Tori Carrington

This book was hot. Let's just get that out of the way.

What caught my attention with this one was the fact that it's a best friend story. And we all know how I'm a sucker for a best friend story. I'm even more of a sucker for the best friend story with a twist, and this one definitely had a twist.

Nina, Patrick and Kevin are best friends and business partners. Nina's a serial monogamist who repeatedly mistakes one-night stands for the real thing. Deciding the only way for Nina to break her show more destructive dating pattern is for her to experience a night of anonymous sex with a stranger, Patrick and Kevin give her a proposal she ends up not being able to refuse. Out comes the blindfold, and Nina proceeds to have the hottest sex of her life. The only problem is that she wants more. Lots more. And she has no idea which of her best friends was responsible the really hot sex.

Kevin and Patrick have both had a thing for Nina from the beginning, but whereas Patrick's feelings are more like affection tinged with attraction, Kevin's feelings are full-blown love with a really strong dose of attraction. Nina, though, has no way of knowing which one was in her bed that night. Her gut at first tells her it was Kevin, but she can't get either man to fess up. When she finds Patrick in their store (it's a combination book, bakery and music store) late one night after giving a guitar lesson, she goes downstairs wearing next to nothing (she lives in an apartment above the store), thinking maybe Patrick was the one in her room that night. When Kevin walks in and catches them having sex, and Nina sees the look on Kevin's face, she knows she's made a mistake. Patrick wasn't the one, it was Kevin. And in one moment, a friendship is completely torn apart. Patrick leaves town soon there after. Things are strained between Kevin and Nina, they're barely talking. Kevin feels betrayed. Nina feels confused and hates the fact that she hurt Kevin.

Of course, everything works out in the end, and Patrick even comes back for Nina and Kevin's wedding. But getting to that point was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. This was one of those rare books that I just could not put down and that I read in a few hours. It was so good, and I'll definitely be buying more books from Tori Carrington (including their next one, which is about one of the store's employees). show less

I came across Working Stiff when I was browsing at the library the other day. I saw the author’s name, recognized it, skimmed the blurb, and said ‘what the hell.’ Go figure that I find out after I start reading that this is actually the fourth book in the Sofie Metropolis series. Even so, I still read and enjoyed this one.

Sofie Metropolis is a P.I. out of Queens who takes on a case of a missing body - a missing dead body – for her aunt, and a case to try and find the real killer of a show more teenage girl so that a young man does not end up on trial for a murder he didn’t commit. This is something of a change from the cheating spouse and missing pet cases that Sofie is used to, but she is determined to succeed nonetheless.

In addition to following along with the cases there is the sheer insanity of working with a superstitious office manager who is sure that there is a neighborhood vampire around, dealing with a large Greek family and the meddling that comes along with the family, and of course a big Austrailian bounty hunter.

Working Stiff has a little bit of everything in it, mystery, romance (though not in the traditional, happily ever after sense), family… you get the jist. All in all it was a great read.

Many of the reviews compare the Metro books to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but personally I find it’s not as outrageous as the movie was. However! The authors (Tori Carrington is actually Tony and Lori Karayianni) do a great job of winding a modern P.I. tale around the true Greek stereotypes that have been passed on over the years. I look forward to going back and reading the first three books in the series and then the fifth book which is scheduled for release this week. show less

Wicked Pleasures
4 Stars

Series note:While this is book #2 in the mini-series, it is possible to read and enjoy this installment as a standalone. As an aside, a short glance at some of the reviews for book #1 reveals several problematic tropes cheating, and an unlikeable heroine, which are thankfully not present in this book.

Regina and Linc's romance is very engaging. The heat level of some Harlequin Blaze romances is sometimes surprising, and this is an excellent example as the couple's show more chemistry is scorching from the start. Both are appealing characters with interesting and well-developed backstories, and Regina's past is particularly relevant to the suspense plot.

Speaking of which, the action surrounding the stalker plot is fast-paced with an exciting climax and resolution. The one caveat is the lack of information surrounding the villain's prison escape and the motivation for his behavior, which is only clarified at the end.

Overall, this is an entertaining story that is actually more romantic suspense than contemporary romance. show less

What do you get when you mix an English-born doctor who looks like every woman's fantasy with a belly-dancing woman who wears barely-there chainmail and lives with two other sexy female roommates? In one word, something WICKED.

Will and Renae live on two very different sides of the career coin, but when it comes to physical presence, they're next-door neighbors. Will can't help but notice Renae leaving for work every day-after all, the woman dresses like something out of his hottest dreams, show more with her almost-an-outfit clothes, her sparkling belly-button rings, and her legs reaching to kingdom come.

Ranae herself loves to bristle the hairs of her hunky neighbor-she's been looking for some bedside manner all her own for quite some time, but unfortunately, Dr. Oh-so-handsome thinks that because she lives with a lesbian, she must be one, too.

It doesn't take long for the sparks flying between these two to light into a bonfire. But casual sex is for beginners, and neither Will nor Ranae are novices in the sexual department. With Ranae's troublesome roommates, Will's almost-relationship with an intern, and a whole lot of flash-fire hormones raging around, these two aren't sure that what they've managed to ignite is a fire that can last.

Tori Carrington has once again delved outside the traditional romance lines, creating a story that's hot enough to singe the pages, and yet touching enough to make you want to root for this unlikely couple. Will's English upbringing brings an unmistakable charm to the story, and Ranae's forced casualness with the fact of falling in love, let you know that the story is oh-so-real.

A quick, hot read, WICKED is definitely one story that you won't feel guilty about indulging in. show less