I feel like this is what dudes think all romance books are like. Super dumb, pushover women, gratuitous, constant sex, the smallest smidgen of plot...I feel like this is what dudes think all romance books are like. Super dumb, pushover women, gratuitous, constant sex, the smallest smidgen of plot...I gave up when this girl is literally drowned, and our "hero" demands that she sleep with him so the other males could watch. Because she drowned while naked, and they saw her naked. She's too exhausted to protest. And I stopped reading. ...more
Taboo reads are hit or miss for me anyways. I can be genuinely bowled over, left gasping for air, emotionally wrecked and dewy eyed by the right Meh.
Taboo reads are hit or miss for me anyways. I can be genuinely bowled over, left gasping for air, emotionally wrecked and dewy eyed by the right kind of taboo story. But since I'm a lover of LOVE, not just sex, that's my ultimate goal. I want a happy ending that I BELIEVE in, and I want that taboo to be the deep, dark secret that allows someone to finally let go. Priest has the taboo part down just from the title. But the emotional baggage was sorely lacking. The beauty of falling in love was missing. Sure, the sex was hot. But it was too much, to wrong, to intentionally naughty (the use of holy items like oil for anal lube, the physically walking to the altar just to scrog on top of it, the gazing at the crucifix during the act). It was creepy, not sexy. The constant self flagellation got old, too. He'd mentally crush himself one moment only to instantly be hard for Poppy in the next. Everyone is human but a priest who swears constantly, is cowed by people with money, can't go two thought without thinking lascivious thoughts...I just didn't believe in his devotion. Poppy was an awful character...she comes to Tyler for absolution...some sort of shredded, lonely woman who wants to find meaning in life and forgiveness for her past and present. And yet she scoffs at Tyler's hesitation at times, tempts him with vivid descriptions of her sex with other men, and comes on to him often. Can't love them all. Read some Joey W. Hill for taboo. That'll rip your heart out AND quell your thirst for naughty. ...more
I don't mind insta love but this was weird. From the way the blurb sounded, there was some sort of push-pull with these two, as the hero kind of soDNF
I don't mind insta love but this was weird. From the way the blurb sounded, there was some sort of push-pull with these two, as the hero kind of sort of saves the girl while also kidnapping her. First of all, he could have alleviated her fears with a thirty second conversation instead of making her think that he was actually kidnapping her from her kidnappers. Second of all, the hot and heavy started waaaay early. Third, for being a badass former black ops military dude, Colby is pretty inept. The bad guys steal his package and the girl within a couple of pages, then after he steals them back, the bad guys track them down TWICE more within the next fifty pages, so he decides that the best place to hide is at his HOME, with a newborn daughter and his mom. WTF? At this point, I'm picturing a bumbling seventeen year old with peach fuzz laden whispy whiskers and a rebel flag tattoo.
After pushing through about 80 pages, I finally checked out some of my friend's reviews and nearly smacked myself in the forehead for not reading them before the book. Not my cuppa at all :(...more
I thought I'd sink into this and roll around like a two year old in a ball pit but instead I just sankThe cheese factor was high with this one. [image]
I thought I'd sink into this and roll around like a two year old in a ball pit but instead I just sank. It started off okay, with the buildup to the meet-cute and Tristan's ass-holery front and center. As soon as we established how "broken" the protagonists were, though, it all went downhill. There were so many quotes that made me cringe, but the first one that made me question whether or not I'd finish was this tidbit. People just don't say shit like this. It's like cheesy role play.
"We'll use each other to remember them?"
"Only if you want to."
"This sounds like a terrible idea, in the best kind of way."
"There's still this giant part of me that misses Jamie every day. And holding you" - his tongue danced across my bottom lip - "helps me remember holding her."
"Feeling your heartbeats" - I placed my hand against his chest" - "reminds me of his heartbeats."
"Running my fingers through your hair" - he tangled his hands through my blonde locks, making me gasp lightly - "helps me remember her."
"Feeling your skin against my skin" - I slowly lifted his T-shirt - "reminds me of him."
