Category / Scarred Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Best Man by Maggie Osborne

Format: Hardcoverthebestman
Read with: Hardcover
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Dal Frisco
Heroine: Fredrick Roark
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 1998
Started On: March 17, 2012
Finished On: March 18, 2012

The Best Man is a novel that is going to be hard to review, not because it wasn’t a splendid read in all the ways that counts. It is going to be difficult to put into words just how much the story affected me, how the characters that were brought to life in front of my eyes continued to worm their way into my heart and later on etched themselves onto my very soul to stay there for the time to come. As I have said before and I will continue to say this, Maggie Osborne is an author who is one of a kind. She delivers romances that takes you to place you rarely get to go and she gives you a story that you can sink your teeth into and cannot let go!

Joe Roark, owner of the King’s Walk Ranch dies leaving behind 3 daughters and his fourth wife a widow. Each of them grapples with the astounding will that Joe leaves which dictates that his daughters prove their mettle before they are to receive their due inheritance. If that fails to be the case, all the sweat and hard work that Joe had put into building his ranch would be in vain and would be handed over to a wife that he detested more than he did  his daughters.

A man who only wanted sons and got saddled with daughters, Joe refused to let his daughters forget their place in the world. Alexander Roark Mills (Alex), Fredrick Roark (Freddy) and Lester Roark (Les); the 3 daughters whom he had pampered in his way and each of whom had disappointed him in one way or the other suddenly finds themselves tasked with driving a herd of longhorns to the market in Abilene, Kansas. 

Dal Frisco is a man who is looking for a second chance, a chance to turn his life around and achieve his dream of owning his own spread in Montana. To do that, he needs cold hard cash and the news of the infamous will Joe left to his daughters pave the way for him to do exactly just that. What he doesn’t bargain for is to find daughters who look like the high strung type who carry smelling salts in their fringed wrist purses who look and behave as if they have never engaged in an honest day of work in their whole lives. But even then, Freddy with her dark hair and green eyes catch him unawares with the bolt of desire that strikes him upon the very first time their eyes meet.

For Dal, the success of the mission ahead hinges on his ability to prepare the 3 women to face and cope with the challenges of being on the road, to actively take part in delivering the herd in the exact number their father has stipulated in the will. But the number of foes who want nothing more than to see them fail work from within to bring chaos and mayhem to their venture. And through it all, the 3 sisters continue to discover the hard truths about themselves, become better women and go on to form a bond with each other that would remain unshaken till death does them apart.

Labeling The Best Man as the story in which Freddy and Dal discover each other and fall in love would not do justice to a story that is so very much more. The Best Man brings to life the characters of 3 sisters who had grown up trying to compete and outdo each other during their childhood, each resenting the other for one thing or the other. And later when adolescence had hit, the 3 of them had found themselves going their separate ways, never forging a connection befitting that of sisters. Alex elopes while Freddy sets off to embrace her dream of performing in a theater which drives a further wedge between the sisters. Les, the youngest is the one who stays behind, who feels betrayed when her father brings home a wife that disrespects everything they stand for.

For 3 people who have never tried working as a team or have never worked hard a day in their life, the training and the pace that Dal sets serves to be sheer torture. But Dal is the man who forces them to force out their inner strength, to straighten that backbone of steel that each sister has in spades, to embrace the true hidden characteristics within each of them that makes them such appealing characters. Each of them has their own fair share of faults, fears and dreams. And learning about each of them was a journey in itself and I loved every minute of it.

The men who enter into their lives are nor less appealing. Dal plays the most prominent role and he is the stuff that pure alpha men are made out of. He is strong, stubborn, has that inner qualities that makes him a good leader. But he is not without his fair share of faults either. A recovering alcoholic, Dal battles his inner demons day in and day out and the focus shifts from his desire for the drink to his need for a woman that sets his senses afire by merely just existing. Freddy drives him crazy in more ways than one and though Dal might try to tell himself otherwise, Freddy invades his heart and his soul before he is even aware of it happening.

Alex was one of the most complex characters in the story. With a past that portrays her as the most tortured soul in the story, Alex is a character that rouses equal amounts of sympathy and admiration in the reader. At first she comes across as a snob who later transforms into a woman who is able and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that she and her sisters get what is entitled to them. How Alex discovers love, forgiveness and the courage to move on in one of the most unlikely heroes to crop up put a huge lump in my throat and made me ache in ways I cannot explain. If it is only to discover Alex and the magical transformation she undergoes in this story, it is worth getting yourself a copy of The Best Man.

Les is the sister who has problems with asserting herself. The one who enters into a relationship with an abusive fiance and believes it to be her due. The sister who has the hardest time in putting one foot in front of the other and taking the next step. The one who continually faces the dilemma of doing the right thing and choosing the easy way out. And hers was a story that I read all the while wanting to infuse her with the strength to move on, to be able to stand up and give as good as she gets. And she does get there eventually, surprising herself more than anyone else by just how far she has come by the time the story ends.

Freddy is the dreamer, the one who envisions life as a stage set for acting and she plays the lead role. One hard bump after the other and the tough lessons day in and day out teaches her to face reality, forces her to come crashing down into the world of living rather than continue to walk the Earth with her head up in the clouds. Her desire for Dal is one that catches her by surprise, her innocence the factor that lures her towards a man who shakes her up and tosses her into a maelstrom of desire that she cant shake lose from. 

With Maggie Osborne, you never get a simple straightforward story. She takes you on a journey filled with twists and turns, ups and downs, traversing through roads that brings joy as much as peril comes seeking you out and later on at the end you emerge victorious from all the hard labor you have toiled in, which in the end transforms your reading experience into something wondrous that you won’t forget anytime soon.

Recommended for fans of Maggie Osborne. If you have never read a Maggie Osborne, you are definitely missing out!

Favorite Quotes

His mouth came down on hers hard and hot and deliberate. His kiss was so unexpected that Freddy went limp in his arms with shock. She didn’t fight or protest, couldn’t move or breathe. No one had ever kissed her like this, selfishly, unemotionally, taking with no thought of giving. This kiss was hungry, domineering, something that seared and scorched physically and left her mind reeling.

He kissed her then, not gently, not tenderly. He didn’t kiss her to comfort her. He took her mouth hungrily, almost savagely, wanting to punish her for having a body that tormented him, for telling him that his last kiss had meant nothing, needed to punish her for letting scum like Jack Caldwell call her honey, and for ever thinking about a man who wasn’t him.

He found her breasts with his hands and dropped his lips to her arching throat, tasting dust and woman sweat and a trace of something that reminded him of apples. She tore his shirt at the throat, ripping it downward, and slipped her hands inside, her fingers like brands of fire across his skin. One minute she was straddling him, the next minute he’d fallen on top of her. It was like a dam had burst within them both, releasing a flood tide of desire and urgency. And God help him, he would have taken her right there on the ground with a stampede winding down a hundred yards behind him.

