Category / Contemporary

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

fantasticread

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

ARC Review: Driving Her Wild by Meg Maguire

Format: E-bookdrivingherwild
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wilinski’s, #3
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Patrick Doherty
Heroine: Steph Healy
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 22, 2013
Started On: October 21, 2013
Finished On: October 22, 2013

She punched the button for the lobby.
And when the door slid open again, there he was.
The exactly wrong sort of man, with that smile that made her feel so damn right.

Meg Maguire is an author who writes the not so your usual variety of romances for tropes that you might have read a time or two. In Driving Her Wild, retired cage fighter Steph Haley makes her way to the Wilinski’s Fight Academy, taking those first steps towards a future that she has already mapped out for herself. It certainly doesn’t include the blue-eyed Patrick Doherty kissing her senseless and making mincemeat out of her well laid plans towards a financially secure future with a sophisticated man who would make her feel like a lady rather than just a casual tumble between the sheets to scratch an itch.

Patrick is good with his hands when it comes to carpentry but not so much when it comes to doing electrical jobs which is what he does to keep his head above water in these economically uncertain times. And when Patrick comes across the sexy Steph with that glint in her eyes from all the bodily harm that comes her way due to Patrick’s clumsiness whenever she’s around, Patrick knows that he has found that essential ingredient that has been missing from his life for over more than a year.

Steph is driven and knows what she wants and denies to herself her need for Patrick’s overly capable hands roaming all over her body, inciting pleasure of the likes she’s never had, all  because she believes in her head that Patrick doesn’t fit the mould that she has clearly made out for what her perfect partner would be like when she nails him. But every man she comes across in her perfectly well ordered dating life doesn’t come close to giving her the zing and the connection that springs forth between the two of them. And without Steph somehow being aware of it, Patrick worms his way into her heart and shows her that sometimes what seems like the the worst fit for you just might end up being the one.

To be honest, I actually didn’t know what to make of Steph’s character. Yes, she is strong, physically and emotionally and knows what she wants. Patrick on the other hand seemed mellow when compared to Steph and perhaps that’s what makes them tick together. However, Patrick has no qualms about being a bit bossy as required in the bedroom which is what Steph seemed to want out of that aspect of their relationship.

Patrick might be what you call a beta hero in the sense he doesn’t go macho all over the place, but rather it is his sweetness and open honesty that wins him the bonus points, not to mention his good looks that earns him a second glance from women. Patrick is open about his feelings as they come, there is not even an ounce of pretense and the fact that he doesn’t resort to the games that people play when they do not know how to navigate the treacherous waters of what we call the beginnings of a relationship. But what Patrick wants, he too goes after, perhaps not with as much tenacity as Steph does, but nevertheless as effective or more so when it comes to winning the affections of the woman who makes him feel alive after so very long.

Steph’s misgivings about Patrick and the lack of security that their joint lives would have stems from her childhood, but somehow there seemed to be another factor which involved a cousin who made her feel insecure throughout her adolescence years. Though that in essence provided the pivotal turn in the relationship between Patrick and Stephy, somehow I failed to see how that contributed to making the story any richer or how it made the developing feelings between the two any more real than it was prior to that. Not a bad read but certain bits and pieces in the story just didn’t work for me while the rest worked very well.

Recommended for fans of Meg Maguire and fans of the series.

Final Verdict: With a bite of sexy, Meg Maguire delivers a beta hero that you’d adore!

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

favorableread

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: What The Bride Didn’t Know by Kelly Hunter

Format: E-bookwhatthebridedidntknow
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The West Family
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Adrian Sinclair
Heroine: Lena Aurelia West
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 22, 2013
Started On: October 19, 2013
Finished On: October 21, 2013

What the Bride Didn’t Know by Kelly Hunter is a novel from the Harlequin’s KISS line, novels that are fraught with sexual tension of the sizzling kind that melts you on the inside. Thankfully, this one didn’t just create the sexual tension, but delivered on it to appease readers like myself just enough so that we would finish the book with a smile on our face rather than a frown which would have been the case otherwise.

Adrian Sinclair or Trig as he is known as is Lena’s next door neighbor and they have a history that spans both their childhoods and beyond. Though Trig has always had a thing for Lena, and that is to put it mildly; the one thing that has held him back is the fear that Lena might not want the same thing when it comes to him. Of course there is also the fact that Trig is best friends with Lena’s older brother Jared which means that there is the darned bro code to adhere to as well.

Fast forward their relationship to a couple of years down the line and the dynamics of the relationship between Trig and Lena seems to have shifted, Lena having been injured while on a mission and Trig taking on the task of sticking to Lena’s side no matter what. It is Lena’s sheer dogged determination to search for her brother that finds both Lena and Trig in Istanbul facing a situation that neither Trig nor Lena ever thought they would find themselves in.

When a series of events ends up in Lena suffering from temporary memory loss that renders her to believe that she is married to Trig, well lets say all hell breaks loose between these two as both Trig and Lena tries to do things right by what they believe, Lena hellbent on seducing her seemingly reluctant husband and Trig trying his darnedest not to take advantage of the fraught situation they both have landed in.

