Reviewed for THC Reviews"4.5 stars overall" Hard Drive – I'm beginning to wonder if Erin McCarthy writes better short stories than full-length novels. So far her novels have been rather hit and miss with me, but Hard Drive is the second novella in a row that I've read by her which I thought was a winner. It was a really sweet and sexy story that was a very enjoyable read.Hard Drive is less than 100 pages, and because of its brevity, the hero and heroine don't get a lot of backstory. They've worked together at the same web design company for a year and have been very attracted to one another, but don't do anything about it until Mack catches Kindra reading an explicit email from her cyber-sex partner. He then boldly proposes to show her that in-person sex is way more fun and exciting than doing it online. Mack more than makes his point in a very hot, steamy way. I love the way he held himself in check in order to give Kindra lots of pleasure by acting out the sexy emails from her online partner. Yum!;-) I thought it was really sweet how he totally fell for Kindra and the way he wrapped up the story was just too cute. Kindra was a rather shy woman with an underlying passionate nature, just the type of gal I can relate to. Her last boyfriend was a total snooze, and she's never truly been satisfied by a man in bed. Kindra has taken to engaging in cyber-sex, because it's just easier for a reserved girl like her with some mild confidence issues. Luckily for her, Mack knows all the right buttons to push to bring that passion to the surface and make her feel like a beautiful, desirable woman. I will admit that the rapid progression of their relationship from supposed lust to madly in love within less than a day was just too quick to be believable (hence the half star reduction), but the story itself was so tender, emotional, sensuous and sweet (some of my favorite qualities for a romance) that for once, I hardly cared.Hard Drive is the first novella in Erin McCarthy's Bowling Friends series. Kindra and her three friends, Ashley, Violet and Trish are all in a bowling league together. They share some fun banter in this story. Each of them has a very different personality, but I have a feeling shy, bookish Violet may end up being a favorite for me. These girls stories are told in each of the remaining three novellas of the series which I look forward to checking out. Star Rating: ****1/2 Press Any Key – I didn't like Press Any Key quite as well as the first novella in this anthology. For one thing, I think I simply didn't connect with the characters quite as well. Candy broke stereotype by having a brilliant mind for marketing, housed in a blond bombshell body which made it difficult for her to make friends. Men just want to ogle her, and women are jealous. She is also a divorcée who in the past has found men, including her ex, to be pretty selfish in bed, but for some reason which I never quite understood, she thought Jared would be different if only she could get him to notice her. I had mixed feelings about Jared. He certainly noticed Candy, but was disguising his lust with a prickly attitude. He had gotten himself fired from his last job for being caught dallying with the boss's secretary in the copy room, and didn't want that to happen again. This little fact was not endearing to me, and him doing it again with Candy even though she wanted it and was teasing him, brought his motives and self-control into question in my mind. Later on when they had an actual date, I liked him better, because he showed some sympathy, intuitiveness, and protectiveness toward Candy after she told him about her ex.The progression of the relationship itself was a little more believable, because it only had them saying that they thought they might be, or could, fall in love with one another rather than outright declaring their love after only one day together. However, there just wasn't as much tender emotion, in my opinion. For both of them, it seemed like it was more about lust than love. Even though the love scenes were steamy and creative, I just didn't feel a deep connection between Jared and Candy that really made me buy into a permanent HEA. Still, Press Any Key was a generally fun novella and should be a worthwhile read for anyone who likes some good steam and isn't expecting too much. Star Rating: ***1/2 User Friendly – User Friendly was without a doubt my favorite novella this anthology. I absolutely loved the best friends finding forever love with one another theme, a favorite of mine. It reminded me in some ways of another Erin McCarthy story that was a keeper for me, You, Actually. Evan is a hot, scrumptious computer geek, a favorite character type for me as well. I thought it was wonderful how he's so into Halley. He has been lusting after her and totally in love with her for years, but didn't want to ruin a great friendship in the event she didn't feel the same way. I loved how he just couldn't get enough of her and wanted nothing more than to pleasure