Thursday, August 29, 2013

Review: An Original Sin by Nina Bangs



An Original Sin (Wink and a Kiss #3) 
by Nina Bangs


Release Date: July 1, 1999
Genre: Adult, Romance, Time Travel
Pages: 394
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased by Reviewer
Goodreads • Amazon



Fortune MacDonald listened to women’s fantasies on a daily basis as she took their orders for customized me. In a time when the male species was extinct, she was a valued manmaker. She had created some of the best prototypes around—from Stud-Muffin-Stuart to the ever popular Hunka-Hunka-Burning-Love-Leroy model.

So when she awoke to find herself sharing a bed with the most lifelike, virile man she had ever laid eyes or hands on, she let her gaze inventory his assets. From his long dark hair, to his knife-edged cheekbones, to his broad shoulders, to his jutting—well, all in the name of research, right?—it didn’t take an expert any time at all to realize that he was the genuine article, a bona fide man. And when Leith Campbell took her in his arms, she knew real passion for the first time…but had she found true love?


WARNING: Spoilers lie ahead for those of ye who wish to look upon this book. Continue with caution!

I laughed. I cried. I peed a little.

As I was wandering through a local bookstore, I caught sight of an interesting read: An Original Sin. I was absolutely thrilled to find this novel, with a bare-chested, kilted man offering me an apple with a mischievous wink on the cover. After all, I really did need to brush up on my knowledge of Genisis.

I mean, we all know that the guy on the cover had to be Adam, right? Because, y’know, Adam totally would've worn a kilt…and he probably would've winked.

Well, my dear friends, I am here to inform you, much to my dismay and yours (I’m sure), that we were wrong! The fact that it was located in the Romance section of the bookstore did not deter me, because I logically assumed that a nice novel about Adam and Eve and their fall from Grace would be one of love. However, in retrospect, I see the flawed logic.  And come to think of it, I strongly suspect that Nina Bangs is hardly her real name. Well played, Bangs, well played. You got me this time!

No wonder the check-out-guy smirked at me….

Nonetheless, I read this three hundred ninety-four paged account of a love that transcends time. Oh, yes! There is time travel involved! Two opposites, a Scottish Warrior from 1700 and a woman from 2300, where there are no men, are brought together in Houston, Texas in the year 2000 by the forces of a demonic cat. What is the result? About 150 pages of will-they-won’t-they tension, followed by two pages of apparently tearinducing (because it was that good?) sex and then followed by another 100 pages of will-they-won’t-they do it again and concluding with a happy ending where Fortune leaves her time and the year 2000 to stay in the 1700 with her sex-warrior-dude. Good for her.

I feel the need to add a disclaimer here. The reason I gave this three-out-of-five stars is because of the sheer entertainment value. The story was hilarious, but I felt like I was reading something out of a fanfiction that a 13 year-old wrote. The characters were terribly inconsistent, but that only added to my glee while reading.

Even with the major holes in logic (which spring just as often from the ever-logical Fortune as they do from the hotheaded Leith) it was an entertaining read. No, really! Someone gets pummeled with a phone. Leith decides to join a biker gang within the first 100 pages. They’re stalked all over Houston by an ice-cream-man sent from heaven. And apparently nobody notices that a cat wanders around a mall, grocery store and movie theater with the two, out-of-joint lovers!

Speaking of Ganymede, the demon-cat, he was a hilarious narrator! I really connected with him. He truly stole the show and brings trolling to a whole new level. It’s quite refreshing to read about such a devious character with poor diction mess with the lives of two people. I only wish he received a spin-off novel, narrating his adventures.... I would totally read them for a good laugh.


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