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Hot and Bothered
When Savannah, Georgia P.I. Charlotte deShawn is hired by wealthy hotel owner Griff Parish to find the missing heir to his family fortune, she tries to deny her attraction to this gorgeous man who travels in a completely different social circle than her and her friends.
263 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Dianne Castell
29 books44 followersDianne's love for the romance genre began when her daughter tossed her a dog eared, clinch cover Harlequin. She said it was "great," then confessed it had been passed around the eighth grade class as a "supplement" to their sex ed class. Some supplement! But Dianne was instantly hooked on Harlequins, and it wasn't long before she started writing stories of her own.. She lives with her husband and four kids in Milford, Ohio and write humorous, sexy stories set in small-town USA because there's nothing more fun than falling in love. Dianne writes mysteries as Duffy Brown.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 27, 2011
Hot and Bothered is the first in a series of books that takes place in Savannah, Georgia. Four women who have been close friends since childhood are all somehow connected to the disappearance of the heir to a wealthy hotel owner. Griff, the wealthy hotel owner, hires Charlotte to find the missing heir. Charlotte is a private PI and with the help of her girlfriends begins to unravel more than just the missing heir. Charlotte finds herself in danger on more than one occasion and it is not just a coincidence. To complicate matters Griff and Charlotte have long since desired one another but never acted on that desire. Although now that Griff and Charlotte are spending more time together, it's getting increasingly harder to do.
Right away, Ms. Castell immerses the reader with “Southern Charm”. It feels like the town of Savannah was created as its own character in the book. The customs and traditions of the people really come out in the writing. The characters' pasts are all intertwined and somehow connected to the mystery that Charlotte is trying to uncover.
I felt that the romance was the weaker part of the story because Charlotte and Griff have to share the spotlight with Charlotte's friends. And those friends are also involved in romantic entanglements. Therefore much of the romance between Griff and Charlotte felt secondary. However, I did enjoy Griff and Charlotte's interactions with each other. They are both fairly straight forward with their emotions - although I can't understand why they waited so long to act on their feelings for each other. It almost seemed like their relationship progressed too quickly over the course of the story to be believable especially in light of them not acting on their crushed for such a long time.
There is a continuing story arc that isn't quite resolved by the end of Hot and Bothered that will be carried into the next book in the series which is Hot and Irresistible. I have in the TBR and I'll probably get to it eventually.
Right away, Ms. Castell immerses the reader with “Southern Charm”. It feels like the town of Savannah was created as its own character in the book. The customs and traditions of the people really come out in the writing. The characters' pasts are all intertwined and somehow connected to the mystery that Charlotte is trying to uncover.
I felt that the romance was the weaker part of the story because Charlotte and Griff have to share the spotlight with Charlotte's friends. And those friends are also involved in romantic entanglements. Therefore much of the romance between Griff and Charlotte felt secondary. However, I did enjoy Griff and Charlotte's interactions with each other. They are both fairly straight forward with their emotions - although I can't understand why they waited so long to act on their feelings for each other. It almost seemed like their relationship progressed too quickly over the course of the story to be believable especially in light of them not acting on their crushed for such a long time.
There is a continuing story arc that isn't quite resolved by the end of Hot and Bothered that will be carried into the next book in the series which is Hot and Irresistible. I have in the TBR and I'll probably get to it eventually.
August 11, 2019
I was looking forward to reading this. Sorry, I could not recommend. The plot wasn't engaging enough.
July 23, 2012
This is one of those books where the oodles of charm can be at odds with the quality of the material and in order to rate it you have to decide which wins out. Lets first tackle what I had trouble with.
Typically I can easily overlook dialect in a book but right off the bat I was confused, annoyed and also a bit charmed by the Southern slang/phrases/names and some dialogue. The characters use the word "least" as in, "I'm all yours. Least tonight" or "Least I remember how to kiss" so often that I stopped reading at one point to google 'least' vs 'atleast' since it was so distracting. I got over it eventually and shrugged it off as a Southern thing.
Then names like LulaJean, Prissy, Minerva and Bebe which could be widely used in the South for all I know started to bother me. Other character names like Charlotte, Camilla, RL and Griff were just as "Southern" but without being distracting. At some point however Prissy (short for Priscilla) grew on me (how embarrassing!) but others felt contrived (like Minerva who is a Voodoo/Vodou mambo).
Speaking of contrived, this story has a paranormal aspect to it that I felt kind of came out of left field. Maybe I missed the ques but I didn't expect it. That could be because often one paragraph to the next there was suddenly a major shift in the action. More than once I had to back track and reread because I was sure I had missed several important paragraphs in between.
