How to Tempt a Rogue without Even Trying by Ava Stone

September 27, 3018

Twitches do not a romance make.
http://www.avastoneauthor.com/
I picked up How to Tempt a Rogue without Even Trying by Ava Stone because I thought the title was amusing. Not being familiar with Ava Stone’s writing and always on the lookout for a new author, I thought I’d give it a try. After I finished the book I was left with a vague sense of dissatisfaction and I wasn’t quite sure why. So, I had to do some pondering – some examination of my reaction. While I was pondering I did some checking of her website. She seems to have been publishing books since 2011 and by my count she has released 25 novels and 12 novellas. That is not counting all the contribution to anthologies she’s done. That’s a lot of writing, pondering, editing, and developing in seven years. I also found reference to “new adult” books as part of her repertoire. While I don’t have a problem with teen/young adults/new adults for teens, for myself, I like a little more mature, seasoned narrative. But I was determined to finish this book.

How to Tempt… was pleasant enough, and there were even parts of it which reminded me a little of the old Signet Regency books. The big difference between this story and a Signet was most Signet characters were fully developed. How to Tempt… had the feel of a short story. Then there were the Twitch Teases.

Now, I am not really sure where I was, or what book I was reading when I first encountered the manly “twitch” of a hero’s willy-wanka-doodle, but the term “twitch” seems to be used quite a lot lately in Romanceland. Usually it’s an indicator that there will be more hubba-bubba action later in the story. I guess that will show me not to expect something based on a lifetime of reading romance. There was no hippidy-hopping in this story. In fact, there was hardly any kissing. I found this odd considering our hero had two Mr. Toad-willy-dink twitch episodes. And yes, I counted them. Oh no, no, no, I did not keep track of them while I was reading. The twitching did not throw me out of the story, but at the end of the story I remembered them. Why would one remember two Mr. Toad-willy-dink twitch moments? Well, I’ll tell you. After I finished reading the book it dawned on me that they just didn’t fit into the narrative. I had to ask myself – why were they there? They didn’t blend with the rest of the story. They were glaring in their presence in the storyline and they definitely didn’t make the book anymore sensual.

More pondering. I’m an old-school romance reader, I’ve read traditional Regency stories which didn’t even have one kiss, let alone a twitch. But, what a whole lot of those old Regency books had was a strong sensual atmosphere built between its main characters.  Shall I name some old authors from Signet? Mary Balogh, Patricia Rice, Anne Stuart, Eileen Jackson, Edith Layton, Barbara Metzger, Joan Wolf, Sheila Walsh…I could go on and on. Some of those authors are sadly no longer with us, but some of them have gone on to bigger things. All of them have one thing in common – they could write fully-developed characters with oodles of sexual tension and nary a single twitch in sight. And, it’s the twitches in this story which finally solved the mystery of what my issue with this book was.

I analyzed my reaction to How to Tempt…, and then it dawned on me.  I felt as if I had just read a high-school literature project. It was as if someone had been told to take all the elements of a romance and put them together. A formula. And, you know, I dislike intensely that romance books are often accused of being all formula. All books have a formula, a beginning, an ending, a puzzle being solved, a vampire sucking – all formula. However, this story didn’t seem to have any substance behind the formula. I don’t know, maybe it was written for younger readers – maybe they would appreciate it more than I did. All I know is when I opened it up I was expecting one thing and I got something else. Sort of like opening a package of M and M’s and getting Good and Plenty instead. It’s a shock to the system. And now I ponder some more.

More pondering. When I was growing up my reading habits were never limited to my age group. I always read books beyond the ones specific to my age. I found books created for my age group to be boring. I even remember reading Peyton Place when I was eleven, and that was definitely not my age group. Did it warp my outlook on life? Don’t think so. Did I understand everything in the book? Nah, but I asked my mother. Did my mother yank the book out of my hands? Nope. She never once discouraged me from reading beyond my comprehension or my age group. And finally, I just quit reading books which were age appropriate and I have never looked back. I’m not sure why I’m saying this, except I don’t always understand the reason behind age appropriate genres, especially for adults. Wait a minute! Maybe it’s not the age appropriateness which bothers me, maybe it’s the stories and characters which are not fully developed which is the problem. I guess, bottom line, even if the books is for teens/young adults/new adults, they should have fully developed narratives. So, I’m done digressing.

For me, this book was middling. It wasn’t fully developed, the characters lacked chemistry, and it had an incomplete, rushed feel about it. And the Romanceland standard twitching Mr. Toad winkee-dink-doodle didn’t add anything to the story. The completeness I have come to expect in my romance books was not there.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Two Twitches