Category / Scarred Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Captivated by Tessa Bailey & Eve Dangerfield

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Blake Munroe
Heroine: Autumn Martha Reynolds
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Published On: June 11, 2018
Started On: February 11, 2023
Finished On: February 21, 2023

When Autumn was nine, her cousin Jessica had brought home a Brazilian boyfriend. Josef spoke almost no English and Jessica spoke almost no Portuguese but they soon got engaged and moved in together. Autumn’s family had found the situation utterly bizarre.
“How can you love someone if you don’t understand a bloody word they’re saying?” her mother moaned into the landline. “It’ll never work.”
Autumn, too young to be tactful, had gone up to Jessica that Christmas and asked her how she could have a boyfriend if she didn’t know what he was saying. She’d never forget the look on Jessica’s face, the mysterious smile, the warmth in her eyes. “Everyone’s gossiping about me, aren’t they?”
Autumn had nodded.
“Well you can go tell them all I don’t care. Love isn’t just saying words. What we feel is real.”

Captivated by Tessa Bailey and Eve Dangerfield was first published in June of 2018. Both Ms. Bailey and Ms. Dangerfield are similar in the skill that they wield when it comes to writing emotional stories filled with hot and messy sex of the good kind, with a healthy dose of dirty talking in the mix. After all, Ms. Bailey holds the title of Queen of Dirty Talk for a very good reason. So needless to say, when these two queens get together to write a story, I would say all bets are off.

Told in the third person from the perspectives of Blake Munroe, the hero, and Autumn Martha Reynolds, the heroine, this is the story of how Autumn, who moves to New York from Australia with her boyfriend, finds herself minus the boyfriend, wallowing in self-pity, and stuck in a limbo, unable either make herself take that needed step to renew her visa or tell her family back home how her boyfriend of six years that she had doted on and followed across continents, whom she had basically supported for months, had cheated on her with a bunch of improv groupies.

Employed as a veterinarian, with a penchant for rescuing and nursing animals even at her apartment which would most likely be frowned upon by The Landlord, aka Blake, Autumn does not know how Blake ends up featured in her comic-book-style pornography as the lead male, who acts out her fantasies. When that piece of comic ends up with Blake by coincidence, Autumn is mortified and then turned on beyond reason when she realizes that Blake has a penchant for taking control and dominance in the bedroom, the perfect answer to her own needs.

Autumn and Blake are opposites in every sense. She is petite where he is large and formidable and she is outgoing while he is an introvert, who would rather spend his time at home doing what brings him peace. However, none of that seems to matter when the fireworks between them are so bright and vivid, answering a need each of them has been denying for far too long.

Autumn and Blake both have issues, Blake more so than Autumn with a past that remains a sore point for him, one that he has not made peace with. Blake has always felt the like he is the odd one out, even amidst his large circle of friends way back. His tendency to listen better than everyone else in a conversation means that his observations are insightful and honest, which most people do not seem to like.

Having gone through a betrayal of the kind that he cannot forgive nor forget, Blake isolates himself in the building that he has been leasing out to tenants for the past seven years. His first impression of Autumn when she moves is, is one that makes him wary, for she notices his limp and goes out of her way to be considerate of the fact while most people never do. Knowing that lusting after another man’s girlfriend was a big no no, Blake had stayed away until fate throws him that lifeline, and he recognizes the loneliness that is mirrored in Autumn’s eyes as his own.

While the sex between Autumn and Blake burns hotter and brighter, and Autumn manages to get Blake bit by bit out of his shadowed existence, Blake too wants only the best for Autumn, for her to be able to follow her dreams without the fear of failure. But when reality bites, and Blake takes things a bit too far for Autumn’s comfort, it is up to Blake to fight for Autumn, the one woman who he cannot live without, the sunshine to his darkness, and the light of his life.

I really enjoyed Captivated and while this reminded me a lot in some ways of Eve Dangerfield’s novel Degrees of Control, most of the elements in the story were uniquely Autumn and Blake. I loved Autumn and Blake in equal degrees; Autumn for her beautiful kindness and Blake for being the intuitive man that he is, able to discern what his woman needs and wants without having to ask.

Captivated was in many ways a stimulating (and I don’t mean it in the sexual sense) and thought provoking read. I did find myself questioning how certain aspects of Blake’s past were reconciled with so easily (even with the understanding that seven odd years had passed since). But since when has real life offered that chance to the majority of the people who go through life harrowing and challenging circumstances that pulls them to their lowest? I am glad for people who do get the chance to reconcile with their pasts, but I for one have yet to meet anyone who has been able to actually do that in real life. The best we can do is make peace with the past for our sake and move forward.

I also did not understand why Blake was in the wrong for cutting off his so called friends, who had all known what was going on behind his back. Your true friends would tell you the truth, no matter how hard it is for them to face the consequences that may arise from saying it as it is. I was #TeamBlake all the way, and even had he chose not to go down the road that he did, I would still have loved him. For who would not love a gentle giant who broods and is able to melt the panties off any heterosexual female?

Recommended for romance readers who love their heroes on the strong and silent side and their heroines with just the right touch of stubborn filled with a whole lot of love!

Final Verdict: Captivated is a story that left me pondering on betrayals in life and how much of what life throws our way can we truly reconcile with and forgive.

Favorite Quotes

Being held by him was like being held in a cage, a gentle, living cage. With another man it might have felt oppressive, but as Blake kissed her deeply, all she felt was warm and safe and turned the fuck on. Within seconds she was rubbing against him, moaning into his mouth. Her landlord couldn’t talk worth a damn but god he could kiss. He kissed like it was his mother language, like he could tell whole stories with his lips and tongue.

He removed his hand from her mouth and kissed her. This time the kiss was deep and hot and animalistic. He was claiming her, exerting his will over her weaker feminine frame. Autumn strained against his hands and found she couldn’t move an inch. Her arousal ratcheted up another degree and when he pulled away, she had to stop herself from moaning his name.

“What are you doing?” she said, sounding exactly as turned on as she was.
He didn’t reply. Instead he bent down and inhaled along her neck. All the hairs on Autumn’s arms lifted and her knees shook so violently she thought she might fall. Looking down the dark hallway, she could see customers milling around, hear the indie folk playing on the speakers. No one knew she was alone with Blake, no one knew he was not quite touching her. He kissed her neck, raising goosebumps on her skin. His breathing was deep and harsh now, and she knew if she reached out and touched him, he would be rock hard beneath his jeans.

Blake’s tongue lapped her neck, tasting her sweat. “That’s it. Come for your owner, baby. Make him proud.”
She did, bucking so wild and hard against her restraints that if Blake was any other man, she’d have worried about hurting him, but seeing as he was huge and hard, she decided not to be worried. Instead, she focused on the bright trickles of pleasure threading through her body like veins. She was flying.

