Category / Contemporary

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookmr.perfect
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Sam Donovan
Heroine: Jaine Bright
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication:  July 25, 2000
Started On: August 15, 2010
Finished On: August 16, 2010

OMG! Sam Donovan has shot up right into the #1 position on my absolute hottie alpha male list. I have no clue as to why I don’t remember this story as being a remarkable one. Maybe it has got something to do with the fact that when I first discovered Linda Howard as an author I just “gobbled” up all the books of hers that I could get my hands on. And boy, am I glad now that I re-read this one!!

Jaine Bright works at a computer related company called Hammerstead Technology. And it was a Friday ritual for Jaine and her three friends Marci Dean, Luna Scissum and T.J Yother to meet up at a local bar and grill called Ernie’s after work for a girls-only unwinding session. Out of the four, Marci was living in with a boyfriend named Brick whom the rest didn’t seem to think much of. Jaine who had been engaged three times and all three times the engagements had gone awry, was wary of men at best and steered clear of them. That is until her drunken looking neighbor who had the gall to suggest she quiet down in the middle of the day so that he can catch up on his beauty sleep whilst he comes home every night at the most odd hours banging and clanging his way through the street, making Jaine regret her decision to buy a house in the nice quaint neighborhood she was living in. And she had just discovered that her neighbor who seemed to vibrate with fury whenever she was around was a cop. Whilst T.J was the only one of them who was married, and that to her high school sweetheart, Luna was in an on an off relationship with a football star, who didn’t seem to have a faithful bone in his body.

So it was no wonder that on that particular Friday, when all four of them were bummed out about the men in their lives, as a joke, the four of them came up with a list of qualities that they require their Mr. Perfect to have. Things like being faithful, nice and dependable makes their way to the top of the list whilst the bottom of the list tended to get a little raunchy. A little harmless fun between friends on a Friday night turns into a nightmare when Marci during a moment of weakness shares the list with the editor of the newsletter of their company bringing all four of them into the limelight.

Meanwhile, at the home front, Jaine’s sister Shelley was pissed off at Jaine because her mom had entrusted the care of Booboo, her parents pet cat to Jaine. And David, Jaine’s brother was pissed off at her because their dad had entrusted the care of his vintage car to Jaine rather than David. And when the list leaks out and becomes a national sensation, Shelley and David seem to be equally pissed off with Jaine. And to top everything off, Jaine sights her “detestable” neighbor Sam naked, and oh boy does she fall hard and fast in lust with every luscious inch on display! And it doesn’t help matters when Sam says stuff like if he starts kissing her, it wouldn’t end up being JUST a kiss, which has Jaine all hot and bothered.

The dialogues between Jaine and Sam cracked me up big time! The conversation they have right after Sam and Jaine kiss for the first time (and boy that was one of the HOTTEST kisses ever!) is one to be savored. Jaine has on her mind to torture the sexy cop who seems to occupy her thoughts throughout the day, but eventually the joke is on her when Jaine is as frustrated as Sam is to hit the sheets. And when they do get round to have wall banging sex for the first time, Sam’s reaction afterwards had me laughing so hard!

Things with the list create enough of a spectacle such that Marci’s boyfriend Brick leaves in a huff and T.J’s husband blames her for ruining his image in front of his work buddies. A rift that had been growing for the past two years suddenly become a gulf big enough that their marriage seems to hit the rocks for the first time with T.J unwilling to apologize for some harmless fun she had with her friends.

But the list brings out the worst of a psychotic killer and suddenly what started out as a bit of fun between friends ceases to be that. When Marci is murdered in her home, bludgeoned to death with a hammer and sexually assaulted, Sam’s protective instincts kick in and thus starts a race against time to find the killer who lurks so close by.

