A Hearing Heart
by Bonnie Dee
***
Western romance. Set in turn of the century Nebraska. Catherine leaves her wealthy family in upstate New York for the tiny town of Broughton as a schoolteacher, looking to start her life over after the death of her fiance. Jim, who was born deaf, works in the livery and saloon. One day, Catherine witnesses some drunk men abusing Jim and rescues him. In helping him to recover, she discovers that he is not simple-minded as she has been told, but merely unable to speak or write. She decides to tutor him, and love quickly blossoms between them. But they are constrained by the gap in the social status between them and the disapproval of the town. Things in Broughton are not so peaceful either, with the wealthiest man in town buying up all the land, and Jim can't avoid crossing paths with him.
As romances go, this was a pretty good one. Jim and Catherine are both appealing characters, and the obstacles they face are realistic. After a glut of romances with asshole heroes, it was so nice to find one with a hero as sweet and kind as Jim. The writing is a bit flat at the beginning, but it picks up as the book goes along, and there are some very touching love scenes.
The depiction of his deafness is also pretty good. Catherine starts out trying to teach him to speak, but he doesn't make much progress, so she quickly switches to sign language, which they learn together out of a book. The only thing that was unrealistic was that Jim learned to read lips on his own as a child, with encouragement from his mother. Sorry, that's just not possible, but it does serve to make Jim a more independent, competent character. In any case, lip reading is depicted as not perfect, and there's still a lot he misses, which is more realistic.
Also note this is more erotica than romance. There are a lot of very explicit sex scenes, much more than in a standard romance.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Blind Passion / The Sculptor's Muse
Two e-books this time, both blind guy male-male erotica with supernatural elements.
Blind Passion
by Penny Brandon
***
Steamy, explicit homoerotica set in Australia. Adam is an elementary school teacher, blind since birth. Luke is a bit of rough trade who is assigned to be Adam's reader as community service following a crime he committed. Sparks fly immediately, but even though Adam is assured and competent in his everyday life, he's never been with a guy before. Luke has never had a problem picking up guys, but he can tell Adam wants more than just sex and he thinks Adam will hate him once he knows the truth about his criminal past.
Adam is an appealing character, and I really liked how well adjusted and confident he is. However, he also has a supernatural ability that partially compensates for his blindness: when he has a strong emotional connection with someone, he can see whatever images the other person imagines. Normally I really hate this kind of thing, because it's just an excuse for an author who doesn't know or want to write honestly about blindness. Here, it doesn't so much stand in for normal vision as serve to heighten the bond between Adam and Luke. It was more an annoyance than outright hateful.
The balance between sex scenes and character development is pretty good, although heavier on the sex than the plot, which is slight. Still, an enjoyable read, with some good devo moments.
The Sculptor's Muse
by Emily Veinglory
**
Karl is a rising star in the London art scene when he suddenly goes blind due to a disease. Clarius is his muse, a disembodied spirit charged with inspiring his art. But with his new blind-guy nonvisual senses, Karl notices Clarius, who breaks the heavenly rules by taking physical form and becoming his lover. What could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, and Karl also has a murderous ex-lover stalking him.
I found the devo factor on this one relatively low. The focus throughout the story is on Clarius, not Karl. His illness is never even named or described, just one example of lazy writing. While the premise is quite original, the secondary characters are all stereotypes, and even the two main characters seemed rather flat.
Both these books are extremely sexually explicit, so be warned.
Blind Passion
by Penny Brandon
***
Steamy, explicit homoerotica set in Australia. Adam is an elementary school teacher, blind since birth. Luke is a bit of rough trade who is assigned to be Adam's reader as community service following a crime he committed. Sparks fly immediately, but even though Adam is assured and competent in his everyday life, he's never been with a guy before. Luke has never had a problem picking up guys, but he can tell Adam wants more than just sex and he thinks Adam will hate him once he knows the truth about his criminal past.
Adam is an appealing character, and I really liked how well adjusted and confident he is. However, he also has a supernatural ability that partially compensates for his blindness: when he has a strong emotional connection with someone, he can see whatever images the other person imagines. Normally I really hate this kind of thing, because it's just an excuse for an author who doesn't know or want to write honestly about blindness. Here, it doesn't so much stand in for normal vision as serve to heighten the bond between Adam and Luke. It was more an annoyance than outright hateful.
