LynneC’s review of Real Men Will (Donovan Brothers Brewery, Book 3) by Victoria Dahl
Contemporary Romance published by HQN 25 Oct 11

This is the last of the Donovan Brothers Brewery series, and it is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy. I’ve had a great time with these books and the last one wasn’t a letdown, as I thought it might be.

When I read in the blurb that Eric meets Beth and spends the night with her, using his brother’s name, I was worried that the book might be a Big Misunderstanding, not one of my favorite tropes. But the story starts with Beth discovering that Eric deceived her, so the misunderstanding is sorted out early on. Thank goodness.

Beth is the manageress of the local sex shop, but it’s a classy one, and Beth’s mission is to introduce women to their sexuality. Only she doesn’t have much experience in that line herself, only what she’s learned academically. But at least she’s not a virgin. I’d really have enjoyed it if Beth had been a woman of experience and she taught Eric a few things. I think that is a slight chickening out by Dahl. In any case, Beth is a likeable character, and she’s drawn into the plot via her father, who is a straitlaced man who doesn’t know she runs a sex shop. He thinks she manages a bra store, which, in a way, she does. Beth is smart, doesn’t do anything TSTL just for the sake of the plot, and she’s in character throughout.

Eric is the oldest Donovan brother, and he’s the most difficult to know. I’m surprised to learn in this book that Eric is adopted, since I don’t think there’d been a mention of it in the previous books in the series. He feels displaced, and he doesn’t even look like his siblings. But when his parents died in a car crash, he was twenty four and he took control of the brewery and bringing up his siblings. I did feel a bit of a disconnect, since Eric seems to be the only one who worries about it. Nobody else cares, so why should he? As far as they’re concerned, Tessa and Jamie look on him as their brother. Simple as. Eric should get over it, since he’s done so much for the family and the brewery is a success. Jamie’s new venture into serving food also makes Eric feel out of place. He feels left out. I’m not entirely convinced, but despite that, I like Eric. He has a sense of honor and responsibility and he knows that his youth, when he should have been sowing wild oats, were spent running the family business instead.

When Eric and Beth finally get together—wow. The sex scenes are truly hot, and I think a lot of the reason for that is that you get to know Eric and Beth beforehand. Beth dares to try some things she’s wondered about, and Eric is only too pleased to help her. Together they have a lot of fun.

But you see enough of them out of the bedroom to understand why they are falling for each other and you totally believe in their happy ending.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series. Sometimes the family dynamic is a little too much, and I wonder why they bothered to stay together, since they did nothing but argue and misunderstand each other. But the brewery background is convincing and, to me at least, fascinating. The plot about the break-in that started in the first book doesn’t really add too much to the series, and I would have liked more development, but the characters of the Kendalls are nowhere near as carefully or as cleverly drawn as the other characters. Even Beth’s colleague Cairo has a more rounded character.

But I’d read these again and I’m looking forward to Ms Dahl’s next books. Dare I try a historical?

Grade: B

Summary:

It was meant to be a one-night stand. One night of passion. Scorching-hot. Then Beth Cantrell and Eric Donovan were supposed to go their separate ways. That’s the only reason he lied about his name, telling her he was really his wild younger brother. Hiding his identity as the conservative Donovan. The “good one.”But passion has its own logic, and Eric finds he can’t forget the sable-haired beauty with whom he shared a night of love. When Beth discovers that Eric has lied, however, she knows he can’t be trusted. Her mind tells her to forget the blue-eyed charmer. If only every fiber of her being didn’t burn to call him back.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

LynneC’s review of Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery, Book 2) by Victoria Dahl
Contemporary Romance published by HQN 27 Sep 11

While I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first in the series, I still had a good time with this book. Another well researched book with lively characters and a believable story.

Jamie Donovan is the middle sibling of the family who inherited Donovan Brewery from their parents when they were killed in a car accident when he was sixteen. He is the happy-go-lucky one, the man who creates trouble and sails through life, the one women adore. That’s from the outside. Although Jamie is now twenty-nine, he’s never outlived the difficult phase he went through after his parents died, when he bunked school, went to wild parties and generally rebelled. In the first book, Jamie slept with Victoria, and so set up the loss of business for his company when her father found out. But I’m relieved to find that Victoria isn’t the heroine of this book. It’s Olivia.

