Avoiding Mr. Right
(Wild Side, #2)
By: C. J. Ellisson
Publisher: Red Hot Publishing
Published: June 3, 2013
Genre: Erotic Romance
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Carla
Johnson thinks issuing orders to a lover will keep her heart safe and
leave her in charge of her own destiny. Afraid for Carla’s future, her
best friend Heather implores her to change her self-centered ways,
handing her a list of love life mistakes to steer clear of:
1. Casual Sex
2. Friends with Benefits
3. Avoidance of Intimacy
Carla
ignores the list—unwilling to face she might have a commitment problem.
Until she invites a co-worker to her place one night. She instantly
regrets the hum-drum sexual encounter and discourages the accountant
from pursuing her.
Andy Shea refuses to become another lover the
feisty blonde dumps. It'll take a patient man with a strong hand to
unlock Carla's sexual awareness and win her heart. He’s up for the
challenge to convince her he’s the one—and eager to prove this number
cruncher won’t make a boring bedmate.
C.J. Ellisson is the USA Today
Bestselling author of the NYT Bestselling book, Vanilla on Top, the
bestselling V V Inn series, and several erotica shorts. She lives in
northern Virginia with her husband, two children, two dogs, and a fluffy
black cat who makes her sneeze. Unlike most full-time authors, she's
also battling severe chronic illness. C.J. works daily to put her Lupus
into remission and continues to fight numerous bacterial infections
while her immune system slowly attacks her body. She turned to writing
when she could no longer work outside the home and claims the escape of
penning contemporary fantasy, erotica, and erotic romance has helped
save her sanity.
Officer Off Limits
(Line of Duty, #3)
By: Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Brazen
Published: June 10, 2013
Genre: Erotic Romance
Rating:
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His need to possess her is non-negotiable.
Story
Brooks’ fiancé just called off their wedding two weeks before the happy
day. As if that isn't bad enough, her semi-estranged father, an
infamous NYPD hostage negotiator, has suffered a heart attack. Not
wanting to examine her lack of emotion over the broken engagement, she
hops on a plane to reconnect with her father before it’s too late.
Playboy
hostage negotiator Daniel Chase has never, not once, been refused by a
woman, so when a debate over hospital snack foods with a delectable
kindergarten teacher ends in flat-out rejection, he makes it his mission
to seduce her. His only obstacle? She’s the daughter of his mentor who
implicitly forbade Daniel from pursuing her.
Despite her father’s
warnings and Daniel’s troubled past, Daniel and Story can’t resist
their intense attraction to one another. But when the reason for her
fiancé’s abrupt wedding cancellation comes to light, can Story and
Daniel's already forbidden relationship survive?
Story
just had her wedding called off by her fiance and in the same day found
out that her father had a heart attack. So she flew from CA-NY to be by
his side at the hospital. While looking for something to eat at the
hospital's vending machine she meets Daniel. The same guy, who 5 seconds
ago was hitting on the nurse, is now pulling his moves on her. They have
a debate on whether she should get the healthy snack which could've
potentially been sitting there for months or junk food which everyone
eats, so therefor is "fresher".
"You've got your eye on that healthy cereal bar. It's a bad selection. Pick something else."
"Elaborate."
"No one buys healthy cereal bars. That's been there as long as the machine itself."
"Did you have an alternate suggestion?"
"Of course... Peanut butter crackers. You can't go wrong there. They're the best bang for your buck."
"You know, I could have sworn you were going to pick the trail mix."
"Oh, yeah? Why is that?
"Because you're both full of shit."
After their run in at the vending machine, Story heads
to her father's room and that's when they find out that Story's father
is Daniel's mentor. Oh and that's also when Story decides to start
calling him "Trail Mix" for the duration of the book. *GENIUS!*
This
is one sexy story. Just like the other books from the Line of Duty
series, the hero loves to talk dirty. It doesn't matter if they are in
public or in bed, these smooth operators don't seem to have an off
switch.
"Knowing these tan lines are hiding underneath your clothes drives
me fucking crazy. The sun has touched you everywhere else. But only I
get to touch you here."
There were a lot of steamy scenes but there's also back
story about the characters, mainly Daniel, as the story progresses. He
was raised in foster care and was told all his life that he'd never
amount to anything. So as an adult he's learned to earn approval from
people through sex. So when Story comes along and sees his faults and
still finds pleasure being around him, he starts to reevaluate his life.
