Here's a collection of six erotic romance novellas I reviewed long ago for Affaire de Coeur magazine. Alas, I've lost my original review, but here are a few notes on each of the novellas for you erotic romance enthusiasts:Some Like It Hot by Lori FosterHeroine’s name: Nora ChiltonHeroine’s profession: (Axel Dean’s) Nurse; young widowHero’s name: Cary RupertHero’s profession: General practitionerConflict: He wants her but she’s a shy widow who’s never had an orgasm.Main plot: She mistakenly thinks he doesn’t want to get married. They fall into bed, where he proposes.Explicit sex?: Yes, but pretty dull.Secondary characters: Axel Dean, MD, ob/gyn, Cary’s best friend; Liza, Axel’s new secretary/assistant (fiftyish)Criticism: Just ridiculous. Really ideologically distressing, besides being poorly written with dull sex. 1 star.Notes: New York Times best-selling authorOne Wilde Weekend by Janelle DenisonHeroine’s name: Dana ReedHeroine’s profession: Works for an imaging firm; 35-year-old career womanHero’s name: Alex WildePlace: Ritz Carlton beach resort on Amelia Island in Northeastern FloridaConflict: She’s afraid of commitment, afraid to become dependent on a man like her mother; he proposes and gives her the weekend to think about it. Getting tied up makes up her mind.Explicit sex?: Yes—in airplane on way over, in hotel room bondage/scene.Secondary characters:Subplot:Criticism: Not bad, 3+ starsNotes: USA Today best-selling authorBlue Crush by Erin McCarthyHeroine’s name: Dr. Sara Davis Heroine’s profession: shy bespectacled pediatricianHero’s name:Kyle VanderhoffHero’s profession: LifeguardPlace: A beachMain plot: She decides to walk up and down the beach in a little red glam-slam bikini and pick up a surfer for her first sex in two years. Instead, her bikini top comes off in a big wave, and guess who rescues her…Explicit sex?: Yep, in the lifeguard station in a storm (!)My Thief by MaryJanice DavidsonHeroine’s name: Robin FilkinsHeroine’s profession:Hero’s name: John CrusherMain plot: He’s coming back to his hotel room and gets grabbed by a sexy redhead who orders him to strip, takes off her own clothes and climbs into bed with him just before hotel security arrives looking for whoever cracked that safe deposit box downstairs. Explicit sex?: Yes, in the hotel room.Secondary characters: Robin’s Uncle RichCriticism: Frothy, light, mildly implausible but entertaining.Hot and Bothered by Kayla PerrinHeroine’s name: Jenna MaxwellHeroine’s profession:Hero’s name: Trey ArnoldHero’s profession: Bar ownerPlace: Key WestConflict: She wants a divorce; he wants to stay married.Main plot: They got married in Key West 2-1/2 years ago, and after 5 months had a fight after which Jenna considered her marriage over and left for Buffalo, NY. Now she’s back to file for a legal separation.Secondary characters: Jenna’s long-time friend RubyCriticism: Contains a lot of really destructive programming. Romance need not be retrogressive and chauvinistic like this tale, in which the hero is some sort of benevolent abuser. First, Trey slips her a mickey and takes her, unconscious, to his bedroom, and we’re supposed to think that this next-best-thing to a drugged date-rape is okay. Meanwhile, like any good abuser, he isolates her from external support networks by convincing her friend Ruby to leave the island. Next, we learn that sleeping with your ex is a good idea! And that Trey’s failure to disclose a previous marriage was Jenna’s fault, because she only took a sabbatical from her job when they got married instead of quitting, which made him insecure and need to guard his heart. And that their troubled marriage can be saved if they immediately decide to make a baby. Puh-leeze!1 starNotes: Essence best-selling authorMurphy’s Law by Morgan LeighHeroine’s name: Kat MurphyHeroine’s profession:Hero’s name: Sam Parrish, Kat’s former boss at the law offices of McCauley, Parrish and Hawke.Hero’s profession: lawyer, widowerConflict: Sam’s wife was killed in a horrid car crash two years ago, just months before Kat came to work for Sam. He has too much emotional baggage to act on his attraction for her.Main plot: Jonah has lent Kat his beach house after she quit her job at their firm.Secondary characters: Jonah McCauley, Sam’s partner and best friend, engaged to Kat’s best friend Camelot (“Cam”).
