By May I’m looking for a few average men. I don’t want a hero in a uniform, the ultimate alpha male, the billionaire sheik/vampire/Viking/angel either today. No, I just want a regular, ordinary, nothing special guy to read about in my romance novels. He could be average looking, or unremarkable in his own way. Standing in a room full of people, you would not notice him except that he is very common. He blends. Perhaps he is shy, perhaps he has super secret spy Continue Reading
Where are the Rock Stars?
Recently Olivia Cunning unveiled the next cover for her Sinners on Tour series. This features a popular rock band, as they tour around the country finding love and having lots of sex. The first book in this series, Backstage Pass was filthy fun. The second book, not so much but I still like the idea of a book with rock stars. One of the sexiest things in the world is a man standing on stage singing to you, right? So why am I not reading more of them? Where are they? Maybe they are all around Continue Reading
The Aftermath of Plagiarism
In case you haven’t heard, yesterday news broke that the popular young adult blog The Story Siren, written by Kristi Diehm was accused of plagiarism in January of this year. You can read how this plagiarism was discovered here and here. In that article, they do not name The Story Siren, deciding to keep her name private. However, yesterday it was discovered that it was for sure The Story Siren who was the plagiarizer, which is why the drama unfolded a few months after the the original date of Continue Reading
Revenge Sex and Romance
I've read two books in a row this week that features revenge sex – where the heroine feels jilted by the hero for a past wrong deed and decides to get revenge by sleeping with him, and then dumping him once he falls in love. But of course, she sleeps with him and she falls in love, making things very complicated, yet not really feeling very revengeful. I’ve come to realize, I just don’t like this set-up. It’s fun at first because the heroine gets that evil glint in her eye. She is super pissed Continue Reading
Smexy’s Rule of Romance
As I’ve read romance over the years, I’ve collected little rules I live by when reading a book. I’m all about stretching my boundaries as I read, for example BDSM books have a way of making me reach outside my box. Broken and Dirty by Megan Hart have pushed on my emotional boundaries (in a wonderful way.) But I do have a few rules I read by: Rule #1. If there is going to be a rape scene, the author better tread very, very carefully. Example of a rape scene (and aftermath) handled well: Mercy Continue Reading
Tori and the Wall Street Journal Talk Erotic
Recently, our very own Tori Benson was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal to give her thoughts on the types of erotic books she reads and how she reads them. We all know Tori is a huge reader and she has been contributing articles about the erotic genre to Heroes & Heartbreakers for some time now. For example, BDSM: Spelling it out in Erotic Romance or Searching for the Elusive F/M/F Menage in Erotic Romance (Oh, that is a hard one to find.) With the whole Fifty Shades of Grey (is Continue Reading
May’s Love of the Ugly Hero
I love the tale of Beauty & the Beast except for one thing: when the beast turns into a wimpy little pretty boy prince at the end. The thing is, I liked reading about a dark, physically unappealing man and how he woos his lady love. She doesn’t have to be a beauty either. In fact, I’ve noticed that making heroines “plain” or “not beautiful” by society standards is quite common but how often do we have plain or downright ugly heroes? Not often at all, and my recent reading and Continue Reading
Mandi Goes Back to 1984 and Falls in Love With Jake Ryan
I recently admitted to the world that I haven’t really seen any movies from the 80’s. As in – no Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, no St. Elmo’s Fire, no Say Anything etc…Why you ask…well, I don’t know. You would think in the past 34 years I would somehow come across come of these movies. But somehow I haven’t. This news did not get a warm reception from my friends. There was an uproar. People started tweeting me Jake Ryan quotes, and I said – who? I think some broke down in tears. Thankfully Tori Continue Reading
Nicole and Mandi Chat about Emotional M/M Books
I talk a lot on Twitter with Nicole (who also blogs at The Book Pushers) about books. After a little pushing (me pushy? No way.) she tried the m/m romance genre...and she has found some great books. We wanted to do a post exploring just what it is that draws us so emotionally to certain characters in this genre. Mandi: First of all Nicole, we know you tweet and blog. Give us a little more background about yourself. Nicole: Oh dear, I’m not very interesting... Let’s see - I’ve been married Continue Reading
Stop SOPA/PIPA
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) has been on the news and around the internet a lot lately, and for good reason. It is stated to stop piracy, like illegal downloads of movies etc...but its broad terms may have severe consequences. Per this article on BBC: The US government and rights holders would have the right to seek court orders against any site accused of "enabling or facilitating" piracy. This could theoretically involve an entire Continue Reading