Don't Tempt Me

I did just what I thought I would - I downloaded Don't Tempt Me by Loretta Chase Monday night and I have read it twice already. I loved it, but not unqualifiedly. There are appealing and entertaining main characters, witty dialogue (excessive dusting!), and good sex. I think what's holding me back from loving it unreservedly is the lack of tension or conflict. It goes from some minor hitches to big love affair mighty smoothly and so the book (which I read in ebook format so I don't have a good notion of how long it would be in a printed book) seemed sort of lightweight. I've thought this about her last 3 books actually, so I shouldn't be surprised. Her earlier works, Lord Perfect and Miss Wonderful for example, are very detailed and meaty and there is so much to relish. I keep hoping the next one will be like the older ones, but no.

And now, just to be contradictory, the opposite problem - too much tension, too much conflict. I've just reread the Joanna Bourne books, The Spymaster's Lady and My Lord and Spymaster. I enjoyed them when they came out and they've improved on second reading, but somewhere about two-thirds of the way through I start thinking shouldn't they be starting to trust (get along, believe, etc. etc.) each other at this point? It seems that the major conflict between the two main characters isn't resolved until the last 2 or 3 pages even though they might be enjoying wild monkey sex already. I do love that her heroines are accomplished in some way in their own right - almost unbelievably so - and that in some circumstances, the heros acknowledge that. Just not enough, in my opinion. I keep thinking wouldn't it be nice if just this once instead of acting at odds with each other yet again, they could pull something off together, something they've planned? Yeah, that would be nice.

My Favorite Loretta Chase Romance

I adore Loretta Chase's books and am waiting for Don't Tempt Me (out June 30) with bated breath. I will probably buy in eBook format Monday night so I don't have to wait until Tuesday to get my hands on a copy - that's how much I'm looking forward to it. Having said that, I have yet to read anything else by her that has supplanted Lord Perfect in my heart. I have read that book so many times, my poor little copy is all blotched and torn and almost in pieces.

If I had to pick the very one thing that made Lord Perfect so attractive to me, I'd choose the wit. Some of the exchanges between Bathsheba and Benedict still put a big dopey grin on my face - particularly when they try to assure each other that they find the other merely tolerable. All of Bathsheba's comments about her daughter, Olivia, are wonderfully wry. Sarcasm can be expected from all the major characters, in fact, which I find very appealing.

The book also doesn't suffer from a plot that includes runaway children, a road trip, wet bathing sex, and buried treasure. My only quibble is that my copy has the worst model on the cover - I usually just avert my eyes so I don't ruin my fun.

For the rest, my top 7 in the order that I love them:

Lord Perfect
Lord of Scoundrels
Miss Wonderful
The Last Hellion
Mr. Impossible
Your Scandalous Ways/Not Quite a Lady tie