Category / Red Hot Reads

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Convicted by Dee Tenorio

Format: E-bookconvicted
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled: Ignite
Hero: Cade Evigan
Heroine: Katrina Killian
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 18, 2014
Started On: August 13, 2014
Finished On: August 26, 2014

Convicted was first published as part of the anthology Undercover Lovers back in 2010. Story takes place in Marketta, California where DEA Agent Katrina Killian has been working undercover in the motorcycle club Wheels of Pain when the newbie Sheriff’s Deputy Cade Evigan comes into the picture and stirs things up in more ways than one.

Katrina is determined to get her job done and get it done right, no matter how mouth-wateringly tempting the tall, broody and sinfully good looking Sheriff’s Deputy might be. However, Katrina finds out the hard way that when it comes to Cade, even his don’t-get-close-to-me tough vibe is enough to keep her away, more possibly it acts as the magnet that draws her nearer to him, even if it means earning his well founded wrath when he finds out her true reasons for insinuating herself into his life.

Convicted when it was a short novella was explosive in the way the story unfolded, with the story and the characters practically leaping out of the pages to lay claim on your heart. The lengthier version however is a bit slow on the uptake though Cade and Katrina turned out to be as interesting. Katrina and Cade both slowly grows on you until you can’t help but root for them. The passion between them singes through but sometimes I felt that the lengthier version was a bit hard to follow with events taking place over a span of months.

Convicted is a novel for those who love a sassy heroine because Dee has done a splendid job out of creating Katrina. She has the sort of acerbic humor that I dig and I couldn’t help but love her gutsy self to bits. Cade is a hero who’d make your heart melt, but I felt that the story didn’t focus as much on Cade as it did on Katrina and her life that is embroiled with that of the criminal elements that Katrina’s small town is embroiled in. I’d have loved knowing more of Cade and see him work through his issues as an individual and together with Katrina as they proceeded in their non-relationship relationship.

Even with all the minor issues that I had with the story, Convicted still managed to offer a good read which I enjoyed as it unfolded. Recommended for fans of Dee Tenorio and fans of sassy heroines and broody heroes. The one thing that I’d love to read now would be Rick and Shana’s story. After all they’ve been through, they both definitely deserve a happy ending!

Favorite Quotes

Just when he was about to open his mouth—and say what, exactly?—she faced him with a thoughtful frown. “What do you think of donuts?”
That was when it finally dawned on him.
It didn’t matter what group he put her in or what phenomenally stupid thing he said to her.
He wasn’t getting rid of her.

Not wanting him to get his wits now that she’d firmly discombobulated him, she made the only move she had left. Lifting her face to his, she closed the gap and kissed him.
At first there was nothing. Those firm lips might have been steel against hers. And then she licked him, running her tongue over the seam. Surprise had him parting for her, and she finally tasted the heat of the man himself. She moaned at the flavor, her hunger for him surging in an instant. He must have felt the same because everything changed.

“Just for tonight,” she repeated, rising to press her lips to his jaw, slowly stroking him between their bodies. “Just us. Nothing else.” She kissed the underside of his chin, adding little nips of her teeth along his neck. He growled, a low, sexy sound that made her smile against his skin. “Come on, Cade. Make me respect you in the morning.”
She lay back as he tilted a sideways glance at her, then the most unexpected thing happened. He smiled. The white of his teeth gleamed and dear God, the man had dimples. She shuddered in a breath, losing her rhythm below.

They crashed down over the hood, mouths fused, struggling to get impossibly closer. She shoved at his coat, he yanked her up higher onto the car. When she hissed at the heated metal beneath her, he helped her get the jacket off so he could shove it beneath her.
They clung roughly, pulling at each other, tugging at clothes. Her fingers speared into his hair, demanding even as a feminine growl of pleasure emanated from her throat. Like a purr…

Before she could complain about who was pushing whom, his body pinned her to the car and his hand came around her waist, plucking at the button on her jeans. Her zipper came down with a jerk and then his hand snaked in under her panties to the heart of her.
She almost came right then.

He glided into her tight channel. There was no pain, she was too wet for that. Only fulfillment as her muscles welcomed him and grasped him tight so he’d never leave again.

He crashed into her, giving her no time between one wave of pleasure and the next. The wind on her face disappeared. The sun on her skin, the unforgiving jut of the fender. None of it existed. He powered into her, holding her in place for his possession. All she felt was him. Taking her over.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” She let him go, her hands fumbling between her breasts for half a second before the straining blue material popped open and she peeled it away.
His brain stopped short.
Full, round globes, just the right size for his hands, each one topped by pale pink tips, completely derailed his thought processes.
“Now that we have that settled,” she growled, pulling the fabric closed again and reaching for the shirt he’d dropped in his haste to reach for her. “Gimme the goddamn shirt.”
Damn it, his hands were empty, his fucking sweatpants were strangling him, and those fabulous breasts were covered under the folds of his own shirt. He glared at her. “That was cruel.”
She smirked as she tightened her hold on the crisp cotton. “My tits, my rules.”

His hands held her legs open while his hot tongue lapped at her entrance, working slowly up to her clit. Within seconds he wrapped his lips around it and sucked.
She may have screamed.
He definitely growled.

