Review: Tempting the Beast by Lora Leigh

Burning thoughts:
Him: I was created, not conceived. She's human, they said I'm just an animal. But she has become my soul.
Her: I've never met him, yet I can't get him out of my mind. It's as if he's possessed me, body and soul. 

Tempting the Beast by Lora Leigh is the first of her long-runing sci-fi romance series, Breeds (27 and counting!). It's also my first uber erotic romance read...and it's one burning hot, fan-yourself-every-second experience. I think Fifty Shades of Grey pales in comparison in the Scoville scale alone!

First lines

Tempting the Beast started with unassuming though no less interesting style. You have this feisty, no-nonsense journalist battling eight grown men—her publisher father and seven older brothers.

She's their baby girl, cosseted, protected and more or less shielded from the harsher realities of life. She wants the assignment but the rest of the clan is a formidable wall of granite—unmoving and unimpressed by her arguments.

“This story is mine.” Merinus stared down her family of seven brothers as well as her father, her voice firm, her determination unwavering. She knew she didn't present an imposing figure. At five feet five inches, it was damned hard to convince the males of her family, all over six feet, that she was serious about anything. But in this one instance, she knew she had no other choice.

As launchpads to stories go, I can say it's arresting. Just what was the story all about and why didn't she have any choice? It's a compelling first paragraph that wants you to dig deeper into the story.

First lines rating: 4.0

Main characters: Merinus Tyler and Callan Lyons

Callan Lyons is the epitome of the Alpha Male of most paranormal romances—physically powerful, forceful, and the leader of his Pride of feline breeds. He's the first successful breed created by the clandestine Genetics Council from a mutation of human and lion DNA.

The purpose of his genetic engineering? Become the ultimate killing machine, well-versed in all forms of warfare, including sex. It doesn't help that he's downright smexin' hot!

Some would say the man wasn't even human. A genetic experiment conceived in a test tube, carried to term by a surrogate and inheriting the genes of the animal his DNA had been altered with. A man with all the instincts and hunting abilities of a lion. A perfectly human looking male. A man bred to be a savage killer.

Review: The Maid's Daughter by Janice Maynard

Burning thoughts
Him: I want her, but my soul can never afford her love.
Her: I find that I love him, yet he distances himself every time we get close.

The Maid's Daughter by Janice Maynard is somewhat a Cinderella story, somewhat a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast. Sort of the heroine taming the tormented, savage male...though by her admission, the heroine's a far cry from being a raving beauty.

It's the third of the Men of Wolff Mountain romance series but the story can stand on its own. I picked it up on Kindle and the fact that it was free didn't hurt a bit. I couldn't exactly say the same for the reading experience though.

But where do I begin?

First lines

Next to the blurb, I always check out the first lines and/or paragraph of a romance novel before I make a commitment to buy, and then to read. I'm not about to spend precious dollars on a romance read that's going to annoy, aggravate and anger me.

The thing is, I'm also an optimistic reader. Although I have the knee jerk reaction of judging books by its cover, I've got the irritating habit of plodding on to The End despite the fact that the first lines were a “Meh!” experience.

My disappointing encounter with The Maid's Daughter, though not a first of its kind, didn't put me off that habit.

Wet yellow leaves clung to the rain-slick, winding road. Devlyn Wolff took the curves with confidence, his vintage Aston Martin hugging the pavement despite the windswept October day. Dusk had fallen. He switched on his headlights, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel in rhythm to the hard-rock oldie blasting from his Bose speakers.

I get it that it's a dark, dangerous night. I get it that the hero's stupendously rich. But what the H?! Why bore me on the first paragraph, Romance? Why?