What do you think?
Rate this book
Bowling Friends #2
Bad Boys Over Easy
Bad boys are on the menu is this delightfully decadent trio of stories that includes Erin McCarthy's Fuzzy Logic, in which shopaholic Ashley Andrews discovers a new side to her scientist neighbor when her package containing romance-enhancing products is accidentally delivered to him. Original. 50,000 first printing.
249 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2005
5 people are currently reading
527 people want to read
About the author
Erin McCarthy
216 books4,825 followersUSA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over a hundred novels and novellas in teen fiction, new adult, and adult romance. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, beaches and martinis. She lives in Ohio with her family, two grumpy cats and a socially awkward dog.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 30, 2013
Reviewed for THC Reviews
Fuzzy Logic by Erin McCarthy – Fuzzy Logic was another cute, sexy, romantic short story from Erin McCarthy. Ms. McCarthy's full-length novels have been hit and miss with me, but her novellas almost never fail to satisfy. Lucas was another of her adorable, geeky, beta heroes. It was so sweet that he'd been in love with Ashley since they were kids but hadn't pursued her because he was afraid of loosing their friendship and because Ashley had never showed any interest in him as anything more than her little brother's best friend. I love how he's so curious, wanting to know how everything works. His scientific mind could go into overdrive, but when it came to exploring Ashley's “romance enhancers” and her body, his analytic nature came in handy by helping him learn how to pleasure her. Lucas was definitely the kind of hero who could get my motor humming.;-)
Ashley is a fun, outgoing shopaholic. She decided to become a Pleasure Party consultant to pay off her mounting credit card debt. Everyone seems to think of Ashley as a dumb blonde until she has decided that she's not all that smart either. No one but Lucas seems to realize that she has a lot to offer, and I appreciated him being insightful as well as her vulnerability in that area. I will admit that Ashely fell for Lucas a little to quickly to be totally believable, but I was willing to buy into it because I could see how she might have been harboring a subconscious attraction for him all along. The fact that she wasn't the type to sleep around and he was able to turn her on so easily might suggest that. I guess the super-fast marriage proposal pushed the bounds of credibility too, but again, I was willing to give them a pass, because they had know each other for so long. I also enjoyed that Ashley was a few years older than Lucas. Overall, I thought that these two were a good fit and that they made a really cute couple.
Fuzzy Logic is the second novella in Erin McCarthy's Bowling Friends series. Kindra (Hard Drive from Bad Boys Online) and Ashley's other two best friends, Violet and Trish attended Ashley's Pleasure Party. Violet is a bit of a geek herself, so I'm really looking forward to reading her story, The Lady of the Lake, which is the next in the series. Overall, Fuzzy Logic was a sweet, fun and very steamy read that I really enjoyed. Star Rating: ****1/2
The Cupid Curse by Jen Nicholas – The Cupid Curse was a cute romance novella about a young woman who has been unlucky in love, so she asks Cupid for help with finding Mr. Right. Unfortunately, the Cupid she gets accidentally shoots himself with his own arrow, leading to an awkward situation but eventual love. Gideon was adorable. He's trying so hard to pass his Cupid exams to become a full-fledged Cupid. He's very eager to take on Val's case, but feels terrible when he botches it up. He then spends the rest of the story trying to convince Val that he loves her and that they would make a great couple. It was very sweet that he was a 132 year old virgin, but with great sensual instincts. Valentine was a nice heroine with strong family ties. She feels the clock ticking away and desperately wants to have a man in her life and to get married.
Valentine and Gideon are a cute couple but they spent a large part of the novella feeling very uncomfortable with each other. They are both quite attracted to one another, but Val goes back and forth between that attraction and being angry with Gideon for messing up her chance with Mr. Right. Of course, Gideon feel terribly guilty about that. By the end, they give into that attraction, and their one love scene was pretty sensuous. Still, I can't quite say that I truly felt the love connection between them, and it seems to me that if Cupid's magic was working on both of them, they should have been unmistakably and passionately in love. The story was a bit narrative heavy too. If it had been any longer than it was, it probably would have gotten bogged down. In spite of my criticisms though, I still have to give the author some extra points for originality and creativity. The Cupid Curse was certainly not like any other romances I've read before which made it pretty entertaining. This was my first read by Jen Nicholas, and although it appears she only has two other published works, I would be open to trying them sometime. Star Rating: ****
Mesmerized by Jordan Summers - Mesmerized was my least favorite of the three novellas in this anthology. This was mainly because I had a hard time buying into the premise and the idea of the hero and heroine falling in love so quickly. However, I also have to admit that I wasn't overly enamored with the main characters themselves. Amanda was a very experienced hypnotist who had put people in trances for her show many times before, so it just seemed odd to me that she wouldn't start to suspect something when she wasn't able to “wake” Derek after several days. Even her assistant suspected he was faking right after the show. I also wasn't thrilled with her making love to Derek when she thought he was still in a trance. Of course, he wasn't, but she didn't know that which from her perspective should have made it a non-consensual act. She at least had the decency to feel badly about it, but I would have preferred that she simply take the high road and not do it at all until she knew he was fully conscious. Derek wasn't much better, because he had attended Amanda's show and agreed to be put in a trance under false pretenses. Then he pretended that he wasn't coming out of the trance just to get her to take him home, so he could get the scoop on her for his magazine story. In the end, he realizes that Amanda means more to him than the story, but his deceptions had already put a bad taste in my mouth.
