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Reviews"The storyline was pure reading heaven..." - Talia Ricci, Joyfully Reviewed, for Riding Partner "This
novella is an erotic romance and delivers on both counts - it is quite romantic
and is full of some hot bed play." Marina, Cupid's Library Reviews for Revealing
Photos " UNDER HER SKIN is so much more than a wonderful romance, it’s
a lesson in love and acceptance. It is an experience not to be missed."
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I just finished reading another short contemporary romance where you can't tell when penetration happens! As a reader, this is the number one thing which will make me throw your book across the room and then promply sell it on ebay. Why is this a pet peeve of mine? Well, let me tell you! 1) I grew up reading Silhouette Desires. I read them from a tender, preteen age. My mom is a nurse, so I knew clinically about the birds and the bees, and reading those novels helped me craft my own stories. (When mom read my first written novel in high school, she was like "you sure you don't have a boyfriend?" LOL!!!). In today's modern society, sex is a given. We see it on television (soap operas anyone?), and although you can't show the "money shot" on anything but late night Cinemax or adult channels, it's fairly obvious what's going on beneath the covers. Times have changed a lot since the early 90's, which was when I started reading romance novels. Story lines have gotten hotter. We've watched erotic romance take off, and the tone of those Silhouette Desires has changed. Some of them are quite spicy, and yet there are still authors who are out there using purple prose for their sex scenes. 2) If you don't want to write a sex scene -- don't! One of the greatest things about today's romance market is that there is literally a book for everyone! Inspirationals, sweet, traditional, romantic suspense, multi-cultural, erotic, bdsm, fantasy, paranormal, you name it and there's a romance sub-genre for it. So if you don't want to right more than a chaste kiss, or even a sloppy kiss, that's all you have to write. Is the market there? No, but why write for a line of books you're not happy or comforable writing for? Frankly, if you don't like what you're writing, get out of the way to make room for those of us who love what we do. There's plenty of room for everyone. 3) As a reader, I expect certain things out of the romance novels I read. Now I'll be honest and admit that my reading tastes tend to run toward the hotter. When I pick up one of those category romances with a red cover, I have expectations. And I'm more forgiving, for example, if I'm reading a Silhouette Desire than a Harlequin Blaze. And yes, I've read Blaze novels where you couldn't tell what was happening or when the big moment happened. To be fair, the book that prompted this rant had a pink cover, but still. (not only that, to follow up the non-penetration sex scene several chapters later with the sentence ... "And she remembered they had made love every night." Um, if your characters are that horny, then SHOW IT! Which brings me to my next point 4) Sex is a vital part of characterization. Whether or not the big moment happens does make a difference, and not because it's more fun to read the hot stuff. What the characters feel during the sex act (emotionally), how far each character takes it, these are all issues that need to be addressed. Each sex scene should do something other than take up space on the page. Especially if you're looking at a new couple or their first consumated sex scene. So please. As a reader, don't make me throw your book against the wall. I love to write book reviews, but I won't review a book that totally sucked! Please make me review your book so I can tell everyone how wonderfully emotionally engaging the love story was, and how hot the sex scenes were. Don't dance around the sex issue. Either let the characters have it, or don't. But don't leave the reader guessing.  
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