One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Razor Bay, Book 2
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 334 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Harlequin HQN via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.





Quintessential rolling stone Harper Summerville loves her job. She travels the globe, staying in a place just long enough to investigate the charities that have submitted a request for financial assistance from her family's Sundays Child foundation. It's Harper's job to determine the requesting organization's needs and the quality of care they provide, to make sure foundation funds are going to the best candidates.

It's the sort of job that fits her right down to her toes, because Harper's never been - and never will be - one to let any sort of moss grow under her feet. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself. Now that she's in the Washington town of Razor Bay and has met the delectable sheriff deputy Max Bradshaw, Harper has started to wonder about some of her wanderlust ways.

It's never been hard to move on before, in fact, she gets downright itchy if she stays in one place for too long, but there's something about the gorgeous, kind, but wounded Max. Harper's feeling an itch all right, but it has nothing at all to do with getting out of town and everything to do with one tall, dark, and oh-so-handsome lawman. 


If you haven't read the first book in Andersen's Razor Bay series, don't worry. I haven't either, and it didn't cause me any problems with this book, though it was clear that all the characters and some of the underlying issues were previously introduced. Frankly, I'm okay with not reading that first book, because while I liked Jenny and Jake well enough as secondary characters in this book, I don't know that they would've appealed to me as much in the primary roles as did Harper and Max.

Well...okay...mostly Max.

Not that there was anything wrong with Harper. There wasn't at all. She's a smart, independent woman with a big heart and caring nature. I wasn't totally able to relate to her rolling-stone ways, and I didn't like that the relationship between her and Max got physical before she got honest with him about her true purpose in Razor Bay, but watching her reach out and form deeper connections with friends and coworkers as her character grows in the story was a part of the fun of the read.

The lies and secrecy did make the inevitable relationship conflict too predictable and the buildup to the conflict climax more than a little formulaic, but in this sort of light, sexy romance, predictability and formula aren't huge detractors. In fact, this book is just the sort of reasonably uncomplicated brain candy that I was hoping it would be. There isn't a huge morass of angst or a lot of emotional melodrama, just two good looking characters with varying degrees of personal baggage and a few external complications.

And I loved the heck out Max. He was quite the full package in romantic heroes. Despite the troubled childhood and an adulthood shadowed by elements of darkness, he was still a truly nice guy - but with just the right amount of sexy edge and a dash of social awkwardness that warmed my heart even as it heated my blood. He was so, so yummy.

I liked the slow build in the relationship between him and Harper, too. They fit nicely together from the start, their initial run-ins flavored with sizzling sexual chemistry and the sweetest taste of earnest uncertainty. I was also pleased that the narrative didn't rush to throw them together romantically for the sheer purpose of getting them naked and horizontal. The majority of the first half of the book showed them mostly dancing around one another while each dealt with their own various internal and external issues.

Of course, them getting together didn't suck either. There were plenty of hot times in Razor Bay.

This was just an all around fun read for me, good for a few solid hours of light reading enjoyment. Basically what I expect from an Andersen romance, really. There was even a few teasers for what's to come in the next book in the series. Luc's introduction was a little heavy-handed in the last bit of this book, but there's an interesting dynamic between him and Harper's friend Tasha that's hinted at here and I'll keep my eye out for their book when it comes out.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Sisterhood Diaries, Book 3
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 336 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by HQN Books, an imprint of Harlequin, via Netgalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.


Thirteen years ago Ava Spencer was a senior in high school, overweight, and despite her two best friends, not one of the popular girls in school. Dating the wildly popular and sinfully gorgeous Cade Gallari was like a dream. She gave him her heart and her virginity. Then at lunch the day after that momentous event, in front of a jeering crowd, Ava watched in growing horror as Cade's best friend stood up, peeled off two hundred dollars from his wallet, and loudly proclaimed that Cade had won the bet to bed the fat chick.

Ava, devastated and sick, rallied enough to lob a zinger back at Cade and his friend in that tragically public milieu, then crumbled in private. That sick joke, along some nasty mommy issues, had a crippling affect on Ava that thirteen years and several rebuffed attempts by Cade to apologize couldn't heal.

Though she'd shed pounds and kept them off for twelve years, her body would always be lush and curvy instead of svelte and lean. That's how she's built. Most days, she's comfortable with her body and can see herself as the sexy woman she is. Most days, she's confident in her job and her stellar people skills, and runs her own business with flair and determination. Most days she loves her life and herself. Standing in the mansion that she and her two best friends inherited, waiting on documentary film director Cade Gallari so they can finalize arrangements for him to rent the mansion for his next film, however, isn't most days.

There's no excuse for what he did to her all those years ago, and Cade is most sincere in his apologies. Every one of them he's tried to give her through the years. There were mitigating circumstances, but none that would matter to the gorgeous Ava. He knew that. He was starting to suspect he'd never get beyond his past and that possibility was even more painful now. Cade had been hot for Ava since he figured out he liked girls around when puberty hit, but looking at her now, fully appreciative of her stunningly gorgeous and deliciously womanly body, that pain is like a hot knife in his gut.

