Category / Endearing Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Break For Me by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookbreakforme
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Secrets & Shadows, 0.6
Publisher: St. Martins
Hero: Dean West
Heroine: Jensen Bell
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: April 22, 2014
Started On: September 9, 2014
Finished On: September 10, 2014

Ladies & gentlemen. The Shiloh Walker that I know and love is back. Back with a bang that completely blew me away. The second novella in the Shadows & Secrets series rocked my world and then some and I was so happy that I literally could’ve stood on the bed and jumped up and down in glee if not for the fact that it was way past midnight and the rest of the world was asleep regardless of the groundbreaking story I had just read.

I requested for this on Netgalley on a whim. It has been quite sometime since a Shiloh Walker novel has worked for me and though I was hesitant to take the chance, the remnants of what I used to love about her books coming across on her novels every now and then made me think what the heck and here I am, way past the review deadline and I could practically kick myself for delaying getting to this one.

The three novellas in the Shadows & Secrets series focuses on three siblings, each having been marked in their own way by the disappearance of their mother years back. I didn’t even know that this series had a continuing storyline when I picked it up and thus I would say that this totally can be read as a standalone. This installment focuses on Jensen Bell, a cop and a woman who wears attitude unlike any other according to the District Attorney Dean West.

The attraction that is between Dean and Jensen is a forcefully banked one by both parties, Jensen because she doesn’t want to make herself vulnerable to anyone and Dean because he is unsure whether his advances in that manner would be welcome. And then on a night that Jensen would like to forget the past, the inevitable happens and Dean finds himself practically eviscerated by the passion that burns between them. *pants a bit upon recalling the scenes*.

I’d say Shiloh Walker has hit jackpot with this series and I don’t say this lightly. There’s a hero that made me want to practically jump his bones every time his name came up in the story and then there’s the lovable heroine that I rooted for, felt for and empathized with in over just 90 plus pages. The mystery aspect was chilling and engrossing at the same time and I couldn’t have asked for more of an explosive culmination to the story in either aspect. And that ladies and gentlemen is why I say the author who won me over with just a single novel i.e. ‘Her Best friend’s Lover’ is back – with a bang.

Definitely recommended!

Final Verdict: Made me buy the rest of the novellas in the series. Yep, that good!

Favorite Quotes

His skin was warm against hers, the light stubble scraping against her palms. Because that light touch wasn’t enough, she kept one palm on his face and then drove the other hand into his hair, tangled it in his dreads. The texture was coarse against her hand and she shuddered at the thought of feeling him, all of him.
“I don’t want it to fade,” she whispered as she rose onto her toes and pressed her mouth to his.

Dean groaned as her tongue danced across his lips and then pushed inside, without even waiting to see how he’d react.
Fuck, there was no question of reaction.
He’d only been waiting half a lifetime, it seemed.
Maybe his entire life.
Sliding one hand down to her hip, he yanked her against him. The feel of her, all slight angles and delicate curves, was every bit as perfect as he’d imagined.

Stop,” he muttered. “I can’t…”
He pressed down with his hips and she shuddered as it ground him against her clit, but worse, his cock jerked again and she broke around him, drawing her legs up to clutch him closer.
She couldn’t stop it. It was like everything inside her had been waiting for just this moment. Just this. Just him.

She had no time to breathe, no time to think before his mouth came down on hers and even as her climax started to ebb, another built as he started to ride her, his movements harsh, hungry, all attempt at control gone.
Her name was a ragged snarl on his lips as he came, but she barely noticed.
She was already falling, for the third time.
And his arms were there, locked around her and he plummeted with her.

“I can’t be around you without getting a fucking erection, Jensen, and it’s only gotten worse since I slept with you.”
His hands cupped her face and she braced herself, her breath catching.
But there was no breath-stealing kiss.
It was gentle, sweet … and her heart ached when he lifted his head.
“You undo me,” he whispered. “You completely undo me.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | ARe | eBookMall

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: The Group Seduction by Wendy S. Marcus

Format: E-bookthegroupseduction
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
Hero: Jack Cristy
Heroine: Annabella Cristy
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 19, 2013
Started On: September 8, 2014
Finished On: September 9, 2014

The Group Seduction by Wendy S. Marcus is a short novel that really hits on the head on an issue that many a married couple, especially with kids face. Wendy explores the rut that many couples fall into, years down their marriage; the sexual desire and physical intimacy that goes wan and then the realization that hits a trifle bit too late for some couples.

Annabella and Jack have been married for 17 years. With three kids, Annabella is hard pressed to find the time to feel sexy let alone get intimate with her husband. But once she realizes the perilous road her marriage has turned, Annabella decides to take matters into her own hands and set out to seduce her husband. To find strength in numbers, Annabella confides in and plans with three of her best friends who are in a similar situation and designs the “group seduction” scheme to finally steer the physical aspect of their relationships in the right direction.