His urgency didn’t fade, but for an endless moment, he could only stare at her. Passion-stained cheeks, lips still wet from sucking him, her hair falling wildly around her shoulders… She might be battered, but she was the most beautiful thing in the world and for this second, this single breath in time, she was his.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Words by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanwords
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #3
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Dr. Sam Sherman
Heroine: Molly Harris
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 12, 2013
Started On: August 8, 2014
Finished On: August 8, 2014

Three short and delectable stories featuring three distinct themes. The one commonality that all three novellas share is that they provide scorching hot reads which tantalizes your tastebuds and leaves them begging for more. I am quite certain that a lot of readers who pick this series up and finds themselves falling in love with each character in the series would only want for one thing – full length novels featuring themes such as this one that authors seldom write these days.

More than Words is the third and final novella in the series and features a boss/secretary sort of theme where Molly Harris who has been in love with her boss Dr. Sam Sherman for much longer than she would like to admit finds herself in the awkward position of having sent an email that should never have reached Dr. Sam in the first place if not for her wayward emotions and a helluva busy day. An email that depicts her dirtiest fantasies involving the good doctor himself.

Sam couldn’t be more stunned in having found the explosive email in his inbox. And the fact that his tired brain could conjure every single one of Molly’s words and view them technicolor is proof enough that where his assistant is concerned, Sam is just fooling himself by thinking that he doesn’t feel the same where Molly is concerned.

If I were to pick a ‘least favorite’ in this series, More than Words would be it for me. Somehow the story lacked a little bit of something that prevented the wow factor from dazzling me. Even then, Jess Dee as one hell of a writer manages to pull off a story worth sinking your teeth into.

If you are looking for quick hot reads to fill the void between lengthier reads, More Than is the series for you. That is if you can manage to read all three without either spontaneously combusting on the spot or dunking yourself under a long cold shower. Yep, Jess Dee pulls no punches with the scorch factor in each of these stories. Recommended!

Final Verdict: Scorching heat guaranteed!

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Samhain | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Lovers by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanlovers
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Charlie Hudson
Heroine: Sarah Deacon
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 10, 2013
Started On: August 8, 2014
Finished On: August 8, 2014

More than Lovers by Jess Dee is the second book in her delectable erotica short story series More Than. Consisting of three books, it was only when I started on the second one that I realized that these three novellas are loosely connected to each other through one of the protagonists in each story.

More than Lovers follows the neighbors with benefits trope or rather where you have a neighbor hottie that you can’t help but salivate over. Charlie Hudson and Sara Deacon have been involved in an arrangement where they have sex with no strings attached for more than eighteen months. While Sarah is the smart and brainy heroine who has a job to match her education, Charlie leads a seemingly relaxed lifestyle by making a living through surfing and teaching people how to surf.

More than Lovers kicks off when Charlie tries to set up Sarah with three dates which might lead to the kind of relationship that she wants with a man, a long lasting and fulfilling one. But each date just throws the light on just how well suited both Charlie and Sarah are for each other, if only Charlie would be willing to let go of the prejudices holding him back when it comes to contemplating a future between him and Sarah.

More than Lovers turned out to be more well rounded than the first book in the series. And though Sebastian is still my favorite, Charlie does come close with that effortless sex appeal that courses through the story with just his mere presence alone. If these two books are anything to judge this explosive short series by, I would say Jess Dee has definitely struck where she wanted to hit with these delectable stories. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre!

Final Verdict: Smut of the variety you can never get enough of!

Favorite Quotes

“Fuck,” he rasped. “You tie me up in knots.”
Needing to connect with him somehow, to feel him on something more than a physical level, she looked up at his face and faltered at the emotion she saw in his eyes.
He stared down at her with such reverence, such adoration, her heart tripped and then soared.
There. That. It was all she needed. All she wanted. His expression filled the part of her soul that had hollowed in his absence.

And that was the last thing she did to him. The second he was sheathed, Charlie lost it. He had her on her back on the floor in seconds. Her sexy surfer dude paused just long enough to shove her skirt over her hips and bend her knees to her waist, and then he was inside, pounding into her, perspiration dotting his forehead.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Samhain | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: More Than Friends by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookmorethanfriends.jpeg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: More Than, #1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Sebastian Blackford
Heroine: Lucy Lawson
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: May 28, 2013
Started On: August 7, 2014
Finished On: August 7, 2014

I am a sucker for a good friends to lovers romance. I am also a sucker for the good bout of eroticism and romance that Jess Dee can deliver in her books. It goes to show just how out of the loop I have been to have missed out on Jess Dee’s More Than series which debuted in 2013 which I found out about only just last month. When I stumbled upon the series, I wasted no time in acquiring all three novellas and curled up in bed to enjoy the wild ride that only few authors such as Jess can only deliver.

Lucy Lawson has landed in the mother lord of all problems. She has fallen in love with her best friend going six years. Sebastian Blackford has no clue as to the mass riot of feelings coursing through Lucy’s heart, body and soul and feels gobsmacked when Lucy just lays it all out on him, the pent up desire and all that love laid bare for him to see.

Though Sebastian tells himself that he wants nothing more than friendship with Lucy, from the moment Lucy’s admission stamps images full of eroticism in his mind, there is no turning back from the desire that courses through him and practically floors him with the force of his want and desire.

More than Friends is a novella that hit all those spots with just 60 plus pages. The only thing more I could have asked for was a full fledged sex scene after all those scenes that served as foreplay and barely satiated my thirst for more of Sebastian. Its hard not to love all the male that Sebastian is. You’d just have to grab yourself a copy and find out for yourself lest I give too much away in my review.

