Category / Charming Hero

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tempest in Eden by Sandra Brown

Format: E-booktempestineden
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Ian Douglas
Heroine: Shay Morrison
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 2005
Started On: September 7, 2014
Finished On: September 8, 2014

Tempest in Eden is one of those books that I have missed out on in my quest to read all the titles by Sandra Brown. This one came to my notice I think through Amazon that does a wonderful job out of emptying my credit card every month by suggesting books that I definitely MUST have, most of which I never end up reading due to time constraints.

Tempest in Eden tells the story of Shay Morrison, whose mother recently gets remarried. Meeting her stepbrother turns out to be one hell of an encounter, when she sees the man in the shower, completely naked, spellbinding Shay by the complete and utter deliciousness of his physique.

From the moment Shay and Ian meet, it’s a clash of wills between the model that poses nude, someone who has no qualms about showing off parts of her body and Ian who is a Minister, who has devoted his life to serving God. Shay turns into a completely different person around Ian, her need to move past the indifference he shows towards her body and attempts to bring him to heel making her more frustrated and prone to childish tantrums than she believes herself possible.

Tempest in Eden throws the hero and heroine into an intriguing scenario. A clash of wills as well as a clash of beliefs takes place. Shay is quick to anger, because she always ends up being defensive about her life and the career she has chosen. Her defensiveness and the walls she has built around her heart also stems from her past marriage, a marriage that had left its emotional mark on her.

I loved Ian as a hero. He is gentle in his soul, understanding even when Shay tests his patience every now and again with her temper and physically a demanding lover who cannot get enough of the woman who holds him enslaved. I cannot say that I fell in love with Shay. There were times when I felt like shaking some sense into her and then there was the latter part of the story where she grew up and made me fall for her character, just a little.

This might not be the best of Sandra’s work, but her talent nevertheless shines through in this short novel. A bit flowery in prose for my tastes perhaps, but the one thing that has held constant in her past novels, something that I miss in her present ones is that Sandra always manages to capture in her novels the essence of a wildly hedonistic sexual attraction that practically robs two people of their very breath in their desire to consume one another. And that is an emotion that is rarely captured in novels of today.

Recommended for fans of Sandra Brown.

Final Verdict: Nude model vs a Minister. Let the sparks fly!

Favorite Quotes

He went only as far as the third button. With heart-stopping slowness, he carefully parted her blouse. His hand slid around the column of her throat. He pressed his thumb against the pulse point at its base. It was beating erratically. “I had to touch you with some degree of intimacy.” He sighed. She closed her eyes just as his mouth fused with hers.
The kiss was hot, wet, and turbulent, evoking the very act of love. His thumb kept up that hypnotic massage along her neck. It was only a suggestion of the things she wanted him to do. It was only a suggestion of the things his eyes had told her he wanted to do.

“Shay, I can’t wait. Take me inside you.”
He grasped her hips with strong hands, and she let herself be impaled on his strength. Her cries of ecstasy echoed in the small tile enclosure as he fused their bodies with the wet, sleek precision of two sea creatures. Their mating was frenzied and quick. His body shuddered with his release at the same moment that she collapsed onto his chest, dying a little even as his life pumped into her.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Too Much by Lea Griffith

Format: E-booktoomuch
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: All or Nothing, #1
Publisher: Loveswept
Hero: Jeremiah Copeland
Heroine: Dalia Grace Edwards
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: June 10, 2014
Started On: July 13, 2014
Finished On: September 7, 2014

Too Much by Lea Griffith is the first book in her All or Nothing Series. The title itself the most apt description of a novel such as this one that literally blew me away every time Jeremiah and Dalia got together. Their connection with each other is so intense that you can’t help but feel incinerated by the heat of their union and of course there is the emotional aspect to their relationship that is as deep and hard hitting.

It has been three long years since Dalia had last been touched by her Master Jeremiah. Three years since she walked away from how Jeremiah had taken her trust and heart and broken them both into pieces. A message for Jeremiah brings Dalia once again to his doorstep, this time to the BDSM club The Underground owned and operated by Jeremiah himself. While Dalia had expected the heat to hit her full force, she doesn’t comprehend just how easily she would turn to putty under Jeremiah’s masterful touch, which is exactly what happens.

