Category / Toe Curler!!

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Only December by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Douglas Saxon-Barrington
Heroine: Mona Paulson
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: November 21, 2025
Started On: November 25, 2025
Finished On: December 05, 2025

I lived in drought for so long before she became my rain.

Only December is one of those quiet, deceptively gentle romances that slowly works its way under your skin. The story unfolds over the course of a single month, when Mona Paulson takes on a temporary housekeeping assignment in a lakeside mansion owned by Douglas Saxon-Barrington, a reclusive philosopher who has deliberately withdrawn from life. What begins as a strictly professional arrangement soon becomes something far more intimate, something neither bargained for when each agreed to the terms.

Mona is thirty-two, self-sufficient, emotionally grounded, and quietly confident in who she is. She values her independence deeply and has never been interested in settling for a relationship that does not genuinely add to her life. There is a warmth to her that is not loud or performative, and her curiosity about people feels organic rather than intrusive.

Douglas, on the other hand, is fifty-two, widowed, and exquisitely controlled. He lives a carefully structured life shaped by loss, discipline, and intellect, believing that his most meaningful days are behind him. He is thoughtful, restrained, and unexpectedly tender, with a depth that makes every interaction with him feel deliberate and weighted.

As December progresses, their worlds begin to overlap in small but meaningful ways. Mona gently disrupts Douglas’s rigid routines, encouraging him to step outside his library and engage with the world again, while Douglas sees Mona in a way few people ever have. Their connection grows through shared walks, conversations about joy, grief, purpose, and the quiet intimacy of being truly seen. The tension lies not in whether they want each other, but in whether they are willing to risk reopening doors they believed were firmly shut, especially when time is clearly limited.

What I loved most about this story was Douglas. He is one of those rare heroes who is swoon-worthy not because of dominance or bravado, but because of kindness, self-control, and emotional honesty. The way he listens, the way he speaks, and the way he loves feels deeply intentional. Mona complements him beautifully, not by diminishing herself, but by standing firmly in who she is. Their physical connection mirrors their emotional one, slow, meaningful, and surprisingly powerful. The age gap becomes a non-issue and I literally swooned because Douglas was that hero for me.

That said, this is a quieter romance, and readers looking for high drama or rapid escalation may find the pacing too gentle. The story leans heavily into introspection and emotional nuance, which worked wonderfully for me (perhaps I was in the mood for one), but it may not be for everyone. I would have loved just a little more time with them beyond December, simply because their connection was so lovely to sit with.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy mature romances, introspective storytelling, age-gap relationships done with care, and heroes who lead with intellect and emotional depth than force.

Final Verdict: A tender, thoughtful romance about grief, joy, and the courage it takes to open your heart again. Quietly beautiful and deeply satisfying.

Favorite Quotes

“I disagree. A lot of people might want to be as authentic as you, but they’re too deeply swayed by making the right impression on the world or pursuing a strategy to get what they want or finding the easy way through the harder parts of life to live life as truly as you do. Why do you think you were able to break through all my protective barriers?”
My mind whirls. I can’t believe this is happening. He’s saying so much of what I desperately want to hear, expressing an appreciation of me—the real me—that no one else ever has. “I… I don’t know. I guess I just assumed because I was here and always around.”
He lets out a breathy laugh. “That’s not it at all. You’re right about me at heart. I have been hiding from life. And then suddenly you breezed into my world, all that’s best and most beautiful about life embodied in one warmhearted, intelligent, and spirited woman. How could I not wake up?”

He reaches out to take my hand. “Do you not want to sleep with me?”
“Of course I do. But I wasn’t sure if you… I mean, since we’re not together for real, I thought…”
He shakes his head. “Sweetheart, be serious. People are different. I know they are. But I will always be me. And I can’t imagine ever—ever—wanting to do what we just did with someone and not wanting to wake up with her beside me in the morning.”
I make a helpless, sobbing sound. Far too much emotion coming out in one burst.
Then I let him pull me back into bed beside him.

“Do you often get headaches this bad?”
He shakes his head. “Not anymore. They’re migraines. I used to get them at least a couple of times a month, but for the past several years I only get them occasionally.” His eyes are closed as he talks. It looks like he can barely even open them.
“What set this one off, do you know?”
“The weather change, I think. Shifts in pressure sometimes do it to me. I was hoping to stave it off.”
“Do you have any other medication you can take?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Why the hesitation?”
“Because it makes me fuzzy and out of it for hours.”
“Isn’t that better than being in pain?”
“I guess. I just didn’t want to…”
“To what?” He so seldom trails off in conversation I assume he’s in too much pain to get the words out.
But then he finally goes on. “To lose the day.”
He didn’t want to lose the day.
I place a hand on my aching chest.
It’s December 17. We only have two weeks left.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Million Reasons by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Eric Vincent
Heroine: Julie Nelson
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 21, 2024
Started On: November 21, 2025
Finished On: November 23, 2025

A Million Reasons begins on a quietly devastating note, and that emotional grounding becomes the lens through which the entire story unfolds. Julie Nelson has spent years caring for her aging parents, putting her own ambitions on hold, and when the novel opens she is standing at the edge of loss, exhaustion, and profound uncertainty. Into that fragile space enters an unexpected proposition: three months as a personal assistant to a difficult billionaire recovering from a serious injury, in exchange for a life-changing sum of money.

