Category / Contemporary

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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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: A Terrible Love by Marata Eros

Format: E-bookaterriblelove
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: A Terrible Love, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Devin Castile
Heroine: Jess Mackey
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: April 26, 2013
Started On: September 22, 2013
Finished On: September 26, 2013

Jess Mackey leads a life that gives her the sort of security that she craves after the brutality of the past that she endured and walked out from. All that Jess wants to do is blend in and be one with the crowd so that no one would notice that she is not whom she pretends to be, day in ad day out.

Jess’s one vice remains to be her love for the ballet and that turns out to be the reason for her to break out from her shell and leave that wall of anonymity behind her after two years of living under its protection. And along with embracing her love for the ballet comes another kind of “danger” calling into her life in the form of bad boy tattoed hotness Devin Castile.

The attraction between Castile and Jess is instantaneous and you can practically feel the heat between them burn the pages with the slightly erotic and very sensuous scenes of passion that leaves you begging for more. In the midst of Jess rediscovering herself and her buried passions, her very much troubled past comes calling in a way that leaves a lot to be desired and forces Jess to face her fears and come out victorious even with all odds seemingly stacked against her.

A Terrible Love is told in the first person from Jess’s point of view. Though my very first book by Mantara Eros, I fond myself totally captivated with the story that was unfolding, her ability to draw the reader in, a testament to her ability in weaving a magical story. A Terrible Love is by no means a light read. There are dark elements to it that makes it a very enjoyable page turner with that hint of menace and danger snipping at your heels all the while.

I loved the hero Castile to bits. He is the perfect combination of danger and sexiness that practically revs up my engines. A hero whose body alone speaks volumes, the way he rides that tough meanie motorbike of his enough to make this girl swoon. And that take charge attitude of his and smouldering I-am-dying-to-take-you-against-the-wall-or-any-flat-surface-available-right-now stare of his was just the right amount to leave me practically sighing all over the place.

Jess turned out to be an equally endearing heroine too. Though at times I was of the opinion that Jess just should’ve trusted her instincts and gone ahead with Castile from the start, I could understand the whys of Jess’s actions when it comes to Castile. The woman who wants no emotional entanglements, whose commitment to the ballet demands that she focus on little else but just that and the fact that Castile makes her feel all too much makes Jess hesitate in putting her heart on the line when it comes to him. And then there is that shred of mystery that surrounds Castile like an invisible aura that drives Jess a bit crazy trying to figure out where he is coming from.

I wouldn’t term the love that flares to life between Jess and Castile as a terrible love. I would label their love anything but that. Combustive, fiery, consuming; all words that I would use to describe the love between them, a love that felt right, a love that just seemed to click in all those places that hums yes when an author gets it right and a love that had me smiling as I turned the very last page. A job I would say very well done by an author who is unfamiliar to me and yet already just a step away from becoming an auto-buy for me. The best bit about looking up this book on Goodreads today? Turns out that the second book in this series is told from Castile’s point of view and its already out. How delicious is THAT going to be?

Final Verdict: One hell of a page-turner. The twists and turns this book takes leaves you drained. Yep, that good!

Favorite Quotes

“May I kiss you, Jess?” he whispers above my mouth.
No. “Yes,” I whisper back against every impulse not to.
He doesn’t take my lips softly but crushes my mouth against his, a storm crashing into the shore, his full lips working over mine, forcing them open, and I groan as he gathers me against him, his huge hands splaying against my lower back in a con- vulsive surge, bringing me into the line of his body.

I don’t know who moves first but before I can take my next breath I’m in his arms, his fingers tearing out my damp braid and plowing through my long hair. He holds my face, slam- ming his mouth against mine until I groan and open it for him. His other hand goes to the small of my back, then dives down to my ass as he lifts me against him, my legs automatically winding around his waist.

“Watch me, Jess,” he says in quiet command, and I don’t look away, can’t. He pulls out torturously slow, then slams his cock so deeply inside me my walls clench around him and he moans softly, the beautiful ebony of his eyes disappearing when he closes them in paused ecstasy.

