The Sweetheart Kiss is the 3rd book in the Brash & Brazen series (but can be read in any order or as a stand alone)

This story focuses on former cheerleader Jess & the cop who is investigating a shooting at a wedding where Jess is a bridesmaid. The description of the bridesmaid's dress alone is worth reading book. There is also a massive dog & a hot naked protestor/protector.... just a fun, fun read

The author does such a great job creating unique & interesting characters. And the mystery part of the story is fascinating.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

3 1/2

After having read The Sweetheart Game and The Sweetheart Racket, I expected a similar read from The Sweetheart Kiss. Unfortunately the characters of Jess and Sam (who appeared in The Sweetheart Game) just didn’t have the same energy and spark as the couples of the preceding two novels and I didn’t feel as invested in their story.

Despite the fact that someone is stalking Jess and shooting at her from almost the very beginning of the novel, I didn’t feel the action picked up until later.

In the meantime, Jess acquires a huge mixed breed dog who chews up Sam’s favorite leather couch. Now I don’t know about you, but if my dog just chewed up the couch of a guy I had just met and who was doing me a favor of letting me stay with him, I would be beyond mortified (if there’s anything beyond mortified), but Jess barely reacts, although ultimately she does replace his couch. I guess I just found Jess’ reactions or personality to be kind of iffy. She does, at the end, show some spunk.

Before you think I’m writing off The Sweetheart Kiss, let me mention that there are some great scenes, especially involving Calvin, the naked protester. Calvin made me laugh as does his entourage of neighborhood women who form his fan club. I hope Calvin appears in future novels. It would be interesting to see if the author could turn the well-endowed Viking into a hero or whether he’ll just remain a background character–although a very fun one at that.

While The Sweetheart Kiss doesn’t live up to either of the preceding Brash and Brazen novels, it’s still funny and very much worth reading if you need a quick escape.

Source: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lighthearted story with humor laced through...throw in romance and you have the perfect combination for a fun read. The third in the series has Brash & Brazen PI Jess chasing after a sniper with gorgeous cop Sam. Without having read the first two books in the series, I was able to catch on pretty quickly to the backstory of all the characters...though I would recommend reading the first two in order to catch the intricacies of those backstories.

This author is new to me and now has been added to my watch list (not in a stalkerish way) for her future books.

This ARC book is complimentary and provided by the Publisher and Netgally, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

This is the third book in this series, I was not aware of that when I started reading, it can be read as stand alone, however I feel I should read others to familiarize myself better with characters. It was entertaining, at times far fetched, but it did contain a little of everything, romance, comedy, and drama. We have Jess who is the heroin and she was not a weak woman. Then we have a hot and sexy Sam. Jess is in a wedding from hell, in a horrible dress, when hell breaks lose, and in comes Sam, and story begins, I wont tell you, so you can read, but it will keep your interest. And, I do think there is another one coming, but who?

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third in the series, and is just as good as the previous two! I would definitely recommend that you read them all, and whilst this could be a standalone, it is much better when read in order. This Charlie's Angel-like group of women are just so much fun.

The setup for this story with Jess in a truly awful bridesmaid dress in a wedding where she doesn't even want to be, then the guy in front of her gets shot, is just the start of the crazy. Lucky for Jess (and for Sam), Sam works out that she is the one who needs protection and takes it upon himself to do just that – in fact, they can hardly peel themselves off each other. The mystery is worth a read, let alone the super-hot romance in the making.

For a really good fun and sexy read, pick up this book and enjoy. Thanks for another great installment, Ms. Smith.

Jess was in a wedding she didn’t want to be in with a bride she didn’t like at all and had a headache the minute she put the very ugly bridesmaid dress over her head. Jess wanted alcohol and she had some at the bottom of her tote she had three minutes she just had to get rid of the groomsman # three. Jess knew she needed alcohol to get through Mandy’s wedding. Jess had just been through health scare but it had ended in good news. Outside of work Jess had kinda going along without a purpose. Her social life was boring and she hadn’t had an adventure in a very long time. After the scare Jess decided it was time to start living Jess hated Mandy at one time they had been friends but then Mandy had slept with Jess’s HS boyfriend- Darren-of two years. Then while walking down the aisle the groomsman ahead of Jess had been shot. Jess tried to stop the bleeding until the paramedics arrived. Then Detective Sam Wheeler took her to the bride’s suite to be questioned. Sam allowed Jess to change but saw her change because of a mirror. Sam couldn’t help but look and was now aroused as he felt Jess was hot. Jess worked for Brash & Brazen who were the pit bull of the P I trade. One of their P I’s had solved a case Sam was heading at the time. Then they discovered that if the flower girl hadn’t dropped her basket and stopped Jess would have been the one shot. When Jess stopped at the office Sam was already there and had talked to Jess’s boss but her boss wouldn’t make Jess stay away from the case then Jess found a knife in her tire and Sam pulled it out and kept it for evidence in the case and though Sam hated to agree with Jess keeping her close would help close the case since Jess was the person the shooter was after. Then Jess’s apartment was set on fire luckily Jess woke up as the fire detector had not worked. But then they found the batteries had been taken out. She ended up staying with Sam at his house. Then Jess got a dog from the pound who weighed about one hundred and fifty pounds but wasn’t a guard dog but she hoped the dog would scare off the sniper. Then her boss Irving was shot by the sniper. Jess was very angry and even though Irving was alive and had only been shot in his leg Jess loved him like a father /grandfather and someone would pay. Sam is attracted to Jess and even if Jess doesn’t like Sam she does think he is hot.
This was a very good story and I really enjoyed reading this. It did drag a little but still kept reading as it definitely kept my attention all though the story. This was a little predictable but still a good story. I loved that this story had a mystery as well as romance. I also liked the plot a lot. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this story and I recommend.

