Category / Contemporary

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Deception by Sharon Cullen

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Series: Love on the Edge, Book 1
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Lucas Barone
Heroine: Kate McAuley
Date of Publication: July 22, 2008
Started On: March 3, 2010
Finished On: March 4, 2010

This is the first book in the Love on the Edge series. Got me interested in reading this after reading the second book in the series which I reviewed yesterday. I have got to say that this series is quite good and I will most probably read the third book in the series as well. Though I wish to read Eric (Kate’s brother’s) story, I don’t think that book has yet been published or written even although I hope that it would be sooner rather than later.

So onto the review. Lucas Barone is close friends with John Callahan. They served together in the top secret anti-terrorist organization for the government and it is in this story that the extent to which they were both betrayed comes to light.

Lucas and Kate has a history together before the novel starts. They had been dating and living together for over a year. Kate knows Lucas  to be a forensic accountant, Lucas’s thinking that the lesser Kate knows the better it would be for her. Although Lucas and Kate professed to love each other, Lucas just one day upped and left never leaving a clue as  to where he went off to.

Eighteen months later, Lucas turns up on Kate’s doorstep, injured and nearly at his knees from injuries received during an attempt to murder him at his home. Although Kate is reluctant to let Lucas once again into her life, she cannot turn away from Lucas when he is so vulnerable. So she nurses him throughout the night whilst Lucas promises Kate that no one would ever find out that Lucas was at Kate’s place.

However, the person who is out for Lucas’s head is way smarter and has more resources than Lucas thinks. Suddenly in the middle of the night, Lucas finds himself taking Kate along and running for their lives as someone tries to murder them at Kate’s home. Suddenly Kate is framed for murdering Lucas and everything goes haywire. Lucas takes Kate with him to the one place that no one except John knows about and hides out there with Kate.

Though Kate doesn’t want to be pulled into the life of someone who had deceived her so well in the past, she can’t help but be pulled towards Lucas and the attraction that has always simmered between them. Lucas has his own demons to fight, to forget the torture that he underwent at the hands of the terrorist organization that held him captive for three months in Peru. Kate too has her own secrets, a tragedy that has made her unable to be the person who she was 18 months earlier. Lucas and Kate together find the strength to forgive, heal and in turn give one another a second chance at what they had going between them.

However, when the moment of reckoning with the traitor comes calling, Kate nearly loses her life. In the end, its a sweet ending for these two characters who managed to wiggle their way into my heart. Lovely story.

I highly recommend for those who love romantic thrillers to  give this series a try.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Redemption by Sharon Cullen

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Series: Love on the Edge, Book 2
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: John Callahan
Heroine: Hope Stewart
Date of Publication: October 21, 2008
Started On: March 2, 2010
Finished On: March 3, 2010

I came across a couple of good e-books on Samhain Publishing, and this is one of the new authors that I tried out after my interest was piqued reading the synopsis of the story. Sharon Cullen is definitely an author worth looking out for. This is the second book in a series termed as “Love on the Edge”.

John Callahan is a man who has got nothing to live for. Having worked for a top secret government terrorist organization for his country and being betrayed by fellow countrymen, and having suffered through indescribable torture at the hands of the enemies for a period of 3 months and losing the only woman he ever cared about to the hands of the despicable group of terrorists who had held him hostage, John was ready to give up his life and choose the sweet oblivion of death when Hope comes literally crashing into his life.

Hope wakes up from the car crash to find out she has no memory of who she is or how she got to the remote mountain cabin where John Callahan lives. At first John is suspicious that all Hope is putting up is an act when he hears that the one who betrayed his country and lured him into the trap with the terrorists had broken out of jail. But slowly John comes to realize this is not so as he tries to unravel the mystery behind the 5 months pregnant woman who has literally landed in his lap.

John has a lot of demons to slay before he could even think about caring for another woman. With scars on the outside as well as the inside, John keeps his emotions tightly reined in and a tight fortress around his heart. However, Hope with her vulnerability and her sweet caring attitude manages to crumble this wall bit by bit until John cannot deny himself any longer.

I liked the fact that the author didn’t just make John end up with Hope on the first encounter but rather gave John enough time to get himself acquainted with the feelings that were blossoming inside of him rather than just going straightaway to hot burning desire when he has been so locked up and remote in his emotions for over a long period of time.

