Customer Reviews

The Sweetest Taboo (Harlequin Blaze, 68)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Inheriting her grandfather's bar gave Erin Thatcher endless hours of work but not satisfaction. Yet the bar is her legacy from the grandfather who gave up everything to care for her, and Erin intends it to succeed. Late hours and restlessness lead to imaginative interludes with the man in the apartment above hers. Elevator rides, chance encounters in the parking garage or mailroom make her long for more. Then Erin reads an article that motivates her to break all the rules and pursue her desire. She wants sex with a bad boy, a rake, a rapscallion with no guilt and no worries.

Sebastian Gallo lives a very controlled life, allowing no one to come close emotionally. He buries his dark past and hidden pain in his fiction hero Ryder Falco, penning sinister, dark fiction, working out his angst by late night prowling and spending long hours in his opulently decadent shower. Sebastian's solitary existence is a design of his own making as opposed to the horrible years of his childhood. Long ago he vowed he would never look to someone else for security, substance or support. But then, he underestimated the needs of his heart.

THE SWEETEST TABOO combines raw sexual energy with fierce emotional passion in a savvy blend of extremities certain to fulfill the most demanding lover of romance and erotica. Indeed, author Alison Kent has a gift for cutting to the very essence of modern woman's struggle to reconcile her needs and desires with the standards society sets. Sexual freedom does not give Erin the experience she imagines as she struggles to divorce extraordinary sex from its emotional ramifications. Sebastian likewise struggles with self-identity, rejecting his past by create a fictional character that bears the brunt of his dark side. Further, the pace of the novel maintains a gripping edge as both Erin and Sebastian struggle with their inner demons and deepest desires. A titillating read with gritty detail and fierce emotion, THE SWEETEST TABOO comes very highly recommended.

What a launch to the newest series from Blaze! Alison Kent writes incredible contemporary women. The dialogue is so authentic, the worries about careers and men so very real. And this story pushes the sexual envelope in the best ways. I dont think Ive read anything this hot in months. I'll never look at a bottle of champagne the same way again. Sebastian is literally a hero to die for. Sexy and enigmatic and passionate beyond belief. This is what erotic romance should be!

I've read a lot of romance novels but I think this one was the hottest! I enjoyed this book a great deal. I would have given it a 5 star rating if it weren't for a sentence structure problem that seemed to run all through the book. It was hard for me to follow at some points for that reason. I guess I know now why they made us diagram sentences in school it's too bad the author was absent that year.

Alison Kent has written a totally breath-stealing romance. This book will give you the tingles from head to toe. And the sex scenes are definitely taboo! Whoa! The two romances here are some of the best I've ever read. What a super start to the Men To Do series!

First off I want to say that overall, I enjoyed this book. I've read quite a few Blaze books that were so thin on plot and characterization that I had a difficult time getting through them. This book had just enough to keep me going and the sex was good which is about all I expect in a Blaze book.

Although the book kept me interested I must say I was also confused. Why had Sebastian been in lockup? What was his crime? Why hadn't he been put in the foster care system? It's understandable how Sebastian's childhood would mold him into the isolated character he becomes but it seems to me it would take more unusual circumstances and a whole lot stronger woman than Erin to bring him into the world of the living. Erin is a likable but weak character and there is no way I could believe that her and Sebastian could fall in love. There was so much potential with Sebastian's character that I was dissapointed that he ended up in this shallow book with weak characters.

The story with Cali and Will was strange too. It started off really good and made a great contrast with the Erin and Sebastian story. Then it started going down this weird path where Cali and Will started fighting over a script. It ruined the whole romance for me. If they were getting that worked up over a homework assignment it didn't bode well for their long term relationship. Where was the caring and willingness to compromise that should have been there? I don't see their romance going beyond a few months. And I still don't understand how Erin and Sebastian's ever got going.

I'll be perfectly frank with you. I'm by no means a fan of category romance, but I wanted to check out the new Blaze line, so I picked up a whole slew of them just to see what was coming out from this part of the vast Harlequin empire. Sweetest Taboo was the "only" one of these books that I managed to finish, and it still resides on my bookshelf today.

