Review of Fearless by Tawny Weber

Tawny Weber

Fearless

Cosmo Red Hot Reads by Harlequin | September 15, 2013 | 150 pages

Author’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
Promising career: check
Amazing apartment: check
The best of friends: check
Sex life: MIA

There’s just one thing missing from Gia Renyard’s life: sexual adventure. And the one man she’d like to have it with is her hot co-worker, Luke Monroe. If only company rules didn’t prohibit her from asking him out. So Gia comes up with a plan: make herself over into a fantasy seductress, follow Luke to a convention in Sin City, and have her way with him for one erotic weekend. The man will never even know who did him.

Short: Going Down Hard by Tawny Weber

Tawny Weber
Going Down Hard
Harlequin Blaze, May 2009

Genre & Keywords: Contemporary, Bodyguard

Rating: êêê½
Heat level: ¹½

The Back Blurb:
Sierra Donovan is flying high on her company's rising success. Her bonus? Another sexy one-night stand with cowboy Reece Carter—also known as the best sex she's ever had. But when sick blackmail photos start to show up, fiercely self-reliant Sierra suddenly finds herself needing a twenty-four-hour bodyguard. Who better than cowboy-turned-security-specialist Reece Carter? Reece is tall, dark and dangerous…and he's getting in Sierra's take-charge way. But, oh god, can he make every single nerve ending on her body sizzle. Sierra soon realizes that coming home to great sex each night has its benefits. That is, as long as her bodyguard can keep her alive to enjoy it….

When I first started reading romances one year ago I only read Harlequin Blaze novels, because I didn’t know about all the other books than. I used to enjoy the Blazes most of the times. But lately they don’t satisfy me that much anymore. Even favorite authors like Karen Foley and now Tawny Weber can’t grip my attention as they used to do. I’m not sure if it’s because me learning every day about all the other wonderful books so that the Blazes pale in comparison, or that it’s because the authors’ former books were just better… I don’t feel like rereading them, so let’s just say it’s me and my altering taste.

Take Going Down Hard: the second of two books by Ms Weber (The first is Coming on Strong). It’s not bad, but absolutely not worth a five star rating, not even four. While I thought her earlier Blazes, Double Dare and Risque Business, were definitely 5 star reads. The plot of Going Down Hard is okay, with some suspense, though the denouement is a bit disappointing. And the H/h just keep circling around each other. It irritated me a bit that the heroine kept denying how great her relation with Reece could become if she let it be and how wonderful a guy Reece is. It’s not very clear or credible why she keeps her distance. And although there was a lot of sexual tension and a hot encounter before they finally sleep together, that first time toke disappointingly place behind closed doors! Not Blaze-like at all.

Anyway, Going Down Hard was a fun, quick and easy read, but it’s not one I’ll remember for long and it definitely won’t rank the top of my favorites list, like Ms Weber’s earlier books.

Review Coming on Strong by Tawny Weber

I finished this Blaze novel Tuesday night. Tawny Weber is one of my favorite Blaze authors, I truly enjoyed Double Dare and Risque Business which I rated both with 5 stars. Coming on Strong is from April 2009 and the first of two books, the other one is Going Down Hard (May 2009). The characters of the second one in the series are already introduced in Coming on Strong and have a one night stand which'll get a follow up in their own story.

But this story is about party planner Belle and her former fiancé and now millionaire Mitch. Things went wrong on their wedding day when Belle left him standing at the altar after hearing some nasty gossip about Mitch. Now, six years later, they meet again when she is hired to plan the big opening party of his new resort. Of course, there're a lot of bad memories and feelings of hurt between the two of them, but they still feel attraction for each other. And it doesn't take long before they end up in bed together. But all the hurt and brused pride is still there and not talked about, so it's bound to explode in their faces. And it does.
Weber doses it well and the storyline in which this blow up takes place is full of suspence in which an evil saboteur plays a role. This is very well done and great to read. The couple is very likeable and their feelings are conceivable. The heroine is sassy, confident, cheerfull and easy to love. So is the hero, who is very sweet and adorable in his insecurities. Together they are hot, with great love scenes. But I must say that it bugged me a bit that they had sex before talking about what went wrong on their wedding day. That's just asking for trouble, although the author did a good job at explaining why they didn't want to talk about it. And for the story it was of course a good move, to add more suspense towards the blow up ;-).

I rate this novel with 4,5 stars and do look forward to Going Down Hard!