This week at Smexy….

A- review – A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan (historical novella)
B review – Bayou Heat by Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright (pnr novella)
B review – The Edge of Never by JA Redmerski (New Adult)
B- review – Sealed with a Curse by Cecy Robson (urban fantasy)
B- review – Perfect Fit by Carly Phillips (contemporary)
B- review – Dead in LA by Lou Harper (m/m pnr novella)
C+ review – The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry (contemporary)
C+ review – Marked by Odin by Coral Moore (paranormal)
C review – What Chris Wants by Lori Foster (m/m novella)
C review – Her New Worst Enemy by Christy McKellan (contemporary)
C- review – Christmas is Cancelled by Aurelia B Rowls (contemporary)
D review – A Hometown Boy by Janice Kay Johnson (contemporary)

Three Books That Hit My Radar this Week
Smexy’s Top Ten

News from Mandi: The Trouble with Being Wicked by Emma Locke turned out to be a pretty good read. There were times characters or situations were introduced and then not followed through with. But she has a cute voice. I’ll post a review soon.

Sacred Hearts by Dev Bentham is the third book in her m/m series that is set around Jewish holidays. In this one, David must deal with an ex-lover who wiped his bank account clean, and he starts over in Mexico. He meets a mysterious, attractive man and a romance develops. I really enjoyed David’s journey but I fell we never get to know John (aka mysterious man) very well at all. Review coming soon.

Escorted by Claire Kent features a prostitute hero and a 26 year old virgin. I really enjoyed this book. I’m going to post a short review and feature a sex scene for tomorrow’s smex scene sunday. I think I might give away a copy too, so check back tomorrow.

That Scandalous Summer by Meredith Duran is an absolutely delightful book. A heroine who is feisty, not ashamed of anything and who is attracted to her new country doctor. She doesn’t know this country doctor is really Lord Michael De Grey, brother to a Duke. He is in the country in hiding. This book is full of witty dialogue and amazing sexual tension. I adored it. I’ll post a review closer to the release date at the end of January. But put on your wish list!

Kissing Kendall by Jennifer Shirk is a cute and light-hearted best friends to lovers book about a woman who lost her firefighter husband and falls for her good friend. Problem is, he is a police officer and she worries she might lose him too. I wanted to see these two actually have more one on one time together – but this author has a nice voice. I’d like to try more from her. Review coming soon.

Finally, I just started Painted Faces by LH Cosway. I’ve only read the first two chapters but I’m so, so intrigued. Check out the reviews at Fiction Vixen and Dear Author. I plan a review for later this week.

Tori’s News: Just finished Soulbound by Tessa Adams and I’m in shock and awe. In fact, we are left on a cliffhanger that made my jaw hit the floor and then violently shaking my e reader for the additional pages that HAD to be there. Grrrr. A suspenseful PNR filled with blood, magic, and violence. I started out a little confused as the world was built but once that settled, I couldn’t put it down till the end. Review to come.

Lauren Hawkeye’s Seduced by the Gladiator is a dark erotic romance that doesn’t shy away from the cruelty and perversions of the Roman Empire. I enjoyed the story though the romance seemed to move fast. Yuu also get a little surprise that readers of My Wicked Gladiators will enjoy. Review to come.

Everyone has been raving about Escorted by Claire Kent. Touted as a more indepth version of Cara McKenna’s Curio, Escorted is a cracktacular guilty pleasure that will have you swooning to the very end. Some editing and repetitive terms are present but the journey to the romance is well worth it.

As a self proclaimed SEP hore, I was very surprised to see I had not read all of her Chicago Stars series. *GASP* I picked up some at the bookstore and decided to do a re read of her first in the series-It Had To Be You. This book ALWAYS makes me laugh. A wonderful romance between an alpha football coach and a misjudged woman. Their banter will have you rolling and their affair will take you through a mash up of emotions as we watch them fight falling in love with every ounce of their will. AND…it’s only .99 on Amazon for the ebook. I drove right into the second book of the series, Heaven, Texas, which tells the story of ex Star player Bobby Tom Denton and the woman who is determined to drag him from notoriety to respectability. Laughter and tears will fight for your attention as these two desperate people fight falling in love.

Jack L. Pyke’s Don’t… is a dark and delicious erotic MM romantic thriller that takes you to the edge and back as we follow a damaged young man and the two men you love him on a journey through his past. This one took me out of my comfort zones a few times and had me plotting certain people’s deaths when they acted like a-holes. Regardless, I was hooked to the very end and satisfied with the ride Pyke took me on. Review to come.

Nalini Singh is a total auto buy for me. I’d read anything by her-even her laundry list. Her anthology, Wild Invitation, is a nice little “tide me over” till the next Psy Changling and Angel book releases. Inhere we get four short novellas that tell us the story of four beloved Changling couples and how they came to love and mate with one another. LOVED!! Review to come.

I am currently reading Pack Of Lies by Sara Dailey and Roped In by Sindra van Yssel.

News From Helyce:  Finally feeling back to myself after suffering from that horrific flu that has been in the news recently.  It’s a bad one. I’ve never been one for getting the flu shot-but after being that sick for over two weeks, I might do some re-thinking on that. Getting back into both the school routine and my work routine was nothing short of exhausting, but I did manage to read just a couple of books:

I finished and really enjoyed Immortal Craving by Kendra Leigh Castle. The world of the Dark Dynasties that she has created is different from any vampire series out there. I really liked the hero in this one. Tasmin wakes up after a very long sleep to realize he carries the soul of a demon within him. Memories of how it got there slowly come back to him and he heads to the US to find the person who did this to him. On the way he meets Bay, a cute, petite, pixie of a woman-but don’t let her size fool you.  They were a great match and I really enjoyed where the author took not only their story, but the series as a whole.  Review to come later this month.

I also read Screwing the System by Josephine Myles. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Ms. Myles so far, so I took a leap when Mandi offered me this one which has a bit of BDSM in it. This m/m romance is the story of Alastair and Cosmo-both men with baggage, who meet when Cosmo goes in for an interview at Alastair’s place of business. Neither can ignore their attraction to each other, but they kind of get off on the wrong foot initially. I’m still not a fan of BDSM in my romance as a rule-but in my limited experience with it in my reading, I thought it was done very well in here. Review to come.

I’m currently reading Wildcat by Cheryl Brooks for review in early February. I’ve been a fan of this series since I stumbled upon Slave in my local used bookstore.  I love the mix of science fiction and abundance of quirky and imaginative aliens in this series.  This is Jerden’s story and I’ve been looking forward to it since we met him a couple of books ago. It’s starting out a little slow and I feel like I’m missing some details from Jerden’s back story but I’m sure they’ll come to light soon. I also hope to read Escorted by Claire Kent this weekend. Mandi assures me it’s a must read!