Lovers and Other Strangers Box Set: The Boston Stories

Lisette
Carrithers

 

His Lady Godiva 

*

Violet Bellows hates hospitals. So when she finds out she needs surgery, she’s really not happy (not that anybody would be, but still). At least her doctor is great to look at. True, probably nothing will come out of their flirtation, but he makes her feel so good… Michael Dennison is a successful surgeon who never let himself live his life to the fullest. Ever since a complication from an illness left him paralyzed, he partially shut himself off from the world (especially with women).  But Violet is special, and maybe, just maybe, worth the risk.

The plot is unusual and interesting. Unfortunately, the characters don’t deliver. Michael is annoying, with dramatic mood swings, and he continuously lashes out and hurts Violet. Violet, on the other hand is bland and forgettable. And, both of them cry, sob or speak with way too much drama. Just a reader’s advisory: the love scenes have some pretty strong elements of BDSM. Hopefully, the other books will be better.

Pay Back

**1/2

Joseph Camenitti’s not sure how he keeps getting into situations like this – being auctioned off to a room-full of women is not his idea of a good time. Rescue comes from an unlikely source - Evie Tolland.  Evie and Cam went to high school together. Of course, they inhabited different worlds, but Evie will never forget Cam’s kindness. So when an opportunity to pay him back comes along she takes it. She never dreamed of the delicious consequences.

Joseph is so kind and patient, and optimistic, he simply makes everyone around him feel good. Evie lacks confidence in the beginning, but it’s wonderful to see her evolve and become stronger. The plot itself is nice,  the thing that brought the rating down is the dialogue. It’s awkward and kills the enjoyment of reading the book.  Joseph and Evie’s romance does make up for it - at least partially. 

Wild Child

***

Delia Kelly has been in love with her boss, Jonah Hutchinson, for quite some time. When Jonah asks her to pose as his wife for an assignment, she decides to turn the tables, and seduce him. Jonah has no idea what hit him.

A good short story, with a definite theme of unrequited love (or lust, if you insist). The subplot with the assignment itself doesn’t drive the reader in, but the characters are nice, especially Jonah. His surprise when he realizes that Delia is an attractive woman is priceless.  

His Deception

**

Marie-Hélène Girard decided that she was going to marry Allyn Bellows when she was only eight years old. Although Allyn was older by twelve years, he was always patient and willing to indulge her. Twenty years later, Marie decides enough is enough – it’s time for them to admit their feelings. Allyn has a similar idea, although his includes a little deception .

The story has its amusing moments,  but the dialogue was really hard to get through, not only were there the same mistakes as in the previous books, but now, there’s a lot of French words thrown in – making it even harder to understand. But, Allyn and Marie are likable characters (even if their conclusions are sometimes off) and the storyline not one that is commonly seen.

 

Something that pertains to all the books  - there are  a lot of editing mistakes. Question marks in wrong places, missing periods, sentences with weird structures… It’s pretty jarring, and more and more annoying as the stories goes on. An editor would have done wonders.  Unfortunately, the way things stand – it brought all of the ratings down. Hopefully, it will get better in the future.

Ana Smith