I get it. This was written in a different time, for a different set of people to enjoy.
But, I still don't have to like it.
One of my biggest issues with older romances (and even some newer ones) is the fact that both protagonists seem to hate each other more than anything, and yet that somehow translates as "chemistry". I am okay with a little push-and-pull between the couple, after all I do enjoy some drama in my romantic ventures, but it just didn't feel right this time around. It probably had to do with the serious lack of character development. Just some bare-bones people with no real personality beyond "these two dudes are pricks that force physical intimacy on their love interests" and "these two chicks totally hate the pricks but also totally love them"
The hero is a bit too careless with the heroine, and the heroine apparently flushed her spine down the toilet with her dignity. Seriously, I will never enjoy the teeth-grating trope of a woman crying "NO, not like this" as her "love interest" ignores her protests and "forcefully seduces" her into melting at his touch and enjoying every bit of it. It angers me to no end, because how exactly did it even come into existence? It's not realistic! Correct me if I am wrong, but even in the 80s when has "NO" ever meant "YES"?
Don't even get me started on Pam and Kirk's side-plot romance. Kirk point-blank tells her in their first meeting that she WILL end up sleeping with him by the end of the racing season, that's a guarantee, and her response was NOT to immediately slap him silly and walk out the door. She gets her hackles up, but moons over the pig anyway. And of course, the heart-melting confession that she will ALWAYS be second to his driving-career because reasons. Yeah, lovely.
Sadly, Foxy and Lance don't get married late enough into the book for my liking, so there is a good chunk of the book featuring their marriage with plenty of uninteresting manufactured tension from his family blah blah blah. I would have cared more if I had met any of his family or even heard about them BEFORE the wedding. It's like Lance farted them into existence after saying "I do". Oh well, it's not like I liked Lance's proposal, anyway. Foxy was vulnerable and scared for her brother after a terrifying racing accident, and here pops in Lance, pressuring and hassling her into marrying him. He even admits that he's selfish and doesn't want to give her time to take it all in and think about it properly, right AFTER telling her that her request for a couple days to think about it"sounded reasonable". awwww, true love, I almost liked him there for a second (For the record, I would have said an emphatic "NO" complete with a middle finger erected in his honor).
Although, I will say I love Melissa. She was quirky, clever, and intriguing. I would have loved to see her more, maybe in her own book, but I'm afraid her character would have been neutered, too.