Sep 15 2012
REVIEW: Feeling Hot by Elle Kennedy
Dear Ms. Kennedy:
I really love this series. It has a fun, sexy tone. My very favorite is the Carson / Holly romance in Heat of Passion (mini review here). It’s a novella but you pack a believable romance filled with super hot sex scenes. Feeling Hot is the romance between Jennifer, Carson’s little sister. She’s a bit flaky and her family still treats her like she’s a kid. When her last bad decision comes in the form of an ex turned stalker, Carson directs one of his subordinates to watch over her.
Cash McCoy has just returned from six months of celibacy during missions overseas and would like to relax and enjoy a little R&R. He ends up at a bar but none of the usual women are doing it for him and he ends up hiding out in a back room to avoid one over eager barfly. Inside he finds a gorgeous woman and they engage in cute banter and one thing leads to another. Except Cash loses her phone number.
Example One of cute banter:
“I just turned twenty-six, and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life.”
He shrugged. “I think everyone figures stuff out at their own pace. Eventually you’ll find yourself on the right path.”
“I guess.” Her shoulders sagged. “Maybe I should get into porn. According to some creepy producer who approached me on the street, I have the ‘look’ for it.”
“You really got asked to do porn?” Well. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who could totally picture this blue-eyed beauty in his own personal naked film.
“Yes, I really did,” she said in a glum voice.
“Porn’s an admirable profession,” he said solemnly.
She pursed her lips in thought. “But my porn-star name sucks. You know how you’re supposed to take the name of your first pet and pair it with the street you grew up on? Well, our dog’s name was Boris and I grew up on Denton Street. Boris Denton. That sounds like a dictator.”
“I’m not even going to ask why you’d name your dog Boris.”
“That’s my brother’s doing.” She fired him a curious look. “What would your porn name be?”
“I don’t know. I never had any pets growing up.” He shrugged again. “Besides, I’ve been told my real name sounds like a porn name anyway, so I guess I’ve already got one.” He supplied his name before she could ask. “Cash McCoy.”
She promptly shook her head. “That’s not a porn name. That’s cowboy all the way.”
“Cowboy,” he echoed dubiously.
“Hell yeah. Or maybe an actor.” She clapped her hands together. “An actor who plays a cowboy. Can’t you see it?” Her voice deepened to mimic the movie- man voice from the previews. “One duel, one chance to avenge his pa’s murder…Cash McCoy in…High Noon Outlaw.” She grinned at him. “Maybe that’s what I should do—write the copy for movie trailers.”
“I think you should stick to porn. High Noon Outlaw sounds like the worst movie on the planet.”
Cash isn’t thrilled that he lost Jen’s number nor is he thrilled to be babysitting his commander’s sister, particularly when he has been warned away from her. His admission to Officer Candidate School would be at risk, per a poorly veiled threat by Carson. Cash, as all the males are in this series, is a horndog and he engages in all kinds of sexual shenanigans. (And so do many of the heroines which is part of the fun of the series. There is absolutely no slut shaming going on in these books.*) Obviously, the situation is set up for Cash to fail and Jen is determined to see that he does even if that means parading around the apartment naked, watching porn, or sneaking into his room at night.
Did I mention I think the dialogue is a hoot? Example No. 2 between Cash and his teammate:
With a sigh, he brought the phone to his ear and said, “Hey, man. Now’s really not a good time.”
“Why? Are you washing your hair?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Dylan laughed. “Seriously, why do you sound so weird?”
“I’m about to take my new houseguest out for some Choctastic Verryberry Swirl.”
“I don’t know what that means. Is that a code?” Dylan paused. “Are you being held hostage and this is your way of signaling me? Blink twice for yes.”
The major relationship conflict seems to arise from the secondary storyline which involves Carson and Holly and while I appreciated that storyline – that the happy ever after is often fraught with problems. However, I wished that there was a meatier story between Jen and Cash. Cash says that he doesn’t want to settle down and Jen makes no effort to be more responsible. She isn’t taking care of herself; Cash is.
There is a vexy m/m scene in this book and generally, I’m not an m/m reader but it was an incredibly sexy scene. They had all had a little to drink and the way the scene unfurled was believable.
Feeling Hot is a feel good book. It makes you smile and yes, the sex is scorching hot. An inferno as Cash would say. It’s not a very deep romance and I think that when it tries to get too serious, it loses its charm. But lord, there are so many hilarious scenes in this book from their senior commander sending out an approved list of gifts that the men can buy for a baby shower to the gossiping men on the mission. B
Best regards,
Jane
*I saw that one goodreads reviewer felt that there was slut shaming because Cash liked that Jen was innocent. I didn’t get that vibe at all. Jen plays the sexual pursuer for a good portion of the book. In an early scene, Cash and his buddy are enjoying another girl (before he and Jen get together) and there is no degrading thoughts or feelings toward this other woman. When Jen told him that she hadn’t had pleasure during previous sexual encounters, Cash was mad at the men she was with who failed to pay enough attention to her needs. It’s possible I missed it, but I didn’t feel like there was any dismissive attitudes toward the women in this book for being pleasure seekers.
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Sep 15, 2012 @ 12:27:26
This was the first book I’ve read in this series and after reading it, I promptly bought the series. I love good-time romances and this one fit the bill for me.
Sep 15, 2012 @ 21:14:47
Sniffy Braeburn. I’d be the porn star with allergies who is having medicine delivered and well, you know, delivery boys.
I’ll probably end up buying this one. Your review and the excerpts make it sound like a lot of fun.
Sep 16, 2012 @ 21:49:28
After seeing buzz about this on Twitter, I bought it, loved it and then bought the rest of the series (though so far I’ve only read the 1st 3). The banter and humour in this book was so much fun and the sex was very very hot – especially that straight boy BJ scene!
And no, I didn’t notice any slut shaming at all.
I also liked that when Cash mentioned to Jen that he’d had that 3way with Dylan after they’d met but before she moved in, she didn’t get all jealous about it – they didn’t have a commitment to exclusivity and she didn’t pout.
Sep 19, 2012 @ 06:46:35
I’ve really enjoyed this entire series, but this book was so much fun. The dialogue had me laughing out loud, and the sexy times were really sexy. Especially the menage scene.
What really worked for me in the romance area of the books is that Cash and Jen both made each other better/more than they were alone. They each had something to give to the other. And I doubly appreciated that Jen was the one to save herself from her stalker at the end – and the scene with Cash after that was the one that made me believe in the HEA, believe that they’d make it work. It was obvious to me that they cared about each other, so when they both overcame their reservations I was happy. Cash overcame it easily, but I really saw his reluctance to settle down as a result of not finding a woman that he could be himself with, that wouldn’t pressure him for a family before he was ready.
I definitely didn’t see any slut shaming in this book, or any of the books in the series. In fact, I don’t even really remember Cash being happy that she was “innocent.” In the beginning when he got the impression (after nearly having sex in a coatroom) that she was a virgin he was worried he’d taken advantage – and later, like you said, he was mad at the men that hadn’t taken the time to see to her needs.