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text 2016-06-24 06:05
A Hard Bargain
A Virgin for His Prize (Ruthless Russians) - Lucy Monroe

I was surprised how much I liked this one. I had been disappointed with the other book in this duology, An Heiress for His Empire. This book, it hit all the right notes.

I really liked the discussions that Romi and Maxwell had. It was clear that they were actually friends in addition to lovers. I am 1000% over playboy/womanizer heroes, but I think this worked for me because Maxwell did have some vulnerability. He may have seemed like he was holding all the cards, but Romi was someone he really wanted and needed in his life, despite his fear of falling in love and his belief that love didn't exist. Romi is nicely independent and straightforward.

I did think the whole, "I'm tired of being a twenty-four year old virgin" comment was a bit eye-rolling. That really is not that old to be a virgin. If you're a virgin, it's probably for a reason. Just be honest and admit that you really want to be with Maxwell, no qualifications on it. The way that writers play virginity is either like it's a burden or some kind of special status. It's neither. It's just a state of identity that a person has or doesn't have. Yes, losing one's virginity is a momentous occasion, so treat it that way and move on.

I really liked Maxwell's Russianness (big surprise). Even though he had lived in America most of his life, it was clear this an important part of his culture. He reflects many of the values that Russian men value highly. He felt more Russian to me than Viktor in the first book. I liked him better as a person, other than his slamhound tendencies. I don't think I would have been as sanguine as Romi was about staying in his apartment where he brought all his conquests, even if they didn't share his bed (he used the guestroom).

This feels like more of a modern romance than some HPs, with a heroine who is very millennial (Not in a bad way though), and that did appeal. The wedding was really sweet and how devoted and adoring Maxwell becomes towards the end of the book really worked for me. I like that they do understand each other and accept each other as they are. The marriage between this couple feels strong, like it will last for many years.

The love scenes are steamy and descriptive, but Monroe is a bit coy about the BDSM, with Maxwell having dominant tendencies and Romi being somewhat sexually submissive. I did like that she wasn't willing to be tied up until she felt like she could trust him again. That made a lot of sense to me.

The strong bond of friendship between Romi and Madison (from the other book) is a prominent aspect of this book, which I also liked. Romi and Madison both feel like women I might have known or interacted with in my real life. It's cute that SBC (sisters-by-choice) married friends/business rivals.

So, I was pretty satisfied with this book.

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review 2016-01-02 20:01
Bound by Spirit
Spirit Bound - Christine Feehan

Reread from November to December 2015.
My thoughts:

I liked this more the second time in some ways. I didn't have as high expectations because I wasn't reading this after Water Bound this time. It's not my favorite in this series, but it's still very good. I wouldn't knock the rating down much, but it would go down to 4.5/5.0 stars this time because I'm getting pretty strict when it comes to five star ratings.

I'm a sucker for Russian heroes. I won't even lie. I liked that Stefan is as much a creation of his experiences in the training school for spies he was forcibly inducted into as a child as he is a person who has a deep internal life that he's not been able to live. When he first sees the picture of Judith when he's undercover as Jean Paul Le Roux's cellmate, that's when he falls in love with her, I believe. Even though he didn't allow himself to admit his feelings at that point. Seeing Judith for the first time brings it some. I think Feehan excels at writing about soul mates and love at first sight. It's evident that it's the case with both Judith and Stefan. I enjoyed their journey. There's an interesting contrast between Le Roux and Stefan, both dangerous, rough men, and one was trained to be a killer but wasn't a sociopath, and the other seemingly had many advantages, but was emotionally dead on the inside, taking advantage of a young girl like Judith and destroying her young life. I'm glad that Judith was able to rise from that and become the woman she was meant to be, and that Stefan doesn't take her for granted.

I internally squeed when the brothers Lev and Stefan reunite. I'm Team Prakenskii 'til I die. I am so waiting for the complete reunion of all the seven brothers. I even hope that Feehan finds some cousins to look them up.

I love sisterhood and so the idea of Judith and her sisters by choice really hits home. You can have different kinds of soulmates, and in a non-romantic sense, her sisters are her soulmates.

It was really hard to squeeze in this reread, but I'm glad I did it!

Hope to reread Air Bound soon and finally read Earth Bound for the first time.

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