Review: Forbidden Fantasies by Jodie Griffin

Title: Forbidden Fantasies
Author: Jodie Griffin
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: March 5, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893339
Received via NetGalley
Genre: Erotic Romance


The Blurb:

After fifteen years of marriage, Jessica Meyers's sex life is, well, a little predictable. Her handsome husband turns her on, but missionary style once or twice a week? It just can't compare to the hot new world she discovers in the pages of erotic romances. Her fantasies fuel the fire of her desire, adding a new spark to her and Alex's lovemaking. But Jess is afraid to tell her husband what shereally wants in bed-and her secrets start coming between them.

State trooper Alex Meyers is a master at uncovering the truth-except when it comes to his sweet, shy wife. She's clearly keeping something from him. An affair? She wants out? When he finally confronts Jess, he's shocked to learn she wants to turn her forbidden fantasies into nightly realities. But when he takes her to a unique B and B-Bondage and Breakfast-catering to couples and multiples, Alex is about to find out just how far he'll go.


My Take:


Jess has been living her sexual fantasies. In her head that is. She's afraid to tell her husband about the erotic books she's been reading and even more afraid to tell him that she wants to try some of the things in those books. It's a very believable fear, especially because the unknown often is scary. Alex believes the worst, thinking his wife is having an affair. She's been distant lately even after they're together and it bothers him. Until he finally confronts her and all is finally revealed.


This novella is hot, hot hot. It worked well for being so short and as such I didn't have a problem with the plot feeling too rushed etc. It was enjoyable to read and had parts that even had me blushing (and it takes a lot to make me blush.) Mostly, this type of story was right up my alley heat wise.


The one thing that I found I had a problem with was the dialogue. I had a hard time "listening" to the characters as thought the dialogue felt forced and stilted. Not believable. At least not to me. I find this to be a shame, as there is so much potential here to convey so much emotion and it fell flat in this area. I, unfortunately, found myself wanting to skim over the dialogue and get to the internalizations and "action" because it was all conveyed much better than the dialogue. I wish I could have connected to it more as I really enjoyed the story, but problems with dialogue are hard for me to overlook when reading and as such my rating reflects this problem.


My Rating: 3/5 Lattes







All My Best,


Kayla

Review: Gentlemen Prefer Nerds by Joan Kilby

Publisher: Carina Press

Publication Date: March 12, 2012

ISBN: 9781426893377

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

Self-professed nerd Maddie Maloney is an expert on jewels. Jewel thieves are another matter entirely! So when a mysterious Englishman warns her that a thief known as The Chameleon is after the rare pink diamond on display in her aunt's shop, she tells herself it's just a joke. Even if she can't get Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome out of her mind...

But Fabian Montgomery doesn't give up easily. He's everywhere she goes, convinced the thief will strike. And when the diamond does go missing-and Maddie is suspected of stealing it-he whisks her away from the police and together they pursue The Chameleon.

Fabian plunges her into a glamorous world far from her humble workshop and transforms geeky Maddie into a sophisticated siren capable of espionage. Her mission: to seduce The Chameleon and steal back the diamond.

But Fabian isn't telling her everything-like who he works for, and why he's so interested in The Chameleon...

My Take:

Gentlemen Prefer Nerds, a cute catchy title that is obviously a play on the Marilyn Monroe film, Gentle Prefer Blondes, and this story has diamonds to boot, though if you ask me, the Rose diamond is far greater than anything I could want from Harry Winston or ever Cartier. Grin.

The story was cute and fun and the pacing was awesome. Maddie, a self-proclaimed nerd, is a well-respected Gemologist who discovered a large and extremely rare pink diamond. Soon after obtaining it and getting it ready for display at her aunt’s jewelry store, a mysterious man warns her that the diamond is in danger of being stolen from right under Maddie’s nose. Convinced the man is doing nothing other than trying to startle her, she dismisses him. That is until the diamond does indeed get stolen from right under her nose and discovers she is the main suspect. She’s thrust into a whirlwind escape and an adventure with the mysterious man as the two of them try to recover the stolen diamond and clear her name.

