Category / Suspense

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Loving Julia by Karen Robards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

goodread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Ravished by Amanda Quick

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Gideon Westbrook, Viscount St. Justin
Heroine: Miss Harriet Pomeroy
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: December 23, 2009
Started On: April 15, 2010
Finished On: April 16, 2010

This is one of the best historical romances from Ms. Quick I have had the fortune to come across. Never a boring moment in the story of how Harriet, the daughter of the late Reverend teaches the “The Beast of Blackthorne Hall” to love and be loved again.

Gideon is a man who has been haunted by scandal for far too long. Being accused of impregnating the previous Reverend’s daughter and driving her to commit suicide after Gideon apparently ruined her and refused to marry her, a wake of scandal has followed Gideon everywhere he goes. And a hideous scar on his cheek certainly makes him befitting of the title “Beast” with all the rumors floating around.

Harriet when she summons Gideon, has no idea of what she has summoned exactly to her home. Nor does she care about all the rumors when Ms. Stone her housekeeper tells of the grisly events in hushed tones warning Harriet and her sister Felicity to avoid Gideon at all costs.

However, Harriet is a woman on a mission. Having an avid interest in fossils and the likes, she is impatient to rid the caves surrounding her home of the thieves who have been storing their loot exactly where Harriet goes on her discovery expeditions. Summoning Gideon, the owner of the lands seemed to be the only viable way to concoct a plan to get rid of the band of thieves once and for all.

Though Harriet doesn’t want to admit it, her 25 year old heart skips a beat every time she is around Gideon. Though everyone warns her to keep away from the man circumstances mostly of Harriet’s doing land these two in a compromising position that leads Gideon to offer for her hand in marriage as he is honor bound to do under the circumstances.

With everyone from the dwellers in the village to the ton in London rife with speculation on when Gideon would turn his back on his betrothed and the Harriet would be cast out of the polite society makes this book highly entertaining. I liked the fact that Ms. Quick doesn’t waste time on describing the frivolities of the London society which most of the time makes me snooze, but rather created a depth of detail on her characters so vivid that I loved Harriet right from the beginning.

Gideon proves everyone in the society wrong when he marries Harriet in a manner unlike that you see in most historical romances, and whilst the relationship between Gideon and Harriet continues to blossom, so does the story of how certain forces within the society works in adverse ways to make sure Gideon takes the fall again, and thus unfolds the story of what truly took place 6 years back.

Highly entertaining with a good dose of old fashioned romance for which as a reader, I couldn’t ask for more.

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

greatread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Midnight Angel by Lisa Kleypas

Format: Ebook
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Stokehursts, Book 1
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero:  Lord Luke Stokehurst
Heroine: Lady Anastasia Ivanovna Kaptereva
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 1995
Started On: March 23, 2010
Finished On: March 24, 2020

Another winner by Ms. Kleypas, this romance focuses on a heroine from Russia, a princess nevertheless that reminded me of the cartoon Anastasia that I adore so much. Princess Anastasia is on the run for her life, after being framed for the murder of her fiance’, a happenstance that Tasia has no recollection of whatsoever.

From childhood Tasia has been labelled as a witch because she could foresee certain elements of the future of people who were close to her. Now a woman of great beauty with a mysterious aura surrounding her, Tasia flees to England after escaping the death penalty by faking her own death.

Fate lands her eventually as the governess of Emma Stokenhurst, Lord Luke Stokenhurst’s daughter from his first marriage. Emma is an awkward girl in her teens, badly in need of female companionship and understanding of the subtle and the  not so subtle changes taking place within her as she moves onto womanhood.

From the start, Emma takes a strong liking towards Tasia towards which Luke has mixed feelings. Knowing that he wouldn’t allow Tasia to stay for more than a month in his household doesn’t make him any less immune to the tug of attraction that flares unwillingly between the two.

Luke has no room in his life for a wife. Having lost his childhood sweetheart and the only woman he has ever loved to a tragic death, and having his own scars from the tragedy to deal with, Luke is quite content with his mistress on one side and his daughter on the other front until Tasia comes along and knocks everything haywire in his life.

Its no surprise that ultimately these  two succumb to their attraction and Luke proposes to marry Tasia knowing the story of how Tasia might be a murderess. However that doesn’t stop Luke from professing to protect her from Prince Nikolas, brother of Tasia’s murdered fiance who has vowed to find Tasia and bring her to justice no matter what.

