contemporary

In From the Cold by Cat Grant

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22881853
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m, NA
Series: related to Courtland Chronicles
Published: 9/15/14
Reviewed by Anne
76 ebook pages

Bilal and Seth see each other in the waiting room at the campus health facility.  It’s really cold outside and they’re both very sick.  They find each other again walking home, and Seth invites Bilal to his house, just to get out of the snowstorm.  To avoid the long walk home that would be near to impossible due to his fever, Bilal accepts the invitation.

This is a short story, so, by necessity, the plot moves along quickly.  Even with that, I was a surprised at how abruptly Bilal and Seth went from secretly longing for each other to acting on it.  It was very sweet, though, with Bilal conflicted and Seth trying to understand.

It was a sweet and hot story, but it definitely feels like just the beginning.  It’s no cliffhanger, but Seth and Bilal definitely have issues to work through.

This story is related to the Courtland Chronicles series – Seth is the son of the main characters.  It stood alone very well, though.  I’d recommend it for readers who enjoy a short and quick m/m romance.

Afternoon Delight by Anne Calhoun

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22872970
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 9/16/14
Reviewed by Anne
130 pages

Tim is a paramedic who rushes through life at high speed, not really connecting to anyone.  That keeps him from connecting to anyone, and that keeps him from being hurt.  Sarah savors each moment of life, and when she sees something she likes, she goes for it.  So when Sarah sees Tim, sparks fly.  When Tim slows down to spend time with Sarah, it cracks some of his armor, and he’s not quite sure what to do with that.

Tim and Sarah are unique characters I enjoyed reading about.  It took me a while to really get engaged in the story, though.  It was a little too easy to put down for about the first half of the story.  Once it kicked in, though, it was great.  The big gesture at the end of the story was pretty awesome and left me feeling like these two really have a chance of making their relationship work.

Anne Calhoun writes great sex, and this book is no exception!  There was a great balance in this short story of just enough secondary characters to make the story feel complete – it’s not just the two main characters in a vacuum.  At the same time, the story is focused on Tim and Sarah without trying to squeeze anything else in, and I appreciated that.

Altogether, it was a very good story, and I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy a really hot contemporary story.

I will say that I struggled just a bit with this story.  At times I reread lines or paragraphs to try to understand what was happening.  This wasn’t an issue with physical scenes, but with the thoughts of the main characters.  It left me feeling like I wasn’t quite smart enough to understand the book.  I’m curious to know if anyone else ever has that feeling while reading a story.  It happens to me sometimes with Mary Ann Rivers, too.  I can tell that something is implied, but I don’t know what.  Unfortunately, that really pulls me out of the story.

Trivia: This story is set in New York City.  There’s a scene where Tim takes Sarah to the Highline Park, a park created by renovating an abandoned elevated train line.  It sounded really cool, and shortly after I finished it, I came across an article in the New York Times detailing the opening of the third section of the park.  I love that books leave me feeling familiar with a place I’ve never been!  You can check it out here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/arts/design/the-high-line-opens-its-third-and-final-phase.html?_r=0  NYT

Play Date by Kate Donovan

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

23123452
Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, sports
Series: Play Makers #3
Published: 8/27/14
Reviewed by Anne

Our main characters, on team romance are Rachel and Bam.  Rachel is a kindergarten teacher.  Bam is a professional football player.  Rachel doesn’t know much about football. She meets Bam at a wedding where, once again, no one is hitting on her.  It’s just because she’s so beautiful. <Flag on the play!  A woman too beautiful to get hit on?  5 yard penalty.>

Rachel’s date, Sean, seems to only have eyes for the bride, until some mysterious blonde walks in and he disappears with her. <Unsportsmanlike conduct!  15 yard penalty!>   Rachel had planned to have sex with Sean and see if they could make a relationship work, but with a sigh and drink she gives up on that hope and leaves him to the blonde.  Surprisingly, to Rachel, Bam hits on her, and they end up having a quickie, or as Bam calls it, they bang. <Touch Down!  They’re going for two and… it’s good!>  Bam is blunt and a little crude, but Rachel finds she enjoys that about him.  He makes her feel desirable. She leaves the wedding happy with their tryst.

There are a few little things in the story that made it feel just a little dated, even though it was very recently published.  Bam shows up when Rachel is teaching kindergarten.  This easy unannounced access into the classroom of a school made the story feel out of touch with today’s elementary school security.  Another thing is that Rachel’s salmon colored dress is considered pretty cool.  Then there’s the time that Rachel leaves Bam in charge of her class.  I just don’t think that would happen at my kids’ schools – not without the teacher getting in trouble. <Safety!>

In any case, Bam has shown up in Rachel’s home town because he’s interested in a re-bang.  Rachel knows it’s pretty crude, but she’s absolutely down for a re-bang, whatever Bam wants to call it.  Rachel and Bam have a lot of chemistry that’s fun to read.  I really wish the book had been all about them!  <Touch Down plus the extra point!>

However, as good as Rachel and Bam are, we’re also stuck with a secondary storyline about Sean and Kerrie.  Kerrie’s the blonde from the wedding, and she’s married to Sean and Bam’s coach.  <Unsportsmanlike Conduct!  15 yards!>  Kerrie’s unhappy in her marriage.  Her husband cheats on her constantly and is emotionally indifferent.  But she doesn’t want to leave him because… she’s made a lot of contacts in the NFL and their charity work and she thinks she’ll be ostracized for divorcing a known cheater.  <Flag! What???? 5 yard penalty, repeat the 2nd down.>  No, really, she won’t leave her husband until she can divorce him and marry Sean in the same weekend.  She doesn’t want to be single.  <Flag on the play!  Cheating continues and reasons make no sense?  I’m just giving the ball to the other team.  I wish I could eject the players!>

So, Bam and Rachel are fun to read about.  They’re funny and sweet together, but about 1/3 of the book is devoted to Kerrie and Sean, and it’s clear we’re supposed to like them, but I didn’t.

I do give bonus points for creative role playing and some incredibly thoughtful gifts.  However there are additional penalties awarded for overuse of the word “drenched,” a pychotic breakdown in front of a mirror, and too many details about Rachel’s lesson plans.

I really wish I liked this book more.  If I could read it without Kerrie and Sean, it would probably be a B+ read.  As it stands, I’ll give it a C and recommend it for anyone who likes sports and could ignore the cheating.