Category / Scorcher!

by mvbookreviewer

Short & Sweet Review: Tempted by Janelle Denison

Format: E-booktempted
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze #35
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Marc Jamison
Heroine: Brooke Jamison
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: September 1, 2000
Started On: October 20, 2010
Finished On: October 22, 2010

As I finished the last chapter of Tempted by Janelle Denison, my first book by the author, I can still feel the tingles running up and down my body from the wicked and sensuous ride Ms. Denison has taken me on. I am very intrigued about going through the blacklist of Ms. Denison to find out whether all her books are as wickedly sinful as this one!

Storyline: This is the story of Brooke Jamison who just recently got divorced from Eric Jamison, her husband of two years, who unexpectedly finds forbidden frissons of desire exploding within her at the merest touch of her ex-brother-in-law Marc Jamison. Story kicks off when during the celebration of the 35th wedding anniversary of Douglas and Kathleen Jamison, Brooke’s in-laws, a chaste kiss between Marc and Brooke explodes into something more – something that brings out the wild and wanton side of Brooke that she doesn’t even know exists. *Fans self at the thought of that kiss! Whew!!*

The First Meet: There is no mention of how Brooke and Marc first meet, but working under the assumption that Marc is Brooke’s ex-brother-in-law, they most probably must have met each other when Eric had brought her to meet his family.

Time period: This romance has a contemporary setting.

Awareness between the two characters: I don’t think that Marc and Brooke could have been more aware of one another even if they had tried. There are hints within the story that Marc had always envied his brother for finding Brooke to share his life. But the true awakening of the senses begin with that one kiss that turns so hot that everything else just obliterates into nothing around them.

How the relationship grows: Marc and Brooke had always had a comfortable relationship with one another, had in fact being friends when Brooke had been married to Eric. But with that one kiss that propels everything out of control, Brooke who has always been the steady and dependable sort finds herself in a state of panic over losing herself once more over a Jamison. Marc lets her run away from him though he is intrigued on more than one level to find out whether the hint of explosive passion between them could be explored further. A man who believes himself incapable of being faithful in a committed relationship due to his one blunder when he had been a senior in college, Marc is a man who is of the love em’ and leave em’ kind. Three months after Brooke runs off from Marc, these two are stranded together in a snowstorm in a cabin with nothing to do but give into the emotions warring between them as a wild storm rages on outside. It is at this cabin that Brooke lets go of her restraints, learns of the sensual creature that exists inside of her and understands the complex man that Marc is, enough to fall in love with a Jamison, the second time round.

The turning point: The utmost turning point in the story was the first sizzling kiss between Marc and Brooke that begged to be explored further. Their relationship turns into something which cannot be undone when both Marc and Brooke give into this explosive desire between each other which eventually grows into something much more than either of them had bargained for.

Likes: Mmmm… I loved the world of sensual exploration in this story. I have to say that at times I felt like I was reading a novel of the Erotica genre as encounters between Marc and Brooke were frequent and searingly HOT! I loved the fact that Brooke and Marc communicated openly with one another rather than just settle into a vortex of misunderstanding which would have dragged on their problems. I liked the fact that both Brooke and Marc changed for the better during their short and sizzling affair though Ms. Denison doesn’t provide overnight solutions to their problems.

Dislikes: Absolutely none!

Recommended for: Harlequin Blaze line lovers. Though this book was published on the year 2000, this is a lip-smacking good read that should not be missed.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Short & Sweet Review: A Little Bit Naughty by Anne Rainey

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Tahoe Nights Story
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd.
Hero: Leo Prentice
Heroine: Amanda Harding
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 9, 2010
Started On: October 17, 2010
Finished On: October 17, 2010

I was eyeing the Lake Tahoe series long before its release, when I received my weekly newsletter from Books on Board. I find that an enticing cover always goes a long way with a romance and this one has got the enticing thing covered on all bases. When I found out that this a friends to lovers story, I didn’t waste anytime in obtaining a copy and sinking into this short yet sweet story. Since the story is quite short, I will do the short and sweet version of my review for this book.

Storyline: Leo Prentice, owner of the Prentice Construction and Amanda Harding, owner of The Book Attic are best friends. Amanda is always a little bit wary of her family’s annual reunion. Being the only girl in her family, Amanda doesn’t look forward to going to another reunion all alone and facing the endless criticism from her family because she is not married with 2.5 kids at her feet. When she confesses her worries to her best friend Leo, he proposes the most intensely wicked plan – Leo would pretend to be her fiance for the duration of the weekend. But somehow, both of them end up with more than each bargained for.

The first meet: Leo and Amanda had met one another three and a half years back at a grocery store.

Time period: Present day.

