Stevie‘s review of Model Behavior by MJ Williamz
Lesbian Erotic Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 16 Apr 19
Through various aspects of my day job, I’ve come into contact with different facets of the body positivity movement as well as organisations that provide support, and campaign, for individuals with visible differences, and I’m always interested to find books with protagonists who don’t fit the old stereotypes of what a romance hero or heroine should look like. So I was very excited to spot this book when it came up for review, even if the use of the word ‘disfigured’ in the blurb jumped out at me as being problematic. A few weeks went by before I actually got ’round to reading the book, and the fine details of the blurb had escaped me by then. So while I knew that someone’s ex was going to do something to one of our heroines, I couldn’t entirely remember what or whom. As is generally the way in romancelandia, we meet our heroines before they get together. A long time before (in page count terms) in this instance.
When we first meet Ronnie Mannis, she’s hosting a dinner party for a group of her friends, as well as for Lana Ferguson, a fashion model, with whom Ronnie, a photographer, has recently worked with. Although Ronnie vowed not to get her heart broken again after her last serious relationship ended, she’s become convinced that her rules might have to be broken on Lana’s account. Unfortunately, Lana has heard all about Ronnie’s love-them-and-leave-them reputation and is determined not to be drawn in, no matter how attractive she finds Ronnie. Ronnie consoles herself with a string of one-night stands, continuing to maintain a professional relationship with Lana, while Lana also makes new friends who appear to have a romantic interest in her. Eventually, however, the two get together, although Ronnie finds that one of her casual flings wasn’t interpreted quite that way by the other woman involved.
Ronnie and Lana find themselves stalked by Ronnie’s ex, whose behaviour becomes increasingly threatening, until she eventually attacks Lana, leaving her with what Lana believes to be potentially career-ending injuries. Fearing that Ronnie was only attracted to her for the way she previously looked, Lana attempts to break off all contact with her and also breaks her contract with the modelling agency through which she had been working. Ronnie then has to attempt to convince Lana that she’s still the one for her – a section of the book I find very rushed, as is the plot thread dealing with the investigation into the attack on Lana: although various characters express doubts as to the identity of the perpetrator, all these are swept away as soon as Ronnie’s ex is arrested.
I found the writing in this novel to be very clunky and, for the most part, lacking in emotion or deep characters’ insights. I could have also done without so much detailing of Ronnie’s and Lana’s dates with other people before they finally got together. There was a lot of sex – this being an erotic romance – I just wish more of it could have involved the two central characters together rather than separately. And the rushed happy ending, with no discussion of where Lana’s career was going now, was the biggest disappointment of all. I’m definitely the wrong reader for this author.
Grade: D
Summary:
Fashion photographer Ronnie Mannis loves women. She loves to photograph them, and she especially loves to sleep with them. But when she meets model Lana Ferguson, she knows she’s found the one for her. Lana has never been happier, and this time it could even be love.
Ronnie is finally ready to settle down, but her ex, Whitney LaRoche, isn’t going to accept that she’s moved on. When Whitney’s jealousy ends in an attack that leaves Lana disfigured, Lana’s world comes crashing down. Her career is over, and life as she knows it changes forever. Certain that Ronnie, surrounded by the world’s most desirable women, couldn’t possibly want her now, Lana pushes her away.
Despite her guilt over the price Lana has paid for her past mistakes, Ronnie vows to convince Lana she’s just as beautiful as ever in all the ways that matter most.
Read an excerpt.
