Category / Outstanding Read

Rating of 5 stars!

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Urban-Fantasy
Series: Night Huntress, Book 4
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Crispin Phillip Arthur Russel III (Bones)
Heroine: Catherine Kathleen Crawford (Cat)
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 28, 2009
Started On: July 9, 2010
Finished On: July 10, 2010

It’s been six years since Cat Crawford first laid eyes on her lover Crispin (Bones) and the years they have been apart and together have certainly never been boring for the reader. Having Bones by her side should have made life a bliss for Cat, but it hasn’t been one sweet ride into happily ever after for the two.

Struggling with being half human and half vampire has always been an issue for Cat. And her successful stint as the slayer of the rogue undead has certainly earned her her fair share of enemies in all the wrong places and strong allies who stand beside them as well. Life had certainly proved to be hectic enough for the two of them when Bones and Cat barely escaped with their lives intact and a time-out from everything else seems like heaven to Cat, that is until she starts having strange dreams from which she has a hard time waking up from.

Mancheres, Bone’s grandsire knows straightaway that something is wrong and when Bones finds out that Gregory, one of the super master vampires has set his eyes on Cat and wants her for himself, and is declaring Cat as his wife to the rest of the undead population has Bone’s livid with anger. And when Mencheres confesses that Gregory kidnapped Cat when she was 16 years old and took her as his wife before Mencheres was able to imprison Gregory and erase one month off from Cat’s memory has Cat torn apart in two as well.

Life becomes a constant battle between Bones and Cat as Bones tries to protect Cat and with Cat trying to help out in anyway she can by going against Bone’s wishes creates a rift between the two, until it all comes to head when Cat allows Gregory to steal her away from Bones in her dreams.

Cat has a few conditions of her own before being snatched away by Gregory and one was to find out what actually happened during the one month that she spent in Gregory’s company. However the trip down the memory lane though it shows Gregory as a manipulative bastard, some residue of emotion that Cat has for Gregory prevents her from killing him.

Her return to Bones is not the welcome that she at all envisioned. Though Cat knew that Bones wouldn’t welcome her with open arms, the cold controlled man that greets her and seethes with anger that he cannot control makes slivers of fear run up and down her spine. Bones is more than devastated when his wife shields all her emotions from him and runs off to Gregory rather than trust Bones to be able to keep her safe and be able to take care of both of them. Bones finally walks out on Cat and it is a devastated Cat that hears the news that Bones has been shagging up with women in New Orleans though she tries hard not to believe it.

Hurt and angered beyond belief, Cat goes into hiding with Vlad aka Dracula, one of their allies to lick away her wounded pride and heart in privacy and also to keep herself in an undisclosed location from Gregory. However, when Cat hears that Bones is in danger of getting killed by Gregory, Cat pulls all stops to prevent that, but doesn’t have the strength to face him when he comes back.

Though Cat knows that finishing off Gregory is the only way that Bones or herself would have any semblance of peace, Cat knows that she is far too weak with her human traits to be able to tackle with a vampire who is far stronger than even Bones. Thus it is with this in mind  that Cat decides to embrace her life as a full vampire, and even in this form Cat is unlike any other who embraces the life of a vampire.

The road to resolving their differences and getting back together is a tough one for Bones and Cat and with their enemy Gregory pulling all the dirty tricks up his sleeve to get Cat to be by his side doesn’t leave Cat and Bones with much room to rejoice in their getting back together, but its rather back to the battlefield with no holds barred for these two.

The fourth installment in the series is as good as the previous ones and I have got to admit that there is a certain allure in reading a well written series to just reading one story about a couple who holds your attention to the point of being riveted by them.

The witty dialogue, the smoking hot tension between Cat and Bones and the non-stop hair raising adventure makes the Night Huntress series a smash hit, and I can’t wait for the fifth book to come out next February.

Though I have heard that the Night Huntress World books are not as good as the Night Huntress series, I aim to take a look at them myself, the second book of which is to come out later this month.

Until my review of the First Drop of Crimson, the story that features Bone’s best buddy Spade and Cat’s best friend Denise comes up, happy reading my fellow bookworms! ;)

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Night Huntress, Book 2
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Crispin Phillip Arthur Russel III (Bones)
Heroine: Catherine Kathleen Crawford (Cat)
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 13, 2009
Started On: July 7, 2010
Finished On: July 9, 2010

I didn’t waste any time before starting on the second book of the series and boy am I glad! This series just gets better with this book where Cat and Bones meet again after a four year period during which Cat has been devoting her time and effort into becoming Special Agent Cat Crawfield who trains soldiers into becoming mean killing machines for the rogue undead.

The four years that Cat has spent apart from Bones has not been easy. Her mother ever still vengeful of the vampire species continues to hold an everlasting grudge against them whilst rooting for Cat for the undeniably good job that she does as an effective killing machine of the undead who have gone astray.

