Silent Confessions

Rating:
Summary: Sexy tale but story has little depth or originality
Review: This is my first Kenner book to read that is not one of the Blaze series. I had hoped this full-length novel without the Blaze trappings would prove she had moved beyond the stilted sameness of the Blaze books. However, that is not the case. Let me state, I am not a great fan of the Blaze series in that I like a lot of depth to a book. The sensual scenes don't offend me; however, I don't want them to overshadow all other aspects of the book. If you are a Blaze fan and really enjoy these light, sexy tales, you should add a star to my review.

A stalker is using quotes from what appears to be historical erotic literature to frighten his prey. Jack Parker, a detective with the sex crimes unit of the NYPD must seek out the source of the suggestive phrases. Jack hopes that once that source is found, he will be able to find the stalker before the situation becomes really dangerous.

Veronica (Ronnie) Archer owns a bookstore and specializes in historical erotic literature. She is currently working on her doctorate utilizing her specialty as her subject matter. She not only owns a bookstore that sells this sensual literature, but she also has a scholastic chat room for erotica, gives weekly talks about erotica at her shop, and has many graphic erotic antique images framed and hanging all around her apartment. Ronnie is very kind, beautiful, and relatively inexperienced sexually. This was one of my first problems with this book. Her character doesn't fit. I can accept everything about her image until the author attempts to cast this "innocence of actual sexual experience" on her. After all, she is in her late twenties and is exposed constantly to this subject matter. But we are to accept her as a relative innocent although it does not ring true.

Jack Parker is the usual contemporary cop hero - totally male, attractive, discerning, and great in bed. He approaches Ronnie for assistance in his stalker case. Both Jack and Ronnie are just too typical in this overused scenario of a detective that meets an irresistible woman through his police work. They are instantly attracted to one another and a physical relationship begins almost immediately. These sensual scenes will really grab most readers but I found them to be dry, reading as though the author is quoting the ABCs of sensual writing. A lot of pages are spent on these scenes and rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).

One very pleasant aspect of this book is the time that Jack and Ronnie spend together. Although a lot of time is spent between the sheets, there is still a real love relationship developing between the leads and most of their time together is very tender and precious. They are both mature and not given to misunderstandings or arguments. The author allows us to experience their relationship as it evolves into an affair of the heart.

Although the plot was typical, there is a twist in the ending that surprised me a little. I have seen that others may have recognized the villain early on in the story. I did not. The villain, once uncovered, was not who I suspected.

While I did think that the leads were enjoyable characters, I found this book a bit boring. It was a book I could easily put down because the plot did not inspire me to keep reading to find out what happens next. Jack and Ronnie's relationship and story were sweet but too predictable.

Rating:
Summary: Sexy tale but story has little depth or originality
Review: This is my first Kenner book to read that is not one of the Blaze series. I had hoped this full-length novel without the Blaze trappings would prove she had moved beyond the stilted sameness of the Blaze books. However, that is not the case. Let me state, I am not a great fan of the Blaze series in that I like a lot of depth to a book. The sensual scenes don't offend me; however, I don't want them to overshadow all other aspects of the book. If you are a Blaze fan and really enjoy these light, sexy tales, you should add a star to my review.

A stalker is using quotes from what appears to be historical erotic literature to frighten his prey. Jack Parker, a detective with the sex crimes unit of the NYPD must seek out the source of the suggestive phrases. Jack hopes that once that source is found, he will be able to find the stalker before the situation becomes really dangerous.

Veronica (Ronnie) Archer owns a bookstore and specializes in historical erotic literature. She is currently working on her doctorate utilizing her specialty as her subject matter. She not only owns a bookstore that sells this sensual literature, but she also has a scholastic chat room for erotica, gives weekly talks about erotica at her shop, and has many graphic erotic antique images framed and hanging all around her apartment. Ronnie is very kind, beautiful, and relatively inexperienced sexually. This was one of my first problems with this book. Her character doesn't fit. I can accept everything about her image until the author attempts to cast this "innocence of actual sexual experience" on her. After all, she is in her late twenties and is exposed constantly to this subject matter. But we are to accept her as a relative innocent although it does not ring true.

Jack Parker is the usual contemporary cop hero - totally male, attractive, discerning, and great in bed. He approaches Ronnie for assistance in his stalker case. Both Jack and Ronnie are just too typical in this overused scenario of a detective that meets an irresistible woman through his police work. They are instantly attracted to one another and a physical relationship begins almost immediately. These sensual scenes will really grab most readers but I found them to be dry, reading as though the author is quoting the ABCs of sensual writing. A lot of pages are spent on these scenes and rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).

One very pleasant aspect of this book is the time that Jack and Ronnie spend together. Although a lot of time is spent between the sheets, there is still a real love relationship developing between the leads and most of their time together is very tender and precious. They are both mature and not given to misunderstandings or arguments. The author allows us to experience their relationship as it evolves into an affair of the heart.

Although the plot was typical, there is a twist in the ending that surprised me a little. I have seen that others may have recognized the villain early on in the story. I did not. The villain, once uncovered, was not who I suspected.

While I did think that the leads were enjoyable characters, I found this book a bit boring. It was a book I could easily put down because the plot did not inspire me to keep reading to find out what happens next. Jack and Ronnie's relationship and story were sweet but too predictable.