Category / Harlequin

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Touch of Seduction by Rhyannon Byrd

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Primal Instinct, Book 4
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Aiden Shrader
Heroine: Olivia Harcourt
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 1, 2010
Started On: May 14, 2010
Finished On: May 16, 2010

Though I am not much into paranormal romances, I picked this book up on a whim since I remembered reading Ms. Byrd’s Against the Wall and liking her writing style. And since I have hit a dry spell these days on the reading front I decided to give this book a go and came out with a satisfied grin on all fronts!

The fourth book in the Primal Instincts series the first 3 books which I have never come across, this is the book of tiger shape shifter Aiden Shrader and small-town schoolteacher Olivia Harcourt. Aiden has been dispatched by the Watchmen, (a group mixed up of humans with a mix of something else having extraordinary abilities, to keep things on the down low and kill whenever necessary to protect their species) this time to protect Olivia and her niece Jamie whose mother Monica was killed by the Casus, a vile race of immortal creatures who’d been imprisoned over a thousand years ago for their crimes against humanity and the other clans. The Casus were after Jamie to have a taste of what its like to kill someone with witch’s blood running through them, no matter how young the child might be. With no one else to turn to, Olivia has no other options available but to trust this enigmatic man with glowing amber eyes, who kissed her senseless to the point of ultimate surrender during their first encounter.

Aiden, wary of trusting a human after what he went through when he was young, is skittish of the intense (and I say intense mildly) feelings that Olivia awakens inside him. Though Aiden tries hard not to succumb to the powerful connection between him and Olivia, he can’t help but answer the call of the inner beast within him to feel Olivia’s touch which goes a long way towards healing him.

Meanwhile the ongoing war between the Casus and the Watchmen continues, whilst a darker and a more sinister enemy arises that just may end life for the Watchmen as they know it.

Filled with continuous adventure vividly described by the author which made me feel as if I were watching a movie instead of reading a book made this a highly enjoyable read.

Am dying to read the next book in the series which is to hit the stands this month!

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

greatread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Unfaithful Wife by Lynne Graham

Format: E-book
Read with: Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Nik Andreakis
Heroine: Leah
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 1, 1995
Started On: May 6, 2010
Finished On: May 10, 2010

Lynne’s Graham older romances contributed a lot towards me becoming the avid romance book reader that I am today. Likewise, this book published more than a decade back has the element that is missing from most of the Harlequin novels that are published today, even by my most favorite authors such as Ms. Graham. Thus it was a rare treat to read this romance by Ms. Graham which I didn’t want to put down once I started.

Leah and Nik have been married for five years during which they have lived apart from one another. Leah doesn’t know the reason why Nik acts so coldly towards her once they are married. Nik has his own group of beautiful women with whom he spends his nights with and this propels Leah finally towards forming a relationship of her own, fed up with a life of utter loneliness and unhappiness.

The death of Leah’s father brings about the actual truth as to why Nik has been treating Leah so abhorrently. And it is this pivotal moment that brings these two together, Nik with his tendency to be distrustful of love and companionship that goes along with it and Leah afraid to hope for anything permanent with Nik with whom she fell in love with on the very first sight.

Filled with highly sensual moments which is trademark Graham, this novel stands to be the reason why I always look forward to reading a novel by the author, no matter how disappointing her recent novels have turned out to be.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Second Best Wife by Rachel Lindsay

Format: E-book
Opens with: Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Adam Lester
Heroine: Julia Gosford
Sensuality: 2
Date of Publication: September 24, 1982
Started On: May 2, 2010
Finished On: May 5, 2010

Its  been really long since I read a Harlequin romance from the 1980’s. And I have to say Harlequin romances have come a long way from back then when stories used to revolve around people you can relate to rather than billionaires and the sheiks that wheel and deal in the current stories. And oh, I should not forget the ridiculous changes to the titles of the Harlequin romances these days now ei?

This story focuses on successful international lawyer Adam Lester and how he proposes marriage to his ever efficient secretary Julia Gosford to show Adam’s lover Erica who chose to wait for all her dead husband’s money to lawfully belong to her rather than marry Adam and start a life with him that he didn’t care. Julia agrees to the marriage because she too has been jilted by her fiance who left to Canada promising he would send for her once he is settled in, but rather sends back message that he has found someone else with whom he is planning on getting married to.

Though both Adam and Julia enter their marriage with their eyes open and ready to treat their relationship as rational adults, love has a way of catching people unawares and of course along with love comes its little green eyed friend called jealousy. It is rare in a romance book to read about the hero’s infatuation with another woman whilst married to the heroine of the book though it made things more realistic than most romances. It showed that love just didn’t suddenly dawn on the hero but rather it took time for him to realize what his infatuation with Erica had been all about.

Its all the misunderstandings about Erica and Roy (Julia’s ex-fiance) that makes up the plot of this book. Everything is neatly resolved at the very end of the book giving Adam and Julia a happy ending.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

fairread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Short & Sweet Review: Blackwolf’s Redemption by Sandra Marton

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #2917
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jesse Blackwolf
Heroine: Sienna Cummings
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: May 1, 2010
Started On: April 5, 2010
Finished On: April 7, 2010

Storyline: The story takes place in Montana US.  Sienna Cummings, an anthropologist on her way to earning her PHD visits the Blackwolf Canyon to watch the summer solstice and ends up traveling back in time to 1975, when Jesse Blackwolf was alive and owned the land. Jesse grew up to the tales of superstition that surrounds the Blackwolf Canyon though he doesn’t believe in such nonsense any longer. So he too is in time to view the summer solstice when with a round of green thunder, Sienna is hurtled into his life to forever change it.

The first meet: Sienna and Jesse first meet on top of the ledge of the Blackwolf Canyon when Sienna is hurtled back in time while watching the summer solstice.

Time period: The beginning and end of the story takes place in 2010 whilst the major part of the story takes place in the year 1975. Sienna a woman from the present where men and women have equal rights is hurtled into a time period when women were very much treated as the inferior sex, beings that aren’t able to think for themselves or capable of having any opinions for themselves. This irks Sienna more than anything and brings out the fiery spirit in her many a time in the novel.

Awareness between the two characters: This book has one of the best sexual tension sizzling thing going on between the hero and heroine. Ms. Marton always knows how to stir up the reader by creating screaming tension between two characters which is proved by this latest novel by her. Jesse though a loner and would prefer to remain that way has no protection against the intense attraction that sizzles between him and Sienna from the first contact. Hardened by the Vietnam war, with an ex-wife who left him because he is too cold and withdrawn, Jesse is not looking for anything to make his life complicated. Sienna is bewildered by what has happened much less by the passion that catches her unawares every time Jesse touches her or merely looks at her with smoldering heat in his eyes. (sigh!!)

The turning point: The point of no return for these two come when Jesse is unable to let Sienna leave and find her way back to wherever she came from.

How the relationship grows: Though Sienna and Jesse are both reluctant to start any sort of relationship between the two, when Jesse offers Sienna a job as his secretary until Sienna can get back on her own two feet, these two travel to San Fransisco on a business trip and it is there that these two finally succumb to the intense & fiery passion between the two and learn to love one another in the process.

Ending: The ending of the story was a  bit abrupt for me which is the case why this story got a B+ instead of an A-. I felt sort of cheated out when the story ended so abruptly without an epilogue even which would have made the story a much much better one!

Likes: The yummy Jesse Blackwolf. Makes for a truly dreamy hero. Made me wish the story were lengthier than it is.

Dislikes: During the first part of the novel Sienna acts like a total wacko at times growing hot one moment and icy cold the next which irked me. And oh, yes the very abrupt ending. Otherwise no dislikes.

Recommended for: Those who love Ms. Marton’s fiery hot stories. And anyone who just loves a good dose of passionate romance!

