Category / Review

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Dangerous Kisses by Trish Milburn

Format: E-bookdangerouskisses
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Jake Radley
Heroine: Sydney Blackburn
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: June 7, 2011
Started On: July 2, 2011
Finished On: July 2, 2011

I am someone who wants to give in to a good crying jag when I pick up books that do not live up to my expectations. This one stirred my interest and of course along with it my ‘high’ expectations upon seeing the rave 5-star reviews for the book on Amazon. Needing a good romantic suspense with enough scorching passion to light up my world, I trusted the reviews and believed that Dangerous Kisses would deliver a smashing read and sadly I found this to be just an average read, most of the story which I skimmed through to reach the end.

32 year old Sydney Blackburn is the police beat reporter for The Nashville Courier and someone who takes her job of keeping the public informed very seriously. When a girl is found murdered in her town, all her reporter senses go on red-alert knowing that the police would always withhold vital facts that could save someone from stumbling onto a killer’s path.

Jake Radley is the officer in charge of the investigation of the murder of Maggie Field, a murder which brings home the fact that Nashville has a serial killer amongst its midst. Jake is a man who has been burnt badly by a reporter early on on in his career with her ambition to get ahead no matter the consequences. Needless to say, Jake has a deep rooted mistrust for reporters which rears its ugly head when the beautiful reporter from The Nashville Courier is relentless in her efforts to get the details of the investigation from him.

All that Sydney knows is that although Jake’s mere presence makes her feel breathless with longings better left unvoiced, Jake has no such problems when he goes out of his way to be his utmost rudest with her. But when the killer’s unwanted attention focuses on Sydney, Jake pulls out all the stops in his quest to keep her safe from harms way, the result of the ‘forced’ proximity building up a layer of intimacy between the two which makes both Jake and Sydney give into their desire of one another. However, Jake is a man who believes that he is better off alone and goes out of his way to drive home the fact until it might be all too late to let the woman he loves know that he is a man who is ready for the ultimate commitment.

For me, Dangerous Kisses didn’t make that much of an exceptional impression. Yes there was a hot hero and there was a gutsy heroine who didn’t back down but I just didn’t feel that sizzle between the two and didn’t find myself captivated by the chemistry between them. The killer though creepy made for an okay villian and even though he managed to surprise me when his identity was revealed, yet again I wasn’t wowed with the thriller aspect of the novel as well. It just pains me to write reviews such as this one when I am someone who reads for enjoyment, the sizzle and the adventure which provides me with my escape from reality. Though this one didn’t live up to the mark for me, it just might be what the doctor ordered for you.

Recommended for fans of Trish Milburn.

Now I am seriously in need of a story that would deliver me from the funk I find myself in at the moment. Sigh!!!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Passion Becomes You by Michelle Reid

Format: E-book
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #1752
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Leon Stephanades
Heroine: Jemma Davis
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: June 1, 1995
Started On: July 3, 2011
Finished On: July 3, 2011

Passion Becomes You by Michelle Reid is an okay read, that somehow didn’t live up to my expectations. I wanted this novel to captivate me, the hero to dazzle me and of course wanted all my emotions in a tangle because of the hero and somehow I ‘think’ that I just expected too much from this Harlequin.

24 year old Jemma Davis bears the scars of living with two promiscous parents whose lifelong passion it had been to goad one another by sleeping with the next available piece of human flesh of the opposite sex. A determination that she would never let herself become embroiled in passion that could make her vulnerable, Jemma doesn’t know what it is that hits her when Greek tycoon Leon Stephanades strolls into her life and turns it completely upside down.

Jemma says yes to her very first affair with eyes wide open, fully knowing what it is that Leon is offering and just how vulnerable her emotions are when it comes to Leon. Though Leon tries to show otherwise, he is as much besotted with how she makes him feel and throughout their two month long affair during which Jemma keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, for her fragile happiness to come crashing down in front of her.

When Jemma realizes the consequence of her first night of reckless abandonment with Leon, and knowing that Leon wouldn’t take the news of impending fatherhood lightly, Jemma hides the fact from him until a turn of events once again brings Leon back into her life; this time a determined Leon who wants her in his life once and for all.

What I expected to find from this short story and what I actually did find were two entirely different things. I wanted a ruthless and passionate hero whose desire to possess the woman who ignites him unlike any other woman make him lose his iron-clad control and of course I wanted the angst that would go with a story that includes such a strong hero. But Leon though is a passionate hero, I didn’t find myself overly fascinated with him and neither with the heroine though Jemma is not the type to get on one’s nerves. The story lost its appeal halfway through and I found myself skimming through the bits and pieces to reach the end.

Recommended for fans of Michelle Reid.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Caressed By Ice by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookcaressedbyice
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, Book 3
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Hero: Judd Lauren
Heroine: Brenna Shane Kincaid
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 4, 2007
Started On: June 30, 2011
Finished On: July 1, 2011

The 3rd book in the Psy/Changeling series seems to be a favorite amongst its fans and I too have succumbed and joined the legion of fans who loved the story of the very lethal Psy Judd Lauren and the strong Brenna Kincaid whose dark past would have completely broken down a lesser woman.

Judd is a fascinating Psy not only because this is the first time that a male Psy is in the position of a hero but because Judd is a defector from the Psy world where he was trained to be a lethal killing machine, a member of the elite team of soldiers known as the Arrow Squad. Highly skilled in the art of mental martial combat, Judd is a Psy who is more in control of his emotions than most Psy, someone who has been conditioned from the tender age of ten to never ever give in to any sort of emotion which would make him and the others around him vulnerable to his abilities.

Brenna Kincaid is the wolf from the SnowDancer pack who manages to escape the brutal kidmapping and invasive rape of her mind by the psychotic Santano Enrique in the first book of the series. Since then, Brenna struggles every day to fight her fears and come out a winner although it feels like an uphill climb every single moment that terror paralyzes her. Surprisingly, it is towards Judd that she turns to knowing that he would give her exactly what she wants and needs instead of the constant pity and understanding to which she is subjected to by her own kind.

It is the vicious murder of a male wolf in the pack that bears eerie similarity to how Enrique used to cut up his victims that kick-starts a series of events that propels the growth of the relationship between Judd and Brenna. Judd who resists the feelings and emotions that are as foreign to him as the lack of any sort of emotion or touch is foreign to Brenna, whose changeling nature needs and craves emotional and physical contact to survive.

Though Judd faces animosity from Brenna’s brothers who go beyond the bounds of normal protectiveness given Brenna’s close encounter with death at the hands of a Psy, Brenna is a wolf who knows what she wants and is prepared to go through any lengths to make a union between her and Judd possible by any means.

Judd is certainly a dreamy hero; ruthless, dangerous and a hot inferno of feelings waiting to burst forth when it comes to Brenna. His mate for life though mating is a foreign concept to Psy is strong enough to take him as he is and wouldn’t have it any other way. There is no way on Earth you can read Judd and Brenna’s book and not crave some of that icy-hot passion for yourself that Judd is certainly more than capable of giving.

Together with their romance continues the story of the play for dominance by the Psy race who think themselves to be superior than any other beings to inhabit the Earth. As they move onto the next phase of Silence, a plan so nefarious that within the Psy population itself starts a movement of rebellion helped along by their allies on the outside that makes for a great continuing story.

Recommended for fans of the series.

P.S. I am having such a hard time sticking with reading the series in order. Hawke is tempting me to jump into his book which is the 10th book in the series and the temptation certainly seems to be doing its number on me. Sigh!!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Smoke in the Wind by Robyn Donald

Format: E-booksmokeinthewind
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Presents, #1104
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Ryan Fraine
Heroine: Venetia Gamble
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 1, 1988
Started On: June 29, 2011
Finished On: June 30, 2011

My God! Whoever says that Harlequin stories are only fluff would definitely have a tough time categorizing this title as such. Smoke in the Wind by Robyn Donald is a title that ended up in my TBR pile via a recommendation received from Amazon. I finally gave into my curiosity and sampled my first Robyn Donald last night and boy did I have a hard time letting the story go to catch some much needed shut eye last night because yes once you start reading, this is the sort of book that refuses to let go!

