Customer Reviews

The Temptation of Rory Monahan (Man of the Month-April #148) (Silhouette Desire, No 1363)

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Silhouette Desire has this book listed under the Man of the Month. I think it deserves the title wimp of the month. Its hard to believe that Rory the main charactor is an adult male. The rambling thoughts and actions remind one of a pre-adolence boy. The female charactor isn't any better. The whole story line of an awaking dull but intelligent male is tedious and both charactors need help. This one will be giving away and never missed.

Humor is all well and good -- romantic comedy is one of the most popular types of fiction (print and screen). But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and this book exemplifies it. You know how some literary writers take their "luminous prose" so seriously that they (and their poor readers) lose sight of the story along the way? You're left admiring the gorgeousness of the writing and wondering what the heck they were trying to communicate, story-wise. This is the romance-novel equivalent. It's trying so hard to be cute that you begin to lose sight of the story, a cardinal sin in romance fiction. The love story is the heart of the book -- or it should be. Instead, I found that I was caught up in the writer's self-conscious cleverness. She was very clearly straining to be funny. But just as make-up is most flattering when it's not obviously make-up (you know, the "natural look"), humor is most effective when it looks effortless and spontaneous. This book felt like watching a stand-up comedian whose audience is losing interest. They begin begging for laughter and it gets embarrassing to watch. The archness of Bevarly's writing wears thin, FAST! About half-way through, I abandoned the effort and skimmed through the remainder in a few minutes (we know they'll get together, the only question is how). I'll look through her novels VERY carefully in future before buying. The writing style undermined the reality of the characters, who are a little hard to believe in to begin with. Sure, everybody has known someone who was so immersed in their work, they could ignore a 7.7 earthquake, but Rory is the male version of TSTL. If you're going to have such an over-the-top character, then you need a more subtly humorous style. Bevarly and her editors need to rein in her style, before she becomes a parody of herself. First Comes Love was genuinely cute. Rory Monahan was overkill.

I can't believe how highly unbelievable and TORTUROUSLY dorky the male character is. If just one more time I had to read his "I, I, I" utterance before every communication with the female character, "I,I,I" was going to scream!

Summary: "He was a man of books, all right but Rory Monahan had no explanation for his new reaction to lovely librarian Miriam Thornbury. Something was suddenly different about her. He'd never noticed that her legs were so long... or her lips quite so full. Why, it was almost as if sultry but sensible Miss Thornbury was trying to seduce him! Well, two could play at this game. After all, he was a scholar -- it was time he figured out what was up with her. Even if it took all day -- and all night. The things a man will do in the name of research..."

Rory Monahan is not a typical romance hero. The fact that Rory is a befuddled scholar concentrating more on medieval history than anything else may detract from his appeal for the mass romance audience. However, in my opinion that detracts little from his appeal in this book.

Rory is quite charming, and very sweet. And Miriam is sweet in her efforts to get Rory to notice her. Rory and Miriam may be atypical romance characters, but they seem like real people.

In addition, "Temptation" is full of the trademark Bevarly humor and stream-of-consciousness writing. While this type of writing does not appeal to everyone, for a Bevarly fan, "Temptation" is a stand-out. There are quite a few of those laugh-out-loud moments, and Rory's confusion as he attempts to make sense of the situation is hilarious.

That said, I have my typical complaint about Bevarly novels, and that is -- we get so much of the stream-of-consciousness writing that the development of the actual feelings is neglected. We enjoy and root for Miriam and Rory, but I'm not sure that their romance is ever completely believable.

However, this -is- a genre romance, and for those who can appreciate Bevarly's writing style, "Temptation" is wonderful and hilarious and a lot of fun to read.

Another Monahan man to fall in love! A modest and reserved librian, Miriam Thornbury, has been in love with an erudite professor of history, Rory Monahan, since the day they met. But he is too absorbed in his study to realize her beauty and his own latent attraction to her. Miriam decides to show him how sexy and eligible she is, with help of sensational magazines. She transforms into a temptress substantially enough to awaken the bookworm and drive him into breathtaking fantasy!

The novel is cute, heart-warming, and sensual. Though both of them are a little too visionary and unrealistic, Miriam and Rory are all the more attracting because of their innocence. Probably too much fantasizing is cracteristic to the Monahan series, as in seen in the previous one, Monahan's Gamble.

I'm sorry to say I cannot agree with Miriam's scheme of temptation. Is it more likely that a snug clothes and too red lipstick repulse a sober man of learning? And unfortunately the plot develops too rushly, hurrying the two into making love on their very first date. But what makes up for the drawback is that Rory learns to love Miriam because in her, he finds not only a bewitching temptress, but what she really is: a sedate, knowledgeable, sincere, and loving woman.

I recommend this book to all with interest in genuine love!