Monday, September 30, 2013

Menage Monday - Texas Tangle by Leah Braemel

Texas Tangle (Tangled)
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, menage
Published: 6/28/10

Reviewed by Kate
216 pages

Here's the run down.  Nikki is alone.  All alone.  Her brother actually just skipped town after bringing a huge truck and emptying her house out.  So not only does she not have anyone left, she doesn't even have a mattress to sleep on.  Dillon has know Nikki since high school and liked her for just as long.  In fact he even got in a fight with his foster brother Brett over Nikki.  When there's the slightest chance that her brother's friends might come back and try to get more money from Nikki, Dillon jumps on the excuse to get Nikki to stay at his house with him.  Oh, and he just happens to have a mattress there too.

Brett is attracted to Nikki.  But he's terrified that if he pursues her, he'll lose his best friend, Dillon, and the only family that has ever cared about him (Dillon's family).  So he backs off.  But despite doing his best to ignore his attraction, Nikki notices.  And she's torn.  She's attracted to both men, but doesn't want to ruin their friendship.  Could there possibly be a way for everyone to get what they want?
 
The relationship between Dillon and Nikki and Brett was deep and complex.  You keep rooting for it to work for them.  They actually talk about the important things, rather than just assuming everything will magically work out.  The sex scenes were scorching hot and I wasn't ready for the book to end when it did.  I wanted to know more about this trio and their future.
 
My only complaint was that Dillon and Nikki have a relationship before the triad comes together.  Now this is just a personal preference of mine, but I appreciate my menages starting and ending together.  However, the author wrote the addition of Brett very well.
 
Leah Braemel has written a menage with strong characters that I will definitely be rereading.  I also look forward to reading some of her other works.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Flasher! by Elene Sallinger

Flasher
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink up to High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Erotica, Flash Fiction, BDSM, ménage
Reviewed by Kate

37 pages

This is a collection of flash fiction erotica, or extremely short stories. Most of the time we don't know much about the characters back stories or how they met. There are no beginnings or endings, we are simply there with them at that moment in time. The six stories in this collection range from a hot and sweet after-boot camp reunion to crops and bondage. From strangers to masters and most things in between.

Elene Sallinger's writing seared the pages and left my Kindle smoking. It felt like the stories were excerpts from books rather than just a collection of random scenes. My only complaint is that I now have six stories worth of characters that I want to know more about.

This was my first time reading any flash fiction.  It worked well for me as a quick break between book, although for some of the stories I really wanted to know more about the characters' befores and afters.  Have any of you tried flash fiction? If so, what did you think?


Saturday, September 28, 2013

Glory, Glory and Snowbound With the Bodyguard Reviews

Today's review is for a double edition Kate got to review from NetGalley.  This review contains two books:  Glory, Glory by Linda Lael Miller and Snowbound With the Bodyguard by Carla Cassidy.  The two books contain 416 pages together. Please make sure you read down to the second review, because it is so much better than the first book!
 
Glory, Glory: Snowbound with the Bodyguard
Glory, Glory by Linda Lael Miller
Grade: D
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 10/1/13 (Glory, Glory originally copyrighted in 1990)
Reviewed by Kate
 
Glory is returning to her hometown for her mother's wedding.  10 years ago, she was blackmailed into leaving town without telling her boyfriend Jesse that she was pregnant and giving the little baby girl up for adoption (please tell me you see where this is going).  That's right.  The first time Glory sees Jesse's orphaned niece (who was adopted by Jesse's older brother) she just knows that it's her little girl-the little girl Liza looks just like a picture of Glory's great-grandma. 
 
There is so much that I wanted to like about this book.  I love secret baby books and I had such high hopes.  Sadly, this one came off more as a soap opera than a romance.  Why, you ask? 
 
Signs this book may really be a soap opera:
  1. No one questions Glory's claim that Liza is her daughter, everyone believes her.  There are no blood tests and no one searches the adoption records.  Glory confronts Jesse (who, remember, didn't even know about the pregnancy), blaming him from keeping Liza from her all these years.  And while confused, even he believes her,
  2. Jesse is a border-line cheater.  He tells his girlfriend that they need to slow things down a bit (and rumor has it he had already bought a ring for her) then proceeded to come on to Glory later than night.  When Glory doesn't give in right away (can you believe she actually had some backbone?) he makes a date for a few days later.  He's also the king of "I know you said 'stop' but we both know what you really want."  Oh, and he doesn't officially break up with his girlfriend until after he's slept with Glory,
  3. Glory decides that leaving again may be what's actually best for little Liza, but manages to get a few shags in with Jesse on the way out of town.  No one finds time for nookie quite like a soap opera.  And finally,
  4. Jesse and Glory are finally brought together because Liza asked her dead parents (Jesse's brother and sister-in-law) to make it happen.
 
