Book Review

Buy a Contemporary, Save the World: Flat Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy

Title: Flat-Out Sexy
Author: Erin McCarthy
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Book CoverJane has mentioned before that the contemporary romances that doesn’t feature vampires, campy vampires, werewolves, immortal peril, mortal peril, suspense out the wahoo, or extraordinary extraterrestrial extraneous circumstances seem to be fewer and far between. Every now and again I hear declarations that the contemporary romance is a dying subgenre and it’s harder and harder to find, and that if you’re not an established name, you’ll never get anywhere, because fewer people want to read contemporary romance.

So when we read Flat Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy, we were both blathering to each other about how awesome it was and how refreshing to have actual conflict between people caused by realistic tension stemming from ordinary life experiences between two marvelous characters. Contemporary romance done right? More please! So, following this review, read more about a multi-level contest sponsored by Dear Author, Smart Bitches, Berkeley and Erin McCarthy, a contest we hope will be a semi-regular feature here and at Dear Author where we try to Save the Contemporary.

Let it be said: This is a NASCAR romance. I had a ball reading it. There’s a lot of assumptions made about NASCAR fans and the folks who participate in the sport, particularly as far as class and intellect are concerned, and many of those assumptions are plain looneytunes. From the skill and endurance needed to be a successful driver to the extensive education in engineering (at a minimum) needed to be in a pit crew, NASCAR is a greatly misunderstood but very interesting culture. Hm. I wonder if there are any book genres like that. 

NASCAR creates a unique environment for contemporary romance in particular because it allows for an entirely new setting for some traditional elements of romance. First, there’s the class and status that come with belonging to a racing family, or being a crew member thereof. Then there’s the wealth of the drivers, their families, and the generations ahead and after them that continue in the racing circuit, and the sheer shitfuckton of money involved in the foundation of the sport itself. Add to that literal life and death stakes and you have plenty of opportunities for external tensions acting against the protagonists that, when placed on a NASCAR track, seem completely different and allow for a new examination of traditional tropes.

What makes Flat Out Sexy so charming and refreshing is that the conflict between the couple stems mostly from between the couple and their perceptions of themselves, but I never once got the feeling they were standing in their own way merely to prolong that tension. Single mom Tamara Briggs is finally reentering her old social circle a few years after her NASCAR driver husband was killed in a race. Elec Monroe is one of the hottest rookies in the current group of drivers, but since he’s a handful of years younger than Tamara, she doesn’t recognize him when she literally runs into him at a cocktail party. Theirs is an instant attraction, and Tamara decides that a one night stand with a man as hot as Elec can’t be a bad thing. And of course, the sex is as incredible as the attraction hinted it would be. But when they wake up the morning after and she realizes that not only is he younger than she is but the son of a family that’s had a longstanding feud with her husband’s family, she’s horrified at herself and decides that once ought to have been enough.

Trouble is, she doesn’t necessarily want that to be the case, and Elec definitely doesn’t want theirs to be a one shot deal. The conflicts large and small that affect their relationship range in size and tenor, from the feud between their families to Tamara’s own feelings of insecurity about her body after giving birth to two children. There’s also the fact that she has children and has been a single, independent mom for a few years now, and is fiercely protective of her family, her routine, and their privacy – particularly in a sport like NASCAR with its own gossip mill. Elec has his own set of issues, including a very personal and sad secret that he keeps from everyone. But Elec is determined to swerve past all of these blocks and simply be with Tamara.

What impressed me time and again about McCarthy’s skill in creating these two characters was their responses to everyday human conflict: they acted like grownups about it. Seriously. Even at her most embarrassed, Tamara owned up to her self consciousness about her body, and Elec was dumbfounded (because really, what guy notices the things a woman notices about herself?) and deliberately thoughtful in how he responded because he wanted to be careful of her feelings. When Elec faced a rip roaring confrontation with his sister, who handles his PR, he admits to having completely forgotten about an appointment she’d made for him, and apologizes. No spoiled diva behavior, no taking for granted his sister’s hard work: he mans up and says he’s sorry. McCarthy’s skill with dialogue – never once did I think “Come on now, people don’t talk like that,” – yields true characters, protagonists and supporting cast alike, who are wonderfully realistic, with nuanced depth and at times heartbreaking problems.

