Category / Contemporary

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Collateral Damage by J.L. Saint

Format: E-bookcollateraldamage
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Plus Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Silent Warrior, Book 1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Jack Hunter
Heroine: Lauren Collins
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 14, 2010
Started On: December 18, 2010
Finished On: December 23, 2010

Like any reader, I am a bit apprehensive when it comes to trying out new authors, though that doesn’t stop me from trying out books on authors that I have never heard of because just sometimes, delving into the unknown certainly pays off when you find a book such as this one where the pages literally turn themselves with the fast paced action, romance and adventure that this one delivers – in spades.

Sergeant First Class Jack Hunter with more than 20 years of military experience under his belt also known as DT i.e. Double Tap because of his accuracy with headshots, wakes up in the ICU at the Walter Reed Medical Centre when the last mission where he had led his team members Rico, Pecos and Neil into the terrorist ridden areas of Lebanon where a group had kidnapped and held hostage the daughters of the Israeli Prime Minister and the US Ambassador had gone totally wrong. With Rico and himself seriously injured and Neil dead in the strike that had taken place, Jack is a man torn apart by the nightmares about the mission gone wrong and pieces that don’t seem to fit together. The one thing that Jack who has a strained relationship with his 6 year old daughter Livy after the hellish nightmare of a 7 year marriage with her mother Jill had ended up in divorce knows is that there is more than what meets the eye in what went down in Lebanon. With all his senses screaming at him to make sense of the blond and blue eyed American he had shot dead whose body had not turned up makes Jack all twitchy on the insides and makes him push himself to the limits to get back to the field before the shit hits the fan.

Lauren Collins with her 6 year old twin sons Matt and Mitch is just a month away from finalizing her divorce from Bill Collins the one man she had thought had been her Prince Charming who had later turned out to be the stuff made from nightmares. Right after Bill had taken up a job at BioLogics, a company that deals with invention of green technology as their PR executive and turned all secretive, their marriage had hit the rocks only to plummet deeper into abysmal when Bill began a string of extramarital affairs that had finally decided the fate of their marriage. And when Lauren receives the dreaded phone call in the middle of the night informing her that her husband had been shot dead in what appeared to be a random act of violence right after which her home is invaded by a masked gunman hellbent on searching for something Lauren has no clue of whatsoever, she barely manages to escape with her and her sons lives intact.

When the rough and tough looking six foot Jack Hunter with his square jawed and chiseled looks turns up on her doorstep commanding all her bedraggled hormones to take notice and clamor for his attention, he turns out  to be her only savior from danger that lurks wherever she turns. Lauren has no choice but to trust Jack with her and her sons lives as they race against time and try to piece together the cutthroat world of murder and mayhem that Bill had thrust his family into. As red-hot passion burns strong and sure like wildfire between Jack and beautiful Lauren so does a mad man’s thirst for world dominance that knows no bounds as he would go to any lengths to thwart those who stand in his way to prevent him from executing the perfect plan which would give him total power served on a silver platter.

Likes:

  1. Jack Hunter. He is broody, tortured and hot as sin!! I always love myself a tortured hero who knows what to do with his God given talents in pleasing a woman! And that’s not the only thing that drew me to Jack. He is loyal and wants to do right by what is his though he has had a hard time of things for the last couple of years. And on top of all that, he is black ops military. *sigh* Jack is utterly swoon worthy ladies, I solemnly swear by this! *swoons*
  2. Lauren Collins. She is perfect heroine material for the rough and tough Jack Hunter. With her sons she is the fierce mother tigress protecting her cubs, with Jack she is vulnerable and strong at the same time and what makes her unique is she doesn’t stand down and let Jack take all the control but rather she is an equal partner where she and Jack are concerned. Loved Lauren to bits.
  3. This story opened up my eyes to a lot of things that can go wrong with the precariously balanced “peace” that we take for granted in this world. Just add to it bad guys who are unscrupulous enough and have the means to manipulate the West and  the Islamic world as that happened in this story and you would have a global catastrophe of major proportions on your hands. Being a Muslim myself, I was a bit apprehensive when I started out reading and encountered the scene where Muslims had kidnapped the daughter of the Israeli prime minister. And I thought to myself, please don’t let this story be something where Muslims are portrayed as less than human and I was really glad of the sensitivity with which Ms. Saint handled the issue. There is no overly judgmental stuff going on in the story which brings home the hard truth of a war that was started by the Bush administration which has already cost the common man a lot more just a pretty penny from his pocket. Kudos to Ms. Saint for pulling this off so well.
  4. I liked the secondary stories that were taking place as the story unfolded. I liked how Ms. Saint didn’t overly make the story about the secondary characters, which is sometimes what happens when an author tries to juggle too many characters and their stories in one novel. She has laid the foundation nicely for this new series the rest of the books which has already landed on my auto-buy list. I am really looking forward to reading the story of the Delta Team commander Lt. Col. Roger Weston and Mari, the Muslim widow of Neil who dies in the op that is the starting point of this series and story.
  5. The cover. Believe it or not, the cover was what drew me to the story in the first place. I make it a point to surf through Samhain Publishing at least once a month to find out titles that might interest me. And when I looked into the eyes of the guy on the cover, I was baited enough to read through the synopsis and I have since then been looking forward to its release date which was earlier this month. This one definitely ends up on the fabulous cover list!  ^_^
  6. The creepy villain and his ever more creepy chimpanzee. Gives me the shivers of the bad kind even thinking about his warped mind. But he was a villain who certainly delivered enough to label him as one of the creepiest villains ever and lends the story the edge that it so well receives from him on the danger and adventure front.

Dislikes: As always the lack of a proper epilogue does rankle but not overly much since I hope I would be getting to see a bit of Jack and Lauren in the next couple of books in the series. ^_^

Recommended for: Fans of romantic suspense who love books filled with non-stop adventure and red-hot passion!

