Customer Reviews

Hot Spot (Berkley Sensation)

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

 

 

This book focuses on the one thing I DON'T like about Susan Johnson's books... Angry sex. I've been reading her books for years and there is usually one scene that focuses on two people who are angry enough to do violence deciding to jump each other instead. In this book, that's about all you get. The background story line was so weak it was forgetable and there was no intimacy between the two mains. This book was a mindless cover-to-cover fight and screw with an ending so forgetable I had to go back an hour later because I couldn't remember if I finished it or not.

This trade-paperback-sized story wouldn't make a half-bad novella if you cut out all the frantic, self-consciously-written sex scenes. I know SJ is known for her sex scenes, but what I don't know is WHY. They're... dull. But the story itself was actually pretty good.

Stella Scott is a comic book store owner. Danny Rees designs computer games & is richer than... she calls him a kazillionnaire, which seems pretty appropriate.

Somebody's broken into his office, trying to steal the details of his new game. She looks like a suspect, and he doesn't talk about any details of his game designing, so she thinks he's just saying he's a game designer when he's really a drug dealer. So they each suspect each other, while in the meantime they can't keep their hands (& other body parts) off each other.

In addition, there's a nice secondary romance between a confirmed bachelor & a divorced mom who's sworn off marriage.

The good:
The comic store setting.
The mutual suspicion which could be cleared up by just talking to each other, but it makes sense that they don't.
The secondary romance.

The bad:
The ho-hum sex scenes.

The verdict:
Wait until it's out in mass market size or get it at your library unless you're a big Susan Johnson fan.

About the only thing going for it was the setting, and the story line was ok. That's what drew me in the first place to pick it up, but...yuk.. The main characters had a totally one-track mind: sex and more sex. Trashy. Randy robots. No real brains. No romance. Mindless sexual musings. The worst "graphic novel" ever written. Don't waste your money, esp. the teens who undoubtedly will be drawn to the sexy-cute cover: wht's in between the covers is NOT for sweet sixteen!! Watchers of Sex and the City would blush...or throw up.

I adore Susan Johnson (well, her older work), but I have a feeling she's simply stopped trying. Her historical fiction is among some of my fave erotica reads, and a handful of her contemporary books (Hot Legs, Blonde Heat) are entertaining, but this one...pitiful.

I'm guessing the dialogue between the two main characters is supposed to be pithy and sexy. Unfortunately it comes off as cheesy, like dialogue you might find in a bad 70s porno. I actually cringed during certain parts of the book, and at one point I said outloud, "Ohmygod, who talks like that?"

As for the overabundance of sex, well, it IS erotica so I expected lots of steamy yumyums, but I expected them to be...better. More erotic dialogue, more detail and a hint of emotion from the characters. Nope, not in this book.

If erotica is your thing, I highly recommend checking out Emma Holly. I have yet to be disappointed by ANYTHING she has produced. As for Susan...sigh...I think her time has passed.

Cutting to the chase--the sex scenes were robotic at best. The characters were dull: the hero, a video game creator, rode around Wisconsin in a white pick-up truck, the heroine, a comic book store owner...

There is absolutely, ZERO foreplay in the sex scenes. It is just really odd. Wait maybe there was a kiss once...

This book is not worth a dime!

Susan's older stuff is much, much, much better.It's sad but I think she's lost her steam:(

Preface...I understand this was supposed to be EROTICA, but at the same time, it was also supposed to be a romance.

This book had to be one of the lamest, stupidest romance books that I've ever read. I can't count the number of times I shook my head or snorted at something in this book. It was like and Ode to Casual Sex, or the poster child for bad relationships and utter crudeness. The entire book was (the characters) self-serving gratification and was basically just smut. Not that I'm saying smut is bad, it just didn't work for this supposed ROMANCE book. What a total waste of $8.

Romance wise...there was absolutely, positively nothing romantic about this book. The characters screw like bunnies, have fun and decide that means they are in love. Huh? Right! Like that's such a building block for a good relationship. They never have any real, in-depth conversations. They never get past the very basics. And we're supposed to believe they end up loving each other? I don't think so. The concept was ridiculous. And when I finished the book, it was like, who wants to bet they'd be divorced in less than 2 years?

The book is pretty much the characters pure self-gratification. Danny thinks Stella might be involved in industrial espionage in stealing his new video game. He's really ticked off, but decides he'd rather be able to sleep with her instead of confronting her. And Stella thinks Danny is some big-time drug dealer, but decides to rationalize it away because she doesn't want to give up his penis. Again, what kind of romance is that? Sheesh. It's just totally self-serving. And the language in this book...it was just utterly crude. I mean, I wasn't offended, but it was thoroughly non-romantic. I don't think I've read a book where the less polite words for body parts were used more than in this one. Danny refers to Stella's...body part...constantly in a vulgar way, even out loud. If a guy ever said some of things to me that he said to her, I'd smack him and send him on his way. It was just beyond crude for a supposed romance. Fine for hardcore smut, but not romance.

And some of the realism in this story? Good grief. Totally unbelievable. For one thing, anyone ever heard of protection? These two screw like bunnies and there's not one mention until the very end about protection. Danny is supposedly a total ladies man with no qualms about casual sex and one-night stands, which Stella knows. And Danny believes that Stella has a bevy of guys she screws regularly. Yet there's not one mention of condoms. Haven't they ever heard of diseases? Sheesh. These two were a walking ad for STD prevention, what not to do. Even if they were using condoms and it just wasn't said, they couldn't have been used right because they were going for consecutive rounds without breaks, or, uh, removal of body parts in between. That's a big condom no-no. Also, these 2 went at it like rabbits with a Viagra IV with an insane number of orgasms. Maybe it's just me...but their constant sexual activity without time for recovery seemed really unrealistic.

Plot...plot? Oh, right, the espionage thing. Can anyone say badly developed after thought?

There were probably other things I could mention, but those were the big points. Overall, just a really poor book. The sex was kind of hot, but everything else sucked. It's a good example of what a romance novel should NOT be. So I highly recommend not wasting your time or money on it, even if you can buy it used for a quarter.

The only interesting thing about this book is its setting in a comic book store owned by the heroine. Otherwise, the whole book was really lots of ho-hum. Not bad, but not good, either. Sex scenes uninspired, no real emotional connection between the leads, either. A major disappointment.

I have been reading reviews of this book and I have to say that I personally really liked it. It was the first Susan Johnson book I read and I found it fun and entertaining. Its meant to be a light-hearted book that is just there for enjoyment and some laughs.

I love Susan Johnson books! I buy everything she writes! Hot Spot was contemporary NOT historical, which I prefer. Quick read, light, entertaining. Some good sex. Hope this helps.