I had assumed that ‘Collision Point’ was the first of a new series by Lora Leigh and not part of her Elite Oops series, which I didn’t exactly take to. But while I found the start somewhat intriguing, it just wasn’t a story that could hold my interest; neither was the writing style which I found choppy, repetitive and somewhat difficult to follow.
On the one hand, there’s nothing more enticing about a male protagonist who knows what he wants and goes after it. On the other hand, there is the cookie-cutter pattern emerging here, of the growling, neanderthal male who’s built only to have rough sex and protect his mate and the helpless female who seems to run and flail at that possessive edge he shows around her. I’ll admit readily that Leigh’s ‘Wild Card’ put me off such protagonists, though ‘Collision Point’ felt marginally better as it pretty much revolved around a hero bulldozing his way through everything to get his woman back.
Structurally, I did struggle with this even from the beginning, as I tried to piece together Riordan’s and Amara’s history for the first few chapters as their backstory came in dribs and drabs, interrupted by copious descriptions of erections, wetness and coitus interruptus. Admittedly, with a sensual history between them, Riordan and Amara weren’t strangers to begin with, but instead of a constant build-up or reconstruction of their past, more than half the story was concerned with sex or how aroused either protagonist was (then spending it jealous thinking of imaginary lovers the other might have had), which did get annoyingly distracting.
My rating merely reflects my inability to continue the story—‘Collision Point’ is more like romantic suspense erotica, if there’s ever such a sub-genre. Sure, the sex is hot, but, it’s not a style that I’m used to at all (this is clearly, my preference) and frankly, I was thrown off way too much, right to the point past the halfway point where I found myself too frustrated to even get down and dirty with this pairing.
*ARC by the publisher via Netgalley