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

fantasticread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Man for All Seasons by Heather MacAllister

Format: E-bookamanfoallseasons
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze, #583
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Tyler Burton
Heroine: Marlene Walters
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 1,  2010
Started On: December 19, 2010
Finished On: December 21, 2010

The question utmost on my mind after finishing up this delectable, spicy and funny holiday romance is “Where on Earth has Heather MacAllister been all my reading life?”. I mean seriously! This book tickled all my funny bones unlike any story I have read of late and the funny bones weren’t the only ones that Ty tickled with his wickedly inappropriate thoughts about his friend Marlie who all of a sudden turns into a sexy siren that calls to his libido to carry her off into his cave and have his wicked way with her.

Marlene Walters or Marlie as she is known as is two years younger than Tyler Burton (Ty). Marlie and Ty’s parents are really close friends and so when they had been young Ty had ended up being Marlie’s reluctant playmate on several joint family vacations. Ty had always felt that he had got the worse end of the deal when he had always ended up babysitting Marlie and watching out for her when he would rather have hung out with kids his own age and as he grew older and his interest in the female populace had skyrocketed he would rather have spent his time wooing the girl who he fancied at the moment.

Years later, Marlie is all grown up, works from her home as a computer geek and is paying off her mortgage on her home, the mortgage a present from her ex-fiance who had just upped and left quoting that he just couldn’t handle it anymore. And when Ty whose house is under construction needs a place to stay, Marlie is more than happy to share and rent her home to live together. A year and a half of living together, Marlie discovers that certain things haven’t changed even with time and distance; her fascination with Ty, her friend who views her as nothing more than a pesky being who inhabited his childhood.

But things take an interesting turn when Ty in the guise of impressing his then girlfriend Axelle ends up buying Marlie twelve dates thinking that keeping Marlie busy dating them would get Marlie out of the house long enough for him to cozy up with Axelle. But what happens is the farthest thing from Ty’s mind when with a little makeover Marlie knocks his socks off, literally squeezing the very air out of him by making him realize that what he had been searching for all his commitment phobic life had been right under his nose all this time.

Likes:

  1. The uniqueness of this friends to lovers story. What makes this tale so unique is the way the story is told. Never does a moment go by that doesn’t make you want to grin from ear to ear or makes you want to laugh out loud in merriment. Witty dialogue alone is not what makes this book special, the story is mostly told from Ty’s point of view which certainly makes for an interesting read when his emotions and libido goes on full red alert and starts noticing Marlie for the delectable woman she is, the woman who is the ONE for him. And Ms. MacAllister certainly pulls no punches in delivering enough emotion to make you giddy once you are done! A delectable read indeed is this one. ^_^
  2. Marlie Walters. She is far from being perfect and at the beginning she is as sloppy as anyone can get which made me relate to her on a whole new level. I understood where she was coming from and that made this book the instant winner it was for me. I loved Marlie’s thoughts and her bubbly nature which fully complements Ty’s more serious and orderly nature.
  3. Ty! *Sigh* The guy just makes me go weak at my knees with all those wicked thoughts that races through his mind  each and every time that he tries to deny what he feels for Marlie. And when Ty does come to realize that it is Marlie with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life with, I found the way he tried to go about convincing Marlie of his intentions so cute and endearing.
  4. The sizzling sexual zing in the story. Though this book doesn’t pack a bunch of sex scenes of the explicit nature, I had a lot of fun reading and feeling the chemistry between Marlie and Ty skyrocket to unbearable levels with every encounter. That makes this book a Blaze worth indulging in!

Dislikes: None! Though I would have loved me an epilogue! Would have lent this story the perfectness it deserves.

Favorite Quotes

He was barely aware of Axelle slipping away and reappearing on the other side of the table to murmur in Paul’s ear. To do so, she had to stand right next to Marlie and Ty unwillingly compared the two women.
Axelle was tall and thin and darkly exotic. His type.
Marlie was creamy and lush. And jiggled. Not his type.
Right then Marlie’s gaze connected with his and his blood began to simmer.
Why? Why is she not your type?
He couldn’t remember.

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Harlequin Blaze titles.
  2. Fans of holiday romances.
  3. Fans of contemporary romances with enough humor and sexual zing to warm your insides through a cold wintry night. I loved this one to bits! ^_^

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

greatread

Format: E-bookheartoffire.JPG
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: None
Hero: Ben Lewis
Heroine: Jillian Sherwood
Sensuality: 3.5
First Published on: July 1993
Started On: 18th December 2010
Finished On: 18th December 2010
by mvbookreviewer

Review: Heart of Fire by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookheartoffire
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Pocket
Hero: Ben Lewis
Heroine: Jillian Sherwood
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 1, 1997
Started On: December 18, 2010
Finished On: December 18, 2010

Jillian Sherwood, daughter of the archaeologist known as Cyrus “Crackpot” Sherwood grows up with the love for archaeology and lost civilizations instilled into her long back when she had been just a young child fascinated by the stories of long-lost civilizations she had learnt of whilst sitting in the warm security of her father’s arms. When her father had died when Jillian had been 14 years old in the Amazon jungle on the expedition which would have proved once and for all that Cyrus didn’t have his head up in the clouds as all his colleagues and the rest of the archaeological community believed him to be, Jillian follows in his footsteps to become an archaeologist herself, something which becomes twice as hard for her because her father’s reputation lingers even long after his death.

The final straw comes when Jillian is overlooked as a possible candidate for the Ouosalla dig in East Africa, the biggest new archaeological find in decades funded by her employer Frost Archaeological Foundation. Even though Jillian is more than qualified to attend, she is not even considered because of her father’s reputation, which brings forth the burning desire in Jillian to actually delve into her father’s fascination with the Anzar theory of the Amazon being named for a band of warrior women who had lived deep within the jungle, this fascination of his which had played the main role in Cyrus being labeled as a “misguided” fool.

