Category / Great Read

Rating of 4 Stars

by mvbookreviewer

Review: My Professor by R.S. Grey

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Untitled Series, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Jonathan Barclay
Heroine: Emelia Mercier
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: June 02, 2022
Started On: August 05, 2022
Finished On: August 06, 2022

It’s a hard thing to explain, to want to be treated like an equal most of the time but, occasionally, with the right person and in the right setting, to want the exact opposite. I want to be thrust up against the door of a bar bathroom and told what to do.

Needing something to rejuvenate me from the dumps I was in after the abysmal disappointment that my last read turned out to be, I needed a pick me up, something that would deliver me from my doldrums. I found the perfect antidote when I stumbled across My Professor by R.S. Grey, first released in June of 2022.

Told in the first person from dual perspectives, this is a May-December romance featuring 32 year old Jonathan Barclay as the hero and 21 year old Emelia Mercier as the heroine. When the story begins, Emelia is a student and Jonathan a professor, teaching History and Philosophy of Historic Preservation at the same university. Emelia’s enrollment in his class ends in disaster for various reasons, the push and pull factor between them being one behind Jonathan’s atrocious behavior when it comes to Emelia.

Four years on, with her master’s degree in architectural conservation from NYU, their paths cross once again when Emelia lands a job at Jonathan’s firm, Emelia mistakenly believing that Jonathan would not remember her. But she couldn’t be further from the truth as the same visceral attraction burns between them, this time around, hotter and far brighter than either of them perhaps anticipated, where each is drawn to the other like a moth to flame.

Emelia is by far the character with the most interesting background in the story, estranged from her family, with her mother having died earlier from cancer. She is alone in the world for the most part, and even if she were so inclined to seek her family out, the truth regarding her conception alone is enough to stop her from doing that.

I felt like this book had such promise which had me glued to the pages. The angst and build-up between Emelia and Jonathan were perfect up to a point. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with the power dynamic between a professor and his student, one that he wants desperately, a want that he schools himself not to show? He even goes as far as to ask her to drop his class, which she ends up doing, cutting off what was blossoming to life between them at that point.

The yearning on Jonathan’s part when seen through his eyes makes up for all the dickhead moves that he puts in place to keep Emelia at bay. But he certainly is not strong enough to douse his own sense of curiosity, want, and desire when it comes to Emelia, especially when he is closer to the truth on where she comes from than he anticipated. I also loved his relationship with his mother – that woman could ruffle his feathers unlike any other.

The tension between Emelia and Jonathan was out of this world, and this brings me to the most disappointing aspect of this novel; Ms. Grey failed to deliver on that extremely tightly wound tension which she built up so spectacularly. I feel that the story would have gained more nuance and helped cement the emotional connection between Emelia and Jonathan, had Ms. Grey taken these two through a series of illicit and forbidden encounters between them over the passage of time, which would have given depth to their connection as well.

It was taking the easy way out if you ask me, to bring that heady tension between Jonathan and Emelia to its ultimate and foregone conclusion towards the end of the book, failing also to focus on the submissive nature of Emelia when it comes to her sexual needs and desires, something that Jonathan was more than well equipped and ready to handle. I have one message for authors who tend to do that; don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – building up the tension to ferocious levels and failing to deliver is impolite at best. And I am being polite here with my choice of words.

I also failed to see the emotional connection and spark between Emelia and Jonathan develop to levels that I wanted. I mean don’t get me wrong, they were both fabulous characters in their own right and I rooted for them big time. But at the same time, there were so many threads to the story that were taking place, that I felt that Emelia and Jonathan’s budding “romance” took a back seat when all was said and done. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading this little number and am thankful for the huge role it played in taking me out of my reading slump.

Recommended for fans of Ms. Grey and fans of May-December trope romances. This one had more professor vibes going for it than Hey, Mr. Marshall!

Final Verdict: It is a heady journey to witness the undoing of the tightly wound Professor Barclay, whose legendary control over his baser nature is torn to shreds at long last!

Favorite Quotes

“Look at me.”
My gaze sweeps to him instantly. My body is such a traitor where he’s concerned.
“The mistakes of the past…” He sniffs and looks away as if disgusted by himself. “They will not be repeated.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek.
“Furthermore, outbursts like that one in the car will not be tolerated.”
“You goaded me,” I blurt out rudely.
Like a whip, his gaze lashes me. “You don’t know the meaning of goad.”

“You haven’t said anything about my dress, Professor Barclay.”
“You don’t want to hear my thoughts about you in that dress.”
Oh but I do. I really, really do.
“One word won’t hurt,” I say, smiling in innocence.
He opens the back door of the car and deposits me inside. His blue eyes are level with mine as he leans in to click my seat belt into place.
“Lethal.”
Then the door gets slammed, and I’m left alone in the back seat, blinking.

I take a baby step toward him. It’s barely anything, but it’s enough to feel intimate and wrong. If someone were to turn a corner and find us here, it wouldn’t look innocent.
I look him over, taking my time. “I like when you’re dressed like this. This suit fits you to a T. Your tie is done perfectly, your pocket square is folded neatly. You look so proper…” Knowing I’m playing with fire, I lift my finger to trail it down the center of his tie and my eyes follow, but then I pause and let my gaze flit back to his as the truth spills out. “Just like the professor I can’t stop fantasizing about.”
My words are kerosene.
He has me hauled back against the wall behind me so fast I almost whimper, and his hand reaches up to grab my chin in a punishing grip—a grip he knows I like.

“I pulled up the boy’s HR file. Should I send an email, have him fired on the spot?”
My body tenses in panic. “You wouldn’t. That’s cruel, and ridiculous. He did nothing wrong.”
“He made you smile,” he says, wistfully ensnared by my pout.
I narrow my eyes.
“Are you always this territorial?”
A beat passes.
“No.”
Then he bends down and kisses me.

“Tell me you love me,” he insists.
“I love you.”
The words slip from my mouth like they’ve waited there my whole life.
“Again,” he says haughtily.
“I love you,” I say, more emphatically this time, exasperated even. Don’t you see it? Can’t you feel it?
My spark lights his. What impatience I felt a moment ago he matches now, kiss for kiss, touch for touch.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Phoebe by Minerva Spencer

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: The Bellamy Sisters, #1
Publisher: Crooked Sixpence
Hero: Paul Edward Needham
Heroine: Phoebe Bellamy
Sensuality: 3
Published On: May 31, 2022
Started On: June 07, 2022
Finished On: June 18, 2022

“Everyone comes from somewhere, Twickham—even the lowest chimney sweep could trace his bloody lineage back six hundred years if he had the leisure and money to do so.”