Meanwhile Story had been dealing with an absent fiance before the
breakup. So to have a man actually want to not only spend time with her
but make her happy is something that she's not used to. Both of these
characters were out of their element with each other.
There
weren't a lot of surprises with this one except maybe the bomb that's
dropped towards the end regarding Story's father. But lets be honest
here, Tessa is an amazing author and she can write erotic romance like
it's no one's business. I'm not gonna pull the wool over your eyes and
say that this is a make-you-think-it-through Stephen King novel. Nope.
It's a read-while-the-kids-are-in-bed kind of book. Better yet, send the
kids over to their friends house for the day and dive right in.
It
all started with Protecting What's His and I must say that I have
signed up to read whatever Tessa comes out with next. If you're looking
for a steamy new read than you have got to check out this author!
*You do not need to read these books in order. The characters don't interact with each other so these are great as stand alones.
"Oh
and Jack said to tell you something... what was it? Ah... he said, 'If
the Mets get anywhere near home base, it'll be the last game they ever
play. I don't know a lot about baseball. Did that make sense?"
Daniel gulped. "Perfect sense." In other words, touch my daughter and die, asshole.
Tessa lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and young daughter.
When she isn't writing or reading romance, Tessa enjoys a good argument
and thirty-minute recipes.
Previous reviews from Line of Duty
Protecting What's His
His Risk to Take
Feeling Death
(The Death Trilogy, #1)
By: D.T. Dyllin
Publisher: Dragonfairy Press
Release Date: May 27, 2013
Genre: Erotic Romance
Rating:
Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo
Samantha Bevans is
having the best sex of her life—but it's not with her husband.
Fortunately for her marriage, the affair is all in her mind. Isn't it?
As an empath, she senses other people's emotions. But her connection to
the man with the the chiseled face and haunting eyes seems so real.
There's
no time for fantasies with a serial killer loose in Pittsburgh. The
killer is targeting dancers at a strip club where Samantha used to
bartend, back when drugs were the only cure for the torment of her
abilities. As a member of a special task force, Samantha uses her
talents to sense the victims’ final thoughts. Just when she thought the
case was complex enough, she discovers one of the victims was thinking
about her fantasy man when she died.
Who can Samantha trust when
she can’t trust her own mind? An empath feels the emotional environment
around her…and Samantha is surrounded by death.
First sentence...
"I'm having an affair," I blurted out, causing Dr. Gray to sit forward in her seat.
Sam is an empath who uses her special skills to help find the bad guys at a crime scene. She's happily married with her husband Nixon who just so happens to be a void. When he is around, she doesn't have to fit so hard blocking out everything around her. However, little by little these fantasies of another man keep popping in her head. There's no harm in a little fantasy but pretty soon these fantasies are making her question those around her. It isn't until the leading man in her fantasies walks through the door that she starts to question if the life she's been living is real or if the fantasies are real.
It's no secret that I am a fan of the author and her writing style. She writes as if she's recalling something that happened as apposed to coming up with a story. The characters seem real and aren't mechanical in their actions or speech. Their brain to mouth filter is absent sometimes and their actions aren't always the smartest choice but that is what makes them human.
Sam was a very difficult character for me. I liked her up until she started getting flippant when in regards to Nixon's feelings. I guess I just have a very strong opinion when it comes to cheating and no matter the circumstances I sort of take a step back from the character when it happens.
I really enjoyed this story. I found myself flipping page after page to see what happened next. Even though this story is more of a set up of things to come since the majority of the book is pretty much Sam getting her memories back, I can't wait to see what happens next.
"The one who dies has it easy, you know. The one who's left behind is the one who truly suffers." -Austin
His Risk to Take
(Line of Duty, #2)
By: Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Brazen
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Genre: Erotic Romance
Rating:
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The greater the risk, the hotter the reward…
Homicide
cop Troy Bennett had a reputation on the Chicago PD for being fearless
and in control—until the night his daredevil partner is killed during a
raid. From that moment on, he swears he’ll never again be responsible
for the loss of a loved one. To escape his demons, Troy transfers to the
NYPD, bringing him up close and personal with Ruby Elliott, a
beautiful, street-savvy pool hustler.
Reckless and stubbornly
independent, Ruby embodies everything Troy’s avoiding, but when she
walks into O’Hanlon’s Pub and blows his carefully laid plans to hell,
Troy knows he has to have her—risks be damned. But there’s a connection
between Ruby’s shadowed past and a case Troy’s working involving a
notorious Brooklyn felon, throwing her safety into jeopardy. Confronted
with his biggest fear, will Troy push Ruby away to keep her safe or
fight to keep her in his arms where she belongs?
