This week at Smexy….

A- review – Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha (erotic)
B review – Reflected In You by Sylvia Day (erotic)
B review – Haunted by Jeanne C. Stein (urban fantasy)
B- review- Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight by Grace Burrowes (historical)
C+ review –Fields Of Gold by Dev Bentham (m/m contemp)
C+ review- Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley (paranormal)
C review – Tempting The Bride by Sherry Thomas (historical)
C- review – Ruined By Moonlight by Emma Wildes (historical)
C- review – Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove (paranormal)

NEW JR Ward Information 
Review and Giveaway: Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha
The Flesh Cartel Virtual Book Tour
Evernight Publishing Scavenger Hunt
Jennifer Probst Giveaway
Smexy’s Top Ten

May’s News: I have a very short recap this week, as I only managed to finish one book. The Valkyrie’s Guardian by Moriah Densley fried my brain a bit. Reading about a kilt wearing virgin berserker Navy SEAL bodyguard stuntman can do that, I suppose. While over the top – it ended up being a letdown. Review to come here at smexy.

I’m now reading Better than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts (cute start) and A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long (intriguing start!) – reviews to come for both of those books here as well.

Mandi’s News: I read and adored Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter by Jessica Sims (aka Jill Myles). You all are going to adore the hero. His name is Ramsey and he is a were-bear – huge, fierce, quiet, terrifies everyone…and is a virgin. Someone catch me while I swoon. He is adorable, and the heroine is great for him. I really loved this book. It comes out at the end of this month.

After the Storm by Amy Knupp is a pretty good contemporary about a firefighter who gets injured (it’s kind of the heroine’s fault) and he has a massive rehabilitation ahead of him plus uncertainty as to whether he can return to his job. The heroine must deal with getting over her guilty feelings and also knocking some sense into the extremely stubborn hero. I really like this author’s voice – review to come soon.

I also read another Harlequin Super Romance, One Final Step by Stephanie Doyle. It’s different. For one, the heroine was the President (THE President of the USA) mistress years ago. She has lived a very moral and rigid life since. The hero has a big secret – something you rarely see in a romance hero. I’m not going to tell. But I liked that twist a lot. Again, a nice voice. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

Scorched by Laura Griffin (out at the end of this month) is so good. She combines her usual great suspense story line with a hero that is a Navy SEAL. Really enjoyed the story and the characters. She is one of my favorite authors – her books stand alone really well. I highly recommend checking out her back list though. Review to come soon.

Due to Tori and Helyce’s urging, I just started The Matter of Time series by Mary Calmes. I’m about 30% into book one. I’m enjoying Jory and Detective Kate. The formatting on my Kindle version is odd…but the story is engaging so I’m trying to ignore it. I’ll report back next week!

Tori’s News: It hasn’t been a great reading week for me. I seem to be either in a mood or I’m expecting more then what I’m getting, literary wise. I DNF’d Phillipa Ballentine’s Wrayth. I found the storyline extremely slow with a confusing plot line. This I would qualify as a bridge book and found myself unable to finish.

Reflected In You by Sylvia Day also disappointed me. I wasn’t enamoured with Bared To You but found myself hooked into the storyline. This installment exhausted me. An emotional rollercoaster that doesn’t advance much in character or storyline development. All I experienced was relief when I was finished reading.

Hidden by Sophie Jordan is the final installment in her paranormal YA Firelight series.  An exciting climactic ending that wraps up  lingering  storylines, though some are left open, perhaps to allow for a another visit in the future. Energetic and fast paced, Jordan has a wonderful voice that  engages you in the lives of her characters.

I agreed to “take one for the team” on twitter and read a Christian romance by Nadja Notariani. Claiming The Prize is a lovely, romantic, sensual love story about an MMA fighter and a ex-MMA fighter’s daughter. The story focuses more on their relationship after this couple marries. I like how we are not given a Christian love story but rather a love story with a couple of faith. No heavy handed religious preaching in here. It is a soft underlying factor in the story that blends realistically.

Ballroom Blitz by Lorelei James is a shirt erotic comtemp. Light on the erotic, in here we meet a rock star and a dance instructor who start a relationship as both their careers start to go off in different yet equally important directions. Fast follow through,I would have liked a deeper look at each characters individually.

