Day: September 11, 2013

Guest Review: Not Planning On You by Sydney Landon

Posted September 11, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Not Planning On You by Sydney LandonReviewer: Tracy
Not Planning On You by Sydney Landon
Series: Danvers series #2
Also in this series: Fall For Me
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: February 5, 2013
Format: Print ARC
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

 

Suzy Denton seems to have it all together. She loves her job as an event’s planner for Danvers International, and she loves her high school sweetheart and fiance Jeff. Fast forward a month and it’s all gone to hell in a hand-basket. She finds out Jeff’s dentist has been doing more than drilling his teeth, and Danvers is in the process of merging with Mericom creating the largest communications company in the US and also bringing Gray Merimon, the CEO of Mericom into her life.

Gray pursues her from almost their first meeting. Even though he looks like sex on a stick, Suzy is afraid of being hurt again, and she thinks Gray is just another stuffed shirt looking for a relationship. When he calls her bluff, Suzy agrees to one night of sex, hoping that he will be terrible in bed and she can finally get him out of her system.

When circumstances throw them together for more than one night, can Gray convince Suzy that two complete opposites can be a perfect fit?

Gray has had feelings for Suzy for a while but Suzy isn’t interested – at least that’s what she tells him. She’s secretly got the hots for him as well. When he moves to Myrtle Beach (where she lives) he’s determined to get her permanently. The most that Suzy agrees to is a date. When they’re on the date, however, they come to the conclusion that they should just sleep together and get the itch out of their systems. Of course Gray is just humoring Suzy as he has no plans to let her go. Unfortunately before they can go far an unfortunate accident has Suzy laid up with a broken ankle and lots of scrapes, bumps and bruises. Gray sets her up in the house he buys for them and Suzy finally admits she loves Gray. They are on their way to their HEA when a woman from Gray’s past stirs up trouble and has Suzy doubting in their “meant to be.”

In this story we don’t have romance so much as Suzy seeing what a wonderful person due to his actions and the care he takes of Suzy while she’s laid up. He really is very sweet and even I was impressed with his devotion. Suzy is reluctant to admit her feelings at first because of her previous boyfriend who cheated on her but even she sees that she held herself back from that relationship. She eventually finds that she wants to give Gray everything.

Then there was Reva. Reva was a girl who Gray went on a couple of dates with and then slept with while he was trying to tell himself that he really didn’t want Suzy. This was BEFORE they started dating but Reva has been stalking him for months. After Suzy finds out about it she decides that they are going to get rid of Reva together. When they see her though she says that the baby bump she’s sporting it Gray’s. He’s floored and Suzy leaves him in Charleston to deal with Reva as she thinks he needs to think things over. Now, I’m not saying that this was a bad idea but I thought that Gray needed to show more attention at that point to Suzy than to Reva. Yes, he should have shown concern for her – especially if she actually was having his child but the way he treated Suzy after that pissed me off so badly I had a hard time with it. After the tenderness and devotion he’s shown Suzy before, the fact that he actually blew her off later in the story (his claims that it was too late at night was complete BS to me) put him in the major doghouse. The eventual explanation from different characters was just not enough for me at that point.

The story was cute and a decent read but unfortunately had a hero I couldn’t love and that brought the rating way down.

Rating: 3 out of 5

The Series:
Book Cover Book Cover

three-stars


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Review: Steam Bath: Sweaty Gay Erotica edited by Shane Allison + a Giveaway!

Posted September 11, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 5 Comments

Steamy encounters in the bathhouse have been the stuff of erotic legend for centuries, just ask Spartacus! Shane Allison turns the stereotype on its ear in Steam Bath, a rollicking romp of pretty boys and dashing daddies doing it. From fresh faced twinks to silver foxes and beautiful bears, Shane delivers sensational stories where every man is naked ALL THE TIME! A towel-snapping good read, Steam Bath is filled with sizzling porn bodies, sexy boys next door, and tantalizing tricks that fully capture the erotic dynamic of between men. Rob Rosen turns up the heat once again in his new tale, “The Key.” A young detective sets out to investigate the disappearance of a young twink, but finds more than what he ever thought imaginable in Logan Zachary’s “Incubus Steam.” A tattooed bad boy gets taught a “hard” lesson in Eric Del Carlo’s “Steam Punk.” A mind is not the only thing that gets blown in Rafaelito V. Sy’s “Raf’s Journey.” Things get hot and heavy when a college professor and one of his horny students stumble upon a European steam bath in Jarrett Neal’s “The Chaperones.”

I have to admit that the thought of a bathhouse is certainly fascinating to me and frankly more than a bit titillating. The thought of the freedom that gay men find in these stories was enough to hook my interest and make me turn each page.

