Category / Endearing Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Rainwater by Sandra Brown

Format: E-bookrainwater
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: David Rainwater
Heroine: Ella Barron
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 3, 2009
Started On: August 13, 2010
Finished On: August 14, 2010

Sandra Brown has taken a leap and written a story that is so different from her usual books and this story has touched me so deeply that I can’t help but think about it every few seconds. I found myself unable to sleep long after I finished the book, a bittersweet pain that clutched at my heart and refused to let go.

The year is 1934, the period of a great drought together with economic depression that has hit the Americans hard. Ella Barron runs her boardinghouse in Texas and makes sure that life runs smoothly, as smoothly as it can under the circumstances. With an autistic son in tow, life is hard for Ella, during a time period when autism and its symptoms weren’t widely known. With a husband who had run out on them long time back, Ella makes do with what she earns from renting her home to boarders.

When the town’s doctor comes calling one day with a distant cousin of his in tow, Ella can hardly refuse to accept him into her home. And when she finds out that David Rainwater is terminally ill from cancer and is just biding away his time until death comes calling, she can’t help but look out for him. From the very beginning David shows an uncanny interest in Solly, Ella’s son and makes quite a progress with him, something Ella hadn’t been able to do which makes her at first jealous and then later thankful.

Things are hardly idyllic during a period of drought and economic depression. With hooligans ruling the town and employing scaring tactics to keep a stronghold on its residents, it is Mr. Rainwater who steps up and stands up to the group who intimidates and at last resort to murder. Meanwhile, no matter how hard Ella tries to keep Mr. Rainwater at a distance, nothing can prevent the deep awareness that crops up between the two, and the connection that these two establish during a few chance encounters after the rest of the household has gone to bed.

Throughout the book I kept praying for a miracle that would take away David’s cancer, and kept hoping that Solly would come to be a remarkable man with his uncanny aptitude for numbers. But the bittersweet ending in which David gives up his life for Solly when Ella and David had just professed to love one another kept the tears coming.

Reading the epilogue requires a healthy amount of tissues I have to tell you. Life after the death of Mr. Rainwater who leaves all his property to Ella who makes a name for herself in the business world, and Solly who dies at the age of 32 having never reached his full potential but having had a life as best as he could. And to find out that the antique store owner is none other than Mr. Rainwater’s son sealed the deal for me.

I realize after reading this why I am not so much of a fan of bittersweet endings, one of the reasons why I tend to stay away from books written by Nicholas Sparks. But I wouldn’t change even one sentence of this wonderful book, because this is a story that makes you think, makes you fall irrevocably in love and in the end cry for all the things that could have been. Highly recommended for all types of fiction readers. This is not just a romance, but a story about life, its hardships and its bittersweet offerings.

Until next time! *Sniff*

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Night Magic by Karen Robards

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Jack McClain
Heroine: Clara Winston
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication:  October 1987
Started On: July 11, 2010
Finished On: July 12, 2010

I have always loved a good smashing adventure with a high dose of sensuality and romance in the mix. This is a testament as to why Wild Orchids by the same author remains a favorite of mine. Adventures where a hero and heroine who are as different from one another as night and day gets thrown in together to survive against tough as nails bad guys and the unforgiving conditions of the wilderness of nature that surrounds them. From the moment I found out about this novel on a discussion forum on Amazon I knew that this would be one of those romances that I wouldn’t be able to put down. And boy was I glad when I was proven right!

CIA Agent Jack McClain is as tough as they come. Having fought in the Vietnam war and then later working deep undercover in remote areas of the world and finally being the catalyst that brought everything to a disastrous conclusion earning him a stint in a psych facility and later a desk job at the agency, Jack never thought that he would be lucky enough to land a job within the intelligence community that would boost his career once again. Tim Hammersmith, Jack’s boss in many a deep cover missions sticks out his neck for Jack once again and assigns him with the task of getting Yuprov, a Russian KGB spy to spill his guts about a mole who was working deep within the highest ranks of the American intelligence.

