Lacey AlexanderRezensionen

Finished Reading November 2, 2013

4.25 Stars

OMG! I loved this story.
Yes, there were a couple of areas that lagged a bit.
But this book was on FIRE it was so hot.
And it had just a touch of Suspense/Mystery.
I loved the characters and have been collecting more books by this author since I read this.
It was very well written. A 'Snag or Two' here and there but overall
Blazing Hot and a Fantastic Read.
Definitely Erotica. Hot and Sensuous

Prch Amz October 20, 2013

Very enjoyable. Believable characters and good tension between the H/h. There was a different and I think more realistic take on the motorcycle romance that is so popular right now.

Jeremy Sheridan suffers from PTSD from his time in Afghanistan. Tamra Day has a new life in Coral Cove creating sun catchers and various other clay pieces of art. Neither trusts other people but together they learn how easy trust can be. Her best friend, Fletcher, is a tightrope walker waiting for his wife to come back since she left him 4 years ago. I can't decide whether that's romantic or nuts. Overall, a cute story.

Currently becoming one of my favorite guilty pleasure authors.

Erotica with a heart and some serious issues to boot. Ambitious and sexy.

This book is really good for what it is.

Good book. I will say straight off that this is one that you should read the first two books in the series before reading this book. Those two books give the backstories that you really need to understand the relationships in this one.

Zack is a fisherman on Lake Michigan. He is on the water for weeks or months at a time. He is very much a loner who gets antsy when he's been onshore for too long. In the first book, The One Who Stays, he and innkeeper Meg have been an item for several years. He comes and goes, and she is okay with that - until she isn't. She wants a commitment, and he can't - or won't - give her one, so she ends their relationship. Zack is clueless and goes into a deep funk over their breakup. He island-bound during the winter, which makes him even grumpier. The last straw is when his Aunt Dahlia abandons the island (and him) for the winter.

Suzanne is Summer Island's florist. She came to the island several years earlier, trying to escape the grief of losing her husband. She has been adamant that she had her one chance at love and wasn't interested in trying again. But in the second book, The Giving Heart, Suzanne meets a man who shows a great deal of interest in getting to know her better. But she allows her fears to push him away, and by the time she has overcome those fears, he has fallen in love with someone else. When this book starts, she too is in a funk, trying hard not to resent the other couple's happiness and not having much success at it.

Summer Island is one of those places that becomes very isolated in the winter. When the lake freezes, the ferry doesn't run until the spring thaw. The only way on or off the island is by helicopter. Dahlia is on the last ferry off the island, which creates a big problem when Zack slips on icy stairs and seriously injures himself. Meg isn't comfortable being the one to care for him, especially now that she is in a new relationship. Out of their group, that leaves Suzanne to pick up the slack. It is awkward because Suzanne has made no secret of her disapproval of Zack and the way he treated Meg. However, as a former nurse, she can't just walk away, especially when the injury leaves Zack with a paralyzed right leg.

I enjoyed seeing the development of the relationship between Suzanne and Zack. Things get off to a rough start. Zack is depressed because his injury likely means the end of his fishing career, and he has no idea what else he would do. Suzanne isn't happy about caring for the surly fisherman but feels she owes it to her friends, Meg and Dahlia. Zack is a real pain until Suzanne lays down the law to him. She understands why he's down, but she's not going to let him lay around like a lump all winter. Somehow she manages to convince him to let her work a little physical therapy on him. At the same time, being stuck together in the same house day in and day out, the antagonism between them begins to fade.

I liked seeing Zack and Suzanne get to know each other. It was fun to see them start to relax enough to tease each other over music and movies. I also enjoyed seeing how Suzanne worked to motivate Zack to give the PT a chance. There were a few rough patches, especially when Zack's fears about his future would overwhelm him, but Suzanne usually found a way to pull him out of it. What neither expected were the sparks of attraction that flared between them.

