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B.A.D. Agency #0.25
Big Guns Out of Uniform
Mysterious and untamable, they hold honor, strength, and courage close to their well-guarded hearts. But no matter how much their jobs require them to lay aside their personal lives, they can't deny that they have burning needs like any other man...
In Sherrilyn Kenyon's "BAD to the Bone," teacher Marianne Webernec wins the "Hideaway Heroine Sweepstakes." Whisked away to a remote tropical island, Marianne's fantasies become real when Bureau of American Defense agent Kyle Foster kidnaps her and uncovers her every desire.
In Liz Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex," Dr. Delia Sydney dishes out perfectly sound sex advice on the radio but is easily seduced by her bad-boy neighbor. Just what is it about Nick Woodruff, a smooth-talking sergeant, that makes Delia do anything when she's with him?
Things get even hotter in Nicole Camden's "The Nekkid Truth" when crime scene photographer Debbie Valley loses the ability to recognize faces and must identify people by their bodies. Soon she finds that the wonders of Detective Marshall Scott' s body never cease...and that he needs her to help catch a killer.
In Sherrilyn Kenyon's "BAD to the Bone," teacher Marianne Webernec wins the "Hideaway Heroine Sweepstakes." Whisked away to a remote tropical island, Marianne's fantasies become real when Bureau of American Defense agent Kyle Foster kidnaps her and uncovers her every desire.
In Liz Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex," Dr. Delia Sydney dishes out perfectly sound sex advice on the radio but is easily seduced by her bad-boy neighbor. Just what is it about Nick Woodruff, a smooth-talking sergeant, that makes Delia do anything when she's with him?
Things get even hotter in Nicole Camden's "The Nekkid Truth" when crime scene photographer Debbie Valley loses the ability to recognize faces and must identify people by their bodies. Soon she finds that the wonders of Detective Marshall Scott' s body never cease...and that he needs her to help catch a killer.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 18, 2003
21 people are currently reading
2533 people want to read
About the author
Sherrilyn Kenyon
243 books30.2k followersOfficial Author site
Official Nevermore site
Official Deadman's Cross site
Official Chronicles of Nick site
Official Silent Swans site
Official Hunter Legends site
Official Witch of Endor site
Official Lords of Avalon site
Official Facebook site
New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series. Join her and her Paladins online at MySherrilyn.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn
Official Nevermore site
Official Deadman's Cross site
Official Chronicles of Nick site
Official Silent Swans site
Official Hunter Legends site
Official Witch of Endor site
Official Lords of Avalon site
Official Facebook site
New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series. Join her and her Paladins online at MySherrilyn.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn
Fan Run International Sites:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
November 3, 2010
Reviewed for THC Reviews
Big Guns Out of Uniform is an anthology of three contemporary borderline erotic novellas featuring heroes in law enforcement.
BAD to the Bone
BAD to the Bone was a pure fantasy that was very fun and enjoyable to read. I thought that the beginning and ending of the story could have benefited from a bit more clarity and tighter plotting, but the rest of the story really helped to make up for these deficiencies. The premise of a woman living out her romance novel fantasies in real life with a hunky hero was very entertaining. I especially liked that Kyle actually read Marianne's favorite book and was trying to make it all come to life for her. It just made him seem so caring and thoughtful.
I found both characters to be likable, relatable, and well-drawn. Marianne, as an average, ordinary woman, just couldn't have been sweeter, yet she was passionate and adventurous enough to step outside her comfort zone. Kyle was a tough guy with a tortured past, yet he accepted Marianne's tenderness toward him as something that was missing from his life instead of being suspicious or shutting down emotionally. In fact, she was able to fulfill his fantasies every bit as much as he fulfilled hers. I loved the way the author built a beautiful relationship between these two characters in such a short time mainly with the use of communication, a seeming rarity in romance novels. This made for some extremely sexy and sensuous love scenes that were still very sweet and romantic. Overall, I found this novella to be a delightful read that even showcased a little humor, a great story for anyone looking for a bit of escapism.
BAD to the Bone along with its two companion novellas in the Born to Be BAD anthology are something of a prequel to the main B.A.D. Agency series. It was first published in Big Guns Out of Uniform, and was later reprinted in Born to Be BAD. This was my first read by Sherrilyn Kenyon, but it certainly won't be my last. I am looking forward to continuing the B.A.D. series as well as exploring her other books. Rating: ****
Let's Talk About Sex
I think it can be difficult for an author to write a short story that is still satisfying, but in Let's Talk About Sex, Liz Carlyle has, in my opinion, put together a tale that has both tight plotting and good character development. The narrative flowed smoothly, and I thought it was the perfect length. Rather than being left with that "I-wish-there-were-more-to-the-story" feeling when it ended, I felt like Goldilocks, that it was "just right".
As the title might imply, the main focus was on the sex, but emotions got tangled up in the mix pretty quickly. The love scenes were both creative and scorching hot and there were plenty of them too, but there were also some romantic moments as well. I haven't seen many real proposals in the romances I've read, so I thought the proposal scene was a particularly nice touch. I also thought that the author progressing the narrative through a few months time, made this scenario more believable.
I found both the hero and heroine to be very likable, and neither one was bringing a ton of baggage into the relationship. Sometimes it's just refreshing to read a story about relatively normal people with normal problems. I thought it was sweet that Delia dealt with the topic of sex every day in her work, but in real life was still slightly repressed. Nick was a hot, sexy guy (not to mention an animal lover, which I find hard to resist), who was also a patient and accomplished lover. He knew exactly how to rebuild Delia's self-confidence and release her inner sex kitten to make her purr.
While the story did not contain many of the getting-to-know-you moments that I love and that really help to build a more believable relationship, I found Let's Talk About Sex to be a fun, enjoyable romp. Readers who like lust turned to love or love at first sight stories should appreciate this one, and while those are not my favorite plot lines, Ms. Carlyle's writing was strong enough to make me overlook that. Liz Carlyle has been one of my favorite authors of historical romance for a while, and even though Let's Talk About Sex was her first and only foray into contemporary romance to date, I found it to be equally as good. In my opinion, it was the overall best and most well written novella in this anthology, definitely worthy of keeper status. Rating: ****1/2
The Nekkid Truth
In my opinion, this novella had a lot of potential that it just didn't quite live up to. I thought the premise of the story was a fascinating one, that of a woman who had lost the ability to recognize faces due to a head injury. I like it when an author can teach me about something I didn't already know or expand on my previous knowledge of a particular subject, and I find things of a medical nature to be especially interesting. While the author did give an overview of what this condition entailed, she never once called it by it's actual name, Prosopagnosia aka Face Blindness. She also did not fully express in any depth what it was like for the heroine to live with this affliction, which I felt would have created a much more compelling story. Instead the author opted to tell the reader more about the heroine's photography endeavors and sexual conquests than about her life and feelings. The cover blurb also implies that the heroine's special condition somehow plays a pivotal role in the criminal investigation, but I never quite saw how that was the case.
