inferno

Cherished by Maya Banks and Lauren Dane

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Cherished (Includes: Delicious, #1)

This book contains two novellas
Exiled by Maya Banks and Sway by Lauren Dane
Grade-DNF/A+
Hotness Level-Inferno/Inferno
Kink Level-moderate/moderate
Series-Sway is #1 of the Delicious series, a spin off of the Brown Siblings books
Reviewed by Anne

Exiled by Maya Banks made me feel dirty, and not in a good way.  I didn’t like the way the heroine was coerced into spending what she thought would be 6 months with the hero and his 3 closest friends.  I might have been more accepting of this in a fantasy setting, especially if the heroine was less innocent and more aware of what she was getting into.  I didn’t like the way it made me feel.  At Dear Author they’ve discussed reader consent as an important part of what makes coercion in a sexual setting seem ok or not.  I think that reader consent is what was missing for me.  I didn’t finish reading the book.  I don’t think it was bad, it just wasn’t a story for me.

On the other hand, Sway by Lauren Dane pushed all the right buttons for me.  Daisy is a 24 year old artist, devoted friend and all around good person.  (She is one of Gillian’s circle of friends we met in the book Never Enough.)  Levi is a 40 year old lawyer.  He meets her in a dance class his brother’s fiance badgers him into attending.  They are instantly attracted to each other.  Here’s one of the first passages that caught me.  Daisy has noticed Levi likes to be in charge as they dance and talk and she is commenting on it.

“Do you like telling people what to do? Just to see how they react?” …
“I prefer it when their reaction is obedience.” A flush roared through her, hot and wild.
 

They enjoy a few dances and then go their separate ways, but after bumping into each other around town a few more times they get together for supper.  They realize the chemistry between them is off the scales.  Daisy also realizes that playing submissive (though they never really discuss it in those terms) to Levi really turns her crank.  So as their relationship develops, they have D/s roles while having sex.  Outside of sex, Levi appreciates Daisy’s maturity and independence.

This is a low conflict/no villian romance, which I really love.  The conflict comes from them figuring out how they can be together, and Levi working through some issues with his family.  That was very believable to me.  I can’t wait for more of this series and look forward to reading the next story, Tart, soon!  Unfortunately this series is in trade paperback, which puts it out of my price range.  I borrowed this book from the library and have a hold on Tart.  If I get some book money for Christmas, I just might splurge and buy it, though.

Perfection by R.L. Mathewson

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Perfection (A Neighbor from Hell, #2)

Grade-A-
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Neighbor From Hell#2
Reviewed by Kay

Zoe has not had the easiest life but still maintains a fairly good outlook on life. She’s just lost her job and while she likes her townhouse,  her neighbor always takes her parking space. There’s also a water temperature and pressure issue to deal with. She doesn’t want to lose this small sense of security and with the loss of her job, she is now facing that.

Trevor, who is the cousin of Jason in book one, is totally oblivious to his neighbor. She’s actually his tenant but he keeps that on the down low for awhile. He doesn’t want to lose her as a tenant so he offers to help her out. As their friendship grows, he starts to see her differently and he comes up with an arrangement. From this point on, the story gets exciting.

This novel starts off action packed and doesn’t really slow down. I pretty much read it in one sitting. I did have to stop a couple of times to give my stomach muscles a break from all the laughing I was doing. This is one food obsessed family and one terribly talented author in my opinion. She is now a auto buy for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Playing For Keeps by R.L. Mathewson

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Playing for Keeps (A Neighbor from Hell #1)

Grade-B+
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Neighbor From Hell #2
Reviewed by Kay

Haley is a high school history teacher who lives in what she considers her dream house. She has fixed the place up just the way she wants it inside and out. She takes pride in these accomplishments. So it really upsets her that her neighbor could care less about his home. That in itself is bothersome but then there’s his former conquests having drunken screaming fits on his front lawn in the middle of the night. She’s even handled that without a word of complaint to him but when he starting pulling up her flowers…it’s on.

Jason is also a high school history teacher at Holly’s school, in the room next door, in addition to being her neighbor from hell. He is a big guy with a even bigger appetite on all levels. His property is not kept up. He has wild parties and crazy exes. He has even used his front yard as a urinal. He’s also totally oblivious to his offensive ways until he pisses off the petite firecracker from next door.

This story was fantastic! I laughed out loud so much my stomach hurt. Haley is so loyal and kind. Jason is boorish but lovable. I have never seen another man love food this much! He loves it even more than J.R. Ward’s Rhage or Julia Quinn’s Colin and believe me that’s something. This would have had a A rating but there was a thought by the hero that offended me greatly and colored my view a little. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone.