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Title: The Sweetest Taboo (Harlequin Blaze, 68) by Alison Kent ISBN: 0-373-79072-4 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.08 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Talented Writer Who leaves You Wanting More
Comment: I'll be perfectly frank with you. I'm by no means a fan of category romance, but I wanted to check out the new Blaze line, so I picked up a whole slew of them just to see what was coming out from this part of the vast Harlequin empire. Sweetest Taboo was the "only" one of these books that I managed to finish, and it still resides on my bookshelf today.
Alison Kent knows how to write sizzling, crackling, wonderfully erotic scenes. I was, at first, shocked and then thoroughly intrigued by her willingness to push the boundaries. And I have to give her credit, she pulls it off with aplomb. She's able to pack her love scenes with raw emotion and a graphically explicit quality that only serves to increase the physical intimacy of these scenes, making them compelling rather than repulsive (as some of the more graphic literature I've read has been.)
She's created a deliciously sensual hero in Sebastian, and contrary to another reviewer, I think she handled the tortured hero aspect of his character quite well. The weakest aspect of the book, however, is the heroine. I didn't dislike her, but the only time that I really liked her or even cared about her was when she was with Sebastian. As well, the plot (revolving around her dual goals to save her grandfather's bar from closing and to have a "no strings attached" affair with her sexy neighbor) was pretty thin. A bit too one note for my tastes. But honestly, I didn't even care because Sebastian was sooooo sexy and intriguing that he was worth every minute I spent reading the book.
The secondary love story between Will and Cali is charming as well and their "best friends become lovers" story provides a wonderful contrast and balance to the hot and steamy love affair between Erin and Sebastian.
If you want a taste of how good the Blaze line "could" be if only they found more talented writers like Alison Kent, then check out Sweetest Taboo.
Rating: 1
Summary: WARNING: not a typical Blaze book
Comment: This book has so many four-letter words and descriptions of self-loving, if you catch my drift, that it is not for people who are looking for the more brassy and sassy fun novel we have come to expect from Blaze.
The hero and heroine never talk, and the other couple cali and her study buddy going at it like rabbits make this little more than a really badly written failed Black Lace erotic novel. It is just page after page of bodily fluids and they never even get to the bed.
Trying to make Sebastian the tortured hero with depth is terrible, because the author just has him repeat what we already know. The start of the book is so slow with the two different male and female perspectives and long solo love fests, that it take pages before they ever even get to be in the same room with each other. Then when they do we get a description of... his BOOTS!! Yes, really. And his bathroom. But not him!
And the whole premise of 'doing the guy' as if he has no feelings whatsoever is just crass. She might as well go to a toy shop if that's all she is looking for.
Save your energy and money! Or buy a Black Lace novel by a really talented writer like Savannah Smythe or Emma holly if you want to see how erotica can actually be good writing too. Alison Kent should lay off the Anais Nin, and learn that good writing, like good lovingmaking, is all about style and rhythm.
Rating: 4
Summary: My First Taste of Blaze
Comment: Having long since given up on the formulaic Harlequin lines in favour of more cutting egde romance, I was brought back through a friend who urged me to give this new line a try. This first foray was more than satisfactory, the writing superb and the story was engrossing. Even her descriptions of Sebastian's GTO were excellent, making it into an almost living entity rather than a machine.
The sex, while definitely off the Richter scale for Harlequin, was still pretty vanilla. I will say, there are shades of Robin Schone in Ms. Kent's emotion-filled scenes, and that's not a bad thing. I especially liked the opening masturbatory scene with Sebastian in the shower was highly erotic and very well-written without being judgemental of his motives.
I throughly enjoyed Sebastian Gallo/Ryder Falco. He was a definite paen to the handsome, brooding heroes of gothic romance novels. The descriptions of him, his clothes, what he thought, made him very real. As a writer, I can completely sympathize with the capriciousness of the creative process. He is a man whom one has to earn the right to love him, since he doesn't love easily. He wasn't quite an alpha male because he definite had his own code of honor when it came to dealing with Erin Thatcher. I would love to read an entire book about his life, especially his time spent in behind bars.
I did NOT like of Erin Thatcher. She was/is everything about a female character I simply can't stand. Anal, insecure, a trust-fund baby with no sense of direction--was she really the kind of brazen and ballsy woman to engage in a torrid affair with her sexy neighbor? Most of the book was spent in her feeling sorry for herself and not being able to decide whether owning an upscale bar in Houston was her life's work. And, talk about reinforcing the notion that women cannot tell the difference between sex and love, Erin Thatcher is the poster child.
I give this book 4 stars because of the secondary characters: Tess and Samantha (the e-mail friends with the good advice), Cali and Will. Their romance would also make a good book, though I was rather disappointed that Cali didn't stick to her guns at the end in terms of the screenplay project. At least Will came to his senses, but still.
I will be reading the other books in the 'Men-To-Do' miniseries to see how the other characters handle their respective romances.
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Title: A Dash of Temptation: Men to Do (Harlequin Blaze, No 72) by Jo Leigh ISBN: 0373790767 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: A Taste of Fantasy: Men to Do (Harlequin Blaze, No 76) by Isabel Sharpe ISBN: 0373790805 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: Fire and Ice: Legal Briefs (Harlequin Blaze, No 65) by Tori Carrington ISBN: 0373790694 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: Game for Anything (Harlequin Blaze, No 71) by Cara Summers ISBN: 0373790759 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: Breathless (Harlequin Blaze, No 57) by Nancy Warren ISBN: 0373790619 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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