Category / Older Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Loving Mercy by Teresa Bodwell

Format: Paperback
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Book 1, Untitled Series
Publisher: Zebra Books
Hero: Thaddeus Buchanan
Heroine: Mercy Clarke
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 2005
Started On: January 24, 2011
Finished On: January 25, 2011

Hanging out at bookstores is one of my favorite ways of passing the time. Take me to a mall, show me a huge bookstore with loads of books to salivate over and I promise you wouldn’t find anyone else happier than myself at that very moment. Since Maldives is such a drag for book lovers like myself, coming to India where bookstores are as frequent as their chai (tea) stalls, needless to say I am in book heaven at the moment. So when I stumbled across this book cover at a used bookstore, I picked it up on a whim, based on its cover alone and because the back synopsis promised this book to deliver a good American-Western romance.

27 year old Mercy Clarke is one of those determined heroines who love their independence, who has had a bad marriage with her now deceased husband Nate and wishes to remain single and shoulder all the responsibilities of her family’s cattle ranching business in Colorado. Six feet tall Mercy always feels as if she were a giraffe in a menagerie and refuses to open up her heart to the possibility of love. Mercy still sports her wedding ring two years on after her husband’s death and is still haunted by the memory of how things ended up with him before his death. With a father who has been disabled from the accident that killed her husband and a younger sister to take care of, Mercy is a woman who takes her responsibilities very seriously and is determined that she would keep the family ranch no matter how much it costs her to do so.

23 year old Thaddeus Buchanan (Thad) is an ex-veteran who served in the civil war, who had his whole family taken from him in a war that has made little sense to him always. His only living relative is his sister Clarisse who lives up in Colorado and Thad is determined to reach her and make a home for himself up in the Colorado mountains. Easy going and charming, Thad is more than 6 feel tall, broad shouldered, blond haired with azure eyes and has a killer dimple in his right cheek when he smiles.

It is Thad’s determination that he reach Colorado that ends him up in the company of the prickly as a thorn Mercy Clarke in the town of Albiene where Mercy travels to auction off her cattle to pay off the debt on her ranch. From the first encounter between Thad and Mercy, Thad is totally captivated by Mercy and her independent nature. Though Mercy would rather cut off an arm than admit that the handsome and charming Thad gets to her more than any man ever had in her life, Mercy is determined that nothing come out of her inconvenient attraction to a man who seems too easygoing to her. But things take a turn when Mercy realizes that Thad is in reality her best friend Clarisse’s younger brother and that alone makes her enter into an agreement to take Thad along for the ride.

It is during this journey that these two make to Colorado that feelings Mercy had thought that she would never ever feel again crop to the surface and makes her give in to the heady desire she feels for a man that she knows is totally not for her. Thad who wants marriage and a family of his own knows that Mercy doesn’t want that role in her life nevertheless finds himself at the mercy of his feelings for her. Amidst danger from men who are after the money that Mercy had made in the auction, these two discover within one another their better halves but a lot of internal battles are waged within themselves to finally conclude that their lives would not be complete without the other.

I am someone who always loves a good American-Western romance. However, I felt that this one didn’t deliver what I was looking for. Thad was a hero I could have liked, hell I could have loved him to bits if he were a bit more assertive and if he could have just stood up for what he felt half the time. I love an independent heroine as much as the next girl but Mercy tended to get on my nerves a bit during the first half of the story and later on redeemed herself by following up on what she felt for Thad. I loved the fact that this was a romance between an older heroine and a younger hero but that didn’t factor into much of the story. This could have been a really great story if it had hit all those spots which you crave to be petted and stroked as a reader. All in all not a bad read though I wouldn’t recommend anyone to sit and read through this book except if you like myself want to discover whether the underlying does justice to a drool-worthy cover.