The Nekkid Truth reminded me in some ways of old black & white detective movies. It is written in first person with a rather dry, "just the facts ma'am" type of presentation. I felt like I was being told the story rather than experiencing it. This writing style made it very difficult to get a good grasp on any of the characters, particularly the hero about whom readers are only given tidbits of information, most of which doesn't come out until toward the end. I am not opposed to the first person perspective, but I think it can be very challenging for an author using this writing style to convey the feelings and emotions of other characters in the story unless they are very deft at their craft.
The love scenes showed some creativity and with a little more tenderness and less matter-of-fact attitude, could have been truly romantic and steamy, but without the incorporation of emotions, came off as being little more than a string of sexual encounters that lacked any real spark and to me felt very crude. I'm afraid that certain aspects of the heroine's photography, as well as a rather hedonistic attitude from her and other characters, only lent to this atmosphere. I also found my eyebrows shooting up at a couple of unrealistic descriptions of the size of the male anatomy (not the hero's) which simply added more fuel to the fire.
As far as the heroine's work, I have no issue with nude art and in fact have found many pieces to be quite beautiful, so I had no real problem with her specializing in nude photography. What did bother me however, was her penchant for wallpapering her studio with nude photos and even more so, her seeming obsession with taking photographs of that certain part of the male anatomy and then meticulously filing them away. Apparently, this all had something to do with her face blindness, and at one point she tried to explain this all to the hero, but it still just never made much sense to me. In general, there simply wasn't enough depth of emotion to be found in this story to really draw me into the characters lives and make me truly care about them or believe in their love for each other and a lasting happily-ever-after ending.
Though not incredibly compelling, I thought Ms. Camden did do well with the mystery element. This part of the narrative was fed to the reader bit by bit, so that the solution to the puzzle was not really discernible until the reveal. Although there was room for improvement in this area as well, I did find it to be interesting. In my opinion, she also did a good job with keeping the plot tight and the story moving along at a steady pace.
The Nekkid Truth was the only novella in this anthology which featured a hero and heroine who had know each other for a while before becoming intimately involved which was an aspect of the story I could appreciate, but again, with the lack of emotion, I still found the other two novellas to be much more compelling and believable. Usually anthologies group together stories with similar themes and styles, and while the cop hero theme was there, the writing style of The Nekkid Truth was very different from the other two, making it seem somewhat out of place in this grouping. This appears to be Ms. Camden's first and only published work, so I am willing to allow that with some sharpening of her writing skills and/or perhaps a switch to a mystery or edgy chic-lit genre, she could have potential. Rating: ***
*Review updated: 11/3/10
Big Guns Out of Uniform is an anthology of three contemporary borderline erotic novellas featuring heroes in law enforcement.
BAD to the Bone
BAD to the Bone was a pure fantasy that was very fun and enjoyable to read. I thought that the beginning and ending of the story could have benefited from a bit more clarity and tighter plotting, but the rest of the story really helped to make up for these deficiencies. The premise of a woman living out her romance novel fantasies in real life with a hunky hero was very entertaining. I especially liked that Kyle actually read Marianne's favorite book and was trying to make it all come to life for her. It just made him seem so caring and thoughtful.
I found both characters to be likable, relatable, and well-drawn. Marianne, as an average, ordinary woman, just couldn't have been sweeter, yet she was passionate and adventurous enough to step outside her comfort zone. Kyle was a tough guy with a tortured past, yet he accepted Marianne's tenderness toward him as something that was missing from his life instead of being suspicious or shutting down emotionally. In fact, she was able to fulfill his fantasies every bit as much as he fulfilled hers. I loved the way the author built a beautiful relationship between these two characters in such a short time mainly with the use of communication, a seeming rarity in romance novels. This made for some extremely sexy and sensuous love scenes that were still very sweet and romantic. Overall, I found this novella to be a delightful read that even showcased a little humor, a great story for anyone looking for a bit of escapism.
BAD to the Bone along with its two companion novellas in the Born to Be BAD anthology are something of a prequel to the main B.A.D. Agency series. It was first published in Big Guns Out of Uniform, and was later reprinted in Born to Be BAD. This was my first read by Sherrilyn Kenyon, but it certainly won't be my last. I am looking forward to continuing the B.A.D. series as well as exploring her other books. Rating: ****
Let's Talk About Sex
I think it can be difficult for an author to write a short story that is still satisfying, but in Let's Talk About Sex, Liz Carlyle has, in my opinion, put together a tale that has both tight plotting and good character development. The narrative flowed smoothly, and I thought it was the perfect length. Rather than being left with that "I-wish-there-were-more-to-the-story" feeling when it ended, I felt like Goldilocks, that it was "just right".
As the title might imply, the main focus was on the sex, but emotions got tangled up in the mix pretty quickly. The love scenes were both creative and scorching hot and there were plenty of them too, but there were also some romantic moments as well. I haven't seen many real proposals in the romances I've read, so I thought the proposal scene was a particularly nice touch. I also thought that the author progressing the narrative through a few months time, made this scenario more believable.
I found both the hero and heroine to be very likable, and neither one was bringing a ton of baggage into the relationship. Sometimes it's just refreshing to read a story about relatively normal people with normal problems. I thought it was sweet that Delia dealt with the topic of sex every day in her work, but in real life was still slightly repressed. Nick was a hot, sexy guy (not to mention an animal lover, which I find hard to resist), who was also a patient and accomplished lover. He knew exactly how to rebuild Delia's self-confidence and release her inner sex kitten to make her purr.
While the story did not contain many of the getting-to-know-you moments that I love and that really help to build a more believable relationship, I found Let's Talk About Sex to be a fun, enjoyable romp. Readers who like lust turned to love or love at first sight stories should appreciate this one, and while those are not my favorite plot lines, Ms. Carlyle's writing was strong enough to make me overlook that. Liz Carlyle has been one of my favorite authors of historical romance for a while, and even though Let's Talk About Sex was her first and only foray into contemporary romance to date, I found it to be equally as good. In my opinion, it was the overall best and most well written novella in this anthology, definitely worthy of keeper status. Rating: ****1/2
The Nekkid Truth
In my opinion, this novella had a lot of potential that it just didn't quite live up to. I thought the premise of the story was a fascinating one, that of a woman who had lost the ability to recognize faces due to a head injury. I like it when an author can teach me about something I didn't already know or expand on my previous knowledge of a particular subject, and I find things of a medical nature to be especially interesting. While the author did give an overview of what this condition entailed, she never once called it by it's actual name, Prosopagnosia aka Face Blindness. She also did not fully express in any depth what it was like for the heroine to live with this affliction, which I felt would have created a much more compelling story. Instead the author opted to tell the reader more about the heroine's photography endeavors and sexual conquests than about her life and feelings. The cover blurb also implies that the heroine's special condition somehow plays a pivotal role in the criminal investigation, but I never quite saw how that was the case.
The Nekkid Truth reminded me in some ways of old black & white detective movies. It is written in first person with a rather dry, "just the facts ma'am" type of presentation. I felt like I was being told the story rather than experiencing it. This writing style made it very difficult to get a good grasp on any of the characters, particularly the hero about whom readers are only given tidbits of information, most of which doesn't come out until toward the end. I am not opposed to the first person perspective, but I think it can be very challenging for an author using this writing style to convey the feelings and emotions of other characters in the story unless they are very deft at their craft.
The love scenes showed some creativity and with a little more tenderness and less matter-of-fact attitude, could have been truly romantic and steamy, but without the incorporation of emotions, came off as being little more than a string of sexual encounters that lacked any real spark and to me felt very crude. I'm afraid that certain aspects of the heroine's photography, as well as a rather hedonistic attitude from her and other characters, only lent to this atmosphere. I also found my eyebrows shooting up at a couple of unrealistic descriptions of the size of the male anatomy (not the hero's) which simply added more fuel to the fire.
As far as the heroine's work, I have no issue with nude art and in fact have found many pieces to be quite beautiful, so I had no real problem with her specializing in nude photography. What did bother me however, was her penchant for wallpapering her studio with nude photos and even more so, her seeming obsession with taking photographs of that certain part of the male anatomy and then meticulously filing them away. Apparently, this all had something to do with her face blindness, and at one point she tried to explain this all to the hero, but it still just never made much sense to me. In general, there simply wasn't enough depth of emotion to be found in this story to really draw me into the characters lives and make me truly care about them or believe in their love for each other and a lasting happily-ever-after ending.
Though not incredibly compelling, I thought Ms. Camden did do well with the mystery element. This part of the narrative was fed to the reader bit by bit, so that the solution to the puzzle was not really discernible until the reveal. Although there was room for improvement in this area as well, I did find it to be interesting. In my opinion, she also did a good job with keeping the plot tight and the story moving along at a steady pace.
The Nekkid Truth was the only novella in this anthology which featured a hero and heroine who had know each other for a while before becoming intimately involved which was an aspect of the story I could appreciate, but again, with the lack of emotion, I still found the other two novellas to be much more compelling and believable. Usually anthologies group together stories with similar themes and styles, and while the cop hero theme was there, the writing style of The Nekkid Truth was very different from the other two, making it seem somewhat out of place in this grouping. This appears to be Ms. Camden's first and only published work, so I am willing to allow that with some sharpening of her writing skills and/or perhaps a switch to a mystery or edgy chic-lit genre, she could have potential. Rating: ***
*Review updated: 11/3/10
June 8, 2021
I bought this book years ago, back when I was a huge Sherrilyn Kenyon fan and would read anything of hers I could get my hands on, even though I preferred her paranormals. This was technically a reread, but I only remembered Kenyon's story and the premise of Camden's story. Carlyle's story was a complete blank - absolutely nothing about it was familiar to me.
I recalled this being a so-so read for me, even back when I first read it. My romance reading tastes have changed a lot over the years, so I was curious to see how well this would hold up for me.
"BAD to the Bone" by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Marianne is a teacher who won a fantasy getaway in a contest. She gets to spend a week on an island, pretending to be the gorgeous heroine of her favorite romance novel while acting out scenes from the book. She'd been excited for the actor playing Brad, the book's hero, to sweep her off her feet, but the one who actually does that is Kyle, an agent from BAD (Bureau of American Defense) who's recuperating from a recent mission on the other half of the island.
Oh man, this story's premise was cringey. I can't imagine one of these "Hideaway Heroine Sweepstakes" going well. It's one thing to fantasize about your favorite romance hero. It's another to go on a real getaway with the expectation that the actor playing your favorite romance hero might seduce you. It wasn't stated flat out like that, but it was clear that the reality of the getaway (bad acting, plus edited scenes that avoid all sexual moments) did not impress Marianne.
Kyle was one of Kenyon's "tough guys who secretly want to settle down with someone sweet and ordinary but don't feel like they deserve that life." The story's length meant she didn't have a lot of time and space to establish the character dynamics, so aspects of it felt a little rushed, even though there was enough humor and warmth to make the results appealing. We had Kyle both falling instantly in love with Marianne and telling her that she was beautiful, and also thinking to himself that she was fairly ordinary and not particularly beautiful.
Readers were assured that Kyle really wanted an ordinary life with an ordinary woman, but I had trouble imagining what he'd do with himself once he followed Marianne home. BAD seemed to be his entire life. Still, this was pure fluff written in a reasonably enjoyable way.
"Let's Talk About Sex" by Liz Carlyle
Dr. Delia Sydney has a radio show in which she gives callers sex-related advice. Her recent divorce makes her feel a bit like a fraud, but she also definitely doesn't miss her ex - he's the one who left her with a mortgage she can't afford. Until she can manage to sell her house, she somehow has to convince her piece of junk car to keep working. Thankfully, Nick, her cop neighbor, offers to help her out.
I'm not really a fan of "heroine job involves sex in some way and is therefore inherently sexy" romance setups, and I don't think it was handled all that well here. An attempt was made: at one point in their relationship, Delia asked Nick to stop bringing up callers to her radio station during their own flirting and sex. She told him that that was her work, and she didn't consider her work to be sexy. I really liked that moment, but then it was ruined when Nick called Delia's radio station and, using a fake name, essentially flirted with her on-air by asking her a question that was really about her. If I had been Delia, I'd have been pissed, but for some reason she didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he did. They certainly never talked about it afterward.
On the plus side, the relationship progression was more believable than in the first story - no instalove, and I could actually imagine them as a couple with a future.
"The Nekkid Truth" by Nicole Camden
Years ago, an accident robbed Debbie of her ability to recognize faces, even her own. She got a job as a crime scene photographer and is now famous in the art world for her nude photography. She also has a private photograph collection: dick pics of all the men who have been her lovers. The man she really wants to be with, though, is Detective Marshall Scott. Unfortunately, he keeps her at arm's length - maybe for the best, since she isn't sure whether someone who can't recognize the face of their own mother could ever really love someone.
Whereas Kenyon's story was pure fluff and even Carlyle's was pretty light, Camden's story had a heaviness to it. The first half, in particular, felt very quiet and reflective, but also weirdly emotionally distant. I think it was part of Camden's efforts to write Debbie's face blindness, so it technically fit the story, but it didn't work for me from a romance perspective. I like my romances more emotionally warm and sweet. The second half of the story delivered that a little more, but overall it wasn't to my taste.
Still, Debbie's face blindness was pretty unique and memorable. The way it was worked into the final scene was nice.
All in all, this collection was okay, but a little odd, ranging in tone from goofy to reflective. It definitely at least had a theme to it: law enforcement officer heroes plus relatively high heat level sex. Unfortunately, considering the limited number of pages the authors had to work with, I sometimes felt like the sex scenes detracted from the time needed to establish that the characters were really in love rather than just in lust and could make a relationship work. Although Kenyon's story was the most fun, it was also the worst in that respect. That said, the other two stories were only so-so reads for me as well.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
I recalled this being a so-so read for me, even back when I first read it. My romance reading tastes have changed a lot over the years, so I was curious to see how well this would hold up for me.
"BAD to the Bone" by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Marianne is a teacher who won a fantasy getaway in a contest. She gets to spend a week on an island, pretending to be the gorgeous heroine of her favorite romance novel while acting out scenes from the book. She'd been excited for the actor playing Brad, the book's hero, to sweep her off her feet, but the one who actually does that is Kyle, an agent from BAD (Bureau of American Defense) who's recuperating from a recent mission on the other half of the island.
Oh man, this story's premise was cringey. I can't imagine one of these "Hideaway Heroine Sweepstakes" going well. It's one thing to fantasize about your favorite romance hero. It's another to go on a real getaway with the expectation that the actor playing your favorite romance hero might seduce you. It wasn't stated flat out like that, but it was clear that the reality of the getaway (bad acting, plus edited scenes that avoid all sexual moments) did not impress Marianne.
Kyle was one of Kenyon's "tough guys who secretly want to settle down with someone sweet and ordinary but don't feel like they deserve that life." The story's length meant she didn't have a lot of time and space to establish the character dynamics, so aspects of it felt a little rushed, even though there was enough humor and warmth to make the results appealing. We had Kyle both falling instantly in love with Marianne and telling her that she was beautiful, and also thinking to himself that she was fairly ordinary and not particularly beautiful.
Readers were assured that Kyle really wanted an ordinary life with an ordinary woman, but I had trouble imagining what he'd do with himself once he followed Marianne home. BAD seemed to be his entire life. Still, this was pure fluff written in a reasonably enjoyable way.
"Let's Talk About Sex" by Liz Carlyle
Dr. Delia Sydney has a radio show in which she gives callers sex-related advice. Her recent divorce makes her feel a bit like a fraud, but she also definitely doesn't miss her ex - he's the one who left her with a mortgage she can't afford. Until she can manage to sell her house, she somehow has to convince her piece of junk car to keep working. Thankfully, Nick, her cop neighbor, offers to help her out.
I'm not really a fan of "heroine job involves sex in some way and is therefore inherently sexy" romance setups, and I don't think it was handled all that well here. An attempt was made: at one point in their relationship, Delia asked Nick to stop bringing up callers to her radio station during their own flirting and sex. She told him that that was her work, and she didn't consider her work to be sexy. I really liked that moment, but then it was ruined when Nick called Delia's radio station and, using a fake name, essentially flirted with her on-air by asking her a question that was really about her. If I had been Delia, I'd have been pissed, but for some reason she didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he did. They certainly never talked about it afterward.
On the plus side, the relationship progression was more believable than in the first story - no instalove, and I could actually imagine them as a couple with a future.
"The Nekkid Truth" by Nicole Camden
Years ago, an accident robbed Debbie of her ability to recognize faces, even her own. She got a job as a crime scene photographer and is now famous in the art world for her nude photography. She also has a private photograph collection: dick pics of all the men who have been her lovers. The man she really wants to be with, though, is Detective Marshall Scott. Unfortunately, he keeps her at arm's length - maybe for the best, since she isn't sure whether someone who can't recognize the face of their own mother could ever really love someone.
Whereas Kenyon's story was pure fluff and even Carlyle's was pretty light, Camden's story had a heaviness to it. The first half, in particular, felt very quiet and reflective, but also weirdly emotionally distant. I think it was part of Camden's efforts to write Debbie's face blindness, so it technically fit the story, but it didn't work for me from a romance perspective. I like my romances more emotionally warm and sweet. The second half of the story delivered that a little more, but overall it wasn't to my taste.
Still, Debbie's face blindness was pretty unique and memorable. The way it was worked into the final scene was nice.
All in all, this collection was okay, but a little odd, ranging in tone from goofy to reflective. It definitely at least had a theme to it: law enforcement officer heroes plus relatively high heat level sex. Unfortunately, considering the limited number of pages the authors had to work with, I sometimes felt like the sex scenes detracted from the time needed to establish that the characters were really in love rather than just in lust and could make a relationship work. Although Kenyon's story was the most fun, it was also the worst in that respect. That said, the other two stories were only so-so reads for me as well.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
April 22, 2018
Perfect light summer reading for fans of steamy romance.
September 10, 2013
I received this book in a giveaway as a result of requesting it on Goodreads; it is the 357-page, 2005 edition.
I had already read books by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Liz Carlyle, but Nicole Camden is an author new to me.
For some reason, the premise of Kenyon's "Bad to the Bone," a woman winning time on an island to live out a fantasy of her favorite romance book, seems better than the reality of the story. Instead of staying in the fantasy story, she wanders to the other side of the island, where a black ops type of guy is blowing up sand castles while he is forced to recuperate from multiple gunshot wounds. Perhaps it was just me.
In Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex," although the plot was thin in places (most likely due to constraints of the novella format), the characters were more appealing and the story more enjoyable to read. The protagonist is a professor whose plastic surgeon husband has left her to marry another young woman; because she's stuck with the big house payments, she moonlights on talk radio. Her neighbor, a crime investigator, begins to win her over by fixing her ancient and ailing car.
"The Nekkid Truth," about a crime photographer, whose previous accident has left her with a rare inability for face recognition, and the detective who finally acts on their shared attraction, was also an enjoyable read. As a result, I looked up Camden to see what else she has written, but I'm afraid that the more recent titles about fetishes put me off.
These stories are labeled on the cover as "Tales of erotic romance," so a reader who does not like any explicit sexual material would be well advised to avoid this book. Having said this, there is no material that includes violence or degradation, nothing too extreme in these stories.
I do like the option of having novellas to read when time is short, and this book did fill the bill for such an occasion. I read the book over a two-day period. Apparently there is an updated version of this book out in 2013, with more pages. I wonder if the stories are revised?
I had already read books by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Liz Carlyle, but Nicole Camden is an author new to me.
For some reason, the premise of Kenyon's "Bad to the Bone," a woman winning time on an island to live out a fantasy of her favorite romance book, seems better than the reality of the story. Instead of staying in the fantasy story, she wanders to the other side of the island, where a black ops type of guy is blowing up sand castles while he is forced to recuperate from multiple gunshot wounds. Perhaps it was just me.
In Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex," although the plot was thin in places (most likely due to constraints of the novella format), the characters were more appealing and the story more enjoyable to read. The protagonist is a professor whose plastic surgeon husband has left her to marry another young woman; because she's stuck with the big house payments, she moonlights on talk radio. Her neighbor, a crime investigator, begins to win her over by fixing her ancient and ailing car.
"The Nekkid Truth," about a crime photographer, whose previous accident has left her with a rare inability for face recognition, and the detective who finally acts on their shared attraction, was also an enjoyable read. As a result, I looked up Camden to see what else she has written, but I'm afraid that the more recent titles about fetishes put me off.
These stories are labeled on the cover as "Tales of erotic romance," so a reader who does not like any explicit sexual material would be well advised to avoid this book. Having said this, there is no material that includes violence or degradation, nothing too extreme in these stories.
I do like the option of having novellas to read when time is short, and this book did fill the bill for such an occasion. I read the book over a two-day period. Apparently there is an updated version of this book out in 2013, with more pages. I wonder if the stories are revised?
August 9, 2014
I won this book through the Goodreads giveaways.
This book contained three separate stories.
BAD TO THE BONE by Sherrilyn Kenyon
I really liked this stories. Very humorous.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX by Liz Carlyle
I liked this story the least out of the three. A sex therapist who blushes every time the guy mentions sex. Really? The female lead just came off as too prudish and naive, and ended up just being overall irritating.