For a long moment they gazed at each other, and Freddy felt her mouth go dry and her heartbeat accelerate. If the evening ended right now, she would still remember this moment for all her days. The music, the perfume of the flower baskets, and the hard look of desire in Dal’s eyes.

“Dal … Dal …” Mindlessly, she whispered his name as his kisses deepened and became possessive and deliberate. But slow. Exploring. Teasing. Never quite enough. Kisses that drank desire from her mouth and left her frantic with wanting, wanting, wanting.

Winding her arms close around his neck, she closed her eyes. To be embraced, safe in a man’s arms when she had never expected it to happen again, this would be enough.
Time sheltered their embrace, enfolding them within a summer scented capsule that felt endless and theirs alone. The fragrance of grass and sunlight and nearby water sweetened each breath. Theirs was the music of birds ans the lazy buzz of insects and the beating of two hearts. Yes, she thought, she didn’t need more. This would be enough.

This time his kiss was full and provocative, summoning sensations she had believed, had hop, were submerged too deeply to be awakened. But his fingers on her face, his mouth, his lips, stirred slumbering emotions and coaxed them to life. His hands moved to cup her head, to spread across her spine, and he crushed her against him as their kisses deepened.

He molded her body to his and another gasp tore at her throat. She had never expected to be held in a man’s arms again. Hadn’t dared to hope that she would ever stand chest to chest, hip to hip with a man who desired her. She had truly believed lovemaking was a pleasure she would never again experience in her lifetime. That was her choice and destiny.
His hands moved from her waist to her face, and he kissed the tears shining on her cheeks and eyelids. “I love you,” he whispered. “I have loved you from the moment I saw you.”

“You are so beautiful,” he breathed. Standing over her, rampant in the moonlight, he gazed down at her body. “You are as lovely and as perfect as I imagined you would be.”
Afraid to believe, afraid to trust, she dared a look at him and felt her heart wrench when she read his expression and understood that she truly was whole and beautiful in his eyes. She was a magnificent to him as he was to her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Tactical Deception by J.L. Saint + Giveaway!

Format: E-booktacticaldeception
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Silent Warrior #2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Lt. Col. Roger Weston
Heroine: Maryam Dalton
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 13, 2012
Started On: March 12, 2012
Finished On: March 13, 2012

It feels like I have spent ages pining for the release of this much awaited second book in the Silent Warrior series by J.L. Saint. Book 1 in the series Collateral Damage was an eye opening novel filled with drool inducing yummy military heroes and depicts the constant battle that they and the world at large fight in combating terrorism and its ill effects on the whole world. J.L. Saint is one of those authors who gets the details right, someone who doesn’t ‘judge’ in the way she presents a story that is bound to be gone over with a fine-tooth comb by those that would have a hard time believing that any author would be able to paint ‘terrorists’ in a way that doesn’t offend someone who is a Muslim. Having read book 1 in the series, I trusted J.L. Saint to handle the story of Lt. Col. Roger Weston and the beautiful Maryam Dalton (Mari) with the same grace and poise as she did for Collateral Damage and she did just that, leaving me wanting more of the same as I read through the last pages.

39 year old Roger Weston is still paying the price for the hit his team had taken in Lebanon, the guilt of what had gone down and rendered 24 year old Maryam Dalton (Mari) a pregnant widower something that Roger can’t shake himself loose from. Making the situation doubly dangerous is the fact that he desires Mari above and beyond any reason, something that he berates himself for over and over again knowing deep in his heart that if Mari were ever to find the truth behind her husband’s death, she would never look at him in the same way again.

Mari might be pregnant and devout in her faith that had been her way of life even long after she had escaped the land where she had grown up in driven to escape the injustice of being blamed for something she had no power over, but the fact that she desires a man she has no right over is one that continues to taunt her. Mari would like nothing better than to bury her head in the sand and forget that Roger Weston exists, but it seems easier said than done as Roger and his piercing blue eyes continue to haunt her in dreams of the vivid and erotic variety, and it doesn’t make things any easier when Roger sticks by her side to protect her from an enemy who is relentless in his need to see Mari take her last breathe in this world.

When shit hits the fan in more ways than one, Roger and his team are scrambling left and right trying to make sense of a series of sniper attacks which occur simultaneously at different locations in the US, leaving an abject terror gnawing deep inside of everyone. Amidst all the attacks and confusion, Mari’s estranged family makes an appearance, throwing both Roger and Mari into a situation that is fraught with danger from all sides, and it is through sheer luck, God’s will and a whole lot of prowess on Roger’s side that these two find themselves free from their captives, ready to surrender to the desire that is always such a visceral part of their relationship.

Tactical Deception is a complex novel comprised of multiple layers and characters that lend a richness to the story that just begs you to keep on reading. There are few authors in my eyes who can juggle so many characters effectively without the book sounding like a narrative of each and every single attribute of the multi-faceted characters that are introduced and play a vital role in the story. And I believe J.L. Saint to be one who is able to deliver on all accounts and I couldn’t get enough of each and every character that I came across and learned to love as I was pulled deeper into a story that was filled with action, angst and red hot loving till the very last page.

Tactical Deception is not just the story of how Roger and Mari, two very different people in their upbringing as well as their beliefs and culture find that special someone in each other to spend the rest of their lives with. It is a story that shows the true meaning of the word “terrorism”, the terror that one can instill in your heart if you plan that carefully, if you let hate encroach and encompass the whole of your heart until it is just sheer madness that controls all your actions and emotions. It is a realistic portrait of the condition that J.L. Saint creates so vividly that I always found myself holding my breathe in, unable to believe what was happening, but at the same time knowing deep inside of me that this could indeed turn out to be the reality of tomorrow.

I would say this now and I would say this tomorrow, but I do appreciate how well J.L. Saint paints the picture of a devout Muslim who is torn between her beliefs towards Allah and her desires for a man that goes completely against the teachings of a religion that preaches modesty of the self above everything else. But reality in life is that even the most devout when tempted beyond anything they have ever faced before succumbs, and there was a beauty in the way that Mari gives herself over to Roger, a man who above everything else respects the woman he would lay down his very life for.

Roger is a hero that would be hard NOT to fall in love with. He is a warrior with a deep sense of always doing the right thing ingrained in him that it is with a heavy heart that he faces his unrelenting desire for the very last woman he should be lusting after. Even when Mari and the way she covers her beauty from him drives him crazy, I fell irrevocably in love with him the moment Roger showed just how much he respected the woman he loves above anything else in this world. Roger recognizes the woman who hides herself in the shrouds of her abaya, her wants, needs and the desire that burns deep inside of her to embrace freedom, to give her unborn babies all that she had been deprived of when she had been growing up.

