Category / Suspense

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Tactical Deception by J.L. Saint + Giveaway!

Format: E-booktacticaldeception
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Silent Warrior #2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Lt. Col. Roger Weston
Heroine: Maryam Dalton
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 13, 2012
Started On: March 12, 2012
Finished On: March 13, 2012

It feels like I have spent ages pining for the release of this much awaited second book in the Silent Warrior series by J.L. Saint. Book 1 in the series Collateral Damage was an eye opening novel filled with drool inducing yummy military heroes and depicts the constant battle that they and the world at large fight in combating terrorism and its ill effects on the whole world. J.L. Saint is one of those authors who gets the details right, someone who doesn’t ‘judge’ in the way she presents a story that is bound to be gone over with a fine-tooth comb by those that would have a hard time believing that any author would be able to paint ‘terrorists’ in a way that doesn’t offend someone who is a Muslim. Having read book 1 in the series, I trusted J.L. Saint to handle the story of Lt. Col. Roger Weston and the beautiful Maryam Dalton (Mari) with the same grace and poise as she did for Collateral Damage and she did just that, leaving me wanting more of the same as I read through the last pages.

39 year old Roger Weston is still paying the price for the hit his team had taken in Lebanon, the guilt of what had gone down and rendered 24 year old Maryam Dalton (Mari) a pregnant widower something that Roger can’t shake himself loose from. Making the situation doubly dangerous is the fact that he desires Mari above and beyond any reason, something that he berates himself for over and over again knowing deep in his heart that if Mari were ever to find the truth behind her husband’s death, she would never look at him in the same way again.

Mari might be pregnant and devout in her faith that had been her way of life even long after she had escaped the land where she had grown up in driven to escape the injustice of being blamed for something she had no power over, but the fact that she desires a man she has no right over is one that continues to taunt her. Mari would like nothing better than to bury her head in the sand and forget that Roger Weston exists, but it seems easier said than done as Roger and his piercing blue eyes continue to haunt her in dreams of the vivid and erotic variety, and it doesn’t make things any easier when Roger sticks by her side to protect her from an enemy who is relentless in his need to see Mari take her last breathe in this world.

When shit hits the fan in more ways than one, Roger and his team are scrambling left and right trying to make sense of a series of sniper attacks which occur simultaneously at different locations in the US, leaving an abject terror gnawing deep inside of everyone. Amidst all the attacks and confusion, Mari’s estranged family makes an appearance, throwing both Roger and Mari into a situation that is fraught with danger from all sides, and it is through sheer luck, God’s will and a whole lot of prowess on Roger’s side that these two find themselves free from their captives, ready to surrender to the desire that is always such a visceral part of their relationship.

Tactical Deception is a complex novel comprised of multiple layers and characters that lend a richness to the story that just begs you to keep on reading. There are few authors in my eyes who can juggle so many characters effectively without the book sounding like a narrative of each and every single attribute of the multi-faceted characters that are introduced and play a vital role in the story. And I believe J.L. Saint to be one who is able to deliver on all accounts and I couldn’t get enough of each and every character that I came across and learned to love as I was pulled deeper into a story that was filled with action, angst and red hot loving till the very last page.

Tactical Deception is not just the story of how Roger and Mari, two very different people in their upbringing as well as their beliefs and culture find that special someone in each other to spend the rest of their lives with. It is a story that shows the true meaning of the word “terrorism”, the terror that one can instill in your heart if you plan that carefully, if you let hate encroach and encompass the whole of your heart until it is just sheer madness that controls all your actions and emotions. It is a realistic portrait of the condition that J.L. Saint creates so vividly that I always found myself holding my breathe in, unable to believe what was happening, but at the same time knowing deep inside of me that this could indeed turn out to be the reality of tomorrow.

I would say this now and I would say this tomorrow, but I do appreciate how well J.L. Saint paints the picture of a devout Muslim who is torn between her beliefs towards Allah and her desires for a man that goes completely against the teachings of a religion that preaches modesty of the self above everything else. But reality in life is that even the most devout when tempted beyond anything they have ever faced before succumbs, and there was a beauty in the way that Mari gives herself over to Roger, a man who above everything else respects the woman he would lay down his very life for.

Roger is a hero that would be hard NOT to fall in love with. He is a warrior with a deep sense of always doing the right thing ingrained in him that it is with a heavy heart that he faces his unrelenting desire for the very last woman he should be lusting after. Even when Mari and the way she covers her beauty from him drives him crazy, I fell irrevocably in love with him the moment Roger showed just how much he respected the woman he loves above anything else in this world. Roger recognizes the woman who hides herself in the shrouds of her abaya, her wants, needs and the desire that burns deep inside of her to embrace freedom, to give her unborn babies all that she had been deprived of when she had been growing up.

Woven into the story of such complex emotions is plenty of action to pump up one’s adrenaline levels and J.L. Saint pulls no punches in delivering scenes that practically explode all over the page, that drives you to the edge of your seat time and yet again and I loved and reveled in every single minute of the experience.

As much as I loved Roger and Mari’s story, I absolutely adored the secondary romance that took place between Angie and Rico that burned up a few pixels on my iPad and a few of my brain cells while they were at it. Their explosive chemistry, the way Rico could not think straight whenever Angie was around, and the bittersweet ending that Angie and Rico faced at the end of this novel just made me want to cry and howl at the injustice of it all. I don’t think I can adequately put into words just how much I want their story next, and yes this goes out as a plea to you Ms. Saint to hurry along and give readers their story before we all get into a tizzy from all the anticipation and waiting around.

As I said earlier, so many fascinating characters that I have a feeling would make for unbelievable stories of their own and I can’t wait to see the journey that Ms. Saint would take us on in a series which I hope and pray would continue to have a lot more books than just these two. With non-stop action, red hot scorching passion that revs up your engines unlike anything else, there is nothing more you can ask from a novel such as this one.

