Anne

Mai Tai for Two by Delphine Dryden

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
21569251
Grade: C+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, COSMO Red Hot Reads
Published: 5/13/14
Reviewed by Anne
132 ebook pages

Julie and her “work husband” Alan both won a trip to Hawaii.  When the friend Julie brought with her starts flirting with Alan, Julie is jealous.  When Alan sees Julie talking with a local guy, he gets jealous.  They decide a vacation fling might be in order.  

This book was just ok for me.  It gets bonus points for some geek references and some funny jokes, but overall it was just ok.  Julie gets upset when Alan does something she asked him to do, and that’s one of the mail conflicts in the book.  It made Julie seem immature to me.  Actually, the whole book just made me feel old.  So that’s it, I’m throwing in the towel on COSMO Red Hot Reads.  I’m not the target audience.  And even when one of my favorite authors writes, it doesn’t work for me.  (Well, ok, Lauren Dane worked just fine, but my odds are not good here.)

Double Feature: Whitetail Rock and The Fix by Anne Tenino

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
1221560913248416

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Published: 2011
Reviewed by Anne
73+27 ebook pages

*Note: I’m reviewing these two stories together because they are very closely linked and short!

Nik was adopted from India as in infant by his very white family.  He grew up in a very white town very conscious of his skin color. On top of everything else he’s gay – just one more way to be different in his conservative home town.  Fortunately he’s got a solid family who has always stood behind him and supported him.  It’s when he’s home from college visiting them that he meets Jurgen, who looks like someone Hitler would have drooled over and pushes all of Nik’s buttons.  Unfortunately, those buttons are a mixed bag.  Nik is turned on by Jurgen, but also unwittingly reminded of some bad experiences in his past and people who were only interested in him because of his skin color.

Whitetail Rock is the story of how Nik and Jurgen meet and work through their issues.  The Fix is a very short update on them working through a new issue.  Both were good, hot reads.  Nik is very insecure, and Jurgen is more insightful than he looks.  I would have enjoyed these stories even if I’d paid for them, but it’s an extra bonus that they’re available for free!  And some of the characters apparently feature in the book Too Stupid To Live, which I *did* buy and am looking forward to reading!

The Kraken King Part II: The Kraken King and the Abominable Worm by Meljean Brook

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
20645263
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Ember
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Steampunk, Serial
Series: Iron Seas #4.2 (Part 2 of 8 parts for this story)
Published: 4/15/14
Reviewed by Anne
71 ebook pages

So, I’m still loving this story, and the serial format is still killing me!  This installment of the serial starts with another letter from Zenobia to her brother Archimedes.  This is a really clever way to trigger my awful memory and remind me what happened in the first installment. (Still, this is a serial, and MUST be read in order.)

This time Zenobia and her entourage set out over land with Ariq and his entourage.  They travel in mountain walkers which were fascinating to read about!  Zenobia and Ariq dance around their attraction to each other. Despite her decision not to have anything to do with him in Part I, she enjoys his continued pursuit.  Unfortunately this installment ends with yet another obstacle in their path.

I find it difficult to review this without giving away everything about it.  So I’ll just say, if you can stand the serial format, I highly recommend this book!