Category / Favorites

by mvbookreviewer

Review: On Thin Ice by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookonthinice
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Ice, Book 6
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Finn MacGowan
Heroine: Elizabeth Pennington
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 15, 2011
Started On: November18, 2011
Finished On: November 18, 2011

Anne Stuart announced about the release of the On Thin Ice, the 6th book in the ICE series when I had long given up hope that there would ever be another book in the 5-star series that I had enjoyed immensely from the minute I picked up Black Ice. For me, Anne Stuart is one of a kind; an author who manages to deliver heroes in a league of their own, passion that absolutely scorches through the pages and a love when it comes, binds the hero and heroine for all time to come. And On Thin Ice turned out to be exactly what I hoped and envisioned it to be as I finished this in almost one sitting, just taking breaks for those essential stuff in between.

36 year old Finn MacGowan is an agent of the infamous Committee, taken captive by the members of the Guiding Light that operates in Callivera, a small war-torn country in South America. Having been held captive for three long years, Finn is looking forward to the night he would make his third and final attempt at escape; the reason that he has been kept alive for as long as he has which still remains a mystery even to him.

31 year old Elizabeth Pennington, the sole heiress to the Pennington Pharmaceutical dynasty arrives in Callivera seven months back and works with the Catholic Charities of Callivera until one brutal day when everyone she holds dear is killed ruthlessly and Beth is taken captive. 

Beth’s savior comes in the form of the Irish man Finn who makes no secret of the fact that he would willingly leave her behind if it would mean an easier escape for him. But from the very first moment these two opposites are pitted together, Finn has a hard time acting the part of his usual cold and ruthless self around Beth who stirs his senses and literally sets him afire. Blaming his intense attraction towards the skittish and almost virginal Beth as an effect of his 3 year dry spell placates him somewhat but deep down inside, Finn knows that Beth is far more dangerous to his heart and mind than any other woman he has ever known.

A trek through the jungle, with the vicious members of the Guiding Light at their heels hell bent on vengeance and revenge, not to mention the nefarious plans of a member of the CIA tracking their progress all throughout in his own personal vendetta, the adventure aspect of the novel is as hair raising as they come and I fully enjoyed every nail biting minute of it.

The attraction between Finn and Beth is a strong and visceral one that just about took my breathe away with the sexual tension that fairly leaps out of evey single one of their encounters. Finn is the type of hero I love to allow into my dreams. Ruthless and dangerous enough to kill for those whom he loves, with an inner core of tenderness towards that one woman who rocks his world in all the ways, I would love myself a Finn any fine day! I think Finn might come a very close second in my favorite hero list from the ICE series and that is saying a lot when all of the heroes in the ICE series are unbeatable and one of a kind in their own unique way.

Beth is the type of heroine that Anne Stuart does so well. Though in her thirties and richer than the average woman could ever hope of being, Beth is calm and serenity itself and believes herself to be one of those women who would never enjoy the act of sexual relations and steers clear of anything and everything that might lead to it. Her awakening is a slow one, the senses that stir into life and makes her yearn for those things that she cannot for the life of her seem to be able to voice one of the most invigorating aspects of the novel. The way Finn seduces her, not with poetry and flowers but his brand of loving that is hard and branding in its own right just about melted me on the very spot!

I loved how characters from previous ICE books came together in this novel and learning tidbits of their lives at present just warmed me up from the inside. I especially loved the last chapter that serves as a sort of epilogue which I nearly jumped up and down after reading because lets face it, Anne Stuart is famous for leaving the reader begging for more with her books.

Everything about this novel spells perfection right from the very start though there were certain editing errors here and there which I didn’t mind overly much. The only drawback; there is a feeling of finalty with how the novel ended which I think signals the end of the ICE series. I am practically a pretzel at the moment from crossing all my limbs together in the hope that I be proven wrong in the near future.

Recommended for fans of the ICE series, fans of Anne Stuart and fans of ruthless and dangerous heroes that no other hero can ever hope to compete with!

Favorite Quotes

(Beth) “You can’t leave me behind!”
“I can and I will, if I have to break your neck to keep you from following me.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” His voice was flat, unemotional, but even in the darkness she could see the faint flicker in his eyes. She looked behind her, at the crumpled body of the pot smoking soldier, his head at an odd angle, his eyes open and staring.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, horrified. What had seemed a strange kind of nightmare was suddenly, terribly real. “Did you kill him?”
“No, the tooth fairy came along and took care of him.” 

(Finn) “You’re sure you’re not a sister?” he tossed back at her, his voice little more than a growl on the night air.
She was closer than he thought, making decent enough headway on the steep hill. “I’m an only child.”
Stupid, he thought. “I’m asking if you’re a holy nun.”
“I told you, I’m not a nun, holy or otherwise.”
Okay, she met the criteria for fuckable. 

He halted abruptly, and this time she did slam into him, but at least it was his back absorbing the blow of her soft body. He could pretend to ignore it. “What have you got on your feet?” he growled.
“Shoes.”
He looked down, his eyes accustomed to the inky black. Light-weight sneakers, already soaking wet from the damp undergrowth. “Christ, woman,” he muttered.
“I didn’t exactly get a chance to choose my wardrobe when they kidnapped me,” she said.
Damned if he didn’t like her. 

The vibration of laughter increased, and for some reason it did even more to warm her than the heat from his big, strong body. “You know, Sister Beth, you’re a dangerous woman.”
“You said that before, and I assume you’re being sarcastic.” She was too sleepy to come up with a real argument, too warm and safe for the first time in days to bestir herself. “I can’t imagine anyone more pathetically weak than I am. What could I possibly do to you?”
“Sweetheart, you could make me fall in love, and that’s fatal.”

He moved around the wide counter, silent as always. She was sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, her fist in her mouth to try to quiet her sobs, and he realized he hadn’t actually seen her cry before. [..]
She must have felt his eyes on her, for she suddenly swallowed her sob on a choked gasp and looked up at him, her huge, sorrow-filled eyes a sharper pain than the knife slash.
He moved slow enough, so as not to spook her, to give her plenty of time to move, but she stayed where she was, her huge eyes looking into his, and she fucking broke his heart, if he still possessed such a useless organ. 

Without his shirt she could see just how bony he was, probably twenty or thirty pounds under his fighting weight from his years in captivity. He loomed over her, and she finally understood her ambivalence. He had protected her, killed for her, led her to safety. He was safety.
But he was also big and raw and so elementally male that it made her teeth sweat. She’d spent most of her life blissfully above the calls of the flesh and the dark, desperate couplings that subsumed others. She didn’t like sex, didn’t want sex. Body parts were simply that. She looked at MacGowan and thought about sex.

There were times when she was honestly afraid of him. He could kill, had killed for her on a number of occasions, seemingly without a moment’s hesitation or an ounce of regret. He was mercenary, brutal, charming, devious, and yes, any other woman would think he was sexy as hell. Not her.
Not her. Oh hell, yes, her. The way he moved, as if he understood his body better than any man had a right to and knew just how to use it for a woman’s maximum pleasure. The way his gray eyes slid over her, coolly caressing. It meant nothing, it was part of his stock in trade, and yet she felt it slide over her skin like a physical touch.

He caught up with her outside her doorway, when she almost gave up. He said nothing, simply pulled her into his arms, against his strong, hard body, and his hand slid beneath her hair, tilting her face up to his. “No more running away?” His voice was rough.
His eyes glittered down into hers, and if she wanted tenderness it wasn’t there. Simply a dark, naked heat sparking between them.
“No more running away,” she said.

He wanted her hands on him, he wanted her mouth on him, he wanted to take her from behind, leaning over the bunk, he wanted her to go down on him, he wanted everything he could possibly think of and more. He wanted it hard and nasty, gentle and sweet. But most of all he wanted it now.

She could feel the hot tears pouring down her face, and she pressed it against the stone. MacGowan, you stupid bastard, she thought. Why did you have to go and get yourself killed? I care about you.
Care about you. Stupid phrase. She knew the truth, and right then the least she could do for the man who’d died protecting her was to admit it. She was stupidly, idiotically in love with him. He didn’t deserve it, she was smart enough to know better, but all the rationalization in the world didn’t help. It simply was.