Tactical Deception is a story that goes straight to your blood. Its chills, curdles, pumps and revs it up in equal doses and you just wont get enough!

Favorite Quotes

… war fucks everybody without discretion …

She [Angie] looked at the plate he’d set down. “You’re not hungry?”
“I’m starving. Hungrier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.” He’d waited for weeks for the right time and even though it was the worst timing possible, he couldn’t wait a second more.
Her jaw dropped as he took her plate from her wobbly grip.
“I, uh, am in desperate need of a shower.”
“Me too,” he whispered, then leaned in and pressed his mouth to her lush lips. She opened immediately for him, inviting his tongue and more as she sighed and sank closer against him. He thrust deep into her mouth, tasting the spicy sauce, tasting her, and plundered for more as pleasure washed over him like a benediction from heaven.

Looking down she arched her back, giving him more. His tanned complexion against her milky, slightly freckled skin was visually stark and sexually exciting. She watched as his mouth claimed her other nipple, stroking it with his tongue, and her vision blurred as he rhythmically rocked his erection against her sex.
Hot, damp, desperate, she braced herself with her hands on his knees behind her and met him thrust for thrust, pushing hard. Breathing as heavy as he was, she trembled with the flash fire of passion overtaking them both.

The waistbands of her jeans and panties only made it to her knees before Rico spread open her sex and planted a tongue lashing right on the swollen nub of her core. Wave after wave of fiery pleasure burned through her in an explosive rush to an orgasm that rocked her world because it was so good, but it wasn’t enough. She didn’t have Rico inside her. She didn’t have his arms around her. She couldn’t look into the drowning depths of his eyes. She pulled on his good arm, feeling his body trembling with his desire. “I need you now. More than ever before I need you inside me now. Please.”

Her sheath clamped his erection like a burning fist as her body demanded he follow her over the edge. Physically that was already happening. Big time. He was buried all the way in with his balls kissing her sweet ass as the biggest orgasm of his life blew his mind. He literally saw stars. But it didn’t end there. Emotionally and spiritually she was sucking him into her and he was driving harder and harder to get there himself as his gaze locked with hers. She grabbed his heavy necklace and pulled his mouth to hers, demanding and claiming, giving no quarter. They rode out the pleasure, wave after wave, milking every drop of it together with moans, touches, tiny thrusts, and sealing it all with an endless kiss that left him breathless—soulless—everything-less. She stole it all.

[Roger] “Do you know how amazingly beautiful you are to me?”
“As beautiful as you are to me.” She slid her gaze down then back up with one of those secret smiles that played havoc with a man’s mind.
He shook his head. “Nah, I couldn’t be, because you’d be insane with your need to just watch me. You’d ache every moment to just touch me. Your nights would be consumed with dreams of me and you’d live every moment just to love me.”

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

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GIVEAWAY!! GIVEAWAY!!

Author J.L. Saint is giving away an e-copy of Tactical Deception to one lucky commenter on this post. All you have to do to enter is to tell us who your most favorite fictional military hero is. So easy right?

Please state a valid e-mail address as a way to contact you if you are the winner. And remember, this is open INTERNATIONALLY, so don’t be shy ;-)

If you can help spread the word, you do earn extra points. Tweet about it and earn 5 extra entries, recommend this review and giveaway on Facebook and earn another 5 extra entries. And if you do either, don’t forget to leave the link of your tweet or recommendation on Facebook for me to verify.

Giveaway will open at 00:00 hours on March 14, 2012 Maldivian time and ends at 00:00 hours on March 16, 2012 Maldivian time. Maldivian timezone is GMT+5!

If you love action packed romantic suspense with larger than life military heroes, I dare you to enter. This is one book that won’t disappoint.

by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Flash Point by Shelli Stevens

Format: E-bookflashpoint.JPG
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Holding Out for a Hero, Book 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Todd Wyatt
Heroine: Caitleen (Kate)
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 8, 2011
Started On: March 5, 2012
Finished On: March 5, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 90 A
Story’s ability to suck me in 90 A
Heat & Sensuality  95 A
Conflicts within the story 90 A
Writing Style 95 A
Quotable Factor 60 A
The Ending 80 A
Overall Grade 87 A

Score Sheet Summary

Flash Point is a novella that I have been meaning to read for quite sometime. Almost a year to the date that it was first published, I managed to find some time to squeeze this novella in between some of my heavy reads and I enjoyed the escape that Shelli Stevens provided with this red-hot novella which combines elements of friends turning into lovers with a hero who is commitment phobic to the extreme and a heroine who is sunny, bubbly and vivacious as they come.

Todd Wyatt might want to go on thinking of Kate as a younger sister. But something vital in their relationship seems to have shifted after that tentative kiss that Kate had placed on him 5 months back and for the world of him Todd cannot seem to get the kiss out of his mind.

Kate has been half in love with Todd almost all her adult life, no wonder when Todd is the type of man that every woman in the vicinity wants to tame and call their own. But Kate knows that Todd is not the type for a long term relationship, but even that doesn’t stop her from staking her claim and taking anything and everything that Todd is ready and willing to give, even if it means that Kate would have to walk away nursing a broken heart when all is said and done.

I loved this installment of the Holding Out for a Hero series. Todd is a fireman who has got his own set of insecurities to deal with and the best thing about him was his possessiveness when it comes to Kate, which even he cannot explain. Kate was just lovely, a heroine that I utterly adored in all the ways.

Highly recommended, this is a novella best read after at least reading book 2 in the series, Command and Control which was the book that intrigued me to look up Todd and Kate’s story.

