Category / Brooding Hero

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Broken by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Rafferty, Book 2
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Quinn Rafferty
Heroine: Sarah McElyea
Date of Publication: March 2, 2010
Started On: March 4, 2010
Finished On: March 5, 2010

This is one book that I have been waiting like forever to get my hands on. Forever as in when the author announced that this book would be released on March 2010 sometime last year. And looking at the yummy cover which makes my heart flutter just a tad each time, who wouldn’t want to read this book?

I read Fragile the first book in the series, the story of Luke Rafferty, Quinn’s twin brother sometime back and enjoyed every minute of that book as well. Though I was thinking of taking a shot at re-reading Fragile because there was a glitch at Amazon in the Kindle version of Broken that was sold, I had to wait for an agonizing period of time until I could figure out how to strip the DRM from mobipocket books so that I could read the book on my Kindle. I have given up on the idea of re-reading Fragile for now cos a summary of Fragile is related at the beginning of this novel. Maybe sometime later I will give it a shot once again!

As I always say, Shiloh Walker is one author that you can never go wrong with. At first, this story seems like your average abused wife running away from the abusive husband story. But I was in for a pleasant surprise when there was a twist at the end unlike anything I could ever have imagined.

Quinn and Luke although twins were separated at birth. Quinn got to live with his alcoholic abusive mother who never made him forget the fact that Quinn wasn’t wanted in this world. Quinn never even realized that he had a twin until at last during one of her drunken sessions, Quinn’s mother overdosed and left him alone with no one to turn to. Though Quinn wanted nothing further from being placed in a state home, he was in for a surprise when Quinn’s birth father came to collect him and though Quinn refused to give an inch and trust another human being to be kind towards him, finally coming to realize that his father wouldn’t abuse him physically and emotionally like his mother had done gave him at least a semblance of normalcy when growing up.

Now Quinn is a bounty hunter, chasing after those who skip bail and bringing them to justice. And then comes Sara with her wide brown eyes and sexy curves that has Quinn drooling all over right from the start. Sara is woman whose on the run, moving from one place to the other always with an eye out for trouble and never taking the time to get acquainted with people whom she meets.

However from the moment she meets Quinn, nothing on earth could have stopped these two from propelling towards one another. Hot intense need has these two scorching up the sheets in no time. Though neither knows anything about the either, love, the emotion each of them had been afraid of creeps into their hearts and catches them unawares.

Nonetheless, duty comes calling when Sara finds that its time for her to move again. With a hastily scribbled note to Quinn, she takes off, only for Quinn to find her. This Quinn is a mass of seething anger and resentment at being lied to and made a fool of and two people who are as wary of trusting people as these two suddenly find themselves at a loss as to how to handle the situation.

Emotionally gripping and sexually charged, this novel bears all the classic signatures of what makes Shiloh Walker’s stories mouth watering. Although Guilty Needs would always remain my favorite novel and Colby my most favorite hero by Shiloh Walker, Quinn himself makes for a deliciously heart warming hero and Sara a heroine who complements and completes Quinn in every way. Great ending to a great story which has me grinning from ear to ear after ending the story.

Keep em’ coming Ms. Walker.

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookphotoopportunity
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Series: Tanner Siblings, Book 1
Hero: Daniel Tanner
Heroine: Amy Morgan
Date of Publication: May 2, 2008
Started On: February 28, 2010
Finished On: March 1, 2010

I never get tired of reading romances where friends turn into lovers. A romance is that much more delicious when a couple has shared history that goes way back. Anyhow reading this novel opened me up to Jess Dee’s writing style which I have to say is pretty catchy. Most probably Jess Dee would end up on my to-be-read list of authors as this book is pretty good.

Daniel Tanner (Danny) has always loved Amy Morgan (Amy) since their high school days. But Danny has never tried to make a move on Amy and they have both continued to be the best of friends always being there for each other in times of need. However things change when Danny takes on an assignment to do a photo shoot of a  children’s oncology ward at one of Sydney’s hospital. There Danny comes face to face with the reason why he has been commitment phobic for so long and realizes that he loves Amy more than anything to keep wasting time running after other women who meant nothing to him.

Amy has no inkling that her best friend for life has these strong feelings towards her. From a very young age, having witnessed her father cheating on her mother and finally abandoning them and the one single time that Amy did try to have a serious relationship with a guy, the fact that he too cheated on her in the end hasn’t bolstered Amy’s confidence much. Amy distrusts all men in general when it comes to leaving her heart vulnerable to them.