Awareness between the two characters: From the first kiss that takes place between the two, there is a constant hum of awareness of one another that hangs around the two. Leo and Amanda had never thought of each other as more than friends before. But suddenly, with that one kiss that had shaken each to their very core, the prospect of exploring what they have together becomes more and more exciting. Since the novel is extremely short, there is not much time spent on building the awareness into a frenzied pitch which would have made this book extremely good.

How the relationship grows: Leo and Amanda have been best friends for the past couple of years. They have a standing date with each other to have lunch on Wednesdays and Fridays and have never missed out on the said date. Their relationship had grown over the years to the extent that they each knew the other well enough to embark on a journey that would take their relationship to the next level.

The turning point: For me the turning point in Leo and Amanda’s relationship came about when Leo kisses Amanda for the first time, to convince her that their charade as pretend lovers could work. And the rest, as they say is a foregone conclusion! *winks*

Likes: I loved Leo as the hero. Wish that he had gotten a longer story of his own. Always a sucker for a man who works with his hands and has got a killer body and growls tender nothings in his lover’s ears. Sigh! Basically loved Leo from his head to foot!

Dislikes: The fact that this is a short novel. *pouts*

Recommended for: Those who would love a quick great read of the erotica genre and those who love books of the theme where friends turn to lovers.

Damn! now I wish for an against the wall scene! Sigh!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Marked by Moonlight by Sharie Kohler

Format: E-bookmarkedbymoonlight
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Moon Chasers, Book 1
Publisher: Pocket
Hero: Gideon March
Heroine: Claire Elizabeth Morgan
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: December 26, 2007
Started On: October 17, 2010
Finished On: October 17, 2010

When I finished Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas, I started out by choosing A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole from my humongous to-be-read pile. Even way before I started on the book I was thinking that I had previously read the book, mistakenly mixing up this title with the one I had chosen to read.

Marked by Moonlight by Sharie Kohler was a book I stumbled across during the time when I first discovered the exciting world of e-books. Back then I used to read about one book per day, maybe even more than that and tended to forget the book soon afterwards though some stories linger in my mind as worthy of a revisit sometime later. Not being much of a fan of paranormal romance, even then I remember that I had immensely connected with this story. When I realized that A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole wasn’t exactly what I had been looking for, I quickly posted what I remembered from the book on a couple of forums to find out whether anyone else remembered reading a book such as the one whose synopsis I vaguely recalled. I hit jackpot this morning when one of the readers of a forum remembered this book and I quickly loaded the book onto my Kindle and never looked back for the past couple of hours.

Marked by Moonlight is the first book in The Moon Chasers series by the author, the 3rd book of which is currently in my TBR pile. This book is the story of lycan hunter Gideon March who joins NODEAL, National Organization for Defense Against Evolving and Ancient Lycanthropes whose code was to destroy them at any cost. Gideon had been only 16 years old he had witnessed the brutal slaying of his father at his beloved mother’s hands who had been bitten by a lycan. She  had nearly destroyed Gideon and his younger sister Kit until they had been saved right in the nick of time by now Gideon’s boss and mentor and board director of the Houston Area division of NODEAL Cooper McPherson. Gideon had made it his life to seek out and destroy as many lycans as possible, the streak of vengeance burning deep within him refusing to die out anytime soon – that is until Gideon comes across prim and timid as they come schoolteacher Claire Elizabeth Morgan who literally turns his life upside down in more ways than one.

Growing up with a brute of a father who had controlled both Claire and her sweet mother with the threat of retribution by his fists hanging over their heads, it is no wonder that Claire carried the aftereffects of being submissive to ward off the violence in her life when she had been growing up. Now 31 years old, Claire is a high school teacher who has a soft spot for troubled kids, always going that extra mile to help them make a better future for themselves.

It is when Lenny Alvarez who has been under Claire’s special guidance throughout the year when she had finally broken through the layer of deep resentment that surrounded troubled kids such as him, goes AWOL that Claire dares to venture into Lenny’s neighborhood to ensure that Lenny would show up for his SAT’s on Monday. Claire doesn’t know what hits her when she follows Lenny into a dark alley and ends up being knocked down by a huge dog (which is what Claire wants to believe at first) and bitten in the process.

When she finds her savior Gideon March who is sexy as sin in her bedroom claiming that she had been bitten by a lycan and would herself go into a feeding frenzy the next full moon, Claire refuses to believe what she considers is a mad man’s mantra though Claire finds herself unbelievably drawn to the delicious temptation that Gideon’s body invites.

Gideon doesn’t know why he doesn’t pull the trigger and finish what was inevitable in coming, but somehow Claire with her new found confidence and feisty nature seems to answer a need deep within himself that he is unable to ignore. But helping someone who wants to keep her head buried in the sand proves to be a test on the reserves of patience that Gideon has in store. For the first time since Gideon started hunting Lycans, he goes against every code that has been ingrained into him and even lies to Cooper to buy himself time in order to find the alpha of the pack that had turned Claire and kill him/her before Claire has fed in order to revert the cycle.

When Claire finally does acknowledge the changes that are taking place in her body, precious time has passed and though she refuses to give up hope time seems to be a commodity that seems to be running out on them as Claire and Gideon battle the fierce attraction that blazes out of control between them which refuses to be denied as they go on the hunt. Help comes from unexpected sources and before the end is through, Claire would have to battle with the warring nature deep inside of her to come out victorious in the end.

I basically loved everything about this novel from its pretty cover to its great characters which made this a pretty great read, more so the second time round. I loved Gideon who basically oozed sex appeal at every turn and made my toes curl with his protective streak when it comes to Claire. I also loved Claire, the way she transforms from a mousy nobody into a sexy siren overnight, the lycan bite of course lending her the courage she needed in spades to embrace the person she really is. Loved the story that unfolded though some reviewers scoff at the idea of being able to reverse the effect of a Lycan bite and turn back into a human. I say its Ms. Kohler’s world of werewolves and shifters and she can do anything she damn well pleases with her other worldly creatures.

Recommended for those who love a romance with a sexy as sin hero who literally singes your eyebrows off with his smoldering sensuality and a plucky heroine who completes Mr. Sexy in every way.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Angel Creek by Linda Howard

Format: E-bookangelcreek
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Western Ladies, Book 2
Publisher: Pocket
Hero: Lucas Cochran
Heroine: Dee Swann
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: January 1, 1998
Started On: October 9, 2010
Finished On: October 14, 2010

Surprisingly, this is one book by Linda Howard that I do not remember ever reading. I do however remember reading the first book in the Western Ladies series, A Lady of the West which I have the mind to re-read again sometime.

This story takes place in the town of Proper in Colorado. Lucas Cochran upon the death of his father is the new owner of the Big Double C ranch which he has high hopes and big dreams of turning into an empire one day. One of the things that stands in his way and one of his many contentions with his father when he had been alive had been the issue of buying the land through which Angel Creek the most abundant source of water that ran through the surrounding mountains into the valleys. Lucas, a hard man who does not budge once he has made a decision has mapped out his life to the extent that he has decided on the woman whom he would marry, Olivia Milican, the daughter of the town’s only banker  in order to take his life along the path he had chosen. What Lucas hadn’t counted on is the desire to claim and posses that unfurls and rages out of control as soon as he meets the Dee Swann, the feisty owner of the land through which Angel Creek runs.

Dee, whose parents had moved to Prosper when she had been a fourteen year old school girl had only known of Lucas in passing. Eight years older than Dee, Lucas had already been a grown man and had left Prosper shortly after she and her family had arrived and settled down. Life had thrown its fair share of tragedies at Dee when Dee’s mother who had been a school teacher had died when she had been at the age of sixteen closely followed by the death of her father when she had barely turned eighteen. At first the sheer aloneness which she had found herself in had frightened her to no end. But Dee, a passionate and strong woman had quickly learnt to safeguard what’s hers and take care of herself by growing a garden of vegetables which saw her through the year. Men turning up with offers to buy out her land wasn’t something new for Dee, but the strong tug she feels towards blue-eyed Lucas Cochran is something she had never ever felt before.

With two people who are as strong-minded as these two, coming together is an explosion that is waiting to happen which Linda Howard as always handles superbly. I swear, Linda Howard writes the hottest love scenes, sometimes much racier than the most explicit erotica, racier in the sense that you feel more whilst reading these scenes than you feel when reading erotica that is done not so tastefully.

Dee falls head over heels in love from the moment Lucas claims her as his though Lucas takes a bit of time to identify that what he feels for Dee is not something that he would find with just any woman. But Angel Creek and the deep abiding love that Dee feels for the land that surrounds her and brings her peace unlike anything else is a source of contention amongst the two until another party who showed his interest in the land suddenly decides to take matters into his own hands when drought threatens to take away everything he has built from scratch.

With rage and fear coursing through Lucas at Dee nearly been snatched away from his life because of the dreaded land, Lucas presumes to know what would keep Dee safe above everything else which nearly drives them apart in the end. There are two side stories that go hand in hand with Lucas and Dee’s story, both equally interesting in their own rights. And as usual, being the sucker for epilogues that I am, I loved reading about how all the couples fared in the end knowing that each found true love and happiness with their life partners in the end. There’s nothing more a true romance reader could ever hope for!