While Jeremiah had always believed that he and Dalia would find their way back towards each other, he can’t help but fear that an old enemy of his is out to get him and that too through the woman who commands his heart, body and soul. Jeremiah knows how badly Dalia was hurt the last time when she walked away, but she wasn’t the only one whose soul had shattered to pieces then. And once again, Jeremiah starts cementing their relationship kiss by kiss and touch by touch; there is no submissive for him like Dalia and though he might be the dominant in their relationship, it is in reality Dalia that holds all the power over him.

Too Much is a novel that never lets up on the heat nor the emotional intensity. For readers who complain about “too many sex scenes” in a novel, this definitely won’t be your cup of tea. But for those who like BDSM themed erotic romances where the hero can practically melt you with every command, Jeremiah is definitely your man and Too Much definitely the book you ought to be reading.

Both Jeremiah and Dalia are easy to fall for; both of them having had rough childhoods, each broken in their own way finding that perfect match for each in the other. What I liked most was how the author balanced out the BDSM heavy sex scenes together with the tender “vanilla” variety ones which lent a meaning of its own to Jeremiah and Dalia’s relationship. For me, that shift and balance was what conveyed just how much Dalia meant to Jeremiah and vice versa.

I am very much looking forward to book 2 which is to come out this November; Toby and Ruthie’s story.

Recommended for those who love a whole lot of scorching sex with BDSM elements & emotionally intense stories.

Final Verdict: Jeremiah defines masterful in this scorching debut novel of the All or Nothing series!

Favorite Quotes

“I’m going to fuck you so hard and so long, when this is over you won’t walk right for a week,” he grit out. “Then when you’ve begun to walk like you don’t have my cock permanently embedded in your pussy, I’m going to fuck you again, even harder, even longer. And you’ll scream, Day. You’ll scream so hard you won’t ever forget what trying to dominate me got you.”

“Say it again,” he said, and pulled out of her body.
“Everything,” she said.
He set loose his lust, surging back in deep and hard. Over and over he pounded into her receptive sheath. He held her lower body and she used her legs’ grip on his hips to leverage against him, utilizing everything at her disposal to achieve release. Her mouth opened on a wordless scream and her abdomen rippled.
“Come!” he commanded, and her body convulsed on his.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Words by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanwords
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Dr. Sam Sherman
Heroine: Molly Harris
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 12, 2013
Started On: August 8, 2014
Finished On: August 8, 2014

Three short and delectable stories featuring three distinct themes. The one commonality that all three novellas share is that they provide scorching hot reads which tantalizes your tastebuds and leaves them begging for more. I am quite certain that a lot of readers who pick this series up and finds themselves falling in love with each character in the series would only want for one thing – full length novels featuring themes such as this one that authors seldom write these days.

More than Words is the third and final novella in the series and features a boss/secretary sort of theme where Molly Harris who has been in love with her boss Dr. Sam Sherman for much longer than she would like to admit finds herself in the awkward position of having sent an email that should never have reached Dr. Sam in the first place if not for her wayward emotions and a helluva busy day. An email that depicts her dirtiest fantasies involving the good doctor himself.

Sam couldn’t be more stunned in having found the explosive email in his inbox. And the fact that his tired brain could conjure every single one of Molly’s words and view them technicolor is proof enough that where his assistant is concerned, Sam is just fooling himself by thinking that he doesn’t feel the same where Molly is concerned.

If I were to pick a ‘least favorite’ in this series, More than Words would be it for me. Somehow the story lacked a little bit of something that prevented the wow factor from dazzling me. Even then, Jess Dee as one hell of a writer manages to pull off a story worth sinking your teeth into.

If you are looking for quick hot reads to fill the void between lengthier reads, More Than is the series for you. That is if you can manage to read all three without either spontaneously combusting on the spot or dunking yourself under a long cold shower. Yep, Jess Dee pulls no punches with the scorch factor in each of these stories. Recommended!

