Category / Amazing Read

Rating of 4.5 Stars

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Shameless by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookShameless.jpeg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The House of Rohan, #4
Publisher: MIRA
Hero: Benedick Francis Alistair Rohan
Heroine: Melisande Carstairs
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 21, 2011
Started On: April 6, 2014
Finished On: April 10, 2014

I believe I am in quite the predicament. Anne Stuart has ruined me. Yes, you heard me right. She has ruined me for practically every other author out there. Two or three books from random authors and that feeling of restlessness stirs inside of me, that craving to read something from an author I firmly believe would never fail me. And every single time I start a new book from her, there is this feeling of anticipation that courses through me, that feeling of rightness and contentment in knowing that Anne Stuart would never do me wrong. And with every book that I finish reading, depression hits, because I know that I would end up devouring most of her published books pretty soon and then I start wondering, where on Earth am I going to get my fix from when that day comes?

Shameless is the 4th and last published book in the delectable The House of Rohan series by Anne Stuart. Depravity is the name of the game for the Rohans, but then the only truly “depraved” character I encountered from this series turns out to be the one hero that wasn’t a Rohan; Lucien from the 3rd book Breathless. Even though Shameless could be read as a standalone, I would advice you to read at least Breathless first. Because certain aspects of the story would only make sense and also give you that deep feeling of happiness if you’ve read Lucien’s story first.

Shameless tells the tale of the sixth Viscount Rohan who has gone through one tragedy after the other that leads him to believe that he would be better off marrying someone who would just bear him children and look for his fix for carnal pleasure elsewhere. That is the intention with which Benedick returns to London and in turn gets gobsmacked by his encounter with the reformist who makes his head spin; Melisande Castairs widow of Sir Thomas Castairs.

Melisande’s charitable activities leaves her on the fringes of society, but Melisande is a determined woman if ever there was one, taking in the “soiled doves” and teaching them the way to a better life. At first Benedick is annoyed by the woman who single-handedly thwarts his attempt to appease the hunger that has not been slated in a long while. But then his fascination with Melisande is one Benedick is willing to ignore at all cost, until she turns up on his doorstep, seeking his help to dig deeper into the activities taking place in the “Heavenly Host”, a secret society of sorts that gets together to seek and slake all types of sexual needs. Though Benedick might not want to believe what Melisande has to say, his own brother’s elusiveness raises red flags all over the place and Benedick has little choice left but to investigate with the annoying Melisande at his heels, and perhaps seduce the woman along the way and walk away once his hunger for all things that is Melisande has been appeased.

While some die-hard fans of Anne Stuart had found Benedick to be too “mild” compared to the likes of gamma heroes that Anne Stuart creates in most of her books, I found Benedick to be just the right sort of rake for Melisande. Lucien turned out to be the darkest of heroes in this series, so perhaps Anne Stuart’s mind was on toning things down a bit from all the intensity that had gone down in the previous book.

As always, Anne Stuart kept the story alive and kicking in so many ways. There are the characters, each and everyone of whom contributes in some way to make the story the well rounded one it turned out to be. And then there is the trademark caustic wit of Anne Stuart that shines through in each and every dialog that happens in the story. I loved the conversations that took place between Melisande and Benedick, not to mention the constant parrying back and forth between Benedick and Lucien; Benedick always having the urge to throttle the very life out of Lucien.

I just flat-out adored Melisande. She’s like this deep bundle of energy and spirit, determined to right the world, one wrong at a time. The fact that she doesn’t seem to mind what the society may think of her and goes on brazenly working to achieve the things she believes in earned her major points! I rooted for her every step of the way and couldn’t get enough of the way that she cannot help herself over her want for a man who is so deliciously wrong for her in numerous ways. Her take charge attitude is one that I loved to bits, the way she just slams her way through into Benedick’s seemingly well ordered life and turns it completely upside down a reason that kept a smile on my face in a way that signaled my unabashed enjoyment for the story.

Ah, and then there is Benedick. Just like 99.99% of the heroes that Anne Stuart creates, Benedick won my heart through and through – it was just as simple as that. I loved the conflict his waspish tongue brought to the story, the angst and the turmoil that kept the story alive, not to mention that deep sexual pulse which brings that electrical vibe to the story that makes it hard to put down. This is where once again, I have to wish and ask out aloud; why cannot more authors embrace writing stories and heroes like Anne Stuart does? Too much to ask in a world where even romance books have to be politically right huh?

While there seemed to be a thread of a secondary romance in the story, namely between Brandon Rohan and Emma Cadbury, it seemed to just stop when things seemed to get interesting between them. And I can’t help but want to read Emma and Brandon’s story with a need that is almost crippling in its intensity! An internet search into the matter revealed that MIRA had not wanted any more stories into the Rohan series even though Anne Stuart had been of the mind to write Emma and Brandon’s story next. Oh the soul crushing disappointment of it all!

If all this constant rambling has given you anything after reading this review, it should be the fact that this story is one that I loved to bits and pieces. The fact that Miranda and Lucien seems to be making so many babies and seeing a “softer” side of Lucien; well, softer in the context of Lucien, was one additional bit about Shameless that had me smiling from deep within my heart. And if you don’t understand where I am going with this review, I will just lay it out for you; I recommend this as one of the most entertaining reads I’ve had the good fortune of reading this year. Don’t miss out on the last installment in this wonderful series!

Final Verdict: Anne Stuart’s mastery continues to amaze & Shameless just sets the fact in stone.

Favorite Quotes

He moved closer, brushing his face against her arm, breathing in her scent. Sun-warmed skin married with the roses and something indefinably female that stirred his senses. Danger, he reminded himself, his instincts well-honed. This was a very dangerous woman.
And then he fell asleep.

His smile was fleeting. “I’m an eminently reasonable man.” And before she realized what he was doing she was back in his arms and he was kissing her, openmouthed and hot and wet, no teasing approach, just raw, sexual demand that should have filled her with disgust and dismay.
Instead her stomach tightened, her heart raced, and the place between her legs grew hot and tingling.

