Fangirl Fridays – Summer Fun and Happily Ever After

Today is all about a particular kind of romance genre that I enjoy from time to time: Sexy Happily Ever Afters.

Call it romance, adult fiction, new adult, erotica... it all boils down to the same storyline.

A sweet young woman who is suffering from a recent tragedy, misfortune, betrayal, or heartbreak meets an alpha male who is rich (a millionaire, at least), heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and sexy. You know the stereotype: finest specimen of manhood, sex on a stick, yadda yadda. Usually he looks cold and aloof, but underneath he has a generous, caring personality. He doesn’t want a serious, committed relationship and vows never to love or love again, because he is hiding a painful past or experience. He might be seen in restaurants, balls, and galas with glamorous women hanging on his arm, but it’s never real. He knows these women are after his money and fame, nothing more, so he devises a way to protect himself and his fortune from the greedy clutches of womankind by offering them some kind of binding agreement with “guidelines” that give him all the control and place a time limit on the relationship.

Then that sweet, young woman comes along – and she is the game changer, without him realizing it until almost the end of the book. There’s much angst, raw emotion, ugly crying, and terrific sex. Then after some more agonizing, and several more panty-dropping sex spectacles, comes the inevitable happily ever after.

Of course, true love always wins! From the days of Cinderella and Prince Charming to Fifty Shades of Grey, all these books have basically the same story line. The real difference is the way they are written. Even a story full of emotions, beautiful people, and tons of sex can be boring if it’s poorly written.

If the story captives me, I don’t care at all that I know the basic storyline here, that I know how it will end. If I haven’t put the book down after 2 chapters, that’s it for me, and I relax on the sofa anticipating sheer bliss.

After the jump, I’d like to share with you a couple of sexy HEA book series that I enjoyed recently.

Filthy Beautiful Lies (Filthy Beautiful Lies #1), Kendall Ryan

I’ve been told I could go for more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and maybe more given that I’m still a virgin.

Sophie is the young woman here. She is about to sacrifice her virginity in a desperate move to raise money for a life-saving treatment for her sick twin sister. Colton Drake wins that auction and thereby becomes the amazingly good-looking alpha male who owns Sophie and her virginity for the next six months.

The business of my dick getting some much overdue attention and having a steady female companion without the hassle of navigating the dating scene.

Sophie is puzzled. How is it possible that a gorgeous man like Colton needs to buy a woman for his pleasures? You might be afraid he’s a dark, twisted man hoping to buy a sex slave at an auction. But, oh no, Colton is anything but, he is considerate and concerned about Sophie. Of course, he does have his secrets.

He’s attractive, fit, and intelligent, there is nothing about him, at least physically, not to like, but he bought me for heaven’s sake. I should feel repulsed, not excited and slightly turned on.

This is a short read, and there are not many sexual scenes, but there is a very well written, unending sexual tension all around – a slow burn. There are magic fingers and hot mouths involved, but not the actual deed. Well, restraint is not easy, but yay for his, or maybe not?

As per the “guidelines” I mentioned earlier, Sophie is falling hard for Colton, and we get some lovely glimpses of Colton’s tender side and Sophie’s inner strength. Colton thinks that she is “not like the other women he dated” – that is a required sentence in this genre, which occurs the moment the hero starts to feel different for the woman who will be his one true love.

I craved the tender feel, and the warmth of a soft female body. Intimacy in the most basic sense of the word has been missing from my life for a long damn time. It feels nice just to hold her close.

Then comes the day Sophie discovers a nasty surprise, causing her to flee Colton’s Malibu mansion, and Colton is lost without realizing it. Ah, so much angst and steam in this story. That is the end of book one.

Book #2, Filthy Beautiful Love, provides the closure to Sophie and Colton’s story. Again there is the right mix of tender and hot emotional storminess, and trust is difficult to come by for Sophie, but Colton can’t give up after finding the love of his life.

It’s taking every ounce of self-control I have to not push my hips into hers and claim her mouth. I know I’ve lost the right, but my body refuses to understand that.

He is about to do whatever it takes to make her his. Sophie has a backbone, she makes him work hard to earn her trust again, and Colton is ready to go to any length to prove his love to her.

There are four books in the series. Books 3 and 4 tell the stories of Colton’s two brothers, who are no less devastatingly beautiful and sexy than he is. Of course.

“I can’t lose you.” I whisper. “Not when I feel like my life is finally falling into place. You were the missing piece. You were the cheese to my macaroni.”

Beauty from Pain (Beauty #1), Georgia Cates

Jack Henry McLachlan and Laurelyn Prescott are our champions. Jack is an Australian multi-millionaire wine tycoon who is obsessed with his privacy. He indulges only in short-term relationships, using a different false name every time. While looking for a new companion, he finds Laurelyn, a young American woman vacationing with her best friend, Addison. Laurelyn is a young musician with a painful past – she’s an only daughter to a single mother who was a heroin addict when Laurelyn was young. She knows who her father is, but the knowledge is painful and she keeps it secret. She travels to Australia to forget her unfortunate last affair. Jack is intrigued and arranges to “accidentally” meet with her and present his proposition: have the time of her life with him for 3 months with no real names. After debating with herself and her friend, Laurelyn agrees to these terms. After all, she is in AussiLand for exactly 3 months.

The best way to get over somebody is to get under someone else.

Jack Henry! OMG, it is not hard to fall for this guy. Along with his perfectly toned physique, he is warm and generous with a big, loving family, which Laurelyn knows nothing about. He is clever, determined, and oh-so-very sexy – just imagine his accent. Laurelyn is beautiful, warm, and playful. She had a bad experience, so she is a little guarded, but she is open, sensual, and engaging. Of course, Laurelyn falls hard for Jack, but she reminds herself it is temporary, and soon she’ll leave and there will be a huge physical distance between them. Their sex scenes are very hot and delicious. Yes, this author knows how to write great erotic scenes.

Baby, you’ve fucked my mind without touching my body.

Jack slowly breaks his rules for Laurelyn, because he knows she is different from the other women he dated, and they grow very close. Laurelyn understands she loves him with all her heart, but though he cares for her, she knows he doesn’t love her. She can’t bear the idea of falling apart before him, so she leaves for home one day before the end of their 3-month agreement. Of course, this is the exact time Jack realizes he loves her. Yes, it’s too late; she is already winging her way home through the clear, blue skies. The end of book #1...what a delicious, satisfying romance.

I’m sorry for all the secrecy, for making you feel like you weren’t important enough to know the real me. But I’m most sorry because I have fucked you – I don’t know how many times – and never made love to you.

Book #2, Beauty from Surrender, begins with Laurelyn and Jack heartbroken and living worlds apart, then slowly builds up to their reunion. Yes, we knew it, even before reading the story. But the way it’s done is the important thing here, and it is done very, very well.

Beauty from Love is the third book in the series. I haven’t read it yet, but the synopsis is tempting and the praises are high.

For me, these books – when they have a nice plot and well developed characters, playful laughter, tasteful sex scenes, and an excruciating round of broken-hearted sobbing – are a delightful escape from everyday life.

“We were perfectly happy until we decided to live happily ever after.”

~ Sex and the City