Recommended for those who love a good romantic thriller. Though this book is termed to be an erotica, it only falls under contemporary romance with little bit of sensuality thrown into the mix.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookphotoopportunity
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Series: Tanner Siblings, Book 1
Hero: Daniel Tanner
Heroine: Amy Morgan
Date of Publication: May 2, 2008
Started On: February 28, 2010
Finished On: March 1, 2010

I never get tired of reading romances where friends turn into lovers. A romance is that much more delicious when a couple has shared history that goes way back. Anyhow reading this novel opened me up to Jess Dee’s writing style which I have to say is pretty catchy. Most probably Jess Dee would end up on my to-be-read list of authors as this book is pretty good.

Daniel Tanner (Danny) has always loved Amy Morgan (Amy) since their high school days. But Danny has never tried to make a move on Amy and they have both continued to be the best of friends always being there for each other in times of need. However things change when Danny takes on an assignment to do a photo shoot of a  children’s oncology ward at one of Sydney’s hospital. There Danny comes face to face with the reason why he has been commitment phobic for so long and realizes that he loves Amy more than anything to keep wasting time running after other women who meant nothing to him.

Amy has no inkling that her best friend for life has these strong feelings towards her. From a very young age, having witnessed her father cheating on her mother and finally abandoning them and the one single time that Amy did try to have a serious relationship with a guy, the fact that he too cheated on her in the end hasn’t bolstered Amy’s confidence much. Amy distrusts all men in general when it comes to leaving her heart vulnerable to them.

However, she is in for the surprise of her life when Danny puts into motion a plan to seduce her in the most wicked ways and to make her fall as crazily in love with him as he has been in love with her. However Danny’s plans backfire because Amy cannot seem to place the much needed trust in Danny as she should have, which irked me a bit because Danny had never done anything to her to deserve otherwise.

But all in all, a good story. I liked it because it wasn’t all about the touchy feely love scenes in this book, but rather well developed characters which gave the reader a good insight into why and when and how they both fell in love with one another and got the happy ending they deserved in the end.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Coming In Last by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Jamie McAdams
Heroine: Andi Morrow
Date of Publication: July 30, 2006
Started On: February 24, 2010
Finished On: February 25, 2010

Andi grew up in foster homes and other such state child care centers ever since she was abandoned by her parents when she was 5 years old. Growing up, Andi learnt the tough lesson of never relying on anyone but herself to see things through. Now a nurse working at the day care at a private firm, Andi is also an author of romance novels though no one knows about this secret career of hers.

Jamie is a private investigator whose godfather Jeb is one of the president’s of the firm at which Andi works. Jeb hires Jamie and his partner Mick to find out who has been embezzling money from the company. At first with the help of Art Letcher the money guy of the company, all clues point towards Andi been the one who had stolen money. But as Jamie and Mick dig a little further, they realize that Andi is innocent and that the real thief was doing a good job of framing an innocent whilst he/she was going to get away with more money than that had initially been identified as stolen.

Without Andi’s knowledge and Jamie’s heartfelt disapproval, Mick hatches a plan to catch the real thief by using Andi as bait. However, Jamie feels like a heel because he has fallen in love with Andi and he knows that Andi is the woman that he has been waiting for all his life. Andi too feels the intense connection and its not long before these two hits the sheets and burn their way through them with the intense passion and heat these two generate.

But once Andi finds out the extent of Mick’s and Jamie’s plans, Jamie’s worst nightmare comes true when Andi wants nothing to do with him. But in the end, everything works out and the bad guy is caught, and Jamie and Andi gets the happy ending they both deserved.

Not one of Walker’s greatest stories but enjoyed it.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Dr. Linc Blaise
Heroine:  Daisy Flattery
Date of Publication: January 26, 2010
Started On: February 23, 2010
Finished On: February 24, 2010

Jennifer Crusie is an author famous for writing romances with loads of humor put into the mix that you can’t help but laugh aloud or smile throughout the novel. I think this is the 3rd book that I tried from this author and the story was a wonderful mix of humor, married life, passion and the quirks of living in a small town where every single person knows the other.

