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Theodora Taylor

CLAIMING SHAYLA (True Mates) by Zena Wynn

August 8, 2012 in alpha male, B Reviews, bi-racial heroine, Book Reviews, erotic, Loose ID, paranormal, pregnant, shifter(s), suspense, werewolf

Description: When Shayla flees Refuge, North Carolina after an intense mating session with Rory McFelan, she thought she was done with the alpha of the Sparrowhawks. But as it turns out, she has to go back for her favorite cousin’s wedding. Also, she’s pregnant. And perhaps most importantly of all, Rory isn’t at all prepared to let her go.

The Good: As always, Ms. Wynn’s excels at introducing really hot sex into unique situations. There’s a lot going on in this book plot-wise: a rip-roaring romance, a meaty family mystery, and some seriously hardcore sex. Ms. Wynn really goes there — so sensitive readers, be warned. I was worried at points by how many balls she had going up in the air, but somehow she manages to juggle them and wrap it all up with a very satisfying conclusion. There’s also a character introduction that is so crazy-intriguing, you’ll be dying for him to get his own True Mates book. Hopefully it’s coming soon!

The Bad:Shayla as a character has serious “show vs. tell” problems. She’s supposed to be a genius, we never see her use her brain. At one point she proudly proclaims, “I won’t whine, mope, or sulk in some corner like a child” after spending several pages whining and moping around in a childish funk. She claims to be traumatized by growing up different, but we never see any evidence of this. In the end she feels like a collection of stated character traits that are never proven. To this point, many readers will figure out an important component of the mystery way before Shayla does, which brings us back to the genius issue.

Also, there are so many characters and POVs, it’s hard to keep them all straight. It’s a bit like watching TRUE BLOOD. In fact, even though she’s bi-racial (black and Asian), Shayla reminds me a bit of Rutina Wesley’s character, Tara — readers are either going to love her or hate her.

The Naughty: Erotic. Physical fighting between couple. Lots of exhibition. Sex while in werewolf form. Hardcore.

Editing issues: 4 typos found.

Publisher: Loose Id

Length: 274

Final Grade: B

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Theodora Taylor writes and reviews in Pittsburgh, PA.

 

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Theodora Taylor

STRANDED by Pepper Pace

May 16, 2012 in A Reviews, black woman white man, Book Reviews, bwwm, bwwm romance, pregnant, self-published, steamy

Description: When Oceans Delano, a shy Jamaican woman and Marshall Cohen, a privileged-but-somewhat-shady white businessman are stranded on an island together, they must fight to survive and to navigate their growing love for one another.

The Good: This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and therefore my “loved” list is rather long. LOVED: all the details about survival — it felt really real, the cultural touches from the heroine’s Jamaican background, the slow burn toward sex — and that it delivered on its promise, the gritty situations, the high-stakes sex, and the realistic conflict. The stakes were high and the story was told in such a way that I truly did not know what would happen next. Pepper Pace is a very special writer and a credit to the IR genre. When people talk about really good books that would have gotten rejected by a Big Six publishing house, because they wouldn’t have known what to do with it, they’re talking about books like STRANDED.

The Bad: The plot was crack-a-lacking. The characters were on point. But unfortunately this story suffers from lots of typos and some really serious abuse of exclamation marks and CAPS. These take you out of the story and keep it from making it into A+ territory.

The Naughty: Steamy. Very gritty sex. Truly difficult situations surrounding sex. 

Editing issues: Lots of typos.

Publisher: Indie

Length: 146 pages (Amazon estimated length)

Final Grade: A-

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Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up the first two Amazon bestselling books in my 50 Loving States series, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, as eBooks or in paperback!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

JUICY by Pepper Pace

April 2, 2012 in B Reviews, bwwm, bwwm romance, older woman younger man, pregnant, self-published, sensual

Description: When, Juicy, a “dark as licorice” hairdresser with anger management issues is unexpectedly saved by Troy, a homeless white man with mental issues, really unexpected sparks fly.

The Good: Let’s start with the fact that Ms. Pace managed to make a homeless white hero with mental issues not only sexy, but appealing. That alone would have blown my mind, but she also manages to successfully throw many of the romance formula rules out the window — which only makes the novel even more romantic in my opinion. Ms. Pace has a strange sense of humor, and this makes for a very fresh novel. In many ways, JUICY is a page turner fueled by its own oddness.

