I’m over at Dear Author today with a review of Mercy by HelenKay Dimon – it’s a dark erotic romance with covert operations and betrayal and lots of sex.
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I’m over at AudioGals today with a review of Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur, narrated by Tamara Lovatt-Smith. It wasn’t terribly successful but I mostly put that down to it being the abridged version. I think the full version would likely have made much more sense. Frankly, I think the abridgement broke the book.
Why I read it: I enjoyed the first two books in the series so I bought this one as soon as it came out.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) When love is at stake, all bets are off.
Fast and hard. Despite her best intentions, that’s the way Tatiana Belikov rolls, and over the past year she’s tumbled head over heels for her former ex-lover. Hot, indulgent, and ready to cater to her every dirty whim? There’s no way she could resist.
Wyatt Caine is the house, and the house always wins—but love is a precious commodity that rarely crosses his table. His game plan? Drown his woman in pleasure before she realizes he’s hardly a safe bet.
Their happiness burns brighter than the spotlights on the Strip, but when his past rears its ugly head, casting a shadow on their bliss, Wyatt has an important decision to make: time to fold…or go all in.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’ve come to expect hot sexy scenes in this series and this book did not disappoint – there’s even a brief f/f/m scene which was both kind of tame but super hot so I think it would work even for those who may not usually read f/f.
In this story, Wyatt and Tatiana have been together for a year. They haven’t said “I love you” but both are thinking it. Both are also nervous about fully committing out loud – for fear the other might not be ready or might run. What I really like about this series is that even when they have fears, even when their thoughts are at times immature and knee jerk, they act like adults. The set up was that Tatiana and Wyatt were together as teenagers/young adults and split amicably (but nevertheless both of them had broken hearts) ten years earlier. They split because they were immature. They didn’t have what it took back then to push past their fears and insecurities and communicate like adults. When they got back together, both of them decided to consciously act like grown ups. And they do. I found this both sympathetic (they’re not perfect people and they still have irrational thoughts and fears and knee-jerk reactions – just like everyone does) and also kind of charming. Given that my least favourite trope in romance is the Big Misunderstanding, it only stands to reason that I would have much love for the opposite of it. Sensible adults getting over themselves and putting their relationship first. That is so romantic and sexy to me I can’t even tell you.
I’m reviewing Take Me Under by Rhyannon Byrd, narrated by Aletha George today over at AudioGals. This is a book I ranted about on Twitter when I was listening to it. I don’t have many positive things to say about it I’m afraid.
Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy by the publisher via NetGalley.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) It started as a girls’ outing to California’s beautiful Channel Islands State Park. When Ella Hammond embarks on a kayaking trip with sexy adventure guide Paul Dawson, sparks fly—but so does gunfire from a boat of drug smugglers.
Now Ella and Paul are on the run, soaked and stranded in a rocky hideout. Ella feels like she’ll never be warm again. Until Paul shares his body heat—igniting a fire between them that’s nearly too hot to handle!
What worked for me (and what didn’t): Ella is on a camping/hiking long weekend with her sister Abby and Abby’s teenage daughter, Brooke. When Brooke’s father cancelled at the last minute, Ella and Abby stepped in to save the trip. They are planning a day kayaking trip over to nearby San Miguel Island off the Californian coast. Their guide is the sexy Paul Dawson (brother of the heroine, Paige, from Scenes of Peril). Because: reasons, Paul and Ella end up kayaking alone. They are both single and have both been significantly affected by the San Diego earth quake (featured in Aftershock) and it is clear that there is chemistry and attraction between them. There is a “no fraternising” rule though so Paul is cautious about pursuing things.
on Paper/eBook
Heart Trouble by Josh Lanyon – C Sunita had a post up at Vacuous Minx (there is also a version of it at Dear Author now too) and she talked about short stories, serials and length/form in genre fiction. One of the books she linked to as a favourite of hers was this short story. It’s only 21 pages and the RRP is $2.99 (I got it at the recent All Romance eBooks Earth Day sale so I earned back $1.50 in ebook bucks which made it more palatable for me). I’ve only read a little bit of Lanyon – what I have read I’ve liked to one degree or another and there are quite a few of his books on my TBR and wishlist.
I would have enjoyed this story more but there was something in the premise that I struggled with. The story starts with Ford at the hospital – he thought he was having a heart attack. His doctor is Dr. Jacob Hoyle. Jacob is caring and kind and very helpful to Ford in a medical sense. He goes above and beyond and takes Ford home because he doesn’t want him to drive. It’s about at this point that I started feeling uncomfortable. Because Ford is still his patient and I have trouble finding a current doctor/patient romance romantic or… okay actually. This is just me though. Some people can’t read a teacher/student book or a lawyer/client book – doesn’t make any of it bad or wrong. Vegemite.
I can see from an intellectual point of view how the story is clever and does what it needs to do in a short space of time. I didn’t get the sense that there was anything that ought to have been there that wasn’t. So Sunita was right – all the words counted and the story was complete. I like fiction of all kinds of lengths – sometimes short little bites are perfect for my mood or the time I have and other times, something longer or lengthy is what I’m after. For me, this story was one I could admire in a technical sense even while I found it difficult to connect in the emotional sense.
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