Review on Erin McCarthy's Mouth to Mouth

Erin McCarthy's work is usually typified by her witty, quirky heroines and the absurd situations they find themselves in. She builds strong plots, sometimes out of everyday situations, and sometimes out of specific subcultures (vampiric politics and Nascar racing are two examples). When smut occurs in her novels, it serves a purpose and advances the plot in addition to being both plausible and entertaining.

Mouth to Mouth has none of these characteristics. The heroine is Laurel Wilkins, a moneyed deaf woman who is generally shy and cautious, but wishes to have a wild affair. Her main contribution to the story is either as a victim of white collar crime or a body cavity to be filled during the frequent and gratuitous sexual interludes she shares with the over-protective police officer investigating the crime. Interludes which, despite an occasional gem of imagery, are uninspiring, but somehow lead the pair to fall in love. It is clear throughout it all that McCarthy has little sympathy with either character, as both come off stilted and a tad caricatured throughout. Any natural flow or humor to be found comes from either Laurel's mother or the side pairing, which McCarthy transitions to and from with awkward jolts. The overall effect is the feeling that one is reading a cliched romance novel - something that no reader wants to experience.

However, the book is not without some merits. It is perhaps one of the best portrayals of obstacles to love that McCarthy has ever written - the emotions that lead the characters to resist falling in love are realistic to their situations, with Laurel struggling with her need for independence versus her desire for the over-protective and sometimes over-bearing hero, and the hero, Russ, dealing with a conflict of interest posed by his desires for his family and the blossoming relationship. It is the two being in love that the reader has difficulty swallowing.

The supporting characters are also bright spots in this novel. Sean, Russ's little brother, is a plausible representation of a teenaged boy who has just lost his parents, and although there is perhaps too much disparity between Laurel's perception of her mother and the way she comes across to the reader, Beverly Wilkins is also strong, with a distinct voice. The villain of the novel introduces some elements that are never fully explored, but is consistent and plausible as a character, and ultimately brings about the conclusion of the novel, ending the tortuous and smut-ridden courtship between the main characters, who, of course, live happily ever after.

But these things are not enough to carry the novel, especially if one is accustomed to the higher quality of romantic literature that Erin McCarthy normally produces. Quite frankly, if this was the first novel she had written, she would not be a published author. It lacks all the richness of plot, character development, message, and voice that the title 'literature' demands, failing to deliver more than the barest gleam of entertainment.