Category / Endearing Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

Review: 10 Ways To Steal Your Lover by Dee Tenorio

Format: E-book10waystostealyourlover
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Short Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Love By Numbers, Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Kane Wilkensen
Heroine: Delilah Anne McGavin
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: December 14, 2011
Started On: December 16, 2011
Finished On: December 17, 2011

I am a sucker for Dee Tenorio’s books. Her books are filled to the brim with scorching heat, humor and a love that just sears right through you before you are done. So I found myself taking a little detour from my reading schedule as soon as Dee announced the availability of this book up on Amazon. And let me tell you, with that explosive Chapter 1 that just right about fried up half of my grey matter, 10 Ways to Steal Your Lover drew me in and refused to let its hold on me go, even long after I was done.

Kane Wilkensen has been lusting after and been in love with his best friend Craig’s fiance Delilah Anne McGavin for the past 3 years. Though Kane tries to distance himself from the temptation that is Delilah, their upcoming nuptials brings him back to Delilah, and by a twisted turn of events wakes up with Delilah in his arms, with his ring on her finger.

Though neither Delilah nor Kane remembers all the events that led both of them to wake up with Kane buried to the hilt depp inside of Delilah, both of them know that for the first time in their lives they have found the missing piece that just makes everything else around them fade away to insignificance. With more questions than answers and Kane’s undying resolve to show the woman he loves to distraction that he is the right husband for her, Kane and Delilah embark upon a mission to find the missing pieces and in the process finds that for both of them, there would never be any other.

If you are a fan of scorching sensuality and haven’t ever read a book by Dee Tenorio, you are seriously missing out on one of the best the genre has to offer. As I said earlier, from the eye opening and senses awakening first chapter itself, Dee had me glued to the pages to find out how Delilah and Kane would fare towards the end. Kane is such a delicious and devastating hero on the senses. He is the type of hero that I love, a bit broody with a quiet intensity that practically leaves me breathless. And when all that intensity is focused on bringing undying pleasure to the woman he loves – ladies, just be warned that you are going to need a long cold shower afterwards.

Delilah was such a lovely heroine. She grows up never finding where she fits in with a father whose whole life had been focused on serving the military with a rigid discipline to him that makes it hard for Delilah to measure up to his expectations. And with her fiance, Delilah had tried hard to fit into the mould that is expected of her, ignoring the messages that her body sends her whenever Kane is around, tempting her to just let go and embrace the one man who gets her as she is. I loved the way she blossomed under Kane’s love for her, and in the way she makes Kane see that he is wrong in trying to make the most important decision in her life for her, just because he loves her that much.

One of the most colorful characters in the novel turned out to be Delilah’s grandmother Rainbow, a character as colorful as her name, who kept reminding me of Mulan’s grandmother in the Disney cartoon. Now I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next set of books in the series, Craig’s book which is to come out in 2012.

For fans of contemporary romances with heat levels that is guaranteed to spike up your internal thermometer, Dee Tenorio’s 10 Ways To Steal Your Lover would be a treat for the senses. With a beautiful epilogue tucked in at the end, I loved everything about this novel and cannot recommend this highly enough!

Favorite Quotes

Delilah cried out, lifting her head. The only truth that mattered right now was how much she needed him. Powerful thighs flexed against her own as he began to move. He reached for her, pulling her up, against his chest, his hands clasping her breasts, mouth open on the back of her neck. He drew hard, pumping up into her relentlessly, meeting her rocking motion back to him. Her head fell back on his shoulder, her own hands latching over his. Their fingers wove together, their bodies moving as if they’d been lovers for years.
As if they’d been made for each other.

Usually, when he came in these dreams he woke up still thrusting into ruined sheets, his face pressed into a pillow.
This time, he was most assuredly still balls deep inside Delilah McGavin, his face pressed into the mass of silken black hair now that they’d fallen to their sides on a bed far too nice to be his. Like him, she was gasping, trying to catch her breath. She was also bonelessly limp, her sweat slick body slathered over his, their legs tangled, their sexes still throbbing against each other, fitted together like a lock and a key.
He finally moved, walking those few feet between them. Without hesitation, his hands slid around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her hand slid up his arm all by itself, grasping the hard muscles there. The warmth that seemed a natural part of him spread into her. Smoothly, his mouth found hers, gently grazing her lips before settling more firmly. She moaned as he tasted her, coaxing her to open for him. When she did, her eyelids fluttered shut and the whole world utterly disappeared.

He finally pulled away, not letting her get further than a few inches, their hips still pressed tight, her gaze held willing captive by his. “It’s me,” he murmured. “And I’m telling you right now, Delilah Anne McGavin, if I have my way, it’s going to stay me for the rest of our lives. You’re mine now and I’m going to do everything in my power to prove it to you.”

“I’ve known since the first moment I saw you and every day after has only made me surer. I see who you are, right down to your soul. I know you’re the kind of woman who gives of herself, completely. I know the promises you make mean more to you than the cost. I know that family is the most important thing to you in the entire world. But most of all, I know that you feel exactly the same thing I do—we belong together, Del. You’re the piece of me that’s been missing all my life and I can tell just looking that I’m the same for you.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Fall of Maggie Brown by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookthefallofmaggiebrown
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Short Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Intrigue
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Ben Frazer
Heroine: Blanche Magnolia Brown
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 2000
Started On: December 11, 2011
Finished On: December 11, 2011

I mourn the fact that there are no authors like Anne Stuart out there with a vengeance. I sometimes get restless after reading romances featuring overly sweet heroes, not that they aren’t enticing in their own way. Maybe I am sadistic, but I love a bit of ruthlessness in my heroes and I won’t mind if someone presents me with a mountain of books featuring the said variety of heroes. So my restlessness had me doing a Google search to seek out those authors that have a similar writing style. But I should have known better since from the very start I have identified the fact that Anne Stuart simply put, is one of a kind. So there I was searching through her back list to find a book that would catch my fancy and I ended up reading not one, but two Anne Stuart books in one day!

