Category / Contemporary

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning

Format: E-bookpersonalassets
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Texas Nights, #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Cameron Kyle Wright
Heroine: Alice Ann Shelby
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 26, 2013
Started On: August 20, 2013
Finished On: August 26, 2013

Turned out being bad with Allie was so damned good.

Cameron Kyle Wright returns to his hometown of Shelbyville in Texas with a sense of homecoming, to start his own business, make a name for himself and perhaps find a woman to settle down with and start a family. But he is barely home before he runs into the all too delectable Alice Ann Shelby, the cossetted daughter of the most prestigious family in town.

Allie knows trouble of the good kind when she sees it. And the six foot of grumpy ruggedness that Cameron presents calls out to all her girly bits to stand up and take notice and perhaps have a go at him while they are at it. With a PHD in hand, Allie is the owner of a body image and sexuality counseling service in town aka a sex therapist, a business that is frowned upon by her father who had never in reality approved of anything she has done with her life.

When Allie proposes to Cameron a deal that includes all inclusive hot and mind-blowing sex whose by-product would be intense orgasms that would leave both of them begging for more, Cameron is hesitant to get down and dirty with a woman like Allie. For someone who wants and craves respect from his townsfolk, Cameron finds out that getting his dose of mind obliterating sex with Allie just might be worth all the hassle that she brings to the other aspects of his life as well.

With humor that begs one to laugh out loud; and I guarantee you that you wouldn’t be able to hold your laughter in even if you tried, Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning is a contemporary romance for those who love humor interlaced with every aspect of their romances. There’s plenty of heat to go around, with a cast of characters that holds their own and are appealing protagonists for the books that are certainly to follow in the Texas Nights series.

Cameron’s character is not one easily discernible when you first start out with the story. His character is revealed bit by bit and mostly towards the end of the story. Cameron is a giver at any cost, which is evident both in his actions in and out of bed. The way he totally and utterly focuses on pleasuring Allie is something to be savored, the way he wants to protects her even out of a misguided sense of responsibility one that is endearing and exasperating at the same time.

Allie has her work cut out for her when at first Cameron tries and resists her advances to take things slow. However, Allie on a mission is hell on wheels for any heterosexual male’s libido and that is how she wins him over together with other aspects of her character that comes out when she is with Cameron. The one thing she doesn’t factor into their supposedly meaningless trysts is the fact that her heart might become involved, that Cameron might be the one to get past the barriers and finally lay siege on her heart.

Recommended for those who love romances from authors like Jill Shalvis and Kristan Higgins. With heat of the panty melting variety, Personal Assets makes for a scorchingly great debut of the Texas Nights series.

Final Verdict: Humor, heat and heart makes for an unbeatable read!

Favorite Quotes

As he rolled to his side to rest his shaking arms, Cameron tried to ignore the way his heart was also pulsing, but not just from physical effort.
She’d asked for sex, plain and simple.
Whether she knew it or not, they’d already blown right past simple.

She kissed the base of his throat, and his chest rumbled against her breasts. He two-stepped them right off the dance floor and into a dark hallway. He gripped her hips in rough hands and lifted her, her thin bodice rubbing his chest, aligning their lips. He backed her against the wall and, within a single heartbeat, the kiss became a symphony of tangled tongues and mingled breaths. His arms tightened around her so she could barely inhale. They’d said barely a word, but their bodies were in deep communication.

Suddenly, he gripped her hips tighter and thrust into a sitting position so his face was even with her breasts. She wrapped her legs around his hips, leveraging him even deeper. He gave her a look that could’ve peeled the paint off one of his cars, burning and wild. Then his mouth was on her breast, surrounding, sucking, taking all of her inside his mouth.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Carina

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: First Temptation by Joan Swan

Format: E-bookfirsttemptation
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Covert Affairs, #1.5
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Taft Walker
Heroine: Zoe Brooks
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 19, 2013
Started On: August 16, 2013
Finished On: August 17, 2013

Supervisory Border Control Agent Zoe Brooks gets tangled up with Agent Taft Walker from the Counterterrorism unit of the Department of Homeland Security in a joint quest to bring down Mexican drug smugglers of the El Diablo cartel.

From the moment Taft and Zoe meet, sparks fly, regardless of the fact whether they both want it or not. Going undercover as the owners of a sex toy shop might be pushing Zoe’s comfort zone a bit more than she would like, and given the fact that her emotions are all over the place of recent, Zoe knows that she would have to up her game just that much more if she is going to prove her worth as a fresh undercover agent.

