Category / Toe Curler!!

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Italian Billionaire’s Secretary Mistress by Sharon Kendrick

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Riccardo Castellari
Heroine: Angie Patterson
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: January 01, 2009
Started On: August 28, 2022
Finished On: September 01, 2022

He certainly hadn’t wasted any time in driving home her real status! Flinging a load of mundane tasks at her even though they’d only just arrived. Angie picked up a brush and began to pull it through her wet hair. Well, the work could wait. She was through with being useful, doormat Angie. Angie who took just whatever Riccardo Castellari cared to chuck at her. Because she was slowly beginning to realise that Riccardo treated her the way he did because she let him!
And she wasn’t going to let him. Not any more.

The Italian Billionaire’s Secretary Mistress by Sharon Kendrick (I know it is a mouthful), first published in 2009, brings to readers the story of Riccardo Castellari and 27 year old Angie Patterson, the latter who has been in love with her boss Riccardo for the better part of the five years since she has been working for him in the capacity of a secretary.

However, Angie has decided that enough is enough and come New Year, she would tender her resignation after finding herself a new employment opportunity. Angie knows Riccardo unlike any other, his likes and dislikes, his family and their birthdays, how he is like when he is in pursuit of a new woman, and what it is like when he wants to end things when the affairs run their course.

She however, is the invisible secretary to the man who owns her heart, and the toll it takes on Angie has hit a point where she is unwilling to let it destroy her anymore, especially as time passes on and she is witness to societal pages bearing gossip of Riccardo’s newest liaisons with beautiful women, not to mention the role that she has to play when Riccardo is in pursuit.

Riccardo hires Angie based on her plain looks, so that she would not be a distraction nor harbor any illusions of grandeur when it comes to him. Over time, she has become the only person who could get away with teasing him, even be it occasionally, and the only one who can lay it down as it is to him. He does not particularly appreciate what his lethal good looks and sex appeal means when it comes to the fairer sex even though he benefits largely from the fact, the “burden” that he has to shoulder with countless women showering their unwanted attentions on him is not something he particularly wants.

Things take a turn when Riccardo carelessly gifts Angie a red dress after one of his trips to New York which changes the power dynamics between the two. Riccardo for the very first time is forced to take notice of the bombshell that Angie is, and the dynamite that she is to his senses is not something he recovers from henceforth.

Riccardo is honest to a fault when it comes to his archaic views on marriage, and the fact that he has no intention of tying himself down with a woman for a lifetime until he is well and ready and finds the virgin female he is looking for to school her in the art of seduction and lovemaking (solely for his benefit) and bear his children.

The affair that begins between Riccardo and Angie (if you could call it that), is one filled with moments of mirth, sheer disbelief on the part of Riccardo, and bliss and heartache for Angie whose tender emotions don’t stand a chance with Riccardo’s lethal sexuality unleashed on her. Riccardo resists at every turn from succumbing to the emotional aspect of his relationship with Angie, and that is where the angst factor comes from, giving the story the edge it deserves.

I loved both Angie and Riccardo; Angie because she realizes at one point that she is done being at the beck and call of Riccardo and so over being a doormat variety of heroine and stands up for herself, and Riccardo because he is totally clueless when it comes the havoc that Angie creates inside his heart when all is said and done.

The fact that Riccardo does the pursuing in the end is what sealed the deal for me – a rarity in romances these days, where every conflict is resolved before it becomes an issue, because everyone loves “healthy communicating adults” in a relationship. Well let me tell you, not so much when we want the drama associated with some levels of misunderstanding between a couple!

Recommended for fans of Sharon Kendrick, some of her books are to die for and this is one I enjoyed immensely!

Final Verdict: Riccardo and Angie are the perfect boss-secretary combo until a red dress changes all that. Blindsided heroes make for the best romance novels!