28 year old Maggie Brown has always been the sensible and responsible older twin whilst her younger twin Stella had always been as flaky and outrageous as their mother. Maggie and her father had always looked out for the two women and with him passing away two years back, the sole responsibility of cleaning up after their messes falls on Maggie’s shoulders. So it is her mother Delia’s sort of death-bed wish that Stella be present when she passes away that has Maggie taking a leave of absence from her job at the bank and flying to Las Cruces, San Pablo, a tiny country somewhere between Spain and France. And there she meets Ben Frazer, the man who drives her completely nuts, the man who ruffles her calm unlike any other and also the man who her senses clamor to possess and be possessed by.

Ben has an agenda of his own when it comes to the plain Maggie Brown who somehow gets under his skin right from the very start. Ben plans on leading Maggie around on a wild goose chase around the rough terrain of San Pablo just to prick and poke into that overly proper exterior of hers. The lively sword play of words that takes place between Ben and Maggie right from the start is overly amusing and serves as foreplay to the very hot and well done scene of explosive passion that Ms. Stuart provides towards the end.

Ben might want to brush away how much Maggie actually makes him feel and Maggie at first brushes away those twinges that come with sexual desire as hunger pangs. But both Maggie and Ben know that between them lies a load of sexual tension that is just waiting to ignite, that is just waiting to take them both to new heights in the culmination of their mutual desire and wanting for one another. There is something to be said for well done sexual tension that is headier on the senses than the most well done erotica and time and yet again, Ms. Stuart proves her capability and mastery at providing readers with just that.

With bits and pieces of a villain who stalks them both and has a personal score to settle with Ben, this short novel provided me with just what I needed and wanted in my attempts to read a book with a hero who isn’t an overly sweet one right from the beginning.

Recommended for fans of Anne Stuart and fans of her heroes, this one’s deliciously and mouth wateringly good!

Favorite Quotes

He hooted with laughter. “I should have known. Do you have a calculator for a brain and an adding machine for a heart?”
“I don’t think you need to worry about my heart, Mr. Frazer. It’s not going to have anything to do with you.”
His slow, lazy smile was quite possibly his most potent weapon. She wanted to slap it off his face, and yet at the same time it stirred odd, unexpected feelings in the pit of her stomach.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Format: E-bookattachments
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Hero: Lincoln
Heroine: Beth Fremont
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 9, 2011
Started On: December 10, 2011
Finished On: December 10, 2011

Even as I write my review for Attachments, I can’t stop sighing all over my laptop, remembering those moments that made this book such an easy one to read, one that I wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon. I still remember reading Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern and loving the book because it was different in the way it was presented and because packed into the book is a ton of emotion that just grabs you and holds onto you even long after you are done. And for me, Attachments by Rainbow Rowell turned out to be such a read, a fantastic one at that which I just loved to pieces.

If not for my friend Brie who tweeted about this book and its awesomeness, I would never even have known of its existence. And even though I grumbled a bit about the e-book being a bit too pricey, with such a high rating and recommendation from Brie I caved in and found myself reading, reading and reading some more until my iPad cried out from depleted battery levels. I couldn’t stop myself from reading, the characters and the way the story is presented working its charm and magic over me until I was holding my breathe waiting to see what would happen next.

28 year old Lincoln is an Internet Security Officer at The Courier. His job entails reading through employee e-mails, to find out whether they are using the Internet in the most productive manner. When Lincoln stumbles upon the e-mails exchanged between two friends and co-workers Jennifer Scribner-Snyder and Beth Fremont, Lincoln is drawn towards the warmth and the obvious camaraderie between them right from the start. Though Lincoln doesn’t like the fact that he acts as a spy over other workers and tells himself that he shouldn’t read their e-mail exchanges, he can’t help himself from developing a fascination for Beth even though he doesn’t know her from Eve.

Beth and Jennifer’s characters and their lives are portrayed through the e-mails exchanged between the two friends while Lincoln’s life is told as it happens with blasts from the past that serves to make him a character that is just that more endearing. Lincoln is a man who is trying to find where he fits. He is shy and an introvert, whose first and only girlfriend had dumped him 9 years ago. Though Lincoln knows he ought to do something to change his life, he continues to live with his mother, work at a job that he hates and stays on the sidelines afraid to let himself be known even when his feelings for Beth progresses from fascination to love. Lincoln’s character is just plain adorable, no two ways about it and he says the sweetest things, lines that just brought a huge smile to my face as I read along.

The friendship between Beth and Jennifer is such a heartwarming one. They support each other wholeheartedly, are there for one another when it counts and at times the e-mails between them are laugh-out-loud variety hilarious. I found myself bursting out into laughter several times, earning myself some weird looks and enquiries from my husband which I just shooed away because I was that engrossed in what was happening.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the novel was to see how Lincoln’s character “grew” throughout the story, taking those little steps that turns his life around. It is his innate kindness and the way he loves oh so wholeheartedly that just makes him one fantastic hero. And seeing how Jennifer, Beth and Lincoln’s characters all come together, the “cute guy” that Beth can’t help but talk about in her e-mails turning out to be none other than Lincoln that served as the icing on the cake. The ending when it came was a sweet one, one that I can’t help but sigh over even now.

Some might label this as chic-lit rather than romance, but this is romance genre at its best, heartwarming characters, compelling storytelling and a happily ever after that just felt so real and believable in so many ways. Recommended for everyone and anyone who loves romances; this one’s for you!

Favorite Quotes

(Sam) ‘Didn’t you ever wonder what it would be like to be with someone else?’ And you’ll say …Lincoln, what will you say?”
“I’ll say, ‘No.’”
“That’s not very romantic.”
“It’s none of their business.”
“Tell me, then,” she said, unbuckling her seat belt and putting her arm around his waist. “Tell me now, won’t you ever wonder what it would have been like to be with someone else?”
“First, buckle up,” he said. She did. “I won’t wonder that because I already know what it would be like to be with someone else.”
“How do you know?” she said.
“I just do.”
“Then, what would it be like?”
“It would be less,” he said.

