I was having a discussion at lunch today with my cover artist, Anya about a book I was reading where I thought the characters had sex way too soon. She kind of disagreed, I think, because she loves the series I was talking about and has no problem with it.

So here’s the thing. I NEED the romantic build-up. I need the characters to get to know each other. I need the sexual tension. Honestly, I would rather have the romance and sexual tension and NO sex at all than to have the sex WITHOUT the build-up. The book I’m reading has a situation where the hero sort of assaults the heroine, but he thinks she’s someone sent to kill him or something. Later, he apologizes, they agree to have lunch, then they have sex. The sex scenes didn’t do a thing for me, even though they were well-written, because the build-up wasn’t there. Now, in defense of the book…it’s a good, well-written book, and I’m planning on finishing it and will probably read others by the author. The basic story line is good, it’s not JUST a romance. And many people would be fine with the early sex. It’s just not what I like in a romance. So please don’t think I’m trashing the book at all.

What about you? Do you like a build-up of romance, or do you want them to just get down to it? I’m very interested in the different opinions on this. I wonder if I’m in the minority or the majority. It would be fun to know.

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