Comments on: REVIEW: ‘Start Me Up’ (2009) by Victoria Dahl

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:39:46 +0000

@Lana The suspense definitely worked better in Start Me Up. I actually preferred Molly as a heroine because she's so refreshingly original but I gave Talk Me Down a slightly lower grade due to the weak suspense plot.

By: Lana

Lana — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:14:40 +0000

I really like more beta heros (I usually think ‘alphas’ are huge jerks), and I loved Quinn. He’s definitely not a wimp! I love that Dahl writes the scenes where the hero demonstrates his love to be truly unique to her characters.
And I, for one, did like Talk Me Down better, though I thought the suspense worked better in this one.

I’ve linked to you here.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:00:44 +0000

@SusiSunshine Good luck in your exams! At least you'll have plenty of time to relax and read once they're over.

By: SusiSunshine

SusiSunshine — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:53:39 +0000

Hey Sarah.
This Series sounds great. I never read anything by Victoria Dahl. Perhaps I should try it now or better after my exams I’m still strong but my list for the time after my abstinence is getting longer and longer.
lg

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:09:41 +0000

@heidenkind I wasn’t sold on the idea of a beta hero either when I read other reviews, but Dahl pulls it off. Quinn is not macho but he’s no pansy, either. He’s a dreamer who just happens to be talented in an area which earns him a lot of money. He’s passionate about his work, but he’s not ambitious for the sake of financial gain, if that makes sense. When I think of rich alpha heroes, they’re synonymous with wheeling and dealing, like Hardy Cates in ‘Blue-Eyed Devil’.

That said, Dahl’s humour is not for everyone. As I mentioned in my review, a lot of readers had a negative reaction to Molly, the heroine in ‘Talk Me Down’. I liked her.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:05:16 +0000

@Jill D. The storyline in 'Start Me Up' is self-contained but all the main characters were introduced in 'Talk Me Down'. I think you'd miss the relevance of certain things in SMU without having read TMD first, but then I'm a stickler for reading series in order.

By: heidenkind

heidenkind — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:01:55 +0000

I still have to read Talk Me Down.

I’m not too sure about this book. A beta hero in CO? He must be from Boulder.

By: Jill D.

Jill D. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:43:05 +0000

I was just going to ask if I should read Talk Me Down first. Since you already advised Leontine to, then I guess I will have to as well Adding both books to my list. I had Start Me Up on it already, but I will had Talk Me Down too!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:12:25 +0000

@Leontine Victoria Dahl's books probably won't appeal to readers who prefer mainstream small-town contemporary romances (think Robyn Carr). Even though I'm not a huge fan of erotic romance, I suspect people who like them might also like the Tumble Creek books. They're definitely spicier than most. I think Molly's humour is very similar to Victoria Dahl's on Twitter. If you do decide to try the series, I'd definitely recommend reading 'Talk Me Down' first.

By: Leontine

Leontine — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:42:03 +0000

Hi Sarah,
Intriguing review Sarah. I’m not an avid reader in this genre but the hero sounds delicious! I always read Ms. Dahl’s tweets and they have humor but if this is something that makes me go woot woot, I just don’t know *hhmmm*