Purchase Links: Amazon

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Hot Text by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookhottext
Read with: iBooks for iPhone
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Jeffrey Maddox
Heroine: Karyn Colette Allison
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: November 2, 2011
Started On: November17, 2011
Finished On: November 17, 2011

With Hot Text, Cari Quinn once again proves to me the reason why she is my go to author when it comes to quality erotica that delivers on all fronts. For some Hot Text might be “offensive” in the sense that sexual relations takes place between a married woman who is on the verge of divorce and the hero. But hey, lets face it; in real life things do not exactly go according to our well laid plans. If it did we would all be married to men who wouldn’t let us out of our bedrooms because they cannot get enough of giving us multiple orgasms. And yes, I digress but I just love the fact that Cari is bold enough and is daring enough to write about scenarios that might not be sometimes well received by 100% of the romance reading population but nevertheless for fans like us who want and crave something different, Cari ALWAYS hits the spot with plots of the said nature.

Jeffery Maddox is the two time divorced older brother of Daisy Maddox whose current beau is the married Lonny James who just rubs Jeff the wrong way. Wanting to do something about Lonny before he can break Daisy’s heart, Jeff takes an opportunity that presents itself and meets up with Lonny’s soon to be ex-wife with the intention of asking her to take Lonny back and work things out.

But from the moment Jeff and Karyn lay eyes on each other, the sparks that fly between them are evident. For Karyn who is a pre-school teacher who defines herself as an average person, who has had 10 years of marriage which had failed miserably when her husband had asked for a divorce is not prepared for her almost forgotten body parts to come alive at the sight of the very fine Jeff whose gruff nature just calls to something deep inside of her. 

A night of unforgettable and decadent sex follows, a night during which every misconception that Karyn has ever had regarding herself and her sexuality is put to bed by Jeff who focuses on her with an intensity that just drives her crazy with wanting. For Jeff, its not just a night of sex and he falls hard and fast only to face the harsh and brutal face of reality come morning when none other than Lonny strolls in.

In my opinion, Cari has done what very few authors manage to do in a novel of this length. She has taken two characters who have no inkling of the other’s existence until the night that changes their lives forever, showed sides of them that both endears and makes them unforgettable to the reader and together with that Cari has pitted them in a situation that you don’t find in the average romance novel. And that’s what made this book a winner for me and of course the out of this world scorching heat that Jeff and Karyn generates right from the very start is worthy of mentioning. 

I loved Jeff’s character right from the very minute he said “Not a screamer, huh? Gonna prove you wrong.” Now, who in the world can fault the man behind that logic is just beyond me. Jeff is someone who is wary of marriage and rightfully so when his previous two marriages hadn’t worked out very well. He is the gruff and taciturn type and not much of a people’s person, but yet in my eyes, Jeff communicates just damn fine when he wants to. I loved his intensity, the way he just takes hold of Karyn and plunges his way into a world of sensuality with her that leaves both of them hungering for more of where that came from. His take charge attitude, the way he solely focuses on giving Karyn a night she would not forget anytime soon and of course the way he can find humor in those little things just made him a favorite hero of mine.

Karyn doesn’t expect her world to turn upside down when she answers the text message she receives from her husband’s mobile phone. And when Jeff turns out to be the man who proves to her in just one night how wrong she has been in neglecting herself, her wants, needs and desires the past couple of years, Karyn knows its time to take charge of her life and let go of the past and fight for all those things that she has accepted as her due. Divorce is hard and messy on anybody and doubly so for Karyn when she cannot make up her mind, when she still cannot fully comprehend the fact that 10 years of her life had just meant nothing to the man she had shared it with when he had asked for a divorce. It is her encounter with Jeff that bursts through the bubble she has wrapped herself in and it is then Karyn realizes that has a lot of “growing up” to do before she can proceed with whatever it is between Jeff and herself.

I loved the concept, the hero and the heroine and of course the neat little epilogue that Cari tucked in at the end. If you like myself are a fan of tastefully done erotic romances that deliver on the not-your-average tropes and a hero to definitely drool over; Hot Text is the novella for you! For fans of Cari Quinn, this is another little goody which would have to tide us fans over until she can publish another decadently sinful novel for us to enjoy!

Favorite Quotes

He didn’t reply but by then she’d found something else to occupy her attention. His eyes.
Though she’d expected them to be as serviceable as the rest of him, they were a smoky blue-gray fringed in dark lashes. Pretty eyes. Even when he stared her down like a cop might a perp. And not just any perp. One who was heavily armed and an imminent flight risk.

She expected an easy kiss. Good, perhaps, but not intense. He seemed like a low-key, moderately passionate person. As she’d been, without the right stimulation.
Without this.
What she got was a glancing blow of lips that soon turned to a furious meshing of mouths and teeth. It wasn’t elegant. It was messy and rough and God help her, bordered on dirty.

Even when she’d fantasized, what she’d come up with hadn’t ever matched this reality. She’d never envisioned a sexy, borderline grouchy guy with a glint in his eye and an erection this tempting. 

He inched in, slid out. Pumped deeper, pulled away. Just as her frustration swelled to a fuckingly epic level, he hauled her hips up, dragging her higher before he sank all the way in, filling her so completely she gasped.
Her flesh stretched, unaccustomed to a man after so long. Each thrust stirred her unspeakably. More than just her p#ssy linked with him when he slid into her. A little part of her heart did as well. 

Karyn reached out to graze his jaw with her thumb, savoring the beginnings of stubble. She’d never seen her ex with stubble. Or with his mouth as deliciously soft and used as Jeff’s.
“How’d we end up here?” she asked softly, not expecting an answer.
“Luck,” he said, turning his head to kiss her palm. “Blind fucking luck.”

Soft strokes and tender words of praise might’ve made her suspicious but his rough manner helped her to trust him. What she saw was what she got with Jeff Maddox. And what she saw, she liked. A lot.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Jasmine Jade

outstandingread

 

Reviewer’s Note: I just had to mention this as part of this review. I was listening to Give Me Everything by Pitbull feat Nayer, Ne-Yo while reading this  and somehow, that song ended up being one that was perfectly in sync with the events that took place in the story.

I loved the following part of the lyrics:

Tonight I will love love you tonight
Give me everything tonight
For all we know we might not get tomorrow
Let’s do it tonight
I will love love you tonight
Give me everything tonight
For all we know we might not get tomorrow
Lets do it tonight
[…]
Grab somebody sexy tell ‘em hey
Give me everything tonight
Give me everything tonight
by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Lauren’s Eyes by Norah Wilson

Format: E-booklaurenseyes
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self Published
Hero: Callum Taggart
Heroine: Lauren Townsend
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 31, 2010
Started On: September 28, 2011
Finished On: October 1, 2011

When I first saw Lauren’s Eyes by Norah Wilson, the book failed to catch my eye. Maybe because the book cover that depicted a couple of horses didn’t stir my pick-this-book-up-immediately-radar. But once I read The Merzetti Effect and became drawn towards Norah’s style and the way she presents a story to the reader, I knew I needed to get my hands on every romance that she has published to-date.

The new glossy cover toting man-candy certainly whetted my appetite for more and Lauren’s Eyes made its way to my massive TBR, time and yet again to be bumped up because the story seemed to call something deep inside of me. And now, having read the book from start to finish and having loved every minute of the journey, I have just got to say, Kudos Norah, for a story that hits ALL the right spots head on!

Callum Taggart (Cal) is a rancher who has hit hard times and has resigned himself to taking in tourists to turn his business around. Cal is a man who has so much pain deep inside of him, which he hides from the rest of the world so effectively that even Cal himself doesn’t realize that he hurts for things that he cannot seem to voice. A childhood that had taught Cal the lesson never to depend on anyone else but himself and later on a marriage that had failed miserably has Cal shouldering each and every responsibility without flinching, never trusting anyone else and never really understanding his own worth until Lauren comes into his life and turns everything around.

