Category / Historical

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Desire in the Sun by Karen Robards

Format: Paperbackdesireinthesun
Read with: NA
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harper Collins
Hero: Jocelyn San Pietro
Heroine: Delilah Remy
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 26, 2006
Started On: April 15, 2012
Finished On: May 5, 2013

Desire in the Sun by Karen Robards is a book that has been sitting in my TBR pile since I bought a paperback copy of it when I was in Malaysia in 2009. I have been putting off reading this for one reason or the other and almost one year after I started reading, I actually managed to finish the story and loved it too!

Delilah Remy (Lilah) is the much pampered and only child of her very rich father who has ensured that she led a very privileged life growing up. Though Lilah dreams of being swept off her feet by some mysterious man who would turn up and make her heart beat faster and make her go all dewy eyed in remembrance, Lilah is of the mind that such things do not happen in real life. That is until Jocelyn San Pietro (Joss) happens into her life who shows her a glimpse of how wonderful it could be and everything goes so horribly awry afterwards.

One minute Joss is his own boss, the commander of his own life who has a feeling that meeting Lilah has changed his life in an inexplicable way and that life would never be the same for him ever again. The next, he faces ultimate betrayal and finds himself taken as a slave, his fierce pride and the anger that flares to life at the injustice nothing short of violent in its desire to be unleashed on those who caused the misfortune to befall on him.

Though it seems unlikely that Lilah and Joss would ever find a way to make things work for them, fate seems to have a different plan in store as they find themselves thrown together time and yet again. When stranded on an island with no one else to act as a buffer to the smouldering passion that is almost always a tangible part of the connection they have with each other, its inevitable that the dam burst open and the passion held on a tight leash find free rein in its abandoned glory.

The trials and tribulations that Joss and Lilah go through in their journey to finally be able to love each other freely and on their own terms was an amazing journey, every minute of which I loved. I loved both Lilah and Joss. I found Joss to be a refreshingly different hero from Jonathan, the hero from Island Flame and Sea Fire who turned out to be the material out of which ass-hole heroes are made of. Joss has this sweetness about him even though he is all alpha when it matters. Lilah seems to be the perfect fit for him and even though there were some gruesome bits to the story, there were those moments of hilarity that occurs between Joss and Lilah that gives the reader no choice but to laugh out loud.

All in all a very enjoyable historical romance by one of my favourite authors in the romance genre, recommended for fans of the genre and fans of Karen Robards.

Favorite Quotes

Lilah gasped as she felt the fiery heat probing against her. Then he was inside the first little bit and his hands on her hips were tugging her down, down until he filled her and she was squirming against the hugeness of him.”Love me,” he muttered again, the words thick. His eyes were glazed, his face flushed with passion.

Lilah cried out as his hands closed over them.
As if that small sound had snapped something inside of him, he groaned and pulled her down to him so that he could take her breasts in his mouth. He suckled with savage hunger, his hands hard and hot on the silken roundness of her bottom as he held her still above him and ground himself upwards into her.

She clasped her arms around his back and lifted her hips to meet him as he thrust wildly inside her.
At last, when he had brought her trembling to the brink and then pushed her over, she got what she wanted. As he convulsed inside her and groaned the words in her ear: “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
Over and over, like a litany.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

Format: E-booktheduchesswar
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Brothers Sinister, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Robert Alan Graydon Blaisdell
Heroine: Willhelmina Pursling
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: December 6, 2012
Started On: February 10, 2013
Finished On: February 13, 2013

What an utterly beautifully captivating story. I finished this book in the wee hours of the morning and I was so overwhelmed by the emotions that raced through me all throughout the read, sometimes taking me unawares, other times caressing me with a gentleness and bittersweetness that made me want to weep; needless to say my very first Courtney Milan definitely impressed me beyond any level of expectation that I had when I first started reading.

The Duchess War begins with a glimpse into the very interesting and contrasting character of Willhelmina Pursling (Minnie), whose very entrance into the novel begins with her encounter with the ninth Duke of Clermont Robert Alan Graydon Blaisdell. Dressed rather severely and buttoned up to the extent that nobody would give her a passing glance, Minnie would rather she never be the focus of attention of anyone for long. But her days of hiding behind her the fortress that she has built around herself and perfected over the years are over when Robert enters her life and makes her yearn for the impossible.

Robert’s one mission in his life has always been to stay off the path his father had walked on as much as possible. Going as far as to atone for the bundles his father has made along the way, Robert is unlike any duke you would meet in any book. Well, I certainly haven’t come across any duke like Robert and that’s saying something since I have read my fair share of historical romances back in the day. Now, it is authors like Sherry Thomas and Jeannie Lin that makes me come back for more of a genre which I usually shy away from reading and with The Duchess War, Courtney Milan certainly has earned herself a spot in my list of authors to look out for when pursuing historical romances.

The Duchess War is certainly by no means your usual run of the mill variety historical romance. Contrary to that its comprised of complex characters which I had a hard time placing whether they belonged in the “good guys” category or not. Needless to say, Courtney continuously kept surprising me with the depth to her characters as she unraveled the story, one layer at a time and gives the reader an experience or rather a journey that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

There were times when I thought that I would hate Minnie for the choices that she seemed on the brink of making. But then I should have known better than that and trusted Courtney to do what fans of her books always rave about – that she delivers and hits all the spots and then some. And that was exactly what happened with each of her characters and the story that kept spinning its magic on me until I turned the very last page and heaved a sigh of contentment that would definitely have been heard from all corners of the Earth; if not for my need to quietly contemplate on what the story had done to me and my emotions.

