be engaged when she dragged him to a jewelry store for an engagement ring. However, she cheated on him with his father when he was on a business trip and told him their relationship wouldn’t have worked out anyway since H didn’t have enough love for her since he only loved himself. She ended up marrying H’s father and having a daughter with him. After their breakup, H became a manwhore who smexxed a woman once with full disclosure of sex-only and then moved to the next. In the first week or so when h became his temporary PA, she had to shoo about 4 women out of his bedroom at different times except for the 2 women he had a 3some with one night. He became celibate for the next 2 months, after the 3some since he became only interested in h....more
What happened Lauren Rowe? These main characters are pathetic!
DNF @ 68% but started skimming by 9% coz:
1.) disliked both H a1.5-star ***SPOILERS***
What happened Lauren Rowe? These main characters are pathetic!
DNF @ 68% but started skimming by 9% coz:
1.) disliked both H and h Both 23yo production-asst h and 27yo drummer wanna-be actor H were 2nd-rate characters. Obvious that they were side-kicks of main characters from previous books.
I especially disliked h. She was a sycophant who indulged in self-pity and pandering for sympathy from others via telling stories about her awkward and unpopular childhood and why no one from the band crew hit on on her after her open confession re: her paltry sexual experience with her college boyfriend. She was so pathetic that she “thank(ed)” H for mistakenly believing that her rockstar boss would deign to have sex with her.
H was a hanger-on who was lucky enough to be included in a rock band, which later became popular. He had similar stories about being a nobody and chubby as a kid until he started drumming. Without his band, he wouldn't have made it. His current trial as an actor is due to his famous connections and not really because he's such a skilled actor. Even his sexual skills aren't inherent like the other Rowe heroes in this series, he's had to watch videos and study things online to learn how to please his ex-GF (who ended up dumping him before he could demonstrate the new sex toy he just bought for her after some online study of it).
2.) lacked romance and emotion h's feelings for H was 1-sided even up to 68%. Her feelings were immature and based on her childhood crush on him. She didn't seem to have difficulty jumping from her long crush on H to her college boyfriend. Her feelings for H didn't seem to be a factor in her quest in the last 9 months to get hit on by somebody/anybody in the band crew she worked with. When she blurted out ILY during sex with H, he backtracked after that. His mom had to talk to him to open up his eyes to a possible romantic relationship with h.
3.) sex chemistry was very meh. Sex scenes read more like a sex manual. Their sex chemistry was awkward, mostly because the attraction was mostly 1-sided and based on h's childhood crush on H. She chased after H and kept begging him him to smex her: ”Amy whimpers and babbles an incoherent string of words, before desperately gripping my forearm and whisper-shouting, “I’ve got a room upstairs! Take me there and give me an orgasm, so I know I’m not defective. Give me one, so I know the problem isn’t me.”
She would never have been under his radar if it wasn't for her now-grown-up boobs and his mom telling him that he MUST feel something for this h. I don't think he was THAT clueless. He just wasn't THAT into her. He put more effort into his ex-GF who he was with off and on for 5 years than with h. He seemed to be more hung up on another woman he dated (wanted to date?) if not for her choosing his friend instead. h was really a 2nd-best pick for him.
Sex scenes were unsexy to me. H approached sex with h like he had something to prove. He's not an alpha dominant Hero and it showed even in their sex scenes. Yeah, he made her orgasm but it seemed more technical than romantic or even smutty.
4.) dialogue was immature H and h’s dialogue was very immature-sounding with lots of name-dropping (h kept telling him about band members she worked with despite her Non-Disclosure Contract with them in order to keep H’s interest in their conversation). Lots of repetitions of “Swoon”/guffawing/giggling/squealing, not impressed with these two. I couldn't take them seriously. I kept wondering why Rowe would dedicate a whole book about these 2.
Sexual History: h had kissed other buys but was de-virginized by her 1-yr long BF in college who only did oral on her once and neither liked it. @26% H&h kiss the 1st time after h blurted out of nowhere that she’d never had an orgasm with her ex-BF and he took it as a challenge. @45% H&h smex with agreement that it’s a temporary thing to help h achieve O in sex. H was with his GF for 5 years before she dumped him. He did research to max out her pleasure and bought her sex toys but she dumped him anyway. @59% h blurts out ILY to H after her last massive O during the planned orgasm-fest he gave her.
No info on other lovers/GFs he had before his ex-GF. No info on lovers he's had after they broke up either. He did have a lot of fan offers to smex him but not sure if he ever took 1 up....more
4.5-star ***Major SPOILERS under Sexual History***
Made me cry a few times, especially in book2 due to H and h’s big misunderstandings re: each other’4.5-star ***Major SPOILERS under Sexual History***
Made me cry a few times, especially in book2 due to H and h’s big misunderstandings re: each other’s motives of being in their relationship and the great sacrifices they made for each other. Good emotional pull and character development. Lots of angsty moments.
Good char and char dev/rom and rom dev/sexual and emotional chemistry that were woven in well in plenty of Sex scenes. 36yo mafia loan-shark H was an anti-villain with his cold-hearted manipulations/bullying/threatening of 23yo vet asst. h. But his sometimes out-of-control feelings and actions towards h belied his true feelings for her. He became uncharacteristically open about his caring for h to the point of shunning his family and mafia life just to protect her. Loved H’s OTT possessive-protective jealous-dominant obsessive alpha-ness with h. h had a wonderful character with her mix of innocence and grit/kindness and firmness/practicality and hope. She kept rising above such trials with her general attitude. I admired her character.