[image]
Add in the way Tristan goes from uber macho bad boy to needy and super clingy on a dime and the way the heroine practically begs him for scraps of attention (and then literally begs him to sleep with her) and I just can't. I skimmed some of the rest, but gave up a little over the halfway point. ...more
Just not my cuppa. Lots of drama, even when it wasn't warranted. Situations that were a bit eye roll inducing. Example: Protagonist goes to a tattoo sJust not my cuppa. Lots of drama, even when it wasn't warranted. Situations that were a bit eye roll inducing. Example: Protagonist goes to a tattoo shop for moral support for a friend and is pushed into getting a tattoo that she doesn't want. The tattoo artist, who is the hero, knows she wasn't wanting a tat but gives it to her anyways. She picks a tat and a location that moment. Who gets peer pressured into a tattoo?!?! Just immature, imo. The hero turns out to be a very, very bossy guy. I'm okay with bossy and alpha, but there needs to be a reason for it. Not just because he doesn't want the girl to have any say in her life. (Their first date was weird)
I can see this working, maybe for younger readers? Idk, it just came across as silly and rushed and melodramatic....more
Meh. I wanted intensity and some BDSM elements that helped get me there. The plot sounded intruguing...submissives up for a charity auction, one week Meh. I wanted intensity and some BDSM elements that helped get me there. The plot sounded intruguing...submissives up for a charity auction, one week of belonging to a stranger (with the chance to opt out if they want) and a D/s that are just too attracted to keep their emotions out of the equation.
What I got was a cheesy, too fast paced B movie full of corny lines and shallow sex scenes based on stereotypical BDSM scenes...spanking, sharing, withholding the big 'O', etc. There didn't seem to be much tailor made for this sub. There was a bit of a story, but I skimmed a lot of the middle. By seventy pages or so, there were already so many redundant sex scenes that they were no longer exciting.
There is girl on girl...on girl. Nothing too explicit (for erotica) but still...ew. Vaginas are gross, m'kay?
I may be spoiled with my friend's recommendations with regards to this genre. Megan Hart, Joey W. Hill, even some of Cherise Sinclair do it so much better than this. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions....more
POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!! Don't read on unless you want the details.
I read this book in the past and remember liking it, although I dDNF-ing at about 65%.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!! Don't read on unless you want the details.
I read this book in the past and remember liking it, although I do recall that the hero was a standout jerk at first. Upon this reread, I confirmed my earlier thoughts but honestly, he went way beyond jerk territory into complete asshole.
The premise is already an uncomfortable one at the beginning. In the opening scene, Lydia is giving birth to a stillborn baby conceived through rape via her stepbrother. She's ready to die and okay with the fact that the baby is dead. A couple of boys from a passing wagon train stumble upon her and the baby, and their ma and pa take her in. Coincidentally, Ross Coleman's wife dies in labor a few days later and Lydia is needed as a milk cow to keep the baby alive.
Ross is an unbelievable ass. I understand that he is grieving, but the way he treats others says so much about him. Lydia is dealing with a horrific past and a shaky, scary present, and yet she maintains her dignity and poise. Ross just turns into a mean, nasty person. He loves calling her a whore, treating her like a second class citizen, making her feel like a burden to him, and constantly letting her know how she could never measure up to his dead wife.
The cherry on the top of his degradation of Lydia is when he rapes her...literally holds her down, bruises her wrists, fucks her raw, and does this while she's screaming and crying out in pain, begging him to stop. There's no forced seduction here, nothing titillating or pleasing about this encounter. And yet somehow, when Lydia...who has never known sex to be anything but rape...thinks about this encounter the next day with tenderness and longing. What the actual fuck? This is the point where I lose interest in the story, because no matter what happens from here on out, I can't get past the rape, and I can't imagine a woman who is brutalized that way romanticizing it the very next day. I know sometimes I enjoy stories with forced seduction and scenes that ride fine line between that and rape. I have no excuses except that often there are subtleties that influence my opinion, and I don't feel the need to make excuses for my preferences. They are what they are
Seeing as how I'm a romance reader and let's face it...romance is often predictable...I'm fairly certain I know how the book will play out. But I'm listening to the audiobook, and still have something like four or five hours to go before the end. I'm just not interested in investing that much more time in it. ...more
If you loved this book, I 'm sorry! In no way, shape, or form am I laying down judgment on people who liked the story. I gave this a shot, hoping to gIf you loved this book, I 'm sorry! In no way, shape, or form am I laying down judgment on people who liked the story. I gave this a shot, hoping to glean some insight into what these dark romances are all about and why they are so popular lately.
