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Talk Me Down (Tumble Creek #1)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 5,499 ratings · 372 reviews

Molly Jennings has one naughty little secret: her job as a bestselling erotic fiction author. Until her inspiration runs dry—thanks to a creepy ex—and it's time to skip town and move back to tiny Tumble Creek, Colorado.

One look at former high school hunk chief of police Ben Lawson and Molly is back in business. The town gossip is buzzing at her door and, worse still, a sta

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Mass Market Paperback, 347 pages

Published January 1st 2009 by HQN (first published December 25th 2008)

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Jun 25, 2009 ♡KarLynP♡ rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2009, steam-hot

DNF. I got halfway and called it quits. I wanted to like this one, but it read too much like a run-of-the-mill HQN Blaze(ish) with very little story and whole lot of sex starting in the first few chapters. Now typically I love a romances with a lot of good sex, but for me I need to get to know the characters and care about them. I also need a compelling story to glue it all together, not some shallow mystery with an obvious ending. I didn't get any of that in this story.

In all fairness I believ...more

20 likes · like · see review

Jan 14, 2009 Kathrynn rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Feel-good, Funny, Romantic-Suspense Readers

Shelves: own, 2009, funny, hot, romance-feel_good, romance-contemporary, romance-suspense, reviewed

What a nice feel-good, funny, very hot, romantic-suspense set in a rural town about 4 hours north of Denver, Colorado. The two main characters, Molly and Ben, were a delight to read about. As I was reading, felt a tad of Robyn Carr's style as other members of the small rural town were introduced. A series could easily come from the other characters, i.e., Quinn (Molly's brother), Lori, Helen, etc. I'd sure run out and buy more in this series by this author!

Molly is a popular erotic romance novel...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jan 17, 2009 Auntee rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of hot, contemporary romance

Recommended to Auntee by: JJ, Kathrynn

Shelves: contemporary-romance, 2009_reads

Add me to the list of fans of Victoria Dahl's extremely sexy, and often hilarious romance, Talk Me Down. This book was packed with sexual tension, was blessed with witty dialogue, had some laugh out loud moments, and even had an element of suspense thrown it. I was totally captivated by it, so much so that I had a hard time putting it down.

Molly Jennings writes erotic romance, is quite successful at it, but no one knows about it. Not her family or friends. No one but her editor. It's her little...more Add me to the list of fans of Victoria Dahl's extremely sexy, and often hilarious romance, Talk Me Down. This book was packed with sexual tension, was blessed with witty dialogue, had some laugh out loud moments, and even had an element of suspense thrown it. I was totally captivated by it, so much so that I had a hard time putting it down.

Molly Jennings writes erotic romance, is quite successful at it, but no one knows about it. Not her family or friends. No one but her editor. It's her little secret, and she'd like to keep it that way. When her writing inspiration runs dry, she decides to leave Denver and her manipulative ex and move back to her tiny hometown of Tumble Creek, Colorado (where everybody knows their neighbor's business), and into the house that her late aunt left her. And if she happens to find her muse there...

When Molly spots former high school hunk and now Chief of Police hunk Ben Lawson at the grocery store--hello--all of a sudden Molly's inspiration is back on track. Ben looks even better than he did ten years ago, and looking at him reminds her of the last time she saw him, when she inadvertantly walked in on him and his girlfriend...

Ben has always liked Molly, even though she is his best friend's little sister. And even though it's clear that Molly is very interested (flirting and teasing him), he's not sure it would be wise to pursue a relationship with her. After a sex scandal involving his father nearly destroyed his family when Ben was a teen, Ben has been sensitive to gossip and worries a lot about what other people think. He has a reputation to uphold as the Chief of Police, and doesn't even date women from the same town. But man, Molly sure is tempting, and he's no saint. Just how long can he be expected to hold out?

Well, not long, as it turns out. At first, Molly is interested in just using him for sex, while Ben is looking for a more meaningful relationship. Molly's got issues with her family, feeling she never 'measured up' in her parents eyes and can't compare to her more successful brother. She has trouble opening up and often hides behind jokes and outrageous behavior. But Ben knows and understands the real Molly, and that's a dangerous thing. If she falls for him, what will happen when he finds out her big secret?

