February Wrap Up with Embarassing Obsession and KindleBra...

Wow, February seems to have gone by faster than usual this year...between Mardi Gras, a sick three-year-old, a nine-year-old's birthday, and a plumbing emergency, time just flew by!

Let's start with my February Reads:

1. Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta (CRC - Contemporary Reading Challenge)
2. Sex and the Single Vampire by Katie MacAlister (VRC - Vampire Reading Challenge)
3. The Next Best Thing by Kristen Higgins (CRC)
4. Rule's Bride by Kat Martin (NAC - New Author Reading Challenge)
5. First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost (VRC)
6. Gentlemen Prefer Succubi by Jill Myles (NAC)
7. Succubi Like It Hot by Jill Myles
8. Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone
9. You Don't Know Jack by Erin McCarthy (NAC)
10. Slow Heat by Jill Shalvis (NAC)
11. Taking Care of Business by Megan Hart and Lauren Dane (ERC - Erotic Reading Challenge)

12. With a Twist by Deirdre Martin (NAC)

This portion of the list is a bit embarassing. I read a book with a hockey player as a hero and said hello to my latest obsession:
13. See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson (CRC)
14. Simply Irresistable by Rachel Gibson
15. True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson
16. The Trouble With Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson
17. Body Check by Deirdre Martin (CRC)
18. Fair Play by Deirdre Martin
19. Chasing Stanley by Deirdre Martin
20. The Penalty Box by Deirdre Martin
21. Total Rush by Deirdre Martin (this one was kind of slow for me, not a hockey book but had one of her characters in the hockey series as a secondary character)

And I'm currently reading Power Play by Deirdre Martin....but it's the last hockey book I've been able to get my hands on without mail order so it will have to do for now. But, I've become so obsessed with hockey (I've never seen a game) that I actually looked up the closest place to see a game. They have a NHL team in Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Stars; I have no idea if they're any good or not. Driving to Dallas would be about a 9 hour drive each way for me, so it's not going to happen, especially after the expensive plumbing incident we had last week, but it's something I'll keep in mind.

And, lastly, I'm sure you're wondering: KindleBra? Well, here's what happened...My daughters and I went to be fitted for dresses as we are all in my brother's wedding this summer. I should note here that God gave me a giant butt and tiny boobs. In middle school they called me "quicksand chest". Nice, huh? So, now that I'm older (and bigger) my boobs never caught up with the rest of me *shakes fist at the heavens*. So we're in the bridal shop, and I come out of the fitting room wearing this dress that fits everywhere but the boobs. It's a strapless dress and the bust of the dress stood out so far from my chest I joked that the whole bridal party could stash their wallets, makeup, and a snack in my bodice. My 9-year-old pipes up "You could put your Kindle in there!" (Sadly, she was right - I could have put more than one kindle in there and still had room for a book too!)

I'm looking forward to March - it looks like a great month for new releases!

Body Check by Deirdre Martin

This book falls into my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

I recently read See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson, which has a hockey player as the hero. I enjoyed it so much I went looking for other hockey-themed books. I stumbled across Body Check and grabbed it. I had read one other book by Ms. Martin, With A Twist (review to come soon), and couldn't decide if she was an author I would read again or not. After reading this book I says YES!!!

Janna MacNeil is a publicist newly hired for the New York Blades hockey team. She's a bit nervous as she's never done PR for a sports team and doesn't know much about hockey. The new owners of the team want her to "spruce up" the reputation of the rowdy team, starting with their captain, Ty Gallagher. Ty is a great player, focused soley on the game. He doesn't care about corporate and all the PR stuff that goes with the sport. Things are not off to a great start; after Jane's first meeting with Ty, she promptly goes into the ladies room and throws up!

Ty is not immune to Jane's sparkle and personality. After a faux-pas involving a charity dinner and her sister, things start to heat up between Jane and Ty, but they've got to keep it on the DL for professional reasons. Of course things don't go smoothly and there is plenty of drama to keep things moving. There are several side stories, Jane's roommate Theressa has some problems, Jane has family issues, Ty's inability to focus on anything but winning the Stanlely Cup....it all blends into a great story!

This story kept my attention, I didn't have to suspend disbelief, and none of the characters were TSTL. I'm already moving on to the next book in this series, Fair Play, which is Theressa's story. I give Body Check 4 1/2 out of 5 stars!

Review: Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta

This book falls under my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

Kylie McGraw has lived in Eden, Indiana her whole life. She's always dreamed of travelling to Asia, but lives in the same boring town she grew up in. She knows the same boring people and runs the same boring family-owned shoe store. She's just turned 32 and is ready for something to change. Little does she know things are about to change more than she could ever have imagined...

Jack Reynolds was Kylie's childhood crush. One of the running jokes in the book is that she's been in love with him since she was fourteen...or twelve. Jack was her older brother's best friend and moved away to join the NYPD, but after working a particularly horrific mob murder he decided to come back home to Eden and take a job as Police Chief.

As Kylie is trying to shake things up, poor Jack is charged by the town council with reigning her in - the town's annual Apple Festival is coming up and they don't want anything to ruin it. Then, Kylie witnesses something she shouldn't have seen and fears for her life. Due to the town's obsession with a Sopranos-like TV show ("Omerta"), no one believes Kylie and the town's residents think it's just another one of her attempts to break the monotony of small-town life.

What I liked about this book:

I really enjoyed the portions of the book that took place in Eden. Watching Kylie and Jack go back and forth until neither one of them could deny their feelings for each other was sweet and sexy and I really liked them both.

The small-town characters were fun. I have a soft spot for "spry, older characters" and this book had some adorable old guys - I loved the scene where they were giving Kylie sex advice!

What I didn't like:

I didn't like the mobsters. They were stereotypical Italian-Americans and the mob lingo annoyed me. Switching between the small-town Eden and mob-riddled Philadelphia felt awkward. I assume Ms. Eden did that on purpose to showcase the difference between the two lifestyles, but I didn't care for it.

All in all, I liked this book. Ms. Eden did a good job merging all the different storylines into a satisfying conclusion. I think her next book focuses on Kylie's brother, Spenser, and I'll definitely be checking it out! I give Out of Eden 3 1/2 out of 5 stars, it was a fun Contemporary read.

Out of Eden goes on sale April 1.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by NetGalley free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Review: See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson

This book falls into my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

I've had this book in my TBR for quite some time. I bought it after I'd read a couple of Ms. Gibson's books and loved them. Then I didn't read it because the hero is a hockey player. I know nothing about hockey except that they use a puck instead of a ball. I didn't even realize they had American hockey teams - I thought it was a Canadian sport. But, I was in the mood for something different so I picked it up off the pile, dusted it off, and started reading...I loved it!

Jane Alcott is a reporter who's just gotten a big break - they've asked her to fill in and cover the Seattle Chinooks hockey team while the regular sports reporter is sick. That means she'll cover all the games - even the away games. She knows nothing about hockey, but that's okay, they're hoping having her cover the games will draw in female spectators. Thing is, the team's not so hyped to have her and they try to block her at every turn. She ends up talking to Luc Martineau, the goalie, a couple of times, and of course it's instant dislike (or is it?).

Luc has been given a second chance. He was a star player who got hurt, ended up addicted to painkillers, went to rehab, and is now trying to get back into that top spot. So far, it's working. He's concentrating on his career and nothing will get in the way.

I really enjoyed this story. Jane's secondary story as Honey Pie, the fictional character she writes for a Maxim-type magazine was kind of eh, but I do get that it was a plot point. The interactions between Jane and Luc were super sexy. I loved the scene after Jane had told Luc off and then had to go back and repeat her exact words before every game for good luck. Luc's affection for his sister was touching, and Jane taking her under her wing was sweet.

It's been three days since I finished this story and I'm still thinking about it. I actually went out to find other hockey-themed contemporary romances to read because I liked this one so much! I give See Jane Score 4 out of 5 stars.

I will say this book made me curious, so I asked for some hockey names on Twitter and Kelly (MidnightGlance) was kind enough to supply me with a name or two and from there I googled some more hockey players. I don't know if these guys are good at hockey or not, but....me-ow!

Richelle Mead Winners!!!

Many thanks to all who entered. I'm slowly working my way through checking out all the new-to-me blogs and making new friends.


As you all know how tech-unsavvy I am, you've probably already figured out that I put all the entries in a big bucket and let my eight-year-old pick the winners. This is the first contest I've held that allowed extra entries and wow, there were a lot of them! When I enter a contest I usually try to grab the extra entries but I've always wondered if they really make a difference....if my giveaway is any indication, they do.


The winners of the SIGNED books are:


For Vampire Academy:


Eva SB
(one of her extra entries for adding my button won)



For Succubus Blues:



Smokinhotbooks
(her twitter entry won)



Congratulations ladies! Please contact me (pspinney at cox dot net) by Friday, February 26 or I will pick a new winner.

