contemporary

Things Good Girls Don’t Do by Codi Gary

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Things Good Girls Don't Do

Grade: C
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 8/27/13
Reviewed by Anne
194 pages

Katie Conners has always been a good girl, following the prim and proper nice girl rules her mother taught her.  She’s itching to make some changes though, and finds herself scrawling a list of bad girl things she wants to do on a bar napkin one night.  That napkin gets picked up by the new guy in town, Chase Tresspaso.  He’s a tattoo artist who rides a motorcycle, so just having his interest makes her feel like a bad girl.  When Chase offers to help her out with her list…  will she dare?  Thankfully, she does!  And this book is the story of what happens when the town good girl starts to go a little wild and stop letting everyone else take advantage of her.

There were parts of this story that were pretty funny, cute, and sweet, but I kept getting pulled out by little things that bothered me.  One of the things that bothered me had to do with my expectations.  The cover, with no clothes visible, says “erotic romance” to me, but this wasn’t a sex driven story.  I was also surprised that Katie gave up on a career because she was uncomfortable being around swearing.  I get that some people don’t like swearing, but Katie started college wanting to be a police officer.  When her mentor during a semester long internship told her she’d need to be able to read aloud a witness statement that included swear words, she couldn’t do it.  Eventually she decided to change her career goals from police officer to hair stylist.  (No, really!)  That seemed like a really drastic change of plans that she based on her desire not to be around curse words.  

There were two small parts of the story that actually upset me.  The first is a cat thing.  Maybe it’s really normal for cat owners?  I don’t know, as I don’t own a cat.  Katie’s cat pees on the clothing of people the cat doesn’t like.  And the cat only likes Katie.  Katie seems to think this is pretty cute or funny.  I thought it was really, really gross.  And then there was the off hand mention of suicidal aspirations used to convey how exasperated Katie was.  On page 12 she suggests she might drown herself in her bathtub because she’s had a rough day. On page 39 she’s embarrassed that Chase had pizza delivered to her house, because everyone will know he’s there, and she thinks about filling the sink and drowning herself in it.  I’m know I’m very sensitive to suicidal talk because of my family history, but it bothered me very much in this story.

There were some really good things about this book.  The one that kept me hanging on was Katie’s transformation from good girl to bad girl.  It was actually more a transformation from doormat to assertive.  There was even a discussion about the difference between these two states of being (though not using the words doormat or assertive.)  Even better, thorough out the story, Chase encourages her transformation, not for his own purposes, but for herself.  That was pretty awesome.

The list idea was cute and well done in this story.  I also enjoyed the friendships among the younger generation of women.  The conflict between Chase and Katie was really well done and realistic.  It was understandable that Chase did what he did, but Katie also deserved a big grovel to make up for his actions.  (She got it!)

So, all in all this one was just ok with me.  So now tell me – am I way off to let the peeing cat bother me?



Game Misconduct by Bianca Sommerland

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Game Misconduct (The Dartmouth Cobras, #1)
Grade: DNF
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Contemporary, ménage

Series: The Dartmouth Cobras #1
Reviewed by Kate
351 pages 
 

Oriana is the spoiled little rich girl daughter of a hockey team owner.  Now, she’s not the only child of said hockey team owner.  She has a sister, Silver, a manipulative bitch who is extremely sexually adventurous.  She also had a brother who died, but apparently his dream was to play pro hockey. His death prompted his father to buy the hockey team.  Now her father is all about appearances.  It’s important that his life appears hunky-dory at all times.  His daughter Silver has caused some problems in the past, problems that he’s dealt with by caving in.  And in turn Silver has learned that manipulation is the best way to deal with dear old dad.  Oriana, however has done her best to be the perfect daughter.  She’s even dating the team coach, Paul, a real douche of a guy.  But when she catches Paul cheating, she decides to walk away.  Daddy-o however has other plans.  He’s been helping Paul hide his affair (father-of-the-year award, ladies and gentlemen) and wants Oriana to pretend it never happened as well.  Otherwise he’s going to cut her off, and that means she won’t be able to finish med-school.

So this is where it starts going all kitty-wompas (is that really a phrase?).  The perfectly logical to solution to Oriana’s dilemma is obviously blackmail (I mean it worked for her sister).  The assistant coach Tim helps her come up with the idea (because apparently someone going to med school isn’t smart enough to figure this one out on her own).  Oriana is going to go into the bathroom at the arena with 5 of the players and then Oriana is going to leave the bathroom wearing only a jersey.  So the security cameras will show that she got down and dirty with 5 of the team players, when actually, she didn’t.  Pretty straight forward, right?