Daisy and Linc couldn’t be any more different from one another even if they tried. Where Daisy is an artist struggling to make ends meet whilst trying to get her career as an artist on track, Linc is a university professor specialized in historical studies. Though they both live in the same housing complex, Daisy has always considered Linc to be a bit stuffy and of course the time he kicked Liz her cat has totally painted Linc to be the bad guy in Daisy’s eye. Linc considers Daisy to be a bit of a nut case who wears clothes in bright and mismatched colors that hurts one’s eyes to look at her.

Daisy hits a rough patch when her savings all but dry up leaving her destitute. And Linc covets a position in a small town college as a professor so that he can devote more time to write his second book. However, Linc realizes that without a wife on his arm he wouldn’t land this job that he so desires and so strikes up a bargain with the weirdly homely looking Daisy to pose as his fiance for a day so that he could convince the college to offer him the job.

Linc never thought that he would end up utterly fascinated with Daisy’s vibrant and colorful nature. Although Linc and Daisy do go their separate ways once their Cinderella deal is up, Linc is forced to come back and make the offer of marriage to Daisy, though Linc refuses to acknowledge the fact that he yearns for Daisy in a way that he never thought possible.

Daisy tries so hard to mold herself to be the perfect, respectable college professor wife and in turn nearly loses what essentially makes her who she is. Though these two agree to keep their relationship on a platonic level till the 10 month period of their marriage is over, it doesn’t make the heat that flares between the two any easier to ignore.

This story is wonderful in the way Daisy and Linc both grew in their marriage without the physical hocus pocus that clouds everything from the beginning. Linc learns to loosen up, to appreciate Daisy for what and who she is and in turn Daisy learns that she is worthy of being loved and wanted for who she is.

The side characters in the novel and all the antics and hilarity of Daisy being landed with three mothers to look after her gives the  book the edge of humor which makes this book an unforgettable romance. Loved the book from the beginning.

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Kissing Cowboy By J.C. Wilder

Format: E-book
Opens with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Men of S.W.A.T, Book 3
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Jeff “Cowboy” Diver
Heroine:  Payton “Pip” Whittier
Date of Publication: February 9, 2010
Started On: February 20, 2010
Finished On: February 21, 2010

The third book in the Men of S.W.A.T series, this is the first book that I have ever come across of this author and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised considering how hard it is to find good new authors whose books that you can enjoy without giving it any thought.

The author promises this series to be a romance series with humor, suspense and heroes to melt our hearts and I would have to say she has delivered 100% on all counts with this novella. Though my only peeve was that this story wasn’t a novel and a novella, which means issues are resolved quickly, though the author did quite a good job of covering all bases so to speak.

Pip has always been in love with Cowboy ever since she started hanging around with his family. Pip comes from a family of beautiful and artistically made up women, and Pip’s mother’s only disappointment has been the fact that Pip remained her tomboyish self no matter how she tried to tutor and reform Pip otherwise. Pip only felt loved and at home when she was over at the Diver’s place and she and Cowboy had been inseparable as any two beings could be.

But then Pip developed feelings for Cowboy when she was fifteen and he eighteen. Though Cowboy never saw Pip as anything more than a sister, Pip launches a plan to make him want her, and in the end though those few moments spent in his arms has marked Pip for her life, so has the humiliation Cowboy served her right after those heated moments. Getting together with her much beautiful and older sister was the last straw and Pip leaves town and returns 9 years later, wiser and more in control of her emotions, or so she thought.

With a bunch of crazy girlfriends who are there for Pip all throughout, with interesting side characters which I am salivating over to read their stories, this book packs a hard punch with the intense passion between Cowboy and Pip, and of course with moments of absolute hilarity the reader can’t help but laugh aloud at.

Highly recommended for those who love a quick passionate story with two beautiful characters.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Dangerous Passion by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Dangerous Book 3
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher
Hero: Viktor “Drake” Drakovich
Heroine:  Grace Larsen
Date of Publication: July 21, 2009
Started On: February 6, 2009
Finished On: February 13, 2009

It’s been a while since I posted a review here. Mind you, I haven’t given up on reading but every spare minute I have these days, I end up watching The Mentalist which has got me pretty hooked. Anyhow I managed to finish this book after a week of starting it, and I blame it all on Simon Baker for keeping me so engrossed on watching him solve homicides!

So back to the review, like most of Lisa Marie Rice’s books, this book too has an intense alpha hero with a real dangerous edge to him. Growing up in parts of Russia on the streets, Drake is someone who has learnt to kill with his bare hands at a very early age, just to survive and move onto the next day. Now richer than he has ever hoped to be, and more powerful than anyone can imagine, with his fair share of enemies in all the wrong places, Drake is a weapons and arms dealer.

