Category / Suspense

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom by Vanessa Kelly

Format: E-bookconfessionsofaroyalbridegroom
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Renegade Royals, #2
Publisher: Zebra Books
Hero: Griffin Steele
Heroine: Justine Brightmore
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 2014
Started On: July 2, 2014
Finished On: July 3, 2014

If you have read the first book in The Renegade Royals series, you’d have met the utterly mysterious and alluring Griffin Steele whom your heart would have clamored for even then. Good thing that Vanessa Kelly delivered on his story with the second installment in the series because Griffin is a hero definitely worth drooling over and then some.

Griffin Steele is a man who made a name for himself practically out of nothing. The bastard son of a Prince who till today remains unacknowledged by his father, Griffin bears the emotional scars of being abandoned as a child, though he would rather carve out a piece of himself than admit to the fact. Griffin is in the midst of tying up all loose ends that ties him down, planning on leaving England in search of what his soul craves, a sense of completion that he desires but is unable to voice out for. And then turns up a baby accompanied with a mysterious note and a signet ring on his doorstep which throws all his best laid plans awry, leaving Griffin scrambling to make sense of the total chaos that his life becomes from that point onwards.

24 year old Justine Brightmore craves peace and solitude above everything else. Having had enough dramatics in her life to last her a lifetime. The only thing that propels Justine to leave the comfort of the life that she has carved out for herself is being summoned by her godfather Dominic Hunter. Dominic thrusts Justine into the house of one of the most notorious men in London, a man equally loathed and revered amongst society though anyone would hardly go on to acknowledge the likes of someone like Griffin.

From the moment Griffin and Justine lay eyes on each other, it is dislike at first sight with a healthy dose of awareness for everything to do with each other. Griffin though he loathes the position of playing guardian to Justine is helpless in his need to know everything about the woman who drives him crazy with her stubbornness and attitude. Justine might want to bury her head in the sand where Griffin and the feelings that he rouses in her are concerned, but even her stoic determination is no match for the gravitational pull that Griffin has on her senses.

When a turn of events puts Justine’s honor in a precarious position, there is nothing left to do but tie the knot, something Justine views akin to a noose around her neck. However, as both Justine and Griffin learn more about one another, Griffin providing details of his past with sheer reluctance, both of them find that where their emotions are concerned, the aloofness that each had strived for at the begining is no longer even a possibility.

Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom started on a high note with the delicious Griffin taking your very breathe away. The fascinating tattoo that coils over the left side of his upper torso alone was enough to increase the hyperventilating factor when it came to him. His sardonic wit was another reason to go crazy over his character, not to mention the deep well of tenderness that lives inside of a man rumored to be one of the most ruthless and notorious in the city.

Though I liked Justine just fine, I couldn’t find it in myself to fall for her the way I did with Griffin. For one thing, I found her focus on the mysterious baby to be a tad too much, or perhaps the focus of the story as it progressed was on the baby more than the burgeoning relationship between Griffin and Justine. Perhaps it was the balance between the mystery, romance and sensuality that I craved which somehow seemed to be at odds with one another which brought down the rating where I was concerned.

However, that doesn’t mean that this story isn’t an enjoyable one, far from that. Even with that misgiving inside of me, the fact that I was drawn into the tale and enjoyed the back and forth between Griffin and Justine and of course their happily ever after tells the tale of romance that was enjoyed from start to finish. Worthy of a mention are the two scenes of passion in the story, highly sensual that took my breathe away.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of alluring heroes who seduce you rather effortlessly from page 1!

Final Verdict: Sizzle, mystery and a bit of mayhem gives an enjoyable read!

Favorite Quotes

“You couldn’t possibly want to marry me,” she whispered, even as something overpowering, something more real than anything she had ever felt in her life, stretched up and loomed over her, blotting out the light from the lamps and the roaring fire in the grate. She could see nothing but Griffin.
To her astonishment, a gleam of amusement sparked to life in his gaze.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said in a musing tone. “Any woman who, by her own admission, is capable of shooting a man in cold blood is likely the perfect wife for me.”

Never had she felt such delicious warmth, or imagined that a kiss could cast such a transfixing spell over her body. Though her mind reeled in astonishment, she wanted to stand there forever, greedily drawing in his heat and strength. Drawing in the heady taste of him—something wild and masculine and utterly tempting.

“Why do you even care?” she whispered.
His eyes half closed and he leaned toward her, as if trying to capture some elusive scent. “For some reason I’m unable to fathom, I want to know everything about you. I want to know what your favorite toy was when you were a child, what was your most treasured possession. Who comforted you when you cried, or if you ever climbed a tree. I want to know what you like to eat and what makes you curl up your sweet little nose. I want to know when you first wished to kiss a boy. I especially want to know about that,” he finished with a wicked purr.

Unable to stop herself, Justine moved against him, spreading her legs even wider and rubbing against his thick erection. Sensation rose up through her in a heady spiral, every rational thought in her head blasted away by the sensual storm he evoked in her as he suckled and played with her breasts. They felt full and aching. Indeed, her entire body ached with a need only he could fulfill.

He groaned and dipped his head, his long hair coming loose from its leather tie, his chest rising and falling with quick breaths. She pulled the strip of material from his hair and flung it away, then tunneled her fingers through his thick, long locks, smoothing them down over his back. Justine felt like she was drowning in a world of sensation and emotion, and she willingly went under.
“My God, Justine,” he gasped before planting a searing kiss on her mouth.

Purchase Links: Amazon | BookDepo | B&N | Kobo | ARe | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Cold Pursuit by Toni Anderson

Format: E-bookcoldpursuit
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Cold Justice, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Jed Brennan
Heroine: Veronica Vincent
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: June 2, 2014
Started On: May 29, 2014
Finished On: June 1, 2014

Cold Pursuit is the novel that follows A Cold Dark Place, the second book in the Cold Justice series by Toni Anderson. It tells the story of single mom Veronica Vincent (Vivi) and her eight year old son Michael who get caught up in the crossfire of a terrorist attack at a shopping mall. With an eidetic memory, Michael who doesn’t speak poses a serious threat to the plans of the terrorists, whose bigger agenda supersedes that of any usual terrorist attack.

FBI Special Agent Jed Brennan who is on enforced leave finds himself a crucial part of the investigation launched to find the remaining terrorists and to prevent any further attacks. There is also the untimely attraction that flares between Vivi and himself way before the case begins, throwing the detachment that should be when it comes to her nowhere to be found. Unlocking the clues in Michael’s head is the break that practically every law enforcement agency in the country needs but with Vivi protecting her son as fiercely as any mother should makes the task doubly harder when Jed himself becomes protective of the little boy who tugs at his heartstrings.