When Jillian’s half brother Rick Sherwood learns of the probable treasure, the “Empress of the Heart”, a big fat red diamond that supposedly exists in the lost city of Anzar civilization, its not long before Rick teams up with the unsavory Steven Kates who agrees to fund their expedition to find the city of Anzar. Because only Jillian knows the secret of the coded message left in her father’s books, they have no choice but to take Jillian along. It is in Brazil that Jillian first comes across the six foot tall, potentially lethal Ben Lewis who is to be their guide in the rough trek through the Amazon jungle and its river for the next two months or so.

From the moment Jillian lays eyes on the rough around the edges Ben, she instinctively goes on the protective mode knowing that here was a man who would be lethal to her heart, body and soul if she were even to give in an inch. Ben is more than surprised and a little bit aggravated as well to find his unexplainable fascination with a woman who does not even remotely fit in with the usual type of women he carouses around with. And though Ben tries to tell his wayward libido otherwise, his body clamors to possess Jillian as his own and brand her his. His practiced seduction techniques certainly do not seem to work on the cool and collected Jillian, who makes it her self appointed mission to not give into Ben’s caresses which leaves her senses begging for more of where that came from.

I liked:

  1. Ben Lewis. Its tough not to like a man who oozes sexuality from just his mere presence in the story. *fans self*
  2. Jillian Sherwood. Linda Howard knows exactly what we want from her characters and she certainly doesn’t disappoint us with Jillian. Independent to a fault, vulnerable and loyal and a stubbornness that makes Ben grit his teeth every now and then, Jillian and her acrid sense of humor certainly makes for an enjoyable heroine.
  3. The witty banter between Jillian and Ben. My God, I laughed out loud several times during the story, especially the parts where things never seem to go as Ben plans them with Jillian. She constantly manages to surprise and infuriate him with the lack of interest she shows towards his advances, a fact that just continues to aggravate and arouse Ben more and more throughout the story.
  4. The explosive passion between Ben and Jillian. One reason why Ms. Howard’s books always rate a re-read is the fact that she delivers in spades in the romance, adventure as well as the sensuality department in her stories. The scene where Ben claims Jillian in the middle of a thunderstorm amidst the downpour in the jungle made my senses all go on red alert! *mmmm..*

Dislikes: Umm.. nothing much but I felt that I didn’t get to learn more about Ben and his past which I yearned for throughout the story. Though the lack of his past didn’t in anyway diminish the full force of his personality, I would have loved knowing more about him than just his hyperactive libido which makes its presence known right from the very beginning. *wink*

Recommended for: Fans of Linda Howard and fans of jungle trek themed romances.

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

greatread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Forbidden by Janelle Denison

Format: Paperbackforbidden
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze, #19
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Joshua Michael Marchiano
Heroine: Paige Montgomery
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 1999
Started On: December 17, 2010
Finished On: December 17, 2010

I have always been interested in reading about the love that blossoms between two people that society or circumstances deem SHOULD not fall in love. Feelings that they both should deny makes itself known, regardless of how much they try to control their emotions and that in itself makes for a deliciously clandestine read. After reading and reviewing Ms. Denison’s book Tempted which was a delightfully sensual novel, I forayed into her backlist to stumble upon this title which seemed to call out “pick me!” from the book synopsis and raised high expectations within me keeping me on tenterhooks till my precious books made their way to the Maldives from USA. This book ended up being totally different from what I expected, not that the story that unfolded was bad in anyway, but because I expected something other than what I found in the story, I ended up sort of between being happy that I did get to read a good story regardless and a tad disappointed because I didn’t find in Josh and Paige’s story what I really wanted from them.

The story kicks off during Paige’s husband, Anthony Montgomery’s funeral. Paige and Anthony had been married for 3  years, the last 2 years of which was lived in abject misery on Paige’s part. It is Anthony’s best friend Josh that steps in and offers her his friendship, an act which backfires on Josh when he hopelessly falls in love with the one woman he will never get to have; until Anthony is killed in his latest undercover mission bringing to light the fact that Anthony had been a dirty cop who had profited from underhand deals in the criminal worlds that he had inhibited as part of his job.

Paige had always been treated more as a possession than as a wife by Anthony and Paige had just initiated divorce proceedings when she gets the news of Anthony’s death. The depth of Anthony’s immense betrayal hits home 3 months later when Josh comes bearing news that Anthony had actually been killed by the mob boss of the jewelery smuggling ring that Anthony had been assigned to infiltrate because he had stolen a necklace worth millions of dollars from them inevitably putting Paige in danger.

Vulnerability and the shock of betrayal which leaves Paige reeling sends her into the arms of Josh where at last she gets the type of physical and emotional fulfillment Paige has only dreamed about till now. It is Josh’s mission to protect Paige at any cost, use her as bait to draw the mob boss in and act as her live in lover whilst all this takes place. And when Josh learns of the extent of hurt and resentment that Anthony had bred in Paige’s heart towards marriage to anyone working in the law enforcement, the hope that had burgeoned in his heart after Paige turned to him for comfort and they both had experienced out of this world passion with one another as a result comes crashing down leaving Josh with only one choice; let the woman who has captured his heart walk away forever if that’s the only way that Paige can be happy.

I liked the overall premise of the story which is a mix of a friends to lovers story with very little “forbidden” moments thrown in to the mix of bad guys who were after the necklace which Paige’s dead husband had stolen. Josh is a likable hero who has given his heart to Paige somewhere along the way when their friendship had first started to blossom, which makes him the vulnerable one in the story. Paige was likable as well because she is determined that she learn from her mistake with Anthony and is wary of trusting someone with her heart again, and though Josh shows her in all the ways how different he is from Anthony, Paige is stubborn enough to hold on to her convictions until it becomes almost too late for her change her mind.

Obviously as I started out saying, I expected something a bit more different from this story. With a title like “Forbidden” my mind conjures up stolen kisses that heat up the reader’s insides, breathless passion between the hero and heroine which they both try to deny but which explodes anyway because they are two halves of one soul who have just found their way to each other. And though this story delivers in spades in the awareness department between Paige and Josh, there just didn’t seem to be enough moments of the forbidden variety in the story which kind of depleted my enjoyment levels with this one.

All in all, not a bad read though I wish the story could have been a different one altogether.

