They had both lost their freedom because they had done really stupid things.
It didn't seem right that they were both still paying for those mistakes. They had both lost their freedom because they had done really stupid things.
It didn't seem right that they were both still paying for those mistakes. They had done their time in solitary. Shouldn't that have been enough? 71%
This is a fascinating, bold, audacious romance novel that I really enjoyed. Doyle sure stepped out of the realm of comfortable with this book.
Madeleine Kane is hired to remake the image of playboy car-designer Michael Lang. He wants to be taken seriously so that he can get his cool, environmentally-friendly supercar on the market. He needs to pair with a big auto manufacturer to get this done. His hard-partying, womanizing, hard-drinking lifestyle is an impediment to his success.
Madeleine Kane is a kingmaker - partnered with presidents on campaigns and known for her amazing abilities as an image-creator and image-manager. However, that's not the things she's known most for. Seven years ago, she was caught in flagrante delicto with the President of the United States.
Yes, Doyle loosely based this character on Monica Lewinsky, although Madeleine and Monica are very different people.
Ruined by her choices in a way few people can be ruined, Madeleine has barely gone out in these seven years. She certainly hasn't dated or had sex in seven years. Men treat her like either a loose woman who is wiling to have sex with anyone immediately for any reason, or like a disgusting creature they should stay far away from. She also has huge social anxiety, since the paparazzi hounded her for months, and even now when she is recognized she is mocked and treated with disgust.
Surprisingly, Michael doesn't have these hangups about Madeleine's past. He respects her. He treats her like the expensive expert, Yale graduate she is and doesn't treat her like shit. Even her own brother and father hate and despise her for having sex with the president, and her father died while calling her some choice names.
Perhaps a reason Michael can treat Madeleine like a normal human being is because Michael has a past of his own. He grew up on 8 Mile in Detroit, and stole cars. He was eventually caught and served three years in prison. When he got out, he was mentored by an auto mechanic and became a rich race car driver. After that he morphed into someone who designs cars for a living.
But the real huge thing about Michael is WARNING HUGE SPOILER (view spoiler)[that he was raped in prison. Because of being raped in prison, Michael has been unable to get a natural erection for these last seventeen years. He takes Viagra to get an erection for the women he dates, but never cums. He hasn't orgasmed in seventeen years. He's too fucked-up from the rape. (hide spoiler)] So we can see that both Michael and Madeleine are extremely fucked-up sexually in different ways. And perhaps each has the unique perspective to see each other and be merciful to the other.
But he knew he didn't like the kid who planted the idea in her head that she was nothing more than a base to steal. He thought it before and he was seeing it again: he wasn't the only one of them in this relationship who was messed up about sex.
It felt to him like Madeleine didn't know what it meant to be wanted for who she was alone, she didn't know what it meant to want that person back for the same reason.
He wondered if she'd ever been made love to or if she'd ever made love to someone without there being some agenda.
(view spoiler)[For that matter, Michael wasn't sure he ever had that experience, either. Before the attack happened, sex was just sex. After the attack, sex was a game of skill and deception and illusion.
- Two flawed, fucked-up characters that honestly have some of the most unique and interesting and shocking backstories I've ever seen in romance. Very interesting, very bold.
- Detailed writing. The book has a very nineties feel to it, even though it was written in 2012. If you've ever read nineties contemporary romance by Harlequin, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's charming in its own way. I find Harlequin contemporary romances written in this time period (the '90s) to be very different from those written in the 2010s. This has that retro nineties feel, which is a compliment.
- The characters approach each other with respect and try their best (it doesn't always work) to discuss things and be honest with each other. There were failings. But overall, I liked how adult the two protagonists acted.
- The book promotes kissing for the sake of kissing, and the characters have a conversation about how kissing doesn't always have to lead to sex, and how makeout sessions can be enjoyable on their own.
