To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt

Most romance readers are author loyalists. They have a list of favorite authors, and they'll buy every book by that author. If they try a new author, they'll either add that author to their auto-buy list, or drop her. I was like that when I first started reading romance, but I've since become a promiscuous reader. Even if I like an author, I won't auto-buy her books. I'll pick and choose, only buying those books that have plots and characters that appeal to me, even if I end up reading the middle book in a series. I guess that makes me disloyal - I'm more interested in an appealing plot or type of story than I am in a particular author. On the other hand, I think it makes me more willing to give authors second chances. I hated an earlier book by Elizabeth Hoyt, almost to the point of wall-banging. I thought I'd never read another book of hers. But when I read the description of this book, and when I skimmed a few sections of the book in the store, I could see that this was a very different type of book, much more my style. So I was willing to give it a chance. And happily, I was rewarded!

To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt
(2008, Georgian) 11/26/08
Grade: 4.5

After Jasper Renshaw, Lord Vale is left at the altar, Melisande decides to take a chance and asks him to marry her instead. To her surprise, he agrees. Melisande has loved Jasper from afar for years, but as she gets to know him better, she finds his carefree attitude hides deep secrets - and he finds that the shy and quiet Melisande has hidden depths as well.

From the beginning, this book pulled me in. The characters were immediately appealing - shy but resolute Melisande, teasing, open-hearted Jasper. The book focused primarily on getting to know these two, and building their relationship, and it was delightful to read. (I also loved the stalwart terrier, Mouse. The secondary relationship between the maid and the valet felt recycled and cliched, though.) The spy plot was not that original, but it was in the background most of the time, and the setting of the French and Indian war was unusual. And Jasper’s haunted past was very touching, and I appreciated that the heroine didn’t magically fix him. I wasn’t thrilled with the sex scenes - they were certainly hot, but the early ones felt too acrobatic and exotic for Melisande, even if she wasn’t a virgin, and I just don’t find certain words appealing, even in context. But that was a minor problem. Overall, this was a lovely book, and I enjoyed all of it.

I don't know if it's a coincidence or a trend, but I'm very happy with all the books I've read this year with "nice guy" heroes. Heroes who genuinely like and respect the heroines and want to get to know them. These are the heroes that I love, and I hope this run of nice heroes is a real trend. (Maybe all the authors who write alpha jerks have moved over to paranormals?) I never understood the appeal of the hero who treats the heroine like dirt for 300 pages and then declares his love - that's romance? Not for me. Give me a nice hero every time. Vale isn't a nerd or a wimp - but he doesn't need to wipe his feet on the heroine to be a man.

Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb

I love watching procedurals on TV - I can't get enough of Law & Order, CSI and The Wire. But for some reason, I don't usually find procedural mysteries as appealing in book form. I guess I'm looking for something different when I'm reading than when I'm watching TV. Although I read a lot of mysteries when I was younger, I don't find them all that appealing any more. However, I was drawn to the first J.D. Robb books. The first few books in this series combined a great relationship between Eve and Roarke with a heroine who had a real feeling for the victims, because of her own past as a victim of violence. But that aspect of the books seems to be fading away as the series continues. The passion isn't there (depsite the energetic sex scenes between Eve and Roarke). I guess no author (even Nora Roberts) can sustain that over 29 books. Too bad.

Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb
(2008, Suspense) 11/18/08
Grade: 3

When a well-loved priest is poisoned during a funeral, Eve quickly discovers that he’s not what he seems. Is Father Miguel Flores really who he claimed to be? And when a similar killing fells an evangelical minister, is she looking at a serial killing? Or does it all go back to the supposed priest’s old neighborhood and a 20 year old crime?

I can’t help wondering, was I too distracted to give this book my full attention? (I read it during chemotherapy.) I don’t think that was the problem. I recently reread one of the early J.D. Robb books during an equally distrating hospital visit, and it kept my attention completely. In her last few books, the focus has been on the mystery, with only brief interludes of personal relationships (and even those have become routine). I don’t get the personal attachment that Eve had with her earlier cases. (And it doesn’t help that everyone in this case is unsympathetic - Eve has more passion for her cases when she has a strong feeling for the victim and finding justice for him or her.) I never really got a feeling for the “victim” here until the very end, and even then, it was hard to reconcile his initial description as a caring priest with the revelations of who he really was and what he was doing. Overall, this was a fairly blah entry in the series.

While I was waiting at the drug store, I picked up a copy of Suite 606, which has a short story by J.D. Robb. And interestingly, I found the first 15 pages of that story a lot more appealing than this full-length book. I didn't get a chance to finish, but I was more interested in that story than in finishing the longer book that I had in my bag. (Not enough to pay full price for an anthology that only had one story I wanted to read, but still...)

The Price of Desire by Jo Goodman

This year, I'm determined to actually read some 2008 books in 2008. It's nice to finally find some current books that are worth reading - for a while, I was having a hard time finding any books that were worth buying.

The Price of Desire by Jo Goodman
(2008, Regency Historical) 11/9/08
Grade: 4

After her brother Alistair loses heavily in a card game, Olivia Cole finds herself turned over to the owner of the gaming hell, Griffin Wright-Jones, Viscount Breckenridge. Griffin isn’t at all what she expected - he’s intelligent and considerate, and allows her to live under his roof unmolested. Olivia begins to wonder, is it worth taking a chance on him?

Although I liked the characters well enough, I found this book very hard to get through, particularly in the first half. The pace was very slow, and the hero and heroine are both hard to understand. The author seemed to be deliberately keeping their motives from the reader, and it got frustrating after a while. I got about 150 pages into the book and then put it down for almost a week. Once I got past the first half, the book definitely improved, and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. Both of them are wounded, especially Olivia, and seeing her come into her own was satisfying. But sometimes the author’s writing left me a little confused - it’s as if she tried to make things difficult to understand. However, I did enjoy the book overall, I just think it needed better pacing, and maybe a little editing in the first half.

Several people who share my taste in romance have recommended Jo Goodman to me, but this is the first time I've read her books. (I still have a few in my TBR pile.) I'm not sure if I'm going to seek her out or not - something about her writing style just didn't grab me. Although she's a good writer, it left me feeling somewhat aloof from her characters. I'll have to try another book by her before deciding one way or the other, but it was a little disappointing.

The Soft Touch by Betina Krahn

This one was in my trade pile, but I pulled it out and gave it a try. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't have been heartbroken if it had ended up at the UBS.

The Soft Touch by Betina Krahn
(1999, Victorian) 11/4/08
Grade: 3.5

Baltimore heiress Diamond Wingate has a reputation for being a “soft touch”. She gives away millions to causes and inventors, but her inability to say “no” has left her with three fiancées. Bear McQuaid is hoping to persuade Diamond to invest in his Montana railroad, but he discovers there’s more to her than her millions...

Although the characters were sympathetic and the style was pleasant, this book offered few surprises. It just didn’t have the zest of Krahn’s earlier books (or some of her later ones). There were hints that Diamond had more psychological reasons for giving away her money, but they weren’t given a lot of attention. (And the name was a bit much - Diamond?) I enjoyed the first half of the book, when Diamond was in Baltimore and trying to give away her money, more than the second half, which was a pretty typical Western romance. However, the book was enjoyable and easy to read, just not very memorable. It just didn’t rise above its predictable plot.

I read a lot of Betina Krahn's books in my early days of romance (before I started keeping my database). I have fond memories of them, but it's hard to remember without my records to jog my memory. I wish I'd started my reading record a few years earlier!

A Man in a Million by Jessica Bird

I'm not generally fond of leather-jacket-motorcycle-riding heroes, because they're usually alphas, but I was definitely enchanted by Spike. I wonder if there are any other French chef heroes who ride motorcycles and have tattoos?

A Man in a Million by Jessica Bird
(2007, Contemporary Series) 11/1/08
Grade: 3.5

When professional sailor Madeline Maguire sees Spike at an engagement party, she can’t help but think “yum!”. His black jacket, his motorcycle, his tattoos - but would he take a second look at her? Spike is equally smitten with Mad, but he knows that once she finds out about his past, she’ll disappear, just like everyone else...

Although the characters in this book were great, the author spent far too long dragging out the misunderstandings between them. Almost half of the book goes by while we’re still stuck in “I like him but he’ll never like me” and “I like her but she’ll never like me”. These are strong, decisive people, and the endless dithering just annoyed me. Especially since both characters had such serious issues and they really needed more space to deal with them. Jessica Bird has a smooth writing style, and she created two great characters in Madeline and Spike, but why was the plot so predictable and tedious? They needed more.

I know that Jessica Bird is busy writing uber-alpha vampires as her alter-ego, J.R. Ward, but it would be nice if she came back and revisited the contemporary romance now and then. Although this book wasn't perfect for me, it definitely had potential, and I loved The Billionaire Next Door. (Didn't the hero in that one have brothers?) Speaking for the non-vampire readers, I'd like to see more books by Jessica Bird