Maxwell Turner considers his stubborn and resourceful attitude a plus. After all, it usually gets him what he wants—except for Natasha Bellingham. The long-time family friend may be ten years older than he, but so what? He’s plenty old enough to know they belong together. Now all he has to do is convince her.

Over the past few years Natasha’s love life has degenerated into a series of bad clichés. Her biological clock is ticking—loudly. As a proven architect with her own house-design company, she’s financially ready for a baby. Who says she needs a permanent man in her life for that? She just needs a “donation”.

When Max discovers Natasha’s future plans include artificial insemination, he’s outraged. She wants to get pregnant? No problem. He’s more than willing to volunteer—no turkey basters involved.

But there’s one non-negotiable clause: He wants forever. And he intends to do everything in his power—fair and unfair—to make it happen.

Warning: This title contains one younger man ready, aimed and hell bent on giving one woman everything she wants. Includes interludes against the wall, in a Jacuzzi, on a car hood and even—shockingly enough—on a bed or two. Oh, and about that porch swing? Yup…

Title: TURN IT UP
Author: Vivian Arend
Series: The Turner Twins, book 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Year of release: 2011, February 8
Format: eBook
Source: Bought via Samhain’s eBook store

First line:
The doors of the Sugar Shack swung shut behind her and Natasha Bellingham drew a sigh of relief, thankful to get out of the blinding morning sunshine.

Memorable Scenes:
- the dry hump scene at the building-site > wow...
- porch swing scene > double wow...
- ultrasound scene > sweet and emotional


The book TURN IT UP is a prequel to was TURN IT ON. I have fond memories of TURN IT ON as it was my very first unsolicited ARC-review request and it was my first encounter and the beginning of a beautiful bookish online relationship with the fabulous and lovely Vivian Arend. Soon after I reviewed TURN IT ON in January 2010 I discovered (Viv told me) Max’s story was in the making and from that moment on I was anxiously awaiting this story. When it was finally available and loaded onto my e-reader I read it like a starved person at an all-you-can eat buffet and I wasn’t disappointed.

TURN IT UP is the story of Natasha "Tasha" Bellingham. A talented architect who is also a bit of a control-freak and she likes to be in charge and on top of things. She’s cool, unflappable, pragmatic, bossy and let’s not forget as stubborn as they come. Her co-star is Maxwell "Max" Turner who owns Computer-software Company. Max is caring, sweet, laidback, smart and most of all very patient. The man has the patience of a saint and paired with his tenacity Tasha never stood a chance against his persuasive and seductive powers!

Max has been in love and pursuing Tasha since he was 17. When in a drunken stupor she lets it slip she wants to start a family by becoming a single mom he grabs his chance to finally get his woman. Max and Tasha were a perfect match and I really enjoyed their story. Banter and little internal emotional battles alternated with sexual chemistry that just burst off the pages. I was sucked in from first page to the last and rooting for Max all the way.

If you read my reviews or know me well enough to know my reading preferences you’ll be sick of hearing that one of my favorite tropes is the older woman-younger man trope. I have a few others, such as the friends=to=lovers and the ménage tropes and Vivian Arend once again combined two of my favorite tropes into a wonderful contemporary read.

One itty-bitty thing that bothered me in this book was the Lila (Tasha's friend and Max's cousin) situation. I kept waiting for a logical explanation for her behavior and attitude but the only one given was plain age-old jealousy and since I am not familiar with that emotion and think being jealous is a waste of time I couldn’t relate to her very much and took Tasha’s side in the “fight” to the very end.

This is definitely another one of my favorite Vivian Arend books. It had it all: heat and explicitness, pace, tropes I love and main characters I totally clicked with, a hero who shot to the top of my favorites list and last but not least the right amount of back-story and secondary stuff to create a perfect balance. Thank you, Ms. Arend for once again keeping me entertained and for never disappointing me when I open one of your books to read.

Favorite Quotes:
Max sank his fingers into her thick mane of dark hair and let his satisfaction escape in a low moan. God, he’d wanted to do that forever, and last night refusing her sexual advances had taken him to the breaking point. He needed this so badly he felt raw inside, aching with need for a taste of her.

His brain and body fought a battle for which could react the fastest. She was accepting his proposal. He was going to be with the woman he’d longed for his entire life. They were going to have sex and start a lifetime together. And have sex.

Max: “You tell me what you like and I’m game to try.”
“ Jesus . How can you talk while you’re fooling around?”
(...)
“I like talking when I’m fooling around. I like to tell you the dirty things I want to do to you. You make me hot.”
Tasha growled at him. “Bastard. I was so close.”
“I know, but you’ll get there again. And again. And again.”

Tasha ached as Max wept, his arms cradling her tenderly. That something inside that longed for a love without end—that place she’d had tied up tight and hidden away fearing it could never, ever be—snapped wide open.

