Book Review: Paso Doble by Moriah Jovan

Title: Paso Doble
Author: Moriah Jovan
Enjoyment Rating: ****
Source: Digital Copy
Content Alert: Language, a little violence, and lots of super sexy sex

Victoria is a Mormon college professor who returned to Spain, where she served her mission, partly to get away from her wealthy, stifling family, and partly to be able to watch the Spanish matador she fell in lust with during those mission days.

Emilio is an underemployed Chemistry PhD who supports his stepmother, brothers and sisters by working as a matador, but who pines for a jazz singer in a local club who (like Sia) he doesn't see, only hears. He also wants to teach at a university, but can't seem to get a job. Through their mutual acquaintance, Sebastian (the hero of another of Jovan's romances), the two come together, and wow, fireworks happen.

I've read a couple of Moriah Jovan's romances in the past, and I was both surprised and delighted to have the chance to read this one. These are not your typical "clean" romances favored by Mormon housewives. But maybe they're the kind of romances Mormon housewives should be reading. Jovan creates larger-than-life characters who encounter everyday kinds of problems. For example, Victoria and her bishop have several discussions over the course of the novel about how, if she wants to marry in Spain, she will likely marry outside the church. This is increasingly true for Mormon women throughout the world, and Jovan's treatment of the subject is something I haven't seen in Mormon fiction before, let alone in romantic fiction. Furthermore, Jovan doesn't shirk from sexy scenes. Holy cow, I feel like I'm getting an education every time I read one of her books, and I don't think that's a bad thing. These aren't books that every reader will love, but I certainly do.