Tag Archives: Seductive Musings

Review: Hope Ignites by Jaci Burton

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Hope Ignites (Hope, #2)Hope Ignites by Jaci Burton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

HOPE IGNITES is the second book in Jaci Burton’s new small town romance series, where each book tells the story of how a character living in the town of Hope, Oklahoma, finds his or her true love. The first book, HOPE FLAMES, introduced us to the town and several of the people living there, focusing on the McCormack brothers and their extended friends and family. Officer Luke McCormack’s romance with town veterinarian Emma Burnett was in the first book, and in this book we get to see what happens when his brother Logan falls head over heels for a genuine movie star, in spite of his own damaged feelings about love and marriage.

Because the mother of the McCormack brothers had left both her children and the town of Hope years before, never to return or even remain in contact. Her shocking departure with another man came only days after the tragic death of their father, and that had made her abandonment of them all the more deeply scarring. In HOPE FLAMES, it was Luke who had to move past both his mother’s betrayal and a previous failed marriage to trust another woman with his love. Now it’s Logan’s turn, and his is all the more difficult because he’s now the one running the family ranch, and hatred of life on the ranch was one of the main reasons his mother had wanted to leave. So why would a woman accustomed to the glamor of Hollywood and the thrill of traveling all over the world ever want to give all that up for the likes of him?

But Desiree Jenkins isn’t your stereotypical movie star. She was raised as a military brat, with her father transferred to all different sorts of places, and never got to live in one place for very long. Her life as an actress began when she got to stay at one high school long enough to discover her love of the stage. It was only when Des moved away from her family to Hollywood that hard work and more than a bit of good luck led her to a career in motion pictures. She’s been making movies steadily for almost seven years now, concerned that any sort of break would let audiences forget about her, and the movie she’s making on Logan’s ranch is just another one before the next one begins. But the idea of life on a ranch appeals to Des in a way she hasn’t experienced before, and it makes her wish she had such a peaceful unhurried place where she could settle down and enjoy its quiet beauty.

When Des encounters Logan one morning as she returns from her morning run, it’s his looks which grab her attention, and they both soon discover that the attraction is definitely mutual. But as she and Logan slowly move past their initial inhibitions to embrace an enjoyable, albeit temporary, sexual relationship, it’s going to take more than good looks and good sex to help them both realize that what they have now could last beyond the day when her movie wraps production.

Not everyone enjoys reading small town romances, and I agree that these stories can be annoyingly trite and clichéd if not done well. But in the right hands, a romance set in a small town can be the best sort of comfort read, one where we know what we’re going to get and can’t wait to see exactly how it will play out this time. Both HOPE IGNITES, as well as the previous book, HOPE FLAMES, are this type of satisfying romance where we root for each new couple in a place where everybody knows each other’s past and present, but nobody knows what the future might bring. Both Desiree and Logan have entirely reasonable concerns about their own future together even as their bond grows stronger, and the book never makes light of those issues, or attempts to skim past them. In the end, however, it’s Des who has to lay her cards on the table, leaving Logan to decide which is stronger: his fear of abandonment, or his love for Des.

HOPE IGNITES shows us the best traits of a small town romance, with an ending that’s perfect for its hero and heroine. I can’t wait to see what Jaci Burton has in store the next time we get to visit a place called Hope.

Ratings:

Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 3

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Review: Unwound by Lorelei James

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Unwound (Mastered, #2)Unwound by Lorelei James

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

This review contains spoilers for BOUND, the first book in the Mastered series. You could read UNWOUND as a stand-alone, and I’m not entirely convinced that would be a bad thing. But others might disagree.

UNWOUND, book two in Lorelei James’s Mastered series, continues the story that began in BOUND. I did not love BOUND. I thought it sacrificed both plot and character development for the sake of an absurd cliffhanger ending just to ensure a second book would be needed to supply the rest of the story. Yet the quality of its intimate scenes provided a compelling enough reason for me to want to read UNWOUND. if only to see if it would contain all the pieces missing from the first book. When I started reading UNWOUND, I did something I almost never do: I skipped to the last chapter just to make sure the happy ending was there. That’s how burned I felt by BOUND.

