Girls' Guide to Hunting & Kissing
Grade : C

Girl's Guide to Hunting & Kissing was a purchase born of desperation. I was on break and had an hour to kill, and I'd lost the book I was reading earlier in the day (the book and I were happily reunited later, but that's a story for another day). I wanted a quick read, so I scanned the back covers in the series romance section. In most cases, I could hardly get past the first sentence:

  • "When her niece is kidnapped..."
  • "Romance Hero X didn't know that twelve years ago, Heroine Y had given birth to his son..."
  • "When special agent/detective/sheriff discovers that [Insert Old Flame's Name Here] has been implicated in a crime..."

I was ready to give up in despair when I spotted the Blazes. The heroine of this book sounded funky and modern, and the hero was a buttoned-up lawyer with political ambitions who needed to blow off some steam. This sounded a far sight better than kidnapping, secret babies, and the like. In some ways, it probably was, but then this book had limitations of its own. In an attention-grabbing opening scene, Jackson Taggart is scoping out a South Beach club, looking for the perfect mouth. He finds it on club owner/decorator Summer Farnsworth, a free-spirited woman with pink braids and a vintage bustier. He follows her up to one of the suites and listens in while she confides to a friend that her secret fantasy is to be overpowered by a man (this might sound a little icky, but she puts a mature spin on it). Jackson "accidentally" leaves his cell phone on a housekeeping cart, and Summer answers it when he calls. They two embark on a sensual game of cat and mouse that leaves both of them wanting more.

Summer was raised in an odd environment, with parents whose desire for community made them join one cult after another. Since leaving home she's had trouble putting down roots, and all her relationships have been of a transitory nature. Jackson, on the other hand, is the original man with a plan. He knows exactly what he wants out of life, and exactly how he's going to get it. While Summer wears mermaid-y clothes and colorful fake braids, Jackson wears super-starched shirts. They seem to be complete opposites, but they connect very well in the bedroom. And on boats. And elevators. Oddly enough, Jackson even finds that Summer brings new life to his political campaign, and Summer finds that Miami's favorite son helps her business as well. Still, they each will have to come to terms with who they are before they can really become a couple, and both will have to make compromises.

This book is part of the Single in South Beach series, and I found the Miami night-life one of the more interesting parts of the book. Summer's club is actually part of a resort which she owns with three other women, and the atmosphere of the place is fun, if a little over the top at times. The Miami setting is different, and much more to my taste than the ubiquitous small town.

I had no major complaints about Summer and Jackson either. Sure, Summer's crystal-wearing, astrology-embracing personality was a little out there, but it was unique in a fun way. Jackson is even more likable, with his starched shirts - and not-so-starchy bedroom behavior. My only real beef with him was that he lacked a political party, which I found both unrealistic and uninteresting. I'm sure the author did this to avoid offending readers on either side of the spectrum, but I would have found it more interesting if Jackson had taken a position on something besides "a clean environment and business growth." I'm about as partisan as they come, but I can handle reading about characters with opposing viewpoints, and I'm betting most other readers can too.

There are two factors that really took this book right into the realm of "average." The first is simply the sex. It's not that it was totally wild and outrageous; I've read Blazes that were a lot hotter than this. But the sheer amount of time Jackson and Summer spend having sex (and talking about having sex, and thinking about having sex) is staggering. It doesn't leave much time for anything else. Had the author cut out about half the sex and spent that time on character development or additional exploration of the setting, it would have been a better book.

The other problem is that too much of the conflict centers around Summer and her fear of commitment. As conflicts go, this is all too common and all too boring. Maybe it's just the reading choices I've made this year, but commitment-phobic protagonists seem to be lurking around every corner. I don't know who decided that this type of character was compelling. They all have their reasons: not the type to settle down, a bad relationship in the past, or in Summer's case, a hard childhood. As they say, cry me a river - and then build yourself a bridge and cross on over.

Overall, there are worse things to read if you find yourself stuck with an hour to kill, but this is still just your average read.

Reviewed by Blythe Smith
Grade : C
Book Type: Series Romance

Sensuality: Hot

Review Date : November 19, 2003

Publication Date: 2003/10

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Blythe Smith

I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
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