“No,” he said. “No, I’ll never wonder what it would be like to have sex with someone else for the same reason I don’t want to kiss anyone else. You’re the only girl I’ve ever touched. And I feel like it was supposed to be that way. I touch you and my whole body …rings. Like a bell or something. And I could touch other girls, and maybe there would be something, you know, like maybe there would be noise. But not like with you. And what would happen if I kept touching and touching them, and then …and then, I tried to touch you again? I might not be able to hear us anymore. I might not ring true.”

“Why are they doing that?” his mother said, frowning at her grandsons. The boys were sorting the casserole into piles on their plates.
“Doing what?” Eve asked.
“Why aren’t they eating their food?”
“They don’t like it when things touch,” Eve said.
“What things?” his mother asked.
“Their food. They don’t like it when different foods touch or mix together.”
“How do you serve dinner, in ice cube trays?”

“I’d know you in the dark,” he said. “From a thousand miles away. There’s nothing you could become that I haven’t already fallen in love with.”

“Lincoln?” she (Beth) asked.
“Yes?”
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
He made himself look at her face, at her wide-open eyes and earnest forehead. At her unbearably sweet mouth.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Do you believe in love before that?”
Her breath caught in her throat like a sore hiccup.
And then it was too much to keep trying not to kiss her.

“I pictured a girl who made every moment, everything she touched, and everyone around her feel lighter and sweeter.
“I pictured you,” he said. “I just didn’t know what you looked like.
“And then, when I did know what you looked like, you looked like the girl who was all those things. You looked like the girl I loved.”

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Dancing on Coals by Ellen O’Connell

Format: E-bookDacingoncoals
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Gaeten
Heroine: Katherine Grant
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 29, 2011
Started On: December 9, 2011
Finished On: December 10, 2011

You know those books that refuse to let its hold on you go even long after you are done? Yep, Dancing on Coals by Ellen O’Connell is one such novel that I lay thinking about long after I was done. The characters, the passion, the violence and the undying love between two people who are so obviously two halves of one just kept coursing through me, wishing that I could keep on reading their story forever.

The year is 1881 and Katherine Grant is on her way home to New York after travelling throughout the country. The only girl amongst 5 boys, Katherine had grown up running around with her brothers in different parts of the world ever since their mother had died when she was 6 years old. The only reason she had left home unknown to her family had been because they had not believed in her when she had needed it the most, and as Katherine figures, what her family doesn’t know cannot hurt them.

But when armed robbers attack their stagecoach and everyone else but Katherine is killed, her savior comes in the form of Nilchi, an Apache warrior whose lean good looks and fluency with English puts her at ease even with Nilchi’s older brother Gaeten glowering at her, hatred spitting from his eyes at every turn.

But not long after, Gaeten and Katherine are forced to team up, Gaeten’s promise to his younger brother on his deathbed the only reason that prevents Gaeten from testing the sharpness of his knife against the white woman’s throat. Gaeten’s hatred for the White runs and courses deep through his veins. The haze of rage that blinds him is a vicious one ever since his parents had been killed by white men when he had been just 9 years old. But through every harrowing escape that Katherine and Gaeten make together, he comes to realize that even if Katherine is a white woman, the courage of an Apache runs through her blood.

Ellen O’Connell writes romances that are a dying breed in present days. Her honest portrayal of life what it was like back then, the violence, bloodshed, thievery and murder that was part of the daily life comes across vividly and there isn’t one aspect of the novel that I would change. The setting, the characters and the way she brings forth the connection, the sizzling attraction and the oh so strong love between Gaeten and Katherine was just perfect.

Gaeten’s thoughts remain hidden until Chapter 9, the only way to garner his feelings being by how Katherine views his expressions and his behaviour when it comes to her. Even bound by his promise to his brother, Gaeten would like nothing more than to leave her behind, but unbeknown to him, the connection that is forged between them during their escape and trek through the wilderness binds him to her, even when Gaeten tries so hard to deny it. I was halfway in love with him even way before that, the minute he charged into the story on horseback, intent on killing the woman who would later turn his life around. And as the story progressed, I was mesmerized by Gaeten, the way he slowly transforms and leaves behind the black rage that surrounds him, the healing which comes from Katherine’s acceptance of him, just the way he is.

Katherine is the type of heroine that is trademark Ellen O’Connell. She creates them courageous with an inner beauty that makes it inevitable that the reader would fall for her as well. Katherine is a practical woman, who had turned away from her fiance back home when he had done something she would never abide by. Even when fear for her life at Gaeten’s hands makes her tremble, she doesn’t back down, making it that much harder for Gaeten to dismiss her as just another white woman. The way she accepts, loves and desires Gaeten just the way he is makes for one of the best aspects of the story, the way she “tames” her fierce husband reason enough to revel in this story.

Exceptionally crafted as is usual for Ellen’s novels, Dancing on Coals is a novel not to be missed for fans of the genre. To read the beautifully done afterword is enough reason to read this novel, the research that Ellen has done to write this story one that shines throughout and one that I applaud wholeheartedly.

Favorite Quotes

He entered her in a single hard thrust, opening her, stretching her and forcing a moan of surprise from her. She was ready, so ready, and yet totally unprepared. She’d been wrong. She was still virgin to this, to his strength and her need, to the pleasure and the pain and the sheer triumph of having him. He drove into her and she rose to him, clutched him tighter, harder. Her nails raked and dug into his back, her teeth into his neck.

“Your skin is white, but I think the white god made a mistake, or maybe he did it on purpose to play a joke. He gave you an Apache heart.”

