Category / Charming Hero

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Uncross Your Heart by Taryn Elliott

Format: E-bookuncrossyourheart
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Plus-Novel
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Series: Untitled Series, Book 1
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Nathan Patrick Cross
Heroine: Miranda Jayne Lyons
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 23, 2012
Started On: March 24, 2012
Finished On: March 25, 2012

Yep. That’s right people. If you haven’t already heard, I have officially updated my version of the English dictionary to equate the meaning of the word “Temptation” to “Nathan Cross”. And I tell you, I am not kidding! 

Nathan Patrick Cross is a tinkerer whose one invention keeps him afloat enough to pursue his day job as a FedEx delivery guy while he tries to come up with a new innovative gadget whose design keeps eluding his best attempts. The one woman he meets along his delivery route, who manages to get under his collar and leaves him all hot and bothered doesn’t even realize he exists. Every single day that had taken him her way on delivery routes leaves him wanting her to look at him and see HIM just once and Nathan is about  to become cross-eyed with wanting and frustration on how to go about winning himself the woman he desires.

Miranda Jayne Lyons is a woman on a mission. She wants to bury her past deeper than anyone can dig it up and throw it in her face and she does it with a ruthless efficiency that leaves her little time to mingle with other people, to socialize and put her face out there. Through the not so gentle nudging of her co-worker and friend Max, Miranda decides to step into a club even if its the last place she wants to involuntarily go to. 

The man that catches Miranda’s eye turns out to be none other than Nathan and Miranda is more than surprised and a bit appalled to say the least when the man whose touch she craves just after one indecent dance turns out to be her FedEx delivery guy. There is no stopping Nathan from the path he weaves towards Miranda and for Miranda, Nathan poses the biggest risk on her heart and emotions as he slowly wields that magic of his around her and brings those walls of steel around her heart tumbling down until she is left reeling from it all.

But the secrets that Miranda hides are far too many, and her hesitancy in sharing them with the man who quickly turns out to mean everything to her breaks the fragile connection and the burgeoning feelings between them until this time it is Miranda who must face her fears and pursue Nathan to show him that with him she becomes the Miranda that she wants to be and loves.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Taryn Elliot won’t woo you with Uncross Your Heart just because it is her debut novel. Far from that. I was pulled into the story from page one, heck, lets just say from the minute I met Taryn and learned that she is the critic partner of many other great authors out there, I knew instinctively that she would be someone to keep an eye out on. And I was proved right when Uncross Your Heart turned out to be a novel that delivered on every aspect of what I look for when I read a contemporary romance.

Nathan Cross. I can’t even say his name without going into an endless sighing session. He is the best thing about this story and believe me, there were so many good things about this whole novel. The way Taryn brought him to life, adding those little nuances to his character, his charming and easy-going manner, that bottomless gray eyes of his that I won’t mind staring into for a couple of centuries or so – needless to say Nathan charmed my socks off right from the very minute he entered into the story. His utter focus when it comes to Miranda and above all his patience – someone out there should give out Nobel Prizes for patience and I am sure he would come out a winner and with flying colors too! There is not a single thing I would change about the man, maybe except wish for him to turn up as my birthday present tonight at 00:00 hours sharp? Sigh! Well, a girl can always hope.

There were so many fascinating characters that brings life to the story as it unfolds. Miranda’s colleagues and Nathan’s whole family and believe me, if you read Uncross Your Heart, you would want to read all their stories. I am especially keeping my eye on Noah and his broody character – he seems like a guy who would give this old heart of mine a jolt or two if he ever were to get his own story. And yes, I am looking right at you Taryn. You can’t leave a gal hanging after creating so much havoc with my emotions and all.

Miranda is one complex character and she is the driving force behind the story, the secrets that she keeps close to her heart the cause of the rift between herself and the man who as she puts it is her worst nightmare and fondest wish all wrapped up in one. From the minute she is forced to open her eyes and look, and I mean really look at Nathan, she is a goner. And for someone like Miranda whose past makes her susceptible to all sorts of wild behavior, or so she thinks, needless to say Miranda would rather bury her head in the sand and forget that Nathan Cross exists.

But her desire for a man who kisses her senseless, a man who holds himself back because he wants just more than mindless fucking from a woman with whom he would like to base his future on is a temptation that is too hard for even Miranda to resist. The passion that burns between them is of the scorching variety and my God, can Taryn turn on the heat? I couldn’t get enough of the many a variety of scenes, all with that emotional pull that just makes you go all gooey on the insides and warm in places that one would rather not mention. And I loved it all!

What drew me in the most and held my attention was how real both Nathan and Miranda were as they tried to forge a path together towards their ultimate happily ever after. There is no easy road for someone like Miranda to take when she tries to flee from her past, to forget that she ever was that person she is so ashamed of rather than accepting that her past would always be a part of herself and the person she has shaped up to be. Through a lot of soul searching and a painful period of separation from Nathan she does eventually get there and I believe that Nathan and Miranda’s love for each other to be that much stronger because of the fact.

A FANTASTIC debut novel from an author who shows remarkable talent – I simply could not get enough!

Give Uncross Your Heart a shot if you love emotionally gripping and sensual contemporary romances. This is a book that definitely caters to every whim and then some. And if you are like me, you would not be disappointed!

Favorite Quotes

He stilled at her laughter. It was rich and sexy, dark and playful. Something he’d never heard out of her mouth. His vision blurred for a second when she dragged his shirt up enough for their skin to touch. Then she gave up on getting the shirt off and latched on to his mouth again. He groaned as the heat of her skin blazed against his.

A long, low moan reverberated through her chest and into him. He sucked harder, flicking his tongue around the tiny pink tip. She was in the shadows cast by the late-day sun, leaving him little choice but to learn her by touch. He found the water-soft curve of her breast, running his tongue along the heaviest part of her until she filled his mouth. “More,” he murmured, shifting her higher until his teeth scraped along her ribs.

