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Dara Joy

Autor(a) de Knight of a Trillion Stars

22 Works 2,940 Membros 39 Críticas 10 Favorited

About the Author

Includes the name: Dara Joy

Séries

Obras por Dara Joy

Knight of a Trillion Stars (1995) 496 exemplares
Rejar (1997) 456 exemplares
Mine to Take (1998) 442 exemplares
Ritual of Proof (2001) 320 exemplares
High Energy (1998) 249 exemplares
High Intensity (2000) 238 exemplares
Tonight or Never (1997) 217 exemplares
The Night Before Christmas (Anthology 4-in-1) (1996) — Contribuidor — 118 exemplares
That Familiar Touch (2004) 85 exemplares
Wildcat Arrows (2005) 31 exemplares
Cat Scratched! (2010) 22 exemplares
Taste of The Devil (2009) 16 exemplares

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
20th Century
Sexo
female

Membros

Críticas

Dara Joy's Tonight or Never is a delightful romp that is equal parts humor, tender emotion, and red hot lovin'. All the characters are pretty lighthearted, and the whole story embodies a hilarity that frequently had me smiling and laughing. One example is a scene in which Chloe coshes John over the head with a vase (on purpose), followed by the couple running through the halls of the manor house stark naked. It nearly had me rolling on the floor. Many a time I found myself thinking that this book would make a great romantic comedy movie. It isn't just about the ruckus of fun and games though. There is a very sweetly emotional element to the plot as well, in the form of a long-held love between two best friends slowly being realized by one and then admitted by the other. The love scenes are frequent, thoroughly hot, and exquisitely sensual without crossing the line into the erotic. With the exception of Lisa Kleypas, I don't believe I have yet read any other author who can write multiple love scenes in one book so creatively, with each one being as luscious as the last, but still completely different from all the ones before. Anyone who is enchanted by the idea of love-making involving bathtubs, balconies, flower gardens and sensual massage should definitely read this book. Each scene was masterfully crafted and had me sighing with satisfaction. Tonight or Never doesn't have any suspense, danger or real villains. It's just good old-fashioned romance that is all about the relationship. There is a light mystery sub-plot surrounding French nobles, who had supposedly gone to the guillotine, but later show up on John and Chloe's doorstep, and the identity of their savior, The Black Rose. This made for a fun little side plot that I actually didn't figure out until nearly the moment it was revealed, but there was never anything to weigh down the overall lightness of the story.

I absolutely loved John and Chloe, and thought they were just made for each other. John is a dissolute rake, nicknamed “The Lord of Sex” by the ton, but he is actually hiding a sensitive soul behind his shameless womanizing ways. After seeing the pain of his mother's broken heart over his father's destructive gambling and early death, John subconsciously decided that he would never risk putting himself through the same thing and locked his heart up tight. John is mostly a beta hero with just a dash of alpha protectiveness and possessiveness. He tries a few times to play the dominating husband card with endearing results, because he's just too nice of a guy to make it stick. He's also the consummate lover who is more interested in sharing pleasure than conquering his lovely wife. He isn't a swashbuckling hero and isn't even particularly good at business. He's just simply the paramour who flits from one lady's bedroom to the next until Chloe puts a stop to that once and for all, giving him everything he's always wanted and more. Chloe is John's best friend in the whole world, and she is the only person he has ever felt like he could truly be himself with. They met when she was only six and he was sixteen, and for years he has played the big brother-type protector. By the time she was a teenager, Chloe knew exactly who she wanted to marry, and that was John. She bided her time until she was grown up, hoping that John would take notice of her as a woman. When he still didn't seem to, she put into action a cunning scheme to bring this notorious rake to heel. I love Chloe's determination to go after what she wanted, and that even from a young age, she seemed to always understand John better than he understood himself. She knew exactly the right “carrots” to dangle in front of him to gain his cooperation, and all it took was luring him into her web to get him to realize what he had always known, but couldn't acknowledge: Chloe was his soulmate. I thought that John's journey to that realization was rendered in a very natural and gradual way, making it seem more realistic. I also thoroughly enjoyed their witty bantering, and some of their interactions were reminiscent of my own relationship with my husband, making them completely relatable to me.