She toyed with the top button of his shirt. “Do Apaches kiss?”
“The people believe the mouth is only for eating.”
“Oh.” She didn’t try to hide her disappointment.
He shifted her against him a little and cupped her breast with one hand, his thumb rubbing across the nipple. “They also believe a woman’s breast is only for nursing a child.”
Lowering his mouth over hers, he ran his tongue between her lips, exploring her tongue, making her shiver with a stroke along the roof of her mouth.
When he raised his head at last, she whispered, “I’m glad you’re an unbeliever.”

Facing him, she saw what she didn’t need to see to know. Even if most wives experienced being washed by a fully aroused, naked husband, they would never know this — a man no words had been invented to describe, beyond handsome, beyond beautiful. His skin glowed copper in the light from the fire, shadows emphasizing the curves of muscle and planes of bone. His erection was hers, for her.

If a man could taste wind and fire, they would taste like Katherine. When he stood in high places looking down on things made small by distance, he tried to feel what the eagle felt soaring free on the wind. He was an earthbound man. Only his spirit could ever soar, and only Katherine raised him so high.

He entered her slowly, determined to keep a tight hold on the lust pounding in his veins. She wrapped her legs higher, took him deeper and deeper. Her hands dug into the muscles of his rear, urging, telling him what she wanted and what he needed were the same. He obeyed and thrust harder, driving into her not with anger but with a desperate raw need. He felt her climax, her body arching, tightening and contracting around him as she cried out against his neck. He shuddered with the intensity of the explosion that wracked his body and spirit and wrung a deep cry from him.
“Katherine.” I was afraid. I missed you. I love you.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Hot Shot by M.J. Fredrick

Format: E-bookhotshot
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Gabe Cooper
Heroine: Peyton Michaels
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 2008
Started On: December 8, 2011
Finished On: December 9, 2011

Hot Shot is one of the earliest novels by MJ Fredrick and nevertheless a great one that makes for a compelling read. There is a reason why I continue to read books from her entire backlist because I know that she won’t disappoint me when it comes to the action, the suspense, the romance and of course the happily ever after that she delivers in her stories. MJ Fredrick tends to write stories that not only deliver a good dose of romance between two likable characters but delivers stories that tend to be quite informative on the chosen subject matter and Hot Shot is no exception as this story deals with the dangerous and arduous task of forest fire fighting.

Gabe Cooper is the leader of the Bear Claws, the best Hot Shot crew in Montana. He is cynical and world weary, the only consolation he finds is in the dangerous and adrenaline pumping job of fire fighting. He is a legend amongst the fire fighting circles and considered the best in the field.

32 year old Peyton Michaels is a reporter from Up to the Minute magazine, who has done a series of successful articles called “In the Line of Duty” that focuses on those men and women who put their lives on the line everyday as part of their duty, just so that the rest of the world can stay safe. Peyton’s latest article brings her to Gabe’s group, as a rookie as well as a reporter, a combination that stirs up resentment on Gabe’s part right from the very first moment.

From the start, danger surrounds them and constantly pursues them at every turn. And in the midst of these life threatening fire fighting and rescue missions, Peyton and Gabe slowly start to find out that the attraction between them is one that won’t be denied, their connection to each other one forged in the midst of danger and at times at their lowest point of endurance.

With a few twists and surprises along the way, Gabe and Peyton hunt the person responsible for starting the fire in the first place, a fire that continues to claim lives even while they are on the hunt. And in the midst of everything, Peyton and Gabe are forced to confront their innermost feelings towards each other and open up about their deepest and darkest secrets so that their love turns out to be a that much sweeter one at the end.

The way Ms. Fredrick creates stories wherein lies complicated relationships, not necessarily between just the hero and heroine is one aspect of her novels that I just love. In Hot Shot, Gabe is the one who has to face his ex-wife Jen, who betrayed him after 4 years of marriage by falling in love with his best friend. To have to work with Jen 3 years after the betrayal when feelings for Jen still courses deep through Gabe creates a mother-load of tension and angst that Ms. Fredrick handles very well. And on top of that Gabe has to confront the way his feelings go into a tailspin for Peyton, bringing down the bitterness, heartache and loneliness that Gabe had hides well from the rest of the world.

Gabe is a legend, a hero, but the labels don’t mean anything to him as long as he can battle the dragon day in and day out and come out winning. Some might label him an adrenaline junkie but in my perspective Gabe had been waiting for something else in his life that would give him the same sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that fire fighting gives, and in Peyton for the very first time he finds a reason to change his life, a woman who accepts him just the way he is.

Peyton is a widow, whose husband’s death is still etched on to her mind as clearly as if it happened yesterday. Peyton’s grief is expressed through her articles, by trying to find out what makes those that put their lives in danger in the name of duty do what they do. And when she meets Gabe, the man who stirs her senses up and makes her come alive for the first time in two long years, she is more than dismayed at the thought that she is once again putting her heart on the line with a man who thrives when danger surrounds him. But as she discovers more about Gabe, the more Peyton comes to understand what drives him, what had driven her husband to constantly confront danger until that very last day, the acceptance and healing that both Gabe and Peyton find together being one of the best parts of the story.

The fire fighting scenes are so realistic that sometimes it felt like the scene was playing right in front of my eyes. And within those adventurous moments, Ms. Fredrick provides a whole lot of information and details about forest fire fighting that made me an instant admirer of the men and women who are courageous enough to battle the fires that rage every year.

Recommended for fans of romantic suspense that feature fire fighter heroes and fans of MJ Fredrick.

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Witness Seduction by Elle Kennedy

Format: E-bookwitnessseduction
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Harlequin Blaze
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Caleb Ford
Heroine: Marley Kincaid
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 23, 2011
Started On: December 8, 2011
Finished On: December 8, 2011

Witness Seduction by Elle Kennedy is a sexy and sweet title from the Harlequin Blaze line that released on August of this year. Seeing a fantastically done review of this little number up on Goodreads certainly whetted my appetite for more and here I am finally, 2 months afterwards writing my review for a book that proved to be quick, entertaining and sexy read that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. And a point worthy of mentioning is the fact that it was with the review of an Elle Kennedy book that I started this blog, that being her novella Heat of the Storm.

