blaze

Candy Store by Bella Andre

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Candy Store
Grade – C+
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – None
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate

I have been wanting to read a Bella Andre book for a while now, but the price tag on most of her full lengths are more than I like. So when this one came up as a freebie, I snatched it up — despite its nearly novella length of around 118 pages.
 
Right off the bat, the title reminded me of a disturbingly suggestive Brady Bunch song called “Candy (Sugar Shoppe)”.  Seriously, check out the lyrics sometime and see if you don’t agree. Who knew the Bradys were that dirty? But, I’m guessing that’s an issue that probably won’t bother most of you. Anyway **clearing throat** on to the review…

Callie is at a wedding one night bemoaning the fate of her candy shop. Unless she can make a lot of money fast, she’ll have to close the doors on her dream. It’s a good thing a consultant is coming the next day to help her out. It’s also a good thing there’s a really hot guy at the bar, willing to take her back into the commercial refrigerator of the reception hall and help her forget about business for the night.

Derek hates weddings and wouldn’t be at this one if he wasn’t the best man. Luckily he meets up with Callie, who proves to be just the distraction he’s looking for. But he’s a little confused when she runs away after it’s over.

The next day Callie heads into her store to await the consultant. That consultant, of course, is Derek. After taking care of some naughty business, they get down to the business of saving her store. I sure hope they remembered to bleach the counters-and the refrigerator-and the tables…

This was a fast read with characters who I immediately felt comfortable with. Although it was not a book I will reread, I look forward to reading more by this author.

 

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

 Hot Secrets (Tall, Dark & Deadly #1)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Series-Tall, Dark and Deadly #1
Reviewed by Kay

Lauren Reynolds is a lawyer with the DA’s office and she’s working a huge profile case. Royce Walker is a former FBI agent turned security specialist who’s looking into threats made against her and her father. They have been attracted to each other for quite some time. One night at an event, Lauren decides she’s gonna act on her attraction to Royce and go to bed with him. Royce likes that idea a lot but hates keeping his involvement with her dad a secret.

I had high hopes for this one and was disappointed. I liked the characters and the whodunit part was good but the love scenes were so mediocre. Let me explain, when I read about this book it emphasized how HOT, HOT, HOT this book was. It was NOT, NOT, NOT. There was sex but it never worked for me. It was abbreviated and fairly bland. A book doesn’t have to be hot for me to read it but don’t advertise it as such.

This was my first read by Lisa Renee Jones and I am uncertain if I will read more by her. The suspense was good but not great and it wrapped up abruptly with believability questionable. For someone who likes their romantic suspense simple and a little less spicy, this book might be fantastic for you.

The Sherbrooke Bride by Catherine Coulter

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Note from Anne – this is the first romance novel I owned, the one that started me on my love affair with romance.  It hasn’t stood the test of time, though.  Back in the day, I reread this countless times.  I set romance aside for a few years and when I got back into it, I didn’t care for this one any more.  I actually ended up giving it away, because it made me feel yucky.  Kudos to Kate for taking on the challenge of reading My First Romance Novel.


Grade – C-
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – None
Genre-Historical
Series – Bride Series  #1
Reviewed by Kate

Douglas, Earl of Northcliffe, needs a bride and an heir to get his family off his back.  Due to a scheduling conflict, he sends his cousin, Tony, to wed the beautiful Melissande by proxy.  Unfortunately for Douglas, Tony and Melissande fall madly in love and elope.  Not wanting to return to Douglas empty handed, Tony makes the choice to proxy-marry Melissande’s younger sister, Alexandra, to Douglas instead — without informing him.

Douglas spends most of the book telling Alexandra he wishes she were her sister.  Alexandra, who has secretly loved Douglas for the last 3 years, spends the book alternating between planning ways to make Douglas love her and trying to run away.

While Douglas The Ass and Wishy-Washy Alexandra are the main characters, Tony and Melissande’s relationship is also a focal point — a disturbing focal point. Melissande, being beautiful, is very self-centered. Tony, being her husband, must train her to be a better person. This takes the form of “I’m your husband, you must do as say,” but left me feeling almost dirty. It came off as belittling, embarrassing, and degrading.

The repeated references to Alexandra’s spine being strapped to a broom handle and Douglas’s continued use of “tell me you understand” got tedious. A sub-plot involving a kidnapped mistress leading to Alexandra being kidnapped herself added another layer of weirdness to the story.

All in all, I’m glad I didn’t waste money on this one.