Final Verdict: Scorching heat guaranteed!

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Samhain | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Lovers by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanlovers
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Charlie Hudson
Heroine: Sarah Deacon
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 10, 2013
Started On: August 8, 2014
Finished On: August 8, 2014

More than Lovers by Jess Dee is the second book in her delectable erotica short story series More Than. Consisting of three books, it was only when I started on the second one that I realized that these three novellas are loosely connected to each other through one of the protagonists in each story.

More than Lovers follows the neighbors with benefits trope or rather where you have a neighbor hottie that you can’t help but salivate over. Charlie Hudson and Sara Deacon have been involved in an arrangement where they have sex with no strings attached for more than eighteen months. While Sarah is the smart and brainy heroine who has a job to match her education, Charlie leads a seemingly relaxed lifestyle by making a living through surfing and teaching people how to surf.

More than Lovers kicks off when Charlie tries to set up Sarah with three dates which might lead to the kind of relationship that she wants with a man, a long lasting and fulfilling one. But each date just throws the light on just how well suited both Charlie and Sarah are for each other, if only Charlie would be willing to let go of the prejudices holding him back when it comes to contemplating a future between him and Sarah.

More than Lovers turned out to be more well rounded than the first book in the series. And though Sebastian is still my favorite, Charlie does come close with that effortless sex appeal that courses through the story with just his mere presence alone. If these two books are anything to judge this explosive short series by, I would say Jess Dee has definitely struck where she wanted to hit with these delectable stories. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre!

Final Verdict: Smut of the variety you can never get enough of!

Favorite Quotes

“Fuck,” he rasped. “You tie me up in knots.”
Needing to connect with him somehow, to feel him on something more than a physical level, she looked up at his face and faltered at the emotion she saw in his eyes.
He stared down at her with such reverence, such adoration, her heart tripped and then soared.
There. That. It was all she needed. All she wanted. His expression filled the part of her soul that had hollowed in his absence.

And that was the last thing she did to him. The second he was sheathed, Charlie lost it. He had her on her back on the floor in seconds. Her sexy surfer dude paused just long enough to shove her skirt over her hips and bend her knees to her waist, and then he was inside, pounding into her, perspiration dotting his forehead.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Samhain | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Friends by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanfriends.jpeg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Sebastian Blackford
Heroine: Lucy Lawson
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: May 28, 2013
Started On: August 7, 2014
Finished On: August 7, 2014

I am a sucker for a good friends to lovers romance. I am also a sucker for the good bout of eroticism and romance that Jess Dee can deliver in her books. It goes to show just how out of the loop I have been to have missed out on Jess Dee’s More Than series which debuted in 2013 which I found out about only just last month. When I stumbled upon the series, I wasted no time in acquiring all three novellas and curled up in bed to enjoy the wild ride that only few authors such as Jess can only deliver.

Lucy Lawson has landed in the mother lord of all problems. She has fallen in love with her best friend going six years. Sebastian Blackford has no clue as to the mass riot of feelings coursing through Lucy’s heart, body and soul and feels gobsmacked when Lucy just lays it all out on him, the pent up desire and all that love laid bare for him to see.

Though Sebastian tells himself that he wants nothing more than friendship with Lucy, from the moment Lucy’s admission stamps images full of eroticism in his mind, there is no turning back from the desire that courses through him and practically floors him with the force of his want and desire.

More than Friends is a novella that hit all those spots with just 60 plus pages. The only thing more I could have asked for was a full fledged sex scene after all those scenes that served as foreplay and barely satiated my thirst for more of Sebastian. Its hard not to love all the male that Sebastian is. You’d just have to grab yourself a copy and find out for yourself lest I give too much away in my review.

A book that pulls no emotional punches, More than Friends is a testament to how an author who works for you can make even three short pages worth of a story give all that you want. Recommended for those who love quick, short and hot reads!

Final Verdict: Scorching hot. Sebastian will literally blow you away!