There were several things I loved about Dee. She is headstrong, not your meek average heroine who would grate on your nerves. Rather, she is the sort of woman who knows what she wants and works hard to achieve what it is that she desires. When true love does strike, Dee doesn’t strive to change who she is so that she can fit into Lucas’s plans. Rather she takes whatever time she has with the man she loves, consequences be damned! Lucas sometimes made want to hit him a time or two on the head, but he is a man who is in love and lust with the woman who is made for him. And I am always a sucker for a hard man who can treat a woman gently enough and goes crazy enough to lose their iron clad control. So all in all, a great read though I took my own sweet time in finishing up. You all can blame my busy work schedule for that!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Kiss to Kill by Nina Bruhns

Format: E-bookKiss to Kill
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Passion for Danger, Book 3
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Hero: Captain Gregg van Halen
Heroine: Dr. Gina Cappozi
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 6, 2010
Started On: September 29, 2010
Finished On: September 30, 2010

I am finally done with the Passion for Danger series by Nina Bruhns and I have to say that that was one heady and wicked ride that she takes the reader on.  I fell in love with all her characters that she managed to create so vividly that I felt like I was part of them when the series ended. I really do not know for sure whether the series has ended though it definitely does feel like it when the 3rd book in the series concluded.

Though this is the story of the irresistibly sexy, dark and dangerous Gregg Van Halen and Dr. Gina Cappozi, this is also where my much coveted for story of how Christopher Alexander Zane (Alex) and his long time best friend and FBI Special Agent Rebel Haywood also find their happily ever after with one another though the road to happiness is not an easy one for either of the couples.

For those who have read books 1 and 2 in the series they would already know that Gregg and Dr. Gina had become lovers in book 1 when Gina’s best friend Rainie had been taken by the Zero Unit of CIA to which Gregg also belonged to. Gregg’s mission had been to stop Gina from asking unnecessary questions by using whatever means necessary. What he hadn’t counted on was the fact that Gina would reach out and call to something deep inside of him no other woman had ever been able to touch and that she would become the center around which his world revolved.Coming from a broken family, Gregg had been forced to watch his father beat his mother when he had been young. Intervention had landed him in hospital. When his mother had died when he had been 5 years old and his father had started the vicious cycle with other women, Gregg had finally left home when he had just been 10 years old and survived long enough to land in the army and later at the Zero Unit of CIA.

Gregg had just been following orders when he had brought Gina to the Zero Unit’s headquarters. Gregg’s orders had been to leave to Kurdistan on a 3 week mission immediately afterwards and he had only learnt of Gina’s capture by Al Sayika upon completion of his mission when the trail had gone long cold. Knowing that all the clues pointed towards  him as the traitor and the mole within CIA hadn’t deterred him from his self-appointed mission of rescuing his woman and keeping her safe.

Gina however is a woman who has other plans for her ex-lover. Betrayal from the man she had fallen so helplessly and completely in love with during such a short period of time had cut deep into her. Her plan is to exact revenge on Gregg, kill him with her own bare hands. To meet this end, Gina had agreed to act as bait to draw and lure Gregg in so that the STORM agents who were protecting her would finally be able to capture the traitor who had played such a vital role in making all their lives miserable. What Gina doesn’t fully comprehend is the fact that Gregg had been with her all the way, even when she had been recuperating from her injuries at Haven Oaks, a STORM-owned sanatorium in central New York. And when push comes to shove, it is Gregg who rescues her from imminent execution, a plan put into motion by a desperate man trying to tie up all the loose ends.

Meanwhile, Alex who had been left at the altar by his fiance Helena has also been recruited as a STORM agent and because of his lingering issues after his capture and torture at the Al Sayika’s hands for 16 months, Alex had been assigned to guard Gina’s home; a duty from which he is relieved in order to investigate some newly received intel which puts him directly at the path of Rebel, the one woman he has vowed he would stay away from because Alex is sure that he would never be able to give Rebel what she definitely deserves. But Alex can’t help himself when Rebel is nearly blown to pieces, another present from Al Sayika, and with no fiance to hold his loyalty, Alex lets his baser emotions take control with the woman he loves and wants to stay away from.

Rebel needless to say is ecstatic when Alex finally takes her in his arms and shows her in reality what she has been craving for ever since she had laid eyes on him. And when Alex drops the bombshell that nothing more could come out of their encounter Rebel is heartbroken to say the least and even a bit enraged to find why Alex had actually contrived to marry her friend Helena and presumes to know what Rebel actually wants in life.

As STORM and Gregg closes in on the traitor, the story of Gina’s ex-fiance Wade Montana and Metro Police Detective Sara McPhee also starts to unfold though its more of a side story. Before the traitor is caught, suspicions fall on both Gregg and Wade who both in their ways had contributed unknowingly towards the imminent capture of Gina by Al Sayika. The final showdown between the good and the bad guys definitely delivered what I wanted with a shocking revelation for a villain in the end.

