Month / July 2010

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Night Magic by Karen Robards

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Jack McClain
Heroine: Clara Winston
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication:  October 1987
Started On: July 11, 2010
Finished On: July 12, 2010

I have always loved a good smashing adventure with a high dose of sensuality and romance in the mix. This is a testament as to why Wild Orchids by the same author remains a favorite of mine. Adventures where a hero and heroine who are as different from one another as night and day gets thrown in together to survive against tough as nails bad guys and the unforgiving conditions of the wilderness of nature that surrounds them. From the moment I found out about this novel on a discussion forum on Amazon I knew that this would be one of those romances that I wouldn’t be able to put down. And boy was I glad when I was proven right!

CIA Agent Jack McClain is as tough as they come. Having fought in the Vietnam war and then later working deep undercover in remote areas of the world and finally being the catalyst that brought everything to a disastrous conclusion earning him a stint in a psych facility and later a desk job at the agency, Jack never thought that he would be lucky enough to land a job within the intelligence community that would boost his career once again. Tim Hammersmith, Jack’s boss in many a deep cover missions sticks out his neck for Jack once again and assigns him with the task of getting Yuprov, a Russian KGB spy to spill his guts about a mole who was working deep within the highest ranks of the American intelligence.

Jack never thought that before he was through with the assignment that he and Yuprov would  be captured and tortured, and Jack barely escapes the fate of death at the hand of his captors by jumping ship into the murky churning waters of the ocean. Jack barely survives drowning and his rescue by two fishermen out at sea and his subsequent transfer to the hospital for treatment once again sets the Russian KGB goons after him from which he barely escapes only to be labeled as the raving lunatic who carried out a massacre at the hospital. Now its not only the KGB that is after his ass but the whole country who is on the lookout before the day is through.

Clara Winston, a romance author who just turned thirty, lives with her old gray Persian cat Puff and two cream and gray Siamese cats Amy and Iris. Clara has always been coached the ways of a proper lady through and through and though Clara yearns to settle down, start a family of her own, she has never been tempted by any of the men who have shared her life albeit for brief moments in time. Clara has always envisioned that she would find a noble and uncomplicated knight in shining armor and settle down and have normal uncomplicated kids someday. She has no inkling of the fact that her dedication in her latest novel to the “Magic Dragon” would land her in a whole different load of trouble and that before the night is through, her home would be invaded by Russian KGB agents and that she would barely escape with her life intact.

Clara first encounters Jack whilst running through the tobacco fields that surrounds her home trying to escape the Russian goons that invaded her home, and though at first Jack thinks that Clara is in cahoots with the KGB, to Clara’s surprise Jack finds the whole story of her book dedication a source of mirth and merriment and a dumbfounded Clara is advised by the roughneck who stands in front of her to take a vacation and get the hell out of the country.

Though Clara runs to the town Sheriff and complains, no one really thinks that her home invasion is more than just a burglary gone wrong. And Clara finds herself captured with her cat Puff and once again in the company of the man who was wreaking so much havoc in her life. These two barely escape and runs for their life for all its worth. The immediate dislike that these two have for one another makes for the best of simmering tension that explodes with no bounds before halfway through the novel. The unbelievable flare of red hot passion Clara feels for Jack, someone she doesn’t even like makes her wary at best, but that doesn’t stop her from succumbing to the raw sexuality that Jack effortlessly wields around her.

Before the story is through, Jack and Clara are captured once again, Clara tortured and Jack shot in the chest during their last escape from the Russian goons. My heart was pounding through most of the novel and I couldn’t for the world of me put it down and go to sleep without finding out how the story ends. And like Wild Orchids, I found myself unhappy with the way things ended, as Clara was the one who goes after Jack and yes, Jack welcomes her with open arms but doesn’t Clara deserve a bit of wooing other than a rough trek through the jungles dodging bullets and running for her life just because she unknowingly used Jack’s undercover code name as a dedication in her book? But then again, the story has me sighing all over the rough and tough Jack and wistfully yearning for a Jack of my own.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Huntress World, Book 1
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Baron Charles DeMortimer (Spade)
Heroine: Denise MacGregor
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 9, 2010
Started On: July 10, 2010
Finished On: July 11, 2010

Fans of the Night Huntress series; all the books of which I have been rapidly going through for the past five days by being holed up in my room, seems to have mixed feelings about the books of the Night Huntress World Series. But you cannot read through the Night Huntress series without being intrigued by all the other characters such as Ian, Charles (Spade), Vlad (Dracula) & Mencheres. Hence I was glad when I realized that Spade’s story had already been published which pairs off Cat’s best friend Denise with Bones’ best friend Charles (Spade).