Lauren Townsend is a 30 year old veterinarian, a gift that makes her susceptible towards the behavior and emotions of animals that makes her very good at what she does. Lauren’s psychic ability makes her sensitive to visions that shows her homicides that until now Lauren has been unable to stop. Her changeling nature has made her a bit of a loner, the past relationships in her life a testament to the fact.

It is Lauren’s psychic visions that brings her to the Foothills Guest Ranch where she meets Cal Taggart, whose silver gaze makes her think of the swirling depths of the Atlantic Ocean, and makes her want to lose every single inhibition she has and say yes to the fire that smolders in Cal’s eyes, promising her a world of pleasure that Lauren has not yet known.

What starts out merely as Lauren’s attempt to save a woman’s life turns into something much bigger and complex as her growing attraction towards Cal makes her want and yearn for much more than the straightforward sexual affair that Cal is ready to offer. For both Cal and Lauren, the desire that they feel for each other that burns hotter and more out of control with each and every encounter slowly chips away their resistance towards letting their hearts get involved.

As trouble continues to mount at the ranch and unexpected guests arrive, it is Lauren that proves at each and every turn that in her Cal has finally found someone he can completely rely on and place his trust in, because in her arms, Cal finally feels as if he has come home.

I started Lauren’s Eyes thinking that I would be getting an enjoyable romantic suspense with a heroine who has psychic abilities posing the usual conflicts that such characters bring to the stories. But, with Norah, I have come to realise that she always has a way of far exceeding my expectations. Reading Lauren’s Eyes was like unwrapping a gift with hidden compartments, each layer that unfolded making the story that much more irresistible.

Cal’s inner tortured nature makes him such a worthy hero to sigh over, his mere presence devastating to the senses. Cal is the type of hero that I can’t get enough of, the type of hero that I wish authors would write more of! Even now, a couple of hours after finishing the book, I find myself thinking of Cal at odd times, thinking of those heady moments he shares with Lauren filled with such raw desire and want that one can’t help but want more of the same. Norah certainly ups the heat in this novel and for those who love blistering heat and passion of the toe curling variety in their romantic suspense, I guarantee that Lauren’s Eyes provides that in spades!

I have identified with the fact that Norah has an innate ability to create heroines who don’t do much fluttering around, wringing their hands bemoaning the fates for putting them in the path of the hero. And true to Norah’s style, Lauren turned out to be such a fantastic heroine, someone that I loved right from the very beginning. Her need to comfort Cal right from the  very beginning made her land in my favorite heroines shelf for now & always!

The ending when it came, had me with tears in my eyes, something that yet again Norah seems to do to me so effortlessly to with her novels.

As I said before, there are so many elements to the story that makes the book what it is, that one needs to read this to uncover and appreciate it for. The characters, the setting and the romance all make for a fantastic read, one I cannot recommend highly enough and cannot applaud Norah enough!

Favorite Quotes

(Cal) “I was thinking, maybe you’d like a livelier mount, since you’re obviously a skilled rider.”
She glanced at him sharply. The fact that he’d paid her a compliment sank in her consternation at the thought of a more forceful mount under her. […]
“Thank you, no. I think I’ll stick with slow and steady.”
His hooded eyes suddenly took on a sleepy, sensual look. “That’s a sensible decision, ma’am. But if you should get a yen for fast and wild, just give me a shout.”

When his hard hand cupped her face, an involuntary shiver raced up her spine, but she made no objection Then his lips were on hers.
It wasn’t what she expected. Instead of hot demand, there was testing, tasting. He shaped her lips with his, tilting his head this way and that, as though searching for the best angle. Her heart pounding, she conceded they were all good. But she wanted more. Without thought, she opened her mouth against his.
She sensed him stiffen, but instead of deepening the kiss, he started to pull back. Abandoning any pretense that she didn’t want this, hadn’t thought about it since the first moment she’d laid eyes on him, she caught his head and really kissed him.

Anywhere, she thought. He could touch her anywhere with that talented mouth, those clever hands. She’d do anything as long as he didn’t stop. On a surge of raw lust, she caught his lower lip between her teeth and bit. His growl thrilled her, but then he flexed a powerful thumb against her throat.

He gathered her carefully into his arms, tucking her head into his shoulder and aligning her frozen limbs with his. She felt stiff enough to shatter, but bit by bit, her muscles began to relax until she lay pliant against him. Pliant and sleeping. It didn’t take very long. Maybe fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes for her to regain herself.
Fifteen minutes for him to lose himself.

Her bathrobe came off with one sweep, exposing her silky skin, fragrant from the bath. Perfect, he marveled, even as part of him wondered when his tastes had changed so radically. Small breasts, boyishly slender hips, long, long legs.
Mine! On that fierce thought, he proceeded to brand her with his mouth.

“We had fun, didn’t we?” she said, her eyes glinting. “Well, apart from the last bit.”
Fun? He remembered burying himself inside her and thinking he’d finally come home. He remembered pillowing his head on her breasts and coming apart in her arms. Fun?
She took a step closer, her body language shouting that she was going to lean over the bed rail and kiss him. A long, bittersweet goodbye kiss, no doubt. Jesus, he couldn’t bear it.

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

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Lethal by Sandra Brown

Format: E-booklethal
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Leo Coburn
Heroine: Honor Rosemary Gillette
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 20, 2011
Started On: September 23, 2011
Finished On: September 24, 2011

It feels like its being ages since I have been invested in a story, its characters and its final outcome as much as I did when reading Lethal by Sandra Brown. And it has been quite sometime since I picked up a Sandra Brown, who always manages to keep the reader glued to the pages, whether it be because of the strong elemental connection she manages to make with the reader or because of the suspense element in her later novels that always manages to entice the reader to put everything else on hold and indulge.

Lee Coburn is a federal agent deep undercover going on 13 months when all hell breaks loose and he is forced to flee for his life after being implicated in the mass murder of 7 men which had initiated a nationwide manhunt for him. His destination is one that will either help him make or break the case of a wide ring of smugglers who dabbles in transportation of young girls to drugs to weaponry.

When widow Honor Gillette’s 4 year old daughter Emily discovers the wounded man outside of their home, Honor has no inkling that her whole life is about turn upside down when the dangerous man with menace emanating from his very pores makes her regret the impulse to check on him. But what Lee brings home to light makes Honor question the circumstances surrounding the seemingly innocent death of her husband Eddie two years back and place her trust in Lee to keep Honor and her daughter safe when everything familiar seems so murky in comparison. 

Lee with his ingrained mistrust for everyone tries hard to not be disarmed by a pair of hazel-green eyes that entices and beckons at the same time. With everyone involved in the manhunt with unclear agendas of their own, Lee trudges his way through with the woman and her child in tow, knowing that anything else would mean a swift death for both of them which he just cannot fathom having on his conscience. And all the while, the awareness that singes through both Honor and Lee’s blood grows with every passing minute, practically making the very air between them electrifying.

Sandra Brown takes the reader on a harrowing journey told from multiple viewpoints, the story’s impact a much more profound one because of the fact. The villain when brought to light towards the end proved to be a shocker which is a testament to Ms. Brown’s ability to spin a well effectuated thriller.

Both Lee and Honor, who serve as the main protagonists are reason enough to bow down to Ms. Brown’s superior talent when it comes to delivering on heroes and heroines a reader can relate to and characters that you want to open up your heart to.

Lee is the version of a dying breed of heroes that few authors have the gumption to write in the present times. Lethal and dangerous, Lee is a former Marine who had a tough childhood, whose days in the military had honed his skills of killing to the extent that he practically feels nothing until Emily and Honor both pierce through the fog of nothingness that has surrounded him all his adult life. With a delicious barbed wire tattoo on his bicep and a straightforwardness to his manner that is both exhilarating and alluring at the same time, Lee is a hero who raced towards my shelf of favorite heroes before I had the time to blink!

Honor is a worthy heroine for a man like Lee. A second grade school teacher who is a total babe in the woods when it comes to the likes of Lee, Honor nevertheless has a backbone of steel that propels her to make the right decisions even when everything else tells her otherwise. Her attraction when it comes to Lee is a visceral one that has her falling hard and fast before she even has the time to gather her wits around her.