Jack never thought that before he was through with the assignment that he and Yuprov would  be captured and tortured, and Jack barely escapes the fate of death at the hand of his captors by jumping ship into the murky churning waters of the ocean. Jack barely survives drowning and his rescue by two fishermen out at sea and his subsequent transfer to the hospital for treatment once again sets the Russian KGB goons after him from which he barely escapes only to be labeled as the raving lunatic who carried out a massacre at the hospital. Now its not only the KGB that is after his ass but the whole country who is on the lookout before the day is through.

Clara Winston, a romance author who just turned thirty, lives with her old gray Persian cat Puff and two cream and gray Siamese cats Amy and Iris. Clara has always been coached the ways of a proper lady through and through and though Clara yearns to settle down, start a family of her own, she has never been tempted by any of the men who have shared her life albeit for brief moments in time. Clara has always envisioned that she would find a noble and uncomplicated knight in shining armor and settle down and have normal uncomplicated kids someday. She has no inkling of the fact that her dedication in her latest novel to the “Magic Dragon” would land her in a whole different load of trouble and that before the night is through, her home would be invaded by Russian KGB agents and that she would barely escape with her life intact.

Clara first encounters Jack whilst running through the tobacco fields that surrounds her home trying to escape the Russian goons that invaded her home, and though at first Jack thinks that Clara is in cahoots with the KGB, to Clara’s surprise Jack finds the whole story of her book dedication a source of mirth and merriment and a dumbfounded Clara is advised by the roughneck who stands in front of her to take a vacation and get the hell out of the country.

Though Clara runs to the town Sheriff and complains, no one really thinks that her home invasion is more than just a burglary gone wrong. And Clara finds herself captured with her cat Puff and once again in the company of the man who was wreaking so much havoc in her life. These two barely escape and runs for their life for all its worth. The immediate dislike that these two have for one another makes for the best of simmering tension that explodes with no bounds before halfway through the novel. The unbelievable flare of red hot passion Clara feels for Jack, someone she doesn’t even like makes her wary at best, but that doesn’t stop her from succumbing to the raw sexuality that Jack effortlessly wields around her.

Before the story is through, Jack and Clara are captured once again, Clara tortured and Jack shot in the chest during their last escape from the Russian goons. My heart was pounding through most of the novel and I couldn’t for the world of me put it down and go to sleep without finding out how the story ends. And like Wild Orchids, I found myself unhappy with the way things ended, as Clara was the one who goes after Jack and yes, Jack welcomes her with open arms but doesn’t Clara deserve a bit of wooing other than a rough trek through the jungles dodging bullets and running for her life just because she unknowingly used Jack’s undercover code name as a dedication in her book? But then again, the story has me sighing all over the rough and tough Jack and wistfully yearning for a Jack of my own.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Touch of Fire by Linda Howard

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Western Ladies, Book 3
Publisher: Pocket Books
Hero: Rafe McCay
Heroine: Doctor Annie Parker
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 1992
Started On: July 5, 2010
Finished On: July 6, 2010

I am almost done with my re-read phase of novels by Linda Howard. Her novels are so interesting that I just can’t seem to be able to set aside the book once I start reading. This novel is no exception to that and I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the tale of how Rafe McCay and Dr. Annie Parker found ultimate happiness with one another.

Rafe has been on the run for his life for the past four years. Framed for a murder which he didn’t commit, Rafe is a man who has an army of bounty hunters on his trail with a handsome bounty of 10,000 dollars on his head. Though at first Rafe had tried to clear up his name, the murders of the two men who tried to help him has long convinced Rafe that his life would always be spent on the run.

One such bounty hunter, Trahera gets too close for comfort and Rafe is shot hindering his plans though he manages to slow Trahera down by shooting him in the leg. Ten days after Rafe gets shot, delirious with high fever and an infected wound, Rafe comes across the boom town Silver Mesa where blessedly he finds the home of Dr. T. A. Parker.

Annie whose father was a doctor is a woman who is determined that she would practice medicine even if it meant she had to live in towns like the one she was currently residing in. Born during a time when females were merely tolerated and much less when she dares to encroach on territories determined to be for the men, Annie is thrown for a loop when she finds Rafe residing in her home with the smell of infection wafting off of him.

From the moment Annie touches Rafe, though she tries to keep her thoughts professional and her touch brisk, Annie can’t help the jolt of sensation that slithers through her being by the merest touch. Rafe can’t believe it when the lady standing before him proclaims to be the doctor he was looking for and when though her touch soothes him and stirs a fire of longing in him at the same time, Rafe just attributes it towards the fever which is making him delirious.

