This week at Smexy…

A review – Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop (urban fantasy)
B review – Prince of Tricks by Jane Kindred (erotic pnr)
B- review – Baby, It’s Cold Outside by HelenKay Dimon (contemporary)
C+ review – Carolina Man by Virginia Kantra (contemporary)
C+ review – The Dark Affair by Marie Claremont (historical)
C+ review – Second Chance at Passion by Heather Lire (contemporary)
F review – Secure Target by Rebecca Crowley (romantic suspense)

Guest Author Megan Hart
Excerpt from Need you Tonight by Roni Loren
Cover Reveal: Red Hot Chance by KT Grant

News from Mandi: I finished Beyond Jealousy by Kit Rocha – I enjoyed it. It was a very believable HEA menage in my eyes. And it’s filthy y’all. So damn filthy. Tori and I are joint reviewing it and will post the review closer to release date – Tori has a different take on some of the things – it was fun to discuss.

Sin’s Haven by Carlene Love Flores is a quirky little book. It has a very confusing first chapter, and then once I figured out what was going on – it’s different. The hero is the computer/tech guy for a band. He has long hair, is really tall – wears odd clothing. I liked how different he was. The heroine’s boyfriend committed suicide a year ago and she is still dealing with that but has chemistry with the hero. That was all fine and dandy. But the second half fell apart for me. I’ll talk about it in my review.

His Abductor’s Desire by Harper St. George is a debut historical western. I liked the premise – heroine is a bank robber and sees old flame. It’s fun – except wayyyyyy too short. I needed more back story and action. Review to come soon.

Finally I read and LOVED Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop. Tori reviewed it this week. It’s an easy A for me and probably my favorite book so far this year. You must read Written in Red first if you want to try this series. It’s one of the best urban fantasy series out there.

News from Tori: I haven’t done much reading this week. I know, I suck. *sad face* The weather has me still feeling blah and so I decided some re reads were in order. I’ve always been a huge fan of Julie Garwood’s historical romances. My favorite series are the Highland Laird series, the Laird’s Fiancee series and the Crown Spies series. Humorous, romantic, and packed up intrigue and suspense. They all revolve around strong capable heroines and grumpy but sweet alpha heroes. I like that the emotional angst is minimal and while there is always a conflict that results in the couple being separated, the hero has no problem manning up and showing the heroine that she means the world to him. They are all quick enjoyable reads that leave me sighing with happiness once I’m finished.

Into the Storm by Susan Fanetti-Book three in her Signal Bend MC series. I liked this one though I felt the storyline was dramatically tamer and looser in structure from the first one (I have yet to read all of the second). Show was delightful but Shannon irritated me a little. Such a drama queen at times. I liked that Shaw was able to move on past what happened in book 2 (you do get a recap) and find some peace within himself. Shannon’s drama also resolved though I felt it wasn’t as bad as the author tried to make it out to be.

Shaking the Sugar Tree by Nick Wilgus-A sweet heartfelt book that addresses the dilemmas a  a gay single parent of a disabled child faces in a religious rural southern town. Humorous and heartbreaking. Review to come.

Betting Trouble by Dee Tenorio. A cute funny romance contemporary that contains three favorite tropes of mine-revenge, friends to lovers, and the ugly duckling. The heroine’s journey from one of the guys to a female fatale is filled with humor, self reflection, and some hot smexy times. Though the hero’s high handedness became tedious at times, the overall story was enjoyable.

Kristan Higgin’s Waiting For You is the third book in her Blue Heron series. A humorous rom com that gives us a story on second chance romance. I enjoyed though the hero in here reminded me a little of the hero in book one. Same inability to communicate. He was very adept at deflecting his feelings and answering questions with questions. There was also a small issue of slut shaming that annoyed me. The heroine is a riot and her relationships with others was so much fun to see. Review to come.

The Day He Kissed Her by Juliana Stone is a sad heartfelt rom com that addresses the toll abuse can take on a person, the different paths abuse victims to choose to take, and the ability to forgive and move on. I was instantly submerged in the protagonist’s story. So much pain but Stone balances it nicely with humor, delightful secondary characters, and some very passionate smexy times. Review to come.

Walk on the Striped Side by Jessie Lane is an outrageous over the top sexy laugh out loud PNR that will appeal to fans of Shelly Laurenston. Second chance love is the trope though the actions our very alpha tiger shifter will leave you in stitches as he struggles to get his mate back. Especially when it becomes perfectly clear that his “mate” would rather kill him then kiss him. Review to come.

This weekend I have to kick it in high gear on some review books. I have on the list- The Perfect Catch by Sierra Dean, Floodgate by Mary Calmes, and It’s Always Been You by Jessica Scott.

News from Helyce: I’m finally feel like I’m out of my reading slump.  A couple good contemporaries this week really hit the spot.  Now I think my mind is read for maybe some m/m or erotic romance.  We’ll see!!!

I read Double Blind by Heidi Cullinan.  This is book two of her Special Delivery series and since I’ll be reading book three, Tough Love, for review I wanted to be familiar with all the characters.  This is Randy and Ethan’s book and I liked this couple.  Set in Las Vegas, these two meet when Randy bets a friend he can get together with Ethan.  But when they actually meet, Ethan senses that there is a lot going on with Ethan.  It’s serious and very quickly the bet is not the most important thing.  There’s a huge build up to something big happening-but when it does, it’s a little anticlimactic.

Continuing in the m/m romance genre, I read Bad Influence by K.A. Mitchell for review.  I’m a big fan of this author and so far I’ve enjoyed this Bad In Baltimore series.  While this one had some really good moments, on the whole it didn’t come through in the same way as her previous work.  This is a second chance love story for Silver and Zeb, but a lot happened during the time they were apart, especially for Silver.  When Zeb learns what turning his back on Silver caused, he’s loaded down with guilt. Review to come.

As a huge Robyn Carr fan, I jumped on the chance to read Four Friends for review.  I loved this story of four women who are neighbors and great friends,  This story embodies everything about the “girl code”.  There is cheating, divorce, mental illness, menopause, dealing with kids–all dealt with extremely well.  I loved. Review to come near release.

Lastly, just last night I finished up Lori Foster’s Dash of Peril. I really loved this book.  If you’re a fan of Foster’s Love Undercover series, then you’ve met Dash Riske and you know he’s had a thing for Lt. Margaret Peterson for a while.  In this book, he finally gets a chance to show Lt. Peterson, or Margo as Dash calls her, exactly who he is and he’ll prove to her that he’s just fine with her hard ass cop persona because when they are alone, he knows she’s all woman.  This story continues the ongoing story arc of trying to catch murderers, kidnappers and back alley porn makers, as well as cleaning up the bad-cop issue that’s been a huge issue. I just loved it.  Review to come at release.

This weekend, around 4 soccer games, finally changing over to cable internet (on Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m.) and the usual weekend fare, I hope to finish up Tough Love by Heidi Cullinan and start Hope Ignites by Jaci Burton.  Have a great weekend!