Review - Points on a Curve

My Review

Points on a Curve is a slam-dunk read. Diane Nelson spins a tale of unexpected love and intrigue that spans the globe, pulling the reader along with snappy dialogue and witty prose. Rob is an unlikely hero—not the usual alpha male, but a dare I say, semi-nerdy, sports journalist on the hunt for the story that will cement his career. I fell in love with Rob from the beginning. Determined not to like the woman his sister plans to set him up with, he’s surprised to find that Tay is exactly his type, and his nose for news tells him there’s more to her than a pair of legs long enough to wrap around his waist.

Trusting the wrong man cost Tay her career as a professional basketball player, damaged her credibility, and wounded her heart. Her attraction to her best friend’s younger brother is unexpected as well as impossible (for reasons I won’t disclose). Determined to reinvent herself, the last thing Tay needs is someone snooping into the past she’s trying desperately to bury, but Rob won’t take no for an answer, and no matter how hard she tries to deny her feelings for him, she can’t.

Both characters need to be rescued, Rob from his loner lifestyle and Tay from the mistakes of her past. The problem is, they don’t necessarily want to be rescued. At least not by each other. What they want is hot, no strings sex, but they both realize once they sink that basket the game will be over.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game these two played on the way to the final score—a slam-dunk love. Ms. Nelson takes you center court and gives you a full four quarters of sexual tension and intrigue before the final buzzer sounds on her characters. In the end, everybody wins, Tay, Rob, and especially the reader.

My Rating

I give Points on a Curve five stars.

Buy Points on a Curve at:

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Visit Diane Nelson's Website.

Confessions of a Stalker Fan Girl

   

  In the last few years, I’ve been fortunate to meet many famous authors, and no matter how much I’ve enjoyed their work I’ve never had a problem speaking to them. They’re only people, after all. But that all changed when I read HOT HEAD by Damon Suede.

    Suddenly, I became Stalker Fan Girl.

How this happened.

    My totally irrational condition began several years ago when Mr. Suede entered the manuscript in a contest of which I was one of the preliminary judges. I was fortunate to get to read the first twenty-five pages of HOT HEAD before it was published. Those few pages simply blew me away.

    I told everyone I knew that this book would be something special then eagerly awaited the day it would be available to the public. I had no idea who the author was (that’s the way contests work), so armed with only the title (hoping it wouldn’t be changed), I stalked Amazon (praying some intelligent editor would see what I saw and buy the manuscript.)

    Then…one day the heavens opened and there it was. The book I had waited nearly a year to read. 

    I bought it. 

    I read it.

    I became Stalker Fan Girl.

The manifestation of Stalker tendencies.

    I am so in awe of his talent that I couldn’t muster the nerve to introduce myself earlier this year when I attended a conference he was speaking at. I was afraid, coming face-to-face with my idol, I wouldn’t be able to force words past my lips. So, I worshiped from afar. Until last week.

    The entire story is too long to write about here, so I’ll cut to the chase, or the stalking, as the case may be.

    Sitting next to the fabulous Jade Lee during the eBookExpo/Booksigning, we watched fan after fan approach the super-awesome Damon Suede who was three rows over, directly in front of us. Knowing Jade and Damon are friends, I mentioned my reluctance to meet the man. Well, that was like waving a green flag in front of Jade. She sprung into action, dragging me out of my seat and across the crowded room. There I stood, mouth agape, staring like a crazed stalker at Damon while Jade introduced us.

At last, we meet.

    “I’ve heard about you,” Damon said, suspicion in his voice. (This is the part of the story I skipped over earlier. Clearly my stalker status preceded me).

    I hastened to explain. I can’t remember exactly what I said, but I mentioned the contest, that I had asked the contest coordinator to forward my contact information to the author…. Yes, I gushed, I rambled, I babbled.

    I said the magic words (I guess), and suddenly, he understood!

    Long story short—he remembered the comments I made on his contest entry, and no, he never received my message.

    “That was you?” he asked.

    “That was me,” I squeaked, relief flooding through me. I had poured so much of myself into critiquing those few pages, not to mention gushing and bowing to genius when it was warranted. And he remembered!

Giving credit where credit is due.

     I don’t begin to believe I had any part in the success of HOT HEAD. The manuscript was beyond special when I first saw it, and the completed book, spectacular. Every author has help, critique partners, editors, and beta readers who influence the final version of their book, but first there must be talent and a unique voice.

    Damon Suede has talent and a unique voice.

    I want to write like Damon Suede when I grow up.

    I’m still a bit intimidated by Damon’s talent, but I’m no longer intimidated by the man himself. He was nothing but gracious and understanding with his Stalker Fan Girl, and just in case he sees this post—I’m going to slink quietly back into stalkerdom now so it's safe to go out in public. :-)

The evidence.

    Thanks to Jade Lee, there is a photographic record of my initial meeting with Damon. 

    Yeah, that’s the face of a totally besotted stalker. J

Your chance to confess.

Who brings out the stalker in you? Each comment below will enter you to win an awesome package of SWAG from authors who attended the RT Booklovers Convention last week in Kansas City. I'll even part with some Damon Suede SWAG!

And here’s the review I posted  on Goodreads and Amazon last year.

    We all know where we were on the morning of September 11th, 2001 when the world as we know it altered beyond comprehension. I was three thousand miles away, watching the live news coverage, horrified as the towers of the World Trade Center collapsed. Less than a year earlier, I sat on a bench in the plaza at WTC with my youngest daughter, eating hot dogs from a street vendor and marveling at the energy vibrating through the air.
    Two months post 9/11 I was back in the city, this time with my oldest daughter. By then, much work had been done at the WTC site, but no amount of debris clearing could erase the overwhelming sense of sadness that had settled over the city. Healing had begun, but the wound was still raw, and far from being scabbed over. We visited the site to pay our respects to those who’d lost their lives there, and where once I had been moved by the energy of commerce surrounding me, I felt as if a black hole had opened up and swallowed everything good that had once occupied the space.
    Hot Heads takes place ten years post 9/11, but Griff Muir, a New York City firefighter, is still dealing with the emotional trauma of that day. Through Griff’s eyes, we experience the horror of the event, and the day-to-day struggle to deal with the emotional upheaval so many brave first responders went through.
    It’s human nature, following a tragic event, to reassess what’s important in our lives. Brave enough to risk his life amid collapsing skyscrapers, Griff struggles with a personal truth that threatens to bring down everything he holds dear, and he’d rather run into a burning building than admit he’s in love with Dante, his best friend and a fellow firefighter.
    Griff can only stand by and watch as Dante digs himself deeper and deeper into financial trouble. When Dante finally admits he needs Griff’s help, the solution he’s come up with is Griff’s private dream and a public nightmare that might destroy them both if Griff can’t find a way out.
    Extremely well written, the emotions will tug at your heart, and you’ll want to keep a fire extinguisher handy because the sex scenes are guaranteed to light your fire.
    Damon Suede takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster and reminds us that bravery and heroism aren’t allocated according to sexual orientation, and that sometimes, loving might be the bravest thing of all.
    I was simply blown away by this book. I give it 5 Stars

Review - Sex Club Secrets by Jennifer Lynne

Sometimes love can flourish in the most unexpected places...

Blurb - 

Ella is in love with her best friend Kade. But her love has not been returned, and when bisexual Kade shows no signs of becoming romantic towards her, she decides to call a halt on her unrequited love and accept an invitation to a celebrated Melbourne sex club.

Kade is distressed when the woman he is beginning to see as more than a friend decides to visit Secrets before he can tell her how he feels. He follows her into the club and witnesses her at play with the enigmatic Anteros, a sexy god-like man who seems to know exactly how to satisfy her innermost cravings. But Anteros also feeds the hidden desires within Kade. How can he admit his feelings for Ella when he's not sure he can commit with his whole heart?

Anteros is one of the erotes, an aspect of Eros and the ancient Greek god of requited and unrequited love. He has heard the call of these would-be lovers and intends to show them that friendship can sometimes be the best place to kick start a lasting romantic relationship.

But love cannot flourish unless it is returned, and how will he convince Kade – a man who occasionally enjoys other men – that he can be true to the woman he loves? What will happen to this couple when the night ends and they return to the real world outside the door of Secrets?

Has one of the gods of love finally taken on a challenge he cannot fulfill?

My Review - 

Ms. Lynne has done it again with Sex Club Secrets, the third novella in the Gods of Love series. This one, like the others is pure fantasy, but oh, what a wonderful fantasy it is! Welcome to the private sex club, Secrets, owned and operated by none other than the Greek god of requited and unrequited love, Anteros. On earth to aide humans in their quest for love, Anteros has grown weary, always being the one to give, never being on the receiving end of love.

Not one to shirk his duties, he takes on Ella and Kade, friends in love with each other, but unable to get past some serious obstacles between them and happily ever after. If Ella can’t have Kade, then she’s ready to move on and the mysterious invitation to Secrets seems like a good place to begin. Kade can’t let her go alone, so he follows her only to find her in the arms of Anteros—a man who seems to know exactly what Ella needs and somehow knows what Kade needs as well.

Three people, well…two humans and a god, each seeking acceptance for who they are, come together in a sexy and sensual encounter that will heat up your ereader and leave you wishing Secrets wasn’t a fictional place! Kudos to Ms. Lynne for creating characters we can empathize with and weaving a delightful story together in the short confines of a novella. If there is one fault I find with Sex Club Secrets it’s that I wish it had been longer. I would have loved to see more from these three. 

About the Author - 

Jen read her first romance at the age of 12, and instantly was hooked. She has a degree in literature & media studies and has worked as a business writer and journalist for companies both large and small. She has even worked in an optical store! These days Jen is a mum and stepmum who works by day in admin and at night writes erotic romance from her home in Melbourne, Australia. She lives in hope that readers will continue to enjoy her novella-length tales of love and lust!