Formerly known as BFF

I’ve posted links to my SIL Hannah’s blog before. She’s my BFF and an all-around awesome person. Well, WAS my BFF – want to know what she did? Really, it’s what she’s GOING to do:

That bitch is going to Forks!!

Here’s the back story:

I’ve told the story of how I got back into reading again mid-2008, starting with Twilight and devouring the whole series. Well, shortly after that, Hurricane Ike rolled through Houston, and even though my brother and his wife didn’t have a lot of damage, they had no power for over a week and the city was a danger zone – no electric or food in the grocery stores, gas shortages, and with firsthand images of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath still fresh in everyone’s mind, my brother sent her to stay with us for awhile until things were back to at least liveable in Houston. She was missing her husband and, honestly, when you’re married with no kids and dropped into a household with three kids and two working parents it can get to be a bit much. So I lent her my copy of Twilight. I can still see her sitting there after work in my uncomfortable chair, reading and ignoring the chaos around her, occasionally stepping outside to smoke, bringing the book with her. She also tore through the series, and after that I introduced her to the sexiness of TrueBlood and the Black Dagger Brotherhood. She's not one to read romance, but in the case of these three series we do lust over share a fondness for these delicious men.

But I digress…..my point is we have a special bond over Twilight. She came to New Orleans to watch Twilight and New Moon in the theatre. I sent her the Twilight audiobook and she sent me the rest. We mail each other Twilight candy. I’ve got an Edward Cullen doll, she has a Twilight lunchbox she actually brings her lunch to work in. (OMG, I think we’re nerds!)

And when she goes to visit her mom in April, she’s going to stop by and visit Forks. Without me.

(*clears throat* give me just a moment here to compose myself *sniff*)

She’s going to Forks without me. She’s taking my brother, who doesn’t even know what Forks is. Waaaahhhhh!!!!

Well, *puts on big girl panties*, seriously – I hope she has a great time and I told her if she doesn’t take an obscene amount of pictures I’ll never forgive her. And I expect souveniers.

The real question is – are we going to make my brother wear a Team Edward or Team Jacob t-shirt for the trip?

On a side note: Did you know if you type "Edward and Jacob" into google that "Edward and Jacob kissing" is one of your choices that pops up? Wow!

Review: Decadent by Shayla Black

This book falls into my Erotica Reading Challenge.

I read Ms. Black's first book in this seris, Wicked Ties (review here), and I liked it, but it had some issues that were hard for me to get past. I wanted to try another book before gave this series a thumbs-up or not. Well, I'm giving it the thumb's up....I like it and am looking forward to the next book. Okay, the premise was a bit unbelievable, but once I got past it I didn't care - it was a sexy, sexy book!

Kimber Edgington is a twenty-three (I think!) year old virgin. She's been saving herself for her long-distance boyfriend Jesse, who is a famous musician that's been on tour for several years. Kimber and Jesse met while Kimber's dad was doing bodyguard work for Jesse, then after an intense summer he went on tour but they stayed in touch. Kimber knows Jessie likes menage, and she wants to be taught the "tricks of the trade" so to speak, but she wants to remain a virgin for Jesse. She knows that one of her father's former employees, Deke Trenton, is into menage and she asks him to teach her.

Deke has known Kimber since she was a teenager, and he respects her father, his former employer. He turns her down at first, but his cousin Luc convinces him that if they don't teach her she'll find someone who will - and they may not be as gentle with her as Deke and Luc will. Deke reluctantly agrees and Kimber moves in.

I think you all know about how I get creeped out about people who are related by blood being in a menage together. I guess 2nd cousins don't count in my book because it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Deke and Luc are sexy, sexy men.

Deke had some weird hangup/terrible secret about not having sex with a virgin, but they worked around that. I did spend a good portion of the book trying to figure out how Deke killed someone during sex. I just knew that had to be his terrible secret - what else could it be? I mean, honestly, why else would he not want to have sex with a virgin unless he accidentally killed one? But, in the end that part of the storyline made sense. There was also another storyline going on with Kimber's dad and a stalker which made for some conflict (conflict here meaning more opportunities for Kimber and the guys to have sexytime *wiggles eyebrows*).

Well, I know this review is all over the place, but what I'm trying to say is that it was a fun, sexy read. I can't believe I'm writing this but there may have been a bit too much sex for me (I may have skimmed the sexy parts a time or two). I'm looking forward to her next book, Delicious - Luc's book.

