Category / Scarred Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Cover Your Eyes by Mary Burton

Format: E-bookcoveryoureyes
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Zebra Books
Hero: Deke Morgan
Heroine: Rachel Wainwright
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 4, 2014
Started On: October 30, 2014
Finished On: October 30, 2014

It has been a while since I held a book in my hands that I didn’t want to put down, even to eat. It has been quite sometime since a book hasn’t forced me to keep turning the pages because the review was due and I was falling behind, again! Mary Burton’s Cover Your Eyes is my first book by hers and most definitely, it is not going to be my last. She had me hooked right from the prologue and what followed after up till the very end did not let me down.

Detective Deke Morgan is called to the scene a brutal murder in the middle of the night. Nothing extraordinary there except for the fact that Deke realizes that they have a crazy on their hands if the sheer viciousness of the kill is anything to judge the murder by. Rachel Wainwright is ready to stir the hornet’s nest that is the infamous Annie Rivers Dawson’s murder. In the name of Justice for Jeb Jones, Rachel is determined to leave no stone unturned in her quest to free the man accused and convicted of a heinous murder that had rocked the city 30 years back.

Deke is not amused by Rachel’s attempts to open a case that had been sitting tidily gathering dust for more than 3 decades. The fact that it had been Deke’s father who had worked the case makes it doubly harder for Deke to believe that anything amiss might have taken place when Jeb was convicted. However, Deke is not a man to turn his back on the tough situations. And the fact that the string of new murders that have rocked the city of late bears a resemblance to the murder of Annie haunts him enough to give the old case a more than cursory look to keep Rachel off his back.

Both Rachel and Deke aren’t the soft malleable types. Rachel is driven by the fact that she was unable to save her own brother and justice and truth had really not prevailed at all as she had hoped and prayed for back then. Deke has never known a life that didn’t involve crimes of the worst kind humanity has to offer. Working undercover for over a decade had left its mark on Deke as well. Two failed marriages attests to the fact that he is better off on his own and Rachel definitely is not the type of woman for him though Deke can’t deny the flare of interest and attraction that the challenge that is Rachel presents.

Piece after piece of the puzzle points towards the night Annie was bludgeoned to death and it is not long before Deke and Rachel reluctantly teams up to find who is behind the frenzied killing spree that seems to be hitting closer to home than both Deke and Rachel would like. In the midst of it all, the attraction that had been sizzling right from the onset breaks surface and there is no going back for either Deke or Rachel in the way they make each other feel.

Like I said at the start of my review, Cover Your Eyes is one of those novels that is hard to put down. From the minute I started reading, one thought kept crossing my mind; Mary Burton definitely knows how to spin a good yarn. Vibrant characters that leaps off the pages, suspense that kept turning the pages and subtle hints of a romance between the two leads gave a story that was worth losing myself into. If there is one thing that I can say about this book; you definitely would not be bored.

I loved both Deke and Rachel. They both invoked emotions of the good kind in me without much of an effort. I understood Rachel and the need that drove her to seek justice for those society would rather label as scum and move on. I admired her for the zeal that she shows and yet there is a vulnerable core to her that makes her the irresistible character that she is. Deke, sigh, now Deke was a hero who got to me. There are no vivid descriptions of him as to why readers should adore him because he is just that heroic or handsome, but there is an intensity and drive to him that perfectly syncs with Rachel. And man oh man, the minute Rachel undressed him and found all those tattoos, I swear that a part of me just swooned then and there.

If there is anything I would like to change in the story, it would be to increase the romance aspect just a bit. Even then, how the romance bit as it is covered in the story seemed to suite two people like Deke and Rachel who don’t require the overly done confessions of love that would bridge their emotional connection. Somehow, the wizard that Mary Burton is, she managed to give a satisfying story on all counts. I am definitely digging into her backlist to see whether there are any more books I might like. If you ask me, there are too few authors who do the romantic suspense genre justice and I believe I have found one in Mary Burton. Recommended.

Final Verdict: Mary Burton spins one hell of a story. Unputdownable!