Suzanne was horrified at first. Getting involved with her best friend's ex felt utterly wrong, but she couldn't deny the way he made her feel. Zack was simply flabbergasted to discover that being around Suzanne helped ease his fears about his future. While any thoughts of settling down with Meg used to send him running for his boat, the idea of staying with Suzanne was curiously appealing. I hurt for them both when Suzanne's fears of what the future might hold made her push Zack away. It took an emotionally devastating event and advice from her friend Dahlia for her to realize that she wanted to keep their love. Zack also had a startling epiphany the first time he went back out on his boat. I loved that it was Suzanne that felt like home, not his boat. His big moment on the street of the town was sweet and romantic and entirely unlike him.

There was also a secondary story going on with Dahlia. Her departure from the island and refusal to come back when her nephew was injured was very out of character. Zack always seemed to be the center of her life, and to abandon him now felt off. It was hard for Zack, Suzanne, and Meg to understand it. The glimpses into her past gave a better understanding of her actions. There was an emotional twist in her story that I didn't see coming until just before the big reveal.

I thought this was a charming holiday read. The romance between Beck and Lila was fine. Yes, there were sparks but I was not feeling them as strongly as I would have liked to. For one; It took me a while to warm up to Lila. Yet, when it came to Beck, I had no issues. This has to do a lot with the fact that he warmed me heart with how kind and good he is with Cade. Little children are a guaranteed winner.

In fact, Cade may have stole some of the spotlighting this story. I would not get enough of him. Every time that he appeared in the story, I was smiling. Back to Lila and Beck. They kind of had an hot/cold relationship for a good portion of the story. Which did not help with me feeling the love between them.

The other characters in this story helped. They were engaging and people that I would want to hang out with. This book may be part of the Summer Island series but it has all the vibes of a nice holiday read.

Good continuation of the series. It opens with a rush as Lila, who is inn-sitting for her older sister Meg, sees a bulldozer knocking down trees behind the inn. She rushes out in her pajamas and slippers determined to stop it. There she encounters Beck, real estate developer, and owner of the land. She's stunned to hear of the plans to build houses on that hill and furious over what it will mean to the inn. She's determined to stop him in his tracks. Beck, who made his first appearance in the previous book (TheOne Who Stays) has had these plans in the works for months. He's not too happy about Lila's attempts to interfere, but with the weather being bad he believes he has time to change her mind. Neither one counts on the intense attraction between them.

I liked both Lila and Beck, though Lila had her moments when she really irritated me. She came to Summer Island for two reasons. First, to give her sister Meg, who owns the inn, a chance to leave the island for a few weeks with her boyfriend. Second, she is looking for peace since losing her job when her boss took exception to her resisting his unwanted advances. Lila feels that she was a bad sister to Meg when Meg went through her medical problems years earlier and, as a result, is determined to protect the inn and the family legacy. She also struggles with the belief that she handled the situation with her boss all wrong. Though she believes herself to be a selfish person, Lila is actually a woman with a lot to give. Beck is a self-made man who is looking to find some peace of his own at the same time he brings progress to the island community. Dealing with the recent death of his father, he faces regrets over their estrangement. His way of life versus his father's drove a wedge between them that kept Beck from spending much time with his family.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Beck and Lila. The sparks were there from the moment they met. Despite the circumstances, Lila can't help but notice Beck as a sexy man. As much as her actions irritate him, Beck is intrigued and attracted to the woman in the PJs and slippers trying to stop a bulldozer. Lila is determined to stay angry at him, and Beck wants to win her over. There is a rollercoaster of emotions as their attraction pulls them together, but Lila's feelings about his plans cause her to push him away. I loved the scene with the Christmas tree, as Beck tries to soften her anger. Lila desperately tries to hang on to her anger, but Beck's kindness and persistence chips away at it. But when the passion that flares between them explodes, Lila is beset with guilt over "sleeping with the enemy" and pushes him away. Over the next couple of weeks, they are constantly drawn together. In spite of their differences in the matter of the trees, in everything else they are well-matched. I loved how they shared their problems with each other. It was heartwarming to see how Beck believed and supported Lila over her situation with her ex-boss and the difference it made to Lila's feelings about herself. Beck also shared his feelings about his father with Lila, and talking to her gave him the boost he needed to face his past. I ached for them both as their feelings for each other grew, but the issue of the trees remained between them. The ending was terrific as they both learned the value of compromise. Their big moment had a feeling of "The Gift of the Magi" about it.

