March Reads

on Paper/eBook

Woman on the Run by Lisa Marie Rice B+  *This romantic suspense by Lisa Marie Rice was written in 2004 when email and mobile phones weren’t quite so prevalent and data encryption wasn’t as good as it is now.  But, leaving those things aside, this book was a win for me.  LMR books have a kind of a crackalicious flavour to me – like those glorious B movies some people love.    Julia Devaux witnesses a mob murder and is placed on the Witness Protection Program.  Her new name is Sally Anderson and she’s relocated to the tiny town of Simpson, Idaho.  There, she meets Sam Cooper, former Navy SEAL and current millionaire horse breeder/rancher.  He’s a typical LMR hero – once he sets eyes on Julia/Sally, he’s gone for all money, has an instant and persistent hard-on and will literally do anything to keep her safe.   Julia/Sally is suitably clueless about how to be safe and, while she borders on TSTL territory from time to time, I was able to accept that most of her stupidity was actually due to her naiveté. 

How Julia/Sally didn’t have at the very least a massive and constant UTI was beyond me because once this pair start having sex, they are at it all night long.  Literally.  He’s inside her all the time!! Cooper is not big with words and isn’t much for foreplay either – he just wants to be inside her and with the power of his mighty wang of loving, he is able to give Julia/Sally instant and repeated orgasms.   They don’t use condoms so there’s a lot of... fluid about the place but after 4 or 5 orgasms, he has a really smooth ride!  The sex isn’t really terribly sexy as mostly it’s plain missionary, there’s not a lot of dirty talk (or any other kind actually) and, like I said before, not much foreplay.

But, despite Cooper’s lack of verbosity, we do get to see inside his head and WE know he’s a complete goner over this woman.  And there is something so terribly appealing (if in a slightly guilty way) of the hero who would do anything for his lady, with single-minded purpose. Jane from Dear Author said on Twitter that a LMR hero would carry his heroine around all day if he could and she wasn't wrong.

Forbidden Fantasies by Jodie Griffin

Why I read it:  I picked this new release from Carina Press up at NetGalley and the blurb looked interesting.  I do love books featuring established couples dealing with a conflict.

What it's about: (from Goodreads)  After fifteen years of marriage, Jessica Meyers's sex life is, well, a little predictable. Her handsome husband turns her on, but missionary style once or twice a week? It just can't compare to the hot new world she discovers in the pages of erotic romances. Her fantasies fuel the fire of her desire, adding a new spark to her and Alex's lovemaking. But Jess is afraid to tell her husband what she really wants in bed—and her secrets start coming between them.

State trooper Alex Meyers is a master at uncovering the truth—except when it comes to his sweet, shy wife. She's clearly keeping something from him. An affair? She wants out? When he finally confronts Jess, he's shocked to learn she wants to turn her forbidden fantasies into nightly realities. But when he takes her to a unique B and B—Bondage and Breakfast—catering to couples and multiples, Alex is about to find out just how far he'll go.

What worked for me (and what didn't):  This is a little gem of a book.  It's short, just under 85 pages, but Ms. Griffin managed to tell a complete story in that space, in a way that I found very engaging.  I've often thought it is harder to write short than long (this from a person who can't shut up!).  Some of the things that make it easier to tell a whole story in that time is to have an established couple (check) and to keep the story relatively simple (ie, not multiple conflicts/storylines) (check again).  Sometimes, a story like that can be boring however.  This one was not.  Not at all.