Category / Endearing Hero

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Reveal Me by Cari Quinn

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Unveiled, Book 1
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Carter Nicholas
Heroine: Alana MacGregor
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: January 19, 2011
Started On: January 21, 2011
Finished On: January 21, 2011

I first discovered Cari Quinn when I read and reviewed her book Personal Research on September last year. With the release of that novel, Cari Quinn certainly made it to my auto-buy list because her books are seriously way over the hot, hot zone packaged with a ton of emotion that I as a romance reader absolutely revel in. This short erotic quickie released from Ellora’s Cave includes everything that makes an erotica worth your time.

Alana MacGregor has a bit of a wild side to her nature which hides the sensitive and vulnerable woman inside of her. Someone who is always a bit restless and has issues with commitment and settling down in one place, its a miracle in itself that Alana has lasted as the photographer for The Edge, Roanoke Virginia’s leading newspaper for 11 months now though Alana knows photographing dildos is not what she should be doing with her obvious talent for photography.

Alana is a regular visitor of Kink-Aly, Maryland’s hottest sex club and it is there she runs smack-dab into the now hunky and gorgeous Carter Nicholas from high school who Alana had used to make her then boyfriend jealous regardless of the fact that Alana was aware that nerdy Carter had feelings for her. Caught at a vulnerable moment Alana does what she always does best – brazenly offer herself up to Carter who manages to rouse in her feelings which Alana has thought impossible till now. Their journey towards happily ever after is a hot and wild one any erotica fan would absolutely love!

I liked:

  1. The cover!! I will buy this one for the cover alone. I can stare at that back for hours to come, imagining running my hands up and down those muscles, kissing those little curves. So before I get carried away once again, definitely heart the cover on this one! ^_^
  2. Carter Nicholas. I have identified with the fact that Cari Quinn writes the sexiest “nerdy” heroes possible and Carter certainly lived up to all my expectations and then some. He is sexy, dynamite in bed and out of it *winks* and the best quality about him is the fact that he sees Alana for who she is, wants her for who she is and obviously cares for her and cherishes her in a major way. Total hottie!
  3. Alana MacGregor. At first I couldn’t help but be a little taken aback by her less-than-kind nature. But as I read along I understood what was driving her to be what she was before and she fully redeemed herself towards the end which makes her strong in my opinion. And she is a definite match for the much laid back Carter. Alana is the right mix to add a little spice and wickedness to Carter’s life.
  4. Definitely made me notice Alana’s best friend Kelly. Provoke Me is the title where Kelly finds her happily ever after and am eagerly awaiting an announcement for its release date. I know I am going to love her story as much as I did Alana and Carter’s.

I disliked: None.

Recommended for:

1- Fans of erotic romances who love their stories hotter than wildfire.
2- Fans of Cari Quinn. You should definitely read this one!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Ellora’s Cave

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: One Reckless Summer by Toni Blake

Format: E-bookonerecklesssummer
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Destiny, Book 1
Publisher: Avon
Hero: Mick Brody
Heroine: Jenny Tolliver
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: June 1, 2009
Started On: January 17, 2011
Finished On: January 20, 2011

I have heard so many great things about the Destiny series by Toni Blake. When the latest book in the series was released this month and I saw the rave reviews the book received, I was determined that I would start on the Destiny series sometime soon and indulge. And indulge is what I did in this sultry and sinful summer romance that Ms. Blake brings to life with her vivid characterization and so very hot and tastefully done love scenes that a girl can’t help but salivate over from the  very beginning. Set in the small town of Destiny, Ohio, One Reckless Summer is a romance that exactly lives up to its title.

31 year old Jenny Tolliver returns back to her hometown after she obtains a divorce from her cheating husband who labels her as a 21st century June Cleaver. Jenny whose father Walter Tolliver is the police chief of Destiny and her mother Judy Tolliver who had been the one person in town everyone could count on in times of crisis who had died from cancer when Jenny had been 13 years old had certainly contributed towards Jenny becoming the good girl she has always been. Never one to break a rule except for the one her father had imposed on her on crossing the Blue Valley Lake alone, Jenny is tired of being labeled as nice and good by all those she knows. When she walks in on Terrence, her husband and the only man she had ever been with making out with her 21 year student teacher, it just breaks something inside of Jenny to know that Terrence finds her lacking and passionless though he had never voiced his discontentment before. Returning to Destiny had been her way of getting things into perspective and her hideaway to lick her wounds in private. What she doesn’t bargain on is running into the big, bad Mick Brody who all the good girls had stayed away from and nevertheless dreamed about and for Mick to rock her world in ways she never even imagined.

34 year old Mick Brody is the younger son of the Brody bunch whom the whole town of Destiny had always labeled as being the bad seeds in their otherwise quaint town. Growing up with two parents who had always been violent and had resented their children Wayne and Mick for their presence, neither Mick nor Wayne had ever known anything gentle or kind in their lives. Naturally Wayne had run in the bad crowds which Mick had taken to as well because he simply worshiped the ground his elder brother walked on. But the final straw had been when Wayne had been sent to prison for armed robbery which had made Mick take stock of his life and make things turn around. Leaving Destiny and starting work as a bricklayer and stonemason in Cincinnati had been Mick’s way of making something out of himself. But Mick quits everything and returns  back to his dreaded home to help his brother die after Wayne breaks out of prison after being diagnosed with a brain tumor with leukemia of the untreatable kind.

It is when Jenny’s restlessness after 2 days of returning home that has her trudging towards the hill on the Brody’s property to look at the stars as Jenny has a love for astronomy that she comes across an all grown up and a much more lethal version of Mick Brody. Having always been aware of Mick even when she had been 16 and Mick 19 years old, Jenny can’t say no to the lethal brand of passion that Mick unleashes in her; the good girl of Destiny. Sweaty and hot sex in the sweltering woods surrounding Mick’s property stuns Jenny so much that she is at a loss as to what to do about it. It certainly doesn’t help her curious nature when Mick refuses to let her on his property guarding  a secret so possessively that all Jenny’s instincts are on red-alert where Mick is concerned. But even that doesn’t stop her from indulging in off-the charts sex of the wall banging variety with Mick who sets all her senses afire. Mick is far from being untouched by at last tasting what has always been forbidden for him. Jenny touches something deep inside of him with her kindness and the raw passion that is unleashed every single time he touches her certainly makes things complicated for a man who doesn’t do long-term. The farthest thing on Jenny’s mind when she begins her one reckless summer affair with Mick is giving her heart, body and soul to a man who is as unlike from her as night and day. But the heart wants what it wants and before long Jenny is at war with herself on whether to give all of herself to Mick, a fight which she loses in such a delicious and heartwarming manner.