Ultimately Nikolas does find Tasia and takes her back to Russia where she is kept captive at his residence until the date on which she is to be hanged. Nikolas forces Tasia to remember what took place on the night of the murder and this unblocks Tasia’s memory so that she is no longer ridden with guilt over the murder knowing well enough who is responsible.

Luke follows Tasia and Nikolas to Russia and claims his wife once again. Through all this Ms. Kleypas keeps the romance and sensual encounters between Tasia and Luke going which makes this romance more worthwhile. Finishing this novel has made me want to read the Prince of Dreams, the story of Nikolas and Emma once again. Since their story begins in this novel, I think I might like their story better the second time round.

Most probably will post a review for that story pretty soon.

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

[xrr rating=3.75/5]

Caliber Seal: GOOD READ!

by mvbookreviewer

Review: When Strangers Marry by Lisa Kleypas

Format: Paperback
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Vallerands, Book 1
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero:  Maximilien Vallerand
Heroine: Lysette Kersaint
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 1992
Started On: March 19, 2010
Finished On: March 23, 2010

Murder, mystery, romance and politics play a vital role in one of the first novels by Ms. Kleypas. This title was previously released as Only In Your Arms. However, Ms. Kleypas later gave this book a new title and re-wrote it a little bit and voila “When Strangers Marry” came about. Though this book seems to lack certain elements which makes Ms. Kleypas’s novels hard to put down, the story of Maximilien and Lysette nonetheless enchanted me till the end.

Lysette runs away from her step father who is trying to marry her off to someone she despises for the sake of the money that would bring. Lysette encounters Max’s twins Phillippe and Justin while trying to steal something belonging to the Vallerand’s  to make her escape. Bedraggled, dirty and exhausted more than she would admit to, all fight leaves her when Max confronts her and finds the truth about her within a matter of minutes after meeting her. And it certainly helps that Max feels the sudden flare of attraction for Lysette and the fact that she was betrothed to the man who stole Max’s wife from right under his nose which makes the package Lysette presents more attractive.

With vengeance on his mind, Max sets out to seduce and marry Lysette. Labelled as the man who murdered his previous wife in a town where gossip and half-truths linger way too long, Max is surprised by the ultimate trust Lysette places in him. Inevitably Max finds himself less interested in the vengeance he set out to achieve, but rather embrace the second chance at love he has been given.

A story which could have been told better, but still managed to set my senses afire.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo 

goodread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: All Jacked Up by Penny McCall

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Jack Mitchel
Heroine: Aubrey Sullivan
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 3, 2007
Started On: March 13, 2010
Finished On: March 17, 2010

Its being a busy couple of days since I started work after a stretch of staying at home and hence the delay in finishing up this book. This is also a first read for me by the author and I as a reader would have to say that there is nothing more a gal could ask for in a romance once  you have read this one.

There is a hotter than sin hero in Jack and a feisty as they come heroine in Aubrey Sullivan who just has a mind of her own which lands both of them in the most darning of situations. This book is packed full of  humor and you can’t help but smile at the impatience in Jack when Aubrey keeps talking a mile a minute and land them both in a hefty load of trouble when they are barely out of the latest stint of trouble Aubrey has landed them both in. And yeah, I have noticed that I seem to be the one who seem to be “All Jacked Up” these days since all my heroes are ending up with the name Jack these days.

Aubrey works in the state congressman’s library in Washington D.C. With an eidetic memory, Aubrey has always been sort of a loner and thus her preference to be with books which do not tend to have minds of their own. She is just having another one of those quiet days at the library when Jack literally crashes into her life, holds her at gunpoint until all hell breaks loose and Aubrey is running for her life with bullets chasing her and one very suspicious looking character as her rescuer.

With her eidetic memory and tons of books in her memory, Aubrey is hardly the typical demure librarian that Jack expected. Rather her incessant chatter about next to nothing grates on his nerves and without Jack even realizing it, he is lusting after the not-so perfect curves of Aubrey. Danger tends to bring these two into close proximity, though both of them try to deny the simmering attraction between them.

