REVIEW: Dirty Thoughts (Mechanics of Love #1)

Dirty Thoughts (Mechanics of Love #1), by Megan Erickson
Publish Date: June 16, 2015
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Format: e-book, purchased
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4 STARS

(From Goodreads) Cal Payton has gruff and grumbly down to an art...all the better for keeping people away. And it usually works. Until Jenna MacMillan - his biggest mistake - walks into Payton and Sons mechanic shop all grown up, looking like sunshine, and inspiring more than a few dirty thoughts.

Jenna was sure she was long over the boy she'd once loved with reckless abandon, but one look at the steel-eyed Cal Payton has her falling apart all over again. Ten years may have passed, but the pull is stronger than ever... and this Cal is all man.

Cal may have no intention of letting Jenna in, but she's always been his light, and it's getting harder to stay all alone in the dark. When a surprise from the past changes everything, Cal and Jenna must decide if their connection should be left alone or if it's exactly what they need for the future of their dreams.

Second-chance love story + Megan Erickson = HELL YES.

I’m so glad that Megan Erickson went back and wrote the stories of the enigmatic, charming Payton brothers, who were introduced in the second book of her Bowler University series, Make It Right. Cal Payton is the oldest brother, and definitely the most serious. He’s a man of few words – you can tell he’s always thinking about the right course of action before he makes a choice. And his family is the most important thing to him.

Family is something that Jenna wishes she had more of. Oh, she has parents and a brother, but they are all so concerned with appearances and their status in the community that the important parts of family get lost. Jenna has never been that way. She once thought she would have the kind of family she always wanted with her high school boyfriend, Cal Payton. But, then both hers and Cal’s decisions on one night 10 years ago destroyed everything.

Megan Erickson is so good at what she does. From the moment Jenna and Cal were reunited, the tension – both sexual and emotional – was so thick, I could’ve touched it. I didn’t know what had gone down between the two of them, but 5% into the book, I already wanted them to just sit down, talk, hug it out, and go get married and have babies and stuff. It was so obvious that 10 years apart meant nothing – they still loved each other madly. But… pride. And time. And baggage and stupid families. Ugh.

Reading about these two wading through their past hurts and present feelings was painful (in the best way possible). It seemed like they would take one step forward and two steps backward. Eventually, they get to a place where they feel like they can be friends again, but nothing more. OMG – how many times have we heard that before? Silly people.

As usual, there are complications with Jenna and Cal finding their way back to one another. Cal’s relationship (or lack thereof) with his mother is definitely a sore spot in his life. And, when his mother’s current life invades Cal’s, it only stirs things up with her more. But, it introduces a new dynamic to Cal’s and Jenna’s lives that neither of them saw coming. It made things even more challenging for Cal to get around in order to fully be with Jenna. But, luckily, the past 10 years have made a more determined and self-assured Jenna, and this time, I love her fire and determination when it came to winning back her man.

I wasn’t a fan of Jack Payton, Cal’s father, in Make It Right. I actually kind of hated him. But, in Dirty Thoughts, we can see that Jack has made strides since then. He’s still super crabby and incredibly stubborn, but he’s now kinda loveable, which shocked me. I didn’t think that was possible.

And, I adore Cal’s relationship with his brothers Max and Brent. We don’t get to see Cal interact with Max much in this book, but Brent is there a lot. Brent just loves pushing Cal’s buttons, but it’s obvious that he does it because he loves his big brother. Their relationship was my second favorite in this book.

My favorite, of course, being Jenna and Cal. They had a lot of past regrets and guilt to wade through. There were times when I wished I could just smack them both around a little until they saw the whole picture. Gah – I love books like that. And this was one of the best.

REVIEW: Wrong

Wrong, by Jana Aston
Publish Date: October 7, 2015
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC, provided by the author
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) I have a history of picking the wrong guy. Gay? Player? Momma’s boy? Check, check and check.