The setting is smack dab in the heart of Savannah and for someone who has visited or lived there I'm sure the familiarity of the locales is a treat. For me, having only recently wanted to visit but never having been, I thought it was overdone. I didn't mind the few mentions of what tourists seek out (like the Paula Deen stuff) or the mentions of local hangouts but there were so many mentions just for the heck of it that they become distracting.
Another distraction was that several times a character is talked about as if we've already met them. The 'who they are' isn't explained until several sentences, paragraphs or even pages later. More than once I flipped back several pages to try to figure out who and why she was talking about this new person. Then once I realized this was a pattern I stopped looking back to save time, but not confusion.
The H/h attraction is years and years and years in the making and it was a bit unrealistic that all of a sudden they decide they are going to try to be together. The actual getting together takes mere days and then it's on and off and on and off and... That's not generally something I would complain about as it adds tension but it was a distraction too.
There are several unanswered questions like what are Vincent and Anthony up to? Where is the necklace? Why do 3 of the 4 ladies get a love story but only 2 of the 4 get a HEA?
There's just a lot (a lot) going on in this book and I think that's what gave me the most trouble. I had the whole story figured out by page 33 but everything still took a long, convoluted time to come together.
Also, apparently there is a class war that is still prevalent in Savannah and while the book makes several mentions it doesn't really explain it. Had I not read the back jacket I probably wouldn't have even noticed. I'd recommend not reading the jacket. It's misleading. I don't need an explanation of what a class war is but since it played a part in the story, maybe a little background with specifics would have helped. Perhaps it's a Southern thing? Not class wars...the whole 'explaining things' idea. I kid. I have nothing against Southerners (though Yanks get no love in this book) and notwithstanding my complaints I did actually find the book as a whole to be a good read...and charming.
The love scenes were nicely done. Some were steamy, some were hot, some were brazen and some coy. I ended up liking every character, even ones you were meant to dislike. I did like the Southern aspect like calling your Dad, Daddy and the attitude on cursing and some of the little phrases like 'good gravy.' So I liked the Southern charm even when I didn't like it. It made me what to visit Savannah even more. Though this isn't a series it looks as if two books by Castell are in the same vein as this one; one is even about the 4th girl I mentioned above who doesn't get a love story in this book. While I'm mildly interested in her story (Bebe's) I am not eager to read more. I will read Castell again if her books pop up at my library but I won't immediately seek them out. I know where to go when I'm in the mood for a little Southern hospitality though.
Typically I can easily overlook dialect in a book but right off the bat I was confused, annoyed and also a bit charmed by the Southern slang/phrases/names and some dialogue. The characters use the word "least" as in, "I'm all yours. Least tonight" or "Least I remember how to kiss" so often that I stopped reading at one point to google 'least' vs 'atleast' since it was so distracting. I got over it eventually and shrugged it off as a Southern thing.
Then names like LulaJean, Prissy, Minerva and Bebe which could be widely used in the South for all I know started to bother me. Other character names like Charlotte, Camilla, RL and Griff were just as "Southern" but without being distracting. At some point however Prissy (short for Priscilla) grew on me (how embarrassing!) but others felt contrived (like Minerva who is a Voodoo/Vodou mambo).
Speaking of contrived, this story has a paranormal aspect to it that I felt kind of came out of left field. Maybe I missed the ques but I didn't expect it. That could be because often one paragraph to the next there was suddenly a major shift in the action. More than once I had to back track and reread because I was sure I had missed several important paragraphs in between.
The setting is smack dab in the heart of Savannah and for someone who has visited or lived there I'm sure the familiarity of the locales is a treat. For me, having only recently wanted to visit but never having been, I thought it was overdone. I didn't mind the few mentions of what tourists seek out (like the Paula Deen stuff) or the mentions of local hangouts but there were so many mentions just for the heck of it that they become distracting.
Another distraction was that several times a character is talked about as if we've already met them. The 'who they are' isn't explained until several sentences, paragraphs or even pages later. More than once I flipped back several pages to try to figure out who and why she was talking about this new person. Then once I realized this was a pattern I stopped looking back to save time, but not confusion.
The H/h attraction is years and years and years in the making and it was a bit unrealistic that all of a sudden they decide they are going to try to be together. The actual getting together takes mere days and then it's on and off and on and off and... That's not generally something I would complain about as it adds tension but it was a distraction too.
There are several unanswered questions like what are Vincent and Anthony up to? Where is the necklace? Why do 3 of the 4 ladies get a love story but only 2 of the 4 get a HEA?
There's just a lot (a lot) going on in this book and I think that's what gave me the most trouble. I had the whole story figured out by page 33 but everything still took a long, convoluted time to come together.
