Category / Toe Curler!!

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookblazeofmemory.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, #7
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Devraj Santos
Heroine: Ekaterina Haas (Katya Haas)
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: November 3, 2009
Started On: August 5, 2013
Finished On: August 7, 2013

Nothing is stronger than the will of the human heart.

How anyone could have NOT LOVED the 7th book in the Psy-Changeling series is beyond me. I have seen well above 4 star average rating for almost every book or should I say all the books that I have read to date in this series on Goodreads. But Blaze of Memory has a 3.97 stars average rating which made me wonder whether Nalini had fallen short of the mark when she aimed to bring the story of Devraj Santos and Katya Haas to her fans. But in the end, it just went to show that relying completely on ratings to lead your way can sometimes backfire on you as I loved every single inch of this book and then some and wanted a little bit more being the greedy and voracious fan of the series that I am!

Devraj Santos (Dev) is the director of the Shine Foundation that seeks out the Forgotten, the generation of the first defectors from PsyNet when the protocol of Silence had first been put into place. The Shine Foundation seeks out kids who have “gifts” that they do not know how they ended up with, continually at danger if the Council were ever to find out their existence and move to eradicate them for the fear of loss of control as the most lethal race in the world. However recent events seem to have put cracks in the picture perfect world of the emotionless Psy as presented to the rest of the world and it is a continuing thread in all the books how the PsyNet seems to be slowly disintegrating and turning onto itself which makes for interesting reading in itself.

When Dev finds an utterly broken woman left on his doorstep for him to find, a female Psy who doesn’t remember who she is and how she got there though Dev knows that she might end up being the worst kind of threat to him and his foundation, he cannot help the protective instincts that surges forth with every single minute he spends in her company.

Katya Haas is a woman who has been violated in the worst manner possible and left to fulfill her destiny or die a slow and painful death which would strip her of even the little bit of tattered dignity that she has left. The one thing that Katya realizes from the onset is that the flawless Psy conditioning that should make her immune to the delicious appeal that Dev is on her senses has been effectively broken down and that she is no match for the chain of emotions that kickstarts deep inside of her when Dev is around.

Though trust is an element that is missing between Dev and Katya, the need that each rouses in the other is one that neither can turn their backs on. And as Katya tries to unravel the literally kicking time-bomb she is, Dev finds his heart, body and soul totally enamored by the enemy who could be his utter and complete destruction as the Psy Councilor playing puppet master to Katya wants.

Blaze of Memory proved to be nothing short of a fantastic read, the only thing I missed being the epilogue that Ms. Singh always tucks in at the end of each novel. But the Petrokov Family Archives which was presented throughout the story in the form of letters served to be an interesting facet into seeing how the Silence Protocol came about from someone who had witnessed it firsthand. And there was this bit towards the end of the story where Katya beseeches Dev to go visit his father which proved to be quite the emotion wrangling scene.

Dev might not be a shapeshifter, but he has his own set of skills that makes him just as lethal. Dev is just as finely honed as any sentinel in the DarkRiver or lieutenant in the SnowDancer pack of Changelings. His intensity and hardness both being features required of him with the job he had undertaken as the Director of a foundation that needs to make decisions that impacts the lives of so many people under his care. His salvation from letting the coldness totally rule over his emotions comes in the form of Katya, a woman he thinks to be broken in every fundamental way possible but surprises and amazes him with the strength she displays given the room to flourish.

Katya is the sort of heroine that any reader would fall in love with. Nalini has an innate talent in creating heroines who are tough, strong and yet with a core of femininity and vulnerability inside of them that makes them human and that much appealing. I felt for Katya with every single cell in my being, her immense strength in defying a master of mental combat one that had me enthralled and in awe by the time I was done.

The scenes of passion between Katya and Dev are scorching hot; Nalini certainly knows how to ratchet up the heat-o-meter when it comes to sizzling scenes of heated love making between her characters. The last couple of chapters are so intense that I felt like chewing my nails out in agitation and the tangle of hot emotions that coursed through me to see Dev and Katya nearly lose the precious and beautiful love that they had found with each other. If you are hesitating on picking up this wonderful wonderful book because of the slightly lower ratings when compared with the other books in the series, don’t. Blaze of Memory is just as spectacular and just as lethal on the senses.

Final Verdict: Like an inferno that rages out of control, Blaze of Memory is just as vivid and beautiful in its wildness. Definitely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

Heat.
Touch.
Life, electric in its fury…a kiss that demanded her participation.
Shuddering in surrender, she drowned in the scent of him. Wild and exotic. Dark and male.
A man who’d snarled at her, caged her… fed her.
“Dev.” Spoken against his lips, she was so loath to break contact.
His mouth took hers again before she could say anything more, his teeth sinking into her lower lip.

“I don’t understand,” she murmured, lifting her fingertips to touch kiss-swollen lips, “how my race could’ve ever given up such exquisite sensation.”
His cock pushed against the zipper of his pants, the metal threatening to turn him into a eunuch. “Katya.”
As a warning, it had no effect. Dropping her hand from her lips, she clenched it over her navel, as if soothing some inward ache. “I feel so … hungry, so hot, as if my skin is about to burst.”
He shuddered, voice lost.

Hands on her hips. Warm. A little rough. Perfect. She sucked in a breath, and when he lifted her, it was instinct to wrap her legs around his waist. He moved her until she—“Dev!” she screamed into his mouth as his still-covered cock pushed into her softness, parting her with possessive heat, the thin cotton of her panties no barrier.
His thumb smoothed over the crease of her thigh, inciting her to move impatiently . . . but that only rubbed her clitoris against him, further tightening the fist that was her body.