Favorite Quotes

He wanted her here—in his car—down some little Tuscan track! His furtive secretary lover.
Her body screaming its protest, Angie wrenched herself out of his arms. ‘Stop it,’ she whispered from between lips which felt swollen to twice their normal size. ‘Stop it right now.’
A nerve worked at his temple. ‘You don’t want me to stop it.’
Maybe her body didn’t—but her dignity demanded it. Or did he think he was just going to erode that too with his sexual mastery—the way he had chipped away at her heart?
‘Oh, yes, I do.’ Ineffectually, she pushed at the hard wall of his chest. ‘Do you really want me to turn up at your house and to meet your family with my cheeks all flushed and my hair awry—making it perfectly obvious what we’ve just been doing?’
‘They won’t care what you look like,’ he snapped insultingly.
‘I find that very hard to believe,’ she returned, enjoying the outrage on his face as she dared to stand up to him. ‘And even if they don’t care—then I most certainly will. I’m here as your secretary, remember? And there’s a certain standard to maintain—a decorum—which I don’t intend to compromise with a quick fumble in your car!’
‘A quick fumble?’ he echoed, outraged.
‘Well, what would you call it?’
‘You do not think that such an experience would be pleasurable?’
‘N-no.’ She was on less sure ground now. ‘I’m not saying that at all. You’re very good, as I’m sure enough people have told you. I’m just refusing to turn up to your house giving people ammunition to make negative judgements about me.’
Struggling to rein in his ragged breath and trying to ease the unbearable ache at his groin, Riccardo glared at her. This was no coy little game she was playing, he realised with dawning disbelief. She really meant it. Did she think that he would fall under her spell if she resisted him?
And yet he could not remember the last time a woman had spurned his sexual advances.
For a moment, an unwilling respect warred with his feelings of frustration—and then he moved away from her with an impatient click of his tongue and started up the car.
‘Riccardo—’
‘Don’t talk to me when I’m driving!’ he thundered.
‘But you’ve left the handbrake on.’

For a moment he sank into the feeling, revelling in the sensations which were whispering over his skin before he realised where he was—and then he swore softly in Italian.
‘Che ora e?’ he snapped, lifting his wrist to glance at his watch. He sat up, his face wreathed in anger. ‘Why the hell did you let me sleep?’
Dismayed, Angie stared at him. ‘Because you looked as if you needed to.’
Jumping out of bed, he grabbed his jeans and began to pull them on. ‘Madre di Dio!’ he exclaimed furiously. ‘You’ve certainly changed your tune! From worrying about what my brother might think of our behaviour—you switch to luring me into staying.’
‘I didn’t lure you!’
‘You covered me up with a duvet,’ he accused.
‘Is that such a heinous crime?’
It felt like a trap. A trap as seductive as those great big eyes of hers and her warm, soft body. He shook his head. ‘I don’t want to spend half the afternoon in your bedroom!’ he declared.
‘Then don’t! Nobody’s keeping you here. Go!’

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Myles Sumner
Heroine: Taylor Bassey
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: June 06, 2022
Started On: August 19, 2022
Finished On: August 19, 2022

Based on appearances alone, this man might have just walked out of a criminal underworld. If the permanent scowl on his face didn’t scream villain, then the long, unkempt hair and poorly scrawled tattoos do the trick, as do the scars on his knuckles and the side of his neck.

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey is the kind of story that has you laughing one minute, swooning the next, and agonizing over what is coming, because you know that your heart is going to squeezed rather painfully and perhaps broken in a place or two before being fixed as the story plunges head on towards its climax.

Released in June of last year, though it has mystery-thriller elements as a major element of the story, this is still classic Ms. Bailey with the kind of characters that you root for, with the steam factor ramped up high! Told in the first person from the perspectives of both the hero, Myles Sumner, and the heroine, Taylor Bassey, the story begins with Taylor and her brother Jude traveling to a luxurious beach house for six days of vacation. Taylor, a second grade teacher who has always more or less being responsible for her younger brother by three years, has scrimped and saved through the years to finally go on her dream vacation.

However, all of that comes to a standstill when they discover a corpse in the rental house, and things certainly go awry, especially when the rough and tough looking Myles turns up in pursuit of the killer. Nothing prepares Taylor or Myles for the heat that they generate together even when Myles is being his obnoxious best, trying to keep Taylor at bay lest his control be tested.

Taylor however, is a woman on a mission, firstly to prove to herself (and perhaps her parents and brother) that she too has the bravery gene that runs through their family, and hunting for a killers seems like a fool-proof plan to prove that from where she stands. Gunning after Myles too falls into that category, because for the first time in her life Taylor feels as if she has met the type of man who would show her what she is missing, the type of man who would not be afraid to show her what it means to be handled with anything but kids gloves on in the bedroom, if only she could convince Myles of this sound plan as well.