I’m happy to report that UNWOUND more than made up for my mixed feelings about BOUND. It did a great job of showing me exactly why its hero and heroine belonged together, culminating in a happy ending more along the lines of what I’ve come to expect in an erotic romance by Lorelei James.

When we last saw Amery Hardwick, she’d just walked out of Ronin Black’s life after finding out he had never told her about being the heir to a billion dollar multinational corporation. There were so many other secrets about Ronin’s life that he hadn’t shared with Amery, mind you, but that one was the dealbreaker for her. After the loss of Amery, Ronin has resorted to engaging in the type of underground Mixed Martial Arts fighting that he’d given up years before, presumably in an attempt to drown his sorrow with violence. But Ronin isn’t as young as he used to be, and his most recent fight has left him bleeding and semi-conscious, pounding on Amery’s front door at 2am. But why is he at her door when they aren’t together anymore? The story then flashes back to 6 weeks earlier, where we see how unhappy the two of them are apart, and how they were mysteriously brought together again on the night of Ronin’s near-fatal fight.

As Ronin and Amery’s rekindled romance unfolds in UNWOUND, we finally get everything that was withheld before: all the secrets Ronin had kept from Amery (and why), all the triggers from Amery’s past which had exacerbated her feelings of betrayal, and more of their individual experiences and motivations. They have both been guilty of assuming the worst without bothering to ask for the truth, and of letting their mutual lack of trust keep them from a more substantial emotional connection. But even as Ronin and Amery are finally being more honest and open with each other in UNWOUND, there are new betrayals yet to come, and other more dangerous secrets that could damage more than just their second chance at love together.

UNWOUND confirmed my decision that it would still be worth it for me to see Ronin and Amery find their happy ending together, despite how I’d reacted to the book which preceded it. There is a large amount of background and plot packed in this second book, but Lorelei James somehow manages to unveil everything in due time without losing track of the romance. Even the newly revealed threat against Amery fits well into the story and never overshadows the undeniable progress she and Ronin are making in learning to trust each other with more than just their individual sexual needs. I especially enjoyed how Ronin’s sister was believably transformed from a vaguely threatening enigma into a genuine friend and confidante for Amery, and someone who could provide Amery with additional insight into the part of Ronin’s past of which even he was not aware.

I may not have loved BOUND, but I’m so glad I stuck with the Mastered series and read UNWOUND. It restored my trust in Lorelei James as an author I can rely on to provide a well-written erotic romance, and reminded me that you can’t judge a writer (or even a series) by a single book.

Ratings:

Overall: 4.5 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (multiple rope bondage scenes, discussion of past extreme BDSM interactions with other characters)

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Review: The Dark Affair by Maire Claremont

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The Dark Affair (Mad Passions, #3)The Dark Affair by Maire Claremont

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

This review contains spoilers for THE LADY IN RED, book 2 in the Mad Passions series. You could try to read THE DARK AFFAIR as a stand-alone book, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

When I read THE LADY IN RED last fall, Maire Claremont was a new author for me, and I hadn’t known what to expect. Its whirlwind plot and profound emotions were almost too much for me to handle (but in a good way). I actually had to force myself to put it down more than a few times, because I was so worried about what would happen to not only its hero and heroine, but the hero’s friend Viscount Powers, whose help was essential in their plan to save the heroine from her villainous father.

Powers – a tortured and brooding man who refused to answer to any other name – shared the same brutal need for opiates that plagued the heroine of THE LADY IN RED. While her addiction had been induced during her forced captivity in a madhouse, his was entirely self-inflicted after the untimely death of his wife and child. By the end of the previous book, the heroine and hero are both safe and happy in marriage together, but meanwhile Powers has given himself over entirely to his addiction. Months later, when we first see him in THE DARK AFFAIR, he has himself been involuntarily committed to a madhouse.

