Customer Reviews

Mouth To Mouth

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just loved this book! I'm a huge fan of Ms McCarthy's books and I think this is her best yet! Russ is tough but sweet - just a real nice guy. Laurel is strong and determined and just plain hugable.

Russ Evans is a cop trying to bust con man Trevor Dean who specializes in "romancing" plain women then stealing their money. But there is something off about his latest mark. She's certainly NOT plain and it bothers Russ that Dean would change tactics with her. He decides to get a closer look and is shocked to discover that this woman knows his name! What the heck is going on here?

Laurel Wilkins has decided to finally break out of her shell and live a little and she's decided to start with a man she met online named Russ Evans. But she quickly learns that the man she has been chatting with online is NOT Russ, but a con man posing as Russ! The real Russ is a cop who is on Dean's trail but he refuses to let Laurel help to bust him much as she wants to. Especially when he figures out that she is deaf (she's a really good lip-reader). The more he talks to her, the more clear Dean's motives become. She lives in a wealthy neighborhood, a big, expensive house and has a trust fund. Add to that the vulnerability of being deaf and she's a great mark. All of which really makes Laurel mad. Just because she's deaf does not mean that she's stupid. She knows that she has brought out all of Russ' protective instincts but she doesn't want that. She wants him - to have a sexual relationship with him. After years of living with her mother, staying in her safety zone, she is determined to break out and live a little - especially since her mom is out of town! And so she and Russ enter into what they expect to be a casual sexual relationship.

Which is fine by Russ as he has enough on his plate with his teenaged brother Sean to look after since the death of their parents. Sean is really having a hard time adjusting to Russ selling their parent's home, to changing schools and to living with Russ. Adding a serious romance into the mix would just tip his life totally off kilter. But there is something about Laurel that he just finds irresistible. She's so sweet and nice and cute and sexy - he just can't stay away from her. And as the investigation continues and they become more and more intertwined in each other's lives, what happened to that casual sexual relationship? And will they ever have enough evidence to bust Dean? Is he still a threat to Laurel?

What an enjoyable read! Russ and Laurel are a really great couple who bring out the best in one another. Their sexual relationship is really steamy. Though I'm not one for cute nicknames, I loved how he called her "Bunny". I know it sounds kind of nauseating but is was really sweet. And he tries really hard to step back and let Laurel do what she wants and live her life without hovering which she really appreciates. And I really enjoyed the romance between Russ's partner Jerry and Laurel's co-worker Cat - talk about opposites attracting! Another great read from Ms McCarthy!

Laurel Wilkins wants to spice up her life a little. She's in her mid-twenties and ready to do something more than work in a candy store and share a home with her mother. Laurel has been deaf for most of her life, but she has adapted just fine. It's really not a handicap as far as she's concerned. Laurel is a bit naive and sheltered, but she's definitely not stupid and she knows what she wants. And she wants gorgeous cop Russ Evans. Laurel thought she met Russ online in a chat room through a friend, but it turns out she'd been chatting with a sleazy con-man named Trevor Dean who was impersonating Russ. But the real Russ is definitely drool-worthy. She was ready to have a wild affair with the man she thought was Russ, so why not go for the real thing?

Russ isn't about to stand idly by while Trevor Dean uses his name to pick up women. Dean normally gets close to plain women, then fleeces them. Adorable and sexy Laurel is far from plain and definitely not Dean's usual victim, which made Russ suspicious of her at first. He quickly realizes she's innocent and wants to protect her from the slimy Dean. But his feelings for her aren't just protective. He's falling for her, hard. Russ is rasing his teenage brother and wouldn't have time for a relationship even if he wanted one. Which he doesn't. Or does he? No woman has ever gotten under his skin this way before.

MOUTH TO MOUTH is a great combination of steam, humor and suspense. I'll never think of candy the same way again ;-) Also, I love the way Erin McCarthy handles Laurel and her deafness. It isn't ignored, it's just a part of who Laurel is. Russ is a little overprotective but he'd probably be that way around Laurel anyway, deaf or not. Great book!

It's official. I love Erin McCarthy. You are guaranteed a hot steamy romance with great characters everytime you pick up one of her stories. Her latest effort "Mouth to Mouth" not only offers a great story but this time her character's are not "perfect" and as a result the reader will probably identify with them more.

Laurel Watkins is done playing it safe. She wants to live life and so after making that decision she begins an internet relationship with a man who calls himself Russ. She makes a date with him and waits in a coffee shop patiently waiting for her destiny to walk through the door. Well, he does but he's not what she expected or was waiting for. You see the real Russ is a police detective and he's working on a case involving fraud and his suspect is named Trevor. He doesn't know what to make of Laurel. She has turned his head and fast. She is pretty, sweet and can you spell the word naive? Once he realizes that she is Trevor's next victim he does what any good police officer would do. Warn her off of any dangerous Internet interaction. You just never know what you'll meet online.

Laurel can't take a lecture from the yummy Russ and she is tired of playing it safe...so what does our bold new lass do...offers to have a flaming hot romance with Russ. Well, that gets the good detectives attention and quick. Now with the green flag will these two different people find more than just a good time? And more importantly will Trevor turn out to be a bigger threat than they think he will be?