Emily was just plain adorable I say and I think my heart just practically turned over during the first couple of chapters which brought to light her cherubic character. I knew then and there that if nothing else could get through to a hero of Lee’s caliber, Emily could, with her innocent and trusting nature that could heal even the most wounded heart.

When it comes to the suspense aspect of the novel, it is how Ms. Brown manages to keep the reader on tenterhooks about her characters, wondering which one’s the ally and which one the foe that makes this one hard to put down. With the turn of one page, you think you have learnt a bit more about the characters that constantly keeps you on your toes. But then at the turn of the next page you realize that you might not know as much as you think you do, which makes this an instant page-turner!

My one teensy bit of disappointment stems from how the story ended, though there were elements that makes the reader draw the conclusion that there is a happily ever after in store for both Honor and Lee. But then again, I guess it was because of the ending that Lethal would remain in my heart for a long time, the riot of emotions that coursed through me at that very moment being one I wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon.

Final Verdict: A game of cat and mouse timed to perfection & flawless in its execution, Lethal by Sandra Brown is another winner by master storyteller Sandra Brown.

Momentous Scenes:

  • The moment Emily places a kiss on Lee’s cheek. Had me going all Aww! because of how much it affected the stoic Lee Coburn.
  • The moments during which Lee holds Honor in his arms, just wanting the moment to linger on, a first for him. Such a sweet and throat tightening moment.

Favorite Quotes

His entire aspect was menacing, starting with his chilling eyes and the pronounced bone structure of his face. He was tall and lean, but the skin on his arms was stretched over muscles that looked as taut as whipcord. The backs of his hands were bumpy with strong veins. His clothes and hair had snagged natural debris—twigs, sprigs of moss, small leaves. He seemed indifferent to all that, just as he did to the mud caked on his boots and the legs of his jeans. He smelled of the swamp, of sweat, of danger.

Doral asked if Coburn’s neighbors had been interviewed.
“By me personally,” Fred replied. “Everybody in the apartment complex knew him by sight. Women thought he was attractive in that certain kind of way.”
“What certain kind of way?”
“Wished they could fuck him, but considered him bad news.”
“That’s a ‘way’?”
“Of course that’s a ‘way.’ ”

She shook her head slowly. “I don’t believe you. You can’t be a cop.”
“Not a cop.”
“Federal agent?”
“FBI.”
“Even more unlikely.”
“J. Edgar rolls over in his grave every day, but that’s the way it is.”

And then he pressed into her. First his thighs, then his middle, his chest, and finally his mouth. She made a whimpering sound, but its definition was unclear even to her, until she realized that her arms had gone around him instinctually, and that she was clutching his back, his shoulders, her hands restless and greedy for the feel of him.
He kissed her openmouthed, using his tongue, and when she kissed back, she felt the hum that vibrated deep inside his chest. It was the kind of hungry sound she hadn’t heard in a long time. Masculine and carnal, it thrilled and aroused her.

Moving between her thighs, he stretched out above her, then thrust into her. Once. Because, as he did everything, he acted without hesitation or apology to claim her entirely. Her eyes went wide and her breath caught. Holding her gaze, he pressed himself deeper, barely easing back before pressing deep again.

(Coburn)“Honor.”
Gasping, she lowered her arm from over her eyes and looked into his face.
“Put your hands on me. Pretend this means something.”
With a whimper, she wrapped her arms around him and clutched his back, then slid her hands down over his ass and drew him even deeper into her. He groaned, buried his face in the hollow of her neck, and rocked his body against hers. An orgasm burst through her at the same time he came.
She pretended nothing.

The intensity of his expression caused her to tentatively ask, “What?”
“I’ve never been a big fan of the missionary position.”
Not quite sure how to respond to that, she said simply, “Oh.”
“I preferred making it any other way.”
“Why?”
“Because it didn’t have anything to do with getting off.”
“What didn’t?”
“Looking into the woman’s face.” He murmured the statement as though puzzled by it.
Her throat grew tight. She reached up and stroked his cheek. “You wanted to look into mine?”

(Honor)“You had told me that if you didn’t return within a few minutes of ten o’clock, I was to drive away and get as far from Tambour as possible. So, for all you knew, that’s what I had done. After nearly dying in that explosion, with a burn on your shoulder, and your hair singed, you could have run in any given direction in order to get away, but you didn’t. When you found me on the railroad tracks, you were racing back to the garage. To me.”
He didn’t say anything, but his jaw tensed.
She smiled and moved closer to him, aligning her body along his. “You don’t have to give me flowers, Coburn. You don’t even have to hold me.” She laid her head on his chest just below his chin. Her hand curved around his neck. “Let me hold you.”

He had to admit: She’d got to him. This demure second-grade schoolteacher, who’d been faithful to her husband, but who had fucked him with the same fervor with which she’d fought him two days ago, had crawled under his mean ol’ hide.

If he turned his hand into her and began stroking her there, she would wake up smiling and drowsy and ready for him again.
They would kiss. Erotically. Her mouth would be so damn enticing, he’d dip into it again and again to gather the taste that was now familiar to him. He would touch his tongue to her nipples, and she’d rub her thumb around the tip of his cock and feel that he was about to burst, and then he’d be inside her, moving.
Or maybe not. Maybe he would do something he’d never done with a woman. Maybe he would just… be. […]
No, maybe this time, he would just savor being joined to another person as tightly as two people could be. He would savor being joined with Honor.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | ReaderStore

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin

thedragonandthepearl

Format: E-book
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Harlequin Historical Publisher Series
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Li Tao
Heroine: Ling Suin
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: September 21, 2011
Started On: September 20, 2011
Finished On: September 20, 2011

No true fan of romance can read Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin and escape without wanting to find out more about General Li Tao. And Jeannie Lin certainly doesn’t disappoint fans of her ultra unique historical romances set in the Tang Dynasty, China with this installment. Towards the end of my review for Butterfly Swords I mentioned my utter and at times reluctant fascination with Li Tao who served to be at first the villian and then somehow turned the tables around on me. Little did I know that Li Tao’s character was one that intrigued the author herself so much that she just had to write his story, a fact for which I am eternally grateful.

It is 759 AD and a period of political upheaval in China during which time the military governors known as the jiedushi, commanded their own regional forces independent of the Emperor’s army. It is during this period of turmoil that Lady Ling Suin, an accomplished courtesan who had been favored by the previous emperor finds herself being taken away from her home by none other than one of the most feared generals in China, General Li Tao.

Li Tao’s only intention at first is to remove her from harm’s way though he cannot deny the lure of her beauty anymore than he can deny the rising sun. Though every elegant move on Ling Suin’s part speaks of seduction and half truths that hides the real woman inside, Li Tao cannot help but be ensnared by the desire that races through him for a woman who could prove to be as lethal as that a sword plunged deep into his heart.

Both Li Tao and Ling Suin’s characters are shaped up by less than ideal childhoods, one having grown up on the streets fending for himself whilst the other had been bartered off for a pretty coin for the family’s next meal. Being the Emperor’s concubine for fifteen years meant that Ling Suin was resigned to a life of loneliness until death comes calling. But in Li Tao’s embrace, Ling Suin finds a man who would bend heaven and earth for the taste of a woman whose legend precedes her, the reality of it all when it comes to light manages to not only send Li Tao but the reader as well into a tailspin.

Once again, I am rendered speechless by Jeannie Lin’s ability to create such a riveting and poignant story, her ability to create strong and endearing characters that just demands nothing less but one’s total surrender as the reader. The way Jeannie spins her story weaving one word with another to create sheer magic that just pulls in the reader amazes me. And the tone she sets throughout is so in tune with the time period and the culture of a race shrouded in so much mystery that one cannot help but want to learn more.

Li Tao is a wonderful hero. The silent, tattooed, merciless assassin variety that I can sit around and dream about all day long. A man who thinks honor is no part of him when he wears it like his own skin, inseparable from the essence of who he is. His reluctant fascination with Ling Sui which penetrates through the emptiness that shrouds his heart is one of the most fascinating aspects of the story, his interactions with Ling Suin an intricately woven dance that serves many a time as the most sensual forms of foreplay on which Jeannie certainly delivers.

