What HQNs are you reading right now?

[Lemon]

Not Just the Greek's Wife.

Okay, for you ladies who are of shall I say, "a more sensitive palate," cover your ears.

What is up with Lucy Monroe's writing of late? Alright, cover your ears, ladies, 'cause here goes:

She caressed his inner thighs with both hands, gently guiding his legs a little farther apart. He bit off a sound of pleasure at that simple touch and satisfaction coursed through her. In this, he was hers. She gently cupped his heavy scrotum sac with one hand, carefully rolling the balls as his shaft grew harder, pointing toward his stomach, viscous fluid beading at the tip. “Is this still one of your favorite spots to be touched?” she wondered aloud as she slid her other fingers behind to caress his perineum. The way his body jolted at the first light caress to the soft skin between the base of his balls and his backside said he did. She pressed in a little, looking for a bigger reaction and got it when he groaned long and low. “That feels so good.” “I can tell.” He smiled at her, pleasure warming the azure of his eyes.

Is that supposed to be romantic??? Because frankly, I was just on the floor laughing.

[Jacqueline J]

I suspect an editor somewhere saying "make it hotter ladies".

[Lemon]

Jacqueline wrote: "I suspect an editor somewhere saying "make it hotter ladies"."

Um, call me a prude, but I don't find graphical descriptions of anatomical parts with their clinical names mixed in with the not so clinical names "hot."

[Jacqueline J]

Does seem a bit like a how to manual doesn't it?

On the other hand I was never fond of the old style with someone's "thighs hardening" 'cuz that was just goofy in the other direction.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

Wow, that's kind of graphic, especially for an HP book.

[Verity]

What are the authors gonna write next, to spice it up ? Massaging hero's prostate ? LOL... Oh It's so juicy I'm on pins & needles.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

LOL, let's hope not!

[Leona]

Unfortunately, I have found her recent books to not be very good.

[Kate]

I like that some HP authors are writing sex that's more realistic (e.g., the hero and heroines first encounter is far from magically perfect) and less vanilla, but that excerpt is just not sexy. There are some words I don't want to see in an HP, and that includes scrotum, sac and viscous.

[Lemon]

Kate wrote: " There are some words I don't want to see in an HP, and that includes scrotum, sac and viscous."

LOL. Yes, and that would include the word "balls." That's a technical term, you know.

[Kate]

Lululemon wrote: "LOL. Yes, and that would include the word "balls." That's a technical term, you know."

Balls doesn't bother me as bad. I've seen it used less egregiously in other books.

I really, really hate "impale", as in "He impaled her with his erection". In my opinion, the only thing you impale is a vampire with a wooden stake.

[Sapheron]

LMFOA

[Verity]

Impaled by a toothpick-sized boner is such a turn on for these virginal HP heroines.. I'd also luv to read the trendy lurrve connection : shaving each otha's pubes.

[Kate]

Oh, I haven't come across mutual genital shaving yet...and I'm not sure I want to.

[Virginia]

Kate wrote: "Oh, I haven't come across mutual genital shaving yet...and I'm not sure I want to."

I think shaving the pubic area is called Braziliian wax. I think. I have not read this one yet but I tend to skip some of the more graphic acts and iI am not a prude but I don't think it adds except words to fill the page. It is not always romantic and that is what I want to read.

[Aruana]

Yup, the good old Brazillian - the landing strip is the best one ;)

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

I think there should be a limit to how graphic the HP books get. People who read them kind of know what to expect as far as sensuality, and that shouldn't change. If readers want things more spicy, there are other lines for that, like the Blazes. I haven't read anything as graphic as the part that Lulu posted, and that's as graphic as think the HPs should ever get.

[Virginia]

Years ago the Desire series was the more sensual contemporary romance line. I like sensuality but not the graphics. I tend to like the older Harleqin Presents - even the covers. I know, it is probably an age thing and I do like that the intimate scenes are more realistic, but it is entertaining to read about things that we know are not realistic and ends happily ever after. We know nyhis is not life but...

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

I like sensual and steamy, but I'm not a big fan of graphic descriptions or raunchy sex scenes. I guess it depends on how it's done and if it still feels romantic to me.

[Virginia]

I finished Truly Married and give it 5 stars. I read it years ago and thought it was okay. This time I really liked it

[Virginia]

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "I like sensual and steamy, but I'm not a big fan of graphic descriptions or raunchy sex scenes. I guess it depends on how it's done and if it still feels romantic to me."

Glad to have young ones feel as I do so I am not too far out of the mainstream of this forum.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

I think there's a diverse mix of opinions on the group, Ginny, so don't feel alone. Everyone is entitled to voicing their opinions respectfully, even if we don't always agree.

