What do you think?
Rate this book
Simply Series #1-5
Simply Series Bundle
"New York Times" bestselling author Carly Phillips turns up the heat with five sexy contemporaries that are far from ordinary Own the complete collection of Carly Phillips's "Simply" series in one convenient download Bundle "Simply Sinful, Simply Scandalous, Simply Sensual, Body Heat, " and "Simply Sexy."
811 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
66 people are currently reading
409 people want to read
About the author
Carly Phillips
398 books9,778 followersNY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller, Carly Phillips is the queen of Alpha Heroes, at least according to The Harlequin Junkie Reviewer.. Carly married her college sweetheart and lives in Purchase, NY along with her crazy dogs who are featured on her Facebook and Instagram pages. The author of over 75 romance novels, she has raised two incredible daughters and is now an empty nester. Carly’s book, The Bachelor, was chosen by Kelly Ripa as her first romance club pick. Carly loves social media and interacting with her readers. Want to keep up with Carly? Sign up for her newsletter and receive TWO FREE books at www.carlyphillips.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 21, 2016
In this collection of 5 short, interconnected stories, Carly Philips weaves together romance, intrigue, and a little bit of mischief. Each story was well written, though some were more interesting than others.
In Simply Sinful, the first story, we are introduced to Kane, a police officer who is placed on temporary leave after witnessing the death of someone he was questioning in a potential crime. Because Kane refuses to take leave, he is tasked with investigating Charmed!, a charm school for men that might be a front for a prostitution ring.
Kayla is the newly inherited owner of Charmed!, and she wants to bring the outdated model of teaching men, into the 21st century by adding International Business Etiquette courses.
Kane poses as a potential client and "charms" Kayla into a date to vet her for info on this so-called prostitution ring, but he is unsuccessful. Yet, despite his lack of success, the evening doesn't end there. In an act that is totally out of character for the private, stoic detective, he beds his suspect. When Kayla does the walk of shame the next morning, Kane is surprised, but knows that this couldn't have gone further.
Later that day, Kayla is attacked by a man who was involved in the seamier side of Charmed!, Kane is the detective who gets assigned to protect Kayla. Kayla, is surprised that not only is Kane a cop, but that she let him into her heart in just one night, especially since she is no stranger to heartbreak. Kane is shocked that Kayla is the first woman he can let into his past. But this is just temporary, right? When this case ends, can Kane really walk away?
While this was a great story, with well developed characters, the heat between Kane and Kayla seemed forced. I did buy them as friends, especially since their witty banter was great. This story needed more editing, but overall was a good read.
Simply Scandalous is the second story in the bundle, and deals with Cat, Kayla's sister. Cat is a caterer du jour and is catering a lawn party at the home of Judge Montgomery, hosted by his mother, Emma. While filling in as bartender after hers is a no-show, Cat meets Logan, her hosts' grandson. Fate, and a very meddlesome grandmother, throws Cat and Logan together, but Judge Montgomery has big plans for his son, and Logan falling for "the help" isn't one of them. Like her sister, Cat, too, has been hurt by men before, and she's wary of starting something major with Logan. Wary, but goes to bed with him that first night anyway. They have a hot and heavy relationship, but when Judge Montgomery makes decisions for Logan that don't include Cat, Logan (with a lot of nudging from Emma), has to decide how to live his life the way he wants.
I loved how real these characters seemed. Despite the major differences in their backgrounds, they both wanted the same future.
Simply Sensual is the third story in this bundle, and deals with Grace, Logan's sister, and a private investigator named Ben, who is hired by Emma, Grace's grandmother. Emma, once again, is meddling in her grandchildren's lives, and since Grace has moved out of state (and arms reach) Emma turns to hiring a private investigator to keep tabs on her granddaughter. Emma's excuse is that she just wants to make sure her only granddaughter is safe and happy in New York, but this spunky 80 year old is deceptive. She hired a very hunky, very single P.I.
Ben takes his cases very seriously, but he never expected to fall in love with his "case". He tries to stay unattached, but after his first night in bed with Grace, he realizes that if she ever finds out the truth, it will kill her.
I really enjoyed this story, but I HATED the ending. I won't spoil it, but DAMN! The writing was great, and I'm noticing a pattern between the three stories so far- each of the women in the story are able to realize their true self, and become stronger because of their self discovery.
Body Heat was the fourth story in the bundle, and one where I wasn't quite sure where it fit in in this bundle- since neither of the main characters were connected to anyone else previously written about.
Jake is a cop who is out on disability, after being shot during a sting to arrest a drug dealer (who got away). Brianne is a waitress in a cafe (who during the day is a physical therapist) that Jake frequents often with his sister Rina.