Though the novella is entitled The Group Seduction, there is no orgy no any sort of group sex happening. For me, The Group Seduction embodied 90% of relationships as they proceed through the years. Most become too involved with the daily grind of taking care of the kids, making sure that the household is run smoothly and of course if both partners occupy full time jobs there is that added stress factor on the relationship. While a couple is trying to survive and make their way, they start losing the essential bits and pieces of what made them work in the first place and if a couple doesn’t realize this before its all too late, sometimes, these relationships end up with the partners going their separate ways.

I admired the heck out of Annabella for having the courage to come up with such a bold plan even with all her misgivings. She is not perfect, neither is Jack. Their marriage is fraught with the usual discontentment that couples have with each other and I applaud Wendy for bringing all that forth without glossing it over in the story. The point to be made here is that a marriage or any sort of long term relationship is a lot of hard work and effort put in by both partners. Love is the emotion that makes all of the shortcomings a non-issue, and sex is a pretty important part of any healthy relationship to cement that emotional and physical intimacy. And for Annabella to have planned for this even with all  the worries clouding her mind drives home the point just how much her marriage means to her.

Jack turned out to be a lovable hero too. The fact that he realized what was happening to his marriage and grabbed with both hands the chance to become different and make things right was the reason I fell in love with him. The only regret I had while reading The Group Seduction was the fact that I wanted a longer length novel for this subject matter. Romance authors seldom write on married couples who have hit a rut and want to make changes. I guess couples having problems is not as sexy and romantic as a romance novel ought to be? But I think we all learn a thing or two even through the books that we read for pleasure. And done right, this sort of theme could drive home a lot of important messages as well as deliver a good bout of angst ridden romance for readers.

Recommended for everyone, especially those in long term relationships and marriages. I loved how much The Group Seduction made me think!

Final Verdict: A close to the heart read!

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Too Much by Lea Griffith

Format: E-booktoomuch
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: All or Nothing, #1
Publisher: Loveswept
Hero: Jeremiah Copeland
Heroine: Dalia Grace Edwards
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: June 10, 2014
Started On: July 13, 2014
Finished On: September 7, 2014

Too Much by Lea Griffith is the first book in her All or Nothing Series. The title itself the most apt description of a novel such as this one that literally blew me away every time Jeremiah and Dalia got together. Their connection with each other is so intense that you can’t help but feel incinerated by the heat of their union and of course there is the emotional aspect to their relationship that is as deep and hard hitting.

It has been three long years since Dalia had last been touched by her Master Jeremiah. Three years since she walked away from how Jeremiah had taken her trust and heart and broken them both into pieces. A message for Jeremiah brings Dalia once again to his doorstep, this time to the BDSM club The Underground owned and operated by Jeremiah himself. While Dalia had expected the heat to hit her full force, she doesn’t comprehend just how easily she would turn to putty under Jeremiah’s masterful touch, which is exactly what happens.

While Jeremiah had always believed that he and Dalia would find their way back towards each other, he can’t help but fear that an old enemy of his is out to get him and that too through the woman who commands his heart, body and soul. Jeremiah knows how badly Dalia was hurt the last time when she walked away, but she wasn’t the only one whose soul had shattered to pieces then. And once again, Jeremiah starts cementing their relationship kiss by kiss and touch by touch; there is no submissive for him like Dalia and though he might be the dominant in their relationship, it is in reality Dalia that holds all the power over him.

Too Much is a novel that never lets up on the heat nor the emotional intensity. For readers who complain about “too many sex scenes” in a novel, this definitely won’t be your cup of tea. But for those who like BDSM themed erotic romances where the hero can practically melt you with every command, Jeremiah is definitely your man and Too Much definitely the book you ought to be reading.

Both Jeremiah and Dalia are easy to fall for; both of them having had rough childhoods, each broken in their own way finding that perfect match for each in the other. What I liked most was how the author balanced out the BDSM heavy sex scenes together with the tender “vanilla” variety ones which lent a meaning of its own to Jeremiah and Dalia’s relationship. For me, that shift and balance was what conveyed just how much Dalia meant to Jeremiah and vice versa.

I am very much looking forward to book 2 which is to come out this November; Toby and Ruthie’s story.

Recommended for those who love a whole lot of scorching sex with BDSM elements & emotionally intense stories.

Final Verdict: Jeremiah defines masterful in this scorching debut novel of the All or Nothing series!

Favorite Quotes

“I’m going to fuck you so hard and so long, when this is over you won’t walk right for a week,” he grit out. “Then when you’ve begun to walk like you don’t have my cock permanently embedded in your pussy, I’m going to fuck you again, even harder, even longer. And you’ll scream, Day. You’ll scream so hard you won’t ever forget what trying to dominate me got you.”