Though Drake has everything and more in his power he feels restless until he sees these beautiful paintings on one of his rides through the city of Manhattan. There in that little gallery, Drake sees Grace and his world is forever changed. Drake knows too well that he cannot impose on any woman the life he has chosen for himself. His enemies if ever were to find a weakness in him, Drake knows they would exploit it till he is on his knees a broken man in every way. But this doesn’t stop him from going to see Grace once a month in her gallery unknown to her.

But things take a drastic turn when his enemies discover his fascination with Grace and tries to kidnap her to use as leverage against Drake. Drake and Grace narrowly escape with their lives though the killer(s) are intent on finishing what they have started.

Drake doesn’t know the name to give the emotions that Grace rouses in him. Drake wrongfully thinks that tumbling into bed and keeping Grace there would definitely cure him of what ails him whenever he is in her vicinity. However as these two are confined to be in the same place for security purposes, the wall of steel around Drake’s heart starts to crumble bit by bit. And finally after a second fatalistic attack these two are forced to run for their lives and completely disappear from the face of the earth as the relentless killer pursues on his mission to eradicate Drake once and for all.

Scorching hot passion with a hero who knows what he is doing makes this book a page scorcher. If men in the real world have even a figment of what heroes in these books have, we women would be a pretty happy bunch over on the side of reality.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Shadow Hawk by Jill Shalvis

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Harlequin Blaze #329
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: JT Hawk
Heroine:  Aby Wells
Date of Publication: June 1, 2007
Started On: February 4, 2010
Finished On: February 5, 2010

This was a  book that I stumbled upon by chance during one of my forays into surfing through FictionDB.com. There is a feature on the website that displays books under “featured author”, and I have come across many a good reads this way. Readers on Amazon too seem to have given this book great reviews. Although I do remember reading books by this author in the past, she has not been one who has made a deep impression on me as a reader. However after reading this book I would have to say that this author has got what it takes to write yummy romances.

Both Hawk and Aby are ATF agents. Hawk has been working on a case of known as Kiddie Bombers. Someone or a group of someones have been teaching young kids to assemble bombs and blow them up as well as making them well versed with different other sorts of weaponry. Hawk has his suspicions that moles in the ATF organization were more than responsible for the difficulty they have been facing in apprehending the culprit. Aby too had been working on the case of the Kiddie Bombers when she had been taken hostage and held captive for two days when one of the head agents of the ATF had come to her rescue with guns blazing. Though she has been working in Hawk’s unit for more than six months after the incident, she refuses to let Hawk realize just how susceptible she is to Hawk’s brand of charm.

Things finally take a turn when Aby and Hawk are handed the same assignment, bust up a gathering of the Kiddie Bombers being held at some remote location. Although Hawk senses “setup” right from the beginning, he and his partner Logan still go through the motions before it all blows up in their faces. Logan gets hospitalized with severe injuries whilst Hawk barely escapes with his life intact. Now that Hawk has come face to face with the top manager of the Kiddie Bomber’s organization, he knows that Aby, himself and Logan are loose ends that wouldn’t survive if Hawk doesn’t take matters into his own hands.

Framed as the head of the Kiddie Bombers organization, Hawk has no choice but to take Aby hostage whilst he tries to find enough evidence to point towards the right man. Aby, a reluctant hostage at best got on my nerves at the beginning with her distrustful attitude. However, she does redeem herself later in the novel which otherwise would have made me extremely disappointed in this book.

More than Aby and Hawk’s story, I found myself fascinated with Logan and Callen, the nurse whom Logan meets when he is airlifted to the hospital to treat his injuries. I found the chemistry between these two characters more intriguing than the lead characters, though they didn’t do a bad job themselves in burning up the pages of the book. I feel this book would have been better suited in the Harlequin Intimate Moments series, cos for me a Blaze book is all about intense chemistry between two characters who just can’t help but fall insanely in love with one another at the end.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Against the Rules by Linda Howard

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Silhouette Intimate Moments #22
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Mira
Hero: Rule Jackson
Heroine:  Cathryn Ashe
Date of Publication: October 1, 1983
Started On: February 2, 2010
Finished On: February 3, 2010

Linda Howard is absolutely one of the best romance writers out there. I stumbled upon her  books quite by chance and nearly devoured up all her work in a short period of time. Maybe this is the reason why that I forgot that I had once read this book, and it was only nearly at the end of the book that I realized that I had actually read this book during my initial Linda Howard crazed phase.