Though it pains Cat’s heart in ways she couldn’t explain because she misses Bones so much, she has no inkling of what Bones is going through until she is sent to kill Ian, the vampire who turned Bones and the small thrill of happiness that bursts through her when she hears that Bones has been as miserable as she has been for the past 4 years cannot be denied. For reasons that Cat only understands, she lets Ian escape and that’s how Bone’s endless search for Cat becomes fruitful.

The scene where Cat lays eyes on Bones after the four year hiatus is something to be savored. The raw jealousy and pain that swipes through Cat when she sees Bones kiss another woman at the wedding reception of her friend Denise undeniably lets Bones know that Cat has been missing him as much as he has been missing his kitten.

What has got Bones more worried than anything is the fact that Cat has become such an efficient killing machine of the rogue undead that she has become a target with a handsome bounty on her head. And Bones refuses to budge  once he has found Cat and accepts her terms when she says that the only way she can continue a relationship with Bones is if its a celibate one.

As Jeanine Frost promises on her website, the road to happiness for these two never comes easily. Before the second book is through, Bones effectively deals with Cat’s mother (whom I would like to bitch slap once or twice as well), comes to know the truth about her boss and team members and gets close enough to wreak vengeance on her vampire father before she finds the strength to choose a life with Bones by her side rather than an empty one without him.

The sex between Bones and Cat is sizzling hot in this book, much better I would say than the first book and the adventure that these two with a rich cast of characters go through is absolutely non-stop. I just for the world of me cannot put these books down once I start them.

I seriously, seriously want a Bones of my own! Could I have one pretty please?! I think I & the rest of the female population who have read this series love Bones because he is a true alpha without being a bastard about it. He can sizzle the socks right off of us with his sizzling sensuality & he could be real arrogant when the calling comes. But the way that he lets Cat be the woman she is, and loves her for all she is and just gives her everything in his power is his special quality  that drives us nuts over him!

My favorite line from the book would have to be when Bones molds Cat’s body to his to dance (this is almost right after they see each other for the first time after 4 long years), and the haze of desire that crops up between the two which Cat tries to deny but cannot has Bones saying, “Oh, Kitten…” His voice deepened. “Now you’re just daring me, aren’t you?”.. Sigh!!

I guess I could just go on and on about my favorite parts in the book and this blog post would be a never ending one if I continue.

So, till next time! And here’s hoping that the 3rd book is as good as this one!

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: After the Night by Linda Howard

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Gray Rouillard
Heroine: Faith Devlin
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: December 1995
Started On: July 3, 2010
Finished On: July 5, 2010

Linda Howard takes us on one wicked sensual ride in this novel where the wealthy Gray Rouillard clashes with the poor town outcast Faith Devlin. Everyone in the small town of Prescott, Louisiana knew that Faith’s mother Renee the town whore, a sensational beauty who with a glance can leave men wanting is Guy Rouillard’s mistress. From a very young age, Faith had been addled with taking care of her mishap family with a drunken lout of a father and two elder brothers who were well on their way on continuing their father’s legacy and an elder sister who was quickly following in the wake of their mother. And then there was the youngest in the family, a child addled with Down’s syndrome who needed continuous care and attention.

The Devlins live on the outskirts of Rouillard’s property and regardless of the fact that they never paid their rent the Devlins were tolerated because of the relationship between Guy and Renee. Faith has always worshiped the town’s golden boy from afar. Faith’s childhood was a mix of spending endless hours just watching Guy and his friends while away their time and taking care of the endless chores that await her at home. Faith has never had illusions that a Devlin would ever be deemed good enough for a Rouillard but she yearns to shout out to the world that she is different from the rest of her family.

And one fateful night, life as the Devlins and Rouillards know it come to an end when Renee and Guy run away together leaving their families to pick up the pieces. Gray cannot fathom the reason why Guy had to abandon everything and run away with the town whore and overnight Gray grows up and is left to bear the emotional and financial upheaval that his father has left in his wake. Gray is furious with the trashy Devlins and orders them to evacuate the Rouillard’s property, an order  to which Faith’s family doesn’t pay a heed. However the full extent of the impact of Guy’s abandonment together with the fact that the Devlins were just continuing life as they know it drives Gray into a mass of seething rage which sees him ridding the town of the Devlins once and for all.

Faith would never forget the night that her mama never came home and how she and the rest of her family were driven out of their only home like a bunch of outlaws in the middle of the night. And twelve years later, Faith returns to Prescott, Louisiana to find the truth about what actually took place the night Renee and Guy left in the middle of the night forever changing the lives of both families. Faith’s return to town stirs up the gossip and the anger within the Rouillard’s family and Gray feels sucker punched by the intense need to get horizontal with Faith as soon as he lays eyes on her.