Ling Suin serves to be his exact opposite, and yet the similarities between them astounds as well as you read along. Having being forced to use her wits, her beauty and seductive viles for so long, Ling Suin at first knows not what to expect from a man who surrounds himself with men of the highest calibre, loyal to the bone and yet remains a lone wolf who doesn’t even realize the fact. Even though every survival instinct within her tells her to step away and leave Li Tao’s alluring form behind, she cannot help but yearn fiercely for the emotions that courses through her whenever Li Tao takes her in his arms. And it is not long before their arrangement brings forth emotions and feelings neither expects to feel for the other and it is a wonderful, wonderful way to pass the time by being a part of their journey towards happily ever after.

I loved how Li Tao and Ling Suin’s pasts are shared with the reader throughout, making both of them more appealing with each flashback. The sensuality and sexual tension between Li Tao and Ling Suin is off the charts hot, and underneath all that taut sensuality, Jeannie manages to tell a tale of political treachery and war not unlike what we see in the world today.

If you haven’t already read a Jeannie Lin book, you should definitely remedy the fact, especially if you are a fan of historical romances in exotic and unusual settings. This is as exotic and unusual as they come and one thing is for sure; none can fault Jeannie’s way with the words that captures you right from the very start. And I would recommend that if you are planning on reading The Dragon and the Pearl, better start off with The Butterfly Swords; just to embrace and enjoy the full impact of Li Tao’s character, which otherwise you might miss out on!

Truly remarkable and utterly fascinating, this one makes a beeline towards my favorites shelf for 2011.

Favorite Quotes

Li Tao had caught a single glimpse of her the first time he had been to the palace. The hunger that had gripped him had been immediate and all-consuming. He had been a young man then and had hungered for many things: acclaim, respect and power. The sight of her now, more than a decade later, stirred nothing but a faint echo of that forgotten desire.

She expected the descent of his mouth, but never would have anticipated the gentleness of the kiss. Her lips parted as his explored hers. His fingertips lifted to her cheek in an undemanding, but undeniably possessive caress. She nearly allowed her eyes to fall closed. She almost yielded against the heat and pressure and the slow stir of his mouth. Instead she dug her nails sharply into the flesh of her palms. She fastened her eyes on to his, permitting the kiss, but never surrendering.

She played with her eyes closed. He closed his own eyes, joining her in the darkness. She had said the song depicted a battle, but nothing of the sort came to mind, no lofty images of horses and banners waving or battalions clashing over hills. Only darkness and a pure sound that filled him, creeping into spaces he hadn’t known were empty.

by mvbookreviewer

Dear Author Review: Guilty Needs by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookGuilty Needs
Read with: IBOOKS for IPAD
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 4.5
Hero: Colby Hutchins
Heroine: Bridgette Lancaster (Bree)
Date of Publication: September 19, 2008
Started On: September 9, 2011
Finished On: September 9, 2011

Guilty Needs by Shiloh Walker is one of my all time favorite books since its release on September of 2008. I wanted to show my appreciation for a story that I love to bits and rather than just do a re-read review of it, I thought to myself I would start up a new type of review for those extra special books that I just love no matter how many times I end up re-reading them.

So ladies and gentlemen, I now present you with my very first “Dear Author” review which features a letter to Shiloh Walker written down in order to at least try and show my gratitude and appreciation towards this story that would continue to hold a very special place in my heart for now and always.

Dear Shiloh Walker,

As you can see, I am writing this letter/review to you because I just can’t help but fall a little bit more in love with your story Guilty Needs every single time I read it. I have now seriously lost count of the number of times I have picked this up from collection of Favorites books on my hard disk drive. If this were a paperback version I guess my copy would have become dog eared and worn out a long time back.

The thing that ALWAYS gets to me when it comes to Guilty Needs is the tons of emotion that practically seeps through every single word in the book, its hold on me a never ending one until I reach its very end. Even afterwards, I find myself unable to let go and spend a long time contemplating on what went on in a story that describes so well how guilt wars with desire when the widowed hero finds himself lusting after his dead wife’s best friend.

Alyssa Hutchins the wife who dies from cancer, who makes appearances into the story as a ghostly being that wants Colby to find love and be happy again, and that also with her best friend Bree who has always loved Colby from the sidelines, all 3 of the characters just makes this story come alive right from the very beginning that makes this book  that much easier to fall in love with over and over again.

The way you bring forth the friendship between Alyssa and Bree and made their bond an unbreakable one and yet managed to let the reader know of Bree’s feelings towards Alyssa’s husband and not sully the age old friendship between two friends continues to astound & amaze me.

One of the things that caught my attention when I first found your books from Amazon.com is the way you bring out the sexual tension between characters that just leaves a reader begging for more. And Guilty Needs is one of the best in delivering sexual tension of the sizzling variety that practically leaps out of the pages and grabs the reader right from the very start. The sensual scenes are so very well done that I could not help but reach out for my non-existent glass of cold water that I should remember the next time to keep by my side.

Sometimes, because you love a story so much, its hard to come up with the bits that stand out, but I still wanted to let you know that the moment that Alyssa asks from Bree the favor that she wants from her, it was a seriously throat-in-the-lump moment from the emotions overload. And the first kiss that Colby and Bree share – it is out of this world hot and the heat these two generate throughout the story can definitely light up my world for eons to come! And oh baby, the porch scene – if anyone has it on their mind to give me a present anytime soon, I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind a Colby or two as my pressies!

Guilty Needs will ALWAYS remain in a special corner of my heart and I believe I would never get tired of the story of how Bree finally gets the man she has loved for more than 15 years of her life, and of course Colby who just personifies sexy and takes it up to a whole new level!

Before I end this, I am just going to share some of those quotes from the story  that even later on would urge me to go seek out this little indulgence from my massive mountain of books.

Favorite Quotes

Patiently, Alyssa repeated the question she’d asked only seconds earlier. “Do you love Colby?”
Some trite lie formed on the tip of her tongue. Of course I love him—he’s your husband and that makes him almost a brother to me. But she couldn’t. It was just too wrong—lying to her dying friend, claiming to feel a fraternal emotion toward a man who inspired anything but fraternal thoughts. In the end, all she could do was just sit there and blink away tears.

Then she rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. If she breathed in the scent of his skin a little deeper than she should, it wasn’t intentional. If she shivered a little and wished she had the right to kiss him differently, it wasn’t because she could help it. She loved him—she always had.

They barely touched, his mouth on hers, his hands cupping her face while hers clutched at his wrists. But that contact was enough to shatter the foundation of her world.
He eased up, lifted his head just a little. An involuntary whimper escaped her and she swayed toward him. He growled low in his throat and reached for her, hauling her against him until they were plastered together.

 

Once again Ms. Walker, splendid is the name of the game when it comes to Guilty Needs & hats off for pulling this one off so brilliantly!

Sincerely Yours,
MBR

Purchase Links: Amazon | Jasmine Jade Enterprises

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Deceiving the Protector by Dee Tenorio

Format: E-bookdeceivingtheprotector
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Resurrection, Book 2
Hero: Jensen Tate
Heroine: Lia Crawford
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 15, 2011
Started On: August 1, 2011
Finished On: August 1, 2011

You know that uber satisfied feeling that you get when you have read a book that has managed to hit all those spots that crave to be petted and stroked when you immerse yourself in a good book? Well, at the moment I am like the cat who got her full bowl of cream and then some as the 2nd book in the Resurrection series managed to completely woo me and left me spellbound once again with Dee Tenorio’s ability to blow me away with her stories.

Jensen Tate, brother to Alpha and one of the generals of the pack is tasked with the job of finding a female “stray” and bringing her to safety. A job that stirs up feelings that Tate has thought long since buried when he comes into contact with the half-starved, gritty, determined and surly Lia Crawford who seems to call out to the inner wolf inside of him to come out and stake its claim on the woman whose bewitching green eyes show remanents of a hidden fear so deep that it just about tears up Tate on the insides.

