On Seed Competence: A Review of How to Get Over Your Ex. by Nikki Logan

Today I bring you another early example of Harlequin's Kiss line, which I still have so many high hopes for. Georgia is humiliated when her on-air radio proposal is turned down. When station manager Zander offers her a large sum of money to rediscover herself over the next year--in an effort to salvage his failed promotion--she's initially skeptical. But the temptation of free spy school and the vacation of her dreams is too much to turn down. With Zander accompanying her, she gets in touch with many new sides of herself, and is ultimately lead to try love again.

The primary thing that I initially felt would appeal to be about this book was the wish fulfillment aspect of all the things Georgia got to try. In my opinion, that aspect is underused. There were a couple of great vicarious experiences--belly-dancing and balloon rides, for example. Mostly, though, the book get's very introspective. It's not necessarily bad, but not as fun as I would have hoped.

Georgia was an incredibly likeable heroine--smart, introverted, and quirky. She knows herself, but is a bit insecure about how others see her. In coming to terms with that, she finds what she wants and realizes what lead her to the disastrous proposal in the first place. As her relationship with Zander develops, she realize that she wants lasting and permanent love, she just isn't sure whether she can have it with him.

Zander has some past wedding woes of his own. He's dealt with it by burying himself in work. Like Georgia, he's something of an introvert and a loner. The two are very well match in that respect. It's a lot of fun to see Zander forced to let someone else in.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential that it failed to completely live up to, but it was still more than decent. Light, fun, and worth the little time it will take you to read it. 4 star book.

A DNF Review of The Downfall of a Good Girl by Kimberly Lang

When the Harlequin's new Kiss series came out, I bought all of them. I was pretty optimistic that they would be good, fluffy fun. This one, however, was something of a cliche filled mess.

The basic premise is that Vivienne and Connor are in a contest for charity, to see who can raise the most money--Vivi is the Saint, while Connor is the Sinner. Connor is a famous musician, while Vivi is a beloved community darling and former beauty queen. The two have a history, and so the whole community is eager to see the showdown as heat erupts between them.

I got a little over halfway through this book before I ultimately through in the towel. To begin with, I thought the premise was silly. I didn't imagine I could become invested in the race to raise money through charm and popularity, and I was not wrong. I found it impossible to relate to Vivi, the pretty, popular, and obsessively involved paragon. I couldn't find any depth in her, although admittedly I wasn't looking that hard.

And then there's the cliches. Now, let me be clear: tropes and cliches can work for a book. They can. Authors can find ways to write inside and outside and all around the box, mix things up, and put new spins on familiar cliches so that they don't come across as tired. That's pretty much all that good authors do. This book does not use it's cliches to it's advantage, though. The fun, bad boy hero needles the supposedly uptight heroine in the most obvious way possible. They don't end up coming across like real people, and the supposed "history" between them is too hollow to improve on that. So they trade a lot of very forced dialogue (the dialogue in this book is crappy overall), and they make each other's naughty bits tingle for some reason.

The scene that broke me was one one where Vivi and Connor get trapped in a closet together. A cliched scene based on the laziest of lazy writing. Writers like this cliche because of the forced intimacy it generates and, again, it can be done well. In this case though, I was already pretty frustrated, so having our couple play awkward boner in a broom closet was enough to destroy my resolve to finish the story.

To conclude, I of course recommend against this book on the grounds that it is poorly written and terribly unimaginative. I will not be reading any future offerings from Lang in the Kiss line. DNF

On Control: A Review of The One That Got Away by Kelly Hunter

Harlequin's new Kiss line looked to be full of happy, fun, light, sensual romance. I bought all of them. This book is not as light or fun as the cover makes it appear, but it is pretty good.

So, let's jump right in. Ten years ago, Logan and Evie spent an intense week together in London. Now, Evie has unknowingly agreed to a marriage of convenience with Logan's younger brother, Max. Seeing Evie again brings back a lot of feelings for Logan, including the shame and guilt that he felt after hurting and then leaving her at the end of their week.

Logan is naturally dominant, and Evie enjoys a little sexual submission. During their week together, they took things a bit too far, and Logan didn't like the fact that he could lose control so easily. It's a good conflict, and it makes for really interesting character development...It's just not what you'd expect based on the marketing. The sex scenes are still relatively non-graphic, although Logan and Evie have excellent chemistry.

Logan is brooding and sexy. Evie is smart and determined, with an interesting career. Overall, there's nothing not to like here. The only problem I had with this book, aside from the obvious false advertising of the cover, is the occasional moments of melodrama. It isn't as bad as I've seen in some books, but it's there.

My recommendation is that, having been warned of the darker-than expected plot, if you are still intrigued and looking for a quick, sensuous romance, this is a good choice. 3.5 stars.