Smokin' Hot by Lynn LaFleur

Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
288 pages

Smokin' Hot is the latest book by Lynn LaFleur. It has three short stories about volunteer fireman in a small town in Texas. The stories blend together due to the men all being friends.

Singe

Julia Woods has had enough of adventure seeking men to last her a lifetime. She moved away from the last one to a small town in Texas. She enjoys the lifestyle here a lot. While staying with her mom's best friend, she meets Stephen, a volunteer fireman who does roofing as his full time job. He gives her landlord an estimate on hail damage all the while checking out Julia's curves. They start a pretty hot little fling but when she finds out that Stephen is kind of an adrenaline junkie, she bows out of their relationship. Can Stephen get her to take a chance on him despite his adventurous spirit?

Smolder

Marcus Holt still loves his wife. Even after she left and divorced him four years ago. He carries a lot of anger where she is concerned. How could she leave him when he needed her the most? Rayna Holt has never gotten over her anger toward her ex husband. She moved away, got a great job and never looked back. When her grandmother's health brings her back home, she runs into Marcus. After spending some time together,they start talking about all they lost and the emotions that come along with that.

Spark

Talia King has it bad for Dylan. Dylan has it bad for Talia. She's asked him out twice only to be rejected. Dylan wants to give Talia everything she deserves but not him. He can never be assured that he won't hurt her physically. His father looms in his memory big time. Can Talia break through before Dylan ruins their chance at happiness?


This book was okay for me. I really enjoyed the second story the best. It was sweet and a little heart wrenching. The first one was good but I never connected with the two leads totally. The third book I found boring. I know about Dylan's past but he frustrated to no end. All in all, it was just okay. Hot firemen and scorching sex scenes made it more easy to read.

                       

Hot Zone by Anne Marsh

Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Hotshots #2
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
102 pages

Dade is a Hotshot and helps out the Smoke Jumpers at a fire camp. This camp is very bust during fire season and this requires cooking and other staff to be available. Sarah Jo is a cook at the fire camp. One day while working, the other cooks dare her to kiss the first fire guy that comes up in line. Sarah Jo wants to fit in, so she does it.

Dade and Sarah Jo both know that the kiss they shared wasn't enough. As these two get closer, a secret from Sarah Jo's past comes to the surface. She doesn't want anyone to know because she wants to handle it on her own but Dade has other plans.

This was an okay story. A little too cut and dried for me. A tiny bit of suspense and a lot of sex. Hot sex, so that part was good. Will I go on with the series? I don't know.

Desperately Seeking Fireman by Jennifer Bernard

Grade-B
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel #4.5
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
100 pages

Jeb Stone is the captain of the San Gabriel fire department for shift C. He was married for several years but got divorced. He has an eighteen year old daughter who wants him to date and get on with his life. He meets Nita Moreno at his friend's wedding. He's instantly attracted to her and kind of flirts with her. He is still married at this time and this was a little off-putting for me. There's a reason behind Jeb and his wife's marriage but that's for you to read.

The story moves ahead a few years and Melissa, his friend's wife is coming to get an exclusive interview with a Senator. The Senator that Nita works for. This interview takes place in San Lucia and Jeb gets bamboozled into shadowing Melissa because she's hugely pregnant. He's surprised to see Nita and that his attraction to her hasn't waned.

I hate to admit it but this is one of those series that I have fallen behind on. It's a good series and I hope to catch up on it now. My main complaint in saying that is that her books aren't on Kindle through my library. I love to support the authors I read but sometimes I can't justify the money at the time I want to read it. Then I tend to forget because of the amount of books I have to read.

This is a novella and its just sweet. About two people who have lost and still keep trying to pull it all together. The story is witty, engaging and sexy. If you want a story that is just precious, this is it.

Crash and Burn by Anne Marsh

Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Men of Crash, Fire & Rescue #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
34 pages

I don't even think you could call this a novella. It was a very short story.

Dane and Laura Jo went to high school together. He was the football hero and she was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. They slept together and the Laura Jo left town for different life. She became a pilot with the Armed Forces and Dane is a rescue worker. He rescues Laura Jo from a crash and the two reconnect.

