Burned by Sarah Morgan
Source: Author/Publisher
Rating: 4½/5 stars

Is there really anything more humiliating than getting dumped by your current boyfriend as your smolderingly hot ex-boyfriend listens in? Yep! How about being told, within earshot of your ex-boyfriend that you are not feminine enough, should join a book club and learn how to bake and then, being attacked in the street after you run out of the restaurant and have to be saved by your ex? Oh, and then the ex criticizes your fighting stance. Yeah, I think that qualifies as well and truly humiliating.

For five long years, Rosie’s most enduring relationship has been with her battery operated boyfriend. Men just don’t get her: she’s fierce, strong, well-trained and more than capable of defending herself in a bad situation. In other words, most men are intimidated by her. Furthermore, Rosie has come to accept that no man is ever, ever, ever going to compare to Hunter Black, her first love, her first lover and, the man who tore her apart when he walked out on her without so much as a backward glance. For five years Rosie has forbidden her beloved sister from saying his name and has tried to convince herself that she is totally and completely over Hunter Black. Yeah, right!

Hunter Black has traveled the world (literally!) perfecting his marital arts skills, working as an expert on Hollywood sets and, trying to forget his ninja, Rosie. When Hunter decides it was time to settle down he returns home to London, buys the fitness center he did all of his early training in and, witnesses his ex’s stunning public humiliation. Though he wants to reconnect with Rosie, witnessing her dumping and ass-kicking was not what he had in mind. To make matters worse, Rosie doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him and she is adamant about not giving him a chance to explain his despicable actions from five years ago. What does a man have to do to win a girl back??

The Bottom Line: I really liked this read!! Rosie is tough and determined to protect herself even if it means denying her feelings for Hunter Black. Hunter is a bit harder to love but once I understood his reasons for leaving Rosie I was better able to get behind him and root for him. Hunter really does have Rosie’s best interests at heart and he just has to convince her of that. Thank the Lord part of Hunter’s strategy involves some really stellar sex  The past and the present come together in Burned making this one of my favorite types of reads. The plot is easy and interesting and the characters are both so stubborn and stunning that I just couldn’t stop reading. Burned is definitely hot little summer read that I can fully recommend to all 18+ readers.

Crossing the Line by Megan Hart
Source: Author/Publisher
Rating: 4/5 stars

Caite Fox has her dream job: she works for a PR firm that almost exclusively handles nothing but high end clients, her immediate supervisor allows her to work independently and develop her own client list and, she has a full access view of the scariest and most beautiful man on earth, Jamison Wolfe. Jamison Wolfe is driven: his PR firm has a healthy and growing reputation for stellar work, his negotiation tactics are generally loud but effective and, he does NOT do relationships. I guess it’s a damn good thing Caite knows Jamison is off the table, not even and option and, only a beautiful man to be admired from afar.

Though they rarely work together, Caite and Jamison are suddenly thrown together after circumstances beyond their control force them into a closer working relationship. Caite knows she shouldn’t lust after her boss the way she does but she can’t help it – he is just so damn sexy. Though Jamison is hesitant about working with Caite and allowing her even a small measure of control, he hates the people/celebrities she is working with even more. For Jamison to give over any control at all is astonishing and Caite knows this is her chance to impress Jamison and maybe solidify her future with the company. Now all she has to do is reign in three reality stars and make them look good in the world of social media.

Almost immediately, disaster strikes when one of the “stars” gets herself arrested and creates a media frenzy. Jumping into action Caite smoothes over the story, makes the “star” look like a victim and, has Jamison’s firm coming out on top of it all. Impressed with her abilities, Jamison gives into his own desire for Caite and most interestingly, the control freak also allows Caite to take total control of the situation. Their first few encounters are intense, hot, and totally out of Jamison’s comfort zone but totally in Caite’s. For years Caite has denied her own desire for control in favor of making a relationship work but with Jamison, she is free to be herself in the bedroom if not in the boardroom. For Jamison, the lack of control is both completely freeing and completely terrifying and just as he becomes comfortable with his situation, disaster once again strikes and tears the couple apart.

