TBR Challenge Review: How to Misbehave by Ruthie Knox

Format: ebook
Pub Date: January 2013
Publisher: Loveswept (Random House)
Length: 121 pages
FTC: purchased myself

Only 10 days tardy with this post. Yea! This month's TBR Challenge theme was Recommended Reads.  With the Reading Slump That Will Not Die, I'm pretty much stuck in recommended read territory anyway. I've taken to Twitter to help me find anything in my stack of books that is going to be GOOD. And I've been mostly staying away from romance because of the RSTWND. But since I somehow hadn't read Ruthie Knox (that I remember), and this came highly recommended, AND the heroine is named AMBER, I decided this one would do. It happened to be in my digital TBR. Probably was on sale at some point.

How to Misbehave is a prequel novella to Knox's Camelot series. And contrary to previous experiences with characters named Amber, this Amber is a smart, if young and inexperienced, person with a real job and real thoughts. What a refreshing change!



This is a novella, so I didn't expect a long, drawn-out story. It's also set in 1999 which was...weird. So not a true contemporary, but close enough that it didn't require very much in the way of world building or research.  The dialogue makes this book. The setting, the supporting characters, and pretty much everything else is very thin. Nearly transparent. But the dialogue keeps you reading. I read this start to finish without putting it down. And with the RSTWND, that in itself is a miracle. 

I loved Knox's voice. I definitely understand why she's so popular among the Twitter Romance community. And this prequel did its job with setting up the relationship that apparently shows up in the series that follows.

My Grade: B

The Blurb:

What woman can resist a hot man in a hard hat? RITA finalist Ruthie Knox kicks off her new Camelot series with this deliciously sexy original novella, in which a good girl learns how to misbehave . . . with all her heart.
 
As program director for the Camelot Community Center, Amber Clark knows how to keep her cool. That is, until a sudden tornado warning forces her to take shelter in a darkened basement with a hunk of man whose sex appeal green lights her every fantasy. With a voice that would melt chocolate, he asks her if she is okay. Now she’s hot all over and wondering: How does a girl make a move?

Building contractor Tony Mazzara was just looking to escape nature’s fury. Instead, he finds himself all tangled up with lovely Amber. Sweet and sexy, she’s ready to unleash her wild side. Their mutual desire reaches a fever pitch and creates a storm of its own—unexpected, powerful, and unforgettable. But is it bigger than Tony can handle? Can he let go of painful memories and let the force of this remarkable woman show him a future he never dreamed existed?