I liked:

  1. Mick Brody. Oh my God! The guy just oozes sexuality with his mere presence and heats things up to unbearable levels with Jenny. His character is such an oddly endearing mix; a man who wants to scare Jenny off with his bad and wolfish nature but unbearably drawn towards all the good qualities in Jenny as a moth towards flame. I loved me some Mick and he has a tendency to creep into my thoughts at the oddest moments and incite a shiver of the illicit kind a time or two. The best kind of yummy hero Mick really is! ^_^
  2. Jenny Tolliver. She is such an endearing and a heartwarming heroine. A woman who gave up her dreams to be with the man she got married to, Jenny doesn’t let her heartbreak and betrayal by her ex-husband color her feelings for Mick who is so very different from Terrence. And I just absolutely loved how Jenny found herself in the story, how she slowly changed into a woman who was aware of her lethal brand of charm and just adored how she took care of Mick when he needed it the most. Jenny is the kind of heroine who regardless of all the obstacles that stands in her way of true love nevertheless has the strength and courage to take the leap which makes her one of the most likable heroines.
  3. I loved how the small town life of Destiny didn’t interfere with the fiery passion and heartwarming romance of this novel. Sometimes it happens that when an author starts off a series with small town life involved in it, they tend to spend so much time developing the characters of the town that romance and the connection between the hero and heroine take a backseat till they are done. I loved how from the very beginning Jenny and Mick set the pages afire and continued to do so throughout the book. And Ms. Blake kept up the small town life at just the right level for a romance such as this one!
  4. This story played with all my emotions in such a good way. My heart went thud, thud, thud each and every single time Mick came into the picture. And it just broke my heart to read about Wayne and what Mick and Wayne both go through during the last moments of  Wayne’s life. Though those moments were heartbreaking, the thing that drew me in was the fact that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, joy to be found later and a happily ever after that just left me breathless at the very end.
  5. I just loved the side characters in this story as it unfolded. Sue Ann with her wonderfully quirky nature makes for one of the best characters in this book. I laughed out loud many a time reading the conversations that takes place between Sue Ann and Jenny which brings to mind how much fun I used to have with my best friend before she took off to work in a foreign country. And Jenny’s conversations with Miss Ellie; definitely a highlight of the novel.
  6. And oh good Lord! The love scenes – some of the hottest I have come across in a contemporary romance. And so realistically and vividly done that they tend to creep into my thoughts now and then. Toni Blake surely knows her stuff! ^_^
  7. Toni Blake’s writing style! I just flat-out love it!

Dislikes: Absolutely NONE!

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of sinfully hot and good contemporary romances. You won’t be disappointed to read this one.
  2. Fans of Toni Blake who haven’t read the Destiny series yet. This book promises the start of a very good contemporary romance series which I am 100% convinced wouldn’t steer me wrong.

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

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sing My Name by Ellen O’Connell

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Matthew Slade
Heroine: Sarah Hammond
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 22, 2010
Started On: December 30, 2010
Finished On: January 1, 2011

The fact that I am starting out the year 2011 with the review of a story that played with all my emotions in a good way is a cause for celebration in itself. Ellen O’Connell who published her first romance “Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold” earlier in 2010 shot right into my auto-buy list with the style of her writing and her ability to spin a romance totally different from what you normally read about. In her stories, the tragedies are real and heartbreaking; you don’t just read a narration of a life changing event for the hero/heroine but rather you experience the events right along with them which makes the story seem that much more real and in the end leaves you with its remnants long after you are done. So when I found out that her newest book had been released around 2 months back, I nearly jumped up and down with glee and I didn’t even hesitate to buy myself a copy and lose myself in the story of Matt and Sarah; a story that is so damn quotable that I raged an internal battle to keep the quotes at a minimum.

Matthew Slade or Matt had just been 10 years old when his parents, his four brothers and two sisters had all been killed in an epidemic that had wiped out nearly everyone in the vicinity. Matt himself had been at the throes of death when his neighbor who had lost his whole family had stumbled upon him and nursed him back to health and took him away with him. Matt had then been left with a couple who took in orphans such as himself from whom Matt had escaped from when he was 14 years old because of the brutality of the reverends wife when dealing with the children under her guardianship. Fighting in the civil war for all the wrong reasons thinking them to be the right ones, Matt is a survivor of a war that had claimed many a life, where hunger had been his best friend and bedfellow. Two years after the war, Matt is mistaken for a man who had killed a whole family and taken captive by two men who refuse to believe his proclamation of innocence. It is during the journey when his captors wheedle their way into a cavalry escort travelling along to the same destination that Matt comes across Sarah Hammond irrevocably changing both their lives forever.

Sarah Hammond is the pampered and overprotected daughter of a rich family back in Boston who had been strong abolitionists. With blond hair, deep blue eyes, with a round figure and an inherent sweetness to her, Sarah is being escorted to be with her fiance Carter Macauley who wanted nothing more from Sarah other than what she would bring to their marriage in terms of her impeccable character and grooming.

When Sarah witnesses how badly Matt is treated by his captors, her kindhearted nature demanding that Matt be treated better for the duration of the journey causes many a conflict amongst her chaperons. However all this comes to head when Comanches attack them and it is only Matt and Sarah that barely escape their brutal onslaught.

