inferno

Afternoon Delight by Anne Calhoun

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22872970
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 9/16/14
Reviewed by Anne
130 pages

Tim is a paramedic who rushes through life at high speed, not really connecting to anyone.  That keeps him from connecting to anyone, and that keeps him from being hurt.  Sarah savors each moment of life, and when she sees something she likes, she goes for it.  So when Sarah sees Tim, sparks fly.  When Tim slows down to spend time with Sarah, it cracks some of his armor, and he’s not quite sure what to do with that.

Tim and Sarah are unique characters I enjoyed reading about.  It took me a while to really get engaged in the story, though.  It was a little too easy to put down for about the first half of the story.  Once it kicked in, though, it was great.  The big gesture at the end of the story was pretty awesome and left me feeling like these two really have a chance of making their relationship work.

Anne Calhoun writes great sex, and this book is no exception!  There was a great balance in this short story of just enough secondary characters to make the story feel complete – it’s not just the two main characters in a vacuum.  At the same time, the story is focused on Tim and Sarah without trying to squeeze anything else in, and I appreciated that.

Altogether, it was a very good story, and I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy a really hot contemporary story.

I will say that I struggled just a bit with this story.  At times I reread lines or paragraphs to try to understand what was happening.  This wasn’t an issue with physical scenes, but with the thoughts of the main characters.  It left me feeling like I wasn’t quite smart enough to understand the book.  I’m curious to know if anyone else ever has that feeling while reading a story.  It happens to me sometimes with Mary Ann Rivers, too.  I can tell that something is implied, but I don’t know what.  Unfortunately, that really pulls me out of the story.

Trivia: This story is set in New York City.  There’s a scene where Tim takes Sarah to the Highline Park, a park created by renovating an abandoned elevated train line.  It sounded really cool, and shortly after I finished it, I came across an article in the New York Times detailing the opening of the third section of the park.  I love that books leave me feeling familiar with a place I’ve never been!  You can check it out here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/arts/design/the-high-line-opens-its-third-and-final-phase.html?_r=0  NYT

Sweetwater by Lisa Henry

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22611970
Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: Moderate Kink
Genre: Historical, m/m, BDSM
Published: 8/19/14
Reviewed by Kate

This one is such a tightly woven story that I find it hard to write a summary of it without giving you the entire play-by-play.  But here goes : When Elijah was little, scarlet fever took his family, and his hearing.  Although he isn’t 100% deaf, most of the town thinks he’s an idiot.  Elijah knows that being deaf isn’t the only thing that makes him different from everybody else.  He’s also gay.  His first “relationship” is with Harlan Crane, the owner of the saloon.  But Elijah is also attracted to cowboy Grady Mullins and Grady’s interested as well.

Elijah is around 20, but is just starting to try and figure out who he is and what he wants.  Unfortunately most of what he wants conflicts with the way he was raised.  Lots of internal conflict for Elijah.  Lots.

His relationship with Crane is dirty and nasty.  It made me flinch whenever I had to read it.  Their relationship is about pain and humiliation and subjugation.  Even though Elijah discovers he needs the pain, there is nothing romantic about Crane and Elijah.

In Grady, Elijah finds something that he never knew existed.  Gentleness, caring, compassion.  And while part of him craves that from Grady, another part of him is terrified spitless at this new type of relationship.  Elijah’s relationship with Grady, which doesn’t start until half way through the book, is the only part of this book that would qualify as a romance.

This one felt more like a coming-of-age story, rather than a romance.  Outside of the relationships with Crane and Grady, Elijah goes on a heartbreaking journey of self discovery.  A journey which takes him through highs and low—although mainly lows.  The relationships with Crane and Grady are a definite, but minor, part of his journey

Lisa Henry has written a gritty, raw, page turning tale about a young, deaf, gay man on a self-discovery journey in 1870.  And while the relationships in this book were not my cup of tea, I would not hesitate to read another of her books.  In fact I hope to do so soon.

As a romance, this one disappointed me a bit.  As a novel, in general, I loved it.  What’s the last book that you read that didn’t hit the romance note right, but you enjoyed regardless?

Play Date by Kate Donovan

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

23123452
Grade: C
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, sports
Series: Play Makers #3
Published: 8/27/14
Reviewed by Anne

Our main characters, on team romance are Rachel and Bam.  Rachel is a kindergarten teacher.  Bam is a professional football player.  Rachel doesn’t know much about football. She meets Bam at a wedding where, once again, no one is hitting on her.  It’s just because she’s so beautiful. <Flag on the play!  A woman too beautiful to get hit on?  5 yard penalty.>

Rachel’s date, Sean, seems to only have eyes for the bride, until some mysterious blonde walks in and he disappears with her. <Unsportsmanlike conduct!  15 yard penalty!>   Rachel had planned to have sex with Sean and see if they could make a relationship work, but with a sigh and drink she gives up on that hope and leaves him to the blonde.  Surprisingly, to Rachel, Bam hits on her, and they end up having a quickie, or as Bam calls it, they bang. <Touch Down!  They’re going for two and… it’s good!>  Bam is blunt and a little crude, but Rachel finds she enjoys that about him.  He makes her feel desirable. She leaves the wedding happy with their tryst.

There are a few little things in the story that made it feel just a little dated, even though it was very recently published.  Bam shows up when Rachel is teaching kindergarten.  This easy unannounced access into the classroom of a school made the story feel out of touch with today’s elementary school security.  Another thing is that Rachel’s salmon colored dress is considered pretty cool.  Then there’s the time that Rachel leaves Bam in charge of her class.  I just don’t think that would happen at my kids’ schools – not without the teacher getting in trouble. <Safety!>

In any case, Bam has shown up in Rachel’s home town because he’s interested in a re-bang.  Rachel knows it’s pretty crude, but she’s absolutely down for a re-bang, whatever Bam wants to call it.  Rachel and Bam have a lot of chemistry that’s fun to read.  I really wish the book had been all about them!  <Touch Down plus the extra point!>

However, as good as Rachel and Bam are, we’re also stuck with a secondary storyline about Sean and Kerrie.  Kerrie’s the blonde from the wedding, and she’s married to Sean and Bam’s coach.  <Unsportsmanlike Conduct!  15 yards!>  Kerrie’s unhappy in her marriage.  Her husband cheats on her constantly and is emotionally indifferent.  But she doesn’t want to leave him because… she’s made a lot of contacts in the NFL and their charity work and she thinks she’ll be ostracized for divorcing a known cheater.  <Flag! What???? 5 yard penalty, repeat the 2nd down.>  No, really, she won’t leave her husband until she can divorce him and marry Sean in the same weekend.  She doesn’t want to be single.  <Flag on the play!  Cheating continues and reasons make no sense?  I’m just giving the ball to the other team.  I wish I could eject the players!>

So, Bam and Rachel are fun to read about.  They’re funny and sweet together, but about 1/3 of the book is devoted to Kerrie and Sean, and it’s clear we’re supposed to like them, but I didn’t.

I do give bonus points for creative role playing and some incredibly thoughtful gifts.  However there are additional penalties awarded for overuse of the word “drenched,” a pychotic breakdown in front of a mirror, and too many details about Rachel’s lesson plans.

I really wish I liked this book more.  If I could read it without Kerrie and Sean, it would probably be a B+ read.  As it stands, I’ll give it a C and recommend it for anyone who likes sports and could ignore the cheating.