Patrick "Patch" Donnelly is pretty annoyed about being sent to yoga instructor Margot Kowalski for help with his anger management issues. He's a Boston Catholic boy, and something about yoga seems somewhat..blasphemous. Not to mention the very sinful feelings he begins to develop for his sexy instructor.

Margot is bouncing back from a controlling relationship she is looking to forget about, but there's something about Patrick that makes her want to try again. There is one little issue...Patrick is a virgin and Margot is most decidedly not.

Mixing business with pleasure is not something either of them wants, but may be what they each need.

A splendid addition to the Hellions Angels series! I loved Patrick, and I adore a ginger virgin (see Outlander!!). Super cute, super steamy, tons of fun!

Thank you to Avon for the ARC!

Tessa Donovan is immediately attracted to the mysteriously sexy Detective Luke Asher who assigned to investigate the odd break-in at the brewery she owns with her two brothers. Her two very over-protective brothers who also notice the attraction and warn her to stay away from Luke.

Luke, getting over a bad divorce and struggling with rumors that HE is responsible for his partner's pregnancy, definitely doesn't need to add any other complications to his life, including the incredibly hot, smart, and friendly Tessa Donovan. Who's a virgin, or so says her brother when he threatens Luke to stay away from his sister.

Tessa, not having any of that, takes matters into her own hands. She's going to have Luke. He's hot, and he isn't for forever, just for fun. Or is he?

A steamy, slightly mysterious contemporary. A great opener to a series I'll definitely read more of!

Meh, not for me.

A figure skater and a hockey player compete for gold medals and end up falling in love at the "international games." Unfortunately I never bought into the romance nor really found myself swept away by the story.

Amber, a virgin 24 year old is at her last Olympics. She's never won gold and she's determined she'll end her career on the top. A controlling mother, body issues, and her own lack of self make her also determined to have FUN this time around.

Will "Mad Dog" Madigan, another returning Olympic athlete is also on his own hunt for gold, playing hockey for Team USA. He partied a bit too hard last time but can't help but be entranced by the seemingly innocent Amber.

Spoilers ahead.

Agreeing to enjoy each other's company, explore sex, and enjoy the Games, they fall into a routine. A really dumb conflict near the end of the otherwise fairy-tale story (gold for all! Love! Best sex ever!) is quickly resolved in an eye-rolling way.

Also! I was so annoyed by Amber's seeming eating disorder at the beginning that is quickly turned into, oh I just watch what I eat. Will makes comments on it, all the characters are constantly eating all the time, and diet, dieting, being thin, etc. are fixated on. I found this a bit annoying.

After slowly and methodically stowing away money from careful gambling at the Vega Club, card sharp Sophie Campbell knows better than to gamble her future away on one risky, scandalous bet. But when novice Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware throws down a wager-double her savings against a week alone with her-even Sophie can't refuse.

Alas, despite the good odds, Lady Luck has a devious and ruinous sense of humor. Facing certain ruin, the end of her careful plan to amass a small fortune and attract a respectable, if boring husband, Sophie is whisked away to the Duke's country estate.

Jack, entranced by Sophie since tracking his way-ward and gambling addict brother into the Vega Club, is appalled at himself. Stuck by weather with the too-appealing Sophie, they find themselves tumbling into a torrid affair both are sure cannot end in anything but a disaster. But perchance Lady Luck's favor is turning...

JUST angsty enough to make you devour this in one sitting, I cannot wait to read additional books in this new series! Fans of Sarah MacLean's Never Judge a Lady by her Cover will adore this one! A great flip of the trope, it was fantastic to see our heroine be the gambling-savvy, street smart realist. I loved that Sophie had her own home. Plus, the tension and build up to the sexy-times was to die for. Slow-burn with a big pay off.

My only quibble was the complete lack of discussion of the risks of pregnancy. It seemed a bit odd this never crossed either characters' mind even once. There was a lot of pre-marital boning...

I've had some major mixed feelings after reading this book, BUT the fact I'm still thinking about it a few days after reading it is not necessarily a bad thing.

Trigger warning for rape (implied and described) and alcoholism.

Basically, a former soldier finds himself a very poor Earl after the death of a gambling addict family member. Poor Roman Gilchrist, now Earl of Rochdale, is now responsible for paying off all of the gambling debt, ASAP. Cue the search for a rich wife who is in want of a title, and lo and behold, a young lady who ruined his commission due to a scandal many years ago, a lady who he once wished to marry, is available!

What Rochdale doesn't know is that Leonie has been suffering for years after the "scandal" and depends on alcohol to get her through her days. She has no wish to marry as she has no desire to ever be physically intimate with a man again.

But Leonie is forced into matters by Rochdale's persistence and her family's need for title. She begs for a marriage in name only, which he never promises, and soon finds herself the Countess of a ramshackle estate and in charge of a family that she is increasingly unable to hide her problem from.

Secrets, lies, and misunderstandings plague the characters' journey to their HEA. I often found myself annoyed with their actions, and found Roman to not be a very likeable hero. I get Leonie's troubles, I understand her bad behaviors, and I can forgive them. He is kind of an ass for how he treats her.

Plus, I'm sorry, but if Leonie was raped I find it super hard to believe she'd be so easily swayed into sex and find it so super enjoyable right away. Sex is the glue holding these characters together for a long time, and I just didn't buy it.

I was also a bit sad about the lack of time we get with the Spinster Heiresses (Leonie's friends) who drop off the page as soon as Leonie is wedded and bedded. We know one is short, one is tall, and one is Leonie, and they like to play a stupid points game to make flirting more fun. I'm told we'll see the tall one's story next.