Julie is a heroine defined by restraint. She is thoughtful, emotionally intelligent, and deeply shaped by responsibility. At thirty-one, she has lost not only both parents but also the life she once imagined for herself. Her calm, stoic demeanor and her quiet competence makes her an easy heroine to root for. Eric Vincent, by contrast, is all sharp edges. A wealthy, brash former athlete with a broken leg and a deep aversion to emotional dependence, he is used to control and isolation. Their dynamic is built on their differences: her steadiness against his volatility, her patience against his entitlement.

As Julie steps into Eric’s world, forced closeness, care giving, and shared silences begin to chip away at both their defenses. Both with unresolved trauma, their connection grows from a place of mutual need than fantasy. Julie slowly finds her footing again, testing the idea that she is allowed to want something for herself after years of sacrificing her dreams. Eric, meanwhile, is confronted with a version of intimacy that does not revolve around control or avoidance, something that unsettles him far more than his injury ever could.

What worked especially well for me was Julie’s character arc. Her growth is deeply human, particularly in how she begins to imagine a future beyond grief and obligation. The emotional weight of caregiving, loss, and starting over is handled with sensitivity, and those elements lend the story a grounded realism. I also appreciated the tenderness woven into smaller moments, as well as the presence of secondary characters who add emotional texture to the story.

That said, I could not help feeling that the story did not fully explore the depth it promised. Both Julie and Eric felt like characters with immense potential who were not pushed quite far enough. Their emotional and physical connection, while believable, never quite reached the intensity it hinted at, and I found myself wishing for at least one moment where the full scope of their chemistry was allowed to unfold without restraint. Given their opposing energies and shared wounds, there was room for a more expansive exploration of desire once Eric was physically healed, and that absence was noticeable.

One of the most affecting aspects of the story for me was Maddy. My heart broke for her in a quiet, lingering way, the kind that stays with you beyond the page. There is something profoundly sad about a child carrying so much so early, yet there is also a measure of grace in knowing that she has a father who can marshal every possible resource to shield her from the worst of it. That contrast between fragility and protection added an unexpected emotional depth to the story, and Maddy’s presence softened Eric in ways nothing else quite managed to.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy caretaker romances, emotionally reserved heroines, wounded heroes, and stories about starting over after loss, especially when romance unfolds quietly rather than explosively.

Final Verdict: A tender, reflective romance with a strong emotional foundation and a compelling heroine, though it stops just short of fully realizing the intensity its premise suggests.

Favorite Quotes

He met her eyes. “I never thought having a kid would be easy, you know. But I never knew it would rip you up like this.” He lifted a hand to cover hers on his cheek and held it for a long moment.
Finally, Julie pulled her hand away. “That’s exactly right,” she said, leaning back against the sofa. “What family does, I mean. It puts you together and then rips you apart. Over and over again.”

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Wedded Arrangement by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, FMC
Series: Convenient Marriages, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Lance Carlyle
Heroine: Savannah Emerson
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 23, 2019
Started On: November 15, 2025
Finished On: November 15, 2025

A Wedded Arrangement by Noelle Adams unfolds with a premise I adore; marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and two people who should have nothing in common slowly finding their way toward something real. Yet this one walks a far more nuanced line, particularly because Savannah and Lance come into the arrangement carrying very different burdens from their pasts, shaping who they are when the story begins.

Savannah Emerson grew up in a town sharply divided between the wealthy and the ones who served them, with her family firmly belonging in the latter category. A lifetime of watching the rich glide through life while everyone else scraped by has hardened something inside her, particularly when it comes to Lance, with whom her enmity runs long.

Lance, now thirty-four, is the golden boy who walked away from the fortune of his parents to build a business on his own terms. When his grandmother leaves him her wealth under the condition that he stay married for a year, Savannah becomes the most unlikely but necessary solution to his problem.

Nine months into their arrangement, with three months to go, Savannah is more than ready to ditch the husband she believes is entitled, privileged, and aggravatingly smug. But the unavoidable truth is that marriage, real or contractual, creates cracks where humanity leaks through. Lance shows himself to be thoughtful, unexpectedly vulnerable beneath the polish, and far more principled than Savannah assumed. The more time they spend together, the more her rigid assumptions begin to erode, even as she fights tooth and nail to hold onto them.

Much of the friction in this story comes from Savannah’s worldview, her ingrained resentment of privilege, her unwillingness to acknowledge nuance, and the chip on her shoulder that makes her judge Lance by the actions of every wealthy person she has ever resented. It borders on reverse snobbery, and at times it is difficult to watch her demand emotional penance from a man who has been actively trying to distance himself from his toxic upbringing. Yet the moments where she softens, where she sees Lance as a man shaped by trauma, loneliness, and a deeply dysfunctional family are what make the romance worth rooting for.

Lance, on the other hand, is the highlight of the novel. He is patient without being passive, self-aware without being performative, and far more kind than Savannah’s narrative allows at first. Witnessing the rot festering within Lance’s family and the realization that privilege came with a cost made for the emotional punch of a different dynamic. The intimacy between Lance and Savannah, both physical and emotional, develops naturally, with playful chemistry and mutual caretaking that gives the story heart.

While I enjoyed the relationship’s evolution, as mentioned before, I really struggled with Savannah’s rigidity and her worldview. Her world is painted in absolutes, and for most of the book she refuses to acknowledge how unfairly she treats Lance simply because of where he comes from. It made the relationship feel unbalanced at times, and I could not shake the sense that Lance was made to “atone” for circumstances beyond his control. I also feel that if Lance had put Savannah through similar anguish, readers would react very differently to the circumstances.

Recommended for: those who enjoy marriage-of-convenience stories with emotional complexity, imperfect heroines, and heroes who quietly steal the show.

Final Verdict: A thoughtful and quietly compelling marriage of convenience romance with a standout hero; Savannah may frustrate, but Lance makes this a worthy read.

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Ache for You by J.T. Geissinger

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Slow Burn, #3
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Matteo Moretti
Heroine: Kimber DiSanto
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: November 06, 2018
Started On: November 11, 2025
Finished On: November 15, 2025

Ache for You is yet another reminder of how versatile and wildly entertaining J.T. Geissinger can be as a storyteller. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Florence, this romance takes the familiar “fiery enemies to reluctant lovers” trope and dresses it up in couture-level drama, humor, and sexual tension.

Kimber DiSanto’s life is an absolute mess when we meet her; dumped at the altar by a senator’s son, her face plastered all over the media, her business literally burned to the ground, and her father on his deathbed while she was millions of miles away. With her pride bruised and her future hanging by a thread, she heads to Italy to salvage what is left of her father’s dress shop. What she does not expect is to walk straight into the orbit of Matteo Moretti; Italian fashion royalty, certified god of seduction, and the man who makes her blood pressure spike in more ways than one.

Kimber is a hurricane of sharp edges, sass, and unchecked emotional volatility. She is funny, irreverent, passionate to a fault, and often absolutely exhausting. But she is also vulnerable in ways that give her character weight, especially when the story digs deeper into her fears of betrayal and abandonment.

Matteo, on the other hand, is a glorious contradiction. For all the swagger the hero of a Geissinger novel usually possesses, Matteo surprises in the best ways: he is sexy without being sleazy, tender without being soft, and deeply sincere despite his arrogance. From the moment he meets Kimber at an airport lounge (why these things can’t happen to us, I would never know), it is clear he is a different breed of romance hero. Their chemistry is instant, electric, and impossible to ignore.

What follows is a series of blisteringly tense encounters where Matteo, patient, persistent, and devastatingly alluring, tries to win over a woman who refuses to give him even an inch. Kimber’s deep-seated mistrust makes her combative at every turn, and while this generates delicious friction in the early chapters, the pattern begins to weigh the story down later on.

Matteo is giving, open, and steadfast, while Kimber clings to her resentment and keeps shifting the finish line. Her lingering wounds from her past explain her reluctance, but her inability to extend Matteo the benefit of the doubt becomes grating, especially as the sexual tension ratchets up, every aching kiss by kiss. Kimber it feels, makes even Jeissinger try too hard, and that is saying something.

Still, the charm of this book lies in Geissinger’s sharp writing, flawless comedic timing, and her signature brand of sensuality. The buildup between Kimber and Matteo is long, very long (God help us all), and though at times it feels like the novel is drowning in foreplay, the eventual payoff is undeniably sexy and sweet. Matteo shines as the kind of hero who does not just want the heroine; he sees her, champions her, and cherishes every flaw she tries so hard to hide. And even when the plot loses some momentum, it is Matteo that keeps the pages turning.

By the final chapter, everything resolves in a way that feels more practical than romantic, but still satisfying. Kimber’s growth finally catches up with her stubbornness, Matteo remains the luminous heart of the book, and the epilogue gives us the soft landing these two chaotic creatures deserve. Even in its messy moments, this was a highly readable and enjoyable ride, because even Geissinger’s more problematic books are stronger than most.

Recommended for: Readers who enjoy snarky heroines who are nothing but sass, saintly-but-sexy Italian heroes, travel romances with flair, and enemies-to-lovers tension dialed all the way up.

Final Verdict: A chaotic, funny, slow-burn romp through Florence with a decadent Italian hero and a heroine who tests every limit. Exhausting at times, but irresistibly readable.

Favorite Quotes

“What are you in the mood for?”
I want to be furious. I want to be outraged. I want to slap him across the face. However, a thermonuclear blast has detonated between my legs, so all I can do is stare at him for a moment as a scalding wave of heat envelops me, and my nipples start to tingle.
Finally, when his full, sculpted lips lift into a carnal smile—because he obviously sees the effect he’s having on me—the anger I’d hoped for makes an appearance.
Holding his gaze, I say through gritted teeth, “You arrogant, stuck-up, cocky, self-important, sexist peacock. You wanna know what I’m in the mood for?” I lean closer to him. “Murder.”
If I hoped that psychotic little speech would turn him off, I’m wrong. His eyes flare, his carnal smile turns absolutely filthy, and he produces another chuckle that makes the bartender, who’s arrived with my espresso, emit a tiny gurgle of lust.
Staring intently into my eyes, he says softly, “Yes, bella. I want you, too.”

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Melt for You by J.T. Geissinger

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Slow Burn, #2
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Cameron Christopher McGregor
Heroine: Joellen Bixby
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: May 15, 2018
Started On: November 09, 2025
Finished On: November 11, 2025

There’s his Wikipedia page, his social media feeds, countless news articles, interviews, and photos. It’s jarring seeing the photos of him in action on the rugby field because he looks nothing like the man I’ve come to know.
He looks feral. Ferocious. Frightening. Like he’s released from a maximum security prison on short-term leave only for his games. There isn’t a single photograph of him smiling.

J.T. Geissinger does it again. Melt for You is one of those rare contemporary romances that slips in quietly, makes you laugh out loud, makes your heart clench, and then when you least expect it, melts you into a puddle of goo. It is smart, tender, outrageously funny, and a masterclass in how to write a transformative slow burn with two characters who simply shine together.

Joellen Bixby has spent most of her thirty-six years blending into the wallpaper, a self-effacing copy editor who lives for routine, her Saturday nights with her cat, and her entirely unrequited ten-year crush on her too-perfect boss, Michael Maddox. Joellen’s upbringing has done a number on her: an ex-model mother, a glamorous sister, and years of subtle and not-so-subtle messaging that she is the odd one out. Her low self-esteem is bone-deep, and Geissinger paints it with painful accuracy, often softened with Joellen’s razor-sharp, hilarious inner monologues.

Enter Cameron McGregor: a tattooed, kilt-wearing Scottish rugby captain whose bad-boy image precedes him. He moves in next door, rocks Joellen’s carefully ordered world on day one, and never once apologizes for it. Cocky, provocative, physically unstoppable and yet so unexpectedly gentle, Cam sees Joellen in ways she has never been seen before. And even though the book is told entirely from Joellen’s point of view, it becomes obvious early on that Cam is a goner. His pursuit is not filled with grand gestures or declarations, but consistency, care, and a kind of stubborn devotion disguised as irritation.

As their friendship grows, so does the tension; beautifully paced, painfully slow, positively electric. Cam becomes Joellen’s personal trainer not to chisel her into someone else’s ideal, but to make her strong, healthy, and confident. Every interaction between them (even the bickering) is charged, layered, and purposeful. The “practice kissing” scenes are some of the sexiest, sweetest writing Geissinger has ever done, and when the story finally tips into full-blown intimacy, it is both tender and scorching, delivered with surprising softness for the notorious playboy Scot.

I loved Joellen’s relatability; her insecurities, her humor, her resilience. And Cam? He is the book boyfriend those of us who have had body image issues never knew we needed. His backstory adds emotional heft to why he champions Joellen so fiercely, and why her self-loathing wounds him in ways she does not understand. If anything, I only wished we had had even a little of his POV, because his quiet unraveling in the background is half the magic.

This is a story about seeing and being seen, about shedding years of internalized criticism, and about a love that was never about transforming Joellen into someone else, but about helping her become the version of herself she never believed she could be.

Recommended for: Readers who love slow burns, sunshine-meets-storm-cloud dynamics, body-positive arcs, grumpy-but-smitten heroes, laugh-out-loud banter, and kisses written like poetry.

Final Verdict: A tender, funny, deeply satisfying slow burn with a Scottish hero who redefines swoon. A heartfelt knockout.

Favorite Quotes

“Keep up!” Cam barks over his shoulder at me as I lag behind him on the sidewalk, breath steaming white from my nose and open mouth, sweat pouring into my eyes, my will to live quickly being extinguished.
“Must. Stop. Death. Imminent.” My wheezing and staggering frightens a flock of pigeons into screeching flight from their perch on the back of a bus bench.
Cam turns around and trots back to me. He hasn’t even broken a sweat, the heartless bastard. “Joellen,” he begins patiently. “We’re two blocks from the apartment.”

“Is it . . . okay?”
He swallows. His blink seems to last an unnaturally long time. He clears his throat and offers a curt, “Yup.”
“Yup? That’s it?” I look down at myself, regretting the heels. Maybe I look slutty. Maybe there’s too much boob showing. Oh God, maybe I was wrong about the color—
“Joellen.”
Cam’s sharp tone yanks me out of my head and back into reality. “Huh?” I stare at him, wringing my hands.
Slowly and softly, holding my gaze as he enunciates every word, he says, “You. Look. Sexy. As. Fuck.”

“Promise me something,” he whispers into my hair.
“What?”
“No matter what happens with Michael, we’ll still be friends.”
“I thought you didn’t want to be friends.”
His sigh is a big gust of air. “God, you’re an idiot.”

“You were in therapy? For years?”
“I worked on my head as hard as I worked on my body. Can’t say the effect was as successful, but yeah. Therapy. Seein’ how badly my mum was mind fucked by life, I’ve always been into self-improvement. I also read a lot. Everything, really, biographies to history to politics. I didn’t go to college—gettin’ through secondary school with a learnin’ disability was tough enough—but I do love to read.”
He’s all that he is, and he loves books. Why, universe? Why give me this with someone who has a life on the other side of the world? I snuggle closer to him, breathing in his wonderful, warm scent, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “You don’t seem particularly angry to me, prancer.”
He chuckles and nuzzles his nose into my hair. “Beauty tames the savage beast, I suppose.”

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Veranchetti Marriage by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
POV: Third Person, FMC
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Alex Veranchetti
Heroine: Kerry Taylor
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: June 01, 1988
Started On: November 03, 2025
Finished On: November 09, 2025

“I will not be easy until I have known you again in the only fashion in which I ever knew you.”

The Veranchetti Marriage captures everything I love about vintage Lynne Graham; emotional turbulence, combustible chemistry, and a hero whose jealousy and passion spill over every page.

This second-chance marriage novel begins four years after Alex and Kerry’s brutal divorce, with both still bearing the scars of what tore them apart. Kerry, married at nineteen and discarded just as swiftly, has rebuilt a quiet life around her young son. Alex, the formidable tycoon who once loved her against all his instincts, returns with an ultimatum: full custody of their child… or marriage, again. For two people whose love once burned too brightly, the reunion is like striking a match over dry tinder.