I know we have the folks who love the old school books and those who love the new school books. I'm glad we can all get along here.

[Lemon]

I agree with with you both. I think things can be a lot more sensual and sexier if certain things are left to the imagination. I like the Harlequin Presents line because I have come to expect a certain level of writing standard. I also like that it seems to be in the middle in the sensuality scale- more than the Romance line but toned down compared to the Blaze line. I don't enjoy romance books that have very casual language and I like that the Presents line still seems to have that more formal style to it even for the more modern books. Which is why I was a bit shocked by the language in Ms. Monroe's latest books. That is not something I have come to expect from Presents. I understand that others may like that kind of style, but I think other lines are better suited to that style than the Presents line.

[Virginia]

Well said!!!

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

That's a good point about HP having a different language style. I think that's what draws me to them. I don't read a lot of contemporary romance because I find it kind of humdrum, to be honest. I like the escape of HPs. I like that it's something different and distinct, and I always know I'm reading an HP book. I wouldn't want the line to lose that.

[Vashti]

I do not expect that kind of writing in an Hp .I think that Lucy Monroe is morphing her erotic romance books with her harleys.That is a bit too graphic for an hp,what is she going to write next I wonder, a back door scene.I have nothing against an a really good written sex scene,but the raunchy ones seems so out of place in the harleys.That passage sorta shocked me for an HP.

[Leona]

Interesting enough, I find that I am turned off by her more erotic romances...This one just seemed so out of place.

[Vashti]

T stopped reading her erotic romances a while back,jyst did not care for them at all.As for her harleys,they have been more miss than hit with me lately.Shame as I used to enjoy her books .

[Leona]

same here..we think so much alike!

[Leona]

just finished Coercion to Love by Michelle Reid..this was one of those angst reads due to the subject matter. Woman falls in love with deceased sisters lover..I just found I couldn't get past the whole sister angle.

Runaway Wife 2 stars...didn't like the heroine..she was a twit.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

Vashti wrote: "I do not expect that kind of writing in an Hp .I think that Lucy Monroe is morphing her erotic romance books with her harleys.That is a bit too graphic for an hp,what is she going to write next I ..."

Gosh, I hope we never see backdoor stuff in HP romances. I need a buffer from that!

[Vashti]

I know !I have certain standards for my harleys .No matter genre I occ stray to ,I always come home to them.I am suprised that the harley editors let that graphic description slip by.

[Lemon]

I say no to backdoor anything, especially in my Harleys. And Leona, I say no to sister or brother cast-offs and no to romancing your first cousin or stepbrother or any other relative. All of the above are just plain off-putting and call me narrow minded but that's how it goes.

[Kate]

The brother/sister cast offs don't really bother me. Traditionally, it was common for an unmarried man to marry his brother's widow (or vice versa). In fact, Henry VIII's first wife was his brother's widow. (Although, he did try to use this as one of the reasons the pope should grant him a divorce.)

Close relatives that grew up like siblings kind of grosses me out, although relatives that didn't grow up together don't bother me as much.

[Virginia]

I don'f like relatives sharing either. Do you think the editors suggest some of the plots? In real life though, my maternal grandmother had two brother who lost their wives early on and each married a first cousin of their wives. I also read Runaway Wife bought the book from Amazon a few months ago and did not like it. I felt something was missing with all of the characters and felt that the author was having a very bad day. Too many incidents that were not plausible even to me

[Vashti]

A big pet peeve of mine is the H/h getting involved with the siblings/friends/relatatives of theirs prior to the H/h.I try to stay away from those esp if children are involved.But I did make an exception in one book,not a harley,but a contemp called ROCK ME by Cherrie Lynn,loved that book mainly cause of the hero Brian.He was such a bad boy.

[Leona]

Virginia, there is actually another Runaway Wife by Charlotte Lamb that is excellent...I gave it 5 stars...simply because the heroine was so great......you might want to give it a try.

[Jacqueline J]

Well the sibling thing worked out really well in our family. My older sister was married young and my younger sister dated his step brother. When the younger sister went to the Navy they broke up but he (the step brother) had already moved to our state while my older sister was in the other state with her husband whom she divorced after 5 years (because he was an SOB but that's another story. She moved home and about 10 years later, she and her first husband's stepbrother fell in love, got married and have been married for 25 years.

Back to the thread, I am reading Lost in Love. This has hugely high ratings. I'm wincing a bit as I read because I'm fairly certain she's going to have been in the wrong all these years. I hate that. These Harleys are my fantasies, and in my fantasies, the girl is always right and the guy is always wrong! LOL.

