Category / Contemporary

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Deadly Descent by Kaylea Cross

Format: E-bookdeadlydescent.JPG
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Military Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Bagram Special Ops, Book 1
Sensuality: 3
Hero: Cam Munro
Heroine: Devon Crawford
Date of Publication: September 5, 2011
Started On: September 10, 2011
Finished On: September 12, 2011

Having always come across rave reviews of books by Kaylea Cross, I was more than prepared to delve into a story which I knew would hit all the right spots. And I am glad to report back that it certainly did hit all the right spots and then some with my very first Kaylea Cross which turned out to be the first book in her Bagram Special Ops series which hit the stands on the 5th of this month.

Captain and pilot commander Devon Crawford known as Spike amongst her friends and team mates faces the biggest dilemma of her life when she finds herself yearning for her boyfriend Ty’s bestfriend Cam Munro. From the first moment she had laid eyes on Cam, she had felt unsettled and the guilt of it all makes her pretty uneasy around his company though Cam had become one of her closest and trusted friends over time.

Technical Sergeant Cam Munro is a pararescueman in the U.S. Airforce. When his best friend Ty gets killed in active duty in the mountains of Afghanistan, it is Devon who takes his death the hardest not because she grieves for the man she loved but rather because she feels the guilt that is associated with her feelings towards Cam.

Though Cam respects Devon’s need to distance herself from him, Cam is playing for keeps and is not willing to go down without a fight to win the love of the woman who means everything to him. But with the strict military rules that prevent members of its forces from fraternizing coupled together with Devon’s need to work through her muddled feelings at her own pace, Cam who is patience personified finds himself tested severely as slow torturous inch by inch Devon starts to respond to the depth of need that Cam doesn’t want to hide any longer.

With heady adventure and military jargon that I found myself lost in sometimes, Deadly Descent is a novel that is as realistic as they come in depicting the different sides involved in the war on terror that jumpstarted with the 9/11 attacks on the US soil.

Kaylea Cross’s voice and prose is certainly an addictive one, easy to lose onself in though I sometimes wished for a glossary of certain terms used in the story. For someone who hails from a small country where the need for a super active military is at a minimum, I found myself a bit lost at times. But then again, the adventure aspect of the novel is fast paced which makes it hard not to bite your nails in apprehension wondering what would happen next and how and why a certain mad man is hell bent on getting his revenge and vengeance by killing Cam and and Devon amidst the the warlord’s agenda which is a bone chilling one.

Kaylea Cross has certainly done her homework on the aspects of the Islamic religion that is discussed in the novel and that earns a lot of respect from myself as a muslim. The fact that Kaylea explores the impact of a war that seems to make lesser sense as the casualities on both sides seems to grow sat well with me as I delved deeper into the story.

The way Kaylea puts forth her characters is one reason that makes Deadly Descent so readable. Even the villains are muti-faceted, not just a character created for namesake but rather a character that makes ones hairs stand at end because yes, the vicious and practical plan that he has in order to bring the US forces to its knees is a deceptively simple and a chilling one at the same time.

That brings me to Cam’s character who is so darn yummylicious in his own right. Laid back yes he is, but once he sets his eyes on Devon and vows to make her his, there is no stopping him from staking his claim and wooing her all at the same time. My disappointment because there wasn’t much romance towards the latter part of the book was totally forgotten from the moment Cam and Devon lights up the sheets and practically left me breathless throughout the encounter. Kaylea definitely knows what she is doing with her ultra yummy alpha heroes and the military plus the adventure aspects of the novel which makes it a winner all around!

Momentous Scenes

  • The first time Cam confronts Devon about their feelings towards each other. Such an emotion invoking scene!
  • The helicopter crash scene. Utterly horrifying because it was so darn realistic!
  • The sexual tension between Cam and Devon throughout the novel. Definitely the toe curling variety right there.

Favorite Quotes

He’d never felt this protective of a woman before. Only she brought that out in him. That powerful, odd mixture of independence and vulnerability completely melted him.
The fact that she flew a Black Hawk and could talk shop with the best of them? Hot as hell. And her laugh. God, she had the dirtiest laugh he’d ever heard. Every time he heard it he thought of sex. Hot, sweaty sex, the kind that left a man exhausted and weak and his partner unable to move.

Tightening his arms, he dropped his head and pressed his face against the side of her neck to inhale her delicate scent. The instant he did, a sharp gasp tore out of her, her slender body rippling with a shiver as the sexual energy arced between them. Cam couldn’t help but groan and gather her closer, nuzzling the velvety skin beneath her ear.
She lifted her face, and took him off guard by kissing him full on the lips. Hard and fast, the gesture so full of hunger it made him ache.

Gathering her courage, she swallowed past the lump in her throat and held his gaze. It wasn’t how she’d envisioned telling him, but she couldn’t let him go without saying the words. “I’m falling in love with you.”
The smile died, his amused expression dissolving into shock. “What?”
“Yeah. So you have to come back so I can finish the job.”
A jumble of emotions swirled in the blue depths of his eyes as he stared at her. Then he broke into a wide smile and brought a hand up to cradle her cheek. “I’m coming back, sweetheart. I wouldn’t miss that chance for the world.”

Holding her steady as he kissed her, Cam caressed back and forth over her nipple, swallowing her cries while he rubbed the length of his cock between her open thighs. He could come right now, just from doing this. Just from the incredible heat and feel of her, and knowing she wanted him so much. She was so goddamn soft and responsive. He’d always known it would be like this with her. Hot and explosive and so damn good it ripped away the civilized part of him to expose the raw, dominant hunger inside.

She (Candace) straightened her spine and shot him (Ryan) a warning glare. “You know what? You just reminded me why I don’t like you.”
He grinned like he got a giant kick out of needling her. Or maybe it was her response that he found funny. “Well I like you.”
“That’s because I’m not rude and obnoxious.”
“Well there is that. But I think it’s mostly to do with the fact that I’m standing here breathing because of you.”
“Ah. So gratitude makes you rude? I’ll have to remember that if I’m in the area next time you get in a tight spot.”

