Naked by Megan Hart

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.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year’s Eve. I know we all here at Dirty Girls’ wish you a wonderful 2013. I hope you all will stay here with us as we try to continue book reviews and additions to the blog. I saw something a couple of years ago on Goodreads under a J.R. Ward group that I thought looked fun, so I thought I’d try it. The first two years I was able to do it but not this year, so I am going to strive to read more books that start with E and Y. That being said, it is a reading challenge. The rules are you must enter a book that you’ve read in the current year by title by the letter of the following statement.

I- Infamous- Sherrilyn Kenyon

L- Lothaire- Kresley Cole
O- Only His- Susan Mallery
V- Viking In Love- Sandra Hill
E- Ember- Betti Sharpe

T- Too Hot To Handle- Louisa Edwards
H- Hardball- V.K. Sykes
E- Echoes At Dawn- Maya Banks

B- Blood And Fire- Shannon McKenna
L- Lessons In Indiscretion- Karen Erickson
A- All’s Fair- Suzi Quint
C- Come Monday- Mari Carr
K- Kissin’ Tell- Lorelei James

D- Darker After Midnight- Lara Adrian
A- A Soldier’s Woman- Ava Delaney
G- Girl’s Guide To Man Hunting- Jessica Clare
G- Gone Country- Lorelei James
E-
R- Ruby Tuesday- Mari Carr

B- Bunny And The Bear- Eve Langlais
R- Riley- Liliana Hart
O- Only Us- Susan Mallery
T- Taking A Shot- Jaci Burton
H- Hide From Evil- Jami Alden
E-
R- Rapheal- D.B. Reynolds
H- Heart Of Surrender- Jaci Burton
O- One Whisper Away- Emma Wildes
O- Once And Again- Lauren Dane
D- Dying Wish- Shannon K. Butcher

E-
S- Surrender -Lora Leigh
P- Picture Perfect- Deena Ramiel
E-
C- Cooper- Liliana Hart
I- In The Mood- Ellen Fisher
A- An Heir Of Deception- Beverley Kendall
L- Love Reborn- J.R Ward
L- Last Call- Olivia Brynn
Y-

M- Master Of Sin- Maggie Robinson
Y-

M- Meandros- Sasha White
A- Always A Scoundrel- Suzanne Enoch
N- Nightfire- Lisa Marie Rice

V- Vance’s Rules- Anne Rainey
I- Instructing- Sarah- Anne Rainey
S- Shadow’s Stand- Sarah McCarty
H- Hot As Hades- Alisha Rai
O- One Night Rodeo- Lorelei James
U- Unveiled- Courtney Milan
S- Sam’s Promise- Anne Rainey

I think in the group on Goodreads you can use the authors’ names also if you want to help you complete the challenge. I chose not to making it a little harder on myself. I hope you had fun checking it out and maybe you can keep track of what you read this year and take the challenge with me next year.

Kay

Unleashed by Cherrie Lynn

Unleashed (Ross Siblings, #1)
Grade-C+
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Ross Siblings #1
Reviewed by Kay

Evan Ross is a prosecuting attorney who works very hard to represent his clients. He’s a genuinely good guy. Not to mention he’s very handsome and comes from money. He has had two best friend’s in his life, Todd and Kelsey. He introduced them back when he was in college with Kelsey. Todd was his best friend from his youth. This introduction led to Todd and Kelsey getting married. Evan moved on and got engaged to Courtney. The two couples maintained a friendship and did things together.

Eight years later and six months before Evan’s wedding he gets a phone call from a hysterical Kelsey saying she just walked in on Todd and Courtney having sex. From then on life was a whirlwind. Todd and Kelsey’s divorce and his break-up with Courtney. Due to the hurt feelings of them both, Evan and Kelsey didn’t speak for a while.

These two friends get reconnected and begin their friendship again. Evan has a two week trip to Hawaii he has to use or lose it. It was supposed to be his honeymoon gift from his parents. He asks Kelsey if she wants to go with him. She’s a little weary of it but decides to go.

This story was sweet and touching. Two people who have healed or are trying to heal over the pain of the past. It was nice to see their friendship grow into love. You get to see the past from both points of view. It’s a moving read about acceptance and forgiveness, not only of others but of one’s self.