no kink

Her Holiday Man by Shannon Stacey

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22446793
Grade: A
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary , small town
Published: 11/3/14
Reviewed by Anne
98 ebook pages

Will is moving back home to help his mom out after his dad dies.  He’s been wandering for a few years.  He left town after his wife and unborn baby were killed in a car accident.  He’s a not excited about all the pity he left behind, but he’s glad to have a purpose helping his mom out.  He’s surprised and a little suspicious to find that a young single mom has moved in across the street and his mom has taken the new neighbor, Christina, and her seven year old son, Nathaniel, under her wing.  Then Christina turns out to be someone Will admires and is attracted to.  Neither of them is looking for a relationship, but some sex would be awfully convenient…

This book was everything I look for in a holiday read.  It was short (about 100 pages) and focused on Will and Christina and their relationship.  Christina was a woman who had her silver platter life yanked away from her, but landed on her feet ready to work hard and figure things out.  She doesn’t want to rely on anyone but herself again, but she’s smart enough to accept help when she needs it.  Will goes from being suspicious of Christina’s motives to admiring her determination quickly.  He’s a natural helper and caregiver, and they’re drawn to each other pretty quickly.

A series of small misunderstandings provides the conflict in this story.  Usually that annoys me, but in this case it really worked.  The author didn’t force the characters to jump through hoops to perpetuate the misunderstandings.  In fact, they’re resolved fairly quickly when the characters talk to each other.  That was refreshing!

I really liked Nathaniel.  He was probably a bit perfect for a seven year old, but it didn’t bother me.  In fact, nothing about this story bothered me.  I read it in pretty much one sitting and took very few notes.  It just sucked me in and made me smile.

It’s not connected to any of Shannon Stacey’s other books, though it has the same small town feel she writes in her Kowalski books.  I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a feel good holiday read!  How about you?  Do you have a favorite holiday romance?

Because I Can by Tamara Morgan

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22446824
Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Montgomery Manor #3
Published: 10/13/14
Reviewed by Anne
287 ebook pages

“Monty” runs the family hotel business and the family’s charitable giving.  He likes the second more than the first, but he knows he’s expected to do both, and he works hard to live up to his father’s expectations.  That means he’s a little boring and he’s not very good at all at socializing.  He’s a very serious man, and he doesn’t think that’s a bad thing.

Georgia is the handywoman on the Montgomery estate.  She stronger and more capable than Monty and most other men in the world.  She succeeds in a world very few women are part of.  Working for the Montgomerys and others around town leaves her with the money and time to manage the local home building charity.  She’s stubborn and surrounded by three overprotective brothers, but she’s got a crush on Monty.

When Monty wants to break out of his shell a bit, he agrees to help out on Georgia’s latest homebuilding project.  The more they see of each other the more they like each other.  Maybe they have more in common than it first appears?

I can’t sing Georgia’s praises enough.  I think she’s the more unique heroine I’ve read all year and I loved her!  She’s tough and she’s capable and she’s intelligent.  And none of this is ever an issue with Monty.  He’s not put off by her ways or her non-polished looks.  This was so refreshing to read!

There is a lot of humor in this book, too.  It had me grinning throughout the story.  Monty is turned on by Georgia’s boots, Georgia’s brothers are interfering, and Monty practicing dirty talk by recording himself so he can self-critique – you know that doesn’t end well!

The only thing I didn’t enjoy about the book was Monty’s family, especially his sister who swept in and steamrolled Georgia into a makeover – even if it was something Georgia was eventually ok with.  However, that was a small piece of the whole story, and it was totally made up by the strength of every other piece.

I highly recommend this story.  It’s going on my Best of 2014 list!  Do you have any stories with unusual heroines to recommend?

Starstruck by L.A. Witt

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

22468702
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Bluewater Bay #1
Published: 11/3/14
Reviewed by Anne
226 ebook pages

Levi is a retired action star who has spent his entire life in the closet.  His parents have made it clear they couldn’t accept him if he was gay and he’s sure that Hollywood couldn’t handle a gay action star.  That’s part of why he retired – he was tired of all the prying eyes and lying about himself.  But then the role of a lifetime lands in his lap.  It’s gritty and complex and pretty much the part he dreamed of playing when he was stuck in his action star roles.  Not to mention, it’s a recurring role on a tv series he loves and it’s being filmed in his new small town.  As if that weren’t enough, the director is a friend of his, and Carter Samuels, a younger actor Levi has admired is on the show and Levi would have a lot of screen time with him.  So, even though taking the role means agreeing to stay in the closet, Levi goes for it.  He didn’t  plan on the attraction between him and Carter.

If you follow my reviews, you know that I really enjoy a low conflict romance, where all the conflict is inner conflict.  It’s all about people building a relationship and learning to live together in a partnership.  Starstruck falls in this category.  The main conflict is if the guys will act on the attraction they feel.  And if they do, how will they handle it?  Will Levi come out?  Will Carter agree to keep their relationship a secret?  How will it work out?

Watching these guys fall for each other as friends was fun.  I enjoyed the other characters in the book, but appreciated that the focus was pretty tight on Levi and Carter.  I didn’t even suspect this was a series until I looked up information on Goodreads after I was done reading.  It didn’t feel like there was obvious sequel bait, so that was well done.

This is the first in a new series being published by Riptide Publishing.  The books will come out quickly – five stories are scheduled to be out by January – and will be written by a few different authors but set in the same world.  I really enjoyed Riptide’s Tucker Springs series written in the same way, so I’m looking forward to the rest of these stories!  They look like they’re all centered around a tv series based on a very popular book series about werewolves.  It’s easy to picture and that was an interesting aspect to this story as well.

I’d highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys m/m romance!  I can’t wait to read the next one!  This is one of a few books I’ve read with Hollywood famous characters.  Do you have any to recommend?