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

goodread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Rhys’s Redemption by Anne McAllister

Format: Paperbackrhyssredemption
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #2126
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Rhys Wolfe
Heroine: Mariah Kelly
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: August 1, 2000
Started On: December 15, 2010
Finished On: December 16, 2010

I first discovered Anne McAllister years ago when I read her Harlequin novel Fletcher’s Baby. That was the time during which I had just discovered the amazing abundance of romance novels that Harlequin provides for voracious readers and Fletcher’s Baby was one of those reads that you remember even after a long time. The impact the story has on the senses (not because of any explicit or otherwise sexual content in the story) but rather because of the emotional wrangling content of the book, even my elder sister who has never been much of a fan of romances read and liked the story that unfolded. The dogeared copy of Fletcher’s Baby on our bookshelf is a testament to how well liked the story is. Even though this is a review of Rhys’s Redemption, my second book from Anne McAllister, if you haven’t already read Fletcher’s Baby, I highly advise you to do so. It is a great book for a good cry!

Rhys Wolfe is a man haunted by memories of the tragic death of his childhood love and wife Sarah and their unborn 4 month old baby. Born and raised in New York, Rhys had tried hard to please his family by going into the family business. Working long hours had kept him away from his pregnant wife and the fire that had  taken away his Sarah eight years back haunts him even to this day. Yes, Rhys has moved on to the best of his ability, quit his job at the firm which had pissed off his father, and taken a job in a specialized unit of firefighting that deals with oil well and rig fires. And it is an extremely commitment phobic Rhys that emerges from the tragedy of losing his beloved who has no intention whatsoever of getting married or having children ever again. His one steadfast rule, one he had made up as an act of self preservation was to sleep only with women who knew exactly what they were getting into – that is until he breaks his rule during the night he turns to comfort in the arms of Mariah, his friend and neighbor for the past 3 years.

31 year old Mariah Kelly comes from a large family from Kansas. She had been a small town girl with a determination to make it in the big city world in the field of journalism when she had first moved to New York 8 years back and was quite comfortable with her achievements. Mariah first meets Rhys during a cookout she holds on her terrace by inviting all her neighbors, and over time within Rhys Mariah finds all the qualities she had ever wanted to find in a man. And regardless of telling herself that falling for a man who has his heart locked away and the key thrown away into the dungeons, Mariah finds herself doing just exactly that – falling head over heels in love with the wrong man. When the one night of intense passion they share ends up in Mariah getting pregnant, Mariah hopes against hope that Rhys would come around and start to care for her and love her as much as she does for him.

When Rhys wakes up with a warm and sleeping Mariah in his arms, all his survival instincts kick in and he does the only thing he knows how to save his battered emotions. Two months without a word and Rhys returns home after an intense job planning all the while in his head how he and Mariah would move on and forget about the night that changed everything only to receive the bombshell that Mariah is pregnant with his child. Betrayal, pain and anger all course through Rhys when he first hears the news and the only thing Rhys is willing to offer Mariah is financial support and nothing more. Avoiding Mariah at all costs is what Rhys sets out  to do, but Mariah makes it damn hard for him to do just that when she refuses to condemn him for his actions, calmly accepting what Rhys is able to give and never asking for more. But staying away and just completely wiping away Mariah from his mind seems to be an impossible task for Rhys which eventually makes for a really heart wrenching read.

Likes:

  1. Mariah Kelly. I loved her for so many things as this story unfolded. Her unchanging love for a man who has immersed himself so deeply in his gut wrenching pain over the loss of the only woman he has ever loved, a love that doesn’t turn into resentment because Rhys is unwilling to give her his everything once he learns of her pregnancy. I loved her because she doesn’t turn bitter, nor does she hold it against Rhys that he is selfish enough to want to protect his heart from being broken to pieces all over again. Her courage, unwavering love and hope that Rhys would turn around makes her one of the most endearing heroines I have come across.
  2. The magic that this story weaves as it is told from both Rhys and Mariah’s viewpoints. There is so much emotion packed into it that the lump that applied for permanent residency in my throat refused to fade away even long after the story was through. Even though I cannot afford to pull an all-nighter reading a book these days, I couldn’t bring myself to part with the story and get my much needed sleep before work today. And thank God for the fact that this one is not a long novel or otherwise I would have found myself in a whole lot of trouble reporting to work all bleary-eyed today. ^_^
  3. How this book made me all teary-eyed – in a good way. Honestly, I am not one to cry and bawl over a story, well most of the time anyway. But last night, I found myself with tears in my eyes as I reached towards the end, tears of frustration at times on Rhys’s stubbornness in refusing to let go of Sarah, tears of sorrow for Mariah who loves Rhys quietly all along and in the end, tears of happiness for the happily ever after.
  4. This story definitely whetted my appetite to read Dominic’s story, the calm and controlled older brother of Rhys, and Sierra the younger sister of Mariah and her exact opposite in every way. That book is definitely going to end up in my wish list!

Dislikes: Though I loved this story to bits, I found myself at times a bit disappointed because Rhys and Mariah spends so much time apart from one another in the story. But in the end it all works out because this story ends up being different to your usual Harlequin pregnancy romances such that the hero doesn’t find himself just a changed man overnight, but rather takes the long road to find himself taking the second chance he has been offered at loving and being loved once again. But I would have loved a bit more interaction between Rhys and Mariah, just a tad more.

Favorite Quotes

Every night there were dreams. Dreams of Sarah. Collages of their life  together – happy childhood moments, the joy of their engagement, the bliss of their wedding day. There were a hundred moments – a thousand memories – all coming to wash over him the second he shut his eyes and gave in to slumber.
And they made him ache with longing. And he awoke sad and desperate – reaching for something – for someone – who slipped further and further away.
Those were bad. Worse, though, were his dreams of Mariah. In them he saw her laughing and smiling, joyful and tender. Her eyes watched him, her hands touched him. And in his dreams he responded. His body grew ready for hers. His heart grew hungry for hers. his arms lifted to reach out to her.
And then he would see Sarah again. Drifting just out of reach.
Then, always, he woke up. Alone.

