Hotblooded

by Erin Nicholas

Her mama always said the women in their family were hotblooded…   And it’s been causing Brooke Donovan trouble her whole life. But it wasn’t until her mother took on the most powerful man in Honey Creek, Texas, that Brooke truly realized the daughter of the town whore didn’t stand a chance. When she left, it was supposed to be for good. But now, thanks to her late husband’s deal with their hometown, she’s back in the last place on earth she wants to be. Temporarily. As soon as her debts are paid off, she’s outta here. Until in walks the one man who can make her rethink everything.   Dr. Jack Silver fixes things. So, when he learns his uncle is responsible for Brooke losing her husband, his sense of honor drives him across Texas to make amends. Instead of a broken woman, though, he finds a gorgeous, feisty physician’s assistant trying to survive in a town that wants her gone. She also has a mile-high fence built out of pride—and a clinic that’s at risk of going belly up. She may not want his money, but the clinic? He can fix that. He just never expects that in setting Brooke back on her feet, he’ll be swept right off his own.   Contains a hot-blooded woman, a man who really likes that about her, a town with a long memory, and a cappuccino machine that makes it all worthwhile.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Ebooks, Contemporary, Adult

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 2, 2012

About the author

Erin Nicholas is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun.

She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).


You can find Erin on the web at www.ErinNicholas.com, on Instagram at ErinNicholasBooks, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ErinNicholas... and on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/erin-...

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: 3.5/5 stars

The story starts out with a sexy bang *grin* as Jack meets Brooke, thinking she’s the office cleaning lady, and has them in a lip lock and her top off within minutes. Jack’s in town on a mission to help Brooke, and in his mind that help comes in the form of giving her $250,000 from his Uncle’s life insurance policy. Brooke won’t accept help from anyone for any reason, determined to put her time in at the small town clinic as a physician’s assistant to prove to the town that she’s nothing like her mother, who much of the town resents. Brooke’s husband died in a car accident a few months back, and even though the town hasn’t welcomed her with open arms, she’s determined to stay due to a deal her late husband made: she stays in town, keeping the clinic staffed and her school bills will be paid in full once the contract she signed is up. So when Jack shows up with a hefty check in his pocket, she turns him down, and turns him on all at the same time.

Jack is carrying around the guilt of thinking he indirectly caused Brooke’s husband’s death (I use the term “husband” loosely since their relationship was not at all what it seemed to be), when he didn’t stop his drunk uncle from getting behind the wheel of a car. He has to make sure Brooke is ok, and offer any help he can, so when she turns down the money, he stays in town to help out at the clinic, taking a leave from his position as an ER doctor, and sets out to not only help Brooke but to win her heart.

“Have you ever gotten flowers before?” he asked.

“No.” How did he know that?

“Well, I think every woman should get flowers from an admirer at least once.”

“You’re an admirer?” she asked softly, touched in spite of herself.

He stepped close and looked down at her, a strangely gentle look in his eyes. “Yes, I’m an admirer.”

Brooke has always felt very isolated as the town hasn’t exactly been friendly towards her, so she shut herself away, not doing anything more than she needed to at the clinic, always thinking the worst about the town and what they thought of her. She tried to be the exact opposite of her mom, dressing very conservatively, never really showing emotion, all trying to prove the town that they’re wrong about her. All this served to do was alienate her even more, keeping people from venturing into the medical clinic, so when Jack sticks around and starts seeing patients and the clinic starts to be booked for full days, it’s just one more reason for Brooke to, at first, get fed up with Jack, as he was earning the townspeople’s respect so easily, but he gives her reason to open her eyes about how things really are. He makes her realize that her own behavior and beliefs about how she’s perceived is mostly her own issue and that she needs to open herself up more to everyone around her, even if that means giving a smile, or just taking a trip to the local diner. For as much build up as there was about how much the town hated Brooke and was waiting for her to fail, it really came down to just 2 people in town that felt that way, everyone else saw Brooke as her own person and not her mother.

Jack and Brooke have a relationship that starts out with instant attraction, but Brooke fights it, not wanting to do anything that’s perceived as something her mother would have done. But Jack doesn’t let that sway him and he sets out to make her see what could be between them – planning dates (that she constantly rejects) and ultimately working his way into her life when all she’s thought about for so long was just making it through her clinic commitment and then getting out of town. Now he’s messing with all her plans and making her see not only herself in a different way, but the town as well.

“You make me crazy.”

