Hotter After Midnight Kensington Brava

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

and a half!

Author: Cynthia Eden
Publisher: Kensington Brava

REVIEW:

Dr Emily Drake is known as ‘the Monster Doctor’ because she treats ‘Others’ – the paranormal creatures who live alongside humans. Emily’s skill as a psychotherapist comes from her psychic gifts, which enable her to read the minds of, and thus empathise with, paranormal creatures. She enjoys her job until she’s called on by the police to help track down a suspected serial killer who appears to be one of the Others.

Cop and were-shifter Colin Gyth has recently transferred forces after his best friend tried to kill him. He’s learned the hard way that Others are not welcomed by humans, so he hides the truth of what he is. When he calls on Emily to help with the murder case, he’s stunned to realise that she recognises him as Other.

Emily has a rule – don’t date Others, and never get involved with a shifter. As the case progresses, Colin and Emily are forced to work together, building an attraction that they can’t fight. Colin is determined to win Emily’s love, but she’s got a whole heap of skeletons in her closet – not to mention the fact that she’s the serial killer’s next target!

I feel quite torn about this book. On one hand I enjoyed the simple, direct language and style with its smart licks of good humour. On the other, the story itself was pretty forgettable and suffered in terms of pacing and an over-simplification in the world-building.

Emily is an interesting character with whom readers can readily engage. She’s not a kick-ass heroine but she’s tough and streetwise, a real survivor who’s grown used to fending for herself and being alone. She’s the perfect match for Colin, who as a shifter has been made to feel like an outcast. Their romance is well handled and sexy, with plenty of complications on the way to the HEA.

However, the secondary characters, with two exceptions (McNeal and Smith – McNeal in particular really jumped off the page) were fairly faceless. AS mentioned before, the world-building was way too simplistic for me, and given that there are dozens of shifter paranormal romance novels out there, it would’ve been nice to have something fresh and original rather than an ABC approach.

There’s a couple of great twists towards the end that I didn’t see coming, but apart from that, Hotter After Midnight is pretty much formulaic and demonstrates nothing new within the genre. This is a shame, as I really enjoyed the opening chapters and Emily’s profession as ‘Monster Doctor’ had a lot of potential. It’s fun while it lasts, but it’s not a keeper for me.

Handyman Kensington

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

 and a half!

Author: Jodi Lynn Copeland
Publisher: Kensington

REVIEW:

A collection of three erotic romance novellas, linked by the theme of a team of construction workers who need to make money fast – and so they offer their services as gigolos.

Coming in First

Lissa has a weakness for bad boys, but after being hurt one too many times, she decides to find Mr Nice Guy. Out one day she spots a gorgeous hunk who fits her ideal. She picks up his business card and discovers he’s a handyman with a company called Loose Screws. Fortunately she has a good excuse to call him…

Thad is a reformed bad boy and the co-owner of Loose Screws, a construction company that’s recently diverged into providing more discreet and intimate services for women. When Lissa offers him a job, he thinks she’s propositioning him. He soon realises that she really did want him to fix her leaking roof, but now he’s torn. Will Lissa still be interested in him when she learns about his past – and about his other job as a gigolo?

Hot and raunchy, this story is a great start to the collection. It introduces the three guys and gives good reasons for why Loose Screws has its extra-mural division. Liss is a bad girl who loves sex, but she wants love, too. Her relationship with housemate Sam is hilarious and fun. When Liss and Thad get together, the sex is explosive. Four and a half Flutes for this action-packed sizzler!

Not a Second Too Late

Genevieve is hiding in her closet during her own bachelorette party, desperate to avoid the rest of her family. Her best friend Tia had tried to make the party a surprise, but instead of wild drunken antics with hot guys, Genevieve’s spiteful younger sister Allison invited staid maiden aunts and young cousins. Dressed inappropriately for high tea with her wealthy, snobbish family, Genevieve feels the need to escape. She goes to a bar and picks up a hunk named Nash who offers to dance naked for her – for a price.

Nash, another of the co-owners of Loose Screws, recognises class when he sees it. Originally from a moneyed family, he’s made his own way in the world. Genevieve intrigues him but he doesn’t want her to be just another rich society girl kicking over the traces with a low-life guy. When she calls him offering $10,000 if he’ll be her boyfriend for two weeks, he doesn’t hesitate. But mixing business with pleasure is never a wise move – especially when Genevieve hsn’t told him about her fiancé…

Filled with just as much froth and fun as the first story, ‘Not A Second Too Late’ also has a more fulfilling plot. I loved Genevieve and Nash. Their first no-sex sex scene is fantastic, but what I loved most was their emotional development and the way they get to their happy ending. Definitely my favourite story of the collection, this gets a well-deserved Five Flutes.

Third Time’s a Charm

Holly, a mental health therapist, wonders why she’s taken her cousin Tia’s advice to get some sexual healing from a gigolo. She thinks she’s out of her mind, until she sees the scars on Benny’s arms. She wants to help him – but will he let her get that close?

Benny has left Loose Screws and ditched his friends Thad and Nash following the slow, lingering death of his beloved foster mother. Now he makes his living as a gigolo, believing that sex and booze can blot out the emotional pain. He certainly didn’t suspect that Holly would care about him as a person rather than as a sex-toy…

I admit I had some doubts about a plotline involving a therapist and a cutter, but I applaud Ms Copeland’s decision to include the topic in an erotic romance. While some of the humour made me wince, the relationship between Holly and Benny was well-paced. Their affection and trust grow with each meeting as Holly effectively counsels Benny through his trauma by using sex as a therapeutic tool. This story is intelligent and touching, but some readers may find the frank discussions of cutting and therapy not to their taste. Four flutes for this bold and open look at a difficult subject.

If you’re feeling stuck in a mid-January rut, let Jodi Lynn Copeland add some spark back into your life with this sexy, entertaining collection of erotic romance. With excellent writing and deft characterisation, the three stories are great fun.

All three couples are hiding secrets from each other, and sometimes from themselves. Getting intimate and trusting a lover means opening up and learning more about yourself, and this point is neatly illustrated in all three novellas. I imagine most readers won’t be buying this book in the search for anything deep and meaningful, but there’s more to Handyman than just a succession of sex scenes. There’s love and laughter here too, and some neat little life lessons tucked away.

But mainly, there’s a lot of very hot sex.

Go buy it.