For Myles who has done the marriage thing once and failed at it, knowing deep down that Taylor is the marrying kind means he plans on steering clear of her no matter how much she may tempt him otherwise, or how he knows deep in his soul that she is sort of, kind of, made for him. He also carries a wealth of guilt from his old job as a detective at Boston PD, and it has been three years since he has been making a living as a bounty hunter mainly just running from one location to the other to keep the pain and the memories that haunt at bay.

Taylor definitely wants what Myles can offer, but unless Myles is able to face the demons that plague him and comes to accept that he has what it takes to give someone precious like Taylor the ultimate happily ever after, there is no future for the two of them in the long run. The baggage which Myles carries and prevents him from seizing his own happiness plays its role in delivering the angst factor, which I loved!

I enjoyed this rom-com, mystery-suspense novel, so much so that I read this in one day, which is a rare happenstance nowadays. I loved both Taylor and Myles; Ms. Bailey can do no wrong in characterization and delivery of the steam factor, which was off the charts hot in this tight little number as well.

I was also intrigued by the side drama that was happening, which just leaves readers with tantalizing glimpses of Jude’s love-hate relationship with his best friend Dante, and Ms. Bailey announced this August that she would be releasing a novella with their story pretty soon, which I am pretty sure a lot of readers are anticipating.

The epilogue was in an essence the best thing about this novel. It gives you the laughter, heat, and swoons, all in one! Definitely recommended!

Final Verdict: She is a second grade teacher, the type you take home to meet your mother. He is a bounty hunter, rough around the edges and prefers solitariness. When these two collide, it is fireworks all the way through!

Favorite Quotes

It’s obvious that something happened. I took three wrong turns on the way home. I’ve been responding in one-word sentences, but now that I’ve processed—mostly—what happened, I need someone to confide in. “First there was some kissing.” No need to go into detail. I’m not even sure I could say what happened without sweating through my yoga pants, anyway. “Then we broke up even though we were never dating in the first place. We’ve been ending our non-existent relationship since we met, actually. It’s kind of our thing.”

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

by mvbookreviewer

Review: My Professor by R.S. Grey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Favorite Quotes

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

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

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

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

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

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Hey, Mister Marshall by Saffron A. Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: St. Mary’s Rebels, #4
Publisher: Purple Prose Press
Hero: Alaric Rule Marshall
Heroine: Poe Austen Blyton
Sensuality: 3
Published On: June 14, 2022
Started On: June 18, 2022
Finished On: July 04, 2022

Saffron A. Kent is an author who shot upward at rocket speed to the position of most revered authors as a romance reader and then plunged on a downward trajectory at a speed that has been heartbreaking to say the least. Her novel The Unrequited (and I keep talking about this in every review of her books since – most probably), was one of a kind, and Ms. Kent’s backlist contained a couple of really great books which I adored. It is her latest books that have been troublesome for me to wade through, this huge “transformation” of her writing style that has been difficult to immerse myself in, which has been a heartbreaking experience for me all around.

Hey, Mister Marshall, the fourth installment of the St. Mary’s Rebels series is actually the story that I anticipated the most when the series was first announced, the story of Alaric Rule Marshall and Poe Austen Blyton, the angst-ridden road to happily ever after for a very particular guardian and his ward. First published in June of last year, and told in the first person from the view of both the protagonists, this is a review that I write with a broken heart as I feel that this is where I bid goodbye to future books from Ms. Kent, unless I have a very good reason to return to them.

Alaric is a history professor specializing in the Renaissance era, already head of department at the age of 31. Poe is 14 years old when she is forced to move into his home, live with a man who refuses to even talk to her. For Poe who has lived most of her life taking care of herself given the diva nature of her mother, a famous soap opera actress, it should have been an easy transition to move from New York to the home of her guardian. But the loss of one’s mother, the only parent she has known, has its downward spiraling effect on even the best of us.

Years pass, and it is an 18 year old Poe that is enrolled in the very school at which Alaric is employed, the school for “troubled” teenagers which seeks to discipline them. Poe knows that this is the punishment that she must endure for daring to fall in love, for breaking the rules as set by her guardian, the sole reason as to why she was sent to the school.

Needless to say, things happen, Alaric and Poe spend time together, and Poe starts to realize that Alaric too is not immune to all that she is, no matter how much he might pretend otherwise, or tries to push her away and keep her at arms length. But Alaric never factored in the force to be reckoned with that is Poe, when she is at her most determined.