Meanwhile a bounty hunter, all cops across the state and a team of two very mismatched thugs are after these two and they are on the ride and adventure of their life trying to dodge all parties after them and get to the bottom of what it is exactly that Aubrey knows that has landed her in this shit load of trouble. Ms MacCall has done a tremendous job in creating two characters who are so different in nature, but in the end complement one another perfectly. The sex is steamy, the adventure is action packed and fun and you would never have a boring moment when reading through this book.

Great read, recommended for those who love romantic comedies, thrillers and hell just anyone who loves a good bout of romance.

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

greatread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Something About You by Julie James

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Special Agent Jack Pallas
Heroine: Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde
Date of Publication: March 2, 2010
Started On: March 7, 2010
Finished On: March 8, 2010

Its been ages since a book has been good enough to warrant that I stay up all night to finish it. Yes, this book was that good. Since I haven’t ever read a book by Ms. James I would have to say she has hooked me onto her writing style which is a mix of suspense, murder, mayhem, red hot passion that sizzles between the two lead characters with a bit of humor thrown into the mix to make a helluva of a story.

FBI Special Agent Jack Pallas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had a falling out three years ago. Jack blames Cameron for ruining his career and thinks that she is the one who made the Justice Department send him off to Nebraska after Jack badmouthed Cameron all over the national media.

Now, three years later, Jack is back and Cameron finds herself as the only potential witness in a high stakes murder of a call girl involving a senator. Whilst Cameron only saw the back of the killer, he is not taking any chances to lead all this back to him and he pulls all the stops to eliminate Cameron and wipe her away from the almost perfect crime that he committed.

Though at the beginning Jack is all but pulsating with anger at Cameron, he slowly starts to find out that there might be more than what meets the eye in what took place three years back. And there was that simmering sexual tension between him and Cameron that no matter how hard Jack tries to ignore, seems to blaze hotter and hotter with every encounter.

This is one delicious book for fans of romantic thrillers can never go wrong with. I absolutely loved every fricking minute of it!

Till next time!

P.S. I guess this is one of those rare times when the cover of a book actually depicts something described in the book. The cover filled my head with all these hot images during one  of  the most delicious mouthwatering scenes in the book. *wink* *wink*

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Facing It by Linda Winfree

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Hearts of the South, Book 8
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd
Hero:  Deputy Chris Parker
Heroine: Ruthie Chason
Date of Publication: April 7, 2009
Started On: March 5, 2010
Finished On: March 7, 2010

This is the first book that I tried from Ms. Winfree and I would have to say she is pretty good at writing romantic suspense. I seem to have started from her last book of the Hearts of the South series. I loved the characters of this series, many of whom you encounter in this story as well.

The most striking thing about this novel is how Ms. Winfree juggled two equally beautiful blossoming romances in one novel. Unlike most authors if and when in a book there are two budding romances, one tends to take the center stage and the other romance would take the backstage and any issues if any between the couple would be resolved pretty quickly. However I was delighted that this wasn’t the case in this novel.

Facing it is the story of Chris, a man who has scars left over from being in domestically abusive relationship which had nearly cost him his life. Chris doesn’t handle women in his personal space well. However all of that changes when he offers to help his friend Tick Calvert, Ruthie’s brother and Chris’s boss in looking after Ruthie and her adorable three kids who need protection from Ruthie’s controlling husband.

Ruthie had tolerated being under Stephen’s thumb as long as she could. Finally it took its toll when she saw how his controlling attitude towards everything in their family lives had taken its toll on her three children, with whom any reader is bound to fall in love with.

Unknown to Ruthie and Stephen, Stephen has been under surveillance by the FBI for shady money laundering and this is where the delicious second romance comes in. Harrell Beecham and Jennifer are the agents that have been occupying the house across from the Chason’s and keeping an eye on the family’s activities for the past year, pretending to be a married couple. The pretending stuff has been playing havoc on both Harrell and Jennifer, so much that the simmering attraction between them breaks out onto the surface when Jennifer decides to take matters into her own hands and confront Harrell with it.

Harrell is leery of commitment from growing up with a mother who has 8 failed marriages under her belt. Reluctant in believing that any relationship that Harrell is part of could end up in any other way except in disaster, Harrell doesn’t want to give into the intense feelings that Jennifer tends to rouse in him. However in Jennifer, Harrell has met his match for stubbornness and ultimately Harrell has no choice but to give in to the need that has been hounding him ever since they became partners. However the road towards ultimate happiness between these two characters isn’t a smooth one either. I loved how Ms. Winfree gave time for each of her characters to work through their issues so that the ending was sweeter and better for the reader.