Faith knows that she would never be able to deny Gray but she would rather die than be labeled as the mistress of Gray Rouillard. Gray is torn between his family and the white hot desire that runs through his veins whenever he and Faith come across one another and of course it doesn’t help one bit when he realizes that Faith turns putty in his arms. The coming together of Faith and Gray is so explosive that you would feel the scorch of the heat generated as you read through. And whilst the relationship between Gray and Faith continues to unfold till its inevitable conclusion, someone in Prescott doesn’t like the questions that Faith keeps on asking in order to piece together what actually happened that fateful night.

Packed with explosive sexual tension between two strong characters that reminded me of Aqua Man with his long hair, wide shoulders and the oh so sexy diamond stud in his ear and Faith with her cat like green eyes and red hair with the effortless sensuality that drives Gray out of his mind that bore a strong resemblance with Aqua Man’s wife in the Justice League cartoon series, this book is one that each contemporary romance lover must read!

My favorite scene in the book would have to be the one where Gray corners Faith in the ladies room in the courthouse, and man do the pages sizzle then! I would love one wicked Gray Rouillard served on a plate please!

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Bedroom Business by Sandra Marton

Format: E-book
Read with: Microsoft Word
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #2159
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jake McBride
Heroine: Emily Taylor
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1, 2001
Started On: July 4, 2010
Finished On: July 4, 2010

I have been hankering to re-read this novel lately because I kept remembering just how I much I enjoyed the sparring verbal matches that take place between Jake and Emily. Jack is a self-made millionaire who is enjoying life as he always wanted to. The one thing that hampers his lifestyle are the women who inhabit his bed fully knowing that he is not the forever kind of guy and still going ahead and demanding something more from him. Thank God he could always rely on his straight-laced assistant Emily who has smoothed over his life many a time since she started working for him.

Growing up with two beautiful sisters and feeling like the odd one out because she had always been shy and more interested in books and studying than the opposite sex, Emily thinks of herself as the average brown mousy type of woman. No wonder she has been feeling restless and lonely of late because it had been ages since she had tried going out on a date. But the one thing Emily knows with gut wrenching certainty is the disdain she feels for men like her boss Jake who thinks they are the next best thing since sliced bread for women.

However from the minute one of Jake’s acquaintances turn up to see him and declare that he found his secretary who always dressed in brown tweed suites alluring and sexy, Jake can’t help the protective and possessive instincts that rise up deep within him. For Emily hearing Jake confirm what she sees herself as is the last straw for her and she decides to accept the impromptu offer to have dinner with Jake’s friend.

Jake doesn’t understand how he has turned into this seething mass of green-eyed jealousy overnight and fights the caveman instincts that arise in him whenever other men except him notice Emily. And it doesn’t help matters when Emily practically melts whenever Jake takes her in his arms which in turn creates havoc with Jake’s emotions. The continuous arguments that crop up between the two as they fight not to succumb to the alluring attraction between them is one to be savored. I found myself laughing out loud several times and whilst Jake is the type of hero who can melt you on the insides, Emily is a heroine you can relate to and root for.

What starts out as lessons in seduction for Emily certainly backfires on Jake and it is one enjoyable ride that Ms. Marton takes us on till Jake and Emily ultimately find happiness with one another. I guarantee there is never a dull moment within the pages of this book. Highly recommended for those who love Harlequin romances.

My favorite scene of the book would have to be when Jake traps Emily inside the elevator and what takes place next is just steamy hot!

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookmidnightrainbow
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Kell Sabin, Book 1
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Hero: Grant Sullivan
Heroine: Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1986
Started On: July 2, 2010
Finished On: July 3, 2010

Like the author Catherine Coulter says on the book cover “You can’t just read one Linda Howard”, I find myself returning to her books time & time again and they never fail to entertain me. Though I still haven’t given her latest works “Ice” and “Burn” a try, mainly because of the weak reviews both the books received, maybe I should rectify it asap and see whether I like them.

This book is one the earliest books by the author, and I should say one that I enjoyed immensely even reading the second time round. Linda Howard writes the best alpha heroes out there and Grant Sullivan is no exception to the rule. In his late thirties and burned out from a career of serving on covert missions for his country, Grant retires from his career, buys a farm in a deeply isolated area and tries to heal himself from what he has become.

But people seldom forget a man of his talents and caliber and one year on, Grant finds himself deep in the jungles of Costa Rica to rescue the pretty bum of socialite Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer. Grant can’t believe how a social butterfly like Jane could end up in the middle of a conspiracy of international proportions, and it is up to Grant to rescue her from the clutches of the bad guys who have imprisoned her in the middle of nowhere.

