Helpful Score: 3
~ ENJOYED IT MUCH MORE THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD (4 stars) ~
My thanks to a Goodreads friend, whose review spurred me into getting this book from the library after avoiding it when it first came out. I so loved Seven Secrets of Seduction, my first Anne Mallory book, that I didn't think anything could live up to it. While I still prefer SSoS, I really enjoyed ONE NIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH and am very glad that I read it.
The book was a mix of SSoS's-type plot, Dreaming of You's Derek Craven + Mine Till Midnight's Cam Rohan, and Notorious Pleasures's Hero (but better!) + _________ (there is another heroine Charlotte reminds me of, but for the life of me I cannot remember who she is right now or which book she is from - it's driving me nuts).
THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP:
One thing I have greatly enjoyed about both of Mallory's books are her leading characters and the chemistry she creates between them. In both books, the heroes are intense, complex, sensual, and romantic. I loved the charming-yet-dangerous aspect of Roman; he appears suave, smooth, and mysterious, while also being being able to put people at ease, yet there is a dangerous and very intense component to him that one overlooks at one's peril. His loyalty and affection for his brother, Andreas, and the people who work for them really add to his character, so that he doesn't seem like just a rake chasing his pleasure. I absolutely adored how he treated Charlotte and the insight he had into who she really was and what she needed; he wanted her to be free and to be the one to see through her mask of cold indifference. While he is the pursuer, from the beginning we're shown again and again that he wants to be pursued as well, that he wants to be wanted and needed by her as well. ::sigh:: Lovely :-).
Charlotte is very different from Miranda, however both women are also complex and very, very well-written. Frankly, I did not think that I would like Charlotte - while I did appreciate the interaction between her and Miranda in the last book and admired her for it, she seemed a little too reserved/boring for me and I am not a huge fan of beautiful belle-of-the-ball complete-society-darling heroines. Charlotte is much, much more than that though and the way she is written makes her seem very human, normal, and vulnerable like the rest of us. She has to deal with a lot of the cruelty and nastiness that other women in society show her because they're envious; she hates that she has to always be cold and calm and controlled, worrying that she has forced herself to be that so much that maybe now that's who she is, a boring empty statue; and she is insecure with the fact that her only value is so often linked to her beauty, wondering if there is anything else of value to her.
I loved their relationship and think the contrast between the two of them is pronounced, yet one can also see how that would result in mutual attraction. I love the card-playing scene, which has both sweet and hysterically funny components to it. The scene towards the end between Charlotte and Roman when they are in bed after making love and Roman talks a little about his childhood and then they do a little dance around the subject of their relationship was just fantastic! I think their relationship comes off as the strongest there than at any other point in the book; you really feel the connection between them.
Which brings me to another thing I loved about both Miranda and Charlotte - Mallory writes heroines who are not, as we see so often, passive in those final pre-climax (referring to the plot here, get your mind out of the gutter!) moments and are willing to put themselves out there, be vulnerable, and actually say what they think and feel. That's actually true throughout both books, but a lot of time in romances you have the heroine who backs down, or makes an assumption that then makes her step back from the hero, and it's the hero who is, almost without fail, the pursuer in the final segments. Mallory writes strong heroines who don't create any Big Misunderstandings or Things Left Unsaid, and for that alone I absolutely loved both books.
CRITICISM:
This book is the follow-up to SSoS and as I wrote, that was the only other Mallory book I had previously read, so comparisons were bound to occur ... and in that, this book definitely fell short compared to its predecessor. While Roman's feelings do feel authentically intense during the book, I didn't really get/buy what made him interested in Charlotte in the first place - why her, what drew him to her? In SSoS Maxim's intense feelings for Miranda leap off the page and from start to finish they feel so real and authentic.
Also, there was a lot of allusion to the business competitors the brothers were battling, but we're never really told much about it and the mystery/action-type occurrence towards the end seemed very out of the blue and then resolved so quickly. Roman's fears come and go pretty quickly, so that that specific issue seemed like it didn't belong or needed to be fleshed out more. Also, is/are the threat(s) directed at the business, Roman, Andreas, or all three have individual threats facing them? It's definitely not made clear. I'm assuming this part of the plot will be more heavily featured in Andreas' story, but it left something to be desired in this one. This left the character development and romance really being the main features, which I by no means minded, but then why pepper the story every now and then with this other never-fully-explored and superfluous subplot?
Finally, after the first time Roman and Charlotte sleep together, the story immediately goes to three weeks later and I would have liked a little more time spent during that period.
PLOT NOTE:
I'm not a huge fan of contrived events that initially throw the hero and heroine together, like the game of cards mentioned in the summary. I also hate instant attraction/lust stories, which I thought would be the case here since they are (one assumes) going to sleep together at the beginning of the book, when Roman wins a night with her. In case you're a similar reader, I want to note that I was not bothered by any such issues in this book
SECRETS SERIES:
Book 1 - Seven Secrets of Seduction, Miranda and Maxim (4.5 stars)
Book 2 - One Night is Never Enough, Charlotte and Roman (4 stars)
Book 3 - In Total Surrender, Andreas and ? (out Sep 27, 2011)
I am very much looking forward to Andreas's story - depending on what heroine Mallory chooses to pair him up with. The summary is not yet available and on her website it says it will be up end of the summer, so I'm excited to see what she has in mind for him. I think it would be such an amazing book if he's paired with someone like Evie in The Devil in Winter who is a little more cheerful from the beginning - a wallflower who is shy, but sweet, loving, quietly strong, and can (surprisingly) stand her own ground with him. He's so dark, angry, and tormented and he needs a heroine who can counterbalance that. We shall see . . . ;-)
My thanks to a Goodreads friend, whose review spurred me into getting this book from the library after avoiding it when it first came out. I so loved Seven Secrets of Seduction, my first Anne Mallory book, that I didn't think anything could live up to it. While I still prefer SSoS, I really enjoyed ONE NIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH and am very glad that I read it.
