This week at Smexy…

B review – Lord Of The Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt (hist. romance)
B review – Uncommon Pleasure by Anne Calhoun (erotic romance)
B review- House Rules by Chloe Neill (urban fantasy)
B Joint review – Edge Of Dawn by Lara Adrian (paranormal romance)
B- review-Raid by Kristen Ashley (romantic contemporary)
C review – A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara (hist. romance)
C review- Agent of Desire by Charlie Evans (romantic suspense)
C- Guest review- Calculated In Death by J.D.Robb (futuristic romance/sus)
C review-The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson (ya/paranormal thriller)
D review-The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson (ya/paranormal thriller)
D review-Illicit by Opal Carew (erotic romance)

Author Anne Calhoun:One Writer’s Balancing Act (Giveaway)
To Be Read-May
Vivian Arend’s High Risk Blog Tour
Smexy’s Top Ten

Mandi’s News: (Tori here…I’m channeling Mandi since she’s gone)
I’m outta here, hores! I’ll be thinking about you all  and wishing I was home with you as I bask in the hot sun and drink super fruity alcoholic drinks while ogling hot smexy men…NOT. See you all later.

Tori’s News: Besides being SUPER jealous of where Mandi is…I haven’t read too much this week. I’m a slacker.
So I picked up Evelyn R. Baldwin’s Vacant (Adult version) based on some incredible reviews. Wasn’t quite what  expected. Vacant is a YA/NA with an solid premise that fails to deliver.

Dark Days by Caitlin Kittredge is her 6th installment in her Black London series. Action packed with plenty of suspense and the delicious foul mouth of Jack Winters. Long time readers will be pleased with this installment. It wraps up the long standing arc and clues us in to Jack and Pete’s new adventure. Review will appear in May issue of RT Book Review Magazine.

I’ve never read a modern contemporary by Mary Jo Putney. I’ve only read her historicals so I was excited to she had written an entire romantic contemp/suspense series. Stirring The Embers is a somewhat dark book that addresses spousal abuse, religion, patriarchal families, and second chances. Enjoyable though slow to set up and only one very tame smexy scene.

J.D. Robb’s Calculated in Death wasn’t quite as good as the last few in the series thriller wise but I really enjoyed the interaction between Eve and Roarke. Eve seems more playful and less tense in here. FINALLY, she seems comfortable with her life.

I MUST catch up with reviews so I will be finishing up Rob Thurman’s Slashback and then starting on Sherri L. Smith’s Orleans and Jennifer Harlow’s What’s A Witch To Do.

May’s News:  This week I finished two amazing books:

Any Duchess will Do by Tessa Dare (review to come) – totally lived up to the Spindle Cove awesomeness. I’m just sorry it will be the final novel in the series! Nooo! Speaking of series (that I’m nowhere near done with) – I finished White Night by Jim Butcher. Oh Harry Dresden, I never tire of you. This book was good, but not quite as awesomesauce as the previous few and it left me feeling slightly less than satisfied.

Speaking of less than satisfied, I’m falling out of love with the Gardella series. I know! I hope book #5 gets its act together because #4? Totally felt like filler material and made me stabby. The love triangle went too long and far – but I think/hope I’ll enjoy the end.

On an amazing historical paranormal romance note, I’m finishing up Winterblaze and YOWZA. I love this book. Win is a beast and often thinks with his peen. I approve of this.

News from Helyce:  My hours have changed a bit at work, and I’m finding that I have less and less time for reading, which is really pissing me off. As my daughter gets back into her soccer practice routine, I expect that I’ll at least have that time to read and hopefully catch up on the TBR and stay on track with my review books. So, here we go!

I finished up Illicit by Opal Carew and that review posted this past Wednesday. While I could buy into the fantasy presented in this story, and liked the four main characters, certain things didn’t work for me. So I jumped into a fantastic m/m paranormal romance called Blacque/Bleu by Belinda McBride. I loved this story. The whole forbidden love trope worked so well for me in this book. Lukas Blacque is a werewolf and Oliver Bleu is a vampire. If that wasn’t enough, Lukas is hiding the fact that he’s gay from his pack. Everything in this story worked for me from the romance to the pack politics. Loved-definitely recommend!

Next I picked up The Rocker That Holds Me by Terri Anne Browning. I’m not sure how I came across this story, but I really enjoyed it. Probably classified as new adult, its the story of a group young men in a band who foster a young girl when her drugged addicted mother dies. They’d known her since she was a little girl and had been taking care of her that long as well, having all grown up in the same trailer park.  A bit cliched, Ember falls for one of them and a romance ensues. I have not read a lot of YA or NA recently; I enjoyed this one.

Next up, I had the pleasure of reading LUSH by Lauren Dane.  If you are a fan of Ms. Dane’s Brown Siblings and this spinoff seriesDelicious, RUN to the store and buy this book on April 2. I adored Damien and Mary’s story. Mary is very involved with expanding her catering business. She meets Damien at Gillian and Adrian’s wedding. Damien is in a rock band and is a friend of Adrian’s. Damien is super HAWT and he takes a shine to Mary! Mary likes Damien too. Both think they’ll just have a little fun, spend a little time, make a little love BUT it becomes so much more. The conflict they experience is a tad predictable, but I loved this book.  My favorite of all the Delicious couples! Full review closer to release date.

I then also had the pleasure of reading an arc of Rocky Mountain Rebel by Vivian Arend, book 5 in her Six Pack Ranch series.  Loved this one. Loved! Joel and his twin brother Jesse have a reputation of tag teaming with their lady friends. Joel is tired of it and wants to change peoples perception of him. Vicki Hansol has a bad reputation more by association than anything else. When she and Joel get together they find more than friendship. I really enjoyed the journey this couple takes. Review to come.

I am currently reading A Shadow of Wings by Linda Gayle. I’m enjoying for the most part, but it’s starting to drag a little. I need something to happen already.  I’ll need to focus on review books next so I’ll be reading an anthology called Nautier and Willder by Lora Leigh and Jaci Burton this weekend.  Happy reading!