This story was okay for a start to a series. I wished there was more to it but it is what it is. Cute premise, a hot sex scene and a great cover. I may read more to the series.

Everything Bared by Kristine Cayne

Grade-C+
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Moderate Kink
Series-Six-Alarm Sexy #2
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
268 pages

Dani Harris, a firefighter and search and rescue team member, has been part of the Caldwell family since the earthquake.  When she needs a place to stay, she ends up staying with straight-laced William Caldwell, CFO of the family business.  Dani knows she's William's opposite in almost every way, but she can't help but be attracted to him.  Can she trust him with her exhibitionism secret?

Kristine Cayne exceeds at writing strong characters. Dani is a feisty spitfire and William had layers to him that were slowly exposed. I loved both characters and enjoyed watching their story unfold. Many of Dani's initial conversations with William kept me in stitches.

There was a pony play scene in the book that left me a bit squicked out. I'm not a big suspense reader and there was a small component of suspense in this one that I didn't enjoy. But it's not a huge part of the story and not something so suspenseful that it kept me up at night.

The biggest downside for me was that I enjoyed the first book in this series so much that I probably went in with my expectations a bit high. And while this book is a very solid entry in the series, I still liked the first book better. I will be anxiously awaiting the next book in the series because I've falllen in love with the way Kristine Cayne writes her characters.

Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary

Published: 9/24/13
Reviewed by Anne

254 pages

 

Leah feels like a failure after messing up at pastry school and on a reality cooking show.  She spending the agonizing time until the show's finale in Lucky Harbor, her home town, running her Grandma's bakery.  Her best friend Jack is there for her as always.  When the idea that Jack and Leah might be dating cheers up Jack's mother - who is fighting cancer - Leah runs with the story saying she ad Jack are going out.  Jack plays along and, much to the amusement of everyone else, pretending to date leads to actual dating and falling in love.

 

Jill Shalvis is an amazingly dependable writer!  This is another great story.  There's tons of humor, along with the Lucky Harbor cast we know and love.  I think this book would stand on it's own just fine, though.

Leah is a pretty damaged heroine - well, her self esteem is damaged due to her father's emotional abuse while she was growing up.  I would have felt better if she'd started seeing a therapist during the course of the story - she's really got issues!  Jack had his own problems, but they never seemed as big as hers.

I loved the set up with the two of them fake dating to give Jack's mom a little boost.  Everything about that was funny.  The ending was a little over the top, but it didn't ruin anything, and it left me wanting to know a lot more about Ben and Aubrey!

Seeing Red by Jill Shalvis

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Firefighter #3

Reviewed by Kate

352 pages

Summer rushes back to her hometown when she hears her mother's warehouse has burned down. She left town after a similar fire and has never looked back. What she finds when she arrives in town is her old best friend Joe. While Joe, a fire marshal, is investigating the fire, the last thing Summer expects is to feel flames for Joe.

If there is one thing Shalvis excels at, it's the characters she creates. In Summer and Joe, she has managed to create two characters who are able to find each other without giving up who they are. The relationship with Summer and her family was realistic and moving. Joe's friend Kenny provides comic relief better than a Disney villain's sidekick.

When I find an author I enjoy, I - like any good reader - try to go back and read the author's back list. More often than not, I discover that the author has grown into their writing, and their back list is sadly lacking compared to their newer releases. Happily, that was not the case with Seeing Red. Shalvis continues to keep me coming back for more.

How about you?  Do you enjoy catching up on an author's back list?  Which authors' backlists have lived up to your expectations?

Reburn by Anne Marsh

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Hotshots #1
Genre-Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
87 pages

Sam Clayton is a former military man who now works as a park ranger. He is currently helping fight a wildfire in his park. He is sent in to find any civilians trapped in the park and finds his first true love.

Olivia Albert is an FBI agent tracking a homeland terrorist. Her chase leads her into Sequoia Park and a raging wildfire. Olivia knows this park well because she and her first love tracked their way through the park in their teen years. When she thinks she sees her terrorist running from her she becomes trapped by the fire.

