Let me start on a positive note: although I didn’t like this book, there were things I liked about Ms Tenorio’s writing. There is an energy to her prose that is appealing, and she is funny (always helpful when you write romantic comedies). However, for me, this book just didn’t work: the story was weak and I didn’t believe in the two main characters.

The Plot

Travis and Vetta are research scientists who have known each other since college. They are ‘best enemies’. You know the kind: they bicker and fight all the time but there’s a strong underlying friendship. They share lab space and have neighbouring apartments. Vetta is researching whether men are driven by sex or money and Travis is researching the effect of hormones on ovarian cancer.

Vetta comes from a phenomenally wealthy family. Her father owns a huge pharmaceutical company and her mother is a Swedish actress and all-round sexpot. Vetta lives with her ‘nanny’, Jade, a manipulative mother-hen. Travis, by contrast, comes from an ordinary background and has recently run out of research money.

At the start of the book, we learn that Vetta is gathering questionnaires from potential subjects. To annoy her, Travis submits one with snarky answers and obscene cartoons. We learn that Vetta intends to select a candidate from the questionnaire respondents and offer him a million dollars if he will agree to have no sex for a year. The candidate in question will have to give regular sperm samples and keep a diary.

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Grade A-

This book blew me away. Just like LE Bryce, who sold me on something I thought I could never enjoy, Ms. Midway introduced me to BDSM, and what’s more, she made me like it. Well, the book. Not BDSM. Ms. Midway didn’t come to my house and say, “Love my book, bitch!” and then top me into submission. Love My Way did that on its own.

Before now, I’ve never read a BDSM story that I liked. I always found it vaguely incomprehensible and sort of disgusting that a sane, healthy, modern woman would want some man as her master. To my way of thinking, that attitude took us back two hundred years when we’ve fought so hard to get this far. I can say now, I just didn’t understand the Lifestyle.
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[Reviews by Annie Dean]

Dear John

Grade: C-

Dane Harley was poor white trash wrapped in Goth girl giftwrap. John Stratton lived in a big Victorian house on the hill. In their misspent youth, they ran wild together. Ten years ago, she left him in the lurch because of some crazy shit John’s daddy said about her ruining John’s future. Okay, so maybe I can buy she would be that simpleminded as a teenager. At 17, I bought into some pretty dramatic shit. So she takes off and cuts ties to her hometown of Chatham Village.

Now she’s back for the high school reunion and she hasn’t seen her best friend Roxy in all those years. They haven’t spoken either. Instead of calling her a thoughtless bitch and slamming the door on her, Roxy invites Dane in for some heavy drinking and girl bonding. They relive old times and go through the yearbook together. Read an old love letter John sent Dane. Of course they decide Dane should look John up and make amends for…yep, you guessed it. Writing him a ‘dear John’ letter.

Ms. Kent’s writing style in this story doesn’t rock my world, but it doesn’t annoy me either, although it occasionally veers toward the purple. On page 23, the heroine “practically screamed at him” and then at the bottom “she screamed at him, trembling with self-hatred”. That’s a little florid for my tastes.

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[Review by Annie Dean]

Grade: B+

First, let me say, the cover is hot. [Ed. Note: I second that. This cover is fierce!] After reading this story (and one by Diana Bold that I reviewed for RRT) I moseyed over to Cobblestone and did some shopping. Across the board, they have gorgeous cover art. (Diana Bold is now on my auto-buy list by the way. So is Sara Dennis.) Let’s talk about why.

Stacking the Deck offers a champagne and shrimp cocktail take on paranormal urban fantasy / romance. Though we’re all sick of the Cheez Whiz and Yoohoo version, her supernatural creatures manage to be fresh and entertaining. I hate werewolves with a passion and I even sort of liked the villain of the story, Samantha’s ex-boyfriend. Too often villains are one-dimensional and just ridiculous caricatures (You hear me, Anne Stuart? I’m talking about your crazy Scooby Doo millionaire from Cold as Ice.) Ms. Dennis avoids this trap neatly with Duff. Will you hate me if I say I kinda liked him more than Alec?

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