I loved every single minute of reading this book. A quick page-turner with witty banter between all characters, a spunky heroine who grabs life by its “balls” and a sexy hero who makes my toes curl just thinking about him with a villain who just managed to creep me out because I was all alone in my room was enough to make my day! Highly recommended for fans of romantic thrillers. You cannot go wrong with this one!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Double Standards by Judith McNaught

Format: Paperback
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Temptation, #16
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: J. Nicholas Sinclair
Heroine: Lauren Danner
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication:  June 1984
Started On: August 12, 2010
Finished On: August 12, 2010

I think this is the 3rd or 4th time that I have re-read this book and this is one story that doesn’t get old. There is none like Judith McNaught who can create cynical, tortured heroes who fall that much harder for the right woman. And this book is no exception to the rule with the drop dead gorgeous Nick Sinclair, president of Global Industries which owned Sinco, Sinclair Electronic Components in which Lauren worked for.

Lauren who is half Italian and half Irish, who grew up in Fenster, Missouri with her father who was a small town teacher and her stepmother and two step siblings ends up in an interview with Philip Whitworth to secure a job for herself, an interview which her father had arranged. Though Lauren had misgivings about the Whitworth family since her childhood memories of the one visit to the Whitworths didn’t include anything memorably good, Lauren agrees to the interview because she is desperately in need of a job that would help ease the financial burdens on her family.

When Lauren is propositioned by Philip to spy on the Sinclair Industries based on the suspicions that someone was leaking bid figures from the Whitworth company to the Sinclairs, Lauren doesn’t feel so good about saying yes to the deal. But when all she has to do is let Philip know if one of the four names of the executives who are involved in the bid preparation process is ever mentioned at the Sinclairs seems not so bad to someone as desperate as Lauren is for a good job.

However, at the last minute Lauren has her doubts and deliberately fails the interview session she has to undergo to secure the position at Sinco. But however, a chance encounter with Nick who provokes all Lauren’s senses has Lauren wanting to work where she could be close to Nick. Not knowing that Nick is the owner of Sinco and Global Industries, Lauren agrees to go away for a weekend with Nick to the Hamptons, a weekend during which Lauren offers Nick her heart and her body.

However Lauren’s rosy dreams of forever ever after come crashing down in the cold hard reality once the weekend is over and Nick pushes her away. Thinking and believing that Nick wouldn’t dismiss her so easily, Lauren waits around two weeks for the call from Nick that never comes. And it is when she starts her secretarial position at Sinco that she finds out that Nick is not the man she thought him to be.

Feeling betrayed beyond belief, Lauren is a force to be reckoned with when Nick realizes that he still wants Lauren in his bed. The sparks that fly when these two butt their heads is something worth savoring. Lauren gives as good as she gets and the tension that soars between these two makes for a splendid read.

With the secret that Lauren harbors, the fragile trust that Nick places in her comes crashing down once the truth is out, the truth that Lauren had been in cahoots with the Whitworths, a betrayal that sends Nick reeling.

As usual, the one thing that irked me was the fact that Nick humiliated Lauren so much towards the end, but when he comes back looking for her and begging her forgiveness, Nick doesn’t need to do much grovelling, just because he had a bitch of a mother. Although the way Nick suffered when he was young tug at my heartstrings every time, I couldn’t help but yearn for a bit more grovelling on Nick’s side to win back the affection of the woman who would do anything for him.

Great read which I finished in a couple of hours. This is one contemporary by Judith McNaught that I would always highly recommend.

Purchase Links: Amazon

[xrr rating=4/5]

Caliber Seal: GREAT READ!

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Valentino’s Love-Child by Lucy Monroe

Format: E-bookn295360
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Valentino Grisafi
Heroine: Faith Williams
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: May 1, 2009
Started On: August 7, 2010
Finished On: August 8, 2010

Reading up on books of the theme where the hero has been previously married and his wife is dead, and the hero has to marry again whether by circumstance or not, landed me with this book. Although I usually refrain from reading the Harlequin romances that come out these days, I decided to give this title a try because this book seemed to have got raving reviews on Amazon as well.

