It was cute, and the world is interesting if not terribly flushed out. I assume the author will do that as she moves through the series. Most of the cIt was cute, and the world is interesting if not terribly flushed out. I assume the author will do that as she moves through the series. Most of the characters are easy to identify with and empathy with them is fairly easy to achieve.
The suggestion of a love triangle wasn't particularly encouraging, and I found the amount of ageist persecution that the MC experienced to be a bit odd. I mean, my forties rocked. They were very good years for me and I never saw much of the ageism that the MC here experiences. I'm in my late 50s now and it's absolutely a thing now, but in my forties I was still having a grand time. My forties were some of my best years, if you don't count the exacerbation of my nearly life-long, slowly progressive joint pain. But my joints hurt in my 20s, too, just more in my 40s and more still in my 50s. *shrug* Oxygen makes you rust and I like to breath. ;)
I'm going to listen to the second and see if the author stops relying on ageism as a trope or device and just creates age empathy referencing the foibles of getting older....more
I think book 3 was the best in the series in terms of interesting changes, and story and character progression.
I found this book often got bogged d2.5
I think book 3 was the best in the series in terms of interesting changes, and story and character progression.
I found this book often got bogged down in the combat descriptions and gun porn.
I can't say that this series really did it for me. The latter half of the series is better than the first half, although it could just be that I got used to the things that bug me about it.
This was a pretty good example of why I don't often read police procedurals and why I'm very picky about the "private investigator" trope, too....more
4.5 stars. Quite good. I'm going to let it simmer for a bit before I review it.4.5 stars. Quite good. I'm going to let it simmer for a bit before I review it....more
This is really a 2.5 star rating, but I'm being generouSee my opinions at 10 Doll review at Paperback Dolls Blog - http://paperbackdolls.com/?p=10416
This is really a 2.5 star rating, but I'm being generous.
This was the better book of the three. You can see James' writing get more polished as you move through the books. There is less insipid, multiple personality mind-blabber, more story (although it really could have had much more), and a bit more depth to not only the protagonists but also some of the secondary characters.
I resent BDSM being portrayed as an emotional work around outlet for a broken person, and I resent all the characters who were in this book who were into BDSM being presented as broken.
I also resent this piece of half-assed, slap and tickle, topping from the bottom manipulative fantasy being considered BDSM by the masses. Ladies, if you have no experience in the BDSM scene I strongly urge you to do a bit more reading in other places before you assume you can approach a dominant who will fall all over themselves to service your kink exploration fantasy. Most dominants don't appreciate being treated like a kink delivery system, or a life support system for a whip....more
Book two was a slight improvement over book one and I cSee my opinions at 10 Doll review at Paperback Dolls Blog - http://paperbackdolls.com/?p=10416
Book two was a slight improvement over book one and I can't remember if the ending was a cliff hanger or not. The first book had a rather jarring cliff hanger and I read all three back to back so the ending of book 2 has faded from memory a bit. Since I can't remember if it was a cliff hanger then I am not going to hold firm to my one star policy for this one.
This book was slightly improved over the first in terms of character development and adding a bit more of a story, albeit mostly slice of life stuff, over the first. The inner dialog wasn't quite as annoying as the first book and the email correspondence between the two was a well done touch that lent whimsy and a bit more human depth to the characters....more
I would have given it two stars but the cliff hanger endSee my opinions at 10 Doll review at Paperback Dolls Blog - http://paperbackdolls.com/?p=10416
I would have given it two stars but the cliff hanger ending is ugly and I give all cliff hanger endings that aren't clearly marked on the cover or in the descriptions a single star rating....more
This is the story I was really looking forward to i3.5 stars. Part 2 of a 2 book ARC review at Paperback Dolls blog: http://paperbackdolls.com/?p=13308
This is the story I was really looking forward to in this series, not a little bit because Jace’s interest in BDSM had been competently referenced in earlier books of the series. I had high hopes for the BDSM elements in this story. I readily admit that I’m kind of hard to please in this regard because of an abundance of real life experience.