Robert’s character is so so wonderful that it just begs some gushing on my part before I end the review. There were times I wanted to weep for the boy that had been the object of the tug of war contest between his parents, a boy who had grown up thinking himself to be unworthy of love of the lasting kind. A parliamentarian at the young age of 28, Robert is a champion of the underdog, someone who detests what the peerage system means. And above that all he is a man who has contained his passionate side for far too long and when he does start on the journey of discovery, boy does he make up for lost time and then some. The love scenes were so tastefully done and made me burn like a furnace that would never run out of wood anytime soon. Trust me on that.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about a book that wooed me in all the ways that counts. As a true lover of romance I definitely could not have asked for more.

Absolutely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

“Look in a mirror sometime,” he suggested. “Look beyond this.” He touched his cheekbone, mirroring the spot on her face where her scar spread. “Look at yourself sometime the way you are now, all fire and anger, ready to do battle with me. If you’d ever once looked at yourself that way, you wouldn’t question whether I’d want a flirtation with you. You’d know I would.”

Her head remained stubbornly bowed before him. He wanted to grab her and shake her. He wanted to tilt her chin up and force her to gaze in his eyes. He wanted –
He wanted to do a great many things after that, none of which he was going to get from her by force.
“I’m not pretending to flirt with you,” he said instead. “There’s no pretense in it. I want you. God, I want you.”
She let out a little gasp and then – almost involuntarily – she looked up.
For just one moment, he saw something he thought was not pretense – a hopeless yearning in the way her face tilted toward his, a flutter in her ragged exhalation. Her lips parted, and she seemed suddenly, devastatingly beautiful.

“Indeed,” Violet said. Don’t mind us. We’re scarcely even here. And rest assured, if you’d like to talk of secrets, I’ll never repeat one. I’m known for my trustworthiness.”
“This is true,” Sebastian said. “The Countess of Cambury is like a deep, dark hole – secrets go in, but none of them ever come out.”
“Sebastian,” Violet replied calmly looping the yarn about one of her needles, “it is neither proper nor respectful to let a woman know that you think of her as nothing more than a hole.”

Her hips rose to his. Her hand continued its motion, an added stimulation at the base of his cock. He could feel her pleasure all around him, first ebbing, and then gathering again as he took her. And as if the dam had been broken to bits with her first orgasm, this time she came quickly – in scarcely a minute, her release a scalding hot wash of pure lust that had her clamping down on him.
He couldn’t have enough of her. He pounded into her again and again, each thrust better than the last, each one building, building to a crescendo that washed over him in fierce waves. It was almost painful, his second release. It was messy and slippery and wrong, and it felt so, so damned right.

“It’s a good thing you have hold of your urges,” she said, more quietly, “because I’m so wet now, and it would be dreadfully embarrassing if you were to – “
He lifted her against the wall, wrapped her legs around him, and slid inside her. She was wet, so wet, and hot. The pleasure of her body, clasped around him, was so intense that it almost hurt. The light rhythmic sway of the car rocked him into her.
He braced them against the wall, his muscles straining.
“That’s right, Robert.” Her arms cane around him. “That’s right. Just like that.”

She came around him, tightening in waves of pulsating heat around his cock. And he pounded into her, hard at first, and then even harder, until his own climax came. In the moment when he spilled his seed, he imagined them connected by far more than the scrape of his teeth against her jaw, the tangle of their hands, the clamp of her legs still wrapped around him. It was more than just the physical act of burying himself in her body.
In that moment, for the first time in his life, Robert believed that there was someone for him.

He stood. She couldn’t read his expression at all.
But then he put his hands on her shoulders, and, when she looked up at him, he kissed her. He kissed her with no finesse, no gentleness. He kissed her with all the emotion that he hadn’t shown since he’d walked in the door – fiercely, savagely, as if he’d returned from an absence of ten years and needed to remind her of everything that had happened. His arms came around her, wrapping her to him as tightly as chains. He was scorching heat against her.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Unforgivable by Joanna Chambers

Format: E-bookunforgivable
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Hero: Gilbert Truman, Viscount Waite
Heroine: Rose Davenport
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 15, 2013
Started On: January 23, 2013
Finished On: January 24, 2013

Unforgivable by Joanna Chambers is my first experience reading something by the author. Though I shy away from reading too many historical romances, there are certain themes that call out to the romantic hidden inside of me and one of them happens to be the marriage of convenience theme. Coupled together with a heroine who is not the type of beauty that men would happily go to war for (though I would never understand the concept behind the notion) I thought that this would be the perfect read to curl up with.

Unforgivable starts out with a sickly looking Rose Davenport who just survived a vicious bout of the chickenpox being offered to Viscount Waite for marriage. Rose has no clue as to how the arrangement to marry the very handsome and appealing Viscount Waite comes about. And since Rose is pleasantly taken aback with surprise because Viscount Waite makes her open up and feel alive for the brief moment in time they meet before their nuptials, she is more than bewildered to say when the man who turns up at the church to marry her remains cold and aloof at best.

Gilbert Truman’s intention to marry the beautiful Tilly who captured his heart flies out of the window when he is forced to marry a woman not of his choosing. Bitter about being cornered into a place he doesn’t want to be in, Gilbert does what he must in order to survive being married to Rose. He keeps her away at one of his country estates and ignores her completely.