The lust that spirals forth, scorching and undeniable is one thing that both Taft and Zoe never factors into the equation in working together. Taft is sexy, confident and phobic of any sort of commitment beyond that of a night of pleasure but Zoe seems to push all his buttons in the right way that seems to make him panic and soothe him all at the same time.

While Zoe and Taft try to find their footing amidst the passion that refuses to be denied between them, the web of danger that surrounds them continues to thicken, with Zoe being the centerfold of all that danger. Though Taft would like nothing better than to protect her from harms way, how he reacts to the danger and the need to protect Zoe could mean the end of whatever it is that is between Zoe and himself before it is even given a chance to flourish.

This is my very first Joan Swan and I would have to say I liked her unabashed style of writing and the sex scenes that definitely stirred more than just Taft and Zoe. Taft and Zoe definitely cannot be blamed for having lackluster sex; they are practically all over each other and tends to find themselves in the most interesting spots to get it on!

Though everyone advices never to judge a book by its cover, I know most of us are guilty of just that and I requested for a galley of this because the cover hinted at the deliciousness that was bound to come. I am certainly glad that this novella gave me a bit of an insight into what Joan Swan can do and has definitely whetted my appetite enough to pick up more of her books to read.

Recommended for fans of romantic suspense with singeing passion that rocks you to your toes!

Final Verdict: Hot & wild; First Temptation certainly makes for a combustive prelude to the Covert Affairs series!

Favorite Quotes

She stretched, sliding her body along his slowly, feeling every swell and groove and plane before she pressed her lips to his. His mouth remained firm, chaste. His eyes remained open, but a clear new awareness burned hot.
She tugged on his neck, pulling their mouths flush, and licked his bottom lip. His hands fisted in the waistband of her slacks.
She gazed into those blazing golden eyes and pulled back just enough to whisper, “Are you on board, Walker, or not?”
He growled. Opened his mouth. Closed his eyes. And really kissed her.

Zoe used her arms to rock her body into his touch. “Taft…”
He bit her ear, then whispered, “I’m going to make you come, but we’re not done. Not even close. I’m only giving you relief. And prepping you for the next one. And the one after that. I’m going to keep going until you come so hard you scream.”
Zoe whimpered. She opened her eyes, unable to believe the sound had come from her own throat. Then Taft pressed two of those thick, practiced fingers inside her, and Zoe couldn’t focus on anything but the way he filled her.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Bound by Marriage by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookboundbymarriage
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Silhouette Desire
Hero: Gabriel Dumont
Heroine: Jess Randall
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 1, 2005
Started On: August 7, 2013
Finished On: August 9, 2013

I have been so engrossed with reading the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh that I have never even wondered whether Nalini has strayed into writing any other genres in the world of romance. So while I was doing some random searching on the Internet, imagine my surprise when this little number came up, and that too with the uber interesting marriage of convenience trope that can really make for superb reads!

Bound by Marriage takes place in New Zealand and is told from both the hero and heroine’s point of views in the third person. While wealthy rancher Gabriel Dumont and Jess Randall enter into a marriage of convenience knowing fully well what they both are getting into, neither of them factors in the searing passion that lights up the sheets between them and of course plays havoc with the general order of things or how they both perceive their joint lives would turn out to be.

Jess never thought that her heart would be capable of loving anyone else, much less a man like Gabriel who is so withdrawn that he opens up to her only when they are in bed together, him drawing out responses from her that she would never have thought possible. But even then the times that Gabriel does let her see that tender side of his, although it is very rarely with the situations that continue to develop and put further strains on their already fragile bond, Jess finds herself inexorably drawn towards the man she calls as her husband.

I seriously thought that I would have a hard time liking Gabriel by the time the book was half way through. Yes, he is that stubborn and set in his ways that if it weren’t for his emotions that are as much in turmoil as that of Jess’s I wouldn’t have thought that he felt anything for the woman he had married. But lo and behold, I should have trusted Nalini a bit more and waited for the bombshell when it hit and yes, I was blown away with the compassion and love that filled my heart for the little boy Gabriel had been when he had lost vital pieces of his heart in a way that they would never be regained.

For some readers, Jess might seem to be putting up with much more than they would have liked. But I think Gabriel needed someone just as equally stubborn as him, willing to give until those impenetrable shields of his that he wears around himself like an armor were all but shattered around him. I loved the ending, the glimpse into the man Gabriel later turns into, not completely tamed, no never that, but a man who is at least a little bit at peace with his past and smiling in the arms of the woman who loves him like there is no tomorrow.

Final Verdict: Sensual & heart wrenching; Silhouette Desire at its best!

Favorite Quotes

Gabriel’s hand was rough against her skin, the hand of a man who worked the land. But on her neck, his lips were almost velvet soft—a seductive contrast. She lost her breath as he closed his teeth over a pulse point, then released with exquisite deliberation, scraping those same strong teeth along the sensitive flesh.

