This week at Smexy…

B+ review – Last Breath by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick (suspense)
B+ review – Special Interests by Emma Barry (contemporary)
B review – Absolution by Angela McGurk (paranormal)
B review – Home Sweet Home by Sarah Title (contemporary)
C+ review – The Rebel Pirate by Donna Thorland (historical)
C review – Tough Love by Heidi Cullinan (m/m)
C- review – Plain Jayne by Laura Drewry (contemporary)
D review – Laura’s Wolf by Lia Silver (paranormal suspense)

A Numbers Game Blog Tour
Tori Discusses: Emo Vampires Need Not Apply
Smexy’s Top Ten

News from Mandi: I’m on such a good reading streak you guys! I’ve read Home Sweet Home by Sarah Title and Special Interests by Emma Barry – both reviewed this week (above) and I enjoyed both so much.  I can’t wait for Emma Barry to put another book out.

Yesterday I read Hard Time by Cara McKenna. When the book opens, the hero is in prison – he has been there for five years. The librarian heroine starts teaching classes at the prison once a week – so they meet. The immediate sexual attraction is pretty intense. He has trouble writing so she helps him and then they start writing letters back and forth – secretly because they would get in trouble. And she is secretly freaking out about this whole thing. Years earlier she had an abusive boyfriend so she wonders is she is just glutton for punishment. But she can’t help herself with this guy. Then he gets out – and let me just say you need to read this when it comes out on Tuesday. SO sexy and I just loved both characters.

This weekend I’m going to start The Will by Kristen Ashley. I’ve heard good things but I’ve also had many tell me they can’t stand the way the heroine talks. So we shall see. I’m also going to read Indecent…Exposure by Jane O’Reilly. I’ve been rec’d this by a few people.

News from Tori: Trying to catch up on some review books while also reading from my personal TBR pile. This weekend we are going mud bogging. ZOMG. Fun times.

Break For Me by Shiloh Walker. The second prequel novella in her Secrets & Shadows series. Though each novella introduces a new couple, there is an ongoing arc. I enjoyed this one as the hero, Dean, is a delicious smooth talking southern gentleman. He pursues his heroine, Jensen, with a delicate mixture of dominance and compassion. Our heroine has issues but plays no games and the romance balances well with the conflict.

Long For Me by Shiloh Walker. The last prequel novella in her Secrets & Shadows series. We meet Chris and her hero-Guy. While I enjoyed seeing how the arc resolves itself, the heroine in here annoyed me. She is one of those characters who claims to just want friendship but sends hero mixed signals-a hero who has loved her for years. Luckily, she has siblings who aren’t afraid to set her straight.

The Kraken King (Parts 1-3) by Meljean Brook. Though not a fan of serials, Brook’s Kraken King is on par with the rest of her Iron Seas series and reabsorbed me back into her world with nary a hitch. A strong hero and prickly heroine provide laughs and sizzling sexual tension as they fight their way to towards their destination. There are 8 parts total with the book in it’s entirety being released in August 2014.

Cold Hard Secret (Secret McQueen, #7) By Sierra Dean I have a love/hate relationship with this series. On one hand, I get so angry with the heroine at times because of the decisions she makes. Yet on the other hand, it’s her off the cuff decisions and the reasons behind them that makes the series so appealing and our heroine so easy to relate to. She’s not the perfect all knowing never defeated heroine. I was super pleased with this installment. Long standing storylines are being wrapped up and the romance is FINALLY finding solid ground. Lots of action, violence, and snark. I’m super sad though that this series is ending with book 8-set to release in December. SAD I TELL YOU!! *shaking fist*

Dark Harvest (Maplecreek Amish Trilogy, #2) by Karen Harper I have a secret to tell you all. I love Amish romantic suspense books. There. Now you know. Enjoyable storyline and characters. Appreciated the time and effort Harper takes to divulge the day to day life of the Amish and bigotry that they endure. The investigation drags and certain plotlines go nowhere but the romance was very sweet. I will be reading Dark Angel, the 3rd book of this trilogy.

Duncan (Vampires in America, #5) by D.B Reynolds. Totally loving this series. Action, violence, smexy romance all wrapped up in one luscious storyline.

Lucas (Vampires in America, #6) by D.B Reynolds. Still loving this series though the heroine in here bugged me and I felt the vampire conflict over rode the main plotline that was used to bring H/h together. I’m not fond of an H or h that continuously runs away from their feelings and this heroine does it the whole book.

Aden (Vampires in America, #7) by D.B Reynolds. Aden has to be the darkest hero in this series. He’s more dominant then the rest and has a bit of kink to him. We get a nice indepth background history to Aden which didn’t happen in the first 6 books. An enjoyable heroine and of course, some smoking chemistry and a bloody main conflict.

Sliding Into Home by Arlene Hittle A short sports romance contemporary that fails to deliver on the premise. My review will post in the July issue of RT Book Reviews Magazine.

Betting The Rainbow (Harmony) by Jodi Thomas I was told that I would hate this book and to not even bother so I went into it with much trepidation. While I understood the anger some experienced reading, I enjoyed it overall. The main heroine whose story we have followed since the beginning is unsure of her hero and finds out she has reason to be. However, Thomas does well in assuring us and her that her heart is strong and she will persevere. We also get a nice wrap up to another storyline that left most readers battered and bruised in the last book.

I have no clue to what I am reading this weekend. I have so much I have to read I think I will just start blindly picking.