 

Except apparently she has some feelings for one of the players Max, and he likes to watch other people having sex.  And Max has a thing for Oriana, and watching Oriana with all his buddies.  And somehow the security footage just doesn’t come out conveying the message that they want it to convey.  So they’ll have to do it again.  But this time, it will be at the boys home (all 5 players share a house) and this time they’ll actually do it.

So this is what bothers me about this book.
  1. The warning in the Kindle store for this book reads “This ebook contains material not suitable for readers under 18.  In also contains scenes that some may find objectionable, including BDSM, ménage sex, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, double penetration, voyeurism, edge play, and hockey equipment being used inappropriately.”  I read the warning before downloading the book, so I felt I was fully prepared.  However I was a little shocked to discover that the ménage sex they were talking about was actually with all 5 players (even though there are only 2 guys shown on the cover).
  2. I found it extremely hard to figure out who was who.  Each player was know by both their first and last name, although never at the same time.  So I was constantly wondering if Dominik was the same person as Vanek or was he maybe Mason?  And maybe the sex scenes would have worked more had I knew who was where and doing what.  Maybe it would have felt like there was more of a connection between the characters.
  3. I really feel like Oriana felt like this was a perfectly viable option.  Crap, Dad’s gonna cut me off and I really want to finish med school, so I guess a gang bang is the perfect solution.  Seriously!?  Ever heard of student loans?  Or maybe scholarships?  I’m kind of thinking I wouldn’t want her as my doctor because she doesn’t actually really seem that smart.
  4. I read to the 37% marking (and there are a few previews at the end, so I was actually more than 37% into the story).  And I think there’s a huge case of too many Doms in the kitchen, or I guess that should be the dungeon.  All 5 players were Doms?  Well, except maybe TJ, he just seemed to be along for the ride.
The thing is, I’m okay with BDSM, and I’m okay with ménage (I’m actually okay with everything else listed in the warning).  I’ve even read a fair share of large group ménage (I think 9 people involved is the most I’ve read though).  But this one just felt off for me. It left me feeling dirty, but not in a good way.  Part of me feels like I need to finish the book.  Maybe it will get better.  It has quite a few good reviews.  But most of me is just glad that I didn’t waste any money on this one (it was a freebie).
 
 

Turn and Burn by Lorelei James

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Turn and Burn (Blacktop Cowboys, #5)
Grade: D+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Mild Kink
Genre: Contemporary

Series: Blacktop Cowboys #5
Published: 8/6/13
Reviewed by Kate
368 pages 


Tanna was hurt in a barrel racing accident and hasn’t been able to get on a horse again. Unfortunately, that kind of leaves her floundering as barrel racing was her life. She agrees to help some friends out with their resort over the summer. Fletch is an overworked veterinarian. But when he hooks up with Tanna, who he calls ‘Sugar Twang’ (she shall forever be ‘Sugar Twang’ in my head), he feels the longing for something more. But he’s definitely tied to the area while Sugar Twang is only there temporarily. How can the two of them possibly work?

Okay, that’s all that general stuff you can get by reading the book description (well, except for the Sugar Twang bit, I threw that in for a bonus). Now, onto what you really want to know.

I think that we all know that Lorelei James succeeds at writing series that keep us coming back for more and more and more. Turn and Burn is filled with all the things that should keep you coming back for more. It is a solid entry into the series, but it didn’t blow my socks off. There was nothing extremely memorable about either Fletch or Sugar Twang. And unfortunately, a day later, I’m already forgetting them a bit. Fans of Lorelei James, and especially her Blacktop Cowboys series, will enjoy this one, but I don’t think this is the best example of her writing.

The other thing I think I need to address in this one is Fletch’s nickname for Tanna. Sugar Twang. Now I’m generally fine with nicknames. But for some reason this one grated wrong. And it was on every page. I didn’t enjoy the book as much because every time I read it, it pulled me out of the story a bit. Sugar Twang? *shuddering*

So, obviously Sugar Twang is not my favorite nickname.  How about you?  Are you pro-nickname or anti-nickname?  What are the ones you’ve loved or hated?