THE NEKKID TRUTH by Nicole Camden
The storyline was enjoyable with an interesting twist in the fact that the female lead has a very odd disability. It worked for the story though, and it was interesting to see how the two main characters dealt with it.
This book contained three separate stories.
BAD TO THE BONE by Sherrilyn Kenyon
I really liked this stories. Very humorous.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX by Liz Carlyle
I liked this story the least out of the three. A sex therapist who blushes every time the guy mentions sex. Really? The female lead just came off as too prudish and naive, and ended up just being overall irritating.
THE NEKKID TRUTH by Nicole Camden
The storyline was enjoyable with an interesting twist in the fact that the female lead has a very odd disability. It worked for the story though, and it was interesting to see how the two main characters dealt with it.
February 18, 2013
I enjoy all three stories, especially the first one, it makes me want to read the BAD series. Although each stories have no connection with one another, it all portrays a fearsome heroes and likable heroines. I didn't get bored and tried to read it all at one setting. The three authors definitely done a good job with this anthology.
January 21, 2012
Each of these three stories: BAD to the Bone by Sherrilyn Kenyon,Let's Talk About Sex by Liz Carlyle and The Nekkid Truth by Nicole Camden were all a treat to read. If you like romance, with a bit of fun thrown in, add this one to your pile of to-reads!
March 28, 2013
I really enjoyed stories 1 and 3.
Sherrilyns story about living out a fantasy romance novel for vacation is great. I laughed out loud, and we can all relate with Marriane!
In Nikki's story The Nekkid Truth Deb gets the best of both worlds...everyone loves the southern drawling hero!
Sherrilyns story about living out a fantasy romance novel for vacation is great. I laughed out loud, and we can all relate with Marriane!
In Nikki's story The Nekkid Truth Deb gets the best of both worlds...everyone loves the southern drawling hero!
July 17, 2010
I only read the Nicole Camden story because I went to college with her. Her story was very original and entertaining.
May 30, 2013
Funy, sexy and hot as hell!!!jajaja, really great short stories.
June 21, 2017
3 romantic short stories.
Bad to the Bone - Sherrilyn Kenyon - Another short about a woman winning the romantic getaway contest and meets the man of her dreams on the island. Love the chemistry between these two. Kyle sounds like one hot and skilled man. Lots of Laugh out loud moments. I'm certain I've read this story before, I'm not sure if there is a whole book made from this short story and that is why it is familiar or if I've read this short before in another anthology book. Either way, I was happy to read it all over again.
Let's talk about sex - Liz Carlyle - This story will have you wanting more too. The chemistry is great. The openness and honesty between these two is awesome. Another great love story.
The Nekkid Truth - Nicole Camden - I really enjoyed this read. A woman who loses the ability to identify faces after being in an accident and coma and how she copes with that while falling for Mr. Detective. A strong decent man and how he handles her and needs her help to catch a killer. These two have a great love story. Left me wanting more too.
3 really great love stories. Another great addition to my collection.
Bad to the Bone - Sherrilyn Kenyon - Another short about a woman winning the romantic getaway contest and meets the man of her dreams on the island. Love the chemistry between these two. Kyle sounds like one hot and skilled man. Lots of Laugh out loud moments. I'm certain I've read this story before, I'm not sure if there is a whole book made from this short story and that is why it is familiar or if I've read this short before in another anthology book. Either way, I was happy to read it all over again.
Let's talk about sex - Liz Carlyle - This story will have you wanting more too. The chemistry is great. The openness and honesty between these two is awesome. Another great love story.
The Nekkid Truth - Nicole Camden - I really enjoyed this read. A woman who loses the ability to identify faces after being in an accident and coma and how she copes with that while falling for Mr. Detective. A strong decent man and how he handles her and needs her help to catch a killer. These two have a great love story. Left me wanting more too.
3 really great love stories. Another great addition to my collection.
February 16, 2024
Maybe closer to 2.5⭐️. It’s a collection of three short stories. The first one is horribly cheesy and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. The second one was better. The third one was okay, too, and I did enjoy the wit of the MC but the way things transpired had me wanting to roll my eyes here and there.
This was the second book in the spicy date night package my husband got me for Christmas from Etsy. You pick the spice level and receive two random books. The first book was horrible; not my style AT ALL. This one wasn’t one I would choose but at least I didn’t dread reading it like the first one.
This was the second book in the spicy date night package my husband got me for Christmas from Etsy. You pick the spice level and receive two random books. The first book was horrible; not my style AT ALL. This one wasn’t one I would choose but at least I didn’t dread reading it like the first one.
August 8, 2017
Hot, hot, HOT! The stories were all good, albeit certain elements that didn't sit well with me. I liked Nicole Camdem's story best: the tension was spot on and the heroine was my type of gal. Just wish there was a bit more action given that they were in the middle of solving a murder case. Nevertheless, I had a very enjoyable read.
July 1, 2019
Light easy anthology with a few surprises! I really enjoyed BAD to the bone, although a clever premise took a turn for the absurd. The middle story — let’s talk about sex — was boring and predictable. The Nekkid Truth was a gem, however, with a really unique heroine and a strong plot. I was impressed.
May 5, 2018
Wow!!! I loved it!!
August 24, 2019
It's an OK read, but I mostly prefer Sherrilyn Kenyon 's part.
February 12, 2021
BAD to the Bone - Sherrilyn Kenyon
January 19, 2024
Reread. Again I found a good read in this book. I would not mind more stories in this series.
February 7, 2017
I’ve had this book for a few years and finally got around to reading it. I’m a big fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon but I’ve never read anything from Liz Carlyle or Nicole Camden until now.
In the first book of the anthology, ‘BAD to the Bone’ by Sherrilyn Kenyon, school teacher Marianne wins the sweepstakes! But it’s not just any sweepstakes. The host is a romance book publisher and the winner can pick any book the publisher owns to reenact at their private island. As she’s living the fantasy—a secret agent/spy romance with a kickass heroine—she’s bored because all the actors meant to portray the characters in the book are duds. When Marianne wanders to the off-limits part of the island, she meets the gorgeous Kyle and all her action-packed, hot sex dreams with a real life secret agent are about to come true!
I love insta-love stories and their chemistry was off the charts. I laughed out several times and the H/h really clicked. The ending is super sweet but hilarious. Though I enjoyed the story, it was a little farfetched. I mean, Marianne is a tourist and she’s hiding in a cave from the publisher’s fantasy workers for a week. I understand she doesn’t want to go back but she’s not even concerned that her disappearance and ‘kidnapping’ by Kyle could pose major problems. Kyle is hitting and scaring off the people who are doing their job and trying to find her, not even concerned he could get in big trouble with the agency he works for.
The novella is well-edited, but the author jumped POVs. The switches flowed, however, and I never lost track of who was telling the story. The pacing could’ve been tighter but I liked it overall.
3 Stars
In Liz Carlyle’s, ‘Let’s Talk About Sex,’ recent divorcée Delia meets her next door neighbor Nick after the home owner’s association of her fancy gated community decides to cut down the border of trees between her place and Nick’s. (His ramshackle adjacent property isn’t part of the gated area.) They have little in common but sexual tension sparks between them.
I didn’t connect well with either Delia or Nick. She’s a snobby sex physiologist and assistant college professor, and she hosts a daytime talk show about sex. The problem is that she’s naïve and has very little sexual experience. She’s totally vanilla and unsure about her own sexuality. This makes little sense due to her job.
Nick, on the other hand, is too arrogant and pursues her way too strongly. He works for the State Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, so it’s understandable he’s rough around the edges. To make matters worse, he’s a good ole boy with a Southern drawl and he calls his father Daddy. He makes it clear he only wants sex from her, not a relationship, and he refuses to talk about anything important. When she tries to have a meaningful conversation, he very crudely seduces her and she gives in without a fight.
The story is well-written but needs a little content editing. For example, how old is Delia? On one page she’s 29, a few pages later she’s 31. I really wanted to like this book but I struggled to get through it. It just wasn’t for me.
2 Stars
In the last book, ‘The Nekkid Truth’ by Nicole Camden, Debbie is a professional photographer who also sidelines as a crime scene photographer for the police. A drunk-driving cop hit her car five years ago and left her with a mental disability. She’s fully functional and lives a strong, healthy life, but she has trouble recognizing people, even those she knows well. She’s a flirt, lives in the moment, but there’s only one man she wants. Marshall was the drunken cop’s partner and he feels responsible for her accident. They’ve become friends and started working together, and the sexual tension between them is high. When a murder investigation draws them together and their feelings for one another out in the open, neither of them expected the sparks to fly.
I liked this book a lot. Though Debbie’s problem confused me (I’m not sure if the disability is even a real medical problem), I definitely felt her pain, unease and self-doubt. I teared up a few times. Marshall was so sweet and understanding. He’s surly and protective but definitely doesn’t seem like a realistic cop, at least none I’ve met or heard of in real life. For instance, he kisses a man on the mouth for laughs at his birthday party (also, the whole station accepts two openly gay cops who work there). That’s wonderful, but a little unrealistic in my opinion.
The story is well-written like the previous two but, unlike them, it’s in first POV and told from Debbie’s POV. I’m not a big fan of first POV but I enjoyed the story.
3.5 Stars
The Book Overall – 3 Stars
Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
In the first book of the anthology, ‘BAD to the Bone’ by Sherrilyn Kenyon, school teacher Marianne wins the sweepstakes! But it’s not just any sweepstakes. The host is a romance book publisher and the winner can pick any book the publisher owns to reenact at their private island. As she’s living the fantasy—a secret agent/spy romance with a kickass heroine—she’s bored because all the actors meant to portray the characters in the book are duds. When Marianne wanders to the off-limits part of the island, she meets the gorgeous Kyle and all her action-packed, hot sex dreams with a real life secret agent are about to come true!
I love insta-love stories and their chemistry was off the charts. I laughed out several times and the H/h really clicked. The ending is super sweet but hilarious. Though I enjoyed the story, it was a little farfetched. I mean, Marianne is a tourist and she’s hiding in a cave from the publisher’s fantasy workers for a week. I understand she doesn’t want to go back but she’s not even concerned that her disappearance and ‘kidnapping’ by Kyle could pose major problems. Kyle is hitting and scaring off the people who are doing their job and trying to find her, not even concerned he could get in big trouble with the agency he works for.
The novella is well-edited, but the author jumped POVs. The switches flowed, however, and I never lost track of who was telling the story. The pacing could’ve been tighter but I liked it overall.
3 Stars
In Liz Carlyle’s, ‘Let’s Talk About Sex,’ recent divorcée Delia meets her next door neighbor Nick after the home owner’s association of her fancy gated community decides to cut down the border of trees between her place and Nick’s. (His ramshackle adjacent property isn’t part of the gated area.) They have little in common but sexual tension sparks between them.
I didn’t connect well with either Delia or Nick. She’s a snobby sex physiologist and assistant college professor, and she hosts a daytime talk show about sex. The problem is that she’s naïve and has very little sexual experience. She’s totally vanilla and unsure about her own sexuality. This makes little sense due to her job.
Nick, on the other hand, is too arrogant and pursues her way too strongly. He works for the State Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, so it’s understandable he’s rough around the edges. To make matters worse, he’s a good ole boy with a Southern drawl and he calls his father Daddy. He makes it clear he only wants sex from her, not a relationship, and he refuses to talk about anything important. When she tries to have a meaningful conversation, he very crudely seduces her and she gives in without a fight.
The story is well-written but needs a little content editing. For example, how old is Delia? On one page she’s 29, a few pages later she’s 31. I really wanted to like this book but I struggled to get through it. It just wasn’t for me.
2 Stars
In the last book, ‘The Nekkid Truth’ by Nicole Camden, Debbie is a professional photographer who also sidelines as a crime scene photographer for the police. A drunk-driving cop hit her car five years ago and left her with a mental disability. She’s fully functional and lives a strong, healthy life, but she has trouble recognizing people, even those she knows well. She’s a flirt, lives in the moment, but there’s only one man she wants. Marshall was the drunken cop’s partner and he feels responsible for her accident. They’ve become friends and started working together, and the sexual tension between them is high. When a murder investigation draws them together and their feelings for one another out in the open, neither of them expected the sparks to fly.
I liked this book a lot. Though Debbie’s problem confused me (I’m not sure if the disability is even a real medical problem), I definitely felt her pain, unease and self-doubt. I teared up a few times. Marshall was so sweet and understanding. He’s surly and protective but definitely doesn’t seem like a realistic cop, at least none I’ve met or heard of in real life. For instance, he kisses a man on the mouth for laughs at his birthday party (also, the whole station accepts two openly gay cops who work there). That’s wonderful, but a little unrealistic in my opinion.
The story is well-written like the previous two but, unlike them, it’s in first POV and told from Debbie’s POV. I’m not a big fan of first POV but I enjoyed the story.
3.5 Stars
The Book Overall – 3 Stars
Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
March 14, 2017
This is an anthology of stories about men in uniform and mildly erotic.
Series
"BAD to the Bone" (B.A.D. Agency, 0.25)
The Stories
Sherrilyn Kenyon's "BAD to the Bone" uses the Fantasy Island backdrop for this story about a Midwestern schoolteacher winning this month's "live out your fantasy from a book" contest. It's so cute [& homey!] how Kenyon creates an everyday woman who gets to live out her fantasy AND meet the love of her life.
This one involves Kyle recuperating on the B.A.D. side of the island, recovering from five or six gunshots — there's some dispute between the docs as to just how many. Marianne Webernec is the thirty-ish schoolteacher. Short, plain, a bit overweight, and she's won the chance to play out one of her favorite scenes! Ooh, baby, I wanna know how she managed to winnow it down to just one!
Lily Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex" is sooo cute! I just love this one.
Dr. Delia Sydney has her fingers in all sorts of…pies. And Sgt. Nick Woodruff knows at least her voice from her radio show, Let's Talk About Sex.
Nicole Camden's "Nekkid Truth" is a half-and-half for me. The story itself is great, but Deborah Valley's handicap is so depressing. I think it hits a little too close to home for me.
