Vivid sex scenes with attention to the heroine’s pleasure, but characterization remains problematic.
A college sophomore and her professor conduct a steamy, forbidden affair in this contemporary romance novel.
It’s a new semester, and sophomore Penny Taylor, 19, meets a handsome young man when he collides with her in a coffee shop, spilling a cold beverage on her shirt. He gives Penny his sweater in compensation. The next day, Penny—a marketing major who dreads public speaking—slides into her seat for Comm 212—Oral Communication in Business. The good-looking stranger turns out to be her professor, James Hunter. Tyler Stevens, an attractive fellow student, invites Penny to a fraternity party, where she enjoys dancing and kissing him. But when Tyler ignores her “no” to sex and holds her down, she knees him in the groin, getting called a bitch in return. Leaving the party in tears, Penny is intercepted by Hunter, who offers her a ride home; when he assumes she’s a senior, she doesn’t correct him. The two soon begin flirting, sometimes in class. As the semester goes on, the dalliance between Hunter and Penny ripens into a full-blown erotic affair, featuring rough, often semipublic sex that she loves. Trust issues and miscommunication get in the way, but as the novel ends, hope remains alive for the couple. Their story continues in three more volumes. Smoak (A Whirlwind of Color, 2018, etc.) provides evocative, well-written (avoiding twee or overly crude phrasing) sex scenes for those who appreciate male dominance and the thrill of almost getting caught. For some, these pluses will be sufficient, but the book is filled with romance-novel clichés: accidental first meeting; obstacles that a moment’s communication could clear up; the hero’s enormous wealth; his reason for liking Penny (she’s not afraid to speak her mind). The main characters have puzzling flaws: Hunter is a terrible professor, running his class like a group therapy session and announcing proudly that he’s an easy grader who wants students to think of him as a “peer.” Penny, meanwhile, easily accepts Tyler’s apologies for her near rape and comes to consider him a best friend.
Vivid sex scenes with attention to the heroine’s pleasure, but characterization remains problematic.Pub Date: April 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5151-4688-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 5, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Most likely to appeal to readers looking to see just how far the “enemies to lovers” trope can be stretched before it snaps.
A married couple’s long years of feuding come to an end in this romance debut.
In her first season, Lady Violet Grey was caught unchaperoned on a balcony with Lord James Audley. Although they only engaged in mild flirting and friendly banter, he immediately offers to marry her rather than see her ruined. The timeline jumps forward five years to a couple in great distress. Even though they were celebrated as a great love match, a year into the marriage they had a bitter fight that neither could forgive or forget. The chilly, uncomfortable silence lasts for four years, only breaking when Violet receives a note informing her that James was knocked unconscious after falling from his horse. She realizes she still loves him and rushes to his bedside, but he’s fully recovered by the time she arrives. Furious and convinced he played her for a fool, she decides to fake an illness of her own to show him how it feels. Their friends and family encourage them to talk to each other rather than plot and plan, but they are too afraid to trust each other after all the years of discord. Waters is a gifted writer. She deploys sharp, incisive prose to describe each character’s inner world, showing how each is a product of their upbringing and class. James resents being the neglected second son while Violet chafes at the bounds of feminine propriety. It’s clear the novel is attempting to create a comedic War of the Roses–style game of one-upmanship, but readers might lose patience as James' and Violet’s immature antics drag on. It’s difficult to root for characters so committed to nursing their feelings of resentment, animosity, and persecution.
Most likely to appeal to readers looking to see just how far the “enemies to lovers” trope can be stretched before it snaps.Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9821-3611-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With a clear setup for future adventures, this novel promises to become a likable series.
Philadelphia homicide detective Bree Taggert is a tough, fair, and unemotional professional, but when her younger sister is murdered, Bree must confront demons past and present.
When Bree was a child, her abusive father killed her mother and then himself. Bree’s sister and brother were sent to live with one relative, Bree to another. But when Bree gets a panicked call from her sister, Erin, she rushes to their upstate New York hometown, where Erin is still living, only to find that Erin has been murdered—and Erin’s husband, Justin, is missing. Complicating matters is Matt Flynn, Justin’s best friend and a former cop and K-9 handler of his dog, Brody. Matt, who was forced to retire after being injured, firmly believes Justin is innocent. He, Bree, and Brody join forces to find out the truth, dealing with everything from suspicious characters to Bree’s own traumatic past—a past that includes a very sound reason for her fear of dogs. And just when Bree realizes she will upend her own life to care for Erin’s two children, the children’s scheming biological father shows up in town. Leigh, (Whisper of Bones, 2019, etc.) has a genuine talent for creating believable, appealing characters and realistic dialogue. These characters deserve a stronger plot, though readers will probably be content enough to hang out with Bree, Matt, and Brody.
With a clear setup for future adventures, this novel promises to become a likable series.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-0694-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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