Sin City (Hot In The City #2)

5 out of 5 stars

I am a huge fan of Lacey Alexander. She has a knack for writing some of the sexiest, raunchiest erotic stories I have ever come across, and she does it all in a way that is neither over-the-top or uncomfortable to read.

This is the second installment in her Hot In The City series (beginning with the equally excellent French Quarter). This time around we have the story of Diana and Marc. They both work for the same company, but on different sides of the country. They begin a phone call and email flirtation that quickly becomes hot and heavy. Soon, Diana is dispatched to help Marc on a work project at his home base in Las Vegas, and when these two characters finally meet face to face, the chemistry is beyond blistering.

Alexander not only fills this book with many well done erotic encounters, but actually gives us a plot that makes sense, and doesn't seem forced. Something missing in a LOT of erotic fiction these days.

Now, having said all that, I realize this book is not for everyone. It features a wide variety of pairings: M/F, M/M/F/M, M/F/M, F/M/F and a hint of M/M. But, if you enjoy intelligent erotica, and don't mind a bit of kink, then you can't go wrong with Lacey Alexander.

Tuesday's Eye-Candy

The Duke & I by Julia Quinn

3 out 5 stars

I have been spoiled by Lisa Kleypas. It is impossible for me to read an historical romance by any other author without in some way comparing it to LK's work. Which is admittedly unfair. But even with the huge shadow of Lisa Kleypas hanging over ever other historical novel that I read, I still ended up really enjoying this book.

The Good: I loved the Bridgerton family. Sometimes a big wacky, family can come off as more than a little over the top and silly. But, JQ made the family likable and believable, which was really nice. I also LOVED Simon, even though some of the things he did made me want to throttle him. And the love scenes, while not nearly as steamy as some by Kleypas, were still very well done.

The Not So Good: I found that the story dragged a little about half way through until picking back up towards the end. Also, some of the situations were fairly predictable, but in the end it didn't really matter since I was still interested in the story.

All in all, an enjoyable, quick read.

Passion by Lisa Valdez

5 out of 5 stars
*All Time Favorite Book List*

To me, Passion felt like two completely different books.

For the first 10o pages or so, I found myself caught up in the incredibly vivid and passionate secret love affair between Passion Dare (the heroine's name is beyond silly, but I got used to it) and the intense Mark Randolph Hawkmore.

Literally from the first sentence of this novel, the sexual chemistry and heat generated by these two characters is enough to render a person speechless. Okay, it rendered *me* speechless at least. There is a lot of sex in this book, especially early on. And, as it has been brought up by nearly everyone writing a review for this book, the sex scenes are incredibly vivid and detailed, and they along with the language may bother some readers. This is most definitely an historical erotica novel, with a BIG emphasis on the erotica part.

And while I was thoroughly enjoying the passion and naughtiness of this story, something happened round about 200 pages in. This book became less about blistering sex scenes, and much more about the intense, bone-deep love that the two characters felt for each other. The last third of this book broke my heart, and literally reduced me to a weepy mess.

Now that I have read Passion I see why it means so much to so many people. If you take the time to look past the vivid sensuality of the early parts of this book, you will find one of the most beautiful and deeply moving love stories I have ever read. I hope more people will open themselves up to this reading experience, because I'm so glad I did and this will definitely be a story I will never forget.