Jasmine Haynes

Overall: very disappointed. I usually like this author, but not this book.

Even from the beginning, I didn't really feel the chemistry between these two. I think reading the previous book more recently might have helped, since it felt like the book dived in really fast, but I felt like there needed to be more flirting and almost-kiss type moments early on to establish the attraction and resistance. The two characters are definitely immature, which was particularly hard to believe for the guy show more who is supposed to be 34 (I'm 32...). In the author's defense, the characters acknowledge the immaturity after their "major" fight, but the first "I love you" followed immediately by "let's get married!"( cause we've known each other two months and have a rock solid relationship *sarcasm*) was cliche and not an indication of growing maturity in my opinion. But the true eye-roll-inducing dialogue came immediately after.

Overall, the emotional journey of searching for her brother was the highlight of the book. But what should be a very high-emotion reunion is instead steamrolled by Matt's introduction (sorry, but introducing your SO when you just found a long-lost sibling is NOT the most important thing to discuss then). In response, the brother, who hasn't seen her in 16 years, goes "I can tell she loves you." BULLLLLSH*T. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even recognize my brother and sister if I hadn't seen them since they were 8! They should be saying things like "I can't believe you're here!" "I've searched for you for so long!" "You're so grown up! You're gorgeous! You look like mom/dad!" "I'm so sorry!" but no, we get a completely unbelievable you're-clearly-in-love comment. Again, pretty sure your eyes would be filled with tears and you'd be focused solely on your bro there, not making obvious googly-eyes at your new fiance in such a way that someone who doesn't even know you can tell you're in love. show less

I love it when good triumphs over evil! But what a journey to get there. Paige has been in love with Evan since they met. Unfortunately, her sister Whitney realized it & set out to steal him. Not because she loved him but to show Paige she could.

Marriage to a narcissist like Whitney could turn anyone against the institution, especially someone like Evan that hasn't had the best luck with love. His mother left him behind when she fled his alcoholic abusive father. After Whitney's lies & show more betrayal are exposed, Evans eyes are opened & he realizes he married the wrong person.

I love the collaboration of these two authors! They bring amazing feeling & detail to their stories. By opening with Whitney's betrayal, they pull you right into the story & keep you fully involved with all of the drama. In their writing, they manage to convey Evans despair & rejection & invoke sympathy for him & his trials. The reader is taken along on Evan's journey of self discovery. The supporting characters are well developed & keep the flow moving from story to story. Susan & Bob show that a family is what you make of it & that a hearts capacity for love is endless. I love all of the Mavericks & the stories we've received so far. I think this one is my favorite! I would recommend this story to everyone that loves a great romance & agrees that a family does not have to be from the same blood. show less

I received a free copy of The Naughty Corner from Berkley Trade for reviewing purposes. Thank you, because this is a book I would not have picked out on my own, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Lola Cook is single and NOT looking for a relationship. She's a technical writer trying to get a cell phone manual out to print by the end of the summer, and the fact that her sister just dumped her nephews on her so she can tour Europe over the summer has not helped with the deadline. The little show more terrors, William and Harry (named after the princes, of course), misbehave constantly. To get them out of the house so she can actually accomplish some work, Lola enrolls them in a football camp run by Gray Barnett. As expected, the twins don't act any differently at football camp. Gray Barnett is about to kick them out of the camp when he decides to strike a deal with Lola -- they can continue on in the camp as long as Lola takes their punishments for them. Lola can refuse the deal if she wants to, walk away at any time, but... she doesn't want to. Something about Gray lures her in, and soon their little game is about more than just punishment.

As I said before, I typically do not read erotica. One of the reasons for that is that I like at least some semblance of a plot, and that's where a lot of erotica falls short. Most of it these days seems to follow the same formula of innocent young woman who needs to be shown the ways of the world by a possessive older billionaire. Not my kind of thing. The Naughty Corner, however, is different. Rather than a book full of steamy sex tied together with a few scenes outside of the bedroom, this book mostly consists of scenes of Lola with her nephews, Lola at work, Lola with her best friend, Lola worrying about a stalker, the twins with their new friend Arby, Gray with his son, Gray with his ex-wife, Gray at work, et cetera, and is just accentuated with sexytimes.

Additionally, Jasmine Haynes made me care about the characters. I was concerned about Lola and her stalker problems. I, too, was suspicious of the twins and their sudden angelic behavior. I wanted Gray to admit to Lola that he was starting to have feelings for her. I wanted to talk some sense into Gray's ex-wife. I wanted to know who Arby was.

Overall, The Naughty Corner was a very quick, very engaging read. Although it's not my usual type of book, I could barely put it down! Given the chance, I would definitely read more by Jasmine Haynes. show less

Three erotic short-stories.

The death of Lou shakes up his family big-time. The remaining 3 brothers have their own way of dealing with this; as does his wife.

Her story is first, and I have to say although I'm not a prude, I don't quite feel comfortable with stories where the widow gets with the deceased's brother. It just doesn't feel right. It's a great story and very erotic, but I just find the dynamic too bizarre. The author handled it great and I was very impressed with all her show more characters, especially the dad.

The second and third stories are of the remaining brothers and those are good too.

I guess for me though, I still just didn't like the whole brother with the widow. show less