It is during the journey that Matt and Sarah takes across the unforgiving land amidst constant danger from those trying to hunt them down to finish what they started that a bond unlike anything else is forged between these two unlikely souls. Sarah’s dependence on Matt for survival soon turns into something much more as feelings of a totally different kind enter into the equation which reaches its inevitable conclusion before the journey is through.

Though in Sarah’s dreams she and Matt ends up inevitably together after she regrettably informs Macauley that she cannot marry him as she has fallen in love with Matt, reality is much harsher on these two as Macauley engineers a vicious plan to drive these two apart with his thirst for vengeance and revenge. The story of how at first a rebel and a yankee meet and fall in love and how circumstances force Matt (the convict) and Sarah (the whore) apart until 7 years later these two come to meet again is a story that will stay with the reader for a long, long time after they are done.

I Liked:

1- Sarah Hammond. She is hands down the best thing about this story. She is sweet, gentle, kindhearted with a backbone of steel which Matt eventually shows that she has. She is equal parts stubborn, loyal and loves Matt so much that she is willing to go to any lengths to finally be with the man that completes her. The fact that she doesn’t give up when life throws its harshest challenges at her is what makes her my most favorite heroine of all time. There are so many endearing qualities about her that I don’t know which ones I should start naming first. Though Sarah has had a pampered life which her well off parents had bestowed upon her, when the rough and tough times comes calling, with Matt by her side Sarah faces each and every challenge head on and wins them over. Her docile nature fools a lot of people into thinking that Sarah needs to be cossetted and directed towards the path on which she should walk on. But when it does come to stuff that really matters to her like her daughter Laurie and her beloved Matt she is like the fiercest of warriors protecting what is rightfully hers. Needless to say, she has earned the role of my favorite heroine and I loved her character to bits in this heartwarming romance.

2- Matt Slade. He is handsome, utterly charming at the beginning of the story and later towards the end and has a sense of humor that touches something deep inside of you as you read along. Macauley’s vicious plans nearly ends Matt’s life before putting him in prison for 3 years of hard labor from which a harder and a more vital Matt emerges. Not knowing that Sarah had borne their daughter Laurie, Matt refuses to subject Sarah to his presence even though he knows that there would be no one else for him. Even though that part of his character which believed he is no good for Sarah rankled, I still could not help but fall for him because Matt demands nothing less but just that from the reader.

3- Ellen O’Connell’s evocative characterization and style of writing. Though she has just two romance novels to her name, her writing style just draws you in and keeps you in the throes of the story refusing to let go. I would say that her stories are just pure magic – yes, they are that good. If you don’t believe me, I dare you to pick just one of the two and indulge. ^_^

4- How Sarah tries to seduce Matt at the beginning. With Sarah being a virgin and Matt with practically zero experience, it was heartwarming and quite humorous at the same time to read about how Sarah tries to seduce Matt into giving her something even which she cannot understand what it is that she actually wants. Though not explicit in nature, their journey of sensual discovery was one of the best parts of the story worthy of revisiting from time to time.

5- The unique marriage proposal almost at the end of the story. I have never come across a marriage proposal quoted from passages in the Bible, maybe because I don’t read Christian romances, but the way Matt proposes to Sarah is just perfect for this story.

I Disliked:

1- Even though I loved this story to bits, I didn’t care much for the conflict between two ranching businesses which was the main focus of the latter part of the story. Though it was this conflict that enabled Sarah’s friends to bring these two together in the hopes of getting Sarah over Matt once and for all, I didn’t want anything to take my attention away from the beauty of the love between Sarah and Matt even for a second.

2- This story tends to end a bit abruptly until you read the Author’s note to discover that she has an “Afterword” available for download on her website which is the actual conclusion of this beautiful story. All in all, for me, the story would have been more complete if the afterword had been included in the original story. The afterword is a fitting end to a love that held me captivated right from the very beginning.

Favorite Quotes

Sarah gasped and looked up. She was going to hit him. Except … he was trying without success to keep a straight face.
The afternoon sun slanted across him, and his eyes shone bluer than ever, dancing with suppressed laughter. No other man in the world would react this way to such an unmentionable subject, help her without complaining or blaming, and tease away her embarrassment.
She started laughing with him. Something slipped and slid inside her, and Sarah fell in love with Matt Slade.

She traced the lines of Matt’s face in the air. Then her air-touch moved down his neck, out across his shoulder, in again along his collarbone, down the breastbone, back and forth across each rib. Air touching only made the ache worse. She wanted to feel the smoothness and warmth of his skin, feel the muscle and tendon and bone under his skin. She wanted to spread her hand out flat over his belly, feel the breathing and life of him. She wanted — oh she wanted.

She (Sarah) froze, jerking Laurie to a halt. Hundreds, no thousands of times Sarah had pictured what would happen if they met again. She would run into his arms, which would be open, welcoming. They would come together with a joyous crash, and everything would be as it had been, should be. Now she stood and stared. Unlike in dreams, her emotions and fears and the lie she had lived for so long anchored her in place.
Staring, taking in every detail, she wondered how she knew him so instantly. Could a heart see in its own way what eyes did not? No words in that deep grainy voice helped her. She knew every inch of his body intimately, had traced the contours of each bone and muscle with her fingers and her lips. The changes jarred her, the beloved sameness called to her. The hat brim shaded his face, a face changed terribly whether in profile or full view as he pivoted towards her.

Recommended for:

1- Fans of historical romances.
2- Fans of romance books in general.
3- Fans of Ellen O’Connell.

Note: All the while that I was reading this story, I couldn’t help but think that the song “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars effectively sums up all the feelings that courses through Matt whenever he sees his beautiful Sarah whose mere presence is enough to keep him happy for the rest of his life. So I’ll end my review by including a snippet of the lyrics that just brings a smile to my face, and Sarah and Matt to my mind as I listen to this song each and every single time.

