I love Tiffany Reisz, and I loved this loose reimagining of Much Ado About Nothing. After spending over a year in her Original Sinners world, this was a fun change of pace from the floggers & clergy of the Eighth Circle :) And I mean that in the best possible way. Beatriz, Ben, and their supporting cast of characters are wonderful - with dialogue and a story arc that's as smart (& funny) as the sex is hot. I shelved this under Smart Smut because it's just that - it's high quality, sex-positive erotica from a gifted writer and story-teller. And by sex positive I mean that both Bea & Ben are are confident in themselves and with each other. They find no shame in their bodies or what they are doing together, and they COMMUNICATE about all of it.

It's a rare find an erotic novel with solid storyline in addition to engaging characters and really well-written sex scenes. I'd read anything Tiffany wrote, and look forward to whatever she offers us next.

After the highly enjoyable Protecting What's His (cheesy titles, cheesy covers, sigh), I happily moved on to the next installment - and as it turns out thanks to the labeling on Amazon, I read these entirely out of order. Not that it mattered much at all, but after some confusion & double-checking I enjoyed the slight overlap of characters from the previous books, as well as the unique backstory given to each couple. Brent & Hayden were really enjoyable as a pairing - great banter, some nice humor, great chemistry, great dirty talk. Not as much insta-love as Protecting What's His, and the Stuart blackmail plot line was pretty flimsy (esp at the end) but all in all another fun read. Bailey writes excellent filthy talking characters, and Brent doesn't fail to disappoint. 

I think it may have been due to my fever/flu induced stupor that I loved nearly every smuttastic page of this, despite the insta-love between the characters & the poor choices made by Ginger, and the major alpha-male streak running a mile wide with Derek. All the things I'd normally be against just kind of went out the window when Derek started running his filthy mouth. I'd previously read Officer Off Limits & found some of her "outside the bedroom" dialogue ultra-cheesy. I was happy to find Tessa's writing much improved in this installment. Bailey's books are formulaic (aren't most adult romance titles?), but aside from that, her stories are smexy fun with some crazy hot - and creative - dirty talk. A highly enjoyable departure from the contemporary lit streak I'd been on.

A solid 4.5 for the ending of this series. Say what you will about P2P, but this series stands on it's own two feet. Yes their start came from fic, but the other 5 books (particularly Stranger & Player) truly earn C & Lo their place on the Bestseller lists. 

The final installment of the BBastard Series continues along in what I refer to as "The 'Friends' Suspension of Disbelief" (ie. what 20-something actually has an apartment in NYC that's as huge or as well-appointed as Monica's, what with the meager jobs they have & who can afford to dress like they do… but you know, I'm happy to suspend my disbelief because it's just SO MUCH FUN!) with an over-the top wedding, many many shenanigans, limo rides, and lots of couture shoeporn. While some of it was on the cheeseball side for me, at the heart of it lay the intense connection, and heat, and love between Chloe & Bennett. 

Lo & Christina have always been great at balancing serious emotion and humorous dialogue, but they really knocked it out of the park this time. Really really great dialogue between Chloe & Bennett, and it's especially fun since their characters are so familiar, yet it allows us to get to know them even better. I didn't think it was possible to see these two get hotter or more deeply in love, but somehow amidst all the shenanigans & secondary characters, they do. I'll admit, C&B were not my favorite couple of the three books, but this novella - particularly Bennett's inner dialogue - really won me over. He reminded me of a certain crazy intense, passionate, BLISSful character we know and adore. It's really a testament to their skill in writing the characters inner dialogue. And Bennett's filthy filthy mouth? OUI.

Some portions of the story are what you'd expect of a Big! Wedding! Finale! (See: shenanigans, crazy relatives, etc etc) but they were balanced with enough little scenes & twists that the story remains fresh, fun, touching, and utterly true to the two main characters. And so very very hot. #hottestlimorideever

What a fun ride these books have been.

What I love about this series is that (for many of us) we know the roots, the origins, the history of the first book & the authors & these characters, but it FULLY delights me to read them AND be even more in love with the new material than I am with the original. They just keep getting better in my opinion. Yes, it's a lot unrealistic in the "How DO Rachel & Monica afford THAT nice of an apartment?" way - what with the private jets & villas in France & limitless lingerie budget. But that's just it - it's top-notch escapism at it's best. It's high-quality, well-written, thoughtfully-crafted smut and swoons and characters and plot. And while Bennett & Chloe will always have my heart, I think Mr. Stella & his Petal are my very favorite.