I struggled to rate this book.  It was pretty terrible as far as romances go, but I actually found so much of it to be really funny (although I don't think it was written with that intent).  Unfortunately, I think fans of secret babies and fans for Miller's more recent books will be disappointed in this book.
 
***
Snowbound With the Bodyguard by Carla Cassidy
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 10/1/13 (Snowbound with the Bodygurard originally published in 2008)
Reviewed by Kate
 
Janette was raped by the town sheriff and had little Sammy as a result.  The sheriff hasn't paid any attention to her since the attack, until he hears she had a little boy.  Now he wants his son.  Janette takes Sammy and runs, but gets stuck in a small town in the middle of a huge snowstorm.  With no place left to turn, she heads to the only place with a light on-West Protection Agency.  Dalton West has been protecting his heart by closing himself off to everything but work.  Janette threatens to crack the shell he's built around his heart, but he has no choice but to offer her a place to ride out the storm-both outside and in her personal life.
 
Strong, gruff, and at times abrupt, Dalton was the perfect counterpart to sweet determined Janette.  Add a scumbag of a villain and just enough suspense to keep me up late at night turning pages and you have yourself a solid, well written romance.  Although this is the first book I've read by Carla Cassidy, it definitely will not be my last!

 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Week: Everything You Need to Know by HelenKay Dimon

This is day 4, the final day of our Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Week.  (Note: we here at Dirty Girls' Good Books generally make an effort to only review books that you can buy RIGHT NOW.  We're making an exception this week, putting up some early reviews of Red-Hot Reads.)
Everything You Need to Know
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella
Published: 10/15/13

Reviewed by Kate
105 pages

Jordan owns a website that shares the nitty-gritty about all the bachelors and playboys of our nation's capital with all the single women looking for love. Forest is the owner of a large company, and more importantly, a mystery. Nobody knows anything about him or his love life (past or present). So for Jordan, it started out with a good healthy dose of attraction with the excuse of getting the down low for her website. For Forest, it started out as a challenge and quickly became something a lot more. But while Forest is beginning to think things might be getting serious, Jordan's running in the opposite direction. She's terrified that her instant attraction and need for Forest means she's turning into her man-eater mother.

Flirty, sexy fun from beginning to end.  The perfect balance between all things good in romance.  Strong, determined alpha. Independent, intelligent woman.  Their budding relationship was sweet and tender.  Their chemistry was hot, hot, hot!  A must-read for fans of HelenKay Dimon or anyone who hasn't tried her yet!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Week: Naked Sushi by Jina Bacarr

This is day 3 of our Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Week.  (Note: we here at Dirty Girls' Good Books generally make an effort to only review books that you can buy RIGHT NOW.  We're making an exception this week, putting up some early reviews of Red-Hot Reads.)
Naked Sushi
Grade: D-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella

Published: 10/15/13
Reviewed by Kate
 
Pepper gets caught after a little copy room nookie and is fired.  The stranger in the copy room manages to get away.  Turns out Steve, the stranger and nookie partner extraordinaire, is an FBI agent trying to dig up info on Pepper's ex-boss.  Pepper's always wanted to be a spy, so she decides to help Steve out.
 
This book boggled me on so many levels.  Pepper walks in and catches Steve trying to make copies of some of her boss's documents and he decides the only way to avoid having his cover blown is copy machine sex?  I can think of a few other options myself, but I guess since he had a bad case of the I've gotta have her nows I'll give him a little leeway.  I can forgive his little bit of unprofessionalism.  But it just keeps happening throughout the book.  They just can't keep their hands off each other, no matter what's going on at the time.  Temporarily stuck in a storage room while you wait for the bad guys to leave?  Cue the tacky porn music...
 
Pepper is supposedly this nerdy girl who wears glasses and flannel shirts all the time and knows nothing about sexuality but one look at Steve and she's suddenly this smoking hot siren.  She was ditzy, flaky, and quickly became annoying.  And let's not forget that Pepper's always wanted to be a spy, so she becomes Steve's little shadow.  But honestly she's following him around more for his magic fingers than his spy know-how.
 