I give Decadent 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Review: Sold to a Laird by Karen Ranney

Ms. Ranney is a new-to-me author and so this book falls under my New Author Reading Challenge.

Sold to a Laird is the story of Lady Sarah Baines, daughter of the Duke of Herridge. The Duke is a cold, hard man who apparently has no love or use for his daughter. When the story opens, the duke is meeting with Douglas Eston in his office when Sarah barges in and demands that he not send her mother off to Scotland. She is very ill and the trip could kill her. The Duke takes one look at Sarah and offers her to Mr. Eston instead of cash to buy himself partnership in Mr. Eston's venture. For reasons unknown even to himself, Mr. Eston accepts the offer and they are married two days later.

This book seemed to me to be divided into three parts; the first part centered on Sarah and Douglas marrying and moving into Sarah's country home, Chavensworth, and caring for her ailing mother and the aftereffects of her illness. During this time Douglas shows himself to be a true gentleman and supports Sarah when she needs him even though she hasn't given him much reason to be kind to her. I really liked him.

The middle of the book surrounds Sarah and Douglas' trip to Scotland to visit Sarah's maternal grandfather. Sarah's mother left her family to marry the Duke and never had any communication with them after that. Some family secrets were hinted at and Sarah and Douglas grew into their marriage a bit more comfortably at this point.

The last third of the book takes place after their return to Chavensworth. The Duke was impatient for Douglas to show results in their joint venture; then there was an accident and Douglas had to start over from scratch so the Duke threatened to dissolve Sarah and Douglas' marriage and kidnapped him to force him to fulfill their deal.

I enjoyed this story, and I liked Douglas very much. I didn't like Sarah as much, she kind of got on my nerves at times- she was very prim and proper (which I guess I realize was normal for the time) and she spent a lot of time ignoring Douglas and then worrying that he didn't want to be married to her anymore. I liked the side characters but wish Ms. Ranney would have fleshed them out a bit more; there was some interesting romance happening on the sidelines.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars, it was an enjoyable read.

Disclaimer: I won this book at Yankee Romance Reviewers.

Review: Shift by Rachel Vincent

You know how sometimes you wait for something you really want and when you finally get it you've built it up so much you're disappointed? Well, that did NOT happen here. I'd previously read the first four books in this series and LOVED them (my review here) and Shift did not disappoint either.

Shift takes up immediately where Pride ended: The South Central werecat pack is divided and a battle is coming. There's also retribution to be made for a death, and although she's trying to put it off, Faythe is going to have to come clean about some of her actions in book 4.

The action in this book starts right at the beginning; in the first chapter, as the pack is discussing plans for battle, Faythe takes Kaci out for a walk and in moments Kaci is snatched up by a huge bird - a Thunderbird. They soon realize their pack is under attack by the Thunderbirds in response to the death of one of their flock members. Faythe and her father know they've been framed but don't have any proof; the Thunderbirds are not giving up and two more werecats are dead. Faythe ends up in the Thunderbird's aviary and must find a way to prove who the real killer is or Kaci will die and the rest of the pack will be killed by the Thunderbirds.

I could not put this book down. At every turn I wondered what would happen next. The timeline for this book was only a few days, but so much happened - I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. The book doesn't leave you with a cliffhanger, but there are a lot of unresolved issues still dancing around the werecat world - plenty of stuff to resolve in Book 5, Alpha, which comes out in October 2010. As I understand it, Alpha is the last book in this series.

I will say this - although this could be read as a stand-alone, you really won't get the full impact of everything that goes on without reading the whole series. Trust me, this won't be a hardship - this is one of my favorite series out there right now and IMO doesn't get the props it deserves.

I give Shift 5 out of 5 stars.

Shift goes on sale March 1, 2010.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by NetGalley free of charge for an honest review.

Review: First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

This book falls into my Vampire Reading Challenge.

Let me begin by saying I am a total Jeaniene Frost fangirl and she could write her grocery list and I would probably buy it. That being said, First Drop of Crimson did not disappoint.

I liked Denise in the Night Huntress series, and when Randy died I was so sad for her. Spade is Bones' best friend, and he's been all sexy and mysterious in the Night Huntress books - in FDOC he's super sexy!

Denise is living her life after the death of her husband, staying clear of the supernatural world, trying to forget. That plan is blown out of the water when she witnesses the murder of her cousin by a man who turns into a dog and a demon shows up at her house looking for one of her ancestors. The demon tells her she must find this ancestor, Nathaniel, and bring him back or the demon will kill all her relatives one by one. As an incentive, the demon marks Denise before leaving her. Denise calls her best friend Cat, who is a vampire, for her help. She can't reach Cat but remembers she has Spade's phone number and asks him to contact Cat for her. Spade tells her Cat is out with her husband Bones and offers to help instead.