When a stalker threatens Molly, the romance between Ben and Molly heats up. All Ben's naturally protective instincts kick in, and it makes Molly very aware of her growing feelings for Ben. She realizes their relationship will hit a dead end though if she doesn't reveal her secret profession to Ben, and also tell the truth about why her ex stills thinks he's her boyfriend. Can she risk rejection and tell Ben the truth?

This was one hot, yet funny read. Molly was adorable, although at times a little flighty and immature, but boy, she had some very witty dialogue. There were a few good laughs in every chapter of the book. And Ben--what a guy. I loved how he blushed over some of Molly's comments, and he was just an all around good guy. He may have been quiet and reserved in public, but when Molly got him in the bedroom, he certainly wasn't! They had some pretty racey bedroom (and pick-up truck) scenes! They made a terrific couple, even though I wished Molly would trust him enough to reveal her profession. It was often very funny whenever Ben was thinking to himself, trying to figure out what line of work Molly was in. That girl drove the poor guy crazy! I thought the suspense aspect of the book played out very well--I mean, I thought I knew who the stalker was, but then the author threw in a nice little twist. Well done, and I didn't see it coming.

If you're in the mood for a sexy, romantic, and very funny read, with an adorable H/H,and a hint of suspense, give this book a try. This has to be one of the best contemporary romances I've read in a while, and I look forward to more books by this talented author. 5 well-earned stars!

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19 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2009 Isis FG rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Isis FG by: my GR friends

Shelves: 2009, info-full, reviewed, genre-romance-contemporary, published-2009, stars-4, series-tumble-creek

The only reason I bought this book was because I was wandering around Borders, saw it, and remembered that a bunch of my GR friends had rated it highly. So I thought I'd give it a try. And it was a good pick-up - a surprisingly steamy, funny contemporary romance.

Talk Me Down is about Molly Jennings, an erotic romance writer, who moves back to her small hometown of Tumble Creek after a bad break-up with an boyfriend who has possibly turned into a delusional stalker. The experience left her unable...more The only reason I bought this book was because I was wandering around Borders, saw it, and remembered that a bunch of my GR friends had rated it highly. So I thought I'd give it a try. And it was a good pick-up - a surprisingly steamy, funny contemporary romance.

Talk Me Down is about Molly Jennings, an erotic romance writer, who moves back to her small hometown of Tumble Creek after a bad break-up with an boyfriend who has possibly turned into a delusional stalker. The experience left her unable to write and she hopes moving back home, and seeing sexy Ben Lawson - her crush from her teenage years - will inspire her to write again. And she's right. One look at Ben and her juices are flowing - metaphorically and literally. Ben resists her flirtatious advances at first. He has no intention of getting involved in a steamy affair that would most likely end in uncomfortable times after and make him the focus of local gossip (something he detests after his father's exploits). But the heat between them is too much for Ben to resist. The ensuing problem though is that Ben wants more from Molly and she keeps treating him like a fling. Because Molly has secrets. No one knows what she does for a living and she's afraid to tell Ben, the object of her first novella. Things get dicey when someone starts stalking Molly. Still, Molly is too scared to tell Ben, and Ben is tired of being lied to.

This was almost a 5-star read for me. The one thing that kept me from absolutely loving it was that I didn't entirely like Molly. Not that I disliked her, but the way she treated Ben annoyed me. It was like he was just a sex object to her. She would purposely seduce him any time he got determined to try and talk to her and the way she refused to tell him anything about herself at times just ruined the whole bond that developed between them. Plus, I wished they'd had a big talk at the end to resolve the issues between them. Their HEA felt a little superficial for me. So those things kept this book from reaching 5-star status.

But it was a fun book to read. It's light-hearted and funny at times, but not so much that it's a fluff read. The sex was super hot, which I wasn't expecting. And I just loved the character of Ben. He was one of those genuine good guys that's enjoyable to read about. I just wished Molly had treated him a little better.

The plot had some nice surprises to it. I was semi-surprised when a certain thing happened. It was a nice twist. The stalker thing isn't all that original, but Dahl made the story interesting and readable.

I'll definitely be looking for the follow-up to this book, Start Me Up which will feature Molly's brother Quinn and her friend Lori.

