Man Candy

Okay I admit it this is a post about raunchy books featuring hot guys on the covers - in other words man candy.  It may seem kinda shallow and even a little sexist, something of which I am neither, but enjoying a look at a hot guy (or girl) is something that we all do at times.

Personally what makes me go weak at the knees is a sexy voice, a bad boy attitude and good dose of seductive charm  - and yes I'm looking at you Mark Sheppard, Richard Armitage and and a few others I won't bother naming but who are all very much swoon worthy IMO.

My first hot guy crush was Andy Gibb.  I kid you not. What can I say. It was the 70's and I was only 8 at the time so my taste in guys was probably not the best.  Since then crushes have come and gone.  There was Leif Garrett (whatever happened to him... *goes off to check out online*... comes back horrified), John Taylor (still pretty hot), Jeremy Northam as Mr Knightly and so on

Crushes are fun and harmless and book publishers are certainly aware that a good looking guy on the cover can be a pretty good incitement so if you're looking for some eye candy why not check out some (if not all) of the following.

 Changing the game / Jaci Burton.

"Sports agent Liz Darnell will do anything to win back her number-one client, baseball pro Gavin Riley. And Gavin's more than ready- especially when Liz is offering herself as part of the bargain."

What can I say except the guy has a hot chest.

Sometimes it's nice to be shallow.

Mystery man / Kristen Ashley

"Gwendolyn Kidd has met the man of her dreams. He's hot and sexy... it's just a little strange that he only appears in her bed at night..."

A touch of mystery is always a good thing.  Pretty much all of my fictional crushes from Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice to Lucas North in Spooks had that air of mystery about them and just made them all the more enticing...

 All out of love : a cupid, texas novel / Lori Wilde

"Football star Pierce Hollister finds himself back home, running a ranch in Texas, wondering how it all went wrong. But one thing is right: Lace Bettingfield -trouble is, she won't even give him the time of day."

Cowboys are a thing. Especially when they wear a gun.  I love a man with a gun or a sword or any kind of weapon really.  Which is probably why I love shows like Justified (sign... Raylan Givens)

Tiger magic / Jennifer Ashley

"Carly thinks her life is complete--until her car breaks down on the side of the road and the only one around to help her is a wild-looking Shifter. When Tiger sees Carly he knows instantly he has found his mate. But, as Carly is drawn into his Shifter world, will she risk everything for love."

Shape shifters sounds so cool.  Especially if they can turn into tigers.

 Forever / Jacquelyn Frank

"Police officer Jackson Waverly cannot stop thinking about Dr. Marissa Anderson, the gorgeous precinct shrink who keeps pushing him to confront his grief over the loss of his K-9 partner. But what Marissa really arouses in Jackson is intense desire, a desire that could cost her her life."

Another bare chest, another shallow moment.  Cops can be pretty hot also.

Bound by night / Larissa Ione

"Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there's one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate the most: a vampire"

As you may know from a previous post (see Vampires and Bad Boys) I have a thing for vampires, especially bad boy vampires.

 Men out of uniform / Maya Banks

 "They may enforce the rules, but when men in uniform are off duty and under the covers, they're experts at breaking them. And in this anthology these men know all about breaking the rules and then some..."

Cops, Sheriff's, US Marshall's; there is just something about a man in a uniform and even more so when he is out of it...

Uncommon pleasure / Anne Calhoun

"Two tales of two women, each daring to challenge the boundaries of the toughest of men...But in these edgy, heated encounters, the greatest thing each woman will risk is her heart."

More men who spend more time out of uniform than in it and who know how to make a woman go weak at the knees...

Sex in the City

Fifty Shades of Grey. Erotica. Porn. Mummy Porn. Bondage. Slash fiction.

People are into sex.

Shock. Horror. I know.

For something that is such a natural part of who we are we certainly seem to get awfully upset about it.   Someone writes a book with a few sex scenes in it and suddenly everyone has something to say and most of it not very good.

It always strikes me as just a little bit odd that we get so riled about two girls kissing, two guys kissing, a little bondage and so on and yet descriptions of someone attacking another, maiming them, hurting them, breaking a few bones or worse and we can't wait to turn another page let alone complain about it.

Violence it seems is tolerated.  Even acceptable.

Surprisingly as it might be to some but 'sexy' books have been around for quite a while.  Lady Chatterley's Lover, Story of O - sex in books in not something new and  the demand for erotic fiction has never been so hot as it has in the last year.  Which just goes to show that porn, erotic fiction, call it what you will - people want to read books that appeal to them on a sexual and personal level.

So if you're looking for something just a little bit steamy, to warm those cold winter nights check out some of the titles below.

Cowboys down / Barbara Elsborg.

"Jasper hopes a getaway to a Wyoming dude ranch help him overcome a deep-seated phobia about horseback riding. He hadn’t counted on an attraction to the dude ranch owner’s son, a man with sun-tousled hair, eyes bluer than Wyoming skies. The moment Calum lays eyes on the wide-eyed Brit, he’s lost."

Under her thumb : erotic stories of female domination / edited by D. L. King

"Under Her Thumb will whet your appetite for all things femdom. These fierce tops know how to dominate their men—and the occasional woman. This strong and sexy collection has everything you want and more."
 
Being Me / Lisa Renee Jones.

"Fascinated by the dark fantasies in the journals sheѫs discovered, and the two men who have now found a place in her life, Sara McMillan finds herself torn between her new life and her past."

Lover at last / J.R. Ward.

"Qhuinn is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. His heart is  given to another.... Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it's about time: The male has found his perfect match in a Chosen female."

Desired / Anne Rainey.

"What she wants. What she craves. What she needs.  As these three stories show temptation never takes a holiday."

I kissed a girl : an anthology of sexy short stories / edited by Regina Perry.

 "Everyone's heard the Katy Perry song but have you ever been tempted...? An anthology of hot erotic short stories featuring women drawn to experiment with their own sex. This diverse collection travels the globe proving that women from every walk of life and culture are curious and eager to explore their full sexuality...with each other."
 
Dark wolf / Kate Douglas.

"Lily Cheval chooses to live alone.  Then she meets Sebastian Xenakis and the connection between them is intense and immediate. The son of a charismatic cult leader, Sebastian is a mysteriously sensual man who uses magic to shift into wolf form. He and Lily come together in a moment of supreme ecstasy, succumbing to a primal passion that leaves Lily shaken but utterly alive. Is Sebastian her lifetime mate... or her worst enemy."

Top 5 most recent books with a "Warning! Sexually Explicit Content" sticker to cross my desk

Steamy books. I read 'em. On purpose, even. So steamy some of them even come with a big sticker slapped across the front that reads: "Warning! Sexually Explicit Content." It always gives me a bit of a giggle because, really, one has only to look at the cover to know that it's an erotic romance. What other kind of explanation could there be for a fantastic (if somewhat overposed) pair of abs (minus head, of course, because the 'headless hero' could be any man - except, perhaps, any man I know) with a pair of handcuffs draped across his chest? I'm not sure about anybody else, but this is a good enough clue that lets me know that Thomas the Tank Engine this is not. And so I give you the 5 most recent steamy romance books I've got on my desk. (And that reminds me, when I was in Toronto I saw many women reading erotic romances on subways and buses - quite uncaring. What's even better is that nobody else on public transport cared at all or raised an eyebrow. I adored Toronto just for that alone).