contemporary

Be Mine

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Be Mine: Sizzle\Too Fast to Fall\Alone With You
Grade – B-

Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – no kink
Genre – Contemporary
Reviewed by Anne
 
Sizzle by Jennifer Crusie
Grade C+
Emily is a successful marketing guru who makes a lot of money for the company she works for, but is also known for running over budget on her accounts.  Richard is brought in to partner with her and keep the financial side of her accounts in line.  They are immediately attacted to each other, but Richard’s habit of not listening to Emily, during professional or personal moments, has Emily on her guard professionally and keeping her distance personally.  Richard seems clueless as to his… shall I call them bad habits? 
I had some problems with this story that kept it from being a better read for me.  There were moments where Richard was so oblivious to what Emily was saying that it bordered on non-consent (sexually) for me.  It never was rape or even close, but there were moments it was uncomfortable for me to read.  Partway through the story a reference to renting a VCR took me back to my childhood and made me realize this was an old story.  That was disappointing for me.
I did really enjoy the banter back and forth between Richard and Emily, and I really liked Emily’s strength of character.  She really liked Richard, but she wasn’t going to allow him to NOT listen to her. Her insistence on his improvement made his deplorable behavior tolerable.  It’s difficult to believe he’s really changed his ways at the end of the story, but I do believe Emily will continue to put him in his place.
 
Too Fast To Fall by Victoria Dahl
Grade B+
Jenny Stone has a need.  A need for speed.  And that need for speed keeps getting her pulled over by Deputy Nate Hendricks.  I have to admit that this is true for me:
Victoria Dahl + police officer = win
Jenny and Nate have some really nice chemistry together.  There is a lot going on in this short story, but I think Victoria Dahl pulled it off nicely.  Jenny was a nice mix of self confident and dealing with past issues that have given her a tendency to run.  I loved Nate’s honestly with Jenny.  Things that could have been hidden and created BIG SECRETS were not.  They were dealt with, and it was messy, but not annoying like a big misunderstanding is.  Add in some good secondary characters and this story was a big win for me.
 
Alone With You by Shannon Stacey
Grade B-
Jake and Darcy have a one night stand they both think will develop into something more, until Jake loses Darcy’s number and she thinks he never meant to call her at all.  This makes things quite awkward when they end up working together on an isolated project for a mutual friend/employer.    This story gets bonus points from me for being the only one that really had a strong Valentine’s Day collection.  I expected that from all three stories in a collection called “Be Mine” but really only Alone With You had more than a token reference.
 
This story had the things I love about Shannon Stacey’s writing, but it was kind of a miss for me.  There was a running joke (Big Ass Steak) and Kowalskis (Kevin and Beth from the second book) and funny and true good friends.  I really enjoyed Jake and Darcy playing trivia, too.  But I think the two of them together didn’t always feel right.  It felt a little rushed and a little up and down.  They’re not getting along.  They’ve got horny pants.  They’re in love.  It’s over! Oh no! But they’re in love!  Ok, back together with the horny pants.  In the end it was just ok for me.
 
 
 
 

Boots and Chaps by Myla Jackson

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Boots And Chaps (Ugly Stick Saloon, #1)

Grade – D
Hotness Level – Inferno
Kink Level – Moderate Kink
Genre – Contemporary, BDSM
Series – Ugly Stick Saloon #1
Reviewed by Kate

Audrey owns the Ugly Stick Saloon (think Coyote Ugly with strippers by request.)  When the manager takes a request for a stripper at a private birthday party but the usual strippers are all unavailable, Audrey steps into her old stripper alter-ego Kiki. It’s a good thing the birthday boy is Jackson, who she has been crushing on for a while now. She had a small sampling of him in the storage room the night before but she wants more.

The private party was planned by Jackson’s twin brothers, Mark and Luke, who decide they’ll play with Kiki if Jackson won’t. But Kiki only wants the twins if Jackson wants to share. Jackson has never shared before but decides to try it..for Kiki.

This book sounded so promising but I was really disappointed. The characters seemed a bit unrealistic to me. Audrey wants no part of a relationship but joins Jackson in the storage room for a wild romp, knowing he’s a commitment kind of guy, because her vibrator ran out of batteries the night before. Jackson takes over a Dom role to Kiki’s sub at the party but keeps asking her if what he’s doing is okay and what she wants him to do. A more pansy Dom I’ve never met. Then suddenly he finds his Dom balls and things are hunky dory. The off-kilter part? Kiki is turned on by both the pansy Dom as well as the harder Dom.

Mark and Luke did not come across as very likable. They liked any woman who breathed and didn’t seem to have any connection to Audrey/Kiki

The final scenes that happen after a Ladies Night Out at the bar are not just a stretch for Jackson’s character but something closer to an alien taking over his body. Those last scenes were so unbelievable that they were the final straw for me…and that’s after surviving through all of Audrey’s complaining about having to replace batteries and awkward feeling foursomes. Shudder.

Under His Command by Kristine Cayne

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Under His Command

Grade – B
Hotness Level – Inferno
Kink Level – moderate kink
Genre – Contemporary, BDSM
Series – Six-Alarm Sexy #1
Reviewed by Kate
 

I admit to having a soft spot for a well written husband and wife reunion story that makes my heart sigh contentedly. Under His Command is just such a story.
 
Five years before our story begins, Jamie and Rickie spend one night together. One hot and steamy night. Jamie releases a bit of his Dom and it’s the best experience Rickie has ever had. That one night stand led to a pregnancy that led to a marriage.

Growing up, Rickie witnessed many of her mother’s relationships turn abusive. Rickie worries that her enjoyment of Jamie’s dominance means means she may be turning into her mother, so she shuts down any of Jamie’s attempts to take charge in the bedroom. Jamie feels guilty for ruining Rickie’s life with the unplanned pregnancy and tries to be the husband he thinks she wants.

After a year long separation, Jamie and Rickie decide to go on a long-delayed honeymoon and try to save their marriage. A week away is just what they need to really start communicating. Once both admit who they are and what they want, the fun can begin.

I really enjoy a couple who can talk to each other instead of pages of internal dialogue and wishing the other was a mind reader. I enjoyed the story of rediscovered and reawakened passion, a nice break from the love at first sight romances I’ve been reading lately.