entertaining and fast read with a feisty heroine in Jess and a hot romantic cop in Sam. I had not read the first two books in this series but I'll look for the next one because this is a happy and funny novel. Some of the madcap feels a tiny bit strained but I liked the characters. This reminded me of early Stephanie Plum. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

the brash & brazen detective agency is in the thick of things again, this time in the sweetheart kiss when p.i. jess lucas witnesses a shooting at a friend's wedding. when sam wheeler is assigned as lead on the case, she's annoyed to realize that they're going to have to play nice and collaborate. sam respects the brazen p.i.s, but he doesn't love how they end up in the middle of his cases.

but when it becomes clear that jess is an actual target, sam insists that she stay close to him. partly because she did just lose her home to a fire set deliberately, but also because he doesn't trust anyone else to keep her safe. and suddenly she's not just invading his home. she's invading his thoughts. she's invading his bed. and the kicker is, he wants her there.

sam and jess are perfect partners, they've got the patter of snappy banter that add flirty fun to all the sexual tension and they are also kickass investigators who actually respect one another's skills. it's refreshing to see these two characters end up in a relationship so seamlessly. whether they are working or playing the one thing that is clear is that they belong together. crazy things happen around them and neither of them ever really loses their cool.

in fact, the one time sam does lose his cool, is when he realizes that this could be something more. and he goes out of his way to prove to everyone that it is not. but he's just fooling himself. when jess fell into his life, it's clear that it is for keeps, and the journey it takes to get them there is worth reading. especially if you've enjoyed this series.

The Sweetheart Kiss by Cheryl Ann Smith.

The Sweetheart Kiss by Cheryl Ann Smith was a fun novel full of fun characters and hotness. While it was listed as a romance, which it was, it also had some mystery which allowed us to be introduced to a detective on the Ann Arbor police force, Sam.

Jess Lucas works for Brash and Brazen, an all female PI firm. She has been roped into a wedding ceremony as a bridesmaid and is regretting every minute especially with the nasty dress. As she was in the processional wedding march a bullet struck the groomsman and Jess was thrown into an investigation. It looks likely she was meant to be the victim and Sam goes into total male hotness overdrive and the next thing you know the situation between the two of them is total hotness factor times ten.

I enjoyed the novel and am delighted to know that there are two more novels before this one to enjoy. Obviously I did not read them in order and it didn’t matter. The Sweetheart Kiss by Cheryl Ann Smith was a good read!

This is a series that has just kept getting better with each new story. Great characters, interesting storylines, and sassy, quirky dialogue to add a little humour to the overall effect.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the series and the author's seamless writing style enhances every tale.

I had not read any books by Ms Smith and was curious about this one. What fun!!! I am now a fan.
This book centers around Jesse Lucas, a PI and Sam, a police Detective. Jesse works for Irving, who owns a company with his own set of “Charlie’s Angels”, Jesse being one of them.
The book is full of humor, mystery, a sniper, a humongous sweet dog, a naked man, a hunky and grumpy detective, and a badass PI , oh, and lots of sexual tension. How can you not love the book!
So, come and join the rest of the readers in this rollercoaster ride.
I was gifted this copy by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

loved this book

.If you like sexy cops, Charlie's Angel type P.I.s, you are going to love this book. Written with humor, it has mysteries, arson, sniper attacks,and HAWT interaction between investigator Jess Lucas and sexy Detective Sam Wheeler....it fairly flies by.
Great interaction between the characters and descriptions that evoke the scenes clearly.
I've added it to my book club's list as a must read for the young and young-at-heart crowd.
I requested and received an ARC copy and plan to buy for at least two friends.