Technically Dating by Jena Wade

22361960
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: m/m, Contemporary, Nerd-mance, novella
Published: 6/25/14
Reviewed by Anne
59 pages
 
Bruce is a pretty shy geek running a training for the company he works for at an out of town hotel.  Westley is the good looking concierge at that hotel and is assigned to assist Bruce for the training.  When they meet at the hotel they realize that they nearly hooked up the night before at a club.  Westley is surprised at how different Bruce is out of the club, but still interested in him.  Bruce is surprised that someone as good looking as Westley would be interested in plain old him, but he’s sure not going to turn down the attention!
 
This was such a cute story!  Bruce was such a nerd with his Wolverine ties and buying Legos for his nephew AND himself.  He’s pretty insecure in general, but especially about having a relationship.  Westley isn’t a terribly deeply developed character, but that’s something I can accept in a short story.  Watching the two of them get to know each other and fall for each other was fun!
 
My only issue with the novella is that it opens with a scene where Bruce comes across as very confident in the club.  We never see that side of Bruce for the rest of the story, so I guess it’s just a persona he uses when he goes out to pick up guys?  I’m not really sure, so that was a little confusing.  Once I settled into the story and got a better feel for who Bruce was, though,  things really worked for me.
 
I highly recommend this book for readers who like m/m and nerds.  It’s a great read!  I look forward to reading more by Jena Wade!

No Strings Attached by Reece Butler

No Strings Attached (MFM)

Grade: C+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Menage
Series: Climax, Montana #4
Published: June 2014
Reviewed by Kate

Lila is taking over the ranch while her parents head out on a cruise.  She’s out to prove to everyone that she’s got what it takes.  When Jet and Houston come along looking to hire on as ranch hands, they’re just what the doctor ordered-both for the ranch and for Lila’s sex life.

The main thing that bothered me with this one was that Lila’s parents-Matt, Eric, and Nikki-and her aunt and uncles-Simon, Lance, and Marci-were so open with everyone about her budding relationship with Jet and Houston.  It was a little squick-inducing to hear them tell her to go at it. And to hear them tell Jet and Houston that she needed to be spanked.

I also didn’t really care for the fact that Beth Elliot (an ancestor of Lila and the heroine from Barefoot Bride for Three which took place in 1870) was still in this one, coming back as a spirit. The woman’s dead and buried.  Let her be.  I loved her in her book, but her popping up in the Climax series of books is stretching my boundaries of believability.

This one was filled with everything that I’ve come to love and expect from a Reece Butler read-steamy, hot sex and romance that tugs at my heartstrings.  I’m still enjoying the books, but I would like to see what Reece could do with a different series.  As much as I like the Bride Train series and the Climax, Montana series, I’m ready for something new.

 

 

Winter of the Wolf by Cherise Sinclair

Winter of the Wolf (Wild Hunt Legacy #2) by Cherise Sinclair

13491780

Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Paranormal, Shifter, Menage
Series: Wild Hunt Legacy #2
Published: 3/23/12
Reviewed by Kate

I just finished reading this Cherise Sinclair book, you know how I love a Cherise Sinclair read, and couldn’t wait to tell you about it.  Anyway, this one is part of her shifter menage series.  I read the first one in the series (Hour of the Lion) a few years ago and always meant to get around to buying/reading this one, and I finally did.  I don’t know why I waited so long!

This one is about Bree-I don’t know that I’ve ever met a more tortured heroine.  Bree was found at the age of 3, abandoned in the woods with only a picture of her parents and a unique bracelet.  She grew up in a series of foster homes, finally running away.  She has settled into a comfortable home life sharing an apartment with her foster-sister Ashley.  But one night a hellhound brutally attacks them, killing Ashley and raping Bree.  And completely ruining the life that Bree worked so hard to build.  Bree flees to recover and decides that she may as well use that time to see if she can track down her parents’ identities as well.

Shay and Zeb fight hellhounds as a team and have complex backgrounds as well.  I’d go into more detail, but I think the main point is that they move together from place to place a lot.  But Shay, Zeb, and Bree all end up in Cold Creek at the same time.  And despite being terrified of anything large and male, Bree finds herself drawn to them and feeling safe and protected when they are around.

I will say that this one was a little predictable for me.  There were multiple points in the storylines that I had called ahead of time.  But somehow that didn’t detract from the story at all.  Between the wolf pack politics (I’ve mentioned that Shay and Zeb are werewolves, right?  No, well I did now), more hellhound attacks, and Bree’s discoveries, I’m surprised that there was room for a romance in this book.  But there was!  There was such a romance in here.  *contented sigh*

A definitely must-read for fans of the first book (Hour of the Lion), but it’s easy to read as a stand alone as well.  Flowing between hot and intense and sweet and gentle, this one should satisfy any menage shifter fan’s reading requirements.