Anne

In the Clear by Tamara Morgan

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: C
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella, holiday.
Series: Winter Rescue #1
Published: 11/11/13
Reviewed by Anne
96  pages

Lexie might come across as a ditz who gets into ridiculous scrapes, but she’s a great at her job and has a close family.  She is a bit jealous of the close relationship that her twin Sean with his best friend Fletcher.  Fletcher is practically family to Lexie and Sean, and he’d never want to ruin that, so he’s hidden his feelings for Lexie for years.  But suddenly Lexie is looking at him differently when an article in paper exposes the secret double life as a search and rescue volunteer.  She’s pushing her way into his life to figure out what else about him she didn’t know, and that’s putting her a bit too close to Fletcher’s hidden feelings.

I love Tamara Morgan, so it’s with much sadness that I admit that this story really didn’t work for me.  It was ok, but I felt like the author pushed things around to set up the circumstances she wanted to the point that it didn’t feel natural.  I know that’s pretty much what every author does, but when it’s done well, you read it and think “That could happen.”  In this case I had to keep telling myself, “Just accept it.”

One thing I did enjoy about the story was the way that Fletcher and Lexie saw each other’s true selves.  Even more clearly than others around them, Fletcher and Lexie saw how the other’s faults were also strengths.  Once they came together it was easy to see how they would lift each other up.  That was nicely done.

Maybe I went in with expectations too high.  I’ve really loved Tamara Morgan in the past, and I generally love holiday novellas.  In the end, this was just an ok read for me.

The Best Corpse for the Job by Charlie Cochrane

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: C
Hotness Level: Ember
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m, mystery
Published: 11/24/14
Reviewed by Anne
298 pages

Robin is an inspector on the police force and he’s not thrilled to be called to scene at his old primary school.  There aren’t a lot of happy memories for him there.  Adam is a school teacher he meets there during his investigation.  They’re immediately attracted to each other, and the case keeps throwing them together, but neither of them wants to compromise the investigation.

I’d read a story by this author earlier in the year and enjoyed it.  I was saw this book listed on NetGalley’s romance section and I thought I’d give it a try.  I thought it worked well as a mystery, but was weak as a romance.  Unfortunately, I’m a romance reader who enjoys a mystery now and then, not vice versa, so it didn’t work very well for me.

It’s a typical large cast who-dun-it mystery.  I had a bit of hard time keeping everyone straight, but I know that’s part of the mystery.  I really enjoyed that Robin and Adam had a lot of chemistry but were responsible enough to keep it in their pants during the case.  It was also cute how they were happy to find reasons to contact each other.

While it wasn’t a great read for me, I’d recommend it for mystery lovers.

There’s Something About Ari by L.B. Gregg

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, novella,  m/m, small town
Series: Bluewater Bay #2
Published: 11/10/14
Reviewed by Anne
101  pages

Buck Ellis was set to leave his small home town with a great college scholarship, but then his mom died and he stepped in to be a parent to his younger brother.  He took another blow when his best friend and secret crush, Ari, left town for Hollywood.  They haven’t had any contact in years, so Buck is shocked when Ari moves in to the house next door to him!  Ari’s in town to work on Wolf’s Landing, the hottest show on TV that just happens to be filmed in Ari’s home town.

This story is told entirely from  Buck’s point of view, which was a little disappointing, but makes sense in a novella.  The pacing felt a little quick, especially with their physical relationship, but again, it was a novella.  Actually, I think that it felt like it needed to be longer.  There was a lot going on between Ari and Buck, though they never really talked about it.

It was a good story.  I liked the relationship between Ari and Buck.  I thought the misunderstandings between the two of them were realistic and understandable. I did read the first story in this series, but I think this one would stand alone well.  I’d recommend it for anyone who enjoys m/m romance.