Category / Contemporary

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Inappropriate Thoughts by Ian Dalton

Format: E-bookinappropriatethoughts
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Victoria Wilde, Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Brian Nash
Heroine: Jillian Grayson
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 25, 2011
Started On: January 7, 2012
Finished On: January 7, 2012

What’s an erotic romance writer to do when she has a severe case of the writer’s block that prevents her from writing down scenes of the steamy erotic variety that makes her books such a hit? That’s what happens to Jillian Grayson when she goes through a divorce that seems to rear its ugly head whenever she tries to write. Even the wild antics of her best friend Victoria Wilde doesn’t seem to help and Jillian is resigned to the fact that this writer’s block might just stick around, given the way that even her dating life ends up being equal parts hilarity and horrific all at the same time.

Brian Nash is in the middle of his senior year in Georgia State University and is best friends with Jillian’s son Rob. Unlucky in his attempts to get the girl he is crazy about to feel the same way about him, Brian seems be in a rut until Rob invites him over to his mother’s place to spend the holidays together.

When Brian and Jillian meet, the attraction that stems between them is not of the right-there-in-your-face variety. Rather, it is a subtle one that keeps on growing as they both start to learn more about each other, many a time the time that they spend together had me in splits with uncontrolled laughter. 

Brian is such a sweet hero. He might be much younger than Jillian, but he has a maturity that makes him the perfect partner for Jillian. Their connection is forged upon mutual likes, and as their friendship progresses, both Jillian and Brian find those things that just click for them when they are together, not to mention the sexual awareness between them that grows day by day.

For Jillian, Brian becomes the man who once again kick starts her creative juices to flow. But Brian becomes more than just her muse when feelings that Jillian never thought she would feel towards her son’s best friend starts to develop. Jillian too is an endearing character, one who wormed her way into my heart and emotions as the story sped along. And the author very cleverly uses intense sets of tennis matches along the way which serves as a very appropriate form of foreplay for two people who are crazy about the game.

To bring that extra edge to the story, we have Victoria Wilde, whose wildness and sexual escapades rightfully reminded me of Samantha from Sex and the City. And the author’s comparison of Victoria as such just cemented the deal for me.

I just loved the fact that Ian Dalton being a guy managed to deliver such a well rounded tale of romance that didn’t feel out of place at all. I loved the humor, the emotions and the sensual aspect of the novel which delivered a pretty great read in my opinion.

The one great thing about this novel is the fact that Brian and Jillian’s story doesn’t end here. There are 2 more books in the series which means for fans of the characters that you meet in this novel get to revisit them and be a part of their journey towards the ultimate happily ever after!

Recommended for those who would love their erotica with a bit of humor and bit of spice and for those who love older heroine romances!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Whispers in the Dark by Maya Banks

Format: E-bookWhispersinthedark
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: KGI, Book 4
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Hero: Nathan Kelly
Heroine: Shea Peterson
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 3, 2012
Started On: January 6, 2012
Finished On: January 7, 2012

The 4th book in the KGI series is a bit different from the previous 3 books in the fact that there is an element of paranormal added to the mix of suspense and romance that makes up the series. Whispers in the Dark tells the story of the youngest Kelly brother who happens to be Nathan Kelly, who gets captured during his last mission in Afghanistan and goes through hell at the hands of his captors.

Nathan’s savior comes in the form of Shea Peterson who reaches out to him in his darkest hours, when Nathan is ready to give up all hope that he would ever escape or be rescued from the nightmare that has become his life. Shea is a woman who has telepathic abilities that allows her to communicate with Nathan. The way their connection is forged during the toughest time in Nathan’s life makes the bond between them a powerful one. But once Shea knows that Nathan is going to be safe in his family’s hands, she disappears from his life, leaving a very much devastated Nathan behind who keeps questioning his very sanity, wondering whether the woman whom he cannot forget was a figment of his imagination that had been born out of his need to survive.

Six months later, Shea once again reaches out to Nathan, this time in her hour of need which of course Nathan responds to at a speed that baffles his family members who have been trying valiantly the past few months to bring the Nathan they remember back to life. From then on, it is the Kelly’s that band up together to protect the ones they consider their own, Shea being extra special because it had been her doing that had brought Nathan back safely from the throes of Hell. 

Unlike some readers who were offended by the paranormal element that is part of this book, I enjoyed the difference that element brought to the story. For me, the connection between Nathan and Shea seemed to be that much stronger and more believable because they have been through so much together, being there for each other when they had both needed it the most. 