“People always act like women are another species. Like they’re cats or planets or whatever the fuck else. It’s not hard to see what people want if you actually look and listen.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
Blake bent down so that their faces were close, their bodies contained in a private bubble of this noisy, trendy bar. “You’re a busy woman,” he said. “You feel obliged to give all of yourself all the time, to those dirty pigeons, to the gym instructor, to the other tenants. Now I found out your parents leaned on you pretty hard and that doesn’t surprise me at all. The day you moved in, you were the one making everything happen while your ex was on his phone. You…”
He broke off.
“What?” Autumn urged.
“You cleared that path for me to walk through,” Blake muttered. “You saw my leg and you knew…that’s just not something a lot of people would have done, but you did. You care, Fun-Size, you notice things. You run the show and you do it well so people assume that’s what you want.”
“And isn’t it?” she whispered.
Blake shook his head. “Nope. You want me to order your drinks, pick where we eat and choose how we fuck. You don’t care if I pick a pink drink, or a blue one. If I screw you standing up, or on your back. You care about not having to decide. You want someone else to be dependable for once. To make you feel like if you fall, someone else can catch you. That’s why being tied up makes you feel free. It puts the burden of responsibility on me, that way you can relax and enjoy yourself without feeling guilty. That’s what you want, Fun-Size. To feel like you matter enough for someone else to try.”

Blake slipped the book into his inner coat pocket, switched off the lamp and tucked his apartment keys into his pants. He intended to pick Autumn up at her door, but when he opened his, there she was, her hand poised to knock.
“Hello,” he said, surprised. “I was just coming to get you.”
She dipped her chin. “Thought I would pick you up for a change, landlord. Men deserve to be courted, too.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Coming Home Place by Mary Spencer

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harpercollins
Hero: James Kagan
Heroine: Elizabeth Marie Kagan
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: July 26, 1994
Started On: December 02, 2022
Finished On: January 03, 2023

“Don’t speak of Maggie,” James warned through set teeth. “She and Elizabeth have nothing to do with one another. I don’t even want them mentioned in the same breath. I always have and always will love Maggie. Nothing’s going to change that. Ever. Elizabeth is simply my wife–the woman who’s going to take care of me and my home and my kids. She’s only my wife, Nate. Not my love, not my sweetheart, not my anything else. It’s an arrangement between us. Love doesn’t have a thing to do with it.”

The Coming Home Place by Mary Spencer is a novel that has a LOT going for it, and by a lot, I really mean, a LOT! First published in July of 1994, told in the third person from dual perspectives of both the hero and heroine, Ms. Spencer brings to readers a remarkable historical romance with a ton of angst that certainly leaves you with one hell of a reading experience.

James Kagan is a man who believes that having lost his fiancée, no other creature alive could suffer as much as he has and continues to, that is until he is “forced” to marry 17 year old Elizabeth Marie (Beth). Beth is traumatized by the loss of her family members one by one, and she had been all alone when she was found, digging a hole to bury her father, the sole remaining member of her family.

James enters into marriage with Beth with his eyes wide open, perfectly confident in his belief when it comes to what he wants from a wife. Viewing Beth to be plain unlike his beautiful fiancée to whom he vows would always belong his heart, James is clear about what he seeks; a wife to continue his family name. He explains to Beth that he has no intention of courting anyone else to seek their hand in marriage as he does not have any love left to give.

Beth has no doubts about what she has to offer when it comes to marriage with the handsomest man she has ever set her eyes on. Knowing that someone as illiterate, plain, and unaccomplished as her is unworthy of the attention of someone like James, Beth agrees to the marriage on three conditions; that he does not swear inside their home, they attend church every Sunday, and that he be faithful to her even if he does not love her.

As these two embark on the tough road that is a marriage of convenience, James learns that he desires his new wife like crazy, something that drives him wild and also makes him feel guilty about the fact. For Beth, she has a tough time setting aside what she was taught about the marriage bed and how it was supposed to be about a woman just doing her rightful duty which goes against allowing herself to enjoy the physical aspects of her relationship with James.

As the story continues and delves deeper into the emotions and the entwined lives of James and Beth, there are moments that makes you hate James for the abominable way that he treats Beth. One particular scene stands out, where James lashes out and makes use of what Beth offers with callous disregard for her emotions that made me really question as to what kind of hero he would turn out to be in the end. But in a strange way, I also understood that for James, that moment had been fraught with him fighting his inner demons, the ones that makes him feel like he is betraying his deceased fiancée by reveling in the heady desire that his wife invokes in him.

When Beth bears him a child, there is more heartache that follows, which perhaps was the last straw for me when it came to James. Beth is a martyr of the highest order if you ask me, always quietly going about her life, doing her best to give her husband a comfortable life, and never asking for anything in return from the man who promised to be bound to her in sickness and health, in the good and the bad times. Such was the lived reality of many women during those times, and even today, and that is a glaring fact that stands prominent.

It is of course when the beloved fiancée makes a comeback from the dead that Beth finally realizes that there is no place in James’ life for her, and as she does everything else, chooses to leave quietly. What follows is probably the reason why I did not end up hating James as the male lead, and fell more in love with Beth for recognizing her own worth, aided along by those who actually love her for who she is and what she has to offer.

James learning the hard way what he actually gave up on and finally wising up to the true gem of a woman he married was why he redeemed himself to some extent. I should not complain much because I am a lover of a true angst fest, and James being James was the reason why this book proved to deliver so well on that score.

What I appreciated the most was how Ms. Spencer explores the complexity of the emotions that run rampant in both the leads. Even as I hated James during certain moments, I also understood where was coming from. His past which involves having a woman since he was sixteen years old, and being in a relationship that addressed his physical and emotional needs had set the bar high for him. With Beth, even though he desires her like crazy, because James holds pieces of himself back, the same is true for Beth, which shortchanges their marriage for both of them, which could have truly being magnificent a union if otherwise.

But then again, some lessons have to be learnt the hard way, and if things were that easily worked out, I would not have enjoyed this as much as I did, minus the angst factor. Even with James being the character that frustrated me to no end, this book ended up being one that made me think deeply, feel just as much, and made me ponder about human psychology and the intricacies of the emotions of the broken.

Recommended for those who love frustrating heroes and are not turned off by realistic story lines that pushes your comfort zones as a romance reader.

Final Verdict: The Coming Home Place delivers an emotionally complex and multi-faceted tale that moves you in ways you never thought possible, delivering a spellbinding read!

Favorite Quotes

“Elizabeth,” he whispered, moving slowly, feeling and savoring all of her. He looked at her, saw the expression of bewilderment on her face and heard her tight breathing match his own. “Sweet,” he said against her mouth. “Sweet wife.”
She tried to resist what was happening to her-he could feel her trying-but when she came, when the pleasure overwhelmed her ability to fight, it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever known, and caused his own fierce pleasure to follow.

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Italian’s Wife by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Saverio Lombardi
Heroine: Holly Sansom
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: November 01, 2001
Started On: December 11, 2022
Finished On: December 12, 2022

Rio was pacing the waiting area, talking in staccato Italian on his cell phone, the cynosure of interest for every female in the vicinity. He lowered his phone, tawny eyes welding to her with gleaming intensity, a faint and wicked smile curling at the corners of his beautiful mouth. ‘Bella, Fiammetta…’ he drawled with lazy amusement.
And in that same moment, Holly knew beyond all doubt that she had fallen passionately in love.

The Italian’s Wife by Lynne Graham is another one of her stellar reads, published in 2001. The story begins when 29 year old Saverio Lombardi (Rio), billionaire head of Lombardi Industries, one of the biggest, most successful companies in the world, walks in on his fiancée of almost two years cheating on him, most shockingly with another woman. Reeling from the rude awakening, it is as Rio is on his way home that fate puts 20 year old single mother Holly Sansom on his path, forever changing the trajectory of his life once and for all.

Holly, with her eight month old son in tow is at her wits end when Rio “rescues” her and places her at his home. Holly has had nothing but bad luck ever since she had come to London, in all her naivety hoping that the father of her son was waiting for her as eagerly as she was to be reunited with him. Holly had been an impressionable eighteen year old, an only child who had been taken in and dazzled by the seemingly charming man who had swept her off her feet.

