Blurb: Noah Cordero is a modern-day cowboy who loves three things: ranching, his younger sister, and his stepfather. John Cordero groomed Noah to take over the Montana spread where he learned to ride and work the land. But when John unexpectedly dies, he leaves half the ranch to a woman Noah doesn't even know.
Roxy shares Noah's last name, but not his blood. Estranged from her father, haunted by regrets, and eager to escape her notorious mother's past, she is forced to fulfill her father's last wishes. Inheriting means sharing a home with infuriating, challenging, and oh-so-tempting Noah. But John didn't make her just the owner of his ranch and guardian of her sister, his hidden sideline is her worst nightmare--she's the new owner of the notorious Nevada brothel called Wild Rose Ranch where she grew up.
As their strictly business relationship starts to turn to true love, Roxy begins to wonder, what will happen when Noah discovers her dirty little secret.
Review: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Ryan is not your typical romance novel. I mean, how many romances novels' plots revolve around brothels? Not many, I'm guessing. I didn't even realize that brothels were legal in Las Vegas, but there are actually 21 brothels in Nevada. Who knew!?
Still, the brothel is not the location in which the romance novel takes place, though it is an important part of the novel itself. Really Dirty Little Secret touches on present day issues regarding women including; cat-calling, female sexuality, judging women based on their looks, and a woman's right to her body. But it does all these things without seeming too over the top and obvious about it--not that obvious is a bad thing, but sometimes people just want to read a book, ya know?
Roxy is a gorgeous woman, the result of an affair between her father and her legal-prostitute mother. She isn't ashamed of where she comes from, but where she comes from, unfortunately, seems to give society the right to judge her. When you grow up in a brothel people tend to think you're a prostitute yourself and judge you accordingly, i.e. terribly. Roxy is the spunky heroine society needs today!
Noah is... a normal guy, I suppose. He makes plenty of mistakes when it comes to Roxy. He's not always PC, but that's life for you. The two of them together are really awesome. They push and they pull and they fight but they always come out stronger in the end.
The story line moves quickly (start to finish a little more than a week), but all the parts are there. It's a different twist on a been-there-done-that tale. Jennifer Ryan introduced some secondary characters in Dirty Little Secret whose stories are intriguing to say that least. I'm hoping she continues with this series.
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