Giddy Up, Cowboy! A Review of All Jacked Up by Lorelei James

All Jacked Up by Lorelei James

The Rough Rider Series by Lorelei James is one of my favorite erotica guilty pleasures. A bunch of alliteration-inspired cowboys (Cord, Colby, Cash, Kade, Colt, Cameron, and on and on....) have all sorts of kinky, naughty, wild adventures on the ranch, in the barn, on the dining room table, against a wall. You get the idea. James has tapped into a winning idea with this series....a tight-knit family and all of their friends (so you get tons of awesome secondary characters) dealing with real-life troubles (lots of good conflict) get to exhibit their Neanderthal alpha male tendencies with the sassy gals who are leading them on a merry, merry chase (super hot sexy times). Some of the books have M/M relationships, and some have multi-partner groups, etc. I like my cowboy sex old-fashioned and simple: One man, one woman, and some fringe-y chaps.

Anyhoo, this book was a total winner. James has created some very unique characters in this story...Keely is a bad-girl on the outside, but a hard working, ambitious gal on the inside, and tired of living with her over-bearing family's constant interference. She has a dream and she's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. "Whatever it takes" is entering into a fake engagement (one of my fav themes) with Jack Donohue, a super competitive and sexy workoholic "suit" who might not be wearing a cowboy hat, but his alpha-male dominating personality is just as crazy as the rancher boys. Unlike some erotica that skimps on the character arcs and storyline, this book has it all. The story is solid, and I love how both of these characters come to terms with their own shortcomings and needs, as well as falling in love (and lust) with each other. The huge black moment fight-from-hell scene at the end is one of the best I've read, and the follow-up between Keely's brothers and Jack is fantastic.

There is snappy dialogue, perfect pacing, incredibly hot sex scenes, and even an evil villainess in high-heeled pumps. My only beef with the story is that the bitchy villainess doesn't get what's coming to her (I'm a vengeful gal, and I like to see pay-back), and the epilogue was sort of lame, IMO. Otherwise, this book is close to perfect. Sexy, funny, and satisfying.

Giddy up, cowboy! Lorelei James has created another winner.

Grade: A

Ready to lasso a beardy cowboy,

Penelope

Space Cowboys, Cinderella, and Some Black Suede Chaps

I read three great books last week...and they couldn't be more different. I got a Cinderella-inspired Harly, my first space cowboy sci-fi/romance, and some sexy humping love from Lorelei James.

First up.....Barbara Wallace's The Cinderella Bride, a Harlequin Romance. I haven't read too many Harlies...they conjure up memories of my sister's closet romance reading habit in high school. ☺ I have read a few....Touch Me, a Harlequin Blaze by Jacquie D'Alessandro, was fantastic. Some of the "Tycoon" books were less than stellar and chock full of clichés. The Cinderella Bride really resonated with me for several reasons. One, it rose above the cliché...the practical, nose-to-the-grindstone heroine transformed for one magical night in New York City. Wallace did a great job creating the pragmatic heroine Emma...her committed work ethic and loyalty to her boss, the matriarch of Kent Hotels, were totally sincere. The fantasy night in Manhattan was romantic and wonderful. The hero Gideon is a fabulous mix of charm, rugged good looks, maritime talents, and sophisticated hotelier. A great combination and totally appealing! The hilarious grandmother/temporary CEO who is addicted to soap operas was an excellent addition to the cast of characters. My only beef with the book is that the ending wrapped up just a little too quickly for me. Wallace did a perfect job drawing out their believable attraction and love affair, and I wanted more frosting on the HEA. Don't skimp on the frosting, baby!!!!! That's the best danged part.

