Vipers
Den: Part One Piper & Kade
4 Stars
Piper runs an edgy beauty
salon, the Vipers Den. Kade Benson is a hunky computer
geek and her brother’s best friend since high school. Piper thinks she can’t stand him or maybe
she’s jealous of his friendship with her brother, but either way the initial
proposition of being his fake girlfriend is not something she’s ever coveted.
Till she gets a taste of him.
“Apparently it wasn’t so much
that I loved to hate him, but more so I hated that I loved him. It was a
revelation that was for sure.”
Kade has a clingy stalker ex
on his tail and he needs to send her a message. He also has a long standing
crush on Piper so why not kill two birds with one stone. When a fake
relationship turns the tables on their real one and opens Piper’s eyes, things
get steamy!
“Every thrust meant
something, it told her what I couldn’t say out loud.”
This is book one in a novella
series so it’s a quickie stand-alone read, but it still serves up a cute
story. Piper is a strong, independent
girl, running her own businesses and not cowering at the threat of Kade’s
creepy stalker. It was refreshing to see
a heroine with balls who confronts the enemy head-on rather than being a weak,
scared victim of jealousy. Kade is quite
the sexy book boyfriend. He’s cooks in the kitchen and takes control in the
bedroom. What more could you want?
Vipers Den: Part Two Pixie & Jake
3.75
Pixie Cole is Piper’s elfish
stylist at the Viper’s Den but she was once Tia Malone. But the life she ran
away from threatens to return the day Jake Kennedy walks into the shop. A blast from the past, Pixie isn’t ready to
face all the memories Jake evokes. But
Jake wants her back.
“We were a pair; it was
destiny that pulled us apart, but it was also destiny that brought us back
together.”
This second novella in the
series isn’t as light-hearted as the first, and Pixie doesn’t have the
brass that Piper does, although Piper and Kade do make appearances as the
supporting characters this time around. On one hand I felt like the backstory on Pixie
was a little vague and yet what was hinted at probably wasn’t something I
really wanted to read about so maybe it’s best that way.
There’s a little bit of a
love triangle in this one, but Pixie just has to follow her heart and let go of
her fears. The question is can they take
it slow.
“’Trust me when I say I would
rather have you pinned against that wall, sinking my length deep inside of you,
than be having this conversation.’”
Overall, a sweet story of
overcoming the past, building a new life, and finding a place where you belong.
Vipers Den: Part Three Tay & Nate
3.5
Stars
Taylor Jane Seymour, 33, is a stylist at the
Viper’s Den. Nate Summers is a nail
technician there. They’ve both had the
hots for each other for years but neither has stepped up to the plate. Till
now.
Now being Tay’s decision to have a baby on her
own. That revelation propels a streak of possessiveness in Nate that he’s never
felt before with a woman, and he’s ready to volunteer for the sperm donor job.
“’I don’t want another man’s baby growing inside
your beautiful body, I don’t want another man touching you full stop…’”
I thought Tay and Nate had a lot of initial
chemistry. More so than Pixie and Jake in the previous one. Things seemed to be really heating up.
“’You
sure I can’t just slip it in right now? I can feel how wet you are for me, Tay,
you’re so wet it’s seeping through your underwear.’”
But
that’s where the budding romance and heat factor took a turn. Tay was so set on
her “plan.” I honestly felt her “method” took away from the potential steam
factor. I really wanted to see her lead more with her heart and emotions instead
of trying to making it so “clinical.”
There’s was a great build-up that fizzled out and honestly made me lose
interest in the story. And while these
are novellas, the ending felt a bit abrupt, the premise of the story not seen
the whole way through. I hope we get more glimpses of Tay and Nate in future
books, but I really felt this one should have carried them through to term.