I grip him hard and pull; he shudders under my touch. “Don’t do that, vanilla girl.”
“Or what?” I ask breathlessly.
And he shows me. Cas hikes me against the wall. “You said just fucking, Jess.”
He grinds his hips against my lower body, his engorged cock splitting my lips apart, and I gasp as an electric surge floods my system, beginning at my sex and spreading like a wildfire ignited. My hips give a responding swivel.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Cake by Lauren Dane

Format: E-bookcake
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Gregori Ivanov
Heroine: Wren Davis
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 15, 2013
Started On: September 5, 2013
Finished On: September 5, 2013

Gregori Ivanov is an artist whose bad boy image keeps at bay and hides his true nature from the clamoring fans who always seems to want one thing or the other from him. His marriage and the divorce that had followed suite, together with the destructive relationship he tends to have with his ex-wife seems to have driven up the walls that protect his heart and emotions with iron bars.

Wren Davis is an art student, working as a part-time messenger to pay the bills which brings her to the home of the ultra gorgeous Gregori who makes her want and crave for him in a way she has never craved anyone ever before. The friendship and the flirty relationship that has been going on between Gregori and Wren for the past year or so reaches its breaking point and tumbles over when Gregori is driven to take a bite of the woman who has been driving him slowly crazy for the past couple of months. Wren is determined that she would make Gregori give in to the heat and obvious connection that is way more than just physical between them. And Gregori finds out the hard and delicious way that he is indeed no match for a determined Wren from getting all that she wants.

Cake though a short read proved to be an explosively good one. There is of course the hero Gregori who made me practically salivate with that bad boy charm of his and that predatory soul that comes to life within him when Wren is in the picture. Gregori might want to resist Wren with everything that he is for all the wrong reasons and that is exactly what gives this story the edge it required.

Wren was a lovely heroine. I loved her for her independence and her resilience when it came Gregori which made her put her foot down and work for the man she had fallen for. While the sex was of the scorching hot and panty melting variety, it is the connection between them outside of the bedroom that made my heart melt and made me root for them big time!

With just the right amount of body tingling variety of scorching hot sex and a hero who slips to  muttering in Russian in the throes of passion, I couldn’t have found a better way to spend the one hour it took to devour this scorching goodie! Highly recommended!

Final Verdict: Sizzling chemistry and a Russian hero = Win!

Favorite Quotes

He tasted like…well like everything she’d imagined he’d taste like. The spice of the Turkish tobacco in the French cigarettes he smoked. A little bit of vodka. Some cinnamon, probably from the gum he’d been chewing. And something else she couldn’t define but was all his anyway.
Heat raced through her veins. She nipped his bottom lip and he groaned again. She laved the sting with her tongue and tasted the kiss, the need between them and it was her turn to groan.

She climbed into his lap and he drew a shaky breath.
“I felt just how much you wanted me then.” She rolled her hips, grinding herself against his cock. “I feel it now. Question is, Gregori, do you enjoy me as much as you enjoy cake? And how can you know unless you take a taste?”
She brushed her lips over his mouth and his eyes snapped open. “Indeed.”
His muscles, which had been tense, loosened and then he pounced. He wrapped his arms around her, hauled her closer and kissed her.

She grabbed his waist, working his pants open. He swore when she took him in her hand, fisting, sliding up and a down a few times.
He muttered in Russian, drawing aside the straps from her camisole and bra, kissing the bare skin he left behind.
More muttering in Russian. Hearing it made her so hot.
“What? What are you saying? You’re giving me a complex.”
He snorted, tipping his head to look into her face. “I can’t get at all of you adequately here.”

“He’d better not fuck and dash.” Zoe sniffed as she cracked her beer open.
“He’s not what he tries to portray to the outside world. He’s a nice guy. Yes, he’s bossy and imperious and totally spoiled. But there’s more to Gregori than what you see at first glance.”
“Speaking of that. So… equipment wise you’d say? Standard? Deluxe? Premium?”
“Presidential suite.”

He drove her up fast. Relentless and when she came it was hard, rushing up from her toes to the top of her head as she clamped down around him. She heard the growl, a snarl of a sound as he followed, the hand at her hip tightening just shy of pain.

He watched the ghost of their reflection in the window, the way her lip caught between her teeth. Wanton. Even as he had her, he wanted more. He knew even as he came that he’d want her again within minutes.
She tightened herself around him and he growled. “Don’t think I didn’t miss this.” “You’d better have.”
She pushed back hard and fast, tightening up again and it was too much, he tumbled down, coming, his head back on a snarl of her name.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N 

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: No Romance Required by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookNoRomanceRequired
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Love Required, #3
Publisher: Entangled Publishing: Brazen
Hero: Cory Santangelo
Heroine: Victoria Violet Townsend
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 12, 2013
Started On: August 31, 2013
Finished On: September 2, 2013

She was his, had always been his, and now they both knew it.

Ever since I read No Flowers Required, book 2 in the Love Required series by Cari Quinn, I’ve been sending “gentle” and “subtle” reminders Cari’s way to remind her that at least one fan of the series was in high anticipatory mode to read Cory’s story. It would be an impossibility to read No Flowers Required and encounter Cory Santangelo and Victoria Townsend (Vicky) and not “feel” the vibrancy of the chemistry and fire that is between them. Maybe because I had such high hopes for the book or maybe too much time has passed since I read book 2, I found myself a wee bit disappointed with how No Romance Required turned out.

Cory and Vicky have a shared history that goes way back into their childhoods. Cory is driven to the point of losing himself with a resolute absoluteness in his work that leaves little room for any time to loosen up and let go. Vicky on the other hand is a woman whose life is full of vibrancy, someone who refuses to let even a moment of her life pass by without enjoying it to the hilt. Though Cory might never understand why Vicky chooses to live as she does, the one thing that he cherishes and looks forward to is their weekly meet up to discuss Value Hardware’s lifestyle magazine which Vicky handles.

No Romance Required begins right where No Flowers Required ends and it is during that fateful evening that both Cory and Vicky are caught in a compromising position on camera which gives Cory the perfect “excuse” to get his parents off his back and enjoy his time playing fake boyfriend with Vicky to the hilt. Vicky might have a reputation of being a bad girl but when it comes to Cory, Vicky knows that none of her usual tricks would work for a man whose tastes run a bit darker and edgier than anyone she has been with. Vicky knows how ruthless Cory could be on her emotions if she lets him in and that is exactly what happens which gives the story its dose of angst together with the heat of the scorching variety that is always a part of Cari’s romances, which is one reason why I enjoy them so much.

I think the bit where this book didn’t work for me as I thought it would was perhaps because the banter between Vicky and Cory that was evident in No Flowers Required and what drew me towards Cory and Vicky failed to materialize much in their own story. I love a little bit of darkness with my heroes which I am betting is no surprise to anyone who reads my reviews. But I kind of missed on what it was exactly that turned Cory into who he was. Cory came out as a ruthless bastard in No Flowers Required and I thought that he would keep going along his track record some more before actually succumbing to his own happily ever after.

Vicky was a splendid heroine. Her zest for life hides behind the pain of abandonment, all the while harboring a secret from her siblings that could break the fragile bond she has with them. All Vicky longs for and has longed for for a long while is for Cory to notice her and make her his. Thus it comes as no surprise when Vicky grabs with both hands the one chance she has to play make believe with the man of her dreams even though she knows she might end up with a broken heart that would never heal.

From the way things were left as book 3 concluded, I am hoping that Vicky’s brother Bryan would get a story of his own because there seemed to be something of that sort in the works. I did miss out on an epilogue though I think the ending was pretty good with a little bit of groveling on Cory’s side to tie it all up.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Cari Quinn. But mind you, read No Flowers Required first because I think otherwise you might not get a feel for Vicky and Cory’s characters which I believe is a must if you are to enjoy the 3rd installment in the series.

Final Verdict: Great addition to the wonderfully erotic and humorous Love Required series.

Favorite Quotes

“Victoria.” His guttural use of her name caused her to still. “This will change everything.”
Then his mouth crushed down on hers.
Its weight was a brand, forever stamping her with the memory of this night. Of stars in an inky black sky. Of his heart racing against hers.
Of wanting him more than she cared about the consequences.

When she stood before him in just her bra and lacy thigh-high hose, she stepped back until her spine hit one of the support columns that extended to the exposed beams of the ceiling. She wrapped her fingers around the wood above her head, stretching herself up like his very own unwrapped gift. Then she spread her legs and invitingly rocked her hips.

