Review: Naughty Little Wishes (Birthday Dare # 2) by Nina Crespo
Released: January 5, 2015
Contemporary (SEXY) Romance
Entangled Brazen

Reviewed by Sheena

Favorite Quote: “Classy? You’re delusional.  That dress says you plan to keep your legs open and stay busier than a two-dollar whore on nickel night.”

ZOMGTHISWASSOGOTDAMNAWESOME!!!

Nina Crespo is a new author to me but I have fallen in insta-LOVE with her voice and damn if I have not added Birthday Dare #1 to the top  of my reading list and praying that it does not disappoint.  I literally could not read this fast enough!  Chapter one sets up a cute, fluffy little story line and I settled in ready to have some opposites attract romancy brain candy to pass the afternoon. FALSE.  I was fully engaged! By chapter four I was clutching my pearls, by chapter 10 I was white knuckling my e-reader, by chapter 16 I was on my second strand of pearls and by chapter 20 I had already been on the line fifteen minutes with my local pharmacy arguing the burning necessity of an immediately filled  Xanax prescription.  Naughty Little Wishes is definitely a novella that packed a punch!

Tabitha “Tab” Drake is a personal stylist who is my fav heroine thus far of 2015! (Gah! it’s early, I know, but I  l-o-v-e  Tab).  Unapologetic for her free spirit and fly by the seat of her panties personality she is in direct opposition and a stark contrast to uptight, controlling and supremely regimented Drew Bode.  They cross paths and she sets.his.blood.to.boiling.   Good thing Drew has his military security detail business to hide behind when thoughts of Tab burn too close to the surface.  That is until she volunteers to accompany him to a business function where the lines are blurred between business and pleasure when in a pinch, she agrees to help him secure a contract deal while securing a little fun of her own.  They are most often not even in the same book, let alone on the same page and communication is their Achilles heel.  Tab pushes, Drew pulls and somewhere in their tug of war they fall in love.  *le sigh*

Beyond being a fantastic little gem of a contemporary romance novella, this book was damned funny!  I whooped it up more than a few times.The writing is freaking ballsy and engaging.  And sorry, not sorry- if you do not have the good girlfriends kind of kinship with your BFF that Tab and her best friend Jasmine share then you are missing out on LIFE.

“Sorry, Tab.  So, have I gotten through to you at all about this?”

“I vote for inhaling more sexy dust and twerkin’ and swervin’ my ass down the road of forgiveness.”

“No you didn’t just use swerve and twerk in the same sentence.”  Jasmine’s laughter fueled hers.

Jasmine was not only a sounding board and supportive bestie, she called Tab out on her folly even as she supported her without judgement.  Seeing Tab and Drew through supporting characters eyes allowed me to get a deeper understanding of who they were and what made them tick.  Understanding the whys of Drew’s emotional hang ups was so much more rewarding than just the surface “he was hurt in the past so he’s a major dick now,” explanations that usually plague these contemporary romances.  Seeing beyond Tab’s compulsive need to “fix” those she loves made you sympathize and love her all the more.

This wouldn’t be home-run, sexy romance troupe without the heat and Tab and Drew have a chemistry that is off the charts!

“His cock swelled.  Irritation simmered.  He had a company to run.  Races to win.  He didn’t have time to screw around with Tabitha Drake.”

 

Meh! No worries, he gets his head free of his ass and the real fun begins…

“He stroked her again, this time with a little more pressure breaching her slickened inner flesh and flicking the pad of his thumb over her clit.

“Feel Good?” he asked huskily.

A hard shudder moved through Tab and she curled her toes into the mattress, her sighs hovering in her throat.  

“Yes,” she whispered. 

He reached beside him, and her mouth dried out in hearing the purr of the vibrator…”

 

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Sexy times are aplenty in the appropriately titled, Naughty Little Wishes.   Sensual tension and sexual explosiveness drive the story, however, Crespo captures a sweet balance while also telling a tale of responsibility, redemption and unconditional love.

Hey, pro-tip: The mark of a thoroughly enjoyed book – you keep trying to advance to the next page beyond the cruelest words known to readers far and wide. “The End.”

I hope you enjoy Naughty Little Wishes as much as I did!

Grade: A

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