He’s finally met his match . . .

P.I. Noah Sommers has always wanted Natalie Hastings. When a car accident leaves her with short-term memory loss, he doesn’t hesitate to take her in, along with protecting her when he learns she’s acquired a stalker. The hardest part of living with Natalie is keeping his hands off her until she can remember what happened. Only, he hadn’t counted on this beautiful, sexy woman making his job so difficult.

Natalie’s world has been turned upside down. Her only constant is her gorgeous “fiancé”, Noah. And she wants him . . . constantly. Only, all of a sudden he’s acting noble. But not for long, because Natalie is planning a seduction he won’t be able to resist. Before long, she has Noah right where she wants him. In her bed and her heart.

But will happen when Natalie discovers that their relationship was all an act?

*Originally published as The Ultimate Seduction by Janelle Denison.*

Title: Hot and Bothered
Author: Erika Wilde
Series: Some Like It Hot Book 3
Pages: 276
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, fake relationship romance
Hot Buttons: Natalie has a stalker who attacks her during the course of the book and has also done so prior to the events in the book, amnesia <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)

My favourite of the series

5 stars

I am a huge fan of Erika Wilde’s books - she always delivers an interesting tale full of rich characters who always have intense love, as well as deliciously sexual, connections. And this tale is no exception.

Hot and Bothered is the third story in the Some Like it Hot series (after Hot and Sexy and Hot and Heavy). You do not need to have read either of the first 2 book to understand and enjoy this one, as each book focuses on a different couple. However, if you have read the first 2, the snippets of detail we get about the lives of the first two couples that’ll have you sighing in delight. It’s like extra little happy epilogue moments and I do so love an epilogue.

Noah is our carefree, bachelor who has never committed to one woman before. Yet we only really hear about this side of his personality as from the first page, he’s smitten with Natalie, a new waitress at his local bar, who can’t be tempted into a date with him - despite the pair’s chemistry being off the charts! The Noah we readers get to see is more committed, protective and really a bit of a sweetheart. I do so love it when a hero falls hard for a heroine and is slightly overwhelmed and confused by all these new feelings. Couple that with the fact that Natalie is in real danger and Noah feels the need to protect her, and we’ve pretty much got the perfect hero, because - of course - he’s deliciously sexy, too!

Natalie is, as Noah himself states, a fascinating mix of different character traits. On one hand, she’s fairly timid and wary (understandable given her history) but she’s also feisty, knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it, as well as being sweet and maternal. I really enjoyed her and felt sympathy for her when needed and cheered for her when expected. I never pitied her or worse, was irritated by her attitude. Much like I said about Noah, she was the perfect heroine. And she’s 50s pin-up gorgeous, too!

As expected with every Erika Wilde book, there’s a huge dose of sexiness incorporated in the story. It’s made even more delicious as Noah tries his very best to resist Natalie’s advancements despite his almost animal need to be with her. But of course he gives in. And it’s so worth it. There’s a number of encounters but it never overshadows the main romance.

The same is true of the ‘suspense’ element of the story. I only put suspense in parenthesis as this isn’t a romantic suspense novel. We know exactly who Natalie’s stalker is and what he wants from her. It’s not nice, but it’s also not properly scary, thankfully, as I’m a complete wimp and wouldn’t be able to cope if it was! In the case of this book, the reaction that Noah has to protect Natalie seems very plausible for the threats - but it’s all a perfect blend that doesn’t take away from any of the other elements. All are important and all are perfectly combined.

If I have one note about the book it would be back to my love of epilogues. I oh so wanted an epilogue for Noah and Natalie. And I’m assuming that this is the last book in this series so I wanted one even more. Not worth docking a star over, but I’ve decided to be grumpy about it for a while!

Even so, this is a delicious romance with just the right blend of action, suspense, intrigue, romance and sexiness. The chemistry between our 2 main characters, and the personal obstacles they have to overcome to be together, really make their happily ever after worthwhile. Loved it. 5 stars.

 

 

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Erika Wilde is a New York Times Bestselling author. She is best known for her super sexy Marriage Diaries series and The Players Club series, and has also co-written the Dirty Sexy Series and the Book Boyfriend Series with Carly Phillips, her best friend and writing buddy for the past twenty years. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two daughters, and when she's not writing you can find her exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest. For more information on her upcoming releases, please visit her website at www.erikawilde.com and sign up for her mailing list for updates and news!

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SOME LIKE IT HOT SERIES!    

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When I envisioned Zara Logan dropping to her knees in front of me, this wasn’t what I had in mind...

I was expecting a lot less glaring and a lot more moaning.

Instead, she's proposing an enticing deal that I can't bear to walk away from.

