Category / Scorcher!

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: See You In My Dreams by Jess Dee

Format: E-bookseeyouinmydreams.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Speed, Book 1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Nathan James Pace
Heroine: Sophie Rose Butler
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: November 1, 2011
Started On: October 31, 2011
Finished On: October 31, 2011

Jess Dee is one of my favorite erotic romance authors. I have been in a bit of a pout all through this year because all her latest releases have been menage love stories of which I am not much of a fan. So hearing about the release of this goody from Samhain on the 1st of November seemed like a heaven-sent to me. The 1st book in the Speed series certainly brought home just how much I had missed her way of telling a story that just fairly sizzles and glows with all the sexual tension she creates and so fabulously delivers on.

Sophie Rose Butler stumbles upon the gloriously naked Nathan James Pace who is as shocked to find Sophie in his room as she is to have accidentally broken the one cardinal rule of her employment. But that doesn’t stop Sophie from appreciating his fine male form in all its glory in front of her and Nathan too cannot deny the fact that her blue-eyed gaze which feels like a caress on his skin arouses him unlike anyone else has in a long, long time.

Without knowing Nathan’s true identity, Sophie becomes helplessly ensnared in the web of sensual desire that obliterates everything else for both her and Nathan. When it comes to Sophie, Nathan finds himself unable to say no and unable to back away from the answering need that is always a part of Sophie’s expression when she gazes into Nathan’s eyes. But what Nathan and Sophie both are afraid of is talking about just how far and intense their connection to each other really goes; a connection that had been forged since 10 years back which had brought them into each other’s lives in the form of very erotic dreams that had been an integral part of their lives up until now.

See You In My Dreams is a very well done romance of the erotic contemporary variety. Jess Dee has got an innate talent that makes her romances so very worthy a read. Even with this short novella she managed to get me all hot & bothered and together with all that scorching hot material she still managed to provide us readers with a decent storyline and enough emotion to leave one satisfied on all counts.

Nathan is such a dreamy, sexy and all out fantastic hero. His sexy voice, combined with his drop dead gorgeous good looks behind which lies a great personality makes him such an enticing hero. The way he loses his control around Sophie, unable to keep his hands off her even for a second, and of course the way he takes care of Sophie through every encounter just makes him that much more yummier!

Sophie is no less endearing as a heroine. She is beautiful, down-to-earth and has a heart of gold which slowly reveals itself as her character unfolds. Having had a bit of a rough time during her childhood makes her want to help children who needs the kind of help that she received which had turned her life around for the better. The way that she totally melts at Nathan’s merest touch, the way that she completely gives herself up to him and loves him like there is no tomorrow makes her in my opinion a totally wonderful heroine!

Like the strings of a guitar well played, Jess Dee weaves her magic in this novella filled to the brim with sensuality and emotion.

Recommended for fans of Jess Dee, fans of erotic contemporary romances and fans of utterly drool worthy rock-star heroes who makes your heart sing!

Seductive, alluring and mesmerizing; See You In My Dreams is a novel that I loved from start to finish!

Favorite Quotes

“Make my dream a reality,” he whispered.
His dream and her dreams. Sophie shivered. She could no more resist his call than she could cease blinking. With two more shaky steps she stood before him and placed a trembling hand in his.
His smile was blinding.
Sophie had maybe a second to be dazzled by it before he tugged firmly on her hand and she tumbled into his arms. Nathan flipped her so she lay beneath his body—his gloriously naked body—and with a hoarse moan he dipped his head and crushed his lips to hers.

His kiss was exactly like it always was. Hot, heady, heavenly.

There was no denying the reality of this situation. The exquisite ecstasy of having an honest-to-God, flesh-and-blood c#ck inside. Dream symbolisms and explanations be damned. This was bliss.

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. Need assaulted him. In his entire life, he’d never felt desire like this. Or the desperation to touch, to hold, to own.

He’d heard many songs in his life, sang thousands of them himself, but the sweetest music imaginable played for him in that moment: the sound of Sophie—the woman of his dreams—calling out his name, over and over again as together they reached their peak.

“I’m the man who said goodbye to you earlier, then realized he couldn’t let you go. The same man who wants to make love to you all over again. Every single day of my life.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Samhain

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Hide from Evil by Jami Alden

Format: E-bookhidefromevil
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Trilogy, Book 2
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Sean Flynn
Heroine: Krista Slater
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 1, 2011
Started On: October 30, 2011
Finished On: October 30, 2011

Hide from Evil is the second book in an untitled trilogy by Jami Alden, the first book of which skyrocketed its way towards my favorites book shelf earlier this year. If you are tempted to pick this one up, not that you can’t read this as a standalone, but in my opinion you definitely need to read book 1 first to experience the full impact of the story as it unfolds and for you to be invested in the characters and the outcome of their happily ever after as much as I have been ever since finding out about the expected release date of this book.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Krista Slater is a woman on a mission. Krista who has a vision of her working her way towards the top of the Prosecutor’s Office, always sticking to the rules and never straying from them finds herself wallowing in a conflicting mass of guilt and regret when she finds out that she has wrongly prosecuted and sent an innocent man to the death row. It had only been the tenacious work of Sean Flynn’s sister Megan who had refused to give up on her brother against all odds that had brought to light the actual killer who had neatly tricked everyone into believing that Sean had been the Seattle Slasher.

Refusing to put the case to rest though Sean has walked away a free man, something about the case and its loose ends pricks and prods at Krista until she uses her own resources to find out whether there could be more to the Seattle Slasher case than everyone had originally thought. Her digging opens up a can of worms that she never comprehends, putting her and Sean in the path of a powerful family who would do anything and everything in their power to keep the secrets that they hide from ever seeing the light of day.

