Doctor's Delight by Angela Verdenius

Book 1 in the Big Girl’s Lovin’ series

www.angelaverdenius.com

Cherry is getting older and she’s still a virgin. Getting desperate to have her ‘cherry popped’ she contacts Helen at the escort agency, and arranges for a man to meet her at a hotel room. She meets the man there, has wonderful, blow-your-mind sex with him, then pays and leaves while he sleeps. The next day she gets a call from the escort agency saying the man, Damien, got into an accident and couldn’t meet her last night, explaining how sorry the agency is. So who did Cherry have sex with? She finds out when she heads to work (she’s a nurse) and sees the new doctor, Rick Reed. Looks like things at work are about to heat up…

I’d like to start off by saying I really liked the heroine of this story. Cherry is a plus-sized heroine with plus-sized fears and insecurities. I myself am thin, I’ve always been thin, and it’s very likely I will remain thin. I’ve never had to worry about my size, or see models way, way thinner than me prancing about in bras and panties as the only definition of sexy. I felt bad for Cherry because I could realistically see why she was so insecure, and consequently it made the story of her discovering her own self-worth very moving. It was a great idea to pick a plus-sized heroine, because it’s original. A great idea with good execution. Well done, Verdenius!

However, there were some things that dimmed my enjoyment of the story. First, our hero was a bit of a cad. Rick comes off as domineering, crude, and way too forward for my tastes. While I liked how good he was to Cherry at the beginning of the novel, he was kind of an inconsiderate brute. A jerk. A dick. I didn’t like him. And my like for him didn’t grow exponentially throughout the novel, so I ended up with an overall sense of ‘meh’-ness as far as his character was concerned.

The story was a little cliché and moved pretty slowly, but it wasn’t unbearable or completely uninteresting – but it wasn’t a book I was wholly unable to put down and therefore is best read in a few sittings. There was a lot of humor interjected, though the syntax was a little awkward in places. Other than Cherry who was multi-layered and well-developed, the rest of the characters were static, flat, and stereotypical – down to the bitchy, thin girl, the evil teenage boys and the crazy BFFs. I might be wrong in saying this, but I don’t hear that many people making fun of the fat girls at my school, or indeed the fat girls at the pool at my local YMCA. The sheer number of torments Cherry went through seemed a little unrealistic to me, as did Annabelle’s (the skinny bitch) character. Not all of us pretty, skinny gals are bitches; and some fat, pretty or fat ugly women can be. See the stereotype?

Overall, what I had hoped this book would do is not villianize the pretty, skinny, or the fat. While society tends to villianize the fat, this book took a stab at the skinny and I didn’t like that. What I’d hoped was that people of all body types could be embraced in Verdenius’s book, and instead it seemed only the fat were acceptable (especially because such a big deal was made over Annabelle’s size). The prose and dialogue were nothing exceptional and the plot was a little slow, and as already discussed there were problems with the syntax. I did appreciate the humor and Cherry’s character, as well as the uniqueness of the book, but overall it really hit a few nerves with me due to its hypocrisy.

There were a number of demeaning comments made in regards to a skinny woman’s figure that sounded more like spite than anything else. And much as I hate to say this – just like some people can’t help being absurdly fat, some people can’t help being absurdly skinny. There’s a medical condition called hyperthyroidism that can cause women (or men) to end up looking a little like sticks with a lollipop head. You really just can’t eat enough. And some women are simply skinny because they want to be - and that's not bad, just like being fat isn't bad. I wished the book had been universally accepting of figure instead of pinging on the skinny in an effort to make the fat seem better. That’s just as bad as what society does now.

Still, it’s an enjoyable story about a plus-size woman getting her hot, dreamy doctor and I would encourage anyone who enjoys plus-size heroines or who may have some of their own insecurities (like Cherry) to read this book.

You are beautiful.

Favorite Quotes:

There was humor in Helen’s voice. “It depends on what you’re look for in an escort.”

Cherry somehow didn’t think answering “a penis,” would be the correct thing to say.

“Oh dear.” Tim raised the beer can to his mouth. “Something I said?”

“Yes, thank God.” Rick raised his wine glass in salute.

“To the matter at hand,” Maxie said. “Who thinks Annabelle has had so many face lifts that her belly button is now on her face? I always though her lips were a little puckered.”

 “Sexy”ness rating: WHEW!  

Overall Rating: C+

Bottom Line: A good heroine, an ‘eh’ hero, some definite hypocrisy, good humor, awkward syntax, average plot and dialogue, a little slow on pace, unique ideas… did I cover it all?