I was rooting for both Tamara and Elec equally throughout the story simply because they had to deal with realistic problems and because they dealt with each one like adults – adults who have the serious hots for one another and can barely see straight from the spicy hot attraction. Dinner parties will never be the same again in my imagination, lemme tell you. Plus, can I say how awesome it was to read about a romance heroine who is middle aged, who has two kids who are elementary-school aged, who holds down a full-time job plus manages her home and family and yes, finds it exhausting but doesn’t need rescuing from her existence? Tamara would be the first to tell you her daily routine is tough – particularly when the kids have the chicken pox – but never once would she wish for some knight on a stallion or some stallion at night to come sweep her out of her life. She loves her life. But sweeping her off her feet for hot sex? That’s another story. She’s on board for that. Me, too.

So what kept the book from solid A status? There was one particularly monumental conflict between them that was never explained in full, never really amounted to the Big Freaking Deal that it did in Tamara’s head, and was never truly resolved even after they’d experienced their super shiny happy ending. (Highlight to read teh spoilerz)

The family feud between the Briggs family and the Monroe family originated with the fathers, and the bad feelings between them come up several times from different characters during the course of the story. But the cause of the feud is never explained, even after Tamara and Elec’s relationship is public, and despite their relationship, the reader never learns how the Tamara’s father in law and Elec’s father deal with the bad blood between them. It’s a huge plot thread that seems to be left dangling, and the lack of resolution is jarring.

As I mentioned, McCarthy has Mad Character Creation Skillz, and the population of characters surrounding Tamara and Elec are ripe for stories of their own. I believe that the next one is about Ty, another NASCAR driver, and Tamara’s teaching assistant, Imogen, a super-intellectual Yankee who decides that a close and personal examination of the social and sexual culture of NASCAR is a great subject for her thesis. I’m down with that. Particularly because the initial sparks between Imogen and Ty are as incendiary as those between Tamara and Elec. Erin McCarthy is a fiercely skilled writer, and I’m upgrading my pants from happy to gleeful that I’ve found a contemporary romance that is complex and fascinating, but based firmly in the reality of human conflict, emotion, and triumph.


And Now: Buy a Contemporary, Save the World

Here’s the deal: we dig this book. We dig this book like damn and whoa, and we think you will too. So, in order to spread the word and the opportunity to read it we’re doing a multi-level giveaway in tandem with our reviews of Flat Out Sexy.

Part the First: free books! Leave a comment, and you’re automatically entered to win a copy. We each have 10 copies of the book to give away, so drop a word here and at Dear Author and double your chances. Comments will be open for 24 hours starting now.

Second: Spread the Word! Below is a Sprout widget about our campaign, and a simpler animated graphic. Right-click-and-save the graphic, or grab the Sprout for yourself, and put it on your site. Let us know that you’ve done so via email, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of the book, and a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com, where you can buy many, many books. Oh, the delightful zest of the phrase, “Many, many books.” Spread the word, let us know, and you’re entered to win. That’s it.

Buy a Contemporary, Save the World

The Spread the Word winner will be announced in 1 week, so tune in on Monday 27 October to see who wins a fierce Benjamin in our quest to Save the Contemporary.

Why? Because if there’s one thing that makes us sad, it’s the idea of contemporary romance dying out. So spread the word, buy a contemporary, and save the world.

 

Comments are Closed

  1. Jennie says:

    Free book—new to me author, great combo.  🙂

  2. Diane says:

    The book sounds great.

  3. I love contemporary romance and am always looking for a new author to try. Thanks!

  4. Sarah says:

    One of my friends who knows I read romances bought me a NASCAR romance as a joke, and was shocked when I told him I couldn’t put it down. I’m not into racing and never thought much about it, but the situations in that book really pulled me in. Based on your description, this one sounds even better! And I could really use some brain candy right now.

  5. Marianne McA says:

    32 is a mere babe in arms. I think I deserve a free book for being made to feel downright elderly.

