ARC Review: The Naughty List

Title: The Naughty List

Author: Jodi Redford

Release Date: November 29, 2011     COMING SOON!

Publisher: Samhain

Category: Fantasy/Paranormal/Romance/Menage/Erotica

Type: Kindle

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Book Blurb:

Makin’ a list, and rocking it…twice. 

Perpetual good girl Lacey McGuire has two Christmas wish lists. One suitable for public consumption…and a private one that’s too hot to handle. Right at the top: wild, wicked fantasies about her best buddies and business partners Ryan Hollister and Bram Colton.

Besides the fact they’re both poster boys for Hunks ’R’ Us, they’ve been there for her through thick, thin and the heartbreak of a cheating fiancé. So what if her boys will never know they star in her sexiest daydreams? In her fantasy world, her heart will never get trampled again.

Ry and Bram are pretty sure Lacey never meant to email a list of some of her raunchiest wants. Particularly the one that tightens their shorts—she wants a threesome. With them. Although they’ve loved her for years, they made a pact to keep Lacey off limits in order to protect their friendship. Now all bets are off. And the quest to give her all she wants—and more—is on.

Warning: This book contains a wickedly hot M/F/M ménage that will heat up the holidays. Friends steaming things up in a hot tub. Bondage and blindfolds. Sexy shenanigans at a Christmas tree lot. And maybe even a glimpse of Santa…in a Speedo.

Book Excerpt:

“Hey, Lace. What do you think? Better angle?”

Bram’s deep baritone managed to snag her focus from the data she’d been inputting into the electronic spreadsheet. Rather than a pair of firm butts, she was met with the equally tempting visual of broad, muscular chests—one covered with a sporty navy blue Henley and the other by a hunter green flannel shirt. Both men wore jeans today, making it all too easy to notice the intriguing bulges behind their flies. Not the angle Bram had been referring to, though it was definitely fantastic.

Cheeks flushing, she lifted her scrutiny to the velvet painting of Elvis that Ry and Bram had thoughtfully positioned on the adjacent wall of her office. The tacky thing was her consolation prize for chickening out on their dare to sing “Like a Virgin” on karaoke night while dolled up in the accompanying Madonna getup. Like there’d been any chance in hell of that happening.
Which meant she was stuck with Elvis. For life. Or until the damn painting perished courtesy of a mysterious accident. She transferred her gaze to Bram’s and Ry’s smug grins and ground her teeth. “You do realize I have two voodoo dolls in my drawer that bear striking resemblances to you both, right?”

Bram snickered. “Doubt there’s space left for more pins.”

“Trust me, I’ll make room.”

His hearty laugh holding no trace of repentance, Bram ducked around Ry and opened the door to her office. Boisterous noise from the bar rushed inside the small room before Bram exited and snicked the door shut, sealing off the cacophony. Ry continued fussing with the Elvis painting, obviously wanting to make sure she had the best possible view from her desk.

A**hole.

Despite her annoyance, her gaze lingered a tad longer than necessary on the broad expanse of his back. Although it was now covered with flannel, she’d seen it plenty of times gloriously bare. There’d been that summer three years ago, when he and Bram had worked the entire month of August at her house, installing her new deck. They’d saved her a small fortune by eliminating the need to hire a contractor, but her sanity and libido had barely survived the constant sight of Ry and Bram right outside her screen door, their tanned, buff torsos glistening with sweat from the relentless heat.

Her vibrator had burned through a ton of batteries those four weeks. If she added up the cost, it probably would have been cheaper to pay a carpenter.

Ry stepped away from the picture and hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his jeans. “Well, I think that looks pretty damn groovy, baby.”

She squinted at him. “You did not just say groovy.”

“I’m trying to keep in spirit with the sixties and Elvis theme.” He rocked his pelvis in a dead-on impersonation of the King.

Her mouth went dry. Holy crap, those hips should be outlawed. Squirming in her seat, she scowled and returned her stare to the velvet painting. “That butt-ugly thing should take a cue from Elvis and leave the building.”

“Not gonna happen, sweets. And in case you were cooking up an evil plot in that pretty head of yours, Bram and I paid the artist extra to use flame-retardant fabric and paints.”

Damn. They knew her too well.

Favorite Dialogue:

“C-could we just forget this happened?”

“It’s too late for that, Lace. You can’t expect us to pretend we don’t know. To not wonder.” Ry stepped closer, his gaze drifting to her mouth. Hunger burned in his eyes.

Her heart thumped in response. She’d imagined that particular look on his face countless times, never believing she’d see it in actuality. This had to be a dream. Or another of her fantasies. That last part of his statement registered and she blinked. “W-wonder? About what?”

“You. Us.” His knuckles brushed the underside of her jaw, tipping it ever so slightly as his head descended. “This.” The husky word feathered her lips, a prelude to the lush pressure of his mouth upon hers.

Review:

Holy hotness people! If anything the warning contained in the blurb was tame. Although I probably could have done without the Santa in a speedo. *shudders* Some holiday tidings are best left unseen. Just sayin’.

The arrival of Lacey’s “naughty list” may be just the “in” that Ry and Bram have always longed for. The two realize that she never meant to sent the list, but they also know they would be fools not to make this list a reality. The lure of finally connecting with Lacey on a level that has been starved for far too long outweighs their resolve to deny their feelings any longer. And the trio discovers that this new “arrangement” is infinitely more pleasurable than their fantasies ever thought about hinting at. But will this temporary agreement to make the list a reality be enough?

Redford does a phenomenal job of creating a story that is much more than skin deep. While the story is full of creative and highly erotic sexual scenes, she also manages to bring depth to each character. Each has reasons for denying a future together as well as embracing the acknowledgment of the only chance they will ever get to make their dreams a reality. I liked that Lacey continued to fight against a possibility of a future despite the overwhelming fulfillment experienced each time she was with Ry and Bram. The friendship ultimately means more to her than the accomplishment of a fantasy. The depth of one another’s love is manifested in the power they hold of each others happiness after the boundaries of a platonic relationship are crossed. Just in time for the holidays, The Naughty List explores lust, love, sacrifice, and the difficulty experienced when confronted with whether or not to trust enough to take a chance. If you are up for hawt ménage action, spiced up with holiday flare, you’ll definitely want to pre-order a copy of The Naughty List. Its guaranteed to heat up your frigid holiday nights.

 (Kindle received from author for review)