Month / July 2010

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Diamond Bay by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookdiamondbay
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Kell Sabin, Book 2
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Hero: Kell Sabin
Heroine: Rachel Jones
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1987
Started On: July 3, 2010
Finished On: July 3, 2010

This is the second book in the Rescues series by Linda Howard. We get introduced to Kell Sabin in the first book as this frighteningly controlled agent in the highest ranks of intelligence gathering. Continuously putting himself on the line for his country is the only way of life that Kell knows and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

While Kell is on vacation aboard his cruiser Wanda, Kell gets attacked and nearly loses his life with two bullets driven into him, one into his shoulder and the other into his thigh. Being the highly trained and disciplined agent he is saves him when he summons all the reserves of strength he has to swim to shore and find help.

Rachel Jones is a widower living on a quiet private property near the beach with her less than friendly guard dog Joe and her geese to keep her company. Well educated and an investigative reporter before she had quit her old life, Rachel lets the peace that surrounds her present way of life heal her.

Rachel comes across a wounded and unconscious Kell on her beach and her old instincts kick in warning her not to report the man who was in dire need of medical attention to the local authorities. Her friend Honey, a veterinarian does all she can for Kell and it is Rachel who painstakingly take care of the enigmatic man who lies on her bed day in and day out. Though Rachel knows that the furthest thing she should be feeling for the man she rescued is white hot lust, she can’t deny her feelings anymore than she can deny herself the oxygen she needed to live.

Though Kell knows he owes his life to Rachel, habits ingrained in him for far too long prevents him from confiding in Rachel apart from telling her that he had been double crossed by his own agents and superiors. And danger comes calling when agents start coming around to Rachel’s place long before Kell regains consciousness in the hopes of confirming that Kell had indeed being killed from their efforts.

Grant and Jane from the book Midnight Rainbow comes to Kell’s rescue and although Kell professes that he loves Rachel, he doesn’t want to give them the chance to be together because of the dangers his way of life constantly puts  himself and his loved ones in.

I love novels where the hero and heroine getting together is not a forgone conclusion by the middle of the book and the ending is drawn out a bit to make the reader feel the pain both the hero and heroine undergoes during their separation from one another which makes their happily ever after more meaningful. Its rare to come across stories such as this one nowadays and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this marvellous story the second time round starring two characters you would root for right from the very beginning.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

amazingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookmidnightrainbow
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Kell Sabin, Book 1
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Hero: Grant Sullivan
Heroine: Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1986
Started On: July 2, 2010
Finished On: July 3, 2010

Like the author Catherine Coulter says on the book cover “You can’t just read one Linda Howard”, I find myself returning to her books time & time again and they never fail to entertain me. Though I still haven’t given her latest works “Ice” and “Burn” a try, mainly because of the weak reviews both the books received, maybe I should rectify it asap and see whether I like them.

This book is one the earliest books by the author, and I should say one that I enjoyed immensely even reading the second time round. Linda Howard writes the best alpha heroes out there and Grant Sullivan is no exception to the rule. In his late thirties and burned out from a career of serving on covert missions for his country, Grant retires from his career, buys a farm in a deeply isolated area and tries to heal himself from what he has become.

But people seldom forget a man of his talents and caliber and one year on, Grant finds himself deep in the jungles of Costa Rica to rescue the pretty bum of socialite Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer. Grant can’t believe how a social butterfly like Jane could end up in the middle of a conspiracy of international proportions, and it is up to Grant to rescue her from the clutches of the bad guys who have imprisoned her in the middle of nowhere.

Jane is not what she portrays herself to be. Though she is a beauty, she is far from being helpless and has been planning her own escape ever since she has been imprisoned and acting as dumb as she could to lull her captors into a false sense of security. Grant finds his rescue attempts thwarted not by her captors but by the enchanting captive herself. A mission Grant thought would be over before the next sunrise takes an unexpected turn and Grant finds himself trekking through the rough terrain to bring Jane to safety and on the way finds himself interested to know about Jane who is a mass of contradictions.

Before long, the attraction that Grant tries to hide from Jane becomes an impossibility when the feeling is mutual and though Jane knows that the strong warrior who stands beside her has captured her heart and spoiled her for any other man, nothing of permanence could come out of their relationship.