The same man who had been livid that Holly had chosen to have the baby and tossed her out, leaving Holly to fend for herself in a city where only the rich and affluent survive. Holly takes the lifeline that Rio throws her, because she has hit rock bottom and there is nowhere else for her to go.

Four weeks into the move, Rio finds himself faced with the unexpected; an attack of such powerful lust towards the woman who lives in his home which really shakes him up. Rio is still seething on the inside from the humiliation of calling off the huge wedding that was to take place while keeping the truth a secret, which takes its toll on him and before long, recognizing the answering need in Holly’s untutored eyes, there is no holding back on what happens next.

As circumstances would have it, Rio proposes marriage to Holly to save her from losing her son, or so he tells himself. All the while, Rio keeps the truth of his disastrous relationship with his ex-fiance to himself, which gives the story the angst factor that I always revel in when it comes to Ms. Graham’s stories, and I certainly was not disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Italian’s Wife for many reasons. I loved Rio – he was more sensitive than Ms. Graham’s heroes in her older titles, but at the same time, retained just enough of the elements that makes readers like myself salivate over her heroes. Walking in on his cheating fiancée leaves his confidence shaken, making him question every single aspect of the relationship he had with her. It is for this reason that Rio remains tight-lipped about what took place, not wanting to come off as anything but a sexy and capable man who can keep his woman satisfied in bed and out of it.

Holly’s character was just as wonderful. Having grown up in a small town, Holly is not equipped with the sort of sophistication that is second nature to a person like Rio. Holly’s lack of trust in men was understandable given how she suffered at the hands of the only man she had let into her life, the way he had taken the easy way out and left her in the lurch. The guilt of having disappointed her parents also makes her stubborn enough to weather the worst until Rio comes into her life, giving her everything that she never ever hoped to find.

I especially loved the ending, where Rio goes in pursuit of the woman he loves beyond anything else in the world, finally able to win her over with nothing but the truth. The epilogue was a lovely touch, which I always appreciate when we get a sneak into the lives of characters that we suffered and loved through to the end. And guess where Rio takes his wife on honeymoon? Yep, Maldives!

Recommend this to fans of Harlequin romances, fans of Lynne Graham, and those who love a hero who can sweep you off your feet!

Final Verdict: Rio does not know what hits him when Holly stumbles into his life. Their thorny journey towards a happily ever after was nothing short of riveting and I enjoyed every second of it!

Favorite Quotes

Her drowning blue eyes gazed up into glittering gold and Jeff went out of her mind so fast he might never have existed. She tried and failed to swallow. Rio was so close that breathing was no longer an option. Lashes lowered, she focused on that wide, sensual mouth of his and the tip of her tongue snaked out to moisten her dry lower lip. Never in all her life had she been so desperate, so shamelessly eager to feel a man’s mouth on hers. The craving was almost unbearably strong.

As she parted her lips to snatch in much needed oxygen to sustain her, Rio bent his head lower and let his tongue delve in a subtle flicker into the moist interior of her mouth. It lasted only a second, but in that second she was electrified by the instantaneous, stormy response of her own body, the surge of enervating heat that inflamed her every sense. Indeed, so great was the erotic hit of that sudden sexual foray she jerked, and if he hadn’t shot a steadying arm round her she would have fallen off the stool.

Rio made a husky sound low and deep in his throat. He just reached for her, hauling her up to him, his lean hands curving round her hips to crush her feminine mound into connection with the full, hard force of his arousal as he lifted her up against him.
‘I hope you’re in the mood to satisfy one very hungry guy, bella mia,’ Rio growled before he brought his mouth crashing down on hers with devouring heat.
It was their first true kiss and it blew Holly away. Crushed to the hard male strength of his big, powerful physique, she was conscious of his virility with every fibre of her being.

Never had she ever imagined that level of sensation, so it was like one glorious shock piled onto another, so that she lurched mindless and wordless from one splintering wave of excitement into the next, and all the time the tormenting hunger was notching up higher inside her. She moaned, she sobbed and she jerked in a wild response beyond any denial, and when she was within what felt like touching distance of the satisfaction she craved with every sense he settled himself between her thighs and surged into her with measured force and cool.
And suddenly she was snatched up into the eye of the storm. The feel of his hot, hard fullness stretching the slick, wet centre of her inner heat just exploded through her in a cascade of multicoloured, blinding sensation and she hit a peak of ecstasy that burned through her in an explosive flood of pleasure.

‘You’re so incredibly sensual…’ Rio breathed in a roughened growl of male satisfaction. ‘I’ll have to drag myself away from you tomorrow. You’re turning me into a sex addict, cara.’
Certainly it wasn’t very long before he tumbled her back on the bed with a groan of raw impatience and sank into her hard and fast and without ceremony, sending her excitement racing to such a peak that a strangled cry of joy was wrenched from her. And then there was nothing for her but the relentless rhythm of his lean, hard body over and inside hers and the intense pleasure that sent her rocketing to an ecstatic height with his name on her lips.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Kobo | HQ | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: For Finlay by J. Nathan

Format: E-Book
Read with: iBooks for iPhone
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: For You, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Caden Brooks
Heroine: Finlay Grace Thatcher
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: January 30, 2017
Started On: December 09, 2022
Finished On: December 11, 2022

For Finlay by J. Nathan is the first book in the For You series. A new-to-me author once again, Ms. Nathan takes readers through the story of Alabama’s star quarterback, 21 year old Caden Brooks as the hero and 20 year old Finlay Grace Thatcher who enrolls in the same college and takes up the opportunity to work for Alabama’s football coach in order to live the dream of her deceased twin.

Finlay is a guilt-ridden soul, with her brother Cole having died of an undiagnosed heart condition. Their relationship had been fractious at best, the major reason behind her self-condemnation and the penance she tries to pay. Caden is her number one enemy from the start, the memory of Caden at Cole’s funeral having lit the flame of “hatred” towards him. It also does not help that Caden seems to have it all; looks, fame, and all the women he could possibly ever want.

Finlay had always walked in the shadow of her overly famous twin brother, which she had resented. Life had been difficult for her because of the fact, with people trying to get close to her or being nice to her just to get to her brother. Starting fresh, away from her small town, where no one really knows her is supposed to be her fresh start. However, with Caden everywhere she turns, it becomes harder to hate and easier to give in to the intrigue that he rouses.

For Caden, his life is all about football. He does not understand why Finlay is so cold towards him at first, going so far as to ignore his very existence, when Caden finds it hard to reciprocate the attitude towards Finlay.

When these two finally end up together, it seems like a natural progression of their relationship, from being enemies, at least from Finlay’s perspective, to being two people who cannot get enough of each other. Trust is the hardest commodity to come by, especially for Caden who is marked by the scars from his childhood, and that proves to be the test that Caden and Finlay needs to pass in order to truly embrace a future together.

I would not say that I loved this story, but rather liked it for the most part, the bits and pieces that kept it going. I did understand Finlay’s perspective of things, especially when viewed through the lens of self-recrimination that is part and parcel of who she is since the death of her twin. Sometimes there is no logic nor rhyme to how we feel about a person, and I guess that was true to some point when it came to Finlay’s reaction towards Caden.

