novella

Snowbound with the CEO BY Shannon Stacey

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

18471927

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!
 
It is a pretty short novella, but the story fit well in its pages.  It didn’t feel rushed yet it ended well.  The main obstacle they faced seemed realistic and the way they worked through it was believable, too. 
 
The story was still that great Shannon Stacey mix of sweet and funny.  It’s a quick and enjoyable holiday read that I recommend.

Jagger’s Moves by Allie Standifer

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne


Jagger's Moves (SEALs On Fire #4)

Grade-B-
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-SEALs on Fire #4
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
66 pages
 
What do you get when you take two childhood friends, whose mothers forced them to remain pen pals after moves separated the families? You get a woman who write erotica for a living and a Navy SEAL.
When Ty, nicknamed Jagger, agrees to pick his former pen pal up from the airport after being pressured by his mother, he sees a woman exit the plane. A drop dead gorgeous woman, no less. His heart almost stops and his world is forever changed.

Alexa is very eager to reconnect with her friend and childhood crush, Ty. She has thought of little else over the years. She’s now a grown woman with grown-up desires. She knows that this trip home is when she is gonna make her move.

I enjoyed this book more than the last one I read. Granted, during a short story the love is instantaneous but I didn’t really mind the rushing of things. I bought into the whole fantasy of love at first sight. This story didn’t have much of a story honestly. But hot sex…WOW, it had that by the boatloads. So far this series has the best quotes. Below are my favorites.

“When you go to your meeting tomorrow or whatever tomorrow evening, your pussy will ache and you won’t remember a time when my cock wasn’t fucking you.”

“You see more in me than I see in myself, and for that, I want to be the person you think I am.”

I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!

Heating up the Holidays

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Heating Up the Holidays 3-Story Bundle

Grade: A
Hotness Level: Blaze/Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Novella
Published: 10/28/13
Reviewed by Anne
303 pages
 
Snowfall by Mary Ann Rivers (A) – First off, we start with Jenny, a microbiologist.  That’s right, a story featuring a female scientist!  Woo hoo!  Her love interest is the physical therapist she’s working with – and the conflict of interest there is very well handled.  The story is primarily about her personal journey to accept some changes in her life, and the love story is wrapped into that.  So good.  Mary Anne Rivers also wrote The Story Guy, which is one of my favorite reads of the year.  She is a new favorite of mine.  Fair warning – she writes in first person POV, from the heroine’s side only.  And it works.  Very well!  I highly recommend this story.
 
After Midnight by Serena Bell (A) – Miles is in a funk at a New Year’s Eve party.  He’s been (falsely) accused of embezzling from a charity he runs and was subsequently dumped by his fiancée.  Then he sees Nora dancing across the room.  She is happy and full of life.  They make eye contact and she surprises him by coming over to see him. The story of where things go from there is very good!  Well written with touches of humor that made me smile.  I haven’t read Serena Bell before but she going on my good list now!
 
Play With Me by Lisa Renee Jones (DNF) – So, I went into this one a bit hesitant because I associate with more suspenseful reads.  It had a strong start and I liked the heroine, but things started getting icky for me.  First our “hero” reminds one of his employees that she is “only cranky once a month.”  That was almost the end for me, but I think I was hoping our strong heroine would put him in his place.  But before we know it she’s essentially held prisoner for an entire day having her phone and computer and all contact with the outside world removed and no explanation given other than “there’s been a breach in security and we have to follow protocol.”  When our hero finally takes time to come tell her what’s going on, she quits (yay her!) only to be seduced by the mere touch of his hand shackling her wrist.  Umm.  No.
 
Despite not finishing the Lisa Renee Jones story, I’d still recommend this book based on the strength of the other two stories.  This may turn out to be a favorite year after year for me!  How about you?  Do you have a favorite holiday romance?