Margaret Cassidy was a titled lady back in Ireland, but that couldn’t protect her from the harsh realities of famine and poverty, nor from the ongoing violence as those who starved fought back against the cruelty of their English overlords. Her gift for healing has brought her to England, where she is tasked by the Earl of Carlyle to bring his son Powers back from the brink of insanity. Back when Margaret was still in Ireland and her father was still alive, Powers had sent a letter and funds to assist those in dire need of help, asking for nothing in return. Rescuing him now from his addiction is her opportunity to repay that act of kindness, even as her attachment to him quickly moves in a more personal direction. It will take all of Margaret’s talents and indomitable will to bring Powers back not only to sanity, but to a life where he can grieve properly for what he’s lost without sacrificing himself again. But when the violence she left behind in Ireland comes to call at her front door, what ends up being at stake isn’t just their shared happiness, but their very lives.

Once again, Maire Claremont has written a story that transported me into a world more darkly intense than most historical romances, with characters I couldn’t help but root for as they were forced to trust in each other even as they should rightfully be mortal enemies. The depth of Powers’s sorrow had only been hinted at in the previous book, but here it is front and center with everything you might expect, and worse. He has abused his mind and body for so long in self-imposed guilt for the death of his wife and child that his recovery is never really certain, even as the story moves toward that conclusion. And when we find out just how they died…well, it’s definitely understandable why he has suffered so greatly, even though it’s just as obvious to us, if not to him, that their deaths should not be on his head.

It’s also clear that only someone like Margaret would even have a chance to break through the wall of anger and opiates that Powers has built all around him, and not just because of her beauty and determination. Only Margaret has the ability to focus his attention beyond his own pain and outside the bubble of privilege in which he has lived his whole life as a member of the English nobility. But it will take more than that for them to move forward with a life together, and their Happily Ever After will be won only after those who seek to defeat them are confronted one last time.

I’m sad to see the Mad Passions series come to an end but I’m looking forward to seeing what Maire Claremont comes up with next. THE LADY IN RED vaulted her into my list of favorite historical romance writers, and now THE DARK AFFAIR has firmly established her place near the very top.

Ratings:

Overall: 4.5 stars
Sensuality level: 3.5

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Review: Theirs to Cherish by Shayla Black

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Theirs to Cherish (Wicked Lovers, #8)Theirs to Cherish by Shayla Black

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

Callie Ward has been in love with Mitchell Thorpe ever since she found his BDSM club to be the perfect hiding place from the people who killed her family and framed her for their murders. Even though his feelings match hers, Thorpe is convinced that their age difference is too great to overcome, and has removed his protection so that another Dom – Sean Kirkpatrick – can claim her instead. The new Dom is closer to Callie’s age than Thorpe, and seems to be the perfect balm for Callie’s bruised heart. But when he starts to get too close to the reasons why she ended up there in the first place, the only thing Callie can do is go on the run again. And when the two Doms who love her follow in pursuit, the battle for her heart might have to take a back seat to just keeping them all alive.

We first met Mitchell Thorpe, Master of Club Dominion, back in BELONG TO ME, book 5 of Shayla Black’s Wicked Lovers series. As the series has progressed, we’ve seen Callie and Thorpe make it obvious to everyone who sees them that they love each other, yet Thorpe continues to pull back while Callie does everything she can to force his hand. It’s only when Thorpe is witness to Callie and Sean’s most intense scene ever that he realizes how foolish he’s been to push her away for so long. It’s that same scene that convinces Callie it’s finally time to move on, as her years on the run have taught her to leave before anyone she cares about could be endangered by her presence. But this time is different, because now she has the love of two men who would rather die themselves than let her leave without them.

Callie and Thorpe’s story has been a long time coming in Shayla Black’s Wicked Lovers series, and it was just as satisfying as I had anticipated, even with the added complication of another Dom in the mix. It wasn’t until the previous book – OURS TO LOVE – that we got a hint that their romance might not be limited to just the two of them. That book featured a M/F/M menage with two brothers and their secretary who becomes their shared submissive, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise (especially with the title!) that THEIRS TO CHERISH would play out along the same lines. I’m a big fan of well-written menage romances, and this book did not disappoint in that regard. Neither Thorpe nor Sean go after Callie with the intent of sharing her, but as we learn why Thorpe could never commit to Callie (or any other submissive) and why Sean was at Club Dominion in the first place, we see how a menage relationship makes the most sense for everyone.