Connect with Jennifer-

Website

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Purchase Sex Club Secrets - 

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Review - Too Close for Comfort by Lynne Marshall

Blurb

Joy Waltham is stressed out. Before she can expand her business empire, she needs her ex-husband's signature dissolving his silent partnership. A trip to Maine to find her ex, get the signature, and chill out seems ideal. But instead of relaxing, Joy winds up in the middle of a mystery--and wrapped in the overprotective arms of Comfort's chief of police--her ex-husband.

After retiring from LAPD, Paul Donovan took charge of tiny Comfort's police department. Bored senseless, he's still not ready for chaos in the form of his ex-wife shaking up his life. Joy arrives just in time to meddle in his investigation of a string of accidental deaths. Now forced to work together, Joy and Paul confront some unexpected challenges.

It's emotional deja vu as they dig through their thorny past, reawaken old sexual attraction, and face the fact they never stopped loving each other.

My Review - 

This is another great read from an author who continues to surprise me. TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT is a cozy mystery woven together with a tender love story. As I’ve come to expect, Ms. Marshall’s characters come across as real, fleshed out people. They are your neighbors and your friends. Their emotions and personal struggles are believable.

As in her earlier work, ONE FOR THE ROAD, Ms. Marshall has done the romance world a favor by focusing on an older generation. Joy and Paul have been there – done that. Their twenty-something years of marriage ended in divorce, but they soon find that a piece of paper doesn’t make a divorce any more than it does a marriage.

Ms. Marshall does a fabulous job with the rebirth of the romance that brought these two together in the first place. If there’s any fault to be found in this story, it’s the way the heroine stumbles and bumbles her way into her ex-husband’s business. I was reminded of a clueless version of Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote fame, complete with a Cabot Cove-ish setting. I can forgive the heroine’s behavior because it becomes apparent that this trait was part of what made her attractive to the hero when they first met – before life’s struggles created a wedge between them.

Overall, I give TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT four stars. I enjoyed watching Joy and Paul rediscover what made them fall in love in the first place and come to terms with the realities that forced them apart. 

Learn more about Lynne Marshall at her website.
Available in print and eBook from -

Review - Aphrodite Calling by Jennifer Lynne

Blurb - 

A woman with a secret past

Thirty-two year old Gina is forced to confront her fears when she attends a high school reunion. Born into a male body, she spent her childhood and teen years living as a boy, and she has only now returned in an effort to put the past behind her so she can begin to live life without the continuing fear of loneliness and rejection.

A god of sexual desire on the edge of burnout

Himeros is one of the erotes, an aspect of Eros, and as such it is his duty to answer the call of sexual desire whenever a human needs him. But he has been living among humans too long and his energy has waned. When he decides to accept one last call he finds a woman who is unique. A woman who answers his own call and offers everything he desires. A woman who understands the whole human experience, from every perspective. Has he finally found the one with whom even a god of desire could find fulfilment? Forever, after all, is a long time to be alone.

My Review - 

Greek Gods aren’t ancient history in the Gods of Love series from Jennifer Lynne. Once again, the gods are alive and well, and looking out for mortals who need their help. In this second installment, sexy Himeros comes to the rescue of Gina, a transsexual who has done something we can all relate to – gone to her high school reunion. Only there’s much more at stake for Gina. It’s the first time her former classmates have seen her as a woman. Goaded by her old nemesis, she blurts out an impressive lie – that she’s attending with her fiancé. Enter Himeros – the Greek God every woman wishes she could take to her class reunion.

 I didn’t know gods suffered from workplace burnout, but apparently, they do. Himeros is prepared to do his job, but he’s tired of eons of helping mortals in need of sexual gratification without benefit of an emotional connection.

Having heard her silent call for help, Himeros swoops in, puts Gina’s nosy, judgmental classmates in their place, and whisks Gina upstairs for some heavenly sex. I can tell you, none of my class reunions turned out like this!

I admit that I have no basis to relate to what Gina has gone through, first as Gerry – physically male but knowing in his heart that it was wrong – now living inside her newly created female body. She has all the right parts now, but the desire to use them has been clouded with fear of rejection, so much so, it’s been eight years since she’s been with anyone.

What I can relate to is the way Himeros seduces Gina. Holy smoley. Heck yeah. What woman wouldn’t give in to his sexy body and smoldering words? His mission is to sort of – awaken the dead, and I can tell you, Himeros is up to the task! The sex scenes are beautifully crafted, and even though Gina can’t help but remember what it was like to be Gerry it didn’t take me out of the moment.

Remember our hero Himeros is in need of a wake-up call of his own, and Gina, it turns out is just the one to give it to him. Because Gina has been there, she’s able to see past his god-like body and sexual prowess to the loneliness he hides from others.

Aphrodite Calling is a beautiful story about two lost souls who find each other. It could have been simply a story about a transsexual and a Greek God, but it’s so much more. Ms. Lynne is a wonderfully talented storyteller. Her characters, both god and mortal, are well crafted and believable and the naughty scenes are hot, hot, hot!

I give this wonderful story 5 stars, and unequivocally state – I can’t wait for the next installment. How many erotes were there??

Read an excerpt here (author's website)

APHRODITE CALLING is available from these retailers - 

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