Book Review: Hot in Here

Hot in Here

Lori Foster

Three smoldering classics from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster

UNCOVERED

Firefighter Harris Black is startled to stumble across nude photos of a woman…and handwritten notes about him. Who is this mystery woman? Harris hires a P.I. to trace her, never suspecting he’s already found her….

TAILSPIN

Lumberyard owner Buck Boswell prides himself on his way with women—but his prickly neighbor, Sadie Harte, seems immune to his charms. Is she really as aloof as she acts, or can Buck convince her to take a chance on the guy next door?

AN HONORABLE MAN 

Lieutenant colonel Hamilton Wulf’s career ambitions cost him the one woman he ever wanted—Liv Avery. Now he’s determined to win back her love…even if it means risking his life.

This was the second of the two books I picked up randomly as an exploration into hetero romance… and it was interesting.  (For reference, the first was Taming a Wild Scot by Rowan Keats.)  Hot in Here consists of three novellas that have been previously published.  Each feature a man comfortable with being single who falls for an innocent/virginal woman.  He has to convince her that his love for her is true and not just the stirrings of a one night stand.

Hot in Here was enjoyable, however, reading the three novellas bound as one volume, the formula becomes quite obvious.  The three stories had very similar male leads, though the female leads were slightly different, with very similar love plots, and identical endings.  This is a book for readers who like to know what they’re going to get; there are no real surprises here once you know Foster’s story structure.

All that being said, Foster is able to write in enough differences to make the three stories different enough that they feel unique on the surface.  I realize that Hot in Here is published by Harlequin, which I believe has tight control over the story lines and formulas they publish — so it may be more of the publishers will rather than Fosters that dictates the formulaic plot of these three novellas.  If that is the case, then it is to Foster’s credit that each novella read as a distinct work.

And, well, despite my criticisms of the formulaic plot, I did enjoy reading Hot in Here.  :)