Lia knows that there is no turning back for her on the path she has chosen to walk and that neither is Tate supposed to be with her if what he and his brothers have worked so hard to bring about is to remain on course without the vicious hunters on her trail getting to them through her. For the safety of her sister Laurel, Lia is willing to do anything, even put up with the constant darkness that never seems to leave her life, always one step ahead, forcing her to accept the fact that she would never ever be a free woman of her own will.

Tate knows that Lia hides more than she is willing to let on and it drives him nuts trying to protect a woman whose sheer stubbornness alone makes him want to lay her down somewhere and make her forget the dead weight that she seems to carry on her shoulders. As Tate “forces” her to go along with his plans, Lia finds herself charmed by a man beneath whose gruff exterior lies a wolf begging to be petted and stroked and a man whose rough tenderness just about breaks every wall and shield she has erected to safeguard her emotions & heart.

As their trek towards the next safe house continues, Tate comes face to face with the danger that stalks and preys on the absolute fear that it demands from Lia as he finally starts accepting the fact that Lia is his mate for life, if she can just trust him enough to protect her and save her from the evil that refuses to let go.

Deceiving the Protector is fantastic in all the ways that counts. The way Dee builds up her paranormal world, subtly bringing in the details in the midst of the character development is what drew me in. The constant whirl of my thinking cap trying to figure out what would happen next was what I loved most about this paranormal romantic suspense and the reality and horrors behind what Lia underwent at the hands of mad men willing to rid the world of shifters anyway they can just left me with a bad taste in my mouth and shivers of the bad kind running up and down my spine.

Jensen Tate is a hero that practically invaded my heart as layer by layer his character unfolds, revealing a man of immense strength and beauty, though being called beautiful might piss Tate off and make him growl a bit before settling down, but nevertheless that is how I find him to be. A man so worthy of tender touches and healing kisses, whose protective nature refuses to step back and let his mate be the protector instead, no matter how chauvinistic that might seem to be. The reason why I fell so deeply for Tate is how he manages to gently draw out the hidden woman inside of Lia who has been cowering inside, afraid to show herself and refuses to let her return back to the shell of a woman she was before. His charming manner of telling a good story of course had me sighing all over the place and of course nekkid Tate is a sight to savored on its own.

Lia is a heroine who finds the strength to go on against all odds, a woman who has been on her own for so long that she finds the concept of accepting help a foreign one. Nevertheless, her fascination with Tate that continues to grow as they spend time together is one that refuses to be denied, and the need and desire that unfurls deep within her to claim his wolf as hers is one that continues taunt and tease her until she is ready to serve herself to Tate on silver platter. It is Lia’s immense courage and strength that awed me, and the way she perfectly complements Tate and knows how to soothe & appease the inner wolf inside of him and at the same time be a mate worthy enough to stand by his side that won me over.

It is a testament to Dee’s ability that she managed to make a slight part of me feel for the villain who continued to terrorize Lia until his demise, and I couldn’t help a tiny part of myself from thinking that it is the monsters who had carved him into what he turned out to be that should be rotting in hell. I know that the as the Resurrection series continues that everyone would get what they deserve, in fact I’m counting on that to happen so that I can revel in it big  time when their asses get kicked to Hell never to return!

How Dee does it I would never know, but let me tell you I loved every single minute of it! One minute I am practically drooling and panting over the explosive passion between Tate and Lia, the next I am immersed in tender emotions so deep that I just feel like curling into a ball and sighing in contentment and the next thing I know I am laughing out loud at the witty banter between Tate and Lia that never fails to amuse! Kudos to Dee who manages it so effortlessly and made this book one entertaining fest that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon!

Highly recommended for fans of the series, fans of Dee Tenorio and fans of paranormal romantic suspense.

Final Verdict: Delivering a kick-ass paranormal world with a heady mix of suspense and romance that one cannot resist,  Deceiving the Protector is a SHOULD NOT MISS!

Favorite Quotes

Then he stepped into an orchard, on a rise of packed dirt between tree groves, and proceeded not to give a rat’s ass what she might be trying to do.
The scent was finally clear.
And it went straight to his head.
Female. Apples. Cool water. Rich earth. Rain. Sunshine.

Sometimes, she wasn’t sure when she was seeing him, except for those few moments when their eyes met and she couldn’t look away to save her own life. She could see the protector in him then, sense the hunter. Raw strength emanated from him in those moments, his intensity surrounding her, suffusing her. She could almost feel his arms around her, trying to pull her under his protection. She’d be safe with him. Not cosseted, maybe, but…she’d be able to breathe. To know the next breath was coming, sure as the sunrise.

(Tate) “Sure, she can. She also makes a staff out of light that can cut people and the cars they’re driving in half. Five-feet-five-inches of pure power. Even at her best, it’s like having a nuclear bomb for a sister-in-law.”
“Boy.” Lia laughed, and by the look on his face he knew it was at his expense. “She must love you.”
“We have a complicated relationship,” he agreed with a self-depreciating nod. “Sort of a cross between suspicion and fuck you.”

His hands gripped her hips, slowing her descent. She could feel him savoring her, quaking at the feel of her claw tips sinking into his shoulders. His eyes flickered, the gray color she loved having shifted to the glowing yellow of his Wolf. She smiled, bucking against his hold.
“This time, I take you.” She pushed down, filling herself with him. He growled, drowning out her sigh. He squeezed tight, but she refused to be held back. She lifted up, rocking forward before sliding back down, savoring his groan against the beaded tips of her breasts. “I’m claiming you, Jensen Tate.”
Because you’re mine.

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught

Format: E-bookakingdomofdreams
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Pocket Books
Series: Westmoreland Dynasty, Book 1
Hero: Royce Westmoreland
Heroine: Jennifer Merrick
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 1989
Started On: August 8, 2011
Finished On: August 10, 2011

Judith McNaught’s historical romances are timeless. Timeless I say because no matter how many times one re-reads her stories, it never gets old and there is always something new about the story that captures your attention and holds it until you have turned the very last page. I think this is my 3rd or 4th time re-reading A Kingdom of Dreams and yet again Royce Westmoreland didn’t fail to invoke numerous sighing sessions as I read along and made me want a fierce warrior like him who loves just as passionately when at last he finally does fall for the woman who claims his heart, body and soul.

29 year old Royce Westmoreland aka The Black Wolf is Scotland’s most hated, and most feared enemy. Military life is all Royce has ever known and Royce’s latest command received from the King Henry himself has him gearing up to face the Merrick’s clan of Scotland, the name itself making vengeance boil deep inside of him.

17 year old Jennifer Merrick is the daughter of Lord Merrick, the head of the Merrick clan. From a tender age, impulsiveness and recklessness combined with a desperate yearning to make her father love her, as he loved his stepsons, were responsible for a lot of grievances in her life. Though as the eldest daughter the leadership of her clan should rightfully pass onto her, Lord Merrick thinks naught of women and their capabilities beyond that of rearing children – a fact that hurts Jennifer more deeply than she ever lets on.

When Jennifer and Brenna are captured by the Black Wolf’s army, Jennifer’s sole focus lies in identifying ways through which she and Brenna can make her escape. Royce doesn’t expect that two women could create so much trouble in his camp and in his life when the fiesty Jennifer and her meek sister are brought along which Royce is hoping would end the battle they are all gearing for without bloodshed.

Jennifer valiantly tries and manages to escape captivity only to be caught yet again and though Jennifer knows that true to Merrick’s nature, the only thing she should feel for Royce with his unusual silver eyes is contempt and loathing at best, she is no match for the yearnings that stir into life in the arms of Royce, her enemy. Neither Jennifer nor Royce is prepared for the desire that each feels for the other and for the headiness of a passion so fierce to obliterate everything else from their minds.

Royce convinces himself that lust is the only thing that he feels for a woman who infuriates him and humbles him at the same time. And when his need to possess Jennifer makes him claim her virginity, even then Royce is more than happy to label it away as a mere case of lust for his beautiful and defiant captive.

