Review: Highly enjoyable, HOT!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 18, 2014
Reviewed by Ashiafor TheRomanceReviews.comBefore you start this book, make sure to have some ice cubes handy. Or your partner, 'coz you're sure to jump him. Because this book is sure damn HOT!Julie Piper is the planner, the organizer, the girl who makes sure everyone's taken care of. Yet beneath the good girl facade, Reed senses a wild passion, which leaped out at a mere touch from him. They couldn't be more different, yet one night was not enough. How do they go on from there, with both Reed's and Julie's pasts coming to haunt them?I have never read a book by Tessa Bailey before, and I can see that I'm missing out on a lot! She writes hot and sexy, all wrapped up in yummy characters who continue to bedevil you long after you close the book. Especially Reed. Oh, the hotness! His rough, sexy dominance could coax passion from the most indifferent woman and his dirty talk is enough to bring a woman to ecstasy. Mmmm, please wait while I reread my favorite parts.BAITING THE MAID OF HONOR is essentially about a broken man and a seemingly perfect woman coming together and finding what they need in the other. Their romantic development is believable, and you can see their growth as characters, especially Reed, how he was willing to give Julie what she needs. The epilogue was a nice touch, as we are given a glimpse into what their life is like and how their relationship has progressed four months later. It was moving to see how such a hard, independent man come to need and love a woman so much she becomes like air to him.Tessa Bailey's writing is smooth and flows, making for a highly enjoyable read. There were a lot of sexy intimate scenes, but I feel each is necessary to depict how their relationship has progressed, and for Reed to demonstrate beating back his baser instincts to reach deep into his emotions in order to connect with the woman he was coming to care for. Lots of witty banter, hawt dialogue, and even hawt-er dirty talk.Reed: "Would you like me to take off my pants now so you can really be impressed?"Julie: "By all means, take the pants off. It'll make it much easier when I castrate you."How about this for hawt?Reed: "If you need servicing while we're stuck in this fancy-ass hotel for a week, I'm going to be the one to do it. No one else. Not Golden Boy. Not even your right hand....I will service you so hard you'll be booking another week here just to recover."And this?"I want to ride it hard, Reed. Tell me to ride it hard.""Hard is the only way you ride it. Ever. Is that clear, Julie?"Even so, it is the compelling characters who make you read onward to see how they will reach their happy-ever-after. I can't wait to read the rest of the stories in this series!