Favorite Quotes

[Todd] “There isn’t a woman I’m trying to impress with baking. I made that up.”
Kate frowned, stilling in her efforts to free herself. “Why did you say that then?”
“Damn it, to keep this from happening.” His head blocked out the light as it dipped, and then his mouth crashed down on hers.
Shock ripped through her as his lips masterfully parted hers, his tongue plunging inside to taste her.

She teetered to catch her balance, but his arm still held her, kept her from falling. And then his mouth crashed down on hers and her balance went wonky for other reasons.
Kate clutched his shoulders and moaned, parting her lips to his fierce kiss. The smell of his familiar, spicy cologne filled her senses. His tongue explored every inch of her mouth, his hands roving over her body. It was deliberate. A man staking his claim. Every female instinct inside of her could sense it.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Hide’n Go Seek by Dale Mayer

Format: E-bookhidengoseek.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Series: Psychic Visions, Book 2
Publisher: Valley Publishers
Hero: Grant Summers
Heroine: Kali Jordan
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 2, 2011
Started On: February 19, 2012
Finished On: March 5, 2012

Kali Jordan dedicates all her waking hours in contributing to the Second Chance SAR center where she works in more ways than one. Armed with her Labrador Retriever Shiloh, Kali is blessed with “The Sight” as her grandmother called it, something that frustrates Kali as much as it helps her in accurately pinpointing out those in need of rescue. However, her work and dedication to what she does doesn’t come with its own price. The loss of lives and the delicate balance between life and death brings her down and Kali is someone who feels these emotions a lot more than she lets on.

Things take a turn when someone starts on a mission to give the “survivors” what they deserve, the killer believing that it is against God’s will to rescue them in the first place. Thus the killer embarks on a mission to taunt and elude Kali, to bring out to the open the witchery that guides her to be as successful as she is at what she does. 

FBI agent Grant Summers enters her life at this inopportune moment. From the first meeting itself, Kali feels deep inside of her that Grant is someone she has met before but has no recollection of whatsoever. The way she takes comfort in Grant’s company is one reason why she doesn’t get freaked out of the way her senses go on high alert whenever Grant is around. But before anything can happen between them, Kali needs to find the killer who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring Kali to her very knees, even if it means making use of innocent victims to teach Kali a lesson that she would never forget.

Hide’N Go Seek is a novel that flows smoothly right from the very start. I believe this is the first book I have read in which a heroine is in the profession of Search and Rescue and Dale certainly sheds light on a lot of aspects involved in the back breaking work that these heroic individuals embark on, putting their very lives on the line with each mission. The toll it takes on their physical and emotional well being is one that Dale has pulled off very well and I for one immensely enjoyed this aspect of the story.

Kali and Grant are both likable characters. I believe the author has spent more time on developing and bringing across Kali’s character and her life much more than Grant and that was one factor that disappointed me a bit in the story. I wanted Grant’s character to take as much limelight as Kali and I wanted to know where he was coming from, his past and what shapes up his character. Nevertheless, both characters come across as the sort you can depend upon, their inherent need to see justice meted out one of the characteristics that drew me towards them. 

The mystery/suspense potion of the story was quite well done. I had my finger on who the killer could be, and I was right in my choice as well. Maybe I have watched too many movies with twists and turns to really be surprised by any villain that comes across any longer. But Dale has certainly spun a well balanced story in terms of the mystery, suspense and the paranormal aspects embedded to make the story that unfolds that much more interesting.

One of the factors that irked me a bit was the lack of romance between Grant and Kali even by half way into the book. With 400+ pages, I found that I wanted that connection between Grant and Kali to come to life, the need that seems to pulse between them to be realized before the whole story reached its eventual climax. In the end, through all the twists and turns the story took, Kali and Grant eventually managed to get there on their own time, and the concluding chapter when it came served as a satisfactory ending to a story that was interesting, highly readable and enjoyable. Recommended for fans of Dale Mayer and fans of mystery/suspense novels with a bit of romance and paranormal in the mix.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Envy by Sandra Brown

Format: E-bookenvy
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Hero: Parker Mackensie Evans
Heroine: Maris Matherly-Reed
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 1, 2002
Started On: March 2, 2012
Finished On: March 2, 2012

This is the 2nd book that I have chosen to read because fellow book reviewer Brie seemed to recommend the book so highly. And I have got to believe the girl and take her recommendations to heart because for the world of me, I couldn’t seem to put down this book once I started to read. Envy makes for such a compelling read that I resented every single minute I had to be away from the story that unfolded, bringing home the fact that when it comes to thrillers of the romantic suspense variety, there is none like Sandra Brown who can deliver on every aspect of the story.

Parker Mackensie Evans is a man who has been biding his time, plotting and planning the perfect revenge for his best friend turned foe Noah Reed. Parker has got the bait that would draw Noah’s wife, Maris Matherly-Reed in, and use her in his plot for revenge and vengeance that he has been waiting for for the past 14 years. A man with enough scars on the inside and the outside to last him a lifetime, Parker’s story is one of pain, heartbreak and eventually one full of lessons for anyone willing to read between the lines.

Maris Matherly-Reed is the ultimate heir to Matherly Press, one of the most renowned publishing houses in the country. Maris’s marriage to Noah Reed is going on 22 months and though Maris feels those twinges of unease about her husband and his inattention towards her oft late, she manages to brush it aside and go on with her daily life. Maris adores her father, and rightfully so when Daniel Matherly had brought her up single-handedly, given her all the love and affection in the world, taught her how to be true to herself and all that she believes in. Maris though is the senior vice-president of Matherly Press, she craves for those days when she had been an editor involved in the nitty-gritty process involved in shaping up a good book and delivering it to readers. So when she comes across a manuscript entitled “Envy” that draws her in with the characters and the story that it hints at, Maris trusts her gut instincts and seeks out the author who lives in the remote island of St. Anne.

