Format: E-book
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: NAL Trade
Hero: Bryce Ryder
Heroine: Jenna McCabe
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: June 2, 2009
Started On: March 29, 2012
Finished On: March 30, 2012

Hot in Here by Sophie Renwick is a title that has been sitting like forever in my to-be-read pile. Somehow I ended up reading a couple of pages into this romance penned by author Sophie Renwick aka Charlotte Featherstone that managed to grab my attention and hold on to it just because of the hero Bryce Ryder of whom I could not get enough.

27 year old Jenna McCabe who is to turn 28 that very night is a woman on a mission. That is the mission of making the man who has been in her heart for 10 long years fall in love with her. But Jenna knows in her heart Bryce would not be a man who would succumb that easily to happily ever after, given the number the one woman he had trusted had done on him.

Bryce might want to lump Jenna his childhood friend into the category of women he considers as sisters. Even though Bryce would rather die than admit that his attention towards Jenna had veered off course every now and again, Bryce is steadfast in his belief that nothing good would ever come out of tangling with the likes of Jenna who would want much more than he is capable of offering.

What surprises Bryce and Jenna both the night she turns 28 is the way their passion for each other practically sets both of them afire, leaving them both wanting more. But Jenna has a plan, a plan that would draw Bryce towards her and finally accept her as his one and only and it doesn’t include her being available for Bryce at the drop of a hat.

Bryce is confused as to the hows and whys of the way he cannot get enough of his long time friend Jenna. The way her body seems to respond to his every caress and touch drives him crazy and for the first time in 5 long years Bryce considers the prospect of turning his life around and settling down. But the new Jenna that emerges after their night of feasting on each other is one that has no resemblance whatsoever to the woman who appeals to his senses and who owns his heart more than he lets on.

For a woman who professes to have loved Bryce almost half her life, Jenna surely has a funny way of showing it to him. The reason I lowered the book’s rating to 4-stars was because I just couldn’t handle the way Jenna acted towards Bryce for the most part of the book. While Bryce is the person who is portrayed as the guy who loves to sleep around, who doesn’t empathize and doesn’t want to forge a deeper emotional connection with any woman, it is Jenna’s character that seemed shallow to me.

Yes, Bryce might want to indulge and immerse himself in the heady sensation of being thoroughly satisfied in the sack. But that doesn’t mean he is not sensitive towards others. He might be a tad arrogant and pushy but the love he has for the food that he cooks up is just to die for. What I had a problem with was how ready Jenna was to lump him with men who wouldn’t understand or give two cents about her emotions when she has known Bryce for far longer and knows who he really is. If I had been Jenna, I would have grabbed Bryce with both my hands and never ever looked back!

For me, the best thing about the novel was Bryce Ryder. He has that undefinable quality that makes a hero worth your time and the desire that he feels for Jenna is a vivid and all encompassing one that just left me breathless at all times. When Bryce steps into the picture, you know instinctively that you are in for the ride of a lifetime and Sophie Renwick has done such a swell job in bringing his character to life.

As soon as I finished Hot in Here, the question that popped into my mind was what happened to Trey and Sarah who definitely needs their own story. They have got so much pent up desire for each other that I would dearly love to see what Sophie can do with their story.

Recommended for those who love highly sensual and erotic contemporary romances with a hero who can cook up a storm. 

Hot in Here is a sumptuous feast for all your senses. Trust me on that.

Favorite Quotes

She could hardly believe it, not after ten years, but they were finally making out on her couch. And Holy Mother of God, Bryce Ryder could kiss!
He was slow and lazy with his kisses, but masterful. His tongue and fingers were thrusting forward and back, in and out, mimicking sex, winding her up so tight until she was rubbing her pussy against his hand while clutching his hair. More . . . she had to have more.

Parting her sex, he stroked her clitoris with the tip of his forefinger. She moaned and twisted, but he held her in place with one hand on her hip as he penetrated her deep and slow. Over and over he stroked her clit, finding the rhythm she liked, and soon she was riding him hard and wanton, just as he hoped she would.

“Bryce!” Jenna heard the arousal and need in her voice as Bryce thrust into her. His breathing was harsh, and she looked over her shoulder and saw that his gaze was fixed on his c#ck entering her. In that second she knew she’d never see anything as sexy as Bryce taking her like that.

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