(Devon) “Cam, what’s wrong?”
He cursed and held her tighter. “Help me,” he rasped.
Her senses dizzy from the scent and feel of him, it took a few moments for the words to register. She stroked her fingers through his thick, soft hair. “Help you?”
His head moved against her hand, as much a show of helpless pleasure as it was a nod. “Help me slow down.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want you to slow down—”
“I want to be gentle,” he said roughly, his warm breath tickling her neck. “But I’m so fucking turned on right now all I can think about is pounding into you.”

(Devon) “Cam—you’re killing me,” she quavered, pressing her head back into the pillow and praying for patience. Her heart was pounding.
“I’m loving you,” he corrected in a hot whisper, then took her nipple deep into his mouth as his palm brushed over the damp lace covering her core.

The muscles in his arms and back trembled as he pushed in as deep as he could go, until all of him was buried inside her. His head sagged and a deep, primitive snarl ripped free. Sparks of light exploded behind her tightly closed lids. His hands burrowed into her hair, holding her head still while he kissed her hard and deep and wild. Then he began to move. Hard, steady strokes that ignited every nerve ending in her body.

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Lessons for Teacher by Emma Jay

Format: E-booklessonsforteacher
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Sensuality: 4
Hero: Brady Lane
Heroine: Jamie Winston
Date of Publication: June 21, 2010
Started On: September 4, 2011
Finished On: September 4, 2011

Lessons for Teacher by Emma Jay is a very well done erotic contemporary romance of the make-you-squirm-in-your-chair variety. As it happened with the two other books by Emma Jay that I have read to-date, it was the cover and of course the blurb later on that made me add it to my wishlist. And after reading Wild Wild Widow a couple of hours back, my next-read-selecting-gene kept pointing its finger towards this little goodie, and here I am 4 hours later, writing a review for a fabulously entertaining piece of work.

25 year old Jamie Winston works as a teaching assistant in a journalism class whilst making her way towards earning her degree. Having being married once to a man who had found her lacking in bed and out of it and had left not a minute sooner after he had run out on her usefulness in furthering his career, Jamie is wary of the whole commitment business with the opposite sex. When her surprising attraction towards her student Brady Lane keeps on burgeoning rather than diminishing, Jamie decides to take matters into her own hands so to speak and find out whether Brady would be interested in getting down and dirty with her.

Jamie’s character is a blend of innocence combined with a thirst to quench her body’s obvious desire for the handsome and larger than life Brady who makes her dare enough to take a step out of her comfort zone. It is her inner vulnerability coupled with her playful nature that comes out to play with Brady that makes her a compelling heroine.

27 year old Brady is determined that he fulfill his dream of becoming a journalist, a war-zone correspondent at that and is biding his time until his internship comes through. What begins as a diversion and of course a way to slake his lust for his teacher morphs into something much deeper and complex as the forbidden variety encounters between Jamie and Brady spin out of control and leaves them both begging for much more afterwards.

Brady is a guy who certainly lives up to his image of being big and brawny with the good looks to match his physique. He might catch the roving female eyes on campus but Brady’s eyes are locked only on Jamie as he spins one fantasy after the other of him taking their relationship to a whole new level, pleasure being the one constant in all of them. It is his intensity in the bedroom and out of it that just made me want to sigh at each and every encounter, and of course his possessiveness when it comes to Jamie that just made me one happy reader all around.

I always love it when an author’s voice changes with the genre, giving what the reader wants with the switch that comes. And in this instance, I loved seeing a playful side to Emma’s writing that just made this story that much more fun to read!

Binding together the dynamics of a student-teacher relationship, erotic love scenes of the heart thumping variety and a romance that gives you a warm glow all over, Lessons for Teacher is a novel that comes highly recommended from the sunny side of life.

Momentous Scenes

  • The truth or dare game that takes place between Jamie and Brady. Sign me up for the next one please!
  • Each of the sensual scenes in the story. Very well done and leaves the reader begging for more! And in need of a cold shower or two at that. 

Favorite Quotes

“You want a drink?” he (Brady) offered.
“My friend’s getting one.” She gestured toward Susan, who approached.
“Your date?”
“My-no! No, I’m not—” God, did he think she was a lesbian? Boy, talk about seduction fail.

She sipped from her bottle. “Okay. Truth or dare.”
“Dare.”
Okay, she hadn’t expected that. She’d been prepared to ask some lame question that she probably already knew the answer to. Now she had to think of a dare.
The driving pulse of music gave her an idea.
“Dance with me,” she blurted.
He lifted his eyebrows. “That’s your dare?”
“Not challenging enough?”
He shook his head. “Not nearly.”
“You haven’t seen me dance.”

And he was big, so big. Even in her wedge heels, her nose only reached the middle of his chest as he edged closer. His shoulders blocked the light as his breath washed warm over her skin. Her pulse leapt like a rabbit at her throat as he lowered his mouth to brush over her parted lips, once, twice, before settling over them. Oh, God. His lips were firm, and molded to hers, learning the shape of her mouth. His tongue teased the entrance of her mouth, then he delved deeper.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

awesomeread

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: A Just Deception by Adrienne Giordano

Format: E-bookajustdeception
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Private Protectors, Book 2
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Peter Jessup
Heroine: Isabelle DeRosa
Date of Publication: September 5, 2011
Started On:September 1, 2011
Finished On: September 3, 2011

A Just Deception by Adrienne Giordanno is her second book in the Private Protectors series. 32 year old Peter Jessup is former Navy SEAL and now works for Taylor Security. Forced into taking a vacation to get his act together, Peter is a restless soul that has no penchant for sitting around twiddling his thumbs. Coming from a family that is filthy rich, Peter is someone who feels comfortable being his own guy, away from all the rules that the ultra rich society adheres to.

Isabelle DeRosa is a defense lawyer who hides behind the effect her sultry and heartstopping good looks has on the opposite sex. A victim of sexual abuse during childhood, Isabelle has no qualms about what she is capable of emotionally and physically and arms herself with the necessary skills to defend herself if the need were to ever present itself.

