Book Review: Body Heat

I love Carly Phillips. She's one of my favorite authors, but for some reason, this book just did nothing for me.

It wasn't a bad story, I just couldn't get into it. Jake Lowell and Brianne Nelson were likable enough characters, the storyline was fast-paced and exciting, but maybe that was it. It was too exciting and not hot enough.

There was sexual tension galore between the two lead characters, but it didn't get acted upon until the story was at the halfway point.

This read more like an Intrigue or a Romantic Suspense novel than a Blaze Temptation, at least for me. That has to be my main problem with the book. I wanted more heat and Carly was giving out more cops and drug dealers only not as exciting.

It just felt very middle of the road for whichever genre you placed it in for me. I wanted more. I also would have liked to have met Brianne's brother, since she speaks of him so much, and considering that it is summer, its hard to understand why he was in school.

It took me 4 days to make it through this 250 page book. That's something I could usually do in about a day. So something didn't grab me. I wish I could gush about this one, but it just wasn't for me.

Book Review: Brazen

Carly Phillips is an author that always delivers a good story. Brazen was Carly's first book for the Temptation line and its been reissued on Harlequin's HQN imprint, so that everyone can read it, and its worth revisiting. I was a bit surprised that it was a Blaze Temptation, as the sex didn't really take a front and center part in the story until the second half of the book. That didn't make the story any less steamy though.

Sammy Jo was the kind of heroine I really love. She's hard working, she loves her family and she's not a whiner. She sets out to have a fling before she has to commit to a man she's marrying to get her father out of debt.

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Enter Mac "Ryan MacKenzie" who she believes is a bartender. There's an instant attraction between the two and when her rental car leaves her stranded at his bar, things really start to heat up. However, the fact that both of them are keeping secrets from each other doesn't make things go easily for them in the end. See Sammy Jo, doesn't tell Mac about her fiance and Mac keeps her in the dark about the fact that he owns a highly successful hotel. That causes a good bit of conflict in the end.

Both characters are lovable and you understand their need to keep secrets, even though you want them to share them, so that they can get it together. There are times when you'll want to shake them both so that they'll see sense. I guess that's why Zee played a huge part in the story, he helps Mac see reason.

This is the kind of book that you can easily envision being turned into a romantic comedy and a good one at that. It has all the right elements including a wonderful happy ever after.