Kerry, now twenty-three, still carries the hurt of being abandoned at the moment she needed Alex most. Their marriage had been fraught, her vulnerability, Alex’s possessiveness, and the poisonous interference of her half-sister created a perfect storm. For Alex, the trauma runs even deeper than Kerry knows. Intensely proud and ruled by emotions he refuses to admit, he walked away believing she had betrayed him, unable to confront the wound or the questions that might unravel him. What he does not expect when he coerces her back into his life, is for those old feelings to come roaring back to the surface; raw, aching, and impossible to control.

As they navigate their forced reunion, the truth of the past begins to unspool in a way that reframes everything. The layers beneath Alex’s cold ruthlessness are revealed through the story of what shaped his outlook as a teenager, a betrayal that carved him into a man terrified of surrendering power to love. His jealousy was not arbitrary and became his defense mechanism sharpened by a trauma he never learned to voice. And Kerry, sweet and young and entirely unequipped to deal with a husband who oscillated between tenderness and withdrawal, was collateral damage in wounds that were never hers to bear.

I loved the emotional push-and-pull between them; the clashes, the tenderness that slips through when they least expect it, the raw longing neither can deny. The passion is palpable even when Graham keeps the explicit scenes understated; the tension and chemistry more than carry the narrative. However, I wanted an epilogue, given how much these two endured and overcame. After all the jealousy, misunderstandings, and heartbreak, I would have adored a glimpse of them finally settled into the family they should have been all along.

Still, the angst hits all the right notes, Alex’s vulnerabilities make his possessiveness strangely compelling, and Kerry’s mix of fragility and quiet strength grounds the entire story. The revelations from Alex’s mother are particularly excellent, adding depth and emotional logic to everything that came before.

Recommended for: fans of classic Harlequin angst, jealous and emotionally damaged heroes, second-chance romances with real bite, and heroines who love fiercely even when it hurts.

Final Verdict: Vintage Lynne Graham; fiery, emotional, and deeply satisfying. A turbulent second-chance romance that delivers passion, angst, and a beautifully earned reconciliation.

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Irreversible by Jennifer Hartmann & Chelley St. Clair

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
POV: First Person, Multiple
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Isaac Porter
Heroine: Everly Cross
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: January 30, 2025
Started On: October 20, 2025
Finished On: October 30, 2025

Irreversible is one of those romances that refuses to fit into a neat box. Dark, disorienting, and relentlessly atmospheric, it drags you into its claustrophobic nightmare from the very first chapter and doesn’t loosen its grip until the final page.

Everly Cross’s life shatters in a single moment when her husband is gunned down in front of her and she herself is abducted by a monster who keeps his victims like collectibles. Locked away for years, Everly’s world shrinks to a cell, a wall, and the voices that comes and goes from he other side. When that voice belongs to Isaac Porter, a disgraced former detective whose obsessive hunt for his missing sister lands him in the same hell Everly occupies, things undergo a monumental shift. Two broken people, separated by concrete and circumstance, become anchored to each other in the darkness.

Isaac is the sort of morally damaged hero I gravitate toward: brash, volatile, wounded, and deeply human beneath those jagged edges. His childhood, marked by violence and neglect, has shaped him into someone who never believed himself worthy of love. Losing his sister pushed him the rest of the way into self-destruction.

Everly, meanwhile, is soft where Isaac is carved out of hard places; educated, sheltered, and gentle, finding herself suddenly thrust into a nightmare she was never built to survive. And yet she does. The strength she develops in captivity and the quiet resilience she carries long after her release form some of the most compelling threads in this novel.

The connection that forms between them, through a wall, shared trauma, and whispered truths and stolen moments is electric. This is not a romance built on grand gestures or tidy emotional arcs. Instead, it is a raw, primal tether forged under extreme pressure.

Once they escape captivity, the story shifts dramatically, exploring the messy aftermath of everything, the jarring return to a world that has moved on without Everly, and Isaac’s continued descent into vengeance. Their eventual reunion, years later, is explosive in every sense and exactly what I wanted; rage, longing, desire, and profound emotional recognition colliding in one unforgettable scene that will live rent-free in my head for a long time.

What I appreciated most was that the authors did not sand down Isaac’s edges or turn Everly into someone unrecognizable to make the romance “fit.” Isaac remains dangerous, volatile, intensely protective, and commitment phobic, a man shaped by his darkness rather than cured of it.

Everly evolves, but she never stops being gentle, empathetic, and soft-hearted. Their intimacy, especially the club scene, is a visceral, scorching culmination of pent-up need and suppressed emotion, but also a turning point that finally allows them to see each other clearly outside the shadows of their shared nightmare.

The villain is deeply unsettling, the timeline jumps are bold, and the twist woven into the ending unexpected and yet strangely fitting. I did find some of the dramatic reveals slightly over the top, but given the genre and tone, the heightened intensity works. What ultimately anchors the book is the emotional core; Isaac and Everly choosing each other not because they become whole, but because they recognize each other’s fractures and love in abundance in spite of it.

Recommended for: readers who love dark romance, morally grey heroes, trauma bonds that evolve into real connection, and stories that blend suspense with searing sensuality.

Final Verdict: Dark, claustrophobic, and scorching—Irreversible delivers a twisted and unforgettable romance between two broken souls who find salvation in each other amidst the most harrowing circumstances.

Favorite Quotes

I settle back against the wall, my hair a tangled curtain around my face. “Isaac…” I murmur. The name falls out effortlessly.
I like it.
His tone dips, veering into that place of vulnerability he loathes to idle in. “You don’t need to say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“All sweet and soft, like it’s your new favorite word.” There’s a notable edge to his tone, gravelly and raw.

Death is easier. Death is tangible.
Loose ends are just tragic, the threads dangling forever out of reach.

“How are you?”
“I’m okay. I took a shower. It was heavenly.”
A smile spreads. “I can imagine. You smell divine.”
“I’m sorry I stank yesterday. I’m sure you needed to take ten showers to eliminate the stench by association.”
“No. You smelled exactly like I remembered.”
God, I hope not. “Like what?”
He pauses, a flash of poignancy lighting up his eyes. “Home.”

When I glance out into the sea of lights and obscured faces…
I notice a man.
I notice a lot of men, but one stands out.
I’m not sure why he snags my attention as he stands off to the side, watching me dance. His arms are crossed, one hip parked against the wall a few feet away. Two long legs are tapered in dark denim, and a gunmetal-gray Henley looks like it’s glued onto him. Muscles bulge against the thin fabric, twitching in time with his stubbled jaw. The man exudes intensity. Something heady and almost…alarming.
I can’t see the color of his eyes through the strobe lights and a cloud of smoke, but I feel them dig into me like a pickaxe.
My breath hitches.
Gazes locked, I squeeze my breasts then drag my fingertips up my chest, my collarbone, and through my hair in an upward, sensual glide. I bite my lip as I stare at him.
He stares back, unflinching. Unblinking.

As I turn the corner, there’s a man leaning against the weathered brick, smoking a cigarette.
I falter.
Our eyes meet through the glow of an overhead streetlamp.
Slowing my steps, I squeeze my purse strap, glancing around at the still-lively street as cars whiz by and people gather in small groups.
My attention flicks back to the man.
The same man I noticed watching me.
He lowers the cigarette, blowing a plume of smoke up toward the sky before settling his dark eyes on me. He doesn’t speak.
“Hey. I saw you in the club.” I’m a few feet away, but I feel the heat emanating from him. Something potent.
I wait for his reply, for the sound of his voice, but his mouth snaps closed. Jaw tight, he just stares at me, wordless. A muscle in his cheek jumps as his eyes roll over me.
He’s incredibly attractive.
Stunning, even.
My skin prickles with goosebumps. I wonder if he heard me over the heavy bass seeping out through the main door. Chewing on my lip, I take a cautious step forward.
I clear my throat, peering down at my sneakers before glancing back up. “I’m Bee. Do you⁠—”
He turns and stalks away.

An image comes into view: two dark, stormy eyes attached to a familiar face, scruff along his jawline, and brown, disheveled hair.
His hand strokes my cheek.
Just a graze. A fleeting, tender touch.
The gesture douses me in warm tingly peace as I slowly twist my head to the side and blink up at him, knowing, believing, with every tortured piece of my soul⁠—
“Isaac,” I breathe out.
His expression changes. He glances around, face hardening as his jaw tics and his muscles clench. He straightens, then backs away gradually, like he doesn’t want to go. His finger curls around a lock of my hair before he releases me.
I watch him retreat.
“No…” Another wave of panic threatens, clogging my throat as I try to pull myself into a sitting position. “Come back…”
I struggle against the new hands that reach out, holding me down. Then I watch, helplessly—heartbreakingly—as he turns on his heel and bolts through the open door, the image of dark-wash jeans and two black boots disappearing from my periphery.

A hand curls around my neck as he bends down, his teeth nicking my jaw.
I shiver. Moan.
Bastard.
Regrouping quickly, I push at his chest again. “Get off me. I swear to God I’ll⁠—”
He snatches a fistful of my hair and tugs my head back, his lips a centimeter from mine. Then he growls out, the tips of our noses grazing, “What’s the matter, Chloe? I thought you liked it rough.”
My eyes widen.
Blood freezes.
Lips parting on a sharp exhale, I gape at him, my fingers twisting the front of his T-shirt. Confirmation glitters in his eyes. His words.
His voice.
Then he fucking smirks.

When the knock comes, it’s light-handed but resolute.
She came to me.
Allowing no time for hesitation, I move to the side, flip the lock, and pull the heavy door open with enough force that it slams into the wall. Before it can fall shut, I lash out like a viper, grip her wrist, and haul her inside. Her gasp lights my nerves like a fuse, and I release her into the room as the door closes, latching automatically.
The lion and his lone gazelle.
She’s all mine.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Rich Man’s Whim by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: A Bride for a Billionaire, #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Mikhail Kusnirovich
Heroine: Kat Marshall
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: April 23, 2013
Started On: October 17, 2025
Finished On: October 20, 2025

Lynne Graham’s A Rich Man’s Whim delivers exactly the sort of emotional indulgence I crave from her older titles; an intense, wounded hero; a selfless, quietly strong heroine; and a romance built on simmering attraction, buried fears, and the slow, reluctant surrender to love.

Kat Marshall has spent most of her adult life putting herself last. With a mother who never cared enough to stay sober or faithful, Kat stepped into the role of parent for her younger half-siblings, shelving her own dreams in the process. When financial disaster strikes and she has nowhere left to turn, the last thing she expects is the arrival of Mikhail Kusnirovich, a billionaire with an icy exterior, an unexpected interest in her, and a ruthless offer she has every reason to refuse… but cannot.

Mikhail, for all his wealth and polish, is shaped by a bleak childhood. He grew up watching his father’s paranoid cruelty and his mother’s tragic, fearful devotion, an imprint that convinced him love is a trap, vulnerability a danger, and emotional attachment something to be avoided at all costs.

