I have to say that I delayed reading this book for 2 reasons.

1. I was trying to come off the high of the 1st one
2. I didn't want it to end!

I feel hooked into this story and want MORE. I think that the author did a good job with this second book. I loved the relationship between Stella, Dev and Jake. I found myself putting the book down to get a breather because it was HOT! The other characters helped bring the story along. More of a look into the friends lives in detail like in the first book would have made my review 5 stars. It was a fun and fast read. I hope that we get to visit their lives again. I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

Adrienne Kama's highly sexy Chronicles is the kind of I/R that we need to see more of. No endless hand-wringing and no social treatises on the 'evils' of racism (which we already know in real life anyway so why beat people over the head with it in a romance). It's a mixture of chick-lit (which normally I avoid like the plague) and no-holds barred sex with not just one - but two - hot men who have taken more than a liking to Stella.

Carnal Heat continues Stella's ongoing relationship with fitness trainer Jake, and his partner, Devlin, a rock vocalist known as Cinder. Stella's got it all - a successful career, a nice home, great clothes and two men in her life who are slowly introducing her to the world of consensual bondage and domination. Like any novice, she stumbles and questions whether or not she should be enjoying this (even though she does). She also questions whether or not the relationship is as serious for them as it is for her.

In both books, Dev is the more fleshed-out character and elicits more empathy. I personally find Jake a little flat, and his insistence on taking Stella to a [..]party that quickly spiralled out of control seemed rather high-handed. Any good Dominant knows never to place their sub in a situation that is guaranteed to make the sub uncomfortable. Dev, still very much alpha, has a backstory which pulls at the heartstrings.

Of course, the book does suffer from chick-lit tropes which always make my back teeth ache - Stella's thirty-one, obsesses (mildly) about weight and marriage (ho hum) and she's got her girlfriends who would have been at home in any episode of Sex and the City. There were also some seriously eye-raising moments (spoiler alert), such as Dev and Stella having sex without Jake and not wanting to tell him about it (what kind of relationship is this if neither can trust or function autonomously); and Stella's mother (you know, I'm thinking of starting a campaign for mothers unfairly maligned in romance fiction. Practically every book I've read throughout the past year has a mother who gives new meaning to the term "Mommy Dearest"). Again, at thirty-one, no successful woman should be endlessly focusing on what their parent(s) think. They should be enjoying their own lives, and the fact that Stella not only hid her unconventional relationship with not just one white man - but two - made this a little hard to take. And the whole [..] sex thing - really now, is it possible that a group of modern thirty-something women have no clue as to what this act entails (no pun intended)?

Overall though, this is a great read and I totally enjoyed it - funny in moments, scorchingly hot in others with m/f/m, m/m, BDSM and [..] sex. Even with the sex, the story has tender and sweet aspects as well. I can't wait for the next installment.

All I can say is this book is HOTTT. It's just as good as the first book The Chronicles of Stella Rice. Both books are a must read on a lonely Saturday night. You won't be disappointed.

Stella Rice is a 30-year-old business owner in Baltimore. She owns her owns business and is in a relationship with not one, but two men: Jake Santos and Devlin Chambers. Jake is the owner of a fitness club and Devlin, known professionally as Cinder, is the singer in a rock band.

Stella's about to turn 31 and she's happy with her life. Happy until her mother decides to tell her ex-boyfriend, Steven, that Stella needs a man in her life. Happy until her lovers tell her that they both want to take her at the same time.

Stella doesn't know what to do, so she enlists the help of her friends in how to properly address the issue of sex with two men at once. At the same time she's fighting with her mother, who wants to know what is going on in her daughter's life.

Stella is fighting with herself to decide if Jake and Devlin, who were in a relationship when they met Stella, really love her or just want her for sex. In the meantime her know-it-all cousin, Sadie, sees her with Dev, which prompts more questions from Stella's mother, who is planning a birthday dinner for Stella, with Steven as an invited guest.

And when Stella shows up at the party with all her friends, including Jake and Dev, all hell breaks loose, literally.

Carnal Heat: The Chronicles of Stella Rice by Adrienne Kama once again takes the reader into the wonderful world of Stella. For me, that world is wonderfully real with well developed characters who have genuine reactions to the things that life throws their way.

I adore the relationship between Stella, Jake and Dev. Things between them are wonderfully hot and not perfect. But that's what I love. They have to work for things and the work that they do is incredibly fun.

I highly recommend Carnal Heat: The Chronicles of Stella Rice. Readers who missed the first book in the series should read it first. For me both books are in the To Be Read again file, sitting at the top of the list. Carnal Heat comes with a warning that it contains mild BDSM, and m/m sexuality.

Amelia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Carnal Heat was great, even though I like the first book better. But Carnal Heat continues the story of Stella, Jake, and Dev's "Triad." In this story the three explore their relationship more and it's time for Jake and Dev to meet the parent.