As a couple, I just didn't feel the love connection between Amanda and Derek. They both had the hots for one another right from the minute they see each other, and they shared a couple of pretty steamy love scenes, but without those loving emotions, it was little more than a casual fling to me. They seemed to fall in love just because they had great sex which is something I simply couldn't buy. It was also hard to believe that Amanda would forgive Derek so easily after finding out that he was only pretending to get his story, especially after her father's life had been ruined by a reporter. Mesmerized wasn't a terrible story, but it was just OK. This was my first read by Jordan Summers, and I can say that the actual writing is fairly strong and quite readable. I just felt like there were some big holes in the plotting and characterizations. If those weaknesses had been shored up or the narrative had been a little longer to flesh out those details, I thought it could have been a very good novella. Star Rating: ***
Fuzzy Logic by Erin McCarthy – Fuzzy Logic was another cute, sexy, romantic short story from Erin McCarthy. Ms. McCarthy's full-length novels have been hit and miss with me, but her novellas almost never fail to satisfy. Lucas was another of her adorable, geeky, beta heroes. It was so sweet that he'd been in love with Ashley since they were kids but hadn't pursued her because he was afraid of loosing their friendship and because Ashley had never showed any interest in him as anything more than her little brother's best friend. I love how he's so curious, wanting to know how everything works. His scientific mind could go into overdrive, but when it came to exploring Ashley's “romance enhancers” and her body, his analytic nature came in handy by helping him learn how to pleasure her. Lucas was definitely the kind of hero who could get my motor humming.;-)
Ashley is a fun, outgoing shopaholic. She decided to become a Pleasure Party consultant to pay off her mounting credit card debt. Everyone seems to think of Ashley as a dumb blonde until she has decided that she's not all that smart either. No one but Lucas seems to realize that she has a lot to offer, and I appreciated him being insightful as well as her vulnerability in that area. I will admit that Ashely fell for Lucas a little to quickly to be totally believable, but I was willing to buy into it because I could see how she might have been harboring a subconscious attraction for him all along. The fact that she wasn't the type to sleep around and he was able to turn her on so easily might suggest that. I guess the super-fast marriage proposal pushed the bounds of credibility too, but again, I was willing to give them a pass, because they had know each other for so long. I also enjoyed that Ashley was a few years older than Lucas. Overall, I thought that these two were a good fit and that they made a really cute couple.
Fuzzy Logic is the second novella in Erin McCarthy's Bowling Friends series. Kindra (Hard Drive from Bad Boys Online) and Ashley's other two best friends, Violet and Trish attended Ashley's Pleasure Party. Violet is a bit of a geek herself, so I'm really looking forward to reading her story, The Lady of the Lake, which is the next in the series. Overall, Fuzzy Logic was a sweet, fun and very steamy read that I really enjoyed. Star Rating: ****1/2
The Cupid Curse by Jen Nicholas – The Cupid Curse was a cute romance novella about a young woman who has been unlucky in love, so she asks Cupid for help with finding Mr. Right. Unfortunately, the Cupid she gets accidentally shoots himself with his own arrow, leading to an awkward situation but eventual love. Gideon was adorable. He's trying so hard to pass his Cupid exams to become a full-fledged Cupid. He's very eager to take on Val's case, but feels terrible when he botches it up. He then spends the rest of the story trying to convince Val that he loves her and that they would make a great couple. It was very sweet that he was a 132 year old virgin, but with great sensual instincts. Valentine was a nice heroine with strong family ties. She feels the clock ticking away and desperately wants to have a man in her life and to get married.
Valentine and Gideon are a cute couple but they spent a large part of the novella feeling very uncomfortable with each other. They are both quite attracted to one another, but Val goes back and forth between that attraction and being angry with Gideon for messing up her chance with Mr. Right. Of course, Gideon feel terribly guilty about that. By the end, they give into that attraction, and their one love scene was pretty sensuous. Still, I can't quite say that I truly felt the love connection between them, and it seems to me that if Cupid's magic was working on both of them, they should have been unmistakably and passionately in love. The story was a bit narrative heavy too. If it had been any longer than it was, it probably would have gotten bogged down. In spite of my criticisms though, I still have to give the author some extra points for originality and creativity. The Cupid Curse was certainly not like any other romances I've read before which made it pretty entertaining. This was my first read by Jen Nicholas, and although it appears she only has two other published works, I would be open to trying them sometime. Star Rating: ****
Mesmerized by Jordan Summers - Mesmerized was my least favorite of the three novellas in this anthology. This was mainly because I had a hard time buying into the premise and the idea of the hero and heroine falling in love so quickly. However, I also have to admit that I wasn't overly enamored with the main characters themselves. Amanda was a very experienced hypnotist who had put people in trances for her show many times before, so it just seemed odd to me that she wouldn't start to suspect something when she wasn't able to “wake” Derek after several days. Even her assistant suspected he was faking right after the show. I also wasn't thrilled with her making love to Derek when she thought he was still in a trance. Of course, he wasn't, but she didn't know that which from her perspective should have made it a non-consensual act. She at least had the decency to feel badly about it, but I would have preferred that she simply take the high road and not do it at all until she knew he was fully conscious. Derek wasn't much better, because he had attended Amanda's show and agreed to be put in a trance under false pretenses. Then he pretended that he wasn't coming out of the trance just to get her to take him home, so he could get the scoop on her for his magazine story. In the end, he realizes that Amanda means more to him than the story, but his deceptions had already put a bad taste in my mouth.