A book that pulls no emotional punches, More than Friends is a testament to how an author who works for you can make even three short pages worth of a story give all that you want. Recommended for those who love quick, short and hot reads!

Final Verdict: Scorching hot. Sebastian will literally blow you away!

Favorite Quotes

Seb couldn’t help himself. He looked at the tub. And just like that, he was hard again. Painfully hard.
As fast as his head filled with images of a naked Lucy, lying in her bath, immersed in water with her hand buried between her legs, so blood filled his cock.
He saw her, her head thrown back, her neck arched, her breasts bobbing, nipples swollen and distended. And he wanted her. Wanted her with an intensity that blew his mind clean away.

Seb had no idea what made him do it, what clicked in his mind and made him act, but impulse took over. One minute Lucy was wrapped in his arms, pressed against his body, the next he’d backed her against the wall and ripped her top in two. Grabbed the neckline with his hands and torn it clean in half, from the top to the bottom, so it hung open, leaving her white lace bra exposed to his hungry—no, his starving—gaze.

“Other one,” she begged. “Kiss the other breast.”
He did. He kissed it, nipped at it, suckled on it and when a soft keening sound filled the air, bit it.
Jesus, what was it with the biting? When the fuck did he ever bite a woman?
Never, that’s when.
But with Loo it was different. With Loo it was essential. He had to bite. Had to taste her, had to…mark her.
Mark her. Fuck yeah. That’s exactly what he had to do.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Samhain | Kobo | ARe

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Silver Falls by Anne Stuart

Format: E-booksilverfalls
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: MIRA
Hero: Caleb Middleton
Heroine: Rachel Chapman Middleton
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 2009
Started On: July 30, 2014
Finished On: July 31, 2014

Silver Falls by Anne Stuart is one of those novels by her that I have tried to steer clear of because of the bad reviews this one has received. Even fans of Anne Stuart seems to have one reason or the other for giving this a bad rating which made me reluctant to pick this up for a read because I didn’t want to ruin the fascination that I harbor for Anne Stuart as an author. Perhaps I should have trusted a bit more in an author, even whose novels that can be classified as “mediocre” have wooed me more than any other author in the romance genre. From the moment I picked this up to read till I was done and beyond, I couldn’t help but wonder why most readers found this read to be so lackluster.

Based in Silver Falls of Washington where its always gloomy and always rains, Silver Falls tells the story of a creepy serial killer and the heroine Rachel Chapman Middleton and her daughter who gets caught in the web of deceit that the killer weaves so thoroughly. Up till four months prior to the start of the story, Rachel had brought up her daughter Sophie all by herself, having led a nomadic existence, traveling all over the world which had seemed to suite them both. Tragedy sends Rachel into the arms of David Middleton, who materializes at just the right time and woos Rachel into believing that its time that she settle down somewhere in order to give Sophie a more stable home.

When the murder of a young girl sends fear rolling through Silver Falls, along with it comes home the black sheep of the Middleton family; Caleb Middleton. A war correspondent who has traveled extensively around the world, Caleb comes home to put the demons that have haunted him to rest once and for all. The truth that has been staring him in his face for more than half of his life, a truth that he had been unable to get on board with and come to terms with, Caleb realizes that he has already left it to chance for far too long.

The minute Caleb crosses paths with Rachel, his brother’s wife, sparks fly between the two. Rachel doesn’t want to care overly much about how Caleb makes every cell in her come alive with his presence, nor does she want to acknowledge the fiery attraction that simmers and makes her want Caleb and no one but him. Caleb’s intentions aren’t that clear to Rachel who suspects him of being the one behind that vague sense of discomfiture and feeling of being unknowingly hunted that had been the norm ever since Rachel had moved to Silver Falls. And when the inevitable happens, there is no going back for Rachel who would do anything to keep her daughter safe.

Silver Falls is a tad different from most of Anne Stuart’s romantic suspense novels. From the beginning of the story, readers know who the killer is. Didn’t make an iota of a difference where the creepy factor was concerned as Anne Stuart managed to reel the me in with that hypnotic talent of hers that only she is capable of weaving. The town itself and the killer whose seemingly normal facade that fools Rachel into believing otherwise sent chills up and down my spine and I enjoyed the thrill that aspect of the story gave me.

One factor that seems to have not worked for most readers turned out to be Rachel. She was too stubborn and TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) in a lot of readers’ opinions. But I think Rachel fit into the mould of a typical Anne Stuart heroine. They tend to be pretty stubborn, independent and refuse to give into the hero’s demands until there is no fight left in them. And I think Rachel being a wife together with the fact that she thought she was doing what was best for her daughter played a huge role in her reluctance to face the truth which was glaringly obvious to everyone but her.

I loved Sophie. It would be hard for anyone to find fault with someone who is as intelligent, sweet and the perfect daughter for someone like Rachel. Sophie is wise beyond her years; there is a grace and poise to her character that is charming in itself. Caleb of course turned out to be sexy and just the right amount of “bad boy” in my opinion. Caleb might think he is just using Rachel to further his agenda, but as it turns out he is way more smitten and drawn into Rachel than he would like to admit. Caleb is a bit more toned down than the usual variety of Anne Stuart heroes. Nevertheless he appealed to my senses just the same.

Recommended for fans of Anne Stuart.

Final Verdict: Creepily hypnotic! Recommended!