Jennifer’s heart bleeds for the fact that in Royce’s embrace she feels no shame even though she knows that consorting with the enemy would only earn more hatred from her clansmen. When once again Jennifer escapes Royce’s clutches making him the laughingstock of both England and Scotland, Royce is livid with rage and that is the only thing that drives him to accept orders by his king to tie himself to Jennifer in holy matrimony.

Thus begins a battle of wills that dies a slow death as the passion that exists between Royce and Jennifer burns hotter than ever, cementing a connection between two souls who are so meant for each other. But love and a happily ever after is not an easy one for either of them to achieve as treachery and deceit from Jennifer’s family nearly drives them apart for good until Jennifer comes to realize that her destiny lies entwined with that of Royce and that there is no turning back from the love of a man who makes her feel treasured and safe at the same time.

A Kingdom of Dreams is a romance that provokes the reader into indulging in a dream or two of her own as Royce completely sweeps you off your feet and shows you the reason why romance heroes are worth swooning over. Royce is a fierce man, a battle hardened warrior who has seen so much death and destruction throughout his career that he longs for normalcy and a life that he can call his own. His tenderness when it comes to Jennifer and the way he feels stirrings of righteous indignation on Jennifer’s behalf upon hearing how she has been treated by her own clansmen and family made me fall that much harder in love with him. A true romantic would not be able to read this without falling for Royce, a fact that I am reassured of as I manage to fall for him over and over again every single time I read this book.

Jennifer is a heroine who is worthy of someone like Royce. Loyal, loving, kind and generous, Jennifer’s soul yearns for the day that all of whom she loves would love her back, a day that she would be accepted for who she is, impulsiveness and all. Though at times it feels as if Jennifer is being a trifle bit too hard on Royce, she makes up for it so beautifully towards the end that I fell for the sheer charm she brings into the story.

Filled with a lively and riveting bunch of side characters of which Aunt Elinor definitely deserves a mention, A Kingdom of Dreams is a must read if you are a true fan of romance.

Favorite Quotes

Royce flung her arm aside, and Jenny stayed where she stood, paralyzed with remorse and anguish as she gazed at the beautiful animal she’d inadvertently killed. As if in a dream, she watched England’s fiercest warrior kneel on one knee beside his dead horse, slowly stroking the animal’s glossy black coat, and speaking words she could not quite hear in a voice that was raw.

Her head lifted, and Royce froze in surprise and reluctant admiration for the amazing sight he beheld. Standing there like a wild enraged gypsy, her hair tumbling all about her like golden flames and her huge blue eyes alive with hatred and unshed tears, she slowly raised her hand… a hand which was holding a dagger which she’d obviously managed to snatch from his boot as he spanked her.
And in that unlikely moment, as she held his dagger poised high, ready to strike, Royce Westmoreland thought she was the most magnificent creature he’d ever beheld; a wild, beautiful, enraged angel of retribution, her chest rising and falling with fury as she courageously confronted an enemy who towered over her. He’d hurt her and humiliated her, Royce realized, but he hadn’t broken that indomitable spirit of hers.

His wry tone made Jenny burst out laughing, and Royce found himself captivated by the infectious joy, the beauty, of it. He’d never heard the music of her laughter before, nor seen it glowing in her magnificent eyes. Seated on a pile of lush furs, laughing up at him, Jennifer Merrick was unforgettable. He realized it as clearly as he realized that if he walked over and sat down beside her, there was every chance he was going to find her irresistible as well.

As he spoke, his hand curved round her head, pressing inexorably downward, inch by slow inch, until his warm breath was mingling with hers, and then his gaze lifted, locking with hers. Insistent, knowing gray eyes captured frightened, beguiling blue ones, imprisoning them as he brought her lips down against his. A jolt slammed through Jenny’s entire nervous system, her eyes closed, and his lips began to move on hers, thoroughly and possessively exploring each tender curve and trembling contour.

Perched upon that log, Royce thought she looked incredibly desirable—a charming wood nymph with long curly hair, clad in a boy’s tunic and hose. A wood nymph? Next she would have him composing sonnets to her beauty—and wouldn’t that delight her sire, not to mention enliven the gossip at court in two countries! “Was that question too difficult for you?” he said, his voice sharp with self-annoyance. “Shall I try to frame an easier one?”

Jennifer’s eyes lit with fondness. “Brenna will always find something good to say about me, no matter how shocking my mistakes or outrageous my conduct. She said I ‘sparkled like the sun and moon and stars.’ ” A bubble of laughter escaped Jenny and she regarded Royce with eyes aglow with merriment. “Which of course I did—sparkle, I mean.”
His voice harsh with feelings he could neither understand nor contain, Royce looked at her and said tightly, “Some women need no jewels to make them sparkle. You are one of them.”

Failing to catch sight of the giant, Tom quickly turned his gaze back for a longer study of the entire, famous man, and this time he took in the entire picture before him—a picture that made his mouth drop open in shock and disbelief: The Black Wolf, the most fierce warrior in all England—in the world—was sitting atop his mighty warhorse, with a girl cradled in his arms—holding her as tenderly as a babe!

Lifting his head, Royce stared down into her slumberous blue eyes, and Jenny saw the look of pure satisfaction mingled with puzzlement on his face—”Why is it when you yield, I feel like the one who has been conquered?”
“Why is it,” Royce murmured, gazing into her intoxicating eyes, “that every time you surrender willingly, like this, you make me feel like a king who has conquered. Yet when I conquer you against your will, you make me feel like a defeated beggar?”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Book Depository

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe

Format: E-bookboomerangbride
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Standalone
Hero: Marc Olsen
Heroine: Matilda Geoffrey
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 8, 2011
Started On: August 5, 2011
Finished On: August 6, 2011

Boomerang Bride which is set to release on the 8th of this month is my first Fiona Lowe and it definitely is not going to be my last. I wholeheartedly agree with the fact that Carina Press releases some of the best romances all year round as each and every story apart from a very select few have always been immensely satisfying for me and Boomerang Bride is no exception to that rule.

Boomerang Bride kicks off when 34 year old Marc Olsen comes home to Hobin, Wisconsin for his annual Thanksgiving visit and finds himself intrigued enough to investigate the pitiful & homely looking bride toting a huge cake wandering around looking for the groom. Discovering that the Australian bride who has flown all the way from home to surprise her fiancé Barry who seems to have wiped himself off the face of the Earth has got a lot of spunk in her surprises him and entertains him unlike anything else has for the past couple of months during which a restlessness has taken a hold of him.

A brilliant architect based in New York, Marc is fiercely possessive of his independence and has no plans of giving even an inch of it up anytime soon. Tall, blond and blue-eyed with immense good looks, Marc has never had to actively work to win the affections of a woman and nor has he any intention of doing so until the turquoise eyed Australian with her auburn curls tempt him beyond reason to break every rule in his book of “How-to-avoid-needy-women-and-commitment”.

Setting out on her grand adventure, 30 year old Matilda Geoffrey never thought that she would be scammed so thoroughly and be left destitute with no way to return home. Calling on the reserves of her pride and her optimism that something would come through, Matilda grudgingly accepts the much needed help that the disturbing Marc with his Viking good looks offers her. Before Matilda knows it, she is elbow deep in the family issues that Marc so valiantly tries to avoid, taking care of a post-op Lori Marc’s younger sister and her son Kyle who is in his surly teenage phase all the while fighting the immense attraction that she feels for Marc along the way.

Marc doesn’t make it any easier for Matilda  to forget that her knees start to give in every single time he turns on his charm and gives her his intense bedroom stare that just makes her want to lay down and give herself up to his mercy. But the Australian is made of sterner stuff than that, or so she thinks and inevitably succumbs to the fire that courses through her veins whenever Marc takes her in his arms and proceeds to show her that Matilda indeed has a thing for her Viking though no promises are made by either regarding the future of their “relationship”.

In the end, Matilda turns out to be a godsend to Marc and her sister both as her Australian charm and spunk goes a long way in healing hurts that even Marc doesn’t realize exists deep inside of him and makes them all take a second look at the blessings they are left with, even when life has dealt them all with severe blows along the way. But even Matilda’s love is not enough to keep Marc from leaving and making the biggest mistake of his life until he realizes it with just enough time to spare to woo the woman whom he loves more than anything to agree to share her life with him, now and forever.