When I see your face
There’s not a thing that I would change
Cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you’re amazing
Just the way you are

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Into the Crossfire by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-bookintothecrossfire
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Protectors, Book 1
Publisher: Avon Red
Hero: Sam Reston
Heroine: Nicole Pearce
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: July 27, 2010
Started On: December 24, 2010
Finished On: December 25, 2010

Lisa Marie Rice’s books are all about larger than life heroes that literally makes the pages come alive with their sheer masculinity and uber-alpha protectiveness. And her heroines are always ultra-feminine with a mighty fierce protective nature of their own that can surprise the reader a time or two. And her books always deliver the most sensually well done love-scenes that you can’t help but want more of where that came from. Into The Crossfire is done in classic Lisa Marie Rice style and the 1st book in The Protectors series was definitely a huge hit with me.

Sam Reston, former SEAL and owner of Reston Security is the type of hero any woman would wish to be by her side. As a baby Sam had been abandoned at a dumpster by his drug addict mother like a piece of trash and she had returned back for him when Sam had been around 8 years old spouting nonsense on being a changed woman ready to take charge of her son’s life. Life had been a nightmare for Sam during the couple of years he had spent with  his mother who had used up all state aide on booze and drugs, with the men who had inhabited her life beating the shit out of Sam whenever they got the chance. That era of his life had ended when a teacher had taken notice of what was happening to Sam for him to be placed in a foster home that had been run by a brutal couple. It is there that Sam had met his blood brothers Harry Bolt and Mike Keillor where 3 of them had had each others backs and looked out for one another till they had gone their separate ways. A blown up eardrum had ended Sam’s career as a SEAL where Uncle Sam had taken what he was by nature, refined it and spent millions of dollars to make him into one fine killing machine. A fierce protector of the weaker sex, Sam and his blood brothers band up to protect abused women and give them a fresh start away from the memories of the abusive lives that they had been subjected to till then. Now his own boss, Sam works hard putting scum of the Earth behind bars, going deep undercover for missions at times.

28 year old Nicole Pearce has led a charmed life till now and had grown up in consulates and embassies all around the world with her father’s career embedded in the diplomatic circles. Her father Nicholas Pearce was the most honorable man she had ever known and her parents had been the perfect example of a loving couple until her mother had been taken away in a brutal accident a few years back. Nicole had been enjoying living the single and carefree life working as a translator at the UN in Geneva until she had received the news of her father’s illness. With multiple brain tumors of the inoperable kind, the only thing Nicole’s father had wanted was to move back home to die in peace, something which Nicole moves heaven and Earth to accomplish for the man who has her undying devotion and love. Her love life had practically ceased to exist with all her energy going into starting up her translating business Wordsmith and being there for her father.

It is during one of those deep undercover missions with Sam looking like the worst scum to walk the planet Earth that he encounters classy and beautiful Nicole who at first calls Sam “Lowlife” in her mind. Not knowing who Sam actually is, Nicole pins the prickling awareness that hits her unawares whenever Sam is around to her distaste in his disreputable looks. Nicole is the type of woman that Sam has always stayed away from till now. From the moment Sam sees Nicole it is as if all other women on planet Earth has ceased to exist for him and Sam takes up on an opportunity to coerce a dinner date out of Nicole to woo her into his arms in true Sam style which totally backfires on Sam in the most delicious ways possible. Nicole is in for the surprise of her life when Sam defies everything she lays down on the table and sweeps her into his arms to give her the  most unforgettable night of her life.

It is quite by chance that Nicole is thrust into danger when she holds within her hands a document that can thwart a terrorist attack to be carried out on American soil by a Muslim mastermind working in the Wallstreet. Crippling the American economy and making Manhattan a radioactive wasteland by July 4th is their aim and nothing would sway them in their path towards the ultimate destruction of America and the West. When a ruthless killer known as Outlaw is dispatched to destroy the information and eliminate Nicole the brutal race against time begins for Nicole and Sam in identifying what it is that had painted a target on Nicole’s head. Filled with villains of the creepy kind, a hero who makes your insides go numb from sensory overload and a heroine who you just can’t help but fall in love with, Into the Crossfire is one of the best romantic suspense novels of 2010 for me.

Likes:

1- Sam Reston. I don’t even know where to start with what he made me feel all throughout the book. Ms. Rice has done a splendid job in creating Sam as a fierce hero who wouldn’t hesitate to die for those whom he loves. His sheer masculinity just leaps at you from the pages making you want to rub your hands all over him.  His utter focus on Nicole and the way she calls to that elusive something deep inside of him and because Sam doesn’t hesitate to claim her as his and treat her right, Sam earns all the love reserved for romance heroes and then some deep within my heart. ^_^

2- I loved the sensations that coursed through me as I read through each and every encounter between Sam and Nicole. I don’t know how Ms. Rice does it but I practically forgot to breathe through Nicole and Sam’s first encounter of the against-the-wall variety as Sam blazed through and Nicole urged him to put to an end the sensory overload that had begun in earnest right from the very beginning of the novel. I think the name Sam has something to do with hot-as-sin against-the-wall-encounters. Brings back good memories of Sam and Jaine going at it in Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard. ^_~

3- Nicole Pearce. She is beautiful, classy and down-to-earth as they come. Her fierce love for her father and her undying loyalty towards him during his last couple of painful days left made her one of the most endearing heroines that I have read about. Totally loved her! And yes, she is perfect for the silent and strong Sam in every way!

4- Tthis story left me begging for Mike and Harry’s story to be told. Harry’s story “Hotter than Wildfire” is to come out next March and I literally am rubbing my hands together in glee at the mere thought of it!!

Dislikes: Sometimes the numerous references to Nicole’s dying father and the circumstances that had forced her to give up her wonderful life and come to her father’s aide gets to be a bit too much. Yes, we all know that Nicole’s father is sick, terminally ill and that she had given up everything to come take care of him. Repetitive explanations of the circumstances gets a tad tiring after a while.

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Lisa Marie Rice.
  2. Fans of contemporary romantic suspense with a high dose of sensuality. I definitely loved this one!

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

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

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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: Wild Thing by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookwildthing
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin American Romance Publisher Series
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: John Bartholomew Hunter
Heroine: Dr. Elizabeth Holden
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 1, 2000
Started On: December 2, 2010
Finished On: December 3, 2010

This read certainly was different from my usual reads. Though this book is from Anne Stuart who is famous for penning the types of heroes that you hate to love but eventually you do anyway, not that this rule applied to me when I gobbled up her Ice series last month, the hero in Wild Thing is not the type to invoke shocked gasps from fainthearted readers. But rather what makes John unique is his history, the way he came to be labeled as the “Wild Thing”.