Nathan Kelly is a typical Kelly hero. He is uber protective and when he forges that connection with Shea, there is no turning back for him, ever. Every Kelly hero is so endearing to most romance readers because they are alpha heroes who aren’t jerks, and they have protective instincts that just wraps up the heroine in this cocoon that seems to be a safe haven from the rest of the world. And as always, the best part about a KGI book is to experience the Kelly family as a whole, how they stand up for one another no questions asked and how they are there for one another unconditionally. The bits I loved the most were the banter between the brothers that brought a smile to my face every single time, even during those most tension wrought moments. 

Shea is the type of heroine that Maya Banks creates so well. They are kind, generous and giving and have an inner strength that shines through from the very beginning and Shea is no exception to that rule. The fact that Shea is on the run for her life doesn’t stop her from helping Nathan out, even she doesn’t know him from Adam, and that is one reason why I loved her character from the beginning.

I loved the scenes of passion between Shea and Nathan which were brought to life marvelously by the author. The one thing that didn’t work for me was the bit of rehashing of the growing feelings between Nathan and Shea. For me, the connection that Maya forged between them was already real and deep enough and I would have loved the story more if more elements regarding Shea and what she was running from had been included so that the pace of the story would never falter. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Whispers in the Dark and consider this a great installment in the series of which I am looking forward to the rest of the books to be published later this year and early next year.

Recommended for fans of the KGI series, fans of alpha heroes whose protective nature knows no bounds and those who are fans of Maya Banks.

Favorite Quotes

He inhaled her scent, uncaring of the blood and dirt and grime that permeated her hair and clothing. He was holding her. Finally holding her.
“You’re real. You’re real.”
She pulled away, looked up at him, the same answering emotion shining in her blue eyes. With a groan, he lowered his mouth to hers. He couldn’t hold back. Nothing in the world would have kept him from kissing her in that moment.
He was overcome.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Departed by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookthedeparted
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: The Missing, #2
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Taylor Jones
Heroine: Desiree Lincoln
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 3, 2012
Started On: January 5, 2012
Finished On: January 6, 2012

The Departed by Shiloh Walker is apparently the book that she never thought she would write. However, questions from fans of book 1 which happens to be The Missing finally managed to convince her to dig deeper to find the story that Taylor obviously had to tell. And what a story it was that woke me up last night half way through my midnight slumber and refused to let me succumb until I had read enough to satisfy my curiosity about a story that is filled with dark elements which sometimes tended to creep me out but nevertheless managed to deliver a great read which any fan of Shiloh Walker ought to read!

Desiree Lincoln is a psychic who can communicate with the ghosts of the dead, those who continue to linger on Earth because for some reason or the other, they have unfinished business that keeps them around without giving them the closure that they require so badly. A part of the team that is headed by FBI Special Agent in Charge Taylor Jones, Desiree or Dez knows no respite from the ghosts that continue to seek her out, wanting and craving the one thing that had been denied from them for so long.

Special Agent in Charge Taylor Jones comes across as a controlled man who seems emotionless to the point of being considered coldhearted. But beneath the tough shields that he puts up to keep emotions at bay lies a soul that continues to churn in turmoil, the hidden depth of pain deep inside of him so vast that its a wonder he is able to function the way he does. He has the uncanny ability of identifying people with special gifts who helps him keep the dark and twisted souls that roam the society at bay, and hopefully prevent another little girl from going missing like what happened to his sister.

For Taylor, there is nothing more dangerous to his peace of mind than letting himself care about someone else, but the way his emotions go haywire whenever Dez is around tells him that remaining aloof when it comes to her is an option no longer available to him. When Taylor’s impeccable shields crack, out comes pouring the passion and desire that he holds in on a tight leash, but the joy of the moments of abandon he finds in Dez’s arms is a short lived one when reality intrudes and Taylor drives them apart with his need to control his emotions.

It is 14 months later that Taylor comes across Dez in the one place where he never thought he would find her. Dez is drawn to a small town in Indiana by a ghost that draws her to the midst of the evil that lurks in the mind of a crazed teenager who is willing to do anything and everything in his power to play out the games that lurks deep inside of his mind no matter what the consequences. But something much deeper and elusive than the evil that lurks in the shadows keeps a hold on Dez until she starts digging to unravel secrets that could forever change the lives of so many people, for better or for worse.

The Departed is a story that definitely has a lot of dark elements to it, and yet or maybe because of it, I found myself totally fascinated with the tale that unraveled. Shiloh Walker has a way of surprising the reader with her villains and she definitely has the talent for muddying up the shades of gray when it comes to right and wrong that just has the reader on tenterhooks. For me, The Departed worked well because I was so in tune with both Dez and Taylor, whose need for one another grounds them and makes them cope better with all the darkness that is so much a part of their daily lives. I had nothing but admiration for both Taylor and Dez who works relentlessly to find the worst sort of scum that wander the Earth and it is a job that I know a lesser person would never be able to handle without breaking apart.