This story's one saving grace was that it was short.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Week: Fearless by Tawny Weber

This is the second in our week of reviews of Cosmo Red-Hot Reads.
Fearless
 
Grade: D
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella
Series: not part of a series, but it is one of Harlequin's new line: "Cosmo Red Hot Read"
Published: 9/15/13
Reviewed by Anne
119 pages
 
Gia has a huge crush on Luke.  The only problem?  Well, there's two problems.  First, they work together and their company has a no dating between employees policy. Second, Luke doesn't seem to know she exists.  He's pretty wild, and she's pretty boring.  But Gia's friends have a solution.  See, Gia and her friends (or should I call them "friendz") have created "the Girlz Guide to a Rockin' Life" and when one of them has a problem... it's "gettin' it" time!  No, really, brainstorm solutions to the problem, and they call that "gettin' it".  So, yeah, they drink some drinks and brainstorm and decide that Gia could follow Luke to a work convention he's going to.  She could go undercover and seduce him.  Enjoy a hot weekend of sex, and then go back to being just Gia at work.  They've heard he has a job offer from another company, so they're sure he'll be moving on, never knowing that one of his co-workers was his weekend fling.  Really, what could go wrong?
 

This story was really hit and miss for me. The "Girlz" club and the fact that when they help each other out they call making a plan "gettin' it"... It just made me feel old. (And I'm not that old.  I'm not!) I think it just seemed a little ridiculous, and that pulled me out of the story.

I did enjoy the parts where Gia/Vanna and Luke got together in Vegas. I just wanted to see more of them. We were *told* they talked a lot about personal stuff, but it was all off page. The sex was hot, but transitions (not the sexual kind) from scene to scene were awkward. I would have to reread to understand... Ok, there was just one scene on page, and now we've skipped to the afterglow of time #4 of having sex.

And it's kind of a spoiler, but I'll just throw it out there 'cause I saw it coming from that initial gettin' it session... after the weekend is over, *gasp* Luke does NOT take the new job offer, and now Gia has to work with him.  Will he recognize her?  What if he does?  What if he doesn't?

I was disappointed by Gia's behavior back at work. I know the no fraternization policy was presented as the reason they couldn't get together, but it didn't seem to stop anyone else. Her behavior just didn't make much sense.

So, I guess it was more miss than hit.

Finally, this was my first Cosmo Red Hot Read and I had high expectations of it. I enjoy novellas and I enjoy hotter more explicit reads, so this seemed like a good match. I want to mention that while this one didn't work for me, I adored Cake by Lauren Dane (we posted the review yesterday). So I will not be judging all Cosmo Red Hot Reads by this one.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Cosmo Red-Hot Read Week: Cake by Lauren Dane

Note: This week we'll be publishing reviews of Harlequin's newest line of books: Cosmo Red-Hot Reads.  Today we have the first of four reviews.
Cake
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella
Published: 9/15/13

Reviewed by Anne
87 pages
Gregori is a famous sculptor.  He's got a mohawk, tattoos, a Russian accent (and heritage,) and a gruff and grumpy attitude.  Wren is an art student and delivery girl who brings papers from his personal assistant for him to sign.  She's thinks he's incredibly hot (and totally out of her league) but she's not intimidated by him.  Over time her deliveries have morphed into breaks in his day where he sits down and talks with her, sharing a macaron, or even cake.  
This novella is the story of what happens when they take their friendship one step further, and I loved every second of it!  From their flirty conversations to the way they handle each other when they're upset... I loved watching this relationship!  Wren and Gregori felt real to me.  His reasons for shying away from her seemed plausible.  I loved how she responded to that, too!  The whole thing really worked for me.
I think this book is an example of how the novella format can really shine.  I hope the Cosmo Red-Hot Reads line is full of stories like this one!   Have you read a Cosmo Red-Hot Read yet?  If so, what did you think?  If not, who do you think does the novella format really well?




Monday, September 23, 2013

Menage Monday -- Bonds of Desire by Lynda Aicher

Bonds of Desire (Wicked Play, #3)
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM

Series: Wicked Play #3
Published: 7/15/13
Reviewed by Kate
229 pages 

I have been reading menage and BDSM for a while now. When I run across a book that incorporates both I get a little excited. When I run across one that puts both the BDSM and the menage together like this one does, I walk around with a smile on my face for a week afterwards. Let's see, what can I tell you about this book without sounding too gushy?

First off, the initial chapter is dark and tense and will suck you in and not let you go (it's why I gave this book a high kink level). Tyler, a male escort, has been brought to the Den by a sadistic Dom. And when the scene goes wrong, Seth is the first one to rush to his side. Seth, a co-owner of the Den, has seen Tyler at the Den a few times before and always felt drawn to him. The Den calls Allie, a lawyer, in to council Tyler. Allie feels an immediate pull toward both Tyler and Seth. Allie and Seth take Tyler to the hospital and convince him to recover at Seth's place. Tyler agrees, but he'll only stay if Allie stays as well.

