Category / Good Read

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy

Format: E-bookhard and fast
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Fast Track, Book 2
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Hero: Ty Jackson McCordle
Heroine: Imogen Wilson
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 5, 2009
Started On: September 8, 2010
Finished On: September 9, 2010

The second book in the Fast Track Series tells the story of Imogen Wilson and Ty Jackson McCordle both of whom we get to meet in the first book of the series which I reviewed earlier. Imogen is assistant to Tamara Briggs, sociology professor and Imogen is racking her brains to come up with a research topic for her dissertation for her graduate degree. Imogen and Ty first meet at Tamara’s place when Imogen goes to Tamara’s place to drop off some papers whilst Ty and Ryder are at her place visiting Hannah and Petey who were down with the chicken pox. Right from the very first moment Imogen lays her eyes on the sexy stock car driver, she falls inevitably in lust with him.

Imogen knows that 22 years old bouncy, bubbly and blond Nikki Borden, who starves herself, and has breast implants and lip injections to enhance her beauty is more Ty’s type of woman than she is. Though Imogen and her friends Tamara and Suzanne can hardly stand to be in the same room with Nikki who seems to have attained her thin model like figure at the expense of frying up a huge amount of her brain cells, the fact that Ty was dating the girl proved that someone like Imogen who was smart, inquisitive by nature and academic would have no chance with the walking eye candy of a man that Ty was.

So it takes Imogen completely by surprise when she sees the desire she feels for Ty mirrored in his eyes when he gazes down at her after Imogen accidentally runs into him on the porch of Tamara’s home where they were holding a little dinner party. Ty had come outside to escape Nikki and her annoying chit chatter that was driving him up the wall. Ty had to acknowledge the fact that he had let things go for too long with Nikki. He was suddenly tired of getting together with women who had nothing to offer in the conversation department. Ty knows that the fact that he has severe dyslexia is one of the reasons that he doesn’t go for smart women like Imogen who was looking and sounding more appealing to him by the minute.

The only thing stopping Imogen from jumping Ty is the fact that he is still with Nikki. But when Ty is suddenly back on the market, Imogen knows that she won’t be able to say no to the man who makes her senses hum just by being in the same room. Ty and Nikki embark on a hard and fast affair though for both of them what they have together is much more than just a good time in bed.

Things progress forward and Ty asks Imogen to marry him and it is then that Imogen who always thinks things through to death starts having little bouts of doubts about their suitability together. The conversation that takes place has Ty confessing his dyslexia which is quite a sensitive issue with him which shocks Imogen and in the end they both handle things badly which lead to a break up 12 hours after Ty proposes marriage to the love of his life.

This story though not as interesting as I found Elec and Tamara’s story was still a good read. The conversations that take place between Tamara, Suzanne and Imogen had me laughing out loud at several points. Suzanne’s outrageous nature must make her one of the favorite characters in this series. The 3rd book in the series tells the story of Suzanne and Ryder who have been divorced for 2 years, but the encounters between the two definitely shows that there are a lot of unresolved issues between them. Am pretty interested in reading their story though their story hasn’t received as rave reviews as the first two.

Ooh! And yes! I heart the cover!! Very much so!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Soldier and the Baby by Anne Stuart

Format: E-booksoldier
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: American Romance, #573
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Reilly
Heroine: Carlie Forrest aka Sister Maria Carlos
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1, 1995
Started On: August 31, 2010
Finished On: September 1, 2010

I found this book when I was searching for recommendations on titles where the hero and heroine are forced to come together under circumstances and endure an adventure together being one with the nature. These types of books have a certain appeal for me and I bet for most romance readers because the plot line tends to create a unique set of circumstances that bring out the best and worst in each of the characters involved, and if the writer is especially good, you get awesome tension and romance to go along with hair raising adventure trying to escape from mean bad asses.

