Stacia in Progress

LMFO = Laughing my furnace off.2.5 stars. I'm kind of surprised that I ended up liking Sunfire more than expected, especially considering how plentiful the cheese factor was. And by plentiful, I do mean that a bounty of cheese was bestowed upon me. You bring the wine and we'll feast like kings!Before I launch into the last few bizarre moments I'd noted (the first several have been listed in my status updates), let's go ahead and talk about the story as a whole.The first half struggled somewhat with trying to get a story going. In all honesty, I didn't mind the amount of sex upfront, considering how this is an Ellora's Cave book. I expected there to be as much or more sex than plot, but I still wanted to read Sunfire for two reasons : rock stars & shapeshifting firebirds (not the most common shifter out there). Because the first half didn't seem to have much going for it other than a couple of hot sex scenes, I probably spent way too much time picking apart every single cheese-laden detail I ran across. I had predicted early on that I wouldn't go higher than 2 stars at most for the rating.But then, there was the second half of the book. This is where we started to see some depth of world and character building. The author gets bonus points for at least having a unique idea of what being a firebird entails. I would have liked to have seen more of the first half of the story used to explain how the firebirds managed to deal with the real world and how they interacted with each other - maybe even more of their history. I loved how there was a soulmates aspect without being hit over the head with it. There was something beautiful and magical about how Aidan could soothe Corinne with his mind. The mental exchanges were very seductive at times. Highlights : the couple playing music together while she was sitting on his lap with him inside of her, the sensual on-stage scene (exhibition at its finest), as well as the emotional scene of loss and re-connection toward the end. The story with the father really hampered both sides of the story - the rock star side and the firebird side. We didn't get enough time with the band or with the firebirds because we were dealing too much with the father's obsessiveness (and trying to figure out how he knew so much about what was going on).I liked enough of the second half of the book that I might consider reading book 2 for the character who is in it, but I probably won't be in any hurry to do so. If this book could have had a slight story rework/rearrange and some editing of the worst phrasing, it would have been so much better. Having a band named Pure Wildfire and a band member named Splinter is already pretty laughable to start. And here's how I could have kept on providing you with tacky status updates :The creases went, faded into the soft skin on her forehead, skin he had a sudden impulse to taste.He wanted to taste her forehead skin? That's a new one.she feasted her eyes on him while he dragged her skirt and panties out of the way.two paragraphs later :he smiled and drew away, dragging her skirt and panties down her legs.Did I read this wrong, or did he undress her twice?They (her breasts) were like the rest of her - amazingly soft, but with an inner strength she was only just beginning to discover.I can honestly say I've never heard breasts being described as having an inner strength. Boobs of steel?He gave her breast a long lick. "You taste like chocolate."I must have missed the scene where he put chocolate on her.The water rinsed away their differences, made them one.That's a miraculous shower. drunk every bit of her body's champagne.A few orgasms sparkled like champagne. Apparently, it's a theme.