B Reviews

The Chieftain by Margaret Mallory

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Grade-B+
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Series-Return of the Highlanders #4
Reviewed by Kay

Conner MacDonald is a highland chieftain and trying to live up to that. He’s also trying to live down his father’s past. He strives very hard to be a good leader and man. He heads to another castle to set up his home for him and his future wife, as it is time for an alliance to be made. And what better way to do this than through a marriage? He leaves his cousins behind to guard the other castle but he lets Ilysa, his best friend’s sister come with him. She has been running his keep for years anyway and he could use the friendly face as he settles in. Lately though, he has been looking at Ilysa in a different light.

Ilysa, no last name given, is a healer and even a seer. She hasn’t yet really grown in to her powers but they are there. She is a nineteen year old widow and Conner’s best friend’s sister. And she has loved Conner from afar for many years. She always wanted him to see her as a woman but due to her station that just never happened. Needless to say, she is excited to go to Conner’s new home with him. She takes over the running of the keep and Conner realizes just exactly what goes in to doing so. One thing leads to another and…they become involved.

I loved this book and this series. The characters were so well written that you felt like you knew them. The scenery so well described you felt you were there. Watching the struggles that these two went through as they fell in love was worth every second you spent in the highlands. Who wouldn’t want to spend the weekend in the highlands of Scotland?

The Men With the Golden Cuffs by Lexi Blake

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

The Men With The Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries, #2)
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Menage, BDSM
Series: Masters and Mercenaries #2
Reviewed by Kate

 
Serena writes erotic romances under a pen name.  When she starts receiving threatening messages, her editor hooks her up with a security firm.  Adam and Jake have been best friends since boot camp.  Being assigned to Serena’s case isn’t a hardship at all.  They’ve been looking for a submissive to share and Serena writes BDSM menage stories.  Maybe they can provide her with some hands-on experiences.

 
Some of the conflict in this story comes from the stalker, the rest comes from Serena, Jake, and Adam.  Each has been let down by love in the past and are scared to trust again.  I don’t know that I’ve ever run across a trio of more stubborn characters.  I felt the middle part lagged a bit because they were all refusing to talk to each other.  Despite that, I really enjoyed the book. 

The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

The Theory of Attraction (Science of Temptation, #1)
Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink (BDSM)
Genre: ContemporarySeries: The Science of Temptation #1
Reviewed by Kate
121 pages

On Anne’s recommendation, I read the Seduction Hypothesis. (See Anne’s review here.)When I finished I had to go back and read Ivan and Cami’s story. I wasn’t too far into The Theory of Attraction before I realized I had read it before (evidently my poor memory could benefit from some sort of “books read” system as this is no where near the first time this has happened to me.) As I continued to read, I remembered how much I had enjoyed reading it the first time around.

Ivan is a man of routine and predictability. In the time Camilla has been his neighbor, she has learned his routines and fallen for him a little bit, even though they are just computer game playing, sci-fi watching friends. When Ivan needs to charm some bigwigs at an upcoming party he turns to Cami. Perhaps she can help him get past his awkward social presence. Cami jumps at the chance to help him (and spend more time with him) but gets more than she bargained for when she realizes there’s one thing about predictable Ivan she didn’t know — he’s a Dom.

I really like that this wasn’t a book about changing Ivan. Cami helps him understand the situations he’ll encounter at the party, but he doesn’t undergo a nerd-to-jock transformation. He remains himself. He continues his experiment on growing tomatoes, despite his his dislike for tomatoes. He still has a hangup about shower hanky panky (my favorite scene in the book.) And on the path to helping Ivan, Cami learns about herself too.

A strong start to a great series.  Delphine Dryden has done for nerdiness what butter did for toast — made it yummy and scrumptious.