Katie Long was supposed to be undercover. She was just supposed to watch Deputy Prosecutor Eric Kimura at his ex’s wedding and gather intel on his campaign for prosecutor. But he’s a lot hotter in person, and the kind of intel they accidentally shared in the hotel bathroom might lose both of them their jobs. Especially since it seems to be a recurring incident. Is it possible for a one-night stand to last ten days?

Kimura isn’t usually the impulsive type. He’s driven, he’s ambitious, and he knows what he wants—a respectable future in Hawaii politics. Which means wild half-public sex with a beautiful stranger in a short little caterer’s skirt is just tabloid fodder waiting to happen. Conveniently, just as his campaign is coming under attack. Sabotage, media gossip, and an insatiable desire for a woman he just met? If he’s not careful, Counselor Kimura might lose all control…

Title: Impulsive
Author: HelenKay Dimon
Series: Men of Hawaii, book 4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Brava
Year of release: 2010, October 26
Format: Tradesize Paperback, 320 pages
Source: Received a digital copy from author for review

First line: Katie Long wasn't sure how they'd gone from "would you like another drink" to crawling all over each other half-naked in the oceanfront estate's hall bathroom, but that's what happened.
Memorable Scene:
Katie surprises Eric in his office scene > HOT! no desk smexing but office chair also definitely works for me!

Eric Kimura is still hung up on his ex and at her wedding to another man, he has sex with a stranger, a waitress, in a bathroom stall. At least it’s better than getting drunk and making a scene. But what he doesn’t know is that the waitress is not an ordinary waitress. Someone hired Katie through an old acquaintance to spy on Eric at the wedding. I was utterly surprised to find out who it was and outraged on Eric's behalf.

Katie Long is an impulsive young woman with a penchant for getting in trouble. She really tries to stay out of trouble and behave but it seems like it just follows her wherever she goes. She’s sassy, vibrant and a wild child with a heart of gold. And while she didn’t plan to fall in love with Eric, she does and once she finds that out she jumps in with both feet.

Eric is the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, about to campaign to be elected Prosecuting Attorney. He’s strait-laced, ambitious and a workaholic. He’s also fair and conscientious. Katie’s zest for life and her spontaneity make him open up and live a little and she’s also that last push he needs to get his ex out of his mind.

As for secondary characters, I loved seeing Deana and Josh from HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO again and must also praise HelenKay Dimon for not cluttering the book with too many secondary characters but instead using the amount needed to support and complement Katie and Eric and the plot. The political intrigue plot that accompanies the romance was subtly written into the rest and, like the secondary characters, never took over. Yet it was a plot that kept me on my toes. First with the who, then with the why.

The first page of IMPULSIVE is the perfect example of a beginning that immediately hooked me. It was hot, with just enough information to make me very anxious for the rest of this story. And the title is absolutely fitting. Eric's behavior though, was also very unexpected and out of character for the Eric I got to meet in HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO so I was curious to see how it all was going to be played out. And I can say now that it played out great. I loved this Eric, who truly and pleasantly surprised me by being more playful and less of a the cool politician than he appeared to be.

HelenKay Dimon writes awesome banter and dialogues. I noticed this in HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO and in IMPULSIVE it continued right from the start with Eric and Seth and later with Eric and Katie. Seriously! HelenKay Dimon takes dialogues to a higher level and this puts her on the top of my favorite contemporary romance authors. Her dialogues are a mix of witty banter and humorous fun and a way of showing her characters' personalities and at the same time creating depth in them. I almost salivated reading them and must admit that while reading IMPULSIVE I would regularly go back to certain dialogues and read them a second time, just to experience the joy of awe-inspiring dialogue again.

What more can I say about IMPULSIVE? It's contemporary romance and then some! It has fun, passion, arguments, chemistry, trust issues, commitment, love and a little bit of suspense. It's delivered through excellent and smooth writing, witty dialogues, serious dialogues, strong main characters and interesting secondary characters. The ending was so sweet it's good I have a major sweet tooth and therefore loved it.

With HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO and IMPULSIVE HelenKay Dimon has written herself straight on to my favorite contemporary romances list and made a new fan for life. If you love contemporary romance and you haven't read HelenKay Dimon's Men of Hawaii books, please remedy this because they're an addition to any lover of contemporary romance’s bookshelves.

Favorite Quotes:
He mumbled the denial right before his head lowered and his lips brushed against hers. For the second time, an engulfing heat swept through him. He'd had sex before. Hell, he'd had great sex before, but there was something about Katie that rubbed him raw and sent a blast of want shooting through him.