Television reporter Venetia Gamble meets the engimatic and handsome Ryan Fraine whose reputation precedes him as one of the best in her field during a function held to inaugurate the set up of the first private television station in New Zealand. Even though the cynicism that lurks close to the surface in Ryan’s eyes tells Venetia that he is a man best left alone, the explosive reaction that he seems to trigger with her baser emotions and seems to return in full makes her a slave to the fulfillment that he alone can give her.

23 year old Venetia has already learnt the bitter lesson of letting passion rule her life when she had been just 18 years old. Fiercely independent and not as sophisticated as she lets on, Venetia plays a dangerous game in perfecting the image that she thinks is what Ryan looks for in a woman though her ploy fails miserably when she falls in love with him only to have him fall for Venetia’s innocent and serene cousin Elizabeth.

Six year later, Venetia has made a life for herself and her five year old son John at her grandmother’s place in Australia. And it is here that Ryan comes to seek her out, having bought the rights for her book which is to be made into a movie by the man himself. Elizabeth having passed away a year back, Ryan once again starts the dangerous cat and mouse game that they had played before with the passion that swirls between them stronger than ever, refusing to be denied even if giving in is the furthest thing Venetia wants.

With their son to consider, Ryan proposes that she marry him and give him the opportunity to once and for all slake the uncontrollable hunger that rules them both given half the chance. But the hurt and betrayal from 6 years back when Ryan had shattered the very foundation of her being when he had cruelly ended things with her has left its mark on Venetia who is ever more cautious and fools herself into thinking that she would ever be able to say no where Ryan is concerned.

Smoke in the Wind is an intense read that requires a lot from the reader and I reveled in the heady sensations that coursed through me every single minute of the story. Ryan is a hero that is hard to get on board with, his cruel treatment of Venetia because he can’t accept the fact that he is vulnerable to her as she is to him hard to accept. Still I found myself fascinated with his character and came to understand what it is that drives him to be his meanest when he is around Venetia.

Venetia on the other hand is strong, feisty and independent and vulnerable to the very core where Ryan is concerned. Though she gives as good as she gets, she is no match for the strong connection that is between her and Ryan and has withstood the test of time, distance and immense betrayal and once again it is Venetia that opens up herself to the possibility that this time around with maturity and past mistakes to guide her, she would be able to reap the benefits of Ryan’s affections even if he might never come to love her as he did for his first wife.

If Robyn Donald writes all her stories with unapologetic honesty as this one, I am already a fan as Smoke in the Wind is a romance that fans of ruthless alpha heroes and fans of Harlequin romances ought not to miss. I would have loved to see Ryan brought to his knees and maybe see him grovel a little, hell a lot more but I suppose a gal can’t have everything she wants.

Favorite Quotes

‘You,’ he repeated, his voice heavy and hard, shaking with emotion he no longer troubled to hide, ‘I took one look at you and knew that that was it, I’d spent the last six years with hunger for you eating at my heart.’

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Now You See Him… by Anne Stuart

Format: E-booknowyouseehim
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Silhouette Intimate Moments, #429
Publisher: Silhouette
Hero: James Mackintosh Bond
Heroine: Frances Neeley
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 1992
Started On: June 29, 2011
Finished On: June 29, 2011

Its being quite some time since I immersed myself in the magic that Anne Stuart alone can create with her ruthlessly determined and controlled heroes. Now You See Him is one of her much earlier books and a Harlequin romance at that but nevertheless still managed to pack a wealth of emotion into the 200+ pages of the story.

Now You See Him kicks off in quite an unusual way with the heroine Frances Neeley waiting for her to-be lover Patrick Dugan to come home after attending some demonstration in his cause for freedom for Ireland. However, the night does not end amidst a bed of roses but rather in a severe bloodbath as Patrick turns out to be a murderer, a liar and a terrorist for whom Francey had just been a means to an end.

