Customer Reviews

Talk Me Down

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really enjoyed Talk Me Down. It was a fun, fluffy and sexy read. Perhaps at times the actions of Molly were a bit too silly, but overall I really had a fun time reading this one. I can see Victoria going far in the contemporary world. She reminds me a bit like of Julia Harper, who also writes historical romances under another name, much like Victoria does. Also Rachel Gibson comes to mind. It was a welcomed relief to lose myself in such a book like this.

Molly Jennings has returned to her small home town of Tumble Creek, Colorado to escape her stalkerish, won't take a no for an answer, ex-boyfriend Cameron. Cameron has a way in making people agree with him and he really thinks Molly is playing hard to get and they are not really broken up. It gets so bad, that Molly has to leave Denver and return to her roots. Molly's job lets her travel because as long as she has a computer, she can work. Molly is an erotic romance author who goes by the name Holly Summers. (I think that is a great pen name) Molly keeps her career a secret because she doesn't want people to look down upon her, because most of her family and friends wouldn't have a high opinion of her work. If I were in Molly shoes, I would shout from the hills- "I write great sex! Nah Nah.". But Molly is not that self assured and probably likes the mystery she eludes.

As soon as Molly returns, she bumps into her old crush and older brother's friend, Ben Lawson. Ben is the Chief of Police in Tumble Creek. Ben acts as if Molly has the plague because their last encounter was when a barely teenage Molly caught Ben with a girl who was giving him oral sex. Both were beyond embarrassed, especially Ben. Ben keeps to himself and tries not to fuel the town's gossips because his father did something so horrible that has followed Ben into adulthood. Ben would love to get to know Molly better, but her personality and lifestyle is sure to raise some eyebrows, which Ben doesn't need. And because Molly won't tell Ben what she does for a living, he will stay away.

Ben can't keep away from Molly because it is such a small town and he loves being with her. She is bubbly, happy and makes his heart go pitter patter. This does sound strange to explain how the hero feels, but Ben is so very different from the other heroes I have read in the past. Ben blushes up a storm every time he is near Molly or she says something that shocks him. Very early on, Molly says something that doesn't just make Ben blush, but he actually puts his hands over his ears so he doesn't have to hear anymore. Can you think of any other time in another book where you have a hero doing this? I haven't, and I loved that Victoria wrote Ben like this. Ben was just too cute for words.

Molly is sick of placing her feeling aside for the Chief of Police and will use her feminine wiles to get Ben into her bed. Ben is a man after all and Molly is a woman he really appreciates. These two can't keep their hands off of each other. The make out like crazy in his car and finally when they get to the bedroom and have sex, it is really tender, sweet and hot. Molly and Ben are very happy with one another, even though Molly refuses to say she is Ben's girlfriend. Ben is the first one to say, "Yes you are my girlfriend. We are having sex and that means we are together and exclusive." I kept saying, GO BEN! Shut up Molly and just kiss him.

But as Ben and Molly try to work things out, Ben can't help but question Molly about her job and her ex-boyfriend who sends her gifts and shows up expecting to go to a party. Also, Molly thinks someone keeps breaking into her house, unlocking doors and moving things around. She still won't tell Ben what she does to make money and Ben is to the point of being fed up.

Talk Me Down had some great moments, especially between Ben and Molly. I am not just talking about their physical relationship but I loved their dialogue with one another. I had a few laughs over Ben because he ran a few job scenarios around in his head that Molly could possibly be involved with such as online sex performer and stripper. I really didn't think it was such a big deal that Molly kept her career such a secret. Her personality was of a woman who didn't really care what people thought. If she had told Ben right up front that she was an erotic romance author, he may have an initial reaction of disgust or shock, but I was led to believe he was the type of guy to get over it. I wouldn't be surprised if he was willing to act out some of her scenes from her books.

Molly was a bit silly and immature at times but she made me laugh by her internal thoughts and actions. She reminded me of a girly girl who wanted to have fun and when she wanted something- Ben, she didn't back down. Even the way she handled Cameron didn't bother me because everything she did made sense. The only thing left was to tell her older brother or Ben and they would have gone to Cameron and make him see reason. I really couldn't see that happening.

