True Love West by Claire Charlins

Grade: D+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Historical
Series: Mail Order Romance #5

Published: 11/14/13

Reviewed by Kate

147 pages

Sarah feels lonely and ignored at home, all the attention is turned toward her older sister.  Add that to the fact that there's a shortage of men in the area and Sarah sees a bleak future stretching out before her.  When her sister suggests becoming a mail order bride, Sarah hesitantly agrees to look at some of the adds.  And then she reads Charlie's letter and knows that he's the one.  He feels lonely and invisible as well.  Sarah boards a train, anxious to meet Charlie.  When she arrives she discovers that Charlie has kept a secret-he has an infant daughter.  How can she marry a man who has lied to her?

I love, love, love a mail order bride romance.  From my first, Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke, right through my more recent reads like the erotic Bride Train series by Reece Butler. I just can't seem to get enough.  That being said...

This one was filled with tons and tons of emotional drama for Sarah.  Seriously.  She spent days agonizing over whether or not she could marry Charlie after he had lied to her, while we, the reader, could tell the decision had already been made.

What I typically like in a mail order read is watching as the hero and heroine become acquainted and figure out how they'll fit into each other's lives.  Sadly, there was none of that in this book.  Charlie was practically a saint, other than his one lie.  There seemed to be no adjustment at all for either of them.  It was all about Sarah having to make her decision.

The sex in this book barely warrants mentioning.  If Lauara Ingalls Wilder had written an erotic romance, I think the sex scenes would have read similar to this one. In fact, the writing style, in general, reminded me of the Little House books.

If you're like me, and enjoy mail order bride stories, you may like this one.  Just prepare yourself for lots of drama and rather dull sex.  

The Bossman by Renee Rose

Grade: D+

Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 3/08/14

Reviewed by Kate

114 pages

Sophie's dad was a member of the mob and was killed when she was younger. Since then, she's gone out of her way to avoid getting involved with the family again. But all of that changes when her car is about to be repossessed and the mob boss' younger brother, Joey steps in and pays off the loan for her. Joey's always been happy to stay in his older brother's shadows and keep his hands clean. But can he ever have Sophie when she wants nothing to do with the family?

This one was a head shaker for me. First, I don't think I'll ever be a fan of mafia romance (this was my first mafia romance read) and, admittedly, I know very little about the mafia. Secondly, for not wanting to get involved in the family, Sophie was very quick to jump into bed with Joey and by the end of the second date she was ordering spanking implements for him?! Not to mention Joey doesn't really seem to get off on spanking Sophie, yet he knows that's what she really needs (yes, knows this by the 2nd date). Apparently mind reading ability comes along with your mafia membership card. And last, the ending seemed a little too easy. It's presented as happily ever after, but I just can't see it staying that way for long.

If the mafia romance angle sounds intriguing to you it may be worth a read, but for me, I don't think I'll be reading any more mafia romance. 

Has anyone else read a mafia romance? What did you think? Good, bad, indifferent?

Taken By The Hero by Stella Rose

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Mild Kink
Series-Taken to the Edge
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
30 pages

I wanted something short and sweet and got this instead. This was a teaser to what I assume is an on-going story line. I blame myself for not reasearching this more but it was a freebie, so I thought what the hell.

Mercy Martin has wanted Hunter Green, yes that's his name and yes I did giggle, since she was twelve. He has been her brother's best friend for her whole life. When he gets back from his tours in the Middle East, she figures it's time for him to notice her and she throws herself at him.

Hunter Green, giggle, notices her alright. He sees she's all grown up but two important things stop him from taking what she's offering. First, she's his best friend's sister and he has desires he's sure will make her uncomfortable. He does engage in some fondling and kissing in public though. Three different times where anyone could see them and twice within view of her parents.

I'm not saying the sex in the book was boring because that was the best part of this story. But seriously, who has sex where their brother or parents could see? Ewww, gross. Not to mention, who would you call to bail you out if you got arrested for indecent exposure? There were a couple of other things that bothered me with this story. It seemed like it almost scene jumped without warning. Also, it talks about him being a Marine and two sentences later she sees his picture with his Navy uniform on. I know you can serve in different branches of the military but I don't recall a mention of any Navy service.

I might in the future try to read something else by this author but I want something with a little more chemistry between the characters and more consistency with the writing.

