Category / Carina Press

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Taken with You by Shannon Stacey

Format: E-bookEMBARGO
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Kowalski Family, #8
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Matt Charles Barnett
Heroine: Hailey Genest
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 25, 2014
Started On: September 18, 2014
Finished On: September 21, 2014

Taken With You, the 8th book in the Kowalski series by Shannon Stacey offers a humorous, slow moving romance that fans of the series would undoubtedly adore. Hailey Genest, the town librarian is looking for a man to settle down with, a man with a regular hours keeping job, with whom she has shared common interests with.

Going camping with her friend Tori Burns was a way for them to “celebrate” being single, a bad move for someone like Hailey who is not that outdoorsy to begin with. When Hailey and Tori gets lost, it is Matt Barnett who comes to their rescue, looking like a hermit who had just crawled out of his cave. Hailey can’t help but be a little bit repulsed by the unkempt look and Matt though finds Hailey altogether too beautiful for his peace of mind, reminds himself that women like Hailey aren’t for men like him.

Thus begins the tale of opposites attract between the town librarian and its new game warden, an attraction that both try and fight to no avail. Hailey shows a side of herself that Matt finds himself inexplicably drawn towards and Hailey can’t help but moon over her neighbor even though she knows that she shouldn’t crave for someone who is the total opposite of what she is looking for.

Shannon Stacey is one of those few authors who writes contemporary romances like they should be written. Though Taken with You was a tad slow moving for my tastes, it nevertheless delivered a story that was heartwarming. The best bit about the story was the angst that Shannon delivered towards the end, angst of the type that is hard to come by in romances these days with the hero and heroine solving every little problem between them halfway through the book.

Angst is an important factor in any sort of romance; it is one of the reasons why I put myself through reading romances, because nothing can compare with the emotions that a good bout of angst can conjure up.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of contemporary romances. This can definitely be read as a standalone!

Final Verdict: Slow moving & angsty read with bouts of snort worthy laughter.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Carina | iTunes | ARe | eBookMall

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Should’ve Been Home Yesterday by Inez Kelley

Format: E-bookshouldvebeenhomeyesterday
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Country Roads, #3
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Webb Hawkins
Heroine: Molly McCreedy
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 21, 2014
Started On: July 18, 2014
Finished On: July 30, 2014

Ever since I started reading Inez Kelley’s Country Roads series, I’ve been hankering to read the story of the enigmatic Webb Hawkins, CEO of Hawkins Hardwood. The hint of a past entanglement between himself and Molly McCreedy, the owner of McCreedy’s Diner suggested a story that could prove to be explosive at best. And though Should’ve Been Home Yesterday didn’t live up to all my expectations, it nevertheless managed to give me a story well worth my while.

Should’ve Been Home Yesterday starts twenty years prior to the present day and highlights the relationship that exists between Webb and Molly. Webb and Molly’s older brother Clay had been inseparable during their childhood. Webb being ten years older than Molly never sees her as anything more than a sister even though Molly considers Webb hers even at the tender age of ten. People might call her love for Webb a childhood crush or a fascination that would fade away as she would grow older, but for Molly, in the depths of her heart she had known even then that there would none but Webb for her.

Present day finds Molly pregnant with Webb’s baby and Webb wanting to do the right thing by marrying her. Webb might want to keep his distance where Molly is concerned, and he had been doing a swell job out of it until imbibing in too much alcohol had shattered his ironclad control and the inevitable had happened. Though Molly has her misgivings, she is the optimistic sort who would like to believe that Webb feels something more for her than he lets on and that it could grow into something wonderful and beautiful, like the love that blooms in her heart for him. And that is why, Molly finds herself entering into a marriage with the love of her life by shoving aside any apprehension about the union that she might have.

Webb has always found his solace in his work. Building up his business had taken his mind off of the terrible mistake he had made in his past, thinking that he could have a chance with Molly when she’d suddenly surprised him by growing up. The Molly that he is married to stirs up feelings that he would like to turn his back on. With the Eco-terrorist who had managed to make his life a living hell the past couple of months still continuing to haunt and taunt him, Webb believes that his attention needs to be focused on where it is important; on his business and the people who work for him rather than his newly wedded wife who moves him to distraction.

Molly understands only a trifle bit too late that Webb had never intended for their marriage to get real. But she certainly doesn’t make it easy on Webb to just ignore her and be, but rather Molly’s understanding of who Webb is thaws that control of his that Webb clings onto and makes him realize that with Molly, there is no detachment to be had when it comes to him. And what Webb doesn’t realize is that unbeknown to him or Molly, the danger that surrounds him has been closing in on the most important person in his life and that he might lose her before he can even declare just how much of a fool he has been trying to keep her at arms length all this while.

