Lori Foster – Simons Says

SBC Fighter Series:

Book 2:

Simons Says: Simon “Sublime” Evans and Dakota Dream

Summary:

After Simon catches his girlfriend of 5 years of cheating he makes the decision to return the ring after a several year absence. His training is the most important thing and the last thing he wants is a distraction. Dakota hates Barnaby Jailer her step father, he knows the exact buttons to push to guilt trip her into helping him find his son, SBC legend Simon Evans. As a huge fan of SBC Dakota can’t wait to meet Simon, she just hates the reason for it. At first glance of Dakota Simon calls dibs, there is just something about her, even though she wants the impossible from him and she is a distraction he just can’t let her go. When Dakota’s past catches up with her both her and Simons life could be in jeopardy!

Review:

Simon is every woman’s dream man, he is incredibly good looking, sexy, dangerous, and surprisingly thoughtful for a man. He is not afraid to commit and is basically a one woman man. He understands what Dakota needs and makes sure to give it to her. Dakota can kick some serious arse. She went through some serious issues when she was younger and made some bad decisions which she is still paying for. She made sure that she can take care of herself and that would never happen to her again. She was able to walk into a gym of hardened SBC fighters and win them all over; you know you have to be pretty special for that to happen! Dakota’s friend Barber is introduced in this book and I also really enjoyed his character a lot and hope to see more of him in future books and we also get cameos from the first book with Dean and crew! You will fall in love with all the fighters introduced in this book along with Dakota and Simon!

Rating:

4 orchids out of 5

Lori Foster – Causing Havoc

SBC Fighter Series:

Book 1:

Causing Havoc: Dean “Havoc” Connor and Eve Lavon

Summary:

Dean hasn’t seen his sisters (Cam and Jacki) since his parent’s death when he was 9 when his aunt kicked him out and sent him with his uncle. Now 20 years later he is one of the top fighters in the SBC an ultimate fighting sport. After a brutal match he receives a letter from his long lost sister requesting that he come visit. With misgivings he decides to make the trip to see what his sisters could possibly want after 20 years. When he arrives in Harmony, Kentucky the first person he meets is Eve and the sparks fly immediately.  He had hoped she would have taken him home that night but Roger the owner of the bar they were in got in the way. The next day, with mixed emotions Dean went to his family’s house to see his sisters, but as luck would have it the beautiful Eve was there visiting his sister Cam and helped to avoid a very potentially awkward moment. Upon talking to Cam he realizes that his sisters didn’t even know about him, his *itch of an aunt attempted to destroy all evidence of his existence. Dean is not sure how he feels about his sisters but its clear Cam is determined to bring Dean into the familial fold. Dean is sure about what he feels for Eve and that is pure lust! He cannot wait to get his hands on her. Dean and Eve’s affair heats up but as that does all of the sudden “accidents” start happening. It is clear someone wants Dean gone from Harmony…

Review:

This is my first foray into Lori Foster and I have to say it’s a good place to start! I really like the SBC world that L. Foster has created. The men are alpha’s with tattoo’s and rock hard bodies and know how to do some serious damage. Dean is currently one of the top fighters in the SBC, he is called Havoc because it seems like there is no method to his madness in the ring. But with Dean everything is calculated. He is used to being cool, calm and collected and nothing gets through until the woman of Harmony. They are all making him feel things he never thought he would feel again. It is great to watch as his ladies start cracking his façade! I also really liked Eve, nothing seemed to phase her. She was perfect for Dean, she understood him better than he understood himself sometimes. She understood his life style and his conflicting emotions with his sisters and always managed to get him on the right path. Dean’s sisters also have a huge part in the book and you will also like them. Cam is the girl next door type , she is very loving and accepting. You can’t help but love her. Jacki is fiery and a wild child! She has a whirlwind Romance with SBC fighter Gregor which I personally really enjoyed. I wish they would have had their own book as well. Foster kept the story moving and you never got bored, and I am excited to move onto the next book!