Married To The Trillionaires by Ella Mansfield

        

Grade-D-

Hotness Level-Inferno

Kink Level-Mild Kink

Series-Menage For Mankind #1

Genre-Futuristic Menage

Reviewed by Kate

95 pages

*Warning: the following review contains spoilers*

In the future...April has been raised in a "religious" community, where things have continued much as they are today. Namely, women are giving birth to babies. Outside of these isolated religious communites, women are done with the pain of child birth. Eggs are painlessly harvested and fertilized. Unfortunately, no one realized that more boys would be born than girls and that the girls would be born frail and weak and worst of all-*gasp*-sterile. So it turns out that the girls from the religious communities are in high demand. And that their parents are greedy enough to auction the girls off to the highest bidders (yes, that's right, bidders-plural). After all, who else is going to repopulate the earth?

April's father is looking to get remarried and has decided that the best way to get the money he needs for his new life is to auction April off. Although he is kind enough to set some restrictions. She can only be sold to a group of four or less men (bless his heart, five men just might have been too overwhelming for the little virgin) and that she must actually be married to one of them.

Bill, John, David, and Steve decide to pool their money together so they can purchase April. Then they set up a very formal business arrangement, contract and all. April will live with Bill (since he is putting in more money to start with-at least I'm pretty sure that's why) and he will provide for her. Each of the other 3 men will get one hour with April every night. That's right, every night. Any daughters that are born will be sold at auction with the proceeds divided between the men.

They buy April and proceed to pass her around that first night. Bill is nice enough to hire a masseuse for April the next morning, because he wants her to be ready for the night. They send her from one room to the other, night after night. And April is completely okay with it. Mainly because Bill has a hired chef who serves her shrimp and lobster and other dishes that she's never had before.

They're all starting to fall for each other and everything goes well. The men decide to update their contract to say that they will not auction off their daughters and will let them choose who they wish to marry. But before the new contract is even signed, April hears that's it's not uncommon for the daughters of their kind of arrangement to be auctioned off and she discovers the original contract that the men had signed. So she runs away (what else is a heroine who, up to this point, has been spineless supposed to do?). Of course, she ends up pregnant and, of course, the men find her shortly before she delivers. And everybody is happy once again.

I really was looking forward to reading this one. I love futuristic menages. But this one went wrong for me right off the bat. April is so meek. She never complains when her dad tells her he's auctioning her off. And once the men buy her, there's not ever a period of time when she is upset about it. Then you have the men. I just couldn't get past the fact that they were so business about it. They started off as asses and never really changed throughout the story.

The sex scenes were plentiful. After all, the poor girl had 4 men to please each night. And I suppose they could be considered hot, although for me the formulaic approach that April had to take (first Bill, then John, then David, then Steve, and finally back to Bill) made everything feel so cold. Nothing was ever spontaneous.

The only positive I can give this one is that it is short. But if I were you, I wouldn't waste my time.

Jenny:Virtuous No More-The Novel by Nora Blackstock

 

Grade-D+

Hotness Level-Inferno

Kink Level-Moderate Kink

Genre-Contemporary

Reviewed by Kate

 

I feel that in order for you to understand my feelings on this book, you need to see what initially attracted me to this book. Here it is...

 

Originally released in five parts, this is the complete edition of theJenny: Virtuous No More series.

Jenny was a good, devoted wife. When her marriage to husband Mark grew distant, she took matters into her own hands to find out if he still loved her. He did, but his confession, and the things he wanted her to do, were shocking. To save her marriage, Jenny embarked on a sexual journey from which there was no turning back. She would no longer be the “good girl” that everyone knew and loved. (From goodreads)

 

Sounds good, right? I know both Anne and I enjoy the husband/wife trope, and I was hoping for some BDSM thrown in too. I quickly realized that the description was deceiving. It was flagged as being Erotic and Romance on Net Galley. And it was definitely erotic. But I don't think the romance went past the first dozen pages or so.

 

From the blurb, we know that Mark has some kink. Turns out he fantasizes about watching Jenny flirt and maybe be fondled by other men. But, what bothered me was that Mark would leave Jenny alone in the bar while she was flirting with others. I wanted him to be a part of it, even from a distance. Get past it, I told myself and kept reading. Well, it kept getting a little worse, and a little worse. But I kept reading because I kept hoping that it would turn into the romance I was hoping for. But it never did.

Turns out Jenny becomes instantly attracted to Nathaniel, a man who approaches her on their first visit to the bar. She becomes infatuated with him and is soon sleeping with him. What starts out with Mark's approval, even though he's not in the room, quickly turns into Jenny keeping secrets from Mark. But then, wait for it...it turns out that Nathaniel is part of a 3 man con team. They go around the world seducing women and then blackmailing their husbands. But the FBI is onto them. So by the end, the bad guys are caught and Mark and Jenny's relationship is left up in the air.

