Mini Reviews: Battle of . . . Corruption + Romance

Pride and Pregnancy by Sarah M. Anderson

Blurb from Goodreads:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good sense must not mix business with passion.

Like that will keep Tom Yellow Bird from pursuing the woman who shocked his senses at first sight. Yes, the wealthy FBI special agent's job is to work a case involving the Honorable Caroline Jennings. It is his duty to protect the beautiful judge. Yet nothing stops him from acting on the attraction between them. And once he discovers Caroline is pregnant, any good sense he's ever had completely vanishes.

But when a secret Caroline is keeping is finally revealed, will Tom's pride become his ultimate undoing?

My Review:
 

I rarely meet P&P retellings that I don't have at least moderate affection for but this . . . was not even close to a retelling.  This title is entirely misleading. Putting that aside, this started off pretty good. I had to suspend my disbelief right away because the "investigation" intro corruption didn't seem plausible or well described but the heat was definitely there. Tom Yellow Bird was also a fantastic love interest and had a dash of Darcy. But things went downhill quick - I should have known given how short this novel was but the romance was whirlwind on fast forward with not enough to back it up.  It was always over before it began. This would worked for me with maybe even five more chapters describing a connection. Pride and Pregnancy comes out later this week on April 1, 2017, and you can purchase HERE.

She took a step toward him. It wasn't a big movement, but he felt it down to his toes. That spark that had always existed between them--it was no longer an isolated flash of light in the darkness. It was burning hotter and brighter than anything he'd ever felt before. it lit him up. She lit him up.  

Restrained Under His Duty (Dirty Little Secrets #3) by Stacey Kennedy

Blurb from Goodreads:

An uninhibited politician’s daughter falls for her loyal bodyguard behind closed doors in this scandalous novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Bound Beneath His Pain and Tied to His Betrayal.

As the chief of security for a prominent senator, Ryder Blackwood is stunned when an anonymous source sends him a compromising photo of his boss’s twenty-five-year-old daughter getting down and dirty in an underground sex club. If it gets out, the media firestorm could ruin her father. More troubling for Ryder is how arousing he finds the whole situation. He’s known Hadley Winters since she was a kid. And now she’s the woman in all his most private fantasies.

Wild behavior helps Hadley get through those painful, lonely nights, but she’s been waiting a long time for a man like Ryder to protect her from herself. Ryder is raw. He’s real. And he makes her feel safe. Now that they’ve both become pawns in a blackmailer’s dangerous game, there’s more at stake than her father’s political career. As the intimate threats tear apart a tender new love, Hadley is forced to trust Ryder with her life—and her heart.

I have to admit that I didn't get very far into this one. Honestly, the author kept describing "corruption" but did not seem to know the meaning of the word. Political romance is one of my favorite sub-genres but not even the promise of that could keep me reading this one. If you are just in it for the romance and sex but not more of an explanation or plot, this one might just work for you.. Restrained Under His Duty comes out next week on April 4, 2017, and you can purchase HERE.