Review: Sex, Straight Up
Sex, Straight Up
Kathleen O'Reilly
2/5
A book with the name "Sex, straight up" requires some explanation. This was the Dirty Sexy Books Blog book club choice for May - the theme was Harlequin romance. I was among the target audience for this one: I generally like romances, but after reading a couple of Harlequin novels, haven't been too impressed. Like many other readers, I'm sure, I've been turned off (excuse the pun) by the titles - which seem to require either "billionaire," "baby," or "mistress" (or all three) - and the formulaic books. However, I decided to put my reading prejudices aside and try this one. Even though I didn't much like it, it wasn't for the reasons that I normally dislike Harlequin.
From Amazon.com: Meeting a handsome loner on a deserted beach in the Hamptons was like being hit by lightning. One steamy weekend in bed with Daniel O'Sullivan and Catherine Montefiore was marvelously woozy from a delicious cocktail of sun, sand and superhot sex.
Abruptly, though, Catherine's forty-eight hours of fun are at an end when her family's exclusive auction house is hit by a very public scandal. She's ready to step in and save the day, but she's hoping Daniel, her hot Irish hunk, will lend a hand. After all, he's got the necessary skills and, straight up or not, Catherine wants another long drink of Daniel before another forty-eight hours are up and her legacy is lost forever!
This, along with the title, make it sound very Harlequin-esque. This is very misleading. If I were to re-write the summary, this is how it would go: "Meeting a handsome loner on a crowded beach in the Hamptons was like being shocked with static electricity. While Catherine Montefiore didn't exactly enjoy the sun or sand, she did enjoy spending the weekend in bed with accountant Daniel O'Sullivan (both avoiding all other human contact). After they leave for the weekend, Catherine arrives at her family's exclusive auction house only to find they're having trouble with the books. Catherine kind of wants to help but wimps out several times. Daniel's firm gets hired, Daniel begins working for the auction house, and angst commences."
This book should not have this title or blurb. It's relatively tame for Harlequin Blaze, focusing much more on character and development than any other Harlequin I've read. I do think this will help show readers that Harlequin does have more to offer. The main characters in this weren't the typical romance characters - they were both a little shy and reserved, and she was pretty but not standout (he was gorgeous, of course - that's practically a requirement). The plot centers around Daniel's attempt to reconcile falling in love with the death of his wife during 9/11. The 9/11 premise made me nervous, but it (and his wife's memory) was handled tactfully. The theme of true love v. falling in love again was handled well - present without hitting the reader over the head with it. Both characters get to know each other (more or less) and develop through their connection.
That being said, it wasn't the book for me. I grew annoyed with both characters (Catherine's too spineless and absolutely determined to stay in her family's shadow; Daniel's anti-social and equally determined to ignore his family) - they started out well, but quickly grew to be too much. The side characters were stock characters put in to serve a purpose, and none of them could possibly understand the main characters' depths/problems. I had difficulty understanding the plot, being unfamiliar with both accounting and auction houses. The resolution was a major letdown (the solution was mentioned as an aside, very undeserving of all the build up).
This choice did serve its purpose. I didn't like it, but it did show me that Harlequin has more to offer than billionaires' mistresses' babies - and that titles and blurbs aren't very reliable. I might consider dabbling a little more in Harlequin's choices in the future.
Cover: Much like the title and blurb, the cover has little to do with the book. Easily recognizable as Harlequin, though.