WARNING, this books contains: mildly explicit sex and some explicit language(less)

14 likes · like · see review

Nov 26, 2009 Summer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance, romance

Talk Me Down was a rather cute story about a young woman named Molly, moving back to the small town she grew up in after living in the city. Tumble Creek is an extremely small town near Aspen, CO where during the winter the entire city is literally closed off from the world. Molly has enjoyed living in Denver for many years and her career as an erotic fiction writer has given her stability and freedom from having to rely on anyone. However, after her aunt dies she's willed to own the house and d...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads

A lot hot, a lot humorous, and just a whole lot of fun! "Talk Me Down" by Victoria Dahl is the story of a woman who moves back to her tiny hometown to escape from a determined, but fairly harmless stalker; only to run into the boy-turned-man who fueled the fantasies that turned her into a best-selling erotica author.

She keeps her secrets to avoid disappointment. He hates secrets and scandal. She's a hot-selling erotica author. He's a small-town sheriff. They're both having a hard time keeping t...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2009 MelissaB rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to MelissaB by: auntee, holly

Shelves: contemporary-romance, 2009-reads, hot-cop-hero

I was annoyed with the heroine for not telling the COP hero about the guy stalking her and about keeping her occupation secret when she supposedly was not ashamed of it. She seemed very selfish about those things and I didn't like how she tried so hard to make everything only about the physical because I didn't get the sense that she had real reason for that except for the author to further the plotlines. The star rating got bumped up from a three because the ending was pretty good and because B...more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 09, 2009 Miss Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cops-military-bodyguards, 2009, she-is-tstl, small-town-lovin

4 ½ stars

Talk Me Down should be titled Talk Dirty to Me, and that’s not just because I’m a big Poison fan, either. Whew! Hot, hot hot! I really enjoyed this story about a cop—my favorite hero—and an erotic romance writer. He was her brother’s best friend while growing up, and she was too young for him. She’s had a crush on him for years, and has even written one of her novels with him as the hero. She’s come back to town permanently, and has pretty much blew his socks off. However, she convenien...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 13, 2009 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

Trying to escape her ex boyfriend and his band of Merry Men, Molly Jennings returns to her hometown of Tumble Creek, Colorado and immediately runs into her naughty muse, Chief of Police, Ben Lawson. Ever since their last encounter ten years ago, Ben has been her secret inspiration in her career as an erotic fiction author and seeing him again has caused her imagination to go into overdrive. And that's not the only thing that is in overdrive. The town's gossips are in an uproar, dogging her every...more Trying to escape her ex boyfriend and his band of Merry Men, Molly Jennings returns to her hometown of Tumble Creek, Colorado and immediately runs into her naughty muse, Chief of Police, Ben Lawson. Ever since their last encounter ten years ago, Ben has been her secret inspiration in her career as an erotic fiction author and seeing him again has caused her imagination to go into overdrive. And that's not the only thing that is in overdrive. The town's gossips are in an uproar, dogging her every move and worse still, there's a stalker who keeps breaking into her home. Luckily for Molly, she's got her own personal lawman who is watching her back. That is, until he finds out what exactly she does for a living and who she's been basing the hero of her fantasies on. You'd think a man would be flattered, huh? Well, not all men are ruled by the little guy. Some are straitlaced, modest, stick-in-the-muds named Ben and he most definitely does not approve.

This was a lot of fun. I had laughed out loud several times by the first hundred pages. Even though this is about an erotic romance author and her sexy muse, this wasn't an overly sexual book, though there are a few naughty things discussed and the c & p words are tossed about. This book definitely had it's share of fun times. This was my first story by this author and I really enjoyed it.

Ben was like a bulldog after a bone when it came to wanting to know Molly's secrets. He plainly does not believe in leaving a woman her mystery and rather than send flowers, he does background checks, Google searches and calls her family for character references. It's an odd double standard for someone who zealously guards his own privacy, but he has his reasons. Despite his fear of scandal and his habit of ordering background checks before a first date, he was a genuinely nice guy. A nice, normal guy who just thinks about hot wax and starts wheezing. Ha! With the help of Little Blue, whose not so damn little, Molly soon loosens him up.

I liked Molly. She kind of reminded me of Linda Howard's Blair Mallory, everyone was out to get her. She's not very deep or bright but she was a lot of fun. She was a goodtime girl, someone you would want to hang out with at a bar. Though whenever she kept in contact with her ex and his band of Merry Men she made me want to scream. Why does she keep in contact with them? How To Successfully Prosecute A Stalker 101, everyone knows you are not supposed to encourage your stalker by calling him and/or taking his calls. Kind of defeats the purpose of telling him to stay away from you. And get that stupid restraining order filed! I can't stand chicks who say they are going to get a restraining order and then never get it done.