I guess the reason I did not end up falling in love with the characters nor the story as it developed was that there was some crucial element that was missing, which I cannot really put my finger on. Perhaps somewhere down the line, I will pick up another story from the author to give it a go.

Recommended for fans of new adult contemporary romances that are sports themed.

Final Verdict: For Finlay by J. Nathan is the story of Finlay’s survivor’s guilt preventing her from embracing and living her life to the fullest and how her arch-nemesis changes all of that.

Favorite Quotes

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Finlay. I just know I broke up with Leslie because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Finlay shuddered as my thumb traced her jaw.
“I have no idea how I didn’t kiss you in the pool when I wanted to. So. Damn. Bad.” I rolled her onto her back, pinning her body to the bed beneath mine.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Wrong Bride by Catharina Maura

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: The Windsors, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Ares Windsor
Heroine: Raven Du Pont
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 15, 2022
Started On: November 25, 2022
Finished On: November 26, 2022

“Does no part of you want me even a little?” Her voice is soft, pleading, and her eyes are filled with an emotion I can’t quite describe.
“No,” I lie to her. “The friction from you moving on top of me made me hard, yeah, but I don’t want you, Raven. I’ll never want you. I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but you need to stop. Do you know how much your actions tonight would hurt your sister? Fuck, it’s hurting me, Rave.”

The Wrong Bride by Catharina Maura is the debut book in The Windsors series, first published in October of last year. Catharina Maura is a new-to-me author, having come across some of her books on Amazon from time to time. The Wrong Bride’s blurb promised the kind of story that I always hanker for, a marriage of convenience between the main protagonists of whom the heroine has been in love with the hero since forever.

Told in the first person from both the hero and heroine’s point of view, The Wrong Bride tells the story of 31 year old Ares Windsor as the hero and 21 year old Raven Du Pont as the heroine. When the story begins, Ares is engaged to be married to Raven’s older sister Hannah who is an actress in whose shadow Raven has always remained. Raven is a model herself, working hard to establish her own business. Raven is the neglected child in the Du Pont family, the one who always has to give in to Hannah’s needs and wants that takes precedence in the lives of her parents. Raven is more than willing to watch her sister get married to the man that she loves beyond anything else in this world, as Ares who considers her as a valuable friend and nothing more.

Ares is one of the six siblings of the Windsor family ruled by the matriarch that is their grandmother. The merger between the Du Pont and Windsor’s family sealed the deal when it comes to the arranged marriage between Hannah and Ares, with the wedding having been postponed multiple times because of Hannah’s busy filming schedule.

However, when Hannah calls off the wedding for the last time, citing her career to be more important to give into the demands of the terms of the arranged marriage, circumstances dictate that Raven take her place instead, something Raven fights till the last minute. While Raven makes it clear that she wants a real marriage and not half-hearted attempts at one, Ares proposes a marriage of convenience for the sake of fooling his grandmother, and promises Hannah that he would wait for her during a moment of weakness that overtakes his faculties.

Thus begins the rocky journey on which Ares and Raven embark upon as husband and wife. Hannah of course, makes things complicated by accusing Raven of trying to take her place, of trying to steal the man who rightfully belongs to her. For the marriage to be given a real chance, Ares would have to fight not only the demons that hound him but also that of Raven’s and convince her once and for all that for Ares, there is no one like Raven and there never would be.

As mentioned earlier, The Wrong Bride is a story that had a lot going for it, elements that would make it a stellar read. I found myself agonized on behalf of Raven for all the heartache and pain that she goes through, which is all well worth it in the end. There were points when the constant advance and retreat on the part of Ares and Raven gave me a whiplash and then there were those moments that I reveled in because Ares was adorable in his absolute cluelessness when it came to his possessiveness and jealousy regarding his wife.

I abhorred Hannah for the despicable way in which she treats both Raven and Ares, but in a way I understood that her sense of entitlement stemmed from parents who had danced to every single one of her tunes and never really fulfilled their responsibility of instilling values and discipline in Hannah. Raven in the shadow of Hannah, grew up to be the graceful one, the one with a backbone of steel and ambitions that made her choose a path that diverged from her family’s and gave her much needed independence.

There were moments that I felt truly frustrated with Raven for how she believes whatever that Hannah tell her to destroy the fragility of what was developing between Raven and Ares, but at the same time I understood that the emotional scars from such sheer neglect that had made Raven believe that she was never going to be good enough played a critical role in the way she reacts every single time.

Ares I believe, is the character that changes all of that, even when I wanted to slap him silly when his actions hurt Raven in a way that was unbearable. But then again, I recognized where Ares was coming from as well, having believed himself to be in love with Hannah for so long, never acknowledging his true feelings for Raven because he never let his heart move in that direction.

Ares is a man of honor in every sense, staying true to the course even when he could have taken undue advantage of the situations that arose at times. He would also have been well justified to do so, given the revelations towards the latter half of the novel. I loved Ares for his patience in dealing with Raven, in understanding the depth of her insecurities and working to make her understand and believe in him and their love. He deserves a medal for his forbearance even when it came to dealing with Hannah, the least deserving of such consideration in my opinion.

The coup de grace of the story was when Raven finally stood up for herself and cut off ties with the toxicity that was her family. I rooted for her big time and brought out the pom-poms at that point! The spice and heat between Raven and Ares was icing on the cake in the tale as it unfolded, and went a long way towards bridging the emotional gap between the two and giving Raven the needed confidence boost to believe in their love. The only thing I could have asked for was more angst – which I believe required Ares to be a bit colder than he actually was. Alas, one cannot have everything I suppose!

Recommended for the true romantics who love a good marriage of convenience story. This one is for you!

Final Verdict: The Wrong Bride by Catharina Maura is a truly remarkable tale that delivers the perfect balance of spice and romance with just the right touch of heartache to make it memorable!

Favorite Quotes

I pull her against me and thread one hand in her hair before tipping her head back to expose her neck. She gasps when I lower my lips to her ear, my teeth grazing over her earlobe. “This is how you posed with Tom Foster, wasn’t it? Tell me, my love, was he as hard as I am when he held you like this?”
I kiss her neck, my teeth grazing over her skin for a moment before I suck down, leaving a small mark. Raven’s breath hitches, and the way she pushes her chest against mine makes me fucking feral. Her hands thread through my hair, her grip tight.

“Do you truly want me? If we weren’t married, would you want me?”
He smiles and walks toward me, his stride confident and impatient. His arm wraps around my waist, and he pulls me into him, his lips finding mine with the same urgency he portrayed earlier. Ares groans as he kisses me, his hands moving over my body impatiently. I’m pushed against the wall, and his hand curls around my thigh as he hooks it around his hip.
I’m panting as he pulls his lips off mine to kiss my jaw, before placing them just below my ear, pressing a soft kiss to my neck that makes me shiver. “Is that enough of an answer, Raven? I want you so fucking badly that it hurts.”

I lower my lips to her neck, my teeth grazing over her skin before I suck down on it, marking her as mine. “I’m fucking obsessed with you,” I admit. “Every little thing you do, every smile, every sigh that leaves your lips. All of it.”
My hand delves underneath her dress, and I smirk when I realize she isn’t wearing underwear. “This,” I groan against her lips. “I love this about you. You always want me just as badly as I want you.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Melissa and The Vicar by S.M. LaViolette

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Erotic Romance
POV: Third Person, Single
Series: The Seducers, #1
Publisher: Crooked Sixpence Press
Hero: Magnus Stynwyck
Heroine: Melissa Griffin
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 01, 2021
Started On: October 01, 2022
Finished On: October 02, 2022

She was glad nobody else could hear the noise she made.
To say he looked like a water god out of mythology was trite, but, oh, it was so very, very true.
He strode from the waves like some male version of The Birth of Venus. Or The Birth of Adonis or Zeus or one of those randy Greeks or Romans who was always getting his kit off at the drop of a hat.
Melissa realized she was sliding off the rock because she’d leaned forward so much and pushed herself back into her crack, briefly disgusted by her own avidity but quickly suppressing it.
He bent at the waist and slicked water from his legs with both hands.
She swallowed.

