Good Girls Don’t but they need to do better

Tessa is trying to do everything to hold her family together. All she has are her two brothers who are at each other’s throats because they differ in opinion of how to operate the family business. When there is a break-in, investigator Luke is on the case. Sparks are flying between them two and this prompts Tessa to seek Luke out for some consenting adult activities.

Tessa hides their affair from her overprotective brothers (which I think is a little ridiculous). Luke was a reluctant party in the affair because he is still bitter from the fact that his ex-wife left his while she had cancer. What does that say about him? His sick wife would rather be alone than have someone like him to lean on?

Tessa’s personality mildly annoyed me. On many occasions, she acted like a brat and tried to control everything to keep her brothers insulated. In her attempts to play peacemaker and keep everyone content, she would tell little lies. Deception gets complicated very quickly. This would end up stressing her out. When Tessa went off on Luke, I thought she was an idiot because there was no reason to take out her anger on him. She was exposed for all her misdeeds but she flipped it to make him somehow responsible.

Overall, Good Girls Don’t was more about Tessa coming to terms with her own bad behavior than the actual Tessa-Luke romance. Even with both of them being two emotionally messed up individuals, there is a happy-ever-after ending and all loose ends are resolved.

Side note: I still do not know what was the purpose of spending so much time on Wallace’s sex life. I do not see what it added to the story.

2013 in review: A REALLY GOOD YEAR

Dec31

When I look back over all the things that happened in 2013, I must say that I am thankful that it was a very good year for me. For my blog annual review, click this link https://amaryllisturman.wordpress.com/2013/annual-report/

– Did my first of many 5k races (Run your ice off) and continued running. Most notably I did a Mud Run and a Color Run. That is saying a lot because I do not like to get dirty.

– Qualified with my tennis team to go to State championships twice and my doubles partner and I won a one tennis tournament.

– Did a lot of traveling with the hubby, best vacay locale: Honolulu Hawaii

– Saw Mumford and sons in concert and it was AMAZING

– Went zip-lining for the first time through the jungles of Mexico and that was pretty cool

I am ready and excited for what new adventures I will have in 2014!

Sometimes, the girl makes the first move

Dec25

I put three of the SEALS On Fire team Arapaho stories together because the plot composition followed the same format.

In Dagger’s Edge, Jagger’s Moves, and Touching Ghost, the women have crushed on the guys for a long time and make the first move because they are tired of wondering “what if”.

Dagger’s Edge ♥♥♥
Synopsis
SEAL Dean (team name Dagger) promised his best friend Brice he would check on his sister Mia while in Key West on vacation leave. Dean has had a crush on Mia for years, but never made a move because she was his best friend’s little sister.

Mia has wanted Dean for close to 20 years but could not get him to pay her any attention. She is trying to seduce him before she gives up. She has obsessed over him for so long, that she wants to get him out of her system so that she can move on.

Dean tries to put of a fight but the temptation of what Mia is offering is too much to resist.

Jagger’s Moves ♥♥♥
Synopsis
Tyler (team name Jagger) and Alexa were childhood friends who reconnect after many years. Tyler is picking Alexa up from the airport because she is attending a work conference in Key West. Tyler sees this sexy woman get off the plane and is shocked to know that is his childhood buddy. She bloomed and filled out in all the right places.

Alexa is determined to hook up with Tyler and get him out of her system. She had a crush on him ages ago and she is going to make a move since he will not. She figures that the worse that could happen is that he turns her down.

When they finally come up for air, Tyler decides that he has more permanent plans for their relationship if Alexa will have him.

Touching Ghost ♥♥♥
Synopsis
Ren (team name Ghost) meets up with his longtime friend Sadie to catch up for old time’s sake. While Ren does not think that he is worthy of Sadie’s affection, she has other plans. After a trip down memory lane over dinner, Ren escorts Sadie to her room. Using all the courage she had, Sadie asks Ren to kiss her.

That was as combustible as a lit match at a gas station.

Opinions

In Jagger’s Moves, I did like the airport scene. Hilarious. Jagger did not know whether to be territorial or what.

While Dean (team name Dagger) is worried about what his friend is going to say, I think that Brice would probably say it was about time. The story does mainly focus on Dean’s commitment phobia. Being a military man like his father, he does not want to turn out like his father who abandoned his wife and son. These are valid thoughts that he has to mull over before making a life changing decision.

I think of the three, I liked Ren and Sadie’s story in Touching Ghost the most. Ren was very vulnerable emotionally and tried to cover over his true feelings. It was only when Sadie called him out that he admitted the truth. The way she did it made me smile.