Though the romance aspect of the story was a bit laid back when compared to the suspense and paranormal elements in the story, The Departed nevertheless kept me riveted on the relationship that unfolded between Dez and Taylor as well as the huge hurdles that both Dez and Taylor cross to reach the ultimate truth that seeks to be brought out into the light. The one thing in my opinion that would have made the book better was an epilogue; for me the book tended to end a bit abruptly to bring me the closure that I wanted and needed for both Dez and Taylor.

Heartbreaking at moments and wonderfully moving at times, The Departed is a novel that combines elements of suspense, paranormal and romance to deliver a read that would linger on long after you are done!

Favorite Quotes

He hauled her against him and as his mouth crushed against hers, her brain clicked off, shut down…
And her body came to life. After more than a year of existence, Dez felt like she was living again. His free hand gripped her hip, keeping her body pressed close to his while his other hand tangled in the short strands of her hair to yank her head back.
This wasn’t just a kiss, she thought. It was…more. It was everything. He breathed her in, just as she breathed him in. After so much time apart from him, she felt complete again. Whole.

Taylor worked a hand between them and stroked his thumb over the erect little nub of her clit. Lifting his head, he stared at her, watched as a harsh, broken sob fell from her lips.
Her nails bit into his skin as she started to come and he gritted his teeth, holding back until he saw her going over. Then, and only then, did he bury his face in her neck and start to move again, hard, fast.
He muttered her name, blind to everything but her…completely and utterly lost in her.

“My name,” he muttered. He turned his head, pressed a kiss to her palm. “Say my name, damn it.”
Chuckling, she pulled his head close. “Taylor.” She said it against his lips. As she did that, she rolled her hips against him, squeezing down with her inner muscles so that she milked him in a teasing, taunting caress.
Oh, shit…
Little warning tingles were already shooting straight up his spine, but he gritted his teeth. No, damn it. He wasn’t going to lose it after thirty fucking seconds. Especially since he hadn’t told her yet.
But then she did it again, and again.
“I love you.” It came out a broken, harsh groan against her lips, the words he could no longer keep trapped inside. The words he had to share with her, now.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Diesel E-books

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: No Dress Required by Cari Quinn

Format: E-booknodressrequired
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Hero: Jake Conroy
Heroine: Noelle Gregory
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 25, 2011
Started On: December 29, 2011
Finished On: December 29, 2011

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 85 A
Story’s ability to suck me in 90 A
Heat & Sensuality 90 A
Conflicts within the story 80 A
Writing Style 100 A
Quotable Factor 50 C
The Ending 90 A
Overall Grade 85.5 A

Score Sheet Summary

Noelle Gregory has always had a thing for her best friend’s older brother Jake Conroy. Though Jake has always viewed her as a pesky younger sister, Noelle’s feelings for him run far deeper towards a whole different direction. The timing has never been right for Noelle to pursue her feelings towards Jake. And when the opportunity does present itself, who is she to say no to exploring what could happen between them? She is willing to take the chance that maybe, just maybe, Jake might feel the same way about her.

This is Cari’s first non-erotic contemporary romance and I loved it. After my last read which was pretty intense, I found the change of pace this offered sweet and just what I needed. Though a short novella, Cari’s writing is always superb with that emotional intensity that always sucks me in with her stories. I loved Jake and Noelle both, Jake because he was the one with the self confidence issues and Noelle the one who shows him that he is just mighty fine the way he is.

Though it is a non-erotic romance, don’t be fooled into thinking that there is no heat in this novella. There is plenty of that and more and Cari always delivers with her stories and leaves you begging for more!

Recommended for fans of Cari Quinn and fans hot contemporary novellas!

Favorite Quotes

“Jake,” she whispered, the hot blast of her exhalation making him groan. He gave in and fisted his hands in her hair.
She opened to him at once, her body melting against his, wilting into his embrace so that it felt like his light pressure on her cheeks was all that held her upright. But her mouth was a hungry thing, her tongue diving in to tangle with his while her arms wound around his shoulders. He slanted his head to plunder her as deeply as he could, ravenous to explore every inch of her mouth.
Forget kissing. They were eating each other alive.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Deadly Heat by Cynthia Eden

Format: E-book & Paperbackdeadlyheat
Read with: iBooks for iPad & Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Deadly, Book 2
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Kenton Lake
Heroine: Lora Spade
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 1, 2011
Started On: December 26, 2011
Finished On: December 29, 2011

I have come to identify with the fact that Cynthia Eden writes romances of the no holds barred kind which I just absolutely love. My first taste of Cynthia Eden came with book 1 in the Deadly series which just rocked my world in all the ways that counts. Deadly Heat turned out to be just as intense, maybe more so with the heat literally and figuratively on from both the romance and suspense side of the story.