Favorite Quotes

The look in Deke’s eyes told Rachel she’d effectively jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.
He released the door handle and cupped her face in his hands. Slowly, he smoothed his thumb over her jawline. The touch sent a shock through her body.
He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

He cupped calloused hands on her hips. “You’ve got me all figured out.”
“Doesn’t take a rocket scientist. Two divorces under your belt are warning enough.” She moved against him, smiling as he hardened. “But I don’t want forever. I want now.”
His hands trailed up her arms to her shoulders. He pulled her toward him and kissed her hard on the mouth. He hadn’t disagreed with words but his kiss had a possessive edge that said otherwise.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Lions And Lace by Meagan McKinney

Format: E-booklionsandlace
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Van Alen Sisters, #1
Publisher: Island Books
Hero: Trevor Byrne Sheridan
Heroine: Alice Diana Van Alen
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 1992
Started On: October 5, 2014
Finished On: October 12, 2014

My search for romances that feature ruthless heroes is an endless one. A time consuming one at that too. Some might call these heroes the uber alpha heroes. Or some just call them anti-heroes; you love them and hate them in equal doses. And some call them gamma heroes too because they go beyond the boundaries that define who an alpha hero is.

Authors of today who write such heroes have become far and few in between. Anne Stuart is my go to author for such heroes. Sandra Brown and Linda Howard are authors who have pushed that boundary time and yet again in some of their novels. For  the most part, these type of heroes aren’t well received by almost half of the romance reading population today. With the change of times, with the feminist movement rising above, readers no longer like the heroes who are tad on the wild side, those who don’t conform to their definition of what a hero should constitute of and if you ask me, its such a damn shame.

So a whole lot of boredom and a whole lot of internet searches later, I came across a website that had a list of books that features ruthless heroes. Now mind you, some readers define a hero as ruthless a tad differently to how I tend to define them. Luckily, this reader tended to veer towards my tastes and alas, I found myself with a couple of books I haven’t already read, that feature the heroes of the variety that I deem as ruthless but those with just that hint of redeemable quality that makes me fall like a ton of bricks for them every single time.

Lions and Lace features such a hero. Trevor Byrne Sheridan, the Wall Street wonder who rose to the top with basically nothing to his name, is Irish, and persona non grata where society is concerned. A chip on his shoulder a mountain wide, Trevor remembers the slights, the mockery and the laughter behind his back though he is equally revered by the men for the power and wealth he amasses day in and day out. The tipping point comes when society refuses to turn up at his younger sister Mara’s debut. People say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, well let me tell you, they haven’t had their dose of Trevor just yet.

Alice Diana Van Alen lives under the thumb of her uncle, her finances tied up under his name after the tragic death of her parents. Alice holds the secret of her younger sister close to her heart, a secret she is determined to carry to her grave. Alice lands under Trevor’s radar as one from the society who slighted his sister. His vengeance on her is swift, the revenge he takes on her forcing her hand into marrying him one that should have brought satisfaction to his heart. However, Trevor becomes a victim to his own plan, falling for a woman of the society, something he scorns with his very being.

Lions and Lace is a novel that provides a ton of angst. Trevor is ruthless in his revenge and seemingly doesn’t care much about the pain he causes along the way. I think the fact that the author didn’t provide much in the story from Trevor’s point of view seemed to double the angst factor which I absolutely loved. Instead, the reader has to look for clues of his torment from his actions, the way his facial expressions tended to change and of course the volatile desire that courses through Trevor whenever his wife comes into the picture. He hates the very thing that his wife represents, his bitterness about his past refusing to let him move beyond that and see his wife for who she really is, and yet he can’t help but want to possess her for himself in every single way.

Alice turned out to be a heroine who got on my nerves in the first half of the story and later on redeemed herself through her actions. From the firm grip Alice seemed to have on her emotions and what she wanted for her life, I thought that Alice would prove to be a worthy opponent where Trevor was concerned. But every time Trevor said something cruel, all Alice could seem to do was wring her hands in despair and run off crying. I wanted her to buck up and deal, to make Trevor realize the error of his ways and practically storm through his heart leaving nothing to chance. And eventually, Alice does get there and that is where I decided to forgive her and consider her worthy of the fall that Trevor would take from his pedestal.