Again, I loved the fact that Victoria made Ben a middle ground hero. He was part alpha, part beta and the way he blushed was adorable. Ben is the reason to read Talk Me Down. He grounds Molly and they both bring something special to their relationship.

Talk Me Down is the perfect book for those who need some light reading and good sex. Blushing heroes and a heroine who writes great sex works for me!

Katiebabs

My curiosity always gets peaked when a historical romance author pens a contemporary romance. Not because I wonder if they can write contemporary - after all, they live in contemporary times - but I wonder how their writing voice differs in the new genre and if I'll like it as much. Such was the case with Victoria Dahl's new contemporary romance, Talk Me Down. I thoroughly enjoy her historical voice and can now say that I am more than pleased with her contemporary voice!

After ten years, Molly Jennings is back in town. It really wasn't a tough decision to leave behind her nice Denver loft and active social life and return to small-town Tumble Creek, Colorado -- having a crazy, stalker ex-boyfriend that wouldn't leave her alone pretty much clinched it. That and the fact that said crazy ex-boyfriend virtually killed her muse. You see, Molly has a secret: she's a bestselling author of erotic fiction. And since Molly can accomplish her job from anywhere, she moves into the house that her aunt left her when she died and tries to gain back some much needed inspiration. She gets that and more in the form of Ben Lawson, her brother's best friend and the long-time object of her fantasies.

Police chief Ben Lawson doesn't care for scandal or gossip. He has had enough of that in his past and lives his life to avoid it. When Molly Jennings moves back and starts openly flirting with him, he certainly doesn't encourage her attention. Ben doesn't date women who live in Tumble Creek because living in a small town causes too many complications if it doesn't work out. But Molly is relentless. The more Ben tries to avoid her, the more he can't seem to resist her. And when someone starts threatening Molly, Ben figures there is no better way to protect her than to stay as close to her as possible.

Talk Me Down is such a fun book! Molly and Ben are vibrant, genuine characters that came to life on the pages. Molly is outgoing and gregarious despite having grown up constantly compared to her perfect older brother. Having dealt with vicious gossip as a teenager, Ben is very reserved and likes his privacy. Needless to say, when these two get together, the sparks fly! I laughed so much while Ben was trying to figure out exactly what Molly does for a living and kept guessing at who the villain was. Add to that some notable secondary characters (one of which I hope gets her own book very soon) and you've got an exciting, fresh new talent in the genre. Talk Me Down contains just the right amount of humor, suspense, romance and smoking hot love scenes! Ms. Dahl hits a homerun in her contemporary debut and I can't recommend this one enough!

Andrea
Romance Novel TV
4.5 stars

This has to be the best contemporary romance novel that I've read this year! I am so excited that Victoria Dahl is just beginning her career, because she is fabulous. Talk me Down is fast, hot, and funny. Molly and Ben are compelling characters. Molly is sassy, funny, and (gasp) sex-positive. Ben is not only smart and sexy, but insightful and thoughtful. This one is definitely a keeper! Enjoy!

Molly comes back to town to escape her manipulative ex and get over her writer's block. Ben takes one look at her in the grocery store and starts to blush. This is in the first 2 pages. I really wanted to know what could make the chief of police blush like that. The story was good. The characters and the plot were a lot of fun. The sex scenes were pretty hot. I loved that straight laced Ben accepted and was turned on by what turned Molly on. I do think that the relationship went from 0-60 waaay too fast. I was as surprised as Molly when Ben said they were dating. There were some excellent plot twists, and the Merry Men angle was hilarious.

There could have been more done with the antagonist of the story. The few times we get the ant's perspective aren't really...anything. Either they should have been more fleshed out, there should have been more of them, or they should have been left out all together. They were supposed to be creepy I guess, but they were just...like an out of place conversation. If the ant and the Merry Men (or at least some of them) had come to town, that would have been interesting and possibly LOL funny. That was a great piece of storytelling that never got told.

