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pixieauthoress's review
3.0
This book started out as a 7 but dropped to a 5 by the time I was finished with it. I didn't exactly have high expectations, being fully aware that this was one of Barbara Delinsky's earliest novels and a category romance at that. But the story started off nicely, keeping my interest with the background of a woman needing a break from life getting jury duty and meeting an intriguing stranger. The jury is situated in a remote cabin for three weeks so that no outside influence can affect their vote and Delinsky painted the setting and the secondary characters quite well considering how short this novel was. Unfortunately, once the two characters got to know each other better my hopes of this being a "sweet, light romance" were shattered. I was under the impression that the Silhouette Special Edition line featured love and meaningful relationships, not sex and alpha males. I didn't really warm up to the character of Ben - while he was kind to Abby, he admitted that he didn't love her and was just attracted to her. That alone is enough to put me off a man! And while Abby worried about this, she ended up happily going along with the no-love-just-attraction relationship, enough that she made a rash decision near the end of the book which could have had a rather negative outcome. Ben was a bit forceful, too, and not in what I saw as a romantic way, which really made me wonder what Abby saw in him. And the way their relationship progressed...I know it's a romance novel, but I'm not terribly fond of the "sex first, love later" storyline. Plus, this book was very heavy on the sex, and not in a tasteful way. Cheesy and awkward descriptions abounded!
All in all, this novel started out promising but went downhill about halfway through because of the sex scenes and the lack of a believable, loving relationship between the hero and heroine. I admire Delinsky's ability to create an interesting situation and setting and likeable secondary characters, especially in such a short novel. I just don't think the passion-fueled, let's-fall-in-love-later romances do much for me. 5/10
All in all, this novel started out promising but went downhill about halfway through because of the sex scenes and the lack of a believable, loving relationship between the hero and heroine. I admire Delinsky's ability to create an interesting situation and setting and likeable secondary characters, especially in such a short novel. I just don't think the passion-fueled, let's-fall-in-love-later romances do much for me. 5/10
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