She turned her face away from him, staring at the wall, trying to control her wayward body, envisioning it packed in ice, frozen. But the ice melted against him, and her body was soft and welcoming.
“What do you want?” he persisted, his breath hot against her ear, and his teeth closed lightly over the lobe, and she wanted to moan in pleasure. “What…do…you…want?”

She gave in. She had reached the end of her ability to fight him. “More,” she whispered.
And then all conscious thought vanished in a white haze as her body arched, rigid, as thousands upon thousands of tiny pinpricks shot through her, and she lost herself, the pleasure-pain exploding into a rich darkness she never wanted to leave. It was glorious. It was heaven.
It was disaster.

There was no escape, she didn’t want to escape, but she kept fighting, pushing it away.
“Stop it, Melisande,” he growled in her ear. “Take it. Claim it.”
“No,” she sobbed.
“Take it,” he said again, hard inside her, slamming into her so that the bed shook and her body trembled and she knew she would break apart, and she couldn’t stop, couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t stop crying, couldn’t stop…

There was no time, no need for preparation. She was wet, he was hard, and he simply released himself from the breeches, lifting her up and bracing her against the wall before he thrust into her with a grunt of satisfaction, feeling her tight around him.
He wanted to slow down, afraid he might hurt her, but she dug her fingers into his shoulders. “No,” she whispered in his ear. “Don’t stop. I need you. Hard. I need you to take me. Harder.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo | ARe | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Her Kind of Trouble by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-bookherkindoftrouble.png
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Seth Anderson
Heroine: Vivian Walker
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 2014
Started On: March 28, 2014
Finished On: April 5, 2014

Vivian Walker and Seth Anderson sets their eyes on each other the night of the rehearsal dinner of the wedding that had tied the knot between Vivian’s sister and Seth’s brother. Their attraction towards each other had been instantaneous, both understanding the other quite perfectly to come to the arrangement that their one single sexual encounter that night would remain just that – a one night stand that they would both enjoy and walk away from.

10 years down the road, Vivian is back home in Australia and runs into Seth, who has a baby on the way and doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break where life was concerned. Though Vivian knows that a relationship between her and Seth would be the last thing that can happen under the circumstances, neither of them can help when the force of the blazing hot attraction that had swept them away all those years back seems to be stronger than ever, the strength of which takes their breath away.

There is a striking balance between the heartbreaking variety of tragedy and the lighthearted factor in the story that worked really well for me. Seth has his work cut out for him when he has to face the sheer daunting prospect of parenthood all alone. The fact that his beautiful daughter would never know her fun loving and vivacious mother is a pain that chokes him with its intensity all throughout. And then there is that one spot of brightness through all that darkness, the unwavering strength and support from Vivian who steps up in a way that leaves Seth reeling with the sheer beauty of Vivian in the depths of her soul.

It is a catastrophic event that pushes Vivian and Seth together long enough for them to learn more about the other, which cements the connection that had been forged between them ten years back into something harder and tougher to brush aside. Every moment Vivian and Seth spend together sheds light on just how well they fit with each other, the understanding and respect that they have for the other. I loved how Seth and Vivian went out of their way to be there for each other when the going got tough, how they took care of one another and lent that crucial support during those tough moments that made their relationship essentially that much more beautiful. And one of the most impressing aspects to the story was the role reversal of the hero being the one saddled with single parenthood, trying to make things work and the heroine stepping in to save the day!

I’d definitely say that Sarah Mayberry has come back with a bang with Her Kind of Trouble, bringing along a massive dose of her variety of angst; and my goodness there is plenty of that to go around, and love and sensual connection of the kind that only she can bring into stories. For that reason alone and the fact that I loved the story from Seth and Vivian to everything in between is why I would recommend this to everyone who loves a good contemporary romance with good emotional depth to them.

Final Verdict: Should come with the warning “Tissues are required!”. A definite not to be missed by Sarah Mayberry!

Favorite Quotes

“These have to go,” he said, and she heard a rip as he tore her panties off.
A part of her wanted to laugh at how mad and desperate it all was—the cramped quarters, him tearing her clothes off, their harsh breathing. But then he found her with his thumb at the exact moment that he bit her nipple and she was too busy coming, her head dropping forward as she clutched at his shoulders, needing an anchor to keep her earthbound.

He moved over her, not saying a word, holding her gaze as he gripped himself and found her entrance. She lifted her hips to take him, and he slid in.
Yes.
He remembered this. How good she felt. How right. How on earth had he survived ten years without doing this again?

She tantalized them both with the potential, then plunged down onto him, biting her lip to stop herself from crying out.
It felt so good. So full. So hard and slick and right.
Seth arched off the bed, pulling a nipple into his mouth, the suction of his mouth so fierce, so forceful, it almost hurt.
Almost.

Purchase Links: Amazon | BookDepo | B&N | Kobo | HQ | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-bookprivatearrangements
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Bantam
Hero: Camden Saybrook
Heroine: Philippa Gilberte Rowland
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: March 25, 2008
Started On: November 29, 2013
Finished On: November 30, 2013

When I finished reading the latest novel by Sherry Thomas which happens to be The Luckiest Lady in London, the question that was utmost on my mind was whether Sherry Thomas would write the story of the Tremaines as I mentioned in my review. My vague hunch that it had already been written was confirmed when Sherry replied to me as such and that’s of course the moment I rushed to purchase a copy for myself and indulge in the heavenly romance that Sherry Thomas creates so deliciously that it is impossible to not lose yourself in the midst of it all.

To the society, Lord and Lady Teramine seems to have the perfect marriage. Perfect because they have led separate lives starting from the first day of their marriage ten years back. The status quo changes when Phillipa (Gigi) requests for a divorce which brings Camden back to London with his own proposal that is treacherous grounds to tread on for both of them.

