Category / Charming Hero

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Way Home by Cindy Gerard

Format: E-bookthewayhome
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: One-Eyed Jacks, #2
Publisher: Gallery Books
Hero: Tyler Brown, Jeffery Robert Albert
Heroine: Jess Albert, Rabia
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 29, 2013
Started On: October 28, 2013
Finished On: November 6, 2013

If only he knew where home was.

The Way Home by Cindy Gerard is my very first read by the author. Book 2 in the One-Eyed Jacks series, book 1 of which I didn’t know that even existed until I delved into the story; The Way Home can be read as a standalone though there were bits in the story that makes you feel a teensy bit like you should have read the first book before venturing down the road of The Way Home.

The Way Home is a story that takes place in one of the rural villages of Afghanistan where a woman named Rabia tends to a wounded American soldier, harboring him in the secluded safety of her own home which puts her and her father in grave danger. Simultaneously, the story continues in Northern Minnesota where a woman who has lost her husband while fighting a war that had made little sense to her to begin with, takes those first tentative steps towards moving on with her life, falling in love all anew and embracing the joys of life.

For Rabia, taking care of one of the “enemy”, though had started out as a sense of obligation, changes with the depth of emotion that unfurls deep inside of her for a man whose sheer bravery makes her admire him in ways she had never admired any other. A man with no memory of who he was or what he had been through, even though the countless scars on his body and the ravaged state in which he is in speaks volumes about the kind of torture that he had undergone.

For Jess, finding the man who had made an impression on her during one chance encounter standing on her very doorstep makes her cautious and wary and yet exhilarated with a sense of excitement that has been missing from her life for far too long. Ty awakens in Jess the woman she has lost a long time back, rekindles the spark that had been blown out by too many disappointments that life had turned out to be. And in Ty, Jess meets a man whose sheer determination to win her over is a match for her stubbornness and the walls that she tries to keep between them tumbles down under that relentlessness of his. And then, with the happily ever after just within arms reach, trouble comes calling.

For Jeff, returning home means facing a life that he no longer remembers being a part of, embracing a family that he no longer remembers. The only person that he wants by his side cannot be a  part of his life and that breaks his heart more than anything else. The heartache and pain that seeps through the last couple of pages in this story would make even the strongest of persons weep. The longing to be elsewhere but where each of the 4 protagonists find themselves in is almost tangible and that is what makes The Way Home such a darn good read!

I absolutely loved the bits of the story that took place in Afghanistan, the reined in longing that blinds both Rabia and Jeff. The constant danger that surrounds them is one that cannot be denied, and even then, under the canopy of stars, in the deepest and darkest hours of the night, Rabia and Jeff come together, defying convention, the accepted norms and cultural differences not to mention the religious beliefs that Rabia holds close to her heart. All of that is no match for the love that grows and strengthens inside of both of them and that was in essence what kept me glued to the pages of this story.

Jess and Ty’s story were equally appealing in the sense that I loved how easy it was to fall in love with Ty. He doesn’t make it difficult, not at all. There are no false pretenses to be had, no backing down from what he feels for Jess; it is all too evident from all that he does for Jess and more. It takes an indefinable kind of strength for a man to walk away from the woman who holds his heart because he wants to do right by her and that ladies, makes it near impossible for you to not fall in love with Ty!

Recommended for fans of Cindy Gerard, fans of romances with military aspects to it and fans of the series. And of course those who love tearjerkers. This one’s definitely for you!

Final Verdict: Cindy Gerard brings forth a tale of immense pain, heartbreak and joy – not to be missed!

Favorite Quotes

And then she moved. Taking him in. Taking him deep, until his hips rose to meet hers, and his hands covered her breasts, finessing her nipples into aching, hard peaks, and she became as caught up as he was.
“Jess.” Her name eased out on a whisper, a curse, and finally a plea as he gripped her hips and slammed her down over him one final time, coming on a low, throaty groan and tipping her over the edge with him.

Purchase Links: Amazon | BookDepository | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins

Format: E-booktheperfectmatch
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Blue Heron, #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Thomas Jude Barlow
Heroine: Honor Grace Holland
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 29, 2013
Started On: October 28, 2013
Finished On: October 29, 2013

A Kristan Higgins book is like that favorite dogeared pillow that you hug yourself to sleep with, it is just like having that cup of coffee you have been craving for all day long; yes a Kristan Higgins definitely raises your spirits, gives you a ton of stuff to laugh about and also leaves you with that glow of being satisfied from a well spun romance that few authors manage to deliver time and yet again.

The Perfect Match is the second book in the Blue Heron series, the first one which I seemed to have missed out on. Honor Grace Holland is 35 year old, celebrating her birthday with a pap smear when her doctor has “the talk” with her which propels her to take action to save her dying eggs which would definitely mean the end of the road on her dream of having her own family someday. A botched up marriage proposal and a cat fight later, Honor is very much determined to get back on track for she is a woman who gets things done if nothing else.

Thomas Jude Barlow (Tom Barlow) is from Britain, has a wicked and wild accent that drives the ladies crazy and a professor of mechanical engineering. Tom is desperate for a way to stay in the US when a twisted sequence of events brings Honor and him together. A very hot and memorable night of sex together, Honor proposes a way out for him which would tie them both together in a marriage of convenience. Although neither Honor nor Tom believes that they are on the right track, both of them agree to a relationship that seems more difficult to make into a reality than it should have been.

Honor has her reservations about letting her heart get away from her a second time round. Having her heart crushed by the man whom she had loved and yearned for for the past 17 years is a bit too much and Honor knows deep down where it matters that Tom with his wicked smile, those deep gray eyes and panty melting accent of his not to mention the smokin’ hot body which makes her melt practically anywhere is hazardous to her heart. And of course there is the way that Tom doggedly keeps trying to win the affections of the one person who turns him away time and yet again, the reason he is marrying Honor for which practically makes falling for him that much easier.

Tom reserves a huge part of himself from the world, has a part of his heart sealed off which would never see the light of day if he has anything to say about it. Though Honor tugs at certain places in the left region of his chest which seems to have been left hollow for far too long, Tom knows that he has nothing in reality to offer to a woman like Honor who deserves so much more than a jail sentence for helping him out in time of his need. But every kiss they exchange tends to break down a little bit of the walls that Tom has built around his heart, Honor’s honest, and giving nature crumbles his resistance away until Tom has no choice left but to run away from himself when it all gets to be too much.

The Perfect Match was right about just perfect in every way. I loved the fact that this was told in third person and included both Honor and Tom’s points of view, something you usually miss out on when you read a Kristan Higgins because she mostly tends to write in the first person, mainly from the heroines point of view. I loved Honor’s larger than life family, each and every character in the story lending a rich vividness to the story that kept me turning the pages. It wasn’t just Honor and Tom’s story that kept me glued to my e-reader every spare minute I could find, but rather the whole brood that comes together that created a magic that totally washed over me and kept me enthralled till I turned the very last page.

Honor is one of the most swell heroines. You have to read the book to understand what I mean. Best way to describe her is to say that she is the one that keeps everything firmly glued together in her family and the whole story, the one who continues to give in that gentle way of hers, a woman who stands up that much quicker than she falls down; because life certainly does punch her in the face a time or two, hard enough to really knock her flat on her face. Enter Tom who is all kinds of sexy and appealing that half of his students tends to be women who just wants a piece of him, a man with whom she clicks right from the very start turning the sensible Honor into a woman of sensual cravings that is so unlike her.

I loved the fact that Kristan included more romance in this novel than any other novel I’ve read from her to-date. In most of her stories, the heroes and heroines tend to spend a lot of time apart before they do come together eventually. But The Perfect Match I think struck just the right balance and gave just enough amount of steam and romance to keep me all warm, happy and aglow with the wonderfulness of it all.

Along with the laughter, Kristan certainly knows how to deliver the gut wrenching emotional aspect that practically gobsmacked me with all those tears my eyes refused to shed and the throat tightening which went on for quite a while. Wait, I think I’m still suffering from some of that. Sigh, which practically means that I had one hell of a time reading The Perfect Match and so would you. So just find yourself a copy and take a peek. If nothing else you’d get a couple of unforgettable laughs and a happy jiggle in parts of your body better left unsaid here, just from the sheer experience that is Tom Barlow.

Definitely recommended!

Final Verdict: Laugh out loud funny, sexy and full of heart. Kristan Higgins is an incomparable force in the genre.

Favorite Quotes

She didn’t realize she’d launched herself at him until she was kissing him, and hell, it’d been what, almost two minutes, possibly more, since he’d last kissed her, and she missed it. He landed on his back with an ooph, but she didn’t really care.
“Hallo, what have we here?” he murmured, and she kissed him again, sliding her tongue against his, dying to kiss him, taste him, feel him.

She tugged his shirt from his waistband and slid her hands up his back, feeling thick muscle and hot skin, and pulled his shirt over his head. Something metal brushed against her—a medallion, dangling from a silver chain around his neck.
He pulled back a bit, looking down at her. His own breath was ragged, and though his face had been gentle earlier, he now looked somewhat…fearsome. Down Under clenched at the word.

He tossed down the scrunchy and kissed her. Hard. “You fucking terrified me,” he muttered, and kissed her again, this time more gently.
She was alive. She was safe. She was wet and naked and warm.
Then, before he took her right here in the shower, he left, streaming water, sopping wet.
Because the last thing he wanted was to feel all this.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | iTunes | Harlequin

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Waiting for Jo by S.R. Bradshaw

Format: E-bookwaitingforjoe
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Josephine O’Shea Trilogy, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: William Bennett
Heroine: Josephine O’Shea
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 28, 2013
Started On: October 23, 2013
Finished On: October 23, 2013

Josephine O’Shea (Jo) is smart and beautiful who seemingly has everything going for her. Apart from her crappy boss at work and the snazzy boyfriend James that had broken up with her a couple of months back and of course the stalker who wouldn’t quit, Jo seems to lead a charmed life. But as we all know, appearances can certainly be deceiving.

When Jo is summoned by her ex-boyfriend for drinks, this being the ex that she still has feelings for, it would have been a crime to go and see him without a few expectations of her own. But they are pretty much nipped in the bud when all that James offers her is a position at his law firm together with a couple of mixed signals that leaves her more confused than ever. It also marks the beginning of her relationship with William (Will) who makes for an interesting addition to the story that certainly stirs things up in more ways than one.

Waiting for Jo is written in the first person and told entirely from Jo’s point of view. Jo is a confused character at best, someone who faces the dilemma of choosing between two guys, one the ex who doesn’t seemingly really care what happens to her, and Will the one who goes out of his way to care for her wellbeing from the very beginning of their acquaintance even before their relationship turns into something more.

Mostly while reading romances, I have almost always felt like hitting the hero on the head a time or two to make him see the error of his ways and show him what is right in front of him. And of late I think I have come across many heroines of that variety too and Jo seems to fit the bill quite well. I felt like waving a red flag in front of her and showing her just how wrong she was in dillydallying between James and Will without really trying to stick it out with the guy who in actuality really cared about her. There are elements that would be considered as cheating in this story, so readers who find that to be a factor needs to take that into consideration before reading this one.

The stalker when revealed managed to surprise me and turned out to be someone that I dismissed initially as the person who could have been putting in all that effort to scare Jo out of her wits and submit her to the stalker’s every whim. Goes to show that when it comes to people you can never truly know what they are capable of.

I don’t know what Ms. Bradshaw has in store for Jo and Will as she tossed in a quite cool epilogue to finish off book 1 of this trilogy and it seemed like Will and Jo were truly on their way for the long haul. We shall see when book 2 comes out.

Final Verdict: Book one of the Josephine O’Shea trilogy delivers suspense and drama with a tinge of heat!

