Throb Paperback – January 25, 2015

I love romance novels. I willingly suspend disbelief for a good story, no matter how unlikely the setup to the story is. But for it to be a good story in my opinion, the characters have to behave in a rational (meaning not stupid) way. In this novel, Kate sticks to her plan to stay in the Bachelor -type reality TV show and try to win money for her brother's treatment even though she has a hot and heavy love affair going with a wealthy movie producer, someone she really loves and he loves her back, and even though he offers to pay for her brother's medical care and can easily afford it. Of course the bachelor on the show has the hots for Kate, even though she really isn't into him. No, she has to stay on the show, being filmed with the bachelor, driving her true love crazy. No, no, she couldn't let him pay and solve all the problems between her and her true love. When they finally broke up, I was happy! I didn't feel Kate's self inflicted pain at all. Instead, I thought, "Finally!"Other than the stupidity of Kate and lack of a realistic plot, the story was nicely written, and the two male leads were great guys. Both were totally worthy of being heroes in romance novels.

I made it to chapter 28 and couldn't choke down one more paragraph. I've enjoyed a lot of Keeland's work, but this one just didn't make the cut. Actually, my interest succumbed to the death by a thousand cuts--shallow ones but painful nevertheless. The story line was one tropey cliche after another; the characters, mostly unlikable; and the ethical choices made by almost all of them, unpalatable. I have to acknowledge that a lot of my personal biases came into play, but those are not unique to me, so I'm putting this out there anyway.So, Cooper and Miles are half brothers. Cooper ably runs their deceased father's movie studio and Miles has branched out into producing reality TV of the sleazier persuasion. Their relationship is tense with old sibling rivalry and dissimilar value systems. Cooper meets Kate at his monthly poker night and is immediately smitten by the sweetly sexy, stereotypically sassy card sharp. Kate is equally taken with Cooper, but she has contractual commitments to his brother's B*chelor wannabe TV show. Of course, she’s only in it to rescue her family from debt. Cooper launches an intense pursuit of Kate while she tries to awkwardly juggle her attraction to the wealthy, good looking movie producer with the requirements of her contract and the constraints imposed by an NDA. Another problem is that Flynn, the up and coming young rock star whom the b*chelorettes are competing for, is the most genuinely appealing character in the story, He also seems sincerely attached to Kate. I wouldn’t really call this a triangle, because it’s clear throughout that all the actual heat is between Kate and Cooper. By chapter 28, they are boffing on the regular, and have pretty much laid their emotional cards on the table. The reader knows that this sitch ain’t gonna end well and that little brother will be part of the problem because being a problem seems to be his only role in Cooper's life.What’s wrong with that, you ask? Welp, issue one is that the only character I really liked was Flynn. I knew he was too perfect to be true and out of luck romantically, but it really bugged me that Kate, whom I mostly liked, seemed pretty indifferent to the damage that she might do to his feelings. Kate had a few qualms about violating the terms of her contract but ultimately--with the encouragement of her friend and lawyer(!)--gives in to her desire for Cooper. Between bouts of steamy, bossypants sex, she spends quite a bit of time waffling, yet really doesn’t seem to comprehend the concept of contractual obligations. Not only is this a questionable ethical choice, but it poses a real threat to her family’s well being. Also it makes Kate come across as nice but dumb. TSTL: I’m not a fan.Issue two was Cooper’s absolute determination to bed Kate, regardless of how a relationship would affect her. He was bossy, dominating, jealous, and extremely aggravating. There were never any consent issues or coercive behavior, but his headlong selfishness just grated. This sort of uber-alpha workaholic facade hiding a fundamentally good guy is a Keeland staple, but the details determine whether this character type is convincing. Cooper’s backstory just doesn’t have enough detail to counteract his alph-holery. If the reader’s expectations of a hero don’t auto-scribble in justifications for Cooper’s behavior, his portrayal simply doesn’t work. At least it didn’t for me.I’d like to say that issue three was the frequency of the sexytimes. For me, it undoubtedly was a problem, but I suspect that I’m in the minority on this. I like love scenes--whether they are raunchy or metaphorical or florid--to support the evolution of characters and relationships. Hotness for hotness’ sake just don’t do it for me. Once Cooper broke down Kate’s resistance, sex scenes occurred with an almost rhythmic frequency and an eye-rolling sameness.I want to mention in passing what I call issue 3.5, namely the need for at least one more pass by an editor. Every so often, I found myself distracted by weird word choices and grammatical glitches, a minor but unnecessary irritant. As I said, I lasted until chapter 28, when I finally admitted to myself that I didn’t care enough about these people to find out what happens to them. So Imma DNFing it which equals two stars in my universe. I’m sure I’ll find a decent palate cleanser in my TBR pile, but I will probably read Flynn’s story, Beat, before too long, since he was the one character I cared enough to be curious about.