Sherry Thomas does a remarkable job of telling the story with the past and present entwined, shedding light on how and why things had gone so wrong between two people whose attraction to each other had been immediate and a scorching one at that. The young Gigi had been a cynical woman for her age, someone hardened by the life choices that had been drilled to her from the beginning by her mother Victoria. The loneliness that she hides deep inside of her is one that no one had ever seemed to see or understand until Camden had walked into her life, a seemingly unattainable Camden because Camden is a man of his word who is loyal to the core.

The mistake that Gigi makes in her desire to have the man she falls in love with, at any cost proves to be the reason her marriage turns out to be such a trial for both of them. The feelings of respect, desire and love that had seemed to blossom between them dies a sudden death, especially on Camden’s end when he learns of the treachery on his wife’s part and he makes her pay for it throughout the years of separation that involves affairs on both ends. But as the story delves deeper into the lives that Camden and Gigi had led separately for so long makes one wonder, who was punishing whom exactly in the light of things that are revealed.

Private Arrangements is a story that made me cry. Like most books Sherry Thomas pens, this one too had the ability to reach deep into my heart and soul and wrench emotions from it that most books aren’t halfway capable of wringing from me. And that is one reason why I loved this book which might not be well received by most romance readers due to the elements of adultery included in the Tremaines’ story.  I believe that it takes immense talent on an author’s part to pull off characters of the sort who makes god honest mistakes like both Gigi and Camden makes in this story and come out winning the heart of readers like myself who understands and needs authors to push the expected boundaries of norm every now and then to give us a spellbinding tale of love and passion like this one. Kudos Ms. Thomas, for you continue to amaze me and I hope that never ever ceases to happen.

Recommended for those who are not turned off by aspects of cheating on both the hero and heroine’s part. Trust me when I say this; Sherry Thomas knows what she’s doing. Hop along for the ride. If you are like myself and wants stories that reaches deep into your soul, Sherry Thomas offers just that with every story she writes.

Final Verdict: Provokingly beautiful, the Tremaines reach into your very heart and makes you bleed for them. Definitely Recommended.

Favorite Quotes

He smiled at her. And it hit her like a mallet to the temple, the realization that she was in love with him. Stupidly, dreadfully in love with him.
Overnight, she’d become a fool.

He retorted by divesting her of her drawers and trapping her naked body—naked but for white satin evening gloves and white silk stockings—between his body and the edge of the desk.
His fingertips skimmed over her bare bottom and headed slowly yet inexorably for the junction of her thighs. She closed her eyes and bit her lip but refused to clamp her legs together despite her nervousness.
“Are you always this wet?” he whispered. “Or is it just for me?”

He sank his teeth into her shoulder. Nothing painful, just a strong bite to punctuate the hot, smooth glide of his body into hers. She could not silence a small moan.
Despite her desperate attempt to recite the alphabet backward—she reached only as far as V before she could no longer think—her body drowned in sensations. She was full, so full, and deliciously pummelled.

He drowned himself in the velvety feel of her, marveling at the way her skin slid over her clavicles with her every breath, kissing a trail along the top of her shoulder, reluctant to leave each square inch of her glorious skin, impatient to savor all of her.
She placed her hands against his upper arms, but she didn’t push. She only emitted a sweet, despairing sound as he kissed the base of her throat. The gloom in his heart lifted a bit, though he knew it was madness to think this was anything but madness.

He tormented her with long, slow strokes, teasing her nipples as he drove into her at a leisurely pace. He made her beg for each delicious thrust. He made her thrash and gyrate and wail and whimper. And only when she was wholly vanquished, desperate, convinced that she would exist forever in this state of trembling, feverish arousal, only then did he give in and pummel her to her incoherent, wild, joyous, and vocal satisfaction.

She turned onto her back and slid a knuckle across her lower lip. “Won’t you come to bed and make me pregnant?”
He was on that bed and inside her in a fraction of a second. She was all hellfire and heavenly suppleness, clutching at him, her legs wrapped tight about him, her unabashed gasps and moans driving him mad with desire.
He shook, shuddered, and convulsed, his vaunted control in pieces as he came endlessly, well on his way to making her pregnant.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins

Format: E-bookthenextbestthing
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Ethan Mirabelli
Heroine: Lucy Lang
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 27, 2013
Started On: August 26, 2013
Finished On: August 28, 2013

The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins, though I got it off of Netgalley as an ARC is not an altogether a new publication. This book was first published in 2010 and has been on my to-be-read pile for quite sometime now. And though I didn’t figure this fact out until I was about to begin reading this, it just made me wonder a little why Harlequin hadn’t listed this as a republication.

The Next Best Thing is a book that bears all the hallmarks of Kristan Higgins. There is humor of course, weird and laugh out loud variety of family antics to go around, a hero and heroine who for all intents and purpose spend most of the book apart and yet find their happily ever after towards the end and a dog or a cat to complement the picture. However, there is a slight difference when it comes to The Next Best Thing because the protagonists, i.e. Ethan and Lucy have been sleeping with each other even before the story begins.

The synopsis that goes with the story is a bit misleading to say the least, perhaps not to give the story away? Lucy is a widow, and  going on 5 plus years in her current status quo. The thought of moving on and finding someone else to share her life with stresses her to the point that the panic attacks that she has held at bay for sometime comes calling again, but the children that she wants to fill her life with urges her to seek a husband who would be an emotional risk-free investment on her part.

Having brought to an end her mostly weekend trysts with Ethan that has been going on for two years, Lucy tries to find that someone who meets all her criterion, all of them falling short of the mark for one reason or the other. Lucy doesn’t want the complication of even thinking of Ethan as a viable choice to share the rest of her life with, but time and yet again, it is Ethan that she misses like a proverbial ache in her heart, his companionship that she seeks when she has something worthy of sharing, and the combustive chemistry that they had shared that makes her want to rip her clothes off and get down and dirty with him every time she sees him.

