inferno

November Rain by Daisy Harris

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: A
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Fire & Rain #4
Published: 9/2/14
Reviewed by Anne
117  ebook pages

You like m/m?  Then you should read this story.  Right now.  Please, stop reading this review, go buy this book, read it and come back.

What?  Not convinced yet?  OK, fine, let me explain to you why you should read November Rain.

First, there’s the characters.  Gruff and tough Joe is a Seattle cop.  He’s shopping for a new sweater (to wear to his ex’s wedding – ugh!) when he meets the young sales clerk, Elias.  Elias’ parents immigrated from Africa just before Elias was born.  Their bias against homosexuality has kept Elias not only in the closet, but very, very innocent.  Elias pushes Joe’s buttons in all the right ways, but before he can ask for Elias’ number, he ends up getting shot in the leg by a customer who is harassing Elias.  Elias is so drawn to Joe, and so concerned for his health that he shows up at the hospital to check on Joe.   This starts an interesting relationship between Joe and Elias.

Joe is stubborn and having a hard time dealing with his injury.  He’s not sure what to make of Elias’ eagerness and withdrawl, but he’s trying to figure it out.  Elias has more backbone than he appears to.  He knows what he is and isn’t willing to do and put up with, and he stands up for himself when needed, and wow is that a joy to read!  The sex between these two is dirty and hot, and sometimes messy and emotionally painful.

The secondary storyline is interesting, too.  It’s about Elias’s slightly older brother and his wife.  Since Elias’ parents moved back to Africa, they are the only family Elias has left.  He’s scared of their reaction if they find out he’s gay, and he’s also worried about the two of them.

Really the only complaint I can come up with is that things work out a bit too well for everyone.  And, honestly, that’s not really a complaint.  I’m fine with some sunshine and rainbows in my reading!

So, if you’re up for some really great characters who stand up for themselves and admit it when they’re wrong, along with some wonderfully smutty m/m sex, I highly recommend this book by Daisy Harris!  It’s going on my Best of 2014 list!

Even better news, it turns out this is the fourth book in the series!  What?  It stood alone just fine, but I can’t wait to go back and read the others!  Daisy Harris’ blog says that the first book, Fire and Ashes will be free until September 5!

 

Eternal Fires, Eternal Love by Lynn Stark

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: paranormal, m/m/m menagé, shifter
Series: White Horse Clan #1
Published: 4/5/14
Reviewed by Kate

After the death of their mate and children almost 50 years ago, Ian and Malcolm, (a vampire) haven’t been as close as they once were.  Ian (a warhorse shifter) has been lonely but content to stay alone, but now he’s feeling the need to gather mates and form a herd once more.  And Malcolm keeps reminding him how much he needs that bond.  When Malcolm and Ian catch the scent of their mate, they discover Danny, a younger (in shifter terms) gibbon shifter, and the hope that maybe they can have that deep connection that comes with a mated triad once again.

I find it hard to write a review comparing this book to others that I’ve read because there was so much uniqueness with this one.  I’ve never read a m/m/m menagé before, much less one set in a paranormal world.  So I’ll share my 5 favorite things about this book.

 

  1. Come on!  A vampire, a warhorse, and a gibbon walk into a renaissance fair…what sounds like the start of a joke is actually the start of a great book.

 

  1. You’re forced to abandon all former “rules” you’ve had when reading paranormal romances and immerse yourself completely in the world Lynn Stark has created.  Much like the way Stephanie Meyer threw the rules of vampires out the window when she wrote about sparkly vampires in the Twilight series, Lynn Stark has rewritten the rules of almost every paranormal romance I’ve read.

 

  1. Ian is considered an alpha, the leader of his non-existent (at least at this point) herd.  As such he can impregnate both females AND males!  And yes, we get to see exactly how that all plays out.

 

  1. All sorts of paranormal creatures.  Obviously vampires, warhorse shifters, gibbon shifters.  But also trolls, griffins, dragons, giraffes, rabbits, wolves, and more.

 

  1. Danny’s inner gibbon often comes out.  Being younger, when he is scared he often finds himself shifted to gibbon form and climbing up to cling to one of his mates.  This made me laugh too many times to count.

 

While I know that this one won’t work for everyone, I’m really in love with it and I can’t wait to read the second one!  If you like menagé, m/m, or paranormal romances I suggest you give it a try.  If you’re like me and enjoy all three of them, this is a trifecta of goodness just waiting for you to read.

The premise of this one is kind of out there, but it really worked well for me.  What’s a premise that sounded outlandish but you really ended up enjoying?

The Best Kind of Trouble by Lauren Dane

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

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Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: The Hurley Boys #1
Published: 8/26/14
Reviewed by Anne

Natalie is a small town librarian.  One morning in the coffee shop she sees international rock star, Patrick (Paddy) Hurley.  Natalie and Patrick had a two week fling long ago before Patrick’s band hit it big, and Natalie remembers it fondly.  However, she’s made a lot of changes in her life since then, and she’s not interested in the chaos she’s sure Paddy will bring with him.   Paddy is very interested in her, though, and he really wants another chance to explore the explosive chemistry they had years ago and to see what Natalie is like now.

Lauren Dane writes in a style I love.  I call it low conflict romance.  It’s stories that are focused on the relationship between characters more than the actions occurring around them.  I have friends who find this kind of story a little slow or boring, but it really, really works for me.  The Best Kind of Trouble is a perfect example of this.  The book takes place over about a year, hitting all the major turning points and milestones in their relationship.

Natalie and Paddy were interesting characters – definitely not generic romance characters.  Natalie had a history that left her with a lot of triggers.  She works hard to deal with them, but knows she can’t get rid of them all together, she has to learn to live with them.  Figuring out how much of this information she is willing to share with Paddy is a huge challenge for her.  She feels like her triggers are her burden to bear and doesn’t want special treatment from him, but leaving him in the dark about her issues makes her seem irrational.  It also means they are both blindsided now and then when things pop up.

Paddy has fewer issues than Natalie, but he’s far from perfect.  He’s got a rock star history and a large loving family that Natalie with have to get used to.  His creative lifestyle is much more chaotic than she’s used to, and that’s a challenge for her, too.

Watching these two work through their issues together kept me enthralled.  The sex was hot and dirty, too, which is a major bonus – and pretty much guaranteed in Lauren Dane’s writing!  There was also a nice amount of humor – generally between Paddy and his brothers/bandmates.

The only issue I had with the book was feeling like Paddy’s triggers were a bit silly, especially compared to Natalie’s.  I was satisfied with the way things worked out, though.

There was some set up in this book for the other two book in this series – I can’t wait!

This book is the first in the Hurley Boys series, and it would stand on its own just fine.  However, it is the latest installment in a series of series, starting with the Brown Siblings and continuing with the Delicious Series, and now with The Hurley Boys.  There are only a few references to any of the previous books, but I do highly recommend you read them if you enjoy this one.  In particular, Lush is the story of Paddy’s brother Damien and his wife, Mary.

So, this book is going on my Best of 2014 list.  How about you?  Do you enjoy a low-conflict relationship focused book, or do you like story with more plot and adventure?