But from the moment he meets Kat, nothing is quite so straightforward anymore. She is older, wiser, and infinitely more grounded than the women he is used to. Her innocence isn’t naïveté; it is the stubborn resilience of someone who has survived responsibility and heartbreak without bitterness. And when she refuses to be seduced or bought, Mikhail’s fascination becomes something far more dangerous to his rigid control.

His offer? One month on his yacht to clear her debts, and a physical relationship which he believes will “fix” his inconvenient desire sets the stage for a dynamic charged with tension. Kat is understandably wary, but once she makes her decision, she does so with emotional honesty that becomes the backbone of the story.

Mikhail, meanwhile, tries desperately to compartmentalize his growing attachment, terrified of becoming he fears the most — vulnerable. The push and pull between them is deliciously Graham: passion edged with fear, tenderness buried under pride, with two people who want each other more than they dare admit.

What I loved most is how vividly their inner wounds mirror each other. Kat’s abandonment issues and Mikhail’s terror of emotional dependence collide in a way that was deeply satisfying. Their chemistry is hot; Mikhail is undeniably sexy, intense, and commanding, but what gives the story its weight is how both characters slowly strip down the emotional armor they have worn for years. Kat’s quiet courage, particularly her willingness to embrace joy when it finally comes her way, makes her a heroine easy to root for. I also loved that there were no unnecessary theatrics from her end; once she accepted her feelings, she moved with grace rather than needless drama.

The ending is heartfelt and rewarding, especially given how terrified Mikhail was to fully love someone. Watching him choose vulnerability, despite every instinct warning him away, makes their happily-ever-after feel that much more precious and coveted.

Recommended for: fans of wounded heroes, older heroines, forced-proximity, emotional scars, and intense, and sensual chemistry that softens into love.

Final Verdict: A sensual, emotionally layered romance with a wounded hero worth melting for and a heroine whose quiet strength anchors the entire story.

Favorite Quotes

‘When I say no, Mr Whoever-you-are, I mean it and the answer hasn’t changed—’
‘You’re a very strange woman,’ Mikhail gritted, outraged by her and yet curiously drawn by the challenge of her defiance.
‘Because I’m not saying what you want to hear? Well, do I have news for you?’ Kat told him angrily. ‘I’m not the Sleeping Beauty and you’re not my prince, so the kiss was a waste of effort!’

‘Look at me,’ Mikhail ground out between clenched teeth.
Against her will, affected more by that tone of command than she expected to be, Kat glanced up. Soft pink flushed her delicate cheekbones while a pulse beat out her nervous tension like a storm warning just above her collarbone. Involuntarily captivated by the brilliance of her green eyes against her pale perfect skin, Mikhail studied her with a frown. He watched the tip of her tongue slide out to moisten her lower lip and he went hard as a rock just imagining even the tip of that tongue on his body. Expelling his breath harshly, he turned his handsome head away.
‘I’ll be in touch,’ he said again in a tone of decided challenge.

‘You’re so stubborn,’ Mikhail growled in complaint against her lush mouth.
‘You’re even worse,’ Kat complained, idle fingers brushing through his luxuriant black hair while her languorous gaze admired the exotic slash of his cheekbones, the arrogant jut of his nose and the strength of his jaw line. ‘But luckily for you, you’re also incredibly sexy…’
Mikhail tilted his imperious dark head back and laughed out loud. ‘Am I?’
Barely able to credit that she could already be so relaxed in his company that she could tease him, Kat grinned. ‘I think so…but shouldn’t we be joining your guests for a farewell breakfast?’
‘Stop being so sensible,’ Mikhail urged with a frown.
‘I’m always sensible,’ Kat told him ruefully.
‘If you were that sensible you would have avoided me like the plague,’ Mikhail asserted with conviction.

In the office on the upper deck, Mikhail opened his laptop. Kat would sleep in her own bed tonight. He could get along without her for one night. He had never been dependent on a woman in his life and she was no different. Well, she was different in one aspect: he wasn’t tired of her yet, hadn’t yet had enough of that slender, soft-skinned body of hers that melted into his as if she had been created to be his perfect fit. Sex was amazing with her, everything he had ever wanted, everything he had never dreamt he might find with one woman. The pulse at his groin stirred, the stubborn flesh swelling and hardening behind his zip even at the thought of her. Three weeks and she was still turning him on hard and fast. He didn’t like it—he resented her power over him, loathed it when she tried to plunge him into the kind of meaningful dialogue he never had with women. In a sudden movement he snapped the laptop shut again and rose lithely upright, six feet five inches of powerfully frustrated and aggressive male.

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: An Insatiable Passion by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, FMC
Series: Convenient Marriages, #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Jake Tarrant
Heroine: Kitty Colgan
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: September 14, 1990
Started On: October 14, 2025
Finished On: October 17, 2025

Lynne Graham’s An Insatiable Passion is a delicious throwback to everything I miss in classic category romance; raw yearning, combustible chemistry, and the sort of angst that coils tight in your chest and refuses to let go.

Kitty Colgan returns home after years away, now an internationally renowned actress with poise and polish. But all of that cultivated serenity crumbles the moment she comes face-to-face with Jake Tarrant, the man who once broke her heart and altered the entire course of her life. Their shared childhood was marked by sharp class differences and even sharper emotional wounds. Kitty, the unwanted child raised by cold grandparents, and Jake, the privileged boy who saw something precious in her long before she saw anything in herself.