Underneath the veneer of laugh-out-loud humor, The Next Best Thing is a story that waged an emotional warfare inside of me. I hated Lucy for what she continuously put Ethan through, all the while wondering how she could have been so clueless. But I guess given the circumstances and the pedestal upon which she had placed her dead husband, it was hard to see past that and see Ethan, the man who had always stood with her and beside her, unwavering in his support for her, no matter what. There was  this part of me that absolutely sympathized and empathized with what Lucy goes through. I have survived tragedy of the panic-inducing variety and I know what its like to battle with it every single day afterwards. And change, is definitely a trigger and that is exactly what Lucy is subjected to when she sets out to get out of the “rut” into which her life had fallen into after the death of her husband.

Ethan is a character to absolutely die for. Ethan and his emotions never making it to the forefront is one of the reasons why I tend to steer clear of books told in first person from just one character’s point of view. I would have dearly loved to see things from Ethan’s point of view, the heartache and desolateness that is part of him that was evident to see even when his point of view wasn’t part of the story. Simply put, I loved Ethan and everything to do with him, his unwavering courage in standing by and letting the woman he has loved ever since he set eyes on her find her way on her own terms telling in itself. A lesser man would have walked away to restore the pieces of his heart but Ethan sees it all through even if it must have broken him from inside out. The fact that he has always been considered “the next best thing”, even by his parents was heartbreaking to see. And Lucy not seeing it for so long just made my hands clench and unclench every single time such an incidence came up in the story.

Perhaps, I might not put Lucy into the category of heroines that I hated by the end of the story, but she certainly is someone who was difficult to fall in love with because of her blind devotion to the memory of a man who was less than perfect but made otherwise by those who had adored him to the point that the rest had just paled in comparison and faded into the background. I had a pebble the size of Mount Everest in my throat by the time I finished reading this in the wee hours of the morning. But every emotion wrangling bit towards the end was so worth it! So very worth it. And the epilogue tucked in at the end certainly went a long long way into soothing my ruffled feathers where Ethan is concerned.

Recommended for fans of Kristan Higgins, those who love romances with a large dose of humor and books that invoke a shitload of emotion from you!

Final Verdict: Worth every bit of emotion it wrenches out of you! Ethan is a must have on your bookshelf.

Favorite Quotes

His arms tighten around me, and the hangers rattle again as we knock against them, and now his lips are on my neck, the gentle scrape of his beard contrasting with the warm silkiness of his mouth. My knees soften in an almost painful rush. Then his mouth finds mine again, and the kiss is not so gentle this time…desperate, hungry, hot and forbidden and utterly welcome.

My hands move to his chest, and his skin is hot, practi- cally burning me through the cotton, and I can feel the hard thudding of his heart. Without thinking, I tug his shirt and slip my hands underneath.
“Lucy,” he mutters against my mouth. “Honey, wait.” But I just kiss him again and slide my hands against the smooth skin of his back, his ribs, and pull him closer, wanting him against me. He shifts so we’re closer, his mouth hot and hard. Waiting is forgotten.

Then he leans in closer so that our foreheads touch. “You sure, honey?” he asks
“Yes,” I whisper, and his mouth is on mine. His hand slides under my T-shirt and cups my breast, and my breath catches. He tastes so good, feels like heaven and I can’t believe I’ve waited so long for this. His mouth moves to my neck, a hot jolt shudders through me, and I sink into the bed, the sun hot on my skin, and give my- self away.
And I realize that despite my intentions, I’ve fallen in love after all.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Harlequin | Kobo | Diesel

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Bound by Marriage by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookboundbymarriage
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Silhouette Desire
Hero: Gabriel Dumont
Heroine: Jess Randall
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 1, 2005
Started On: August 7, 2013
Finished On: August 9, 2013

I have been so engrossed with reading the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh that I have never even wondered whether Nalini has strayed into writing any other genres in the world of romance. So while I was doing some random searching on the Internet, imagine my surprise when this little number came up, and that too with the uber interesting marriage of convenience trope that can really make for superb reads!

Bound by Marriage takes place in New Zealand and is told from both the hero and heroine’s point of views in the third person. While wealthy rancher Gabriel Dumont and Jess Randall enter into a marriage of convenience knowing fully well what they both are getting into, neither of them factors in the searing passion that lights up the sheets between them and of course plays havoc with the general order of things or how they both perceive their joint lives would turn out to be.

Jess never thought that her heart would be capable of loving anyone else, much less a man like Gabriel who is so withdrawn that he opens up to her only when they are in bed together, him drawing out responses from her that she would never have thought possible. But even then the times that Gabriel does let her see that tender side of his, although it is very rarely with the situations that continue to develop and put further strains on their already fragile bond, Jess finds herself inexorably drawn towards the man she calls as her husband.

I seriously thought that I would have a hard time liking Gabriel by the time the book was half way through. Yes, he is that stubborn and set in his ways that if it weren’t for his emotions that are as much in turmoil as that of Jess’s I wouldn’t have thought that he felt anything for the woman he had married. But lo and behold, I should have trusted Nalini a bit more and waited for the bombshell when it hit and yes, I was blown away with the compassion and love that filled my heart for the little boy Gabriel had been when he had lost vital pieces of his heart in a way that they would never be regained.

For some readers, Jess might seem to be putting up with much more than they would have liked. But I think Gabriel needed someone just as equally stubborn as him, willing to give until those impenetrable shields of his that he wears around himself like an armor were all but shattered around him. I loved the ending, the glimpse into the man Gabriel later turns into, not completely tamed, no never that, but a man who is at least a little bit at peace with his past and smiling in the arms of the woman who loves him like there is no tomorrow.

Final Verdict: Sensual & heart wrenching; Silhouette Desire at its best!

Favorite Quotes

Gabriel’s hand was rough against her skin, the hand of a man who worked the land. But on her neck, his lips were almost velvet soft—a seductive contrast. She lost her breath as he closed his teeth over a pulse point, then released with exquisite deliberation, scraping those same strong teeth along the sensitive flesh.

