Review of Wicked Sexy by J.T. Geissinger

This month’s Romance Book Reading Challenge theme was Romantic Suspense. Definitely a sub-genre I already like. So I decided to venture out and try a less familiar prompt and chose the Motorcycle Club one. I’ve seen reviews of MC romance. It didn’t really look like one I’d care for but the whole point of the challenge is to try new things. I did a google search for popular MC romance and stumbled across the Sons of Sangue series – a vampire MC romance. Well, I was already out of my comfort zone so why not go for it?!

I’ll tell you why not. Because sometimes outside your comfort zone just doesn’t work! Lol.

Viper really was not my cup of tea. Firstly, I’ve got no problem with cursing in a book but seriously, the only word the supposed ‘good’ guys could use to describe the heroine was b***h. I do have a problem with the protagonists doing that over and over and over with no hint of remorse, and justifying it by saying she’s cop so obviously their enemy. There was also the past rape storyline that comes back with a visit from a male colleague. By about halfway, I was pretty fed up and checked out the last chapter to see if things improved. Nope, they did not. That was it for me and Viper. My first honest to goodness DNF. Not even a skim through of the remaining chapters or a skip of a couple chapters here and there- my usual for a story I’m not enjoying. Closed, ditched and none to pleased I’d spent several days trying to get into the story. I’m still counting this as a book read though, especially as I’ve bothered to write this mini review!

Anyway, I decided I still wanted to get a Romantic Suspense read in so I went with one of the books suggested by the host. Wicked Sexy by J.T. Geissinger falls under the “new author to you” prompt and was faaaaaarrrrr more enjoyable!

Connor Hughes is a bonafide badass. His private security firm is renowned for its effectiveness. He’s renowned for his lethal precision and iron self-control. But when the former Marine meets a gorgeous young hacker with a mouth as smart as her brain, his control unravels in ways he never could have predicted.

Tabitha West is a genius MIT dropout with a bad attitude, an obsession with Hello Kitty, and piercings in unmentionable places. Known in hacker circles as Polaroid due to her photographic memory, she’s as secretive as she is accustomed to working alone. So when Connor decides she’s the only one who can help him catch a cyber criminal intent on taking down one of his clients, she tells him exactly where he can stick it.

But when the cyber criminal turns out to be a dark presence from Tabby’s past, Tabby and Connor are drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. They find themselves fighting not only their common enemy, but also an explosive desire that threatens to consume them. 

When the stakes are this high and the game this deadly, will falling in love be the most dangerous move of all?

Available on Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.

Well, I can certainly say I’ll be trying out more books by J.T. Geissinger. I have to warn you, however, if steam isn’t your thing, you might want to skip this one. Raunchy scenes aside, however, I loved the suspense and the bigger mystery at play in Wicked Sexy.

In terms of the mystery, I think the author plots the story very well. There are several twists, including a couple I really didn’t see coming and loved how they were worked in. We know who the ‘bad guy’ is but what we have to figure out is just how Tabby got tied up with him and just what his end game really is. When it’s all revealed, it makes sense but perhaps not in the expected ways.

Part of what makes the mystery so fun is the villain. He’s not particularly well-fleshed out or multi-layered but he is devious. His connections to Tabby give the reader some insight into his character and makes you want to know more. You also can’t wait for him to get what’s coming.

Tabby is a pretty awesome heroine. I’m quite sure the appropriate description is ‘badass’. She’s tough as nails, brilliant, has a rather peculiar fashion sense and is hiding an incredibly battered heart. She’s complex and multidimensional and I thoroughly enjoyed peeling away the layers to find out what makes this protagonist tick.

One thing that definitely makes her tick is Connor Hughes. He gets under her skin and is not someone she wants to spend any time with, until she realises he’s the one she can’t be without. Connor realises pretty quickly that Tabby is the one for him. He soon finds a way to see beyond the harsh exterior she presents to the world and gets to the vulnerable woman below.

I love how these two spar, play off each other, annoy each other to thy kingdom come and still manage to have incredible chemistry. They are a couple to remember, for sure. Admittedly, there are some eye roll inducing caveman antics along the way, but hey, it’s almost par for the course with this genre. Far more exciting was Tabby’s cut-throat handling of the FBI agents who underestimate her technical expertise because of her gender.

Overall I fully enjoyed this novel and hope to read more in the Wicked Games series. I give Wicked Sexy 4/5 espresso shots.