contemporary

Rule by Jay Crownover

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Rule (Marked Men, #1)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Series-Marked Men #1
Reviewed by Kay

Shaw is a pre-med college student who has parents who want to control her life. Even as they kind of overlook her existence. She basically has a surrogate family in the Archer’s. She met Remy Archer in high school and the two formed a strong bond. They were the perfect couple who wasn’t.

Rule Archer is a great example of an anti-boyfriend, admittedly. He has piercings, tattoos, self destructive behavior and a horrible attitude. He is very estranged from his family, way past awkward.
His twin brother was Remy and has an older brother named Rome, who is in the armed forces.

These two characters, Shaw and Remy, have been raised through the teenage years together. Rule has always only seen Shaw as Remy’s. Shaw has always seen Rule as hers. Through all of the trials, Shaw only sees Rule as worthy of redemption.

This book caught my eye last year and has sat on my Kindle for months and months. I finally told my self that it was time and opened it up. I have to say there is a lot of emotion in this book relating to the relationships in the story. Heavy emotions too. The characters have to deal with death and the awful ways it changes you. Those things I liked. The things I didn’t like? Rule’s mother was a monster and his father a total doormat for the monster. I also don’t think a man that has a fight with the girl he’s dating has a right to kiss another girl.  The other thing I did not like and my biggest complaint was the heat level. In my opinion, men that have piercings and tattoos should have sex scenes that are blistering not just warm. Don’t tell me how hot he is and then have a lukewarm sex scene. It doesn’t add up for me or work for me. Ultimately, it killed the book and the series for me.

Slow Burn by Anne Marsh

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Slow Burn (Smoke Jumpers, #2)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Smoke Jumpers #2
Reviewed by Kay

Faye Duncan is looking for a second chance. She desperately needs a do over on her life. Her career is doing pretty well but her divorce is final and it still stings. Not about the hurt but about the fact that it didn’t hurt. She cashed in her 401K and buys herself a Corvette. Camera in hand she heads to the town of Strong to take pictures of firemen for the magazine she works for. My only question here is if they are taking applications at the magazine.

Evan Donovan is a smoke jumper like his brothers and friends. He works in Strong and gets a phone call from an old military buddy. His friend, Mike says his ex-wife is headed to Strong and wants Evan to check up on her. Evan thinks its weird but says okay. He finds Faye in the local bar, drunk off her butt and takes her to his cabin since there isn’t a hotel in town. From there the story goes on.

This was an okay read for me.  Not great but not bad. I liked the characters primary and secondary. I adored the secondary romance between Ben and Nonna. I thought the mystery unfolded a little too fast for my taste.  This is an okay series and I may read more of it.

Taken by Kelli Maine

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Taken (Give & Take, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-Give&Take #1
Reviewed by Kay

Rachael DeSalvo has a chance at getting her dream job. She memorized everything she needed to know to land the job. She has the interview by webcam with the CEO and gets the job! You flash forward a little and she is out on the town celebrating with her friends. She sees a guy who looks familiar and he approaches her. He buys her a drink and then things go from fuzzy to black. She wakes up in a room she doesn’t know surrounded by things she doesn’t recognize. She does however recognize the man from the bar. She puts two and two together and realizes she was ruffied. Her captor is none other than the CEO of the company she interviewed with.

Merrick Rocha has been obsessed with Rachael since their interview and watched her from afar since she had to turn down the job. He is obviously very wealthy and used to getting what he wants. Her turning down the job she so desperately wanted intrigued him so much that he kidnapped her. He wants to possess her. Oddly enough, he also wants her help to re-do an old hotel they discussed at her interview.

Okay, first, the creep factor with the kidnapping almost did the book in for me. I have already read Captive in Dark and refused to read Truth, both of these books have similar themes in them. I tried to wrap my brain around it all the way through the book. I couldn’t grasp the love of this old hotel being the reason he kidnapped her. That being said, watching his attempts at redemption and winning her trust were entertaining. It was said in the book that she always thought he was attractive and therefore attracted to him. She battled with herself and her feelings regarding him through a lot of the book.

I won’t call this a sweet romance but they were happy by the end of the book. There was a little suspense, a lot of creepy, great love scenes once they got started and an HEA. The journey to get there was a little rough. I haven’t decided if I’ll read more of the series yet