I always love an adventure where the hero and heroine are one with the nature and danger lurks with every step they take heightening the tension in the novel and the ultimate culmination of events seem all that much better. This book has got everything a gal could ask for in a romance. And in the end Jane’s plans to make Grant realize that he too cannot live without her seemed to make a satisfying ending for this great story.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sweet Lullaby by Lorraine Heath

Format: E-booksweetlullaby
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Homespun, #21
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Jake Burnett
Heroine: Rebecca Anderson
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publications: March 1994
Started On: July 1, 2010
Finished On: July 1, 2010

When I first started off this book last night I was a bit apprehensive because at first the story didn’t seem to be so interesting. Maybe it was because I was too sleepy and tired to give any real thought to the story unfolding but somehow the thought of reading through a story where right from the beginning the hero is in love with the heroine didn’t seem to be that exciting. But boy am I glad I was wrong. This book has got to feature one of the most endearing heroes I have ever come across.

Jake Burnett is a man who has been wronged so much in his life. A mother who sold her body to keep a roof above their heads and a father who never acknowledged his bastard child until his mother passed away when Jake was about 10 years old or so, Jake never knew any happiness or joy in his life even when he was brought home to live with his father. Bearing the brunt of his father’s many beatings and punishments and being made to live in the barn seeking the warmth of the animals to keep him from freezing to death at night with an his elder brother Ethan who continuously found ways to make him more miserable, there didn’t seem to be any end to Jake’s suffering until his father died leaving him with all his property.

At first wanting nothing to do with the property, Jake travels around and works for Rebecca’s father at his ranch. From the very first moment that Jake encounters Rebecca, he falls deeply in love with her. Rebecca is a beauty whilst nobody would call Jake a handsome man. Jake wears the marks of all the hardships that he went through to become the man he is on his body and face.But Jake doesn’t fall in love with Rebecca because she is just a pretty face but because for the first time  in his life, a woman makes him feel welcome and not soon afterwards a deep and lasting friendship is formed between the two.

Jake never dreams of the possibility that one day he may have everything his heart desires. But when Rebecca gets pregnant after sharing a night of passion with the love of her life Brett Meier who has left without knowing that he has fathered a child, Rebecca never envisions that her father who had loved her and spoiled her till now would reject the very idea of the child growing within her.

John Anderson’s, Rebecca’s father’s solution is to get her married to Jake and thus avoid the scandal that would follow if his daughter were to give birth out of wedlock. Jake proposes marriage to Rebecca on his own terms and Rebecca knowing that there wouldn’t be any other man around whom she would feel comfortable with as Jake accepts his proposal and decides to leave with Jake to Texas to make a life of their own which drives John into a fit of anger and disown her the very next day after they get married.

Marriage to Rebecca is a bittersweet experience for Jake who wants nothing more in life than to keep a smile on Rebecca’s face forever. The partnership that forges between the couple and the friendship that grows between them is heartwarming and at times filled my eyes with unshed tears.

As the story slowly unfolds, Rebecca begins to learn of the true feelings her husband holds for her but never being able to return the feelings because she still holds the handsome Brett close to her heart. With Ethan hellbent on vengeance and getting back the land he believes is rightfully his, life on the ranch that Jake and Rebecca build from the grounds up is not one without hardships.

Through the birth of their child Jacob and all the patience and love that Jake bestows on Rebecca, intimacy of another kind starts to unfold between the two, and Jake finally starts to feel happy in his life when Brett comes along and proclaims that he wants Rebecca back in his life. Everything Jake has worked for seems to crash and burn right in front of his eyes when he sees the desolation in his wife’s eyes and the distance that seems to crop up between the two.

It literally broke my heart into pieces to read about how Jake lets Rebecca and their son Jacob that he had come to love and adore leave so that Rebecca would find true happiness with the man she loves. I felt like howling when the pages seeped with the pain and anguish in Jake’s heart at his immense sacrifice.

However, once Rebecca leaves to start a life with Brett, she starts to realize that even though she doesn’t know it, she has come to love her brown eyed husband who stirs a slow simmering fire deep within her every time they come together. I was prepared to hate Rebecca for the pain she causes Jake when she readily leaves with Brett but the pain and loneliness that she goes through during the separation and the fact that she refuses to give her body to Brett until her divorce from Jake is final redeemed her in front of my eyes.

This book brings a whole new meaning to the saying, if you love something let it go and if it comes back its yours. I don’t think I would be able to put into words just how wonderful a book this has been and if you really want a romance that can play with your emotions and make you cry and laugh this is a must read.

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

outstandingread