Francey retires to the tiny island of St. Anne’s in the Carribbean to lick her wounds in private and to let the sun, sea and the beach work its magic on her raw, open wounds. When her cousin Daniel Traverse who owns the villa Belle Reste in which Francey is recuperating sends along seemingly harmless Michael Dowde recovering from a near fatal auto accident, Francey almost lets her guard down in thinking that no harm would come to her from Michael even when her instincts scream at her otherwise.

Michael’s mission while he gets back his strength is a simple one. Find out whether Francey is as innocent as she claims to be or eliminate her if else. But what he doesn’t count on is for someone as unremarkable as Francey with her brown hair, brown eyes and heart shaped face to get under his skin right from the initial onset.

When danger comes calling from the terrorist cell which Michael has been trying to hunt down for so long, he does the only thing that the 37 years of his life of living on the edge has taught him; protect Francey with everything he is even though he knows that the threat on his heart from the woman he is on the run with is a very likely possibility. For the first time in his life, Michael who weaves a web of deceit so great to protect Francey and his cover finds himself itching to possess the purity that is Francey, make her his and starts thinking foolish thoughts of a shared future which he has no right thinking.

Francey doesn’t fare any better when she is drawn towards the enigmatic Michael with his erotic looking hands, who fires up her desires unlike anything she has ever experienced. Though her heart warns her to stay away from a man whom she knows is not telling her the truth, Francey knows she would lay down her very life for this man with the many facets, who turns up at the most unexpected moments and who haunts her every waking thought and dreams when he is not around.

Now You See Him though a short novel doesn’t pull any punches nor takes any short cut in the adventure or the romance aspect of the story. Michael who goes by so many names is a man with a dangerous past, who knows that Francey would be far better off without him in the picture. However, he is as much a slave to the desire that unfolds between these two polar opposites, the strength of the growing feelings pulling them together regardless of danger or the consequences.

Michael is a hero who made my heart go aflutter, who made my senses go alive and who made me yearn and crave for his happily ever after. And I loved Francey because she identified with the real man behind all the facades to find Michael a man worthy of her trust and affections. Though many a reader may not like Michael as a hero and the story that unfolded, for me, Now You See Him is just the perfect sort of read to indulge and immerse myself in to escape reality.

Recommended for fans of Anne Stuart’s ICE series and for those who like their heroes a bit ruthless with an edge.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Chasin’ Eight by Lorelei James

Format: E-bookchasineight
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Rough Riders, Book 11
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Chase McKay
Heroine: Ava Cooper
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: June 28, 2011
Started On: June 28, 2011
Finished On: June 28, 2011

Chasin’ Eight by Lorelei James is the 11th book in her Rough Riders series. The Rough Riders series is one of my favorite western romances not only because sensual material is plentiful in the stories but because Ms. James creates characters whom with their faults and all you still manage to fall in love with at the end of the day.

Chasin’ Eight tells the story of the wild bull ridin’ Chase McKay. Like every single McKay that we have come across in the series, Chase too walks on the wild side too many a time until it all comes back to bite him where it hurts. Suddenly Chase finds himself on indefinite leave from the Professional Bull Rider’s World until he manages to get his act together. With a plan on how to get his life back, Chase heads home to Sundance, Wyoming where he comes face to face with Ava Cooper.

Heiress to the Cooper fortune, Ava is a Hollywood star who experiences the vicious side of the paparazzi when the man she has been going out with for the past couple of months professes to be gay on a public press conference. Humiliated that she hadn’t seen the signs sooner, Ava decides to take a break from Hollywood stardom and go lick her wounds in private where no one will recognize her. That leads her to Wyoming to crash in her friend Ginger’s husband Kane McKay’s trailer out in the middle of nowhere only to be roused from sleep by the most alluring specimen of man flesh she has ever seen.

Too bad that Chase has made a vow to stay off women for a month, otherwise he would have had the beautiful Ava beneath him before he drew his next breathe. But with sex out of the equation, Ava and Chase both strike a deal to try out being friends and keeping each other company in the journey Chase makes across the country to sharpen his riding skills. For the first time, Chase finds himself charmed by the company of a fully clothed woman though thoughts of getting down and dirty are never far from his or Ava’s minds.