31 year old Caleb Ford has been a DEA agent for the past 10 years. His current mission is one that is personal to him, spying on the ex-fiance of a man called Patrick who is the reason for Caleb’s best pal’s death. Though he would like nothing more than to be detached from the woman he is spying on like every other mission he has been involved in to-date, something about the woman calls to him on a much deeper level.

27 year old Marley Kincaid wants to forget. Forget the fact that she had been duped so well by a man she had lived with for five long months and being none the wiser, forget that she had such poor judgement when it came to falling in love and giving up her heart. So she hides behind her job as a nurse and for the rest of the time works on renovating her house, not altogether amused by her best friend Gwen’s attempts at making her jump back into the dating world.

When Caleb and Marley’s worlds collide, she can’t help but be drawn towards the altogether too sexy and beautiful for words man who just seems to ignite a fire that burns hot and deep inside of her. Though Caleb feels not altogether too comfortable about making personal contact with the witness, he has no choice in the matter and he tells himself that he goes back to Marley in the name of the mission.

Before long Marley and Caleb together generates a fire that burns out of control, both unable to step back and away when it comes the burning sexual fire that has been between them right from the start. However, Patrick lies in wait, closer than either of them ever thought, biding his time until he can claim the one woman he is insane about, the one woman whose betrayal would bring the cards tumbling down.

Though a short story, Elle Kennedy has got a way with creating characters that are endearing and generate a passion between them that is scorching hot that reader cannot get enough of. Caleb’s character is not the type to ooze charm, which one would expect of him considering his movie star good looks and body. But he is taciturn at best, one who doesn’t find it easy to open up to other people. He likes his woman the way he likes his cars, fast and forgettable and Marley is definitely not that.

Marley’s character is such a sweetly endearing one. She is beautiful, cares about other people and has a way of drawing the inner person that lurks inside of Caleb that makes her such a great heroine. Caleb does betray her by lying about who he really is, and that hurts Marley more than she is willing to admit. And even then, she is intuitive enough to know, understand and believe that not everything that had conspired between them is a lie and is woman enough to forgive and accept Caleb back in her life, a man that completes her in every way.

I know that the term sweetheart is one that is used by heroes in a lot of books, but when it comes out of Caleb there is just something innately sweet and endearing about the term. And I found myself melting each and every single time he lets the term slip. With a cute little epilogue tucked at the end, I loved Witness Seduction and am hankering to find out whether Ms. Kennedy has any plans to write stories for some of the other colorful characters that we meet along the way.

Recommended for fans of Harlequin Blaze titles, fans of Elle Kennedy and for those that love a lil bit of mystery and action tied with passion of the toe curling variety.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Harlequin

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Intrusion by Cynthia Justlin

Format: E-bookintrusion
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: The Remnants, Book 2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Cameron Scott
Heroine: Dr. Audra McCain
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 22, 2011
Started On: December 4, 2011
Finished On: December 8, 2011

With Intrusion author Cynthia Justlin cements her position into my list of favorite authors for the romantic suspense genre. Ever since I read Her Own Best Enemy I have had my eye out for Cameron Scott’s story and receiving a request for review by Cynthia Justlin for his story just made it that much sweeter.

With his bummed up knee and shattered self confidence, all 33 year old Cameron Scott (Cam) wants is to prove that he is on top of his game. A former Communications Sergeant in Special Forces, Cameron had never met a code he couldn’t break with a little patience and a good dose of ingenuity. When Cameron tries to take on an expedition to prove that the existing security at the Nanodyne Technologies is not an impenetrable one, he lands himself in more trouble than he ever foresees.

30 year old Dr. Audra McCain is the brains behind a top secret project at Nanodyne Technologies that entails the creation of a body armor suite that could mean the end to heavy casualties in war zones. But when the armor during its final stages gets stolen and by a quirky twist of fate both Cam and Audra tops the list if suspects, there is only one thing left for them to do while dodging the law and the one man whose entire being is focused on getting to the armor. That is to put their heads together and come up with who had stolen the armor in the first place.

Cynthia Justlin has a way with creating broken characters, let them make huge mistakes along the way to test their worthiness to each other and in the end the happily ever after that comes remains to be that much sweeter. For me, both Cameron and Audra proved to be such characters who needed a little bit of faith and a whole lot of love to light up their lives so that they could achieve their own sweet little happily ever after.

When it comes to Cameron, he is the guy who hides behind a veneer of charm and lazy humor behind which lies a tortured soul that blames himself for the way he let down his team back in Afghanistan. Having never forgiven himself for his impulsiveness that had brought all sorts of shit raining down on the team with his just getting away with a bummed knee doesn’t sit well with Cameron. Even then, he is a guy that hasn’t lost all hope or faith in humankind, and in Audra he sees the woman he is meant to be with for the rest of his life.

Audra is another story altogether. She suffers from abandonment issues, has emotional scars left over from being shuffled over from one foster home to the other when growing up. And she hides behind her work, keeping to herself and never letting herself get attached to anyone until Cameron shows up in her life making her feel the tingles of wanting through the fog of nothingness and emptiness that surrounds her heart.

When Cameron and Audra are pitted together, it is Cameron who hopes for a future with Audra, this switch of opposites unlike the norm a refreshing one. Though I had envisioned Cameron to be a more forceful hero, his brand of standing up for what he wants, that streak of impulsiveness that years in the military hadn’t curbed out him and the way he falls for Audra flaws and all was exactly what Audra needed in order to embrace the truth that Cameron means so much more to her than just a night of passion between two people.