The book starts when Valentino and Faith have been having a mutually satisfying affair for as long as one year. Valentino refuses to acknowledge the fact that Faith means more to him than any of the other women who have passed through his bed since the death of his young Sicillian wife Maura to whom he had promised upon her sudden death that he would never love another woman again. And things seem to be working out fine, just the way Valentino wants it to, until Faith becomes pregnant with Valentino’s child.

Since Faith had a lot of problems conceiving when she was previously married to her husband Taylish who died along with her unborn son plus with a tubal pregnancy that had gone awry when Faith first got pregnant, Faith never hoped that her dreams of having children of her own and a family of her own would ever realize until she gets unexpectedly pregnant with the child of the man she has fallen in love with. Though Faith knows that Valentino is wary of things changing between them, Faith can’t help but harbor the hope that Valentino does feel something more for her than just a casual lover of his.

Most of the conflict in this novel stems from the fact that Valentino promised his dead wife that he wouldn’t ever fall in love with another woman, nor give any woman the chance to creep into his heart. But as usual the best laid plans have a way of getting screwed up and this is exactly what happens when Valentino starts wanting more of the woman who has enchanted him in and out of bed for the last couple of months. And it certainly does help matters when his family seems to be equally besotted with her and seems to want their union as much as Valentino opposes the union.

For me this was just an okay read.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sex, Straight Up by Kathleen O’Reilly

Format: E-bookssu
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Those Sexy O’Sullivans, Book 2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Daniel O’Sullivan
Heroine: Catherine Montefiore
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 1, 2008
Started On: August 5, 2010
Finished On: August 7, 2010

I read this book upon coming across this title in a discussion forum on Amazon. If I hadn’t come across this title in such a manner, most probably I wouldn’t have given this book a second glance because the cover as well as its synopsis doesn’t do justice to what a great story this book really is. I guess the old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover” holds true for this title. Not that the book doesn’t have enough sensuality and passion to make your toes curl, but the story that unfolds when you start reading is a lot more than just sex and what goes behind closed doors, but rather how someone who has promised himself that he would stay faithful to the memory of his dead wife for seven long years, finds out that love can happen not only once in your life, but twice.

Daniel’s wife Michelle was killed in the September 11 attacks. An auditor/accountant by profession, Daniel likes his life to be ordered and balanced as the spreadsheets that he works with. The ring that he still wears on his left hand is a testament to his need to stay faithful to the memory of the one woman who was definitely made for him. Seven years on, his brothers Gabe and Sean are tired of the fact that Daniel always seems so haunted with an air of desolate sadness that always hangs around him. And so they together with Gabe’s girlfriend Tessa badger Daniel until he agrees to go to the Hamptons during the weekend to a retreat with a bunch of lawyer friends of Sean.

Catherine Montefiore works in the Montefiore auction house for her grandfather. A little on the curvy side with a talent for drawing which she keeps hidden from her mother and those close to her, Catherine comes across a hunk of a man sitting quietly on the beach of her grandfather’s beach house in the Hamptons. From the moment Catherine lays eyes on Daniel, she knows that he is a man who hides behind a wealth of sorrow that seems to linger all around him. And when Daniel strikes up a conversation with Catherine, Daniel is surprised to find how easy it is to be with the quiet and unassuming woman who all of a sudden seems to be calling to his baser nature.

Before the weekend is through, Daniel and Catherine end up having great sex, which they both know have no chance of growing into something further. And when Catherine sees Daniel put back his wedding ring on, she jumps to the worst conclusions and beats herself up about having the most fabulous sex of her life with a married man.

It is when trouble crops up at the Montefiore Auction House over a matter of price fixing with another competitive auctioneer, a crime which seems to be pointing towards Catherine’s beloved grandfather that Daniel’s firm is called in to audit and find out what has been going on. When Daniel and Catherine meet again, Daniel knows that he needs to come clean with Catherine about his dead wife, if for no reason other than the fact that he wants all Catherine has to give, even if he is not ready to let the memory of his dead wife go.

Catherine at first refuses to start an affair in which she knows she would end up getting hurt by falling in love with a man who has nothing left to give, but then again the temptation that Daniel provides is so hard to say no to as well. Once Catherine decides to live a little and go headlong into the affair with eyes wide open, Daniel starts to heal little by little and being happy becomes easier as time passes.