The last thing Sean expects is for Krista to turn up out of the blue and make him confront all those feelings that he has bottled up inside, having numbed himself for the past three years of his life because remembering the past just causes him nothing but endless grief, rage and pain. But Sean’s dormant libido seems to have its own agenda when it comes to the classically beautiful and reserved Krista, behind whose propriety lies a wicked sense of humor that cracks through his numbness right from the very start.

Though Krista knows that she shouldn’t let her wayward hormones rule when it comes to Sean, she can’t help but be drawn towards the man buried deep inside the mass of seething resentment that she had previously seen and brushed aside as the egoistic mannerisms of a psychotic killer. But as passion bursts forth and refuses to be denied in its quest to be fulfilled, neither Sean nor Krista is powerful enough to deny each other the need that they have for the other.

As a nationwide manhunt ensues for both Sean and Krista with no way of finding out whom they can trust, the harder they dig their quest leads them to places neither expected, forcing both Sean and Krista to face their changing feelings towards each other as the clock ticks towards the hour of reckoning.

Hide from Evil though a bit toned down in the darker aspects that we come across in Beg for Mercy is still a book of the unputdownable variety. Sean Flynn was everything that I had imagined him to be in my mind and I damn near swallowed my tongue from salivating over his tortured hotness that just about seeps through the words each and every single time he comes into the picture. His desire for Krista that spills over the tight control he holds over all his emotions was one of the best aspects of the story, his resentment towards the woman who helped put him behind bars no match for the red haze of lust and need that nearly blindsides him with its ferocity.

Krista is a heroine basically carved out for my favorite heroines shelf. She is beautiful & smart with a heart of gold, a woman who has the best of intentions at heart and whose truthful nature forces her to face the one mistake she has made in her career and put it to rights. It was the way she seemed to understand Sean, the fears that he battles with each and everyday of his life since he walked out of prison and the way that she wants him with that a no holds barred passion that makes her the type of heroine that I just adore.

Once again, I loved how Jami seems to know just in which direction to steer the story forward, when to bring in the action and when to bring in those intricate details about the past events that teases the memory to recall what happened in book 1 of the trilogy. The scenes of passion between Sean and Krista are of the scorching hot variety, not overly erotic but with just enough action to really make one heat up as you read along. Paving the way for book 3, Run from Fear which is to come out early next year starring the sexy ex-Green Beret Jack Brooks that I just know is going to invade my heart as soon as I get my hands on the story, though Beg for Mercy proved to be a tough act to follow, Jami Alden comes darn close in delivering what the reader expects from her in this second installment.

A taut, gripping novel of suspense with underlying sexual tension hot enough to keep the adrenaline pumping; Hide from Evil is another superb installment in Jami Alden’s unbeatable trilogy of dark romantic suspense!

Favorite Quotes

(Sean) “The therapist calls it cleithrophobia.”
“That sounds like a fear of something else,” Krista snorted before she could stop herself. She bit her lip, as shame washed through her.
Sean turned, his startled laughter sounding rusty as it erupted from his chest. “No, I’m definitely not scared of that.”

Like punch through the brick wall he’d built around himself and give in to the sudden, desperate urges to touch, to taste, to feel. Krista Fucking Slater. Of all the women in the world, why was she the only one who managed to remind him he was still alive in a way no one had been able to in three long years?

“Jesus, you’re beautiful,” he murmured and she felt the warmth of his breath on her face and yes, he was going to kiss her. His mouth came down on hers, hot and fierce. She parted her lips and licked into his mouth, loving the way he shuddered and groaned at the contact.
Her response was fast, ferocious, startling in its intensity. One kiss and she was fired up, more turned on than she could ever remember being.

(Sean) “Sometimes the system fails. And sometimes you have to break the rules to get what you want.”

“I wish I could tell you this was all just because I’m desperate and horny, making up for lost time after being locked up.” He slid his palm under the hem of her T-shirt, groaning at the feel of warm, smooth skin. “It would be so much easier if that was all this was.” He cupped a breast and flicked a nipple through the silk of her bra, loving the way it jumped to immediate attention against the pad of his thumb.
“There hasn’t been anyone,” he said between kisses. “I haven’t wanted anyone. I’ve been walking around like I’m dead inside and then you show up.” He couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice, angry at his own lack of control. Like she needed anything more on him, but he couldn’t keep himself from spilling his guts. “All of a sudden all I can think about is how you smell, how you might taste.” He sucked her tongue into his mouth for emphasis. “How soft your skin would feel.” He whipped her shirt over her head and slid his hands down the smooth line of her back, down the curve of her waist and hip.

He smelled like sweat and sex and Sean, a potent combination that made her want to hold him here inside her and never let him go.

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Bad Kitty by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookbadkitty
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Hero: Patrick Nolan
Heroine: Nikki Carson
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 7, 2011
Started On: September 24, 2011
Finished On: September 24, 2011

The Hero: Patrick Nolan, older than his twin Easton Nolan by six minutes works in the construction business. A man who works with his hands, Patrick has his eyes on the sexy new assistant of his brother.

The Heroine: Nikki Carson works as an assistant to Easton Nolan at Nolan Real Estate. Though partying hard had been the life she had led before, Nikki becomes more goal-oriented and wants to make her life mean something after she gets the job of being Easton’s assistant.

Storyline: Nikki has a serious crush on the hot as sin twin brother of her boss. Though she knows it ain’t wise to muddy up her work life by making overtures to the boss’s sexy older brother, Nikki can’t help but say yes to the wicked proposition that Patrick puts forth on the night of Halloween at the annual Halloween party. Patrick goes on thinking that Nikki has no clue as to whether it is Patrick that she was actually with that night and a repeat performance is certainly in order if Patrick wants to come out with the truth.

First Meet: There is no indication of how or when Nikki and Patrick first meet. But I am assuming it happened during one of those times Patrick had turned up at his brother’s office for something or the other which had sealed both their fates from that moment on.

Time Period: Bad Kitty has a contemporary setting and is told from both Nikki and Patrick’s point of views.

Awareness between Nikki and Patrick: With a Cari Quinn book, you are always guaranteed a scorching hot read with enough sexual chemistry between the hero and heroine to set even your surroundings on fire. Both Nikki and Patrick are super aware of one another, both looking forward to the night of Halloween once again when they would be able to indulge in their fantasies involving one another to their heart’s content.

The turning point: Though Patrick thinks that Nikki doesn’t know the true identity of the lover with whom she had such a clandestine encounter against the basement wall, Nikki has been biding her time, wondering why Patrick continues to act like nothing earth shattering happened between them.
When Patrick finally manages to blurt the truth out, it was a moment of hilarity and tenderness both that turns things around for Patrick and Nikki.

How the relationship grows: There is not much time for the growth of Nikki and Patrick’s relationship as Bad Kitty is such a short novella. However, the book ends with the conclusion that the future shines bright for both Nikki and Patrick and it might not be a moment too soon before we hear wedding bells?

Likes: That fact that Cari Quinn is the author is always enough to entice me to open the glossy covers that grace her books and delve into the stories of the sexy and raunchy fun underneath. But mind you, her stories aren’t just about having a good time in bed, the shower or the outdoors – you name it, and Cari Quinn has the talent to deliver it. But time and yet again, Cari proves to her readers how much she values the emotional aspect of erotica and delivers characters that are both likeable, endearing and sexy – all at the same time.
For me Patrick’s character was the lure that charmed me enough to succumb to his enticing good looks and of course the heart of gold underneath all that.
Patrick makes for a very yummy hero, who has more than a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to winning over the woman of his heart.

Dislikes: I found myself a bit disappointed with the lack of details of both Nikki and Patrick that would have made this novella much better all around. Though the sex was off-the-charts and trademark Cari hot, I would have loved to know just a bit more about both Patrick and Nikki. And maybe toss in a bit on Easton and Nikki’s best friend Julie as well. *winks*

Recommended for: Fans of Cari Quinn and fans of red-hot short erotic novels!

Momentous Scenes: Nikki and Patrick’s first sexual encounter. Plenty of ice ladies, that’s all I’m willing to divulge at this point.

Favorite Quotes

Patrick was the living embodiment of naughty. He sweat for a living—he worked on houses while his slick, polished brother sold them—and his swagger served as a convincing argument that he knew how to make a woman sweat when the lights were off, too.

She braced one palm on the wall and used the other to bring him inside her more forcefully, tearing away the last bit of civility between them. Her body yielded under his pummeling strokes. Stretching around him, drawing him in that much farther. She couldn’t get close enough.

Purchase Links: Wild Rose Press

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: All of You by Rhian Cahill

Format: E-bookallofyou
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Noble Romance Publishing
Hero: Ryan Doherty
Heroine: Claire Jones
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: September 26, 2011
Started On: September 27, 2011
Finished On: September 27, 2011

Rhian Cahill is one of my go-to authors for highly sensual erotica that pleases all the senses. If you are a fan of erotica and have never heard of Rhian Cahill, you seriously don’t know what you are missing!

All of You by Rhian Cahill is a story from a favorite trope of mine. Where older heroines find their happily ever after with younger heroes which makes for very interesting reads.

29 year old Ryan Doherty has had the hots for his next door neighbor, 41 year old Claire Jones ever since he laid eyes on her. The only thing that stops him from making a move is not knowing whether or not Claire feels the same way about him.

Claire knows that she needs to stop making Ryan the centrefold of every delicious, erotic fantasy and dream she has had since Ryan moved in next door. But knowing that doesn’t seem to be helping in her efforts to put Ryan out of her mind. When her best friend comes up with the crazy notion that she should go for it with Ryan and wring every decadent pleasure that she can out of the encounter, Claire finds herself doing just that and more as Ryan pleasures her in ways that she has never thought possible.

Though short, Rhian still manages to tell a story that left me wanting more and desperately in need of a cold shower or two with the dirty-talking Ryan talking up a storm, upping the heat factor of a novella that already far exceeds the scorch meter.

Ryan is of the ultra-studtastic variety, living up to what I imagined him to be and then some. Apart from the way he can seduce Claire of all her inhibitions, the way he cares about her enough to want to protect her and cosset her and look after of her every want and need; well, there’s nothing more that’s needed to be said. Ryan is the ultimate younger hero that every woman should have; protective, dangerously sexy, charming and palpitation-inducing-hot that just makes him perfect hero material.

Claire served to be someone who had the guts at first to put aside everything else and concentrate on just being with a man who makes her feel safe, warm, loved and decadently sexy all in one. But when reality strikes and pierces through the bubble of happiness that she finds herself wrapped up in, she goes in the self-sacrificial-lamb routine which irked me for a bit. But then again, Claire does make up for all of it quite beautifully in the end which totally redeemed her in my eyes.

Hot enough to singe off more than just your eyebrows, with a hero that you would just clamor for to make him your own, All of You is a novella that once again proves Rhian’s ability to spin an erotic story well worth your time & money!

Favorite Quotes

Ryan’s nostrils flared, and his gaze came back to meet hers. The heat and lust swirling in the green orbs delivered another burst of heat to her body. Claire shivered.

The woman had him tied in knots. She hardly gave him the time of day, but all she had to do was breathe in his direction and his dick was raring to go, his body pounding with a need that consumed his every thought.

