Review: Not Your Usual Romance:  Much Better!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 4, 2012
I really liked that this story is not the usual Romance/Bodice Ripper: unaturally-gorgeous-heroine-with-unusual-eye-color-and-perfect-body-meets-totally-buff-incredibly-sexy-extremely-alpha-male-for-Hot-Nasty-Sex.Not even close. But, it is a touching, edgy and powerful story of a brave, damaged and worthy woman who finds the Man of Her Needs (as opposed to the Man of Her Dreams)The heroine is a survivor of a bleak and abusive childhood. She has used her pain and rage to transform herself into a brave and powerful vigilante. She is tall, sturdy and physically strong and capable of defending herself against danger.  She roams the night, looking for lost or injured animals to rescue and giving free Attitude Adjustments to any potential muggers, murderers and rapists who are foolish enough to accost her. She has changed her name from "Julianna" to "Jo", cut off her beautiful golden brown hair and dyed it black. She wears only denim overalls, flannel shirts and heavy boots.  Yet, even though Jo has tried to stamp out any part of her that soft or vulnerable and cultivate all that is tough and menacing, she is a gifted artist and she protects others from the evil activities of pimps, muggers and rapists and she rescues and rehabilitates injured and abandoned animals.One day, she meets Francis, a mysterious man, on a subway train.  He is not big and buff, he is not drop dead gorgeous, he is not sexy, he is not all raging testosterone, alpha male. He seems to be just an unemployed man who still lives with the two aunts who raised him. But he is gentle, likeable, friendly, intelligent, sensitive, respectful, generous, patient and understanding. Just what a brave, but damaged soul like Jo needs.The writing is excellent, there were only a few typos and I totally enjoyed the characters. Sometimes, a happy ending is more than just a gorgeous couple, happily ever after.I really liked that Francis, the hero, was completely uncaring that the heroine, Jo, was taller, heavier and far more physically powerful than he was. He was truly attracted to her spirit, not bowled over by unusual physical beauty, which is the common theme in typical romance stories.In this story, the average-guy hero was able to win the battered heart of the wary, edgy, less-than-perfect heroine. Beautiful and moving.