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Anne McAllister.
  2. Fans of Harlequin romances with enough emotion packed into it to knock your socks off. If you want a high dosage of sensuality in your romances, you are not going to find it here. But it can make you cry from deep within your heart.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Abe Books

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Dangerous Secrets by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-bookdangeroussecrets
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Dangerous, Book 2
Publisher: Avon Red
Hero: Nick Ireland
Heroine: Charity Prudence Prewitt
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: July 1, 2008
Started On: December 9, 2010
Finished On: December 13, 2010

I was going through my reviews the other night when I found that I had not reviewed my favorite Lisa Marie Rice novel from her Dangerous series, the other 2 in the series which I have already read and reviewed before. I remembered Dangerous Secrets to be a novel that made a huge impact on all my senses and that is the main reason why I decided to re-read and do a full review on this one. It has taken me ages to read and review this, not because this book in anyway fell short of my very high expectations (yes, I have high expectations even when I re-read books), but because of certain stuff going on right now I couldn’t find the time that I really, really wanted to indulge in Nick Ireland and savor him to bits! *sigh*

34 year old Nick Ireland aka Nicholas Ames aka Iceman is one of the best undercover agents that the Unit has ever employed, the Unit being a government special task force investigating international organized crime collaborating with terrorists. Nick had never known who his mother was as his mother had abandoned him at an orphanage when he was a baby. Nick had grown up in a bunch of orphanages and sometimes brutal foster homes where his main job had been survival. Though Nick had never known anything tender in his life, he had always been a fierce champion of the underdog, and that is how Nick had ended up befriending his closest friend and billionaire Jack. Tall, with midnight black hair and deep blue eyes Nick has a body which has been honed to perfection to be a lethal killing machine in the 10 years that Nick had served in the military. Nick is known as the Iceman because he is always cool and in control no matter what the circumstance until his legendary cool shatters and dies a brutal death when he invades Charity Prewitt’s life on his newest mission.

Charity Prudence Prewitt is a 28 year old librarian living in the quiet little town of Parker’s Ridge in Vermont. Beautiful with an air of calm serenity and elegance that always surrounds her, Charity had given up the hope of pursuing her dreams to take care of her ailing aunt and uncle who are the only family Charity is left with since her parents had died in a fire 15 years back. Charity had given up hope of ever finding someone who would want to share her life together with her responsibilities towards her aunt and uncle and had resigned herself to turning into an old maid when Nick strolls into her life, seducing her into surrendering her heart, body and soul to him.

Nick’s mission is simple. Seduce information from Charity about her best friend, Vassily Worontzoff, the Russian author of Dry Your Tears in Moscow, a novel considered as one of the classics of the 20th century. However, Vassily is far from the grand old man of literature that everyone thought he was. Vassily is one of the survivors of the Kolyma, the Soviet Union’s cruelest prison camp where prisoners had to work in temperatures as low as -90 degrees Fahrenheit in the gold minefields. Vassily had indeed been the renowned author back then, but the cruelty of the prison system and losing his beloved Katya who had never stood a chance with her beautiful good looks in a place like the Gulag prisons had turned him into the complete opposite of what he had been. Vassily had entered prison as a writer and come out as a monster, now the head of the Russian mafia in America, a man who would do anything to claim Charity as his own as he believes her to be his Katya, reincarnated for them to be together once again.

When Nick strolls into the small quaint library and assumes his role as the suave retired stockbroker and asks Charity out for dinner, the awareness that catches both of them unawares is stunning and ferocious in its intensity. Nick, a man who is so used to always been in control of his emotions and baser nature suddenly finds himself at a loss on how to handle how Charity makes him feel, the need in him to possess Charity as his so strong that nothing on Earth would sway Nick when he saw the danger that Charity was in, making a man who is commitment phobic to the extreme to marry the woman who makes all his senses go haywire – all in a good way.

A week is all that Charity has with her husband before they are married and on the eve of their wedding Charity receives a news that no bride should ever hear, especially on her wedding night. And Nick becomes a force to be reckoned with, as he breaks every rule ever written to protect the woman he loves at all costs, from a man who is nothing short of insane, a man who thinks nothing of it to smuggle radioactive material and sell it to the highest bidder to achieve his nefarious goals in life.

Likes:

  1. Holy shiite!! This book packs a whole lot of sensuality that I found myself in a sort of daze all throughout the story. Damn you Nick!! Nick makes it really hard not to make you devour each and every love scene in the book, and surprisingly I found myself wanting more of the same when most of the time too many love scenes in a book just tends to make the story cumbersome. But Ms. Rice pulls it off so well that I couldn’t help but yearn for more and more of Nick and Charity heating up the sheets, the walls and what not! ^_^
  2. Nick Ireland. He is just perfect! In each and every way! Though his gentleness and kindheartedness draws you towards him unlike anything else, this doesn’t make him a wimpy hero by any means. His smoldering sensuality, the way his senses all comes alive with Charity, the way he cherishes each and every moment he spends with her, unknowingly yearning for something he had always thought that he should or would never have just makes me endlessly sigh over the guy! God, I wish I could order up a guy like him to turn up on my doorstep! For real! ^_~
  3. Charity Prudence Prewitt. Though the prudence bit makes me go LOL, Charity is just the perfect match for Nick in each and every way. I say this because heroines in Ms. Rice’s books are never feminists who constantly need to prove a point to the hero. But rather they are feminine to the core, with an inner strength that stuns you from time to time and manages to lend the story a really charming quality with their elegance and beauty. So needless to say, I fricking loved Charity to bits!
  4. The flow of the story. I don’t think I can ever describe how well this story goes down, like a glass of cool water, not too cold, just the right temperature to quench your thirst on a really hot day. That’s how well I perceived this story and I imagine I would read it again somewhere down the line, just to give a treat to all my senses – as a treat to your senses is what  this book is! Pure magic is what Lisa Marie Rice weaves with Nick and Charity.
  5. And I loved me the ending! To pieces! ^_^
  6. Oh yes, the library smexing! Earned it the A+ grade, yes it did! *wink*

Dislikes: None.