This was a wonderful story, definitely worth your time. Kathleen O’Reilly has done a splendid job with the character development that makes this Blaze an unforgettable one. And oh my! I didn’t know that auditors/accountants could be so HOT!!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Promise of Happiness by Betty Neels

Format: E-bookprom
Read with: Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Jazmin
Hero: Baron Raukema van den Eck
Heroine: Rebecca Saunders
Sensuality: 1
Date of Publication:  December 1979
Started On: August 4, 2010
Finished On: August 4, 2010

Its been ages since I last read a novel by Betty Neels. Known for stories that bring a soothing warmth to the reader, I also read a couple of her books in the late 90’s when I first started my foray into romance reading. The one thing that I always found lacking in her books even then was the fact there is little or no sensuality at all to her books, but rather a descriptive narration of the heroine’s life with the hero coming in now and then and at the very end, the hero professes his love and its a happily ever after for the happy couple.

This story is no different from the above when Rebecca encounters Baron on her journey to escape her stepmother and stepbrother from a life of servitude they had set upon her. Accompanying her are her beloved pets Bertie and Pooch, who look as bedraggled as she is when Baron offers them a lift into town. On the journey towards the hotel Baron was residing at, he learns that Rebecca is actually a trained nurse, though she doesn’t have any references to back her claim. And though Baron is not one to feel for people, he finds himself surprised at the pity that he feels for the mousy looking little thing who has had it so bad till now.

It is by chance that Rebecca encounters the Baroness, who has recently had a knee surgery done in disagreement with her nurse and it is Rebecca who helps her and puts to right what has been causing her pain. Thus Rebecca finds herself offered the job of being the Baroness’s nurse during a trip she is to make to see her sister and then later onto Holland where Baron promises that he would help her find a job and settle her down.

Looking after the needs of the Baroness seems like a lifesaver to someone such as Rebecca who had had life so hard for her after the death of her beloved father. Though Baron at first refuses to see any beauty in the nondescript little woman who takes such good care of his mother so efficiently, little by little he comes to appreciate what Rebecca stands for and who she is.

Meanwhile Rebecca continues to be in agony over the fact that she has fallen head over heels in love with someone who had professed that he was not attracted to thin mice and the fact that the beautiful Nina seemed to occupy much of Baron’s time.

In the end, its all a bit sudden when Baron professes his desire to marry her and give her everything her heart desires. I feel the story would have been better if Rebecca had left as she planned and Baron had had to come after her, just to give him a taste of his arrogance I suppose?

Anyhow it was good reading something that didn’t cause me so many emotional upheavals. So until my next review!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: 3 Brides for 3 Bad Boys by Lucy Monroe

Format: E-book51s0ydqnCrL
Read with: Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Mercenary/Goddard Project, Book 2
Publisher: Brava
Hero: Rand Alexander / Carter Sloane / Colton Denning
Heroine: Phoebe Garrison / Daisy Jackson / Fayre Cranston
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication:  March 1, 2005
Started On: July 29, 2010
Finished On: July 29, 2010

3 Brides for 3 Bad Boys is a collection of 3 short stories featuring Rand, Carter and Colton, all 3 of them sons of Hoyt Salone. Hoyt had married Carter’s mother Cassandra whilst Rand’s mother was already pregnant with him. Cassandra had discovered this fact after she got pregnant with Carter and had cut off marital relations with her husband. Hoyt had resumed his relationship with Rand’s mother, never having really loved either woman enough to leave one for the other. Hoyt had loved the prestigious upper class lifestyle that he could afford being Cassandra’s husband and as her husband he had remained till he died. Although Rand and Carter knew of each others existence (it was hard not to considering they lived in a pretty small town), they both come to know of Colton’s existence only during Rand’s story. I will review the 3 stories separately and give the book a final grade in this review.

