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Dressed to Thrill #1

Feels Like the First Time

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Zoe Gaston needs to unmask a mystery man for work. She also must survive her dreaded high school reunion--and the costume party that opens it. So Zoe, once voted Girl Most Likely to Die a Virgin, comes dressed as a leather-clad dominatrix...whip and all!Her scandalous costume catches a secret lover. He seems so deliciously familiar under his disguise.... He's gotta be her long-ago crush.But Zoe is shocked to discover the sexy body she's been so thoroughly enjoying belongs to Dexter Drake--her oldest friend! And he's hiding something bigger than just his identity....

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

12 people are currently reading
322 people want to read

About the author

Tawny Weber

203 books1,366 followers
New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling author of more than forty books, Tawny Weber loves writing about sexy heroes, most notably her popular Navy SEALs series. Her sassy, emotional romances are filled with men dedicated to being the best—and women determined to have the best. Tawny credits her ex-military alpha husband for inspiration in her writing, and in her life. The recipient of numerous writing accolades, including Romantic Times Reviewers Choice and in addition to the NY Times and USA Today bestseller lists, Tawny has also hit the number one spot on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A homeschooling mom, Tawny enjoys scrapbooking, gardening and spending time with her family and dogs in her Northern California home.

You can find Tawny on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

Website: http://tawnyweber.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TawnyWeber.Ro...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TawnyWeber
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tawnyweber/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

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5 stars
76 (24%)
4 stars
85 (27%)
3 stars
107 (35%)
2 stars
29 (9%)
1 star
8 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Profile Image for Dina.
1,324 reviews1,352 followers
April 10, 2012
Wow, the sex scenes in this book were very, very steamy! I didn't expect HQ Blaze novels to venture into (light) bondage and stuff like that, but I should have seen it coming when I found out that the heroine wears a dominatrix costume to go to her high-school reunion party. That was all good, but the story as a whole didn't work too well for me.

My biggest problem was its "high-school vibe": all the characters in this book, from the geeky hero and the angsty heroine to the arrogant football jock and the jealous cheerleader, acted like they were still in their teens and not in their late twenties, and I didn't care for it. Dex was sexy but too needy for my taste, Zoe was nice but too hung-up on her dreadful high-school years, and I felt that their relationship was unbalanced (his love was stronger than hers). My favorite character in the story was Dex's grandmother - the woman was a hoot! - and it's never a good sign when I'm more interested in reading about a secondary character than in following the H/h's relationship.

Overall, this was a so-so book that was saved by the love scenes. If you're in the mood for a titillating read and don't mind the teen angst, go for it.
Profile Image for Mojca.
2,132 reviews164 followers
September 21, 2009
Zoe Gaston had hated high-school. So why is she back in Idaho for her ten-year reunion? Well, her brother is trying to make it in the platform business and to do that he needs something exclusively tied to his product to compete with the big dogs. He's thinking of a video game and the most popular video game designer, pseudonym Gandalf the Wizard, appears to had gone to the same school as Zoe - and even used her in his first game.

Zoe's mission: go to the reunion, discover Gandalf's identity, and ask him to work for her brother.

Easier said than done. Absolutely no one know who Gandalf is, she still hates high-school, and she severely dislikes everybody from that time period. Everybody except her best friend, Dexter Drake. And this reunion is a perfect opportunity to reconnect with Dex. Though their friendship might be at risk, because Dex has turned into a hottie that inspired rather "unfriendly" thoughts in Zoe...And there's also the issue of a masked hunk that had cornered her in the darkened garden.

So, not only is Zoe's only friendship at stakes because of the untimely lust, but she happens to lust after two men at the same time...Or is she?

There are no words to express just how much I loved this story. I always enjoy reading high-school reunion stories (while dreading my own that's coming up soon), but I also love the friends-to-lovers stories. And this book combines the two.

Dex has been in love with Zoe for thirteen years (ever since they've first met), but she had seen him only as her best buddy in high-school. They didn't keep in touch, so the high-school reunion was a perfect opportunity for Dex to make his move.
I loved this guy. He was utterly adorable in his quest to win the heart of the woman of his dreams. He was sweet, possessive, jealous to the right point, and still determined to be at least her friend when she rejected him for fear of ruining their friendship. And you gotta love a guy who's prepared to dress up as Aragorn (in tight leather pants) to get a chance to kiss his girl

Zoe, though at the beginning appearing rather spastic, quickly grew on me. Maybe because I saw myself in some of the situations she'd been through in high-school, maybe because I saw myself in her protective mechanism (nothing beats sarcasm and snarling comments).