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

favorableread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Meant to be Married by Ruth Wind

Format: E-bookmeanttobemarried
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Men of the Land
Publisher: Harlequin Treasury
Hero: Elias de Jesus Salimento Santiago
Heroine: Sarah Greenwood
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 15, 2011
Started On: October 18, 2013
Finished On: October 18, 2013

‘Absence is to love what air is to fire. If it is small, it soon goes out. If it is great, it burns stronger.’

Ruth Wind is an author who has an amazing way with words. It is evident in the style of writing that she uses to bring her stories alive with the different nuances and colors that makes her books the vibrantly haunting reads that they are.

Meant to be Married is the story of the love affair between Elias Santiago and Sarah Greenwood, a love that had blossomed from friendship between two people whose families have been warring for decades. Their love had been an all consuming one that had left them with no room but to give it their all. But then Sarah’s father wouldn’t have his only child marrying one of the enemy and that is how these two find themselves torn apart from each other until 12 years later Sarah returns home which once again stirs up things between them.

Elias is a proud man, his pride evident in the way he holds his head high, has made a name for himself and proved himself a successful man capable of a lot more than people would have given him credit for. And when Sarah strolls back into town, the well ordered life that Elias had been living for a long while now comes crashing down at his feet, awakening all those emotions that had made him the adolescent who had been drunk on the love that had pretty much devoured them both.

Elias might want to enact his revenge on the man who had almost ruined his life 12 years back by using Sarah as the tool to achieve that, but that is not exactly how things turn out when both Sarah and Elias realize that for both of them, the other had been what had in actuality made their lives complete. But for them to have even the slightest chance at happiness, Sarah would have to stop running from her past and Elias would have to let go of his pride in order to go through that final stage of acceptance and love that would lead them through the rest of their lives.

While I loved Elias as a hero, I found that even towards the end he was a bit too stiff and unrelenting for me to really believe that Sarah and the love he has for her had won over the fire of hatred that has burned through him for far too long. Sarah had a way of running from everything that made things overwhelming for her and not without reason too, but at least she tried to do what no one else has had the courage to do; to heal the rift between the two families by finding out the actual truth about what had happened a long, long time ago.

All in all, I wouldn’t say that this is a bad read but rather a story that failed have that wow factor because I couldn’t really believe that in the end Elias would accept the truth and move on based on the history of the enmity between the families. Perhaps an epilogue would have done wonders to convince readers like myself who remains a wee bit skeptical even after the happily ever after.

Recommended for fans of Harlequin romances and fans of Ruth Wind.

Final Verdict: Ruth Wind is an author who takes you deep into the heart of any book she writes.

Favorite Quotes

It was Eli who stood there, his hair dripping, his face wet. The white cotton shirt stuck to his chest and arms, transparent against his dark skin, and his eyes burned as he stared at her.
A bolt of pure, undiluted hunger filled her, rushing through every cell, making her body ache. She might even have made a little sound, part fear, part need.
Without a word, he came in, put his cold hands on her face and kissed her.

“His clothes were wet, but they warmed as he pressed into her, warmed with the heat of his flesh and the heat of her own, and Sarah arched into him, put her arms around him, pulled him closer overwhelmed at her need to absorb the taste of Elias, remembered and not remembered, darker than it had been, seasoned with years and lost dreams and a thousand moments of yearning.

She held him fiercely as he met his release, and clasped his head between her hands and whispered his name, over and over.
Elias. Elias. Elias.
And then she was set free, her soul tangling with his, as she soared into the completeness that she had found only with him. She held him as tightly as she could, her arms and her legs wrapping him close, wanting to somehow make him part of her, so he could never be torn from her again.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Harlequin

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Choosing Chase by Julie Raust

Format: E-bookchoosingchase.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Old Enough to Love You, #1
Publisher: Self Published
Hero: Chase Cole
Heroine: Teresa
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 12, 2013
Started On: September 26, 2013
Finished On: October 17, 2013

Choosing Chase is a novella in the Old Enough to Love You series that features a sexy as sin hero who is younger than the heroine, who embarks on a mission to make her see once and for all that he is the one for her.

Teresa has had it with relationships when she had been widowed and left behind by a husband who had not found her to be his number one priority towards the latter part of their marriage. Bit by bit, Teresa’s confidence had eroded away under his callous disregard until Teresa had all but convinced herself that nobody would want her as she is, much less a man like Chase who could practically choose anyone to be his life partner.

Chase and Teresa has been friends for over two years, the whole period during which Chase has been biding his time to find his way through the armor that holds Teresa’s heart in an ironclad grip that doesn’t show any signs of relenting. But Chase is a man who has two years worth of determination fueled more so by the frustration he has suffered both sexual and otherwise when it comes to Teresa. And when the opportunity presents itself for Chase to make his case, oh boy, does he make his case, Chase does so with an enthusiasm that makes it an impossibility for Teresa to walk away.

Julie Raust is a new to me author and the one reason I accepted her request for a review is the fact that the trope of friends turning to lovers is one of my favorites. Though a new voice in the genre, Julie managed to draw me into the story that unfolded all the while giving enough tidbits about Teresa and Chase’s entwined past to keep the emotional aspect of the story real which went a long way into making the sexual connection between Chase and Teresa seem tangible and worthwhile.

Sounds like the next book in the series is going to have a lot of fireworks in the mix with two of Chase and Teresa’s friends being the main protagonists. Recommended for those who love erotic romances. This one’s short enough to wet your appetite for whats to come.

Final Verdict: Choosing Chase has the ingredients that makes an erotic romance a worthy read!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookkissofsnow
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, #10
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Hawke Snow
Heroine: Sienna Lauren
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 31, 2011
Started On: October 13, 2013
Finished On: October 16, 2013

So, you ask me, how does it feel to have reached and read Hawke’s story, the 10th book in the wondrous Psy-Changeling series; the main reason for me starting on this journey being to actually read Hawke and Sienna’s story which was pretty much sensationalized by the whole Goodreads community. Well, perhaps I might be a victim of my own expectations and all the sensationalism because I must say I was just a trifle bit disappointed with the story not because it wasn’t as exciting as the Psy-Changeling books always are, but rather because I felt that Hawke and Sienna was somehow shortchanged because of the gravity of everything else that was happening in the story.