A Deal is a Deal

Rand is a man who has closed off his heart upon the death of his wife and son. A man who witnessed what undying love did to his mother, the death of those two whom he held dear to his heart was the final lesson that taught him that love made you vulnerable in ways unimaginable.

Rand befriends Phoebe when Carter ends their engagement and goes off traveling, leaving a heartbroken Phoebe to pick up the pieces of her life. Before long, Phoebe finds herself totally in love with a man who has closed off his heart a long time back, and Phoebe knows that what she felt for Carter was nothing compared to the love that burnt fiercely deep within her heart for Rand.

Phoebe knows that she is not the type of woman who would hold the interest of the tall, sexy and enigmatic Rand. Opportunity comes calling when Rand wants an island bequeathed to her by her uncle, and Rand agrees to give her a week in his bed in return for the island.

Although Rand aches something fierce to take Phoebe in his arms he knows that his world would alter on its axes from that moment onwards. Rand doesn’t think that Phoebe would hold him onto his word and before he knows it he has tasted what Phoebe so beguilingly offers and Rand knows that there would be no turning back.

This story is highly explosive and I loved every passion filled moment of reading Rand’s story.

Carter’s Story

Carter’s story starts off when he proposes marriage to Daisy Jackson and promises to give her half a million dollars in return. Carter’s father had written up an airtight will that stipulated that he marry within five years after the death of his father or Sloane Electronics would go on the auction block and the proceeds would be put in a memorial fund at the hospital in his father’s name. Carter has other plans, such as sharing his wealth equally amongst his siblings and he has no intention of letting his father win just because a stupid will says so.

Daisy and his unwilling attraction towards her 4 years earlier had been one of the reasons that Carter had broken off his engagement with Phoebe thinking that he wasn’t much better off than his father if he couldn’t remain faithful to the woman he planned on getting married to. But 4 years of unfulfilled needs and celibacy has convinced Carter that he is nothing like his father and if he had to get married, it would be to Daisy who rocked his world on numerous levels.

Daisy cannot believe it when the president of the company she works for asks her to marry him. Though she knows that Carter’s proposal is far from the romantic one she had envisioned all her life, Daisy takes the chance to be with the man she loves and take whatever Carter is willing to give.

Carter’s story ends pretty quickly with him falling in love with Daisy soon after they get married. Even then, Ms. Monroe keeps the sizzling tension going which made this short story a memorable read as well.

Colton’s Story

Colton’s story is the third and final story in the anthology and features the all too serious Colton in a situation he never thought he would find himself in. Waking up with a beautiful sensual woman by his side and the father of all hangovers in Vegas, Colton has no recollection of what took place the night before. Not wanting to face the music, he leaves the sleeping woman and sneaks out leaving her a note to explain that he had taken off.

Six weeks later, a woman who looks remarkably like the woman who has been haunting his dreams and every waking thought walks into the Mexican bar and announces that she is looking for her husband, the husband who turns out to be Colton himself.

Fayre can’t believe that she succumbed to the lies that Colton had spouted off so easily the night they met and made her agree to marry him and then taken off after a night of mind blowing sex. Pregnant and pissed off to no end, Fayre comes looking for the no good man she married but finds herself hurting and humiliated when Colton seems to have no recollection whatsoever of the night that changed Fayre’s life so remarkably.

Though Colton has no memory of what happened that night, the fiery woman who stands in front of him so defiantly touches every corner of his heart and once he finds out that she is carrying his child, there is no way Colton would let her go.

If I were to pick a favorite from the 3 stories, I would have to go with Rand’s story because the story appeals to me on many levels. I bet I would have loved the book if the story had been drawn out and made longer.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Real Deal by Lucy Monroe

Format: E-bookrealdeal
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Hero: Simon Brant
Heroine: Amanda
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication:  June 1, 2005
Started On: July 28, 2010
Finished On: July 29, 2010

Amanda is a woman who has been wronged on so many levels by her ex-husband Lance. Lance had taken away her confidence in her abilities as a woman, and that failure alone pained Amanda more than she lets on. With a family who blamed Amanda for the divorce, Jillian her best friend is the only person who has ever loved Amanda without any conditions. Amanda’s only intention now is to move ahead in her company Extant Corporation and her proposal for a friendly merger between her company and family driven Brant Computers, if it were to go through without a hitch would land her one step closer to her dream of acquiring a position on the Executive Management Team at Extant Corporation.

