Nightcap by Kathleen O'Reilly ****

I'm almost done with the third story in the Sexy O'Sullivan trilogy.

OK, I'm done now. This was a fun read, even though Sean wasn't really my favorite O'Sullivan brother (Gabe was). Sean was the hard-driving hound dog lawyer, who did all the women - especially women in a position of power. Like, health inspectors and secretaries or co-workers of other people who could help out him or his brothers or the bar. He had women left and right throughout the first 2 books, in the bar bathroom, wherever, usually with an ulterior motive other than sex.

He was also a man who had been currying favors forever and a day, and in the end everybody owed him a favor or two.

When Prime (the family bar, co-owned by the brothers) was being hassled over building permits and health issues and anything the city could throw at them, Sean picked one hot female Deputy Mayor, Cleo Hollings, as his next victim target. He planted himself in her way and pled his case.

Cleo was a woman who saw herself as Cleopatra, powerful, in charge, in control. Of Everything. In her mind, she should be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Everything about her was all business and tough as nails. The Wicked Witch of Murray Street. She and Sean were a good match - they lived their lives in 15 minute and 30 minute segments, whether it was getting together, going to meetings, handling the city or handling personal things.

Of course, Cleo had some personal issues that she wasn't willing to share, not with Sean, not with her staff, not with anyone. The most obvious was that she was caretaker for her mother who suffers from Alzheimer's. The least obvious was her experience earlier in life with relationships, someone named Danny (whose backstory was never exactly explained.)

Sean senses a real soul mate in Cleo, something he really wasn't expecting in a ball-busting, steel-spined female politician. He even says to her early on she's the other half of him - sounds suspiciously like "you complete me", doesn't it? He pushes her - in a series of voice mails, and in his increasing presence - to open up, let him in, share. She pushes back, rejecting him as being one responsibility too many. Well, not really him, but the responsibility of loving then losing him is just one thing too many for her plate-juggling life. She's not sure she can survive it, so she fights him tooth and nail.

The writing style interestingly reflects their life style - it's staccato, rapid-fire, big-city rush-hour. Sitting here on my futon out in the middle of nowhere, high desert Arizona, it made me tired just reading it. I could practically smell the bus fumes and hear the rush hour horns and see everyone rushing in and out of office buildings. They lived on caffeine and 2 hours of sleep and stolen moments.

I wasn't 100% sure I loved this one until I got to the epilogue. I was feeling a little pushed - Cleo was a hard woman for me to like, or even to admire, and Sean wasn't exactly the most honorable hero I've read in his dealings with women. And then I read the epilogue. I have to say, I'm not sure I've read an epilogue quite like it - it wrapped up everyone's lives, more than 40 years' worth in under 2 pages, and it made me smile and even laugh out loud. I was reminded why I read - to feel, and importantly, when it's over, to feel good. And I did - 4 stars.

Sex, Straight Up by Kathleen O'Reilly ****

This is the second in the "Sexy O'Sullivan" brothers trilogy. I originally became interested in the series because of the review I had read at Dear Author for this particular book. One of the reasons it interested me was that it addressed 9/11 - Daniel's wife Michelle died in one of the Towers where they both worked, and Daniel wasn't at work yet, so he was spared.

Except now that I re-read the review, that 9/11 connection isn't even mentioned so now I have no clue where I first read it. Something about the review made me want to read the book - about how he couldn't get past her death. Maybe it's because I read the first page somewhere, maybe on the author's website. Hmmmmm...

Ooops. It seems it was the Smart Bitches Trashy Books review that was my inspiration to find and read this book. Go figure.

OK, on to the synopsis. I've already covered how Daniel's wife died - but it's been 7 years, and he's still being faithful to her. Still wearing the wedding ring. Still keeping her photo next to the bed. His brothers Gabe and Sean think it's about time he consider moving on - or at least getting laid, so they arrange for him to go with a group of Sean's coworkers to a house in the Hamptons for a 3 day weekend.

He goes, reluctantly, and hates every minute of it, until he meets the woman in the house next door, Catherine. They don't exchange much information - basically, he just wants to sort of hide out on her deck, away from the playboy mansion-esque house party going on next door. Catherine is quiet, shy even, but attracted - she invites him to sleep in one of the extra bedrooms for the last night. They spend some time talking and getting to know one another over a glass of wine, and then... well, sleeping isn't exactly what either one had in mind after that.

The next day, Daniel's filled with guilt over his actions, and as he prepares to go, pulls out his wedding ring. Catherine sees it, jumps to all the wrong conclusions, and he leaves without setting her straight. Easier that way, he figures.

Catherine works for the family business - an auction house run by her grandfather. The board of directors has uncovered some information that her grandfather may be cooking the books, so they hire an accounting firm to do a thorough audit. Did I mention Daniel's an accountant (see review of Shaken and Stirred)? Well, guess who the firm sends out... Yep. Now Daniel and Catherine have to work together - and it's a compromising position because it may be a conflict of interest. They discuss it briefly and decide it's not, because there is no relationship between them, even after he admits to her he's no longer married, but widowed. She knows, because of what little he does share, that his heart belongs to Michelle, and that he will never love Catherine.

But there is still the attraction between them. It's a Blaze, after all, and so Daniel pursues Catherine, after hours, because he can't seem to help himself. She's starting to fill the hole left by Michelle's death, even though Catherine is nothing like her. He even manages to share a few details about his life and open up a little. And he's driven to push her sexually, mostly in places you wouldn't suspect.