He blinked. He made her crazy? What did that mean? He felt a grin begin to stretch his lips. Crazy could be a positive thing. In many ways, Brooke drove him crazy as well.

“Good crazy or bad crazy?” he asked.

She frowned at him. “Crazy as in I’d like to shake all of that cockiness and charm right out of you. Crazy as in you make me want to scream. Crazy as in I hold my breath every morning waiting to see you.”

I’m not normally a fan of starting a story and a few pages in having the leads halfway naked and making out after having just met moments ago, but their relationship did start to really build as the book went on, and the sexiness was still there as they got to know one another better and ultimately fall for each other.

Fans of contemporary romance will enjoy this light, fun read by Erin Nicholas. I’m a fan of small town settings and while the buildup between Brooke vs. the Town maybe didn’t end up being this big showdown we’re led to believe is coming throughout the story, Brooke, with a little help from Jack, is able to put the past, specifically her mom’s past, behind her and start to live her own life.

[Borderstar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have given this 1 star overall as if I am honest, I really didn't like this overall and it actually really annoyed me in the end - I am pretty angry as I write thinking about it and it isn't often that a book actually makes me angry. It would have been a d-n-f if it hadn't been for the fact that I was so near to the end by the time it started really making me angry.

The beginning of the book was pretty good and I was really looking forward to it. It seemed quite fun, interesting and there was some hot attraction between the H/H with quite a steamy scene right near the beginning. I did feel the motivation for the hero to be so adamant about helping our heroine was too over the top (I didn't see the guilt as a good/strong enough justification to go to the lengths he was going to and he couldn't have had feelings at this point so close to the beginning). Despite this, I was enjoying it and I would have rated it around 3.5/4 stars if it had continued in this style.

However, by the second half I was getting really annoyed about the way that nobody was discussing the real reason the heroine was acting as she was (re the history with her mum & the town); the H/H reactions seemed pretty unrealistic/fake; it seemd the hero of our tale was pretty weak as far as I was concerned with how he dealt with the people in the diner who would diss our heroine (and this happened again later in the story too where I would personally have punched the person for what they were saying!); there was so much emphasis on what the friggin town thought; the heroine couldn't make up her mind what she thought about things/how she wanted to act with the hero; and my biggest irritation that made me really angry was after the H/H finally got it together enough that they spent a night away in a hotel and pretty much confessed they loved one another, the next morning the idiot 'hero' said certain things in the diner in front of the town without discussing it with our heroine, made things awkward for her and despite knowing how she felt because of her mother, didn't help the situation or what people would think at all! And then acted affronted like it was her fault. I wanted to smack him one...at this point the whole story fell apart for me and I really didn't like the rest AT ALL and I would have said -1 star for the final 20% of the book. It was stupid and annoying with no depth of emotion and really 2D characters. Grrrrr, I am just so annoyed that I wasted my time reading this book and paid for it.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author. Like the small town setting and the characters.
If you liked this book check out the Bradford series by her. By the time I was done reading it I wanted them all to be my friends. Great series.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erin Nicholas tells a story that keeps you interesting from start to finish. There is a wonderful chemistry between the hero and heroine that I just want to keep reading and wishing it didn’t come to an end because I could not get enough. I laughed, I cried, and sometimes I was doing both at the same time as the main characters try to put the past behind them and not worry about what other people think.

Brooke Donovan has tried so hard to live a quiet life. Her late husband had made a financial agreement with their hometown, and now, she has to go back to that small town in Texas to repay them. She hated living there because everyone compared her to her mother, so she has no plans of staying any longer than the amount of time that is necessary. She will work as a physician’s assistant at the clinic, which will pay off her debt and then she is gone for good. When unexpected news causes her to realize that she may not be able to fulfill her agreement she’s not sure what she will do, but she is determined that she will find a way to prove to the people of the town that she is dependable and keeps her promises.

Dr. Jack Silver has felt responsible for the death of Brooke’s husband since he found out that his uncle was the one that caused his death. His honor has him offering to help Brooke any way that he can, but he never expected to find a strong woman who will not accept anything he has to offer. She is full of so much pride that she will not tell him what he can do for her to lessen her burdens. When he finds out that the clinic is in danger of closing because there is no longer an acting doctor he decides that that is the best way to help Brooke. He will help her get the clinic back on its feet and then he can go home without having a guilty conscious. He doesn't plan on the feelings that he has for Brooke. Will Brooke want him to stay?

[Sherri Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars.

A nice easy read that had me rooting for the hero.

