Turn It Up (Turner Twins, #2)

Mar 24, 2011 Tam Herra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: family-series, geek-hero, rated-r-erotic, unrequited-love-requited, gonna-have-your-baby

Towards the end of this book, I was wondering how I'd describe it and the word "average" popped into my mind. In many ways this book is solid, it has everything it needs to have and is written well enough that I kept reading and was interested for most of the book. Yet, it never really touched me. To me, a really amazing book well suck me into the point that when I look up it takes me a minute to readjust to my surroundings and figure out where the heck I am. This book didn't do that. It didn't...more Towards the end of this book, I was wondering how I'd describe it and the word "average" popped into my mind. In many ways this book is solid, it has everything it needs to have and is written well enough that I kept reading and was interested for most of the book. Yet, it never really touched me. To me, a really amazing book well suck me into the point that when I look up it takes me a minute to readjust to my surroundings and figure out where the heck I am. This book didn't do that. It didn't even come close. The entire read I was always completely aware that I was sitting there reading this off my ereader, that I should clean the surface of my ereader because it's gettin' a bit gross, and that my neck (or arm or leg) was in an uncomfortable position.

So "average" is the perfect description of this story. I have never quite categorized a book in this way before. It is well written in terms of mechanics, the plot was mildly interesting and the characters were enjoyable but I was always on the outside (in the cold) peering in through the window, instead of actually being a fly on the wall. Apparently, that small distinction makes a big difference for me.

Oddly, it appears that the two books in this series are in reverse order. I haven't read book 1 but I looked at the sneak peek at the back of this story. Book 1 is about the hero's sister and her love story, but in book 2 she is single and has just acquired the house that appears to play a large role in book 1. I don't know how I feel about this, I think if I had read book 1 first I might actually like the setup in the same way I liked the past scenes in the second Godfather movie. Seeing the past after seeing a bit of the present seems to carry more meaning then when you see them in their proper order. This is something to keep in mind if you want to read book 2, perhaps it will read differently if you read book 1 first.

I need to note that the male hero in this book is very much in the style of Vivian Arend. Her heroes, while being main characters, never seem to be the focal point like the heroine is. We see much more of the heroine's struggle and the story seems to revolve completely around her even when the perspective changes to the hero. I'm not saying that all Arend books are like this, just some (most?) and this book falls into that category.

At the end of the day, I'll still read Vivian Arend when she comes out with something that catches me eye. I won't be reading the first book in this series, and if there are other books in the series I doubt I will read them either So what does that say? I think it reiterates that this book was average, and suggest that I am much more interest in the above average reads.
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Feb 17, 2011 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, february-2011, read-in-2011

4.5 stars. Older woman/younger man is one of my least favorite tropes. In general, I hate it with a thousand passions. Because the woman is always freaking out about how the man is too young for her. Ugh.

So, worried as I was, I was thrilled to see that that wasn't the case with Turn It Up. Tasha had issues, oh yes she did, but they stemmed from abandonment issues rather than age issues. And it thrilled me to see that she consciously tried to open herself up to Max. Usually the women are trying t...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Patti Loves FAB Romance rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary

You know, I'm not usually a fan of the "I want a baby" storyline, but Turn It Up was so much more than that. I really enjoyed it.

Natasha "Tasha" Bellingham is a 34-year-old architect who's decided she needs to have a baby before she's 35. Since her string of loser boyfriends hasn't been very promising, she's decided to go a more "clinical" route. As the story opens, she's hung over from her "last hurrah" before she settles down and begins a more healthy and pregnancy-centric lifestyle.

Maxwell Tu...more You know, I'm not usually a fan of the "I want a baby" storyline, but Turn It Up was so much more than that. I really enjoyed it.

Natasha "Tasha" Bellingham is a 34-year-old architect who's decided she needs to have a baby before she's 35. Since her string of loser boyfriends hasn't been very promising, she's decided to go a more "clinical" route. As the story opens, she's hung over from her "last hurrah" before she settles down and begins a more healthy and pregnancy-centric lifestyle.

Maxwell Turner is the 24-year-old cousin of Natasha's best friend, Lila. He's had his sights set on Tasha since he graduated from college at age 17, but she's always rebuffed him. Last night, however, after he drove them home from their evening out, Tasha was so drunk she told him everything about Operation Baby. Max knows this is his chance to prove to her that he's the man for her.

Oh, these two were so perfect together! Max was so earnest and has loved Tasha for so long, and Tasha has been burned too many times to let her heart get broken again. Max's large and boisterous family contrasts with Tasha's estranged mother and absent father. Max does everything he can to show her that he can give her child, their child - if she agrees, so much love and devotion and a large, loving family.

When Max and Natasha finally got together, they were hot! Super sexy doesn't begin to cover it - these two were on fire in the bedroom! And I love that Max used that heat for all it was worth to wear down her self-imposed emotional walls.