Now I can’t stop fantasizing about one of the customers at the coffee shop I work at between classes. It’s just a harmless crush, right? It’s not like I ever see this guy outside of the coffee shop. It’s not like I’m going to see him while attempting to get birth control at the student clinic. While wearing a paper gown. While sitting on an exam table. Because he’s the doctor. Shoot. Me.

But what if, for once, the man I’ve had the dirtiest, most scandalous fantasies about turned out to be everything but wrong?

WRONG was the culmination of so many things that were right. I laughed. I died from embarrassment. I swooned - A LOT. Debut author Jana Aston has created a gem in this hot, romantic book with the hot pink cover that I absolutely could not put down until I had read every last word. 

Just imagine for a second that the hot suit you've been checking out every week when he buys coffee from you ends up looking between your legs as your new gynecologist. Sophie thought her attraction was one-sided, and after her mortifying experience in the stirrups, was sure that that ship had sailed. Except... Luke just kept appearing, and every time he did, Sophie became more and more intrigued by him. It doesn't matter that he's much older than her, more educated than her, richer than her. They are completely wrong for each other in every way. Except, they both have been going through life with the "right" people, and it hasn't been working out for them. So, maybe the wrong person is what they both need. 

Sophie is my hero. In toe socks. She seems sort of bored with her life up to this point. She's months away from graduating with a degree in accounting. She has almost zero experience with men, resulting in her still being a virgin. She has a ho-hum job as a barista in a coffee shop. The highlight of her week is when Luke - the hot guy in a suit - stops in to get his usual and he calls her by name. 

The worst part about characters like this in books is when they sit around and wait for someone to come and save them from their tragic existence. And, that's not Sophie. She wants to, at the very least, lose her virginity before graduation. And, even though she has equally boring feelings for her sort-of boyfriend, she's decided to give it up to him. But first - get on the pill. Which is, unfortunately, where Luke comes in. 

Luke is an enigma. He's a doctor and a trust fund baby, and somehow, he always ends up where Sophie is. He has a way of taking charge of situations that Sophie didn't even know needed handled. He serves as her white knight more than once and in more than one way. But, he has all these secrets that he doesn't seem to want to come clean about. 

Sure Sophie and Luke seem wrong for each other, but in so many ways, they are completely perfect together. Where Sophie is innocent and quirky and silly and honest to a fault, Luke is buttoned up, proper and stoic. He's subdued in every way, except when it comes to sex. And then, holeeeeeeee crap. Luke is ridiculously wild and completely hedonistic. These two are complete opposites, and yet, their relationship never felt forced. They were perfect together, and their chemistry was ridiculous. It was what kept me from putting this book down. I didn't even want to stop reading to eat dinner with my family. Throw in a mean girl ex and a wildly inappropriate BFF and this book had all the elements for perfection. My only complaint is that I really wanted the aforementioned mean girl, or any number of Luke's horrible family members, to suffer a lot more.

Wrong was, above all, a fun book. I laughed a lot. Some of the situations in which Sophie found herself were beyond comical. And, underneath the snark and the hot sex is a really cool love story with a fantastic ending. Wrong is well worth the few bucks you will shell out to buy it. While I am eagerly awaiting Jana's next book, I'll be right here, rereading Wrong. 

BLOG TOUR EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Madame X (Madame X #1)

Thanks for checking out my stop on the Madame X blog tour! Read on for an excerpt from this new book by Jasinda Wilder, and then enter the giveaway!

Madame X (Madame X #1), by Jasinda Wilder
Publish Date: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

(From Goodreads) Madame X invites you to test the limits of control in this provocative new
novel from New York Times bestselling author Jasinda Wilder.

My name is Madame X.
I’m the best at what I do.
And you’d do well to follow my rules...

Hired to transform the uncultured, inept sons of the wealthy and powerful into decisive, confident men, Madame X is a master of the art of control. With a single glance she can cut you down to nothing, or make you feel like a king.

But there is only one man who can claim her body—and her soul.

Undone time and again by his exquisite dominance, X craves and fears his desire in equal measure. And while she longs for a different path, X has never known anything or anyone else—until now...