Sexual History: 23yo h was not a virgin with 37yo H. She was raped and beat up by an unknown man who was with 5 others in the room when she was 13 but she had her eyes closed the whole time. It wasn’t until book2 that the video H’s cruel mom told her to watch that she found out it was H’s father who raped her. (They thought she was dead in the alley they left her but her beloved older bro found her and her family secretly tended to her. h’s mafia-linked father blackmailed H’s father with a video of the rape in exchange for leaving his family alone. But a car accident 2 years later killed h’s father & disabled her brother with brain damage. Soon after the accident, her mom died and h became the caretaker & breadwinner of her and her disabled brother. Unbeknownst to h, H’s father hired his goons to lightly protect h and her brother and had made a deal with her father before that instead of her marrying the man her father was going to bethrothed her to she was going to marry H instead. However, H’s mom didn’t want that and, after H’s father died, she derailed the arranged marriage to H and began her plan to put h & her brother in their debt so she could kill them for not paying.)
Due to the crime & poverty of their ghetto town, h was forced to pay for her brother’s debt with forced-BJs by a Zulu guy. She always spat his spunk out of her mouth right after. No other sexual stuff with him. Since her rape @ 13, she had never dated and was too busy trying to survive in their town and doing what she can to get her and her bro out of the town (i.e., taking vet classes, working at a vet clinic). She let H oral her before she later begged him to smex her.
36yo H was divorced from his 16yo daughter's mom, who he thought he loved when they got married when both were age 19. But he found out that she was repulsed by him and married him for money. She also couldn’t stand being pregnant and was a neglectful mother. They divorced within a couple years. He had many lovers after because he made it his goal to be a connoisseur of women’s pleasure. He didn’t think any woman would want to be with him due to his gruesome facial scars and limp.
Since meeting h that 1st time, he was captivated by her and stopped his mom's plan from killing h and her brother. So, he made her their live-in maid and his lover in exchange for their lives. It took him weeks to finally smex h since he just focused on her pleasure. Yet he didn’t want any other woman to satisfy him, including his most current lover who came to visit him at his house and tried to seduce him. His decision to delay sex with h was also because he believed her to be a virgin and he viewed himself as too monstrous/ugly to break someone pure like h. He actually told 1 of his goons to take h on a nice date and smex her. Then, he asked his other goon to tie him up in the basement and not unlock him until dawn so he wouldn’t go back on his plan to have OM smex h 1st. Fortunately, nothing happened. Before they finally smexxed, h's confession of being raped made H slow things down their first time together.
When they were separated for 10 months after h left him, both were celibate and not interested in others. H’s plan after his massive surgeries was to secretly stalk h and their son since he didn’t think h would ever take him back....more
1. H and h's romance got deeper with more setbacks and 4.5-star **SPOILERS are on my review of the full duet.**
Loved it! Even better than book1 since:
1. H and h's romance got deeper with more setbacks and revealed secrets.
2. H's character growth due to his love for h changed even his job and family choices.
3. h's huge setbacks made her even stronger but not in a way that emasculated H. More in a way that made her stronger and a better partner for this already-strong H.
4. Full of emotion and angst. Some secrets were heart-breaking.
5. HEA with epilogue years later with their young kids. And the villains got their due.
Good sexual tension & how it evolved in a few weeks time from working to fighting their attraction to romance. Likable chars--27yo ef**Some SPOILERS**
Good sexual tension & how it evolved in a few weeks time from working to fighting their attraction to romance. Likable chars--27yo efficient PA’s combo of quiet efficiency and insightful directness/sexy yet choosy/strong with good discernment and l36yo software biz H’s focused drive and grumpiness from being such a focused & smart workaholic that hid a broken heart due to his twin sister’s suicide 9 years ago. Liked that h knew what she was going into and wasn't complainy about things. Loved how H became so enamored by getting to know h’s character as his PA and as an attractive woman. Loved how H became uncharacteristically unfocused & unmotivated to work when he had to cruelly & publicly fire h right after their romantic time in Rome (when his nemesis & his twin’s ex-fiance appeared at work as part of his secret plan to bring OM down but didn’t want h to be targeted by him since he was her ex-boss who she worked for 5 years before she quit & started working for H months ago).
Sexual History: 27yo h had boyfriends before & was even casually dating a guy for a couple months before they broke it off due to her busy work schedule. No info if she slept with him or not. H’s last GF was 9 years ago before his twin’s death & only managed to have hookups a couple until he met h. After he 1st met h, he couldn’t muster any desire for any other women including his 2 regular hookups but pretended to still date them by having h send them gifts so h would think that he was dating others. But he soon told h about the fake dates whose gifts ended up going to his younger sister’s business adresses. During the 1 month H&h were apart after he fired her, neither dated anyone else coz both were heartbroken & missing each other....more
MEH or the BAD: 1. H rapes h the 1st time (see Sexual History below)
2. Good-enough Sexual tension Towards 60%, their sexual tension was somewhat awkward, since H thought that h was just faking being sweet & helpful. He was very push and pull with her. However, Sexual tension became more palpable & constant after 65% when became obvious to H&h that she couldn't be H's ex-fiancee & possibly his ex-fiancee's identical twin.
