Category / Forbidden Love

Falling in love between hero and heroine considered forbidden within society or in the hero or heroine’s perspective.
Eg: During the colonial times, love between an aristocrat and an ex-convict was considered forbidden.

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Man Law by Adrienne Giordano

Format: E-bookmanlaw
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Private Protectors, Book 1
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Vic Andrews
Heroine: Gina Delgado
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 4, 2011
Started On: June 27, 2011
Finished On: June 27, 2011

Man Law by Adrienne Giordano is the debut novel of the Private Protectors series set to be released on the 4th of July by Carina Press. Lately Carina Press has published some very great books which in turn has introduced voracious readers such as myself to a number of fabulous and really talented authors for which I am forever grateful to Carina Press.

Man Law tells the story of the sexy Vic Andrews with his distracting goatee and his unwanted attraction towards his best friend Mike’s younger sister Gina Delgado, a single mother with three kids, who has been a widow for the past four years. Vic is a man who lives by and follows only his Man laws and he screws that up royally when he has mind numbing sexual encounters with Gina in the basement of her house, at the beach and the next time in her kitchen. Though Vic and Gina both brush those off as brain farts, they both know that the underlying attraction that always ignites whenever they are together won’t be brushed aside just that easily.

When one of Vics’s assignments come back to haunt him and the target this time is Gina and her kids, Vic knows that he won’t let anything happen to them as long as he is able to draw breathe from his body. To say that Vic has commitment issues and emotional garbage is to put things mildly. But Gina is determined that Vic decide once and for all whether what they have between them is worth exploring or walking away from. What Gina wouldn’t back down from is that she won’t say yes to a relationship with a man who puts his life constantly in danger, having once already gone through hell after the untimely death of her husband.

What made Man Law such an interesting story was because of the way the author brings in all the characters and let them do their thing. Lily, Gina’s youngest is so adorable that you can’t help but grin at her conversations with Vic who might think he is clueless when it comes to kids but does so very well in that department as well. Gina fights for what she wants and when it is Vic that she sets her sights on, she doesn’t let him that easily off the hook when the last thing he wants to do is talk about how he feels.

The twenty four hour surveillance that Taylor Security pulls off on Gina’s family certainly brings Vic that much closer for the first time in his life to saying yes to commitment, but for Vic that might not be what fate has in store for him when he leaves Gina to hunt down his enemy, knowing that without that final act of vengeance on his part, he would never  be able to look himself in the mirror ever again.

I just flat-out loved Vic’s sense of humor and the way his thoughts filter out to bring a smile to the reader’s face even during the most charged moments in the story. The thing that drew me in the most was that every part of the story felt real from the humor to the teenage crabby issues to the passion and love that flares between Gina and Vic. And if I hadn’t already been half in love with Vic by the end of the story, the last chapter would have convinced me to go all the way as I just simply adored the ending.

Filled to the brim with humor, sizzling sexual tension, romance with a love that grows on you, Man Law is a summer read not to be missed out on!

Recommended for those who love romantic suspense, adventure and romance in one setting.

Definitely looking forward to the rest of the novels in the series.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Carina Press

awesomeread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Harlequin Historical Publisher Series
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Ryam
Heroine: Shen Ai Li
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 1, 2010
Started On: March 13, 2011
Finished On: March 15, 2011

With only two historical novels published to her name, Jeannie Lin has shot into my list of favorite authors after being totally and utterly captivated by the tale of love, Tang Dynasty politics and the beautiful sensuality that she wields in her stories. I picked up Butterfly Swords right after I was done with The Taming of Mei Ling which was just a teaser into Jeannie Lin’s capability in keeping readers enthralled by the magic that she creates with the words – because simply put, it was just utter and sheer magic that leaped out from each and every one of these pages as I read along.

Set in 758 AD, Tang Dynasty China, this is the story of the sixth child and only girl of the Emperor of China during the time. Ai Li is on her way to meet her husband to be, Li Tao, a military governor in one of the provinces when she learns that her sense of honor would not let herself marry a traitor to the Emperor. Though she knows that the consequences of  fleeing from Li Tao would be catastrophic, with a sense of inborn courage, Ai Li is all set to travel back to Changan, the Imperial Capital when she comes across the foreigner more commonly known as barbarian amongst the Chinese then who calls himself Ryam.

19 year old Ai Li has always had a sort of sixth sense when it comes to judging people. And although her culture, society and decorum demands that she shun the warrior with blond hair and blue eyes, her sense of honor and respect for a man who willingly put his life on the line to come to her rescue has her requesting his help in returning to the Imperial city.

Ryam is a man who has got the wandering swordsman thing down to a pat. Following in his father’s footsteps who had imbibed in drinking and foolhardy fighting after the loss of his beloved wife had been Ryam’s way of life until he is recruited by Adrian, a prince by his own rights who admires Ryam’s mighty skill with the sword. A mission that goes horribly wrong which had nearly killed Ryam in the process has left him with a terrible sense of guilt that clouds all his senses until the beautiful and enchanting Ai Li enlists his help and Ryam agrees against his better judgement.

For the first time in Ai Li’s life, she gets to spend  time with a man who listens to her, values her opinions and has a way of making her feel things that she shouldn’t feel for someone like Ryam and keeps messing with her head. Ryam who has all the worldly experience under his belt when it comes to seduction and women finds himself for the first time smitten with a virgin who has no idea what she does to him just by existing.

Though their attraction and the awareness that springs forth between them is an immediate one, the sexual tension of the sizzling variety is a long drawn one which keeps the reader on tenterhooks, awaiting that moment when Ai Li and Ryam would surrender and give themselves to each other. Every single touch and look exchanged stokes the fire that burns between them, making this a read worth savoring and sinking into just for the web of sensuality that surrounds the reader from the beginning.

Ai Li and Ryam’s journey towards happily ever after is not an easy one. The intricate details of the politics and the responsibilities that one shoulders in holding a position such as being the Emperor of a country as China comes to light as the story unfolds making this one of the most interesting historical romances that I have read to date. It’s always refreshing to read a historical that is not based in the UK involving the ton and the patriarch British society and Jeannie Lin has carved a place for herself as one of the unique voices in the historical romance genre.

There were numerous things I loved about this story. Both Ai Li and Ryam’s characters reel you in from the first encounter itself, making you root for their happily ever after all throughout. Ai Li has such a sense of honor ingrained into her that she is willing to forgo everything that she holds dear just so that no shame would come to her family. Ryam who is the exact opposite to Ai Li in each and every way just turns out to be the man who complements her in every way. Though I would have loved to know more about Ryam’s past and where he came from, nevertheless he makes for a pretty well rounded character whom I loved for his undeniable need for Ai Li and her touch that continues to sooth and arouse him at the same time. And loved those sword fights between Ai Li and Ryam. I didn’t know that fighting could end up being so erotic!

The secondary characters that we meet along the journey are all interesting ones that do not distract us from the actual main story. I found my interest piqued to find out more about Adrian and his wife Miya who gave up the throne to become his wife. And towards the end, I found myself oddly intrigued and a little bit helplessly fascinated with Li Tao who comes out as a villain at the beginning and left me with mixed feelings towards the end. I am hoping he would get his own story and that I would love seeing his cold and controlled self brought to his knees by a woman who is his match made in heaven. Oh yes, I am an evil, evil woman who gets her fix from seeing heroes crumble to dust at the feet of the women they love!

