Anne

So Tough to Tame by Victoria Dahl

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

So Tough to Tame (Jackson, #3)

 
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, cowboy
Series: Jackson #3
Published: 9/24/13
Reviewed by Anne
376 pages
 
Charlie and Walker were friends in high school when geeky Charlie tutored the very popular Walker.  They went their separate ways, but now they have apartments across the hall from each other and they are both recovering from awful on the job experiences that ended with being fired.  Neither has troubles starting a new job, and neither is admitting to anyone that anything bad happened.  It’s like a high school reunion.  I’m great!  I’m so happy!  I just moved on to a wonderful job!
 
The attraction that had simmered between them in high school flares up again and now they are adults free to act on that attraction.  Neither is looking for anything long term, so it all should be great, right?
 
This was a good story.  I thought the characters were unique and more flawed than I’m used to reading.  They were each hiding the truth of themselves from the other, which bordered on annoying.  However, this set up worked for me.  They were both so embarrassed about their pasts because they were responsible for the poor choices they’d made.  This made for more angst than I usually like to read, but, again, it really worked in this story.
 
Walker is a really refreshing hero in a genre that seems full of billionaire CEOs and over achievers.  His life is simple, in part because he doesn’t think he can achieve more, and in part because that’s how he likes it.  Walker does make some changes over the course of the book, but the changes are motivated by his own happiness, not out of a desire to impress someone else.
 
Charlie was interesting, too.  A security expert who wasn’t a strong physical force.  She specializes in out-thinking criminals and setting up monitoring systems.  The situation she finds herself in on her new job – feeling like she’s being watched every moment of the day – was really creepy!  (Although I should point out that I’m not a huge suspense fan, so even a little bit of it is creepy to me!)
 
I think one of my favorite parts of the book was that their personal growth was in parallel, and not caused by the other person being in their life.  Even when Charlie tries to interfere with Walker, he’s not going to move on things until he’s ready.  I enjoyed that as opposed to magic sex that heals all wounds!
I thought the ending was a little too hearts and sunshine with respect to their careers, but I REALLY appreciated that the wedding in the epilogue wasn’t theirs.  They still have issues to work through, in my opinion, but you leave the story sure that they will work things out.  This was an enjoyable and funny contemporary romance!

Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Always On My Mind (Lucky Harbor, #8)

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 9/24/13
Reviewed by Anne
254 pages
 
Leah feels like a failure after messing up at pastry school and on a reality cooking show.  She spending the agonizing time until the show’s finale in Lucky Harbor, her home town, running her Grandma’s bakery.  Her best friend Jack is there for her as always.  When the idea that Jack and Leah might be dating cheers up Jack’s mother – who is fighting cancer – Leah runs with the story saying she ad Jack are going out.  Jack plays along and, much to the amusement of everyone else, pretending to date leads to actual dating and falling in love.
 
Jill Shalvis is an amazingly dependable writer!  This is another great story.  There’s tons of humor, along with the Lucky Harbor cast we know and love.  I think this book would stand on it’s own just fine, though.

Leah is a pretty damaged heroine – well, her self esteem is damaged due to her father’s emotional abuse while she was growing up.  I would have felt better if she’d started seeing a therapist during the course of the story – she’s really got issues!  Jack had his own problems, but they never seemed as big as hers.

I loved the set up with the two of them fake dating to give Jack’s mom a little boost.  Everything about that was funny.  The ending was a little over the top, but it didn’t ruin anything, and it left me wanting to know a lot more about Ben and Aubrey!

Love Letters Volume 5: Exposed

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Novella
Published: 9/9/13
Reviewed by Anne
44,000 words
 
I went into this thinking the collection would be about voyeurism, which wasn’t the case with every story.  They had more to do with being on display/exposed, though there was some voyeurism.  The first two stories were ok. I LOVED the 3rd one by Christina Thatcher.  The fourth one started off great but then gave me book rage. So, it was a mixed bag for me.
 
R is for Reality by Ginny Glass is about a camera woman who convinces a cab driver to come audition for a part to get her out of hot water.  Their chemistry was good, but I was surprised by the pacing of the story, which jumped over large gaps in time.  Overall it was just ok for me. (C)
 
S is for Scandalous by Emily Cale had the exact opposite pacing problem for me.  I felt like I had mental whiplash due to how fast the characters’ relationship moved.  Kacey takes a job where she will lie nude and be the serving platter for a meal of sushi.  Austin shows up and recognizes Kasey.  He goes to see her after the meal when she is changing.  Even though their teenage friendship/crush didn’t survive Austin leaving for college, they pick up like they’d spent the intervening years dreaming of getting back together.   And despite the years apart, they act like they know each other extremely well.  It just didn’t work for me (C-)
 
T is for Tango by Christina Thatcher was the standout read in this collection!  Sonia is a secretary at Adam’s company.  Once a week he catches her changing clothes… at her desk.  He doesn’t know what to make of it, but he’s enthralled.  Then he realizes she’s doing it on purpose, for him.  This just worked on every level for me.  (B+)
 
U is for Undone by Maggie Wells started out really promising.  When the power goes out, Alec sees Sophia, a co-worker he’s admired.  She’s lighting candles in her apartment and taking off her clothes.  He can’t help but watch and he’s shocked when she makes eye contact with him and he realizes she knew he was watching the whole time!  This beginning worked very well for me.  Unfortunately, what came next was rage-inducing.  I don’t want to ruin the story, so I’ll just say that Alec was very controlling about how their relationship would move forward.  This frustrated Sophia, but ultimately she doesn’t complain and just moves forward in the way Alec dictates.  I felt like Alec was playing mind games with Sophia, but that’s not the tone of the story.  I think we’re supposed to think it’s sweet that he wants to get to know her and take things slow.  It just didn’t work for me. (D)