Kenton Lake, Special Agent from the FBI’s Serial Services Division (SSD) makes his way to Charlottesville where a serial arsonist is at work. From the first page itself, Cynthia lets the reader in on the mind of a vicious killer who starts out young, who has the ability to creep you out enough that you are practically sniffing around you just in case he turns up with a can of gasoline right next to you.

When Kenton collides with the fiery firefighter Lora Spade who just vibrates with an aura of energy that crackles whenever she is around, Kenton is as helplessly drawn towards her as she is to him. Lora who lost the one man she loved, the man who had been her best friend to the arsonist would love nothing more than to bring the villain to justice, which is the only reason why she agrees to help the sexier than sin agent from FBI; or so she tells herself.

From the first kiss itself that just heats up the pages, Kenton and Lora’s relationship and courting is an intense one, one that burns hotter and faster with each encounter. Lora might tell herself that sex is the only thing between herself and Kenton but deep in her heart she knows that the desire that burns between them is not just simply that but so very much more.

With the arsonist always one step ahead, taunting them with his ability to take lives and bring those whom he sees fit to “justice”, Cynthia Eden definitely delivers a punch with Deadly Heat, a book that is edgy, dark and scorching hot in all the ways that matter!

Recommended for fans of the series, fans of romantic suspense with a darker edge and of course fans of Cynthia Eden.

Favorite Quotes

“I’ve been dying to know,” he said again, “how you taste.”
Oh, hell. Her right hand grabbed the back of his head, and she yanked him down toward her.
Their mouths met. Open. Ready. Lips kissed. Tongues licked. And—damn!
Yes, she wanted.
The control she’d held so tightly began to crack. She jerked in her seat, struggling to press against him. He took her mouth. Tasted her. Tormented her. And she met him. No, she fought him, fought him for more.

The light from the hallway spilled inside her bedroom. She’d barely stepped over the threshold when he caught her. Kenton spun her around and yanked her up in his arms. Two steps, and they were on the bed. Crashing down. Falling hard into the soft mattress.
He caged her arms over her head, holding them with one hand even as he took her mouth.
That other hand—yes!—drifted down her stomach and pushed between her legs. He’d find her wet, she knew it. One kiss, and she’d been wet for him. Creamy, hot. Ready.

His fingers snaked between them and found her clit. His thumb pushed against her even as his cock shoved inside in a thrust that had her gasping.
“Come for me.” His whisper.
Her eyes opened. When had she closed them? Lora met his stare. “Make me.” A taunt. One she’d never given a man before. What the hell was her problem? What was she—
He pulled on her clit. Thumb and forefinger, tugging, then pressing, pushing down with just the right force as his cock thrust into her, again and again.
His hips bucked. Then his eyes went wild, and he came.
So did she. 

Then his hands were around her waist as he lifted her up. The muscles in his arms flexed as he held her.
Wow, didn’t realize the man was so strong, didn’t know—
She licked his throat.
Screw it.
Lora wrapped her legs around his waist. His cock pushed against her, pressing right at the wet entrance to her sex.
She arched toward him just as Kenton slammed deep.
So deep.
She bit her lip to hold back the scream.
Skin to skin. Hot. Slick. So full.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Diesel Ebooks

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Blame it on Texas by Tori Scott

Format: E-bookblameitontexas
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Logan Tanner
Heroine: Megan Flynn
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 24, 2011
Started On: December 25, 2011
Finished On: December 26, 2011

Blame it on Texas by Tori Scott was a great read, one that I enjoyed immensely. I was subjected to a lot of emotion as I read this novel, one I am finding out that Tori Scott is quite adept at dishing out to her readers. Toe-curling sexiness together with a lot of heartwarming characters with a hint of a secondary romance to follow, Blame it on Texas is a novel I would recommend for fans who love romances that makes you feel like you are part of the journey of the hero and heroine’s way towards happily ever after.

The fact that Logan Tanner hates going back to his hometown in West Texas is an understatement. The misplaced guilt Tanner feels about his mother’s sudden death when he was just around 12 years old still haunts him which keeps him away from a land that has no mercy in Logan’s eyes. A successful game designer and the father of a beautiful daughter whom he doesn’t get to see enough of, Logan has a lot on his mind when he is summoned by his sister Carol to take care of their father after he has a debilitating stroke.

When Logan’s daughter Katie turns up on the ranch’s doorstep with Carol’s friend Megan Flynn in tow, the feelings that courses through the rigidly controlled Logan is one that shocks him to his core. Divorce from a woman whose theatrics has soured him from commitment and relationships seems to have no place in his life when the sweet, courageous and sexy Megan steps into their lives. A connection that Logan doesn’t want or need nevertheless forms between the two and Logan doesn’t know whether to thank the Lord for sending her his way or to curse the fates because he has too many stuff to deal with at the moment.