Since I loved this story so much, I couldn’t help but feel cheated out of an epilogue which would have done wonders for the story. Though the ending as it is is not a bad one, I would have loved seeing Ai Li and Ryam actually live through their happily ever after, maybe have a couple of babies and experience all that comes along with finding your soul mate to share your life with you forever.

Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin cannot be recommended highly enough. This is a historical romance any lover of the genre MUST read.

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

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone

Format: E-booksinful
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Harlequin Spice
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Matthew Wallingford
Heroine: Jane Rankin
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: May 1, 2010
Started On: January 22, 2011
Finished On: January 23, 2011

First of all, let me just take a few minutes of my reviewing time to just gaze at this wonderful cover and salivate over it to my heart’s content. This has got to be one of the most beautiful covers on a romance novel and yes of course it helps that Matthew is displayed in all his glory on the cover.

Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone is a book that seems to have got its fair share of mixed reviews from readers. Most have loved the book until the ending which left them totally stunned in disbelief because its rare for a romance novel to end as this one did, though I have come across one other book with an ending such as this one when I read A Stranger’s Wife by Maggie Osborne. I believe I belong in the latter group of those who actually LOVED the story as it was, maybe because I was prepared for the story’s ending to be a shocker which didn’t really shock me that much in the end. And it might also have something to do with the fact that I have had prior experience with this type of ending and whilst it may not be the ideal conclusion for a romance, it is certainly different which has its own charm as well.

Sinful stars one of the most cynical and jaded heroes I have come across in my reading life. The Earl of Wallingford, Matthew is cynical to the max and has no qualms about admitting to himself that he is an unconscionable rake with insatiable appetites who finds the facade of Victorian morality a mockery. Having had seen very little goodness in his life, Matthew is as tortured a hero as they come. A father who had never liked what Matthew had been even as a boy with a mother who had finally grown tired of her husband’s continued criticism because of her son, Matthew had watched his mother leave a forlorn and lonely boy behind to go with her lover only to a die a horrible death by accident. Stunningly masculine with a face that is exceedingly handsome which holds a beauty that’s dark and sensual, Matthew is an artist, a fact that his father continually mocks. Matthew expects every woman he comes across to have a price for being with him whether it be an emotional or physical one and is used to being the one who can always shock polite society with his untoward behavior. But beneath all this lies a soul so very tortured by what he went through since he turned 15 years old; the experience leaving him unable to bear anyone’s touch on himself even though depravity is Matthew’s middle name.

Enter the 27 year old spinsterish Jane Rankin with her curly red hair sporting spectacles that hides her deep green eyes and a top lip that had been scarred by the back of a man’s hand. A woman of suspect birth with an aristocrat for a father to whom Jane’s mother Lucy has been mistress to, at the age of 7, Jane’s father had kicked his mistress and illegitimate child out leaving them destitute and homeless. Jane at that tender age had resolved that she would never become any man’s mistress nor would she allow a man to dictate her life. And its a resolution that Jane has stuck by even when the going had got tough. Salvation had come in the form of Lady Blackwood who had saved her from the streets and given her a life. A lady’s companion by day and a nurse at the London College Hospital by night, Jane is firmly rooted in her resolve to remain independent though at odd times she yearns for a man’s touch and wants what true love could bring to her life.

These two souls that hide behind facades of their own making shaped up by their experiences when growing up meet by chance when Matthew is brought in as a patient to the hospital where Jane works. From the moment Matthew feels Jane’s fleeting touches and hears her angelic voice, its as if salvation has come calling for him to take him back to the shores of life. Though Matthew is unable to see his Jane’s face during his hospital stay, the white hot attraction that flares up between them is an all consuming one which left me totally breathless at times. Jane who has never had an untoward thought about any patient of hers finds herself yearning to touch the perfection that Matthew’s body is. Not knowing who he is apart from the fact that he could be royalty, a bond is forged between these two that each wants to fight but can’t help but give in to.

As Jane and Matthew’s relationship starts off on shaky grounds, so emerges a tale immersed in darkness with a few surprising twists towards the end. Matthew and Jane’s happily ever after certainly is not one served on a silver platter as Matthew’s dreaded father and stepmother contrive to keep these two apart and Jane with her avowal of becoming a respected member of the society certainly doesn’t give up the values that she has held close to her up until now. All this makes for a really good romance to sink into and the scorching passion between Matthew and Jane is so skillfully done that you can’t help but want more of where that came from.

I liked:

  1. THE COVER!! I just freaking love it! Kudos to the artist. Its such a beautiful cover art for a story that is beautiful and unique which the cover portrays so very well.
  2. Matthew Wallingford. Fans of tortured heroes are going to love him and I absolutely fell for him right from the very first chapter itself. At first when Matthew and Jane meets, I thought that all the hype about Matthew being a bad-ass was just all talk as Matthew seemed to swoon into this puddle of goo whenever Jane was around. But 28% into the story, I said hello to the Matthew I was looking for. The cynical and jaded Matthew who lashes out at the only woman who has been able to see through his facade into the loneliness carved and etched onto his soul; the only woman whose touch he craves more than life itself. The way he aches for Jane and her touch which seems to purify his soul and begins chipping away at the ice that shrouds his heart and his smoldering sensuality with his swoon-in-front-of-him good looks certainly makes Matthew one of the most delectable and unforgettable heroes ever.
  3. Jane Rankin. She starts out sounding prim, proper and spinsterish as well as plain. But around Matthew, Jane transforms into the sensual woman she is supposed to be, a woman who yearns to possess and be possessed by the man she loves. Under Matthew’s smoldering gaze, Jane transforms into a woman of immense beauty, her character and strength lending her a  beauty that glows right from the depth of her soul which makes her one of the most endearing heroines ever. I loved Jane for standing by her values, never letting them go until she had taken the time to decide what was right for her. And I loved Matthew for letting Jane go, so that she could come back on her own terms which made this book a winner for me.
  4. The sizzling sensuality of this story. It has the quality to leave the reader breathless, made me yearn for more and much more as the story moved along. I believe its a testament to Ms. Featherstone’s writing style that I loved each and every encounter that took place between Matthew and Jane.
  5. The epilogue which is available separately from the story. Though I didn’t find the ending available in the story itself lacking, the epilogue is a beautiful piece of work that is a fitting ending for a romance that holds readers enthralled all throughout the story. Loved knowing how things turned out for Matthew and Jane in the end.
  6. The reason I didn’t find the ending lacking in the story itself is because Ms. Featherstone certainly didn’t end up providing instant-formula solutions to the very huge obstacles that seemed to stand in the way of Jane and Matthew getting together. So in a way this story is more meaningful because of that and I think I loved this story just a little more just because of that!

I disliked: Can’t think of anything I would change within this story. Loved every single morsel of the story.

Favorite Quotes

She was too close, his brain warned, but his body overruled logical thought, and he wanted her closer, until her breasts were crushed against him, and his mouth was buried in her throat.
“Sir, release me.”
“Jane…” He released his hold and brought his hand up, connecting with what felt like a soft, plump cheek. She had ample time to retreat from him, but even with his blindness, he could see that she moved closer. “Jane,” he murmured again, not understanding this strange fascination with her name, or the sound of it coming from his mouth.

