Customer Reviews

Sex Drive

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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The back book cover "warning - explicit sex" just wasn't there. The story line and characters were fun, but the lack of sizzle for an 'erotic' book wasn't worth double the price of a 'standard' romance book price.

Sex Drive by Susan Lyons
Contemporary Romance- Nov. 24th, 2009
4 stars

Sex Drive is an amazingly sensual read and one sure to please fans who love a lot of spice in their contemporary romances! This book starts what appears to a new series involving sisters and the love they find in their travels.

The first installment features the eldest sister Theresa Fallon. Theresa is a genius. She values her control and acumen. She is comfortable with her intellectual side but not so much with the physical and sexual side of her personality. She has always thought of herself as the `plain brainiac' among her sisters. When her youngest sister suddenly decides to marry, Theresa feels as the eldest and most responsible it is her duty to organize the event. When she meets a disturbingly attractive man in a bookstore while picking up bride magazines and then later is seated next to him on a flight to Canada she is fascinated. Her unusual sexual awareness of him won't seem to stop. She finds herself suddenly tired of living a life on the straight and narrow. When she decides to take a risk and inadvertently discovers a fun and free side of herself. She finds a part of herself she never knew existed.

Damien Black is a successful author and when he hears the snobby woman at the bookstores negative comments about his latest book he is intrigued. When he meets her later on the plane he is fascinated by her intellect and subtle charms. As a popular author he is tired of women throwing themselves at him and in Theresa he sees a refreshing woman whom he can be himself. When the unwanted attentions of the stewardess become to much he asks Theresa to `pretend' they are engaged. And when he convinces her to extend their short layover in Hawaii with him he finds himself drawn to her hidden charms.

Susan Lyons sees into the heart of writing romance as she brings real emotion to her characters. I really enjoyed the relationship between the main characters. I particularly loved Theresa's transformation. The way Theresa opens up and lets herself be liberated and empowered made me feel empowered, too! When Theresa impulsively decides to stay with Damien and finally starts enjoying life for the first time I found it exhilarating to read. Damien was the perfect foil for Theresa, super sexy and understanding. This was a sizzlin' hot read. Readers who love steamy romance will not be disappointed!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Professor Theresa Fallon may be a genius but her social and romantic life could use a little shaking up. Singularly focused on her youngest sister's upcoming wedding and determined to make the event perfect for Merilee she sets out from Australia to Vancouver, B.C. Little does she realize that her seatmate will be the catalyst to change her from the stringent academic to a woman with needs and desires that up to now she's denied.

Popular Australian novelist Damien Black is embarking on a North America tour to introduce his literary works to a new audience. He's been voted one of Oz's ten sexist bachelors and is used to women throwing themselves at him but Theresa's disdain and standoffish attitude intrigues him - in fact he's far more attracted to her than the fawning stewardess. It's a very long flight, could he possibly tempt the Professor to pass the time indulging in their carnal desires?

Theresa and Damien cross paths in the Newslink store at the airport. Albeit she isn't aware of his identity until much later, which is probably just as well since she had the audacity to call his books `glib and superficial.' Theresa had plans to grade papers and examine the bridal magazines for ideas she can incorporate into her sister's wedding. The last thing she expects is to find herself seated to the very man from the Newslink store. There's no denying that she's attracted to him but experience has already taught her that a gorgeous man like him would never be interested in someone as serious as her. Damien's well aware that Theresa doesn't know who he really is and he intends to use that to his advantage. It'll be ten hours before they reach Honolulu and he's determined to entice Theresa to set aside her inhibitions and scholarly worries and play with him. He's never met a woman willing to mouth off to him so Theresa's testiness really appeals to him. She challenges him on so many levels and he brings out the sexual side of her which she never realized she possessed.