Jane is not what she portrays herself to be. Though she is a beauty, she is far from being helpless and has been planning her own escape ever since she has been imprisoned and acting as dumb as she could to lull her captors into a false sense of security. Grant finds his rescue attempts thwarted not by her captors but by the enchanting captive herself. A mission Grant thought would be over before the next sunrise takes an unexpected turn and Grant finds himself trekking through the rough terrain to bring Jane to safety and on the way finds himself interested to know about Jane who is a mass of contradictions.

Before long, the attraction that Grant tries to hide from Jane becomes an impossibility when the feeling is mutual and though Jane knows that the strong warrior who stands beside her has captured her heart and spoiled her for any other man, nothing of permanence could come out of their relationship.

I always love an adventure where the hero and heroine are one with the nature and danger lurks with every step they take heightening the tension in the novel and the ultimate culmination of events seem all that much better. This book has got everything a gal could ask for in a romance. And in the end Jane’s plans to make Grant realize that he too cannot live without her seemed to make a satisfying ending for this great story.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sweet Lullaby by Lorraine Heath

Format: E-booksweetlullaby
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Homespun, #21
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Jake Burnett
Heroine: Rebecca Anderson
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publications: March 1994
Started On: July 1, 2010
Finished On: July 1, 2010

When I first started off this book last night I was a bit apprehensive because at first the story didn’t seem to be so interesting. Maybe it was because I was too sleepy and tired to give any real thought to the story unfolding but somehow the thought of reading through a story where right from the beginning the hero is in love with the heroine didn’t seem to be that exciting. But boy am I glad I was wrong. This book has got to feature one of the most endearing heroes I have ever come across.

Jake Burnett is a man who has been wronged so much in his life. A mother who sold her body to keep a roof above their heads and a father who never acknowledged his bastard child until his mother passed away when Jake was about 10 years old or so, Jake never knew any happiness or joy in his life even when he was brought home to live with his father. Bearing the brunt of his father’s many beatings and punishments and being made to live in the barn seeking the warmth of the animals to keep him from freezing to death at night with an his elder brother Ethan who continuously found ways to make him more miserable, there didn’t seem to be any end to Jake’s suffering until his father died leaving him with all his property.

At first wanting nothing to do with the property, Jake travels around and works for Rebecca’s father at his ranch. From the very first moment that Jake encounters Rebecca, he falls deeply in love with her. Rebecca is a beauty whilst nobody would call Jake a handsome man. Jake wears the marks of all the hardships that he went through to become the man he is on his body and face.But Jake doesn’t fall in love with Rebecca because she is just a pretty face but because for the first time  in his life, a woman makes him feel welcome and not soon afterwards a deep and lasting friendship is formed between the two.

Jake never dreams of the possibility that one day he may have everything his heart desires. But when Rebecca gets pregnant after sharing a night of passion with the love of her life Brett Meier who has left without knowing that he has fathered a child, Rebecca never envisions that her father who had loved her and spoiled her till now would reject the very idea of the child growing within her.

John Anderson’s, Rebecca’s father’s solution is to get her married to Jake and thus avoid the scandal that would follow if his daughter were to give birth out of wedlock. Jake proposes marriage to Rebecca on his own terms and Rebecca knowing that there wouldn’t be any other man around whom she would feel comfortable with as Jake accepts his proposal and decides to leave with Jake to Texas to make a life of their own which drives John into a fit of anger and disown her the very next day after they get married.

Marriage to Rebecca is a bittersweet experience for Jake who wants nothing more in life than to keep a smile on Rebecca’s face forever. The partnership that forges between the couple and the friendship that grows between them is heartwarming and at times filled my eyes with unshed tears.

As the story slowly unfolds, Rebecca begins to learn of the true feelings her husband holds for her but never being able to return the feelings because she still holds the handsome Brett close to her heart. With Ethan hellbent on vengeance and getting back the land he believes is rightfully his, life on the ranch that Jake and Rebecca build from the grounds up is not one without hardships.

Through the birth of their child Jacob and all the patience and love that Jake bestows on Rebecca, intimacy of another kind starts to unfold between the two, and Jake finally starts to feel happy in his life when Brett comes along and proclaims that he wants Rebecca back in his life. Everything Jake has worked for seems to crash and burn right in front of his eyes when he sees the desolation in his wife’s eyes and the distance that seems to crop up between the two.

It literally broke my heart into pieces to read about how Jake lets Rebecca and their son Jacob that he had come to love and adore leave so that Rebecca would find true happiness with the man she loves. I felt like howling when the pages seeped with the pain and anguish in Jake’s heart at his immense sacrifice.