Too many close calls finds Jed, Vivi and Michael going into hiding, to give the agencies the time to do what they do best and to give Michael the time to recuperate so that he might give into the need to put pen to paper and give a face to the people that were being hunted relentlessly. Add to the mix the volatile sexual attraction between Vivi and Jed together with the baggage Vivi mostly brings to the equation, Cold Pursuit definitely has the elements of a high roller coaster ride.

Reading terrorism themed books and watching related TV shows is a bit of a touchy issue with me, considering the fact that I am a Muslim myself. Not that I would ever believe that our religion calls for the slaughter of millions of innocents in the name of a religion that propagates peace above everything else. But the fact that Muslims at large are portrayed as terrorists by the fact their name ends or begins with Muhammad is a cause of concern for me, stereotyping that actually adds to the problem in my opinion. In my eyes, violence is wrong whether its state sanctioned or endorsed by a terrorist organization looking to make the headlines. But I guess it is rather easy to make that call while you are sitting in the comfort of your own home, reading on your iPad or watching what goes over in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan for that matter on TV with a detached air about you because those things have become practically the realities of everyday existence.

I’d say Toni handled the terrorism aspect of the story really well, giving voice to the villains as well as the heroes in the story. The villains aren’t as clear cut as some people might like them to be and I understood where they were coming from – survival being the reason behind the consequential actions. However that doesn’t mean I agree with the killing and senseless mayhem that went down, but becoming pawns in a mindless game planned and executed as a nefarious means to an end by the power hungry is something that happens across the globe every single day. Kudos to Toni for giving a voice to the killers and the victims; it is not easy to make a reader empathize with a villain on a level such as this and she has achieved it remarkably well in my opinion.

The sexual tension in the book kept the sizzle factor always at the forefront, no mean feat when there’s killing and mayhem surrounding you at every turn. Jed was such a dreamy hero, sexy enough to melt your panties, charming enough to knock your socks off and with the kind of gentle soul that you don’t come across every day. Toni creates splendid alpha heroes that are sweet on the inside and yet manages to give just enough angst to keep things real between the hero and heroine. That is what I call good writing, the kind that keeps you coming back for more.

Vivi and Michael each have earned a place in my heart; Vivi for her sheer bravery and the protectiveness that she displays towards her son. It is not easy to move past the scars left behind by an emotionally abusive spouse and Vivi earned my wholehearted approval by being brave enough to seduce Jed out of his goody two shoes belief that he is no good for the long run where relationships are concerned. Michael on the other hand tugged at my heartstrings; his uniqueness something Toni created beautifully well. The struggles that Vivi undergoes added to the burden of being the sole caregiver of Michael increased the respect I had for Vivi as the heroine.

The ending definitely gave the surprise effect Toni was aiming for. And that you’d have to read to find out because in my eyes, the scenario that played out is entirely a plausible one when one considers the factors in play. The only thing I could have wished for was an epilogue. Sorely missed one in the first book and this one as well.

Most obviously I am looking forward to Killion’s story. Now if that ain’t a hint to Toni to write the story ASAP, I don’t know what would be. Definitely recommended for those who love a great romantic suspense!

Final Verdict: Toni definitely knows how to keep the pages turning & the mind whirring!

Favorite Quotes

He held her still, his gaze intent on her lips. Sexual awareness swirled between them, made her breath catch as arousal stirred low and hot in her belly. The air around them crackled and she shivered as she stared up into his face, mesmerized.
Jed slanted his mouth over hers like he had to taste her—just the way he had when he’d found them at the safe house. It was an open-mouthed, full-on assault and she willingly met him halfway. Her tongue tangled with his in a silky slick slide, the taste of him hot and very, very male. Something inside her ignited with long forgotten need.

Then he was kissing her and she leaned into him, grabbing the collar of his vest to pull him closer. She licked inside his mouth and a furnace exploded inside him. He backed her up a few paces to the shelter they’d built years ago. Hunger filled him and even though he didn’t release her mouth, his hand was pulling her shirt from her jeans, his hand cupping her breast, finding her nipple a taut, firm pebble against his palm.
How did she do this to him? Reduce him to nothing but want.

He drove his fingers into her, keeping a rhythm that made her writhe against him and lose her ability to do anything except react—and God help him he liked that. He liked giving her pleasure. His thumb found her clit and then he pressed his palm hard against the throbbing nub of flesh. He drove deeper, wishing it wasn’t so damn cold and he could strip her naked right here in the woods.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne

Format: E-bookgingerbreadman.jpeg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Jove
Hero: Vince O’Mally
Heroine: Holly Newman
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 11, 2013
Started On: March 21, 2014
Finished On: April 25, 2014

Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne is one of those reads that took me by surprise by just how captivating the story turned out to be. Like any reader, I am quite hesitant when it comes to trying out new authors, but then again, a girl has got to take a chance every now and then and see whats out there. I think I first stumbled across Maggie’s name on a post by Anne Stuart and later on one way or the other I stumbled across this book on Amazon. I picked it up for one main reason; I wanted to read a dark and gripping romantic suspense novel that could actually deliver on what the blurb promised. And it turns out, Maggie Shayne can certainly do a mean romantic suspense!

Gingerbread Man is by no means a light read. It deals with a serial child killer, a killer who sexually assaults his victims before killing them off. There’s no way to remain detached from what’s happening, the raw emotion that at times seeps through the story to practically throttle you with all feelings that the story invokes in you. I believe that’s what makes a romantic suspend stand out and perhaps in the process give you a nightmare or two as well.

Detective Vince O’Mally is riding hard on a case on child abduction when the circle of events spiral into the sort of nightmare there is no getting out of. Vince is ordered to take a leave of absence to sort himself out, but Vince is like a dog with a bone with his inability to give up on finding a man who he believes has been preying and killing for far too long.

A lead takes Vince to Syracuse where he meets Holly Newman and finds out the hard way that even a burnt out detective who is cynical about the affairs of the heart can find himself in the precarious position of being in love. Holly is a woman who has gone through her own special brand of hell, a nightmare that she hasn’t ever fully recovered from. And when Vince storms into her life and turns it completely upside down by opening up old wounds that had continued to fester and never healed, Holly finds herself on the brink of falling for the man responsible for the upheaval, a man who let’s her know in no uncertain terms that forever is not for the likes of him.