Sparks fly between Jake and Brianne, but neither acts on their attraction. Recently widowed Rina plans to leave New York for the summer, and asks both Jake and Brianne (separately, of course) to house sit and take care of her shar pei for the summer. Rina's heart is in the right place, and by not telling her house guests that they won't be alone, she's hoping for a romantic hook up. And for Brianne to use her physical therapy skills to help Jake heal.
What Rina didn't expect was the reluctance on Brianne's part, because she abhors Jake's profession. Her parents died because they were into doing extreme activities, like flying by-planes in bad weather, leaving her to raise her much younger brother. But the attraction is too strong for Brianne to completely resist. When the gun wielding drug dealer who Jake had been after re-appears, the reader is left to wonder if Brianne will run because of the danger, or if she'll stay by her man.
I so wanted to love this story, but I didn't. This was the dullest story in the bundle. Even the climax was anti-climactic. There were no hold your breath moments, and it took me forever to get through this short story. Again, it was well written, just dull.
The final story in this bundle is Simply Sexy. This story follows Rina, the sister from Body Heat, up to Massachusetts, where she gets a job as a columnist for a failing newspaper, working alongside Emma, Grace and Logan's grandmother. Emma, is up to her meddling/matchmaking scheme, trying to set Rina up with Colin, the adopted, wandering son of the newspaper owner.
This being a romance, sparks fly quickly between Rina and Colin. Unfortunately, Colin is a man who doesn't stay put for long, and because of his love em and leave em ways, Rina knows that she may be in trouble if she can't get over the fact that Colin is in for a good time, not a long time. Plus, Colin is only in town to help bring his adopted father's beloved newspaper out from the financial trouble it's currently in, which may mean cutting Rina's column out.
But the more Colin sticks around to fix things, the more he realizes his reasons for running, may no longer be valid reasons. He may have a good reason to stick around for a while. But only if Rina never finds out his intention to get rid of her column. A column that has given Rina back her sense of self, one that she lost in her marriage.
Again, this was a sweet story. I liked that the author brought back both Cat and Logan (and updated the reader), and Jake and Brianne (and updated us again), and completed the theme of this bundle- women empowering themselves by having the courage and conviction to be themselves, and find men that support them.
In Simply Sinful, the first story, we are introduced to Kane, a police officer who is placed on temporary leave after witnessing the death of someone he was questioning in a potential crime. Because Kane refuses to take leave, he is tasked with investigating Charmed!, a charm school for men that might be a front for a prostitution ring.
Kayla is the newly inherited owner of Charmed!, and she wants to bring the outdated model of teaching men, into the 21st century by adding International Business Etiquette courses.
Kane poses as a potential client and "charms" Kayla into a date to vet her for info on this so-called prostitution ring, but he is unsuccessful. Yet, despite his lack of success, the evening doesn't end there. In an act that is totally out of character for the private, stoic detective, he beds his suspect. When Kayla does the walk of shame the next morning, Kane is surprised, but knows that this couldn't have gone further.
Later that day, Kayla is attacked by a man who was involved in the seamier side of Charmed!, Kane is the detective who gets assigned to protect Kayla. Kayla, is surprised that not only is Kane a cop, but that she let him into her heart in just one night, especially since she is no stranger to heartbreak. Kane is shocked that Kayla is the first woman he can let into his past. But this is just temporary, right? When this case ends, can Kane really walk away?
While this was a great story, with well developed characters, the heat between Kane and Kayla seemed forced. I did buy them as friends, especially since their witty banter was great. This story needed more editing, but overall was a good read.
Simply Scandalous is the second story in the bundle, and deals with Cat, Kayla's sister. Cat is a caterer du jour and is catering a lawn party at the home of Judge Montgomery, hosted by his mother, Emma. While filling in as bartender after hers is a no-show, Cat meets Logan, her hosts' grandson. Fate, and a very meddlesome grandmother, throws Cat and Logan together, but Judge Montgomery has big plans for his son, and Logan falling for "the help" isn't one of them. Like her sister, Cat, too, has been hurt by men before, and she's wary of starting something major with Logan. Wary, but goes to bed with him that first night anyway. They have a hot and heavy relationship, but when Judge Montgomery makes decisions for Logan that don't include Cat, Logan (with a lot of nudging from Emma), has to decide how to live his life the way he wants.
I loved how real these characters seemed. Despite the major differences in their backgrounds, they both wanted the same future.