“I’m damn glad you’re a rider, Jess,” he almost growled as he filled her, going so deep that she could feel his heartbeat in her body.
Not aware enough to understand what he was referring to, she squeezed intimate muscles around him in a reaction as old as time itself. Throwing back his head, he tightened his hold on her and began to move. His rhythm was fast, his strokes deep. She screamed and screamed as he pushed her over the edge in a tempest of hot breaths and powerful thrusts.
And when she fell, it was as a marked woman. Gabriel Dumont’s woman.

And then she heard the zipper being lowered.
Even that warning wasn’t enough. She screamed as he pushed into her. Hard. Fast. Deep. Her body accepted him, welcomed his driving thrusts, but he was merciless in the intensity of what he asked of her, pushing her so far that she lost all traces of civilization and surrendered to her most primal heart.

“So I did,” he murmured, reclaiming her lips even as his hand pushed aside the gusset of her panties to thrust two fingers deep into a body more than primed by the slow seduction. Pleasure erupted inside her almost instantaneously. Pulling away from the ravaging fury of his mouth, she threw back her head and rode his fingers, feeling herself clench and unclench with vicious strength.

Gabe’s arm came around her waist and his teeth scraped lightly over the sensitive skin of her neck. “Now, Jess. Now!”
She fractured under the command, everything female in her glorying in the wildness of that harsh masculine voice. At the last second, their eyes met in the mirror and Jess knew they’d crossed a line. The question was, what lay on the other side?

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Picture Perfect Wedding by Fiona Lowe

Format: E-bookpictureperfectwedding.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wedding Fever, #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Luke Anderson
Heroine: Erin Davis
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 12, 2013
Started On: August 4, 2013
Finished On: August 5, 2013

30 year old Luke Anderson is a dairyman, the owner of Lakeview Farm, a farm that has been in his family for generations. Though Luke has gone through the whole of his life preparing for the takeover of the business from his father, something akin to discontentment has settled deep in his gut and he is unsure of the hows and whys of it and how to shake it off.

Erin Davis is a photographer of high-end brides, someone who has a plan to take her from Point A to Point B. Not one to take unnecessary risks, Erin needs the award which will be hers if everything goes according to plan, the publicity the award is going to bring on which she is basing the future of the rest of her self-made career on. Standing in her way of achieving the picture perfect wedding is one delicious hunk of a farmer who gets her inner wanton self doing cartwheels and somersaults in her attempt to make him sit up and take notice.

When Erin turns up at Lakeview Farm, the one thought that rushes through Luke’s mind before turning to mush in the face of that sizzling attraction that flares to life between them is the fact that he has no time in his life for high maintenance city girls. Luke might want to turn his back on Erin and her beautiful green eyes that calls out to him on levels that he doesn’t even begin to understand, but he finds that the strange fascination that he has for Erin is hard to say no to. For Erin, Luke is the one temptation that she cannot resist, even when their summer affair heats up just more than her sheets at night.

Picture Perfect Wedding is the second book in the Wedding Fever series set in the small town of Whitetail, Wisconsin. I loved this instalment in the series from the characters to the fun antics that had me snorting and laughing out loud and also the secondary romance that unfolded between the town widower Nicole and the hot new fire chief Tony.

Luke and Eric are a delicious couple, both with their own misgivings about their future and their own battles to fight. Luke is a man who is undecided on what he wants to do to the farm, and it certainly doesn’t help matters when it brings problems raining down on his close-knit family and has his retired father breathing down his neck.

Erin falls in love with every aspect of the charming life that she sees happen every day in Whitetail. With a steady income burgeoning her bank balance for the first time in a long while, Erin finds herself to be in her element, all the while working towards photographing the perfect wedding which would change the course of her life. But beneath all that enthusiasm lies a heart that is scared beyond anything at the thought of tying herself down, opening her heart to pain and heartache that is certain to follow in the wake of every relationship.

I loved both Luke and Erin, Lukes stoicism something that truly made his character one thats fascinating. Put into the mix his family and two dogs plus the various well meaning members of the community, well you have a hell of a lot on your hands to juggle and its wonderful the way Fiona knows just what to do to keep the story flowing smoothly. I loved the sexual battle of wills that took place between Luke and Erin and of course I didn’t even expect Nicole to come out and show a side of herself that I wouldn’t have ever thought her capable of. The secondary romance that took place perfectly complemented and was in line with the primary story that was unfolding and though I would have loved to learn more about Tony, I found myself pretty much satisfied with the level of detail Fiona went into when it came to their romance.

