Diana Palmer - Our Guilty Secret...

The older, more experienced, commitment-avoiding man is often a Diana Palmerstaple. As is the virginal, innocent (not TSTL) heroine. It's a formula that works for her. But it may not be your cuppa.

Some authors can do experienced, worldly women who are also vulnerable for the right alpha male. Lora Leigh comes to mind. She does alpha heroines combined with alpha heroes. HOT stuff!

But DP is all about nice girls who find themselves attracted to testosterone-laden alpha males and can't begin to imagine that he would be attracted to her. I think that one reason her books are so popular is that most of us can relate to the heroine. We can remember being young once, doubtful that we could ever attract the attention of the captain of the football team. We love the fantasy that under all that beefcake and self confidence, he's a vulnerable, sweet guy, tired of women who demand his attention as their due. He wants that shy, quiet girl who would appreciate being the center of his world, but never expects it.

I do occasionally want to reach into the pages and strangle the heroine for tolerating the hero's attitude and not standing up for herself. But to do battle with him would not be characteristic for a woman who has never been bullied before. It makes it that much more fun when she finally reaches the breaking point and gets in his face. It blows our macho hero right out of the water.

One of my favorite DP stories is Sutton's Way (recently re-issued in The Winter Man duology). She's a virgin, but kinda worldly as the lead singer in a rock band. He's a virgin widower who couldn't stand to sleep with wife he'd married when she was pregnant. It's a great story!

Another atypical DP: Regan's Pride. She's the widow he blames for the death of his cousin. He listened to his evil, twisted cousin's lies about her. This is a wonderful story about a woman healing from abuse and a man racked with guilt for allowing it to happen and for emotionally abusing her himself.

Also not to be missed is Rawhide and Lace. He took her virginity while losing his own. His self doubt was fed by his competitive brother who wanted the heroine. But she ran to New York where she lost the hero's baby in a car accident that crippled her... Another tearjerker!

Review: A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr

The style of this story reminded me of Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street series. Four friends, dealing with the angst we face in real life. The first is nearly the victim of date rape until a big, burly biker rescues her; the second, has a strong marriage, an unplanned fourth pregnancy, and is facing foreclosure on their home; the third, single career woman whose life is all she wants until she's diagnosed with breast cancer... again; and lastly, a woman whose husband adores her but she's not feeling very loved (foreplay consists of, "You awake?") when she runs into an old boyfriend oozing charm.

This heartwarming story reminds us all that we can't judge people by appearances; that we should never be too proud to admit when we need help; that love and laughter really can be the best medicine; and if we want better relationships, we have to change bad behavior, stop tolerating bad treatment, never stop trying to communicate, and never, never, never do anything to destroy trust.

If you're going through tough times or know someone who is, consider the money you'll spend for this book as an investment in encouragement (buy it so you can pass it on).

A Summer in Sonoma, while also set in Northern California, is not related to the Virgin River series. Brand new characters, brand new place. That's good news 'cause there is so much going on there is no space for back story.

Review: Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn

Our story begins with a country girl from a large family. They’re not so poor that they’re begging for alms, but there is no money to pay tuition for her four brothers to continue at Eton. They have rich relations who are going to “help” by seeing to it that the eldest daughter, Annabel, marries a wealthy man. They already have one picked out for her…

Enter the vile villain, an elderly earl desperate to find a broodmare who can produce an heir for him. He already has one heir, his nephew Sebastian (the happy-go-lucky cousin of our hero in What Happens In London), whom he hates. He’s determined to replace the nephew with a son.

Now, so far it sounds like a typical regency plot line, right? Yes, Sebastian and Annabel meet. Well, sort of. They share a kiss without ever knowing one another’s names or their mutual acquaintance with a certain elderly peer. And they would have had a lovely time at the opera if it weren’t for all of London society watching.

Oh, but I forgot to mention that Annabel makes lists. It just helps to break everything down into easily defined parts. It’s really the only way she can keep herself sane as she endures the lecherous attentions of the earl.

And I really should mention that Sebastian has an alter ego. Well, perhaps not really an alter ego. He has a female pseudonym because he’d never receive another invitation should it be discovered that he, a charming rogue received in the best of homes, writes lurid gothic romances.

I first read Ten Things in early June, but wanted to do a quick re-read before writing this review. I found myself reading every word all over again. It’s well-paced and Quinn does an excellent job of setting a scene but does not spend a lot of time describing locations and attire. She knows we’d rather read about what is happening and listening in on conversations (eavesdroppers that we are).

In addition to the handsome hero, the damsel in distress, and the vile villain, Quinn also gives us some colorful secondary characters: Annabel’s grandmother, Lady Vickers, who has found her own ways of making life among London society tolerable; her cousin, Lady Louisa, who embodies London’s unmarried daughters of the peerage; Sebastian’s cousin, Edward, a young buck whose thoughts of the curvy Annabel are anything but respectful; and Harry and Olivia, our hero and heroine from What Happens In London. Now add some very unusual and unexpected plot twists. Julia Quinn is not your typical regency author. So don’t assume situations will be resolved as they would by any other writer. You’re going to be surprised and delighted.

The only thing I found lacking in Ten Things I Love About You? I want copies of the lurid novels penned by Sarah Gorely! If you like contemporaries by Jennifer Crusie, replete with irreverent and unexpected moments of humor, you’ll enjoy Ten Things I Love About You. If you read What Happens In London beforehand, you’ll find Ten Things doubly delicious. This is one of those books that is difficult to read in the office breakroom. You’ll be giggling and then everyone will want to know why…

What's the Draw of Lora Leigh?

Uber LL fan here. For me, she's an auto-buy/guilty pleasure akin to Diana Palmer (not the writing style or content, but the must-have aspect).

