novella

The Party by Katie Ashley

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

The Party (The Proposition, #0.5)
Grade-A
Hotness Level-None
Kink Level-No Kink
Series-The Proposition # 0.5
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
44 pages

This is a prequel or prologue to The Proposition. It tells the story of how they met at a party and the loss that Emma has suffered. Emma, the strong business woman, meets Aiden Fitzgerald, the resident man-whore. He tries to pick her up and she turns him down.

Emma wants a baby in the worst way. She lost the man she loved and feels he was her shot at forever. She lost but she still wants to be a mother and talks her gay best friend into donating his swimmers for the cause.

I loved this novella and immediately put everything on hold and bought the first two books. I suggest this novella for anyone. I even love the cover! It doesn’t really match the description in the story but it makes me giggle.

Tropical Desires by Vivian Arend, Lexxie Couper and Jess Dee

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Tropical Desires
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Mild Kink
Series-Bandicoot Cove #1-4
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kate

The manager of Bandicoot Cove, an Australian resort, has invited some of her close friends and family to be guests at the resort’s soft opening. And apparently, there’s something in the air or water at Bandicoot Cove. Something that induces a tendency towards threesomes.

Paradise Found by Vivian Arend
Paige has been working in Australia for a while now, but will be leaving the country soon. When she does, her casual affair with Trent and Mason will come to a screeching halt. They knew from the start that there would be an end to the triad. But even though all three of them are secretly hoping for something permanent, they know their stay at Bandicott Cove will be their last time together.

Tropical Sin by Lexxie Couper
McKenzie and Aiden have been close friends since childhood. Aiden has also harbored a secret crush on McKenzie for just as long. Taking the advice of famous rocker Nick(who they meet for the first time at Bandicoot Cove), Aiden finally tells McKenzie how he feels. McKenzie realizes she’s loved Aiden all along. Then Nick knocks on the door and asks if he can join in.

Island Idyll by Jess Dee
Sienna is using her trip to Bandicott Cove to recover from a broken heart. Her ex-fiancé, Ben loved her but loved his work more, so she broke it off. While at the resort she meets Josh, her high school crush. After spending a glorious day with Josh, Ben shows up at the resort determined to win Sienna back.

First off, let me say that this book of three stories was a hot, hot read. But I think you need to understand that I am at heart a reader who looks for that HEA. Even in my ménage books, meaning I like all 3 to have a HEA-together. For that reason, Paradise Found was my favorite of the three stories. Tropical Sin and Island Idyll did not end with all three participants together.

I also had issues with Tropical Sin and Island Idyll that I just didn’t feel comfortable with, although I understand not every reader has the same issues I do. I didn’t like that in Tropical Sin, a threesome was created with someone they knew for only a few hours, and the decision was made without any conversation between the couple. In Island Idyll, I didn’t care for the sense of competition that occurred between the two men and I didn’t like that one of them felt completely uncomfortable with the situation but went with it anyway. Again, those are just my issues, and they might not bother you. Despite my issues, together these three authors have managed to create a resort that I look forward to visiting again.

So now you know my hang-ups with ménage books. Do you have any make-or-break issues in your reading?

Tie Me by Olivia Cunning

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Tie Me (One Night with Sole Regret, #5)

Grade-A+
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-Low
Series-One Night With Sole Regret #5
Genre-Contemporary
Reviewed by Kay
159 pages

Kellen Jamison is man trapped in the past. His life looks pretty sweet. He’s gorgeous, wealthy, a rock star, has a great best friend and good band mates. But he is partially broken inside. His guilt over promises he made to a dead woman eat him alive. He tortures himself by revisiting the beach house she loved so much. He wears a cuff on one of his wrists as a remembrance of her. He loves her and doesn’t know how to stop.

Dawn O’Reilly is a classical, composing pianist with a Grammy for her achievements. She is staying in a rented beach house for part of the summer trying to finish a piece of music that has her exasperated. Her muse is gone and she can’t find another. She has to be perfect, her music has to be perfect. After a disappointing evening trying to compose, she goes out onto her deck in the storm and sees a man. In that moment everything changes.

This is probably Olivia Cunning’s best work to date in my opinion. I have been waiting for Kellen’s story and this one was fantastic. The emotion in this story was at times almost overwhelming. It took Dawn’s tenacity and determination to make Kellen see that he was alive even if Sara wasn’t. Kellen had to make peace with the promises he made to Sara (who seemed a bit childish and a whole lot selfish in the description of her) and his acknowledgement that it is possible and okay to always love someone’s memory even while you go on living your life. This book moved me to tears, both happy and sad tears. I highly recommend it.