Favorite Quotes

Seb couldn’t help himself. He looked at the tub. And just like that, he was hard again. Painfully hard.
As fast as his head filled with images of a naked Lucy, lying in her bath, immersed in water with her hand buried between her legs, so blood filled his cock.
He saw her, her head thrown back, her neck arched, her breasts bobbing, nipples swollen and distended. And he wanted her. Wanted her with an intensity that blew his mind clean away.

Seb had no idea what made him do it, what clicked in his mind and made him act, but impulse took over. One minute Lucy was wrapped in his arms, pressed against his body, the next he’d backed her against the wall and ripped her top in two. Grabbed the neckline with his hands and torn it clean in half, from the top to the bottom, so it hung open, leaving her white lace bra exposed to his hungry—no, his starving—gaze.

“Other one,” she begged. “Kiss the other breast.”
He did. He kissed it, nipped at it, suckled on it and when a soft keening sound filled the air, bit it.
Jesus, what was it with the biting? When the fuck did he ever bite a woman?
Never, that’s when.
But with Loo it was different. With Loo it was essential. He had to bite. Had to taste her, had to…mark her.
Mark her. Fuck yeah. That’s exactly what he had to do.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Samhain | Kobo | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tell No Lies by Tanya Anne Crosby

Format: E-booktellnolies
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Aldridge Sisters, #2
Publisher: Kensington Publishers
Hero: Ian Patterson
Heroine: Augusta Aldridge
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 2014
Started On: July 31, 2014
Finished On: August 1, 2014

What lengths would you be willing to go to get your share of 37 million dollars worth of inheritance money? Well, turns out pretty much about anything. Even if it means spending time with your estranged family, and letting your dead mother control your family’s actions from beyond the grave.

Of the three sisters, 34 year old Augusta Aldridge is the middle child, the one who gets saddled with restoring the family home. Each of the three siblings gets a task to be fulfilled within a year, which had to be done with the three of them living together in the same house for the duration. Though Tell No Lies does read as a standalone, I think I did miss out on vital aspects of the back story by having jumped straight to reading the second book in the Aldridge Sisters series.

Ian Patterson, falsely accused of the series of gruesome murders that had rocked the headlines of this small town had been a priest before, someone who had been genuinely willing to take on his vow of celibacy because that’s what he had thought he had wanted to be. However, all that changes due to events that had propelled him to travel to Secessionville to seek answers for the questions to which the law enforcement are hard pressed to answer. Being falsely accused of committing the murders, Ian is almost at that point of helplessness when Augusta comes to his rescue.

Augusta knows in her heart that Ian couldn’t have murdered those women. But what if she was wrong? The one point that works in Ian’s favor is the fact that when the last murder had been carried out, they’d been together, lost in a swirl of desire that Augusta craves to taste again. But fear of the repercussions her actions might bring to her family prevents her from coming forward while the real killer continues to hold another victim to toy with.

Tanya Anne Crosby is a new to me author. But right from the start, Tanya’s ease with the words drew me in and I was engrossed in this tale of family secrets, murder and a searing attraction that continued to wreak havoc on my emotions. The only regret that I truly had was that I hadn’t read the first book in the series, Speak No Evil. If you are hearing about this book for the first time, I would definitely recommend that you read book 1 for a more wholesome experience.

As I was reading I couldn’t help but wonder why authors have stopped writing romantic suspense the likes of this one. Some of my favorite reads in the genre have been based in the South, the setting itself lending a charm and a sultry edge to the story that one is hard pressed to find these days. I am definitely going to check out more books by Tanya! Recommended for fans of romantic suspense.

Final Verdict: Great combination of fatal southern secrets, murder and romance. Recommended. 

Favorite Quotes

As he stood there watching Shaw disappear behind the security doors, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that every last trace of the man he used to be—the man he was trying to be—was gone.
Who was he now?
Someone he didn’t know.
Someone he didn’t want to know.

