Controlled Burn (Boston Fire) by Shannon Stacey

*** This ARC was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review. ***

"Controlled Burn" is a quick and easy read.  While I liked both protagonists a lot, and really enjoyed them as a couple, I felt as though Ricks misgivings about getting involved with Jessica were very weak.  It seemed as though Ricks main concern about dating Jessica was the fact that he was her grandparents tenant and good friend.  He barely mentions the fact that she lives thousands of miles away, across the country.  And when he does, it's really not used as his reason for not getting involved with her until later when they are already involved... or atleast about to be.

The author mentions other characters in the story and gives backgrounds and/or backstories on them, which clearly is a set up for future books in the series, and while I usually don't mind that at all, I feel as though their names and things about their lives were mentioned a little too much, especially at times when it wasn't necessary to the story.  At times, it took away from the story, and there wasn't really any character development with those secondary characters.  I felt no desire, interest, or need to learn more about them or read their stories at all.

I loved Rick, Jess, Marie, and Joe's characters a lot.  I think the author did an excellent job on character development with them.  I found myself emotionally invested in the main characters, and honestly, a bit concerned for Marie and Joe's future.

My biggest complaint about the story, is the abrupt ending, and the lack of an epilogue.  Don't get me wrong, you WILL get a HEA here, but it felt a little abrupt to me.  An epilogue was greatly needed in this story, there were a few things left unresolved, such as whether or not Jess moves to Boston, whether or not Rick buys Marie and Joe's home, and whether or not Davey reconciles with his parents.  It's nothing that is important enough to get me to purchase a part two, or others in the series -as I suspect was the authors intention in leaving those things unresolved-, so I will just use my imagination.

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Rating (Based on a 5 star rating system):

* * *

Would I recommend this book to others?:

Yes

Would I purchase other books in the series?:

Probably not.

Would I purchase other books by the author?:

Possibly, but I would check the reviews first.

*** It should be noted, that while "Controlled Burn" is part of a series, but IS a standalone novel.  You will not be required to purchase others in the series to get a HEA, however, if you feel moved to do so, I'm sure the author would appreciate your support. ***

Undressed: Billionaire Romance (The Manhattanites Book 2) by Avery Aster

*** Note:  This ARC was kindly provided to me in exchange for a honest review. ***

Undressed is an erotic romance novel by author Avery Aster.  The story centers around Alexandra "Lex" Easton, an up and coming, New York fashion designer, and Prince Massimo Tittoni, an Italian Prince slash notorious playboy slash textile manufacturer, who supplies Lex with the fabric she uses in her designs.

When Prince Tittoni decides he wants to expand his textile business and get into the mass market fashion industry, he realizes that supplying Lex, his new competition, will be a conflict of interest and bad for his new business.  Lex, whose styles are known for the very fabrics the Prince supplies her with, of course, has huge objections to this.

Not willing to give up the business she fought so hard to get started, especially now when she is finally beginning to make a name for herself, Lex jumps on the next flight to Italy to confront the Prince... or potentially beg him to reconsider, if it comes to that.

After not being able to convince the reluctant Prince to sell her the fabric, the pair spend the next week attempting to come up with a compromise that will work for the both of them.  The more time the pair spend together, the harder it is for either to deny the attraction they feel for one another, and soon, emotions, lust, and passion begins to complicate the business relationship they are trying to build.

Prince Tittoni, traumatized by a past relationship is very distrusting, and unwilling to fall in love with the fiesty American, while Lex, the daughter of a Rock -n- Roll legend of a father, and a notorious playmate groupie mother, grew up in the limelight, and doesn't want to return to it.  Being seen on the Prince's arm at a ball causes rumors of the couple being an item, the very idea giving the handsome Prince cause to step back and evaluate what he and the American are doing together, and the attention they are receiving, causing Lex alarm.

Will these two overcome the obstacles in their path and take a chane on love?  Buy the book and find out.

*******

I'm a bit torn about this book.  On one hand, I appreciate the originality of this book.  The plot is well thought out and not something I've read a million times before, which in the over-saturated world of the romance genre, is rare.  The book also caught my interest and held it throughout the book, and the author has a great talent when it comes to bringing the locales to life... I could almost smell the salt water of Isola de Girasoli, and feel the hot sun beating down on my skin.  However, on the other hand, the character development was off, and the story was far-fetched.

As far as character development, I feel as though both protagonists got over their issues with starting/being in a relationship rather quickly and without any reason behind it, other than the story needed it to happen.  We have Lex, who doesn't have time to date, yet here she is, making time... to date.  On top of that, Lex is a woman who is traumatized by a childhood in the spotlight, yet she gets over that and is strutting her stuff, nearly nude, on a red carpet with tons of papparazzi around.  Yes she had some help from our friend 'liquid courage', but it was two shots, not the entire bottle.  Then there's the Prince, jaded from a past relationship, he has sworn off love, yet quickly changes his tune, and when I say quickly... whew... I mean quickly.  The entire love affair takes place in the time span of a week.  Really?!  ONE WEEK?!  I'm sorry, but that is not enough time to meet, get to know, and fall in love with someone.  It just isn't realistic that a man who is rich and powerful, who I'm sure has tons of women throwing themselvs at him in an attempt at becoming royalty, or rich, who also happens to have major emotional scars when it comes to trusting women and love, would or could go and change his tune so drastically in such a short amount of time.  I don't care how beautiful the woman is, I don't care what connection you have with each other, you will take more than a week to get over the past and begin to learn to trust again.

I also disliked the "love scenes", and I use the term "love" very loosely here, because although the Prince claims that when he and Lex have sex it is not fu*#ing, but rather making love, the love scenes came off very much so, as fu*#ing.  There was no tenderness in their interaction at all, and I'm sure the author threw in the 'I love you's during sex to reenforce that the Prince says he and Lex only make love, but that was definately not the feeling I was left with.  I mean, you love each other, but you choose to have your first time together to be in at basement-sex-orgy-party?  Granted they are in their own private quarters, but come on!  Plus, he is a Prince, and she is a fashion designer, why would either of them take the chance at being caught there?  Why wouldn't you find a place better suited for a romantic first occassion of 'making love', or even go home to his palace rather than going down to the sex dungeon?  It's not that I'm a prude, it's not that the author didn't write very hot and steamy scenes, I just have issue with the fact that the whole 'making love' thing was driven home so much, yet that did not feel like the case at all to me.  Making love requires more than having sex with someone you love, people in love can still simply fu*#.  Making love requires tenderness, affection, intimacy, and emotional vulnerability, none of which was present in their 'making love'.

*** Spoiler alert *** Plus the ending, where Mossimo proposes marriage at Lex's fashion show was very cheesy to me.  Aside from the fact that he's asking her to marry him after spending only a week together, he didn't take two things into consideration.  One, Lex doesn't like the spotlight, so being propossed to in a setting that couldn't possibly be more in the spotlight, -literally, they had spotlights on them- would probably not be the best place to propose marriage.  Two, the fashion show was about Lex and her company, it was her time to shine, her time to show the world all of the hard work she put into her company.  If this were reality, no one would even be talking about the clothing line, all they would be talking about, is the proposal.  It would totally over-shadow Lex's clothing line.  How much of a narcissist would you have to be, to do something like that?  *** End Spoiler ***

My overall view, is the story comes off as a bit unlikely, and unrealistic, which totally conflicts with the great talent that Avery Aster clearly has as an author.  Some people might not mind quicky romances, or care about the believability of a story, but I do, and it really took a lot away from the story for me, which sucks, because I really liked both characters a lot.

** Note to author:  Lex is described as having wavy blonde hair.  The woman on the cover has dark brown, or black hair.  Your cover is your only opportunity to give your readers a visual representation of your story, and an inconsistency such as this can throw your readers off.  **

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Rating (based on a 5 star rating system):

* * *

Would I recommend this book to others?:

Possibly.  If someone wanted a quick read, or had an interest in both romance and the fashion industry, then yes.  Otherwise, probably not.

Would I read other books by the author?:

Yes, possibly.  I would check the reviews first though.

*** It should be noted, that this book, while part of a series, IS a standalone novel.  You will not be required to read other books in the series to get a HEA, although if you feel moved to do so, I'm sure the author would appreciate it. ***

Loving the Enemy by Charmaine Pauls

*** Note:  This ARC was kindly provided to me in exchange for a honest review. ***

Loving the Enemy, is the prequel to the 'Seven Forbidden Arts' series, though it is a standalone novel.

Loving the Enemy, focuses on Lily and Jacob.  Lily is the sheltered daughter of a rich and very powerful criminal.  In the beginning of the book, we find Lily to be homeless, and living on the dangerous streets of Cape Town, due to an attack on her fathers home.  Sitting in a dark, secluded, park, where it is about to rain, Lily is stumbled upon by handsome and mysterious Jacob, who offers Lily a place to stay for the night.

After reluctantly accepting Jacobs offer, Lily learns that he is in the bodyguard business.  When Jacobs apartment is attacked by the very men who attacked her fathers home, the pair set out to find the only person who can help and protect them, Lily's father.

As you read on, you are brought along as Jacob and Lily attempt to make their way from Cape Town, to Lily's father in Paris.  No small feat considering neither of them have money, and all of the airports and ports are being monitored for any signs of them.  What follows is an action-packed, romance, where two people from completely different world are thrown together and must learn to trust and rely on one another if they want to make it out alive.

The 'Seven Forbidden Arts' series is a paranormal series, but there really is little to no paranormal 'activity' :) in 'Loving the Enemy', though it is mentioned occassionally.  I wish the author would have thrown a bit of paranormal aspects into the mix, because it was a bit of a let down to have it mentioned, but not actually be part of the book.

The book kept me interested from the very beginning, it's not predictable, and the author did a great job with character development.  I felt invested in both lead characters, and couldn't help but root for them.  The plot was original, intriguing, and well thought out.  I would definitely be interested in reading other books in the series.

The book could use a bit more editing, though it isn't anything that I personally feel detracts from the story, though if you are someone who is bothered by grammatical errors, it is something to keep in mind.

Something that really detracted from the story for me, was the age difference between Lily and Jacob.  Lily is eighteen years old, and a very naive, sensitive, sheltered eighteen year old at that, while Jacob is thirty, and a very traveled, experienced, thirty year old.  Though it isn't unheard of for a thirty years old man to date a eighteen year old girl, I feel as though their maturity levels were way off, and that threw me off a lot.  Lily, for most of the book, seemed very childlike and immature, while Jacob was intense, and very knowledgeable due to life experiences.  The aspect of their age difference had no real relevance to the story (it wasn't an obstacle keeping them apart) and therefore could have been eliminated by simply making Jacob a couple of years younger, which would have made the story flow better.

Rating (based on a 5 star rating system):

* * * *

Would I recommend this book to others?:

Yes.

Would I read other books by the author?:

Yes.  The author did a great job of introducing the series in a manner in which I feel intrigued to find out what happens next.

*** It should be noted that while 'Loving the Enemy' is part of a series, it IS a standalone novel, and contains a HEA.  You will not be required to read/purchase others in the series to get a HEA (although if you feel moved to do so, I'm sure the author would appreciate your support). ***

The Bad Boy CEO, by Sugar Jamison

*** Note:  This ARC was kindly provided to me in exchange for a honest review. ***

Let me start out by saying, I love the authors name.  I don't know if it is the name she was given at birth, or if it is a pseudonym, but it brings to mind a strong, confident, woman, who writes steamy books by day, and fights crime by night.  Whatever she's selling, I'm buying.  I'm on board, Ms. Sugar Jamison.  I love it. 

Okay, moving on :)

The Bad Boy CEO centers around Colt King and Zanna Jacobs.  I really did like the story.  It kept me interested from the very beginning, and I was emotionally invested in the characters throughout the entire story... even the side/supporting characters.

Colt is the 'tall dark and handsome', middle child of the three King brothers, notorious in their little town of Destiny, Nevada, for being the children of the town drunk.  The King brothers spent their childhood living with the stigma of their fathers actions, and the years following, trying to prove they weren't the 'trash' their community thought they were.  Having left Destiny to go on to become successful, rich, and powerful, the brothers return to their hometown at the insistence of their sick aunt, who raised them when their father left town and abandoned them.

Zanna is the quintessential curvy, exotic, beauty, that all the men in town have a thing for.  A bit cliche but we'll forgive that, because I loved Zanna.  Not being a lifelong resident of Destiny, Zanna stumbled upon the little town while fleeing from her troubled past.  Feeling an instant sense of safety and belonging in the little town, Zanna decided to stay for good, quickly becoming a valuable member of the community by working in the King brothers', Aunt Lolly's salon, whom she also rents a room from.

Colt and Zanna are thrown together, (much to their dismay) and from the very beginning, have major chemistry.  They both fight the desire they feel for each other, because neither are looking for a relationship, and Colt lives in Las Vegas.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that although it wasn't the most original book I've read, and it was a bit predictable, Ms. Jamison has a lot of talent.  Sugar Jamison has a great abililty to bring her characters and their surroundings to life.  Every character was lovable —except for the ones we aren't meant to love—, and made me feel as though I knew them personally.

It was blatantly obvious that there will be sequels, I'm thinking they will revolve around the other King brothers, I can even guess what their storyline will be.  I usually hate it when authors put characters in a book with the intent to give them their own books, but I really didn't mind it in this case, because it didn't take away from Colt and Zanna's story at all.  Plus, I really like the other King brothers, and I would totally read their story.

I really liked that there wasn't any of the insta-love BS that seems to be going around now days, so that's awesome, but I would have liked to see a liiiittle bit more romance between Colt and Zanna.  Sure there were some instances of them being emotionally intimate with one another, but for the most part, it felt like their relationship was based more on lust, desire and passion, than on romance and intimate connection.  The fact that the author actually had Colt and Zanna get to know one another, was great, but I think things moved a bit fast considering they'd only known each other a month, **Spoiler** and that's really not enough time to get to know someone enough to commit to marriage. **End Spoiler**  But really, if that's my biggest gripe, you know you have a pretty good book on your hands with Sugar Jamison's 'The Bad Boy CEO'.

Rating (based on a 5 star rating system)

* * * *

Would I recommend this book to others?

Yes.

Would I read other books by the author?

Yes!  I really want to know Duke and Levi's stories.

*** It should be noted that 'The Bad Boy CEO' IS a standalone novel, and contains a HEA.  You will not be required to read/purchase others in the series to get a HEA (although if you feel moved to do so, I'm sure the author would appreciate your support). ***