Sitting on the stool put her eye-level with his throat. The bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed tantalized her. What would he taste like if I licked him there? Her body swayed forward, and her tongue slipped out to run over her bottom lip.
Ryan groaned, and Claire’s world tilted.
His lips slammed onto hers. There were no gentle, getting to know you sweeps of his tongue. He thrust into her mouth, meeting no resistance as she gladly opened for him.

Claire squirmed under his close scrutiny—struggled to keep from covering herself with her hands.
“Don’t.” He reached out and touched her clenched fists with his fingers. “Don’t think you need to hide. You’re beautiful. Every inch of you.”
Bringing her gaze up to meet his, she saw the strength of conviction in his eyes.
Whether she thought herself worthy of him or not, he had already made his decision.
And that was all that mattered.

Like a drug, she entered his system and took over, delivering a jolt to every cell and obliterating all else. And like any addict, he took the fix, felt the euphoria and craved more.

Ryan took her mouth with his. Nibbled and licked until she opened for him. His tongue swept inside and tangled with hers. Bold strokes and hot slides stole her breath and drew moisture from her core. He touched her nowhere else, but she felt him in every inch of her body.

Purchase Links: Noble Romance

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by mvbookreviewer

Short & Sweet Review: Forbidden Fruit by Rosalie Stanton

Format: E-bookforbiddenfruit.JPG
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Publisher: Noble Romance Publishing
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 4.5
Hero: Reece
Heroine: Ashlynn Sweeney
Date of Publication: September 12, 2011
Started On: September 12, 2011
Finished On: September 12, 2011

Storyline: Ashlynn and Reece are step-siblings. Ashlynn has lusted after and has been in love with Reece ever since she had laid eyes on him. The only thing that Ashlynn is unaware of is that Reece also just might feel the same way about her.

First Meet: Ashlynn lays eyes on Reece for the first time when her mother marries Reece’s dad when Ashlynn had been 9 years old.

Time Period: Present day.

Awareness between Ashlynn and Reece: This very short story is told from Ashlynn’s point of view and her awareness of Reece which is a fact of her life starting from 10 years back hits an all time high during the story when Reece comes home for a semester break.

The turning point: When Ashlynn walks in on Reece pleasuring himself whilst watching porn and Reece realizes this fact, there is no turning back from the gauntlet that Reece throws her way; which might just change her life forever!

How the relationship grows: There is not much relationship growth in the novel though the interlude between Reece and Ashlynn certainly ends on a happy note and allows the reader to conclude that the love they have for one another would be a long lasting one.

Likes: Whether it be a short or a full length novel, Rosalie always manages to hold my undivided attention with her books and this one is no exception to the rule. I loved both Reece and Ashlynn though I didn’t get as much of them as I would have liked.

Dislikes: Knowing that Rosalie can do amazing things with full length novels, I just wish that she would write a full length contemporary romance one of these days. And this could have been really, really good if it had been the one. There was one little thing that irked me throughout Reece and Ashlynn’s sexual interlude; that Ashlynn kept thinking she was doing the dirty with her stepbrother. For me, that was a little bit of a turnoff because I wouldn’t want the heroine to be thinking about practicalities when she is immersed so deep in the web of sexual desire and wanting for the man she loves more than anything.

Recommended for: Those who love books by Rosalie Stanton. This is a short and smutty read to squeeze in in between your heavy reads.

Purchase Links: Noble Romance

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by mvbookreviewer

Dear Author Review: Guilty Needs by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookGuilty Needs
Read with: IBOOKS for IPAD
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Series: Standalone
Sensuality: 4.5
Hero: Colby Hutchins
Heroine: Bridgette Lancaster (Bree)
Date of Publication: September 19, 2008
Started On: September 9, 2011
Finished On: September 9, 2011

Guilty Needs by Shiloh Walker is one of my all time favorite books since its release on September of 2008. I wanted to show my appreciation for a story that I love to bits and rather than just do a re-read review of it, I thought to myself I would start up a new type of review for those extra special books that I just love no matter how many times I end up re-reading them.

So ladies and gentlemen, I now present you with my very first “Dear Author” review which features a letter to Shiloh Walker written down in order to at least try and show my gratitude and appreciation towards this story that would continue to hold a very special place in my heart for now and always.

Dear Shiloh Walker,

As you can see, I am writing this letter/review to you because I just can’t help but fall a little bit more in love with your story Guilty Needs every single time I read it. I have now seriously lost count of the number of times I have picked this up from collection of Favorites books on my hard disk drive. If this were a paperback version I guess my copy would have become dog eared and worn out a long time back.

The thing that ALWAYS gets to me when it comes to Guilty Needs is the tons of emotion that practically seeps through every single word in the book, its hold on me a never ending one until I reach its very end. Even afterwards, I find myself unable to let go and spend a long time contemplating on what went on in a story that describes so well how guilt wars with desire when the widowed hero finds himself lusting after his dead wife’s best friend.

Alyssa Hutchins the wife who dies from cancer, who makes appearances into the story as a ghostly being that wants Colby to find love and be happy again, and that also with her best friend Bree who has always loved Colby from the sidelines, all 3 of the characters just makes this story come alive right from the very beginning that makes this book  that much easier to fall in love with over and over again.

The way you bring forth the friendship between Alyssa and Bree and made their bond an unbreakable one and yet managed to let the reader know of Bree’s feelings towards Alyssa’s husband and not sully the age old friendship between two friends continues to astound & amaze me.

One of the things that caught my attention when I first found your books from Amazon.com is the way you bring out the sexual tension between characters that just leaves a reader begging for more. And Guilty Needs is one of the best in delivering sexual tension of the sizzling variety that practically leaps out of the pages and grabs the reader right from the very start. The sensual scenes are so very well done that I could not help but reach out for my non-existent glass of cold water that I should remember the next time to keep by my side.