“Say it again,” he said, and pulled out of her body.
“Everything,” she said.
He set loose his lust, surging back in deep and hard. Over and over he pounded into her receptive sheath. He held her lower body and she used her legs’ grip on his hips to leverage against him, utilizing everything at her disposal to achieve release. Her mouth opened on a wordless scream and her abdomen rippled.
“Come!” he commanded, and her body convulsed on his.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | eBookMall | iTunes | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Convicted by Dee Tenorio

Format: E-bookconvicted
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled: Ignite
Hero: Cade Evigan
Heroine: Katrina Killian
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 18, 2014
Started On: August 13, 2014
Finished On: August 26, 2014

Convicted was first published as part of the anthology Undercover Lovers back in 2010. Story takes place in Marketta, California where DEA Agent Katrina Killian has been working undercover in the motorcycle club Wheels of Pain when the newbie Sheriff’s Deputy Cade Evigan comes into the picture and stirs things up in more ways than one.

Katrina is determined to get her job done and get it done right, no matter how mouth-wateringly tempting the tall, broody and sinfully good looking Sheriff’s Deputy might be. However, Katrina finds out the hard way that when it comes to Cade, even his don’t-get-close-to-me tough vibe is enough to keep her away, more possibly it acts as the magnet that draws her nearer to him, even if it means earning his well founded wrath when he finds out her true reasons for insinuating herself into his life.

Convicted when it was a short novella was explosive in the way the story unfolded, with the story and the characters practically leaping out of the pages to lay claim on your heart. The lengthier version however is a bit slow on the uptake though Cade and Katrina turned out to be as interesting. Katrina and Cade both slowly grows on you until you can’t help but root for them. The passion between them singes through but sometimes I felt that the lengthier version was a bit hard to follow with events taking place over a span of months.

Convicted is a novel for those who love a sassy heroine because Dee has done a splendid job out of creating Katrina. She has the sort of acerbic humor that I dig and I couldn’t help but love her gutsy self to bits. Cade is a hero who’d make your heart melt, but I felt that the story didn’t focus as much on Cade as it did on Katrina and her life that is embroiled with that of the criminal elements that Katrina’s small town is embroiled in. I’d have loved knowing more of Cade and see him work through his issues as an individual and together with Katrina as they proceeded in their non-relationship relationship.

Even with all the minor issues that I had with the story, Convicted still managed to offer a good read which I enjoyed as it unfolded. Recommended for fans of Dee Tenorio and fans of sassy heroines and broody heroes. The one thing that I’d love to read now would be Rick and Shana’s story. After all they’ve been through, they both definitely deserve a happy ending!

Favorite Quotes

Just when he was about to open his mouth—and say what, exactly?—she faced him with a thoughtful frown. “What do you think of donuts?”
That was when it finally dawned on him.
It didn’t matter what group he put her in or what phenomenally stupid thing he said to her.
He wasn’t getting rid of her.

Not wanting him to get his wits now that she’d firmly discombobulated him, she made the only move she had left. Lifting her face to his, she closed the gap and kissed him.
At first there was nothing. Those firm lips might have been steel against hers. And then she licked him, running her tongue over the seam. Surprise had him parting for her, and she finally tasted the heat of the man himself. She moaned at the flavor, her hunger for him surging in an instant. He must have felt the same because everything changed.

“Just for tonight,” she repeated, rising to press her lips to his jaw, slowly stroking him between their bodies. “Just us. Nothing else.” She kissed the underside of his chin, adding little nips of her teeth along his neck. He growled, a low, sexy sound that made her smile against his skin. “Come on, Cade. Make me respect you in the morning.”
She lay back as he tilted a sideways glance at her, then the most unexpected thing happened. He smiled. The white of his teeth gleamed and dear God, the man had dimples. She shuddered in a breath, losing her rhythm below.

They crashed down over the hood, mouths fused, struggling to get impossibly closer. She shoved at his coat, he yanked her up higher onto the car. When she hissed at the heated metal beneath her, he helped her get the jacket off so he could shove it beneath her.
They clung roughly, pulling at each other, tugging at clothes. Her fingers speared into his hair, demanding even as a feminine growl of pleasure emanated from her throat. Like a purr…

Before she could complain about who was pushing whom, his body pinned her to the car and his hand came around her waist, plucking at the button on her jeans. Her zipper came down with a jerk and then his hand snaked in under her panties to the heart of her.
She almost came right then.

He glided into her tight channel. There was no pain, she was too wet for that. Only fulfillment as her muscles welcomed him and grasped him tight so he’d never leave again.

He crashed into her, giving her no time between one wave of pleasure and the next. The wind on her face disappeared. The sun on her skin, the unforgiving jut of the fender. None of it existed. He powered into her, holding her in place for his possession. All she felt was him. Taking her over.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” She let him go, her hands fumbling between her breasts for half a second before the straining blue material popped open and she peeled it away.
His brain stopped short.
Full, round globes, just the right size for his hands, each one topped by pale pink tips, completely derailed his thought processes.
“Now that we have that settled,” she growled, pulling the fabric closed again and reaching for the shirt he’d dropped in his haste to reach for her. “Gimme the goddamn shirt.”
Damn it, his hands were empty, his fucking sweatpants were strangling him, and those fabulous breasts were covered under the folds of his own shirt. He glared at her. “That was cruel.”
She smirked as she tightened her hold on the crisp cotton. “My tits, my rules.”