“Stay with me, Jane.” he mumbled hours later as he clasped her small hand to his chest.
“I cannot,” she replied quietly. “The dawn has arrived.”
“I despise the morning,” he murmured, tracing the satiny nails of her fingers with his fingertips. “I am a creature of darkness, whose element is night and shadows. I belong in the dark with the other sinful creatures.”
She caressed his cheek, and he did not flinch and shrink away in revulsion. Instead, he savored that gentle touch, eating it up like a starving man given a few scraps of bread.

Their fingertips touched and he felt as though he’d been punched in the middle. As their fingers entwined, he felt something that was at once welcoming yet terrifying. Looking down at their locked hands, he realized it was a sense of … completion. Instinct told him to block the feeling. But then she spoke, her voice causing a warmth to spread throughout his body.

“You thought I believed you insignificant, but the truth is, I find you fascinating. You think I suppose you’re not pretty, but Jane,” he said, looking up, “I find you stunning. Your eyes … your imperfect mouth. It’s beautiful, and I want to paint you how I see you, sensual and womanly, dying to break free of an ideal that imprisons you.”

Staring at the window of his study, Matthew watched as the door of the carriage shut behind Jane. Their gazes met, and despite the fact that Jane had asked that he not see her off, he had not been able to resist one last look at the woman who had changed him, who’d awakened not only the man, but the heart inside him.
Jane… Resting his flattened palm on the glass, he tried to connect with her, if only for a fleeting second, I need your touch …
Despite the silence, Jane heard him and his desperate plea. Her own small hand, devoid of a glove, rested against the carriage window, holding him palm to palm, despite glass, brick and mortar. The sun chose that moment to shine, illuminating the copper curls that had escaped her bonnet, and the glistening trails of tears that slid down her pale cheeks.
Pressing his forehead to the cool glass, he held her gaze, her palm, his eyes pleading with her. Don’t go. Don’t leave me.

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Charlotte Featherstone.
  2. Fans of historical romances who like their romances with a little more spice in it than usual.
  3. Fans of romances who would like a story that ends just a tad differently from your usual ones.

And the funny thing is, just as I sat down to write the review with music blaring from the headphones, the song Sweetest Sin by Jessica Simpson came up on my playlist which struck a chord deep within me which I somehow found to be perfect for this story. So I leave my review with a couple of lines from the lyrics for you all to enjoy.

Can you imagine us,
Making love…
The way you would feel the first time that we touched,
Can you think of it…
The way I dream of it,
I want you to see like im seeing you…
It’s a picture of perfection,
The vision of you and me…

Your lips upon my lips,
Can you just picture this …
Your finger tips on my finger tips,
Your skin upon my skin …
Would be the sweetest sin …

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

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Billy Bob Walker Got Married by Lisa G. Brown

Format: Paperback
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperPrism
Hero: William Robert Walker
Heroine: Shiloh Pennington
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: April 28, 1993
Started On: January 4, 2011
Finished On: January 14, 2011

My first Lisa G. Brown was picked up because of the various recommendations of the title on the Amazon romance discussion forum. This title kept cropping up on various threads on the forum which led me to obtain a copy of this title, which I had a real hard time getting shipped to Maldives since its out-of-print now. It might be because I had such high expectations because of the rave reviews this story has received that I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought that I would. However that doesn’t mean that this is a bad read by any means but rather it didn’t live up to all my high expectations which I believe tends to happen to us readers now and again.

27 year old William Robert Walker aka Billy Bob Walker comes from the wrong side of the town of Sweetwater. The illegitimate son of the honorable Judge Robert Sewell who has ignored his very existence by forgetting his affair with the innocent country girl Ellen Walker, Billy’s mother, Billy has a chip a mile wild on his shoulders that lands him in spots of trouble now and then. With a reputation for being wild, no one really sees the ambitious heart that beats within Billy and his aspirations to become someone who would one day show his good for nothing father that the son he had ignored for all his life in favor of his legitimate son Michael could make something out of himself. 6 ft 3 inches tall, long-limbed and lanky with broad square shoulders, Billy sets many a heart aflutter with his easy charm and masculinity. Billy’s passion lies in becoming a veterinarian but life and its ultimate choices had inevitably ended him a little further away from attaining his dream.

22 year old Shiloh Pennington is the cossetted and protected daughter of Sam Pennington, the banker of the town of Sweetwater. A man who had risen from a low wage job at a tiny mill to become what he is today, Sam wants nothing but the best for his only daughter whom he had raised single-handedly ever since Shiloh’s mother Caroline had walked out on them when Shiloh had just been 5 years old. A woman known for her beauty and loose morales when it comes to men, Sam had always kept a tight leash on Shiloh wanting to protect her from every evil in the world and tries his damnedest to shape Shiloh to follow his dreams and ambitions for her rather than her own. Shiloh is a woman trapped in a world created for her by her father and she tries her hardest to please Sam in every way possible until she breaks off her engagement to Michael Sewell, an act that infuriates Sam to no end.

The overly protected Shiloh who had always stayed away from men had her world turned upside down the summer she had turned 18, when she had run into Billy Bob Walker when he had been sent by his grandfather to landscape Pennington’s yard. Their affair had started out innocently enough and had been brought to a cruel halt by Sam who had presumed to know that Billy Bob Walker wasn’t what his Shiloh deserved or needed in life. Now 4 years later, these two cross paths again when Billy who is in jail serving time for riling up his father in court finds himself in the company of Shiloh who is brought in for totaling her car by speeding, trying in reality to get away from the stifling presence of the Sewells who her father tries to force her to accept. And when Shiloh sees her way out of getting married to Michael and getting back at Sam for trying to force her affections on a man who frightens her to no end by proposing marriage to Billy in exchange for his freedom from jail, a shaky relationship of sorts develops between two people who are wary of trusting the other as past hurts and Shiloh’s father tries his best to drive these two apart.

I liked:

1- The premise of this story. I found myself intrigued with the concept of the heroine offering money to the hero to marry her just for convenience’s sake. And with such vast differences in their upbringings there was bound to be a lot of problems which Ms. Brown tackled with throughout the story.

2- The vivid descriptions of the small town life that brought this book to life and gave it an added lustre. It is always heartening to see a story bring to life what goes on in small towns such as the one in this story.

3- As I read through this story, I was at first really frustrated with Shiloh’s character as she kept swaying back and forth between her feelings for Billy, which always pisses me off when it comes to heroines. But in the end, Shiloh proves that she loves Billy for who he is and does some growing up of her own and stands up for herself in front of her controlling father which earned her my approval in the end.

I disliked:

1- The way Shiloh couldn’t make up her mind till around more than half way through the book. It kept my head spinning in circles whilst Shiloh tried to divide her loyalties between the father who had raised her with love although Sam controls her life and she lets it happen; and her husband whom she has a hard time accepting at first.