 

And, as if that wasn't bad enough, the sluttier Jenny became, the worse the editing got. There were so many spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. For example at one point, the word "angle" appears while I think the author meant "ankle." The errors really pulled me out of the story. Although I'm not really sure why I'm complaining about that, since it wasn't that great of a story for me anyway.

So yes, the sex was hot (we're talking m/f and m/f/m/m). But the rest of the story was nothing close to what I would call a romance.

Playing To Win by Shelley Munro

        

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Blaze?
Kink Level-No Kink
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
228 pages

This was not at all what I expected from Shelley Munro.

A rugby player finds out he has a son he didn't know about and sets out to confront the boy's mother. When he meets her, he finds out that the mom isn't his biological mother but his aunt. His son' s mother died years earlier and his aunt adopted him. Lane, the hero and Kate, the heroine try to figure out sure paternity and who leaked the story to the tabloids. They are also try to figure out the dynamic of this new family and who is stalking Kate and why.

I really did not care for this book. I found it tedious and boring. Do not even get me started on the love scenes. They were pretty much sleep inducing. It wouldn't recommend this to someone who likes graphic love scenes but maybe to those who like a simple romance.

Sensual Surrender by Katie Reus

        

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Serafina:Sin City #2
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
200 pages

Ellie works for the Serafina casino in Las Vegas. Her lover, Jay also works there. They live together and everything is going great until Ellie's past catches up with her. After that phone call, she packs a bag, leaves Jay a break up note, turns in her resignation letter and makes strides to move on. Her boss is suspicious as are her friends and her lover.
As her past continues to catch up with, her new group of friends try to figure out the pieces together on why she would disappear from a life that seems pretty sweet.

Ellie has to protect the people she cares about and can't let them get drug into her former life. But when she has to accept their help, she just hopes that she can keep them safe and that they'll still love her when she finally comes clean. With her friends by her side they go up against a crime boss and her former lover both demanding she help them in a heist that involves all parties.

I had high hopes for this one. It was romantic suspense and I love that genre. Unfortunately, it never clicked for me. I was bored most of the time. This was very disappointing for because I loved the first book in this series. I'm undecided on continuing with the series.

Storm by Nina Levine

Grade D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Storm MC, #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
166 Pages

Ok, I like biker books just as much as the next girl but seriously, this book was just boring. I had to force myself to read it. Ugh.

Jason is a biker and part of Storm MC. He had a thing with the President's daughter but ended because of some bad stuff going on after she was attacked. This broke her heart and started her down a very self destructive path of drinking. The club decided she needed to leave town for a while and she did. She made a new life for herself and cleaned up her act, somewhat. She was still kind of a slut but she did stop drinking.

Events from the past come up again and the MC said it was time for her to come home. I get why she did it but she seemed weak to me. I know love can make you all sorts of messed up inside but come on. I'd tell you her name but honestly, I can't remember it. That speaks volumes to me.

I don't know whether Madeline Sheehan ruined this book for because she's so wonderful or if it was really that boring.

Dirty Pleasures by Melody Snow Monroe

Grade-D-

Hotness Level-Inferno

Kink Level-Mild Kink

Series-Pleasure, Montana #10

Genre-Contemporary/Menage

Reviewed by Kate

166 pages

 

Gabe and Dylan had been assigned to protect Ceci on their last case. Despite being extremely attracted to her, they kept their hands to themselves. But now the case is over and it's time to discover if Ceci feels the same way about them.

 

This book didn't work for me on so many levels. Other than being huge and manly in so many masculine ways, there didn't seem to be anything remarkable or memorable about either Gabe or Dylan. Ceci had so much internal turmoil that it was hard to connect with her. She has what comes across as OCD and is also trying to deal with her self hatred eminating from her ex-boyfriend's suicide. It was more than I wanted to read about.

 

As far as the kink goes with this one, I couldn't decide whether this one was a BDSM read or not. There was some spanking and they did visit a club (which was a disappointing scene for a BDSM reader like me). But neither of the men seemed real dom-like even though Ceci granted them the Dom title simply because they never let her do what she wanted.

 

This book may appeal to fans of the Pleasure, Montana series, but to a Pleasure, Montana virgin (*snort*)like myself, it just didn't work.