The book was a mix of SSoS's-type plot, Dreaming of You's Derek Craven + Mine Till Midnight's Cam Rohan, and Notorious Pleasures's Hero (but better!) + _________ (there is another heroine Charlotte reminds me of, but for the life of me I cannot remember who she is right now or which book she is from - it's driving me nuts).
THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP:
One thing I have greatly enjoyed about both of Mallory's books are her leading characters and the chemistry she creates between them. In both books, the heroes are intense, complex, sensual, and romantic. I loved the charming-yet-dangerous aspect of Roman; he appears suave, smooth, and mysterious, while also being being able to put people at ease, yet there is a dangerous and very intense component to him that one overlooks at one's peril. His loyalty and affection for his brother, Andreas, and the people who work for them really add to his character, so that he doesn't seem like just a rake chasing his pleasure. I absolutely adored how he treated Charlotte and the insight he had into who she really was and what she needed; he wanted her to be free and to be the one to see through her mask of cold indifference. While he is the pursuer, from the beginning we're shown again and again that he wants to be pursued as well, that he wants to be wanted and needed by her as well. ::sigh:: Lovely :-).
Charlotte is very different from Miranda, however both women are also complex and very, very well-written. Frankly, I did not think that I would like Charlotte - while I did appreciate the interaction between her and Miranda in the last book and admired her for it, she seemed a little too reserved/boring for me and I am not a huge fan of beautiful belle-of-the-ball complete-society-darling heroines. Charlotte is much, much more than that though and the way she is written makes her seem very human, normal, and vulnerable like the rest of us. She has to deal with a lot of the cruelty and nastiness that other women in society show her because they're envious; she hates that she has to always be cold and calm and controlled, worrying that she has forced herself to be that so much that maybe now that's who she is, a boring empty statue; and she is insecure with the fact that her only value is so often linked to her beauty, wondering if there is anything else of value to her.
I loved their relationship and think the contrast between the two of them is pronounced, yet one can also see how that would result in mutual attraction. I love the card-playing scene, which has both sweet and hysterically funny components to it. The scene towards the end between Charlotte and Roman when they are in bed after making love and Roman talks a little about his childhood and then they do a little dance around the subject of their relationship was just fantastic! I think their relationship comes off as the strongest there than at any other point in the book; you really feel the connection between them.
Which brings me to another thing I loved about both Miranda and Charlotte - Mallory writes heroines who are not, as we see so often, passive in those final pre-climax (referring to the plot here, get your mind out of the gutter!) moments and are willing to put themselves out there, be vulnerable, and actually say what they think and feel. That's actually true throughout both books, but a lot of time in romances you have the heroine who backs down, or makes an assumption that then makes her step back from the hero, and it's the hero who is, almost without fail, the pursuer in the final segments. Mallory writes strong heroines who don't create any Big Misunderstandings or Things Left Unsaid, and for that alone I absolutely loved both books.
CRITICISM:
This book is the follow-up to SSoS and as I wrote, that was the only other Mallory book I had previously read, so comparisons were bound to occur ... and in that, this book definitely fell short compared to its predecessor. While Roman's feelings do feel authentically intense during the book, I didn't really get/buy what made him interested in Charlotte in the first place - why her, what drew him to her? In SSoS Maxim's intense feelings for Miranda leap off the page and from start to finish they feel so real and authentic.
Also, there was a lot of allusion to the business competitors the brothers were battling, but we're never really told much about it and the mystery/action-type occurrence towards the end seemed very out of the blue and then resolved so quickly. Roman's fears come and go pretty quickly, so that that specific issue seemed like it didn't belong or needed to be fleshed out more. Also, is/are the threat(s) directed at the business, Roman, Andreas, or all three have individual threats facing them? It's definitely not made clear. I'm assuming this part of the plot will be more heavily featured in Andreas' story, but it left something to be desired in this one. This left the character development and romance really being the main features, which I by no means minded, but then why pepper the story every now and then with this other never-fully-explored and superfluous subplot?
Finally, after the first time Roman and Charlotte sleep together, the story immediately goes to three weeks later and I would have liked a little more time spent during that period.
PLOT NOTE:
I'm not a huge fan of contrived events that initially throw the hero and heroine together, like the game of cards mentioned in the summary. I also hate instant attraction/lust stories, which I thought would be the case here since they are (one assumes) going to sleep together at the beginning of the book, when Roman wins a night with her. In case you're a similar reader, I want to note that I was not bothered by any such issues in this book
SECRETS SERIES:
Book 1 - Seven Secrets of Seduction, Miranda and Maxim (4.5 stars)
Book 2 - One Night is Never Enough, Charlotte and Roman (4 stars)
Book 3 - In Total Surrender, Andreas and ? (out Sep 27, 2011)
I am very much looking forward to Andreas's story - depending on what heroine Mallory chooses to pair him up with. The summary is not yet available and on her website it says it will be up end of the summer, so I'm excited to see what she has in mind for him. I think it would be such an amazing book if he's paired with someone like Evie in The Devil in Winter who is a little more cheerful from the beginning - a wallflower who is shy, but sweet, loving, quietly strong, and can (surprisingly) stand her own ground with him. He's so dark, angry, and tormented and he needs a heroine who can counterbalance that. We shall see . . . ;-)