There wasn't any sort of villain or "horrible event" in the story, only Tasha's self-doubts about getting involved with a younger man and thinking she can never love again. Her situation with her best friend Lila was unresolved, which I found frustrating, but I can also see where that could happen in real life. I really liked Max's big family, especially his twin sister Maxy, and hope we'll be reading her story soon.

All in all, Turn It Up was a super-sweet romance with lots of passion, a charming hero and a heroine who thinks she'll never find love.(less)

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Mar 11, 2011 Mandi Schreiner rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary

Favorite Quote: “Damn you for being a sex god, Maxwell Turner. Let’s do it.”

Tasha can hear her biological clock ticking. At 34 years old, she wants to have a baby and has decided to go at it alone. As one last hurrah before she gives up coffee, sweets and alcohol, she goes out and drinks way too much. Very drunk, she spills her secret about her plans for having a child to her good friend Maxwell Turner.

Max has been very attracted to Tasha for a long time. But because he is only 24 and his family...more Favorite Quote: “Damn you for being a sex god, Maxwell Turner. Let’s do it.”

Tasha can hear her biological clock ticking. At 34 years old, she wants to have a baby and has decided to go at it alone. As one last hurrah before she gives up coffee, sweets and alcohol, she goes out and drinks way too much. Very drunk, she spills her secret about her plans for having a child to her good friend Maxwell Turner.

Max has been very attracted to Tasha for a long time. But because he is only 24 and his family is good friends with her, he has never initiated a romantic relationship. But he now sees an opportunity. He offers himself to be the father – but he also offers marriage. He secretly wants this agreement to eventually turn to love, but tries to keep it low key as to not scare off Tasha. Tasha is very hesitant about this arrangement, but the stability for her and the eventual baby is too much for her to pass up

I’ve been wanting to try something by Vivian Arend for a long time so when Turn It Up came my way I grabbed it, even though this type of set up is not really my favorite. The idea of two best friends getting married so the girl can achieve her goal of having a baby is a little silly to me. Especially with their intent to remain in this marriage as friends for the rest of their lives (even though this is a romance book so you know that is not going to happen).

That aside, I really did find Turn It Up to be a cute book. I think the cover makes it look a little dark but this is definitely not the case. This is more light-hearted with a geeky hero. Win!

I enjoy Vivian Arend’s writing style. The characters are funny, very sexy, and entertaining. It took me a good while to warm up to Tasha. I needed a better understanding of why she is so scared of commitment sooner in the story. It wasn’t until about 70% in until I realized or comprehended why she was afraid to show her true feelings to Max. Until then she came across as immature and confusing to me. She is the one that has been planning to have this baby for quite some time, Max learns about it in one night, and the next day he is the one with the plan and the one that never freaks out.

I enjoyed Max from the start. I love geeky heroes – he finished college when he was 17 and is into computers and games. But he is also super sexy and pursues and seduces Tasha in the most wicked of ways. I was surprised at how dirty, dirty the sex scenes are in this book. Tasha and Max have great chemistry and their romance is very cute yet very naughty. Hello to smex on Grandma’s porch swing!

Tasha’s best friend Lila is a great character in this book. She vehemently opposes their marriage and overall situation and I really enjoyed bringing that conflict in since everyone else in Max’s large family seemed perfectly content with this sudden marriage and baby. I assume Lila is getting her own book and I look forward to it!

Turn It Up definitely turned me on to Vivian Arend. Cute story and I look forward to more.

Rating: B(less)

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Feb 16, 2011 Lea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

At 34 years old, Natasha “Tasha” Bellingham is a self made woman. She is a well established architect who has designed and is having her own home built. Tasha wants a family but due to a history of bad relationships she decides she doesn’t want a man. So she institutes “Operation Baby” deciding artificial insemination is the way she wants to conceive her family. What Tasha doesn’t expect, is that 24 year old Maxwell Turner discovers her secret and sees it as the perfect opportunity to finally wi...more At 34 years old, Natasha “Tasha” Bellingham is a self made woman. She is a well established architect who has designed and is having her own home built. Tasha wants a family but due to a history of bad relationships she decides she doesn’t want a man. So she institutes “Operation Baby” deciding artificial insemination is the way she wants to conceive her family. What Tasha doesn’t expect, is that 24 year old Maxwell Turner discovers her secret and sees it as the perfect opportunity to finally win the woman he has wanted since he was a teenager.

I thought Ms. Arend did a stellar job of characterizing these two people. Max has a genius level intellect and as a result graduated from high school very early, challenged the college exams and finished his education at the young age of 17. He then struck out on his own, bought a little home and built a very successful web design business. Max is therefore mature beyond his years, he knows what he wants and goes after it. He had asked Tasha out previously but she rebuffed him because she felt he was too young.