One of the things I enjoy most about this series is how the suspense not only propels the overall plot but also the actual romance itself. So many romantic suspense novels get so caught up in the parts where the lovers are in danger that they forget the part where we are supposed to be seeing them fall in love, but that is never a problem with Shayla Black. Every scene in THEIRS TO CHERISH was there to get us to their shared Happily Ever After, and that’s what made it such a wonderful romantic read.

With THEIRS TO CHERISH, Shayla Black has delivered yet another a smart and sexy romantic suspense story in the Wicked Lovers series that lives up to all the books that came before it. It will be great to see where this successful long-running series will take us next.

Ratings:

Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (BDSM, menage)

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Review: Need You Tonight by Roni Loren

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Need You Tonight (Loving on the Edge, #5)Need You Tonight by Roni Loren

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

Although I’ve enjoyed every book in Roni Loren’s Loving On The Edge series so far, NEED YOU TONIGHT is the best one I’ve read since the very first book, CRASH INTO YOU, blew me away and made me an instant Roni Loren fan. It equals that book in both the emotional intensity of the “second chance at love” trope for its hero and heroine, and in the sweetness of its HEA for a couple who could never move completely past the evil which separated them in high school until they were finally able to face it down together.

When Kade Vandergriff catches Tessa McAllen trying to crash a singles cooking class at his restaurant, he has no idea that she’s the one who turned his world upside down so many years ago. All he sees is an incredibly attractive woman whom he wants to feed and bed, and not necessarily in that order. Tessa doesn’t recognize Kade either, but is quickly convinced that one perfect night of no-strings-attached sex is just what she needs after trying to rebuild her life in the wake of her lousy no-good husband’s betrayal. When Tessa’s true identity is revealed, Kade is determined to rewrite their sad shared history into a future where she realizes what a mistake she made by rejecting him for the man who would eventually betray her. But when their ugly past returns to threaten their present happiness, both Tessa and Kade will learn that even the most malevolent evil is no match for the love they never truly lost.

As wonderful as Tessa and Kade’s story is, readers should be aware that there are themes in NEED YOU TONIGHT which are potential triggers for those with special sensitivity to issues such as high school bullying, child abuse, and rape. Both Tessa and Kade suffered brutal childhoods, which helped them bond together at first, but ended up splitting them apart when the friendship threatened their survival. When they find each other again, it’s clear that although they have both grown emotionally, the scars of the past are still as real and raw as though no time had passed at all. But Kade refuses to let his past self define his present, and he will do everything in his power to show Tessa that what they had before was just the beginning, even as the danger to their lives and love is always lurking in the background.

NEED YOU TONIGHT is a beautiful and touching romance, with plenty of the perfectly written and seriously scorching sex scenes which are Roni Loren’s trademark. It’s easily one of the finest books I’ve read this year.

Ratings:

Overall: 5 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (BDSM scenes, domestic violence, rape threats, discussion of previous assault and rape)

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Review: Betting On You by Sydney Landon

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Betting on You: A Danvers Novella (Danvers, #4.5)Betting on You: A Danvers Novella by Sydney Landon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

Although BETTING ON YOU is the latest entry in Sydney Landon’s popular Danvers series, the connection between its hero and heroine with the rest of the series is tenuous, at best.

Seth is the charming and successful local businessman from FALLING FOR YOU (book 3) who was used by Beth to make Declan jealous after their relationship-ending fight. Mia is a new character to the series, introduced as an IT specialist working for Danvers on an installation project for Seth’s office. She moves in the same circles as Seth, thanks to her own family’s placement in local society, but is determined to make her own way in the world and not be dependent on them, or any man they might recommend.

