no kink

Live by Mary Anne Rivers

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
18630722
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Burnside #1
Published: 1/21/14
Reviewed by Anne
267pages

Destiny Burnside is out of work, nearly out of money, and still mourning her father’s recent death.  Every day she treks to her local library to use their computers for her job search.  The only silver lining to this daily trip is the chance to see the quiet, good-looking wood carver doing restoration work in the library.  

Hefin is the woodcarver, and he’s noticed Destiny, too.  They’re both pretty quiet and shy, though, so it’s not until he sees Destiny crying one day that he approaches her.  He just wants to help her feel better.  This leads quickly to a friendship and an acknowledged attraction between the two of them.  The only problem?  Hefin’s time in the US is limited.  He’s heading home to Wales after he finishes the library project.  Destiny’s ties to her small town are many and strong, and this sets them up for an affair they know can’t last, but can’t resist either.

This is a kind of cliched setup, but I thought it was a very original story.  In fact, about half way through I realized I didn’t really know how they would work things out.  Hefin NEEDS to go back to Wales.  Destiny is very needed by her family in Ohio.  And, yes, I could guess at how they would work it out, but the journey to get there wasn’t a sure thing for me, and it was very enjoyable!

Another strength of this story was that Destiny and Hefin aren’t traditionally beautiful people.  Well, ok, Destiny kind of is.  I’ve always envied red heads and all their freckles.  It’s clear that Destiny doesn’t see herself as beautiful, but even more clear that Hefin DOES.  And Hefin thinks of himself as “quite hairy” which is not exactly a romance-land hero!

These two are both functioning, but functioning broken.  Limping along, living with the losses they’ve been dealt, and finding the courage to reach for more.  It was heartbreaking in a good way to read, because, yes, you felt their heartbreak, but you also got to go along for the ride through their healing.

I thought the sex scenes were hot and well written.  The characters felt like real people and the conflict was believable.  The pacing of the story was slow, but very enjoyable for me.  I can’t wait for more for Mary Ann Rivers!!

Seize Me by Crystal Spears

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Seize Me (Breakneck, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Breankneck #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
256 pages

Winter and Braxxon, wow, what do I say? There was so much I liked about this book but a couple of things I found uncool.

Winter is a runaway Russian Mafia princess turned stripper. By her choice though so don’t feel sorry for her. She and her roommate agree to dance at an MC birthday party for their Prez. Little did she know that her life would change or to the extent that it did.

Braxxon is the Prez of the Breakneck MC and at his birthday party he sees an angel, Winter. He is so overwhelmed by her that it’s staggering to him. He takes her for a private dance and they end up sleeping together. Not sex, just sleeping.

He knows he has to protect Winter, not only because of who she is but because of who he is. He falls for her and she becomes his obsession. She may be perfect for him because she can handle the ugly in his life even though she claims to want no part of it.

Things I liked:

He fell for her right away.

He truly cared for her.

He took no shit from anyone and protected his family.

Things I didn’t like:

He kind of cheats, seriously, you have to read the book to get the situation.

He then does cheat.

He hits women in the book twice. I know this probably happens in this lifestyle but I do not like it.

Favorite quotes:

“My baby is speechless cause I just want to cuddle.”

She’s the Winter for my hottest summer days. She’s the Angel for my Hell.

She will have to do the leaving and even if she did leave, she’d still own every single inch of me.

Overall, I enjoyed this a great deal and will read the rest of this series.

Sensual Surrender by Katie Reus

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Sensual Surrender (The Serafina: Sin City, #2)

        

Grade-D
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Serafina:Sin City #2
Genre-Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Kay
200 pages

Ellie works for the Serafina casino in Las Vegas. Her lover, Jay also works there. They live together and everything is going great until Ellie’s past catches up with her. After that phone call, she packs a bag, leaves Jay a break up note, turns in her resignation letter and makes strides to move on. Her boss is suspicious as are her friends and her lover.
As her past continues to catch up with, her new group of friends try to figure out the pieces together on why she would disappear from a life that seems pretty sweet.

Ellie has to protect the people she cares about and can’t let them get drug into her former life. But when she has to accept their help, she just hopes that she can keep them safe and that they’ll still love her when she finally comes clean. With her friends by her side they go up against a crime boss and her former lover both demanding she help them in a heist that involves all parties.

I had high hopes for this one. It was romantic suspense and I love that genre. Unfortunately, it never clicked for me. I was bored most of the time. This was very disappointing for because I loved the first book in this series. I’m undecided on continuing with the series.