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The Raging Ones & The Last Hope by Krista & Becca Ritchie
The Raging Ones & The Last Hope aren’t really romance novels. They’re classified as Young adult reads, and are actually Sci-Fi. They do contain love stories though, even if those are slow-burning and understated which seem to be the norm for American novels aimed at a younger audience. So, even though these two books don’t fit into my usual romance and smut selection, they’re so bloody good I need to review them anyway. Also, I might have a humongous crush on the Ritchie-sisters brains. Is brain-crush a word? Anyway, their writing is awesome and so original. An über-talented breath of fresh air in the sometimes stale romance genre (because, just…
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Black Sheep by Meghan March
This newest release from Meghan March is just as captivating and sexy as all her previous books are. I binged on Black Sheep and am now eagerly awaiting the second and concluding installment called White Knight. Because as is her MO, all of her stories are split in at least two parts, this duet’s named Dirty Mafia. Black Sheep is the story of Cannon Freeman and Drew Carson. He is the illegitimate son of the biggest mob-boss in New York, she is the investigative reporter trying to find the proof to send her father’s murderer to jail. Working undercover at the exclusive club Cannon manages, Drew is determined to find…
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Can’t Touch by Chara Croft
Can’t Touch is an M/M read that’s all about the D. And it’s deliciously raunchy, without the pretense of trying to be anything but a string of naughty scenes. I loved it. Of course, there is a story. But that’s only there to provide a backdrop to all the beautifully explicit carnality going on. It’s an X-rated College romance featuring Tyson, an unapologetically out an proud fotball player, and Sean, a very timid and closeted scholarship student. The two are paired up by student housing, sharing a dorm, and Tyson is immediately smitten with his shy room-mate. And it just so happens that his feelings are returned. The big, brawny…
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Mom-Com by Marika Ray
I so wanted to love this book. The blurb was awesome, it was a whole new spin to the most classic of tales, and it felt really fresh and inventive. What could possibly go wrong when the story is about Lily-Marie, a single mother of two, who decides to try tips from the 1950s to catch a husband? All the while her new (hot) neighbour Jameson is trying to prove to his son that romantic love doesn’t exist and uses Lily-Marie as his subject. That sounds like a fun, quirky story with endless potential. But unfortunately, my high expectations weren’t met. Don’t get me wrong, it was an entirely nice…
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Goalie Interference by Avon Gale & Piper Vaughn
This is yet another M/M sports romance that I enjoyed Immensely. Not being a hockey fan – at all – should probably have me bored to tears by the story setting, but instead it’s quite the opposite. But, on the other hand, which straight woman wouldn’t enjoy a sexy read with lots of super-fit male athletes in a testosterone-filled environment? Goalie Interference is the second installment in the Hat Trick series, and is coming out September 30. That I hadn’t read the first book didn’t matter at all though since they’re stand-alones. The story is of the classic enemies-to-lovers variety, but other than the trope, there is nothing regular or…
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Dirty English by Ilsa Madden-Mills
Dirty English is the first installment in a duet. It’s a classic College romance story with a little bit of everything. A hot, built Brit. A young woman with a traumatic past. A catty ex-girlfriend. An insane and abusive ex-boyfriend. Strained parental relations. And a bit of shagging. So, in other words, damn entertaining! It’s the love story of Elizabeth Bennett (!), College student and artist, and Declan Blay, British underground fighter and lover of classic literature. Elizabeth, damaged and wary, is trying to put her past behind her and focus on her studies. She is determined to not fall in love or let any man near enough for him…
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Sensation Fantasies 3 by Kimberly Knight
Sensation Fantasies 3 is the newest release in a supposedly hot and steamy series by Kimberly Knight. I write ‘supposedly’ because this was probably the least steam I’ve encountered in a book that claims to be all about the sexytimes. Don’t get me wrong, there were nudy scenes. There were different constellations of body parts connecting with other body parts. But it was all so technical, without feeling. So, a great big dud really. There are three books in the series and the same blurb is used for all three (I suppose that should have been a warning sign). It goes on about a highly exclusive and secret sex club,…
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How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway
How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway is a brilliant story with spot-on descriptions of the downside of internet dating, social media, and online trolls. It’s also disturbingly accurate in portraying the misogyny that suffuses society. This read is classified as women’s fiction and romance, and it is, but I actually think it’s quite a lot more than that. This is the story about Melanie, a computer science graduate and talented coder. She’s working a dead-end job at a help desk in an almost completely male workplace. Being over-qualified and under-appreciated at her job, she’s trying to at least get a love life and meet a decent guy. But…
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Vicious Tease and Vicious Looks by Loki Renard
These two Vicious books – Vicious Tease and Vicious Looks – are supposedly Dark Erotica and BDSM. And yes, they were indeed a bit dark. I’m not so sure about the erotica part though. That’s obviously my personal preferences talking though. To each their own and all that. I started out with Vicious Tease which is a very short prequel to Vicious Looks. And I was sufficiently intrigued as to go ahead with the full length (but still short) novel. Vicious Looks is the first of the series Vicious City which so far consists of four installments not counting the prequel. Vicious Tease is told from the viewpoints of the characters…
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Home Game by Odette Stone
Home Game is the second book in The Vancouver Wolves Hockey Series. The books are stand-alones so it didn’t matter at all that I hadn’t read the first one. It’s a super-cute romance featuring Zoey, a homeless former fosterkid, and Ryan, an NHL star. And one thing that’s fabulous about this read is that despite the story outline, it’s actually not a cinderella story. The story starts with a fluke meeting between Zoey and Ryan where Zoey ends up helping Ryan out. Later, when Zoey is attacked and hospitalized, it’s Ryan’s turn to help Zoey. What starts as akward and apprehensive interactions between strangers in time evolves into a tentative…