Her lips parted though she made no sound. He exhaled as her snug, drenched sheath enveloped his dick again and again, the scrape of her nails against the wood a strangely exciting accompaniment. Her nails could’ve been on his shoulders, on his back, for all the effect that noise had on his body. He drove into her harder, faster, wanting to hear her torturing the wood, that unconscious tell more revealing than her glazed whiskey-colored eyes.
There, she still held some control. But with her hands, with the ripples of her sex around him, she restrained nothing.
That was what he wanted. Her, totally mindless. Unafraid. His.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Her Favorite Rival by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-bookherfavoriterival
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Mathews Sisters
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Zachary Black
Heroine: Audrey Mathews
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 3, 2013
Started On: August 31, 2013
Finished On: August 31, 2013

Her Favorite Rival by Sarah Mayberry, though not up to par with the most recent releases from her still managed to be a romance that captivated me from start to finish. Some books require an effort to trudge through them, page after page, because its just difficult to give up when you have invested so much of your time in reading that book. But Mayberry’s books stand apart from this crowd as her books always manages to provide all those elements that makes a romance work on so many levels.

Her Favorite Rival is the story of work rivals Audrey Mathews and Zachary (Zach) Black. Audrey is the one who has made her way through the different levels through sheer grit and determination with a whole lot of experience at her back to support her. But Zach who joined just six months back seems to have what she doesn’t; the weight of college earned degrees that speaks volumes. Audrey knows that Zach is the only contender that she should be worried about regarding the upcoming promotion and she is ready to pull all stops into impressing the new management when an assignment pushes both Audrey and Zach together which forms the basis of their relationship.

Mayberry does quite an impressive job of bringing to the readers the pressures of trying to perform in an organization which really drives a hard bargain with its employees. Audrey and Zach are both ambitious and career-driven people, both for different reasons, but similar in the aspect that it is the demons of the past that drives them and has scarred them on levels that they are not even prepared to acknowledge when the relationship between them fosters into being.

Audrey makes the huge mistake of judging Zach based on his good looks and the charm he exudes, but she couldn’t have been more wrong even if she had tried. Mayberry brings to the table the “other side” of what its like to grow up with a drug addict as a parent, the pain of seeing the one person you love continue to go back and feed an addiction that never seems to cease. The shame that clings onto a person for not being able to stop loving that person no matter how destructive a force the person’s continued addiction becomes. Not an easy subject, but I think Mayberry did a splendid job in that aspect of the story.

Her Favorite Rival seemed to begin with a bang and waned a little towards the middle and then picked up again towards the latter part of the book. Even then, a Mayberry book is always worth the investment in time and money and if you love contemporary romances with deeper and in depth stories, this one’s definitely recommended!

Final Verdict: Mayberry delivers a great romance amidst the grit and realities that is life.

Favorite Quotes

“I tell you who won’t be going, though—Zach. Fifty bucks he gets a promotion out of all of this.”
Audrey reached for the fries. “He’s not that good.”
“Sorry, sweetie, but he is. He’s smart, he’s good at what he does and he could charm a snake out of its skin.”
Audrey rolled her eyes. “You’re only saying that because you have a soft spot for him.”
“Yeah, it’s called a vagina.”

He was already hard, his arousal a hot pressure against her belly. The ache between her thighs demanded that she rub against him, that she slide a hand around his waist and grip his backside and haul him closer still.
He muttered something urgent against her mouth, then his hands were on her breasts, cupping and squeezing them through the thin cotton of her shirt. She gave a small, inar- ticulate moan when his thumb grazed her nipple, and when he caught it between thumb and forefinger and squeezed she almost dissolved on the spot.

He was reaching for her before she could process his words. One second she stood on the doorstep of his house, the next she was inside, her back against the wall, his mouth and body against hers. He tasted of heat, his tongue stroking hers with demanding greed, his body large and powerful as it pressed into hers. Her hands found his bare shoulders, closing over warm, hard muscle, even as his thigh slid between hers, forcing the heart of her into intimate contact with his leg.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins

Format: E-bookthenextbestthing
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Ethan Mirabelli
Heroine: Lucy Lang
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 27, 2013
Started On: August 26, 2013
Finished On: August 28, 2013

The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins, though I got it off of Netgalley as an ARC is not an altogether a new publication. This book was first published in 2010 and has been on my to-be-read pile for quite sometime now. And though I didn’t figure this fact out until I was about to begin reading this, it just made me wonder a little why Harlequin hadn’t listed this as a republication.

The Next Best Thing is a book that bears all the hallmarks of Kristan Higgins. There is humor of course, weird and laugh out loud variety of family antics to go around, a hero and heroine who for all intents and purpose spend most of the book apart and yet find their happily ever after towards the end and a dog or a cat to complement the picture. However, there is a slight difference when it comes to The Next Best Thing because the protagonists, i.e. Ethan and Lucy have been sleeping with each other even before the story begins.

