The Seducer, Lord of a Thousand Nights, By Arrangement and more...

No matter what silly, sordid, trite phrases adorn the book cover, all of Madelnie's stories are unique.  Her heroines vary in looks and personality.  The heroes all differ drastically, and appeal only to the particular leading lady. 

For example, The Seducer is one of my favorites.  Just finished rereading it.  Nothing else that I've picked up remotely approaches the writing quality, personal growth, and emotional revelations that pervade her writing. Mary Balogh comes close, as does Loretta Chase. But Hunter nails it every time.  Oh, the sensuality is all there. But it is so metaphorically connected to emotional intimacy that we believe Diane is actually the seducer, pulling Daniel away from his need for revenge by her love.  If she were incapable of the physical act, the spiritual depth might be enough.

Furthermore, by the time we reach the meat of the story where vengeance is in Daniel's hands, we are torn.  Some of his enemies merit execution.  Some are weak, bad people.  But what will revenge do to his relationship with Diane, especially considering that one antagonist is her estranged father? Hunter manages to make us care deeply about the folks who people her tales.

In contrast, I read several other books this week.  Sabrina Jeffries. Jo Beverley.  Christina Dodd.   Now, I like all these writers in a guilty-pleasure kind of way.  Often, the plots are so convoluted and tiresome that I simply page to the end.  I think my apathy with those stories comes down to my belief and experience of human life. Any two attractive people can make love.  However, only two people who find wholeness for their frailties, committed together, can build a life. When writers acknowledge that painful growth, honesty, and need pulls couples together more surely that beauty, they touch the dream most romance readers want to capture--at least between the covers of a romance novel.