A knock on the door, the silent swing of hinges, and then heat and hardness behind me, a faint but intoxicating hint of cologne, the creak of leather. Hands on my waist, lips at my neck. Breath on my skin.

I don’t dare tense, don’t dare suck in a sharp breath of fear. I don’t dare pull away.

Strong, hard, powerful hands twist me in place, and an index finger touches my chin, lifts my face, tilts my gaze. I cannot breathe, don’t dare, haven’t been given permission.

“You are lovelier than ever, X.” A deep, smooth, cultured voice, like the purr of a finely tuned engine.

“Thank you, Caleb.” My own voice is quiet, careful, my words chosen and precise.

“Scotch.” The command is a murmur, barely audible.

I know how to prepare it: a cut-crystal tumbler, a single ice cube, thick amber liquid an inch from the top. I offer the tumbler and wait, keep my eyes downcast, hands behind my back.

“You were too harsh on Jonathan.”

“I must respectfully disagree.”

“His father expects results.”

I bristle, and it does not go unnoticed. “Have I ever failed to produce results?”

“You sent him away after less than an hour.”

“He wasn’t ready. He needed to be shown his faults. He needs to understand how much he has to learn.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Ice clinks, and I take the empty tumbler, set it aside, and force myself to remain in place, force myself to keep breathing and remind myself that I must obey. “I didn’t come here to discuss Jonathan Cartwright, however.”

“I suppose not.” I shouldn’t have said that. I regret it as soon as the words tumble free.

My wrist bones scrape together under a crushing grip. Hard dark eyes find mine, piercing and frightening. “You suppose not?”

I should beg forgiveness, but I know better. I lift my chin and meet those cold, cruel, intelligent dark eyes. “You know I will fulfill the contract. That’s all I meant.”

“No, that isn’t all you meant.” A hand passes through artfully messy black hair. “Tell me what you really meant, X.”

I swallow hard. “You’re here for what you always want when you visit me.”

“Which is?” A warm finger touches my breastbone, slides into the valley of my cleavage. “Tell me what I want.”

“Me.” I whisper it, so not even the walls can hear.

“All too true.” My skin burns where that strong finger with its manicured nail traces a cutting line up to my shoulder. “You test my patience, at times.”

I stand stock-still, not even breathing. Breath whispers across my neck, huffs hot on my nape, and fingers toy with the zipper of my dress.

“I know,” I say.

And then, just when I expect to feel the zipper slide down my spine, body heat recedes and that hot breath now laced with hints of scotch is gone, and a single word sears my soul:

“Strip.”

My tongue scrapes over dry lips, and my lungs constrict, protesting my inability to breathe. My hands tremble. I know this is expected of me, and I cannot, dare not resist, or protest. And . . . part of me doesn’t want to. But I wish . . . I wish for the freedom to choose what I want.

I have hesitated too long.

“X. I said . . . strip.” The zipper slides down to between my shoulder blades. “Show me your skin.”

Reaching behind my back, I lower the zipper to its nesting place at the base of my spine. Hard, insistent hands assist me in brushing the sleeves from my shoulders, down my arms, and then the dress is floating to the floor at my feet. That’s all the help I’ll get. I know from long experience that I must make a show of what comes next.

I turn my head, and see tanned skin and the perpetual two-day stubble on a refined, powerful jawline, sharp cheekbones, firm, thin lips, black eyes like voids, eyes that drip desire. My hair drapes over one shoulder. I lift one knee so my now-bare toes touch the gleaming teak, curl my shoulders in, let my gaze show my vulnerability. With a deep breath, I unhook my bra, let the garment fall away.

I reach for my underwear.

“No,” comes the purr, “leave them. Let me.”

I let my fingers graze my thighs, wait. My underwear slides down slowly, and where fingers touch, so too do lips, hot and damp, touching my skin, and I cannot flinch, cannot pull away or express how badly I want only to be alone, to even once have the right to want something else.

But I do not have that right.

Jasinda Wilder is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and international bestselling author. She is a Michigan native and currently lives there with her family. Visit her official website at jasindawilder.com.

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