Overall, these are fun short stories about people who loved each other forever and are finally hooking up. Although these are Alpha men, it is interesting that they did not think they were worthy to start a relationship with the girl. Each girl did not hook up with the intention of it being long term, but wanted something physical for one night. Since the relationship foundation was already there, the romance did not need much to blossom. I like romances between friends since I married my best friend. I know firsthand that it CAN happen. I did not make the first move like these girls, but sometimes men need an overt sign to let them know they will not be shot down if they try.

As with the rest of the books in this series, these novellas are HOT with plenty of steamy (graphic) love scenes. Once the main characters meet, it is one love scene after another. These mature adult stories are not for anyone with delicate sensibilities.

Love can be complicated

Dec20

SEALS On Fire – Melting Ice ♥♥♥

Synopsis
If Syndra and Team Arapaho SEAL team name Ice were to describe their relationship it would be “It’s complicated”. They have been together for almost 10 years and Syn is tired of the unable-to-define relationship. She feels that she has been at Ice’s beck and call when he is on leave for so long that there is no stability in her life. She wants more (like marriage and family) and knows that Ice cannot give it to her. Plus, when they started years ago, it was with the understanding that there would be no commitments placed on each other.

Ice has been with Syn long enough to know that something is up. Not being a real boyfriend means there are boundaries he cannot cross in the relationship. He surprises himself by admitting that he is not satisfied with the status quo any longer.

While Syn has decided Key West is the last hookup before she breaks it off, Ice is trying to keep her body and mind distracted long enough to avoid that inevitable conversation. He wants to have all his ducks in a row so that he can offer Syn the life that he knows she wants.

Opinion
I think this is my favorite of all the books. Ice and Syn were really in tune with each other. Of course, Ice should have been more forthcoming to what plans he was trying to make so that Syn would have had a better sense of stability. It seemed only when he was faced with the possibility that she might dump him, did he realize that he needed to man up and admit he wanted the relationship to go to the next level too. I also like that Syn was ready to walk away. Sometimes in a relationship, love is not enough and a person has to be strong enough to leave with their dignity since their heart is probably already broken.

SPOILER – Ice proposes. But what I will not say is how he does it. I laughed out loud. I reread the last chapter a couple of times because that was my favorite part of the book.

As with the rest of the SEALS On Fire books in this series, these novellas are HOT with plenty of steamy (graphic) love scenes. Once the main characters meet, it is one love scene after another. These mature adult stories are not for anyone with delicate sensibilities.

I could not find Melting Ice on Amazon, so the links are to the book collection.

My love affair with Old Main Catering food

Dec15

It seems that I have a foodie love affair with Old Main Catering. I have at least one blog post each year extolling the great food experiences. I have not had a mediocre experience yet. There is always different gourmet food being offered when OMC caters an event.

Over the summer, I attended several events that Old Main catered and I had to share pictures of my favorites from these events.

In the collage, here are the standouts.

Top left – Teriyaki wings. The flavor was tangy and a little sweet. These were probably the best teriyaki wings I have tasted. Most the time teriyaki can be too sweet and overly salty. With OMC, the balance of savory and sweet left my taste buds wanting more. It was messy to eat, but no one was complaining because it was so delicious.

Bottom left – Fruit water. I liked the presentation and the bright colors of the fruit. Who needs soda when you can have something that is so much more refreshing! Plus, I felt healthy drinking it.

Middle – Banana cream tarts. I have to dissect the dessert for you to fully understand how awesomely good this was. The pie shell was thick, buttery, sweet, flakey, and crumbled in your mouth. It was the perfect pie crust. The banana cream was thick, not too sweet, and had bits of banana in it. The whipped cream on top tasted like REAL whipped heavy cream with a hint of vanilla. And the caramel drizzle was super sweet but there was just enough to compliment all the other flavors without overpowering them. This is what dreams are made of. Sigh….

Top right – Smoked salmon tart. The same pie shell crust for this is as what was used in the banana cream tarts. In this instance, the sweetness of the crust seemed to be intensified in comparison to the savory smoked salmon quiche filling. I was not sure if I would like this because I never had smoked salmon in this way before. Although hesitant, I still tried it because I believe you cannot say you don’t like something if you have not tried it. In this case, I loved it! I ended my dinner by eating two of these tarts. The herbs and smoked salmon came together well.

Bottom right – Tiny apple pie. It was cute and delicious. Wonderful combination! I like bite size confections with hints of spice and fruit and flaky crust.

Bottom right – Key lime pie in chocolate shell. I have mentioned the key lime in chocolate shell before.

The chefs consistently produce creative bite-sized dishes that excite and delight my taste buds. At every event, I was sad that I could not eat more. I know that makes me sound like a little piggy, but OMC food is so good that it is worth a little gluttony.

Excuse me while I look for OMC’s next catered event…