And so we have a set up that places Seth, Allie, and Tyler together in Seth's place. And then the story gets really good. Each of the trio is drawn to the other two. Seth is a Dom, through and through and has never entertained the thought of having 2 subs, until now. Tyler couldn't imagine wanting to be under another Dom after everything he's been through, but there's something so settling about being around Seth and Allie. Allie has been raised to think that anything outside of a vanilla mindset is wrong. So how can she be attracted to not only 2 men, but 2 men who are attracted to each other as well?

I have to say, Allie is the best heroine that I've run across in a long time. The inner turmoil she goes through is soooo realistic. Most of my notes were about agreeing with the feelings she was having. I could completely understand the doubts she had and I appreciated a heroine who was a bit reluctant without being tiresome, or annoying, or whiny.

I also love the relationship that develops during the course of the story. Despite being a co-owner of a BDSM club, Seth is not into pain at all. He doesn't even go for the titles of Master or Sir. Allie is definitely a sub. Tyler falls somewhere in the middle. He's a sub with Seth, but takes on more of a Dom role with Allie.

Perhaps I have been reading too much of the hardcore BDSM books out there right now. But I really enjoyed this more gentle look at a relationship that became more about the connections than the pain. The first two books in this series are more hardcore than this one. But this one could be read completely on it's own with no issues.

I've added an auto-read author to my relatively short list. Lynda Aicher continues to impress me with her characters and storytelling. I'm looking forward to catching up on her backlist and anxiously awaiting book 4 in this series.  I think it's become obvious that I enjoy both ménage and BDSM books.  And when they can be combined?  I'm in heaven  How about you?  Are there any sub-genres that you love to see together?  Cowboy sci-fi?  M/M historical?

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Things Good Girls Don't Do by Codi Gary

Things Good Girls Don't Do

Grade: C
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 8/27/13
Reviewed by Anne
194 pages

Katie Conners has always been a good girl, following the prim and proper nice girl rules her mother taught her.  She's itching to make some changes though, and finds herself scrawling a list of bad girl things she wants to do on a bar napkin one night.  That napkin gets picked up by the new guy in town, Chase Tresspaso.  He's a tattoo artist who rides a motorcycle, so just having his interest makes her feel like a bad girl.  When Chase offers to help her out with her list...  will she dare?  Thankfully, she does!  And this book is the story of what happens when the town good girl starts to go a little wild and stop letting everyone else take advantage of her.

There were parts of this story that were pretty funny, cute, and sweet, but I kept getting pulled out by little things that bothered me.  One of the things that bothered me had to do with my expectations.  The cover, with no clothes visible, says "erotic romance" to me, but this wasn't a sex driven story.  I was also surprised that Katie gave up on a career because she was uncomfortable being around swearing.  I get that some people don't like swearing, but Katie started college wanting to be a police officer.  When her mentor during a semester long internship told her she'd need to be able to read aloud a witness statement that included swear words, she couldn't do it.  Eventually she decided to change her career goals from police officer to hair stylist.  (No, really!)  That seemed like a really drastic change of plans that she based on her desire not to be around curse words.  

There were two small parts of the story that actually upset me.  The first is a cat thing.  Maybe it's really normal for cat owners?  I don't know, as I don't own a cat.  Katie's cat pees on the clothing of people the cat doesn't like.  And the cat only likes Katie.  Katie seems to think this is pretty cute or funny.  I thought it was really, really gross.  And then there was the off hand mention of suicidal aspirations used to convey how exasperated Katie was.  On page 12 she suggests she might drown herself in her bathtub because she's had a rough day. On page 39 she's embarrassed that Chase had pizza delivered to her house, because everyone will know he's there, and she thinks about filling the sink and drowning herself in it.  I'm know I'm very sensitive to suicidal talk because of my family history, but it bothered me very much in this story.

There were some really good things about this book.  The one that kept me hanging on was Katie's transformation from good girl to bad girl.  It was actually more a transformation from doormat to assertive.  There was even a discussion about the difference between these two states of being (though not using the words doormat or assertive.)  Even better, thorough out the story, Chase encourages her transformation, not for his own purposes, but for herself.  That was pretty awesome.

The list idea was cute and well done in this story.  I also enjoyed the friendships among the younger generation of women.  The conflict between Chase and Katie was really well done and realistic.  It was understandable that Chase did what he did, but Katie also deserved a big grovel to make up for his actions.  (She got it!)

So, all in all this one was just ok with me.  So now tell me - am I way off to let the peeing cat bother me?


