C Reviews

In the Heat of the Night by Katherine Garbera

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Grade: C-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: The O’Roarkes #2
Published: 7/10/14
Reviewed by Kate

Meg left her hometown of Twin Palms years ago for New York.  Full of confidence, she was positive she was going to make it big.  Now she’s returning home, with her tail between her legs, to regroup and try for stardom again.  Nothing’s going to get in her way this time.  Well, nothing except maybe Rory, the new firefighter in town.  Rory comes from a long line of firefighters, but when his ex-wife asked him to quit for a safer career he did.  Now he’s trying firefighting again to see if it is his passion or simply family tradition.

So we have a story of both Rory and Meg trying to rediscover themselves.  Both are trying to get over prior relationships that left them doubting themselves.  Both are overly cautious about entering another relationship.  At times they seemed almost mirror images of each other, in their actions (avoiding each other and the potential for a relationship) and feelings (hiding the fact that they’re falling for each other, scared of trying for something they want).

As much as I liked Meg and Rory’s characters (they were both sweet and funny) I just couldn’t work up any excitement for them as a couple.  I never got invested in them.  I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than I was in Meg and Rory.  Overall, this book didn’t really create strong feelings for me, one way or the other.

If you like firefighters and low conflict romance, this one might be for you.  It just didn’t work for me.

 

The Payment Series (Prized, Possessed, Purgatory) by Cassandra Carr

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary
Published: 5/6/2014
Reviewed by Kate
280  pages

Catrina is so deep in debt that there are no options left for her. Until she hears about “Debt Management Assoociates.”  DMA offers a solution to her problem.  But it means she’ll have to be her “benefactor’s” sex slave for a full year.  She’d have to do whatever, whenever, with whoever he wants.

The first book in the series, “Prized,” takes us through Catrina’s 2 week training period with the DMA.  The second installment, “Possessed,” follows Catrina through her year long sentence of service.  And “Purgatory,” the final book shows us how Catrina copes in the first 2 months after her service period has ended.

I knew going into this one that it would be polarizing for me.  Either the author was going to do a really good job showing that the romance between Catrina and her benefactor, Jared, was much more than the purchase agreement and I was going to love it. Or the author would make me feel dirty for just reading it and I would hardly be able to finish it.  I was surprised and shocked to realize that the author didn’t follow either path I expected.  Instead she provided me with a story that made me think and think and think some more.  This story was raw, graphic, and gritty and made me cringe at multiple times.

My main complaint comes from the fact that this book was tagged as a “erotica, romance” on NetGalley.  So I went into it expecting a dirty, raunchy love story.  Yes.  I read the summary provided and I knew that she would be with multiple men and I guessed that some/most of it would be non-consensual.  But I was expecting the author to weave some sort of story where Jared falls for Catrina and vice versa.  Instead I was left with this chronicle of Catrina’s life during her time in service.  We never got inside Jared’s head and never got a chance to see him as anyone apart from the man who paid mongo bucks to take complete control of her for one year.  On Catrina’s part, it wasn’t so much a love story as one of dependence.

It reminded me a lot of the Story of O by Pauline Réage.  Both heroines had a span of forced submission, however the back stories are a bit different.  I struggled to connect to each heroine.  It was almost like the drastic-ness of their situations made it hard to see them as a person.  And much like the Story of O, I feel that this story will stick with me for a long time, popping into my mind at odd times and making me think.

So how do I rate a book that I hated on one hand-because it absolutely lacked the romance I was looking for-but on the other hand it is one of those rare books that has dug its claws into my brain and feels like it will stick there forever?  I’d have to say it failed as a romance, but gets full marks for making me think and see things a bit differently.

I’m going to be looking into more by Cassandra Carr, because I would love it if she was able to write a romance that made me think as much as this one did.  If you’re looking for a romanctic read this one is definitely not for you.  If you’re looking for a thought provoking read, and you are okay with explicit anal and oral sex, you might want to give this one a try.

No Strings Attached by Reece Butler

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

No Strings Attached (MFM)

Grade: C+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Menage
Series: Climax, Montana #4
Published: June 2014
Reviewed by Kate

Lila is taking over the ranch while her parents head out on a cruise.  She’s out to prove to everyone that she’s got what it takes.  When Jet and Houston come along looking to hire on as ranch hands, they’re just what the doctor ordered-both for the ranch and for Lila’s sex life.

The main thing that bothered me with this one was that Lila’s parents-Matt, Eric, and Nikki-and her aunt and uncles-Simon, Lance, and Marci-were so open with everyone about her budding relationship with Jet and Houston.  It was a little squick-inducing to hear them tell her to go at it. And to hear them tell Jet and Houston that she needed to be spanked.

I also didn’t really care for the fact that Beth Elliot (an ancestor of Lila and the heroine from Barefoot Bride for Three which took place in 1870) was still in this one, coming back as a spirit. The woman’s dead and buried.  Let her be.  I loved her in her book, but her popping up in the Climax series of books is stretching my boundaries of believability.

This one was filled with everything that I’ve come to love and expect from a Reece Butler read-steamy, hot sex and romance that tugs at my heartstrings.  I’m still enjoying the books, but I would like to see what Reece could do with a different series.  As much as I like the Bride Train series and the Climax, Montana series, I’m ready for something new.