The Bottom Line: Crossing the Line is a short and easy read packed full of naughty encounters and somewhat interesting characters. For the most part, I like Caite and her confidence and the fact that she has finally learned to accept she can never make a relationship work if she is denying her own desires. Caite is coming into her own and with Jamison by her side, she is flourishing. Jamison is a bit harder for me to like because of his general attitude – he is hard and controlling and completely disappointing when he breaks Caite’s heart. Though I understand the reasons behind his actions, he is still a butthole for hurting Caite. The plot is full of drama and sexual tension and in the end, the differences between Caite and Jamison are not insurmountable and they are able to come together to create a HEA worth reading about. ( )

My Cosmo reading years sadly didn’t include an imprint of steamy romance stories, only sealed sections and the odd tampon freebie. (If they did, I would have been all over it). Even though I’m no longer an avid Cosmo reader, I thought I’d still try the books published by Harlequin. I was intrigued by this book as it featured an author who does plot and steamy equally as brilliantly, Megan Hart. (And OK, I like the cocktail cover, having mastered making candied orange peel). This book contains three stories of roughly 100 pages each (one extra, Lauren Dane’s Cake than the rest of the world – bonus for Australia), all featuring strong female leads who are prepared to say what they want and work hard to obtain it. In these cases, what they want is a particular man and they’ll reveal their feelings and fight to make him see it’s love. I think these heroines are very positive for the Cosmo age group (late teens, early twenties) – these women take control of their lives in work, study and in their love life. Note that the sex scenes are quite steamy though!

I loved Megan Hart’s story, Crossing the Line, the most. This is the story of Cait, who is a genius with social media, knowing how to work it to her clients’ advantage. She’s had a secret crush on her boss Jamison for some time and when they work more closely together, sparks fly. Cait’s in complete control of the relationship, something Jamison’s not used to – but he’s thinking that he could, given Cait and some time… I liked how the balance of power outside of work tipped in Cait’s favour. Even though it’s a short novella, both characters are well developed, there’s an opportunity for a love triangle and the focus isn’t solely on sex. Cait’s thinking about where she wants to be work-wise, there’s a subplot about her other boss and the rowdy reality stars the firm has taken on. It’s all deftly packaged and was a great read.

Sarah Morgan’s Burned took the reader to London, where we met Rosie, champion at martial arts and unlucky in love. She only dates boring men who want her to bake cakes and join book clubs, but Rosie’s so much more feisty. Are men hung up on the fact that she can defend herself? When her first love Hunter returns, Rosie’s sister advises her to get him out of her system and move on. But after spectacular flirting, Rosie can’t do that. Will Hunter destroy her love life again? There’s crackling tension in this book as Hunter and Rosie try to decide what they want from each other (then automatically assume the other wants something else – d’oh!). It’s hot, but with a sweet tinge. I liked also learning about Rosie’s sister, Hayley (she’s the star of Morgan’s novella, Ripped) – she’s smart (an engineer by trade), cool and got the man. Hunter’s also a hot hero who combines hurt, strength and sensitivity. It would have been nice to learn more of his backstory (perhaps another time).

The final novella was Lauren Dane’s Cake. For me, this was the weakest story – the heroine was younger (in art school – perhaps I’m too old to relate now I’m postgrad?) and Grigori, the hero wasn’t my type. He’s a Mohawked, tattooed, pierced artist from Russia and I didn’t really see what Wren (the heroine) saw in him. He was meant to be a tough-talking, love ‘em and leave ‘em artist, but with Wren we mainly saw his sensitive side (his mum bakes and brings him macarons – which are not cookies, Wren!). He’s driven and has an annoying ex-wife, but she didn’t make much impact on the story. Wren is strong and knows that she’ll need to show Grigori he’s capable of making the right decisions in love. I did like the way she chased him down – it was inventive and funny (not to mention showing the utter reliance of people on their iPhone). I felt this book was sweeter and more new adult than the other two.

This set of stories is a great book to pick up and put down over a busy week, or devour over a weekend. If you like your romance hot and heavy with strong heroines, you’ll enjoy this.

Thank you to Harlequin Australia for the copy of this book.

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