The dynamics are completely switched in this book. Though Molly may be the damsel in distress, Ben was definitely the emotional basketcase. He wanted a relationship with no secrets while Molly was just in it for the sex. "That was a nice conversation, sweetie. Now take off your pants." That sounds like some jerk male, huh? Whenever things got too heavy for her she was the one who was bailing. An interesting change. This was my first book by Victoria Dahl and I liked it. She was a little corny. There was one too many Yowzas! And Hoo Doggies! Please, have some pride. All in all, this was nice, highly entertaining book. Enjoy!(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Dec 14, 2011 Anzu The Great Destroyer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: idiots

Shelves: buddy-or-group-read, fat-kitty-judges-you, dropped-in-the-toilet, me-no-like-at-all, dafuq-did-i-just-read, whiny-bitches, kill-it-with-fire, reviewed-2011, wtf-am-i-doing, lust-at-first-sight, cheesetacular, romance-contemp, facepalm, i-deserved-it

When he put his hands on his hips, she could see his big gun, and not the big gun she was interested in, either.

And so starts my most wonderful adventure into Hornyland. That’s right folks. Don’t miss this chance for nothing in the world! This book is a must-read!

*sarcasm ends here*

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.

.

What. The. F*ck.

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.

Seriously.

Another book involving a horny city girl and a pansy village guy. Nothing new to see here. No humor, no story, no character development. Only stupidity thrown around in order to fill i...more

9 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

Say it out loud : FUHHHH...FUHHHH...FUUUUHHNNNNN...UHHNNNNNN...FUN.

Warning : This book may cause smiles, giggling, laughing, and/or snorting.

Talk Me Down was a good time. The story was basic, the mystery was easily solved, and I doubt I'll remember much else about the book other than the fact that it was cute, funny, and sexy.

Sometimes that's all I need, especially after reading one extremely emotional book, one lengthy high fantasy, and a book with characters who made me want to sit in a corn...more Say it out loud : FUHHHH...FUHHHH...FUUUUHHNNNNN...UHHNNNNNN...FUN.

Warning : This book may cause smiles, giggling, laughing, and/or snorting.

Talk Me Down was a good time. The story was basic, the mystery was easily solved, and I doubt I'll remember much else about the book other than the fact that it was cute, funny, and sexy.

Sometimes that's all I need, especially after reading one extremely emotional book, one lengthy high fantasy, and a book with characters who made me want to sit in a corner and rock back and forth with horror (okay, so it wasn't quite that bad, but still...).

Ben and Molly may not have been high-brow and I loved that about them. The small-town setting and quirky characters made everything that much more endearing. Some have said this book was a bit more steamy than the usual mainstream but I wasn't complaining.

The story itself revolved around an erotica writer (trying to keep her job a secret from the gossips) who moved back to the small town she grew up in, and the police chief who had always had a fascination with the now-grown woman he'd known as a teen. Ben's fascination turned to suspicion as he tried to find out the secret his new flame was keeping from him, which of course lead to a few capers along the way (yes, I actually used the word capers). Molly's gung-ho approach to roping the man she had her eyes on was downright amusing to watch. She was determined to get her way and she made no apologies for it.

Whether she was accidentally setting off sirens during a steamy make-out session, or haphazardly almost choking on water in the shower, Molly had a flair for the dramatic, intentional or not. I watched it all unfold with great amusement.

"Oh. My. God." She thought she'd electrocuted herself with a defective sex toy.

Encouraged, she started to move seductively toward him, but her bunny slippers slapped the floor and he blinked from his trance.

"I can see your panties," Ben hissed in a voice he thought was soft.
"Oh, sorry, Chief," Wilhelm called from the back. The truck shook when he bounced up and down to hitch up his jeans.

Molly blinked, leaning forward. "Did you really just say, 'get down to business'?"
"Fuck, I think I just did."
"Wow, I mean...Jeez."
His chest began to shake with suppressed laughter.
"We could do that, I suppose, but I was really hoping we might 'do the nasty.' Or maybe 'hit a home run.' Or even...do you think we could play 'hide the sausage?' It's my favorite."