To be honest, this was still a “better” book than My Darling Arrow, the debut book in the series. As much as it pains me to say this, I stopped reading the second book in the series, A Gorgeous Villain, half way through, because I just couldn’t take it anymore. Perhaps the reason I stuck through with this one was because a) I had waited so long for Alaric and Poe’s story, and b) some of Poe’s determination must have rubbed off on me to see this through.

As I mentioned earlier, it is the stark difference that is felt in Ms. Kent’s prose that is the bitterest pill to swallow when all is said and done. It actually makes me wonder whether I am reading stories written by the same author, and whether it was actually Ms. Kent who wrote the earlier books, where she wrote dark characters who were true to where the story led them, where she wasn’t afraid of pushing the boundaries that may be frowned upon by the larger romance reader base, and where she told a story of such grit and heart that your whole being is invested in the outcome, no matter what.

Compared to that, these recent books read like the stuff of your worst nightmares, written by someone who flunked their writing class and yet is bold enough to subject us to this kind of drivel. The repetition in each and every book since is tedious to the point where you are skimming through huge chunks of each chapter, just because you have invested all that time in the story and want to see it through. To be frank, this story could have actually been a novella for what it was worth.

Though Alaric reminded me of Thomas from Unrequited in some ways, I just could not get past the immature inner voices of both Alaric and Poe. Now with Poe you could understand given that she was at first fourteen and then eighteen years old as the tale unfolds – she is in effect, a teenager. It is Alaric’s voice having the same vibe which grates on the nerves. He is a 31 year old when the story begins, a double PhD holder – one must wonder whether he got permanent head damage, and twice, which must be the reason for all this nonsense.

Also what is with the annoying way of stating each character’s name in half and then in full during the inner monologues? At one point, this is Alaric; “And here I thought that I’d already made it, my biggest mistake. Four years ago. When she came into my life. And when I forced her to stay. Poe Blyton. Poe Austen Blyton.” At another, this is Poe; “Him, him, and him. It has all been about him. Alaric Rule Marshall. My soulmate.” – I just can’t!

The funniest bit though was when I snorted at the point where Poe realizes she is in love with Alaric – while he is shagging her in the arse. Just poetic!

Recommended for fans of young adult romances – this is as whiny as it gets!

Final Verdict: It is with a heavy heart that I bid adios to an author whose earlier works I will always treasure. Ms. Kent, it has been bittersweet!

Favorite Quotes

This man.
Of dark hair and dark eyes.
With the broadest shoulders I’ve ever seen and the deepest voice I have ever heard. This man with a name that sounded so ancient and boring when I first heard it, but it made sense when I saw him.
When I saw his face, I knew why he was named something classic and vintage.
It’s because he is classic and vintage. It’s because every feature on his face, every line and angle, every plane and crest, is quintessential.
It’s because he’s the very definition of male beauty.
It’s insane actually.
How fucking beautiful he is. It’s unreal.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Phoebe by Minerva Spencer

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: The Bellamy Sisters, #1
Publisher: Crooked Sixpence
Hero: Paul Edward Needham
Heroine: Phoebe Bellamy
Sensuality: 3
Published On: May 31, 2022
Started On: June 07, 2022
Finished On: June 18, 2022

“Everyone comes from somewhere, Twickham—even the lowest chimney sweep could trace his bloody lineage back six hundred years if he had the leisure and money to do so.”

Minerva Spencer is a one of a kind author who creates such intricate love stories that are hard to put down. Phoebe, the first book of The Bellamy Sisters series proves the same, bringing to readers the story of 20 year old Phoebe Bellamy and 35 year old Paul Edward Needham, Viscount Needham.

The Bellamy family consists of eight members, with Phoebe the fourth daughter being in charge of managing the meager finances of the family that is in dire straits. Phoebe considers herself to be plain and average unlike her sisters, most of whom she views in a more favorable light than she does herself.

When Phoebe encounters Paul, her first impression of him is not a favorable one. However, Paul has a need for a wife to establish his daughter in society, Paul whose newly acquired title which does not really earn him the approval of the established members of the ton, who view him more as a boorish merchant than the entitled ones. Phoebe too has a reason for a husband – to rescue her family from going bankrupt and saving her family home from ruin.

As these two enter into a marriage of convenience and traverse the tricky corners of married life, especially with the family circumstances being what they are for both, Phoebe starts to realize that most, including herself, tends to underestimate her husband for various reasons, believing him to be more brawn than brains.

