This week at Smexy….

B review – Blood Before Sunrise by Amanda Bonilla
B review – The Carny by Brooke Moss
B- review – Keeping Secret by Sierra Dean
C+ review – My Lady Mage by Alexis Morgan
C+ review – More Than a Stranger by Erin Knightley
C+ review – The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden
C review – Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot
C- review – The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Guest Author – Amanda Bonilla
Why Kristen Ashley is the Queen of Crack
Smexy’s Top Ten

News from Mandi: I started the week with the novella, Tempted by Two by Portia Da Costa. A M/M/F menage – now I like it when boys play together and with the girl. This one though is very focused on the sex, and I wish there had been more story or sexual tension. Not sure if I’ll write a full review, but I’ll put my thoughts on Goodreads. I then moved onto Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett. I’ve had good luck with Loveswept titles, but this one didn’t quite do it for me. It features four brothers who will each get a book. And I enjoy the brothers. But the  heroine in this one got on my nerves. Full review to come. I enjoyed the very, very sexy Star Crossed by Kele Moon. Who can resist a UFC, Italian hero? I can’t. His brothers are a little overbearing, but Kele Moon sure knows how to write good smex. Review to come. I continued my Megan Hart obsession with an arc of her September release, The Space Between Us. This one didn’t do it for me as much as her previous books. It’s a F/F/M, and the extra female in there got on my nerves. It just didn’t move me as emotionally as the others. Joe and Sadie make a brief appearance though and that made me happy.

I also read another September arc, The Angel by Tiffany Reisz. This is the sequel to The Siren (out now). They must be read in order. And I can already tell you these books will be my absolute favorite books of 2012. No question. They are amazing. Dark, erotic, BDSM w/sadism. Tough to read at some points, but incredible. I hope you don’t let them pass you by.

News from Tori: I’ve been on a Kristen Ashley binge all week. Bad TORI!! Seriously, I may need an intervention. I’ve almost read her ENTIRE back list. That’s like 30 some books. I’m now calling women “pieces” and telling peeps to “shut it.” *shaking head*

Recently finished Sherryl Wood’s Midnight Promises and Julie Garwood’s Sweet Talk. Both were romantic contemporary disappointments for me. Lackluster characters and under developed storylines left me feeling that I may have outgrown these two authors. Reviews of both to come. Megan Hart’s The Space Between Us left me thinking hard. It wasn’t the calibre of her previous books and I really felt something was missing in here but I haven’t figured out exactly what it was. I will be reviewing this for RT Magazine. Hopefully by then, I will have it figured out.

The funniest book I’ve read in a while (besides my KA crack) is Anne Tenino’s Frat Boy and Toppy. Disregarding the cheesy title, this book is a sweet, funny, steamy mm romance about a frat boy who figures out he’s gay and the TA he falls in love with. What I really loved was the lack of drama concerning his outing to his family and such. Reviewing for RT Mag.

Kele Moon’s Star Crossed more than surpassed what I was expecting. A modern Romeo and Juliet involving a mob related MMA fighter and a small town lawyer/deputy who text and web cam their way to true love while trying to keep their families from killing them and each other. Uber hot with plenty of humor. I jointly reviewed this with Amy at Fictionvixen.com.

I am currently reading The Burning Star by Jesse Lane (YA) and Throne Of Glass by Sarah Maas. I also have The Siren by Tiffany Reisz waiting for me but not sure if I’m reading for it. *biting nails*

News From May: This week I found myself starting but not finishing any books. Oops. I’m  currently finishing up Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley (review to come) and it has seriously entertained me. The entire premise is that the girl is “in heat” and needs to bump and grind on a man until she’s knocked up. I’m not sure it is supposed to be quite as amusing as it is to me, but I’m entertained and we are having a heat wave so I’m cool with that. Next week I hope to have lots of finished books to report in about!

News from Helyce:  Boy, between going back to work and my family visiting, my reading time has come to a screeching halt! If this sounds repetitive it’s because it took me so long to read some of these…here we go:  Most recently, I finished Shadow Rising by Kendra Leigh Castle.  This is book 3 in Ms. Castle’s Dark Dynasties series and I am hooked!  Love the world she’s created with a mix of different Vampires who have varied powers or abilities depending on their Dynasty.  Damien and Ariane were full of surprises in this installment as we get to know some of the deep, dark secrets of the Grigori Dynasty.  Review to come later this month. I finally made it through Hawaiian Gothic by Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane. While I liked the lead characters in this story, it was the paranormal/Ghost story portion of the story that just wasn’t for me. I’ll have a review up for this next week sometime.  Next I read an m/m romance called A Hole In God’s Pocket by K.Z. Snow.  I can’t remember how I came across this one, but the title intrigued me and I’m so glad I bought it.  In this, we have two men who are struggling with issues related to them being gay. One because he is Amish and his family shuns the men who come out and the other who was on his way to becoming a monk when he realized he was just running away from his issues by trying to hide behind something, namely his religion. I just loved how these two men meet, become friends and ultimately, lovers. For an upcoming review I read Country Mouse by Amy Lane and Aleksandr Voinov.  This is an adorable novella that focuses on two men who meet by chance in a bar in London.  Malcom is a work-aholic who is kind of a Dom and Owen is on vacation and just looking for a hook up. He can do the ‘sub’ thing, but he’s not really into that scene. I really enjoyed seeing these two fall head over heels.  I love Amy Lane and will read anything she writes. Now I’ll have to check out Aleksandr’s back list as well. At the moment, I’m reading an anthology called Hot in Handcuffs with stories by Shayla Black, Sylvia Day and Shiloh Walker.  Three erotic stories with cops, fire marshals and FBI types that are super hot.  I’m on the second book, Fire by Syliva Day and I love her writing style.  This is my first read by her and I think I’ll be checking her other books out for sure! I am going to read The Angel by Tiffany Reisz as soon as I finish the anthology and write two reviews.  I can’t wait! It’s taking all my self control not to just drop everything and read this!  More Nora and Soren.  Yes, please!