Dazed and Confused... Updated

No, I'm not talking Zeppelin I'm talking the reasoning behind some of the comments on the AAR list. (I have YOU to thank for this whole feeling, you realize this don't you Karen? LOL)

Well, I head over there because Karen asks Sarah McCarty if any of the books in her Promises series had spanking and bondage in them because someone over on the AAR list started talking about Lora Leigh and how her books are, well, erotic. *gasp*

I am currently reading Dangerous Games by Lora Leigh. I believe that she also writes erotica. This book was in the romance section and had romance printed on the spine of the book so that is actually what I thought that I was getting. Also on the back of the book it said that it was a romantic suspense novel. So far, I am enjoying the story and she is a good writer. My only big problem with the book is the love scenes. I REALLY hate when the term "pussy" is used for vagina or "cock" for the male organ, which Ms. Leigh uses these terms and awful lot in this book. It just takes me out of the story and I feel that I am reading something that is not romantic and just down right dirty and X-rated. When the hero of the book starts thinking of her like that or that he can't wait to f*%k her it just turns me right off and I find that I just skip the pages of the love scene. I don't think I'm a prude but I think if an author is writing a love scene better words can be used than those words. Where is the romance when the guy is thinking in terms like that....it just does not work for me.

Um, hello? If this person had done any skimming of said book before purchasing it or even researching Ms. Leigh (hello? She wrote for Ellora's Cave for God's sake!) she'd have had a clue. I felt compelled to speak(big shock, right). Here's what I had to say:

The thing is, I'm finding more and more authors using cock, pussy, and even clit on a regular basis. It's a new trend toward more erotic romance. It's not fair to focus on Lora Leigh because even in Lori Foster's latest(Causing Havoc) she uses two of the three above words.

So, then they jump to who writes romantica/erotic romance with a nice balance of romance and sex. Some authors were mentioned who I believe have a nice balance, many of whom I've read and continue to read regularly. And then it happened, the incident that Karen was speaking of where a reader said this:

I agree that some erotica is not for me. I read the Sarah McCarty Promises trilogy that had a western theme which I love. I found the heroes "masculinity" soooo annoying. Also, I never thought I would say a book had too much sex in it. The anal sex, blow job sex, spanking sex, bondage sex was not really very romantic after awhile.

So, Karen asked, if there is spanking and bondage in the Promises series. The only spanking I personally can think of is in Promises Keep when Cougar gives Mara a slight smack to her pussy which can't be constituted as spanking in the way the reader was meaning. That's it. I don't remember any bondage. So, I say:

The only McCarty book that had bondage, spanking, and the like was Mac's Law which is one of her Unchained series, not Promises series... though there is anal sex in the Promises series.

And she responds:

No, He was a spanker in book two. You may be right about the tying up, though.

Ooookay then. So, my question to her is this:

All these comments, which I might add are negative, yet you read all THREE books in the series. If you've seen the Alpha attitude in one McCarty book and it annoyed you, why did you continue on... especially if you didn't like the sex themes either?

Now I'm waiting for her to answer, which I've no doubt she will, but honestly, if I read one book from an author that just rubs me wrong with characterization(in her case too dominant) then why read any more? AND obviously if she knows there's bondage and lots more spanking in the books, she's not only read the Promises series, she's also read Mac's Law... and knowing the books are from Ellora's Cave, honestly, what do these people expect?

So, my question is why? Why, why, why spend more money on books you say you don't like, unless you secretly do like them? Am I right? Is she saying she doesn't like them, but underneath she really does? Or is there something more going on here that I can't see? I don't know, honestly, which is why I'm asking all of you.

Any ideas?

***UPDATE***
She responded... here's what she said:

Well I never said I didn't love Alpha attitude. I LOVE Alpha attitude! What I said, after I referenced the author's books specifically, was that I found the hero's masculinity sooo annoying, and I said the sex was not very romantic after awhile. I guess from that you assumed I meant that I find all Alpha annoying.

I wanted to try erotica and Sarah McCarty was recommended here. I ordered Promises Linger which I thought was pretty good and I love western themes. So I ordered ebook versions of Promises Keep and Promise Prevail at the same time. The virgin trapped in the bordello sounded like a good plotline and it was except the sex kept getting in the way.

Promise Prevail was what ended my book buying of McCarty. The heroine was so abused by her previous husband and I felt the hero exploited that. Also I discovered Lisa Marie Price, who I think does erotica in a more romantic way.

Okay, first off Clint never exploited Jenna's vulnerability. Ever. He helped her get over it, to believe in herself again, to make her strong.

Second, the woman doesn't realize that Alpha heroes are the domineering type that take over, and in effect, where she refers to "masculinity" she's referring to Alpha, she just doesn't know it. And if she's into Lisa Marie Rice, maybe her preferences are more Beta, but don't you think she'd have gotten that from the first book? Or even the second? If so, then why even read the third?

My thoughts- She loves the whole package that Sarah delivers, but in placating her, I told her since she likes Lisa Marie Rice she may be more inclined to Shannon McKenna's heroes and I also let her know that Ms. McKenna writes for NY... let her figure out for herself that McKenna also uses cock, clit, and the like. LOL