Minerva Spencer is a one of a kind author who creates such intricate love stories that are hard to put down. Phoebe, the first book of The Bellamy Sisters series proves the same, bringing to readers the story of 20 year old Phoebe Bellamy and 35 year old Paul Edward Needham, Viscount Needham.

The Bellamy family consists of eight members, with Phoebe the fourth daughter being in charge of managing the meager finances of the family that is in dire straits. Phoebe considers herself to be plain and average unlike her sisters, most of whom she views in a more favorable light than she does herself.

When Phoebe encounters Paul, her first impression of him is not a favorable one. However, Paul has a need for a wife to establish his daughter in society, Paul whose newly acquired title which does not really earn him the approval of the established members of the ton, who view him more as a boorish merchant than the entitled ones. Phoebe too has a reason for a husband – to rescue her family from going bankrupt and saving her family home from ruin.

As these two enter into a marriage of convenience and traverse the tricky corners of married life, especially with the family circumstances being what they are for both, Phoebe starts to realize that most, including herself, tends to underestimate her husband for various reasons, believing him to be more brawn than brains.

It is Paul’s secrets and back story that makes for enticing reading as the story progresses. Paul who had held the short end of the stick in the parenting department with a father who had not cared for much except for his status and wealth, and believed that what did not kill his son, only made him stronger.

Paul’s toxic family is what gives this story the edge, not to mention the man himself who I fell head over heels in love with. Sadly, Phoebe never did really grow on me as she continued to be rather stuck up in my opinion about where she comes from. I also never understood why she was so angry about Paul taking control of Phoebe’s family home, when her father making them homeless if otherwise was a foregone conclusion.

Paul from the beginning treats Phoebe with nothing but gentleness. His bedroom recreation itself takes into consideration her pleasure first and foremost which is telling of the kind of man he is. What I found odious was how Phoebe always chose to believe the worst when his actions dictated otherwise, and even though she leaps to his defense towards the end, she always tended to continue to be in shock when she realizes that the truth is so far from what she conceived it to be. I truly wanted to love Phoebe as much as I did Paul, but alas I did not believe that Phoebe was worth the gold standard that was Paul.

Recommended for fans of the romance genre, those who love a good meaty story to sink their teeth into!

Final Verdict: The best thing about this story was Paul, the big brute of a hero who was a gentle giant, with a penchant for control in the bedroom, who designs exquisite lingerie for his beloved!

Favorite Quotes

“There is something I don’t think you understand about me, Phoebe. Or perhaps you’ve just refused to accept it. But I am, in the main, the sort of man who guards all his possessions—”
She tried to jerk her chin away. “I am not your poss—”
He held her more firmly and continued as if she’d never spoken. “Where you are concerned, I am an exceedingly jealous man. I don’t like it when you have nuncheon with Dixon, just the two of you, flaunting your behavior for all our neighbors to see and speculate about. I don’t like it when you flirt and charm him every night at dinner and then answer me in monosyllables. And I don’t like it when you go off riding with my handsome young noble secretary—”
“But we didn’t do anything.”
“But you wanted me to think you might, didn’t you, Phoebe?”
She opened her mouth to lie and deny it, suddenly ashamed that she had hoped to get a response out of him.
But not one this frightening.
Phoebe chewed her lip; what in the world could she say? “I don’t—er, I—”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said coolly. “What matters is that I don’t like watching or knowing that Dixon gets to enjoy the pleasure of your company while you deny me. You are mine, Phoebe, mine alone. Mine to enjoy however and whenever I please.”

She’d not believed she could feel more naked, but when he raised the gauzy gown over her head and tossed it aside, she knew she’d been wrong.
His lips parted and a low humming noise rumbled in his chest as he looked at her bare body.
That was when it struck her that it was Phoebe who was causing her husband to flush and breathe harder.
Exultation surged through her like sweet, slow-moving honey at the realization.
She was the one making this man—who always appeared so untouchable—shake and sweat and gaze with hunger.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Vengeful Husband by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: The Husband Hunters, #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Gianluca Fabrizio Raffacani
Heroine: Darcy Fielding
Sensuality: 3
Published On: December 25, 1998
Started On: June 02, 2022
Finished On: June 03, 2022

“Country woman seeks quiet, well-behaved and domesticated single male without close ties, 25-50, for short-term live-in employment. Absolute confidentiality guaranteed. No time-wasters, please.”

The Vengeful Husband is the second installment in The Husband Hunters series by Lynne Graham. It is rather obvious that having finished reading Married to the Mistress, the first book in the series, I just had to indulge myself in the rest.

First published in December of 1998, told in the third person from the point of view of both lead protagonists, this is the story of Darcy Fielding, one of the three goddaughters of Nancy Leeward for whom she leaves her estate behind on the condition that her goddaughters get married within the year and maintain the marriage at least for a period of six months.

Darcy, a single mother by then, responsible for her crumbling family estate which had been with the family for over four hundred years is in dire financial straits. Little does she know that the man she spent one passionate night with in Venice, 31 years old Gianluca Fabrizio Raffacani (Luca) has been trying to find her since, believing that she stole from him a very important family heirloom.

As luck would have it, Darcy who views herself as too plain to attract a potential husband, and who simply does not have time to find someone in the conventional manner plans to fulfill the condition of her godmother’s by advertising for one, something that plays along nicely with Luca’s plans.

Luca does not hold a very favorable opinion of Darcy when he finds her. However that does not make a hypocrite out of him to lie to himself about how much Darcy affects him unlike any other woman he has met before or since. Once the knot is tied, all bets are off, and thus starts the crazy journey these two embark on to their ultimate happily ever after.

This was just as fun and angsty in the good way kind of read as the first book was, with Darcy acting in the belief that someone like Luca would not find a plain woman like herself appealing on any level. Darcy suffers from low self esteem, owing mostly to her childhood, with a father who wanted a son that he never got to have, with a step mother who had been vicious to no end. The final nail in the coffin had been when Darcy’s fiance jilted her, which led to the encounter with Luca years back.

Luca is at first determined to get his family heirloom back, but he is not immune to Darcy’s appeal that had spellbound him the very first time they met. Needless to say there is drama of the variety that keeps the pages turning, sexual tension of the kind that is sharp and tangible and makes you sigh and moon over the perfection of their union, and love of the kind that neither wants to admit to, for fear that the other would not feel the same.

I had a slight problem with Daisy for keeping a certain “secret” to herself for the better part of the novel which lowered the rating from what it could have been otherwise. I guess I should not judge unless I have walked in her shoes, but I always find it a bit uncomfortable when female protagonists tend to lie or tell half truths about having conceived a child with the hero (unless they are abusive men who do not deserve to traumatize their child) – they have a right to know and what they choose to do with that knowledge is up to them.

