Reviews by Not Real Name

Spoiler alert! I do discuss some elements of book 2 in detail. It must have been extremely hard to write a compelling second novel given the first one was so phenomenally successful. I don't envy Ms. Cruise that undertaking and for that I congratulated her. With that said, Megan somehow morphed into someone I hardly recognized from sweet in the first book to hardcore in the second. I just couldn't relate. Still, I deplored what happened to her at the end of the story. Note to author: One scene with lactating breast was interesting, maybe even titillating (pun intended), but in almost every scene afterwards it quickly becames TMI (too much information). Tne newest characters, Dr. Randolph Sinclair and Cassie, were obsessed with each other and with others (Megan and Cabel). I'm not sure why Ms. Cruise went there. It felt contrived and an obvious set-up for another novel. Ultimately, this "swing" element was annoying and confusing. As a woman, I want to see loyalty between the individuals within pairings and triads (the original menage), but to quote the poet Rudyard Kipling, "...never the two shall meet". To top if off, in my opinion, Cassie was less than likeable. It's okay for a character to have conflicting emotions and traits. Multidimensional is good, drama queen - not so much. Her constant whining and prudish behavior was just plain agitating. If she had gotten over herself sooner book 2 would have been a lot shorter. Lastly, I've got to say something about Devin and Dr. Sinclair's much-too-young sister, Paris. She was seventeen going on eighteen and he was thirty-six. To make matters worse, Devin thought of her as his niece who played with his younger step-sisters. I compared their objectionable interaction between the 1st rendition of book 2 released December 23rd and the newly-released full version of book 2. Not surprisingly, there was a hugh rewrite with a substantial portion of the hardcore physical touching between them removed. It was fascinating to see how Devin was transformed from a complete and utter degenerate to a man who pulled himself from the brink of total moral bankruptcy. But not by much. No matter how hard the author (and editor) tried to clean up this passage, it still had an incesttuous tinge that added nothing to book 2. Yuck! Why, oh why did the author go there?! Overall, I rate Devil's Promise average. The plot did meander but the story got there eventually. If you just want sex, there's plenty of it. Structurally, the jumpy, abrupt ending between chapters was distracting and broke up the cohesiveness of the book. I have to disagree with some reviewers about the erotic scenes. In my opinion, they were anything but pedestrian. Some of them were hot . . . except for the whole leaky breast thingy. Double Yuck! ~ United in reading, Not Real Name

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