ARC Review: Then Came You by Vanessa Devereaux

THEN CAME YOU by Vanessa Devereaux
FORMAT: PDF
GENRE: Contemporary
FILE SIZE: about 80 pages
PUBLISHER: Total*E*Bound (October 2011)

Good Things Are Worth Waiting For...

Connor O’Riordan had his heart set on Gillian Matthews the first day she stepped onto his ranch but the only problem was she had a boyfriend. He’d made her promise that if the two of them ever broke up she’d tell him.

Gillian is a woman of her word and when Connor finds out she’s now available he’ll do anything to woo and romance the lady of his dreams. The best way to start...invite her to spend Thanksgiving at his ranch. (source)

Where to Find Vanessa: Author Site | Twitter
Where to Buy: Total*E*Bound
Book Extras: Read an Excerpt 

It was readable.

REVIEW:

This story was sweet, the sex was boring and there was a lot of telling, not much showing. Don't get wrong, I liked parts of the story but I didn't want to go out and find me a cowboy.

Connor O'Riordan is a small town cowboy living in Wyoming, running the family ranch. Gillian Matthews is an animal pharmaceuticals sales rep and her region includes Wyoming. Connor has a crush on Gillian, two years running. Gillian has a boyfriend who conveniently breaks up with her so Connor can make his move. He invites her to spend Thanksgiving with him and his family because her family is going to be scattered around the country.

Gillian thinks Connor invited her for a booty call, which he sort of did but Connor finally wants to tell Gillian how he feels. Gillian, who is secretly attracted to Connor even though she had a boyfriend, jumps at the chance to spend Thanksgiving with Connor. Connor wants to romance Gillian before jumping into bed with her but, to hell with it! He's waited two stinkin' years for her and his horniness can't be contained. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am!

He picks her up from the airport, he shows her around the ranch, they do it, he gives her the new born foal as a gift, they do it some more, Gillian finds out he was married, they have more boring sex, she meets his family, his sister-in-laws tell her his secret (which after telling Connor she knows, I thought he would have been a little more upset that it came from his SIL), then more boring sex, she leaves to go back to her job, they're phasing out her job and she has a decision to make (move to the NYC office or get fired), and cue in Connor who helps make the decision for her.

Phew, did you get all that?

FAVORITE QUOTE: none

OVERALL: The story was cute and the characters interacted pretty well. It just didn't do much for me. The repeated mentions of "her juices were flowing" was a total turn-off. Seriously, is there an electric juicer in her vajayjay that's constantly on? There's other words to describe what happens to a woman's body during sex. Speaking of sex... it was boring. A lot of telling, not much showing. As in-- he put his cock inside her, then thrust, then thrust some more, oh! she came screaming his name, he came too. I don't think I will read another story/novella by this author.


***PDF provided by Goddess Fish for review in conjunction with Vanessa's blog tour***

Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway with Vanessa Devereaux

WELCOME TO THE BOOK TOUR:

Today on the blog, let's give a big Texas "Howdy" to Vanessa Devereaux, author of Then Came You.

HOWDY VANESSA! 

Meet Vanessa:

Bestselling author Vanessa Devereaux was born in London, England but now resides in the US. She writes erotic romances and erotica. A freelance writer during the day, her work has appeared in both US and UK magazines. When she’s not writing, she can be found pursuing some of her hobbies which include cooking, gardening, photography and biking. Prior to a writing career she worked in PR and was a book publicist for three years. Then Came You is Vanessa’s first title published with Total-E-Bound.

Her other titles include: Mistaken Identity, The Man Next Door, Who’s The Boss and her Regency Trilogy, Brazen Ladies including What the Lady Wants, Caught in the Act and Double Her Pleasure, and the contemporary erotic romance, One Night With You. Her next release will be Forbidden which will be released in 2012 with Total E Bound.

Where To Find Vanessa: Author Site | Twitter

Guest Post:

How I Write An Erotic Romance by Vanessa Devereaux

I started writing romance novels long before erotic ones became so popular. I never liked the sweet romances and would always focus on the physical as well as the emotional side of the story but back in those days it got me lots of rejections.