Recommended for fans of the series, fans of combustible category romances, and fans of Lynne Graham.

Final Verdict: The Vengeful Husband delivers a myriad of emotions of the kind that leaves the reader satisfied on all counts. Lynne Graham is a master storyteller for that very reason!

Favorite Quotes

‘You burned me alive,’ Luca whispered mesmerically. ‘And you’re going to do that for me again…and again…and again until I don’t want you any more…is that understood?’

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | eBooks | HQ | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Loving the Mountain Man by Adriana Anders

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Love at Last, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Micah Graham
Heroine: Christa Evans
Sensuality: 3
Published On: December 01, 2018
Started On: May 28, 2022
Finished On: June 01, 2022

Our dirty weekend had officially begun.

Loving the Mountain Man by Adriana Anders is a novella that left me wanting more. However, Ms. Anders is an author who does justice to the characters and story that she wants to tell, and Loving the Mountain Man delivered on most fronts. The fact that the story left me begging for more in some aspects is a testament to how talented Ms. Anders is.

Told in the first person from dual perspectives, this is the story of how Christa Evans, running from her handsy boss, gets into an accident on a snowy night and is rescued by Micah Graham, who lives in isolation up on a mountain.

Micah is an arborist (tree surgeon), who prefers isolation even when it comes to his own family. When Christa comes crashing into his life, there is no stopping the tide of desire and other emotions that rises to the surface, forcing Micah to confront his need for the woman who turns his life upside down within the short span of time they spend together.

I loved what Ms. Anders delivered in this short story, given the limitations that comes with a novella. While I felt that the story was too short to really delve into the nuances of relationships such as the one that blooms to life between Micah and Christa, nevertheless it was a tale well told. The connection between Micah and Christa is swift and all consuming, just as the sexual attraction that roars to life which accelerates the binding effect on both.

I just wished for things that would have been possible in a lengthier novel, such as the build-up of the tension between the two, the angst of the emotional kind that comes from “shock” factor of letting someone in for a recluse as Micah, and also an epilogue that would have given us a glimpse of how their individual and collective lives change over the course of time.

Recommended for fans of novellas that deliver a tale worth sinking your teeth into.

Final Verdict: Ms. Anders does a fine job out of how Christa tames the mountain man into loving her, forever more!

Favorite Quotes

Who was this man who looked like he’d as soon tear a person apart as talk to them, and then rocked me like a baby? Like I was something precious.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Claimed by Evangeline Anderson

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Brides of the Kindred, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Baird
Heroine: Olivia Lauren Waterhouse
Sensuality: 3.5
Published On: February 09, 2011
Started On: February 04, 2022
Finished On: February 09, 2022

“You can think whatever you want, Olivia, but you should know one thing.” He leaned even closer, his hot breath stirring her hair as he murmured in her ear. “When I take you—because I will take you—make no mistake about that,” he said, cutting off her protest. “When I do, I promise you’ll want it every bit as bad as I do. You’ll beg for it, Linlenta. Beg to have my shaft inside you, filling you up as I bond you to me forever.”

Having had a taste of Evangeline Anderson’s writing through her novel Planet X, I found myself wanting to experience more of her world-building, exciting adventures, and the cool science that she explores in her stories. I was not disappointed in my venture, as I dipped my toes into the series of The Brides of Kindred through the debut book in the series, Claimed.

The title of the story is quite fitting, as Claimed explores the very concept of the male claiming his female. The year is beyond 2030, and the life on Earth has changed significantly. 2025 was the year that saw Earth being attacked by a mysterious force known as the Scourge, until an alien-warrior species known as the Kindred had come to the Earth’s rescue. Their only condition for the assistance being genetic trading, sourcing wives for their mostly male dominant species. As a consequence, an all female draft had been set up on Earth in which every unmarried woman between 19 and 35 years of age were required to enter.

Conditions of the mating are guided through rules which have to be adhered to, and if not the contract entered would be null and void. During a four week period the male has to convince the female to accept him as hers, the fourth being the mating week and if the female refuses to mate with the male at the time, they are free to leave and return to Earth, and if not, they would be mated for life to live with their Kindred mates.

Against this backdrop comes Baird, seeking his mate Olivia Lauren Waterhouse. Baird has just escaped from captivity aboard the mother-ship steered by the Scourge, six long months of hell that he had survived purely because of Olivia. At the moment of his capture, his mind had aligned with that of his mate’s and it had been only through her that he had found the will to survive and escape.

A nursing graduate who is taking some time off before starting her position as a pediatric nurse at a major hospital, Olivia is left feeling restless in the wake of the dreams and nightmares that has plagued her for the past half of an year about a man she has labeled as “the dark man”. She has seen him look defeated, exhausted, hooked to a machine, and undergoing pain and torture of both the physical and emotional variety. For some reason she cannot fathom, she had experienced every bit of agony he had undergone, and then the authorities come to take her to the Kindreds as a bride that has been claimed by none other than “the dark man”.

Olivia resists the very thought of being bound to a man she never known except through the vividness of her dreams. Having broken up from her cheating boyfriend just six months back, Olivia is not amused by the idea of Baird claiming her as his, the kind of Kindred known as Rager aka the Beast Kindred who are said to have the most unpredictable tempers, and would kill to protect their mates no matter what. Olivia has only one game plan; get Baird to do something that would render the contract null and void, so that she can return to her safe and staid life back on Earth.

What Olivia does not factor in is how the six months of dream-sharing has affected her, how her body wants Baird’s touch, and how helpless she is when the wanton desire that courses through her body takes over whenever Baird is around within touching distance. It hurts Baird that his beloved resists him so, but he is equally determined to show her what it means to be mated to him – even if it kills him every time Olivia rejects his overtures.

When the ultimate act of “betrayal” happens, it is only then Olivia realizes the gravity of the depth of her feelings towards Baird, how he owns her soul just as he does hers. But the battle with the Scourge comes in between, making their journey towards a happily ever after that much more perilous.

I enjoyed the story that Claimed offered for the most part. As expected, I got plenty in terms of the world building, cool as heck gadgets used by the Kindred, and got a kick out of understanding the differences in body physiology when it comes to the species. I also fell like a ton of bricks for Baird, who was quite the opposite of what I expected of him. His kind is known to be the fiercest, but I saw him as a gentle giant of sorts, who truly was besotted with his mate and would not have hesitated to go through any means possible to have her. His gallant nature and courtship of Olivia who defied it at every turn made me fall even harder, and the only thing that was savage about Baird was his gentleness when it came to seducing Olivia, which completely undid me.

Olivia was tougher in every sense; I understood her resistance to Baird at first and through most of the antics she practiced to get away from what was inevitable. Even when she saw for herself that Baird was not what she had expected him to be, that he was in fact interested in what she wanted and needed beyond the physical, that he was into her in every sense, she still resisted, even when she knows that the Earth offers slim pickings given her experience with the male species back home. It got tiresome after a certain point, because I felt like she was resisting with no real reasoning behind it, just to keep up her pride, until eventually she learns her lesson.

The one thing that I am discovering about books by Ms. Evangeline is that, she builds up the sexual tension to a fevered pitch in a way that leaves the readers on tenterhooks and the delivery somehow falls short of expectations because you have been left to build your own castles in the air of explosive fireworks all abound. Planet X posed a similar problem with the vivid dream sex and this one with all the crazy build-up. I hope the books down the line fare better.

I will be revisiting other books in the series as time allows, when I am in need of a good sci-fi erotica to pick me up. I was also quite enamored by a character who stood out from the Scourge, the son of their leader who left a lasting impression on me. Looking forward to reading his story which has already been published.

Recommended for fans of sci-fi romance with emotional depth and fantastic world building!

Final Verdict: The debut book in The Brides of Kindred series lays down exciting possibilities for the stories to follow!Baird is the very definition of savage tenderness; a hero who would make any female yearn to be his.

Favorite Quotes

“The reason I know how you’ll react is because I’m going to spend hours getting you ready, driving you crazy with my mouth and hands.” His eyes were blazing and half lidded with lust as he spoke.
“Get…getting me ready?” Liv faltered.
Slowly, he nodded. “I can’t wait to touch you. Can’t wait to taste you—to spread your sweet, creamy thighs and put my tongue in your hot little pussy until you beg for more. Beg to have me inside you, filling you all night.”

Baird broke the kiss long enough to whisper something low and urgent in her ear—something that sounded like her name. “So beautiful. So fuckin’ perfect,” he groaned into her hair as she rubbed herself wantonly against him. Then he reached between them and Liv heard the low ripping noise of fabric parting. A cool breeze caressed her heated sex and she understood that the big warrior had actually torn off her panties, baring her pussy completely.

“Want you to imagine something for me, Lilenta,” he murmured, stroking a little more firmly. “Imagine my mouth on you here with no panties in the way. Imagine how good it’s going to feel when I spread your pussy open and taste you. You think you’d like that? Think you’d like being open on the bed for me, feeling my tongue deep inside your cunt?”
“I…I don’t know,” Liv gasped, squirming under his fingers as he stroked the side of her clit with a slightly faster rhythm. Damn him, how did he know exactly the right way to touch her, even in a dream?

Baird still didn’t kiss her back but he parted his lips invitingly and, to her surprise, Liv found herself taking him up on the invitation. His mouth was hot and wet and luscious and she found she was exploring him delicately with her tongue, tasting and testing, learning him, kissing him as though she never wanted to stop.
And then, at last, Baird kissed back. He pulled her close, positioning her so that she straddled his hips, and ran his big, warm hands up and down her back. Sucking her tongue gently, he pressed up against her until Liv felt like she was floating on a cloud of pure lust.

“You like the feel of my hands on you? My fingers inside you?” He matched actions to words, sliding two long digits deep into her slippery pussy as the broad pad of his thumb continued to slip over her clit.
The new sensation was too much. Liv felt like she’d been on edge all night, the build up of sexual tension inside her was like a nuclear reactor set to blow. When she felt him enter her she cried out, her spine bowing and her fists clenching at the bedspread on either side of her.
“That’s right, Lilenta,” she heard Baird murmur. “That’s right, just let it go. Let yourself come for me.”

They were on their sides facing each other with her breasts pressed against the hard wall of his chest and her head resting on his bicep. Her face was just at the level of his throat and that same spicy masculine musk she supposed must be his natural smell was invading all her senses at once.
God, he smells good…feels good…Without knowing what she was doing, Liv nuzzled against him, pressing her nose closer to his throat and breathing him in, just as he had said. She felt rather than heard the low rumble of laughter coming up from his chest.
“You scent marking me, Lilenta?”

“Please, Baird, please.”
“Can’t, I told you.” He kissed her hard and then more softly before looking into her eyes. “Just let yourself come again and you’ll feel better. Look at me, Lilenta. Let me feel you coming under me.”
The intense eye contact and the low, commanding tone of his voice as much as the delicious friction between them finally sent her over the edge again. As a second, even stronger orgasm crashed down on her, Liv arched her back and cried out her pleasure shamelessly. At the same time she felt Baird getting even harder against her and then, with a low roar, he released in hot, hard spurts against her belly.

Liv cried out as he released her first nipple and began on the second one, sucking it into his hot, wet mouth. She expected to feel him pinching the other but instead his hand slipped down her abdomen and into her jeans and panties.
“God, Baird!” she protested, vaguely aware that they were still in public but there was no stopping him. Before she could say another word two long, thick fingers slipped deep into her pussy, fucking up into her and making her arch her back and moan.
“That’s good, Olivia,” he said in her ear. “Ride my fingers and let me fuck you. Gods your pussy is so hot and wet. Can’t wait to feel you coming.”

Baird redoubled his efforts, his tongue lashing her mercilessly while his fingers drove into her, pumping hard and deep, showing her exactly how he was going to take her when it was his cock filling her instead.
The thought of that—the forbidden mental image of his huge shaft stretching her open and bottoming out inside her was too much. Liv didn’t quite know how it happened but suddenly she was crying and moaning as the pleasure inside her peaked and rushed over her in a warm wave.

“Look at me,” he whispered roughly when Liv’s eyes closed with the overwhelming pleasure. “Look at me while I touch you, Olivia. Look at me while I fuck you. While I bond you.”
Liv’s eyes fluttered open and she met his intense golden gaze. “Baird,” she whispered, unable to say more.
“Now,” he growled. “Come for me, Lilenta. Come for me so I can fill you up, so I can flood your pussy with my cum and make you mine for always.”

She didn’t know how long it lasted or how many times she came. There were periods of hot, wild fucking where Baird pounded up into her as though he was determined to mark her as his own. But there were also long stretches where he barely moved at all. Instead, he filled her with a slow, rocking movement while he looked in her eyes and told her how much he loved her. He came in her over and over, just as he had promised he would and each time she felt it as she never had with a human man, felt his hot seed filling her and making the connection between them even deeper. And each time he did, it released something in Liv’s body, making her come too.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple Books | BookDepo

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Coldhearted Boss by R.S. Grey

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Ethan Stone
Heroine: Taylor Larson
Sensuality: 3
Published On: June 06, 2019
Started On: January 10, 2022
Finished On: January 12, 2022

His sultry gaze is narrowed on my mouth as he says, “I’m fucking exhausted, so no more games. No more pretending I don’t love the way you look in this red bathing suit. No more pretending I don’t hunt for you every time you enter a room. No more pretending your wit and smart mouth aren’t the perfect match for mine.”

31 year old Ethan Stone and 22 year old Taylor Larson’s paths cross at a point in Taylor’s life in which she is feeling particularly low. Having got stuck with the bad end of the parenting deal and being forced to grow up way too quickly has taken its toll on Taylor, who is supporting her mother make ends meet until she is able to stand on her own two feet. A job setting that had turned sideways (not unexpectedly) leaves Taylor with little to no choice in a small town that has slim offerings for those who are destitute.

At the bar in which Ethan and Taylor’s paths cross, the night ends with Taylor luring Ethan into a bathroom, kissing him senseless, and stealing his wallet. Fate decides to have fun with Taylor when a new job offering turns out to be at Ethan’s newest worksite, and Taylor is hired on as his personal assistant, the icing on the cake being that they have to co-share the living quarters.

For Taylor, Ethan comes off as the coldhearted boss who is difficult to please. For Ethan, it is the only way in which he knows how to protect himself from someone who took advantage of a situation in which he was vulnerable. However, even with all that, the slow-burning heat between the two escalates to a point where neither can deny the truth any longer. And give in they do, ultimately to realize that for a shared future together, there are many hurdles that need to be crossed, the most difficult of which being Taylor’s insecurities about herself.

For me, Coldhearted Boss ended up being a sweet and hilarious read. I don’t understand why some of these books are labeled as enemies-to-lovers romances because these barely skim the surface of the trope if you ask me. The witty banter and the snark that were being tossed back and forth kept the pages turning, not to mention the sexual heat between the two which reached a crescendo at the point where I was literally at my wits end with the two.

Ethan was a great hero. I liked him for a lot of things; his dedication to what he does, his relationship with his twin sister, and how he finally owned up to his feelings for Taylor when they reached a point where he could not deny them any longer. Taylor on the other hand, has a lot of insecurities from her childhood. Being on the curvaceous side, Taylor faced a lot of unwarranted attention from men, not to mention the fact that her most formative years in high school were spent trying to be the parent for her younger sister in the absence of their mother.

Ethan was smart and intuitive enough to see Taylor for what she is worth and patient enough to let her come to the same realization on her own. That is what made me fall in love with Ethan and what for me, made this story the wonderful read it was.

Though the story was slow to pick up, once it did (and just like that), there was no stopping the fun Taylor and Ethan brought to the pages. If a bit more of the sexy times had been added to the story, it would have been much better. It was not just Ethan and Taylor that suffered through the slow-burn sexual tension this was.; us readers were right alongside with them, suffering.

Recommended for fans of mirth-filled romances that are on the sweet side!

Final Verdict: If only all bosses were like Ethan; self-assured, sexy, patient, and commanding; for that and more, Coldhearted Boss was a delight!

Favorite Quotes

His hand curves around my ribcage so reverently my knees buckle, and it’s just as well because I want to be down there with him. I want to feel his broad tan chest, still bare from a day at the lake. His swim trunks are long dry and their cool material brushes against my panties as I nestle myself down onto his lap. I’m barely there for a moment before his hand slides around my back and he brings me in for a hug.
A hug.
An embrace that crushes me against him so tightly I think his toned arms might break me in two.

My eyes squeeze closed as I bury my face in the crook of his neck and breathe him in like I’m trying to absorb him through the air, but it’s not enough. I need more. I press a chaste kiss to his neck then one below his smooth jaw, and I’m about to press another kiss to his cheek when a growl escapes from deep in his chest and he yanks me back, sealing our mouths together.
A kiss that starts out hard and heavy only grows hotter. Scorching. His mouth slants over mine and I’m a hungry little minx—clawing at his skin, biting his lip, writhing against him.

He stares down with hooded eyes, nearly lost to the sight of my legs spread before him. It’s only when his fingers dig into my thigh, when a deep impatient rumble breaks free of him that I start to guide him into me the smallest bit. My eyes roll back as he starts to stretch me. He goes slow, but not because he’s unsteady or nervous. No. I’m being filled by a man who knows what a woman needs, whose bold confidence never wavers.
Ethan takes it from there, capturing my knees in his hands and pushing himself inside me inch by inch until we fit together like a lock and key. Deep and full. It’s utterly unnerving, this all-consuming feeling of contentment.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Handsome Devil by Sara Cate

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Cocky Hero Club, Inc., #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Henry James
Heroine: Laila
Sensuality: 3
Published On: May 23, 2021
Started On: November 26, 2021
Finished On: January 10, 2022

“Don’t play with me, Laila.”
“The only thing I’m playing is the jukebox,” I reply, leaning toward him.
He snatches me by the waist and pulls me against him, holding me between his knees. “I know you’re just trying to make me jealous, little girl.”
“But you have no reason to be jealous. I’m not your girl—”
He shuts me up with his lips against mine. I let out a muffled yelp just as his tongue slides into my mouth and I melt in his arms.

I am a fan of Sara Cate to an extent. I say to an extent because her most recent works have failed to invoke in me the kind of emotions that I came to expect from her stories from the point where I initially discovered her books. Released in May of 2021, Handsome Devil had much going for it when I encountered the blurb; huge age gap between the main protagonists, with the hero being the father of the heroine’s best friend.

Told in first person from both the male and female protagonist’s view, Handsome Devil begins when 39 year old Henry James receives a call from his 21 year old daughter Kristen that she is getting married, and that too to a guy she just met three months back. Henry’s guilt complex runs deep when it comes to his daughter since he had missed out on most of her childhood and formative years. When Henry is “forced” into taking Kristen’s best friend Laila along with him for the wedding, the forced proximity factor along the journey proves to be a test for both Laila and James in many ways.

Laila might be determined to keep the relationship with her boyfriend alive, but when the ugly reality smacks her on the face, it drags her self esteem down in a way Laila never thought possible. Given the attraction that she feels towards Jame, no matter how wrong she might perceive it to be, Laila’s rationalization is simple; might as well learn from the best about what she had been missing out.