She shut her eyes, digging her fingers into his shoulders as she slid herself down his length. He couldn’t quite stop the quick shout of pleasure as her knees clamped his hips, crowding around him with her warmth. He wanted to hold her there, to drown in her, but she was already moving. She lifted herself higher and he took the clue and sucked her elegant neck, drawing in her scent as she took him inside her again.

She twisted her hips in time to his rhythm, riding his hand. He couldn’t stop himself from dipping inside her heat, groaning when she coated his fingers, his palm—just, God, he wanted all that around him again.

He cupped her cheek, the muscles of his forearm burning with the slow thrusts inside her. “You’re beautiful.” Unable to have even a few inches between them, he caught her mouth, swallowing her moans. Cheek to cheek, he dragged in her scent. Murmuring her name, he held her as she broke. 

She turned into his mouth again and her taste bloomed on his tongue. His stroking gentled until he pulled his hand free, cradling her close. No ghosts, no false starts, just them.

He was her worst nightmare and fondest wish all wrapped up in a damn Boy Scout.

His hair was especially mussed. So much so that her fingertips tingled with the need to grab and plunder the curls and let her mouth work the wicked quirk of his lips that verged on a smile. But it was his eyes that hit her the hardest. A settled gray that would forever be stamped Happy Place in her mind.

 Instead of relying on technique she looked for cues that were individual to the man—her man—the quickening of his breath, a sighing moan and the grip of his fingertips on her hip. Her body listened to his and learned what was right instead of what her experience said should work. And in its place they became a dreamy roll of fluid exploration.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Ellora’s Cave

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins

Format: E-bookjustoneoftheguys
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Chic-lit
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HQN Books
Hero: Trevor James Meade
Heroine: Chastity Virginia O’Neill
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 1, 2008
Started On: March 22, 2012
Finished On: March 24, 2012

Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins is a book that always ends up in one recommendation list or the other. And the hero Trevor James Meade seems to be a real hit amongst the ladies so much so that I decided to give this book a try because when it comes to Kristan Higgins you are always in for a laugh-fest no matter what.

Chastity Virginia O’Neill is the youngest child and the only daughter in the O’Neill family. She is a plus-sized heroine if there ever was one and a jock to boot, a mark left over as a result of growing up and competing with 4 brothers in the household. After moving back to her hometown of Eaton Falls, Chastity is determined that she would find someone to fall in love with, someone to settle down with and have 2.5 kids with, even if the man who holds the key to her heart remains completely oblivious the ferocity of her feelings towards him.

Trevor James Meade can almost pass off as Chastity’s fifth brother because Trevor is almost like a son to her parents, biology be damned. Chastity falls in love with Trevor during the darkest period of Trevor’s life and she holds her feelings towards Trevor close to her heart, the one time that she and Trevor slept together a memory that she treasures and remembers all too often for her peace of mind.

However Trevor acts as if the thought of her settling down with someone else means nothing to him and goes as far as to encourage her to date and find someone who would provide her with everything her heart desires. And when the sexy new doctor in town notices Chastity and they both start dating, Chastity couldn’t be happier, or so she tells herself until everything starts falling apart around her, forcing Chastity to face the reality of her feelings and move on.

I had a hard time classifying Just One of the Guys as a romance. Chastity and Trevor spends the majority of the book apart from each other even though they live in the same town and run into each other almost every day. There were no romantic interactions between the two except for one very invigorating “nipple” scene that brought to light Trevor’s obvious attraction towards Chastity. I was disappointed because for the whole duration of the novel, Chastity and Trevor both date other people, sleep with other people and Chastity gets ready to even say her I-do’s before she comes to her senses and stops herself from settling for the second best. 

Trevor was delicious, as delicious as everyone raves him to be. And I loved him. I truly did. Kristan managed to do a mighty fine job of bringing him to life through Chastity’s eyes, and I loved how his character turned out to be. But I did want to slap him a time or two because he seemed to stubbornly hold on to his belief that if he and Chastity were ever to get together, he might lose her and that is one moment in time that he doesn’t ever want to face.

The reason why I hesitate to read books written in first person is the fact that the reader misses out a lot on the point of view of the other characters involved in the story. I especially missed having Trevor’s take on things, his feelings or non-feelings towards Chastity and what makes him so hesitant to stake his claim on a woman he seems to look out for in all the little ways that matter.

As always, Kristan gives the reader a healthy amount of laughter, the antics that Chastity gets involved in being moments that still bring a smile to my face. Just One of the Guys is the story of how Chastity as a character grows and becomes more, how she learns to face the truth in the light of the day, regardless of whether she might or might not like what she sees. And I loved the story of how Chastity’s mother moves on, against all odds and against all the stonewalling she receives from both her ex-husband and her children for whom their mother moving on is something of an alien concept.

There were so many emotional moments in the story, some of them rendering me to tears and other times I seriously had a lump the size of an island in my throat. Those were the moments that defined the story for me and I had a hell of an enjoyable time reading Just One of the Guys.

Just One of the Guys is a book that can make you laugh, bawl your eyes out and smile through your tears because Kristan is an author who demands no less, and if you are a fan, I cannot recommend it to you highly enough!

Favorite Quotes

Then before he could break the moment, before he could turn away, I kissed him, and he didn’t stop me. Instead, he pushed my hair out of my face, and he kissed me back, gently, sweetly, his hand slipping behind my head, his lips moving just right against mine, smooth and warm. I gripped his shirt and sighed against his mouth, and knew that as long as I lived, this would be the one perfect kiss that I’d remember forever.