For two people who come from totally different backgrounds and lead so different lives, Ava and Chase finds in each other a kindred soul who understands the other and between them an explosive passion that wouldn’t be bound by restrictions any longer. With red-hot passion comes strolling in feelings of the mushier kind, love that could last a lifetime if both Ava and Chase are willing to give it a shot.

Though Chasin’ Eight did not make my favorites list, nevertheless it was a great read which I enjoyed immensely. What I loved most about Chase’s story was how he slowly turned into someone better, climbing up from the rock bottom which he hits at the start of the story. The road trips that Ava and Chase makes across the country served to be where we get to learn more about both Ava and Chase, each of them growing up a little as the miles pass. Undeniably true to trademark Lorelei James style, scenes of passion are smokin’ hot and I loved each and every one of them.

Though this one doesn’t incorporate much of the rest of the McKay brood, this one certainly made me sit up and notice Ben, Chase’s brother who has certainly been hiding some of his very interesting qualities which hopefully will be brought to light in the next installment of the series. Raunchy hot lovin’ with emotional wrangling goodness is what you will find here and this one would definitely make a great summer read!

Recommended for fans of the Rough Rider series. And the good news for those who are new to the series, this one can be read as a standalone!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookvisionsofheat
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, Book 2
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Hero: Vaughn D’Angelo
Heroine: Faith NightStar
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 6, 2007
Started On: June 25, 2011
Finished On: June 26, 2011

Now that I have started on my mission to get that much closer to reading Kiss of Snow, the story of the delectable alpha of the SnowDancer’s pack, I am slowly making my way towards reaching my ultimate goal which hopefully I should by sometime next month. The second book in the Psy-Changeling series tells the story of Vaughn D’Angelo, jaguar shifter and sentinel of the DarkRiver pack, a changeling whose animal lurks closer to the surface than most because of what he had to endure at a young age.

Vaughn is a changeling whose far the happier with his single and alone status. For someone who cannot understand the whole lure of the mate for life concept and especially one with a Psy who are famous for their lack of emotions, Vaughn is the one who is most surprised when his jaguar takes an exception towards the sleek and beautiful red-haired Psy that breaks out of her own compound to seek out Sascha, his alpha’s mate.

24 year old Faith NightStar of the PsyClan NightStar is considered the most powerful F-Psy of her generation. F-Psy have the ability to foresee the future and thus this makes Faith who always makes accurate predictions invaluable in the field of commerce for which F-Psy are used for. The one thing that F-Psy are also famous for is their vulnerability to death by clinical insanity which is something Faith has been conditioned to fear all throughout her life.

When dark dreams and visions continue to haunt her and those culminate in the murder of her sister Marine, Faith knows its time to seek out answers for all the questions that seems to plague her of late. Knowing that none of her own kind would be forthcoming with the answers that she requires, Faith seeks the one Psy she knows wont have anything to gain or lose by telling her the truth.

When she encounters the beautiful and lethal looking Vaughn, Faith never factored into the circumstances that Vaughn would be able to reach out to her on a level that is deemed impossible on any Psy. Though Faith has a hard time accepting the sensory overload that even Vaughn’s subtle touches seem to invoke, she can’t help but want more of the same though Faith is torn between the two worlds that beckon her from both ends.

Vaughn knows that he is a goner when he realizes that he is mated for life with someone who can choose to walk away from him, and that breaks his jaguar apart unlike anything else. When Faith finally makes her decision to leave the Psy world behind, it brings the ferocious jaguar to his knees, whose need for sensory stimuli from his mate has him all tied up in knots.

Once again Nalini Singh delivers on all accounts with the second installment in the series and though neither Vaughn nor Faith appealed to me on the same level as Lucas and Sascha did, nevertheless their journey towards happily ever after proved to be an engrossing read. As the stories continue to unfold, I am sure so will the atrocities the Psy Council members are involved in would come forth until the whole Psy world will unravel within itself to bring about a much needed revolution to its race.

Loved the glimpses of Sascha and Luke in this one as well together with Hawke’s minor entry into the story which didn’t go unnoticed. I am pretty excited to read the next installment in the series, this time around featuring a male Psy and a female wolf. Can’t wait to see how things will turn around with the role reversal in play.

