Title: Talk Dirty to Me by Dakota Cassidy
Plum Orchard Series Book One
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Former mean girl Dixie Davis is back in town and it’s payback time. Literally. Dixie is flat broke and her best—make that only—friend, Landon, is throwing her a lifeline from the Great Beyond. Dixie stands to inherit his business…if she meets a few conditions:
She’s got to live in Landon’s mansion.
With her gorgeous ex-fiancé, Caine Donovan.
Who could also inherit the business.
Which is a phone sex empire.
Wait, what?
Landon’s will lays it out: whoever gets the most new clients becomes the owner of Call Girls. Dixie has always been in it to win it, especially when it comes to Caine, who’s made it clear he’s not going down easy. (Oh, mercy.) Can Dixie really talk dirty and prove that she’s cleaned up her act? Game on!
Plum Orchard, Georgia, is about to get even juicier…
The Review:
Talk Dirty to Me, Dakota Cassidy’s first installment in her Plum Orchard series, is sweet, sassy and sexy! This fun read is also poignant and just a little heartbreaking but overall, it is a wonderful story of second chances and redemption for heroine, Dixie Davis. Dixie is a reforming mean girl whose efforts to make amends for her past misdeeds are hampered by her reputation, the long memories of the townspeople and good old-fashioned jealousy.
Dixie has a long history of manipulating, lying and cheating to get her way and ten years ago, this behavior blew up in her face and eventually led to the end of her engagement to Caine Donovan. She and Caine left town after their break-up but they both maintained their close friendship with Landon Wells. Returning to Plum Orchard for Landon’s funeral, they are stunned to learn of his bequest to them-a thriving phone sex company, Call Girls. Insanely competitive, Dixie and Caine are soon locked in a fierce battle to win full ownership of Call Girls. Their court-appointed mediator keeps the peace between them during business hours, but who is going to keep them from acting on their scorching hot passion?
Surprisingly, Dixie is a very likable and sympathetic character. She is genuinely remorseful for her long ago actions and she never cuts herself any slack when it comes to owning her mistakes. Her tentative friendship with Emmeline “Em” Amos is a minefield of hurt feelings on Em’s part and it takes a while for Dixie to earn Em’s trust. Although her resolve is challenged when her protective instincts for Em are provoked, Dixie remains determined to become a better person.
There is never any doubt that Caine was deeply hurt by Dixie’s actions and in fact, he still harbors a lot of anger toward her. He is highly skeptical that she has really changed and he is very conflicted by the differences in her behavior. Caine is unwilling to trust her again, but he gradually begins to believe that her transformation is legitimate but he remains reluctant to risk his heart.
The sparks fly between Caine and Dixie from their very first scene together. Their scenes are full of witty repartee and an incredible amount of sexual tension. Caine and Dixie’s sex scenes are explicitly detailed and incredibly hot. It is also very obvious that they are still deeply in love, but mistakes from the past make it very difficult for them to commit to a future together.
Fully rounding out this marvelous novel is an outstanding cast of secondary characters. Although he has passed away, Landon’s presence is always keenly felt and his love for Dixie and Caine transcends death. Frenemy Louella Palmer continually tries to undercut Dixie’s efforts and she provides a lot of the external conflict to the storyline. Em is kind hearted and loyal, but her friendship with Dixie is tested throughout the story.
A romance with depth and substance, Talk Dirty to Me is a fast-paced and entertaining novel with a cast of characters that are incredibly appealing. The plotline is realistic and easy to relate to, and Dakota Cassidy’s writing style is quite engaging. Plum Orchard is an immensely charming series and I cannot wait to dive into Something to Talk About, Em’s romance with delicious newcomer Jax Hawthorne!
Sounds interesting…Thanks for the review Kathy