Sometimes, because you love a story so much, its hard to come up with the bits that stand out, but I still wanted to let you know that the moment that Alyssa asks from Bree the favor that she wants from her, it was a seriously throat-in-the-lump moment from the emotions overload. And the first kiss that Colby and Bree share – it is out of this world hot and the heat these two generate throughout the story can definitely light up my world for eons to come! And oh baby, the porch scene – if anyone has it on their mind to give me a present anytime soon, I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind a Colby or two as my pressies!

Guilty Needs will ALWAYS remain in a special corner of my heart and I believe I would never get tired of the story of how Bree finally gets the man she has loved for more than 15 years of her life, and of course Colby who just personifies sexy and takes it up to a whole new level!

Before I end this, I am just going to share some of those quotes from the story  that even later on would urge me to go seek out this little indulgence from my massive mountain of books.

Favorite Quotes

Patiently, Alyssa repeated the question she’d asked only seconds earlier. “Do you love Colby?”
Some trite lie formed on the tip of her tongue. Of course I love him—he’s your husband and that makes him almost a brother to me. But she couldn’t. It was just too wrong—lying to her dying friend, claiming to feel a fraternal emotion toward a man who inspired anything but fraternal thoughts. In the end, all she could do was just sit there and blink away tears.

Then she rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. If she breathed in the scent of his skin a little deeper than she should, it wasn’t intentional. If she shivered a little and wished she had the right to kiss him differently, it wasn’t because she could help it. She loved him—she always had.

They barely touched, his mouth on hers, his hands cupping her face while hers clutched at his wrists. But that contact was enough to shatter the foundation of her world.
He eased up, lifted his head just a little. An involuntary whimper escaped her and she swayed toward him. He growled low in his throat and reached for her, hauling her against him until they were plastered together.

 

Once again Ms. Walker, splendid is the name of the game when it comes to Guilty Needs & hats off for pulling this one off so brilliantly!

Sincerely Yours,
MBR

Purchase Links: Amazon | Jasmine Jade Enterprises

outstandingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Lessons for Teacher by Emma Jay

Format: E-booklessonsforteacher
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Sensuality: 4
Hero: Brady Lane
Heroine: Jamie Winston
Date of Publication: June 21, 2010
Started On: September 4, 2011
Finished On: September 4, 2011

Lessons for Teacher by Emma Jay is a very well done erotic contemporary romance of the make-you-squirm-in-your-chair variety. As it happened with the two other books by Emma Jay that I have read to-date, it was the cover and of course the blurb later on that made me add it to my wishlist. And after reading Wild Wild Widow a couple of hours back, my next-read-selecting-gene kept pointing its finger towards this little goodie, and here I am 4 hours later, writing a review for a fabulously entertaining piece of work.

25 year old Jamie Winston works as a teaching assistant in a journalism class whilst making her way towards earning her degree. Having being married once to a man who had found her lacking in bed and out of it and had left not a minute sooner after he had run out on her usefulness in furthering his career, Jamie is wary of the whole commitment business with the opposite sex. When her surprising attraction towards her student Brady Lane keeps on burgeoning rather than diminishing, Jamie decides to take matters into her own hands so to speak and find out whether Brady would be interested in getting down and dirty with her.

Jamie’s character is a blend of innocence combined with a thirst to quench her body’s obvious desire for the handsome and larger than life Brady who makes her dare enough to take a step out of her comfort zone. It is her inner vulnerability coupled with her playful nature that comes out to play with Brady that makes her a compelling heroine.

27 year old Brady is determined that he fulfill his dream of becoming a journalist, a war-zone correspondent at that and is biding his time until his internship comes through. What begins as a diversion and of course a way to slake his lust for his teacher morphs into something much deeper and complex as the forbidden variety encounters between Jamie and Brady spin out of control and leaves them both begging for much more afterwards.

Brady is a guy who certainly lives up to his image of being big and brawny with the good looks to match his physique. He might catch the roving female eyes on campus but Brady’s eyes are locked only on Jamie as he spins one fantasy after the other of him taking their relationship to a whole new level, pleasure being the one constant in all of them. It is his intensity in the bedroom and out of it that just made me want to sigh at each and every encounter, and of course his possessiveness when it comes to Jamie that just made me one happy reader all around.

I always love it when an author’s voice changes with the genre, giving what the reader wants with the switch that comes. And in this instance, I loved seeing a playful side to Emma’s writing that just made this story that much more fun to read!

Binding together the dynamics of a student-teacher relationship, erotic love scenes of the heart thumping variety and a romance that gives you a warm glow all over, Lessons for Teacher is a novel that comes highly recommended from the sunny side of life.

Momentous Scenes

  • The truth or dare game that takes place between Jamie and Brady. Sign me up for the next one please!
  • Each of the sensual scenes in the story. Very well done and leaves the reader begging for more! And in need of a cold shower or two at that. 

Favorite Quotes

“You want a drink?” he (Brady) offered.
“My friend’s getting one.” She gestured toward Susan, who approached.
“Your date?”
“My-no! No, I’m not—” God, did he think she was a lesbian? Boy, talk about seduction fail.

She sipped from her bottle. “Okay. Truth or dare.”
“Dare.”
Okay, she hadn’t expected that. She’d been prepared to ask some lame question that she probably already knew the answer to. Now she had to think of a dare.
The driving pulse of music gave her an idea.
“Dance with me,” she blurted.
He lifted his eyebrows. “That’s your dare?”
“Not challenging enough?”
He shook his head. “Not nearly.”
“You haven’t seen me dance.”