There was a thread of a secondary romance inserted in the story, in the middle of nowhere I would have to say, and I didn’t overly care much for it. I wanted Trevor and Alice’s relationship to be the core aspect of the story. Trevor’s control was one I wanted to be shattered so badly that when it did come, it did deliver on the fronts that I wanted it to. And ladies, prepare yourselves for one of the best declarations of love by a hero of this type; it did make tears spring to my eyes and that rarely happens.

If you like your heroes ruthless and I mean really ruthless, Lions and Lace is a story worth digging into. I would recommend it if you can get past the first couple of chapters where the heroine could get on your nerves, but in the end gives in beautifully.

Final Verdict: Trevor Byrne Sheridan; slow down my galloping heart.

Favorite Quotes

In the years to come she would always remember her first sight of Trevor Byrne Sheridan. He stood in silhouette. She was not privy to the details of his face, but he left a deep and lasting impression on her. He held a walking stick, an unusual accoutrement for such a tall, muscular form. His straight, formal figure was pleasing, yet his stance left her feeling as if a frigid wind had just passed through her heart. He crossed his arms and tipped his head back to look down at her as she almost knelt on the wet marble stairway, and in the shadows he looked every bit as cold, dark, and forbidding as the night that mercilessly pelted her with rain. And she knew then, with a truth that pierced her very soul, that the devil before her now was sure to be worse than the one who had just left her behind.

“I am human,” she whispered. “If you just looked close enough.”
“I want to.” His breath feathered against her forehead. “I swear I want to.”
His mouth found hers in the moment she realized she’d yet to let go of his arm. He kissed her, offering damnation and salvation in one eloquent motion. She wanted to pull back, but something stronger—his arm, she thought— pushed her farther into his embrace until she was wrapped in his warmth and strength.

He lifted his head, and his mouth again captured hers, creating more heat between her thighs. The pleasure he gave her was like a band of rubber being pulled until it snapped and she fell, twisting in the air until he caught her, his hand beneath her hips to hold her closer, to make her pleasure complete.
“Trevor,” she moaned, chanting his name in surrender.
It drove him over the edge. He seized her and bit out the word, “Jeysus,” then fell against her, sated.

His tongue, hot and strong, thrust again and again into her needful mouth, a wild accompaniment to the thrum of the shower. Demandingly, he cupped her breast, his palm brushing the steam droplets that clung to her nipples like diamonds. He flicked open the buttons to his trousers.
She was hardly aware of what he did next. Her only sensation seemed to be his mouth on hers and the overriding instinct that he wanted her, ferociously.

She shook her head and said again to that unyielding back, “Do you love me?”
“I’ve never been in love before. I don’t know what being in love is like.”
“I’m asking you. Do you love me?” Her voice caught with unshed tears.
He paused as if thinking through each word. “I’ve nothing to compare it to, but if love is obsession, if love can be so powerful it overtakes a man’s reason and his will, if love is the feeling that one would rather die than live only to grieve its loss—” He turned, and she could see the desolation on his face. In one sweet rough whisper, he said, “Then yes, I love you, Alana. I’m doomed to love you. I’ll always love you.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-bookMyBeautifulEnemey
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Heart of Blade Duology, #2
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Leighton Atwood
Heroine: Bai Ying-hua
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 5, 2014
Started On: October 2, 2014
Finished On: October 4, 2014

My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas follows closely on the heels of The Hidden Blade. I would say this once again, this time having finished the 2nd book that signals the end of this duology; you have to read The Hidden Blade first in order to really get into the characters Leighton Atwood and Bai Ying-Hua (Catherine Blade), whose tragic and moving pasts entwine both of them in a way that’d not be felt if you just end up reading My Beautiful Enemy as a standalone.

My Beautiful Enemy tells the story of Catherine Blade aka Bai Ying-hua, who is tracking the three jade tablets for the treasure it might unearth based on the legend of the monks that had been a part of Catherine’s life when she had been growing up. She seeks the tablets on behalf of her stepfather Da-ren, the closest thing she has left as family, to win his approval and perhaps be considered worthy of all that he had done for her.