When her cousin Kendrick with whom she shares her turbulent past with is murdered and fingers start pointing in her direction, Isabelle agrees to help the FBI uncover the reality behind the facade of a charity home that Kendrick has been keeping up as a business front on his home turf. When Peter Jessup enters the picture as her protector, a man who for the first time in her life has the ability to pierce through the iron clad armor that guards her fragile emotions and heart, Isabelle is in the battle of her life to overcome the fear that has ruled over her life up until now. As block by block the armor crumbles around her, Isabelle makes her way into the treachery and deceit that is Kendrick’s legacy.

This is my second book by Adrienne Giordanno and the one thing that constantly strikes a chord deep within me is Adrienne’s voice which rings with humor all throughout the story. Yes, she deals with a lot of emotional, dark and heavy subjects like the trauma of a woman getting over being abused sexually as a child to baby selling black markets to murder within this story. But somehow, all through this, Adrienne finds a way to keep true to her voice and deliver the reader with what I have come to identify essentially as her own style. And that is one main reason I would always constantly keep coming back for more of her books whenever a new one comes out.

When I encountered Vic Andrews in Man Law, the first book in the Private Protectors series, I thought to myself that no man could ever measure up to Vic. But I was proven completely and utterly wrong when Peter Jessup strolled in and swept me off my feet and tumbled me into his world where his character is everything and I mean everything you would want in the man by your side. He is however not without his own demons to fight but what makes him so appealing is the way he is so patient with Isabelle who has a lot of baggage of her own to get over from before Peter and Isabelle can find their own happily ever after.

The one thing that I can always count on when I pick up a book by Adrienne is the fact that she doesn’t waste time trying to portray the men in her stories the way that the opposite sex wants them moulded and shaped up as they want men to be. But rather, Adrienne brings the male characters in her books to life the way they should be, the way I see men in reality interact with one another and react to emotional upheavals in their lives. And that is one reason I just loved the 2nd book in the Private Protectors series as much as I did.

Isabelle’s character is one worthy of being mentioned because she is one tough chick with an inner vulnerability that just reaches into something deep inside of you until you cant help but empathize with what she has gone through at such a young age. Her coping mechanism when it kicks in is more than understandable and what appealed to me is the way Adrienne handles Isabelle’s emotional trauma in the book, giving her ample enough time and reason to get over it and even then there are no magical solutions to healing the scars that seems to be embedded deep inside of her.

The dialogues are wickedly hot at times and of the laugh out loud variety, the sexual tension between Isabelle and Peter insanely hot, sweet and emotional and the suspense factor that aligns nicely along with the romance aspect of the novel makes this an instant winner! Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Adrienne Giordano. Peter Jessup’s character alone makes this one worthy of being picked up!

Momentous Scenes:

  • The scene during which Peter’s mother walks in on Peter and Isabelle getting it on. Laugh out loud funny. Seriously! LOL
  • The car smexing scene. Insanely and wickedly hot and emotional as well!
  • Every.single.time Peter Jessup gives his Hollywood variety smile. Made me go weak at the knees every time I tell you!

Favorite Quotes

(Isabelle) “You can do whatever you’d like at my house.”
He raised his eyebrows and grinned.
“Within reason,” she added. “If I find you in my bed with a woman, you’re a dead man.”
He grinned bigger.
Her stomach knotted. “Did I say that?”
He continued to grin.
She had said it. Must be the fatigue. Three hours of sleep didn’t cut it.
He stepped closer. Oh, boy.
“Izzy, the only woman I want in that bed is you.”

Peter heard the lock tumble. She must have turned it with her free hand, because the door opened and the inside light she’d left on washed over them.
Izzy threw her arms around his neck, pressed against him and slammed her tongue into his mouth. Demanding and hot. His breath caught and he couldn’t release it. Thank you, Jesus. He’d never known anything better than this kiss.

After slipping the condom on, he rolled on top of her, shoved her hair out of her face and held it while he got lost in those sea green eyes that, in a darkened room, shined bright.
He wanted her. And it wasn’t just the sex. He wanted the whole nutty package.

by mvbookreviewer

Re-Read Review: Wild Orchids by Karen Robards

Format: E-bookwildorchids
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: John Roberts “Max” Maxwell
Heroine: Lora Susan Harding
Published on: March 15, 2001
Started On: August 28, 2011
Finished On: August 28, 2011

Reading Wild Orchids by Karen Robards for the 3rd time doesn’t seem to have diminished my enjoyment factor of the novel by even one iota. Call me crazy but even with the massive amount of books I have on my review pile, I just had to pick this one up and read it in one sitting yet again because the magic that is Max and Lora is an unbeatable one for me.

37 year old John Roberts Maxwell (Max) is a man hardened by the reality of war that had been his way of life when he had been enlisted in the Vietnam war. Leaving a piece of his soul behind due to the decisions he had been forced to make, Max comes home a changed man, a man incapable of giving what his innocent wife had demanded of him. A cynic to the core, Max doesn’t realize that life as he knows it would cease to exist the moment he kidnaps the prim and proper Lora in his attempt to evade the authorities of Mexico.

27 year old Lora Susan Harding is finally a free woman with the right to while away her time as she pleases. Having spent most of her life trying to put others needs first, Lora is ecstatic with the thought of exploring the exotic Mexico, the first vacation she has ever taken in her life. However, from the very start, her vacation refuses to proceed along as she envisoned it and being kidnapped at gun point by a disreputable looking man with an American accent just seems to be the icing on the cake.

At first, Lora is scared out of her wits at the thought of the less than savory acts her captor might try and force on her. A lady through and through, Lora hardly accepts herself to find her captor ridiculously sexy to the extent of ogling him and eating him up with her eyes every chance she gets. No stranger to the world of intimacy, Lora however has no clue that the uninhibited creature that emerges from deep within her that just wants to lick her delectable and broody captor from head to toe is a side of her that exists.

After Lora’s multiple attempts to escape which falls flat on her face every single time, Lora comes to the disturbing conclusion that she has a bad case of the Stockholme’s syndrome if judging the way all her emotions go haywire around Max is anything to judge herself by. Through a chain of events, Lora finds herself stranded in the midst of a Mexican jungle, depending on Max for her very survival. As the proximity heightens the already taut live wire of sexual tension between them, both Max and Lora find themselves to be no match for its heady power.