Reilly, a retired soldier who lived a solitary life up on the mountains in Colorado owes his army buddy Billy Morrisey more than his life. When his buddy had been killed by renegade soldiers in San Pablo requesting that he take back his wife and new born child from the war torn country of San Pablo in Central America, its the least that Reilly could do. Though the stories that he had heard about Billy’s wife Caterina were less than flattering, he owed his buddy and he would push his personal feelings aside and get the job done and trek through the swamp forests in San Pablo one last time to get her and the baby to safety. Tall, whipcord lean with long hair, a mean looking gun strapped to his waist and handsome enough to take a woman’s breathe away, Reilly was a force to be reckoned with under any circumstances.

Carlie Forrest had spent the first 10 years of her life in California where her parents had ministered to migrant workers. The next 7 years had been spent in a variety of places and she had always waited on the sidelines so that her parents would notice her and remember her existence when their lives always seemed so full of the people they wanted to help. Their ending had been brutal and bloody whilst Carlie had watched on shocked and unable to do anything whilst the entire village with her parents had been gunned down by rebels. Relief workers who had discovered her had taken her to the convent Our Lady of Repose where Mother Ignacia and the other sisters had worked their soothing magic on her. Now 9 years later, Carlie was convinced that she was destined to be Sister Maria Carlos for life though Mother Ignacia kept stalling and asking her to reconsider whether being a nun for life was what Carlie really wanted or whether it was escape from something else that she craved.

With the army and rebels tearing through the country, all the sisters had fled to Brazil. Carlie had stayed behind because one of the sisters was too sick to be moved and Caterina Rosaria Morrisey de Mendino was too far along in her pregnancy, almost ready to give birth and couldn’t travel. Being the only person with any medical training, Carlie had stayed behind to see to the two patients. When the sister had died and Caterina also died right after childbirth extracting the promise from Carlie that she would take care of little Timothy Morrisey for her until her husband came looking for him, Carlie is at a loss to what to do. Being in a war torn country presented enough danger as it is to a woman who was alone with no weapons to protect her. On top of that Timothy was the grandson of the notorious Hector Mendino, deposed and executed dictator of San Pablo which made Timothy a target from both sides participating in the war.

When Carlie lays her eyes on Reilly he knows that he is not Caterina’s husband though Reilly assumes that the woman who just stepped out of the shower looking delectably sinful was the famous Caterina who had fled from her husband because their marriage had hit a rough patch and when things had gone sour in San Pablo had wanted her husband to come to her rescue. Though her flashing blue eyes and protective nature towards the baby puts her at odds with what Reilly knows about her, he is more than convinced that she is Caterina.

Carlie goes along with the plan on making Reilly think that she is Timothy’s mother. Suddenly Carlie who had led nothing more than a sedate peaceful life for the past 9 years feels all extremities of emotions in the presence of the larger than life Reilly. The way he makes her blood heat with a single look or touch makes Carlie question for the first time whether being a nun is what she really wants in life.

With danger from the rebels closing in on them at every turn they take, Carlie has no choice but to rely and trust Reilly who truly had the power to bring her to her knees. When Reilly realizes that Carlie is not what he had assumed her to be, and that he had nearly defiled a woman of God, he is more than furious to say the least. However he cannot help his desire for the willful woman who so courageously treks right alongside of him and coos nonsense to the baby she holds in her arms. And right in the midst of the war torn San Pablo, Reilly who had never ever loved, falls head over heels in love with the one woman he cannot have.

This was a good read with enough tension between Reilly and Carlie plus good adventure to keep the pages turning. I sometimes felt like knocking on Carlie’s head a time or two for her stubborn willfulness but then again, Carlie’s life hadn’t really prepared her for the shock of one of the finest specimens of the male species wreaking havoc on her senses.