There were a few subplots going on also. My favorite was Beck's friendship with the little boy who lived next door. Five-year-old Cade was adorable, and I loved the way he brought out the lighter side of Beck. The snowman building scene was sweet and fun. When a blizzard stranded everyone for Christmas, I loved how Beck made sure that Cade's holiday wasn't ruined. Beck also featured in a subplot with Suzanne. He was interested in her in the first book, but because she was still grieving her late husband, she resisted his interest. In this one she begins to soften toward him, leaving Beck caught between two women. Dahlia also has someone special in her life, but issues of her own prevent her from letting it progress past a certain point. I hope to see more of this relationship in the next book.

Part of this book also dealt with Lila and the situation with her boss. Her feelings about what happened and how she handled it are very realistic. I ached for her and her hurt over her friend's reaction, and her reluctance to tell her family what happened. I liked the effect her relationship with Beck had on her outlook and her decisions about the future. I would have liked to get a little more detail about the results of those decisions.

Good book, though it read more like women's fiction than the romance I thought it was. It was enjoyable, but I frequently found my attention wandering to scrolling through facebook rather than reading the book. The only thing that kept me on task was that I was reading on a transatlantic flight, so distractions were limited.

Meg is an innkeeper on Summer Island, running the inn that she inherited from her grandmother. She retreated to the inn several years earlier, recovering from both a serious illness and the desertion of her fiancé when he found out about that illness. She likes the quieter lifestyle and the closeness of the resident community but also enjoys the bustle of the summer tourist season. For the past five years, she has been in a relationship of sorts with Zack, but she finds herself wanting more than he is willing to give.

Zack is a fisherman who spends long periods on his boat. He is content to leave his relationship with Meg as it is. He likes that she is there for him when he returns to port on Summer Island and doesn't complain when he leaves again.

Seth came to the island in search of work but also looking for something from his past. He visited once as a child, along with his grandparents, and a memory from that time has brought him back. Seth's past haunts him, and he is looking to make some significant changes.

The book opens as Zack leaves Meg once again. It is their fifth anniversary and Meg had made plans, but Zack behaves as if it is just another day. Meg finally faces the fact that Zack is unlikely ever to give her the commitment that she needs. With the idea that Zack may no longer be in her life, Meg contemplates the idea of selling the inn and moving away, starting a new life somewhere that she can find what she needs. Fate intervenes with the arrival of Seth, a handsome, younger man who is looking for work as a handyman. He is light-hearted and charming, and Meg hires him to do some needed repairs on the inn. She doesn't expect the attraction that flares between them.

I had fun watching the friendship that developed between Seth and Meg. He is an outrageous flirt and makes no secret of his attraction to Meg, but leaves it up to her whether to pursue it. In the meantime, they work together on projects around the inn, and Seth's attention to Meg gives her a taste of what could be. I loved all the little things that he did to show her how special she is. Meg is torn between her loyalty to Zack and the feelings she develops for Seth. Things become more complicated when Seth's presence makes Zack realize that he could lose the woman who is such a big part of his life. Can he let go of his past enough to give Meg what she needs? At the same time, Seth gets closer to solving the issue that brought him to Summer Island. His feelings for Meg grow deeper, but so do his fears of her reaction if he should confess his reasons for coming to the island. An unexpected part of Seth's past arrives on the island, forcing him to face those fears, and providing some much-needed healing. But will it be enough for him to believe that he deserves a chance at happiness?

As Meg and Seth work on the inn's renovations, they discover an old diary of her grandmother's, hidden long before. As Meg reads the diary, she finds some unexpected parallels with her own life. I loved Meg's surprise at the things she learned and how she used them to deal with her own problems. There was a surprising twist at the end of the diary that I didn't see coming and made me smile when all was revealed. I liked how it helped Meg face her fears and insecurities and embrace life on her own terms. The ending was terrific.

