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Hot For Me (The Balefire Series Book 4) by Tam DeRudder Jackson – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Hot For Me (Balefire, #4)Hot For Me by Tam DeRudder Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hot for Me is Book Four in The Balefire Series that is focused on the rock band, Balefire. It is a contemporary romance novel that tells the story of Cristy and Adam who are members of Balefire. Cristy is sex on heels, loves attention, and grabs headlines wherever she goes. When she goes on tour with the band, she immediately grabs Adam’s attention as well. Cristy loves to flirt with Adam and is equally attracted to him but enjoys the attention he gives her, and it takes awhile before she gives in to her primal urges. Adam wants more but Cristy does not want or need a relationship. She has demons from her past that she is unable to get past and they threaten to ruin any future she has.

This book was exquisitely written with a fascinating storyline, intriguing characters and vivid scene descriptions that fully immerse you into the story. It is told from the POV of both Adam and Cristy, so you experience their feelings and emotions along with them. The chemistry and attraction between Adam and Cristy sizzles off the pages. Adam is a Rockstar who wants more than a casual fling, but Cristy cannot offer him more because of her past secrets. Any relationship that Adam and Cristy may have seems doomed to fail because of not only those secrets but numerous external forces as well. Interfering managers, fans, gossip sites, and paparazzi all play a part in keeping the couple apart. The author takes us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with Adam and Cristy as they try to navigate through their relationship. This story is full of steamy sex scenes, love, anger, secrets, betrayal, and drama galore.

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Stay For Me (The Balefire Series Book 5) by Tam DeRudder Jackson – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Stay For Me (The Balefire Series Book 5)Stay For Me by Tam DeRudder Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stay for Me is Book Five in The Balefire Series that is focused on the rock band, Balefire. It is a contemporary romance novel that tells the story of Garrett and Olivia who broke up ten years prior. Garrett chose to leave Olivia to pursue a career in the music industry managing a rock band. He has always regretted breaking it off with Olivia so when fate gives him a second chance, he does not want to do anything to mess it up. Olivia has worked hard over the past ten years to become a Hollywood music video director and has moved past her breakup with Garrett. When her studio is hired by rock band Balefire fate brings Garrett back into her life and Olivia is not happy about it. She does not trust Garrett to not hurt her again.

This book was well written and told from both Olivia and Garrett’s POV, so we can experience what each character is thinking and feeling. The characters are well written and relatable, and it is easy to empathize with both. Garrett comes across as a bit of a jerk at times, but we can see but we are able to see him grow and mature. He knows that he made a mistake ten years ago by walking away from the best thing that happened to him and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win her back. Olivia is smart, hard working and driven to succeed. Garrett hurt her immensely and she has worked hard to put that part of her life behind her. When he reenters her life, she is naturally wary of him and does not want to get hurt again. This was a well written second chance romance with passion, love and loss, drama, angst, chemistry, and a second chance at love.

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Fiddle and Fire (Hearts of Gold Book 2) by Ariella Talix – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Fiddle and Fire: A Steamy Historical MMF Romance (Hearts of Gold Book 2)Fiddle and Fire: A Steamy Historical MMF Romance by Ariella Talix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fiddle and Fire is Book Two in the Hearts of Gold series. It is a steamy MMF historical romance novel set in early San Francisco. The story centers around the characters of Suzette, Walter and Isaac who find themselves attracted to one another.

Walter and Isaac are best friends who have travelled across the country together and settled into San Francisco. Walter is secretly in love with Isaac but afraid to tell him for fear of the feelings not being reciprocated. At that time in San Francisco there were very few women so when Suzette blows into town both men find themselves attracted to her. Suzette is drawn to each man for different reasons and finds it hard to choose between them. She also seems to be the missing piece to their puzzle as she ignites the spark between Walter and Isaac. The solution seems to be for her to be with both men and that way she will not be forced to choose. The only problem is that Suzette has some dark secrets from her past that will threaten to ruin everything.

I loved the historical backdrop for the storyline and found the concept of MMF interesting for the time period it was set in. The characters were interesting and the added detail of Suzette having a dark past added a sense of mystery, danger, and suspense to the book. Her past threatens to destroy them all and puts all three of them in danger. I took away a star because this story was told from multiple points of view which I found a bit hard to follow at times. Overall, an interesting historical romance book.

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