These two were both rather damaged from their high-school experience, making stupid mistakes, stupid choices, misunderstanding almost everything, and trust and belief in others was a big issue. But they learned. And they did it together.

Well, now to the other thing I really like about this HQ Blaze. It was hot. Let me repeat that - HOT. Scorching hot in fact. From the make-out session in the darkened garden in full costume regalia, the computer game avatar-sex foreplay, to the all-night set-the-sheet-ablaze session in utter darkness with a blindfold and leather restraints. Oh, boy. I'm still fanning myself.

What a great combination of wonderful characters, great high-school related trauma, humor, secrets, and steamy, a little on the kinky side sex.

A definite keeper!
Profile Image for Sia McKye.
91 reviews23 followers
September 11, 2009
I have to be honest; I stopped reading most Harlequins some years ago. The stories had become trite and tired—outdated if you will. How many stories can you read about Tycoons, Sheiks, Millionaires, Nurses, Females too stupid to live, or surprise babies without getting bored. Where were the sassy, independent women? The hot realistic heroes that made you go, Whoa, yah baby! Realistic stories that fit today’s women? Where were the meaty stories with a sizzle?

Let me give you the reason I returned to reading Harlequin this past eighteen months: Tawny Weber, Samantha Hunter, Gena Showalter, Susan Gable, Holly Jacobs, Rhonda Nelson, Diana Duncan, and Brenda Joyce. Just to name a few. Anyone of these authors, in my opinion, regardless of the particular imprint with Harlequin they write, all tell involving stories, characters that act and react realistically, good storylines, well-paced enjoyable stories. Even those that write for the lighter end have well-thought and entertaining stories.

Here’s the blurb for Tawny Weber’s latest book available this month, FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME.


Hello, hot blast from the past!

Zoe Gaston needs to unmask a mystery man for work. She also must survive her dreaded high school reunion—and the costume party that opens it. So Zoe, once voted Girl Most Likely to Die a Virgin, comes dressed as a leather-clad dominatrix…whip and all!Her scandalous costume catches a secret lover. He seems so deliciously familiar under his disguise…. He's gotta be her long-ago crush.But Zoe is shocked to discover the sexy body she's been so thoroughly enjoying belongs to Dexter Drake—her oldest friend! And he's hiding something bigger than just his identity….

Dressed to Thrill: The best part of dressing up is taking it off!

Read an excerpt: http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html?...

Now, what captured my interest was the line that said Zoe had been voted the Girl Most Likely To Die A Virgin and then she shows up in a leather-clad dominatrix outfit (funny, my muse wears the same outfit. Wonder if she got hers from Dressed To Thrill Fantasy Shop?) Right away, that whole idea just tickled my funny bone. Now that’s a woman with moxy, lol! My kind of woman. Especially given the last thing Zoe wants to do is go to her High School Reunion.

What intrigued me was she was on a quest to find a mystery man to help her brother—also something I could relate to. Zoe finds that her classmates are still living out their high school glories ten years later and she’s regretting mightily being talked into this adventure. So begins several escapades and a sexy encounter with a hot man in costume that rings all her bells. I won’t spoil it but parts of her story cracked me up and parts made go, ‘Whoa, Yah, you go girl!’ I thoroughly enjoyed Zoe. I have to tell you, I wouldn’t mind going a few rounds with the masked hottie either!

Oh, you'll also find Josie, in the prologue, and interesting teaser.


If you haven't checked out Tawny Weber's books, I recommend you search them out. They're well worth it. They can be ordered directly from Harlequin Blaze website: http://www.eharlequin.com/

Profile Image for Andrea.
Author 5 books35 followers
March 1, 2012
Another one that I would definitely read again! I enjoyed the characters very much. Zoe has trust and commitment issues out the wazoo, and Dex isn't your proto-typical romance hero. He's got the tall-dark-and-sizzling thing down, but he's so sweet, a grown-up pocket protector type, and you just wanna cuddle him after the really hot sex.

