A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW | Reviewed by: Terri
Charlie Pierce and Dr Bastian Talbot have been best friends for years. They do lots together and up until the current camping trip Charlie thought they shared all their secrets. While discussing future topics for their radio show, Dr. Hot and the Honeypot, Charlie asks a question that Bastian just doesn't want to answer. The answer to the question will change their friendship forever regardless of the eventual outcome. Bastian dreams of marrying Charlie and being together forever. Charlie doesn't believe in forever and is sure Bastian is just like every other man and just wants sex. They end up with a contest. Bastian will not have sex with Charlie until she agrees to marry him. Charlie is going to do her best to seduce Bastian without any commitment. Someone has to lose but will they lose their friendship too? I love romance stories about best friends. It is scary to change that dynamic into something different and reading of how each couple tackles that task interests me. Bastian and Charlie's changing relationship was full of pit falls and unexpected twists that kept me reading until the story was over. The characters are unique, different and yet feel like someone you might know. Bastian works in a big hospital emergency room. He jokes with co-workers and is dedicated to doing a good job. Charlie wants more than the middle of the night spot on the radio and has her resume out trying for a better job. Each has family, Bastian a brother and Charlie her mother. They have fights, make-up and do things like dishes. Everyone's personality comes through and gives their character life. The entire story feels possible. There aren't wild things happening but more every day occurrences. Bastian gives Charlie a birthday surprise. Charlie doesn't cook well but is willing to try. Their families aren't perfect but there is lots of love. Real problems from the real world are intertwined throughout the story line. Bastian has been told he is sterile which is pretty much why he got divorced. His brother, Boo, is a recovering alcoholic and drug user. Charlie's mom was a teenage mother. These things may not be pretty but they are real. They also don't disappear in the course of a story in a book. I absolutely, positively loved this story. I started it thinking I'd read for a bit before going to sleep and kept reading until the story was finished. Even done, I was looking for more because I wasn't ready to let these characters go. (I hope that ending was setting Boo up for his own story.) Things didn't go smoothly but at each bump, Bastian and Charlie made adjustments and changes. Can each follow their dream and keep the other? Take the time to find out. You sure won't be sorry.
Aug 20, 2011 | B005CRQ5AK
5 - Rare Top Pick | 4.5 - Top Pick | 4 - I Liked It | 3.5 - Enjoyable | 3 - OK | 2.5 - It just didn't click
Book Blurb for Turn It Up
Dr. Bastian Talbot and self-proclaimed sex goddess Charlie Pierce heat up the air waves with their flirty banter as radio hosts Dr. Hot and the Honeypot. Off the air, they're best friends…but Bastian wants to be so much more. He wants Charlie—in bed, and forever.
Problem is, Charlie doesn't do commitment. Sure, she's had X-rated fantasies of Bastian, but he was always just a friend—until he impulsively proposes and unleashes the lust they've been denying for years. Charlie's willing to explore where their wild chemistry leads, but she won't marry him. And he won't have sex with her until she accepts his proposal, despite her seductive schemes.
What are Dr. Hot and the Honeypot to do? Ask their listeners for advice on how to tame a sex kitten and turn a perfect gentleman into a shameless lover. The Race to Wed or Bed is on…who will turn up on top?
85,000 words
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