“So you can’t marry Harry, Mom! Not if you still love Daddy!” I sound like a ten-year-old, but I can’t help it. Buttercup comes over to me and puts her head on my lap.
“Love gets used up, Chastity,” Mom says gently, reaching up to smooth my hair. “If it’s not returned, it gets used up.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Her Perfect Getaway by Emma Jay

Format: E-bookherperfectgetaway
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Bridesmaids in Paradise, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Max Sullivan
Heroine: Elizabeth Black
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 19, 2012
Started On: March 21, 2012
Finished On: March 21, 2012

Elizabeth Black, along with her girl friends make their way to Hawaii for a week of relaxing and fun before Elizabeth’s friend Haven (from Two-Step Temptation) is to say her I-do’s in about 5 weeks time. Elizabeth is high-strung, a workaholic with a constant need to please her father and someone who hasn’t had a vacation in 3 long years.

Max Sullivan (Sully) the sexy and sinfully mouthwatering specimen of the male form turns out to be their guide for the duration of the trip. With an easy going laid-back  nature and a charm that puts everyone at ease right from the start, combined with his potent good looks, Elizabeth finds herself totally turned on by the different facets of his character that comes to light by the minute. Elizabeth thinks that her unruly attraction towards their guide would cause all sorts of problems but these worries fly out the window when she learns that Max too feels the same tidal wave of desire towards her.

A week is all they have got in a land that could be called Paradise on Earth and both Max and Elizabeth certainly make the best use of their time, the sex between them turning hotter and more irresistible with each passing encounter. Elizabeth might want to tell herself that her feelings aren’t involved at all, but as she gets to know the complex man beneath all that charm and good looks, Elizabeth starts to fall for Max bit by bit until there is no turning back.

Oh, how I loved this little story that just sucked me right in and got me feeling all blue to see it end. I wanted to continue reading about two people who completely made me fall in love with them and I wanted all good things to happen to both of them. Max, Oh.MY.GOD. Max, (takes a deep breathe), he just took my breathe away. From the minute he walked into the picture in flip flops and that beautiful mouth of his curved in a welcoming smile, everything female in me clamored to be his. Yes, I tell you, I was a goner from that moment on. I just knew then and there that Max with his beautiful hibiscus tattoo and his tendency to drive a motorbike (GOD YES), lets just say I may as well have took my heart out and wrapped it up in a neat bow and handed it over to him.

Max was such a swell character not because of his sheer good looks alone. It is his different facets that demands nothing less that makes him so irresistible. And that sexy Australian drawl of his whispering words in Japanese? Oh man, even though I know next to nothing in Japanese, I just know that Max would make it worth my while. And you’ve gotta love a man who can make you laugh and turn you on all at the same time and Max did just that to me, (darn it), I mean Elizabeth. 

So before I turn this review into a total drool fest about Max, I should mention how much I loved the way Emma brought to life the beautiful Hawaii. I wanted to hop on a plane then and there and zoom my way across to Paradise on Earth, to experience the heady culture and to mingle with the beautiful people and to just let all my worries melt away. Hopefully someday, even if it is just to experience the magic that Emma creates so beautifully in the story I will one day visit Hawaii, and of course I wouldn’t say no to a guide or two like Max to keep me company and surf through uncharted waters and gaze off into the sunset. *sigh*

Elizabeth is a bit of a tough cookie in the story. She suffers from ill placed guilt issues when it comes to her father, someone who makes sure he exploits those feelings that burgeon to life inside of her whenever he is around. The turning point for Elizabeth’s character comes during Max’s visit to Texas and Elizabeth stands up to her father and lets her feelings be clearly known. I loved that she was the one to take the plunge, to finally express her need to see whether their relationship could mean something much more than either of them bargained for and for that reason alone I loved her wholeheartedly, maybe just a tad less than I do for Max.

Though I would have loved a sappy ending with a lot of mushy expression of feelings tossed into the mix, somehow, the ending in the story seemed to fit these two people and seemed a realistic end to their story. The one thing you won’t tire of are the scenes of passion of the explosive and at the same time tender variety that just goes straight to your blood and pumps it up and makes you sigh all over at the same time. It was those moments of desperation that seems to hit both Max and Elizabeth, their need for each other something that neither can deny that I reveled in, during those moments that I practically drooled and salivated over my e-reader.

As a reader, I couldn’t have asked for more except wish that Max and Elizabeth’s story could have continued on for a long, long while.

Highly recommended for fans of erotica featuring sinfully sexy heroes who makes you hum on on the insides just by sheer instinct alone. And for 0.99 $, this is more than worth a story to indulge in, if only to see Hawaii through the eyes of the author. And of course Max. How could I ever forget him. *sigh*

Favorite Quotes

Vaguely she was aware of her moans floating across the backyard as her entire body tightened around him, then released, sending bits of her consciousness flying in all directions like the stars in the sky above. Her nails dug into his shoulder through his shirt as she anchored herself to him, as the orgasm pulsed through her. She felt the ripples of his own climax inside her, and then he collapsed over her, bringing both legs into the hammock and pulling her against his side.
“Perfect,” he murmured, and in a few minutes, his breathing evened out.

The gentleness of his mouth on hers surprised her, the slow caress of his lips and tongue not unlike the waves below them. She curved her hand around the back of his neck and let herself float on the rhythm, let her fears drift and her body take over. 

He entered her with a practiced thrust, his mouth finding hers, filling her with her taste and arousal so strong. She curled her fingers over his muscular ass and spread her legs wider, searching for the rhythm to match his. God, so perfect, the angle, the tempo. He looked down at her as she found it, as she met him stroke for stroke, so good, so hot, so deep.

She’d practically ripped his clothes off before they got into her apartment, had him inside her before the sound of the door closing had stopped vibrating through the apartment. He’d pressed her to the door and pounded into her until he couldn’t stand up. He’d carried her to the bedroom, where she took over, riding him until he curled his body up to embrace her, so that his breath was on her lips when they reached their climax together.

