contemporary

The Bottom Line by Sandy James

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
17899707
Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 5/6/14
Reviewed by Kate
336 pages

Contractor Ben needs another project, fast.  When high school teacher Mallory asks him to finish all the projects her ex-husband left behind, he’s drawn to more than the money the project will bring.

This one pulled at my emotions a bit.  Mallory has been through a terrible year of life and is trying to bounce back.  Ben is trying to provide a stable home life for his daughter Amber.  The two of them fit together.  Yet they don’t rush into things, which I appreciated.  I didn’t care for the drawn out suspense of what had happened in the last year for Mallory.  It frustrated me, more than drawing me into the story.  And there was some mild kink that just didn’t work in this one for me.  Other than that, this was a solid read.


I’m guessing this is the first book in a upcoming series.  I will read the second one when it comes out, because I’m predicting Beth’s (Mallory’s friend) Vegas vacation will turn out to have some unexpected consequences and I want to see if I’m right.

It’s Complicated by L.A. Witt

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
20816383
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Published: 4/28/14
Reviewed by Anne
201 pages
 
Brad and Jeff have a history of serially breaking up and getting back together.  The argue a lot, and their latest breakup left them in separate apartments, missing each other, but tired of fighting.  Brad works in retail and Jeff runs a business with his ex-wife, with whom he is on friendly terms with.  Brad and Jeff have decided to start over from scratch and try to make things work.  They really love each other, but are stuck in their bad habits, and trying to cope with Jeff’s hectic work schedule.  This situation becomes even more difficult when Jeff’s ex-wife ends up pregnant after a one-off night with Jeff that happened when Jeff and Brad were broken up.
 
I love a good marriage in trouble story, and this one fits the bill (despite the lack of marriage between Brad and Jeff).  One of the downsides of a marriage in trouble story is that it’s a painful situation.  In this case, really all Brad and Jeff have is their love for each other.  Their pattern of behavior and their situation is just rough.
 
So, as expectied, this is a painful read.  It’s also very good.  It comes across as a very realistic relationship, but that makes it harder to believe they do work things out.  They have so many problems, and while there’s a fundamental change before the end of the story, I felt like it ended with so much more work for them to do.    The tone of the ending was happy and hopeful, but I felt like the skip ahead to the epilogue was both needed and a little too happy to believe.   It’s probably my least favorite of the Tucker Springs series, but I still enjoyed it.

A Baby for Easter by Noelle Adams

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
21417617
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Spark
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Willow Park #2
Published: 4/7/14
Reviewed by Kate
226 pages
 

Alice and Micah spent a summer together as camp counselors in high school, culminating in hand holding and a memorable kiss.  But while Alice hoped for some kind of commitment, Micah left for college where he became a bit of a wild man.  Now, years later Alice has returned home to Willow Park after two broken engagements. She’s made a set of rules for herself, to keep her from falling for the wrong guy again. Tired of trying to live the playboy life, Micah has also returned home, hoping to live a life that makes him feel better about who he is. When a baby is dropped off and turns out to be his daughter, Micah turns to Alice for help.

 

Yes, this book includes religion.  Both Alice and Micah were raised in religious families.  Both are actively involved in their church.  But I wouldn’t classify this as a Christian romance, it was more just a part of who Alice and Micah were, rather than being preachy. 

 

What this one was a gentle tale of two people striving to be better people and yet sometimes being their own worst enemies.  Alice is so caught up in her list of rules that she forgets to trust herself. Micah is so caught up in trying to overcome his past that he can’t get out of his own head at times. Yet the story manages to be emotional and gripping, rather than whiny and annoying.  If fact, I was so involved in the story and characters that I didn’t even realize that there wasn’t any sex.  I perfer my romances to have some sex in them (this is the Dirty Girls’ Good Books blog after all), but this one was great without it.

 

If you like small town contemporary romances, give this one a try.  Noelle Adams has a unique voice that I’ve enjoyed at every turn of the page. I look forward to investigating her backlist more.