My review was published at All About Romance on April 5, 2017.

Hot In the City is a quick but very enjoyable read. It only took me a few hours to read and I never felt like things were rushed or missing, nor did it lose my attention. While it might not be one of those stories that stands out as something "Amazing And New", it was just what I needed and kept me entertained. And I don’t mean any of that in a condescending way! There’s nothing wrong with a fairly simple story being executed nicely, and that’s exactly what I got here.



Priya is a doctor, still in residency, and trying to work her ass off while also keeping an eye out for her cousin, the “bad seed” of the family (though there’s a story there, about these two young women). Priya’s used to running to her rescue, but this time she may be in too deep. Why else would the ginger-haired detective – whom Priya stitched up recently – be looking for her?


Priya puts protecting her cousin above everything else, and that’s not going to change just because she and Brian have chemistry buzzing between them. He’s a cop, he’s looking for her cousin; she can’t fully trust him. But . . . she also can’t ignore the attraction there. One night together won’t change anything, right? Wrong, of course. When she finally hears from her cousin, while she’s still in Brian’s bed, she doesn’t think twice about it: she has to go help her, and hope that Brian will let her go. After all, Priya’s interest in a man caused problems with Sara years ago, and she can’t make that mistake again. Not even for Brian.



Since this is such a short story, I won’t give away everything, but I will say that yes, Priya and Brian do get together after the debacle with the cousin is over. A lot of how things are wrapped up about the case are off page (because of the page length, I’d assume) but again, I never felt like I was truly missing anything vital. Like with any novella, of course I have those general feelings of “Damn, I wish this was a full novel” but that’s a good thing, not a bad.



Their chemistry is definitely there and while there’s not too much sex (again, novella) what is there is very good. I mean, the scene that starts in the car . . . Damn!


I liked the diversity that Court has within this book. The heroine and her family of course (they are of Indian descent, she says her family is Jain) but also the fact that Brian’s lesbian sister is happily partnered (married?) and they have a daughter, as well as mention of a man Priya’s aunt tries to set her up with who is gay, though not out to his family yet. Yes, with the exception of Priya, the others are background characters, but it’s still nice to see a less than homogeneous background, especially in such a short story. Obviously the industry as a whole needs a lot more of this in all the books, but it’s a start and I appreciated it.

I enjoyed Court’s writing style and voice and will definitely be keeping an eye out for her future works. I’m thrilled that Brian’s partner, Daniel, gets a book (out in May . . . I may have snatched the ARC from NG as soon as I finished this one the other night!) because he definitely grabbed my attention. And his heroine, Priya’s friend – a lawyer who often helps her with Sara’s problems – should be a great match for him. It’s also a short novella, but oh well, I’m sure I’ll survive. :)

This story is hot, in more ways than one. Yes, there’s a hot romance between a beautiful doctor and a sexy cop. It’s set in Boston in July, so the temperature is also unbearably hot. And there’s a fire involved. Again, not just the one between the cop and doc, but an actual gasoline and matches type fire.

Priya is a young doctor, driven to succeed in her career in the hopes of making her parents proud, and making up for her biggest mistake. Brian is a young detective, equally devoted to his career. They meet in her ER, when he needs patching up after a case. But they connect over Brian’s need to find Priya’s cousin Sara, who has always played the family bad girl to Priya’s good one.

Sara witnessed a gangland murder. Brian needs to find her and get her into protection before she gets killed. But as much as he knows he shouldn’t get involved with Priya along the way, he can’t resist. Not even if it jeopardizes his case. Or his career. Or both.

Verdict: This is hot, sexy and a whole lot of fun. Both the hero and heroine are career driven, slightly unsure of themselves, and well-aware that any relationship between them is serious trouble, but they can’t resist. Adding to the interesting factors, Priya is of Indian-descent, making her standout from the usual run of heroines. But the family pressures she drowns in will be familiar to women from any background. Recommended for readers of contemporary romance, particularly, but not limited to, those looking for WOC as their heroines.