It is Paul’s secrets and back story that makes for enticing reading as the story progresses. Paul who had held the short end of the stick in the parenting department with a father who had not cared for much except for his status and wealth, and believed that what did not kill his son, only made him stronger.

Paul’s toxic family is what gives this story the edge, not to mention the man himself who I fell head over heels in love with. Sadly, Phoebe never did really grow on me as she continued to be rather stuck up in my opinion about where she comes from. I also never understood why she was so angry about Paul taking control of Phoebe’s family home, when her father making them homeless if otherwise was a foregone conclusion.

Paul from the beginning treats Phoebe with nothing but gentleness. His bedroom recreation itself takes into consideration her pleasure first and foremost which is telling of the kind of man he is. What I found odious was how Phoebe always chose to believe the worst when his actions dictated otherwise, and even though she leaps to his defense towards the end, she always tended to continue to be in shock when she realizes that the truth is so far from what she conceived it to be. I truly wanted to love Phoebe as much as I did Paul, but alas I did not believe that Phoebe was worth the gold standard that was Paul.

Recommended for fans of the romance genre, those who love a good meaty story to sink their teeth into!

Final Verdict: The best thing about this story was Paul, the big brute of a hero who was a gentle giant, with a penchant for control in the bedroom, who designs exquisite lingerie for his beloved!

Favorite Quotes

“There is something I don’t think you understand about me, Phoebe. Or perhaps you’ve just refused to accept it. But I am, in the main, the sort of man who guards all his possessions—”
She tried to jerk her chin away. “I am not your poss—”
He held her more firmly and continued as if she’d never spoken. “Where you are concerned, I am an exceedingly jealous man. I don’t like it when you have nuncheon with Dixon, just the two of you, flaunting your behavior for all our neighbors to see and speculate about. I don’t like it when you flirt and charm him every night at dinner and then answer me in monosyllables. And I don’t like it when you go off riding with my handsome young noble secretary—”
“But we didn’t do anything.”
“But you wanted me to think you might, didn’t you, Phoebe?”
She opened her mouth to lie and deny it, suddenly ashamed that she had hoped to get a response out of him.
But not one this frightening.
Phoebe chewed her lip; what in the world could she say? “I don’t—er, I—”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said coolly. “What matters is that I don’t like watching or knowing that Dixon gets to enjoy the pleasure of your company while you deny me. You are mine, Phoebe, mine alone. Mine to enjoy however and whenever I please.”

She’d not believed she could feel more naked, but when he raised the gauzy gown over her head and tossed it aside, she knew she’d been wrong.
His lips parted and a low humming noise rumbled in his chest as he looked at her bare body.
That was when it struck her that it was Phoebe who was causing her husband to flush and breathe harder.
Exultation surged through her like sweet, slow-moving honey at the realization.
She was the one making this man—who always appeared so untouchable—shake and sweat and gaze with hunger.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Contract Baby by Lynne Graham

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Favorite Quotes

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

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

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Vengeful Husband by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: The Husband Hunters, #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Gianluca Fabrizio Raffacani
Heroine: Darcy Fielding
Sensuality: 3
Published On: December 25, 1998
Started On: June 02, 2022
Finished On: June 03, 2022

“Country woman seeks quiet, well-behaved and domesticated single male without close ties, 25-50, for short-term live-in employment. Absolute confidentiality guaranteed. No time-wasters, please.”

The Vengeful Husband is the second installment in The Husband Hunters series by Lynne Graham. It is rather obvious that having finished reading Married to the Mistress, the first book in the series, I just had to indulge myself in the rest.

First published in December of 1998, told in the third person from the point of view of both lead protagonists, this is the story of Darcy Fielding, one of the three goddaughters of Nancy Leeward for whom she leaves her estate behind on the condition that her goddaughters get married within the year and maintain the marriage at least for a period of six months.

Darcy, a single mother by then, responsible for her crumbling family estate which had been with the family for over four hundred years is in dire financial straits. Little does she know that the man she spent one passionate night with in Venice, 31 years old Gianluca Fabrizio Raffacani (Luca) has been trying to find her since, believing that she stole from him a very important family heirloom.

As luck would have it, Darcy who views herself as too plain to attract a potential husband, and who simply does not have time to find someone in the conventional manner plans to fulfill the condition of her godmother’s by advertising for one, something that plays along nicely with Luca’s plans.