Max has all his ducks in a row, they have been friends for a long time and he knows Tasha won’t respond to fancy overtures so he approaches her logically, with questions that she was sure to be asking herself. Is it really fair to try and raise a child as a single parent when the baby could have a devoted father to share in the responsibility? Why rely on a sperm donor when she could have him? (My question exactly - the guy is HOT..) Max is a member of a huge extended family that Tasha loves, their baby would also be part of this family.

Tasha soon learns that Max knows his way around a woman and once she allows him to get closer things heat up---fast. This one is a toe curler, as in many hot--keep the ice water nearby and fan running---sex scenes. That being said, I felt the narrative was well plotted concerning a woman who comes from a broken and very unsupportive home, as well as having endured a series of less then happy relationships. “Turn It Up”, tells the story of how Tasha gradually works through her insecurities, learns to trust, and finally love thanks to the patience, nurturing and support of a very special man (he is one determined guy). What I really liked was that Tasha and Max’s relationship strengthens over the course of the novel, it doesn’t happen overnight, it is a gradual process.

In a flash, the temperature in the room flared from comfortable to heat-wave range. In spite of the tantalizing flavor tangoing with her taste buds, all her awareness was on him. Maxwell’s gaze ate her up. The focused attention made her tingle—her skin, her breasts, her sex. He didn’t play any of the erotic food games she’d read about. Didn’t feed her, or twirl chocolate over her skin and lick it off. He might as well have, considering how excited she grew. Under his intent stare, she became much more aware of the sensual attraction between them. Every time she put the fork in her mouth, he responded—a moan or a small body movement—as if he was jealous of the tines as she licked them clean. Every time she swallowed, he swallowed in time with her. Something warned her the intimate connection growing between them was building to explosive levels.

Max enjoyed his own dessert, twirling the fork to gather the perfect amount of dip. The drive to have him drop the fork and twirl his fingers on her body instead increased. When he reached out and wiped a bit of chocolate from the corner of her mouth, she captured his finger. Her tongue wrapped around the digit, sweeping it clean, teasing it in small circles. Then she suckled lightly, thrilling when his pupils dilated. His brown eyes changed almost fully to black.

He pulled his hand away with a slight pop and a shudder shook him. When he spoke, the lust in his voice ratcheted up her desire another notch.

“I want you. No interruptions, no regrets.”

“Turn It Up”, is good fun too, the Turner’s are a rowdy bunch with a passel of little ones running around. On the other side of the coin, Tasha does have to deal with the rejection of her closest friend who while part of the “Turner Clan” turns out to be one nasty piece of work. This also feeds into Tasha’s insecurities regarding her relationship with Max.

There are some extremely emotional tug at the heartstrings scenes in “Turn It Up”, especially when Max and Tasha learn that they are pregnant and I have to say - bun in the oven stories are usually so not my thing. I enjoyed Ms. Arend’s voice and writing style thoroughly. If you like a relationship driven story, that encompasses two of my favorite themes, friends to lovers and a May/September romance, you may like to give, “Turn It Up” a try.

“Turn It Up”, is the second in Ms. Arend’s, “Turner Twins”, series and I’m looking forward to reading the first story “Turn It On”, which after reading the synopsis, I think is a prequel. ;) As an aside, I had no difficulty following “Turn It Up” without having read the first story. (less)

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May 29, 2012 Darcy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, e-book, romance

I wish that I had read this book before Turn it On, as the action that takes place happens before it, even though this one is listed as #2.

I really liked Max, loved that he knew at a really young age that he loved and wanted Tasha and that he took advantage of what Tasha wanted, a baby, to get what he wanted, Tasha. He went about it with a ruthlessness that was subtle and sneaky. I was even charmed by Tasha's reticence and understood why she had it.

There were so many great parts that had me tear...more

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Jun 02, 2013 Darcy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So this is the story of Junior and Tasha, who have known each other for years as she is best friends with his cousin. And even though he is ten years her junior, he started asking her out at the ripe ole age of 17. Now to be fair, he had graduated from college at 17 and was building his own company at that time. She has decided 34 is old (?) and needs to have a baby. He convinces her that marrying him and letting him be her the daddy is the way to go, and because of the explosive attraction betw...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Tina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: alpha-male, contemp-rom, ebook, erotica, younger-man

This was the first book I have read by Vivian Arend and I have been tempted to buy her wolf series but haven't yet. Liked this book and the characters. The chemistry between the two was smoking and the relationship was believable to the real world. One thing that was unresolved was the friend that was the cousin of Max. Really want to know what bee was up her butt about the whole thing. I think that her story will probably be next and explain what her problem was. While I liked the story and che...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Barbara ~*Lindt Ninja*~ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, series, sexy-stuff, arc, green-covers, i-think-im-a-cougar, lady-bits-on-fire, thank-you-sir-ill-have-a-sequel, i-just-fainted, booyeah