Hotblooded is the first book I’ve read by Erin Nicholas. I had no idea what to expect going into this book. Two years ago at the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together there was information about it in the goodie bag. I looked it up on Amazon, and added it to my TBR list. It had been so long since that happened, though, that I didn’t remember anything about it or what had peeked my interest.

The story is about a young woman, Brooke Donovan, who runs a clinic in a small town called Honey Creek. Her life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and she’s buying her time until she can leave. In strolls Jack Silver. He turns her life upside down in more ways than one, but for the life of her she can’t figure out if that’s a good thing or not.

I enjoyed this book. There were a few times when I wanted to shake the heroine, but even so I wanted to keep reading to see how these two would get their HEA. I loved Jack almost from the start. Sure he had a few moments where I was shaking my head at him, but given Brooke’s hot and cold attitude I thought his reactions were understandable for the most part.

The author did a great job with the characters back stories. I had another readers tell me they were frustrated with the heroine and felt she should just get over it, but things from our pasts can have a profound and lasting effect on us whether we want them to or not. It’s not always as simple as ‘getting over it’.

The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 was because there were a few minor editing issues and because there were a two brief moments in the story where I wanted to smack some sense into Brooke and move things along. Over all, though, it was a good read, and I will definitely be checking out more from this author in the future.

[Heather in FL · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read from this author, and it won't be my last. I saw the book promoted on another author's blog, and it looked interesting. I apparently have more of her on my Kindle (I can't be the only one where stuff gets lost on my Kindle!) so I'll have to read the other things I have. This was a fun story with great characters. I found myself getting frustrated that just little pieces of things were revealed here and there, lol. I was wondering why everyone hated Brooke? Why wasn't she more upset her husband had a lover? Why did Jack feel like he had to give her the money? But of course, peeling off each layer of the story was satisfying when it came.

I loved the chemistry between Brooke and Jack. Sometimes I wanted to smack Brooke for how much she cared what the town thought about her. I guess I can sort of understand it, but it seemed like she went overboard sometimes. Like the whole town revolved around her and what she might do. I'm sure that was probably ingrained in her by her father-in-law as well as the town gossips. Not to mention the fact that nobody would come to the clinic once Mike died. I was glad to see that change through the story, even if it was mostly because Jack was around. But Jack was good for Brooke, and not just because of their sexual chemistry. He could tell her things (like her seeming cold and unfeeling to the patients, or needing to make the clinic more welcoming) that would help her whether he was around or not.

I was very glad of the decision she made at the end -- really the decisions both of them made -- because I really enjoy an HEA, lol.

I'll definitely have to read more by this author.

[Drmgrl99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steamy, Sexy, Sweet - This is how I would describe Erin Nicholas's writing. I loved this book and as with every book I read of hers I fall more in more in love with her writing style - she is an AUTO MUST BUY for me.

HOTBLOODED - just like the title says it is "HOT" and gets your "BLOOD" going within the first few pages.

Brooke Donovan is a young widow that is stuck in the small town of Honey Creek, Texas, where her husband had established a small clinic. Now she has no other choice but to stay and fulfill his contract at the clinic, but in doing so means she must deal with the rumors of her and her family's past.

Dr. Jack Silver, otherwise known as "Mr. Hero" feels responsible for the death of Brooke's husband and has set his mind to helping her through this rough time in life. Jack's family is unsure of this idea and tries talking him out of it, but it just makes him more sure in his pursuit.

Jack arrives in the small town of Honey Creek in search of the weak widow and what he finds is far from it. He finds a spunky, smart-mouthed, independent women who won't take a damn thing from him and he is immediately enthralled by her and must know more about her.

Both characters battle with their own struggles they need to overcome while dealing with their mutual attraction. This story is full of humor and emotion along with lots of steamy-hot-sex that helps keep this story thriving. While the story is mainly about Brooke and Jack there are quite a few characters that I hope to see more of. Erin's books always make me want more and the way this book ends leads me to think that this could be a series and...if that's so...I will be the first in line to buy book 2!

[Redheads Review it Better · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another steamy read from Erin Nicholas. Just like her single titles and her awesome Bradford series, she hits this mark on this book.

To be blunt, Brooke is basically marked as the town slut even though there was no indication that she ever was one (although her mother was another story). She has come back to the hometown that she hates to run the clinic her husband had set up before he died. If she shows up each work day for two years, her college tuition debt will be paid off. So simple and painless until a sexy man walks into her life and changes everything.

