no kink

Throwback Thursday-Behind Closed Doors by Shannon McKenna

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Behind Closed Doors (McClouds & Friends #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series- McCloud and Friends #1
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kate
430 pages

Haunted by dreams most of her life, Raine is on a mission to bring the man who killed her father to justice.  Even if that man is her own uncle Victor.  Seth is on a mission to hunt down his brother’s murderer.   And you guessed it, his brother’s murderer is Victor.  Seth has all of Victor’s properties under surveilance and has been watching the new hottie that moved into Victor’s former mistress’s house.  Raine got a job a her uncle’s company, and is staying in housing provided by the company (you guessed it
again, the former mistress’s old house).  So Seth has been watching Raine.  All right, I think we’re on the same page now.  Raine and Seth both want Victor dead. But can romance blossom at the same time?

I’m not a suspense reader, at all. But I decided that I needed to branch out, so as part of my yearly goals I decided to read one suspense book each month (fyi-I’m one month behind already).

I took Kay’s recommendation and tried this one. It was hot and steamy and full of tension and suspense. Everything that I imagine a good suspense is made of. I felt the first part of the story dragged a bit. Raine thinks she’s pulling off this huge con and her uncle doesn’t know who she is. Seth is still just watching Raine from a distance. But once the story picked up the pace, it just wouldn’t let me go. I simply had to keep turning pages to see how everything ended up.

If you’re a romantic suspense fan already, this one sure fits the bill. If you’re looking to give the genre a try, like I was, make sure you have enough time set aside because once you start, you won’t be able to put this one down.

Mine by Katy Evans

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Mine (Real, #2)

 

Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Real #2
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
336 pages

Mine. The title really does say it all. All the feelings that these two characters have for each other. You get the beautiful continuation of Brooke and Remy’s love story that’s never an easy road. It starts a little while after the first book, Real, ended, when Brooke comes back to Remy.

Remy is training for his rematch with the man who hurt the people he cares about. I love Remy exactly the way he his: dedicated, loving, so very alpha (complete with growling), sexy and flawed. I love Brooke for her capacity of love and her own imperfections.

“We’re the object of each other’s hurt and each other’s solace.”- Brooke

Finding a way to forgive each other and themselves for not being what they felt the other needed them to be was a big issue here. You know they love one another, that’s evident throughout the whole story.

“You are going to love me until I die. I’m going to make you love me even if it hurts, and when it hurts, I’m going to make it better, Brooke.”- Remy

“I want to live in you.”-Remy

Remy is such a passionate creature. He feels everything as if it’s magnified and given his condition, maybe it is.

“I’ve been through hell, and I’m back in heaven and suddenly I know that’s the way my life will be. After the dark, I will always, always find my light- which is him.”- Brooke

When I reviewed the first book in the series, I said it wasn’t a conventional romance. I think that when a person is in love with someone who is bipolar there’s no way their love can be conventional. The man in this book copes with his illness as best he can and the woman in this story, his woman, loves him because of his illness not just in spite of it. Katy Evans, what a wonderful love story you gave us!

The Day He Kissed Her by Juliana Stone

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

The Day He Kissed Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, #3)
Grade-A
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #3
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
384 pages

In the town of Crystal Lake, there were four young boys. This is Mackenzie Draper’s story, oone of those Bad Boys of Crystal Lake.

He came home for the funeral of one of his best friends. He came back because his reamining friends decided to make their homes here. He thought he’d left his hometown behind, along with his past and his pain. He’d done okay for himself. He has a well paying job, luxuries and a constant parade of women in his bed. One evening he has a one night stand with a beautiful girl with a Boston accent. She’s gone in the morning and he’s left bewildered.

Lily St. Claire is an heiress of sorts. Her family is wealthy and well known, kinda of like the Hiltons. She’s moved to Crystal Lake to be near her best friend, Jake. She’s enjoying her new life and the town suits her. It’s different but in a good way. Her only regeret is her ill-timed one night stand with her best friend’s best friend. She hasn’t forgotten him but knows it was a huge mistake.

They see each other at a family get together and Mac pursues her almost relentlessly. They agree to a exclusive but no strings attached relationship. Clear as mud? They both have their demons and baggage to deal with concerning their upbringings. Neglect and abuse are nothing new to them.

I love this series. I really, really do. You think you’re getting a series like Jill Shavis’ Lucky Harbor or a Susan Mallery’s Fool’s Gold or even a Toni Blake’s Destiny series but it’s more than that. Don’t get me wrong, I love those other series too but there’s more emotion in this one. It tugs at your heart strings. I haven’t read one yet that hasn’t brought tears to my eyes. Juliana Stone is a master at her craft and I am a devoted fan and reader.