Sizzle (adult title)

Sizzle       
by Darcy Lundeen is an ADULT title.

(FYI, this particular tale has a few sensual encounters but nothing particularly overt or kinky)


Before you go any further, please be advised that I was an editor for this story and one would naturally think this would cause me to have some personal bias.  Hopefully, those who read my reviews or who have dealt with me personally know that I don't let a personal relationship prevent me from telling someone that I was not too enamored of their story if they ask for my opinion.  (And yes, that has cost me relationships with authors occasionally)  I may decline to review it if I don't think I can speak highly of the work, but I don't praise a work if I don't really think it deserves it. That being said, I really enjoyed this tale from the first (of multiple times, lol) time that I read it!  I was even more vindicated when my supervisor told me that the proofreader asked if she could write a review as well and that was the first one she had offered to do that for.  I think it is difficult to give higher praise than this because we are assigned titles, not allowed to choose them for ourselves, and for us to voluntarily to spend even more time to want to get the word out means that we truly enjoyed something.

I think this author has a wonderfully fresh style, a discerning sense of humor and an ability to make a tale something that the reader can relate to.  Yes, the heroine is a little too forgiving and pretty naive but that gives her that larger-than-life quality and allows us to feel a little superior about 'how I would have done that' but I still adore the feel-good feeling that the HEA gives me when I read romances and this one did a great job of it for me.  I hope you like it as well and I welcome comments if you did or didn't...just tell me why you have your particular opinion.



This is a fun contemporary romance featuring a quirky heroine who has traditionally settled for whatever affection she can eke out from her romantic partners.  Convinced that she doesn’t have enough ‘sizzle’, she enlists the aid of the hunky lawyer who is rooming with her gay best friend and he enthusiastically agrees to ‘tutor’ her in discovering her sensual side.  Issues with her nosy neighbor, a miniature graffiti artist and her own lack of self-confidence make her quite a challenge to deal with, but Matt Pollard has rarely had such a delightful assignment, the only problem is that his own goals soon become much more challenging.


This entertaining and spicy tale of one woman’s quest to win back the man who dumped her in the middle of a crowded street is a wonderfully lighthearted romance filled with mistaken assumptions and humorous situations.  Several potential cliches are tweaked as the insecure woman slowly blossoms under the tutelage of a man who appreciates her for the wonderfully sexy person she is and she relaxes under the misapprehension that he poses no threat to her heart.  The secondary challenges that are faced and the creative solutions that the heroine comes up with add to the warmth of the tale plus the sensual journey that she embarks upon makes this a fun and delicious read.

(submitted to Night Owl reviews)