Grade: A-

Next, I read a new-t0-me-author, Ella Drake. (Both she and Barbara Wallace are fellow New England Chapter RWA writers. Go, NEC!!!). The premise for her sci-fi/romance Silver Bound is fascinating. A woman has her mind wiped and becomes a sexual slave. The details about this process are incredibly cool and the difficulty in creating a character who has lost her identity is staggering. The heroine can't just become a mindless sex addict, or the reader won't give a crap about her. Somehow she has to retain some of her will and recognize her lost humanity. Drake does a wonderful job with this challenge, and also creates a sexy space cowboy hero, a totally absorbing and suspenseful storyline, a fabulous array of secondary characters, and delivers with the HEA. My only criticism with the story was that I was really hoping for a more blood-thirsty ending for the villain. For God's sake, he deserved a bad-ass whooping! I wanted the hero (or heroine!) to shoot 'em, stab 'em, torture 'em, fling him out of the space craft, wipe his mind (how do you like it, buddy????), etc etc etc. I know, I am shocking my own self with these violent tendencies, but seriously, getting carted off to jail was not a good enough ending for this big jerk-off. (Okay, time for some herbal tea). Otherwise, I loved this story, and am looking forward to reading more of Ella Drake's books!

Grade: A-

And the final chap-wearing, cowboy-humping, wrangler-wrangling, sexy read for the week...Lorelei James' Strong, Silent Type. I won a giveaway contest at Smexybooks and got this great freebie from Lorelei James...huge thanks to Mandi and Lorelei. Yippee! I adored the premise for this erotic story. A couple who has been together for 14 years has lost the spark in their marriage. I really like reading about older couples instead of young, horny characters all the time...especially in erotica. There is something very sexy about mature characters who have some life experience, and it makes for a more emotionally intense story. Quinn is a great hero...I love how he breaks out of his reticent shell to become more sexually adventurous, more romantic and more in tune with his wife's needs. Libby also realizes she's been short-changing her husband as a result of their infertility troubles, and their re-connection is completely satisfying. (In every way...Ride 'em, cowboy!). My favorite part of the book is when Libby makes Quinn's fantasy come true by wearing nothing but the fringy, black suede chaps. As Libby models the scandalous "outfit" Quinn says..."Keep goin. I'm gettin all kinds of worked up." Hee hee hee....gotta love those cowboys!

This is a great addition to the Rough Riders Series.

Grade: A

Okay, ladies and gentlemen. The Christmas Countdown Has Commenced...here we go!

Penelope

Review of Tied Up, Tied Down by Lorelei James

I finally jumped into the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James. Lots of folks on Goodreads are reading them, and the covers look intriguing. I decided to start with Tied Up, Tied Down even though it's #4 in the series.....the book blurb appealed to me (M/F sex with the H/h instead of mega-multiple-partner stuff like some of the other ones--I was in the mood for a more "old-fashioned" story instead of menage-arama this time). Here are some observations.....

1) You need an Excel spreadsheet to keep the family tree straight. Not only are there 10 million brothers, cousins, in-laws, etc. etc, but everyone's name starts with C or K. Hee hee hee...that is totally hilarious! The party scene in this book, where the heroine Skylar has to meet all the family, is totally out of control. There are so many characters introduced you would need a cheat sheet to keep them all organized.

2) There was a fake gonna-be-a-conflict thing going on. One of Skylar's employees has an abusive husband. It seemed like this story was building up towards some sort of climax...maybe Skylar getting kidnapped, something? There was a dumb let's-punch-each-other-out scene, and that's it. There isn't much external conflict going on in this book. It's mostly about the relationship between Kade and Skylar.

3) I love, love, love stories with babies....and especially when the hero loves his children. I find it a big turn-on (even though some women hate babies in their romance novels, I personally love it). Kade can be a hot hunk of a sexy cowboy in one scene, and then a total love-bug with his daughter in the next. Love that!

4) Even though the book description says it's "kinky" I actually didn't find it that kinky at all. It seemed fairly vanilla to me. Maybe I've been hanging out with my critique group The Quirky Ladies too long!

5) The story is very emotional and very, very sexy. The heroine was just okay, but the hero...Kade....is absolutely delicious. Everything a cowboy should be. A rodeo rider, a rancher, loyal to his family, and madly in love with his baby-mama. And his baby. Cowboys+romance novels=HEA and total reader satisfaction.

6) I'm definitely going to be reading more of this series! (Once I can figure out who is who....hee hee hee!).

In conclusion, I will certainly be reading more of the Rough Riders series. And maybe planning a trip to Texas in the near future. Dude ranch, here I come!

Grade:B+/A-

Happy Reading,

Penelope