Sunday, January 25, 2009

Man with an Accent & Romance Triggers

I've done a post before about audiobooks and how I mentioned that I prefer male narrators to female because of the way a man can (usually) cant his voice in a way that his female voice doesn't sound ridiculous. It's usually done with less emphasis on the narrator's strong deep voice using a realistic falsetto. On the other hand, a woman narrator lowers her voice to achieve the male voice and it usually sounds too fake to my ears. In other words, a male narrator can swing both ways while a female can't. Plus, I think a man's voice is typically more soothing to listen to than a woman's. 

In addition to what I wrote previously about audiobooks, I was elated to have received a comment from author Lori Foster because I had mentioned that I liked listening to her audiobook, Caught In the Act. She commented that while it was totally not what she had in mind for Mick's voice, hearing a reader/listener's POV was interesting.

In any case, I've been steadily collecting audiobook files from my local libraries and from online sources such as Audible.com. Which, by the way, is pretty much the go-to site for audiobooks. It's pretty user friendly and compatible with pretty much all the most popular MP3s including iPod and I've happily tried out their free trial to get a sense of the site. If you like or are thinking about audiobooks, I suggest you google "Audible free trial" and see for yourself. 

I've listened to Lori Foster's Caught In the Act, some Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunters, Megan Hart, etc. Recently, I've just finished two books that I was very happy with. After I read and loved Christine Feehan's new GhostWalker book, Murder Game, I was delighted to find out that it was also out in audiobook format.

I like the narrator Tom Stechschulte. He does a nice deep voice with a hint of a Southern accent. His female voice sounds a wee bit too high to be just right but it's not bad. Prior to Murder Game, I listened to Stechschulte on another Feehan GhostWalker book, Mind Game. Same results. The "narrator voice" is nice and consistent pretty much all of the time. He gives the "hero voice" a nice alpha male deep quality though like I mentioned before, the "heroine voice" seems a little too high for my tastes. 

However, the recent audiobook I really enjoyed was Phil Gigante narrating Karen Marie Moning's The Dark Highlander. I'm new to the series and The Dark Highlander was the first I read in the series about a month ago. I'm almost all caught up with only Kiss of the Highlander left in my to be read pile. 

I was very excited to see The Dark Highlander out in audiobook, though I was a bit weary. There are a lot of accents needed to pull it off and a good reading of all the faery/fey terms and languages. I read that many people enjoyed Gigante's reading of the books and I wholeheartedly agree. 

He does a fantastic "alpha male" voice with accents that aren't too over done but just enough to really put the listener into the mindset. His "heroine voice" was very pleasant to listen to as well. High enough to be decidedly female, but not too much where I think drag queen or a man who's just been racked and lost all the testerone from his body. In the end, I was able to doubly enjoy the book. I loved it when I read it the first time around, but listening to it bought in another level of enjoyment. I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. 

Audiobooks are just as personal as picking out a romance book. Not all romance works for everybody. And even those readers with similar tastes will differ in what triggers a good read. And fans (even the diehard ones) will disagree on what makes a particular book in a series good. So, I think that the first step in exploring the genre of Romance is to find out what triggers work for you as a reader.

I've had friends and people I've met at the local Borders ask for recommendations before. I always start off with, "Well, what do you like to read? A sweet contemporary romance, paranormal, action/adventure, etc?" And even if they answer "Paranormal" I will then go on to ask, "what kind of paranormal? Vampires, were-animals, time travel, fey, or combinations of many paranormal elements."

Personally, I've come to recognize my triggers in what makes a good read and keeper copy versus a so-so romance. And it's funny now that I've found out what works for me because I would never have thought that about myself. It really draws a line between a fantasy world in a book and the real world.

For instance, one of my Good Read triggers is the endearment. I've found that most (but not all) romances that I've come to really enjoy usually has the pet name element. I prefer the hero giving it to the heroine. Some Highlander/Historical romances include generics such as "sweet" or "love." I'm also a fan of the "baby" though I think that sometimes an author can overdo that one. A hero really has to be written as a total alpha to pull off "baby" in my opinion. Like Ward's fourth Black Dagger Brotherhood book and how Butch calls Marissa "baby." Lora Leigh is also quite fond of that endearment. And given that all her males are alphas to the extreme, I think it works. This is a weird trigger (I readily agree), but for some reason, it works for me.