Reviewed for THC ReviewsWhen reading anthologies, I usually pick up one novella here and there to fill in gaps between longer books and rarely read them straight through. With that being the case, I've decided to post reviews of each story as I finish it. Reviews on the remaining novellas and the overall book rating will be forthcoming.:-) Some Like It Hot by Lori Foster - Some Like It Hot is the second story in Lori Foster's Dean Brothers & Friend novella series. It represents the “friend” portion of the series, featuring Axel Dean's best friend, Cary Rupert, a family practitioner, who has is bad for Axel's nurse, Nora. She's a tough nut to crack though, as she keeps turning him down, so Cary really has his work cut out for him convincing her they can be good together and that he can be trusted.Nora is just too cute and sweet for words. She's a kind of geeky plain-Jane who wears glasses. I could totally relate to her social awkwardness, as well as her preference for relationships over casual sex. She's probably one of the most, if not the most, innocent heroine I've ever read in a contemporary romance, which might be off-putting to some readers, but worked incredibly well for me. In spite of being married for six months, she's still near-virginal and very self-conscious about sex, but her reasons were sound and believable. I thought that Ms. Foster built Nora's characterization quite well, especially considering the brevity of the story.Cary was an almost perfect hero for me as well. He's definitely an alpha, but one of the good guys with a heart of gold. I love that even though Nora shot him down multiple times, he wouldn't give up on her. He knows that she's the woman for him and would do almost anything to prove it, right down to giving her everything she's always dreamed of. He's very sweetly seductive, gently persuading Nora to give him a chance and then coaxing her out of her shell. I also loved that Cary went for the shy, plain girl even though she's not his usual type and Axel thinks he's a bit strange for it, and that he thought she was so sexy, he lost control in a way he never had before. He was just an all-around great guy.I absolutely loved this little novelette. It may have been short, but it was very satisfying to the hopeless romantic in me. Things may have moved quickly, but I was totally able to buy into the scenario. Cary and Nora's relationship is sweet and romantic, just the way I like it, while their love scene is super-hot and emotional. Since Cary is best friends with the Dean Brothers, Booker (He See's You When You're Sleeping) and Axel get some page time too. Axel is such a playboy, I'm still not sure what to think of him, but hopefully he'll find his match in his own story, Playing Doctor, which is the third and final one of the series. Some Like It Hot was originally published in this multi-author anthology, but is soon to be reprinted (Dec. 2015) in the single-author anthology, Give It Up, along with it's two companion novellas. Star Rating: ***** One Wilde Weekend by Janelle Denison - Blue Crush by Erin McCarthy - My Thief by MaryJanice Davidson - Hot and Bothered by Kayla Perrin - Murphy's Law by Morgan Leigh -
Do You like book Perfect For The Beach (2005)?
I intially got this book for two of the six authors - Lori Foster & MaryJanice Davidson. I had read some Janelle Denison, but don't recall if I'd read any of Erin McCarthy, Morgan Leigh, or Kayla Perrin before. This has some interesting short stories and per usual I laughed through most of MaryJanice Davidson's story, Lori Foster's story of how a former playboy type who has now found the woman of his dreams convinces her that he's serious. The other four are interesting, but I found easy to put the book down during their stories, to do other things, which is unusual for me when I'm reading. I would need read some of their other works before I could say whether I really like their style of writing or not.
—Amelia-Irene
Contemporary romance anthology. As usual, waaay too many authors stuffed into 1 book. I was all set to give this book 1 star, that's how much I thought of these stories. There IS 1 good one in the whole book. Lori Foster - 1 star. Now don't get me wrong, I like LF stories...USUALLY. This one is a stinker she must have typed out in 1 day. #1 - I don't know if Lori has been to the Dr lately, but since the late 80's nurses have worn SCRUBS. Not "crisp white uniforms". Hospital nurses, office nurses, we wear them colorful & with prints & cartoon characters on them. If you're going to make your female lead a nurse - GET IT RIGHT! #2 - Why do romance authors have characters who wear glasses act legally blind without them? Nearsighted means you can see just fine close up. #3 - MD & nurse have sex WITHOUT PROTECTION!!! What the? Really? I really hated this story (can you tell?). The female lead is dim & I have no idea why the male lead is into her. She's been widowed for 2 years & can't remember how to kiss a man...literally (whatever). The male lead is really only interested in the sex & once he has it he doesn't call for an entire week. Then when the female lead tracks him down its - "oh marry me please! I can't live without you", resolved in 3 paragraphs.Yuck! Janelle Denison - 4 stars. The best story in the book! Alex & Dana have been in a committed relationship for a year. Alex plans on popping the question. Dana panics when he does. The rest of the story is him talking her into taking a chance on him. Erin McCarthy - 3 stars. Protected sex. EM has a way with short stories & what should turn out to be a one night stand turning into a relationship. Not instant marriage or some fake emotions. OK story. Mary Janice Davidson - less than 1 star. Hated this one. Stupid mishmash with a female thief & male accountant. Stupidest line I've ever read in ANY romance story : "It's all right. I'm on the pill. And I'm going to assume you're not riddled with disease." Cause you can tell if someone has an STD by looking at them. Romance authors have an obligation to their readers to NOT promote this crap!Kayla Perrin - 1 star. Didn't much like this one either. Unprotected sex. Man tries to woo his estranged wife back into his life by first drugging her. Yikes. Morgan Leigh - 2 stars. Protected sex. This is a "in love with the boss" story. Started out OK, then went downhill from there. They go from sex to "I love you, marry me" in 8 hours flat. Since they haven't even been dating it's a stretch to believe. :(
—Cindy
Dina wrote: "No no, Rane, they weren't in love by the end of the story. They were going to start dating, but there was no ILY in the mix."ooohhh~! still quick work ;D
—Dina
