Tease

Racy but predictable, the second installment of the Ivy Chronicles new adult series (after Foreplay) leaves readers wanting. Talented artist Emerson Wingate is a wild child who views men merely as possible hook-ups. She is always in control and never lets anyone close—or at least that’s the facade she’s created. After a chance encounter with a man named Shaw during a brawl at a biker bar, Em is dangerously attracted to this baddest of bad boys, and it takes all her willpower to resist him. Even readers who relate to Emerson’s stereotypical college-girl persona will have a hard time empathizing with her bratty behavior. An attempt at giving her depth with dark family secrets and an embittered relationship with her mother falls short, as do the flat side characters who surround her. The love scenes are indeed steamy and give the story some spark, but the novel fails to ignite. (June)