The GOOD: 1. Good unpredictable writing & emotional pull Even though I knew beforehand that amnesiac h had an identical twin sister, the writing still made it unpredictable and exciting. I had to take multiple breaks due to my life schedule. But every time I continued to read where I stopped, it's as if I took no reading breaks. The story and emotion flowed. Some angst from the soap-opera-like OTT drama. Not too much angst but enough to draw me in.
2. Likable characters & good character development Really liked 22yo translator h's combo of quiet/kind/industrious/sweet and firm/honest/courageous. Also liked 30s painter H's combo of grim & rough frankness with his moral firmness & keen observation. Loved how H became OTT possessive-jealous & claimy over h after he found proof that she couldn't be his manipulative ex-fiancee. Loved that h made sure to have multiple proofs that H loved/desired her and not her identical twin sister so she made him work for it and didn't succumb to their shared sexual attraction their 2nd time smexxing until he gave her the evidence she needed from him.
3. Good romance and believable HEA
Sexual History: 22yo virgin h may have had dates before but never had a BF mostly due to her being a quiet homebody who preferred to study languages & do things around the house. There were many interested men in Italy, where she privately worked as a English-Italian translator for 18 months. There was a nice Italian man who pursued her more persistently with letters & such but she wasn't interested. Not sure if H was her 1st kiss but definitely her 1st lover. Her 1st time with him was rape since she clearly kept telling him “no” to stop his sexual advances and that she didn't want to have sex with him if he didn't love her back. He kept going anyway, thinking she was just playing games with him as he she did in the past when both of them still believed h was his ex-fiancee. It was after he orgasmed & h had been limp and sobbing hard with her back to him that he saw her birthmark and realized she was definitely not his ex-fiancee. His ex-fiancee OW (h's identical twin) was sexually experienced with many men as she admitted to him after he caught her cheating on him with his neighbor and she had no marks on her back as he'd painted her nude at her request & had the painting to prove it to h.
No info on H's previous lovers. Aside from OW, no info on H's previous girlfriends either. H had never smexxed OW. He admitted to being enthralled by OW's looks & seductive ways when he met her at the art gallery she worked at 7 weeks ago. After they met, he asked OW to dinner and 3 weeks later, he proposed marriage to her more out of convenience since it was a good time to get married per his age & his career. One month later, he broke off their engagement as he grew to detest her manipulative & worldly ways, after he had her stay at his country home with his mother. He really detested her, after he caught her cheating on him with his neighbor and she frankly admitted cheating on him with other men that would come by his house while he was busy painting. He told h he wasn't tempted to smex OW, even when she voluntarlly posed nude for him for hours at a time. He became turned off by her open sexuality and was disturbed by her promiscuous past. So, her sexual come-ons didn't work on him. However, when h posed nude for him, he was very tempted but had to control his sexual urges to get his painting of h done....more
What made this book better than the other 4 Keeland books I read this past week was this H was more persistent, sta***SPOILERS under Sexual History***
What made this book better than the other 4 Keeland books I read this past week was this H was more persistent, stalkery obsessed, and fought for H, even when he'd respect the choice she made to not be with him openly or at all. Loved that only h brought the OTT jealous-possesive stalker side of this alpha-dominant H:
@12% H's jealous-possessive obsession with h already palpable & he begins to manipulate the reality-TV dating show of his bro so the bachelor OM doesn't get to spend much alone time with h & sets OM up with another contestant OM's also interested in
@17% H's already showing his assertiveness/persistence with h & big part of what creates their S tension as h gets turned on by it all yet not really yielding to him due to her caution & secrets & makes their 1st kiss @ 20% so hot
@23% their 2nd kiss was even hotter coz H got super-jealous/possessive-claiming (after he watched a video his reality-TV-producer bro was showing to the crew of h & bachelor-OM kissing before she met H) so asked h if she felt the same way kissing OM as she kissed H & then told h that he didn't care re: her breaking the show's rules (re: dating others aside from bachelor OM while still taping the show) because he wanted to spend time with her.
@25% she tells H that she can't quit the dating show & just date him coz she needs to win the $250K final-winner reward in the next 7 weeks & H reluctantly lets her go.
@27% H obsessively reviews the daily videotapes of h with bachelor-OM after h told him she can't date him due to the TV show rules & disgusted with himself for being her stalker but still can't stop
However, H did cave in & did the usual it's-better-if-she's-not-with-me breakup reason that Keeland's Heroes typically decides for h. It sounds sweet but it's frustrating, especially when he or h end up dating/kissing another person. Gah! But it makes for some angst.
Good pacing/emo/rom/chars. Good emo-involvement & depth with some tears when they reunited after 20s physical-therapy student h found out why movie-company CEO H really broke up with her. Good emo- & S-tension due to their secret affair while h was still taping the reality-TV show.
Probably the most likable characters of my 5 current Keeland reads. Really liked honest/kind/simple h who was both sexy but didn't make a big deal of it and who was set on righting the wrongs of her family to the extent of sacrificing her own happiness but she wasn't a doormat about it. Also liked H who was alpha-dominant yet still considerate & sweet. He was un-apologetically bossy but not in a controlling selfish manner. He just knew what he wanted & went for it. He backed off to respect the choice h made re: the importance of her financially supporting her family with her TV winnings. Yet he'd still repeat his offer to just give her the money & help her family financially to get her to change her mind.
