blaze

Found: One Runaway Bride by Stella Bagwell

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Found: One Runaway Bride
Grade – C
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – None
Genre – Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate

Ahhhh—an amnesiatic (if that’s not a word, I’m making it one) bride. Cordell finds a car in a cornfield. Inside he finds Abby wearing a wedding dress and unable to remember anything other than her first name. The car has no registration or plates and Abby has no identification.

After a night in the hospital, Abby has a choice to make. She can either ride an hour with the sleazy sheriff to a battered women’s shelter where she can stay for a while. Or, she can take Cordell up on his offer to recover at his farmhouse with him and his two children.

Cordell’s wife died 2 years ago. She was a high-maintenance woman who was never happy on the farm. She also had more than one affair during their marriage. Cordell is determined to never marry or fall in love again (is there a hero out there who is looking for love?), but he does enjoy the cooking and cleaning Abby is doing while she stays in his house.

While Abby would like to explore her attraction to Cordell, he resists at every turn. After all, she already ran from one man at her wedding. What’s to keep her from leaving him? Cordell is positive once her memory returns she will want no part of farm life.

I’m not exactly sure what I was hoping for at the end of the book, but the resolution left me feeling flat. The beginning held such promise but it didn’t deliver.

You’ve Got Male by Elizabeth Bevarly

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

You've Got Male (OPUS #1)
Grade – C-
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – None
Genre – Contemporary
Series – OPUS #1
Reviewed by Kate

Avery is an agoraphobic computer whiz.  She lives alone with her cat and does her best to never leave.  She has, however, met Andrew on line.  He is the perfect man.  Or so Avery thinks.
 
In truth, Andrew is Adrian (aka the Sorcerer), an OPUS agent gone rogue.  And he’s only after Avery’s mind (there’s something you don’t hear too often in a romance).  When Avery was barely an adult, she accidentally released a computer virus that caused tons of issues (revenge plot against a bad boyfriend gone wrong).  She ended up in prison for 2 years.
 
While Avery is unaware of Andrew’s true identity, Dixon knows exactly who the Sorcerer is and what he’s capable of.  An OPUS agent himself, Dixon has been trying to figure out who Avery is and what the Sorcerer wants with her.
 
OPUS uses Avery to draw the Sorcerer out.  Dixon remains as her side, and obviously the two grow closer.  Avery is sure she’s too messed up for anyone to love.  Dixon can’t figure out why he’s so attracted to her.
 
I have to admit this is the first time I’ve run across a heroine who dresses in pajama pants and raggy sweatshirts through most of the book.  While refreshing, it took a pat-down search for weapons for Dixon to become attracted to her. The single sex scene weirded me out a little.  It started with an online conversation between the Sorcerer and Avery, but ended up with Dixon and Avery going at it.  Throw in a relationship between Dixon’s partner and Avery’s sister and it was just too much.
 
Honestly, I struggled through the first quarter of the book.  By page 100 it started to get a bit better (page 100 is the point I give myself permission to quit reading a bad book).  By halfway through there was just too much extra stuff going on.  I’m not saying it was terrible.  I just wasn’t for me.  I almost wish I had quit at page 100.

Angel Baby by Leslie Kelly

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Angel Baby
Grade – C+
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – None
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
Claudia goes into labor while visiting her husband’s grave. Chase, who stopped to visit his mother’s grave, decides to drive her to the hospital. Realizing they won’t make it in time, Chase takes her to his house (conveniently close by-where any good hero’s house should be) to wait for the ambulance. Claudia ends up delivering baby Sarah in Chase’s bed.

Fast forward 9 months. Claudia is moving closer to her only friends and has a job interview. To her surprise, the interviewer is Chase, the owner of the company. No one should be surprised that he hires her.

Both Chase and Claudia are surprised at the strength of their attraction to each other. Both are battling with childhood issues that make them deny their attraction. Both follow a fairly predictable path to love.

I was surprised by the ending.  Instead of Chase turning into a sudden jerk and believing Claudia has done something completely out of character until she can force him to see reason, the author chooses to let Chase trust in the love he has for Claudia.  An ending that just didn’t seem to fit the formulaic story.  It actually felt too anti-climactic.