Olivia teaches at the local university, but she married an older man when she was twenty-two, and although she’s been divorced for a year, she’s never really got into the whole having fun thing. Her friend Gwen invites her to a “book club” at Donovans’, which is really a chance to chat and ogle Jamie, who will sometimes wear an Irish kilt when he’s serving. And since Jamie’s share of the work is to deal with the bar and the front of house stuff, he’s usually there.

So Olivia needs fun and Jamie can provide it. That’s on the surface. Underneath, there’s an awful lot of other stuff going on, and as the book progresses, the reader discovers more.
I think this book could have been shorter. There is definitely a long middle, when Jamie and Olivia’s romance seems to be going fine and the other story is working through. But Dahl’s style is professional enough and smooth enough that you keep reading. The sex is nice and hot and adds to the enjoyment.

Jamie goes to the classes Olivia is teaching on entertainment management. He wants to expand the bar and provide eating. The bar has the space. His problem is that his siblings, Tessa and Eric, don’t take him seriously because of his transgressions when younger. It’s a shame that there is a rational explanation for Jamie’s conduct in the things Tessa and Eric blame him for. I say a shame, because I rather like the idea of seeing feckless Jamie reform, but in reality he’d already reformed.

Olivia is accused of fraternizing, but since the classes in question are summer school and there are no credits involved, it’s a bit of a non-issue. This part of the story isn’t as strong as some other parts and doesn’t really provide a conflict, since it’s over as soon as it’s begun, and when it’s resolved in the end, it’s a bit of a let-down, but I could buy into it. It’s also vaguely irritating when Olivia thinks about her age for the umpteenth time. She’s thirty-five, but she’s an inexperienced thirty-five, and so the difference between her and Jamie isn’t that much. But as an old-fashioned girl, it would seem like a big deal to her, and it is in character, so I figure if I were her friend, I’d probably tell her to shut up and leave it at that.

I’d still recommend this book for the vivid characterization, well researched and depicted setting, and great writing technique.

Grade: B-

Summary:

Olivia Bishop is no fun. That’s what her ex-husband said. And that’s what her smart bob and glasses imply. So with her trademark determination, Olivia sets out to remake her life. She’s going to spend time with her girlfriends and not throw it all away for some man. But when an outing with her book club leads her to a brewery taproom, the dark-haired beauty realizes that trouble—in the form of sexy Jamie Donovan—may be too tempting to avoid.Jamie Donovan doesn’t mean to be bad. Sure, the wild streak in his wicked green eyes has lured the ladies before. Now it’s time to grow up. He’s even ready for a serious romance. But how can that be when Olivia, the only right woman he has ever met, already has him pegged as wrong?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

More and more I’m seeing authors who are confronted with readers saying “this is wrong,” reply, “it’s only fiction,” which they seem to think means they can make up anything they want to.

Of course, the most egregious offenders are some historical romance writers, who can’t even get titles right. “The Viscount Smith” or addressing a duke as “my lord” or an earl who decides where his title goes. Of course, the writer is creating her own vision of history, but that doesn’t mean she can ignore the facts of the period.

Jane over at Dear Author has written a column about why she avoids lawyers in fiction. That’s why I’m starting to avoid historical romances. They hurt. They are an insult to the people who actually lived. And it’s why I’d love to see a new genre of historical fantasy. I’m not stuck on the name, call it what you like, but the idea of people who live in an alternative Regency where dukes become spies and titles are gifted by the holder rather than inherited has some merit. It means historians like me know what to expect, and it means that authors who bother to do research and write as near as they can to the truth can get their druthers. Like the Highland romance which usually has very little resemblance to the real thing, the alternative could be amusing and a good read.

Conversely, there are stories that are meticulous in their research. So much so that you can almost hear the author thinking, “I’ve got to shove it down because I researched it, and if it doesn’t go into the book, that’s a waste of time.” So not true. The stuff that doesn’t go in is in the author’s head and informs her. So she knows her heroine uses a chamber pot not a flush toilet, and that’s how her heroine thinks and behaves. It helps to create a richer, fuller picture, rather than a prom queen in a vague pre-computer era story.

Contemporary-set romances have many of the same problems that historical romances do – stories set in London where the streets don’t meet where they should or where a car runs along a street that is actually pedestrianized, cars that run both ways up or down Madison Avenue, professional sports teams that only have one uniform to wear in a match, doctors who have affairs with their patients without consequences.

