The Best Kind of Trouble

July 7, 2014
When rocker boy Paddy Hurley runs into his old flame Natalie Clayton at a coffee shop in his hometown, he’s immediately intrigued, while she pretends not to know who he is. But when he starts showing up every morning to ask her out, she finally relents. Long on fluff and short on tension, this bloated romance from Dane (Unconditional) is a font of exposition following two exceptionally gorgeous, independently wealthy people—who nonetheless are humble, hardworking, and down-to-earth—as they meet, have copious sex, fall in love, and, after one brief road bump, live happily ever after. What the novel lacks in drama it makes up for in overly descriptive and repetitive passages, and the dialogue feels as if the characters are reading stiffly from cue cards. With absolutely nothing standing between the characters and their happy ending except for a mild spat, this contemporary is a real snooze.

July 15, 2014
Whenformer wild child Natalie Clayton reconnects with Paddy Hurley, formerfling-turned-famous rock star, she's determined to resist him, but he has a fewtricks up his sleeve that might convince her to give him a chance.Natalie has spent her adult life overcoming a tumultuous childhood and herparty-girl teen years, which included a hot and heavy two-week affair withPaddy, an up-and-coming rock star, the year before she went to college. Now arespectable librarian in a small town, she's completely distanced herself fromher wanton past, and while she's aware that her new home is also the hometownof the Hurley brothers, who've now made it big in the rock world, she never expectedto run into any of them. And never had, until now. Meeting Paddy throws Nataliefor a loop, especially when he recognizes her and becomes set on revisitingtheir past. Except he seems eager to forge something real this time. At firstresolved to ignore him, Natalie is swayed by his slow, sweet courtship. As sheis drawn in by his family and seduced by his sexy steadfastness, she begins toopen her heart, though once the band goes on tour, and her own estranged familytakes advantage of the unwelcome publicity that comes with her connection toPaddy, their relationship becomes strained. It will take a lot of trust andunderstanding to make it through the crazy and into a forever love. Dane pens asexy, layered romance, with some typical rock-star conflicts but also sometouching and realistic family drama. The author shines at creatingcharacter-authentic conflict-and writing a very steamy sex scene.The perfect combination of sexy rock-star fantasy and emotionally tenderromance.

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September 15, 2014
Natalie used to be a hard-partying waitress at a music joint, which is where she hooked up with hot rocker Paddy. She grew tired of one-night stands and cleaning up after drunks, so she left that life behind to become a children's librarian. She is content with her quiet life in Hood River, so when Paddy walks into her local coffee shop, well, let's just say that caffeine wasn't the only thing that gave her a jolt. Paddy wants to rekindle their long-ago fling and see where it might lead, but Natalie, who grew up taking care of her wild father, isn't interested in any more tough guys. She agrees to one date, which, naturally, leads to steamy sex and leaves her wondering if it might be okay to let someone into her carefully controlled life. Dane fills the novel with great secondary characters and gives Natalie and Paddy the chance to display realistic emotion between spicy sex scenes. The characters are likable and there are many funny moments, raising this romance a notch above the typical erotica title.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)