However, once Rebecca leaves to start a life with Brett, she starts to realize that even though she doesn’t know it, she has come to love her brown eyed husband who stirs a slow simmering fire deep within her every time they come together. I was prepared to hate Rebecca for the pain she causes Jake when she readily leaves with Brett but the pain and loneliness that she goes through during the separation and the fact that she refuses to give her body to Brett until her divorce from Jake is final redeemed her in front of my eyes.

This book brings a whole new meaning to the saying, if you love something let it go and if it comes back its yours. I don’t think I would be able to put into words just how wonderful a book this has been and if you really want a romance that can play with your emotions and make you cry and laugh this is a must read.

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Parting Gifts by Lorraine Heath

Format: E-bookpartinggifts
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Homespun, #30
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Jesse Lawson
Heroine: Maddie Sherwood
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: December 1994
Started On: June 29, 2010
Finished On: June 30, 2010

Even as I write this review, I still feel the remnants of the kaleidoscope of emotions that coursed through me as I finished this book. With a degree in psychology in hand, Lorraine Heath creates the most beautiful and realistic characters that have such depth that you can’t help but feel for them and relate with them. Though this is the first time I am reviewing a book by the author, I have previously read a lot of books by her and loved each story as it worked is magic over me.

This story is no different and right from the very start, Maddie Sherwood, who is at the very end of her wits as to what to do for survival finally succumbs to offering her body in return for shelter and food clutches at your heart. Rescue from the fate to which she had resigned herself to comes in the form of Charles Lawson who bids a hopping 1000 dollars to be the man who would initiate her & take her virginity.

However Maddie soon realizes that ravishing her is the furthest thing on Charles mind and before she knows it, she has agreed to marry him and care for his three children Taylor, Hannah and Aaron who settle deep within your heart from the very first encounter. And when Maddie first tumbles into the arms of Jesse Lawson, Charles’s older brother, Maddie realizes just how much she has agreed to sacrifice and forgo in the marriage of convenience to which she has entered with Charles.

From the very first moment Jesse looks into Maddie’s whiskey brown eyes he is a goner. Though he tries to fight the immense awareness he feels for someone he should not, you truly understand the meaning of the term “the heart wants what it wants regardless of the consequences” when you feel the cascading emotions that passes between Jesse and Maddie as the story progresses. While Maddie too yearns for the strength of Jesse’s embrace, she knows that deep within her heart she could never be disloyal to the man who had given her his family and affection.

What Maddie has no inkling of is the fact that Charles is a man who is near death, and the fact that he wanted his motherless children to know the warm and loving embrace of a mother was the reason why he had married Maddie in the first place. And Maddie holds close to her heart a secret which could destroy what she has come to love and hold dear to her heart.

Its hard to put into words how reading this story made me feel. Jesse’s loyalty towards his brother and towards doing what’s right made me admire him and fall in love with him along with Maddie. And Maddie’s courage in resisting the temptation of embracing the man she loved with every fiber of her being and being faithful to her husband made me realize the strength in her which Charles saw the night he rescued her from a life of prostitution. And Charles, the man who was insightful enough to know what his brother wanted and needed more than anything in the world and being man enough to leave Maddie to him made my throat tighten with emotion.

This is a book that packs an intense wallop of emotion and a page turner at that. I would advice to keep a box of tissues ready because towards the ending, its all you can do to keep from crying at turns with sadness, hope, happiness and ultimate joy.

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Spanish Groom by Lynne Graham

Format: E-book
Read with: Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #2037
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Cesar Valverde
Heroine: Dixie Robinson
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 5, 1999
Started On: June 30, 2010
Finished On: June 30, 2010

This book is a testament to why Lynne Graham remains a favorite Harlequin romance author of mine though her recent works leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. After starting off with the book I realized that I had actually read this book sometime back and reading it the second time round didn’t diminish the effects of the roller coaster ride this book seemed to take me on.

My interest was piqued enough to read this book while I was browsing through a discussion thread on Amazon about Harlequin romances that readers actually liked. One reader had pretty much summed up the story which portrays Cesar, a man who keeps a tight rein on his emotions, but who dotes on his god father Jasper, the only person in his life who had ever shown him unconditional love. Dixie is the total opposite of Cesar in every way. Emotional where he is not, talkative and friendly to a fault, Dixie doesn’t know why the Jasper’s godson had taken such an intense dislike to her and seemed to be finding fault in everything she did around the office. It certainly doesn’t help matters when the routine financial checks done on employees turn up the information that Dixie is knee deep in debt, a condition her step sister Petra has left her in and run off to New York to find work as an actress.

Cesar doesn’t want to believe a word that comes out of Dixie’s mouth. Forever suspicious of people and their intentions, Cesar can’t fathom why Jasper seemed to like Dixie so intensely. The financial check that reveals Dixie’s spending habits give Cesar the chance he has been waiting for. But because of the news that his godfather has not been feeling well because of problems with his heart, Cesar decides that the one thing he could do for the single ray of sunshine in his life was to make his last days on Earth happy ones and decides to do that by entering into a charade where he would present Dixie as his fiance’ to Jasper.

It is Cesar’s intention to transform Dixie into a woman of polished veneer. It was quite amusing to see Dixie forced into a diet and rigorous workout sessions because Cesar thinks Dixie is overweight from over indulgence in food. It was riveting to read how Cesar realizes that beneath all the frumpy layer of clothes Dixie hides a body to die for, and unwillingly Cesar becomes slave to the undeniable fizz between the two.

Before long, Cesar and Dixie are on their way to Spain, and Jasper walks in on them in moments of heated passion which turns the tables around so fast that it leaves Dixie’s head whirling. Dixie finds herself married to Cesar in just a week’s time and finally admits to herself that she has fallen in love with the cold and aloof man that her husband portrays himself to be. It was heartwarming, endearing and at moments heart thumping when Cesar and Dixie try to make a relationship out of their circumstances and in the end find true love with one another.

I loved every bit of this novel and would highly recommend this to lovers of Harlequin romances and fans of Lynne Graham.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Fragile by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-book
Read with: Kindle For PC & Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Fragile, Book 1
Publisher: Penguin Group
Hero: Luke Rafferty
Heroine: Devon Manning
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 3, 2009
Started On: June 24, 2010
Finished On: June 24, 2010

I read Fragile in early 2009 when the title was first released. Reading the second book Broken of the series focusing on Luke’s twin brother Quinn Rafferty earlier  this year when it was released in March had me wanting to re-read and re-visit the characters of Fragile, a story that had always left a deep impression on me since it is that good a story.

Fragile is the type of story that defines why Shiloh Walker is a favorite author of mine who definitely rates at the highest on my auto-buy list. My friends kept teasing me because I was in such agony when Broken was first advertised to be released and I guess anybody who has read Fragile would understand my fascination with Quinn Rafferty and I have no doubt many of those who have read Broken would agree with me that he is one sigh worthy hero.

This does not mean that Luke Rafferty on his own is not sigh worthy himself. For me, I think I enjoyed Luke’s quiet intensity a bit more than Quinn who is a bit more darker and edgier than Luke, which is quite understandable based on the fact that whilst Luke and Quinn are twins, they were separated at birth when their mother who is a drug addict fled with Quinn just so she could punish their father. Their mother had gone underground not to be found no matter how much Luke’s father had tried to find them, and in the end, it was the inevitable death of their mother by drug overdose that brought Quinn back into Luke’s life. Luke had never known till then that he even had a twin and the first few pages of the book bleed raw emotion when these two first meet, a belligerent and abused Quinn with Luke who had got the better end of the deal when he ended up with his father.

Years later, Luke and Quinn are both serving in the army in Afghanistan when a round of bullets rip through Luke’s leg ending his stint in the army. By then Luke had already tired of the continuous stream of violence that never seemed to end. So trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs seems to fit Luke like a glove and it is there that he encounters Devon, a social worker who doesn’t come to the hospital with the best of patients.

From the get go, Luke is fascinated with Devon and although she doesn’t seem like she knows that Luke even exists, Luke can’t help looking out for her while on duty. Devon though she doesn’t let it be known is warily interested in Luke. Sexually abused when she was young and being lost in a dark place for a long time until a social worker had pulled her out of it and helped her, Devon has her own hang ups surrounding her.

To Luke Devon is as fragile as a piece of well spun glass and wants to protect her from all evil elements but Devon on her own is a force to be admired. Though Devon knows Luke is a complication that she best avoid, the intense awareness and attraction between the two doesn’t rest until they end up together. The best part of the story for me was the fact that Luke seems  to take so much care with Devon and it just touches the right places in my heart to read through such a wonderful character.

Though Devon and Luke’s relationship progresses and ultimately fall in love with one another, there are forces around them that create havoc on their relationship. Stalked and nearly bludgeoned to death doesn’t seem to be the end of the upheavals in store for Devon and Luke. Someone more sinister than the likes anyone could imagine continue stalking Devon until it eventually drives Luke and Devon apart. The pieces only fall in place at the very end and its a long and tough road for Luke and Devon until they find peace and happiness with one another.

This story ends off begging for Quinn’s story to be told. And it is a testament to Ms. Walker’s ability that these two stories are so wonderful that it begs to be read from start to finish in one sitting.

If you haven’t already read these two books, buy them, find yourself some quiet uninterrupted time and lose yourself in the two Rafferty’s that would individually charm and seduce you with the turn of each page.