Negotiations with the company president Eric Brant had gone so well that Amanda didn’t think that there would be any further problems in going ahead with the deal. That is until she meets the dark, exotic Simon Brant who sets her heart racing and turns her body to mush, a body Amanda had no inkling knew how to behave in the wanton manner it was exhibiting in Simon’s presence.

Simon vehemently opposes merging Brant Computers with Extant Corporation though there is nothing more Simon would like to do than negotiate a different kind of deal with the woman who was so enthusiastically listing out all the benefits of the merger. Simon, a genius and a recluse doesn’t understand and conform to the usual standards of behavior. A man who spends hours lost in his creations, Simon lives on an island where he wouldn’t have to walk around on eggshells thinking he has offended someone with his behavior. Eccentric and with his crabby housekeeper Jacob as his only companion at the beautiful fortress of a house he has built for himself, Simon knows that he wouldn’t be swayed to saying yes to the deal no matter how much Amanda tempted his senses in all the ways imaginable.

Amanda is shocked when Simon walks out in the middle of her presentation without even looking back. But when Amanda realizes that Simon can’t help being the genius he is and gets invited to Simon’s home to complete the presentation, Amanda is determined that she would sway Simon’s mind one way or the other. But its tough negotiating with someone who continuously loses himself to his work and before long Amanda finds herself residing at Simon’s home for better access to Simon when he does surface from his laboratory.

Amanda doesn’t know what to do with the red hot desire that courses through her veins whenever Simon is around. Her marriage of two years with Lance had never really taught her the worth of her beautiful body and that the effect it has on Simon. Simon is determined not to give Amanda the opportunity to addle his brain with sex, sex he knows is going to be spectacular with the woman who tempts him beyond anything he has ever experienced.

But like an explosion waiting to happen, these two finally give in and Simon teaches Amanda  that her body is one worthy of worshiping and that her ex-husband has been the one who has been blind not to see what a treasure Amanda really is. Amanda’s boss Daniel has other plans in his mind and before long Amanda has to face her ex-husband Lance and find out the nefarious plans they have laid out to merge the two companies regardless of the cost personal or otherwise.

I loved this story from the very beginning. Its always interesting to read about men or women who are gifted geniuses and how they react when faced with the heady sensation of falling in love. Simon is a wonderful lead male character, totally alpha that made my insides melt every time. And Amanda is one of those heroines that you can relate to and root for every step of the way. With interesting side characters, red hot passion and a great storyline, this is a book that is not to be missed. Makes me wonder why I have never tried reading a novel by the author before, a fact which I will try and remedy asap.

Highly recommended!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Indecent Suggestion by Elizabeth Bevarly

Format: E-bookin
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze, #189
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Turner McCloud
Heroine: Becca Mercer
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: July 1, 2005
Started On: July 26, 2010
Finished On: July 27, 2010

Indecent Suggestion is a book that I have been eying ever since I discovered my love for the theme where best of friends turn into lovers. So finally when the e-format was published I managed to get myself a copy and sink into the story that I had been waiting for so long.

Turner and Becca have been friends since childhood and they had managed to stay together and go so far as to work for the same company and work as a team to land advertising projects for their company. One vice of theirs ever since they became teenagers had been their desire for smoking. The opening chapter of the book had me wondering whether the hero and heroine were already going at it even at the start of the book, but I later realized that the chapter was all about their mutual craving for a cigarette.

Thus, it is this mutual craving that they cannot seem to let go of that lands Becca and Turner at a hypnotherapists place upon Turner losing a bet that he could go without lighting a cigarette for 24 hours; a bet Turner loses at the last minute because he doesn’t want to give into the intense craving he has had for his best friend ever since they were teenagers, a fact that he had become adapt at hiding from Becca all too well.