Saturday, September 21, 2013

Game Misconduct by Bianca Sommerland

Game Misconduct (The Dartmouth Cobras, #1)
Grade: DNF
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, ménage

Series: The Dartmouth Cobras #1
Reviewed by Kate
351 pages 
 
Oriana is the spoiled little rich girl daughter of a hockey team owner.  Now, she's not the only child of said hockey team owner.  She has a sister, Silver, a manipulative bitch who is extremely sexually adventurous.  She also had a brother who died, but apparently his dream was to play pro hockey. His death prompted his father to buy the hockey team.  Now her father is all about appearances.  It's important that his life appears hunky-dory at all times.  His daughter Silver has caused some problems in the past, problems that he's dealt with by caving in.  And in turn Silver has learned that manipulation is the best way to deal with dear old dad.  Oriana, however has done her best to be the perfect daughter.  She's even dating the team coach, Paul, a real douche of a guy.  But when she catches Paul cheating, she decides to walk away.  Daddy-o however has other plans.  He's been helping Paul hide his affair (father-of-the-year award, ladies and gentlemen) and wants Oriana to pretend it never happened as well.  Otherwise he's going to cut her off, and that means she won't be able to finish med-school.

So this is where it starts going all kitty-wompas (is that really a phrase?).  The perfectly logical to solution to Oriana's dilemma is obviously blackmail (I mean it worked for her sister).  The assistant coach Tim helps her come up with the idea (because apparently someone going to med school isn't smart enough to figure this one out on her own).  Oriana is going to go into the bathroom at the arena with 5 of the players and then Oriana is going to leave the bathroom wearing only a jersey.  So the security cameras will show that she got down and dirty with 5 of the team players, when actually, she didn't.  Pretty straight forward, right?
 
Except apparently she has some feelings for one of the players Max, and he likes to watch other people having sex.  And Max has a thing for Oriana, and watching Oriana with all his buddies.  And somehow the security footage just doesn't come out conveying the message that they want it to convey.  So they'll have to do it again.  But this time, it will be at the boys home (all 5 players share a house) and this time they'll actually do it.
So this is what bothers me about this book.
  1. The warning in the Kindle store for this book reads "This ebook contains material not suitable for readers under 18.  In also contains scenes that some may find objectionable, including BDSM, ménage sex, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, double penetration, voyeurism, edge play, and hockey equipment being used inappropriately."  I read the warning before downloading the book, so I felt I was fully prepared.  However I was a little shocked to discover that the ménage sex they were talking about was actually with all 5 players (even though there are only 2 guys shown on the cover).
  2. I found it extremely hard to figure out who was who.  Each player was know by both their first and last name, although never at the same time.  So I was constantly wondering if Dominik was the same person as Vanek or was he maybe Mason?  And maybe the sex scenes would have worked more had I knew who was where and doing what.  Maybe it would have felt like there was more of a connection between the characters.
  3. I really feel like Oriana felt like this was a perfectly viable option.  Crap, Dad's gonna cut me off and I really want to finish med school, so I guess a gang bang is the perfect solution.  Seriously!?  Ever heard of student loans?  Or maybe scholarships?  I'm kind of thinking I wouldn't want her as my doctor because she doesn't actually really seem that smart.
  4. I read to the 37% marking (and there are a few previews at the end, so I was actually more than 37% into the story).  And I think there's a huge case of too many Doms in the kitchen, or I guess that should be the dungeon.  All 5 players were Doms?  Well, except maybe TJ, he just seemed to be along for the ride.
The thing is, I'm okay with BDSM, and I'm okay with ménage (I'm actually okay with everything else listed in the warning).  I've even read a fair share of large group ménage (I think 9 people involved is the most I've read though).  But this one just felt off for me. It left me feeling dirty, but not in a good way.  Part of me feels like I need to finish the book.  Maybe it will get better.  It has quite a few good reviews.  But most of me is just glad that I didn't waste any money on this one (it was a freebie).
 
 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Turn and Burn by Lorelei James

Turn and Burn (Blacktop Cowboys, #5)
Grade: D+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary

Series: Blacktop Cowboys #5
Published: 8/6/13
Reviewed by Kate
368 pages 

Tanna was hurt in a barrel racing accident and hasn't been able to get on a horse again. Unfortunately, that kind of leaves her floundering as barrel racing was her life. She agrees to help some friends out with their resort over the summer. Fletch is an overworked veterinarian. But when he hooks up with Tanna, who he calls 'Sugar Twang' (she shall forever be 'Sugar Twang' in my head), he feels the longing for something more. But he's definitely tied to the area while Sugar Twang is only there temporarily. How can the two of them possibly work?