Spade is a centuries-old vampire who’d been a South Wales prisoner in the 1700’s along with Bones. The overseer used to call the former Baron Charles De Mortimer by his assigned tool, a spade. He’d kept the name so he wouldn’t forget his previous helplessness. Charles/Spade is as chivalrous as they come and you cannot help but be charmed by his character.

Denise first meets Cat when Cat worked for the federal government to train soldiers who would have the ability to deal swiftly with the rogue undead. During the 2nd book in the Night Huntress series (One Foot In the Grave), Denise gets married to her boyfriend Randy who gets killed in the 3rd book, At Grave’s End. Denise has never forgotten what spending new year’s eve at her best friend’s place with the undead had cost her and she has kept her distance from her best friend through all this time. Now a year later, Denise gets hunted down by a demon shape shifter named Raum who marks her with his essence forcing Denise to search out for Nathaniel, a relative of hers who used Raum’s powers and then sent Raum back to the depths of Hell for which Raum is hell-bent on seeking revenge.

Knowing that the only beings who could help her out would be Bones and Cat from whom Denise has been out of touch with for the past year, Denise tries to contact them to no avail and finally ends up calling Spade who agrees to come out and see whether what has got Denise so rattled is not a figment of her imagination. The strong stench of sulfur together with how Spade finds Denise unconscious in her home convinces him beyond any doubt that Denise would not be safe and that her life as well as that of her family’s depends on whether she finds Nathaniel as soon as possible, which is easier said than done.

Understanding that Nathaniel has been under the guardianship of a vampire narrows things down to the point of the search being one similar to that of searching for a needle in a haystack. But that doesn’t deter Spade’s decision to keep Denise safe and when he finds out that the mark Raum has left on Denise has altered her blood such that its like narcotics for the vampires, his resolve to keep her safe at any cost with his burgeoning desire to possess her as his makes this book a great source of romance and endless adventure.

Both Denise and Spade have their own issues to work around with on top of the fact that Denise is now a shape shifter who yet has no ability to control what she has become. And together with the team from the Night Huntress series this is a novel all die hard Jeaniene Frost fans must read!

My favorite scene from the book is when Denise and Spade have their first fight since they got together & Spade storms out, and when Denise hears that he has come back, wanting to talk with him Denise goes downstairs where the vampires feed from willing humans and mistakenly thinks that Spade is the one who is in the room with the woman who doesn’t cease moaning and screaming in ecstasy, goes and bangs on the door only to find a very naked and pissed off Ian on the other side. Priceless!

I am really looking forward to the next novel Eternal Kiss of Darkness featuring the Mega Master vampire Mencheres which releases on the 27th of this month. Though I am more interested in reading Ian’s story which the author has not mentioned of for the near future, I am waiting avidly to read Mencheres’s story which I am sure would hold a lot of surprises in it as it did for Spade’s story. Never be it said that Jeanine Frost spins a predictable tale!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

amazingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Urban-Fantasy
Series: Night Huntress, Book 4
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Crispin Phillip Arthur Russel III (Bones)
Heroine: Catherine Kathleen Crawford (Cat)
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 28, 2009
Started On: July 9, 2010
Finished On: July 10, 2010

It’s been six years since Cat Crawford first laid eyes on her lover Crispin (Bones) and the years they have been apart and together have certainly never been boring for the reader. Having Bones by her side should have made life a bliss for Cat, but it hasn’t been one sweet ride into happily ever after for the two.

Struggling with being half human and half vampire has always been an issue for Cat. And her successful stint as the slayer of the rogue undead has certainly earned her her fair share of enemies in all the wrong places and strong allies who stand beside them as well. Life had certainly proved to be hectic enough for the two of them when Bones and Cat barely escaped with their lives intact and a time-out from everything else seems like heaven to Cat, that is until she starts having strange dreams from which she has a hard time waking up from.

Mancheres, Bone’s grandsire knows straightaway that something is wrong and when Bones finds out that Gregory, one of the super master vampires has set his eyes on Cat and wants her for himself, and is declaring Cat as his wife to the rest of the undead population has Bone’s livid with anger. And when Mencheres confesses that Gregory kidnapped Cat when she was 16 years old and took her as his wife before Mencheres was able to imprison Gregory and erase one month off from Cat’s memory has Cat torn apart in two as well.

