Synopsis

Alexa accidentally sends a racy email to her hot boss Jesse (Jess).

“Jess was four things. Tall. Dark. Lean. Sexy.”

Jess is attracted to Alexa but as his employee and knowing it violates company policy, he does nothing to act on this attraction.

“As long as Alexa was his employee, any type of personal relationship was out of the question.”

That does not stop him from fantasizing though.

“Jess wanted her is more positions than just his account manager.”

From the accidental email, it was a surprise to know that she felt the same way. This changes things and he is trying to figure out how they can explore the relationship without causing problems at work. Adding to the complexity of the situation, Jess’ sister has an instant dislike towards Alexa.

Opinion

Have you ever accidentally send an email to wrong person?

Not that you should try this if you have a crush on your boss, but it made an interesting story nonetheless. While the story was short, I thought it was evenly paced to keep my interest.

I liked Alexa and wanted her to have a happy ending. Learning her back story was somber, but it said a lot about her as to what type of person she was.

I understand why Jess wanted to hide the relationship. People would get the wrong idea as to why Alexa got promoted. Office gossip can be brutal.

Jess’ sister annoyed me. She was so overbearing like she was his mother.

It was a while before I realized that the book was the first in a series. That is a good thing. While the story continues, the author gives me the choice to decide if I want to read more without ending the book on a cliffhanger. I am surprised they said “love” so soon.

Should you buy? Yes. While cliquey, it was fun and the hero/heroine had great interaction. I might get the next book in the series to see if Jess’ sister gets a man. I believe that a little love in anyone’s life will mellow them out.

Book details from Goodreads
Kindle Edition, 48 pages
Published May 2012 by Shadonna Richards
Original title Accidentally Flirting with the CEO
series Whirlwind Romance #1
Available on Amazon (link is for the complete set since I can’t find the link for that one book)

Red Hot and Blue series

Feb10

Red Hot and Blue series ♥♥♥

Sometimes there is a series that is interesting enough that I read all the books.
Red Hot and Blue series by Cat Johnson is one of those.

Synopsis x 6

Book 1 Trey: Red, Hot & Blue (Red, Hot, & Blue) – Trey – Navy Seal – and Carly

Trey and Jack (Trey’s best friend) have a crush on local bar owner named Carly. Circumstances create a situation where Trey and Carly have to work undercover on an assignment and they end up falling for each other.

Book 2 Jack: Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 2 – Jack – Navy Seal on rebound since his crush fell for his best friend in book 1 – and Nicolina (aka Nicki)

Jack is back home in small town Pigeon Hollow nursing his emotional wounds and ends up falling for Nicki who is hiding from her mob ex-boyfriend.

Book 3 Jimmy: Red, Hot, & Blue– Jimmy – Jack’s brother and also Navy Seal – and Amelia (aka Lia)

While on an assignment, Jimmy ends up having a one night stand with Lia, the state governor’s daughter. Neither person knew who the other was. The night of passion was so memorable that when the met again, sparks were popping all over the place.

Book 3.5 BB Dalton: a Red Hot & Blue bonus read (Red, Hot, & Blue) – Billy Bob (BB) Dalton – Navy Seal – and Katherine (Katie) (novella that was for a time free on Amazon)

Chosen for a Special Ops recruiting poster, BB is reluctantly pulled into the marketing campaign. Katie was his handler. There is a lot of chemistry but Katie’s hang up is that BB is 10 plus years younger than her.

Book 4 Jared (Red, Hot, & Blue) – Jared – Jimmy and Jack’s brother – and Mandy

Since his two brothers are in the Special Forces, he is helping their mother hold down the ranch and maintain the family business. Mandy is a Reality TV producer who came to Pigeon Hollow to film life on Gordon Ranch. She did not expect to find love as well.

Book 5 Cole (Red, Hot, & Blue) – Cole – an ex-professional baseball player – and Lizzie

After an injury forces Cole into retirement from baseball, he returns home to Pigeon Hollow to find that he still loves his high school sweetheart. Lizzie loves him too but is sabotaging their relationship by keeping secrets.

