The Ex Factor by Nancy Warren

Readable but ultimately disappointing romance

3 Stars

Wedding planner extraordinaire, Karen Petersham, can take on any challenge when it comes to planning dream weddings. What she can’t deal with is the unexpected arrival of the devastatingly hot, and infernally annoying Dexter Crane – her ex husband.

Karen is determined not to fall for Dex again – especially with how badly things ended the first time round. But she can’t help but find herself in his arms and bed once again but this time he seems unwilling to let her go.

I feel quite bad about only giving this 3 stars as I love a romance where a couple have a second chance at love so this story was right up my street. When I first started reading I absolutely loved it. Karen and Dexter had such chemistry and I really enjoyed their bickering and banter.

Things were progressing nicely when suddenly the secondary love story kicked in and Dexter and Karen were suddenly gone for chapter after chapter. Then came a rather pointless bit about Chelsea and David from Warren’s previous book, My Fake Fiancee (although this book follows that one, each can easily be read as a stand alone). When we finally got back to Karen and Dexter they had lost their spark and the ending was concluded so quickly that the author seemed to have forgotten that the pair still had issues to work out. Of course it was a happy ending but I didn’t feel that the pair were truly over all the problems that were between them.

It could have been such a good book but it just lost its sparkle with the secondary romance. Disappointing but still a readable book and fine for a lazy afternoon. 3 stars.

My Fake Fiancee by Nancy Warren

Interesting, enjoyable romance

4 Stars

Hot shot David Wolfe is determined to become his company’s youngest ever VP. But to do so he needs to find someone to play the fiancée he’s told his colleagues and boss about. Unfortunately, he’s not a man who usually goes for the kind of woman that they would find acceptable.

Enter his sister’s best friend. David hasn’t seen Chelsea Hammond since she was a geeky teen so he’s more than a little stunned by the sexy woman she’s become. Hammond since she was a geeky teen so he’s more than a little stunned by the sexy woman she’s become and he suddenly finds it’s not so difficult playing pretend. But is it really all for show?

This is a tried and tested storyline where what starts off as pretend turns into the real thing. That’s fine with me because it’s a storyline I enjoy and although not demanding or overly original, I enjoyed this one too.

I liked both David and Chelsea and thought their interactions were fun, interesting and quite true to life. I could have done with a little more emotion, especially with the realisation that it was love rather than just lust or infatuation. But overall, this is a book to escape with for a couple of hours. It’s well written, romantic and perfect if you like a Blaze story. 4 stars.

Power Play by Nancy Warren

Good, basic romance

3 Stars

For Emily Saunders being single is one thing. Being single at a family wedding is quite another – especially since her family are trying to set her up with the disgusting Buddy. As if that wasn’t enough, a hotel mishap means she has to share a room for the duration of the wedding.

Luckily for Emily, her roommate is hunky cop, Jonah Bett who’s in town for a hockey tournament. Despite all the other dramas (including an on the loose murderer), Emily can only think of one thing she’d like to do and it doesn’t involve leaving the hotel room.

This book is part of the Forbidden Fantasies series although if I’m honest there was little that was overly exciting or sexy about the story as a whole. It tries hard but doesn’t quite get there.

The characters were fine enough although I didn’t feel we ever really got to know them. Plus, I’m not really turned on by hairy men and Jonah is described as “hairier than necessary” which for me was a little off-putting. I gave him a mental shave and luckily it wasn’t mentioned overly much so I managed to live with it!

About half way through the book a second love story between Sadhu and Kirsten was introduced. These characters had little to do with the main plot and were, to my mind, completely pointless and unnecessary. It felt like complete filler and I just didn’t care about the pair.

Overall, I read this book with ease and it did hold my attention from beginning to end. Despite some faults, and the inclusion of the secondary love story, this was still a fun read that manages to take your mind off things for a while.

Private Relations by Nancy Warren

Wonderful, Sexy Blaze Romance
5 stars

Kit Prescott is PR director of the newly opened, erotic hotel Hush in Manhattan. To gain some publicity for the hotel they throw a Fantasy Weekend Contest - describe your hottest fantasy in 200 words.

Kit is delighted by the fantasies, and by her publicity for the hotel - until Peter Garson turns up to claim his prize, three years after he left Kit standing at the altar on their wedding day.

But Peter is ready for a challenge and he realises he has one weekend to make all his and Kit's fantasies come true and persuade her he now wants forever. If only he can get her to forgive him!


I really enjoyed this novel. It was fast, fun and had a really good storyline to go along with the hot sex scenes! Kit is a career driven woman but not someone you can't empathise with, while Peter is just delicious - determined, sexy and single - a perfect fantasy man. The pair work well together and you sense they are perfect for each other even when they haven't figured it out.

While there is some emotional depth to the story, it never drags on or gets too heavy, remaining a good light read all the way through. There is also a sweet secondary love story which adds a little extra.

If you like Blaze romances or are just a fan of a good, well-written love story then I'm sure you won't be disappointed with this book.