When Seth and Mia first meet in the room where Mia is installing computers, their instant connection is obvious, but both choose to try to overlook it for sanity’s sake. But when Mia’s mother uses her charity bachelor auction to throw Seth at Mia in a way she can’t ignore, the result is some incredibly hot sexual encounters that neither of them wish to end. Yet their liaison would be a real threat to Mia’s hard-won job at Danvers for as long as Seth is still a client on the project she leads. They both agree to hold off until the office installation is complete, but during that time, Seth starts having doubts about what Mia might be expecting once they can be together again. Can a real relationship work between them, or is it just too much, too soon?

There’s no denying that Sydney Landon can write great sex scenes between characters that we want to root for. But what was missing for me in BETTING ON YOU was a sense that the hero and heroine really wanted this future for themselves. Seth, especially, was a great disappointment to me in both word and deed. He was the one who had pushed Mia into what he was certain they both wanted, and assured her their desire was mutual. Yet the minute he had to cool his jets and wait until it was safe for both of them, he started behaving like someone who had really just been looking for sex all along, despite everything he’d been saying. Mia seemed more grounded and realistic about what their relationship had actually been, and was hurt by Seth’s behavior but prepared to move on with her life. Yet when he finally realized that he needed to make things right with her, it seemed like her forgiveness was just a little too easily given.

All the problematic elements of this story including the insta-lust and the rushed ending could have been avoided with a longer story, but this is a novella, and those are the traps so many of them fall into. For me, BETTING ON YOU was a nice quick love story with some very well-written sex scenes, but I’m hoping that any future Danvers books will take the time needed to establish a more enjoyable and plausible happy ending for everyone.

Ratings:

Overall: 3 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (light BDSM, semi-public sex)

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Review: Jaded by Anne Calhoun

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Jaded (Walkers Ford, #2)Jaded (Walkers Ford, #2) by Anne Calhoun

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

The small town librarian and the police chief. It may be a cliche, but JADED shows us why it works. When you live in a town as tiny as Walkers Ford, everybody knows your business. We saw how destructive that could be in UNFORGIVEN, the first book in this series, and fear of those repercussions is reflected in the behavior of our hero and heroine when JADED begins.

Alana is one of those people who choose a small town as a place to hide from their responsibilities back in the big city. She’s spent her whole life hiding from others, content to let her famous sister be the public face of their family’s foundation while she works tirelessly behind the scenes. It wasn’t until their mother pushed a family friend to propose marriage that Alana finally fled her privileged life in Chicago for a place where she could directly influence the lives of people in need. What Alana didn’t count on was a landlord who would make her regret her decision to leave Walkers Ford when the job was done.

Lucas grew up in Walkers Ford, but had left years before to be a cop in the big city of Denver, returning only after he believed his actions had led to the death of a young man he’d mentored there. After a bitter divorce and the descent of his beloved cousin into drug addiction, Lucas has become too cynical to believe that love was worth the trouble it could bring, even as he embarks on a secret fling with Alana. But as she prepares to leave Walkers Ford for good, he has to decide if he can take one more chance on love and on her.

Anne Calhoun’s UNFORGIVEN was one of my top ten best reads of 2013, so I was especially excited about reading this next book in her new Walkers Ford contemporary romance series. As much as I enjoyed its over the top drama and angst, I was relieved to see the level was dialed back a bit here in JADED. We have a hero and heroine who are both spending all their time doing everything for everyone else in their lives, but unlike the stars of the previous book, neither of them seems to have an unhealthy level of self-loathing. Still, the fear of small-town gossip keeps them from going public with their liaison and feeds into their respective worries that the other isn’t looking for anything beyond a temporary fling.

Lucas and Alana are brought together by their shared inability to keep their hands off each other, and their intimate scenes are loaded with sexual chemistry and undeniable passion. As their affair progresses, the responsibilities they each have threaten to tear them apart. But the love they find with each other helps Lucas and Alana reach the balance they both need in their lives and begins to heal the pain which had brought them to Walkers Ford.

What Anne Calhoun shows us in JADED is that you can’t do your best for others if you won’t give yourself the same amount of consideration first. It’s a lovely return visit to Walkers Ford and bodes well for the next book in the series.