Catherine is well versed in the art of fighting, she is like a lethal blade honed to perfection. But her life had not come without making a formidable enemy in its wake. The man who searches for her seeks vengeance of the kind that needs Catherine to be in her best form, something she has been hard pressed to achieve ever since the last encounter between them. Her journey takes her to London, the stories of a city that teems with life according to her childhood friend that fails to live up to her expectations. And then it happens; she crosses paths with that of her lover, the lover that she had poisoned trying to kill him, the man she’d searched for in vain after, the man who still has the ability to bring her to her knees, the only man she has ever loved.

Leighton hasn’t forgotten the young woman who had slayed his heart in the Chinese Turkestan 8 years back. His love for her had been swift, but it had been a relationship based on half-truths at best, which hadn’t served well for either of them when the time had come. Seeing a different version of the woman he has tried to forget all these years throws him for a loop, and Leighton is hard pressed to act normally and not let his fiance think anything untoward about his aloofness around Catherine.

Old habits die hard and before Leighton knows it, he is swept into his old role of taking care of Catherine, looking after her well being because Leighton would rather die himself than see any harm come to Catherine. My Beautiful Enemy consists of a lot of flashbacks into the entwined pasts of Leighton and Catherine, how they meet and how the beautiful man that Leighton is wins the prickly Catherine over with his gentleness, charm and the fact that when it comes to Catherine, his heart had never stood a chance.

For the most part, Catherine comes across as someone who is straightforward and assumes a no nonsense lifestyle. Though well versed in the etiquettes of what is deemed as proper behavior for a lady, beneath the facade that she presents to the rest of the world lies a heart filled with loneliness, an aching soul that yearns for nothing else but love. Her past had taught her to be wary, but when it comes to Leighton there is little fight left in her when she had already succumbed to his touch years ago. I didn’t like the flashbacks all so much. I felt that one reason why I failed to connect to both Leighton and Catherine as the story progressed was because all that had indeed connected them happens through flashbacks in the story.

My Beautiful Enemy is certainly different from the books that I have read from Sherry Thomas to-date. This tale doesn’t focus mainly on the element of romance between Catherine and Leighton. Rather I would say this duology focuses on the fated connection between Catherine and Leighton that spanned continents all those years back, the near miss of a meeting that should have happened between them and how years later, finally, Catherine and Leighton find their way towards each other.

I felt a trifle bit disappointed with the steam factor of My Beautiful Enemy, perhaps the reason why I felt that Catherine and Leighton’s connection didn’t touch me in the way it really should have. Especially, after having read the scrumptious scenes of passion that Ms. Thomas can weave in her romances; The Luckiest Lady in London will attest to this fact, needless to say I felt My Beautiful Enemy was a bit of a letdown in that sense. Point; I just didn’t fall as hard and fast in love with either Leighton or Catherine as I should have.

Entertainment wise, My Beautiful Enemy hits the spots. Emotional wise, thought I felt a bit disconnected from Catherine and Leighton, I was still swept away by the sheer magic that is Sherry Thomas’ writing.

And oh yes, this bit in the novel that describes my country, the Maldives, blew me away!

“There is a chain of tropical coral islands not far from the southern tip of India. And all around them the water is the exact color of the sky, and so clear you can see the fish swim. I want to take you there.”

I’d say Sherry Thomas has done a perfect job in describing a country renown for its beauty.

Recommended for those who love historical fiction and romance. Sherry Thomas is an author you ought not miss in this genre.

Final Verdict: A connection that defies time and distance; a love that knows not the span of continents.

Favorite Quotes

When he returned, one window of his room was wide open, the curtain whipping in the draft.
Someone with her skills could have easily closed the window behind herself, if she wanted to.
Instead, she had chosen to acknowledge her presence. Her invasion of his privacy.
And in doing so, reaffirmed the desire on her part that had set him on fire, like a city already ransacked.

