All it takes to be a super-hot lingerie designer is chutzpah and a healthy dose of talent. Right? So why is Bridget Weiss making ends meet selling custom bras and thongs to Chicago's triple-X dancers? And now Adam Hale, her brother's best friend, is in town and thinks she's a stripper, too! Maybe she'll just let him sweat over that mix-up….
But everything he imagined
Truth is, Adam's been secretly lusting after sweet Bridget's bodacious curves for years. Just being near her is torture. But when she teases him with a private dance straight out of a VIP room, he's stunned by her bare heat. Tonight he'll follow her anywhere. Because tomorrow he's taking the lead….
This was a cute and sexy read, with an unusual premise (Bridget, the heroine, designs lingeries and outfits for strippers, oops, exotic dancers) and very likable characters. The love scenes were scorching hot, starting with Bridget performing a sensual striptease and giving a lap dance to Adam, the hero, then moving on to a naughty love session in a public place a few days later, and then ending with a steamy encounter in her parents' barn. Wow, I'm still fanning myself over those scenes! ;)
As for the story itself, I had to suspend disbelief from the start but I was OK with it. When it comes to HQ novels, as long as I can buy the hero and the heroine falling in lust/love and the writing is enjoyable, I'm happy. Adam and Bridget get down and dirty pretty early in the book, but it was believable considering they'd known each other for 6 years and each had been secretly lusting after the other all that time. The story dragged a bit after they started dating/sleeping with each other and I wasn't sure where Adam and Bridget were heading, but it all worked out in the end. The epilogue lacked some oomph, but it wasn't disappointing enough to ruin the book.
One of the better Blaze books. I read them as a guilty pleasure, but I know not to expect too much. But once in a while you find a really great story that is touching, believable and heartfelt -- as well as really sexy. I loved how the hero/heroine had a deep friendship, and I like how the author allowed the relationship time to evolve emotionally. It was never over the top. I plan to get the other Blaze book by this author, and I hope it is this good too!
Confession- Bare necessities introduced me to the “brother’s friend are forbidden” unwritten bro code and I loved it. For a Harlequin novel this was sultry and sexy without being cheesy and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved the premise of Bridget being a lingerie designer with sinful curves instead of the stick thin figures the industry has been forcing down our throats (Yes you Victoria’s Secret!). Bridget’s major clientele happen to be of the sexier but still legit professional of stripping so it’s no secret that when Adam (her brothers smoking hot friend) comes for a surprise visit he mistakes her for a stripper.
Poor Adam….. he has always harbored secret feelings for for Bridget’s sexy curvaceous body and now that he gets a sneak peek, papa wants the whole package!
Bridget was nothing like he remembered…But everything he imagined
I liked that Bridget was relatable and her emotions were honest. We saw all of Bridget’s insecurities, her secret hopes and her wish for love. Overall, Bare Necessities was a quick and pleasant read full of big dreams, sassy strippers and family drama! .
Confession- Bare necessities introduced me to the "brother's friend is forbidden" unwritten bro code and I loved it. For a Harlequin novel, this was sultry and sexy without being cheesy and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved the premise of Bridget being a lingerie designer with sinful curves instead of the stick-thin figures the industry has been forcing down our throats (Yes you Victoria's Secret!). Bridget's major clientele happens to be of the sexier but still legit professional of stripping so it's no secret that when Adam (her brother smoking hot friend) comes for a surprise visit he mistakes her for a stripper.
Poor Adam..... he has always harbored secret feelings for Bridget's sexy curvaceous body and now that he gets a sneak peek, papa wants the whole package!
I liked that Bridget was relatable and her emotions were honest. We saw all of Bridget's insecurities, her secret hopes, and her wish for love. Overall, Bare Necessities was a quick and pleasant read full of big dreams, sassy strippers, and family drama!
Even for a Blaze this was pretty smoking. I picked this up, wanting a quick fix - not realizing that a stumbled upon one of my favorite premises: hero-who-is-the-brother's-bff-already-in-love-with-heroine. Ok, I don't have a shelf like that, but it's still a good one.
Bridget is an up and coming lingerie designer who starts practicing her trade with the exotic dancer crowd. Raised on a farm and mostly overprotected by her parents and her brothers, her long-time crush and older brother's bff, Adam, is supposed to keep an eye on her. But he has liked her too, and when he see's Bridget enter a strip club, he has no choice but to follow. Somehow, they venture into a lapdance, despite their normally platonic relationship, and by the next day (or something like that), they are already all over each other.
Bridget is not spectacular, but is definitely likable. Supposedly, she's curvy and has the cups size of a stripper, but doesn't realize how pretty she is. At least, she doesn't hide her voluptuous body under baggy clothes by the time the story starts. Adam also earns some serious kudo points by liking Bridget and willing to think that they could have a future together (unlike most heroes that think and say that they would never get married). He is also fleshed out with his unrealistic dream to be a dairy farmer - city boy, it ain't that easy.
My favorite part is when Bridget's family makes an entrance. Specifically, her mother and her brother, Dane. I like love stories that include some familial support. I also loved Bridget's stripper friends.
Overall, a very enjoyable read. Another amazing Blaze - simple, yet sizzling.
I re-read this ad part of my goal to review all my old books. I've always wanted to try making lingerie since I was a teenager, there's a very real chance it's from this book and Bridget's enthusiasm for it. It was a cute read. I liked Bridget and Adam together, the build up. But I wasn't sold on Adam. He just seemed super naïve about what he considers his dream and constantly puts off the health issues he sees around him even after having to give a colleague CPR. The plot just gets a bit weird in places, like an ex plot that goes nowhere, an American pretending to be French to be a designer, and what seems like a sex party? I think it just needs to be scaled back a bit rather than all these small points thrown in.
This was one steamy read, definitely Blaze-worth, featuring lots of bodacious tatas - real, fake, and even bovine. Busty Wisconsin farmgirl and milkmaid Bridget Weiss moves to Chicago to learn fashion design, and ends up designing racy costumes for exotic dancers. She runs into family friend and secret childhood crush Adam Hale, a commodities trader who's looking to make money and get out of the big city. Theirs is a friends-to-lovers story that's sweet and sexy and smells like candy. A fun, quick read that's recommended.
Really enjoyed this one. It has all the best ingredients...likeable H/h, hot love scenes, good story and a touch of humor. I will definitely be checking out other books by Marie Donovan!