As a couple, I just didn't feel the love connection between Amanda and Derek. They both had the hots for one another right from the minute they see each other, and they shared a couple of pretty steamy love scenes, but without those loving emotions, it was little more than a casual fling to me. They seemed to fall in love just because they had great sex which is something I simply couldn't buy. It was also hard to believe that Amanda would forgive Derek so easily after finding out that he was only pretending to get his story, especially after her father's life had been ruined by a reporter. Mesmerized wasn't a terrible story, but it was just OK. This was my first read by Jordan Summers, and I can say that the actual writing is fairly strong and quite readable. I just felt like there were some big holes in the plotting and characterizations. If those weaknesses had been shored up or the narrative had been a little longer to flesh out those details, I thought it could have been a very good novella. Star Rating: ***
April 3, 2019
Fuzzy Logic - Erin McCarthy - 2.5 / 5 - Ashley Andrews has started selling sex toys through Pleasure Parties to make some money. When her downstairs neighbor, landlord and her genius baby brother’s equally genius best friend, Lucas, mistakenly receives a box of pink dildoes he goes upstairs to investigate. He’s been in love with Ashley since he was a teenager but she’s never seen him as anything but her brother’s pesky friend. But surrounded by all these sex toys and face to face with sexy Ashley, he throws caution to the wind and decides to test some of them out on her. When she seems to return his interest he goes all out seduction. Ashley is conflicted about wanting Lucas, but she thinks she might be able to return his feelings.
So this is a kinda cute little romp through a friends-to-lovers experience...nothing angsty or anything and it’s pretty sweet. I liked that the hero fell first (I always do for some reason). I also think I like that the majority of the sex did not involve experiments with all the different sex toys and stayed only between them. The relationship itself is on super fast-forward with Lucas (rather awkwardly) kissing and touching her before he’s even judged that she’s interested (or asking her permission). Then, he admits his love before they even orgasm and Ashley, who has never felt anything for Lucas before, decides she loves him too. Then he’s proposing and she’s accepting, which is a bit ridiculous since it’s not like they were really friends or anything. They hardly know each other. But that’s kind of the typical novella experience.
Call me crazy, but what actually bugged me about this story was how Ashley got treated because she wasn’t “intelligent.” She calls herself brainless. Lucas responds by telling her she’s not brainless. Then goes on to say she’s fun, exciting, beautiful and interesting. Umm...nothing there ramp up her confidence in her intelligence there. He says she’s not brainless, not that she’s not stupid. And aside from interesting, these aren’t exactly traits that require much depth or hard work, but even that’s up for debate. They’re actually pretty superficial compliments, especially from the guy who loves her. Even worse, after her brother is taken to task for always ribbing her for her intelligence, he defends himself by saying that he’s proud of her because she’s gorgeous and classy. How is this complimentary when you’re trying to convince a person that she is more than just a pretty face? He compliments her for being popular, but better would have been to say she’s great at connecting with people...because then at least it’s about HER instead of other people liking her (for whatever reason...her beauty perhaps?) And for that matter, exactly why did Lucas supposedly love Ashley so much? Other than her sexiness, what did he see in her? I got the impression that even the author couldn’t find any worthwhile achievements or character traits in Ashley…other than beauty, sexiness and being fun.
The Cupid Curse - Jen Nicholas - 3 /5 - Val Lewis has been a “man-hater” for too long and is ready to have a man of her own. So she makes a heartfelt plea to Cupid for her true love. Gideon is a cupid, a race of immortal beings led by Eros who help mortals find their true love...actually he’s a winger, a cupid in training. But he begs for the chance to help Val and he gets it....except he blows it when he shoots himself in the ass with the arrow. Now he and Val are true loves, but Val isn’t ready to forgive Gideon for messing up her chance at love with her soul mate. But a little time together and Val realizes that Gideon is actually the one.
I vacillated between finding this kind of cute and original and finding it silly. I couldn’t figure out if Val really believed and accepted the whole cupid thing when she wrote the letter or if she was just funning. Her reaction when Gideon shows up would suggest she didn’t really believe it. So I couldn’t figure out if the paranormal aspect of this was meant to be serious or tongue-in-cheek. It was definitely cute and unique though...but I couldn’t figure why Gideon was a virgin after 134 years when there was nothing to prevent it (and he knew he couldn’t get a girl pregnant without Eros’s prior approval, so mechanisms were in place for the likelihood). Still, I liked that he was. But he was something of an “expert” virgin and he didn’t even tell the heroine until a month later, nor did we get much of his side of the “first experience” so it was almost pointless to make it part of his character. In the end, most of the falling in love happened off page, and pretty quickly. And on top of that this was quite fluffy, without much angst or anything. So I liked it, but it didn’t have most of the characteristics of romance that I love, so it didn’t go further than like.
Mesmerized - Jordan Summers - 2/5 - Amanda is a hypnotist performer known as the Man Tamer of Manhattan, and also the ice queen, and she’s unhappy with the rut her life. Derek Armstrong is a journalist who wants to show New York that Amanda is a fraud and not an ice queen after all - so he pretends to fall into a trance during a show and not wake up from it. In her panic, Amanda takes her home with him to try and figure out how to “wake him.” While at her apartment for four days, Derek learns that Amanda isn’t who he thought, but he’s still focused on the headline. After Amanda and Derek end up having sex he realizes how much she means to him, but when he finds out what he was doing, she’s going to be pissed.
