Friday, March 30, 2007

When only the wrong kind of man will do




Last night I was reading Connie Brockway’s As You Desire. CB is one of my top authors and I simply love her fantastic stories. Of course AYD is no different. It’s fun, funny, witty, with sizzling sexual tension—and it’s set in Egypt, yay! Verra exotic. *g* I like the heroine (Dizzy Carlisle) enough but unfortunately for her, the hero—Harry Braxton *sigh*—has a personality that overwhelms her.



I luuuuve Harry. He is everything that many other romance heroes are not. If you look at the back of the book, the blurb refers to him as this “notorious rake who came with a warning: lover, beware...” Rubbish.

Harry isn’t a rake at all. Yes, he’s opportunistic at times (with his profession, he has to be) but he’s a principled man. He’s very masculine yet sensitive. He’s the type who will change your flat tire—or, in this case, offer you his shiny camel. He kicks ass for the woman he loves. I mean, really, he adores her. *sigh* My kind of man. With his tousled hair and rumpled clothes, Harry is absolutely lovable. *double sigh* Why why WHY then, when I was in the middle of the book, did I find myself looking for Jack Seward, the dark, dangerous, oh-so-dirty hero of All Through the Night? :/



I put down AYD and looked for ATTN. (Oh, Harry, don’t hate me! *sniff*) I was looking for about two minutes and was getting mad that I couldn’t find my copy when I realized I sent it to Trollop! Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.



What is it with these dark heroes? I tried to go back reading AYD but I kept thinking of Jack. Granted Jack isn’t like the chest-beating bodice-ripper baboons of yore yet he—unlike dearest Harry—is far from being noble!

Oh god, what is wrong with me? :S (Don’t answer that!) Has that ever happened to you? I already have this wonderful man who will bring me soup when I’m sick and I’m longing for someone deadly who’ll join my heated body and tie me to a chair and ravish me when I’m dying of fever!

Labels: , ,


33 comment(s):

Blogger Ladybug said...

Harlot, I don't think I can stand "dark" heroes in real life, but in books, I love them! This is why, as much as I love Jen Crusie, I prefer dark books like those of Lisa Kleypas. Heroes that would probably scare me if they are real. LOL

I haven't read Connie Brockway BTW.

3/30/2007 12:32:00 PM  

Blogger Ladybug said...

I should have mentioned, I love the eye candy!!

3/30/2007 12:35:00 PM  

Blogger Vanessa said...

Thanks for the eye candy!

My favorite dark hero is Derek Craven on Dreaming of You. You can almost feel the pain he's gone through, lol. There's also Gabe Bonner in SEP's books, Christian on Flower From the Storm... oh and Linda Howard's heroes! She usually writes about dark sexy heroes who make you want to purr, lol.

3/30/2007 02:30:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOL Harlot, that's so funny.
Poor baby. But thats always been my problem in real life. I never went for sweet and sappy. Now sometimes I wish I had!

3/30/2007 03:12:00 PM  

Blogger Jordis Juice said...

Harlot, LOL. Jack will really tie you on the chair! He did that to Anne (his heroine), didn't he? So far I've already read four books by Brockway and All Through the Night is the best yet.

I think women sometimes look for a certain danger. Most don't really want something that will physically hurt them but it's the thrill. I love a funny guy but there is something very attractive about a man that makes you think of wearing leather boots, LOL, even if you don't like those kinds of boots! You know what I mean. :P

3/30/2007 03:27:00 PM  

Blogger Aradia said...

I think it’s that rebellious 16 years old in us who wants to flirt with danger. Why do we like bossy antisocial dangerous guys in books when in real life we can’t stand the guy? Are we (in our heart of hearts) still cavewomen and want someone to order us around? Or do we fantasize about the other side, the dark side because we never will go there?
(Eeek! It came out so poetic, didn’t it?! : P )
Anyway, can some one from England (or preferlly Scotland) tell me what the deal on Scot guys is? And why are they supposed to be these hot species of manhood?
[You can leave your answers on my last post in my weblog! All my Scot-men questions are there!]

3/30/2007 03:57:00 PM  

Blogger Polly King said...

"Ravish me when I'm dying of fever"

LOL! Harlot! Dangerous men are attractive all right. This is why we love to read vampires in romance - it's quite absurd if you think about it. Just look at Bella (Twilight). Even before she knew Edward is a vampire, she has been drawn to him, and when she finally found out that he is a dangerous guy, she loves him more!

3/30/2007 06:12:00 PM  

Blogger Polly King said...

Love the delicious eye candy. What a great way to start the weekend :p.

3/30/2007 06:14:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jeez, this guy is fine...

3/30/2007 06:38:00 PM  

Blogger Vanessa said...

Re: Are we (in our heart of hearts) still cavewomen and want someone to order us around? Or do we fantasize about the other side, the dark side because we never will go there?

Good point. I think it's the latter. Man has always been fascinated with danger. It is what's exciting, what stirs our blood. It's like that saying about moths. They are drawn to fire even when they know they will get burned.

3/30/2007 06:55:00 PM  

Blogger ... said...

See, this is why the Winchester boys work as a team. ;) (Although I'm not sure I've seen two guys cry more.)