When Annie proclaims that Rafe is not fit to do anything but rest for at least 3 days, Rafe kidnaps Annie at gun point and makes her leave with him and travels high up into the mountains where he would be able to recuperate without the fear of being caught. Though he knows Annie is frightened out of her wits to be forced to travel in the cold, Rafe admires the strength that keeps Annie from whining and complaining about her fate.

Thrust into the company of the man with the cold silver eyes who makes Annie burns for things she has no clue of, it is a battle that Annie loses when Rafe sets out to seduce the delectable doctor in his arms. Annie knows that she would never again love another man as she has come to love Rafe and surrenders her body and soul to the man who makes her senses sing from pleasure.

But danger is constantly lurking in the shadows and when finally Trahera stumbles upon their hideout by chance, Rafe knows its time to move on and return Annie to where he kidnapped her from. But Annie knows that she would never be able to return to the life as she knew it and Rafe knowing that her safety had also been compromised now decides to take Annie along with him.

Annie and Rafe’s journey through the unforgiving lands is one filled with taut sensuality and danger at every turn. The mystery of how Rafe is on the run for his life is a riveting one and with a hero and heroine you root for right from the start, this is an unbeatable book of romance and adventure.

I always love a good epilogue in any book I read and my favorite part of the book would have to be the epilogue which describes the happily ever after that Rafe and Annie finds with each other.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: After the Night by Linda Howard

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Gray Rouillard
Heroine: Faith Devlin
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: December 1995
Started On: July 3, 2010
Finished On: July 5, 2010

Linda Howard takes us on one wicked sensual ride in this novel where the wealthy Gray Rouillard clashes with the poor town outcast Faith Devlin. Everyone in the small town of Prescott, Louisiana knew that Faith’s mother Renee the town whore, a sensational beauty who with a glance can leave men wanting is Guy Rouillard’s mistress. From a very young age, Faith had been addled with taking care of her mishap family with a drunken lout of a father and two elder brothers who were well on their way on continuing their father’s legacy and an elder sister who was quickly following in the wake of their mother. And then there was the youngest in the family, a child addled with Down’s syndrome who needed continuous care and attention.

The Devlins live on the outskirts of Rouillard’s property and regardless of the fact that they never paid their rent the Devlins were tolerated because of the relationship between Guy and Renee. Faith has always worshiped the town’s golden boy from afar. Faith’s childhood was a mix of spending endless hours just watching Guy and his friends while away their time and taking care of the endless chores that await her at home. Faith has never had illusions that a Devlin would ever be deemed good enough for a Rouillard but she yearns to shout out to the world that she is different from the rest of her family.

And one fateful night, life as the Devlins and Rouillards know it come to an end when Renee and Guy run away together leaving their families to pick up the pieces. Gray cannot fathom the reason why Guy had to abandon everything and run away with the town whore and overnight Gray grows up and is left to bear the emotional and financial upheaval that his father has left in his wake. Gray is furious with the trashy Devlins and orders them to evacuate the Rouillard’s property, an order  to which Faith’s family doesn’t pay a heed. However the full extent of the impact of Guy’s abandonment together with the fact that the Devlins were just continuing life as they know it drives Gray into a mass of seething rage which sees him ridding the town of the Devlins once and for all.

Faith would never forget the night that her mama never came home and how she and the rest of her family were driven out of their only home like a bunch of outlaws in the middle of the night. And twelve years later, Faith returns to Prescott, Louisiana to find the truth about what actually took place the night Renee and Guy left in the middle of the night forever changing the lives of both families. Faith’s return to town stirs up the gossip and the anger within the Rouillard’s family and Gray feels sucker punched by the intense need to get horizontal with Faith as soon as he lays eyes on her.

Faith knows that she would never be able to deny Gray but she would rather die than be labeled as the mistress of Gray Rouillard. Gray is torn between his family and the white hot desire that runs through his veins whenever he and Faith come across one another and of course it doesn’t help one bit when he realizes that Faith turns putty in his arms. The coming together of Faith and Gray is so explosive that you would feel the scorch of the heat generated as you read through. And whilst the relationship between Gray and Faith continues to unfold till its inevitable conclusion, someone in Prescott doesn’t like the questions that Faith keeps on asking in order to piece together what actually happened that fateful night.