Life becomes a constant battle between Bones and Cat as Bones tries to protect Cat and with Cat trying to help out in anyway she can by going against Bone’s wishes creates a rift between the two, until it all comes to head when Cat allows Gregory to steal her away from Bones in her dreams.

Cat has a few conditions of her own before being snatched away by Gregory and one was to find out what actually happened during the one month that she spent in Gregory’s company. However the trip down the memory lane though it shows Gregory as a manipulative bastard, some residue of emotion that Cat has for Gregory prevents her from killing him.

Her return to Bones is not the welcome that she at all envisioned. Though Cat knew that Bones wouldn’t welcome her with open arms, the cold controlled man that greets her and seethes with anger that he cannot control makes slivers of fear run up and down her spine. Bones is more than devastated when his wife shields all her emotions from him and runs off to Gregory rather than trust Bones to be able to keep her safe and be able to take care of both of them. Bones finally walks out on Cat and it is a devastated Cat that hears the news that Bones has been shagging up with women in New Orleans though she tries hard not to believe it.

Hurt and angered beyond belief, Cat goes into hiding with Vlad aka Dracula, one of their allies to lick away her wounded pride and heart in privacy and also to keep herself in an undisclosed location from Gregory. However, when Cat hears that Bones is in danger of getting killed by Gregory, Cat pulls all stops to prevent that, but doesn’t have the strength to face him when he comes back.

Though Cat knows that finishing off Gregory is the only way that Bones or herself would have any semblance of peace, Cat knows that she is far too weak with her human traits to be able to tackle with a vampire who is far stronger than even Bones. Thus it is with this in mind  that Cat decides to embrace her life as a full vampire, and even in this form Cat is unlike any other who embraces the life of a vampire.

The road to resolving their differences and getting back together is a tough one for Bones and Cat and with their enemy Gregory pulling all the dirty tricks up his sleeve to get Cat to be by his side doesn’t leave Cat and Bones with much room to rejoice in their getting back together, but its rather back to the battlefield with no holds barred for these two.

The fourth installment in the series is as good as the previous ones and I have got to admit that there is a certain allure in reading a well written series to just reading one story about a couple who holds your attention to the point of being riveted by them.

The witty dialogue, the smoking hot tension between Cat and Bones and the non-stop hair raising adventure makes the Night Huntress series a smash hit, and I can’t wait for the fifth book to come out next February.

Though I have heard that the Night Huntress World books are not as good as the Night Huntress series, I aim to take a look at them myself, the second book of which is to come out later this month.

Until my review of the First Drop of Crimson, the story that features Bone’s best buddy Spade and Cat’s best friend Denise comes up, happy reading my fellow bookworms! ;)

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: At Grave’s End by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Huntress, Book 3
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Crispin Phillip Arthur Russel III (Bones)
Heroine: Catherine Kathleen Crawford (Cat)
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: October 6, 2009
Started On: July 9, 2010
Finished On: July 9, 2010

Cat  still leads her unit and actively works in killing the rogue undead with her lover Bones by her side. Though Cat uses countless disguises, Cat has become something of a legend because she is the only one of her kind and she is a lethal force to be reckoned with, with her collection of silver knives strapped to her side.

When Cat’s vampire father Max literally finishes Cat’s life off until at the last minute Bones is able to save her finally makes Cat understand the real threats on her life and that she would not be able to operate as she has been doing before. And to add to the complications, a powerful female from Bone’s past is out for his head and Bones has a a real close call with death that kept me at the very edge of my seat.

The relationship between Cat and Bones sort of takes to the backstage in this novel as there are more important things happening, like saving their vampire clan from utter destruction. Bones joins forces with his grandsire Mencheres who is the only hope they have left in defeating an enemy that could be the end of Bones and Cat as we know them.