And she is. But honestly, after reading about all these characters, I have to think that everybody deserved everything they got (except maybe the HEA). Derek first and foremost is a swine who didn’t think of Amanda as a person, but even after getting to know her, continually thought about the headline he’d get from her. Then he has the gall to sleep with her, knowing what he’d intended to do all along...and knowing that she believes he’s in a trance and not there of his own free will, which means he’s been lying to her even more. Even when she finds out and he’s begging forgiveness, he points out that he never lied to her….she simply never asked if he was a reporter, so he never told her. But he did lie about being in a trance (which he conveniently forgets to mention). His pointing this out tells me he didn’t really grow or learn or own up to his mistakes. He’s still a swine. And Amanda totally brushes off what he did as soon as he says he loves her and never once focuses on the question of what kind of guy would manipulate his way into someone’s home so he could get a headline that might ruin her and never tell her? Not someone you want to have a romance with that’s for sure. But honestly, Amanda wasn’t much better. I was absolutely appalled that she had sex with a man that she honestly believed was in a trance and therefore not acting in his own best interest...or at least in a highly suggestible manner. That would be rape right there...and she barely feels any guilt over it (like one shower’s worth of guilt and that’s it). On top of that, what kind of hypnotist doesn’t realize he’s not in a trance? I’d think his behavior would have been a bit suspicious over 4 frickin days. Even Wendy, Amanda’s assistant, has some seriously questionable morals and definitely needs to be fired, especially since she later admits that SHE knew that Derek was faking (and the hypnotist didn’t?) and she still sent him home with Amanda. That’s some friend right there...lucky Derek wasn’t a rapist or murderer or someone seeking revenge against the Man Tamer of Manhattan. All of these people frustrated me. I will admit that this story had potential and a nice bit of angst, but it didn’t save it from the characters.
So this is a kinda cute little romp through a friends-to-lovers experience...nothing angsty or anything and it’s pretty sweet. I liked that the hero fell first (I always do for some reason). I also think I like that the majority of the sex did not involve experiments with all the different sex toys and stayed only between them. The relationship itself is on super fast-forward with Lucas (rather awkwardly) kissing and touching her before he’s even judged that she’s interested (or asking her permission). Then, he admits his love before they even orgasm and Ashley, who has never felt anything for Lucas before, decides she loves him too. Then he’s proposing and she’s accepting, which is a bit ridiculous since it’s not like they were really friends or anything. They hardly know each other. But that’s kind of the typical novella experience.
Call me crazy, but what actually bugged me about this story was how Ashley got treated because she wasn’t “intelligent.” She calls herself brainless. Lucas responds by telling her she’s not brainless. Then goes on to say she’s fun, exciting, beautiful and interesting. Umm...nothing there ramp up her confidence in her intelligence there. He says she’s not brainless, not that she’s not stupid. And aside from interesting, these aren’t exactly traits that require much depth or hard work, but even that’s up for debate. They’re actually pretty superficial compliments, especially from the guy who loves her. Even worse, after her brother is taken to task for always ribbing her for her intelligence, he defends himself by saying that he’s proud of her because she’s gorgeous and classy. How is this complimentary when you’re trying to convince a person that she is more than just a pretty face? He compliments her for being popular, but better would have been to say she’s great at connecting with people...because then at least it’s about HER instead of other people liking her (for whatever reason...her beauty perhaps?) And for that matter, exactly why did Lucas supposedly love Ashley so much? Other than her sexiness, what did he see in her? I got the impression that even the author couldn’t find any worthwhile achievements or character traits in Ashley…other than beauty, sexiness and being fun.
The Cupid Curse - Jen Nicholas - 3 /5 - Val Lewis has been a “man-hater” for too long and is ready to have a man of her own. So she makes a heartfelt plea to Cupid for her true love. Gideon is a cupid, a race of immortal beings led by Eros who help mortals find their true love...actually he’s a winger, a cupid in training. But he begs for the chance to help Val and he gets it....except he blows it when he shoots himself in the ass with the arrow. Now he and Val are true loves, but Val isn’t ready to forgive Gideon for messing up her chance at love with her soul mate. But a little time together and Val realizes that Gideon is actually the one.
I vacillated between finding this kind of cute and original and finding it silly. I couldn’t figure out if Val really believed and accepted the whole cupid thing when she wrote the letter or if she was just funning. Her reaction when Gideon shows up would suggest she didn’t really believe it. So I couldn’t figure out if the paranormal aspect of this was meant to be serious or tongue-in-cheek. It was definitely cute and unique though...but I couldn’t figure why Gideon was a virgin after 134 years when there was nothing to prevent it (and he knew he couldn’t get a girl pregnant without Eros’s prior approval, so mechanisms were in place for the likelihood). Still, I liked that he was. But he was something of an “expert” virgin and he didn’t even tell the heroine until a month later, nor did we get much of his side of the “first experience” so it was almost pointless to make it part of his character. In the end, most of the falling in love happened off page, and pretty quickly. And on top of that this was quite fluffy, without much angst or anything. So I liked it, but it didn’t have most of the characteristics of romance that I love, so it didn’t go further than like.
Mesmerized - Jordan Summers - 2/5 - Amanda is a hypnotist performer known as the Man Tamer of Manhattan, and also the ice queen, and she’s unhappy with the rut her life. Derek Armstrong is a journalist who wants to show New York that Amanda is a fraud and not an ice queen after all - so he pretends to fall into a trance during a show and not wake up from it. In her panic, Amanda takes her home with him to try and figure out how to “wake him.” While at her apartment for four days, Derek learns that Amanda isn’t who he thought, but he’s still focused on the headline. After Amanda and Derek end up having sex he realizes how much she means to him, but when he finds out what he was doing, she’s going to be pissed.
