Review: A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon (2020)
Cowboys of California, Book #1
Heat Factor: Definitely not closed door, but I wouldn’t say explicit either
Character Chemistry: I’m going to have to quit reading second chance romance because the “I’m so sexually attracted to you but I really can’t get over my emotional baggage” just does not work for me.
Plot: see above but toss in a healthy dose of amnesia
Overall: I’m not sure emotional maturity is a good fit for a second chance romance
How Ruby Dixon Saved Christmas
Merry Christmas!
I beg your pardon. I’m sure most of you sent your holiday greetings several months ago. I’m getting them out this weekend, if all goes well. Things didn’t go well for me over the holidays, you see, so I’m still catching up.
What happened? Sweet of you to ask.
Continue reading “How Ruby Dixon Saved Christmas”Review: Forbidden Promises by Synithia Williams (2020)
Jackson Falls, Book 1
Heat Factor: HOT…HOT mess.
Character Chemistry: It’s crackling.
Plot: India stops to visit her INSANE family and ends up picking up exactly where she left off with Travis, who is her SISTER’S EX HUSBAND, omg, get some popcorn.
Overall: This book is so delicious and I can’t wait for the rest of this series.
Review: The Restart by Nicole Falls (2020)
New Beginnings, Book 2
Heat Factor: “…if I were reading into my countenance on a purely superficial level I’d attribute it to getting stellar pipe as the sun rose…”
Character Chemistry: When you know what you want, you know what you want.
Plot: Shocked by a personal loss, a young woman decides to shake things up. The man she made a marriage pact with during a vacation years ago lets her know he’d like to collect.
Overall: I was looking for a soccer romance, and this is not that, but it was totally sweet.
Unsolicited Advice for Budding Romance Novelists
“…the delve of his tongue into the moist aperture of her mouth.”
**shudders**
Please don’t write sentences like this.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
- Avoid passive construction
“The delve of his tongue” is indirect. We have to keep reading to find out what, exactly is delving.
Also, “delve” is a verb; furthermore, it is a verb that is not particularly conducive to nouning.
- Use fewer words
The key parts of this sentence are tongue – into – mouth. Everything else is window-dressing. Yes, we want evocative adjectives, but overwriting is distracting.
- Beware the thesaurus
At TSR, we are on record with the fact that reading romance novels improved our vocabularies and helped us ace the verbal portion of the SAT. However, just using the thesaurus to find loose synonyms without some thought is not a good plan.
In this case: delve means to “reach inside a receptacle and search for something.” What is his tongue searching for? Her tonsils?
- Never, ever, ever use the word moist
Maybe if you’re talking about fungus. “Moist aperture” is perhaps the least sexy combination of words I have ever read.
This has been a public service announcement from your friendly neighborhood smut reader.
You’re welcome.
Review: A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole (2017)
Loyal League, Book 2
Review of Loyal League, Book 1 here
Heat Factor: Trying to stay alive leaves little time for loving
Character Chemistry: Beautiful
Plot: He’s a Union soldier on the run. She is hiding him in her attic.
Overall: All the pieces are there, but…
Review: Temporary Wife Temptation by Jayci Lee (2020)
Heirs of Hansol, Book 1
Heat Factor: Once they finally give in to their temptation, it gets pretty steamy
Character Chemistry: They are hot, driven, and living together. What else do you need?
Plot: Exactly what you would expect from the title
Overall: Now I understand why people read category romances