As right from the very beginning, I totally heart Gregg and love the way he protects his woman though he believes he is not capable of giving or receiving love because of his dark past. The man he has shaped into makes for a deliciously edgy and dark hero enough to spice up the dreams of even a rusted old woman. Alex though at times I felt like hitting him on the head a time or  two beautifully made up for it in the end. Though Gregg and Gina is my favorite couple from the series (might have something to do with the fact that I am irresistibly drawn to Gregg) Alex and Rebel do come as my second favorite couple with Bobby Lee and Darcy from the previous story in the third.

This is a great series worth your time if you are a fan of romantic suspense who can handle equal amounts of terror and sensual delights all packed into one.

Favorite Quotes

In the mirrored film noir frames of the moving window, he (Gregg) searched her face for any sign of recognition. Or of alarm. And found none. Her eyes passed quickly over him.
But within himself, crouching right next to the anger that simmered and roiled in his chest, he felt a bone-deep physical recognition of her. And had a sudden, overwhelming need to put his hands on her. A need so potent and visceral it nearly sucked the breath from him.
He knew this woman, intimately. Knew her flesh and her fears. He had plunged deep inside her and felt her quake with the pleasure his presence there had brought her. And had felt her tremble with the fear of his absolute power over her.
He wanted to feel her quake and tremble again.
But she would never allow it. Never accept him again as she once had.
Because he had betrayed her.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Personal Research by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookpersonalresearch.jpg
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Nunizo McGinty
Heroine: Elena Thomas
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: September 17, 2010
Started On: September 20, 2010
Finished On: September 20, 2010

I just had to go and buy this book after reading a review posted on Goodreads by Sparklybearsy which made me smile all over and tingle in anticipation about reading this story which seems to have hit every craving spot on when one indulges in a bit of erotica now and then!

Elena Thomas, 25 years of age, works as a secretary at the McGinty, Haylor & Smith law firm. By day, she writes legal briefs, but at night and sometimes at work, she writes down scenes of her heroes and heroines indulging in wall banging, off the charts hot sex, as an erotic romance author. With two parents who are both college professors, Elena had grown up in an environment that had taught her to suppress all her emotions one way or the other. Being someone who suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder, the one place where Elena lets go of the tight rein on her emotions and sensual nature is when her fingers fly over the keyboard, creating situations between her characters hot enough to make a girl salivate.

Nunizo McGinty is the nephew of Mike McGinty, one of Elena’s bosses. Half-Italian and half-Irish with amazing eyes, rock-cut cheekbones a firm jaw and distractingly full lips, I wish there was an IT guy or two around my workplace like him *wink*. Nunizo comes to America to visit his Irish side of the family and to obtain his Masters degree in English language. Dabbling in IT had been a side hobby of his and helping out his uncle at his law firm just gave him the excuse to hang around and salivate over the gorgeous and buttoned up red headed beauty who in his mind he called Bella, because it means beautiful, absolutely magnificent. *Swoons!*

Elena knows that she has a hankering for the new IT guy who seems to be popping around a lot the last two weeks. His smoldering gaze alone was enough to pin her down in her chair and one day, whilst Nunizo is servicing the printer that seems to be in direct sight of Elena’s workstation, her ogling session results in her accidentally sending pages of her newest novel to print.

Nunizo is surprised and more than pleased when he finds out just how wicked an imagination his Bella has and is determined that he would be the one who would make all her wild bottled up fantasies into a reality. Somehow a relationship that starts off based on physical need alone develops into something more, and changes Elena’s views on life and how she sees herself.

As most of the readers of this novella have pointed out, the opening line itself made me smile because it certainly was an attention grabber to say the least. The scenes between Nunizo and Elena are hot, hot, hot and made me want an Italian whispering sweet nothings in my ears (if you know what I mean!) *bawdy wink*

Great read for a novella, with a yummy hero and equally great heroine and enough smexing to last me until the next book? And I totally loved the comedic feel at times, Elena’s thoughts definitely made me laugh out loud a time or two. Elena as the chastised sexy bunny and Nunizo as Mr. Tall, Dark and Sinful! And don’t you just love the expression on the face of the guy on the cover! Sigh!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Jasmine Jade

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Forbidden Fruit by Anne Rainey

Format: E-bookAnne Rainey - Forbidden Fruit_pic0001
Read with: Adobe Reader
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Red Sage Publishing Incorporated
Hero: Luke McGiffin
Heroine: Ava Sweet
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: April 2, 2008
Started On: September 20, 2010
Finished On: September 20, 2010

I read my first Anne Rainey book ages ago. Ever since I joined Twitter and found Ms. Rainey there as well, I have had a hankering to read one of her books. And because there is nothing like a short novella to spice you up in every way possible, I chose to go ahead with this book which features a hot as sin hero and a heroine who is more than his match in bed and out of it.

