Holly‘s review of Turn it On (Turner Twins, Book 1) by Vivian Arend

Pushing the sensual limits can set off all kinds of alarms…

Turner Twins, Book 1

Inheriting her grandmother’s home is a dream come true for web designer Maxine Turner. She’s looking forward to a little freedom from the constant demands of her beloved, crazy mob of a family. When vandals expose just how vulnerable she is living alone, she seeks help.

Ryan Claymore’s well-thought-out life was wrenched out from under him when responsibility for his special-needs stepbrother landed on his shoulders. Going from military man to business man hasn’t been easy. He counts himself lucky he’s found Maxine to trade his security-system knowledge for her website expertise.

The red-hot chemistry that sizzles between them comes from out of the blue, and they both fight a losing battle to resist. Even the secret Ryan hides isn’t enough to keep Maxine from working her way into his heart—and his bed.

But something else might tear them apart. Whoever seems determined to destroy her home, and her sanity along with it.

This was a good contemporary romance. There wasn’t a lot of conflict – either internal or external – just two people getting to know each other and falling love. It was a sweet, sexy slide, too.

Ryan has left the army in order to care for his mentally challenged half-brother. It’s a major adjustment for him, but he’s making the best of it. He’s started his own security company and contacts Max Turner to help set up a website for it. As it turns out, Max needs a little help of her own..

Someone vandalized her house and she needs a security system. She offers a trade of services and Ryan agrees to check out her place. Even though the timing is rotten for both of them (Max is just breaking away from her family for the first time), they can’t deny the attraction between them. Though neither is looking for something long-term, they embark on an affair…that quickly becomes more.

As I said, I really enjoyed the progression of the romance. Ryan was sweet and attentive. Their early dates and the way he wanted to take care of Max was cute. Max’s independence was important to him and he didn’t try to take that away from her. The result was she felt cherished. Max wasn’t sure about getting involved with Ryan, especially after the way her ex treated her. But the fact that he was so sure of himself helped eased her fears. They really complimented each other, each giving and taking just the right amount.

The book wasn’t wholly without conflict – the vandalism at Max’s place doesn’t stop, which causes some tension between the couple. I started to get really annoyed with Max over this, but she was redeemed. Plus, Ryan isn’t completely up front about his brother in the beginning. His reasons for keeping his brother a secret were admirable, but I understood why Max was so upset about it.

I do have to say..the whole “Max” thing in the Turner clan was pretty cheesy (Pretty much every person in the family has “max” in their name, one way or another), though kind of fun (in a silly way) at the same time.

Overall a sexy contemporary romance.

4.25 out of 5

The series:

This book is available from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here in e-format.

Holly‘s review of Turn it Up (Turner Twins, Book 2) by Vivian Arend

She wants it. He’s got it…and a whole lot more.


Turner Twins, Book 2


Maxwell Turner considers his stubborn and resourceful attitude a plus. After all, it usually gets him what he wants—except for Natasha Bellingham. The long-time family friend may be ten years older than he, but so what? He’s plenty old enough to know they belong together. Now all he has to do is convince her.


Over the past few years Natasha’s love life has degenerated into a series of bad clichés. Her biological clock is ticking—loudly. As a proven architect with her own house-design company, she’s financially ready for a baby. Who says she needs a permanent man in her life for that? She just needs a “donation”.


When Max discovers Natasha’s future plans include artificial insemination, he’s outraged. She wants to get pregnant? No problem. He’s more than willing to volunteer—no turkey basters involved.


But there’s one non-negotiable clause: He wants forever. And he intends to do everything in his power—fair and unfair—to make it happen.

This is the second book in the Turner Twins series, but it’s set before the events of the first book take place. I have no idea why that is. I can’t say I was really spoiled for the story because of it, but I suggest reading them out of order. I really like Arend’s writing style. Her stories are very readable.

This is an older woman/younger man story. Natasha Bellingham has pretty much run out of time to start a family. After much consideration, she decides she’s going to go it alone. None of her relationships have worked out, and she doesn’t need a man to become a mother, does she? But the night of her last hurrah as a single woman, she drinks way too much and spills the beans to Maxwell Turner.

Max has been in love with Tasha most of his life. When he finds out her plans to become a single mother, he decides now is the time to act. Before she has a chance to recover from her night out, he proposes a plan – the become parenting partners. If she marries him, that will mean two parents for the kid and a large extended family as well (she isn’t close with her family, but there are about a billion Turners). Tasha isn’t too receptive to the idea at first, but Max knows he can talk her into it..and a whole lot more, if given the time.

Tasha has to admit Max’s plan is well thought out and makes a lot of sense. The idea of having a partner to share the parenting with is pretty appealing..but Tasha is too afraid of being hurt again to risk more than a light friendship. Too bad for her Max has other ideas…

I enjoyed this one, though not as much as the first in the series. Tasha’s hang-ups about relationships made sense in the beginning, but the longer she held herself back the more I questioned the fact that she was 34 years old. Even though men mature a lot slower than women, Max was definitely the more mature of the two when it came to love.

I expected the age issue to come into play, but Arend handled it extremely well. With the exception of a few minor freak-outs and a crazy, bitter cousins, it isn’t much of an issue at all. Although Tasha is concerned that Max won’t be faithful because he’s so much younger and men her age can’t commit, she doesn’t let come between them. It’s just too bad she let so much other stuff come between them…

Max was definitely the best part of this book. I adored him. He was a strong and caring, and he wasn’t afraid to go after what he wanted. The way he pursued Tasha really appealed to me, because it wasn’t this crazy sensual assault with no emotion behind it..he was thoughtful with her. He showed her that he cared about her, in the bedroom and out of it. It didn’t hurt that he was sexy and had a genius level IQ, either.

Lila, the crazy bitter cousin, was a little over the top. I get that she had some personal hangups that kind of fueled some of Tasha’s hangups, but..well, the whole drama with her seemed like a waste of page time. There wasn’t really a point in including it other than to add external drama..which wasn’t really needed, considering.

I liked that Max knew what he wanted and went about getting it. He didn’t screw around or play games – he stated his intentions and followed through. Overall a solid read.

3.75 out of 5

The series:

This book is available from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here in e-format.