Comments on: REVIEW: Can’t Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards

By: Jinni

Jinni — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:10:48 +0000

Okay, I put it down. Just couldn’t do it. With a newborn, I’m plowing through my TBR file and this just didn’t resonate, no matter how hard I tried. Not only did I not like Miranda (and I don’t need to ‘like’ my heroines), but I found her uninteresting, unprofessional, and kind of closed off for someone supposedly so ‘liberal.’ Am happily shipping it off to another book swap member today.

By: Jinni

Jinni — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:02:44 +0000

I was just checking this site because I thought this was where the rec came from. I’m still at the pick it up and put it down phase. Perhaps, I’ll give it another chance and try to move beyond the first couple of chapters . . . .

By: The Case of the Unlikeable Heroine | Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:01:51 +0000

[...] about the female protagonists, or heroines, of the stories as not being very likeable. I know I struggled with Miranda, the heroine in Can’t Stand the Heat. I thought I would ask Tessa Dare and Louisa Edwards to [...]

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:21:39 +0000

@Natalie I hear the next book has a much more likeable heroine so maybe you can revisit LE in March.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:12:58 +0000

I was glad to see this mixed review. I’d heard such great buzz about it, and I loved the premise. Miranda’s rude drunkenness didn’t bother me at the beginning, but I couldn’t finish this book. It started with what seemed like a strange and not properly motivated reaction to her brother’s big revelation, and then after (time impossibility of the writin of the book aside) all the see-sawing about handing in the book and the (improbable) leaking of the ms … I didn’t like her enough that I didn’t want her to have a happy ending. I *loved* Adam and didn’t want him to forgive her. So I stopped reading. Ms. Edwards is a very skilled writer, though. I was having a good time until then.

By: Miki S

Miki S — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:17:25 +0000

@Jane: Ah. Okay. I like that definition. Not sure I think it's the "common" one for alpha in romance, but you make this hero sound very appealing to me. Disclaimer: I'll admit I'm rather sensitive to dominance issues, so I tend to avoid romances that put a stress on "alpha male".

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:56:41 +0000

@Miki S: I don't equate alpha with domination. I equate alpha with leadership. Adam was a genuinely cheerful person who had little emotional baggage. He was full of passion and mostly full of joy of life but he was clearly someone who commanded attention and who people followed almost with slavish devotion. He was top dog in his kitchen.

By: Miki S

Miki S — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:57:09 +0000

@Jane: This was not a phrase I remember coming across before. I'm trying to figure it out what it means...rather than being all intense, he smiles while he's dominating you?

By: Maria Geraci

Maria Geraci — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:53:04 +0000

I think Kate had a good point about the role reversal in this book. In a lot of romances, we expect the hero to be the one who has to scramble and change to be worthy of the heroine’s love. Or as Jack Nicholson put it in “As Good as it Gets” (one of my favorite all time movies) “You make me want to be a better man.” I think Miranda was just a very human character, with all the scratches and dings we all come with, and in the end, Adam’s love made her a better woman and a better sister to Jess. I found the ending extremely satisfying and as Lori said, Louisa Edwards can write! This book was a delicious treat and I can’t wait to gobble up the next one!

By: Kate Pearce

Kate Pearce — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:43:35 +0000

I know that Miranda was difficult to like sometimes, but, I could totally see where she was coming from. She seemed very real to me, and in my opinion, the book wouldn’t have worked if she’d been as sweet and awesome as Adam. There would’ve been no conflict at all, and the fact that she garnered such strong reactions from readers shows how well Ms Edwards can write.
I liked the role reversal – that for a change it was the heroine who messed up and had to scrabble to get back into the heroes good books rather than the other way around.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:09:26 +0000

Good review. I never disliked Miranda but I did want to hit her upside the head a few times.

I think it’s important to also mention that Ms. Edwards can write. One of the frustrations I find is that there are a lot of books with interesting plots or characters but lackluster writing. (I approach writing from a poetic bent and like skillful use of language.)

