I Say No But I Really Mean Yes

I've read some of Susan Sizemore's books in the past - most notably Wings of the Storm which I really loved - but not her more recent books. This one is another book from my TBR pile.

The Price of Innocence by Susan Sizemore
(1999, Victorian) 11/9/06
Grade: 2.5

Years after Sherrie Hamilton has left her pirate lover, she comes to London as a respectable widow and mother - only to find her “pirate” is now Earl Jack PenMartyn. To him, she is still his “Scheherazade” and he will do anything to touch her again, possess her again - and despite Sherrie’s protests, he knows that she wants him as much as he wants her.

Really frustrating. At first, I was enjoying this book - Sizemore has a comfortable writing style, and I liked the characters and the unusual setup for the story. But the book quickly turns to one of my least favorite plot points: “they’re so much in lust that they can think of nothing else” and “she says no but she really means yes”. It really started to bother me. Supposedly these characters were more mature and experienced, but they could only think with their groins. After 150 pages of “I’m hot for him but I keep saying no and he keeps ignoring me”, I gave up. I expected more of this book, especially since it got glowing reviews online.

Admittedly, this is a particular pet peeve of mine - I know a lot of romance readers aren't bothered by the "obsessed by lust" characters that drive me batty. But I really thought the "she says no but she really means yes" plotline had gone out with the bodice rippers. The heroine in this book doesn't just say it once, she says it over and over again - and she seems to really feel it, it's not just for show. But the hero ignores her, and he's still considered heroic? Blech, not for me.