Tragedy strikes, bringing out the best in each and everyone that is part of Logan’s hometown and in the midst of it all, Logan finds that he is not strong enough to turn away from the warmth and affection that Megan seems to shine upon his life, a woman who seems to understand the very things that he wants and needs.

Megan has her own dreams which she yearns to fulfill with everything inside of her. A veterinary practice in a small town where she would feel a sense of belonging is all that she wants from life until Logan Tanner and his daughter Katie invades her heart throwing her into the chaotic realms of love.

The reason I enjoyed Blame it on Texas so much was that Tori Scott managed to mix up all the right ingredients to give me an engrossing tale that in the end has its own message to deliver. Logan who has lost his way because of his misplaced guilt goes through a lot of hurdles to reach a place where he is ready for a happily ever after, and I loved the angst his tortured nature lent to the story.

I loved Megan. For me, she was the best thing about the story. She has all those qualities that I love about a heroine and for me she was just the right person to bring Logan out of the darkness that seems to consume him until there is not even a flicker of light left in his life. I loved the family dynamics and the small town aspect of the story that lent the story a charm of its own.

Recommended!

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Against the Wind by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookagainsthewind
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Candlelight Ecstasy Supreme
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Hero: John Thomas Murphy
Heroine: Maddy Lambert
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 28, 1985
Started On: December 24, 2011
Finished On: December 25, 2011

So, I seem to be making my way slowly through the back-list of books published by the one and only Anne Stuart. The one thing that you can always count on with Anne Stuart; she delivers a story that will keep you engrossed, even if it is a book you want to throw against the wall towards the end.

30 year old Maddy Lambert makes her way to the war-torn country of San Pablo to meet her father who had upped and left one day with his idealistic view of the world when Maddy had been just 17 years old. Maddy had been heartbroken and devastated to say the least to lose the one person who had been distant but the only parent who had let her be unlike her mother who had seen each and every thing about Maddy as a way to pick on her. Needless to say, the 17 year old Maddy had been shy and an introvert who finds in the war-hardened soldier turned CIA official John Thomas Murphy a soul that reaches out to her and soothes her woes away. But John too turns his back on her and leaves with her father and Maddy believes herself to be well and cured of her infatuation for a man whose one haunting kiss that had practically reeked of his hunger for her still haunts her.

Maddy arrives after a bone jarring journey only to find that no one believes that she is the daughter of Samuel Eddison Lambert, not even John himself who has turned into a much more dangerous and wilder version of the man she remembers. And Maddy finds that she is as susceptible as ever when it comes to John, even when he does his best to keep her at arm’s length, and even John himself cannot deny the connection that he feels with Maddy, the woman who has been haunting his dreams for the past 14 years.

Amidst half truths, trickery and a whole lot of manipulation that Anne Stuart is so very good at delivering, Maddy and John stumble from one emotionally and sexually charged scene to the next, while at all times danger is just one step away lurking behind the shadows, something that continues to drive them apart until towards the very end of the book.

For the first time ever, I have to say I am disappointed in a book that Anne Stuart has written. I liked the heroine Maddy and her courage when it comes to facing each and everyone who has hurt her and failed her in so many ways. Her vindictive mother whom I would have loved to slap a few times and her father who feels nothing for his only daughter and intends to make use of her to drive across his point even from beyond the grave, and John who in my opinion fails her in the most heartbreaking way.

John might be the least “gamma” hero that I have encountered from all the Anne Stuart books I have read so far. His emotions regarding Maddy comes across a bit more clearly throughout the story, but he is every bit as ruthless when it comes to making use of Maddy even though he keeps her out of harms way and would rather die than have something happen to her. But time and yet again, John puts everything else above Maddy’s happiness, continues to keep leaving her to face his demons and fight the wars that has nothing to do with him but he feels responsible for, and yet expects Maddy to trust him and the way he feels about her.

I wanted Maddy to wake up, grow a backbone and leave John to his life, a life that he makes room for Maddy only when he is good and ready. I am all for ruthlessness, manipulations and even behavior that some readers might not be willing to forgive. But I need to know that when it comes to that vital point of no return, the hero would always choose the heroine no matter what. Sadly, I didn’t feel that with this book.

Recommended for hardcore fans of Anne Stuart like myself who wants to devour her books and cannot get enough of them, no matter how many books by hers you read.