If there is anything Fiona Lowe does exceptionally well, it is contemporary romances set in small towns and she writes them with so much heart that it is impossible not to lose yourself in the magic of it all.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of small town romances.

Final Verdict: Picture Perfect Wedding comes to you with lots of sizzle, fun & heart. Not to be missed!

Favorite Quotes

With a puff of dissatisfaction that he was so slow to respond, she pulled her hand from his, rose on her toes, slid both her hands against his cheeks, angled his mouth and kissed him.
Her lips pressed against his and the slight scratch of his top lip grazed hers as she coaxed him to open his mouth to her. Chocolate, coffee and heat flowed through her, spinning currents of delight eddying through her, feeding her need for this man like oxygen fuels fire.

Her fingertip touched his and flames engulfed her. His large, strong hand closed around her wrist. She lunged toward him as his arms lifted her at the hips, and then her legs were wrapped around his waist, and she was burying herself against his chest. She was home. Her body, so taut with ragged need for so long, stilled for a heartbeat, suspended in bliss, and then primal energy thundered through her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she lowered her mouth to his and kissed him.

His hands gripped her hips and he lifted her over him and then very slowly he lowered her down.
Her body, oh so very ready and desperate for him, opened easily, absorbing him bit by bit until she’d stretched to the limit and he completely filled her. The sensation was indescribable and she experienced the oddest feeling that she was going to cry, which made no sense because her body was on fire for him. Her throbbing muscles, which had ached for him, closed around him and need became fire driving her upward to seize the ultimate prize.

She smelled of vanilla and tasted of salt and he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her body. Reverently, he cupped her breasts in his hands, savoring the weight of them against his palm.
She gave a moan of pleasure and he felt her breasts tighten. He grinned. He’d never had a lover this responsive. Very slowly, he moved the pad of his thumbs across her nipples. Her body jerked and her eyes opened as wide as a cat’s. In the clear, green depths he clearly read desire—hot, molten need for him.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Guilty as Sin by Jami Alden

Format: E-bookguiltyassin
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Forever
Hero: Tommy Ibarra
Heroine: Kate Beckett
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 30, 2013
Started On: August 1, 2013
Finished On: August 3, 2013

Jami Alden is one of my go-to authors for novels of the romantic suspense variety. She has a style of writing similar to that of authors like Cynthia Eden that makes a book hard to put down. Thus when I came across the publication date of Guilty as Sin which happened to be the 30th of last month, I didn’t hesitate to mark my calender and purchase myself a copy the very day it was released.

33 year old Tommy Ibarra is ex-military, specialized in the weapon of information retrieval amongst other things. 30 year old Kate Beckett is the daughter of a US Senator, working with families of child kidnappings, a calling she had paid heed to after the fateful night 14 years back when her younger brother Michael had been kidnapped and brutally killed. The guilt that Kate has harbored since then proves to be one of the reasons that the budding romance between Tommy, the son of a rancher and Kate had not accounted to much.

When a fresh kidnapping brings an altogether more poised, collected and a professional Kate to Tommy’s hometown once again, the feelings that he had pushed aside into a deep and dark corner of his heart clamors to be let out from its prison and embrace the only woman that Tommy had ever truly loved. However, with the dark shadows that linger between them, reconciliation of the feelings that are very much alive between them is easier said than done, especially when things aren’t what they seem to be and the case puts Kate’s life in danger in more ways than one.

Guilty as Sin is sort of a spin off from the trilogy that featured the books, Beg for Mercy, Hide from Evil and Run from Fear. I remember Tommy making an appearance in one of the books, don’t know which for certain. Tommy is a brooding hunk of a hero with an army tattoo to complete the package. His past run-in with Kate, an altogether younger, softer and a much less cynical version of him had been burnt badly and Tommy is of the mind that nothing would make him take that step towards Kate and claim her as his, no matter how much his body might want him to.

Kate knows she has a lot to apologize for where Tommy is concerned. And though being in close quarters with Tommy is the last thing she wants, Kate finds she has little choice where the matter is concerned, and if truth be told, Kate is as much enamored by the brooding and a much cynical version of the boy she had fallen head over heels in lust and love with all those years ago. But the ugly sword of guilt that she harbors inside of her heart rears its ugly head, especially when the new case brings too close to comfort the memories of a night that has tainted her life so much.

The villain though is twisted as they come is easy to figure out even from the very beginning of the story. Even though that’s the case, the outcome of the story is not affected because Jami certainly knows how to keep the pages turning and the momentum going. I loved Tommy and Kate and felt for both of them, especially Kate who struggles with a lot of dark memories. It is a wonder that she can stand as she does and work so closely with families who are going through something that she herself had gone through with much more terrible an outcome.