Favorite Quotes

“One man’s democracy is another man’s fascism” 

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Just a Taste by Deirdre Martin

Format: E-bookJust a taste
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: New York Blades, Book 7
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Hero: Anthony Dante
Heroine: Vivi Robitaille
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: January 2, 2008
Started On: August 30, 2010
Finished On: August 31, 2010

I have been collecting up and reading books of the theme where the hero has been previously married, but the wife is dead, and circumstances force the hero to get married again, against his better judgment. Sometimes the hero has been betrayed by his wife and has vowed never to love or feel again, other times the hero has adored his previous wife and has set her on a pedestal that is difficult to reach for anyone else. Needless to say, such instances create great stories and if the author is particularly talented you get wonderful stories like Sunset Embrace by Sandra Brown, Night in Eden by Candice Proctor etc. This book was recommended on a thread on Amazon and since I was able get an e-version of the book, I decided to give this a go since it sounded like a fun read regardless of the fact that I had never tried out any books by Deirdre Martin before.

This is the 7th book in the New York Blades series and though the New York Blades is supposedly a hockey team, there is very little hockey involved in the book. Anthony Dante is the handsome head chef and half-owner of the Dante’s restaurant that has been in the Dante family for generations. A place that had started out as a pizza parlor, Dante’s was now an upscale restaurant that served homey Italian cuisine to a wide range of clientele. Anthony was still grieving for the untimely death of his Angie who had been a cop killed during duty. A year on, Anthony still visits his wife’s grave every Sunday morning and talks to her about everything that had happened during the past week. Still stubbornly holding onto his wedding ring, Anthony is not ready to move on to greener pastures and start living again. The only thing that stirs his passion is his restaurant and the magic that he can create inside his spotless kitchen.

When stunning French chef Vivi Robitaille moves across Dante’s and starts sprucing up the place to open up a new Bistro, Anthony with the typical egoistic nature of most chefs knows that none can beat Dante’s. Vivi has no intention of competing with Dante’s or any place else. Leaving France and coming to America was supposed to be Vivi and her half sister Natalie’s chance of starting over. Vivi was tired of the fact that in France cooking was considered to be a profession for the men and Vivi wants success on her own terms and the move to America was off to a good start if she may say so. Vivi and Natalie has a strange relationship as Vivi was the daughter of the mistress of Natalie’s father. Their father had left the major share of his wealth to his legitimate daughter and Vivi had to depend on Natalie for the funds required for opening up the bistro.

When Vivi meets the handsome and brusque Anthony, Vivi knows right on that the happy neighborly feel that she had been striving for would totally be lost on the genius who resents the fact that Vivi was changing things around the neighborhood. Though Anthony’s brother and half owner of Dante’s Micheal Dante who had just retired from his career at New York Blades and was struggling to adjust to being a stay at home dad adores Vivi on sight, Anthony bristles at the mere thought that Vivi has the audacity to challenge him in his kitchen. It’s not long before the sparks between Vivi and Anthony fly, and it is with amusement that Micheal watches from the sidelines and encourages his brother to make a go for it.

Ultimately, Vivi and Anthony hit the sheets and are pretty confident of making their relationship work when remnants of the fear that resides in Anthony as a result of his wife’s death rear its ugly head. When Vivi refuses to be understanding about what happened even when Anthony professes that he loves her and that he has moved on from his dead wife, Vivi gives him the stupid reason of it not being the right time for her to start a relationship with problems brewing up between Natalie and herself regarding the finances required for the bistro. I felt like giving Vivi a swift kick for hurting Anthony like that! Still feel like it!!

In the end, Vivi and Natalie manage to work out their differences, find a solution for the financial havoc that Natalie created and successfully open up the bistro. Towards the end, it is Natalie who convinces Vivi to go for the man she loves and is miserable without, when Natalie was dead set against Vivi’s relationship with Anthony in the  beginning. I found it a bit unbelievable when Natalie who has a pretty strong personality and fights for everything she wants and believes in just gave up on Anthony and then needed a nudge from her sister to finally find the courage to embrace true love and acknowledge the fact that it wasn’t Anthony who hadn’t been ready to let go of Angie but herself.