Book 6 Bobby: Red, Hot & Blue (Red, Hot, & Blue) – Bobby – Lizzie’s brother, sheriff, and Jared’s friend – Christy – Mandy’s friend

Bobby falls for Christy who is the assistant producer of the reality show filming in Pigeon Hollow.

Whew! That’s a lot of synopsis going on there.

Opinion

Judging from the time it took me to read, each book (with the exception of the novella) is about 150 – 200 pages. Besides Cole & Lizzie’s story, all the others feature variations of the love-at-first-sight trope as the basis for romance.

I do not think that is realistic, but it can be entertaining. Other than what I said above in each synopsis, there is not a lot to say about these stories without giving away the whole books. Since the books are short novels, there is not a lot in the character development department.

I rated these books as a set because even though each story is full on its own, it helps to read in order. I actually read Cole & Lizzie’s story first. It was good but once I read the preceding books, it made some of the little details mean so much more. Knowing the secondary characters provided an extra dimension to whole story. Each story helps to create the bigger picture of the town Pigeon Hollow and the camaraderie of the special ops team members.

Most inventive storyline – Trey (it was so complex)

Favorite – Cole (he was a sweetheart)

Least favorite – Bobby (the story seemed rushed at the end)

Should you buy? Cat Johnson has proven to be a consistent author. Buy one or buy them all and you will not be disappointed if you are looking for an average, light romance. I would not say that the books in this series are on the level of Jane Eyre or The Notebook, but simply said, it is a group of individuals who are part of fun romance stories. Plus most are NAVY SEALS!

Caveat: Love scenes are all graphic

Arabian nights with a rake

Jan30

Arabian Nights with a Rake ♥ ♥

Synopsis

This story takes place in Algeria. A British diplomat’s daughter Susannah has been captured and is held in captivity by a sheik. She was summoned to dance for the sheik and his guests (including Alex).She hatches a plan in hopes to escape. Meanwhile, Alex is enthralled by her beauty and has to have her at any cost. Fortunately for him, the attraction is mutual.

Opinion

I do not know much about Britain’s history during this period, so I did not understand the conflict. Alex’s behavior did not seem to be very “Rake” like, so the title was a contradiction to me (I sometimes get hung up on semantics). Susannah was a tough woman that did what she felt she had to do in order to survive. Knowing that the sheik’s brother-in-law lusted after her, she had to make alliances in order to elude his advances.

The book was okay but I did not feel involved in the characters. The story was too short for much character development. I feel like the story assumed the reader knew more of the history of the time period. Plus, I chose this book based on the cover art and thought it was going to be a totally different book. I thought the sheikh was going to be the hero of the book and not the source of conflict.

Besides the physical attraction between Alex and Susannah, I do not know what else they had. Their love story was not anything special. Some might find it romantic where the lead main character saves the woman and rides off into the sunset. There has to be more to it than that for me. I roll my eyes if after a day or two, the main characters are declaring everlasting love.

If you fall in love that quickly, you will probably fall out of love just as quickly.

I know I sound picky, but I have my opinions.

Should you buy? As I have said before, if you are just looking for something to fill the time during a rainy day or a wait at a doctor’s office, this is a book that can satisfy that need. If you’re looking for more than that, you might need to find a different book.

Save me from the Billionaire

Jan5

The Billionaire’s Salvation:: (The Billionaire’s Obsession ~ Max) ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Max is a billionaire whose wife Mia was missing in what appeared to be a drowning. Two years later, Mia reappears. However, because of a head injury, she has amnesia. Max is not leaving her side. He is ecstatic to have a second chance with his wife who was thought to be dead. Mia wants to remember what happened so that she can figure out what happened to her during the two-year disappearance.

Opinion

Ummm. The plot to this story was more convoluted than I usually have patience for. I gave this book a lot of leeway because I liked the first two books in the Billionaire’s Obsession series.