Little does Maris know that when it comes to Parker, nothing is as it seems and that Maris is merely a means to an end that Parker wants so badly, even if it means that he has to forgo the only chance he would ever have at love and maybe finally peace from all those nightmares that continues to haunt him night and day. Parker’s manuscript with two characters Todd and Roarke that span the years of the 80’s is a story of two best friends whose competitiveness to outdo each other as the first one to land a publishing contract goes horribly wrong when one of the characters involved continue to harbor a darkness deep within his soul, intent in going through any means to achieve fame and fortune which he believes to be rightfully his. It is up to Maris to dig deeper in order to unravel the truth behind the story, to find out whether the story is indeed fiction or a true story which could have dire consequences on her life and those whom she holds near and dear to her if left unheeded.

Envy is one of those stories that I seem to have missed during the days in which I positively devoured every Sandra Brown book that I could get my hands on. And as I mentioned at the beginning of my review, Envy turned out to be a story that I couldn’t get enough of, Parker’s multifaceted character reason enough to dig deeper into the story. Parker is the brooding, cynical, manipulative hero and all rightfully so based on all that he has gone through in life. His careful plotting and planning doesn’t get him far when he encounters Maris in flesh, the woman who in the end turns his life and best laid plans all around. Suddenly things don’t seem to be as clear cut as Parker wants them to be, but the fire of vengeance that burns and taints his soul is one that refuses to be denied, and Parker pays the price of letting go of the one woman who could have brought that much needed light into his otherwise dark and bleak existence.

Maris was a character that I simply adored. She is such a true romantic at heart that it is hard not to fall for her even as the story begins. Maris is a woman who cares, perhaps a bit too much, but a woman who nevertheless defines fairer sex as they should be. She is strong, patient and loving and has that innate kindness inside of her that reaches out to those around her. Her reaction towards Parker is an alien one, one that confounds her and makes her question her vows to a man who seems to have bedazzled her with his charm and wit beneath which lies cruelty and a will to hurt that surpasses anything that Maris has ever encountered before in her life. The one thing Maris learns is that nothing is as it seems and to trust no one but her instincts that have guided her until now.

The twists and turns the plot takes are endless, ones that leaves you reeling from one twist to the next. Sandra Brown is definitely a master at what she does and Envy is a testament to her ability to deliver a good mystery/thriller with elements of romance in the mix, recommended for fans of Sandra Brown and fans of the genre.

Favorite Quotes

[Parker] “We know why I kissed you last night, Maris.”
“To frighten me off.”
He frowned. “That doesn’t even merit an argument. I kissed you because you braved Terry’s and showed up everybody in the place, including me. I kissed you because just looking at you made me ache. I kissed you because I’m a rotten son of a bitch and your mouth looked so goddamn kissable. Simply put, I kissed you because I wanted to. It’s something I admit and you damn well know. But there is one question that’s driving me fucking crazy.”
His eyes focused harder on hers and, by doing so, penetrated. “Why did you kiss me back?” 

He gathered a handful of her hair, then wound it around his fist and drew her closer until their faces were inches apart. He hesitated for several heartbeats, then settled his lips against hers, tested the angle, readjusted. He was moderately controlled until he heard a small whimper from her. He backed off, looked down into her eyes, and recognized a desire that equaled his own.
Control was abandoned. He covered her face with wild, random, artless kisses and she was doing the same to him. Then mouths melded and tongues touched, and they kissed with carnal greed.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Run from Fear by Jami Alden

Format: E-bookrunfromfear
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Trilogy, Book 3
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Jack Brooks
Heroine: Talia Vega 
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 1, 2012
Started On: February 25, 2012
Finished On: February 28, 2012

Run from Fear by Jami Alden is the much coveted 3rd book in the untitled trilogy that showcases Jami’s remarkable ability in delivering romantic suspense the way we readers crave them. Anyone who has read the 1st book in the series entitled Beg for Mercy would have encountered the larger than life Jack Brooks and definitely craved to learn more about the man behind the intimidating figure. I belong in the said group and when I saw this title up for grabs at Netgalley, I quickly seized my chance get my hands on a copy. Though I was disappointed in the book when compared to the previous 2 books in the series, Jami Alden still manages to deliver a decent romantic suspense that makes for a none too shabby a read.

Talia Vega is slowly making a life for herself in an affluent corner of California, having survived one of the most horrific incidents a woman can ever go through. Two years of her life spent in hiding with her younger sister Rosario in tow means that Talia appreciates the freedom that life has offered her with the death of the man who had made her a slave of his in every way. Talia’s regrets in life are many, and the way she looks at herself and comes up lacking is one of the many scars left behind with many more, some of them even physical in nature. Talia’s only aim is to give her sister everything she has got to give and though she feels those tendrils of unease coursing through her every now and then, she lets them slide through never knowing that her days of enjoying peace, serenity and order in her life are quite numbered.

Jack Brooks is ex-military and works in the security business. From the moment Jack had encountered the sexy siren version of Talia, Jack had been a goner. And watching Talia pick up the pieces of her tattered life and come out fighting the demons that must haunt her just makes Jack feel emotions of a stronger nature towards a woman who already has him on a dangerous edge. Jack stays on the sidelines, never letting Talia know just how much he is affected by her, and only re-enters her life 2 years later in order to severe the ties that binds him to her, or so he tells himself.

But so it happens, danger is never too far from Talia and Rosario and once again Talia is the focus of a stalker who would stop at nothing to complete a legacy that he claims to be rightfully his. Jack once he learns of the danger is as unmovable as a ton of steel and whether Talia wants it or not, Jack is around to stay until he can once again breathe easy, knowing that Talia and Rosario would remain safe from the clutches of mad men.