Meanwhile, Chris and Ruthie slowly find one another as well. Ruthie having witnessed how cruel a controlling man in her life could be, is still willing to give Chris with his gentle yet skittish nature the chance to get to know her and ultimately give into the hot attraction that flares between these two and catches both of them unawares. Chris has his own frightening issues to work out and Ruthie remains patient throughout all this, which made me really admire Ruthie as a heroine, which is a rare thing for me.

I liked the fact that Ms. Winfree didn’t try to garner the reader’s sympathy for Ruthie by going on and on about how Stephen’s abusive behavior had shattered Ruthie and so on, but gave Ruthie a fighting chance to become a beautiful and strong character that any reader would empathize and root for.

Great book, I might give a go at reading the other books in the series some other time.

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

goodread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Broken by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Rafferty, Book 2
Sensuality: 4
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero:  Quinn Rafferty
Heroine: Sarah McElyea
Date of Publication: March 2, 2010
Started On: March 4, 2010
Finished On: March 5, 2010

This is one book that I have been waiting like forever to get my hands on. Forever as in when the author announced that this book would be released on March 2010 sometime last year. And looking at the yummy cover which makes my heart flutter just a tad each time, who wouldn’t want to read this book?

I read Fragile the first book in the series, the story of Luke Rafferty, Quinn’s twin brother sometime back and enjoyed every minute of that book as well. Though I was thinking of taking a shot at re-reading Fragile because there was a glitch at Amazon in the Kindle version of Broken that was sold, I had to wait for an agonizing period of time until I could figure out how to strip the DRM from mobipocket books so that I could read the book on my Kindle. I have given up on the idea of re-reading Fragile for now cos a summary of Fragile is related at the beginning of this novel. Maybe sometime later I will give it a shot once again!

As I always say, Shiloh Walker is one author that you can never go wrong with. At first, this story seems like your average abused wife running away from the abusive husband story. But I was in for a pleasant surprise when there was a twist at the end unlike anything I could ever have imagined.

Quinn and Luke although twins were separated at birth. Quinn got to live with his alcoholic abusive mother who never made him forget the fact that Quinn wasn’t wanted in this world. Quinn never even realized that he had a twin until at last during one of her drunken sessions, Quinn’s mother overdosed and left him alone with no one to turn to. Though Quinn wanted nothing further from being placed in a state home, he was in for a surprise when Quinn’s birth father came to collect him and though Quinn refused to give an inch and trust another human being to be kind towards him, finally coming to realize that his father wouldn’t abuse him physically and emotionally like his mother had done gave him at least a semblance of normalcy when growing up.

Now Quinn is a bounty hunter, chasing after those who skip bail and bringing them to justice. And then comes Sara with her wide brown eyes and sexy curves that has Quinn drooling all over right from the start. Sara is woman whose on the run, moving from one place to the other always with an eye out for trouble and never taking the time to get acquainted with people whom she meets.

However from the moment she meets Quinn, nothing on earth could have stopped these two from propelling towards one another. Hot intense need has these two scorching up the sheets in no time. Though neither knows anything about the either, love, the emotion each of them had been afraid of creeps into their hearts and catches them unawares.

Nonetheless, duty comes calling when Sara finds that its time for her to move again. With a hastily scribbled note to Quinn, she takes off, only for Quinn to find her. This Quinn is a mass of seething anger and resentment at being lied to and made a fool of and two people who are as wary of trusting people as these two suddenly find themselves at a loss as to how to handle the situation.

Emotionally gripping and sexually charged, this novel bears all the classic signatures of what makes Shiloh Walker’s stories mouth watering. Although Guilty Needs would always remain my favorite novel and Colby my most favorite hero by Shiloh Walker, Quinn himself makes for a deliciously heart warming hero and Sara a heroine who complements and completes Quinn in every way. Great ending to a great story which has me grinning from ear to ear after ending the story.

Keep em’ coming Ms. Walker.

