Hootie's Review: Still So Hot by Serena Bell

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Expected Publication Date: January 1st 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze

Pages: 224

Format: ARC/Mobi

Source: provided by publisher for review

Your "Dating Boot Camp" Itinerary Day One: Fly to a luxurious, five-star resort in St. Barts with your personalized dating coach, Elisa Henderson. Show up on the plane with a guy you just picked up. Find out Brett Jordan isn't just a drool-worthy hottie with a rockin' hard bod—he's also a total player…and Elisa's former best friend! Day Two: Be problematic. Disappear with a cute paparazzo. Besides, Elisa and Brett are now alone in a tropical paradise, and Elisa's about to break the first commandment of date coaching: Thou Shall Not Sexily Ravage Your Client's Date. Lost clients, naughty nighttime shenanigans, sleazy paparazzi… Can Elisa avoid a complete PR disaster, or is her reputation about to get the boot?

My Review:

I know when I open a book by this author it will be fun, romantic and deliciously sexy. Still So Hot was a great escape read for me that had me hooked from the first chapter. 

Brett and Elisa were best friends in college. He was a little bit of a ladies man and she harbored a serious crush on him. After a semi drunken kiss that almost became more Brett pulled away leaving Elisa feeling vulnerable and hurt. They haven't spoken since that night and two years later end up on a plane to the Caribbean together when Elisa's dating client brings him along. When her client goes AWOL and ditches Elisa she is stuck with Brett for the weekend. Alone. In a tropical paradise with a beefcake hottie she has been in lust with for years? What's the worst that could happen? She could lose her heart to this playboy who has only kept a relationship alive for a few weeks at most.

Friends to lovers stories are an absolute favorite trope for me. I love watching a couple who had a bond of friendship first fan those flames into full blown love. it's even more special for some reason when the guy is that unattainable male who basically fucks anything female that breathes. I can't understand why that does it for me because I can't stand a man whore on a good day much less on a badly PMSing day such was the case here. There was something about Brett that pulled me in and made me root for him from the beginning. He came across as a total dill weed especially when it comes out that he hooked up with Elisa's sister right after their almost hookup/kiss. It took a while for me to fully warm up to him thinking he wouldn't be able to redeem himself but he surprised me. He wasn't just the muscle head pantie chaser he is perceived to be. Everyone sees him as a pretty face and never really takes him seriously and while I wanted to get out my violin and cry him a river I could see the merit in him feeling used and cheap.

Elisa's character was my kind of woman. She was scorned and held her emotions close to her chest so as not to be hurt again. She has worked her way up to her own business and has found her niche in matchmaking. I loved watching her try to keep her cool whenever Brett was around especially when he used his sexual prowess to try and get under her skin. It took her a while to warm back up to him too and I loved how she was willing to give their friendship another try despite her intensely hurt feelings over what happened between them. One of the qualities I admired most was her ability to admit when she was being too mean and apologized to Brett for the remarks she made at his expense. She was spunky and determined, exactly what I love in a female character. She wasn't so tough that she couldn't open herself back up again but she had the right amount of soft and strong.

The supporting character Celine, the celebrity client Elisa has to wrangle on her boot camp weekend turns out to add some much needed humor and a secondary story I found myself wrapped up in. She's supposed to be going on a series of dates that Elisa sets up but ends up running off with the celebrity Antichrist, Paparazzi. Celine proves to be hard to handle for Elisa and she recruits Brett's help to find her on several vaudevillian rendezvous missions. This was almost like getting two stories in one because Elisa manages to actually find this crazy celebrity diva a match that had me a little misty eyed at one point.

Still So Hot was a great story that had me laughing, swooning and tied in knots with the ups and downs this couple went through. it wasn't hard to get attached to Brett and Elisa and I loved how things ended up for them. Bell knows how to write some steamy ass sex that will have your pulse racing and your upper lip sweating while reading through the delicious romance. I have yet to read a book by this author that I haven't enjoyed and I highly recommend this book if you need a good steamy best friends romance.

Quotes:

She was close, too close to him. She could smell him, old familiar scents that brought back half-forgotten longings. How could eau do pert plus shampoo and Old Spice cologne have such a profound effect on anyone? Kindle 4%

He propped her on wobbly legs, and she clung to his arm while he unlocked and opened the door, lifted her up again, kicked the door shut with his foot and deposited her on the bed, then knelt over her. His eyes were dark and full of dirty plans. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to do this." Kindle 58%

About The Author:
Photo credit: Susan Young Photography

Serena Bell writes stories about how sex messes with your head, why smart people do stupid things sometimes, and how love can make it all better. She wrote her first steamy romance before she was old enough to understand what all the words meant and has been perfecting the art of hiding pages and screens from curious eyes ever since—a skill that’s particularly useful now that she’s the mother of two. When she’s not writing or getting her butt kicked at Scrabble by her kids, she’s practicing modern-dance improv in the kitchen, swimming laps, taking a long walk, or reading on one of her large collection of electronic devices.

Serena blogs about reading and writing romance at www.serenabell.com and www.wonkomance.com. She also tweets like a madwoman as @serenabellbooks and posts to Facebook at www.facebook.com/serenabellbooks.