Linda Howard writes romances with strong alpha heroes that never fails to entice us women readers. They are strong, stubborn to a fault and oh yes when they do fall, they fall that much harder which makes us women wring our hands and go into a major sighing session. This book is no exception to this rule and it wouldn’t be a crime to say that Rule Jackson is one delicious hero.

Rule and Cathryn were neighbors when they were growing up. Back then Rule had been a happy boy, although intense in nature. However everything changed when Rule was enlisted to go fight in the Vietnam war. Upon his return, Rule had changed into someone entirely different. Gone was the happy carefree young man, instead a sullen, dangerously silent man remained. Getting into endless trouble over time and going on day long drinking binges finally took its toll and at Rule’s weakest moment, Cathryn’s father Ward took him in and gave him a second chance at living.

Given the vast age difference between Cathryn and Rule, it was to Rule that her father left the management of the ranch upon his sudden death. Cathryn has never felt comfortable at all around Rule and things finally come to their explosive conclusion when Cathryn loses her virginity to Rule in succumbing to the combustive passion they find in each other. Seventeen then, Cathryn scared out of her wits at what she has discovered flees to pursue her higher studies and then marries David.

Now twenty five years of age, Cathryn once again returns home a widow, and Rule stakes his claim on Cathryn from the moment she steps off the plane. Though Cathryn cannot deny her all consuming love for Rule, she cannot be sure whether Rule feels the same way about her. Of course it doesn’t help that Cathryn’s half sister Richy thinks she is in love with Rule as well and tries to poison the fragile bond  between Cathryn and Rule with malicious innuendo at every turn.

A good read, romance as it should be!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Chicago Stars, Book 2
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Avon
Hero: Bobby Tom Denton
Heroine:  Gracie Snow
Date of Publication: January 1, 1995
Started On: February 1, 2010
Finished On: February 1, 2010

Though this book wasn’t as satisfying as the last two of the Chicago Stars series that I read, Bobby Tom and Gracie’s is pretty charming in its own way. Gracie Snow, having grown up and worked with old people all 30 years of her life, has never experienced the deep gut wrenching passion that people always talk about. But things make a drastic turnabout when she is hired by the company that is shooting the first movie that ex-Chicago Star football player Bobby Tom has signed onto star in. A fatalistic knee injury which had cut his fantastic football career short, Bobby Tom is a man at odds who doesn’t know what to do with his life when all he has known is to play football and the live the life that goes along with being a football player.

From the moment Gracie sees Bobby Tom, its lust at first sight. Here was a man who could show her everything that she has been missing all her life, though Bobby Tom doesn’t show the slightest inclination that he found her even the least bit attractive, not surprising when he is always surrounded by beautifully made up blonde women with massive chests of which Gracie is the polar opposite. However, this doesn’t deter her from the job she has been handed, that is to drag Bobby Tom’s ass to the movie site so that they could start with the shoot.

However, things hardly go according to plan when Bobby Tom refuses to budge even an inch and leave with Gracie on the flight as planned. Gracie forces Bobby Tom to take her along on the road trip that Bobby would rather take to his hometown (where the movie is to be shot to revive the local economy), and finally they arrive after many detours 3 days later than her boss expected them to. Fired for incompetence Gracie is rehired upon Bobby’s insistence and an arrangement is struck with the producer so that Gracie wouldn’t ever find out that it is actually Bobby who is paying Gracie’s salary.

Before even half way through the novel, Gracie acknowledges that her feelings towards Bobby Tom has turned into love, which she vows Bobby Tom would receive and Gracie be the first person in his life to actually give something to him without expecting something in return.

However, things hardly go according to plan as matters of the heart have a way of their own and to worm its way into someone who has put up such a strong shield against all those women who seem to throw themselves at him, it proves to be a tough journey towards facing the inevitable truth in their feelings towards one another.

A nice little side story of Bobby’s mother and the town’s bad boy Way makes things a bit more enticing for the reader. All in all a pretty good read, recommended for those who love novels with a quirky sense of humor, passion and love.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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