Spade views humans as a food source only; we learn the reasons why later in the book. Denise is terrified of vampires as she holds them responsible for the death of her husband. She's not thrilled about asking Spade for help but knows she doesn't have any other choice. Spade agrees to help at first because she's Cat's best friend, but as the story progresses we watch his feelings start to change. Let's just say I'm a sucker for a vamp with sex appeal and a heart of gold.

We also get to see a lot of Ian, the vampire who sired Bones and Spade (well,sort of). He's been such a skeevy character, I loved every minute of him in this book! One of his funniest scenes was a few pages after Denise had accidentally interrupted Ian and a "donor" in flagrante delicto. I hope he eventually gets his own book, he would definitely be a great bad boy hero.

Now, I know several people have complained that Denise is a wimpy heroine, but I read her as she was mourning her dead husband, and PTSD is a very real (well, as real as it can be in a fictional world anyway) consequence of her experience at the time of his death. Was she a kick-ass heroine? No, but she didn't get on my nerves either.

I thought this book was great - it kept me intersted throughout and I had to stop myself from peeking ahead to see what was going to happen a several times. I'm giving it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Quickie Review: Sex and the Single Vampire by Katie MacAlister

This book falls into my Vampire Reading Challenge.

I read and enjoyed Katie MacAlister's Green Dragon series, but couldn't get into her Silver Dragon series. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this series and was pleasantly surprised; this was a cute book! It was a light fun vampy read. Honestly, for the first few pages I thought I was going to hate it - the heroine, Allie, seemed to be Too Stupid to Live. But then, as I continued to read, her character grew on me and got more interesting. Her interaction with her Dark One was fun. Her two female friends, Joy and Roxy, got on my nerves a bit, but I enjoyed Allie's ghosts - especially the teenager, Jem, and Antonio, the Conquistador. I've got two more books from this series in my TBR that I'll be pulling out when I'm looking for something light and fun. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I won this book from Kris (The Cajun Book Lady). Thanks Kris!

Looking for that Special Someone/thing...

You know how you make a plan and RL throws stuff in the way? Yeah, that's where I'm at now. We didn't get to see the parade Tuesday night - Lord knows we tried! The parades were canceled tonight due to inclement weather (2 out of 3 were rescheduled - yay!), and The Littlest Book Addict is sick - cold and 102.5 fever :( So, all those carefully made plans flew right out the window!



I am looking for a book recommendation. I want an Alpha Male, but not a military-type Alpha; preferably paranormal or contemporary. (I know, I know - lots of requirements!!) Any suggestions? He doesn't need to bring firewood like the guy above, although it is cold outside and a girl needs to be kept warm...

In and Out

Just popping in to say I'll be in and out over the next several days; got lots going on here in the NOLA this week; don't think I'll get much reading done:

The city is still riding the wave of Superbowl victory! Everywhere you turn, friends and strangers holler "Who Dat!" and everyone is still sportin' their black and gold. Tonight is the big victory parade - 9 Krewes loaned signature floats to the team for their parade. It's going to be awesome! Hubs is actually going to be able to attend this one (he's in law enforcement, so he always has to work for the parades), so we're definitely there!! I'm a bit worried as it looks like temps will be in the 30s, and of course the 3-year-old woke up with a cough this morning :(

The next several days look to be crazy: Saints parade tonight; Druids tomorrow night (haven't decided if we'll go); Thursday night is Babylon, Muses (my favorite parade!!), and Chaos; Friday night is Hermes, d'Etat (another favorite!), and Morpheus; Saturday afternoon is Iris and Tucks; Saturday night is Endymion (which I usually skip as the fans for this parade are obnoxious). Sunday will be an all-day affair - we get there early for a good spot, watch Okeanos, Mid-City, Thoth, and then wait for the big one: Bacchus (I met my husband at Bacchus, sort of). It's going to be crazy this year as Drew Brees is King Bacchus this year. Then Monday is Proteus and Orpheus (Harry Connick Jr.'s parade). Tuesday is Mardi Gras, and those parades start at 8:00. I usually stay home for Mardi Gras as I don't like getting up that early and the crowds are so thick it makes me nervous. So I use it as a day to take care of all the stuff I've ignored over the last week.