"Yeah, after one and a half minutes in heaven, he rolled off me and told me I had a whole lot to learn about pleasing a man."
Ben ran his hand down her hair and twirled a strand around his finger. "He comes home every year for Thanksgiving. I'll set up a drunk-driving checkpoint just for him."
"Aw, you're so sweet."

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10 likes · like · see review

Apr 11, 2013 MrsJoseph rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to MrsJoseph by: Sarah Wendell

Shelves: romance-contemporary, format-ebook, romance-harlequin-silhouette, romance, series, heroine-tstl, 2012-read, adult, hero-ine-unlikable-main-characters, 2012-reviewed

How quickly things go from “The Shit” to some shit.

I’ve been reading Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels, gleefully finding new romance authors to fall in love with. When the book mentioned Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl, I immediately went to download a sample. The sample? Wonderful! Funny and sexy and cute. The plotline, the beginning and the author’s voice were all things that really intrigued me about this book. So I went and did my normal silly thing: I bought more t

...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 20, 2010 Mahyar rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: laugh-out-loud-funny, 2010, contemporary-romance

Damn entertaining! One of the best laugh-out-loud funny books I’ve ever read. I loved Ben and his unfunny yet adorable jokes. And Molly was such a flirt! Who knew girls could be so good at dirty talking? After reading about numerous shy and inhibited heroines, I really enjoyed Molly’s boldness. Actually, all characters in this book were quite awesome except Cameron, who was the most annoying person EVER.

It wasn’t just a funny book, though; it was hot too. Sizzling hot! One of my favorite scenes:...more

14 likes · like · see review

Apr 05, 2010 Alycia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, author-victoria-dahl, kindle-books, favorites

I don't typically read a lot of contemporary romance, but I really enjoyed this one and plan on reading more of this series and genre.

Talk Me Down is about an erotica writer who moves back to her small mountain hometown of Tumble Creek, CO from Denver once she inherits her aunt's house. Molly Jennings likes to keep her life a secret, especially her career from friends, family, and lovers. Moving back to her hometown fortifies Molly after dealing with an ex-boyfriend who can't seem to leave her a...more I don't typically read a lot of contemporary romance, but I really enjoyed this one and plan on reading more of this series and genre.

Talk Me Down is about an erotica writer who moves back to her small mountain hometown of Tumble Creek, CO from Denver once she inherits her aunt's house. Molly Jennings likes to keep her life a secret, especially her career from friends, family, and lovers. Moving back to her hometown fortifies Molly after dealing with an ex-boyfriend who can't seem to leave her alone, despite their six months apart. Camron, a negotiator of the Denver PD, is handsome, chauvinistic, and a real jerk who has an annoying skill of convincing everyone, especially potential boyfriends not to be involved with Molly, but worship Cameron instead.

Once Molly is settled back into town, she quickly reacquaints herself with the young police chief, Ben Lawson. A guy she had an adolescent crush on, and is still lusting after him. They do quickly hook up, but the relationship is rather rocky at times. Ben wants nothing more than open honesty from Molly. Something she is not willing to give. It definitely creates tension and anger. Ben had survived a sex scandal involving his father when he grew up. He wants honesty, and wants to keep out of the town gossip about his private life. Which is exactly what does not happen while being involved with Molly.

Molly discovers after moving back to Tumble Creek that she has a stalker who is constantly, at first, doing subtle things to unsettle her. With many twists and turns and reappearances of Cameron and his "Merry Men" (Molly's ex-potential boyfriends) and one pissed off crush of the chief. A seemingly unalterable wedge is driven between Ben and Molly. Ben finds out Molly's work secret, just after telling her "I love you" and her promise to come clean about her work. Ben has vowed throughout their sex relationship that they would not become more involved until Molly was open with him.

Ben is angry and hurt at Molly not being honest that she was an erotica writer. The main reason he was mad was due to the fact that her first book was about him and her (something that didn't actually happened, but Molly fantasized about). Rightfully mad, but taking it a bit too far Ben breaks things off with Molly at the same moment of the seemingly ending her stalking fiasco. Without giving any spoilers away, Ben and Molly eventually work things out and the stalker issue is finally put to rest.