Packed with explosive sexual tension between two strong characters that reminded me of Aqua Man with his long hair, wide shoulders and the oh so sexy diamond stud in his ear and Faith with her cat like green eyes and red hair with the effortless sensuality that drives Gray out of his mind that bore a strong resemblance with Aqua Man’s wife in the Justice League cartoon series, this book is one that each contemporary romance lover must read!

My favorite scene in the book would have to be the one where Gray corners Faith in the ladies room in the courthouse, and man do the pages sizzle then! I would love one wicked Gray Rouillard served on a plate please!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Bedroom Business by Sandra Marton

Format: E-book
Read with: Microsoft Word
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #2159
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jake McBride
Heroine: Emily Taylor
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1, 2001
Started On: July 4, 2010
Finished On: July 4, 2010

I have been hankering to re-read this novel lately because I kept remembering just how I much I enjoyed the sparring verbal matches that take place between Jake and Emily. Jack is a self-made millionaire who is enjoying life as he always wanted to. The one thing that hampers his lifestyle are the women who inhabit his bed fully knowing that he is not the forever kind of guy and still going ahead and demanding something more from him. Thank God he could always rely on his straight-laced assistant Emily who has smoothed over his life many a time since she started working for him.

Growing up with two beautiful sisters and feeling like the odd one out because she had always been shy and more interested in books and studying than the opposite sex, Emily thinks of herself as the average brown mousy type of woman. No wonder she has been feeling restless and lonely of late because it had been ages since she had tried going out on a date. But the one thing Emily knows with gut wrenching certainty is the disdain she feels for men like her boss Jake who thinks they are the next best thing since sliced bread for women.

However from the minute one of Jake’s acquaintances turn up to see him and declare that he found his secretary who always dressed in brown tweed suites alluring and sexy, Jake can’t help the protective and possessive instincts that rise up deep within him. For Emily hearing Jake confirm what she sees herself as is the last straw for her and she decides to accept the impromptu offer to have dinner with Jake’s friend.

Jake doesn’t understand how he has turned into this seething mass of green-eyed jealousy overnight and fights the caveman instincts that arise in him whenever other men except him notice Emily. And it doesn’t help matters when Emily practically melts whenever Jake takes her in his arms which in turn creates havoc with Jake’s emotions. The continuous arguments that crop up between the two as they fight not to succumb to the alluring attraction between them is one to be savored. I found myself laughing out loud several times and whilst Jake is the type of hero who can melt you on the insides, Emily is a heroine you can relate to and root for.

What starts out as lessons in seduction for Emily certainly backfires on Jake and it is one enjoyable ride that Ms. Marton takes us on till Jake and Emily ultimately find happiness with one another. I guarantee there is never a dull moment within the pages of this book. Highly recommended for those who love Harlequin romances.

My favorite scene of the book would have to be when Jake traps Emily inside the elevator and what takes place next is just steamy hot!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookmidnightrainbow
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Kell Sabin, Book 1
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Hero: Grant Sullivan
Heroine: Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1986
Started On: July 2, 2010
Finished On: July 3, 2010

Like the author Catherine Coulter says on the book cover “You can’t just read one Linda Howard”, I find myself returning to her books time & time again and they never fail to entertain me. Though I still haven’t given her latest works “Ice” and “Burn” a try, mainly because of the weak reviews both the books received, maybe I should rectify it asap and see whether I like them.

This book is one the earliest books by the author, and I should say one that I enjoyed immensely even reading the second time round. Linda Howard writes the best alpha heroes out there and Grant Sullivan is no exception to the rule. In his late thirties and burned out from a career of serving on covert missions for his country, Grant retires from his career, buys a farm in a deeply isolated area and tries to heal himself from what he has become.

But people seldom forget a man of his talents and caliber and one year on, Grant finds himself deep in the jungles of Costa Rica to rescue the pretty bum of socialite Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer. Grant can’t believe how a social butterfly like Jane could end up in the middle of a conspiracy of international proportions, and it is up to Grant to rescue her from the clutches of the bad guys who have imprisoned her in the middle of nowhere.