However, she is in for the surprise of her life when Danny puts into motion a plan to seduce her in the most wicked ways and to make her fall as crazily in love with him as he has been in love with her. However Danny’s plans backfire because Amy cannot seem to place the much needed trust in Danny as she should have, which irked me a bit because Danny had never done anything to her to deserve otherwise.

But all in all, a good story. I liked it because it wasn’t all about the touchy feely love scenes in this book, but rather well developed characters which gave the reader a good insight into why and when and how they both fell in love with one another and got the happy ending they deserved in the end.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Annie’s Song by Catherine Anderson

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Avon
Hero: Alex Montgomery
Heroine: Annie Trimble
Date of Publication: January 1, 1996
Started On: February 25, 2010
Finished On: February 26, 2010

Goodness me! This is one of the sweetest and most adorable romances that one could ever read. The story of Alex and Annie is one that is bound to stay with the reader for a long period of time as one of the best and most touching romances a reader could come across. This is a re-read for me and I assure you that after sometime I would be picking up this novel once again just to feel those tugs at my heart and get the warm feeling deep in my tummy that you are guaranteed to get after reading this beautiful story.

Annie lives in her own lonely world labeled as a crazy person after she had a fever when she was young. Though no one understands her, Annie roams freely across the forests that surround her home. During one of her excursions and at the age of around 18, Douglas Montgomery, Alex’s step brother who has a mean streak in his nature a mile wide comes across Annie and brutally rapes her just because he thinks that he could get away with it. Alex had always let Douglas get away with all sorts of behavior but his latest crime gives Alex a  bad taste in his mouth and so cuts off all ties with Douglas and asks him to move out of their home.

Alex approaches the Trimbles (Annie’s parents) and offers to make matters right. When Annie’s parents discover that she is pregnant and four months along, Alex offers to marry her till the babe is born and divorce her so that no scandal would touch the Trimble family since Annie’s father had political aspirations that wouldn’t survive a scandal of Annie becoming pregnant since people ridiculed Annie as it is.

Alex installs Annie at his home never thinking for a minute that Annie would have the power to bring him down to his knees. Annie’s odd behavior suddenly starts to make sense to Alex when he realizes that rather than being crazy as she is labeled to be, Annie had lost her hearing due to the ravaging fever she experienced when she was young.

What proceeds is so heartwarming and so very beautiful that any reader with even an iota of romance in his or her heart would be totally captivated by the lengths that Alex goes through to give Annie everything he could possibly give her within his power.

The love between these two grows so beautifully throughout the novel that you can’t help but fall in love with these two characters that Ms. Anderson has created so well.

Very highly recommended.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: McBride Family, Book 1
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Hero: Simon Blackwell
Heroine:  Annabel McBride
Date of Publication: April 1, 2007
Started On: February 22, 2010
Finished On: February 23, 2010

This has got to be one of the best historical romances that I have ever had the pleasure to read. I read this book sometime back and this title has always remained somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind as a book that should be re-read from time to time. So after the previous historical romance I read and reviewed, I had this itch to find this book once again and give it a a go. And this story enthralled me the second time round as well, maybe more than the first time round.

Simon Blackwell is the epitome of tortured heroes. Though he is not cynical and deliberately cruel as certain heroes tend to be, Simon is a man who hides his passionate nature behind a wall of anguish that one can never even begin to describe or comprehend. Losing his wife and two kids five years back in a tragic accident, Simon has blamed himself for their deaths and berated at the fates for snatching away the most important people in his life.

By chance on one of his rare trips to London, he meets Annie. Annie dislikes Simon for the rudeness that he showed her on their first meeting but finds herself inexplicably drawn to this enigmatic man whom all members of her family seem to like on their first encounter. The smoldering attraction between these two finally takes a turn when during their first kiss, Annie’s family discovers them with the tip off from an old nemesis of Annie’s. Forced to wed never knowing about Simon’s painful past, Annie has her work cut out for her in thawing the ice cold lock around Simon’s heart.

Simon fights the immense attraction and the intense feelings that Annie arouses in him every step of the way. Being as stubborn as Simon, Annie at last manages to crumble his defenses and make Simon embrace the smoldering hot passion that flares between the two. I have to tell you, this book has got one of the hottest and greatest love scenes ever!