Wide-eyed, Augusta stared at him. Naked and unashamed, he rested his hand once again on his erection, stroking it seductively, waiting for her answer. His hair fell back behind his shoulders, and the earring in his ear gleamed wickedly. A day’s worth of golden whiskers glittered on his face. He was easily the most beautiful man she had ever known.
Augusta couldn’t have walked away from this moment if her life had depended upon it.
She was lost—body and soul.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Silver Falls by Anne Stuart

Format: E-booksilverfalls
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: MIRA
Hero: Caleb Middleton
Heroine: Rachel Chapman Middleton
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 2009
Started On: July 30, 2014
Finished On: July 31, 2014

Silver Falls by Anne Stuart is one of those novels by her that I have tried to steer clear of because of the bad reviews this one has received. Even fans of Anne Stuart seems to have one reason or the other for giving this a bad rating which made me reluctant to pick this up for a read because I didn’t want to ruin the fascination that I harbor for Anne Stuart as an author. Perhaps I should have trusted a bit more in an author, even whose novels that can be classified as “mediocre” have wooed me more than any other author in the romance genre. From the moment I picked this up to read till I was done and beyond, I couldn’t help but wonder why most readers found this read to be so lackluster.

Based in Silver Falls of Washington where its always gloomy and always rains, Silver Falls tells the story of a creepy serial killer and the heroine Rachel Chapman Middleton and her daughter who gets caught in the web of deceit that the killer weaves so thoroughly. Up till four months prior to the start of the story, Rachel had brought up her daughter Sophie all by herself, having led a nomadic existence, traveling all over the world which had seemed to suite them both. Tragedy sends Rachel into the arms of David Middleton, who materializes at just the right time and woos Rachel into believing that its time that she settle down somewhere in order to give Sophie a more stable home.

When the murder of a young girl sends fear rolling through Silver Falls, along with it comes home the black sheep of the Middleton family; Caleb Middleton. A war correspondent who has traveled extensively around the world, Caleb comes home to put the demons that have haunted him to rest once and for all. The truth that has been staring him in his face for more than half of his life, a truth that he had been unable to get on board with and come to terms with, Caleb realizes that he has already left it to chance for far too long.

The minute Caleb crosses paths with Rachel, his brother’s wife, sparks fly between the two. Rachel doesn’t want to care overly much about how Caleb makes every cell in her come alive with his presence, nor does she want to acknowledge the fiery attraction that simmers and makes her want Caleb and no one but him. Caleb’s intentions aren’t that clear to Rachel who suspects him of being the one behind that vague sense of discomfiture and feeling of being unknowingly hunted that had been the norm ever since Rachel had moved to Silver Falls. And when the inevitable happens, there is no going back for Rachel who would do anything to keep her daughter safe.

Silver Falls is a tad different from most of Anne Stuart’s romantic suspense novels. From the beginning of the story, readers know who the killer is. Didn’t make an iota of a difference where the creepy factor was concerned as Anne Stuart managed to reel the me in with that hypnotic talent of hers that only she is capable of weaving. The town itself and the killer whose seemingly normal facade that fools Rachel into believing otherwise sent chills up and down my spine and I enjoyed the thrill that aspect of the story gave me.

One factor that seems to have not worked for most readers turned out to be Rachel. She was too stubborn and TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) in a lot of readers’ opinions. But I think Rachel fit into the mould of a typical Anne Stuart heroine. They tend to be pretty stubborn, independent and refuse to give into the hero’s demands until there is no fight left in them. And I think Rachel being a wife together with the fact that she thought she was doing what was best for her daughter played a huge role in her reluctance to face the truth which was glaringly obvious to everyone but her.

I loved Sophie. It would be hard for anyone to find fault with someone who is as intelligent, sweet and the perfect daughter for someone like Rachel. Sophie is wise beyond her years; there is a grace and poise to her character that is charming in itself. Caleb of course turned out to be sexy and just the right amount of “bad boy” in my opinion. Caleb might think he is just using Rachel to further his agenda, but as it turns out he is way more smitten and drawn into Rachel than he would like to admit. Caleb is a bit more toned down than the usual variety of Anne Stuart heroes. Nevertheless he appealed to my senses just the same.

Recommended for fans of Anne Stuart.

Final Verdict: Creepily hypnotic! Recommended!