The food metaphors didn’t bother me because they fit the characters. Especially Adam. The secondary romance had a lot more of the softness and yearning that I wished the primary romance had but it really added emotional heft to the stories.

I’m really looking forward to follow-up books from Ms. Edwards. I love culinary stories, I find kitchens and men in kitchens to be highly erotic (what can I say? I’m a total foodie wanna-be) and I liked the skill and writing voice. I think the conflict and resolution did keep this book from soaring but the pleasure in the characters in what they do and the lives they were living really made it a good read.

By: Jane

Jane — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:05:57 +0000

@Jessica I thought your review was great too. I loved the analysis of the conflict. I think I am a low conflict kind of person. It's a poll question in the making! I had some disagreement with a point you made in your review but I can't remember what it is now. I'll go and comment over at your blog when I remember.

By: Jane

Jane — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:03:24 +0000

@Miki Are you asking what I think a happy alpha is or suggesting that its an oxymoron?

By: Jane

Jane — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:01:35 +0000

@Diane V I can see having that response. I never saw Miranda as stupid – like running out into the street when a semi is coming stupid – but having made bad decisions motivated by guilt and love. I never really loved Miranda but I was convinced that in the story Adam did and that she would make him happy and that was enough for me.

By: Jill D.

Jill D. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:45:16 +0000

@Jessica: OH.MY.GOD That scene was incredible. I was so uncomfortable that I broke out in a sweat. The tension in the air was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. But I remember thinking how misunderstood SJP character was. She didn't mean to come off as rude and she was trying so hard to get people to like her.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:33:25 +0000

I was really excited when I read about this book on DA – I’d like to see more romances with a culinary theme. I loved Adam, I thought he was a great character, and would love to read a sequel with him… and a new woman.

I really, really disliked Miranda, for many of the reasons discussed in the review and other comments. The book writing drama bothered me, but the situation with Jess was enough to make me put the book down for several days. I finally picked it back up, hoping she’s show some level-headedness, but instead I got “our dead parents would’ve wanted you to be happy…” Ugh. I finished the book, hoping for some growth and change, but when it happened it felt so artificial, and then the overly dramatic ending killed it for me.

Also, the food metaphors were cute, but felt a little overdone by the end. Especially when Miranda referred to Adam’s penis as an “amuse-bouche.” As I understand it, and amuse-bouche is supposed to be a perfect little bite, so I’m glad to finally see a romance hero who isn’t endowed like a porn star. ;)

I’ll keep an eye out for future books by Ms. Edwards, but I’ll definitely be reading several reviews before I consider buying.

By: Diane V

Diane V — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:57:58 +0000

Read it because one of my friends loved it – but I disliked Miranda so much that I felt Adam deserved someone so much better for his HEA.

Plus Miranda’s actions at the party were so unprofessional and inexcusable that it should have been the kiss of death for her career — not rewarded.

Loved the way that Adam was portrayed, but Miranda still makes me want to throw the book against the wall. It’s this kind of heroine that always makes me think that the author is secretly a male (despite the author photo and bio in the back of the book), because no female should write such an incredibly stupid heroine. I don’t know if I’ll pick up the next book, because usually authors who have heroines that are TSTL continue that unfortunate characteristic in every book they write (i.e. Stella Cameron and Penny McCall — I still want the hit men to succeed in getting the heroine in “All Jacked Up”)

And the angst of Jesse was settled way too quickly IMHO. Plus, he needed to find some balls and suck it up — don’t have your sister pay for college when it was your choice to reject a full-ride through school.

By: Miki

Miki — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:53:20 +0000

Happy alpha? Whu?

By: Zoe Archer

Zoe Archer — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:37:05 +0000

Yes! More happy alphas! Exactly the kind of man I would actually like to be with!

By: jmc

jmc — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:50:55 +0000

The ebook price shows up as $14 base price but marked down to $6.99 at Amazon.