contemporary

Painted Faces by L.H. Cosway

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Painted Faces

Grade – A-
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – No Kink
Genre – Contemporary
Reviewed by Anne
 
Freda, aka Fred, is an abrasive 25 year old woman living in Dublin.  She bakes cupcakes and works at a charity shop.  She has good friends, including her roommate, but she tends to speak her mind without filtering out things first.
 
Nicholas is Fred’s new neighbor.  Not only is he gorgeous but she’s instantly drawn to him.

Even within this short conversation, I’ve noticed something sort of electric about his personality, something addictive.  His eyes pull me in, like they hold secrets that could make my boring old life so much more exciting.  You don’t come across men this alluring very often.
 

When Nicholas invites Fred to come see his show, she’s surprised and then delighted to learn that he sings and dresses in female clothes.  He’s very, very good and Fred is even more intrigued by her new neighbor.
 
However attracted Fred may be to Nicholas, but there’s no way she’d act on it. She knows he’s way out of her league and any kind of romantic relationship is bound to leave her with a broken heart.  Too bad for Fred, because Nicholas is very attracted to her and he’s ready to act on it.  Fred is cautious with her heart, though, so they fall into a friendship with some incredible sexual tension. 
 
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of romance without external conflict, and that’s exactly what this one is.  This whole story is about how Fred and Nicholas work through their issues and and it’s delightful, funny, and painful to read.  This story is told entirely from Fred’s point of view, and I really enjoyed her voice and the way she looked at the world.  Another bonus is that the story is set in Dublin and it’s not Americanized.  I enjoy reading slang I don’t know and I’m smart enough to figure out what phrases mean if it’s not one I’ve seen before.
 
It’s not a perfect read.  There were some things that bothered me.  Throughout the book, Fred says “No” to Nicholas’ advances, while wishing in his head he’d ignore her and continue to pursue her anyway.  Often he does ignore her “No.”  Fred is OK with this, because she’s secretly hoping he really does like her enough to keep trying.  However, Nicholas had no way of really knowing that, so I found it annoying.  There were a couple plot lines that never went anywhere.
 
Still, it was overall a big winner for me. I didn’t want to put this down while reading it, which made my real life quite inconvenient. 
 
A couple points I want to be clear on:
  • This story does include references to Nicholas’ sexual abuse as a teenager.  This is important to the story, not superfluous.  It is not discussed in graphic detail.
  • While he enjoys dressing up as a woman, Nicholas’ sexual orientation is straight, and Nicholas and Fred’s relationship is a man/woman relationship.  These characters would have been interesting to read about regardless of sexual orientation, but I include this in my review in case you’re looking for a specific kind of story.
 
I’d love to read more L.H. Cosway.  Goodreads shows that she’s got two series, one looks to be vampire/paranormal, and the other a YA/paranormal.  I’m going to cross my fingers and hope she does some more contemporary romance.

At His Majesty’s Convenience by Jennifer Lewis

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

At His Majesty's Convenience
Grade – C
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – No Kink
Genre – Contemporary (but in a fictional land)
Reviewed by Kate

Once upon a time (3 years ago), in the land of Ruthenia far, far away (okay, it’s on Austria’s border)…

After the communist regime fell, Jake, young and handsome, returned to his family’s throne ending decades of exile in America. King Jake brought his loyal and uber professional assistant Andi with him. Upon regaining the throne, Jake promised his countrymen he would choose a bride by Ruthenia’s third Independence Day celebration (mere weeks away). Being pursued by the daughters of the country’s elite, Jake is trying to decide which of the conniving dears he finds least repugnant. Andi, who has loved Jake since she became his assistant six years ago, cannot bear the thought of watching him court and marry someone else. She hands in her resignation to Jake (who is stunned) and plans to leave right away.

Late that night, Jake finds Andi, who after a conk on the head cannot remember anything. Seeing a solution to his problems (losing his faithful assistant and having to pick a bride), Jake tells Andi that they had gotten engaged earlier that evening. Andi feels something isn’t quite right, but believes Jake since he seems familiar and comfortable.

When Andi regains her memory, she confronts Jake. He convinces her to play along until after the Independence Day celebration and then make her decision. Andi chooses to leave, thinking Jake doesn’t return her love. Meanwhile, Jake realizes that what started out as a desire to keep his assistant has turned into true love. He predictably chases after her…And they live happily ever after.

I almost quit reading this one at page 80. I was flabbergasted that Jake would even consider taking advantage of Andi by lying to her and yes, seducing her. I guess I have come to expect more from my heroes. However, I soldiered on. By the end, the author managed to turn Jake around. I finally found some sympathy for the jerk and managed to cheer when he and Andi finally reunited…but it was a close call.

Rough Ride by Keri Ford

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Rough Ride (The Roughnecks, #1)
Grade – B
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – No Kink
Genre – Contemporary
Series – The Roughnecks #1
Reviewed by Anne
 
Gretchen is a young widow who owns a trailer park.  Lane is back in town to help his brothers fix up some property and is renting a trailer from Gretchen.  He’s been really clear about his short term status. He’s not staying in town and he’s not looking for a relationship.  Despite this, sparks fly between him and Gretchen. 
 
However, Lane is keeping a secret (cue drama) from his brothers.  (By the way, he’s one of set of unidentical, but all handsome, triplet brothers, with a younger brother to boot.) This big secret makes him want to keep his distance from his brothers, hence his plans to leave town as soon as renovations to the property are done.  He knows Gretchen is a forever kind of girl, so he’s not going to go anywhere near her.  Except when he does.  Which is kind of a lot.
 
Meanwhile, Gretchen decides, with the help of her two best and very funny friends, that it’s time to have a no strings attached affair.  She needs to seduce Lane.  Except she really has no idea how.  So she sets out baking a lot.  She tries to explain this to her friends.

“They say the quickest way to a man is through his stomach.”
 
“That’s to his heart, Gretchen. I know it’s been a while, but what you’re looking for is a bit farther south.”

 
This book really worked for me.  It’s got over the top humor, and I was really in the mood for that.  It reminded me of the Neighbor From Hell Series by R.L. Mathewson.  Funny and cute.  As with the Neighbor From Hell series, food plays a big part in this story.  In this case, Gretchen really has a thing for pie.  Here Lane is asking her about pie:

“What are the options?”

“Cherry?  Lemon, lime, banana, coconut cream?”  She looked down, her lips twisted and she bit at her lower one.  “Um, sweet potato.  Pumpkin, oh my god, I can’t wait for fall so I can make fresh pumpkin pie.  It’s just creamy and sweet.  Spiced like Christmas and smooth like cheesecake.  Flavor just pops in your mouth.”

Lane’s tongue was thick in his mouth for reasons that had nothing to do with hunger for pie.  Her eyes glazed as she went on about different kinds of pies and their “full bodied” tastes.

“Oh yeah.  And the cheesecakes.”  Her lips were parted, cheeks pinked and eyes a little dreamy.  “They have this stuff in the store.  Premade cheesecake pie filling and it’s awesome.  I’ll eat it off the spoon like a pudding cup.”

There was a good chance she just had an orgasm on his couch talking about pie.

 
I really enjoyed Lane’s brothers and Gretchen’s friends, too.  Unfortunately, Lane’s big secret seemed dumb to me.  I also thought the last few chapters of the story were weak, probably because the drama didn’t really work for me. Overall, though, I enjoyed it and I’m putting the sequels, Rough Play and Rough Tumble, on my To Be Read list.