Ex, Why, and Me by Susanna Carr

Fun and light-hearted romp

3 Stars

Pastry chef, Michelle Nelson, has no desire to return to her small hometown that she left 5 years ago but she has promised her best friend that she will help out with the town’s Annual Horseradish Festival and can’t get out of it. All she has to do is take part in a scavenger hunt then she’ll be free to go.

Much to Michelle’s surprise and annoyance, her partner for the hunt is Ryan Slater. The night before she left town 5 years ago, the pair had a disastrous night together and Michelle has never been able to forgive him. However Ryan is more than willing to see what he can do to make Michelle change her mind about him and give them another chance together.

This was a light-hearted and fun story about two opposite people with a disastrous past who are forced to spend time together. Both Ryan and Michelle were likeable characters if not particularly deep or well-developed. I enjoyed their banter and interactions even if their chemistry was a little fleeting and the sex a little tame.

The story itself of a scavenger hunt was enjoyable despite being quite unbelievable. It was still fun to read what they were put through and you kept turning the pages to see what would happen next.

My main problem with the book was that there wasn’t enough romance for me. I was never sure why Ryan and Michelle weren’t together and towards the end their feelings and the conflict were all a big muddle. The ending was also less dramatic than I would have liked but everything worked out well so it wasn’t too bad!

Overall, this wasn’t a bad story and if you are looking for a nice, light read that takes your mind off things for a while then I would recommend this book to you. 3 stars.

Bad Girl Bridesmaids: Three All-New Erotic Tales

A reasonably enjoyable anthology

3 Stars

This is a set of three erotic stories, all written by Susanna Carr, showing just how naughty bridesmaids can be.

Serial Bridesmaid on the Loose

Kelsey Morgan is sick and tired of being a bridesmaid – especially when she realises that she’s only being asked so she can be treated as a slave. To stop the demands of the current bride, Kelsey hooks up with gigolo Zack Cooper to keep her occupied. Only Zack’s actually a multi-millionaire – and he’s not used to giving up the power and control.

The Bridesmaid’s Diaries

Two years ago Tara Watkins, the wedding co-ordinator at her family’s vineyard, had the most amazing sex with the best man at a wedding. Ever since then she’s been writing a Bridesmaid Blog on the net about her experiences. Now Luke Sullivan is back and determined to use the information gained from her Internet diary to relive that wild night.

Wedding Wrecker

Amber Hughes left her small town home after she ruined the wedding of a close friend. Now she’s back to be a bridesmaid again but this time sexy Josh Griffin plans to make this wedding crazier than her last – this time for all the right reasons.

All three of the stories in this anthology are fun, well-written and enjoyable. Mostly the characters are people you identify with and can root for although I wasn’t too taken with a couple of the heroes – far too domineering and arrogant for my tastes (and I generally tend to like an alpha male). And they do all suffer from the short length of the stories, as there is no real character or plot development. This also means you have to suspend reality in order to believe in the happy endings as love happens very quickly in each case.

And while these are billed as erotic stories, I found myself being slightly disappointed. All the words and actions were there in spades, but the actual sex scenes lacked any real sparkle or sizzle that would set them apart from other romance books.

Overall – if you’re looking for something light, fun and romantic then you should give this book a try. While perhaps not being the best example of erotic short stories, the writing is good, the stories hold your interest and they will take your mind off things for a while.