Another trigger for me is the Ball Buster heroine. It's a Bad Read trigger for me. I won't say that 100% of all the super strong heroines that can be categorized as a ball buster automatically became bad reads for me, but I've come to find out that authors usually have a hard time showing a vulnerable or softer side to that kind of heroine. Some are successful though, but not all and for that, I'm not a fan of reading a heroine that doesn't show a softer edge. I can't really connect with those characters. 

This came as a surprise to me because as a relatively young romance reader, (as opposed to the middle aged/married/moms that people think of as the Romance genre audience) I thought I would appreciate the strong female lead. But I learned quickly that there was a fine line to walk between strong and ball buster. And while I really appreciate a heroine that goes after what she wants, I don't like one that doesn't have a softness to them. 

Another Bad Read sign is a lack of conversation during the intimate scenes. Now, I'm not saying that I need the hero and heroine to have a full out conversation during sex. What I find visually boring, and therefore usually has my eyes skipping over parts, is reading a sex scene in which there are paragraph after paragraph (and sometimes page after page) of straight up description of the actions. I like/need words exchanged between the hero and heroine here and there. Little phrases, not conversations. Stuff like a hero asking a heroine if she likes what he's doing or him verbally encouraging her reactions or praising her during sex. Without some conversation to break up the monotony of plain ol' description. 

Finally, I wrote earlier in a review that the ultimate Good Read Indicator was the "how will this end happily?" feeling. It's a tightening in my chest as I'm reading and even though I know that as a Romance book, it logically must end happily, a good author will write twists within the plot that make me wonder how that happy ending will occur. It is happening less often more me now that I'm reading so many romances these days, but I will admit that the feeling happens when I least expect it to. Like my post on Nalini Singh's Slave to Sensation. I really didn't expect to get that Feeling when I was reading a first time author's introductory book into a new series. But I did. And I'm get the Feeling from authors that I least expect it from and sometimes, sadly, less from authors who used to give me the Feeling.

Like I've said before many a times, Romance is a vast genre to explore but a very personal one at that. And now, as I'm enjoying Romance on a new platform via audiobooks, I'm finding that listening to Romance is just as personal as reading it.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Secondary Romances

Since Lori Foster is publishing her latest SBC Fighters, My Man Michael, I decided to pick up my copy of Causing Havoc to get in the mood for the January 27 release date. When I was reading Causing Havoc, I got to thinking about secondary romances.

In Causing Havoc, the main couple is Dean and Eve but there is a secondary romance that occurs between Dean's fellow fighter, Gregor, and Dean's youngest sister, Jacki. Jacki was a character that was rife with body image. Tall and not particularly well endowed up above, she's a character that doesn't know her own appeal and doubts Gregor's attraction to her. So while their courtship is layered in miscommunication with Gregor ultimately letting her know that he loved her and her body for just the way it was, I found their romance to be sweet but ultimately too short to feel satisfied. 

In best case scenarios for secondary romances, that's how I feel: Like the romance was too short. However, more often than not, that's not how I feel. I finish the book and feel like the author didn't have enough plot to write an entire novel about one couple and threw in the second couple to pad the book. Plus, I'll feel cheated out of the main couple by having to suffer through pages of another couple's course to a happy ending.

In my readings, I've found that Susan Elizabeth Phillips is particularly fond of this secondary romance device. The second couple is usually a family member or close friend of either the hero or heroine and they go through quite an elaborate courtship. In Causing Havoc, Gregor and Jacki's romance was short, maybe less than twenty pages all together. However, for Phillips, her secondary couple will go through an entire courtship and sometimes I find myself flipping ahead to see when I'll get back to the main couple again. 

I basically don't like secondary romances for reasons I've stated above. I've heard from some readers that they like them because it's like getting a novella within the larger book. Those who like secondary romances feel like they're getting a two for one deal. But for me...eh, it's not my thing. I feel gypped that either 1) the main couple's courtship is getting pared down because there's not enough content to write about or 2) the secondary couple is better than the main couple and they're not getting enough page space.

Personally, when I read a romance, the couple described on the back cover is the only story I want to read about. Do I want a good supporting cast to round out the book? Yes. But do I want to have a part of the book cut out to make room for another couple that could best serve their purpose in their own book or a novella? No. Just give me the story I signed up for when I bought the book, thank you very much.

P.S. I am very much looking forward to My Man Michael. Especially since it appears that she's added in a paranormal twist with the heroine...