Jane is not what she portrays herself to be. Though she is a beauty, she is far from being helpless and has been planning her own escape ever since she has been imprisoned and acting as dumb as she could to lull her captors into a false sense of security. Grant finds his rescue attempts thwarted not by her captors but by the enchanting captive herself. A mission Grant thought would be over before the next sunrise takes an unexpected turn and Grant finds himself trekking through the rough terrain to bring Jane to safety and on the way finds himself interested to know about Jane who is a mass of contradictions.

Before long, the attraction that Grant tries to hide from Jane becomes an impossibility when the feeling is mutual and though Jane knows that the strong warrior who stands beside her has captured her heart and spoiled her for any other man, nothing of permanence could come out of their relationship.

I always love an adventure where the hero and heroine are one with the nature and danger lurks with every step they take heightening the tension in the novel and the ultimate culmination of events seem all that much better. This book has got everything a gal could ask for in a romance. And in the end Jane’s plans to make Grant realize that he too cannot live without her seemed to make a satisfying ending for this great story.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Parting Gifts by Lorraine Heath

Format: E-bookpartinggifts
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Homespun, #30
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Jesse Lawson
Heroine: Maddie Sherwood
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: December 1994
Started On: June 29, 2010
Finished On: June 30, 2010

Even as I write this review, I still feel the remnants of the kaleidoscope of emotions that coursed through me as I finished this book. With a degree in psychology in hand, Lorraine Heath creates the most beautiful and realistic characters that have such depth that you can’t help but feel for them and relate with them. Though this is the first time I am reviewing a book by the author, I have previously read a lot of books by her and loved each story as it worked is magic over me.

This story is no different and right from the very start, Maddie Sherwood, who is at the very end of her wits as to what to do for survival finally succumbs to offering her body in return for shelter and food clutches at your heart. Rescue from the fate to which she had resigned herself to comes in the form of Charles Lawson who bids a hopping 1000 dollars to be the man who would initiate her & take her virginity.

However Maddie soon realizes that ravishing her is the furthest thing on Charles mind and before she knows it, she has agreed to marry him and care for his three children Taylor, Hannah and Aaron who settle deep within your heart from the very first encounter. And when Maddie first tumbles into the arms of Jesse Lawson, Charles’s older brother, Maddie realizes just how much she has agreed to sacrifice and forgo in the marriage of convenience to which she has entered with Charles.

From the very first moment Jesse looks into Maddie’s whiskey brown eyes he is a goner. Though he tries to fight the immense awareness he feels for someone he should not, you truly understand the meaning of the term “the heart wants what it wants regardless of the consequences” when you feel the cascading emotions that passes between Jesse and Maddie as the story progresses. While Maddie too yearns for the strength of Jesse’s embrace, she knows that deep within her heart she could never be disloyal to the man who had given her his family and affection.

What Maddie has no inkling of is the fact that Charles is a man who is near death, and the fact that he wanted his motherless children to know the warm and loving embrace of a mother was the reason why he had married Maddie in the first place. And Maddie holds close to her heart a secret which could destroy what she has come to love and hold dear to her heart.

Its hard to put into words how reading this story made me feel. Jesse’s loyalty towards his brother and towards doing what’s right made me admire him and fall in love with him along with Maddie. And Maddie’s courage in resisting the temptation of embracing the man she loved with every fiber of her being and being faithful to her husband made me realize the strength in her which Charles saw the night he rescued her from a life of prostitution. And Charles, the man who was insightful enough to know what his brother wanted and needed more than anything in the world and being man enough to leave Maddie to him made my throat tighten with emotion.

This is a book that packs an intense wallop of emotion and a page turner at that. I would advice to keep a box of tissues ready because towards the ending, its all you can do to keep from crying at turns with sadness, hope, happiness and ultimate joy.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Spanish Groom by Lynne Graham

Format: E-book
Read with: Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #2037
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Cesar Valverde
Heroine: Dixie Robinson
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 5, 1999
Started On: June 30, 2010
Finished On: June 30, 2010

This book is a testament to why Lynne Graham remains a favorite Harlequin romance author of mine though her recent works leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. After starting off with the book I realized that I had actually read this book sometime back and reading it the second time round didn’t diminish the effects of the roller coaster ride this book seemed to take me on.