Hawke is the Alpha of SnowDancer wolf changeling pack and is a man determined in the face of his fate. A fate that he believes wouldn’t ever ease the deep aching loneliness in his soul left by the death of the woman who would have been his mate for life. No matter how much Sienna Lauren might tempt him and call out to his inner wolf to come out and take a bite, consequences be damned, Hawke calls on the reserves of his icy and legendary control to stay strong in the face of temptation.

Two months after Indigo and Drew’s story takes place, the politics that governs the world inhabited by Psy, Changelings and humans keep changing, and not for the better in certain aspects. The Changelings call on all their reserves and up their vigilance when it comes to Psy because they all know that with the Psy council split into halves, its only a matter of time that war breaks out with the Changelings being the main focus of the war that Psy will wage in order to attain a world inhabited by pure Psy.

Sienna has known from the day that she and her family defected from the PsyNet and sought the protection of the SnowDancer Alpha that there would be no other man for her. Hawke might see her as a child but Sienna’s childhood has left her with many a scar and experienced so much more than even an adult might be subjected to during their entire lifetime. Sienna is an X-Psy meant for one purpose alone; destruction. With the ferocity of the power that Sienna always juggles in her hands, Sienna knows that her emotional well being is a key factor in controlling and keeping the destruction at bay. What Sienna doesn’t realize is that for an X-Psy, there does come a point of no return when there would be nothing left but to give in to the deadliness that she lives with every second of each day.

There are so many elements to the Psy-Changeling stories that makes them what they are; an entertaining and one hell of a read. Juggling all these aspects of the story together with Hawke and Sienna, who in their own rights are just as complex and multi-faceted must have been something and once again made for a great read in my opinion. However, both Hawke and Sienna have been waiting for their story for 9 whole books; Sienna had to grow up age wise enough for Hawke to not feel like he is the worst kind of pervert. On top of that there’s the issue of Hawke’s belief that he wouldn’t be ever able to give Sienna everything that she deserves and that would be the whole of him with nothing held back.

At first, I loved the way Hawke’s resistance came tumbling down, bit by bit when it became clear to him that his wolf wasn’t backing down on this one. The many an exasperating situation Hawke finds himself in because of Sienna and her antics to live her life as she pleased ends up being fraught with so much tension one minute and the next so tender and wistful that one cannot help but feel all the longing held deep in check on both sides. And I absolutely adored how Sienna seemed to be able to match Hawke in intelligence and wit, giving her all those qualities that makes her the perfect life partner for Hawke apart from the almost visceral need that burns bright between them.

However, in my opinion, there was too much holding back on Hawke’s part when it came to the final combustive culmination on Hawke and Sienna’s relationship. There were so many interruptions into the interludes that took place between Sienna and Hawke and I know that it built up the frustration not just between Hawke and Sienna but the readers as well. I expected fireworks, explosions and Hawke to live up to his legendary prowess as the Alpha of the pack and give me some seriously panty-melting variety of combustive scenes of passion. But what I got instead was tenderness and love in spades, which is not a bad thing but I would say it does take away one essential aspect of Hawke from him; his wildness that is held deep in check because he is the one that holds his Pack together. I wanted him to be able to let go and lose that legendary control of his that had kept him from reaching out to Sienna and taking her up against a wall or any flat surface they  could get to because lets face it, Changelings are by nature sensual creatures. But perhaps, Nalini toned the whole thing down for Sienna because her “fragility” when it comes to her power and the darkness that consumes her is one that needed to be handled with utmost care for the story to have been what it was.

More than Hawke and Sienna’s courtship, I was more revered actually by the secondary romance that unfurled between Sienna’s uncle Walker and the SnowDancer healer Lara. Walker who has never let himself accept the fact that when it comes to Lara his feelings run deep and in a direction that it has never steered before made for riveting reading. Lara is a gentle soul with a spine of steel to back it up. She is the healer who gives her heart and soul into caring for people when they are in need of it the most. Not much of a dominant, Lara knows in her heart that taking a step back from Walker who doesn’t seem to want to pursue what is between them would be the best thing for her. But Walker surprises her with those little things that he does in showing just how much in fact that he does care and in the end I loved how the legendary cool of Walker broke down under the gentle playfulness and love that Lara gives him in spades. I think sometimes Lara and Walker’s story acted as a balm to the reader’s soul to take a step back from all the intensity this novel was in every other aspect.

I’m almost sad that I now have only just two books to read in the series and would have to wait with the rest of the fans of this legendary series for the next book that is scheduled to come out in June of 2014. That is going to be a long wait I suppose if I do manage to get the time to squeeze in the other two books before then. I’m almost jealous of those who haven’t yet discovered the wonderfulness of this series, those who are yet going to find out just how talented Nalini is in keeping the reader engrossed from page one till the end. As always I must say, Nalini is a talent not to be missed in a genre that already has so many great authors. It is a tough job to stand out and do that exceptionally well with each book she publishes. And to the readers who are just starting out on the series or a halfway tempted to skip to Hawke’s story, I tell you just as Nalini told me, don’t. It’d certainly be worth the wait to see how the world and the lives of everyone shapes up in the rest of the stories.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Hawke! You just might end up with lesser misgivings that I did after reading because I seem to be in the minority with those who think that Hawke’s story lacked that something which would have made it a stupendous read. But even then, this as any novel in the series is awesomely well done and I cannot recommend this book and the entire series highly enough!

Final Verdict: Hawke and Sienna; an explosive combination that sets the whole series afire.

