Gracie Terrence has lived next door to firefighter Steve Sheldon for two years. She’s lusted after his hot body since day one, but Steve is a taken man. Gracie is no home wrecker and keeps her fantasies locked safely behind closed doors. Besides, all she wants is one hot night with him.
After getting dumped by his fiancee, Steve decides it’s time to have a little fun with Gracie. She makes his blood heat.
But when one night turns to two, and emotions complicate their simple affair, can they survive the inferno of their growing love?
Grade: B-
Sensuality: Burning
Jane Meter: 50/50
The Good: Duplex, firefighter, hot sweaty sex, what’s not to like? Does that make me shallow? And Steve really does sound like a guy most of the time and the teacher isn’t a square, shy, lil virgin who finds her sex drive by meeting said firefighter.
The Bad: The opening scene, in the car, and what Gracie is remembering – fucking creeps me out. All I could think of was after that Steve so deserved to get his ass dumped. Although I kept reading so make of that what you will. But that was after a day or so and made me feel bad for a character I never even met.
The Verdict: Gracie’s response to Steve’s I Love You is enough to make me read the author again.
I am a odd duck like that *g*
This is a novella and at $4.99 seem a little high priced. But that is jane’s area not mine. No heavy lifting here but fun, did I mention the hot, sweaty, sex part? The conflict is one you can understand and I see as being a true to life issue with people in dangerous professions.
Next: I don’t have one or know of what is next but I will keep an eye out
You can find the excerpt and the to link buy here
This is the book that I bought when Cobblestone Press opened. I have a review of it to go up next week. I was not as nice as you. 🙂
My problem is when these authors try to make the friends to lovers leap within days. I simply did not buy that ol’ Stevie was in love with Gracie. She was just a convenient hit.
well I said 50/50 😛
I see this as the happy for now with the chance of ever after. But I really didn’t think deeply about it 😉
Okay, I read this book and I must disagree with the so-so rating you gave it. It’s far better than your comments reflect. The opening scene is the hottest cross between voyeurism, fantasy, and steamy memories ever put to pages. It is skillfully penned to arouse the characters and the readers, capturing the full spirit of a lustful, satisfying orgasm. Her heroine could be any one of us. Who hasn’t fantasized about someone they couldn’t be with, their perfect no-strings-attached sex partner, or their soul mate for life. This story has it all and more. Sure in the beginning, the hero, Steve, appears to be a too good-looking SOB who knows he can have any girl he wants but when you find out the kind of bimbo his ex-fiancée was you’ll see who the real creep is here and love him like the hunky hero he truly is. The heroine, Gracie, is more interesting than the typical girl-next-door but no tramp by a long shot.
The author, Anna Leigh Keaton, takes you where you want to go and makes you want to take the trip again and again. Her talent goes far beyond the heated scenes of passion. Humor and internal conflict make it believable; Gracie’s response to the Steve’s I love you made me want to slap her, for which I give the author credit for influencing my emotions. Foreboding tension is a part of the mix as well. For instance, Glancing in her rearview mirror, her eyes widened in horror. A huge truck came barreling at her. She pressed the gas, but her tires spun on the icy blacktop. The truck’s headlights shining through her back window was the last thing she saw before the world crumbled around her and everything faded to black. Those four sentences made me gasp in horror.
In my opinion, if you enjoy erotic romance you do yourself a great injustice if you do not read this skillfully written piece.
As a reader, the opening scene in this book had me needing a cold shower. The sensuality and eroticism of it was beautifully written. Anna Leigh definitely took me to place that I would love to go to but never have the guts to in real life.
I laughed…I cried. This story is definitely one I’ll read again and again.
When you first look at this one it’s a gorgeous cover, but upon reflection, one wonders why a firefighter would be walking away from a blazing fire with no shirt on.
Hate it when real life breaks in on fantasy.
I liked this book very much. I thought the story hot and I read for escapism and Five Alarm Neighbor did that for me.
LOL kristie!
hi joy
and some spoiler space for anon
and a bit more
don’t read if you don’t wanna know
If you are still here I am guess you have read this or are a spoiler ho like me!
Sorry anon, it was squicky for me. All I could think of was oh look guy fucking soon to be wife while staring into the eyes of another woman.
nice
I wouldn’t have issue with it at all if the chick had known about it but the fact she was just being happily fucked, until he very nicely directs her to her knees to blow him, so he can better stare into the eyes of gracie, way squicked me.
I get that we find out she was boning some other guy so tis all good and I got over it and read on. And I did find steve and gracie to be much more enjoyable than the first scene had me believe.
But glad it worked for you! I did really like the story, much more than jane I guess *g*. More people should read it and let me know what they think!
It’s late, and I’m being lazy, so pardon my “anonymous” setting…Just not in the mood to look up my stupid password to log in.
LOL Kristie… I think if the cover reflected true “reality” I’d be wanting to know why he’s not “fighting” the fire, and why he’s not covered in soot. But I guess I digress. The guy is sexy, so who am I to argue! 🙂
I don’t look for realism in the covers so much as I look for it in the story itself…and the hero does get “down and dirty” at the scene of a fire, so I’m cool with that.
Sybil, I didn’t really think of that first scene the way you did; Maybe that reflects bad on me–who’s to say?–but I just saw it from the heroine’s point of view…and a typical guy reaction at having one woman with him and finding another getting off on it. I probably would’ve thought him a prude if he’d reacted in any other way. As far as “erotica” goes… it was a “hot” scene…but I liked the story more as it progressed, and especially what I took to be the underlying message of the story: about taking chances on life and love while you still have “time” to enjoy it. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t read it and plan to, but I think the ending, more than the beginning, made this a worthwhile read, at least that’s my opinion.
Bostonian