sports

Taking Shots by Toni Aleo

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Taking Shots (Assassins, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Blaze
Kink Level-None
Series-Assassins #1
Reviewed by Kay

Shea Adler is a hockey pro at the top of his game. He loves hockey, his team, family, especially his twin sister and women. The first four of the above things he loves with some staying power but women, not so much. He’s kind of a love ’em and leave ’em sort of guy. He’s cocky, self assured and has never had to wait on or chase anyone he has wanted.

Eleanor “Elli” Fisher is a rich girl. She’s a photographer with a thriving business. She has a father that adores her. A best friend she loves and a great support staff of other close friends. But she is very insecure about a lot of things: men, family, weight and self worth.

These two see each other at a sports photo shoot and the sparks fly. This is an emotional read in regards to a woman who is almost broken but desperately wants to be loved and a man that never saw her coming. Elli is a character that is easy to like. She’s kind, shy and cares about people. Shea is absolutely precious. I love his character so much I can’t even tell you! He starts off wanting Elli and his pursuit is patient but persistent. When he fell,….sigh, he fell big time. Head over heels and so did I, with him.

I liked this book so much. Even through the “big misunderstanding” I loved Elli. She had been hurt before and she wasn’t taking any chances. I cried a couple of different times in the book: when he had dinner with her family and when he realized he was in love with her. This is a great new series for me and can’t wait to read the next one! Toni Aleo has gained a fan in me!

Star Crossed by Kele Moon

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Star Crossed (Battered Hearts, #2)

Grade – A
Hotness Level – Inferno
Kink Level – None
Genre – Contemporary
Series – Battered Hearts #2
Reviewed by Anne
 


 
After reading Defying the Odds I went pretty much straight to Star Crossed.  I was a bit nervous.  I really liked the first story, so I wondered if the second would live up to it.  Well, no worries there – Star Crossed was awesome!  I liked it even better than Defying the Odds, and that’s saying a lot.
 
OK, character roll call.  We’ve got Jules (aka Juliet) who is a smart and confident small town lawyer in her 30s.  She’s very close to her twin brother, the Sherriff, Wyatt.  Jules also works part time at the dispatch center.  Together with their best friend and UFC Heavyweight champion, Clay, they own a large gym and training center in town. 
 
Clay just defended his title by defeating Romeo Wellings.  (Yes, Romeo and Juliet!)  Clay has come to like Romeo after the events that happened at the end of Defying the Odds.  However, Wyatt still sees Romeo as the enemy. (See!  Romeo and Juliet!)  Romeo is New York City slick, rumored to have mob connections, and no one that Wyatt wants around his sister.  He’s every bit as confident as Jules, to the point of being cocky.
 
Unbeknownst to everyone in Jules’ circle of friends, Jules and Romeo had a one night stand after the UFC fight.  That leads to a string of increasingly hot phone calls, text messages, and video chats between the two of them.  When Clay retires and offers to train Romeo, he accepts, knowing Clay will be a good trainer, he’ll be getting some space from his mob connections, and – most of all – he’ll be close to Jules.
 
Star Crossed picks up in time right where Defying the Odds left off.  An extremely hot phone sex call between Romeo and Jules makes their attraction very clear.  A lengthy flashback to their Vegas hookup fills in some blanks and we final jump to present day.  This is one extremely hot and dirty book. 
There are so many things I liked about it, it’s hard to pick one to start with.  I like to mark notes while I read on my ereader.  At the end of this reading I had 30 notes, and 25 of them are pretty much just me remarking how hot a scene is, how funny a comment was, or how much I love these characters.

Jules and Romeo work so well together.  Jules is so comfortable in her own skin and sexuality.  This is a trait that’s put other men off, but Romeo loves it.  Their chemistry is off the charts, even when they aren’t in the same room. 

Jules and Romeo are both very close to their brothers.  I thought those relationships were really realistic, and these characters were fun to hang out with.  The book is full of moments like this one:

“I’m sexy and I know it.”

Romeo looked to Tino, who was currently enjoying the benefits of satellite radio, and arched an eyebrow at his youngest brother.  “You’re officially banned from energy drinks and convenience-store doughnuts.”