The friends-to-lovers trope is my big squishy weakness in a story and when I read the blurb for this, I knew there was a probability of a trifecta of awesome. I had the storyline that appealed to me, I can't recall reading anything by Arend that I didn't at least come away liking and there was a good chance for happy hormonal something somewhere here. The fly in the A&D ointment could be the older woman/younger man thing that I don't generally pick to read, but I trusted Arend to do it right...more The friends-to-lovers trope is my big squishy weakness in a story and when I read the blurb for this, I knew there was a probability of a trifecta of awesome. I had the storyline that appealed to me, I can't recall reading anything by Arend that I didn't at least come away liking and there was a good chance for happy hormonal something somewhere here. The fly in the A&D ointment could be the older woman/younger man thing that I don't generally pick to read, but I trusted Arend to do it right and she did. This was a great story with two characters I loved.

Max and Tasha have had a casual, if slightly sexually-charged friendship for years. I liked that they weren't best friends and that he wasn't her best friend's little brother (although he was her BFF's cousin). She's friends with his entire family and they get together regularly for a big group game night. He's had a huge case of the hots for her since he was seventeen and she was twenty-seven and he hasn't stopped trying to get her to out with him very often since. She was horrified at the thought of dating a teenager then and while she might be attracted to him now, she's constantly pasting "Do Not Touch" stickers on him in her head - something she's busy doing the morning after her drunken bender when he drove her home and she confessed that she was going to have a baby by herself. She's shocked that she told him, can't believe that he's proposing and by the time she's sobered up, a little scared to find that she's considering it.

Max isn't your average twenty-four year old. The borderline-genius graduated high school at fourteen, runs his own computer business and is utterly focused on getting Tasha. He presents his proposal in the most clinical way he can because he knows she's going to shoot him down if he tells her he loves her, but one thing he won't budge on is that this isn't going to be a cold marriage. They'll live together, raise the baby together and definitely sleep together. She may not be in love with him yet, but she definitely wants him and she's always cared about him. He's willing to go slowly if that's what it takes to make her see that she can trust him.

I was initially worried the treatment of the older woman/younger man aspect of their relationship would end up being things like Tasha obsessing about her wrinkles and sagging breasts, people in public asking if Max was her son or if she'd be worried he'd get bored sitting at home watching her knit while he fantasized about dating a nineteen year old. Thankfully, that's not what this is all about and it's not even a major source of conflict for the two of them. Twenty-four year old Max quickly becomes just Max and he never lets Tasha doubt how attractive she is. He never lets her get away with pretending he's too young for her and she doesn't even try for very long.

How many ways did I love Max? I lost count. Maybe he was just a bit too perfect, but I really am not complaining all that loudly. He loved Tasha and was willing to give her a lot of space, true, but he also wasn't willing to let her run all over him. He had a plan and he pursued her. Diligently and with chocolate fondue. A roughly equal amount of the story was told from his and Tasha's perspectives, so it was always there to read how much he loved her and how much he worried when she pulled away from him. He had huge emotional depth - in a particular scene where he cried, I had my own tears. I tend to do a lot of reading in my head off the page when I'm doing rotten jobs like the dishes or something, and let's just say Max is one awesome freaking father in my own personal space.

As much as I loved Max, I wanted to hug Tasha (before I kicked her in the butt towards Max). I sympathized with so much of what she'd been through and understood why she wanted this baby. It made me sad when she'd loosen up with Max and let herself be happy and when some little thing would remind her of a past hurt, she'd pull back from him without telling him why. I loved that she never ever made him feel like he was less of anything just because he was younger - she respected him and even when they were arguing or she wanted him to leave her alone, she would never have said anything to make him think he was less of a man in her eyes because of his age.

I must address the sexy factor. It's a dirty job, but I have to do it. Max is quite proud of his twenty-four year old stamina and yes, he certainly should be. He's also romantic, inventive, talks dirty, resourceful, sweet, tender..there have to be some adjectives I'm missing, but after "talks dirty," I was winging it, truthfully. He and Tasha are a perfect match, especially since she seems to really, really like those things. Smart girl.

Summary: Stories about love, friendships and babies happening in various orders are almost always stories that I at least give a second glance to and I started this with high expectations that were more than met. Max and Tasha's story hit all of the right notes for me: I loved him, I hurt for her, I shed some tears and I cheered for them. A solid recommend.

