This week at Smexy…

B+ review – Where You Lead by Mary Calmes (m/m)
B+ review – The Chocolate Temptation by Laura Florand (contemporary)
B- review – The Expert’s Guide to Driving a Man Wild by Jessica Clare (contemporary)
C+ review – The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin (urban fantasy)
C- review – River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz (romantic suspense)
C- review – Ruined by Tracey Wolff (erotic)

Dark Cravings Blog Tour
Feature: Dying to Love her by Dana Lorraine
First Three Chapters of Live by Mary Ann Rivers
Smexy’s Top Ten

News from Mandi: All Fired Up by Kate Meader was an okay contemporary romance. I had a hard time getting into it – I think I would have done better if I had read book one. I got confused as to who was related to who and the different dynamics between them. The second half was definitely better for me and there are some really sexy scenes. Review coming.

Knock Out by Michele Mannon didn’t do it for me. The heroine annoyed me and the hero started dark and brooding but didn’t stay that way.

If you want a fighter romance, I recommend Wild Ones by Kristine Wyllys. Dark, broody boxer hero and heroine who is sarcastic and cocky. Intense and sexy.

I’m also reading the third Game of Thrones book so that is definitely cutting into my romance reading time. It’s so good.

Tori’s News: Internet fails all week. I swear, someone hates me so I am writing this really quick before it fails again.

The Devil’s Flower by Lisa Collicutt. Loved the cover and premise-young woman finds herself in the arms of a MC VP and learns some interesting things about herself. However, the book fails to execute and it has a strong YA/NA feel. Plus, there are some scenes that defy rationality. Lots of raised eyebrows and eye rolls.

Iron Night by M.L. Brennan. If you love your paranormal deadly and witty, then you’ll love Iron Night. The second installment in Brennan’s urban fantasy series-American Vampire-this series revolves around a young man in the middle of becoming a vampire and his struggles to maintain his humanity. Funny, quirky, suspenseful, and action packed, Brennan brings back the vamps of old and sets them loose in modern times. Review to come.

Shiloh Walker’s The Innocent is an dark PNR novella set in her FBI Psychic series. A full bodied storyline filled with heat and horror as a young woman travels to a small town to find out why her online boyfriend dumped her. What she finds is more than she bargained for. Review to come.

Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep. I’m totally bummed this is the last book in her YA Mythos Academy series but I can honestly say that Estep does it justice and left me in a content if not happy place. Hopefully she will revisit this series in the future. Review to come.

Drew + Fable Forever by Monica Murphy is a sweet sexy humorous novella that helps to being this favorite couple full circle. Drew and Fable have married and now dealing with this and other life altering situations while Drew is away playing football. As usual with this couple, they hit their challenges head on and emerge triumphant.

Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston is the ninth installment in her incredibly funny Pride series. Full of sarcasm, uppity shape shifters, and lots of smexy time in between kicking arse, Bite me advances a long standing storyline and introduces a new breed of shapeshifters whose antics will leave you wide eyed and rolling on the ground. Review to come.

Where You Lead by Mary Calmes is a sweet and heartfelt romance mm contemporary about a couple whose relationship receives a jolt when one is called home. I enjoyed meeting Peter and Carter and watching them learn that home is wherever their heart is. Review here.

Charlotte Stein’s Almost Real was an interesting book that examines a single point in time without much development of the world or characters involved. Sensual and raw at times, we listen to a woman as she struggles to open up emotionally and justify her attraction to the one person she can never have.

I DNF’d A Gentleman Til Midnight by Allison DeLaine. I just couldn’t connect to the heroine. Her emotions and actions were all over the place and the dialogue set up made it almost impossible for me to know whom was speaking. I do believe I will try and revisit this a little later.

This weekend I’m reading Ally Blue’s A Ghost Most Elusive, Feel The Heat by Kate Meader, and a few from my TBR.

News from Helyce: I had a lot of extra hours at work this week which made making reading a priority difficult, but I managed to get some reading in:

I finished Going Up by Amy Lane

I found this novella absolutely adorable in every way. Beautifully written and totally different from any previous Amy Lane story I’ve read so far! While very short, focus on couple was perfect.

For review I read Rule Breaker by Lora Leigh

I have been a fan of this series since I came across book one and Callan Lyons gave himself a hand job while sunning on a rock as his future mate watched him in hiding. This syfy/paranormal romance series use of animal/human genetics splicing has been a special kind of guilty pleasure for me up to this, it’s 29th installment. Though recent books have been fraught with errors due to obvious lack of editing, I am a diehard fan and cannot quit this series. I am happy to report that some long over due loose ends are finally tied up in this book and that made me very happy!

Also for review I read Burn for Me by Cynthia Eden

I haven’t read Ms. Eden for a while, so when this new series was brought to my attention I jumped on it and I’m glad I did. Great characters with a fresh take on a phoenix shifter-this book is action packed with exciting characters and is a great start to this series.

After reading a few reviews about The Destiny of Violet and Luke by Jessica Sorensen I just had to read this for myself. As a fan of this series to date, I too have been intrigued by the character of Luke and though Violet did not make a good impression on me in the previous book, I came around after reading this story. Destiny is a fabulous word to describe how these two meet after the turmoil to both of their young lives. It’s emotional and heartbreaking and the ending killed me. I have no idea how this couple can ever come back from what is revealed in here.

I’m currently reading the anthology Marked by Kit Rocha, Vivian Arend and Lauren Dane

I’m enjoying so far. The story by Ms. Arend is quite erotic with some light bdsm and voyeurism that is working really well with this couple. And we get a cameo of Cassidy and Ashley. After that I’m not sure…