Review: Recipe for Temptation by Gina Gordon

Title: Recipe for Temptation
Author: Gina Gordon
Published: August 11th 2015
Source: Copy given by author for honest review
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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Caution: May contain spoilers

She's the woman he loves to hate.

Penn Foster wants a lot of things. She wants a spot on the board of a charitable foundation. She wants to win the stupid, plastic family trophy. And more than anything, she wants her tall, hot, and brooding boss naked in her bed. Now, on a Hawaiian vacation with her family, she's desperately trying not to think about how he'd sound whispering dirty things in her ear.

He's the man she can't have...or can she?

Cole Murphy keeps himself locked down, away from the press and out of the spotlight. Still haunted by a traumatic childhood, his ability to trust has been decimated. Penn, with her sexy body and confidence, is the only person able to drag him out of his shell. Which is why he crashes her vacation and accepts her proposition for no-strings sex. But is the inescapable heat building between them a delicious temptation, or will it end in total disaster?

My Thoughts:

When I read Gina Gordon's Rush, I was blown away by how sexy and awesome the story is. It made me believe that after that one book, it would impossible not to fall for her other books as well. Sometimes you just get that feeling, like in your bones, after only one story and you just know.

Guess what? I was sooooo right.

Penn is on vacation in Hawaii with her family for a competition they do every year. She hasn't been able to win it, and she's determined to make this year her year. When Cole shows up out of nowhere and wants to help her win, it seems like a plan... until the inevitable temptation becomes too much. They fall into bed together and decide it's a vacation only fling. Penn and Cole break each other out of their usual roles: she brings out his naughty side and he helps her free her true self in front of her family. It's not that easy, though, because each of them have their reasons why they hide. Will they be able to break free and still have each other in the end?

Recipe for Temptation had super sweet sexiness and touched the heart. I fell for Cole, and adored Penn. I could relate to her so so so much with not feeling completely free around certain people and how frustrating it is. The romance was lovely--and the ending was fantastic. I've added every last book by Gina Gordon to the to be read pile, and have a goal of reading the previous three books in the Madewood Brothers series ASAP!

My Rating:

Review: Rush by Gina Gordon

Title: Rush
Author: Gina Gordon
Published: May 12th 2015
Source: Copy given by author for honest review
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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Caution: May contain spoilers

In this edgy, sizzling romance for fans of Monica Murphy and Abbi Glines, a bad boy shows a straitlaced law student how to slow down and savor the good things.
 
Everly Parker is about to graduate from law school, always busy, and can’t stop rushing through life. Her late grandmother left her a bucket list of meaningful, can’t-miss experiences, but she hasn’t completed a single one. Then searing-hot Max Levin bursts into her world. As a casting director for a porn production company, Max is loaded, cocky, and all wrong for Everly. Still, she’s tempted enough to cross the first item off her list: Go out with someone you’d never give the time of day.
 
Inheriting a porn empire isn’t every guy’s dream (well, actually, it probably is), but Max isn’t complaining. It’s just that until he meets Everly, he has no idea what he’s been missing. As the pressure mounts to take over the family business, Max can’t help wondering what would happen if he chose Everly instead. So far, his life has been a wild ride, but only Everly promises the greatest rush of all: love.

My Thoughts:

When you go into this book, you may think it's going to be some sort of lighthearted romance, but you're wrong. There was an unexpected depth to the story and both of our main characters. I picked it up one day thinking I would only read a chapter or two... it ended up being flipping impossible to stop reading.

Everly is one of those girls who does everything just so, wanting to please her parents and spending her time buried in books instead of actually living. Which is why her grandmother gave her a bucket list to accomplish. She happens to run into Max after he meets with her roommates for a business meeting of sorts. She already has a wall up with him, but he wants to push past it, so he convinces her to go out with him so that she can cross one thing off her list (Go out with someone you’d never give the time of day.)

She reluctantly does, and it ends up being a great idea because Max is determined to help her accomplish everything on the list. On the surface it seems like the two of them shouldn't even be together, but as they spend more and more time together, it becomes clear what they both really want in life. Everly begins to free herself from her comfort zone, and Max starts to think about what he wants his future to hold.

Rush was an amazingly real and inspiring story. The messages contained give you something to think about. The extremely hot and sizzling moments Everly and Max share cause you to fan yourself--repeatedly, let me tell you... And the romance makes you believe in the possibility of love no matter what the circumstances that lead you there. I will absolutely be snagging up more novels by Gina Gordon!

My Rating: