There was a discussion on a reader loop a couple of weeks ago about whether or not heroes should use endearments for their heroines. Some readers love this. Some readers don’t.
For me, this choice is as individual as the heroes I’m writing about. Nicolas, one of the heroes in Sinful Rewards, doesn’t use endearments, at least not quickly and not in public. He’s a private man. He doesn’t talk much. He’s aware that not everyone wishes him well. He wouldn’t expose his feelings and his heroine’s safety by using an endearment.
Hawke, on the other hand, calls Bee ‘love’ and ‘sweetheart’ during their very first conversation. He continues to sprinkle their subsequent discussions with these endearments, as illustrated in this snippet.
“Expect more offers. I can be a persistent pain in the ass, especially when it comes to pretty little women with long brown hair and big brown eyes.” One corner of Hawke’s lips lifts upward, giving me a glimpse of white teeth. “And love?”
“Yeah?” I pause, wondering why I’m answering to this endearment. I’m not anyone’s love—not his, not Nicolas’s—not yet.
Bee doesn’t find Hawke’s endearments…well…endearing. It drives her crazy that he treats the word ‘love’ so casually, that he’d call a stranger this. His pet names for her cause more conflict than affection. She feels that it’s almost as though he’s mocking her most cherished dream – to be someone’s love.
I personally love it when men, both in romance novels and in real life, use endearments for their loved ones. I get a thrill when my dear wonderful hubby is out with the guys, I phone him, and he calls me ‘love’ in front of his buddies. It not only is a declaration of his feelings but it also tells the world how confident he is. It is very much an alpha male move. My real life hero cares more about what his heroine thinks than what his buddies think.
What is your stance on endearments? Do you love them or would you rather your heroes not use them?
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Belinda “Bee” Carter isn’t quite sure what she’s gotten herself into. She’s been receiving mysterious messages from a secret admirer who is sending her more and more erotic dares. Each time she fulfills his desires, she gets rewarded. She’s convinced that her mystery texter is one of two super-hot men—Nicolas, the handsome billionaire, or Hawke, the sexy biker—but she can’t tell which one it is. And she’s coming to realize that beneath her peaches-and-cream exterior beats a heart that longs to play out all of her most secret fantasies.
As the stakes are raised again, will Bee succumb to the sensual allure of this latest dare?
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sinful-Rewards-Billionaires-Bikers-Novella-ebook/dp/B00I7V89HA
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sinfulrewards2-1581413-149.html
Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sinful-rewards-2-cynthia-sax/1119919836
Google: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9780062354129
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sinful-rewards-2/id814153762