Wild Orchids would always remain by far my most favorite novel by Karen Robards. For some, Max might not be the stuff dreams are made out of. But when push comes to shove, Max is a man who delivers and Lord does he deliver! A man who is leery of commitment and relationships, Max cannot believe himself when he starts lusting after the prim schoolteacher who lands in his life. The harder he tries to shove her thoughts and presence out of his mind, the more tenacious her hold on him becomes and its a match that Max loses, rather ungraciously at first. Vital, sexy and the ultimate dangerous hero is how I would describe Max.

Lora’s character is an endearing mix of innocence and practicality all laced into one with a body that practically drives Max to the brink of insanity. It is the way she reaches far deeper than just his baser emotions that has Max struggling to shove her away with all his might, a man reluctant to share his demons with a woman Max thinks would be just as incapable of handling reality as his ex-wife had seemed to be.

Though towards the end, I definitely want a bit more grovelling from Max every time I read this one, I think the ending itself might be growing on me as I didn’t find it that sorely lacking the third time around. It seemed a fitting ending based on both Max and Lora’s characters and my bet is Lora loves Max too much to even give him enough leeway to do much grovelling even if it were to come to that.

The best thing about this book, hands down is the raw, explosive and primitive passion between two people that just serves as one whole session of sensory overload from start to finish.

Highly recommended!

Favorite Quotes

(Max) He shook his head impatiently. “You’ll be all right. I’ve got to go. Lora…” he hesitated, then with a muttered, “Hell!” swooped over her. Before she knew what was happening, he had her pinned back against the seat and his mouth was on hers, hard and hot and almost brutal in its demand. His hand was rough and warm on her breast. Lora’s senses exploded. She forgot the men outside the car, her anger with Max, everything as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a hunger that had been building inside her forever…

“Lora…” Her name was a tormented whisper as he kissed her harder, fiercer than before, as if he was starving for the taste of her mouth. She twisted in his arms, not trying to get away but to work her arms free… She managed to push them up through his crushing hold and lock them around his neck. He groaned deep in his throat, and she groaned too in protest as his mouth suddenly left hers. He was looking down at her, his breathing heavy, a wild glitter in his eyes. Lora lifted one hand from the corded nape of his neck and lightly stroked the rough, wet edges of his hair.

He smiled then, a slow smile that sent the blood racing through her veins. Lora felt the throbbing inside her intensify until she was sure she would not be able to stand it another second as he slowly, oh, so slowly, lowered his head. His target was her left breast. Lora felt his hot mouth close on the straining nipple, felt him tug the crest of her breast into his mouth to rub it with the rough wet surface of his tongue, and cried out in a frenzy of need.
And in that instant he took her.
She climaxed at once as he squeezed inside, enormous and hard and fiery hot and filling her to bursting.

Lora followed his eyes to the subject of their conversation. He was such a masculine man, tall and strong and sure of himself, cocky almost. A male chauvinist to his toenails, she suspected, as incapable of admitting to feeling hurt and lonely and afraid as a pig was of flying. But he was vulnerable too, enormously vulnerable. More than many people who openly asked for it, he needed love. He needed someone to hold him in her arms and convince him that what he had done was not so bad, was not unforgivable, did not put him beyond the pale of normal society. To convince him that he was lovable. And loved. And she meant to be that someone.

Funny, she had always thought that thin, bespectacled, intellectual types like Brian attracted her. Lora had to smile at her own naivete. Who would have guessed that she, Lora Harding, would buckle at the knees over a hunk of male beef?

E-book Purchase Links: ReaderStore | Barnes&Noble | Amazon

outstandingread

Reviewers Note: From time to time, I get a hankering to re-read my favorite novels and sometimes I find myself with the urge revise the review that I had written down previously. Since I feel that revising a review that had been published a long time back is not something that ought to be done, I have resorted to start a new reviewing process aka the Re-Read Review. Books that rate a Re-Read Review would mostly be books that I am quite gushy about and cannot recommend highly enough!

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Protecting Paige by Norah Wilson

Format: E-bookprotectingpaige
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: To Serve and Protect, Book 3
Hero: Tommy Godsoe
Heroine: Paige Harmer
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 20, 2010
Started On: August 27, 2011
Finished On: August 27, 2011

Protecting Paige, book 3 in the To Serve and Protect series explores the story of how a single mother finds much more than she bargained for in the arms of her sexy and younger neighbor that makes for one of my favorite tropes of romance. 34 year old Paige is a product of the foster care system making a life for herself and her 17 year old son Dillon whom she has brought up on her own after her husband had bailed out on her.

Moving to her new neighborhood, Paige discovers that her neighbor, the taciturn Tommy Godsoe who is recovering from an injury to his hip makes her heart go pitter patter right from the start. Younger than her by a couple of years, Tommy is hellbent on isolating himself to lick his wounds both physical and emotional in private. But in Paige, Tommy discovers a force to be reckoned with as she practically storms her way into his life, making him sit up and take notice of her and Dillon and drawing him into their lives with an effortless ease that leaves him stunned.

When things take a sinister turn and both Paige and Dillon’s lives end up in danger in a plot that Tommy couldn’t have dredged up even in his worst nightmares, Tommy knows that he would die trying to keep the woman who means everything to him alive and well, even if it means pushing his body beyond its limits of endurance after the injury.

What drew me in with Protecting Paige was in fact Paige’s character that is hard not to fall in love with. She may not be a beauty in the classic sense but on the inside she is a beauty that few can compete with. Growing up in the foster care system and later being abandoned by her husband of 3 years in favor of alcohol may have left its mark on Paige, but she doesn’t let it define who she is and that’s one of the reasons why I tumbled in love with her character as the story progressed.

Paige is one determined chick when it comes to those she loves and is protective towards and when she sets her sights on her sexy neighbor who could seriously give a Calvin Klein model a run for his money and looks like he is in dire need of some TLC, Paige bulldozes her way into his life, refuses to give him a chance to say no and worms her way into his emotions and heart just like that. I have got to say that Norah has a talent when it comes to consistently delivering heroines that readers can relate to and Paige is in no way an exception to this rule.