“I’m damn glad you’re a rider, Jess,” he almost growled as he filled her, going so deep that she could feel his heartbeat in her body.
Not aware enough to understand what he was referring to, she squeezed intimate muscles around him in a reaction as old as time itself. Throwing back his head, he tightened his hold on her and began to move. His rhythm was fast, his strokes deep. She screamed and screamed as he pushed her over the edge in a tempest of hot breaths and powerful thrusts.
And when she fell, it was as a marked woman. Gabriel Dumont’s woman.

And then she heard the zipper being lowered.
Even that warning wasn’t enough. She screamed as he pushed into her. Hard. Fast. Deep. Her body accepted him, welcomed his driving thrusts, but he was merciless in the intensity of what he asked of her, pushing her so far that she lost all traces of civilization and surrendered to her most primal heart.

“So I did,” he murmured, reclaiming her lips even as his hand pushed aside the gusset of her panties to thrust two fingers deep into a body more than primed by the slow seduction. Pleasure erupted inside her almost instantaneously. Pulling away from the ravaging fury of his mouth, she threw back her head and rode his fingers, feeling herself clench and unclench with vicious strength.

Gabe’s arm came around her waist and his teeth scraped lightly over the sensitive skin of her neck. “Now, Jess. Now!”
She fractured under the command, everything female in her glorying in the wildness of that harsh masculine voice. At the last second, their eyes met in the mirror and Jess knew they’d crossed a line. The question was, what lay on the other side?

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Harlequin | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Picture Perfect Wedding by Fiona Lowe

Format: E-bookpictureperfectwedding.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wedding Fever, #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Luke Anderson
Heroine: Erin Davis
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 12, 2013
Started On: August 4, 2013
Finished On: August 5, 2013

30 year old Luke Anderson is a dairyman, the owner of Lakeview Farm, a farm that has been in his family for generations. Though Luke has gone through the whole of his life preparing for the takeover of the business from his father, something akin to discontentment has settled deep in his gut and he is unsure of the hows and whys of it and how to shake it off.

Erin Davis is a photographer of high-end brides, someone who has a plan to take her from Point A to Point B. Not one to take unnecessary risks, Erin needs the award which will be hers if everything goes according to plan, the publicity the award is going to bring on which she is basing the future of the rest of her self-made career on. Standing in her way of achieving the picture perfect wedding is one delicious hunk of a farmer who gets her inner wanton self doing cartwheels and somersaults in her attempt to make him sit up and take notice.

When Erin turns up at Lakeview Farm, the one thought that rushes through Luke’s mind before turning to mush in the face of that sizzling attraction that flares to life between them is the fact that he has no time in his life for high maintenance city girls. Luke might want to turn his back on Erin and her beautiful green eyes that calls out to him on levels that he doesn’t even begin to understand, but he finds that the strange fascination that he has for Erin is hard to say no to. For Erin, Luke is the one temptation that she cannot resist, even when their summer affair heats up just more than her sheets at night.

Picture Perfect Wedding is the second book in the Wedding Fever series set in the small town of Whitetail, Wisconsin. I loved this instalment in the series from the characters to the fun antics that had me snorting and laughing out loud and also the secondary romance that unfolded between the town widower Nicole and the hot new fire chief Tony.

Luke and Eric are a delicious couple, both with their own misgivings about their future and their own battles to fight. Luke is a man who is undecided on what he wants to do to the farm, and it certainly doesn’t help matters when it brings problems raining down on his close-knit family and has his retired father breathing down his neck.

Erin falls in love with every aspect of the charming life that she sees happen every day in Whitetail. With a steady income burgeoning her bank balance for the first time in a long while, Erin finds herself to be in her element, all the while working towards photographing the perfect wedding which would change the course of her life. But beneath all that enthusiasm lies a heart that is scared beyond anything at the thought of tying herself down, opening her heart to pain and heartache that is certain to follow in the wake of every relationship.

I loved both Luke and Erin, Lukes stoicism something that truly made his character one thats fascinating. Put into the mix his family and two dogs plus the various well meaning members of the community, well you have a hell of a lot on your hands to juggle and its wonderful the way Fiona knows just what to do to keep the story flowing smoothly. I loved the sexual battle of wills that took place between Luke and Erin and of course I didn’t even expect Nicole to come out and show a side of herself that I wouldn’t have ever thought her capable of. The secondary romance that took place perfectly complemented and was in line with the primary story that was unfolding and though I would have loved to learn more about Tony, I found myself pretty much satisfied with the level of detail Fiona went into when it came to their romance.

If there is anything Fiona Lowe does exceptionally well, it is contemporary romances set in small towns and she writes them with so much heart that it is impossible not to lose yourself in the magic of it all.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of small town romances.

Final Verdict: Picture Perfect Wedding comes to you with lots of sizzle, fun & heart. Not to be missed!

Favorite Quotes

With a puff of dissatisfaction that he was so slow to respond, she pulled her hand from his, rose on her toes, slid both her hands against his cheeks, angled his mouth and kissed him.
Her lips pressed against his and the slight scratch of his top lip grazed hers as she coaxed him to open his mouth to her. Chocolate, coffee and heat flowed through her, spinning currents of delight eddying through her, feeding her need for this man like oxygen fuels fire.

Her fingertip touched his and flames engulfed her. His large, strong hand closed around her wrist. She lunged toward him as his arms lifted her at the hips, and then her legs were wrapped around his waist, and she was burying herself against his chest. She was home. Her body, so taut with ragged need for so long, stilled for a heartbeat, suspended in bliss, and then primal energy thundered through her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she lowered her mouth to his and kissed him.

His hands gripped her hips and he lifted her over him and then very slowly he lowered her down.
Her body, oh so very ready and desperate for him, opened easily, absorbing him bit by bit until she’d stretched to the limit and he completely filled her. The sensation was indescribable and she experienced the oddest feeling that she was going to cry, which made no sense because her body was on fire for him. Her throbbing muscles, which had ached for him, closed around him and need became fire driving her upward to seize the ultimate prize.