Believe it or not, it was the Grantchester series, starring a vicar (James Norton) who also moonlights as a detective in solving murder mysteries that made me read Melissa and The Vicar by S.M. LaViolette. It is an intriguing premise after all, the hero being a curate (an assistant to the vicar) whose fate is intertwined with that of a heroine who owns one of London’s most exclusive brothels.

First published in 2021 as the debut book in The Seducers series, Ms. LaViolette brings to readers the story of 24 year old Magnus Stynwyck and 29 year old Melissa Griffin, whose age difference might not have mattered all that much if not for the fact that Melissa’s lived reality makes her well beyond her years, unacceptable by society’s standards to lead a life that is considered respectable.

Melissa’s first encounter with Magnus comes as she moves to the village of New Bickford for a brief spell to recuperate and regain her zest for the business, as her rescuer from the vicious rooster in the village. For someone who has seen it and done it all, Melissa is awestruck by the beauty that is Magnus, who makes her feel shy and fidgety for the first time she can recall, something she had long forgotten along with the innocence of her youth.

Magnus has always known that he wanted to join the clergy when he grew up, the youngest of six brothers. His family had never understood why he wanted to take up the vocation, and he had long given up trying to convince them that this was his calling.

While Melissa finds herself enjoying the solitude and the sedate pace of life in the village, she is at the same time taken aback by how strongly she finds herself attracted to Magnus, which she knows in her heart is futile in every sense. For someone as well schooled in the art of seduction, Melissa finds her heart racing, her mind distracted, and her body reacting to the mere presence of Magnus and the charm that he wields on her heart without even trying.

Melissa’s plans to prevent her heart from breaking results in her fleeing after tasting the exquisiteness of what it means to surrender to what is between her Magnus. However, she never factors in the stubbornness that courses through Magnus which his doting mother claims to be her youngest son’s only sin. The steely determination behind the gentleness that is Magnus proves to be Melissa’s undoing, and give in she does, even with all her misgivings about them and what it would mean for Magnus, until she realizes that her past is very much part of her present, which could end up destroying not just what she has with Magnus, but her very existence in the process.

I thoroughly enjoyed and loved the heady experience of reading this novel. One thing that is always true for books by Ms. Spencer aka Ms. LaViolette is that every single story that she has written to-date has a solid tale to tell. The steam factor which she does so well only enhances the underlying story and gives it the edge and angst the stories deserve, and this is true for Melissa and the Vicar in every sense.

The great characterization of the story is what beguiled me the most, the different facets to both Melissa and Magnus which continues to surprise the reader at every turn. Melissa’s was by far the most intriguing, all the horror that she had lived through at the tender age of thirteen just being unreal. Her indomitable strength to persevere, to rise above, even when she continues to be at war with her own conscience about being the owner of the very brothel at which she had served, is a study of contrasts that really got to me. Melissa is a survivalist at heart, and I don’t think I can even begin to comprehend what it would do to anyone’s psychology to have survived the kind of trauma that she lived through.

Of Melissa and Magnus, the latter is the dreamer, the one who believes that everything would turn out alright and perhaps in his naivety, assumes that everyone would see Melissa as he does, and accept her into the fold with open arms. The most shocking truth about Melissa’s past as it unfolded is the reason this story stands out in such a remarkable way, and how Magnus seemed to shift and show us the different facets to his character which proved to be my undoing.

I loved Magnus for his gentleness, his stubbornness, his love for Melissa that was pure in every sense, his need for the woman who rocks his very existence out of its orbit, and the way he stands true to his convictions, even if it pains him to do so. There was no way on earth that Melissa could have resisted the force that was Magnus as unleashed, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

The ending was realistic, especially given Melissa’s profession and the stain it carries in society. The epilogue was lovely, and made me smile with joy from inside out. Definitely recommended!

Final Verdict: As Melissa puts it, Oh, Mr. Stanwyck, what a wonderful surprise you turned out to be! Top notch characterization makes this an instant page-turner!

Favorite Quotes

“This is wrong, Melissa.” He’d meant to sound firm, commanding—but it came out more of a question.
She gave a throaty chuckle, working her way down his jaw to his neck. “How can something so wonderful—between two people who love each other—be wrong?” Her lips pushed into his cravat and her mouth settled over his Adam’s apple. And then she bit him.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Cozakis Bride by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Single
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Nikos Cozakis
Heroine: Olympia Manoulis
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: January 01, 2000
Started On: September 02, 2022
Finished On: September 03, 2022

‘Are you insane?’ he questioned rawly. ‘You must be out of your mind to come to me like this! How could you think for one moment that I would marry an avaricious, brazen little tramp like you?’

The Cozakis Bride by Lynne Graham is one of those novels that swept me off my feet on a journey of angst, heat, and love of the kind that reaffirms my faith in my commitment to remain a romance reader for life. First published in 2000, Ms. Graham brings to readers the story of 29 year old Nikos Cozakis (Nik) and 27 year old Olympia Manoulis, whose entwined past ten years ago makes them the bitterest enemies.

If anyone had asked Olympia just an year ago if she would ever consider going back to Nik, the man who had left her heart and pride in tatters when she was just seventeen years old, quite naive and wholeheartedly in love with her fiance Nik, she would have probably told them to shoot themselves in the head. But circumstances force Olympia to do just that, where she is forced to “barter” herself in marriage in exchange for much needed medical treatment and security for her mother.

If Olympia resents Nik for what had happened a decade ago, Nik himself loathes the very existence of the woman who made a fool of himself and his family’s unsoiled reputation. The way Nik sees things, Olympia, his doe-eyed supposedly virginal bride-to-be had betrayed him in the worst way possible, and there is no way he was going to forgive or forget what happened, no matter how much he may lust after the woman he is going to be legally bound to as a husband.

Thus begins the battle of wills between Nik and Olympia being tied together in holy matrimony, each unwilling to look beyond the wounds that had scabbed over and never truly healed from that fateful night when everything had gone so horribly wrong. For Olympia, she had been judged and found guilty of a sin she had not committed, and for Nik it had been all too easy to believe what he was led to through machinations of those who had their own agenda.

What neither can deny is the flame that sizzles, burns, and roars to life whenever they are together, something that they are both helpless to turn away from. Nik may pretend that for him it is about getting what he wants out of Olympia, both in the short and long term. Olympia may likewise act as if the passion between them is inconsequential at best, but the truth is far from it.

I loved how The Cozakis Bride commandeered all my senses and did not let up from the minute I plunged into this heady tale. I adored the story for how it was chock-full of excitement from the get go, even when you are hyperventilating through scenes and wanting to slap some sense into Nik, and being gleeful about how all the feels knotted up my insides. There is nothing better that a romance reader can ask for than to be emotionally invested in a story, to feel as if you are going through train wreck, and yet still root for the main protagonists and their happily ever after.