Note: This is a precursor - I wouldn't call it a prequel since both stand alone, although it does come ahead of it in the timeline - to Turn It On, Turner Twins, Book 1 which features Max's twin sister Maxine and came out in 2010.(less)

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Jul 23, 2012 Betty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance

I really enjoyed this one. Max and Tasha are such two great people, and their scenes are somehow funny and sexy all at once. Often in contemporary romances, I'll get bored and skim through sex scenes, especially when it occurs right away - what is this immediate attraction!? But the author did a great job of setting up the two characters so that we know and love them before they really get together. (Also the three week long sexual frustration was hilarious.) There are also a monstrous number of...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Calisto rated it 3 of 5 stars

At 34, Tasha decided her biological clock is about to explode and she's determined to have a child before she withers and dies at the ripe ol' age of 35. Enter Max, a 24 yo hottie who has had the hots for her for years. The trick is how to convince Tasha that he's exactly what she needs, even though he's not what she wants.

Now, I really wanted to love this story. I love May/December stories (tho here it's more May/July LOL) and the key to a successful older/younger relationship is the maturity l...more At 34, Tasha decided her biological clock is about to explode and she's determined to have a child before she withers and dies at the ripe ol' age of 35. Enter Max, a 24 yo hottie who has had the hots for her for years. The trick is how to convince Tasha that he's exactly what she needs, even though he's not what she wants.

Now, I really wanted to love this story. I love May/December stories (tho here it's more May/July LOL) and the key to a successful older/younger relationship is the maturity level of both characters. There aren't a lot of good older woman/younger man romance/love stories out there if you want something more than just a smexy cougar getting her groove back erotica, which is too bad.

I waffled a lot between 3 and 4 stars for this story but settled on 3 simply because I couldn't quite get over the parts that just happen to be some of pet peeves.

A younger hero has to be above and beyond the average hero in order to make a plausible that an older heroine would be into him. Max is adorkably sweet and totally rises to the occasion. He's awesome and in fact, he's almost too awesome and after a while I was thinking of him as Martyr Max.

Now Tasha wasn't immature but her constant, I'm not going to see this 'pup' in a sexual way...ooo, nice ass; I'm unloveable...oh I just want to be loved; I'm not going to love him because he's just going to leave me...blah blah blah got old fast. I also thought that her decision to start a relationship with Max was shallow and uninvolved. It was more...no, no, no, well okay let's smex. I just couldn't connect with Tasha.

Which brings another pet peeve of the heroine that believes that procreating is the end all be all, Holy Grail, world peace, cure for cancer all rolled into one and that never changes in this story. She gets what she wants and just happens to end up with a really hot younger guy too.

Basically, shallow characterization left me more than a bit detached from these main characters and some of the obstacles they faced which really weren't that many. The cousin/friend not approving of the relationship got too much air time without a satisfactory resolution which was also annoying. In fact, parts that should have been 'told' were 'shown', making them seem more important than they actually were and parts that should have been 'shown' were instead 'told', which increased the disconnect with the main characters.

Don't get me wrong. This is a good, solid read with hot smex. It's just not great or awesome. I'll definitely keep an eye out for this author and give her wolves a try.

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Feb 17, 2011 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, review, read-in-2011

Published: February 8th, 2011
Publisher: Samhain
How I got this book: Purchased

I’m not usually a big fan of baby stories, but I’ve come to learn that with Arend, what you see is not always what you get. We first met Max and Natasha in Turn It On, the first book in the Turner Twin Series. Although this one is a prequel, it was great to see Max and Natasha in a different light.

Natasha is starting to feel her biological clock ticking, and when she has one last night on the town, her drunken self acci...more Published: February 8th, 2011
Publisher: Samhain
How I got this book: Purchased

I’m not usually a big fan of baby stories, but I’ve come to learn that with Arend, what you see is not always what you get. We first met Max and Natasha in Turn It On, the first book in the Turner Twin Series. Although this one is a prequel, it was great to see Max and Natasha in a different light.

Natasha is starting to feel her biological clock ticking, and when she has one last night on the town, her drunken self accidently reveals her plan to Max. Since Max has always wanted to be with Natasha, he puts together a very impressive business plan to try and convince her to marry him and start that family with him. After much debating Natasha finally decides to give it a chance, and agrees to his proposal.

Although love wasn’t part of his original plan, Max does everything he can think of to woo Natasha, getting her to fall in love with him. But with the stress of his over bearing family, Natasha’s angry best friend, and hormones, will she be able to admit she feel in love?

I really enjoyed this one, despite a few things that really grated on me. I loved that Natasha was a cougar, although it was the one thing she really didn’t want to be. Her struggle with admitting her feelings for Max, and dealing with him being younger than her was a constant throughout. And while I normally agree that men mature at a much slower rate than woman, it was also painfully obvious to me that Max was not the “typical” guy. He was responsible and wanted nothing more than to be with Natasha day in and day out. Her inability to recognize that, or at least acknowledge that had me doubting her own intelligence.

I enjoyed getting an even better insight into the Turner family, and in this we get to see a lot more of the family dynamic. Every time Max’s family came into play, I remembered thinking… this is my family in a nut shell. LOL.