Woven into the story of such complex emotions is plenty of action to pump up one’s adrenaline levels and J.L. Saint pulls no punches in delivering scenes that practically explode all over the page, that drives you to the edge of your seat time and yet again and I loved and reveled in every single minute of the experience.

As much as I loved Roger and Mari’s story, I absolutely adored the secondary romance that took place between Angie and Rico that burned up a few pixels on my iPad and a few of my brain cells while they were at it. Their explosive chemistry, the way Rico could not think straight whenever Angie was around, and the bittersweet ending that Angie and Rico faced at the end of this novel just made me want to cry and howl at the injustice of it all. I don’t think I can adequately put into words just how much I want their story next, and yes this goes out as a plea to you Ms. Saint to hurry along and give readers their story before we all get into a tizzy from all the anticipation and waiting around.

As I said earlier, so many fascinating characters that I have a feeling would make for unbelievable stories of their own and I can’t wait to see the journey that Ms. Saint would take us on in a series which I hope and pray would continue to have a lot more books than just these two. With non-stop action, red hot scorching passion that revs up your engines unlike anything else, there is nothing more you can ask from a novel such as this one.

Tactical Deception is a story that goes straight to your blood. Its chills, curdles, pumps and revs it up in equal doses and you just wont get enough!

Favorite Quotes

… war fucks everybody without discretion …

She [Angie] looked at the plate he’d set down. “You’re not hungry?”
“I’m starving. Hungrier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.” He’d waited for weeks for the right time and even though it was the worst timing possible, he couldn’t wait a second more.
Her jaw dropped as he took her plate from her wobbly grip.
“I, uh, am in desperate need of a shower.”
“Me too,” he whispered, then leaned in and pressed his mouth to her lush lips. She opened immediately for him, inviting his tongue and more as she sighed and sank closer against him. He thrust deep into her mouth, tasting the spicy sauce, tasting her, and plundered for more as pleasure washed over him like a benediction from heaven.

Looking down she arched her back, giving him more. His tanned complexion against her milky, slightly freckled skin was visually stark and sexually exciting. She watched as his mouth claimed her other nipple, stroking it with his tongue, and her vision blurred as he rhythmically rocked his erection against her sex.
Hot, damp, desperate, she braced herself with her hands on his knees behind her and met him thrust for thrust, pushing hard. Breathing as heavy as he was, she trembled with the flash fire of passion overtaking them both.

The waistbands of her jeans and panties only made it to her knees before Rico spread open her sex and planted a tongue lashing right on the swollen nub of her core. Wave after wave of fiery pleasure burned through her in an explosive rush to an orgasm that rocked her world because it was so good, but it wasn’t enough. She didn’t have Rico inside her. She didn’t have his arms around her. She couldn’t look into the drowning depths of his eyes. She pulled on his good arm, feeling his body trembling with his desire. “I need you now. More than ever before I need you inside me now. Please.”

Her sheath clamped his erection like a burning fist as her body demanded he follow her over the edge. Physically that was already happening. Big time. He was buried all the way in with his balls kissing her sweet ass as the biggest orgasm of his life blew his mind. He literally saw stars. But it didn’t end there. Emotionally and spiritually she was sucking him into her and he was driving harder and harder to get there himself as his gaze locked with hers. She grabbed his heavy necklace and pulled his mouth to hers, demanding and claiming, giving no quarter. They rode out the pleasure, wave after wave, milking every drop of it together with moans, touches, tiny thrusts, and sealing it all with an endless kiss that left him breathless—soulless—everything-less. She stole it all.

[Roger] “Do you know how amazingly beautiful you are to me?”
“As beautiful as you are to me.” She slid her gaze down then back up with one of those secret smiles that played havoc with a man’s mind.
He shook his head. “Nah, I couldn’t be, because you’d be insane with your need to just watch me. You’d ache every moment to just touch me. Your nights would be consumed with dreams of me and you’d live every moment just to love me.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Samhain

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GIVEAWAY!! GIVEAWAY!!

Author J.L. Saint is giving away an e-copy of Tactical Deception to one lucky commenter on this post. All you have to do to enter is to tell us who your most favorite fictional military hero is. So easy right?

Please state a valid e-mail address as a way to contact you if you are the winner. And remember, this is open INTERNATIONALLY, so don’t be shy ;-)

If you can help spread the word, you do earn extra points. Tweet about it and earn 5 extra entries, recommend this review and giveaway on Facebook and earn another 5 extra entries. And if you do either, don’t forget to leave the link of your tweet or recommendation on Facebook for me to verify.

Giveaway will open at 00:00 hours on March 14, 2012 Maldivian time and ends at 00:00 hours on March 16, 2012 Maldivian time. Maldivian timezone is GMT+5!

If you love action packed romantic suspense with larger than life military heroes, I dare you to enter. This is one book that won’t disappoint.

by mvbookreviewer

Review: If You See Her by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookifyouseeher
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: The Ash Trilogy #2
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Remington Jennings
Heroine: Hope Carson
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: January 31, 2012
Started On: March 9, 2012
Finished On: March 10, 2012

If You See Her by Shiloh Walker is book 2 in her Ash Trilogy, book 1 of which entitled If You Hear Her crept the bejesus out of me and introduced a whole lot of characters that certainly piqued my interest on more levels than one. 

The small town of Ash, Kentucky with a population of 8,312 is rocked by the series of vicious murders happening in their own backyard. The whole town is shocked to say the least and the last round of violence in which Hope Carson is suspected to have beaten up her best friend Law Reilly and then nearly gone on to kill herself which shocks the District Attorney Remington Jennings  (Remy) more than he lets on.

From the moment Remy had laid eyes on Hope and her beautiful eyes filled with a fear and pain that pains him and makes every protective instinct within him want to embrace her and keep her safe, Remy knows that he wouldn’t have an easy time out of prosecuting the one woman who rouses the very primal instincts deep inside of him.

Hope is a woman who has been on the run for the past 2 years from her ex-husband. Scared and jittery as she might be, the one thing Hope vows is to never return to her ex-husband because living in the darkness that had been their marriage with no way out of it is not an experience that Hope wants to repeat. Hope doesn’t want or need a man in her life, and the merest thought of even getting close to someone of the opposite sex leaves her with a bad taste in her mouth. But Remy, the man who nearly arrests her for a crime she is innocent of is the one man to whom she has a difficulty showing her indifferent side to.

If You See Her is an installment in the series that contains very little of the elements of suspense that made book 1 such a hit towards the end. I missed the presence of the creepy killer and craved to know more about him because Shiloh has certainly done a swell job of creating his character, leaving the readers practically tied up in knots trying to guess as to who the killer could be. So needless to say, when the killer didn’t make much of an appearance in the story I felt cheated out just a bit.