Years pass on by and Rose grows up, loses the awkward edge about her and becomes determined that she would confront her husband and force him to acknowledge her existence one way or the other, and thus Rose makes her way to London and ends up getting embroiled in a scheme of deception that doesn’t end up all that well. Now Gilbert and Rose are at odds, both fighting their true emotions, each too proud to let go of the hurt and misunderstandings that grows and fosters between them to really see through all that and grab the chance at happiness that awaits them.

I didn’t end up enjoying Unforgivable as much as I thought I would. I didn’t overly like the hero much and believe me I am someone who practically likes every hero in a romance novel – even the ones that most feminist readers do not like. But somehow I didn’t relate that much to Gilbert and thus the enjoyable factor in the novel sizzled down a bit for me. And then there is the heroine Rose. I loved her at the beginning of the novel, rooted for her and ached to see her become all that she could be and more given half the chance. But then things went a bit downhill for me towards the latter part of the book. Nevertheless I’d still say that Unforgivable is a good read worth your time if you like a bit of angst in your romances.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Samhain | BoB | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-booktemptingthebride
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Fitzhugh Trilogy #3
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: David Hillsborough, Viscount Hastings
Heroine: Helena Fitzhugh
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 2, 2012
Started On: December 14, 2012
Finished On: December 18, 2012

For someone who doesn’t read much of historical romances, Sherry Thomas is one author I’d always continue to make an exception for. Its because of the way she brings her characters to life and makes me fall irrevocably in love with the way she spins a web that continues to enchant me until I turn the very last page, all the while mourning the fact that the story couldn’t have gone on for just a little bit longer that will always have me going back for more.

The third and final book in the Fitzhugh trilogy is the story of Helena Fitzhugh, the youngest of the trio and the one who is considered to be the most ‘unconventional’ and ‘wild’ from the siblings. Viscount Hastings is the thorn in Helena’s side so to say from the tender young age in which they come across each other. Hastings who had fallen head over heels in love with Helena had always hidden behind a wall of obnoxious behavior, just so that Helena would never ever find out the depth of his feelings towards the only woman he has ever loved.

When Helena finds herself in a bit of a situation, which would be putting it mildly, it is Hastings that strides to her rescue which in turn forces her to accept his hand in marriage; not to save herself, but rather to save the shame that it would bring to her brother and sister if she were to do otherwise. Angered and frustrated beyond belief at the turn of events, not to mention the fact that a staggering kiss between her and Hastings that had shaken her to the depths of her very soul continues to taunt her, it would be an understatement to say that Helena does everything she can to show that she would not accept being married to Hastings that easily.

But as fate would have it, through a twisted turn of events, Hastings finds himself with a once in a lifetime opportunity to show Helena the side of him that he has kept hidden from her for far too long, the side of him that yearns to love Helena like there is no tomorrow and make up for his despicable behavior of the past. Though Hastings knows that his past could catch up with him at any moment, the answering glow in Helena’s eyes makes the temptation to carry on an irresistible one. And when the inevitable truth comes knocking on their door, it is only the memories of the new side of Hastings that Helena gets to see and remembers that saves the day for both of them in the end.

Its a thing of impossibility to read a novel by Sherry Thomas and not be invested in the outcome of the story and its characters. Likewise, Tempting the Bride had me salivating over Hastings and the effortless ease with which he seduces the very headstrong Helena. And the plus side was that unlike the previous story, the tables were turned in this one such that it is the hero that has been in love with the heroine for far too long, and it was the vulnerable side of Hastings that I fell in love with, time and yet again as I read along.

Helena is a heroine of one of a kind. She is the type of heroine who dares to cross the boundaries and tests society’s patience during an era when females who were anything less than demure were barely tolerated. And because she stays true to her character, I loved her and the layers of her character that continued to unfold throughout the story.

Though I felt again that the ending was a tad rushed in this story as well, I would still recommend Tempting the Bride for historical romance lovers because missing out on Sherry Thomas’ incredible writing is not something I would ever recommend. 

Favorite Quotes

Not all opportunities are created equal. Some are nothing but steps leading down toward catastrophe.

Their eyes met. Without hesitation he kissed her. His weight was solid. His hair—she didn’t know when her fingers had plunged into his hair—was cool and soft. And the hunger in his kiss…contrary to everything she knew, he made her feel as if he’d never kissed anyone before and never wanted to kiss anyone else.

This time he could no longer hold back his tears. And with them came words that he’d never been able to say to her his entire life. “I love you, Helena. I have always loved you. Wake up and let me prove it to you.”

He meant to do it properly, start slow and soft, and only gradually build toward the wildness that had always characterized their kisses. But the moment he touched his lips to hers, she locked one arm behind his neck, and all thoughts of leisure and gentleness leaped out the window.
He devoured her. And she, her tongue mobile and eager, devoured him in return. He pulled her out of her chair and pushed her against the edge of the vanity. She grabbed his hair and moaned, a sound of stark hunger—and it was all he could do not to push up her nightgown and sink into her then and there.

At her incendiary words, he drove deeper—far deeper—into her, unable to help himself.
“So,” she said, her fingers on his cheek, “now I’ve made you mine.”
He took her fingers in hand and kissed them one by one. “You made me yours long ago, but now you finally claimed me.”