Friday, January 16, 2009

From Great to Mediocre

During the holiday season, Lora Leigh was featured in a anthology, The Magical Christmas Cat. (Extremely cheesy title, I know, but go with it...) Now, anything Lora Leigh is basically an instant read for me (except for the August brothers, but that's another story). So, I was very excited for another Breed novella. But what hooked me in was a new author, Nalini Singh

I'd seen her books on Border shelves before but I wasn't interested because I felt like the graphics was poorly done and therefore didn't catch my eye. Yes, covers are that important. I do judge a book by the cover. But when I read the anthology, I didn't recognize the name and I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

It was a basic were/shape shifting story that featured animals. But the thing that really hooked me in instead of wincing at the attempt to be another Lora Leigh was the description of the animal counterpart. For the Breeds, and for most other "were" stories, the animal is the man. There is no separation between the two. For the Breeds, they are man spliced with animal DNA. Other explanations for it is the typical "infection" or conversion explanation, and other more fantasy inspired explanations such as alien or just a separate being from humans.

What made this unique was the description that man and cat were separate but equal. Make sense? The character would speak of the cat (or whatever animal) as a separate entity within them even though they are part animals from birth. So in the anthology story, Stroke of Enticement, the hero speaks of his leopard like a personality within his personality. Sounds confusing when put like that, but basically the cat will react to things that the man might find unnecessary. Unlike the Breeds who are animal, these weres have a separation between the animal and man. 

For instance, when the hero, Zach meets the heroine for the first time it's written like this: "Her delectable scent whispered over on disturbed air currents, ruffling the leopard's fur in the most enticing way. He barely bit back a responsive groan. Sometimes, adults had trouble with the cat too." (Singh, 10). Zach's cat is written very clearly as having his own reactions and pleasures. Another example of how these weres are different is how Zach can feel the rough rasp of his leopard's fur on the inside of his skin. This new way of writing the were story was very interesting to me. 

So, I picked up the series.

I loved the first story, Slave to Sensation. Absolutely loved it. It was the first in a long time since I read a story that gave me the sign of a good story. For me, the sign is a clenching of my stomach and a big question mark about the ending even though in the back of my mind I know that the book must end happily for the couple because it is a romance book. I was really into the story even though I was slightly confused about the state of the world and the differentiation about the Psy and changelings, and humans. But after a while, the story became about the hero and heroine, Lucas and Sascha, and the dangers of their world. 

The connection of the characters was strong with each being confused and cautious about the other. There was a great layer of "hidden facts" to which the reader was privy to but the characters did not know about each other. I liked how this mystery of Sascha's ability to feel emotions (as a Psy, she responds to logic and necessity not emotions and wants) wasn't drawn out. Lucas had his suspicions and even though his initial responsibility was to his pack, being Alpha, he later turned his allegiance to include Sascha as his number one. 

Basically, I loved the twists and turns and was thoroughly delighted in finding out that his debut novel had more than one stumble block on the way to a happy ending and that the reader was left wondering how that ending will occur all the way up until the end. It's hard to keep a jaded romance reader guessing all the way up the end. (One of the reasons I love J.R. Ward. She has an uncanny ability to get the reader wonder "How the hell will this end happily?")

No surprise that I was made an instant fan once I read Singh's first full length book. I simply adored Lucas and Sascha. I rushed out to buy the next book. When I finished it I felt...eh. It was okay. Okay, but definitely lacking. Not bad enough that I would drop the series. So, I plowed onto the third book. And then the fourth. By then, I was flipping through the pages of so-so scenes and just getting to the end. 

I loved seeing Lucas and Sascha and other Pack members come into successive books and make a strong appearance as secondary characters, but I felt like Singh was way too caught up in developing this future world. For one thing, discoveries made in the first book were made and/or explained again and again in following books. It got repetitive and redundant (and repetitive and redundant...) and the connection of the characters took a back seat. 

While there are romances that have a plot take precedent and the characters secondary (like in J.D. Robb's In Death series where the crime is the driving force of the story and Eve and Roarke's story is secondary), Singh didn't start off that way and I was expecting character first and plot second in her series. I felt like the level of the connection between the hero and heroine was never matched to that of Lucas and Sascha. I understand that not every couple in a series will measure up, but something in Singh's writing just tapered off from great to mediocre. 