Seth and Eric
"You poor bastard."
"What?"
"You're about to get your ass kicked in the female department and you don't even know it."

Just when she wanted to bonk him in the head for being clueless, he said something sweet enough to melt her bones.

Katie's stomach dropped to the floor. Went right through her pantyhose and smacked the space between her feet.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT…
Deana Armstrong needs a hero—not for herself, but for the nephew all her moneyand time can’t seem to get out of jail. Unfortunately, the best hero in all the
Hawaiian Islands is set on turning in his badge and getting his excellent butt into
another line of work. If that wasn’t enough, Josh Windsor also has a big-time
grudge against Deana herself. But if there’s anything being rich, smart, and
stubborn has taught Deana, it’s never to settle for second best…

Josh has had it with saving people. He’s had it with getting
hauled into court. And boy, has he ever had it with Deana. Or well, he hasn’t had it.
Yet. But the more she pops up sounding infuriating and looking good enough to eat,
the more her hot bod and her cold case wriggle into his mind. And there’s only so
much even a hero can resist…

Title: Holding Out for a Hero
Author: HelenKay Dimon
Series: Men of Hawaii, book 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Brava
Year of release: 2009, October 1
Format: Tradesize Paperback, 320 pages
Source: Received this book from Fatin (@mad4rombks) as a gift in 2009.

First line: He sensed her before he saw her.
Memorable Scenes:
- any scene with Josh, Kane and Annie > awesome banter

Josh Windsor is a federal officer with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). Who decides to quit after his boss sacrificed him to save his own position. He’s blunt, uncompromising, strong and confident. Money is a big deal for him, people who use money and power to their advantage earn his disdain. After a crappy childhood he doesn’t want to be used or taken for granted ever again. Oh and HelenKay, I think Josh has a pen-tapping problem ;) And I wrote this down way before I read page 266...

Deana Armstrong is serious, tenacious, smart and strong-willed. She keeps a tight reign on her emotions, which is why she comes across as cold and in control. She does this with a reason however. A tragic incident in her past triggered it. She’s also wealthy, a fact that on its own earns her the disapproval of Josh Windsor.

Josh and Deana have a past, a past where Deana did some not so nice things, but now she needs help and he's the only one she's willing to ask. Understandably saying Josh isn't forthcoming with his help is an understatement. I loved seeing the tension build between Josh and Deana as they both fight not to like each other. I was immediately getting ready for the inevitable climactic erruption of the chemistry that was building.

Their backgrounds couldn't be any more different. They aren't perfect, have their flaws and hang-ups but HelenKay Dimon wrote a wonderful couple that had depth and were extremely likeable even if they were stubborn (Deana) and acted like an ass occasionally (Josh).

While reading my mind was working overtime. I was wondering about the things going on and a few questions popped in my head. These questions were all answered and satisfyingly so as little by little things from the past were explained and unraveled an intricate backstory. The murder-case plot was important for the romance and the external conflict between Josh and Deana and I really liked the resolutions for both the plot and the conflict. No magical, perfect solutions in order to get a HEA.

The dialogues are just awesome! Quick-witted, sharp, functional and never redundant. Oh how I enjoyed the dynamics of fun conversations filled with jabs and quips between Josh, Kane, Annie and Derek.

After reading an Harlequin Intrigue and an ebook novella by HelenKay Dimon I suspected I was going to love her full-lengths, as the only thing I found lacking in the aforementioned shorts was the length, and I was right. I loved HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO and can't wait to read IMPULSIVE [note from reviewer: In the meantime I’ve read IMPULSIVE and I loved it!] and the other full-lengths and up next is the first book in this series, because I just have to read YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY soon as reading HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO made me want to read Kane and Annie's story asap.

Favorite Quotes:
She [Annie] rapped her fist against the table. "Don't make me get up and smack the crap out of you."
"For the record, I'd like to see that," Kane said.

Annie shook the receiver in his face. "Then I will climb over this table and beat you to death with this phone."
Kane laughed. "That's one of her favorite threats."

Then he was kissing her, deep and long. The kind of kiss that turned a woman's knees to liquid and her common sense to mush.

"How about a round of mind-blowing sex?" Before the words left his mouth he treated her to a long , hot kiss.
The man excelled at kissing. Curl-your-toes, hide-your-daughters kissing. The kind where short breaths lingered long after his lips left hers.