ArkansasCyndi: Thanks! I recently finished the very first Bullet Catcher book and I liked that one, too, although I kept wanting Jazz to hurry up and figure things out!

DebbieB: Perhaps because these three books were the only ones I had read in this series, I didn’t have a strong sense that Dan had been the anticipated mate for Lucy, although certainly I saw that there was some triangulation there. Maybe finishing the rest of the books will give me a stronger sense of that.

Roxanne St. Claire: I hope I didn’t reveal any spoilers! It’s always tough, especially with mystery-driven plots. It’s weird, because having read all the books in one shot, I never considered anything but a single comprehensive review, so I didn’t think I was doing anything unusual!

Carolyn: I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed *both* the romance and the suspense, because I have honestly gotten used to sort of putting up with one for the sake of the other.

Sue: Thanks for the heads up on the next book. I hope I get to know Dan better through the earlier books, so I have some background before reading the new one.

Jennifer Estep: Vanessa is my favorite heroine of the series, in part because she’s not all ‘oh, I have to change for this guy!’ I thought her willingness to follow every stupid lead was a bit overplayed, but she was so entertaining that it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book. Although I wish she had caught on to what was going on a bit earlier, even as I relished the fact that no one in this trilogy had super-sonic mystery solving skills.

GrowlyCub: I think one of the reasons I paid more attention to the condom thing in these books was because of the whole black market adoption angle. All these women who were having children in secret, delivered by a midwife, and sold to supposedly qualified families. So much attention to what one might call the ‘unintended consequences’ of unprotected sex made me hyper-aware of the pregnancy issue among the girls themselves.

re. the implied condom, I don’t really have a problem with that, and am usually satisfied with even a casual reference to a wallet or a nightstand drawer or even a moment of panic that such things have been forgotten. Unless, of course, the unprotected sex plays into the story line and then it’s another issue altogether, at least for me.

thanks for clarifying.

I agree, the poll is interesting and so are the comments. I was really surprised to see how many people say they don’t want condoms because that jolts them out of the fantasy, when it’s the exact opposite for me. Guess I lack imagination. :)

As for disrupting the flow, I don’t require an exact description of when and by whom the condom was applied, a mention of an (or several, grin) opened wrappers (on the floor, bed, nightstand, pillow :) the next morning or whenever else it fits into the scene is just fine.

And in one fell swoop you have also shown male prowess without having to describe 12 different positions, rofl.

The whole condom thing is a challenge because I deeply respect that it is something many readers prefer to have mentioned. In the vast majority of the love scenes I’ve written, I do include some mention of the condom, but sometimes it is such a jolt out of the fantasy, taking the reader right out of the moment. In that case, if it can’t be included gracefully, I’ll let it be implied and not specified, as many of the actions during the love scene are not spelled out in point by point detail. I give the condom usage a great deal of thought and I’ve watched the poll results with interest today.

all three women seemed to relish the unprotected sex (although Lucy begs Jack to withdraw, which makes sense given her past)

The author replied:

What can I say? I'm kind of a “condom implied” writer on the love scenes.

Those two things don’t compute. If the women seem to enjoy the unprotected sex and one of them begs her partner to withdraw (and as the result of a coitus interruptus, I really wish people would stop thinking and/or implying that withdrawal works in preventing an unplanned pregnancy), then there wasn’t an implied condom anywhere in that scene.

I’m firmly in the ‘if it’s contemporary put at least the opened wrapper somewhere in the scene’ camp unless the unprotected sex is part of the story arc.

Vanessa is my favorite BC heroine so far (loved her sass and overall toughness), but I’m really interested to learn more about the mysterious Lucy.

Love Jane’s insta-poll on condoms. I voted, of course! What can I say? I’m kind of a “condom implied” writer on the love scenes.

Thanks again!

I read all three of these books twice and agree with a lot of what the reviewer says. However, I found the third book to be by far the most emotional, so I am surprised that she said the opposite. Maybe because I’ve read the series and know the character of Lucy Sharpe, but what I liked was that these two people did have so much emotional baggage but didn’t whine about it or think about it for pages and pages. Also, the reviewer didn’t talk about the fact that Lucy is kind of set up to be with Dan Gallagher in the first three books, but that doesn’t happen. When I found that out, I was not happy, but after reading the book, it was okay. I think this coupling made perfect sense and since Dan’s story is supposed to be next, I’m okay with it.

I would have graded them a little higher, especially the third book, but enjoyed the review of one of my favorite series.