Luca does not hold a very favorable opinion of Darcy when he finds her. However that does not make a hypocrite out of him to lie to himself about how much Darcy affects him unlike any other woman he has met before or since. Once the knot is tied, all bets are off, and thus starts the crazy journey these two embark on to their ultimate happily ever after.

This was just as fun and angsty in the good way kind of read as the first book was, with Darcy acting in the belief that someone like Luca would not find a plain woman like herself appealing on any level. Darcy suffers from low self esteem, owing mostly to her childhood, with a father who wanted a son that he never got to have, with a step mother who had been vicious to no end. The final nail in the coffin had been when Darcy’s fiance jilted her, which led to the encounter with Luca years back.

Luca is at first determined to get his family heirloom back, but he is not immune to Darcy’s appeal that had spellbound him the very first time they met. Needless to say there is drama of the variety that keeps the pages turning, sexual tension of the kind that is sharp and tangible and makes you sigh and moon over the perfection of their union, and love of the kind that neither wants to admit to, for fear that the other would not feel the same.

I had a slight problem with Daisy for keeping a certain “secret” to herself for the better part of the novel which lowered the rating from what it could have been otherwise. I guess I should not judge unless I have walked in her shoes, but I always find it a bit uncomfortable when female protagonists tend to lie or tell half truths about having conceived a child with the hero (unless they are abusive men who do not deserve to traumatize their child) – they have a right to know and what they choose to do with that knowledge is up to them.

Recommended for fans of the series, fans of combustible category romances, and fans of Lynne Graham.

Final Verdict: The Vengeful Husband delivers a myriad of emotions of the kind that leaves the reader satisfied on all counts. Lynne Graham is a master storyteller for that very reason!

Favorite Quotes

‘You burned me alive,’ Luca whispered mesmerically. ‘And you’re going to do that for me again…and again…and again until I don’t want you any more…is that understood?’

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Married to a Mistress by Lynne Graham

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Single
Series: The Husband Hunters, #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Angelos Petronides
Heroine: Maxie Kendall
Sensuality: 3
Published On: June 05, 1998
Started On: June 01, 2022
Finished On: June 02, 2022

Married to a Mistress by Lynne Graham, is the first book in The Husband Hunters series, originally published in June of 1998. The premise of the series lies in Nancy Leeward, godmother to Maxie Kendall, Polly, and Darcy leaving her substantial estate equally split between the three, on the condition that each of them is married within the year and maintains that marriage for at least a period of six months.

22 year old Maxie, dubbed as the Ice Queen by the press, finds herself deep in debt when this event occurs, needing a way out. Maxie’s hope that inheritance from her godmother would help alleviate all of that is cut short by the conditions set in her will, which means that Maxie is ripe for the plan by which Angelos Petronides, 33 year old Greek tycoon, sets to make her his.

Angelos does not have the most favorable impression of Maxie, the only woman who has ever given him a sleepless night over wanting something that he could not have. Angelos rejoices in the fact that he now owns Maxie rightfully through the debt that she owes, as he has been biding his time until the day he would be able to make her his. Even as jaded as he is, Angelos had been taken aback by the beauty that is Maxine the very first time he laid his eyes on her.

For Maxine, her beauty has more or less been a form of curse for her. Though it had opened up the opportunity for her to work as a model to earn money, the loan which she had taken at the age of nineteen owing to familial circumstances, had left her deep in debt with no way out. It had also painted the image of her as a homewrecker, with the press and gossip rags having a field day with her story.

When Angelos makes his intentions known, Maxie rejects him outright, on the basis that the next man she would choose to live with, would be her husband. Thus starts the battle of wills between the two, with Angelos trying to outdo Maxie and win her over on his terms, and Maxie trying her darnedest to convince him otherwise at every turn.

Through all of that, the incendiary spark that has always existed between them grows in strength, leaving both hostage to the magnitude of the desire that is between them. Ultimately, Angelos convinces Maxie to be his through marriage, setting conditions so that neither of them would have to lose face over the arrangement.

This was such a fun read in many ways. I loved the strength at which Maxie and Angelos fight and love, and the lengths each go to show the other that things were otherwise. The way Maxie tried to best Angelos, both of them trying to counter the fact that they had fallen deep in love with each other was such a delight in many ways, and made me laugh out loud at times.

I loved how Maxie had the gumption to stand up for herself, and how she did not let how Angelos saw her or thought of her or his misconceptions about her define who she was, and the fact that she continuously managed to surprise and jolt him out of the pigeonhole that Angelos tried to put her in was invigorating to read.

