Category / Endearing Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Ravished by Amanda Quick

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Gideon Westbrook, Viscount St. Justin
Heroine: Miss Harriet Pomeroy
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: December 23, 2009
Started On: April 15, 2010
Finished On: April 16, 2010

This is one of the best historical romances from Ms. Quick I have had the fortune to come across. Never a boring moment in the story of how Harriet, the daughter of the late Reverend teaches the “The Beast of Blackthorne Hall” to love and be loved again.

Gideon is a man who has been haunted by scandal for far too long. Being accused of impregnating the previous Reverend’s daughter and driving her to commit suicide after Gideon apparently ruined her and refused to marry her, a wake of scandal has followed Gideon everywhere he goes. And a hideous scar on his cheek certainly makes him befitting of the title “Beast” with all the rumors floating around.

Harriet when she summons Gideon, has no idea of what she has summoned exactly to her home. Nor does she care about all the rumors when Ms. Stone her housekeeper tells of the grisly events in hushed tones warning Harriet and her sister Felicity to avoid Gideon at all costs.

However, Harriet is a woman on a mission. Having an avid interest in fossils and the likes, she is impatient to rid the caves surrounding her home of the thieves who have been storing their loot exactly where Harriet goes on her discovery expeditions. Summoning Gideon, the owner of the lands seemed to be the only viable way to concoct a plan to get rid of the band of thieves once and for all.

Though Harriet doesn’t want to admit it, her 25 year old heart skips a beat every time she is around Gideon. Though everyone warns her to keep away from the man circumstances mostly of Harriet’s doing land these two in a compromising position that leads Gideon to offer for her hand in marriage as he is honor bound to do under the circumstances.

With everyone from the dwellers in the village to the ton in London rife with speculation on when Gideon would turn his back on his betrothed and the Harriet would be cast out of the polite society makes this book highly entertaining. I liked the fact that Ms. Quick doesn’t waste time on describing the frivolities of the London society which most of the time makes me snooze, but rather created a depth of detail on her characters so vivid that I loved Harriet right from the beginning.

Gideon proves everyone in the society wrong when he marries Harriet in a manner unlike that you see in most historical romances, and whilst the relationship between Gideon and Harriet continues to blossom, so does the story of how certain forces within the society works in adverse ways to make sure Gideon takes the fall again, and thus unfolds the story of what truly took place 6 years back.

Highly entertaining with a good dose of old fashioned romance for which as a reader, I couldn’t ask for more.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas

Format: Paperback
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero:  Jack Devlin
Heroine: Amanda Briars
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 13, 2009
Started On: March 13, 2010
Finished On: March 19, 2010

Ms. Kleypas always writes the most beautiful romances, regardless of whether it be historical or contemporary, though people tend to like her historical romances better. This book too is unconventional for a historical romance where Ms. Kelypas has created a heroine who doesn’t seem to follow all the conventions, rules and regulations that bound the lives of women during 1800’s.

Amanda Briars is an author, a spinster & a virgin going on towards the big three-O. Wanting to divest herself of the virginal state, she goes to one of the famous brothel houses in London and asks a man to be sent to her house on the night of her birthday to help the process along. Just like the title says, Amanda finds herself that night suddenly in the company of Jack Devlin. Without knowing to both of them, the madam who runs the brothel has played matchmaker behind their backs, perhaps knowing what they both needed and wanted better than themselves.

Though Amanda defied all convention and society rules when she requested for a male escort, she begins to doubt the wisdom behind her impulsive decision when she suddenly finds herself ensnared by the rather charming and devilish Jack.

Jack doesn’t know what hits him when he first encounters Amanda on her doorstep. A notorious publisher whose rising fame had pointed him towards Amanda with the rights to her first book which he wants to publish, Jack didn’t have a clue that the Madam had set him up for this when he asked her whether he knew of Amanda Briars. But Jack can’t help but be intrigued and want Amanda for himself though he knows that his less than savvy background and his tightly reigned in emotions are not what Amanda really needs.

However within the course of a few weeks, these two are entangled in a heady affair. Like the book cover dictates, this is one of the most sensual romances of Ms. Kleypas that I have come across and my, my! Amanda sets the terms of the affairs to be for a duration of three months, which however as the gossip circles start to stir with the knowledge of their rampant affair, Amanda brings their affair to a hasty conclusion though she would give anything to be with Jack and love him for the rest of her life.

Jack, unwilling to give all of himself to Amanda licks his wounds in private though he is like a haunted man after the abrupt end to their affair. Amanda is soon been courted by the respectable Hartley and a marriage seems to be on the horizon when Amanda comes to realize that she is pregnant with Jack’s child.

