This week at Smexy…

A review – The Tin Box by Kim Fielding (m/m)
B+ review – The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas (historical)
B+ review – Entwined by Kristen Callihan (historical pnr)
B review – Christmas on Main Street Anthology (holiday)
B review – Winter’s Heat by Zoe Archer (historical)
C+ review – Striking Distance by Pamela Clare (romantic suspense)
C review – Shock & Awe by Abigail Roux (m/m)
D review – Blue Ice by Carolina Soto (contemporary)
F review – Yours to Keep by Serena Bell (contemporary)

Smexy’s Top Ten

News From Mandi:

Down the Aisle by Christine Bell – A follow-up novella to Down for the Count (a book I really enjoyed) – this one follows the couple who are getting ready for their wedding and their fertility problems. I think the issues brought up needed more pages to have an impact. Review coming.

Along Came Trouble by Erin Kern – Hero owns a struggling restaurant – heroine is a food photographer. They lacked chemistry – never believed in their romance. Review coming.

All in with the Duke by Ava March – A historical m/m featuring a duke who falls for a prostitute. It’s sweet and romantic and verra sexy. Review coming.

The Chocolate Heart by Laura Florand – One of my favorite series but the heroine in this one gave me a bit of a headache. I have a long-winded review of this one coming. It’s sexy and I loved the hero and I understand the heroine’s actions, they just exhausted me.

One book I wanted to mention is Tamara Morgan’s novella, In the Clear. I meant to talk about it in my Top Ten yesterday but forgot. It’s a quick novella with a beta hero who works as a car salesman by day but does something more….daring…at night. His best friend’s sister is the heroine. She is very loud and clumsy with no filter. I adored her. Their romance is HOT. And I smiled and laughed. I highly rec this one. Goodreads l Kindle

News from Tori: Busy, busy, busy week. A new couch AND mattress for casa Benson. A real live grown up mattress. Oh, I can’t tell you the joy I feel each morning when I awaken with no springs poking me in my back.

I read quite a few blogger recs this week. I have no will power and most of my friends are powerful pimps.

Jane from Dear Author pimped Move The Sun by Susan Fanetti. An MC biker romance suspense that fans of Joanne Wylde and Kristen Ashley will enjoy. The appeal of this story was the strength of the heroine and hero. She is the alpha in this relationship, though don’t mistake this beta hero to be a pushover. Blazing hawt love scenes and a strong action packed storyline guarantees Fanetti is an author I’ll be watching for more from.

Amy from Fiction Vixen tore up my email with all her naughty naughty talk about Ella Frank’s Try– a gay for you M/M romance contemporary. A bi sexual hero wants a straight man and launches a sexual campaign that leaves you panting. Off the charts sexual tension saturates the book and when these two men finally give in to their desires…OMG…watch out. My only qualm is once we past the 60% mark, it becomes drenched in non stop sex and I felt we needed more storyline. There are a lot of obstacles that need addressing and Franks only scratches the surface. There is no resolution so I am looking forward to book two.

I saw this freebie on amazon and decided to take a chance as it had good reviews and looked interesting. Plus, it was free. 30 Days by K. Larsen is a romance suspense about a young woman who is hiding from her abusive spouse. The story alternates between the past and present. Enjoyable with a faint NA feel. I would have enjoyed more suspense though. The majority of the book focuses on her building a new relationship with a young man she meets while hiding. Sex times ahoy but the action and suspense doesn’t really enter the picture till the very end, leaving us on a cliffhanger. BOO!

Taking Him by Jackie Ashenden is a dark erotic romance that addresses sexual abuse and the courage needed to heal. Enjoyable and sexy (hero has some serious DOM control issues) but the heroine annoyed me. She was pushy and tended to base all her arguments on the fact she has loved the hero forever. It was ME ME ME. That’s fine if hero had felt the same way. But he didn’t in the beginning (or didn’t know he felt that way) and he has some serious issues to work through. I just wish she had approached the whole situation in a different way.

Text by Cambria Hurbert is a romance suspense about a woman kidnapped and saved through a series of texts to an unknown savior. Enjoyable story with an interesting premise, though I wish we had spent more time on the suspense and gotten more indepth with the villain and his reasons for why he did it. Because isn’t a qualifying reason.

If Only by Cherise Sinclair finally gives us Sally and her FBI Doms’ story. The erotic scenes balance well with the suspense and action of the story. The boys annoyed me a little in that they treat Sally like a child but since she acts like one at times, I guess it evens out. The go balls to the wall sexually in here so…have some ice water handy. :)

Roxie Rivera’s Sergei continues on her Russian Protector series and all I can say is, ‘Oh my yes please.’ Fast pacing and a well plotted storyline gives us a super sexy story with a hot russian alpha lover and the woman he is determined to make his. Multiple storylines blend perfectly together and the heroine is kick arse when she needs to fight for her man. I really enjoy this series and look forward to more soon. She has an m/m romance sidelining in the overall series so I hope we get their full story.

Wulfe Untamed by Pamela Clare is the final book in her HAWT PNR series-Feral Warriors. A tortured hero struggles to do what his people need while protecting a woman who calls to his heart. Reads fast and furious, wrapping everything up nicely. There is a plotline that develops, hinting to a possible spin off. REALLY hope this happens. Reviewing for RT Book Reviews Magazine.

Reaper’s Legacy by Joanne Wylde brings us back to the crazy impetuous world of the Reapers MC and the women who try to tame these bad, bad boys. This one, for me, was more humorous. Lots of laughs, snark, action,suspense, and some seriously hawt smexing going on. The hero from book one, Horse, is in rare form in here and let me rolling at times. Reviewing for RT Book Reviews Magazine.