Dr. Elizabeth Holden (Libby) has a mind that refuses to be appeased from its thirst for knowledge and she holds doctorates in both anthropology and linguistics. Working on her research at the Stanfield University in Chicago, Libby is someone who thrives on order and regulation in her life. Someone who abhors the concept of camping or the outdoors, Libby is most comfortable in her city, surrounded by what is familiar to her. Her one serious relationship with Richard, a fellow colleague had fallen flat on its face when he had been more interested in nailing a graduate student rather than tying up the knot with her, a fact which drives home the fact that Libby is not one who tempts men to claim as their own. As an only child, Libby had been lost when her parents had died when she had been young, a result of which her family had become her education. When Edward J. Hunnicutt, the 7th richest man in the world who has quite an influence at the university requests for her service, Libby finds herself traveling to the other end of the world to a remote island off the coast of Australia to do his bidding.

What Libby encounters upon arrival couldn’t have shocked her more. Hunnicutt is convinced that he had found the missing link in evolution and is excited about the prospect of learning more about the hauntingly beautiful man he has strapped on a gurney with drugs pumping through his veins 24/7. From the moment Libby sees the man who is called a variety of names ranging from Tarzan to the Wild Man, something stirs deep within her and tenderhearted Libby cannot stand by and let people treat a man regardless of how savage he might be as a plaything for a billionaire.

When Libby helps the man she starts calling John escape from the facility, the last thing she had expected was for him to kidnap her and take her along in his trek through the forest that surrounds the fortress that Hunnicutt’s property is. The nervousness that starts growing deep within her at the close proximity to John who sets all her senses aflutter makes Libby open up herself and reveal all her deepest and darkest secrets, even the fact that she is entertaining lustful thoughts about the man himself, confident in the belief that John wouldn’t understand a word of what she is saying.

The last thing that reclusive John Bartholomew Hunter needs is a chatty woman harping on about her life trekking through the woods with him. But John had had no choice but to bring her along knowing that the Hunnicutt’s hired thugs wouldn’t take her role in aiding his escape lightly. What John doesn’t expect is to become enamored with her constant chatter to the point of missing her husky voice droning on in the background when she stops to take a breather. It certainly doesn’t help matters that John feels a deep need to claim her as his, a man who always is in ruthless command of all his emotions.

The constant restlessness that is a part of John ever since he had survived the plane crash that had killed his parents when he had just been 8 years old and John had had to survive on his own for 9 whole years until he had been rescued makes him uncomfortable around people and John had built his home on an island that wouldn’t require contact with the outside world. And even when that fails to curb his restless nature, John goes on his walkabout, trekking through the deep jungles, the only place where he feels at home. Captured by Russians and mistaken for a savage had lost him 3 months of his life at the sadistic hands of Hunnicutt’s hired thugs until rescue had come in the form of petite Libby with her husky voice and a mouth that would invite a saint to sin in the most wicked of ways.

Two lost souls, mismatched as they are find that they are more than a match when it comes to the combustive passion between them. Knowing that there is no future for them together doesn’t stop John from giving Libby the best sex of her life for one unforgettable night before John sends her away back to her city life in Chicago. When danger once again comes calling, it is John who rides to Libby’s rescue which in turn gives them their happily ever after.

I Liked:

  1. The unique storyline in this novel. I have never read a book of the Tarzan-Jane theme and this was a refreshing change from the usual bunch of romances that line my bookshelves.
  2. John. He is one delicious hunk of man flesh which just makes my mouth water. And of course there is a lot to be said for his broody nature, his restless soul that continually seeks something which it cannot find until he holds his Libby in his arms. *sigh*
  3. Libby. Lord, she made laugh a couple of times with her sense of humor and her incessant chatter.  Was she in for a surprise when John utters his first words at her. The humiliation she feels leaves her seething but in the end it is no match for the strong yearning that takes a hold of her emotions when she comes into contact with her wild man. I loved her sunny nature which comes out to play only when John is around which perfectly complements John’s broody and intense nature.
  4. Ah! This story does prove that Anne Stuart can in fact write an ending that would satisfy her legion of readers. I loved how this story ended with an insight into their lives 3 months after they get together when finally John realizes that at last he had found the other half of his soul in Libby after his latest walkabout.

I Disliked: Nothing comes to mind. I loved this story from start to finish!

Favorite Quotes

The pictures had been astonishing enough, but they failed to prepare her for the reality of Ed Hunnicutt’s wild man.
He was beautiful. There was no other word for him. Beneath the tangle of long, dark hair, beneath the deeply tanned skin and rough beard, he was absolutely stunning. She let her eyes run down the entire length of his body, his lean, muscled shoulders and chest, his long legs ending in bare, narrow feet. He was wearing some sort of ragged cutoffs and nothing else, and he looked like the male equivalent of Sleeping Beauty, perfection lost in an endless sleep.

Recommended for:

  1. Those who love Tarzan-Jane themed romances.
  2. Fans of Anne Stuart.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Baby for Emily by Ginna Gray

Format: E-bookababyforemily
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Silhouette Special Edition #1466
Publisher: Silhouette
Hero: Dillon Maguire
Heroine: Emily Collins Maguire
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 1, 2002
Started On: November 26, 2010
Finished On: November 26, 2010

I know not the reason why, but when I woke up this morning all of a sudden I started recalling this story that I had read a couple of years back. All I remembered was the fact that I had loved the hero in the book and that the book had been an emotional wrangler and that the heroine’s name was some Emily. Since I couldn’t recall the title or author properly I spent a couple of minutes searching for the book and thank god for the fact that I keep my e-book collection on my hard disk drive I was armed with this book in a couple of minutes, ready to sink myself into the heady world of romance that Ginna Gray has so beautifully created with this novel.

