Rating: 
Summary: If you enjoy some smut...
Review: ...then you'll probably enjoy this book. It's not completely horrible, but at times I found the situations a bit unbelievable. Some of the sex scenes are rather explicit, which didn't bother me, but if you're bothered by something like that you may want to pass this book over. I didn't find the sex scenes to be trashy in any way and were very well written.
Sara is a down on her luck novelist and Ryan is her neighbor who happens to be a male prostitute. They instantly make a romantic connection and Sara pressures Ryan to leave "the business." He's reluctant because he feels he owes his boss (pimp) something for saving his life and taking him off the street.
I found Ryan's situation completely believable - far too many kids runaway from home and find themselves turning tricks on the street - in Ryan's case he's become a high priced whore. Although, for a guy seemingly so smart and with it, he had no balls when it came to Catherine, his boss. I found Sara to be less convincing. My perception had nothing to do with her career, but how easily she seemed to not have a problem with what Ryan did for a living. Yes it tormented her, but I think most women would be mortified no matter how attractive they found Ryan to be.
I agree with a few other people who thought the book was a bit on the preachy side.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull, no sparks...
Review: Everytime the heroine spoke, I would cringe. She made the most ridiculous comments and helped him out when he came home beaten and brutalized by getting the first aid kit...2 times!! It almost seemed like this story was written to give voice to a lot of different causes...Save the Homeless...Lesbians are People, too...Take in Stray Animals...Free all Male Prostitutes!Of course the story ended a little too quickly and no loose ties were left undone...it was reminiscent of a bad movie of the week.
Rating:
Summary: Dull, no sparks...
Review: I don't know what everyone else found so wonderful about this this book. The only purpose it served me was curing my insomnia. Five minutes after I started reading it, I would fall asleep.
Rating:
Summary: Y A W N
Review: I don't know what everyone else found so wonderful about this this book. The only purpose it served me was curing my insomnia. Five minutes after I started reading it, I would fall asleep.
Rating: 
Summary: Great older woman/younger man romance
Review: I found this to be a very good story. The fact that the hero is almost 9 years younger than the heroine appealed to me, as I really like these type stories. The hero's profession as a employed male escort who provides whatever the client wants was different and, I felt, well portrayed without out being either excessively grusome nor overly simplified and glossed over. The heroine was believable and likable. Loved her father, but felt the secondary romance involving her sister to be unnecessary and distracting from the main story. This is not a book to be taken lightly, but I found it remarkable enjoyable and even uplifting.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time...
Review: I looked for this book for almost a year. My friend highly recommended it, and said it was worth every cent. Ummm... NOT! Laura Leone aka Laura Resnick has promise, but she butchers the story. Her heroine is too stupid to live (ex. She completely forgives the hero for sleeping with other women on the job while going out with her, AND goes from being spitting mad one minute to complacent in the next minute). Her hero is a whiner (ex. He does his job and comes back saying that he HAD to do it. He owed it to his pimp for saving him). There is no heart in this story. I wouldn't even classify it as "romance" or "mainstream". Linda Howard has this woman whipped in both categories! Basically, it's completely bogus, with little to no facts and research without humor or reality. Don't waste your time, money or effort!
Rating: 
Summary: Romance novel misleading packaged as mainstream
Review: I picked this up at the library because it was shelved with the mainstream fiction...was quite surprised a few pages into it to discover it was just a Romance novel. The publisher must think it's pretty nifty stuff to believe it can find an audience outside of the traditional paperback Romance market...it does tackle a bit more unusual story (a male prostitute and his 9 yrs older girlfriend) than a standard Romance, but unfortunately the quality of the actual writing and characterization are woefully lacking. I am giving two stars only because I think it IS commendable to at least try to write Romance novels for women readers that are "outside the box", i.e., not so trite and corny and predictable. Ms. Leone has the most success with main character Ryan, who although perfect looking and perfect in temperment, has an unusual profession and personal history. She falls painfully flat, however, with the female protagonist -- Sara is acutely one dimensional and unbelievable as a Jewish novelist in her mid-thirties. I can't figure out why this would present a problem to the author, as she is apparently writing about someone quite similar to herself and this can't be very difficult and yet Sara is far less fully developed than Ryan, and it's not possible to really care about this character or worry if she and Ryan will get together at the end. Unlike most traditional Romances, this one (again probably the reason for marketing it as mainstream) has more than the average sexual situations, graphic love scenes and use of the F-word. However, it quickly reverts to standard formula as the characters fall effortlessly in love, have awesome sex, and all problems melt away as they plan their wedding. There was some real potential here if the author had had the courage to really write a honest story about male prostitution -- unfortunatly most of the data about the phenomena seems to be gleamed from the 70s movie "American Gigolo", i.e., phony as a three dollar bill -- and it's aftereffects, and been less consumed by the need to create the perfect love story. The neat resolution of all problems -- prostitution, lesbianism, older woman/younger man, interrelgious marriage -- into a tidy package also throws things well into that ABC After School special category, which is about as Romantic or sexy as orthopedic shoes. Packaging this as a mainstream, serious novel was misleading! I doubt I would have ever picked this up if it had been properly identified as a Romance novel.