Finally at the end, love triumphs over tragedy and heartache and Simon finds the courage in him to let go, to love and be loved in return. Lovely story highly recommended for historical romance lovers. Will surely end up re-reading this book in the future. Yes, it is THAT good!

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

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Dangerous Passion by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Dangerous Book 3
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher
Hero: Viktor “Drake” Drakovich
Heroine:  Grace Larsen
Date of Publication: July 21, 2009
Started On: February 6, 2009
Finished On: February 13, 2009

It’s been a while since I posted a review here. Mind you, I haven’t given up on reading but every spare minute I have these days, I end up watching The Mentalist which has got me pretty hooked. Anyhow I managed to finish this book after a week of starting it, and I blame it all on Simon Baker for keeping me so engrossed on watching him solve homicides!

So back to the review, like most of Lisa Marie Rice’s books, this book too has an intense alpha hero with a real dangerous edge to him. Growing up in parts of Russia on the streets, Drake is someone who has learnt to kill with his bare hands at a very early age, just to survive and move onto the next day. Now richer than he has ever hoped to be, and more powerful than anyone can imagine, with his fair share of enemies in all the wrong places, Drake is a weapons and arms dealer.

Though Drake has everything and more in his power he feels restless until he sees these beautiful paintings on one of his rides through the city of Manhattan. There in that little gallery, Drake sees Grace and his world is forever changed. Drake knows too well that he cannot impose on any woman the life he has chosen for himself. His enemies if ever were to find a weakness in him, Drake knows they would exploit it till he is on his knees a broken man in every way. But this doesn’t stop him from going to see Grace once a month in her gallery unknown to her.

But things take a drastic turn when his enemies discover his fascination with Grace and tries to kidnap her to use as leverage against Drake. Drake and Grace narrowly escape with their lives though the killer(s) are intent on finishing what they have started.

Drake doesn’t know the name to give the emotions that Grace rouses in him. Drake wrongfully thinks that tumbling into bed and keeping Grace there would definitely cure him of what ails him whenever he is in her vicinity. However as these two are confined to be in the same place for security purposes, the wall of steel around Drake’s heart starts to crumble bit by bit. And finally after a second fatalistic attack these two are forced to run for their lives and completely disappear from the face of the earth as the relentless killer pursues on his mission to eradicate Drake once and for all.

Scorching hot passion with a hero who knows what he is doing makes this book a page scorcher. If men in the real world have even a figment of what heroes in these books have, we women would be a pretty happy bunch over on the side of reality.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Chicago Stars, Book 1
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Dan Calebo
Heroine:  Phoebe Somerville
Date of Publication: October 13, 2009
Started On: January 31, 2010
Finished On: February 1, 2010

As I mentioned in my previous review, reading Molly and Kevin’s story made me want to start from the beginning of the Chicago Stars series. And to my surprise once I started reading the first book in this series, I realized that I had in fact read this book sometime back, but decided to go ahead with the read since a book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips never fails to amuse, entertain and tug at your heartstrings.

Phoebe Somerville works hard at projecting the image of the perfect bimbo. With a voluptuous figure that people compare to Marilyn Monroe’s, the sexy simpering idiotic female is a role that Phoebe has perfected over the years since she ran away from her father. Posing for nude art pieces and hanging out with gay men had eventually made her father Bert Somerville, owner of the Chicago Stars football team remove Phoebe from his will. However, it seems Bert once again gets the last laugh from the grave when he wills the ownership of the Stars team to Phoebe till the end of the season thinking to teach his only failure in life a lesson she wouldn’t forget.

Dan Calebo, the head coach of Stars is everything Phoebe abhors in a man. Too masculine and aggressive for comfort, Phoebe finds herself unable to pull off the blonde bimbo facade that has saved her from becoming intimate with men for the past sixteen years. Likewise, Dan cannot stand the idea of someone as scatterbrained as Phoebe managing his football team.

From the moment these two opposites butt their heads together, the inevitable sparks fly. Though Dan has plans to find a nice homely woman and settle down with 2.5 kids, he never factored into the equation how he might start to feel for Phoebe once he gets to know the story of the woman behind all the glitter and makeup. Its inevitable that these two would crash headlong into love with each other, if they could just trust each other just a little and learn to look behind appearances that these two try real hard to keep up.