I really enjoyed this book. Victoria Dahl is definitely a whitty writer. This book definitely held my interest with funny dialog and hot scenes. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining romance or to those who don't typically read contemporary romance, you will not be disappointed. I look forward to reading the next two books in the series, Start Me Up and Lead Me On.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2009 librarygirl rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemp-romance

I keep going back and forth with my star rating. I loved this book but got tired of Molly about half way through. She was hilarious but her secrecy and stubborness got old fast. Other than that, I loved it! It was a fast, funny read and Ben was awesome!

5 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2011 Holly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, comedic-romance, e-book, incendiary-leading-men, keepers, kindle, my-dream-men, romance, steam-level-4-hot

Read more of my reviews at BookGasmic.

4 1/2 - 5 stars

Contemp romance is usually not my thing. But, surprisingly i was immediately won over by this one.

After 10 years, Molly Jennings is moving back home to Tumble Creek, Co. Back to small town life, and if she has her way, into the bed of schoolgirl crush, and her brother's best friend, Chief of police Ben Lawson. But, Molly has a secret and Chief Lawson is bound and determined to find out what it is.

Victoria Dahl has a wonderful writing style. I...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2009 Corrine rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of light, sexy contemporary romance

Shelves: contemporary, cop-bodyguard-miltary-pi-etc, deceitful-hero-or-heroine

Overall, though I did have a few problems with this book, this was a fast, fun, sexy and not too deep read. Molly has returned to her home town of Tumble Creek, CO, after inheriting a house. She's hoping the move will jump start her muse (she writes erotic fiction), keep her stalker ex away, and give her time to reacquaint herself with police chief Ben Lawson. The last time Ben saw Molly, he was 22, she was 17, and he was caught in a very compromising situation. Molly has built fantasies about t...more Overall, though I did have a few problems with this book, this was a fast, fun, sexy and not too deep read. Molly has returned to her home town of Tumble Creek, CO, after inheriting a house. She's hoping the move will jump start her muse (she writes erotic fiction), keep her stalker ex away, and give her time to reacquaint herself with police chief Ben Lawson. The last time Ben saw Molly, he was 22, she was 17, and he was caught in a very compromising situation. Molly has built fantasies about that night, even going so far as basing her first e-book on the encounter, and what she would've preferred the outcome to be. She's kept her career a secret from everyone, her ex, her family, and now Ben.

Ben has a hard rule about dating women in Tumble Creek, mostly because he faced big scandal in a small town when he was a teenager because of his father's sex life. But Molly is someone he can't resist, and soon the two are inseparable. The only problem is, Molly has secrets about her life in Denver and her career that she's not willing to answer about, and Ben hates secrets.

The chemistry between these two is smoking hot, as are the love scenes. Ben has true feelings for Molly, and is hurt and betrayed when Molly doesn't trust him enough to let him in. Molly seems to be very uncomplicated, but it's really just an act meant to cover deep-seated insecurity issues that come from constantly being compared to her perfect older brother.

This was the first problem I had with the story: Molly did have a reason for keeping her job to herself - she wasn't ashamed of what she did, she just didn't want to be compared to her brother. I'm sorry but this seems like such a bad reason to keep something so important from your family and the man you're having sex with, and supposedly falling in love with. Maybe it's because I'm an older child, and as such, I've always been the comparison point rather than the comparee, but it seems that Molly just blew things totally out of proportion. Also, she can't take anything serious! Even when Ben finds out about her career (from someone else) and finds out that she used him in her first story, she acts like a 12-year-old. Ben is far and away my favorite character in this story, but he has his flaws, too. Mostly being that he can say "I love you" but can't seem to manage "I trust you". I also felt a little cheated at the end, because the emotional resolution was cheapened, IMHO. We never really see Molly and Ben officially talk everything out and come to an understanding, they just jump back into bed.

All in all, though the last half was a bit frustrating, it was still a fun and good read. B(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2011 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, romance, series, crime-police-mystery-private-invest, childhood-sweethearts-or-friends, comedy, falls-for-sibing-s-friend, hot, lots-of-sex, read-2011

Joint review with Sophia originally posted on Fiction Vixen.

Book Chat with Catherine and Sophia – Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

Today Catherine and I are chatting about Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl. Since this is a book chat the following may be considered slightly spoilery. We’ve tried not to reveal anything key that would ruin the book for anybody, but everyone has a different opinion about what a spoiler is so keep that in mind if you decide to read any further.