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Beautiful Bad Man by Ellen O’Connell

Format: E-bookbeautifulbadman
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: American Western Historical
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Caleb Sutton
Heroine: Norah Gifford Hawkins
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 29, 2012
Started On: November 18, 2012
Finished On: November 25, 2012

From one of the best American Western Historical romance authors comes another fantastic installment, this time a book entitled Beautiful Bad Man, a most appropriate title for a book that delivered a story that was beautiful and fascinating as the hero in the story truly was, a book that made me sigh and yearn in all the right places as Ellen once again wove her special brand of magic on me.

Ellen O’Connell writes stories that are gritty and realistic. She is not an author who pulls any punches when she delivers novels that depict the harshness of life as it was back then. But amidst all the violence and chaos, Ellen still manages to give the reader something that turns out to be that much more precious and beautiful because of the fact and Beautiful Bad Man is no exception to this rule.

Norah Hawkins and Caleb Sutton meet under the most unusual and trying circumstances just for a brief moment in time as young adults. Years later, these two happen to meet again by a quirky twist of fate. Though both Norah and Caleb had never actively sought to think about each other as the years had passed on by, both had in fact wished the best for each other, and had somehow envisioned the other living the sort of life that would bring peace to the other’s mind. However, reality couldn’t be further from those dreams as Caleb finds himself facing a disillusioned woman who is ready to collapse from the lack of will to fight for what she wants. For Norah the jolt is a stronger one. Norah being someone who always has a clear cut vision on what is right and wrong finds herself confronting a man whose eyes show nothing but coldness, in it lying the truth of how survival of the fittest always means that you lose something precious and vital inside of you to come out as the winner in the game of survival.

A partnership forged between two people who couldn’t be more different from each other even if they tried would seem to be a venture doomed for failure right from the very start. But that is exactly the opposite of what happens as Norah starts to discover those startling qualities about the man she married, the man that she slowly starts to fall in love with as Caleb unknowingly shows her just what it is like to be married to someone who truly appreciates Norah and all that she can offer in the truest fashion.

Caleb is someone who believes himself not worthy of beauty or kindness that life has to offer, no wonder owing to the harsh brutality that he had suffered during his childhood. But Norah awakens in him something that runs sure and deep into his soul, a yearning to reach out for the impossible and hold on for as long as possible. 

The constant danger that both Norah and Caleb fight together to safeguard what is theirs brings these two closer and seals a relationship that already takes them to new heights in the physical sense. Norah is the type of heroine that I love to read about. The type of heroine that Ellen is so good at creating. And thus its no wonder that I fell in love with Norah right from the very start.

Caleb is a hero that is truly beautiful and bad, both at the same time, somehow making those two words strung together just that much more meaningful. Caleb is a hero in every sense. A bit alpha, a bit headstrong, just a tad stubborn and a total softie when it comes to his wife and their dog Early without even realizing the fact himself. 

If you haven’t read an Ellen O’Connell, its high time you did. She writes characters and stories that you would not forget anytime soon. A must read if you are a fan of American Western historical romances. Highly recommended!

Favorite Quotes

“The times they’d coupled by early morning light or with a lamp still burning, his face stayed a handsome shadow. In bright sunshine she saw every detail — the way the water had made dark spikes of his lashes, the way those lashes were half-lowered over eyes turning liquid with passion. She had not drowned in the shallow creek. She would lose herself forever in his eyes.”

“She expected his weight, the familiar. He turned her on her side to face him, draped her leg over his, and entered her, his eyes locked on hers. She shut her eyes, invaded in some impossible way beyond the physical.
He moved inside her slowly. She moved with him, giving herself to the pleasure. One arm held her close, one hand rubbed a nipple.
“Norah.” His voice was hoarse and deep, his words in the rhythm of their movement. “Look at me. Let me know you know it’s me. You want it to be me.”
“I know. You’re the only one I ever wanted.” She opened her eyes and let him see the truth.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Best Man by Maggie Osborne

Format: Hardcoverthebestman
Read with: Hardcover
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Dal Frisco
Heroine: Fredrick Roark
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 1998
Started On: March 17, 2012
Finished On: March 18, 2012

The Best Man is a novel that is going to be hard to review, not because it wasn’t a splendid read in all the ways that counts. It is going to be difficult to put into words just how much the story affected me, how the characters that were brought to life in front of my eyes continued to worm their way into my heart and later on etched themselves onto my very soul to stay there for the time to come. As I have said before and I will continue to say this, Maggie Osborne is an author who is one of a kind. She delivers romances that takes you to place you rarely get to go and she gives you a story that you can sink your teeth into and cannot let go!

Joe Roark, owner of the King’s Walk Ranch dies leaving behind 3 daughters and his fourth wife a widow. Each of them grapples with the astounding will that Joe leaves which dictates that his daughters prove their mettle before they are to receive their due inheritance. If that fails to be the case, all the sweat and hard work that Joe had put into building his ranch would be in vain and would be handed over to a wife that he detested more than he did  his daughters.

A man who only wanted sons and got saddled with daughters, Joe refused to let his daughters forget their place in the world. Alexander Roark Mills (Alex), Fredrick Roark (Freddy) and Lester Roark (Les); the 3 daughters whom he had pampered in his way and each of whom had disappointed him in one way or the other suddenly finds themselves tasked with driving a herd of longhorns to the market in Abilene, Kansas. 