I loved how Cynthia brings all elements of the story together, going as far as to create a villain for whom everything doesn’t go according to plan either. His plans are thwarted from the start making him that much more impulsive and dangerous to contend with. And since its always the norm for villains to have everything going for them, especially at the beginning of the story, this was such a refreshing change.

Cynthia ties up the fast paced action and adventure aspect of the story together with heat of the toe curling variety, one which she delivers upon very well. Cameron and Audra’s undeniable need for one another makes for heady reading and I loved every minute of the sensual haze within which they lose themselves in.

Recommended for fans of action based romantic suspense with a hero who just makes your heart go pitter patter and a heroine who definitely needs a dose of exactly that.

Favorite Quotes

He yanked her into him, and covered her lips with his before she could protest. Pain radiated around his kneecap and down his leg, but it was so damn worth it for one taste of her sweet mouth. His tongue stroked the delicate seam of her lips and she stiffened, her jaw tensing under his fingertips.
Don’t pull away. Not yet. He hadn’t tasted his fill.
He caressed her cheekbones, traced their delicate curve until she sagged against him. Her lips softened and he nipped at her mouth until it parted for him. Blood thrummed in his veins. He plunged his tongue inside her mouth and slid his hands into the damp, silky curls of her hair.

“Look at you.” His throat contracted in one long swallow. He ran a finger between her breasts, down her belly to the elastic waistband of her sweats where he dipped a teasing caress underneath it. “I could feast on you all day and never get enough.”

“Like what you see?”
He arched a self-assured brow, and she couldn’t stop a bubble of laughter from popping in her chest. “Yeah, I like what I see.”
“Good.” He eased on the bed next to her and she scooted back to give him more room. His fingers trailed up the flat of her belly to her breast, his thumb scraped across her nipple. “Because I love what I see.”
Except he wasn’t looking at her body, he was looking at her—into her—as if he could see all her fears and flaws and accepted them.

He hauled her completely on top of him.
His mouth ravaged hers, hot and hungry, his hands guiding her hips over him. He entered her, filled her and she cried out at the overwhelming pleasure that shook her body.

Her orgasm hit her with the force of a molecular explosion, tiny particles of energy bursting and swirling inside her. Before she could catch her breath, Cam was right there with her, shuddering his own climax, and drawing her into his fierce embrace.
He kissed her, his hot tongue sweeping inside her mouth. Another wave of shivers wracked her body and she clutched at his shoulders desperate to hold on to a shred of her common sense amidst the tide of emotions charging between them.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Cowboy Casanova by Lorelei James

Format: E-bookcowboycasanova
Read with: iBooks for iPad/iPhone
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Rough Rides, Book 12
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Bennett Andrew McKay
Heroine: Ainsley Hamilton
Sensuality: 4.9
Date of Publication: December 6, 2011
Started On: December 6, 2011
Finished On: December 7, 2011

No matter how hard you try to stick to a schedule when it comes to reading and reviewing, some books are those that you have to make time for. And for me, books from the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James are books that fall into that category. There is none who writes western contemporaries like Lorelei James does, a mix of out of this world scorching sensuality together with what its like in the West and the day to day grind of being a cowboy and part of a big family.

So, if you are a fan of the Rough Riders series like myself, you would have already read Chasin’ Eight which happens to be the previous book. And when Ben’s character came up during Chasin’ Eight there wasn’t even one inch of me that didn’t clamor to read his story. And with Cowboy Casanova with its beautiful glossy man titty cover, Lorelei James delivers the anticipatory fans with Bennett McKay’s story which turned out to be a great romance filled with a whole lot of kink.

32 year old Ben McKay is the middle child, the one who falls between Quinn McKay and Chase McKay. He is a rancher during the week, and when the weekend arrives, he is a member of the Rawhide Club, a club that exists and guarantees to provide its patrons with a place for no-strings attached, safe and consensual sex. And in that club, the quiet, brooding Ben McKay turns into Bennett McKay, a Dom who is that much more dangerous and alluring. 

37 year old Ainsley Hamilton is the president of the new bank that opens up in Sundance Wyoming. She is also divorced from her husband of almost five years because along the way, Ainsley had discovered that they were just too incompatible in their sexual preferences. From what had started out as a wonderful partnership, things had started going downhill the minute Ainsley had wanted more, things deteriorating so fast that its a wonder she has any self-confidence left after her marriage bites the dust.

When Ainsley’s friend Layla convinces her to give the Rawhide Club a go, she has no idea what she is putting herself into, except for the fact that something deep inside of her yearns to be dominated sexually and the man who stares at her from across the room seems like the real deal when with one searing glance she is all but putty in his hands.

When Ben discovers the woman with whom he had the most satisfying and blood heating sexual encounter with in ages is none other than the new bank president, he comes up with the plan that they both enter into a Dom/sub sexual relationship which would end within one month’s time during which Ben is certain he can make Ainsley embrace her submissive nature when it comes to sex.

I loved how different this book turned out to be from the rest of the books in the series. Concentrating on totally the BDSM aspect of erotica, Lorelei James delivers readers with a lot of kink, and the book does come with the warning it is so. Though I am someone who rarely reads books with BDSM themes because I am not someone who totally likes or gets that sort of sexual pleasure, this book proved to be quite informative on the subject. Without reading like an instruction manual, Ms. James sheds light onto the many varieties and aspects of the Dom/sub relationship and delivers a scorching and over the top kinky variety of sex to go with the story.

Ben’s character is one that is full of contrasts. On the one hand he is Bennett, the sexual Dom, who demands from and caters to every whim of his Sub in his sexual conquests. To the rest of the world he is Ben McKay, just an ordinary rancher who fades to the background, who once ran away from home when he was eight and returned to find out that no one had even known the fact. There is such a wealth of desolation deep inside of Ben though one wouldn’t know it by seeing him. But with Ainsley he is like an open book, his fears that people would never accept him the way he is which plays a major role in why Ben lives the way he does.