Pages: 118

Published: May 11, 2011

Genre: Contemporary

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Book 1 in the Demonica series

www.larissaione.com

Eidolon is a demon doctor, and a succubus about to reach his Change. If he doesn’t find a mate soon (and one that won’t kill him twenty years down the road) he’ll go ‘crazy’ and try to impregnate every female in sight. When a human female is brought to his clinic, he has reservations about helping her – especially when he discovers she’s Aegis or a ‘Guardian’ who slays demons to protect the human race. Following his own moral code, Eidolon saves her anyway – but as he does he detects unusual demon energies in her body. The woman is none-to-happy to wake up in a demon hospital, but Eidolon piques her interest and her libido. However, Tayla (our lady-patient) knows she can’t let Eidolon live – after all, he’s evil and a danger to society. But when the lines between good and evil blur, her own side tries to kill her, and her own body betrays her to the demon side will her priorities change?

This book reminds me of how ridiculously, outrageously fun paranormal can be. The hero literally has a magic cock. Yes, out of all 400 pages of this book, that was the thing that jumped out (jumped out?) at me to start this review. Reviewers and readers love to joke about the ‘magic cocks’ we discover in the romance genre, simply because it’s so ridiculous, but usually the magi-cocks are just incredibly large or responsible for boinking the heroine to blissdom with its goodliness. This, my friends, was a truly magic wang because, and I kid you not, the sperm it ejaculates is a super-powerful, fuck-me-now aphrodisiac. Yes. Can you order up men like that? - because if so I’ll take one. Seriously, though, one has to give Ione credit for writing a real magic cock. That takes guts.

Holy hell, this book was sexy. And hilarious. And fun. It reminded me a lot of Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow (love, love, love) in style and voice. There was some sarcasm, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The book was pretty serious in its tone. I liked the premise of Ione’s book, with Eidolon working as a doctor in a hospital yet being an 'evil' demon. Her world-building was very well-done and I really enjoyed reading about different kinds of demons, the Aegis, and the mating/bonding habits of succubus demons once they hit their Change. Eidolon was a great hero, patient, strong, understanding, and supremely loyal. He was endearing in that tortured-hero I-need-help-but-I’m-too-damned-stubborn-to-ask way.  What he suffers for his brother, Wraith, is incredible, but part of me wonders why he doesn’t confront Wraith instead of simply martyring himself. I mean, I can appreciate a good martyr, don’t get me wrong. But I appreciate a good, necessary martyr – when the martyring is unnecessary it just makes said martyr seem stupid even as I was endeared to him for his loyalty.

Tayla was your usual strong, kick-ass heroine but she had some vulnerabilities that made her special. I enjoyed how naturally she came around to the idea that demons, just like humans, weren’t all black or white, good or evil. She was a surprisingly sensitive for a kick-ass demon-slayer and I enjoyed that she didn’t lose her kick-ass-ishness even after she fell in love. Secondary characters, including the Aegis, Gem, Shade, and Wraith were all really well done with depth, humor, and intrigue. The action was smooth, the prose well written, and the dialogue flowed. The only problem I had with the book was the length – I skimmed/skipped about fifty pages in the middle of the book because, honestly, I really wanted to know what happened (the suspense was excellently written) and Ione was taking WAY too long to get there. I was definitely hooked, but Ione might’ve lost me with all those extra pages. Unnecessary.

All in all, it was a great book, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading Shade and Wraith’s books, then take it from there.

Favorite Quotes:

“I'll bet you could make a woman throw out all her toys.” (Tayla)

"You're at Underworld General Hospital. As you can probably guess, we specialize in nonhuman medical care. Our location is secret, so don't ask." (Eidolon)
"UGH ? Your hospital is called 'ugh' ? Oh, that's precious." (Tayla)

“Sexy”ness rating: Wowza – Zing!

Overall Rating: B+

Bottom Line: A fabulous, compassionate hero, a kick-ass, sexy heroine, and all the world to keep them apart. A great book, I would definitely recommend it to any super-natural paranormal lover or anyone who was just trying on the genre. The world building was great and easy to understand even if you’re not a regular wanderer into the paranormal genre.

