Review: Seriously?
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 03 11, 2014
Devil's Charm sounded a little different, with the President of Chaos Bleeds hunting down his son. Unfortunately, Simon is mere window dressing to get Lexie and Devil together. Lexie is sweet at first as she steps up to take care of her sister's kid when he's deposited on her doorstep. However, she turns spineless and TSTL pretty quick. This is my first Sam Crescent book, so I am not familiar with her other MC series. I understand this is the beginning of a new series but I felt "out of the loop" at times when Devil references things that must have happened in other books. The god-awful writing and poor editing put me off checking those books out though.Here are a few examples of what I mean about the odd writing, atrocious grammar and poor editing:"I don't know. I've not heard from her since she dropped him off. I've not got a clue what to do."Seriously, who talks like this?And"Most of his men were stood out in the garden nursing beers as he cooked food at the barbeque. "And"You're not who I thought you was."There's a LOT more of that. Especially the was stood thing. Did I get some translated into English by babblefish version?I don't know about you but if I'm being asked to pay $5.00 for a novella, it better be darn near perfectly edited.Then there is the story itself. This so-called "erotic biker romance" leaves a lot to be desired in the romance department. Lexie basically gives in because she has "norwhere else to go" and Devil is the only one ever gave her an orgasm. Oh, okay totally solid foundation for a relationship!But the worst is the reproductive coercion by Devil:"Do you want me to go to the pharmacy today?""Why?""For the morning after pill?""No, you don't need it. We'll deal with whatever happens.""I don't want kids yet," she said, blowing on her coffee.He knew she was being reasonable while he didn't feel the slightest bit reasonable. "I'll use rubbers, but you're not taking the morning after pill. That's final."So he has final say over her body? Is that supposed to be romantic? He already has one kid he barely even knows, but hey let's make another baby with the woman you just met, who's 24 years younger than you. Seems like a good idea!There's more:"He hadn't bothered buying any rubbers, and the thought of Lexie getting the morning after pill riled him.There was no way she would be killing his baby. He wouldn't have it. Devil refused to let her even think about it."So now he controls her thoughts too? Awesome. Nothing wrong there. Oh, and while we're at it is it too much for our romance heroes to understand the difference between the morning after pill and an abortion? Okay? Thanks. And if it's not too much, how about a heroine who takes charge of her own reproductive health and walks her herself to a CVS, Rite Aid or whatever?I definitely have no problem with "edgy erotica" or "dark erotica" if they are labeled as such, I've read and enjoyed plenty of them. I get that MC romances are going to be a little bit grittier and coarser, because again I have read quite a few of them. But I think basic respect of the heroine by the hero should be a minimum requirement in a romance. I have a problem with spineless heroines and abuse that is dressed up and passed off as "romance".