Tasha wiped away the tears flooding her eyes. There was no more denying it—how much she loved him. It had taken far too long to admit it, but it was there, inside her.
No rockets went off, no loud thunderclaps or brilliant fanfare accompanied her realization. Only tightness in her throat, and a building joy to melt the final layers of icy fear that had coated her heart for so long.

This ebook will be released on January 19th with Samhain Publishing

Back Cover: 
Pushing the sensual limits can set off all kinds of alarms…

Inheriting her grandmother’s home is a dream come true for web designer Maxine Turner. She’s looking forward to a little freedom from the constant demands of her beloved, crazy mob of a family. When vandals expose just how vulnerable she is living alone, she seeks help.

Ryan Claymore’s well-thought-out life was wrenched out from under him when responsibility for his special-needs stepbrother landed on his shoulders. Going from military man to businessman hasn’t been easy. He counts himself lucky he’s found Maxine to trade his security-system knowledge for her web site expertise.

The red-hot chemistry that sizzles between them comes from out of the blue, and they both fight a losing battle to resist. Even the secret Ryan hides isn’t enough to keep Maxine from working her way into his heart—and his bed.

But something else might tear them apart. Whoever seems determined to destroy her home, and her sanity along with it.

Warning: Realistic multiple orgasm sex scenes, men getting in touch with their emotions, brothers being—well—brothers, and a very tempting back porch swing…you have been warned.

TURN IT ON was my first unsolicited and non-win ARC request and I'm pretty proud of that. When Vivian Arend asked if I was interested in reviewing her upcoming new contemporary release I jumped at the chance. First because it was a contemporary romance, a genre, which holds a dear place in my reading heart and second because I had Vivian Arend on my radar for a while but an earlier opportunity to sample her work hadn't occurred yet.

TURN IT ON is the story of Maxine Turner and Ryan Claymore. Ryan used to be in the army but family circumstances forced him to retire his commission and start a security installation firm. Maxine runs a PR and advertising/web design business with her twin brother and she has just inherited her grandma's old home. But strange things are happening at the place and when her and Ryan's paths cross professionally because Ryan hires Turner Networking Team, she decides to use his expertise and hire him in turn to install a security system in the old house. From the start sparks fly between them that have nothing to do with the jobs they're doing for each other but their respective familial responsibilities are threatening the budding feelings.

Ryan is truly a good guy, he may seem a bit gruff but that's just the outside. He is caring, loyal and very romantic. He left the army to take care of his handicapped half-brother who was gravely injured in a car accident that killed his mother. I was impressed by Ryan's care and love for his brother and the way he tried to adjust his life so he'd be and remain able to do so. The portrayal of Carl and his disability was beautifully written and touched my emotions deeply.

Maxine is a charming, vibrant, independent young woman. She has a good life, working and enjoying it, though she sometimes wishes her family would realize that she is a grown-up woman capable of living her life as she wishes to. Despite her confident demeanor she has a kind of sweet shyness over her. Not the innocent kind but just enough to let her inhibitions and a little bit of inexperience shine through. Ryan is the one who helps her overcome this with his sexual confidence and straightforwardness.

I loved Ryan and Maxine. The chemistry between them was hot and immediate. The sex scenes were sexy and alluring. Ryan has a romantic heart but he's also pretty intense, sexually. He goes for what he wants. He doesn't embellish and is pretty explicit about how he wants things. I love that in a hero.

Family plays a big role in TURN IT ON. Both on Ryan's side and on Maxine's. With Ryan it's the responsibility for Carl and the fact that Carl is the only family he has left. With Maxine it's quite the opposite. She has a huge family and all the members of it make demands on her and it's hard for her not to let them run her life. For a story of that isn't overly long there were many secondary characters, some just walk-ons but others playing their part in either the romance or the plot. Of the secondary characters Carl, Maxwell and his wife Natasha were the ones who captured my attention and interest the most. As the back cover copy indicates there’s a small suspense plot threaded through the romance. It was a little bit predictable and guessing who the perpetrator was, was easy but as the plot wasn’t the focus of the book, that didn't bother me much.

My first encounter with Vivian Arend's work was a very nice one. TURN IT ON is a very sweet and moving contemporary romance in which emotional moments alternate with hot and sexy ones. The instant chemistry didn't only occur between Maxine and Ryan but also between Vivian Arend’s writing and me. I was pulled into the story from the get-go and was captivated by the smooth, easy and seductive writing style and story.

TURN IT ON is about taking chances, living life and enjoying special things and moments in it. It's the kind of contemporary romance I love to read. The romance is captivating and emotional, the characters are easy to relate to and the physical attraction is hot. Vivian Arend's writing style is one I am very partial to after reading TURN IT ON and I've already gotten myself some more of her work while waiting for the book on Maxwell, the other Turner twin.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10