One thing that made me laugh really hard? I loved that scene. So funny. Honestly, that's exactly how I would've written it myself. Weber read my mind.

I've always had kind of a soft spot for high school reunion plots, although I don't get to read them nearly often enough. I enjoyed Weber's take on it a lot. She really captured the dynamics of high school and the insecurities than can follow us after graduation. It was a fun and sexy read. An excellent waste of five hours!
Profile Image for Ruth.
251 reviews17 followers
May 16, 2017
Süße Highschool-Reunion-Liebesgeschichte und interessanter Serienanfang, aber richtig von den Socken hat mich Band 1 von Dressed To Thrill leider nicht gehauen. Das lag vielleicht auch an der stellenweise holprigen Übersetzung, aber einem geschenkten Gaul schaut man bekanntlich nicht ins Maul (hab das Buch als Aktion um 0 Euro ergattert).
Profile Image for Marionle6tron.
354 reviews3 followers
January 10, 2017
L'idée de départ était bonne mais tout de suite les protagonistes se mentent et jouent les faux semblant... J'ai sauté des chapitres entiers pour avoir le dénouement et laisser là cette histoire insipide !
1,011 reviews5 followers
September 10, 2020
A nice light Harlequin read with a little drama and Halloween/costume party thrown in. A good book for the beach or when you need a break from more serious books (or life)
75 reviews
May 29, 2021
Maybe I'm just not the target market for this book, but I found the premise ridiculous, and the heroine sadly lacking in intelligence.
75 reviews
July 27, 2021
Maybe I'm just not the target market for this book, but I found the premise ridiculous, and the heroine sadly lacking in intelligence.
Profile Image for Mnms.
1,599 reviews5 followers
April 16, 2018
Passionate, engaging and sweet. A really good read.
Profile Image for Ingo.
1,245 reviews17 followers
March 6, 2017
(This book is in German, my first language)
Got this free thanks to lesen.net EMail-Newsletter, which I receive 3-4 times a week.
Do not expect too much, will probably be a steamy fast read.

Nice read, but real sex-scenes come only later in the book (after 50%?), before that they always get disturbed or break it off for different reasons. Sex-scenes are ok, real but not very kinky. Got this free, so checked the price today, and I do not think that it is really worth it for the sex scenes, the story is well writen and rather interesting. But, it is still free, so grab it while you can, if you are interested.
Solid 3 stars, nice short story, a little adult sex. Would give it to teenagers age 16 and above, but some would say it is for adults, so whatever. For a rainy weekend-read.
Profile Image for Yoda Bor.
925 reviews9 followers
January 2, 2016
Je n'ai fichtrement aucun souvenir de comment ce livre a fait pour atterrir dans ma liseuse mais ça a été un vrai calvaire pour en venir à bout.
Heureusement que c'était plutôt court parce que j'ai cru ne jamais y arriver.
Zoé a été très malheureuse pendant ses années lycée à cause de son look un peu décalé. Jusque là, rien d'extraordinaire, pas mal de jeunes filles, moi la première, n'ont pas très bien vécu cette période.
A noter qu'elle avait malgré tout un très bon ami, lui aussi plutôt moche à l'époque mais qu'ils se sont perdus de vue dès qu'elle a terminé sa scolarité.
Arrivée à l'âge adulte, elle est devenue une très jolie jeune femme et se rend à une réunion des anciens élèves pour mettre la main sur Gandalf, un concepteur de jeux vidéos qui pourrait sauver l'entreprise de son frère et qui a clairement un faible pour elle.
Là où le bât pour moi c'est que comme elle est désormais jolie, Zoé se permet de juger le physique des autres sans aucun scrupule. Pour quelqu'un qui a souffert de ça dans sa jeunesse, je l'ai trouvé par moment très mesquine.
Bien évidemment, Gandalf n'est autre que son ancien meilleur ami Dexter (non, ce n'est pas du spoil, c'est une évidence évidente au bout de 10 pages à tout casser) mais ça, il faudra tout le roman pour que la jeune fille s'en rende compte. Pourtant, à force de les tripoter tous les deux, elle aurait pu faire le lien bien plus tôt.
C'est niais et ridicule et les scènes érotiques sont absolument sans aucune saveur.
Lors d'une des premières, l'inconnu masqué réussit à enlever le jean et la petite culotte de Zoé tout en faisant en sorte qu'elle conserve ses bottes.
J'ai tellement bloqué en tentant de les imaginer faire leur gymnastique pour arriver à ce prodige que j'ai failli m'étouffer de rire.
Tout ça sans compter le nombre de fois où la pointe des seins de Zoé durcit rien qu'en voyant un joli garçon au loin.
Le seul point positif vient du personnage de la grand-mère de Dexter, amusante et perspicace et qui tente de relever le niveau de cette petite bande d'abrutis. Sans y parvenir malheureusement.
Profile Image for Terri Pray.
Author 131 books42 followers
April 10, 2012
This review is for the audio version as sold by Audible.