  6. Bren says:

    Can I just say how damn refreshing it is to read a thoughtful, informative, SCINTILLATING review of what sounds like a great book?  I mean, all the reviews HERE are thoughtful, but I am so sick of people discounting any juicy book as being anything other than fluff.  Yeah, I know, old news, old comments………….I just had an encounter with someone from my mother’s group book club who was all up in my face about the genre.  Like every book I am supposed to read is supposed to tie my ass up in knots thinking about “my purpose” or “my message” or my fat thighs and gray hair.  GIVE ME A BREAK!  I ended the conversation by asking her if she watches anything other than PBS, CNN or the History Channel.  When she said yes I could tell she doesn’t get it.  People, it’s ENTERTAINMENT!  Sheesh!

    OK – going to get coffee now – WAY too grumpy……….

  7. KellyMaher says:

    Well, I picked up Power Play based on your recommendation, so I’ll add this one to my list of books to check out. I’ll agree that the straight contemporary seems to be waning in popularity, but I also think, like historicals, it’s not really going to die. I remember hearing SEP speak once about how she was told she could never sell a book with a rock or sports star as the hero or heroine and then she sold It Had to Be You and that spawned a whole series of books. I seem to be seeing a lot of contemporary books in the last 5-6 years where the hero or heroine is involved in sports. I wonder if that’s going to be part of the evolution of contemporaries like changes in time period seem to have helped historicals.

  8. AndieG says:

    I’m not big into Nascar as a rule, but the Smart Bitches have piqued my interest with their awesome review.  A free copy would just be icing on the cake!

  9. Rhian says:

    As a relatively fanatic Formula 1 fan, I can appreciate NASCAR even if I don’t enjoy it as much. I had no idea that it was seen negatively over there (I’m British). This book sounds great. I’ve had many “Come on, no one speaks like that!” moments recently, and am a little tired of reading about adults who behave like children… but I must thank you for reviewing Caught Running, which I’ve just read and enjoyed hugely for the maturity of the characters and the sweetness of the story. A great contemporary!

  10. amybee says:

    I read one other NASCAR novel and it was awful. This one sounds a lot more promising. Maybe I won’t miss Regency England so much…

  11. Maered says:

    Love Erin Mccarthy!  The Pregnancy Test was one of the funniest contemporaries I have read in a long time.  Love her and glad to see her back to straight contemporary. But not a fan of NASCAR..

  12. Denise says:

    Please enter me in the drawing.

  13. Chris says:

    LOL at Marsha’s comment – she should win a book just for her comment. 🙂

  14. Mary C says:

    Straight contemporary with not-stupid dialogue is my favorite. And Erin McCarthy would be a new author for me.

  15. Leah Braemel says:

    YES!  Save the contemporary! I love to read modern day heroines overcoming the same time of cr*p I face in real life.  Are sales of contemporaries falling because no one’s buying them or because they’re just not available in the stores any more?  Chicken or egg?

  16. Sarabeth says:

    As someone who writes contemporaries (though unpublished), I will help to save them. And, well, a nice book giveaway would be good, too.

  17. KimmieB says:

    I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a contemporary, but have never read one! So maybe I should read a couple of good ones, before I mangle the genre.

  18. Karen says:

    Count me in for the free book drawing.  But just in case I don’t win, please try to get this book out for the Kindle.

  19. Throw me in the lot! And as an author of contemp romance I sure HOPE for the sake of my career that the genre still has a strong heartbeat! I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy a good para but a steady diet gets a little tiresome.

  20. Jodie says:

    Saving the world is my destiny! (It’s possible I have watched too much Heros).

  21. Sarah, I think if you are in the midst of young-motherhood, as we are, you feel middle aged. It might have something to do with hearing things like “Mommy! Every time I fart, poop comes out of my bum!!!”

    Yeah, last week was a tough week.

    That said… AWESOME CAMPAIGN!!!! Ha! You chicks are wonderful.

  22. karmelrio says:

    While a piece of my brain went TILT at the hero’s name (my knee-jerk reactions at reading it were 1) “Wow, that’s really… metrosexual”, and 2) a stray “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl” memory)  I love Erin McCarthy’s work.  And even though I write paranormal, I love to have my palate cleansed occasionally by some straight-up contemporary.