Okay, that's all that general stuff you can get by reading the book description (well, except for the Sugar Twang bit, I threw that in for a bonus). Now, onto what you really want to know.

I think that we all know that Lorelei James succeeds at writing series that keep us coming back for more and more and more. Turn and Burn is filled with all the things that should keep you coming back for more. It is a solid entry into the series, but it didn't blow my socks off. There was nothing extremely memorable about either Fletch or Sugar Twang. And unfortunately, a day later, I'm already forgetting them a bit. Fans of Lorelei James, and especially her Blacktop Cowboys series, will enjoy this one, but I don't think this is the best example of her writing.

The other thing I think I need to address in this one is Fletch's nickname for Tanna. Sugar Twang. Now I'm generally fine with nicknames. But for some reason this one grated wrong. And it was on every page. I didn't enjoy the book as much because every time I read it, it pulled me out of the story a bit. Sugar Twang? *shuddering*

So, obviously Sugar Twang is not my favorite nickname.  How about you?  Are you pro-nickname or anti-nickname?  What are the ones you've loved or hated?


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Sins Of The Highlander by Dawn Halliday

Sins of the Highlander (A Highland Erotic Romance)

Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Genre-Erotic Historical
Reviewed by Kay
158 pages

Aileen and Niall had known each other for years. They were close in age and he was her husband's trainee in a way. They formed a friendship despite her husband's physical and mental abuse. Niall realized his attraction to Aileen and left he castle but they never forgot each other.

After her husband's death, Niall is sent to bring Aileen to her brother, so he can pick her next husband. The two catch up on old times, are still hot for each other but know it can't go anywhere. One thin leads to another and they have a fling. They both know there's no future in it but can't help themselves.

Dawn Halliday writes good erotic historical romance. The love scenes were hot and plentiful. The characters were very enjoyable but I like my historical not quite so erotic. If that doesn't bother you, check out this novella about two souls bound to each other in the hills of the Scottish highlands.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

When Strangers Marry by Lisa Kleypas

When Strangers Marry (Vallerands, #1)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Genre-Historical
Reviewed by Kay
390 pages


Lysette needs to break a betrothal to a horrible man and escape her even worse step-father. After a severe beating from her step-father she runs away into Bayou country. She is found trying to steal a small boat and is brought back to the house of Max Vallerand. She is almost transfixed by him but thinks he would never find a red haired, freckle faced girl of eighteen attractive.
Max is blown away by the flame haired beauty his sons have accused of steal. After he finds out who she is betrothed to, he plans to ruin her where she'll have to marry him instead. Then he would get his revenge against the man he believes seduced and murdered his former wife.
I really enjoyed this book in the beginning but it started to lag in the middle. It did pick up in the end, so it's probably a three and half star book for me. I am a big Lisa Kleypas fan but I wanted more from this book than I got. I'm in a historical funk and not at all happy about it. I did find out that this book was originally another book and Kleypas rewrote it. What I mean is that it was her book but she rewrote the story because the first book didn't do well. I don't know if I'd recommend this book but I'm not sorry that I read it either.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Louder Than Love by Jessica Topper

Louder Than Love
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, rock star

Published: 9/17/13
Reviewed by Kate
 
Katrina "Tree" is a librarian who has been floating in a haze since her husband died.  She and her 4 year old daughter have moved back to her home town and have surrounded themselves with friends.  When looking for a musician for the library's childrens' program, she runs across Adrian Graves.  Adrian used to be famous and is now living a shadow of a life.  Tree and Adrian set out on a journey of self discovery and healing, falling in love along the way.
 
Tree and Adrian have so much hurt in their past that at times their struggles to return to life are hard to witness.  But their support for each other is sweet and charming.  I quickly fell for each of them.
 
I can admit to not being a huge fan of the rockers that are flooding the pool of romance heroes lately, but the way that the author wrote Adrian really worked for me.  I was pulled into the mystery that is Adrian so completely that I was almost halfway through the story before I realized that it was being told completely from Tree's point of view.
 
My only complaint is that there is a small secondary story running through the middle of the book involving an ex-boyfriend of Tree's.  It added a small element of suspense, but ended without a true sense of closure.  It just seemed really out of place in the story.
 
In this debut novel, Jessica Hopper has shown her strength in creating strong characters in an emotional story.  I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
 
I'm curious though.  Have you fallen on the rocker hero bandwagon?  Which is your favorite rocker hero?