It’s even more important when the plot hinges on something that can’t actually happen. For instance, when a book depends on a lawsuit that isn’t valid, like those romances that say that the property can’t be inherited unless Joy marries Dirk, once the reader realizes that the will can be set aside as it’s invalid, the whole plot, and therefore the whole story, falls apart. The “oh we can marry and then get an annulment” plot in historical romance is another one. No, they couldn’t. So none of the story could have happened. It’s infuriating when a story falls apart like that.

It can be argued that a reader’s expectations come into play. Georgette Heyer set up a lot of conventions that weren’t actually real. Not facts, she was meticulous in her facts, but expectations, like everyone was in London for the Season and in the country the rest of the time. Or that ladies had dance cards in the Regency. These have since been shown not to be the case, but it can be difficult for a writer to face these rules down, especially against avid readers who expect those conventions.

Forbidden relationships of an employer/employee nature or a doctor/patient, lawyer/client, teacher/pupil can be delicious, but they can also be horrendous. If the story doesn’t deal with all the problems of that kind of relationship, then it can fall flat. The whole point of writing about such a relationship is the forbidden aspect, so ramp it up and deal with it, even if it means the employer, doctor or whatever loses his or her job in the process. Without the discussion, the story can be icky, (sorry to get so technical there, folks!) and downright abusive.

These days, with the bigger publishers taking less interest in content and more in marketability, as if a book is the same as a magazine or even a can of beans it’s more important, not less, that an author takes responsibility for the content of the book.

The argument “it’s only fiction” shows several things. It shows that the author doesn’t understand what fiction is. It doesn’t mean “you can make everything up, it doesn’t have to reflect reality.” It doesn’t mean “it’s not important because the reader doesn’t care.” We do care. Very much.

It also means that the author is losing a big chunk of her readership. Sports fans who would normally be a sitting audience for a football book will turn away in droves if the author gets her basic facts wrong. Historians who would love a well-written romance about the period they specialize in are forced away because it isn’t the period they know and love, just a vague recollection of it. Lawyers who might enjoy a story about lawyers working on rival cases who fall in love but can’t believe the way events turn out. They’re gone, and they won’t come back, because it hurts too much to read about something they love and maybe earn their living doing travestied beyond indulgent laughter.

“Just fiction” means the author can insert characters into a situation that already exists, not that everything has to be made up that doesn’t fit into what the author wants to happen. And eventually it leads to “same old, same old” romances that read like rehashes of the last book. So the author could write herself out of a career.

Doing the research in whatever field it happens to be leads to rich, believable and original situations and characters, books a reader will keep on the keeper shelf and return to time after time. I’ve recently been enjoying Victoria Dahl’s books set in a micro-brewery. Now what I know about that business is strictly from the customer side of the bar, but the details are so good that they add to the texture and the richness of the stories. I don’t have to know about micro-breweries to know that Dahl did a fair bit of research, to add a nicely detailed background that adds fun and believability to her romance.

When books are written that are clearly parodies of the setting rather than well researched recreations of it, it gives more fuel to the knockers, the people who love to denigrate the whole genre on the basis of a few books. When standards are low, that is what the reader will get.

As an author, I’ve always tried to remember the motto, “I do the research so you don’t have to,” and I’ve always tried hard to keep to that. If I say that some people keep private speedboats in private docks on the Thames, then you can be sure that I’ve done the necessary work to make sure that’s possible. I’ve made mistakes, but not for want of trying to get it right.

It’s not up to the reader to do the research for you.

LynneC’s review of Good Girls Don’t (Donovan Family Series, Book 1) by Victoria Dahl
Contemporary Romance published by HQN Books 30 Aug 11

I had a lot of fun reading this book. It’s the start of a trilogy featuring siblings who own a microbrewery. The background is convincingly brought to life and the characters clearly depicted, so I could really relax into this one. Dahl is in charge of the story every bit of the way, and I could safely let her guide me through. At no point did I become jolted out of the story. WTG, Ms. Dahl.

The series starts with the sister’s story. Tessa arrives at the microbrewery to discover that while her brother Jamie had set the alarms, he’d left the premises when he shouldn’t have, and, in his absence, thieves broke in and stole their computers and a keg of beer.

She is incandescent, especially when she discovers that Jamie’s leave of absence is so he could spend a little time with the daughter of the man they’re just about to sign a big contract with. His daughter is his princess, so the deal could be off.