Ms. Martin has created a wonderful set of characters with the Dante family and it was wonderful and engaging to read their interactions. It was especially endearing to read about how Anthony had to step in between his brother Micheal and his son little Anthony who actually wanted to cook rather than play hockey as his father wanted him to. Though I did not like how Vivi acted out, this book was still a pretty good read.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Beyond Sunrise by Candice Proctor

Format: E-bookbesu
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Jack Ryder
Heroine: India McKnight
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: June 2003
Started On: August 9, 2010
Finished On: August 11, 2010

India McKnight, the daughter of a Reverend, a spinster, Scotswoman and a travel writer of some renown is a woman who thrives on the adventure her travels bring. Being a lone traveler during a time period when women were considered useful for one thing only, India defies all convention and traverse around the world, excited by her discoveries and always content with what she is. That is until she meets Jack Ryder.

Jack, a man from Queensland, Australia lives on the island Neu Brenen in the South Pacific. Having once served in the British navy, Jack ended up on the island with another one of his shipmates during a huge storm when they were set adrift near the islands. There Jack had resided for two whole years, half of which he spent restlessly looking towards the vast ocean for any sign of a ship that could take him away back to life as he knew it. That was until Titana took away his breath and heart and he took her as his wife.

When the British navy came looking for their lost men, it was to find Jack happily settled down with Titana with no intention of returning back to life as a navy officer. And then tragedy struck when 3 sailors from Lady Juliana (the ship that had come searching for Jack and his shipmate) raped an island woman so viciously that she died. The Rakaians (Rakaia being the island Jack resided in), exacted their own form of justice and killed the 3 sailors who were responsible. The British navy retaliated by opening fire on the helpless islanders, never giving a thought to the fact that they were butchering innocent civilians in the process.

Titana died with their daughter Ulani in her arms with their second child still in her womb. Jack goes berserk with anger and grief and he has no choice but to hand over his daughter Ulani to his wife’s family and head back to his old life aboard Lady Juliana. When Lady Juliana crashes and most of its crew die, the blame is laid on Jack’s shoulder and for the past ten years Jack has been on the run for his life from the British navy who wants to exact their brand of justice for the families who lost their loved ones on that tragic day.

Jack is used to his life of answering to no one and living life as he wants it. Drinking long into the night to escape the dreams that come in so swiftly, all his hackles rise to the occasion when the prim and proper India McKnight come looking for his service. Having read her previous book and thinking that the author was someone he would like to meet seems to be an understatement when Jack can barely keep from throttling the delectable India who seems to be testing all his patience.

When India unknowingly becomes the bait with which the British hunt down Jack, Jack has no choice but to take India as his hostage and travel through the cannibal infested jungles of the island. It is during this time that India comes to appreciate, respect and finally fall in lust and love with the mass of contradictions that Jack is and learn his side of the story of how he has become a man who has been on the run.

The story of India and Jack is not just a romance, but rather an adventure that keeps the pages turning. Candice Proctor has surely woven a tale of unforgettable romance and adventure with this one.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: His Secondhand Wife by Cheryl St. John

Format: E-book
Read with: Mobipocket Reader & Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Copper Creek Brides, Book 2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Noah Cutter
Heroine: Katherine Cutter
Sensuality: 2
Date of Publication: July 1, 2005
Started On: July 5, 2010
Finished On: July 5, 2010

I don’t ever remember trying out a book by this author previously. I gave this book a ago because this title kept cropping up on various threads in the Amazon discussion forums. Though this novel didn’t meet all my high expectations, it is a sweet and uncomplicated read that I enjoyed after the roller coaster ride of reading After the Night.

Noah Cutter is a man who has severe scars on the insides and the outside. Ever since an accident during his childhood scarred him for the rest of his life, Noah is a man who has resigned himself to living a solitary life till the end of his days.

Salvation comes when his step brother Levi who has always been the outgoing and cheerful one in the family ends up getting killed because of his hooligan lifestyle. It is then Noah comes to know that Levi had taken a bride five months back and that it is up to him to deliver his sister-in-law the news of her husband’s demise.

