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jackiehorne's review against another edition
4.0
See full review at:
http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2015/06/surfacing-nice-guy-sexism-alisha-rais.html
http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2015/06/surfacing-nice-guy-sexism-alisha-rais.html
sil_the_lobster's review
4.0
Well and wow, the romance genre sure has changed a lot since I last picked one up. I've never been much of a romance reader, mind you, but I do admit to a certain weakness for the good ol' bodice-ripping genre in my mid- to late twenties. Gave that up after a while when there was too much Fabio on the cover and too little plot inside, and never really warmed to contemporary romances. Picked a few up but quickly got bored. So I kept turning to the one and only Georgette Heyer for comfort reads and witty bantering; and to the newly discovered m/m genre when I wanted spice and action, and yeah, contemporary romance, too. But I never ever picked a m/f romance up ever again.
A few days ago, however, Heidi Cullinan posted a heated tweet about a blog article that bad-mouthed the romance genre - and, consequently, its readers, and not only was Heidi's response to that particular article hilarious and witty, she also provided a list of titles to prove the blogger wrong. Out of sheer curiosity, I checked some of them, read the blurbs and the reviews, then clicked on A Gentleman in the Street, downloaded it and started reading.
Yeah. Well. So much for the worn out romance tropes, and hello modern times. I'm not summarising the story, that's been done in abundance, but let me tell you what - who - made me want to get re-acquainted with a genre I thought would never interest me.
AKIRA. I developed a proper woman-crush while reading the book. Business woman, super rich, business savvy, super tough, aggressive, will not take shit from anybody. But she is not mannish, far from it, she's all woman. A strong, modern woman who lives her life the way she wants to, enjoying the money she earned. So what if people call her names - she knows they do it because in their eyes, she's too this, too that, not enough that. But she has weak spots, too: the difficult/strained relationship with her mother, the very strange relationship with Jacob, and the love for her grandmother. So far, she's been able to keep the lid firmly shut and her armour in place.
Akira is the kind of romance heroine I really enjoy reading about, and I'll keep my eyes open for women like her. A woman in power, a rich woman, will reverse a story's dynamics in a most interesting way because let's face it, it's going to be hard for them to find a man they can meet at eye level because no matter their level of schooling, most men don't want their women to make more money than they make, be it for the power play, be it for the noble wish to be able to provide for their chosen partner. It'll take superb storytelling abilities to tell the tale of a powerful woman and an equally powerful man where there is no constant teeth-baring over rank and bank account, but where instead there's a man confident enough about himself to meet a successful woman without lowering himself to challenging her about not being feminine enough and what-have-you, and where there's a woman confident enough about herself to not make herself smaller to make her man feel better.
Alisha Rai invented a wonderful, multi-faceted woman with many flaws and many strengths. Yes, there's some issues in her past as she hasn't grown up in the healthiest of family surroundings, but there's nothing overly angst-ridden for the sake of adding drama. She does carry a daughter's lifelong wish to make her Mommy proud with her, and there's a moment where she has this fleeting vision of bowing to Daddy's will like a good girl, but she stomps her foot and frees herself from Daddy (I love that scene!), and some consolation with regards to her mother comes from the most unlikely of places, like it usually does.
Which leads me to... JACOB. Well. Here's another new for me because in this romance, I didn't fall for the guy. Not. One. Bit. I didn't even remotely warm to him. Yeah, lumbersexual, seductive voice, good heart, beautiful cock. Uh-huh. His constant self-flagellation for his unchaste thoughts. His stick-up-the-arse attitude. For some reason, I kept waiting for him to run off to confess his sins. I am not unfamiliar with the concept of being responsible for younger siblings or what it's like to have to grow up too quickly to keep the family functioning, so yeah, I sympathised with that. I am also aware that men are highly adaptable when it comes to sex, and I know they have a lot less scruples about jumping right in and drop wooing and courtship altogether. All good. Still - he's hated himself for years. He's denied himself pleasure for years. And then he switches from monk to orgy-participant just like that. I enjoyed reading about how he started to woo Akira, and I found it amusing how she both liked and disliked the fact she liked being wooed. And I began to like Jacob. Then this orgy happened and he is all cool with all of that? Just like that? From out of nowhere? I think a few extra added paragraphs showing his changed mindset would have been most helpful. For example, a little contemplation on his way home from Akira... how being with her opens him up, softens his grip on himself (no pun intended)... you know, something that makes it easier for the reader to understand why a man who hates himself for wanting a woman quite blithely turns into a man who very nonchalantly does the things he does during that house party. I'm not saying I totally disliked him, but I didn't find his character development very believable.
So - interesting role reversal here, and very interesting reading experience reversal here, too. I fancied the woman, not the man. And it felt alright because Akira is a woman worth fancying.
Before I forget: the sex scenes are undeniably hot, indeed they are and extremely well-written, too. They will make you shift in your seat, believe me. But: they alone don't make the book worth reading. It's the whole package that makes the sex scenes almost too hot to handle: a good story, good characters (and that goes for the side characters, too: I liked Remy. Like, a LOT.), good character development. Oh, and something that doesn't seem the average anymore: well-edited, good language.
It's worth reading. It's made me curious to read more. I have Heidi's list to work through. Let's go :-)
A few days ago, however, Heidi Cullinan posted a heated tweet about a blog article that bad-mouthed the romance genre - and, consequently, its readers, and not only was Heidi's response to that particular article hilarious and witty, she also provided a list of titles to prove the blogger wrong. Out of sheer curiosity, I checked some of them, read the blurbs and the reviews, then clicked on A Gentleman in the Street, downloaded it and started reading.