Monday, September 16, 2013

Menage Monday - Bodyguards of Pleasure by Melody Snow Monroe

Bodyguards of Pleasure (Pleasure, Montana #8)
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, menage
Series: Pleasure, Montana #8

Published:7/1/13
Reviewed by Kate
183 pages

When computer store owner Brooke witnesses a murder, she barely escapes with her life.  And the killer is still after her.  The sheriff pairs her up with Gavin and Riley.  Gavin and Riley are part of a detective agency and will act as Brooke's bodyguards.  Gavin, Riley, and Brooke go to Brooke's house and discover that someone has already broken in.  The only option is to take Brooke home with them.  Brooke has spent her life concentrating on her academics and her business but after her close brush with death, she decides it's time to start living life.  And the fact that she's alone with her two bodyguards and there's bondage equipment and toys in the basement...
 
So here's the thing.  I really, really liked this book.  Probably more than I should.  Like I know that a soap opera is probably not the greatest acting on earth, but I still just love it.  The slightly overweight heroine.  The masculine and assertive heroes.  The killer on the loose.  And all that follows.  I loved it all.
 
Gavin and Riley were hot by themselves, and hotter together.  And Brooke.  For once a heroine that is smart and actually acts like she's smart.  She reacts to things logically instead of emotionally-which appears to be a big help when you're on the run from a killer.  And I loved that she stayed true to her character.  It wasn't "I'm really smart and logical" one minute "and now I'm screaming like a girl" the next. 
 
This is the first book that I read in the Pleasure, Montana book (and I had no problem following along), and now I want to go back and read the rest of them.  I think I'm a closet addict of Siren Publishing.  Especially their Menage Everlasting line.  I smile my way through each of them that I read.
 
How about you?  Do you have a book or series that you just love, but know that you probably shouldn't?  Time to come clean and confess.


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Surrender Your Love by J.C. Reed

Surrender Your Love (Surrender Your Love, #1)
Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Surrender Your Love #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
324 pages


Another story where the male lead is a wealthy business man. Jett has made a name for himself with his family's money in the real estate world. He comes to a meeting with a realty company and meets Brooke, who is actually quite rude to him. She spurns his advances and heads home, pissed she was essentially stood up for a business meeting.
Fast forward a bit and there's a drunken one night stand that she doesn't really remember. She just wakes up in bed with Jett and a hangover. There is also another night, off page mind you, where she's drunk and they have sex. She then finds out that he is her new boss and leaves on a trip to Italy with him.  There is a deep dark secret for both of them in their pasts. Are you as confused and bored as I am yet?
I really didn't like the main characters at all. Jett was a little whipped in the beginning for me and Brooke, who claimed she never gets drunk, was kind of a whore. If you can have nights of sex you forget because of being drunk, then I see a pattern in your behavior. The sex was hot but the story just was boring . I don't need to read on in this series.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Against the Ropes by Sarah Castille

Against the Ropes
Grade-DNF
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-High Kink
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
368 pages

Ok, so the blurb on this book sounds so very good.

Scarred MMA fighter, who's also a billionaire meets an almost EMT. He then hires the curvy almost EMT to do first aid at his underground MMA club. She needs the money and thinks he's hot, so she accepts the position, even though she abhors violence. They start to date and are totally into each other, then the book starts to hint at his BDSM tendencies.

I got a text from a friend of mine who was reading the book at the same time I was and she mentioned nipple clamps. My friend, who knows me well was warning me because I now have a "hard limit" with nipple clamps. I decided that I have enough to read without reading about that or any other books delving into BDSM.

This book started out so good. I was super excited but seriously, I have had it up to my eyeballs with this genre and it's flooding of the romance market. If you're into reading about that, then try this book. You may love it. Nice heroine and hot fighter. Even decent secondary characters. Quirky humor also.

Friday, September 13, 2013

New Sensation by Clare Cole

New Sensation (Curves for the Rockstar, #1)
Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Curves For The Rockstar #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
40 pages


This was a very short novella about a curvy photographer and a mega rockstar. Very cute premise because I always like the big girls getting the hotties but this didn't grab me. At 52% in there was just one sex scene and it was the girl self pleasuring. It was a hot scene but I wanted the first love scene to be between both of them. Both lead characters were likable but just not engrossing.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

The Derby Girl by Tamara Morgan

The Derby Girl (Getting Physical, #2)
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Getting Physical #2
Published: 8/26/13
Reviewed by Anne
246 pages
 
Dr. Jared Fine is the most desirable bachelor in Pleasant Park.  He's world renown doctor who has spent years doing charity work all over the world.  Now he's a partner in a plastic surgery clinic working 9-5 hours and he's not quite sure what to do with himself.  He's also pretty arrogant and self-centered.
 