Slowly she lowered the dagger, but the pulse at her throat grew ever more agitated. Her gaze landed on his lips. He held his breath, his heartbeat wild. He remembered the taste of her skin, the texture of her hair, the lithe shape of her body pressed into his. He remembered the whimpers of pleasure that escaped her, the glazed look in her eyes, the way she writhed and clung and took him ever deeper inside herself.
The parlor echoed with the sounds of their breaths.
She pivoted and walked out.
Behind her, the bead curtain shook and swayed, as restless as the desires of his heart.

She felt her lips tremble, her throat constrict. He’d gone back twice? “You must not have realized that I caused your occasional disability.”
“I have known it for years. The poison in your salve was extraordinarily powerful.”
She could scarcely believe it. The backs of her eyes prickled. “And still you looked for me?”
He exhaled. “And still I looked for you.”
Something hot and wet rolled down her cheek. “I left Chinese Turkestan in the winter of eighty-three. I never went back.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and let go of her. “I guess some things are not meant to be.”
Neither of them said anything more. And then the silence became that of his absence, a silence that she had come to know all too well.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins

Format: E-bookinyourdreams
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Blue Heron, #4
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jack Holland
Heroine: Emmaline Neal
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 30, 2014
Started On: September 26, 2014
Finished On: September 28, 2014

The fourth book in the Blue Heron series by Kristan Higgins tells the story of Jack Holland, the only son in the out of John Holland’s four children. Jack has been a substantial part of the previous novels in the series and I was properly excited to be finally reading about him and his road to the happily ever after.

Jack handles the actual wine making process behind the Blue Heron vineyard, the family’s business. Everyone sees and defines Jack as perfection itself from his family to everyone in town to practically anyone who has ever crossed his path. Graced with good looks of the kind women find it hard to look away from together with a bucketload of charm makes him easy to love. Jack is elevated from his status as perfection itself to the town hero when he rescues three boys from drowning, an act that puts Jack in the limelight like never before.

Emmaline Neal is the deputy police chief of Manningsport, having moved just nine months back after having her heart broken by her fiance who had moved on with another woman. Being invited to their wedding means having to turn up to save face and Emmaline is determined to acquire a date of sorts to go with her as moral support. In the end it is Jack who fills the role and though Emmaline has her reservations about going to a wedding where she would be emotionally vulnerable with a man who renders her speechless most of the time, there is not much she can do about it given the short notice.

In Your Dreams tells the story of two individuals who each have powerful back stories to tell. Emmaline the heroine’s story is one that can move most to tears; the rocky childhood that she had, the way she had found that someone with whom she thought she would spend the rest of her life with by the time she had hit eighth grade, only to have her heart smashed to pieces by the wicked turn of events that takes place. The wedding is the place where she is determined to put her past to rest, but it doesn’t come as easy as it sounds.

Jack the perfect son, the perfect citizen of Manninsport finds himself battling symptoms of PTSD though he’d rather die than admit to the fact. Determined to ignore the debilitating conditions to which his symptoms reduce him to, Jack grasps the wedding which is to be held out of town as a lifeline thrown his way, a chance to get away from everything and just breathe. Put his ex-wife into the mix and Jack is ready to scream (something that totally goes against the perfection that his character is famous for) and while neither Jack nor Emmaline thought that anything would happen between them, something that irrevocably ties them together does.

In Your Dreams while wasn’t as heart wrenching as some of the other novels in the series when it came to the relationship between the hero and heroine nevertheless proved to be a riveting read. I couldn’t for the life of me put down the book even into the wee hours of last night and I just had to finish the 400+ pages of the book before I could sigh in contentment and sleep knowing that all was right in Jack and Emmaline’s world.

I totally fell in love with Emmaline. Having had a tough time while growing up, Emmaline makes for a steadfast, snarky and beautiful person. The way she hurts over the man she fell in love with was one that touched my heart and I could literally feel the pain that coursed through Emmaline as she moved through the different stages of heartache before finally moving on.

