Karen Does Dionne Galace’s, Skin To Skin…
Sunday, August 12, 2007Posted in: AKA Bam, Dionne Galace, Samhain Publishing, Skin To Skin
So I read Dionne Galace’s (AKA Bam), first published book, Skin To Skin, a couple of days ago.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s the blurb from Samhain:
“What Leilani wants, Leilani gets…and she always gets her man.
A Midsummer Night’s Steam story
What Leilani wants, Leilani gets. That is, until she meets the enigmatic Oliver Clayton, her new neighbor. For some reason, Oliver seems to be intent on avoiding her even though he’s obviously interested.
Leilani has tried to everything to get his attention, from wearing skimpy little outfits to walking a neighbor’s dog six times in front of his yard. Leilani wants Oliver…and she always gets her man.
In the heat of the summer, the temperature’s not only thing rising. Luckily, Oliver has that pool in his backyard and Leilani knows just how to cool off…”
My Verdict
It. Was. Too. Effing. Short.
But I loved it. It was hot, and sexy, and great for a good bout of mid-week horizontal Lambada with TTG.
I fully expected Skin To Skin to be a good read, because half the reason why I think Bam rocks like a threesome with David Beckham and Will Smith, is because she’s so damned funny. I just couldn’t see how her natural humour wouldn’t manifest itself in her first book.
Leilani was exactly the way that I often wish romance heroines would be. She was a girl who wanted a man, and wasn’t afraid to go after him. She was a girl who wanted to get laid, and wasn’t beyond wearing skirts so short that you could see her thongs. (I too am all about those pink thongs, great for hiding wet patches apparently *g*) She was a girl who didn’t have insecurities about herself, and liked who she was. She was the way that most romance writers tend to portray their heroes. Sexy, and confident. I loved that.
I have to say though, she was also a girl who named her dog Fifi. Man, that shit’s just wrong.
Ms Galace’s hero was hot too. For some reason, I kept channelling The Green Arrow, from Smallville. Man he’s hot, and I did find myself wondering if that was who Ms Galace had in mind when she was creating Oliver’s character.
Oliver Clayton was a cop who was recuperating from a shot-up thigh, and was trying to keep a low profile, if only the brazen hussy next door would let him go a minute without making his little head throb painfully, by continuously flouncing past in her skimpy, sexy excuse for clothes. Unfortunately for him, the brazen hussy next door was all his big head, and his little head could think about.
I liked Galace’s writing style, her voice totally appealed to me, and had I not known that this was her first book I would have assumed that she was an old pro had been doing this writing gig for a while.
I think the main weakness in the book came with the dialogue (mainly Leilani’s actually). Leilani’s slightly ‘street’ vernacular was on the verge of annoying the hell outta me, but luckily the book ended before I could get to that point.
Overall, it was a quick (too quick), fun, sexy read, which although didn’t test my mental capabilitie, showed great promise in terms of the future potential of the author.
It’s a shame Skin To Skin didn’t suck GBHDB, it would have been interesting to see how Ms Galace would have dealt with one of my slice and dice reviews. May be next time eh? *Evil Grin*.
Is it evil of me to want to compare this book with the mess that was Ben’s Wildflower? Probably. So I’ll refrain. *g*
By the way, this is who I Leilani reminded me of:
Feisty isn’t she? *g*
Skin to Skin will be on sale at Samhain Publishing from 17th August, so make sure you check it out!
shiloh walker
August 12
1:48 pm
Fifty bucks says that Bam is floating over the moon as she reads this.
Mrs Giggles
August 12
1:52 pm
Karen,
You are way behind in catching up with Bam’s scandalous love life. She’s long ditched Justin Hartley and is currently going out with both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, only those two poor men don’t know that they are seeing the same woman. She also has her eye on Daniel Radcliffe but she’s yet to find a way to get past the legion of crazy Harmonians blocking her path.
Dionne Galace
August 12
3:03 pm
KS, I was sweating bullets when you told me you were reading it. I thought I was going to throw up, I was so nervous.
I shall try to aspire to Ben’s Wildflower next time.
Mrs. G is right. I am seeing both Jensen and Jared… only they don’t know about each other (or me). Poor boys. And I gotta get my hands on Radcliffe. People Magazine tells me he’s worth 50 million bucks.
Shiloh, you have no idea.
Eve Vaughn
August 12
4:02 pm
“rocks like a threesome with David Beckham and Will Smith” ROTFLMAO. You are a ham Karen. Where do you come up with these phrases. I think you should be a write.
Sarah McCarty
August 12
8:18 pm
BAM,
I’ll be picking up Skin to Skin as soon as it hits Fictionwise!
Heather
August 12
11:34 pm
That does it. Must-read!
Anonymous
August 13
10:00 pm
Oh, please….I’m sorry, but maybe this author should learn the basic rules of grammar before she releases a book. There’s no such word as “towards,” for example, used a zillion times, and all the passive sentences do nothing for me….yawn.
Kaz Augustin
August 14
12:26 am
Hey, Anonymous. “Towards” is a word. It’s used in UK English. I see you must be a US-English only reader.
For other US English readers out there, other valid words that look strange are “lent” (leaned), “learnt” (learned), murmurred (murmured), etc. I know, you’re thinking why can’t those Brit writers be consistent? Then again, you say “bent”, don’t you? Shouldn’t it be “bended”? 😉
Mrs Giggles
August 14
9:54 am
Boyz II Men had a hit with “On Bended Knee”, though, so “bended” is used in the US… right?
Karen Scott
August 14
9:54 am
Oh, please….I’m sorry, but maybe this author should learn the basic rules of grammar before she releases a book. There’s no such word as “towards,” for example, used a zillion times, and all the passive sentences do nothing for me….yawn.