Ratings:

Overall: 4.5 stars
Sensuality level: 3.5

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Review: Letting Go by Maya Banks

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Letting Go (Surrender Trilogy, #1)Letting Go by Maya Banks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings

LETTING GO is the story of a woman who already found and lost her perfect love, but has decided after three years of lonely mourning that it’s time to go after the one thing that was missing in her otherwise perfect marriage. Josslyn will never forget Carson and the once in a lifetime love they shared. But both Carson and his sister Kylie suffered unspeakable abuse from their alcoholic father and could never have understood the need Josslyn had for a man to take charge in the bedroom and bring her both pleasure and pain. Three years is a long time to mourn. It’s time for Josslyn to find someone who will dominate her sexually in the way her late husband never would.

After Carson’s tragic death, Dash was the solid stable core at the center of Josslyn’s upside-down life. As her husband’s business partner and best friend, he has worked hard to ensure that she was taken care of in all ways, except the one he most desired. For unknown to anyone except Josslyn’s late husband, Dash has been head over heels in love with her since the moment they met. It was his misfortune to fall in love with his best friend’s girl, but to his credit, he never acted on those feelings or even gave her a hint he felt that way about her. Now that Josslyn is finally ready to put her marriage in the past, Dash will stop at nothing to make sure that she becomes his. He was prepared to take his time and move slowly toward his goal, even if it meant ignoring the Dominant side of his personality, That all changed when Dash saw Josslyn walk into a private BDSM club on the arm of another man. Could Dash have her as both his love and his submissive? Or would Carson’s memory always be an obstacle between them?

One of my favorite erotic romance series last year was the Breathless trilogy by Maya Banks, so I was happy to learn that she had another one planned for this year. Just like with that series, the Surrender trilogy features a group of interconnected characters with overlapping storylines but each book can still be read as a stand-alone story. This first book does a good job of setting up all the relationships between this group of friends and provides clues to how the other two books will progress without turning into a data dump. A special bonus for readers of Maya Banks’s Sweet series is the appearance of Damon Roche and “The House”, his members only BDSM club in Houston. This trilogy takes place in that world so I’m looking forward to more glimpses of those beloved characters in the next two books.

For me, the best part of LETTING GO was how Maya Banks portrayed the perfect tension between Josslyn’s needs and Dash’s insecurities. Just because they want to make things work doesn’t mean that their new life together is without problems. The problems they face are exacerbated by their inability to fully share what they are feeling, and the initial disapproval from their friends and loved ones only makes things worse. Josslyn’s struggle to embrace her new life with Dash feeds into his irrational sense of competing for her love with the ghost of her dead husband. Their individual fears and doubts inevitably lead to a terrible misunderstanding, and it takes a near tragedy to finally force them to communicate more fully so they can have the happy ending they both deserve.

LETTING GO is a beautifully written depiction of how a widow and her late husband’s best friend learn how to move forward as a couple while honoring the memory of the man they both loved. It features Maya Banks at her best, with the heart-rending emotions and scorching sex scenes her readers have come to expect. Kylie’s story is next in GIVING IN, and I can’t wait to read it.

Ratings:

Overall: 5 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (intense private BDSM scenes between the hero and heroine, one semi-public BDSM scene involving a second man)

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Review: Melting the Ice by Jaci Burton

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Melting The Ice (Play by Play, #7)Melting The Ice by Jaci Burton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

MELTING THE ICE is the latest entry in Jaci Burton’s long-running sports romance series and although I have only read the first Play By Play book, I had no problem picking up this one as a stand-alone. The setup for the hero and heroine combines two of my favorite tropes – best friend’s little sister and second chance at love – so I was confident going in that it would be a good read.

Carolina had always had eyes for Drew back in college, but his Big Man on Campus status combined with her shyness and inexperience kept her from making the first move. When she successfully propositions him at an off-campus graduation party after having a few too many, she experiences the first and best sex of her life. But when Drew tosses her aside the next morning without apology, Carolina chalks it up to a bad life decision and swears never to give him another chance to hurt her. Years later, her life is completely devoted to the launch of her new fashion line, and she barely has any spare time to sleep or eat, let alone moon over the guy who got away.