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Deception by Sharon Cullen

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Series: Love on the Edge, Book 1
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Lucas Barone
Heroine: Kate McAuley
Date of Publication: July 22, 2008
Started On: March 3, 2010
Finished On: March 4, 2010

This is the first book in the Love on the Edge series. Got me interested in reading this after reading the second book in the series which I reviewed yesterday. I have got to say that this series is quite good and I will most probably read the third book in the series as well. Though I wish to read Eric (Kate’s brother’s) story, I don’t think that book has yet been published or written even although I hope that it would be sooner rather than later.

So onto the review. Lucas Barone is close friends with John Callahan. They served together in the top secret anti-terrorist organization for the government and it is in this story that the extent to which they were both betrayed comes to light.

Lucas and Kate has a history together before the novel starts. They had been dating and living together for over a year. Kate knows Lucas  to be a forensic accountant, Lucas’s thinking that the lesser Kate knows the better it would be for her. Although Lucas and Kate professed to love each other, Lucas just one day upped and left never leaving a clue as  to where he went off to.

Eighteen months later, Lucas turns up on Kate’s doorstep, injured and nearly at his knees from injuries received during an attempt to murder him at his home. Although Kate is reluctant to let Lucas once again into her life, she cannot turn away from Lucas when he is so vulnerable. So she nurses him throughout the night whilst Lucas promises Kate that no one would ever find out that Lucas was at Kate’s place.

However, the person who is out for Lucas’s head is way smarter and has more resources than Lucas thinks. Suddenly in the middle of the night, Lucas finds himself taking Kate along and running for their lives as someone tries to murder them at Kate’s home. Suddenly Kate is framed for murdering Lucas and everything goes haywire. Lucas takes Kate with him to the one place that no one except John knows about and hides out there with Kate.

Though Kate doesn’t want to be pulled into the life of someone who had deceived her so well in the past, she can’t help but be pulled towards Lucas and the attraction that has always simmered between them. Lucas has his own demons to fight, to forget the torture that he underwent at the hands of the terrorist organization that held him captive for three months in Peru. Kate too has her own secrets, a tragedy that has made her unable to be the person who she was 18 months earlier. Lucas and Kate together find the strength to forgive, heal and in turn give one another a second chance at what they had going between them.

However, when the moment of reckoning with the traitor comes calling, Kate nearly loses her life. In the end, its a sweet ending for these two characters who managed to wiggle their way into my heart. Lovely story.

I highly recommend for those who love romantic thrillers to  give this series a try.

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

greatread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Redemption by Sharon Cullen

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Series: Love on the Edge, Book 2
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: John Callahan
Heroine: Hope Stewart
Date of Publication: October 21, 2008
Started On: March 2, 2010
Finished On: March 3, 2010

I came across a couple of good e-books on Samhain Publishing, and this is one of the new authors that I tried out after my interest was piqued reading the synopsis of the story. Sharon Cullen is definitely an author worth looking out for. This is the second book in a series termed as “Love on the Edge”.

John Callahan is a man who has got nothing to live for. Having worked for a top secret government terrorist organization for his country and being betrayed by fellow countrymen, and having suffered through indescribable torture at the hands of the enemies for a period of 3 months and losing the only woman he ever cared about to the hands of the despicable group of terrorists who had held him hostage, John was ready to give up his life and choose the sweet oblivion of death when Hope comes literally crashing into his life.

Hope wakes up from the car crash to find out she has no memory of who she is or how she got to the remote mountain cabin where John Callahan lives. At first John is suspicious that all Hope is putting up is an act when he hears that the one who betrayed his country and lured him into the trap with the terrorists had broken out of jail. But slowly John comes to realize this is not so as he tries to unravel the mystery behind the 5 months pregnant woman who has literally landed in his lap.

John has a lot of demons to slay before he could even think about caring for another woman. With scars on the outside as well as the inside, John keeps his emotions tightly reined in and a tight fortress around his heart. However, Hope with her vulnerability and her sweet caring attitude manages to crumble this wall bit by bit until John cannot deny himself any longer.

I liked the fact that the author didn’t just make John end up with Hope on the first encounter but rather gave John enough time to get himself acquainted with the feelings that were blossoming inside of him rather than just going straightaway to hot burning desire when he has been so locked up and remote in his emotions for over a long period of time.

Recommended for those who love a good romantic thriller. Though this book is termed to be an erotica, it only falls under contemporary romance with little bit of sensuality thrown into the mix.

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

greatread