I
read the first book in the series Protecting What's His and loved it.
So when the opportunity came to read His Risk to Take, I quickly jumped
on it. There are two things you should know about this story prior to
going in,
1) It's a short story. So the main characters meet each other and fall in love by the end of the week.
2)
It's not really related to Protecting What's His. The other character
from PWH don't make an appearance in this one. So you can dive right in
without needing to read the first one.
Even though it is a short
story, there was a lot of ground covered. We get that Ruby is a hustler
and that is the way that she's been brought up. We also know that Troy
was transferred from CPD to NYPD due to the death of his partner. So he
has a huge problem when it comes to people being reckless. Say... like
the woman he's falling in love with, putting herself in danger for his
sake. There wasn't a lot of surprises to this story. You pretty much
know what's going to happen from the get go but it was still a nice
steamy read with a smidgen of suspense at the end.
The
characters were likable, the situation was believable and the author
didn't go off on random tangents that didn't pertain to the storyline.
It was a short and sexy read that fell in step with PWH since Troy has a
tenancy speak his mind when it comes to the bedroom. I definitely will
be keeping my eyes out for more from not only this series but this
author as well.
"Sleep
now, hustler. You can go back to being your difficult self in the
morning. I'll even let you run your mouth as much as you need to. All
day long. But when the time comes where I take you to bed, that's when I
put a stop to it. Can you live with that?"
Previous reviews from Line of Duty
Protecting What's His
Tessa lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and young daughter.
When she isn't writing or reading romance, Tessa enjoys a good argument
and thirty-minute recipes.
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Lover Undercover
By: Samanthe Beck
Publisher: Brazen
Release Date: April 22, 2013
Genre: Erotic Romance
Rating:
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He’s undercover. She’s in over her head. Yoga
instructor Kylie Roberts is the good twin. At least she was—until an
accident forces Kylie to step into her twin’s sexy stilettos at a posh
Hollywood “men’s club." But nothing could've prepared Kylie for the dead
body in the club’s parking lot or the ridiculously hot detective who
insists the killer is targeting her regulars. Detective Trevor McCade
needs Kylie’s help to draw out the killer. It means long nights
undercover and long dances where Kylie’s body tempts him with sensual
promises. Dances that leave them both wanting more. But despite Kylie's
hidden identity and the danger lurking in the shadows, it’s only a
matter of time before Kylie and Trevor take this undercover operation
under the covers…
A
lot of the story takes place in the strip club where Kylie is covering
for her twin sister, Stacy, while she heals from a broken leg. Being
identical twins, they pull the whole "switcharoo" thing a lot. However, when
Kylie stumbles across a murder scene her first night of being Stacy, she
finds herself smack dab in the middle of a investigation. That's when
she realizes that the man that she gave a lap dance to and who she couldn't
seem to keep her eyes off of, is the detective leading the case on the
murders. It seems the murderer has a thing for taking out Stacy's
regulars, so Detective Travis, decides to become one of Stacy's regulars
in hopes of solving the case.
There are a lot of steamy scenes
in this story. Travis pays for a VIP room every night that Kylie works.
He has no idea that she's not really Stacy and Kylie has no intention of
telling him, considering it would cause Stacy to lose her job and
possibly put Kylie in hot water for lying to a cop. So she plays the
part and shows Travis what each of her regulars like when they request a
private show.
"Unfortunately, "romantic" didn't really describe the current
situation. Dirty Dancing for a hot cop who would probably toss her in
jail and throw away the key if he knew she's lied about her identity and
impeded his investigation? Not romantic. Try scary, dangerous,
reckless."
There's also the suspense of the fact that the murderer
is still out there with a connection to Stacy. So not only does Kylie
have to be cautious, but with Travis playing his role, he puts himself in
the hot seat to be next on the killers list. So there is always that
game of, who's the murderer?
This may have been the first book by
Samanthe's that I've read but it won't be the last. I like that she
doesn't go over board in explaining things and has a way of bringing you
close to the characters without a lengthy back story. She throws you
right into the story and keeps you there right until the last word.
"A
frisson of something new and highly thrilling shimmered through her.