Rather than focusing on the suspense element, the novel delves deeper into the growing relationship between Hope and Remy and continues to reveal the different facets of the multitude of characters that bring this trilogy to life. There are family problems, there are problems between friends, and then there is the budding romance between Remy and Hope where Remy forces himself to tread very carefully in order to win a woman who has seen more than her fair share of violence and depravity.

The moment I fell in love with Remy was a bizarre one. It was the moment that Remy let Hope take the lead role in emerging as an independent woman, a person who is more than capable of starting out on her own even if fear continues to walk right along with her on her quest to assert herself. It was how Remy went against his instincts and let Hope do her thing, let her be herself and let her come out of the shell she had hidden herself in to emerge as a woman who is breathtaking as she revels in the freedom that being with Remy brings her that I knew Remy was definitely the man for Hope.

It is always a must to appreciate how Shiloh brings the passion between her characters to life, and I reveled in every minute of how Remy and Hope finds that special someone in each other and forges that deep connection with each other that made me just a teeny bit envious even as I rejoiced in their love.

If the suspense element had been more, if the pace of the story had been just a tad faster, I would have definitely enjoyed this a lot lot more. But having said that, If You See Her is still a decent addition to a trilogy of which the last book I have already started on in my quest to get acquainted with the killer and finally find out who Shiloh has so masterfully created and hidden in plain sight so very well.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Shiloh Walker.

Favorite Quotes

This was the absolute last woman on earth he should want—she was trouble, in so many ways. She was troubled, and that was just one of the reasons he didn’t need this.
This was the absolute last woman on earth he wanted to want—she just plain and simple was trouble—he could feel that in his bones.
And yet, as he stared into those big, green eyes, he did want.
Hell, did he want.

One kiss, he told himself.
Just one easy, quick kiss.
He had plenty of control.
He could control his temper, his hunger, his …
Her mouth opened under his and she met his kiss with shy, sweet hesitation.
Remy felt like the very ground had crumbled under his feet.
Oh, hell.

He pushed up onto his heels and then pulled her up against him, one hand cradling the nape of her neck, the other splayed wide over her back. His mouth came down on hers and right before he kissed her, he muttered, “Fuck, you’re going to drive me insane, I know it.”
Then his mouth crushed down onto hers. His taste was different—darker.
Her, she realized. He tasted of her.

Man, she loved the way Remy smelled. Male … warm. Expensive. Idly, she noticed the same scent was on her, now. It was the soap he used. She’d discovered that in the shower when she lathered up with it. The smell was borderline intoxicating on him, not so much on her. Absently, she stroked her hands up and down his sides.
“Hope, you’re making it very hard for me to have a conversation here.”
“Hmmm?” Tipping her head back, she glanced at him through her lashes, saw that he had a look on his face that was rapidly growing familiar.
That lovely blue was heated, his lashes low over his eyes. And she found herself wanting to push up on her toes and tug his head down close enough to kiss him.

Then he kissed her again. When he licked her through the silk, she moaned. Catching the fabric, he tugged it aside and licked her again. “Hot … fuck, yeah, you’re hot.”
Hope shuddered and fisted her hands in his hair again. But this time, she tugged him closer, gasping out his name.
He smiled against her and then proceeded to do to her what she’d been doing to him from the first time he’d laid eyes on her—driving him out of his fucking mind.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Run from Fear by Jami Alden

Format: E-bookrunfromfear
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Trilogy, Book 3
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Jack Brooks
Heroine: Talia Vega 
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 1, 2012
Started On: February 25, 2012
Finished On: February 28, 2012

Run from Fear by Jami Alden is the much coveted 3rd book in the untitled trilogy that showcases Jami’s remarkable ability in delivering romantic suspense the way we readers crave them. Anyone who has read the 1st book in the series entitled Beg for Mercy would have encountered the larger than life Jack Brooks and definitely craved to learn more about the man behind the intimidating figure. I belong in the said group and when I saw this title up for grabs at Netgalley, I quickly seized my chance get my hands on a copy. Though I was disappointed in the book when compared to the previous 2 books in the series, Jami Alden still manages to deliver a decent romantic suspense that makes for a none too shabby a read.

Talia Vega is slowly making a life for herself in an affluent corner of California, having survived one of the most horrific incidents a woman can ever go through. Two years of her life spent in hiding with her younger sister Rosario in tow means that Talia appreciates the freedom that life has offered her with the death of the man who had made her a slave of his in every way. Talia’s regrets in life are many, and the way she looks at herself and comes up lacking is one of the many scars left behind with many more, some of them even physical in nature. Talia’s only aim is to give her sister everything she has got to give and though she feels those tendrils of unease coursing through her every now and then, she lets them slide through never knowing that her days of enjoying peace, serenity and order in her life are quite numbered.

Jack Brooks is ex-military and works in the security business. From the moment Jack had encountered the sexy siren version of Talia, Jack had been a goner. And watching Talia pick up the pieces of her tattered life and come out fighting the demons that must haunt her just makes Jack feel emotions of a stronger nature towards a woman who already has him on a dangerous edge. Jack stays on the sidelines, never letting Talia know just how much he is affected by her, and only re-enters her life 2 years later in order to severe the ties that binds him to her, or so he tells himself.

But so it happens, danger is never too far from Talia and Rosario and once again Talia is the focus of a stalker who would stop at nothing to complete a legacy that he claims to be rightfully his. Jack once he learns of the danger is as unmovable as a ton of steel and whether Talia wants it or not, Jack is around to stay until he can once again breathe easy, knowing that Talia and Rosario would remain safe from the clutches of mad men.

As always, Jami Alden does a superb job out of creating a villain, whose vicious thoughts alone is enough to give a person the shivers of the bad variety. But knowing who the villain was right from the very start somehow stole all the glory from the suspense aspect of the story, though the nature of the villain’s fascination with Talia and how he goes about securing access to Talia is one that was splendid.

Talia was a tough nut to crack. Though she is beautiful, smart and independent, she has a lot of self esteem issues, understandable when throughout her life men had deceived and made use of her. Talia is not ready for a relationship, especially not with someone like Jack who makes her feel uncomfortable and tingly all over, all at the same time. Talia is cautious with whom she gives her trust, and comes across as a bitch sometimes and makes life pretty much miserable for Jack who adores the very path that she walks on. And maybe it was because of that reason that I couldn’t like Talia much though she makes for a strong heroine in most of the ways.

Now, Jack Brooks is the type of hero that I salivate over all the time. I like larger than life heroes and Jack is one of them whose sheer size is in direct contrast with his gentle nature. He has “knight in shining armor” syndrome, something that had been triggered due to the abuse he had witnessed and gone through as a child. And when it comes to Talia, Jack’s over protectiveness is something to behold, his utter lack of control around Talia something to be savored. His gentleness around Talia who is skittish as a newborn colt when it comes to expressing sexual desire was one of the best aspects of his character. I totally fell for him because Jack is a man who is willing to do anything, and I mean literally anything to be with the woman he loves, to protect and cosset her and give her the life that he feels she deserves. 