She smelled of vanilla and tasted of salt and he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her body. Reverently, he cupped her breasts in his hands, savoring the weight of them against his palm.
She gave a moan of pleasure and he felt her breasts tighten. He grinned. He’d never had a lover this responsive. Very slowly, he moved the pad of his thumbs across her nipples. Her body jerked and her eyes opened as wide as a cat’s. In the clear, green depths he clearly read desire—hot, molten need for him.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Carina | iBooks

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin

Format: E-bookthesworddancer
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Tang Dynasty, #4
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Zheng Hao Han
Heroine: Wen Li Feng/Hua Li Feng
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: June 1, 2013
Started On: July 6, 2013
Finished On: July 8, 2013

Zheng Hao Han is a thief catcher who is equivalent to the modern day bounty hunter. Han sees matters relating to justice being served in black and white with no room for any shades of grey as part of the picture. An honorable man, Han hardly sees it as so and sees himself as a failed scholar who does what he must rather than the revered man he is amongst society for his infamous arrests.

Wen Li Feng is an enigmatic sword dancer whose sole aim becomes finding the reality behind the elusive memories that she has of her parents, especially her mother. With little recollection of her parents and family, it is the vague memories that continue to haunt her that makes her come out into the real world and face life with no holds barred.

Li Feng’s path crosses with that of Han, the illustrious thief catcher when her journey to seek the truth takes a dangerous turn as a result of putting her trust in a group of bandits with their own agenda of vengeance to mete out. From the moment Han lays his eyes on the smooth and supple movements that is Li Feng when she is performing, something irrevocably shifts and changes deep inside of him. And as the game of cat and mouse between Han and Li Feng continues, confusion sets deep inside of Han as he struggles to come to terms with the woman who means everything to him and the beliefs that he has lived by his whole of up till that point.

The Sword Dancer as almost all of Jeannie Lin’s novels is set in China during the period of Tang Dynasty and is the fourth book in the series, told from both Han and Li Feng’s points of view.

China has always been a country that has fascinated me. And with the prejudiced view of China that I had in my mind, all thanks to the various propaganda machines coupled together with the contrastingly poetic and magical image of China that I have experienced time and yet again through Jeannie Lin’s books; all of that merged together in my recent visit to the country during which I certainly fell irrevocably in love with the country and its people.

It was my craving to read something by Jeannie Lin while in China that led me to the information on the release of this novel and the review opportunity which was open on Jeannie’s website. Though my review is more than a month late, coupled together with my own experiences in China and that of the world that Jeannie presents, this time around, the story, background and its characters seemed to make more sense to me, and the colors and hues of the story more vibrant than ever, if at all that is possible.

One cannot read a Jeannie Lin book and not be captivated. Her prose is one that never changes in its smoothness and beauty, one that always transports the reader to the era in China that she describes. Fraught with corruption of bureaucrats and danger from lawless bandits, Jeannie takes the reader on a journey that is unforgettable in The Sword Dancer.

Han is a hero that I would describe as one of the most beautiful heroes I have come across to date and I do not say this without reason. Han’s beauty lies in that integral sense of honour deep-seated inside of him that he fights with and at times struggles to live by. When Li Feng enters the picture and disrupts his whole world and all the things he has believed in, Han takes a gamble and pursues his developing feelings for a woman who continues to break whatever hold he has on her and disappear, until he finds her time and yet again, true to his promise to Li Feng.

Li Feng is the direct opposite of Han; she is the yin to his yang though that’s a fact that Li Feng would rather not face. Li Feng’s vulnerability lies in the fact that she too feels that undeniable connection between herself and Han which only grows stronger with time and each encounter between them. With a future that seems bleak at best for both of them and with the changes her life undergoes which continues to throw further obstacles in their way, it almost seems like an impossibility that Li Feng and Han would ever find their own happily ever after.

In the end the combination of the sensuous and beautiful love scenes together with the mystery and the aura of danger which continues to be a part of the story made for a compelling and hard to put down read. In my opinion, Han made this book and I am betting with everything that is inside of me that none can read The Sword Dancer without laying their heart out for Han to conquer.

If you read The Sword Dancer, the question of whether Li Feng’s brother getting his own story is one that begs to be asked, the answer to which only Jeannie Lin and time can only tell.

Recommended for fans of historical romances in exotic settings and fans of Jeannie Lin.

Final Verdict: From one of the masters of historical romance comes an earthy, beautiful and sensuous story of love, mystery and intrigue that is unputdownable.

Favorite Quotes

Her laughter rang free and child-like in the forest, intertwining with the driving rhythm of his pulse. His body still hadn’t recovered from the jump and Han was at once angry and elated and uncommonly aroused. He rolled himself over her and kissed her.
She sighed into his mouth. Her lips were warm, soft. Her body curved against him as he pressed her gently into the grass. She was a live and wild thing and he was mad with the taste of her. He broke the kiss to frame her face in his hands. He ran his thumbs over the shape of her cheekbones and kissed her again, claiming her in the only way he could.

He finally did kiss her. A passionate, insistent kiss that parted her lips. There was no more wash cloth, only his strong, sure hands rounding her breasts and stroking her stomach. She moaned around his invading tongue, sucking gently. He responded with a low, almost feral sound as his arousal pressed hard against her.

He repositioned his hand at the back of her neck, the possessiveness of it unmistakable, and thrust deep. The completeness, the fullness of accepting him overwhelmed her and her flesh convulsed around him as she was consumed with heat and a rush of elation. She squeezed her eyes shut as the climax drained her of all thought and resistance.

In the absence of sight, there was only the sensation of their joining and the heat of the day around her. She felt the roughened tip of his finger caress against her just above the juncture of their bodies, focusing her pleasure. She became his creature, straining towards his touch, her head thrown back and helpless as he stroked her.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said huskily.
Her eyelids fluttered open and her chest squeezed tight when she saw that he had been watching her the entire time. His mouth was tight, his face nearly expressionless except for the fire in his eyes.

“You love me.” His breath was hot against her ear. “But you don’t want to.”
Sensation crested within her, rising to a point where darkness beckoned. She had no will to protest.
His body sank deep, holding her captive as she shuddered around him. He held on tight through it. He may have spoken her name in a choked whisper but she could no longer hear. She was in her own world, alone.