29 year old Emily Collins Maguire is shocked senseless when just hours after she and her husband Dr. Keith Wesley Maguire had learned that the in vitro treatment had been successful and that finally Emily was pregnant after going through every conceivable test on Earth for the past couple of years of their 7 year marriage to learn that her husband had died of smoke asphyxiation wrapped in the arms of his current mistress at their townhouse. Devastation doesn’t begin to cover it when the destitution with which Keith had left her in becomes clear as Keith’s countless affairs, the depth of his lies and betrayal in every aspect of their marriage comes to light. Pregnant, alone, broke and unemployed, Emily has no choice but to trust Dillon in the salvation that he offers her, not that she would take his pity or charity any day.

Dillon Maguire has loved Emily since that fateful day 7 years back when he had met Emily at the hospital where Keith worked as an oncologist. Emily who had grown up with a mother who had rarely been present with her wanderlust nature had showed up, deathly sick and diagnosed with breast cancer. The 21 year old Emily had taken a shine to Keith once he determinedly started his wooing process and before she knew it Emily had been married to a handsome and suave doctor who it seems wanted nothing more than for her to be his dutiful wife.

Dillon had grown up with a mother who fiercely resented his presence in her life, the truth of which comes to light much later in the novel. Keith had always been her favorite and Dillon had received whatever mothering and tender care from his neighbor and friend Jeremy’s mother Gert Shneider. And when Jeremy had been killed serving in the army when he had been nineteen, all of Gert’s mothering had solely become focused on Dillon. Dillon had always known that Keith viewed everything as a competition when it came to him and that he had been a little too late in masking his interest in Emily when he had first met her. All throughout their marriage Dillon had  tried his best to act cold and aloof towards the woman who undoubtedly had his love, an act which he pulls off too well when Emily at first tries to refuse his much needed help and care during the first couple of days after Keith’s death. But the secret that Dillon hides within himself is the one that could destroy everything he works so hard throughout the story to build between himself and Emily.

Likes:

  1. Dillon Maguire. If there is anyone who has read this story and not fallen for him then obviously there is something wrong with them! Dillon is manhood personified not just because of his intense and broody good looks and his multi-millionaire status or because of his tortured soul, those things do help, but it is because of how well he takes care of Emily regardless of the fact whether his love and feelings are welcomed by her or not that clinches the deal with Dillon. He puts each and every need of Emily above his, and I do not say this lightly and because of that very fact, my heart ached each and every time for the position Keith had put him in, even in death trying to cheat him from getting what he wants more than anything else in life.
  2. I loved the roller coaster of emotions that coursed through me when I lost myself in this story. Love and an overwhelming feeling of protectiveness towards Dillon, the need to slap Dillon’s mother senseless a time or two and then some, dislike towards Dillon’s elder sister Charlotte for her holier-than-thou attitude at times and a deep respect for Gert, the only woman in my opinion who truly deserves Dillon’s love and affection in this novel.
  3. The intense sexual tension in the story. Though this book doesn’t contain much of scenes of the bedroom variety, the slow awakening of senses that take place continuously in Emily was in fact much better than any hard and fast sex session could have been, though that wouldn’t have been unwelcome either! ^_^ But this drawn out tension between Dillon and Emily made me dizzy a couple of times and everything in me clamored for them to find joy in each other soon or I would have been the first to undergo self combustion in the Maldives! ^_~
  4. For some reason or the other, I can’t help but love the cover of this one. Just the scene of love, warmth and affection it represents touches something deep inside of me. ^_^

Dislikes:

  1. I don’t know why, maybe certain feminist readers may disagree with this but I thoroughly disliked Emily because of how she treated Dillon at the very end. I understand that what he did was not of the norm but Emily never even stopped to think for a second that it was Dillon, the Dillon who had been taking care of her, bestowing upon her his love for the past year or so and that she had never ever felt happier in her life and never more cherished than the time she had spent with Dillon, but the minute she learns of the dreaded truth regarding the paternity of her child, she is all fire and intense anger and goes as far to leave Dillon without even giving him the time to explain. My heart literally broke in two for the hurt that Emily puts Dillon through and in the end it is Gert who has to step in and knock some sense into Emily to make her suddenly realize that Dillon is not Keith and that he would never hurt her and that he had ACTUALLY been in love with her for the past 7 years. *rolls eyes in frustration* That’s why for me, Emily doesn’t really deserve Dillon’s love and unwavering loyalty and affection, because for me, a man like Dillon deserves more, much more than someone like Emily who can just walk away leaving a devastated man behind.
  2. I have to agree with the other readers who have taken the time to review this book. The ending was a bit abrupt and sort of leaves the reader hanging. I would have loved to see Emily do a bit of groveling on this one for a change!

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Ginna Gray. Her writing style is addictive. You just want to keep on reading and subject yourself to the emotional intensity packed into this story.
  2. Those who loves their romance to play havoc with their emotions. This one certainly does that – in spades!

Favorite Quotes

Dillon’s gaze zeroed in on the distended mound beneath Emily’s blue maternity top.
His nostrils flared slightly as he drew in a bracing breath. He rubbed his palms on the legs of his jeans, then slowly reached out with his right hand. It hovered, not quite steady, the long callused fingers spread. Then, as gentle as thistledown, his hand settled onto Emily’s tummy.
She caught her breath. Tanned by hours in the sun, his skin was a deep bronze against the powder-blue maternity top and so large it practically covered her abdomen. Dillon’s gaze met hers for a second, but as though unable to resist, he looked back at the mound beneath his hand.
Emily closed her eyes and lay rigid as stone. She could barely breathe. Even though her maternity top the imprint of his hand seared her flesh like a branding iron. She could feel each individual finger, the broad palm, the incredible warmth.