Tommy’s character is a sneaky one I tell you. At the beginning he is grumpy, surly and right in your face rude because his life has turned upside down with a work injury from which he doesn’t  hope he would recover from. But beneath all that surly attitude lies a heart that is steeped in fear of never measuring up, of always failing to meet the expectations of those that depend on him; a remnant residue of a childhood spent with a father who had demanded so much more than a little boy was capable of giving. It is Paige who brings a ray of sunshine into the bleak existence of his own making and it is in her that Tommy finds a reason to try again, to not let the blackhole that his life has become consume him until he has nothing left to give.

I loved the action aspect of this novel that explores the use of canines in police work which is a vital facet of the daily grind of law enforcement agencies. The interesting explanations of dog handling, the full of life relationship between a dog and its handler which is explored to just the right extent lent something extra to this novel that made things that much more compelling for me as the reader.

And of course, worthy of a mention is the secondary romance that develops between Dillon and Rachel, a character whose entrance into the story opens up a lot of possibilities. Maybe if we are very lucky, one day, Norah might write a story for Rachel and Dillon. A girl can always hope!

Recommended for fans of the series, fans of Norah Wilson and fans of younger hero and older heroine romances. This one’s seriously good!

Favorite Quotes

Her lips parted on a shocked gasp, and he took full advantage, sweeping into her mouth. She tasted of surprise and cinnamon and an unexpected innocence, which took the edge off his anger, but did nothing to dull the keenness of his intent. He grasped her face, tilting it for better access to her mouth, and proceeded to kiss her with deliberate, frank eroticism. No gentle request, no teasing enticement, no sweet cling of lips. Just pure, driving sexual demand.

Her tongue was in his mouth, and oh, Jesus, God, she tasted good. Like coffee and brandy and woman. Any thought of resistance fled.
She kissed him endlessly, again and again and again, like she was starving. Like she might never get enough. Like she could eat him alive. It was the sexiest thing he’d ever known.

(Danni) “I was kinda busy on the way back, too,” she admitted, her face reddening.
Tommy frowned. “I thought you said Dillon was passed out?”
“He was, but Derek wasn’t.” She grimaced. “I guess he got a little hot and bothered by the action in the back seat and wanted a little for himself.”
“Chrissakes,” exploded Ray. “Did anyone not get blown on this trip?”
Danni’s gaze came up then, her eyes glinting with tears and suppressed anger. “Yeah. Those of us without dicks.”

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Saving Grace by Norah Wilson

Format: E-booksavinggrace
Read with: IBOOKS for IPAD
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: To Serve and Protect, Book 2
Hero: Raymond Morgan
Heroine: Grace Morgan
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 17, 2010
Started On: August 26, 2011
Finished On: August 26, 2011

Saving Grace is book 2 in the To Serve and Protect series by Norah Wilson. If you have already read book 1 i.e. Guarding Suzannah, you would have already met both Ray and Grace Morgan who were a couple even then. At first, I was surprised to know that book 2 would focus on Grace and Ray, a couple who already seemed to have everything going for them. Little did I know that there was indeed a story worth telling, and a lot of hurdles to be crossed before they both could embrace their love for each other in the truest form.

Saving Grace starts at a point that we rarely come across in romance novels. Ray who is reeling from the bombshell that Grace, his wife of 4 years has left him for another man gets the news that Grace has been involved in an accident. Helpless to do anything else, Ray makes his way towards the hospital, reluctant as he is to put his already bruised and battered emotions on the line. There he finds out that Grace has no recollection whatsoever of leaving him, nor that of her association with any other man apart from her husband.

Nursing Grace back to health as she struggles to deal with her memory loss seems to be the cruelest form of torture for Ray who can’t help but feel protective towards his wife even though his heart practically bleeds every time he lays eyes on her. Grace who has no idea of what she has done to earn that cold and distant aloofness that she finds in Ray’s eyes is determined that she wouldn’t lose the man she loves in this world above everything else.

When Ray comes face to face with the fact that both their lives are in danger, and that there is no way of identifying the threat as long as Grace’s memory keeps eluding her, both of them are forced to go into hiding to figure out what to do and to evade those who are hellbent on seeing them buried six feet under. It is this period of forced intimacy that proves to be the pivotal point in the healing process of their relationship, a journey that just left a permanent lump in my throat as I read along.

I loved the way how Norah managed to completely surprise me with this one. I was prepared for more of the same as Guarding Suzannah when I picked this one up. But boy, was I proven wrong right from the first page itself when emotions seeped right through my e-reader and made me impatient to find out every little bit I could about both Ray and Grace. In the end, I couldn’t have asked for a better story, nor a better or more fitting ending for a couple who literally goes through emotional hell and back to finally reach their very well deserved happily ever after. And for someone who rarely cries over books or movies, Norah definitely managed to do just that to me today.

The one thing that totally made the book for me was Ray’s character. From the first page itself, oh wait let me backtrack, ever since I encountered his character in Guarding Suzannah, I have been dying to know what would make the overly polished and controlled Raymond Morgan tick. And Norah certainly delivered on all counts with his character as he totally and irrevocably laid seige on every single emotion I had left to spare and then some. He is tender, generous, kind and on top of all that the way he takes care of Grace even when his heart is being torn into pieces just makes him one of the best heroes ever! And when he does finally let go of his legendary control in the bedroom, all my senses joined up and chanted, “Oh yes Ray baby, you should let go more often!”.

Grace’s character is not one to be left behind as I gush on about the things that worked for me. When I started reading, I was totally prepared to hate Grace’s guts cos in my world, there is nothing worse than hurting a delcious hero for whom my heart just bleeds. But then again, I should have known better and from the moment Grace finds comfort in Ray’s arms whilst at the hospital, I knew absolutely that there was no way that this woman could hurt the man she loves intentionally. I found myself in awe of the way Grace shaped up to a totally new and better version, one with a backbone of steel that earned my wholehearted approval as she sets out to right what she has done wrong and of course make Ray give ALL of himself to her.

Recommended for fans of delicious heroes, fans of romantic suspense and of course fans of the series and Norah Wilson. This is a series that I have a feeling will just continue to get better with each book!

