Cover Image: Hard Wood

Hard Wood

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Member Reviews

I Loved Mia and Noah Beautiful Story. Hard Wood is a Must Read. It's Quick, Steamy and It can be Devoured in an Hour or Two but you will wish for it to never end.

I Loved Hard Wood. These Ash Brothers are Hot and Melt your Heart.

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Who doesn’t love decant, hot lumberjack who's a little lost and a loner, but then finds a woman to help him start living again. Got to say I loved Noah and Mia and the way their relationship developed. This is really a quick read but it still give you enough HOT to blush and enough sweet moment to swoon.

»Yeah, no way I was letting her go. She was meant to be in my life. It had just taken 10 years for it to happen. »

And now I find myself siting on the edge of my seat willing to see what will happen with the next Ash brother in line. :)

***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***

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Short, erotic book quick to read in one sitting. Well written, lacks a little plot to focus all on sex scenes.

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A short well written romance with nice storyline and plot. I would have liked it to be longer to get the depth of the story and characters more developed. It has potential be more.
An instant love and attraction romance between the lumberjack and the citygirl. Absolutely great chemistry and passion between them. It is steamy and enjoyable to read. A fast paced story that has potential to be more but it is captivating and a quick read.

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The story seemed a bit rushed but I guess that's kind of the point of these. I liked the characters and the plot. I can't wait to read more in this series.

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This was my first Dirty Bits novel from Carina Press. I liked the short story aspects and have read Jenika Snow before. This was a sexy, insta-love, erotic story that hit all the right notes. It was a fast little escape that I enjoyed and I will be checking out more from the author, and the Dirty Bits imprint, in the future.

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Mia was starting her new life. Tired of her life being consumed with work she moves and meets Noah. He saves her one fateful night and she never looked back. How could she know someone for such a short amount of time and feel like she found the other half of her soul? What a great read.

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I'd been hearing a lot about The Dirty Bits line of short, erotic fiction from Carina Press, and thought I'd give the new imprint a try when I saw the availability of an advanced reader copy of this novella and requested it. I'd also heard a lot of good things about the author, Jenika Snow, and since I'd not read any of her books before, this seemed like a good way to give her books a try, and after reading Hard Wood, I'm not sure this was the best introduction to her work, as I can only give it a 3- star rating.

First, I appreciated the introduction, which informs the reader that this is going to be a quick, short and sex-filled read containing insta-lust and insta-love, which is something I usually complain about in full-length novels, but the introduction nipped my usual objection in the bud.

Second, I liked the heroine, Mia. She had had enough of city life in Denver, and recently took a job in the small mountain town of Rockbridge, Colorado. She loves the quiet and peace of her new surroundings, but after her first month on the job, having made no new friends in the area, with the exception of her co-worker, Fiona, she's lonely, and questioning her decision to relocate.

Third, the hero, big, hunky, sexy Noah Ash, eldest of the 3 Ash brothers, who own and operate Ash Lumber in Rockbridge, their home town. Not content to simply manage the company, he's a hands-on lumberjack at heart and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. Ten years earlier, he'd moved to the big city to give the woman he was in love with a chance to pursue her career goals, but it didn't end well, and he's returned home and has been celibate ever since. He's convinced that he's not good at relationships and has no plans to pursue another relationship, until he sets eyes on Mia, at the small cafe where he and his brothers are having lunch, and Mia and Fiona walk in.

Mia spotted Noah getting out of his truck as she and Fiona were also heading to the cafe. Cue insta-lust. As soon as Noah spots Mia, the insta-lust is mutual, although it's not until some time later when Mia goes hiking and ends up watching Noah in his backyard, going solo, so to speak, and then runs away--right after the two make eye contact.