 

Rocky by Bianca D'Arc

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Tales of the Were #3
Genre-Paranormal
Reviewed by Kate
158 pages

Maggie is pregnant and has been on the run from an all powerful demon mage since he killed her husband Tony months ago. She heads to childhood friend Rocky's house because she promised Tony she would go there when she was ready to deliver her babies. Rocky, like Tony, is a were-bear shifter, and will be able to provide the leadership that Maggie's cubs will need. Rocky is more than happy to take on the role of alpha for Maggie and Tony's cubs, but he wants the role of Maggie's husband as well.

 

I'm trying to cut Maggie some slack because she's obviously emotional and hormonal throughout the entire book-despite being magically healed after her labor by her magical cubs. But I got really tired, really fast of her waffling between Tony and Rocky. It starts off right away with her comparing everything Rocky is with what Tony was. Then suddenly, she becomes certain that Rocky is the one that she's always been supposed to be with, her true soul mate. Next thing you know, she's always loved them both, and Tony (in spirit form) is approving of her relationship with Rocky.

 

But it was the all powerful evil demon mage that was the final straw for me. This demon mage has been hunting Maggie and her super magical, über-rare, twin were-bear cubs (who always sleep when the story calls for it) since he killed her husband. Seriously. Tony was a strong mage himself, so this demon mage must be extra powerful. There's a lot of suspense built up around this evil demon mage. So in my mind, I'm picturing some kind of cross between Darth Vader and Hannibal Lector. But when the mage finally appears (in the very final pages of the books), Rocky is able to quickly defeat him and only walks away with bloodied knuckles. Such a let down. And makes me question how strong a mage Tony really was if he was defeated by evil demon mage, King of the Wusses.

 

I need to be up front and admit that this is the first of the Tales of the Were series that I read. And I can't help but wonder if I would have liked the book more, had I had the world building knowledge that has to be present in the first two books. As it was, I just couldn't connect with the world that Rocky was a part of. It was just fill with a lot of WTF moments for me.

So, what was your last total fail of a book?

Love Letters Volume 5: Exposed

Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Novella

Published: 9/9/13
Reviewed by Anne

44,000 words

 

I went into this thinking the collection would be about voyeurism, which wasn't the case with every story.  They had more to do with being on display/exposed, though there was some voyeurism.  The first two stories were ok. I LOVED the 3rd one by Christina Thatcher.  The fourth one started off great but then gave me book rage. So, it was a mixed bag for me.

 

R is for Reality by Ginny Glass is about a camera woman who convinces a cab driver to come audition for a part to get her out of hot water.  Their chemistry was good, but I was surprised by the pacing of the story, which jumped over large gaps in time.  Overall it was just ok for me. (C)

 

S is for Scandalous by Emily Cale had the exact opposite pacing problem for me.  I felt like I had mental whiplash due to how fast the characters' relationship moved.  Kacey takes a job where she will lie nude and be the serving platter for a meal of sushi.  Austin shows up and recognizes Kasey.  He goes to see her after the meal when she is changing.  Even though their teenage friendship/crush didn't survive Austin leaving for college, they pick up like they'd spent the intervening years dreaming of getting back together.   And despite the years apart, they act like they know each other extremely well.  It just didn't work for me (C-)

 

T is for Tango by Christina Thatcher was the standout read in this collection!  Sonia is a secretary at Adam's company.  Once a week he catches her changing clothes... at her desk.  He doesn't know what to make of it, but he's enthralled.  Then he realizes she's doing it on purpose, for him.  This just worked on every level for me.  (B+)

 

U is for Undone by Maggie Wells started out really promising.  When the power goes out, Alec sees Sophia, a co-worker he's admired.  She's lighting candles in her apartment and taking off her clothes.  He can't help but watch and he's shocked when she makes eye contact with him and he realizes she knew he was watching the whole time!  This beginning worked very well for me.  Unfortunately, what came next was rage-inducing.  I don't want to ruin the story, so I'll just say that Alec was very controlling about how their relationship would move forward.  This frustrated Sophia, but ultimately she doesn't complain and just moves forward in the way Alec dictates.  I felt like Alec was playing mind games with Sophia, but that's not the tone of the story.  I think we're supposed to think it's sweet that he wants to get to know her and take things slow.  It just didn't work for me. (D)

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 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!

 

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.)

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.

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads Week: Fearless by Tawny Weber

This is the second in our week of reviews of Cosmo Red-Hot Reads.

 

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.

Turn and Burn by Lorelei James

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?