Should’ve Been Home Yesterday follows the pattern that has been set for the previous books in this series. Every chapter begins with an interesting fact or tidbit that is related to the setting and the story which I have absolutely enjoyed in each of these books. Molly and Webb’s relationship certainly had its moments. Webb’s deep reluctance to open himself up emotionally lent the story the right amount of angst, and of course the groveling that he had to do to win back the affections of his wife later on served to be the healing balm that their relationship required. Inez makes the story doubly interesting by working in tidbits of Molly and Webb’s shared past into the unfolding events which gives the reader just enough of a background to connect with Molly and Webb.

As I finished reading Should’ve Been Home Yesterday, I couldn’t help but want to read the stories of Finn, Bob and Zane Miner. They all show promise as characters well worth being given their own stories and I would definitely love it if at all there is a possibility of that happening. Dear Inez, please take that as a hint and write them happily ever afters? The one thing that continues to draw me when it comes to Inez is that her stories always provide beautiful quotes for my collection and Should’ve Been Home Yesterday was no exception to the rule. And though my favorite in the series by far has been Jonah and Zury’s story, Should’ve Been Home Yesterday is full of the good bits that makes it a great read! Recommended.

Final Verdict: Inez’s Country Roads series continues to deliver beautiful stories, well worth your reading time!

Favorite Quotes

“Molly.”
The hesitation in his tone speared through her and she spun, rising to her knees to face him. His hands stayed still, sliding in the soap film around her waist. Bared to the navel, with nothing hiding the rest of her but a thin layer of floating bubbles, she locked eyes with his. One wide black pupil nearly obliterated the brown iris, his real eye reacting to the desire he held back. His glass eye stared at her with sightless fixation. Beneath the collar of his shirt, thick cords stood out in his neck.

Molly reached up and circled his neck, stepping closer than she had when they danced, and brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth. The touch of lips on lips was like a summer lightning strike, all-powerful and shocking. His hands rose, settling on her hips, the sun-warmed skin smooth beneath his calluses. He forgot everything except Molly. He dipped his head and kissed her.
She melted. There was no other word he could think of.

Molly bucked as the crest of his cock’s head grazed her clit. “Holy shit.”
She added a wiggle to her swing and his control slipped. Holy shit was right. He’d never been so turned on and he wasn’t even inside her. Tongues swirling, lips sealed, their hips moved together. Friction had never been so intense, so hot and drugging. The muscles in groin grew tight as climax approached but he gripped her ass and rocked harder, driving against her clit faster, needing her to go with him. She whimpered as a quake bloomed. She drove down hard, grinding on his cock as she exploded.

A low groan rumbled in his chest, taking their kiss to high heat. He delved his tongue deep, sweeping along her lips, then plunging inside. He tasted of mint, a cool underlying accent to the intensity of his kiss. Beneath her knees, the plush couch was soft but her focus was on the firm thighs between hers. His hands slid up her legs, hooked around her ass and tugged her forward.
It was every Christmas, every birthday, every Valentine’s gift wrapped into one when he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. This was her dream, Webb sober, loving her openly, their lives entwined.

Molly had no breath to answer. She was trapped in a cycle of pleasure, of taking him over and over, wanting him deeper and never wanting to let him go. The rhythmic squeeze she kept around him drove her closer but she needed him to peak with her, to trip over that edge. She didn’t want to go alone. Together. She needed them to go together.
Yanking one hand from the cushion, she raked his back with her nails. Webb arched hard, driving so deep into her she shattered with a cry.

Her fingers tightened, pulling his hair but he ignored the pain, needing to taste her climax. Lightly, quickly, he fluttered his tongue across the hood then curled low and speared the pulse beneath. Easing his hands under her ass, he kneaded each globe and urged her knees further apart with his shoulders. Spread beneath his mouth, Molly was his for the taking and he took, without mercy, hungrily, and without relenting. He wished he could claim her heart as easily, was worthy enough to claim it.

Her hand turned, skating up his chest, delving through his chest hair. Every instinct he had begged him to drive home hard, to take her fast and deep, but he swallowed them. He needed this, this slow connection, this reconnection. He wanted to draw it out, gorge on it, grow drunk on nothing more than his wife. Teeth gritted for restraint, he pressed into her slow and steady until he could go no farther. A twitch bloomed along his cheek as he soaked in her velvet grip.
Molly’s fingers bit into his chest as her mouth fell open with a low exhale. “Oh God, I love how you feel inside me.”

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Place I Belong by Inez Kelley

Format: E-booktheplaceibelong
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Country Roads, #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Jonah Alcott
Heroine: Zureyden Castellano
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 24, 2014
Started On: February 21, 2014
Finished On: February 22, 2014

The Place I Belong is the wonderful second installment of Inez Kelley’s Country Roads series. While I enjoyed the first book in the series, i.e. Take Me Home, I flat-out loved what the second book in this series had to offer.

Jonah Alcott is the man responsible for the PR at Hawkins Hardwood, a lumbar company in West Virginia. Jonah is charming, persuasive and confident in his abilities and believes in the good that Hawkins Hardwood does in the industry. His latest foe turns out to be as vivacious as she is stubborn, a woman who drives him to distraction in every single way possible.

