Now patriciar

Dear Patricia,you, that is: I, had the brilliant idea to start a How I Met Your Mother month in February. Which led to two different review styles, one of which I, that is: You, am testing right now: The Letter To My Future Self (You).Patricia, you weren't (and maybe aren't) a reader I would wish to have if I were an author. You are picky, you are bitter. You complain about things and then complain about the lack of them. There is simply no way to please you, and the lack of readers and followers proves my point. Only the most resistant ones can bear and humor you and I know that you appreciate them very much. (Yes, you did dance when.. But I don't want to embarrass you in front of all these people.)When you read Pleasure by Jacquelyn Frank you didn't have high expectations. The first book was a big fail and you hadn't read the second yet, so when you picked it up, you were very wary, expecting another Ecstacy. Rest assured that while Pleasure is not on your keeper shelf, it was much better and about as good as the second installment. With some restrictions, because you simply liked Dae the heroine of Rapture much more than the heroes and heroines of Pleasure. And yes, the plural: There were two couples in Pleasure and to your delight, Frank did not use the mating bond-ish stuff here again. (and again and again.. and again.)The first story in the book is about Sagan, a 'Dweller and priest, and Val, a witch. The problem with being a witch is that people in  Frank's world will confuse you with a necromancer, which is not good. Necromancers are the Big Evil and you wouldn't want to be one. Most Dwellers, demons, vampires etc. do not even know that there is a difference. Val's and Sagan's story wasn't very long though. It took a third of the complete novel and was an enjoyable read. Since it is more of a novella than a full novel, you were confused about the rating: While there was some depth, as a reader it was hard to be satisfied with the (all but non-existing) explanations Frank threw at you concerning the protagonist's emotions.The second story, about Malaya and her bodyguard, confident, and best friend Guin, was even more difficult: For him it was love on almost-first-sight but it took her.. 50? more? years to realize what she felt for him. To realize that she might have feelings for him. And then there was the class divice: She's a queen and he a ex-criminal. Ex, because the day he met her his life changed. And oh, the tropes. He wasn't good enough for her, he was tortured, he was her bodyguard.While their story, too, had occasionally made you excited, the author didn't fully use the potential that was there. Had the focus of the story shifted just a little further, being on the characters and not only on their lovelife (meaning sex) you would have enjoyed Pleasure much more. As it is, you felt like Frank was too restricted by the non-written laws of the mystery that is Paranormal Romance.Plus-points for no mating bond. In the traditional sense, that is. The couples in Pleasure obviously were very serious about their relationships, and had, to an extent, the ability to know what the other one felt or thought (Sagan) or simply knew the other one that good (Guin) and yes, there was some fuckload of Insta Love and Insta Lust, but instead of using the popular "Fate said we're meant to be, so come and have sex with me" excuse, they actually made the choice to try it. That is something you very much appreciated back then, when you read it. And back now, while you are writing the review. (Also, this writing style confuses you. Very much!) And I really hope that even though it'll make it harder to find good reads for you, that you still feel the same about Fate. Do. Not. Disappoint. Me.You would like to give this book more starts because the fact alone that there wasn't that much of the fate crap should be rewarded, but then: Should one rate books because they lack Suck? Or because they feature Awesome? (And I am not talking about the guest blogger with the name 'Awesome' here.) But yes, Pleasure was much better than some of Frank's other novels, so when you wrote this review, you just thought: 3 stars.  The thing is, you won't reread this one. I don't think there was any scene that was very reread worthy. (Unlike the one in book One. Gideon, nom nom nom!) Maybe the one with the cat. Do you remember? God that was a little frightening:So Patricia, I hope my review helped you. Frank is still an author you do appreciate. She is someone whose books you pick up when you're in the mood, when you're having a reading-block etc. But she could also do much better.All my best,hope you are having steamy sex with a super cool person right after you finish reading this,Patricia.