Rating:

4 orchids out of 5

Rachel Gibson – Not Another Bad Date

Writer Friends Series:

Book 4:

Not Another Bad Date: Zach Zematis and Adele Harris

 

Summary:

For three years Adele has had nothing but bad dates! Normally sane and nice guys turn in utter freaks by the end of the date. Adele has seriously come to the conclusion she is cursed! One night Adele finds herself reflecting on relationships past in particular one; her first love Zach Zematis UT’s star quarterback and later one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.  He broke her heart when he told her that his ex-girlfriend was pregnant and he had to do the right thing.  In the middle of Adele’s reflections her very pregnant sister calls to tell Adele that she is leaving her cheating husband and is moving back to Cedar Creek, Texas; where the girls grew up. She asks Adele to come help her for a weeks. The last thing Adele wants to do is go back to the place where she had so many miserable memories but her sister needs her. When her sister is hospitalized Adele’s couple of weeks just turned into a minimum of four months.  When Adele goes to pick up her niece the last person she expects to see is Zach, looking better than she remembered and she remembered him looking pretty darned good. When Zach comes back from a run the last person he expected to see in his driveway is Adele whom he remembers very fondly from his last year of college before his late wife Devon announced she was pregnant and irrevocably changed his life. Devon has been dead 3 years and Zach couldn’t uproot his daughter so he stayed in Cedar Creek and now coached high school football. Life is pretty good; except his sex life which has been non-existant in the last 3 years, but now Adele is in town looking better than he remembered and he remembered her looking pretty darned good! Too bad she looks at him like he’s worst than gum on the bottom of her shoe…

Review:

This is my second favorite book of the series. I like the dynamic between Adele and Zach, there is sexual attract yet she resists Zach. Zach isn’t used to chasing any woman; they tend to fall in his lap. The chase does Zach some good.  But the attraction is intense despite the history between the two.  Zach has some deep seeded trust issues, which is understandable considering his late wife who was the same girl that made Adele’s life miserable when they were growing up.  These two have a lot of individual issues to overcome and it’s not looking like they will be able to do so, will they be able to get their heads right or will they let another opportunity pass them by?

Rating:

4.5 Orchids out of 5

Rachel Gibson – Tangled Up in You

Writer Friends Series:

Book 3:
Tangled Up in You: Mick Hennessy and Maddie Jones

Summary:
Maddie is finally ready to confront her past. After her mother and her lover Loch Hennessy are murdered by his wife Rose, Maddie’s and Loch’s two young children lives are never the same. Maddie is shipped off to live with her great aunt and Meg and Mick are forced to live down the scandal in the small town of Truly, Idaho. Maddie blows into Truly determined to write the story of the love triangle gone horribly wrong, but she does it under her pen name Madeline Dupree, so no one knows the connection, only that she is a True Crime writer. Mick is less than pleased that Maddie has come into his town bringing up things better left in the past, but despite himself he is drawn to Maddie like a moth to the flame. Maddie knows that the last person on earth she should be with is Mick, but like all Hennessy men, he is irresistible! She knows if Mick ever finds out who she really is, all hell will break loose…

Review:
This is one of my favorite Rachel Gibson novels. Maddie is such a smart ass, I love it! She interviews sociopaths for a living, so there is little that intimidates her, except Mick. Maddie has little to no desire to be a baby maker or have a white wedding, which I can relate to. All she wants is some good sex and Mick is just the man that could give to her and give it to her right. Maddie has no desire to waste her time on something that’s not worth the effort. Again, I can relate. LOL! Mick has the whole black Irish look going on. The Black hair, and bright blue eyes, who’s not a sucker for that combo with dimples to boot! Sign me up! He’s a man that knows what he wants and is not afraid to go after it, even if he knows he shouldn’t want it. He is just the man that could tame and handle someone like Maddie, not every man could handle her. It would certainly take a special man to do that and Mick is just that man. Not easily intimidated. I love all the smart ass humor! I have read this book so many times it has fallen apart and I think after this last reread I’m going to have to retire this copy and break down and repurchase it, maybe in eBook format so I can’t break any more copies. LOL!

Rating:
5 Orchids out of 5

Rachel Gibson – I’m In No Mood For Love

Writer Friends Series:

Book 2:
I’m In No Mood For Love: Sebastian Vaughan and Clare Wingate

Summary:
Clare had to unexpectedly run home before her best friend Lucy’s wedding only to catch her fiancé Lonny in the middle of “THE act” in her closet with the Maytag man. At the wedding she drowns her sorrow’s which champagne, Jager and bad karaoke. When she wakes up naked in a hotel room she is mortified and when the man walks out of the bathroom and it’s her childhood crush Sebastian she wishes she could take back the whole night! Clare spent the whole night crying and complaining and nothing physical actually happened but when Clare immediately accuses Sebastian of “taking advantage” of her Sebastian decides to get a little revenge and decides to let her think the worst. Sebastian has decided to mend the fence with his estranged father before another 15 years passes and suddenly its too late. Sebastian is one of the top Journalists in the world and he finds himself losing some of the drive so he spends more time with his father who happens to be Clare’s mother’s gardener, which brings him in more contact with delectable Clare. She was an awkward looking child who has turned into a beautiful woman. Clare can’t stand Sebastian he could just look at her and irritate her or is it really desire that she is trying to deny?

