The Summer He Came Home by Juliana Stone

The Summer He Came Home (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
384 pages

Cain Black was one of the Bad Boys of Crystal Lake. He left town ten years ago to chase his music dream. He’s back now for his friend’s funeral. His future looks pretty good considering his band is about to make it big. He recently got out of a disastrous marriage and was just looking to pay his respects to his deceased friend, then he was moving on. At the funeral reception he sees Maggie and it was love at first sight.

Maggie is a single mother with a young son, Michael. They don’t have much money but she does have a BIG secret. A dangerous secret. She makes her bills by cleaning houses. She lives in a little bungalow that’s perfect for her and her son. She sees Cain and at first she’s frightened but also attracted. She has no time for a relationship with a rock star that will soon be leaving town. She has a son to protect, she tells herself.

I read the second book in this series first and LOVED it. I truly enjoyed this one except for one thing. She’s married. Granted, she’s on the run from her abusive ex but I don’t like to read about adultery. At all. Honestly, it changed how I rated the book. I’m telling you this as a warning if adultery is a hard limit for you as a reader.

Otherwise, this was a great and very sweet book. Their relationship building was fun to read. There’s humor, suspense, sadness and some steamy sex in this story. I would recommend this series to anyone who believes in the healing power of love and I’m eagerly awaiting the next book.

Snowbound with the CEO BY Shannon Stacey

Snowbound with the CEO

Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Novella
Published: 11/4/13
Reviewed by Anne
66 pages

Rachel has a crush on her boss, Adrian.  Adrian owns and runs a very successful construction/rehabilitation company, and unbeknownst to Rachel, he has a crush right back on her.  When they get snowed in together at a mountain resort, they spend some non-working time together, which leads to a weekend fling.
 
If I had a crush on my CEO boss and decided to have some no strings sex with each other, but then ended up falling for him, I think this is exactly how it would go down.  It’s emotionally messy.  They work very well together, but when it comes to personal stuff, they stumble around and try not to step on the other’s toes.  That was a little frustrating, but it felt so real!
 
The story was still that great Shannon Stacey mix of sweet and funny.  It’s a quick and enjoyable holiday read that I recommend.

His To Possess: The Seduction by Opal Carew

The Seduction (His to Possess, #1)
Grade-C
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-His To Possess #1
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
34 pages

Jessica is down on her luck. She’s unemployed and about to lose her apartment. Not to mention, she’s nursing a heartache from her recent breakup with her boyfriend, Storm. She travels into Philadelphia to a job fair. She notices a man that looks so much like Storm that she actually goes up to him. When the man turns around, she realizes that it’s not Storm. She’s embarassed but the two have a conversation and he ends up giving her a ride to the job fair site.

After the job fair they run into each other and decide to have dinner together. Later that night, Jessica decides that she wants to have a one night stand with Dane. They share a hot night of sex and she sneaks out to return home.

This is series of novellas and I don’t want to give too much away. I thought this book was okay and will continue series.