The Talented Mr. Rivers by HelenKay Dimon

3.5 STARS

Tough Love - Book 2

The Talented Mr. Rivers gives me everything I expect when I pick up a HelenKay book.  There is an intense, hot, steamy connection between the main characters, dangerous action that threatens the MCs, a few twists and turns and a fun and clever supporting cast.  Oh, and some fun banter too.

I had one problem with this book and I know it's probably just me and I can't figure out why, but I had SUCH a problem with the names of the main characters.  Hunter, the bodyguard/agent/tough guy and Will, the younger of the two, the college grad, the almost studious one, the youngest, supposedly oblivious sibling of a vicious crime family.  I kept getting their names mixed up.  I'd read Will and be surprised that it was Hunter and vice versa.  It was very annoying and lasted through the whole book.  I've never come across this specific problem before.  *LOL*

Sexy, steamy suspense is what HelenKay does and it's so much fun to read.  Her characters are always wonderfully larger than life and always flawed in some way or another.  :)  Except for Seth, I've not seen a single flaw in him yet.  Maybe in the next book, his story, Guarding Mr. Fine.

Mr. and Mr. Smith by HelenKay Dimon

4 STARS

Tough Love - Book 1

This was a fun read. Hit all the right buttons for me. If you're a fan of Abi Roux's Cut & Run series or S.E. Jakes Hell or High Water series, you'll love this series.

Mr. and Mr. Smith is the first in the Tough Love series, stories about rough, tough undercover type agents and soldiers going after the bad guys and having hot sex and falling for each other along the way. Lots of what I call 'fun guy banter' too. This is the story of Fisher and Zach and the beginning of what I assume is going to be the series arc.

It doesn't break any new ground really, but it is an action-filled, fun, hot romp filled with a whole bunch of lovely men and it really hit the spot. One of the scenes early on reminded me a lot of a scene from one of my favourite TV shows, Strike Back, and that was quite alright by me!

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, The Talented Mr. Rivers.

Stranded by HelenKay Dimon

3.5 STARS

So, I had just finished a terrific swashbuckling fantasy novel and was suffering from a bit of book hangover and I find that in that situation, the best thing I can do for my reading self is to completely switch genres - one of the reasons I read many genres. So I went for a sexy m/m romance starring a couple of hot tough guys.

It worked!

One thing that did sort of annoy me was the author's constant use of the word 'guy' in the narrative for first half of the book. That might just be me though, feeling that it's more of a slang word and should not be interchangeable with the word 'man'. Sometimes I'm old. *LOL*

But at any rate...

Stranded is a very enjoyable, hot and sexy m/m romance novella.

Mercy by HelenKay Dimon

4 STARS

Holton Woods Series - Book 1

How can one enjoy a romance book so much and dislike the heroine so much at the same time? I dunno, but I did. *LOL*

(It's not the first time either - Lex from the Kit Rocha Beyond series is not one of my faves but I adore the series and the rest of the gang.)

I follow HelenKay on Twitter and have for a while, yet this is the first thing of hers that I've read. I started following her because I loved the RTs of hers I would read in other authors' feeds. And because she loves Strike Back which is one of my favourite shows. *LOL*

So yes, Mercy is the first of her books I have read. I bought the premise for the most part - disavowed CIA agent seeks help from the man she betrayed - even though I was never quite clear on the details of the original operation and how anyone but Becca, the heroine, figured into things. But we're here for the romance, so my little twinges were easily overlooked.

Jarrett is the hero, and I quite liked him, even when he was being a total douchenozzle. Maybe I could relate easily to his wish to get revenge for how Becca destroyed him and then when it came right down to it, he couldn't and that pissed him off even more. I get that. *LOL* I would have liked a wee bit more on why he was so much in love with Becca other than that whole incredible physical attraction. Yes, it was about trust and feeling safe, but I found myself wishing for a little more outright talking about those issues between the two of them.

My favourite character in the book was Wade, Jarrett's second in command. Oh, I fell hard for him. His love story is heart-breaking, so thank God I know there's more to come in the subsequent book and novella or else I'd have to go postal. And bravo to HelenKay for having this as a huge sub-plot in the book. Not many authors would give that much page time to an m/m love story. Hopefully... HOPEFULLY, Eli gets a little more palatable as things go along, because man, he's got a crazy hair trigger and HUGE anger issues. And I also loved what we saw of Jarrett's other best friend and lawyer, Sebastian, Bast as they call him. When reading about him I thought of James Scott who played EJ DiMera on Days of Our Lives. I also liked the bits we saw of Kyra, Wade's little sister. Even Nathalie, the CIA agent ended up okay by the end of the book.

So then there's Becca - the heroine. I never warmed up to her at all. I found her a self-centred, short-tempered, selfish, game-playing brat. This is probably why I thought I needed more communication between her and Jarrett to fully buy the deep, abiding love. I get that in the situation being written about where the woman puts herself under the man's control in a sort of coerced manner, the author has to be careful about the consent line and the alphahole syndrome etc... but, for me, instead of coming off as a strong, independent, capable woman, she often came off as shrill and over-bearing.

But that being said, I really, really enjoyed the book! *LOL* Imagine if I'd actually LIKED the heroine! I am anxious to read the next one but it's not in the book budget this month unless it goes on sale. :( I do have the novella, Taken, in my Kobo, but I'm assuming I should read Only first.

If you like hot, sexy, edge-of-danger tales with lots and lots of sex, well, this one's for you!