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

goodread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Anything For You by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-bookAnything For You
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze, #278
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Sam Kirk
Heroine: Delaney Michaels
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 1, 2007
Started On: March 28, 2010
Finished On: March 29, 2010

This is my all time favorite book from Ms. Mayberry and this is my first read as well as the book that got me hooked onto Ms. Mayberry’s style. After reading through all sorts of books by Ms. Mayberry this past week, I just couldn’t help myself but revisit the story of Sam and Delaney which the author has done a really splendid job of creating. Of course it helped a lot since Sam and Delaney are both best of friends who have known each other since childhood. And that history combined with the explosive, combustive chemistry between the two makes this story a memorable one long after you have finished reading the book.

Like I said, Sam and Delaney are best of friends. They grew up together and have their own business together, publishing an extreme sports magazine for the past 8 years. And for 16 years of her life Delaney has been in love with her best friend. But Delaney gets her wake up call that her life is wasting by whilst she moons over Sam and her unrequited love, when she goes off for vacation and spends time with her sister Claire and her kids. Delaney wants it all, a husband and 2.5 kids to come home to at the end of the day. Knowing that while she is part of Sam’s life, no man would even come close to being special enough for her to get married to, Delaney makes plans to effectively remove herself from Sam’s life.

Sam feels like his whole world has turned upside down when Delaney tells him that she wants out of the business. And to top it all, Delaney has had a makeover which is making Sam notice all sorts of sexy things about Delaney which makes him feel ashamed of the fact. Explosive passion that bursts between the two leaves Sam feeling more out of sorts even though he can’t help but want Delaney more than he had ever wanted any woman in his life.

Delaney knows that Sam doesn’t do commitment. Having had to deal with a set of parents who used their kid to wrangle all sorts of bitter arguments when Sam was growing up, Sam doesn’t believe that any relationship could work or was worth working for. His only steady relationship in his life had always been Delaney and that fact alone makes him want to bury his head in the sand rather than face the fact that he was finding Delaney irresistible.

Its a passion filled ride for these two willful characters that Ms. Mayberry has created and I for one loved each and every bit of their story. Most probably would end up re-reading this book again somewhere down the line. For now the satisfaction of the happy ending in this book is enough of a glow for me to last this night through!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Cruise Control by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: It’s All About Attitude, Book 3
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Marc Lewis
Heroine: Anna Jackson
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: May 1, 2006
Started On: March 27, 2010
Finished On: March 28, 2010

Unlike Harlequin Super Romance titles, Harlequin Blaze titles are all about fiery passion which inevitably results in love. Sarah Mayberry writes great Blaze romances and this title has all the essential ingredients to make a great story.

Anna is a woman on a mission. A survivor of breast cancer, she has made a list of things she wants to do before she leaves this world. Going through the various stages of cancer had taught her how short that life really was. So quitting her high profile lawyer job and starting up her own limousine driver business was one thing crossed off that list. And she had succeeded in getting herself made over that few of her friends from her days as a lawyer recognized her.

However the thing she wants to do the most is to invite more passion into her life and she has no clue whatsoever how to get that done. Having always been of the studious minded, Anna had never been one  to indulge frivolously in anything. All that changes in a minute when Marc steps into her limo.

A self made millionaire, Marc is on his way to obtaining a divorce from his wife of ten years. Tara cheating on him had left its mark and Marc was in no way inclined to start off another relationship no matter how much the driver of his hired limo seemed to be affecting his libido.

Both Marc and Anna have pretty straightforward views on what they want and do not need right now. But passion has a away of clouding up even the best laid plans and the best of intentions. And after two chance encounters that leave both of them wanting more, it is inevitable that Marc and Anna start off a no strings attached affair, one either of them could bring to a halt if necessary.

However they both find out just how wrong  they are about the way they feel about each other when the little rules that they had both promised to stick together seems all wrong for their relationship. Love eventually bites these two who are trying so hard not to get caught, and Anna freaks out never wanting put Marc through what her father had gone through when her mom had died of breast cancer.

Anna’s stubbornness nearly costs her everything, but finally these two get the happily ever after ending they both deserve. Making  things pretty interesting is the little side story of Anna’s brother Danny and his complicated issues dealing with who he is and his love life.

Great read as always by Ms. Mayberry.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Natural Father by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Superromance, #1551
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero:  Dominic Bianco
Heroine: Lucy Basso
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 10, 2009
Started On: March 27, 2010
Finished On: March 27, 2010

I seem to be on a Sarah Mayberry marathon after starting with her latest novel Her Best Friend which I reviewed around two to three days back. Though her novels are short contemporaries there is always something extra that Ms. Mayberry adds to the mixture that makes her books hard to put down and harder to forget once you have finished reading them.

This story from Harlequin Superromance is also an enchanting piece of work. The story focuses on two families who live in an Italian community in Melbourne, Australia. Lucy finds herself pregnant and Marcus her long term boyfriend of eight years and the father of the baby had abandoned her and moved onto greener pastures with his yoga instructor. With an unforeseeable future, Lucy is determined to do right by her baby. Her sister Rosie and her husband Andrew together with their mom Sophie tries to help Lucy along.

Lucy’s own business which just barely started off which dealt with delivering fresh groceries to restaurants around the neighborhood brings her into contact everyday with Dom, the son of the owner of her wholesaler. Dom has always had an interest in Lucy but the timing had never seemed to be right for him to show his interest in her. Dom had just recently being divorced and was finally thinking about approaching Lucy when he finds out that she is pregnant.

Problems with Dom’s father on the business front ends up Dom asking to be a partner in Lucy’s business since Lucy seemed to desperately need the capital needed to boost her business. Though Lucy and Dom are both very aware of one another, Lucy doesn’t want the added complication of another man in her life. But Dom and his patience, care and attentiveness all pretty soon convinces Lucy to give him a chance.

However things are far from over when Andrew and Rosie have troubles in their marriage which nearly drives them apart, which in turn causes Dom to pull away thinking that its the best thing he could do for Lucy rendering them both heartbroken. In the end its a happily ever after for all of them which never fails to put a smile on my face.

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

satisfactoryread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Back To You by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Hot City Nights Anthalogy
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero:  Cal MacKenzie
Heroine: Becky Taylor
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 8, 2008
Started On: March 26, 2010
Finished On: March 27, 2010

This was a title released in a collection of  short novels bundled up as “Hot City Nights” together with two titles from two of my other favorite Harlequin authors Emilie Rose and Sandra Marton. I haven’t read the other two novels in this collection but am thinking I might give it a go since Sandra Marton and Emilie Rose do write wonderful romances.

Becky Taylor and Cal MacKenzie had the hottest and wildest time of their lives for four weeks when they were at the university together at the tender age of 20. Cal had broken things off with Becky quoting that he wasn’t ready to jump into another serious relationship when he had barely managed to step away from the first serious relationship of his life.

Ten years later, Cal and Becky meet again during a reunion. Becky is at first shocked to find Cal there when he is supposed to be in London with his wife. But unknown to Becky, Cal has been back in Sydney for over a year and is divorced. What happens to  be a chance encounter for Becky isn’t necessarily that for Cal. Cal had come to the reunion wanting to see whether Becky would show up and whether she could still make him feel the same way as he did when they both were 20 years old and going hot and heavy.

Ms. Mayberry has done a splendid job I would say in creating a short story such as this one intense enough so that I as the reader didn’t feel like I had been cheated out of something that could have been better. The intense connection between Becky and Cal burns stronger than ever and before they both know it, they are going hot and heavy with each other once more.

Becky thinking that she and Cal would never get their happily ever after decides to cool things off when she finds out that she is pregnant with Cal’s child. And Cal proves to Becky once and for all that he is committed to loving Becky for the rest of their lives if given half the chance.

A sweet and hot read you wouldn’t want to put down.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Her Best Friend by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Superromance #1626
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero:  Quinn Whitfield
Heroine: Amy Parker
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 2010
Started On: March 25, 2010
Finished On: March 25, 2010

Sarah Mayberry has woven her magic once again with this beautiful story of two best friends who after a long period of time find love and happiness with one another. The story of Amy and Quinn centers around three best friends. Amy and Quinn both grew up together as neighbors. Liz moves in to the neighborhood much later and the three of them were inseparable during those years.

