contemporary

Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Along Came Trouble (Camelot #2)
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Camelot #2
Reviewed by Anne

This book made me smile and put Ruthie Knox on my short list.  I’d rank her up there with Jill Shalvis, Victoria Dahl, and Sarah Mayberry.  A sweet and hot romance with some humor thrown in.  I really want to go buy her first two books that I missed.

Ellen is a hard working, divorced single mom of a 2 year old son.  She’s also the sister of a very famous singer, Jamie.  Jamie unintentionally turned Ellen’s life upside down when he started dating her next door neighbor, Carly.  Even after Jamie and Carly broke up and Jamie left town, the press remains very interested in Carly.  When the paparazzi continues to be aggressive, Jamie hires a security team to take care of Carly and Ellen.  Caleb is head of the security team and very thankful for the job.  He doesn’t expect that neither woman will want his protection.  And he doesn’t expect to be so attracted to Ellen.

I thought this book would be about a forbidden attraction between Ellen and Caleb.  Thankfully, it’s not.  Pretty early in the book Caleb decides it’s ok if he has a thing with Ellen.  Also pretty early in the book he decides he doesn’t just want sex, he wants more.  So they negotiate.  They negotiate about what security provisions Ellen is willing to make, and they negotiate about what kind of relationship Ellen is willing to have.  I really enjoyed their negotiations.  I really enjoyed almost everything about this book!

Ellen and Caleb both are intelligent and not afraid to apologize when they realize they’re in the wrong.  And there are times when they are in the wrong.  They aren’t perfect, and that was nice to read.  Ellen especially has a lot to overcome as she comes back to life after divorcing her emotionally abusive husband.  She struggles to not depend on a man and stand on her own.  I really appreciated her journey and felt for her.

Rock star brother Jamie and neighbor Carly have a great story.  I think if their back story had been filled out they could have carried a book on their own.  It certainly added a lighter side to the book when things got heavy between Ellen and Caleb.  Carly’s grandma was a hoot, too, but I think I’ve read too many books in a row that had an outspoken elderly woman character.  They start to all blend together.

My only complaints about the book have to do with Ellen’s son, Henry.  I thought his Yoda-style speech pattern was annoying, and his confusion of pronouns felt unrealistic to me.  I could be wrong, though, I’m not a speech expert.  I did LOVE that he called Caleb “Cabe”.  Very sweet. 

Overall, my small complaints were handily outbalanced by all of the things I loved in this book.  I highly recommend it and can’t wait to read more by Ruthie Knox!

Impact by Tiffinie Helmer

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Impact (Wild Men of Alaska, #1)

Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Wild Men of Alaska #1
Reviewed by Kate
 
Wren can’t get out of going back home to be maid of honor in a wedding. Unfortunately, that means she can’t get out of seeing Skip, her childhood best friend and the man who put her in prison 5 years ago. Wren has spent the last 5 years secretly pining for Skip. Skip has spent the same time secretly waiting for Wren to get her life under control so they can spend the rest of their lives together. After their plane crashes, Skip and Wren must spend the night in the shell of their crashed plane waiting to be rescued.

Ah, a plane crash and simmering love that has lasted 5 years. Could there be a better recipe for a good story? And, on a surprising note, the tension in this story does not come from having to survive in the Alaskan wilderness, but from the characters themselves. I enjoyed this quick read and the next book in the series is in my TBR pile.

 

Wicked All The Way by Shayla Black

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Wicked All the Way (Wicked Lovers, #6.5)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Low Kink
Series-Wicked Lovers #6.5
Reviewed by Kay

Caleb Edgington is a retired Colonel and sniper for the Army. He has been mentioned in the other books of this series but as a background character. This novella is all about him and he’s as entertaining as the rest of the men in this series.

Carlotta Buckley is a divorcee and Caleb’s daughter-in-law’s mother. We met Carlotta a couple of books ago when her daughter rescued her from a abusive marriage. Caleb has been helping her get back on her feet.

Both of these characters had to do a lot of accepting, not only of the other but of themselves and their pasts. It was nice to read about Carlotta trying to be more independent after her marriage and Caleb trying to be less domineering with her.

Oh, Shayla Black. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. If you’ve never read Shayla Black then I highly suggest you do. No one writes a love scene better! No one! Her love scenes blister the pages and have you reaching for something to fan yourself with. Her stories are endearing for the most part. A little heavy on the BDSM at times for me, but I’m a little prudish to begin with for that sub-genre(pardon the pun). This was a great read and I can’t wait for the next book in this series coming out May 7th!