Anyway, Deb started making a living by shooting crime scenes for the cops, and through her handicap, became interested in shooting body parts. She became good enough that her photos of how she sees the human body are in gallery showings, and she's made herself a nice reputation. It's not enough of course. What Deb really wants is a chance with Detective Scott. She's already thrown herself at him once and been shot down. She is not going to open herself up like that again…
The Cover and Title
The cover is cute with the tight backside of a man half in uniform, gun on his right, another case on his back left hip obviously with his arms around a woman. The same woman with her arms casually around his neck, one hand clasping the brim of his policeman's hat.
The title certainly is appropriate for each hero seems to carry a Big Gun when he's Out of Uniform.
Series
"BAD to the Bone" (B.A.D. Agency, 0.25)
The Stories
Sherrilyn Kenyon's "BAD to the Bone" uses the Fantasy Island backdrop for this story about a Midwestern schoolteacher winning this month's "live out your fantasy from a book" contest. It's so cute [& homey!] how Kenyon creates an everyday woman who gets to live out her fantasy AND meet the love of her life.
This one involves Kyle recuperating on the B.A.D. side of the island, recovering from five or six gunshots — there's some dispute between the docs as to just how many. Marianne Webernec is the thirty-ish schoolteacher. Short, plain, a bit overweight, and she's won the chance to play out one of her favorite scenes! Ooh, baby, I wanna know how she managed to winnow it down to just one!
Lily Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex" is sooo cute! I just love this one.
Dr. Delia Sydney has her fingers in all sorts of…pies. And Sgt. Nick Woodruff knows at least her voice from her radio show, Let's Talk About Sex.
Nicole Camden's "Nekkid Truth" is a half-and-half for me. The story itself is great, but Deborah Valley's handicap is so depressing. I think it hits a little too close to home for me.
Anyway, Deb started making a living by shooting crime scenes for the cops, and through her handicap, became interested in shooting body parts. She became good enough that her photos of how she sees the human body are in gallery showings, and she's made herself a nice reputation. It's not enough of course. What Deb really wants is a chance with Detective Scott. She's already thrown herself at him once and been shot down. She is not going to open herself up like that again…
The Cover and Title
The cover is cute with the tight backside of a man half in uniform, gun on his right, another case on his back left hip obviously with his arms around a woman. The same woman with her arms casually around his neck, one hand clasping the brim of his policeman's hat.
The title certainly is appropriate for each hero seems to carry a Big Gun when he's Out of Uniform.
November 2, 2010
"BAD to the Bone" by Sherrilyn Kenyon - 4 stars
Any story that has me laughing out loud in the first few pages deserves serious kudos. This story, about a small-town school teacher who wins a romance-book fantasy week on a private island (sans the midget) and runs into a real life action hero, is sweet, romantic, and funny. And I'm usually not that type of girl, but this one had me laughing out loud, smiling to myself, and discussing the finer points of the minor characters with my 5-week-old son while he napped on my lap. I will definitely look for more in Kenyon's BAD series.
"Let's Talk About Sex" by Liz Carlyle - 4 stars
Another sweet one, about a divored sex radio talk show host (slightly repressed on the personal sexuality, of course) and her sexy, next-door neighbor, a southern cop whose big on charm and car mechanics. Although not as humorous as the first story, this one is quite well written and I enjoyed both characters immensely. This despite the fact that they both displayed the romance trait I hate the most - that of not being honest for fear of ridicule or failure.
"The Nekkid Truth" by Nicole Camden - 4 stars
The strangest of the three stories, as our heroine suffers from an odd symptom of a head injury - that of facial amnesia. So she has no recognition of faces, not even her own, and consequently has developed some really strange coping mechanisms, such as photographing naked body parts, by which she can differentiate people. Thus, perversely, grows her collection of close-ups of men's dicks, complete with nick names like Speckled Dick and EWF (Every Woman's Fantasy). However, the romance between her and homicide detective Marshall Scott is sweet, as is the San Diego setting. I will keep an eye out of this new author.
Any story that has me laughing out loud in the first few pages deserves serious kudos. This story, about a small-town school teacher who wins a romance-book fantasy week on a private island (sans the midget) and runs into a real life action hero, is sweet, romantic, and funny. And I'm usually not that type of girl, but this one had me laughing out loud, smiling to myself, and discussing the finer points of the minor characters with my 5-week-old son while he napped on my lap. I will definitely look for more in Kenyon's BAD series.
"Let's Talk About Sex" by Liz Carlyle - 4 stars
Another sweet one, about a divored sex radio talk show host (slightly repressed on the personal sexuality, of course) and her sexy, next-door neighbor, a southern cop whose big on charm and car mechanics. Although not as humorous as the first story, this one is quite well written and I enjoyed both characters immensely. This despite the fact that they both displayed the romance trait I hate the most - that of not being honest for fear of ridicule or failure.
"The Nekkid Truth" by Nicole Camden - 4 stars
The strangest of the three stories, as our heroine suffers from an odd symptom of a head injury - that of facial amnesia. So she has no recognition of faces, not even her own, and consequently has developed some really strange coping mechanisms, such as photographing naked body parts, by which she can differentiate people. Thus, perversely, grows her collection of close-ups of men's dicks, complete with nick names like Speckled Dick and EWF (Every Woman's Fantasy). However, the romance between her and homicide detective Marshall Scott is sweet, as is the San Diego setting. I will keep an eye out of this new author.
May 14, 2011
Sherrilyn Kenyon: BAD to the Bone: Marianne Webernec is a teacher who wins a week living out a fantasy as the heroine of her favorite romance novel. It starts out less than satisfying until she finds someone who lives a real life role and sweeps her off of her feet. Kyle Foster is a BAD agent who is forcibly experiencing a little R & R and bored until he meets the shy teacher who needs her own lessons in asking for what she wants. Nice sparks between the two, ending a little less than satisfying.
Liz Carlyle: Let's Talk About Sex: Dr. Delia Sydney can dish out advice but has trouble applying her own principles when it comes to her sexy neighbor Nick Woodruff. The charismatic police officer is already a fan of her show but once he gets to know the doctor herself, he becomes hooked on the woman herself. A little stereotyped but cut story.
Nicole Camden: The Nekkid Truth: Fascinating story of Debbie Valley who has an inability to recognize faces ever since detective Marshall Scott's partner caused her to have a severe head injury. Debbie has become a photographer but a few of her hobbies as well as guilt make Marshall unwilling to respond to her overtures. A very interesting look at an unusual disability combined with a mystery with plenty of spice.
Liz Carlyle: Let's Talk About Sex: Dr. Delia Sydney can dish out advice but has trouble applying her own principles when it comes to her sexy neighbor Nick Woodruff. The charismatic police officer is already a fan of her show but once he gets to know the doctor herself, he becomes hooked on the woman herself. A little stereotyped but cut story.
Nicole Camden: The Nekkid Truth: Fascinating story of Debbie Valley who has an inability to recognize faces ever since detective Marshall Scott's partner caused her to have a severe head injury. Debbie has become a photographer but a few of her hobbies as well as guilt make Marshall unwilling to respond to her overtures. A very interesting look at an unusual disability combined with a mystery with plenty of spice.