His hands held her legs open while his hot tongue lapped at her entrance, working slowly up to her clit. Within seconds he wrapped his lips around it and sucked.
She may have screamed.
He definitely growled.

His urgency didn’t fade, but for an endless moment, he could only stare at her. Passion-stained cheeks, lips still wet from sucking him, her hair falling wildly around her shoulders… She might be battered, but she was the most beautiful thing in the world and for this second, this single breath in time, she was his.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | ARe | eBookMall | iTunes | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Lovers by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanlovers
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Charlie Hudson
Heroine: Sarah Deacon
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 10, 2013
Started On: August 8, 2014
Finished On: August 8, 2014

More than Lovers by Jess Dee is the second book in her delectable erotica short story series More Than. Consisting of three books, it was only when I started on the second one that I realized that these three novellas are loosely connected to each other through one of the protagonists in each story.

More than Lovers follows the neighbors with benefits trope or rather where you have a neighbor hottie that you can’t help but salivate over. Charlie Hudson and Sara Deacon have been involved in an arrangement where they have sex with no strings attached for more than eighteen months. While Sarah is the smart and brainy heroine who has a job to match her education, Charlie leads a seemingly relaxed lifestyle by making a living through surfing and teaching people how to surf.

More than Lovers kicks off when Charlie tries to set up Sarah with three dates which might lead to the kind of relationship that she wants with a man, a long lasting and fulfilling one. But each date just throws the light on just how well suited both Charlie and Sarah are for each other, if only Charlie would be willing to let go of the prejudices holding him back when it comes to contemplating a future between him and Sarah.

More than Lovers turned out to be more well rounded than the first book in the series. And though Sebastian is still my favorite, Charlie does come close with that effortless sex appeal that courses through the story with just his mere presence alone. If these two books are anything to judge this explosive short series by, I would say Jess Dee has definitely struck where she wanted to hit with these delectable stories. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre!

Final Verdict: Smut of the variety you can never get enough of!

Favorite Quotes

“Fuck,” he rasped. “You tie me up in knots.”
Needing to connect with him somehow, to feel him on something more than a physical level, she looked up at his face and faltered at the emotion she saw in his eyes.
He stared down at her with such reverence, such adoration, her heart tripped and then soared.
There. That. It was all she needed. All she wanted. His expression filled the part of her soul that had hollowed in his absence.

And that was the last thing she did to him. The second he was sheathed, Charlie lost it. He had her on her back on the floor in seconds. Her sexy surfer dude paused just long enough to shove her skirt over her hips and bend her knees to her waist, and then he was inside, pounding into her, perspiration dotting his forehead.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Samhain | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Friends by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanfriends.jpeg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Sebastian Blackford
Heroine: Lucy Lawson
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: May 28, 2013
Started On: August 7, 2014
Finished On: August 7, 2014

I am a sucker for a good friends to lovers romance. I am also a sucker for the good bout of eroticism and romance that Jess Dee can deliver in her books. It goes to show just how out of the loop I have been to have missed out on Jess Dee’s More Than series which debuted in 2013 which I found out about only just last month. When I stumbled upon the series, I wasted no time in acquiring all three novellas and curled up in bed to enjoy the wild ride that only few authors such as Jess can only deliver.

Lucy Lawson has landed in the mother lord of all problems. She has fallen in love with her best friend going six years. Sebastian Blackford has no clue as to the mass riot of feelings coursing through Lucy’s heart, body and soul and feels gobsmacked when Lucy just lays it all out on him, the pent up desire and all that love laid bare for him to see.

Though Sebastian tells himself that he wants nothing more than friendship with Lucy, from the moment Lucy’s admission stamps images full of eroticism in his mind, there is no turning back from the desire that courses through him and practically floors him with the force of his want and desire.

More than Friends is a novella that hit all those spots with just 60 plus pages. The only thing more I could have asked for was a full fledged sex scene after all those scenes that served as foreplay and barely satiated my thirst for more of Sebastian. Its hard not to love all the male that Sebastian is. You’d just have to grab yourself a copy and find out for yourself lest I give too much away in my review.

A book that pulls no emotional punches, More than Friends is a testament to how an author who works for you can make even three short pages worth of a story give all that you want. Recommended for those who love quick, short and hot reads!

Final Verdict: Scorching hot. Sebastian will literally blow you away!

Favorite Quotes

Seb couldn’t help himself. He looked at the tub. And just like that, he was hard again. Painfully hard.
As fast as his head filled with images of a naked Lucy, lying in her bath, immersed in water with her hand buried between her legs, so blood filled his cock.
He saw her, her head thrown back, her neck arched, her breasts bobbing, nipples swollen and distended. And he wanted her. Wanted her with an intensity that blew his mind clean away.