Dal Frisco is a man who is looking for a second chance, a chance to turn his life around and achieve his dream of owning his own spread in Montana. To do that, he needs cold hard cash and the news of the infamous will Joe left to his daughters pave the way for him to do exactly just that. What he doesn’t bargain for is to find daughters who look like the high strung type who carry smelling salts in their fringed wrist purses who look and behave as if they have never engaged in an honest day of work in their whole lives. But even then, Freddy with her dark hair and green eyes catch him unawares with the bolt of desire that strikes him upon the very first time their eyes meet.

For Dal, the success of the mission ahead hinges on his ability to prepare the 3 women to face and cope with the challenges of being on the road, to actively take part in delivering the herd in the exact number their father has stipulated in the will. But the number of foes who want nothing more than to see them fail work from within to bring chaos and mayhem to their venture. And through it all, the 3 sisters continue to discover the hard truths about themselves, become better women and go on to form a bond with each other that would remain unshaken till death does them apart.

Labeling The Best Man as the story in which Freddy and Dal discover each other and fall in love would not do justice to a story that is so very much more. The Best Man brings to life the characters of 3 sisters who had grown up trying to compete and outdo each other during their childhood, each resenting the other for one thing or the other. And later when adolescence had hit, the 3 of them had found themselves going their separate ways, never forging a connection befitting that of sisters. Alex elopes while Freddy sets off to embrace her dream of performing in a theater which drives a further wedge between the sisters. Les, the youngest is the one who stays behind, who feels betrayed when her father brings home a wife that disrespects everything they stand for.

For 3 people who have never tried working as a team or have never worked hard a day in their life, the training and the pace that Dal sets serves to be sheer torture. But Dal is the man who forces them to force out their inner strength, to straighten that backbone of steel that each sister has in spades, to embrace the true hidden characteristics within each of them that makes them such appealing characters. Each of them has their own fair share of faults, fears and dreams. And learning about each of them was a journey in itself and I loved every minute of it.

The men who enter into their lives are nor less appealing. Dal plays the most prominent role and he is the stuff that pure alpha men are made out of. He is strong, stubborn, has that inner qualities that makes him a good leader. But he is not without his fair share of faults either. A recovering alcoholic, Dal battles his inner demons day in and day out and the focus shifts from his desire for the drink to his need for a woman that sets his senses afire by merely just existing. Freddy drives him crazy in more ways than one and though Dal might try to tell himself otherwise, Freddy invades his heart and his soul before he is even aware of it happening.

Alex was one of the most complex characters in the story. With a past that portrays her as the most tortured soul in the story, Alex is a character that rouses equal amounts of sympathy and admiration in the reader. At first she comes across as a snob who later transforms into a woman who is able and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that she and her sisters get what is entitled to them. How Alex discovers love, forgiveness and the courage to move on in one of the most unlikely heroes to crop up put a huge lump in my throat and made me ache in ways I cannot explain. If it is only to discover Alex and the magical transformation she undergoes in this story, it is worth getting yourself a copy of The Best Man.

Les is the sister who has problems with asserting herself. The one who enters into a relationship with an abusive fiance and believes it to be her due. The sister who has the hardest time in putting one foot in front of the other and taking the next step. The one who continually faces the dilemma of doing the right thing and choosing the easy way out. And hers was a story that I read all the while wanting to infuse her with the strength to move on, to be able to stand up and give as good as she gets. And she does get there eventually, surprising herself more than anyone else by just how far she has come by the time the story ends.

Freddy is the dreamer, the one who envisions life as a stage set for acting and she plays the lead role. One hard bump after the other and the tough lessons day in and day out teaches her to face reality, forces her to come crashing down into the world of living rather than continue to walk the Earth with her head up in the clouds. Her desire for Dal is one that catches her by surprise, her innocence the factor that lures her towards a man who shakes her up and tosses her into a maelstrom of desire that she cant shake lose from. 

With Maggie Osborne, you never get a simple straightforward story. She takes you on a journey filled with twists and turns, ups and downs, traversing through roads that brings joy as much as peril comes seeking you out and later on at the end you emerge victorious from all the hard labor you have toiled in, which in the end transforms your reading experience into something wondrous that you won’t forget anytime soon.

Recommended for fans of Maggie Osborne. If you have never read a Maggie Osborne, you are definitely missing out!

Favorite Quotes

His mouth came down on hers hard and hot and deliberate. His kiss was so unexpected that Freddy went limp in his arms with shock. She didn’t fight or protest, couldn’t move or breathe. No one had ever kissed her like this, selfishly, unemotionally, taking with no thought of giving. This kiss was hungry, domineering, something that seared and scorched physically and left her mind reeling.

He kissed her then, not gently, not tenderly. He didn’t kiss her to comfort her. He took her mouth hungrily, almost savagely, wanting to punish her for having a body that tormented him, for telling him that his last kiss had meant nothing, needed to punish her for letting scum like Jack Caldwell call her honey, and for ever thinking about a man who wasn’t him.

He found her breasts with his hands and dropped his lips to her arching throat, tasting dust and woman sweat and a trace of something that reminded him of apples. She tore his shirt at the throat, ripping it downward, and slipped her hands inside, her fingers like brands of fire across his skin. One minute she was straddling him, the next minute he’d fallen on top of her. It was like a dam had burst within them both, releasing a flood tide of desire and urgency. And God help him, he would have taken her right there on the ground with a stampede winding down a hundred yards behind him.