Katherine is a woman who had always led a hard life. With her father abandoning her mother whilst she was quite young, Katherine had always  been on the receiving end of her mother’s bitterness. Katherine had not known a life where she didn’t have to work all day long just to put a roof above her head and a warm meal on the table. When Noah turns up on her doorstep with the news of Levi’s death, it is as if all her hopes of a better life die along with him. But Noah seeing that she is pregnant with Levi’s babe and witnessing firsthand just how vicious Katherine’s mother was to her, Noah takes her along with him to his ranch so that Katherine and the babe would have a better life.

To Katherine, the world that awaits her is one filled with wonderment. The luxurious life that she finds in Noah’s home makes her realize that everything Levi had done and said were all lies. At Noah’s place, Katherine meets her mother-in-law Estelle to whom she takes an instant disliking to because of the abhorrent way that she treats her stepson.

Once Katherine enters into his life, Noah who has always craved solitude finds himself in need of hearing the constant chatter that Katherine keeps up whenever they meet. Noah is surprised by the fact that Katherine doesn’t find his scars in the least bit revolting and bit by bit starts to feel comfortable around her. Estelle, wanting to keep her grandchild in the family counsels both Katherine and Noah to get married to each other & thus Noah proposes marriage to Katherine.

Noah believes that he would never be able to give Katherine what she truly desires though he knows Katherine is a woman with simple needs. Katherine craves to be needed in the new life she embarks upon with Noah and it is a slow journey for these two towards a happily ever after.

This is a beauty and the beast themed book with an evil stepmother added to the mix who is eloquently put in her place by the beauty.

My favorite part of the book was just how tenderly Noah cared for his wife, unknowingly giving her his love, all the while thinking that he is not worthy enough for his beautiful wife.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Soldier by Rhonda Nelson

Format: E-book
Read with:  Amazon Kindle & Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Uniformly Hot!, Book 7
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Adam McPherson
Heroine: Winnie Cuthbert
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: June 27, 2009
Started On: June 29, 2010
Finished On: June 29, 2010

Adam and Winnie’s story actually starts in the novel Letters from Home which I reviewed earlier. Adam is the younger brother of Levi, the hero from Letters from Home and best friend of Natalie, now Levi’s husband. Winnie stars as the other best friend of Natalie and the she is one in whom Natalie confided all her deepest and darkest desires about Levi when she thought Levi was well beyond her reach.

As usual with small towns, Adam and Winnie too had grown up together. Winnie is quite athletic, a bit on the tomboyish side but the pastries and cakes that she makes seem to be little pieces of heaven. Adam was serving a tour in Iraq when a roadside bomb had torn apart his leg. Now back home recuperating from his injury and wanting nothing more than getting well enough to return back to life the only way he knew it, Winnie is a temptation that Adam thought he could resist.

Though Adam had never been interested in Winnie though it was a public secret in their hometown that Winnie had carried a torch for him like since forever, Adam is hit hard by the intense feelings Winnie ignites in him right before he was to leave for his tour. But knowing that Winnie was someone who was grounded in her hometown and happy there and himself, a man who would always belong to the military makes him shy away from taking things any further.

However, once Winnie realizes that Adam is not as immune to her as he would like to be, she takes matters into her own hands so to speak and before long, even with all the reservations Adam has, he and Winnie are heating up the sheets. However duty comes calling and though Adam knows that he would now never be the same after getting a glimpse of how fulfilling life would be with Winnie makes him have second thoughts.

This time round, maybe cos I didn’t have such high expectations, this story I guess made for a pretty okay read, but considering it is from the Blaze line which is all about the sizzle and smoking hot passion, this novel too fell short. And I just can’t get over how the book cover doesn’t depict the smoking hot hero as described in the book which is a total letdown in itself. Yes, I do place importance on book covers as well.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Letters from Home by Rhonda Nelson

Format: E-book
Read with:  Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Uniformly Hot!, Book 6
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Levi McPherson
Heroine: Natalie Rowland
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: May 27, 2009
Started On: June 28, 2009
Finished On: June 28, 2009

Rhonda Nelson has been one of my authors to look out for in the Harlequin Blaze line. Her book The Specialist which I read sometime ago, which sports one of the hottest heroes on the cover, had me interested in her style of writing which is not hard to love. And the first title in this multi-author series titled A Few Good Men by Tori Carrington  which was a collection of short stories that were pretty hot as is the norm with novels by Tori Carrington, I found my interest piqued after reading the synopsis of this book which sported the storyline of an army ranger receiving letters filled with x-rated fantasies from a lady X and his intention of finding out who the woman with the ability to fire up all his juices were.