May 4, 2015
Sherrilyn Kenyon's "BAD to the Bone" 3.7 stars
Liz Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex" 4.3 stars
Nicole Camden's "The Nekkid Truth" 4 stars
I actually read this book because of Ms. Sherrilyn Kenyon. I'm her huge HUGE fan... I waited ages for her other books so I picked out this to satisfy my need for her books. Her story wasn't so bad, it was good but the others are surprisingly better. I actually like "Let's Talk About Sex" the most between the three stories. these 3 are totally hot by the way.
"BAD to the Bone" is still a hot book but not as exciting as most of her other books. perhaps, it's because it's a short story... and the shortest of the three.
"Let's Talk About Sex"... Wow. I really like the guy here.. a little jerk LOL... I think this short one is really nicely written. the right pace for a short story. not so much of an abrupt ending.
I give creativity and colorful vocabulary point for "The Nekkid Truth". I actually look into dictionary twice. I think there is too much information that can be written into a longer book. the plot is great and unique. A longer story would be better.
Liz Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex" 4.3 stars
Nicole Camden's "The Nekkid Truth" 4 stars
I actually read this book because of Ms. Sherrilyn Kenyon. I'm her huge HUGE fan... I waited ages for her other books so I picked out this to satisfy my need for her books. Her story wasn't so bad, it was good but the others are surprisingly better. I actually like "Let's Talk About Sex" the most between the three stories. these 3 are totally hot by the way.
"BAD to the Bone" is still a hot book but not as exciting as most of her other books. perhaps, it's because it's a short story... and the shortest of the three.
"Let's Talk About Sex"... Wow. I really like the guy here.. a little jerk LOL... I think this short one is really nicely written. the right pace for a short story. not so much of an abrupt ending.
I give creativity and colorful vocabulary point for "The Nekkid Truth". I actually look into dictionary twice. I think there is too much information that can be written into a longer book. the plot is great and unique. A longer story would be better.
March 31, 2008
The first story written by Sherrilyn Kenyon is about Marrianne and Kyle. Marrianne is a teacher who won a contest to be in a fantasy like to romance novels she adores. Kyle just happens to be on recouping on the island where the Hideaway Heroine Sweepstakes takes place. The meet and he is so blown away by her he kidnaps to make her every desire happen like her novels read.
In the second story by Liz Caryle it is about Delia and Nick. Delia is a radio advice Dr. and Nick is a cop. Nick just happens to make Delia's all of Delia's buttons pop when it comes to sizzeling sex.
In the third story by Nicole Camden Debbie Valley is in a bad car accident that affects her life drastically. She cannot remember faces not even her own. After being in a coma from the accident now she can only identify people by their bodies. And that is what she does for a living. A professional photographer.”
In the second story by Liz Caryle it is about Delia and Nick. Delia is a radio advice Dr. and Nick is a cop. Nick just happens to make Delia's all of Delia's buttons pop when it comes to sizzeling sex.
In the third story by Nicole Camden Debbie Valley is in a bad car accident that affects her life drastically. She cannot remember faces not even her own. After being in a coma from the accident now she can only identify people by their bodies. And that is what she does for a living. A professional photographer.”
May 25, 2011
Tried "The Nekkid Truth" for the whole "can't recognize faces" novelty factor. Interesting concept, but the story didn't hold up to the promise.
First person female lead who I clashed with personality wise. I have a hell of a time with first person where we don't complement each other.
More erotica than romance, and crude erotica. I skipped the first few sex scenes, but even skipping ahead, I couldn't manage to finish the story.
I already decided I'm not crazy about Kenyon's BAD stories (based on a different short in another anthology), despite liking her Dark-Hunter books, so I'm just going to abandon this anthology ... quit while I'm behind.
Why do I keep buying anthologies when I rarely like short stories? Some compulsion to get everything in print by an author I like. (In this case, Kenyon.)
One more for the charity box.
First person female lead who I clashed with personality wise. I have a hell of a time with first person where we don't complement each other.
More erotica than romance, and crude erotica. I skipped the first few sex scenes, but even skipping ahead, I couldn't manage to finish the story.
I already decided I'm not crazy about Kenyon's BAD stories (based on a different short in another anthology), despite liking her Dark-Hunter books, so I'm just going to abandon this anthology ... quit while I'm behind.
Why do I keep buying anthologies when I rarely like short stories? Some compulsion to get everything in print by an author I like. (In this case, Kenyon.)
One more for the charity box.
April 26, 2013
"Romance" as a genre often sacrifices plot and character development to relationship and sex, and sometimes I can get very annoyed reading some of the popular authors. I feel Sherrilyn Kenyon is better in her paranormal world than her secret agent world. If you can accept the premise of Nicole Camden's "The Nekkid Truth," it's a better story overall. For me, the strongest and most intelligent while still very sexy entry was Liz Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex." I bought this book because I have a weak spot for cops. It's safer reading and fantasizing about them than dating them and worrying about them and getting stood up over and over because of overtime. In real life, these poor guys often don't have time and energy for romance and sex. We owe them a lot!
June 8, 2019
I bought this book only because the first story in it is by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I liked her short story in here, wished it was longer. Bad to the Bone was very cute. I liked the characters and really wish it was longer. I'd give it a three star rating.
Second story by Liz Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex," was good it could have been better. It was a little rushed in my opinion. I would give it a three star rating.
Third story by Nicole Camden's "The Nekkid Truth" was one of those stories I skimmed through. It didn't really draw me in enough. I would say its probably a two star rating for me.
Second story by Liz Carlyle's "Let's Talk About Sex," was good it could have been better. It was a little rushed in my opinion. I would give it a three star rating.
Third story by Nicole Camden's "The Nekkid Truth" was one of those stories I skimmed through. It didn't really draw me in enough. I would say its probably a two star rating for me.
April 29, 2008
Seriously, you have to know Sherrilyn Kenyon is a great author, period. I don't see how you can't be satisfied if what you are looking for, in this series, is action and great sex. Not just that because I always need more I ask for more. That characters have to seem real enough to care for, or care for each other to some degree, be it they have an intense attractive within mometns of meeting. Just make me feel/believe it and I get carried away. I love reading authors that pull me into thier world and Kenyon does just that.
August 5, 2009
Multi-author anthology which has the first BAD story "BAD to the Bone" in Sherrilyn Kenyon's BAD series. A mild-mannered midwestern eacher wins the "Hideaway Heroine Sweepstakes." Intended as an orchestrated reliving of her favorite spy romance - she ends up kidnapped by a very bored real-life agent. The other two stories are readable, the last by Camden had a very interesting 'hook' - the heroine lost the ability to recognize people [including herself:] due brain damage and the repercussions of that on her life was interesting.
October 5, 2014
This is a reread for me since I read ALL of Sherrilyn Kenyon books just as soon as they come out. I LOVED "BAD to the Bone" and I don't have anything against Dianna Love (since I buy all of her books too) but this series was better when Sherrilyn was writing them all herself.
Also loved both of the other stories in this book. "Let's Talk About Sex" by Liz Carlyle and "The Nekkid Truth" by Nicole Camden. Which was both new Authors for me at the time I first read this book!
Also loved both of the other stories in this book. "Let's Talk About Sex" by Liz Carlyle and "The Nekkid Truth" by Nicole Camden. Which was both new Authors for me at the time I first read this book!
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