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CUFFED BY CANDLELIGHT - Various Authors Parker Publishing/Passion February 2007 |
SYNOPSIS: What do a farmer in the past, a correction and police officer in the present, and a bounty hunter in the future have in common? A desire that won't abide by the rules of engagement in these four erotic tales of women bound to uphold the law and obey the rules from Beverly Jenkins, Gwyneth Bolton and Katherine D. Jones.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE |4| La-Tessa Montgomery
REVIEW: In "Prisoner" by Beverly Jenkins (4+) we are introduced
to Elizabeth Franklin and Jordan Yancy, two souls who find themselves in
dire situations in which a marriage of convenience is the only way out.
In order to gain the title of her land, Elizabeth must turn a profit by
the spring. But since her husband left her for another woman, she
realizes that she will have a hard time working the 60 acres by herself.
Jordan Yancy is a convicted felon slated to die for a crime he didn’t
commit. If they agree to marry, Jordan will escape the gallows and
Elizabeth will have help harvesting her crops. What Elizabeth doesn’t
count is Jordan also showing her the passion that can exists between a
husband and wife.
"Prisoner" the first story that I’ve read by Beverly Jenkins, and I was
a bit apprehensive at first considering historical romances are not my
cup of tea. But I must admit, I really enjoyed this story. The
characters are well written and endearing; the setting comes to life,
painting the backdrop to the story; and the passion is definitely hot.
Elizabeth and Jordan are an excellent pair of leads and have great
chemistry. Elizabeth is strong and unwavering in the face of obstacles-
she was in a passionless marriage, abandoned by her husband, and left to
marry a convicted felon in order to save her land. Jordan is an imposing
figure that will stop at nothing to defend those in need, but he is also
very gentle, patient and loving. The pacing is spot on, even though this
is a novella, I did not feel cheated out of a full story or rushed. The
author does a great job of telling the story and bringing it to a
satisfying conclusion. Overall, "Prisoner" an excellent story. Ms.
Jenkins weaves a wonderfully passionate story with great characters
In GUNS AND ROSES by Katherine D. Jones (1+), we meet Stephanie Gunn and
Bryant Wilson. Stephanie is a hard working corrections officer who can’t
seem to stop dreaming Bryant, who happens to be the brother of one of
the inmates, and all the sinful things she would like to do with him.
While Bryant is tired of visiting his little brother in jail, seeing
Stephanie definitely makes each trip more bearable. When Bryant’s
brother turns up dead and Stephanie overhears a conversation not meant
for her ears, she begins to think that something shady is going on in
her jail. As Bryant and Stephanie work together to uncover the mystery,
they must also deal with the fierce attraction they seemed to have
developed for each other.
My major issue with this story is its pacing. For a novella, the story
moves too slow and I fail to buy into the leads relationship early on.
There are just too many unnecessary details in the story that serve no
purpose, other than slowing the story down and taking away from the
lead’s interactions. The story’s slow pace
is further compounded over thinking and narration.
As far as the leads go, I found it hard to champion their relationship.
For one, I felt it was highly inappropriate for them be constantly
lusting after one another when the death of Bryant’s brother was center
stage. I also found the circumstances around their first encounter to be
rather disturbing. I really questioned Stephanie’s judgment to become
intimate with a man she hardly knew who just showed up on her doorstep
unannounced. The fact that Bryant admitted to Googling her address
struck me as weird and stalker-ish. The slow pacing and shortened length
of the story left me feeling like the romance element of the story was
forced. The leads are constantly running hot and cold which only
irritated me and distanced me further from this couple.
In my opinion, this is weakest story in the anthology. As the reader, I
am supposed to suspend reality, but this was a difficult task. The plot
is not very believable, the leads are unappealing, and the author’s
writing style just doesn’t appeal to me. In short, GUNS AND ROSES comes
across as a full length novel that was edited down in haste to become an
addition to the anthology.
The heroine of Gwyneth Bolton's "Handcuffs Mean Never Having to Say
You're Sorry", Tamara Downing is working hard to bring down a corrupt
music exec. But just when she feels that she is making progress, the DEA,
in the form of Lance King, step in and pull rank on her case. Tamara is
piping mad and will not take this laying down. It does not help matters
that all of a sudden, Lance King is back in her face. Tamara has been
avoiding Lance every since their first sexual encounter 10 years ago.
She now prefers to hide her feelings for Lance in a cloud of hate, but
Lance is tired of the cat and mouse game and plans to lay his heart on
the line. Will Tamara acquiesce to their mutual love, or just keep
running?
Ms. Bolton delivers a sexy urban love story, with a hip hop edge in
"Handcuffs Mean Never Having to Say You're Sorry". Tamara and Lance have
chemistry and their love scenes are certainly steamy and passionate. The
saying “It a thin line between love and hate” is very true in this
story. Tamara has such strong feelings for Lance bordering between these
two emotions, that she doesn’t know which way is up. The story moves at
a good pace and captured my interest from the beginning. The secondary
characters help to move the story along, without bogging it down.
Overall, I enjoyed this story, but I couldn’t help but feel a little
rushed. While the chemistry that Lance and Tamara share is undeniable, I
didn’t necessarily feel the romance between the two. I also came away
from this story feeling that the lead characters development was
sacrificed a bit because of the time restrictions. This left the ending
feeling rushed and forced.
All in all, I recommend CUFFED BY CANDLELIGHT to all who like their
romance hot and steamy. It’s an easy read and perfect for when you have
a little time to yourself.
reviewer@romanceincolor.com |20th March 2007