Sleep? We don't need no stinkin' sleep! Or, as my BFF Hannah likes to say "You'll get plenty of sleep when you're dead." Well said!

Review: The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins, now with bonus TMI!!

This book falls into my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

Okay, I think you all know I'm a Kristan Higgins fangirl. Out of the five books she's written, only one was disappointing to me and one is on my keeper shelf. I was really looking forward to The Next Best Thing, and I loved it!

Lucy Lang became a widow at the young age of 25 after less than a year of marriage. She's been a widow for almost five years, working at the family bakery with her mother and aunts. Who all became widows at a young age. It seems to run in the family, whose maiden name is Fekete, which is Hungarian for Black - they're known as the Black Widows.

As the story opens, Lucy is at the hospital where her younger sister has just given birth. Lucy decides this is what she really wants, and thinks maybe it's time to start dating again. Which will require that she end her "friends with benefits" arrangement she's had going with Ethan. Ethan has spent his life living in the shadow of his older brother, Jimmy. He's also in love with Lucy, although she doesn't know it. When she breaks off their arrangement, he agrees, but he's not too happy about it, because he loves her.

There is so much going on in this book - there's no way I can even begin to explain how good it was. I laughed a bit and I cried a bit. I'm not going to say I laughed out loud, more like a chuckle here and there, but here's where the TMI comes in: Occasionally, depending on where I am in my, uh....cycle...I might cry a bit while reading something sad. I'm nowhere near that hormonal hell right now, but there were several scenes in this book where tears just poured out of my eyes; times when Lucy missed her husband, or wondered if she was doing the right thing. Ms. Higgins just wrote those scenes so, so sweetly. And when the gypsy gave Lucy the message...Oh! It took me a few pages but once I figured it out I wanted to reach into the book and make her see!!! This book took a few turns but I enjoyed reading it and the characters kept my interest; I read this book in a day.

The Next Best Thing was a great read! I really enjoyed it and give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Ilona Andrews Quiz

Ilona Andrews has a fun quiz going on over at her blog. See where you fit into the Kate Daniels world:

PAD

You are a cop of the Paranormal Activity Division. You have a strong sense of right and wrong and tend to see the world in black and white. The laws are there for a reason and you make sure that they stay in place. You live hard and party hard, because you never know when you have to put yourself between a crazed maniac armed with a fireball and a random citizen who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

More about factions: http://kate.ilona-andrews.com/category/factions/

Which Faction do you belong to?

Review: Hot In Here by Sophie Renwick

This book falls into my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

Jenna McCabe is a nice girl. She was born and raised on a farm in a small town and now lives in the nearby city as a PR Consultant. Bryce Ryder is a hot celebrity chef who grew up with Jenna but now owns a famous restaurant and has his own TV show. When Bryce gets some bad PR, he goes to Jenna for help.

Jenna has always been attracted to Bryce, who's never seen her as anything more than the girl next door - until they meet for dinner to talk about his PR problem. He wonders how he never noticed how beautiful she is, and he wants her - badly. After a disagreement about how to handle his case, he goes to her house to apologize and wish her a happy birthday. One thing leads to another and some hot sexin' ensues. The next morning, Jenna decides she's not going to be the one to get dumped, she'll just act like it was not big deal so Bryce won't know who much she cares for him. She doesn't realize Bryce is starting to have feelings for her....

As Bryce is trying to get closer to Jenna and Jenna keeps backing away, Jenna's sister Sarah and Bryce's brother Trey are trying to get Jenna and Bryce together using good publicity for Bryce as an excuse to force them to spend time together. Jenna doesn't want to be used, and every time Bryce convinces her that he cares about her something happens to undermine her confidence in Bryce's declarations.

There's a secondary storyline about how Jenna's family is about to lose their farm, and Bryce's father wants to buy it and turn it into a strip mall. There is also some history between Sarah and Trey that isn't resolved, hopefully it will be the next book if there is one planned.

This book kept me turning the page to see what would happen next. The sexin' was hot and the drama was good. I kind of felt like Bryce fell a bit too hard too fast, but it was still a fun story. I give this book 4 stars - I really liked it!

Thank you Peace, Love, & Pat and Parajunkee!!!

So....how do you like my new look?

Many, many thanks to Peace, Love, & Pat:




I won a header contest over at her place to be designed by Parajunkee!!


Parajunkee's design blog:




and book blog:




Thank you both so much - it feels like Christmas!
I keep clicking back to look at it.....I love it!!!

Under Construction

Please bear with me, it'll be done soon!