Customer Reviews

Deep, Dark & Dangerous

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I can take an unlikely plot line with the best of them and thoroughly enjoy a fantastical story, but Jaid Black's latest book had me groaning in disappointment. Tall, dark and sexy Vikings...yes, please! A hero that is kind, considerate and all the previous things mentioned....oh, yeeeessss, definitely please! A heroine that is spunky as well as funny - okay, that's a plus as well, but I weep, utterly weep, for the plot of "Tall, Dark and Dangerous" by Jaid Black.

Madalyn Simon has had it with Hollywood. Sick of the thinly veiled veneer of cutthroat backstabbing, the actress is calling it quits and going into seclusion. She's going where no glitzy glamour girl has gone before - the Alaskan wilderness. She's determined to tough it and prove to herself that she's got more in her than just fear of broken nails and the next red carpet party. When her feisty, anti-establishment sister visits, the two are in for an unforeseen adventure in the form of three too-handsome-to-be-true fur-clad men, who take them hostage. Otar Thordssen claims Madalyn for his own and soon the sisters are in for the strangest experience of their lives - A hidden underground world of "neo" Vikings that seem literally to be throwbacks to days of old. In a world where women have no choices beyond those that a man gives them, can Madalyn learn to trust, and even love, her dangerously sexy man? She'll need to decide quickly, for war is stirring within the secret community and the rebels are eager to reclaim their rightful places in their archaic society.

There were so many facets to this story that I loved. Black can seriously write some great intimate scenes between characters that make you feel for them. That part, I'm relieved to say, lived up to expectations. I enjoyed the characters, both the main and supporting. Otar was to-die-for sexy and Madalyn was a good match for him with her forgiving nature. Madalyn's sister, Drake, was superb comic relief, and it seems Otar's sister, Agata, may be getting her own story. She should. She was interesting. What I must bemoan is the collapse of the plot. It was evident by the end of the book that Black means this to be a prequel of sorts to her series "Death Row: The Trilogy", which was interesting because it shed some more light on that particular storyline. I couldn't continue to take the story seriously though as Madalyn, Drake and Agata engage in a completely ridiculous scenario towards the end. Won't reveal anything. Suffice it to say there was nudity and money involved, and three women I previously thought of as very intelligent turned into three average twits. Not to mention that it completely took away and detracted from a plot that I was immensely enjoying up until that point. Big Grr. Three stars for a sexy romp of a read (that part was excellent!), minus the last two (sobbing and weeping) for the plot that went sour.

I usually look forward to Jaid Black's novels, but I couldn't finish this one. The reason? Because I already read it. Basically it's just like the short story she wrote for the Tie Me Up Tie Me Down anthology with the same premise and same characters. Another factor working against it: it's too long. The original story was easier to read because it was so short.

This time around the forced marriage thing and the limited to no rights allowed women really got to me. I had trouble getting into the romance when the woman's whole life is being forcibly taken from her. If this kind of thing works for you, go for it, the first story of this same premise was somewhat interesting, despite it being very frustrating and infuriating. If you've already read the other one, then avoid this one.

The writing's pretty bad, the plot completely unbelievable, and yet I somehow found myself a little charmed by this book. I'll confess that the "hero" did do it for me and the sex scenes were decent (if you can get past the giggle-inducing phrases uttered by our hero during the act). But I found myself eventually skimming through chapters that were just utterly pointless in order to get to the juicy stuff.

first of all - this is not an expanded story from tie me up, tie me down - this is a story that's happening during the same time frame to secondary characters from the Tie me up, Tie me down story. That said - lately, Jaid black has been geting pretty dissapointing. I didn't find the sex scenes particularely hot, mainly due to the language used and some of the hero's actions. the plot is pretty simplistic and cheesy (a lot cheesier then i expected, and that's saying something), and the characters (not to mention story progression) start to look exactly the same in every book she's published lately (hence the mistaken assumption that this is the xapnded version of the older story) Last but not least - Jaid's writign has gotten really sloppy. I used to buy Jaid in e-book as soon as the new story came out, but lately I don't feel like its worth my money
I want Jaid Black of Trek'mi'quan and Breeding Ground back

The story of Madalyn Simon, Oscar-winning actress who leaves her career behind to live in the Alaskan wilderness, had possibilities. It seemed to be a good set-up for her to run into a dark, sensuous neo-Viking with whom she reluctantly falls in love. So what went wrong? Nearly everything. The plot is so over-the-top that it veers into the ridiculous. I can suspend my belief pretty far, but getting past an underground Viking civilization, kidnapped women who of course come to love the men they are forced to marry, genetic pre-birth tampering, anti-government militant groups, abject poverty, war, and yes, strip shows, just pushed me beyond the limits. The hero and heroine themselves aren't so bad; I might have enjoyed their dance in getting to know one another had not everything else around them been so silly. There are a few lines that made me laugh but overall this book was a major disappointment. The sex scenes are quite graphic; I felt like I needed a cigarette after reading them. I wish I had something more positive to say, but since this is my first Jaid Black book, I think it will also be my last. If you can suspend your belief system and just go with the flow, you might like this one. I just couldn't do it.