This story is refreshingly heartwarming with descriptions of Jack’s vast publishing business which seems to unfold right in front of your eyes with Ms. Kleypas’s brilliant descriptions. The best thing about the romance of course as a female reader was Jack and his  total concentration and care for Amanda during the whole book though he refuses to acknowledge of his love for her till the very end.

And when Amanda finds out that she is five years older than Jack, ah! thats a scene that would remain with me for a long time! *winks*

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Something About You by Julie James

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Special Agent Jack Pallas
Heroine: Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde
Date of Publication: March 2, 2010
Started On: March 7, 2010
Finished On: March 8, 2010

Its been ages since a book has been good enough to warrant that I stay up all night to finish it. Yes, this book was that good. Since I haven’t ever read a book by Ms. James I would have to say she has hooked me onto her writing style which is a mix of suspense, murder, mayhem, red hot passion that sizzles between the two lead characters with a bit of humor thrown into the mix to make a helluva of a story.

FBI Special Agent Jack Pallas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had a falling out three years ago. Jack blames Cameron for ruining his career and thinks that she is the one who made the Justice Department send him off to Nebraska after Jack badmouthed Cameron all over the national media.

Now, three years later, Jack is back and Cameron finds herself as the only potential witness in a high stakes murder of a call girl involving a senator. Whilst Cameron only saw the back of the killer, he is not taking any chances to lead all this back to him and he pulls all the stops to eliminate Cameron and wipe her away from the almost perfect crime that he committed.

Though at the beginning Jack is all but pulsating with anger at Cameron, he slowly starts to find out that there might be more than what meets the eye in what took place three years back. And there was that simmering sexual tension between him and Cameron that no matter how hard Jack tries to ignore, seems to blaze hotter and hotter with every encounter.

This is one delicious book for fans of romantic thrillers can never go wrong with. I absolutely loved every fricking minute of it!

Till next time!

P.S. I guess this is one of those rare times when the cover of a book actually depicts something described in the book. The cover filled my head with all these hot images during one  of  the most delicious mouthwatering scenes in the book. *wink* *wink*

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Annie’s Song by Catherine Anderson

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Avon
Hero: Alex Montgomery
Heroine: Annie Trimble
Date of Publication: January 1, 1996
Started On: February 25, 2010
Finished On: February 26, 2010

Goodness me! This is one of the sweetest and most adorable romances that one could ever read. The story of Alex and Annie is one that is bound to stay with the reader for a long period of time as one of the best and most touching romances a reader could come across. This is a re-read for me and I assure you that after sometime I would be picking up this novel once again just to feel those tugs at my heart and get the warm feeling deep in my tummy that you are guaranteed to get after reading this beautiful story.

Annie lives in her own lonely world labeled as a crazy person after she had a fever when she was young. Though no one understands her, Annie roams freely across the forests that surround her home. During one of her excursions and at the age of around 18, Douglas Montgomery, Alex’s step brother who has a mean streak in his nature a mile wide comes across Annie and brutally rapes her just because he thinks that he could get away with it. Alex had always let Douglas get away with all sorts of behavior but his latest crime gives Alex a  bad taste in his mouth and so cuts off all ties with Douglas and asks him to move out of their home.

Alex approaches the Trimbles (Annie’s parents) and offers to make matters right. When Annie’s parents discover that she is pregnant and four months along, Alex offers to marry her till the babe is born and divorce her so that no scandal would touch the Trimble family since Annie’s father had political aspirations that wouldn’t survive a scandal of Annie becoming pregnant since people ridiculed Annie as it is.

Alex installs Annie at his home never thinking for a minute that Annie would have the power to bring him down to his knees. Annie’s odd behavior suddenly starts to make sense to Alex when he realizes that rather than being crazy as she is labeled to be, Annie had lost her hearing due to the ravaging fever she experienced when she was young.

What proceeds is so heartwarming and so very beautiful that any reader with even an iota of romance in his or her heart would be totally captivated by the lengths that Alex goes through to give Annie everything he could possibly give her within his power.

The love between these two grows so beautifully throughout the novel that you can’t help but fall in love with these two characters that Ms. Anderson has created so well.

Very highly recommended.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Dangerous Passion by Lisa Marie Rice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Format: E-book
Read with: Google Chrome
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Alex Markov
Heroine: Daisy Devreaux
Date of Publication: February 1, 1996
Started On: December 19, 2009
Finished On: December 19, 2009

This is the third time I have read this book, and I would have to say that the story of Alex and Daisy never gets old. Its a beautiful love story with a strong cast of characters, each playing a vital role to make this story a worthwhile read.