I loved Ben in both his modes. The caring and sweet Ben who prefers to be labled as an ordinary rancher but is creative in his own quiet way and the dominant figure he turns into during each and every sexual encounter that just makes him so very appealing. From the very first scene, his character is one that I couldn’t help but be drawn towards though the life of a sexual dominant is one I won’t even pretend to understand, there is a certain allure to the rough and terse commands that he issues that just makes one want to lie down and let him do whatever he wants with you.

Ainsely’s character was so much fun to get to know as well. She is a leader, a dominant in her day to day life, but craves to know what it would be like to submit herself to the demands of someone who would know exactly which spots to stroke to throw her into a frenzy of need. The one thing that I loved about her character was the fact that she is no stick thin woman with model good looks but a woman who most female readers can definitely relate to. Her fear that people would never understand the fact that she loves being a sub in her sexual life leads her to make the biggest mistake of her life, one which she totally makes up for towards the end. She is independent and intuitive, the one who is able to draw both sides of Ben’s character to embrace the existence of each other.

And it is always a plus point to revisit the McKay bunch, to learn tidbits on how the rest of them are doing and also see how Ms. James brings to Sundance Wyoming those characters that just beg for their own stories to be told.

Recommended for fans of Lorelie James, for fans of BDSM themed erotica and for those who love over the top hot and kinky cowboy romances.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Unwrapped by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookunwrapped
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Loose ID
Hero: Tristan, Matthew
Heroine: Caitlyn Sachs
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: December 6, 2011
Started On: December 5, 2011
Finished On: December 5, 2011

Reading is a luxury I can barely afford these days, time wise. With my day job taking up the whole day and my new exercise regime taking up quite a patch of the time available for reading, I am too tired most nights to really concentrate on a book and see it through. But Unwrapped by Cari Quinn, which I opened up with quite a few reservations since I have never delved into a ménage themed book before kept me engrossed late into the night, my fascination for the characters, the storyline and of course Ms. Quinn’s fabulous way with the words that just refused to shake off its hold on me.

Caitlyn Sachs is about to turn 25 and has a teeny tiny problem that she wants to deal with and be done over with. Cait has always been the good girl in the family, the one her mother has always counted on to follow the rules. The fact that her childhood had been spent trying to become as different from the rest of her family as possible had led her to be one of the extraordinarily rare women to still be a virgin, and she would like nothing better than to ask one of her best friends to take care of the problem. A couple of thrusts in and out and the one she choses would be done with it is how Cait envisions the encounter would be, not really knowing the complete 180 degree turn her life would take once the cat leaps out of the proverbial bag.

Matt and Tristan have been biding their time, their love for the woman who shares their professional and personal life a visceral part of the bond that keeps them together. So when Cait stumbles upon Matt and Tristan in a position that will forever be etched onto her mind, Matt seizes the opportunity to finally make all their dreams come true knowing that either they would all come out as winners or lose a friendship that means so much to all of them.

Though I am not new to the erotica genre, I am a virgin when it comes to ménages and sex between more than two heterosexual partners. And I don’t really know how to express on what I was expecting when I delved into Cari Quinn’s latest because lets face it, if the author is Cari Quinn my response has always been “Hell yes!”. So there I was, gingerly turning the pages, as skittish as a new born colt, prepared to flee the minute things got to be too much for me. But I should have trusted Cari a bit more because underneath the very hot and well done encounters between two sexy as sin heroes and one very virginal heroine, Cari managed to give me the angst, the emotion and the conflicts that she handles so very well in her stories, something that I crave for in my romances.

As much as the off the charts scorching hot sex got to me (and believe me it did), it was the emotional impact of the novel that had me glued to the pages, foregoing sleep just so I could experience the magic that is the combination of Cait, Matt and Tristan. The complexities of such a relationship, its impact on their loved ones and other such questions I have always had about such an arrangement even long before I read this were answered and though I know that this is fiction, it was heartwarming to see Cari give all aspects of at times their complex relationship equal amounts of time and attention.

I loved both Tristan and Matt. They are both so different from one another but yet they are a case of opposites attract, their relationship forged out of their mutual desire for the woman who shares their lives, though Cait might be totally clueless at first. I loved Tristan’s intensity, the way he has that no holds barred attitude towards their sexual encounters as well as the other more complex aspects of their relationship. It is Matt who serves as the peacemaker, the one who formulates, plots and plans and kicks into gear the weekend of decadent pleasure that is initiated to win over Cait’s affection.

Cait is the glue that holds their three pillar relationship together. Though Cait might crave for “normalcy” and wants to write off their weekend as a one time thing, deep down inside she knows that without Matt and Tristan in her life, she might as well be buried six feet under. And I loved Cait’s character because she knows exactly what her two lovers want and need from each other and has the guts to prick and poke at them until they are ready to give in.
I have that first encounter between Tristan and Matt that Cait spies on etched which would be onto my mind forever. The power and restrained violence of the encounter (whew!), needless to say, I could totally become a m/m fan girl if that is what the genre entails.

Though I would always remain a m/f fan girl at heart, I am just thankful that my first attempt at reading a ménage featuring sexual acts between the two males involved didn’t scar me for life. In fact in true Cari Quinn style, Unwrapped charmed and enticed me to look beyond the surface to find out that underneath all the panty-drenching hot sex, there is ALWAYS plenty of emotion and character development happening in her novels that just makes Cari’s style of erotica unbeatable.

For those who love ménages of the m/m/f variety, Cari Quinn’s Unwrapped is definitely a treat for your senses. And for those who love their erotica not just for the sake of panty melting hot sex, Cari Quinn definitely delivers on the emotion and angst that undoubtedly makes this book a winner all around.

Favorite Quotes

Idly, he (Matt) twirled a lock of her hair. “You think I coerced him the way you obviously believe I do with women?”
“You got him into bed. Not the other way around. Right. That’s why he was inside you, ramming away.”
“You’ll learn, sweetness, that sometimes the one on the bottom isn’t any less powerful than the one on top.”

