Bad For Her (A Bad Boys Gone Good Novel) by Christi Barth

Title: Bad For Her

Author: Christi Barth

Release Date: October 3, 2017

Publisher: HarperCollins

Blurb: Doctor Mollie Vickers loves the tight-knit community of her tiny Oregon town. But she’s not a fan of the limited dating options. Sleep with a guy who tried to copy off her in junior high? Pass. Mollie’s sex life is flat-lining… until a deliciously handsome man she’s never seen before stops to help her fix a flat tire.

As an ex-mobster, Rafe Maguire’s no saint. But he’s trying to turn over a new leaf. Although he probably shouldn’t kiss the hot doctor on the side of the highway. Or suggest a no-strings fling with a woman he has no business pursuing. Rafe’s life is too complicated for love—his new WITSEC-provided identity doesn’t fit him at all and there’s a U.S. Marshal watching his every move. He can’t tell Mollie the truth… but their chemistry is scorching and being good doesn’t mean he can’t be a little bad.

Mollie can’t resist the guy who looks rough, talks tough, and is loyal to the bone. But it’s obvious Rafe is keeping secrets. When the truth comes out, Mollie must decide if she could ever love an ex-mobster… or if this bad boy has truly gone good.

Review: Ex-mobsters, witness protection, and a hint of danger… I expected Bad For Her by Christi Barth to be a fast-paced, crime-filled suspense novel with a hint of danger and a lot of sex.  What I got was something completely different.  Bad For Her is slower-paced, overwhelmingly hilarious, filled with adorable family moments, and… well, yeah, some hot sex.

I absolutely loved the characters in this novel which takes place in a small Oregon town.  Usually too many quirky characters feels forced, but somehow the author gives each character their own spin so that they’re entertaining and loveable rather than stale and overdone.  This is obviously the first in a series so I’m excited to delve further into the lives of these wonderful characters and see what other secrets they’re hiding.

Let’s talk about Rafe.  Serious, sexy, incredibly hot Rafe whose life in the mob has left him overly confident and wonderfully fit.  The confidence wasn’t annoying, however, and neither were his muscles and those romantic moves of his.  I about died and went to heaven every time he made an advance on Mollie.

Mollie is smart, attractive, witty and kind.  She’s a fantastic woman and the best part about her is that she seemed so real.  She had so much charm and love to give to those around her.  She’s the sort of woman you want to be your friend and that’s the sort of person I like reading about.  Nothing worse than a character you want nothing to do with, it makes it so much harder to get into the novel.

Together the two of them have unbelievable chemistry.  It certainly got my blood pumping a few times and then there were a couple times that had my blood boiling and those moments were even better.  Woosh.  If you pick up this novel make sure you have a cold glass of water—or better yet a beer—nearby to quench that thirst you’ll develop.  In the end though it’s clear that the relationship between them isn’t just heat in the bedroom… there’s a real relationship developing there and it’s a great thing to get to watch it happen.  You find yourself more eager for them to finally admit their feelings than for another bedroom scene.

This is the perfect read for those who aren’t just looking for hot sex, but who also don’t want a soft, happy read with implied sex, if you know what I mean.  It’s a great compromise.

You can purchase the novel at your local independent bookstore or a Kindle edition here.

Inked Hearts by Lindsay Detwiler

Title: Inked Hearts

Author: Lindsay Detwiler

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing

Publication Date:  October 21, 2017

Blurb:

Suffering from the sting of betrayal, twenty-eight-year-old Avery Johannas quits her job and moves hundreds of miles away to Ocean City, the beach town of her dreams. With the help of her zany roommate, Jodie, Avery finds a new career, home, and freedom. Throughout her self-exploration, she makes only one rule: She won’t give her heart to a man again. She’s living for herself this time.

But then she meets Jesse.

A tattoo shop owner, the green-eyed Jesse Pearce is wild with a touch of mystery. As Jesse and Avery explore Ocean City and their friendship, they’ll have a hard time drawing a line in the sand between their hearts.

When summer nights get a little more heated than either expected, they’ll have to ask themselves: Can they let go of their notions of love, or will their hearts be permanently inked by past pain?

Review:

If you’re looking for a soft, romantic read with limited drama and some real emotion then look no further.  Inked Hearts by Lindsay Detwiler is the sort of novel you’d want to read in the bath with candles and some classical music playing.  That’s not how I read it.  I actually read it while splayed out on my couch with a cat across my abdomen, but that’s how I wish I read it.

Finally we have a woman who has been cheated on who isn’t a total cliché.  It’s a beautiful thing.  Avery’s emotions of anger and sadness and confusion are real and honest.  I wanted to reach through the pages and embrace her in a hug at times and other times I wanted to throttle her for her missteps. I found myself flipping through the book desperately hoping that Avery got what she wanted—what she needed—in the end.

Jesse is a breath of fresh-air among male protagonists.  He was funny, confident, and sexy and I completely believed that he could successfully convince a woman, who had sworn off men, to give love another try.  Let me tell you.  Something about a nice, tatted guy who doesn’t mind showing his emotions gets me all fired up.

Avery and Jesse make such an authentic couple.  I love stories where the couple is wildly attracted to each other and fall into bed the first instant they can and have passionate, wild sex… but this isn’t that story and I didn’t even care.  Avery and Jesse are wildly into each other, that’s for sure, but due to Avery’s sense of betrayal they approach their relationship as though it’s their first.  There’s all that innocence and harmony that makes you remember your own first.