The big thing that really rankled on me was Max’s cousin and Natasha’s best friend Lila. The two girls are thick as thieves at the beginning of the story, and when Natasha tells Lila about her upcoming nuptials to Max, Lila freaks out. She berates Natasha, refuses to take her calls, won’t speak to her at family events and acts like an overall baby. Now, I speculate that there is something in Lila’s past that brought this about, but the fact that she doesn’t redeem herself and is a total bitch throughout the story really drives me nuts. She was given every chance to come clean with both Max and Natasha, but refused to be an adult and talk about it, instead acted like a two year old throwing a tantrum. I can only hope Arend will continue the series and give Lila a chance to redeem herself. (Yes, I’m talking to you Viv. Let Lila redeem herself… PLEASE?)

I thought the way that Max relentlessly pursued Natasha was great, the dates he set up for them, the way he helped her achieve her dream house, the way he took care of her once she got knocked up… Max really is a great hero, super in tune with his heroines needs. Loved that about them. This was a great addition to the Turner Twins Series, and like I said, I hope (pray) that Arend continues on with this series.

All in all, I give Turn It Up 4 out of 5 pregnant cougars. RAWR!(less)

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Feb 24, 2011 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-out-do-yourself, 211-books-in-2011, february-2011, read-in-2011

I really like Arend's writing style. Her stories are very readable.

I enjoyed this one, though not as much as the first in the series. Tasha's hang-ups about relationships made sense in the beginning, but the longer she held herself back the more I questioned the fact that she was 34 years old. Even though men mature a lot slower than women, Max was definitely the more mature of the two when it came to love.

I liked that Max knew what he wanted and went about getting it. He didn't screw around or...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Sandi Morris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

She wants it. He's got it...and a whole lot more.Turner Twins, Book 2Maxwell Turner considers his stubborn and resourceful attitude a plus. After all, it usually gets him what he wants-except for Natasha Bellingham. The long-time family friend may be ten years older than he, but so what? He's plenty old enough to know they belong together. Now all he has to do is convince her.Over the past few years Natasha's love life has degenerated into a series of bad cliches. Her biological clock is tickin

...more

She wants it. He's got it...and a whole lot more.Turner Twins, Book 2Maxwell Turner considers his stubborn and resourceful attitude a plus. After all, it usually gets him what he wants-except for Natasha Bellingham. The long-time family friend may be ten years older than he, but so what? He's plenty old enough to know they belong together. Now all he has to do is convince her.Over the past few years Natasha's love life has degenerated into a series of bad cliches. Her biological clock is ticking-loudly. As a proven architect with her own house-design company, she's financially ready for a baby. Who says she needs a permanent man in her life for that? She just needs a "donation."When Max discovers Natasha's future plans include artificial insemination, he's outraged. She wants to get pregnant? No problem. He's more than willing to volunteer-no turkey basters involved. But there's one non-negotiable clause: He wants forever. And he intends to do everything in his power-fair and unfair-to make it happen.Warning: This title contains one younger man ready, aimed and hell bent on giving one woman everything she wants. Includes interludes against the wall, in a Jacuzzi, on a car hood and even-shockingly enough-on a bed or two. Oh, and about that porch swing? Yup...

She wants it. He’s got it…and a whole lot more.

Turner Twins, Book 2

Maxwell Turner considers his stubborn and resourceful attitude a plus. After all, it usually gets him what he wants—except for Natasha Bellingham. The long-time family friend may be ten years older than he, but so what? He’s plenty old enough to know they belong together. Now all he has to do is convince her.

Over the past few years Natasha’s love life has degenerated into a series of bad clichés. Her biological clock is ticking—loudly. As a proven architect with her own house-design company, she’s financially ready for a baby. Who says she needs a permanent man in her life for that? She just needs a “donation”.

When Max discovers Natasha’s future plans include artificial insemination, he’s outraged. She wants to get pregnant? No problem. He’s more than willing to volunteer—no turkey basters involved.

But there’s one non-negotiable clause: He wants forever. And he intends to do everything in his power—fair and unfair—to make it happen.

Warning: This title contains one younger man ready, aimed and hell bent on giving one woman everything she wants. Includes interludes against the wall, in a Jacuzzi, on a car hood and even—shockingly enough—on a bed or two. Oh, and about that porch swing? Yup…

Review

"... Devilishly charming story..." Sensual Reads

"...a relationship driven story that encompasses two of my favorite themes, friends to lovers and a May/September romance..." Book Lovers Inc

"Max is quite possibly one of the most swoonworthy heroes I've read about in recent memory..." Super Librarian

Book Description

Maxwell usually gets what he wants—except for long-time family friend Natasha Bellingham, who holds him at arm’s length. So what if she’s ten years older? They belong together.