Favorite Quotes

He couldn’t have known. The moonlight wasn’t enough to illuminate the room, and the tears that spilled silently down her cheeks didn’t touch him. But suddenly the kiss softened, the hands gentled on her, the lips coaxed and teased and healed. And without any more thought she was kissing him back, reaching for him with her mouth while her hands were held back, seeking him out with her tongue, calling him to her in the only way she could.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Secretly More by Lux Zakari

Format: E-booksecretlymore
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Etopia Press
Hero: Jay Navarrete
Heroine: Kimber York
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 8, 2011
Started On: December 23, 2011
Finished On: December 24, 2011

Secretly More by Lux Zakari is a novel of one of my favorite tropes in romance. Yes, a friends to lovers story, a trope that I haven’t visited of late. My first Lux Zakari turned out to be a novel that ended on a bittersweet note, the difference in Lux Zakari’s prose and style in presenting her novel what made me an instant fan of hers. So I was expecting more of the same I suspect when I delved into this novel, but boy am I glad that I was proven wrong and was delivered with a happily ever after that had me humming all the while in satisfaction.

Jay Navarrete and Kimber York have been best of friends for almost 10 years through which Jay had been head over heels in love with Kimber. Kimber has no clue as to how Jay feels about her. Kimber’s relationship with her guitarist boyfriend Dane which sees its share of downs more than a relationship should sets Jay’s teeth on edge and though he would like nothing better than to come out clean and tell Kimber of his less than friend like feelings he has for her, the thought that Kimber would never ever feel the same way about him stops him cold.

When the opportunity presents itself in the form of a blind folded Kimber who is looking for a sexual escapade that would show her what she has been missing out on in her relationship with Dane is one that Jay cannot turn his back on. And before he knows it, he and Kimber lights up the sheets, each so hot for the other that reality comes crashing down only afterwards. Kimber who is blissfully unaware of the person who rocks her world in ways she has never felt before wants more of the person, her instinctive trust when it comes to her mystery man a surprising one in itself.

Through a lot of misunderstandings, feelings of betrayal and utter hopelessness on both sides, Lux Zakari weaves a tale of friends turning to lovers that makes for a great read, delivering the reader with scorching scenes of passion between a determined Jay and a willing Kimber which just makes the scenes that much more headier. I flat-out loved Jay’s character. He is a bit of an introvert and a nerd, and a cute one at that, someone who is always there for Kimber through thick and thin, someone who would rather cut off a part of his body than inflict hurt or pain on the woman he loves.

It took me sometime to warm up to Kimber. Surprisingly, it was seeing Kimber through Jay’s eyes that I felt myself warm up towards her, the way Jay sums up Kimber’s character that had me seeing her in a whole new light. The ending which was a fitting one for the two of them with a future that looms in front with endless possibilities was a heartwarming one. Recommended for those who love the friends to lovers trope of the erotic variety. Plenty of emotion to go along with scorching sex; what more can a fan ask for?

Favorite Quotes

“Still feel like talking?” she murmured against his mouth.
In response, he tore her panties down with a speed and finesse that left her speechless. She heard him rummage in his pocket and a foil wrapper rip, then he tugged her back in his lap, her knees on either side of him. He kissed her while she felt between them, fumbling for his c#ck and finding it already sheathed in latex. The knowledge that it was in preparation to fuck her made her dizzy with want.

 

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Cullen’s Bride by Fiona Brand

Format: E-bookcullensbride
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Silhouette Intimate Moments, #914
Publisher: Silhouette
Hero: Cullen Logan
Heroine: Rachel Sinclair
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 1, 1999
Started On: December 20, 2011
Finished On: December 21, 2011

Fiona Brand is an author whose name gets associated with that of Linda Howard. I have always heard that she has a similar writing style to that of one of my favorite authors of the romance genre and that is one reason why I picked up Cullen’s Bride to sample her writing. And of course a lot of raving reviews of the book by my Goodreads friends had me buying my very first Fiona Brand and indulging in it as soon as I could.

27 year old Rachel Sinclair returns back to the small town of Riverbend after a divorce that had completely shattered with plans to turn her life around. Now the owner of a hair salon, Rachel doesn’t expect much trouble from her sleepy hometown until she experiences otherwise. To her rescue comes 33 year old Cullen Logan, Riverbend’s one time bad boy and outlaw turned military man and still an outcast in his hometown.

The attraction that flares up between Rachel and Cullen is an immediate and a strong one at that, one that Fiona weaves so cleverly throughout the story. Rachel might have grown up with 4 overprotective half brothers who had tried to shield her from the reality that is life. But Rachel is a grown up woman, a woman who is determined in her efforts to live her own life on her own terms. Even when all her survival instincts tells her to flee in the opposite direction whenever she is around Cullen, her heart and other emotions that would like nothing better than to be claimed by the big, tough and a little bit rough around the edges former bad boy wants nothing more than to embrace him heart, body and soul.

