already established marriage

Pia Saves the Day by Thea Harrison

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

21003662

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Shifter, Dragon
Series: Elder Races #6.6
Published 6/23/14
Reviewed by Anne
86 pages

Pia and her husband/mate, Dragos are both shifters.  Dragos is very powerful dragon and leader in the shifter world.  A freak accident leaves him with amnesia and no memory.  He has no idea who he is, only that he was just attacked and injured.  This is a tricky personal and political situation, and Pia needs to step in and save the day.

OK, a long time ago (2011, I believe) I read the first book in this series, Dragon Bound and I LOVED it!  I loved it in that obsessive way where you try to convince all your friends to read it because it’s so awesome and not quite like any book you’ve read before and it just makes you feel gooey inside.  And then along came book 2, Storm’s Heart.  For whatever reason, I decided to listen to it instead of reading.  And I really didn’t like it.  I quickly grew frustrated with it and didn’t even finish it.  I moved on with my life and was a little sad that such an incredible first book had such a sophomore slump to follow it, but there were plenty of other books to be read.  Over the years I was aware that other books came out in the series, but I didn’t pay much attention.  I thought now and then that maybe I should give it another try, but I never acted on that until I saw this novella about PIa and Dragos!  Hooray!  I’m in!

I was a bit surprised when I checked in on Goodreads and saw I’d missed another Pia and Dragos book and a novella right before this one.  Sheesh.  I wondered if I’d even be able to keep up.  But I really had no problem jumping right back into things.  I think this book would stand alone, even without reading Dragon Bound.  My memories were hazy, but it still worked for me.  

Dragos is powerful, and with only fundamental memories he’s very vulnerable and dangerous.  Pia is determined to help him, even if he can’t remember her.  It’s a great story.  It’s even sweeter when Dragos falls in love with Pia again and finds himself jealous of the original Dragos!  It’s a quick, sweet, hot read I highly recommend – and now I want to go back and read the whole series again!

Have you read this Elder Races series?  Are you a dragon shifter fan?  If so, any books to recommend?

It’s Complicated by L.A. Witt

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
20816383
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Published: 4/28/14
Reviewed by Anne
201 pages
 
Brad and Jeff have a history of serially breaking up and getting back together.  The argue a lot, and their latest breakup left them in separate apartments, missing each other, but tired of fighting.  Brad works in retail and Jeff runs a business with his ex-wife, with whom he is on friendly terms with.  Brad and Jeff have decided to start over from scratch and try to make things work.  They really love each other, but are stuck in their bad habits, and trying to cope with Jeff’s hectic work schedule.  This situation becomes even more difficult when Jeff’s ex-wife ends up pregnant after a one-off night with Jeff that happened when Jeff and Brad were broken up.
 
I love a good marriage in trouble story, and this one fits the bill (despite the lack of marriage between Brad and Jeff).  One of the downsides of a marriage in trouble story is that it’s a painful situation.  In this case, really all Brad and Jeff have is their love for each other.  Their pattern of behavior and their situation is just rough.
 
So, as expectied, this is a painful read.  It’s also very good.  It comes across as a very realistic relationship, but that makes it harder to believe they do work things out.  They have so many problems, and while there’s a fundamental change before the end of the story, I felt like it ended with so much more work for them to do.    The tone of the ending was happy and hopeful, but I felt like the skip ahead to the epilogue was both needed and a little too happy to believe.   It’s probably my least favorite of the Tucker Springs series, but I still enjoyed it.

What Wendy Wants by Nikki Sex

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

18105262

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Novella
Published: 6/23/13
Reviewed by Kate
93 pages


After 3 kids, Wendy and Frank’s marriage has turned stale.  Wendy wants to try some of the things that she’s been reading about in her romance books, but how can she even approach the subject with “vanilla” Frank? When Frank accidentally takes her Kindle to work with him one day, the choice is taken out of her hands.

 

I love romances that feature husbands and wives finding their way to deeper relationships. And this one fit the bill perfectly.  It is obvious that Frank and Wendy love each other-he knows exactly what her Kindle password is, even after all these years *happy sigh*.  It’s even more obvious that they want this relationship to work, and to work better than it has been.

 

A quick hot and spicy read.  If you enjoy reading a romance between a husband and wife and like a little BDSM thrown into the mix, this is the one for you.

 

I think husband and wife romances are fast becoming a favorite for me.  Do you have any others to recommend?