Lazily his gaze trailed down her face. For the space of several heartbeats he stared at her lips, parted in surprise, and slowly, as though weighted with lead, his eyelids began to droop and his head tipped to one side.
Emily felt his breath feather across her face and excitement pounded though her. She could barely draw breath. Unconsciously, the tip of her tongue peeked out and swept over her suddenly dry lips. Through slitted lids fringed with sweeping black lashes, Dillon’s eyes glittered like blue diamonds.
Then he pulled her close, gathered her against his chest with both arms and pressed his lips  to hers.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | AbeBooks

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: In Name Only by Janet Bieber

Format: Paperbackinnameonly
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ivy Books
Hero: Ian Patterson
Heroine: Valeriana Grace MacPherson
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 5, 2000
Started On: November 7, 2010
Finished On: November 8, 2010

This is one of those titles that I just had to end up buying because storylines such as the one this story has promises to deliver a good read. I have never read any previous titles by Janet Bieber and hence this book proved to be a delightful surprise as it delivered a good romance worth sinking your teeth into.

The Hero: Born and raised in Ireland, Ian Patterson spent most of his childhood after 8 years of age with his paternal grandparents who had instilled in him his love for sailing. Knowing that there is nothing left for him in Ireland when his grandparents die within a couple of months of each other, Ian sets sail for America, the land of freedom. A man of ruddy complexion, tall and brawny in frame with rugged features, Ian is a handsome one at that and is the owner of his own shipping company, Patterson Shipping Line. When Reverend John MacPherson arrives in Cleveland with his four daughters in tow and introduces Ian to his second daughter Lileas Chastity MacPherson a woman of immense beauty, Ian is a goner from that very moment. Nine years on, he has four beautiful children whom he would never regret though his marriage has been less than perfect with a wife who was more fickle and selfish than anybody had ever realized.

The Heroine: Valeriana Grace MacPherson, now 28 years old is the eldest and spinsterish daughter of John MacPherson. Plain where her younger sister is a beauty, Valeriana or Ana as everyone calls her is the intelligent one in the family. Growing up with a father who has his own radical views on what is important in life, what is forbidden and allowed, Ana is a woman torn between using her own intelligence to deduce what is right and wrong and obeying her father’s preaching, the father who had taught her everything he knows. Labeled as prudish, prim and prissy by the town folk, Ana has never been courted and is resigned to a fate of spending all her life serving her father’s church by his side.

Storyline: The shocking and sudden death of Lily and her stillborn baby propels Ana to move into Ian’s home to look after her sister’s babies and save them from the “unholy” influence of Ian who has never proclaimed to be anything but human. But Ana was never ever prepared for the kind, generous and loving man that Ian actually is, a man who would protect what is rightfully his at any cost.

The First Encounter: When Reverend John MacPherson arrives in Cleveland, the opportunistic man he is drags the successful young shipper to the inn where his family is residing in, planning on snaring Ian for his beautiful Lily, a plan which goes without a hitch when Ian marries the beautiful Lily in a matter of weeks. But it had been Ana who had first caught Ian’s eyes, with the intelligence that was shining from her eyes before Lily had stood up and stolen his very breath by her beauty.

Time period: This story takes place in Cleveland, Ohio in 1834.

Awareness between the hero and heroine: Ana had always been prickly whenever Ian had been around. With a prejudice that had been taught and hammered into her since childhood, Ana tries to label what she feels for Ian as despise for his behavior, but in reality it is her awareness of Ian as a man that makes her tongue-tied and makes her yearn for things impossible with her ex-brother-in-law. Ian is horrified when the prissy and prim Ana moves into his home to take care of his children but once he sees the magic she so effortlessly weaves on his children with her love and affection, Ian is forced to look deeper into the complex woman that Ana is and find that for the second time round he is hopelessly ensnared with a MacPherson, something he had sworn not to do when Lily had died.

The turning point: Both Ana and Ian are forced to take a deeper look into the other and reevaluate their opinions of one another once Ana moves in to take care of his children. The close proximity of caring for Ian’s children brings forth feelings that neither Ian nor Ana thought possible. And when Reverend MacPherson who goes a little mad in his head when the apple of his eye dies, tries to harm Ana, it is Ian who comes up with the most daring proposal of all – make Ana his wife and claim her as his own.

Ending: Before the story is through, Ana has to come face to face with the real version of her younger sister who had never really abided by the vows that she had promised to uphold when she had become the lawfully wedded wife of Ian and face a man who had gone mad upon the death of his sister, mad enough to harm the very foundation of Ian’s world.

Likes:

  1. Ian Patterson. He just makes my heart go pitter-patter with his patience, deep abiding love for his children and his smoldering sensuality. Perfect hero material. Sigh!!
  2. Ana for being woman enough to take the high road and change into someone worth admiring, letting go of the shackles of prejudice that had been hammered into her from childhood to embrace a man who is so worth everything else she leaves behind.

Dislikes: None.

Recommended for: Fans of historical romances and fans of stories of the theme marriages of convenience.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Abe Books

greatread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Naked Edge by Pamela Clare

Format: E-booknakededge
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: I-Team, Book 4
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Gabriel Rossiter (Gabe)
Heroine: Katherine James (Kat)
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 2, 2010
Started On: October 28, 2010
Finished On: October 30, 2010

The moment that I have been dreading since I started on the explosive I-Team series has arrived. Yes, I have reached the end of the backlist of the series and now have to wait patiently for the release of the next title in the series, Breaking Point which is to be released on July 2011. There are so many good books that are coming out next year that I am looking forward to, but this would top everything else on my must-have list when it comes out. Naked Edge introduces us to the people of Navajo who also call themselves Diné, meaning “the people”, of the Southwestern United States who are the second largest Native American tribe of North America to which our heroine Katherine James belongs to.

The Hero: Gabriel Rossiter or Gabe as he is known as is a man who thrives on adrenaline rush. Well versed in rock climbing, skiing and what not, Gabe has always been a man of the outdoors ever since he can remember. Described as being rugged and tall with thick dark hair and deep blue eyes with a body to die for, toned by the years of extreme rock climbing sessions Gabe forces his body to endure, Gabe is a man who is running away from his past even though he doesn’t want to admit it. Gabe had pursued a degree in Biology thinking that he wanted to become a wildlife vet, but in the end when the time had come for him to choose a career, all Gabe had wanted to do was be outdoors. So Gabe had gone through the police academy and trained as a paramedic before landing his well earned position as one of the best mountain rangers in the area. A man who doesn’t do long-term relationships nor thinks of himself capable of being any woman’s knight in shining armor, Gabe is a man who likes his sex straight up, with no complications and with women who knows the score.