So, even though certain elements within the story didn’t work that well for me, Run from Fear still made for a great read, Jack Brooks’ character the reason I am bumping the rating from the “good read” range to the “great read” range. 

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of Jami Alden. Jami certainly knows how to deliver on heroes that would appeal to the female readers and Jack Brooks is no exception.

Favorite Quotes

[Jack] “Don’t kid yourself for a fucking second that I don’t feel anything for you.”
Her lips parted in shock, but before she could get a word out, he covered them with his own. She made a high, startled sound in the back of her throat.
Pleasure, red, blinding, exploded through him at the first taste. Sweet, spicy, better than all his fevered imaginings. Her lips soft and giving against him, her tongue delicious and moist as he sucked it into his mouth.

She couldn’t deny him anything. She reached behind her and unhooked the bra, leaving breasts completely bare to his stroking hands.
Her mouth sought his, licking, sucking, leaning into his touch as she tried to tell him without words how much she wanted him, needed him. How desperate she was for his touch, how she’d needed him, needed this, all along and hadn’t even realized it.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Catch Me by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-bookcatchmejp
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: 1 Night Stand, #89
Publisher: Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Hero: Rick Steele
Heroine: Tara Denton
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 16, 2012
Started On: February 18, 2012
Finished On: February 18, 2012

 

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 85 A
The heroine 85 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 80 A
Story’s ability to suck me in 90 A
Heat & Sensuality  95 A
Conflicts within the story 90 A
Writing Style 95 A
Quotable Factor 80 A
The Ending 80 A
Overall Grade 87 A

Score Sheet Summary

Jennifer Probst always tells a good story. That unbeatable combination of likable characters, searing heat and sensuality that just melts you right on the spot and beneath all that her ability to convey the story that she has to tell is one of the reasons why I flat-out adore her books.

Catch Me is a very short and quick read that is part of the 1 Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing. Rick Steele is a man who refuses to allow himself to acknowledge that he is lonely, that he misses that elusive something which he doesn’t want to name. Rick allows himself to be talked into indulging in a one night stand, arranged by the infamous Madame Evangeline’s 1Night Stand dating service.

Tara Denton is a woman who has been scarred both on the inside and the outside by her previous boyfriend. Looking for a man who would teach her to look beyond the fear that cripples her whenever she tries to initiate physical intimacy, Tara doesn’t envision the “Thor” like personality that obliterates everything else that surrounds her to be the man to break past her barriers.

Their attraction towards one another is an immediate one that brings down the walls of resistance that Tara has built around herself. But one thing remains certain in Tara’s mind even as she gives herself over to the man whose tender, demanding and evocative touch brings her pleasure beyond anything she has imagined; that come morning she would leave because she doesn’t want to be beholden to any man ever again.

It was seeing Rick through Tara’s eyes that made me fall for him – big time. From the moment Tara envisioned Thor, I was hooked line and sinker. Tara’s vulnerability reached out to me from the very beginning and I wanted all good things for her, things I knew that Rick would be able to give her once she gave herself up to his magical touch. And Rick did that and much more, giving her the space she needed in order to believe in herself and her ability to be loved and desired by a man who wanted to love and cherish her until death does them apart.

Recommended for fans of Jennifer Probst and fans of red-hot novellas! You cannot go wrong with a Jennifer Probst.

Favorite Quotes

He waited one beat. Two.
She lifted her head.
A strange longing rose up and caught him in a chokehold. Her eyes widened as they locked with his. The anxious worry he glimpsed deep in their depths caused a protectiveness to surge from within. His second thought centered on what she would look like when he thrust deep inside her and brought her to orgasm.
He hardened instantly. Son of a bitch. It was going to end up being an interesting night after all.

[Rick] “Do you know how beautiful you are?”
Disbelief shimmered in her eyes. “Thank you, but—”
He closed the distance between them. She gasped as he grabbed her hand and laid it on his straining erection. “This is what you do to me. From the moment I laid eyes on you I wanted you. By the end of the night, you’re going to believe it, sweetheart. Make no mistake.”

He wanted to make her scream with delight, to cry his name as she orgasmed until she couldn’t remember the last time another man ever laid a hand on her. Possessiveness was not a natural part of him, but he didn’t fight the urge. Instead, he embraced the basic male tendency to hunt. Conquer. Claim.

[Rick] “Tara.”
The sound of his voice snapped her away from the memories. His command brooked no argument as he looked up from between her spread thighs.
“Eyes on me.”
His voice told her not to think, dominated every part of her soul, until she couldn’t fight him, and she slipped firmly back into the present. 

Purchase Links: Amazon | Smashwords | Decadent Publishing

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen

Format: E-bookcolormyhorse
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Westerhall
Hero: Mark Russell
Heroine: Jessica Boone
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 16, 2011
Started On: January 16, 2012
Finished On: January 19, 2012

I was a bit apprehensive diving into my second book by Bev Pettersen, not because she tells a bad story, hardly that. Jockeys and Jewels which was my first Bev Pettersen turned out to be a good read for me because there was a lot of horse jargon involved that detracted me a bit from enjoying the story that unfolded. But I was absolutely delighted to discover that true to Bev’s word, Color My Horse turned out to be one of those stories that was hard to put down because of the sheer number of emotions that coursed through me while I was reading the story.

Jessica Boone is the heiress to the Boone fortune. With a controlling grandfather who wants to map out her life the way he wants it, Jessica is a woman who is stuck in a hard place with no way out. With her skiing career a choice no longer available with a severe knee injury, Jessica grabs at the last straws to assert her independence. She bargains with her grandfather to allow her to give her the cash she needs to start her own dog kennel. But it does come with a price. Jessica has to work at the Belmont racetrack for a set period of time, living entirely on what she earns from her job, failing to do which she has to come work for her grandfather.

Enter 31 year old Mark Russel, who is a horse trainer, who runs a tight ship with his workers with his no nonsense attitude towards horse training as well as life in general. Mark has the fear that he might turn out to be just like his father; a man who thought with the wrong body part when it came to alluring females. And when Jessica’s grandfather coerces him into accepting Jessica on board, Mark doesn’t expect the rich heiress to last much longer than a day mucking stalls and scrubbing down horses which is a far removed life from that of a woman of the elite society.