Filled with hair raising action, love gone wrong and new vampires in the making, this is a pretty fast page-turner as well though I would have loved it a bit more if the sizzling tension between Cat and Bones had been kept at a simmer. And you have got to love the rich cast of characters such as Ian, Spade, Tate etc. who contributes towards the witty banter that never fails to invoke laughter throughout the book.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Huntress, Book 2
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Crispin Phillip Arthur Russel III (Bones)
Heroine: Catherine Kathleen Crawford (Cat)
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 13, 2009
Started On: July 7, 2010
Finished On: July 9, 2010

I didn’t waste any time before starting on the second book of the series and boy am I glad! This series just gets better with this book where Cat and Bones meet again after a four year period during which Cat has been devoting her time and effort into becoming Special Agent Cat Crawfield who trains soldiers into becoming mean killing machines for the rogue undead.

The four years that Cat has spent apart from Bones has not been easy. Her mother ever still vengeful of the vampire species continues to hold an everlasting grudge against them whilst rooting for Cat for the undeniably good job that she does as an effective killing machine of the undead who have gone astray.

Though it pains Cat’s heart in ways she couldn’t explain because she misses Bones so much, she has no inkling of what Bones is going through until she is sent to kill Ian, the vampire who turned Bones and the small thrill of happiness that bursts through her when she hears that Bones has been as miserable as she has been for the past 4 years cannot be denied. For reasons that Cat only understands, she lets Ian escape and that’s how Bone’s endless search for Cat becomes fruitful.

The scene where Cat lays eyes on Bones after the four year hiatus is something to be savored. The raw jealousy and pain that swipes through Cat when she sees Bones kiss another woman at the wedding reception of her friend Denise undeniably lets Bones know that Cat has been missing him as much as he has been missing his kitten.

What has got Bones more worried than anything is the fact that Cat has become such an efficient killing machine of the rogue undead that she has become a target with a handsome bounty on her head. And Bones refuses to budge  once he has found Cat and accepts her terms when she says that the only way she can continue a relationship with Bones is if its a celibate one.

As Jeanine Frost promises on her website, the road to happiness for these two never comes easily. Before the second book is through, Bones effectively deals with Cat’s mother (whom I would like to bitch slap once or twice as well), comes to know the truth about her boss and team members and gets close enough to wreak vengeance on her vampire father before she finds the strength to choose a life with Bones by her side rather than an empty one without him.

The sex between Bones and Cat is sizzling hot in this book, much better I would say than the first book and the adventure that these two with a rich cast of characters go through is absolutely non-stop. I just for the world of me cannot put these books down once I start them.

I seriously, seriously want a Bones of my own! Could I have one pretty please?! I think I & the rest of the female population who have read this series love Bones because he is a true alpha without being a bastard about it. He can sizzle the socks right off of us with his sizzling sensuality & he could be real arrogant when the calling comes. But the way that he lets Cat be the woman she is, and loves her for all she is and just gives her everything in his power is his special quality  that drives us nuts over him!

My favorite line from the book would have to be when Bones molds Cat’s body to his to dance (this is almost right after they see each other for the first time after 4 long years), and the haze of desire that crops up between the two which Cat tries to deny but cannot has Bones saying, “Oh, Kitten…” His voice deepened. “Now you’re just daring me, aren’t you?”.. Sigh!!

I guess I could just go on and on about my favorite parts in the book and this blog post would be a never ending one if I continue.

So, till next time! And here’s hoping that the 3rd book is as good as this one!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Huntress, Book 1
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Crispin Phillip Arthur Russel III (Bones)
Heroine: Catherine Kathleen Crawford (Cat)
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 1, 2007
Started On: July 6, 2010
Finished On: July 7 2010

I am not much of a fan of reading books of a series, mostly because the happily ever after that I am looking for doesn’t come about until the very last book has been published. Nevertheless apart from Twilight which I attempted reading a couple of days back and stopped, this is the first series that I am ever attempting to read and am determined to complete reading.

The night huntress series is an urban fantasy romance featuring half-vampire Cat Crawfield  whose the heroine featured together with Bones, a two hundred year old vampire whose a bounty hunter of his kind. Cat never knew that she was half-vampire or the fact that her mother bore her after getting raped by a vampire until she turns sixteen. Though Cat has always known she is different from the rest of her peers, its only when her mother explains about the “evil” that resides within her that Cat comes to realize what she truly is.

Her mother’s hatred for the vampire species has Cat out hunting for those who prey on humans for feeding and killing them without any compunction because Cat feels that she owes her mother for what she went through. It is during one of these hunting sessions that Cat comes across Bones. The scene where Cat first meets Bones is one that would always be etched on my mind because of the hilarity of the moment.