her in every way possible. Halley is a determined young woman who has worked hard to build her own catering business from the ground up. She was just the right mix of a little bit daring and a little bit shy, making her very relatable for me. Halley has also had the hots for Evan for a long time and has buried her feelings out of fear of loosing him as a friend.When these two finally got together (which didn't take too long since it is a short story;-)), it was absolutely combustible. Their relationship is full of playfulness and teasing that doesn't stop just because they get all hot and bothered. They also trust each other implicitly which is a key element for a romance to really work for me. I liked that they didn't play games with each other and communicated very well. Even when Halley started to feel awkward after all the steamy sex, Evan didn't let her run and hide. I love how they allowed themselves to become completely abandoned to their desire for one another. It made their lovemaking very hot, but at the same time, it was filled with tender emotion. Everything just came together to make User Friendly a big winner for me. The Bad Boys Online anthology appears to be Erin McCarthy's debut as an author, and I'd have to say that overall, I found it to be a pretty impressive first book. Star Rating: *****
I like Erin McCarthy's humorous and sexy writing, but this anthology was a bit disappointing. The 3 novellas in this book aren't connected in any way: you can read them all in any order you choose, or read only one (or two) as you please. Hard Drive (3 stars)Mack Stone and Kindra Hill are coworkers who have been secretly lusting after each other for about a year. When he catches her reading a dirty e-mail and she boldly tells him that she prefers cybersex to the real thing, he vows he can change her mind. All he needs is 12 hours alone with her, and he swears she'll forget all about cybersex. Now, how can she refuse an offer like that? ;)This was a nice story, and Mack and Kindra were funny and sweet. They had good chemistry together, but their lovemaking scene in front of her computer - at her home, not at the office! - didn't work for me: the stop-and-go action was distracting and I felt he was more interested in reading her dirty e-mails than making love with her. The HEA was a bit rushed too. Press Any Key (1 star)Jared Kincaid and Candy Appleton are coworkers who don't get along as well as they should. Jared is extremely attracted to Candy but he avoids her like the plague, which makes everyone - including their boss - think he doesn't like her. The problem is, he lost his last job because he made the mistake of "playing" with a coworker, so he isn't willing to make the same mistake again. Unfortunately - or fortunately - Jared and Candy's clueless boss wants them to work on their issues and find a way to become "a better working duo". And what's his solution? He enrolls Jared and Candy in an online couples counseling session(!), shuts them in his office and tells them they have 3 hours to get a certificate of completion from the online counselor. What's left for Jared and Candy to do but to try their best and get "up close and personal" with each other? ;)Ack, I didn't like this story. I thought Jared was weak-ish, Candy was slut-ish, their boss was an idiot, and the story's setup was absurd. And when Jared and Candy decided to go down and dirty in their boss' office, I couldn't help frowning in disgust. Plus, I didn't like the way they dismissed any concerns about the job they were supposed to be doing for their client. Highly unprofessional! If they were real people, I wouldn't want to be friends with them and I wouldn't hire their professional services. User Friendly (4 stars)Web designer Evan Barrett and caterer Halley Connors have been best friends for years, but things have been "weird" for the last 6 months... More especifically, since Halley came to the shocking realization that she wants his body. Best friends aren't supposed to lust after each other, so she doesn't know how to be around Evan anymore. Little does she know, he's been lusting after her for more than 6 months but has never openly acted on it for fear of ruining their friendship. Then, her website is hacked and while he helps her to fix it, the underlying sexual tension between them surfaces and there's no more beating around the bushes...This story showcased Erin McCarthy's writing the way I like it: Evan was adorable, Halley was funny, their interactions (inside and outside the bedroom) were fun to read and had some LOL moments, and the plot was interesting in a tried-and-true way. My only "problem" with this story was the way Halley decided to let the hackers off the hook. Considering the damage they made, not only on her finances but on her reputation as well, I expected her to at least sue them. Forgiveness doesn't stretch that far.Overall, this wasn't a bad book for a debut release, but I'm glad Ms. Mcarthy's writing has improved since then.