Molly Jennings is a best sellin...more

8 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2013 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: law-inforcement-romance, set-series, reviewed

This book was right in all the right places, i was a bit nervous to read this book because i didn't know the author, but i was so surprised no only by the realness of the characters and the town and feelings and the problems they shared but by the oh my GOD steamy parts. THIS is a book i will NEVER part with. I was so happy with how Aggressive Molly was because by reading the back of the book i was expecting to see a very shy button on girl who dreamed of being wild but no that was not the case....more

2 likes · like · see review

May 13, 2012 Lady Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Contemporary romance, suspense/thriller

Shelves: read-in-2012, contemporary-romance, fiction, romance, thriller-suspense, victoria-dahl, 1st-in-a-series

I've had a copy of this book for awhile, and have put off reading it because I haven't read anything from this Author before. Well....I wish I would have picked this book up sooner!

The story is about Molly Jennings, a girl returning to her hometown after being away for 10 years, and Ben Lawson, the local Police Chief.

This story had a little bit of everything. There was an AMAZING love story, friggn AWESOME/HOT sex scenes, a creepy ex-boyfriend (who was also stalking Molly), a BIG secret that co...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, fiction, romance, dropbox

I had to revisit this review, just as I often revisit this book. Dahl's Tumble Creek series is a favorite of mine to re-read, and "Talk Me Down" is a favorite within the series. While the drama/thriller portion of the story doesn't do much for me, I adore the relationship between the main characters. Molly makes me laugh out loud, and the development of her relationship with Ben is steamy and sweet.

Re-read 2/9/11 - Recommended this one to my girlfriend last weekend, she loved it so much I had t...more

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Feb 21, 2009 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit, hilarious, read-2009, own

It's been a while since I've read just a straight-up romance, and I have to say, this was surprisingly enjoyable.

Molly has moved back to her hometown to escape an ex-boyfriend who is ruining her life and sort of stalking her. She has a secret career and no one, not even her family, knows what she does. She immediately runs into her older brother's best friend, the police chief, who she's had an infatuation with for years. Things move pretty quickly from there. They get hot and heavy right away,...more

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Jan 01, 2009 Jenny Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: super-steamy, romance-novels, contemporary

I love Victoria Dahl's contemporary as much as I love her historical which is unusal. This book made me laugh out loud every ten pages or so and smile every 5. I enjoyed both of the main characters and the plot kept me interested throughout. A very fun good read.
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Jun 04, 2011 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hot-cops, contemporary, own-ebook, hot-hot-hot, 3-and-a-half-stars

3.5 stars.

Funny, enjoyable read with amazingly hot steamy scenes and a hero to die for.

The only thing stopping me from giving it a higher rating was the frustration I had for the heroine, Molly, and her flightiness, immaturity and complete lack of common sense. She objectified Ben horribly and whilst I understood the issues she had and how they defined her actions, I really just wanted to give her a good slap in the face.

However, I did enjoy her banter and sass... but not enough to warrant me ac...more

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Jan 15, 2009 Rebyj rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a FUN read!
Molly moves back to her hometown after being away for 10 years and meets back up with Ben who she had teenage hot fantasies about.

Molly is refreshingly written as sexually confident, funny and easy to connect with. I actually laughed out loud reading this book. The scene where Molly puts on a seductive look and starts walking towards him only to distract him by the sound of her bunny slippers slapping against the floor was the funniest scene I've read in a book in a long time.

B...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Clio rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary

In Talk Me Down, Molly Jennings returns to Tumble Creek, her childhood home, after inheriting a house. She is fleeing a stalking ex-boyfriend, a police officer specializing in hostage negotiations, who uses his skill and training at manipulating hostages to manipulate her and everyone who would be close to her. Given that background, I would have expected her to be a little more wary of taking up with another officer, but she and Ben have a history: she's lusted after him since high school, when...more In Talk Me Down, Molly Jennings returns to Tumble Creek, her childhood home, after inheriting a house. She is fleeing a stalking ex-boyfriend, a police officer specializing in hostage negotiations, who uses his skill and training at manipulating hostages to manipulate her and everyone who would be close to her. Given that background, I would have expected her to be a little more wary of taking up with another officer, but she and Ben have a history: she's lusted after him since high school, when he was her brother's roommate. Back then, she interrupted him in flagrante delicto with another woman, which sparked her attraction and her career, inspiring her first (far too autobiographical) published erotica. She lives in fear not just of the stalker ex, but also that someone will recognize Ben from that first story and unmask her profession, which she has kept secret even from her family.