Power. An odd thing to find while bent over, grabbing her ankles, but it
was. One look at his face confirmed it-he was her slave." -Kylie
Rules of Entanglement
(Fighting for Love, #2)
By: Gina L. Maxwell
Publisher: Brazen
Published: March 31, 2013
Genre: Erotic Romance
Rating:
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Seven days. And seven rules to break...
District
Attorney Vanessa McGregor firmly believes that structure and order are
the stuff that dreams are made of. Happiness can be planned - and it
starts with seven rules she's laid out for her future. But as she's
organizing her best friend's wedding in Hawaii, all of Vanessa's
best-laid plans are about to meet their match in a wickedly hot MMA
fighter...
Jackson "Jax" Maris is focused on surfing, training
and fighting. That is, until he opens up his big mouth, and finds
himself having to pretend he's engaged to his little sister's best
friend, Vanessa. When they're force to share a romantic bungalow,
however, their little charade suddenly takes a turn for the seriously
sexy. And while Jax is definitely not part of Vanessa's long-term plan,
he has seven days - and seven naughty nights - to turn her seven-rule
plan upside down.
Seven days. And seven rules to break... and boy do they ever!
I
never got a chance to read Seducing Cinderella. Hold up, let me
explain. I've been a bit bogged down with review books but it is on my
want list of books to read. So since I didn't read the first book I want
to let everyone know that if this book sounds good to you, you can jump
right in without needing to read the first book. Yes, you get the sense
that Jax's little sister, Lucie, was the leading lady in the first book
but in this book, Lucie's barely even in the book at all. It's whole
focus is on Vanessa and Jackson.
Vanessa is Lucie's best friend.
When Lucie develops a case of food poisoning a week before her island
wedding, Vanessa flies out to Hawaii to make sure everything goes off
without a hitch when her friend arrives. Lucie's brother, Jax, lives on
the island and is suppose to pick her up from the airport. Where he
shows up over an hour late and breaks one of Vanessa's rules, never take
your responsibilities lightly. Then the lucky guy moves straight to
rule #6 Never indulge in the poison of lies, when he tells Vanessa that
they must stay in the bungalow together and pretend to be Reid and Lucie
so that the wedding planner doesn't know that the bride and groom to be
aren't on the island yet like planned.
Jax is a laid back kind
of guy. He wasn't always this way. He raised his sister when their
parents died and had a lot put on his shoulders at a young age. However,
he up and moved to Hawaii and has been living without a watch or rules
since he stepped foot on the island. Yeah, he was a little late picking
up Vanessa at the airport but he lost track of time while surfing. It's
really not that big of a deal but things go from bad to worse before he
can even figure out what happened and Vanessa's ready to hop in a taxi
and drive off. He's not ready to let this firecracker go which is why he
comes up with the harebrained idea to tell Vanessa that they must stay
in Lucie and Reid's bungalow together and pretend to be the couple until
the real bride and groom to be gets to the island. So when Vanessa
proposes that since she has to pretend to be Lucie, she can't go off and
find herself a local fling, that her and Jax hook up, he's pretty darn
happy but there's a catch, rule #5: Never let a fling last more than
three days. Yeah, that doesn't really fly with Jax since there's still a
week after those three days but he's got 3 days to convince her to
break that rule.
"He made a decision then and there that his goal for the next
few days would be to figure out that list of rules and make her break as
many of them as possible. She was strung too damn tight, and he was
taking it upon himself to chill her the fuck out."
I thought this would be a cute romance and even though it
is, it is spicy! Heck, the first night when Vanessa see's Jax sleeping
out on the patio in the hammock in nothing but his boxer briefs sporting
a very glorious boner, I thought she was going to jump his bones right
then and there but they keep their interactions pg13 until they agree on
the 3 day fling. Then, the second the click strikes twelve, Jackson is
jumping in Vanessa's bed to start the festivities.
"He bit back a groan and forced his hips to remain still. Not an
easy task when his dick wanted to play Heat-Seeking Missile and the
hottest thing for miles was in the deepest recess of a redheaded beauty,
mere fractions of an inch away."
Of course, the whole story was predictable but I still
enjoyed the ride. Gina has a great way of telling a story and sucking
the reader into the book. The characters were lovable and those sex
scenes were, well let's just say, you need a cold shower after reading
the book. I loved that throughout the entire book, Jackson gives Vanessa
this Hawaiian nickname which she views as an endearment, and I guess it
sort of is, but it's funny to find out what it really means at the end.