Zureyden Castellano (Zury) hates seeing the beloved land that she calls home castrated in the name of profits. Her fight to keep the wild beauty of the land intact is a personal one, one borne out of knowing early on in her childhood where exactly in this world she belonged. Butting heads with the altogether too sexy for his own good Jonah was supposed to be just that, proving her point and walking away with the rights of the Black Cherry Canyon taken from Hawkins Hardwood which would guarantee the land wouldn’t be despoiled by those who seem to see nothing but big fat wads of cash in profits that would be reaped from the land.

But as Jonah and Zury spends time together, both of them realize that under all the frustration that they both harbor in making the other see the light, lies a simmering attraction that surpasses anything they have ever felt before. While Jonah prefers his dalliances with the opposite sex commitment free, Zury is the type who would never be completely happy with a casual romp and someone who would always seek more from her relationships. But even with their different outlooks, Zury and Jonah find that turning away from the wild sexual energy and the connection forged between them is something neither is capable of doing.

As these two gravitate more and more towards each other, Hawkins Hardwood falls under the target of an Eco-terrorist group that believes no boundaries exist when it comes to ensuring that nature thrive, at any cost. Whether Jonah would be able to convince Zury of who the real bad guys are in time and salvage the connection that grows between them is the question as the man behind the group, who has got practically nothing to lose, closes in on his intended target, all in the name of saving Zury’s beloved land.

What made The Place I Belong stand out for me were the different threads in the story interwoven cleverly together to give a highly readable tale of undeniable passion, love and the sizzle of danger. Jonah is a hero that I adored from his altogether gorgeous frame, either suited up or in casuals; that one scene during which Zury practically inhales Jonah in all his suited up glory one that is etched on my mind even now. What you see is not what you get when you take in Jonah’s character. The darkness in his past is one that boils to the surface proving to Zury just how wrong she had been in assuming Jonah to be just another pretty face when they had first made acquaintance.

While Jonah deserves endless drooling sessions with his lethal frame reminding me of none other than Gabriel Aubrey, Zury turned out to be a swell heroine who earned my wholehearted love and approval. Zury is the type of woman who is passionate about what she believes in and works actively to protect what she is passionate about. The fact that she was woman enough to admit to her faulty thinking made me love her even more, and Zury standing up in defense of the man she loves was one of those moments that I could have hugged her myself.

The bit that I loved most when it came to Zury and Jonah turns out to be the fact that even with all their differences and the countless arguments that they get into with each other, they never seem to hurt each other with their words. That is admirable to me on so many levels, not many people can pull that off with such vast differences in thinking without ending up bitter about one thing or the other. Cannot wait for Webb’s story to come out later this year!

I would urge readers to take a look at The Place I Belong not because its just a fabulous romance, but because the story is so very much more than that and offers quite the fascinating character in Jonah. Definitely recommended.

Final Verdict:  Inez Kelley whips a tornado through your emotions with The Place I Belong, leaving no part of your heart untouched.

Favorite Quotes

It was over ninety degrees in the sun but his hands were far hotter as they skimmed over her stomach, up her rib cage, over the cups of her bra to palm one aching mound. A nip to her neck caused her to gasp his name, to draw his scent mingled with summer wind into her lungs. He licked under her jaw and dragged his mouth along her skin to her ear. “Tell me you want this.”
She wanted it. She wanted it so badly her heartbeat surged and the juncture between her thighs went hot and soft. It was wrong, complicated and potentially stupid, but she didn’t want him to stop.

All intelligent thought evaporated as his fingers rolled her stiffened nipple through the cup of her bra. “More.”
“Oh, thank fuck.” A shudder worked up his spine and he took her mouth with a frantic strength. Long firm fingers dug into her ass as he rocked her hips into his, into the hardness behind his zipper. Pure feminine power filled her. She traced her short nails down his back, delighting in his low groan. Rolling her hips pressed her center against his growing erection, and his groan turned to a hungry growl. Her body flushed, softening and growing damp.

“Is that all you needed?”
He’d spoken into the phone but his attention was firmly locked on her as she strolled toward him, swinging her hips with a deliberate rhythm. He froze, standing perfectly still as she worked the knot out of his tie. The silk whispered against his shirt as she tugged it free, looping it around her own neck. His chest rose more quickly, his warm breath feathering over her brow as she started slipping open the buttons of his vest. Tongue touching her lip, she raised her chin to look into his eyes. Another button slid free.

The flavor of his skin burst onto her tongue as she licked. The unique scent of him filled her nose and she nuzzled, drawing in more of that heady fragrance. Recognition clicked. Summer wind, he smelled of summer wind racing through the trees. It was so erotic, she let the tip of her nose circle just below his ear. A soft growl rumbled in his chest.

Beneath the broadcloth, she found the real man, the man she’d discovered in the cabin, all rigid muscle and harnessed passion. His chest hair prickled her cheek and nose but she couldn’t stop from nuzzling just above his solar plexus. Strong hands curled around her shoulders, pulling her closer, inviting more touch, more taste. Her nipples hardened and her breasts grew achy. An emptiness pulsed between her legs.

