Author: Anne Calhoun

Guest Review: Afternoon Delight by Anne Calhoun

Posted February 5, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Afternoon Delight by Anne CalhounReviewer: Tracy
Afternoon Delight by Anne Calhoun
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: September 16th 2014
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three-half-stars

Sarah Naylor, food truck co-owner and recent Manhattan transplant, savors each moment of her new job—whether it’s refining the truck's menu, learning the city, or spending afternoons in bed with the hot paramedic who's fast becoming her favorite customer.

Tim Cannon spends his days sprinting from one emergency to the next. He eats like he works—at top speed—somewhere along the line he lost his ability to enjoy life's simple pleasures. Hooking up with Sarah is just another way to cope with the stress of his job, until their afternoon trysts coax Tim into enjoying everything he's avoided. Can Tim learn to balance his job saving lives with the everyday delights that make life worth living? If anyone can teach him, it’s Sarah….

Tracy’s review of Afternoon Delight by Anne Calhoun.

Tim Cannon is a paramedic in NYC who is uses speed as his drug of choice. Not the actual DRUG but speed as in adrenaline. He does everything in his job well but he does it at the speed of light. He has to slow down somewhat to train his new paramedic but that’s about as slow as it gets. He eats fast, has sex fast and doesn’t’ stick around to smell the roses. That’s until he meets Sarah McCall. He’s in the park near his station one day for lunch – eating hot dogs at the speed of light – when she sees him and brings him a bowl of food from her food truck. Not only does he like the food but he likes her. Soon they’re back at his apartment and Sarah is showing him how doing things slowly can make things that much better.

Sarah moved to NYC after her aunt died. She had taken care of her aunt Joan for two years while she suffered from cancer but she eventually died. Joan wanted Sarah to get back to her old self but being with Joan and being there when she passed changed Sarah. She finds she really likes spending time with Tim and she likes the challenges they give each other when it comes to sex.

They spend more and more time together, exploring the city and finding new ways to enjoy each others company. Tim enjoys going slow with Sarah as he appreciates what happens when they go slow during sex but he refuses to see their relationship as anything other than sex – no matter what he’s truly feeling inside. He watched his grandparents die and that affected him greatly. Why stop to enjoy life when it’s all gonna end anyway, right? When his decision to see Sarah as nothing more than a sex partner comes back to bite him in the ass he realizes that maybe there’s more to get out of life if he slows down a bit.

Afternoon delight is an erotic book that shows us the start of a relationship. I loved the sweet and sexy sex scenes between Sarah and Tim. Hot and fast have their own appeal but the slow burn between Sarah and Tim was more than appealing.

I understood both Tim and Sarah’s issues and I was so happy when Tim finally pulled his head out of it and decided to live life again. Sarah was a great woman and I think she was perfect for Tim. That being said I did have a problem with the emotional connection between the two. I could see them getting closer but when it came down to it I felt it was really new and just starting to grow. The way that Sarah reacted when she realized Tim didn’t feel as strongly as she did was a bit confounding for me because I hadn’t seen the strength in the relationship quite yet. I would love to get a follow up story between Sarah and Tim and see more of a romance between these two.

Overall I liked story and it was a good way to spend a few hours reading.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This title is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: Unforgiven by Anne Calhoun

Posted June 12, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Unforgiven by Anne CalhounReviewer: Tracy
Unforgiven (Walkers Ford, #1) by Anne Calhoun
Series: Walkers Ford #1
Publisher: Penguin, Berkley
Publication Date: June 4th 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 304
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

For as long as he could remember, he wanted her…

Raised by a single mother, Adam Collins resolved to take no chances with a girl’s future—or his own. That’s why, as hard as it was, he resisted everything he felt for Marissa Brooks. Then one night a reckless challenge left a fellow student dead and changed both their lives forever. As penance, Adam took the boy’s place in the Marines, where he could disappear into discipline and duty, and left Marissa behind to struggle with her dreams.

Twelve years later, Adam is back in Walkers Ford to serve as the best man in his friend’s wedding. The years haven’t diminished the electric connection he has with Marissa. But Adam’s mistake continues to haunt him, and Marissa is stumbling under the weight of her family’s legacy. Together they wrestle with demons and dreams, but if there’s any hope for a future together Adam has to not only find a way to forgive himself, but also ask others for forgiveness—especially from the woman whose heart he broke.(less)

At the age of 17 Adam Collins was a very passionate boy but unfortunately didn’t know how to channel that passion. One night when it got out of control he got into a motorcycle race and someone died.

Adam spends the next 12 years in the Marines and comes home to Walkers Ford for his best friends wedding. His best friend however is marrying Adam’s ex-fiance. Awkward. From the beginning we know that Adam has himself locked down emotionally with only his friend Marissa bringing out the passion. Adam has spent the past 12 years trying to atone for the wrong he did that one night and in doing so has given up living in many ways.

Marissa is a woman who has lived in Walkers Ford her whole life as her family history goes back 150 years. She has restored her family’s estate to its former glory – or at least very close by the time Adam shows up – but she’s hesitant to take that final step. Once it’s done, what will she do with herself as her dream is fulfilled? She hasn’t let herself think about the other dream, sailing, as she doesn’t believe that it’s one that can ever be seeing as how she lives in South Dakota.

When Adam comes home he and Marissa start up almost exactly where they left off but with both of them denying themselves where will they end up.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened the pages to this book. I’ve only read one other story by her and that was a novella but she had me loving her writing style. This book was no different in that she doesn’t spare the reader anything. I love how she took all the different nuances of the characters and brought them all to the forefront of the story. She’s not afraid to get down and dirty with the characters emotionally and I love that.

This story was really intense. You could tell from the start that Adam was in hell but no one could see it but Marissa. He was trying so hard to be the person he thought he should be to make up for his biggest mistake but while doing that he was killing himself inside. Marissa was quite as locked down but she was resisting the pull of things outside of her small South Dakotan town. The way the couple helped each other – sometimes without even knowing it. Seeing two broken souls together and making it all work in the end had me riveted and I could hardly put the book down.

Overall a great book and one I definitely recommend.

Rating: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

four-stars


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