And she is. But honestly, after reading about all these characters, I have to think that everybody deserved everything they got (except maybe the HEA). Derek first and foremost is a swine who didn’t think of Amanda as a person, but even after getting to know her, continually thought about the headline he’d get from her. Then he has the gall to sleep with her, knowing what he’d intended to do all along...and knowing that she believes he’s in a trance and not there of his own free will, which means he’s been lying to her even more. Even when she finds out and he’s begging forgiveness, he points out that he never lied to her….she simply never asked if he was a reporter, so he never told her. But he did lie about being in a trance (which he conveniently forgets to mention). His pointing this out tells me he didn’t really grow or learn or own up to his mistakes. He’s still a swine. And Amanda totally brushes off what he did as soon as he says he loves her and never once focuses on the question of what kind of guy would manipulate his way into someone’s home so he could get a headline that might ruin her and never tell her? Not someone you want to have a romance with that’s for sure. But honestly, Amanda wasn’t much better. I was absolutely appalled that she had sex with a man that she honestly believed was in a trance and therefore not acting in his own best interest...or at least in a highly suggestible manner. That would be rape right there...and she barely feels any guilt over it (like one shower’s worth of guilt and that’s it). On top of that, what kind of hypnotist doesn’t realize he’s not in a trance? I’d think his behavior would have been a bit suspicious over 4 frickin days. Even Wendy, Amanda’s assistant, has some seriously questionable morals and definitely needs to be fired, especially since she later admits that SHE knew that Derek was faking (and the hypnotist didn’t?) and she still sent him home with Amanda. That’s some friend right there...lucky Derek wasn’t a rapist or murderer or someone seeking revenge against the Man Tamer of Manhattan. All of these people frustrated me. I will admit that this story had potential and a nice bit of angst, but it didn’t save it from the characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2018
Fuzzy Logic - Erin McCarthy
Lucas Manning, chemist and all-round geek with muscles, has always had a major crush on his best friend's older sister, Ashley Andrews. She's now renting the upstairs of his house, and when he receives a package that was actually meant for her, containing a dozen pink sparkly dildos, he knows it's time to see whether he can convince her to make their relationship something more.
This one was yum. A very short quick read, but just cute and fluffy. Wish I could have seen some more angst on the hero's behalf, he was cute.
The Cupid Curse - Jen Nicholas
Valentine Lewis, born on Valentine's Day, has been celibate for 2 years and all her relationships so far have failed drastically. She decides to write a letter to Cupid for help, and after pleading Eros, Gideon is put on her case. But things go terribly wrong when he tries to shoot an arrow at Valentine's match and ends up shooting himself in the butt instead.
Gosh, this guy is a virgin, ahhh, I so wish this could have been dragged out longer! Somewhat underwhelming because of that.
Mesmerized - Jordan Summers
Amanda Dillon, hypnotist, labelled "man tamer of Manhattan", has refused to do any interviews for the media, after her father's reputation was tragically ruined by newspapers many years ago. Derek Armstrong, ambitious journalist, is dying to get her exclusive story written, and will go through any lengths to get it. Including pretending to be stuck in hypnosis and living at Amanda's place.
Okay ugh this story rubbed me wrong, with all the lying, and barely any time to set things right. Nope. The H is a total asshole. Oh, you've changed, in a total of 4 days? Yeah right, lol.
Lucas Manning, chemist and all-round geek with muscles, has always had a major crush on his best friend's older sister, Ashley Andrews. She's now renting the upstairs of his house, and when he receives a package that was actually meant for her, containing a dozen pink sparkly dildos, he knows it's time to see whether he can convince her to make their relationship something more.
This one was yum. A very short quick read, but just cute and fluffy. Wish I could have seen some more angst on the hero's behalf, he was cute.
The Cupid Curse - Jen Nicholas
Valentine Lewis, born on Valentine's Day, has been celibate for 2 years and all her relationships so far have failed drastically. She decides to write a letter to Cupid for help, and after pleading Eros, Gideon is put on her case. But things go terribly wrong when he tries to shoot an arrow at Valentine's match and ends up shooting himself in the butt instead.
Gosh, this guy is a virgin, ahhh, I so wish this could have been dragged out longer! Somewhat underwhelming because of that.
Mesmerized - Jordan Summers
Amanda Dillon, hypnotist, labelled "man tamer of Manhattan", has refused to do any interviews for the media, after her father's reputation was tragically ruined by newspapers many years ago. Derek Armstrong, ambitious journalist, is dying to get her exclusive story written, and will go through any lengths to get it. Including pretending to be stuck in hypnosis and living at Amanda's place.
Okay ugh this story rubbed me wrong, with all the lying, and barely any time to set things right. Nope. The H is a total asshole. Oh, you've changed, in a total of 4 days? Yeah right, lol.
July 22, 2012
Fuzzy Logic – Erin McCarthy (3 stars)
Synopsis - Ashley Andrews is many things to Lucas Manning: tenant of the upstairs apartment in his house, older sister of his best friend, and the object of his lustful fantasies for the past decade. When he accidentally opens a package addressed to her and finds a dozen dildos inside, he confronts her and learns that she is hoping to pay off some credit card debt by selling sex toys at house parties. Ashley has never seen Lucas as anything more than a little kid, so she shocked by her body’s reaction when he offers to try out the products with her.
Review - Erin McCarthy puts a fun twist on the trope of little sister/older brother’s best friend, switching the genders and ages, plus having the hero fall in love first. Ashley has the usual angst from this trope (he’s too young, he’s like a brother to me), added to her insecurities in the face of Lucas being very intelligent (gotta love those sibling rivalry-born feelings of inadequacy). Fortunately, since the story is so short, she doesn’t draw out the resistance for too long.
While it’s a very sensual scene, the fact that Lucas just starts applying products to Ashley’s skin and then licking them off without warning is a little unsettling. I guess we’re supposed to give it a pass because he’s in love with her and the stereotypical book-smart-not-people-smart chemist, but I’m not totally at ease with that plan. In general I would have liked some evidence of their friendship outside of large gatherings, since they are supposedly in love with each other enough to talk marriage. All in all this was a fun, quick read.
This is the 2nd installment of a 4-part series stretched across 4 anthologies (Bad Boys Online, When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys, and Bad Boys of Summer contain the other stories, which were usually the best of their respective books).
