Customer Reviews

No Strings Attached (www.gIRL-gEAR.com, Book 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In ALL TIED UP, Macy Webb begins this adventuresome series with a scavenger hunt when she gathers the other partners of gIRL-gEAR and some male friends for "game night." Present are Chloe Zuniga and Eric Hayden, who teamed up for the scavenger hunt. Now Macy's scavenger hunt is having repercussions she never even imagined for Chloe and Eric.

In Chloe's experience, men "preferred their women on a pedestal, between the sheets, or three paces behind." But what she wants is a connection, a bond, a sense of completion, and, of course, great sex. Although she doesn't want a relationship with him, Eric does convey a hint of the sophisticated, cultured movie star finesse of her fantasies. He proved himself during the month they spent on the scavenger hunt, when Chloe and Eric shared meals, movies, and fun, not to mention one soul-stirring kiss. Although they've not spent time together since the conclusion of the scavenger hunt, Chloe turns to Eric. Her potty mouth and bad girl reputation has her in trouble with the partners of gIRL-gEAR, and Chloe needs Eric's help with her pro-active, career-saving strategy. She needs an escort.

A month of Chloe's company proved to Eric that she is simply covering her vulnerability with her big, bad attitude. Even though he does not envision a future with Chloe, he still does not appreciate her turning him down for dating. Now she needs an "escort" to official business functions. Eric does not want to become Chloe's arm candy, but if it gets him what he wants, he'll compromise. She needs a date to three major functions. In return he wants three dates - kind of like three wishes. Her only condition is that the possibility of sex out is of the equation. From a girl who's been through sixteen men since the beginning of the year, and it is only April, Eric demands a lot. He gives even more, and that scares the hell out of Chloe.

Once again Alison Kent presents a dynamic romance certain to curl readers' toes with NO STRINGS ATTACHED. Kent has a gift for bring her prose a sense of immediacy, with descriptions that keep the pulse racing. Chloe's calculated manipulations of the male species backfires in the most wonderful of ways when it comes to Eric. He's the only man who's ever managed to look beyond her sexy blond appearance to the brains, beyond her negative attitude, and still understand her desire for chivalry. Eric may not be Cary Grant, but he matches Chloe's passion, energy and stamina. This battle of the sexes will delight, tantalize and entertain with Kent's indomitable style. Delicious! Very highly recommended.

I had never read Kent before, so I don't know if she is always this great, but this one kept me up until nearly 3 am to finish it (and I'm one who loves my sleep! ;)

It's a friends-to-lovers plot, which is admittedly a favorite theme of mine, and it is so much better written than a lot of Blazes I've tried. Not that they are *bad*, but in general they are light, uncomplicated reads for me when I'm in the mood for a quickie.

This one had a lot of depth to the characters, and Kent is amazing at getting into both of their heads and hearts. She is a very descriptive writer, and whether it's about a touch or a glance, or even an outfit or the weather, she makes it feel real.

Then there is the sex - whoa, boy! I read Blazes for the steamy action, but Kent's love scenes are the hottest I have read outside the erotica genre. And there is also the tenderness present that you would hope to see in two lovers who are also friends, which makes it extra nice.

And I never thought I would say this about a Blaze, but this one made me tear up! Things get really emotional between the h&h, because he is the first to admit he is in love and she is the one who has a hard time dealing with her feelings. That's a nice change of pace from the usual "guy can't commit" plotline, and Kent had me agonizing for the poor fella!

It's just so, so, so good! Please give it a try :)

Chloe Zuniga's job as one of the VPs for gIRL gEAR is on the line. Sydney Ford, the company's CEO, is tired of Chloe's different-date-a-day social life and locker room potty mouth threatening the image of the company, especially as several prime events are slated in coming weeks to elevate the company into the next tier. To put forth the impression of cleaning up her act, Chloe turns to sports-loving Eric Haydon for help. As sexy as he finds Chloe, however, experience with her makes him more than wary, and in return for acting as her escort for the three events for her company, he's demanding three wishes in trade. He figures he should get something out of the deal, after all. If that something is more time spent with the delectable Chloe on his terms, then he's all for it. Neither one anticipated just how life-altering three little favors could be.