As always, Jami Alden does a superb job out of creating a villain, whose vicious thoughts alone is enough to give a person the shivers of the bad variety. But knowing who the villain was right from the very start somehow stole all the glory from the suspense aspect of the story, though the nature of the villain’s fascination with Talia and how he goes about securing access to Talia is one that was splendid.

Talia was a tough nut to crack. Though she is beautiful, smart and independent, she has a lot of self esteem issues, understandable when throughout her life men had deceived and made use of her. Talia is not ready for a relationship, especially not with someone like Jack who makes her feel uncomfortable and tingly all over, all at the same time. Talia is cautious with whom she gives her trust, and comes across as a bitch sometimes and makes life pretty much miserable for Jack who adores the very path that she walks on. And maybe it was because of that reason that I couldn’t like Talia much though she makes for a strong heroine in most of the ways.

Now, Jack Brooks is the type of hero that I salivate over all the time. I like larger than life heroes and Jack is one of them whose sheer size is in direct contrast with his gentle nature. He has “knight in shining armor” syndrome, something that had been triggered due to the abuse he had witnessed and gone through as a child. And when it comes to Talia, Jack’s over protectiveness is something to behold, his utter lack of control around Talia something to be savored. His gentleness around Talia who is skittish as a newborn colt when it comes to expressing sexual desire was one of the best aspects of his character. I totally fell for him because Jack is a man who is willing to do anything, and I mean literally anything to be with the woman he loves, to protect and cosset her and give her the life that he feels she deserves. 

So, even though certain elements within the story didn’t work that well for me, Run from Fear still made for a great read, Jack Brooks’ character the reason I am bumping the rating from the “good read” range to the “great read” range. 

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Jami Alden. Jami certainly knows how to deliver on heroes that would appeal to the female readers and Jack Brooks is no exception.

Favorite Quotes

[Jack] “Don’t kid yourself for a fucking second that I don’t feel anything for you.”
Her lips parted in shock, but before she could get a word out, he covered them with his own. She made a high, startled sound in the back of her throat.
Pleasure, red, blinding, exploded through him at the first taste. Sweet, spicy, better than all his fevered imaginings. Her lips soft and giving against him, her tongue delicious and moist as he sucked it into his mouth.

She couldn’t deny him anything. She reached behind her and unhooked the bra, leaving breasts completely bare to his stroking hands.
Her mouth sought his, licking, sucking, leaning into his touch as she tried to tell him without words how much she wanted him, needed him. How desperate she was for his touch, how she’d needed him, needed this, all along and hadn’t even realized it.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Midnight Run by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-bookmidnightrun
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romantic Suspense
Series: Midnight, Book 2
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Tyler ‘Bud’ Morrison
Heroine: Claire Parks
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: February 18, 2004
Started On: February 15, 2012
Finished On: February 15, 2012

 

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 90 A
Suck Me In Factor
 100 A
Heat & Sensuality  100 A
Conflicts within the story 90 A
Writing Style 90 A
Quotable Factor 70 B
The Ending 80 A
Overall Grade 89 A

Score Sheet Summary

Stopping after reading just one Lisa Marie Rice book is an impossibility for me. Midnight is a series that I have read completely out of order and because of that very reason I am able to say that Midnight Run sort of reads like a mix of the 3 books in the series put together. 

Bud is a cop, working undercover at a dance club in Portland known as The Warehouse when he sets his eyes on the beautiful Claire Parks. Bud is a tough, larger than life, total alpha hero who succumbs to the lure of the gentle and altogether too pretty for her own good Claire. Though Claire might be the last virgin in Portland, she has no intention of staying that way for long and its a weekend of decadent pleasures that Bud introduces Claire to, each and every encounter bringing the deeper emotions to the surface as their lovemaking grows more explosive as the weekend goes on.

Midnight Run is a book that is a feast for the senses. I say this because there wasn’t one non-tingly nerve in my body as Bud came into the picture and practically depleted the oxygen levels in the room with his take charge attitude in bed and out of it that serves to be a major turn-on. Though Claire is no pushover, it is always with pleasure I welcome heroines that Lisa Marie Rice creates, no feminists clouding up the story with their attitude in her novels.

The one disappointment for me was how the story ended. There was a lot of angst towards the end, and for me there were some “issues” that needed to be resolved between Claire and Bud before their happily ever after could begin. Of course, the love they have for each other is an unquestionable one, but I would have loved to see a bit of a prolonged ending to a story that had me reading the book in one sitting, giving my mind that much needed relaxation from the cloudy atmosphere of politics that is the current Maldivian environment.

Recommended for fans of the author and fans of the series.

Favorite Quotes

Yes, she, Claire Parks, who by all rights should have been dead these many years, her bleached bones rotting in the cold ground, was turned on. Waves of heat rolled through her body in liquid surges. The heat became almost incandescent in her breasts and in her loins, but her entire body burned and tingled with heat and life.

The rest of what she wanted to say was lost in his mouth. A red mist rose in his head. Fast as lightning, he picked her up, stripped her, pulled off his sweatshirt, pushed his sweat pants down—he deliberately hadn’t put on underwear, either—and embedded his c#ck in her. Just shoved it in because he’d die if he didn’t have his cock in her now.

With any other man, Claire would have been a little afraid, his expression was so fierce and dangerous-looking. She wasn’t frightened. This was Bud. He would never hurt her. “Why are you asking?”
Bud shifted his hips, pushing forward, moving even more deeply into her. “I want you to be comfortable,” he whispered, “because this is the position you’re going to be in for a long, long while.” His gaze held hers. “I’m going to fuck you all night.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Ellora’s Cave

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Nightfire by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-booknightfire
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Erotic Romantic Suspense
Series: Protectors, Book 3
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Michael Patrick Keillor
Heroine: Chloe Mason
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 7, 2012
Started On: February 11, 2012
Finished On: February 15, 2012

It seems like I have been waiting forever for the release of the 3rd book in the Protector series. If you like myself have read the 2nd book Hotter than Wildfire, you would know why. Hotter than Wildfire ended on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader in a serious state of anticipation for this book to come out. And though Nightfire didn’t live up to all my expectations, it still managed to deliver the sort of sensually charged read that only Lisa Marie Rice can deliver.

35 year old Michael Patrick Keillor (Mike) is one of the 3 partners of the RBK Security Inc., one of the most successful security companies in the country. While his two brothers and best friends Harry and Sam had found their happily ever afters with wonderful women, Mike remains single, wandering as the restless soul that hides a wealth of pain deep inside of him. His home while stark, antiseptic and empty are a contrast to Mike’s emotions remain chaotic though he manages to hide it well.

28 year old Chloe Mason makes her way towards the building that houses RBK Security not for the usual reasons women seek them out. She comes to find out whether Harry could be her long-lost brother, hopeful and a bit apprehensive at the same time. Chloe is beyond ecstatic when Harry welcomes her with open arms, his fragile younger sister who had suffered and gone through so much in her life already. 

The attraction between Mike and Chloe is an immediate and an all encompassing one that flares to life right from the very minute the two of them lay eyes on each other. Chloe though fragile and delicate with zero experience when it comes to the opposite sex knows instinctively that Mike would never hurt her. However, after one very explosive kiss that burns hotter and brighter than any usual kiss, Mike’s less than stellar activities the previous night proves to be the reason why Mike takes a step back, though he doesn’t completely step away from Chloe’s life.

Story continues six months later, at the point where Mike is ready to bring and end to a promise that has kept him from completely claiming Chloe as he would have liked to do from day one of their “relationship”. And when Chloe’s life is suddenly under threat from ex-Russian military personnel, nothing and absolutely no force on this Earth is going to prevent Mike from claiming Chloe as his, and protecting her from any sort of harm that may come to her.

Nightfire combines all the elements that makes a Lisa Marie Rice book so memorable. Mike is alpha hero personified and Chloe is the delicate, beautiful and serene heroine who just makes you think of flowers and sunshine right from the very minute that you meet her. And the fireworks that bursts forth right from the very start is trademark Lisa Marie Rice, the heat and the off the charts sensuality always a reason to keep coming back for more of her stories.

There is none who can make a reader sweat right along with the hero and heroine as they dance around the heat that is between them, succumbing to the deep pull that is a constant throughout the story. Every single sliver of desire between Mike and Chloe was one I felt to my very bones, the reason why I loved this story so much. There were certain aspects of the story I didn’t like overly much, like the constant re-telling of emotions that seems to grip both Chloe and Mike until towards the latter part of the story. Yes, Mike has a story to tell, an immensely sad one at that too, but I wanted more action on the suspense side as well as the relationship that was fostering between Mike and Chloe to be the center of the story.

Even with all those little things that didn’t work for me, I still enjoyed the story of how Chloe and Mike find that special something with each other, the epilogue at the end that put a smile on my face the reason why I would rate this as a great read, recommended for any fan of Lisa Marie Rice.

Favorite Quotes

Her hand lifted without any volition on her part, as if it were the hand itself that wanted to be held by his. He gently grasped it in both hands, instead of the impersonal handshake she’d been expecting. His hands were as hot as a furnace. Slowly, watching her every second, he brought her hand to his mouth and—oh my God—kissed it.
Something inside her, something she’d never even suspected existed, pinged to life. Heat, excitement . . . desire. 

She whimpered, the sound lost in Mike’s mouth. She was entirely his, completely without willpower or volition. His mouth ate at hers, his shoulders curved in to her like some powerful wall of flesh. He moved his hips against her in short, stabbing movements, hands lifting her hips against his.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Behind Closed Doors by Sherri Hayes

Format: E-bookbehindcloseddoors
Read with: Adobe Reader for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Daniel Brothers, Book 1
Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop
Hero: Christopher Allen Daniels
Heroine: Elizabeth Marshall
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 9, 2012
Started On: February 3, 2012
Finished On: February 3, 2012

27 year old Elizabeth Marshall is finally free from the shackles that has bound her when she had been married to Jared, the man who had slowly and surely chipped away any self-confidence or feeling self-worth she might have had before she had married him. To start over afresh, Elizabeth makes her way towards Springfield, Ohio where she gets more than she bargained for when she meets the larger than life Christopher Allen Daniels.

32 year old Christoper is a cynic when it comes to women. The ultimate betrayal at the hands of his ex-wife Carol leaves Chris with a bad taste in his mouth when it comes to getting close to any woman, even though he is tempted to from time to time. But none has tested his resolve to stay away from the fairer sex as much as his new housemate Elizabeth, who from the very first encounter he desires with everything that is primal deep inside of him.

Though Chris is determined to ignore Elizabeth and the effect she has on his control and baser emotions, all his best laid plans somehow fly out the window when circumstances find both of them spending time with each other. Little by little Chris starts to see that Elizabeth is nothing like his ex-wife though his insecurities remain and Elizabeth starts to feel safe and secure in the fact that she is all woman and more than enough when it comes to Chris.

But somehow the fragile connection that is forged between these two is tested when someone starts threatening Elizabeth, somebody out to settle a score and out for Elizabeth’s blood. Chris is surprised at the ferocity of all the protective instincts that flare to life deep inside of him and from then on there is no turning back for either Chris or Elizabeth as their relationship grows and fosters and is tested against all the hurdles that they face along the way.

It would be an understatement to say that I loved the 1st installment of the Daniel Brothers series. Chris the hero was just ultra-yummy. Brooding, tortured and a hot mess of a man who just made me go weak at the knees with his carnal thoughts about a woman who brings forth too much emotion from him right from the start. Chris doesn’t want or need any complications in his life, and he certainly doesn’t want that off-kilter feeling that strikes him whenever Elizabeth is around. But, when push comes to shove, there is none like Chris, his protective nature which just set off all the right emotions deep inside of me and I couldn’t have asked for more from him, a hero I adored on all counts.