Her hands slid up his arms, clinging to his shoulders. One hand gripped the back of his hair, fisting it and forcing his kiss to deepen. Powerful arms wrapped around her, fitting her to his body. One huge palm skimmed down her back, over her hips, and palmed her ass. It forced her hips tighter to his and she wantonly rocked into him. His soft moan flavored the kiss. The tall grasses bent, cushioning them as he lowered her to the ground.

She wasn’t very busty but his look of pure reverence made her feel beautiful. One long lean finger stroked along the bottom curve then moved higher, circling the budded nipple. He repeated the motion with his tongue, flicking out with just the tip. A noise broke from her lips, hunger surging, and he sealed his sucking mouth around the crest.
White lights popped behind her eyelids as she melted into his caress. The crisp hair on his chest tickled against her belly as he moved to the other breast, kissing, nibbling, sucking, drawing her deeper into a haze of lust.

“That’s it. Open for me. Let me touch you.”
He didn’t know how open she was. More than her body lay exposed beneath him. Her heart and soul were bare and his for the taking. Words whispered from her mouth, every wrenching expression of love, every flowery vow and every hopeful longing spilled out. Just not in a language he understood. But it was enough for now. She had said them, unfettered and without fear.

“Oh God, Zury, you take me so good.”
One rough palm slid down her thigh to grip behind her knee. He raised her leg, bringing it along his hip. The slight change seated him deeper and she went wild. She raked his back and clutched at his shoulders, wanting, needing him closer, deeper. Jonah answered, ramming into her, retreating, returning with as much force. No civility softened his strokes. He was pure and raw and hungry and she loved it.

He moaned her name as his rhythm reached a frenetic tempo. A single chant circled her brain. Te amo. Te amo. Te amo. I love you. I love you. I love you.
An animalistic roar powered from him as he sank deeper than before and let go. He surged inside her, swelling and throbbing, and her body responded, shuddering in release. Together, they hung in the misty middle ground for ages, then drifted down as one.

She basked in a woman’s power to enthrall. “Right now, who do you belong to?”
His wet hair was mussed, framing his eyes with jagged edges. A wild, feral hunger carved his face into sharp lines and his fingertips bit deliciously into her hips. “You. I belong to you.”
She took no mercy, sinking downward in one swift lunge. His mouth fell open, his fingertips digging hard into her skin as his belly clenched.

Prickly chest hairs chafed her back as he brought his mouth to her nape. He tugged her hips up then sank inside, the force driving her into the mattress. “Now, you belong to me. Say my name.”
“Yes. Yours, Jonah. Harder.” She spread her legs and arched her hips, opening her body to him, pushing back into his every thrust. His hips slapped the flesh of her ass with a punishing rhythm. Sliding his hands down her arms, he laced their fingers and rocked.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Carina | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Take Me Home by Inez Kelley

Format: E-booktakemehome
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Country Roads, #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Matthew Dalton Shaw
Heroine: Kayla Edwards
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 25, 2013
Started On: November 22, 2013
Finished On: November 23, 2013

The wife of a colleague going into premature labor serves to be the reason behind the meet up between Matthew Shaw and Kayla Edwards, the owner of Mountain Speciality Spices, who also happens to be the new owner of Matt’s childhood home.

The attraction that sizzles to life between them blindsides Matt and though his libido would love nothing more than to give in to the open invitation in Kayla’s eyes, the memories that hound him from left and right every time he sets foot inside the now home of Kayla serves to be the reason why Matt cannot say yes to the fire that burns between them.

Kayla doesn’t seem to be able to figure out why Matt runs hot and cold when it comes to the connection that is so tangible between them, but Kayla is determined to explore the possibilities the connection between then could lead to. When Matt finally does give in, it gives both of them the possibility of exploring together, forever, if only Matt would take a chance and trust Kayla to do right by his past which Matt seems unable to make peace with.

Matt is delicious from his drool worthy physique to that ironclad sense of honor of his not to mention that tool-belt of his which I am definitely a slave to. Kayla turned out to be a heroine just as beautiful inside and out and a worthy partner for someone like Matt. The fact that they are both equally drawn towards each other from the beginning which was further strengthened by with how well they connect in all aspects of their lives was illustrated quite well by the unfolding story, which was what made me believe in the love that they felt for each other. Not to mention the tender and at times fierce love scenes that Inez is so good at delivering, made this a great read.

To make things that much more interesting, Inez gives readers a cast of wonderfully intriguing secondary characters who by the looks of it might get their own stories somewhere down the line. And of course, one must not forget the interesting tidbits regarding the intricacies involved in making maple syrup included in the chapters that definitely expanded my knowledge base and in return gave me quite the ‘healthy’ appetite to sample pancakes with maple syrup every time I picked up the book.

Great romance, recommended to those who love tortured heroes who are sweeter than the maple syrup that you have with your pancakes every morning. And of course for fans of Inez Kelley.