The hypnotherapist, thinking that Becca and Turner are the married couple who have been having problems consummating their marriage puts them under and suggests to them a codeword when heard would drive the couple into a frenzy to have uninhibited sex with one another.

Though Becca and Turner had at moments in time succumbed to light petting sessions back in college and one night after an office Christmas party, Becca had always halted things before they got out of hand, out of the fear that sex would drastically alter their friendship and inevitably destroy what they had between one another.

So it takes Becca completely by surprise when she suddenly starts having cravings to get horizontal with Turner at the oddest moments. Though Turner cannot believe his good fortune when Becca comes onto him at the most inconvenient times imaginable, Turner resists giving into what his body has been clamoring for all his life.

But with like a fire set ablaze, this one burns out of control and its not long before Becca and Turner are having the time of their lives burning up the sheets. And throughout the weeks that follow, Becca comes to realize that it had been foolish of her to have kept Turner at bay for so long and she comes to realize that she might actually be in love with Turner and may have been in love with Turner all this time.

But things turn a bit confusing for Becca and Turner when they realize what the hypnotherapy session has really accomplished and it is up to Becca to convince Turner that what she feels for him is as real as the sun that rises from the East every day and that her love for him would continue to thrive for as long as they live.

I found it tedious at times to read through the numerous detailed sex scenes in the story cos I felt that the character development did not really take place along with the intense love scenes described very well by the author. If the character development had been done a bit more, I would have loved this story and it most probably would have ended up in my re-read pile.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Can’t Get Enough by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-bookcgeno
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze, #221
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jack Brook
Heroine: Claire Marsden
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication:  October 1, 2005
Started On: July 24, 2010
Finished On: July 26, 2010

This book was out of print when I first discovered Sarah Mayberry’s writing style and I guess this was the first book that I had shipped to Male’ because the e-format of the book wasn’t out then and I couldn’t seem to dissuade myself from forgetting about getting my hands on the book. I went as far as even emailing the author in hopes of finding out whether the e-format would be available anytime soon to which she replied that it was up to the publisher to decide when and if they would release the book in e-format.

So when I stumbled upon this book in one of the book shelves at home, I decided to go ahead and re-read this (as if I don’t have plenty of books already on the to-be-read pile) and I have to say I enjoyed the book immensely even the second time round.

Claire Marsden and Jack Brook work for the same company and right from the very first moment that Claire lays eyes on the handsome, charming and devilish Jack, her lips form a perpetual straight line of disapproval. His whole effortless charm and the way the female population tend to swoon around him grates on every nerve that Claire has and it gives her a great jolt of pleasure every time that she gives him the icy cold shoulder wherever and whenever she encounters Jack.

Jack for the world of him couldn’t understand why Claire gave off the dislike vibe so much when around him. Jack sees Claire as someone who is so uptight that he mentally imagines her as someone who would likely iron her underwear. And the tight little frown that she always has whenever their eyes meet makes Jack wonder whether the woman was born with a set of lips. Jack thinks Claire could use with some loosening up and Claire thinks Jack could use with someone bringing him down a peg or two from the high horse he is on.

But things change drastically when these two are stuck in a sweltering elevator for hours. Suddenly Claire notices that Jack is not at all what she imagined him to be and that what her best friend had talked to her hours before about Jack being pretty good in the bedroom department keeps flitting through Claire’s mind. Jack is thrown for a loop when he realizes that Claire is actually HOT and that he is panting like a dog in heat when Claire strips down to her bra and skirt to escape the stifling heat. Before they know it, Claire and Jack have the best sex of their lives and right after gets rescued.

Jack, who is frighteningly commitment phobic knows that Claire is not the sort of woman who would opt for a casual role in the hay but would want more than he is prepared to give. Claire who was brought up by her father, had for all of her life tried to win his attention by trying to be the best in everything as she possibly could. Starved for affection and love, Claire can’t help but want Jack to show her that what she experienced in the elevator with him is not a one time thing but the forever kind of thing.