To give credit to James, he does try in earnest to keep Laila at bay. But the reciprocation of the attraction on his part makes it impossible towards the end, and it is not long before these two start heating things up, both in their car and at motels along the way. Laila finds in James a man who has the ability and patience to fulfill her in ways that she never thought possible, while for James, Laila is the missing piece to his soul that he never saw coming.

While I enjoyed the novel, I felt that things were a bit more rushed between the main protagonists than is usual for novels from Ms. Cate. But then the story is also shorter in length than what she usually publishes. Nevertheless I enjoyed seeing both James and Laila grow into more well rounded and happier people, the resultant effect of the love and soul-deep connection that is forged to life between the two. The epilogue which shows the happy couple one year on was the icing on the cake.

Recommended for fans of age gap romances. This one features a British hero who makes your senses hum!

Final Verdict: Handsome Devil is the kind of feel good, low angst romance that many a reader would love, especially for those who love age-gap tropes!

Favorite Quotes

Grabbing her face again, I kiss her right this time. Tipping her head back, her mouth instantly falls open and I slide my tongue past her teeth and into mouth, seeking out the soft friction against her tongue. This time her moan is less controlled and sweet. It comes from her gut, and it’s exactly what I’m going for. With my hands on the back of her head, I pull her closer, exploring her mouth and taking soft nibbles of her lips. She can hardly move along with me.

“Please, Henry,” she cries.
Running a finger along her folds, I find her absolutely dripping with arousal, and I let out a growl. I know she wanted me on her clit, but I can’t help myself. I slowly slide a digit in, feeling the tightness around my finger, and my hips practically start rutting on their own.
“Oh my God, Laila,” I moan. Pulling out, I spread the moisture through her folds and find the sensitive nub that makes her buck as I apply pressure.
“Yes!” she calls as I press harder.

“Oh, Laila,” he mumbles as I enclose my lips around him.
He has one hand on the wheel and the other laying gently in my hair. It slides down my back, and I get chills from the touch. When I finally take him into the back of my mouth, making sure to keep it nice and wet, he bunches my shirt up in his fist.
“Oh fuck, Laila.”
God, I love the sound of my name in his accent.

“I want you to be in control.” With his back against the headboard, his hands find my hips and he lifts me until I feel him, pressing gently against my entrance. With our eyes locked, I slowly lower myself down. My muscles stretch and clench right away, and I bite my lip as we’re met with some resistance.
Before I can even hesitate for a moment, he grabs me by the back of the neck, pulling me close until his lips are on my ear. “Come on, baby. Ride my dick like I know you want to.”
The low growl of his voice and his filthy, filthy words urge me on, and I let the desire in me take over.

Before I can even hesitate for a moment, he grabs me by the back of the neck, pulling me close until his lips are on my ear. “Come on, baby. Ride my dick like I know you want to.”
The low growl of his voice and his filthy, filthy words urge me on, and I let the desire in me take over. Shutting off every thought of fear in my head, I slam my hips down until I’m speared by him. There is a burst of pain and burning, but I’m too distracted by the howling moan that comes out of him and the way his eyes start to roll back in his head as I move.

I happen to look up into the mirror, and our eyes meet just as he plunges in. We groan in unison. With his hands firm on my hips, he doesn’t take it as easy and slowly as he did last night. By the look in his eyes, his clenched jaw and stern brow, I know he’s about to give it rough, and I welcome it.
He slams into me again and again. A warm tingle builds in the bottom of my spine, and as he picks up speed, it threatens to spill over. It’s the image of him behind me that finally sends me flying.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Brutal Intentions by Lilith Vincent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person – Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Lazzaro Rosetti
Heroine: Mia Bianchi
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 28, 2022
Started On: September 20, 2022
Finished On: September 23, 2022

“Come on, Mia. Show me how bad girls get off in the middle of the night.”

Having never read a Lilith Vincent novel did not stop me from requesting for an ARC of this steamy, taboo-as-it-gets romance when I encountered the author’s posts on the release of Brutal Intentions on Instagram. Being a lover of dark, edgy romances that pushes the conventional boundaries of male-female relationships, I felt right at home with this one. Even though in real life I would probably never be able to imagine something like this happening, much less supporting it, between the pages, 29 year old Lazzaro Rosetti (Laz) was just what this depraved heart of mine needed.

18 year old Mia Bianchi is used to being the invisible member of her dysfunctional family, bearing the brunt of and carrying the stain of her mother’s past mistakes. All of that changes the moment she lays eyes on Laz as he stands at the altar saying his I do’s to none other than Mia’s mother.

Laz is the youngest of his family, trying to get his hands on what is rightfully his to forge his own path in life. However, Laz finds himself forced into a marriage that is of not his choice, and as a result it is Miathat bears the the brunt of his anger over his lack of freedom to choose. At his heart, Laz is just as lost as Mia is in some ways, but even Laz through his depraved heart can see that Mia has got it much worse than he ever did.

The story is relentless from the very beginning, with Ms. Vincent never letting there be any respite from the heat and twisted nature of what unfolds between Mia and Laz. While Mia does try her best to steer clear from Laz, it is as if Laz has made it his life’s mission to torment her and make Mia face the inevitable truth when it comes to what is between them; the lust that roars to life that is unparalleled. There is no escape from being consumed by the fire that rages for either of them, and Laz to his credit, does not even try.

Navigating the treacherous nature of Mia’s family takes some doing, but it is Laz’s well placed intentions that makes for the climax of this newfound and fragile love that was careening towards the edge of the cliff from the onset. However, there is something to be said for the determination that defines both Laz and Mia even in the face of all the obstacles that stands in their way, which is one reason why their story was so satisfying when all was said and done.

I do not think I can begin to express all that this novel presented; there is just enough emotional development and backstory to the characters to make all of this real and relatable to the point where you root for the main protagonists against all odds. However, if you are the type to shy away from cheating in romance novels, this is definitely not the book for you – because there is plenty of cheating, assholery, and the kind of sex that makes you reach for your non-existent glass of cold water at your bedside table.

I will definitely be looking for more of Ms. Vincent’s books in the future. Her writing is flawless, even when writing a character that is rough around the edges like Laz, who does not care for the polished veneer that most people believe makes us civilized. With an increasing number of books published that tries to serve the appetites of the majority that likes their romances bland and safe to fit the current times, it is rare to meet authors like Ms. Vincent and I will doggedly be in pursuit of her new releases!

Recommended for those who love their romances on the frisky side, with an extra serving of taboo to really spice things up.

Final Verdict: Brutal Intentions at its heart is the kind of story that digs itself deep into those empty crevices of your soul that you never acknowledged existed.