The Heroine: Katherine James (Kat) or Kimimila meaning Butterfly as her Grandpa Red Crow calls her had grown up in a two room hogan with 7 half brothers and 3 half sisters who jokingly called her as half-ajo because Kat had been the result of her mother’s indiscretion with a white man who had left her once he had known that she was pregnant with his child. Kat’s mother had always deeply resented Kat’s presence and had never felt happier unless she wasn’t around. Described as having dark brown hair, hazel green eyes and caramel skin, Kat is a woman who has sworn that she wouldn’t put herself in a position vulnerable enough to end up like her mother. Shying away from promiscuous behavior, Kat is a woman who is saving herself for her other half and believes in the happily ever afters that her friends on the I-Team had found with their respective partners. Armed with her degree in journalism from the University of New Mexico, Kat had returned home to work at the Navajo Times. But as always, her mother had refused to see the good that Kat was doing and finally her mother’s resentment with her siblings’ indifference had led her to take the best and toughest decision of her life 3 years back when she had decided to leave her home and pursue her dreams elsewhere. Now working as the I-Team’s environmental reporter, Kat has grown to love her fellow team members and the life she has made for herself. Though she may live and work in the city, at heart she is a Navajo whose heart and spirit belongs to the land on which she was born and raised.

Storyline: Kat is participating in an inipi, a sacred Indian ceremony that was being held by her Grandpa Red Crow as a healing ritual for one of their sisters who was suffering from cancer when the police come out of nowhere and breaks up the ceremony, brutal and deadly in the force that they use. And when a few days later, Grandpa Red Crow ends up dead, his death looking suspiciously like a homicide, Kat knows deep in her heart that there is much more at stake than just stopping a religious ceremony held by the Navajo when countless other such ceremonies had been held with the knowledge of the Mountain Parks Rangers. As Kat continues to dig deeper amidst threats on her life which escalates as she draws nearer to the truth, Kat finds that at the heart of all the havoc wreaked on her family lies greed which even drives the best of people to acts of mayhem &  murder.

First Encounter: Though Kat believes she has found her place within the I-Team doing work that means something and loving the life that she has made for herself, at times she feels the hectic life of the city closing in on her which drives her to go on hiking sessions to the surrounding mountains. It is when a rock slide hits and Kat falls down breaking a leg in the process that  Gabe comes to her rescue, Gabe who is surprised and a little taken aback by the admiration that courses through him at Kat’s bravery.

Time period: This story has a contemporary setting and takes place in the state of Colorado.

Awareness between the hero and heroine: Kat and Gabe cannot be more different from one another even if they tried. Kat, an innocent in every way that matters who believes in waiting for the right man who would love her forever and who wants a family and babies of her own is the opposite of Gabe who lives in the moment, who likes his sex without any complications with women who know what they are getting into. When Gabe finds himself asking Kat out on their second encounter, no one is more surprised than Gabe himself because he hasn’t felt the inclination to woo a woman in 3 long years ever since his fiance Jill Chandler had died leaving a man broken by betrayal in her wake. Even when Gabe knows in his heart that Kat is not the type of woman he can love and then leave behind, his body has other ideas with its fascination for Kat. With each tentative kiss between them that burns hotter and fiercer, Kat is as much a slave to her body’s needs, a first for her in her 26 years of life.

The turning point: With Gabe being the Ranger on call on the night that the praying ceremony was so brutally brought to a halt by the police, Gabe is also a witness to the extreme and unnecessary force used by the authorities in question. When Gabe’s helpless fascination with Kat makes him a witness to Grandpa Red Crow’s dead body which from the first glance itself Gabe deduces to be a homicide, needless to say Gabe is as much drawn to the web of danger that surrounds Kat in her quest for the truth and justice for her people. And when Gabe takes up the task of being a full time bodyguard for Kat, a task which his body relishes in at the mere thought of being in constant proximity to the lure that Kat’s body is for Gabe proves to be the ultimate turning point in their relationship. With Gabe constantly trying to push Kat away, danger and threats on both their lives which they barely escape from forces both Kat and Gabe to search deeper into their feelings and face the ultimate truth that they are definitely two halves that make a complete one.

Ending: The events that take place prior to the ending is one of the hardest parts to get through in the story – not because it was boring or anything but because of the ultimate sacrifice that Gabe makes to spare the life of the woman he loves proving that he is a knight in shining armor – for the right woman. The villain at the end was a total surprise for me, and yes I love being surprised and going into a little bit of shock when I read a novel of the RS genre. And of course, the epilogue as always left me sighing away into the night, satisfied in the knowledge that Gabe and Kat had truly found their happily every after together.

Likes: There are several points that made this story a winner for me. I liked the fact that I got to learn about a tribe of people that otherwise I would have never even heard of if it weren’t for this wonderful story. I was fascinated with their customs, beliefs and superstitious nature which serves them well in their lives and Ms. Clare’s efforts to balance out Kat’s character was well received on my end. As always I loved reading about the hero’s reluctant fascination when it comes to the heroine, something that Ms. Clare delivers in spades in this story. Gabe who is reluctant to put his heart and emotions on the line once again nevertheless finds himself doing just that when it comes to sweet and beautiful Kat who works her underlying charm like a soothing balm to heal Gabe’s wounded warrior heart. As always beautifully done which made the fact that I wanted to savor this last novel a bit longer fly out the window every time I picked up my Kindle to read. And oh yes, the elevator smexing, definitely one of the highlights! *wink*

Dislikes: None.

Recommended for: Those who love reading romances and novels of the romantic suspense genre. You are definitely in for a treat with the I-Team series, the best Romantic Suspense series that I have had the fortune of reading to date.

So off I go to find a book that can lift my spirits from the slums it has decided to visit after the very much dreaded conclusion of a most wonderful series – for now.

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

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