Topic: *Warning* Adult content

I can't keep this to myself. I can't explain why someone would do this?! If anyone can, please do!

From a Romance I got as a present:

She reached down between them and grabbed his erection with both hands, stroking it, *all good so far IMO* but then ... measuring it with her fingers. *wha?!*

But not the worst! ... It was at least nine fingers long and so wide around that her thumb and forefinger didn't meet when she extended them around it.

At least nine fingers?! Would that be inches? I don't know! And frankly, I don't care either.

Why, oh why so much unnecessary detail?!

The rest, despite a few hick-ups, was not too bad. I could actually finish the book.

The biggest other problem I had was that the earl had his brother who tried to kill him locked up in jail. (1) If it's Britain, it's prison and (2) If it's anything to do with nobility, they made the problem disappear to the countryside (house arrest, no earl worth his salt would allow this cloud to hang over his family ever).

The best thing about the whole book was two-fold - male POV was used (I'd guess even more than the female POV) and he was blinded in the American Civil War. Karen Ranney (the author) did a very decent job of describing a realistic and believable picture of what it would feel and be like to be all of a sudden blind. But it could've been sssooooo much better without that detail.

*washes eyes with sulphuric acid, if only I could bleach my brain too*

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

I agree, Janet. There are quite a few methods of describing what you described - and they don't involve fingers or inches. The detail is unnecessary and more likely to be included in a "skin" book than anything approaching literary. Sounds as if the author was going for a faux-English flavor to the novel and didn't quite make it. If a person doesn't know much about the aetting/era they are writing into, then either research the heck out of it, or try another venue.

~Tom

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

Couldn't agree more. With that kind of description, it's no longer romance, even limit-pushing romance, but IMO become erotica. You can have some hot scenes without the description or using vulgarity. And sometimes less is better. I have a vivid imagination. She gulped when her hand encircled him--would lead me to believe the guy is hung like a racehorse. And She gulped when she looked down. He pulled her against his chiseled torso and kissed her ravenously, ending with a nibble to her bottom lip. The two fell onto the down covered bed. Trust me, I can go from there!

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

I hope this so-called romance had a warning so unexpecting readers especially young readers are not lured by the misnomer in classification.

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

Mike Roberson wrote:

I hope this so-called romance had a warning so unexpecting readers especially young readers are not lured by the misnomer in classification.

AvonBooks - Historical Romance

The cover is pretty standard for 'steamy' Romance novels:

http://www.amazon.com/Scotsman-My-Dream … dp_product

So I don't think readers would be too surprised? The rest of this love scene as well as the other love scene was pretty 'standard'.

I just took exception to the lines I quoted. It's just stupid.

ps - and I'm not the only one - the most helpful critical review (3-stars) has the same issue!

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

Cover doesn't do a thing for me, and if he's blinded, how does he look for her brother. Just doesn't blow my skirt up.

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:

Cover doesn't do a thing for me, and if he's blinded, how does he look for her brother. Just doesn't blow my skirt up.

Very few covers do ....

And he hires someone .... There are plenty more issues, but she's done a good job of putting me in a blind person's shoes.

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

He's not even Scottish, a descendent of a descendent of a Scottish clan ....

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

That's Scottish. Just ask me. I'm Scotch-Irish descent, and when I get mad, my words come out with an Irish brogue though I've never even been there.

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

The author is trying to win the "big cock contest" by giving her hero some extremely large maleparts.

It is just an ego trip.

The measuring anatomy is not just female characters or female authors. Male characters and male authors will do the same to female characters in the book. The man guessing the woman's bra size as double D? Or her hip/waist ration?

It is all just to stroke the ego of the writer.

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

Rebecca Vaughn wrote:

The author is trying to win the "big cock contest" by giving her hero some extremely large maleparts.

It is just an ego trip.

The measuring anatomy is not just female characters or female authors. Male characters and male authors will do the same to female characters in the book. The man guessing the woman's bra size as double D? Or her hip/waist ration?

It is all just to stroke the ego of the writer.

To me, there's a difference though. Guys do that IRL, trying to guess cup size. I think a few of them are pretty good at it too. Whereas women notice a guy's size, but we don't measure to the nearest inch. At worse, they'll go 'he is/was huge' and even that is all relative. But so many fingers and yay thick?

I could have double standards, but if a guy talks double D, it rings true. Not so much when women start measuring to the nearest inch ...

But that it's possibly just to stroke the author's ego, I think that's a really good explanation!

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:

That's Scottish. Just ask me. I'm Scotch-Irish descent, and when I get mad, my words come out with an Irish brogue though I've never even been there.

Not exactly what I meant! smile What I tried to say is, if you look at the title and the cover, you expect a Scottish lord/Highlander, not an English earl that has lived his whole life in London. Technically, yes, he's Scottish, because ancestors. In practice though, the author has taken a cheap shot - and this is only my opinion. To me, it has a feel of: I want a Scot as the hero, because Scots are drool-worthy, but don't know anything about Scots, Scotland, or how to write their 'accent', so I'm just going to make him English and call him Scottish. And then she carries on. I'd be more forgiving if there was actually a good reason why he was in England and not in Scotland, but nadda, nothing, zilch. You can insert *any nationality*, and it would make no difference. So why do it then?

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

And he's a part of the U.S. Civil War. I get where you're coming from. She would have been better off making him a southern aristocrat who managed to hold on to something after the War OR a Rhett Butler type.

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:

And he's a part of the U.S. Civil War. I get where you're coming from. She would have been better off making him a southern aristocrat who managed to hold on to something after the War OR a Rhett Butler type.

Exactly! smile

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

janet reid wrote:
Rebecca Vaughn wrote:

The author is trying to win the "big cock contest" by giving her hero some extremely large maleparts.

It is just an ego trip.

The measuring anatomy is not just female characters or female authors. Male characters and male authors will do the same to female characters in the book. The man guessing the woman's bra size as double D? Or her hip/waist ration?

It is all just to stroke the ego of the writer.

To me, there's a difference though. Guys do that IRL, trying to guess cup size. I think a few of them are pretty good at it too. Whereas women notice a guy's size, but we don't measure to the nearest inch. At worse, they'll go 'he is/was huge' and even that is all relative. But so many fingers and yay thick?

I could have double standards, but if a guy talks double D, it rings true. Not so much when women start measuring to the nearest inch ...

But that it's possibly just to stroke the author's ego, I think that's a really good explanation!

I see what you mean, but I think the male stuff is still too explicit.

Most women do not know their correct bra size, (Myself included until I got professionally fitted!) so why should I believe that a fictional man could guess a bra size correctly? And what is the point of the character or the narration mentioning an actual clothing size when the story is not centered around shopping? It can just as easily say her breast were the size of cantaloupes. Or describe how her cleavage looks. Why say "She must wear a Double D!" ? I think it is all the "big cock contest" only altered to fit female anatomy.

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Re: *Warning* Adult content

My honey says that men don't normally try to guess cup size, but they do make comments about big boobs, butt, etc. They might even nickname a woman something vulgar like--Jugsy Malone. I don't know any of my female friends that are into "measuring." I think Rebecca is right. But it hard strokes the author's ego. More like it makes the author sound stupid.

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