Um, I think you’ll find that towards is a word hun.
And you know I’m all for showing love to Anons, but if you didn’t like the book, you should just say so, without hiding, no shame in hating a book that others like.
Just sayin.
Kaz Augustin
August 14
11:18 am
Hey, Mrs G, I think that’s poetic licence. “I sing to you on bended knee”…or whatever. In prose, I think I’d have kittens if I read somewhere, “She bended over to pick up the scrap of paper”.
But we’re really digressing, aren’t we? Sorry Karen.
Bonnie Dee
August 14
3:08 pm
Count on it. Bam’s story is as hilarious as her blog. She knows how to turn a phrase and tickle your funny bone.
Dionne Galace
August 15
12:37 am
I think the “bended” part there is actually functioning as an adjective rather than an active indicative verb.
And thanks, Bonnie! 🙂
Jackie
August 15
1:16 am
I’m looking forward (forwards?)* to reading this one.
*Tongue firmly in cheek**
**Cheeque?
eggs
August 15
3:46 am
Anyone else feel a bit squeemish about the cover model? I’m not saying anything about his hotness level, but he looks like he should still be in high school! I’m just the teensiest bit too old (late 30’s) to feel comfortable with a hero that young. How old is the hero in the book supposed to be?
eggs (old slapper that I am).
Dionne Galace
August 15
4:46 am
Eggs, Oliver is 28.
And Karen has it right on point with the picture she posted. That was who I was picturing in my head when I was thinking of what Oliver looked like.
eggs
August 15
8:31 am
Dionne Galace said…
Eggs, Oliver is 28.
Twenty eight? That’s well within my Dirty Old Woman comfort zone! I shall ignore the jail bait on the cover and go forth and try me some.
What am I going to read when I’m 57? Will I still be comfortable reading romances with heros in their 20’s then? I don’t know. I hope so, but I suspect the ‘perve scale’ is a sliding one – and yet the idea of reading about heros in their 60’s sounds equally gross to me right now as reading about teenagers getting it on.
eggs.
Sarah McCarty
August 15
12:59 pm
I am always getting in trouble for using towards and spelling grey instead of gray, colour instead of color. I had an excellent education in the states but in my day the English spellings were used and I seem incapable of unlearning the British spellings and uses.
Pretty much, when I get to the editing stage I have to do a search and destroy. Just goes to show some things we learn in school stick. *G*
sybil
August 17
4:55 pm
So I am the one who will make bam cry?
who knew?
kidding… maybe… I need to read it still…
Dionne Galace
August 17
6:10 pm
Stop scaring me, Sybil!
Anonymous
August 18
7:21 pm
According to my dictionary:
In U.S. English, toward is the usual form but in British English towards is more common.
The same principle applies to afterward/afterwards and to some other adverbs of direction that end in -ward, for example, backward/backwards and outward/outwards. Upward, as in moved upward, and upwards, as in increases upwards of 10 percent, are also standard. Note that related adjectives of direction always end in -ward, not -wards, as in a backward glance or an upward trend. The adverb forwards is a seldom used variant of forward in U.S. English, and the -wards spelling of it is never used as a standard U.S. English adjective.
Sorry. Couldn’t leave well enough alone.
– Barb (who recently discovered this blog)
candycouturewholesale
October 30
6:34 pm
Great skincare, like makeup, doesn’t have to cost a lot. A $100 jar of moisturizer? Forget it! Not many of us could afford a daily routine in that price range. So don’t get caught up in the marketing madness and don’t pay for pseudo science. Your endorsement is the only one that counts.
Here, my top 10 skin tips:
1. Protect yourself from the sun — use sunscreen and avoid direct sunlight between the hours of 10 and 2.
2. Don’t — I repeat — don’t smoke. Your skin is a large organ and it needs a lot of circulation. Smoking impairs that dramatically. That’s why smokers’ skin looks dull and gray. Instead of having oxy-generated blood delivered to the surface of the skin, they’re getting poisons and oxidants.
3. Get adequate rest and nutrition.
4. Protect yourself from stress — both emotional and environmental stress.
5. Wash your face twice a day and put on the proper treatment product. I’m amazed when women tell me they don’t wash their face in the morning. A lot of icky stuff collects overnight — dead skin cells, dirt, and dust!
6. Don’t neglect certain areas of the skin. Elbows, heels, neck, and decolletage need moisturizing, and your scalp and the tops of your feet need sun protection.
7. Touch your face less and wash your hands more! Don’t get too surgical on yourself. It’s very tempting to pick, poke, squeeze, and scratch in front of the mirror. But the more you traumatize the skin, the greater your risk of scarring. Apply treatment products and let them work.
8. Keep your makeup clean. Replace the sponges in your compact on a regular basis. Now and then, toss the whole works and start fresh — the average shelf life for cosmetics is 6 to 12 months. Don’t buy products so expensive that you’ll be heartbroken if you have to throw them away.
9. Exercise moderation. More is not always better. Moisturizer, for example, is the most overused product in America. We’ve been bamboozled by cosmetic companies into thinking every square inch of our body has to be slathered. And it’s simply not true. Exfoliators are another thing to be careful with. Used too often, they overacidify and irritate your skin.
10. Beware of counter girls. If it were up to them, you’d be in the bathroom for two and a half hours each morning — putting 80 layers on your face. Keep your regimen simple. And when you do add a new product, do it gradually so your skin has time to adjust. Each skincare or makeup product has an average of 20 to 40 ingredients — you’re introducing 20 to 40 potential allergens to your face every time you try something new.
Thanks, Candy
http://www.webyaa.com/category/beauty