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rosepetals1984's review
3.0
I was surprised by how much I liked this, and not for the reason that you might think. The opening premise didn't intrigue me all that much, though I wanted to see where it went. Alana wakes up with a strange man in her bed, after unwittingly making out with him in the odd after-effects of a sleeping pill. He also just so happens to be a romantic interest of her careless sister. I thought it would be a stereotypical, over the top story, but it turned out differently than I expected. Decent sexual tension in places (when it wasn't borderline unconsensual), though it could've been fleshed further out. I did roll my eyes at some of the scenes, but there's such a sweet, self-discovery element to this book that it made it so different than most of the titles I've read in the Harlequin line. I liked the interaction between Alana and Sawyer in the discovery elements and when they spent time with each other. Sawyer's actually quite romantic and he's a likable character if followed throughout the story (rather than just the brash lead that he starts out in the beginning of the book). Alana may seem uptight, but when she starts opening herself up and finds herself in casual relations with Sawyer, she's a decent character to get to know.
There's a side story with respect to Alana's flirty, careless sister Melanie. I didn't care that much for Melanie's character, but I'd argue that the sidestory shows her perspective and make her less hollow than what she would've otherwise been if she hadn't been shown at all. I tend to harp on typical Harlequin Romances not giving enough focus on character and story, but this one actually did more to establish its characters. I listened to the audiobook version of the book, and I liked the narration by Christine Carroll, who brings both the male and female characters to life and in appropriate context.
Overall, a decent read for the line, and it was worth the time.
Overall score: 3/5
There's a side story with respect to Alana's flirty, careless sister Melanie. I didn't care that much for Melanie's character, but I'd argue that the sidestory shows her perspective and make her less hollow than what she would've otherwise been if she hadn't been shown at all. I tend to harp on typical Harlequin Romances not giving enough focus on character and story, but this one actually did more to establish its characters. I listened to the audiobook version of the book, and I liked the narration by Christine Carroll, who brings both the male and female characters to life and in appropriate context.
Overall, a decent read for the line, and it was worth the time.
Overall score: 3/5
joreadsromance's review
4.0
Opposites attract romance
4 stars
When Alana Hawthorne visits her sister she has the best dream ever. A hot guy, some amazing moves and an ending that makes your toes curl. Only when she wakes up in the morning she finds that it wasn't a dream as there's a very naked man tucked in beside her in bed.
It gets worse as delicious Sawyer Kern is supposedly the new boyfriend of Alana's sister and the very man Alana came down to save her sister from. But the gorgeous Sawyer's not one to give up and he's really up for a repeat performance.
This is a fairly simple story of an uptight girl who falls for a laid back, easy-going guy. Both characters were sympathetic and you really felt the chemistry between the pair. There was a little bit of emotion missing from the story at times and I felt that Alana could have been written a little bit more sympathetically and not so straight-laced and high-strung.
This book is followed by [b:Surprise Me...|7957484|Surprise Me...|Isabel Sharpe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348348261l/7957484._SY75_.jpg|11692050] and although each can be read individually, the secondary love story in this book is not wrapped up until the next book which I suppose is a cheeky way of ensuring that you buy and read the second book in the set.
If I'm honest, I wish I could give this 3 and a half stars, as 3 seems a little mean while 4 is a little generous. As it is, I'm going to go with 4 because the book was readable, enjoyable and while not perfect, still a good choice to while away a couple of hours.
fromjesstoyou's review
2.0
"2.5 out of 5 stars. The book description that I read sounded really intriguing ... and I'll admit I really did enjoy the book right up until..."
Read more of this review and a TEASER here: https://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/disappointmentville-while-she-was.html
Read more of this review and a TEASER here: https://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/disappointmentville-while-she-was.html
wyvernfriend's review
3.0
While the relationship, once it got properly going was actually quite cool, the start of the book was problematic for me.
I'm putting this behind spoiler tags for sex and sweary language warning purposes.
I don't quite label it rape, they were both completely out of it and he did mistake her for someone who he had been flirting with all evening, but it's pretty fecking close. He wasn't contrite enough and even if he didn't get his penis in her vagina, and only used his fingers it still was a bit twitch inducing and left a nasty taste in my mouth even though I mostly enjoyed the rest of the read.
Alana Hawthorne is visiting her sister, Melanie, and she takes a sleeping pill (not hers and stupid move 1) and falls asleep in her old room in the house. Sayer Kern is staying with her sister, he's at a party and there's something off with the drink. He goes home to his bed and half-wakes to find a woman in bed with him, he uses his fingers to get her to orgasm. Alana thinks that it's all a dream until she wakes and then she's disturbed to find that it was all real. He's supposed to be her sister's boyfriend.
Apart from the skimming over the violation, this isn't a bad story. I eventually liked the characters and the relationship but the squick at the beginning didn't fade.
I'm putting this behind spoiler tags for sex and sweary language warning purposes.
Alana Hawthorne is visiting her sister, Melanie, and she takes a sleeping pill (not hers and stupid move 1) and falls asleep in her old room in the house. Sayer Kern is staying with her sister, he's at a party and there's something off with the drink. He goes home to his bed and half-wakes to find a woman in bed with him, he uses his fingers to get her to orgasm. Alana thinks that it's all a dream until she wakes and then she's disturbed to find that it was all real. He's supposed to be her sister's boyfriend.
Apart from the skimming over the violation, this isn't a bad story. I eventually liked the characters and the relationship but the squick at the beginning didn't fade.
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