What do You think about Bad Boys Online (2014)?
I'll review each story separatelyHard Drive I liked the best of the three. I thought the set up worked well and didn't feel like McCarthy was pigeon holing Mack or Kindra into a stereotype to fit the needs of the story. If at times I was hard pressed to remember Kindra's inexperience in reality wasn't a put-on to make Mack sweat, I ignored it in favor of Mack's reaction at the end.User Friendly, aside from the fact that Evan is my idea of an ideal mate, this story didn't interest me overmuch. Halley was a bit much for me and I felt like Evan really could have done better. Neurotic is perhaps the word I would use for Halley, though from all the caterers I've met in the past that seems to be a requirement.Press Any Key, worked for me. I liked Candy, despite her very ridiculous name (Jared's right, it does sound like she should have been a porn star) and I liked the fact that Jared was somewhat dense when it came to her flirting with him.All in all they were 3 pretty decent stories, and if I understood the back cover rightly this was back when McCarthy was still fairly new to the publishing scene.
—Lexie
story 1 - hard drive... she's shy, she's reserved, she thinks of herself as merely average... he's good looking, he's dating regularly, he's been noticing her - when she doesn't notice him watching - that she rolls her eyes, that she has a gorgeous smile, and her hair, if let down, would be really silky...Kindra and Mack... Kindra has been sublimating her sexualality via a safe email 'partner', and one day, Mack catches her - reading the email over her shoulder... and he offers to show her in 12 hours that the real thing is much better than online... and she takes him up on it... and she finds that he has been watching her as much as she has been watching him... and they act out some of the emails, and she finds out she is much more sensual and responsive than she ever thought... and the next morning, they both know they love the other, but both are afraid to to speak it... and both have a miserable day, and with a little push from Kindra's friend, Mack sends her an email, asking her to marry him... ahhhhstory 2 - Press Any Key... Jared and Candy, coworkers, advertising firm, both very good looking, neither has found anyone to look past their looks to see them... Jared lost his last job because of the boss's secretary making a pass on him... and though attracted to Candy from the first introduction, he has kept his distance, not wanting sex and work to get mixed up again... assigned to work on a campaign together, he has been avoiding her... the middle-age crisis boss / moving into free love - and seeing that there is stress between them, the boss requires they take an on-line relationship course together - whether he knows it's a couple's course, it's not clear... and as they work their way through the questions, they are listening to one another, and giving into their attraction... and sex in the boss's office followed by a date (he sets up her perfect date as reported in the course), and more sex, and admittance of love...story 3 - User Friendly... Halley and Evan have been best friends since college - 10 years later, Halley works hard at her catering business - organized, busy, efficient... Evan gave up his software, stressful job, and freelances - sloppy, works when he wishes, easy... they are best friends - teasing, supportive, laughing... 6 months ago, halley is aware she wants more - she wants sex, and babies, and marriage... but is not willing to risk the friendship part... and Evan knows he wants more with Halley - always has, but now more than ever... Halley has been avoiding him, he has stopped dating, because it just doesn't satisfy...and Halley's website has been hacked - her picture replaced with a naked body (andher head)... she rushes to Evan when he doesn't answer the door... and as he responds to her, agrees to fix the program, hugs & then kisses her when he catches her crying - using his body to tell her how much he wants her... she leaves, comes back after a few hours (the site ifs fixed) - and he admits he wants to have sex with her, and teases her into admitting it too... and they do - and she tries to keep some distance, because she believes it is only for the day - and she wants his friendship, but he says he loves her - and then he asks her to marry him... and she says yes, yes, yes, and yes...
—Kathy
This is one of the first books I read by Erin McCarthy. When I saw it was being released with a new cover I knew I had to re-read it. I love that the book wasn't changed like so many others in order to keep up with the changing technology. There is something to be said about HOT emails!This definitely another must read for any Erin McCarthy fans as well as individuals who have not yet read any of her books! You don't know what you are missing until you have read one. Once you read one you can't stop. You have to read them all!
—Kimberly Nix