Surrender Your Love by J.C. Reed

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.

New Sensation by Clare Cole

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.

M/M Monday: In His Command Review by Rie Warren

Grade: D-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Futuristic

Series: Don't Tell #1
Reviewed by Kate

368 pages 

The year is 2070 and the world has barely survived a plague that has wiped out a huge portion of the population.  Leadership has been handed to the rich (collectively referred to as the Company) and procreation is the order of the day.  To that end, any homosexual or deviant behavior is punishable by death.  Following a rebellion, Commander Casper Cannon (in the Company's military called the Corps) is put in charge of transporting Nathaniel Rice (a big wig in the Company) to a safe place.  And so we have 7 weeks of Casper and Nathaniel alone together in the wilderness.  And there is plenty of attraction between the two-enough to keep them warm on a cold night, if you catch my drift.

 

I have been on quite a m/m reading kick lately, and I really like the idea of a m/m with a dystopian spin to it.  Unfortunately, I felt like the idea was the only good thing about it.  It seemed to me that whenever Casper and Nathaniel appeared on the same page, it was an excuse for sex.  Casper didn't trust Nathaniel for most of he story and as a reader only hearing from Casper's side of things, we didn't trust Nathaniel either.  However, Nathaniel's sexual prowess must have been the stuff legends were made of or maybe he had one of those mythical swords of mightiness, because Casper kept going back to him.  It was kind of like "I don't trust you at all, but do you want come back to the caravan with me?"   I just didn't fall for it.  And while the sex scenes were plentiful and descriptive (and were they), most of the time they just felt really out of place.

 

I also felt like the world building and the story were disjointed.  It seemed like there were pages upon pages of the author building the world (history and politics all rolled into one), and then pages of the character/plot building.  I would have liked to see them interwoven a bit more smoothly.

 

I think this pretty much sums up the plot for you: sex, politics, politics, sex, sex, sex, sex, politics, politics, stunning reveal, sex, sex, politics, sex, sex, jaw dropping betrayal, suspenseful rescue, sex, sex, sex, happily ever after.  Yep, there you have it.

I really felt like the best part of the book was Casper's friend Liz.  Who disappears in the very beginning of the book and we don't see again until the very end.

 

Unfortunately this one came no where close to joining my "best of 2013" list.  I don't think I could honestly recommend this book to anyone.

Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Gabriel's Inferno #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
545 pages

Gabriel Emerson is a college professor whose specialty is Dante, from Dante's Inferno fame. He teaches a class based on Dante. He was adopted by a wonderful family that loved him and treated him very well. He has temper issues, former drug abuse issues and man-whoring issues. Not to mention he's kind of a douche.

Enter Julia Mitchell, college student trying to specialize in all things Dante. She has a past with Gabriel, which he doesn't remember. She has loved him for years upon years. Her past is troubled also. Her mother was negligent with her raising of Julia, her father was emotionally unavailable for her and she had an ex-boyfriend who was emotionally and physically abusive to her. So her self image definitely needed work.

This book started out so good. Julia was a meek, sweet character you rooted for. Gabriel was an ass in the beginning to her and everyone else. About three fourths of the way through the book I wanted to stop but figured I'd went this far, so I had to finish. This book was WAY too wordy! The relationship built nicely but fizzled epically at the one, yes one sex scene. It wasn't even descriptive, I mean at all. My biggest complaint though was that the two main characters were both so very weak and whiny that I wanted to slap them both. I won't go on to the next book.

The Officer and the Secret by Jeanette Murray

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Ember/Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Semper Fi #3
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
346 pages

Dewayne just got home from a deployment and is having a hard time adjusting to life in civilian world. He has pretty severe flashbacks and seeks help from a chaplain. He does enjoy spending time with his friends and especially Veronica. They skyped a few times when he was trying to reach his friends. He realizes that their talks and her voice got him through some rough times in his deployment.

Veronica is a cousin of one of the other characters in this series. She is very awkward and shy as a result to being raised by religious zealots in war torn third world countries. She left that life to have what she called a normal life. She has a job, a place to live and is studying for her GED. She also wants to try to date and have sex.

This started out so cute it made me giddy. The development of their relationship was slow and sweet. Between his PTSD and her sheltered to the extreme childhood, it was a wonder it happened at all. I liked the characters and was interested in hearing their stories. Then the sex happened and just kept shaking my head. It was so non descriptive it was all most off page. I had to reread the sex to make sure I didn't miss something. Boring. From there it was downhill and I won't read anything more by this author.