At first it was the complete antithesis of the kiss she’d shared with Matthew. That one had been crazy, emotional. Uncontrolled. This was a gentle mating of lips. Soft, sweet, and easy. He didn’t press for her to grant him access, but she gave it, opening for him with a low moan.

Trying to get himself back in line, he kissed the inside of her knee. She touched his hair, reaching down to loosen his ponytail like he’d done with hers. She brushed her fingers over the back of his neck, saying more with that one gesture than she could have with a thousand words.I want you. I trust you. I love you.

He (Tristan) pushed her onto her back and braced his arms on either side of her shoulders as he ranged his body over hers, nudging his cock against her in the most intimate way possible.
With the slightest flex, he’d be buried inside her—without a condom. And she didn’t even possess the strength to tell him no.

He (Tristan) ripped his mouth away and raised above her, his expression positively lethal despite his ragged panting. “If I didn’t love you, I’d do it and hope to God you got pregnant. Even though it would be stupid for a lot of reasons, I’d do it.” He swore and grabbed a fistful of the pillow beside them. “Christ, I can’t think when I’m around you.”

Deaf and blind to all but her pants and her hazy bluebell eyes as she rocked into bliss, he clenched her hips as if she held his life in her hands.
Like she already held his heart.

He framed her face between his palms and met her eyes. Everything inside her slid into place, key into lock. Then he lowered his head and took her mouth in a kiss that felt more like oral f#cking than it did an easy mating of lips and tongues.

Purchase Links: LooseID 

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Guarded Hearts by M. J. Fredrick

Format: E-bookguardedhearts
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Hero: Ethan Riggins
Heroine: McKenna Spencer
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 5, 2011
Started On: December 2, 2011
Finished On: December 3, 2011

I love books by MJ Fredrick mainly because whether it be contemporary, western historical or romantic suspense, she delivers a romance with a happy ending that clutches at your heart. Guarded Hearts is no exception to the rule and I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of this little goodie from MJ Fredrick last week. Expecting an entertaining read, I wasn’t disappointed as MJ Fredrick delivers well on the romance and the elements of suspense in this novel.

McKenna Spencer is a junior congresswoman who has her heart set on passing a children’s health care bill when her work is cut short late into one night when she receives a phone call from her father to vacate from the building. Her father who is a counterterrorist agent has reason to believe that McKenna’s life is in danger and so she is assigned with a bodyguard who is to stick to her like glue, whether it be night or day.

From the first encounter itself, though McKenna might try telling herself otherwise, she is drawn to the man behind the compellingly good looks, a man who makes her female colleagues’ heads turn just by being in the same room as them. For Ethan Riggins, the mission spells trouble from the start as his immediate attraction to McKenna is a forbidden one on so many levels. But that doesn’t stop him from slowly going out of his mind with wanting McKenna and the answering flare of desire in McKenna’s eyes makes it doubly hard for him to remember why getting tangled up with McKenna is such a bad idea.

Filled with bullet riddled moments one minute and heart thumping variety of over the charts sizzling hot encounters between McKenna and Ethan the next, MJ Fredrick delivers a novel that is hard to put down. And in between all those tense and delicious moments, MJ Fredrick manages to give her characters life, a past which tugs at the reader’s heartstrings and moments of tenderness between the two protagonists that just makes this an awesome piece of romance.

Ethan Riggins was just ultra yummy. I don’t think there is any other word that could describe as effectively what he made me feel throughout the story. He is not superman who switches over to total robot mode in seconds but he is lethal and dangerous when he puts his mind to it, a mind that strays far too much for his liking when McKenna is around. His ability to totally focus on one thing makes him a total hottie, especially so when he turns all that attention on McKenna. And MJ Fredrick certainly knows what she is doing with her tattooed heroes as Ethan too has tattoes on him that would make even a sensible woman swoon.

McKenna is a heroine who has had not the happiest childhood. As a junior congresswoman, her work is her sole focus, and it suites her well enough until Ethan comes strolling into her life. Though she thinks that Ethan is not the one for her, her heart and other vulnerable emotions sing his name, wanting him to be the one who lays claim on her heart and soul. She is stubborn, gorgeous and has a big heart that refuses to back down even when cornered, especially when she has a particular goal that she is working towards. I loved her sense of humor and the fact that she could bring a smile to Ethan’s face just made me a fan of hers all throughout.

Guarded Hearts by MJ Fredrick is a novel that attests to the author’s ability to deliver a well rounded tale of romantic suspense, with two protagonists who would stay with you even long afterwards. Recommended for fans of romantic suspense and fans of MJ Fredrick.

Favorite Quotes

He remained still for a moment, not long enough for her to wonder if she’d made a mistake. Then he took charge, wrapping his arms around her, cupping his hand over the back of her head, loosening her hair from its style so it tumbled against her sensitized skin. His lips were firm, like the rest of him, and demanding, his tongue stroking along her bottom lip and into her mouth. His breath came hot and heavy against her cheek, and his erection pressed against her hip. Raindrops fell from his skin to hers, and she marveled that she could feel the warmth of him in those drops.

Holding his gaze, she lifted her hips to bring him inside her.
He choked out a groan as he buried himself deep, his body pressed against hers, his length filling her, stretching her, more delicious than she’d imagined. He moved in long, sure strokes, deep, measured.
Controlled. Focused.

He lifted his head, lifted her thighs, and plunged into her, deeper, harder than before. He lowered his mouth to the curve of her throat, lips pulling, teeth scraping as he closed his hands over her hips and opened her wider, thrusting deeper. He sat back on his heels and pulled her over him, guiding her, his mouth slamming down on hers, the kiss verging on violent, his fingers tight on her ass and she came again, locking her legs about his hips, holding him deep inside as pleasure rippled through her.