I was prepared to have to fight with myself, battling inner demons about not falling for the bad guy, the slave trader, the kidnapper, the beater of women and raper of souls. Turns out, I didn't have to fight hard at all. This guy was just a douche. Sure, sure, he was sex on a stick. And also a douche.
I just never found anything redeemable in him. For nearly the entire book, he abuses, assaults, and forces himself and all manner of degradation up on the heroine. So yeah, I need a good effing reason to forgive him. He likes to pinch her arms, rip at her hair, and throw her to the floor...he likes to lock her up, he likes to see her fear. Okay. But that's not romantic. At all. So I don't see how this can be a dark romance. There is no romance.
♦ “Twisting my skin, breaking tiny blood vessels, he drove me to my knees” ♦ “He drove another heel into my hip...” ♦ “His foot shot out, toppling me and the seat to the tile”
What seals the deal for me is that he actually starts to tell her that he's doing it for her own good. He starts to act altruistic, as if he's doing favors. It's just ridiculous. She's nothing but an American slut, and it's not even that she deserves his shaming and torture of her, it's that she will be better off for it. It was truly unbelievable. He never shows remorse for his actions, not once. Why would I root for this couple?
”Poor, fragile women appreciate what comes to them. They're easy to tame.”
The heroine, Celeste...she's so weak willed, her will basically doesn't exist. She was pathetic to start off, when her boyfriend and boss dumps her and fires her in the same breath. But I assumed her coming ordeal would make her tougher, open her eyes to a better way of living life. When she's captured, however, she becomes this horny nympho, writhing and wetting her panties, moaning uncontrollably. It truly is unbelievable. On the very first day, when she begins waking up from a drug induced sleep to find herself unable to move due to drugs, having her legs spread wide for pictures to be taken of her, touched in her most intimate places by strangers...but when Leonide walks in, she's a wanton hussy. I just don't think that would happen. Who would react like that? And it doesn't stop there...she is this way throughout the entire book. I was shocked that this was actually the way this was handled. People believe this? They roll with it? I guess suspend your belief, roll with the extremely horny twenty something. I've heard of hormones but good grief!
♦”The way he said 'whore' in that liquid accent of his, it woke my body; left me dizzy.” ♦Why did such an evil man own lips that were made for kissing? ♦ “Leonide was vulgar. When he called my body parts such obscene wrods in that heavy accent of his, I always felt a rush of excitement. I was worried for my mental health.”
Me too...
I assumed this would be a mindfuck sort of book, but it wasn't. There weren't any twists or real mind games going on that made me empathize with either Celest or Leonide. She was captured, he was her captor who proceeded to try to break her. And she let him. Pretty easily. I've really only read one other “dark” romance, and while I hated myself for caving, I quite enjoyed it in the end. I rooted for that couple, I felt that their ordeal made them good together. But there was never a point in this book that Leonide became likeable, nor was there ever a time in which Celeste was strong. I suppose if she's weak enough to allow her entire life to be ruled by a man who abuses, degrades, and humiliates her and gets off on it, then they deserve each other.
I felt like the writing needed some polishing. Other than the obvious, there were phrases and reactions that just felt off. ♦ “I'd always wanted smaller breasts, been ashamed of how high mine sat.” Riiiight. Small, saggy boobies are often wished for. ♦ Also, she died her hair blonde, which was a big selling point for him. And she's worried about her roots growing in. All I kept thinking was...'not a natural blonde?' That would be obvious, considering she's constantly stripping for him. ♦ Another thing that was completely unbelievable was (view spoiler)[ how the entire town was in on his game. Not one person would stop to help a woman screaming, crying in the street...begging to get away. He's going to force her to suck his dick in front of them all, and this is what they say about him... “I heard you call him a demon.” Lifting her chin, she looked up at me imploringly. “In truth, he's an angel.” (hide spoiler)] Whatever.