2- Billy’s doggone pride that kept interfering with what was taking place between Shiloh and himself. As feelings continued to intensify between the two, Billy has a hard time accepting the fact that Shiloh’s upbringing had provided her with the best of things in life which Billy is unable to provide her with. Sam’s interference certainly didn’t help matters but I wished at times I could slap Billy on the face to make him sit up and see what he was doing to their relationship with his beloved pride to keep him company by his side.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Abe Books

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sing My Name by Ellen O’Connell

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Matthew Slade
Heroine: Sarah Hammond
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 22, 2010
Started On: December 30, 2010
Finished On: January 1, 2011

The fact that I am starting out the year 2011 with the review of a story that played with all my emotions in a good way is a cause for celebration in itself. Ellen O’Connell who published her first romance “Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold” earlier in 2010 shot right into my auto-buy list with the style of her writing and her ability to spin a romance totally different from what you normally read about. In her stories, the tragedies are real and heartbreaking; you don’t just read a narration of a life changing event for the hero/heroine but rather you experience the events right along with them which makes the story seem that much more real and in the end leaves you with its remnants long after you are done. So when I found out that her newest book had been released around 2 months back, I nearly jumped up and down with glee and I didn’t even hesitate to buy myself a copy and lose myself in the story of Matt and Sarah; a story that is so damn quotable that I raged an internal battle to keep the quotes at a minimum.

Matthew Slade or Matt had just been 10 years old when his parents, his four brothers and two sisters had all been killed in an epidemic that had wiped out nearly everyone in the vicinity. Matt himself had been at the throes of death when his neighbor who had lost his whole family had stumbled upon him and nursed him back to health and took him away with him. Matt had then been left with a couple who took in orphans such as himself from whom Matt had escaped from when he was 14 years old because of the brutality of the reverends wife when dealing with the children under her guardianship. Fighting in the civil war for all the wrong reasons thinking them to be the right ones, Matt is a survivor of a war that had claimed many a life, where hunger had been his best friend and bedfellow. Two years after the war, Matt is mistaken for a man who had killed a whole family and taken captive by two men who refuse to believe his proclamation of innocence. It is during the journey when his captors wheedle their way into a cavalry escort travelling along to the same destination that Matt comes across Sarah Hammond irrevocably changing both their lives forever.

Sarah Hammond is the pampered and overprotected daughter of a rich family back in Boston who had been strong abolitionists. With blond hair, deep blue eyes, with a round figure and an inherent sweetness to her, Sarah is being escorted to be with her fiance Carter Macauley who wanted nothing more from Sarah other than what she would bring to their marriage in terms of her impeccable character and grooming.

When Sarah witnesses how badly Matt is treated by his captors, her kindhearted nature demanding that Matt be treated better for the duration of the journey causes many a conflict amongst her chaperons. However all this comes to head when Comanches attack them and it is only Matt and Sarah that barely escape their brutal onslaught.

It is during the journey that Matt and Sarah takes across the unforgiving land amidst constant danger from those trying to hunt them down to finish what they started that a bond unlike anything else is forged between these two unlikely souls. Sarah’s dependence on Matt for survival soon turns into something much more as feelings of a totally different kind enter into the equation which reaches its inevitable conclusion before the journey is through.

Though in Sarah’s dreams she and Matt ends up inevitably together after she regrettably informs Macauley that she cannot marry him as she has fallen in love with Matt, reality is much harsher on these two as Macauley engineers a vicious plan to drive these two apart with his thirst for vengeance and revenge. The story of how at first a rebel and a yankee meet and fall in love and how circumstances force Matt (the convict) and Sarah (the whore) apart until 7 years later these two come to meet again is a story that will stay with the reader for a long, long time after they are done.

I Liked:

1- Sarah Hammond. She is hands down the best thing about this story. She is sweet, gentle, kindhearted with a backbone of steel which Matt eventually shows that she has. She is equal parts stubborn, loyal and loves Matt so much that she is willing to go to any lengths to finally be with the man that completes her. The fact that she doesn’t give up when life throws its harshest challenges at her is what makes her my most favorite heroine of all time. There are so many endearing qualities about her that I don’t know which ones I should start naming first. Though Sarah has had a pampered life which her well off parents had bestowed upon her, when the rough and tough times comes calling, with Matt by her side Sarah faces each and every challenge head on and wins them over. Her docile nature fools a lot of people into thinking that Sarah needs to be cossetted and directed towards the path on which she should walk on. But when it does come to stuff that really matters to her like her daughter Laurie and her beloved Matt she is like the fiercest of warriors protecting what is rightfully hers. Needless to say, she has earned the role of my favorite heroine and I loved her character to bits in this heartwarming romance.

2- Matt Slade. He is handsome, utterly charming at the beginning of the story and later towards the end and has a sense of humor that touches something deep inside of you as you read along. Macauley’s vicious plans nearly ends Matt’s life before putting him in prison for 3 years of hard labor from which a harder and a more vital Matt emerges. Not knowing that Sarah had borne their daughter Laurie, Matt refuses to subject Sarah to his presence even though he knows that there would be no one else for him. Even though that part of his character which believed he is no good for Sarah rankled, I still could not help but fall for him because Matt demands nothing less but just that from the reader.

3- Ellen O’Connell’s evocative characterization and style of writing. Though she has just two romance novels to her name, her writing style just draws you in and keeps you in the throes of the story refusing to let go. I would say that her stories are just pure magic – yes, they are that good. If you don’t believe me, I dare you to pick just one of the two and indulge. ^_^

4- How Sarah tries to seduce Matt at the beginning. With Sarah being a virgin and Matt with practically zero experience, it was heartwarming and quite humorous at the same time to read about how Sarah tries to seduce Matt into giving her something even which she cannot understand what it is that she actually wants. Though not explicit in nature, their journey of sensual discovery was one of the best parts of the story worthy of revisiting from time to time.

5- The unique marriage proposal almost at the end of the story. I have never come across a marriage proposal quoted from passages in the Bible, maybe because I don’t read Christian romances, but the way Matt proposes to Sarah is just perfect for this story.

I Disliked:

1- Even though I loved this story to bits, I didn’t care much for the conflict between two ranching businesses which was the main focus of the latter part of the story. Though it was this conflict that enabled Sarah’s friends to bring these two together in the hopes of getting Sarah over Matt once and for all, I didn’t want anything to take my attention away from the beauty of the love between Sarah and Matt even for a second.

2- This story tends to end a bit abruptly until you read the Author’s note to discover that she has an “Afterword” available for download on her website which is the actual conclusion of this beautiful story. All in all, for me, the story would have been more complete if the afterword had been included in the original story. The afterword is a fitting end to a love that held me captivated right from the very beginning.

Favorite Quotes

Sarah gasped and looked up. She was going to hit him. Except … he was trying without success to keep a straight face.
The afternoon sun slanted across him, and his eyes shone bluer than ever, dancing with suppressed laughter. No other man in the world would react this way to such an unmentionable subject, help her without complaining or blaming, and tease away her embarrassment.
She started laughing with him. Something slipped and slid inside her, and Sarah fell in love with Matt Slade.

She traced the lines of Matt’s face in the air. Then her air-touch moved down his neck, out across his shoulder, in again along his collarbone, down the breastbone, back and forth across each rib. Air touching only made the ache worse. She wanted to feel the smoothness and warmth of his skin, feel the muscle and tendon and bone under his skin. She wanted to spread her hand out flat over his belly, feel the breathing and life of him. She wanted — oh she wanted.

She (Sarah) froze, jerking Laurie to a halt. Hundreds, no thousands of times Sarah had pictured what would happen if they met again. She would run into his arms, which would be open, welcoming. They would come together with a joyous crash, and everything would be as it had been, should be. Now she stood and stared. Unlike in dreams, her emotions and fears and the lie she had lived for so long anchored her in place.
Staring, taking in every detail, she wondered how she knew him so instantly. Could a heart see in its own way what eyes did not? No words in that deep grainy voice helped her. She knew every inch of his body intimately, had traced the contours of each bone and muscle with her fingers and her lips. The changes jarred her, the beloved sameness called to her. The hat brim shaded his face, a face changed terribly whether in profile or full view as he pivoted towards her.

Recommended for:

1- Fans of historical romances.
2- Fans of romance books in general.
3- Fans of Ellen O’Connell.

Note: All the while that I was reading this story, I couldn’t help but think that the song “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars effectively sums up all the feelings that courses through Matt whenever he sees his beautiful Sarah whose mere presence is enough to keep him happy for the rest of his life. So I’ll end my review by including a snippet of the lyrics that just brings a smile to my face, and Sarah and Matt to my mind as I listen to this song each and every single time.

When I see your face
There’s not a thing that I would change
Cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you’re amazing
Just the way you are

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Forbidden by Janelle Denison

Format: Paperbackforbidden
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze, #19
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Joshua Michael Marchiano
Heroine: Paige Montgomery
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 1999
Started On: December 17, 2010
Finished On: December 17, 2010

I have always been interested in reading about the love that blossoms between two people that society or circumstances deem SHOULD not fall in love. Feelings that they both should deny makes itself known, regardless of how much they try to control their emotions and that in itself makes for a deliciously clandestine read. After reading and reviewing Ms. Denison’s book Tempted which was a delightfully sensual novel, I forayed into her backlist to stumble upon this title which seemed to call out “pick me!” from the book synopsis and raised high expectations within me keeping me on tenterhooks till my precious books made their way to the Maldives from USA. This book ended up being totally different from what I expected, not that the story that unfolded was bad in anyway, but because I expected something other than what I found in the story, I ended up sort of between being happy that I did get to read a good story regardless and a tad disappointed because I didn’t find in Josh and Paige’s story what I really wanted from them.

The story kicks off during Paige’s husband, Anthony Montgomery’s funeral. Paige and Anthony had been married for 3  years, the last 2 years of which was lived in abject misery on Paige’s part. It is Anthony’s best friend Josh that steps in and offers her his friendship, an act which backfires on Josh when he hopelessly falls in love with the one woman he will never get to have; until Anthony is killed in his latest undercover mission bringing to light the fact that Anthony had been a dirty cop who had profited from underhand deals in the criminal worlds that he had inhibited as part of his job.

Paige had always been treated more as a possession than as a wife by Anthony and Paige had just initiated divorce proceedings when she gets the news of Anthony’s death. The depth of Anthony’s immense betrayal hits home 3 months later when Josh comes bearing news that Anthony had actually been killed by the mob boss of the jewelery smuggling ring that Anthony had been assigned to infiltrate because he had stolen a necklace worth millions of dollars from them inevitably putting Paige in danger.

Vulnerability and the shock of betrayal which leaves Paige reeling sends her into the arms of Josh where at last she gets the type of physical and emotional fulfillment Paige has only dreamed about till now. It is Josh’s mission to protect Paige at any cost, use her as bait to draw the mob boss in and act as her live in lover whilst all this takes place. And when Josh learns of the extent of hurt and resentment that Anthony had bred in Paige’s heart towards marriage to anyone working in the law enforcement, the hope that had burgeoned in his heart after Paige turned to him for comfort and they both had experienced out of this world passion with one another as a result comes crashing down leaving Josh with only one choice; let the woman who has captured his heart walk away forever if that’s the only way that Paige can be happy.

I liked the overall premise of the story which is a mix of a friends to lovers story with very little “forbidden” moments thrown in to the mix of bad guys who were after the necklace which Paige’s dead husband had stolen. Josh is a likable hero who has given his heart to Paige somewhere along the way when their friendship had first started to blossom, which makes him the vulnerable one in the story. Paige was likable as well because she is determined that she learn from her mistake with Anthony and is wary of trusting someone with her heart again, and though Josh shows her in all the ways how different he is from Anthony, Paige is stubborn enough to hold on to her convictions until it becomes almost too late for her change her mind.

Obviously as I started out saying, I expected something a bit more different from this story. With a title like “Forbidden” my mind conjures up stolen kisses that heat up the reader’s insides, breathless passion between the hero and heroine which they both try to deny but which explodes anyway because they are two halves of one soul who have just found their way to each other. And though this story delivers in spades in the awareness department between Paige and Josh, there just didn’t seem to be enough moments of the forbidden variety in the story which kind of depleted my enjoyment levels with this one.

All in all, not a bad read though I wish the story could have been a different one altogether.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Baby for Emily by Ginna Gray

Format: E-bookababyforemily
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Silhouette Special Edition #1466
Publisher: Silhouette
Hero: Dillon Maguire
Heroine: Emily Collins Maguire
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 1, 2002
Started On: November 26, 2010
Finished On: November 26, 2010

I know not the reason why, but when I woke up this morning all of a sudden I started recalling this story that I had read a couple of years back. All I remembered was the fact that I had loved the hero in the book and that the book had been an emotional wrangler and that the heroine’s name was some Emily. Since I couldn’t recall the title or author properly I spent a couple of minutes searching for the book and thank god for the fact that I keep my e-book collection on my hard disk drive I was armed with this book in a couple of minutes, ready to sink myself into the heady world of romance that Ginna Gray has so beautifully created with this novel.

29 year old Emily Collins Maguire is shocked senseless when just hours after she and her husband Dr. Keith Wesley Maguire had learned that the in vitro treatment had been successful and that finally Emily was pregnant after going through every conceivable test on Earth for the past couple of years of their 7 year marriage to learn that her husband had died of smoke asphyxiation wrapped in the arms of his current mistress at their townhouse. Devastation doesn’t begin to cover it when the destitution with which Keith had left her in becomes clear as Keith’s countless affairs, the depth of his lies and betrayal in every aspect of their marriage comes to light. Pregnant, alone, broke and unemployed, Emily has no choice but to trust Dillon in the salvation that he offers her, not that she would take his pity or charity any day.

Dillon Maguire has loved Emily since that fateful day 7 years back when he had met Emily at the hospital where Keith worked as an oncologist. Emily who had grown up with a mother who had rarely been present with her wanderlust nature had showed up, deathly sick and diagnosed with breast cancer. The 21 year old Emily had taken a shine to Keith once he determinedly started his wooing process and before she knew it Emily had been married to a handsome and suave doctor who it seems wanted nothing more than for her to be his dutiful wife.

