Novel Review: Hot in Here: Uncovered/Tailspin/An Honorable Man (Men of Courage, #3) by Lori Foster

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: 2013

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Three smoldering classics from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster

UNCOVERED

Firefighter Harris Black is startled to stumble across nude photos of a woman…and handwritten notes about him. Who is this mystery woman? Harris hires a P.I. to trace her, never suspecting he's already found her….

TAILSPIN

Lumberyard owner Buck Boswell prides himself on his way with women—but his prickly neighbor, Sadie Harte, seems immune to his charms. Is she really as aloof as she acts, or can Buck convince her to take a chance on the guy next door?

AN HONORABLE MAN

Lieutenant colonel Hamilton Wulf's career ambitions cost him the one woman he ever wanted—Liv Avery. Now he's determined to win back her love…even if it means risking his life.

The Cover:

Despite how embarrassing this cover is, I do rather like it, I'm not going to deny that. It works really well for this book, especially since he's a firefighter, and it definitely gives you an idea of what you're getting. And I like it.

Review:

The first story, Uncovered, is about Harris Black, a firefighter, falling for a close friend of his. I really enjoyed this story. It was cute, and I loved the friendship and then growing romance between Harris and Clair was adorable and sweet, and very steamy. I really enjoyed how Harris found naked pictures of a woman and hired Clair’s bosses to find the woman; that brought a lot of entertainment.

I would easily give this story a 4.

The second story, Tailspin, was about Buck Boswell and Sadie, his neighbor who seems very uninterested in being friends. I liked Sadie, and how she took in animals to help them heal. Having the animals definitely added to the fun of this book. Buck was sweet, and I liked how he pushed Sadie and subsequently fell for her. I’d read this story before in an anthology, but it was just as cute the second time. This was a cute and funny story.

I would also give this story a 4.

The last story, An Honorable Man, was weaker for me. It’s about Hamilton, a military man, and Liv, who comes from a military family and doesn’t want a man in it. The ending was cute, but overall I just didn’t connect as well with the characters in this story, so it didn’t work for me.

I’d probably give this one closer to a 3, maybe 2.5. So I rounded the overall rating to a 3.5.

Novel Review: All Riled Up: Trapped!/Riley (Men of Courage #1-2) by Lori Foster

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: February, 2013 (Released separately in 2011)

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster turns up the heat with these two timeless tales  

TRAPPED!

Firefighter Ethan Winters may be his hometown's new hero, but he's played a starring role in Rosie Carrington's fantasies for years. And Rosie has had just about enough of waiting patiently for Ethan to get over the past and see what's right under his nose. She'll do whatever it takes to fan the flames between them...but will Ethan prove too hot to handle?

RILEY! 

Regina Foxworth has no clue why an unknown assailant is out to get a small-town reporter like her. Or why the police won't take her concerns seriously. So Regina gets a guard dog-make that a four-pound "guard" Chihuahua!-and signs up for self-defense classes. But defending herself is the last thing on her mind when sexy instructor Riley Moore has her pinned to the mat.

The Cover:

I actually kind of like this cover, even if it is very embarrassing. The model looks nice, a little young, but fitting, and like a firefighter with works for at least one of the stories. It's not too bad.

Review:

These two stories were very adorable, very easy to read, and definitely made me want more.

Trapped! is about Ethan, a firefighter, and Rosie, a friend of his. Rosie has always liked Ethan, and is now deciding to do something about it. Ethan doesn’t know how to handle this, but Rosie is insistent.

I found Rosie and Ethan very cute, and hot, together. I liked Rosie’s persistence, and how everything worked out for them. I like friends-to-romance stories, though, so this was an easy like for me.

The second story, Riley, was about Regina, a reporter, and Riley, who is teaching her some self-defense. Regina believes that someone is out to get her, and Riley quickly takes the role of bodyguard.

Their attraction is fast and hot, and very nice. I liked how they fell into staying together. This book also had a dog companion, who is just adorable, and easily makes the story even better to read. The dog also made me think that there need to be more pets in books, especially in Foster's books.

Both of these stories were cute and sexy, and definitely made me want to read more Lori Foster (if I hadn’t already). We also met two other bachelors, the leads in the next anthology, which I really hope to pick up soon.