To be fair, I am not a dark romance reader. I do like heroes that ride the edge of unforgivable. However, I want them to have some small sense of remorse. I want to put the book down feeling like there is a reason for a happy ending, instead of hoping that they don't procreate. I want it to make me feel something spectacular. All I felt here was how hard my eyes rolled. I assume that authors who write this type of story expect reviews like mine. I think books like this take it all a big step further than BDSM novels. This is the opposite of safe, sane, consensual. This is dangerous, crazy, and unwilling sexual slavery. This is real, and it's not romantic. Maybe it will serve as a warning for any girls out there who go to strange hotel rooms in Vegas and take unsolicited drinks from guys they just met. I hoped for something more from this but I felt like it was too kitschy to feel genuine. ...more
I mean...'scuse the shit outta me. I wuz hankerin' fer some sexy ruttin' 'tween two shitkickers and their little filly. And lookee there! I ain't gI mean...'scuse the shit outta me. I wuz hankerin' fer some sexy ruttin' 'tween two shitkickers and their little filly. And lookee there! I ain't got nuthin' but that. There's more breedin' in this here book than burnt hair durin' brandin' season, whooee, doggy!! [image] Pardon the eye roll.
Good grief.
This is my fourth book by Lorlei James, and it will be my last. I read the first three in the Rough Riders series. To be fair, those were some of my very first erotica books, three or four years ago. So I was thinking that maybe my lower opinion of those stories was due to my inexperience or different expectations.
However, I know better now. Just because a book is shelved as erotica doesn't mean that there isn't damned good story, well written and evocative. In fact, I've read some erotic romance books that utilize the intimacy of sex to make a story much more real, and completely and utterly beautiful. (Megan Hart, Joey W. Hill, etc...)
This, my friends, is pure smut.
[image]
I don't think anyone really professes it to be more, so I suppose if your expectations are hot cowboys, lots of sex...along with the requisite threesome and butt-sex that this author seems to be known for...and a shit ton of yee-haw cowgirl moments, then this is perfect for you.
[image]
But not for me. I think I said the same in another LJ review, but her books are more honky tonk than a honky tonk. Her language is so over the top hick, her cowboys so freaking stereotypical cheesy that it borders on lame. I live in Texas. I grew up in Kansas. I've been around rodeo, ranchers and farmers for my entire life. And still, I feel like I need to take a shower just to wash the hick off of me every time I finish one of her books. Her characters just try way too hard to be cowboy.
[image]
Harsh? Maybe. I'm not sure why I feel so disgusted. This really is a way of life for a lot of Midwestern people. I think the way this particular story played out just rubbed me wrong. It's the reason I don't like menage stories for the most part. I don't mind a menage scene or two in a book before a couple decided to be exclusive. It adds to the titillation, it's sexy as hell. But Hank and Kyle both want Lainie; in fact, they are vying for her for nearly then entire book. And the loser doesn't seem to walk away happy. During the course of the story, they are best friends and then rivals for her attention and time. That's not romance. That's a hooch coming between two men who are thinking with their dicks. It was uncomfortable. And as much as Lainie professes to want to stay impartial, she doesn't. She won't pick between them, so she gets them both. Imagine if the roles were switched and a guy was doing that with two girls...sleeping with them both and telling them that he wouldn't pick. Ha.
One last point of contention for me was (view spoiler)[ when the book ends without any sort of retribution against the guy who tried to rape Lainie. This guy has her pinned against the wall, choking her and telling her if she screams that he'll knock her out and fuck her wherever he wants to while she's passed out. Not only is justice NOT served but LAINIE gets fired from her job for daring to complain. All because this guy is some hot shot bullrider. Both Lainie and Hank put up a token fuss, threaten to sue, but ultimately do absolutely NOTHING. So douchecanoe is welcome to do this to someone else. Not only that, but he also learns that he is free to act as he pleases and his job won't be in jeopardy. (hide spoiler)] Wow. Just...wow.
I rarely give one star...less than twenty in over 1500 books. I will be removing the rest of the series and the Rough Riders series from my tbr. I'm really not the type to continue reading something that I know I won't like just to rag about it in my review. I had hoped that my changing tastes would have allowed me to see this in a different light than I did years ago. I got this from my library's audio digital site, and I have to admit that while the narrator did a fantastic job, there's only so much white trash you can listen to without it sounding utterly hokey and forced. ...more
Oh boy...so dated. This "hero" is something else. When the heroine was 15 years old, he pulls her pants down and spanks her bare ass. Pedo much? I jusOh boy...so dated. This "hero" is something else. When the heroine was 15 years old, he pulls her pants down and spanks her bare ass. Pedo much? I just can't. ...more
Duchess Nicole
>
Books:
1-star-read
(12)
Loading...