Now Jack, I had a teeny weeny problem with because there was nothing but perfection to him. It’s hard to put into words what exactly that I found off in Jack but I think there was a little bit too much emphasis on how perfect a man Jack was. There is no one that perfect, everyone has their flaws and everyone has their quirks that annoys and pisses other people off and endears them to others. Though Jack’s past broke my heart I just felt that he needed to come down from that pedestal a bit and reach the level of us humans. I also felt a bit cheated out on not having seen Jack move on from his battle with PTSD; there was a reference to him getting help but I would have loved to see more of that actually realize in the story after having seen how much of an affect the symptoms seemed to have on his life. I know I would be in the minority when it comes to thinking this way about Jack but that is how I felt when I was reading In Your Dreams.

That being said, Kristan Higgins never ceases to amaze me with the incredible stories that she writes and In Your Dreams is no exception. Recommended for those who love humor of the laugh-out-loud variety (the husband seemed perplexed by my bouts of laughter that he couldn’t find any reason for) and those who love honest to goodness variety of storytelling that would keep you up way past midnight turning the pages. And most of you would literally love Jack to pieces. I loved the way he could seduce the pants off of Emmaline and boy, was he good at it. Grab a copy and indulge. You wouldn’t be sorry you did.

Final Verdict: Delicious with a lot of heart; Higgins delivers an unputdownable tale.

Favorite Quotes

He turned his head to breathe in her smell and felt her shiver. She didn’t pull away.
That skin smelled so sweet. He dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder. Smooth as water.
Emmaline inhaled, her breath shaky.
Another kiss, this one closer to her neck.What are you doing? a small voice asked, but it was faint, drowned out by the hard, deep pulse that was thudding through his body. She tasted as good as she smelled.

He pulled her hands over her head and held them there, still kissing her mouth, her neck, the softness of her breasts against his chest making him drunk. She wasn’t protesting. In fact, little sweet sounds were coming from her throat, and he could swear he felt her skin get hotter under his mouth, because he was kissing his way down her neck, scraping her skin with his teeth, because Emmaline Neal was edibly delicious.

Clearing her throat, she looked down at the rumpled sheets. “Hungry?” she asked.
“Starving.” He reached out and, very slowly, pulled the tie of her robe.
“There’s still some cake,” she whispered.
“I wasn’t talking about cake,” he said, his voice deep and rumbly, and her girl parts gave a hot, sudden throb.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | HQ | iTunes | eBookMall

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: I’ll Find You by Nancy Bush

Format: E-bookillfindyou
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Kensington
Hero: West Laughlin
Heroine: Callie Cantrell
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: June 24, 2014
Started On: September 10, 2014
Finished On: September 17, 2014

I’ll Find You by Nancy Bush is my very first novel by the author. Combining a little bit of romance with a whole lot of suspense, the one thing that had me going was the way Nancy writes. There is that quality to her writing that draws in the reader and compels one to keep on reading. And that held true for me for the first half of the book while the latter half turned out to be a bit draggy and a trifle bit confusing for me to enjoy it as much as I did for the first half of the story.

Callie Cantrell returns to Martinique as a step towards moving on with her life after the death of her son and husband in a horrible accident from which she had woken up to find that her beloved son was no more. Deciding on a date to return back to the chaos that she has to sort out once she heads back to normal life is made doubly harder by the little boy she befriends during the trip, the boy proving to be a valuable part of the journey Callie takes towards finding herself again.

West Laughlin is on a mission. The black sheep of the Laughlin family is summoned to hunt down its apparent heir and West is determined that he would pull no punches where this particular mission is concerned. When he comes down on Callie, West is surprised by the thread of desire that courses through him even when the very thought of all that she has done sends revulsion running up and down his frame.

When Callie encounters West under less than favorable circumstances, Callie is determined to do whatever it takes to protect the boy that West is after. Having had no desire to move on with the opposite sex after the shame of her short-lived marriage, Callie is taken aback by the frissons of awakening that pulls her out of the state of mere existence that she has been living through for the past year. And as Callie and West join forces to determine the exact truth behind so many half truths and hidden agendas, so do the unknown faces behind the curtain move towards the final showdown from which no one might make it out safe.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll Find You starts off on a fascinating thread. A cult, a mad man hellbent on getting what he considers rightfully his and the unknown force behind an equally evil and nefarious plot that might unravel the whole thing before things reach their ultimate conclusion seemed like just the ingredients for an explosive story. Though I liked Nancy’s writing well enough, towards the end, the story didn’t wow me as much as I had initially thought it would.