He can finagle his way into the mansion, he can even convince her to work for the production as the concierge, that's business and he's very good at his business. As filming commences, though, and they start rubbing elbows, he realizes a few more painful truths. He respects her. He likes the woman she's become. Hell yes, he wants her in his bed again. And Ava is never going to forgive him for the worst mistake of his life.

This enemies-to-lovers themed romance was a sexy delight, driven by two strong characters with charm and charisma. Andersen entertained and impressed with a sassy, quick witted dialogue, slick narrative, sexy hero, and feisty heroine. Cade and Ava were truly fantastic...um...once we got past the Cade's-a-scum-sucking-maggot portion of the story, anyway, and I especially appreciated the realism of Ava's body image issues. They weren't so overdone that they turned Ava self-pitying, but the flashes of insecurity were completely understandable and sympathetic given her past with Cade and a lifetime with her mother. I thought they were deftly handled as a factor in her burgeoning relationship with Cade, and balanced nicely with her natural saucy demeanor and wicked wit.

That mother-daughter relationship was another believable element of the story - scarily so, actually. On a much brighter note, Ava's friendships with Poppy and Jane were warm and wonderful. I haven't read the first two books in this trilogy...yet...but as soon as I finished this one, I snatched up the first two and set them on my terrifyingly tilted tower of TBRs. I don't normally like reading books out of order like that, but this one was enough of a stand alone novel, and Poppy and Jane were such lovely little spitfires as secondary characters in this one, that I have to go back and find out more about them and how they got their HEAs.

I have to admit, I didn't care for the small thread of suspense that wended through this book with the grifter's character. He was nothing more than a distraction to me, and I wish there had been a different plot thread concerning the diamonds. I didn't think the book's light tone fit well with the darker thoughts and contingencies he was dreaming up. Then the climax of the conflict with him at the end tread a little too close to slapstick absurdity for my tastes, and set up a way-too-cheesy-for-me resolution scene between Ava and Cade that seemed a little trite and altogether too easy.

Still, I had a heck of a good time with this book. I was yearning for some brain candy and a guaranteed sexy, sassy read when I started this book, and Playing Dirty delivered all the goods. Andersen is solidly dependable for that, for sure. The chemistry between the Cade and Ava worked perfectly throughout the book, sparking the fires of all sorts of heated emotions, and the friendships between Ava, Jane, and Poppy added depth to their character definition and story. Mostly, it was just a raucous good time and I enjoyed almost every minute of it. I can't wait to get started on the first two.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: N/A
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 384 Pages, 4653 Locations
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle


Bostonian blue blood Juliet Rose Astor Lowell is in steamy New Orleans, LA to kick off the grand opening of her baby, a restored southern mansion she's turning into a five star hotel for her father's hotel conglomeration. It's her first full project and the first time she's been completely out from under her imperious magnate's thumb. She got more than she bargained for, however, when a letter of complaint about the purchase and hotel plans causes her father to step in and demand police protection for his daughter. And no one, not even an acting police chief, says no to her father...or his money and connections.

NOPD Seargent Beau Dupree knew a babysitting job when he saw it. Knew it and didn't like it at all. Not when he had real police work to do. He read the supposed threat to the prim and proper Juliet Rose and gave it just about as much credence as it deserved. Which was none. Instead, he planned on dragging her around while he worked on a real case, trying to track down the elusive Panty Bandit who had been commanding young woman to strip naked for him at gunpoint. Women including his baby sister, who, along with his other two sisters, he'd been raising for the ten years since their parents died.

It was a good plan. Push the rigid and tightly wound socialite up close and personal with the seedier side of the Crescent City and she'd demand to have him removed from her detail. He could go on about his business and get his long-time goals back on track. No fuss, no muss.

He didn't count on the pretty little debutante letting her hair down - literally and figuratively. He didn't count on her class, composure, and generous nature when faced with even the lowest dregs. He sure as hell didn't count on being so damned attracted to it. To her. And from the depths of his cop soul, he hadn't even dreamed that the threat to her life may be serious, so when his brake line is cut and they almost take a header into the Mississippi, then someone takes a shot at Juliet in a crowd of party-goers, Beau quickly realizes that the last thing he wants is to be pushed off the case, because the estimable Juliet Rose has become more important to him than he'd ever dreamed.

With the fabulous city of New Orleans as a cultured, vibrant backdrop, Susan Andersen created a fun, mostly light romp of romance and light suspense in this pleasant book. Juliet and Beau are about as diametrically opposed as two characters can be on paper, but to their depths, they strike very pleasant - and often humorous chords together. Juliet may be the classic poor little rich girl and Beau may be the quintessential good ol' southern blue collar, but there is depth provide both of them through their responsibilities, past pains and disappointments, and the shields they both use to keep their hearts protected. I particularly liked the combination of fire and steel in Juliet, and was pleased by the way she dealt with many of Beau's antics.

