It would be a simple matter of making the quantity and tone of the sex scenes fit that of the narrative. The characters don’t necessarily have to have less sex, but it has to flow. My editor once told me that if the sex scenes don’t advance the plot or the characters’ relationship, then they don’t belong in a straight romance–you’re edging more towards erotica then.

Anyway, great review Zac. Sounds like this one is still worth checking out.

the characters divulged, vowed, fumed, breathed, challenged, gasped and confessed. There was even an occasion when Elijah purred.

This might be the author’s writing style or she might just have been trying to get away from using the word “said” too often. A couple weeks ago Nicole Kimberling wrote an article on the site in which she gave some wonderful examples of word choices in books and how they affect its tone, and maybe this author saw a similar article and is trying to move away from this deadly sin.

On the bigger issue of how the book turned around on a dime and became porn, I think readers are to blame for that. Most of them refuse to buy books unless they are filled with sex scene after sex scene, and a lot of them don’t care about the plot or even at times the characters. Gay men are treated like sex machines in these books although a few authors have complained about being pressured to “spice up” their books by their editors when there isn’t enough sex, such as on every page. I hate it when this happens, but I’m only one reader. I have written many posts and have done polls on the site about the topic of excessive sex in M/M, (I don’t know if the same thing occurs in het because I don’t read it) but it doesn’t matter what the readers say about wanting romances that are character driven with lots of plot, and how much they don’t care about the sex, when it comes time for them to take out their credit cards the majority of them buy books that are rated as 5 flames. I have nothing against sex in these books and some of my favourite writers have lots of sex in their stories, but the sex has to be appropriate to the stories an advance the plot and not become erotica or porn.

I will read this book but skip the sex, which is what I do most of the time anyway.

Thanks again Zac for such a great review.