Seb had no idea what made him do it, what clicked in his mind and made him act, but impulse took over. One minute Lucy was wrapped in his arms, pressed against his body, the next he’d backed her against the wall and ripped her top in two. Grabbed the neckline with his hands and torn it clean in half, from the top to the bottom, so it hung open, leaving her white lace bra exposed to his hungry—no, his starving—gaze.

“Other one,” she begged. “Kiss the other breast.”
He did. He kissed it, nipped at it, suckled on it and when a soft keening sound filled the air, bit it.
Jesus, what was it with the biting? When the fuck did he ever bite a woman?
Never, that’s when.
But with Loo it was different. With Loo it was essential. He had to bite. Had to taste her, had to…mark her.
Mark her. Fuck yeah. That’s exactly what he had to do.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Samhain | Kobo | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tell No Lies by Tanya Anne Crosby

Format: E-booktellnolies
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Aldridge Sisters, #2
Publisher: Kensington Publishers
Hero: Ian Patterson
Heroine: Augusta Aldridge
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 2014
Started On: July 31, 2014
Finished On: August 1, 2014

What lengths would you be willing to go to get your share of 37 million dollars worth of inheritance money? Well, turns out pretty much about anything. Even if it means spending time with your estranged family, and letting your dead mother control your family’s actions from beyond the grave.

Of the three sisters, 34 year old Augusta Aldridge is the middle child, the one who gets saddled with restoring the family home. Each of the three siblings gets a task to be fulfilled within a year, which had to be done with the three of them living together in the same house for the duration. Though Tell No Lies does read as a standalone, I think I did miss out on vital aspects of the back story by having jumped straight to reading the second book in the Aldridge Sisters series.

Ian Patterson, falsely accused of the series of gruesome murders that had rocked the headlines of this small town had been a priest before, someone who had been genuinely willing to take on his vow of celibacy because that’s what he had thought he had wanted to be. However, all that changes due to events that had propelled him to travel to Secessionville to seek answers for the questions to which the law enforcement are hard pressed to answer. Being falsely accused of committing the murders, Ian is almost at that point of helplessness when Augusta comes to his rescue.

Augusta knows in her heart that Ian couldn’t have murdered those women. But what if she was wrong? The one point that works in Ian’s favor is the fact that when the last murder had been carried out, they’d been together, lost in a swirl of desire that Augusta craves to taste again. But fear of the repercussions her actions might bring to her family prevents her from coming forward while the real killer continues to hold another victim to toy with.

Tanya Anne Crosby is a new to me author. But right from the start, Tanya’s ease with the words drew me in and I was engrossed in this tale of family secrets, murder and a searing attraction that continued to wreak havoc on my emotions. The only regret that I truly had was that I hadn’t read the first book in the series, Speak No Evil. If you are hearing about this book for the first time, I would definitely recommend that you read book 1 for a more wholesome experience.

As I was reading I couldn’t help but wonder why authors have stopped writing romantic suspense the likes of this one. Some of my favorite reads in the genre have been based in the South, the setting itself lending a charm and a sultry edge to the story that one is hard pressed to find these days. I am definitely going to check out more books by Tanya! Recommended for fans of romantic suspense.

Final Verdict: Great combination of fatal southern secrets, murder and romance. Recommended. 

Favorite Quotes

As he stood there watching Shaw disappear behind the security doors, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that every last trace of the man he used to be—the man he was trying to be—was gone.
Who was he now?
Someone he didn’t know.
Someone he didn’t want to know.

Wide-eyed, Augusta stared at him. Naked and unashamed, he rested his hand once again on his erection, stroking it seductively, waiting for her answer. His hair fell back behind his shoulders, and the earring in his ear gleamed wickedly. A day’s worth of golden whiskers glittered on his face. He was easily the most beautiful man she had ever known.
Augusta couldn’t have walked away from this moment if her life had depended upon it.
She was lost—body and soul.

Purchase Links: Amazon | BookDepo | B&N | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Silver Falls by Anne Stuart

Format: E-booksilverfalls
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: MIRA
Hero: Caleb Middleton
Heroine: Rachel Chapman Middleton
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 2009
Started On: July 30, 2014
Finished On: July 31, 2014

Silver Falls by Anne Stuart is one of those novels by her that I have tried to steer clear of because of the bad reviews this one has received. Even fans of Anne Stuart seems to have one reason or the other for giving this a bad rating which made me reluctant to pick this up for a read because I didn’t want to ruin the fascination that I harbor for Anne Stuart as an author. Perhaps I should have trusted a bit more in an author, even whose novels that can be classified as “mediocre” have wooed me more than any other author in the romance genre. From the moment I picked this up to read till I was done and beyond, I couldn’t help but wonder why most readers found this read to be so lackluster.

Based in Silver Falls of Washington where its always gloomy and always rains, Silver Falls tells the story of a creepy serial killer and the heroine Rachel Chapman Middleton and her daughter who gets caught in the web of deceit that the killer weaves so thoroughly. Up till four months prior to the start of the story, Rachel had brought up her daughter Sophie all by herself, having led a nomadic existence, traveling all over the world which had seemed to suite them both. Tragedy sends Rachel into the arms of David Middleton, who materializes at just the right time and woos Rachel into believing that its time that she settle down somewhere in order to give Sophie a more stable home.