The Cupid Curse – Jen Nicholas (1 star)
Synopsis - Valentine Lewis, born on St. Valentine’s Day and named accordingly, hates men but wants to get married and start a family because she’s approaching the end of her 20’s. She decides that the way around wading in a sea of man-hos is to get Cupid’s help directly. *crickets chirping* Apparently it works, but I honestly didn’t care enough about the heroine to keep reading.
Review - The first few pages left me rolling my eyes repeatedly. The jokes weren’t funny, the Valentine was ridiculous and the stakes seemed inflated. If you are doing research, particularly on something that seems arcane, why would an old and well-used book seem unpromising? If you believe that Cupid is real and can actually be bargained with, why wouldn’t a mysterious, hand-written book with an unusual title be your best bet? Also, a book that rare usually isn’t available to be taken out of the library. I just couldn’t continue with this puddle of contradictions.
Mesmerized – Jordan Summers (2 stars)
Synopsis – Hypnotist Amanda Dillon can have men groveling for her attention with a literal snap of her fingers, but it’s all part of the show. She makes her living on stage as the “Man Tamer of Manhattan,” which delights her audience (mostly women, obviously) but bears no resemblance to her real life. She keeps almost everyone at bay, but especially the press. Her father’s career was destroyed by a single article and she won’t let the same thing happen to her.
Derek Armstrong is determined to be the journalist who succeeds in exposing Amanda. Her reputation as an ice queen challenges him, and watching videos of her show inflames his body. While attending one of her shows, he pretends to fall under hypnosis and to be unable to snap out of it. Amanda takes him home with her and tries everything she can think of to wake him up, but finds herself falling under his spell instead.
Review – I was kind of unsettled throughout much of the book by how Amanda thought Derek was still under hypnosis. I don’t know much about it, but it seems like something would have given him away. Also, we don’t know why she can’t just turn him loose. Is he in danger? I also don’t understand what Derek’s big story idea is. The big make-up scene was completely confusing. Why did he go to her apartment? Why did she let him in? Why was her only objection to his avowal of love that he might be under hypnosis? Why did she attempt to hypnotize him again? Why did she give in so easily? The whole thing was rushed and sloppy. I like the concept, but the execution didn’t live up to the premise. At least the sexy scenes were good.
Synopsis - Ashley Andrews is many things to Lucas Manning: tenant of the upstairs apartment in his house, older sister of his best friend, and the object of his lustful fantasies for the past decade. When he accidentally opens a package addressed to her and finds a dozen dildos inside, he confronts her and learns that she is hoping to pay off some credit card debt by selling sex toys at house parties. Ashley has never seen Lucas as anything more than a little kid, so she shocked by her body’s reaction when he offers to try out the products with her.
Review - Erin McCarthy puts a fun twist on the trope of little sister/older brother’s best friend, switching the genders and ages, plus having the hero fall in love first. Ashley has the usual angst from this trope (he’s too young, he’s like a brother to me), added to her insecurities in the face of Lucas being very intelligent (gotta love those sibling rivalry-born feelings of inadequacy). Fortunately, since the story is so short, she doesn’t draw out the resistance for too long.
While it’s a very sensual scene, the fact that Lucas just starts applying products to Ashley’s skin and then licking them off without warning is a little unsettling. I guess we’re supposed to give it a pass because he’s in love with her and the stereotypical book-smart-not-people-smart chemist, but I’m not totally at ease with that plan. In general I would have liked some evidence of their friendship outside of large gatherings, since they are supposedly in love with each other enough to talk marriage. All in all this was a fun, quick read.
This is the 2nd installment of a 4-part series stretched across 4 anthologies (Bad Boys Online, When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys, and Bad Boys of Summer contain the other stories, which were usually the best of their respective books).
The Cupid Curse – Jen Nicholas (1 star)
Synopsis - Valentine Lewis, born on St. Valentine’s Day and named accordingly, hates men but wants to get married and start a family because she’s approaching the end of her 20’s. She decides that the way around wading in a sea of man-hos is to get Cupid’s help directly. *crickets chirping* Apparently it works, but I honestly didn’t care enough about the heroine to keep reading.
Review - The first few pages left me rolling my eyes repeatedly. The jokes weren’t funny, the Valentine was ridiculous and the stakes seemed inflated. If you are doing research, particularly on something that seems arcane, why would an old and well-used book seem unpromising? If you believe that Cupid is real and can actually be bargained with, why wouldn’t a mysterious, hand-written book with an unusual title be your best bet? Also, a book that rare usually isn’t available to be taken out of the library. I just couldn’t continue with this puddle of contradictions.
Mesmerized – Jordan Summers (2 stars)
Synopsis – Hypnotist Amanda Dillon can have men groveling for her attention with a literal snap of her fingers, but it’s all part of the show. She makes her living on stage as the “Man Tamer of Manhattan,” which delights her audience (mostly women, obviously) but bears no resemblance to her real life. She keeps almost everyone at bay, but especially the press. Her father’s career was destroyed by a single article and she won’t let the same thing happen to her.
Derek Armstrong is determined to be the journalist who succeeds in exposing Amanda. Her reputation as an ice queen challenges him, and watching videos of her show inflames his body. While attending one of her shows, he pretends to fall under hypnosis and to be unable to snap out of it. Amanda takes him home with her and tries everything she can think of to wake him up, but finds herself falling under his spell instead.
Review – I was kind of unsettled throughout much of the book by how Amanda thought Derek was still under hypnosis. I don’t know much about it, but it seems like something would have given him away. Also, we don’t know why she can’t just turn him loose. Is he in danger? I also don’t understand what Derek’s big story idea is. The big make-up scene was completely confusing. Why did he go to her apartment? Why did she let him in? Why was her only objection to his avowal of love that he might be under hypnosis? Why did she attempt to hypnotize him again? Why did she give in so easily? The whole thing was rushed and sloppy. I like the concept, but the execution didn’t live up to the premise. At least the sexy scenes were good.