Maggie has a surprise or two up her sleeve as the story goes along, the chill factor involved in the novel which doesn’t lessen as the story proceeds. Holly is one of those heroines that you cannot help but admire. Her inner core of strength is testament to why she had survived and made it through, but that doesn’t mean that life is a walk in the park for her. She continually battles with the psychological scars left behind and that is one reason why Vince aims to steer clear of her – because he has a tendency of wanting to take care of ‘needy’ women. But then again, Vince has never met anyone the likes of Holly and Maggie certainly does a swell job out of creating the sizzling variety of sexual tension and delivering on it which raised the story’s rating by that much.

If you are a fan of dark romantic suspense novels the likes of which Cynthia Eden creates, Gingerbread Man is definitely for you. But if you do not like dark subject matter, perhaps this might prove to be a tad too much. Otherwise I heartily recommend that you pick this up and just go along for the ride. Totally and definitely worth it!

Final Verdict: A haunting & gripping read that fans of dark romantic suspense must read!

Favorite Quotes

He didn’t answer her, so she rolled again, onto her side, facing him this time, and she pressed her mouth to his mouth. His lips were stiff and unresponsive. She slid her arms around his waist and pulled her body closer to his. Then she nipped his bottom lip with her teeth, suckled it just a little, and slid her tongue along the inner edge of his lips.
He shook a little, and his arms closed around her hard and fast. Finally he kissed her back. He kissed her like she’d never dreamed of being kissed.
His eyes were hungry when they probed hers. “I’ve told you I don’t have anything to give, Red. This is here and now. That’s all.”
“I’m not asking for anything else.” She reached for the bottom of his T-shirt, and lifted it, slid her hands over his belly and up to his chest, and dragged her nails over his nipples.
He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth. When they opened again, his eyes blazed.

He moved her backward until her legs hit the couch, then gave a push so she was sitting down. Peeling off his shirt, he dropped it, and knelt, and his hands went around her, palms flat to her back, arching her toward him so he could bend and suck her breasts. He sucked them hard, bit down with his teeth until sweet pain jolted through her, then licked the sting away with his tongue, and did it all over again. Each time he bit a little harder, and each time she liked it a little better.

He didn’t take his time. Didn’t ease her into this, just spread her folds and touched her. Rubbed her. Fingers pushed up inside her without waiting for an invitation. He lifted her a little, his fingers still in her, and held her around the waist with a free hand, and she stood there, barely balanced with her legs wide and her knees bent.

When she started to melt into his mouth, he drew his head away, and she almost cried. But then he was on her again, his cock was pressing into her, stretching her wider, pushing inexorably deeper until she didn’t think she could take any more, and then still more.

She saw his face, watched the waves of pleasure wash over him as he began moving, too, thrusting in hard, fast, deeper, until he pushed her to the edge. She came, and she heard herself scream his name as she did. And then he drove into her once more, and went stiff as he held her and poured himself into her.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: A Cold Dark Place by Toni Anderson

Format: E-bookacolddarkplace
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Cold Justice, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Alex Parker
Heroine: Mallory Rooney
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 1, 2014
Started On: March 30, 2014
Finished On: April 2, 2014

A Cold Dark Place is the debut book in the Cold Justice series by the uber talented author of romantic suspense Toni Anderson. Few authors out there manage to keep my interest when it comes to romantic suspense and Toni Anderson is one of those authors who always manages to hit the vital spots by keeping the romance and suspense factor balanced, which is the secret to writing highly readable romantic suspense novels.

A Cold Dark Place is quite the fitting title to this novel. Alex Parker is a man who prefers the darkness to do what he is entrusted to do. Employed by an organization known as “The Gateway Project” that is so deeply hidden in the layered complexities of the US government, Alex is an assassin who enacts justice by killing the worst sort of scum. Counting down the days until he would be free of his promise that binds him to his employers, his job becomes doubly dangerous when he realizes that someone on the inside is out to make him and that someone is the deliciously enticing FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney to whom his instant attraction makes her a more than dangerous “adversary”.

Mallory’s life mission for the past eighteen years has been to become smart enough and tough enough to find her twin sister’s abductor and bring him to justice. The pain that she lives through every single day, blaming herself for not being there for the one and only person with whom she had shared an inexplicable connection with is what drives her, even when she meets the same dead end, time and yet again. Though her experience in hunting killers and analyzing their behavior is limited, her sharp intelligence and observation skills ends her up in the BAU and in the direct sight of the man who would do everything in his power to claim her as a replacement for his lost love.

Alex doesn’t want the complication that starting anything up with Mallory would bring his way, but he is as helpless as she in the face of the strong web of desire that binds them together, that finds them entwined in the most delicious of embraces time and yet again. And when Alex finds out that the killer they are all hunting, whose violence had all of a sudden started to escalate, has his sights set on Mallory, there is no stopping him from vowing to protect her at all and any cost, even if it means continuing with the pretense and charade that would continue to keep Mallory in the dark when it comes to who he truly is.

Toni Anderson does a splendid job in telling this story; it is dark, creepy and keeps you guessing and questioning your emotions when it comes to everything that takes place in the span of this novel. Alex Parker himself is reason enough to fall in love with the story, his tortured soul was one that touched me on a deep level. Betrayal on a level that most people would never be strong enough to live with makes Alex the man he is, and though each kill chips away at his already battered soul, the honorable man that Alex is refuses to back down from paying the debt he owes to his employers.

It is the pain, drive and determination that keeps Mallory doggedly working to unearth what had happened to her sister that made me respect and love her character as much as I did Alex’s. The guilt that threatens to consume her would not have been easy to deal with. Alex in her life means Mallory learns to live a little, and stop feeling the survivor’s guilt and in return she reaches out to the scarred bits and pieces of Alex’s heart and soul and puts it back together, piece by piece, without even realizing the fact that they are both headed towards a love strong enough to consume them both.

It was the killer that kept me fascinated and riveted to the edge of my seat and I think that is exactly what Toni was aiming for when she created him. I sometimes wonder at the cruelty in this world that breeds killers of the likes found in this book, the inhumanity they suffer as children and the loss of their innocence at the hands of those that should protect them from the rest of the world. It is hard not to feel sad thinking about the person he could have been otherwise, but in equal doses I found myself horrified by the extent of his depravity and violent nature together with his uncanny ability to have kept fooling people for so long. Toni also makes the reader question whether the laws and agencies that be are really enough to ensure that justice is done. Perhaps vigilantism does serve its purpose with the swiftness of with which it brings the victims the closure they seek. A book that always makes you question what you know to be right and wrong and casts you into that place shadowed by the shades of grey is in my opinion a book well done.