Favorite Quotes

Hot and fierce and impossibly arousing, it was like that day in the car outside the motel. Elemental.
Yes, he was angry; she could feel it in his coiled muscles, taste it in the demand of his mouth and the bite of the hand cupping her head. But it didn’t matter. Anger was honest. Anger was real. Right now, she’d take it.
Ray’s hand raked up under the hem of her loose boxers to squeeze her bottom and she arched into him. Oh, yes, she’d definitely take it!

He caught her hand. “What do you want from me, Grace?”
That was easy. “Everything.” She wanted to touch his chest, but since he held her hand prisoner, she insinuated one leg between his legs, delighting in what it did to his breathing. “I don’t want you to hold anything back. I don’t want you to be so careful with me all the time.”
“Grace….”
“I want you to give me as much as I can take, and then I want you to give me more.”
“Like I did last night?”
His voice was rough, laced with self-disgust. God help her, she’d never loved him more.

“I hope you’re ready for me,” he rasped, rolling her under him, “‘cuz in about five seconds, I’m gonna be inside you.”
“Ray Morgan, I was born ready for you,” she breathed against his ear, even as she guided him to her entrance.
He slid home with one strong thrust. Both of them froze.

Then, suddenly, she was convulsing around him, shimmering, flying apart. Seconds later, he followed, his own release ripping the lid right off his world.
Slowly, like a feather on the breeze, he felt his spirit lilt back and forth until finally it settled to earth again.
Incredible. He’d just had the hottest sex of his life, and he’d had it with his wife of almost five years.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Under Fire by Rita Henuber

Format: E-bookunderfire
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Standalone
Hero: Declan O’Conner
Heroine: Olivia Carver
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 22, 2011
Started On: August 19, 2011
Finished On: August 24, 2011

I am a little bit late with my review of Under Fire by Rita Henuber. Work has been a bit crazy and with other obligations taking up my precious reading time, I have been a bit swamped so to speak. But I am a girl who always believes in the “better late than never” adage and though my review is a trifle bit late in coming, it comes with all good tidings and recommendations for fans of the genre to give this one a try!

Rico Cortes is a DEA agent who has been working deep undercover in the midst of Miami’s drug world. With a past that has put him on a course to do his bit to rid his country of drugs, Rico is at the verge of wondering who the real Rico is as his job pulls him deeper into a world filled with treachery and deceit.

Coast Guard Lt. Commander Olivia Carver is one determined woman, whose twin brother Danny was murdered whilst working undercover in the Miami drug scene. Her vow to avenge the death of her twin is one that constantly rings through her very soul and the only thing that stops her from quitting her job to embark on a full fledged search for the killer is the fact that her position brings her intel that she otherwise would not have access to.

When Olivia and Rico’s worlds collide, a meeting machinated by Rico in order to throw Olivia off the course of Rico’s investigation, the one thing neither counts on is the volatile sexual need that practically wipes every other thought from their minds. A one night stand that leaves both wanting more takes a darker turn when Rico is forced to make use of Olivia in their joint quest to bring their mutual enemy to justice – or wipe him off the face of the Earth once and for all!

Under Fire is an appropriate title for a book which is filled with action of the heart pounding variety that never lets up. The constant kick-ass action that is always a part of this story held my undivided attention as I sped through the pages. With a thrilling chase that kickstarts the story sets the tone for the whole novel as Olivia and Rico pulls out all the stops to lure one of the worst drug lords in their country to his ultimate demise. I loved the fact that Rita Henuber doesn’t pull any punches and delivered that realistic edge to the action, not doing a complete 360 degree turnabout at the end where forgiveness and doing the right thing takes precedence over the goal that had been set at the beginning.

The passion that ignites between Olivia and Rico is one to be savored in the story. Though the scenes aren’t explicitly detailed each and every single time, Rita does know how to keep the adrenaline pumping with the constant arcs of awareness that leaps forth between Olivia and Rico. I loved the heat and sultriness of the first encounter between them and I’ve just got one word for Rico – HOT!

For me, though Olivia tended to be the centrepoint of the story as it unfolded, Rico’s character turned out to be the most endearing one. His painful past when it comes to light made me want to wrap my arms around him and never let go. As the shades of his undercover persona is left behind bit by bit, there emerges a man that wants above all to do the right thing and to find that one person in the world who would love him completely, his darkness and all.

Olivia makes for one kick-ass chick, whose sheer determination to find her twin brother’s killer obliterates everything else in her life – even her burgoening feelings towards Rico. I think it was because of that reason that I couldn’t completely warm up to Olivia’s character towards the end though she makes you want to learn one of those few dangerous manueuvers of your own to dish out every now and then.

The humor that is so intrinsically woven together in a story that practically vibrates with adrenaline overload turned out to be one of the reasons I kept coming back for more of Olivia and Rico. I kept going LOL even during those tense moments fraught with either danger or sexual tension that just somehow seemed to fit right in making this romantic suspense a well balanced one.

One of my peeves with the book turned out to be how things ended in the story. I was clamoring so bad for an epilogue that would depict Olivia and Rico as a couple, maybe a couple of years in the future, both settled in and adjusting to life at a different pace than the ones they have led up till and throughout the story. The way how things ended is the only reason that prevented me from giving this one a whopping 5-stars though Under Fire still makes for an awesome read!

Recommended for those who love their heroines to be of the kick-ass variety, their heroes to be ultra sexy and for the story to practically burst at the seams from the continuous stream of non-stop action!

Favorite Quotes

(Rico) “What’s it going to take to get you to dance with me?”
She crooked her index finger and motioned him to come close. “A million in your bank account and seven inches in your pants.”
Without missing a beat he replied, “The million I have, but even for a woman as beautiful as you, I won’t cut off three inches.”
Olivia’s eyes went wide and she burst out laughing.

(Rico) “Can’t wait.”
“Neither can I.” She prepared herself for another go-on-forever kiss. It didn’t come. Between gentle darting kisses, Rico nibbled her lips while his hands explored her body. Olivia moaned. She couldn’t help it.
The sound seemed to trigger something in Rico. Now the kissing was hard, wild and insatiable. Strong arms circled her, big hands covered her buttocks and yanked her against him. Without stopping the kisses or separating their bodies, Rico maneuvered them to the passenger side of her Jeep.