Favorite Quotes

It took every ounce of will he had to drop her arm, to not accept the unintended invitation and take them both to the floor in a tangle of skin and heat. But he couldn’t stop himself from running the knuckles of one hand down her throat as he stepped away, his gut tight, his body so damn hard he might as well have been made of steel. He moved until he was in prime position to watch her, and then he waited. She did nothing for a long, still moment, and he thought she would deny him this.
But then Sienna began to move.
And his wolf stopped pacing.

“Did you ever play?” Hawke’s voice so rough, his body so muscular and overwhelming.
She had never felt more feminine, never felt more like a sexual creature. “No.”
A pause. “Sienna—”
“No,” she said. “No more questions. Not tonight.” She wanted to dance with him, be a woman in the arms of a man who made every part of her awaken in a hunger she’d never expected to feel and who, for this magical moment, was hers.
His jaw, heavy with stubble, rubbed against her temple again as he shifted his hold to press her closer. Then, as the music played, as the night grew softer and quieter, they danced.

“It was easier to believe that my shot at mating died with Rissa than to risk that kind of pain again.” Thrusting his hand into her hair, he shook his head. “Except I never had a prayer when it came to you. You’re in my every breath and every thought, intertwined so deep inside me that love’s not a strong enough word—you have my devotion, your name branded on my soul, my wolf yours to command. A hundred years? It’ll never be enough. I want eternity.”

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Play of Passion by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookplayofpassion.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, #9
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Andrew Liam Kincaid
Heroine: Indigo Riviere
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 2, 2010
Started On: October 10, 2013
Finished On: October 13, 2013

Play of Passion by Nalini Singh is the 9th book in the Psy-Changeling series, the book that changes the focus that has been mainly on the DarkRiver Changeling pack to the SnowDancer, the wolf Changeling pack in the San Francisco area. Once again a dominant female comes into play, this time with a hero whose hierarchy in the pack is ambiguous at best which poses its own problem when it comes to winning the heroine over.

Andrew Liam Kincaid or Drew as he is most commonly known as is the tracker of the SnowDancer pack. His job is a difficult one in the sense not because of the abilities required of him but rather because of the decisions he may have to take when the inevitable moment arrives. Drew hunts those who go rogue from the pack and because of that he is not considered as a lieutenant though he reports directly to Hawke, the Alpha. The charm that practically oozes out of him hides behind a keen and sharp mind brimming with intelligence and at heart a wolf who wants to play with the mate he has chosen for himself though she might not be aware of his intentions.

Indigo Riviere is one of the dominant females in her pack and a lieutenant at that which makes submitting to any male almost an impossibility for her. Indigo had grown up seeing how destructive a relationship can be where the dominant female is not given the freedom to be who she is and she is determined to never let it happen to her, even if it means Drew charms her in ways that is completely alien to her and reaches out to the very heart of her that she has hidden behind so many walls that even she doesn’t realize just how much she has protected her heart from ever finding itself in a vulnerable position.

But Drew and his determination is no match for the stubbornness that streaks through Indigo and before she knows it Drew is kissing her time and yet again into yielding to his brand of strength and dominance, all the while giving back in spades, which makes it an impossibility for Indigo to turn her back and walk away.

Play of Passion is one the most angst-ridden book in the series because Indigo almost goes to that point of no return where she and Drew are concerned, trying to turn away from the passion that catches her heart, body and soul afire where Drew is concerned. Unlike most stories where you want to hit the hero on the head for being so stubborn, this time around I felt like admonishing the heroine because her stubbornness nearly proves to be Drew’s undoing. So many factors makes her wary of giving in, the thought of Drew trampling all over her and trying to make her into something she would never be the one fear that is constant until Drew shows her that he actually can be the sort of man who would actually be her equal rather than try to get into a pissing contest with her to find out who is more dominant than the other.

Their relationship is not one that comes into being without mistakes on both parts, but that is what makes the end result so heartwarming and well cemented in the end. There is no way on Earth any woman can remain unmoved by Drew and his charm and that unwavering faith of his that things would work out in the end. There were moments where you can’t help but laugh out loud where Drew and his courtship of Indigo is concerned, the factor that makes it impossible for Indigo to walk away from all that Drew is and what he offers.

In the meantime, Play of Passion brings forth the final steps towards the imminent war between the Psy and the Changelings that much closer, the Psy and their methods underhanded and sneaky, their plan for a pure Psy world where all Psy would submit to the will of the Councillors one that is chilly and unnerving to say the least. The fact that Changelings have proved that they are adaptive, agile and protective as hell when it comes to their own makes them one of the most worthy adversaries to battle with and win, and given the splits deep inside the Council, the war that is to happen is inevitable and bound to cause a wake of destruction unlike any other.

The end of this book brought me to the edge of the precipice that I’ve been wanting to reach ever since I started on the journey through the wondrous series that is the Psy-Changeling. The fact that Hawke’s book is the very next book made it impossible for me to read anything else but that afterwards, my rule of reading something else in between shot to smithereens by the fact that Hawke and Sienna makes their own appearances throughout the book, all showing glimpses of Hawke’s legendary control under fire where Sienna is concerned.

One of the most beautiful aspects of Play of Passion turned out to be how Drew makes someone like Indigo want to play and play they do with many a scorching scene of passion between them the testament to the fact.

Recommended for the fans of this series and fans of Paranormal/Fantasy romances. Read the series in order, because that is the only way to get the full impact of the whole cast of characters, each of them with multiple facets to them that makes this series the stupendous one that it is.

Final Verdict: Fantastically penned, as always.

Favorite Quotes

And then the damn male did that thing he did—he kissed her. As if he had every right to just take her mouth with the wild heat of his, to cup the back of her head, to bite down on her lower lip and suck her upper one into his mouth.
Her toes curled, the rage in her bloodstream translating into pure wild heat as the touch-hungry wolf took control. She hadn’t even realized she’d unfolded her arms until her palms met the hard wall of his chest. Hot. Strong. Beautiful.