Simply Sensual is the third story in this bundle, and deals with Grace, Logan's sister, and a private investigator named Ben, who is hired by Emma, Grace's grandmother. Emma, once again, is meddling in her grandchildren's lives, and since Grace has moved out of state (and arms reach) Emma turns to hiring a private investigator to keep tabs on her granddaughter. Emma's excuse is that she just wants to make sure her only granddaughter is safe and happy in New York, but this spunky 80 year old is deceptive. She hired a very hunky, very single P.I.
Ben takes his cases very seriously, but he never expected to fall in love with his "case". He tries to stay unattached, but after his first night in bed with Grace, he realizes that if she ever finds out the truth, it will kill her.
I really enjoyed this story, but I HATED the ending. I won't spoil it, but DAMN! The writing was great, and I'm noticing a pattern between the three stories so far- each of the women in the story are able to realize their true self, and become stronger because of their self discovery.
Body Heat was the fourth story in the bundle, and one where I wasn't quite sure where it fit in in this bundle- since neither of the main characters were connected to anyone else previously written about.
Jake is a cop who is out on disability, after being shot during a sting to arrest a drug dealer (who got away). Brianne is a waitress in a cafe (who during the day is a physical therapist) that Jake frequents often with his sister Rina.
Sparks fly between Jake and Brianne, but neither acts on their attraction. Recently widowed Rina plans to leave New York for the summer, and asks both Jake and Brianne (separately, of course) to house sit and take care of her shar pei for the summer. Rina's heart is in the right place, and by not telling her house guests that they won't be alone, she's hoping for a romantic hook up. And for Brianne to use her physical therapy skills to help Jake heal.
What Rina didn't expect was the reluctance on Brianne's part, because she abhors Jake's profession. Her parents died because they were into doing extreme activities, like flying by-planes in bad weather, leaving her to raise her much younger brother. But the attraction is too strong for Brianne to completely resist. When the gun wielding drug dealer who Jake had been after re-appears, the reader is left to wonder if Brianne will run because of the danger, or if she'll stay by her man.
I so wanted to love this story, but I didn't. This was the dullest story in the bundle. Even the climax was anti-climactic. There were no hold your breath moments, and it took me forever to get through this short story. Again, it was well written, just dull.
The final story in this bundle is Simply Sexy. This story follows Rina, the sister from Body Heat, up to Massachusetts, where she gets a job as a columnist for a failing newspaper, working alongside Emma, Grace and Logan's grandmother. Emma, is up to her meddling/matchmaking scheme, trying to set Rina up with Colin, the adopted, wandering son of the newspaper owner.
This being a romance, sparks fly quickly between Rina and Colin. Unfortunately, Colin is a man who doesn't stay put for long, and because of his love em and leave em ways, Rina knows that she may be in trouble if she can't get over the fact that Colin is in for a good time, not a long time. Plus, Colin is only in town to help bring his adopted father's beloved newspaper out from the financial trouble it's currently in, which may mean cutting Rina's column out.
But the more Colin sticks around to fix things, the more he realizes his reasons for running, may no longer be valid reasons. He may have a good reason to stick around for a while. But only if Rina never finds out his intention to get rid of her column. A column that has given Rina back her sense of self, one that she lost in her marriage.
Again, this was a sweet story. I liked that the author brought back both Cat and Logan (and updated the reader), and Jake and Brianne (and updated us again), and completed the theme of this bundle- women empowering themselves by having the courage and conviction to be themselves, and find men that support them.
Read
March 3, 2023Liked Scandalous and Sexy. The others weren't my favorite.
June 3, 2023
Great quick stories! Glad I got the whole bundle in one!
April 24, 2024
This series was filled with a mixture of everything; suspense, thrills, and most of all romance. Each story was equally entertaining. I enjoyed this series.
October 29, 2010
Loved this series. I love how the characters are blended into each story. Can't wait to read more books by Carly!
May 8, 2012
I love Carly Phillips and I scored this on my Sony Reader for cheap. It was a great chick lit read!
January 14, 2013
Great Read! I loved all 5 of the books in this series.
August 25, 2012
Overall I give these 5 books a 3++ ... as stand alones, a couple may have gotten 4-stars, but taken as a group, I'm more inclined to say 3++ ...
May 2, 2013
Hot. Great series - downloaded from library to Nexus. Want to read more
October 30, 2013
Loved this series!!!
January 28, 2016
Reviewing each book. Love your writing...
deals
January 27, 201627 January 2016: $0.99 on Kindle
July 11, 2012
Loved all 5 books in this series!!! Characters are fun and entertaining!!!!
April 11, 2016
I enjoyed all 5 novels... & gotta Love Grandma Emma..
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews