Books like Taken by Desire

The Goodreads Giveaway really thumped my ass this time. My greedy mass entries landed me yet another Avon title (out of 4 wins, 2 have been Avon fluff), and yet....I read this one with much optimism. Surely - yea, surely - my choices have simply been unfortunate happenstance!And for the first 120 pages or so, I thought that I had finally found a good Avon title. The heroine...not a blubbering spinster! The hero....not a pathetic woobie manwhore who sets aside 20 hours of each day to navel gaze! I nearly peed my pants in eager, albeit cautious, delight. Sure, there's nothing about when this takes place apart from a mention of William Wilberforce and the public opinion of the slave trade is turning to one of condemnation. It's absurdly wallpapery, but the leads were relatively engaging and the story seemed to be on pleasant trajectory.And then....The Big Mis. It grew and grew. And grew. With all the time the hero and heroine spent saying that they needed to talk, they could have actually SAID what the hell it was that needed to be said.And I know what you're saying: "Oh that kind of thing happens all the time in romance."No, you don't understand. It was really really dumb here.The hero puts the heroine off by saying he should really run home THAT EXACT MINUTE to put on a clean shirt. (I am NOT kidding.) Wait til lunch....then wait til dinner....wait til the party....And the heroine goes through these ornate little schemes to get the hero to see that she's a STRONG WOMAN and WOMEN ARE STRONG and WOMEN: WE HAZ STRENGTH, and yet she can't blurt out "So, are you the one who knocked up my half-sister?" and "I'm not a crazy insane woman throwing her money away. I'm spending my slave trade fortune inheritance on good causes."Seriously, that's what she keeps bottled up for over 250 pages and what keeps getting fobbed off on the lamest of pretexts while each one frets and ponders and wonders if he is an impregnating bastard and she is a silly little goose with money. It really meets a Trifecta of Retard in piss-poor storytelling and tension.And then when she DOES finally ask, she indeed blurts it out, but only after she's sunk down on his rod after a weird light bondage/role play session. And then in between groin thrusts and pumps and gasps, the whole story comes out.Avon, WTF? Srsly.And Lavinia Kent? Thanks for the autographed copy and you gave me a little glimmer of hope for awhile there, but it simply didn't work.3 stars for that first 120 pages, 0-1 for the rest.