But though he nudged at her with the blunt head of his erection, the shaft pushing eagerly at the entrance to her body, he stopped long enough to give her a wet, openmouthed kiss that was all licks and little bites, tender and affectionate and sexy all at once.
And then, as her body arched up, he thrust into her in a single hard push.
Her scream fell into his mouth, her fingers clenching on his biceps.

He closed his teeth over her lower lip in playful reprimand. “You’re not lying still.” One hand cupped her breast, fingers tugging at the taut peak of her nipple.
Inhaling a gasping breath, she opened her eyes to fire a retort . . . and saw the wolf looking down at her. “Hello,” she whispered.
His answer was to kiss her, his tongue pushing inside her mouth in audacious demand, his body strong and beautiful above her as he drove her stroke by slow stroke to another shimmering peak. This time, she held him as he shattered, his body going taut above her.

Crying out, Indigo gripped the edges of the bath, her breasts damp and gleaming above him as their bodies danced slick and hot beneath the water. The joining was a little rough, all raw. And then he closed his teeth over the delicate flesh of her breast and her body went taut in an explosion of pleasure, her muscles squeezing him tight as he crushed her to him and came with a hard, explosive grunt.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Mine to Keep by Cynthia Eden

Format: E-bookminetokeep
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Mine, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Trace Weston
Heroine: Skye Sullivan
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 16, 2013
Started On: October 10, 2013
Finished On: October 10, 2013

 “Every lover that I’ve ever had…he’s been you in the dark.”

Mine to Keep by Cynthia Eden turned out to be a “surprise” read. I say this because when I read and reviewed Mine to Take, the first book in the series, I had no idea that Cynthia had planned to write more books in the series, especially a second book featuring the main protagonists in the first book. And what a wonderful surprise this book turned out to be as Cynthia once again wooed me with the larger than life hero Trace Weston is together with Skye Sullivan, one of the most endearing heroines I’ve come across.

Mine to Keep should be read after reading Mine to Take. Though this can be read as a standalone, for the effect of Trace and Skye to be the explosive combination they are, one needs to understand their past and where they are coming from and how their shared past as well as the recent events have shaped them together as a couple.

Trace is a man willing to lay down his very life for the woman he loves beyond and above anything else in this world. A love that is so powerful and consuming that it makes him protective and uber possessive, especially after the recent bout of events that had nearly taken Skye away from him for good. In return, Skye is not a woman to be badgered into doing things Trace’s way just because she loves him with an intensity that takes her breathe away. However, Skye is a heroine who knows when to push and when to give in and that is exactly one reason why I love her so much.

Trace has secrets from his past, a past that is mired in so much blood that he doesn’t ever want Skye to know about it or be engulfed in the darkness of it all because Trace doesn’t believe that anyone could ever accept what he has done for his country when he had been serving in the deepest recesses of his country’s military. But Trace’s past just won’t go away that easily and when it comes calling, it puts Skye’s life in danger as everyone who knows Trace knows that the only way to shatter him into a thousand pieces is to get to Skye.

While Skye battles to unearth the secrets of the past that Trace tries so hard to keep from her, Trace tries his darnedest to protect her from the evil that lurks so close to him that even he himself is unable to see it. The killer wreaking a path of vengeance is not going to be denied, even if it means littering the way towards Trace and Skye with dead bodies. As the nth hour draws nearer, Trace wages the hardest battle with himself, to divulge the secrets hidden in the darkest corners of his heart, the secrets which he would have otherwise taken with him to the grave.

Mine to Keep is an explosive read, a testament to Cynthia’s ability that she can take on another story using the same protagonists of the 1st book in the series and still provide a as spellbinding read as the first. To be able to provide enough facts and details about the characters that are fresh and insightful is remarkable in itself and the way Cynthia always brings her stories to life with enough heat and heart thumping variety of action is unbeatable.

Trace and Skye are two halves of one whole. And I do not say this without reason. Skye and Trace’s lives are entwined from the night that Trace had saved Skye from the hands of a mad man hellbent on taking advantage of the young girl she had been back then. Ever since that night, both Trace and Skye had belonged to each other. The period of separation might as well have never happened and you have to read this to know why or otherwise I would end up giving too many details into the story.

What I love about any novel by Cynthia Eden is how she brings such scorching scenes of passion into her books – and I never seem to tire of them. More erotic than the most explicit erotica, Cynthia has a way of bringing tenderness together with the scorching hot factor that I don’t think any author achieves that well. The passion between Skye and Trace is an almost tangible one, always pulsing between them and even the most intense sessions of lovemaking between them somehow has a tender factor to it that makes their connection so very much appealing!

Knowing that there are at least two more books to follow in this series is a relief to someone who is so taken with the whole intense thing going on with Trace and the likely heroes for the next couple of books to be published in the series. If they are anything like Trace and the heroines are even half as endearing as Skye I can say without hesitation that I am going to be the biggest fan of the series.

Recommended for those who love spellbinding romantic suspense novels featuring intense, possessive and protective heroes that right about makes you want to swoon just from their mere presence alone.

Final Verdict: Trace Weston demands your submission from page one. Absolutely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

He positioned his body and drove into her. Deep. So deep. She stared into his eyes, those bright, glittering eyes. Stared right into that blue even as the bed shook beneath her. He thrust, again and again. Harder.
There was no more thinking. Only feeling.
Meeting him. Thrust for thrust.

“You were my dream, when I was in a nightmare.”
She opened her mouth and tasted him. It was her turn to lick, to stroke, to enjoy the hot and hard length of his cock in—
He jerked her up. Spun her around. Pushed her onto the bed and lifted up her hips. Her stomach hit the mattress even as her hands fisted in the sheets.  She heaved up and tried to glance over her shoulder at him.
Trace sank into her. A deep, hard thrust. There was no holding back then, he drove into her in a plunge that took her breath.