The heat between Tommy and Kate is classic Jami Alden, and I say classic because Jami is an author who definitely knows how to turn the heat up.

Recommended for fans of Jami Alden and fans of romantic suspense with heat and twisted villains.

Final Verdict: A villain who’s beyond twisted, a love that defies the most terrible a tragedy & heat of the scorching variety. Jami Alden’s signature shines through & through!

Favorite Quotes

Her memories of Tommy’s kiss, his touch, didn’t come close to what she was feeling now. It was like being thrust into a vortex full of heat and light, where nothing mattered but the taste of him, the soft rasp of his tongue against hers as he tasted every corner of her mouth. She opened her mouth wider, pressed her lips harder, sucked his tongue into her mouth like she was starving for the taste of him.

Then he was there, as deep as he could go, deeper than any other man had ever been.
Tommy Ibarra is inside of me.
That was all it took to send her careening over the edge. Her orgasm hit her with sudden, stunning force. He didn’t even have to move—just the feel of him, buried deep, so big and hard her body could barely contain him, was enough to make her shudder and clench around him as waves of pleasure like nothing she’d ever known poured through her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Dark Waters by Toni Anderson

Format: E-bookdarkwaters
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Untitled Series, #2
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Brent Carver
Heroine: Anna Silver
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 6, 2013
Started On: July 29, 2013
Finished On: July 30, 2013

Nearly 40 years old, Brent Carver is an ex-con who is on parole after being served life sentence. Brent likes to keep to himself, living on a remote island that he knows like the back of his hand. Handsome as sin and tempting as they come, Brent is a man tormented by the dark shadows of his past, paying a penance that had seen half of his life spent behind bars.

26 year old Anna Silver is a teacher who likes her life calm and chaos free, something she strives hard to achieve be it even by locking down all her emotions. With a past that is shrouded in darkness that more than explains her ice cold character that is a front for every emotion that she keeps at bay, Anna is not at all prepared to receive the news of the death of her father and the fact that she has to run for her life and rely on the only man that her father trusts to keep her safe.

When Anna turns up on Brent’s doorstep, she unravels all the layers of protection that Brent uses to keep people at bay. The attraction that flares to life between him and his best friend’s daughter is not one that settles well with Brent who is hellbent on keeping her at arm’s distance which works well and fine until Anna discovers that she practically smolders in the presence of Brent and Brent alone and that she would rather burn than turn away from the way he makes her feel.

With merciless killers hunting her down, it is a race against time as Anna tries to figure out the truth behind her father’s message, something that is a tougher challenge given the fact that she has little trust for her father. With the viewpoints of multiple characters in the story told in the 3rd person, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson is a romantic suspense novel that would shake the readers to their very core and is definitely the kind that would make one lose their precious sleep over!

Brent Carver was just the right mix of hot, broody, intense and darkness to melt me from the inside out. And yes, I melted on the spot from the very first encounter with the heady specimen of male he is and never looked back. The sacrifices he made, perhaps through a misguided sense of responsibility for a life that had gone awry when he had been a mere teenager more than makes up for the “crime” that he has been serving more than half of his life for. The beauty and the unleashed passion deep inside of him comes when he lets go & puts paintbrush to paper. His connection to Anna is one that is forged long before Anna even knew of his existence and that is the thread that continues to pull at him and totally eviscerates the walls he has built around himself to keep those whom he cares about at bay.

Anna is a wonderful heroine who has just the right balance to complement a man like Brent. Her nightmares are still vivid and haunts her even though she refuses to acknowledge their existence. But Brent and the sharp shards of awareness that shoots through her with each passing day in his presence makes it near impossible for her to shut him out, and the protection and safety she finds in his arms becomes the soothing balm that seems to heal the old hurts that had never seen the light of day.

Honestly, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson is one of the best romantic suspense novels I have read this year. Toni Anderson completely blew me away with what she has brought to readers with her realistic characters, gritty emotions and the out of this world suspense with enough twists & turns in the story to keep the reader guessing that keeps the momentum going at full throttle. Only thing I missed was an epilogue to give a glimpse into how Brent and Anna fairs later on; its only right to give readers a beautiful epilogue to let the story really seep into the pores and cement the deal in my opinion. Regardless of that little trifling detail, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson comes highly recommended & doesn’t change the fact that it was a read that rocked my world. Fans of romantic suspense who loves the perfect balance in the romance, heat and suspense of the dark edged variety would love this one!

