Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Simon Says by Lori Foster

Lori Foster is one of my favorite authors so, of course, I trotted off to the store yesterday to get Simon Says, the latest book in her SBC series.



Simon Says is about SBC trainer/ex-fighter Simon Evans whom fans have nicknamed Sublime because... well, he's totally HOT! Simon decides to re-enter the ring as a fighter and is wholly focused on his training, when Dakota bursts into the gym. He knows immediately that he wants her and he warns the others off.

Dakota Dream (yes, that's her name and no, she's not a porn star!) wants something from Simon. Unfortunately, it's not a fling with a sexy-as-hell SBC legend. Dakota is coerced by Simon's biological father, Barnaby, who is also her step-father, into convincing Simon to meet with him in person. She doesn't hide her intent from Simon but neither is she willing to give-up when he says no. Soon, eveyone, from the crusty Haggerty to the slightly egotistical Mallet, is half-in-love with her and treating her like she belongs. Danger, in the form of Dakota's ex-husband, begins stalking her and despite her determination to handle it herself, Simon (and friends) step in to help.

I liked Simon Says but I wasn't WOW'd by it. I guess my main issue was with their relationship. I just didn't feel the attraction between them. It seemed... flat.

Dakota is a kick-ass character - literally. She is a tomboy who, within an hour of being at the gym, tells Simon's sparring partner how to predict and counter his moves. She also takes down a huge fighter who tries to get fresh without breaking a sweat. But she is just as comfortable and sexy wearing dresses and killer heels, and getting up on stage at the local bar to sing and play with the band. She is independent and sassy and has the big, tough SBC fighters eating out of her hand. She does have a jealousy problem when it comes to Simon and women, which is understandable since women flock to him, but I don't really like the way she handles it.

Simon is OK, not as 'sublime' as I expected but there's nothing really wrong with him. He was just rather unimpressive. I actually felt like I wanted Dakota to end up with her friend Barber more than Simon. Barber was an awesome character and I hope that we see him in the future!

The plot moved at a good pace and held my interest There were a few things that were kind of ick - like the scene where Simon finds out that Barnaby is her step-father - but it was basically solid. I'd give Simon Says a C+ rating. It was good, it just wasn't fabulous.

1 comment:

Kat said...

I couldn't help but cheer more for Barber myself. I do hope we'll see his story one of these days. :)