To land one of the city’s biggest clients, she wants us to put our differences aside and play fake fiancés for the next thirty days.

So, I slip the diamond ring onto her finger and agree to play the perfect fiancé. How hard can this be?

A hell of a lot harder than I thought...

She’s infuriatingly stubborn and she thinks I’m a cocky jerk with an enormous ego. (She’s right, but I can definitely back it up...)

As our long days stretch into even later nights, it’s getting harder to remember we’re only playing pretend, which means one thing.

She won’t be faking it for long…

Title: The Proposal
Author: Maya Hughes
Series: SWANK / Cupcakes and Cocktails (Book1)
Pages: 392
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship
Hot Buttons: n/a

Release Date: 16th July, 2020

A wonderful hate-to-love romance

5 stars


I’m a huge fan of Maya Hughes but this is the first contemporary romance of hers that I have read. She is the queen of new adult romance so I had high expectations but also some anxiety towards this book. Would I love her contemporary romance as much as I do her NA?

Well, yes. Yes I would!

Ah - this book is everything I hoped and more. Ms Hughes is the kind of author that makes me feel completely immersed in her worlds and with her characters, so much so that I myself feel the happy sort of giddiness of love that’s in the books right along with the characters. Maya Hughes is a happy place for me.

This book kicks off a new series (The SWANK series, or Cupcakes and Cocktails as I’ve also seen it called) I’m presuming/hoping will be about all 5 childhood friends of which Leo, our hero in this book, is one. As it’s the start of a series, there are quite a lot of characters to learn all at once. It’s a wee bit hectic for a while as you try to sort everyone out, but by the end I loved all the guys and am looking forward to all of their stories. Well, maybe less so for Everest, but I’m sure I’ll get over it in future books.

I love, love, love me an enemies to lovers romance, especially one where our couple are truly antagonistic towards each other, and who don’t suddenly change personalities as soon as they begin to like each other. Zara is a bit of a control freak, a scrapper and determined to do the best at her job that she possibly can for herself and her brother. I really liked her, despite the fact that I can totally see why Leo was ridiculously infuriated with her behaviour. That made it all the more delicious to watch their angry interactions thinly veiled with sexual tension, especially when they had to pretend they were in love.

Leo was an absolute doll. He was a little bit broken - just a little bit, mind - and a little bit confused, but he was such a sweetheart. And an alpha, cocky jerk to boot. Which made him perfect, too. He wasn’t innocent in the back and forth with Zara - in fact, I’m pretty sure he started the whole thing - but he was the kind of guy you’d want in your corner. Or more accurately, standing beside you.

As with only the best enemies to lovers stories, once that angry, simmering tension exploded, it exploded gooood! It gave me that lovely, jumpy feeling in my tummy every time the pair got down to business. While it was great when it was hot, it was also great in the quieter, sweeter moments like a hug, a kiss on the head, or a cupcake smooshed in your face. It’s in those moments that you can really see and feel our couple falling in love. Happy sigh.

I can tell this is going to be an awesome series and I’m so looking forward to the next book and all the others to come. And I hope we get to see more of Zara and Leo in the future, as they are proper couple goals and reading their hate-to-love story really made me smile and swoon. Perfection. 5 stars.

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Available in Kindle Unlimited.

Maya Hughes can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! :-) I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.

I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe and traveling with my family.

EXCERPT!

“You want me to propose to you?” With muscles tense and tight, she stared at me before crossing the room to me in two strides.

“It’ll make a wonderful story to tell if anyone asks. Or we can call the whole thing off and confess, but you’re the one who led us down this path with the relationship talk. Kathleen would probably kick us off the project. Or maybe just you.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Just when I think you’re not a complete asshole. Fine.” The word shot out like a nail gun. Covering her mouth, she mumbled into her hand. “Will you pretend to be my fake fiancé for the next thirty days?”

I cupped my hand around my ear. “That wasn’t exactly romantic and you’re not even on bended knee. Boyz II Men would be disappointed.” I dangled the ring in front of her.

She squeezed her forehead and snatched it out of my hand.
I braced myself for her to fling it straight into my face, but she didn’t. Hiking up the skirt of her suit an inch, she lowered herself to the floor with her gaze trained on mine. The intensity of her emerald gaze sent my blood thrumming through my veins. Her thick eyelashes framed her eyes and the ill wishes she was trying to sear into my brain.

But damn if her sinking to her knees in front of me didn’t flash me into a whole different set of circumstances with her where she wasn’t wishing me dead and I wasn’t trying to steal this project out from under her.

“Leo Charles Wilder, will you please agree to be my fake fiancé for the next thirty days and make me the most miserable woman on earth?” She held out the ring in her palm.

I tapped my finger against my lips and stared up at the ceiling. “When you put it like that…”

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