Tag Archives: Deb’s Review

Review: Ever After by Rachel Lacey

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Deb’s review of Ever After by Rachel Lacey
Contemporary Romance released by Forever on August 25, 2015

Ever AfterCAUGHT IN THE ACT

Olivia Bennett is not having a happy birthday. Instead of blowing out her twenty-nine candles, she’s stuck in jail, caught red-handed in a graffiti incident that (perhaps) involved one too many strawberry margaritas. Worst idea ever. The only bright side is that she ended up in the strong arms of the most gorgeous lawman she’s ever seen.

Pete Sampson (aka Deputy Hot Stuff) faces intense pressure from the sheriff to find out who’s behind a string of vandalisms. And after her spray-painting spree, Olivia is suspect number one. Still, Pete can’t stop thinking about her. Wanting her. Now he’s torn between his duty and his overpowering desire for the vivacious waitress. But he may have to bend the rules because true love is more important than the letter of the law…

Ever After is book 3 in Rachel Lacey’s Love to the Rescue series;  however, it can be read as a standalone.  It is a very sweet, well written, contemporary romance set in small town North Carolina.  I love small town romances with their interesting mix of quirky characters and fun goings on.  However, I’m not a sweet kind of gal.  I like my romances down and dirty with lots of the same in regard to the sex on the page.  And, shame on me, I have also been known to judge a book by its cover.  The cover of Ever After is…sweet. However, the hot guy and the dog on the cover roped me in, because guys who love dogs are just that much hotter, right?  So I gave myself a lecture to stop with the judging and eye rolling before I’ve even read a chapter.  And I’m glad I did because I truly enjoyed this book. Continue reading →

Review: Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

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Deb’s Review of Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
New Adult (M/M) Contemporary Romance released by Rennie Road Books on July 28, 2015

HimThey don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself.

Warning: contains sexual situations, skinnydipping, shenanigans in an SUV and proof that coming out to your family on social media is a dicey proposition. (less)

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy have blended their unique voices and amazing writing talents to create an unforgettable love story. I have always had a weakness for M/M novels since reading Mary Renault’s series about Alexander the Great. It’s a relic, and quite tame by today’s standards, but Ms. Renault blew my mind with her tender love story of Alexander and his best friend. Their’s was also a friends to lovers story; both students of Aristotle, then warriors in battle together, their love had no limits and held no fears. I’ve never forgotten Ms. Renault’s magnificent and moving novel. Him has these same beautiful qualities that will have me remembering these characters for a long time. Continue reading →

Review: Falling Under by Lauren Dane

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Deb’s Review of Falling Under by Lauren Dane
Contemporary Romance released by Forever on August 4, 2015

Falling UnderThe men of Twisted Steel are great with their hands.
And they’re not afraid to get dirty.

Duke Bradshaw, co-owner of the Twisted Steel custom motorcycle and hot rod shop, may devote his days to chrome and leather, but his nights belong to Carmella. His sultry redheaded neighbor has a smile like an angel and a body built for sin, and for the past year both have dominated Duke’s dreams. When a problem at Twisted Steel requires a fast fix, Duke sees his chance to finally make his fantasy a reality.

Ever since she first heard the low rumble of his engine, Carmella Rossi has wondered if Duke Bradshaw handles his women as expertly as he handles his bike. When he shows up at her door offering her a much-needed job at his shop, she gets her chance to find out. Beneath Duke’s masterful touch, Carmella soon submits to a world of unimaginable pleasure.

But history has taught Carmella how bad a boy boy can be. If she doesn’t put on the brakes fast, her hard-bodied heartbreaker could drive her right over the edge . . .

Falling Under, book two in Lauren Dane’s Ink & Chrome series, continues the story of the men of Twisted Steel, a custom build car and motorcycle shop, and the women they fall for. Ms. Dane can write a character driven romance like nobody’s business. I adored book one, Opening Up, about Asa and PJ. That story, like its two main characters, is intense, sexually charged, and leaps at you in vivid color. Continue reading →

Review: Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl

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Deb’s Review of Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl
Contemporary Romance released by Harlequin on July 28, 2015

Taking the HeatPassion this hot can’t be faked…

All revved up for bright lights and steamy nights, writer Veronica Chandler chased her dreams to New York City. When she hit a dead end, reality sent her back home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Saving her pride and her new gig—writing a relationship advice column!—requires some faking. No one can know the truth about her big-city flop or her nonexistent sex life. But the town’s irresistibly rugged librarian is determined to figure her out…and give her hands-on lessons in every wicked thing she wants to know.

Gabe MacKenzie’s heart might be in Wyoming, but secretly his future’s tied up in his family’s Manhattan legacy. Getting down and dirty with Veronica is supposed to give him a few memorable nights—not complicate his plans. But the thing about heat this scorching is there’s just no going back…and it might be too hot for either of them to take.

Taking the Heat is a deliciously fun and sexy novel I guarantee you’ll want to devour in one sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books (Looking for Trouble and Flirting with Disaster), plus the novella (Fanning the Flames), in Ms. Dahl’s Girl’s Night Out series. This one just may be my favorite. To be fair, I say that after each of her books. Her female characters are smart, talented, and independent in a subtle way that knocks the wind out of the alpha men who pursue them and eventually win their hearts. It’s never an easy ride, because where would be the fun in that? But it’s a gleefully good ride full of steamy encounters (sex), giggle and sigh inducing banter, and characters who ultimately learn quite a lot about themselves. Continue reading →

Review: Opening Up by Lauren Dane

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Deb’s Review of Opening Up (Ink and Chrome Book 1) by Lauren Dane
Contemporary erotic romance released by Forever on June 16, 2015

Opening Up

The men of the Twisted Steel custom hot rod and motorcycle shop are great with their hands…and they’re not afraid to get dirty.
PJ is exactly the kind of woman Twisted Steel owner Asa Barrons doesn’t need. The last thing he wants to do is mix business with pleasure, and PJ has some of the best custom detailing he’s ever seen. But the chemistry between them won’t be denied, and soon he’s introducing her to a whole new world in the bedroom, pushing her far beyond anything she’s ever experienced. PJ finds she can’t get enough, but how far is too far before he consumes her completely?

Lauren Dane owes me a new Nook. Fine, I’ll take a Kindle but it had better be fire-proof because it’s all her fault my Nook began overheating in Chapter ONE. By Chapter Three, I was using oven mitts and I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but the darn thing eventually melted in my lap. Continue reading →