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Theodora Taylor

BABY ON BOARD by Dahlia Rose

August 15, 2012 in B Reviews, black woman white man, Book Reviews, bwwm, bwwm romance, steamy, Sugar and Spice Press

Description: When the baby daughter he didn’t know he fathered literally gets left on his doorstep, Major Rafe Steele turns to Ivy, the sexy nurse next door for help. But can he convince his practical neighbor that he’s not the frat boy lothario she thinks he is?

The Good: Ms. Rose does a good job of painting Ivy as defensive and insecure without making her too tiresome. She’s defensive because she doesn’t look like the other women on their block, who are always throwing themselves at Rafe; and she’s insecure because she has endometriosis and isn’t sure if she’ll ever be able to have children, which was a refreshing change as far as heroines go. I also really liked seeing Ivy’s day-to-day life as a nurse at Walter Reed, and her best friend/co-worker there was get-out funny. Rafe’s mother is also a funny and caring gem of a character, and an on-going conflict with another neighbor is wrapped up in a surprising way.

The Bad: The overall read suffers from too-long block paragraphs and overly long character speeches. Also, the book could actually be a few chapters shorter as it feels like it’s treading water in a few places. It’s a thin line between day-to-day details and unnecessary content. Lastly, readers who have actually had fertility issues might not appreciate how neatly Ivy’s are dealt with in the end.

The Naughty: Steamy. 69. Explicit language.

Editing issues: 3 typos. Weird indents on Kindle.

Publisher: Sugar and Spice Press

Length: 133 pages

Final Grade: B

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Theodora Taylor writes and reviews in Pittsburgh, PA.

 

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Theodora Taylor

WYNTER’S PROTECTION by Tressie Lockwood

March 9, 2012 in B Reviews, Book Reviews, bwwm, bwwm romance, erotic, Novella, Sugar and Spice Press, suspense

Description: When Assistant DA, Wynter King, finds herself being hunted down by a mob boss, she turns to her ex-fiance, Crowe Hanson. But can she take shelter with him without losing her heart to him all over again?

The Good: This novella is well-plotted, and I love that the heroine is a strong woman with career ambitions. It was a very satisfying and complete read. I didn’t even remember that it was technically a novella until I sat down to write this review.

The Bad: Though the narrative was tight, other craft points weren’t quite there yet. The story as a whole suffered from stilted dialogue and clumsily-written action, which at times made it hard to understand what was happening during the higher-octane scenes.

The Naughty: Erotic. 

Editing issues: 2 typos found.

Publisher: Sugar and Spice Press

Length: Novella

Final Grade: B-

Click on the book cover to buy at Amazon for $3.99.

 

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

WINNING DAWN by Thayer King

January 3, 2012 in B Reviews, Book Reviews, bwwm, bwwm romance, Christmas, erotic, Sugar and Spice Press

Description: After things go south with her long time boyfriend/fiance, Dawn finds herself entangled in a no-strings-attached affair with her cousin-in-law’s brother, Evan, who has sworn off serious relationships after his bitter divorce. But what happens when they both start to catch feelings? This is the sequel to Ms. King’s first novel, FRIENDS, which I reviewed here.

The Good: This was a phenomenal read and a huge improvement in both style and general character development upon it’s predecessor, FRIENDS. I loved that Dawn and her fiance split up not because of his rampant cheating, but because they were, at the end of the day, incompatible. He’s addicted to video games, she loves to go out with her friends, most of whom he feels are snobby. Their problems stemmed more from how little they have in common. It felt like a real-world break up.

As for Evan — I just really liked this hero. He’s great in bed, but he’s also a technical writer with major foot-in-mouth disease and other “real guy” flaws. Once again Ms. King has crafted a couple that you could see getting together in the real world. This was a cute, sweet, and very funny read.

The Bad: The fiance provides a compelling obstacle for the first half of the novel, but then just kind of gets dropped in the second half. It felt like that storyline was missing a resolution.

The Naughty: Erotic. Explicit language. Sex in front of a mirror. 

Editing issues: Very minor (counted 2 typos).

Publisher: Sugar and Spice Press

Length: Novel

Final Grade: B+

Click on the book cover to buy at Amazon for $4.99.

Wanna see my softer fictional side? Pick up my book, THE OWNER OF HIS HEART, at Amazon for $4.16.

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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

Click on the book cover to buy at Amazon for $4.99.

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

FRIENDS by Thayer King

October 28, 2011 in Book Reviews, bwwm, C Reviews, Sugar and Spice Press

Description: Kayla wakes up after a night of hot sex with her best friend, Joshua. A whole lot of drama ensues.

The Good: Kayla and Joshua not only have hot sex, they seem very well-suited for each other. Also, Joshua’s brother is very intriguing and well set-up for his own book. And I loved that the two main characters had founded a design firm together.

The Bad: The tone of the book is a bit judgmental. For example, whenever one of Joshua’s exes show up at the office, his staff jokingly calls it a Code W. The “W” stands for Whore. And this is just one example of slut-shaming that doesn’t feel like it should have any place in an erotic romance. There’s also a twist with an ex-girlfriend that just isn’t well-executed.

The Naughty: Unprotected sex, Virgin, Erotic.

Editing issues: None that I’m remembering.

Publisher: Sugar and Spice Press

Length: Category

Final Grade: C

Click on the book cover to buy at Amazon for $4.99.

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