Final Verdict: Dark & gritty with excitement and danger at the turn of each page; Dark Waters is definitely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

A low growl rumbled through his chest and then he was kissing her hard and deep, his tongue tangling with hers in a searing dance. Hunger exploded along her nerves. Her heart hammered. Breath coming in gasps. Her fingers slipped beneath his shirt, sliding over taut hot skin. She felt him shiver even though he made no move to touch her. He was letting her take everything at her speed, giving her the sort of control she usually craved.

“I want you to touch me, Brent. I want you inside me.”
“I am touching you.” He was annihilating her. He let go of her wrists and shifted one hand to torture a beaded nipple. “And I am inside you.” His teeth grazed her neck. Two big fingers plunged deep, the heel of his hand pressing against her clitoris just hard enough to make her explode from the onslaught of sensations. Every nerve blasted like a firework, white light blinding her and she opened her mouth in a silent scream as it went on and on and on.

She held on tight to his shoulders, wanting to touch him, but knowing if she let go, she’d fall, and if she fell, he’d stop touching her.
She did not want him to stop.
One of his hands moved south and eased inside her panties. Her back arched up as he slid one finger inside her. “You’re so fucking hot.”
“For you,” she gasped, and let her head fall back as he moved his finger inside her, then added another, the fullness testing her. She dug her nails into his shoulders. “I want you, Brent.”

Then she started rising up and sliding down and he thought he was going to black out. He couldn’t stand it anymore and gripped her hips and drove deeper, deeper, harder. Grinding against her, wanting to get more inside her so she could swallow him whole. Then she cried out in those small gasps that curled around him and squeezed so tight he could no longer breathe. He let himself go, the hard release catapulting him to the moon as a nuclear explosion of white-hot ecstasy burned his mind, obliterating every thought in his head except this. Except her.

There was nothing gentle this time. No holding back as her body demanded more, fingers biting, ankles digging into his ass. This was therapy. A way of getting off and getting some sleep. It was raw sex on a deserted beach and they both needed it.
He drove her to another orgasm and followed her over the razor’s edge, resting his forehead in the curve of her shoulder as he shattered. Then he carried her into the water and they did it again.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Home to Laura by Mary Sullivan

Format: E-bookhometolaura.jpg
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Untitled Series, #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Nick Jordan
Heroine: Laura Cameron
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 1, 2013
Started On: July 27, 2013
Finished On: July 29, 2013

Right after reading and finishing up In from the Cold by Mary Sullivan, I had to go and buy the second book in this sort of series that tells and concludes the stories of the other two Jordan brothers, Nick and Tyler. While Tyler is the middle brother who is the most easygoing of the trio, Nick is the brother who has a chip on his shoulder, not because he had a terrible childhood or was abused; but rather he feels that he is invisible when he stands next to his brothers given the poverty within which they all lived in.

At 32 years of age, Nick is the proverbial story of success. A multimillionaire and CEO of Sanderson Developments, Nick seems to have got it all from the high powered job to a daughter who fulfills the rest of his life. But appearances can be deceiving and of late Nick has to admit that his life has been tinged with an emptiness that he cannot shake off, and it is the  thought that he might end up an empty shell of a man like his ex-father in law, mentor and boss Mort Sanderson that galvanizes Nick into taking action that would save him from a future filled with nothing but a gut aching loneliness and despair.

35 year old Laura Cameron is the owner of the delightful bakery in the town of Accord, Colorado. Lushly beautiful and sensual, Laura yearns for a family of her own, the chance for one which she destroyed the night she slept with her fiance’s brother Nick and he discovered them together. Nick might have been motivated by spite and the need for revenge on his older brother Gabe but Laura had always harbored a secret fascination and attraction towards Nick, something which she buried in the deep recesses of her heart along with the contempt, anger and loathing for the man who wouldn’t think twice and would go to any lengths to get exactly what he wants.

When Nick returns to town with his daughter Emily in tow, Laura and Nick’s paths cross once again, a more vulnerable Laura this time, who just had her “last” chance at a family slip away through her fingers. A one night of incandescent passion once again occurs between the two and this time Laura bears the fruit of their union which Nick wants to vehemently shake himself off from. Amidst the story of misunderstandings and coming to realizations on Nick’s part is also threaded the story of Tyler and Tammy and also the deliciously lovely and sensual story of the Scottish artist Aiden McQuorrie and Laura’s mother Olivia Cameron.

