REVIEW: TALK DIRTY TO ME by DAKOTA CASSIDY

Series: Plum Orchard #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: 4/29/14
Format: eARC
Pages: 400
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 stars

Plum Orchard, Georgia, is about to get even juicier…

Notorious 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!

When I picked up Talk Dirty to Me, I was looking for a book that would make me smile. It delivered. The premise is kind of funny enough on its own, but the wry tone really took it up a notch and made this an overall very enjoyable read. Exactly what I'd hoped for.

Dixie Davis was a mean girl. Actually, she was the Queen of the mean girls. The girl who ruled the school and basically made others' lives hell if she was in the notion. A series of misfortunes has humbled Dixie, and when she returns home after ten years, it's with her tail between her legs. It's obvious that Dixie is no longer that girl, though no one trusts her. She faces the past knowing she deserves every mean remark. No matter what, I honestly couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
It's clear that something very troubling happened while she was away that served to show Dixie a lesson in humility and kindness. Between that lesson and the act of growing up, she's not the bad girl everyone remembers. But she was still feisty.

The other lesson in humility was served when Dixie lost the love of her life, Caine Donovan, ten years prior. Caine was a lifelong friend of Dixie's, and despite her bad girl ways and the huge challenges she presented, he loved her like crazy. Caine was a nice leading man, though he's pretty rough on Dixie. It seems like she deserved this from him, at least with the knowledge he has of the situation. It's clear, though, that Caine still loves Dixie, no matter what. Despite everything, Caine is still so drawn to Dixie, which frustrates him and makes him angry. Crazy. As a woman, this amused me to no end. But I also felt bad for the guy, because Dixie is something else.

It's not clear what happened between Dixie and Caine, only that it left them both angry and hurt, even ten years later. But when Landon, their recently deceased life-long friend, leaves them his lucrative phone sex business, the competitiveness that always drove their relationship, drove them wild, is too hard to resist. Both take the opportunity to go another round in their life-long battle for dominance.

Talk Dirty to Me was so, so funny. I can't imagine finding out my best friend owned a phone sex business, then attempting to take it over and learn the job. I mean, it's probably not too hard to learn, but I'd be more prone to giggling and blushing while attempting to talk to some random guy like that. Turns out Dixie isn't too keen on it, either, and I adored how the sneaky chick handled her job. Caine too. Cassidy also did such a great job of recreating a small southern town obsessed with old school ideals, a town that thrives on gossip and righteousness. It reminds me a lot of the towns I've lived in actually, so much so that I think it gave me hives. Maybe I'm a bit like Dixie, because I kind of wish one of my hometown friends would open up a business like this just so I could see the uproar. (I have a friend in mind, I think he'd totally do it.)

Talk Dirty to Me also offered good character growth, and reflection from the main characters. The way Dixie took on Plum Orchards "mean girls" (actually, ladies) made me so proud of her, and it made me laugh. A lot. Caine made nice strides too, especially when it came to the strict ideals he placed on Dixie in the past.  I came away from the story believing in the viability of this couple. That's a must in romance.

Talk Dirty to Me also nicely sets up book two, Something to Talk About. That story will center on Em, an adorable sweet woman with a teensy bit of a mean streak. A woman clearly ready to find her voice and take charge of her life. I think Plum Orchard is a series I will continue to love and recommend.

Favorite Quote

  "Then guess what? Landon owned one of the most successful phone-sex companies in the world, and he left it all to you and Mr. Smexy. You know, with conditions. Surprise!"


  Damn her and this new fragility that left him wanting to fix the things that have left her looking so broken. Damn her for reopening the wound of his anger and spilling it all over him. Damn her for making him question himself, question whether this was all another game...or she really needed help. He didn't want that.vHe didn't want to get tangled up in her again. But fuck. He did want her.

The Plum Orchard Series

 

   

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About the author

Dakota Cassidy lives for a good laugh in life and in her writing. In fact, she almost loves a good giggle as much as she loves hair products and that’s saying something.

Her goals in life are simple, (like really simple): banish the color yellow forever, create world peace via hot rollers and Aqua Net; and finally, nab every tiara in the land by competing in the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World pageants, then sweeping them in a stunning trifecta of much duct tape and Vaseline usage, all in just under one week. Oh, and write really fun books!

She loves people, loves to chat and would love it if you'd come say hello to her on the Yahoo! group she shares with two other terrific authors at—The Truth About Big Hair, Books and Babes. Join Dakota and friends in the chaos and send an email to TTABBB-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit her website.

Dakota lives in Texas with her two sons, her mother, more cats and dogs than the local animal shelter and has a husband who puts the heroes in her books to shame.

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