The story is told from the viewpoint of the hero as as well as the heroine as is the norm with most of the romances of today. Each chapter starts with a snippet of a letter that had been written by Natalie who starts to pen down her wildest fantasies about Levi whom she had fallen in love with so long ago, but never had the courage to do anything about it because there had been no sign of any interest in Natalie from Levi’s side.

To Natalie’s surprise and much happiness, Levi responds to her letters and a relationship forms between the two. Levi has no idea that the woman who plays a leading role in all his X-rated fantasies of late is none other than the best friend of his younger brother Adam.

Opportunity strikes for Levi to find out who lady X is once and for all when Adam gets injured on tour, (whose story I am very much interested in, I would say even more so than Levi and Natalie’s story from the glimpses I got into Adam and Winnie’s (Natalie’s best friend) interactions in this novel itself) and Levi gets a week off to come back home and visit his recuperating brother.

I found myself strangely dissatisfied with the pace of the book. I thought that the story developed too slowly for a book of the Blaze line and the heat that I was expecting between the Natalie and Levi just never realized. From the letters that started off this novel I was pretty much expecting great chemistry between Natalie and Levi and I just ended up disappointing myself.

Although the storyline is not half bad, this one just didn’t do it for me. I will give Winnie and Adam’s story a try though, because theirs COULD be a great story too. I hope Rhonda Nelson who has got the talent to make a story really good, has done a better job with their story than with Levi and  Natalie’s story which could have been more intense and thus made for a better story all around.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Never As It Seems by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Kindle For PC
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Leo Gray
Heroine: Chloe Parkins
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: June 23, 2010
Started On: June 24, 2010
Finished On: June 24, 2010

Never as it seems is the story of psychic Chloe Parkins and straitlaced Leo Gray who sees the world in terms of black and white with no shades of gray in it. Chloe and Leo had been involved in a heady affair/relationship when Chloe had dumped on Leo the news that she was psychic. Leo had been incensed at the thought that Chloe was stringing him along and lying to him and was a no good charlatan out for the reward offered for the case that Leo had been working on at that time.

Three years has passed on by since Leo had walked out on Chloe. Three heartbreaking lonely years for the both of them until Chloe’s life is in danger and Leo gets to be the one to protect Chloe. The intense awareness that leaps up right from the start is something that cannot be ignored and before long Chloe gives into the intense passion that Leo seemed to be able to rouse in her so effortlessly. Though Chloe knows that there is no future for them unless Leo learns to accept and respect her gift, it is harder than she ever thought to say no to what Leo offers her.

This story contains the trademark Shiloh Walker intensity, but I felt cheated out because this story is so short. This could have been a really great story with more depth into the case which had Chloe running for her life and more character development to give us glimpses of Chloe’s and Leo’s past together. Both are likable characters but I really wish Ms. Walker could have made this story just a little bit longer.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Ellora’s Cave

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: No Longer Mine by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Opens with: Adobe Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Hero: Wade Lightfoot
Heroine: Nikki Kline
Sensuality: 3
First Published on: April 27, 2010
Started On: May 2, 2010
Finished On: May 2, 2010

Originally published in 2006, Shiloh Walker recently re-released this title, this time with revisions from its original release. I remember reading this book when I first learnt of and became a fan of Ms. Walker’s books and back then somehow this book didn’t settle that well with me mainly because I thought the hero was too callous towards the heroine when she lost so much in her life. However I think with the revisions this story has become a much better tale with the ability to touch the hearts of those who read it.