The balance between sex scenes and character development is pretty good, although heavier on the sex than the plot, which is slight. Still, an enjoyable read, with some good devo moments.
The Sculptor's Muse
by Emily Veinglory
**
Karl is a rising star in the London art scene when he suddenly goes blind due to a disease. Clarius is his muse, a disembodied spirit charged with inspiring his art. But with his new blind-guy nonvisual senses, Karl notices Clarius, who breaks the heavenly rules by taking physical form and becoming his lover. What could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, and Karl also has a murderous ex-lover stalking him.
I found the devo factor on this one relatively low. The focus throughout the story is on Clarius, not Karl. His illness is never even named or described, just one example of lazy writing. While the premise is quite original, the secondary characters are all stereotypes, and even the two main characters seemed rather flat.
Both these books are extremely sexually explicit, so be warned.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
In a Soldier's Arms
In a Soldier's Arms (Harlequin American Romance)
By Marin Thomas
*
Is book is okay but I felt a bit cheated at the focus of the story didn't feel like it was on the romance but rather that was incidental.
It is about a nurse whose mother died and her estranged grandmother writes to her to say she has some of her effects. We then follow Maggie's journey of discover her roots which her mother had told her very little about. So there is her relationship with her gran, her Gran's neighbours, her Gran's patients, the clan and them her relationship with the hero of the piece, who is suffering from PTSS and has lost his leg in battle.
He is far more interesting than the Maggie's character but I felt that he was kept at a distance through the story. Also it ended too suddenly for me. I like the romance books that have a final chapter where the romance issues have been resolved and we get an insight as to how they will be together.
The sex scenes were okay but not to many of them because they weren't together enough. They were explicit but in a poetic way.
It was a good read but just didn't hit the spot. We needed more Abram and less Maggie.
Abram is very insecure about his injury and it does border on annoying and doesn't ring true as he is so self possessed in all areas in his life except for his body image.
By Marin Thomas
*
Is book is okay but I felt a bit cheated at the focus of the story didn't feel like it was on the romance but rather that was incidental.
It is about a nurse whose mother died and her estranged grandmother writes to her to say she has some of her effects. We then follow Maggie's journey of discover her roots which her mother had told her very little about. So there is her relationship with her gran, her Gran's neighbours, her Gran's patients, the clan and them her relationship with the hero of the piece, who is suffering from PTSS and has lost his leg in battle.
He is far more interesting than the Maggie's character but I felt that he was kept at a distance through the story. Also it ended too suddenly for me. I like the romance books that have a final chapter where the romance issues have been resolved and we get an insight as to how they will be together.
The sex scenes were okay but not to many of them because they weren't together enough. They were explicit but in a poetic way.
It was a good read but just didn't hit the spot. We needed more Abram and less Maggie.
Abram is very insecure about his injury and it does border on annoying and doesn't ring true as he is so self possessed in all areas in his life except for his body image.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
What Happened in Granite Creek
What Happened in Granite Creek
by Robyn Bradley
****
Koty is an unhappy housewife, married young to a man she thought she loved, but who turned into an abusive alcoholic. Jamie is a wounded Iraqi war vet, a quad amputee. Koty's husband Wayne, in a fit of misplaced patriotism, forces Koty to spend her afternoons "babysitting" Jamie, something neither of them want. But then Jamie and Koty fall for each other, which inevitably sets in motion majors changes for both of them, far beyond what anyone expected.
It's important to note that this is NOT a romance. It's a long meditation on Koty's and Wayne's marriage, and on their three young daughters. The central question is, how did Koty end up in this situation? For this reason, Jamie ends up not being a central character, so the dev factor was a bit low for me, except for the first few scenes of them together. Those are hot. Some of our PD members gave the author some advice, so the descriptions of Jamie's disability are realistic.
Despite the fact that this book isn't really written from a devotee point of view, it's still terrific. The characters are all so realistic and believable, and the quality of the writing is outstanding. It's a heartbreaking story from beginning to end, but utterly compelling. Recommended.