The audit doesn't go well - the evidence against her grandfather is very damning, and they work together to see if they can figure out who is behind it. She's convinced her grandfather is being framed; Daniel's the accountant - he's just uncovering facts, and the facts all point to grandpa cooking the books.

I enjoyed this story, but I'm surprised that even though I got the trilogy for this story, I liked Shaken and Stirred better. I did feel for Daniel - his angst, his inability to move on with his life - but somehow not as much as I felt for Tessa and Gabe. Actually, the whole "conflict of interest" thing did sorta bother me, and the fact that they were discovered in a compromising position at the office during the audit really didn't make me any more sympathetic to their situation.

Also, in a shorter category romance like this, there isn't the word-count required to get deeper into the suspense element, but I was confused and not satisfied with how the suspense element was wrapped up (the whodunit part). In addition, I felt Catherine came across a little - maybe pathetic is the word I mean. I didn't feel much sympathy for her character. How did she get to be such a wimp with 2 strong role models, her mother and grandfather? There was some character growth for her, but I felt like she let her mother and coworkers push her around too much.

But enough quibbles, I did enjoy the story, and I'm so glad Daniel was able to move on with his life at last! 4 stars.

Shaken and Stirred by Kathleen O'Reilly *****

This is a short Harlequin Blaze novel, the first of a trilogy about the "sexy O'Sullivan" brothers in New York City. The O'Sullivans have owned this Manhattan bar for generations, since it was a speakeasy during Prohibition. Things have changed - they had to sell part of it, and the current generation has changed the name from O'Sullivans to Prime - but they've managed to keep it in the family. Gabe, the working owner, is the youngest of the brothers. His older brothers are Daniel, the accountant, and Sean who is a lawyer but he also tends bar from time to time.

This is Gabe's story. He's focused mainly on keeping the bar afloat - to that end, he likes to have talented bartenders and wait staff, and he's recently purchased the empty space next door that used to be part of the original bar, for expansion. He knows how to keep his customers happy - and that makes him happy.

Tessa's been one of his best employees for four years, and they have an easy, friendly relationship. But he's always felt protective of her as he's watched her struggle to find her way in life. She moved to NYC from Florida, a way to establish her identity and feel independent from her family and the life she left behind. She had planned to go to college right out of high school, but met Denny who convinced her to just live with him and see what happened.

What happened was the relationship soured after 3 years, Denny decided he wasn't ready to commit, and she felt used and shaky and dependent and like life was passing her by. Her move to NYC was her way of taking control and making her own way, without having to depend on a man or her family for support. In that vein, she's been taking college courses in accounting while supporting herself at Prime. She's studying hard and has big, big plans to find a career making lots of money, but meanwhile has moved from apartment to apartment, roommate to roommate, trying to keep a roof over her head. And the last roof is about to dissolve with no future roof in sight. Sigh.

Gabe has been trying to convince her she can live in his extra bedroom until the right place opens up. For Tessa, who has done a ton of research on the real estate market in NYC, the right place is still just out of her reach - she just needs one more roommate while she gets financially independent, but not Gabe. Gabe's her boss, her mentor, her best friend - and damn if he isn't sexy and attractive and... Nope, can't risk the temptation that would be living with Gabe because she knows she'll fall for him and BOOM! she'll be dependent on another man, and her goals would go up in smoke. Then, in her world view, he'd dump her and there she'd be, alone, no education, no career.

She does move in with him as a last resort, but works as hard as possible at maintaining her personal boundaries and independence. She makes it as clear as glass that he is the LAST man on earth for her - in so many ways that are so incredibly hurtful, I'm surprised Gabe didn't throw her out. While she isn't capable of keeping them apart physically, she is capable of pretending it didn't happen, it didn't matter, it doesn't affect her, her own personal goals are still #1.

It's a Harlequin Blaze, so the sex is hot - but the emotions are hotter. I felt a number of things while reading this book, and I think the strongest was how much I understood what she was going through, even though she frustrated the hell out of me over and over. I wanted to stop her and shake her and tell her it would be ok, to stop fighting - but that was essentially the crux of the story. The obstacle was her own inability to trust herself, to see where she was heading and what the consequences were. The struggle was her fight with herself, with what her heart was telling her since it seemed to be at odds with her goals.

Gabe was so patient and understanding, even while he was completely confused and really hurt. I felt every little pang. He tries to understand why she sets him up with another woman, and even though I understood why she did it, I also saw his perspective, and I hurt with him.

For a short, hot read, it was incredibly ... (searching for the right words here) complex? Not exactly. Deep? No, that's not it. It just GOT to me - thwappp - arrow in the heart, a pain that kept dully throbbing while she kicked him and herself over and over and over, not on purpose and not with a motive to hurt, but inadvertently, unintentionally, because she just couldn't see how else to get where she wanted to go. It made me close my eyes and wish it would stop.

Actually, that's a good thing! When the story makes me feel for the characters, feel what the characters feel, well, the author's done her job. Well. And when she wraps it up with a neat, credible, satisfying HEA, then we all go home happy. Let's stop at Prime for Happy Hour!

5 stars.

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As an aside, I don't mean to belittle the ability of Blaze stories to be complex - one of my favorite romance novels is a Blaze, Sarah Mayberry's Hot for Him, which I have on audio. I also like the other in the same series, All Over You. It's truly an accomplishment, in my opinion, for an author to stick to the "rules" of category romance and write a moving, credible, memorable story! Is that a back-handed compliment?