Tino bounced his head, giving Romeo a wide smile, showing off even white teeth as he sang off-key.  “I work out.”

These funny moments come between the hot and dirty and raw ones.  Here are a few lines from one of Jules’ and Romeo’s over the phone meetings:

“Don’t encourage me…’cause it feels really good when it happens like this.  I like it.”

 “Yeah?”

 Jules panted. “Um, yeah, I do it like this when I got extra time and the house to myself…like tonight.”

“I’m gonna come,” Romeo admitted with a pained groan.  “I’m so fucking turned on I’m going blind from it.”

“Oh, do it.” Jules couldn’t keep the whimper of longing out of her voice.  “I wanna hear it.  Lemme hear you come thinking about me and listening to me finger fuck myself.”

“Shit!” Romeo shouted.  His breathing was harsh, making it obvious he’d given in and come.  “Fuck, Juliet!”

There were a few things I didn’t like in the book.  Wyatt was portrayed as this very responsible and mature man, but he made some really, really foolish choices that had big repercussions for Jules and Romeo.  It wasn’t totally out of character, though.  I’m not a huge fan of secret relationships, so Jules and Romeo’s down low status went on a bit too long for me.  I really don’t know much about the mafia, so I can’t speak to how realistic that part was.    

Overall, though, these were just small blips on an otherwise incredibly good book.  This one is certainly going on my best reads of the year list, and I’ll be looking at Kele Moon’s other books, too!

Defying the Odds by Kele Moon

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Defying the Odds (Battered Hearts, #1)
Grade – A
Hotness Level – Inferno
Kink Level – None
Genre – Contemporary
Series – Battered Hearts #1
Reviewed by Anne

Melody is a dirt poor waitress making a new start in a new town after escaping her abusive ex-husband.  Clay is a UFC champion.  He’s big, grumpy, and doesn’t have many friends in the small town he grew up in and trains in. Then Melody buys him a piece of pumpkin pie when she sees him eating alone on Thanksgiving.  He’s so taken with her that he attempts to choke down the pie, even though pumpkin pie literally makes him gag.  No one thinks these two belong together, but they can’t stay away from each other. 

There are so many things I liked about this story!  It’s going on my Best of 2013 list.  Clay is a really sweet guy.  A huge man who tends to be grumpy and enjoys beating up his best friend in the name of training.  He sees Melody struggling financially, tired from all the shifts she’s working at the restaurant and he wants to help her.  When she refuses his help, he respects that.  He tries to work around her, but he gives in when she insists she wants to make her own way. 

Melody is a hard working woman trying to rebuild her life away from her abusive ex-husband.  She’s smart enough to check in with the sheriff when she gets in to town to let him know about the restraining order she has.  She knows absolutely nothing about UFC fighting, but is happy for Clay that he’s found success at something.  She’s simple and straightforward in her thinking without tons of angst, which was refreshing! 

I really enjoy a book about an unfolding relationship without a lot of extra drama and conflict brought in to the story, and this one fit the bill for me.  The UFC fighters’ violence, even just hanging around reminded me of Shelly Laurenston’s shifters in a good way.  I think I enjoy the violence in a fantasy way after spending so much time with my kids advocating for peace and gentleness.  I’d have a hard time hanging out with people who broke each others’ noses in real life, but I enjoy it in a book.

The story really worked overall for me, but there are some issues that might put others off.  In particular, Melody is described as having survived years of physical and emotional abuse, but she has surprisingly few issues that bother her.  In the middle of the story Melody makes a decision that borderline TSTL, but it works out ok.  Melody leaves Clay for a while and he’s terribly broken up about it – it reminded me of Bella after Edward left!  I was very frustrated with Bella, but I thought Clay was cute.  It’s possible I have some gender bias issues.

I have to put in a mention that this story featured a positive foster care experience.  That always adds bonus points for me!

And then there’s the sex.  Hot.  Really well written!  Really.

This book was published in 2011, but somehow it never crossed my radar until now.  I can’t believe how much I liked it!  I’m anxious to read the next book in the series (Star Crossed) to see if I have a new favorite author!