Recommended for fans of Nalini Singh and fans of the Psy-Changeling series.

Favorite Quotes

His hair was a thick amber-gold, long enough to brush his shoulders, and his eyes … they were an odd almost-gold, the eyes of a cat made human. There was nothing soft about him, nothing tame. Yet she, a woman who’d never before understood the concept, found him beautiful. It was an inexplicable reaction, one her brain couldn’t accept, going as it did against every rule of Silence.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Outlaw Bride by Jenna Kernan

Format: E-bookoutlawbride
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Harlequin Historical Series
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Cole Ellis
Heroine: Bridget Rose Callahan
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 1, 2008
Started On: June 23, 2011
Finished On: June 23, 2011

This book caught my eye whilst searching for another book with the same title. The blurb sounded promising enough and within minutes I was engrossed in this tale that tells the story of how 2 people survive against all odds until rescue comes calling.22 year old Bridget Rose Callahan is a woman who is determined that she would brave the harsh conditions of the brutal winter weather up in the Cascades mountain to save the last of her family members, no matter what it is that she has to do to achieve it. At her wits end, Bridget seeks the help of 26 year old Cole Ellis who is on death row, awaiting the hangman’s noose almost as if in anticipation.

What Cole wants more than anything else is to forget his past, his failures and to say goodbye to a world that has dealt him nothing but one blow after the other until he is ready to kneel down and admit defeat. When Bridget seeks him out, Cole doesn’t have a clue as to just to what lenghs Bridget is ready to go through to rescue her family.

Breaking Cole out of prison seems to be the easy part of the rescue attempt as the authorities turn out a full fledged search for the only man who is capable helping Bridget out. There are a lot of hardships that these two go through and added to the story are the accounts of how those that are left behind in the mountains barely make it through. Added to this potent mix is the heady desire that both Cole and Bridget start to feel for each other, Cole a man who has sworn off women and Bridget a woman who swears that no man would get the better of her ever again.

The culmination of the horrific journey towards safety doesn’t mean a victory for everyone as Cole who suddenly very much wants to live again finds himself back in custody and it is Bridget’s bravery that yet again serves as the catalyst that brings them all the happily ever after which they so rightfully deserve.

For me, the best thing about this novel was Bridget whose unwavering faith and courage were what pulled everyone through the tight spots within the story. This is not your average boy meets girl and falls in love Harlequin but rather a story that tells the tale of immense courage with a mix of pretty emotion wrangling material that makes for a good read.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookslavetosensation_2
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, Book 1
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Hero: Lucas Hunter
Heroine: Sascha Duncan
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 5, 2006
Started On: June 20, 2011
Finished On: June 21, 2011

Wow!! That is all I am capable of saying at the moment with the remnants of Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation still coursing through me. If not for Dina’s review of Kiss of Snow on Goodreads that picks up bits and pieces of Hawke from each and every story till the 10th book in the Psy-Changeling series that delivers Hawke’s story, I would not have been tempted to pick up and read the first book in the series which has left me with a sort of breathless anticipation to continue reading.

Slave to Sensation introduces us to the world of Psy and the Changelings whose worlds cannot be more different even if they tried. Psy’s are well known for their icy control, inhuman practicality and their inability to resort to any sort of violence – or so they say. Changelings on the other hand are races that allow their animal sides to rule them and thrive on all sorts of emotional bonds and attachments that they form within their packs.

Our heroine Sascha Duncan has lived her whole life as a Psy knowing deep inside that she is unlike the rest of her race. Where icy control should be what runs through her veins, Sascha is a Psy that feels, a trait that would get her terminated if the Psy Cardinals were ever to find it out. Thinking that she is going crazy and that life as she knows it would come to an abrupt end if she ever were to show her vulnerability to her own race, Sascha is a woman torn apart on the inside, crying out for something which she doesn’t even fully comprehend.