For a long moment they gazed at each other, and Freddy felt her mouth go dry and her heartbeat accelerate. If the evening ended right now, she would still remember this moment for all her days. The music, the perfume of the flower baskets, and the hard look of desire in Dal’s eyes.

“Dal … Dal …” Mindlessly, she whispered his name as his kisses deepened and became possessive and deliberate. But slow. Exploring. Teasing. Never quite enough. Kisses that drank desire from her mouth and left her frantic with wanting, wanting, wanting.

Winding her arms close around his neck, she closed her eyes. To be embraced, safe in a man’s arms when she had never expected it to happen again, this would be enough.
Time sheltered their embrace, enfolding them within a summer scented capsule that felt endless and theirs alone. The fragrance of grass and sunlight and nearby water sweetened each breath. Theirs was the music of birds ans the lazy buzz of insects and the beating of two hearts. Yes, she thought, she didn’t need more. This would be enough.

This time his kiss was full and provocative, summoning sensations she had believed, had hop, were submerged too deeply to be awakened. But his fingers on her face, his mouth, his lips, stirred slumbering emotions and coaxed them to life. His hands moved to cup her head, to spread across her spine, and he crushed her against him as their kisses deepened.

He molded her body to his and another gasp tore at her throat. She had never expected to be held in a man’s arms again. Hadn’t dared to hope that she would ever stand chest to chest, hip to hip with a man who desired her. She had truly believed lovemaking was a pleasure she would never again experience in her lifetime. That was her choice and destiny.
His hands moved from her waist to her face, and he kissed the tears shining on her cheeks and eyelids. “I love you,” he whispered. “I have loved you from the moment I saw you.”

“You are so beautiful,” he breathed. Standing over her, rampant in the moonlight, he gazed down at her body. “You are as lovely and as perfect as I imagined you would be.”
Afraid to believe, afraid to trust, she dared a look at him and felt her heart wrench when she read his expression and understood that she truly was whole and beautiful in his eyes. She was a magnificent to him as he was to her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: A Very Sinful Valentine by Charlotte Featherstone

Format: E-bookSinful
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Historical Erotic Romance
Series: Sinful
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Matthew Wallingford
Heroine: Jane Rankin
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: February 2012
Started On: March 5, 2012
Finished On: March 5, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 100 A
The heroine 100 A
Story line 100 A
Emotional Intensity 100 A
Suck me in Factor 100 A
Heat & Sensuality  100 A
Conflicts 100 A
Writing Style 100 A
Quotable Factor 100 A
Ending 100 A
Overall Grade 100 A

Score Sheet Summary

Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone is one of those novels that I ended up loving to death. A hero that I could not get enough of, a heroine who was his match in every single way and sensual scenes penned so vividly and erotically that it took my very breathe away, needless to say, Sinful is a novel that I would remember till the end of time.

So it was to my delightful surprise that a friend on Goodreads alerted me to this delicious number released I guess in time for Valentines Day and I am so thankful that Charlotte Featherstone like myself hasn’t forgotten the impact that Matthew has on the female senses.

This little novella finds Matthew basking in wedded bliss so to speak with that untamed wildness within him roaring its head because his beloved wife Jane has been avoiding him for the past 3 months. A man who has a voracious appetite for anything and everything to do with carnal desires of the flesh, Jane had been the woman to bring him down to his knees and possess his heart for all eternity. So it is a brooding Matthew we find ourselves with, dangerous and turbulent emotions swirling deep inside of him, all the while wrecking his brains trying to think up the reason why his strong and brave Jane suddenly seems to be without the very fire that stirs him up.

Jane has her own reasons to be shy around Matthew. Giving birth has put its own toll on her body and needless to say a woman who thinks of herself plain when compared to a husband whose dark vivid good looks is the talk of the town has Jane hesitating to give herself over to her husband, even when she aches to do so.

What Matthew does is breathtaking in its eroticism, beautiful in the way that it brought everything female deep inside of me alive and had my senses humming all throughout. Every woman, and I mean every single woman deserves a man like Matthew who can love like he does, without reservations, without conditions, for time and eternity, until death does them apart. Let the sighing fest begin!

Cannot recommend this highly enough for those who love Matthew. He is the man!

Favorite Quotes

[Jane] “You know how I feel about you. About what we share. I did not mean it in such a way.”
“No?” he whispered wickedly, his gaze finding hers, latching on with strength and determination. “I don‟t believe you. I think you had better show me, Jane.” 
She kissed him, slow, lazily, her lips moving over his mouth, slowly winding, becoming deeper, sensual, and then slowly her tongue penetrated his mouth, touching his tongue, flicking around the tip of his. He groaned, wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her up against his bulging phallus that felt so large and hard. Her core ached, needing that deep inside her.

“I’m a hedonist, and you, Jane, my wife, should know that about me. You’ve shared my body and bed, you know things about me that no other soul on earth does. Who can I not be a sensualist with than, you, Jane? Who else to act out my wicked fantasies, than the woman who inspires them? There is no shame in fantasies, in pleasure. Who other than us needs to know what we’ve done, what brings the other pleasure?”

[…] “But Jane, tonight I’m going to watch–and so are you. It will not be dark when I look upon you. There will be no clothes–only your skin. There will be no wiggling and squirming away from me. You will lie still and let me look. I will take as long as I want, gorge myself on the sight of you, and you will not resist. You will not utter one word to the contrary. You will accept everything I give you. And you will be loved, Jane. Loved so that you never forget that you are the only woman for me. You always have been. And you always will be.”