Ava Sweet has had a hankering for the dark haired, leather jacket wearing Luke McGriffin ever since the McGriffins had moved into her town when Ava had been a senior in high school. Luke had been every girl’s hottest dreams personified and though Ava who had always been a tomboy and been more comfortable as a track star and basketball MVP of Green Valley High School and scoffed at the idea of women swooning all over Luke, secretly she too had yearned to be taken in his arms to experience the hard, fast and hot loving that Ava knows only Luke can give her.

Now a veterinarian assistant, Ava is called to Luke’s place because he had found a cat on his front porch and didn’t know what  to do with it. Ava overhears her best friend’s brother and the star of her wicked fantasies respond to his best friend Pete Redding’s observation that Ava is hot with incredulity. Ava is shaken to the core to hear her worst fears confirmed – that Luke would never see her as a desirable woman with her own needs and desires. Before she knows it, Ava stalks in, claims the cat, kisses Pete senseless and agrees to a date with him next Friday and knees Luke in his balls before stalking out.

Jen McGriffin, Ava’s best friend and captain of the cheerleader team in high school can barely contain her glee when Ava plans to get a makeover to show Luke what he has been missing all these years. Jen is going to make sure that before the night is through, Luke would be down on his knees begging Ava to come home with him. But Luke isn’t as immune to Ava as Ava thinks he is. Having wanted her from the first day he had walked into high school and seen her, and knowing Ava to be quite the headstrong and independent woman she is, Luke had steered clear of her and sowed his wild oats elsewhere always thinking that Ava would wait around till he is done and ready to commit to her. But knowing that Ava, the woman who is the most prominent figure in his wildest dreams is about to go on a date with his best friend makes Luke livid with jealousy.

The coming together of Luke and Ava is searingly hot and I enjoyed reading every minute of their encounter. It’s always good to see the bad boy lose control of his emotions and fall in love. Since this is a novella, I didn’t expect much from the storyline, but even then, if this story could have been a bit longer, I bet it would have completely knocked my socks off! Now who wouldn’t want a bad boy like Luke McGriffin I wonder! ;)

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy

Format: E-bookflat-out sexy
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Adobe Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Fast Track, Book 1
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Hero: Elec Monroe
Heroine: Tamara Briggs
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 4, 2008
Started On: September 7, 2010
Finished On: September 8, 2010

I normally don’t like romances that deal with race car driving or anything of that sort. But seeing rave reviews of this series on a lot of book review sites and countless recommendations of these titles got my interest piqued enough to give these books a go. And I am so glad I did! Though I had reservations about reading a book by the author since her book Heiress for Hire kind of fell flat on the sensuality department, this book literally set my heart racing everytime Elec and Tamara got together.

Tamara Briggs, widow of the famous race car driver Pete Briggs who was killed in a wreck in Talladega is ready for the dating scene two years on. Though she has her reservations about her appeal after bearing her babies, Petey and Hannah both of whom she loved more than anything else in the world, Tamara needs to feel that connection and is so lonely of being alone since her husband died. A sociology professor and 32 years old, Tamara ventures into the dating world by going out with anthropology professor Geoffrey Ayers who couldn’t be less suited for her even if she tried. When her friend Suzanne points out that fact and some more, Tamara knows that she had thought wrong when she started going out with Geoffrey just because she wanted someone safe this time, who wouldn’t end up getting killed on the racetrack. Tamara had sworn that she wouldn’t date a race car driver again and that she didn’t want to put her or her kids through the pain of losing someone like that again.

Resolving to break things off with Geoffrey before the party is through and she has to fulfill the expectations Geoffrey has of them sharing a bed  together, she bumps into a guy spilling her wine glass all over him to look up and see a man who makes her go weak at her knees. The attraction that sizzles right from the very beginning is not one sided. 25 year old Elec Monroe feels like his world had tilted on its axis when sexy and beautiful Tamara runs into him. Elec who has been rendered infertile a couple of years back, dates women who wouldn’t want anything more than to live in the moment because he doesn’t want the pain of being rejected by a woman he has come to care about because he wouldn’t be able to provide her with children. But when Tamara bumps into him all his rules change in an instant and he is smitten right from the very beginning.

Tamara has a lot of valid reasons not to start something with the only man who is able to touch her in all the right ways and make her feel good about herself. For one thing he is younger than herself, she doesn’t want the hassle of getting together with a race car driver and putting her heart and emotions on the line again, and she has her kids to think about and her in-laws who have been together with her through every step of the way and helped her through adjusting to life being a single mom. The Briggs who were like family to the Monroes had had a falling out with them and Johnny, Pete’s father hated them with a vengeance which also gave Tamara a pause every time she thought of her and Elec getting together.