Callie and West, both were characters that I liked well enough at the beginning. But somehow, I think, because the focus of the story was more on the villain rather than the main protagonists towards the latter part of the book, the shine to their characters tended to fade away for me. Nevertheless I rooted for them until the very end.

I think the too many threads in the suspense plot turned out a tad confusing in the end, but then again it did deliver some surprising twists to the story that had been hard to predict at first.

Recommended for those who love their romantic suspense low on the romance and high on the suspense factor.

Final Verdict: Delivered a read with some surprising twists towards the end.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tempest in Eden by Sandra Brown

Format: E-booktempestineden
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Ian Douglas
Heroine: Shay Morrison
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1, 2005
Started On: September 7, 2014
Finished On: September 8, 2014

Tempest in Eden is one of those books that I have missed out on in my quest to read all the titles by Sandra Brown. This one came to my notice I think through Amazon that does a wonderful job out of emptying my credit card every month by suggesting books that I definitely MUST have, most of which I never end up reading due to time constraints.

Tempest in Eden tells the story of Shay Morrison, whose mother recently gets remarried. Meeting her stepbrother turns out to be one hell of an encounter, when she sees the man in the shower, completely naked, spellbinding Shay by the complete and utter deliciousness of his physique.

From the moment Shay and Ian meet, it’s a clash of wills between the model that poses nude, someone who has no qualms about showing off parts of her body and Ian who is a Minister, who has devoted his life to serving God. Shay turns into a completely different person around Ian, her need to move past the indifference he shows towards her body and attempts to bring him to heel making her more frustrated and prone to childish tantrums than she believes herself possible.

Tempest in Eden throws the hero and heroine into an intriguing scenario. A clash of wills as well as a clash of beliefs takes place. Shay is quick to anger, because she always ends up being defensive about her life and the career she has chosen. Her defensiveness and the walls she has built around her heart also stems from her past marriage, a marriage that had left its emotional mark on her.

I loved Ian as a hero. He is gentle in his soul, understanding even when Shay tests his patience every now and again with her temper and physically a demanding lover who cannot get enough of the woman who holds him enslaved. I cannot say that I fell in love with Shay. There were times when I felt like shaking some sense into her and then there was the latter part of the story where she grew up and made me fall for her character, just a little.

This might not be the best of Sandra’s work, but her talent nevertheless shines through in this short novel. A bit flowery in prose for my tastes perhaps, but the one thing that has held constant in her past novels, something that I miss in her present ones is that Sandra always manages to capture in her novels the essence of a wildly hedonistic sexual attraction that practically robs two people of their very breath in their desire to consume one another. And that is an emotion that is rarely captured in novels of today.

Recommended for fans of Sandra Brown.

Final Verdict: Nude model vs a Minister. Let the sparks fly!

Favorite Quotes

He went only as far as the third button. With heart-stopping slowness, he carefully parted her blouse. His hand slid around the column of her throat. He pressed his thumb against the pulse point at its base. It was beating erratically. “I had to touch you with some degree of intimacy.” He sighed. She closed her eyes just as his mouth fused with hers.
The kiss was hot, wet, and turbulent, evoking the very act of love. His thumb kept up that hypnotic massage along her neck. It was only a suggestion of the things she wanted him to do. It was only a suggestion of the things his eyes had told her he wanted to do.