[Leona]

Jacqueline..let me know when you finish Lost in Love...but I didn't find her in the wrong........

[Jacqueline J]

Leona wrote: "Jacqueline..let me know when you finish Lost in Love...but I didn't find her in the wrong........"

Thanks, that makes me feel better. I'll soldier on...

[Virginia]

Leona wrote: "Virginia, there is actually another Runaway Wife by Charlotte Lamb that is excellent...I gave it 5 stars...simply because the heroine was so great......you might want to give it a try."

Yes, Leona That is one of CL's books that I kept from my HP subscription. I really liked the h. She took hubby's actions for a time and decided to act herself. She gave him a wakeup call by moving on. I think he did cheat on her though he said he did not.

[Virginia]

Lost in I finished Lost I. love last night and loved it. I did not like Rafe and Rosemary at first. He was so controlling and cold but he did warm up. Brooke had a good plastic surgeon.
There is another book Wife In Disguise (Lone Star Canyon)that has a wife redone and is a good read.

[Leona]

Virginia wrote: "Leona wrote: "Virginia, there is actually another Runaway Wife by Charlotte Lamb that is excellent...I gave it 5 stars...simply because the heroine was so great......you might want to give it a try..."

I know..I felt the same way...scumbug that he was. I definitely think he was messing around with the assistant! Personally, I would have told him to hit the bricks....hasta la vista baby!

[Jacqueline J]

Virginia wrote: "Lost in I finished Lost I. love last night and loved it. I did not like Rafe and Rosemary at first. He was so controlling and cold but he did warm up. Brooke had a good plastic surgeon.
There is..."

What is this book you're talking about? With Rafe and Rosemary?

[Virginia]

Leona wrote: "Virginia, there is actually another Runaway Wife by Charlotte Lamb that is excellent...I gave it 5 stars...simply because the heroine was so great......you might want to give it a try."

I have read Runaway Wife by Charlotte Lamb if she only has one book of this title. This is the one where the wife in the country and the one son is in boarding school. The husband seldom comes home and the straw that boke the camel's back was forgetting an anniversary. She also thinks he is involved with his assiaant so she sets herself up in an apartment and goes to work at the family's company. It was good reading. Is this the one?

[Virginia]

Jacqueline wrote: "Virginia wrote: "Lost in I finished Lost I. love last night and loved it. I did not like Rafe and Rosemary at first. He was so controlling and cold but he did warm up. Brooke had a good plastic ..."

Jacqueline wrote: "Virginia wrote: "Lost in I finished Lost I. love last night and loved it. I did not like Rafe and Rosemary at first. He was so controlling and cold but he did warm up. Brooke had a good plastic ..."
\
Jacqueline. I am just getting back to this forum because my laptop was eratic. I mistyped this but I am going through my listing to get the title. I remember the plot. The heroine was hurt by her cold husband who takes their baby from her and puts her out of his estate. His family treats her in a very hateful manner. She is in an accident in the U.S. and almost dies. The husband's aunt who lives in a cottage on the estate and befriends her so she is the one who identifies her body. Only she is not deceased and she begs the aunt to keep her secret of her being alive. She undergoes many surgeries over a year's time and has the surgeon change her facial features. She goes back to her previous town and visits the auntoten and is able to have contact with her son. It was enjoyable and now I must find the title. It was a title from someone on the forum..Leona, was it your suggestion?

[Virginia]

Okay Jacqueline, I found the book. It isLost in Love and the main characters are Brooke and Rafe.

[Leona]

Virginia wrote: "Leona wrote: "Virginia, there is actually another Runaway Wife by Charlotte Lamb that is excellent...I gave it 5 stars...simply because the heroine was so great......you might want to give it a try..."

Yes, this is the one!

[Leona]

Virginia wrote: "Okay Jacqueline, I found the book. It isLost in Love and the main characters are Brooke and Rafe."

I think there are two books...Lost Love by Carole Mortimer...this is the one where they are married, he kicks her out of the house, takes her son away from her....she goes to America is in an accident has a face lift...comes back to be with her son.

Then there is Lost in Love by Michelle Reid, with the scrumptious hero Guy Fabriosa and the heroine Marnie. They were married, she miscarried....they divorce.....they remarry..quite an angst read!

[Virginia]

Leona wrote: "Virginia wrote: "Okay Jacqueline, I found the book. It isLost in Love and the main characters are Brooke and Rafe."

I think there are two books...Lost Love by Carole Mortimer...this is the one whe..."

Okay, I did confuse the two, 'thanks Leona. I have read both and have the Reid one in eBook and the Mortimer one in print. Loved both.