A couple that stood out to me were:

Incubus Steams by Logan Zachary – the story of a cop investigating missing men and finding himself thoroughly patted down instead. This had a very strange ending that I’m still kind of confused about but it’s definitely stuck in my head.

The Gay Dude by Gregory L. Norris was longer than the rest (except for one other) and was pretty funny, hot and sexy. This was about three friends not understanding one friend being gay and trying to figure out where the new boyfriend fit in in their band of musketeers. While a very cute story the overuse of the word “dude” just about did me in. :0)

The Real End of It by Shaun Levin was an interesting blend of sex and reality. A man who was madly in love with Martin in previous years but they parted ways. Now many years later they hook up again at a bathhouse but the man looks at Martin with different, changed, older eyes and frankly wonders why he was ever enamored and how he can now feel nothing for the man. The story was told in first person and I found it an interesting view.

The stories encompassed in Steam Bath are definitely filled with all ages, shapes and sizes of men. All of the stories were certainly fun, sexy and most assuredly sweaty. I really enjoyed some of the stories while others were a bit on the sex overload for my liking – which I should have expected in an erotic anthology but maybe I just needed to take a break. lol I liked them all but as in all anthologies I liked some more than others. If you’re looking for some sweaty gay erotica then this is definitely the book for you.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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Guest Review: Burn by Maya Banks

Posted September 11, 2013 by Ames in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review:  Burn by Maya BanksReviewer: Ames
Burn (Breathless, #3) by Maya Banks
Series: Breathless #3
Also in this series: Rush (Breathless, #1), Fever (Breathless, #2), Rush (Breathless, #1), Fever (Breathless, #2), Burn (Breathless, #3)
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: August 6, 2013
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Erotica
Pages: 353
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Ash, Jace, and Gabe: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Ash, it’s the woman who changes everything he’s ever known about dominance and desire...

When it comes to sex, Ash McIntyre has always explored his wilder side — extreme and uncompromising. He demands control. And he prefers women who want it like that. Even the women he’s shared with his best friend, Jace.

But Jace is involved with a woman he has no intention of sharing. And now even Gabe has settled into a relationship with a woman who gives him everything he needs, leaving Ash feeling restless and unfulfilled.

Then Ash meets Josie, who seems immune to his charms and his wealth. Intrigued, he begins a relentless pursuit, determined she won’t be the one who got away. He never imagined the one woman to tell him no would be the only woman who’d ever drive him to the edge of desire.

I debated reading this one after the wreck that was Fever but I wanted to see what kind of woman Ash would end up with. I was hoping it would be someone feisty and who would stand up to him, because he’s a charming guy and used to getting his way. Yeah…I definitely set myself up for disappointment with that expectation.

Ash is in the park one day, when he spies a beautiful woman and her sketchpad. Just by observing her, he can tell that the diamond collar around her neck is not for her. He also knows what that collar signifies: she is a submissive. And her dominant does not understand her if he gave her that collar. When their eyes meet, Ash walks over and introduces himself. And then he tells her that if he was her dom, he would give her a collar that suits her. Definitely arrogant. Josie, the young artiste in the park, is not one to fall at his feet, although she does think he’s beautiful. From that brief meeting, Ash sets men to keep an eye on Josie and buys up all her artwork at a small gallery. When one of his men sees that Josie sold some jewelry, Ash buys it and uses it to meet Josie again. Ash knows he wants Josie, and he wants to give her a chance to get to know him. Not long after, Josie moves in with Ash and they begin to fall in love. But an enemy from Gabe’s past is not done with the three friends and makes his move against Josie…

Burn did not wow me. I didn’t connect with the characters. I wanted Josie to have more of a personality than she did. She was like Bethany 2.0. Except not homeless. She’s just a vessel for Ash to pour all his love into. It’s a bit harsh, but that’s how it comes across. Her job, being an artist, makes it very easy for her to move into Ash’s life and wait around for him. Ash’s takeover of her life rubbed me the wrong way. He meets her and then right away sets about stalking her (via his employees) and taking over her life. She puts up a bit of a fight but then caves when he moves her into his apartment. Fine, she wants someone to take care of her. Part of her being able to do that is her recent success with her paintings. Someone is buying up all her work and that gives her confidence. Of course that comes back to bite her in the ass…and then she shows some spirit. But it felt like too little too late by the time that happened.

Overall, Burn was underwhelming. Ash was almost a carbon copy of Jace and Gabe when it comes to how he treats his woman. The sex scenes were repetitive and the conflict (with Gabe’s enemy from book 1) was weak. Overall, Burn did not wow me nor did it make me angry like Fever did.

3 out of 5

Breathless

three-stars


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