Dr. Jack Silver has come to Honey Creek looking for Brooke to give her money that he thinks she is owed from her husband's death. Any sane person would take the money without too many question and move on with their lives happier. But not Brooke. She rejects the money outright. What boggles him more is one minute they are all over acting like old lovers that can't get enough of each other, to completely freezing him out. Well she is getting a wake up call when he decides to stay and help her out at the clinic.

Really enjoyed this book. It's never long enough for me though! I guess that just shows how good Erin is with her ability to tell a great story that it leaves you wanting more and more.

[Tisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the daughter of the town’s most "notorious woman" and the hot new doctor connect both inside the exam room and out, blood pressure cuffs are surely needed. A great romance with plenty of spice; it is nice to see a couple act on their desires and quickly. Brooke and Jack have a long way to go if they are going to be able to stand within five feet of each other and not combust.

Erin Nicholas has given us another set of characters and a new town to fall in love with. This one kept my Kindle in my hand until I was finished. Nice twists and turns in the budding romance, not your usual story line of how girl meets boy. I love Erin’s subtle humor and her up front in your face laugh out loud humor that comes out in all her books.

Now I am off to grab a cappuccino and curl up with another good read!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

Just when I think her stories cannot get any better, Erin Nicholas amazes me again.

This love story has a hero and heroine that, despite their baggage, are adorable. I believe the characters acted and reacted much like I would in the same circumstances; making me feel like I was part of the story, rather that an observer.

I love that Erin Nicholas's voice is relatable and her wit is infectious. I often caught myself laughing at the banter between characters (and the characters' thoughts as well).

I highly recommend this book. I recommend you read all her books. But once you read this one, I'm sure that will go without saying.

[Simply Love Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hotblooded is full of emotions, turmoil and passion. But beyond the romance, Hotblooded is a story about emotionally healing, finding real love and forgiveness. It has a secondary cast I hope we see more of and I would like to see more of Jack and Brooke, yes they had their HEA but I want to see them living their lives in love and happy, there is a teaser at the end that made me smile =) OH and that freakin' cappuccino machine...cold cappuccino would be my favorite too ;-)

To read my entire review please visit
http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews...

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often times I'll read a "steamy" story, but the characters are so flat that I'll find myself flipping through the pages just to get to the steamy stuff because I don't care about the characters. In the case of Hotblooded, I read every, single word. Ms. Nicholas does a brilliant job of sculpting multi-layered characters that you will be rooting for from beginning to end. There's more than just steam to this story, thanks to the wonderfully complex and emotional characters, it will leave you Hotblooded!

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had the makings of a good book but it fell short, in my opinion. I enjoyed it, now, don't get me wrong, but I didn't feel like the story went where it could have and should have gone. There just wasn't enough... the relationship between Brooke and her father-in-law could have been explored much more and that could have made the story that much better. Imagine a bit more back and forth between those two. And Mr. I'm-Your-Hero would have had even more reason to be exactly that. I don't feel like this book was a waste of my time, but I was somewhat disappointed.

[H.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has talent in creating imagery in a
person's mind. However, this story is a "glorified"
short story, made into a novel though obsessive
sex thoughts and scenes. It would be better classified
in the erotica section. There it may have earned a higher
rating. The story could have been good if it had been
"solidly" elaborated on. Also the obsessive sexual
tendencies weren't consistent with the character types.
I won this through a Goodread's giveaway. I am sure it will
be appreciated by someone.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hotblooded by Erin Nicholas is a fabulous read with winsome characters and an engaging storyline. The dialogue between Brooke and Jack is humorous, sexy and thought-provoking. To read my review in its entirety, please visit http://www.bookreviewsandmorebykathy....

[Candice Fitzherbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a goodreads firstreads win. it even came with a little one cup package of cuppaccino lol. the joke becomes apparent when you read the book. This is a romance novel with all of the steamy sex scenes, but there is another story underneath of all that. you really feel like you know the characters after reading this book. I loved it. Will definitely read more by this author.

[Elizabeth Hytrek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very typical Erin Nicholas book-- sexy, funny, sweet, with a heroine that's made a few mistakes and a hero is hot and yummy and wants to do the right thing! Loved it! Would recommend it to any romance fan!

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN TILL I READ THE LAST PAGE. I LOVED IT!!!! I WON THIS BOOK ON GR GIVEAWAYS..

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read i absolutely loved it, couldnt have been any better and loved the ending as much as the beginning

[Puna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Barely got through it.

[Billie J Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read.

A good story line with a nice mix of drama and humor. It made you smile and say Yeah! Do not miss it.