Bound by Your Touch left me curiously unmoved. It’s a bit of a paradox because I did read it in one morning/afternoon, but I consciously thought several times that I was really bored and I’d put it down to read email or check on different online sites. Nevertheless, I finished it.

Not sure exactly what to make of my reaction. I’d probably give it a C. It seems well enough crafted, but the characters just did not do a thing for me, at all.

I’m really in a slump here. None of the books others have been really excited about lately did a thing for me. I have the new Chase and the new Putney waiting right next to me, but now I’m afraid I’ll find them ho-hum, too.

@Jill Myles: I checked other ebook sites (Sony, BOB, Fictionwise) along with Amazon & neither of Meredith Duran’s books are available so I don’t think the problem here is Amazon. I have hit the “Tell the Publisher you want to read this on Kindle” button daily for both of her books for several months now. Any of her books listed on Amazon in fact. I love that “give me what I want now” button but am unsure if it really makes a difference. The button has been clicked for other still unavailable books more times than I can count.

I remember someone else complaining about this when Kresley Cole’s book came out in January (it didn’t affect me then because I hadn’t received my lovely red Sony) but I did feel sympathy for the reader having to wait to read a much anticipated novel.

I’m left contemplating whether or not I should invoke my Amazon Prime and have Meredith Duran’s new book here in two days or wait for the ebook release in three weeks. In which case I have to wonder, why even have an ereader? (yes, I know…the incredible convenience of carrying around 250 books in my purse has great appeal, as well as being able to get my hands on all those free public domain books w/o having to sit in front of a computer to read them)

I don’t wanna wait 3 weeks!! (said in a highly annoying whiny voice)

I do know that there’s usually a button on the Amazon webpage for the book that says “Request this book on the Kindle!” and it sends a notification to the Powers That Be at Amazon.

Hope that helps. :)

ETA – I just checked and the box (under the book cover) says “Tell the Publisher you want to read this on Kindle”. So I was wrong! But if everyone clicks the button… ;)

Has anyone else found it?

Hubby just got me a Sony e-reader for my birthday, and I’m determined that I will be purchasing mostly ebooks so I can play with my new toy.

The sequel-baiting was obvious, but I didn't find it distracting-in fact, I liked the interaction between James and Phin (and Elizabeth too). It made James human when, at times, especially at the beginning, he came across as just a spoiled, slobbering drunk.

It is interesting, the first time I read the book, I missed the sequel set up entirely! Meredith told me that the characters from Written on Your Skin appeared in BBYT. And I was like “Which ones were they?”

But when I read WOYS my picture of that Sanburne/Phin relationship became much more complete. Sanburne appears in a couple of the scenes in Written on Your Skin, and I hope it’s not spoiling too much to say that one of them is a scene from BBYT. So you get the same scene from two very different viewpoints. I really loved getting the two perspectives, and also seeing Sanburne through Phin’s eyes and Phin though Sanburne’s.

I have to say, as a reader, this book was entertaining and certainly well-worth the fact that I kicked my husband out of the house yesterday so I could finish it! But as a writer, it was also instructive. There are lessons here about pacing, about how to build tension in a credible and realistic manner, about how to properly use a backstory (I’m thinking about Stella here, and to a certain extent, George & Sophie), about how to write “opposites attract” characters without falling into the trap of making them so unsuited for each other, the reader is left to wonder why they are actually together (which ties into the use of mirroring, which like Jane, I loved).

We definitely need to have a book chat regarding this book because there are so many things I would love to talk about with other readers. Like, what did you think of the patterning of the father/sister dynamic for both characters. The story was surprisingly villian-less but I never felt that it lacked tension.

If there was an area of complaint, perhaps it was the sequel baiting with Phin? or maybe the use of the Egyptian artifact?

Given Jane’s review, I had high expectations for this book and kept waiting for it to fail on some point or other. But it didn’t. It was a wonderful, lush, satisfying read that felt like a much longer, much denser book. The biggest reason this book worked for me is the heroine. On of the reasons I’ve never been drawn to historicals is that I hate plain, virgin heroines who overdo the whole push and pull thing with the hero–they spend most of the book lusting after the hero, wondering why or why does the hero even like plain, spinster ole me, but when the hero does show his interest, then it becomes an insult to the heroine’s virginity! Ugh. That stuff drives me nuts, but Lydia was so different it was refreshing. Even though she did question James’ interest in her, she wasn’t whining about it or acting the part of the coy, innocent virgin. She was simply gathering facts, which fit perfectly with her scholarly personality. Thankfully, too, the sex between them wasn’t about James overcoming Lydia’s resolve, or anything so trite. Ms. Duran makes clear that James and Lydis are evenly matched in this regard, even with Lydia’s inexperience.

As for the hero, well, I confess I wasn’t sure about him at first. He seemed like the typical dandy/rake that was going to be transformed by the love of a good woman. But the more I read, the more I realized how deftly this author wove his character. There was real depth to him that matched Lydia’s.

The other part of what made this book so successful for me was the writing. As Jane points out, no scene or sentence was wasted. I’d even go out on a limb and say no word was wasted. Ms. Duran crafts excellent prose without wasting words on empty descriptions. Also, I thought the dialogue between James and Lydia was excellent. Very strong and carefully written to push the story forward.

My only complaint with this book is that now I’m going to have to add Ms. Duran to my ever-expanding list of writers that I follow.