His Style of Seduction by Roxanne St. Claire

One nice thing about series books is that they don't need a lot of external conflict to make the book work. An internal conflict between the characters is enough to fill 200 pages, while it might not fill 400. Unfortunately, sometimes the short length isn't enough, but at least it's an opportunity.

His Style of Seduction by Roxanne St. Claire (SD 1841)
(2007, Contemporary Series) 5/9/08
Grade: 3.5

Lily Harper has been hired to give a makeover to advertising exec Jackson Locke - to smooth over his rough edges and make him more presentable to upper management. But when Jackson first meets Lily, all he can think about is her sexy appeal. He’s willing to go along with Lily’s makeover during the day... if she’ll give him the nights.

I was a bit skeptical of this book when the author found an excuse to put the hero and heroine in bed together within the first 30 pages. It felt contrived. But things improved once we got past that, and got to know the characters as people. What impressed me about this book was that the conflict between the hero and heroine came out of who they were as people, not from some external source. He’s a free spirit who hates restrictions and walls. After being homeless as a child, she yearns for stability and a home of her own. The author makes the conflict feel convincing and the resolution a loving compromise, not one person giving in to the other. The book was very short, and some of the sex stuff at the beginning went on too long, so it felt like the emotional part of the story didn’t get quite enough space, but overall, it was a rewarding read.

I've been reading a lot of series books recently, and for the most part, they haven't been that great. I've read several that were acceptable enough tof finish (barely) but just too dull to even make it worthwhile for me to write a review. When I first started writing reviews of the books I read, I didn't bother writing reviews of series books. I think some of them are worthwhile enough to rate a review, but so many of them are just boring retreads. They might be worth finishing, just to see what happens, but they're not memorable.