Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl

A great end to the Tumble Creek series

4 Stars

Office manager Jane Morgan is happy with her sedate and proper life. Having endured a difficult childhood, she’s managed to leave her past behind her and become a professional and prim woman. All that changes the moment that William Chase walks into the office. Big and sexy with tattoos covering his impressive biceps, Chase is exactly the kind of man that Jane promised herself she would avoid.

Jane isn’t Chase’s usual type either but there’s something about her that just makes him want to ruffle her feathers. When Jane agrees to one explosive date, Chase is thrilled. But he soon realises that she’s not all she seems and realises they could be perfect for each other – if only he can get her to agree.

This is the third and last of Dahl’s Tumble Creek series after Talk Me Down and Start Me Up. While the characters from those books do make brief appearances in this one, it easily stands on its own so you don’t have to have read the first two to understand and enjoy this one.

I have enjoyed the Tumble Creek series although if I’m honest I thought this was the weakest of the three. There was the usual wit, romance, heat and sex but I just felt that there wasn’t the same sparkle as with the first two books.

Chase is a great hero – who doesn’t want a big, strong man with a heart of gold? Jane was also a good character and although I did feel sympathetic towards her, I did feel that it took her too long to get her stuff together. The way she continually dismissed Chase because of his appearance did make me wonder why he stuck around at times!

In the end though, this is still a fun and very engaging story. If you like your romance with a little bit extra then I would recommend this and the first two books in the Tumble Creek series to you. 4 stars.

Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

Fun and sexy romance

4 stars

When her Dad was involved in an accident, Lori Love put her life on hold and came back to tiny Tumble Creek, Colorado to run the family auto body shop. Now with her Dad gone, Lori realises she’s stuck in a small town with no prospects. Her best friend decides that only one thing can shake Lori out of her funk – lots and lots of hot, no-strings sex.

Quinn Jennings is so absorbed in his job as an architect that he barely remembers to sleep let alone date. When he hears that Lori is willing to skip all the dinners and small talk and head straight to bed, he’s delighted. When he sees the kind of books Lori reads for inspiration, he’s ecstatic. But when Lori’s life is suddenly in danger, Quinn realises that he cares more than either of them ever expected.

This is the second in Dahl’s Tumble Creek series after Talk Me Down and before Lead Me On. Despite this, and the inclusion of characters from the previous novel, there is no need to read the books in order as each stands nicely on its own.

I really enjoyed this book even if I did feel it took a while to get going. Lori was a good character and one you could empathise with and get behind. At first, I thought Quinn was a little too much of a good guy and too sweet for me to really root for the pair but once the story got going, I began to love them both.

This book is extremely sexy. This may not be to your taste if you like your romances quite tame as there’s role play, very light S&M, alfresco sex and much more. I loved it and found it an important part of what is a nicely sexy story.

If there is one thing I would have changed it’s that I would have liked an epilogue to round off the story. Regardless, this is a fun, sexy and interesting story and one I would recommend. I’m looking forward to reading Jane’s story in Lead Me On and hope I enjoy it like I did this book.