Final Verdict: A deliciously sizzling testament to the old adage home is where the heart is.

Favorite Quotes

She expected brute force and unchecked hunger. What she got was tenderness and complete control. He didn’t try to shove his tongue down her throat or scrape her teeth or paw her. He simply let his lips glide over hers until they parted willingly, needily. Then he coaxed her tongue to dance with his.

Her orgasm had been ebbing but now it jack-knifed into a harder, longer, deeper spasm inside her. Kayla clung to him as wave after wave undulated. Skin slapped skin. He wedged higher and thrust faster as he came. Her eyes flew wide as her body clenched again. Their gazes met and held, unblinking, joining them deeper than bodies.
Heat pulsed inside her as he shuddered and moaned her name. “Kayla.”
She had no voice to answer.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulder as his heart thudded against her chest.
Afterglow was tender, sweet, exhausted.
He placed a single kiss on her shoulder. “You curled my toes.”

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning

Format: E-bookpersonalassets
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Texas Nights, #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Cameron Kyle Wright
Heroine: Alice Ann Shelby
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 26, 2013
Started On: August 20, 2013
Finished On: August 26, 2013

Turned out being bad with Allie was so damned good.

Cameron Kyle Wright returns to his hometown of Shelbyville in Texas with a sense of homecoming, to start his own business, make a name for himself and perhaps find a woman to settle down with and start a family. But he is barely home before he runs into the all too delectable Alice Ann Shelby, the cossetted daughter of the most prestigious family in town.

Allie knows trouble of the good kind when she sees it. And the six foot of grumpy ruggedness that Cameron presents calls out to all her girly bits to stand up and take notice and perhaps have a go at him while they are at it. With a PHD in hand, Allie is the owner of a body image and sexuality counseling service in town aka a sex therapist, a business that is frowned upon by her father who had never in reality approved of anything she has done with her life.

When Allie proposes to Cameron a deal that includes all inclusive hot and mind-blowing sex whose by-product would be intense orgasms that would leave both of them begging for more, Cameron is hesitant to get down and dirty with a woman like Allie. For someone who wants and craves respect from his townsfolk, Cameron finds out that getting his dose of mind obliterating sex with Allie just might be worth all the hassle that she brings to the other aspects of his life as well.

With humor that begs one to laugh out loud; and I guarantee you that you wouldn’t be able to hold your laughter in even if you tried, Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning is a contemporary romance for those who love humor interlaced with every aspect of their romances. There’s plenty of heat to go around, with a cast of characters that holds their own and are appealing protagonists for the books that are certainly to follow in the Texas Nights series.

Cameron’s character is not one easily discernible when you first start out with the story. His character is revealed bit by bit and mostly towards the end of the story. Cameron is a giver at any cost, which is evident both in his actions in and out of bed. The way he totally and utterly focuses on pleasuring Allie is something to be savored, the way he wants to protects her even out of a misguided sense of responsibility one that is endearing and exasperating at the same time.

Allie has her work cut out for her when at first Cameron tries and resists her advances to take things slow. However, Allie on a mission is hell on wheels for any heterosexual male’s libido and that is how she wins him over together with other aspects of her character that comes out when she is with Cameron. The one thing she doesn’t factor into their supposedly meaningless trysts is the fact that her heart might become involved, that Cameron might be the one to get past the barriers and finally lay siege on her heart.

Recommended for those who love romances from authors like Jill Shalvis and Kristan Higgins. With heat of the panty melting variety, Personal Assets makes for a scorchingly great debut of the Texas Nights series.

Final Verdict: Humor, heat and heart makes for an unbeatable read!

Favorite Quotes

As he rolled to his side to rest his shaking arms, Cameron tried to ignore the way his heart was also pulsing, but not just from physical effort.
She’d asked for sex, plain and simple.
Whether she knew it or not, they’d already blown right past simple.

She kissed the base of his throat, and his chest rumbled against her breasts. He two-stepped them right off the dance floor and into a dark hallway. He gripped her hips in rough hands and lifted her, her thin bodice rubbing his chest, aligning their lips. He backed her against the wall and, within a single heartbeat, the kiss became a symphony of tangled tongues and mingled breaths. His arms tightened around her so she could barely inhale. They’d said barely a word, but their bodies were in deep communication.

Suddenly, he gripped her hips tighter and thrust into a sitting position so his face was even with her breasts. She wrapped her legs around his hips, leveraging him even deeper. He gave her a look that could’ve peeled the paint off one of his cars, burning and wild. Then his mouth was on her breast, surrounding, sucking, taking all of her inside his mouth.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Carina

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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: Life of the Party by Kate Davies

Format: E-booklifeoftheparty
Read with: Bluefire Reader for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Girls Most Likely To…, #3
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Jeremy Wright
Heroine: Tess Bonham
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: July 8, 2013
Started On: July 1, 2013
Finished On:July 1, 2013

Hero: Jeremy Wright moves to Silverton as the hotel manager & finds that he has a reason to stay in the woman he befriends and has crushed on for a long while.