Truth be told, though I am a huge fan of heroes who have a bit of a dark edge to them, oh well who am I kidding, the darker they are the more I like them; I found it impossible to really like Nick as a person, much less a hero. I found him to be vain, self-centered and had a lot to really learn where life and its intricacies are concerned. The way he reacts to Laura’s pregnancy was one which I couldn’t get over from, but I think an honest reaction from a man like Nick who refuses to be tied down and does not want to bear anymore children. I felt like slapping Nick a time or two on his face, just so he would see exactly what was happening, how unfair it was of him to really believe that everything he wanted was his for taking and that deep sense of resentment he had harbored in his heart for his eldest brother something that should never have existed in the first place. The effect of spoiling a child rotten is what Nick is, with just a hint of goodness inside of him, buried under layer and layer of resentment and old hurts that I could not really get on board with.

Laura is the type of heroine that reminded me of Sarah from Sarah’s Child by Linda Howard. She is gutsy, sensual, beautiful and not afraid of being who she is, though Nick makes her regret her impulsive earthy behavior after the night of passion they share. Nick’s one saving grace was the fact that he, be it even out of sense of duty to Laura as a “friend”, takes care of her when she needs it and later on, goes to restore her sense of self confidence where her sensuality and impulsive passion is concerned.

The one bit I loved in the story was the tale of how the very much younger Scottish artist wooed Laura’s mother Olivia. Now, that should have been the center of this whole story which would have made for all sorts of deliciousness in my opinion.

I would still rate Home to Laura a good read because even though there were bits that didn’t work for me in the overall story, the chunks that did work seemed to make up for them.

Recommended for fans of Mary Sullivan & fans of this untitled series set in Accord, Colorado.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: In from the Cold by Mary Sullivan

Format: E-bookinfromthecold
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Untitled Series, #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Gabe Jordan
Heroine: Callie MacKintosh
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 5, 2013
Started On: July 27, 2013
Finished On: July 27, 2013

37 year old Gabe Jordan is the ultimate recluse, or so it seems to people who barely know him. The owner of a dogsledding business on family owned property in the town of Accord, Colorado, Gabe is a man who harbours a deep sense of guilt and an ultimate sense of responsibility for those under his care. The nightmares that won’t leave him be makes him retreat into a shell of his own where his world has no colour, joy or the hope of a better future in it until one feisty little redhead comes bulldozing her way into his life.

33 year old Callie MacKintosh is a city girl to the very core, with determination pretty much marking every single line of her small body. She might look small but what she doesn’t make up for in size is more than made up for by the vital energy that surrounds her and the beauty which sees in life no matter how tough things get for her.

Told from the viewpoints of both Callie and Gabe in the third person, Callie and Gabe’s worlds collide when Callie is tasked with swaying Gabe’s mind on selling his share of the family property to his brother Nick who happens to be Callie’s overdriven and overly ambitious boss. Callie has no choice but to go against the very principles she has lived by all her life to do Nick’s bidding, even when she starts to feel more than she should for the man on whom she is supposed to be working her powers of persuasion on.

The reason I love Harlequin Superromances is the fact that yes, they are so much more than a hero and heroine falling in love with each other and finding their happily ever after. Though that forms the basis of the storyline, what is surprising is the depth of characterisation brought into each of these stories that makes these books worth delving into.

In from the Cold served to be a great read, a story that compelled me to keep turning the pages until the very end, not only just because Callie and Gabe enticed me to do so, but because the secondary characters and romance in the book urged me to keep going.

Gabe is a sweetheart of a hero, there is no way on Earth you can read his story and not fall in love with this gentle giant of a man who harbours such a wealth of pain in his heart. And Callie served to be just the right sort of woman who could get him to open up and dare to hope for a future that is not the bleakness that has been his life for far too long. Callie has her own share of worries and demons to deal with and Gabe serves to be the one person who sees through all the protective layers that surround her and see right through to the heart of the woman.

Nick serves to be the villain that is shrouded in shades of grey. His story is up next and I cannot wait to find out what has got to be coming his way. He deserves to be smacked on his forehead a couple of times for being such a selfish person whose drive and ambition to succeed in life is the root of all the problems in the story. But then, I loved the emotional upheaval his character brought to the story and wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The best bit about this read? These are characters that have made mistakes and make mistakes along the way to their happily ever after. These are characters are what you would call real in every sense. And that’s what makes this book a winner for me.

A great read, recommended for fans of Harlequin romances with substance.

Final Verdict: A story that grows on you & makes you burn for the happily ever after.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: All on the Line by Emma Jay

Format: E-bookallontheline
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Blackwolf Hot Shots, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Callaghan Sinclair
Heroine: Jaci Nichols
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: May 15, 2013
Started On: July 26, 2013
Finished On: July 26, 2013

He did something he never thought he’d do.
He kissed one of his crew.

28 year old Callaghan Sinclair (Cal) is the new crew chief of Blackwolf Hot Shots, one of the youngest to be handed over the responsibility of leading a team as such. Cal doesn’t want to screw anything up that might jeopardize his career as a firefighter and thus keeps his distance from the members of his group until the delectable Jaci Nichols walks into his life and changes the rules by which he lives.