Favorite Quotes

“Kiss me back and I’ll let you go,” he said softly.
“Fuck off.”
He kissed her anyway, and she remained stonily still, as his other hand trailed up her back to the perfect, sensitive spot just beneath her shoulder blades, and she felt her treacherous body soften.
Oh, the hell with it. She kissed him back. She opened her mouth, slid her arms around his waist, pulling him closer still, and kissed him, with all the hunger and need that had been locked in her body for months, years. She kissed him because she couldn’t have him, kissed him because he showed up too late, kissed him until she felt his cock swell against her belly and the fierce need became his own as well.

“I tell you what. You can hate me. You can have me arrested. But you’ll be alive, and that’s all I care about.” And before she realized what he was doing he’d pulled the bedspread away from her, wrapping his body in it as well, and he was kissing his way down her body, his mouth latching on to her breast, sucking it into his mouth so hard she arched up off the bed. The pleasure was so fierce she couldn’t deny it anymore. She wanted, needed more, and when he moved to her other breast she almost came from the power of her response.

They moved without words, hands and mouths and bodies intertwining, stroking. She sank down on her knees in the narrow tub and took him in her mouth and he put his hands in her hair, holding her there for moments that she found unbearably arousing. He stopped her before she finished, pulling her up so that she straddled him, wrapping her legs around his waist, taking him deep inside, and it was slow and sweet and gentle, and when she came she cried.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Should’ve Been Home Yesterday by Inez Kelley

Format: E-bookshouldvebeenhomeyesterday
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Country Roads, #3
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Webb Hawkins
Heroine: Molly McCreedy
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 21, 2014
Started On: July 18, 2014
Finished On: July 30, 2014

Ever since I started reading Inez Kelley’s Country Roads series, I’ve been hankering to read the story of the enigmatic Webb Hawkins, CEO of Hawkins Hardwood. The hint of a past entanglement between himself and Molly McCreedy, the owner of McCreedy’s Diner suggested a story that could prove to be explosive at best. And though Should’ve Been Home Yesterday didn’t live up to all my expectations, it nevertheless managed to give me a story well worth my while.

Should’ve Been Home Yesterday starts twenty years prior to the present day and highlights the relationship that exists between Webb and Molly. Webb and Molly’s older brother Clay had been inseparable during their childhood. Webb being ten years older than Molly never sees her as anything more than a sister even though Molly considers Webb hers even at the tender age of ten. People might call her love for Webb a childhood crush or a fascination that would fade away as she would grow older, but for Molly, in the depths of her heart she had known even then that there would none but Webb for her.

Present day finds Molly pregnant with Webb’s baby and Webb wanting to do the right thing by marrying her. Webb might want to keep his distance where Molly is concerned, and he had been doing a swell job out of it until imbibing in too much alcohol had shattered his ironclad control and the inevitable had happened. Though Molly has her misgivings, she is the optimistic sort who would like to believe that Webb feels something more for her than he lets on and that it could grow into something wonderful and beautiful, like the love that blooms in her heart for him. And that is why, Molly finds herself entering into a marriage with the love of her life by shoving aside any apprehension about the union that she might have.

Webb has always found his solace in his work. Building up his business had taken his mind off of the terrible mistake he had made in his past, thinking that he could have a chance with Molly when she’d suddenly surprised him by growing up. The Molly that he is married to stirs up feelings that he would like to turn his back on. With the Eco-terrorist who had managed to make his life a living hell the past couple of months still continuing to haunt and taunt him, Webb believes that his attention needs to be focused on where it is important; on his business and the people who work for him rather than his newly wedded wife who moves him to distraction.

Molly understands only a trifle bit too late that Webb had never intended for their marriage to get real. But she certainly doesn’t make it easy on Webb to just ignore her and be, but rather Molly’s understanding of who Webb is thaws that control of his that Webb clings onto and makes him realize that with Molly, there is no detachment to be had when it comes to him. And what Webb doesn’t realize is that unbeknown to him or Molly, the danger that surrounds him has been closing in on the most important person in his life and that he might lose her before he can even declare just how much of a fool he has been trying to keep her at arms length all this while.

Should’ve Been Home Yesterday follows the pattern that has been set for the previous books in this series. Every chapter begins with an interesting fact or tidbit that is related to the setting and the story which I have absolutely enjoyed in each of these books. Molly and Webb’s relationship certainly had its moments. Webb’s deep reluctance to open himself up emotionally lent the story the right amount of angst, and of course the groveling that he had to do to win back the affections of his wife later on served to be the healing balm that their relationship required. Inez makes the story doubly interesting by working in tidbits of Molly and Webb’s shared past into the unfolding events which gives the reader just enough of a background to connect with Molly and Webb.

As I finished reading Should’ve Been Home Yesterday, I couldn’t help but want to read the stories of Finn, Bob and Zane Miner. They all show promise as characters well worth being given their own stories and I would definitely love it if at all there is a possibility of that happening. Dear Inez, please take that as a hint and write them happily ever afters? The one thing that continues to draw me when it comes to Inez is that her stories always provide beautiful quotes for my collection and Should’ve Been Home Yesterday was no exception to the rule. And though my favorite in the series by far has been Jonah and Zury’s story, Should’ve Been Home Yesterday is full of the good bits that makes it a great read! Recommended.

Final Verdict: Inez’s Country Roads series continues to deliver beautiful stories, well worth your reading time!