But reason always seems to fly out through the nearest window whenever Elec is within her sight. Red hot need obliterates everything else and Tamara knows that she and Elec share more than just fabulous sex with one another. Elec shows Tamara that he is not just after her delectable body but something much more and that he is with her for the long haul. Elec is kind, passionate, sweet and a very endearing hero and Tamara herself suites him to a tad.

I loved the smooth flow of the story, the passionate scenes which were done so tastefully and contributed towards making the love between Elec and Tamara richer. The side characters Ty & Imogen (whose story is next in the series) and Ryder and Suzanne (whose story is in the 3rd book of the series) all contributed towards making this book an instant winner with me. Can’t wait to sink into the next one in the series! Highly recommended for all contemporary romance lovers!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Morning After by J.K. Coi

Format: E-bookmorning after
Read with: Adobe Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Ellora’s Cave Quickies
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Leo
Heroine: Leslie
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: January 12, 2010
Started On: September 4, 2010
Finished On: September 4, 2010

I usually refrain from reading Quickies because even though most of the time these quite short stories do pack a good punch, in the end I feel sort of cheated out because the story would have been wonderful if the character development had been more and the story just a teeny tiny wee bit longer! Even then, its always a delight now and again to read a good Quickie romance from Ellora’s Cave. When I came across this title, thanks to Pearl whom I follow on Twitter as well as on Goodreads, I knew with the 5 star ratings that this book had received already that it should be one hell of a read even for a Quickie and I must say I wasn’t disappointed.

The book comprising of just about 50 plus pages start off when Leslie wakes up after her worst hangover to find herself in bed with the last person she thought she would end up with – her husband Leo from whom she was in the process of getting divorced.

Leslie had grown up rich and pampered with her father Rick Jordan being a successful lawyer with his own law firm Jordan, Maxwell, Palmer. When Leslie had met Leo who is described as to have been a bad boy (which I would have loved to read more about!) her father had never taken to the idea of them getting together. Nevertheless, Leo and Leslie had been married for 7 years and they had been blissfully happy until it had all come crashing down.

Leo owns his own agency catering to movie stars, authors etc. When one of his clients had shot into stardom overnight, so did his business right alongside with it. For the first time since he married the love of his life whom he loved and adored with every fiber of his being, he was able to pamper her with all the luxuries that she had grown up with. But the demands on his time had been relentless from then onwards.

With the type of business that Leo has, it is inevitable that entertaining till the wee hours of the night goes with the territory. With Leslie being agoraphobic, she was ashamed of the fact that Leo had to leave her alone to do his business wining and dining most of the nights, but when evidence to the contrary surfaces, Leslie is forced to acknowledge that her cheating no good of a husband had lied to her in the end.

Without giving Leo a chance to explain, Leslie had thrown him out of their home and had her father run interference. For two whole months Leslie had been miserable in the knowledge that Leo had broken her heart. With her father dropping hints that he would like nothing better if Leslie moved on with David, her divorce lawyer who was the newest junior partner at his firm, Leslie had been scheduled to meet him at the night club into which her gorgeous husband had walked in with a platinum blond on his arm.

Leo had rescued her from inevitable disaster when the guy she had been flirting outrageously with had spiked her drink. Now lying in bed the morning after with her body yearning for her husband’s touch with Leo pulling all the dirty tricks up his sleeve to entice her back into his arms, the morning ends with one inevitable conclusion.

Even then, Leslie refuses to give Leo a chance to explain nor does she tell him why she left him in the first place. But Leo is relentless in his desire to find out and win her back and in the end, when Leslie does show him the evidence of his betrayal, a videotape of him having sex with his latest client, Leo’s explanation restores her faith back in the man who is her soul mate.

A story that is a quick and hot read that left me breathless at times, J.K. Coi should write more contemporary romances, albeit a little longer ones that we can sink our teeth into. A story with the underlying message that communication lines between partners should always be open, this is one Quickie all erotica contemporary lovers MUST read!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Ellora’s Cave

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: One Summer by Karen Robards

Format: E-bookone summer
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Adobe Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Dell
Hero: Johnny Wayne Harris
Heroine: Rachel Grant
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 1, 1993
Started On: September 2, 2010
Finished On: September 2, 2010

This was a title I read sometime back when I first discovered Karen Robards as an author. I have always remembered this book to be one that I had immensely liked and thus I decided to revisit this story and see what had intrigued me so much back then.