The next thing she knew, his cock nudged at her entrance. 
“Condom,” she managed.
“Taken care of.” He guided her hand to the base of his shaft so she could feel the sheath. “Ride me, Elizabeth.”
With a shift of her hips, she brought him into her, igniting desire she thought spent as he stretched her, stroked her inner walls.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Challenging Carter by Kate Davies

Format: E-bookchallengingcarter.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd
Hero: Carter Matthews
Heroine: Dani Williams
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 13, 2007
Started On: March 19, 2012
Finished On: March 19, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 80 A
Emotional Intensity 80 A
Suck me in Factor 80 A
Heat & Sensuality  90 A
Conflicts 85 A
Writing Style 85 A
Quotable Factor 60 B
Ending 85 A
Overall Grade 82.5  A

Score Sheet Summary

It was my hankering to read a friends-to-lovers romance that led me to purchasing and reading Challenging Carter by Kate Davies. Carter Matthews and Dani Williams are best friends and have been together in business for the past 8 years. While Carter heads Outdoor Sports Equipment, Dani is the Financial Analyst of the company who constantly tries to get Carter to stick to the estimated budget for expenses.

Dani has always been in love with Carter and he has no clue. Dani is an introvert, who feels more comfortable working than socializing. It is Carter’s pestering about a Fitness Challenge that has Dani taking up strip aerobics that gives her that extra edge which starts driving Carter out of his ever loving mind.

The scenes of passion were of the steamy hot variety. The thing I loved most about this novella was the friendship between Carter and Dani and Carter’s ability to goof around and get Dani to lighten up. This was evident even in the most sensually charged scenes of the story and that is one reason why I loved Dani and Carter’s story.

The one thing that I did miss however was the lack of background story which I know is not possible most of the time when it comes to a novella. But a friends to lovers romance becomes that much more real if their past comes up and delivers those tidbits that makes the characters more appealing and give that extra bite of sexual tension that drives the reader to the very edge. 

If you are looking for a short story to stick in between lengthier reads and if you love the friends to lovers trope, give Challenging Carter a go.

Favorite Quotes

Then he strode across the room and kissed her.
It was a crazy, impulsive act, but the minute his lips touched hers he knew it was the right thing to do.
She tasted like sex and sin and forbidden fruit, and he couldn’t get enough.

It should have been awkward. They’d taken their relationship from casual to over-the-top intimate in six-point-two seconds, without all the typical steps in between.
But all Dani could think, wrapped in Carter’s arms, was that finally she was right where she was supposed to be.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Shotgun Wedding by Maggie Osborne

Format: Paperbackshotgunwedding
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Jesse John Harden
Heroine: Anne Margaret Malloy
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 4, 2003
Started On: March 16, 2012
Finished On: March 17, 2012

The saddest feeling in the world as a reader is to know that an author whose voice beats any other writes no more. Every time I read a book by Maggie Osborne, this is a loss that I feel profoundly to my very soul. Lately I have been very discontent with the books lining my e-book shelves, something that happens to me every now and then. Finally, I decided to dust off my paperback edition of Shotgun Wedding which I bought from Abe Books a couple of months back, and let Maggie Osborne charm her way into my heart and soul and she did exactly just that with a story that kept me turning the pages even into wee hours of the morning.

Jesse John Harden works as the Sheriff of the small town of Marshall in Kansas. A man who prefers to keep to himself, Jesse might show a laid-back front to people but he is a man who gets the job done earning him more than the gratitude of the people of his now hometown.

25 year old Anne Margaret Malloy (Annie) finds herself in a bit of a fix when she discovers that she is pregnant and that she can’t continue to avoid the fact any longer. Annie is someone who has sworn off marriage a long time back, the independence that her parents give her one that she had taken for granted and landed her in the shitload of trouble she finds herself in. Annie likes to think of herself as a New Modern Woman like those who aren’t afraid to move ahead in a man’s world and show the world their worth. But the unexpected pregnancy brings all her dreams crashing down and forces her to face the consequences of the road that she had taken when she had met the father of her child.

Even though Annie’s beau agrees to marry her and do the right thing, she cannot accept the concept of living with a man who robs banks and trains for a living. The mere thought of feeding herself and her children from the profit reaped off by robbing other people of their hard earned wealth leaves a hollow feeling deep inside of her and that is how Annie finds herself the outcast of the town, living with her parents who refuse to let her take the coward’s way out and stay at home wallowing in self-pity.

Through a chain of events, the townsfolk arrive at the conclusion that Jesse is the father of Annie’s unborn child as Annie continues to hide the identity of the man who had fathered her child. Jesse had always had a soft spot for Annie, her unruly red curls a constant source that fires his libido unlike any other. But his plans of gentle days of courting Annie into his world fly out of the window when he reels with the news of Annie’s pregnancy, until he comes up with a plan that would effectively tie Annie’s life to his, all the while convinced that with time he would make Annie fall in love with him.

Shotgun Wedding was a story that was delivered in the classic wit and style that only Maggie Osborne can pull off. She is an author who can continue to juggle a hundred characters in her stories and never make you feel as if you are floundering around trying to pin down who is who. In Shotgun Wedding, Ms. Osborne manages to bring the whole town to life, exploring those little nuances that makes you feel as if you are part of the story that unfolds rather than a guest passing through.

I loved Jesse and clamored for him with everything female inside of me. He is the least “tortured” hero that I have come across by the author and there was a definite charm about his character because of that. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that Jesse won’t make your heart go aflutter because he definitely does that and more. He has that inner strength and formidability etched onto his character that would make your heart beat a tad faster when he enters into the picture. And he is the type of man you can count on to keep the nightmares at bay, to make you feel loved and cherished in those little ways that counts. I loved how Jesse begins to court his pregnant wife and that slow simmering seduction that he begins that just made me hum deep inside and curl my toes in anticipation.

