beach

Wicked Games by Jill Myles

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Wicked Games (Games, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Games #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
231 pages

Being a fan of Survivor, I didn’t know if I’d like this book. The premise is the same as Survivor, so are the challenges and the weather conditions. Even the location in this book was on Survivor. That being said, I did enjoy the book.

Dean is an Olympic medal swimmer who wants to win this game show. Not for the money but for the title. Abby is a writer/reporter who was forced by her boss to step in after another contestant bowed out. She was in fear for her job and was offered a book deal if she played the game. She reluctantly agreed to do it. She and Dean end up paired together and one thing leads to another.

I really enjoyed both main characters. They were funny and likeable. The story was fast paced and I totally bought into their love story. Dean’s journal entries were heartwarming. His love for Abby was so obvious but because of her self esteem issues, it was hard for her to truly believe. I enjoy Jill Myles when she wries as Jessica Clare. She does a great job with this novella length story. There’s humor, emotion and hot sex. If you are a Survivor fan you’ll really enjoy this one.

Love at High Tide by Christi Barth

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Love at High Tide

 
Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Reviewed by Anne
142 pages 
 
Darcy is spending a week at the beach with her BFF, Trina.  Darcy’s got a big decision to make now that she’s finished her PhD.  Should she take the prestigious job offer from Africa, where she was miserable doing her dissertation?  Or should she…  what?  She has no other offers on the horizon. Some days of sun and relaxing sound like a great way to spend a few days before she has to make her decision.  If only Trina were content to just lay on the beach… But no, Trina drags her from one thing to another, starting with an embarrassing trip into the ocean where Darcy freaks out and is saved (in waist deep water) by the very handsome Cooper.  
 
Cooper just happens to be on vacation.  He’s taken some time off from the police force and is also trying to decide what to do going forward.  A little romance with Darcy for the few days she has left at the beach sounds really good.  Unfortunately, Trina has decided to start training herself for a career as a private detective.  Now that she’s finished researching the position, she decides to stalk, er, I mean watch a suspicious looking guy she sees on the beach.  There’s safety in numbers, so she drags Darcy along with her.  In between outings with Trina, Darcy finds time to go out with Cooper and their attraction is instant and off the charts.

So this book had some ups and downs for me. Darcy and Coop, I liked a lot. Darcy’s best friend, Trina, who has a lot of page time, kept moving back and forth from “She’s hilarious!” to “What a bitch!” She was very funny, but she kept pulling Darcy into these dangerous situations that I thought just made them both look dumb. That was really frustrating.

Aside from the stupid amateur sleuth stuff, and a couple way unnecessary comments about Darcy’s weight, Trina and Darcy had great banter and felt like real friends. They even make a Xena reference!

Darcy and Coop are both at a point of personal crisis. Those felt very real to me. And even though the story took place over only a few days, their connection and their decisions about the future were believable to me. They actually communicated with each other and talked things through!

So, while it had it’s annoying points, it was overall a good book for me.