That part had me laughing because you think back to all the times he
said it to her, and it makes sense.
I really need to get
Seducing Cinderella and read it. I have a feeling that even though I
know how their story ends, I will still enjoy every second of the book.
On another thought, there is a part in the book where we meet Jax's
other MMA friends during their training session. There's this young kid,
Danny, who seems to be very hot headed with a chip on his shoulder. He
whispers something Jax's ear that sets Jax off into a rage. I'm curious
what it was and if/when we will get Danny's story.
"Listen wahine, I don't strut. I simply walk in a manly way." -Jackson
Closing the trunk after extracting her bags, the driver accepted her money and hurriedly returned to his cab without so much as an “Aloha” before peeling away. She coughed from the exhaust and picked up her things to move onto the curb. Weren’t the island people supposed to be friendly and accommodating? Although, she supposed after making him wait for her at the airport and then stop at a little café so she could get a quick bite to eat, the guy had a right to be a little agitated. Still, it’s not like he hadn’t been duly compensated for his time.
What a day. Stranded at the airport, informed she needed to change identities, and stuck with the only surly cabbie in all of Oahu. Not exactly how she imagined her first few hours in one of the most beautiful, carefree places on Earth.
But, she amended, those had been things she couldn’t control. What she could control was how she dealt with her current situation and—
“Hello, sweetheart.”
—him.
Taking a deep breath, Vanessa turned and regarded the thorn in her side. He’d changed out of his surfer duds into something more appropriate for a man who’d supposedly just flown over from the continental forty-eight. His khaki cargo shorts paired with a lightweight white button-up and sandals said casual-and-understated.
So why the hell was she hearing sexy-and-overdressed?
Vanessa's pulse jumped and goose bumps broke out over her skin despite the balmy weather. Standing as close as he was, he towered over her. The man was simply massive. How in the world did someone so big share the same DNA as her tiny friend?
Getting off to a rocky start with the man didn’t make her blind. He was easily one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen. Too bad he so obviously broke several of her rules. Hell, if she were being honest, she’d bet he broke almost all of them.
Jackson bent down to pick up her duffel bag, and on the way back up, leaned in to press a warm kiss to her cheek. At the unexpected intimacy, she sucked in a breath and almost pulled away, but his soft words of warning held her in place. “Remember who we are here. If you accuse me of sexual harassment, there’s a good chance it’ll blow our cover.”
His low chuckle both liquefied her insides and made her blood boil. His infectious smile tempted the corners of her mouth to lift up the slightest bit, though she ordered them to hold firm. To save face, she went with it, widening her grin and telling him in the sweetest voice she could muster, “Don’t worry about me, darling, I have stellar acting skills. But if I were you, I’d worry about how thick you lay it on, because if you take advantage of this situation, you’ll have to worry about what I’ll do to your manhood once we’re behind closed doors instead.”
He raised his left eyebrow, which had a jagged white scar running diagonally through it, giving his good looks a rakish edge. Though she knew her appearance was nothing short of atrocious at this point, his eyes skimmed over her body like she’d been dipped in his favorite candy. Maybe the aloof Prince of Tides wasn’t as unaffected by her as he’d like her to think.
“Looking forward to it, princess,” he said, smirking in amusement and giving her a wink before walking into the lobby.
What was wrong with this guy? He should be backing down, talking her down, or at the very least, toning it down. One of those downs. That’s what any normal male would do when his junk was threatened. Maybe he was into masochism. That thought perked her up. A closet masochist would effectively douse any sparks of desire that may or may not be going off somewhere deep inside her every time he turned those light eyes on her.
Feeling better already, Vanessa grabbed the handle of her suitcase and wheeled it behind her along the tiled entrance of the lobby. Jackson stood at the front desk speaking with an exotically pretty woman who handed him an envelope of paperwork and two key cards with a smile that probably won her customer service awards.
“There’s my lovely bride,” Jackson announced as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side.
“Bride-to-be, dear,” she said with a fake look of happiness frozen on her face. “I’m not officially your bride yet.” Then, before she could stop herself, she added, “And anything can happen between now and then.”
Gina is a shameless romance addict with no intentions of ever kicking the habit. Growing up she dreamed of entertaining people and taking them on fantastical journeys with her acting abilities, until she came to the realization as a college sophomore that she had none to speak of. Another ten years would pass before she discovered a different means to accomplishing the same dream: writing stories of love and passion for addicts just like her.
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