I had a bit of a problem with Annie like most readers. Annie is not without her faults but I expected her to grow out of them and show me the backbone that would make her a worthy partner for Jesse till death does them apart. At first her selfishness in not thinking about the parents who had done nothing but love her and give her everything she had wanted grated on me. But later on, she did learn her lesson and accepted her faults and showed that she was made of better stuff. The one thing that continued to irk me was how Annie tried to shield the activities of the actual father of her child from her husband, putting Jesse inevitably in danger which is only then Annie realizes the blunder she has made. But I guess once again she does learn from her mistake but I found it a bit hard to forgive her and move on like Jesse did.

The one other problem I had with the story was how Jesse didn’t feature in the story as prominently as I wanted. The story was mostly dominated by Annie and the father of her child and though the anger that he harbors towards Jesse for snatching away something that he considers as rightfully his drives the story, I wanted the burgeoning relationship between Jesse and Annie to come into the spotlight and give me a couple of chapters to sigh over long after I was done.

It is the sheer feeling of magic that surrounds me when I start a Maggie Osborne that would always leave me coming back for more. Recommended for fans of Maggie Osborne and fans of marriage of convenience themed romances.

Favorite Quotes

If only. The saddest two words in any language.

Golden shadows shimmered and the musky scent of the candles dizzied every breath. They were on the bed now, an enormous bed with sheets of glowing satin. Clasped in an embrace they rolled together, drinking deep kisses from gasping mouths, hands stroking, teasing, chasing, bodies pressing against each other as if seeking to melt and become one with the other.

He bent his head, bringing his lips near her ear. “Talk of the future confuses you, I know. But I think about it all the time.
His hands moved slowly down her bare arms. “When the time is right, when it’s our time, I want to undress you – slowly – in front of the fire. Slowly, one item at a time. I want to roll down your stockings and unlace your corset. I want to slowly take the pins out of your hair and catch the weight of it in my hands. Then I want to learn the feel of every inch of you.”

[Annie] “I just wondered … is slowly a good thing?”
“Is slowly …” His fingers relaxed and she felt rather than saw his smile. He brushed his fingertips across her lips, then sank back to his pillow. “Oh yes, Annie love. Slowly is a very good thing.”
“Oh, my.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: If You Know Her by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookifyouknowher
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Ash Trilogy #3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Edward Lawson Reilly
Heroine: Nia Hollister
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 28, 2012
Started On: March 11, 2012
Finished On: March 16, 2012

If You Know Her, the 3rd book in the Ash Trilogy by Shiloh Walker is the conclusion to a series that started out explosively good. It was the need to know the identity of the killer that Shiloh had hidden so well in plain sight that made me come back for more every time. Shiloh Walker is an author who manages to disturb my slumber. This time it was a nightmare that I read the final book in the trilogy and STILL couldn’t figure out who the killer was which had me jerking back to wakefulness.

Nia Hollister is having a tough time out of accepting the brutal death of her cousin Jolene Hollister. Though the killer had been caught or rather had been killed, tying up everything in a neat little package, Nia doesn’t get the closure that she so craves. A photojournalist by profession, Nia had been away on an assignment when her cousin had first gone missing. The sheer amount of rage that unfurls inside of Nia upon seeing the bruised and battered body of the one person who had been like a sister to her leaves her reeling and at the same time gives her that determination to dig deeper, to find out whether Jolene’s killer had well and truly being caught.

34 year old Edward Lawson Reilly (Law) lives in the small town of Ash in Kentucky. Law is a writer by profession and has that brooding thing down to a fine art. 5 months or so later to the day that Nia Hollister had practically exploded into his life, Law encounters her once again, this time seemingly with her mind set on staying. Law knows deep inside that with that unrelenting glint in her eyes, Nia could stir up a shitload of trouble but that doesn’t stop him from craving for her with every breathe he takes.

What Nia does with her pricking and prodding is to stir up a killer who is more than happy to lay dormant for a while until the dust settles. But as it is usual with methodical serial killers, he too makes his fair share of mistakes and that is how eventually Nia ends up being the one who is able to unravel him, the one who is able to once again set on fire that burning need to hurt, kill and do a hell lot more, only if Nia were the type of person who would not cause a fuss if she went missing from the scene.

For me, it was the killer that Shiloh brought to life in book one that made this whole series. He was scary enough to give me the shivers every single time he came into the picture and my mind was frantically trying to piece together all the evidence to find out who it is that could be the killer. As most readers who have reviewed this already have stated that they had their fair share of suspicion on who could be the killer, I too had them but then Shiloh managed to throw us all off a bit with book 2 in which we didn’t get to see much from the guy.

Nia Hollister is a force to be reckoned with. She is totally bad-ass, drives a Harley and lives from one assignment to the next. But with Law in the picture, Nia starts picturing a life that could mean settling down a bit and dreams of that elusive thing called a happily-ever-after that few people ever seem to find in real life. 

Law is the type of hero that you envision in your mind with that five o’clock shadow darkening his jawline, a pensive faraway look hiding what he thinks and eyes that could drive a woman nuts because when he does focus on you, it would take a mighty force of the nature to pull your gaze away from his. As all the heroes we met through the trilogy, Law too is protectiveness personified. Even when Nia gives him a lot of trouble, Law sticks adamantly to his schedule of keeping his woman safe, even if it means that he is the one who has to carry the nightmares to bed with him.

The passion between Nia and Law was of the toe-curling variety with some scorching scenes tossed in between and I loved every minute of it. The one thing that I felt was missing from the story was the insight into the killer’s life once he was revealed. I wanted to know details about him that would have shed some light on why he had turned out that way. The killer was a mass of contradictions if ever there was one. The fact that he managed to lead a life that resembled normalcy, didn’t isolate himself from the rest of the town and goes about his daily life as a normal person would were bits and pieces that fascinated me. I wanted to know what makes him tick, what kickstarts and unravels that ball of need inside of him that gives him that creepy edge.

While everyone got their happily ever afters, I wanted an epilogue or just an extra chapter to see how they were all doing, how they were all dealing with the aftermath of a killer who had not just touched their lives for brief moments in time, but left a deep impact on all of them which would only heal with time.