This delivered angst of the good kind which I adored, and I loved Angelos too, for being the kind of hero who knew when to push back and when to give in. He proved to be just the right measure of stubborn that Maxine could not resist, which made this the stellar read it turned out to be!

Recommended for fans of combustible category romances and fans of Lynne Graham.

Final Verdict: There is nothing like a good Lynne Graham novel to shake me out of my romance reader doldrums and Married to a Mistress proved to be such a delight in every sense!

Favorite Quotes

‘Naturally I would choose a wife with my brain, not my libido,’ Angelos returned drily, but he had ducked the question and a dark, angry rise of blood had scoured his blunt cheekbones.
Maxie gave an exaggerated little shiver of revulsion. The atmosphere was explosive. She could feel his struggle to maintain control over that volatile temperament so much at war with that essentially cool intellect of his. It was etched in every restive, powerfully physical movement he made with his expressive hands and she rejoiced at the awareness, ramming down the stark bitterness and sense of pained inadequacy he had filled her with. ‘You belong in the Natural History Museum alongside the dinosaur bones.’

She dined out with Patrick Devenson. No woman had ever tried harder to be attracted to a man He was good-looking and easy company. Desperate to feel a spark, she let him kiss her at the end of the evening, but it wasn’t like failing on an electric fence, it was like putting on a pair of slippers. Seriously depressed, Maxie made an excuse when he asked when he could see her again.
She didn’t sleep, couldn’t sleep. She dreamt of fighting with Angelos. She dreamt of making wild, passionate love for the first time in her life. And, most grotesque of all, she dreamt of drifting down a church aisle towards a scowling, struggling Greek in handcuffs. She felt like an alien inside her own head and body.

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Loving the Mountain Man by Adriana Anders

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Love at Last, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Micah Graham
Heroine: Christa Evans
Sensuality: 3
Published On: December 01, 2018
Started On: May 28, 2022
Finished On: June 01, 2022

Our dirty weekend had officially begun.

Loving the Mountain Man by Adriana Anders is a novella that left me wanting more. However, Ms. Anders is an author who does justice to the characters and story that she wants to tell, and Loving the Mountain Man delivered on most fronts. The fact that the story left me begging for more in some aspects is a testament to how talented Ms. Anders is.

Told in the first person from dual perspectives, this is the story of how Christa Evans, running from her handsy boss, gets into an accident on a snowy night and is rescued by Micah Graham, who lives in isolation up on a mountain.

Micah is an arborist (tree surgeon), who prefers isolation even when it comes to his own family. When Christa comes crashing into his life, there is no stopping the tide of desire and other emotions that rises to the surface, forcing Micah to confront his need for the woman who turns his life upside down within the short span of time they spend together.

I loved what Ms. Anders delivered in this short story, given the limitations that comes with a novella. While I felt that the story was too short to really delve into the nuances of relationships such as the one that blooms to life between Micah and Christa, nevertheless it was a tale well told. The connection between Micah and Christa is swift and all consuming, just as the sexual attraction that roars to life which accelerates the binding effect on both.

I just wished for things that would have been possible in a lengthier novel, such as the build-up of the tension between the two, the angst of the emotional kind that comes from “shock” factor of letting someone in for a recluse as Micah, and also an epilogue that would have given us a glimpse of how their individual and collective lives change over the course of time.

Recommended for fans of novellas that deliver a tale worth sinking your teeth into.

Final Verdict: Ms. Anders does a fine job out of how Christa tames the mountain man into loving her, forever more!

Favorite Quotes

Who was this man who looked like he’d as soon tear a person apart as talk to them, and then rocked me like a baby? Like I was something precious.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Paperwhite
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Third Person, Dual
Series: Bellinger Sisters, #2
Publisher: Avon
Hero: Fox Thornton
Heroine: Hannah Bellinger
Sensuality: 3.5
Published On: March 01, 2022
Started On: May 21, 2022
Finished On: May 28, 2022

“Waiting for you is the best I’ve ever had.”

Tessa Bailey is an author who stormed into the romance genre with her penchant for well crafted emotional reads, delivering the zing factor as it should be. She is well known in the reader community as the Queen of Dirty Talk, a badge well deserved. Her writing has evolved over time as it should, and her stories of recent times are very well nuanced, highlighting on issues and changing norms of society today. Such is the underlying topic of the second installment in the two-book Bellinger Sisters series, first published in March of last year.