Dillon had grown up with a mother who fiercely resented his presence in her life, the truth of which comes to light much later in the novel. Keith had always been her favorite and Dillon had received whatever mothering and tender care from his neighbor and friend Jeremy’s mother Gert Shneider. And when Jeremy had been killed serving in the army when he had been nineteen, all of Gert’s mothering had solely become focused on Dillon. Dillon had always known that Keith viewed everything as a competition when it came to him and that he had been a little too late in masking his interest in Emily when he had first met her. All throughout their marriage Dillon had  tried his best to act cold and aloof towards the woman who undoubtedly had his love, an act which he pulls off too well when Emily at first tries to refuse his much needed help and care during the first couple of days after Keith’s death. But the secret that Dillon hides within himself is the one that could destroy everything he works so hard throughout the story to build between himself and Emily.

Likes:

  1. Dillon Maguire. If there is anyone who has read this story and not fallen for him then obviously there is something wrong with them! Dillon is manhood personified not just because of his intense and broody good looks and his multi-millionaire status or because of his tortured soul, those things do help, but it is because of how well he takes care of Emily regardless of the fact whether his love and feelings are welcomed by her or not that clinches the deal with Dillon. He puts each and every need of Emily above his, and I do not say this lightly and because of that very fact, my heart ached each and every time for the position Keith had put him in, even in death trying to cheat him from getting what he wants more than anything else in life.
  2. I loved the roller coaster of emotions that coursed through me when I lost myself in this story. Love and an overwhelming feeling of protectiveness towards Dillon, the need to slap Dillon’s mother senseless a time or two and then some, dislike towards Dillon’s elder sister Charlotte for her holier-than-thou attitude at times and a deep respect for Gert, the only woman in my opinion who truly deserves Dillon’s love and affection in this novel.
  3. The intense sexual tension in the story. Though this book doesn’t contain much of scenes of the bedroom variety, the slow awakening of senses that take place continuously in Emily was in fact much better than any hard and fast sex session could have been, though that wouldn’t have been unwelcome either! ^_^ But this drawn out tension between Dillon and Emily made me dizzy a couple of times and everything in me clamored for them to find joy in each other soon or I would have been the first to undergo self combustion in the Maldives! ^_~
  4. For some reason or the other, I can’t help but love the cover of this one. Just the scene of love, warmth and affection it represents touches something deep inside of me. ^_^

Dislikes:

  1. I don’t know why, maybe certain feminist readers may disagree with this but I thoroughly disliked Emily because of how she treated Dillon at the very end. I understand that what he did was not of the norm but Emily never even stopped to think for a second that it was Dillon, the Dillon who had been taking care of her, bestowing upon her his love for the past year or so and that she had never ever felt happier in her life and never more cherished than the time she had spent with Dillon, but the minute she learns of the dreaded truth regarding the paternity of her child, she is all fire and intense anger and goes as far to leave Dillon without even giving him the time to explain. My heart literally broke in two for the hurt that Emily puts Dillon through and in the end it is Gert who has to step in and knock some sense into Emily to make her suddenly realize that Dillon is not Keith and that he would never hurt her and that he had ACTUALLY been in love with her for the past 7 years. *rolls eyes in frustration* That’s why for me, Emily doesn’t really deserve Dillon’s love and unwavering loyalty and affection, because for me, a man like Dillon deserves more, much more than someone like Emily who can just walk away leaving a devastated man behind.
  2. I have to agree with the other readers who have taken the time to review this book. The ending was a bit abrupt and sort of leaves the reader hanging. I would have loved to see Emily do a bit of groveling on this one for a change!

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Ginna Gray. Her writing style is addictive. You just want to keep on reading and subject yourself to the emotional intensity packed into this story.
  2. Those who loves their romance to play havoc with their emotions. This one certainly does that – in spades!

Favorite Quotes

Dillon’s gaze zeroed in on the distended mound beneath Emily’s blue maternity top.
His nostrils flared slightly as he drew in a bracing breath. He rubbed his palms on the legs of his jeans, then slowly reached out with his right hand. It hovered, not quite steady, the long callused fingers spread. Then, as gentle as thistledown, his hand settled onto Emily’s tummy.
She caught her breath. Tanned by hours in the sun, his skin was a deep bronze against the powder-blue maternity top and so large it practically covered her abdomen. Dillon’s gaze met hers for a second, but as though unable to resist, he looked back at the mound beneath his hand.
Emily closed her eyes and lay rigid as stone. She could barely breathe. Even though her maternity top the imprint of his hand seared her flesh like a branding iron. She could feel each individual finger, the broad palm, the incredible warmth.

Lazily his gaze trailed down her face. For the space of several heartbeats he stared at her lips, parted in surprise, and slowly, as though weighted with lead, his eyelids began to droop and his head tipped to one side.
Emily felt his breath feather across her face and excitement pounded though her. She could barely draw breath. Unconsciously, the tip of her tongue peeked out and swept over her suddenly dry lips. Through slitted lids fringed with sweeping black lashes, Dillon’s eyes glittered like blue diamonds.
Then he pulled her close, gathered her against his chest with both arms and pressed his lips  to hers.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | AbeBooks

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Pure Temptation by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Format: E-bookpuretemptation
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Blaze #20
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jeremiah MacDougal (Mac)
Heroine: Tess Blakely
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 1, 1999
Started On: November 22, 2010
Finished On: November 25, 2010

Anyone who visits my blog regularly would know that I am a huge fan of romances based on the theme “friends turn into lovers”. When I came across this tittle (I’ve kind of forgotten where exactly this title jumped up at me) I didn’t waste any time in getting myself a copy and plunging into the story. Since free time has been pretty scarce the past few days I managed to give my full attention to this story only today and really loved this Blaze from Ms. Thompson written in the 90’s.

Based in the small town of Copperville in Arizona, 26 year old Tess Blake and Jeremiah MacDougal (Mac) who is two years older than her have known each other and being best friends for the past 23 years of their lives. Tess, surrounded with her hulking 4 big brothers and their overwhelming overprotective natures yearns to experience life in the big cities, a dream that she and Mac had shared when they had been growing up. Now Tess is just a summer away from attaining her dream as her move to New York as a counselor for teenagers in a high school had been finalized. But there is just one teeny, tiny problem that Tess needs taken care of – lose her status as a virgin before the summer is through, easier said than done when her 4 brothers effectively scare off any suitable suitors who might have been up for the job ages back.

Mac, an only child though he dreams of getting away from Copperville, knows that he has a responsibility to his parents who had built their ranch from ground up as a legacy to their only child and son. Though the thought of Tess leaving ties Mac up all on the insides, the bombshell that Tess drops on him, requesting him to aide her in her “summer project” of the year as in find someone to divest her of her virginity practically chokes the very breathe out of Mac.

Mac knows that Tess, once her mind has been made up wouldn’t budge from a task and as soon as the words sex and Tess comes into the same sentence, rolling in satin sheets with her legs wrapped around him is all Mac can think about. And thinking about any other man taking the privilege of getting carnal knowledge of Tess just makes his skin crawl and Mac does the only thing a sane man in his position would do – offer his service as Tess’s hymen-breaker never knowing that all along Tess the woman who had been right under his nose his whole life had been the woman he had been waiting for to settle down with.

