Heat Level – Blaze

Abducted By A Prince by Olivia Drake

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
18169923
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Historical
Series: Cinderella Sisterhood #3
Published: 4/29/14
Reviewed by Kate
352 pages

Raised by a guardian who died shortly after he started at Eton, Damien’s one clue to his parentage, a key, was stolen by Walt.  Now as an adult, Damien is desperate to find out who his parents were.  So he hatches a plan.  He will kidnap Walt’s sister and hold her hostage until Walt delivers the key.  What could possible go wrong with that plan?  Except he accidentally kidnaps Walt’s unwanted cousin instead.


Once I got past the fact that such a level headed man could come up with such a foolish scheme, this book worked for me on so many levels. A hint of fairy tale without being an outright retelling.  Deep characters.  An intriguing plot.  I couldn’t stop turning pages. I’ll be reading the first two books in this series soon.  If you like fairy tales and historical romances, give this one a try. 


This historical was has put me in the mood for more historical romance.  Do you have any recommendations?

Her Best Laid Plans by Cara McKenna

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
20410569
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Cosmo Red Hot Read
Published: 4/15/14
Reviewed by Anne
88 pages

Jamie is a 20-something American house-sitting for two weeks in Ireland.  Connor is a bartender she meets there and has instant chemistry with.  She’s up for a vacation fling, and he is, too.   But what will happen if they want more and neither has time or room in their life for more?

This was a well written short story and I enjoyed it.  There were some funny moments, and I liked how things worked out in the end.  Unfortunately it suffers from me expecting to be blown away by every word Cara McKenna writes.  So when she writes a nice short story that’s just pretty good, I find myself a little disappointed.  

I’m also beginning to think that maybe Cosmo Red Hot Reads just isn’t meant for me.  It’s been very hit or miss.  I’ve got another one lined up to read.  I’ll see what I think after that.

The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride by Cora Seton

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Mail Order Bride
Series: The Cowboys of Chance Creek #1
Published: 4/30/13
Reviewed by Kate
228 pages

After a series of bad events in his life, Ethan is drunk and goes on a rant about what the perfect ranch wife would need to be.  Unknown to him, his friends video tape the rant, edit it, and post it to YouTube as a “looking for a wife” add.  Autumn works for a hoity-toity magazine in the city.  Due to upcoming cutbacks, her job is on the line.  She responds to the YouTube add and plans on writing a story about her adventure.


Mail order brides are some of my absolute favorite romances to read.  Although this is the first modern day one I’ve read.  I was a little nervous about it, to be honest.  Just how would an e-mail order bride story in today’s world really work?  What kind of situations could the hero and heroine be in that would make this the solution?


By page 15, I was pretty sure that I hated Autumn.  Ethan’s friends had gotten him into this mess, but Autumn jumped in with eyes wide open-planning on using Ethan.  By page 20, I was starting to like Autumn a little more. She’s battling her own inner demons and I began to see where she was coming from a bit.  Of course it helped that Ethan didn’t come clean with her right away.  It wasn’t a book where one person was lying and the other was a saint.  It became a story of secrets, which I typically despise.  Not so with this book.  Watching these two work through all the secrets was an enjoyable journey.


If you like mail order bride stories give this one a chance.  Cora Seton has created a pair that I rooted for in Ethan and Autumn and she’s introduced us to a cast of secondary characters that leaves me wanting more.  I’ve added the rest of the Cowboys of Chance Creek series to my TBR pile.


Have you read any modern day mail order bride romances?  Do you have any I should add to my TBR pile?