Ben has clawed his way back to respectability after his father, a high school principal, shamed the family by sleeping with a student just a year older than Ben. Now grown, he is the Chief of Tumble Creek's small police force, but he is still so afraid of being tarnished by scandal that he only dates women from out of town. He flatly refuses to date Molly until she will tell him what she does for a living, and in the meantime he imagines all sorts of scandalous possibilities: stripper, prostitute, phone sex operator, online sex chatroom moderator. Luckily, despite his vow not to date, he doesn't seem to help the urge to go to bed with her, and they're well on the way to happily ever after when Molly's secrets catch up with her.

Molly's eventual unmasking was, to me, overhyped. After all, she isn't a true "bad" girl, despite her saucy career: she lost her virginity at seventeen and hasn't had a boyfriend (except the stalker) in years. There is the predictable confusion about whether she's really into all the kinky stuff she writes about, and she suffers some slut-shaming at the hands of more narrow-minded characters, but it would have been a more interesting conflict if Molly really were the "slut" she fears being labeled: perhaps a dominatrix, a reformed stripper or sex worker, or even just a girl who everyone knows got around back in the day (like Jane from Lead Me On).

A word of caution (and I reveal what may be a spoiler because I think some readers may appreciate a trigger warning): The stalker ex does come back, and in doing so puts Molly in a situation that may be difficult to read, especially for those with a personal history of sexual and/or domestic abuse.(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Bookswithbenefits rated it 4 of 5 stars

Best line: "Thanks for reminding me that I'm nothing to you."

Worst Line: "Those years in the junior-high trombone section had paid off for him. Finger, slide. Finger, slide."

Synopsis:Holly and Ben have liked each other for over a decade. Ben is the muse for Molly's erotica-writing career, and Ben never stopped thinking about his best-friend's little sister--even after she spent years in the big city. When strange happenings and a potential stalker push Molly to return to her childhood home, she...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Shxrxn rated it 5 of 5 stars

If there was anything worse than being lovers in a very small town, it was being ex-lovers. The definition of messy.
- Ben
I think you're cute. And I am single. But it's a small town, you know? Too complicated.
- Ben
It's not complicated. I promise you I'm a simple girl.
- Molly
I'm just Molly Jennings, all grown up. And hopefully charming as hell.
- Molly
I like my men as smooth and perfumed as a harem girl!
I wanted you even when I shouldn't have.
- Ben
It wouldn't matter if I did hate this. I couldn't s...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Janusz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Successful career woman returns to her home town and immediately hooks up with her dream guy — the childhood friend who's been fueling her erotic fantasies and thus providing material for her best-selling erotic novels.

Delightful chick-lit erotica with some nice twists. The idea of an erotic novel within an erotic novel was fun, but I wonder if real authors of erotica go to such lengths to hide their profession from friends and family.

Molly Jenkins, the author, and Ben Lawson, the town's chief o...more

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May 13, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Talk Me Down was a short, suspense-filled read, including stalkers, steamy romance, and a past that will come reveling back into Molly's(the main character's) life.

Before pointing out the negatives of this book, I'll expose the positives. I loved how Dahl wrote from both perspectives throughout the whole story, as in from the eyes of Molly AND Ben(the love interest). I enjoyed seeing and feeling the emotions both had towards each other, and it was definitely an added bonus when I found out Dahl...more

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New Anthology Features Brand New Stories By Lori Foster, Susan Donovan and Victorial Dahl	1	21	Feb 15, 2011 08:55am

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About Victoria Dahl

I have my mother to thank for my passion for writing. My mom is an avid reader of popular fiction, and I began reading highly inappropriate books around the age of eleven, I think. (Thanks, Mom, for always leaving those delicious books strewn about!)

To Tempt a Scotsman, a Golden Heart winning historical, was my first published book. Here I am signing the cover! A Rake's Guide to Pleasure (which w...more

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Quotes from Talk Me Down

“Lori sat way back in her chair and gave him the once-over. "What in the world's gotten into Ben Lawson? jokes? Flirting? Maybe I should sleep with Molly. I think she's got a magic hooha.” — 19 people liked it

“I wouldn't yell 'fire' at that slimeball if his ass was in flames.” — 18 people liked it

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Talk Me Down (Tumble Creek #1)

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