Favorite Quotes

“Molly.”
The hesitation in his tone speared through her and she spun, rising to her knees to face him. His hands stayed still, sliding in the soap film around her waist. Bared to the navel, with nothing hiding the rest of her but a thin layer of floating bubbles, she locked eyes with his. One wide black pupil nearly obliterated the brown iris, his real eye reacting to the desire he held back. His glass eye stared at her with sightless fixation. Beneath the collar of his shirt, thick cords stood out in his neck.

Molly reached up and circled his neck, stepping closer than she had when they danced, and brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth. The touch of lips on lips was like a summer lightning strike, all-powerful and shocking. His hands rose, settling on her hips, the sun-warmed skin smooth beneath his calluses. He forgot everything except Molly. He dipped his head and kissed her.
She melted. There was no other word he could think of.

Molly bucked as the crest of his cock’s head grazed her clit. “Holy shit.”
She added a wiggle to her swing and his control slipped. Holy shit was right. He’d never been so turned on and he wasn’t even inside her. Tongues swirling, lips sealed, their hips moved together. Friction had never been so intense, so hot and drugging. The muscles in groin grew tight as climax approached but he gripped her ass and rocked harder, driving against her clit faster, needing her to go with him. She whimpered as a quake bloomed. She drove down hard, grinding on his cock as she exploded.

A low groan rumbled in his chest, taking their kiss to high heat. He delved his tongue deep, sweeping along her lips, then plunging inside. He tasted of mint, a cool underlying accent to the intensity of his kiss. Beneath her knees, the plush couch was soft but her focus was on the firm thighs between hers. His hands slid up her legs, hooked around her ass and tugged her forward.
It was every Christmas, every birthday, every Valentine’s gift wrapped into one when he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. This was her dream, Webb sober, loving her openly, their lives entwined.

Molly had no breath to answer. She was trapped in a cycle of pleasure, of taking him over and over, wanting him deeper and never wanting to let him go. The rhythmic squeeze she kept around him drove her closer but she needed him to peak with her, to trip over that edge. She didn’t want to go alone. Together. She needed them to go together.
Yanking one hand from the cushion, she raked his back with her nails. Webb arched hard, driving so deep into her she shattered with a cry.

Her fingers tightened, pulling his hair but he ignored the pain, needing to taste her climax. Lightly, quickly, he fluttered his tongue across the hood then curled low and speared the pulse beneath. Easing his hands under her ass, he kneaded each globe and urged her knees further apart with his shoulders. Spread beneath his mouth, Molly was his for the taking and he took, without mercy, hungrily, and without relenting. He wished he could claim her heart as easily, was worthy enough to claim it.

Her hand turned, skating up his chest, delving through his chest hair. Every instinct he had begged him to drive home hard, to take her fast and deep, but he swallowed them. He needed this, this slow connection, this reconnection. He wanted to draw it out, gorge on it, grow drunk on nothing more than his wife. Teeth gritted for restraint, he pressed into her slow and steady until he could go no farther. A twitch bloomed along his cheek as he soaked in her velvet grip.
Molly’s fingers bit into his chest as her mouth fell open with a low exhale. “Oh God, I love how you feel inside me.”

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Into the Shadows by Carolyn Crane

Format: E-bookintotheshadows
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: The Associates, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Thorne McKelvey
Heroine: Nadia Volkov
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 16, 2014
Started On: July 14, 2014
Finished On: July 17, 2014

“I’m the loser who will never deserve you, but I’ll always fight for you”

The quote above practically sums up the psychology of the delicious hero in the story. Shoot me for saying this, but the reason I picked up Into the Shadows by Carolyn Crane from Netgalley hinges on the fact that the cover is so bloody hot! And I say that in the best way possible. Having never experienced Carolyn’s writing nor the fact that there are two books prior to this in The Associates series to which this book belongs to didn’t stop me from requesting for it. And though I am always a bit apprehensive about trying out new authors, I think Carolyn seduced me rather beautifully with this novel of hers.

Thorne McKelvey, the hero is deep undercover in one of the most vicious gangs in Tampa, Florida. Thorne has no illusions about who he is. He is a man who is only fit for violence, crime and would never be good enough for anyone, let alone someone like Nadia Volkov with whom Thorne had shared a blissfully happy three months until things had headed south between them. Even then, though Thorne had felt like his insides were being shredded into bits and pieces, the fact that what he has always believed about himself had only been proven by what had gone down only helps cement his belief that he would never be good enough.

Nadia has had a lot on her plate since the death of her father and the discovery that her mother needed rescuing. The knowledge that her father had lied to her all his life had been bad enough but knowing the situation into which her mother had been thrust into makes Nadia wish that her father were alive so that she could throttle him to death herself. Life had changed so much for Nadia the night Thorne had left her, and being responsible for a tiny human being who depends on her for everything makes her vow more fervently than ever that she would find and rescue her mother, whatever it took.

Trouble comes calling when Nadia’s under the cloak missions lands her on the radar of the very gang that Thorne has infiltrated, the leader of which is a man Thorne has been hunting since the night his life had changed so drastically, tied up in a desert surrounded by scorpions. There is a beauty to the savagery that is hinted at in Thorne’s character, the web of temptation that he casts on the reader that much more potent because of the fact. And when once again Thorne and Nadia find their paths inevitably merging, the long held secrets come out together with the desire between them that had not abated but grown stronger during the period of separation.

