This week at Smexy…

A review – Burn by Calllie Hart (contemporary)
B+ review – Tanya by Rebecca Rogers Maher (contemporary)
B+ review – The Kraken King Parts 4-6 by Meljean Brook (steampunk)
B- review – Sixth Grave from the Edge by Darynda Jones (paranormal)
B- review – The Bastard by Inez Kelley (paranormal)
C+ review – Love and Shenanigans by Zara Keane (contemporary)
C+ review – Inn at Last Chance by Hope Ramsay (contemporary)
C+ review – Four Weddings and a Break-Up by Elyssa Patrick (contemporary)

C review – Dare to Resist by Laura Kaye (contemporary)

Find your Joy!
Smexy’s Top Ten

News from Mandi:  Most of what I read this week, I also reviewed this week, as I’m trying to catch up from my trip to New Orleans. I’ll be starting Sun-Kissed by Laura Florand this weekend – very intrigued by this one and love this author. I also finished Insurgent by Veronica Roth and liked it. Still wary to read book three – might put it off for awhile.

I’ve also started First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones – Tori loves this series and I thought it was about time I try it. I’m doing it on audio – the narrator is Lorelei James King and she is SO good. I’m about two hours into the book and I’m really enjoying it.

News From Tori: It is HOT here in Florida. I’m talking OMG I WANT TO STRIP OFF MY CLOTHES AND RUN AROUND NAKED hot. *melting* The bad part? Even the water in our pool is already like bath water. It’s a sad day when you have to throw ice in your pool to just make the water bearable. With days like this, all you can do is stay inside the a/c and read.

Fall From India Place by Samantha Young. NA. Likeable rom com overall (the hero is TO DIE FOR) but I had serious issues with the heroine.

Perfect Collision (Marauders, #3) by Lina Andersson. RC. A sweet romance contemporary set amongst an MC. The MC angle is downplayed severely-we go in depth into the individual life stories of the people in the club rather than the MC itself. Sweet, sexy, and funny.

I reread Susan Wigg’s Just Breathe and enjoyed this time around just as much as the last time I read it. A rom com about a woman who finds out she’s pregnant after she discovers her husband has been cheating on her. A sweet and emotional journey towards discovery that addresses infidelity, infertility and forgiveness.

The Probability of Luke and Violet (The Coincidence, #4) by Jessica Sorensen. NA. I really have to be in a special mood to read Jessica Sorensen as she tends to write on some subject matter that evokes a heavy emotional response. This installment picks up a few months after book one brings more pain, heartache, drama, and emotional flagellation.  I liked it overall but I wasn’t blown away. The endless drama and bad decisions seemed to be nothing more then a repeat from the previous book.  I wanted to see some growth from the characters. I hear there is a book three to Luke & Violet’s story. I hope they get a decent ending.

Reasonable Doubt Volume 2 by Whitney Garcia Williams. ER. I liked volume one but enjoyed this one more. The connection I was searching for in volume one is evident in here and we are given a deeper look into the reasons for our protags actions and the emotions behind them. I enjoyed that Andrew isn’t necessarily getting nicer but does seem to be opening up a little more. I still have issues with  Aubrey and her lack of regret for lying. She needs to take some responsibility for her actions in that regard. Ends on a bit of a cliffie. Looking forward to volume three.

Rev (Baynet Scars, #3) by J.C. Emery. RC. Book one was an OTT wash out for me but happy to say books two and three were so much better. You can see the series settling and maturing into a viable series and not so much a dramatic Jerry Springer episode. I loved seeing two older protags coming together-personalities clashing but not overwhelming. Our heroine is no club bunny and doesn’t put up with any of the normal MC rules concerning old ladies, sweetbutts, and her man. My only concern was the ongoing arc and a separate plotline from book two were touched upon but no real advancement. Plus, there is an epilogue that seems to wrap up the series yet there is too much left unresolved.

Sweet Filthy Boy (Wild Seasons, #1) By Christina Lauren.  RC. Two people who marry on a drunken whim in Vegas wake up sober but decide to see if that spark that drew them together stayed in Vegas or is strong enough to follow them anywhere. I admit the title completely turned me off the book and I struggled about reading it. I have a thing about the word filthy. It’s weird, I know. However, I’m so glad I got over my issue because this has to be one of the cutest sexiest most adorable rom coms I’ve read this year. And filthy. OMG is it filthy.

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu. YA. An interesting story about bullying and slut shaming told from perpetrators point of view. Mathieu does a fabulous job of not only presenting the subject in an engaging manner but also shows us that the humanity behind the bullies who attempt to destroy a young girl’s life. Review to come.

The Scoundrel’s Seduction (House of Trent, #3) by Jennifer Haymore. HR. The third book in the House of Trent series focuses on the eldest brother and his lovely prisoner. Review to come.

Against The Dawn (Shaedes, #4) by Amanda Bonilla. UF. Bonilla zigs zags and leaves us panting for more as she sends Darian back into the fray with her two boys firmly at her back. Review to come.

Banishing The Dark by Jenn Bennett.  UF. The fourth and final book wraps up Bennett’s Arcadia Bell series with flourish. Review to come.

Born Of Stone by Missy Jane. DNF.Wonderful premise that promises intrigue and suspenseful fantasy with a hint of romance. Instead, we get a erotic pnr with an subpar storyline and under developed characters.  (Mandi says: damn it! It has an awesome cover too)

The River Leith by Leta Blake. A M/M romance about a couple who have to start from scratch when an accident causes one of them to lose all their memories of the other. Retrospective and heartfelt. Review to come.

Happenstance by Jamie McGuire. YA. An emotionally barren cinderella-esque story that features a bullied girl whose dreams come true when the school hunk falls for her. None of the characters were bad per say and the storyline has some merit but it seemed as though the plot was too ambitious for the length of the novella. There was too much going on that wasn’t developed or addressed. Honestly, this novella seems to have been written merely as a frame for McGuire to showcase her new Maddox Brothers book which releases July 1st. The excerpt to Beautiful Oblivion was the best part of this novella.

I am reading LKH’s A Shiver of Light and The Frozen Star by Jessie Lane this weekend.