Gretchen is a chronic community college attendee who lives with her grandmother and plays roller derby.  She's confident and down to earth.  She may think Jared is the hottest guy she's ever seen, but that doesn't mean she'll put up with any of his crap.
 
Spending time with someone who thinks he's cute, but calls him on his self-absorbed behavior is something new for Jared, and he realizes it's something he likes.  Now he just has to figure out how to be a real person with Gretchen, not the image he projects for everyone else.
 
Tamara Morgan and I must share a sense of humor, because I think her writing is hysterical!  The banter between Jared and Gretchen is awesome.  It's just as good between Jared and his friends and Gretchen and hers.  Here's an example.   Initially, Jared and Gretchen meet when Jared's car breaks down one night and Gretchen stops to help. He asks her out, not recognizing her as the barista who hands him his coffee every morning.  The next day his coworkers help him figure out who his mystery date is, and they mistakenly assume she's a college age college student.
 
     "Omigod.  You're robbing the cradle.  You totally want to take advantage of the hot young thing slinging coffee for her rent money."
     His stomach grew tighter.  This was bad.  He was practically a walking cliche here.  A walking, disgusting, predictable cliche.
     Just like another conceited surgeon of the same name.
     "The kids are into parkour now, Jared.  You might want to write that down.  Oh, and planking.  Just promise me you aren't going to pierce your ear."
     Kendra's eyes lit up.  "I can pierce your ear.  Right now, if you want.  We can get you a giant diamond stud."
     "It's not like that, " he said, but it was a fruitless attempt.  The second Whitney and Kendra picked up on a thread of conversation they found hilarious , they wouldn't stop until they'd woven a whole damn tapestry.
     So much for the breaking of workplace barriers through exposing his weaknesses.  He needed to get out of here.  He needed air. 
     "I have... paperwork," he said.
     "Yeah, you do," Whitney teased.  "You should go write her a note."
     "I'll totally pass it to her in gym class," Kendra added.
p. 30
  
This book is the second in this series.  I think it would stand alone just fine, but the first one (The Rebound Girl) was really good, so I'd recommend reading it.  Jared was actually kind of the bad guy in the first book and it's interesting to see things from his point of view.
 
Part of Jared's bad boy behavior is that he cheated on Whitney back when they were dating fresh out of college.  It was devastating for her and something she's only recently forgiven him for.  I liked that Jared's behavior is explained in this book, but never excused.  In fact, Whitney may have forgiven him, but he hasn't forgiven himself.  He covers this well by being a good looking, conceited ass.  It works for him.  Everyone loves him.  Women fall into his arms.  He rarely has to make an effort with people.  His hard work as a doctor and devastating good looks have always made up for any shortcomings or selfishness.  None of this works for Gretchen, though.  Here's another scene when Jared is asking her out again.
 
     "So, let me get this straight.  Your grand, apologetic gesture here is to invite me to a free lecture hosted by the place I got to school so you can have a one-sided conversation with me and a hundred other people?  Do I have it right?"
     "Well, when you say it that way, it seems much worse."
     She released a strangled laugh.  "Enlighten me Jared.  How did it sound in your head?"
     The sound of his breathing filled the phone for a full thirty seconds before he finally spoke.  "Okay.  i guess it sounds pretty bad in there too."
     "So, what?  Are you going to use big words and wear a tie?  Should I bring a notebook so I can learn your superior ways?"
     "That wasn't what I meant."
     Gretchen moved the phone to the other side of her neck and waited to hear what came next.  Maybe his date idea sucked, but there was a pretty high entertainment value in pointing out this man's flaws and watching him backtrack in a feeble attempt at recovery.
     "I just thought it was something you might be interested in, that's all.  Forget I mentioned it."
     "Oh, I'm interested."
     "But you just said --"
     "And I'm coming to your damn lecture."
     "I think I'd like to retract the offer."
p.84
 
 My only complaint is that while I liked seeing Gretchen hold Jared accountable for his narcissistic behavior, I do worry that he was using her as a Jiminy Cricket.  I didn't feel like he showed enough growth over the course of the story to stop needing her help in this way.  I certainly can see the appeal of having a significant other who won't put up with your crap, if you're prone to crap.  However, in this case they talked about her being his moral compass, and that made me a little uncomfortable. When the story ended, I felt sure that the two were in love and would stay together.  I was concerned, though, that they would continue to deal with some of same problems repeatedly, because I didn't see a lot of change in Jared's character.
 
I think the story ended just a little too soon for me, but overall I still adored it!  So funny and enjoyable.  I really look forward to more books by Tamara Morgan!