Before the disappearance, Max thought his love for Mia was too intense. Not wanting to overwhelm her, he reigned in his true emotions. That only made him seem more distant. The more “distant” he became, the more Mia tried to change to what she thought he wanted her to be so that he would stay. The more she changed, the more Max tried to stay away since he thought he was loving her too much. It was a vicious cycle.

Max- “I’ve always adored you, but I’m not sure we ever really knew each other.”

Yeah. What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Now that Max has her back in his life, he is determined to let her know how he really feels. Of course, there were the usual “You’re mine” and “You belong to me“declarations all throughout the book. He cannot be obsessed if he does not definitively make his claim. However, I cannot explain why his declarations were lacking something. I did not have the same warm fuzzy feeling as with Sam and Simon. I think the main reason is because, other than the fact that he was adopted, he had no real problems in his childhood. Why does he have issues? What did he have to overcome to find love?

Then book got sappy with all the times they said “I love you”.

It might be a big surprise to you, but I am not a romantic. If the couple realizes early in the book that they are in love, I need for them to have major conflict for the rest of the book to help them understand that their love is real without a doubt. In this case, they were so in love the whole book with no real conflict. Real conflict , in my opinion, is not easily resolved with communication.

The whole book could be chalked up to a major misunderstanding.

Side point #1: It seemed Max’s frequent use of profanity did not fit his personality. I thought it was unnecessary.

Side point #2: Mia got on my nerves. Considering she was a victim of domestic violence from a previous relationship, I tried to be understanding. But it got to a point where I thought she was being totally ridiculous.

Overall, I did not think The Billionaire’s Salvation was as good as the first two in the series. I will continue reading the series because I love, love Sam and Simon. I will probably read any book where they make an appearance. I must say that I am looking forward to Travis’ story because he seems to have what it takes to be another one of my dreamy book boyfriends.

Should you buy? Since this was my least favorite of the series so far, probably not. If you have Amazon Prime borrow it.

Love in all the wrong places- Book one in the LA series

Dec25

Love in All the Wrong Places (Love in L.A.)

Synopsis

Annie has been unlucky in love her whole life. She decides to try to find someone by posting an ad of Craigslist.

She meets Gabe, a real estate agent. When that does not work out, she meets Nate, a social worker.

After these two guys, she is left wondering what she is doing wrong because both relationships failed.

By 85% of the book (I have a Kindle so I do not know page numbers) , she meets Casey, a dancer (not the exotic kind). The book ends with him asking Annie on a date.

Opinion

I was so distracted by the cover that I missed the fact that this was not a complete story. It ends with a cliffhanger.

But since that was my own fault, I am not going to downgrade my rating on that.

Here is how I describe the main characters of the book **WITH SPOILERS**

Gabe – Douche who breaks it off with Annie to go back to his pregnant girlfriend

Nate – Flake who disappears after their first time together

Annie – Desperate to be in a relationship that she makes a lot of bad partner decisions. Most importantly for Annie, she needs to stop sleeping with these guys on the first date. She is so sure that the relationship is going to to work and when it does not, she is surprised. This girl needs to stop jumping in bed with every guy that smiles at her. If she would take the physical part of the relationship out of the equation, then she could spend quality time with the guy and get to know him.

Annie wants to do online dating but somehow paying for a reputable dating service seems more desperate to her than posting on Craigslist. Talk about twisted logic. Give me e-harmony or match.com over Craigslist any day. Ok Cupid is probably better than Craigslist and my friend said there are a lot of creepers on there too.

This book was not romance. It was plain old fiction. In my opinion, it reads like a few “Sex in the City” episodes mashed together.

Three strikes against this book as a romance because (1) it is not complete (2) Annie is not someone I liked (3) no hero is clearly identified. I feel sorry for her because she was not in any emotional position to be in a healthy relationship. She needs to grow and mature. Maybe she will in the following books in the series, but I am not willing to bet my time on her character evolution. I am more of a cut-my-losses-and-run type of girl.

Should you buy? Pass unless you like reading about women having lots of one night stands while trying to figure out what went wrong the day after.