Tempting the Prince
by Patricia Grasso
Buy book: $6.29

This spellbinding new novel by the author of "Pleasuring the Prince" blends passion and peril into an unforgettable romantic adventure as a prince engages in a dangerous game of deception to win the woman he loves.

I'm getting tired of books whose characters have ridiculous names like Blaze, Bliss, and Fancy. It distracts me from the storyline, and I can't get into the book or get comfortable with the characters when I'm laughing each time I read their names. Why do authors do this? Is it an attempt to separate their work from others'?

I had a hard time getting past the fact that we jumped from throat slashing to the smell of horse crap to a way too detailed description of flowers. It just didn't flow and I felt the author was trying too hard to wow us.

I was going to say the same thing about the contrived names. Her sister's response to Belle's touch almost leads me to suspect a magical element to the story, as well, which I think would be out of place. Despite that, the story synopsis intrigued me, so I will give it another day or two.

I thought I would give the online reading a try and I get this book that is not at all interesting. I'm not sure how the rest of the story unfolds but I definitely was not impressed with the beginning.

Peggy,
Don't give up on the book club forum based just on this one read. As with any library search, the readings are hit and miss. But I have discovered several good reads this way.

So far, we have murder, dung, more dung, and dirt, and now a stuffy husband to be, that I dislike after a few sentences. Sounds like it should be interesting,but I will only continue to read it because it will be in my email, but I can say I would take this one back if I paid for it.

Sorry, I will have to pass on the rest of this week. This book is pretty bad!

I was close to giving up on this book. The opening scene with the sisters seemed forced and the relationships didn't seem all that natural.

However the scene between father and daughter was sweet and very natural. The author definitely wrote from her heart when she wrote this scene.

I will read thru the week and who knows.

So far this books seems to be poorly written and annoying!

Unlike Suzanne's other book clubs (I belong to 4) the Romance category seems to choose pretty sub-par selections. I find very few books that are worth continuing on with-- unlike the other book clubs where I find all kinds of great reads that I later continue and recommend to friends and family.

I think that the Book Club's Romance Category tends to select authors who are not "best in their fields" by any means. There are some great romance novelists out there but we almost never see them here. We just see what I would consider "B-list" reads.

I feel that I can say this since I read a lot of romance novels (probably 30 or so a month). However, I limit myself to good authors who manage to have a interesting plot, tell a good story, create enjoyable & likeable characters, are able to write at least at college-level, do their research and stay within the bounds of probability.

Maybe I'm being too harsh? What do the rest of you romance readers think???

I think there are a lot better romance novels out there.

In the 4-5 months I have belonged to this book club I have only read 2 of the selections from the romance category whereas I've read or intend to read at least half of the mystery selections and a good percentage from the fiction selections.

They do throw in an established best selling author here in there ie: Susan Wiggs, but maybe should mix it up a little more.

I've read some great romance novels and not one of my favorite authors has ever appeared in this book club. And I have more than my fair share. I've checked out a few of the selections from the library. But have never gone on to purchase additional books by the same author.

They are mostly B reads, worth an evening, but I don't generally read the books cover to cover. They don't usually capture my attention that well.

I would like to see some more A level romance authors here. My all time favorite is Judith Ivory, who has very few titles too her name, but I always measure all other romance novelists against her.

I would love to see more character driven books, like Ivory's, and fewer driven by circumstances. Especially when the circumstances are a stretch of even the most active imagination.

Thanks for the feedback. We are reading your comments, and we'd love some suggestions of books you would like to see us feature in the Romance Book Club. We run one week historical and one week contemporary and some books have a romantic flavor to it, but it's not a typical romance. Perhaps we should include some of those books as well. Your suggestions are very much appreciated! Please email me your thoughts.

Suzanne Beecher
suzanne@dearreader.com