This week at Smexy…

A review – Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop (urban fantasy/tori)
A review – Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs (urban fantasy/mandi)
B review – One Wish by Robyn Carr (contemporary/helyce)
B review – The Bedding Proposal by Tracey Anne Warren (historical/tori)
B review – Return to Me by Kelly Moran (contemporary/tori)
B review – The List by Anne Calhoun (erotic/mandi)
B review – What a Devilish Duke Requires by Vicky Dreiling (historical/sheena)
B- review – Vampires Never Cry Wolf by Sara Humphreys (paranormal/mandi)
B- review – Earls Just Want to Have Fun by Shana Galen (historical/may)
C review – First Time in Forever by Sarah Morgan (contemporary/mandi)

Feature: Unraveled by Lorelei James

Gone Reading Giveaway! (still open!)

Smexy’s Top Ten

News From Mandi: Recipe for Reunion by Vicki Essex was a nice read. The hero lusted after the heroine in high school but ran in different social circles and he was brushed aside among other things. Now as adults, he still harbors bad feelings, so when she bounces back into his life, he acts rudely. The heroine has an undiagnosed learning disorder, so she struggles with the business side of the bakery she works in. They clash – he is rude – but it’s a rude that is done well in my opinion. Review coming next week.

I read both Personal Geography and Intimate Geography by Tamsen Parker. It’s a two-book series with Intimate just released. Erotic BDSM done quite well. The hero is the Dom, but he is also the one that pushes for intimacy and a relationship outside of their bdsm play. He is the one whose feelings get hurt. The heroine is IN control in her work environment, needing to be a submissive to regain her power and strength on the weekends. I liked book one better, but overall enjoyed the story as a whole. By the end of book two the heroine was wearing on me a bit. Review to come.

Chase Me by Tessa Bailey is a new, new adult series coming out 3/17. It’s light-hearted, very low on angst and made me laugh. The heroine is a college drop-out who moves to NYC to become an actress -but is failing. The hero is a lawyer who also comes from a trust fund. They meet when she is dressed in a pink bunny suit singing a telegram to his penis. It’s funny. Heroine’s roommates are great (they get future books). Hero’s friends are great. I feel like it ends very abruptly and the conflict was predictable but I def rec this one. I think Tori is reviewing for Smexy closer to release date.

News from Tori:

His Wicked Reputation by Madeline Hunter is an wickedly racy historical romance with a mystery or two that brings our two lovers together. An illegitimate son of a Duke who doesn’t believe in love and a woman of gentry and limited means embark upon an affair that proves their undoing. Intrigue, suspense, and plenty of witty dialogue keeps the reader engaged to the very end. Review to come.

The Dangers of Dating a Rebound Vampire by Molly Harper, #2 in her Half Moon Hollow series, is super cute, sexy, and funny. Gigi, Iris’s sister, finds love with a sexy Russian vampire but when her love forgets her, this human pulls out all the stops to figure out why. Review to come.

Sustain by Tijan. I seems like I waited forever for Bri’s story and while I liked it, I wasn’t blown away like I expected. Too much time is spent in the past and on secondary characters, taking away from our protags. Plenty of sexy times, OTT emotional angst, and dramatic undertakings completely made this a Tijan book but I think I’ll stick with her YAs.

Control by Sam Crescent, the first in her Trojans MC series, is pure porn with a mild plotline and conflict. Uber alpha male stakes his claim on mary sue once she reaches age of consent…and his divorce becomes final. Heroine is treated like a virgin (though she’s not) and  while I was on board the whole time, the ‘initiation’ for heroine to become an old lady had me about rolling my eyes out of my head. The explanation for it made no sense and it felt like nothing more then a chance for Crescent to shock her readers.

Elements of Chemistry: Attraction by Penny Reid is the first of an NA novella trilogy. Funny, smart, and sexy, Reid does geek romance like a boss. Heroine is hilarious as she struggles with being pursued by the campus Lothario. Warning…it does end on a cliffie. Review to come.

Changing Everything by Molly McAdams. A short friends to lovers novella that is part of her Forgiving Lies series. Easily read alone. I liked it up until the hero and heroine got together. Once they are a couple, the heroine starts acting weird and annoying. There is a mild random conflict that comes and goes with no real explanation. Hero is a dirty boy whose sexual antics certainly liven up the story line but not enough to make me love it. Review to come.

The One You Want by Gena Showalter. Sweet and sexy best describes Showalter’s introduction novella to her new series-The Original Heartbreakers. Resentment and regret pave the way to forgiveness for two people who suffered for their parents’ sins. Humor and steamy sexual tension keeps the storyline running at a steady pace without dragging it down from too much emotional angst. Showalter addresses and resolves our protagonist’s issues in a plausible fashion but I wish we could have seen the resolution of the external subplots.

Dark Debt by Chloe Neill. #11 in Neill’s Chicagoland Vampire series brings us more romance and intrigue as a new set of villains and problems are introduced. I loved the humor and plotlines but most of all the solidness of Merit and Ethan. Seems they have finally found their groove. Review to come.

Darker Than Desire by Shiloh Walker is a dark and dramatic ending to her Shadows and Secrets series. Loose threads are wrapped up tight and all questions answered as the final key is put into play. Review to come.

This weekend I am reading Tere Michaels’ Cherished and Blessed