Though the lack of an epilogue was felt, knowing that there would be another book in the series on the way definitely helps. Recommended for fans of Toni Anderson and fans of dark romantic suspense. You’d definitely love this one!

Final Verdict: Ties you up in knots; A Cold Dark Place makes for a riveting read!

Favorite Quotes

His lips were surprisingly soft, his mouth tasting of whiskey and beer and really hot man. Suddenly he took control of the kiss, diving deeper, tongue tangling with hers with a possession that made her insides turn molten. She found herself pressed up against the glass facade of the building, Alex’s one hand still buried deep in her pocket, the other cupping the back of her head.

“Too much?” His voice sounded nothing like him. He’d heard this version before, in that prison in Morocco. His inner animal tearing loose, but this time it was from pleasure not pain.
She shook her head and her nails dug into his shoulders. “More,” she demanded. Then she kissed his neck, bit down hard enough to make him laugh.
She could put her mark on him anytime.

She shook her head, squirming to get closer. “More,” she demanded and nibbled his jaw. Her nails scratched his back, digging into his skin with the sort of pain that aroused him more than he’d ever imagined possible. He wrapped his hand around her other leg and locked them both around his waist. And then every pulsing inch of him was embedded inside her, blasted by the velvet clench of wet heat.
“Okay?” he asked. Okay didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling. He was pretty sure the word for it hadn’t been invented yet.
“Oh, yes.”

“Condom,” he said between gritted teeth.
Crap.
She jerked open the bedside drawer, relieved to find a box. Alex scrambled out of his jeans, covered and buried himself deep. She locked her legs around his hips and then there were no thoughts, just sensation and pleasure and slick bodies, striving to get as close as possible, striving for that place where nothing else mattered.”

Sated and satisfied, she began to drift off to sleep. “You’re a good man, Alex Parker.”
He kissed the top of her head. “No. But you make me feel like I could be.”

“I still miss her.” Her voice cracked.
He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. He could relate. He still missed his mother and his grandfather and his friends. But he knew they were dead and never coming back. You had to move on. “We’re supposed to miss them. That’’s their gift.”
Huge amber eyes met his. “Pain is a gift?”
He nodded. “It proves they meant something to us. That even years after losing them we still feel them. Here.”

With one hard thrust he was buried deep in her heat.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, nails bit into his flesh. “Harder.”
He drove into her, again and again, nothing but an animal who needed to satisfy a primal urge.

He took the condom from her fingers and covered himself. Eased her slowly over him and shifted her panties aside. He was big, aroused. She sank down just a little bit and he gritted his teeth. She looked down, the vision of him inside her, of the lace against pale skin, was such a turn on she came with a surprised shudder.

“We’re not dating, remember.” He thrust inside her and she sucked in a moan. “You didn’t go and do anything foolish like fall for me, did you, Mallory?” he asked.
Emotion welled up inside her. She shook her head and wrapped her legs around his hips. Watched his pupils dilate. “No, sir.”
“Good.” He swallowed. “Me either.”
But as she looked into his eyes she knew they were both lying and it felt dark and dangerous and wonderful.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Mine to Crave by Cynthia Eden

Format: E-bookminetocrave
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Mine, #4
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Drake Archer
Heroine: Jasmine Bennett
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: March 10, 2014
Started On: March 9, 2014
Finished On: March 18, 2014

Anyone who has followed the Mine series till now and has read the books in order would know exactly what I am talking about when I say Drake Archer is the type of hero that invokes all sorts of fascinating reactions from the reader. I would have thought that having the sort of painful past that Drake has, he would turn out to be one of the darkest heroes in the series. But turns out Drake is pretty much the usual alpha hero variety that didn’t do much of a job of standing out, at least not for me.

Drake Archer’s past mistakes and betrayals has made him into a man who wouldn’t take any bullshit from anyone. He is especially determined that no woman would get the better of him, again. But that is exactly what happens when the delectable Jasmine Bennett beckons and entices him to let down his guard. And once crossed Drake can make a mean enemy and that is what Jasmine gets saddled with when Drake finds out what exactly she had been up to when she had worked her wiles on him.

Though Jasmine would rather not admit to the fact, Drake gets to her in a way that she hasn’t ever let herself be vulnerable enough to feel. Jasmine’s painful past has taught her to always stay one step ahead of anyone that can hurt her, but all her self-made rules incinerate into dust every time Drake lays his hands or mouth on her, taking her to heights of passion that she has never experienced before.

But danger is never too far, a man who is more than capable of wreaking havoc in the name of vengeance and revenge, seeking to destroy everything to do with Drake and his life. And if he has to kill a lot more people to do that, he is crazy enough to consider the rest as collateral damage.

Cynthia Eden’s books are always good enough even when they are average reads, and Mine to Crave also had its good stuff to offer which kept me glued to the pages in order to experience the high that Jasmine underwent every single time Drake enters the picture. The bits that didn’t work for me were the parts of the story where Drake seemed unable to hold himself in check and seemed to quote the same repetitive dialog to defend his actions to his friends Noah and Trace from the previous books.

While I love myself an alpha and uber possessive hero and don’t get me wrong, Drake was that in spades half of the time, I just found myself a teeny bit disappointed with the fact that the rest of the time Drake acted like someone who hadn’t experienced what being in the battlefield is like, nor does he act like the lethal weapon that he must’ve been honed into after fighting in wars that would have broken down a lesser man. I loved both Jasmine and Drake’s characters but I just don’t think they worked for me on the level that I actually wanted them to, hard as it is for me to say that. But as I always point out when books don’t work for me particularly well, there is always the chance that you would end up loving the heck outta Drake and Jasmine!

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Cynthia Eden.

Final Verdict: A good 4th fix for the Mine series cravings fans of Cynthia Eden are definitely bound to have!

Favorite Quotes

When she came, Jasmine felt Drake erupt inside of her. Biting her lip, Jasmine tried to hold back a scream. She didn’t want—
“Give it to me,” Drake demanded. “Give me everything.”
So she cried out her pleasure.
And he growled her name.