What the Bride Didn’t Know has a lot of elements that made it the swell read it turned out to be. There is that undeniable thread of humor interwoven into the fabric of the story that made the book hard to put down. I kept smiling through even what you would call the most serious situations in the book because Kelly demanded no less with characters like Trig and Lena who have both got that sarcastic humor thing down to a pat.

Trig is an adorable hero, and I am certain Trig would skin anyone who dares say that out aloud. He is the larger than life variety of hero whose gentleness might be found at odds with his size, but that is what in effect makes Trig such an endearing hero. His love for Lena is as unwavering in strength and as immovable as he is in his determination to stick to Lena even when the going gets tough. And that in essence proved to me even without the whole story seeing its way through, the sheer beauty of Trig’s love for the woman whom his heart had claimed as his a long, long time back.

Lena’s character prior to her amnesia wasn’t one I liked overly much. She was prickly, overly sensitive, and I could understand her reasons for it because she had always been someone who could keep up with Trig and her brother no matter the circumstances. While I am leery of most books that resort to using the amnesia plot to bring the hero and heroine together, I found that this one had a fresh twist to it in the sense that Trig doesn’t try to use the lack of memories on Lena’s part to show her just how good they can be together. In fact, Trig goes out of his way to not get into any situations that would in the end slap him on his face once Lena gets back her memory and that to me showed that Trig was an honorable man, a man who would wait out an eternity if it means convincing the love of his life to share their tomorrows might not prove to be a piece of cake once she is in a sound frame of mind.

I especially loved the honest conversations that to took place between Lena and Trig, especially Lena who might never have resorted to opening herself up to that extent where Trig or anyone else is concerned. I believe that the lapse in her memories truly gave her the opportunity to face her fears and insecurities and really heal from the emotional scars left behind by the physical injuries her body had suffered and gave Trig a fighting chance in proving to her that when it comes to Lena he would always be there for her, no questions asked.

The bit that cinched the deal for me? The epilogue that made everything come together. Because everyone knows I am a sucker for a good epilogue!

Recommended for those who love sizzling sexual tension, an adorable and sexy hero and a gutsy heroine who makes you smile all throughout.

Final Verdict: Loved the snazzy humor and the sizzle! No wonder Trig and Lena makes for such a fantastic duo.

Favorite Quotes

Trig smiled at that and she reached forward and covered his hand with her own. ‘Don’t give up on me.’
‘Never.’
This was why she’d married this man.
‘I feel as if I’m in a place where I don’t have to run to keep up any more,’ she confessed. ‘I can’t run any more. Best I can do is hold my ground and stumble along, and you know what? You’re still there for me, and my family is still there, because it was never about me keeping up. It was about me believing that I belonged and I do believe that now. I’m happy now. I married you, which I have to say is probably the smartest thing I’ve ever done.’

‘You love this room,’ he said with a crooked smile as she rose from the table, caught hold of his hand and tugged him towards the pianola.‘I really do. It’s a little bit beautiful, a whole lot fascinating, and kind of cracked when you look up close. I’m hoping it might be the way you see me. Because, newfound sense of belonging or not, I’m still trying to figure out what you see in me.’

He had a thing about her hair, winding his hands in it as he grasped her head and deepened the kiss. He had a thing for wrapping his arms around her, one hand between her shoulder blades and the other palming her buttocks. He had a thing about kisses, deep and dirty.

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

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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

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 & Giveaway: Sweetly Bad by Anya Breton

Format: E-booksweetlybad
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Series: Haizea Brood, #2
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Drew Haizea
Heroine: Erica Pearce
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: September 4, 2013
Started On: October 7, 2013
Finished On: October 10, 2013

Sweetly Bad by Anya Breton is book in one of the new lines of books being published by Ellora’s Cave under the title of Curve Appeal. This series is focused on plus-sized heroines who in my opinion sometimes makes for very interesting heroines who actually feel real in their struggles to stay in shape and go through the daily grind that we women actually go through in our attempts to whip our bodies into tiptop shape by doing as little as possible about it.

Book 2 in the Haizea Brood series, this can be read as standalone, I myself never having read book 1 in the series. Sweetly Bad features the bad boy hero Drew Haizea who has always had the world laid out at his feet, everyone always at the ready to do his bidding because no one ever says no to the powerful Haizea family. It is only when his mother casts him out of the family and places a target on his back to teach him a lesson that Drew finds himself on the other side of things, having to face the reality of the life that he has led up till now.

Erica Pearce is a mechanic, struggling to make ends meet and trying to prevent her ex-boyfriend from bulldozing his way into making her give up the garage she inherited from her father. When Drew with his picture perfect good looks and a mile wide list of women to call upon ends up being at her mercy and though Drew ends up being a bit of an ass, Erica finds that her soft heart is vulnerable to the situation Drew finds himself in.

When his rogue status starts bringing in hunters willing to take him down, Drew finds that his one and only ally turns out to be Erica, who turns out to be far more appealing than he would have originally thought her to be. And as both Erica and Drew try to prevent their asses from getting under the line of fire, the lust and the romance that blooms to life between them continues to grow showing Drew just how wrong he had been in his original assumption about Erica and the type of women that he should want to share his life with.

