Covert Seduction by Callie Croix

Covert Seduction
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay

Reid Galvin is a Navy SEAL on leave after a horrible mission and all he wants is to see Becca Anderson. They had a situation before he was deployed and it carried on through his deployment. He has decided how he feels about her and wants to set matters right.

Becca Anderson is an employee at an investment firm who decrypted a file for a co-worker recently that was quite a shock. She loves Reid but has a hard time with his job and where their relationship stands. Reid calls her to set up a time for them to talk things out and interrupts her on a date that really isn’t one.

David told Becca that on the file she decrypted that some one embezzled money from the firm. Big money, like two billion dollars big. He gives her a copy of the information on a zip drive. She’s very scared about all this as she should be but agrees to wait until David has found out everything and everyone involved before they go to the authorities.

On the way home from the fundraiser they are ran off the road by another car and into a deep canal. They are trapped upside down inside the car with water seeping in from a crack in the back windshield. Meanwhile, Reid decides to wait for Becca at her house to come home after her date and happens upon the accident scene. He jumps in to rescue whoever is trapped, having no idea it’s Becca.

He rescues them both and then takes Becca back to her apartment to take care of her. The next day, she gets a phone message from David saying someone has broken in and ransacked his home. She then hears someone attack David and the line goes dead. She at that point tells Reid. At the same time downstairs, a man breaks into her house. Reid chases down the man and holds him until the police come.

Reid takes Becca to his friend’s beach house where they stay until the police wrap everything up, which they do quite quickly. They both admit they love each other and are willing to work on their relationship. In the epilogue, they are happily married.

This was just an okay read for me. It was plenty hot enough and that was done well. There was a couple of things that didn’t ring true for me, such as, Reid and Becca having sex in front of a picture window where the neighbors could and did see her. Also, Becca made a comment about tying him up at her mercy. The book describes how dominant he is and how he’s held back in their encounters in the past, so I don’t see him allowing himself to be tied up. Nor do I by into an alpha male allowing anyone to see the woman they want to marry, naked. Those for whatever reason were an issue for me. The rescue scene with the car trapped in the canal was pretty good but again, just an okay read for me.

Spanking Ms. Whitman by Kate Richards

Spanking Ms. Whitman
Grade – B-
Hotness Level – inferno
Kink Level – moderate (spanking, D/s)
Genre – Contemporary, novella
Reviewed by Kate


Mona Whitman is habitually late for work. Maybe if she wasn’t daydreaming about her boss, Mr. Marks, she might have a chance at being on time.

When Mr. Marks calls Mona into his office to discuss her tardiness, he asks if she has any suggestions for punishment. She accidentally blurts out that he should spank her, revealing one of her secret fantasies. While surprised, Mr. Marks has been having the same dream for a long time and the opportunity is too good to pass up. 

Personally, I could have done with fewer self-pleasuring scenes, but I actually enjoyed this one, despite it being a short story.

Defying the Odds by Kele Moon

Defying the Odds (Battered Hearts, #1)
Grade – A
Hotness Level – Inferno
Kink Level – None
Genre – Contemporary
Series – Battered Hearts #1
Reviewed by Anne


Melody is a dirt poor waitress making a new start in a new town after escaping her abusive ex-husband.  Clay is a UFC champion.  He’s big, grumpy, and doesn’t have many friends in the small town he grew up in and trains in. Then Melody buys him a piece of pumpkin pie when she sees him eating alone on Thanksgiving.  He’s so taken with her that he attempts to choke down the pie, even though pumpkin pie literally makes him gag.  No one thinks these two belong together, but they can’t stay away from each other. 

There are so many things I liked about this story!  It’s going on my Best of 2013 list.  Clay is a really sweet guy.  A huge man who tends to be grumpy and enjoys beating up his best friend in the name of training.  He sees Melody struggling financially, tired from all the shifts she’s working at the restaurant and he wants to help her.  When she refuses his help, he respects that.  He tries to work around her, but he gives in when she insists she wants to make her own way. 

Melody is a hard working woman trying to rebuild her life away from her abusive ex-husband.  She’s smart enough to check in with the sheriff when she gets in to town to let him know about the restraining order she has.  She knows absolutely nothing about UFC fighting, but is happy for Clay that he’s found success at something.  She’s simple and straightforward in her thinking without tons of angst, which was refreshing! 

I really enjoy a book about an unfolding relationship without a lot of extra drama and conflict brought in to the story, and this one fit the bill for me.  The UFC fighters’ violence, even just hanging around reminded me of Shelly Laurenston’s shifters in a good way.  I think I enjoy the violence in a fantasy way after spending so much time with my kids advocating for peace and gentleness.  I’d have a hard time hanging out with people who broke each others’ noses in real life, but I enjoy it in a book.

The story really worked overall for me, but there are some issues that might put others off.  In particular, Melody is described as having survived years of physical and emotional abuse, but she has surprisingly few issues that bother her.  In the middle of the story Melody makes a decision that borderline TSTL, but it works out ok.  Melody leaves Clay for a while and he’s terribly broken up about it – it reminded me of Bella after Edward left!  I was very frustrated with Bella, but I thought Clay was cute.  It’s possible I have some gender bias issues.

I have to put in a mention that this story featured a positive foster care experience.  That always adds bonus points for me!

And then there’s the sex.  Hot.  Really well written!  Really.

This book was published in 2011, but somehow it never crossed my radar until now.  I can’t believe how much I liked it!  I’m anxious to read the next book in the series (Star Crossed) to see if I have a new favorite author!