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jackiehorne's review
4.0
Full review at:
http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2017/07/protest-romance-rogue-desire-anthology.html
http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2017/07/protest-romance-rogue-desire-anthology.html
brandypainter's review
4.0
This is an incredibly diverse grouping of stories. Diverse in terms of style, type, explicitness, and, yes, characters. Not every reader is going to like all the stories (I had to DNF a couple because they were so out of the realm of what I want from romance). But on the other hand, every story will appeal to some reader of the anthology, and I think that is a truly GOOD anthology. I like that the authors each have their own style and that there were so many different ways of writing romance included here. It wasn't the same story over and over. It does make giving the book as a whole a star rating difficult. (Or more difficult that usual at any rate.) Like I said, I didn't even finish every story. My four stars is for the three stories I loved the most, which are the ones I'm going to talk about here.
"Grassroots" by Adriana Anders
This is the first story in the anthology (though it was the second one I read). I have talked in reviews before about how I'm not a fan of first person in romance. This one worked for me so well though. I think that is partly due to there being a purpose for the first person. It is how the story needed to be told. Veronica is the point of view character. She is a young pre-school teacher running for city council to affect change at the level that impacts her and her students the most. She is wonderful. And as a former teacher who worked at a Title One school some of her rants are ones I've spouted myself almost word for word. I loved her to bits. And Zach is a really great hero (also super hot). I enjoyed how Anders built their interactions and resolved their final conflict.
"Kissing and Other Forms of Sedition" by Emma Barry
This story is why I bought this as soon as it was humanly possible. It's an Emma story and I'm always here for those, but it's also the story she tweeted out one night on Twitter during a particularly rough US political day (so a recent day that ends in y). I wanted her to write it instantly. I read this story first and it was everything I wanted and more. If you've read Emma's work, you know how much she loves nerdy characters and prickly heroines. This story delivers all of that and delivers it well. Cadence and Graham are adorable together and I loved their car trip to save the world so much.
"My Delight is In Her" by Jane Lee Blair
This is Blair's debut, and I can not wait to read more from her in the future. She is a Christian and her story shows it. Being a Christian myself, I loved her use of Scripture and theology combined with the realism of living daily life. Her characters curse, feel lust, and struggle with a multitude of issues and she portrayed it all so clear and well while giving us a great romance between very real people. Leonard and Kim were college sweethearts so this a reunion story. Those aren't always my favorites. I'm picky about how they come off, but this one did all of the things I look for right.
There were other stories in the anthology I enjoyed, but these three are the ones I will return to. I bought this when it was $0.99. It's no longer on sale, but I would pay full price just for these three stories.
"Grassroots" by Adriana Anders
This is the first story in the anthology (though it was the second one I read). I have talked in reviews before about how I'm not a fan of first person in romance. This one worked for me so well though. I think that is partly due to there being a purpose for the first person. It is how the story needed to be told. Veronica is the point of view character. She is a young pre-school teacher running for city council to affect change at the level that impacts her and her students the most. She is wonderful. And as a former teacher who worked at a Title One school some of her rants are ones I've spouted myself almost word for word. I loved her to bits. And Zach is a really great hero (also super hot). I enjoyed how Anders built their interactions and resolved their final conflict.
"Kissing and Other Forms of Sedition" by Emma Barry
This story is why I bought this as soon as it was humanly possible. It's an Emma story and I'm always here for those, but it's also the story she tweeted out one night on Twitter during a particularly rough US political day (so a recent day that ends in y). I wanted her to write it instantly. I read this story first and it was everything I wanted and more. If you've read Emma's work, you know how much she loves nerdy characters and prickly heroines. This story delivers all of that and delivers it well. Cadence and Graham are adorable together and I loved their car trip to save the world so much.
"My Delight is In Her" by Jane Lee Blair
This is Blair's debut, and I can not wait to read more from her in the future. She is a Christian and her story shows it. Being a Christian myself, I loved her use of Scripture and theology combined with the realism of living daily life. Her characters curse, feel lust, and struggle with a multitude of issues and she portrayed it all so clear and well while giving us a great romance between very real people. Leonard and Kim were college sweethearts so this a reunion story. Those aren't always my favorites. I'm picky about how they come off, but this one did all of the things I look for right.
There were other stories in the anthology I enjoyed, but these three are the ones I will return to. I bought this when it was $0.99. It's no longer on sale, but I would pay full price just for these three stories.
araleith's review
5.0
I haven't ever had a romance anthology where I read every story and loved them all. I loved the resistance/protest theme, I loved all the different stories, I loved how much representation and respect went into these stories. The world is a scary place sometimes, but these stories remind me that love prevails even in the dark. When all else fails, find love.
loveinpanels's review
4.0
With the exception of 2/8 of the stories, I loved it. Those two were sort of "meh." Because of constant news overload, I'd say this may be one to read slowly, rather than planning to binge.
Full review here: https://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2017/07/rogue-desire-anthology-review
Full review here: https://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2017/07/rogue-desire-anthology-review
briarsreviews's review
5.0
Rogue Desire, an anthology of incredibly sexy stories, will play with your temptations.
This anthology holds stories from Adriana Anders, Tamsen Parker, Dakota Gray, Emma Barry, Jane Lee Blair, Ainsley Booth, Amy Jo Cousins and Stacy Agder.
If you're looking for some sensual stories to fulfill your fantasies, this is the book for you. Especially if you want some quick, easy reads instead of a super long romance novel to fill up your time - you've found what you're looking for!
I wouldn't necessarily call it just contemporary romance - some of these stories are a bit more sexy than that name hints - but this still hits all the notes of a sexy, steamy romance.
For me, as a Tamsen Parker fangirl extraordinaire (can I get a button or something pronouncing my love for Tamsen's writing? I feel like I'm apart of the fan club by now) I really love that her writing is growing yet again. I grew to love and feel for the characters in such a small set of chapters, and melt into a puddle reading the sexiness in that story. And I probably blushed a lot - that story was really steamy...
I will applaud this anthology as a whole though. Normally anthologies all have very similar stories or similar styles of writing - this one does not. Yes they are "similar" - you know, romance and sexiness all over - but they all have different themes and plot lines. Not just 'hey you're sexy, let's get together" plot lines. Also, each writer is unique and completely different than the others. It's not just carbon copies of the same type of author over and over writing a slightly different story. So, you will most likely find at least one story in this if you like romance - or hopefully more than one!
I kind of wish I could give each individual story star ratings, but they all rate between 4 and 5. Some of the stories weren't necessarily my cup of tea, but they were all great reads - they kept me hooked and interested, I felt invested in the characters, and I enjoyed reading the stories. It didn't feel like work or like I was forcing myself through the stories.
Reading some other reviews, I have seen that some people think these stories are "rushed" and yes, I might agree - but you need to remember these are short stories with little wiggle room for giant character development. Many of my favourite short stories seem "rushed" to me - The Veldt - but they still worked. If given the opportunity, I would love to see all authors expand on these stories, but to me they felt like they were just "rushed" enough - not so crazy fast it's unbelievable, but not to slow to make it an entire novel.
Another great point about this book is the new authors you will be introduced to. While I've seen the names of some of these authors floating around Goodreads and Twitter, I never really looked into them - and now I know I should! Being able to see some of these authors write a full length novel instead of a tiny, itty, bitty story will be delightful!! So you may find your new must-read in this series!!!
My other thought from other reviews I peeked at after reading - "political" is a word used a lot, and it does seem fitting but I, for whatever reason, don't like that word necessarily being put with this. Sexy politics seem so off...yet the politics behind each story made each a little bit better. It's not like your following a sexy election from beginning to end, which is what that word leads me to believe when I see it pop up. So readers beware!
Overall, five out of five stars. It was sexy and a great read!
I received an uncorrected proof from Tamsen Parker for an honest review.
This anthology holds stories from Adriana Anders, Tamsen Parker, Dakota Gray, Emma Barry, Jane Lee Blair, Ainsley Booth, Amy Jo Cousins and Stacy Agder.
