I'll admit to being skeptical of the premise, as one does not pull pantyhose on and not notice, but I've enjoyed everything else of Beriko's that I'veI'll admit to being skeptical of the premise, as one does not pull pantyhose on and not notice, but I've enjoyed everything else of Beriko's that I've read, so I gave it a whirl. A good thing too, because it totally worked somehow, and turned out to be a great mix of kinky exploration and working through messy feelings. Beriko's art is what really makes this a great read, though. Nobody draws bedroom eyes or older men better, and every panel was crisp and detailed with expressive faces....more
This is pretty much like every manga by Nagisa Furuya that I've read: a light, relaxing romance with nice art that wraps up in one volume. Enjoyable, This is pretty much like every manga by Nagisa Furuya that I've read: a light, relaxing romance with nice art that wraps up in one volume. Enjoyable, but not life altering. ...more
Despite being a little reluctant to pick up a romance about a woman who's self-conscious about sweating and the hot guy who loves smelling her, this wDespite being a little reluctant to pick up a romance about a woman who's self-conscious about sweating and the hot guy who loves smelling her, this won me over quickly. I loved the literal chemistry between the characters and watching them learn how to lean on each other and work through problems together over 11 volumes was a delight....more
A warm and charming story about two guys in their 20s living in a small town and finding each has something the other one needs. I particularly enjoyeA warm and charming story about two guys in their 20s living in a small town and finding each has something the other one needs. I particularly enjoyed how it showed them supporting each other emotionally, forming a strong friendship as well as a romantic connection. ...more
Ruth might be my favorite heroine ever. Finally, a disabled heroine (she's autistic) who gets to run her own life in her own way without needing a nonRuth might be my favorite heroine ever. Finally, a disabled heroine (she's autistic) who gets to run her own life in her own way without needing a non-disabled hero to rescue her. The sweet, muscular, bearded, blacksmith hero who cooks his way into her life one shepherds pie at a time was a plus as well. Hibbert does an excellent job of writing the characters' POV scenes so I really felt like I was visiting two different heads. Really enjoyed it....more
Highly amusing riff on Coming to America where an epidemiology grad student gets tangled up with the prince of a fictional African kingdom. Lots of fuHighly amusing riff on Coming to America where an epidemiology grad student gets tangled up with the prince of a fictional African kingdom. Lots of fun situational humor where prince Thabiso tries to be "Jamal" the waiter, snappy dialog, and an interesting friendship between Naledi and her BFF Portia that's devoted but not totally healthy. Completely preposterous at times, but Cole kept it entertaining enough that I remained on board....more
Cute as hell friends to lovers romance between a straitlaced accountant and a free-spirited digital assistant. He's her older brother's best friend toCute as hell friends to lovers romance between a straitlaced accountant and a free-spirited digital assistant. He's her older brother's best friend to boot. ...more
Puerto Rican school librarian heroine and an unspecified white tech bro hero and a Harlequin Romance vibe. It had no on-page sex, which I know some pePuerto Rican school librarian heroine and an unspecified white tech bro hero and a Harlequin Romance vibe. It had no on-page sex, which I know some people are always looking for....more
Leyla Karimi can’t help herself. If her smoking-hot neighbor’s going to walk around in his underwear with no Originally posted at Love in the Margins.
Leyla Karimi can’t help herself. If her smoking-hot neighbor’s going to walk around in his underwear with no blinds in the windows while she’s sitting on her back patio one night after work, well, she’s just going to go ahead and watch. Nevermind that Dr. Mason Barrett is four years her junior and her younger brother’s best friend. She’s just going to look with her eyes, not with her hands. No harm, no foul, right?
Only problem is that Dr. Hottie’s noticed his audience, and he’s not about to forget anytime soon. He’d believed his crush on his buddy’s sister wasn’t reciprocal and that she saw him as a little brother. Now that he’s seen her watching him with hungry eyes, everything’s changed. And he’s about to make his move.
First things first, I guess. I’m friendly with this author on Twitter and she gave me a copy of this book and a couple others. I started following her after reading a few of her books and liking her voice and the way she writes multicultural romance. Rai writes stories with characters from many different backgrounds without making a plot point out of it. They are what they are, and that’s that. In a genre where characters from marginalized populations are often used as teachable moments, I find this sort of multiculturalism refreshing.
So anyways, the book. Veiled Desire is an erotic novella packing equal amounts of heat and romance. It’s a friends-to-lovers story, so the conflict is of the “is this worth the threat of losing this friendship” and “her brother is totally gonna freak out” variety. It’s not a terribly stiff conflict, but it’s just right for the story length. They acknowledge their mutual desire, they act on it, they discover sexual compatibility, and then they ride off to the promise of the condomless sex of HEA. It’s really all I could ask of an erotic novella.
