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Back in Black by Lori Foster

By

ISBN: 978-425-232989

Publisher: Berkley Books

I picked up this book a few weeks ago when I recognized it as the one I hadn’t read of Lori Foster’s latest series.  It certainly was eye catching!  The picture on the front was hot and the synopsis on the back lead me to believe that I had in my hands another sizzler.  It had been a while since I had read the other books of this series and so I had some trouble at the beginning remembering the premise and the characters of the other books.

In Back in Black, Gillian Noode (too obvious a pun) is hired as a PR consultant for Drew Black – the aggressive, potty-mouthed, head of the SBC Fight organization.  She is supposed to mold him into a softer, gentler, PG rated version of himself.  So….she sleeps with him……repeatedly!  I have come to anticipate super-hot love scenes from Lori Foster. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy  the sensual nature of her books!  I also realize that I am reading fiction, not non-fiction.  But really, Gillian has been hired because of her reputation as being able to deal with difficult clients and what does she do? – She drops her laundry – over and over and over again!

Every time Gillian tries to talk business with Drew, he seduces her.  She never calls him on this behavior with any degree of believability.  She comments several times that she has been hired to do a job and she isn’t supposed to sleep with him.  She seems to be vaguely concerned that she’ll lose her job, but these concerns don’t seem to keep her clothes on!

By the end of the story there does seem to be the required change in Drew’s behavior, but only when Gillian is there to prompt him.  There is a wonderful relationship between Brett and Audrey that I humbly feel could have been a better focus of this installment of the SBC books than the interaction between Drew and Gillian was.  On the raw heat scale this book gets a 5 but otherwise gets a 3.5

RT Book Reviews give Back in Black 4 1/2 stars and says the following: “Foster’s latest is pure entertainment and a joy to read.”
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My Man Michael by Lori Foster

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ISBN: 978-0-425-22629-2

Publisher: Berkley Books

My Man Michael is billed as the 4th book in the SBC series, but as another reviewer stated “If this book has been a standalone, rather than the 4th in a series, it would have gone down better.  As part of the SBC series, I, the reader, feel betrayed and suckered.”  I’m not sure that I feel quite so strongly as the above reviewer did, but this book is about a member of the SBC team being beamed into the future.  Don’t get me wrong…..I’m a huge fan of the old Star Trek series and enjoy hearing the line “Beam me up Scotty”, but I spent money on a book that was billed as one of a series, not a futuristic romance! I’m not a fan of futuristic romances, not to mention the latest craze of paranormal books give me nightmares.  I’m not part of the female population that finds vampires erotic!

I guess I should have suspected that something was a bit funky with this book if I’d just had a look at the YouTube Trailer for the book.

Not sure where to begin describing this book!  I guess the premise of the book is that one of the SBC fighters (Michael) had been significantly injured and will never fight again in present day earth.  A woman appears in his hospital room and offers to take him to a place where he will be whole.  That she can fix him.  She, of course, has another agenda as her future version of earth needs a strong man like Michael to help make them stronger (by breeding with them, of course)  The story proceeds in a Gene Roddenberry kind of fashion with furniture appearing out of thin air to a virgin being left out as a sacrifice for the dragon.  This book has some sizzling sex scenes like we can expect from Lori Foster, but so many plot holes a truck could have been driven through this book!

If science fiction is your thing, buy this book and enjoy.  I had to force myself to finish it.  I don’t think Lori Foster is a must buy from now on!
The Romance reader says: “My Man Michael is a good story, based on a pretty unbelievable premise. If you can swallow the space travel, futuristic colony and sacrificial virgins, then you will really enjoy the rest of the tale.”

Hard to Handle by Lori Foster

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ISBN: 9780425219720 2

Publisher: Berkley Books

Hard to Handle is the third book in Lori Foster’s latest series about SBC fighters.  The two main characters in this book are Harley Handleman, a SBC extreme fighter and Anastasia (Stasia) Bradley, a Life Coach and Harley’s landlord.  Harley rents a cottage from Stasia every winter but this winter he is recovering from an injury sustained when saving Dakota’s life (from Simon Says).  He wants to fight a title fight, but various things have gotten in the way of that happening over the past few years.  Harley stops at Stasia’s house on his way home from spending the night in another woman’s bed and for whatever reason, he suddenly sees her in a new light and decides he is attracted to her.   Luckily, Stasia is aware of what a legendary womanizer Harley is and sends him on his way!

After an attempt is made on Stasia’s life, Harley attempts to keep her safe.  This is where the story starts to fall apart for me.  He keeps her safe until the next day and then sends her to stay in a hotel until her vehicle has been  fixed.  Seems odd that although someone has tried to kill her, Harley thinks that she’ll be find after a few days – like the killer will lose interest.  I feel that the killer/stalker story-line is completely unrealistic.  Neither Harley or Stasia seem to take the situation seriously and even when the stalker is caught the whole situation is sort of brushed under the rug.  Bizarre!

The character of Barber re-occurs in this story.  I liked him from Simon Says, but in this book he seems to be seen as somewhat of a slut, wanting to sleep with anyone who crosses his path.  Jasmine is the love interest that appears for him in the guise of wanting to audition for the position of lead singer in his band.  She seems to be strong enough to stand up to him and I think a good match for him.  I would prefer that Barber and Jasmine be the main characters of this book rather than Harley and Stasia.

I have read many reviews that rave about this book and I have trouble agreeing with the glowing reports.  Jayne Ann Krentz claims: “Intense, edgy, and hot.  Lori Foster delivers everything you’re looking for in a romance.”  Booklist states:  “Doesn’t hesitate to turn up the heat.” about Hard to Handle.  I guess I’m looking forward to book number 4 in the series!  RT Book Review doesn’t agree with me and gives Hard to Handle 4 stars and says the following: “With many familiar faces and a delightful secondary romance, Foster’s latest is a wonderful, heartwarming story with plenty of action, a suspenseful mystery and a glimpse into the sport of fighting.”
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