Sexual History: Early-20s h had lovers & probably BFs before the car accident 5 years ago that paralyzed her 14yo brother. Since then & especially her father's death 2 years ago, she'd been too busy working to help her family's great financial debts & helping with her brother & mom's medical needs. She was attracted to & passionately kissed the bachelor (OM) before meeting H. After meeting H she only let OM kiss her by accident or she'd turn her head away from him. She still thought he was attractive but her heart was only for H, even after she saw the actress at his house & after he broke up with her.
H was a selective player who was only interested in women for sex due to his busy work schedule & work interest. h was the only 1 he was ever interested in cuddling & laying around in bed for after sex. He manipulated things with the actress (OW) who'd been pressuring him for sex to show up at his house when he was in the shower & when h was due to come by so h would think she'd caught them in the act so she'd have no problem breaking up with him. It worked but he was miserable & heartbroken when he saw the TV taping of h going into the honeymoon suite for the night with OM. But he sacrificed his happiness to give h the chance to win the TV prize for her family as she wanted. They were both celibate for the 5-6weeks they were apart. OM became a friend to both of them & helped them get back together after h used their Honeymoon-Suite night to tell OM about her romance with H & after OM overheard H's sleazy bro drunkenly talk about his video blackmail of H&h. H had never smexxed OW. He went on 1 date with her & called an early night, when he realized how crazy clingy she was....more
The GOOD: Likable chars with direct yet secretive 25yo music grad-student/teaching asst h & her serious but flirty 32yo music-comp3.5-star **SPOILERS**
The GOOD: Likable chars with direct yet secretive 25yo music grad-student/teaching asst h & her serious but flirty 32yo music-composition professor & boss/thesis-mentor H who warned h from him romantically due to his bad dating history(including cheating on his 1st GF @ age 17 with her older sister). Getting both characters dual POVs including H's POV from 15 years ago helped give us a good view of their true characters. Good rom & rom dev/pacing. Also good emo chem & S chem from their flirty humor & non-verbals between H&h per Keeland's usual.
MEH or the BAD: 1. The big mystery was predictable in 1 sense but still made for a good romantic connection for them to have known each other 15 years ago when h was only 10yo who thought she was making her confession to a priest every Saturday for the next 2 months but it was actually 16yo would-be rockstar H who she was talking to about her stepdad who was molesting her 15yo sister since their mom died 2 years ago. 2. Didn't like that H walked away from h instead of fighting to keep her for a couple weeks because of his big secret re: their connected past 15 years ago & the guilt/self-condemnation he felt for not doing more & earlier to report h's stepdad's abuse and thinking he didn't deserve h. But he did redeem himself later & was more alpha-dominant about fighting to keep her when he went after her & told her ILY despite thinking himself selfish for it.
Sexual History: 25yo h had past BFs including a male ex-roommie she ended up having drunk sex with the 1st time & dating for a few weeks until he broke things off with her 8 months ago. She'd been celibate since until H. H had short-term GFs and casual lovers before including a 3-some during his rockband days in his early 20s. His GFs only lasted half a year or less due to him messing it up somehow including cheating on his 1st GF with her older sister....more
SOME PLOT: 29yo corporate-lawyer h had a secret romance with 31yo ex-con investor H, when she taught a class for 6 months @ a high-end pri**SPOILERS**
SOME PLOT: 29yo corporate-lawyer h had a secret romance with 31yo ex-con investor H, when she taught a class for 6 months @ a high-end prison (due to her firm's punishment for breaking client-attorney confidentiality) where she met H was who serving his 3-year sentence due to investment fraud. For the next year after, she became his weekly visitor & penpal until she accidentally found out from the prison log that he was married & his wife (OW) just visited. He married his business partner OW during a drunken business trip & decided to stay married to her the next 2 years out of convenience. But, during his prison sentence, he found out that she set him up for the fraud scheme with the man she'd been secretly-involved with before marrying H. So, H was already annulling his marriage to OW before h found out.
MEH or the BAD: 1. Disliked that H deceived 29yo corporate-lawyer h re: being married. Didn't make sense why he'd keep that a big secret during the 18 months they were secretly dating when H was in prison since he was already having it annulled & it was a marriage of convenience. 2. Disliked that H stayed married to OW for 2 years after their impromptu drunken wedding. He even had bareback sex with her since she got preggo around the time he was about to go to jail. But OW didn't tell him about her pregnancy or about their daughter until 3 years later, when she was close to dying from cancer. So by 50%, there were 2 big romance blocks:
#1. get h to trust him again after she left him for not telling her during their 18 months together re: being married #2. finding out that H now had a 3yo daughter from OW he didn't know about & that he'd be in full custody of when OW soon dies from cancer.
3. Disliked that H broke up with h as a self-sacrifice for her happiness, after reading her diary pro-con list that he thought was about him which included not wanting to have kids & not being dependable. He didn't even try to fight for her and their romance. He just wimped out as a martyr. Which is a nice thing to do but I like my Heroes more assertive & persistently fighting to be with h.