When the murder of a young girl sends fear rolling through Silver Falls, along with it comes home the black sheep of the Middleton family; Caleb Middleton. A war correspondent who has traveled extensively around the world, Caleb comes home to put the demons that have haunted him to rest once and for all. The truth that has been staring him in his face for more than half of his life, a truth that he had been unable to get on board with and come to terms with, Caleb realizes that he has already left it to chance for far too long.

The minute Caleb crosses paths with Rachel, his brother’s wife, sparks fly between the two. Rachel doesn’t want to care overly much about how Caleb makes every cell in her come alive with his presence, nor does she want to acknowledge the fiery attraction that simmers and makes her want Caleb and no one but him. Caleb’s intentions aren’t that clear to Rachel who suspects him of being the one behind that vague sense of discomfiture and feeling of being unknowingly hunted that had been the norm ever since Rachel had moved to Silver Falls. And when the inevitable happens, there is no going back for Rachel who would do anything to keep her daughter safe.

Silver Falls is a tad different from most of Anne Stuart’s romantic suspense novels. From the beginning of the story, readers know who the killer is. Didn’t make an iota of a difference where the creepy factor was concerned as Anne Stuart managed to reel the me in with that hypnotic talent of hers that only she is capable of weaving. The town itself and the killer whose seemingly normal facade that fools Rachel into believing otherwise sent chills up and down my spine and I enjoyed the thrill that aspect of the story gave me.

One factor that seems to have not worked for most readers turned out to be Rachel. She was too stubborn and TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) in a lot of readers’ opinions. But I think Rachel fit into the mould of a typical Anne Stuart heroine. They tend to be pretty stubborn, independent and refuse to give into the hero’s demands until there is no fight left in them. And I think Rachel being a wife together with the fact that she thought she was doing what was best for her daughter played a huge role in her reluctance to face the truth which was glaringly obvious to everyone but her.

I loved Sophie. It would be hard for anyone to find fault with someone who is as intelligent, sweet and the perfect daughter for someone like Rachel. Sophie is wise beyond her years; there is a grace and poise to her character that is charming in itself. Caleb of course turned out to be sexy and just the right amount of “bad boy” in my opinion. Caleb might think he is just using Rachel to further his agenda, but as it turns out he is way more smitten and drawn into Rachel than he would like to admit. Caleb is a bit more toned down than the usual variety of Anne Stuart heroes. Nevertheless he appealed to my senses just the same.

Recommended for fans of Anne Stuart.

Final Verdict: Creepily hypnotic! Recommended!

Favorite Quotes

“Kiss me back and I’ll let you go,” he said softly.
“Fuck off.”
He kissed her anyway, and she remained stonily still, as his other hand trailed up her back to the perfect, sensitive spot just beneath her shoulder blades, and she felt her treacherous body soften.
Oh, the hell with it. She kissed him back. She opened her mouth, slid her arms around his waist, pulling him closer still, and kissed him, with all the hunger and need that had been locked in her body for months, years. She kissed him because she couldn’t have him, kissed him because he showed up too late, kissed him until she felt his cock swell against her belly and the fierce need became his own as well.

“I tell you what. You can hate me. You can have me arrested. But you’ll be alive, and that’s all I care about.” And before she realized what he was doing he’d pulled the bedspread away from her, wrapping his body in it as well, and he was kissing his way down her body, his mouth latching on to her breast, sucking it into his mouth so hard she arched up off the bed. The pleasure was so fierce she couldn’t deny it anymore. She wanted, needed more, and when he moved to her other breast she almost came from the power of her response.

They moved without words, hands and mouths and bodies intertwining, stroking. She sank down on her knees in the narrow tub and took him in her mouth and he put his hands in her hair, holding her there for moments that she found unbearably arousing. He stopped her before she finished, pulling her up so that she straddled him, wrapping her legs around his waist, taking him deep inside, and it was slow and sweet and gentle, and when she came she cried.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo | ARe | HQ

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Into the Shadows by Carolyn Crane

Format: E-bookintotheshadows
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: The Associates, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Thorne McKelvey
Heroine: Nadia Volkov
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 16, 2014
Started On: July 14, 2014
Finished On: July 17, 2014

“I’m the loser who will never deserve you, but I’ll always fight for you”

The quote above practically sums up the psychology of the delicious hero in the story. Shoot me for saying this, but the reason I picked up Into the Shadows by Carolyn Crane from Netgalley hinges on the fact that the cover is so bloody hot! And I say that in the best way possible. Having never experienced Carolyn’s writing nor the fact that there are two books prior to this in The Associates series to which this book belongs to didn’t stop me from requesting for it. And though I am always a bit apprehensive about trying out new authors, I think Carolyn seduced me rather beautifully with this novel of hers.