Recommended for: Fans of Lisa Marie Rice or fans of romantic suspense who love their mystery to come packaged with a high dosage of sensuality. This one makes all your senses reel – all in a good way of course!

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

outstandingread

Lisa Marie Rice
by mvbookreviewer

Review: No Place to Run by Maya Banks

Format: E-booknoplacetorun
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: The Kelly Group International, Book 2
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Sam Kelly
Heroine: Sophie Lundgren
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: December 7, 2010
Started On: December 7, 2010
Finished On: December 7, 2010

I have been waiting for this book like forever (okay that was a tad wee bit dramatic), but it does feel like I have waited forever after reading and reviewing the 1st book in the Kelly Group International Series entitled The Darkest Hour, a story that just captivated me right from the very beginning and totally blew me away. So it would not be an exaggeration to say that I had very high expectations for the 2nd book in the series, each one of which was met with and some even exceeded by this delightful romantic suspense novel by Ms. Banks.

The Kelly Group International (KGI) is a family based business which takes care of situations such as hostage recovery missions, kidnap cases and the likes and also hire out their services to the numerous government agencies in the US for covert missions requiring highly skilled operatives in delicate situations. 36 year old Sam Kelly, the eldest of the 6 boys in the Kelly bunch acts as the leader and shares responsibility of running this covert group with his brothers Garrett (even saying his name makes me go just a tad bit weak in the knees ^_^), Donovan (Van) and Ethan who is yet to officially join the group. Each having specialized military background, Sam had served in the army before forming the KGI group with his brothers.

Sophie Lundgren on the other hand comes from a family right out of your worst nightmares. Alex Mouton,  her father is at the top of the most wanted lists in the US running his empire in everything illegal ranging from running prostitution rings to arms dealing. Sophie had witnessed the horrors of her father’s rigid control over his emotions and his ruthlessness at the tender age of 10 years, a man who always puts his business first and never tolerates any sign of weakness from those are close to him.

When a KGI mission takes Sam and his brothers to parts of Mexico on a mission to take down Alex Mouton, it is at a seedy bar in Mexico that Sam first encounters the blond, delicate and beautiful Sophie, making all his primal instincts come out to play right at the very first sight of her. Their affair though short, runs hot until his mission takes him away leaving Sophie behind, Sophie who calmly plans and executes a plot to murder her own father.

Five months on, a pregnant Sophie is at the very end of her wits trying to elude those hellbent on killing her to exact revenge for the murder of her father. Sophie holds the key to her father’s vast empire and its the only thing that’s keeping her alive and prevents her from being shot pointblank. Exhausted, with no place to run to except to the arms of the father of her child and the man who rocked her world for a brief period of time, it is a barely alive Sophie that Sam comes across, the woman who has haunted his dreams ever since he had walked out on her to complete KGI’s mission.

With more questions than answers running through Sam, trust is the hardest commodity to come by when Sam finds out just how truly deceived he had been by Sophie, the woman who now carried his child, who still manages to touch something deep inside of his heart, something no other woman had ever being able to do. Scared as Sophie is, the last thing she wants to do is to put the Kelly family in harms way, which is exactly what happens as things spiral out of control until at the very end when Sam has to decide whether he would be able to trade the life of the woman he loves more than anything for the life of his own mother, a decision no man should ever have to make.

My likes

  1. Boy, where do I start? This book packs everything and I don’t mean that lightly, EVERYTHING that I look for when I pick up a novel of the romantic suspense genre. Action packed, highly sensual and emotional with enough character development that keeps the pages turning, I resented the time I had to spend away from the story after I started reading. Yes, Maya Banks has done a splendid job with this one and I can’t literally wait for Garrett’s (*sigh* there goes the knee shaky thing again!) story to come out in March 2011.
  2. Sam Kelly. Oh boy! He is one yummy alpha hero, in fact I don’t know how Ms. Banks does it with the Kelly men, but the entire bunch just makes me salivate, sigh, drool and palpitate as the story unfolds. Even with the 1st chapter itself, Sam managed to knock my socks off, with his smoldering sensuality, the simmering need deep within him to claim the woman who is obviously meant for him which touched me in a deep, deep way. And as the story continues, I got to see so many sides of Sam, the responsible tough oldest sibling role he has to play, the gentle, kindhearted soul that comes out to play when he is around those who are weaker than him and the way he lays claim on his woman sealed the deal for me with this hero.
  3. Sophie! She is one hell of a heroine. Vulnerable, beautiful and fiercely protective as a mother lioness with her cubs when it comes to her baby and Sam, she totally won me over because she is exactly what Sam needs in his life to make it complete. I loved her because she doesn’t take crap from anyone, not Sam, not Garrett and not even her formidably frightening father and still managed to touch something deep inside of my heart with her need to belong, to be loved and cossetted by someone who would love her unconditionally.
  4. The family dynamics in the story. What pulled me in even from the very 1st book in the series is how well the whole Kelly family as well as other side roles within the series have been created, whetting the reader’s appetite for more from them. Apart from the obvious Kelly brothers whose stories every reader of this series must covet, I would love to read Rusty, Sean as well as P.J. and Steele’s story. It is a testament to how well the character development has been handled within the story that I as a reader have this deep, insatiable need to learn more about them, whom we just get to meet in a scene or two in the whole story. Kudos to Ms. Banks for a job well done!
  5. As much as I coveted the emotional, sensual and action-packed moments in the story, I loved the humor-laced parts of the story, though they were few and far in-between. The scene that stands out the most is where Sam has to find underthings for Sophie, and it is to his mom he has to turn to, and the conversation between Garrett, Sam and Donovan just had me laughing out loud – making my husband a firm believer of the fact that I am stark raving mad! ^_^
  6. And before I forget, I very much heart the man-titty cover! Would make a sensational addition to Pamela Clare’s MTM posts don’tcha think? ^_^

My Dislikes: Absolutely none! Just wish there was more of this stuff to read, is all!! ^_^

Favorite Quotes

He stopped, just a foot in front of her, so close that his heat reached out and circled her like the damp towel she wore so close to her breast.
The clothes were in his hand, but he didn’t move to give them to her and she didn’t reach for them.
His gaze was so intense. So penetrating. She felt naked. So itchy, and alive. She swallowed, but nothing she did ridded her of the knot in her throat. It ached like she ached.