Alex Markov was rescued by Daisy’s father Max when he was twelve years old from the constant physical abuse he was facing under his uncle Sergey. Max had bought Alex from his uncle and seen to his education. Alex had shaped into a cold, aloof man who has a strong sense of honor and pride which he holds onto with his life.

Daisy is the direct opposite of Alex. An illegitimate child, the only mistake her diplomat father had made in his entire life, Daisy had lived her whole life trying to gain the approval of a father who has never really seen what a remarkable woman Daisy had turned into, regardless of the promiscuous lifestyle  Daisy’s beautiful mother had subjected her to. Vulnerable, kind and easy going to a fault, Daisy’s father considers her to be a fluffy scatterbrained individual whom he arranges to be married to Alex for a period of six months. Broke without a dollar to her name, Daisy has no choice but to go ahead with the marriage or face prison for maxing out her credit cards and finding all the creditors after her, the result of shopping extravagantly to make up for the profound sense of loneliness she has been feeling since her mother died.

Alex thinks no better of Daisy than her father and vows to give her a fair chance to work through the temporary arrangement which Alex has agreed to with Max. Alex introduces Daisy to the life of living and working in a circus, and for someone like Daisy who has a perpetual fear of animals this doesn’t prove to be an easy feat. With a husband who doesn’t want to have to do anything with her except grudgingly acknowledge the intense feelings of passion that Daisy is able to arouse in him, Daisy finds herself unprepared for what is about to hit her.

Alex doesn’t trust his wife one bit and when she is framed as a thief, Alex serves her with the sentence of cleaning up the muck of the animal stalls at the circus. Daisy proves she has a backbone of steel when with determination she surpasses everyone’s expectations of her by sticking to her punishment regardless of the fact she is innocent of the crime.

Regardless of the cold layer of indifference Alex tries to put up with, he soon finds himself intrigued with his new wife, whilst Daisy slowly teaches Alex how to care, love and share with his better half.

Things get interesting when Daisy gets pregnant, something which Alex had made Daisy swear she would take all the necessary precautions against. In a moment of anger, Alex loses the woman he only realizes too late that he has fallen for, and the lengths Alex has to go through to win Daisy’s love back would touch any romantics heart.

The author is known for her talent in weaving a romantic tale filled with laugh aloud moments together with moments of intense passion that makes this book one worth re-reading from time to time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance. Am sure that you wouldn’t be disappointed!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Condition of Marriage by Emilie Rose

Format: E-bookconditionofmarriage
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Dynasties: The Ashtons, Book 9
Publisher: Silhouette 
Hero: Jared Maxwell
Heroine: Mercedes Ashton
Date of Publication: September 1, 2005
Started On: November 21, 2009
Finished On: November 22, 2009

This I think is the first multi-author series that I have ever tried and the first book by this author that I have ever read. This was a really beautiful love story and of course, it didn’t hurt that this romance was that of my favorite theme, where best of friends find true love with one another.

The Ashton family’s history explained in snatches here and there throughout the novel is focused on Ashley’s father Spencer Ashton who is this huge multi-millionaire who is portrayed as a man who never cared for anyone but himself. He has children from three ‘wives’, only one of them to whom he was actually legally married to and never divorced from, rendering his other two marriages unlawful and thus the children classified as bastards in the society. This whole series revolves around his mysterious murder, and how children from all his three wives come to terms with the legacy that their father had left them with, together with on how each find everlasting love with their meant to be’s.

Mercedes and Jared’s story is the ninth book of the series. Mercedes and Jared has been the best of friends ever since Chloe, Jared’s wife and Mercedes’s best friend since college died of a car crash together with the baby Jared and Chloe were about to have. Their story begins when Mercedes finds out she is pregnant with the father of the baby (Craig) wanting nothing more from her than an abortion to get rid of the baby.

Jared has his own demons to fight on top of the forbidden bouts of desire he starts to feel for Mercedes all of a sudden. Mercedes battles with the same desire, blaming them on her over zealous pregnant hormones. Craig all of a sudden comes back into Mercedes’s life, demands that she marry him so that he can reap off the millions that Mercedes might supposedly inherit from her father’s assets. Jared offers a way out by offering to marry Mercedes, and the moving journey that takes place after their marriage made for a really wonderful read.