When things on the business front brings her in contact with the sexy Lucas Hunter, alpha of the DarkRiver pack, she is at a loss as to how to handle the full frontal attack of sensations that bombard her right from the very first meeting. Lucas is a Hunter on a mission, who has vowed that he would do everything in his power to crumble the lines of defences around the Psy to find out who it is that are preying on females of their kind. What he doesn’t expect is to feel a compulsive need to touch and be touched by the woman of mass contradictions with whom he is to spend considerable time with for the next couple of months.

Scared out of her wits that Lucas and the way he constantly touches her is accelerating her deterioration process, Sascha tries her damnedest to erect walls of control around her heart and emotions which proves to be no match for the lethal touches and kisses that invoke a blaze of hunger across all her senses that refuse to be denied any longer.

When the news about a killer amongst her race comes to light, Sascha knows that finding him and bringing him to justice is the one thing she would do for the Changelings whose way of life makes her crave to embrace life with Lucas by her side which she knows is an impossibility. However, Lucas who has finally found his mate refuses to be denied as Sascha undertakes a mission that could very well mean her death and the end of a love that grows and fosters no matter how much Sascha may try to shield Lucas from eternal pain and loss that is sure to follow.

Slave to Sensation is a masterpiece that has everything going for it starting from its very appropriate title, the story underneath which has the power to invoke powerful emotions in the reader. The fascinating world which Ms. Singh creates is an unbeatable one where you can’t help but be in awe at the powers of her imagination in coming up with a world that feels as if its unfolding right in front of you.

All the characters whether it be Sascha and Luke, or the delicious Hawke from the SnowDancers pack to the ruthless and emotionless Psy are well rounded lending the story an extra richness that only in-depth character development can give a story.

Lucas (sigh) has wanting me to braid my non-existent long hair  just so that I can feel even a minute figment of what Sascha feels throughout the story when Lucas focuses his lethal brand of charm and seduction on her. Loved the purring and the rumbling that went on and especially the way Lucas protects, cossets and cherishes Sascha. Fantastic right from the very start, this is a series that fans of paranormal/urban-fantasy romances should not miss!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Grace Under Pressure by Melissa Schroeder

Format: E-bookgraceunderpressure
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Renaldo Morello
Heroine: Grace Beatrice Michael
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 1, 2007
Started On: June 19, 2011
Finished On: June 19, 2011

I am someone who always loves a good romance between a warm, sexy and accident prone heroine with a bit of an aloof and controlled hero who finds his hard earned control shattered all around him. As I read Grace Under Pressure, I couldn’t help but think to myself that I have read this earlier in my pre-review phase. Even if that were the case, I am really glad that I picked this up and enjoyed it, a story that left me wanting more of all the characters that cropped up as it unfolded.

33 year old Grace Michaels lives in the small town of Cannon, Texas and is a history professor at the local college. Accident-prone by nature, her first encounter with the town’s new and sexy as hell Chief of Police Ren Morello happens with her ass up in the air stirring up Ren’s amusement and his libido as well in the process.

Ren is a man who has closed and bolted the door on any sort of relationship with the opposite sex that requires his commitment ever since his divorce from the wife from hell. When Grace comes into the picture, even though his over-active libido begs him to bury himself deep within her, his emotions that are a bit more in control than his libido warn him to run the other way and never look back.

When Grace’s home is ransacked and it is clear that her life is in danger, all protective instincts that Ren harbors deep inside comes out demanding that he keep Grace safe at any cost. Being at such close proximity to a woman whose mere existence befuddles his thinking cells plays havoc with the rigid control that Ren exerts on his baser emotions until it all explodes in his face in the most sinfuly delicious ways possible.

Neatly tying in with the main story is the story of Julia, Grace’s best friend and that of her brother Gabriel that served as an equally interesting romantic interlude in this wickedly good romantic suspense of the erotic variety. Though the scenes of passion are erotic in nature, there is none of the overly kinky stuff taking place in the story. Grace Under Pressure is a hot little addition for your TBR pile if you love a steamy romantic suspense in a small town setting with all the antics that go along with small town life. Loved every single minute of this delectable story and I am definitely going to wade through Ms. Schroeder’s back list and see what I can come up with to keep me entertained in the future.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Samhain

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