Humpday Hello to Cracklin Rosie!

Greetings and salutations my Humpday Nation - I missed you last week. My amazing friends and fellow bloggers stepped in when tragedy struck my family and I have to say there is no one more blessed than I to have such an amazing network of friends and family to rely upon when the proverbial chips are down. Let us all hope that this summer provides each of you the opportunity to bask in the warmth of the sun and the beauty of nature and take it from me, take no one for granted and treat each day as if it were your last. 

This blog is dedicated to my mom who was always my biggest supporter and secretly loved the eye candy I posted each week for our mutual delight, even as she lectured me for posting half-nekkid men...Mmmmmm.

Cracklin' Rosie

Lissa Matthews, Samhain Publishing

Blue Jeans and Hard Hats, Book 2

A tool for every job. A belt for every occasion…

Food is Rosie’s life, and life is good. She loves it, makes it, serves it in her diner, writes about it in her blog, and she’s happy. At least until a storm puts a rather large tree limb through her roof, and a sex-in-a-tool-belt roofer on top of her cabin.

But that’s not where she wants him. No, she wants him behind her with a strip of leather in his hand. That’s what makes her edgy—vulnerability is not her style. Except the more prickly she gets with him, the more he turns on the charm.

Decker arrives in Blue Ridge, Georgia, with nothing on his mind but a job and some new scenery. His legendary patience is tested from the first moment he meets sharp-tongued Rosie. She’s got hips that sway, non-stop curves and a mouth that needs to be filled with things that are much sweeter than vinegar.

A few singe-worthy kisses, and Decker uncovers passions that will likely earn her every red stripe she’s begging for. And Rosie discovers Decker’s got a hunger burning deep inside to give her anything and everything she needs. Maybe even…forever.

Warning: Between the sheets of this book you’ll find a twist on a decadent southern dessert, sweet rose wine, picnic table sexiness, truck sex, a man who knows how to give a spanking and a woman who knows how to bend over a hot yummy lap.

Lissa Matthews has been peeking in my head again...another fantasy come to life: sweaty men, tattoed muscles and spanky goodness - check, check and double check. Smokin hot covers aside, Ms. Matthews writes clever characters, witty (albeit snarky) dialogue and sexual tension that radiates off the page like heat off Rosie's red tin roof. 

While Sweet Caroline had that tempting slightly younger man storyline at the forefront, the emotional backstory of Caroline's divorce and past hurts slowed the pace of the lead off to this series. Now, that isnt to say its not worth the read - it absolutely is! It just develops this Blue Ridge world that has me planning a trip to Georgia real soon...

I enjoyed Cracklin' Rosie more than Sweet Caroline as well for several reasons - I adore snarky heroines, crave a big brawny alpha males who know how to use a Makita and let's not forget the chemistry between the two!  Ultimately Rosie and Decker brewed a relationship that was a lot like sun tea - weak to begin with but full bodied and sinfully enjoyable on a hot day! Both characters had true depth, and their emotional range and concerns were relatable in a sexy, edgy way that bridges the gap somewhere between a contemporary erotic romance and BDSM. Plus, I really liked that Rosie was a curvy girl who captures the eye (and heart) of one hot, stud of a contractor and manages to overcome her fears enough to take that leap of faith. 

The story itself is well written, well edited and overall extremely enjoyable. Filled with scenic descriptions that have the reader craving a trip to the mountains of Georgia and a stop in a hole-in-the wall diner!  Added to that are truly indulgent, highly erotic scenes that spark the readers' interest, hold it and make one wonder whether to turn the next page or grab a fan!   My only complaint: Lissa Matthews, I can't get Neil Diamond's Tap Root Music soundtrack out of my head!  (It was stuck in my parents van as a kid and it was all we had to listen to for probably close to a year!)

If you like your heroes hard, your heroines sassy and your lovin with a heap o'kinky hotness, then the Blue Jeans and Hard Hats series is definitely for you!

RATING: 5 Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries This book was given to us by the author. Many thanks.

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