The first section of this book was originally published as the short story, "Support Our Troops."
by Robyn Bradley
****
Koty is an unhappy housewife, married young to a man she thought she loved, but who turned into an abusive alcoholic. Jamie is a wounded Iraqi war vet, a quad amputee. Koty's husband Wayne, in a fit of misplaced patriotism, forces Koty to spend her afternoons "babysitting" Jamie, something neither of them want. But then Jamie and Koty fall for each other, which inevitably sets in motion majors changes for both of them, far beyond what anyone expected.
It's important to note that this is NOT a romance. It's a long meditation on Koty's and Wayne's marriage, and on their three young daughters. The central question is, how did Koty end up in this situation? For this reason, Jamie ends up not being a central character, so the dev factor was a bit low for me, except for the first few scenes of them together. Those are hot. Some of our PD members gave the author some advice, so the descriptions of Jamie's disability are realistic.
Despite the fact that this book isn't really written from a devotee point of view, it's still terrific. The characters are all so realistic and believable, and the quality of the writing is outstanding. It's a heartbreaking story from beginning to end, but utterly compelling. Recommended.
The first section of this book was originally published as the short story, "Support Our Troops."
Saturday, December 31, 2011
What Love Endures
What Love Endures
by Elizabeth Glenn
*
This is a very old Harlequin Superromance (1983), by the same secret dev author who wrote Taste for Love, one of Devo Girl's favorite romances. All of Elizabeth Glenn/Marcy Gray's books are set in small towns in Texas, and all feature heroes with various disabilities. In this one, psychiatrist Mark Bradford is an amputee, having lost his right arm at the shoulder when a psychotic patient shot him. Now a year later, he's returned to the small town where he spent his teen years, working in a mental health clinic alongside JC, who had a huge crush on him as a girl. Now that she's all grown up, can she finally get him to notice her?
The story seems to have such promise, but no, it's an ugly story of a nasty, abusive relationship passed off as romance. Mark is an asshole, the kind of guy who even in the 80s would have been labeled a male chauvinist pig. He says outright that he hates women, and even when he's sweet talking JC, he manages to insult her, calling her "little witch." He's dark and brooding, while she's tiny, waif-like, and the whole childhood crush thing gets played up to a creepy degree, including the oft-mentioned fact that even as an adult she still looks like a child. A lot of romances feature this kind of bitter, angry hero, with the idea that the right woman makes him open up about his feelings and show her his tender side. But in this story, Mark just gets more angry and controlling toward JC as the story goes along.
Early in the story, before they can admit their love for each other, Mark talks JC into a marriage of convenience, he says to keep his many admirers from bothering him. His one condition is that JC never ask him any questions about his family, his past, anything at all. He's also extremely paranoid that the unnamed person who shot him will return. None of this makes any sense, but JC just goes along with it, even as Mark stops speaking to her, and flies into a rage whenever she tries to ask what the hell is going on. Eventually she does try to leave, but he brings her back by force and makes her a prisoner in his house. This is not love, it's abuse. Mark's behavior is excused and condoned, while JC is the one at fault for daring to ask, who is this crazy person I married. Ugh. No "love" should have to endure this kind of behavior.
This was so disappointing, because Glenn is a good writer--she really knows how to linger over the devvy details-- and there are so few romances with amputee heroes. It's really an opportunity missed.
by Elizabeth Glenn
*
This is a very old Harlequin Superromance (1983), by the same secret dev author who wrote Taste for Love, one of Devo Girl's favorite romances. All of Elizabeth Glenn/Marcy Gray's books are set in small towns in Texas, and all feature heroes with various disabilities. In this one, psychiatrist Mark Bradford is an amputee, having lost his right arm at the shoulder when a psychotic patient shot him. Now a year later, he's returned to the small town where he spent his teen years, working in a mental health clinic alongside JC, who had a huge crush on him as a girl. Now that she's all grown up, can she finally get him to notice her?
The story seems to have such promise, but no, it's an ugly story of a nasty, abusive relationship passed off as romance. Mark is an asshole, the kind of guy who even in the 80s would have been labeled a male chauvinist pig. He says outright that he hates women, and even when he's sweet talking JC, he manages to insult her, calling her "little witch." He's dark and brooding, while she's tiny, waif-like, and the whole childhood crush thing gets played up to a creepy degree, including the oft-mentioned fact that even as an adult she still looks like a child. A lot of romances feature this kind of bitter, angry hero, with the idea that the right woman makes him open up about his feelings and show her his tender side. But in this story, Mark just gets more angry and controlling toward JC as the story goes along.
