No Flowers Required: Love Required #2

No Flowers Required
Cari Quinn
Love Required, book two
ebook, 158 pages
Published August 23rd 2012 by Entangled Publishing (Brazen)
ISBN 9781622669677

He’ll give her everything she desires...except his identity.

Flower shop owner Alexa Conroy had it all before the recession hit and her customers fled to cheaper shopping grounds. Desperate to make ends meet, she sells her dream home and moves into the rundown apartments above her shop. When she spots six feet of sexy distraction—complete with muscles, piercings, and tattoos—ripping up flooring, Alexa knows the karmic windfall she’s due just landed on her doorstep.
And the attraction’s definitely not one-sided.

Dillon James, reluctant heir to the corporation about to foreclose on Alexa’s shop, is not about to jeopardize their scorching chemistry by admitting he’s not the building’s handyman. But with only weeks until her business goes under and his identity is revealed, Dillon must find a way to convince Alexa cooperation isn’t a dirty word, help her save the shop from his brother’s greed, and persuade her that he’s not the enemy...or risk losing the only woman who’s seen the real him.

Nearly two years have passed since No Dress Required. Nellie and Jake are now married with a baby girl on the way and this time around it's Alexa's turn at love.

Dillon is so on the yes, please list! Brains and brawn. Hands that can work a wrench, computer, and a woman's body with an effortless talent. Yeah, not sure where that can from... but it's all there. And no, deceiving Alexa was the *last* thing he wanted to do before getting involved with her.

But hell, when the woman throws herself at him atop her apartment building amidst his thriving eco-garden, what else could a guy do? He did try to both warn and stop her from taking things too far. More than once. Although, he's lucky snatching up that magazine didn't come back to bite him on the ass.

I do hope Dillon's brother, Cory, and Vicky have a story next. He was set up as an ass, but I still liked him. And Vicky already wants to kill him so we're off to a great start.

4 out of 5 stars.

Previously in this series:

Simple Twist of Fate: Fated #3

SimpleTwist of Fate
Karen Erickson
Fated, book three
ebook, 109 pages
Published August 16th 2011 by Samhain Publishing
ISBN 9781609285142

Sometimes you run in to love. Sometimes it runs into you.

Love at first sight? It’s so not happening for Morgan. Never mind that her two best friends, who are both up to their eyeballs in happily ever after, are playing matchmaker. She wants out of her worst blind date ever—and her “out” abruptly finds her when she’s knocked out cold walking into a door.

One look into the eyes of the beautiful woman with the gash on her head, and paramedic Evan Marshall is a goner. Professional ethics say hands off the patient. Once her stitches are out, though, he can’t resist the impulse to ask her out. As their first date flares into a white-hot affair, he feels it in his bones—she’s the one.

Evan’s everything Morgan could ever want in a man, but things are happening way too fast. She made that mistake once before and, certain this relationship is careening down the same road to heartbreak, she slams on the brakes.

To her surprise, Evan lets her go. And by the time she realizes she just let her one chance at happily ever after slip away, it could be too late…

Warning: Fated love strikes again. Featuring toe-curling sex, a sweet-talking man and a woman who can’t help but give in to her secret desires. Will true love reign supreme? Most definitely.

Once more, and that makes three in a row, I'm swooning over these men of Erickson's. They're just too good! These are the romance books guys *really* don't want us women to read. How can they compete? They just can't!

Out of Brett, Jacob, and now Evan... I'm thinking Evan was the best in bed. Although I do have fond memories of Brett... But having to choose between the firefighter and the paramedic, I'm going the latter route for sure.

4 out of 5 stars.

• He had it bad.
And he never had it bad.

Previously in the series:

No Dress Required: Love Required #1

No Dress Required
Cari Quinn
ebook, 61 pages
Published December 27th 2011 by Entangled Publishing (Flirt)
ISBN13
2940013807136

After years of ho-hum dating, Noelle Gregory is tired of fooling around. There’s only ever been one guy for her—Jake Conroy, her best friend’s older brother. Now that Jake’s back in town, she’s headed to his sister’s New Year’s Eve party to make her move. Purse full of condoms? Check. Sparkly dress guaranteed to show Jake the sexy woman she’s become? Check.

Carjacker that makes off with both two hours before the party? Check.