She closed tight around him, pulsing. Rico’s fingers dug into her hips. His movements quickened and he found his rhythm. She wrapped her legs around his hips as his body arched, tensed and shuddered with his own release.
Someone growled. Him, her, she didn’t know. Her blood pounded so hard and loud in her head she couldn’t be sure.

(Olivia) “I’m stopping at the next exit for gas. I’ll get rid of the scrubs. You get out and walk around or by the time we get to Miami you’ll be too stiff to move.”
“Don’t worry, when I get stiff I move very well,” he muttered as he turned to face away.
“I heard that.”

He (Rico) moved to look at the speedometer.
“Come on, Olivia. The speed limit is 70. You’re doing 95, and this car is ticket bait. I don’t want to risk getting stopped.”
“I’m traveling with the flow. This is I-95. If I go the speed limit I’ll stand out.”
He scowled.
“Okay.” She slowed the Corvette.
“Thanks,” he muttered. “You always drive like this?”
“Yep, I grew up in Texas. Speed limits there are only a suggestion.”

(Olivia) “What is all of this, your James Bond room?”
“You could say that. It’s my backup.” He opened cabinets, took out a pill bottle and downed a Percocet. “In here I have weapons, computers, transportation, medical supplies, money and anything else I might need for my survival. Things we’ll need to complete this job.”
Olivia ran her fingers across several of the weapons on the counter and shelf. “Where’s your toothbrush radio and exploding briefcase?”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Carina Press | BooksOnBoard | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Welcome Home, Cowboy by Karen Templeton

Format: E-bookwelcomehomecowboy
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wed in the West, Book 4
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Cash Cochran
Heroine: Emma Manning
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 1 2010
Started On: August 18, 2011
Finished On: August 18, 2011

Welcome Home, Cowboy by Karen Templeton is a romance that has been making itself known in my trolling sessions for books to be added to my to-be-read mountain of books. What propelled me to stop everything I was doing and completely immerse myself in this book was the fact that this one seems to have got great reviews and of course being a RITA award winner of 2011 just sealed the deal for me.

Cash Cochran returns home to Tierra Rosa almost 20 years after he leaves home and his abusive father behind. A country musician by profession, Cash is a man with enough torturedness in his soul that practically bleeds out of him when he comes face to face with his childhood home, now owned by his childhood best friend Lee Manning. Cash hopes to hash things out with Lee only to find his pregnant and widowed wife Emma holding the fort with two kids and a grandmother in law with her brood of cats, that reaches into something deep inside of Cash that he has no knowledge of and squeezes it tight until he can’t help but yearn for things better left unsaid.

From the moment Emma lays her eyes on Cash, all her emotions clamor to give him the comfort and peace that he seems to be in such dire need of. And when Cash decides to help out at the farm intending to sort out how he feels with Emma’s narration of events that completely turns upside down what he has believed all his life, Emma knows that she and her brood are in deep trouble if Cash’s tender nature that emerges is anything to judge him by.

As the daily grind of the farm life brings them closer, both Emma and Cash realize that there is much more at stake than just their hearts alone and with Cash clamoring to leave as soon as Emma is able to get a handle on things after giving birth, Emma knows that there is no point in asking him to stay. It is when Cash’s past beckons him and takes him away that Cash realizes the true meaning of the word home as he finds that and so much more with Emma and her family.

I loved the emotion that practically seeped through the pages right from the very start. Even the first couple of chapters felt like an emotional minefield and that sets the tone of the story till the very end. But through it all, Karen still manages to give the reader the beauty that is in loving and in hoping for better things in life as Cash seems to finally find in Emma and her family.

One of the things that struck me (in a good way of course) was how different Karen’s voice is from most of the romance authors. She brings to light different quirks about her characters and their backgrounds without going into a deep narration of sorts but rather places an interesting hint here and there which allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions which in turn makes the story that much more riveting and fun. 

There is no character that you wouldn’t fall in love with if you pick up Welcome Home, Cowboy. From Cash with his silver eyes that tries to hide his inner turmoil and pain to Emma who can’t help but want to reach deep inside of Cash and fix things for him to Emma’s adorable children Hunter and Zoey, whose point of view in the story just made me smile the entire time to the very quirky character we find in Grandmother Annie, the whole story is filled with well rounded characters that just totally invaded my heart and laid siege on it right from beginning.

And last but not the least, a special mention has to be made of Emma’s character that just invites a man to want her for herself. She is beautiful inside and out, entirely comfortable with who she is and the best thing about her is her sense of hope and optimism that everything will turn out to be alright in the end. The way she loves so wholeheartedly is the best thing about Emma and she is definitely ending up as a favorite heroine of mine.

Welcome Home, Cowboy is a romance everyone ought to read, just to experience the pull on the emotions that this one does so effectively.

Highly recommended!

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Breathe Again by Bonnie R. Paulson

Format: E-bookbreatheagain
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Standalone
Hero: Brodan Steele
Heroine: Maggie Lachlan
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: August 22, 2011
Started On: August 16, 2011
Finished On: August 16, 2011

Breathe Again by Bonnie R. Paulson is a contemporary romance set to release on the 22nd of this month from Carina Press. This is a story that deals with a lot of grief, a widow who hasn’t allowed herself time to properly grieve for a loss that has her questioning each and every relationship in her life, making her reject overtures made by her friends and loved ones because pity is intolerable in the face of what she has experienced. Told in the first person from Maggie’s point of view, Breathe Again describes how Maggie finds friendship and ultimately the strength to move on from her past and embrace a love that blossoms in the the most unlikely circumstances.

Maggie has been struggling with the death of her husband Dean for the past ten months. A radiologist who immerses herself in her work to keep the dark memories at bay, Maggie suddenly finds herself taking a forced vacation of two weeks from work making her wonder whether she would be able to handle all that time alone by herself. Rescue comes from an unlikely friendship that is forged between Maggie and the charming, fun and easygoing Ryan Stewart and his taciturn older brother Brodan Steele who seems to rub her emotions in a wrong way.

