Page Turners

November

Hot For It
By Melissa MacNeal
Reviewed by Caroline Springer


Melissa MacNeal brings sexy back with her erotic pirate romance,Hot For It. A series of hard knocks has left romance author Cat Gamble depressed, alone, and unable to work productively on hernext novel. Enter a serendipitous Powerball win and Cat leaves the workaday world for a Caribbean island and the chance to make all her dreams—erotic and otherwise—come true.

Cat purchases an island paradise whose current caretakers are a gorgeous and sexually adventuresome couple. After witnessing one of their trysts on the beach, Cat realizes that life on her private island would be greatly enhanced by her own special someone with whom to share sex on the beach. Cat posts a website advertising her “rich, single, and looking” status and receives a response from a pirate captain, Jack Spankevopolous, who runs a fantasy vacation company.

The chemistry and sexual tension between the two ignite immediately so Cat arranges to be kidnapped by him and his crew. The night of the kidnapping arrives and Cat is ready to begin her romantic adventures on the high seas with sexy Captain Jack. She realizes something is fishy when she wakes up from a drug-induced sleep locked in a castle on a remote island. Cat quickly learns that she will be trained in the sex trade and then sold as a sex slave by her captor, Mr. Wong. While Wong attempts to humiliate Cat at every turn, she defies him by participating willingly in the erotic scenarios he devises for her and his sexy sons. While Cat attempts subtle ways of escaping from the randy Wongs, Captain Jack is hot on their trail
with a brilliant plan for rescuing Cat, in swashbuckling pirate style, of course.

Readers looking for erotic adventures that end happily, and sexily, ever after will not be disappointed by this book. MacNeal delights with her sense of humor and well-crafted plot. While this book contains plenty of hot sex (heed the warning label!), readers will also cheer for Cat’s triumph over adversity and her search for a meaningful romantic relationship.


Naughty, Naughty (Anthology)
By Melissa MacNeal
Reviewed by Sela Carson


Yay for Christmas smut! This time of year thoughts turn to the warmth of hearth and home…and bedroom. This hot little anthology does not fail to deliver in that respect.

The first entry, HOT FOR CHRISTMAS, by P.J. Mellor follows the story of Texan Chris MacNeal who has good reason to feel like Scrooge around the holidays. At least until he meets Allison Conroe, the new kid in town and purveyor of all things hristmas. The secondary characters in this story all work together to provide emotional highs and lows for the couple on their journey to true Yuletide love.

Melissa MacNeal tells the tale of a dream come true for her heroine,Norah Dalton, in CABIN FEVER. When Christmas starts to look like the very worst day of the year for her, Norah is rescued from a blizzard by her celebrity crush, retired rodeo rider Danny “Diablo” Black. Danny’s holiday season is off to a dismal start as he mourns the loss of his beloved wife. He finds salvation in the arms of his very own Christmas angel in skimpy lingerie in this heated and heartwarming tale of redemption.

TRIPLE XMAS by Valerie Martinez offers us a menage story to finish off the collection. Artist Deb Collins is devoted to her eco-friendly fiance Rick, but before they finally tie the knot, she wouldn’t mind a Christmas threesome with the brawny lumberjack across the street, Dale Lix. The two men are complete opposites and Deb has to learn to be both lover and mediator. A forest fire burns away their barriers,leaving her a very satisfied woman.

Overall, this anthology is great for a quick, hot read – you won’t need your flannel jammies to keep you warm!


WITCH IN THE HOUSE
by JENNA McKNIGHT
Reviewed by Julie Opdyke


Jade Delarue is a witch. A sexy witch. She wears stiletto boots, and has a knack with herbs. She offers her expertise to those in need, but now she’s looking for a love of her own. So she casts a spell to find her true love. Only the spell gets mixed up with another. Jade quickly tries to undo her mistake, but it appears to be too late because her dream man arrives at Mystic Manor.

After being jilted at the alter, Mason Kincaid wants to forget all about women and love and just spend a happy week in Aruba.
Too bad he’s stuck in West Bluff, Missouri in the dead of winter investigating potential insurance fraud. The only bright side is the subject of his investigation, the very intriguing Ms. Delarue.

While Mason appears unaffected by Jade’s spells and charms designed to drive him away, neither is immune to the chemistry
simmering between them. As Mason learns Jade’s secret, he becomes desperate come clean to her and to reveal his own
secret.

This story has something for everyone: passion, humor, symbols abound, and a memorable cast of characters. But what I love
about Ms. McKnight’s books is the subtext. With every word the characters utter, you can hear all they aren’t saying. And not
just between Jade and Mason. This delightful cast of characters all mean more than they say. I can’t wait to revisit West Bluff and Mystic Manor for Annie’s and Courtney’s stories.


The Christmas Date
by MICHELE DUNAWAY
Reviewed by Barb Scott


Even the grimmest of Grinches can’t fail to grow a heart reading The Christmas Date, Michele Dunaway’s latest from Harlequin American. This delightful take on a relationship of convenience brings together Kate Merrill, a woman busy with career and education and burned by a fatherless childhood, and Tyler Nichols, a globe-trotting photojournalist who craves adventure and shuns settling down. Both are adept at avoiding the schemes of matchmaking friends and neighbors, but neither can resist the magic of stolen Christmas kisses.

Tyler is immediately attracted to his new neighbor Kate when he moves into the home he bought as a tax shelter. He has to dub her “Miss Home and Hearth” to remind himself that his lifestyle and hers will never match but needs the benefits of cold showers to tame his other thoughts. Kate steels herself against her undeniable attraction to Tyler by trying to assign him to “fake date” status, an easy solution to missing an office Christmas party.

Dunaway is a master at steeping her plot in the importance of family bonds without detracting from the hero and heroine’s immediate story. Tyler is a vagabond who treasures his family’s closeness even though his career makes it difficult to please
them. Kate has never had a traditional family but has wrapped herself in the comfort of her senior neighbors who watched her grow up and keep watch over her now. The reader can delight in watching these two overcome the obstacles that separate
them to give themselves the Christmas gift of a lasting love.

Home