  23. KimmieB says:

    I already commented, so don’t count this.

    Victoria, were you living in my house this week?! Except instead of poop, my daughter learned if you fart against the sliding glass door, the window fogs up a little. Add a toddler giggles to it, and you get hilarity instead of grossness.

    And eye-strain from rolling your eyes so much.

  24. Tina S says:

    This is great-I’m not a fan of paranormal romance in general, and I love contemporary! Can’t wait to read this book-I’ll definitely have to look it up!

  25. Lovecow2000 says:

    Thanks to the Smart Bitches and Dear Author crowds I’ve started reading contemporaries. This one looks like fun!  Please, may I have a copy?

  26. Anne says:

    What, no vampire crew chief or werewolf tire changer? 

    This sounds great.  I am thoroughly tired of paranormals, and I love NASCAR.  I love books where the lead characters are adults, and behave like it.

  27. MaryKate says:

    Yummy! I’m in!

  28. Stacey P. says:

    I’m always up for a good contemporary—and I have to admit, NASCAR culture probably would be a very interesting backdrop, now that I think about it. Sounds awesome, I’ll have to add it to my list, 🙂

  29. Cat Marsters says:

    Contemporaries are on the wane?  Read British authors: paranormal romance doesn’t get a look-in here.  I just glanced at my shelves and there are too many contemp. romances to mention.

    I confess to scepticism about NASCAR (and why is it in capitals?  does it stand for something?) although I did enjoy Janet Evanovich’s Alex Barnaby books.  I’m just nonplussed: at least F1 and rally driving have, you know, corners.

  30. Alyssa says:

    Finally! I’ve missed McCarthy’s contemporaries so much! I’m glad she’s back.

  31. Katie Ann says:

    Ha, all the “contemporaries” on my TBR shelf are from the 90s and 80s, from glomming backlists of authors, so I’m in no immediate danger of suffering if they go extinct.  I’ll second what many others have said, I would never have normally picked up a NASCAR romance, but this sounds awesome. 

    BTW, if anyone wants another older woman, younger man story that is just amazing, I highly recommend Family Blessings by LaVyrle Spencer.  Heroine is dealing with the unexpected death of her son and tries to deny the attraction and growing feelings she has for his best friend as she copes.

  32. Elizabeth M. says:

    You must be right about the genre dying because I’m just now learning of it and I’m mad that it’s dying upon my discovery. I hope your campaign works and it rises again! I’m going to launch into a full-scale reading effort to see what I’ve been missing. Thanks so much!

  33. Jessica B says:

    I love Erin McCarthy, and I’ve been waiting for one of her contemporaries! So excited about the possibility of a free book.

  34. Madd says:

    I love contemporaries and I’ll read pretty much anything Erin McCarthy writes. I’m also waiting for Crusie.

  35. Kimberly M says:

    Okay, I will be the first person to admit that I am a Nascar snob. The fact that its a bunch of people making a left turn over and over and over again is a little boring to me. But the history of the sport is fascinating. And this book sounds even more so.

    I am a little sad to see the contemporary phase out. But, even so, trends go in cycles. Eventually the market will choke on all these paranormal, and we’ll be back to traditional people and traditional stories. 

    I’m going to keep my eyes open for this one and snag it when I see it!

  36. Kiajia D says:

    NASCAR stands for National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. It all started with rum runners during the prohibition trying to get away from the law. My great granddad used to be a rum runner, he has some great stories about the early days after the repealed the law.

  37. darlynne says:

    Since this site and DA opened my eyes to the wonder of contemporary romance, I’d love to take a ride with Flat Out Sexy book. Count me in, please.

  38. Brandyllyn says:

    I had serious NASCAR prejudice until I found out my boss was a NASCAR fan.  This is man is required to wear a suit to work every day (in fact, knowing the LA state police, it may be in the gaming rules and regulations that he must) – and if my white-collar well-educated boss likes NASCAR it can’t all be rednecks now can it?

    I can understand it as a participation sport – but I still don’t get it as a spectator.

  39. Amy says:

    I have all of Erin McCarthy’s books . . . love, love, love her!!

    :o)

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