“Don’t” be shocked, Jane,” he murmured as he lifted her higher, and poised her at the tip of his cock. “Don‟t be embarrassed. Not with me. You‟re gorgeous, and everything about you is perfect.” 
She nodded, met his gaze, and they held each other as she sunk down slowly upon him, impaling herself.  
She cried out, her hand flying to her lower belly. 
“Feel me all the way up there, do you my love?” 
She nodded, began to move, and he let her, just felt her body move and undulate beneath his palms.

“Jane, look at me,” he asked, and when she did, he knew she was seeing what she needed in his eyes. 
“You are the only woman for me–it‟s only ever been you. I told you once before, that I have never loved before you, and I will never love again. Jane,” he said, forcing her face to down to his. “There is no condition on my love. No end to my desire. Don‟t put them there, my love.”

“Jane,” he whispered as the streaks of dawn broke through their bedroom window. “Once more. In the daylight, so I can see you with the sun upon your skin.”
And she rolled over, smiled, and held open her arms to him, welcoming him home at last.

Download Link: Mystic Castle

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: In the Marshal’s Arms by Emma Jay

Format: E-bookinthemarshalsarms
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Historical Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Rhys Burgess
Heroine: Maddy Colby
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: December 15, 2011
Started On: February 6, 2012
Finished On: February 6, 2012

US Marshal Rhys Burgess is on the hunt to bring bank robber Edward Colby to justice. His search brings him to the somewhat derelict home of Maddy Colby, mistress to the brothers who had wreaked havoc with their penchant for stealing and being one of the most ambitious bank robbers of the past decade.

When Rhys meets Maddy, she is unlike the woman he has envisioned in his head. Maddy intrigues him with her intelligent mind, the way her hair seems to shimmer and shine with the most contrasting vividness and the way his senses start humming whenever Maddy is around.

For Maddy, Rhys is a temptation that is hard to deny. A woman who is completely comfortable in her sexuality, Maddy has no qualms about seducing and being seduced by Rhys who makes her feel desirable, cossetted and loved all at the same time. But then reality is not too far away and intrudes right at the moment where Maddy is willing to put her faith, trust and love in the one man who has broken down her barriers, the one man she wants to spend the rest of her life with.

In the Marshal’s Arms was a short and hot read that features a most refreshing heroine. Emma Jay has a way of writing her heroines bold, sexy and comfortable with who they are and Maddy is no different. Rhys is a bit shy and uncertain when it comes to expressing his desire for a woman who he has no intention of getting involved with at first. But the heart has an agenda of its own and that is how Rhys finds himself in the best kind of trouble he has ever gotten into in his life.

I loved the ending, the way Rhys wins over Maddy’s affections. In the Marshal’s Arms is a good read, recommended for those who love historical erotic romances. Emma Jay has a way with her heroes that just makes you want to sigh over & over again once you are done.

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

Format: E-booktheravenprince
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Princes Trilogy, Book 1
Publisher: Warner Forever
Hero: Edward De Raaf
Heroine: Anna Wren
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: November 1, 2006
Started On: December 30, 2011
Finished On: December 31, 2011

My very first Elizabeth Hoyt turned out to be a delightful introduction into her work. The Raven Prince which is the first book in the Princes trilogy certainly wets a reader’s appetite for more of Elizabeth Hoyt and that is exactly what happened throughout this wonderful story with its larger than life characters and the sizzling sexual tension that seemed to be so much a part of this whole story as it unfolded.

Anna Wren is a widow going on for 6 years and lives in Little Battleford with her mother-in-law and maid in a small cottage. Dire financial circumstances has Anna seeking employment with the reclusive 5th Earl of Swartingham, Edward De Raaf who is legendary for his ominous temper which had driven away the two previous secretaries in his employment. Scarred from smallpox from which he had been the sole survivor of his family, Edward prefers the seclusion the countryside offers and has every intention of filling up his childhood home with family and warmth once again, as soon as he manages to arrange for his marriage with a lady of suitable pedigree.

When Anna enters his life with her intelligence, quick wit and warmth, Edward sees beyond her prim and plain exterior into the woman at heart, a woman whose body tempts him unlike any other. The need to possess Anna in the most wickedest ways possible drives every sane thought from Edward’s mind until he is forced to come to the decision that a tumble in the most notorious whorehouse in London would cure him of his unwanted lust for his secretary.

When Anna finds out that Edward would rather seek the services of a whore than touch her, something deep inside of her that is already possessive of Edward and how his mere presence makes her feel makes her take matters into her own hands and thus she finds herself posing as a woman of the house, awaiting Edward to pleasure her in ways she has never even dreamed of.

Though the story was a bit slow in starting for me, I was well engrossed more than half way through, thoroughly enjoying the banter between Anna and Edward. Edward is a delicious hero, no two ways about it. I love heroes who are reclusive, those who are intent and focused on what they want and need and of course his brand of seduction when it comes to Anna, a side that he keeps hidden from the rest of the world was just sheer magic to revel in.

Anna was a wonderful heroine. She has that inner kindness deep inside of her that refuses to let society’s rule govern her actions. Anna is a woman who has been deeply hurt by her previous husband, a hurt that at first refuses to let her see just how much more she could have with Edward by her side.

