Author: Dirty Girl Anne

Frozen by Meljean Brook

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

18045510
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Paranormal , shifter
Published: 8/28/14
Reviewed by Anne
131 pages

Olivia’s boss asks her to make a last minute delivery of papers to his son, Erik, on her way out of town for Christmas holidays.  She’s nervous about seeing Erik, who is not just the boss’ son, but also a co-worker of Olivia’s.  A few month’s ago, before Olivia was working for Erik’s dad, Olivia and Erik shared a kiss, and ever since that day, Erik has been very cold to her.  She doesn’t know what to make of his behavior, so she’s hoping to get in, deliver the papers, and get out.  Unfortunately, she stops by Erik’s place and finds herself in the middle of danger.  The danger comes from both from the shifter beings around Erik’s house, and, apparently, from Erik himself, who is, you got it, also a shifter.

The first half of the story dragged for me.  There was a lot of introspection and it wasn’t clear exactly what was going on.  Once everything was revealed, the story really picked up for me.  I also enjoyed the light paranormal feeling of the story.  There are shifters, but there’s not pages and pages of world building.  The story is pretty focused, and it didn’t need lot of world building, so that worked well.

As I expect with Meljean Brook, Olivia is a strong, intelligent, and self sufficient heroine.  She’s also smart enough to accept help.  It’s one of the things that brings me back to her books again and again.  Erik turns out to be self-sacrificing and considerate, as well as a raving beast. That was a nice combo.  His shifter form was not one I’d read before, so that was nice, too.

This story is written in first person point of view, which is not normally the style Meljean Brook uses.  She does it really well, though.  I sometimes get annoyed when reading first person, but that didn’t happen here.

I’d recommend this story for anyone who enjoys paranormal, and even for readers who generally read contemporary, but could handle a little shape shifting.

He’s So Fine by Jill Shalvis

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

19291271
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, small town
Series: Lucky Harbor #11
Published: 9/30/14
Reviewed by Anne
233 ebook pages

Olivia runs the “vintage shop” in Lucky Harbor.  She and her friend Becca enjoy watching the guys who run a charter boat company and enjoy surfing.  So when Olivia sees one of them fall in the icy cold water off his boat, she jumps in to save him – never mind that she’s not a strong swimmer and he didn’t really need saving.  Olivia and Cole each have their own baggage.  Cole hasn’t dated since his fiancée left him two years earlier.  Olivia left behind a rough childhood and adolescence, even changing her name before settling in Lucky Harbor.  Neither is looking for a relationship, or even a hookup, but their attraction to each other is strong – and so are their matchmaking friends.

You just can’t go wrong with Jill Shalvis.  Even when she’s writing a “pretty good” story, which is how I’d rate this one, it’s still a step above most other contemporary romance authors.  Seriously.  “Pretty Good” for Jill Shalvis ranks even with the best of other romances I read.  Shalvis’ humor is sprinkled throughout the book.  As my teens would say, I LOLed!  Several times!  I enjoyed the chemistry between Olivia and Cole, and I believed they belonged together.

On the other hand, I was severely annoyed at how stupid Olivia came across in the opening scene.  Who jumps in to rescue someone when they’re not a strong swimmer themself?  How about running on the boat and throwing out a life vest?  Or calling for help?  Thankfully, this turned out to be an out of character move for Olivia, who is otherwise very intelligent and independent.  In fact, she has a hard time accepting help from Cole.  This turns out to be a new thing for Cole, who seems to be the fix it guy for the entire town, including his family.

I have one other nit picky detail.  There’s a side story about two little girls who spent some time in foster care before their father stepped in to take care of them.  So, now we’ve got this little family with no money to spare, so the characters in this book are stepping in to lend a hand with the little girls occasionally.  The girls, who are around 6, I think, mention that they’ve never celebrated Halloween before – like foster parents don’t celebrate Halloween?  I’m sure there are foster homes where that happens, but as a former foster parent, pretty much every kid I knew celebrated Halloween, in foster care or not.  In fact, the only kids I knew of who didn’t celebrate were those whose religion was a factor against it.  Maybe the back story of these girls is more fully explained in the previous book (which I haven’t read yet) but I sure do get tired of reading foster homes as the source of all childhood suffering.

Ok, so, stepping off my soapbox… this was a very enjoyable read.  The angst factor was low and humor factor was high.  I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance.   I’ve read most of the Lucky Harbor series, but not every book.  Even without having read the previous story in the series, this one was enjoyable.  So, read in which ever order you’d like, but do read it – it will make you smile and LOL!

Fever Pitch by Heidi Cullinan

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

20625174
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, NA, m/m
Series: Love Lessons #2
Published: 9/30/14
Reviewed by Anne
297 ebook pages

Aaron isn’t really excited about starting college, in fact, he’s having a hard time even picking a college to go to.  He is excited about living on his own, though.  He won’t be under his father’s thumb any more, and there might even be room for him to come out.  Giles is excited to start college.  High school was hell for him, and he’s hoping college won’t have any of the bullying and cliques that left him feeling like he was the bottom of the barrel.  A chance encounter at a party neither one of them wants to be at leaves Aaron with a new sexual experience and a college t choice made.  Unfortunately the same encounter leaves Giles feeling rejected again.  So, when they get to college, where both are involved in the music program, Giles is not as happy to see Aaron as Aaron was hoping he would be.

I felt like this was a story written just for me.  One part Glee, one part Pitch Perfect, and one part Heidi Cullinan goodness was a perfect mix.  Heck, it even had a huge musical closing act!

Surprisingly, I felt like the romance, though it was good, wasn’t the strongest point of this story.  The real strength of the story was the coming of age that Aaron and Giles went through.  Some of that involved them being together, but a lot of it happened more in parallel, separate from their relationship.  It’s full of good messages, but they’re not shoved down your throat.  There’s acapella, unrequited love, just the right amount of angst, and some incredible parents.  I loved every single word of it!

The only thing I could even begin to complain about is how much Walter and Kelly (from the first book in the series) appeared in this one.  But, really, I can’t complain, because Walter and Kelly were awesome!  They also have an integral part in the story, they weren’t just reappearing for the good feels of it.

I highly recommend this book!  It’s going on my Best of 2014, and it’s in my top 5 right now!  I did read Love Lessons, the first book in this series, before reading this one.  I think you’d appreciate a couple of the secondary characters more if you read in order, but I also think you’d be fine if you read this one as a stand alone.  It’s a great read!