inferno

Protecting What’s His by Tessa Bailey

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Protecting What's His (Line of Duty, #1)
Grade-A
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink-Level-No Kink
Series-Line of Duty #1
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
273 pages

Quote of the book for me- “Let me clear. I want you underneath me in my bed. I want to be buried inside you so deep I have to remind you of your own name. And I want those motherfuckers leering at you from the other side of the bar to smell me on you for a week afterward.”

Derek is a lieutenant in the Chicago P.D. who is a bit of a control freak. Ginger comes from a very troubled background. They end up being neighbors after Ginger and her sister flee Nashville looking for a better life. Their initial interaction with each other isn’t very good because Derek is being a douche. From that point on, this becomes a hotter than fire love story. I loved both people even with their faults and learning about their pasts was both intriguing and heart breaking.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book but not my last. I love a streetwise heroine and a dirty talking hero. Throw in a little suspense with the hot sex and I’ve found myself a new author! If you haven’t read her yet, you should get started.

Drawn Together by Lauren Dane

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Drawn Together (Brown Siblings, #6)

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 10/1/13
Reviewed by Anne
304 pages
 
Raven is a tough tattoo artist who can be very hard to like.  She’s got a prickly protective shell that not many bother to work through.  Jonah Warner is a single dad whose only child is growing up and has moved away from home.  He’s ready to look for a relationship and Raven intrigues him, and their chemistry is off the charts.  
 
(Here’s my favorite quote)
When he got this woman naked they were going to set shit on fire. (p. 28)
 
OK, disclaimer first, this series is a favorite of mine.  We’re talking top 3, maybe my favorite of all time.  So, I certainly went in predisposed to enjoying this book, and it was no surprise to me that I loved it.  I’ll try to explain why.
 
This is a low conflict book.  There’s not a lot holding Jonah and Raven apart.  Not much they have to overcome, except Raven’s internal issues.  This is my favorite kind of book.  I love the slow but sure journey as they move from instant lust to falling in love.  They talk with each other – so there’s no conflict created by their lack of communication.  It’s wonderful to watch them grow closer and closer.
 
This is a well written book.  It’s clever and funny in parts.  Hot in parts.  It made my heart ache in parts.  It took me away from everything and made me not what to go back!  
 
This is an extremely hot book.  I think Lauren Dane writes scorching sex scenes, and this book is a great example.  I also really enjoyed that Jonah and Raven came together in a Dom/sub relationship that didn’t require a kinky club or anything over the top.  From the moment they started moving in a sexual direction, you could see that Raven liked to be subservient to him.  This is a stark contrast to how she is with everyone else in her life.  Jonah is not an experienced Dom, but he’s learning what he likes, and Raven trips all his triggers in a very good way.  I think it was different than other things I’ve read because it didn’t come off like they were playing a scene, more like they were letting their true personalities show, and this was how they clicked together.
 
I would have liked to see them talk through some of their Dom/sub behavior a bit more.  It’s hard for me to buy that they slipped into these rolls so effortlessly.  I certainly think there should be some  amount of discussion before trying a new toy.  That it worked for them so effortlessly and that they never had a problem stepping over each other’s boundaries… that was a bit unrealistic for me.
 
There are some family issues in the book that I don’t want to give detail on, as I believe they would be spoilers, but I really liked the way they were handled.  Families are messy and not perfect.  You don’t always get a neat and tidy ending.  That’s done well in this book.
 
This book is 6th in the series.  It would probably stand alone, but I think you’d get more out of it by reading the series in order.  Raven has been in every book so far, and she was often in the roll of villain.  Her character is well established and it’s consistent throughout the series, including this book.  I love that Dane can take the feisty/prickly/bitchiness normally reserved for secondary characters and KEEP it even when the Raven moves to being the main character.
 
I highly recommend this book.  It’s a Best of 2013 read for me!

Do you have an all time favorite series?  Or are you like me with one or two favorites in each genre?

Menage Monday – Texas Tangle by Leah Braemel

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Texas Tangle (Tangled)
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, menage
Published: 6/28/10

Reviewed by Kate
216 pages


Here’s the run down.  Nikki is alone.  All alone.  Her brother actually just skipped town after bringing a huge truck and emptying her house out.  So not only does she not have anyone left, she doesn’t even have a mattress to sleep on.  Dillon has know Nikki since high school and liked her for just as long.  In fact he even got in a fight with his foster brother Brett over Nikki.  When there’s the slightest chance that her brother’s friends might come back and try to get more money from Nikki, Dillon jumps on the excuse to get Nikki to stay at his house with him.  Oh, and he just happens to have a mattress there too.

Brett is attracted to Nikki.  But he’s terrified that if he pursues her, he’ll lose his best friend, Dillon, and the only family that has ever cared about him (Dillon’s family).  So he backs off.  But despite doing his best to ignore his attraction, Nikki notices.  And she’s torn.  She’s attracted to both men, but doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.  Could there possibly be a way for everyone to get what they want?
 

The relationship between Dillon and Nikki and Brett was deep and complex.  You keep rooting for it to work for them.  They actually talk about the important things, rather than just assuming everything will magically work out.  The sex scenes were scorching hot and I wasn’t ready for the book to end when it did.  I wanted to know more about this trio and their future.

 

My only complaint was that Dillon and Nikki have a relationship before the triad comes together.  Now this is just a personal preference of mine, but I appreciate my menages starting and ending together.  However, the author wrote the addition of Brett very well.

 

Leah Braemel has written a menage with strong characters that I will definitely be rereading.  I also look forward to reading some of her other works.