Even though Maddie considers herself a nerd, and while she is definitely book smart in this story, I personally at least, wouldn’t classify her as a nerd per say. She’s definitely a rule follower and definitely smart, but not a nerd, except when it comes to gems and her style of dress. I particularly enjoyed watching Maddie come out of her shell and grow as a person in this story, she was sort of a late bloomer in life, who even after blooming, doesn’t mind reverting back to her old self, but keeps hints of her new self regardless and knows what she is now capable of

Also, the sexual tension between Maddie and Fabian (the mysterious man) was a little on the flat side for me, especially given that at the beginning of the story it seems Fabian is still hung up on somebody else. Even toward the end when he realizes he’s in love with Maddie, I still felt like he wasn’t completely over this other woman and that he simply thrust his feelings for said woman aside. It could just be me who feels this way and, after all, a review is simply an opinion, but that is how it came across for me.

The main thing I disliked about this entire story was the ending. Sure they get their HEA/HFN, but I didn’t feel as though it was really going to happen for them. I like to have a sense of closure when I’m finished and to me, it felt as though the story was cut off before I got that closure, so unless the author has plans for a sequel or something of the sort which gives good reason for the cut off, I was rather disappointed with the ending, especially considering how much I enjoyed the rest of the story.

For me, this story was good, and I believe it could have been great had I really believed the romance between Maddie and Fabian, but even though it didn’t cross over into my great reads column I still enjoyed it. Quirky characters, I particularly liked Maddie’s father, a fun, light tone that is very different from much of the darker toned books out there of late. Thanks to this book I’ve discovered a new author, who’s writing I very much enjoyed and I look forward to reading some of her backlist, maybe one of those will be shelved in my Great Reads column.

My Rating:

3.5/5 “Pink” Lattes

All My Best,

Kayla

Review: Almost Perfect by Jenna Jaxon

Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Pub Date: December 7, 2011
Contemporary Erotic Romance- Short

Blurb:

Pamela Kimball’s birthday present, a 1Night Stand adventure, promises jump-start her life, put a new man in her bed, and help her forget her past.  Unfortunately, movie-buff Pam’s Pirates of the Caribbean fantasy takes an alarming wrong turn when she’s abandoned on a not quite deserted island—with ex-husband Roger Ware.

Forced by hunger to accept Roger’s offer of dinner,  Pam realizes the geek she married has transformed into one of the most charming, sexiest men she’s ever met. His newfound confidence—and hot body—re-kindles old fires.  A simple kiss leads Roger to challenges her to discover how much his lovemaking skills have improved, leaving Pam torn between self-preservation and burning desire.

With time running out before they’re rescued, Pam must decide if her heart can survive the consequences of becoming Roger’s “almost” perfect 1Night Stand.

I'm a fan of rekindled love stories such as this. At the start of the story, Pam is so excited to be on her way to her birthday present, a one night stand fantasy, what she wasn't expecting was to find out that the matchmaking service used to determine her one night stand has chosen none other than her ex-husband Roger who she hates.

A troubled marriage that ended in divorce makes for a heated encounter between the two of them when they finally, after two years, see each other again, but alone on a deserted island, the once-couple is forced to take shelter together and in turn discover that the past doesn't necessarily equal the future as long as both parties are willing to work on their problems. One such problem was their sex life, which is definitely renewed in this story. A very hot and steamy short that will leave you breathless and hopeful that the once-couple can renew their marriage again and this time succeed. 

You can't forget about the little "show" the 1Night Stand service provides for the two of them to help make Pam's fantasy a little more reality, it was a cute and sweet and hot and I enjoyed the story very much.

At times, the story read a bit stilted to me, but I was able to easily overlook that and at some points throughout the story the playful banter between the couple came across as a little immature, but for the most part, Pam and Roger were great together and I really enjoyed them as a couple and am glad they were able to find each other again and start their relationship over. 

I expect some great things from Jenna Jaxon in the future and can't wait to read more of what she has to offer.

My Review: 4/5 "Steamy" Lattes

All My Best,

Kayla