Zoe Gaston's experience in high school had been less than pleasant, the only saving grace had been her one and only friend, fellow geek Dexter Drake. So, attending the high school reunion hadn't been on her list of things to do. At least not until her sister-in-law asks a favor of her which, sadly, involves attending that reunion.


Zoe's brother is on the verge of closing down his business, but there's a chance that someone Zoe went to school with can help him. A game designer who goes by the name of Gandalf. Problem is, no one knows who Gandalf really is.

Add onto that the detail that her Geeky friend has grown into a hotty, and the one time football Captain is still the jerk who helped all but ruin her high school life, and Zoe has more than enough problems to deal with. So when she opens the box that has her costume in it for the party, Zoe isn't sure what to do. Instead of a safe Betty Boop costume, she's finds herself staring at a skimpy leather dominatrix outfit complete with riding crop. And once she's at the party a chance encounter with a masked and cape wearing fantasy hero adds a spice she wasn't expecting to find.


A saucy book with a mild amount of consensual bondage play. Steamy scenes and fun characters that combined to keep the story interesting from beginning to end.
Profile Image for Kara.
4 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2011
Awesome, awesome book. Loved the mystery behind Dex hiding behind the mask and the sexual pull between them even though Zoe wasn't quite sure who was the sexy hunk. I love the theme of a geeky high school teen turned hot with an awesome bod. Not being among the popular crowd, I empathized with Zoe about returning to her high school reunion.

All in all, a fantastic read!! I immediately stalked Tawny's website and wrote down all her other books...she is my new autobuy.
Profile Image for Juliette Cen.
Author 18 books7 followers
December 10, 2015
Une petite romance mêlant histoire old school (une réunion d'anciens élèves) et sensualité contemporaine.
Même si les personnages sont très stéréotypés et les héros assez formatés (l'héroïne est une rebelle sans cause), l'ensemble est mignon, facile à lire et sexy. Le genre de romance qu'on apprécie quand on se sent incapable de plonger dans du trop consistant.
Profile Image for Jen.
739 reviews58 followers
July 28, 2010
It was all a bit silly really. I mean, how daft would you have to be not to recognise the guy you were having sex with?

The story played out like a bit of a theatrical high school melodrama. Wouldn't be surprised if the characters all started singing and dancing Glee style.
Profile Image for Lindy.
558 reviews26 followers
October 28, 2010
It was definitely hot, but I was irritated by how clueless the heroine was, and the fact that so many issues could have been solved if the characters had just been honest with each other. Also, it seemed like a lot of the people attending the reunion were stuck in high school mode. Yuck.
Profile Image for Deava101.
57 reviews11 followers
April 8, 2012
Steamy!!! Zoe attends her reunion for one purpose: Find Gandhalf and help her brother! The only person who she is excited to meet is her once geeky best friend Dex...But ohhh how he has changed!
Throw in a sex craved grandma and hot steamy sex scenes with a masked man and this is a great read
Profile Image for Pamela Lunder.
1,703 reviews
July 16, 2015
Loved this story. Loved tough little Zoe and her determination to save her brothers company. Dex turns out to be someone she doesn't even recognize. I love how he tricked her with the costume. Loved this book
Profile Image for RedBecca.
62 reviews8 followers
September 21, 2011
3.5 stars. A fun and sexy story that doesn't take itself too seriously.
82 reviews1 follower
February 16, 2014
A good story with a good climax and plot. The beginning a little slow but it does pick up.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews

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