The title might make you think you’re about to fall into a tattoo-filled book but in reality the tattooing falls by the wayside to make room for sweet romance, cute dogs, and boisterous secondary characters.  It was a delight.

You can pre-order Lindsay Detwiler's novel here for a mere $2.49!

Indecent Exposure (The Academy) by Tessa Bailey

Title: Indecent Exposure (The Academy)

Author: Tessa Bailey

Publication Date: February 2018

Publisher: HarperCollins

Blurb: Jack Garrett isn’t a police officer yet, but there’s already an emergency. His new firearms instructor—the one who just dropped every jaw in the academy gym—is the same sexy Irish stranger Jack locked lips with last night. The Olympic gold medalist and expert markswoman is now officially off-limits, but Jack’s never cared much for rules . . .

Katie McCoy’s been cooped up in a shooting range for too long. A wild love affair is just what she needs to let loose, though she never imagined it would be with her smokin’ hot trainee. She cannot get involved with Jack—but a quick fling? Perfect. Falling hard for a charismatic recruit with an equal amount of sex appeal and secrets? Bloody stupid.

Jack’s charmed the pants off plenty of women (literally), yet few have ever looked beyond his perfect surface. Until Katie. He’ll do anything to keep her in his life . . . except tell her about his past. But a tiny lie of omission never hurt anyone, right?

Review: Wow, wow, wow.  Tessa Bailey has gone and done it again.  This book was naughty, heart-wrenching, silly, and dramatic… everything you want out of a romance novel and more.  Indecent Exposure caught me up in its web from the very first word and held me captivated the entire time.

There is nothing more satisfying than feeling as though you’re reading someone’s autobiography.  Reading Jack’s chapters was an emotional experience for me.  I could feel the pain radiating straight off the pages and into my chest and it was a wholly uncomfortable experience of which I loved every minute.  I don’t want to get into spoilers (I pride myself on keeping those out of my reviews) but Jack’s situation was incredibly personal for me, as I’m sure it will be for many people, and I loved that there was an author brave enough to put that experience to paper.

Katie was an adorable character with some unique personality traits that had me laughing out loud frequently throughout this novel.  She was a delightful person and I never had any reason to wonder why Jack was falling so madly in love with her.  In fact, I was doing a little of the same.

The relationship between Jack and Katie was a fabulous ride of ups and downs that felt just the right amount of dramatic.  No drama=bad.  Too much drama=stressful.  You know how it is.  Their love for one another was something special and I loved that I was able to be a part of it if only for a short time.

The first book in the series Disorderly Conduct was a great read—you can read my review here—but Indecent Exposure blew it out of the water and I’m anticipating the third book, Disturbing His Peace, in the series to be the best of all.  The worst thing about my life right now is that I can’t read it yet.  I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to have discovered Tessa Bailey and I hope that others will take this as a sign to pick up her books.

All I Want for Halloween by Marie Harte

Title: All I Want for Halloween

Author: Marie Harte

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Publication Date: October 2017

Blurb: Tonight, Sadie Liberato plans to let go.  Dressed up and anonymous, Sadie feels powerful, sexy, and free.  Where better to lose herself than a costume party?  Gear Blackstone’s cheating ex and scheming best friend have managed to spin his life into a serious downward spiral.  At least with a mask on he can cut loose for one night.  And cut loose he does—with the sexiest, snarkiest woman he’s ever met.  After a scorching-hot encounter, Sadie and Gear are desperate to find each other in real life.  But can the heat last when the masks come off?

Review:  Until receiving this beauty in the mail I'd never really considered the idea of Halloween themed romance novel.  I suppose I should have expected they existed however given that there are dozens of romance novels out there in which a woman engages in an elicit affair with a dinosaur.  Don't believe me? Click here.  This is one of many and--what a blessing--it's free for your Kindle.  Maybe I'll make it my next review.

All I Want for Halloween by Marie Harte doesn't actually have all that much to do with Halloween other than the characters, Sadie and Gear, meet at a Halloween party.  So if the thought of Halloween turns you off you may still enjoy this novel.

Sadie and Gear aka. Harrison aren't unique characters.  Sadie has that 'I don't trust men' attitude that I don't particularly fancy in my characters but thankfully it's not all that distracting.  I really resonated with her inability to control her temper and running her mouth.  That's something I'm constantly struggling with and it was very enjoyable to see a character who doesn't always know the right and perfect thing to say.

Gear is another relatively generic character but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy him.  I liked his attitude, I liked his looks, and I loved his dirty mouth.  Sometimes you crave the romance in a romance novel and sometimes you just want some guy who doesn't mind saying exactly what he's thinking and then doing exactly what he's saying.

Together Sadie and Gear had explosive chemistry.  I had doubts for their relationship for a while but as the book progressed I enjoyed listening to their banter and watching the intimacy develop beyond just sex.  I wanted to see them work.

The book wasn’t out-of-this-world or utterly amazing but it was funny, entertaining, and an all-around good time.  I don’t consider the time spent reading this novel a waste of an evening but rather an enjoyable use of my time.  All I Want for Halloween is a read that will keep you laughing but also get that blood pumping.