I liked the secondary characters, such as Meg's friend Suzanne and the other residents of the island. Suzanne was a good friend to Meg. I enjoyed how she was both a sounding board for Meg when she needed to talk, and also a kick-in-the-pants when Meg needed a little extra push to step outside her comfort zone. I liked how the residents looked out for each other, even though there was sometimes a little too much attention for Meg's comfort.

Getting hot and steamy with the hunk at work for seven days in Vegas

Lots and lots of sex. Carly sneaks off to the big city to have sex with a stranger and ends up taking on two men for a ménage. She leaves while they are sleeping and never expects to meet either of them again. Until Jake becomes a police officer in her small town. Both of these folks were abused as children and while Jake works on healing Carly, he learns he still has some healing himself. All the while having lots of sex. Not sure I want to continue with this series.

Some very hot fantasy fulfillment at the Hotel Exotique

Well I was bored the heroine bored me and it was kind of hard to stay on course and read it til the end, but I did. It was sad to say that by the end or middle or whenever I could not care less who she would pick, ok let me back up and explain. So Meg has had a sort of-yes sort of relationship with Zack for 5 years but he wouldn't really commit yet everyone on the island saw them as a couple. When he goes off on on one of his fishing trips she ends up meeting Seth, convenient right? Any who she loves Zack but realizes that she wants and deserves more, so now we have a love triangle both men vying for her attention you would think that with this it would be more interesting but sad to say for me not as much..There was a journal and it seems her grandmother had same issue so now we have 2 stories her grandmoms and hers and Meg is going thru some self discovery.. I gave it a three because it was not badly written just needed more ooomph

Rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions.

Thanks to Chumchum_88 for the great recommendation!

For some reason I kept thinking of this as a super gentle Kristen Ashley but with hero who can speak in full coherent sentences.
Super sweetheart hero who has painful past and left a biker gang. Writing and characters were some of the most natural I've ever read. Heroine had Crohn's disease which not often pops up in CR and was incorporated into her daily life. Hero and heroine had a sweet romance with some heat. I'll definitely be checking out other books in this series.

FYI this was previously published as Hotbed Honey.

FYI this was previously published as Hotbed Honey.

The basic story was good, a little predicable. The heroine was well drawn but I felt that the hero was lacking a little pizazz.

This was an OK read for me. The sex scenes were pretty hot, but the characters were kind of flat. The story was a bit predictable too.

4.5 stars

When I started this, I expected a fluffy read, but that's not what I got. I really, really liked Braden & Laura. They were genuine and very likeable, plus, they had amazing chemistry. I thought it was great that Braden wanted to release Laura's wild side and I felt her reactions to some of the things he wanted were believable. The sex scenes were incredibly hot and the growing bonds between them a pleasure to read. Even though things happened quickly, nothing felt rushed. It just seemed like a natural progression to me. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of her work.

Party of Three
3 Stars

Ethan West and his girlfriend, Mira, have hit a rough patch in their relationship with Mira feeling that she comes a distant second to his job. In order to get their romance back on track, Ethan recruits Mira's ex-boyfriend, Rogan Wolffe, to help him bring her secret fantasy to life. Soon the three are spending a wild and passionate weekend together, but will Ethan regret his plan if Mira's feelings for Rogan return?

Another attempt at ménage and this one fares better than the last as both the underlying premise (a man fulfilling his lover's fantasy) as well as the central conflict (a woman's resurging feelings for her ex) are more believable than the usual love-fest.

The sex scenes are well-written, hot and intense, and the characters are tolerable enough. Ethan is sweet and charming; Rogan is sexy and commanding, but Mira is weak and whiny. It is unclear what either man actually sees in her, and as such it is difficult to care on way or the other about which man she ultimately ends up with.

All in all, a quick, sexy read that could have been better with a less annoying heroine.

Bad Girl By Night
3 Stars

Uncomfortable with the idea of becoming sexually involved with a man from her small home town, Carly Winters releases her pent up frustrations under the guise of an alter-ego, Desiree. During one of her excursions in the big city, Carly/Desiree meets Jake Lockhart, a sexy as sin stranger, and finds herself engaging in one of her most secret fantasies. Never expecting to see Jake again, Carly’s quiet life is turned upside down when she learns that he is the new cop in town and that he refuses to let their night of passion remain in the past.

The first half of the book is completely captivating as Carly lives out her secret fantasy and then comes face to face with the man who played a leading role in it. The chemistry between Carly and Jake sizzles on the pages and their clash of wills leads to some incredibly steamy scenes.

Unfortunately, the book takes a turn for the worse at the halfway mark when Jake’s angst raises its ugly head. It does not bode well for a story when the alpha male turns into a quivering mess and his sexual hangups overshadow those of the damaged heroine.

The menage trope is usually one that I dislike as it is difficult for me to believe that an alpha male who loves the heroine would accept her having sex with another man. However, the initial encounter in this book is more plausible as Carly and Jake are strangers. The same cannot be said for the second encounter, which epitomizes everything that irritates me with this theme as Jake encourages Carly to engage in sex acts with not one, but two of his closest friends. A hero who behaves in this way loses all of his appeal and Jake is no exception.

All in all, Carly and Jake’s romance has potential despite the problematic elements and Lacey Alexander is very skilled at writing an incredibly HOT sex scene.

Good book. Both Jeremy and Tamra have had things happen to them that have caused them to put up walls to keep people out. But when their lives collide in little Coral Cove, they find those walls getting pretty shaky. Tamra is a familiar character from the previous books, All I Want is You and Love Me If You Dare. She is part of the artist community who sells her work on the boardwalk each day. She has her friends to hang out with, but she doesn't date. Jeremy was mentioned in a few of the Destiny, Ohio books, where he was known as being the local sports hero and heartthrob in high school. He joined the Marines and went to war, and came back a changed man. After spending time with his family in Destiny, he realized he needed a change and moved to Coral Cove.

Tamra has designed the town's new mini-golf course and has been put in charge of getting it built. After hiding out for a couple weeks, Jeremy realizes he needs to force himself out and about and finds himself hired to help build the course. In their first few encounters, Tamra and Jeremy butt heads frequently. She thinks he's rude and he thinks she's uptight. And though neither wants to admit it, they are really attracted to each other. It was great fun to see Jeremy purposely irritating Tamra, just to see how she'd react.

All that head butting also stirred up a lot of sparks between them. Their personal issues first had them trying to avoid each other, but they quickly realized that wasn't working. I loved the banter between them as they moved from cautious truce to friendship to something more. Thanks to her past, Tamra has trouble trusting men. Jeremy is suffering from PTSD, aggravated by his feelings of guilt over something that happened during the war. As their relationship develops, they slowly start to open up to each other. I loved the challenge that they gave each other because of it, and how the results of that challenge increased the sparks between them. When the heat finally took over, there were some incredible moments. It was plain to see that the feelings for each other were growing. But a moment of passion inspired honesty from Tamra sends Jeremy running. I ached for Tamra, who had finally opened herself up to trusting someone with her feelings. I loved how she handled it, and seeing her with her friends warmed my heart. At the same time I wanted to smack Jeremy upside the head for being so blind. It just took him a little longer to get past his issues, with the help of one of his Marine friends, and the unexpected input from Abner. I loved his honesty with Tamra at the end, showing that it wasn't an easy resolution but a work in progress.

There was also a secondary story with Tamra's friend Fletcher. He, too, has been present throughout the series. He is a tightrope walker who performs on the beach every evening. He took up residence in Coral Cove four years earlier, when his wife, Kim, took off, leaving only a note that everything would be ok. He has been insistent that she would come back, so he would wait for her in the last place they were together. His friends aren't so confident, and by the middle of the book he is starting to have doubts himself. A visitor to Coral Cove has him seriously thinking of moving on with his life, until Kim shows back up. It was interesting to see the differences that four years apart made. I ached for Fletcher and his confusion. I seriously wanted to give Kim several kicks in the tail for hurting him. I really wondered how their story was going to end up and if it would be the way I wanted it to.

Though I would love to see the series continue, my feeling from the epilogue is that this was it. I loved catching up with what everyone was doing, and seeing some of the changes that have come to Coral Cove.