Elizabeth was just plain wonderful. I love heroines who are dainty, feminine and are not trying to prove every second of the day that they are as strong as or stronger than men. I especially loved how Sherri handled the abuse that Elizabeth had gone through and how Sherri portrayed the journey of self-discovery Elizabeth goes through and how she emerges that much stronger because of what she had been through. Her need for a man who is as crazy about her, maybe even more so, and the way Chris manages to chase away those shadows of self-doubt that continue to linger long after was one of the best parts of the story. I loved that it wasn’t just Chris who was the giver in their relationship. Rather Elizabeth too acts as the soothing balm that soothes the tattered and frayed edges of Chris’s heart and shatters down the walls of reserve that has held his emotion intact until Elizabeth turns up in his life.

Though the villain was easy to figure out more than half way into the story, the element of suspense in the novel proved to make this already well-rounded tale of romance that much more enticing. For me, the Daniel brothers and the whole family signifies a family as it should be. Relationships of the believable and heartwarming kind is what you find here and those bits certainly added towards making the story a well developed tale in all aspects. I am so looking forward to the story of each and every brother in the family, and up next is Gage’s story, the playboy and the pro-football player and I will continue to wonder what Sherri has got in store for him. Winter 2013 seems so far away right now and the wait seems like an endless one.

For fans of tortured heroes, abused heroines who together finds the beauty that is love as it heals all scars and wounds on the surface and on the inside; this one’s for you!

Purchase Links: Writer’s Coffee Shop

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen

Format: E-bookcolormyhorse
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Westerhall
Hero: Mark Russell
Heroine: Jessica Boone
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 16, 2011
Started On: January 16, 2012
Finished On: January 19, 2012

I was a bit apprehensive diving into my second book by Bev Pettersen, not because she tells a bad story, hardly that. Jockeys and Jewels which was my first Bev Pettersen turned out to be a good read for me because there was a lot of horse jargon involved that detracted me a bit from enjoying the story that unfolded. But I was absolutely delighted to discover that true to Bev’s word, Color My Horse turned out to be one of those stories that was hard to put down because of the sheer number of emotions that coursed through me while I was reading the story.

Jessica Boone is the heiress to the Boone fortune. With a controlling grandfather who wants to map out her life the way he wants it, Jessica is a woman who is stuck in a hard place with no way out. With her skiing career a choice no longer available with a severe knee injury, Jessica grabs at the last straws to assert her independence. She bargains with her grandfather to allow her to give her the cash she needs to start her own dog kennel. But it does come with a price. Jessica has to work at the Belmont racetrack for a set period of time, living entirely on what she earns from her job, failing to do which she has to come work for her grandfather.

Enter 31 year old Mark Russel, who is a horse trainer, who runs a tight ship with his workers with his no nonsense attitude towards horse training as well as life in general. Mark has the fear that he might turn out to be just like his father; a man who thought with the wrong body part when it came to alluring females. And when Jessica’s grandfather coerces him into accepting Jessica on board, Mark doesn’t expect the rich heiress to last much longer than a day mucking stalls and scrubbing down horses which is a far removed life from that of a woman of the elite society.

However, Jessica surprises Mark and herself as well when her resolve to to regain her independence gives her the strength to persevere in spite of all odds being stacked against her. Jessica is a character who is so very full of life. She tends to spread vivid color everywhere she goes, spreads a kind of joy that intrudes and cracks the reserves around Mark’s emotions before he is even aware of it happening. Though Mark tells himself that it is only a heady sexual attraction and desire that he has towards his newest employee, feelings of the much deeper kind continues to develop as both of them indulge in an affair that leaves them both wanting more.

What makes Color My Horse such a fabulous book to read is the way Bev Pettersen brings the story to life. Her love for horses shines through marvelously and I couldn’t help but pout just a little bit because I live in a country where running into a horse is an impossibility. I loved how Bev paired off someone whose bright outlook on life lights up the life of a man for whom looking after the horses that he loves means everything. The thread of suspense that is woven throughout the story just served to be the icing on the cake and I loved every single minute of Jessica’s journey towards discovering all that she is capable of and in the process finding the love of her life.

With all the things that I loved about the story, there was just one teeny tiny thing that irked me for a bit. I couldn’t get over just how little Mark seemed to be affected by Jessica’s return towards the end of the book. I know that Mark is a man who is reserved in his display of emotions and the fact that he continues to carry on Jessica’s “traditions” when it comes to looking after horses does tell a lot about how he feels towards Jessica. But I would have loved the ending a bit more if Mark had been a bit more forthcoming about his feelings towards Jessica, and maybe while he was at it, if he had tried to reach out to Jessica a bit sooner. But in the end, I guess it all comes down to Mark’s character and the fact that he doesn’t stray far from how his character is portrayed throughout the story.

Recommended for those who love character driven romances, those who love stories where heroines who are full-of-life meets up with the reserved type of hero. And of course, for those who loves horses. You cannot find an author who practically grabs you with the way Bev brings the culture and life of horse training and racing to life like she does.

