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Hard to Handle by Lori Foster

By

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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Simon Says by Lori Foster

By

ISBN: 978-0-425-21658-3

Publisher: Berkley Books

Simon Evans or “Sublime” to his fight fans, is a well known trainer of fighters.  After breaking up with his girlfriend of five years, he decides to make a comeback in the fighting ring.  Because of the dishonesty of his ex-girlfriend he values trust, honesty and loyalty above all.

Dakota Dream (interesting name) has had a tough life complete with a nasty ex-husband and a manipulative step-father.  When her step-father demands that she bring his son (Simon) to him, Dakota feels she has no choice but to approach Simon as her step father is holding hostage letters from Dakota’s estranged mother.  She hopes that if she succeeds she will be free of his demands after this.  When Dakota arrives at the gym that Havoc (from Causing Havoc) owns and operates in Harmony, Kentucky, Simon is attracted to her from the beginning.  Sparks begin to fly when Simon determines why she is there.  He rejects any attempt to get him to see his father but he is immediately attracted to her!  He sees Dakota as ballsy, smart, caring and hot but when he finds out that she hasn’t been honest with him, he has issues overcoming the honesty and trust issues.

I wanted to like this book as much as I enjoyed the previous one.  Lori Foster can always be depended upon to produce sizzling sex scenes and racy stories.  Although this one started with an interesting premise, Dakota was inconsistent from chapter to chapter.  She didn’t come off as a likable character.  She seemed to go out of her way to be unfriendly, even rude at times and I thought combative most of the time.  I could see no redeeming qualities in her, and since I liked Simon, I didn’t see the attraction.  Although the sex scenes sizzled (as usual for Lori Foster) I didn’t really feel the book was a good representation of what Lori Foster is capable of.  I look forward to the next book in this series.

RT Book Reviews says” This sequel to Causing Havoc has delightfully familiar faces as well as intriguing new ones. The heroine, an abuse victim, is presented in a realistic way, working to overcome her fears and build a new relationship.” The Romance Reader gives this book three stars and says: “Highly readable, possibly flawed (depending on your point of view), this book is quintessential Lori Foster.”
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Causing Havoc by Lori Foster

By

ISBN: 0425214230 2

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

Causing Havoc is the first book in the SBC Fighters series.  This series of books are set in the world of Extreme Fighting – a topic that seems to be surrounded by controversy and strong feelings in real life.  The books in this series explore the world of Extreme Fighting using fictional characters and a fictional organization based on reality.

“Havoc” is the extreme fighter, Dean Connor, who was orphaned at the age of 9 and separated from his sisters to be raised by his uncle – a man who built buildings all over the world.  His sisters were raised in the the family home by their aunt. When Dean receives a letter from one of his sisters, he decides to take a break from fighting for a little R & R and a visit to his boyhood home in Harmony, Kentucky.  Once he arrives, he finds his family home in disrepair; his Aunt Lorna having squandered most of the inheritance money.  One sister, Camille, is set to marry a man Dean takes an immediate dislike to, and the other sister, Jacki,  in a state of rebellion.  He meets Cam’s friend Eve, and immediately falls for her.  Cam is trying desperately to work, put her sister through school, keep the family house standing, deal with the petulant and at times, ridiculously evil Aunt Lorna and continue to date the icky Roger.

We see Dean change throughout this book from being a commitment-phobic visitor to the town of his boyhood, to an almost overbearing big brother to his sisters.  He starts by just wanting to get to know his sisters and have a good time with Eve to helping with one problem after another.

Some of the characters I liked more than others.  I thought that Cam was a a bit of a doormat and didn’t like her continued relationship with the bizarre Roger.  It becomes apparent early on that he has a different agenda.  He seems to be trying to force Cam into marriage using the leverage of Aunt Lorna – who is often not logical and only out for herself.  Dean often seems to exude the “me Tarzan, you Jane” mentality and the sexism got my back up several times.  He does have many redeeming qualities especially illustrated by his dealing with Eve’s “inconvenience”.  Dean’s friend, Gregor, comes into town and gets corralled into helping fix the roof on the family home and falls in love with Jacki.  The “me Tarzan, you Jane” mentality that Gregor also oozes is more comical than annoying.  The interactions between Gregor and Jacki are hysterical at points.  I don’t like to think that any man is quite as dense as Gregor seems to be!

On the surface, I loved reading this book.  The sex was sizzling and the characters meshed well.  Lori Foster seemed to spend more time delving into family background and the platonic interactions between her characters than in other books I have read.  I felt that this produced a more well rounded book.  However, the characters of Aunt Lorna and Roger seemed to be forced into “happy endings” at the end of the book making me worry for the future safety of Cam.  It seems that there were still too many loose ends for the story to end.

Romance Reader at Heart has the following to say about Causing Havoc: “CAUSING HAVOC’s Dean “Havoc” Conor is yum. The kind of hunk of male meat guaranteed to cause a female’s heart rate to speed up. Havoc is walking testosterone.  And Ms. Foster did a real convincing job of turning Havoc from a blockhead wanting only a quick tumble in the sheets with wise-cracking Eve into a caring, tender, bona fide hero. His gradual transformation from a cold, self-serving male into someone with deeper, more heartfelt emotions is one of the highlights of CAUSING HAVOC.”  RT Book Reviews gives Causing havoc 4 stars and offers the following comment: “Peopled with interesting and fun characters, as well as a couple with a sinister side, Foster’s latest is delightful and amusing. It offers a brief but fascinating look at the world of professional fighting. Though there’s a bit of plot predictability in some places, there are also some nifty surprises, with more than one romance to be played out and a few mysteries to be solved.”
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=sugsboonoo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0425214230&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr