4 ½ stars – Contemporary Romance

The only thing I knew about the author prior to reading this is that she has a story featured in the Real Men Last All Night erotica anthology, so I thought I’d give this one a try. I’m glad I did because it’s a funny, sexy, and smokin’ hot contemporary romance with a reunited lovers theme. It’s actually the second book in her Chicks with Sticks series, but I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything by not having read the first book Tangled Up In Love.

The series centers on the romantic entanglements of three best friends, Jenna, Ronnie, and Grace, who belong to a weekly knitting group. The gal pals get together to knit and gossip, although they glutton themselves on margaritas and Mexican food and lament on their latest man troubles a lot more than actually knitting anything. There are some knitting references and quips, but I know absolutely zilch about knitting and still enjoyed it just fine.

Loves Me, Loves Me Knot focuses on teacher Jenna, who’s still reeling and recovering emotionally from her divorce. After suffering lots of bad dates and her persistent ticking biological clock, Jenna decides that she wants to have a child on her own, but the only man she wants for the job of sperm donor is her ex-husband Gage. Jenna and Gage had a happy marriage, but things ended with a painful divorce when he changed his mind about having kids. Jenna knows Gage doesn’t want babies, but surely that doesn’t mean he can’t contribute his swimmers for her cause, right? After one too many margaritas, Jenna’s friends help her concoct a crazy scheme to get Gage back into her bed...tied up with one of her hand-knitted boas no less.

The stress and emotional strain of Gage’s career as an undercover vice cop resulted in his altered view on kids that led to their dissolved marriage, and if Jenna thinks he’ll be okay with providing stud service now that they’re divorced; she’s got another thing coming. But once passion reignites between them, all bets are off and things really get complicated. They have no squabbles or quibbles in the bedroom, but can they work out their problems outside of the bed?

I really enjoyed this one. It’s full of funny, sexy dialogue, humor, emotion, and heartwarming moments with Jenna and her friends and between her and Gage, and the romance is verrry steamy. Betts writes some fun, smokin’ hot, erotic sex scenes.

I got really caught up in Jenna and Gage’s story because it’s obvious that love, passion, respect, and friendship were never their problem, just the course that life sometimes takes when married couples reach a fundamental impasse. Their struggles are realistic and heartfelt, and I found myself rooting strongly for their HEA.

There are some really hilarious moments around Jenna’s friend Grace, who’s a woman scorned, going all Angela Bassett ala Waiting to Exhale. Grace’s story is up next in the third Chicks with Sticks book Knock Me for a Loop, which comes out in Feb’2010, and you can bet I’ll be picking that one up. So, if you like contemporary romance with a reunited lovers theme that’s got a lot of fun, humor, and emotion and is on the steamy side, then this might be a good read for you! 4 ½ stars!