Recommended for fans of Shiloh Walker and fans of the Ash Trilogy. 

Favorite Quotes

Swearing, he fisted a hand in her short hair, yanked her head back and slanted his mouth over hers. She opened for him, humming with delight and Law was cursing himself even as he gorged on her taste. Fuck, she was sweet—hot, sweet, and perfect.

Tipping her head, she stared into his tawny, hazel eyes, so intense, so burning-hot and all-consuming. Had she ever had a man look at her like that? Like she was all? Like she was everything? The center of his universe? Hell, screw the center … Law was looking at her like she was his universe.

Then he curled his tongue around her clit and Nia could have sworn she saw lights exploding. Her breath caught in her lungs, the muscles in her body went rigid. Nothing, absolutely nothing seemed to exist except for the way that man was teasing her closer and closer to climax, using his tongue in a way that was nothing short of diabolical.

Her breathing ragged, her body went lax under his. “We’re not done,” he rasped, fisting a hand in her dark, short hair. Law greedily took her mouth as he started to ride her again—deep, hard. So damned hungry, so damned hungry …
If she’d had the breath, she might have told him to give her a minute.
But even if she had had the breath? He would have stolen it away again.

When she reached the button of his jeans, his hips jerked and he squeezed his eyes closed, hoped he wouldn’t make a fool of himself and lose it the second she touched him. He hadn’t done anything like that in ages, not since high school, but Nia shattered his control like nothing else.
Nia shattered him.

He’d had a need to be gentle, had wanted this to be slow and lazy, as though something sweet and easy could take away the misery of the day. It wasn’t quite the sweet and tender seduction he’d hoped for, but as the climax rushed up on them, claiming them both hard and demanding, as she rested her forehead to his, their gazes locked, her mouth seeking out his … everything else fell away.
In those moments, nothing else existed but each other. 

Across the room, Nia said with a smirk, “Look at Tinkerbell going all mama-bear.”
Hope snapped, “Oh, shove the Tinkerbell crap up your ass.”
For about two seconds, Nia just stared at her. Then she started to laugh.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: If You See Her by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookifyouseeher
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: The Ash Trilogy #2
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Remington Jennings
Heroine: Hope Carson
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: January 31, 2012
Started On: March 9, 2012
Finished On: March 10, 2012

If You See Her by Shiloh Walker is book 2 in her Ash Trilogy, book 1 of which entitled If You Hear Her crept the bejesus out of me and introduced a whole lot of characters that certainly piqued my interest on more levels than one. 

The small town of Ash, Kentucky with a population of 8,312 is rocked by the series of vicious murders happening in their own backyard. The whole town is shocked to say the least and the last round of violence in which Hope Carson is suspected to have beaten up her best friend Law Reilly and then nearly gone on to kill herself which shocks the District Attorney Remington Jennings  (Remy) more than he lets on.

From the moment Remy had laid eyes on Hope and her beautiful eyes filled with a fear and pain that pains him and makes every protective instinct within him want to embrace her and keep her safe, Remy knows that he wouldn’t have an easy time out of prosecuting the one woman who rouses the very primal instincts deep inside of him.

Hope is a woman who has been on the run for the past 2 years from her ex-husband. Scared and jittery as she might be, the one thing Hope vows is to never return to her ex-husband because living in the darkness that had been their marriage with no way out of it is not an experience that Hope wants to repeat. Hope doesn’t want or need a man in her life, and the merest thought of even getting close to someone of the opposite sex leaves her with a bad taste in her mouth. But Remy, the man who nearly arrests her for a crime she is innocent of is the one man to whom she has a difficulty showing her indifferent side to.

If You See Her is an installment in the series that contains very little of the elements of suspense that made book 1 such a hit towards the end. I missed the presence of the creepy killer and craved to know more about him because Shiloh has certainly done a swell job of creating his character, leaving the readers practically tied up in knots trying to guess as to who the killer could be. So needless to say, when the killer didn’t make much of an appearance in the story I felt cheated out just a bit.

Rather than focusing on the suspense element, the novel delves deeper into the growing relationship between Hope and Remy and continues to reveal the different facets of the multitude of characters that bring this trilogy to life. There are family problems, there are problems between friends, and then there is the budding romance between Remy and Hope where Remy forces himself to tread very carefully in order to win a woman who has seen more than her fair share of violence and depravity.

The moment I fell in love with Remy was a bizarre one. It was the moment that Remy let Hope take the lead role in emerging as an independent woman, a person who is more than capable of starting out on her own even if fear continues to walk right along with her on her quest to assert herself. It was how Remy went against his instincts and let Hope do her thing, let her be herself and let her come out of the shell she had hidden herself in to emerge as a woman who is breathtaking as she revels in the freedom that being with Remy brings her that I knew Remy was definitely the man for Hope.

It is always a must to appreciate how Shiloh brings the passion between her characters to life, and I reveled in every minute of how Remy and Hope finds that special someone in each other and forges that deep connection with each other that made me just a teeny bit envious even as I rejoiced in their love.

If the suspense element had been more, if the pace of the story had been just a tad faster, I would have definitely enjoyed this a lot lot more. But having said that, If You See Her is still a decent addition to a trilogy of which the last book I have already started on in my quest to get acquainted with the killer and finally find out who Shiloh has so masterfully created and hidden in plain sight so very well.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Shiloh Walker.

Favorite Quotes

This was the absolute last woman on earth he should want—she was trouble, in so many ways. She was troubled, and that was just one of the reasons he didn’t need this.
This was the absolute last woman on earth he wanted to want—she just plain and simple was trouble—he could feel that in his bones.
And yet, as he stared into those big, green eyes, he did want.
Hell, did he want.

One kiss, he told himself.
Just one easy, quick kiss.
He had plenty of control.
He could control his temper, his hunger, his …
Her mouth opened under his and she met his kiss with shy, sweet hesitation.
Remy felt like the very ground had crumbled under his feet.
Oh, hell.