31 year old Fox Thornton and Hannah Bellinger meet one another in the previous book, when Hannah tags along with her sister to Westport, hometown of their biological father. It has been over six months since Hannah left and her sister Piper stayed on, Hannah back to her job working as an assistant at a production company, while crushing on her boss.

When Hannah returns to Westport for filming purposes, circumstances would have it that she lodges at Fox’s place bringing to the surface, the simmering emotions underneath for both of them. Fox considers Hannah to be his friend, something he never entertained could be possible for someone like him; a girl being his friend, and that girl liking him for something other than what he could deliver in bed. Through the months that they have proceed to get to know each other via text and otherwise, Hannah has gotten under his skin and Fox, even though he does not know how to deal with that particular aspect, knows that Hannah’s presence is something he wants and needs in his life.

Hannah is the sister who was always comfortable waiting in the wings, with Piper taking up the spotlight. Hannah has always been the friend, the confidante, the comforter in times of need. And even though Hannah considers Fox to be her friend, she too is not immune to the whole vibe that surrounds Fox – the one that lets a woman instinctively know what a man would be capable of in the throes of passion.

It made for absorbing reading experience to see both Hannah and Fox navigate through the waters that were choppy at times and exhilarating in many aspects, their journey towards seeing each other, understanding each other, and giving into what they could be together in every sense.

I loved Hannah for being such an intuitive heroine – being the quieter child always has its perks because you are constantly cast into the role of the observer which helps you understand the nuances of human emotions better and take cues from the subtle and not so subtle shifts in mannerisms, tone of voice, and body language. That is what helps Hannah identify that beneath the beauty that is Fox to every sense imaginable to the heterosexual female, he is a man hurting over the fact that he would never be good enough.

Fox is a man who is a victim of toxic masculinity in a very real sense. From childhood through his most formative years and adulthood, Fox has borne the brunt of the promiscuous nature of his father, Fox’s own good looks, and the sexualization of his childhood by those who should have known better. Fox too had lived up to that reputation he felt that he had to keep up with, but it had left its scars that run deep.

Fox is a man who has been burnt badly, making him believe that for any woman, he is only good for the very short term, and beyond that, even in a professional capacity, he is only deserving of the sloppy seconds. Reverse judgement is a huge theme throughout the story, where Fox has always been continued to be judged by his looks, and that plays a huge role in Fox’s psychology and sense of self-worth.

It takes a special kind of woman, someone like Hannah, to be able to peel back those layers to the man underneath and get to the heart of the man that beats only for her. It takes patience of the kind that not many women might be able to exert around a man like Fox, especially when he does everything in his power to make Hannah believe otherwise. I found Hannah to be amazing in every sense, especially in the way she stands up for Fox, the first person to do that for him.

This is a story that stays with you long after you turn that last page, with Ms. Bailey having done a number on your emotions. If I were to choose a favorite between the two books in the series, it would have to be this one, as the story explores emotions that run far deeper than the average. The series has managed to explore both sides of the coin when it comes to toxicity of the sexes, and has done it extremely well.

Don’t be thinking that this is all about the emotional punch; Ms. Bailey never lets down her fans of singeing sex scenes that she is able to write with such flair, and this one is no exception. It just requires a little patience to geth there and it is well worth the wait!

Absolutely recommend this gem of a read!

Final Verdict: It is not the romance alone that tugs at the heartstrings with this number, it is how Ms. Bailey explores the topic of toxic masculinity with such heart that keeps the pages turning!

Favorite Quotes

Hannah was approximately five feet from Fox when his expression changed, and he read her intention. His creeping insecurity vanished, and he rocketed to inferno status on a dime. Those blue eyes darkened, and that square, bristled jaw flexed. Ready. A man well used to being wanted and knowing what to do about it.

During a particularly long-winded story from Deke, Hannah felt Fox watching her and looked back, the alcohol thrumming along in her veins, sending goose bumps riding in a slow wave up her arms and neck.
Right, it’s the alcohol.
In a daze, she watched as he wet his lower lip, rubbing the moisture together with the top one, leaving his mouth looking fresh and male. His heavy-lidded blue eyes never leaving her.
Seductive blends. Seductive aromas.
Sharon Stone.
Go home, you’re drunk.

“You’re a surprise, Hannah. How could I hate them?” He cleared his throat hard. “Even familiar . . . you’re a constant surprise.”

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