Heroine: Tess Bonham is known as the ‘Life of the Party’, not because she has partied hard but rather the opposite. She’s the one who organises and arranges events and the one everyone depends upon; sometimes to the extent of taking advantage of her.

Storyline: Life of the Party is the 3rd and final book in the Girls Most Likely To… series by Kate Davies. The story revolves around Tess and her hot and wild affair which begins as a friends-with-benefits arrangement, or so she thinks. Little does Tess know that Jeremy has a whole lot of other plans for that involves her that stretches into a long, long while. 

Setting: Life of the Party is set in the small town of Silverton and is told from both Tess and Jeremy’s points of view.

Likes: By far, Life of the Party is my favourite from the series. Main reason being that I loved both Tess and Jeremy, perhaps because they’d both been around a bit in the previous books and I felt like I knew them somehow. Kate has done a wonderful job in creating a believable sense of connection between Jeremy and Tess and I couldn’t have asked for more in a novel of this length.

Jeremy is the kind of hero I love best. He has a wicked sense of humour that got to me right from the very beginning. Though younger than Tess, Jeremy seems very mature and though has been hurt before doesn’t bring along all those nightmares into his relationship with Tess. I am a goner for a hero who utters the endearment ‘sweetheart’ and I found myself practically swooning every time Jeremy flashed that wicked grin of his and uttered hot dirty talk that revved up more than Tess’s engines.

Tess is quite the loveable character in her own right. I loved the fact that she’s the sort of person who goes above and beyond for the people that she cares about. Her self esteem requires a bit of a boost which Jeremy certainly helps along with and I found the way Tess was worried she might mess things up with Jeremy so endearing and relatable! And I loved, loved, loved the way Jeremy brought to life the wicked side of the otherwise prim, proper and conservative Tess.

The fact that Jeremy and Tess can be themselves around each other and still want each other to the extent they do; that’s what made this book a winner in my opinion.

Dislikes: None.

Recommended for: Fans of Kate Davies; fans of the series & fans of older women-younger hero romances.

Final Verdict: Jeremy, oh dear Jeremy. You’ve made me a believer of dirty talkin’.

Favorite Quotes

A grin spread across his face.
“C’mere.”
“Right here?” She looked around, heat crawling up her neck. The sounds of the pub employees moving around outside clearly filtered into the little room.
“Right here, right now.” He held out his hand and she took it, hoping her trembling fingers wouldn’t give her nervousness away. “I’ve been wanting to do this all day.”
He tugged her closer, bringing their bodies into contact, and wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her own hand behind her. Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

“Jeremy,” she said, her voice pleased. “When did you get—”
Her sentence cut off as he pulled her out the door into the alley behind the pub. Turning her around, he pressed her up against the rough brick exterior, stepped between her legs and kissed her.
Within moments, he was achingly, ragingly hard. He rocked into her, letting her feel how much he wanted her, and she moaned into his mouth. He slipped a hand under her thigh, urging her leg up, and she wrapped it around him willingly. They were as close as they could get without losing articles of clothing, and he sure as hell resented the fabric that separated them.

Finally, finally, he moved between her legs, raising her up with both hands beneath her gorgeous ass, and slid all the way home.
They both groaned at the sensation, and he had to stop for a moment, buried to the hilt, as he fought off a too-soon orgasm. It was everything he’d been waiting for—hot and tight and so, so wet. He dropped his forehead to her shoulder and breathed her in. Then he began to move.
Slowly at first, the drag and press of each inch waking nerve endings that had been long dormant.

With the lift of a shoulder, he headed toward his office. “Come on, let’s take a look at the schedule.”
The minute she was inside his office, he had the door shut and Tess crowded up against it. Her hair, so neat and tidy in that auburn topknot, started to slip and loosen. Something inside Jeremy did the same. He kissed her, long and slow, and it wasn’t until she damn near whimpered that he finally pulled away.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Saved By The Bride by Fiona Lowe

Format: E-booksavedbythebride
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wedding Fever, #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Finnegan Callahan
Heroine: Annika Jacobson
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 15, 2013
Started On: May 10, 2013
Finished On: July 1, 2013

Hero: Finnegan Callahan, driven and ambitious, is a man who steers clear of emotional entanglements. He knows for certain that forever never works. After all his parents had been the perfect example of how bad things can turn out when “love” leaves the equation.

Heroine: Annika Jacobson, a little bit klutzy with a whole lot of heart and enthusiasm for everything she puts herself into. She might not look too deep into herself and take care of what requires fixing when it comes to her own self, but she certainly does all that and more when it comes to the people that she loves.

Storyline: Saved by the Bride is the 1st book in the Wedding Fever series. Annika is the heroine who is determined that she would save her ailing hometown of Whitetail, Wisconsin at any cost. She is willing to go to any lengths, even if it means gatecrashing into the engagement party of the daughter of one of the most influential businessmen who owns property in Whitetail, if that is what is required to fix things up. Things however don’t go according to plan and before she manages to gracefully gatecrash, she is in dire need of rescuing and along comes Finnegan Callahan, a man who makes all her girly bits sit up and take notice when they really should not.

