Stacia in Progress

Sometimes you just gotta embrace the cheese. 99% of the time, I prefer to do my embracing with paranormal or historical romances. I rarely let cringe-worthy moments or sketchy behavior slide when it comes to contemporaries. After all, contemporaries aren't supposed to be fake in a silly way. They're supposed to be at least somewhat relatable when it comes to life as we know it. In a PNR, if a wolf-man wants to mark his territory all over a helpless woman, whatever - it's a fantasy world. In a contemporary, when an asshole male wants to go super-possessive in the world that WE live in, it can seem extreme to the point of being uncomfortable. 

Despite my normal hesitations, I found myself sort of going along with the mood set in The Professional. I do have some sort of guilt over feeding my fascination with a man who was, essentially, a stalker. So, yes, the man was stalking - but he was hired to do so (and he wasn't actually considering his "job" foreplay like many other romance heroes would, no matter how much he lusted after his target). But from where I was sitting, he wasn't the major problem. Instead, it was the woman, who was completely clueless by not asking near enough questions about why she was being "kidnapped." ATTENTION CLUELESS WOMAN : YOU JUST FOUND OUT THAT YOUR DAD IS A MAFIA BIGWIG. THE GUY YOU WANT TO HOOK UP WITH IS A KILLER. GIVE YOURSELF A MOMENT TO FREAK OUT AND HESITATE BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH MORE CAUTION.

But I have a thing for Russian bodyguard types, and Sevastyn made me want to know more about him. Even when he was doing the typical ahole alpha thing, I felt like there was more to him than just being this cardboard male who wanted to be in control. Even the little grain of difference helped me warm to this man.

Some of my happy boxes were ticked with the sexual tension. I sort of hope that the hinting toward BDSM in future books isn't going to end up imitating other trending series. I'd much prefer the relationship to emerge into something where both people find exactly what they're looking for in the bedroom, instead of watching a woman who can't think for herself get pushed into changing who she is.

Back to the cheese. I've read Kresley Cole before, so the lingo was expected. I could see where it would be a stumbling block for others who aren't used to reading over-the-top paranormals (bad sexual lingo is pretty much the standard for more erotic leaning pnr, unfortunately). Does this mean that I want to read about someone "spurting ropes of cum" or his "stiff rod pillaging her core?" Not particularly.

Cons :

Female lead who is a virgin but acts like a cat in heat for reasons unexplained (and shows a strange lack of fear over dangerous situations). It frustrates me when I like a story or the male lead, but don't really like the female lead, or find a couple to be unequally matched.

Lots-o-cheese when it comes to sex terminology. But again, I'm used to it with the author. It's just too bad she didn't leave the ridiculousness behind in her PNR.

Pros :

I have a thing for kidnap fantasy books. I know, I'm weird. But I just like it. Don't ask me to explain. 

I have a thing for the hot, protective, Russian bodyguard types. If you don't have this fetish, you might not care. But my fetish trumps the majority of the cringe-worthy moments, enough so that I will HAVE to read the next book. 

I enjoyed the read and it was just what I was in the mood for. I think I flew through it, smiling every time one of my pleasure boxes was ticked. 

And then there's this :

"Sdavaisya." Surrender.

Or there's the random interactions which amused me :

When my lips met his zipper and I moaned for more, he repeated, "Fuck you."

Hah.

This book provided from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All quotes taken from the pre-published copy and may be altered or omitted from the final copy.