Just Like a Dame

I like the writer quite a bit and this is my second book by her, but Just Like a Dame started out pretty rocky for me. I could try to say I had as issue with the pacing, and that would be true, but even more true is that the beginning butted up against my basic nature.

My basic nature being crazy-assed pet person.

The alleged meet cute involved Angel, the heroine, showing up to her neighbor's house in her nighty. Her neighbor, the veterinarian. Her dog accidentally got into chocolate, and she is seeking help. He things she is confessing to offing her boyfriend or husband.

Now, I know the dog isn't going to die. I know the dog eating chocolate is just a way for DDD to have her hero and heroine meet, but the whole time he's staring at her tits and misunderstanding her, the whole time she is giggling over his dog licking her toes, and the whole time the two of them are sparring, I want to shake them and have them frickin' attend to the dog.

Dog ownership in fiction is often used as a shorthand to get the reader to like a character. So, in theory I should think Angel is pretty swell and probably that the hero is a nice guy for being a vet, and instead I like them less because their hormones, her mood swings, and his temporary denseness is making me think that neither one should have a houseplant. By the time she mentioned that dog had had convulsions and he'd asked her to assist in the treatment, only to have her want to argue about something, I wanted to throw the book across the room.

But it wasn't a book, but my Kindle. And I'm not throwing my Kindle across the room, outraged or not. :)

I continued to read, because I like the author, and because I knew it had to get better. It did, although the heroine's continually flying off the handle was a little tough. Angel was a feminist, and they get a hard enough rap, without her being the worst stereotype of one.

Still, there was fun banter and the author has this quirky sense of humor that tends to liven up sex scenes. A better book by the author, with all of her strengths on display, would be absolutely not, published by Ellora's Cave.

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I do have to mention that the first time I heard about this book was in a review from one of my favorite blogs. That review was not a complete love letter either, but the best part was the classy and funny response from the author:

http://karenknowsbest.com/2006/05/01/karen-does-daisy-dexter-dobbs/