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A Wife for One Year (Those Engaging Garretts!) By Brenda Harlen

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22405802
Grade: C+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 8/1/14
Reviewed by Kate
224 pages

Daniel and Kenna have been best friends since they were paired up as chemistry lab partners in high school.  Daniel gets a chance to fulfill a dream, but he needs access to his trust fund first.  And in order to get access to his trust fund, he needs a wife.  Kenna is the only one that he can think of, and the fact that she needs money to pay for her sister’s surgery means she quickly agrees to the plan as well.  But the agreement quickly turns into more than either of them had planned.

I read a lot of erotic romance and every once in a while I need a break.  I know that I can turn to Harlequin Special Edition for that palette cleanser.  This book was just what I needed!

It’s clear that Daniel and Kenna have a really close relationship prior to their marriage deal, and they’ve both kept their romantic feelings hidden.  There’s a lot of “but he’s/she’s my best friend and I don’t want to ruin that.”  There’s also lots of misunderstandings that could have easily been solved by the two of them actually talking.  Seriously.  A lot of misunderstandings.  Why the pair of them couldn’t just be up front about something I never did figure out.  But I guess if they had been upfront this would have been more of a novella than a full length.

Even with all the head smacking misunderstandings, I enjoyed this one a lot.  It was just what I wanted.  If you like low conflict and friends-to-lovers stories, give this one a try.

In the Heat of the Night by Katherine Garbera

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Grade: C-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: The O’Roarkes #2
Published: 7/10/14
Reviewed by Kate

Meg left her hometown of Twin Palms years ago for New York.  Full of confidence, she was positive she was going to make it big.  Now she’s returning home, with her tail between her legs, to regroup and try for stardom again.  Nothing’s going to get in her way this time.  Well, nothing except maybe Rory, the new firefighter in town.  Rory comes from a long line of firefighters, but when his ex-wife asked him to quit for a safer career he did.  Now he’s trying firefighting again to see if it is his passion or simply family tradition.

So we have a story of both Rory and Meg trying to rediscover themselves.  Both are trying to get over prior relationships that left them doubting themselves.  Both are overly cautious about entering another relationship.  At times they seemed almost mirror images of each other, in their actions (avoiding each other and the potential for a relationship) and feelings (hiding the fact that they’re falling for each other, scared of trying for something they want).

As much as I liked Meg and Rory’s characters (they were both sweet and funny) I just couldn’t work up any excitement for them as a couple.  I never got invested in them.  I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than I was in Meg and Rory.  Overall, this book didn’t really create strong feelings for me, one way or the other.

If you like firefighters and low conflict romance, this one might be for you.  It just didn’t work for me.

 

Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

15761442

Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Camelot, #2
Published: 3/11/13
Reviewed by Kate
416 pages

 

Ellen’s twin brother Jamie is famous, really famous.  She can’t imagine having to live with all the security he lives with on a daily basis.  She likes her hard won freedom too much.  But that’s exactly what she’ll have to put up with after Jamie starts dating her neighbor Carly and then dumps her, leaving the paparazzi trampling Ellen’s flowers while trying to get the latest picture of Carly.  But when Caleb (owner of a private security firm) shows up at her door, she’s thinking maybe security won’t be all that bad-until he starts talking about all the changes she’ll need to make in her life.

 

I loved Ellen’s character.  She’s finally figured out who she is and what she wants out of life after a childhood that was all about Jamie and an alcoholic, womanizing ex-husband.  Then Caleb comes sauntering up to her door.  He has all these grand ideas and she wants nothing to do with them.  She wants the life she fought for.  And Caleb is one of those rare heroes that actually listens.  But he’s walking a fine line between allowing Ellen her independence and protecting her from dangers she doesn’t think are really there.  The verbal sparring between these two was trophy-worthy. And the between-the-sheets sparring was great too.

 

I think it’s worth noting that Ellen does have a 2 year old son Henry that I found, quite honestly, annoying.  Mainly the way he spoke.  It just grated every time.  At the same time, the way Caleb interacted with Henry actually melted my heart a little.  I just wish the kid had been a little more quiet.

 

My sister Anne has been raving about Ruthie Knox for a while now and I see what she was talking about.  Between the strong characters (both main and secondary) she creates, the wonderful dialogue, and the steamy romance I just couldn’t stop turning pages.  I can’t wait to pick up another of her books!