For readers who like alpha males, there are none more alpha than Lora Leigh heroes. But perhaps the greatest dichotomy with Diana Palmer books (aside from the graphic sex) is that Lora Leigh's heroines are every bit as alpha as their male counterparts. They might surrender, but they won't surrender easily. And if their man gives them grief, they're gonna give it right back.

So perhaps the biggest draw of Lora Leigh books is that the heroines are the women we want to be if we're ever written into fiction. Her heroes are the men we want in our lives. Strong and honorable, ready to take on the world, but vulnerable with us. Haven't you ever wanted to be some hunk's only weakness?

Loving Lies is the only book she's written for Samhain, though in her blog FAQ, she's assured readers that there will be more Men of Summer stories.

I believe that, whether it's LL or another author, the plot and character development largely depends on the writer's guidelines/editorial requirements of the publisher. Ellora's Cave books, with their larger print and shorter length, tend to focus more on the erotic elements than the plot. That's what EC readers want and expect from EC.

When Berkley took over the Breeds series, they provided the longer length and editorial input needed to make these much more solid, well-told stories.

The Tempting SEALs/Elite Ops books are published by St. Martin's. The earlier books (Dangerous Games, Hidden Agendas, Killer Secrets) were better than the later books. I think LL's writing has suffered in the past couple of years. First, she has dealt with a troubled marriage and subsequent divorce. Second, I think she's become a victim of her own popularity. Her publishers want an endless supply of LL books because they sell well. I don't think the editors provide enough critical input because they don't want to offend her. I think LL fans would all agree that the Elite Ops books aren't nearly as good as the earlier Tempting SEALs books.

LL needs pages to tell a story well. Some authors are capable of writing tight, somehow managing to offer up a well-developed plot with 3-D characters in relatively few pages. LL isn't one of them, as demonstrated by the shallow, mind-twinkie quality of her anthologized stories.

Ultimately, it's about genre. If you like paranormal stories, you might like her Breeds series. Then again... my sister loves shape-shifters, Cole's IAD series, and Showalter's LOTU series, but will pass on the Breeds. She just hates the barb.

If you like romantic suspense, you might like her Tempting SEALs/Elite Ops. Though as I and several others have mentioned, the more recent titles aren't as good as the earlier works. Here's hoping things will get better now that LL's personal life isn't in the midst of a crisis.

If you like extreme erotic romance, including menage stories, you'll like Bound Hearts, the Nauti Boys, and the Men of August (IMO, the August brothers with their psychological profiles, is much darker than most EC romps). The MofA series was published by EC and the focus on sex is readily apparent. The early Bound Hearts books were published by EC, with Berkley taking over beginning with Forbidden Pleasure (book 8). The difference in depth and intensity is easily noticed.

For a complete booklist and more information, check out Lora Leigh's website.

Review: Honeysuckle Summer by Sherryl Woods

Sherryl Woods is never afraid to tackle the really tough issues we face and she always does it with well-researched but sensitively presented narrative and dialog. In A Slice of Heaven, the second book in the Sweet Magnolias series, she addressed the issue of divorced parents dealing with their teen daughter's anorexia. Well, that daughter is all grown up now, married to the boy who really helped her through that difficult time (see Annie and Ty's story in Home in Carolina) and our attention is now focused on her friend Raylene.

 Raylene hid in her husband's Charleston home to hide the bruises. Now divorced, she still hasn't overcome her fears and suffers from agoraphobia and anxiety attacks whenever she leaves the house. Now how is a girl supposed to meet Mr. Right when she's hiding at home?

As always, Woods' narrative makes the problem very real to us, then introduces a compassionate man who makes her feel safe and desirable.

Honeysuckle Summer is such a wonderful conclusion to The Sweet Magnolias series and if you've read one, you'll definitely want to be sure and read them all.

Review: Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas

In this story of the last Hathaway sibling, you'll find all the funny, leap-in-logic dialog you've come to expect from this nouveau riche family. But if you've been following the series, you also know that Beatrix, with her love of ferrets, hedgehogs, and other not-so-typical pets, won't have an easy time of it. And in typical Hathaway fashion, her beloved won't be a poetry-spouting, milquetoast peer.

The courtship of Beatrix is conducted mostly by correspondence between the homefront and a soldier, Christopher, fighting the Crimean War. But it's all a charade because Beatrix is writing on behalf of a flighty friend with whom Christopher is totally smitten. Of course, he returns home to find she's shallow and self-absorbed and completely unlike the letters he received on the battlefield.

Of course, there are those who know who wrote the letters, but no one will tell him. He's frustrated. He's angry. He's been deceived and he wants to wring someone's neck. All he needs is to find out who the victim should be.

And then there's his beloved's friend, Beatrix. She wants to befriend him and domesticate his dog. She's a hoyden who doesn't know how to behave in society. He sees her as a pest and the last thing he wants is to spend any time in her presence. But she sees him as a wounded animal, defensive and ready to attack a person who is trying to help him. And she's determined that she won't give up on him, no matter how cruelly he behaves.

If you've enjoyed Cam and Amelia, Merripen and Win, Harry and Poppy, Leo and Catherine, you'll find some continuation of their stories in Love in the Afternoon, but mostly, you'll treasure every moment with baby sister Beatrix and the man who loves her before he knows her. You'll be reminded of how much fun love can be and how it can heal even the most damaged of two- and four-legged souls.

Jaci’s giving it away

Jaci Burton is giving away an ARC of the last book in the Wild Riders series, Riding the Night.

Go to this page and do as she says (I just love it when she gets all dominant).

http://jaciburton.com/blog/?p=2571