All On The Line is a pretty short novella of just about 50+ pages on iBooks. However that doesn’t diminish the heat and at times emotion packed story that Emma Jay delivered. Jaci is a heroine who really surprised me. For one thing, there is no shyness about her when it comes to the carnal pleasures; rather she is not afraid to admit that she is good at certain things that tends to blow Cal’s mind and concentration to pieces.

Jaci has the ability to bring the big and brawny alpha to his very knees and though Cal might try to resist the lure that Jaci presents, it is a game that he has already lost when Jaci proves to be as enticing to him out of bed as she is in it.

Recommended for fans of firefighter heroes, fans of delicious erotica and fans of Emma Jay.

Final Verdict: Hot little number that singes! Emma Jay is an author erotic romance lovers must read!

Favorite Quotes

His cock throbbed, what little blood remained in his head roared past his ears, drowning out all good sense. Looping his arm around her waist, he lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pushed against her, against her heat. She curved her hands against his face, her mouth hot and eager, her tongue sliding along his, her teeth nipping his lip.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Take Me Under by Rhyannon Byrd

Format: E-booktakemeunder.jpg
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Dangerous Tides, #1
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Ben Hudson
Heroine: Reese Monroe
Sensuality: 4.9
Date of Publication: June 4, 2013
Started On: July 20, 2013
Finished On: July 22, 2013

34 year old Ben Hudson is the new sheriff of the idyllic holiday beach town of Moss Beach, Florida. Having given up his position as a homicide detective in Miami due to circumstances that had unfolded during his last investigation, Ben moves to town to take things at a more sedately pace. Ben has a reputation for working hard and playing that much harder and is never afraid of going after what he wants. The only thing that scares the bejeesus out of his is emotional entanglements of any sort.

Newly divorced 28 year old Reese Monroe moves to Moss Beach aiming to kickstart her life in a whole new direction. Her marriage to a cheating scoundrel has pretty much dented her ego and eroded her sense of self esteem and the need to escape from the mess her life had become motivates the move more than anything else.

Ben has hungered for Reese ever since the night he laid his eyes on Reese three years back. He has bided his time, always knowing deep inside that if and whenever Reese becomes free from the clutches of her good for nothing husband, he would definitely make his move and leave them both with the scorching imprint of how good things could be with them between the sheets.

Told from both Ben and Reese’s points of view in third person, Take Me Under takes place in its entirety in Moss Beach, Florida.

The connection between Ben and Reese sizzles right from the onset, a very much wary Reese who has no idea of how much of a starring role she has played in the sexy sheriff’s fantasies a little bit taken aback by the zeal with which Ben pursues her. And when it comes to light that Reese has a stalker who might have made his way to her new hometown on her heels, there is no stopping the protective instinct that surges forth in Ben and he becomes more of a force to be reckoned with which means for Reese there really is no turning back.

Rhyannon Byrd is very talented in the style with which she effortlessly blends the erotic and downright dirty sex into whatever genre of romance she works on. It has been while since she has published a contemporary romance and Take Me Under was a novel that I had been very much in anticipation for ever since she announced its release. Though it didn’t live up to all my expectations, Take Me Under proved to be a hot and panty-melting read with a dirty talking hero tossed into the mix.

Ben seemed to be a bit overwhelming to me; and I believe this just might be the first time I’m saying that about a hero, especially someone who looks like Christian Bale of all people. Forceful in his nature, Ben is a man from whom a woman can’t hide, either during the moments of passion or otherwise. And Ben is greedy enough to want everything Reese can give, although he might not be ready for the overwhelming riot of emotions that blindsides him as much as the passion between them does. The only thing that Ben is more afraid of than anything else is opening up the raw wounds that has festered for far too long inside of him.

Reese knows exactly what she is getting into when she says yes to getting down and dirty with Ben, and she goes onto show it in more ways than one, which actually seems to do a pretty good job of annoying Ben out of his stance on no messy emotional entanglements. It was quite amusing to see Ben in a role that he has never found himself in before as he reluctantly comes to the conclusion that without Reese by his side, he might just as well not exist.

I’m pretty much looking forward to Alex’s story, which seems to be in the works if the ending was anything to judge the next book in the series by. Alex certainly looks to be a hero who would be worth all the heartache he would put a reader through before embracing his own happily ever after.

Recommended for fans of Rhyannon Byrd and erotic contemporary romantic suspense.

Final Verdict: Raw & explicit, Take Me Under is a good debut for the Dangerous Tides series.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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