An enjoyable story of how two strong willed people from polar opposite backgrounds come together, this is a story true romantics would deeply relish, whose characters would stay with the reader for a long time afterwards.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Chicago Stars, Book 5
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Kevin Tucker
Heroine:  Molly Somerville
Date of Publication: March 17, 2009
Started On: January 30, 2010
Finished On: January 31, 2010

First of all, I just have got to say, what a great read! This book has everything that makes a great romance. Susan Elizabeth’s charm never fails to evoke all the right emotions from the reader.

I haven’t really been reading the Chicago Stars series in order, a fact which I am thinking of remedying by starting from Book 1 of the series, the story of Molly’s sister which I am really interested in reading after seeing quick sneaks into her life with Dan Calebo.

Molly and Kevin’s story is a fascinating one, not just the story of how they find one another and quickly fall in love, but rather a journey these two take in finding the love they could both have with one another if given half the chance. At first glance, Molly and Kevin couldn’t be further apart from one another if they tried. A children’s books author, her characters you find are closely linked with Kevin’s escapades over the years, Molly has had a huge crush on Kevin as long as she can remember. Not that football jock Kevin even knows she exists. With the continuous string of the doll faced women with no brains of their own that parade through his life, Kevin seems to be at the top of his game playing for the football team managed by Molly’s sister Phoebe.

Though Molly doesn’t seem to realize it, she has got this streak of restlessness inside of her which lands her in trouble from time to time. This is what ends her up in Kevin’s bed, seducing him in his sleep and an outraged Kevin who gets rightfully pissed off about being  taken advantage of. Kevin makes Molly promise to him that if there ever were consequences of their coming together she would let him know, which of course Molly doesn’t when she finds herself pregnant.

Molly’s well meaning family, Phoebe and Dan are both shocked when they find out Molly is pregnant and jump to all the wrong conclusions about who took advantage of whom when they find out that Kevin is the father. Kevin slams back into Molly’s life and makes her marry him, though Kevin can barely be civil to the woman who has turned everything in his life upside down.

In the end, mere hours after getting married, tragedy strikes which quickly spins Molly’s world out of control. Once again, its Kevin who shakes her out of depression, takes her off on a trip to Wind Lake, and finds herself running the quaint bed and breakfast that Kevin inherits from his aunt which Kevin wants nothing to do with. Here Kevin faces his demons from his childhood face on, with Molly finally finding peace within herself in this beautiful place.

Tentatively, Kevin and Molly find in one another friendship, and finally red hot desire for one another, that makes Kevin sweat profusely at the idea of getting all his emotions involved in finally inevitably falling for Molly.

This is truly great story with a lovable cast of side characters and of course who wouldn’t love Molly’s fictional characters Daphne and Bunny with their witty and adorable insights into the beginnings of each chapter of the book. Highly recommended for those who love a good romance with a witty cast of characters that could make you smile, make your heart ache just a little and finally end you up with a bunch of happy tears at the truly deserving happy ending!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Dangerous Lover by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Dangerous, Book 1
Sensuality: 4.5
Publisher: HarperCollins
Hero: Jack Prescott
Heroine:  Caroline Lake
Date of Publication: July 31, 2007
Started On: January 29, 2010
Finished On: January 30, 2010

This was a book I started reading sometime back, way before I even started this blog, and for some reason I stopped reading through before I reached half way, and now am wondering why I gave up reading a trademark romantic suspense story from this author.

Caroline Lake, a girl who comes from a rich family was the object of then homeless Jack’s adoration. Though he knows that he would never be worthy of Caroline nor would he ever have the means to be with her and her well off family, far removed from the homeless shelters that Jack resides in, that doesn’t stop Jack from yearning for Caroline and wanting her as his own.

On the fateful day that his drunken mess of a father drops dead right in front of his eyes, Jack rushes off in the cold snowy wintry day towards Caroline’s place, just so that he could see her face which would make his bleary existence in this world just a bit brighter. However, Jack sees Caroline with his boyfriend Sanders, which kills something inside of him. He moves on without looking back, never knowing what the future would hold for him.

Now twelve years later, Jack is back. After serving in the military as a tribute to the person who had saved him from merely existing and withering away, Jack returns with 21 million dollars worth of blood diamonds from Sierra Lone, the last mission his ‘adoptive’ father had requested from him. Not knowing that the person who was ruthless enough to kill an entire village for the diamonds was hot on his trail, Jack makes his way back to Summerville, just to see how the woman of his obsession and wants and desires has fared over the years.