Into the Shadows is a story that I enjoyed overly much while reading. Though I did feel at times that I had missed out on what makes up the group of people known as “The Associates” on which these stories are based on by having never read the previous two books in the series, it didn’t completely distract me from what this story had to offer. While the present events unfold at a fast pace, the flashbacks into the shared past between Thorne and Nadia continued to provide the required fodder to make an emotional connection with both of them. All that I have left to say is, what the cover depicts? Totally one hundred percent true. You would have to investigate on your own to find out more. Recommended!

Final Verdict: Pulse pounding tension & heat at the turn of each page!

Favorite Quotes

“You don’t want a brute, and I’m going to fuck you anyway,” he whispered.
He defiled her with his hands and the truth as his doomed love for her bloomed dark in his heart.
Something ripped open then, a kind of freedom.
And though he’d never bitten her earlobe before, he was connected to her in a new way now, and he had to bite her like an animal. So he bit her. Hard. She broke apart above his hand, undulations pulsing against the pads of his slowing fingers.

He felt it rip through her before she even made a sound, bright ecstasy convulsing around his fingers, and he kept on. Her coming was the most soft and sweet thing ever.
He wanted her good and soft, because his cock felt like a slab of granite and he wouldn’t be gentle. He hadn’t fucked a woman for two years, not since he was last with her. No woman but Nadia was worth fucking.

“Baby.” He positioned himself at her entrance, and then he entered her, filling her, head a thick swell of iron.
She let out an anguished gasp, feeling as though she’d been waiting forever to feel him inside her again. He sucked in a breath when she made the sound and shoved his cock all the way into her, a fat, thick invasion.
She felt drugged, handled. She was his, now.

And then he cried out. The vibration of his orgasm radiated through him, through them both.
She panted, feeling him, lost in her love for him.
Their lives were all fuck off to each other, their speech was all fuck off to each other, but their bodies had different ideas.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Noble Destiny by Katie MacAlister

Format: E-booknobledestiny
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Noble, #2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Hero: Alasdair Iain McGregor
Heroine: Charlotte Honoria Eveline Benedict
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 3, 2014
Started On: July 8, 2014
Finished On: July 12, 2014

Noble Destiny by Katie MacAlister is the second book in her re-published Noble series. I can see why anyone would want these books re-published. These are absolute gems of reads with so much humor and sexy passion to them that one can’t help but be entertained for their money’s worth and then some.

Both the hero Alasdair Iain McGregor and the heroine Charlotte Honoria Eveline Benedict are characters that were encountered in the first delightful romp of a novel in the series, Noble Intentions. Noble Destiny takes off four years after, when Lady Charlotte returns home to England after the Italian husband with whom she eloped with dies and leaves her a widow. Charlotte returns destitute with nary a penny to her name. Worst of all, the ton proves to be unforgiving where her reputation is concerned. Charlotte, not one to be daunted by the “little” things in life decides that if she is to get back into society’s good graces, she would do well to procure a rich husband the likes of Lord Carlisle.

Alasdair (Lord Carlisle or Dare as he would have people call him) has no time for romance or marriage or anything of the sort. Perhaps four years ago he had harbored in his heart to ask for Charlotte’s hand in marriage, but that notion had died a quick death when he had discovered that Earldom had come at a steep price where he had been concerned. But Charlotte once she puts her mind to something is not one to be deterred and her plan to nail Dare as her husband goes somewhat according to plan when Dare resigns himself to his fate where Charlotte is concerned.

What follows is a hilarious tale that would be hard to pull off for most authors but something Katie does rather fabulously. I found myself literally laughing out loud in many places and snorting through the rest as Charlotte’s character leads the reader and Dare along on a ride that is filled with mirth, havoc and oh such wonderful romance that one can’t help but be enchanted throughout.

At first Charlotte comes off as this vain heroine whose one sole aim is to acquire a husband rich enough to support her and good looking enough to match her in looks and of course who would give her wonderful looking babies. Her penchant for mixing up words leaves people around her perplexed, trying to keep up where the conversations with her takes them and let me tell you that it takes one hell of a writer to pull off that sort of character. I was prepared to dislike Charlotte for her vanity but then I should have trusted the author a bit more to lead me on a journey of discovery where Charlotte was concerned. She had redeemed herself multiple times over by the time the novel had seen to its ultimate conclusions and I don’t think I could have asked for someone more perfect for Dare than Charlotte.

And Dare. Oh my sweet Lord, Dare. The man is sexy personified through and through. Good looking enough to have tons of ladies tumbling after him with a body to match, Dare is not one to give into the frivolous nature of the many that constitute the ton, nor does he have that much of a use for what the ton thinks of him and his reclusive manner when it comes to hanging out with the ‘in’ crowd. Dare spends his days and nights tinkering away in his workshop, making enough money to pull the family name through his only goal in mind. And  then comes Charlotte into his life and the woman moves him to do things that he wouldn’t have thought himself therwise capable of.

One of the most interesting aspects of Charlotte’s character is her innocence coupled with her “knowledge” on matters of the carnal variety. I so loved how Charlotte responds to Dare on a physical and emotional level, the physical ones giving such delightful tension to the story. There were times I had to fan myself by seeing Dare through Charlotte’s eyes, the fantasies that man moves Charlotte to harbor is one that turned out to be such a delightful aspect of the story.

If you are worried about not having read book 1 in the series before this, worry not. This can be read perfectly as a standalone. But Noble Intentions too is a novel worth indulging in but comparing the two, Charlotte’s story wins hands down! With a couple of surprising twists to the story with a delectable cast of secondary characters, Noble Destiny is a novel very well worth your money. Most highly recommended for fans of romances!