Crow’s Row by Julie Hockley is a new adult romance centering around a collage aged girl who witnesses a brutal murder, only to find herself kidnapped by the gang who committed it. As she tries to make heads and tails of her situation, she finds herself falling in love with the gang leader and learning more about her brother’s death. Engaging though the characters voices are more YA then NA.

Power Exchange by AJ Rose is a sexy m/m erotic with a SUPER HAWT COVER! :)  A murder mystery/love story with a detective who is beginning to explore his submissive side and the consultant/shrink who helps him. Review to come.

Once again, twitter determined my reading material and I found my self downloading and reading The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders. A strong HP similar romance about a young married woman who finds out her distant and cruel husband only married her as a business deal. An emotional read as the wife demands a divorce and the husband realises how wrong he’s been and doesn’t want to let her go. Totally predictable story wise, it’s the characters who make this story.

Angel’s Ink by Jocelynn Drake is the first in her newest urban fantasy series. I have read the first two novella’s that lead into the series, and while I enjoyed those, I wasn’t as enamoured with the full length novel. A jam packed storyline with multiple sub plots leaves you feeling overwhelmed, especially when only one of the conflicts is resolved. Review to come.

I am currently finishing up JD Robb’s Delusions In Death and hope to read Jennifer Ashley’s newest historical, The Seduction of Elliot McBride.  

Helyce’s News: Life, work, kids, soccer (you name it) have put a huge obstacle in my reading time. So much so that when I do find a few, precious moments to read, my mind is usually side tracked and thinking about the stuff I should be doing instead of letting myself just enjoy the book.  I gotta get a handle on that! I miss my reading time!  That said, I did manage a few reads over the last two weeks-some for fun, some for review.  Here we go:

First up is Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove.  This is book two in her Curse of the Templars series and in my opinion, it wasn’t as strong or captivating as the first book.  While the story moves forward just a tad, I found it a little too slow for my liking.  You can see my review for details-it posted earlier this week. Review posted here.

Next up I read Pride and Politics by Daisy Harris. This is part of her Men of Holsum College series and features Hunter Ford.  I gathered from some of the reviews on previous books in this series that his character is not well liked, so I was glad I wasn’t up to date on the series and could read this installment without any preconceived notions on his character.  I really liked this one. Hunter is forced to put his plans to study abroad on hold in order to hit the campaign trail with his uncle who wants to garner the “gay” vote.  Hunter’s uncle hires a handler, Steve, to keep him line and make sure he doesn’t do anything to embarrass himself or his uncle during this important time.  Steve thinks he has Hunter’s number based on his first impression, but when Steve takes some time and starts to see Hunter’s more vulnerable side, he realizes how wrong he was. Full review for this coming up soon.

After that, I was still in an M/M mood so I picked up The Hot Floor by Josephine Myles.  I’ve fast become of  fan of her books with their quirky characters and interesting settings.  In this story, Josh is a glass blower, which I found to be a very unique type of job. He has recently broken up with his boyfriend and has moved into a tiny attic apartment in a converted house.  He’s more than half in love with his neighbors, Rai and Evan and unbeknownst to him, they are interested in him.  My first m/m/m book, I found this to be a very believable story of a workable 3-person relationship. Full review will be posted later this month.

In between all of that, I continued my Kristen Ashley gluttony and read Mystery Man and Wild Man.  I enjoyed them immensely even with the odd way the over-alpha-men speak.  Yes, it gets a bit tiring after a while-but seriously it’s all about the fantasy, right? These big, handsome sexy men might be ridiculously over the top alphas, but I just can’t resist them.  Currently reading Law Man.  Love!

On a whim, I purchased Pressure Head by J.L. Merrow. This contemporary m/m has a slight pnr feel in that Tom Paretski has a gift.  He has like an extra sense and is able to find things, from inanimate objects to dead bodies.  It’s the later that brings him face to face with his high school bully, Phil Morrison who is now a P.I. hired by the victim’s family to solve her murder.  Forced to work with Phil, Tom learns that Phil is gay too and he’s got some secrets.  I liked this and I liked how these two find their way to each other even with all the previous bad feelings.

That’s it for me. I got reviews to write and I’m sure I’ll finish up Law Man over the weekend.  Cannot wait to read Dirty Secret by Rhys Ford, then I must finish up Forbidden by Jacquelyn Frank. Have a great weekend!