Rachel Grant lives in the sleepy town of Tylerville. Coming from a rich affluent family Rachel now past thirty years of age was resigned to the fact that she would most probably spend her life in Tylerville as a high school English teacher. With her sister Becky married to Michael Hennessey, the one man who had managed to fire up her dreams and living elsewhere with her husband and three girls, Rachel knew that she would not be able to leave her mother Elisabeth and her father Stan Grant behind when her beloved father was suffering from Alzheimer disease and taking its toll on all those who loved him.

Johnny Wayne Harris is the boy from the wrong side of town. Rachel had been Johnny’s English teacher and it was only she that had seen beneath the tough as nails exterior that Johnny puts up in front of everyone else. The Harris family was considered to be white trash within Tylerville and everyone always figured that Johnny would in the end turn out to be just like his father, when in fact he had turned out to be worse when he was convicted of the vicious murder of Marybeth Edwards who had been seeing Johnny back then on the sly. Though Rachel believed that Johnny hadn’t committed the murder, the state decided that he in fact did and had sent him to jail.

Now Johnny was back, having to work off his parole and Rachel wanting to give him a second chance though she knew Tylerville would be in an uproar for the fact, offers him a job at her family’s hardware store. From the moment that Johnny steps off the bus Rachel knows that he is not the boy that she had envisioned in mind. The sullen even then handsome boy had filled up and in front of her stood a lean, hard and tough man who had matured into a dangerous looking man.

Johnny had always had the “hots” for his then teacher Rachel and had always fantasized about her during his teen years. But even then Johnny had known that apart from the age barrier that had seemed vaster back then, they would never be of the same social standing within the society and any relationship that they could have would be doomed right from the start. But Johnny was tired of dreaming and never having and all of a sudden he craves Rachel with the burning desire of a grown man.

Rachel is appalled when she feels the first inklings of red hot desire when she sees what a superb specimen of the male species that Johnny is. And with him enticing her every step of the way and slowly seducing her into his arms, Rachel who had always cared about Johnny more than she had let on suddenly finds herself out of her depths in the strong feelings that Johnny invokes in her. Its not long before the flames of desire that keeps burning finally burst out of control and Johnny is a man who definitely knows how to keep his woman happy.

Meanwhile, the actual killer who committed the heinous crime twelve years back is still on the loose and swearing to finish what had been started all those years back. When Johnny’s close friend and on and off lover Glenda Watkins is also stabbed to death in the same manner as Marybeth was, the town is in an uproar over arresting Johnny and sending him to the electric chair. The only thing that saves him is Rachel and her testimony that Johnny couldn’t have killed Glenda.

Johnny deduces that the only thing that the killer wants is to kill women who were in his life as his lovers. And Johnny knows deep in his gut that Rachel with whom he had fallen in love with and would lay down his life for was in danger of being murdered by the maniac on the loose.

This story is a wonderful read. The total bad boy image that Ms. Robards has effectively created for Johnny would infuse any woman’s dreams. And the man that he grows into is one worth salivating over. Rachel is more than his match with her unwavering faith in him and the love that burns deep within her heart for the man whom the society deems as unacceptable. With glimpses into Rachel’s family life, the town that abhors Johnny’s existence and the ramblings of the mind of a killer vicious enough that gave me the creeps, I couldn’t put this book down once I started. Highly recommended for those who are fans of Ms. Robards as well as those who love romantic thrillers with a good dosage of sensuality in the mix.

Favorite Quotes

Sometimes, in prison, when he’d been lying awake at night staring at the bunk over his head, Johnny had thought that he missed Wolf most of all.
Wasn’t that a damned sad commentary on his life?
The dog whined again. Knowing he was being ridiculous, that he was liable to lose the hand at the wrist when the animal charged, Johnny nonetheless took a step forward,holding out his fingers for sniffing.
“Wolf? Come here, boy.”
Incredibly, the huge animal sank to its belly and slunk forward, behaving as if it wanted to believe but feared a cruel trick. Johnny dropped to his knees to greet it, his hands reaching out, burrowing in the coarse hide, stroking and scratching as the dog whined and licked and pawed him and butted him with its head.
“Ah, Wolf,” he said as he accepted the truth at last, that this one thing that he had loved had been spared in order to greet him. Then, as the big head snuggled into his lap, he wrapped his arms around the dog’s thick neck and buried his face against the animal’s side.
For the first time in eleven years, he wept.

Thoroughly ruffled, Rachel turned her back on the source of her annoyance and started for the door. She could feel his gaze on her, and the notion that he was watching her made her suddenly self-conscious. In her teetering heels, she could not help but sway.
Just as she reached the door, he made an odd sound that caused her to glance back at him, startled.
“Rachel,” he said in what was scarcely more than a husky whisper, while his eyes drilled into hers, “don’t sleep with him. Sleep with me instead.”
Her breath caught for a moment as the words coiled around her like a seductive snake. Only by forcing herself to keep walking was she able to escape.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard

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