He pushed up onto his heels and then pulled her up against him, one hand cradling the nape of her neck, the other splayed wide over her back. His mouth came down on hers and right before he kissed her, he muttered, “Fuck, you’re going to drive me insane, I know it.”
Then his mouth crushed down onto hers. His taste was different—darker.
Her, she realized. He tasted of her.

Man, she loved the way Remy smelled. Male … warm. Expensive. Idly, she noticed the same scent was on her, now. It was the soap he used. She’d discovered that in the shower when she lathered up with it. The smell was borderline intoxicating on him, not so much on her. Absently, she stroked her hands up and down his sides.
“Hope, you’re making it very hard for me to have a conversation here.”
“Hmmm?” Tipping her head back, she glanced at him through her lashes, saw that he had a look on his face that was rapidly growing familiar.
That lovely blue was heated, his lashes low over his eyes. And she found herself wanting to push up on her toes and tug his head down close enough to kiss him.

Then he kissed her again. When he licked her through the silk, she moaned. Catching the fabric, he tugged it aside and licked her again. “Hot … fuck, yeah, you’re hot.”
Hope shuddered and fisted her hands in his hair again. But this time, she tugged him closer, gasping out his name.
He smiled against her and then proceeded to do to her what she’d been doing to him from the first time he’d laid eyes on her—driving him out of his fucking mind.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: A Very Sinful Valentine by Charlotte Featherstone

Format: E-bookSinful
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Historical Erotic Romance
Series: Sinful
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Matthew Wallingford
Heroine: Jane Rankin
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: February 2012
Started On: March 5, 2012
Finished On: March 5, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 100 A
The heroine 100 A
Story line 100 A
Emotional Intensity 100 A
Suck me in Factor 100 A
Heat & Sensuality  100 A
Conflicts 100 A
Writing Style 100 A
Quotable Factor 100 A
Ending 100 A
Overall Grade 100 A

Score Sheet Summary

Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone is one of those novels that I ended up loving to death. A hero that I could not get enough of, a heroine who was his match in every single way and sensual scenes penned so vividly and erotically that it took my very breathe away, needless to say, Sinful is a novel that I would remember till the end of time.

So it was to my delightful surprise that a friend on Goodreads alerted me to this delicious number released I guess in time for Valentines Day and I am so thankful that Charlotte Featherstone like myself hasn’t forgotten the impact that Matthew has on the female senses.

This little novella finds Matthew basking in wedded bliss so to speak with that untamed wildness within him roaring its head because his beloved wife Jane has been avoiding him for the past 3 months. A man who has a voracious appetite for anything and everything to do with carnal desires of the flesh, Jane had been the woman to bring him down to his knees and possess his heart for all eternity. So it is a brooding Matthew we find ourselves with, dangerous and turbulent emotions swirling deep inside of him, all the while wrecking his brains trying to think up the reason why his strong and brave Jane suddenly seems to be without the very fire that stirs him up.

Jane has her own reasons to be shy around Matthew. Giving birth has put its own toll on her body and needless to say a woman who thinks of herself plain when compared to a husband whose dark vivid good looks is the talk of the town has Jane hesitating to give herself over to her husband, even when she aches to do so.

What Matthew does is breathtaking in its eroticism, beautiful in the way that it brought everything female deep inside of me alive and had my senses humming all throughout. Every woman, and I mean every single woman deserves a man like Matthew who can love like he does, without reservations, without conditions, for time and eternity, until death does them apart. Let the sighing fest begin!

Cannot recommend this highly enough for those who love Matthew. He is the man!

Favorite Quotes

[Jane] “You know how I feel about you. About what we share. I did not mean it in such a way.”
“No?” he whispered wickedly, his gaze finding hers, latching on with strength and determination. “I don‟t believe you. I think you had better show me, Jane.” 
She kissed him, slow, lazily, her lips moving over his mouth, slowly winding, becoming deeper, sensual, and then slowly her tongue penetrated his mouth, touching his tongue, flicking around the tip of his. He groaned, wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her up against his bulging phallus that felt so large and hard. Her core ached, needing that deep inside her.

“I’m a hedonist, and you, Jane, my wife, should know that about me. You’ve shared my body and bed, you know things about me that no other soul on earth does. Who can I not be a sensualist with than, you, Jane? Who else to act out my wicked fantasies, than the woman who inspires them? There is no shame in fantasies, in pleasure. Who other than us needs to know what we’ve done, what brings the other pleasure?”

[…] “But Jane, tonight I’m going to watch–and so are you. It will not be dark when I look upon you. There will be no clothes–only your skin. There will be no wiggling and squirming away from me. You will lie still and let me look. I will take as long as I want, gorge myself on the sight of you, and you will not resist. You will not utter one word to the contrary. You will accept everything I give you. And you will be loved, Jane. Loved so that you never forget that you are the only woman for me. You always have been. And you always will be.”

“Don’t” be shocked, Jane,” he murmured as he lifted her higher, and poised her at the tip of his cock. “Don‟t be embarrassed. Not with me. You‟re gorgeous, and everything about you is perfect.” 
She nodded, met his gaze, and they held each other as she sunk down slowly upon him, impaling herself.  
She cried out, her hand flying to her lower belly. 
“Feel me all the way up there, do you my love?” 
She nodded, began to move, and he let her, just felt her body move and undulate beneath his palms.

“Jane, look at me,” he asked, and when she did, he knew she was seeing what she needed in his eyes. 
“You are the only woman for me–it‟s only ever been you. I told you once before, that I have never loved before you, and I will never love again. Jane,” he said, forcing her face to down to his. “There is no condition on my love. No end to my desire. Don‟t put them there, my love.”

“Jane,” he whispered as the streaks of dawn broke through their bedroom window. “Once more. In the daylight, so I can see you with the sun upon your skin.”
And she rolled over, smiled, and held open her arms to him, welcoming him home at last.