It's not until Noah rescues Mia, after she is stranded, her car in a ditch during a snowstorm, and sprains her ankle, that these two finally have a chance to speak to one another. Noah takes her home with him to bind her ankle and wait for the tow truck she called. Although they've barely said a few words to each other, their imaginations and sexual fantasies are certainly going wild, and neither character is afraid to put those fantasies into action, and this is where I began to have issues with this novella.

First and foremost, these are two characters who really know nothing about one another, and I think that there should have been some mention of safe sex and/or birth control before they had sex, but there wasn't. Additionally, I felt that their fantasies were sexier and more interesting than the way the actual sex scene was written. While I didn't mind the dirty-talk Noah started or his demands, it seemed a little too much and a little too demanding for a first time sexual encounter between relative strangers.

Finally, the brevity of this story, while certainly hot, left no time for any sort of drama, any sort of relationship-building, and any sort of character development. Two weeks later, these two are in love, but we're never given a chance to see their relationship build and grow, and while I understand that this was never intended to be a full-length novel, it was a bit too brief for this reader to get to really know these characters or care about what happens to them. With two more Ash brothers, I'm assuming there will be two more novellas covering each of them. I just hope that the author gives us something more substantial than a wham, bam, thank you ma'am, one-hour read.

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Can Jenika Snow even write a bad book? Not that I’ve seen!! The Ash Lumber series’s is definitely no exception!! Everything, but everything about these brothers is off the charts hot and amazing. As soon as I finish one couple- I find myself starving for the next. I loved Noah, adored Big Johnny!! I just can’t wait for book 3!!

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This is a decent, fast read with good writing and reasonably believable characters. I like how the male lead was a businessman, and we got to see a little but of him outside the cabin. (Unless I'm confusing this with the other book int his series, because they are very similar. Of the two I've read, I liked this one better.

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Really cute introduction to the Ash Brothers. I love the fast pace, the instant infatuation and the hot and steamy action. The intense attraction and the really over the top Alpha male thing Noah has going on was fun to read. I think I like this story because it's so short, otherwise everything Noah did would annoy me. I like that the fact that Mia was so independent. It was a fun little book to read.

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Great start to a seriously HOT series about 3 Lumberjack Brothers!! If Noah Ash is this sexy, I can’t wait to read Johnny and Liam’s stories.

Noah had isolated himself from the world, outside of his brothers and work, for nearly a decade. Love and the comfort of a woman were ideas he’d written off. Out of nowhere Mia walks into his life (or into a diner) and everything shifts. I love that their attraction was instant and it was so very mutual!

There is so much more to this story but because it’s short I don’t want to spill any of the delicious bits. On to Johnny I go.

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Love at first sight....
Mia wanted to move away from a big city life so she decided to move to Rockbridge in Colorado. She was happy living surrounded by nature but she feels lonely at night. When she was looking out the window of her work, she finds rugged handsome lumber jack Noah.
Noah sees someone at the door of the restaurant and he instantly knew she brings some feelings out of them which was dead for close to a decade.
Now will they explore their feelings for each other.....
It was really quick read packed with hot steamy scenes.. But I thought it was lacking in connection between Mia and Noah.. it seems way to quick for both after what both went through.

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Sweet and steamy. I love these dirty bits books. There the perfect afternoon read. I get the love and steam I want in a quick read that doesn't feel rushed. I loved Noah and Mia! Can't wait for the rest of the Ash brothers books

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I can empathize with the main character, who wanted to leave the big city and find a home in a small town while still doing the job she enjoys. The hero of the story lost his love ten years ago to a drunk driver and hadn’t dated since. When they meet, it’s a lightning strike of instalove. There isn’t much character development but I think the real point of this book is to give a reader the hot stuff and not really a story.

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QueenZany 4 Star Review
Hard Wood
by Jenika Snow


Talk about sinfully delectable quick reads!
Hard Wood did not fail in that heat category!
No, it brought on a monsoon of delightful ecstasy and need!
So if you need a quick naughty read look no further! HOT!!!