Review:
I really enjoyed this book, I found myself laughing quite often! Clare is such a girly girl and a romantic, my polar opposite, but that didn’t seem to matter. Maybe it is her terrible taste in men that I can relate to, but I found myself relating to her even though I thought I wouldn’t. She is a “good girl” but underneath that façade she is kind of a smart ass, she just doesn’t let it out, to anyone but Sebastian. I haven’t met a man from Rachel Gibson’s mind that I haven’t liked and Sebastian is no exception. He is a classic commitment phob, but you can’t help to love him anyway. You can really feel for Sebastian’s small early life crisis, after the sudden death of his mother his whole world has been up rooted and he doesn’t know where to go from there. All of the sudden everything he thought he loved doesn’t seem to hold the same meaning to it. It lends him a vulnerable side. In this novel you see more of the four writer friends and you can’t wait to see what’s in store for them.

Rating:
4.5 orchids out of 5

Rachel Gibson – Sex, Lies, and Online Dating

Writer Friends Series:

Book 1:
Sex, Lies, and Online Dating: Quinn McIntyre and Lucy Rothschild 

Summary:
Lucy is posing as a nurse and is online dating to research her next book “Dead.com”. She has gone out several times with guys who call themselves “luvstick” and “bigdaddy182” and she has about had enough. Her last date is with “hardluvnman”, but from the beginning this date is different, this one is HOT! Quinn is an undercover cop, and Lucy is a prime suspect in a murder investigation. All three victims were male who were on the online dating circuit. Quinn knows Lucy is posing as a nurse and could quite possibly turn out to be a serial killer but for some reason he is still as attracted to her as she is him. Will Lucy turn out to be innocent or is Quinn the next victim in her killing spree.

Review:
This is actually my least favorite Rachel Gibson novel, I had a really hard time relating to Lucy. She just didn’t do anything for me. I don’t know if she was just to “goody-goody” for me or what it is exactly, I don’t usually have a problem relating in some way to any other of Gibson’s female characters. Quinn is the saving grace in this novel, he is another one of Gibson’s alpha male types that I can’t seem to get enough of! I wouldn’t mind Quinn frisking me. You also meet Lucy’s three writer friends that later get their own novels and they are each more interesting to Lucy. Don’t get me wrong there are some funny moments especially if you have ever online dated! Some of the date stories hit a little too close to home and don’t make me kiss online dating AT ALL! This is still a decent quick read it just doesn’t meet my Rachel Gibson standard.

Rating:
3 Orchids out of 5

Rachel Gibson – Lola Carlyle Reveals All

Lola Carlyle Reveals All: Max Zamora and Lola Carlyle

Summary:
Formal bathing suit and lingerie supermodel Lola Carlyle is taking a “mental health” vacation after naked pictures are leaked on the internet by her scumbag ex-fiancé. She is asleep when the boat she is on is “commandeered” Max Zamora who claims to be with the United States military, as if she could believe that. He has obviously been beaten and is probably some sort of criminal. Max has had the shittiest day started with his delayed flight and ending with being discovered after all if his intel was bad by a Columbian drug cartel. Max was barely able to escape with his life and now he has to deal with a supermodel and her yippie dog. To make a bad day even worse she melted the shit out of the navigation panel when she shot it with a flare gun. Now they are stuck at sea, with a drug cartel after Max. The chances of them being rescued alive are slim to none…

Review:
This is actually a re-read for me. I don’t remember this book being as funny as it was this time through. I’d have to say the re-read was better than the original run through. Max is a sexy ex-Navy SEAL who now works for the part of the government that does not exist. He’s a real man’s man who is like MacGyver. Give him some duct tape and a few random items and he will try to make something of use with them. He doesn’t think love is for him and doesn’t have to try so hard to remain detached from his “lady friends”, that is until Lola. Lola is surprisingly funny and sassy! She doesn’t take shit from the big bad Max Zamora and holds her own in life or death situations. With Lola you get a glimpse of a recovering bulimic, which sheds some light on the incredibly demanding fashion industry and the media’s idea of what a woman should look like. I for one am glad that Rachel Gibson went there and put out how incredibly unrealistic media’s and fashions idea of what a woman’s body should look like and the lengths some woman will go to too meet it. Gibson is saying it’s ok to have curves!

Rating:
3.5 Orchids out of 5