I have to say this was not one of my favorites. I love Vikings!! But this was a little too unbelivable. I understand that we reading about the paranormal and fantasy but this was just not up to notch.

Though at the top of her game as a famous in demand actress, Madalyn Mae Simon decides she no longer needs to take the shallow smiles from so-called friends and terrible movies. She needs to escape far away from the phoniness of Hollywood, but wants to stay in the United States so she leaves Southern California for Alaska, but she does not even stay in Anchorage. Instead she moves to a village in the artic where she hopes to regain her mental health.

Her harmony is disrupted when her sister Drake persuades Madalyn that camera in hand, they should explore the wildlife of the tundra. However, they run into Otar and three of his Viking compatriots who abduct the siblings for fear they will reveal to the outside world that beneath the frozen tundra is their home New Sweden; besides they need breeders for the colony. Otar recognizes Madalyn as the actress he secretly has loved for years from the audience and plans to make her his wife; if she refuses she takes her chance on the marriage mart auction. Madalyn begins to fall in love with her new husband, but assumes he loves the screen version and not the flesh and blood real person.

Fans will initially be skeptical of the setting, classifying it with Santa's North Pole, but rather quickly through the characters and the deep social relationships readers will believe that New Sweden exists underground within the Arctic Circle. This conversion occurs because the strong cast especially the lead couple makes the background feel plausible. The exhilarating story line that never slows down once Otar realizes Madalyn (and Drake) has seen them, which leads the audience seeking the previous romantic fantasy set in New Sweden, the novella Hunter's Right, part of TIE ME UP, TIE ME DOWN.

Harriet Klausner

First off, I think this is possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. The premise sounded promising. A civilization of vikings surving into modern times and stealing our heroine away. And yet once you get reading, it's all down hill.

About the only viable, and believable, aspect of this story are the heroines, fleeing starlet Madalyn and her sister. Even this fell flat as Madalyn's incessant back and forth about everything quickly becomes grating. It becomes apparent that all the characters are pretty two dimensional, even repeating each other's dialouge verbatum.

The plot makes no sense with an entire underground world including places like New Sweeden and New Denmark. There is a mishmash of new technology and old, with no explanation of why, for instance, there are elevators but no radios. And on it goes. Obviously Black felt no real need to make this plot realistic. Even fantasty/ alternate realities can be made to appear believable. Further, the background mystery/ suspense revolution turns out to be a dud as it is only an excuse to allow the women in the story to put on a burlesque show.

And finally...the love scenes were just blah. They were peppered with some pretty crude language and situations. It just took away from the atmosphere that earlier scenes had created, taking me right out the book.

All in all this just seemed a disappointing waste of my time. I found myself skimming and skimming through the book until finally I just put it down. An interesting concept here was definitely mutilated and left me wondering who approved the publishing of such a awful and poorly constructed book?

This is a light-hearted romp built around a what-if. Namely, what if modern day Vikings lived in carved-out mountains in the Alaskan wilderness? The author takes this premise and has fun with it. This is not sci-fi or paranormal. If you want serious world-building and/or geeky explanations of why they have elevators but few light bulbs, then you'll have to go elsewhere.

The characters make this story. What's not to love about a strong, muscular Viking hero who's loving and patient with his heroine? Otar fell in love with Madalyn from her movies (especially the ones with topless scenes!). He longs for her love but secretly feels unworthy of her because of his low caste in his society. Madalyn is a good heroine, smart, wry and self-aware, fighting her feelings but drawn to her captor. Thankfully there are no TSTL or I hate you/now screw me blind moments.

Drake might be my favorite character. Paranoid, anti-government, alien-consipracy spouting, she gets most of the funny lines and scenes. Gutsily she manages to escape - her reaction to being captured again is priceless. I predict a happy marriage for her and her Alien Butthead.

The plot includes a revolution against the tyrannical jarl/king. Don't worry, there are no bloody scenes. The focus stays on the women as they worry about their men and struggle to earn money to buy food. Their unorthodox solution, a burlesque show for the jaded upper class, is as ridiculous as it is funny.

The sex is explicit and steamy, as befits an erotic romance. Otar is dominant as well as loving. Hot! There's no cheating, forced seduction, or menage scenes to worry about here. I recommend reading this when you're in the mood for or need something cheerful. Have fun :-)

Deep, Dark, and Dangerous is another story that takes place in the same underground Viking world that Jaid Black introduced in her short stories Hunter's Right (In Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down) and Hunter's Oath (Playing Easy to Get). These stories require the ability to suspend disbelief. You have to allow yourself to imagine that there is an entire civilization thriving under the earth somewhere in the area of Alaska and that these men are warriors who will do anything to continue their race, including steal a woman from above-ground and make her their wives. Once you've allowed yourself to accept that premise, it's hard not to like these stories. They're all full of comedic moments and allow you to laugh out loud on occasion while also containing steamy romance and well written erotica. It's a perfect balance, if you ask me, and Deep, Dark, and Dangerous was no exception. In fact, as the first full-length book in this series, it even reads like the short stories and was so quick paced that I finished it in 4 hours. Now I just want more. Jaid Black knows a thing or two about writing erotica, and this book was no exception. I can't wait to see what happens next in the world of these underground Vikings.