Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Hunks, Hammers, and Happily Ever Afters by: Jodi Redford, Cari Quinn, Cathy Clamp, Anna J. Stewart, Amie Stuart, Leah Braemel, Chudney Thomas

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

KNOCKOUT – Cari Quinn (4 stars)
I liked this one enough, but I wouldn't really consider this a blue collar story. Yes, one character did construction, but the primary focus of the entire story was on the fighter Emerson. Yeah, Emerson mowed lawns as a side job, but the entire focus was on his fighting career. I did notice some inconsistencies throughout the story, but I did enjoy the heat level between the characters. On the flip side, the interaction between JC and Emerson was just awkward and too fast. I seriously do not believe those two fell in love that fast.

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS – Cathy Clamp (3 stars)

This one was a cute story. I found quite a few errors throughout it that were distracting, but beyond that I did enjoy the story.

MARKED FOR LOVE - Anna J. Stewart (3 1/2 stars)

This was a cute, sweet romance. The story had good bones and I loved the whole family vibe, but it fell together a bit too neatly when it came to the conflict in the story.

KNOTTY MAGIC – Jodi Redford (3 stars)

While I thought this story was cute, the whole paranormal matchmaking tree just didn't work for me.

AGAINST THE WALL – Amie Stuart (1 1/2 stars)

I admired the heroine of this story at first. She had a strong commanding personality in a profession where women are looked down on and treated unfairly. Unfortunately, the author made me dislike her quite fast. I'm all for women embracing their sexuality, but she made the heroine look far too slutty for my liking. It felt kind of like Sex in the City gone completely wrong. The one aspect that I did enjoy was the sexual tension that unfortunately build up to some very lackluster love scenes. I honestly didn't like much about this story in he end.

UNASHAMED — Leah Braemel (4 1/2 stars)
This story was the surprise of this bundle. It was well plotted and paced out well. I enjoyed the dynamics between the three characters, and even though it is a novella it felt complete. The love scenes were scorching hot, and the sexual tension was great. I would have liked to read a bit more of what happened while the trio was separated and the reunion, but I'm sure word count was an issue when it came to that. I always love it when a novella leaves me craving more in a good way. :)

LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR – Chudney Thomas (1 star)
This was a DNF for me. It needed an editor in the worst way possible to the point where I just couldn't read it anymore and gave up. It was far more than just minor errors and, from what I read of the story, it just didn't flow well either.

Overall impressions: There were some cute stories in this bundle and some great steamy ones. I found a definite mixture of heat levels, which I didn't exactly like but dealt with all the same. I also hazard to guess that each author was responsible for handling the editing of their own stories, because there was definitely no consistency. That was rather disappointing to me for the bundle as a whole, because some stories glaring errors overshadowed the others more clean copies. There were some authors I'd love to read again, and some that I'm hesitant to give another chance. I guess that's the way it goes though, but I enjoy how bundles allow me to sample the writing of new to me authors.  


Better with You (Outback Skies #4) by Lexxie Couper

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

Better with You is the fourth and last installment in the Outback Skies series, and I've been eagerly awaiting Charlie's story for what seems like forever. He's always had this mysterious quality to him and he always seemed to know a bit much for a cop out in Whoop Whoop, if you know what I mean? Anyhoo, I knew his story was going to be great, but Lexxie definitely impressed me with Better with You. Now I'm not going to try to get into too much detail about the story, because that would give away key elements that I'd rather you read. Instead, I'm just going to tell you that this book was not only sexy as all get out, but it was packed with action and so much sexual tension your e-reader is going to go up in flames. Seriously, it's that hot! Lexxie has this uncanny ability to weave so much sexual tension into her books all while seamlessly maintaining the story line. It's quite impressive, and if you haven't given this series a read yet, I definitely suggest you do so. Not only are they great reads, but you might find hidden cameos of other characters from her books as well in there. That's what I've come to love about Lex's contemporary books. She has her own world of characters and you never know when one from a previous book will pop in or a secondary character might just get their own book down the line in a different series. It's all so fun, and I just love it. Anyhoo, back to Better with You. I was hooked from page one with the action/suspense going on and the sexy times made it that much better. Seriously, it is great so go grab it!

*I received a review copy from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

If you'd like to check out more about this or other books by Lexxie, please head over to her website.


 

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