The GOOD: 1. Good emo-involvement & emo chemistry with humor & some angst from H's past romance as typical of Keeland. 2. Good romance/romance dev/S chem/detailed bareback S scenes. 3. Likable characters & good character development, esp charming workaholic playboy investor ex-con H who showed patience & vulnerability in his attempt to woo h to give him a 2nd chance. I was skeptical re: whether his intent towards was just a matter of pride or power coz she left him 1 year ago. But @44%, H's char growth & his love for heroine & serious intent to get her back at any cost became believable.
Sexual History: 29yo h had BFs before & experienced a couple ONS in college. She was celibate for almost 3 years until she & H finally smexxed @ their 2nd-chance. She & H didn't smex during their 18-month romance while he was in prison. Her celibacy continued until she saw him again about 1 year after she left him. When H came back in her life 1 year later, h had already dated her co-worker 2x and called him her BF but had only kissed him & no sex yet. She broke up with him after their 3rd date since she decided to give H another chance. H was celibate for “more than 3 years” so before he went to prison & likely during the court trial. He did smex his wife then at least a month or so before then since she got pregnant but didn't tell him until their daughter was 3 years old & she was dying of cancer. He said that he stayed celibate because he wanted to be with h only & not other women who wanted him too....more
Average romance/S chem/detailed S/chars/char dev. Ok emotionality. Even-keeled romance progression. 29yo news-company CEO H and m2.5-star **SPOILERS**
Average romance/S chem/detailed S/chars/char dev. Ok emotionality. Even-keeled romance progression. 29yo news-company CEO H and mid-20s news-reporter h's romance started & developed normally. From flirting & H asking her out repeatedly before she finally agreed to dating him and eventually smexxing & staying at each other's places while sharing their big issues/secrets throughout. Their major romance block was both deciding if they wanted to stay together since she wanted to have kids some day while H was adamant about no kids at all. Not even adopting. Around 65%, H told her it's due to the trauma of his baby daughter's death from his mentally-ill 1st wife throwing her into the ocean from their boat deck 7 years ago.
I liked that, despite H's reluctance to have kids, he didn't want to give h up & told her so. Liked how both communicated clearly without game-playing. Both took time from each other to think things through. After 2 weeks of no communication, H sincerely apologized to h & told her he wanted her & their baby. Then, declared his ILY & soon proposed marriage. Liked the epilogue 15 months later when both already married 10 months ago (after H sincerely apologized for not being in contact with h for 2 weeks after she told him she was pregnant) & have a baby boy & h just told H she was preggo again & H happy about it.
Sexual History: Mid-20s h had a few ex-BFs who tended to be confident & suit-wearing type including her a lawyer she was with but broke things up months ago. She was on the pill & seemed like her standard sex-protection with her other previous lovers. Around 80%, she got pregnant from H, even though she was on birth control & H always wore a condom.
H's first GF & first love was his 14yo foster sister (OW) whom he met when he was also 14yo, when she was placed with his foster family on a temporary basis due to her bio mom's mental illness. H&OW had a secret affair until they got married when both were 21yo. OW got pregnant & her own mental illness became obvious & then worsened when she had their baby girl. About 2-3 months after their daughter was born, OW threw their baby in the ocean & she was sentenced to a psychiatric facility for 25 years. H divorced her right away. He had various lovers in the last 7 years & some he was with for 6 months. He was clear with them that it was for sex only. He broke things off with his last lover (a model) after he met & had already asked h out on a date but h hadn't agreed yet. No emotional attachments until h. He used his apartment merely for sex but he lived in his yacht. When he took h to his apartment after they were already steadily dating, he replaced his mattress and couch for h's sake and told h that his apartment is to be used exclusively for her now....more
CAVEAT: I think I need to take a break from Emma Darcy since her writing is not what I remember when I was 12 & reading my mom's Harlequ***SPOILERS***
CAVEAT: I think I need to take a break from Emma Darcy since her writing is not what I remember when I was 12 & reading my mom's Harlequin collection. Either that or my worldview & preferences has changed since I was a preteen.
Good unpredictable writing but the big secrets revealed around 85% tanked.
The GOOD: 1. Kept me guessing & second-guessing from the start. Really liked how the writing reflected my suspicions about H2 with hs POV. But events unfolded to deflect or negate things.
@15%--25yo British local bookshop-owner h already suspected severely-scarred & limping stranger H2 of possibly being her ex-BF-of-6-weeks (H1) who went back to Australia & married another woman 4 years ago instead of coming back to England to marry h as he'd promised. However, H2 has an American accent instead of H1's Australian accent, has brown eyes instead of H1's gray eyes, has a heavily-scarred face with an eye patch on 1 eye & walks with a limp on his left leg, and has a different name than H1, & denies knowing h.
@40%--the mole h was looking for to undoubtedly prove that H2 was truly H1 was not there on H2's back.
2. Good emotional involvement for the most part but it's more of a mystery romance centered on what happened to British bookshop-owner h's Australian ex-BF (H1) & if his resemblance to American publisher H2 was just a coincidence. Exciting but not angsty since it's focused on the current time and the past including h's romance with H1 & her heartbreak after was told instead of experienced.
3. Liked h's character for the most part. She was smart and direct yet wise in her honesty. She went after what she wanted, having learned from past mistakes. She wasn't a complainer and took the consequences of her actions with aplomb, even bad decisions like taking H back despite him rejecting her 4 years ago.
4. Romance development & sexual chemistry with H2 was good & pretty instant. The generalized sex details still showed their desire & emotions for each other.