Thorne McKelvey, the hero is deep undercover in one of the most vicious gangs in Tampa, Florida. Thorne has no illusions about who he is. He is a man who is only fit for violence, crime and would never be good enough for anyone, let alone someone like Nadia Volkov with whom Thorne had shared a blissfully happy three months until things had headed south between them. Even then, though Thorne had felt like his insides were being shredded into bits and pieces, the fact that what he has always believed about himself had only been proven by what had gone down only helps cement his belief that he would never be good enough.

Nadia has had a lot on her plate since the death of her father and the discovery that her mother needed rescuing. The knowledge that her father had lied to her all his life had been bad enough but knowing the situation into which her mother had been thrust into makes Nadia wish that her father were alive so that she could throttle him to death herself. Life had changed so much for Nadia the night Thorne had left her, and being responsible for a tiny human being who depends on her for everything makes her vow more fervently than ever that she would find and rescue her mother, whatever it took.

Trouble comes calling when Nadia’s under the cloak missions lands her on the radar of the very gang that Thorne has infiltrated, the leader of which is a man Thorne has been hunting since the night his life had changed so drastically, tied up in a desert surrounded by scorpions. There is a beauty to the savagery that is hinted at in Thorne’s character, the web of temptation that he casts on the reader that much more potent because of the fact. And when once again Thorne and Nadia find their paths inevitably merging, the long held secrets come out together with the desire between them that had not abated but grown stronger during the period of separation.

Into the Shadows is a story that I enjoyed overly much while reading. Though I did feel at times that I had missed out on what makes up the group of people known as “The Associates” on which these stories are based on by having never read the previous two books in the series, it didn’t completely distract me from what this story had to offer. While the present events unfold at a fast pace, the flashbacks into the shared past between Thorne and Nadia continued to provide the required fodder to make an emotional connection with both of them. All that I have left to say is, what the cover depicts? Totally one hundred percent true. You would have to investigate on your own to find out more. Recommended!

Final Verdict: Pulse pounding tension & heat at the turn of each page!

Favorite Quotes

“You don’t want a brute, and I’m going to fuck you anyway,” he whispered.
He defiled her with his hands and the truth as his doomed love for her bloomed dark in his heart.
Something ripped open then, a kind of freedom.
And though he’d never bitten her earlobe before, he was connected to her in a new way now, and he had to bite her like an animal. So he bit her. Hard. She broke apart above his hand, undulations pulsing against the pads of his slowing fingers.

He felt it rip through her before she even made a sound, bright ecstasy convulsing around his fingers, and he kept on. Her coming was the most soft and sweet thing ever.
He wanted her good and soft, because his cock felt like a slab of granite and he wouldn’t be gentle. He hadn’t fucked a woman for two years, not since he was last with her. No woman but Nadia was worth fucking.

“Baby.” He positioned himself at her entrance, and then he entered her, filling her, head a thick swell of iron.
She let out an anguished gasp, feeling as though she’d been waiting forever to feel him inside her again. He sucked in a breath when she made the sound and shoved his cock all the way into her, a fat, thick invasion.
She felt drugged, handled. She was his, now.

And then he cried out. The vibration of his orgasm radiated through him, through them both.
She panted, feeling him, lost in her love for him.
Their lives were all fuck off to each other, their speech was all fuck off to each other, but their bodies had different ideas.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Noble Destiny by Katie MacAlister

Format: E-booknobledestiny
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Noble, #2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Hero: Alasdair Iain McGregor
Heroine: Charlotte Honoria Eveline Benedict
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 3, 2014
Started On: July 8, 2014
Finished On: July 12, 2014

Noble Destiny by Katie MacAlister is the second book in her re-published Noble series. I can see why anyone would want these books re-published. These are absolute gems of reads with so much humor and sexy passion to them that one can’t help but be entertained for their money’s worth and then some.

Both the hero Alasdair Iain McGregor and the heroine Charlotte Honoria Eveline Benedict are characters that were encountered in the first delightful romp of a novel in the series, Noble Intentions. Noble Destiny takes off four years after, when Lady Charlotte returns home to England after the Italian husband with whom she eloped with dies and leaves her a widow. Charlotte returns destitute with nary a penny to her name. Worst of all, the ton proves to be unforgiving where her reputation is concerned. Charlotte, not one to be daunted by the “little” things in life decides that if she is to get back into society’s good graces, she would do well to procure a rich husband the likes of Lord Carlisle.

Alasdair (Lord Carlisle or Dare as he would have people call him) has no time for romance or marriage or anything of the sort. Perhaps four years ago he had harbored in his heart to ask for Charlotte’s hand in marriage, but that notion had died a quick death when he had discovered that Earldom had come at a steep price where he had been concerned. But Charlotte once she puts her mind to something is not one to be deterred and her plan to nail Dare as her husband goes somewhat according to plan when Dare resigns himself to his fate where Charlotte is concerned.