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Maya Banks.
  2. Fans of the KGI series.
  3. Fans of romantic suspense that love action packed stories filled with enough emotion and sensuality to knock your breath out! If you love them like I do, this one’s for you!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Moving Target by Rosalie Stanton

Format: E-bookmovingtarget
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novella
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Hero: Nathanial Thornton (Wolf)
Heroine: Anna Winter
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 5, 2010
Started On: December 6, 2010
Finished On: December 6, 2010

So, it always tends to happen with me, if I stumble across a new author who has done a good job in convincing me with what I have read that he or she is worth rummaging through their backlist to find yummy reads, I ALWAYS end up doing just that. Firsts by Rosalie Stanton which I reviewed earlier definitely whetted my appetite for more from Ms. Stanton and I ended up getting myself a copy of Moving Target, a short romantic suspense novel that was published earlier this year.

Moving Target is the story of how Nathanial Thornton or Wolf is hired to kill Anna Winter, a job after two weeks of surveillance of his target Wolf is convinced that Anna is not what she has been made up to be by whoever has ordered the hit. From the first moment that Wolf lays his eyes on the stunningly gorgeous Anna with her pretty green eyes and gentle smile, all Wolf can think about is claiming her as his own, knowing that someone like him who has seen the dark side of life too many times to count is not deserving of someone like Anna who walks on the right side of life.

Anna had been working as secretary to Richard Monroe at the US Secretary of Agriculture in DC when she had heard something she wasn’t supposed to, and her fate had been sealed the moment Richard had discovered the fact and fired her. Coming back home to Springfield Missouri to lick her wounds and look for job, the last thing Anna would have expected is to run into the gorgeous as sin Wolf whose ocean blue eyes promise her things that makes her senses all go on high alert.

Wolf with the darkness that has surrounded his life till now finds the light at the end of the tunnel so to say in the arms of Anna who brings peace to his otherwise tortured soul with her acceptance and love.

I liked:

  1. Mmm.. you guys guessed right! Of course Wolf tops the list of my likes for this short novella. I felt my heart literally go aflutter when Wolf came up beside Anna asking her to dance, while promising with his eyes of things that he wants to do to her that just made my knees go weak. The club scene was definitely something! *wicked grin*
  2. Anna. I liked her because she doesn’t wait around fussing and bemoaning about the fact that an assassin who has been hired to kill her is the one who ultimately rides to her rescue when the shit hits the fan. I loved Anna because in spite of everything she still saw the gentleness that resides in Wolf that yearns to show itself, and because she opened up herself to let Wolf in, giving him a chance to embrace the light to escape all the darkness in his life.
  3. Definitely love the cover on this one too!! ^_^

I did not like: None, though I would love to read a full length contemporary or romantic suspense from Ms. Stanton. ^_^

Recommended for: Those who love short romantic suspense with a good dosage of sensuality in the mix.

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

greatread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Firsts by Rosalie Stanton

Format: E-bookfirsts
Read with: Adobe Reader
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: LooseID
Hero: Wesley Manor (Thorn)
Heroine: Savannah Evans
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 3, 2009
Started On: December 5, 2010
Finished On: December 5, 2010

This has got to be one of the best “friends-to-lovers” themed romances that I have had the fortune of coming across. Anyone who knows me at all would know that I absolutely adore romances of this theme. I wish I had not let this one sit in my to-be-read pile for as long as it did. This is my first Rosalie Stanton and it definitely, absolutely won’t be my last if she pens contemporary romances like this one.

This story kicks off in the midst of the conversation that takes place between Wesley Manor (Thorn) and his best friend Savannah Evans, when she drops the bombshell that she wants to get rid of her virginity and that she wants Thorn to take care of the matter for her. Thorn had fallen head-over-heels in love with Savannah since he had first seen her pretty round face with chocolate ice cream smeared across her mouth when he had first moved to the States with his father. The move to the States which 3 year old Thorn had viewed with nothing but intense dislike had suddenly vanished at the sight of Savannah and the friendship that had developed between them had been as natural as a new born babe takes to breathing.

Thorn works hard at keeping his feelings of the baser nature and his love towards his best friend, the woman who is the other half of his soul from ever finding it out. But the proposal that Savannah drops in his lap shocks the bejesus out of him, and knowing how he is helpless when it comes to denying anything that Savannah wants, Thorn agrees to being the guy who would pop her cherry so to say, all the while knowing that he wouldn’t be able to walk away with even one tiny piece of his heart intact.

With the first sizzling kiss that Thorn places on Savannah, her world as she had known it comes crumbling down at her feet. Something she had thought would be a simple enough matter suddenly seems more complicated than she realized as Savannah comes to accept the truth regarding her feelings for her best friend, the guy who had always stood by her, with her and beside her, no matter what. I just loved Thorn and Savannah to pieces! ^_^

I loved:

  1. Thorn. From his bloody British accent (which I hear every time he says the word “love” or “kitten”) to his sweetness to his take charge attitude in the bedroom which totally made my day, Thorn is one drool and sigh worthy hero definitely worth your time in gold. I would love me a British accented Thorn if one exists in real life! ^_^
  2. Savannah. I loved her right from the very beginning. Her ability to come out and say what she is feeling without being coy about it, the way she owns up to her feelings without beating around the bush, the way she is oh so perfect for Thorn in bed and out of it sealed the deal for me.
  3. The feelings that swept through me as I read this short novella. I found myself laughing out loud at the conversations and witty banter that takes place between Thorn and Savannah and the one conversation that took place between Savannah and her girl best friend Allison. I found myself holding in my breathe as Savannah and Thorn coursed through previously unchartered waters in their relationship, how Thorn takes care of Savannah in all the little ways during their journey of discovery which made me fall for him just that much harder. *Sigh*
  4. The short and sweet epilogue at the end. If Ms. Stanton can fit in a short but meaningful epilogue into a novella, I wonder why Ms. Stuart cannot. Maybe Ms. Stanton can teach a thing or two about writing a beautiful epilogue to Ms. Stuart one of these days? ^_^
  5. Ooh and definitely heart the cover!