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

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sarah’s Child by Linda Howard

Format: E-booksarahschild
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Spencer-Nyle Company Series, Book 1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Rome Matthews
Heroine: Sarah Harper
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1985
Started On: June 22, 2010
Finished On: June 23, 2010

This is the third time that I read this story and I have to say that this is one story that doesn’t get old for me ever. People have mixed feelings about this novel. Some hate it because they don’t like Rome’s actions in the novel. But for me, this story is sweeter and more meaningful because of it and I wouldn’t want to change even one word of this  beautiful story.

Sarah has always loved Rome. But she has stood quietly on the sidelines when Rome married her best friend Diane, and had two beautiful boys Justin and Shane. She had never let Diane know of her feelings towards Rome and when a senseless accident takes away Rome’s family he is devastated beyond belief.

Two years on, Rome has finally healed enough to sell the house within which he had made a home with Diane and it is there in a moment of grief that he finds out that Sarah too feels the strong attraction that Rome has always felt towards her but never acted upon because he had always loved his wife and stayed faithful to her. At first Sarah thinks that all Rome wants with her is a tumble between the sheets, but she is more than surprised when Rome proposes that Sarah marry him on the condition that Rome would never provide her with children. Sarah agrees to the condition and marries the man that she has loved since forever and embarks upon a journey that no matter how many times I read, I always get a huge lump in my throat from all the emotions so well described.

Rome doesn’t want to give away his heart to another woman but gradually Sarah’s unwavering love and quite affection wins him over. Of course the immense white hot attraction that never ceases between the two certainly helps things along. Just when Rome professes that he has at last fallen for Sarah, she finds out that she is pregnant with Rome’s child.

Rome is at first furious and it nearly rips Sarah apart when Rome accuses her of deceiving him. Things come to a head when Rome requests Sarah to get rid of the baby and Sarah refuses. I admired Sarah’s character so much for working towards achieving what she believed in. Life wasn’t easy for her during pregnancy when there was practically no help from Rome since he doesn’t want anything to do with the child that they had created.

It was heart wrenching to feel Rome’s pain and it was a glorious moment when in the end when Rome finally heals and begins to appreciate the fact that God has given him a second chance to love and be loved.

I would most probably end up re-reading this book again sometime cos I so do love the story of how Rome falls for Sarah and gives himself the chance to grasp and hold onto love the second time round. Loved every single bit of this great story.

Favorite Quotes

He lifted his head, his eyes still damp, and the darkness of his pupils had become so total that there was no brown in them at all. He stared at her, then reached out and tenderly wiped the moisture from her cheeks with his thumb. “Sarah,” he said on a whispering sigh, and touched his mouth to hers.
She went still, all breath suspended in her body, as thousands of her prayers were answered in that light touch of his lips. Her hands moved to his shoulders, the nails digging into the layers of muscle that corded his frame. It was just a simple kiss of thanks, but the bottom dropped out of her stomach and the blood rushed from her head, so intense was the pleasure that assailed her. She sank against him, her soft body melding to his from shoulder to thigh, as they knelt there on the floor.

There was no sense of time or location, nothing but the spiraling physical need that had flamed between them, unexpected and out of control. She felt his hands on her body, touching her breasts, dipping down beneath her skirt to rub her thighs and stroke intimately between them, wringing a wordless cry of need from her lips. No word of protest surfaced in her mind. She let him do as he wanted, mindless of everything but the delight his knowledgeable hands were bringing to her. He knew women, and his expertise made her wild. She offered her slim body for his delectation with no conscious thought of anything except how sweetly, hotly satisfying it was to be in his arms, to know his kisses and his caresses.

“Good night.” But he didn’t leave. Instead he stood in the doorway, soberly regarding her. He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek with his forefinger, then slid his hand around to cup her chin in his palm. He leaned toward her, and Sarah went weak with anticipation, her eyes widening as fevered delight shot through her. He was going to kiss her again. Lightly his mouth touched hers, his lips moving with tender expertise over her parted, breathless mouth. His warm taste filled her, and Sarah’s lashes fluttered, then slowly closed. With a zephyr of a sigh she swayed into his arms; he needed no more encouragement than that. Locking his arms around her, he pulled her up against his chest and gradually deepened the kiss, as if he were wary of going too fast for her, giving her time to accept or reject each new move.

“Would you like coffee?” she invited, dropping her small purse on the sofa and moving away from him to the kitchen.
“No.” His refusal was flat.
“I think I’ll have something to eat, just to be on the safe side,” she called over her shoulder. “How about one of those chicken sandwi—”
Without warning, he seized her from behind, his hard hands locking on her waist and pulling her back against him. His head bent, and his hot breath blew over the curve of her neck, lightly touching her sensitive skin and awakening all her nerve endings. She shivered a little, but didn’t try to pull away; instead she pressed back against the virile contours of his body.
“I don’t want a sandwich,” he muttered, nipping at her neck with his teeth, then soothing the slight sting with butterfly strokes from the tip of his tongue. Sarah’s eyes closed in ecstasy, and she let her head fall back against his shoulder, baring the vulnerable curve of her throat to him.