Alison Kent knows how to write sizzling, crackling, wonderfully erotic scenes. I was, at first, shocked and then thoroughly intrigued by her willingness to push the boundaries. And I have to give her credit, she pulls it off with aplomb. She's able to pack her love scenes with raw emotion and a graphically explicit quality that only serves to increase the physical intimacy of these scenes, making them compelling rather than repulsive (as some of the more graphic literature I've read has been.)

She's created a deliciously sensual hero in Sebastian, and contrary to another reviewer, I think she handled the tortured hero aspect of his character quite well. The weakest aspect of the book, however, is the heroine. I didn't dislike her, but the only time that I really liked her or even cared about her was when she was with Sebastian. As well, the plot (revolving around her dual goals to save her grandfather's bar from closing and to have a "no strings attached" affair with her sexy neighbor) was pretty thin. A bit too one note for my tastes. But honestly, I didn't even care because Sebastian was sooooo sexy and intriguing that he was worth every minute I spent reading the book.

The secondary love story between Will and Cali is charming as well and their "best friends become lovers" story provides a wonderful contrast and balance to the hot and steamy love affair between Erin and Sebastian.

If you want a taste of how good the Blaze line "could" be if only they found more talented writers like Alison Kent, then check out Sweetest Taboo.

I LOVED this book! Talk about hot! I was mad for Erin and Sebastian, and I thought the writing was superb. THE SWEETEST TABOO is everything I look for in a Blaze. In fact, it's everything I hope to find in a novel, but so rarely do. I can't wait to read the other books in this series, and I hope Ms. Kent writes more. I've already ordered as many books of hers that I can find. Wow!

I have to say it's a pleasure to read a category book by an author who cares about the written word to this degree. This is stunning language and description way above the average for this type of book. I predict Alison Kent will be going places.

I agree with what everyone else has said (except the Canadian reader, of course) that this book has everything an erotic romance should offer. A heroine torn between what she perceives as a family obligation and her own dreams, and a hero who helps her to learn the truth about what her grandfather intended with his bequest. Such a touching story about people at a crossroads in their lives. And so incredibly romantic! (Not to mention being the hottest thing I've ever read!)

Having long since given up on the formulaic Harlequin lines in favour of more cutting egde romance, I was brought back through a friend who urged me to give this new line a try. This first foray was more than satisfactory, the writing superb and the story was engrossing. Even her descriptions of Sebastian's GTO were excellent, making it into an almost living entity rather than a machine.

The sex, while definitely off the Richter scale for Harlequin, was still pretty vanilla. I will say, there are shades of Robin Schone in Ms. Kent's emotion-filled scenes, and that's not a bad thing. I especially liked the opening masturbatory scene with Sebastian in the shower was highly erotic and very well-written without being judgemental of his motives.

I throughly enjoyed Sebastian Gallo/Ryder Falco. He was a definite paen to the handsome, brooding heroes of gothic romance novels. The descriptions of him, his clothes, what he thought, made him very real. As a writer, I can completely sympathize with the capriciousness of the creative process. He is a man whom one has to earn the right to love him, since he doesn't love easily. He wasn't quite an alpha male because he definite had his own code of honor when it came to dealing with Erin Thatcher. I would love to read an entire book about his life, especially his time spent in behind bars.

I did NOT like of Erin Thatcher. She was/is everything about a female character I simply can't stand. Anal, insecure, a trust-fund baby with no sense of direction--was she really the kind of brazen and ballsy woman to engage in a torrid affair with her sexy neighbor? Most of the book was spent in her feeling sorry for herself and not being able to decide whether owning an upscale bar in Houston was her life's work. And, talk about reinforcing the notion that women cannot tell the difference between sex and love, Erin Thatcher is the poster child.

I give this book 4 stars because of the secondary characters: Tess and Samantha (the e-mail friends with the good advice), Cali and Will. Their romance would also make a good book, though I was rather disappointed that Cali didn't stick to her guns at the end in terms of the screenplay project. At least Will came to his senses, but still.

I will be reading the other books in the 'Men-To-Do' miniseries to see how the other characters handle their respective romances.