There was a small but important array of secondary characters that added layers to the plot, with Beau's baby sister and his best friend and police partner Luke having an ancillary, though briefly featured romance, and Juliet's assistant Roxanne was a real gem with her flair and independence coupled with a few noted fears and insecurities. Andersen did a nice job with them all, and regardless of how much they were featured, they all seemed pleasantly genuine.

The plot may not have been all that surprising or earth shaking, and certain twists and developments could be seen coming a mile away, but for a light, fun read it was well paced, had a smooth, easy to read narrative, and quick witted dialogue that maintained a natural conversational flow. Andersen also gets points for keeping the unique flavor of the city and many of the mannerisms and colloquialisms unique to the region as important to the overall recipe as it deserved to be.

I enjoyed Be My Baby for the smooth bit of brain candy it was, and so long as you don't mind the formulaic nature of the development of the romance, and have a fondness for less serious and briefly featured suspense, I'd recommend it for the hours of simple pleasure it provided.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: N/A
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 384 Pages, 4610 Locations
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle


Macy O'James has made a name for herself starring in music videos in L.A. Now she's returning to the small town of Sugarville, a place where the name she made was far less flattering back when she was in high school. Tormented by the "in" crowd, her reputation was shattered when her high school crush turned out to be a lying bag of bollocks and told everyone she was easy after she put a halt to his advances. As if being labeled the school slut wasn't bad enough, an accident that ended the football dreams of three top players on their team took her from school slut to town pariah. Macy's gotten very good at protecting herself from slings and arrows, but when her cousin is struck in a hit-and-run and Macy races home to help take care of her, she isn't certain that her ability to keep the nasty at arms length will be able to stand up to an extended trip to the only home she's ever really known, even ten years after she had originally left.

Relatively new in town, Sugarville fire chief Gabriel Donovan had heard the rumors about Macy O'James. The mix of L.A. celebrity and small town least-liked didn't leave him with much of an impression - until she blew into town and set every one of his personal fires to burning at incendiary levels. The beauty was definitely weird, with her costumes and insouciance, and flagrantly flirty with everything male on top of that, and for some reason, the combination riled him like nothing else. Suddenly he was mouthing off at her over the least provocation - and that woman does provocation like nobody's business - and his vaunted control was left in tatters. It didn't take long, though, for him to see that there was more to Macy than public opinion, and behind those costumes and that carefree front lay the heart of a woman who loved fiercely and took a bone-deep joy in life.

And that was when those fires Macy O'James set to burning inside him went supernova.

Susan Andersen's light contemporary romance thoroughly entertained me on a lot of levels. I loved the characters and their back-and-forth banter was some of the best I've read lately. The chemistry between Macy and Gabe was positively stunning and it exploded off the pages. I'll admit, I have a preference for the adversaries-to-lovers theme in romance, so I was predisposed to much of my enjoyment and satisfaction with the book, but beyond that, Andersen created two perfectly suited characters and slammed them against one another in delightfully heated ways.

And it was more than their dialogue I enjoyed. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of character they each had. Macy in particular struck me as a solid, fully realized, and sympathetic character. Her outrageous actions and devil-may-care attitude were fun to witness, and while in the story they hid her softer vulnerability and the evidence of years of hurt from her world, that side of her character was nicely revealed to readers. There was also an inherent honesty to her nature and a willingness to admit fault that was appealing. She truly did shine when town pressures didn't slow her down, and when they did, her reactions were believable and realistic and, I thought, very well written.

The plot zipped along quickly with a fast-flowing and smooth narrative, and beyond Macy's town issues and the romance with Gabe, Andersen included an ancillary plot thread about a town arsonist that added necessary dimension to Gabe's character and balanced out the overall plot of the book nicely. Macy's issues with her old rivals were well done. It worked for me, though some could complain that after ten years, some of the people's reactions to Macy were implausible, but because of the small town setting I found it very believable. The longest memories and the most closely held grudges can always be found in small towns.

As for the romance and sexual aspects of the book? Well...let's just say I'm still fanning myself and leave it at that.

This was a fast, light read that had a bit more genuine meat to it than I was expecting. There were a couple of scenes that I thought were a bit implausible, like the public attack at the reunion that ended in a bit of a Kumbaya moment, and the tertiary romance between Grace and Jack that was woven into the storyline was more of a distraction than an enjoyment because of the very ancillary nature of Grace as a character, but I was completely entertained by this sizzling, fun book. A special kudos for the plot twist at the end. I didn't see that one coming at all - and I usually do.

I don't know that I've read anything by Susan Andersen before this, and if I have, it's been several years. I think Burning Up may just have corrected that grievous oversight for me. I love it when that happens.