Life hadn’t been one smooth ride for Caroline. Her parents killed in a fatalistic car crash rendering her younger brother crippled and a couple of bad investments his father had made rendering them penniless with the costly care required for her brother, Caroline was at her wits ends after her brother had finally succumbed to death, leaving her all alone, with a mountain of debt and no way of paying it off.

On Christmas Eve, Jack comes by to her bookstore looking for a place to stay. Although Jack has a dangerous vibe around him, Caroline cannot help but respond to his dark magnetism. Thinking Jack to be hard down on his luck, she offers him a place to stay at her home, and finds in Jack more than she ever hoped possible. However, though Jack may have found Caroline and got her at last, the person who is after the diamonds is relentless in his pursuit, pulling all the stops and stopping at nothing to get back what he claims rightfully as his.

As usual, Jack is pure alpha male, Caroline the true version of a damsel in distress with the power to bring the strong alpha to his  knees. Highly sensual, this book is a good read for those who love romances with the bite of a thriller in it to make things a bit more interesting.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Her Secret Fling by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze , Book 517
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jake Stevens
Heroine: Poppy Birmingham
Date of Publication: January 1, 2010
Started On: January 12, 2010
Finished On: January 12, 2010

Aaah! Finally a book that has left me satisfied on all aspects after a long time. Sarah Mayberry is one of my favorite Harlequin Blaze line authors and it does help that her book titles do not make me cringe, and the fact that they contain believable stories of men and women who fall in love with each other.

Poppy Birmingham an ex-star swimmer who has gold medals  to her name, takes up a job offer on writing for the sports column of one of the most prestigious newspapers in Australia. There she comes face to face with Jake Stevens, someone whose style of writing Poppy has admired from the very start.

However, Poppy is left with the impression that Jake is hardly what she has pictured him to be. Callous to  the point of being rude, Jake lays it out that Poppy doesn’t deserve to just walk in and attain a job that takes journalists years of studying and experience to claim.

However, Jake is proven wrong when Poppy proves to be persistent in what she does, and a quirk twist of fate ends both of them together alone on a road trip back from Melbourne. Pitted together with nowhere else to go, Poppy and Jake reluctantly come to realize that rather than the initial dislike that they thought they felt for each other, both of them were coming to find qualities that they liked in each other immensely. Not to mention the scorching hot passion that flares between them when Jake offers to teach Poppy the wonders of sex.

Quirky dialogues between the two characters kept the pages turning and when Poppy finds herself inevitably in love with Jake, with no sign whatsoever from Jake to show that he might feel the same way, and Jake but all pushing away Poppy without really trusting her and letting her in makes Poppy realize that their no-named relationship had been doomed from the start.

Jake has his own reasons, with a failed marriage on his conscience, which has made him into someone who absolutely has nothing left to give. However, unknowingly, the time spent with Poppy slowly works its magic on Jake and ultimately Jake and Poppy get the happy ending which they both deserve.

I loved this book. Sarah Mayberry sure knows how to pen a fantastic story. Highly recommended to those who love Blaze line stories.

Purchase Links: Amazon | BooksOnBoard 

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: All Jacked Up by Lorelei James

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Rough Riders, Book 8
Publisher: Samhain
Hero: Jack Donohue
Heroine: Keely McKay
Date of Publication: November 3, 2009
Started On: January 5, 2010
Finished On: January 7, 2010

This is the first book ever that I tried out of this author. This book is one sure red hot read that the author pulls off quite nicely. I think this is the last book released of the rough riders series and features the lone girl in the McKay family. Keely who wants to earn her own place in their close knit society rather than been remembered as a hell raiser when she was younger.

Jack, best friend of one of Keely’s brother, had always seemed to rub her the wrong way. Whenever Jack and Keely are in the same room, they manage to insult one another to no end. One hot kiss that Jack and Keely shared at one of her brother’s weddings didn’t seem to make things any better.

Now two years later, Keely needs Jack’s help in finalizing her efforts to start her own rehabilitative clinic and Jack needs Keely to act as his fiancé to pull off a business deal which Jack wants so badly, bad enough to want to pretend to be engaged to Keely and take on being part of the McKay clan.

Although their passion could singe away the bedsheets, out of the bedroom they tend to be as divided as ever. And both of them do not realize that with each moment they spend together inevitably leads them to fall in love with another, a love which they both need to realize is way more important than anything else in their lives.

A very hot read guaranteed to sizzle up your insides ladies!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes&Noble

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