Pages: 389

Published: June 20, 2010

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Jennifer's Garden by Dianne Venetta

Related to Lust on the Rocks

www.dianevenetta.com

Jennifer Hamilton is stressed. Her mother is dying, Jen is getting married, and she has to keep up with her job as Cardiologist at a local hospital. To top it all off, she has to turn her dirt-packed backyard into a suitable wedding location ASAP because her mother wants to see Jen married in a garden, something her home currently lacks. Desperate to find a landscape artist who can do the job fast and do it well, Jen asks fellow doctor, Michael, for a recommendation. But the man who shows up at her door, Jackson Montgomery, can’t possibly be the landscaper – this scruffy, unsophisticated guy doesn’t even take notes for goodness sakes! With few other choices, Jen hires Jax to take care of the garden. As Jen and Jax grow closer, will Jen calm her unruly emotions and marry Aurelio or will she risk leaving her mother’s last wish unfulfilled by postponing the wedding and trying for true love instead?

So Jennifer’s Garden had a lot of unfulfilled promise. I look forward to reading more from Venetta who is so clearly a very talented writer and I have the feeling this book doesn't show her writing at its best. A bunch of issues decreased my level of enjoyment while reading Jennifer’s Garden. The first, which I will mention only lightly, was the grammatical inconsistency of the book – although this is becoming more common in both indie and publishing house books, it’s still annoying and unacceptable. Being a grammar-policewoman, anything more than three grammar mistakes really starts to bother me because I expect more from my authors, editors, and publishers.. So that’s something to make note of – if missing quotation marks or extra commas don’t bother you, you’ll likely give this book a higher rating.

Let’s switch to the positives for the moment. Jackson was phenomenal – sexy, sweet, extraordinarily sensitive. I found Jackson was a lot like one of my very best friends, whose name also starts with J, in his casual nature, his sensitivity, and his witty charm. He was well developed, fairly consistent, and adorable. I really liked him - can you tell? Jennifer, unfortunately, was his opposite and not in a good way. She was a surface character, one who has no depth of personality or feeling, and her behavior was inconsistent. Her character changed erratically, and I couldn’t understand the reasons why her behavior was random and unpredictable. She didn’t inspire much tender feeling nor did I ever grow to love her or feel her worthy of Jackson. Jennifer was not a character I could connect with, and her inner struggles didn’t make sense to me. Secondary characters, such as Sam (Jen’s BFF), were incredibly fun, added color to already beautiful prose, and were well-developed.

The thing I loved most about this book was the prose and the descriptions (though they were occasionally repetitive). Venetta describes the garden and other scenes throughout the story with incredible detail and clarity – and yet she somehow saves it from being boring. The garden truly came alive in my imagination as my mind filled with images of flowers in hundreds of brilliant hues and the sounds of rushing water and birds. I loved the garden scenes – loved them. Occasionally the book was repetitive and redundant in its descriptions, which was frustrating, but I found I was never bored by descriptions of the garden.

The repetition issue ties in with another setback – Jennifer’s Garden was way too long. I found myself wishing I could skip chapters just to get to the end. The book moved, literally, at a snail’s pace. There were a lot of little side-conflicts I didn’t enjoy and I found myself wishing Venetta had cut a hundred pages from the book. Few books have ever moved so slowly for me, without losing my attention completely. Some of the phrases were cliché and melodramatic which lent this mostly-realistic book a slightly silly edge. Jennifer’s fiancée’s role is really under-done, and that worried me. It seemed like he would’ve been her first, and most major, concern. While she mentioned being worried about him when thinking about Jax, I couldn’t really feel that she was worried since she seemed to think of him last. If I had a fiancée and I was thinking about another man, my first thoughts would be about my fiancée – not my last.

Another thing I thought worth mentioning is that most of this book is about self-discovery, not romance. The romance between Jax and Jen develops slowly and kick-starts rather suddenly late in the book. Jax and Jen have to come to term with grief of different kinds, and with their life goals and plans. To me, that seemed to be the main focus of the book – not the growing feelings between Jax and Jen. In the end, I would keep Venetta on your to-watch list because she has definite potential even if Jennifer’s Garden is simply average.

Favorite Quotes:

“…What will you do all day long?” (Jen)

“Enjoy life.” (Jax)

“Doing what? Other than dancing, I mean.” Jennifer didn’t mean to be rude, but he was still young with a lot of years ahead of him. How long could he spend floating around the middle of nowhere?

“Living. Breathing. The basics.”

“…I can’t drop everything I’ve worked so hard for because my imagination is running off in frivolous directions, doing unthinkable things–” (Jen)

“He’s that good?” (Sam)

“Sexy”ness rating: Yummy

Overall Rating: C

Bottom Line: The book was well-written and fun, but a bit long and drawn-out with a few too many side-plots. While mostly enjoyable, the book was more focused on self-discovery than romance (or at least it seemed that way to me). For all you Indie supporters – Diane is an Indie author!

Pages: 448

Published: May 5, 2011

Genre: Contemporary