The BAD: Romance & mystery of what happened to H1 & who H2 is continued to crescendo until the last 85% when we finally find out the big secrets & then things fell after that:
1. Hated that H chose his foster-sister OW instead of sticking up for h 4 years ago to appease his guilt-tripping foster father & because of his mix pity (coz OW was sickly & didn't have long to live) and family-type-love for OW, who'd been obsessed with H since they were kids.
2. Hated that H had a normal marriage with OW & got her pregnant just a couple months later. So his daughter with OW is only a few months younger than his son with h.
3. H was too passive & weak. I think he'd likely still be married to OW if she didn't die.
4. H was also passive-aggressive and was sneaky in how he tried to get h to take him back. He was deceptive and lied majorly to h to emotionally trap her to loving him again, albeit with him having a different name/face/job/accent.
5. Hated that h took H back so quickly after hearing the truth from H's foster dad re: H's MOC with his daughter/her death/his near-death & surgeries from his accident. Some groveling from H and some time apart for h to really think things through would've helped.
Sexual History: 21yo h was a virgin with 30yo Australian construction-worker H who she met at her little bookshop. They had a 6-week romance with H de-virginizing her. Before he left to go back to Australia, H promised he'd come back to marry her. But she got a break-up letter from him instead to marry another woman, who she finds out from her attorney (who she asked to investigate H's current marital status) was H1's foster sister whose parents adopted H when he was young & who made marriage to OW the condition to H inheriting their successful construction business. H1 married his sickly foster sister who'd been obsessed with him since she was a kid. He soon got her pregnant & she insisted on having the baby, despite the major risk to her health. She died at childbirth 15 months after her wedding to H. H was flying to go back to h in England but his plane crashed. He almost died & went through extensive surgeries in the last 3 years to walk again & to fix his face & eye. As a result, he'd been celibate since his wife's pregnancy. Before h, H dated other women who OW was jealous of....more
The GOOD: Better overall writing & much smoother flow than Babysitter Wanted.
MEH or the BAD: Average rom/S chem/some detailed S scenes/writing. Meh emoThe GOOD: Better overall writing & much smoother flow than Babysitter Wanted.
MEH or the BAD: Average rom/S chem/some detailed S scenes/writing. Meh emotions/characters/character growth. 20yo college-junior h was likable overall but didn't like that she was the 1 who chased almost-40yo h.s.-principal boss H more than other way around. H wasn't only her teacher-dad's boss but also her summer-job boss, when he hired her to organize his family memoribilia. She was also still a little too hung-up on her ex-BF & her ex-BFF who he cheated with, even after meeting H. But liked that it wasn't overdone & h got over her ex-BF soon after she & H got involved, which became part of her character growth. H was a likable man with a bit of dominant tendencies in the bedroom but he was nice & respectful for the most part. Wished H was more alpha & didn't back away from h that easily when her parents found out. Wished he fought for their relationship. Although they had a secret affair, her parents' finding out about them & her teacher father's blowing up about it didn't really evoke much angst or interest. Nothing exciting enough to add "Spoilers" on.
Sexual History: 20yo h had 1 BF in high school for 2 years whom she loved “so much” but broke up with 1 year ago when he cheated on her with her BFF. She's had dates & “fumbling” hookups @ frat & college parties and from guys her friends set her up with. Not clear if she actually slept with anyone else after her ex-BF. No concrete info either on who H dated or how many he's slept with but he's had other lovers before h. ...more
Boring dialogue/characters/story. Flat sexual & emotional chemistry. Lacked romance & romantic depth since H&h's attraction was merely physiDNF @ 12%
Boring dialogue/characters/story. Flat sexual & emotional chemistry. Lacked romance & romantic depth since H&h's attraction was merely physical.
Skipped pages to see if things would improve but nope: @34% - their 1st kiss (day2 after they 1st met) that just came out of nowhere due to the choppy sentences/boring dialogue/lack of romance & overall chemistry @ 48% - their 1st sex scene (day3 of their meeting) with condoms & it was meh.
Overall, the writing just didn't flow. Also, late-30s/early 40s British firefighter H's language reads like that of an American guy in his 20s-30s but says certain British words like “boot” instead of "trunk" & “nappies” instead of "diapers" just to place him as a Brit who'd been living in England his entire life. Here's part of his initial POV:
"I need her help like yesterday so I can get back to work and damn, she’s even more stunning up close. But hell, down boy, I can't get carried away with how she looks. I'm in no freakin' state to be thinking like that about her, or any woman, right now. I just split up with Angela, for fuck's sake, the whole relationship scene sucks..."
Both H&h were just duds. Their characters were uninteresting. 21yo h just seemed like a typical American college student who wanted to make some extra money for her European vacation. She wasn't very distinctive either.
Sexual History: 21yo h not a virgin with H. No info on how many boyfriends or lovers she's had but seems like she dated some in college. H had a GF who broke up with him since she didn't like that he had a baby niece he was now fully responsible for. No other info of H's former girlfriends or lovers. Sounds like he hadn't slept with anyone since his breakup with his ex-GF not too long ago....more
Felt sorry for 38yo H who was obsessed with his wife & former employee, 23yo h. She was blase about him and 2.5-star **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Felt sorry for 38yo H who was obsessed with his wife & former employee, 23yo h. She was blase about him and overall emotionally-flat until she had a baby. She was much more loving towards their son than the Hero. She likely would have kept on living with their son without ever seeing Hero or informing him about their son. Their 2nd chance was slightly better since she seemed to be more emotionally awake & firmer in her identity and verbalized things with H. But their love still seemed quite 1-sided. Possible HEA only due to H's patient & great love for h.