The Bad: This is difficult, because I want to give this odd gem of a novel an A+, but it has quite a few issues that can’t be overlooked, mostly surrounding craft. Ms. Pace has tremendous talent, which is held back by often clunky execution. Her loose narrative walks a very thin line, only narrowly missing a full-on ramble at times. She writes poetically at times, but tends to follow every train of thought, which makes for a bloated story. Also, there are so many typos, I had to detract a full star. Somewhat like Latrivia Nelson, one feels Ms. Pace could go much further, if she engaged a stronger editor for this and future works.

The Naughty: Sensual. Rape (not depicted). Sex in barber chair.

Editing issues: Several typos.

Publisher: Indie Writer

Length: Novel-length

Final Grade: B-

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Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up the first two Amazon bestselling books in my 50 Loving States series, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, as eBooks or in paperback!

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

A HARD MAN TO LOVE by Delaney Diamond

March 8, 2012 in A Reviews, alpha male, biracial hero, black woman biracial man, Book Reviews, business man, pregnant, self-published, sensual

Description: When cigar-smoking multi-millionaire Derrick Hoffman finds out that his ex-girlfriend Eva Jacobs is pregnant with his child, he does whatever it takes to ensure that the baby remain in his custody, including blackmailing Eva into a marriage of convenience. But, as it turns out, it’s a thin line between convenience and passion…

The Good: First off, that cover is the business, a perfect representation of the hero. I actually picked it up, thinking I wouldn’t be able to review it, but wanting to read it because of its Harlequinesque situation and fantastic cover. Lucky for me, the hero was biracial, so it ended up falling within the IR category. What a page turner! I love a hero with issues, and Derrick had plenty.  I also appreciated the story’s sweet little domestic touches — there’s an ongoing argument about crumbs in the bed that I’ve had with my own husband. Last but not least, the resolution was satisfying and felt fully earned.

The Bad: There’s a story arc, involving the identity of Eva’s father that was introduced late, felt tangential, and left unresolved.

The Naughty: Sensual. Pregnant sex. 

Editing issues: None.

Publisher: Diamond Press (indie author)

Length: 37,800

Final Grade: A-

Click on the book cover to buy at Amazon for $2.99.

 

Love IR romance as much as I do? Then pick up THE OWNER OF HIS HEART and HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, the first two books in my 50 Loving States series for $4.16 each at Amazon.

 

 

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Theodora Taylor

THE QUESTION by Zena Wynn

January 31, 2012 in A Reviews, alpha male, Book Reviews, bwwm, bwwm romance, co-workers, erotic, Phaze Books, pregnant, white woman middle eastern man

Description: When Crystal asks her widowed best friend, Gail to be a surrogate for her and her husband, Rashid, using one of Gail’s eggs, Gail reluctantly agrees. But when Gail starts dating a handsome divorce lawyer named Greg after her successful insemination, what starts off as a favor soon turns into a complicated love story filled with passion and drama.

The Good: Oh, I am mad as Ms. Wynn. I had important things to do the weekend I read this book, but I couldn’t it put it down. This story is such a page-turner, and I was deeply engaged until the end, which is quite a feat for a book that’s quite a bit longer than your usual IR romance. This was a highly, highly romantic read with unique situations that had me on the edge of my seat. I can’t tell you how many times I yelled out loud because of something that had happened in this book. Ms. Wynn gets her characters on a deeply psychological level that you don’t see often. And I just wish that Americans were about the telenovelas, because this would make a fantastic one.

The Bad: Rashid’s background is never fully explained. We’re told briefly that he is American-born and of Middle-Eastern descent, but we never get to meet his parents. I would have loved a few more cultural notes for this character. Also, the character of Greg, though loveable, came off as a bit convenient at a few points in the story.

The Naughty: Erotic. Toys. Spanking. Breast milk.

Editing issues: Typos (I counted 11). A few instances of clunky grammar. Interior dialogue not italicized in places.