Where did she loose me as a loyal reader? Besides the redundant facts and discoveries, the complexity of the plot was never achieved to the level of the first book. And I never got that gut clenching feeling while reading her books again. I lost that feeling I mentioned before. And for me, I was disappointed. 

All the elements that made Slave to Sensation great wasn't apparent in full force with the other books. The first book was a delightful combination of mystery, humor, and feeling thrown in with a protective super Alpha male who loved his heroine with depth, and a heroine who wasn't afraid to fight for what she believed in (and for her man) but was still able to be seen as vulnerable to the harsh realities of the world. The equation that made the first book wonderful was absent in the books that followed.

Singh has created an interesting world with good characters but the spark that I felt from the first book slowly fizzed out with each successive book. Do I think she's still worth reading? Yes. I think many fans of paranormal romance will find something unique about Singh and the evolution of her writing is evident. Her more recent books show this explicitly through her sexual descriptions. With Lucas and Sascha it was much more metaphorical and the "heat factor" was a bit toned down when compared the other more established writers. But in the later Changling books, readers can pick up where Singh explored a more direct way of writing sex as her characters got bolder. 

I honestly could not recommend Slave to Sensation more. It definitely sits as a reread copy on my bookshelf. But would I recommend the entire series without tagging on a caveat? No. 

I can understand how Singh has so quickly built up a fan base while I will continue to be devoted to the first book, I won't be so eager to buy any future publications unless I find them for free on BookMooch or fifty cents (or a dollar) at the library bookstore. I own four plus a novella and while I can appreciate new talent, I feel like the series didn't live up to the debut.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Twin; Version 2.0

I had a previous post in which I covered erotica and mentioned Lora Leigh's Bound Hearts series, Wicked Pleasures. I had also mentioned that I was looking forward to the story of Chase Falladay, the twin brother of Cameron who was the hero in Wicked Pleasures.

But when I finished I was disappointed. However, I wonder if I did Chase's book an injustice by rereading Cam's first. I had originally picked up Wicked Pleasures the night before to get in the mood for that story line. But when I started reading Chase's book, I found myself doing too much comparison of the two stories. Which, by the way, isn't hard to do since they are twin brothers and pop in and out of each other's stories. 

I will say that when I originally read Cam's book, I wasn't all that fond of it. I liked it, sure, but I wasn't closing the book on the last page wishing that there was more. I originally felt that Cam's story was fine. However, a year(ish) later, I came to pick up Cam again and enjoy him much more. So I wonder if this is the same case with Chase's story. But I still have some critiques about his book, Only Pleasure.

The plot is thin in my opinion. The heroine, Kia, was mentioned in previous Bound Hearts books as being a minor threat in the exposure of The Club's secrets. Kia's ex-husband brought in a third into their relationship without telling or asking his wife and subsequently led to the attempted rape of Kia. Okay, I was pretty excited about how this would play out. I thought it would be interested in seeing how Chase would protect Kia from her ex-husband and steal her heart in the process.

I liked Chase from Cam's book. I thought that the more easy going Falladay brother would be a fun read, his slightly lighter personality making for a different tone and feel than his brother Cam. But I didn't find that was the case. 

Though it was obvious from the get-go of Cam's book that the presence of Chase wouldn't be permanent, I still thought Chase was a good character. He had been puzzled and hurt about the broken bond between him and his brother and he did provide for a few fun moments in which he teased Cam about falling in love. I expected that Chase would be dominant, protective, and possessive, but slightly lighter hearted than the dark Cam. It worked for their twin dynamic. One darker, one lighter.

But when it came for Chase's book, it was like Cam all over again with one exception: There wasn't much of a reasoning for Chase's darkness. With Cam, it was understood that he kept the sharing lifestyle with Jaci because he was afraid of what loving his woman would mean to his heart. Cam kept his past sexual abuse a secret and the presence of his brother as the third in the relationship helped Cam keep his emotional distance from Jaci. 

But what bugged me about Chase's book was that I felt the explanation for his darkness wasn't all that plotted through. Even though there was a thin excuse that because he was the one who killed Moriah, the "villain" from the previous book, Chase made it sound that the darkness was always in him. And yes, those who read Cam's book will see that the Brockheims feature in Chase's book as well. Though I could see the logical progression plot-wise, as a reader, I thought it was too predictable and not original. I felt like Chase just got the leftovers of Cam's story and that the plot just continued through one brother to the next. 