Leonie's journey to sobriety also seems a bit quick, and I wish there was an epilogue showing the characters a few years later to see how they all fared, slip-ups and all.

Thank you to Avon for the ARC!

While it certainly defies many genre standards, I'm going to use Naked in Death to tick off my 2018 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge "A classic of genre fiction."

Set in a dark future, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is drawn into the investigation of a graphic and horrific murder of a beautiful sex worker who is also related to a family of powerful politicians. During the investigation she crosses paths with an enigmatic, brilliant, and supremely sexy billionaire who may also be a suspect.

Overall, I enjoyed Robb's take on a gritty, futuristic NYC where guns are "old fashioned" and hard to come by and other various technologies are used to help predict and solve crimes. I really liked Eve's prickly character, her dedication to her job and her craft, and hey, there's a cat hero!

That said, the overall mystery wasn't super deep and I found the initial love scenes between Rourke and Eve to be a bit troubling, especially from a 2018 standpoint. There is a lot of rape in this book and I just wished there wasn't a gray area for the two main characters at first. I'm hoping this won't be a recurring theme in this series.

Also, I was a bit annoyed that Eve was pretty easily swayed into using Rourke's rich-boy tools to get the job done. Money talks I guess.

My first thought is why is Jennifer Lawrence having a pillow fight on the cover of this book? Also, it is super hard to decide whether this is a historical or a contemporary. Maybe the finished version will have a step-back? I'd recommend it.

Any way, A Match Made in Bed is the second in the Spinster Heiresses series by Cathy Maxwell. We've met Miss Cassandra Holwell in Book 1, so we already know she is rich as sin, super tall, really into books, and lacking a prestigious title.

Soren, the newly minted Earl of Dewsberry is Cassandra's opposite in many ways, but he's wanted her since childhood, family rivalry be damned. With her money and his title, they can make a real life.

But while Cassandra's father is a slimy politician who desperately wants a title for his daughter, he seems to be thwarting every suitor who comes her way. And there is no way Cassandra's father would ever allow her to marry a Dewsberry, no matter how lofty the title.

Risking being disowned, Cassandra and Dewsberry elope, but soon find out there is a real big reason why her father never actually wished her to marry. Plus, Soren has some pretty big secrets of his own.

Like the first in the series, I enjoyed the build up to this story, but alas I found the execution of the story-arc to be pretty blah. The pay-off was just never there for me. Maxwell makes major issues disappear with a magical sexy-time or two, the characters are immediately in love, and a lot of action happens off page.

I'm thinking Maxwell just may not be the right fit for me.

Thank you to Avon for the ARC!

Eve and Rourke are getting mawwwwied, and of course prickly Eve is nervous and hesitant about the whole endeavor. It doesn't help that her best friend Mavis and Mavis's new boyfriend and Eve's wedding dress designer are suspects in the murder of a famous model.

Plus Eve's repressed past is violently surfacing as she grows closer and more comfortable with Rourke.

I've been enjoying this series for quick reads that have just enough depth to keep me interested but don't require a ton of brain power.

Massive spoilers ahead!

Holy baloney, I don't even really know what to say about this book or how to actually rate it. I mean, I did read it all the way through (by the pool in Las Vegas and on the plane ride home) so there is that.

Basically, a super hot Catholic priest immediately falls into instant-lust with a beautiful, non-Catholic but seeking God, financial genius by day, stripper by night gal who comes to his confession hours.

Billed as a "forbidden romance" which is partly true, for obvious reasons, but also is party false because while Father Tyler Bell has some internal struggle, there is not much time between holy shit this lady is sexy and "I'm unzipping my pants" during confession, to banging on the altar. In the church! What! I mean, lapsed Catholic that I am, I just. Wow.

And there is so. much. banging. So much. And Father Bell, I'm sorry, "just the tip" is not equivalent to "not really breaking your vows." But hey, whatevs.

Overall, I found this extremely titillating but lacking in plot development. The book is entirely in Father Bell's perspective which I didn't exactly love. Poppy was not as developed of a character as I like to see in my romance. I also didn't enjoy Father Bell's reasons for taking up the priesthood in the first place. Nothing about his inner monologue made me believe his holiness and sanctity. He was play boy who loved rough, dirty sex until his sister's rape by priest made him want to be one? Oooookay....

The writing was very compelling and the author is obviously deeply connected to Catholic roots. Boy, did I feel like I need a good confession when I was through. Read at your own risk.

I picked this one up based on Sarah MacLean's Read More Romance list.

What a frustrating book! I listened to The Woman in the Window on audio book and while the narrator was fantastic I would find myself yelling at my stereo.

The story goes a woman, formerly a child psychologist, is now an agoraphobe after at first unknown really bad incident involving her husband and small child who know n0-longer are with her in the her NYC mansion. Being stuck in the house has turned Anna into a voyeur, and her spying gets her caught up in a scary, violent situation with her neighbors across the way. You can't trust anyone, huh?

I lost count of the number of bottles of Merlot (always Merlot, never "red wine" or any other variety) our main character, Dr. Anna Fox, corked throughout the story. I grew tired of Anna almost immediately and I've realized I'm pretty over the unreliable, screwed-up, alcohol/pill addicted, female character trope. Sorry book, there are just too many of you out there. A movie adaptation is apparently in the works and I guess I would watch it.

Also, I was pleased with myself, and also annoyed, at how well I was able to predict many of the plot twists and turns. I can thankfully say there are absolutely no supernatural elements that pop out of nowhere though! I'm looking at you Behind Her Eyes!

And it is so highly amusing to me that if Anna had just let her agoraphobia rule the day, the entire plot of the book would never have happened. So, moral of the story kids, just stay inside.