no kink

Covet Thy Neighbor by L.A. Witt

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Covet Thy Neighbor (Tucker Springs, #4)

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Tucker Springs #4
Reviewed by Anne
175 pages
 
Seth is a tattoo artist who lives above his business.  He’s delighted to learn that his new neighbor is extremely good looking, gay, and open to a little flirtation and more.  He’s distressed to learn that Darren is a Christian pastor.  Seth was terribly hurt by his devout Christian family when he came out to them.  He just can’t get by the fact that Darren is a pastor.  However, they keep running into each other and the attraction just isn’t dying down. Even worse, they find they have more and more in common.
This is the fourth entry in the Tucker Springs series.  This one is written by L.A. Witt and was my first L.A. Witt book.  It stands alone well, as all the books do.  In fact, I’ve read these books entirely out of order, starting with book 3 (Dirty Laundry), then reading book 2 (Second Hand), and now book 4.  Yes, I intend to go back to book 1 (Where Nerves End), which is another L.A. Witt book. 
 
The Tucker Springs books have been just magical for me.  This one especially intrigued me, because I wondered how the issue of Christianity and a pastor having sex outside of marriage would be handled.  I thought it was handled well.   I liked the contrasting experiences they had in coming out to their families.  The growth Seth had to make was painful for him.  Darren was almost too patient.  But it all worked for me, and I was disappointed to see it end.  All of the issues weren’t totally dealt with, but I felt really confident that they would work through anything they came up against.
 
This was another low conflict romance – a favorite of mine.  I’d compare this series to Lauren Dane’s Brown Siblings series.  Very hot and the conflict in the book is internal to the relationship.  I recommend it!


So, how about you?  Have you read this book?  Can you recommend another book that handled Christianity well without being preachy?

Shadow’s Claim by Kresley Cole

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Shadow's Claim (The Dacians, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-The Dacians #1
Reviewed by Kay

Trehan Daciano is the Prince of Shadows from the kingdom of Dacia. He is an assassin tracking Caspian, a demon that escaped from his secret realm. When he arrives to the kingdom of Abadin on Caspian’s trail, he finds Bettina. Bettina is the princess and soon to be queen. His vampire heart starts beating and he realizes she blooded him. That means she is his mate. Bettina fights their attraction for all she worth. To win Bettina, Trehan has to enter of fighting contest which is a last man alive contest. The winner of the contest gets the princess and gets to be King.

I loved Trehan as a hero but Bettina drove me nuts! Constantly moaning over a guy who made it plain for all to see that he didn’t want or love her. I thought Trehan deserved better. This was my first audio book and I think I liked listening to it better than if I would’ve read it. I had a great narrator. Over all I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one but probably only in audio format. I apologize for any and all misspellings as I didn’t read the book, I listened to it.

Fire & Frost (Sims, Crane & Brook)

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Fire & Frost (Iron Seas, #3.4; Code of Shadows, #0.5)

Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Paranormal, Steampunk, Novellas
Series: see below
Reviewed by Anne
 
This is a set of three novellas.  To make things a bit easier on myself, I’m going to use the cover blurbs off of Goodreads
 
Speed Mating by Jessica Sims – Estrella may be going into heat, but she’s determined to remain in control. Just because she’s ovulating doesn’t mean she has to settle for just any man (or his beast). Her sexy alpha’s determined to find her a tiger to take care of her heat and father her child…but no one seems to look quite as good as the man in charge. Will giving in to her need for her alpha ruin her tenuous relationship with her clan or be a match made in heaven?
This was really cute and funny.  I enjoy Jessica Sims/Jill Myles’ sense of humor.  This story takes place in her Midnight Liaisons world, but it stands alone just fine.  I smiled the whole time I was reading and only said “Would you just TALK to each other” only once!

Conjuring Max by Carolyn Crane – The witches of the world ridiculed and rejected nerdy Veronica for trying to use newfangled computers to enhance old world spellcasting. Well, it’s 1984 now, and she’s perfected her spellcasting computer program. Hey, who needs friends when you can conjure virtually anything…or anybody? So when Veronica makes powerful new enemies, she conjures Max, a pitbull of a cop, to deal with the pesky hitmen who keep coming around. Maybe Veronica can finally get some peace and quiet so she can work on her computer. But tough-guy Max is in no mood to play lapdog to a gorgeous witch.

 
This was intellectually interesting, but just an ok read for me.  Goodreads shows this as a prequel in her Code of Shadows world.

Wrecked by Meljean Brook – Elizabeth has spent the past five years running from her father; her father’s huntsman, Caius, has spent the past five years pursuing her. But when he finally catches up to her on an airship flying above Europe’s zombie-infested cities, Elizabeth discovers that Caius isn’t the only danger she has to fear—and now that he’s found her, Caius doesn’t intend to let her go.

This one just barely edged out Speed Mating as my favorite entry in the book.  It’s listed as Iron Seas books 3.4.  I think I’ve read almost all of them, and loved every one, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed Elizabeth and Caius’ story.  I think Meljean Brook does steampunk better than anyone else.  Reading a story by her is just delightful.  Elizabeth is a strong female character who has managed to outwit and out run Caius and other hunters for years.  The story is packed with adventure, too.  
I recommend this book.  Another quality anthology put out by Sims, Crane, and Brook.  Wild and Steamy was another set of novellas they released.  Also really good.)