contemporary

The Accidental Call Girl by Portia Da Costa

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

The Accidental Call Girl (Accidental #1)

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Accidental #1
Reviewed by Anne
239 pages
 
When Lizzie steps out of a friend’s wedding reception and into a hotel bar, she realizes the handsome older man at the bar thinks she’s a “high class call girl.”  It’s an exciting prospect to consider and she decides to play along.  It’s even more exciting when she realizes it will give her a chance to try out some BDSM play.
 
John is so fascinated by the strangely innocent prostitute he picked up in the bar that he makes her offer – be with him every night during his business trip and he’ll pay her handsomely for her exclusive services.  Neither of them expects to fall for the other.
 
This was a solid, well written book that was also really hot!  I enjoyed it and was totally drawn in, wondering what would happen next.  Though the story is told from both points of view, we know Lizzie’s secrets from the beginning but know nothing of John’s other than that he has secrets.  The main conflict in the story is what will happen when they are open with each other?
 
I was fascinated at how this played out.  It made me think about what it means to be a prostitute.  Lizzie doesn’t think she is one, because she doesn’t intend to keep John’s money and because she’d willingly do what he wants without it.  She’s quite swept away by him, even though she’s trying not to fall in love.  Even though not every secret is spelled out in great detail, I felt like The Accidental Call Girl had a very satisfying HFN ending with confidence that an HEA would follow.  
 
I was surprised when writing up this review to realize that this book is the first in a same couple trilogy.  I generally shy away from those, but I have to say this book stands on it’s own very well.  It has that wonderful fine balance of leaving you interested to know what happens next, while leaving you full of hope for the couple.  I very much appreciate the NON-CLIFFHANGER ending!
 
I’ve read short stories by Portia Da Costa before and enjoyed them.  How delightful to find out she’s an author who can write well in short and long form!!  
 
So, I’ve read stories where the male character is a prostitute, but this is my first with the female in that role.  I think it was highly romanticized (a la Pretty Woman) but it was good.  How about you?  Have you found a romance with a prostitute as a main character that you enjoyed?  Or does that not work for you?

So Tough to Tame by Victoria Dahl

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

So Tough to Tame (Jackson, #3)

 
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, cowboy
Series: Jackson #3
Published: 9/24/13
Reviewed by Anne
376 pages
 
Charlie and Walker were friends in high school when geeky Charlie tutored the very popular Walker.  They went their separate ways, but now they have apartments across the hall from each other and they are both recovering from awful on the job experiences that ended with being fired.  Neither has troubles starting a new job, and neither is admitting to anyone that anything bad happened.  It’s like a high school reunion.  I’m great!  I’m so happy!  I just moved on to a wonderful job!
 
The attraction that had simmered between them in high school flares up again and now they are adults free to act on that attraction.  Neither is looking for anything long term, so it all should be great, right?
 
This was a good story.  I thought the characters were unique and more flawed than I’m used to reading.  They were each hiding the truth of themselves from the other, which bordered on annoying.  However, this set up worked for me.  They were both so embarrassed about their pasts because they were responsible for the poor choices they’d made.  This made for more angst than I usually like to read, but, again, it really worked in this story.
 
Walker is a really refreshing hero in a genre that seems full of billionaire CEOs and over achievers.  His life is simple, in part because he doesn’t think he can achieve more, and in part because that’s how he likes it.  Walker does make some changes over the course of the book, but the changes are motivated by his own happiness, not out of a desire to impress someone else.
 
Charlie was interesting, too.  A security expert who wasn’t a strong physical force.  She specializes in out-thinking criminals and setting up monitoring systems.  The situation she finds herself in on her new job – feeling like she’s being watched every moment of the day – was really creepy!  (Although I should point out that I’m not a huge suspense fan, so even a little bit of it is creepy to me!)
 
I think one of my favorite parts of the book was that their personal growth was in parallel, and not caused by the other person being in their life.  Even when Charlie tries to interfere with Walker, he’s not going to move on things until he’s ready.  I enjoyed that as opposed to magic sex that heals all wounds!
I thought the ending was a little too hearts and sunshine with respect to their careers, but I REALLY appreciated that the wedding in the epilogue wasn’t theirs.  They still have issues to work through, in my opinion, but you leave the story sure that they will work things out.  This was an enjoyable and funny contemporary romance!

Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Always On My Mind (Lucky Harbor, #8)

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 9/24/13
Reviewed by Anne
254 pages
 
Leah feels like a failure after messing up at pastry school and on a reality cooking show.  She spending the agonizing time until the show’s finale in Lucky Harbor, her home town, running her Grandma’s bakery.  Her best friend Jack is there for her as always.  When the idea that Jack and Leah might be dating cheers up Jack’s mother – who is fighting cancer – Leah runs with the story saying she ad Jack are going out.  Jack plays along and, much to the amusement of everyone else, pretending to date leads to actual dating and falling in love.
 
Jill Shalvis is an amazingly dependable writer!  This is another great story.  There’s tons of humor, along with the Lucky Harbor cast we know and love.  I think this book would stand on it’s own just fine, though.

Leah is a pretty damaged heroine – well, her self esteem is damaged due to her father’s emotional abuse while she was growing up.  I would have felt better if she’d started seeing a therapist during the course of the story – she’s really got issues!  Jack had his own problems, but they never seemed as big as hers.

I loved the set up with the two of them fake dating to give Jack’s mom a little boost.  Everything about that was funny.  The ending was a little over the top, but it didn’t ruin anything, and it left me wanting to know a lot more about Ben and Aubrey!