The synopsis that goes with the story is a bit misleading to say the least, perhaps not to give the story away? Lucy is a widow, and  going on 5 plus years in her current status quo. The thought of moving on and finding someone else to share her life with stresses her to the point that the panic attacks that she has held at bay for sometime comes calling again, but the children that she wants to fill her life with urges her to seek a husband who would be an emotional risk-free investment on her part.

Having brought to an end her mostly weekend trysts with Ethan that has been going on for two years, Lucy tries to find that someone who meets all her criterion, all of them falling short of the mark for one reason or the other. Lucy doesn’t want the complication of even thinking of Ethan as a viable choice to share the rest of her life with, but time and yet again, it is Ethan that she misses like a proverbial ache in her heart, his companionship that she seeks when she has something worthy of sharing, and the combustive chemistry that they had shared that makes her want to rip her clothes off and get down and dirty with him every time she sees him.

Underneath the veneer of laugh-out-loud humor, The Next Best Thing is a story that waged an emotional warfare inside of me. I hated Lucy for what she continuously put Ethan through, all the while wondering how she could have been so clueless. But I guess given the circumstances and the pedestal upon which she had placed her dead husband, it was hard to see past that and see Ethan, the man who had always stood with her and beside her, unwavering in his support for her, no matter what. There was  this part of me that absolutely sympathized and empathized with what Lucy goes through. I have survived tragedy of the panic-inducing variety and I know what its like to battle with it every single day afterwards. And change, is definitely a trigger and that is exactly what Lucy is subjected to when she sets out to get out of the “rut” into which her life had fallen into after the death of her husband.

Ethan is a character to absolutely die for. Ethan and his emotions never making it to the forefront is one of the reasons why I tend to steer clear of books told in first person from just one character’s point of view. I would have dearly loved to see things from Ethan’s point of view, the heartache and desolateness that is part of him that was evident to see even when his point of view wasn’t part of the story. Simply put, I loved Ethan and everything to do with him, his unwavering courage in standing by and letting the woman he has loved ever since he set eyes on her find her way on her own terms telling in itself. A lesser man would have walked away to restore the pieces of his heart but Ethan sees it all through even if it must have broken him from inside out. The fact that he has always been considered “the next best thing”, even by his parents was heartbreaking to see. And Lucy not seeing it for so long just made my hands clench and unclench every single time such an incidence came up in the story.

Perhaps, I might not put Lucy into the category of heroines that I hated by the end of the story, but she certainly is someone who was difficult to fall in love with because of her blind devotion to the memory of a man who was less than perfect but made otherwise by those who had adored him to the point that the rest had just paled in comparison and faded into the background. I had a pebble the size of Mount Everest in my throat by the time I finished reading this in the wee hours of the morning. But every emotion wrangling bit towards the end was so worth it! So very worth it. And the epilogue tucked in at the end certainly went a long long way into soothing my ruffled feathers where Ethan is concerned.

Recommended for fans of Kristan Higgins, those who love romances with a large dose of humor and books that invoke a shitload of emotion from you!

Final Verdict: Worth every bit of emotion it wrenches out of you! Ethan is a must have on your bookshelf.

Favorite Quotes

His arms tighten around me, and the hangers rattle again as we knock against them, and now his lips are on my neck, the gentle scrape of his beard contrasting with the warm silkiness of his mouth. My knees soften in an almost painful rush. Then his mouth finds mine again, and the kiss is not so gentle this time…desperate, hungry, hot and forbidden and utterly welcome.

My hands move to his chest, and his skin is hot, practi- cally burning me through the cotton, and I can feel the hard thudding of his heart. Without thinking, I tug his shirt and slip my hands underneath.
“Lucy,” he mutters against my mouth. “Honey, wait.” But I just kiss him again and slide my hands against the smooth skin of his back, his ribs, and pull him closer, wanting him against me. He shifts so we’re closer, his mouth hot and hard. Waiting is forgotten.

Then he leans in closer so that our foreheads touch. “You sure, honey?” he asks
“Yes,” I whisper, and his mouth is on mine. His hand slides under my T-shirt and cups my breast, and my breath catches. He tastes so good, feels like heaven and I can’t believe I’ve waited so long for this. His mouth moves to my neck, a hot jolt shudders through me, and I sink into the bed, the sun hot on my skin, and give my- self away.
And I realize that despite my intentions, I’ve fallen in love after all.

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

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