“Shay, I can’t wait. Take me inside you.”
He grasped her hips with strong hands, and she let herself be impaled on his strength. Her cries of ecstasy echoed in the small tile enclosure as he fused their bodies with the wet, sleek precision of two sea creatures. Their mating was frenzied and quick. His body shuddered with his release at the same moment that she collapsed onto his chest, dying a little even as his life pumped into her.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Fatal Hearts by Norah Wilson

Format: E-bookfatalhearts
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Boyd McBride
Heroine: Hayden Walsh
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 19, 2014
Started On: August 26, 2014
Finished On: September 4, 2014

Boyd McBride turns up in Fredericton to solve the mystery behind the sudden death of his twin Josh who had been pursuing the truth behind their adoption years ago, which seemed to have been carried out seemingly under the most shadiest of circumstances. Boyd doesn’t accept that Josh died of natural causes like everyone else is inclined to believe. Digging into the everyday life that Josh had led brings Boyd up close and personal with Dr. Hayden Walsh, Josh’s best friend.

Given that they were identical twins, Hayden would never have thought that she would respond to Boyd McBride on an intrinsic level that she had never responded to when it had come to Josh. Though Hayden tries to hide behind her walls of self preservation, she has a hard time sticking to her guns when it comes to Boyd and the grief that they share over Josh whom they both had loved so much. As Boyd starts digging and begins to uncover clues that would lead him to the eventual truth, Hayden realizes that there is more to the no strings attached affair that she and Boyd embarks on after giving into the tumultuous desire between them.

Norah Wilson is an author that has always worked for me. Her books always have a lot of heart, depth and emotion, not to mention the heart thumping variety of heroes that you can never get enough of. Her books like The Mezeretti Effect and Lauren’s Eyes, later published under Montlake as Every Breathe She Takes testifies towards the immense amount of talent she has. And it pains me to say that Fatal Hearts didn’t do it for me.

At first, when Boyd walked into the book with his brood and heart stopping good looks, well you can imagine what I would have gone through. But as the story progressed, I felt that Boyd didn’t live up to his potential, perhaps the reason being the narrative was a bit too dry and procedural in the story. I love books that go into depth with the crime solving aspect but I felt that this book could’ve removed a 100 plus pages and still would’ve managed to tell the same story.

I don’t like writing reviews that sound negative, but as a reviewer it is my duty to be honest about how I feel about a book. I believe with my whole heart that Fatal Hearts had the ingredients that would’ve made a helluva romantic suspense. Boyd could’ve turned into the hero that could’ve made me weep for thousands of reasons and Hayden though I did love her as she was, I felt she too could’ve shined just a tad more. While the mystery aspect was predictable, that still gave the story a bit of an edge that kept the pages turning.

Having felt all out of sorts after reading Fatal Hearts, I did look up a couple of reviews on Goodreads to see how other readers have felt. Surprisingly, a lot of them have given Fatal Hearts 5 stars though a couple of readers like myself have stated feeling the same way I felt when I read the story. In the end I would have to say that it was my love for Norah as an author and the warm, beautiful person behind the name I’d gotten to know through social media, is the reason I gave my every effort to finish the book.

Honestly, if this is where you aim to sample Norah Wilson, I would caution you to stop right there. Pick up any other book, preferably either The Mezeretti Effect or Every Breath She Takes. Those are the stories that would blow you away and make you fall in love with Norah’s ability to spin a wondrous tale that entertains and excites and that’s what you should be reading.

Final Verdict: For those who love reading procedural romantic suspense.

Favorite Quotes

There was the slightest hesitation on his part, long enough for her to wonder if she’d made a horrible mistake. Before she could retreat, he lifted his hands to her head, holding her in place as his mouth crashed down onto hers.
The thrill that forked through her was almost painful, leaving her nerve endings feeling singed. Her heart thumped so hard, she could feel her pulse throbbing in her fingertips.

“Touch me,” she commanded.
He didn’t need any more encouragement. Or a road map. He released her hair and dropped that hand to clasp one of her breasts. His thumb found the stiffened peak through the thin fabric of her bra and T-shirt, and she gasped softly.
Then his lips were on hers again, as though he wanted to take the sound into him.

She moved with him, meeting his every thrust. He felt the tension rising in her as the tempo increased. Going down on one elbow, he reached between them to part her folds wider, moving higher to hopefully give her more friction. That tipped her over the edge she’d been striving for. Her words were broken, sobbed out of her, as her orgasm rose, peaked, and rolled over her. It was all he could do to hold on and let her ride it out before his own need took over.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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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

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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