Drew has never forgotten his one night of bliss with Carolina and realizes his behavior afterward will make it hard for her to ever trust him again. Back then, he was young and dumb, afraid of committing to one woman when he was working toward a professional hockey career. Carolina has done her best to avoid Drew ever since then, but when her brother Gray suggests him as the perfect model for her new menswear line, she’s in no position to object. Older and wiser, Drew realizes this is his best opportunity to go after what he stupidly tossed away before, and make Carolina his for good.

What I always appreciate about Jaci Burton’s romances is how she provides just the right amount of back-story for her hero and heroine. She’s adept at showing exactly what brought them to this moment and helping readers empathize with them through all their setbacks on the way to their happy ending. Both Carolina and Drew have so many things going on in their lives that could easily derail their romance in addition to the giant obstacle of their drunken college hookup. But as they first realize that their attraction hasn’t faded, then decide to take advantage of it for as long as it might work out, we also see that there is genuine love there, and that ultimately nothing can get in the way of their happiness if it’s what they both want.

The best part of MELTING THE ICE for me was what wasn’t there. There wasn’t an evil ex-girlfriend trying to break them apart, or someone trying to steal Carolina’s designs before her big show, or a tabloid trying to use their public moments together to embarrass her father before an election. There was just the growing love between Carolina and Drew as they learned to trust each other and themselves, while the world went on around them. It wasn’t boring – the moment when Gray discovers that his best friend and baby sister are together is especially fun – but it wasn’t overwrought with angst and drama, either. That’s what made Melting the Ice another great Jaci Burton story, and reminded me that I need to go back and read the other books in the Play by Play series!

Ratings:

Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 3.5

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Review: An Indecent Proposition by Stephanie Julian

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An Indecent PropositionAn Indecent Proposition by Stephanie Julian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

AN INDECENT PROPOSITION starts out as the story of how a young woman at the end of her financial rope agrees to sex with a stranger for an outrageous amount of money. Julianne’s father left both her and her mother in a deep financial hole on his permanent way out of town after her mother’s bout with breast cancer. Five hundred thousand dollars is too much for Julianne to turn down, even if it means a night of sex with a stranger. What she didn’t count on was losing her heart to not just one, but two men who were worth so much more to her than the cash she desperately needed.

Keegan and Erik have been inseparable since they met in college and soon after formed their own wildly profitable bio-metrics company, but not in the way most people thought. They prefer to share a woman sexually, and had done so successfully until Erik was nearly killed in a lab explosion. The years of reconstructive surgeries and painful rehabilitation have done little to restore Erik’s confidence in his appearance, and his withdrawal from the world weighs heavily on Keegan. But when Erik spots Julianne working as a catering server at their company event, he knew he had to have her. And Keegan will do everything he can to make sure that happens, even if it means walking away from both of them for good.

AN INDECENT PROPOSITION was originally published as a five part e-serial, and that was how I originally read it, waiting impatiently for weeks between releases. The passionate romance and scorching sex scenes kept me reading, even as the individual cliffhangers made me crazy wanting to know what happened next. But I wondered if the read would be just as satisfying when glued together as one complete story.

The good news is that yes, AN INDECENT PROPOSITION does work well without the forced reading delay between each of its five segments. Some serials have a real issue with maintaining continuity, one that isn’t obvious until repackaged as a full length book, but this never happened here. The sections flow naturally into each other, even though the originally defined separations are still used (i.e. five sections labeled as “Chapter One”), and the transitions hold up with the closer proximity.

Best of all, the relationship between Erik, Julianne and Keegan still packs the emotional punch that kept me reading for months. It never veers into overkill, even with the compressed timeline and often problematic “insta-lust” trope transforming a bizarre business transaction into a 3 way affair that may or may not become a lasting 3 way relationship. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read AN INDECENT PROPOSITION in both incarnations, and I’m looking forward to a follow-up book featuring Erik’s sister Katrina.

Ratings:
Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (MFM menage, light BDSM, voyeur play, semi-public sex)

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