Favorite Quotes

Mark just stared as she spoke about plastic flowers in the winter, but he couldn’t focus on her words. He’d never realized he had such a possessive streak. Possessive with horses, sure, but not with women. Never with women. She was leaving in a week, was extremely high maintenance, not to mention Boone’s granddaughter. And he hated those gaudy purple braids.
But life would be so gray when she left. She didn’t just color his horse, she colored his world.
Unable to speak, he stepped forward, pulled her into his thumping chest and simply held her.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Elizabeth’s Wolf by Lora Leigh

Format: E-bookelizabethswolf.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Breeds, Book 3
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Dash Sinclair
Heroine: Elizabeth Colder
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: June 30, 2004
Started On: January 7, 2012
Finished On: January 11, 2012

So, I went and did the one thing I swore I would never do again. Somehow, Elizabeth’s Wolf by Lora Leigh ended up tempting me into peeking into her world of romance once again, something I swore to myself I would never ever do because most of the books I have picked up by Lora Leigh seems not to have worked for me that well. But, with all the glowing reviews from my fellow Goodreads friends for this title prodding me along the way, I ended up picking this up, hoping that this would be worth my time.

Dash Sinclair is a loner, a military man who has served in the Special Forces, who loses 7 members of his team during his last mission and barely makes it out alive himself. He is pretty much about to give up on living, lying on a hospital bed with a lot of severe injuries when his salvation comes in the form of a letter written by the 8 year old Cassie, whose way with the words just tugs at his heartstrings. Suddenly Dash has a mission for which he would fight for with his very life; to protect the beautiful Cassie and her mother Elizabeth Colder whom he already considers as his, whose cries for help from the danger that surrounds her and her daughter makes him a doubly lethal soldier on his mission.

Elizabeth is barely surviving being on the run with her daughter Cassie from the men who refuse to stop hunting after them. Running from one place to the next is taking its toll on mother and daughter until through the blizzard walks in the larger than life Dash Sinclair whom Elizabeth has a hard time trusting. Nevertheless, with Dash by their side, Elizabeth starts feeling safe for the first time in 2 years and for the first time ever, Elizabeth starts feeling pinpricks of desire stab into her very soul with the barely reined in desire that flashes in Dash’s eyes.

Filled with lots of scorching sex, some of which I skipped over I admit, lies the continuing story of the Breeds of which I have never read a book so far. Dash was born out of genetic experimentation, his reclusive and aloof nature owing to his difficult past. With Elizabeth he finds himself in uncharted waters, the very presence of her scent capable of driving him nuts to the point of being obsessed about her. Dash somehow reminded me of my favorite Lisa Marie Rice heroes to an extent because of his protective instincts that flare to life when he claims Elizabeth and Cassie as his own.

Elizabeth is a mother who would do anything to keep her daughter safe. When the truth about Cassie does come to light, needless to say Elizabeth is shocked within an inch of her life, but to her Cassie is her daughter, the child she would fight with every fiber of her being in her attempts to keep her safe. She doesn’t expect anyone to help her without an ulterior motive of their own, but in Dash she finds her partner, the man who would die rather than see any harm befall on either of them. The heat and passion between them that drives her crazy seems to have the same effect on the man who makes her senses simmer, and their explosive passion cements a deal that Dash knows right from the start is an inevitable one.

Overall, I enjoyed Elizabeth’s Wolf more than any other story I have read from hers to-date except for her title Maverick which I read and enjoyed immensely. But alas, there were still those things that continued to bug me, those little things that kept hindering my enjoyment in the story. For one thing there was this bit with the word “vagina” that kept appearing over and over again. For me, that word is not enticing neither erotic. Maybe that’s just me. And then there was this “knotting” syndrome that happens when Elizabeth and Dash mate, and I couldn’t help but cover my parts a bit in a flare of panic. 

Even with all those things that irked me, I did manage to keep reading, enjoying those moments that were taut with the sexual tension that fairly sizzles across the pages. Recommended for fans of Lora Leigh and fans of the Breed series!

Favorite Quotes

He was tall, one of the tallest men she had ever seen. Dressed in jeans, boots and a cotton shirt. Thick black hair grew rakishly long, falling over the collar of his shirt. Intense brown eyes, almost the color of amber, surveyed the diner slowly before coming back to her. Electricity sizzled in the air then, as though invisible currents connected them, forcing her to recognize him on a primitive level. Not that she wouldn’t take notice anyway. He was power, strength, and so incredibly male that her breath caught at the sight of him.

His lips covered hers as he laid the gauze on her leg. Fiery pain shot through her flesh as his lips swallowed her cry, then replaced it with such amazing sensation she wanted to whimper in return. He licked her lips. He didn’t steal her kiss. He didn’t take it. He cajoled it from her. 

Yes, Elizabeth.” Dash kept his voice low, but let it rumble with his arousal. “I lived for you and Cassie. But while I fought to live I dreamed, and it was this I dreamed of.”

His lips covered hers swiftly, his tongue taking advantage of her gasp and sweeping in commandingly. He had asked for the caress earlier that morning, now he demanded. He conquered, he licked and stroked her tongue and gloried in her instant, if hesitant, response. She was shy. Wary. She wouldn’t give in to the heat pulsing between them easily. But she was curious enough about it to allow the kiss. 

Her eyes opened then. They were drowsy, slumberous, staring up at him with a hunger that was impossible to miss.
“I felt you,” she whispered, a smile tilting her moist lips. “Watching me. Should I feel you watching me?”
Was she asleep or awake?
“Of course.” He found the growl building in his throat. “Every time I look at you, baby, I touch you.”

She cried out into his kiss, her hands clawing his shoulders, adrift now in a pleasure that threatened to consume her. In her sexual lifetime she had never known anything like it. Had never tasted such a dark kiss, one that warned her he had no intention of making allowances for sensual inexperience. He was hungry. Needy. And she was the meal he craved.

She shuddered, convulsing beneath the whiplash of his tongue as the world dissolved around her.
“Now.” He moved before the last violent pulses stilled.
He came over her body, catching his weight on his elbows, staring down at her with savage intensity as the bulbous head of his c#ck nudged against the sensitive opening of her pussy.
“Now,” he whispered again. “I make you my woman, Elizabeth. Now.”

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

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