book recs, author services, general badassery
  • Blog
    • Free Romance Reads
    • Our Thoughts
    • 1-Click Wonders
    • Author on Authors
    • Chattin' with Authors
    • So You're New To...
  • Book Recs
  • Reviews
    • 5-Star Reads
    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical Romance
    • New Adult Romance
    • Paranormal Romance
    • Romantic Comedy
    • Romantic Erotica
    • Romantic Suspense
    • Teen Young Adult
    • Hall of Shame
  • About
    • Contact
    • Review Policy
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Advertising on Romance Rehab
  • For Authors
    • Romance novel blurb help
    • Referral Program
    • Romance Remedy
    • Romance Author Services
    • Online Writer's Resources
    • Proofreading Test >
      • Proofreading Test Answers
  • Blog
    • Free Romance Reads
    • Our Thoughts
    • 1-Click Wonders
    • Author on Authors
    • Chattin' with Authors
    • So You're New To...
  • Book Recs
  • Reviews
    • 5-Star Reads
    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical Romance
    • New Adult Romance
    • Paranormal Romance
    • Romantic Comedy
    • Romantic Erotica
    • Romantic Suspense
    • Teen Young Adult
    • Hall of Shame
  • About
    • Contact
    • Review Policy
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Advertising on Romance Rehab
  • For Authors
    • Romance novel blurb help
    • Referral Program
    • Romance Remedy
    • Romance Author Services
    • Online Writer's Resources
    • Proofreading Test >
      • Proofreading Test Answers
Picture

Sinner

2/10/2017

0 Comments

 
NEW ADULT ROMANCE

​Title: Sinner
Author: Aubrey Irons
Publication date: 01/01/2017
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
Rating: 3

Amazon blurb
People call me a lot of things, so you can take your pick. Heartbreaker, trouble-maker, black sheep. I keep the good times flowing in my bar, and the panties dropping in my bedroom.

But then she rolls into town. Prim, proper, preacher’s daughter, saving-herself-for-marriage Evangeline Ellis.

She’s my sweet temptation. The apple in the garden. Original sin.

She’s too inexperienced. Too innocent. Too pure.
But I’m going to take that pristine purity and I’m going to make it filthy with lust. I’m going to make it mine, and she’s going to beg me for more.

She’s only in Shelter Harbor for a few weeks. Her father’s already promised her to a man she’s never even met.

But she’s down the street from my bar, tempting me every time I think about her, and I’m losing my power to resist.

The hell with the consequences, with her being off-limits, and with her being promised to someone else.

I’d say someone should have warned her about a guy like me, but then, someone did.

I warned her.

If this is sin, take me to hell, because I’ll be damned if I let her go.

My Review
First of all, let me give some kudos to the book’s cover model, who is working it. Seriously, he’s doing his thing and it’s all good. I won’t admit to downloading the book because of him, because that would be admitting that I’m a shallow book whore who totally judges books by their covers. (But just between you and me...I’m a shallow book whore who totally judges books by their covers. *Winks*)

I wish I could say that the book lives up to the bar set by the hot dude on the cover, but…

It’s not that this book wasn’t well-written, because it was. There was a nice flow to the dialogue and the pacing was good. I didn’t hate either of the main characters, which is always good. I also liked that the book put the wonderful Dusty Springfield version of “Son of a Preacher Man” in my head for a day or so while I was reading.

Here’s the stuff that bugged me and dragged down the book’s rating (and totally let down the hot cover dude, in my opinion):
  1. I’m going to take a stab at summing up the entire plot in one sentence. Here it goes: “Oh, no, I can’t have sex with you, Mr. Hot Bartender, because I’m a good Christian girl and a virgin so...oh, what the hell, let’s do it, shall we?” Yep. That’s pretty much it. Push from the hero (come on, you know you want to have sex with me), pull from the heroine (no, no, I couldn’t possibly have sex with you), more push from the hero (come on, it’ll be great), followed by heroine totally caving and having sex with the hero. It’s exhausting to read. And tedious, frankly.  
  2. The whole loan shark subplot was pointless. It added absolutely nothing to the story as a whole.   
  3. The heroine’s father and his little flunky, Chastity, were one-dimensional. Their personalities never rose above the level of stereotypical zealot. It seemed their only purpose in the story was to impede the relationship between the hero and heroine.
  4. The sex scenes themselves were fairly hot, but...they had sex in a church confessional, y’all. Now, I’m not an overly religious person, but even I cringed at that one.
  5. With a story set in modern times, I find it ridiculous—RIDICULOUS, I say—that the whole “arranged marriage” discussion even happened, let alone that the heroine ever considered, even for a split second, that she had no choice in the matter. Ugh. Total crap.
  6. The ending was super abrupt, almost like the author herself was sick of the push/pull between the characters and was just ready to end it all.      

All in all, for me, this one was a whole plateful of “meh” with a side of “blah.”  

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma? 
While it didn’t blow my skirt up, I can’t really say it’s doing anything to contribute to or crush the romance stigma. (Although it is within kissing distance of contributing to the “romance is unrealistic” part of the stigma)

Other reading suggestions
Can’t say I know of too many other “slightly depraved but hot son a preacher man meets virginal heroine” reads. But, for good, light and funny (and fairly clean) “hot guy next door” story, try Kristan Higgins’ Too Good to be True. In new adult romance (and on the sexier side), I highly recommend Neighbor Dearest, by Penelope Ward. For a good, sexy virginal heroine read, try Kristen Ashley’s Breathe.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Romance Rehab newsletter sign up

    FOLLOW US 
    Reedsy Top Book Reviewer 2019

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

Picture

BLOG
FREE Romance books
​Book Recommendations

Our Thoughts
1-Click Wonders
5-Star Reads
Authors on Authors
Chattin' with Authors
So You're New To...
What Not to Read
REVIEWS
​
Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
New Adult Romance
Paranormal Romance
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Erotica
Romantic Suspense
Teen/Young Adult
ABOUT
Contact
Review Policy
Guest Post Guidelines
Advertising on
​Romance Rehab

​
FOR AUTHORS
Online Writer's Resources
Proofreading Test
ROMANCE AUTHOR SERVICES 
Romance novel blurb help
Romance Remedy program

Referral program

Romance author services
  • Book cover critique
  • Animated book covers and social media graphics
  • Beta reading
FREE Romance Rehab newsletter: ​Subscribe here
KnockinBooks LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
​© 2020 KnockinBooks LLC