And he was big, so big. Even in her wedge heels, her nose only reached the middle of his chest as he edged closer. His shoulders blocked the light as his breath washed warm over her skin. Her pulse leapt like a rabbit at her throat as he lowered his mouth to brush over her parted lips, once, twice, before settling over them. Oh, God. His lips were firm, and molded to hers, learning the shape of her mouth. His tongue teased the entrance of her mouth, then he delved deeper.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Wild Wild Widow by Emma Jay

Format: E-bookwildwildwidow
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self Published
Hero: Judah Merrill
Heroine: Rebecca Chatham
Date of Publication: September 1, 2011
Started On: September 3, 2011
Finished On: September 4, 2011

Wild Wild Widow is my second book by Emma Jay and a thoroughly invigorating one at that. Emma Jay has a talent for creating beautiful characters and making their flaws work in a story that makes their inevitable happily ever after that much sweeter in the end.

Wild Wild Widow caught my eye when Emma Jay’s page on Facebook announced this book’s release on Amazon. From the cover that first reeled me in to the blurb that signalled an unusual historical romance in the making, I had no qualms about loading up my IPad with this novella and indulging! And indulge I did because from page 1, the heat factor is on together with a hero and heroine who inevitably managed to surprise me as I delved deeper into the story.

This novella starts at an unusual point. 8 months widowed Lady Rebecca Chatham is about to invite the advances of a man who is willing to take her under his wing as his mistress. Rebecca’s marraige to her deceased husband Nathan Chatham had been one of grand passion and adventure, the precarious positions in which these two were found during different points of their marriage the highlight of San Francisco’s gossip mongrels.

As a result, Rebecca finds herself banished to the homestead of his brother Gabriel and his wife Beatrice as punishment. Rebecca is determined that her father would have to forgive her enough to take her back before long because she is not an outback kind of girl who would thrive in the blazing heat of Central California.

But when Rebecca encounters Judah Merrill, her brother’s foreman whose twinkling brown eyes and lazy charm instantly draws her to him, in Judah Rebecca finds a reason to stay and a reason to make a better person out of herself. And for the first time in her life, Rebecca finds that she is drawn to a man whose integrity and honesty shines through him, a man who could cherish her for who she is rather than making a spectacle out of their shared passion for each other.

Judah is not convinced that he would be able to provide Rebecca with the sort of adventurous life that her husband had provided her with, though the sultry kisses and forbidden caresses that are shared between them gets past the defences around his heart and catches him unawares before their affair runs its course.

Rebecca is the one whose surprised when she starts to yearn for far more than just her cowboy’s blazing caresses that makes her world spin out of control. But before long, both Rebecca and Judah’s passion for one another throws Rebecca’s past in her face until Judah takes the chance of his life to convince the woman who is suited for him in every way to share their lives together until death does them apart.

Though a short story, Wild Wild Widow is an intense one both in the physical and emotional sense. The wild lovemaking that Rebecca and Judah share is out of this world hot and tender at the same time that just calls to something deep inside of the reader. Rebecca’s character is one that is hard to define as she is someone who defies all the rules of the conventional society and lives to be her own person. Restless is how I would define her, making her yearn for things that lands her in trouble. And in Judah’s arms does the restlessnless find its cure and a love so beautiful that I found myself smiling all through their adventures.

Judah is a man who comes across as laid back and gentle mannered. But beneath that exterior lies a man who is capable of making your toes curl inward and your breath hitch as he turns up the blazing heat factor on. And the way he treasures each kiss and caress and turns even the most torrid encounters into something worth being savored is the best part about him.

Emma Jay has definitely spun a winner with this one. A tale that is different from most of the historical romances that line your e-book shelves and a romance and love that shines through at the turn of each page. Wonderful way to pass your time if you have an hour to spare!

Highly recommended!

Momentous Scenes

  • When Rebecca is found in a precarious position with a man – equal parts horror and hilarity
  • Seduction scene at the stream – Yowza!
  • The moment Judah takes Rebecca against the horse in the pouring rain – Pass me the ice please!

Favorite Quotes

He made a sound deep in his throat, pulled her closer and covered her mouth with his, a claiming kiss that made her skin tingle. His stubble rasped her skin. He tasted nice, minty, unexpected, as he tilted his head and slipped his tongue between her lips. She curled her fingers in the thick hair at the back of his neck, holding him to her as his tongue explored, as she lifted hers to meet his and return the intimate caress.

When they reached the creek where they’d gone two nights before, far enough from the house so that she could scream to the heavens as she came, he slid out of the saddle and pulled her into his arms, body to body, holding her tightly against him as he kissed her, open-mouthed and hungry. She wound her arms around him, pushed her leg between his, her tongue into his mouth and he was dizzy with wanting her. 

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Re-Read Review: Wild Orchids by Karen Robards

Format: E-bookwildorchids
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: John Roberts “Max” Maxwell
Heroine: Lora Susan Harding
Published on: March 15, 2001
Started On: August 28, 2011
Finished On: August 28, 2011

Reading Wild Orchids by Karen Robards for the 3rd time doesn’t seem to have diminished my enjoyment factor of the novel by even one iota. Call me crazy but even with the massive amount of books I have on my review pile, I just had to pick this one up and read it in one sitting yet again because the magic that is Max and Lora is an unbeatable one for me.

37 year old John Roberts Maxwell (Max) is a man hardened by the reality of war that had been his way of life when he had been enlisted in the Vietnam war. Leaving a piece of his soul behind due to the decisions he had been forced to make, Max comes home a changed man, a man incapable of giving what his innocent wife had demanded of him. A cynic to the core, Max doesn’t realize that life as he knows it would cease to exist the moment he kidnaps the prim and proper Lora in his attempt to evade the authorities of Mexico.

27 year old Lora Susan Harding is finally a free woman with the right to while away her time as she pleases. Having spent most of her life trying to put others needs first, Lora is ecstatic with the thought of exploring the exotic Mexico, the first vacation she has ever taken in her life. However, from the very start, her vacation refuses to proceed along as she envisoned it and being kidnapped at gun point by a disreputable looking man with an American accent just seems to be the icing on the cake.