I really enjoyed the way Rai handled Leyla’s sexuality. Due to some mixture of growing up in an Iranian family and being busy with work and family responsibilities as an adult, she’s a 31 year old woman who’s had only one sexual partner. Despite this inexperience, she has full control of her sexuality. She masturbates, owns vibrators and knows what she likes. While out to dinner with Mason she whispers into his ear, “I want to do that to you. When we’re done here, I just want to get you alone and watch you come for me.” Leyla is a grown-up woman with a grown-up’s understanding of her sexuality. Mason may be more experienced, but they hook up as equals. It was satisfying to read an erotic romance where a heroine’s inexperience isn’t fetishized.
Unfortunately, some of the sex was a no for me. I found their first hookup kind of too much, too fast and there’s some food sex involving chocolate cheesecake and a nipple. But one scene in particular kind of bothered me. In it, Mason has penetrated Leyla without a condom. When she objects, saying she’s not on the pill, visions of babies dance in his head and this happens:
Hell, no wonder the human race procreated like crazy. It took a strong man to deny this biological urge. “I won’t come inside of you.” Even as he said it, he recognized the ridiculousness of the words.
Her laugh was half amused, half regretful. “Dr. Barrett, you know better.”
He did know better, but he just did not fucking care. That was the problem. For a solid twenty seconds, he didn’t say anything, didn’t move, couldn’t move. The walls of her pussy rippled around him where he was buried so still inside of her. He swore he could feel every tissue, every inch of her. He released her hips and clenched his teeth. “Climb off. I can’t do it.”
She seemed as reluctant as he was to separate their bodies, but he guessed she was just stronger than he was, because she dismounted and knelt on the bed next to him.
I couldn’t read this without thinking of The Myth of the Boner Werewolf. It may be a genre staple as shorthand for father material or as proof of how powerful his attraction to the heroine is, but it renders the hero into a sort of unthinking animal I can’t get down with.
Final Assessment: Anyone looking for a good, quick erotic romance with a solid emotional connection should not be disappointed. You just might need to suspend your belief in spots. B-...more
This was an enjoyable, category-style read with a tight plot and fun setting. The writing was flat and confusing at times, but not enough to diminish This was an enjoyable, category-style read with a tight plot and fun setting. The writing was flat and confusing at times, but not enough to diminish my enjoyment too much.
This is a short little novella so there's not a ton to discuss. It's a girl-carries-a-flame-for-her-older-brother's-friend story featuring a curvy herThis is a short little novella so there's not a ton to discuss. It's a girl-carries-a-flame-for-her-older-brother's-friend story featuring a curvy heroine and a muscular hero, but the story is almost inconsequential. The beauty of this book is in the telling.
It's told in first-person present tense from the heroine's point of view, which I typically loathe. Stein, however puts on a clinic for How It Should Be Done. The heroine's personality is front and center, pouring from the little asides and stream of consciousness. You feel all of her emotions along with her as she puzzles them out with the reader. Occasionally she breaks out in Pratchett-like lists, at one point making me break out in hysterical laughter in the middle of some seriously hot sexual tension:
c) There is something pressing into the small of my back, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t a tube of Rolos. And if it is, he really needs to tell me where he bought such an enormous packet. I love Rolos.
If this were an HFN rather than an HEA, I'd give it five stars. The emotion and passion was just completely awesome and the narration was pitch-fucking-perfect. I just thought the ILYs at the end felt rushed and unnecessary.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy and read everything Stein has written....more
I'm so glad I read this book! It made me feel all warm and fuzzy in a drinking chocolate while playing with kittens sort of way. It's a tender romanceI'm so glad I read this book! It made me feel all warm and fuzzy in a drinking chocolate while playing with kittens sort of way. It's a tender romance between two people who respect each other and a total breath of fresh air for me....more
I liked a lot about this book. The characterization in particular was excellent. Everyone had a personality, insecurities and quirks that were their oI liked a lot about this book. The characterization in particular was excellent. Everyone had a personality, insecurities and quirks that were their own. Both the hero and the heroine had difficult relationships with their respective families and, as is typical of Superromance's issue-driven books, trying to live up to their parents' expectations while living their own lives their way drives much of the conflict in the book. It's a conflict that I found easy to relate to, and I really enjoyed seeing how these people navigated it.
What I didn't really enjoy was the fairy tale dust the townspeople all put on their Cheerios in small town contemporary romances. Everyone they meet is smiling, cheerful and so happy to have escaped the city for the wonderful countryside. I also grew frustrated with the flimsiness of Tiffany's dilemma. She wants a job in publishing so as to not waste her English degree. What I didn't understand is why she had to give up Chris and live in NYC to have it. I mean, yes, that's the most obvious path, but she never even entertains the idea of freelance editing or looking for a position that allowed her to work remotely. The book needs this to be a zero-sum situation, and I didn't see it that way....more
Widowed nurse Molly Sheffield finds a wounded migrant worker on her property and takes it upon herself to nurse him back to health after he begs her nWidowed nurse Molly Sheffield finds a wounded migrant worker on her property and takes it upon herself to nurse him back to health after he begs her not to call an ambulance. Undocumented immigrant Alejandro Sosa hates to burden the strange woman who's rescued him, but he can't risk deportation - not while his eight year old niece is stranded alone in the wilderness after an immigration raid. Struck by Alejandro's devotion to his niece, or perhaps due to four lonely years alone on her secluded New Mexico farm, Molly decides to do everything she can to keep him together with his niece in America, even if her deputy sheriff brother suspects they're marrying only to secure a green card.