Amy has loved Quinn since she was fourteen years old. However, Liz and Quinn seemed to find love in one another long before Amy could do anything about her feelings and one thing leads to another, and before long Liz and Quinn are married and living in Sydney, both high profile attorneys whilst Amy stays behind in her hometown with her dreams of restoring the local theater to what it was before when her great grandfather owned the place.

Six years have gone by since Quinn and Liz got married and moved to Sydney and Amy is just about to have her dream realized. Amy has tried her best to move on and forget about Quinn and the intense feelings that he arouses in her. However a bit of legal problem regarding the sale of the theater ends Amy in calling Quinn up never realizing that during the period that she had tried to distance herself from their lives, Liz and Quinn were proceeding with getting a divorce.

Quinn hasn’t thought of Amy other than as his very best pal since he was fourteen years old and he and Liz had started dating. Now feeling as a failure with his marriage and future uncertain, Quinn feels that he has finally come home when he returns back to his hometown and starts to help restore the theater with Amy.

The close proximity within which these two work together on the restoration project makes them face their intense attraction head on and other feelings that they may have buried deep inside for the sake of their friendship.

To complicate matters, Liz is back, with the intention of winning Quinn and his love back. Its a pretty sweet and happy ending for Amy and Quinn and I enjoyed reading each and every bit of their story, as much as Ms. Mayberry must have enjoyed writing their story.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Shadow Hawk by Jill Shalvis

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Harlequin Blaze #329
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: JT Hawk
Heroine:  Aby Wells
Date of Publication: June 1, 2007
Started On: February 4, 2010
Finished On: February 5, 2010

This was a  book that I stumbled upon by chance during one of my forays into surfing through FictionDB.com. There is a feature on the website that displays books under “featured author”, and I have come across many a good reads this way. Readers on Amazon too seem to have given this book great reviews. Although I do remember reading books by this author in the past, she has not been one who has made a deep impression on me as a reader. However after reading this book I would have to say that this author has got what it takes to write yummy romances.

Both Hawk and Aby are ATF agents. Hawk has been working on a case of known as Kiddie Bombers. Someone or a group of someones have been teaching young kids to assemble bombs and blow them up as well as making them well versed with different other sorts of weaponry. Hawk has his suspicions that moles in the ATF organization were more than responsible for the difficulty they have been facing in apprehending the culprit. Aby too had been working on the case of the Kiddie Bombers when she had been taken hostage and held captive for two days when one of the head agents of the ATF had come to her rescue with guns blazing. Though she has been working in Hawk’s unit for more than six months after the incident, she refuses to let Hawk realize just how susceptible she is to Hawk’s brand of charm.

Things finally take a turn when Aby and Hawk are handed the same assignment, bust up a gathering of the Kiddie Bombers being held at some remote location. Although Hawk senses “setup” right from the beginning, he and his partner Logan still go through the motions before it all blows up in their faces. Logan gets hospitalized with severe injuries whilst Hawk barely escapes with his life intact. Now that Hawk has come face to face with the top manager of the Kiddie Bomber’s organization, he knows that Aby, himself and Logan are loose ends that wouldn’t survive if Hawk doesn’t take matters into his own hands.

Framed as the head of the Kiddie Bombers organization, Hawk has no choice but to take Aby hostage whilst he tries to find enough evidence to point towards the right man. Aby, a reluctant hostage at best got on my nerves at the beginning with her distrustful attitude. However, she does redeem herself later in the novel which otherwise would have made me extremely disappointed in this book.

More than Aby and Hawk’s story, I found myself fascinated with Logan and Callen, the nurse whom Logan meets when he is airlifted to the hospital to treat his injuries. I found the chemistry between these two characters more intriguing than the lead characters, though they didn’t do a bad job themselves in burning up the pages of the book. I feel this book would have been better suited in the Harlequin Intimate Moments series, cos for me a Blaze book is all about intense chemistry between two characters who just can’t help but fall insanely in love with one another at the end.

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

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