However, Jessica surprises Mark and herself as well when her resolve to to regain her independence gives her the strength to persevere in spite of all odds being stacked against her. Jessica is a character who is so very full of life. She tends to spread vivid color everywhere she goes, spreads a kind of joy that intrudes and cracks the reserves around Mark’s emotions before he is even aware of it happening. Though Mark tells himself that it is only a heady sexual attraction and desire that he has towards his newest employee, feelings of the much deeper kind continues to develop as both of them indulge in an affair that leaves them both wanting more.

What makes Color My Horse such a fabulous book to read is the way Bev Pettersen brings the story to life. Her love for horses shines through marvelously and I couldn’t help but pout just a little bit because I live in a country where running into a horse is an impossibility. I loved how Bev paired off someone whose bright outlook on life lights up the life of a man for whom looking after the horses that he loves means everything. The thread of suspense that is woven throughout the story just served to be the icing on the cake and I loved every single minute of Jessica’s journey towards discovering all that she is capable of and in the process finding the love of her life.

With all the things that I loved about the story, there was just one teeny tiny thing that irked me for a bit. I couldn’t get over just how little Mark seemed to be affected by Jessica’s return towards the end of the book. I know that Mark is a man who is reserved in his display of emotions and the fact that he continues to carry on Jessica’s “traditions” when it comes to looking after horses does tell a lot about how he feels towards Jessica. But I would have loved the ending a bit more if Mark had been a bit more forthcoming about his feelings towards Jessica, and maybe while he was at it, if he had tried to reach out to Jessica a bit sooner. But in the end, I guess it all comes down to Mark’s character and the fact that he doesn’t stray far from how his character is portrayed throughout the story.

Recommended for those who love character driven romances, those who love stories where heroines who are full-of-life meets up with the reserved type of hero. And of course, for those who loves horses. You cannot find an author who practically grabs you with the way Bev brings the culture and life of horse training and racing to life like she does.

Favorite Quotes

Mark just stared as she spoke about plastic flowers in the winter, but he couldn’t focus on her words. He’d never realized he had such a possessive streak. Possessive with horses, sure, but not with women. Never with women. She was leaving in a week, was extremely high maintenance, not to mention Boone’s granddaughter. And he hated those gaudy purple braids.
But life would be so gray when she left. She didn’t just color his horse, she colored his world.
Unable to speak, he stepped forward, pulled her into his thumping chest and simply held her.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Departed by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookthedeparted
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: The Missing, #2
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Taylor Jones
Heroine: Desiree Lincoln
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 3, 2012
Started On: January 5, 2012
Finished On: January 6, 2012

The Departed by Shiloh Walker is apparently the book that she never thought she would write. However, questions from fans of book 1 which happens to be The Missing finally managed to convince her to dig deeper to find the story that Taylor obviously had to tell. And what a story it was that woke me up last night half way through my midnight slumber and refused to let me succumb until I had read enough to satisfy my curiosity about a story that is filled with dark elements which sometimes tended to creep me out but nevertheless managed to deliver a great read which any fan of Shiloh Walker ought to read!

Desiree Lincoln is a psychic who can communicate with the ghosts of the dead, those who continue to linger on Earth because for some reason or the other, they have unfinished business that keeps them around without giving them the closure that they require so badly. A part of the team that is headed by FBI Special Agent in Charge Taylor Jones, Desiree or Dez knows no respite from the ghosts that continue to seek her out, wanting and craving the one thing that had been denied from them for so long.

Special Agent in Charge Taylor Jones comes across as a controlled man who seems emotionless to the point of being considered coldhearted. But beneath the tough shields that he puts up to keep emotions at bay lies a soul that continues to churn in turmoil, the hidden depth of pain deep inside of him so vast that its a wonder he is able to function the way he does. He has the uncanny ability of identifying people with special gifts who helps him keep the dark and twisted souls that roam the society at bay, and hopefully prevent another little girl from going missing like what happened to his sister.

For Taylor, there is nothing more dangerous to his peace of mind than letting himself care about someone else, but the way his emotions go haywire whenever Dez is around tells him that remaining aloof when it comes to her is an option no longer available to him. When Taylor’s impeccable shields crack, out comes pouring the passion and desire that he holds in on a tight leash, but the joy of the moments of abandon he finds in Dez’s arms is a short lived one when reality intrudes and Taylor drives them apart with his need to control his emotions.

It is 14 months later that Taylor comes across Dez in the one place where he never thought he would find her. Dez is drawn to a small town in Indiana by a ghost that draws her to the midst of the evil that lurks in the mind of a crazed teenager who is willing to do anything and everything in his power to play out the games that lurks deep inside of his mind no matter what the consequences. But something much deeper and elusive than the evil that lurks in the shadows keeps a hold on Dez until she starts digging to unravel secrets that could forever change the lives of so many people, for better or for worse.

The Departed is a story that definitely has a lot of dark elements to it, and yet or maybe because of it, I found myself totally fascinated with the tale that unraveled. Shiloh Walker has a way of surprising the reader with her villains and she definitely has the talent for muddying up the shades of gray when it comes to right and wrong that just has the reader on tenterhooks. For me, The Departed worked well because I was so in tune with both Dez and Taylor, whose need for one another grounds them and makes them cope better with all the darkness that is so much a part of their daily lives. I had nothing but admiration for both Taylor and Dez who works relentlessly to find the worst sort of scum that wander the Earth and it is a job that I know a lesser person would never be able to handle without breaking apart.

Though the romance aspect of the story was a bit laid back when compared to the suspense and paranormal elements in the story, The Departed nevertheless kept me riveted on the relationship that unfolded between Dez and Taylor as well as the huge hurdles that both Dez and Taylor cross to reach the ultimate truth that seeks to be brought out into the light. The one thing in my opinion that would have made the book better was an epilogue; for me the book tended to end a bit abruptly to bring me the closure that I wanted and needed for both Dez and Taylor.

Heartbreaking at moments and wonderfully moving at times, The Departed is a novel that combines elements of suspense, paranormal and romance to deliver a read that would linger on long after you are done!

Favorite Quotes

He hauled her against him and as his mouth crushed against hers, her brain clicked off, shut down…
And her body came to life. After more than a year of existence, Dez felt like she was living again. His free hand gripped her hip, keeping her body pressed close to his while his other hand tangled in the short strands of her hair to yank her head back.
This wasn’t just a kiss, she thought. It was…more. It was everything. He breathed her in, just as she breathed him in. After so much time apart from him, she felt complete again. Whole.

Taylor worked a hand between them and stroked his thumb over the erect little nub of her clit. Lifting his head, he stared at her, watched as a harsh, broken sob fell from her lips.
Her nails bit into his skin as she started to come and he gritted his teeth, holding back until he saw her going over. Then, and only then, did he bury his face in her neck and start to move again, hard, fast.
He muttered her name, blind to everything but her…completely and utterly lost in her.

“My name,” he muttered. He turned his head, pressed a kiss to her palm. “Say my name, damn it.”
Chuckling, she pulled his head close. “Taylor.” She said it against his lips. As she did that, she rolled her hips against him, squeezing down with her inner muscles so that she milked him in a teasing, taunting caress.
Oh, shit…
Little warning tingles were already shooting straight up his spine, but he gritted his teeth. No, damn it. He wasn’t going to lose it after thirty fucking seconds. Especially since he hadn’t told her yet.
But then she did it again, and again.
“I love you.” It came out a broken, harsh groan against her lips, the words he could no longer keep trapped inside. The words he had to share with her, now.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Diesel E-books

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Deadly Obsession by Katie Reus

Format: E-bookdeadlyobsession
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Standalone
Hero: Braden Donnelly
Heroine: Lilly Carmichael
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 15, 2011
Started On: August 11, 2011
Finished On: August 12, 2011

Deadly Obsession by Katie Reus is my first taste of her work and I think I am going to end up becoming an instant fan if what she can deliver with the rest of her stories is as good as this one turned out to be. Deadly Obsession is a romantic suspense that is a trifle bit dark with some vivid images of violence that makes this book exceptional in terms of the realistic edge the story delivers.

Deadly Obsession is set in the small town of Hudson Bay where a vicious and sadistic serial killer has been targeting victims too close to comfort to the town’s sheriff Braden Donnelly. Braden’s entire family apart from his grandmother had all been killed in a plane crash three years back the time around which he had quit the Marines and returned home, tired of seeing the face of death each and every day. Braden has a feeling that the killer is trying to send a message across to him though he has no idea who in his town would hold that much of a grudge against him.

Lilly Carmichael left her hometown ten years back and never looked back. An undercover agent for NSA, Lilly suffers from PTSD after a horrific incident in Africa that still plagues her with vivid nightmares. Lilly had left behind her Aunt Debra and her first boyfriend Braden who had been her first everything when she had left town. Though relations between her and her aunt who had brought her up since she was five years old had remained solid, Braden and Lilly had parted on bad terms and Lilly knows that Braden had been as much heartbroken as she had been when she left him behind. Guarding the secret of the actual reason why she had fled town seems to be the only way she can keep the now much more mature and lethal version of Braden whose intense stare still betrays the need he feels for her.

Braden feels suckerpunched by the intense want that courses through him as he sees Lilly for the first time in ten years. All his relationships since then had never even come close to making him feel even half as much of what he feels for Lilly though Braden would rather die than admit the fact to the woman who has continued to haunt his dreams even from afar.

It is Aunt Debra’s death that brings Lilly back home, a death that was staged by the killer who has every intention of wreaking havoc on Lilly and Braden’s emotions and lives, a fact he drives home by the sheer number of murders that he commits within such a short span of time. With the clock ticking towards an end that Braden would not have Lilly end up as the victim, both Lilly and Braden remain unaware until towards the very end just how personal and how close to home the threat against them emerges from.

Deadly Obsession turned out to be a fantastic read that held my undivided attention from page 1. There was never a dull moment nor a minute when I wished the story would continue on a different track and speed than with the one it was proceeding. Braden is such a sexy, compelling and intense hero that one cannot help but be drawn towards him even from the very first encounter. Hiding in his heart a wealth of pain because of all the loved ones he had lost, Braden is not at all ready to make himself vulnerable yet again to the only woman who still manages to make his heart beat faster by her mere presence. Its his protective nature without needless coddling and his take-charge attitude when it comes to the matters of the heart that lodged him permanently in my heart as I practically devoured this book.

Lilly was a heroine I reserved my judgement on until the very last minute, until the story brought to light exactly why she had left the way she did ten years back. Even before that, I couldn’t help but admire her courage and need to dig deeper to find out who was targeting innocent women in her hometown in the killer’s quest to make Lilly and Braden squirm in utter helplessness as the body count continues to grow.

All the side characters in the novel brought that something extra into the story that always makes a book that much more pleasing to lose oneself in and worthy of a mention is the quirky character of Hailey Banks, the county coroner. If Katie Reus were ever to continue this as a series, I would dearly love to see her story come out.

Final Verdict: Dark and edgy with the bite of red hot passion sizzling through the pages, Deadly Obsession is a romantic suspense that delivers on all counts.

Favorite Quotes

His masculine scent and strong embrace definitely hadn’t changed. He murmured soothing words against her hair and she let herself relax. When his familiar male scent washed over her with startling intensity, she cursed her traitorous body. Her nipples tightened against her bra when he stroked a soft hand down her spine. With one gentle touch her dormant libido flared to life.

When he dipped his head toward her breasts, she arched her back, giving him better access. In measured movements, he licked and laved one breast while palming the other. His calloused palm over her sensitive skin sent erotic vibrations to all her nerve endings.
This was a side to him she’d never seen. His whole body shook with need and the dark look in his eyes was startling. Not that she was afraid he’d hurt her. He just looked…hungry.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Don’t Look Back by M.J. Fredrick

Format: E-book
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Hero: Captain Gerard Delaney
Heroine: Dr. Olivia Olney
Sensuality: 3.5
Publication Date: August 12, 2010
Started On: July 13, 2011
Finished On: July 14, 2011

Don’t Look Back by M.J. Fredrick is going to be a hard book for me to review, not because I didn’t love the story that unfolded but rather because of just how much the story drew me in and wrapped its words around me, making me savor every emotion that it wrenched from me that I want to do this book the justice that  it deserves. Before I begin my review however, there are two things that I would like to thank the very wonderful M.J. Fredrick for. Number one being for the blog post that she published which drew my attention to this gem, and the second for being generous enough to give me a copy of this book which I appreciate from the bottom of my heart.

Don’t Look Back kicks off seven years prior to the start of the actual story when Dr. Olivia Olney is rescued by a team led by Captain Gerard Delaney from Special Forces who specializes in hostage recovery. Broken, battered, raped and barely alive, Olivia finds the strength to persevere and come out fighting by never letting go of the image of the tough blue-eyed soldier who arrived to her rescue when she had right about given up hope.

Seven years later, Olivia is a changed woman, the scars of the ordeal that she underwent which she carries with her every day. However, that doesn’t stop her from helping out the less fortunate souls who struggle to survive the depths of hell that is war riddled Africa, even if it means going back to the one place that brings back the nightmares of how she was captured and tortured at the hands of violent and vicious men.

When her best friend Jill gets taken as a hostage by the man who imprisoned Olivia and introduced her to the depths of hell, there is no stone that Olivia would leave unturned in her quest to rescue the one woman who stood by her through every single step of her recovery. When Olivia finds out that the soldier who has haunted her dreams since the night of her rescue is very much alive and living in exile in Spain, she doesn’t hesitate to pull out all the stops, even kicking Delaney where it hurts to get him to lead their rescue operation.