Her lips pressed lightly to his throat. She kissed him. A delicate, tender caress in the maelstrom of passion that surrounded him.
He came then, with a release so strong that his heart seemed to stop for a moment as the pleasure pulsed through every vein in his body. It swept over him, through him, and it was so good. So incredibly good. He never wanted it to end.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | ARe | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Mine to Hold Cynthia Eden

Format: E-bookminetohold
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Mine, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Noah Robert York
Heroine: Claire Cassandra Kramer
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 21, 2013
Started On: October 20, 2013
Finished On: March 9, 2014

Ever since Cynthia Eden started publishing her Mine series, I have been enjoying the ultra sexy and uber possessive tales of love, lust, passion and suspense that keeps me turning the pages in a way that only few authors such as Cynthia can make me. Mine to Hold is the 3rd book in the series. I wouldn’t recommend reading this as a standalone because I think you would miss out on a huge chunk of the makeup of the characters involved if you do!

Claire Cassandra Kramer is barely sixteen years old when falling in love with the wrong kind takes away practically everything and everyone she holds near and dear. Moving past the tragedy hadn’t been an easy road to travel on, nor had it been without its fair share of setbacks. Not when she had managed to make an enemy out of one of the most powerful men in the country. When the last surviving member in her family is brutally murdered in a wake of violence that leaves Claire reeling to find an anchor to balance her, Noah Robert York is the man who steps up to take the place.

Noah doesn’t even begin to understand what it is about Claire that makes him act like a caveman, but she tends to bring out feelings inside of him that is alien to a man who changes women as often as he changes his shirts. Not one to dwell on the emotions much, Noah decides to take each day as it comes and protect Claire from anyone who dares to even think about hurting her. Though handling people with kids gloves on is not exactly Noah’s territory, he would die trying to be just that for Claire until Claire stands up to him and lets him know that she can more than handle all the man that he is and then some.

Though not as good as the first two books (perhaps I am biased because there is little a man can do to live up to Trace Weston) whose love for his wife Skye is the reason for this series to come into being, I found to myself that once I let go of my expectations about what the story should be, I managed to enjoy what Claire and Noah’s story had to offer. Like almost all Cynthia Eden romances, Mine to Hold also features an uber creepy killer with stalker tendencies that at times makes Noah doubt whether Claire could actually be seeing who she claims to be seeing everywhere she turns. Turns out yes, there is obsession and then there is obsession of the kind that can get you killed and that is exactly the fate Claire would have suffered if not for the fact that Claire is stronger than everyone gives her credit for.

Recommended for those who love Cynthia Eden’s romantic suspense novels and those who have enjoyed what the Mine series have had to offer till now and have been waiting for the rest of the books just like myself!

Final Verdict: Noah and Claire share a love that absolutely consumes!

Favorite Quotes

She met him, thrust for thrust. The rhythm became wild, so hard. He was in her so deep.
No pain.
Only more pleasure.
So much pleasure that the whole world seemed to explode. She wasn’t sure if she screamed or not. She only knew that after years of being cold, it felt as if she were in an inferno.
One that swept her up, hollowed her out, and left her aching for more…more pleasure.

She liked the way he tasted. Liked the way he hardened impossibly more beneath her mouth and she—
Claire was on her back in the bed.
Noah was over her. He had her wrists pinned to the bed. Damn but that man had moved fast.
He stared at her, locked his gaze with her—and took her. He filled her, every inch, and she gasped as the pleasure surged through her.
Her legs curled around his. She arched up against him.
He plunged. Fast. Hard. Deep.

His mouth pulled from hers.  He stared into her eyes. “I want to fuck you.”
“Th-they’re waiting…”
“Let them wait.”  He jerked on the panties, hard, and they tore.  He needed her. There. Right there.
No foreplay. No sensual build-up to release.
He had to take her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo | iTunes | Smashwords | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Place I Belong by Inez Kelley

Format: E-booktheplaceibelong
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Country Roads, #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Jonah Alcott
Heroine: Zureyden Castellano
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 24, 2014
Started On: February 21, 2014
Finished On: February 22, 2014

The Place I Belong is the wonderful second installment of Inez Kelley’s Country Roads series. While I enjoyed the first book in the series, i.e. Take Me Home, I flat-out loved what the second book in this series had to offer.

Jonah Alcott is the man responsible for the PR at Hawkins Hardwood, a lumbar company in West Virginia. Jonah is charming, persuasive and confident in his abilities and believes in the good that Hawkins Hardwood does in the industry. His latest foe turns out to be as vivacious as she is stubborn, a woman who drives him to distraction in every single way possible.

Zureyden Castellano (Zury) hates seeing the beloved land that she calls home castrated in the name of profits. Her fight to keep the wild beauty of the land intact is a personal one, one borne out of knowing early on in her childhood where exactly in this world she belonged. Butting heads with the altogether too sexy for his own good Jonah was supposed to be just that, proving her point and walking away with the rights of the Black Cherry Canyon taken from Hawkins Hardwood which would guarantee the land wouldn’t be despoiled by those who seem to see nothing but big fat wads of cash in profits that would be reaped from the land.

But as Jonah and Zury spends time together, both of them realize that under all the frustration that they both harbor in making the other see the light, lies a simmering attraction that surpasses anything they have ever felt before. While Jonah prefers his dalliances with the opposite sex commitment free, Zury is the type who would never be completely happy with a casual romp and someone who would always seek more from her relationships. But even with their different outlooks, Zury and Jonah find that turning away from the wild sexual energy and the connection forged between them is something neither is capable of doing.

As these two gravitate more and more towards each other, Hawkins Hardwood falls under the target of an Eco-terrorist group that believes no boundaries exist when it comes to ensuring that nature thrive, at any cost. Whether Jonah would be able to convince Zury of who the real bad guys are in time and salvage the connection that grows between them is the question as the man behind the group, who has got practically nothing to lose, closes in on his intended target, all in the name of saving Zury’s beloved land.

What made The Place I Belong stand out for me were the different threads in the story interwoven cleverly together to give a highly readable tale of undeniable passion, love and the sizzle of danger. Jonah is a hero that I adored from his altogether gorgeous frame, either suited up or in casuals; that one scene during which Zury practically inhales Jonah in all his suited up glory one that is etched on my mind even now. What you see is not what you get when you take in Jonah’s character. The darkness in his past is one that boils to the surface proving to Zury just how wrong she had been in assuming Jonah to be just another pretty face when they had first made acquaintance.

While Jonah deserves endless drooling sessions with his lethal frame reminding me of none other than Gabriel Aubrey, Zury turned out to be a swell heroine who earned my wholehearted love and approval. Zury is the type of woman who is passionate about what she believes in and works actively to protect what she is passionate about. The fact that she was woman enough to admit to her faulty thinking made me love her even more, and Zury standing up in defense of the man she loves was one of those moments that I could have hugged her myself.

The bit that I loved most when it came to Zury and Jonah turns out to be the fact that even with all their differences and the countless arguments that they get into with each other, they never seem to hurt each other with their words. That is admirable to me on so many levels, not many people can pull that off with such vast differences in thinking without ending up bitter about one thing or the other. Cannot wait for Webb’s story to come out later this year!

I would urge readers to take a look at The Place I Belong not because its just a fabulous romance, but because the story is so very much more than that and offers quite the fascinating character in Jonah. Definitely recommended.

Final Verdict:  Inez Kelley whips a tornado through your emotions with The Place I Belong, leaving no part of your heart untouched.

Favorite Quotes

It was over ninety degrees in the sun but his hands were far hotter as they skimmed over her stomach, up her rib cage, over the cups of her bra to palm one aching mound. A nip to her neck caused her to gasp his name, to draw his scent mingled with summer wind into her lungs. He licked under her jaw and dragged his mouth along her skin to her ear. “Tell me you want this.”
She wanted it. She wanted it so badly her heartbeat surged and the juncture between her thighs went hot and soft. It was wrong, complicated and potentially stupid, but she didn’t want him to stop.

All intelligent thought evaporated as his fingers rolled her stiffened nipple through the cup of her bra. “More.”
“Oh, thank fuck.” A shudder worked up his spine and he took her mouth with a frantic strength. Long firm fingers dug into her ass as he rocked her hips into his, into the hardness behind his zipper. Pure feminine power filled her. She traced her short nails down his back, delighting in his low groan. Rolling her hips pressed her center against his growing erection, and his groan turned to a hungry growl. Her body flushed, softening and growing damp.

“Is that all you needed?”
He’d spoken into the phone but his attention was firmly locked on her as she strolled toward him, swinging her hips with a deliberate rhythm. He froze, standing perfectly still as she worked the knot out of his tie. The silk whispered against his shirt as she tugged it free, looping it around her own neck. His chest rose more quickly, his warm breath feathering over her brow as she started slipping open the buttons of his vest. Tongue touching her lip, she raised her chin to look into his eyes. Another button slid free.

The flavor of his skin burst onto her tongue as she licked. The unique scent of him filled her nose and she nuzzled, drawing in more of that heady fragrance. Recognition clicked. Summer wind, he smelled of summer wind racing through the trees. It was so erotic, she let the tip of her nose circle just below his ear. A soft growl rumbled in his chest.

Beneath the broadcloth, she found the real man, the man she’d discovered in the cabin, all rigid muscle and harnessed passion. His chest hair prickled her cheek and nose but she couldn’t stop from nuzzling just above his solar plexus. Strong hands curled around her shoulders, pulling her closer, inviting more touch, more taste. Her nipples hardened and her breasts grew achy. An emptiness pulsed between her legs.

Her hands slid up his arms, clinging to his shoulders. One hand gripped the back of his hair, fisting it and forcing his kiss to deepen. Powerful arms wrapped around her, fitting her to his body. One huge palm skimmed down her back, over her hips, and palmed her ass. It forced her hips tighter to his and she wantonly rocked into him. His soft moan flavored the kiss. The tall grasses bent, cushioning them as he lowered her to the ground.

She wasn’t very busty but his look of pure reverence made her feel beautiful. One long lean finger stroked along the bottom curve then moved higher, circling the budded nipple. He repeated the motion with his tongue, flicking out with just the tip. A noise broke from her lips, hunger surging, and he sealed his sucking mouth around the crest.
White lights popped behind her eyelids as she melted into his caress. The crisp hair on his chest tickled against her belly as he moved to the other breast, kissing, nibbling, sucking, drawing her deeper into a haze of lust.

“That’s it. Open for me. Let me touch you.”
He didn’t know how open she was. More than her body lay exposed beneath him. Her heart and soul were bare and his for the taking. Words whispered from her mouth, every wrenching expression of love, every flowery vow and every hopeful longing spilled out. Just not in a language he understood. But it was enough for now. She had said them, unfettered and without fear.

“Oh God, Zury, you take me so good.”
One rough palm slid down her thigh to grip behind her knee. He raised her leg, bringing it along his hip. The slight change seated him deeper and she went wild. She raked his back and clutched at his shoulders, wanting, needing him closer, deeper. Jonah answered, ramming into her, retreating, returning with as much force. No civility softened his strokes. He was pure and raw and hungry and she loved it.

He moaned her name as his rhythm reached a frenetic tempo. A single chant circled her brain. Te amo. Te amo. Te amo. I love you. I love you. I love you.
An animalistic roar powered from him as he sank deeper than before and let go. He surged inside her, swelling and throbbing, and her body responded, shuddering in release. Together, they hung in the misty middle ground for ages, then drifted down as one.

She basked in a woman’s power to enthrall. “Right now, who do you belong to?”
His wet hair was mussed, framing his eyes with jagged edges. A wild, feral hunger carved his face into sharp lines and his fingertips bit deliciously into her hips. “You. I belong to you.”
She took no mercy, sinking downward in one swift lunge. His mouth fell open, his fingertips digging hard into her skin as his belly clenched.

Prickly chest hairs chafed her back as he brought his mouth to her nape. He tugged her hips up then sank inside, the force driving her into the mattress. “Now, you belong to me. Say my name.”
“Yes. Yours, Jonah. Harder.” She spread her legs and arched her hips, opening her body to him, pushing back into his every thrust. His hips slapped the flesh of her ass with a punishing rhythm. Sliding his hands down her arms, he laced their fingers and rocked.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Carina | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Burn For Me by Cynthia Eden

Format: E-bookburnforme
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Phoenix Fire, #1
Publisher: Brava
Hero: Cain O’Connor
Heroine: Eve Bradley
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: January 28 , 2014
Started On: February 13, 2014
Finished On: February 16, 2014

She was Eve . . . his Eve.

Having never sampled Cynthia Eden’s paranormal romances before, I sort of expected the same sort of intense writing that she puts into her romantic suspense novels. And yes, while the intensity was there, her paranormal romance or rather this particular novel tended to have a different “voice” to it and rightly so when all sorts of emotions and events are explosive on an altogether different scale when you consider the nature of the characters that would exist in a paranormal romance.