SEX DRIVE is the first title in Susan Lyons' new WILD RIDE series. Theresa is the oldest of the Fallon sisters and she's also the overachiever. She's devoted to making the public aware of the prejudices against natives of various countries and feels that Damien's doing a disservice to the Aboriginal Australians by not addressing the prejudices his protagonist faces as a native Australian. Sparks certainly fly between Theresa and Damien - both sexually and mentally and I was extremely anxious to discover if they have a future together or if they're simply too different. One of the things I found intriguing about this book is Theresa's relationships with her sisters. It's obvious that all the women are very different and it's those distinct personalities and individual natures that will make reading about the rest of the `three pack plus one' a not to be missed experience. Ms. Lyons' gives readers characters you can relate to, genuine emotional context and undeniable passion wrapped up in a compelling storyline that leaves you eagerly anticipating her next release.

The next story in this series, LOVE, UNEXPECTEDLY is due to be released in April 2010 from Kensington Brava under the pen name Susan Fox. You won't want to miss a series based on various forms of travel. After all there are so many wickedly delightful yet naughty ventures to be found on `planes, trains, automobiles, and a cruise ship.'

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

On a flight from Australia to Canada, University of Sydney professor Dr. Theresa Fallon and author Damien Black share a row in the business class section. They are instantly attracted to one another although neither knows why. They still want one another even after introductions as she ripped his last novel.

Damien asks Theresa to join him on a getaway. She shocks both of them when she accepts his sexy invitation though she convinces herself this is research. They share the erotic and the intellectual with great pleasure and delight in both until her family intrudes with rage and the media feeding frenzy threatens both their careers.

The conflict in this fun entertaining mile high contemporary romance is how she sees his books as shallow crap, which when he recognizes who she is, a literary academic snob, is intrigued by her. Although the plot is as thin as the air the plane crosses through on the way to Vancouver, fans will enjoy this fun tale of the literary snob and the novelist falling in love over the Pacific.

Harriet Klausner

Professor Theresa Fallon is on her way home to Vancouver from Sydney for her younger sister's wedding. At the airport bookstore she offhandedly makes a snide comment about the fiction writing of one of Australia's hottest bachelors, Damien Black, not knowing that he's standing right behind her.



On the plane Theresa finds herself seated next to a very handsome man. Although she's sworn off men she knows that this man could make her question her decision.



Writer Damien Black is on his first book tour of the United States and Canada when he meets Theresa. He knows the academic woman is not a fan of his writing, but he's very attracted to her. With a little persuasion he convinces her that in-flight entertainment from Sydney to Hawaii can be great fun: if it's just the two of them participating.



But once the flight ends can these two opposites find them attracted to each other for life, or did they just experience a wonderful time joining the Mile-High Club?



Sex Drive introduces us to Susan Lyon's new series, Wild Ride to Love, and I'm thrilled to be in on the first leg of the trip. This series features four sisters, one of them about to be married and the other three on their way to Canada for the wedding.



Theresa and Damien's story is the perfect beginning for this wild trip. Told alternatively between first and third person it gives the readers a wonderful glimpse into the mind of both characters. I fell in love with the both of them: the academic Theresa who has been burned by love before and is determined not to let another man into her life; and the sexy Damien, who draws her into his world and wants to keep her there.



The spark between these two had me researching flights and wondering how quickly I could pack and be on a plane, hoping to find my own perfect seatmate.



Ms. Lyons writes books that spark and sizzle to ignite flames in her readers. Sex Drive is no different. She introduces new characters that left me panting for more. I can't wait to see how the series turns out.


Amelia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Professor Teresa Fallon's love life really sucks and now she is on the way to the wedding of her youngest sister Merilee. She tries everything to make this wedding perfect without thinking about the fact that she is single. On the way from Australia to Canada she meets Damien, bestselling novelist and one of the sexiest bachelors of Oz. From the first minute she is irritated by him, because she feels attracted to him but doesn't want to show it. Damien is fascinated by Teresa, because she doesn't fawn over him like all other women do. Will Damien be able to show her that there is a fun side to life and not only the scholarly life she knows so far?