She came with a fury, exploding hard and fast as the orgasm rocketed through her. It took her breath. Made the world grow dim for an instant, and she reveled in it.
He came right after her. Another hard thrust, then he was pumping within her.  He kissed her while he came, and Skye was sure that she could taste his pleasure.
There was no room for doubt. It was just her. Just him.

His thrusts came faster. They were even harder, lifting her body. She tightened her hold around him, trying to catch her breath.
“You’re not done, Skye.” He locked both of her wrists in one of his. Kept them secured above her head.  His left hand slipped between their bodies. He stroked her clit again. Pushed her and pushed her until she screamed.
But she didn’t scream for him to stop.
She screamed Trace’s name.

The line was there, so hard to determine. Because the feelings coursing through her were so strong.  So dark and powerful.
He erupted.  “Skye!” His orgasm went on and on, and she was lost as she seemed to fall into the abyss.
Not pain.
Only pleasure.
Only…Trace.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Whose Bed Is It Anyway? by Natalie Anderson

Format: E-bookwhosebadisitanyway
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Men of Manhattan, #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: James Wolfe
Heroine: Caitlin Moore
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 1, 2013
Started On: September 16, 2013
Finished On: September 26, 2013

Whose Bed Is It Anyway? by Natalie Anderson tells the story of medic and rescue man James Wolfe who comes from a rich family, who works in disaster-ravaged countries, a man paying his penance for his past. The demons that haunt him are many and James refuses to stand still or rather stay in one place for far too long unless of course he is working. Work is his salvation, the only time when he feels at ease with himself. Considered a hero by many, James nevertheless shies away from the limelight, the hero status something he feels he is unworthy of.

Caitlin Moore is running from the present; the spectacle that her life had become in the past couple of weeks. When a friend offers her a place to crash, Caitlin doesn’t hesitate to take him up on his offer to seek refuge in the welcoming blanket of anonymity she’d find out of her home country. What Caitlin doesn’t bargain on is ending up sharing a room and a bed with the most devastatingly sexy man to ever stride into her life.

With an attraction that won’t quit, and with James confined to his home for the duration upon which his supervisor forces him to take a couple of days off, both James and Caitlin decide to do the sensible thing and indulge in a little holiday fling that would give them both a whole lot of fun with no expectations on either side. But the kind of searing hot attraction that James and Caitlin shares does come with a price; the price of emotional entanglements that neither factors into the equation of their holiday affair.

I loved Whose Bed Is It Anyway? from its pretty cover to the couple in the story and the very tantalizing and toe-curling variety of scorching passion in this story. Most of all I loved the hero James, his grumpy and albeit sexy as sin persona which made me salivate a bit and then some over him. His utter focus and intensity is off the charts and adds that extra layer to his character which made James a hero to covet. I loved the fact that though his only aim was to have a holiday affair, the way he is taken unawares with just how much Caitlin comes to mean to him sends him on a tailspin which served to be one of the best bits about the story. And the passion, oh dear lord the passion between Caitlin and James was so well done that I couldn’t have asked for more!

Caitlin turned out to be a beautiful character, on the inside as well as the out. With an inner core of vulnerability from growing up with a family that had been too engrossed in performing their different roles in pursuit of an acting career, Caitlin has lived a life not of the kind that she wants for herself, but one that had been required of her from her father. Scars of the emotional variety lingers in Caitlin’s heart, her wounds never having completely healed over needing an outlet due to the latest fiasco in her life. In James’s arms Caitlin finds that she is safe, treasured and wanted all at the same time, a heady combination for a woman who has never been wanted for herself in her entire life.

I loved the ending of this story which brought a smile to my face and delight to my heart. There is a playfulness to the story, the witty banter and the smouldering passion between James and Caitlin just topnotch and the right amount in my opinion.

Recommended for fans of Harlequin romances and fans of Natalie Anderson. I am definitely going to be sampling more of Natalie’s work in the time to come. And the good news? There are two more books lined up in this series if I am not mistaken. Hoping for just as delicious stories for the other two brothers as this one!

Final Verdict: Snazzy fun, heat, laughter and love. You gotta love the smouldering goodness to this story!

Favorite Quotes

Given her gasp, her mouth was already parted. So was his. Hot, hungry, he lashed out with his tongue, claiming her with no hesitation.

It was all kiss. And not gentle. Not tender. Just raw, rampant hunger.

His fingers began to trail back up her leg, this time sliding under the tee. As he encountered the bare skin of her buttocks he groaned, his body flexing in automatic response—a powerful, passionate thrust that made her gasp even as he plundered her mouth with his tongue. For a long moment they lay locked—straining together, his tongue thrust deep, his blind cock seeking to drive deeper still, while she bore down on him, open and wet and willing.

She fell back on the bed. He fell with her, his lips connecting with hers. She closed her eyes as she sa- voured the glorious weight of him. His tongue stroked deeper this time, seeking knowledge. She let him find it—opening up to let him explore completely. She lifted her hands, exploring the breadth of his back, feeling the strength of his lean muscles. Oh, yeah, the guy was fit. Taut. Hot.

Slowly she looked from his face, to his shoulders and then down to where muscles tapered to slim hips and the trousers slung low. The front of his combats was taut. His hands went to his waistband, undoing the button with a teasingly slow hand. Caitlin tensed. He was getting to the good bit. He unfastened the next button, then rolled down the waistband—ex- posing skin.
Oh my.
Caitlin was entranced.

‘Show me how much,’ she asked. ‘Show me.’
This time he didn’t stop. This time his breathing roughened along with his movements. This time he swore pithy and crude as he told her again how good she felt. How he couldn’t stop. How he wanted more. And he took more. Pushed for her absolute acceptance of him. Driving into her over and over and over.

‘I want you,’ she said.
James swore, grabbing her wrist and striding out of the elevator the second the doors slid open. He un- locked the condo as quickly as he could, pulling her inside and slamming the door. He hauled her close and kissed her like the sex-starved animal he was. Furious satisfaction roared through him as she slid her arms around him and clung, opening instantly for him.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookbondsofjustice
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, #8
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Max Shannon
Heroine: Sophia Russo
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 6, 2010
Started On: September 10, 2013
Finished On: September 13, 2013

Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh is the 8th book in the Psy-Changeling series. This series has come a long way and Nalini Singh has certainly managed to keep up the momentum and the pace of each of the stories in the series which is one reason why the entire set is so coveted by its legions of fans.

