The world is kind of on fire these days and books have been hit or miss for me. I also picked up no less than 3 books this week and because of blurbs or start dates, decided not to read them.
FYI- If you are in the MD/DC/VA area, come out to the Baltimore Book Festival where Maryland Romance Writers will have a tent filled with panels and romance peeps, including me. Here is the full schedule.
Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein– I saw several people on Twitter talking about this and I felt like the universe was telling me it was time for a re-read. I really needed a read that I knew I was going to enjoy.
This book was published in April 2016 and I listed it as one of my favorite reads of 2016. This was the little blurb I used to describe it.
Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein- Stein at her best. Gritty and emotional, heroine was once bullied by the hero. Something only this author could make me tolerate and then fall in love with the hero. Some hot and dirty smexing in this book too.
The story definitely stands up to the test of time. It’s angsty and emotional. The whole premise is that the hero previously bullied the heroine in high school. It’s two years later and they end up at the same college. Letty is rightfully wary of the hero, Tate. But over time they get closer.
Letty has her guard up pretty high and Tate slowly builds a foundation of trust. Their attraction grows over time and smexy times are hot.
Stein gives a master class examples of how sex doesn’t have to be penetrative sex to be hot and sexy AF. Seriously, other authors please take note, P in V is not the only way characters can have sex. There is mutual masturbation in this book in case that is something you like.
Stein wrote an amazing redemptive arc for Tate. I completely believe in his growth as a human. And their relationship and their HEA. Here an absolute gem quote from Tate talking to Letty-
“That’s not what I meant. I meant that you were always at your very best when I was at my worst.”
Oh, and did I mention that Tate is a fan of performing oral sex? Hmm, well he is. For reasons. But here Letty and Tate are having a conversation about sex in movies and how it’s rarely about the woman’s pleasure.
“One thrust and done.”
“You can’t say that about Swayze.”
“I can and will and have.”
“But his hips though. His hip action.”
“All the hip action in the world can’t help you when you think collarbone kissing and some grinding is going to get her motor revving.”
“So what would get her motor revving?”
“Eating pussy would probably be a good start.”
She had been looking at him up until that point. But as soon as she heard the word pussy, she had to glance away. It rang out like an alarm in the tiny room: turn back turn back turn back before it’s too late. The only problem was: she didn’t know how to turn back. Or know why she wanted to.
“Okay. Okay but you just said yourself that this is a pretty tame movie. I mean it’s not like they can just show him . . . doing that to her.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why can’t they have him going down on her? They show guys getting blow jobs in PG-13 movies all the time. Hell, they do it in pretty family friendly comedies.”
“They do not. Name one movie where that happens.”
“Police Academy. Ghostbusters. Ace Ventura.”
She went to protest again, then stopped. Mostly because her brain was already supplying the scenes he was talking about. “Oh my god. Oh my god, you’re right.”
“I am as amazed as you are.”
Stein’s voice is amazing and emotional and I pretty much love everything about it. Her way with descriptions is unlike anyone else I have read in romance. If you haven’t read this book here are some quotes to help convince you. But if you have read it, maybe this will encourage a re-read.
I thought the book was well-written (as is everything Stein writes), but the bullying was so severe (I mean—spoiler—the heroine is hospitalized at the beginning of the book because of the bullying of the “hero” and his friends) I really couldn’t understand the heroine voluntarily spending even a few minutes in the guy’s company. I could not recommend this book to anyone who has been bullied. I would, however, wholeheartedly recommend Stein’s THE PROFESSOR which is an “all the feels” romance.
Kini, thank you so much for revisiting this 2016 release. I am a fan of Charlotte Stein and all her interesting story subjects. She’s fallen off my radar of late, but I think I’ll have to pick this one up. I love a hero that can be redeemed.
I started Never Sweeter but put it aside due to the bullying that was taking place. Thanks for the suggestion of Stein’s THE PROFESSOR, DiscoDollyDeb; I’ll take a look at it.