RITA Reader Challenge Review

RITA Reader Challenge: Melt into You by Roni Loren

B

Title: Melt Into You
Author: Roni Loren
Publication Info: Berkley 2012
ISBN: 9781101569016
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Book Melt into You This RITA® Reader Challenge 2013 review was written by Aileen. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Contemporary Single Title Romance category.

The summary:     

After running away from home and the boy who broke her heart, Evan Kennedy has kick-started the perfect new life with her celebrity fiancé. So what if said fiancé prefers guys? She knew the deal when they got engaged. And with her ticket to The Ranch, an exclusive resort where any fantasy can be satisfied, she can find someone to fulfill her less-than-traditional desires on the side.

She just never expected that man to be Jace Austin, her old heart-breaker—all grown up, hard-bodied, and holding out a collar. She knows it’s a world-class bad idea—especially since Jace has brought along his buddy Andre, who’s every bit as irresistible. But if they can stick to the no-strings rules, so can she. Too bad Jace has never been so good with rules.

Evan is convinced “forever” is a word used only in greeting cards, but Jace and Andre have one last fantasy of hers left to fulfill. It’s time to go big or go home. And neither man has ever been a fan of going home.

And here is Aileen's review:

Love and fabulous sex are usually the dual goals of erotic romance but in Roni Loren’s Melt Into You, without trust, love and fabulous sex just aren’t enough. I was impressed by the depth of characterization in the story. The sex scenes were steamy without the attention to detail that can sometimes make an erotic novel read like a how-to guide. The plot became a bit convoluted for my taste but Ms. Loren was determined to show her characters earned their happily ever after.

The two main characters, Jace and Evan (Evan is female, the second male is named Andre and yes, the three male names in a menage story did get a little confusing), are well developed. The second male character, Andre, is more of a sketch than a full character but that was a bit of a relief since the two main characters have a complicated past relationship as well as pretty involved present stories to keep tabs on. Adding a second angsty male would have been downright aggravating since the other two have quite a few emotional, family and professional problems to work through. Ultimately, I found the depth of emotional problems the heroine struggled with distracting. I spent a good portion of my reading time worried that in light of Evan’s issues, maybe engaging in nontraditional sexual behavior with two men, one of whom she did not know very well, maybe wasn’t the best choice. The fact I was so worried about Evan is a testament to Ms. Loren’s skill at bringing her characters to life.

What I continually admired about the book was that the happily ever after hinged not so much on everyone saying “I love you” but rather everyone coming to trust each other. In light of the heroines aforementioned emotional problems I was pleased to see Ms. Loren’s characters rely on each other not just for fabulous sex (although there is plenty of that, thank you very much) but for all the other support and consideration that comes along with committed relationships. I enjoy an erotic novel where the sex is an integral part of the emotional growth toward love and commitment rather than a litany of interconnecting body parts and screaming orgasms.

Melt Into You depicts a sometimes difficult journey from isolated loneliness to a loving and trusting happily ever after. If you like your sex scenes steamy and your characters on the angsty side then this is a good book to add to your TBR pile.


This book is available from Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks | All Romance eBooks.

Comments are Closed

  1. Elyse says:

    Erotic romance with in depth character development? Clicking buy now…

  2. Bridget R. says:

    A ménage with characters who actually communicate and work through their issues together?  Awesome.

Comments are closed.

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