Diva-Licious appealed to me because I adore a storyline where a glamorous, jaded woman is hiding someone who is really vulnerable and all it takes is the love of a good (and of course, extremely hot!) man to bring it out of her. What also caught my interest was that the aforementioned hunk knew her, and loved her, before she became the glamorous and sexy diva. Throw in that Brindle Chase was the author and I was hooked!
First, I want to start off by saying that I am a fan of Brindle Chase’s writing. I have read another book by her and was enthralled by it from literally the first page. So I really wanted to fall in love with Diva-Licious. Unfortunately, that did not happen for me. Taryn is a world famous singer who sells out stadiums and she knows her own power. I think is where everything took a wrong turn for me. I already knew she would be a little obnoxious, but for me as the reader, she was unlikeable; and it happened quickly. I thought to myself, “Okay, she has to be a tough nut to crack, all the better for when her (hot!) love interest enters the picture”. But to my disappointment, I just could not like her! Enter in Derek, her blast from the past, even though she doesn’t recognize him. Initially, she treats him like a sex object and I could not help but feel that he really should have played harder to get. Then when it did get down to him showing her a lesson (Whoo-hoo! There was some spanking involved!), I did not feel the intimate chemistry. There was plenty of physical chemistry but I wanted to feel some intimacy and connection especially since Derek had loved Taryn way back when she was an awkward girl, but regrettably I was just left cold. Don’t get me wrong (please don’t get me wrong!) the love scenes were steamy and erotic. But, as a reader, I did not feel the romance. Taryn’s likeability factor did go up several notches as the story went on, but I stilled failed to really bond with her as the heroine I want to root for; I just wasn’t feeling it.
Yet, Diva-Licious is an extremely well-written book. Brindle Chase did not disappoint when bringing the sights and sounds of a world famous singer’s world to a vivid reality for the reader. The dialogue between the characters was at turns humorous, stinging, and touching. I recommend that readers try this book out for themselves if for no other reason than it is always a joy to read a book that will give one an escape from the real world for a while. And who knows? Some readers may disagree with me….it has been known to happen…on occasion…
Meav