inferno

Comfort Reads

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Maverick
Grade-A
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Elite Ops #2
Reviewed by Kay

Micah Sloane has no family. He is an Elite Ops agent and a former Mossad agent. He was a former Mossad agent because he’s no longer alive. By that, I mean that he was reported dead but he is actually still living. He is part of the group that Noah Blake is from. He has a chance to catch the killer that murdered his parents, but to do so he has to use Risa Clay as a way to lure out the killer.

Risa Clay has had the most horrific things happen to her. She was a victim of a kidnapping, she was drugged, she almost died, she was brutally raped while her father watched and she was wrongfully institutionalized to keep her quiet. She was raised by monsters who told her she was so ugly no one would ever want her and and she should never procreate and pass that ugliness on to a child.

She decides it’s been long enough after her rape to embrace her sexuality. She’s given the rest of her life six years to settle and now it’s her sex life’s turn. She meets Micah and from there her life will never be the same. As the situation is explained to her, she is resentful towards Micah, as she should be. But the part that hurt me was that she was accepting of the fact that there was a contract on her head. She was willing to go along with being the bait, she just didn’t want Micah posing as her love interest.

I rank this book right up there with Lora Leigh’s Wild Card. I even cried harder in this book. Every emotion is felt while reading it. You cheer for Risa because no one else ever has. Even at the height of betrayal for Risa she conducts herself with as much dignity as possible.  You have to read the entire Tempting SEALs series to fully understand what’s going on but I encourage you to do it. This novel is worth that and so much more.

Just Ask by Mia Downing

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Just Ask
Grade-B-
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Low, some very mild D/s
Genre: m/m, contemporary
Reviewed by Kate
When tycoon Jordan Hill inherits half of an island resort, he wants nothing more than to sell it quickly. But first, he has to spread his uncle’s ashes and meet the other owner, Ryan McCale (you see where this is heading, don’t you?). His uncle wanted him to take a vacation and relax, but Jordan doesn’t do vacations or relaxing.

Jordan takes a horseback tour of the island looking for a places to spread the ashes, but finds himself looking at the male tour guide instead. Which is weird since he’s straight, right? When the guide turns out to be Ryan, Jordan knows they will be spending more time together.

Jordan gets the impression that Ryan might be interested in him and decides to throw caution to the wind. A weekend of sex sounds good to both Jordan and Ryan. Not wanting him to sell the resort, Ryan decides to use the lure of sex to force Jordan explore and really see the island as more than just a business. Both are surprised by their feelings in what was supposed to be a what-happens-on-the-island-stays-on-the-island weekend.

I liked the connection between Ryan, who is very secure in his sexuality, and Jordan, who is exploring this new side of himself. What pulled me out of the story a bit was the suddeness of their affair. One minute Jordan is wondering why he’s turned on by Ryan and the next minute they are romping naked in the ocean. There was no hesitation or second guessing on Jordan’s part. He jumped in with both feet, which seemed a bit unbelievable. Once I got past the suddeness I enjoyed the story.

Naked by Megan Hart

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Naked
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Alex Kennedy #2
Reviewed by Kay

Alex Kennedy is a successful business man who falls in love with Olivia Mackey. Olivia is a photographer. Alex is wealthy and Olivia is average I would say as regards to her career. Both characters are described as beautiful people on the outside but deeply scarred on the inside.

I gave this an average rating because it was hard for me to put down how I felt about it. Alex is what I would describe as a bisexual. He has at least two encounters with different men in the beginning of this book. He meets Olivia at a holiday party of one of his ex-lover’s homes. Olivia finds him attractive but sees one of his liaisons in action. See, Olivia’s ex-fiancee is gay. The wedding was cancelled and Olivia was made out to be the bad guy. She was totally fooled by him and it broke her heart. She has managed to stay friends with him for years. Alex is kind of a force of nature and for part of the book a total jerk.

I liked some parts of the book a lot. It was just different from the other romance novels I read. Megan Hart reminds me of a mix of Jaci Burton and Jodi Picoult. Both of these women are fantastic authors but I prefer to read romance without a lot of sorrow and suffering. Alex had a previous relationship with a married couple which I didn’t care for. Olivia tries to decide what religion she wants to embrace, what her status is in her child’s life is and the concerns that come from being in an inter-racial romance. All in all this is a good book but just not my cup of tea.