I did not like: This novella was absolutely perfect in every way!! Wouldn’t change even one teeny, tiny part of it.

Recommended for: Fans of the contemporary erotic romances that revolve around the theme where friends  turn to lovers. This is one yummy read! ^_^

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | LooseID

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Ritual Sins by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookritualsins
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Onyx
Hero: Luke Bardell
Heroine: Rachel Connery
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 1, 1997
Started On: December 4, 2010
Finished On: December 5, 2010

Ritual Sins was recommended to me on Goodreads by my good friend Ruby. As I read through this one, there is one thing that I can say with absolute certainty; none can blame Ms. Stuart for spinning your usual run-of-the-mill romantic suspense. Ms. Stuart always pushes the boundaries with her stories which either makes you want to hurl the book at the wall or put it at the top of your favorite keeper pile. For me, this book hit somewhere in between, though the story that unfolded pulled me in right from the very beginning.

Ritual Sins begins when 29 year old Rachel Connery decides to visit Santa Dolores, home base of the Foundation of Being in New Mexico, a compound devoted to meditation and enlightenment, combined with a hospice center to care for the dying. Rachel is a tortured heroine if there ever was one. Growing up with a mother who had never really cared about her and flitted from one man to another which had rendered her only child wary of the opposite sex, Stella Connery had cared for no one except her own self. Rachel had suffered sexual molestation at the hands of her third stepfather, the touching which had started when she had been 9 years old which had escalated into rape when she had been 12 had rendered Rachel frigid, unable to touch or be touched by any person, be it in kindness or anything else. Armed with her MBA from Havard, Rachel had worked hard in soul sucking jobs to earn enough money to just one day up and leave to Spain where for a period of 3 months she had found her solace, only to return back to the States to find out that her mother as the trustee to Rachel’s trust fund had drained her of every penny, 12.5 million dollars of which she leaves to Luke Ballard, founder of the Foundation of Being before finally succumbing to death after being diagnosed with breast cancer and leaving nothing behind for her only child but suffering, betrayal, anger and pain. Now the only thing that keeps Rachel going is her quest for revenge, the thirst to bring down Luke and his Foundation crumbling down which grows stronger everyday.

Ex-convict Luke Bardell grew up in a small town where his grandparents had tried to convince his mother to get an abortion, a father who had been an evangelist traveling from one town to the other who had never really wanted a child in the first place and had been killed for his wayward way with womenfolk by a jealous husband which had finally propelled his mother to marry Jackson Bardell, the worst mistake of her life for which she had paid in full by committing suicide when Luke had been around 8 years old, leaving him at the mercy of Jackson’s drunken fists until the day Luke had grown old enough to defend himself. When Luke had killed a man in a barroom brawl, Luke had been found guilty of manslaughter and had done time in jail for 3 years after which he had been released on parole during which time Luke had started the Foundation. With an uncanny charisma and charm, Luke has the ability to use his skills to draw people into his manipulative web of serenity and solace, and when Stella Connery dies at the Foundation, Luke knows deep down in his gut that Stella’s skinny, pale and sour faced daughter would prove to be the downfall of the Foundation, unless Luke can make her pay with the ultimate surrender of her heart, body and soul.

I liked:

  1. The unique story that unfolded as I swept through the pages. As I said at the beginning of my review, none can blame Ms. Stuart for spinning your average romantic suspense. This story is by not any means an easy read. Luke is a manipulator of the highest degree, who doesn’t feel any qualms about using people for his own needs regardless of the consequences. Learning about Luke and Rachel’s disturbing childhoods wasn’t easy, but it makes for a compelling read, one you can’t help but go on reading with a twisted kind of fascination. Even with all his faults, Luke still makes for a hero worthy of a sigh or two, even as he goes out of his way to charm and seduce Rachel to give up her heart, body and soul to him for nothing in return.
  2. Rachel Connery. She is a tortured heroine if there ever was one. She has so much pain, anguish and fear locked up inside of her that she is one simmering ball of misery waiting to explode. Ms. Stuart certainly paints a realistic picture of how someone who has been raped by her own stepfather countless times  can be frozen into state of abject misery throughout the years, not knowing how to reach out to anyone and never letting yourself become vulnerable enough to be hurt like that ever again. It was painful seeing Rachel being “forced” to give in, to embrace her sensual nature and when she did let go, it was a mighty fine feeling that overcame me as I rooted for her freedom from the very shackles of fear that keeps her in a prison of hell till that very moment.
  3. The complex multifaceted characters that liven up this read. There is not one character that I would have wished to do away with in this story. Each one of them lends something essential to the story making it one compelling story to sink into.

I did not like: Umm.. there’s nothing that I can say outright that I disliked in this novel. But Luke’s character was a bit tough to like during the first couple of chapters though the guy oozes charm like nothing else. But in the end, knowing where he came from, learning about the wealth of pain and suffering that had shaped him up made it all worth in the end. I still can’t say that I flat-out loved Luke, but I can definitely say that I wouldn’t shut the door in his face if he were to turn up at my house. *grin*

Favorite Quotes

She just looked at him. She really had extraordinary eyes, he thought, keeping his own face expressionless, slightly bored. It was those eyes of hers that were his downfall. He could resist her anger, he could resist her body and her sarcastic tongue. But those deep brown eyes, so full of pain and fury, need and defiance, did him in.

Recommended for: Fans of Anne Stuart.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

goodread