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The Highest Bid by Joey W. Hill

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary
Series: Naughty Bits #4
Published: 7/15/14
Reviewed by Kate

When Madison inherited her sister’s lingerie shop, she met Logan-a Dom who owns the hardware store next door.  A while back, Madison told Logan about her secret fanatsy, and this final installment of the Naughty Bits series is when Logan decides to make that fantasy a reality.

I enjoyed this one a lot.  Madison finally, finally, finally starts to believe that it’s possible for her to have a realtionship with Logan, despite her numerous failed realtionships in the past.  As with the rest of the installments, this one is best read in privacy.  Your face will flush and your heart will race (among other things) while reading the sex scenes.

I wish it hadn’t ended as abruptly as it did.  I would have loved to see an epilogue or at least a few more chapters.  I left the book feeling happy for Madison and Logan but wondering how long it could really last for them.

If you like BDSM, this is a great series to try.  With a little bit of a lot of kinks thrown in throughout the series, there’s almost guaranteed to be something for everyone.  I, for one, can’t wait to go back and reread this entire series-one right after the other this time.

Joey W. Hill has been added to my BDSM authors to read.  Do you have any other BDSM authors you would recommend?

The Royal Treatment by MaryJanice Davidson

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
574854
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Alternate History
Series: Alaskan Royal Family #1
Published: 5/1/2004
Reviewed by Kate
256 pages

 

This one is an oldie, but is one of my absolute favorites (the whole series is actually).  MaryJanice Davidson has written a world in which Alaska is it’s own country.  And it’s a country ruled by the most unking-like king you could possibly imagine.  King Alexander is ready for his oldest son, David, to settle down, get married, and start working on the next heir to the throne ASAP.  Prince David’s not all that interested in dating, after all he’s got his hands full taking care of his personal flock of penguins.  Christina is working in the kitchen on a cruise ship and after her boss gropes her, she knees him in the nuts and quits. She walks off the cruise ship which leaves her stranded in Alaska with only $50, so of course she uses the money to go on a fishing trip.  On the fishing boat, she meets the king (who’s trying to blend in with the commoners, and not doing all that well).  The king invites her to stay at the palace-can we say matchmaker?  Like I said before, Prince David’s not all that interested in dating…until he meets Christina.

I could go on and gush and gush about this book.  The wild, crazy, royal family that Christina finds herself with is an absolute hoot!  Not to mention some of the palace staff (Edmund in particular).  But even though the family is such a strong presence in the book, they don’t over shadow the romance.  The sigh-worthy, blush-inducing romance of Prince David and Christina.

Filled with MaryJanice Davidson’s quirky, whitty, snarky dialogue, this is one book that will have you laughing out loud and reaching for #2 (The Royal Pain) right after you finish the last page.  If you haven’t read MaryJanice Davidson before, I highly recommend you start with this one!

I love an author that can write funny snarkiness well, and MaryJanice Davidson is one of my faves.  Who are some of your favorite snarky authors?

Then Came You by Jill Shalvis

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Animal Magnetism #5
Published: 7/1/14
Reviewed by Anne
186 pages

I’ll be honest, the past couple Shalvis books I’ve read just haven’t worked for me. They were ok, but not wonderful. Well, this one, Then Came You, was WONDERFUL! This is my favorite Shalvis book ever!

Emily has a PLAN for her life. Having a plan has helped her survive some really tough years. Now she’s finished veterinary school and is on to the one year internship that came with her scholarship. Unfortunately, it’s not in L.A. like she planned. Nope. She’s in Sunshine, Idaho. So she’s altered her plan and is counting down the 365 days before she can get back on track.

Wyatt is one more thing she didn’t plan on. He was a one night stand at a convention a few months ago, and now… he’s her supervisor. This probably shouldn’t be a problem. They’re both professionals, after all. But he’s really cute, and he wears funny tshirts, and she thinks he’s hot looking no matter what he’s wearing. And then there’s the blisteringly hot chemistry that keeps popping up and they just can’t deny. They both know the score, though. Wyatt’s looking for roots and permanency. Emily is doing her time and moving on. They just need to remember not to fall for each other.

If you’ve read a few of my reviews, you know that I like low conflict contemporary romance. Lauren Dane’s Brown Siblings series is one of my favorites. This book is a lighter, funnier version of that kind of romance, and I loved it! Emily and Wyatt actually talk to each other (most of the time.) They have messed up lives and siblings and friends. And as always in a Jill Shalvis book, the humor and the dialog shine!
“You do realize that I totally blame you,” she said, breaking the silence.
“For?”
“Sitting there wearing a goofy-ass tie, driving like you do everything else, which is so stupid sexy I can’t think.”
He swiveled his amused gaze her way. “Anything else?”
She blew out a breath. “Fine. Mock me. Just…keep your hands to yourself.”
He lifted them in a surrender.
“And your mouth.”
Said mouth quirked, and he mimed zipping it closed.
God, she was out. Of. Control. She covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath. “I’m going in now.”
She didn’t go in.
“This is so ridiculous,” she finally whispered.
She felt his fingers grip hers. He lowered her hands from her face. “It’s fine,” he said. “You don’t want anything to happen, nothing’s going to happen.”
She stared at him. “It’s not.”
“Well, not unless you want it to, and then instigate things in a big way.”
…
That was when she lost her tenuous hold on her sanity, reaching for him at the same time he tugged. She landed in his lap, straddling him. “Hi,” she said against his lips. “I’m instigating.”

This story was hot, sweet, and funny! I highly recommend it and it’s going on my best of the year list! I’ll add that I read the first two books in this series a couple of years ago and then just lost track of it for a while. So I basically read this story as a stand alone, and it does just fine. If it’s the first one in this series you’ll have no trouble jumping in.

So how about you? What’s your favorite Jill Shalvis book? Or if you haven’t read any Shalvis stories, who is your favorite contemporary romance author?