What follows is a hilarious tale that would be hard to pull off for most authors but something Katie does rather fabulously. I found myself literally laughing out loud in many places and snorting through the rest as Charlotte’s character leads the reader and Dare along on a ride that is filled with mirth, havoc and oh such wonderful romance that one can’t help but be enchanted throughout.

At first Charlotte comes off as this vain heroine whose one sole aim is to acquire a husband rich enough to support her and good looking enough to match her in looks and of course who would give her wonderful looking babies. Her penchant for mixing up words leaves people around her perplexed, trying to keep up where the conversations with her takes them and let me tell you that it takes one hell of a writer to pull off that sort of character. I was prepared to dislike Charlotte for her vanity but then I should have trusted the author a bit more to lead me on a journey of discovery where Charlotte was concerned. She had redeemed herself multiple times over by the time the novel had seen to its ultimate conclusions and I don’t think I could have asked for someone more perfect for Dare than Charlotte.

And Dare. Oh my sweet Lord, Dare. The man is sexy personified through and through. Good looking enough to have tons of ladies tumbling after him with a body to match, Dare is not one to give into the frivolous nature of the many that constitute the ton, nor does he have that much of a use for what the ton thinks of him and his reclusive manner when it comes to hanging out with the ‘in’ crowd. Dare spends his days and nights tinkering away in his workshop, making enough money to pull the family name through his only goal in mind. And  then comes Charlotte into his life and the woman moves him to do things that he wouldn’t have thought himself therwise capable of.

One of the most interesting aspects of Charlotte’s character is her innocence coupled with her “knowledge” on matters of the carnal variety. I so loved how Charlotte responds to Dare on a physical and emotional level, the physical ones giving such delightful tension to the story. There were times I had to fan myself by seeing Dare through Charlotte’s eyes, the fantasies that man moves Charlotte to harbor is one that turned out to be such a delightful aspect of the story.

If you are worried about not having read book 1 in the series before this, worry not. This can be read perfectly as a standalone. But Noble Intentions too is a novel worth indulging in but comparing the two, Charlotte’s story wins hands down! With a couple of surprising twists to the story with a delectable cast of secondary characters, Noble Destiny is a novel very well worth your money. Most highly recommended for fans of romances!

Final Verdict: A deliciously sexy & honest to goodness laughter inducing romp!

Favorite Quotes

He was coatless, cravatless, his shirtsleeves rolled up to expose muscled forearms that were as bare as the day he was born. His shirt gaped at his neck clear down to the top of his waistcoat, exposing a tanned column of throat that made Charlotte’s mouth suddenly go dry.

Her breath caught in her throat, her nipples hardened and clamored for Dare’s touch, joining a veritable cacophony of cries for attention from numerous other parts of her body. She wanted his hands on her flesh, touching her, warming her, easing the ache that he started so deep inside her. She wanted it all, and she wanted it right at that moment. She took a step toward him. His eyes glittered darkly as he moved toward her, making a soft noise deep in his chest that answered the look in her eyes.

“Since you have no dowry, and no family to pay for the wedding, you will practice the utmost economy and organize it to my scriptures. Strictures,” he corrected himself. “Good God, your tongue is contagious!”
“There’s nothing wrong with my tongue,” Charlotte snapped, at her limit for being insulted and yelled at. “Which you’d know if you took the time to kiss me. You didn’t even do so when you offered for me, you beastly man, you!”

She didn’t have time to think of just what she’d do to his chest before his mouth took possession of hers.
“Dare! You can’t!”
“My lord!”
“Lady Charlotte, you mustn’t!”
“My lady!”
“Oh, Batsfoam, do something!”
“Short of warming up his lordship’s bed, I am at a
loss as to what you’d have me do, miss.”
“Batsfoam!”

He was everywhere, surrounding her, overwhelming her, one hand pulling her hips close to him, his thighs hard against her legs, her breasts aching and heavy again, pressed tightly against his chest. One hand tangled in her hair, pulling her head back until she was bent over his arm. But it was his mouth that captured and held her attention, his mouth that demanded and gave, coerced and teased until her eyes felt as if they would roll back in her head.

Charlotte was suddenly desperate to touch his flesh. She tugged at the shirt until it pulled free of his trousers, slipping her hands beneath to where his flesh beckoned and called to her.
“So hot,” she breathed, running her fingers over every muscled bulge and valley, tracing the line of his ribs, overwhelmed with the sense and feel and scent of him until she had to lean forward and press her face against his shirt. “You make me feel so hot, husband. You make me feel as if I’m on fire.”

He had thought her the devil incarnate? Dare tore his lips from the soft curve of her throat and watched as she arched her back, her eyes wide with amazement as ecstasy claimed her, her song of rapture filling him, binding him to her until he couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. Her love swept over him in a wave of heat so strong, it burned her name from his tongue as he gave way before it, pouring his life into her.
Soft, meaningless words were pressed into his flesh with gentle kisses and sweet breath. She wasn’t a devil; she was an angel.
And he would never let her go.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo

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