Cullen is haunted by the very thought of sullying up the beautiful and dainty Rachel with his touch, his distrust for himself something he has lived with for a long time. But the need that takes a hold of him whenever he runs into Rachel is one that grows in its intensity from one encounter to the next until its very explosive against-the-wall culmination that changes both Cullen and Rachel’s lives forever.

I love it when a book is filled with sexual tension that just grows exponentially until I can barely remember to breathe while reading. And Cullen’s Bride turned out to be a book that delivered extremely well on that aspect from the very sexy Cullen Logan who just seems to fill up the pages with his mere presence. He is what you would call a tortured and tormented hero whose childhood had been nothing but disappointment and his rebellious attitude as a teenager that had stemmed from his frustration with just how meaningless his life had been. The military had been the one place where Cullen had fit in and it had molded him into a more dangerous version of the man he had been, one that is more alluring because even with that iron-clad control of his, nothing can change the fact that underneath all that civilized demeanor lies a man who is wild in his passions for the right woman.

I loved Rachel from the very start. From the way she pets and strokes the huge bear of a man who sends all her emotions into a tailspin to the way she stands up for what she wants and believes in and because Rachel knows when to advance and retreat in her mission to win the love of the one man who is reluctant to do just that made me fall for her big time! She matches Cullen in every way and is exactly what he wants and needs, even protecting him from the unjust voices in her hometown from making him feel unwelcome.

Tying up this story of need, red-hot desire with a reluctant hero and a determined heroine is a tad of suspense that just makes it a well rounded tale of romance very hard to put down. The one thing that the Kindle version of this book could have used though was a good editor; seriously some out of this world editing errors throughout the book that kept hindering with my enjoyment of the story.

If you love a hot, tortured hero who just makes your toes curl, Cullen’s Bride is the book for you. I seriously dare you not to dream that you are Rachel the minute the heat is on! 

Favorite Quotes

She pushed the hair away, then began uncoiling and recoiling the silky mass with an unconscious, natural grace. Against the crude background of the alley, she was startlingly feminine and delicate, and with every movement of her arms and hair, her scent wove around Cullen—flowers and freshness and the subtle earthy warmth of woman It sank into him and hardened him with a primitive fierceness he hadn’t experienced since his early teens.

“I’m no Prince Charming,” he admitted flatly. “I’m big and hard, and so hungry it feels like I haven’t had a woman in years. I wouldn’t court you, Rachel, I’d just take you.”

She’d braced herself for a hard, plundering, ravaging assault, but the sweetness of his caress was butterfly-soft, and so beguiling that she ached for him to deepen the pressure. Her hands lifted and settled on the incredible warmth of his chest as she parted her lips and tilted her head to grant him easier access. She was as guilty of misjudging Cullen as everyone else was—he looked every inch an outlaw, but he was kissing her like an angel. A fallen, dangerously beautiful angel.

The passionate fury in every line of her body made Cullen go still. The sudden vision of Rachel locked beneath him, her legs wrapped around his waist, that wild gaze linked passionately with his as he pushed himself inside her, flooded his loins with a throbbing, painful heat. A groan rolled through him, and he broke out in a sweat. Sweet hell
He wanted her. Here. Now.
And God help them both, but she wanted him, too.

Rachel arched, deliberately parting herself more widely over him, inviting him deeper into her body. She heard his intake of air, felt the raw tremor that shook him. Sweat sprang out on his skin, making him glow copper in the half-light. His lips drew back, baring his teeth as he fought for the control she was intent on denying him; then, with a rough sound somewhere between a groan and a purr, his hips jackhammered, and he thrust himself all the way in.
Time stopped. Rachel registered the wild dilation in Cullen’s eyes, her own sense of unreality. She was backed up against a wall, her arms and legs wrapped around Cullen, and he was so deep inside her that her muscles quivered in reaction to his alien heat and hardness.

Rachel’s kiss reached inside him and twined around what passed for his soul. and when she took her mouth from his, she had it all. He knew he loved her with everything he was. Everything that he could be. There would never be another woman for him.
And he could never tell her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBaord | Kobo | Harlequin

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Moonrise by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookmoonrise
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Signet
Hero: James McKinley
Heroine: Annie Sutherland
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 1, 1996
Started On: December 18, 2011
Finished On: December 20, 2011

Moonrise is going to end up being one of those novels that is going to be hard for me to rate. Not because it wasn’t engrossing enough but rather because I felt that a vital aspect of the story was missing in action even when the story ended. I wanted so much more for both James and Annie who seemed to go through so much in the span of just a couple of days. And although the mystery and suspense potion of the novel was superbly done as always, the romance aspect of the novel seemed to suffer making this novel not as enjoyable as it would have been otherwise.