I really enjoyed this modern take on a marriage of convenience. Wind - who also writes as Barbara Samuel - treats the heady subject with a lot of sensitivity and avoids any grandstanding. Molly's brother is the story's antagonist, but he remains sympathetic or at least relatable even with his zero tolerance approach to illegal immigration. Alejandro isn't some Woobie forced into the role of victim, he's got some misgivings and doubts over whether he's making the right decision to work as a migrant laborer in the US. I liked all the characters more for having some flaws.
Where the book wasn't perfect was in the timing. Everything in the book takes place over a very short period of time. I can buy a week-long whirlwind romance ok, but resolving immigration status, family drama, a gunshot wound *and* tuberculosis as well within a week is a bit much. I really enjoyed the hero and heroine, but I had to put my "this is fantasy" glasses on to digest the neat and tidy ending....more
Fans of angst and second chances would like this book. The heroine returns to her hometown after leaving ten years ago as a troubled teenager. IntendiFans of angst and second chances would like this book. The heroine returns to her hometown after leaving ten years ago as a troubled teenager. Intending only to stay long enough to bury her grandfather, bottle his wine and sell his estate off, her plans hit a snag of sorts in the shape of the estate's neighbor. The hero wants to add her grandfather's vineyard to his estate's holdings, but with their messy shared history, secrets come out and what once seemed so straightforward turns out to be anything but.
Lots of emotion in this one. The secrets behind Zoe's banishment as a teenager are a big ones, with shockwaves that leave cracks in both of their adult lives. Their revelation forces them to reexamine assumptions they'd labored under for ten years and unleashes all sorts of feelings they don't really want to deal with right now. Upstanding, responsible Hugh just wants to buy her family's vineyard and get back to his role as CEO of his family's winemaking business. Restless, rebellious Zoe wants to wrap up their business then get back to California, and away from the bad memories. Walking down memory lane is hugely uncomfortable for them, but they just can't seem to stop the momentum and go back to how they were before the secrets came out.
I thought Dark did a good job pacing the characters through their journey of rediscovery. She dispenses bits of intrigue and backstory gradually throughout the story, neither character ever launches into a monologue of angst nor are the salient details dangled just out of the reader's grasp over and over. I felt that the characters discussed and processed their feelings in ways that were unique to their personalities - Zoe giving up information and emotion only under duress, and Hugh relentlessly pursuing further discussion to try to make things right. It's a dynamic that not only suits the storytelling, it shows me a couple well-matched for an HEA. Their communication styles complement each other perfectly.
The dialog felt a little forced at times, especially when Mr. Plot Expediter Morris is on screen, and I didn't love how the conflict was finally resolved. I wanted more initiative from Zoe after she flew back to California. That Hugh instead flew to her to make a declaration felt more like the author indulging her own love of the Grand Gesture than the natural outcome for the characters. It was heavy on the style and short on substance. It's also SOP for the genre.
I picked this up on a whim during an ebook sale, and I'm glad I did. This new-to-me author is now on my list of Harlequin authors to keep an eye on....more
The author wrote about the Latino characters totally offensively - "half-breed" is so not an acceptable term - but it was thoughtlessly done, not maliThe author wrote about the Latino characters totally offensively - "half-breed" is so not an acceptable term - but it was thoughtlessly done, not malicious. I chose to roll my eyes at the author and keep reading, but other people might want to set the book on fine.
Once I got past that stuff in the early chapters, I really enjoyed the story. A marriage of convenience where a heroine promises a retired bounty hunter $20,000 to marry her then divorce her after six months so she can inherit her family's ranch? Sign me up! To sweeten the deal, the heroine's a total bitch who has to work on her attitude to win the hero. It's like it was written just for me.
This was the rare anthology where all the stories were great. The Milan story was the weakest, and I'd still call it an above average read. Carolyn JeThis was the rare anthology where all the stories were great. The Milan story was the weakest, and I'd still call it an above average read. Carolyn Jewel's story was my favorite. The longing and regret was off the charts....more
Yesterday on Twitter, I was talking to Jane from DA about Harlequin's new Kiss line, which debuts next year. I said that "if they're like HP's with noYesterday on Twitter, I was talking to Jane from DA about Harlequin's new Kiss line, which debuts next year. I said that "if they're like HP's with non-asshole heroes and grown-up heroines, I'll be in heaven." That basically describes The Petrov Proposal to a T.
The hero is commitment-averse, but so is the heroine. He's never arrogant or overbearing and she's never overmatched or passive. She's sexually inexperienced, sure, but she's no naive ingenue. She's a grown woman with an adult's understanding of sexuality. There's verbal sparring, hot makeouts, hotter sex, endearing vulnerable moments and a heartwrenching climax. If it didn't have that worthless epilogue and that Grand Gesture, It'd have been a 5* book.
Still, this one was really, really good. I'd call it a 4.5* Presents....more
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