January 31, 2018
*****Rating for Erin Nicholas Fuzzy Logic only. Other 2 novellas I did not like at all. ******
April 7, 2019
Finished this one a long time ago. Forgot to update my progress.
August 14, 2019
Almost DNF.
August 10, 2012
Fuzzy Logic – Erin Mcarthy
Lucas Manning and Ashley Andrews – Lucas is 25, good looking, geek/scientist, logical mind, likes to figure out how things work. Ashley is his best friend’s older sister (29), great looking, fun, people person. Lucas has loved Ashley forever, but she just sees him as another little brother… she lives in the apartment above (he owns the duplex), and a dozen pink dildos are delivered to his apartment – he opens them before realizing they are for her… She is throwing sex toy parties, to earn extra money to pay off her credit cards… and is setting up when Lucas comes up… he starts asking her questions about what she is putting out, and she answers, understanding his need to understand… she is ignoring his muscles, she puts him to work putting things out… and he experiments with a peach powder, placing, tasting, licking it off her wrist, her neck, her lip… until he is kissing her… and she’s not pushing him away… after the party, he returns… and continues on – until he is in her bed, convincing her their age and her brother are not a problem… he loves her… and she loves him…
The Cupid Curse – Jen Nicholas
Valentine Lewis – writes to Cupid, for a soul mate… she is disillusioned with men, but she wants to find the exception to love and build a home with… Gideon – 150 years old, training to be a cupid (his father is a cupid, his mother is human, who is now immortal with his father) – and he requests Valentine to be his graduation exercise (she’s on a list of 500 most likely not to ask for help, so is highly valued). Eros reluctantly agrees, but when he shoots the arrow at the man he has selected, a wind carries it… right around him, and into his rear end… and they are soul mates, destined by the gods… and it takes them a bit to fall into bed – he is a bit reluctant because he is a virgin, and he doesn’t want to turn her off… but of course, they get past that in a hurry.
Tasha Lewis, her sister & McCabe, Gideon’s fellow trainee to be a cupid – they run each other the wrong way… the next story?
Mesmerized – Jordan Summers
Amanda Dillon – a hypnotist with a show where she gets 5 men to come up on stage, hypnotizes them, and gets them to ‘court’ her (humorly, of course). She’s known as the ‘man tamer of manhattan. Derek Armstrong is a newspaper writer, and he wants her story… he goes to her show, pretends to be hypnotized… and doesn’t ‘wake up’… she takes him home… and over the next 3 days, he comes to love her… and vice versa… a bit of a bump when she finds out he’s a reporter, but… he’s not writing that story any more… ahhhh
Lucas Manning and Ashley Andrews – Lucas is 25, good looking, geek/scientist, logical mind, likes to figure out how things work. Ashley is his best friend’s older sister (29), great looking, fun, people person. Lucas has loved Ashley forever, but she just sees him as another little brother… she lives in the apartment above (he owns the duplex), and a dozen pink dildos are delivered to his apartment – he opens them before realizing they are for her… She is throwing sex toy parties, to earn extra money to pay off her credit cards… and is setting up when Lucas comes up… he starts asking her questions about what she is putting out, and she answers, understanding his need to understand… she is ignoring his muscles, she puts him to work putting things out… and he experiments with a peach powder, placing, tasting, licking it off her wrist, her neck, her lip… until he is kissing her… and she’s not pushing him away… after the party, he returns… and continues on – until he is in her bed, convincing her their age and her brother are not a problem… he loves her… and she loves him…
The Cupid Curse – Jen Nicholas
Valentine Lewis – writes to Cupid, for a soul mate… she is disillusioned with men, but she wants to find the exception to love and build a home with… Gideon – 150 years old, training to be a cupid (his father is a cupid, his mother is human, who is now immortal with his father) – and he requests Valentine to be his graduation exercise (she’s on a list of 500 most likely not to ask for help, so is highly valued). Eros reluctantly agrees, but when he shoots the arrow at the man he has selected, a wind carries it… right around him, and into his rear end… and they are soul mates, destined by the gods… and it takes them a bit to fall into bed – he is a bit reluctant because he is a virgin, and he doesn’t want to turn her off… but of course, they get past that in a hurry.
Tasha Lewis, her sister & McCabe, Gideon’s fellow trainee to be a cupid – they run each other the wrong way… the next story?
Mesmerized – Jordan Summers
Amanda Dillon – a hypnotist with a show where she gets 5 men to come up on stage, hypnotizes them, and gets them to ‘court’ her (humorly, of course). She’s known as the ‘man tamer of manhattan. Derek Armstrong is a newspaper writer, and he wants her story… he goes to her show, pretends to be hypnotized… and doesn’t ‘wake up’… she takes him home… and over the next 3 days, he comes to love her… and vice versa… a bit of a bump when she finds out he’s a reporter, but… he’s not writing that story any more… ahhhh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2013
Contemporary romance anthology. Part of the "Bad Boy" books.
Erin McCarthy - 3 stars. One of the bowling friends stories. Protected sex. Much is made by Ashley of the age difference between her & Lucas. Actually, she's older by 3 years. Big deal. She has a lot of hangups : not smart enough, not organized enough, shop-a-holic. Also, a lot of her age thing is the fact she's thought of Lucas as a younger brother, so there's a yuck factor going on there. Lucas has loved her for a long time, so he's pushing for more. The end is unusual for a EM (instant marriage proposal).
Leap of logic : before they have sex, Lucas shoots the deadbolt on the apartment door. The next day, they both wake up to her brother standing in the room. How'd that happen?
