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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great addition to the "Blaze" series, October 23, 2001
This review is from: Wild Side (Harlequin Blaze) (Paperback)
I've fallen in love with Isabel Sharpe's stories in her contributions to the "Duets" series. Now she takes on the sexy new "Blaze" line, with incredible results. Plot Summary: Melissa Rogers, restless good girl, longs to indulge her sexual fantasies before she meets Mr. Right and settles down. But instead she gets a walk on the really wild side, thanks to the uninhibited neighbor who skips town, leaving Melissa to take her place. Riley Anderson, brilliant private investigator and every woman's fantasy, is assigned to seduce a female suspect. But Melissa Rogers doesn't fit the profile of the woman he's after. This woman makes him long for things he didn't even know he wanted. Will it be pure eroticism, or forever-after commitment? Too many times, authors writing erotic stories fall into the trap of writing incredibly sensational love scenes without really developing the relationship between the characters or the actual plot of the book. Sharpe avoids the trap, though, giving "The Wild Side" a decent mystery sub-plot and giving both pairs of lovers in the book good romantic development. In fact, Sharpe does a better job developing the relationship between the secondary couple. Rose is a complex character, and Sharpe does a good job both of explaining Rose's emotional shields and in sketching their erosion at the hands of Slate. Both Melissa and Riley are interesting characters, and while their relationship isn't given the depth of development that Rose and Slate's is, the conclusion is believable and gratifying. "The Wild Side" is one of the better books in the new Harlequin Blaze line. Enjoy!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely sensual -- Recommended, November 20, 2001
This review is from: Wild Side (Harlequin Blaze) (Paperback)
Melissa Rodgers wants to forsake her good girl exterior and take a walk on the wild side. Five years of a bland, but pleasant, relationship that never showed any sparkle makes her want it all. Not that she looks forward to the day when she marries, has a couple of kids and drives a SUV. But in the mean time, she wants wild nights, sex toys, and a boy toy. So she completes a makeover, and asks her wild neighbor Rose for an introduction to a "friend". Rose complies, using the opportunity for her own purposes. She fears for her safely and plans to leave town for a while. If her watchers see a woman in the window, they'll never suspect she's gone. So when Rose arranges an introduction, she never explains the blind date isn't for herself, but for Melissa. Riley Anderson, a private detective working with the FBI and on an assignment to pinpoint a leak in the local police department, arrives at Rose's apartment expecting a sex siren. He's seen the evidence of Rose's revolving door and her ability to transform her appearance and demeanor based on the company she keeps. But instead of a sex siren, Riley meets a tentative, frightened kitten eager to play. Her innocence awakens his tenderness, but this is supposed to be Rose, the sex goddess that keeps an ever shifting population of men dancing at attendance. Soon Riley finds that the woman, he later learns she's actually Melissa, can touch his heart and emotions deeply. Not exactly what he wanted from an undercover assignment. The struggle between yielding to one's desires while remaining tightly in control of one's emotions becomes the focus of Isabel Sharpe's THE WILD SIDE. Unfortunately, at times the plot seems to threaten to spiral out of control as it pushes the envelop of plausibility. Not that the individual elements aren't possible, or the writing isn't good, but when the package is put together, it feels like a bit too much. Yet the characters are so incredibly dynamic and engaging that readers can't resist their charm. In addition, the secondary plot provides a vibrant contrast to the main plot, ultimately proving that the promiscuous, wild Rose isn't so different from the conservative Melissa after all. Indeed, Rose is such a wonderful character that she threatens to take over the storyline; perhaps she deserved her own book. Definately a walk on the wild side, THE WILD SIDE comes recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two different love stories in one great read, October 25, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Wild Side (Harlequin Blaze) (Paperback)
I've always enjoyed Isabel Sharpe's humorous and well-written style in her Duets. I was ecstatic to find that her Blaze was not only just as well-written, but suprisingly complex in structure and subject matter... and let's face it, it was also fantastically steamy stuff! The two love stories are engrossing and good counterpoints to one another. I'll definitely keep an eye out for her future books!
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