27 year old Annie Sutherland is a woman who has led a sheltered life, a woman who has been manipulated endlessly by her father without even her being aware of the fact. With the sudden death of her father Annie withdraws into herself in grief until a missing picture from her father’s living room causes her to question how her father had actually died. Her quest to find the truth brings her to the doorstep of her father’s protégé James McKinley, a man whom she remembers as being part pf her life since Annie was 7 years old.

The James that she encounters is such a different version from the man that haunts her memories. The James that she finds in a remote cabin in an island off of Mexico has an aura of dangerousness that makes her nervous, but not enough to make her back down from her quest to find what it is that had killed her father. Though James would rather kill Annie than tell her the truth, something deep inside of him stalls at the thought of putting his hands around her neck and squeezing the life out of her. And James knows deep inside that his reluctance to end her life is reason enough to send her packing.

With killers turning up every step of the way, James and Annie travel from Mexico to the US and then to Ireland to find the truth. In the process both Annie and James are forced to remember their shared past and a fragile connection that had gone beyond anything they have encountered before or ever since, a passion and attraction that still seems to linger on stronger than ever. And when the truth does come out at the very end, it is a surprising one that proves Anne Stuart’s mastery when it comes to weaving tales of mystery and suspense.

James turned out to be a yummy hero of the dangerous type. He is a lethal killing machine, someone whose soul cries out to wash away all the blood that he has shed in the name of justice and a country he believed in. His tormented soul is one that comes across vividly, his one weakness being the attraction that burns deep inside of him to possess Annie Sutherland, the one woman who had remained forbidden to him from such a long time back. James is well versed in the art of deception, as good as the man who taught and mentored him, the man whose daughter trusts him with her life; a mission that James knows is a foolhardy one even long before killers start turning up at his doorstep.

Annie proved to be a difficult heroine to place. She has been brought up all her life thinking her father to be totally someone else from the man he actually was, a man who had molded and mapped out her life for her from childhood until his death. The fact that her father turned out to be the total antithesis of what she believed him to be is what makes her change her attitude and outlook towards everything that happens afterwards, her courage and wits the only two things that keeps her going even when James makes no secret of what he wants to do to her.

Though there was this sweet bit of shared history and passion between James and Annie, I felt that they had both outgrown who they were back then and had turned into much harder versions of themselves to be really able to love and accept each other as they were. James tries his hardest to keep Annie at bay, he fights constantly with his feelings that should have made his capitulation that much sweeter. And though as mouth-wateringly sexy as James was, their encounters barely hinted at the deeper emotions between them, that just sort of left me feeling empty deep inside.

Somehow I kept up my hope and belief that towards the end, I would see one thing, no matter how insignificant from James that would signal that he feels a gut wrenching love for the woman for whom he kills and taints his hands with more blood even when his heart and soul yearns for sweeter and softer things in life that he knows aren’t meant for him. But alas, the story ends on an empty note, and though a shared happily ever after is an implied one, I just did not feel the love that should have been there between two characters who held me riveted throughout their story.

Recommended for hard-core fans of Anne Stuart. 

Favorite Quotes

She felt hot, strong, alive against him, and he found he had this crazy urge to move his mouth down to the side of her neck, to press it against her, to taste her skin. He wanted to feel her breasts, wanted to pull her T-shirt up and feel her hot skin against his. Damn, he wanted her.

She expected annoyance, tolerance, perhaps even a distant amusement. She hadn’t expected his reaction.
His arms closed around her like a vice, pulling her tightly up against him. And she didn’t have time to kiss him—the touch of her mouth against his seemed to ignite a firestorm. She could feel him through every inch of her body, the lean, deceptively strong body beneath the suit, the heat and lure of muscle and sinew, the sheer intensity of him. She felt as if she were being absorbed into a maelstrom, and all she could do was hold onto him as he kissed her, he kissed her, using his tongue, kissing her with a thoroughness she’d never experienced.

He kissed the salty tears from her cheeks, her jaw, her neck. And then he kissed her mouth, slowly at first, tasting her pain and despair. Tasting her desire.
He didn’t know whether he turned her in his arms, or whether she shifted herself. He only knew she was astride him, facing him, her long legs wrapped around his hips, and the kissing had gone long past comfort.

He slid his arm under her waist, hauled her up, and entered her that way, sliding in deep, so deep, and her guttural cry was a heartbreaking pleasure.
He couldn’t stop. She wouldn’t let him. She twisted her head around and kissed him, and he wanted to keep on and on, to fill her mouth, her body, her soul with him. To have her take everything and then want more.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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