contemporary

Stranded with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Stranded with a Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club, #1)
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: ContemporarySeries: Billionaire Boys Club #1
Reviewed by Anne

So, there’s this billionaire (Logan) who doesn’t really do relationships.  He’s in a secret billionaires’ club. (The club is the secret, not their billionaire status.)  He buys a hotel and goes to visit it.  While he’s there a hurricane blows in.  He ends up stranded in a hotel elevator with a woman (Bronte) who giggles when scared (and the hurricane is scary!) Also, Bronte thinks he’s the hotel’s manager, not the owner. Logan’s never met a woman who didn’t know who he was.  And every woman who has known who he was has wanted him for his money.  So it’s very refreshing to him to spend time with someone who thinks he’s a regular guy and still likes him.
 
Logan falls for Bronte pretty quickly.  She’s falling for him as well, but is thrown for a loop when he reveals his billionaire status.  While she’s still reeling from that reveal, he also shows her he’s an ass.  And while he’s reveling in being an asshat, patting himself on the back for how lucky she must feel now that she knows he’s loaded…  Bronte takes action.  And her action really, really surprises Logan.  And the story takes off from there.  Logan is stumbling over all the problems having money has brought to his life.  Bronte is struggling with not being overwhelmed by Logan and all his bags of money.  It’s a romance, so it’s a given that these two will work things out, but *how* they work them out was delightful to read.  My favorite line sums it all up:

“I’m serious, Logan. I want to date like normal people. Not like a billionaire and the waitress he just bought.”

There were some weaknesses.  Honestly, I didn’t really get the significance of the super-secret billionaire’s club.  I’m not sure what exactly they did, and if what they did was legal or illegal.  There were times where Logan was downright stupid about their relationship. I wasn’t always happy with how Bronte handled things either.  But while I was reading it was very believable, and even looking back, it strikes me that this is pretty much what it would be like if *I* were dating a billionaire.  Seriously, I gave it some thought, and I hope I would handle things as well as Bronte!  So, despite some weaknesses, this was overall a very good book for me.  
 
Also, besides Logan and Bronte, there is plenty of sequel bait in Logan’s secret billionaire club.  The set up between the very scarred Hunter and Bronte’s writer friend have me itching to read the next book in this series.  I’m not a big billionaire book fan, but I really enjoyed this one!

Eyes Wide Open by Raine Miller

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Eyes Wide Open (The Blackstone Affair, #3)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Mild
Series-The Blackstone Affair #3
Reviewed by Kay

This novel continues the saga of Ethan Blackstone, a security mogul and Brynne Bennett, a model and art student. They have a very passionate love affair going on. This installment picks up right where the last one left off. There’s still her stalker that’s on the loose and creeping closer and closer. After a near attack, they flee the city and try to figure out the best course of action to deal with him. When they are gone they gain knowledge of something else that could change their relationship.

I really don’t want to say too much since this novel is very much anticipated by many people. I will say that there’s a lot of gratuitous sex. The story itself seems to be the filler which I don’t really care for. The sex is descriptive and hot, but too much, even for me. I had kind of hoped she’d stop with this book but I saw on another review site that there’s a part four at least.

I didn’t hate but I sure didn’t love it either. It is worth reading if you’re fully vested in the series though.

A Prior Engagement by Karina Bliss

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

A Prior Engagement
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: ContemporarySeries: Special Forces #4
Reviewed by Anne

I have decided that Karina Bliss is an author I do not read enough of.  I need to read more of her books.  I started this one during the RT Convention and stayed up waaaaay too late reading it.  In that wonderful way that really good books have, it just pulled me in and I didn’t want to put it down!
 
Lee, an SAS (Australian Special Forces) soldier who was thought to be killed in battle has been found alive.  His return home is more challenging than he expected.  Everyone has moved on with their lives, except his ex-girlfriend.  Even though she turned down his proposal on the eve of his deployment, she now appears to be one of his family.  They think she was his fiancee.  He wonders what is going on and why she would deceive his friends and loved ones.  
 
Jules knows that Lee will be furious with her for lying to his SAS buddies and family who have now become *her* friends and family.  She figures they may hate her, too, once they hear what she did.  And all of this is made even more complicated because Lee appears to have amnesia and claims he can’t remember what happened between them before he deployed.
 
This isn’t a set up that would normally pull me in, but I’m SO glad I read this book.  I don’t like big misunderstandings or lies between the main characters, but this really worked for me.  Jules is pressured by medical and psychiatric experts to take it easy on Lee.  She is determined to tell him the truth and explain her motives behind the lies, even though she doesn’t expect him to forgive her.  She just wants him to find his footing in his life before her revelations do further damage.  
 
Concentrating on getting even with Jules gives Lee something to focus on in a world that seems so different to him.  Interestingly, because he wants Jules to pay for lying to his friends and family, he’s willing to let her take care of him.  He thinks he’s unworthy of her and he thinks if they really loved each other he’d hit the road rather than have her seem him struggle to recover from his captivity.  But because he’s upset with her deception, he’s willing to impose on her in ways he wouldn’t if they were being honest.  That is very interesting!
 
I think the PTSD and recovery from Lee’s captivity is very realistically portrayed.  We’re in Lee’s head a lot, so we see how mixed up he feels, but we also see his actions, which could be confusing to outsiders.  Jules and the rest of Lee’s friends work very hard to anticipate Lee’s needs, and this drives Lee crazy when he realizes what’s going on.  
 
In the middle of this very real feeling personal conflict, Karina Bliss writes some believable humor and friendships.   The guys especially are funny together.  

“Ross took a casual swig of his tea, then dug in his jacket and produced a protein bar, which he held out. ‘You haven’t eaten in what… five hours?’
‘What are you, my babysitter?’ Hemmed between his friends, he felt like he was being observed, watched.  Notwithstanding their benevolent motives, Lee had to keep reminding himself they were on his side.  His nerves only recognized that they were elite soldiers.
Ross waved the bar in front of his nose. ‘Take it.’
‘You’re being anal.’ Reluctantly Lee accepted. ‘How the hell did you get a free spirit like Viv to say yes anyway?’
‘I’m loose in bed.’ ” (A Prior Engagement, p 164-5)

 
The whole book is really well done.  A little slow moving at times, but that doesn’t bother me.  This is the fourth in this series of books.  I read the first one and enjoyed it (despite it’s over the top ending) but I haven’t read the second or third.  This fourth one stood alone pretty well.  There is a large circle of friends, along with both names and nicknames that got confusing at times, but I kept up pretty easily.  I do want to read the two books I missed now, though!  If you’re looking for realistic drama with a dose of humor, Karina Bliss is the way to go!