C Reviews

Candy Store by Bella Andre

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Candy Store
Grade – C+
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – None
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate

I have been wanting to read a Bella Andre book for a while now, but the price tag on most of her full lengths are more than I like. So when this one came up as a freebie, I snatched it up — despite its nearly novella length of around 118 pages.
 
Right off the bat, the title reminded me of a disturbingly suggestive Brady Bunch song called “Candy (Sugar Shoppe)”.  Seriously, check out the lyrics sometime and see if you don’t agree. Who knew the Bradys were that dirty? But, I’m guessing that’s an issue that probably won’t bother most of you. Anyway **clearing throat** on to the review…

Callie is at a wedding one night bemoaning the fate of her candy shop. Unless she can make a lot of money fast, she’ll have to close the doors on her dream. It’s a good thing a consultant is coming the next day to help her out. It’s also a good thing there’s a really hot guy at the bar, willing to take her back into the commercial refrigerator of the reception hall and help her forget about business for the night.

Derek hates weddings and wouldn’t be at this one if he wasn’t the best man. Luckily he meets up with Callie, who proves to be just the distraction he’s looking for. But he’s a little confused when she runs away after it’s over.

The next day Callie heads into her store to await the consultant. That consultant, of course, is Derek. After taking care of some naughty business, they get down to the business of saving her store. I sure hope they remembered to bleach the counters-and the refrigerator-and the tables…

This was a fast read with characters who I immediately felt comfortable with. Although it was not a book I will reread, I look forward to reading more by this author.

 

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

 Hot Secrets (Tall, Dark & Deadly #1)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Series-Tall, Dark and Deadly #1
Reviewed by Kay

Lauren Reynolds is a lawyer with the DA’s office and she’s working a huge profile case. Royce Walker is a former FBI agent turned security specialist who’s looking into threats made against her and her father. They have been attracted to each other for quite some time. One night at an event, Lauren decides she’s gonna act on her attraction to Royce and go to bed with him. Royce likes that idea a lot but hates keeping his involvement with her dad a secret.

I had high hopes for this one and was disappointed. I liked the characters and the whodunit part was good but the love scenes were so mediocre. Let me explain, when I read about this book it emphasized how HOT, HOT, HOT this book was. It was NOT, NOT, NOT. There was sex but it never worked for me. It was abbreviated and fairly bland. A book doesn’t have to be hot for me to read it but don’t advertise it as such.

This was my first read by Lisa Renee Jones and I am uncertain if I will read more by her. The suspense was good but not great and it wrapped up abruptly with believability questionable. For someone who likes their romantic suspense simple and a little less spicy, this book might be fantastic for you.

Another Woman’s Son by Anna Adams

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Another Woman's Son
Grade – C+
Hotness Level – ember
Kink Level – None
Genre-Contemporary, Harlequin
Reviewed by Kate

Okay, get your pens and papers ready. Take notes — there’ll be a quiz at the end (okay, not really, but you still might want to take notes).

Best friends Will and Ben married sisters Isabel and Faith. Will and Isabel. Ben and Faith. Got that? Keeping up? Good. One more person to add to the mix. Tony is Ben and Faith’s toddler son.

When Isabel presses Will to have a baby, he admits he already has a son with — wait for it — Faith. That’s right, little Tony is really Will’s son, not Ben’s. Isabel leaves Will. She decides not to tell Ben about Tony’s true parentage.

Three months later (where the story starts), Will and Faith have decided to run away with Tony. They are in an accident with Tony being the only survivor. Faith had left a note for Ben, so he now knows Tony is not his biological son.

Ben is terrified Isabel will tell her parents that Tony is really Will’s son and they will want to take custody away from Ben. He decides the best course of action is to keep Isabel close to him, so he invites Isabel to stay with him while she is cleaning out Will’s house — the one she hasn’t lived in for 3 months.

Isabel is a great big ball of internal conflict. She feels guilty for not telling Ben about Will and Faith’s affair. She knows the best home for Tony is with Ben, but worries Ben might refuse to let her family visit Tony. She doesn’t like lying to her parents, but doesn’t want to ruin her parents’ memories of Faith with the truth of Faith’s infidelity.
This story has a fast timeline. Four months from start to finish. Ben and Isabel’s feelings for each other started within a few days of the funerals. I can usually overlook a quick sprint to being in love, but this felt a little off. To top it all off, the epilogue was a bit too hunky-dory for me. It was an okay read, but I don’t think I’ll be rereading this one.