Final Verdict: A deliciously sexy & honest to goodness laughter inducing romp!

Favorite Quotes

He was coatless, cravatless, his shirtsleeves rolled up to expose muscled forearms that were as bare as the day he was born. His shirt gaped at his neck clear down to the top of his waistcoat, exposing a tanned column of throat that made Charlotte’s mouth suddenly go dry.

Her breath caught in her throat, her nipples hardened and clamored for Dare’s touch, joining a veritable cacophony of cries for attention from numerous other parts of her body. She wanted his hands on her flesh, touching her, warming her, easing the ache that he started so deep inside her. She wanted it all, and she wanted it right at that moment. She took a step toward him. His eyes glittered darkly as he moved toward her, making a soft noise deep in his chest that answered the look in her eyes.

“Since you have no dowry, and no family to pay for the wedding, you will practice the utmost economy and organize it to my scriptures. Strictures,” he corrected himself. “Good God, your tongue is contagious!”
“There’s nothing wrong with my tongue,” Charlotte snapped, at her limit for being insulted and yelled at. “Which you’d know if you took the time to kiss me. You didn’t even do so when you offered for me, you beastly man, you!”

She didn’t have time to think of just what she’d do to his chest before his mouth took possession of hers.
“Dare! You can’t!”
“My lord!”
“Lady Charlotte, you mustn’t!”
“My lady!”
“Oh, Batsfoam, do something!”
“Short of warming up his lordship’s bed, I am at a
loss as to what you’d have me do, miss.”
“Batsfoam!”

He was everywhere, surrounding her, overwhelming her, one hand pulling her hips close to him, his thighs hard against her legs, her breasts aching and heavy again, pressed tightly against his chest. One hand tangled in her hair, pulling her head back until she was bent over his arm. But it was his mouth that captured and held her attention, his mouth that demanded and gave, coerced and teased until her eyes felt as if they would roll back in her head.

Charlotte was suddenly desperate to touch his flesh. She tugged at the shirt until it pulled free of his trousers, slipping her hands beneath to where his flesh beckoned and called to her.
“So hot,” she breathed, running her fingers over every muscled bulge and valley, tracing the line of his ribs, overwhelmed with the sense and feel and scent of him until she had to lean forward and press her face against his shirt. “You make me feel so hot, husband. You make me feel as if I’m on fire.”

He had thought her the devil incarnate? Dare tore his lips from the soft curve of her throat and watched as she arched her back, her eyes wide with amazement as ecstasy claimed her, her song of rapture filling him, binding him to her until he couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. Her love swept over him in a wave of heat so strong, it burned her name from his tongue as he gave way before it, pouring his life into her.
Soft, meaningless words were pressed into his flesh with gentle kisses and sweet breath. She wasn’t a devil; she was an angel.
And he would never let her go.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: A Lesson in Temptation by Audra North

Format: E-bookalessonintemptation
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Stanton Family
Publisher: Entangled: Edge
Hero: Adam Harkness
Heroine: Julie Stanton
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: July 14, 2014
Started On: July 11, 2014
Finished On: July 11, 2014

A Lesson in Temptation is my first Audra North and I have a feeling its not going to be my last. This woman can write the heck out of a novella, delivering an emotional and scorching read that is so very worth your time. It’s not the cover alone that is out of this world sexy when it comes to A Lesson in Temptation, what lies inside is mind numbingly so!

A Lesson in Temptation is part of the Stanton Family series. With two full length novels and one novella already published in the series, A Lesson in Temptation reads just fine as a standalone and tells the story of Julie Stanton and Adam Harkness. Adam is highly ambitious, studious and doesn’t have time for distractions like falling in love. Having led a life that had been nearly at the edge of being poverty stricken had made Adam a stickler for hard work and even with a PhD under his belt with an impressive position as a Professor at the Colombia University, Adam still feels the need to push himself to achieve more.

When a friend offers a place at a dance class “Tango for Beginners” as a gift, Adam shows up more out of respect for the friend than anything else. He has no plans whatsoever of returning for a second class. But the moment he walks in and lays eyes on Julie, his intentions seems to crawl out the nearest window. Julie had been the one time he had nearly succumbed to temptation and the one who had got away of sorts.

For Julie, seeing “Adam Hotness” walk into the classroom had made her realize that when it comes to Adam, the attraction that had sizzled through her is very much alive even three years after. The Adam that takes her in his arms looks even more tense and distant than he had been back then and it makes Julie practically itch to make him loosen up just a little. What follows as a reluctant Adam finally gives in is as delicious as the glossy cover itself!

What made A Lesson in Temptation stand out is the fact that Audra managed to deliver an emotionally well rounded story in just a mere 100 plus pages. Adam’s ambitions, his fears and struggles comes out perfectly making him a mix of delicious contradictions; the studious and serious side of him that wars with the sexy, sinful and playful side. His ambition to overachieve is such that it blinds him to the best thing that happens to his life and this fact gave the story that bit of angst that made the novella that much more endearing.

Julie comes off as this bright and sunny personality when compared to Adam and the fact that Adam totally misreads Julie’s character gave a few surprises about Julie to the reader as well. Julie’s philosophy in life is simple.. Try and be happy as much as possible. And given her past, I admired Julie quite much on the point of her being able to move beyond all that and simply just have a positive attitude towards life.

