This week at Smexy…
A review – The Unlikely Lady by Valerie Bowman (historical/sheena)
B review – Acute Reactions by Ruby Lang (contemporary/mandi)
B+ review – The Duke and the Lady in Red by Lorraine Heath (historical/mandi)
B+ review – Anticipation by Sarah Mayberry (contemporary/mandi)
B review – The Mistake by Elle Kennedy (new adult/tori)
C+ review – Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep (YA/tori)
C+ review – Naming his Mate by M. Limoges (m/m/sheena)
C- review – A Scoundrel by Moonlight by Anna Campbell (historical/may)
Top Ten Reasons to Read: Changing His Game by Megan Erickson
Smexy’s Top Ten
News from Mandi: I DNF’d His Captive Princess by Sandra Jones. It was hard for me to get into this one. Just didn’t grab me.
In better news, All For You by Laura Florand was a fun read. Paris + Chocolate is always a good combination. In this one, the heroine (who works for Dom for those who follow this series) is reunited with her teenage crush who left abruptly to five years ago to join the Foreign Legion. The angst is so palpable in this one! The hero is a little over the top in his obession with the heroine, but it’s swoony and sexy and so romantic. Review coming.
Hide your Heart by Tracey Alvarez was just okay. I’ve enjoyed this author in the past, but this one didn’t seem to really dive deep enough into either the hero or the heroine. I felt like we just kind of skimmed along the surface. Review coming.
Wild Heat by Lucy Monroe was disappointing. I was bored – nothing really happens! And I didn’t like the hero or the heroine. Review coming.
However!! I’m currently reading Grave Phantoms by Jenn Bennett and it’s adorable and sexy and I looooove it. It can be read as a standalone although Bo has page time in previous books. I have loved this entire series so if you haven’t read it, I highly rec.
News from Tori: Riding Steady by Kristen Ashley is the classic KA writing I;ve been missing lately with a to die for hero, a wounded but strong heroine, lots of squeees, breathy noes, low key action and suspense, hot steamy lovin’, and some very nosy bikers. :P Ashley advances the Chaos’ MC ongoing arc while bringing us up to date on various characters from throughout all her series. Fans are going to love. Review to come.
Beauty and the Rake by Erica Monroe is an bittersweet historical love story that tells a story of love, loss, and redemption. A scarred factory worker and a jaded police detective come to an agreement over her father’s gambling debts only to learn that secrets have a way of coming to the surface and love doesn’t always forgive all. Lovely homage to beauty and the beast blue collar style. Review to come.
The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan is sexy, sweet, adorable, funny, heartbreaking, did I mention the SEXY, all rolled into a delish NA story that gives us a hero who is not a jerk and a heroine who is not a victim. I can’t wait for fans to meet cupcake and special sauce. Review to come.
I really liked Worth The Fall so I grabbed Worth The Risk by Claudia Worth thinking it would be the same. It was…and it wasn’t. Same well developed characters with engrossing lives and loves but I felt the storyline was so ambitious it overwhelmed itself. The protags in here were so, so damaged by trauma in their lives. So much is focused on that trauma that I really didn’t feel I got to know the characters beyond that point. I enjoyed the side plots and characters but felt there was something missing from this book that was in abundance in the first book.
This weekend we have beach and books on the agenda. Up in the queue is Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones and Heidi Cullinan’s Lonely Hearts.
You are killing me with the Top Ten Reasons to read the Megan Erickson book. I am trying to be a better person with discipline and stick to a budgeted amount for books each month. I can’t afford for all the good books to come out at the first of the month!!!
Tori- I LOVED Worth the Risk. I was so excited to read the second one. It fell way short of my expectations.
I am really looking forward to the new KA book.
Tell husband your will be your best self if you have an unlimited budget!! *wink*
Mandi, I don’t have a husband or else I TOTALLY would. It won’t take me long to crack and overspend. I have no one to harass me if I do.
I told my hubs that I needed a book budget. He did the evil laugh and said, “If you go over budget I get to spank you. We both know that’s going to happen so, sure.”
Oohh, can’t wait for my KA fix! And I’m hoping The Friend Zone is a good as The Hook Up. Great book.
Just finished The Mistake, which was sweet and sexy. I agree, not quite as good as The Deal but still fantastic.
Have you read Fan Girl by Rainbow Rowell? It’s a sweet, sexy, and funny NA. Written a while ago but still worth reading now.
Me thinks you are def. going to go over your budget. lolol I haven’t read Fan Girl yet but have heard so many good things about it. I did read Eleanor and Park and loved it.