There were times when Nik was unbelievably cruel in the story, times when I thought, boy, I hope this man has to grovel a lot to get the girl in the end. I must confess that I actually loved how cruel that Nik was at times because it showed the depth of his unresolved feelings towards the heroine. If Nik had not cared as much and if it was just his ego that had been bruised back then, the reactions from him would have been altogether very different. Nik made me fall in love with all that he is; from the sex-in-a-suit male specimen personified he is, to the ruthless side of him, and to the very vulnerable man that lies underneath all of that.

I loved Olympia for being feisty where needed, for being able to see how her naivety all those years back had played its role when those she had trusted had taken advantage of her, and for being self-aware and honest enough to face the ultimate truth when it came calling; that she loved Nik with everything she was and if she wanted a future that was worth living, it would have to be with Nik, and that fight she would for his love.

The fact that the story was told purely from the heroine’s perspective made it all that much better in my opinion. While Nik was quite the forceful character, seeing the shades of vulnerability on his part towards the end was enlightening and went a long way towards making this a well rounded romance.

Definitely recommend this gem to fans of Ms. Graham and fans of ruthless heroes with that core of vulnerability that we all love!

Final Verdict: The Queen of Harlequin romance seldom disappoints. Being older and better able to understand the complexities & nuances of human emotions makes this read all that more wonderful to the senses in every way that matters.

Favorite Quotes

‘You owe debts, and through me you will settle those debts.’
‘What are you t-talking about?’
‘What you did ten years ago cost your poor mother any hope of reconciliation with her father. What you did ten years ago savaged your grandfather. And what you did to me, you can find out the hard way,’ Nik concluded darkly.
Stabbed to the heart by that reminder about her mother, Olympia dropped her head, tears springing to her eyes. ‘It wasn’t my fault…what happened…I was set up—’
‘You’re embarrassing me,’ Nik slotted in with contempt. ‘Lies and fake shame are not going to protect you.’
‘You’re scaring me…’ Olympia condemned tearfully. ‘You are really scaring me!’

‘Let the light of reality in here. Ten years back, while you played Miss Prim and Proper Prude and brandished your innocence at every opportunity, I was in absolute agony…in the grip of overpowering lust and unable to do anything about it!’ Nik’s lean, powerful face hardened. ‘Did that give you a kick, Olympia?’
‘A…a kick?’ Eyes huge pools of enquiry, she stared back at him, struggling to absorb his assurance that he had found her sexually attractive in those days. That claim ran against everything she had ever believed, and she was paralysed by a sense of sheer disbelief.
‘You kept me in a constant state of arousal. I never slept after I was with you. My fantasies about what we were going to do when we got married even embarrassed me!’ Nik admitted grimly. ‘I wasn’t used to going without sex…it was torment; it was seriously painful.’

He came back to her with a driving kiss that consumed her. He was rough, and she had never known him rough before, and he excited her beyond belief. She was out of control, but so was he and she loved that. It answered the wildness leaping through her. He was hard and hot and full, and he sank into her tender welcoming flesh with a forceful maleness that made her sob out his name in ecstasy. Her back arched as the blinding excitement peaked on a shivering storming tide of mindless pleasure.
In the aftermath, she opened her eyes and blinked.
For a split-second, as Nik stared down at her, she saw a shell-shocked look in his stunning dark deepset eyes that could only have mirrored her own. Rolling off her without a word, he headed for the bathroom. She lay there immobile, struggling to breathe again, feeling ravished, feeling the sweet, heavy satiation of her own body with shattered recognition.

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Lady and the Orc by Finley Fenn

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Fantasy Romance
POV: Third Person, Single
Series: Orc Sworn, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Grimarr
Heroine: Jule Norr
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 28, 2019
Started On: August 07, 2022
Finished On: August 19, 2022

“Cursed woman,” he hissed, mouth smeared with red, eyes glittering, hair hanging down over his face. Hands flat to the earth on either side of her head, his broad bare chest heaving, streaked with rivulets of sweat, every muscle stark and corded and beautiful in the firelight. “My woman.”

Anyone who knows of my reading tastes can attest to the fact that I am a huge fan of dark romance, the darker, the better. Having come across the Orc Sworn series by Finley Fenn on Instagram was a godsend in this regard, and my first foray into this fantasy monster romance series was wonderful in every sense.

The Lady and the Orc is the first book in the series, with eight book published to-date. Told in the third person from the perspective of the heroine, the angst factor was greater because of the fact. The debut book in the series brings to readers the story of Grimarr leader of five clans of orcs that lives under his command, from The Ash-Kai clan who have long served as the orcs’ leaders and captains, and Lady Jule Norr, married to a man a decade older than her for the past five years.

Jule is a woman who is an “outcast” in the human world, having been determined to be barren, unable to bear children for her husband. Jule’s husband is a man who has given her little in the way of happiness, and totally disregards her welfare, well-being, and safety as is his responsibility. This ends up being a pivotal reason why Jule is ripe for the picking and is captured by none other than the Orcs who are rumored to be huge, hideous, dangerous, deadly, and constantly raiding human territory for goods and women.

Jule has heard of the terrible fate that women are subjected to, once they are taken by the Orcs. Jule does not forget the callous disregard with which her husband had treated her fears right before he had departed leaving her alone, without a means to defend herself, with the parting shot that even Orcs would want whole women, and that she was not even good enough material to be taken hostage by the Orcs.

When Jule realizes that she has been taken by none other than Grimarr, the leader of the Orcs, she is intrigued as much as she is frightened by the prospect that awaits her, and determined that she would not give in to the fear that is her first reaction to the hideous creature that stands before her. Grimarr is the Orc who has led his brothers for the better part of 30 years, and became the captain to steer the ship just recently. He is determined that he would do right by his brothers, even if it means destroying his own self in the process.

Surprisingly for Jule, it is only Grimarr who sees her husband for who he is – a man who is equal parts weak and a fool, who exerts his strength and uses it to demean the weak. Jule however is distrustful, and rightfully so when it comes to the Orc, but also drawn to Grimarr despite everything she has heard about the Orcs and the dangers they pose to humans, especially womenfolk. At the same time, as a captive, Jule is also forced to look more closely at the events that have unfolded between the Orcs and humans, and reassess her opinion on who the perpetrators and the victims are in the decades old conflict between the two.

Jule also understands that there is a reason behind her being taken as a captive by the leader of the Orcs; after all she is the wife of the leader of the human clan with whom the Orcs war with and it gives Grimarr a strategic advantage unlike any other. Against her own judgement, Jule also finds herself strangely drawn to Grimarr in a way that makes her wary, and yet is helpless to walk away from. The hold that Grimarr and his scent has on her, and the way Grimarr keeps talking about her as if she is his fated mate lures her in, until she is hooked well and good.

Ultimately, her need for him outweighs everything else, and it is not long before she pledges her allegiance to him and claims him as her mate leading to a series of events that is anything but kind to her burgeoning feelings for him. Even as Grimarr takes steps to amend his behavior and do right by Jule, he also has far more devious plans that outweigh his connection to her or his need for her, which proves to be the ultimate test that both Jule and Grimarr face in this heady tale as it moves forward.

I loved this highly unusual and sensual tale that Ms. Fenn has gifted to readers and the world building that offers a lot of tantalizing possibilities for future stories down the line. It is stories like these that makes me marvel at the infinite boundaries of the human imagination, about to conjure up stories like this one. The aspect I loved the most (as you must have guessed), is the world of hurt in store for both Jule and Grimarr before all is said and done, giving readers like myself the perfect combination of angst and romance which I adore.