Before Cat knows it, she is captured and being interrogated by the fearsome vampire who moves as fast as lightning. A deal is struck between the two though Cat doesn’t trust the magnificent vampire who stands in front of her and raises her hackles so effortlessly. Bones promises that he would help Cat find his father in return for her services in hunting down and killing rogue vampires.

Bones trains Cat to be more efficient and to make the best use of her skills and assets which makes her a deadly opponent. However the hunt for a deadly vampire who has powerful friends in high places within the government becomes a deadly race against time when Cat’s family is threatened.

The sexual tension between Bones and Cat is sizzling hot and I found myself craving for a Bones for myself. Although this story is told in the heroine’s perspective in the first person, it doesn’t hinder any part of the novel,  in fact it just made things more interesting if I may say so.

But the ending is not a happy one with Cat and Bones going their separate ways, and I am thankful for the fact I won’t have to wait eons for the next book in the series to come out. Four books of the series have been published with the fifth one to come out on the 22nd of February next year with a total of seven books in the series as denoted on the author’s website.

I just have got to say, I am loving Bones and I don’t think I will ever get enough of him. I hope that the other books in the series continue with the same sizzling heat and adventure that would keep the pages turning.

My favorite line from the book would have to be when Bones says to Cat “If you run from me, I’ll chase you, And I’ll find you”. Sigh!! And you just gotta love his British accent, the way he calls Cat “Kitten” and the way he calls Cat “luv”. Drools!!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Touch of Fire by Linda Howard

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Western Ladies, Book 3
Publisher: Pocket Books
Hero: Rafe McCay
Heroine: Doctor Annie Parker
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 1992
Started On: July 5, 2010
Finished On: July 6, 2010

I am almost done with my re-read phase of novels by Linda Howard. Her novels are so interesting that I just can’t seem to be able to set aside the book once I start reading. This novel is no exception to that and I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the tale of how Rafe McCay and Dr. Annie Parker found ultimate happiness with one another.

Rafe has been on the run for his life for the past four years. Framed for a murder which he didn’t commit, Rafe is a man who has an army of bounty hunters on his trail with a handsome bounty of 10,000 dollars on his head. Though at first Rafe had tried to clear up his name, the murders of the two men who tried to help him has long convinced Rafe that his life would always be spent on the run.

One such bounty hunter, Trahera gets too close for comfort and Rafe is shot hindering his plans though he manages to slow Trahera down by shooting him in the leg. Ten days after Rafe gets shot, delirious with high fever and an infected wound, Rafe comes across the boom town Silver Mesa where blessedly he finds the home of Dr. T. A. Parker.

Annie whose father was a doctor is a woman who is determined that she would practice medicine even if it meant she had to live in towns like the one she was currently residing in. Born during a time when females were merely tolerated and much less when she dares to encroach on territories determined to be for the men, Annie is thrown for a loop when she finds Rafe residing in her home with the smell of infection wafting off of him.

From the moment Annie touches Rafe, though she tries to keep her thoughts professional and her touch brisk, Annie can’t help the jolt of sensation that slithers through her being by the merest touch. Rafe can’t believe it when the lady standing before him proclaims to be the doctor he was looking for and when though her touch soothes him and stirs a fire of longing in him at the same time, Rafe just attributes it towards the fever which is making him delirious.

When Annie proclaims that Rafe is not fit to do anything but rest for at least 3 days, Rafe kidnaps Annie at gun point and makes her leave with him and travels high up into the mountains where he would be able to recuperate without the fear of being caught. Though he knows Annie is frightened out of her wits to be forced to travel in the cold, Rafe admires the strength that keeps Annie from whining and complaining about her fate.

Thrust into the company of the man with the cold silver eyes who makes Annie burns for things she has no clue of, it is a battle that Annie loses when Rafe sets out to seduce the delectable doctor in his arms. Annie knows that she would never again love another man as she has come to love Rafe and surrenders her body and soul to the man who makes her senses sing from pleasure.

But danger is constantly lurking in the shadows and when finally Trahera stumbles upon their hideout by chance, Rafe knows its time to move on and return Annie to where he kidnapped her from. But Annie knows that she would never be able to return to the life as she knew it and Rafe knowing that her safety had also been compromised now decides to take Annie along with him.

Annie and Rafe’s journey through the unforgiving lands is one filled with taut sensuality and danger at every turn. The mystery of how Rafe is on the run for his life is a riveting one and with a hero and heroine you root for right from the start, this is an unbeatable book of romance and adventure.