Also, apparently there is a class war that is still prevalent in Savannah and while the book makes several mentions it doesn't really explain it. Had I not read the back jacket I probably wouldn't have even noticed. I'd recommend not reading the jacket. It's misleading. I don't need an explanation of what a class war is but since it played a part in the story, maybe a little background with specifics would have helped. Perhaps it's a Southern thing? Not class wars...the whole 'explaining things' idea. I kid. I have nothing against Southerners (though Yanks get no love in this book) and notwithstanding my complaints I did actually find the book as a whole to be a good read...and charming.
The love scenes were nicely done. Some were steamy, some were hot, some were brazen and some coy. I ended up liking every character, even ones you were meant to dislike. I did like the Southern aspect like calling your Dad, Daddy and the attitude on cursing and some of the little phrases like 'good gravy.' So I liked the Southern charm even when I didn't like it. It made me what to visit Savannah even more. Though this isn't a series it looks as if two books by Castell are in the same vein as this one; one is even about the 4th girl I mentioned above who doesn't get a love story in this book. While I'm mildly interested in her story (Bebe's) I am not eager to read more. I will read Castell again if her books pop up at my library but I won't immediately seek them out. I know where to go when I'm in the mood for a little Southern hospitality though.
May 21, 2021
When wealthy Savannah, Georgia hotelier Griff Parish comes to Charlotte DeShawn's private investigator's office asking her to find the missing daughter of one of the hotel's founders, Charlotte is stunned. They run in wildly different circles and have always flirted with each other but otherwise had no dealings together. But curious about Jaden's fate and needing the money, Charlotte agrees to take the case. Together with the other "orphans" Bebe, BrieAnna, and Prissy, they embark on a labyrinthine trail to the truth. The haphazard path leads from the high echelons of society to an unusual and sudden adoption, then to the seedier side containing ties to the mob, and finally the spiritual beyond with seances and ghosts culminating in a surprise ending.
In a word this book was "FUN". I do not remember laughing so much over a book in a while. The characters were so engaging, human, and thoroughly unique that I could picture them easily and vividly. I loved the multiple stories within a story aspect and will look for the other books in the series to find out the endings to the other characters' plotlines. The depiction of Savannah felt spot-on to me, did not shy away from both the highlights and oddities of the city or its wild and crazy history while still making it feel homey and a nice place to live. I would definitely recommend this book as a great escape read!
This book broke all the 'conventions' of what I have come to expect in most spicy novels. It had a well-developed storyline that wove multiple people's stories into the plot seamlessly. It contained a mystery and romance deftly intertwined using humor, sass, and only a little, albeit hot, sex. It took place in contemporary times in the SOUTH (first ever erotic romance novel I have read that took place in the more recent south) and used landmarks and streets that I have visited personally.
In a word this book was "FUN". I do not remember laughing so much over a book in a while. The characters were so engaging, human, and thoroughly unique that I could picture them easily and vividly. I loved the multiple stories within a story aspect and will look for the other books in the series to find out the endings to the other characters' plotlines. The depiction of Savannah felt spot-on to me, did not shy away from both the highlights and oddities of the city or its wild and crazy history while still making it feel homey and a nice place to live. I would definitely recommend this book as a great escape read!
This book broke all the 'conventions' of what I have come to expect in most spicy novels. It had a well-developed storyline that wove multiple people's stories into the plot seamlessly. It contained a mystery and romance deftly intertwined using humor, sass, and only a little, albeit hot, sex. It took place in contemporary times in the SOUTH (first ever erotic romance novel I have read that took place in the more recent south) and used landmarks and streets that I have visited personally.
July 20, 2013
Someone else used the word choppy and that's perfect. It didn't flow at all. Several times, I read something and thought about how unrealistic it was. I had to reread many conversations because I couldn't figure out how it progressed the way it did. There were a couple weird mistakes like, "he stared at her pink blouse thinking how sexy should looked it in." Then it would say she took off her white sweater.
June 7, 2009
Dianne Castell is one of my favorite writers, but she just does not write fast enough. lol
This takes place in Savannah with four female friends meeting four men. Lots of suspense, ghosts, and some good ole fashioned lovin'. I highly recommend Hot and Bothered.
This takes place in Savannah with four female friends meeting four men. Lots of suspense, ghosts, and some good ole fashioned lovin'. I highly recommend Hot and Bothered.
May 12, 2014
A great read -- lots of romance & mystery, but there are loose ends (including a missing necklace) that make me think another book may be coming!
July 14, 2008
Good plotline and leaves the reader wanting more. I like the four orphaned girls' connection. Can't wait for the sequel.
April 18, 2011
This book definitely lives up to it's title. An entertaining story, and if you're a fan of Castell you won't be disappointed.
January 21, 2010
I really like this story of friendship and romance...
April 22, 2010
Would not really recommend this book. It was wayyyyy too choppy. The dialog was not well written. I think the author had a good idea with a story line but didn't know how to put it across on paper.
June 10, 2013
Great book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews