Category / Suspense

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Dark Waters by Toni Anderson

Format: E-bookdarkwaters
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Untitled Series, #2
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Brent Carver
Heroine: Anna Silver
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 6, 2013
Started On: July 29, 2013
Finished On: July 30, 2013

Nearly 40 years old, Brent Carver is an ex-con who is on parole after being served life sentence. Brent likes to keep to himself, living on a remote island that he knows like the back of his hand. Handsome as sin and tempting as they come, Brent is a man tormented by the dark shadows of his past, paying a penance that had seen half of his life spent behind bars.

26 year old Anna Silver is a teacher who likes her life calm and chaos free, something she strives hard to achieve be it even by locking down all her emotions. With a past that is shrouded in darkness that more than explains her ice cold character that is a front for every emotion that she keeps at bay, Anna is not at all prepared to receive the news of the death of her father and the fact that she has to run for her life and rely on the only man that her father trusts to keep her safe.

When Anna turns up on Brent’s doorstep, she unravels all the layers of protection that Brent uses to keep people at bay. The attraction that flares to life between him and his best friend’s daughter is not one that settles well with Brent who is hellbent on keeping her at arm’s distance which works well and fine until Anna discovers that she practically smolders in the presence of Brent and Brent alone and that she would rather burn than turn away from the way he makes her feel.

With merciless killers hunting her down, it is a race against time as Anna tries to figure out the truth behind her father’s message, something that is a tougher challenge given the fact that she has little trust for her father. With the viewpoints of multiple characters in the story told in the 3rd person, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson is a romantic suspense novel that would shake the readers to their very core and is definitely the kind that would make one lose their precious sleep over!

Brent Carver was just the right mix of hot, broody, intense and darkness to melt me from the inside out. And yes, I melted on the spot from the very first encounter with the heady specimen of male he is and never looked back. The sacrifices he made, perhaps through a misguided sense of responsibility for a life that had gone awry when he had been a mere teenager more than makes up for the “crime” that he has been serving more than half of his life for. The beauty and the unleashed passion deep inside of him comes when he lets go & puts paintbrush to paper. His connection to Anna is one that is forged long before Anna even knew of his existence and that is the thread that continues to pull at him and totally eviscerates the walls he has built around himself to keep those whom he cares about at bay.

Anna is a wonderful heroine who has just the right balance to complement a man like Brent. Her nightmares are still vivid and haunts her even though she refuses to acknowledge their existence. But Brent and the sharp shards of awareness that shoots through her with each passing day in his presence makes it near impossible for her to shut him out, and the protection and safety she finds in his arms becomes the soothing balm that seems to heal the old hurts that had never seen the light of day.

Honestly, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson is one of the best romantic suspense novels I have read this year. Toni Anderson completely blew me away with what she has brought to readers with her realistic characters, gritty emotions and the out of this world suspense with enough twists & turns in the story to keep the reader guessing that keeps the momentum going at full throttle. Only thing I missed was an epilogue to give a glimpse into how Brent and Anna fairs later on; its only right to give readers a beautiful epilogue to let the story really seep into the pores and cement the deal in my opinion. Regardless of that little trifling detail, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson comes highly recommended & doesn’t change the fact that it was a read that rocked my world. Fans of romantic suspense who loves the perfect balance in the romance, heat and suspense of the dark edged variety would love this one!

Final Verdict: Dark & gritty with excitement and danger at the turn of each page; Dark Waters is definitely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

A low growl rumbled through his chest and then he was kissing her hard and deep, his tongue tangling with hers in a searing dance. Hunger exploded along her nerves. Her heart hammered. Breath coming in gasps. Her fingers slipped beneath his shirt, sliding over taut hot skin. She felt him shiver even though he made no move to touch her. He was letting her take everything at her speed, giving her the sort of control she usually craved.

“I want you to touch me, Brent. I want you inside me.”
“I am touching you.” He was annihilating her. He let go of her wrists and shifted one hand to torture a beaded nipple. “And I am inside you.” His teeth grazed her neck. Two big fingers plunged deep, the heel of his hand pressing against her clitoris just hard enough to make her explode from the onslaught of sensations. Every nerve blasted like a firework, white light blinding her and she opened her mouth in a silent scream as it went on and on and on.

She held on tight to his shoulders, wanting to touch him, but knowing if she let go, she’d fall, and if she fell, he’d stop touching her.
She did not want him to stop.
One of his hands moved south and eased inside her panties. Her back arched up as he slid one finger inside her. “You’re so fucking hot.”
“For you,” she gasped, and let her head fall back as he moved his finger inside her, then added another, the fullness testing her. She dug her nails into his shoulders. “I want you, Brent.”

Then she started rising up and sliding down and he thought he was going to black out. He couldn’t stand it anymore and gripped her hips and drove deeper, deeper, harder. Grinding against her, wanting to get more inside her so she could swallow him whole. Then she cried out in those small gasps that curled around him and squeezed so tight he could no longer breathe. He let himself go, the hard release catapulting him to the moon as a nuclear explosion of white-hot ecstasy burned his mind, obliterating every thought in his head except this. Except her.

There was nothing gentle this time. No holding back as her body demanded more, fingers biting, ankles digging into his ass. This was therapy. A way of getting off and getting some sleep. It was raw sex on a deserted beach and they both needed it.
He drove her to another orgasm and followed her over the razor’s edge, resting his forehead in the curve of her shoulder as he shattered. Then he carried her into the water and they did it again.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Take Me Under by Rhyannon Byrd

Format: E-booktakemeunder.jpg
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Dangerous Tides, #1
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Ben Hudson
Heroine: Reese Monroe
Sensuality: 4.9
Date of Publication: June 4, 2013
Started On: July 20, 2013
Finished On: July 22, 2013

34 year old Ben Hudson is the new sheriff of the idyllic holiday beach town of Moss Beach, Florida. Having given up his position as a homicide detective in Miami due to circumstances that had unfolded during his last investigation, Ben moves to town to take things at a more sedately pace. Ben has a reputation for working hard and playing that much harder and is never afraid of going after what he wants. The only thing that scares the bejeesus out of his is emotional entanglements of any sort.

Newly divorced 28 year old Reese Monroe moves to Moss Beach aiming to kickstart her life in a whole new direction. Her marriage to a cheating scoundrel has pretty much dented her ego and eroded her sense of self esteem and the need to escape from the mess her life had become motivates the move more than anything else.

Ben has hungered for Reese ever since the night he laid his eyes on Reese three years back. He has bided his time, always knowing deep inside that if and whenever Reese becomes free from the clutches of her good for nothing husband, he would definitely make his move and leave them both with the scorching imprint of how good things could be with them between the sheets.

Told from both Ben and Reese’s points of view in third person, Take Me Under takes place in its entirety in Moss Beach, Florida.

The connection between Ben and Reese sizzles right from the onset, a very much wary Reese who has no idea of how much of a starring role she has played in the sexy sheriff’s fantasies a little bit taken aback by the zeal with which Ben pursues her. And when it comes to light that Reese has a stalker who might have made his way to her new hometown on her heels, there is no stopping the protective instinct that surges forth in Ben and he becomes more of a force to be reckoned with which means for Reese there really is no turning back.

Rhyannon Byrd is very talented in the style with which she effortlessly blends the erotic and downright dirty sex into whatever genre of romance she works on. It has been while since she has published a contemporary romance and Take Me Under was a novel that I had been very much in anticipation for ever since she announced its release. Though it didn’t live up to all my expectations, Take Me Under proved to be a hot and panty-melting read with a dirty talking hero tossed into the mix.

Ben seemed to be a bit overwhelming to me; and I believe this just might be the first time I’m saying that about a hero, especially someone who looks like Christian Bale of all people. Forceful in his nature, Ben is a man from whom a woman can’t hide, either during the moments of passion or otherwise. And Ben is greedy enough to want everything Reese can give, although he might not be ready for the overwhelming riot of emotions that blindsides him as much as the passion between them does. The only thing that Ben is more afraid of than anything else is opening up the raw wounds that has festered for far too long inside of him.

Reese knows exactly what she is getting into when she says yes to getting down and dirty with Ben, and she goes onto show it in more ways than one, which actually seems to do a pretty good job of annoying Ben out of his stance on no messy emotional entanglements. It was quite amusing to see Ben in a role that he has never found himself in before as he reluctantly comes to the conclusion that without Reese by his side, he might just as well not exist.

I’m pretty much looking forward to Alex’s story, which seems to be in the works if the ending was anything to judge the next book in the series by. Alex certainly looks to be a hero who would be worth all the heartache he would put a reader through before embracing his own happily ever after.

Recommended for fans of Rhyannon Byrd and erotic contemporary romantic suspense.

Final Verdict: Raw & explicit, Take Me Under is a good debut for the Dangerous Tides series.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookminetopossess
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, #4
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Clay Bennett
Heroine: Talin McKade
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 5, 2008
Started On: July 10, 2013
Finished On: July 11, 2013

Clay Bennett, a leopard shifter and one of the sentinels of the powerful DarkRiver leopard pack in San Francisco is a changeling constantly at war with his two selves; the human and leopard halves that fight for dominance and co-existence. The barely controlled fury inside of him is a living being, a result of his past that constantly puts him on the edge, making him vulnerable to going rogue, if he were to let his leopard half win the battle of wills.

28 year old Talin McKade is a woman who lives with a mix of guilt and self-loathing that is almost palpable. A victim of child abuse and the state entrusted in taking care of children like herself, its not surprising that Talin grows up to become a social worker, her kids and protecting them at all and any cost her sole purpose in life until danger comes calling.

Talin is forced to seek out the help of the one Changeling who terrifies her and the one man she knows would never turn her away in her hour of need. Desperate to find the killer(s) behind the abduction and murder of street kids who are hers, Talin finds herself coming face to face with the one man who had been her past and undeniably her future all in one. But the fury that lurks close to the surface inside of Clay after a 10 year separation is not one to be tamed easily, his beast not ready to accept certain facts together with Talin’s ultimate fear of him that comes close to driving Clay to the edge and beyond. Will Talin & Clay be able to find a way to heal & move on & at the same time find a killer in a race against a ticking clock?

Mine to Possess is the 4th novel in Nalini Singh’s fascinating PsyChangeling series. Mostly set in San Francisco, the story is told from both Talin & Clay’s points of view.

When I first started on the PsyChangeling series a year or so back, the one thing that drew me in as I am guessing with all the fans of this delectable and heart thumping series is the fascinating world building that happens and continues to grow and change with every story. Words simply cannot describe just how awe-inspiring it is to wade through a world of limitless possibilities, a world that I bet Nalini must live in constantly if the way these stories grab the reader by their souls and doesn’t let up is any indication to the fact!

The brief hiatus in my continuation of the series certainly seemed to have whetted my appetite for more and like a Changeling requiring touch and contact of its pack to survive, I found myself plagued with the need to completely lose myself in the compelling and sensuous story that unfolded. I let my senses soak in the world, the palpable feelings of a love so beautiful and vivid that it took my breathe away.

Clay is one of the darkest heroes in the series, made so by the fact that his beast is one that refuses to be tamed, his need to let it roam free understandable given the fact he had lived half of his life forcing himself to ignore that side of him completely. And now that his Talin, yes his Talin is back, there is nothing Clay wouldn’t do, even if it means unleashing all that glorious fury with murderous intent on anyone who dares take her away from him.

One of the best bits about the Changeling world is the concept of how they seem to thrive in the little and yet meaningful touches that is integral and much needed for their survival. Unlike the Psy stripped of their emotions, Changelings are directly the opposite, and one can’t help but feel the need to be petted and stroked, especially by the likes of someone like Clay who actually purrs under the touch of his mate Talin.

The backstory and end of Talin and Clay’s shared history is one mired in violence, and the life Talin had led till now one of half existence. It is inside the warm circle of Clay’s possessive embrace that Talin starts to let go of the fear and accept the fact that with Clay lies her future. I absolutely reveled in how Clay seduces Talin to give in & in turn how Talin has the ability to bring the powerful sentinel to his very knees.

The point in picking up a Nalini Singh novel is that you don’t just end up reading a highly sensuous romance between a dominant alpha male and his mate for life. Rather, it gives you a world so beautifully complex to indulge in that the fascination with what Nalini does with her characters and the story doesn’t ever abate! If there’s one thing that can be said about Nalini and her PsyChangeling series is that once you are in, there’s no going back – period!

To see the picture perfect world the Psy seem to think they have created and the nefarious ends to which their powerful Council is willing to go to keep their stronghold on the power they wield is another mind grappling asset of the story. With their world being stripped away and their fatal flaws being exposed layer by layer, there’s nothing one can do but sit back and watch the ultimate destruction of a race that thought that Silence of emotions is the best way to lead a healthy life.

Recommended for fans of paranormal romances with multifaceted characters and four dimensional world building that is ethereal in its beauty and complexity. There’s none that can compare to what Nalini delivers with this series.

Final Verdict: With each book in the series, Nalini Singh draws the reader deeper into her world of Psy-Changeling and resistance to the effect is a futile endeavour at best!

Favorite Quotes

She was unquestionably small, but not fragile, not easily breakable. There was strength in the straight line of her spine, but also a softness that promised a cushion for a hard male body. The woman had curves. Lush, sweet, curves. Her butt filled out the seat of her jeans perfectly, arousing the deeply sexual instincts of both man and cat. He wanted to bite, to shape, to pet.

The kiss he brushed over her lips caught her breath, blew her confusion to shreds. His skin was a little rough, his mouth pure demand…and his kiss so right it hurt.

He purred into her mouth.
Nipples shocked into sudden pleasure by the vibration, she pulled back. “You purr?”
His smile was pure cat. “Only for you.”

“Bully.” It was a gasp.
“Brat.”
That clever, clever tongue was doing things to her she had never believed possible. She found herself pressing closer, begging him with her body, her thighs tight around him, her heels digging into his back. Then he bit her.
She made a sharp, shocked sound before the world exploded around her. The pleasure was so raw, so rich, so acute, it blasted through her body with the strength of a supernova, leaving her quivering in its wake.

“Move,” she said, voice husky. “Please move.”
He nuzzled at her throat, caught her lips in a kiss. “Ready?”
She looked into his eyes and nodded. “Ready.”
The last thing she remembered thinking was that she had never seen a more beautiful man in her life. A moment later, pleasure crashed through her like thunder and Clay became her world, her universe, her reason for being.

He came to her, laying his head on her thigh. She should have berated him for choosing to end the argument this way but what she did was stroke him. “Beautiful,” she whispered, sinking her hand into the black and gold fir. “Magnificent.” Petting words, because while he was big and tough, he was also hers to love, hers to adore.
Green eyes caught hers, a gleam of smug pride in their depths.
“Vain,” she added.
He growled, bared his teeth. And still she stroked him. Her mate. Her everything.

“You’re not angry anymore?” It came out hesitant, searching.
“How can I be angry with the other half of my soul?” he asked, his tone so tender it tore little pieces out of her heart. “I have a temper, baby, and I know I fucking brood. But even if I act pissed, even if I snarl, it doesn’t mean I love you any less. Your soul shines, Tally, and I’m so damn glad it shines for me.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Mine to Take by Cynthia Eden

Format: E-bookminetotake
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Trace Weston
Heroine: Skye Sullivan
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: June 17, 2013
Started On: June 29, 2013
Finished On: June 30, 2013

Hero: Meet Trace Weston, a man that oozes danger and sex appeal in lethal doses. When he walks into a room, everyone knows. Men are wary of that barely concealed wildness inside of him that has never been fully tamed. When he is on the hunt for the woman who has always been able to mess with his head and make him go uber possessive; then be on the look out. Because Trace is a man who will go down fighting for the woman he loves, the woman who had made all other women pale in comparison since he turned 17 and their worlds had collided that one fateful night.

Heroine: Skye Sullivan, the renowned prima ballerina who harbors a deep and undeniable longing for the man who taught her how destructive a force love and lust can be and left her broken in pieces. Skye has done her darnedest to forget and move on; but then some men are never forgotten are they?

Storyline: Skye is being watched and stalked and she fears that the next time HE finds her, she would never make it out alive. When everyone else refuses to listen to her fears and labels her as merely conjuring stuff out of thin air, Skye turns to the one man she thought she would never ask help from. The minute Skye walks into the plush offices of Weston Securities and sets eyes on an older and a more lethally appealing version of the man who broke her heart, all the feelings that had barely been kept under a leash pulsates back to life back in full force.

There is no turning away from the hunger nor the desire to possess and be possessed. And with the danger relentlessly closing in on her in all directions, Skye has to ask herself the question whether she has entrusted her life to the right man; a man who can still make her or break her if she lets him.

Time Period: Mine to Take has a contemporary setting and takes place in Chicago and New York and is told from both Trace and Skye’s points of view.

Likes: There are some authors who can induce instant lust with their male lead characters and Cynthia Eden is one of them. Trace Weston makes you sit up and take notice the second he enters the equation and there is no going back – ever. He is the uber-alpha type of hero that you envision would one day walk into your life and take you to heaven and beyond. He is the kind of hero that women would throw themselves at because of that intense vibe he exudes, because a woman just knows when a man who can turn her head around walks in.

The way Trace takes care of Skye and is besotted with her is one worth reveling in. I loved the little bits of the shared history between Trace and Skye tucked into the story that made the intense connection that is between them seem that much more real. With the kind of heat that singes and you can’t get enough of, Cynthia Eden has penned another winner with Mine to Take.

This is by no means a light and fluffy read and nor a predictable one. Figuring out who the stalker is takes some doing. There are elements of abuse and a bit of a dark edge to Trace and the whole story that unfolds. I loved the heat, the darkness and the love that is so raw and elemental that is between Trace and Skye. Perhaps a love like their might never materialize in real life but its always a wondrous thing to read about.

I loved the fact that this story captivated me enough to keep burning the midnight oil even when I had work the next day. You can measure a book’s worthiness by how much you are willing to forgo sleep when you know you will regret it the next day.

Dislikes: None.

Recommended for: Those who love dark heroes, hotter than sin sex and fast paced suspense. This is one book that you will not be able to put down.

Final Verdict: Dark & edgy with a passion that sears and a love that defies everything; Mine to Take is a must-read!

Favorite Quotes

His name was a husky murmur from her. Denial and need all tied together.
Her lips were too close. She smelled too good. Sweet vanilla. Good enough to damn well eat.
He took her mouth. Not gently. Not softly. Because he’d never been that kind of guy. Trace knew he wasn’t the tender lover type.
He’d fought for every single thing that he had. He’d keep fighting.

Her bra was tossed across the room.
The cool air hit her nipples, making them go even tighter.
Then his mouth was on her. His mouth wasn’t cool. It was hot. Seeming to singe her and the rasp of his tongue against her nipples felt so good.
She was wet.  She could feel the wetness on her panties, and Skye wanted them gone. She wanted Trace thrusting into her—
“I’ll let your hands go, but don’t move them. I get to touch. I get to taste.”  His hands eased away from hers. “I get to take.”

Release was near, so near—
“Tell me, Skye,” he demanded. A dark note had entered his voice. One that should have made her hesitate. Possessive… fierce… “Only me.”
She hovered on the brink of release.  “Trace, I need more—“
“I’ll give you every fucking thing.”
A zipper hissed down.  He lowered his body against hers.
He thrust into her.
Not easy. Not tentative.
He drove deep, filling her completely, and she stopped being on the brink.

He was hot and hard and strong in her hand.  Moisture gleamed on the head of his arousal, and she knew that just a few more—
“Not that way,” he snarled, the words dark and hard. “In you.”
Her panties ripped.  He lifted her hips.  Her skirt swirled around them. He lifted her—and thrust deep.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Lover Undercover by Samanthe Beck

Format: E-bookloverundercover
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Hero: Trevor McCade
Heroine: Kylie Roberts
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: April 22, 2013
Started On: April 17, 2013
Finished On: April 20, 2013

Hero: Trevor McCade, 30 years old, and a cop for nine years out of which the last three had been spent in homicide.

Heroine: Kylie Roberts, yoga instructor who dreams of owning her own yoga studio in the fine city of LA one day.

Storyline: Kylie’s identical twin sister Stacy breaks her leg from a nasty fall at the exotic dance club where she works. When Kylie agrees amidst all misgivings & reluctance to step in for her, Kylie accidentally stumbles across the body of a murdered man who turns out to be one of Stacy’s regular clients. Going undercover with the sexy Trevor turns out to be a deal and rule breaker for Kylie, someone who has always being on the straight and narrow where life is concerned. For Trevor whose mantra has always been to focus on the job at hand, Kylie proves to be just the right and very tempting sort of distraction he needs. And as sparks fly in every direction & every opportunity available, both Trevor & Kylie brace themselves for the sort of emotional roller coaster ride that would change them both forever.

Time period: Lover Undercover has a contemporary setting and is told from both the point of views of the hero and heroine.

Likes: This was my very first Samantha Beck and boy, am I glad that the blurb convinced me to kick all caution aside and request for this title on Netgalley. From the first chapter itself which introduces us to a nervous Kylie berating herself for agreeing to step in for sister and to the moment she lays eyes on Trevor, I knew I had made the right choice and I let all my reservations go and just buckled up for what turned out to be one hell of a ride.

I loved Samantha’s style of writing, the way she brought out pertinent details about the characters that lent the story a well rounded edge. And the one thing that struck me was how Lover Undercover continually surprised me with how non-cliche it turned out to be. I expected certain scenes to turn out in the most usual and likely way possible and Samantha continued to surprise me by taking the lesser traveled road where romance authors are concerned. For that Samantha Beck earns my whole hearted approval.

And Trevor, oh sweet Lord Trevor. I can’t even say his name without a small tremor invading my body. Trevor is the sweetest sin any heterosexual woman could indulge in. And boy, does he prove time and yet again that he is more than capable of indulging in sinful behavior every chance he got that certainly left me begging for more. Tasteful and yet so very erotic, each and every scene had my blood pumping in all the right directions and thats all I’m going to divulge here for my readers. And let me tell you, those private dance scenes were over the charts hot!

I loved Kylie too. Kylie’s character is very well rounded and her vulnerability together with that determination to succeed truly had me where it matters. I rooted for her and loved the way she couldn’t turn away from the need that echoes in Trevor’s eyes and the way that they both are so in tune with each other’s emotional as well as physical needs just made me one happy reader all around.

On a side note, I enjoyed this so much that I went right ahead and purchased Private Practice by the author right after I finished reading Lover Undercover because I think with just one book Samantha has managed to shoot right up to my list of auto-buy authors.

Dislikes: None

Final Verdict: Hot and sinfully brazen with just the right amount of suspense. I want my very own Trevor right now!

Recommended for: Fans of the Brazen line from Entangled Publishing, fans of Samantha Beck and of course for readers like myself who love a good hot scorching read with a hero that will leave you with heat flashes long afterwards. Definitely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

Head back and teeth clenched, her entire body tightened against his. Her free hand clenched his shirtfront while the busy hand between her legs stilled. She sucked in a quick breath—as if she’d just walked into the biggest surprise of her life—and then came with a long, shattering cry.
In that moment, Trevor knew that he was completely and utterly fucked.

Such a simple thing, really—just lips against lips—but oh, she felt the magical electricity of it all the way to her toes. Rather than sate her hunger, the gentle kiss was like a taste of chocolate to a starving woman. She wanted, needed, couldn’t deny herself more.
She parted her thighs, so her soft, yielding parts aligned intimately with the hard ridge straining the fly of his gray trousers.
A subtle tightening of his hand on her butt lifted her higher. The blunt head of his erection found and pressed a pleasure button she barely knew she possessed.
She practically crawled up his body, curling her arm around his neck, wrapping her leg around his hip, arching and opening so the place he’d discovered was his for the taking.

“Christ, don’t move,” he growled. Leaning in, he pressed his chest against her back, pushing her forward. Grappling for balance, she gripped his knees, twined her legs around his firmly planted calves, and scooted her hips back hard and fast until the only thing she could feel—the only thing she could think about—was the blunt, unforgiving thrust of his erection against her quivering sex. Just when she feared she’d cry out from a combination of agony and need, Trevor choked out a strangled curse, shuddered, and exhaled a long, rough groan.
She gripped him hard, and drew her clenched fist slowly up his shaft, wringing an agonized curse from him.
“Let me,” she whispered, more a demand than a request. “Tell me what you want.”
He wanted to tell her to stop; needed to tell her to stop. Instead, he grabbed her waist, buried his face in the warm, fragrant curve of her neck, and begged. “Christ, do that again. A little faster.”

She leaned in, closed her lips around his earlobe, and bit down. Bright light flashed behind his clenched eyelids, the few brain cells he had left imploded, and he came with a strangled groan.

Hands tangled as he helped her unhook his belt and open his fly. Reaching in, she found him straining toward her invading fingers with an enthusiasm that matched her own. Shoving his clothing away, she closed her hand around him. Dear heaven…all of him.

For one suspended moment, their eyes met. His lips moved and she heard his rough, shocked, “Jesus, Stacy.” Then sensations blasted through her like a shock wave. Eyes closed, head thrown back, she spasmed helplessly, endlessly. With a low, tortured sound, he plunged again, and she shattered in his arms.

 

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Widow by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookthewidow
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Connor Maguire
Heroine: Charlotte Thomas
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 12, 2012
Started On: March 12, 2013
Finished On: March 15, 2013

Sigh. Count on Anne Stuart to always deliver a story worth sinking one’s teeth into. Though most people on Goodreads who have read and rated this book doesn’t seem to like it much, I found the story hard to put down and enchanting at best and thought provoking as well. Needless to say I enjoyed the heck out of reading this one.

30 year old Charlotte Thomas (Charlie) receives the news of the death of her ex-husband Aristide Pompasse 5 years after she leaves him and has started a successful life of her own. Knowing that as the widow and beneficiary of his will she would have to face her past and the demons that she keeps at bay at any cost, Charlie makes her way to Tuscany, Italy to once and for all deal with everything she had left behind.

It is in Tuscany and at Pompasse’s residence that Charlie runs into the 35 year old Connor Maguire who poses as an insurance consultant to get what he wants out of the supposed tragedy behind the death of a man who had surrounded himself with a harem of young women, a man who had been considered as one of the greatest artists of his time.

Charlie would rather cut off an arm than admit to herself or anyone else for that matter that Connor ruffles her feathers and gets under her skin in a way that no man before him ever has. His confronting nature coupled with his rough around the edges appeal makes Charlie want the unthinkable and crave for something she has never had before.

Connor is willing to do whatever it takes to profit from the story behind the death of the legendary artist, whose uptight and closed up widow makes him think of things better left unsaid. Connor is not going to leave any stone unturned in his attempt to get what he wants, be it even if seducing Charlie is what it’s going to take. However, things hardly go according to his plan as his fascination with Charlie and what she represents continues to grow together with his hunger to have her in every manner possible for a man to have a woman.

The Widow by Anne Stuart makes for an awesome read, the details of Charlie’s past makes for a shocking and titillating read. The past that Charlie tries so hard to escape from inevitably catches up with her and in the end lands her life in danger as it becomes clear that someone is out for her blood and that death is the only inevitable conclusion behind the craziness that ensues.

I will never know how Anne Stuart does it; and she does it every single time; she manages to come up with heroes of the calibre that most writers are afraid of creating and gives them an appeal that is hard to escape from. True to that fact, Connor makes for a very appealing hero, whose ruthless nature makes it hard for a fan of such heroes not to fall head over heels in love and lust with him.

Charlie is the character that makes you think, a woman who had married an old man whom she had looked up to as a father figure and protector who had ended up killing her on the inside and stealing her very soul in the process. Her escape from him hadn’t come without a price though people who know of her would hardly understand that by looking at her. Needless to say, Charlie’s character was one that called to me and made me empathise as well as fall in love with her as the story continued on its path.

Highly enjoyable, The Widow is recommended for fans of contemporary romantic suspense novels by Anne Stuart and for those who like myself love a little bit of ruthlessness in their heroes which means seeing them fall in love is just that much more fun!

Favorite Quotes

Charlie wouldn’t have thought a kiss would be earth-shattering. But then, she would never have let anyone like Maguire kiss her if she had had half a chance to avoid it.
But she didn’t. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her up against his dusty, sweaty body, put a hand behind her head to hold her still and simply kissed her, openmouthed, using his tongue.
And she closed her eyes and kissed him, and he opened his mouth for her, and this time it wasn’t firm and dry, it was hot and wet, and she felt a jolt all the way down her body. For half a moment she tried to pull away, and then simply sank against him, pulling her hands from beneath his T-shirt and sliding them around his neck, pulling him closer. She felt his hands skim her face, as if he was afraid to touch her, and then he did, cupping her face lightly, as he met her unpracticed kiss with such profound gentleness that she wanted to weep with longing.

She didn’t even know how it happened. She turned and leaned her back against the door, looking up at him through the thick shadows. And then the shadows were blotted out, as he placed his body up against hers, hip to hip, chest to breast, mouth to mouth.
She was hungry for it. Hungry for him, when she had thought it was something she’d never feel. He tasted like rain and repentance, of sweet sin and the night air, and she closed her eyes and kissed him back, shivering in response.

He was moving a little faster now, and he heard that breathless catch in her voice. She was climbing again, and this time she knew where it would lead. And she wasn’t sure if she was ready to go there again.
But he was. He wanted her with him. He wanted her convulsing around him as he spilled inside her, and he wasn’t going to come without her.
“No,” she said. The first time she had said no all night.
“Hell, yes.” He reached between their bodies and touched her, hard.
She was absolutely silent this time as the climax hit her, clenching around him, as wave after wave of release drained her body.
And he followed her, letting go, holding nothing back.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Shadow Woman by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookshadowwoman
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Hero: Xavier
Heroine: Lizette Henry
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: January 1, 2013
Started On: January 9, 2013
Finished On: January 15, 2013

I crave for a fix of Linda Howard like an addict craves for a fix of the drug that gives him a high. Dramatic? Yes. But its nothing but the truth. When I discovered books by Linda Howard, quite by chance I must say, I raced through them like a serial killer would race through a field of potential victims. Again, dramatic a description? But again, that is nothing but the truth. Linda Howard is an author I have an utmost admiration for, because she has written so many outstanding books and the recent decline in the popularity of her newer books has just made me sad enough to weep. What keeps the tears at bay is there is always the possibility of re-reading her entire collection when the mood hits, just so I can get my fix of Linda Howard once in a while, an author who has written romance as it should be, too many a time to count.

I decided to give Shadow Woman, Linda Howard’s latest novel a go because the reviews coming in had not been as bad as it had been for her previous two books which I skipped reading altogether. Yes, call me a coward, but I’d rather remember Linda Howard in all her glory than diminish what her stories have meant to me all through the years by reading books that would shed her talent in an unfavorable light. Nevertheless I did read Shadow Woman and I’d have to admit that disappointment did flow through me as the book made a steady decline in rating as I progressed into the story.

The premise of Shadow Woman is an exciting one. Lizette Henry wakes up one morning and discovers that the face in the mirror that is staring back at her is not hers. And the warning bells start ringing, throwing Lizzy into murky waters where she doesn’t know whether she can trust anyone to keep her safe from them whoever they may be. Unknown to Lizzy, or perhaps I should say unknown to Lizzy until that point in time, she has been under constant surveillance, a subject of massive interest to some very powerful people who hold the cards on whether she should continue to live or be terminated because the wealth of information if she were to remember could bring everything tumbling down.

As Lizzy awakens from the deep “slumber” she has been in for the past 3 years, remnants of her past come calling, in the form of flashbacks of memories and thought processes and behavior she’d never have thought herself to be capable of. And in her dreams comes a man she calls as X, the man who makes her hunger for what his touch does to her, for what they together create in those beautifully vivid dreams of the erotic variety.

When all hell breaks loose, it is Xavier who rides to Lizzy’s rescue, the man who has haunted her dreams since her memories started coming back, their past something shrouded in a mystery until Lizzy finds herself confronting that very past that makes her a loose end that needs to be dealt with.

Shadow Woman is a novel that has so much potential to it. What made it all the more heart wrenching to read was the fact that there were echoes of the old Linda Howard in bits and pieces of the story, mostly in the delicious dreams that Lizzy sees of herself and X, entwined in a lover’s embrace that could be called nothing but sensual and off the charts hot. In Xavier I found that Linda’s ability to create mouthwatering heroes that makes my heart beat faster still exists and yes, Xavier is a hero that was delicious in a lot of ways.

What did not work for me in Shadow Woman was the fact that the actual story got bogged down in too much descriptive detail that detracted from the pace and the suspense factor in the novel. I skipped large chunks of the story towards the latter part of the book, just because I wanted to find out the big secret and wanted to know how Xavier and Lizzy fair in the long run.

With enough bits and pieces of the old Linda Howard to entice, Shadow Woman turned out to be a favorable read for me which could have turned out to be an all out fantastic one if not for the details that kept getting in the way.

Recommended for die-hard fans of the author like myself. 

Favorite Quotes

Then she straightened, tossing her hair back, and turned to the mirror – and stared into the face of a stranger.

For a moment they just lay there on the big bed, chest to chest, legs intertwined, hearts pounding. They were eye to eye, and for a moment Lizette felt her breath catch. Good God, he was beautiful! Not pretty, there was nothing pretty about him, but seen with her heart he was … beautiful.

His touch firm, he dragged his fingertips through her cleft, found the soft, damp opening between her legs, and bit her in the curve between her neck and shoulder as at the same time he slid two big fingers deep into her. The heel of his rough palm pressed down hard on her clitoris, sending little lightning shocks all through her.
Her body bucked and shimmied under the triple onslaught. A breathless little cry slipped from her lips and she turned her face against the pillow, fighting to contain the sensation, and the sounds she was making.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Wild Encounter by Nikki Logan

Format: E-bookwildencounter
Read with: Kindle for iPhone
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Hero: Simon deVries
Heroine: Dr. Clare Delaney
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: September 9, 2012
Started On: September 19, 2012
Finished On: October 16, 2012

My pace of reading has become so slow that it ain’t even funny anymore. That being said, Wild Encounter by Nikki Logan turned out to be exactly my kind of read, the kind of romantic suspense that I love to read. Intense with enough nail biting tension of the good and bad kind, with a hero that practically melted me on the spot with that intense grey eyes of his that just begs a woman to do all kind of things to him – and I mean it all in a very good way.

Dr. Clare Delaney is part of the team of WildLyfers on a mission in Africa when their convoy gets attacked and she abducted right along with it. That is when she meets with the devastating Simon deVries who challenges and provokes her in ways Clare never thought possible. The way Simon makes Clare feel is one she is instinctively wary of, but the passion he rouses in her is one that Clare can’t deny. And even with all the obstacles in front of them, Clare still succumbs to Simon’s rousing touch and tumbles headlong into something that Clare never thought would be possible ever since the disaster her previous relationship turned out to be.

Wild Encounter is a tale that lives up to its name. Set in the wild and beautiful terrain of Africa, Nikki Logan brings to life a story that brought me out of the reading stump and gave me something to look forward to every night when I hopped into bed. Both Simon and Clare turned out to be characters that I fell in love with. Clare being headstrong and independent doesn’t mean that she is stupid and takes unnecessary risks. But rather she is someone who bides her time, weighs her options and acts when the time calls for it. I loved her feisty courage and also the fact that she is intensely vulnerable when it comes to Simon.

Simon, oh God Simon, I can’t even think of the name without going into a minute long sighing session – he turned out to be such a devastating hero in so many ways. There is his good looks of course and the fact that beneath all the tough exterior lies a heart that yearns for the type of love that he has never even dared to dream of. With Clare in the picture, what Simon has accepted to be his life for all eternity suddenly becomes an obstruction towards his desire to have her for himself for always. And Simon and Clare together makes for an explosive and combustive combination that I certainly couldn’t get enough of.

The book seeps with emotion. One of the things I loved about Nikki Logan’s writing was the fact that she didn’t cut any corners with the story. Some of the scenes of violence were brutal to the extent that I could actually picture Clare being beaten up and tossed about. But I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The edge of violence and the bite of red hot passion makes this story an unbeatable one in the current line of books of the romantic suspense variety. For me, there is nothing better than an author who isn’t afraid to be true to her style of storytelling and I think that’s exactly what Nikki Logan has given us readers with.

The writing is absolutely beautiful at times, so many quote-worthy material in the book that I had to prevent myself from quoting too much from the book. All in all, I would say a fantastic read that I would recommend for readers who love their romantic suspense spicy both in the action and the romance aspect. Raw, edgy and hot, Wild Encounter certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Favorite Quotes

Her knees deserted her along with her courage, her skin roaring to fierce heat, but his body crushing hers to the wall kept her upright. She shook her head, dislodging a nervous tear that fell to where their mouths nearly met. With a low growl he closed the gap, tasted the tiny droplet where it slid to a halt on her upper lip, his mouth lingering there a moment. She could feel the barely leashed strength of his grip on her.
It was a half-kiss designed to send a message. Angry and mean and intended to scare her.
Her heart thundered.

She stopped fighting and his hold on her softened. He let one arm drop so she could push away … if she wanted.
She didn’t want. She leaned into him instead, kissing him back, a half-moan wanting its voice. It was stupid and crazy and weak – and she’d never needed anything so badly in her life. Kissing him, having the control, was as heady as any narcotic.

“Clare…” He groaned into her mouth and her breath came thick and fast, causing a foggy light-headedness. He held her while she ran her hands over parts of him she didn’t know she’d been dying to feel. His chest. The swell of his biceps, the muscles of his back. How could one man feel so good? Such a wrong man.

His laugh was half a groan as he pressed her into the mattress and settled between her legs. “Last chance, Clare…”
She lifted her hips for answer.
He slid strongly into her. His eyes fluttered shut a breath before hers did. He paused inside her, and the two of them lay there – feeling, not moving – for a long, exquisite moment.
For as long as she lived, she would remember this feeling.
Complete. Safe.

He pulled back a fraction, and then lowered his mouth again. Tasted her. Explored her. Teased her.
She moaned and let her tongue tangle with his. His hand left her hair to pal, the hard peak of her breast. Big, sensual, confident circles. Muscles she hadn’t used in six months coiled and tensed deep inside.
Her hand slid along his thigh, aching to touch him.
“You taste just the same,” he whispered, biting at her lower lip. “You feel just the same.”

His scent enveloped her, his body heat reached for her. Her eyes drifted shut in anticipation of the feel of his lips on hers. At the very last second, he leaned in more, so his kiss landed father back, below her jaw. Where he’d once marked her. Back where Boot’s filthy mouth and hands and violence had not just gone.
Firm lips molded to her jawline and pressed lightly against her pulse point, which pounded with things left unsaid. His mouth brushed briefly over her throat, spilling shivers down her whole body. The mere seconds it must have really taken felt like forever.

Then his mouth was on hers, crushing her to him, trying to fuse their bodies permanently together. His muscles barely had to work to keep her tight within the circle of his arms. She melted into his python hold, opening her mouth wider to let him fully in. His tongue stole past her teeth, tangling with her own, invading and retreating, desperate to taste her. She tugged on his lips with her own, clinging as though her life depended on it.

It wasn’t romantic, there were no sweet nothings. It was fast and dirty, and exactly, perfectly, wonderfully right.

He crushed her to him, and thrust hard into her, muting his strangled cry against her throat. She fell with him over the edge, into the blinding light of orgasm, and the rhythmic pulse of his muscles, his essence, flooded into her, made all the more powerful, and all the more holy, by her own utterly silent scream.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Deadly Is the Kiss by Rhyannon Byrd

Format: E-bookdeadlyisthekiss
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Spin-off from The Primal Instinct Series
Publisher: HQN Books
Hero: Ashe Granger
Heroine: Juliana Sabin
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 20, 2012
Started On: March 19, 2012
Finished On: March 22, 2012

First of all, if you have never read The Primal Instinct Series by Rhyannon Byrd, you might not like Deadly is the Kiss. I say this because the hero and heroine in this novel are characters that you come across and become intrigued with as you read the aforementioned series. Ashe Granger, the vampire hero in this novel has always intrigued me and I have always wanted to know what makes him tick. When Rhyannon announced that Rush of Pleasure would be the last in the series, I wanted to cry out because Rhyannon is an author who brings scorching heat to her books with a shitload of emotion that I just love to indulge myself in. And so you can imagine my reaction when I learnt that not only Rhyannon was sort of continuing in a different line of the series and it was going to be the much awaited book of Ashe Granger!

Ashe Granger is a 2 century old Deschanel vampire and a member of the Förmyndares, an elite, highly skilled group of soldiers whose job was the protection of the Deschanel vampires. Ashe might have made it his life mission to screw through any woman that takes his fancy but ever since he meets the prickly 27 year old Juliana Sabin, Ashe has a feeling that his days of carousing and sleeping through a long line of women were about to be over.

Juliana is still paying for the fatal mistake she made in her youth; falling in love with the wrong kind of vampire. The guilt that plagues her for subjecting her whole family to live in the desolate compound of Wasteland is one that haunts her continuously. And when she receives the news that she and her family are once again in danger, this time the kind that would wipe them from the face of the Earth, she takes the lifeline that is thrown her way and embarks on a journey to seek out the one vampire whom she can’t forget, the one vampire whom she knows would help her out if she manages to convince him of her plight. 

The last vampire that Ashe expects to run into is the one vampire whom he would like nothing better than to get horizontal with and never get up. And through that haze of lust and resentment that Ashe feels, he manages to identify that although Juliana might not be telling him the whole version of her side of things, she is really in danger and Ashe knows that as long as he lives, he would protect HIS woman with every breathe he takes.

Thus begins the game of hide and seek where Juliana and Ashe barely manage to get rid of one group of assassins to run into another, all tasked with the mission of taking Juliana with them. Their grudge is not with Ashe and when he stands in their way to the ultimate prize, all bets are off and Rhyannon gives readers enough fist fights, blood and gore to keep the action alive throughout. With his senses heightened by the danger that surrounds them both, Ashe finds that it is an impossibility for him to keep his hands off of Juliana and he embarks on a mission to quench his thirst for his little convict, all the while thinking that he would be able to walk away, when all is said and done.

I don’t understand the reason why so many readers have taken a dislike towards Ashe’s character. For me, he was real, he was exactly how I envisioned him to be. Ashe is a vampire who has been cheated on by the one woman he trusted and as they say, once bitten twice shy. And for someone like Ashe who works tirelessly in enforcing the law amongst vampires, falling for someone who is nothing more than a convict in his eyes sends him into a whirlpool of conflicting emotions. Ashe fights it all, and oh does he fight, but the fiercest battle of all is one which he wages with himself, torn between the Burning he feels for Juliana and his need to walk away with his emotions intact.

I loved Ashe from his delicious and mouthwatering physical form to what he was deep inside. He might not like the deck of cards fate has dealt him with but above everything else he is a man who believes in justice and fairness and that is how he finds himself agreeing to help Juliana even when he knows that Juliana doesn’t trust him enough to divulge the entire truth. His desire and need for Juliana is a wondrous thing, it is an all encompassing one that refuses to back down, especially with Juliana within arms reach. Ashe’s insecurities are there for all to see, his fear of being cuckolded that plays into his possessive instincts bringing out the jealousy that gives him the extra edge which I just loved. I don’t know about anyone else, but I just flat-out loved Ashe and everything he stood for.

Juliana Sabin is a heroine who I fell in love with right from the very start. She doesn’t want Ashe knowing the truth of how her family’s banishment came about and her reasons are many. And in her own way, Juliana does what she does with the noble intention of protecting the man who means far too much to her than anyone else has in her life. Juliana knows that by giving up her body to a man who plays her like a master would be akin to disaster when she has to walk away from him when the danger is finally no more. Though the thought of leaving Ashe leaves her reeling, I loved Juliana because she takes her chance to indulge with Ashe wholeheartedly and gives herself up to him with everything she has to give.

The one thing you can always count on in novels by Rhyannon is that thread of scorching sensuality and heat that is abundantly woven throughout the story. There were times when my e-reader practically singed my fingertips for the amount of heat that Ashe and Juliana generates, their desire for one another the stuff that happily ever afters are made of.

Loved the sappy ending, giving that much needed happily ever after to two people who most definitely deserve it and I can’t wait to find out whose story Rhyannon comes up with next. Kudos to another book that kept me entertained, made me hum in all the right places and gave me a reason to smile when all was said and done! And as a reader, there is nothing more you can ask for!

Favorite Quotes

With a hoarse curse on his lips, Ashe shuddered against her. The night felt warmer, the air heavier…richer, as it pressed in on them. Lust spilled through his veins in a thick, decadent slide, more potent than any narcotic as it poured through his system. His tongue flicked against the velvety softness of her lower lip, coaxing her to accept him…to kiss him back. She shivered, blinking, then relented, her lips parting with a sigh…inviting him in, and he couldn’t resist, sliding his tongue against hers in an explicit kiss that was wet and deep and hungry.

She cried out as he quickly shoved a hand into the front of her panties, the sharp sound becoming a breathless moan when he cupped her warm sex in his palm and gave a predatory growl. Her delicate hands were on the sides of his neck, clutching him to her, her tongue sliding against his in a way that made his blood boil. Heat poured off him in blistering, sweltering waves as he shoved two thick fingers inside the slick, narrow opening of her body, stretching tender tissues, surprised by how perfect and small she felt. By how tightly she gripped him.
“I knew,” he groaned, nipping her mouth with his teeth as he pushed his fingers deeper into that hot, melting honey. “I fucking knew you were going to feel like this.”

Keeping his fingers locked around her arms, he stared her right in the eye, his chest rising and falling from the jagged force of his breaths. “I want you in a bed, Juliana. I want hours on top of you, under you, beside you. Hell, I want it all. And I want to be able to drift off, knowing that I can roll back over at any time and sink right back into you.” His voice dropped even lower. “So stop arguing and get back on the damn bed.”