At first, Lora is scared out of her wits at the thought of the less than savory acts her captor might try and force on her. A lady through and through, Lora hardly accepts herself to find her captor ridiculously sexy to the extent of ogling him and eating him up with her eyes every chance she gets. No stranger to the world of intimacy, Lora however has no clue that the uninhibited creature that emerges from deep within her that just wants to lick her delectable and broody captor from head to toe is a side of her that exists.

After Lora’s multiple attempts to escape which falls flat on her face every single time, Lora comes to the disturbing conclusion that she has a bad case of the Stockholme’s syndrome if judging the way all her emotions go haywire around Max is anything to judge herself by. Through a chain of events, Lora finds herself stranded in the midst of a Mexican jungle, depending on Max for her very survival. As the proximity heightens the already taut live wire of sexual tension between them, both Max and Lora find themselves to be no match for its heady power.

Wild Orchids would always remain by far my most favorite novel by Karen Robards. For some, Max might not be the stuff dreams are made out of. But when push comes to shove, Max is a man who delivers and Lord does he deliver! A man who is leery of commitment and relationships, Max cannot believe himself when he starts lusting after the prim schoolteacher who lands in his life. The harder he tries to shove her thoughts and presence out of his mind, the more tenacious her hold on him becomes and its a match that Max loses, rather ungraciously at first. Vital, sexy and the ultimate dangerous hero is how I would describe Max.

Lora’s character is an endearing mix of innocence and practicality all laced into one with a body that practically drives Max to the brink of insanity. It is the way she reaches far deeper than just his baser emotions that has Max struggling to shove her away with all his might, a man reluctant to share his demons with a woman Max thinks would be just as incapable of handling reality as his ex-wife had seemed to be.

Though towards the end, I definitely want a bit more grovelling from Max every time I read this one, I think the ending itself might be growing on me as I didn’t find it that sorely lacking the third time around. It seemed a fitting ending based on both Max and Lora’s characters and my bet is Lora loves Max too much to even give him enough leeway to do much grovelling even if it were to come to that.

The best thing about this book, hands down is the raw, explosive and primitive passion between two people that just serves as one whole session of sensory overload from start to finish.

Highly recommended!

Favorite Quotes

(Max) He shook his head impatiently. “You’ll be all right. I’ve got to go. Lora…” he hesitated, then with a muttered, “Hell!” swooped over her. Before she knew what was happening, he had her pinned back against the seat and his mouth was on hers, hard and hot and almost brutal in its demand. His hand was rough and warm on her breast. Lora’s senses exploded. She forgot the men outside the car, her anger with Max, everything as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a hunger that had been building inside her forever…

“Lora…” Her name was a tormented whisper as he kissed her harder, fiercer than before, as if he was starving for the taste of her mouth. She twisted in his arms, not trying to get away but to work her arms free… She managed to push them up through his crushing hold and lock them around his neck. He groaned deep in his throat, and she groaned too in protest as his mouth suddenly left hers. He was looking down at her, his breathing heavy, a wild glitter in his eyes. Lora lifted one hand from the corded nape of his neck and lightly stroked the rough, wet edges of his hair.

He smiled then, a slow smile that sent the blood racing through her veins. Lora felt the throbbing inside her intensify until she was sure she would not be able to stand it another second as he slowly, oh, so slowly, lowered his head. His target was her left breast. Lora felt his hot mouth close on the straining nipple, felt him tug the crest of her breast into his mouth to rub it with the rough wet surface of his tongue, and cried out in a frenzy of need.
And in that instant he took her.
She climaxed at once as he squeezed inside, enormous and hard and fiery hot and filling her to bursting.

Lora followed his eyes to the subject of their conversation. He was such a masculine man, tall and strong and sure of himself, cocky almost. A male chauvinist to his toenails, she suspected, as incapable of admitting to feeling hurt and lonely and afraid as a pig was of flying. But he was vulnerable too, enormously vulnerable. More than many people who openly asked for it, he needed love. He needed someone to hold him in her arms and convince him that what he had done was not so bad, was not unforgivable, did not put him beyond the pale of normal society. To convince him that he was lovable. And loved. And she meant to be that someone.

Funny, she had always thought that thin, bespectacled, intellectual types like Brian attracted her. Lora had to smile at her own naivete. Who would have guessed that she, Lora Harding, would buckle at the knees over a hunk of male beef?

E-book Purchase Links: ReaderStore | Barnes&Noble | Amazon

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Reviewers Note: From time to time, I get a hankering to re-read my favorite novels and sometimes I find myself with the urge revise the review that I had written down previously. Since I feel that revising a review that had been published a long time back is not something that ought to be done, I have resorted to start a new reviewing process aka the Re-Read Review. Books that rate a Re-Read Review would mostly be books that I am quite gushy about and cannot recommend highly enough!

by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Deceiving the Protector by Dee Tenorio

Format: E-bookdeceivingtheprotector
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Resurrection, Book 2
Hero: Jensen Tate
Heroine: Lia Crawford
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: August 15, 2011
Started On: August 1, 2011
Finished On: August 1, 2011

You know that uber satisfied feeling that you get when you have read a book that has managed to hit all those spots that crave to be petted and stroked when you immerse yourself in a good book? Well, at the moment I am like the cat who got her full bowl of cream and then some as the 2nd book in the Resurrection series managed to completely woo me and left me spellbound once again with Dee Tenorio’s ability to blow me away with her stories.

Jensen Tate, brother to Alpha and one of the generals of the pack is tasked with the job of finding a female “stray” and bringing her to safety. A job that stirs up feelings that Tate has thought long since buried when he comes into contact with the half-starved, gritty, determined and surly Lia Crawford who seems to call out to the inner wolf inside of him to come out and stake its claim on the woman whose bewitching green eyes show remanents of a hidden fear so deep that it just about tears up Tate on the insides.