Sexual History: 19yo h was a virgin when she married H after only a few weeks of dating him. She was so quiet and shy that she didn't seem to have dated anyone. H was a known player and told h that women were just a way to relax fro him but no one significant ever until h. He was taken by h @ 1st sight and would try to see her at work but she didn't seem to notice him while he couldn't stop thinking of her & finally approached her at a company party later. She left H 3 years ago because she thought he was having an affair with an ex-GF based on a magazine photo but never talked to him about it. She just left that same night & didn't contact H at all. H looked hired PIs to search for her but couldn't find her. Both were celibate during their 3 years apart....more
h&H still haven't met at this time & I hated that H was clearly in love/much in-lust with his sexy-actress wife and we1.5-star
DNF @ 17% ***SPOILERS***
h&H still haven't met at this time & I hated that H was clearly in love/much in-lust with his sexy-actress wife and we get details of it (i.e., how he was love-struck at 1st meeting her & even at current time after he already caught her cheating on him, he was still sexually struck by her just saying 1 word to him). At this point, H was struggling so much to get over his wife, despite having multiple sex partners. He was happily married to her for 5 years, when he caught her smexxing OM at their house. Despite their busy work schedules & not being able to see much of each other, H still in lust with his wife & couldn't wait to smex her when he got home. Instead, he witnessed her cheating on him. During their 5-year marriage, his wife had 2 miscarriages & she was the 1 to file for divorce since she no longer loved him. H was open to working things out with her but she wanted out.
All we know about h's romantic history was that she had a had a wealthy ex-fiance who she seemed happy with. However, their breakup made her a social outcast in their small gossipy enclosed Southern town. So far, lacked romance/emotionality/sexual chemistry. Meh characters.
Meh writing which reminded me of my mom's old '80s Judith Krantz/Jackie Collins novels, with experienced h & H with lots of wealth & wealthy lifestyle thrown in and profligate sexual lifestyles. However, Torre's writing is more down-to-earth but still more a mature-romance type. More in line with women's fiction from how she write's h's POV and plot/experience(Torre seems to like older hs in their 30s & this h is 29yo & H is mid-late 30s)/materialism. It's the hot alpha H that becomes focused on h later that brings the romance in focus later.
Don't like the descriptive sex or details about h and especially H's sexual relationships with others....more
ADDED (3/11/22): Plot UPDATE(3/10/22): 2-star (from original 3-star yesterday & my reason is on the 5th paragraph below)
PLOT...Introverted 19yo h finalADDED (3/11/22): Plot UPDATE(3/10/22): 2-star (from original 3-star yesterday & my reason is on the 5th paragraph below)
PLOT...Introverted 19yo h finally agrees to live at the house of her brother's BFF, famous actor 30yo H, although she's not thrilled to be near H. When he'd come by to visit their house over the years, she tried to avoid him since she didn't trust him with his easy charms yet violent tendencies. However, her desire to go to a certain college and H's offered help as well as her family's encouragement made her agree to H. H became obsessed with h for the past year and made plans to keep her as his but knew about her aversion to affection and most people. He gradually gets her to get used to being touched by him and offers her a job as his assistant, knowing about her desire for independence. Yet he closes in on his web to entangle her completely in his life. After a few weeks, h realizes she's now attracted to H and doesn't mind as much his touching her more & more intimately and even roughly.
My 1st Crown book. Mixed feelings about the romance/rom dev/chars/char dev/S chem because even up to the end I was unsure about 30yo anti-Hero actor H.
The book has dual POV so we get H's thoughts & feelings re: his recent stalkery-obsession with his BFF's sister 19yo virgin & new assistant h & his wanting to control her & even hurt her. We also get h's POV about her feelings & reactions to H's facial expressions, statements, & actions. H's plans to hurt h seem part BDSM-y pleasure thru pain and part psychopathic control that he has the power to make her cry & seems to get sexually aroused by it. I wasn't ever 100% sure if H's niceness & caring intent towards h was completely genuine or came from a good motive since he was a good actor. Her POV showed how unsure she was of H's sincerity too. At the end & including the epilogue 5-mos after h told H she loved him back, h's cautious & asocial character and her drive to be independent changed to one of reliance on and trust of H. Which I don't think was a good thing. Maybe.
No boring moments for me. It's emotionally-involving mostly due to how uncomfortable & unsure I was about their whole romance & H's character portrayal. This was a kinda creepy romance with handsome & successful psychopathic stalker H. Liked the questionable morality of both H&h and the different nature of their romance & characterization. It made me think and wasn't predictable. Definitely not a typical romance book. Liked how unique this whole book was, including the writing which was full of warnings about H's true intent & his sneers & smirks and h's discomfort with him (which was part fear and later mixed with sexual attraction).