Good opposites attract story. We met Reece and his pet iguana, Fifi, in All I Want Is You, as the laid back owner of the Happy Crab Motel. He's not quite as laid back right now, as a big hotel chain is trying to buy his property and tear it down. He keeps telling them no, but they won't let it go. Now they've sent Camille Thomson to try her hand at convincing him.

Camille has never lost on a deal she was trying to close, and doesn't expect to have any trouble here. After all, everyone has their price. But she didn't count on Reece's stubbornness - or his appeal.

Camille definitely didn't make a very good impression when she first arrived. She seemed kind of smug about always getting her way. Her big city persona took a pretty big hit when she freaked out finding the iguana in her bathroom, and it certainly made her seem more human. When Reece came running in response to her screams, she also started to see him as more than a business problem. She wasn't happy about it, as she considered it a distraction.

I liked Reece. He's an easygoing kind of guy, who seems to take everything that goes on around him in stride, except for the buyout attempt. He wasn't real happy about his attraction to Cami either. He likes his life just as it is, and her actions threaten everything he loves. I really enjoyed how he stood up to her in that first encounter, without getting mean or nasty.

The development of their relationship was fun. They start out as antagonists, but Reece's laid back attitude kept it on the friendly side. Once she decided to stay in Coral Cove in order to try to convince him, Reece decided to show her around "so he could keep an eye on her". He decided to try to show her the charm of the town, in hopes of getting her to agree that a big hotel would not be right. I loved seeing him introduce her around. The relationship began to change right away as Cami started to see how much a part of things Reece was. She started to realize that she was in trouble as Reece became a person rather than a property, and she wanted to know more about who he was.

As the days went on, the reason Cami was there became less important to her. I loved seeing how they could go for hours without talking about the sale. Their relationship begins to deepen, something that both are leery of. Reece has ghosts from his past that keep him from allowing himself to get serious about anyone, and Cami has spent years perfecting the ability to keep her emotions locked away. By the time they progress to taking his boat out together, those feelings have taken a deep root in both, and they start to open up to each other. But trouble lies ahead that will test the depth of those feelings.

Cami's boss has been pestering her regularly about her progress and she has been putting him off. Just as she makes a decision about what to do, he takes advantage of a casual comment and makes his own attempt at winning the battle. Unfortunately, Reece believes he's been betrayed by Cami and has some very harsh things to say to her, without giving her a chance to explain. I understood his feelings, but wanted to smack him for jumping to conclusions. While Cami spent a couple days reeling from what happened, I loved seeing her decide to do something about it. While I saw one of those actions coming (it was logical), I didn't see the larger solution, and loved it. I also found it very realistic that they didn't immediately go to a perfect ending, but realized that they both had things to work through. I loved seeing them do that together.

I really enjoyed the parts that the two animals played. Fifi, the iguana, was an unusual pet and seemed to be perfect for Reece and his personality. How he acquired her showed his softer side. Fifi was also a big part of the interactions between Reece and Cami, especially at the beginning. I really liked how Cami got to like the "dinosaur" and realized how much she meant to Reece. I also loved the cat "Tiger", aka "Tiger Lily". It started out as a stray that neighbor Polly cares for, and who Polly cons Cami into caring for. Cami's reaction to the cat says a lot about what her life has been like. It was sweet to see the way it wormed its way into Cami's heart and how Cami's entire outlook began to change.

I just can't. Life is too short to read shitty books, people.

The heroine is that level of TSTL that is just epically painful to read. She goes into the woods in a deserted area, a man pops out of nowhere, yells at her to leave, starts kissing her (yeah, he's not got too many marbles rolling around up there either), has sex with him IN THE WOODS (did I mention they only vaguely knew each other in highschool? And that they exchanged maybe 10 sentences between each other before pants went flying? ), then gets yelled at again, and FREAKING FINALLY gets the hell out of there.

But when she sees him again?

BOOM! Off to the races again.

For real.

And that was only the first, like, 25 pages.

And only the most stupid thing she did.

There was more.

Much more.