The first book in the Phoenix Fire series, Burn for Me tells the story of Subject Thirteen, aka Cain O’Connor, a man whose ability is being exploited by keeping him caged, under lock and key. When Eve Bradley at first enters the Genesis Facility posing as a research assistant to uncover the truth to the facility and the man behind the operations, she doesn’t contemplate on meeting a man whose very gaze burns right through her.

Escape from the facility comes at a cost, the cost of running for their lives as the hunt intensifies and reaches a national level with little or no way out for either of them. With each avenue that might provide Eve with away to clear up their names and bring the truth behind the nefarious experimentation and exploitation of the paranormal beings that have been happening for far too long, Eve starts to realize that when one has deep pockets extending its way to the top layer of the government, there is little choice for the victims caught in the midst.

Cain burns for Eve in a way that he has never burned for any other. The fact that he is dangerous is one that seems to be lost on Eve, the only woman who is able to handle him and accept him the way he is. Eve has the ability to reach deep inside of him, even when he is lost and in the throes of the darkness that seems to engulf him time and yet again. Rather than minding the darkness of his cravings and his total lack of control when it comes her, Eve seems to revel in the fact and want more. That in itself is a novelty for a man like Cain whose very existence is one that would always be up for exploitation by those hungry for power.

With Burn for Me, Cynthia Eden introduces a world of shape shifters and vampires, one that has an interesting premise to it. While Cain was the dark hero personified, Eve tended to be the one whose thoughts alone had the ability to make me smile. Eve has the sort of character that finds humor in even the most difficult predicaments, and there were a lot of them as the story progressed on its way. The one thing that stood out for me in Cain’s character was his uber possessiveness when it comes to Eve, even when one half of him refuses to accept the fact that he is enamored with a woman who just might be his undoing.

Though Burn for Me didn’t woo me on a scale Cynthia’s romantic suspense novels do, I believe I am intrigued enough to know more of this world and of course the story of the wolf shifter and the tortured vampire seems like they’d offer great stories to indulge in. Recommended for those who love Cynthia Eden’s paranormal romances.

Final Verdict: Eve and Cain’s intensity together burns through the pages!

Favorite Quotes

He didn’t let her make it to the bed. Two more steps, and he pounced. The room spun around her. She blinked, then found herself flat on the mattress. Her legs were parted, dangling over the edge of the bed, and Cain was between them.
“Need to taste . . . have to . . .”
He put his mouth against her. A mouth that was just as warm as the rest of him. Not burning. Heated just . . . right. His tongue licked over her clit. His fingers slid into her. He tasted.
She came.
But he didn’t stop.

“I’ve been waiting for you . . .”
She blinked, then shook her head, sure that she’d misunderstood. He couldn’t have just said those words. They didn’t make any sense but . . .
I feel like I’ve been waiting for him, too.

“Eve?”
“Yes . . .” Her whisper. “Cain, come in . . .”
He thrust into her and she forgot everything else. Her legs wrapped around his hips. Eve arched up against him. She’d never been filled this way before. Completely. Totally. This wasn’t just sex.
Possession.
Heat.
Need.
Pleasure.

His gaze met hers, and she saw the danger in his stare. “Even hell can’t make me forget some things.” His hand rose to her mouth. “I came back . . . wanting your taste again.”
Eve swallowed. “Cain?”
“I opened my eyes”—he pulled away from her and stood with his back to her—“saw you and thought . . .”
What? What had he thought?
“Mine,” Cain growled out the one word.

Rough. Hard. Fast. He drove into her again and again. Her sex closed around him, holding tight, and his cock seemed to swell more inside her, stretching her with delicious pleasure.
His hands were on her hips. Holding her. Lifting her. Getting her to take more of him. More.
The climax hit her, slamming through her, and Eve screamed.

The rush of pleasure built fast. No gentle peak. A tidal wave that flooded over her and took her breath.
It didn’t stop. He didn’t stop. More. More. He rolled her over on the bed. Lifted her onto her knees. Surrounded her with his body and his heat and his power and—
Took.
Deeper. Harder.

He lifted her higher. Positioned her so that his mouth hovered right over her sex
Then he took her. His tongue thrust into her sex and she jerked against him. Good. Her taste filled his mouth. Cream. Woman. Sweet and rich and perfect on his tongue.

He erupted inside her, driving into her and shuddering with the force of a release that gutted him. A pleasure that ripped past the fire and the hell and touched the man caged inside him.
“Eve.” Her name broke from him.
She came around him, shuddering, her sex gripping him and greedily taking the last of his orgasm.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BookDepo | Kobo | iTunes | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Her Last Chance by Toni Anderson

Format: E-bookherlastchance
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Untitled Series, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Marshall Hayes
Heroine: Josephine Maxwell
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 23, 2013
Started On: January 26, 2014
Finished On: January 28, 2014

Toni Anderson is an author who landed on my auto-buy list after reading my second book from hers, i.e. Dark Waters that served to give everything that makes a Toni Anderson a worthy read. There are very few authors who can combine elements of romance and suspense with creepy enough villains to make you look over your shoulders even while reading, and Toni Anderson is one of them for me.

Her Last Chance is the second book in an untitled series, I say untitled because I couldn’t find the name of the “series” that ties this book to the first one, Her Sanctuary which was published in 2009. My impatience to read Her Last Chance saw me skipping the first book, something I regretted a wee bit when I delved into this one because I somehow seemed to miss out on a large chunk of the “relationship” that had forged between the protagonists in this novel.

Josephine Maxwell (Josie) is being hunted by the killer who had left without taking her life almost 20 years back. A serial killer whose thirst for inflicting pain and scarring his victims leaves the law enforcement including the FBI reeling to uncover every single clue they must in order to stop the nefarious killer from taking any more lives. Within Josephine’s memories of her encounter with the killer all those years ago lies the crucial clues that could finally lead them to the killer whose thirst for death, violence and spillage of blood of his victims seems to be escalating exponentially.

Special Agent in Charge Marshall Hayes who is in charge of the Forgeries and Fine Arts Division has a hard time putting the image of the woman who had stamped herself on his very soul from their very short and fiery acquaintance a couple of months back out of his head. The fact that a woman who is the antithesis of everything that he believes in and has worked more than half of his life to uphold irks Marshall and the irony of being in love with a woman whose only strong feeling towards him is the despise she feels towards him is one that is not lost on Marshall.