I do not know whether all the other stories in the series are as good as this one, but I have got the mind to try them out since this is one of the most beautiful love stories that I have read in a long time. Truly satisfying read and of course Mr. Hotness himself didn’t make it any harder to fall in love with this story.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Guilty Needs by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookGuilty Needs
Read with: Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Series: Standalone
Hero: Colby
Heroine: Bree
Date of Publication: September 19, 2008
Started On: October 10, 2009
Finished On: October 10, 2009

Shiloh Walker is absolutely one of my most favourite authors. Her books have a fantastic mix of emotions that can make you really cry, and throw into this wonderful sexy characters who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go after what they want. This is the THIRD time that I have read this book and it wouldn’t be a lie to say that I will most probably read this book again in the near future cos I just can’t seem to get enough of this wonderful story.

Bree, Colby and Alyssa are the main characters in this story. Bree and Alyssa have been the best of friends since childhood rather like sisters to one another. Colby is the shy introvert who bloomed late in life. Alyssa and Bree both notices him in high school, but Alyssa is the one who ends up going after him and eventually marries him.

All the while Bree, silently loving Colby all her life, stands on the sidelines, envying what Alyssa and Colby have together, but determined not to lose what she has got with Alyssa, never acts on her feelings. That is until, Alyssa gets diagnosed with rapidly advanced cancer and dies leaving behind a devastated husband and a beloved friend in great turmoil with Alyssa’s dying wish which strikes a chord of longing deep within her heart.

Guilty Needs is a very appropriate title for a book that is steeped in unvoiced longings and desires that just creates the most wonderful sexual tension that I absolutely reveled in. Colby finds that he has an attraction, (which is putting it mildly), towards his wife’s best friend which fires up all the guilt inside of him which makes him leave everything behind until he gets himself sorted out. 

This is a really moving story and the passion between these two scorches ones hard disk drives whilst reading. I highly recommend this book for all romance lovers and especially for those who love books from Shiloh Walker. I tell you, you wouldn’t be disappointed.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Wild Orchids By Karen Robards

Format: E-bookwild
Read with: MS Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Warner Books
Hero: John Roberts “Max” Maxwell
Heroine: Lora Harding
Published on: January 1, 1994
Started On: September 2, 2009
Finished On: September 2, 2009

For those who have read my last review (Island Flame by Karen Robards), I mentioned that the most favorite book of mine by this author is Wild Orchids which was the second book of this author that I tried. Writing the review for Island Flame and thinking about the book Wild Orchids, which I had previously read twice, made me stop the book Sea Fire in the middle (the second book  in the Pirates series) to read Wild Orchids once again, and sigh… I wasn’t disappointed! So here is my review for this special book, which most probably, I would end up reading AGAIN sometime in the near future.

This book starts when Lora, who is on vacation in Mexico, finds herself kidnapped at gun point by Max who is on the run for his life from the Mexican authorities. Max married previously, fought in the Vietnam war, and carries the emotional baggage of a war that turned pretty ugly. Lora, a teacher in a quiet town, engaged to a Mathematics teacher at her school, had been nursing her paralyzed mother for ten years or so, and was trying to enjoy a long awaited vacation after her mother dies of pneumonia leaving both her children with a bit of money, allowing Lora to splurge a bit on herself for a change.

Max, a strong alpha hero, from the moment he kidnaps Lora, who gives as good as she gets, has his hands full. Desperate attempts to escape which are thwarted at the last minute by Max, exasperates him endlessly, whilst Lora and Max start to feel the first stirrings of an attraction to one another that won’t be denied. The witty dialogue between Lora and Max never fails to amuse me.

Halfway through the novel, Max releases Lora to return back to wherever she came from, advising her not to go to the cops, when Lora just does the opposite and finds out that she really doesn’t want to turn Max over to  the authorities a moment too late and finds herself locked up. Max and his buddies rescue her from jail and in a harrowing chase, ends up on the plane which was to take them away from the hell hole. However, fate had different plans, when the plane crashes in the midst of the thick jungle, leaving one of Max’s buddies dead, and the other Tunafish (Theodre) with a broken ankle.  Max finds out that who loaned him the plane had double crossed him, and in fact the plane was full of millions of dollars worth of dope.

The story that unfolds is fast paced, filled with action, humor and moments of glorious passion between these two strong willed characters which you can’t put down till you have read the last line. My only peeve with this book is even the first time that I read this book, I thought that Lora didn’t make Max suffer enough before succumbing, which is a problem with most of the romance books. Maybe my ultra feminine side doesn’t like the fact that the heroine suffers so much throughout the novel, and in the end the hero just has to crook his finger in the “come to me” motion and the heroine just forgets every little thing that the hero puts her through and swoons on the confession of ultimate love, desire and marriage. However, even though the ending may not satisfy me 100%, I still love this great book and would continue to re-read it from time to time.

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

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