Cooper Montgomery is one of Hollywood’s top entertainment producers. His brother Miles likes producing reality rather than big budget movies. His latest deal is Throb, a survivor/Batchelor type show that he hopes makes bank! After Cooper goes to a Poker game one night he meets the gorgeous Kate Monroe. He’s intrigued but sadly disappointed when he finds out she just happens to be a contestant on his brother’s new reality dating show. Can he wait for her contract to be done or will jealously make him crazy. Kate needs money and decides a dating show is the easiest way to help out her mom & brother. She finds that she likes the Batchelor, Rocker Star Flynn , but finds someone else might be in her thoughts and that’s makes things complicated for her & against the contract she signed for the show. What’s a girl to do! I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for Beat! This is a standalone; Dual POV

This book is interestingly based around a reality show similar to The Bachelor. It features Kate Monroe and Cooper Montgomery who first meet over a game of poker. And Cooper loses to Kate.Following the game, Kate is on Cooper's mind but there is no real reason for them to get together again. Except Kate, to raise money to look after her sick mother and disabled bother has intentionally become a contestant on the reality show 'Throb'. And as serendipity or fate would have it, the company owner is Cooper's brother Miles.Cooper is the wealthy owner of Montgomery Productions, a successful Hollywood film business. And his brother less successful Miles is hoping that Cooper will fund his reality show.When Cooper finds out that Kate is in the reality show, his interest perks and demands to see all the dailies. He also becomes so possessive, that he does not want another man to touch, to kiss or be intimate with her.I enjoyed reading this story and recommend it to you. The twist at the end is worth waiting for.

Kate goes on a reality Tv show because she needs the prize money. She meets Cooper who is the brother of the producer and he has no idea what she is doing initially but he is instantly attracted. She starts to win the rounds and Cooper hates it, he wants her for himself but then finds things out and has to let her go.

This book is intense. I found I frequently needed breaks from reading at crucial points because I wanted this action and just knew the story would take the opposite action. Highly recommended!

YOU REALLY CAN'T GET BETTER THAN A VI KEELAND BOOK.I ABSOLUTELY LOVE EVERY SINGLE THING SHE HAS EVER WRITTENSHE GREAT WRITING STYLE AND HER DELICIOUS CHARACTERS DO IT FOR ME AGAIN AND AGAIN.I WILL KNOW DOUBT BE READING THIS WONDERFUL STORY MULTIPLE TIMES AS I HAVE DONE WITH ALL THE OTHERS.KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK VI. CAN'T WAIT TO YOUR NEXT BOOK.YOU ROCK. YOU RULE.

A love story for Cooper and Kate that neither were looking for. Cooper is a hot movie company owner who has it all including the money wasting brother who thinks reality shows will make him rich.Kate is a card shark looking to take care of her mum and disabled brother.They meet by chance at a card game and sparks fly only she is about to entry a reality show that has a huge impact on both their lives.A good read.