Favorite Quotes

As sure as roses will have thorns, love will bring you pain.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Short & Sweet Review: Ride of Her Life by Anne Rainey

Format: E-bookrideofherlife
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Ellora’s Cave Quickies
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Kyle Wolff
Heroine: Lily Justice
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 26, 2010
Started On: October 25, 2010
Finished On: October 25, 2010

Reading a Quickie in between novels is always a good way take a break off from reading a lengthy novel. A Quickie though short can play with your emotions and make you feel so heated at times that you feel as if you need to gulp in a fresh load of air every now and then. I say thank the Lord that at least they are short – otherwise there would be a whole lot of other problems to write back home about. Enough rambling I guess, so on to my review.

Storyline: This story focuses on divorcee Lily Justice who had been married for the past seven years finally gets rid of her good-for-nothing husband when he cheats on her. Divorced for nearly a year and 36 years old, she has no right to lust after the much younger and sexy as sin owner of Wolff’s Body Shop, Kyle Wolff. When her car needs a bit of body work Lily decides to take matters into her own hands so to say and kill two birds with one stone and make Kyle work on her body as well. But unbeknown to her, Kyle too has been lusting after the classy and pretty Lily and had been biding his time to make his move. What follows is an affair that is hot enough to singe one’s eyebrows off with a man who definitely knows a trick or two in making his woman reach out for the stars in bed.

First Encounter: There is no indication of when Kyle and Lily first see one another but they both talk to each other for the first time when Lily brings in her car for a much needed body work to Kyle’s workshop.

Time period: This story is set in Miller Siding, Ohio and has a contemporary setting to it.

Awareness between the hero and heroine: Though Lily nor Kyle had sought the other out earlier, they had both been aware of the other and wanted to experience the fireworks they knew they would both set off together in bed and out of it. Lily and Kyle both had fantasized about being together and with the first light brush of Kyle’s lips on Lily’s there is  no turning back – for either of them.

How the relationship grows: From the first kiss itself, though the passion that rages between Kyle and Lily is red hot, they both know that they want so much more from the other. Though Lily is skittish at the thought of marriage and kids, she doesn’t mind having exclusive rights over Kyle who seems to want the same thing in return from her. Since the story is extremely short, there is not much room to discover how their relationship grows apart from the mind-numbing encounters between the two. But the short and sweet epilogue at the end of the story shows that their relationship proceeds on to the next stage within a span of two weeks.

The turning point: There is no turning back once Lily walks into Wolff’s Body Shop and Kyle takes her on the ride of her life. From the first tender kiss between the two, everything changes for the better between two people who are made for one another.

Likes: Love the cover of the book. Wish the title wasn’t covering up much of the hunky Kyle’s sinfully good-looking body. I liked the fact that the age difference didn’t turn out to be an issue. Most probably if the story had been a lengthier one, that would have been the number 1 issue in the story.

Dislikes: None.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy

Format: E-bookflat-out sexy
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Adobe Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Fast Track, Book 1
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Hero: Elec Monroe
Heroine: Tamara Briggs
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 4, 2008
Started On: September 7, 2010
Finished On: September 8, 2010

I normally don’t like romances that deal with race car driving or anything of that sort. But seeing rave reviews of this series on a lot of book review sites and countless recommendations of these titles got my interest piqued enough to give these books a go. And I am so glad I did! Though I had reservations about reading a book by the author since her book Heiress for Hire kind of fell flat on the sensuality department, this book literally set my heart racing everytime Elec and Tamara got together.

Tamara Briggs, widow of the famous race car driver Pete Briggs who was killed in a wreck in Talladega is ready for the dating scene two years on. Though she has her reservations about her appeal after bearing her babies, Petey and Hannah both of whom she loved more than anything else in the world, Tamara needs to feel that connection and is so lonely of being alone since her husband died. A sociology professor and 32 years old, Tamara ventures into the dating world by going out with anthropology professor Geoffrey Ayers who couldn’t be less suited for her even if she tried. When her friend Suzanne points out that fact and some more, Tamara knows that she had thought wrong when she started going out with Geoffrey just because she wanted someone safe this time, who wouldn’t end up getting killed on the racetrack. Tamara had sworn that she wouldn’t date a race car driver again and that she didn’t want to put her or her kids through the pain of losing someone like that again.

Resolving to break things off with Geoffrey before the party is through and she has to fulfill the expectations Geoffrey has of them sharing a bed  together, she bumps into a guy spilling her wine glass all over him to look up and see a man who makes her go weak at her knees. The attraction that sizzles right from the very beginning is not one sided. 25 year old Elec Monroe feels like his world had tilted on its axis when sexy and beautiful Tamara runs into him. Elec who has been rendered infertile a couple of years back, dates women who wouldn’t want anything more than to live in the moment because he doesn’t want the pain of being rejected by a woman he has come to care about because he wouldn’t be able to provide her with children. But when Tamara bumps into him all his rules change in an instant and he is smitten right from the very beginning.

Tamara has a lot of valid reasons not to start something with the only man who is able to touch her in all the right ways and make her feel good about herself. For one thing he is younger than herself, she doesn’t want the hassle of getting together with a race car driver and putting her heart and emotions on the line again, and she has her kids to think about and her in-laws who have been together with her through every step of the way and helped her through adjusting to life being a single mom. The Briggs who were like family to the Monroes had had a falling out with them and Johnny, Pete’s father hated them with a vengeance which also gave Tamara a pause every time she thought of her and Elec getting together.

But reason always seems to fly out through the nearest window whenever Elec is within her sight. Red hot need obliterates everything else and Tamara knows that she and Elec share more than just fabulous sex with one another. Elec shows Tamara that he is not just after her delectable body but something much more and that he is with her for the long haul. Elec is kind, passionate, sweet and a very endearing hero and Tamara herself suites him to a tad.

I loved the smooth flow of the story, the passionate scenes which were done so tastefully and contributed towards making the love between Elec and Tamara richer. The side characters Ty & Imogen (whose story is next in the series) and Ryder and Suzanne (whose story is in the 3rd book of the series) all contributed towards making this book an instant winner with me. Can’t wait to sink into the next one in the series! Highly recommended for all contemporary romance lovers!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: One Summer by Karen Robards

Format: E-bookone summer
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Adobe Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Dell
Hero: Johnny Wayne Harris
Heroine: Rachel Grant
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 1, 1993
Started On: September 2, 2010
Finished On: September 2, 2010

This was a title I read sometime back when I first discovered Karen Robards as an author. I have always remembered this book to be one that I had immensely liked and thus I decided to revisit this story and see what had intrigued me so much back then.

Rachel Grant lives in the sleepy town of Tylerville. Coming from a rich affluent family Rachel now past thirty years of age was resigned to the fact that she would most probably spend her life in Tylerville as a high school English teacher. With her sister Becky married to Michael Hennessey, the one man who had managed to fire up her dreams and living elsewhere with her husband and three girls, Rachel knew that she would not be able to leave her mother Elisabeth and her father Stan Grant behind when her beloved father was suffering from Alzheimer disease and taking its toll on all those who loved him.

Johnny Wayne Harris is the boy from the wrong side of town. Rachel had been Johnny’s English teacher and it was only she that had seen beneath the tough as nails exterior that Johnny puts up in front of everyone else. The Harris family was considered to be white trash within Tylerville and everyone always figured that Johnny would in the end turn out to be just like his father, when in fact he had turned out to be worse when he was convicted of the vicious murder of Marybeth Edwards who had been seeing Johnny back then on the sly. Though Rachel believed that Johnny hadn’t committed the murder, the state decided that he in fact did and had sent him to jail.

Now Johnny was back, having to work off his parole and Rachel wanting to give him a second chance though she knew Tylerville would be in an uproar for the fact, offers him a job at her family’s hardware store. From the moment that Johnny steps off the bus Rachel knows that he is not the boy that she had envisioned in mind. The sullen even then handsome boy had filled up and in front of her stood a lean, hard and tough man who had matured into a dangerous looking man.

Johnny had always had the “hots” for his then teacher Rachel and had always fantasized about her during his teen years. But even then Johnny had known that apart from the age barrier that had seemed vaster back then, they would never be of the same social standing within the society and any relationship that they could have would be doomed right from the start. But Johnny was tired of dreaming and never having and all of a sudden he craves Rachel with the burning desire of a grown man.

Rachel is appalled when she feels the first inklings of red hot desire when she sees what a superb specimen of the male species that Johnny is. And with him enticing her every step of the way and slowly seducing her into his arms, Rachel who had always cared about Johnny more than she had let on suddenly finds herself out of her depths in the strong feelings that Johnny invokes in her. Its not long before the flames of desire that keeps burning finally burst out of control and Johnny is a man who definitely knows how to keep his woman happy.

Meanwhile, the actual killer who committed the heinous crime twelve years back is still on the loose and swearing to finish what had been started all those years back. When Johnny’s close friend and on and off lover Glenda Watkins is also stabbed to death in the same manner as Marybeth was, the town is in an uproar over arresting Johnny and sending him to the electric chair. The only thing that saves him is Rachel and her testimony that Johnny couldn’t have killed Glenda.

Johnny deduces that the only thing that the killer wants is to kill women who were in his life as his lovers. And Johnny knows deep in his gut that Rachel with whom he had fallen in love with and would lay down his life for was in danger of being murdered by the maniac on the loose.

This story is a wonderful read. The total bad boy image that Ms. Robards has effectively created for Johnny would infuse any woman’s dreams. And the man that he grows into is one worth salivating over. Rachel is more than his match with her unwavering faith in him and the love that burns deep within her heart for the man whom the society deems as unacceptable. With glimpses into Rachel’s family life, the town that abhors Johnny’s existence and the ramblings of the mind of a killer vicious enough that gave me the creeps, I couldn’t put this book down once I started. Highly recommended for those who are fans of Ms. Robards as well as those who love romantic thrillers with a good dosage of sensuality in the mix.

Favorite Quotes

Sometimes, in prison, when he’d been lying awake at night staring at the bunk over his head, Johnny had thought that he missed Wolf most of all.
Wasn’t that a damned sad commentary on his life?
The dog whined again. Knowing he was being ridiculous, that he was liable to lose the hand at the wrist when the animal charged, Johnny nonetheless took a step forward,holding out his fingers for sniffing.
“Wolf? Come here, boy.”
Incredibly, the huge animal sank to its belly and slunk forward, behaving as if it wanted to believe but feared a cruel trick. Johnny dropped to his knees to greet it, his hands reaching out, burrowing in the coarse hide, stroking and scratching as the dog whined and licked and pawed him and butted him with its head.
“Ah, Wolf,” he said as he accepted the truth at last, that this one thing that he had loved had been spared in order to greet him. Then, as the big head snuggled into his lap, he wrapped his arms around the dog’s thick neck and buried his face against the animal’s side.
For the first time in eleven years, he wept.

Thoroughly ruffled, Rachel turned her back on the source of her annoyance and started for the door. She could feel his gaze on her, and the notion that he was watching her made her suddenly self-conscious. In her teetering heels, she could not help but sway.
Just as she reached the door, he made an odd sound that caused her to glance back at him, startled.
“Rachel,” he said in what was scarcely more than a husky whisper, while his eyes drilled into hers, “don’t sleep with him. Sleep with me instead.”
Her breath caught for a moment as the words coiled around her like a seductive snake. Only by forcing herself to keep walking was she able to escape.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Midnight Confessions by Candice Proctor

Format: E-bookmidconf
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Marshal Zachary Xavier Cooper
Heroine: Emmanuelle de Beauvais
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication:  June 2002
Started On: August 1, 2010
Finished On: August 2, 2010

Emmanuelle, the widow of Philippe de Beauvais who died no longer than 3 months ago is devastated when her friend and mentor Henri Santerre is murdered right in front of her with a crossbow bolt tipped with silver alloy, the kind that Emmanuelle’s dead husband Philippe had used for recreational hunting. Emmanuelle is more than shocked by the events that take place that night and she can’t help but think that the bolt had actually been meant for her.

The Yankee Marshal Zachary X. Cooper embodies everything that Emmanuelle has come to detest in the confederates war that was ongoing. When Zachary hears about the unusual murder that took place in a cemetery and that also with the most unusual of weapons, he is more than intrigued to find out who is responsible for the murder. The beautifully exotic French woman who is the only witness to the crime and possibly looking as the best viable suspect for the murder stirs something deep within the soldier’s soul right from the very beginning.

Zachary is determined to uncover the secrets that shrouds this woman he is tempted beyond reason to make his, even when the fact that he is a Yankee soldier clearly irks the woman he wants. Emmanuelle is not your typical romance novel heroine. A woman who has a deep passion for practicing medicine during a time when all doors leading to the profession were closed off for her gender,  Emmanuelle continues to serve at the Hospital de Santerre, a hospital that had been opened up by the joint efforts of her father, her husband and Henri Santerre, who had all been doctors. Though heavily mortgaged Emmanuelle refuses to give up and close down the hospital, even after the death of Henri which meant that the only doctor certified to treat patients at the hospital was Dr. Charles Yardley who himself meets an untimely demise later on.

One by one, the people who play vital roles in Emmanuelle’s life are killed off and Emmanuelle herself barely escapes death at the hands of a hired Irishman before being rescued. Though Emmanuelle refuses to give into the fear that threatens to consume her of what would happen to her son Dominic if she were to be killed, Emmanuelle refuses to truthfully tell Zachary anything about her life which might provide vital clues in solving the senseless murders that seemed to be taking place.

Although Emmanuelle would like nothing better than to bury her head in the sand and refuse to face the truth about the intensity of her feelings towards the Yankee soldier who had somehow managed to find a niche for himself in her life, it is with explosive passion that these two finally come together. Zachary is determined to uncover the truth hidden in the layers of half truths that is fed to him one way or the other, and he is more than driven to save the woman he loves more than anything else in this life from the death that awaits her with certainty if the killer is not caught.

This is a splendid story set in the steamy New Orleans, a place where explosive passion, murder and half truths take the center stage. As the truth is uncovered, one painful inch at a time, I continually found myself surprised and at times ready to take Emmanuelle by the shoulders and give her a good shake so that she would tell the complete truth, just the one time. Touching highly provocative subjects, this book is not just a romance, but an intrinsically woven tale of family drama, murder and the destructive power of lies. Highly recommended for those who love a story that would intrigue you and make you ponder about what you have read long after the book is over.

I especially loved the unusual epilogue in the book, told in the viewpoint of a grandchild of Zachary and Emmanuelle, long after they are dead to a great granddaughter of theirs named Emmanuelle. All the characters in this book would definitely weave their magic on the reader that would continue to linger long afterwards. And this is one of those romances where the hero is younger than the heroine; Zachary being five years younger than Emmanuelle.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas

Format: Paperback
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero:  Jack Devlin
Heroine: Amanda Briars
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 13, 2009
Started On: March 13, 2010
Finished On: March 19, 2010

Ms. Kleypas always writes the most beautiful romances, regardless of whether it be historical or contemporary, though people tend to like her historical romances better. This book too is unconventional for a historical romance where Ms. Kelypas has created a heroine who doesn’t seem to follow all the conventions, rules and regulations that bound the lives of women during 1800’s.

Amanda Briars is an author, a spinster & a virgin going on towards the big three-O. Wanting to divest herself of the virginal state, she goes to one of the famous brothel houses in London and asks a man to be sent to her house on the night of her birthday to help the process along. Just like the title says, Amanda finds herself that night suddenly in the company of Jack Devlin. Without knowing to both of them, the madam who runs the brothel has played matchmaker behind their backs, perhaps knowing what they both needed and wanted better than themselves.

Though Amanda defied all convention and society rules when she requested for a male escort, she begins to doubt the wisdom behind her impulsive decision when she suddenly finds herself ensnared by the rather charming and devilish Jack.

Jack doesn’t know what hits him when he first encounters Amanda on her doorstep. A notorious publisher whose rising fame had pointed him towards Amanda with the rights to her first book which he wants to publish, Jack didn’t have a clue that the Madam had set him up for this when he asked her whether he knew of Amanda Briars. But Jack can’t help but be intrigued and want Amanda for himself though he knows that his less than savvy background and his tightly reigned in emotions are not what Amanda really needs.

However within the course of a few weeks, these two are entangled in a heady affair. Like the book cover dictates, this is one of the most sensual romances of Ms. Kleypas that I have come across and my, my! Amanda sets the terms of the affairs to be for a duration of three months, which however as the gossip circles start to stir with the knowledge of their rampant affair, Amanda brings their affair to a hasty conclusion though she would give anything to be with Jack and love him for the rest of her life.

Jack, unwilling to give all of himself to Amanda licks his wounds in private though he is like a haunted man after the abrupt end to their affair. Amanda is soon been courted by the respectable Hartley and a marriage seems to be on the horizon when Amanda comes to realize that she is pregnant with Jack’s child.

This story is refreshingly heartwarming with descriptions of Jack’s vast publishing business which seems to unfold right in front of your eyes with Ms. Kleypas’s brilliant descriptions. The best thing about the romance of course as a female reader was Jack and his  total concentration and care for Amanda during the whole book though he refuses to acknowledge of his love for her till the very end.

And when Amanda finds out that she is five years older than Jack, ah! thats a scene that would remain with me for a long time! *winks*

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Not Quite A Husband by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-book
Read with: MS Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Bantam Books
Series: Standalone
Hero: Leo Marsden
Heroine: Bryony Asquith
Published on: May 19, 2009
Started On: August 23, 2009
Finished On: August 28, 2009

I have never before read a story by Sherry Thomas and this one proved to be a delightful find with the sensations that coursed through all of me when I lost myself in Leo and Bryony’s story. I decided to give this delectable read a try, or rather grabbed the chance to read this book upon reading a thread on Amazon’s Romance Discussion forum which helps me to separate out my books into the “must-read, read-if-you’ve-got-nothing-else & do-not-read” piles.

This book proved to be worth my while and then some and I was instantly hooked to Sherry Thomas’ style of writing and her vivid characterization which you can’t help but fall head over heels in love with.

One of the most interesting factors in this story is the fact that Leo is younger than Bryony. This story is told from the viewpoints of both Leo and Bryony and is gut and heart wrenching tale with obviously a happy ending that put a smile to my face when I went to sleep tonight.

This story begins where others usually end with the story of how Leo and Bryony gets married up to the point of annulment of their marriage. Bryony, a surgeon by profession which was hardly in fashion during the Victorian era for a woman, leaves England and goes traveling halfway around the world to soothe her broken spirit and to get away from all the gossip that surrounds her in London. Thinking that Leo never did love her when in fact the truth is from the beginning of his life Leo had in fact being fascinated with Bryony and loved her and never had a clue why his Bryony remains so cold and aloof towards him during their short-lived marriage, ends up in a remote little village in India where Leo finds her to inform her that her father with whom Bryony has always had a strained relationship with, is on the deathbed and needs her back home.

The journey that these two take across the tiny villages scattered across India wrought with danger, and the ultimate realizations and truths about their marriage and enlightening insights into both Bryony and Leos past weaves a breathtaking tale of romance, love and passion that is guaranteed to keep any true romantic hooked from the beginning to end. I have to warn all the ladies though — Leo is lethal, he will stake and claim your heart from the very beginning of the story and never let go!

Highly recommended for all historical romance lovers out there. This is a MUST read!

Looking forward to many more great tales by Sherry Thomas.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble 

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