If you're looking for some sensual stories to fulfill your fantasies, this is the book for you. Especially if you want some quick, easy reads instead of a super long romance novel to fill up your time - you've found what you're looking for!
I wouldn't necessarily call it just contemporary romance - some of these stories are a bit more sexy than that name hints - but this still hits all the notes of a sexy, steamy romance.
For me, as a Tamsen Parker fangirl extraordinaire (can I get a button or something pronouncing my love for Tamsen's writing? I feel like I'm apart of the fan club by now) I really love that her writing is growing yet again. I grew to love and feel for the characters in such a small set of chapters, and melt into a puddle reading the sexiness in that story. And I probably blushed a lot - that story was really steamy...
I will applaud this anthology as a whole though. Normally anthologies all have very similar stories or similar styles of writing - this one does not. Yes they are "similar" - you know, romance and sexiness all over - but they all have different themes and plot lines. Not just 'hey you're sexy, let's get together" plot lines. Also, each writer is unique and completely different than the others. It's not just carbon copies of the same type of author over and over writing a slightly different story. So, you will most likely find at least one story in this if you like romance - or hopefully more than one!
I kind of wish I could give each individual story star ratings, but they all rate between 4 and 5. Some of the stories weren't necessarily my cup of tea, but they were all great reads - they kept me hooked and interested, I felt invested in the characters, and I enjoyed reading the stories. It didn't feel like work or like I was forcing myself through the stories.
Reading some other reviews, I have seen that some people think these stories are "rushed" and yes, I might agree - but you need to remember these are short stories with little wiggle room for giant character development. Many of my favourite short stories seem "rushed" to me - The Veldt - but they still worked. If given the opportunity, I would love to see all authors expand on these stories, but to me they felt like they were just "rushed" enough - not so crazy fast it's unbelievable, but not to slow to make it an entire novel.
Another great point about this book is the new authors you will be introduced to. While I've seen the names of some of these authors floating around Goodreads and Twitter, I never really looked into them - and now I know I should! Being able to see some of these authors write a full length novel instead of a tiny, itty, bitty story will be delightful!! So you may find your new must-read in this series!!!
My other thought from other reviews I peeked at after reading - "political" is a word used a lot, and it does seem fitting but I, for whatever reason, don't like that word necessarily being put with this. Sexy politics seem so off...yet the politics behind each story made each a little bit better. It's not like your following a sexy election from beginning to end, which is what that word leads me to believe when I see it pop up. So readers beware!
Overall, five out of five stars. It was sexy and a great read!
I received an uncorrected proof from Tamsen Parker for an honest review.
ajcousins's review
For everyone looking for a new Bend or Break story... This spinoff stands alone, but if you've read Nothing Like Paris, you'll spot a familiar face! :)
prgchrqltma's review
4.0
I enjoyed most of these, but the state of the political world saddened me. I didn't get the second one, but the third is on sale this week, so I picked it up.
sandyd's review
3.0
An anthology of "resistance romance" - some stories better than others. K.J. Charles's review made me read it.
harmony's review
3.0
I really wish this hadn't finished with the story it did (Tamsen's), because wow I hated it so much. The "heroine" decides she hates the guy who wears conservative shirts to her spin class and apparently works for the Republicans in some way. Her solution? Demand he come to her place without even introducing herself, and when he shows up with gifts clearly expecting a date, she straps on a dildo to give him a "hate fuck" up the ass. This would have been enough to make me profoundly uncomfortable even if he DIDN'T code autistic. But he did. And as for him? Eh, he doesn't really agree with the social injustice his party gasps upon everyone else, but eh, whatever, fiscal conservatism, amirite? But after a pegging and a telling off (yeah, in that order) he shows up at a protest march wearing a pussy hat to find her and tell her he's seen the light, I guess? Except he also says he doesn't plan to change his behavior? And now she's cool with him? I hated this story so much that I don't want to rate the anthology right now because there's no way I could be objective.