Their elder brother, Eric, takes everything on his own shoulders, and Jamie and heroine decide not to tell him. Or rather, Tessa decides not to and persuades the guilt-ridden Jamie to go along with her scheme. She’ll fix everything herself.

Since we already know that Tessa isn’t a bossy female, we know that is part of her problem. But it doesn’t really emerge until later, so I won’t spoil it for you.

Attending the scene of the crime is Luke, the hero, and his partner, Simone, who is heavily pregnant. They are detectives and not an item, although Luke won’t tell about Simone’s pregnancy because she refuses to name the father. He lets people think what they like, so of course, they do.

And the story rolls on from there. Luke and Tessa have their moments, and the sex scenes, while described graphically, aren’t in any way generic. They describe that man and that woman and nobody else. They explore each other, they go on dates and get to know each other. The development of their relationship is totally believable and engrossing.

Sometimes when other characters intrude on a relationship, it can get irritating, but I don’t find it so in this book. I enjoyed Tessa’s interactions with her brothers and the other characters. I only found one character too obvious and a bit of a cliché, which is unfortunate.

The mystery side of the story, which emerges from the robbery, isn’t as well done as the romance, but it is enough to keep the story chugging along, and at times it gives the other events a shove in the right direction. The resolution is a little disappointing, but it will probably continue in other books and I honestly can’t say that I minded very much.

While the treatment of the story is light, it’s not exactly comedy, which I enjoyed because romantic comedies don’t always work for me. The characters care for each other and have lives of their own. And the brothers aren’t there just for sequel bait. We get to know them a bit and they have their parts in the story, they’re not just here to wave and say “just you wait for my book”!

A really enjoyable read, and I can’t wait for the next book. Just as well I don’t have to!

Grade: B+

Summary:

With her long ponytail and sparkling green eyes, Tessa Donovan looks more like the girl next door than a businesswoman – or a heartbreaker. Which may explain why Detective Luke Asher barely notices her when he arrives to investigate a break-in at her family’s brewery. He’s got his own problems – starting with the fact that his partner Simone is pregnant and everyone thinks he’s the father. The last thing he needs is a nice girl like Tessa getting under his skin.Tessa has her hands full, too. Her brother’s playboy ways may be threatening the business, and the tensions could tear her tight-knit family apart.  In fact, the only thing that could unite the Donovan boys is seeing a man come after their “baby” sister. Especially a man like Luke Asher. But Tessa sees past the rumors to the man beneath.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

C2’s review of One Week As Lovers by Victoria Dahl
Historical romance released by Zebra 1 Aug 09

Nicholas Cantry, Viscount Lancaster, is known throughout the ton for being good-humored, easygoing and charming. It is common knowledge that he must marry a fortune to save his family from financial disgrace – brought on by previous holders of the title – but he is well-liked and no one faults him for being a fortune hunter. It isn’t always easy to be good-humored and easygoing, though. Especially when one walks in on his fiancee in an extremely compromising position with another man. Ah, faithful reader, Lancaster has hidden depths. Depths he has worked hard to hide and keep hidden.

After arriving home from his less-than-stellar evening, Lancaster receives a letter from the housekeeper of his childhood home. The letter is to inform him that a childhood friend and neighbor, Miss Cynthia Merrithorpe, is dead. Though he hasn’t visited the family estate in years or heard from Cynthia since they were children, some time away from London sounds appealing. Lancaster decides to go and pay his last respects.

Little does our viscount know that last respects are not needed. Cynthia was about to be married off to Lord Richmond to settle her step-father’s debts. Richmond has a horrible reputation. His previous marriages ended with his wives’ mysterious deaths and rumors of all sorts of depravity surround him. Rather than find herself his next victim, Cynthia decides to stage her own death (falling off a cliff into the sea… very dramatic) and run away to start a new life.

Cynthia must stay hidden until she turns 21 and has some control over her life or until she finds the treasure hinted at in an old family journal. With the help of the housekeeper, Cynthia hides at Cantry Manor. Nick’s unexpected arrival puts a crimp in her plans. How does one convince the lord of the manor to depart when he just arrived? Why, make him think his house is haunted, of course. I ask you, faithful reader, does such a ploy ever work? Not so much.

After the mysterious haunting is de-bunked, Cynthia explains her situation to Nick and he agrees to let her stay hidden and offers to help find the treasure – he could use a treasure to help him out of the bind he is in, as well. And so the adventure begins.