Favorite Quotes

[Mia] Heat and pleasure rise up and crash over me. My body flexes in Lazzaro’s strong arms as I hurtle beyond all conscious thought and straight into pure pleasure.
That was better than anything I’ve felt in my entire life.
I suck in a deep breath and open my eyes.
Lazzaro is awake and staring at me, his expression absolutely feral.

[Mia] “Do as you’re told, Mia. I’m not letting you up until you come again.”
Lazzaro thrusts hard against my ass through his sweats and his hot breath is on the back of my neck. The hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on has me pinned in place, and my body craves to give him what he wants. His brutal assault on my senses forces a third orgasm from me.
I press my face into the pillow and moan, wishing it didn’t feel so good to be so thoroughly humiliated.
My stepfather raggedly breathes into my ear, “Good fucking girl.”

[Mia] “What a performance Giulia made over a broken leg. I don’t think she’d carry on the same way about you, do you?”
“Thanks for pointing that out,” I seethe.
“So do something about it.”
“Like what? I’m not going to pour red wine on Mom’s favorite dress because she loves Isabel more.”
He shrugs, but there’s a dark glimmer in his eyes. “There are better ways to take revenge.”
“I’m not going to suck your dick because my family hates me.”
A wicked smile hooks Laz’s mouth. My eyes are drawn to his scar as he saunters toward me. “You are going to suck my dick, but because you crave the feel of me bottoming out in your throat.”

[Mia] Wanting my stepdad is one thing.
Falling in love with him?
Insane.
I pull myself out of his grip and back away.
“I can’t be your anything. I really like you, I care about you, I’m always thinking about you, but this isn’t right.”
The expression in his eyes flickers between anger and pain. “If you wanted to say the words that would make me back off, those aren’t it.” He moves toward me like a hunter stalking prey. “You like me? You care about me? That’s oxygen to me.”

[Mia] “You bad fucking girl.” Laz pulls me closer, takes my face in his hands, and kisses me hard, his tongue parting my lips. My heart is beating wildly as Laz perches me on the vanity and moves between my thighs, pulling them around his hips. He overwhelms me.
Invades me.
Conquers me.
It’s the most intense kiss of my life.

[Laz] “Am I hurting you?” I ask through gritted teeth.
Mia sits up on her elbows and stares at herself. Stares at me driving into her with careful thrusts, edging my way deeper. Her pretty pussy is getting my shaft so wet.
She looks up at me with flushed cheeks and dilated eyes. “I think you were made for me, Laz.”
I relax a little and thrust deeper, and she moans in pleasure. I’m lost in those big eyes, my cock buried inside of her.
I think she’s fucking right.

[Laz] I picture Mia wearing a wedding dress with a pregnant belly, and my dick gets so hard.
I need to fuck her again.
And so, I do.
I pull back and slam into her again, short, hard thrusts.
“Laz,” Mia hisses. “What are you doing?”
“Hold still, baby, I’m not done with you.” I drag her down the bed, pull one of her legs over my shoulder and the other around my waist.
Mia’s breathless with desire and panic. “You shouldn’t—we can’t—”
All her protests are like a red flag to a bull. I can and I will.

[Mia] The drag and pull of his cock inside me is making me go insane. My clit is alive with sensation. There’s sweat on Laz’s chest and his eyes are dilated and dark. Suddenly, he clamps a hand around my throat and squeezes. I’m being pressed down into the seat, completely at his mercy. Trapped between his body and the leather.
Suddenly, everything rushes up, and I fly apart into a thousand shining pieces.
Laz is on the verge of coming when I return to earth. I reach around his cock, grab the skin of his ball sack, and twist.
He groans but doesn’t stop pounding me, and I feel him come as his rhythm stutters, his body flushes red, and his head tips back.
When he opens his eyes to catch his breath, he grins lazily at me. “You little hellcat.”

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Night Blossoms by Leylah Attar

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Untitled Series, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Rafael Roza
Heroine: Vee Roza
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 28, 2022
Started On: July 14, 2022
Finished On: August 03, 2022

The Night Blossoms by Leylah Attar is a novel that is closely tied to The Paper Swan that was published in 2015. While The Paper Swan was dark, gritty, and breathtaking, The Night Blossoms, like its main male lead is a different ball game altogether, which was spellbinding in a totally different way.

When Vee Roza’s husband Rafael goes missing after a heated argument between the two, never does Vee think that this would in fact be the pivotal event which brings the secrets that she hides to the forefront, test her to her very limits of endurance, and in the end show to the readers the strength of her character.

I went in expecting the kind of immersive experience that was The Paper Swan. Don’t get me wrong; this book was engrossing in the way Ms. Attar unfolded the layers to her characters and revealed all that was simmering underneath. While I would have loved for more darkness in the story, I did enjoy the tumultuous journey that was the Rozas’ before and even after they said their I do’s.

With The Night Blossoms, Ms. Attar shows to readers what resilience really means when it comes to relationships, especially after marriage. Vee and Rafael do not find each other under the most heartwarming circumstances; they both lead equally tough lives, especially during their most formative years. One would think that they would catch a break, but turns out, life wants to test their love to a point where most of us would just probably give up and walk away.

I loved Rafael – his character was one that shone through in many ways. Ms. Attar explores a fascinating trait in Rafael, something which I do not want to particularly reveal in my review. Understanding what it means to live with that sort of “gift” perhaps, is something beyond my capacity as I cannot imagine the impact something like that would have on one’s physical and mental well-being.

Rafael’s smartness is what got me – when he started talking about concepts of physics, I wanted to be sitting in his class, soaking all of it in. We would all be so lucky to have educators who are as enthusiastic as Rafael is when it comes to imparting knowledge that is akin to a gift given for life.

Vee’s character was a tougher nut to crack for various reasons, and I think Ms. Attar wanted it that way. Even when the story is told from Vee’s point of view, there is always a part of herself that she keeps in the shadows, as if penetrating her secrets would threaten her very existence. Her fears and insecurities were all too real and I felt them, which attests to the brilliance that is behind Ms. Attar’s writing.

Recommended for readers who love romantic suspense. You will have to read The Paper Swan first to have an appreciation for the characters, and if you like myself love dark romances, The Paper Swan is definitely a treat!

Final Verdict: The Night Blossoms is tale that captivates the reader on multiple fronts, of love of the kind that prevails and grows in strength through the worst life has to offer.

Favorite Quotes

“Yvette? Did you hear what I s—”
Her kiss was breathless. Clasping her fingers behind his neck, she drew him close. The air expelled from Rafael’s lungs. He angled his mouth to taste her. His lips trailed to her throat, to the pulse under her skin. A wild surge of pleasure gripped him when her hand slipped under his waistband and untucked his shirt.