Likes:

  1. I loved Mac from the stetson on his head to his delectable toes and everything in between. His tenderness and the way he understands and puts first each and every desire of Tess is what made me fall in love with him. Even with his desire raging out of control for Tess, Mac shows her the sensual side of love as only a man in love can and in the process made my heart go flip-flop every time he came up in the story.
  2. Tess. She makes for a unique combination with her innocence (which doesn’t get on the nerves) and her blatant curiosity when it comes to her own sensuality which awakens around Mac. I loved the fact that she was willing to give up her dream of living it up in the city to just be able to share all her tomorrows with Mac which would be an adventure enough for her.
  3. I loved the subtle difference in the way the story unfolded in this one compared to most of the friends-turn-into-lovers stories that I have read. I loved how Ms. Thompson brought back bits and pieces of Tess and Mac’s shared childhood and their adventures together, lending their jump from friends to lovers much more depth than anything else could have. These insights makes this story one of the very best of this theme and I am so very glad I came across this delectable story by Ms. Thompson.
  4. Though Harlequin stories are pretty short, I liked the small town life descriptions within the story. There was no rush to just get Mac and Tess to do it already but rather the foundation of their relationship with each other and Tess’s family as well tidbits about the town folk and their nosy natures made this quite an interesting piece to read.
  5. I loved how this story made me laugh out loud, several times in fact, whilst reading. From the very beginning when I read Tess’s  notes on how she would divest herself of her virginity, I knew that I was in for a couple of good laughs with this one and I wasn’t disappointed.
  6. And oh yes, I loved the scene where Mac describes the one erotic dream that he had of Tess and himself and I loved how he couldn’t help but squeeze Tess’s hand without his own volition. Lying in his pickup, holding the hand of his best friend and looking up at the stars whilst he related his dream.. *sighs*

Dislikes: Errm.. the cover could use some improvement. Just saying! ^_^

Recommended for:

  1. Lovers of Harlequin Blaze stories.
  2. Those who love stories of the theme where friends turn into lovers or childhood friends turn into lovers.
  3. Fans of Vicki Lewis Thompson. If you haven’t already read this one, grab yourself a copy and indulge! I loved it!

Favorite Quotes

Summer Project: Lose Virginity
Goal one: Find knowledgeable candidate willing to deflower me.
Goal two: Swear the candidate to absolute secrecy.
Goal three: Get it on.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Beg Me by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookbegme
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Drake Bennett
Heroine: Tania Sinclair
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: November 19, 2010
Started On: November 19, 2010
Finished On: November 20, 2010

Ever since Ms. Walker announced on Twitter that she had an upcoming contemporary erotic romance release titled “Beg Me” and that she was going to release it on Smashwords, I have been on tenterhooks so to say, awaiting eagerly for its release. One reason being that I love books by Ms. Walker as her titles ALWAYS deliver what they promise and also because regardless of the fact that I love all sorts of romances, contemporary romance is the genre I prefer above everything else. And so onto my review I go, of this very different title by Ms. Walker, which I couldn’t put down since I loaded it onto my Kindle around 2 hours back.

Tania Sinclair is a woman who is haunted by the death of her husband Kyle Sinclair, and 3 years on what devastates her more than anything else is the fact that Kyle’s identical twin brother Kent had ruined all of the good memories that she had stocked up on her beloved husband who had embraced the rough and kinky side of her that craves for the not your usual type of sex, but rather role playing of a bit more kinkier variety. It doesn’t help matters when her ex-mother-in-law Gail Sinclair blames her for the deaths of not one but two of her sons, something Tania would much rather prefer feeling than the emptiness that she had been living with since that fateful night two years back.

Sick and tired of being unable to enjoy what she wants to enjoy, Tania turns to the one man who she knows she can trust enough to deliver on all counts. Drake Bennett, Kyle’s best friend since childhood, someone who had come to mean a lot to Tania as well all through the years. Though Kyle nor Tania has a clue, Drake had fallen in love with his best friend’s girl when they had just been dating and Drake knows that his heart and soul would belong to Tania though he knows that she is far from getting over that nightmarish night that had put those deep shadows in her eyes.

When Tania proposes that Drake ease her back into the world of sensual delights and give her back the one thing that she craves more than anything else, Drake who can never  say no to the woman he loves gives in, knowing that if all Tania wants from him is just sex of the rough and kinky variety that she sometimes craves, his heart would just break into pieces when he would have to walk away from it all. But as Tania learns from Drake’s first touch itself, the feelings that he invokes even with a graze of his fingers on her skin creates total havoc on her senses and the answering need that she sees deep within Drake’s eyes acts as the most soothing healing balm of all on her tattered heart and soul.

As the title itself is testament enough, this story contains material that would prove offensive to certain readers. Role playing which includes playing out of rape fantasies take place within this story and so if you are the type of person who does not like such content in your erotica then this book is not for you.

Apart from this book being one of the most different books that I have read to date, I liked the “forbidden love” aspect of the story as in Drake loving and lusting after the wife of his best friend, but being honorable enough never to cross that line when Kyle had been around. And even when the playing field had evened out, Drake had bided his time until Tania had been the one to approach him and initiate things to take their platonic relationship to the next level. I absolutely loved Drake as the hero because even with all the intensely wicked role playing that was going on, he still managed to show his tenderness and love for Tania through his actions. The way Drake breaks down during the last couple of scenes just damn near broke my heart, and made me love him even more in the end.Though I enjoyed reading this highly unusual romance, I do wish that Ms. Walker had included some scenes of “normal” or rather tender love scenes between Drake and Tania that would have balanced out the story in the end.

I would recommend this for readers who can withstand their erotica with more than the usual rough and kinky sex, and for those who are fans of Ms. Walker’s contemporary erotic romances.

Kudos to Ms. Walker for pulling it off with a story such as this one, and I can’t help but wish for more contemporaries from her, which I keep bugging her about now and then on Twitter.

Favorite Quotes

“Can you make it so I can’t remember?”
His throat went tight, He could barely manage to breathe. Slipping out of his booth, he moved to sit next to her. She leaned against him with a sigh. “No, baby. I can’t. I would if I could, though. I’d take it all away if I could.”
She sniffled. Then she sighed and reached down, touching his inner forearm, tracing a fingernail over the skin there, along the lines of his tattoo. The stylized S. “You would, wouldn’t you, Superman?”
“Yeah.” He kissed her brow. “I’d undo the past three years for you if I could figure out a way.”
“How about you just keep holding me for a little while instead?”
“Yeah.” He breathed in the scent of her hair, felt the crack in his heart widen. “I can do that.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Fire And Ice by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookfireandice
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Ice, Book 5
Publisher: MIRA
Hero: Hiromasa Shinoda
Heroine: Jillian Lovitz
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 1, 2008
Started On: November 18, 2010
Finished On: November 18, 2010

As all good things in life do come to an end, so I have reached the end of this highly entertaining romantic suspense series by Anne Stuart. Though I still definitely yearn for more of Ms. Stuart’s heroes, I would have to dig through some of her other books to find the fix that I am craving for even now. I hear that her House of Rohan series is really good and I am definitely going to try them out, as soon as I catch my breathe from the latest roller-coaster ride that I just disembarked from.