Nick and Cynthia are both intrigued and baffled by the changes brought on by growing up. In some ways, each easily sees the childhood friend but some changes are difficult to explain. Nick’s mysterious scar, for example. What happened? How and when did he get it? He says it’s from a burn but is it really? What happened to her sweet childhood friend? How did he become the almost-too-polished person he is now?

Nick is drawn to Cynthia but knows he mustn’t get involved with her. Even if he weren’t betrothed, he is no longer the sweet-natured easygoing boy he was. He has needs she should not be subjected to. But is it his decision alone? Cynthia doesn’t think so…she sees no reason they can’t be lovers while they look for the treasure. But will she convince Nick? Well, the title is One Week as Lovers so I suppose you know the answer.

But other questions remain – will the treasure be found? Will Cynthia escape Richmond’s evil clutches? What happened to Nick? Where did he get the scar? What about his betrothed back in London? For those answers and more – like snappy dialogue and sweetly hot romance, tortured heroes and spunky heroines – check out the latest entry in Dahl’s Regency series.

Grade: B+

Summary:
.
Some Pleasures, Once Tasted…
.
Even after finding his betrothed in the arms of another man, Nicholas, the Viscount Lancaster, knows he must wed. Propriety—and the dire state of his finances—decrees it. At least a visit to his country estate provides relief from playing the role of loving fiancé, as well as a surprising encounter with Cynthia Merrithorpe. Once his childhood companion, Cynthia has grown into a lovely, alluring woman—one who’s undertaken a daring ruse to avoid being sold into a miserable marriage.
.
Are Too Delicious To Forget…
.
When Nicholas left for London to assume his new title, Cynthia was forced to put aside her girlish infatuation. Now he’s returned, more wickedly attractive than ever. And this time, Cynthia is determined to experience the pleasure she’s dreamed of for so long. But with a man like Nicholas, seduction is only the beginning of a sensual journey that will tempt them both to defy convention, and uncover the very heart of desire…
.
Excerpt not available at the time the review was written.

Other related books:

C-Squared’s review of Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl
Contemporary romance released by HQN 1 Jan 09

Molly Jennings has just moved back to her hometown.  She left the big city because her stalker ex-boyfriend was making her life miserable.   Molly has another secret she isn’t sharing with the hometown folk, too – she writes erotic romances.

One of the first people she encounters is her high school crush, her brother’s best friend and the current police chief – Ben Lawson.  The sparks she thought she imagined when she was young are still there and even more sparkly.

Not long after she moves into her house, Molly notices some strange things happening and calls the police (one of very few logical decisions she makes).  Soon she and Ben are doing more than throwing sparks.  Even though she continues to keep her secrets from Ben and everyone else.  Even though she knows he doesn’t like secrets.  Even though he knows she is a big bundle of secrets.

Molly is an interesting character.  On one hand, she is a strong, funny, intelligent, independent woman who’s not afraid to take charge of her sexuality (the love scenes are smokin’!) and on the other hand, she borders on TSTL.  If you have had issues with a stalker and move to a new house in a new town and are old friends with the chief of police, wouldn’t you mention it?  Wouldn’t you make sure the house was extra secure?  Or get a dog, at least??  If you know the man you’re getting involved with intensely dislikes secrets, wouldn’t you try to be honest?  At least, as honest as you can?

I am certainly not in favor of giving out too much information – especially to family and friends – when you know it will only worry or disappoint people.  But that line of reasoning stops when danger to my person rears its ugly head.  Jeez.

Ben is a good guy – he personifies the old adage about still waters running deep – and he obviously has the patience of a saint.  Most people would have thrown their hands in the air and walked away from Molly’s shenanigans, no matter how hot the sex was.

This was my first book by Victoria Dahl and it won’t be my last.  It was very good.  With a few tweaks to the characterization of Molly, it would have been excellent.

Grade: B

Summary:

Molly Jenkins has one naughty little secret: her job as a bestselling erotic fiction author. Until her inspiration runs dry-thanks to a creepy ex-and it’s time to skip town and move back to tiny Tumble Creek, Colorado.

One look at former high school hunk chief of police Ben Lawson and Molly is back in business. The town gossip is buzzing at her door and, worse still, a stalker seems to be watching her every move. Thankfully, her very own lawman has taken to coming over, often. The only problem now is that Molly may have to let the cat out of the bag about her chosen profession, and straitlaced Ben will definitely not approve….

Read an excerpt.