The next thing Juliana knew, he had her braced against the back wall of the shower, one hand under her bottom, the other tangled in the back of her wet hair, holding her in place as he took her mouth with what seemed to be an urgent, desperate craving, and claimed her body in the same way. His c#ck found her soft notch, his first thick thrust so hard and deep it shoved the air up out of her lungs, her thoughts fracturing beneath the violent surge of sensation.

He rubbed his thumb over the smoothness of her cheek, thinking she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. “You don’t think you’re worth killing for?”
Her laugh was brittle. “Hardly.”
For a moment, there was only the sound of their breathing and the wind gusting through the trees. And then he said, “I disagree.”
She stared up at him, trembling, her eyes filled with the questions she couldn’t put into words.
“I mean it,” he rasped. “I would kill for you. Easily. Without remorse. Again and again.”

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: If You Know Her by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookifyouknowher
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Ash Trilogy #3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Edward Lawson Reilly
Heroine: Nia Hollister
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 28, 2012
Started On: March 11, 2012
Finished On: March 16, 2012

If You Know Her, the 3rd book in the Ash Trilogy by Shiloh Walker is the conclusion to a series that started out explosively good. It was the need to know the identity of the killer that Shiloh had hidden so well in plain sight that made me come back for more every time. Shiloh Walker is an author who manages to disturb my slumber. This time it was a nightmare that I read the final book in the trilogy and STILL couldn’t figure out who the killer was which had me jerking back to wakefulness.

Nia Hollister is having a tough time out of accepting the brutal death of her cousin Jolene Hollister. Though the killer had been caught or rather had been killed, tying up everything in a neat little package, Nia doesn’t get the closure that she so craves. A photojournalist by profession, Nia had been away on an assignment when her cousin had first gone missing. The sheer amount of rage that unfurls inside of Nia upon seeing the bruised and battered body of the one person who had been like a sister to her leaves her reeling and at the same time gives her that determination to dig deeper, to find out whether Jolene’s killer had well and truly being caught.

34 year old Edward Lawson Reilly (Law) lives in the small town of Ash in Kentucky. Law is a writer by profession and has that brooding thing down to a fine art. 5 months or so later to the day that Nia Hollister had practically exploded into his life, Law encounters her once again, this time seemingly with her mind set on staying. Law knows deep inside that with that unrelenting glint in her eyes, Nia could stir up a shitload of trouble but that doesn’t stop him from craving for her with every breathe he takes.

What Nia does with her pricking and prodding is to stir up a killer who is more than happy to lay dormant for a while until the dust settles. But as it is usual with methodical serial killers, he too makes his fair share of mistakes and that is how eventually Nia ends up being the one who is able to unravel him, the one who is able to once again set on fire that burning need to hurt, kill and do a hell lot more, only if Nia were the type of person who would not cause a fuss if she went missing from the scene.

For me, it was the killer that Shiloh brought to life in book one that made this whole series. He was scary enough to give me the shivers every single time he came into the picture and my mind was frantically trying to piece together all the evidence to find out who it is that could be the killer. As most readers who have reviewed this already have stated that they had their fair share of suspicion on who could be the killer, I too had them but then Shiloh managed to throw us all off a bit with book 2 in which we didn’t get to see much from the guy.

Nia Hollister is a force to be reckoned with. She is totally bad-ass, drives a Harley and lives from one assignment to the next. But with Law in the picture, Nia starts picturing a life that could mean settling down a bit and dreams of that elusive thing called a happily-ever-after that few people ever seem to find in real life. 

Law is the type of hero that you envision in your mind with that five o’clock shadow darkening his jawline, a pensive faraway look hiding what he thinks and eyes that could drive a woman nuts because when he does focus on you, it would take a mighty force of the nature to pull your gaze away from his. As all the heroes we met through the trilogy, Law too is protectiveness personified. Even when Nia gives him a lot of trouble, Law sticks adamantly to his schedule of keeping his woman safe, even if it means that he is the one who has to carry the nightmares to bed with him.

The passion between Nia and Law was of the toe-curling variety with some scorching scenes tossed in between and I loved every minute of it. The one thing that I felt was missing from the story was the insight into the killer’s life once he was revealed. I wanted to know details about him that would have shed some light on why he had turned out that way. The killer was a mass of contradictions if ever there was one. The fact that he managed to lead a life that resembled normalcy, didn’t isolate himself from the rest of the town and goes about his daily life as a normal person would were bits and pieces that fascinated me. I wanted to know what makes him tick, what kickstarts and unravels that ball of need inside of him that gives him that creepy edge.

While everyone got their happily ever afters, I wanted an epilogue or just an extra chapter to see how they were all doing, how they were all dealing with the aftermath of a killer who had not just touched their lives for brief moments in time, but left a deep impact on all of them which would only heal with time.

Recommended for fans of Shiloh Walker and fans of the Ash Trilogy. 

Favorite Quotes

Swearing, he fisted a hand in her short hair, yanked her head back and slanted his mouth over hers. She opened for him, humming with delight and Law was cursing himself even as he gorged on her taste. Fuck, she was sweet—hot, sweet, and perfect.

Tipping her head, she stared into his tawny, hazel eyes, so intense, so burning-hot and all-consuming. Had she ever had a man look at her like that? Like she was all? Like she was everything? The center of his universe? Hell, screw the center … Law was looking at her like she was his universe.

Then he curled his tongue around her clit and Nia could have sworn she saw lights exploding. Her breath caught in her lungs, the muscles in her body went rigid. Nothing, absolutely nothing seemed to exist except for the way that man was teasing her closer and closer to climax, using his tongue in a way that was nothing short of diabolical.

Her breathing ragged, her body went lax under his. “We’re not done,” he rasped, fisting a hand in her dark, short hair. Law greedily took her mouth as he started to ride her again—deep, hard. So damned hungry, so damned hungry …
If she’d had the breath, she might have told him to give her a minute.
But even if she had had the breath? He would have stolen it away again.

When she reached the button of his jeans, his hips jerked and he squeezed his eyes closed, hoped he wouldn’t make a fool of himself and lose it the second she touched him. He hadn’t done anything like that in ages, not since high school, but Nia shattered his control like nothing else.
Nia shattered him.

He’d had a need to be gentle, had wanted this to be slow and lazy, as though something sweet and easy could take away the misery of the day. It wasn’t quite the sweet and tender seduction he’d hoped for, but as the climax rushed up on them, claiming them both hard and demanding, as she rested her forehead to his, their gazes locked, her mouth seeking out his … everything else fell away.
In those moments, nothing else existed but each other. 

Across the room, Nia said with a smirk, “Look at Tinkerbell going all mama-bear.”
Hope snapped, “Oh, shove the Tinkerbell crap up your ass.”
For about two seconds, Nia just stared at her. Then she started to laugh.

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