Yeah. Well. So much for the worn out romance tropes, and hello modern times. I'm not summarising the story, that's been done in abundance, but let me tell you what - who - made me want to get re-acquainted with a genre I thought would never interest me.
AKIRA. I developed a proper woman-crush while reading the book. Business woman, super rich, business savvy, super tough, aggressive, will not take shit from anybody. But she is not mannish, far from it, she's all woman. A strong, modern woman who lives her life the way she wants to, enjoying the money she earned. So what if people call her names - she knows they do it because in their eyes, she's too this, too that, not enough that. But she has weak spots, too: the difficult/strained relationship with her mother, the very strange relationship with Jacob, and the love for her grandmother. So far, she's been able to keep the lid firmly shut and her armour in place.
Akira is the kind of romance heroine I really enjoy reading about, and I'll keep my eyes open for women like her. A woman in power, a rich woman, will reverse a story's dynamics in a most interesting way because let's face it, it's going to be hard for them to find a man they can meet at eye level because no matter their level of schooling, most men don't want their women to make more money than they make, be it for the power play, be it for the noble wish to be able to provide for their chosen partner. It'll take superb storytelling abilities to tell the tale of a powerful woman and an equally powerful man where there is no constant teeth-baring over rank and bank account, but where instead there's a man confident enough about himself to meet a successful woman without lowering himself to challenging her about not being feminine enough and what-have-you, and where there's a woman confident enough about herself to not make herself smaller to make her man feel better.
Alisha Rai invented a wonderful, multi-faceted woman with many flaws and many strengths. Yes, there's some issues in her past as she hasn't grown up in the healthiest of family surroundings, but there's nothing overly angst-ridden for the sake of adding drama. She does carry a daughter's lifelong wish to make her Mommy proud with her, and there's a moment where she has this fleeting vision of bowing to Daddy's will like a good girl, but she stomps her foot and frees herself from Daddy (I love that scene!), and some consolation with regards to her mother comes from the most unlikely of places, like it usually does.
Which leads me to... JACOB. Well. Here's another new for me because in this romance, I didn't fall for the guy. Not. One. Bit. I didn't even remotely warm to him. Yeah, lumbersexual, seductive voice, good heart, beautiful cock. Uh-huh. His constant self-flagellation for his unchaste thoughts. His stick-up-the-arse attitude. For some reason, I kept waiting for him to run off to confess his sins. I am not unfamiliar with the concept of being responsible for younger siblings or what it's like to have to grow up too quickly to keep the family functioning, so yeah, I sympathised with that. I am also aware that men are highly adaptable when it comes to sex, and I know they have a lot less scruples about jumping right in and drop wooing and courtship altogether. All good. Still - he's hated himself for years. He's denied himself pleasure for years. And then he switches from monk to orgy-participant just like that. I enjoyed reading about how he started to woo Akira, and I found it amusing how she both liked and disliked the fact she liked being wooed. And I began to like Jacob. Then this orgy happened and he is all cool with all of that? Just like that? From out of nowhere? I think a few extra added paragraphs showing his changed mindset would have been most helpful. For example, a little contemplation on his way home from Akira... how being with her opens him up, softens his grip on himself (no pun intended)... you know, something that makes it easier for the reader to understand why a man who hates himself for wanting a woman quite blithely turns into a man who very nonchalantly does the things he does during that house party. I'm not saying I totally disliked him, but I didn't find his character development very believable.
So - interesting role reversal here, and very interesting reading experience reversal here, too. I fancied the woman, not the man. And it felt alright because Akira is a woman worth fancying.
Before I forget: the sex scenes are undeniably hot, indeed they are and extremely well-written, too. They will make you shift in your seat, believe me. But: they alone don't make the book worth reading. It's the whole package that makes the sex scenes almost too hot to handle: a good story, good characters (and that goes for the side characters, too: I liked Remy. Like, a LOT.), good character development. Oh, and something that doesn't seem the average anymore: well-edited, good language.
It's worth reading. It's made me curious to read more. I have Heidi's list to work through. Let's go :-)
romancejunkie1025's review
5.0
4.5 stars... a VERY VERY sexy read with lots emotion and the oddball characters that make Rai great.
corieob's review
5.0
Holy dirty good time...
This was exactly was I was craving. I am such a fan of ALisha Rai and the characters she creates. The tension and craving she creates in a story blows me away everytime. I knew I was going to love this because she breaks molds like the WOMAN is the billionaire and the guy has been the one saddled with kids and responsibilities, so refreshing how she flips stereotypes on their heads and pulls the reader in.
I love how in control and proud Akira is of her sexuality and she is never ashamed even when the people in her life expect her to be. With that being said she balances the softness with the dirty so well. I was enthralled each page. If you love a dirty story full of heart and heat YOU NEED THIS BOOK!
This was exactly was I was craving. I am such a fan of ALisha Rai and the characters she creates. The tension and craving she creates in a story blows me away everytime. I knew I was going to love this because she breaks molds like the WOMAN is the billionaire and the guy has been the one saddled with kids and responsibilities, so refreshing how she flips stereotypes on their heads and pulls the reader in.
I love how in control and proud Akira is of her sexuality and she is never ashamed even when the people in her life expect her to be. With that being said she balances the softness with the dirty so well. I was enthralled each page. If you love a dirty story full of heart and heat YOU NEED THIS BOOK!
merkyr's review
4.0
Fun romance read that gets super steamy-- loved to see diversity in this area that isn't usually super diverse. I will be looking for more from this author in the future!
yuna's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
ebartsch85's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes erotic novels are just so..........bleh to me. There's usually not enough story or character development and I end up not caring about anything and can't get hooked on the smut.
THIS IS NOT THAT BOOK.
THIS IS NOT THAT BOOK.