My interest was piqued enough to read this book while I was browsing through a discussion thread on Amazon about Harlequin romances that readers actually liked. One reader had pretty much summed up the story which portrays Cesar, a man who keeps a tight rein on his emotions, but who dotes on his god father Jasper, the only person in his life who had ever shown him unconditional love. Dixie is the total opposite of Cesar in every way. Emotional where he is not, talkative and friendly to a fault, Dixie doesn’t know why the Jasper’s godson had taken such an intense dislike to her and seemed to be finding fault in everything she did around the office. It certainly doesn’t help matters when the routine financial checks done on employees turn up the information that Dixie is knee deep in debt, a condition her step sister Petra has left her in and run off to New York to find work as an actress.

Cesar doesn’t want to believe a word that comes out of Dixie’s mouth. Forever suspicious of people and their intentions, Cesar can’t fathom why Jasper seemed to like Dixie so intensely. The financial check that reveals Dixie’s spending habits give Cesar the chance he has been waiting for. But because of the news that his godfather has not been feeling well because of problems with his heart, Cesar decides that the one thing he could do for the single ray of sunshine in his life was to make his last days on Earth happy ones and decides to do that by entering into a charade where he would present Dixie as his fiance’ to Jasper.

It is Cesar’s intention to transform Dixie into a woman of polished veneer. It was quite amusing to see Dixie forced into a diet and rigorous workout sessions because Cesar thinks Dixie is overweight from over indulgence in food. It was riveting to read how Cesar realizes that beneath all the frumpy layer of clothes Dixie hides a body to die for, and unwillingly Cesar becomes slave to the undeniable fizz between the two.

Before long, Cesar and Dixie are on their way to Spain, and Jasper walks in on them in moments of heated passion which turns the tables around so fast that it leaves Dixie’s head whirling. Dixie finds herself married to Cesar in just a week’s time and finally admits to herself that she has fallen in love with the cold and aloof man that her husband portrays himself to be. It was heartwarming, endearing and at moments heart thumping when Cesar and Dixie try to make a relationship out of their circumstances and in the end find true love with one another.

I loved every bit of this novel and would highly recommend this to lovers of Harlequin romances and fans of Lynne Graham.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Daniel’s Bride by Linda Lael Miller

Format: E-book
Read with:  Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Daniel Beckham
Heroine: Jolie McKibben
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 1, 1992
Started On: June 24, 2010
Finished On: June 25, 2010

I have been following and reading up stories on the theme where heroes were previously married or dote on someone else apart from the heroine with whom the hero has to enter into a marriage mostly for conveniences sake. Daniel’s Bride is one such novel, one when I started reading I had the inkling that I had previously read it and halfway through I knew with certainty it was so.

Jolie is about to be hanged for a crime which she didn’t commit when Daniel saves her from her fate by agreeing to marry her then and there. Jolie realizes that she would rather get married to a total stranger than die and pay for a crime she never even knew was happening until it was a trifle bit too late. Daniel marries her and whisks her off to his farm where Jolie discovers that her brand new husband is a man who has vowed never to love again.

Daniel has been grieving for his dead wife and two children, one who had died without even being born into the world. Daniel knows that he needs children to continue the family line and it was with this practicality in mind that he saved beautiful Jolie, who unnervingly had the power to skim right through his thoughts no matter how hard he tries.

Its a hard life for men and women back in the 1800’s and when you read through the book, you find yourself in awe of those who have lived under such hardships in the past. The preparation of a simple meal back then took hours and though the description makes one think Jolie embraces the hard life effortlessly, I felt twinges in my back from just reading about the backbreaking work she does on a daily basis.

Right from the start Jolie is drawn to the quiet enigmatic man that Daniel is. A man of few words, Daniel introduces her to the wonders of sensuality and before long she is in love with Daniel. Daniel doesn’t like the fact that he continues to be enchanted with his wife and decides to send her along to San Fransisco so that she may start a new life as a divorcee once the harvesting period is over.