Natasha’s biological clock is ticking, and she’s financially ready for a baby. Who says she needs a permanent man in her life for that? In her experience, men spell pain and heartbreak.

When Max discovers Natasha’s planning artificial insemination, he’s outraged. She wants to get pregnant? No problem. He’s more than willing to volunteer—no turkey basters involved. But there’s one non-negotiable clause: he wants forever.

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Sep 14, 2012 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, physical-books, read-in-2012

The younger man, older woman storyline isn't one I normally go for but this one? It worked. They had the friend thing going for them first, which helped. They had the sexy, which helped (Rawr, did they have the sexy). They had the rambunctious family, the friend who didn't approve, and the desire to make a baby. All wins in my book.

Max and Tasha were deliciously sweet together. He's been lusting after her for years, she's determined to keep him at arm's length because he's her friend's younger c...more

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Aug 14, 2011 MaggieReadsRom rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, erotic-romance, contemporary

4,25 stars

Memorable Scenes:
- the dry hump scene at the building-site > wow...
- porch swing scene > double wow...
- ultrasound scene > sweet and emotional

The book TURN IT UP is a prequel to was TURN IT ON. I have fond memories of TURN IT ON as it was my very first unsolicited ARC-review request and it was my first encounter and the beginning of a beautiful bookish online relationship with the fabulous and lovely Vivian Arend. Soon after I reviewed TURN IT ON in January 2010 I discovered...more 4,25 stars

Memorable Scenes:
- the dry hump scene at the building-site > wow...
- porch swing scene > double wow...
- ultrasound scene > sweet and emotional

The book TURN IT UP is a prequel to was TURN IT ON. I have fond memories of TURN IT ON as it was my very first unsolicited ARC-review request and it was my first encounter and the beginning of a beautiful bookish online relationship with the fabulous and lovely Vivian Arend. Soon after I reviewed TURN IT ON in January 2010 I discovered (Viv told me) Max’s story was in the making and from that moment on I was anxiously awaiting this story. When it was finally available and loaded onto my e-reader I read it like a starved person at an all-you-can eat buffet and I wasn’t disappointed.

TURN IT UP is the story of Natasha "Tasha" Bellingham. A talented architect who is also a bit of a control-freak and she likes to be in charge and on top of things. She’s cool, unflappable, pragmatic, bossy and let’s not forget as stubborn as they come. Her co-star is Maxwell "Max" Turner who owns Computer-software Company. Max is caring, sweet, laidback, smart and most of all very patient. The man has the patience of a saint and paired with his tenacity Tasha never stood a chance against his persuasive and seductive powers!

Max has been in love and pursuing Tasha since he was 17. When in a drunken stupor she lets it slip she wants to start a family by becoming a single mom he grabs his chance to finally get his woman. Max and Tasha were a perfect match and I really enjoyed their story. Banter and little internal emotional battles alternated with sexual chemistry that just burst off the pages. I was sucked in from first page to the last and rooting for Max all the way.

If you read my reviews or know me well enough to know my reading preferences you’ll be sick of hearing that one of my favorite tropes is the older woman-younger man trope. I have a few others, such as the friends=to=lovers and the ménage tropes and Vivian Arend once again combined two of my favorite tropes into a wonderful contemporary read.

One itty-bitty thing that bothered me in this book was the Lila (Tasha's friend and Max's cousin) situation. I kept waiting for a logical explanation for her behavior and attitude but the only one given was plain age-old jealousy and since I am not familiar with that emotion and think being jealous is a waste of time I couldn’t relate to her very much and took Tasha’s side in the “fight” to the very end.

This is definitely another one of my favorite Vivian Arend books. It had it all: heat and explicitness, pace, tropes I love and main characters I totally clicked with, a hero who shot to the top of my favorites list and last but not least the right amount of back-story and secondary stuff to create a perfect balance. Thank you, Ms. Arend for once again keeping me entertained and for never disappointing me when I open one of your books to read.

Favorite Quotes:
Max sank his fingers into her thick mane of dark hair and let his satisfaction escape in a low moan. God, he’d wanted to do that forever, and last night refusing her sexual advances had taken him to the breaking point. He needed this so badly he felt raw inside, aching with need for a taste of her.

His brain and body fought a battle for which could react the fastest. She was accepting his proposal. He was going to be with the woman he’d longed for his entire life. They were going to have sex and start a lifetime together. And have sex.

Max: “You tell me what you like and I’m game to try.”
“ Jesus . How can you talk while you’re fooling around?”
(...)
“I like talking when I’m fooling around. I like to tell you the dirty things I want to do to you. You make me hot.”
Tasha growled at him. “Bastard. I was so close.”
“I know, but you’ll get there again. And again. And again.”