~* 3.5 Stars *~
It's been ten years since Molly Jenkins left the small mountain town of Tumble Creek, Colorado for the bright lights of the city of Denver, but a bad case of writer's block brought on by the stress of a stalker ex-boyfriend coupled with the inheritance of her aunt's house gave Molly an opportunity too good to pass up. The day she returns she runs into the one man that has haunted almost every dream and fantasy she's had for each one of those ten years, her older brother's best friend Ben Lawson. And the years have been very, very kind to the man who is now Chief of Police of their home town.

Despite what she recognizes as his attraction, Molly is under no illusions. She's well aware that her chosen career would give pause to the upstanding and scandal-shy Ben, but after carrying a torch for him for so long and finally being old enough to be seen as a woman, Molly isn't going to let a little thing like being a well known erotica romance novelist get in the way of hooking up with a man she's seen naked and wants desperately. And as long as they keep things light and fun, there should be no hearts broken when the relationship comes to its inevitable conclusion.

Shrouded in secrets that drive him to distraction but working a body that drives him to his knees, Ben's attraction to Molly is instant, intense, and now that she's no longer seventeen, legal. He falls quickly for the girl who makes him laugh and who shows him how to lighten up a little, but he's wary of bad publicity after a family scandal that fired up the town years and years ago. Still, he can't stay away from Molly, no matter how hard he tries, and finds his heart going down for the long count with a big cheer from his manly parts for finally getting some winter action.

Secrets, though, have a funny way of coming back and biting you when you least expect it, and Molly's return to town stirs up more than good-natured interest in the Chief's new love life. It stirs up the deranged intentions of a stalker who thinks Molly needs to return to Denver. Or die.

As a light romantic suspense, Talk Me Down worked fairly well, with the stalker plot threads sufficiently blanketed in assumption and a red herring or two, moments of tense emotion and danger, and a twist or two to keep you guessing. As a sexy romantic comedy, the book tread the line closer to an evolving lust match than a love match between the characters, which is something I'm noticing with growing frequently in recent contemporary titles. It's a trend that doesn't totally satisfy me as a reader, unfortunately, as too often it leads to seemingly forced or superficial conflict between the lead romantic pairings instead of a deeper conflict born from a more complex emotional connection.

That is the core issue I had with this book, actually. I thoroughly enjoyed the light, breezy style and the racy, sexy scenes between Ben and Molly, but the two main conflicts between them, the stubborn guardianship of her secret profession and her willfulness in keeping the relationship with Ben on a superficial level when he wanted more, felt forced and unnecessary for a good portion of the book. And it made it hard for me to embrace Molly's character.

I wish the issues Molly had with being the less perfect child, the younger sibling of a brother who could do no wrong, had come out sooner in the book, because once we were given a glimmer of the reasons behind her attitude and her rampant immaturity, she started to come together for me as a real character. Until then, she seemed more a careless caricature of a shallow women with nothing but good times on her mind. And I couldn't understand why a woman who had yearned for a guy for as long as Molly had never even entertained the possibility of grabbing for a real relationship when he was obviously so into her. I understand fear, or even lack of trust given Molly's childhood, but Molly's reticence and stubbornness devalued and disrespected Ben's growing feelings for her even as they displayed her flaws in harsh, unforgiving light.

The tone of the book, the light comedic style and the sizzling sexuality, just wasn't quite enough to counteract the lack of depth in her character for me. I enjoyed Ben, even though I did think he was a bit out there in his quest to pin down what Molly did for a living, but his reasons were clear and provided up front and it made him seem more sympathetic and his behavior easier to understand. And to be honest, I admit I tend to be more critical of female protagonists than male in situations like this. Well...in all situations, really. Maybe that's not fair, but it does factor in on occasion.

Talk Me Down is the first Victoria Dahl book I've read, and there were definite bright spots. I was entertained by the story, and appreciated the smooth narrative, realistic dialogue, and moments of humor. The sex scenes were sizzling hot and well-written, with the appealing frankness of adult language and variety of sexual situations that I prefer. It was a bit airy and thin on character development and plot, which made much of it tilt towards the lighter of brain candy reads, but it also hit the spot as a reading palate cleanser after a recent book that was tragic and full of horror. Sometimes, it really isn't just the book you read, but when you read it. In that regard, I'm pleased to add Dahl to the list of authors I turn to when I need a lighthearted, HEA-assured pick-me-up.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

I am currently 57% through this Kindle edition of the book. While, in general, I find it an easy and good read, Molly is about driving me crazy with her refusal to tell Ben about the stalking. In this day and age this lack of disclosure (especially after her car is tampered with) to someone who, by all accounts so far, is stable and trustworthy appears ludicrous. Her refusal (according to her, so I assume this is accurate) has nothing to do with her secret profession so why not tell him about the ex. So far there doesn't appear to be anything in Ben's character to make me think he would A) not take her seriously or B) flip out and go after the ex or his compadres without due process or cause.

