Anne

November Rain by Daisy Harris

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22066351

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Fire & Rain #4
Published: 9/2/14
Reviewed by Anne
117  ebook pages

You like m/m?  Then you should read this story.  Right now.  Please, stop reading this review, go buy this book, read it and come back.

What?  Not convinced yet?  OK, fine, let me explain to you why you should read November Rain.

First, there’s the characters.  Gruff and tough Joe is a Seattle cop.  He’s shopping for a new sweater (to wear to his ex’s wedding – ugh!) when he meets the young sales clerk, Elias.  Elias’ parents immigrated from Africa just before Elias was born.  Their bias against homosexuality has kept Elias not only in the closet, but very, very innocent.  Elias pushes Joe’s buttons in all the right ways, but before he can ask for Elias’ number, he ends up getting shot in the leg by a customer who is harassing Elias.  Elias is so drawn to Joe, and so concerned for his health that he shows up at the hospital to check on Joe.   This starts an interesting relationship between Joe and Elias.

Joe is stubborn and having a hard time dealing with his injury.  He’s not sure what to make of Elias’ eagerness and withdrawl, but he’s trying to figure it out.  Elias has more backbone than he appears to.  He knows what he is and isn’t willing to do and put up with, and he stands up for himself when needed, and wow is that a joy to read!  The sex between these two is dirty and hot, and sometimes messy and emotionally painful.

The secondary storyline is interesting, too.  It’s about Elias’s slightly older brother and his wife.  Since Elias’ parents moved back to Africa, they are the only family Elias has left.  He’s scared of their reaction if they find out he’s gay, and he’s also worried about the two of them.

Really the only complaint I can come up with is that things work out a bit too well for everyone.  And, honestly, that’s not really a complaint.  I’m fine with some sunshine and rainbows in my reading!

So, if you’re up for some really great characters who stand up for themselves and admit it when they’re wrong, along with some wonderfully smutty m/m sex, I highly recommend this book by Daisy Harris!  It’s going on my Best of 2014 list!

Even better news, it turns out this is the fourth book in the series!  What?  It stood alone just fine, but I can’t wait to go back and read the others!  Daisy Harris’ blog says that the first book, Fire and Ashes will be free until September 5!

 

The Best Kind of Trouble by Lauren Dane

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

18688614
Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: The Hurley Boys #1
Published: 8/26/14
Reviewed by Anne

Natalie is a small town librarian.  One morning in the coffee shop she sees international rock star, Patrick (Paddy) Hurley.  Natalie and Patrick had a two week fling long ago before Patrick’s band hit it big, and Natalie remembers it fondly.  However, she’s made a lot of changes in her life since then, and she’s not interested in the chaos she’s sure Paddy will bring with him.   Paddy is very interested in her, though, and he really wants another chance to explore the explosive chemistry they had years ago and to see what Natalie is like now.

Lauren Dane writes in a style I love.  I call it low conflict romance.  It’s stories that are focused on the relationship between characters more than the actions occurring around them.  I have friends who find this kind of story a little slow or boring, but it really, really works for me.  The Best Kind of Trouble is a perfect example of this.  The book takes place over about a year, hitting all the major turning points and milestones in their relationship.

Natalie and Paddy were interesting characters – definitely not generic romance characters.  Natalie had a history that left her with a lot of triggers.  She works hard to deal with them, but knows she can’t get rid of them all together, she has to learn to live with them.  Figuring out how much of this information she is willing to share with Paddy is a huge challenge for her.  She feels like her triggers are her burden to bear and doesn’t want special treatment from him, but leaving him in the dark about her issues makes her seem irrational.  It also means they are both blindsided now and then when things pop up.

Paddy has fewer issues than Natalie, but he’s far from perfect.  He’s got a rock star history and a large loving family that Natalie with have to get used to.  His creative lifestyle is much more chaotic than she’s used to, and that’s a challenge for her, too.

Watching these two work through their issues together kept me enthralled.  The sex was hot and dirty, too, which is a major bonus – and pretty much guaranteed in Lauren Dane’s writing!  There was also a nice amount of humor – generally between Paddy and his brothers/bandmates.

The only issue I had with the book was feeling like Paddy’s triggers were a bit silly, especially compared to Natalie’s.  I was satisfied with the way things worked out, though.

There was some set up in this book for the other two book in this series – I can’t wait!

This book is the first in the Hurley Boys series, and it would stand on its own just fine.  However, it is the latest installment in a series of series, starting with the Brown Siblings and continuing with the Delicious Series, and now with The Hurley Boys.  There are only a few references to any of the previous books, but I do highly recommend you read them if you enjoy this one.  In particular, Lush is the story of Paddy’s brother Damien and his wife, Mary.

So, this book is going on my Best of 2014 list.  How about you?  Do you enjoy a low-conflict relationship focused book, or do you like story with more plot and adventure?

Try Me On for Size by Stephanie Haefner

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

18870201

Grade: DNF
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 8/11/14
Reviewed by Anne
288 pages

I don’t DNF (Did Not Finish) a book very often at all.  It was especially disappointing that it happened now.  This book had a lot going for it.  For starters, the premise certainly caught my attention: Mia’s lingerie shop needs a big sales boost to save it from going under.  She and her partner decide on the idea of picking a spokespenis/spokesmodel and making dildos cast from his penis to sell in their store.  And what better way to pick the spokespenis than to try out five different models and choose your favorite?