All in all, I just didn't feel that there was sufficient explanation on why Chase had such demons in him. The details of Chase's past was glossed over on and if his previous occupation was supposed to be a factor in his present personality, that wasn't ever really fleshed out. I was disappointed because when I read the small glimpse into Chase's past, I was intrigued but it never got explained.

I also found Kia to be lacking as a well rounded character. Yes, she suffered a traumatic experience with her ex and withdrew into herself to lick her wounds. But other than that, I didn't see a lot of character development. She was a little flat to me. I didn't feel too much for her even though I tried. I was able to relate more to Jaci's longing and hurt in Cam's rejection than I did for Kia. Kia was also almost like a Jaci version 2 like Chase is for Cam. Kia feels hurt that Chase doesn't spend the night with her, hold her, etc...blah, blah, just like Jaci worried about Cameron. There was too much mirrored in the previous book in terms of how the characters were written for me to feel like Only Pleasure stood out on its own.

I think a big problem with me really loving this book was the timeline of Chase and Kia's sexual relationship. In the beginning of the story, they meet (again) and suddenly Kia's agreeing to a no strings pleasure session with Chase and Khalid. And then the story just took off like that. With both Kia and Chase refusing to accept what they have together and though Kia vows she won't succumb again, Chase always coaxes her back into bed. It was boring, in all honesty. There wasn't the spark there for me.

There was one big difference between Chase and Cam though. It was made obvious that for Chase and Kia, the addition of a third in their relationship would continue well after their happy ending, unlike Cam and Jaci's monogamous relationship. I think that worked for the two characters. It was obvious that Cam needed the sharing for the distance while Chase enjoyed it for the pleasure. So, I did like that distinction between the brothers. 

What did I enjoy? The appearance of Cam and Jaci throughout the story. Chase and Cam still have their shared warehouse converted into a large apartment with Chase's part sectioned off upstairs. And since Cam and Chase works for Ian Sinclair, there were appearances while they worked as well. It was really a great payoff to see Cam settle down, smile, and really enjoy his time with his now fiancee, Jaci. Those who read the previous book will be happy to see slight mentions of Cam and Jaci's life that would otherwise be overlooked by the newcomer. For example, there are mentions of Cam having purchased a new bed and sofa and sweet moments such as the two of them decorating their Christmas tree. In addition, those who read Cam's story will like seeing how Cam treasures Jaci and how he enjoys the little things in life now, such as cuddling with Jaci and sharing his bathroom space with her. 

What also made me really happy to read in Only Pleasure? Khalid. Those who have followed the Trojans since they were with Ellora's Cave will love to see a strong presence of Khalid. As Chase's third and a heavy secondary character, we see a new side the to the man who's normally described as the bastard son of a Middle Eastern prince who is a playboy and lives for a good time. Here, as a set up for his own story, we are given a glimpse at what makes Khalid tick and what might bring in his future. Oh, and the connection of Kia and Khalid isn't anything out of the blue, anyone reading the story can easily predict what had occurred between the characters in the past. 

For me, unfortunately, I was much more excited about the secondary characters and future stories than I was about Chase and Kia. I felt that their characters were not fleshed out. Basically, I thought the story was a skeleton plot told between pages upon pages of sex with under developed characters. Of course the sex is to be expected, but I just felt like the sex was the driving force of the book, not the characters. For a story like this to work for me, the sex needs to serve a purpose. And for Chase and Kia, I felt like the sex was steering the story and everything else took a backseat. Between Chase and Cam...my choice is still Cam.

I felt that the cover was sexy and I liked the bright orange color that really catches the eye. However, I have seen the identical cover art used in another book and that always makes me disappointed when covers are repeated. 

So, Only Pleasure...it's an okay read for those who are used to the series and the characters but not for those who are new because there are a lot of connected facts that makes things easier to understand if one has read the previous book.

Last thing...Kia to me is a car, not a woman's name. I can appreciate authors using different and unique names to make their characters stand out but I just didn't like her name. And for me, unfortunately, if I don't like the name of a character, I have a hard time getting past that. A name is really important for me, especially how the name looks on the page of the book. And while I love the name Chase, Kia is for something on four wheels, not a great heroine. 

---
2.5 out of 5: So-so read but plot was thin and characters under developed. Those who are fans to the series will enjoy the secondary characters and the hints of the next book.