Again, this was a very fast paced read that entertained this reader up until the final page. Although Laurel is deaf this in no way detracts from the storyline or from the romance. If anything it makes it better. Secondary characters and their storylines are essential to this story as well as entertaining. I highly recommend this author and story if you love a little spice with your romance.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

I agree with Bee Smith's review that the protagonists of MOUTH TO MOUTH are a couple of shallow, sex-starved people. In this novel, Erin McCarthy failed with her character development. I wasn't emotionally involved in this story and could care less when Russ and Laurel screwed each other senseless while trying to catch a con man out on the loose. The sex scenes were overrated--explicit but NOT erotic. Although the mistaken choking scene with Russ and his younger brother was quite amusing, everything else was bland. I skimmed thru much of this novel and bottom line: Non-compelling characters + insipid romance + lackluster plot = one heck of a boring romance novel!

Save your cash. There are far better romance novels out there.

This was no romance novel, it was more like a detailed screenplay for a romantic-sex-filled-comedy soon to be released in a theatre near you!

The character development was abysmal for both Laurel and Russ-the heroine and hero,and I do believe that that was the downfall of the book, not to mention the gratuitous sex scenes that dominated most of the novel.

Otherwise McCarthy had good solid material to write an exceptional romantic novel: a deaf rich heroine who was starting to question her stable but boring decisions she had made during the course of her young life, a sexy and troubled cop who's trying to raise his teen brother after his parents suddenly died in a car crash, a rich plot that involves an amateur con artist who targets Laurel as his next victim, as well as funny and interesting side characters.

However, the over-abundant sex and the abysmally lacking characterization just demolished any potential the novel had had. For someone who usually loves passion and sex in her romance novels, I was even shocked by my reaction every time Russ and Laurel heated up the sheets (which was all the bloody time): I just did not care, kept rolling my eyes and couldn't wait to finish the story already.

Skip this novel if you are looking for a deep, meaningful, and passionate romance. But if you don't mind endless sex, shallow characters, and a somewhat interesting storyline Mouth to Mouth is definitely for you.

When I read the description of the book about Russ - a cop with too much on his plate and Laurel - a hearing impaired potential victim in his current case, I thought it sounded like such a good read, but unfortunately it wasn't.

The book had potential, but the writing didn't follow through with character development. Sure there was steamy sex, but when you can't care about the characters, you lose interest. It becomes just reading the words with no emotional pull. If I don't become involved in the story there isn't much point to it. This is a book I could put down, in fact it took 3 days to get through it. I hope the writer takes more care with the characters in her next book.

Too much sex, too little emotional development between the characters. I bought all of McCarthy's work in one go and this was the first one I read. I think she's a refreshing author with her own voice so for that alone she gets my respect.

Halfway through the book I had to put it down for a bit and I didn't really understand why - I was enjoying the read but then I realised I was on a sex train that only occasionally took character development pit stops. My brain was tired of the sex and as a result, I lost my connection with the characters or rather, my connection forged at the beginning of the novel wasn't allowed to grow.

I mark this a 2/5 but I really mean 2.5 - and this is only because this author writes so much better (the proof is in her other titles) that in comparison to the others, it can't get higher than that.

This book reminded me of a porn movie; lots of sex but no plot and no character development. How did these two decide that they loved each other anyway? All they really seemed to know about each other was how to make the other climax. This was a real disappointment. I like steamy sex scenes too, but they have to be built around characters that I grow to care about and get to know. There was no romance in this book at all.

Overly sheltered Laurel Wilkins who happens to be hearing impaired decides to drop her good girl persona and do something naughty. She agrees to meet a man she's met online. Unwilling to set herself up for a letdown if she allows herself to fall in love, Laurel intends to engage in just "casual sex" with the stranger she's met online. Her prospective sex partner, a man named Trevor Dean, is a con artist who preys on wealthy, homely women.

Turns out the con artist has used a fake identity and when Laurel meets Detective Russ Evans, she mistakes him for her date. Ironically, Russ just happens to be trying to catch the con man. He's baffled that Treavor Dean chose Laurel since she doesn't fit the profile of his previous victims. Laurel is absolutely beautiful. But when he finds out she's wealthy and has a trust fund he understands Dean's reason for choosing her.

Laurel is deeply offended that Treavor Dean was going to try to swindle her out of her trust fund. Meanwhile, she has the hots for Russ and Russ has the hots for her. They're in agreement as far as not wanting a committed relationship, but will they be able to keep love at bay?

There are lots and lots of sizzling sex scenes in Mouth To Mouth. There's also suspense and romance. And more hot sex. What more can you ask for. This is a great beach read.

I am going to skip the narrative as it has been covered very well in previous reviews. I can honestly say that Mouth to Mouth is one of the very best books I have read in the past year. Laurel's deafness is excellently written, without awkwardness and with incredible attention to detail. Laurel and Russ are two of the most genuine, comfortable, and downright likable characters ever written, and I found myself wanting to read more about them. The secondary characters are a riot and their antics add a great deal to the story. I give this book my very highest recommendation.