Carissa Green Reads

I'm going to spoil the crap out of the first chapter of this book. Because it pissed me off. Your spoiler alert and trigger warning are right here.

First chapter: Male hero washes up on the beach in Guernsey after a battle with evil Indian cultists and a shipwreck. It happens to be right near where the female hero has her estate. She takes him home to her bed (the only one in the house were the great big masculine hunk will fit), and when the hot bricks aren't working to keep him warm, she climbs into bed with him to do the job herself. 

He then rolls over on top of her, pins her down, and has sex with her. Hot, sensual, romance-novel good sex. That she can't say yes or no to. Because she's trapped. And he's unconscious. Now, let's just set aside the verisimilitude of an unconscious man with a knife wound having that kind of power (we know romance novels aren't about that kind of truth). And let's set aside the fact that, in the end, the female hero really likes it (it's pretty steamy). In my world, that's rape. 

Of course, they go on to have lots more really passionate fun times, a pretty good adventure, and, I must say, this book has an excellent declaration scene - one of the best I've read in a long time. Laurens handles the negotiations between two alpha characters so well. I can't believe this one scene was there. The book didn't need to start this way. It would have been great. Instead, it's tainted.

-cg