Broody Brit

A new entry in the multiauthor “Cocky Hero Club” series, this one by Simone (“WAGS” and “Sweetest Taboo” series). It draws on earlier books in the series, including characters from British Bedmate by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland, but easily reads as a standalone romance. Nurse Zenobia Hester is recovering from being dumped by her faithless fiancé while housesitting for friends but is startled to find they’ve also let another friend stay in the attached apartment. This friend looks like a tattooed Viking with a six-pack and a mohawk, and he scared her while she was cooking eggs and grits. Sculptor Axel Wright wanted the sexy woman at the stove to turn down the music so he could sleep, not throw raw eggs at him. But after a rocky start, the two begin to find common ground in the grief of their pasts and their support of one anothers’ futures. The interactions between the characters are gritty and steamy and alternate between intensity and hilarity.