The Hero: 27 year old Hiromasa Shinoda or Reno is hardly one’s typical romance book hero. Reno is cousins with Takashi O’Brien, hero of the 3rd book in the Ice series which I reviewed earlier. Readers who have read or are reading the series in order would have come across Reno in Takashi’s story, and even then I found myself intrigued with the complexity of his character. Half-American and half-Japanese as well, Reno is the grandson of the head of the infamous Yakuza family, a family steeped in organized crime in Japan. Reno’s complexity doesn’t come from his mixed heritage, but rather the mass of contradictions that he actually is. Whilst Hiromasa Shinoda looks respectable and is a man with a high IQ with a degree in Engineering, the darker and edgier side of him known as Reno can most well be described as a punk Yakuza gangster. With long spiky hair that falls well below his waist colored in crimson red, and two teardrop tattoos on his high cheekbones and hard-ass attitude, Reno is the ultimate bad boy with a deep rooted animosity towards American women as his own American mother had abandoned him once she had grown tired of playing Yakuza royalty. Serving as the Committee’s newest recruit, Reno hardly fits in with the typical Committee material but shows his true potential when things turned quite rough in Ice Storm, the 4th book of the series.

The Heroine: Jillian Lovitz or Jilly as she is called by everyone close to her is 20 years old and a genius who has never had the chance to experience the stuff that normal childhoods are made up of. With a high IQ that had refused to sit idle whilst she experienced life, Jilly had graduated from high school when she had been fifteen, college when she was eighteen had never had the chance to develop normal relationships. With big brown eyes, a wide mouth and short blond hair and well around 6 feet tall, Jilly had always felt more like a giant around her five foot something, petite mother who had acted more like a spoiled child herself than an adult all her life. Jilly’s one solace in life had been Summer her half-sister who had always looked out for her and mothered her whom she misses terribly since she married Takashi and moved to Japan.

Storyline: It is Jilly’s yearning to experience life and the need to divest herself of her status as a virgin that ends in a disastrous one night stand which propels her to fly to Japan to drown her sorrows in the arms of Summer. However, unbeknown to Jilly, Takashi and Summer had gone into hiding to escape a bunch of mercenary killers who were gunning for their lives. And it is Reno who rides to her rescue on a mean looking Harley and whisks her away to safety whilst Jilly’s heart acknowledges the fact that in reality she had come to Japan wanting to seek Reno out, the man who had fueled all her adolescent dreams for the past two years. This time rather than international terrorists out to take the world, the danger that surrounds them rises too close to home for comfort and it will take every ounce of Reno’s willpower to keep his hands of Jilly whilst they run for their lives dodging killers and bullets as they race through Japan trying to figure out who and why they have been targeted.

The First Encounter: Jilly and Reno’s first encounter takes place at the end of Ice Blue, the story of Summer Hawthorne and Takashi O’Brien. Even with his deep rooted animosity towards American women, Reno is helplessly ensnared right from the first moment he lays his reluctant eyes on Jilly.

Time period: This story has a contemporary setting and takes place in the UK, Japan and later in the US.

Narrative Form: This story is told in the 3rd person form in both Reno and Jilly’s point of view for the main part of the story.

Awareness between the hero and heroine: What drew me to this story in the first place was the attraction that flares between Reno and Jilly at the end of Ice Blue. Even back then, Takashi and Summer had realized what was happening and had taken steps to avert someone like Reno from taking advantage of an innocent like Jilly. However that had not stopped either of them from dreaming about the other or wanting the other. Though Reno’s yearnings had been more sexual in nature whilst Jilly’s had been more dreamlike in nature, it is the white hot and undeniable attraction between the two that Reno certainly doesn’t want any part of that makes this book so damn attractive. Whilst Jilly spins dreams of the possibility of a happily ever after with the ultimate bad boy Reno, Reno is determined to keep his hands off from Jilly because he knows that she is more trouble than it is worth. But when push comes to shove and Reno has to keep Jilly safe, the close proximity proves to be Reno’s undoing where Jilly is concerned which makes this read truly worthwhile.

The turning point: Reno is someone who likes older women for the fact that they are more experienced and bring less unwanted emotion into the picture. But when he is unable to let go of the memory of the one encounter that brought him close to Jilly for the next two years, Reno knows that he is in more trouble than he had ever anticipated. With an all grown up Jilly getting up close and personal with him, it takes Reno everything he has to keep his hands off, until need obliterates everything else. For Jilly who has spun all her adolescent dreams on Reno it is just a matter of time before she hits the point of no return where Reno is concerned.

Likes:

  1. Hiromasa Shinoda. As I said earlier in my review, the complex nature of his character is one of the main reasons that made me race through this story at such a fast pace. I loved the fact that he alternated between being the good and nerdy Hiromasa and the ultimate bad boy Reno whilst the bad boy wins most of the time. Whilst his bad boy Harley riding image appeals on so many levels to my slutty inner self, it is the medium between the two that made me fall for him in the end.
  2. Jillian Lovitz. She is such a treat to read about. Her positive optimism when it comes to Reno is what made me love her. Even though at times Reno’s words and actions cut deep, and Jilly keeps telling herself that familiarity with Reno would breed contempt and in the end she wouldn’t feel so vulnerable with Reno, it is Jilly who identifies the fact that it is not that Reno doesn’t feel anything for her but rather he is terrified of just how much he feels when it comes to Jilly.
  3. The premise of the story. I loved discovering tidbits about Japan and their customs and lifestyle. In fact it made me even search up on the Internet on some of the stuff that I came across in this novel such as the Japanese Capsule hotels and the Meiji Shrine. For someone who has always held the view that Japan is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, reading about it in this novel just drove home the point that I need to do some traveling ASAP.
  4. The element of forbidden love in this story. Throughout the whole of Ice series, it has been the nature of their jobs as employees of The Committee that had kept the heroes/heroines unable to face the fact that even they are vulnerable enough to fall in love when it comes to  the right person. However, Reno and Jilly’s story is different such that Reno tries to keep his hands off of Jilly not because he doesn’t want her, but rather because he had promised his cousin’s wife that he would stay away from her and for someone like Reno, family loyalty comes before anything else.
  5. And oh yes, even though totally unrelated, I loved listening to Breaking Benjamin’s latest album Dear Agony all throughout when I was reading this book. The music just brought something extra to the story which is hard for me to explain but nevertheless played an important role in enhancing my enjoyment of a story well spun.

Dislikes:

Again, what’s with these abrupt endings? I just don’t get it! The story flows so smoothly, you ache for the hero and heroine to get their happily ever after, and wham bam thank you maam, the ending just comes out of nowhere and slaps you on the face something fierce. I so dearly wish this weren’t so. I mean it would be nice just to leave us readers with a healthy dose of an epilogue (even a page or two would suffice) to tide us over and take with us images of the ending we had envisioned right through the story. *glum sigh*

Recommended for:

  1. Fans of Anne Stuart.
  2. Fans of romantic suspense. Even though this is part of a series it can be read as a standalone.
  3. Fans of the Ice Series by Anne Stuart.

Favorite Quotes

Snap out of it, Reno!  he told himself. You’ve just managed to rid her of any romantic notions. Don’t blow it by thinking with your dick again.
The funny thing was, it wasn’t his dick that was giving him trouble. Yeah, for some crazy reason he still wanted to screw her when he should be concentrating on other things. But even more, he wanted her lying on the narrow cot with him, her body crammed up against his, her arms around him, her face against his shoulder, her heart beating against his.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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