Early in the story, before they can admit their love for each other, Mark talks JC into a marriage of convenience, he says to keep his many admirers from bothering him. His one condition is that JC never ask him any questions about his family, his past, anything at all. He's also extremely paranoid that the unnamed person who shot him will return. None of this makes any sense, but JC just goes along with it, even as Mark stops speaking to her, and flies into a rage whenever she tries to ask what the hell is going on. Eventually she does try to leave, but he brings her back by force and makes her a prisoner in his house. This is not love, it's abuse. Mark's behavior is excused and condoned, while JC is the one at fault for daring to ask, who is this crazy person I married. Ugh. No "love" should have to endure this kind of behavior.
This was so disappointing, because Glenn is a good writer--she really knows how to linger over the devvy details-- and there are so few romances with amputee heroes. It's really an opportunity missed.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Bid for a Wife
Bid for a Wife
by Ann Ruth Nordin
**
review by Aubrey
Circumstances leave Lucy all alone in a strange town in the 18th Century. Keen not to have to return home to her evil twin sister the towns folks marry her off to Brian, who is blind and therefore they recon doesn't have too many options. He turns out to be incredibly sweet and loving and is far from second best. All the characters are very likeable. Brian copes very well with his blindness and the Dev factor isn't too bad, in fact great in some places. There is a thriller edge to the book towards the end. It is ok, not one to read and re read like I do with Taste of Love.
by Ann Ruth Nordin
**
review by Aubrey
Circumstances leave Lucy all alone in a strange town in the 18th Century. Keen not to have to return home to her evil twin sister the towns folks marry her off to Brian, who is blind and therefore they recon doesn't have too many options. He turns out to be incredibly sweet and loving and is far from second best. All the characters are very likeable. Brian copes very well with his blindness and the Dev factor isn't too bad, in fact great in some places. There is a thriller edge to the book towards the end. It is ok, not one to read and re read like I do with Taste of Love.
Blind with Love
Blind With Love, by Becca Jameson
review by Aubrey
I really enjoyed this book but the ending let me down. It is the sort that you cannot wait to bedtime to read it. All the characters are very distinctive from each other, their backstories slipped in so smoothly a real lesson to any authors in learning. The dialogue is natural and not cheesy. The male lead is very sexy and complete, the female lead is easy to identify with. They both are set up by his sister (her best friend). We get straight to the punch, no messing around. The leads are meeting each other in a pivotal moment in their lives where the following day everything will change for them forever. That in itself is a very interesting angle. Their emotions so split between the happiness of finding a soul mate but then the grief that it is too late. What I really hated was the ending. From a Dev point of view the guy gains his sight which didn't need to happen for the story and there is a really annoying twist. The sex scene, although really steamy and originally written was about 20 pages too long for me (or 20% as I read it on my kindle). This probably is just me as it is for the erotic market so it is part and parcel for that genre for the characters to take to their bed of months (or it just feels like that for me.)
But ultimately this book held a fantastic promise that included absolutely everything I would want in a gripping romance story. If I reread it I will just stop at about 80%.
review by Aubrey
I really enjoyed this book but the ending let me down. It is the sort that you cannot wait to bedtime to read it. All the characters are very distinctive from each other, their backstories slipped in so smoothly a real lesson to any authors in learning. The dialogue is natural and not cheesy. The male lead is very sexy and complete, the female lead is easy to identify with. They both are set up by his sister (her best friend). We get straight to the punch, no messing around. The leads are meeting each other in a pivotal moment in their lives where the following day everything will change for them forever. That in itself is a very interesting angle. Their emotions so split between the happiness of finding a soul mate but then the grief that it is too late. What I really hated was the ending. From a Dev point of view the guy gains his sight which didn't need to happen for the story and there is a really annoying twist. The sex scene, although really steamy and originally written was about 20 pages too long for me (or 20% as I read it on my kindle). This probably is just me as it is for the erotic market so it is part and parcel for that genre for the characters to take to their bed of months (or it just feels like that for me.)
But ultimately this book held a fantastic promise that included absolutely everything I would want in a gripping romance story. If I reread it I will just stop at about 80%.
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