Lia knows that there is no turning back for her on the path she has chosen to walk and that neither is Tate supposed to be with her if what he and his brothers have worked so hard to bring about is to remain on course without the vicious hunters on her trail getting to them through her. For the safety of her sister Laurel, Lia is willing to do anything, even put up with the constant darkness that never seems to leave her life, always one step ahead, forcing her to accept the fact that she would never ever be a free woman of her own will.

Tate knows that Lia hides more than she is willing to let on and it drives him nuts trying to protect a woman whose sheer stubbornness alone makes him want to lay her down somewhere and make her forget the dead weight that she seems to carry on her shoulders. As Tate “forces” her to go along with his plans, Lia finds herself charmed by a man beneath whose gruff exterior lies a wolf begging to be petted and stroked and a man whose rough tenderness just about breaks every wall and shield she has erected to safeguard her emotions & heart.

As their trek towards the next safe house continues, Tate comes face to face with the danger that stalks and preys on the absolute fear that it demands from Lia as he finally starts accepting the fact that Lia is his mate for life, if she can just trust him enough to protect her and save her from the evil that refuses to let go.

Deceiving the Protector is fantastic in all the ways that counts. The way Dee builds up her paranormal world, subtly bringing in the details in the midst of the character development is what drew me in. The constant whirl of my thinking cap trying to figure out what would happen next was what I loved most about this paranormal romantic suspense and the reality and horrors behind what Lia underwent at the hands of mad men willing to rid the world of shifters anyway they can just left me with a bad taste in my mouth and shivers of the bad kind running up and down my spine.

Jensen Tate is a hero that practically invaded my heart as layer by layer his character unfolds, revealing a man of immense strength and beauty, though being called beautiful might piss Tate off and make him growl a bit before settling down, but nevertheless that is how I find him to be. A man so worthy of tender touches and healing kisses, whose protective nature refuses to step back and let his mate be the protector instead, no matter how chauvinistic that might seem to be. The reason why I fell so deeply for Tate is how he manages to gently draw out the hidden woman inside of Lia who has been cowering inside, afraid to show herself and refuses to let her return back to the shell of a woman she was before. His charming manner of telling a good story of course had me sighing all over the place and of course nekkid Tate is a sight to savored on its own.

Lia is a heroine who finds the strength to go on against all odds, a woman who has been on her own for so long that she finds the concept of accepting help a foreign one. Nevertheless, her fascination with Tate that continues to grow as they spend time together is one that refuses to be denied, and the need and desire that unfurls deep within her to claim his wolf as hers is one that continues taunt and tease her until she is ready to serve herself to Tate on silver platter. It is Lia’s immense courage and strength that awed me, and the way she perfectly complements Tate and knows how to soothe & appease the inner wolf inside of him and at the same time be a mate worthy enough to stand by his side that won me over.

It is a testament to Dee’s ability that she managed to make a slight part of me feel for the villain who continued to terrorize Lia until his demise, and I couldn’t help a tiny part of myself from thinking that it is the monsters who had carved him into what he turned out to be that should be rotting in hell. I know that the as the Resurrection series continues that everyone would get what they deserve, in fact I’m counting on that to happen so that I can revel in it big  time when their asses get kicked to Hell never to return!

How Dee does it I would never know, but let me tell you I loved every single minute of it! One minute I am practically drooling and panting over the explosive passion between Tate and Lia, the next I am immersed in tender emotions so deep that I just feel like curling into a ball and sighing in contentment and the next thing I know I am laughing out loud at the witty banter between Tate and Lia that never fails to amuse! Kudos to Dee who manages it so effortlessly and made this book one entertaining fest that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon!

Highly recommended for fans of the series, fans of Dee Tenorio and fans of paranormal romantic suspense.

Final Verdict: Delivering a kick-ass paranormal world with a heady mix of suspense and romance that one cannot resist,  Deceiving the Protector is a SHOULD NOT MISS!

Favorite Quotes

Then he stepped into an orchard, on a rise of packed dirt between tree groves, and proceeded not to give a rat’s ass what she might be trying to do.
The scent was finally clear.
And it went straight to his head.
Female. Apples. Cool water. Rich earth. Rain. Sunshine.

Sometimes, she wasn’t sure when she was seeing him, except for those few moments when their eyes met and she couldn’t look away to save her own life. She could see the protector in him then, sense the hunter. Raw strength emanated from him in those moments, his intensity surrounding her, suffusing her. She could almost feel his arms around her, trying to pull her under his protection. She’d be safe with him. Not cosseted, maybe, but…she’d be able to breathe. To know the next breath was coming, sure as the sunrise.

(Tate) “Sure, she can. She also makes a staff out of light that can cut people and the cars they’re driving in half. Five-feet-five-inches of pure power. Even at her best, it’s like having a nuclear bomb for a sister-in-law.”
“Boy.” Lia laughed, and by the look on his face he knew it was at his expense. “She must love you.”
“We have a complicated relationship,” he agreed with a self-depreciating nod. “Sort of a cross between suspicion and fuck you.”

His hands gripped her hips, slowing her descent. She could feel him savoring her, quaking at the feel of her claw tips sinking into his shoulders. His eyes flickered, the gray color she loved having shifted to the glowing yellow of his Wolf. She smiled, bucking against his hold.
“This time, I take you.” She pushed down, filling herself with him. He growled, drowning out her sigh. He squeezed tight, but she refused to be held back. She lifted up, rocking forward before sliding back down, savoring his groan against the beaded tips of her breasts. “I’m claiming you, Jensen Tate.”
Because you’re mine.