Favorite Quotes

“Kiss me back and I’ll let you go,” he said softly.
“Fuck off.”
He kissed her anyway, and she remained stonily still, as his other hand trailed up her back to the perfect, sensitive spot just beneath her shoulder blades, and she felt her treacherous body soften.
Oh, the hell with it. She kissed him back. She opened her mouth, slid her arms around his waist, pulling him closer still, and kissed him, with all the hunger and need that had been locked in her body for months, years. She kissed him because she couldn’t have him, kissed him because he showed up too late, kissed him until she felt his cock swell against her belly and the fierce need became his own as well.

“I tell you what. You can hate me. You can have me arrested. But you’ll be alive, and that’s all I care about.” And before she realized what he was doing he’d pulled the bedspread away from her, wrapping his body in it as well, and he was kissing his way down her body, his mouth latching on to her breast, sucking it into his mouth so hard she arched up off the bed. The pleasure was so fierce she couldn’t deny it anymore. She wanted, needed more, and when he moved to her other breast she almost came from the power of her response.

They moved without words, hands and mouths and bodies intertwining, stroking. She sank down on her knees in the narrow tub and took him in her mouth and he put his hands in her hair, holding her there for moments that she found unbearably arousing. He stopped her before she finished, pulling her up so that she straddled him, wrapping her legs around his waist, taking him deep inside, and it was slow and sweet and gentle, and when she came she cried.

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

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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: Noble Destiny by Katie MacAlister

Format: E-booknobledestiny
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Noble, #2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Hero: Alasdair Iain McGregor
Heroine: Charlotte Honoria Eveline Benedict
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 3, 2014
Started On: July 8, 2014
Finished On: July 12, 2014

Noble Destiny by Katie MacAlister is the second book in her re-published Noble series. I can see why anyone would want these books re-published. These are absolute gems of reads with so much humor and sexy passion to them that one can’t help but be entertained for their money’s worth and then some.

Both the hero Alasdair Iain McGregor and the heroine Charlotte Honoria Eveline Benedict are characters that were encountered in the first delightful romp of a novel in the series, Noble Intentions. Noble Destiny takes off four years after, when Lady Charlotte returns home to England after the Italian husband with whom she eloped with dies and leaves her a widow. Charlotte returns destitute with nary a penny to her name. Worst of all, the ton proves to be unforgiving where her reputation is concerned. Charlotte, not one to be daunted by the “little” things in life decides that if she is to get back into society’s good graces, she would do well to procure a rich husband the likes of Lord Carlisle.

Alasdair (Lord Carlisle or Dare as he would have people call him) has no time for romance or marriage or anything of the sort. Perhaps four years ago he had harbored in his heart to ask for Charlotte’s hand in marriage, but that notion had died a quick death when he had discovered that Earldom had come at a steep price where he had been concerned. But Charlotte once she puts her mind to something is not one to be deterred and her plan to nail Dare as her husband goes somewhat according to plan when Dare resigns himself to his fate where Charlotte is concerned.

What follows is a hilarious tale that would be hard to pull off for most authors but something Katie does rather fabulously. I found myself literally laughing out loud in many places and snorting through the rest as Charlotte’s character leads the reader and Dare along on a ride that is filled with mirth, havoc and oh such wonderful romance that one can’t help but be enchanted throughout.

At first Charlotte comes off as this vain heroine whose one sole aim is to acquire a husband rich enough to support her and good looking enough to match her in looks and of course who would give her wonderful looking babies. Her penchant for mixing up words leaves people around her perplexed, trying to keep up where the conversations with her takes them and let me tell you that it takes one hell of a writer to pull off that sort of character. I was prepared to dislike Charlotte for her vanity but then I should have trusted the author a bit more to lead me on a journey of discovery where Charlotte was concerned. She had redeemed herself multiple times over by the time the novel had seen to its ultimate conclusions and I don’t think I could have asked for someone more perfect for Dare than Charlotte.