The first glitch she runs into is one she doesn’t even recognize.  While she’s waiting for applicant number one, Oliver approaches her.  When he realizes she’s been stood up, he decides to go with the flow and pretend to be whoever she’s waiting for.

The book (at least as far as I read) had some enjoyable humor in it, but things went downhill fast.  Here’ are some notes I made while reading, Goodreads updates, and texts to Kate:  (book text in italics, my comments in regular font)

Page 3: spokespenis  Funny!

Page 12: And so far it hasn’t been all that orgasmic  Then you’re doing it wrong!

Page 13: spokespenis  Funny!

Page 14: “Only a real live vagina can get the data we need to do this right.”  Ok, I’m starting to like this – vaginas and data!

Page 15: waiting in a bar for Penis Number One to arrive Funny!

Page 21: “Mia opened the door and led him up to the third floor.  No turning back once she took him inside.  To her bed.  To test out his penis.” Funny!

Page 23: “Okay, so, I’ll need you to just kinda lay there and let me do what I need to, um…do.  Okay?”

“Sure, but shouldn’t I get a condom?”

“Wasn’t this already explained to you?  I need to see how you feel without any barriers.  We did the screening and we’re both healthy and disease-free, so it’s all good.”  Um.  No.  Not all good.  Lying at this point is pretty unforgivable, unless he just happens to have a test at home… (this is never mentioned again!)

Page 27: “Are you seriously telling me you had sex with this gorgeous man and didn’t have an orgasm?”

“I thought the point was to test it out and see how it felt.  Make sure it was the right size and girth and whatever.  I thought I was supposed to retain some sort of professionalism.”

“Seriously?  We’re going into the dildo business.”  Funny!

Page 40: “Oliver would not be celebrating this marriage.  He’d smile and do all the things a groom is supposed to do, but being happy about it?  Nope.”  What?!? He’s engaged?  WTF?

Goodreads update: Ugh. The “hero” is engaged to someone else, and we find this out after he has sex with the heroine. No. This makes me angry!”

Page 51: The thought of her with someone else made him feel as if his intestines were being yanked out through his chest.

An engaged guy shouldn’t be jealous that a woman he just met was having sex with another man.  But he sure as hell was.  OK, I’m reading on, but I really need her (Mia) to be thoroughly pissed that he cheated on his fiancée with her!

Page 51:  And in the high society they’d grown up in, an easy way to secure one [a proposal] was an unplanned pregnancy.  Nobody dared announce a bundle was on the way without a ring on that finger. Ew.

Page 51:  He might be working for this company…  Really?  He thinks he might go through with being the spokespenis?  Well, I guess that might be scandal enough to break his engagement?

Page 52: Was Mia in danger of losing her shop, her job?  He couldn’t let that happen.  Seriously?  Why would he care?

Page 53: …he suspected the pregnancy might not even be real. Excuse me, there are ways of checking on that.  And if she was so awful, why have sex with her.  Ugh.

Page 55:  And maybe, if he annoyed her enough, she’d leave him.  Problem solved.  Not really solved if she’s pregnant!

Page 70: Having him in any capacity would most likely end badly and she couldn’t risk putting the shop…  How would it risk the shop to have a relationship with him if he wasn’t an employee?  This is nonsense.

Page 80: “Hey.  When’s your next prenatal appointment?”

“I don’t know.  Why?”

“I want to go with you.”

He thought he saw a brief moment of panic in her reflection.  She turned to him.  “Why?”

“Isn’t that something dads-to-be do?”

“Maybe, but that’s not how I’m doing it.  I don’t want anyone there with me.  It’s a doctor’s appointment.  It’s private.”

There’s a red flag, and he just lets it go!

Page 90: “Have dinner with me tomorrow night.  I’ll take you on a real date.” Really?  What about your pregnant fiancée?

Page 92:”…Eww.  I can’t be married to some low-class Chippendales wanna-be.”… “I don’t care.”If he didn’t really care he should break things off.  He’s an ass.

Page 93:  Why couldn’t he just tell her he didn’t want to marry her?

He knew why.  The miniscule chance in the back of his head that maybe she was telling the truth about the baby. …  He had to find out for sure, before this went too much further. This is stupid.  Marrying her would bring a lot more drama than having a baby out of wedlock.  And he’s cheating!  Scummy!

Page 103:… he was a jackass for keeping it hidden.  Holy hell if she ever found out. Uh, yeah, he’s a total jackass.

Goodreads update: Alright. I’m going to dnf this one. I’m on p. 100 of ~260 and Oliver still hasn’t told Mia about his fiancee. And instead of manning up and breaking up with his fiancee, he just tries to be so awful that she’ll dump him. His fiancee is written as a one dimensional bad guy. She’s probably lying about a pregnancy, she’s shallow, lazy, and manipulative. And he has no problem having unprotected sex with Mia. Ugh.

Email to Kate:  I really hated this book.

So, that’s all I’ve got.  I’d say stay away from this book, unless you can work with cheating.  Disappointing.