For Jule, trust is a hard commodity to come by, given how she has fared in her marriage up till she had been taken by Grimarr to be used as he likes. For Grimarr, even if he acts as if Jule is replaceable in the strategic “war” that he has begun, his actions speak otherwise, or rather reading between the lines leaves you with that impression, which ramped up my enjoyment factor with this novel. Grimarr was the perfect balance of ruthlessness, gentleness, hedonistic, and dangerous – the kind of hero that I love best. He delivered on all aspects spectacularly and I could not have asked for a better hero.

Definitely recommend this for readers who love their romance on the spicier and darker side. Nothing to lose by taking the plunge with a story well written, and a happily ever after that is guaranteed!

Final Verdict: The Lady and the Orc was unexpected in the most captivating way; I was all for the darkness of the characters and the transformation both underwent in the journey to their happily ever after!

Favorite Quotes

“Where are we?” she asked toward Grimarr, without thinking — but then she went stock-still all over, because she was looking at him, and he was looking at her. And here, standing in the bright, unforgiving daylight, the infamous captain of the orcs was truly, thoroughly hideous.
His skin was a deathly shade of grey, latticed over with scars, one almost bisecting his long, crooked nose. His eyes were sunken and black, framed by stringy black hair that was tied back in a matted mockery of a braid, and his neck was thick and corded, angling down to sloped, bulbous shoulders.

Jule’s mouth barked out a hoarse, high-pitched laugh. “What, the gods decree that orcs have to kidnap women, and make them bear their sons? You can’t honestly believe that?”
“No,” he said, and one of those big hands slowly lifted toward her again, this time settling warm and heavy against her hip. “This — kidnap — you speak of, this was from the war. From men who deny us women. Who deny us our sons, and our freedom.”
Oh, so now it was all the men’s fault, but Jule’s retort was silenced by the feel of Grimarr’s other hand, coming to spread flat and warm against her belly. “But it is the gods’ decree that orcs mate with women,” he murmured. “If it were not so, there would be no sons. No pleasure in the mating.”

The blinding light of the sun was almost painful, after all that time spent underground, and Jule blinked at its brightness through her fingers. Halfway up the curve of the sky, it was mid-morning, and had Grimarr kept his whole band waiting here all this time, just for her?
“Do you hunger,” came Grimarr’s curt voice beside her, drawing Jule’s unwilling gaze — and then she squeezed her eyes shut, breathing hard. Gods, he was hideous. Absolutely repulsive, in the light, like a grey rotting corpse whose face had been carved into by maggots, and had she truly kissed that mouth? Had she welcomed the touch of those hands? Had she sworn to make him her mate? What the hell?

Jule’s eyelids fluttered, her mouth suddenly sucking on that invading finger, and Grimarr gave another one of those low, rolling laughs. “This pleases you,” he murmured, as he tugged the finger free, and went back down, pooling more of that thick sweetness onto it, and then bringing it back to Jule’s mouth. “How do I taste, woman.”
Jule should have lied, but her swirling tongue would have betrayed it, and her gaze was trapped in those watching, half-lidded eyes. “Sweet,” she managed, around his finger. “Like honey.”

“You really think I’m judging you harshly? Do you not recall, down while I was making supper for you and your hundred friends, how you publicly threatened to burn my clothes and force me while they laughed?”
Grimarr’s eyes blinked again, and Jule leapt to her feet, not caring if she was still naked and filthy, just needing to get away, as far from him as possible. “You are the one who brings shame to me, orc,” she gasped. “And to all your fellow orcs as well. You have shown me that in comparison to you, my husband Lord Norr, who I believed to be one of the cruelest men I have ever known, was in fact a patient and generous soul. And if ever presented with the choice” — she gulped in a breath, glared at those eyes — “I will immediately reject you, and run back to Norr Manor, and thank the gods for my blessed good fortune!”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: My Professor by R.S. Grey

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Untitled Series, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Jonathan Barclay
Heroine: Emelia Mercier
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: June 02, 2022
Started On: August 05, 2022
Finished On: August 06, 2022

It’s a hard thing to explain, to want to be treated like an equal most of the time but, occasionally, with the right person and in the right setting, to want the exact opposite. I want to be thrust up against the door of a bar bathroom and told what to do.

Needing something to rejuvenate me from the dumps I was in after the abysmal disappointment that my last read turned out to be, I needed a pick me up, something that would deliver me from my doldrums. I found the perfect antidote when I stumbled across My Professor by R.S. Grey, first released in June of 2022.

Told in the first person from dual perspectives, this is a May-December romance featuring 32 year old Jonathan Barclay as the hero and 21 year old Emelia Mercier as the heroine. When the story begins, Emelia is a student and Jonathan a professor, teaching History and Philosophy of Historic Preservation at the same university. Emelia’s enrollment in his class ends in disaster for various reasons, the push and pull factor between them being one behind Jonathan’s atrocious behavior when it comes to Emelia.

Four years on, with her master’s degree in architectural conservation from NYU, their paths cross once again when Emelia lands a job at Jonathan’s firm, Emelia mistakenly believing that Jonathan would not remember her. But she couldn’t be further from the truth as the same visceral attraction burns between them, this time around, hotter and far brighter than either of them perhaps anticipated, where each is drawn to the other like a moth to flame.

Emelia is by far the character with the most interesting background in the story, estranged from her family, with her mother having died earlier from cancer. She is alone in the world for the most part, and even if she were so inclined to seek her family out, the truth regarding her conception alone is enough to stop her from doing that.

I felt like this book had such promise which had me glued to the pages. The angst and build-up between Emelia and Jonathan were perfect up to a point. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with the power dynamic between a professor and his student, one that he wants desperately, a want that he schools himself not to show? He even goes as far as to ask her to drop his class, which she ends up doing, cutting off what was blossoming to life between them at that point.

The yearning on Jonathan’s part when seen through his eyes makes up for all the dickhead moves that he puts in place to keep Emelia at bay. But he certainly is not strong enough to douse his own sense of curiosity, want, and desire when it comes to Emelia, especially when he is closer to the truth on where she comes from than he anticipated. I also loved his relationship with his mother – that woman could ruffle his feathers unlike any other.

The tension between Emelia and Jonathan was out of this world, and this brings me to the most disappointing aspect of this novel; Ms. Grey failed to deliver on that extremely tightly wound tension which she built up so spectacularly. I feel that the story would have gained more nuance and helped cement the emotional connection between Emelia and Jonathan, had Ms. Grey taken these two through a series of illicit and forbidden encounters between them over the passage of time, which would have given depth to their connection as well.

It was taking the easy way out if you ask me, to bring that heady tension between Jonathan and Emelia to its ultimate and foregone conclusion towards the end of the book, failing also to focus on the submissive nature of Emelia when it comes to her sexual needs and desires, something that Jonathan was more than well equipped and ready to handle. I have one message for authors who tend to do that; don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – building up the tension to ferocious levels and failing to deliver is impolite at best. And I am being polite here with my choice of words.

I also failed to see the emotional connection and spark between Emelia and Jonathan develop to levels that I wanted. I mean don’t get me wrong, they were both fabulous characters in their own right and I rooted for them big time. But at the same time, there were so many threads to the story that were taking place, that I felt that Emelia and Jonathan’s budding “romance” took a back seat when all was said and done. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading this little number and am thankful for the huge role it played in taking me out of my reading slump.

Recommended for fans of Ms. Grey and fans of May-December trope romances. This one had more professor vibes going for it than Hey, Mr. Marshall!

Final Verdict: It is a heady journey to witness the undoing of the tightly wound Professor Barclay, whose legendary control over his baser nature is torn to shreds at long last!

Favorite Quotes

“Look at me.”
My gaze sweeps to him instantly. My body is such a traitor where he’s concerned.
“The mistakes of the past…” He sniffs and looks away as if disgusted by himself. “They will not be repeated.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek.
“Furthermore, outbursts like that one in the car will not be tolerated.”
“You goaded me,” I blurt out rudely.
Like a whip, his gaze lashes me. “You don’t know the meaning of goad.”

“You haven’t said anything about my dress, Professor Barclay.”
“You don’t want to hear my thoughts about you in that dress.”
Oh but I do. I really, really do.
“One word won’t hurt,” I say, smiling in innocence.
He opens the back door of the car and deposits me inside. His blue eyes are level with mine as he leans in to click my seat belt into place.
“Lethal.”
Then the door gets slammed, and I’m left alone in the back seat, blinking.

I take a baby step toward him. It’s barely anything, but it’s enough to feel intimate and wrong. If someone were to turn a corner and find us here, it wouldn’t look innocent.
I look him over, taking my time. “I like when you’re dressed like this. This suit fits you to a T. Your tie is done perfectly, your pocket square is folded neatly. You look so proper…” Knowing I’m playing with fire, I lift my finger to trail it down the center of his tie and my eyes follow, but then I pause and let my gaze flit back to his as the truth spills out. “Just like the professor I can’t stop fantasizing about.”
My words are kerosene.
He has me hauled back against the wall behind me so fast I almost whimper, and his hand reaches up to grab my chin in a punishing grip—a grip he knows I like.

“I pulled up the boy’s HR file. Should I send an email, have him fired on the spot?”
My body tenses in panic. “You wouldn’t. That’s cruel, and ridiculous. He did nothing wrong.”
“He made you smile,” he says, wistfully ensnared by my pout.
I narrow my eyes.
“Are you always this territorial?”
A beat passes.
“No.”
Then he bends down and kisses me.

“Tell me you love me,” he insists.
“I love you.”
The words slip from my mouth like they’ve waited there my whole life.
“Again,” he says haughtily.
“I love you,” I say, more emphatically this time, exasperated even. Don’t you see it? Can’t you feel it?
My spark lights his. What impatience I felt a moment ago he matches now, kiss for kiss, touch for touch.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Contract Baby by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: The Husband Hunters, #3
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Raul Zaforteza
Heroine: Polly Johnson
Sensuality: 3
Published On: June 01, 1999
Started On: June 03, 2022
Finished On: June 03, 2022

‘She used my son as a bargaining chip to blackmail me into marriage!’

Contract Baby is the third and final book in The Husband Hunters series by Lynne Graham. First published in June of 1999, this is the story of 21 year old Polly Johnson, surrogate mother to 31 year old Raul Zaforteza’s child, a man who has sworn off the institution of marriage (even though he has never been married) and yet wants a child of his own.

When Polly disappears without a sign from Vermont where Raul had placed her during the first stages of her pregnancy, it is a furious Raul that seeks her out once again, determined that he would get access to his baby who is rightfully his. Raul’s fortune founded in gold and diamond mines is the result of his brilliance as a business tycoon, and as per gossip columns, wins awards on being a notorious womanizer as well.

When Raul finds her once again, it is a Polly that is in a predicament that she never thought possible; pregnant with a baby whom she thought was going to a couple whose dream she was going to fulfill. Polly finds herself in dire financial circumstances, and in no position to access what her godmother had left for her three goddaughters in her will without getting married, and keeping the home fires burning for at least a period of six months.

Raul finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place when Polly accuses him of being dishonest about the contract she signed, of which he had no knowledge of. With the British law being what it was regarding surrogacy, knowing that any judge would let the mother keep the child, if they were to believe that it was in the child’s best interests, Raul has no option but to force himself to agree to a marriage of convenience between himself and Polly, the only condition upon which Polly promises to accompany him to Venezuela.

It is an angst-ridden fest for these two as they traverse the treacherous world that Raul inhabits, with Polly being forced to confront the very present past of the man she had fallen in love with months ago. Polly is ill-equipped to deal with a man such as Raul, having grown up with a strictly religious father, and it was Polly that had paid the price for her mother’s infidelity which had resulted in her leaving when Polly was just seven years old. Polly’s father had ensured that she remained innocent, his tyrannical nature driving away even female friends, and she had no inclination of the strength of human desire when it comes to sexual wants and need until Raul strolled into her life.

Raul’s childhood made him abhor marriage, never wanting to give any woman that sort of power to dictate the terms of his life in any sense. All of that comes to head when he has to marry Polly, and it is an interesting journey to witness how Raul is brought to his very knees by the diminutive Polly who becomes his wife. It is rough going of course, which made for delicious reading experience, especially when coupled with the fiery desire that leaves both wanting more.

I believe that this would my favorite of the three installments in this series, because being the glutton for punishment that I am, I love a story that breaks and makes my heart, that infuriates and soothes me in equal doses. Contract Baby was such a story and I could not have asked for more. The only thing that would have made it all better? An epilogue to tie up the series which would have done wonders in my opinion.

I would recommend The Husband Hunter series for everyone who loves a good dose of angst-ridden romance! These three books certainly deliver on all fronts!

Final Verdict: She had dreams of marrying for love. He was determined that he never would, for any reason. Circumstances dictated otherwise. This a match made in angst-ridden heaven!

Favorite Quotes

‘But you wouldn’t want me to share your bed without all that idealistic love, commitment and permanency jazz… would you, querida?’ Raul breathed with sizzling golden eyes, watching her freeze in shock at that plunge into the more intimate and personal. ‘You see, what you want and what I want we can’t have, because we both want something different!’
Every scrap of colour drained from Polly’s face. ‘I don’t want you…like that,’ she framed jerkily.
Raul cast her a glittering appraisal that was all male and all-knowing. ‘Oh, yes, you do…that sexual hunger has been there between us from the moment we met.’

Bending, Raul slid his arm below her slim hips and lifted her unceremoniously up to his level, crushing her swelling breasts into the muscular wall of his chest. Her nostrils flared on the enervating, hot, husky male scent of him. Hard black eyes assailed hers and held them by pure force of personality. ‘You will not dictate terms to me. You will not demand empty and meaningless guarantees. A proper wife doesn’t put a price on her body!’
‘I…I wasn’t doing that—’
‘The marriage is on trial…I am not!’ Raul stressed forcefully. ‘I will not be judged on the basis of my past!’

His stunning eyes read the message in hers. He came down to her and kissed her breathless with a force of hunger that overwhelmed her own. ‘I feel wild…’ he groaned with a ragged laugh. ‘One more night watching you across the dining table and I would’ve pulled you under it!’
‘It didn’t show.’
‘Infierno…I get as hard as a rock just being in the same room with you,’ Raul growled rawly. ‘I don’t think I have ever been so frustrated in my life! I was tempted to take you into the stables earlier and..’ As her dark blue eyes widened in open shock at that series of blunt revelations, he compressed his lips, a dark rise of blood emphasising his cheekbones. ‘I just want you so much I can’t think of anything else right now.’

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