Kate

It’s In Hiss Kiss by Jill Shalvis

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

19162717
Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Lucky Harbor #10
Published: 8/26/14
Reviewed by Kate
368 pages

Becca has arrived in Lucky Harbor, escaping the drama and negativity that was consuming her life when she was living closer to her family.  She’s trying to get her life back on track.  She’s not looking for anything romantic, but she can’t ignore SGS-Sexy Grumpy Surfer.  Sam (SGS) enjoys the life of being a loner, with the exception of his two business partners.  He’s happy with his boats and his close friends.  But for some reason, he just can’t stay away from Becca.

In typical Shalvis fashion I was drawn to the characters and laughing out loud by page 4!  Shalvis has gotten written dialogue and thoughts down to funny perfection.  But Sam and Becca’s story isn’t all smiles and chuckles.  Their histories have left them both scarred and leery of giving their hearts to anyone.  The emotion that comes from this pair is staggering at times.  Yet Shalvis manages to weave humor in with the emotion without cheapening the feelings that Sam and Becca are experiencing.

Jill Shalvis is the queen of small town contemporary romance.  Managing to mix emotion and humor with ease, she has made Lucky Harbor a place where I want to live and a cast of characters I wish I could call friends.  This one is going on my “best of 2014” list.

Long, Hot Texas Summer by Carolyn Brown

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

20818105
Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Ember
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 8/26/14
Reviewed by Kate
248 pages

Loretta and Jackson have been divorced for 17 years.  They have a daughter Nona who is now 21, but they haven’t seen each other in 4 years, since Nona was old enough to drive herself to her father’s house.  Loretta hears that Nona is planning on skipping her last year of college and living with Jackson and ranching with him full time.  So Loretta storms off to the ranch to talk some sense into Nona and she’s staying there until Nona agrees to go back to school.  But the sparks are still there between Jackson and Loretta.  Can she get Nona to leave the ranch before the sparks ignite a fire?

There was so much that I liked about this book.  First off, I’m always a sucker for a plot about exes getting back together and this one was sooo good.  Secondly, I quickly fell in love with Loretta and Jackson. Loretta is quite a spit-fire.  I loved how she could verbally fight, but it never came to blows.  And at times, she had me laughing out loud.  Jackson has taken up residence at #1 on my most romantic hero list.  And all because of a jar of mayonnaise.  And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the crazy family that Loretta comes from.

My one true complaint is that there were a ton of country music references.  And every time the author wrote about a song, it pulled me out of the story a bit.  As a country music listener I had to stop and think of lyrics.  It wasn’t terrible.  Just distracting.

This one is going on my “Best of 2014” list.  A perfect, light, low-conflict, cowboy romance.  I look forward to re-reading this one in the future and seeing what else Carolyn Brown has in store for this series.

Despite the low heat rating on this one, (I think it’s been years since I’ve read a romance with no direct mention of even an erection) I really enjoyed it.  Do you have any low heat reads that remain on your all-time favorites list?

Caine’s Reckoning by Sarah McCarty

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

1191459
Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Historical
Series: Hell’s Eight #1
Published: 11/1/07
Reviewed by Kate
474  pages

When Caine and his buddies ride in a rescue some women who have been kidnapped, Desi is the only one fighting the kidnappers.  And she’s the only one who doesn’t want to be returned to town.  She doesn’t want to return to her life as a sex slave.  When the reverend calls in a favor, Caine marries Desi and takes her back to his home.  But is there a way that Desi can recover from her violent past and become the wife that she wants to be for Caine?

This one has got that marriage of convenience trope that I adore, but with a kick.  Caine doesn’t really want to marry Desi, but he owes the reverend a favor and he’s a man of his word.  Plus he doesn’t feel he can really return Desi to the life she was living.  Desi is so strong.  Life hasn’t broken her.  It only seems to have made her stronger.  But there’s a fragility under her fighting surface and Caine is the one who finally allows her to start healing.

I have re-read this one more times than I can count.  There’s just something about this one that reaches out and won’t let me go.  There’s obviously quite a bit of drama dealing with Desi’s past, so if you’re looking for a light hearted, low conflict historical this isn’t it.  However, I would strongly recommend it to any fans of historicals with a bit of edge to them.