B Reviews

Shades Of Gray by Maya Banks

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Shades of Gray (KGI, #6)
Grade-B+
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Series-KGI #6
Reviewed by Kay

This novel is the story of Cole and PJ, and I, like other readers of this series, have been waiting a long time for it. Cole and PJ are snipers for the KGI team. KGI is a black ops type of organization. It is family oriented but they do have non family members within the organization. The book starts out with Cole showing up in the bar in Denver that PJ hangs out in between missions. They have some tequila shots and decide to act on their simmering attraction to one another. The next morning they both get a call that their team is meeting for their next assignment. At the meeting it is decided that PJ will go undercover as semi bait for a human trafficker. No one likes the situation at all, especially Cole, since he’s already admitted to himself that he’s in love with PJ, and has been for some time.

During the mission, something goes horribly wrong and PJ is brutally raped and physically scarred. What makes this so terrible is that her whole team hears everything that happened to her. She resigns the team and disappears for six months, while her teammates and KGI desperately look for her. But let’s not forget, PJ knows how to disappear and go off the grid. She tracks down 3 of the 4 men who were at her rape. She killed the guards who watched but didn’t participate first. Then she killed one of her rapists and that just leaves the boss.

Finally her team tracks her down and decides to help her find the other man. She doesn’t want this but agrees to it. Vengeance is her sole focus and she doesn’t want to involve KGI. She and Cole reconnect and their relationship grows more intense by the day.

I anticipated this book for so long and I’m thrilled it was all I expected. I was a little concerned that she might do a little paranormal in this one the way she had the last two. I read both of those books and thought she might have honestly ruined the series for me. This book was a total redemption for the series in my opinion. I love the vigilante part and the closeness of her team. She had several things deal with and I thought they were handled well. It wasn’t hot after the one and only sex scene and understandably so. I didn’t miss that as I was transfixed on how the rest of the story played out. I know it’s $7.99 but it is truly worth every penny. I got my copy from the library since I was wary because of the last two books, but the KGI series is back to being an auto-buy for me.

Undeniable by Alison Kent

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Undeniable (The Dalton Gang Series, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Low
Series-Dalton Gang #1
Reviewed by Kay

Arwen Poole is a bar owner in a smallish ranch town. She is also the daughter of the town drunk. She doesn’t know that she’s beautiful either. She is very content with her life. At least, she was until the Dalton Gang moved back home.

Dax Campbell has been kind of a drifter since he left town at eighteen years old. He left town to escape his dysfunctional family and their expectations of him. He spent his teen years at the Dalton ranch with the family he always wanted. He made the Daltons and his friends his family.

He and his friends come home after the death of the Daltons to take care of the ranch that was willed to the three of them. He sees Arwen and their relationship starts off with a bang. Literally.

I liked this novel a lot. Liked all the characters and what they are going through. Dax and Arwen struggle to put a label on their relationship because of their pasts. I loved the emotions I felt while reading and the sex…hot and frequent.

Escorted by Claire Kent

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Escorted
Grade-B-
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Genre-contemporary
Reviewed by Kate

Okay, I admit to being intrigued by the premise right off the bat. You just don’t run across too many male escort romances out there.

Lori, a successful romance author, is still a virgin at 26. She hires Anders, a male escort, to take care of that problem for her. Obviously, or it wouldn’t be a romance, they both fall for each other.

This story is told from Lori’s view point. You only hear Ander’s thoughts if he shares them with Lori. I typically don’t care for this style of narrative, but it worked here. I don’t think I could have liked Ander as much as I did if the story included his other “engagements.” There were two things that bothered me about the story:

1. The title. I kept thinking “oooh, you got escorted” in the same line of “you got served,” and

2. the pen name Lori uses in the story is Claire Kent, the name of the author.
Small things, I know, but that’s just me.