Nikki is the girl who comes from the wrong side of town with two brothers who are hoodlums, an alcoholic father and a mother who committed suicide rather than face life head on. However the friendship which turns to love between Wade and Nikki is stronger than all the elements put  together. Nikki working on her way towards becoming a full fledged writer is on the verge of tying the knot with Wade when she finds out that Wade has impregnated Jamie Sawyer, the girl who has been after Wade forever.

Jamie was a drunken mistake Wade couldn’t bring himself to forgive. When Wade marries Jamie and moves on with her, it nearly kills Nikki. However the news that she is three months pregnant with Wade’s child is the only light at the end of the tunnel that pulls her out of the darkness and into the world of living. Things don’t go well for Nikki even after her son Jason is born. A freak accident during a thunderstorm kills her beloved son Jason when he is barely a year old. This time the pit Nikki falls into is too deep to find her way out of it on her own.

Her writing and her family are the only things that keep the bare shell of a Nikki going. And when she meets Wade and his daughter Abby the pain and betrayal Nikki feels is so intense that its as if someone wrenches her heart out and stomps on it. Wade not knowing all the trauma that Nikki has gone through actively pursues her because though he married Jamie out of a sense of duty, he had never ever stopped loving Nikki.

There is no happy ending for these two until they are both able to let go of the past, forgive, forget and move on, though its easier said than done when the hurt runs too deep for us even to start empathizing with.

I loved reading the improved version of this story. I guess as Ms. Walker herself has pointed out, this wasn’t one of her best works, but when revised this book does make for a decent read, one that I couldn’t put down once I started.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Loving Julia by Karen Robards

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Warner Books
Hero: Sebastian, Earl of Moorland
Heroine: Jewel Combs / Julia Stratham
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 1, 1986
Started On: April 16, 2010
Finished On: April 18, 2010

Loving Julia is one of the best historical romances from Ms. Robards. Though the fact that a 30 something year old hero seducing a merely 16 year old girl was a bit of an icky factor for me, the romance, passion and suspense in the book made it a winner for me.

Loving Julia is the story of Jewel Combs, a common street thief who thieved for survival and lived amongst the roughnecks in the less savory neighborhoods in London. Fate brings Jewel into the homes of Sebastian, the Earl of Moorland. Sebastian is a man who for all eyes to see has everything a man might want in life. Rich and handsome beyond belief, he is a man haunted by a past he cannot undo. With a wife whose death has always been blamed on him, with a daughter who screams in utter fear at the very sight of him and a mother who loathes his very existence, Sebastian is the ultimate tortured hero.

Sebastian takes Jewel Combs under his guardianship as a means of entertaining himself. The prospect of transforming Jewel Combs, the common thief  into Julia Stratham a lady worthy of complete adoration of the ton seems to be a challenge enough for Sebastian to keep the boredom and the loneliness at bay. However, his best-laid plans take a turn he never expected when he ultimately finds himself ensnared by the wonderful woman Julia turns out to be.

Jewel who has always been starved for affection blossoms under the direction of Sebastian who for the world of him can’t figure out what it is that draws him to Jewel. As fate would have it, the combustive passion between the two finally forces Sebastian to acknowledge that no matter how cold and aloof he might try to act around Jewel, its a mission well worth giving up with all the emotions Jewel seems to be able to invoke in him with little effort.

When Sebastian takes everything Jewel has to offer and casts her aside like a piece of soiled cloth, Jewel vows that he would never lay a finger on her ever again. However love has ways of creeping into one’s heart and catching them unawares which is exactly what happens to Jewel. And from that moment onwards, Jewel vows to make Sebastian fall as much in love with her as she is in love with him.

The drama and antics that Jewel goes through to make Sebastian hers, the unfolding story of how Elizabeth, Sebastian’s first wife was killed and how Chloe, Sebastian’s daughter finally comes around makes this story an engrossing read. Glad that Ms. Robards didn’t paint Sebastian as a complete utter rogue who cruelly hurts his women emotionally as some of Ms. Robard’s historical romances are famous for.

Good romance, recommended for those who love stories of tortured heroes and the gutsy heroines that concur them in the end.

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