Before long, Finn and Annika are embroiled in a summer long affair that has no room whatsoever for emotional entanglements. But then when has love ever gone according to plan?

Setting: Saved by the Bride has a contemporary setting and takes place in the small town of Whitetail, Wisconsin and is told from both Finn and Annika’s points of view. Other secondary character viewpoints are also included.

Likes: Fiona Lowe has a talent for weaving stories with a lot of humor and heart in it with characters that really drive the story forward. Saved by the Bride is my second book from Fiona and I liked what the story had to offer. Being the first book in a new series always means laying the foundation for the novels that’d follow and I believe that Fiona has done a splendid job in the setup and I certainly did fall in love with the way of life in Whitetail.

The enthusiasm with which the folk of Whitetail takes on the project of turning their ailing town around rather than sitting on their bums and endlessly worrying about the dire circumstances they had all fallen into was really infectious. If everyone in this world puts that much heart and effort into solving their problems I bet that this world would be a whole different and a much better place.

Finn and Annika’s budding relationship is a mix of treading wearily into murky emotional waters and a whole lot of heat in the physical aspect. The attraction between Annika and Finn is one that sizzled right from the onset and is one the reasons why someone like Finn who is all too wary of anything emotional to take that step towards Annika, be it even if his intention at first had been to enter into a solely physical relationship.

The relationship between Finn and his father Sean was at times hard to read about. There is so much angst involved, the emotions that had been locked down for so long on Finn’s part upon all that disappointment he had encountered while growing up is hard to just forget and move on from. It is Annika who makes him face what he doesn’t want to and in turn it is Finn who makes Annika face all that she doesn’t want to.

I loved and loved the romance between the secondary characters Bridget and her fiance Hank. Bridget’s need to get everything perfect in the misguided notion that her wedded life would be everlasting if then was an aspect of the story that I found myself really interested in.

The one bit that I truly liked was the time Annika was “forced” to take in order to find herself and make peace with her past and finally be able to return to being who she is supposed to be. I think love in its finest and lasting form can only happen only when you are at peace with your own self.

And way out of topic, but something that just tickled my funny bone; Annika being called “Anni”. Mohamed Nasheed or rather “Anni” as he is known amongst his supporters is one of the Presidential candidates in the upcoming Maldivian elections in September 2013!

Dislikes: I might be the only one who thinks so, but I thought that the story sometimes deviated a bit too much from the focus that should have been Finn and Annika. Sometimes that’s the drawback of reading stories featuring a lot of characters; focus is lost from the main leading characters and I believe that happened in Saved by the Bride too. Not that the other characters and their interactions weren’t interesting and lent its own colorful richness to the unfolding story. But I’d have loved to read about Annika and Finn just a tad more.

Recommended for: Those who love romances set in small towns that encompass a lot of humor and heart. This one’s for you!

Final Verdict: A whole lot of humor, a little bit of angst and love of the heartwarming kind. You are definitely going to fall in love!

Favorite Quotes

She opened her mouth under his and sighed. He tasted of malt, of hot, starry summer nights and a tantalizing sense of long-lost joy. With her hand still pressed against his chest, she curled her fingers under the gaps between the studs of his formal shirt, and the tips met hot skin and taught muscle. Her breath hitched and her palm itched to feel more.
His hands slipped down her neck, caressing her bare shoulders and journeying along her arms – the touch leaving a trail of intoxicating bubbles that joined together into an effervescence of unadulterated need.

His mouth melded to hers and his heat flooded her like the blast from an open furnace – swooping through her like a hot wind on an August day. It instantly fanned all the tiny embers of desire that had been burning deep inside of her for days, into a ranging and out-of-control wildfire. She plundered his mouth with hers, filling herself with his taste of coffee, mint and sex. As she lost herself in his mouth, she pressed her hands to his naked skin, touching him and soaking him up like parched land absorbs rain when the drought breaks.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Cutest Couple by Kate Davies

Format: E-bookcutestcouple.jpg
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Girls Most Likely To… #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Marc
Heroine: Bree Oliver
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 29, 2013
Started On: May 4, 2013
Finished On: May 10, 2013

Hero: Marc, finishes high school and acts out on his duty to his country to and joins the military to do his part for the war on terror.

Heroine: Bree Oliver, becomes a single mom right out of high school.

Storyline: Its the ten year high school reunion of Bree’s and Marc’s class. Marc being based nearby decides to come and find out how Bree had faired only to receive the shock of his lifetime; that he is the father of a little boy who looks just like him.

Time period: Cutest Couple is set in the present time and is told from both Bree and Marc’s points of view.