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Hardwood is so absolutely HOT. I loved Noah so much and the setting (Colorado), brothers (Lumberjacks) and storyline (Instalove). Jenika Snow's books are always my 'must read' list. The Ash Brothers are one of the best series I've read. I can not wait for touch wood!

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*4.5 stars*
Sizzling hot…

“The Ash Brothers – they know how to handle their wood.”

And do they ever! With lumberjacks who make flannel sexier than ever, this novella is a HOT read. Sizzling. Burning. A make you blush, love it from beginning to end, kind of read. If that isn’t enough – and really, it is – there is also warmth. And humour. And family, as Noah’s brothers are beside him every step of the way, giving him a hard time (in an entirely different way of course!).

“Everything we had done together had been at warp speed.”

Noah has loved and lost and has distanced himself from romance and the hint of intimacy. Mia, starting out fresh in a new home is looking for friendship but not necessarily love. Is anyone really ever ready for love to hit? Or lust? Noah will deny and Mia may protest but the fact is they can’t keep their hands off each other. They want each other, they like each other and that makes their insta-attraction mean so much more when their emotions get tangled in all the sweaty goodness. They are both hesitant but at the same time clear on what they are feeling (and touching)…

This quick read is part of the publisher’s Dirty Bits series and being insanely hot means it fits right in! -Diane, 4.5 Hot in Flannel Stars

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First of all, I love the title. I thought it's pretty clever, the hero being a lumberjack (in fact, all 3 brothers are, hence the word "wood" appears in all the titles, thus tying them as one in the series) and of course, there's the other naughtier meaning. And the slogan just cracks me up--in a good way. "The Ash Brothers. They know how to handle their wood."

Second, the story's written well, and it's short (I think the point of the Dirty Bits category) and easy to read. In today's fast paced life, sometimes you want a fix here and there, and the Dirty Bits books do the job quite well.

Third, here are my complaints/feedback:

1. I thought Chapter One contains a bit of info dumping, and it only works in this instance because of the first person point of view, alternating between the hero and the heroine. I have to admit that at one point, I was tempted to switch to another story, and only being curious about the Dirty Bits books made me read onward.

2. Chapter One basically consisted of the hero's and heroine's backgrounds, why they are the way they are when we meet them in the story. So, I thought the info dumping could've been prevented (or Chapter One deleted altogether) by presenting the info in other ways throughout the story. For example, there was this instance when Mia was in a car accident during a storm and Noah found her by the side of the road. He brought her to his home to heal, because she was injured. It was told to us that they talked during that time about their freaking backgrounds! I thought this could've been the perfect time for us readers to know about it as well via a dialogue between the two main characters. Sharing like this creates a bond between people and we would've seen it happening right then and there.

3. Passive characters. Neither Mia nor Noah did anything to approach the other. It took a storm to bring them together. What if the storm never happened? Or Mia was at home during the storm? Would they never meet and act on their attraction?

4. No conflict, though there's sexual tension. I'm of the opinion a story should have at least one conflict. I've only read one other Dirty Bits story--The Breeder by Lynne Silver--and in that, at least the author tried to inject some conflict or external tension. Even though I knew that problem would be resolved quickly, it did make the story better, enough that I was hooked to the end and was thrilled with the epilogue.

Overall, Jenika Snow is a relatively well-known name in the erotic romance genre, but I've never read a book of hers before so I'm not sure if this is how she normally writes. That said, if it were, it doesn't inspire me to pick up another of her books. However, I will still definitely check out other Dirty Bits books.

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Oh my god I absolutely loved this book, I could not put this book down and it only took me a couple of hours to read and know one could speak to me as I was that lost into this story by Jenika Snow. I definitely can’t wait for more books in the dirty bits series. The characters really make this book in my opinion, they have superb chemistry between them and they interact with each other and other characters in the book. Loved the storyline and I’m really excited for more books in this series by jenika snow and I would absolutely and totally recommend this book and this series and more books in the dirt bit

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