Tasha ached as Max wept, his arms cradling her tenderly. That something inside that longed for a love without end—that place she’d had tied up tight and hidden away fearing it could never, ever be—snapped wide open.

Tasha wiped away the tears flooding her eyes. There was no more denying it—how much she loved him. It had taken far too long to admit it, but it was there, inside her.
No rockets went off, no loud thunderclaps or brilliant fanfare accompanied her realization. Only tightness in her throat, and a building joy to melt the final layers of icy fear that had coated her heart for so long.

Rating:
8.7 out of 10 - GREAT READ!
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May 26, 2012 Tia rated it 5 of 5 stars

I actually liked this one a lot better than the first one. I found it very sweet. The heroine learning how to love her hero properly after being so mistreated. I also loved the age difference because it made things harder, which gave them more things to fight for. When you stop fighting for the person you love, that's when you need to be worried because remaining strong and fighting for what you want in life brings out your passion and your love. Great book!

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Mar 25, 2012 Marran rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-content

It´s a bit confusing actually because this book happen before the first book..so read this one first..

Hmm what to say..well I think it´s better then Turn it on but it could have been a lot better...

someone said the book felt like average and I have to agree its not a bad book it just doesn´t make you feel anything for the charachters...

But I must say I really do want a porch swing (for more then one reason) ;-D

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May 17, 2011 Nas Dean rated it 4 of 5 stars

TURN IT UP was my first book from author Vivian Arend and I loved it!

The sensuality rocked throughout. And the tension Tasha felt when she realized she loved Max, yet couldn't let him know for fear of being abandoned by him was very realistic.

Vivian Arend, though a new to me author, now I'll be watching out for all her titles.

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Apr 28, 2011 Anja rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.

I liked this book and would definitely recommend it. The hero is fantastic but perhaps a little too perfect. There wasn’t a strong enough conflict for my taste. The majority of the book was pleasant scene after pleasant scene where the hero and heroine start living their life together and preparing for a baby. While very realistic, it doesn’t have the emotional intensity of the books that I give higher grades to. It takes place over a year and I found it hard to understand why the hero...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Mandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vivian-arend

Another quick, easy read. I loved Maxwell! I don't understand why this was the 2nd book in the series. This one should have been first but whatever. Max and Tasha were so good together and it was a such a sweet story. I love Vivian's men!

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Mar 23, 2011 Robin *loves sexy books* rated it 3 of 5 stars

this is book 2, but a prequel i'm assuming...

another 3.5 stars for the second book in the series. pretty solid, just not a 4 star for me. her books are always entertaining though, hot sex and likeable characters.

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Apr 23, 2011 Sasha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

I suspect Lila was secretly in love with Tasha, that's why she was such a b**** when Natasha and Max got together.

Not much of a review, I know, but the book was decent, not awesome.

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Mar 08, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2read2

Give me a younger man like Max Turner and I will not have one problem with the age difference! I enjoyed this story so much more than Turn It On! Loved the chemistry between Max and Tasha. Max is a horny, sexy devil that is so passionate and loving to Tasha. Storyline focused more on Tasha's insecurities to trust love and commitment as opposed to the whole I want a baby story. This was a short and sweet romance with plenty of sizzle!

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Apr 15, 2012 Landy Jimenez rated it 3 of 5 stars

This should be book 1. Since the event of this book happen before the ones in Turn it On.
I actually read this one first.

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Feb 15, 2011 Guilty Pleasures rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: misc-ebooks

LOVED Junior and Tasha's story. Junior is a very sexy, determined male. I loved the porch swing. Makes me think of the old country song "Just A Swinging" in a new light ;-)

I am anal about reading books in order. So even though this is book #2, I would read it before Turn It On - Book #1, which is about Maxine, Junior's sister and takes place after Junior and Tasha's story. Both are awesome books.

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Jul 01, 2012 Jacqueline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: available-for-kindle-loan, best-friends-sibling, contemporary-romance, hero-is-a-super-nice-man, hero-sweet, kindle-reads, older-woman, owned

I could have sworn I already posted a review of this. Oh well I'll do it again.

The older woman trope is a favorite of mine beings as I'm an 'older woman' to my husband.

This one was well done. I'm sure that many women can relate to the baby hunger the heroine suffers from. The hero is super sweet and super determined that they are going to be together.

The fact that everyone didn't think they should be together seems fairly realistic but I wish that the naysayer would have had a better rationale....more

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Feb 08, 2011 Laura YA indie princess rated it 5 of 5 stars

amazing read. I want a man just like Max ^_^

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May 20, 2012 Mrs.b rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thank yoy for creating a character that both gets what she wants and is surprised by the journey there...quite fun for me:)

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May 25, 2013 essencej rated it 2 of 5 stars

Tasha. was too freaking annoying....just couldn't finish it...smh!!!

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Turn It Up (Turner Twins #2)

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