This week at Smexy….

A review – It Started with a Scandal by Julie Ann Long (historical/guest)
B+ review – Dark Heir by Faith Hunter (urban fantasy/tori)
B+ review – This Gun for Hire by Jo Goodman (western/mandi)
B+ review – The Shameless Hour by Sarina Bowen (new adult/mandi)
B review – Homefront by Jessica Scott (contemporary/tori)
B review – The Saint’s Wife by Lauren Gallagher (contemporary/tori)
B- review – The Closer you Come by Gena Showalter (contemporary/tori)
C+ review – Cupcakes and Crushes by Keri Ford (contemporary/may)
D+ review – To Cherish and to Hold Nicole Simone (erotic/sheena)
D review – Stepbrother Master by Ava Jackson (erotic/mandi)

Wicked Wednesday – Step-Sibling Romance
Smexy’s Top Ten

News from Mandi: The Shameless Hour by Sarina Bowen was amazing. I reviewed it this week (see above).

I DNF’d Light from the Dark by Celeste Mercy. An interesting M/M premise – reclusive hero who can’t leave his house due to paranoia and has lost his ability to speak. The other hero is hired as his bodyguard. He is scarred on the outside. THIS IS CANDY TO ME. But it didn’t work. For one thing – the reclusive hero is VERY damaged. He has a hard time with intimacy and I felt he was too damaged to be in a romantic setting. And most of the book takes place inside the house and there is really odd bad guys trying to break in. It was just a weird book. I read almost 70% of it but just couldn’t keep going.

Taken by Charlotte Stein is so much fun. The blurb makes it sound dark, but it’s actually light and quite funny. The heroine gets mad and tries to vandalize the hero’s rare book store, he grabs her and handcuffs her to his bed in the basement of the store so he can call the cops. Then he realizes he has overreacted and it looks like he is kidnapping her. He freaks out – of course the handcuffs won’t come off. The heroine is adorable and realizes the hero doesn’t mean her harm. Then she starts flirting. Stein writes such fun sex. Definitely recommend this one – it’s only 100 pages. Will be reviewing early next week.

Royal Date by Sariah Wilson did not work for me.  Normal, kind of poor-off girl holidays in a European country, meets a prince, and falls in love. But the romance lacked, and the prince fell flat and was way too saccharine. Not a fan. Plus there is only kissing. We don’t even get to second base! Review coming.

Once Upon a Dare by Jennifer Bonds was okay. It’s a one-night stand where the next day the heroine realizes the new partner at her firm is the hero she just slept with. I found the hero a little on the cold and condescending side. Review coming.

I DNF’d Ruination by CL Scott. Could not get into this rockstar romance. Too moody.

Acute Reactions by Ruby Lang is a well done contemporary romance. Heroine is a recent med school grad allergist. Hero has very bad allergies. They have a meet-cute in her office. Dr/patient ethics come in to play. Great banter – I laughed several times. Heroine has two girlfriends who are portrayed well – kind of harsh and blunt but I really liked them. Review coming.

News for Tori: I’ve been chasing my tail trying to get taxes completed and posted by the 15th while writing reviews and getting everything else done before I leave for RT. YIKES!

Last Kiss by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick brings us an erotic romance suspense that hit all my buttons. Repeatedly. A broody Russian mobster and a genuis autistic hacker come together to find an artifact that will forever change the face of the Bratva. Clare and Frederick do a fabulous job of building an addictive story around a pair of characters who particularities leave them little room to change. Sexy, erotic, thrilling, violent, and laugh out loud at times, fans of this writing duo will love this newest couple. Review to come.

Take What You Want by Jeanette Grey is a sexy and sweet NA romance novella that about two college students discovering who they really are and finding the courage to grab hold of it.

The Shameless Hour by Sarina Bowan gives us Bella’s story and what a story it is. Having fell in love with her friend with benefits only to discover he is gay, Bella swears off romance. She soon changes her tune when she meets a VIRGIN soccer player who shows her that there are men out there who are in it for the long haul. Funny, sweet, sexy, and bittersweet, Bowan captures all the feelz in this NA romance about being yourself, second chances and first loves.

In The Mistake by Elle Kennedy, she takes us back to Briar University and those sexy, sexy hockey players whose antics on and off the ice are what legends are made of. Filled with lots of laughter, lust, a wee bit of angst, some heavy groveling, and swoon worthy romance, Kennedy proves once again that when it comes to affairs of the heart, she is a master, no matter the age group. Review to come.

Forever Grace by Linda Poitevin is a contemporary romance suspense that addresses domestic violence and it’s consequences. Steady pacing and a well plotted storyline does well in blending the main conflict with a slow burn romance as one woman learns to trust a man whose very job spells danger to her and her kids. Review to come.

This weekend I will be reading Kat Latham’s Taming The Legend.