I think Cunning did a better than average job of representing the BDSM elements in this story. She even managed to communicate how topping, which might be dominating but isn’t by default so, can actually be a kind of service. “Service” is generally ascribed to the submissive partner by the folks who are committed to their stereotypes, but the truth is that most BDSM relationships are as dependent on reciprocity of one form or another as any relationship. The common term is “power exchange” but there are as many ways to manifest it as there are people to dream those ways up. Cunning did a fine job of illustrating that concept in this story, often turning the roles on their heads without needing to make one partner or the other appear “weak” or “strong” simply because of the role they were assuming.
I have to admit that I have been chagrined and disappointed that Cunning created a kind of personality “breakage” as an excuse for Jace’s BDSM needs. It’s inordinately cliché in the pop fiction genre to use BDSM as an excuse to create character flaws and Cunning did that here. I realize that there needed to be some tension, some thing to grow through and from, to make the characters interesting, I just wish she had found something that didn’t have anything to do with his BDSM for his breakage. Still, I have to own that my attitude is probably a continuation of taking these tropes personally because the truth is that Cunning did a very good job of creating empathy with these characters and not “blaming” the kink. Jace’s back story is heart wrenching and the way he and Aggie work through their hurdles is pretty inspiring, even if occasionally cliché.
And of course the sex is off the chain. Cunning always delivers the heat.
Finally, the very odd release sequence for these books is confusing. It’s not intolerable but it creates a level of angst in the reader that seems unnecessary to me, and yes you do get a bit of spoilers by reading Double Time before Hot Ticket and book 4. If you can suspend your disbelief to believe that all bisexuals are unsatisfied nymphomaniacs then I guess you won’t have any trouble seeing Aggie & Jace as a happy couple before you actually get their story.
The story chronology in releases is:
1 – Backstage Pass 2 – Rock Hard 5 – Double Time 3 – Hot Ticket 4 – Yet to be released, tentatively named “Snare.”
The premise, the characters, and the sex in this series are exceptionally good, but the stories and how they are unfolding leave a lot to be desired. Final analysis of the Sinners On Tour series – it’s well heated fluff, but not to be taken too seriously....more
Fair enough. The protags weren't too broken or too stupid to live. I'm not sure if it's just me and my current attitude and poor health, but I found tFair enough. The protags weren't too broken or too stupid to live. I'm not sure if it's just me and my current attitude and poor health, but I found the erotica boring. It was hot enough, but I was bored by the frequency and wanted more story. Since I jumped right into the second one I guess I didn't abuse myself enough.
Entry level BDSM romance with an emphasis on the experienced Male Dom/ inexperienced fem sub storyline. As a story it wasn't insufferable and didn't rEntry level BDSM romance with an emphasis on the experienced Male Dom/ inexperienced fem sub storyline. As a story it wasn't insufferable and didn't rely completely on the sex, although there was plenty of that.
I have to admit, however, that I have an ingrained gag reflex to guys that call grown women "little one," which is mildly surprising given how much I like the Anita Blake series and don't mind Jean-Claude calling Anita "ma petite." Perhaps it's because she argued with him about it for so long, and he put in so much time with her that I think he sort of earned the right to have a pet name for her. But I have always had a gag reflex when a grown man calls a grown women "little" anything. It feels diminutive to me, and is rather common in the BDSM world. There's a lot of "little one," "little sub," "little rebel," "little red" in this book. A lot of it. I have to admit it turns my stomach a bit.
I had a problem with the protagonist saying "I'm only a dominant in the bedroom but outside of the bedroom everything is open to negotiation" and then subsequently expecting her to submit outside of the bedroom with a very poor "it's my nature" rationalization. I lost respect for her when she did.
Ok, I would have really given this a 2 or 2.5 but I have to admit that I'm a female dominant with a good deal of BDSM experience so my perspective may be skewed against the dynamic. Therefore I rated up to 3 as average. I didn't hate it, but it really wasn't my cup of tea....more