For me, Boomerang Bride was just sheer magic to lose myself in. From page one Matilda and Marc’s witty banter reeled me in and the slumbering sexual tension that slowly awakens between the two was magic in itself as I reveled in each kiss and touch exchanged between the two until its very explosive conclusion. Marc is a hero who got his priorities mixed up along the way, having had to grow up and take on responsibilities as the man of the house when he had been just a child himself. It is how he slowly finds his way back and realizes the importance of family, love and just how much he has been shunning himself from all that his family offers that was one of the best parts of the story.

Matilda is a heroine I can definitely get on board with. Even when her grand adventure and her dreams of getting married and having the home she never had with her wanderlust parents falls flat on her, that doesn’t stop her from taking one day at a time, of fighting her way back to regain what she has lost – and the best thing about her is how she doesn’t let her dreams and hopes shatter along the way and her optimism was certainly a healing balm that worked its magic over both Marc and Lori.

I found myself enchanted with the secondary romance that took place as much as I was charmed with Matilda and her Viking’s romance. Brian who relentlessly pursues Lori and has waited patiently for a long, long time to claim her as his own unleashes his bad-boy persona to get what he wants and to show Lori that she is all the woman that he needs in the world and that there is no going back for either of them except sharing their lives together till death does them apart. I loved, loved, loved how Brian woos Lori and Oh-God, his gentleness just undid me and made me want to cry buckets of happy tears.

Fiona Lowe can certainly deliver a mean epilogue and I loved how she shows everyones’ lives together a couple of years on. And the fact that his wife’s Australian accent still turns Marc on was one of the highlights of an epilogue that was beautiful and delivered the closure that I needed to let this romance go, though the characters and its sheer charm would remain for a long time in my heart.

Final Verdict: Charming, beautiful and heartwarming, Boomerang Bride is a romance for everyone!

Favorite Quotes

(Matilda) “Don’t drop it.”
The comment reminded him of growing up in a houseful of organizing women. “Are the English always this bossy?”
Surprisingly well-shaped eyebrows shot skyward. “The English are far too polite for their own good. Australians, on the other hand, call a spade a spade.”

(Marc) “Don’t tell me you’ve flown all the way from Australia in a wedding dress?”
She rolled her sea-green eyes and shot him a look that severely questioned his intelligence. “No, Blondie, I haven’t. I put it on at the service station in the last town to surprise Barry.”
Blondie? No one had given him a nickname since high school. He matched her eye roll with one raised brow. “Surprise him or scare him?”
“Hah hah, and I’d been told the Yanks didn’t have a sense of humor.”

Wordlessly, he brought his mouth down gently onto the edge of her mouth, stage one of a planned assault to assuage his desire and reclaim much-needed order back into his life. She tasted of cold and ice—a flavorless combination that numbed his lips and cooled his blood. He instantly relaxed, cocooned in a bubble of knowledge that he’d been right all along about Matilda. She didn’t do it for him.
He brushed his lips across hers well on his way to ending the perfunctory caress, while his mind toyed with a quip about snow to keep things light. Suddenly the ice cracked. Chocolate and chili collided in a rich heady rush, spilling over his lips in a sweet, tangy promise. Fire lit through him and his tongue flicked against pillow softness, desperate to taste more.

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Rush of Pleasure by Rhyannon Byrd

Format: E-bookrushofpleasure
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Primal Instincts, Book 8
Publisher: Harlequin Books
Hero: Noah David Winston
Heroine: Willow Broussard
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: July 26, 2011
Started On: July 27, 2011
Finished On: July 29, 2011

The eighth and final book in the Primal Instincts series was a definite hit with me. Combining the fantastic paranormal world that is so easy to get to know with mind numbing and page scorching passion to light up the entire country for eons to come, Noah and Willow definitely earned their rightful place as one of my favorite couples from the series.

Noah David Winston is part Casus, thanks to his mother’s line of family. Noah remains vulnerable to the fact that a stray Casus shade who has made its way into this world can make use of his body to roam the Earth. With the added threat of the Casus leader actively seeking Noah as the most probable candidate for his inhabitation and because Noah had nearly managed to kill off Anthony Calder during the last bloody battle that was waged between the Watchmen and the Casus, Noah knows that the fate of all species of the world rests in the decoding the spell that is bound to kill anything with pure unadulterated evil lurking within its very soul.

Decoding the spell means revisiting his hometown Sacred in Louisiana, where he hasn’t set foot since that fateful night twelve years back. His desire for Willow Broussard even at the tender age of nineteen had surpassed anything Noah has ever felt since then. When Noah seeks out Jessie, Willow’s aunt whose powerful spells is the stuff legends are made of, Noah doesn’t expect a run in with the woman who makes all his senses go on red alert just with her mere presence.

Willow would rather gnaw off her arm than admit that seeing the gorgeous Noah Winston in her own backyard once again sets all her senses afire with the need to possess and be possessed by the man who haunts her dreams even twelve years on. Now a private investigator for the ancient clans who still walk the Earth, Willow is strong, sexy and capable in her own right, a fact that drives Noah completely out of his mind when the desire he feels for Willow threatens to obliterate the very seriousness of the mission he has embarked upon.

Forced to work together by circumstance, the barriers that each had built in the other’s absence starts to crumble with each searing glance and mind numbing kiss exchanged. As the truth about what is actually required to perform the spell comes to light, Noah knows that he is about to embark upon a battle that could mean the end of life as he knows it, a life he would gladly give up if it means keeping Willow safe. As the dead body count continues to grow, Willow joins hands with the man to whom her heart will belong to now and forever, to fight the battle that might cost her the love of her life even before she can confess the little fact to him.

Rush of Pleasure is a fitting end to a series that has saw me through highly enjoyable paranormal reads with the tinge of red hot passion to make things that much more interesting. Noah Weston is a dangerous man to let into your heart because he demands no less than complete and utter surrender of every emotion that you’ve got to give. His strength and vulnerability coupled with his blatant need for the woman he loves is a lethal combination that had me hyperventilating one minute and swooning into a puddle of goo the next.

Willow is the perfect heroine for Noah with her strong persona that makes her the ultimate candidate to love and cherish Noah and even stand firm in what she believes in when its for the good of their relationship. Noah might not overly much like the fact that his Willow is kick-ass heroine material that puts her on the path of danger every now and then, but that’s what at the end of the day makes these two such a well matched couple in bed and out of it.

The scenes of combustive passion definitely delivered on the sexual tension that practically leaps out of the pages and I loved every single second of it! Explosive in all the ways that counts, Rush of Pleasure is a novel not to be missed for fans of the series as well as fans of paranormal romances.

The one thing that I can say is, you don’t need to have read the previous books to enjoy this one as Rhyannon makes it so darn easy for you to find your rhythm in her world of ancient clans. But, I would still urge you to read the other books; just to enjoy the wild and wicked ride that only Rhyannon can take you on in her Primal Instinct series.

I feet a bit sad knowing that this is the end of a series that I have enjoyed immensely throughout the last 2 years or so. But knowing that the sexy and deadly Ashe Granger from the series gets his story in a standalone novel this coming April has got me pacified somewhat, and I await eagerly for its release. And I would so love to read Damon MacCaven the demon’s story! Just saying.

Favorite Quotes

She didn’t fight him, but her mouth had been shocked into stillness beneath his—passive, simply taking, accepting—and he wanted her hunger. Wanted the bite of her nails and her mind-blowing passion.
He wanted her wild for him.
“Goddamn it, kiss me back,” he snarled, holding the side of her face in his hand. She moaned, tilting her head, fitting her mouth more closely to his. “Please,” he gasped against her silky lips, his voice cracking as he begged her…pleading.
“Kiss me back, Will.”
And then he felt the soft, sweet stroke of her tongue, and his body shuddered violently in response to that delicate, seeking touch. Within seconds, the kiss became something explicitly carnal, devastating in its power.