After the Awesome Foursome series, Ms. Lyons presents her readers with another terrific series. Teresa is the oldest of four sisters and the family genius. It was interesting to see how the relationship between the sisters changes and they become closer than ever before.

What is really interesting to watch is how the relationship between Damien and Teresa develops, because from the first meeting the sparks are flying between them. Their characters couldn't be anymore different, but the saying "Opposites attract" is definitely true for them.

Ms. Lyons has a gift to create characters whom her readers can easily identify with, that is what makes them so endearing because they are genuine.

SEX DRIVE is the first book in the new Wild Ride to Love series, but be aware the next book Love Unexpectedly will be released in April 2010 under the pen name Susan Fox from Kensington Brava.

If you are looking for a steamy hot book, that takes you an enjoyable journey, SEX DRIVE is definitely the right book for you.

STORY BRIEF:
Theresa was smart. She got a PhD in sociology at age 22. Always with kids older than she meant she never had youthful flirting and first loves. Jeffrey, a professor, wooed her and married her in order to steal her research grant. Since then she has never trusted men and is happy to live alone. She considers herself plain-looking. Her younger sister is getting married. Due to a recent illness the bride asked her sisters to plan the wedding for her. Theresa is flying from Sydney to Vancouver B.C. to do that. In the seat next to her is Damien, an Australian author of a mystery suspense series. He is also considered one of Australia's sexiest bachelors. When Damien first boarded the plane he flirted with the stewardess. But as he gets to know Theresa, he wants her. The stewardess wants him, so he asks Theresa to pretend to be his fiancé so he can get out of the flirting. She says ok. He kisses her, and soon they find themselves hot and heavy with desire. They do things under the blanket and more in the lavatory.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Theresa has never felt desirable or sexy. But Damien truly sees her that way, and she loves this new feeling. She desires and lusts after Damien as well. The book is written for women in a wishful thinking way, not expecting it, and being wooed by a sexy stranger. They spend time together. They do a variety of things together. The more he sees the more he likes. It's almost too pleasant. It was missing the excitement that keeps one drawn in. There is a lot of conversation. It's good conversation. I liked one of their arguments. She said he should take up the cause of discrimination against aborigines in his fiction books. He was one-quarter aborigine. He countered with she should take up the cause of discrimination against women in her work. She conceded, point made.

One scene bothered me. Toward the end, she heard him say something (out of context) and assumed the wrong thing. She immediately became cold and treated him bad. This was the formulaic fight/separation that most romance novels have. Why? It wasn't necessary. It felt like someone forced the author to put a separation in the book. All Theresa had to do was ask a question to clarify what she heard. But no she was cold for a period of time until she accidentally learned the truth. Not fun. I would much rather have seen a little excitement or danger by having a third person cause conflict, like a pick pocket, a rude person, the paparazzi, etc.

On balance it was a pleasant reading experience. It wasn't the kind of thing that had me eager to get back to it each time, but it was good. There were many sex scenes. They were explicit and somewhat sensual, but not as hot as others.

Minor problem: Damien has black hair to his shoulders. Cover guy has a short haircut.

DATA:
Story length: 313 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 8. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 41. Setting: current day airplane, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Vancouver, B.C. Copyright: 2009. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.

I finished Sex Drive by Susan Lyons yesterday, and it's a great example of how you can write a good book even when you've got two people stuck in place, and in this book, they're really stuck! Susan set a large chunk of the book on one long airplane trip from Australia to Hawaii, yet her characters are three-dimensional enough that it doesn't really matter that nothing much is going on except them getting to know each other and yep, having sex, since it's an erotic romance. Even more challenging? It's not a reunion story. These two characters, professor Theresa and writer Damien, are meeting for the first time.

If you want to see a romance writer doing a locked room scenario well, check out the book!