I kept wondering as I read Kent's No Strings Attached if I would have had a different opinion of the story had I read the first in the series. It's a stand-alone book, sure, but it lacked quite a bit of exposition and subtext. I felt Chloe and Eric's scavenger hunt history was well explained, but I have no idea why he wasn't returning her calls at the beginning or what his less than gung ho reaction to her was based upon. I never felt like I had a firm grasp on Chloe's past with the company to give her such a lousy reputation, and I felt like the friendships she has with her gIRL gEAR pals were more important than the book explains. I have no idea why Annabelle Lee is called Poe and she's an active secondary character, so she was around enough to keep me wondering. I was left feeling like I was always just a step off in my grasp of the world Kent's created and the characters inhabiting it.

As a reader, that put me in a position to have to accept - or not, depending - at face value the situation as Kent laid it out in this book, with all the motivations and behaviors and emotional responses as written. Much of that wasn't a problem for me at all, but there were a few things I had trouble with to start and I'm afraid it made me more critical of the book as a whole because of it.

Maybe I'm asking too much of a Harlequin Blaze - that's certainly possible - but there was little about Chloe's character that I found consistent in her development. Her family history scarred her, but while she clearly stated she dated so many duds in her quest for Cary Grant, when one falls into her lap she can't push him away and keep him at arms length fast enough. She's also pretty wretched to Eric, who is, in fact, doing her a favor - and even his 'wishes' turn out to provide her with pleasure, so repeated instances of churlish behavior and attitude on her part didn't make her very sympathetic. Or appealing. I couldn't figure, besides her body, why he loved her. Eric was pleasant enough - though towards the end he seemed like a bit of a doormat - but the relationship never really worked for me as it lacked the give-and-take that I prefer in a developing relationship.

The jumpy narrative and seemingly random plot points didn't help, either. Gaps in time were spanned between events that Chloe and Eric attended and the narrative didn't dwell much on the between times, and with no warning a week or more passed in the story timeline. It made keeping up with the evolution of the relationship a little confusing and felt very choppy at times. Throw in a surprise appearance by Chloe's eldest brother, who shows up out of nowhere and suddenly starts spouting off about family skeletons and life-changing truths, and several parts of the story seemed awkward and heavy-handed as a result.

Now, despite all that, Kent excelled at the sharp, quick, and witty dialogue between Chloe and Eric, and definitely kindled the blaze of the sexual relationship quite nicely. Their sparring in and out of the bedroom...um...not that they were limited to the bedroom, by any means...was the high point of the story and provided, once I'd resigned myself to the issues I had, a sexy, slightly shallow but mostly harmless reading experience. From a technical standpoint, there are a few pluses as well. While the narrative did jump forward in time with no warning and was pitted with inexplicable plot point bombs, it's written with a sophistication on a technical level and what's there flows smoothly as a result, highlighting the dialogue to its best effect.

I may not feel motivated to go back to the first book in the series, All Tied Up, nor continue with the series with Bound to Happen, but I can't say I disliked No Strings Attached, either. I've read other titles by Alison Kent, though, and this one wasn't my favorite.

Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

She'd made a deal with the devil.... and he took her to heaven. ** Chloe Zuniga, VP of gIRL-gEAR cosmetics and accessories divisions, needed a man to save her reputation- even though her enjoyment of the opposite sex and her potty mouth was what got her into trouble in the first place. Her old friend Eric Haydon agreed to be her "steady date" for three company events- if she granted him three wishes. ** Eric just knew that he and Chloe were going to be lovers sooner or later. He simply had to figure out when and how. And once he'd done that, there was nothing left to wish for... except Chloe's heart along with her body.