inferno

Smokin’ Hot by Lynn LaFleur

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Smokin' Hot
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
288 pages

Smokin’ Hot is the latest book by Lynn LaFleur. It has three short stories about volunteer fireman in a small town in Texas. The stories blend together due to the men all being friends.

Singe

Julia Woods has had enough of adventure seeking men to last her a lifetime. She moved away from the last one to a small town in Texas. She enjoys the lifestyle here a lot. While staying with her mom’s best friend, she meets Stephen, a volunteer fireman who does roofing as his full time job. He gives her landlord an estimate on hail damage all the while checking out Julia’s curves. They start a pretty hot little fling but when she finds out that Stephen is kind of an adrenaline junkie, she bows out of their relationship. Can Stephen get her to take a chance on him despite his adventurous spirit?

Smolder

Marcus Holt still loves his wife. Even after she left and divorced him four years ago. He carries a lot of anger where she is concerned. How could she leave him when he needed her the most? Rayna Holt has never gotten over her anger toward her ex husband. She moved away, got a great job and never looked back. When her grandmother’s health brings her back home, she runs into Marcus. After spending some time together,they start talking about all they lost and the emotions that come along with that.

Spark

Talia King has it bad for Dylan. Dylan has it bad for Talia. She’s asked him out twice only to be rejected. Dylan wants to give Talia everything she deserves but not him. He can never be assured that he won’t hurt her physically. His father looms in his memory big time. Can Talia break through before Dylan ruins their chance at happiness?

This book was okay for me. I really enjoyed the second story the best. It was sweet and a little heart wrenching. The first one was good but I never connected with the two leads totally. The third book I found boring. I know about Dylan’s past but he frustrated to no end. All in all, it was just okay. Hot firemen and scorching sex scenes made it more easy to read.

                       

Beyond Jealousy by Kit Rocha

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Beyond Jealousy (Beyond, #4)
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Dystopian, Menage
Series: Beyond #4
Published: 3/16/14
Reviewed by Anne
262 ebook pages

Note: These Beyond books really need to be read in order.  I think you’d be pretty lost trying to jump in at this point, but don’t worry, they’re worth your reading time!

Rachel has had a thing for Ace since she first met him, but when he kept pushing her away, she fell for Cruz.  When she and Cruz broke up, she found herself with feelings for both Ace and Cruz.  To top it off, she watches Ace and Cruz circling their attraction for each other.  So it seems inevitable that they’ll see what happens when the three of them come together.

This was a very hot book.  It was also very intense.  It also turned out to be the kind of story that felt one way when I was reading it, and a different way.  When I was reading it I was totally absorbed and enjoyed it.  When I was done and thought back on it, I had some issues.

So here goes.  I loved the heat and intensity between the three of them.  I loved that it’s a menage that goes every which way – the guys have a thing for each other as well as for Rachel.  The way their relationship develops and their individual issues all seemed very believable to me.  The O’Kanes just accepted their triad relationship with no qualms, and that was very cool.  I really enjoyed their story!

But then after I finished and thought back on it… there were things that bothered me some.  Probably the biggest one is that their triad relationship is the first one ever mentioned in the series.  They were the first, but no one blinked an eye.  It seemed like there would have been some blowback about it.  I mean, these are the O’Kanes, so obviously they’re down with pretty much anything.  It would have made more sense to me to either mention that this had been done before or to have to do a little more groundbreaking work.  I also felt like the ending was a little rushed.  I would have liked a HFN rather than a HEA in this situation, because they all had a lot of issues to work through and not much time together.

However, I think all of this is colored by where the series is going.  It’s become a bit more complicated and political.  This absolutely make sense, and it’s clearly where the series was headed from the beginning, but I liked the simpler days of the first few books better.  This is definitely a personal issue for me.  I love a good series, but I generally enjoy the first books better because they are simpler.  Because the politics and details are getting more complicated as the series goes on – which they need to do, from a world building perspective – the books now have more of a suspense aspect to them.  There’s danger.  The characters’ safety is not a for sure thing.  I know that’s always been the case, but I saw that more in this book.  In fact, it’s getting unrealistic that no one gets killed.  And there’s my dilemma.  It’s part of why i don’t read romantic suspense.  I want things to feel realistic, and when a world is built and I have to worry about everyone’s safety, it’s not as fun a read for me any more.

All of that is a personal issue for me, and it reflects how I read the book and how I felt about it.  Still, I can say it was a good read and I’ll keep reading the series.  There are some teaser chapters building up to future books that leave me wanting to know more!  In fact, I hate cliff hangers, so I’m just pretending like I didn’t read the last chapter altogether!  (No worries, the last chapter isn’t about Rachel, Cruz, and Ace, it’s a cliffie about other characters in the series.)

A final word about what I like.  I will keep reading this series, despite the increased suspense, because I love the strong female characters and the O’Kane society that accepts each person for who they are.  The O’Kanes remind me of an MC (Motorcycle Club) except that their women are valued members of the gang.  I love that!

And now a final, final word… Kit Rocha does self-publishing right!  The book is really well formatted.  The ARC I received was darn near perfect and easily readable on my Bluefire reader app.  They’ve laid out a pricing plan that benefits the reader who buys in the first month.  So you can buy the book and not worry that next week it will be 99c.  I always know I’m getting a quality product with Kit Rocha!

No Such Thing by A.M. Arthur

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
20261442
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, M/M, Small Town
Series: Book #1 (don’t know series name, next book July 2014)
Published: 2/17/14
Reviewed by Anne
189 ebook pages

Alessandro grew up in a loving foster family in his small home town.  He didn’t have a very good reputation, but he’s come a long way since leaving home.  When his foster father passes away, Ale moves back home to help his foster mom with the two kids she’s currently fostering.  

Jaime grew up with a heart defect that made him pretty fragile.  Now he’s had a heart transplant and he’s adjusting to being normal and living a normal life.  When Ale starts working at Jaime’s sister’s bakery Jaime is attracted to him and decides that maybe it’s time for him to have his first relationship.

The only things that stand between them are Alessandro’s feeling that Jaime is too good for him,  the town bully they went to high school with, and some secrets Ale knows but doesn’t even want to think about.

There was a lot I really enjoyed about this story!  There’s the positive foster care experience, the realistic handling of Jaime’s heart transplant – especially his self consciousness about his scars.  There’s Jaime and his sister’s relationship, which I enjoyed.  There’s some harassment and vandalism directed toward Jaime and Ale, and while I was disappointed that Jaime didn’t want to call the police in on it, his response felt really real.  I really enjoyed Ale taking Jaime out to a club and watching Jaime come into his own, learn about his own sexuality and how that was all done without shame.

My biggest problem with the story was the secret and the villain.  Secrets annoy me, though this one was handled well.  The villain was pretty stupid, and it seemed a little unrealistic that things went on as long as they did.

Overall, though, it was a good read.  I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author.  While I’m waiting for July, do you have any m/m romance you’d recommend?