I always love a good epilogue in any book I read and my favorite part of the book would have to be the epilogue which describes the happily ever after that Rafe and Annie finds with each other.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: His Secondhand Wife by Cheryl St. John

Format: E-book
Read with: Mobipocket Reader & Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Copper Creek Brides, Book 2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Noah Cutter
Heroine: Katherine Cutter
Sensuality: 2
Date of Publication: July 1, 2005
Started On: July 5, 2010
Finished On: July 5, 2010

I don’t ever remember trying out a book by this author previously. I gave this book a ago because this title kept cropping up on various threads in the Amazon discussion forums. Though this novel didn’t meet all my high expectations, it is a sweet and uncomplicated read that I enjoyed after the roller coaster ride of reading After the Night.

Noah Cutter is a man who has severe scars on the insides and the outside. Ever since an accident during his childhood scarred him for the rest of his life, Noah is a man who has resigned himself to living a solitary life till the end of his days.

Salvation comes when his step brother Levi who has always been the outgoing and cheerful one in the family ends up getting killed because of his hooligan lifestyle. It is then Noah comes to know that Levi had taken a bride five months back and that it is up to him to deliver his sister-in-law the news of her husband’s demise.

Katherine is a woman who had always led a hard life. With her father abandoning her mother whilst she was quite young, Katherine had always  been on the receiving end of her mother’s bitterness. Katherine had not known a life where she didn’t have to work all day long just to put a roof above her head and a warm meal on the table. When Noah turns up on her doorstep with the news of Levi’s death, it is as if all her hopes of a better life die along with him. But Noah seeing that she is pregnant with Levi’s babe and witnessing firsthand just how vicious Katherine’s mother was to her, Noah takes her along with him to his ranch so that Katherine and the babe would have a better life.

To Katherine, the world that awaits her is one filled with wonderment. The luxurious life that she finds in Noah’s home makes her realize that everything Levi had done and said were all lies. At Noah’s place, Katherine meets her mother-in-law Estelle to whom she takes an instant disliking to because of the abhorrent way that she treats her stepson.

Once Katherine enters into his life, Noah who has always craved solitude finds himself in need of hearing the constant chatter that Katherine keeps up whenever they meet. Noah is surprised by the fact that Katherine doesn’t find his scars in the least bit revolting and bit by bit starts to feel comfortable around her. Estelle, wanting to keep her grandchild in the family counsels both Katherine and Noah to get married to each other & thus Noah proposes marriage to Katherine.

Noah believes that he would never be able to give Katherine what she truly desires though he knows Katherine is a woman with simple needs. Katherine craves to be needed in the new life she embarks upon with Noah and it is a slow journey for these two towards a happily ever after.

This is a beauty and the beast themed book with an evil stepmother added to the mix who is eloquently put in her place by the beauty.

My favorite part of the book was just how tenderly Noah cared for his wife, unknowingly giving her his love, all the while thinking that he is not worthy enough for his beautiful wife.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: After the Night by Linda Howard

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Gray Rouillard
Heroine: Faith Devlin
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: December 1995
Started On: July 3, 2010
Finished On: July 5, 2010

Linda Howard takes us on one wicked sensual ride in this novel where the wealthy Gray Rouillard clashes with the poor town outcast Faith Devlin. Everyone in the small town of Prescott, Louisiana knew that Faith’s mother Renee the town whore, a sensational beauty who with a glance can leave men wanting is Guy Rouillard’s mistress. From a very young age, Faith had been addled with taking care of her mishap family with a drunken lout of a father and two elder brothers who were well on their way on continuing their father’s legacy and an elder sister who was quickly following in the wake of their mother. And then there was the youngest in the family, a child addled with Down’s syndrome who needed continuous care and attention.

The Devlins live on the outskirts of Rouillard’s property and regardless of the fact that they never paid their rent the Devlins were tolerated because of the relationship between Guy and Renee. Faith has always worshiped the town’s golden boy from afar. Faith’s childhood was a mix of spending endless hours just watching Guy and his friends while away their time and taking care of the endless chores that await her at home. Faith has never had illusions that a Devlin would ever be deemed good enough for a Rouillard but she yearns to shout out to the world that she is different from the rest of her family.