Have you ever read an erotic romance featuring a hero that doesn’t kiss like a demigod, is not a stud in bed and has an average sized cock? Well if you haven’t, look no further because ladies, Drew Haizea is about to knock your socks off with all of that and more. While his good looks and fit and toned body under the killer suites and that long list of women on his contact list might paint a picture otherwise, when Erica gets to Drew, all she finds behind the appealing package is a man who has been misled the whole of his life because of the family to which he belongs to.

When Drew realizes that Erica is in fact serious about certain elements about his lovemaking techniques, Drew is in for the toughest challenge of his life when he has to use whatever tactical advantage he has left to satisfy the woman who comes to mean a lot more to him than he would have given her credit for her in such a short period of time. And for the first time in his life Drew begins to realize that when you truly do love someone, nothing is as important as ensuring the happiness of the person you love.

Though the story had its moments, I would say that it could have been better. I might have been thrown off balance by certain attributes regarding the hero which I certainly never have encountered in a romance, much less an erotic romance novel. But I kept my doubts in check and went ahead with the story because there was a certain element to Drew that tugged at my heartstrings because of the assailable position he found himself in. Add to the fact that when push came to shove Drew realized that Erica had no one to look out for her and that even though she might not put in a hell of a lot of trust in him, Drew does live up to the challenge which does give the story a good feel to it towards the end.

There were moments of humor which I thought the author would expand on which would have turned this read into a hell of an entertaining read in my opinion. And a hero who wasn’t clumsy in bed would have certainly done wonders for the story as well. But, regardless of all that, I would still consider this as an entertaining read if you are willing to indulge in a story that ought to give you a couple of laughs if nothing else out of it.

Final Verdict: One of the most unconventional erotic romances I’ve read to-date.

Favorite Quotes

His mouth descended on hers before she could evade. It wasn’t soft, gentle or even teasing like she’d taught him. It was brutal and demanding, a kiss to rob her of everything but the blood pounding through her veins. Smooth lips worked over hers even as he thrust his tongue into her mouth, devouring her as though he were starved. It was a passionate kiss, nothing like the boyish slobber he’d first given her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | EC

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Giveaway

Ellora’s Cave is giving away an e-copy of Sweetly Bad to one lucky commenter on the post. Just tell us who your favorite plus-sized heroine is and you get a chance to win.

And in the meantime, do not forget to give a valid e-mail address so that we would be able to contact you if you are the winner. And if you don’t mind, please help spread the word too! After all, sharing is caring. :)

Giveaway opens: October 15, 2013; 00:00 hours MVT

Giveaway ends: October 16, 2014; 00:00 hours MVT

MVT timezone: GMT +5

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Snowbound With The Soldier by Jennifer Faye

Format: E-booksnowboundwiththesoldier
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Hero: Jason Smith
Heroine: Kara Jameson
Sensuality: 2
Date of Publication: October 1, 2013
Started On: September 29, 2013
Finished On: October 5, 2013

Jason Smith returns to his hometown of Pleasant Valley as a scarred man, willing to do whatever it takes to put his family legacy that happens to be the Greene Summit Resort to rights. What he doesn’t count on is to find out that Kara Jameson, the woman he had broken off their engagement with seven years back happens to be none other than the go-to person when it comes to handling things at the resort. And on top of that, the ferocious sexual attraction that had been between them that comes zinging back to life not to be denied is not something he contended on dealing with.

Kara still hasn’t forgotten the way Jason had walked away without a second glance. The way he had broken her heart which had eventually led to the conception of her beautiful daughter Samantha and the hard years that had followed plus the sacrifices that she had made along the way. Its not easy for Kara to trust Jason once more and to put her heart and that of her daughter Samantha’s on the line while the past still continues to haunt both of them over the way things had ended.

While Snowbound with the Solder started out on an upbeat note, I found that the story waned a bit towards the middle and managed to lose its wow factor towards the end. At the beginning the sizzling tension between Jason and Kara was alive, something that I felt every time I turned the pages. But towards the middle the story lost its focus on that aspect and moved towards the familial bit where Jason wins over the heart of the adorable Samantha and in the process manages to rekindle the love that had never been totally lost when it had come to Kara and him.

The secret that Jason holds close to his heart, the bitterness of it all which had led him to break off his engagement and enlist in the military was one that touched me. I don’t know what I would have done under the circumstances but I felt my heart go out to him on the burden that Jason had carried on his shoulders all throughout the years, obliterating whatever happy memories that he had had of his childhood. It takes a lot for Jason to forgive and move on and that was one aspect of the story that I liked.

I wanted to see more of Kara and Jason in terms of their emotional intimacy being built up enough for Kara to trust him once again. Jason does go for the grand gesture towards the end but somehow I felt that there was something missing when it comes to the couple in question. I also would have dearly loved to see the dreams Jason had for his resort materialize but the story ended right before any of that could happen.

All in all I would say not a bad read but this story could have turned out into a wonderful one if closure had come to all facets of the story that unfolded.

Final Verdict: A scarred ex-military hero who returns to his hometown to find that when it comes to love, sometimes people do get second chances.

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

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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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