Memories by Valentina Heart
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Published by Less Than Three Press on June 2, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA
Pages: 58
Heat Rating:
I received this book for free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Synopsis
Marlin is a transsexual who has undergone the hormone replacement therapy for becoming a woman, but her sex reassignment surgery has never taken place. Coming home one night, she is greeted by the sight of her man, Gabe, spread out on the bed just for her.
There was good and there was bad, some of it happy and some of it sad, but as they take a journey through their memories, they light up the old flames. Sex, tears, laughter and a wicked dose of romance show what loving is all about for Marlin and Gabe.
My Review
2.5 Disappointed Stars…
I was looking forward to this book, getting a peek inside the romance, love and sex with a transgender woman who still has her penis, and the man she has fallen in love with. The closest I’ve gotten to seeing inside this dynamic is a frightening look through The Crying Game, which I’m sure is not representative of the average transgender woman. Anyway, I was sad to be let down by this book.
The author TELLS us what is going on, and what the characters are feeling, rather than SHOWS us. That simple change, were the author to edit this story, would make all the difference. Things are written in such a way that I don’t feel the characters’ feelings at all. The sex is mechanical without excitement. An author can’t just SAY it’s exciting. Make the reader FEEL it!
Also, the h mentions that the H is talking dirty, but really what he is saying is too flowery and romantic to be considered dirty talk.
I had to stop reading at 31% because I simply didn’t care what became of the characters. If I didn’t care at 31%, I would never care.
I’d probably try something else by this author in the future, assuming she’s working to grow and improve on her writing. Her general writing (grammar-wise) is excellent, infinitely better than most of what many people are putting out there these days, so I know she cares about her writing. Best wishes on future writing, Valentina Heart!
About Valentina Heart
I would say that I am first a reader and then a writer. My fascination with books goes way back into the past when I didn’t even know I could read something that wasn’t given to me in school. Writing came later. First when I tried writing down the plots of the movies I found overwhelming and later in the form of a very dark blog that connected me with people I still consider very good friends.
When in reading I always reached for happy ending romances that helped me deal with the bad side of the world, while in my short stories characters died and their life usually reflected the reality that surrounded mine.
In time, vampires and shifters took the place of knights in shiny armors and I still searched for that happy ending . But with the years also came that wish for something edgier.
My current reading habits take me daily into the world of men, where kink is preferable and angst the realistic side of life in my dose of fiction. It was only natural that my fingers followed my thoughts and I came to a point where men only ogled men and women became side characters.
Somehow out of love for reading a writer was born. I won’t say that the handsome men walking through my imagination have everything a reader might want. They are usually troubled, lost and insecure, but as they slowly stroll through my worlds, they eventually find their happy ending.