His kiss was gentle, yet shockingly intimate out here with the great city around them. Such an act was a private thing meant for closed doors and drawn blinds. Yet when Han kissed her now, it was more than a precursor to lovemaking. It was language. His lips caressing softly to find her. She responded in kind, pressing close to him. It was longing and it was farewell.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Harlequin

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tempt Me Not by Susan Napier

Format: E-booktemptmenot
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Lucas Grey
Heroine: Victoria Bailey
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February, 1993
Started On: May 8, 2013
Finished On: May 10, 2013

My respect for Susan Napier and her ability to continually surprise me with how different and engaging her stories are continues to grow with each book I read from her. Tempt Me Not is a novel that did all of that and more and as a reader who adores romances that really reaches out to me and grabs my emotions at full throttle, I definitely couldn’t have asked for more.

Meet Victoria Bailey, a woman that most people have tended to overlook all throughout her life. The surprises that Victoria as a character continues to give to the developing story was one reason that Tempt Me Not was so hard to put down. Victoria is a woman who exerts a huge amount of control on her emotions, wants and needs. But that control seems to chip away when she meets Lucas Grey, the temptation that he offers being something even that she cannot ignore.

Lucas turns out to be one of those ever patient heroes that makes you fall in love with them because that’s the sort of understanding required by a hero for a heroine such as Victoria who is quite ‘skittish’ by nature. All the while it drives Lucas absolutely mad to make a little bit of progress with Victoria only to find that the next day she is back with more armour in place to protect herself from him.

Victoria finds herself at an impossible impasse when what has been holding her back all throughout the years ceases to be no more and the guilt that has always been a part of her conscious ever since Lucas invaded her life leaves giving free rein to the sensuous and wanton side of her nature that comes undeniably alive for Lucas.

Though sometimes it feels like Victoria gives Lucas a hard time just to play coy with his obvious interest in her, there is a valid and solid reason behind Victoria’s reluctance to do something that she would never be able to forgive herself for putting both herself and Lucas through.

In the end, all the twists and turns seemed to give me a gut wrenching satisfying read, my emotions going haywire with all the conflict that seemed to evoke all sorts of jumbled up emotions inside of me. Highly recommended for those who love romances that gives you something different to enjoy.

Favorite Quotes

She shifted in his arms, but only so that she could lift her own hands to his shoulders, reaching out for the forbidden fruit that she had glimpsed that afternoon with an abandoned eagerness that would have shocked her if she had been capable of conscious thought. The kiss deepened abruptly to a kind of consummation, a woman accepting the savage thrust of a man inside her body. The gentle eroticism with which Lucas had begun the assault was swiftly overtaken by a primitive need to stake his claim, to stamp her with the image of his sexuality.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Honeymoon Baby by Susan Napier

Format: E-bookhoneymoonbaby
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Do Not Disturb, #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Raphael Jordan
Heroine: Jennifer
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 1998
Started On: May 7, 2013
Finished On: May 8, 2013

For the lack of something to do to distract my mind on the long plane ride I found myself on, I started reading Honeymoon Baby by Susan Napier knowing that she would deliver a read worth delving into as the two previous books that I have read from her had proved to be stellar reads. True to my conviction, I found myself totally enamoured by the story that unfolded and for the first time in a long while, I found myself being seduced by a hero to such an extent that I found myself daydreaming about him!

Jennifer Jordan (Jenny) seems to be your average proverbial spinster who in your mind you label as someone who would end up old and whither away in the small town of New Zealand where she lives until the too sexy for words Raphael Jordan (Rafe) comes bulldozing his way into her life, wanting to claim the baby that Jenny is carrying, all righteous indignation and smouldering fury evident in every line of his body.

Jenny finds herself in a trap of her own making when Rafe is determined to stay and confirm for himself that Jenny is woman enough to take care of his son or daughter in a fashion that he would be satisfied with. The awareness that had always zinged to life when Jenny and Rafe had crossed paths in the past seems to blaze out of control as both of them discover the depth and reasons behind the frisson of awareness that had always existed between them.

Susan Napier is an author who writes and brings sensuality of the scorching hot kind so effortlessly into her stories. Its the way she creates her heroes and the heroines who are strong enough to love them that makes her books topnotch in that aspect. Rafe is such a delicious hero in every single way that I could wax lyrical poetry about him all day long. I wouldn’t mind it at all if he were to turn up on my doorstep and lure me onto the path of inevitable destruction itself; yep, he is that good.

Its not just Rafe’s good looks alone that appealed to me at a baser level. It is his character that came to life as Susan delved deeper into a story that rocked my world in every sense possible. Jenny might seem like a ‘nobody’ when you first encounter her in the story. But Susan has a few surprises in store for the reader regarding her ‘mousy’ heroine who is anything but that, who rocks Rafe’s world in a way that leaves them both reeling from the aftershocks of every explosion in the wake of their desire for each other. Rafe and Jenny are exactly two halves of one soul, each complementing the other on a scale that made me feel envious.

Its a testament to an author’s ability in writing a romance when the hero and heroine appear perfect for each other and even then makes a small part of you wish and dream for a man like Rafe to come sweep you off your feet; even to an ’embittered’ and ‘jaded’ soul like mine. Honeymoon Baby was just what I needed to kickstart the journey and I’m certainly going to go through Susan’s backlist to find what other delectable heroes that I have missed out on.

If you want to read a Harlequin romance with plenty of heat and a story that doesn’t offer you every single cliche you’ve heard of and manages to grab a laugh or two out of you while you are at it, find yourself a copy of Honeymoon Baby. I promise you, Rafe is a force to be reckoned with.