Compared to my 2nd Crown read (Daddy's Little Bait), this romance was lacking mostly due to h's character regression. H's skilled manipulations (i.e., buying her gifts, making her family & her agree to let him stay at his house, getting her a job as his assistant, asking her to be his pretend-girlfriend to supposedly help him with a movie) and controlling ways chipped away at her independence and her smarts. So, by the end, she became obediently submissive and dependent on him. Losing the wise caution I liked about her. She reminded me of a Stepford wife minus the housekeeping. An HFN ending. H's version of love was 1-sided, where he must get his way and dictate their relationship. She just obeys or else. Which made the detailed sex scenes feel somewhat cringe-y for its dubious consent. H sneakily conditioned h to get used to being touched by him, using safety excuses and their pretend-romance as his reasons. So, when they finally had sex by the epilogue, she kinda liked it and was also uncomfortable. This H didn't improve. He remained as manipulative, as mysterious, and dangerous to h as the beginning.
Sexual History: 19yo virgin h wasn't used to affection due to her somewhat-asocial personality so had never dated. Her protective older bro & H's long-time BFF would beat up boys who showed interest in h. So , h had never dated or kissed anyone. H had lovers but not sure if he's ever had a GF. What we know about him is from h's POV & she wasn't all that interested in H's life or any celebrity life and had been avoiding H since she's known him since she's always felt uncomfortable with him. H's interest in h only began maybe only a year ago or less....more
MEH or the BAD: **SPOILERS** Lust-based & shallow overall—the writings/romance/characters.
Lust-based romance between 22yo sexy virgin h & her dad's wiMEH or the BAD: **SPOILERS** Lust-based & shallow overall—the writings/romance/characters.
Lust-based romance between 22yo sexy virgin h & her dad's widower BFF & new boss 38yo resort-owner H. Didn't like H&h much since both were shallow characters. H was a neglectful father who spent more time at his favorite bar drinking & picking up women & doing ONS. He wasn't that into h since he was flirting & sexually touching a bartender right before h came to meet him at the bar at his invitation. When he was resisting his new & growing attraction to h for 2 weeks, he was still smexxing random OW while supposedly thinking about h.
h wasn't a prize either. She may have been a virgin but she was sexually experienced with foreplay stuff. Didn't like that she was chasing H & invited herself to work for him with her dad's help. Both didn't really care that her dad would be hurt by their secret affair. H only decided to finally smex h (after doing foreplay things with her before) since he was jealous at watching her flirt with some guy at a wedding party that she was actually interested in dating, after he rejected her out of momentary guilt about her dad & told her to find a boy her age. Most of the book's content was filled with sexual things. Emotional involvement was lacking, aside from feelings of guilt towards h's dad but that wasn't often & easily forgotten with lust. No mention about H's deceased wife except when they got married/had a son 6 years ago/& her dying from an accident. Average S chem/detailed S scenes.
Writing didn't seem like author Chance Carter, who was accused by a plagiarism article (https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...) as using Rye Hart as 1 of his pseudonyms. They may work together but writing style didn't seem identical.
The GOOD: It's a novella. Epilogue years later with H&h married and with 2 kids.
Sexual History: 22yo virgin h dated & “made out” with different guys to get over her teenage crush on H but no one came close to matching her feelings for H. H loved his 1st wife but became a regular at bars after she died, drinking & picking up random women to smex. He often didn't remember their names & would just call them “babe” if he didn't get a chance to leave before they woke up from their ONS....more
CAVEAT: Decided to read Chance Carter to compare his writing to other authors he was linked to and considered as his possible pseudonyms (i.e. JohannaCAVEAT: Decided to read Chance Carter to compare his writing to other authors he was linked to and considered as his possible pseudonyms (i.e. Johanna Hawkes, Rye Hart, Natasha Black) from a plagiarism article in 2019: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201....
---------------------------------------------------------- DNF @ 57% then skipped to last couple chapters to skim
Started ok. Liked h's character so far but thought H was preppy & not alpha enough. Their S chem & detailed hot S scenes were ok. But things went downhill when they both agreed to pretend to be together & h pregnant for the sake of H's dying father's wishes. But H didn't tell h that his inheritance was contingent on his heir until h found out from H's father. So, at 57%, DNF coz angst was contrived & corny & h's reaction to finding out about H's inheritance was corny & OTT in a negative way.
Inconsistent characterization of virgin h as naive about men & sexually innocent but she masturbated like a sex pro & her 1st-time ever having sex with H was that of a sexually experienced woman. With No hesitation/no resistance. And she was ridden hard by H on an office desk without any pain or discomfort. H couldn't tell she was a virgin until she mentioned being inexperienced later.
Didn't like H's character much either. He acted & thought like a spoiled rich kid who was only a figure-head for his dad's company and attended business meetings & worked obligingly. He was like a rich preppy guy who was proud about his womanizing and acted alpha & in control but was really under his father's thumb. So, not surprising that he would plan a ruse to make his new-intern h act as his pretend pregnant GF. Tasteless for both him & her to sweet-talk his dad and pretend they've been dating for 1 year and a surprise baby on the way. They barely knew each other & lusted after their 1st meeting at h's intern interview with H. H acted unprofessional right away & came on to her that same night at a bar he saw her at. Didn't take long at all & with no talk about their crossing boss-intern boundaries to start smexxing.
Sexual history—22yo recent college-grad & business-intern virgin h was shy & felt awkward with men coz she thought she was too curvy/fat. She'd kiss other guys but no mention of any other experience. She took care of her sexual needs by masturbating. H was a manho who'd been with plenty of women but no attachments....more
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