Equally charming and maybe more so were the snippets from the fairy tale entitled “The Raven Prince” which I was racing through the chapters to reach its conclusion. I found the magic of the small snippets included enticing and beautiful at the same time, and for someone who to this day loves watching Disney cartoons, I cannot gush on enough about the short story included as part of Anna and Edward’s journey towards their happily ever after.

Recommended for fans of steamy historical romances.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: My Fierce Highlander by Vonda Sinclair

Format: E-bookmyfiercehighlander
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Untitled Series, Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Laird Alasdair MacGrath
Heroine: Lady Gwyneth Carswell
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 27, 2011
Started On: October 27, 2011
Finished On: October 29, 2011

Gwyneth Carswell, the daughter of a wealthy English Earl finds herself banished to the Highlands, to the care of Donald MacIrwin a distant second cousin of her father’s. Believing the words of a smooth talker who had seduced and then dumped her when she had gotten pregnant with his child had been Gwyneth’s downfall, and for the past six years Gwyneth had been living in the Highlands where violence is the norm of life.

For Gwyneth whose gentle upbringing in England had taught her to love peace, rearing her son Rory amidst the constant whirl of violence is a trial in itself. And when she stumbles across the injured man lying in a war torn battlefield, even knowing that harboring the enemy would most likely get her killed or worse, the healer within Gywneth refuses to turn her back on the man who calls to something inside of her that refuses to be denied.

When Laird Alasdair MacGrath, leader of the MacGrath clan opens up his eyes to see a bonny English lass tending to his wounds, he is confused by the tingles of desire that rises forth at the most unexpected moment. Ever since his wife had died two years back, Alasdair had stayed true to the memory of his wife whom he had loved and adored till death had snatched her from his life.

When circumstanced find Gwyneth and her son Rory seeking refuge with the MacGrath clan, the awareness that had sprung forth from that very first day of their acquaintance multiplies until both Gwyneth and Alasdair have no will left in them except to embrace their desire for one another. Gwyneth who has experienced nothing but humiliation and at worse pain at the hands of men, whose banishment from life as she had known it had come because of her wanton desires for a man finds herself trying to resist Alasdair and the temptation he presents at every turn.

Alasdair who vows that he would never fall in love again and make himself vulnerable to an emotion that can tear his world apart finds himself slowly falling into the clutches of just that emotion as Gwyneth and Rory work their way into his heart, body and soul. The fierce desire within Alasdair to claim, protect and cosset Gwyneth surprises even him because of the strength of his feelings towards her, but Alasdair knows that for him, there would be none like Gwyneth ever.

My Fierce Highlander by Vonda Sinclair turned out to be an engaging read and for someone who isn’t much of a fan of Scottish heroes and their kilted form, I found myself imagining the sexy, handsome and vibrant Alastair with a kilt and just nothing else. Alastair is such a devastating hero, devastating I say because he makes no pretense of his feelings towards Gwyneth, doesn’t hide behind anger and resentment because of his feelings towards Gwyneth that makes him such a delicious hero. Though at times I cringed a bit from all the flowery compliments he bestows on Gwyneth, it is apparent right from the very start that when it comes to Gwyneth, Alastair would lay down his very life to protect her and her son.

Gwyneth survives in the Highlands because for her son Rory who means the world to her, she would do just about anything. Even if it means marrying a man twice her age, who is abusive at most or seeking refuge from the enemy until she can provide the kind of life she dreams of for her son, Gwyneth is prepared to do all that and more. The one hitch in her well laid plans comes from her desire to possess and be possessed by the only man who has ever stirred her senses and leaves her wanting more with each encounter.

But Gwyneth is a woman who is willing to sacrifice even her own happiness for the well being of her son and the turmoil she faces when Rory’s father plunges them into mayhem amidst the war and treachery from the MacIrwin’s clan nearly drives her into committing to spending the rest of her life in a loveless marriage, yearning for the fierce touch of her highlander.

Alastair proves time and yet again that he is willing to move heaven and earth to keep Gwyneth by his side and though Gwyneth keeps turning him down at every turn, Alastair still keeps coming back for more until the very last encounter drives him away from her with his heart torn into pieces, with her memories keeping her image very much alive in his mind.

I right about gave up on Gwyneth almost towards the end of the book, but decided to forgive her because she makes up for it at the end, proving her love and loyalty to a man who deserves all that and so much more.

Highly sensual and romantic with constant adventure to keep the adrenaline running, My Fierce Highlander by Vonda Sinclair rates as a great read, recommended for fans of the genre, and those who love a fierce yet tender hero who looks mighty fine in a kilt at any given time.

If you read My Fierce Highlander and enjoy it like I did, you would be left wanting to know more about Lachlan, Alastair’s younger brother who could charm the very devil, whose story has already been published this August. Now to find the time to read his story is the one teeny tiny problem I am left with…

Favorite Quotes

Gwyneth.
He passed her name through his thoughts a hundred times a day. He wanted to say her name, whisper it into her ear. But that would imply an intimacy they didn’t share.

He propped his cane up, placed his arm on the wall beside her and leaned casually, close to her. Closer than was proper. Her womanly essence sent his thoughts scattering. “Gwyneth, I wonder, have you ever had a kiss that near took your breath away?”
Her cheeks reddened even more.
“I confess, just the thought of kissing you the way I would like does that to me.”

She tasted of salvation and damnation at once. No woman had ever lured him to forget who he was…forget his past, his future, and fill him with the need to have her no matter the cost to his soul.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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