Jen Nicholas - 4 stars. unprotected sex. This is a fantasy story & it's a good one. Woman asks for Cupid help to find her soul mate. Cupid that responds shoots his own self with the arrow. A lot of fun. One of the few heros of a romance novel who is a virgin.
Jordan Summers - 3 stars. Protected sex. I liked this story, but the male lead does deceive the heroine for days & has sex with her still being deceptive. It eventually ends well, though.
Erin McCarthy - 3 stars. One of the bowling friends stories. Protected sex. Much is made by Ashley of the age difference between her & Lucas. Actually, she's older by 3 years. Big deal. She has a lot of hangups : not smart enough, not organized enough, shop-a-holic. Also, a lot of her age thing is the fact she's thought of Lucas as a younger brother, so there's a yuck factor going on there. Lucas has loved her for a long time, so he's pushing for more. The end is unusual for a EM (instant marriage proposal).
Leap of logic : before they have sex, Lucas shoots the deadbolt on the apartment door. The next day, they both wake up to her brother standing in the room. How'd that happen?
Jen Nicholas - 4 stars. unprotected sex. This is a fantasy story & it's a good one. Woman asks for Cupid help to find her soul mate. Cupid that responds shoots his own self with the arrow. A lot of fun. One of the few heros of a romance novel who is a virgin.
Jordan Summers - 3 stars. Protected sex. I liked this story, but the male lead does deceive the heroine for days & has sex with her still being deceptive. It eventually ends well, though.
Read
June 2, 20131-Fuzzy Logic by Erin McCarthy - This is a friends to lovers story and by far the best of the bunch. I would say close to a 4 star story for me.
2-The Cupid Curse by Jen Nicholas - A very original paranormal story, a version of cupids lore. Even though it is unique it still seemed like between a 2 and 3 star story to me.
3-Mesmerized by Jordan Summers - Take a hypnotist (hurt by the press when she was young) and a reporter out to get a story (using an underhanded trick) and you get the gist of it. It was hard to believe she totally fell for it as well. Another tale that felt somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.
2-The Cupid Curse by Jen Nicholas - A very original paranormal story, a version of cupids lore. Even though it is unique it still seemed like between a 2 and 3 star story to me.
3-Mesmerized by Jordan Summers - Take a hypnotist (hurt by the press when she was young) and a reporter out to get a story (using an underhanded trick) and you get the gist of it. It was hard to believe she totally fell for it as well. Another tale that felt somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.
October 27, 2009
Tantalizing! I think that about sums up Bad Boys Over Easy.
Add Fuzzy Logic to the reasons why I am a growing fan of Erin McCarthy. From jump her stories are steamy, hot, hot, hot. But look past the spicy love scenes and McCarthy's writing is still GOOD.
It took me a chapter or two to sink my teeth into The Cupid Curse by Jen Nicholas, but once the story got going it really took off, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Same goes for Mesmerized by Jordan Summers.
I look forward to reading more by all three ladies.
Add Fuzzy Logic to the reasons why I am a growing fan of Erin McCarthy. From jump her stories are steamy, hot, hot, hot. But look past the spicy love scenes and McCarthy's writing is still GOOD.
It took me a chapter or two to sink my teeth into The Cupid Curse by Jen Nicholas, but once the story got going it really took off, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Same goes for Mesmerized by Jordan Summers.
I look forward to reading more by all three ladies.
October 6, 2012
Hot-steamy-sensual-sexual-romantic-ISH short story! It will leave you curled up in your bed if you know what I mean! hahaha! But C'mon, nobody decides to get married with someone because you realized they are not your brother's genius best friend anymore but because He can make you come quickly-more than once-OVERNIGHT!
November 17, 2012
Since I'm one of the authors of this book (Jen Nicholas - THE CUPID CURSE), I have to say it's awesome!!
Seriously, it's got three great stories, and if you like hot & spicy romance (with, at least with my story, some paranormal thrown in), then you'll love BBOE!
Seriously, it's got three great stories, and if you like hot & spicy romance (with, at least with my story, some paranormal thrown in), then you'll love BBOE!
August 25, 2008
I wasn't a fan of the other two stories in this anthology, but Erin's first story certainly made up for it. Check it out for Ashley's (Kindra and Violet's friend from other anthologies) story alone. Super steamy and HOT.
April 2, 2009
This is another entertaining installment of the Bad Boys series. The Erin McCarthy novella was my favorite, while I found the Jordan Summers one a little slow-going. The Jen Nicholas story was cute. All the kinds of stories you would expect from a Bad Boys book that does not disappoint.
January 31, 2010
I still don't like anthologies and this one proved it yet again. Fuzzy logic was silly and lame. The Cupid Curse was so completely cheesy I was laughing. Mesmerized was the best of the bunch but that isn't saying a whole lot. Boo!
March 25, 2012
I only read Erin McCarthy's very steamy short story. A younger male in pursuit is always fun and it's nice to see love bloom from a long standing friendship. Lucas opens his neighbor Ashley's package of sex toys that was delivered to him by mistake.
July 5, 2007
3 short stories in 1 book
November 7, 2007
read 11.04.06
March 24, 2009
This was ok. Not such a fan of the compilation novels.
October 13, 2010
I've only read Erin McCarthy's Fuzzy Logic, which earned a B-.
December 3, 2012
This book only gets three stars because of the Erin McCarthy story; the other two were just "eh."
January 8, 2013
EM~3*; JN~2*; JS~1*
January 12, 2014
3.5 stars
December 9, 2014
not bad...
May 24, 2019
Only really enjoyed the first last stories in this one
January 15, 2015
Pretty good for novellas/ short stories.
August 9, 2014
The first story was fun. The other two did not appeal.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews