military

Burning Up by Anne Marsh

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Burning Up (Smoke Jumpers, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Smoke Jumpers #1
Reviewed by Kay

Let me start by saying that I LOVE firefighters and books about them. I really, really do. I loved Jo Davis’ series and  Bella Andre’s series both and have missed them since they concluded. If there’s a book about firefighters, I’m usually bouncing in my chair until their release date. This book in no way disappointed me. It was fun, exciting, suspenseful and sexy. What more could you ask for?

Jack Donovan is a smoke jumper, meaning that he literally jumps from a plane into fires to fight them. He, his brothers and his friends from the military all created a business doing smoke jumping. He gets a call from his foster mom, Nonna and he finally goes home to find out about a string of fires that threaten the town he grew up in. Needless to his brothers and teammates follow him. He knows his run in with the girl he left behind will be stressful to say the least because he has never gotten over her.

Lily Cortez is a woman on the run from a past she can’t seem to escape. She ran away to the big city to avoid all things that reminded her of the bad boy from school she always wanted but never had. In the city, she built a life for herself only to have it fall apart at the hands of an unknown threat. She moves back to her hometown and things are good for awhile but then fires start to pop up there too.
She knows her stalker has found her again and he can hide in plain sight.

I enjoyed this book on every level. It did kind of drag a little toward the end but did finish well. If you love romantic suspense, this is a mild one in my opinion. The bad guy is a sicko no doubt, but he was also chilling in his pursuit. The two main characters had great chemistry and the love scenes were sexy. I can’t wait for the next book which is on my computer and for me, a book away.

SEAL of Honor by Tonya Burrows

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

SEAL of Honor (HORNET, #1)
Grade-A+
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Series-HORNET #1
Reviewed by Kay

Where to start? I have read a lot of romantic suspense. I have read a lot of military romantic suspense. I have loved a lot of both of these things. This book…..I LOVED the hell out of it! I haven’t read a great romantic suspense in a loooong time. Too long as a matter of fact.

Gabe Bristow was a SEAL but after an auto accident he is a SEAL no more. Neither is his best friend, Quinn. He decided to take a desk job at the Pentagon that his father, the Admiral arranged for him. Quinn comes to him with the idea about working in the private sector, kind of like a mercenary. He would be with other ex-military or federal agency people. He rejects the offer but after some manipulating by his brother, he accepts. Their first case is to rescue a business man that has been kidnapped in Colombia.

Audrey Van Amee is a struggling artist with a very wealthy brother. While being on the phone with her brother, she sees and hears his kidnapping via a skype like thing. She meets the team sent to rescue him totally by accident. She ends up sticking with them as a translator kind of.

This was a great read and start to a new series. I can’t wait for the rest of the team to have their books! She reminds me a little of Suzanne Brockmann and Cindy Gerard. There is lots of suspense and plot twists here. I am a HUGE romantic suspense fan and this totally clicked for me. The romance was sweet and fast building. This was a win for this author in my opinion. The only thing I can say that would’ve made it better, was if her love scenes were a little more like Lora Leigh’s Tempting SEALs series.

Short Rides by Lorelei James

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Short Rides (Rough Riders, #14.5)
Grade-B+
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Moderate
Series-Rough Riders #14.5
Reviewed by Kay

Let me start by saying that this will be a joint review between Kate and I. We have each done a review with Anne but not one together. I’m super excited about it! We’ll each give our reviews, a list of our faves of the series and our not so much faves. I hope you enjoy the review as much as we enjoyed the book and writing it.

This novel has three separate parts-

The King Of Hearts is about Cam McKay who is the deputy of this hometown since his discharge from the armed services. He was badly wounded and ended up with part of one leg and hand amputated. On Valentine’s Day there is a murder suicide committed and he is on the scene. It was very disturbing because of the nature and brutality of the crime. It also talked about PTSD and getting treatment for it. It was okay for me but a little preachy about gun control. I did enjoy his scenes with the kiddos.

Rough Road was about Trevor, Edgard and Chassie Glazner. They are a committed triad. If you are unfamiliar with that, it means they are all lovers in a committed relationship. They all have children together and raise them together. This story deals with prejudice against their lifestyle involving their son. He’s bullied by a child at school and he questions his parents about what the “F” words means.
I do want to point out that the parents of the bully were worst case opinion people. Not every one who disagrees with someone’s lifestyle is a jerk about it. I loved the support they got from their extended family and the lovely vacation they got to take.

All Knocked Up is about Jack and Keely Donohue who are awaiting the arrival of baby number one. Between work schedules and pregnancy hormones it’s a wild ride. The bonus to this story is that we get multiple babies!

I enjoyed all three stories and can’t wait for the next installment in this wonderful series.

My personal favorites in order are (I didn’t rate the novellas):
Raising Kane
All Jacked Up
Cowgirls Don’t Cry
Chasin’ Eight
Rough, Raw and Ready
Kissin’ Tell
Branded As Trouble
Cowgirl Up And Ride
Tied Up, Tied Down
Long Hard Ride
Shoulda Been A Cowboy
Rode Hard, Put Up Wet
Cowboy Casanova
Gone Country

Don’t get me wrong, I liked them all but some more than others. Now, on to Kate.

What does a series that already has 14 full length books (#15 is slated to be released on 6/18) and 2 novellas need? *waiving hand in the air* OOH, ooh, pick me. I know. An anthology containing a short story and two novellas!

King of Hearts featuring  Cam and Domini left me feeling a bit flat. It gives a glimpse of their home life, but it was lacking the heat that I’ve come to expect from a Rough Riders book.   D, blaze

Rough Roads revisits Chassie, Trevor and Edgard as they celebrate their anniversary and deal with issues their oldest son is having at school. I loved this one.  B+, inferno

All Knocked Up follows Jack and Keely through the end of her first pregnancy. This one made me laugh out loud. B, inferno.

For those of us waiting for the next installment in the Rough Riders series these stories will help fill the void and pass the time. I’m curious to find out how many of you are riding the Rough Riders train? What was your favorite book so far?

Kate’s favorites in order:

I’ve not listed them before and it was funny because some of them I actually felt my lip curl just reading the title. And Kissin’ Tell would have been a few spots lower on the list except for Lorelei James’ masterful use of a trampoline 🙂 Makes me smile every time I think about it. I’m curious to know what your favorites are.

1. Rough, Raw and Ready
2. Raising Kane
3. Tied Up, Tied Down
4. Branded As Trouble
5. Cowgirl Up and Ride
6. Strong, Silent Type
7. Cowboy Casanova
8. Kissin’ Tell
9. Should Been A Cowboy
10. Cowgirls Don’t Cry
11. Gone Country
12. All Jacked Up
13. Long Hard Ride
14. Rode Hard, Put Up Wet
15. Chasin’ Eight