Eight years earlier, one reckless night changed them forever. Kitty suffered through the aftermath alone; pregnancy, miscarriage and abandonment, while Jake ran headlong into marriage with another. When Kitty returns at twenty-five, elegant but hollowed by past pain, and Jake at thirty-three, now a single father, the spark between them reignites with the force of a wildfire. Every interaction, no matter how barbed, carries an undercurrent of longing neither of them can disguise.

The heart of the story lies in their entangled histories and the devastating misunderstandings that shaped their early choices. Jake had never stopped wanting Kitty, but the circumstances of their past and what he believed then made him flee when he should have fought. Kitty, meanwhile, has never been loved in the way she yearned for, and Jake’s betrayal carved deep wounds that time could not heal. Their reunion is therefore explosive in the truest sense: two damaged souls circling each other with equal parts desire, bitterness, vulnerability, and bone-deep familiarity.

What makes this novel shine is the sheer visceral intensity between Kitty and Jake. Their chemistry is elemental; magnetic, primal, and impossible to temper. Jake, in particular, is the kind of hero I miss in contemporary romance: confident, masculine, commanding in the way that makes your ovaries break out the pom-poms, and vulnerable only when it comes to one woman.

Kitty is Jake’s Achilles heel, and Graham writes that dynamic with addictive tension. Kitty too is a heroine molded by hardship, sweet, feminine, and painfully susceptible to Jake, but also stronger and more self-aware than the girl she once was. Their passion feels both inevitable and combustible, and Graham handles their emotional unravelling with sharp insight and heavy emotion.

I loved the revelations that come late in the story, particularly the truth about Jake’s mother and the tangled mess of lies, shame, and misplaced guilt that sabotaged their young love. The cycle they were trapped in becomes clearer and more heartbreaking, making their second chance feel both that much more precious and deeply satisfying. And the ending… pure perfection. Seeing Jake and Kitty unable to keep their hands off each other with a baby in their arms and another on the way encapsulates everything this book does best: love that burns hot, heals deep, and endures. Tina, Jake’s daughter, adds just the right amount of softness to balance the intensity. The only thing that could have made this book better? More insight into the Tina-Kitty dynamic. I would have adored some more of that.

Recommended for: readers who love old-school intensity, combustible chemistry, tortured pasts, childhood-to-adult second chances, and heroes who burn for their heroines with single-minded devotion.

Final Verdict: A gorgeously angst-ridden, sensual, and emotionally charged second-chance romance; An Insatiable Passion delivers everything the title promises in spades.

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Married by Contract by Noelle Adams

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, FMC
Series: Convenient Marriages, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Nick
Heroine: Jenn Castle
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: July 20, 2016
Started On: October 13, 2025
Finished On: October 14, 2025

Noelle Adams continues her exploration of unconventional relationships with Married by Contract, the second book in the Convenient Marriages series. This time, the marriage-of-convenience trope comes with a refreshing twist: Jenn Castle, a self-made, ambitious businesswoman, is the one who enters into a five-year contract and “purchases” her groom Nick, an ex-military private investigator with an easygoing nature that balances her high-stress world. Three years into their arrangement, a shift neither of them planned for upends the carefully crafted distance between them. What begins as a practical remedy for Jenn’s stress becomes the catalyst for a deeper, more vulnerable connection.

Jenn is a heroine shaped by abandonment, with her father’s departure having taught her to survive alone and never expect permanence from the people she cares about. She is disciplined, guarded, and fiercely independent, making her request for physical intimacy from Nick feel both audacious and deeply human. Nick, on the other hand, is the perfect laid-back counterpart. He is calm, grounded, and easygoing… until he is not. Behind his mellow exterior lies a quietly commanding man whose protective instincts and sensual intensity catch Jenn and the reader, unexpectedly and deliciously off guard.

As their physical relationship deepens, Jenn’s emotional armor begins to crack. The real tension of the story lies in her fear of losing control, not of her body, but of her heart. Nick, meanwhile, carries his own quiet longing. His willingness to give Jenn space, even when it costs him, becomes one of the most compelling aspects of his character. Unlike the traditionally tortured heroes of dark or mafia romance, Nick is the kind of alpha who needs no menace or criminality to command the page; his strength comes from certainty, steadiness, and desire expressed in its most intimate, honest form.

The chemistry between them is electric, especially when Nick’s desire breaks through his usual calm. The Friday-afternoon quickie scene alone is enough to cement him as one of Adams’ sexiest heroes; raunchy, possessive, and absolutely attuned to Jenn. Their progression towards happily ever after is mutual, sincere, and refreshingly adult; there is no unnecessary drama, just two people learning each other and learning themselves. If anything, I wished Nick had been fleshed out further beyond his role as the perfect partner, and an epilogue showing them bridging the gap with his family would have made the ending feel more complete.

Still, this is a lovely, low-angst romance with a deliciously commanding hero and a heroine whose guardedness softens in all the right ways. Jenn and Nick’s journey proves that marriages of convenience can offer some of the most rewarding emotional stories, especially when both characters are equally invested in turning convenience into devotion.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy low-angst, sexy marriages of convenience, commanding-but-kind heroes, and stories where emotional intimacy grows quietly but powerfully.

Final Verdict: A sensual, mature, quietly compelling romance with an unforgettable hero; Married by Contract delivers heat, tenderness, and a satisfying emotional bloom.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Apple