This story should've been great and it really wasn't. I couldn't connect with the main characters at all. Even with hot love scenes, they still didn't have any chemistry. This was a total miss for me.

Slow Burn by Anne Marsh

Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Smoke Jumpers #2
Reviewed by Kay

Faye Duncan is looking for a second chance. She desperately needs a do over on her life. Her career is doing pretty well but her divorce is final and it still stings. Not about the hurt but about the fact that it didn't hurt. She cashed in her 401K and buys herself a Corvette. Camera in hand she heads to the town of Strong to take pictures of firemen for the magazine she works for. My only question here is if they are taking applications at the magazine.

Evan Donovan is a smoke jumper like his brothers and friends. He works in Strong and gets a phone call from an old military buddy. His friend, Mike says his ex-wife is headed to Strong and wants Evan to check up on her. Evan thinks its weird but says okay. He finds Faye in the local bar, drunk off her butt and takes her to his cabin since there isn't a hotel in town. From there the story goes on.

This was an okay read for me.  Not great but not bad. I liked the characters primary and secondary. I adored the secondary romance between Ben and Nonna. I thought the mystery unfolded a little too fast for my taste.  This is an okay series and I may read more of it.

Burning Up by Anne Marsh

Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Smoke Jumpers #1
Reviewed by Kay

Let me start by saying that I LOVE firefighters and books about them. I really, really do. I loved Jo Davis' series and  Bella Andre's series both and have missed them since they concluded. If there's a book about firefighters, I'm usually bouncing in my chair until their release date. This book in no way disappointed me. It was fun, exciting, suspenseful and sexy. What more could you ask for?

Jack Donovan is a smoke jumper, meaning that he literally jumps from a plane into fires to fight them. He, his brothers and his friends from the military all created a business doing smoke jumping. He gets a call from his foster mom, Nonna and he finally goes home to find out about a string of fires that threaten the town he grew up in. Needless to his brothers and teammates follow him. He knows his run in with the girl he left behind will be stressful to say the least because he has never gotten over her.

Lily Cortez is a woman on the run from a past she can't seem to escape. She ran away to the big city to avoid all things that reminded her of the bad boy from school she always wanted but never had. In the city, she built a life for herself only to have it fall apart at the hands of an unknown threat. She moves back to her hometown and things are good for awhile but then fires start to pop up there too.
She knows her stalker has found her again and he can hide in plain sight.

I enjoyed this book on every level. It did kind of drag a little toward the end but did finish well. If you love romantic suspense, this is a mild one in my opinion. The bad guy is a sicko no doubt, but he was also chilling in his pursuit. The two main characters had great chemistry and the love scenes were sexy. I can't wait for the next book which is on my computer and for me, a book away.

Under His Command by Kristine Cayne

Grade – B

Hotness Level – Inferno

Kink Level – moderate kink

Genre – Contemporary, BDSM

Series – Six-Alarm Sexy #1

Reviewed by Kate

 

I admit to having a soft spot for a well written husband and wife reunion story that makes my heart sigh contentedly. Under His Command is just such a story.   Five years before our story begins, Jamie and Rickie spend one night together. One hot and steamy night. Jamie releases a bit of his Dom and it's the best experience Rickie has ever had. That one night stand led to a pregnancy that led to a marriage. Growing up, Rickie witnessed many of her mother's relationships turn abusive. Rickie worries that her enjoyment of Jamie's dominance means means she may be turning into her mother, so she shuts down any of Jamie's attempts to take charge in the bedroom. Jamie feels guilty for ruining Rickie's life with the unplanned pregnancy and tries to be the husband he thinks she wants. After a year long separation, Jamie and Rickie decide to go on a long-delayed honeymoon and try to save their marriage. A week away is just what they need to really start communicating. Once both admit who they are and what they want, the fun can begin. I really enjoy a couple who can talk to each other instead of pages of internal dialogue and wishing the other was a mind reader. I enjoyed the story of rediscovered and reawakened passion, a nice break from the love at first sight romances I've been reading lately.