Play With Me by Leslie Kelly

A bland romantic read

2 Stars

Commitment phobic pilot Amanda Bauer’s terrible track record with men has made her wary of traditional relationships. But when she meets hunky business owner Reese Campbell, it’s not a traditional relationship that she has in mind – it’s just plenty of adventurous sex.

After their first steamy encounter, they arrange to meet up every couple of months for fantasy fuelled sex. But how long will they both be happy with their no strings relationship and what will the pair do when they realise that it’s not just lust that’s driving them towards each other?

I adore Leslie Kelly’s writing and there has never been a book of hers that I wasn’t engrossed in from the first page. Until now. It seems like a betrayal to say that this book fell completely flat for me.

While Reese and Amanda were both good enough characters, neither had much depth or were overly exciting. Amanda especially was a disappointment as, to me, she was completely un-relatable and at times, un-likeable. The pair did have chemistry but it was definitely more one night stand chemistry than of the happily ever after sort.

At times the attempts at sexiness sounded more like the script of a really bad, and predictable porno. There were the required number of sex scenes but with the lack of emotion they came across as bland and perfunctory.  A lot of the sex was based on role play fantasies: sex with a stranger, phone sex, cop and prisoner etc. It all still did very little for me, I’m afraid.

This book just didn’t capture me and for that I can only give it 2 stars. I’ll still look out for books by Leslie Kelly I just don’t think that this one shows off her talent to any great length.

Risque Business by Tawny Weber

Enjoyable if a little bland

3 stars

Professor Delaney Connor needs a makeover to win a promotion at work so she knows it’s fate when she wins a contest for a brand new look. When her new look brings her into close contact with hot author, Nick Angel, there’s only one thing on her mind.

Unfortunately, Nick believes that good sex is purely physical while Delaney is convinced that emotion makes sex all the better. So the pair enter a bet – one month in each others company while both try to prove the other wrong. No matter who wins, it’s going to be a month that neither forgets.

I did enjoy this book however ironically, with the characters debating between emotion vs action, having more of both in this book would have made it a much better story overall.

I liked both Delaney and Nick although both could have done with a little more depth. Delaney, being a geeky girl that transformed into a glamorous chick, could have been a lot more relatable than she ultimately was. The pair worked well together but again, a little more emotion could have made them the perfect couple.

As with any Blaze novel, there were some hot sex scenes although they didn’t completely scorch the pages and weren’t as plentiful as other similar books I have read.

Overall, this is a readable and enjoyable novel with likeable characters and believable situations. It could have been so much better but as it is, it’s still worth a read if you’ve got a couple of hours to spare. 3 stars.