“Don’t fall in love. Not with me.”
“Why not? You’re smart and strong and determined. You can do anything you set your mind to.” He stroked her hair. “Why do you hate yourself so?”
Slipping out of reach, she gathered the blanket to her chest and sat. “You will too, when I tell you the truth.”
“Fine. Let’s have it.” He grinned.
Bit by bit, she revealed the details.
Bit by bit, Rafael’s world careened out of orbit.
Everything shifted. Everything changed.
By the time Yvette was done, nothing was the same again.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Daughter’s Dilemma by Miranda Lee

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Powers-Slater Studio, #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Vaughan Slater
Heroine: Carolyn McKensie
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 21, 1997
Started On: December 21, 2021
Finished On: December 30, 2021021

A Daughter’s Dilemma by Miranda Lee was my last read for the year 2021. It is February 2022, and it is only now I am able to get my last review for the year in place. I am a firm believer of the philosophy better late than never. Perhaps more applicable here than elsewhere in my life because I have a habit of always running behind on my review schedule.

My book list for 2021 veered in the direction of picking up older Harlequin romances to read because, at the cost of repeating myself, modern watered down versions of the heroes that I come across in books these days just makes me itch, and not in a good way at all. I feel bereft of the emotions that would otherwise run gamut through me when authors just get it all right, with a hero who is brusque, taciturn, and all those qualities that we hate to love and love to hate.

Miranda Lee in this way, is an author whose books teeter on 50-50 line; I either love them or am meh about them. Luckily, this one too passed muster, and I had an enjoyable time with the journey that was 34 year old Vaughan Slater and 24 year old Carolyn McKensie take to their happily ever after.

The story begins with Carolyn sending off her newly wedded mother on her honeymoon cruise, with a promise to her stepfather that she would do what was needed to ensure that their new home was ready to move into upon their return. However, Carolyn gets the shock of her life when she finds out that the architect hired by her stepfather is none other than Vaughan, who basically destroyed her mother all those years ago.

Carolyn’s mother raises her as a single parent, with her father having died even before she was born. All of that had caught up with her mother when Carolyn was fourteen years old, and since then, Carolyn had acted more as a mother than vice versa. Carolyn being fiercely protective of her mother is not ready to forgive and forget what Vaughan is responsible for; having seduced and discarded a woman who was much older than him.

Carolyn’s helpless reaction to the magnetism that Vaughan exudes is however the nail on the coffin so to speak, and even though she is determined not to give in, it proves too much of a challenge to turn away from the heat, especially with Vaughan feeling the same way. Consequently, the attraction between them gives way to passion of the kind that innocent Carolyn had never known, and before she knows it, her heart too is on the line.

But there looms dark clouds on the horizon, casting gloomy shadows on her newfound happiness that is all too fragile, especially when Carolyn has a hard time reconciling with the version of the events that Vaughan stands by and won’t let her shy away from. With Carolyn torn between the man who makes her senses reel and her heart soar, and her mother for whom she would practically do anything for, it is up to Carolyn to gather her courage and face the music, whatever tune it may be playing when all is said and done.

While I found Carolyn a bit tiresome at certain points, overall, I understood where she was coming from. I too would probably have been a bundle of nerves if I were in her place, believing that I have to choose between the love of my life and my own mother who sacrificed her youth to bring me up. That is a tough place to be in.

I loved Vaughan, for being as determined to make Carolyn stand up for what she wants, for giving her that needed push to step out of her comfort zone, without which she would probably have made the wrong choice and ended up being miserable, bitter, and lonely for the rest of her life.

Recommended for fans of Miranda Lee and fans of Harlequin romances.

Final Verdict: A Daughter’s Dilemma delves into what it is like to be caught between a rock and a hard place; it takes courage of the kind not many of us can muster to make that leap of faith.

Favorite Quotes

For a few seconds longer he stared down at her. ‘Let’s see if I can’t help you make up your mind…’ And his mouth slowly descended.
How long later did it lift again? A minute? Two?
Carolyn had no idea, for instantly those soft sensual lips claimed hers she was catapulted into a world so erotic and exciting that all coherent thought rocketed to a distant planet. She clung to him, her lips parting soundlessly beneath the increasing pressure of his, letting his tongue slide forward into her mouth, letting him arouse her with it to a pitch she would never have believed possible from a kiss. The blood began swimming in her head and wave upon wave of heat flooded up through her body. When her knees threatened to buckle from under her, she slid her arms up tightly around his neck, her small hard breasts pressed flat against his wet chest.

Carolyn bit her bottom lip against the tumultuous pleasure he immediately evoked, her knuckles whitening around the railing as she felt him gradually work his way back down her body. Surely he didn’t mean to…to…
When he passed her navel, every internal muscle she owned contracted and held tightly. Her lips parted, as though ready for protest. But no protest came from her lips when he finally reached his destination. No protest at all. Only a shuddering sigh of sheer ecstasy. ‘Oh, yes,’ she moaned. ‘Yes…’

For a split second Carolyn felt a thrilling moment of peaking, of being suspended. And then she was spun into a wild avalanche of sensation that shattered her completely, the experience impossible to fully capture in words or even memory. Its sharpness caught at her breath, then forced sounds from her lips, soft sensual cries somewhere between sighs and moans. Her head tipped back, her lips panting apart, her back bending like a bow from the bed as she felt her flesh convulsing around Vaughan’s, felt her woman’s pull on his body, urging him to a mutual release.
When it came Carolyn was stunned, thinking the pleasure she’d just experienced was impossible to surpass. But nothing could eclipse the emotional and physical satisfaction of holding Vaughan and feeling him climax deep within her.

‘Tell me you love me too,’ he urged. ‘I want to hear you say it.’
Her heart leapt, but instinct warned her not to admit to such a thing. ‘No,’ she panted. ‘No…’
He muttered something and resumed his slow, steady rhythm, taking her inexorably towards the moment when will-power would cease to exist, when there was nothing but her body and his, teetering on the brink of ecstasy.
At this most crucial moment, Vaughan stopped once again, bringing a cry of sharp need from her gasping lungs. Her nails dug deeply in his back and her body urged him desperately to continue.
‘Tell me you love me, dammit,’ he demanded, holding her still beneath him in an iron grip.
She whipped her head from side to side till he captured her mouth with his own, grinding her head back into the soft pillow with a savage kiss.
‘Say it!’ he gasped when his mouth finally burst from hers. ‘Dear God, just say it this once!’
She was moved, more by the desperate note in his voice than his violent kiss, or the sexual edge on which she was hanging.
‘I love you,’ she cried huskily. ‘I’ve loved you all along.’

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