Download Link: Mystic Castle

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Flash Point by Shelli Stevens

Format: E-bookflashpoint.JPG
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Holding Out for a Hero, Book 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Todd Wyatt
Heroine: Caitleen (Kate)
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 8, 2011
Started On: March 5, 2012
Finished On: March 5, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 90 A
Story’s ability to suck me in 90 A
Heat & Sensuality  95 A
Conflicts within the story 90 A
Writing Style 95 A
Quotable Factor 60 A
The Ending 80 A
Overall Grade 87 A

Score Sheet Summary

Flash Point is a novella that I have been meaning to read for quite sometime. Almost a year to the date that it was first published, I managed to find some time to squeeze this novella in between some of my heavy reads and I enjoyed the escape that Shelli Stevens provided with this red-hot novella which combines elements of friends turning into lovers with a hero who is commitment phobic to the extreme and a heroine who is sunny, bubbly and vivacious as they come.

Todd Wyatt might want to go on thinking of Kate as a younger sister. But something vital in their relationship seems to have shifted after that tentative kiss that Kate had placed on him 5 months back and for the world of him Todd cannot seem to get the kiss out of his mind.

Kate has been half in love with Todd almost all her adult life, no wonder when Todd is the type of man that every woman in the vicinity wants to tame and call their own. But Kate knows that Todd is not the type for a long term relationship, but even that doesn’t stop her from staking her claim and taking anything and everything that Todd is ready and willing to give, even if it means that Kate would have to walk away nursing a broken heart when all is said and done.

I loved this installment of the Holding Out for a Hero series. Todd is a fireman who has got his own set of insecurities to deal with and the best thing about him was his possessiveness when it comes to Kate, which even he cannot explain. Kate was just lovely, a heroine that I utterly adored in all the ways.

Highly recommended, this is a novella best read after at least reading book 2 in the series, Command and Control which was the book that intrigued me to look up Todd and Kate’s story.

Favorite Quotes

[Todd] “There isn’t a woman I’m trying to impress with baking. I made that up.”
Kate frowned, stilling in her efforts to free herself. “Why did you say that then?”
“Damn it, to keep this from happening.” His head blocked out the light as it dipped, and then his mouth crashed down on hers.
Shock ripped through her as his lips masterfully parted hers, his tongue plunging inside to taste her.

She teetered to catch her balance, but his arm still held her, kept her from falling. And then his mouth crashed down on hers and her balance went wonky for other reasons.
Kate clutched his shoulders and moaned, parting her lips to his fierce kiss. The smell of his familiar, spicy cologne filled her senses. His tongue explored every inch of her mouth, his hands roving over her body. It was deliberate. A man staking his claim. Every female instinct inside of her could sense it.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Hide’n Go Seek by Dale Mayer

Format: E-bookhidengoseek.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Series: Psychic Visions, Book 2
Publisher: Valley Publishers
Hero: Grant Summers
Heroine: Kali Jordan
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 2, 2011
Started On: February 19, 2012
Finished On: March 5, 2012

Kali Jordan dedicates all her waking hours in contributing to the Second Chance SAR center where she works in more ways than one. Armed with her Labrador Retriever Shiloh, Kali is blessed with “The Sight” as her grandmother called it, something that frustrates Kali as much as it helps her in accurately pinpointing out those in need of rescue. However, her work and dedication to what she does doesn’t come with its own price. The loss of lives and the delicate balance between life and death brings her down and Kali is someone who feels these emotions a lot more than she lets on.

Things take a turn when someone starts on a mission to give the “survivors” what they deserve, the killer believing that it is against God’s will to rescue them in the first place. Thus the killer embarks on a mission to taunt and elude Kali, to bring out to the open the witchery that guides her to be as successful as she is at what she does. 

FBI agent Grant Summers enters her life at this inopportune moment. From the first meeting itself, Kali feels deep inside of her that Grant is someone she has met before but has no recollection of whatsoever. The way she takes comfort in Grant’s company is one reason why she doesn’t get freaked out of the way her senses go on high alert whenever Grant is around. But before anything can happen between them, Kali needs to find the killer who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring Kali to her very knees, even if it means making use of innocent victims to teach Kali a lesson that she would never forget.

Hide’N Go Seek is a novel that flows smoothly right from the very start. I believe this is the first book I have read in which a heroine is in the profession of Search and Rescue and Dale certainly sheds light on a lot of aspects involved in the back breaking work that these heroic individuals embark on, putting their very lives on the line with each mission. The toll it takes on their physical and emotional well being is one that Dale has pulled off very well and I for one immensely enjoyed this aspect of the story.

Kali and Grant are both likable characters. I believe the author has spent more time on developing and bringing across Kali’s character and her life much more than Grant and that was one factor that disappointed me a bit in the story. I wanted Grant’s character to take as much limelight as Kali and I wanted to know where he was coming from, his past and what shapes up his character. Nevertheless, both characters come across as the sort you can depend upon, their inherent need to see justice meted out one of the characteristics that drew me towards them. 

The mystery/suspense potion of the story was quite well done. I had my finger on who the killer could be, and I was right in my choice as well. Maybe I have watched too many movies with twists and turns to really be surprised by any villain that comes across any longer. But Dale has certainly spun a well balanced story in terms of the mystery, suspense and the paranormal aspects embedded to make the story that unfolds that much more interesting.

One of the factors that irked me a bit was the lack of romance between Grant and Kali even by half way into the book. With 400+ pages, I found that I wanted that connection between Grant and Kali to come to life, the need that seems to pulse between them to be realized before the whole story reached its eventual climax. In the end, through all the twists and turns the story took, Kali and Grant eventually managed to get there on their own time, and the concluding chapter when it came served as a satisfactory ending to a story that was interesting, highly readable and enjoyable. Recommended for fans of Dale Mayer and fans of mystery/suspense novels with a bit of romance and paranormal in the mix.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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