"You're damn right I'm mad. You're such a man."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Why can't kissing just be for the sake of kissing? Why does it have to go anywhere?" 52%
- I don't feel like Doyle was saying (view spoiler)[Michael was healed by a magical vagina. Instead, the book talks about how you have to work through your own trauma, how no one can do it for you, and how no woman could magically 'cure' him. He had to go forward himself, and allow himself to do things and feel things. (hide spoiler)] That was a big issue, I'm glad Doyle addressed it.
- Interesting look at PTSD and some of its effects.
- Michael kind of reminds me of Bruce Wayne, carefully constructing a 'playboy, womanizing' image to cover up his TRUE self.
- Man being called a 'tease' and dealing with the issue of 'being a tease' rather than a woman. 'Tease' is a concept I hate with a passion, anyway. It's so stupid. ANYWAY, the shoe is on the other foot for once. Which isn't GOOD, I mean, I'd rather nobody got accused of being a 'tease,' but it's interesting to see a man dealing with this for once.
- The complexity of the characters and how they deal with their issues and their pasts.
THE BAD
- She has sex with the president ONE TIME. And it was on that ONE AND ONLY time that the First Lady walked in on them. I found this a cop out. WHY are romance authors so resistant to writing a woman who isn't 'a good girl?' Do they think an audience won't accept one?
Every single time I get excited about having a genuinely promiscuous and/or morally questionable romance heroine, the author ALWAYS pulls back. ALWAYS half-asses it. Why couldn't Madeleine be a smart, Yale-educated, driven woman who had an on-going affair with the president? Why do they have to shovel in the bullshit that it was ONLY ONE TIME, A BIG MISTAKE blah-di-blah?
You can make her regret it. Obviously, she regrets it. It ruined her life. She's literally afraid to go out in public. But the idea that she just, like, accidentally fell on the president's dick one night is quite frankly ludicrous and I'm not sure you can convince me of this happening. It would be scads better if she just said, "Yeah, I was attracted to him, I don't know how I let things get so out of hand, blah blah blah" but trying to write a book where it is a one-time event is stretching it. It's stretching it in order to be able to label Madeleine as a 'good girl' still, even after everything. To make the reader see her as a victim. But guess what? She could be a person who immorally had an affair but is STILL a victim of some horrible things happening to her. Yeah, that could happen. Be bold!
- Michael being 'threatened' by Ben, Madeleine's boss. Thinking 'Ben could steal her at any moment.' Oh, please. He's fucking DYING of cancer, he's not going to fucking steal your woman. It's ludicrous, I don't need this kind of testosterone poisoning. Thanks.
- They could talk more with each other about sex and before sex. Since they are both so fucked up, I think it would conducive to the situation if they would talk things out. They do talk... but not enough and not about the details that might matter IMO.
TL;DR - Riveting book. Quite interesting and bold moves on Doyle's part. How fascinating to write about a woman who had an extramarital affair with the president of the United States and the emotional, social, and mental traumatic fallout of that. Also, if not even more shocking: a hero who was (view spoiler)[raped by another man in prison and as a result has not been able to orgasm in seventeen years. His tragic PTSD and the struggle to keep up his facade with women. (hide spoiler)] You could not ask for a more envelope-pushing book, I'm honestly quite surprised it came from Harlequin Category Romance.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Millionaire/Billionaire Romance - Both Madeline and Michael are well-off. I think Michael may be a millionaire. Non-Virgin Heroine (view spoiler)[Rape/Abuse Survivor (hide spoiler)] He's a Criminal turned Convict turned Car Racer turned Automobile Creator. She's a Kingmaker. Takes place in: Detroit, Michigan / Washington D.C. / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / Los Angeles, California - The United States of America
NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Michael m nn Mickey 37 Ben m Madeleine f Anna f Archie m Robert m Jackie f Nick m Charlene f Peg f Darnell m Tamara f Walt m Craig m Irene – car James m Nooky m Carol f Kevin m Gale f Lynn f Greg m (hide spoiler)]...more
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