Likes: I loved Marc, for being the standup guy he is. His inherent good character manages to shine through even though this is a very short novella and focus on him is just a tad less than that compared with Bree. And on the hottie side, I am certain Marc in military garb would be enough to fuel a couple of fantasies for long cold nights.

Dislikes: I am disappointed to say that I didn’t like Bree’s character overly much. I found her to be a bit shallow and selfish and I say this with reason. Though I understood that Bree’s fears of commitment with Marc stemmed from valid reasons owing to her childhood, I still was irked by how little of a chance she gave to the guy she dated and knew inside out during the last couple of years of their high school together. It just seemed unfair to say the least that she never really put in much of an effort to reach out to Marc, at least just to let him know that he is the father of their child.

And I certainly would have loved to know more about Marc and his history which I know is asking for an impossibility in a novel of this length.

Recommended for: Fans of the series, fans of reunion romances and fans of author Kate Davies.

Final Verdict: A good 2nd installment for the Most Likely to series.

Favorite Quotes

He tugged her closer, wrapping his free arm around her back, and teased her mouth open with his tongue. She didn’t respond, not at first, but right as he was about to pull away, she whimpered softly and kissed him back.
It had been ten years since he’d tasted her, ten years during which he should have forgotten her mouth, her tongue, her white teeth nipping at his lip. It was an intoxicating mix of the familiar and the new, and he delved in again, wanting more, wanting it all.

Turning her, he backed her blindly into the locker bank. Urging her leg up, he wrapped it around his waist, rocking into her in a steady rhythm that built and built. Her head dropped back, banging against the metal locker with a hollow thunk.
He ripped his mouth away from hers, sliding his lips down her cheek to her jawline, feathering over the column of her neck, until he reached the sensitive spot where her pulse raced right under her skin. He mouthed over it, grimly satisfied with her gasping cry. Then he latched on and sucked.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Most Likely to Succeed by Kate Davies

Format: E-bookmostlikelytosucceed
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Most Likely To…, #1
Publisher: Carina Books
Hero: Nathan Barrow
Heroine: Kelsey Moore
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: March 25, 2013
Started On: March 7, 2013
Finished On: March 8, 2013

Hero: Nathan Barrow, works in disaster stricken countries for an international relief organization. Doesn’t care much for mixing in with the “right” sort of company & is always focused on the task at hand.

Heroine: Kelsey Moore, works at her mother’s flower shop since high school. Basically thinks herself to be stuck in a rut from which she would never find an escape from.

Storyline: Its the 10 year reunion of Kelsey and Nathan’s batch in high school and Tess, one of Kelsey’s best friends is putting everything she has into making the reunion one that is bound to shake things up. Kelsey who had crushed big time on her high school lab partner Nathan finds a golden opportunity in scratching a 12 year itch she has had for him. For Nathan, it is something that keeps pushing him to return to his hometown that has him looking forward to the reunion and of course bumping into Kelsey is one of the topmost things on his agenda.

Time Period: Most Likely to Succeed takes place in present time in the small town of Silverton and is told from both Nathan and Kelsey’s points of view.

Awareness between Nathan and Kelsey: Nathan hadn’t noticed much back in high school apart from the fact that Kelsey had been his one steady friend and the lab partner who sometimes pushed him to have a little bit of downtime from studies every now and then. The reunion opens his eyes to a side of Kelsey that he has not noticed before, an altogether alluring side that makes him want to get horizontal with her and never come up for air. The sexual tension between Nathan and Kelsey is very much a part of the developing storyline, their attraction that makes them both ready to explore the feelings of a stronger variety that emerge later on.

Likes: Though a novella, I felt that Kate Davies did a decent job out of tying up all ends in the romance that buds and fosters between Nathan and Kelsey. Both Nathan and Kelsey are likable characters. For Nathan, Kelsey is the woman who excites him and completes him every single way. And for Kelsey, Nathan is the man who makes her look deep into herself and start realizing her worth as a person; not as the person who lost her way after high school as she likes to think. And of course, even before halfway into the story, I was practically itching to learn more about each character that I encountered along the way and I can’t wait for the rest of the novellas to come out!

Dislikes: –

Recommended for: Fans of contemporary romances and reunion romances. And of course, fans of Kate Davies.

Final Verdict: Great storytelling by Kate Davies. Cannot wait for the stories of Tess and Bree which I am certain would leave me begging for more!

Favorite Quotes

And then she was grabbing his shirt collar and tugging him down for a searing kiss, and he stopped thinking altogether.
Groaning into her mouth, he backed her up against the door, slamming it shut behind them. He pressed into her, her soft breasts tight against his chest and his groin easing into the sweet spot between her legs. She moaned and spread her legs as wide as her tight skirt would allow.

Kelsey moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist, hooking them together at the ankles as she rose to meet his thrusts. Her short nails scratched at his back, slipping through the sheen of perspiration that had blossomed. She lifted her head and nosed at the spot where his shoulder met his neck, latched on to it with her mouth and sucked.
Somehow, the knowledge that she was tasting him, marking him, drove him even closer to the edge.

 

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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