Publisher: Phaze Books

Length: 284 pages

Final Grade: A-

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If you love IR Book Reviews, consider picking up my book, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART. It’s a great and enjoyable way to support the site.

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Theodora Taylor

THE PRICE OF PASSION by Stephanie Morris

December 19, 2011 in alpha male, B Reviews, black woman native man, Book Reviews, bwnm, Christmas, married couple, pregnant, sensual, Sugar and Spice Press

Description: After one heated night of passion, Kaden and Sierra (who thought she was infertile) discover that they have a a very special Christmas package on the way. Can they overcome their baggage and give each other the love they’ve always longed for?

The Good: This was such a sweet, sweet story. It’s always a tremendous treat to watch two nice, but extremely guarded people fall in love. Kaden is a gem of a hero and exceedingly easy to love. My heart was with him from page one. He’s written with great physicality and really gets in Sierra’s space. I loved that he saw his part in his divorce with his first wife — that’s so rare in romance novels. And I also loved that he and Sierra really communicated. There are so many novels where the two main characters, who are supposed to be falling in love, just refuse to really talk to each other — but Sierra and Kaden go in deep. It made me really invest in them as a couple and reminded me how sexy good communication can be in real life and on the page!

The Bad: See my editing issues. Also, there was a brother who is mentioned often but never met.

The Naughty: Sensual heat-level.

Editing issues: There were so many typos, that I had to take an entire star away from an otherwise excellent book. Because of the many errors, I assumed this was a self-published book. So how surprised was I to see that it was published by Sugar and Spice Press? Real talk: This press is taking a large percentage of the cover price, but didn’t bother to do an even halfway decent copyedit. If I were the author, I would demand that this book be given to a proofreader* and then never work with this company again. Ever. Seriously, shame on you, Sugar and Spice — you have too many terrific authors in your fold to treat their work this shabbily.

Publisher: Sugar and Spice Press

Length: Category

Final Grade: B

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Wanna give me a gift? Consider spending the holidays with my book, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART.

*Note to the author: If SNP does get an edited version up, let me know and I’ll revise my review.

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Theodora Taylor

SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL by Dahlia Rose

November 9, 2011 in Book Reviews, bwwm, C Reviews, Novella, pregnant, self-published

Description: Soon-to-be single mother, Bonnie Gabrielle, is just about to pop, when a sexy Special Forces soldier, Conrad Lewis, literally lands in her front yard. When they get stuck together weathering a hurricane, they end up creating a quiet storm of their own.

The Good: I would have loved to have read this short-but-sweet story when I was pregnant. The concept is great, and there’s nothing sexier than a man that knows how to handle in the bedroom and in the nursery. What a great hero.

The Bad: See the Editing issues section. Also, the premise was good enough for a longer story, and the characters deserved more development. As a short it felt rushed and underdeveloped.

The Naughty: Steamy sex, explicit language.

Editing issues: Lots of grammatical errors.

Publisher: Dahlia Rose Unscripted

Length: Short

Final Grade: C+

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Theodora Taylor

HAPPILY EVEN AFTER by Lena Matthews

November 4, 2011 in B Reviews, Book Reviews, bwwm, Loose ID, married couple, pregnant

Description: Two kids and one divorce later, Creigh finds herself pregnant once again from a one night stand. As it turns out, her ex-husband, Dean, just might be her knight in shining armor.

The Good: I’m a sucker for situations I’ve never seen before, and I’ve never come across an IR romance in which the heroine is divorced, pregnant with another man’s baby, and falling back in love with her ex-husband. I weirdly loved all the pregnant hanky panky, and also liked that Matthews highlighted the romance of really knowing each other. In this book, familiarity breeds really hot sex.

The Bad: These two fight a lot and it gets plenty petty on both sides. Watching another couple fight isn’t fun in real life, and it got to be a bit much at times in this book. Also, Creigh’s reasons for divorcing Dean were a bit underwhelming. It was hard to understand why she would leave the father of her two children for the reasons she put forth. And, not Matthews fault, but Loose ID has priced the book just a bit too high as of this writing.

The Naughty: Strong language/name-calling, anal, pregnant sex.

Editing issues: None that I remember.

Publisher: Loose ID

Length: 228 pages

Final Grade: B

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