Delaney is a man who has been stripped bare of everything, a man with nothing left to lose who remains in hiding, fearing for the life of his son and his ex-wife whom he has left behind. Three years of merely existing comes to an end when the sexy and vibrant Olivia sashays into his life, opening up the wounds that have been quietly festering all this while. Olivia forces Delaney to confront his fear of failure and his reluctance to go back to a country that has already taken too much from him and left him high and dry.

Making their way to Amadan, a jungle-choked country with very poor roads begins their journey towards endless violence and danger which seems to lurke amidst every step they take. But the biggest threat comes not from the danger to each of their lives but rather that to their hearts when desire races like a raging inferno through both of them until there is no choice left but to surrender.

Combining sizzling sexual tension, toe-curling passion, heart pounding adventure and vicious war lords whose agendas change as swiftly as that of the colors of a chameleon, M.J. Fredrick earns herself 5 solid stars for penning such a fantastic romantic suspense that ALL fans of the genre must read. Bringing together two souls who have already seen the worst life can offer, but still has the courage to stand tall, both Delaney and Olivia are heartwarming and endearing characters that I fell in love with right from the very beginning.

In my opinion, the fact that M.J. Fredrick portrays the story in gritty and realistic terms to the very last detail made this earn a spot from my favorite reads for this year. Raw and honest in the gut wrenching emotions that it brings forth, heartbreaking in the details of the rape and torture that is part of every day life for women in the region, Don’t Look Back is a novel that has got it all. If a well-balanced romantic suspense with a bit of dark edge to it is what you want, don’t hesitate to pick this one up and let yourself be taken away on an intense adventure that would have you biting your nails before halfway through!

Favorite Quotes

To compensate, she took a deep breath and found herself with a noseful of Del-scent. Something about the sharp smell of him, lying beneath what might be Old Spice, made her want to bury her face in his throat and breathe him in.

Words escaped him. All his energy was in controlling his desire. He had no business looking at her, no business wanting to run his fingers through her hair, to bring her body against his and warm her with his kisses. He was the last thing she needed in her life.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Rush of Darkness by Rhyannon Byrd

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Primal Instinct, Book 7
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Seth McConnell
Heroine: Raine Spenser
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: March 29, 2011
Started On: March 9, 2011
Finished On: March 10, 2011

I can’t exactly pinpoint the reason why, but there is something seriously sexy about paranormal romances that involve a human on one side and a paranormal being on the other end. Book 7 in the Primal Instinct Series takes this one step further where the ultra sexy and uber alpha hero is the human whilst the strong and yet endearingly vulnerable heroine turns out to be the paranormal being.

Rush of Darkness is the story of Raine Spenser and Seth McConnell. Their story began in Touch of Temptation, book 6 of the series which I reviewed earlier. Seth McConnell is an ex-hunter who has spent the past 20 years of his life slaughtering every vampire that he could get his hands on.  Raised in Southern California, Seth had been a young teenager when a rogue nest of vampires had taken away everything that mattered to him and nearly killed and destroyed him in the process as well. His salvation had come in the form of the Collective Army whose aim it has been to remove all traces of paranormal existence from Earth. Driven by rage and the thirst for revenge, Seth had honed himself into a lethal killing machine, unstoppable and feared by the creatures that he hunts down until circumstances force him to take stock of his life and what was actually happening to turn his life around and start working for his lifelong enemy.

Raine Spenser is unique amongst ancient clans; part Deschanel vampire and part Alacea psychic, Raine had been brought up in a loving home by parents who had adored each other and their children. Having led a pretty much sheltered life, Raine had been working for charities that had been investigating the effect of deforestation as her work as an environmentalist when she had been kidnapped by Ross Westmore, a Kraven vampire who gets his high from the thrill of victory. Westmore’s plan is one that is bound to destroy the world and plunge it into darkness and chaos which is what the Watchmen – a group of shape shifters who watch over the clansmen and women of their preternatural world are trying to prevent. Held against her will over a month during which Raine has suffered numerous forms of physical, mental and emotional abuse from her captors, it is a tortured and guilt-ridden Raine that emerges from her captivity at the hands of a mad man.

Seth’s fascination for Raine from the very moment he carries her in his arms after her rescue from Westmore is an unexplainable one. His need to drive away the haunting look that has settled deep inside of Raine and the electric way in which his body reacts to Raine’s mere presence has him at first running away from how he feels but inevitably finds himself unable to stay away from the one woman he wants to claim as his own more than he has wanted anything else in his life.

Raine’s emotions when it comes to the human soldier is as complex as his feelings towards her. Fear of her growing feelings towards a man who had previously made it his life’s mission to destroy her species has Raine pushing him away masking her need for the fierce warrior who stands in front of her with a loathing that she can’t seem to summon. Her dreams of them entwined in lovers embraces has Raine pushing up the shields that guard her emotions and heart more fiercely than ever. But as moths drawn towards flame, these two can only deny their explosive feelings towards each other for so long and it is a combustive coming together if there ever was one that has these two finally taking things to the next level.

However, their journey towards happily ever after is not an easy one. Continuous danger from Westmore who sets in motion an elaborate plan to turn the war that is brewing onto the side of evil once and for all nearly destroys both Raine and Seth and the fragile bond that seems to have forged between the two. The need to protect one another from danger has each of them engaged in a battle of wills with the other, and it is only with ultimate trust and learning to let go of their pasts that would  bring about true happiness to two souls who deserve it more than anyone else in the primal instinct world.

This one wins by far on all fronts in the Primal Instinct series for me. I loved the uniqueness the fact Seth the hero being the human brought into the story. Regardless of the fact he is a human, his wants and needs are as ferocious and as primal as the shape-shifters that I have come across in the series. And Seth totally wins my heart and soul as my favorite hero from the series with his tortured broodiness that makes him so very much appealing. I loved the fact that explicitly drawn out sex scenes weren’t what drove the story right from the very 1st chapter itself, but rather the sexual tension that simmers between Raine and Seth is drawn out, making their ultimate surrender a very explosive and unforgettable one. Don’t let me forget Raine, whose character and what she suffered at the hands of a monstrous species makes her so vulnerable but even then it makes her a determined one in her need for revenge on a group of men who had taken away something from her life that can never be replaced.

All in all, a tortured, hot as sin alpha hero that had my salivary glands working over time, a heroine that needed a bit of TLC and a knock on the head or two to figure out that Mr. Tortured and Hotness himself was here to stay, with the continuous adventure that is always a part of this series makes this book a huge 5-star winner for me. Very highly recommended for fans of the series and fans of Rhyannon Byrd. Mind you, you can always read this book as a standalone without much hassle because Ms. Byrd doesn’t make her supernatural world a complex one, but rather she keeps her explanations simple, drawing the reader in and making you feel right at home with all the species that crops up in between.

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