Samhain Publishing, $3.50, ISBN 978-1-60504-251-0
Contemporary Erotica, 2009
Ryan Cooper – the heroine – and Carter Malone are having the most fabulous sex in the world. We are talking about multiple orgasms and prolonged ai-yai-yais and joining of perfect body parts on sheets that never seem to get wet or uncomfortable. So what’s the problem, you ask? Ryan is an epileptic who is determined to prove to everyone that she has what it takes to be a construction site foreman. Finding out too late that Carter is the architect of the project she will see her worrying that he may not want her anymore after he learns of her epilepsy. But things get really heated up when it seems like someone is determined to sabotage things and even cause some “accidents” to get his way.
I like how the author attempts to introduce the issue of folks with epilepsy in the construction industry, but the sabotage subplot ends up obscuring any affirmative action message that Ms McKenna may be aiming for. After all, it’s hard to demonstrate that the heroine is capable of doing her stuff when she’s still in danger one way or the other.
Still, I don’t think you should be reading Bridging the Gap for a deep story because this is a tale where the plot is filler material. Not that this is a bad story – I find this short tale pleasant and entertaining, with two likable pretty people going through the motions without annoying me too much. The highlight of this story is the number of sex scenes present. I find Ms McKenna’s love scenes to be readable and sometimes effective, but here, I think that too much isn’t necessarily a good thing. The sex scenes are too perfect, too amazing, too orgasmic, and too energetic, to the point that I start to feel exhausted on behalf of these two characters. While I admire these characters’ stamina and vocal expressions of pleasure, I get worried that they may overdo things and injure a delicate organ or two.
Bridging the Gap is a fluffy pleasant read, like a pleasant entrée before you dive into some Harlequin Blaze stories.
