Customer Reviews

Try A Little Tenderness

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I won't give a summary of the book b/c the Joyfully Reviewed reviewer does such a great job on this page already. I will say that Try A Little Tenderness is a well-written, well-told story that sometimes made me laugh out loud, and sigh in sympathy and ENVY. I love Lola, a complex character who is at the same time relatable. She's a stripper with a brain, one who (like a lot of strippers) doesn't have a lot of career options. She is sexy, soft, without any illusions and determined to get her education.

Koz is fantastic. A child genius grown into a brainiac professor who is more beta than alpha, all he wants is to love and take care of his woman. She is the more experienced of the two sexually (a novel twist that I loved), but he is a quick study and rocks her world just as much as she does his. The book is much more than great sex thrown between lines of dialogue, however. The characters' growth and interaction are refreshing. The smart dialogue, the emotions, the descriptive scenes all combine to draw the reader in and keep her engaged.

I love this book that has everything: a complicated plot that involves romance, hot sex, angst and some great adventure.

Stripping to pay her way through college is just another sacrifice Lola Bordenaux is willing to make if it means she will be able to create a life for herself after years of abuse in the foster care system. The last person she expects to find staring as she shakes her God given gifts is Peter Koss, the same professor who was willing to kick her out of the microbiology program because of her lack of focus. A fluke accident sends Lola to the ER and right into Koss' arms where she's able to experience for the first time in her life unconditional love.

A child prodigy whose social skills were the only thing he hadn't mastered by the age of 14, Dr. Koss' experience with women was basically nil. Yet he knew without a doubt that he wanted and loved Lola, despite knowing she took her clothing off for men for a living. Unused to love and scared out of her wits, Lola does the one thing she knows how to do, she runs. How else can she prevent the stain on her soul from infecting the man she loves?

Sometimes trying to live with decisions you've made is the hardest thing and Lola finds that out first hand when after five years she decides she wants Koss back and finds out that this time around nothing will be easy and the pain of her desertion might have crushed her one true chance at love.

I sat down with Try a Little Tenderness prepared to find it filled to the brim with over the top, soap opera drama from one chapter to the next. So imagine by pleasure when Roslyn Hardy Holcomb's novel turned out to be a really fascinating love story, a story that evolved into an international adventure in a country savaged by war and threatened with extinction by an outbreak of an unknown and deadly disease.

From first glance I knew I would love Peter Koss and by the end of the first chapter I absolutely adored him, if only all love could be so innocent and so matter a fact. His in your face just do it attitude would probably solve 50% of the relationship troubles people experience. Lola was a woman who took her hard beginnings and used them as her inspiration to do better. A strong woman who was smart enough to do whatever it took to ensure she wouldn't remain a victim forever. I will admit I wanted to choke her a time or two but her personality made for exciting reading and she finally got it together even if it took 5 years.

Personally I think readers will be surprised and thrilled by the evolution of this novel as a collegiate romance turns into a love of a life time.

Indy
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I bought this book because it got good reviews, and I am totally disappointed. The relationship between Koss and Lola was too fast and there was no romance leading up to them confessing their love for one another. The book did get interesting when Koss and Lola went abroad, which added suspense to the novel. The love scenes were too graphic and vulgar. This is my first book by Ms. Holcomb, and I hope it won't be my last.

I liked this book a lot. It wasn't a massive page turner but I like it. However I think the last third just really lost it for me. I mean, come on, they go from a strip club enviroment to a college enviroment to a third world war zone? Did it really have to go there? The authur couldn't find a better way for the hero to realize he still loved the girl? I could have given it a 5 but that last part just knocked it down for me.

This story will capitvate you from the beginning to the end. Lola Bordenaux is struggling college student by day and a stripper by night to pay for her college classes. She has gone through years of abuse in her young years being shuffled from foster home to foster home and vows to never trust anyone as she gets older nor allow her heart to soften for love. One of her former professors Peter Koss comes to the strip club that she works at and after she recognizes him, she runs out to keep from being recognized. As fate would have it, while jogging he tackles her while trying to catch a pass. He takes care of her because he knows it's his fault and tries to make up for the accident by helping her as much as he can. Because she dresses down when not working, she thinks he will not recognize her but he does because of her eyes and from her being in one of his classes. He respects her and doesn't think bad of her because of her night job and she eventually falls in love with him. Because of her past, she feels that she is not good enough for him until she wins the fight over her past demons and leaves him. Five years later after moving away and getting her degree, she comes back to try and win him back and is also working on her doctorine. He ends up being her advisor. He fights it with every thing he has to keep her out of his life and his heart again but they end up going on a fact finding trip about a mysterious virus together in a war torn country. When their lives are on the line will they realize how much they love and need each other or will this be the end for their relationship and maybe their lives? You will have to read thie book to find out and you will not be able to put it down until the end.

It seems to be a specialty of this author to make the romance erm, high in temperature, but sweet and endearing at the same time. I do admit to thinking certain "Acts" are gross, and when I saw one coming I turned the page and skipped the rest of that scene entirely.

What I appreciate most about the writing is that the characters seem like real people, with both real strong suits AND real flaws. You can understand why they are drawn to each other, why they have problems, and why they make it in the end.

I really enjoyed this book by Ms. Holcomb. The title of this book leaves a suggestive impression, but it isn't an erotic book. However, there are enough yummy love scenes to do the book justice. I have to say that the storyline took an unexpected turn and I was shocked to be knee high in the jungle, running from renegades. It's different and I appreciated the adventure, which is often lacking in romance books.

This story has a little something for every reader's enjoyment...romance, action/adventure, beautiful and strong heroine, handsome and smart hero and a happily ever after. All of it in a beautifully written package that takes the reader on a great adventure where the lovers rescue each other, learn to forgive and pledge to sacrifice their lives for one another. It's an exciting story that I enjoyed quite a lot.

I absolutely loved this book! This was my first time reading anything from this author, and I am now an fan for life. This wonderful story about a stripper (Lola) and the professor (Dr. Koss) with whom she shares a passionate, yet intense relationship with, is a must read for those who love IR romance novels with a female heroine. I fell head over heels for professor Koss, a virgin, and enjoyed both characters from start to finish. I admired how much Koss loved Lola, and the fact that he was so eager to love and care for her unconditionally. The sex scenes were both explosive and sensual. For those who are fans of erotica, I highly recommend adding this book (and its author) to your reading list.

This book's plot was so interesting! It was much different than other IR books that are currently on the market. I truly enjoyed the characters especially Koss! Oh my goodness this is the first book that I've read where the hero was clueless with regards to having a relationship or the fact that he was an actual virgin lol. How many stories do you actually come across where the hero is a virgin! The story was awesome and I like where the author went with it especially given the hero and heroine's line of work. Microbiology??? You can tell the author did her research but yet I didn't feel overwhelmed. The book had a truly different and unique plot. I get so tired of reading the same old story lines and this story's plot was quite refreshing! There was a lot of action especially when Lola and Koss went overseas....definitely a page turner:) Try A Little Tenderness is definitely a keeper!