Who doesn't love when a guy goes all Neanderthal on them once in a while? :D

And re Scottish/English guys from up-thread, the accent has quite a lot to do with it.

3/30/2007 07:46:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yummalicious eye candy ... ahhh! Needed that!
Yep, dark heroes are lovely to read about and fantasise about ... (our imaginations are still under our own control) ... but the real thing cannot be predicted or controlled, which is why most women would run a mile from them.

3/30/2007 11:00:00 PM  

Blogger Girlie said...

I like the do the tying myself. That way, in case of fire, there will be no question who can get out of where first!

:P

3/31/2007 12:54:00 AM  

Blogger Lily Moon said...

OMG! Love the eye candy!

I can only stand dangerous heroes in books. Spies, assassins, vampires ... lol. However I can't stand a bossy guy, he'll drive me crazy!

3/31/2007 07:16:00 AM  

Blogger Lily Moon said...

BTW I have yet to read As You Desire but I loved All Through The Night. You BBs recommended it a while ago when I was looking for a good romance, so thanks. Did I already mention I love the eye candy? Lol

3/31/2007 07:24:00 AM  

Blogger Danielle De Barbarac said...

Harlot, thanks for the yummy eye candy! I love reading about dark heroes but in real life, I can't handle a constant powerplay with such specimen, no matter how hot he is. Well, maybe except Jamie Fraser and Edward Cullen. That would be a dilemma.

Regarding the Scottish men, I think it's the kilt. LOL

3/31/2007 08:28:00 AM  

Blogger Isabella said...

I love Connie Brockway! I prefer As You Desire though, I pick Harry over Jack. I prefer funny books than suspense or drama. ;)

3/31/2007 08:52:00 AM  

Blogger Isabella said...

Aradia, for me it's the Scot accent. LOL. Gotta love it.

3/31/2007 08:54:00 AM  

Blogger Petra said...

I like a "beta" man who has a tendency to turn Neanderthal sometimes. LOL

Love the eye candy. Especially that last picture, yummy!

3/31/2007 10:08:00 AM  

Blogger Lollie Rose said...

My God, the things I'll do to this man. Hot!

Regarding dark heroes, one of the reasons why I read romance is because I can fantasizing about men who I can't be with in real life. Dark heroes are the best kind. Hotter sex and exciting circumstances that can only happen when you're with a dangerous hero.

3/31/2007 10:19:00 AM  

Blogger Isabella said...

Lollie, does that mean the darker the hero the hotter is the sex? :P

3/31/2007 10:29:00 AM  

Blogger Jolie said...

Wow. Dark hero or average-type hero driven out of his mind by lust, if he looks like this man, he can ravish me all day!

3/31/2007 11:33:00 AM  

Blogger Rachel said...

Harlot lol! That's funny.

I'm not fond of dark heroes. True, there are times it's fun to read about them but I prefer men (both in books and real life) who make me laugh. Once in a while though, I don't mind being dominated by a powerful guy. ;)

I love the eye candy!

3/31/2007 01:45:00 PM  

Blogger Lorelei said...

He looks like he will really tie you to a chair! LOL. He's hot!

I think dark heroes are only fun in books but in reality, they are mighty hard to live with.

3/31/2007 02:16:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Harlot, what I want to know is, what are the sure ways to provoke someone to tie you to a chair?

-B

3/31/2007 05:00:00 PM  

Blogger ... said...

"ravish me when I'm dying of fever!"

Apparently, it's a good way to break a fever. Just ask Jamie Fraser.

(ducking and running :D)

3/31/2007 07:58:00 PM  

Blogger Marg said...

I am very partial to a Scottish hero! Yum...and it's to do with the accent and the kilt and the toughness of being able to walk through the mountains just wearing a shirt and a kilt! Lots of things.

I just finished my first Brockway yesterday - My Seduction. It was good...but not great! Will get to As you desire eventually.

4/01/2007 04:43:00 AM  

Blogger Isabella said...

Marg, I haven't read My Seduction (not great?), but I love Brockway and I think As You Desire is her best yet. :)

4/01/2007 08:38:00 AM  

Blogger Harlot said...

You know these pics have a lot of brothers. :P Will post them later this week.

About Connie Brockway, i think she's wonderful. If you love a bit of drama, read ATTN first. If you love comedy, AYD. Both books belong to my all-time fave romances. :)

About the delicious Scots, i think it's all Julie Garwood's fault!

4/01/2007 09:05:00 AM  

Blogger Polly King said...

The books I've read by Julie Garwood are all good. I think she does Scottish men really well. Is it Gabriel, the hero in Saving Grace? He's hot.

4/01/2007 10:50:00 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

No idea what the article was about. The pictures overwhelmed my ability to read. Thanks, I needed that!

4/03/2007 04:33:00 PM  

Blogger Duvy said...

"When I want to run my fingers through my man's hair, I don't mean the hair on his arse!"

That is EXACTLY what I thought when I saw that picture! He's gorgeous as all get out, but... ew.

As for bad boys, I gotta admit I love em. Not the whole Harley, leather jacket, covered in tattoos kind, but more just the strong, silent, I'm-going-to-pick-you-up-and-carry-you-off kind. Yum.

4/03/2007 09:36:00 PM  

Blogger me. said...

always been partial to backs....

4/05/2007 09:49:00 PM