Jack wants to avoid Claire at all costs but the fact that they are forced to work together on a project does not help matters along. Jack wants nothing more than to strip Claire of her boxy suites and bury himself in her hot little figure and lose himself in the red hot sensations that Claire evokes. Its a battle of the wills with these two right from the start which makes this book one hell of a read.

If you want to read a romance with witty dialogues between the characters with enough sexual tension to blow you away, this is the book for you. Highly recommended for those who love the Harlequin Blaze line.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Kiss and Tell by Cherry Adair

Format: E-bookkiss&tell
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: T-FLAC, Book 2
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Jake Dolan
Heroine: Marnie Wright
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication:  September 2000
Started On: July 21, 2010
Finished On: July 24, 2010

I read this story when I first discovered Cherry Adair’s books and remembered this as one of the good books in the T-FLAC series. The T-FLAC is an anti-terrorist organization that not only works in the US but all around the world, diffusing situations which otherwise could prove to be fatal.

Jake Dolan, a man who grew up with two alcoholic parents who never gave him the time of the day never knew what it was to be like to be loved unconditionally. Jake had grown up and toughened up long before any kid is supposed to, and joined the Navy after running away from home at the age of sixteen. Navy had taught him all he needed to know and shaped him up as the dangerous agent he has become. The T-FLAC had gone one step further and the loss of his three best friends (the four of them had called themselves the Four Musketeers) and the immense betrayal the one woman he had fallen for, the scar that ran along his throat always the reminder makes Jack a man wary of emotional entanglements. A terrorist named “Dancer” is all that Jake is after with a vengeance as he is the man who is responsible for the death of his friends and the woman who perfectly orchestrated the role of a loving girl friend before literally trying to split up his throat.

Jake is residing in his mountain hideaway because he has been forced to take leave from work by a bunch of missions that had gone horribly wrong, no thanks to a mole residing deep within the T-FLAC, a mole that Jack swears he would find and make him or her pay. And along comes Marnie Wright, screwing up with his head and daring him to break down the iron fortress enclosing his heart, a challenge Jake knows before long that he is going to lose.

Marnie had come up into the mountains to stay in her granny’s cabin, to say a final goodbye and grieve for  the woman who had nurtured her and fought the four protective men around her whilst she was growing up so that Marnie’s childhood would have even a semblance of normalcy in it. Marnie with her dog Duchess for company is determined to turn her life around and start standing firm  in her decision to lead her life the way she wants it. And along comes the larger than life Jake Dolan, whose distrustful gaze makes her want to comfort him and show him that not every blond that comes along is going to go for his jugular.

Jake wants Marnie off his mountain and Marnie is adamant on staying when a freak storm destroys her granny’s cabin and nearly takes her along with it. Reluctantly Jake offers her shelter in his cabin until the storm passes along and he can get her safely away from his vicinity. But the best laid plans always have a way of falling apart at its seams and before Jake knows it, a team that acts as T-FLAC agents have him and Marnie running for their lives. Although Jake doesn’t trust the woman beside him one inch, against his better judgment, Jake takes Marnie into his hideaway, hidden deep within the mountains, a place where he toys around and tests high tech gadgets, a hobby which had earned him a fortune and made him into a very wealthy man.

Jake is baffled as to how the men who are hunting him knew in the first place about his hideout as the only ones who knew of its plans were long since dead. And the woman beside him infuriates him and unleashes red hot desire in him like no other, and no matter how much Jake tries to resist Marnie and her unflappable charm, it is  not long before Jake has the most spectacular sex of his life and loses his heart in the process.

This book is as good as a romantic suspense gets. I loved Marnie and her gutsy role as a heroine and of course adored Jake and his bristly ways which made him fall that much harder for Marnie which makes the book a very satisfying read indeed.

I did try reading the other books in the T-FLAC series and for the world of me, I couldn’t find myself that interested enough to keep on reading although reading this book one gets mighty interested in finding out more about the Wright brothers.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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