Bonds of Justice is the story of J Psy Sophia Russo, who at the tender age of 8 hadn’t been given much of a choice; to either become a J Psy or die. J Psy’s tend to have the shortest lifespan in comparison to either types of Psy in the fact that they have one of the most demanding sort of jobs on their minds and shields that is an essential makeup of Psy. J Psys are brought into retrieve memories of the most vicious criminals who need to remain behind bars for the rest of their life for the safety of the rest of the society. Sophia has always known that the time would come when one day she would have to give in to the fractured state of her shields which would mean her death, to be forgotten along with all the others just like herself.

Detective Max Shannon is one of the best detectives in New York Enforcement, a position that makes one of the most formidable Councilors of Psy, Nikita Duncan request for his services along with that of Sophia for a case of apparent suicides that has struck those closest to her. Already working on retrieving the memories of a psychopathic killer, a case on which Max is the lead the detective, Sophia knows that the fascination that she has harbored for Max just might be her undoing and bring death the inevitable death she is ready to face much closer than before.

Sophia is a scarred heroine if ever there was one. The horrors of her childhood, along with her abandonment issues together with that destructive career she leads makes her a disaster waiting to happen. The fact that the most innocent of touches may render her insane is a fact that hinders the burgeoning feelings that grow between Max and Sophia much more rapidly than either of them envisions. But Max is not a man to give up and neither is Sophia ready to do so on her cop, the only person who for the first time in her life is there for her, no questions asked.

Max is not a man who has led a charmed existence either. Having never known love from the woman who had given him life, Max carries a scar that has never properly healed in his heart ever since he was a child. Sophia and Max are two broken halves that make up a pretty darned fantastic whole and that is one aspect of the story that worked very well for me.

It is the makeup of the Psy along with the politics that governs their world that makes these stories so fascinating to sink oneself into. The NetMind itself is almost palpable in its reality, the treachery that is always a part of the powerful group of Councilors that oversees the affairs of the entire Psy a captivating aspect of every single one of these novels. Nikita is one of the most formidable Councilors, whose daughter Sascha becomes one of the first to defect from the PsyNet which causes the ripple effect that began the the sequence of events that seems to be the undoing of  the world of Psy. Bonds of Justice gives the readers insight into the worlds inhabited by Nikita and the rest of the Councilors, for all intents and purpose who have nothing but attaining power on their minds.

I found myself entirely way too fascinated with Kaleb’s character and Nikita’s too, a side of her that was revealed in this story that I would never have thought possible for a woman like her. While Max and Sophia juggle two cases that demands equal attention and focus from them, neither of them can ignore the heat, the oh so much heat that exists between them. It is almost as if the heat between them might result in them going up in a cloud of smoke; yes it was really that hot.

The villains provided the extra chills that managed to keep me hooked onto the suspense aspect of the story together with the romance and the politics that as always provided an unbeatable combination.

Recommended for fans of urban-fantasy/paranormal romances & fans of Nalini Singh.

Final Verdict: The intriguing insight into the Psy politics alone is reason enough to buy this! Recommended.

Favorite Quotes

Max felt Sophia’s hand tighten on his, wanted only to bend his head even farther and put his mouth on the unsteady beat of her pulse, suck hard. The possessive urge, the violent need to claim her to the core was a gnawing ache in his gut. He wanted the world to know she was his—make certain no one would dare lay a finger on her.

Shivering from the sensation, from the near-painful pleasure of the contact, she stood on tiptoe, trying to get closer. A raw male chuckle.
And then Max kissed her.
This was no brush, no teasing taste. He took her mouth with the contained intensity she could feel thrumming beneath her fingers, his muscles taut, his entire body held barely in check. And she realized he was savagely angry, a tiger no longer on the leash.

He felt it the instant she reacted, modified his stroke to what brought her the most pleasure, lifting himself off her enough that he could stroke downward to rub at the sensitive entrance to her body as well.
She was wet, slick. He couldn’t resist the temptation to dip his finger within. That was all it took.
A choked scream. Her body arching bowstring tight.

He could almost feel the vibrating tension in her, every tendon held taut. “I know who you are,” he said, holding her gaze. “I’m not going to be scared away because of your ‘imperfections.’ ”
A sheen of wet in her eyes, turning the midnight iridescent.
“We fit, you and I,” he whispered looking into that haunting gaze. “Two broken pieces making a whole.” It wasn’t the most romantic of statements, but it was torn from his soul. “I am not losing you.”

That slow, slumberous heat flamed, burned, but she took a step forward, lowered the zipper and then—taking a deep breath—pushed down both the jeans and her panties. Leaning forward to pull them off her feet, she could barely hear anything through the thunder of her heartbeat. Max didn’t say a word until she straightened back to her full height. But then he spoke . . . and she melted.

She swallowed as his fingers went to his jeans, as he undid the snaps and peeled the denim down his legs, along with his briefs. Her eyes were riveted to the thick length of his erection . . . to the hand he clasped around it. He stroked once, and her body arched. She couldn’t explain it, didn’t understand it, but the sight of him stroking his own flesh was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen. “Max.” A shuddering plea.

Shaking, she wrapped her other leg around him. The sudden act opened her up, made him slide inside faster than before.
They both cried out, and Max froze above her. “Sophie?”
She ran her teeth up the line of his throat. “Yes.” Always, yes for this man.

Her panties were torn off her, his fingers urgent as he tested her slickness. Lifting a leg, she wrapped it around his hip. He swore, lowered the zipper on his pants, and then the hot, hard heat of him was thrusting into her, pinning her against the wall. She cried out, holding on, holding him tight.

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

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