All of Marshall’s feelings towards Josephine explodes in his face when faced with the news of the attack on her, and nothing and absolutely nothing stops the determination with which Marshall steps forward to protect Josephine at any cost. With the frustration of trying to keep Josephine in line while his work brings forth its own challenges, Marshall practically has his work cut out for him trying to make Josephine see that for him there would never be any woman who would entice him and call out to his soul like she does.

I must say that the suspense element Her Last Chance was top-notch. It kept me guessing, on tenterhooks, willing the killer to reveal his identity when all the while he was right there close enough to scent out if dots had only connected before. Toni has definitely mastered the art of spinning a tale that is hard to put down, especially for a good crime story lover like myself and I must say that Toni is an author you should definitely look out for if you are a fan of the genre.

When it comes to the characters, of course Marshall is the one that I fell in love with, wholeheartedly. The core values that he believes in that never shatters even when the going gets tough was one aspect of his character that I was immensely drawn towards. There exists few people like him in the real world and though the obstacles in his way are many, the need to do the right thing, the zeal to find justice even when everything else points in the other direction was the aspect of his character that I totally fell for. Of course it doesn’t hurt the man when he is obscenely good looking, well-mannered and protective to a fault when it comes to Josephine. The power that emanates from him, the way he can just stride into a room and have everyone come to his attention is a part of his character that practically leaped out of the pages for me. In short, his character was done well enough to leave a girl wanting more.

Now Josephine was a tough nut to crack so to speak. She has led a tough life, and I think part of what makes her character tick was lost on me, perhaps owing to the fact that I skipped out on reading the first book in the series. I found Josephine a bit irritating at times, but then I also understood where she was coming from, her insecurities making her lash out at the one good thing that has happened to her in all her life. While the sizzle between Josephine and Marshall was kept real, I felt a wee bit disappointed when Toni skipped out on giving readers a full fledged scene of passion between the two. Nevertheless the story worked on many other levels which mostly made up for an aspect perhaps only readers like myself would point out.

Final Verdict: Top notch suspense that keeps the reader guessing till the very end.

Favorite Quotes

His lips released hers, cruised her neck, her ear. Shivers danced along her skin, heat thrumming along her veins like liquid craving. He lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his hips, his erection rubbing against her center, feeling so amazing she wanted even closer. He braced her against the wall. The unrelenting hardness at her back felt good against her spine. Solid and reliable while the rest of her world crashed around her.

“I want you. I always want you even though you drive me crazy.” His breath blistered her ear, his hand rough on her breast, playing with her nipples, making her damp. Making her tremble with desire. He ground against her and she wished he was inside her, filling her as she cascaded over that inexplicable edge, lights flashing, sirens blazing, crying out with astonishment.

“I haven’t been with anyone since you…since we…had sex. You’ve ruined me for anyone else.” There was a raw honesty in his tone that froze her to the spot.
“That was six months ago.”
His smile was pained. “I know. I can’t get you out of my head.”

“I love the way the light moves through the picture.” His other hand slipped lower, the coolness of her dress spilling over his wrist. Blonde hair trailed over his shoulder as she tilted her head to the side and he tasted the pulse hammering in her throat.
“I like the light too…” She gasped when he slipped his finger inside her. She was hot as Hades, as smooth as Chinese silk.

The distance between them was just a few yards, but stepping toward him felt like crossing the galaxy. Feeling his heat, running her hands up through his crisp dark hair, she drew his mouth down to hers. Kissed him with a fierceness that bordered on possession.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Kobo | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Molly Gets Her Man by Julie Rowe

Format: E-bookmollygetsherman
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled
Hero: Grey Wilson
Heroine: Molly McLaren
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 27, 2014
Started On: January 23, 2014
Finished On: January 26, 2014

Seemingly ditzy Molly McLaren is a translator who is out of a job working as a hairdresser until something more suited for her talents comes along. Trouble finds her when she overhears a plot to kill off a prominent public figure from one of her customers. The next thing Molly knows, she is on the run for her life from mobsters as well as corrupt government officials, all of whom have one thing in mind; get rid of the witness who could foil their plans of murder.

Molly’s knight in shining armor comes in the form of Grey Wilson, her brother’s best friend, sporting a bum leg and a grouchy attitude not to mention his larger than life size that momentarily puts Molly in a place where she doesn’t want to be. Trust comes hard for both Molly and Grey, who have both been hurt in the past. Grey is working on a “mission” to prove himself and earn back his stellar reputation as a cop while Molly would like nothing better than to forget the nightmare she is living in and find herself the sort of job that she is exceptionally good at.

Molly and Grey are as different as night and day. Equipped with a bombshell of a figure, people tend to mistake Molly for less than intelligent while beneath the flighty exterior lies a woman with exceptional capabilities when it comes to languages. Grey is the direct opposite of Molly, the lesser he has to talk, the better. And somehow, all the tension wrought moments these two undergo together forges a connection between two people who otherwise might never have found each other. And suddenly just one night of decadent passion in Grey’s arms is not enough for Molly. However, for them to have even a remote chance at a shared future, first they’d have to stop everyone who is hellbent on putting them both six feet under no matter what.

I liked the overall premise of the story, the big, strong and stoic hero whose rough, tough and gruff exterior hides a gentle man. And of course the heroine who would turn his life upside down turns out to be a woman who practically makes an art out of talking which of course gave the story its own moments of hilarity. Though I liked the story well enough, I did feel that certain parts of the story were rushed through, like the back stories of both Molly and Grey, both of which I would have loved to read more about. Julie Rowe is an author who shows promise in the romantic suspense genre and I would definitely love to see more of her work lining the shelves in the future.

Final Verdict: Favorable combination of laughter, heat & non-stop action.

Favorite Quotes

“Molly? You’re awake, right?”
“Yes,” she whispered, putting her hand over his and pressing it harder against her breast. “Yes.”
He slid his other arm down farther to wrap around her hip, and he rubbed himself against her bottom in a long, slow, suggestive slide. “Be sure.”
“I want this,” she managed to say. “I want you.”
He leaned away so he could roll her onto her back and cover her with his body. His lips travelled from her neck to her ear to her lips. “Jesus Christ, the things you say.”

“I want to make you howl,” he growled in her ear.
“I will, oh God, please. Do something. I’m dying here.” When she started to sob, he pulled out slowly and thrust back in.
She climaxed on the second thrust, but he didn’t let her come down from the high. No, he kept her there, hovering in heaven for so long she wondered if someone could die of pleasure overload.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | ARe

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