When Jake finds Noelle stranded on the side of the road—looking sexier than ever in her striped socks and silly holiday shirt, damn it—he’s glad for the snowstorm that cancels his sister’s party. His and Noelle’s friendship has tormented him for years, and now, Jake wonders if he should dare to sample what he’s always wanted…and if he’ll be able to walk away when it’s over.

LOVE!

• He pressed against her, his thumbs framing her face, and closed his eyes, wanting to savor these last seconds before he kissed her for real. There wouldn’t be another moment like this between them again.

Or at least a very strong like.

I was having a little trouble focusing on my current book so I grabbed up this one for a quick flavor change. Plus, it had been a while since I'd gotten my hands on a good friends-to-lovers read.

Which this certainly is.

It's playful while still holding a level of maturity. They do examine the consequences before tumbling over the line, which is always a refreshing reality check to me and holds fond memories.

4 out of 5 stars.

• It wasn’t fair. The one woman who’d stirred his interest—and other parts of him—since Mo wasn’t a possibility. Not because she wasn’t perfect, but because she was. She’d grown up into a smart, stunning woman, exactly like he’d always known she would, and he couldn’t have her. Fuck, but what if he could? She was acting possessive. Demanding. Almost jealous.
     “Shit,” he muttered, rocking back on his heels. No way. She didn’t want him. They weren’t about that. Were they?
     She frowned. “What?”
  He was just going to say it. If she thought he was a complete loser then, well, he’d take her to her house—or to Alexa’s, since she seemed determined to go to the party—and he’d head home to soothe his wounded pride in private. But he had to know. Jake speared his fingers through his hair and clutched a handful of it against his head, searching for the right words. Surely he had some finesse somewhere.
     “Jake?”
     “You want me, don’t you, Nellie?” At her stricken gasp, he groaned inside and wished he’d bitten his tongue off instead of asking. At least, not like that. “I mean, you’re interested in me?” Interested sounded better. Less threatening. “You have to be,” he continued, a little desperately.

A Demon and His Witch: Welcome to Hell #1

A Demon and His Witch
Eve Langlais
Welcome to Hell, book one
ebook, 158 pages
Published June 10th 2012 by Eve Langlais (first published June 2nd 2012)
ISBN 9781927459034

Welcome to Hell where you’re screwed if you do and damned if don’t. And just so you know, Lucifer’s got a special spot reserved for you.

Burning alive is nothing compared to the heat of his touch.

Roasted at the stake as a witch, while her lover watches, Ysabel sells her soul to the devil in return for revenge. A fair trade until her ex-boyfriend escapes the bowels of Hell and she's forced to team up with a demon to fetch the jerk back.

Remy's seen a lot of things during his tenure in Lucifer's guard, but nothing can prepare him for the witch with the acerbic tongue--and voluptuous figure. Her mouth says 'Screw you,' but her body screams 'Take me.' What's a poor demon to do when his heart makes things even more complicated by goading him to make her his, forever? Before he can decide if his demonizing days are done, though, he needs to catch the bad guys, save the girl and then find a way to convince her to love him and not kill him.

Warning: This story contains a sexy demon with corny pickup lines and an irritable witch who works for Satan. There is coarse language, hot scenes, twisted religious ideology and a whole lot of giggles. Also, be warned that Lucifer is back trying to steal the show. If you possess an open mind, a good sense of humor and a tainted soul, then read at your own peril.

Remy is a soldier to the core. And a bastard to boot. He's also a half-demon who, up until now, prided himself on the many women he could juggle. But as of late, he feels the need for a change. And maybe settling down with one woman is just the thing.

Ysabel hasn't been with a man in over five hundred years. Not since the cheating jackass, Francisco, left her to burn at the stake for being a witch. She sold her soul for revenge, overlooking the fine print, and got herself stuck with the grand task of serving as Lucifer's personal assistant. As her contract nears its end, the five people doomed to suffer for eternity for their crimes against her escape from Hell's prison. With Remy's aid she must return them to their punishment if she ever wants peace from the curse of reliving her death.

It's a strange clause. Sure, Lucifer agrees to torture your enemies but *you* have to be the one to keep them in Hell? How lazy can a guy get?

I can't say this one was better than book two, but had I read this before A Demon & His Psycho, that opinion may have flipped. Doubt it, but agree to entertain the possibility. It's just as crass and nearly as funny. However, the psychotic killing spree from its sequel still takes the crown for me.

4 out of 5 stars.