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A review by papercranestitches
Dirty Dining by E.M. Lynley
2.0
*** 2.5 Stars ***
When this book first crossed my radar, I was VERY excited to get my hot little hands on it. Who wouldn't?! I wanted to do dirty, dirty things to this cover model. Seriously, I took one look at this abs... er, I mean, man and my brain short circuited into an unrelieved loop of "UNF! UNF! UNF!" The book had to be excellent too, right?!
Sadly, it was not. [b:Dirty Dining|23944818|Dirty Dining|E.M. Lynley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418928514s/23944818.jpg|43549587] just did NOT live up to that stellar cover.
The book started out with a lot of promise. I really liked the premise of the nerdy microbiologist so dedicated to continuing his work on an HIV vaccine that he turns to prostitution to fund his research. And, I thought the twist on the world's oldest profession (taking it to the kink-tastic Dinner Club instead of a street corner or a Craigslist ad) was pretty damn creative. I also appreciated Brice and Jeremy's initial unease with each other and the way their personalities shone through what could have been a seedy situation.
Unfortunately, though, what started out molten hot (hello, Mr. Sky Blue!) turn repetitive and boring very quickly. One moment I was all "I'll have what she's having!" this novel, and the next I was bored out of my skull.
There's a point in every romance novel with a character who is a prostitute when the MCs need to transition from client and sex worker to men with real feelings for each other who can't help but break the boundaries of their initial interactions. I like the couples in the romance novels I read, well... couple-y. I want dates and sweet glances and hot sex (exclusively with one another, I should point out). Lynley got there eventually, but I felt like it took too long.
And when it did, I still felt like it lacked the emotional punch that I was looking for. I had to read the Big Misunderstanding scene twice before I realized it was an honest to goodness fight. Yes, I could see that the characters were upset, but the whole thing was just so conversational - their tones both so even and in control - that when Jeremy, I was a little shocked. And when Brice , I just didn't buy it. I didn't think that they were at that point yet.
Bottom line, this one just didn't do it for me. *shrug*
It's interesting to note that the early reviews on this one seem to be love it (4.5 to 5 stars) or hate it (DNFs and 2 stars) - there's really not many in between. So, feel free to ignore my review and give it a whirl. If you are still enjoying the hell out of it between 20-50% progress on your Kindle, you'll probably end up on the high end of the reading experience. If you're bored and not feeling it, I recommend DNFing and moving on to the next smexy book on your TBR pile.
When this book first crossed my radar, I was VERY excited to get my hot little hands on it. Who wouldn't?! I wanted to do dirty, dirty things to this cover model. Seriously, I took one look at this abs... er, I mean, man and my brain short circuited into an unrelieved loop of "UNF! UNF! UNF!" The book had to be excellent too, right?!
Sadly, it was not. [b:Dirty Dining|23944818|Dirty Dining|E.M. Lynley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418928514s/23944818.jpg|43549587] just did NOT live up to that stellar cover.
The book started out with a lot of promise. I really liked the premise of the nerdy microbiologist so dedicated to continuing his work on an HIV vaccine that he turns to prostitution to fund his research. And, I thought the twist on the world's oldest profession (taking it to the kink-tastic Dinner Club instead of a street corner or a Craigslist ad) was pretty damn creative. I also appreciated Brice and Jeremy's initial unease with each other and the way their personalities shone through what could have been a seedy situation.
Unfortunately, though, what started out molten hot (hello, Mr. Sky Blue!) turn repetitive and boring very quickly. One moment I was all "I'll have what she's having!" this novel, and the next I was bored out of my skull.
There's a point in every romance novel with a character who is a prostitute when the MCs need to transition from client and sex worker to men with real feelings for each other who can't help but break the boundaries of their initial interactions. I like the couples in the romance novels I read, well... couple-y. I want dates and sweet glances and hot sex (exclusively with one another, I should point out). Lynley got there eventually, but I felt like it took too long.
And when it did, I still felt like it lacked the emotional punch that I was looking for. I had to read the Big Misunderstanding scene twice before I realized it was an honest to goodness fight. Yes, I could see that the characters were upset, but the whole thing was just so conversational - their tones both so even and in control - that when Jeremy
Spoiler
told Brice to get out and not come backSpoiler
declared his love for Jeremy seconds laterBottom line, this one just didn't do it for me. *shrug*
It's interesting to note that the early reviews on this one seem to be love it (4.5 to 5 stars) or hate it (DNFs and 2 stars) - there's really not many in between. So, feel free to ignore my review and give it a whirl. If you are still enjoying the hell out of it between 20-50% progress on your Kindle, you'll probably end up on the high end of the reading experience. If you're bored and not feeling it, I recommend DNFing and moving on to the next smexy book on your TBR pile.