This week at Smexy…

B+ review – Broken Soul by Faith Hunter (urban fantasy/tori)
B review – Rowdy by Jay Crownover (contemporary/tori)
B review – Prisoner by Annika Martin and Skye Warren (dark contemporary/mandi)
B- review – A Little Christmas Jingle by Michele Dunaway (contemporary/may)
C+ review – What a Wallflower Wants by Maya Rodale (historical/may)
C review – Perfectly Good White Boy by Carrie Mesrobian (contemporary/romance)
D review – The Mistletoe Effect by Melissa Cutler (contemporary/may)

Relaunch of the Gardella Vampire series by Colleen Gleason
Tori’s October Mini Reviews
Good Blogger Behavior
Tori’s Thoughts: Reading and Reviewing for the Public and Oneself
Smexy’s Top Ten

News from Mandi: Caged in Winter by Brighton Walsh didn’t do it for me. I had a very hard time with the heroine – super prickly and defensive and I never warmed up to her. The hero was nice and warm – I never understood why he fell in love or was so persistent in trying to catch the heroine’s attention. Review coming.

Another disappointment was Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica Clare. I really enjoy this series but this heroine (sorry for dumping on heroines this week!) is soooo wishy-washy I wanted to shake her a bit towards the end. Her lack of communication with the hero is so frustrating. It’s a nice treasure-adventure story – but the heroine annoyed me. Review coming.

I read Prisoner which I liked and reviewed above. Super dark if you are looking for a dark, intense romance.

I’m now reading Dreamer’s Pool by Juliet Marillier. I’m about 40% in and I’m LOVING. It’s a fantasy, but so far the fantasy aspects are light. There are some fey, and a lake called Dreamer’s Pool which I think has something going on in it. The book starts with the heroine in prison – and wow – it’s just so well done. I’m reading it slow because I want to soak in every detail. Full review coming on release day.

News From Tori. Oy, Oy, Oy. This week has been a pizzer (I’m channeling my inner Ray Donovan), but I will survive (now I’m channeling my inner Gloria Gaynor). :P

Alice Clayton’s Last Call is a hilarious novella in her Cocktail series that focuses on Caroline and Simon-Wallbanger and Nightie Girl. Funny, sweet, arc advancing, and HAWT, Clayton gives us the goods on one of her most loved couples. My review will appear in DEC issue of RT Book Reviews Magazine.

Rules For A Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley. #7 in her MacKenzie and McBride series, this installment gives us a sweet, sexy, and fun romance between widower Sinclair McBride and an enthusiastic pickpocket, Bertie. This particular romance takes a different tone as the majority is spent with Sinclair and Bertie getting to know one another and developing a relationship that isn’t just sexual. The conflict is low key and I thought the station status differences presented well. Sinclair’s kids are delightful and I always enjoy spending more time with the MacKenzies and McBrides.

Larissa Ione’s Revenant gives what it promises and more. Hell hath no fury like a man ignored. :P I loved Rev and his intended HEA. She gives him no quarter which is hilarious when his overly inflated ego gets in his way. We learn more about his growing up in hell and the reasons for the way he acts. Ione wraps up a long running arc with much enthusiasm, appeal, and SMEXY TIMES!!. Fans will LOVE. Review to come.

More Than Exes by Elizabeth Briggs–A prequel to Briggs full length novel More Than Music. More Than Exes is a small reconnection love story between the band’s keyboardist and the girl who broke his heart after high school. We get some background about the band, the brothers, and what’s to come. Review to come.

All I Want For Christmas Is You by Jessica Scott is a bittersweet and heart wrenching story about second chances and the trials of PTSD in our soldiers returning home. Review to come.

Served Cold by Marie Harte. I like Marie Harte’s romantic contemporaries. They are sexy, funny, and contain just the right amount of angst to make the story interesting and engaging. Served Cold is a second chance love story about two a high school couple who was torn apart by lies and reconnect with a wee bit of angst, anger, and revenge.

This weekend I am reading Mary Burton’s Cover Your Eyes.