And one fateful night, life as the Devlins and Rouillards know it come to an end when Renee and Guy run away together leaving their families to pick up the pieces. Gray cannot fathom the reason why Guy had to abandon everything and run away with the town whore and overnight Gray grows up and is left to bear the emotional and financial upheaval that his father has left in his wake. Gray is furious with the trashy Devlins and orders them to evacuate the Rouillard’s property, an order  to which Faith’s family doesn’t pay a heed. However the full extent of the impact of Guy’s abandonment together with the fact that the Devlins were just continuing life as they know it drives Gray into a mass of seething rage which sees him ridding the town of the Devlins once and for all.

Faith would never forget the night that her mama never came home and how she and the rest of her family were driven out of their only home like a bunch of outlaws in the middle of the night. And twelve years later, Faith returns to Prescott, Louisiana to find the truth about what actually took place the night Renee and Guy left in the middle of the night forever changing the lives of both families. Faith’s return to town stirs up the gossip and the anger within the Rouillard’s family and Gray feels sucker punched by the intense need to get horizontal with Faith as soon as he lays eyes on her.

Faith knows that she would never be able to deny Gray but she would rather die than be labeled as the mistress of Gray Rouillard. Gray is torn between his family and the white hot desire that runs through his veins whenever he and Faith come across one another and of course it doesn’t help one bit when he realizes that Faith turns putty in his arms. The coming together of Faith and Gray is so explosive that you would feel the scorch of the heat generated as you read through. And whilst the relationship between Gray and Faith continues to unfold till its inevitable conclusion, someone in Prescott doesn’t like the questions that Faith keeps on asking in order to piece together what actually happened that fateful night.

Packed with explosive sexual tension between two strong characters that reminded me of Aqua Man with his long hair, wide shoulders and the oh so sexy diamond stud in his ear and Faith with her cat like green eyes and red hair with the effortless sensuality that drives Gray out of his mind that bore a strong resemblance with Aqua Man’s wife in the Justice League cartoon series, this book is one that each contemporary romance lover must read!

My favorite scene in the book would have to be the one where Gray corners Faith in the ladies room in the courthouse, and man do the pages sizzle then! I would love one wicked Gray Rouillard served on a plate please!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Bedroom Business by Sandra Marton

Format: E-book
Read with: Microsoft Word
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #2159
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jake McBride
Heroine: Emily Taylor
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1, 2001
Started On: July 4, 2010
Finished On: July 4, 2010

I have been hankering to re-read this novel lately because I kept remembering just how I much I enjoyed the sparring verbal matches that take place between Jake and Emily. Jack is a self-made millionaire who is enjoying life as he always wanted to. The one thing that hampers his lifestyle are the women who inhabit his bed fully knowing that he is not the forever kind of guy and still going ahead and demanding something more from him. Thank God he could always rely on his straight-laced assistant Emily who has smoothed over his life many a time since she started working for him.

Growing up with two beautiful sisters and feeling like the odd one out because she had always been shy and more interested in books and studying than the opposite sex, Emily thinks of herself as the average brown mousy type of woman. No wonder she has been feeling restless and lonely of late because it had been ages since she had tried going out on a date. But the one thing Emily knows with gut wrenching certainty is the disdain she feels for men like her boss Jake who thinks they are the next best thing since sliced bread for women.

However from the minute one of Jake’s acquaintances turn up to see him and declare that he found his secretary who always dressed in brown tweed suites alluring and sexy, Jake can’t help the protective and possessive instincts that rise up deep within him. For Emily hearing Jake confirm what she sees herself as is the last straw for her and she decides to accept the impromptu offer to have dinner with Jake’s friend.

Jake doesn’t understand how he has turned into this seething mass of green-eyed jealousy overnight and fights the caveman instincts that arise in him whenever other men except him notice Emily. And it doesn’t help matters when Emily practically melts whenever Jake takes her in his arms which in turn creates havoc with Jake’s emotions. The continuous arguments that crop up between the two as they fight not to succumb to the alluring attraction between them is one to be savored. I found myself laughing out loud several times and whilst Jake is the type of hero who can melt you on the insides, Emily is a heroine you can relate to and root for.

What starts out as lessons in seduction for Emily certainly backfires on Jake and it is one enjoyable ride that Ms. Marton takes us on till Jake and Emily ultimately find happiness with one another. I guarantee there is never a dull moment within the pages of this book. Highly recommended for those who love Harlequin romances.

My favorite scene of the book would have to be when Jake traps Emily inside the elevator and what takes place next is just steamy hot!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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