“Rome…please!” But she didn’t know if she begged for mercy, or for more of the primal pleasure he was giving her. Her body was growing heavy and liquid, and a deep inner throbbing made her move restlessly against him.
“Yes,” he said against her throat, interpreting her plea as he chose. He bent her over his arm to give himself access to her tempting breasts, and she gave a thin cry when his hot mouth closed over her nipple, sucking it strongly into his mouth. Blackness swirled over her, a warm, velvet blackness that blocked out any reservations she might have had about belonging to him. She dissolved into a purely physical animal, instinctively seeking more of the pleasure he offered her. Her hands roamed his body as his had roamed hers, impatiently brushing away the layers of cloth that separated her from his hard muscled flesh. He trembled wildly at her intimate touch and pleaded with her for more.

He took advantage of her unselfishness, his greedy mouth plundering her flesh as he bared it. Sarah clenched her fingers in his hair, gasping as he pulled open her robe and dispensed with it, then rapidly slid down the straps of her nightgown until the silk fell away from her breasts. He bent his head and closed his hot mouth over one sensitive nipple, wringing a cry of pleasure from her.
“Do you like that?” he muttered fiercely against her, filling his hands and his mouth with velvet mounds and firm jutting nipples.
“Yes…yes.” Her answer was thin and faraway, and she tried to put her arms around him, but the strap of her night-gown prevented her from moving her arms. She struggled in mute frustration against the silk bindings, trying to draw her arms out, but he held her too tightly, and he was too close, the things he was doing to her too delightful to halt.

“You… make… me… crazy!” he growled jerkily, tearing at his jeans until they opened and he could push them out of the way. Sarah moved her mouth back to his, holding the kiss as he eased inside her, his entry taking her breath.
She moaned his name, moving against him, her skin so hot that it felt like wildfire. She was wildfire, her slender body dancing, searing, taking him until the only sounds he could make were incoherent words of passion and need, of rising sexual desperation that held him taut in the chair, on the edge of madness.

In the gray light of dawn, she came slowly awake, stretching under slow, warm caresses that roamed over her body and touched her with familiar intimacy. There was a magnetic warmth beside her and she turned to it, her head finding the hard pillow of Rome’s chest, her arms wrapping around him without thought.
“Wake up,” he crooned softly in her ear, nipping at the lobe with his sharp teeth, then kissing his way along her jaw to find her mouth.
“I’m awake,” she murmured, sliding her palms up his naked back and feeling the hard ripple of muscle under his warm skin.
He took her immediately. She was warm and pliable from sleep, her body rosy, and she drew in a quick breath of pleasure as he moved with slow power into her. “I can’t wait; I have to have you,” he muttered.

He was a darker outline against the night. He pulled the covers back and bent over her, pulling the nightgown over her head and dropping it to the floor. Sarah felt his hands on her breasts and thighs; then his heavy weight came down on her and his mouth closed fiercely over hers. A shudder of relief shook her, and she put her arms around his neck, letting him part her legs and take her.
“All of me,” he demanded harshly, as she lifted her hips up to him. “Take all of me. More. More! Yes, like that. Just like that!”

“Is this to tide you over?” she murmured teasingly, her eyes bright.
“Something like that.” He unzipped his pants and shoved them down, then knelt on the bed, between her relaxed thighs. “You’re my credit card; I don’t leave home without this.”
She laughed, twining her arms around his neck as he lowered his weight to her. The laughter caught in her throat at the slow delicious shock of his entry, and he heard the little intake of breath she always gave when he took her. It was music to him, and he buried his face against her neck in sudden need, pulling her legs up around his waist. “I miss you like hell when I’m gone,” he said roughly, and with his confession he began thrusting deeply into her, reconfirming their partnership with the bond of their flesh.

Sarah was totally lost in the intensifying physical sensations as he fondled her breasts and sucked them in just the way she liked, as he stroked her and touched her in ways that made her cry out. His slow, steady thrusts were driving her mad, carrying her just to the brink of satisfaction but not putting her over.
She clutched at him with damp, frantic hands, begging for release. He held her hips, not letting her speed the pace, holding her to his rhythm. He kissed her deeply, then lifted his mouth just enough to command deeply, “Tell me you love me.”
Her response was automatic, plucked from a deep reservoir of primitive need that she couldn’t control. Without thinking about it, without even realizing the significance of what he asked and what she answered, she moaned, “Yes. I love you.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Harlequin
outstandingread

Reviewer’s Note: The quotes were added to the review on 07.10.2017 after the author re-read the book for a third time.