This week at Smexy….

B+ review – Touch of Steel by Kate Cross (steampunk)
B review – Heart of Atlantis by Alyssa Day (pnr)
B review – Romancing the Holiday Anthology (contemp)
C+ review – Acceleration by Amelia C Gormley (m/m contemp)
C+ review – The Believing Game by Eireann Corrigan (YA)
C+ review – O Come All Ye Kinky Anthology (erotic bdsm)
C review – Under the Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis (contemp novella)
C- review – Nightbred by Lynn Viehl (pnr)
C- review – Shiver by Karen Robards (romantic suspense)

Jill Shalvis shares her Top Five holiday moments.
Holiday Book Deals.
Guest Author Katie Porter.
O Come All Ye Kinky Tour with Joey Hill.
Smexy’s Top Ten

News From Mandi: My week started by DNFing The Duchess War by Courtney Milan. I have adored every single book she has written..but this one bored me. I just could not get engaged. May liked it a little more than I did and will be posting a review here soon. I don’t know – it just didn’t keep my interest. I stopped around the 40% mark.

Miracle in New Hope by Kaki Warner is a historical novella about a man who hears cries of help from a girl when he gets trapped in the snow – only to later find out this girl has been missing for over a year. He also starts to get visions of her. He meets the girl’s mother and they set out to find her. I don’t like books with a ghost/vision type thing – but I adore Kaki Warner’s voice and wanted to read this one. It’s pretty good. The end is rushed but I really like the hero. Review coming soon.

The Wedding Fling by Meg Maguire is a runaway bride story. That part I liked and I liked that it was set on a remote island. Not fully convinced of the hero and heroine’s true love and thought the tabloid drama was a little forced. Review coming soon.

The O Come All Ye Kinky Anthology totally lived up to it’s name featuring eight BDSM, mostly m/m stories. I reviewed it earlier this week – my favorite was by LA Witt. Which then made me go read her latest, Conduct Unbecoming which I’m really enjoying at the moment.

Finally I read One Hit Wonder by Elyssa Patrick. A really cute novella with an outlandish rock star hero who falls for his personal assistant. I really didn’t like her hero in her first book As You Wish, so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this one so much. It’s sexy, quick and a lot of fun. I’ll review soon! Only $.99.

Currently I’m reading The Seduction of Elliot McBride by Jennifer Ashley. I’m half through and it’s not as good as the previous books in this story. But I still have the whole second half to read!

News From Tori: Well, I thumbed my nose at the powers that be and my cold came back with a vengeance. I have been so sick this week, so I didn’t get a lot of reading done.

Ilona Andrews’ Steel’s Edge was FANTASTIC!! Action, suspense, intrigue, and a romance that promised and delivered. The series wrapped up beautifully. I will be reviewing-discussing this with Mandi and May.

Heather Graham’s The Unholy would have been better titled The Uninteresting. I enjoyed the premise, a locked room murder mystery, but so much time is spent going in circles with no real advancement, I just had to walk away.

Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep is quite possibly the best in this series. We see plenty of arc and character grow, along with some new aspects which allows for the series to take what I think will be some interesting twists and turns. (review to come)

I picked up Grease Jive Monkey by Ainslie Paton on the recommendation of Jane from Dear Author. A lovely romantic contemporary about a laid back surfer who wants to change his player ways and a uptight ballroom dancer who wants to live life on her terms. I enjoyed the story overall though I wasn’t a fan of the heroine. She was a bit of a snob.

Sierra Dean’s Grave Secret, which releases in March, was a shocker. There are things I loved and things I hated in the storyline. A book that had me fist pumping in joy and calling Sierra hateful names in anger. (review to come)

Baby, Baby, Baby by Mary McBride is a cute, lightweight rom com about a your lady who is being artificially inseminated and her sexy ex husband who wants to be the donor.

Merry Ex-Mas by Sheila Roberts started out being a cute Christmas story but quickly morphed into a stereotypical story about bitchy divorcees and their ex’s.

Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughlin is an adorable, sweet, romantic, sexy contemporary about second chances and forgiveness. Loved it.

I’m currently re reading Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews and I hope to get to Low Down Dirty Shane by Sierra Dean and The Trouble with Fate by Leigh Evans this weekend.

News from Helyce: December is in full swing and I have barely made a dent in my Christmas shopping. I have not been able to find much reading time either-don’t let the list fool you-this wrap-up covers the last three weeks. I know, sad.

I read Nightbred by Lynn Viehl. I was looking forward to this book, the second in her Lords of the Darkyn series, but I was disappointed in the romance of our main couple. To move the story arc forward, there were a lot of side stories going on and it took away from the main couple. My review posted on December 5.

There was a lot of Twitter-Talk a week or so ago about Wallbanger by Alice Clayton. After seeing Tori’s review, I just had to read it and I’m so glad I did. This book with its combination of humor and interesting characters made for a simply perfect read. LOVED!

I also read Rough Play by Keri Ford. I’d read the first book in this series and when Mandi offered me book 3, Rough Tumble, my “read in order” quirk kicked in so I had to read this one first. It was good. Flora and Jacob have a lot of issues and watching them come to the realization that there was more to their “just sex” relationship was done well, but I would have liked just a little more angst or emotion before Flora’s 360 degree change.

I read a cute but extremely short novella by Carly Phillips, Fated. Fated, part of her Serendipity series, gives us the romance of Nick and Kate who have been dancing around each other since the first book. I was excited to see them get their story, but while cute, it was too short and left me wanting. Review to come.

For review, I read Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Katie Porter. This M/M romance had a lot going for it, but its interesting characters and exciting side story got lost in way too many sex scenes. Yes, you read that right. My review will be up next week.

Lastly, I read Dex In Blue by Amy Lane. This series follows a group of 18 to late 20’s aged men as they navigate life while doing gay-for-pay porn. They each have their reasons for doing porn and surprisingly it’s not always about the money. I love Amy Lane and this book, like the previous Chase In Shadow, moved me in so many ways. Her trademark angst and her raw approach to the difficulties of gay relationships are all explored in this story. I loved it and can’t wait for the next one.

Currently, I’m reading Sidecar by Amy Lane. I expect this story to be a little different than some of her other work, but I’m enjoying so far. I’m also reading Rough Tumble by Keri Ford and my review for that will be up soon.