Rating:
Summary: More romances like this one, please!
Review: In Fallen From Grace, Laura Leone has created a completely out-of-the-ordinary romance. It isn't safe, it isn't conventional, and it isn't cliched. In short, it's the most refreshing romance I've read in ages and I wish publishers would encourage more authors to write "outside the box" like this. In Fallen From Grace, Leone pairs up Sara Diamond, a smart, sassy Jewish writer heroine who has recently been dumped by her publisher, with younger man Ryan Kinsmore, a complex hero with a horrific past that has led him to an unlikely career for a romance novel hero...that of expensive prostitute. Instantly smitten when Sara moves in next door, Ryan lies to Sara because he's sure that if she knew the truth about his job that would be the end of any relationship between them. How they work out their obstacles is a treat to be savored. The dialogue is snappy, the pace is brisk, and the romance is touching. I can't recommend it enough.
Rating:
Summary: Unconvential romance with biting edge- gritty
Review: Laura Leone has risen above the formula that is the hallmark of standard romantic fiction. This is a novel of grit and depth. The frank sexuality and situations depicted do not leave much the imagination- they are supposed to shock and even repulse.
Ryan Kinsmore is a handsome young yuppie from initial appearances and his new neighbor Sara Diamond is impressed by his gentle nature, big heart and warmth. She is shocked when she finds out he was a teenage runaway who ended up a male escort- something he stil is 10 years later. Ryan as "Kevin" is a highly paid prostitute and even though he loves Sara he feels unworthy of her love and has little true self-value. His madam Katherine saved him from the streets and groomed him into the suave man he presents to the world but on the inside he sees himself as a scared kid who did anything for money.
This book is very much a book of discovery and finding the courage to make a big change as it is a romance. I found Ryan to be an empathetic character and believable. Most stories with prostitutes are women- few are men, yet more and more men work as sex workers today servicing men and women ( watch Law and Order SVU any episode to verify this) and the whole objectification of the service provider and the way they see themselves was done well here. Sara is an interesting woman- she is a writer who is in the midst of her own career turmoil so these two meeting at a critical crossroads is no accident.
The love making between Ryan and Sara is sweet once it happens- the emotions and trust issues rule their heads and hearts and bodies.
This is an adult story with very adult themes- not for the faint of heart. Story is set in San Francisco and there is a secondary subplot involving Sara facing that someone close to her is gay and her having to accept this. Again- if you are offended- read something else. If you are open to what is in a person's heart and body- this is a great read with many unexpected touches of humor as well as driving pathos as Ryan finds a way out of the life he has lived for so long.
Rating: 
Summary: powerful character driven story
Review: Mystery award winning author Sara Diamond cannot believe her career seems over at thirty-five as her publishing company has dumped her for lack of sales growth. Steady reasonable profit means nothing in this industry. To save money, she sells her house and takes an apartment in nearby San Francisco. Her new neighbor Ryan Kinsmore is a hunk ten years her junior, but both are attracted to one another at first sight. As she makes covert overtures, Sara wonders if her kind neighbor is gay or is too polite to tell her she is too old for intimacy with him. The truth is that Ryan desires her as much as she does him, but refuses to touch her. He fears that once she learns the truth that he is not a model as he told her, but instead works as an escort, a euphemism in his case for male prostitute that will destroy their friendship let alone any romance. Readers will feel the sexual tension shooting between the lead couple, but also understand that Ryan cannot allow anything to happen between them because of his job. It is interesting the way the two protagonists have a common subplot and distinct separate subplots that all blend together into a powerful character driven story. Whereas Sara is more typical of the genre, Ryan is a unique player who must find a way to rise once he falls from grace when his beloved learns the truth. Harriet Klausner
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