And Dare. Oh my sweet Lord, Dare. The man is sexy personified through and through. Good looking enough to have tons of ladies tumbling after him with a body to match, Dare is not one to give into the frivolous nature of the many that constitute the ton, nor does he have that much of a use for what the ton thinks of him and his reclusive manner when it comes to hanging out with the ‘in’ crowd. Dare spends his days and nights tinkering away in his workshop, making enough money to pull the family name through his only goal in mind. And  then comes Charlotte into his life and the woman moves him to do things that he wouldn’t have thought himself therwise capable of.

One of the most interesting aspects of Charlotte’s character is her innocence coupled with her “knowledge” on matters of the carnal variety. I so loved how Charlotte responds to Dare on a physical and emotional level, the physical ones giving such delightful tension to the story. There were times I had to fan myself by seeing Dare through Charlotte’s eyes, the fantasies that man moves Charlotte to harbor is one that turned out to be such a delightful aspect of the story.

If you are worried about not having read book 1 in the series before this, worry not. This can be read perfectly as a standalone. But Noble Intentions too is a novel worth indulging in but comparing the two, Charlotte’s story wins hands down! With a couple of surprising twists to the story with a delectable cast of secondary characters, Noble Destiny is a novel very well worth your money. Most highly recommended for fans of romances!

Final Verdict: A deliciously sexy & honest to goodness laughter inducing romp!

Favorite Quotes

He was coatless, cravatless, his shirtsleeves rolled up to expose muscled forearms that were as bare as the day he was born. His shirt gaped at his neck clear down to the top of his waistcoat, exposing a tanned column of throat that made Charlotte’s mouth suddenly go dry.

Her breath caught in her throat, her nipples hardened and clamored for Dare’s touch, joining a veritable cacophony of cries for attention from numerous other parts of her body. She wanted his hands on her flesh, touching her, warming her, easing the ache that he started so deep inside her. She wanted it all, and she wanted it right at that moment. She took a step toward him. His eyes glittered darkly as he moved toward her, making a soft noise deep in his chest that answered the look in her eyes.

“Since you have no dowry, and no family to pay for the wedding, you will practice the utmost economy and organize it to my scriptures. Strictures,” he corrected himself. “Good God, your tongue is contagious!”
“There’s nothing wrong with my tongue,” Charlotte snapped, at her limit for being insulted and yelled at. “Which you’d know if you took the time to kiss me. You didn’t even do so when you offered for me, you beastly man, you!”

She didn’t have time to think of just what she’d do to his chest before his mouth took possession of hers.
“Dare! You can’t!”
“My lord!”
“Lady Charlotte, you mustn’t!”
“My lady!”
“Oh, Batsfoam, do something!”
“Short of warming up his lordship’s bed, I am at a
loss as to what you’d have me do, miss.”
“Batsfoam!”

He was everywhere, surrounding her, overwhelming her, one hand pulling her hips close to him, his thighs hard against her legs, her breasts aching and heavy again, pressed tightly against his chest. One hand tangled in her hair, pulling her head back until she was bent over his arm. But it was his mouth that captured and held her attention, his mouth that demanded and gave, coerced and teased until her eyes felt as if they would roll back in her head.

Charlotte was suddenly desperate to touch his flesh. She tugged at the shirt until it pulled free of his trousers, slipping her hands beneath to where his flesh beckoned and called to her.
“So hot,” she breathed, running her fingers over every muscled bulge and valley, tracing the line of his ribs, overwhelmed with the sense and feel and scent of him until she had to lean forward and press her face against his shirt. “You make me feel so hot, husband. You make me feel as if I’m on fire.”

He had thought her the devil incarnate? Dare tore his lips from the soft curve of her throat and watched as she arched her back, her eyes wide with amazement as ecstasy claimed her, her song of rapture filling him, binding him to her until he couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. Her love swept over him in a wave of heat so strong, it burned her name from his tongue as he gave way before it, pouring his life into her.
Soft, meaningless words were pressed into his flesh with gentle kisses and sweet breath. She wasn’t a devil; she was an angel.
And he would never let her go.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Something to Talk About by Dakota Cassidy

Format: E-booksomethingtotalkaboutdc.png
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Plum Orchard, #2
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Hero: Jackson Hawthorne
Heroine: Emmaline Amos
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 27, 2014
Started On: July 4, 2014
Finished On: July 8, 2014

Something to Talk About by Dakota Cassidy is my very first read from the author. Book number 2 in the Plum Orchards series invited me from the very first page to enter into the world of Emmaline Amos (Em) and make myself right at home. Dakota’s easy style of writing and the spark that practically set the pages afire made this a book worth sinking myself into.