But the best laid plans have a way of getting over one’s head as two children who have no where else to turn to end up living with Daniel and Jolie. Little by little, the rigid structure Daniel has built around his heart starts to crumble, but it is a battle that is hard won for Jolie. And to make matters worse, the outlaws who actually committed the crime for which Jolie was prosecuted for starts turning up around the farm when Daniel is not around, keeping Jolie at a loss as to how to get rid of them before they destroy the family that she has found for herself and holds so dear.

This story is one that moves slowly, like a cup of hot tea warms your insides on a cold day. Sometimes I got frustrated with Daniel because he rarely shows how he feels towards Jolie and the ending of the book too seemed a bit empty to me because maybe I was wishing that Daniel would profess his undying love to the woman who would walk to the ends of the earth for him. But anyhow, its a good story which makes me more appreciative of all those gadgets that eases the hardships that we too might have had to face if it weren’t for their invention.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Fragile by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Kindle For PC & Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Fragile, Book 1
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero: Luke Rafferty
Heroine: Devon Manning
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 3, 2009
Started On: June 24, 2010
Finished On: June 24, 2010

I read Fragile in early 2009 when the title was first released. Reading the second book Broken of the series focusing on Luke’s twin brother Quinn Rafferty earlier  this year when it was released in March had me wanting to re-read and re-visit the characters of Fragile, a story that had always left a deep impression on me since it is that good a story.

Fragile is the type of story that defines why Shiloh Walker is a favorite author of mine who definitely rates at the highest on my auto-buy list. My friends kept teasing me because I was in such agony when Broken was first advertised to be released and I guess anybody who has read Fragile would understand my fascination with Quinn Rafferty and I have no doubt many of those who have read Broken would agree with me that he is one sigh worthy hero.

This does not mean that Luke Rafferty on his own is not sigh worthy himself. For me, I think I enjoyed Luke’s quiet intensity a bit more than Quinn who is a bit more darker and edgier than Luke, which is quite understandable based on the fact that whilst Luke and Quinn are twins, they were separated at birth when their mother who is a drug addict fled with Quinn just so she could punish their father. Their mother had gone underground not to be found no matter how much Luke’s father had tried to find them, and in the end, it was the inevitable death of their mother by drug overdose that brought Quinn back into Luke’s life. Luke had never known till then that he even had a twin and the first few pages of the book bleed raw emotion when these two first meet, a belligerent and abused Quinn with Luke who had got the better end of the deal when he ended up with his father.

Years later, Luke and Quinn are both serving in the army in Afghanistan when a round of bullets rip through Luke’s leg ending his stint in the army. By then Luke had already tired of the continuous stream of violence that never seemed to end. So trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs seems to fit Luke like a glove and it is there that he encounters Devon, a social worker who doesn’t come to the hospital with the best of patients.

From the get go, Luke is fascinated with Devon and although she doesn’t seem like she knows that Luke even exists, Luke can’t help looking out for her while on duty. Devon though she doesn’t let it be known is warily interested in Luke. Sexually abused when she was young and being lost in a dark place for a long time until a social worker had pulled her out of it and helped her, Devon has her own hang ups surrounding her.

To Luke Devon is as fragile as a piece of well spun glass and wants to protect her from all evil elements but Devon on her own is a force to be admired. Though Devon knows Luke is a complication that she best avoid, the intense awareness and attraction between the two doesn’t rest until they end up together. The best part of the story for me was the fact that Luke seems  to take so much care with Devon and it just touches the right places in my heart to read through such a wonderful character.

Though Devon and Luke’s relationship progresses and ultimately fall in love with one another, there are forces around them that create havoc on their relationship. Stalked and nearly bludgeoned to death doesn’t seem to be the end of the upheavals in store for Devon and Luke. Someone more sinister than the likes anyone could imagine continue stalking Devon until it eventually drives Luke and Devon apart. The pieces only fall in place at the very end and its a long and tough road for Luke and Devon until they find peace and happiness with one another.

This story ends off begging for Quinn’s story to be told. And it is a testament to Ms. Walker’s ability that these two stories are so wonderful that it begs to be read from start to finish in one sitting.

If you haven’t already read these two books, buy them, find yourself some quiet uninterrupted time and lose yourself in the two Rafferty’s that would individually charm and seduce you with the turn of each page.

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