Even though I am immensely frustrated with Molly at this point, I will continue to read just to find out how the story ends (and to get more info on the side characters). However, I may skip parts regarding Molly's ineptitude in handling her own safety.

So right now I am giving it 3 stars (It's OK), but I may revise my opinion later.

**After completing book**
Ok I was generally happy with the rest of the book, but my frustration over Molly's behavior and lack of trust to confide in someone she's known for so long didn't really dissipate, so I will stick with 3 stars.

Molly has been fantasizing about Ben, her brother's best friend, since she was a teenager. When she moves back home to Tumble Creek, she is determined to make the fantasy a reality. Ben puts up a respectable fight, but Molly is a force of nature. Throw in a stalker, some erotic secrets and nosy neighbors and mayhem ensues. Not to mention WHITE HOT sparks between Molly and Ben...whew!

I liked Molly a lot. Yes, she is a bit of a girly girl, a little flighty, but she has a big heart. Ben is a dream. He is stoic, a bit shy and unwilling to be a gossip source for the small town in which he serves as sheriff. He is passionate and willing to buy into whatever sexual adventure Molly is selling, once he gets past his initial resistance to the idea of having an affair with her. He reacts to her in a real way.

Ms. Dahl has created wonderful primary and secondary characters, any of whom I would love to sit down with and have coffee. Molly and Ben set the pages on fire. The story moves along and is (really) laugh out loud funny. I know I am reading a great book when I forget I am reading and instead am "seeing" the story unfold in my head. I am so excited to have found a new autobuy/keeper shelf author!

I really enjoyed the Tumble Creek novels by Victoria Dahl. Talk Me Down, Start Me Up, and Lead Me On. The characters had real depth and the stories were good, with a bit of suspense, and they were HOT! I loved them and would like to find more like these.

Victoria Dahl has written an all out sexy and delightful story in Talk Me Down.

Molly Jennings returns to sleepy Tumble Creek, Colorado after she inherits her aunt's house. Molly is ready for a change after a crazy ex-boyfriend won't leave her alone. Molly's writing career could use some fresh inspiration especially from hunky chief of police Ben Lawson.

Ben Lawson former town bad boy is now a straight arrow cop. He is knocked off his feet by Molly Jennings being back in town. Ben tries to avoid being alone with her since he can't seem to keep his hands off of her. But someone is stalking Molly and this has Ben's protective side coming out in full force.

Ben and Molly start a hot and heavy affair which leads to feelings that neither was ready to handle. Molly has kept secret what she does for a living and Ben has things from his youth that makes him hate controversy. Can he get past it when he finds out the truth about Molly?

Talk Me Down is a must read. I couldn't talk about it enough to fellow romance readers. Its funny, all out sexy and a delight from beginning to end. Go buy this book.

Molly has a secret that nobody knows. She's a (highly awarded) erotic fiction writer. After being left a house by her aunt, she gets to come back to her home town and try to spice it up with her teenage (unrequited) love Ben, who is now the Chief of police in their small Colorado town.
Coming into this I had no idea if I'd enjoy this author, but I liked the plot so I figured why not. I'm glad I did. I very much enjoyed the romance, steamy scenes (quite a few), and seeing Ben & Molly's romance play out. I couldn't have been more satisfied by their story and romance.

If I have any complaint it's that the supporting characters and sub-plots aren't as fleshed out as I'd have liked for a 300+ page book. HOWEVER- I didn't take notice of this until after finishing the book and thinking back on what might have been improved.

In other words, this is a steamy fun book full of a smart and funny writing style that I enjoyed very much this fine winter day. I will look forward to future works by Victoria Dahl!