I do remember entering a contest from a writer’s group and we had to say what market we thought our book was suitable for. Remember the old HQN Temptation line? Risqué for its time but nothing like today’s novels. Back in those days it was my dream to be one of their authors so mentioned that was my target market. I included lots of physical stuff, hot sex scenes and thought I was on to a winner. However, I think I shocked the poor lady who critiqued mine because her comments were that she found it disgusting. I’d gone too far with describing body parts and sexual intercourse. Her conclusion…I would never be a romance writer.

Oh, she was so wrong.

Okay I’ll give her credit that she didn’t know what would happen when electronic books came into play and how erotic romances would be the darlings of the format.

I see the ever growing e-market as my time to write the sort of books I’ve enjoyed penning from day one. I write both erotica and erotic romances. Although it’s not required with the erotica I do aim to give the couple a happy ending and a reason to stay together besides the great sex they’ve enjoyed. And it’s something that carries over into the erotic romances too. I try and get a balance between hot scenes where anything goes but at the same time focus on the couple as real people with feelings and emotions and not just two human beings having non-stop sex.

I think I push the envelope when it comes to the sex scenes I create but a few publishers have rejected my work because they want even more sex or sex in the first couple of pages of my stories. However, I think even for erotic romances you can go overboard and ruin a potentially good story. Some have asked me to change plot lines so I can include more sex and resubmit but I haven’t wanted to do it just for the sake of getting a contract with them. Despite the increase interest in erotic romances I still think readers want to see romance as well as sex.

I also review erotic romances and I’m seeing awkward scenes where the writer either by their own choice or their editor’s insistence, have include non-stop sex scenes and nothing else. The problem for the reader is every story begins to the sound the same and you can’t tell one couple from another because the writer hasn’t bothered to develop their characters.

For me a good story is one in which you can identify with at least one character and enter the story through their eyes and viewpoint. What better way to experience the hot sex with the heroine than by living vicariously through the heroine and getting the whole enchilada. You not only fall in love with a gorgeous man but get a feeling for what sex would be like with this guy too. I think that’s the attraction of these books and I hope I provide that for my readers.

Another one of my goals is to convince the reader that after the book ends this couple will be together forever so questions asked. In erotic romances it’s a given that they’re compatible in the bedroom, so my goal is to convince them that this couple also work as a great team in other rooms of the house.

I have to say hooray for electronic publishing which has allowed me to finally write my type of books. I never thought I’d be published in romance because I did write on the spicy side so it’s been wonderful to see my books so well received. An added bonus has been when I saw my name on the bestseller’s list at Fictionwise I almost wished I could find the lady was said I’d gone too far.

Hopefully she’s reading this post!

Then Came You:

Connor O’Riordan had his heart set on Gillian Matthews the first day she stepped onto his ranch but the only problem was she had a boyfriend. He’d made her promise that if the two of them ever broke up she’d tell him. Gillian is a woman of her word and when Connor finds out she’s now available he’ll do anything to woo and romance the lady of his dreams. The best way to start…invite her to spend Thanksgiving at his ranch.

Where To Buy: Total*E*Bound 
Book Extras: Read an Excerpt

Thanks Vanessa for guest posting!

Giveaway: One lucky commenter during the book tour will win a copy of any ebook from Vanessa's backlist. Here's how to get a chance at your choice of ebook:

*Leave a comment for Vanessa.

*Leave your email ninja style: yourname at gmail dot com

*Comment at all the stops on Vanessa's blog tour to increase your chances. Keep updated with the tour schedule below. 

EASY PEASY!

Giveaway ends 10/28. So get your comments in! Winner will be announce here.

OTHER TOUR STOPS:

October 17: Blisse Blog
October 18: Ramblings From This Chick
October 19: Carrie Ann Ryan's Blog
October 20: Reading Romances
October 21: Romance With an Attitude
October 24: Reviews By Molly
October 25: Laurie's Thoughts & Reviews
October 26: Naughty in the Backseat
October 27: Realmantic Moments
October 28: Romancing Rakes

A HUGE thank you to Vanessa for guest posting and offering a copy of an ebook from her backlist to one lucky winner. Also, thank you to Marianne at Goddess Fish Promotions for forwarding all correspondence between Vanessa and I.