Anne

Most Likely to Succeed by Katie Davies

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Most Likely to Succeed (Girls Most Likely to..., #1)
Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Novella
Series: Girl Most Likely to… #1
Reviewed by: Anne

 
Kelsey and Nathan were lab partners back in high school.  Despite having feelings for each other, they never acted on them and lost touch once college rolled around.  Because of this, Nathan doesn’t know that Kelsey didn’t end up going to college.  Instead, when her mother fell ill, she helped out in her mother’s flower shop and ended up staying there.  Now it’s class reunion time and Kelsey is ashamed to have her brilliant lab partner discover what she’s been doing.
 
Thankfully (for me, hater of BIG SECRETS) this big secret isn’t a secret for long.  That was a point in the story’s favor.  Unfortunately, it really took a while for this one to be enjoyable for me.  The first half of my copy of the novella is full of bookmarks with comments from me like:
“Wow, that’s an odd thing to do after years apart.”
“Hero seems to be a saint with no flaws.”
“Answers the door in a towel.  Really?”
“Awfully touchy with a stranger.”
“Whatever.”
The book also has one of my personal pet peeves… sex on top of the hotel comforter.  I just don’t trust that that those are washed every time!  PLEASE, fold back the comforter and have sex on the sheets!
 
Once I got past the midpoint of the book (and ignored the comforter sex) the story really grew on me.  Nathan is pretty perfect, but he makes some very real mistakes with Kelsey and things get kind of messy.  That was believable to me and I enjoyed seeing the two of them work through it.  By the end of the novella, I wanted it to be longer.  I wanted to see more of Kelsey’s transformation.
 
Interestingly, it looks like the books in this series (I’m going to guess there will be 3) are all taking place during the same 4 days of the high school reunion.  There were enough teasers to really make me want to read the second book, Cutest Couple, which comes out in April.  So, my overall grade is a C, but it’s a hopeful C.

Beyond Control by Kit Rocha

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Beyond Control (Beyond, #2)
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: BDSM (but pretty light stuff)
Genre: Dystopian
Series: Beyond #2
Reviewed by Anne

Note: This book will be enjoyed much more if you read Beyond Shame first.  I really enjoyed Beyond Shame (my review) and it does a great job of world building and explaining the O’Kane gang.  I think this is especially important in understanding the role sex plays between them all.  In this dystopian world the O’Kane gang is free to give and receive sexual favors… or not.  But they tend toward group play and open displays.  Beyond Shame made me feel comfortable in this world, especially in the relationship that Lex and Noelle have together.  It’s like best friends with benefits.

 
OK, so Dallas O’Kane runs Sector 4 and is the leader of the O’Kane gang.  Lex long ago escaped the brothels in Sector 2 and eventually settled into Sector 4 and the O’Kane gang.  She’s the unofficial leader of the females and has the respect of everyone in the gang, including Dallas.  There is a strong attraction between Dallas and Lex.  They both know that someday this relationship will be made permanent (the O’Kane version of marriage) but neither has been ready to take the next step toward that.  
 
This story starts with Lex getting a tattoo of Dallas’ name, from hip to hip.  She knows it will start the journey toward him officially claiming her.  She’s nervous about how that will all go down, but knows it’s time to stop stalling.  Getting the tattoo is an in-your-face taunt to Dallas.  Once he discovers it he immediately collars Lex.  Putting a collar on a partner is a short term declaration of ownership/partnership.  Lex is fine with that move, and the rest of the story is how they stumble forward to a long term relationship.
 
Lex’s main issue is trusting someone else to take care of her and put her first.  Dallas quickly realizes this, but that doesn’t mean their path is smooth.  At the same time there is a political situation afoot that demands their attention as leaders and also drags them back into contact with Sector 2.  (By the way, Sector 2 was a little disappointing.  I expected a lot of heat there.  I think the point was that displays without affection aren’t really that hot, but still, I’d been hoping!)
 
I loved the sex scenes in this book.  Hot, and they really show the relationship progress between Dallas and Lex.  I also liked the friendship and support Dallas and Lex (together and individually) got from their friends.  The gang is like a small town with everyone all up in everyone else’s business (sometimes literally) and that means everyone is watching Dallas and Lex closely.
 
While I was reading this story I didn’t want to put the book down!  I was so caught up in it.  When I was done I immediately wanted to re-read it.  However, part of that was because I want a little reassurance that Dallas and Lex will be ok. They certainly have a rough road ahead of them.  This is due mostly to Dallas’ uber-alphaness.  I’m not sure much changed over the course of the book.  The story was more about Lex and Dallas each coming to terms with who the other was.  I was left with the feeling that they will continue to step on each other’s feelings, but that they are committed to working things out, though.
 
I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.  There are several ongoing story lines and I want to know more!  The next book is due in early Fall 2013.  I’m counting the days and will reread this one while I wait. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Kiss Me, I'm Irish
I wanted so badly to finish this book in time to review it for St. Patrick’s Day!  And then Spring Break happened.  Well, first the preparing for Spring Break and the four children I’d have home all day happened.  At that point I thought, “Well, I’ll just finish the Jill Shalvis story and review that one.”  Then school actually got out and my reading time disappeared.  So I didn’t even finish the one short story!  I’m so sorry!  But, hey, I’m half way through the Jill Shalvis story and really enjoying it!

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll tell you about my favorite Irish character ever.  Roarke.  Yeah, I know, you probably already know Roarke. 
Naked in Death (In Death, #1)
Naked in Death, featuring Eve Dallas (tough New-York-City-of-the-future homicide detective) and Roarke (I’m-so-rich-one-name-is-enough.)    How awesome are these two?  The 26th book in their series was released last month!  But I think it’s not enough to read these books.  You need to listen on audio.  I feel like I’d recognize these characters if I heard them talking in another room.  The narrator is awesome.  The stories are awesome.  Roarke’s Irish accent is awesome. 

So, if you need an excuse, hey, it’s St. Patrick’s day.  Get yourself an audio copy of Naked in Death and find something productive to do* while you listen, because if you’re like me, you’ll just want to keep listening, listening, listening.  

*things I do while listening to the In Death series: laundry, house cleaning, sewing, quilting, crocheting, walking, exercising, driving around town.  I’ve been known to drag out my to-do list just so I can listen longer!