Tonight or Never had a riotous cast of supporting characters, starting with Chloe's grandmother, Simone and John's uncle, Maurice, who have a sweet long-term romance of their own that mirrors John and Chloe's. Again, I loved the sneakiness that Maurice used to get what he wanted as well. Then there is John's self-declared best friend, Percy, a hilarious fop who seems to think that fashion and what color to wear is cause for a personal emergency. The French guests who keep showing up at the door were equally funny, from the self-involved Zu-zu who thinks the world revolves around her, to Baronne Dufond who decides to wear John's prized model ship in her hair, to the seven Cyns, the Cyndreac brothers, who all look alike, chase every female in sight and cause general mayhem everywhere they go. In spite of their foibles, all were strangely likable. In fact, thinking of all their exploits is still making me laugh as I'm writing this.

After my last read which was quite dark, I was looking for something to lighten my mood, and I couldn't have made a better choice than Tonight or Never. It was a near perfect read for me in every way. The only thing that I thought could have improved it, would have been more explanation of John and Chloe's connection. As written, it was a rather magical thing that simply was. Their relationship was so sweet, tender and passionate, it wasn't at all difficult to see that their unbreakable bond was very real. It just would have been nice if the author had demonstrated it a little more, perhaps by adding more scenes from their youth. This was a fairly small thing though, that didn't really detract much from my overall enjoyment of the novel. Ms. Joy certainly has a talent with words, describing the character's expressions, actions and interactions in a way that drew me into the book and made me feel like I was right there with them. Any romance lover looking for a rollicking good read to lighten the day and lift their spirits, but that still has plenty of touching emotional depth, should look no further. Tonight or Never was a wonderful feel-good story that was a pure pleasure for me to read. It has earned a place on my keeper shelf for those times when I just need a little boost. This was my first read by Dara Joy, but it most definitely will not be my last. Tonight or Never is part of Lovespell's multi-author series, Legendary Lovers, but to my knowledge the books are all stand-alones with no connection to each other besides a running theme of them being based on the stories and legends of famous lovers. This one parodies Don Juan mixed with a sub-plot of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
mom2lnb | 2 outras críticas | Oct 3, 2022 |
Audio-
Familiars are known for their sexual techniques and appetites. Pleasure is their goal to give many times and then to get. When one of them is captured to be used and then sold for slavery, an unlikely match is made. He escapes with the young princess traveling across world and facing many dangers, while trying to teach her enjoyment.
A fun, enjoyable read that is sure to bring pleasure and tingles to the body.
 
Assinalado
TheYodamom | 3 outras críticas | Jan 29, 2016 |
Audio-Rajar is the cat man of any woman's dreams. He is sexually proficient, handsome, and loves with all his heart. There is just that one little off-ness about him; his need to us the litter box every now and then. When this other-world beast-man falls into Regency England he stays a cat till he finds something that he can only concur as a man. His find ? A stubborn, prim, virgin, woman. Poor Rajar, the adjustments are hard and his love not returned. Magic and some interfering old wizard help shift things in the right direction.
This was a light, fun tour through the lives of one of the oddest matches of all time. I found some of the comments from Jackie, the helpful irishman to be the funniest.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
TheYodamom | 3 outras críticas | Jan 29, 2016 |
4.5 hot alien stars
When I read the description for this book I was thinking Ewww
The aliens in this book are not from My favorite Martian, no they are men gods.These aliens have skills in the bedroom and outside as well. In their world skills and practice are admired. Wait this book is not all about sex, there is a story.
A young woman having a bad day stops into a resale store and buys a pice of ugly jewelry. Boom sexy guy shows up and will not leave, he's an alien from wherever and he must stay with her. Oh he is clueless to her world, he bumbles and trips along the way making for some fun in the story. Blah Blah Blah, thing charge up and he makes his move, Boom they are bound. She goes huh ? he goes yeah !
And they travel off to finish a quest that he was set upon. Here on his planet she meets his ultra hot brother who can change into a cat. He purrs. : P Ok, so they go to his home he introduces her to all as his wife, she says NO I'M NOT- the challenge is set. They complete the quest, learn about each other have great sex and there is a HEA. What else can you ask for ? A perfectly fun B movie type read.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
TheYodamom | 10 outras críticas | Jan 29, 2016 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
22
Membros
2,940
Popularidade
#8,709
Avaliação
½ 3.7
Críticas
39
ISBN
49
Marcado como favorito
10

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