If you want a short read that would give you an emotionally satisfying story with a hotter than sin hero whose reluctant attraction to the heroine makes things that much more fiery, then this is the read for you!

Most definitely recommended!

Final Verdict: Brims with high octane sexual tension that puts you on the edge!

Favorite Quotes

He pushed again, just another inch, and this time she moaned, “Ohhhh, Adam.”
Fuck, yeah. The sound of his name, just like that. Another push. This thrust was harder, and a couple more inches slipped inside. She groaned and bucked, and he massaged her body, working her open by degrees. She writhed beneath him all the while, squeezing and pulsing around him until, after what seemed like an eternity, the base of his cock met the tight ring of her entrance, and both of them let out heavy sounds of satisfaction. They were both breathing hard, and his forehead was damp with perspiration.
He couldn’t imagine anything better.

She increased her pace, pushing her hips forward against him each time, and he opened those gorgeous, glinting blue eyes to look into hers before pulling her forward for a kiss, just as he bucked up into her. On a gasp, she began to move even faster on him, his body pushing up into hers each time, hitting her in just the right spot, until she was so close that she was grabbing at his hair, his back, trying to take hold of her climax and drive it home.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Something to Talk About by Dakota Cassidy

Format: E-booksomethingtotalkaboutdc.png
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Plum Orchard, #2
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Hero: Jackson Hawthorne
Heroine: Emmaline Amos
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 27, 2014
Started On: July 4, 2014
Finished On: July 8, 2014

Something to Talk About by Dakota Cassidy is my very first read from the author. Book number 2 in the Plum Orchards series invited me from the very first page to enter into the world of Emmaline Amos (Em) and make myself right at home. Dakota’s easy style of writing and the spark that practically set the pages afire made this a book worth sinking myself into.

36 year old single mother Em  is almost bursting at the seams to break out of the conservative shell that she has been placed in by everyone that knows her. Working as the manager of a phone sex company itself is a big achievement for someone whose ex-husband had called her prissy and boring, the emotional scars of which still taunts her even a year after the divorce. Her group of friends and her two young boys are what keeps her going. And even though Em craves for sultry nights with a man who can set her whole body on fire, the only thing that she has plans on setting fire to is just her imagination. That is until Jackson Hawthorne (Jax) walks into her life.

Em and Jax meet under interesting circumstances; when Jax’s sweet little daughter calls Call Girls Inc. looking for a girlfriend for her beloved daddy. Things take a mirthful turn when Jax misunderstands the situation and Em stares in the face of the man with whom she had shared an electrifying moment with a while back. Though Em might not like it or want it, Jax sets her engines revving unlike any man she has ever been with (not that she has been with anyone except for her ex-husband) and from the moment these two lip-lock, sparks that rivals that of the 4th of July lights up the story!

Jax and Em both have emotional scars that they would equally like to forget and move on from. And entanglement and putting their emotional lives in jeopardy is hardly what either of them wants. Thus Em proposes the easiest and least messy solution. They’d be sex partners, nothing more nothing less. No emotional entanglements for them. No sirree! But then we all know how life can throw the curveballs that shows you that all your grand planning is for naught. And love? Oh the sneaky emotion called love definitely loves to play when a man as sweet, manly and oh so sexy comes calling and can set your body humming like it has never ever before!

I loved Something to Talk About pretty much. There was so much goodness, emotional and otherwise in the story that you can’t help but fall a little bit more in love as you turn one page to the next. Jax Hawthorne, the man himself is reason enough for a girl to abandon everything and indulge in the story. From his name to his body to his personality, everything screams sexy and capable. And the way Jax takes care of his little girl? Well, that ought to charm you right out of your socks if nothing else.

Em herself turned out to be a pretty swell character. Her emotional scars are so real, the emotional punch that Dakota delivers along with it is enough to make you suck your breathe in and just ride out the roller coaster of a ride. I’d say that the insecurities that both Jax and Em have, individually and together is what touched me the most about the story. And Em coming out of her shell and facing her demons, well, that was just the icing on the cake that made this story a winner! Recommended.

Final Verdict: Hot, rugged and beautifully Southern. May Jax Hawthorne live hard & long!

Favorite Quotes

Fingers, long and thick, glided over her skin, teasing, pushing, easing away, kneading. Over and over until he skimmed the outline of her panties where her hip met thigh.
Em tensed, mewled a small sound she’d never heard come from her mouth before, but Jax muffled it with his lips.
Mercy, his mouth. Soft and hard in the same breath. Commanding, domineering, gentle with just a hint of the taste of the beer he’d had at dinner. More adjectives than her mind could parse—or even cared to.

Jax pulled her to him, wrapping a hand around her waist, and kissed her hard with delicious force.
He wasn’t asking permission, either. He was demanding she kiss him, angling his mouth over hers, coaxing her lips to his will with a tongue that tasted like peppermint and sex.

His kiss got hotter, more urgent, until her back was to his office wall, his rigid thighs straining against hers. Her nipples tightened, achy, needy, crushed against his broad chest, leaving an imprint of Jax all over her. One she wanted to roll around in, inhale, devour.

“Hold on to me,” was all he could manage from his tightly clenched jaw with the tip of his cock so close to all that heat.
Em did as instructed, putting her arms around his neck, still looking him square in the eye. But she wasn’t asking questions now. Now she had the same look in her eyes he imagined he had in his—like they were going into battle and the first one to come won.

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

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