Deeper took MH to a different level. I could imagine the beach house, sugarland, the bike ride from work to the beach house, Nicks place etc. I wasn’t sure if I would like this book because of Nick’s ‘now’ situation but it helped tell the story at the end. I can’t agree with people’s comments about too much sex scenes, it’s the sex scenes that make MH characters become so passionate and hot. The more the merrier I say! And she writes them so well.

I wished Nick and Bess opened up more and told each other how they felt before but I guess that was the struggle between them. I hated Bess for reverting to Andy as ‘he still loves me’ to Nick and staying with him after she knew all along he was cheating on her but I guess that’s her personality. I found that she can easily be swayed with Andy, Nick and Eddie. It frustrated me but to point this out makes me realise how well MH can write. I’m always so anxious to read the next book and soo upset when I finish them. They linger in my mind a lot longer after I read the book.

Next on my list is Dirty. What am I going to read after I finish MH books??? I guess I’ll just have to read them all again!

Glad you are excited about the book. I agree that the story is quite poignant.

With regard to the name thing, I understand how you feel. We all have different life experiences that we bring to our readings of books. I can’t really offer more than what I said already — that I realize it may seem like an idiosyncratic nitpick, but it was distracting to me personally, and in the end, all I can do as a reviewer is relate my personal reading experience to the readers of my reviews.

I would say that the sex was a bit too much, but the poignancy of the story – the little I’ve seen so far – gets me.

I don’t understand the fuss with the name. Where I live people have all kinds of names. Bess isn’t my favourite name in the world, but I think it’s kind of nice. I’m no real fan of old Anglo-Saxon (British) kind of names, but they are well and truly in fashion these days. I knew plenty of people with unusual names growing up, and I don’t recall anybody ever commenting on them.

Now that you say it, I agree. This is the kid of thing I may feel intuitively, but don’t have the language to express. So thank you!

You’re welcome.

Yes. In each case, especially Tempted and stranger, I found myself asking, “what the hell is your problem?”. That’s how I hit on my thought that you quoted … that it’s almost more of a comment on contemporary life than a specific problem, such as Elle or Sadie had.

Yeah. That is a very interesting thought. I’m torn between admiring Hart for undertaking to explore that kind of disconnectedness and admitting that I prefer heroines like Elle and Sadie who had more concrete reasons for making the choices they made.

In Bess’s case, I saw her as using sex with Nick as a kind of drug — it felt to me like she was trying to numb herself and to escape her reality.

I think this is true for at least one of the main pair in every one of hers books, actually.

Good point! I didn’t think about it, but it’s true.

I do hope to write up reviews of Stranger and Deeper one day, but you know how that goes! ;)

Yes, I do. I’m sure I will enjoy your reviews whenever you get to them.

I think that for me, Dirty and Broken were stronger in terms of the pacing.

Now that you say it, I agree. This is the kid of thing I may feel intuitively, but don’t have the language to express. So thank you!

I do think the heroines have been a bit less sympathetic in the last three books — for me, most notably in Stranger.

Yes. In each case, especially Tempted and stranger, I found myself asking, “what the hell is your problem?”. That’s how I hit on my thought that you quoted … that it’s almost more of a comment on contemporary life than a specific problem, such as Elle or Sadie had.

In Bess’s case, I saw her as using sex with Nick as a kind of drug — it felt to me like she was trying to numb herself and to escape her reality.

I think this is true for at least one of the main pair in every one of hers books, actually.

I do hope to write up reviews of Stranger and Deeper one day, but you know how that goes! ;)

I so agree with you about Hart. I love the way she takes chances, and I also enjoy the immediacy and maturity of her writing. I can’t speak for anyone but myself but in my case, I don’t think it’s romance purism that has made me enjoy the last three books less than Dirty and Broken. Or at least it’s not that alone. I do think the heroines have been a bit less sympathetic in the last three books — for me, most notably in Stranger. It’s actually a very unusual thing for me to complain about since I often prefer flawed characters.

In addition, I think that for me, Dirty and Broken were stronger in terms of the pacing. I didn’t feel much lag or impatience when I read them. In any case, I think Hart set a high bar for herself with those two books.

In some ways, all of her books are downers, but I think she hits on something interesting, a kind of modern feminine strain of apathy as a coping mechanism for the impossible demands of contemporary life.

That’s a fascinating comment and especially relevant to Deeper. It was partly her feelings for Nick that kept Bess from taking a hard look at their situation but I think it was also the difficulties of her personal life situation. In Bess’s case, I saw her as using sex with Nick as a kind of drug — it felt to me like she was trying to numb herself and to escape her reality.

It does seem like a portrayal of a contemporary malaise that many of us have experienced, though sex isn’t necessarily always the vehicle though which it expresses itself. I was speaking with someone recently who said she was constantly watching the Michael Jackson saga on the news channels because it provided a kind of escape from the difficulties and demands of her life. To judge from the prominence of this story in the news, she is not alone.

Back to the author, I feel that Hart captured real people and real life so well. The first time I read her, it was almost a revelation. I hadn’t realized that contemporary genre fiction could feel that real. I do appreciate that very much.

I appreciate the depth of the issues she explores within the confines of the Spice imprint and “erotic novel” tag.

Me too.

However, maybe it’s because I am in such a romance purist mode right now, but like Jennie, I haven’t loved the last three books as much as I did Dirty and Broken. I’ve been a bit less sympathetic to the heroines, a bit impatient with their seemingly insatiable sexual appetites, and less convinced of the HEA, although that last was less of an issue in Deeper (I was glad Hart bit the bullet there and did the hard thing).

In some ways, all of her books are downers, but I think she hits on something interesting, a kind of modern feminine strain of apathy as a coping mechanism for the impossible demands of contemporary life. She’s like the anti-Crusie. I appreciate the depth of the issues she explores within the confines of the Spice imprint and “erotic novel” tag.

Do you plan to read Deeper?