This unlikely threesome somehow cross all the hurdles and form a close knitted group even with Brodan trying to keep Maggie at arm’s length, trying his damndest to ignore the spark that continues to dance between them.It is this relationship that acts as a starting point for healing that begins the torturous process of letting go of Maggie’s painful past amidst facing the truth about Ryan and the toll his waning health takes on his older brother who refuses to step away from his side. 

For me, there are a couple of things worthy of being mentioned about the story. I found the grieving aspect of the story to be a unique one which held my undivided attention as Maggie undergoes a lot of pain and feelings of insecurity as to why her husband had opted to leave her the way he had. It certainly would not be easy for anyone to get over a death like Dean’s, especially given the fact that Maggie never allows herself to grieve properly for a loss that continues to haunt and taunt her even ten months on.

Ryan’s attitude towards life, even when his life was filled with so much uncertainty was an aspect of the story that  made me think about all the things in life that one ought to be thankful for. Its a fact that we humans rarely take the time to do that, much less appreciate each given day as it comes. 

Now for the things that didn’t work for me in the story. The sexual tension that was built up right from the very start between Brodan and Maggie never fully materialized even towards the end of the story. I felt as if I had been cheated out of a vital aspect of their relationship and that a door had been slammed shut in my face even before I fully knew what it was that I wanted when it came to their reluctant relationship. I could definitely understand Brodan’s reasoning when it came to avoiding any sort of realtionship with Maggie apart from being friends because of Ryan. But to be able to say no to what Brodan and Maggie both obviously wanted from each other just didn’t sit that well with me.

Because the story was told only from Maggie’s point of view, I felt cheated out of ever getting to experience how it is Brodan feels throughout the story. The sexual tension aspect of a novel works brilliantly if and when the hero’s tortured thoughts are also included as part of the developing relationship between the hero and heroine which this one lacked. Though overall I did like Maggie’s thoughts and at times her self depreciating humor, I would have loved it if Brodan’s thoughts and feelings and his point of view had been included in the story.

Towards the end, I just felt that there was too much grief and very little happiness in this story. For someone who likes happy endings, the somber mood of the story throughout with very little lightness somehow detracted a bit from my enjoyment factor. Though there is a happily ever after in the making for Brodan and Maggie, I just never felt that glow that comes from being satisfied when the hero and heroine finally seal their life together towards the end.

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Lean On Me by Tori Scott

Format: E-bookleanonme
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: Standalone
Hero: Hunter Thurman
Heroine: Sandy Morrow
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 24, 2011
Started On:  August 16, 2011
Finished On: August 17, 2011

Lean on Me by Tori Scott explores a much more tender side of romance from an author who managed to grab my interest after reading her hot little novella Satisfaction Guaranteed. Released on the 24th of July, Lean on Me is a novel that delves into family life, the healing power of love and brings home the fact how communication is a vital aspect of any relationship.

Sandy Morrow is a single mother living alone with her four year old daughter Melanie who is a constant whirlwind of non stop activity. A childcare director by profession, Sandy had lost her husband in a car accident during a freak ice storm two years back and more than anything Sandy mourns for not what she has lost but what her marriage had never been able to give. Independent to a fault, Sandy doesn’t want anything in the world to take that away from her, and shies away from relationships and the opposite sex until the Thurmans move in next door making her sit up and take notice for the first time in two long years. 

Hunter Thurman is a military man who had served his country for a long time as a Special Ops soldier that had taken him away from home for long periods of time. His marriage to Liz hadn’t turned out to be what he had envisioned and finally Hunter returns home for good when Liz dies leaving behind an angry and surly teenage Jason behind. Hunter focuses all his time and attention on finding out why his son resents him so much, an uphill battle all the way when the only form of communication between them seems to be screaming matches.

Everything comes to head when Jason’s car hits Melanie’s tricycle giving Jason the wake up call he sorely needs to get his act together. The accident brings together these two families and the constant intimacy brings to light the fact that the attraction that simmers between Hunter and Sandy is one that cannot be ignored. Its not an easy journey for these two towards happily ever after as both Sandy and Hunter bring to the relationship scars from their previous marriages together with the welfare of both their children to the equation. However with a lot of love, understanding, compassion and a whole lot of conversation with a few sensual scenes tossed in between, Tori Scott managed to deliver a happily ever after that I wholeheartedly approved of in the end.

I found Hunter Thurman and his gentle manner beneath which lies a man who can make a woman tremble in all the right ways to be one of the things that drew me into the story. His previous marriage had turned out to be a stifling one that makes him wary of a repeat experience. But when he finds himself enamored with Sandy and her daughter, the way he brings alive good old fashioned courting together with the stolen kisses made my toes curl inward, and made me sigh in pleasure as his wooing works its magic over a woman who has had her fair share of disappointments when it comes to men.

I loved Jason’s character and how he grew in the story. At the beginning he is a surly, rude and obnoxious teenager with a belligerent attitude beneath which lies a wealth of pain and resentment towards his father for never being there when things had gotten quite bad at home. But with time and the healing touch and understanding from Sandy and a lot of patience on Hunter’s part, Jason turns out to be a wonderful and unforgettable character that I fell for as the story progressed. 

One cannot read this story without falling in love with the cute little Melanie. Her conversations with Jason made me smile at just how simple everything in life seems to be when you are that young, trying to make sense of all the chaos that reins in this world. Endearing is the term I would use to describe Melanie and she is a character that I wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon.

The way that both Sandy and Hunter eventually find love and acceptance in each other was a journey that I very much enjoyed though there were moments that Sandy tended to rub me raw with her constant need to assert her independent nature which she is reluctant to let go of, understandable given her past. But in the end I loved how everything turned out and how Tori Scott managed to squeeze in a cute little epilogue giving me the closure I needed to let this one go. But mind you, I wouldn’t complain if she were to write stories for Sandy’s brother Ryan and Sandy’s best friend Brandy who has a painful past of her own and who knows, maybe even Jason and Melanie? Ah! A girl can always hope! 

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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