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Scully! Rebecca Traister speaks for me (no spoilers).
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astolat’s Queen of Spades is better: “In 1963, [Cyril] Connolly published a parody of Fleming in the London Magazine. ‘M” has conceived an illicit passion for 007, who is told to get himself done up in drag, go to a nightclup, and entice a kinky visiting KGB general, who turns out to be ‘M’ himself in disguise (‘I’m sorry, James,’ he says forlornly at the unmasking. ‘It was the only way I could get you,’ at which Bond’s ‘long rangy body flared out above his black silk panties,’ before he cuts his boss short: ‘I thought fellows like you shot themselves…. Have you got a gun—sir--?’).” Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Bondage.
Suzanne Brockmann, Force of Nature: Brockmann has a series of romantic thrillers with very large casts; I read this one because one of the two main pairings was Jules, the out and proud FBI agent, and Robin, the closeted and alcoholic Hollywood star who has, usefully, recently undergone SEAL training for his latest film. The other pairing is het. Brockmann’s dialogue often feels just a little bit better than real-life banter—this is praise, by the way; it’s the kind of dialogue one would like to have with one’s friends and one’s lover. The plots are byzantine, with a fair amount of violence, and in this case a helpful cameo from Evil Media. But really I read it because I hoped those two crazy kids would work it out.
I suspect
astolat’s Queen of Spades is better: “In 1963, [Cyril] Connolly published a parody of Fleming in the London Magazine. ‘M” has conceived an illicit passion for 007, who is told to get himself done up in drag, go to a nightclup, and entice a kinky visiting KGB general, who turns out to be ‘M’ himself in disguise (‘I’m sorry, James,’ he says forlornly at the unmasking. ‘It was the only way I could get you,’ at which Bond’s ‘long rangy body flared out above his black silk panties,’ before he cuts his boss short: ‘I thought fellows like you shot themselves…. Have you got a gun—sir--?’).” Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Bondage.Suzanne Brockmann, Force of Nature: Brockmann has a series of romantic thrillers with very large casts; I read this one because one of the two main pairings was Jules, the out and proud FBI agent, and Robin, the closeted and alcoholic Hollywood star who has, usefully, recently undergone SEAL training for his latest film. The other pairing is het. Brockmann’s dialogue often feels just a little bit better than real-life banter—this is praise, by the way; it’s the kind of dialogue one would like to have with one’s friends and one’s lover. The plots are byzantine, with a fair amount of violence, and in this case a helpful cameo from Evil Media. But really I read it because I hoped those two crazy kids would work it out.
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Oops -- on edit...
I enjoyed it more than I expected to. (I find fic has spoiled me for published romance in many ways -- or, maybe not fic per se, but stories where I know the protagonists intimately and with my own level of understanding and pleasure that I simply can't get with original characters in romantic situations.)
Anyway. I enjoyed the book. The het relationship in this one was fluffy fun, too. I found Robin's situation quite touching and the depth of his closeting (extending even to his own feelings about himself) quite sad and well presented. Jules, otoh, while no winner in the past relationship department, was awesome in his level of confidence in himself *outside* romantic entanglements, and so was a really attractive character I rooted for.
I was rooting for them as a couple too, which is why I just bought (but have not read yet) Force of Nature. The Robin & Jules plot continues!
Edited to clarify which book in the series I've actually read and which I haven't. :P
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Re: Oops -- on edit...
I agree that fic has spoiled me in certain ways which make it difficult for me to read a lot of romances, since they tend to tell rather than show how awesome the protagonists are. Brockmann's dialogue, like Jennifer Crusie's, is good enough that I am much more willing to accept awesomeness.
Edited to fix name.
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Re: Oops -- on edit...
Ah! That's what it is. I didn't read much romance before I started reading fic, but what I did read I remember enjoying. I stopped almost altogether when I fell down the fic rabbit hole and it has puzzled me why the few I've picked up since have felt unsatisfactory.
Thank you for putting a finger on why. I though maybe I was just making bad choices. (I have yet to read Cruisie, though I got a list of good ones to start with from cofax recently. Plus, hey, I could check your tags. ;-)
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