Favorite Quotes

She tipped up her face to protest and, shockingly, her mouth met his. His lips were firm and resilient, his tongue limber as it slipped moistly past the guard of her teeth and stroked her silky interior. Shock turned to violent craving and she moaned, her mouth opening to receive him. His head tilted, his mouth slanting to deepen the kiss, deepen the penetration of his tongue into her willing depths. He broke off and bit at her lips, licking and sucking at the juicy pink flesh, his hands twisting in the loops of her belt, dragging her closer into the hot, wet embrace of mouths.

She found she was trembling as he looked down over her shoulder at what he had uncovered. She heard him suck in his breath at the sight of her firm creamy breasts straining against the watery silk, their faint tracery of blue veins guiding the way down to her barely concealed nipples.
‘Sexy, he growled, fingering the pure silk hem where it lay against her hip “, but otherwise touching her with only his eyes as he lifted the robe from her shoulders and let it fall in a hush to the floor, leaving her exposed to his reflected view.

She glanced at Rafe, to find him locked in his own world, his head tipped back and his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling as if he’d been running, his arms hanging tense at his sides, the curled fingers of one hand glistening with a faint slick of moisture that it made her blush to see it. He looked as if he was praying to some pagan god, and out in the darkness a molten fire burst accompanied by another crackle of silver brilliance seemed to be his answer.

But no sooner had the pleasure begun to slam into her than he was rising to his feet again, pulling her hips further forward onto the very edge of the desk, ripping open her blouse to expose her transparent bra and tipping her flat on her back as he hooked his arms under her bent knees and mounted her in a single thrust.

We can’t…’ she moaned as he tugged at the back of her jeans and her bare bottom scraped against the matted fibres of bark. She arched against him, and with a grunt of satisfaction Rafe wrenched open the fly of his jeans and guided his thick shaft into the narrow gap between her constricted thighs, pushing himself up inside her until he felt her shudder and accept his full length in a slippery rush.
‘God, I needed this…I can’t ever get enough of you,’ he gritted […]

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-booktemptingthebride
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Fitzhugh Trilogy #3
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: David Hillsborough, Viscount Hastings
Heroine: Helena Fitzhugh
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 2, 2012
Started On: December 14, 2012
Finished On: December 18, 2012

For someone who doesn’t read much of historical romances, Sherry Thomas is one author I’d always continue to make an exception for. Its because of the way she brings her characters to life and makes me fall irrevocably in love with the way she spins a web that continues to enchant me until I turn the very last page, all the while mourning the fact that the story couldn’t have gone on for just a little bit longer that will always have me going back for more.

The third and final book in the Fitzhugh trilogy is the story of Helena Fitzhugh, the youngest of the trio and the one who is considered to be the most ‘unconventional’ and ‘wild’ from the siblings. Viscount Hastings is the thorn in Helena’s side so to say from the tender young age in which they come across each other. Hastings who had fallen head over heels in love with Helena had always hidden behind a wall of obnoxious behavior, just so that Helena would never ever find out the depth of his feelings towards the only woman he has ever loved.

When Helena finds herself in a bit of a situation, which would be putting it mildly, it is Hastings that strides to her rescue which in turn forces her to accept his hand in marriage; not to save herself, but rather to save the shame that it would bring to her brother and sister if she were to do otherwise. Angered and frustrated beyond belief at the turn of events, not to mention the fact that a staggering kiss between her and Hastings that had shaken her to the depths of her very soul continues to taunt her, it would be an understatement to say that Helena does everything she can to show that she would not accept being married to Hastings that easily.

But as fate would have it, through a twisted turn of events, Hastings finds himself with a once in a lifetime opportunity to show Helena the side of him that he has kept hidden from her for far too long, the side of him that yearns to love Helena like there is no tomorrow and make up for his despicable behavior of the past. Though Hastings knows that his past could catch up with him at any moment, the answering glow in Helena’s eyes makes the temptation to carry on an irresistible one. And when the inevitable truth comes knocking on their door, it is only the memories of the new side of Hastings that Helena gets to see and remembers that saves the day for both of them in the end.

Its a thing of impossibility to read a novel by Sherry Thomas and not be invested in the outcome of the story and its characters. Likewise, Tempting the Bride had me salivating over Hastings and the effortless ease with which he seduces the very headstrong Helena. And the plus side was that unlike the previous story, the tables were turned in this one such that it is the hero that has been in love with the heroine for far too long, and it was the vulnerable side of Hastings that I fell in love with, time and yet again as I read along.

Helena is a heroine of one of a kind. She is the type of heroine who dares to cross the boundaries and tests society’s patience during an era when females who were anything less than demure were barely tolerated. And because she stays true to her character, I loved her and the layers of her character that continued to unfold throughout the story.

Though I felt again that the ending was a tad rushed in this story as well, I would still recommend Tempting the Bride for historical romance lovers because missing out on Sherry Thomas’ incredible writing is not something I would ever recommend. 

Favorite Quotes

Not all opportunities are created equal. Some are nothing but steps leading down toward catastrophe.

Their eyes met. Without hesitation he kissed her. His weight was solid. His hair—she didn’t know when her fingers had plunged into his hair—was cool and soft. And the hunger in his kiss…contrary to everything she knew, he made her feel as if he’d never kissed anyone before and never wanted to kiss anyone else.

This time he could no longer hold back his tears. And with them came words that he’d never been able to say to her his entire life. “I love you, Helena. I have always loved you. Wake up and let me prove it to you.”

He meant to do it properly, start slow and soft, and only gradually build toward the wildness that had always characterized their kisses. But the moment he touched his lips to hers, she locked one arm behind his neck, and all thoughts of leisure and gentleness leaped out the window.
He devoured her. And she, her tongue mobile and eager, devoured him in return. He pulled her out of her chair and pushed her against the edge of the vanity. She grabbed his hair and moaned, a sound of stark hunger—and it was all he could do not to push up her nightgown and sink into her then and there.

At her incendiary words, he drove deeper—far deeper—into her, unable to help himself.
“So,” she said, her fingers on his cheek, “now I’ve made you mine.”
He took her fingers in hand and kissed them one by one. “You made me yours long ago, but now you finally claimed me.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Kobo

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