36 year old single mother Em  is almost bursting at the seams to break out of the conservative shell that she has been placed in by everyone that knows her. Working as the manager of a phone sex company itself is a big achievement for someone whose ex-husband had called her prissy and boring, the emotional scars of which still taunts her even a year after the divorce. Her group of friends and her two young boys are what keeps her going. And even though Em craves for sultry nights with a man who can set her whole body on fire, the only thing that she has plans on setting fire to is just her imagination. That is until Jackson Hawthorne (Jax) walks into her life.

Em and Jax meet under interesting circumstances; when Jax’s sweet little daughter calls Call Girls Inc. looking for a girlfriend for her beloved daddy. Things take a mirthful turn when Jax misunderstands the situation and Em stares in the face of the man with whom she had shared an electrifying moment with a while back. Though Em might not like it or want it, Jax sets her engines revving unlike any man she has ever been with (not that she has been with anyone except for her ex-husband) and from the moment these two lip-lock, sparks that rivals that of the 4th of July lights up the story!

Jax and Em both have emotional scars that they would equally like to forget and move on from. And entanglement and putting their emotional lives in jeopardy is hardly what either of them wants. Thus Em proposes the easiest and least messy solution. They’d be sex partners, nothing more nothing less. No emotional entanglements for them. No sirree! But then we all know how life can throw the curveballs that shows you that all your grand planning is for naught. And love? Oh the sneaky emotion called love definitely loves to play when a man as sweet, manly and oh so sexy comes calling and can set your body humming like it has never ever before!

I loved Something to Talk About pretty much. There was so much goodness, emotional and otherwise in the story that you can’t help but fall a little bit more in love as you turn one page to the next. Jax Hawthorne, the man himself is reason enough for a girl to abandon everything and indulge in the story. From his name to his body to his personality, everything screams sexy and capable. And the way Jax takes care of his little girl? Well, that ought to charm you right out of your socks if nothing else.

Em herself turned out to be a pretty swell character. Her emotional scars are so real, the emotional punch that Dakota delivers along with it is enough to make you suck your breathe in and just ride out the roller coaster of a ride. I’d say that the insecurities that both Jax and Em have, individually and together is what touched me the most about the story. And Em coming out of her shell and facing her demons, well, that was just the icing on the cake that made this story a winner! Recommended.

Final Verdict: Hot, rugged and beautifully Southern. May Jax Hawthorne live hard & long!

Favorite Quotes

Fingers, long and thick, glided over her skin, teasing, pushing, easing away, kneading. Over and over until he skimmed the outline of her panties where her hip met thigh.
Em tensed, mewled a small sound she’d never heard come from her mouth before, but Jax muffled it with his lips.
Mercy, his mouth. Soft and hard in the same breath. Commanding, domineering, gentle with just a hint of the taste of the beer he’d had at dinner. More adjectives than her mind could parse—or even cared to.

Jax pulled her to him, wrapping a hand around her waist, and kissed her hard with delicious force.
He wasn’t asking permission, either. He was demanding she kiss him, angling his mouth over hers, coaxing her lips to his will with a tongue that tasted like peppermint and sex.

His kiss got hotter, more urgent, until her back was to his office wall, his rigid thighs straining against hers. Her nipples tightened, achy, needy, crushed against his broad chest, leaving an imprint of Jax all over her. One she wanted to roll around in, inhale, devour.

“Hold on to me,” was all he could manage from his tightly clenched jaw with the tip of his cock so close to all that heat.
Em did as instructed, putting her arms around his neck, still looking him square in the eye. But she wasn’t asking questions now. Now she had the same look in her eyes he imagined he had in his—like they were going into battle and the first one to come won.

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

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