She couldn’t stop the strangely fluid movements of her body—part of her knew what to do, how to do it. “More,” she ordered, nipping at his ear.
“You’re too tight.”
“More.”
Groaning, he slid a second finger inside her and pumped once.
Twice. Pleasure and pain, a stretching ecstasy. Her arousal peaked, hovered there, waiting, waiting… His thumb brushed her clitoris.
Everything exploded.

“Katya,” he said against her ear, trying to draw breath, to not lose himself completely.
Her fingers thrust into his hair. “You feel so good.”
The simple statement, made in that erotically husky voice, stole what small fragments of control he’d had left. Putting one hand on her hip, he pinned her in place as he began to stroke in and out in a hard, steady rhythm that had her clawing at him.

He lifted her with a display of strength that stole her breath. “Legs around my waist.” It was a clipped order.
She obeyed immediately. He rewarded her by sliding into her in a single hard thrust. Her scream echoed off the walls as pleasure short-circuited her body. His hands gripped her bottom, holding her tightly in place as he moved in and out. She clawed at his shoulders, feeling herself hanging on the precipice.
“God damn it!” Dev’s body went taut against her and she knew he’d lost every bit of his steely control.
That was all it took.
Electricity rocked through her, as wild and as hot as the man who held her pinned to the wall in helpless surrender.

She tried to pull away, but only because it amplified the sensations. Dev knew. He used his body to hold her in place, even as his lips insisted she return every kiss, every little bite, every breath.
She gave him all she had.
And still he asked for more.
Melting, she ran the back of one foot over his calf, urging him closer. Her reward was the release of her hands, as his own slid down her back, pulling her up. Instinct had her putting her legs around him in a shockingly intimate embrace, the hottest part of her pressed to the hardest part of him.

“Katya, baby, stop.” It was a groan. “I can’t hold on if you do that.”
She raised her lips to his again, infusing her kiss with every ounce of passion in her. Shuddering, Dev gripped her hard on one hip. “I sure hope you’re ready, sweetheart.”
“Yes, yes!” Crying out as her body stretched around the hard thrust of his entry, she wrapped both legs around his waist. And then she let him lead.
He took her on a ride that eclipsed anything they’d ever before done. Wild, untamed, and vividly physical, they danced. The last thing Katya remembered was seeing Dev’s eyes shimmer gold.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Diesel

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Picture Perfect Wedding by Fiona Lowe

Format: E-bookpictureperfectwedding.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wedding Fever, #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Luke Anderson
Heroine: Erin Davis
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 12, 2013
Started On: August 4, 2013
Finished On: August 5, 2013

30 year old Luke Anderson is a dairyman, the owner of Lakeview Farm, a farm that has been in his family for generations. Though Luke has gone through the whole of his life preparing for the takeover of the business from his father, something akin to discontentment has settled deep in his gut and he is unsure of the hows and whys of it and how to shake it off.

Erin Davis is a photographer of high-end brides, someone who has a plan to take her from Point A to Point B. Not one to take unnecessary risks, Erin needs the award which will be hers if everything goes according to plan, the publicity the award is going to bring on which she is basing the future of the rest of her self-made career on. Standing in her way of achieving the picture perfect wedding is one delicious hunk of a farmer who gets her inner wanton self doing cartwheels and somersaults in her attempt to make him sit up and take notice.

When Erin turns up at Lakeview Farm, the one thought that rushes through Luke’s mind before turning to mush in the face of that sizzling attraction that flares to life between them is the fact that he has no time in his life for high maintenance city girls. Luke might want to turn his back on Erin and her beautiful green eyes that calls out to him on levels that he doesn’t even begin to understand, but he finds that the strange fascination that he has for Erin is hard to say no to. For Erin, Luke is the one temptation that she cannot resist, even when their summer affair heats up just more than her sheets at night.

Picture Perfect Wedding is the second book in the Wedding Fever series set in the small town of Whitetail, Wisconsin. I loved this instalment in the series from the characters to the fun antics that had me snorting and laughing out loud and also the secondary romance that unfolded between the town widower Nicole and the hot new fire chief Tony.

Luke and Eric are a delicious couple, both with their own misgivings about their future and their own battles to fight. Luke is a man who is undecided on what he wants to do to the farm, and it certainly doesn’t help matters when it brings problems raining down on his close-knit family and has his retired father breathing down his neck.

Erin falls in love with every aspect of the charming life that she sees happen every day in Whitetail. With a steady income burgeoning her bank balance for the first time in a long while, Erin finds herself to be in her element, all the while working towards photographing the perfect wedding which would change the course of her life. But beneath all that enthusiasm lies a heart that is scared beyond anything at the thought of tying herself down, opening her heart to pain and heartache that is certain to follow in the wake of every relationship.

I loved both Luke and Erin, Lukes stoicism something that truly made his character one thats fascinating. Put into the mix his family and two dogs plus the various well meaning members of the community, well you have a hell of a lot on your hands to juggle and its wonderful the way Fiona knows just what to do to keep the story flowing smoothly. I loved the sexual battle of wills that took place between Luke and Erin and of course I didn’t even expect Nicole to come out and show a side of herself that I wouldn’t have ever thought her capable of. The secondary romance that took place perfectly complemented and was in line with the primary story that was unfolding and though I would have loved to learn more about Tony, I found myself pretty much satisfied with the level of detail Fiona went into when it came to their romance.

If there is anything Fiona Lowe does exceptionally well, it is contemporary romances set in small towns and she writes them with so much heart that it is impossible not to lose yourself in the magic of it all.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of small town romances.

Final Verdict: Picture Perfect Wedding comes to you with lots of sizzle, fun & heart. Not to be missed!

Favorite Quotes

With a puff of dissatisfaction that he was so slow to respond, she pulled her hand from his, rose on her toes, slid both her hands against his cheeks, angled his mouth and kissed him.
Her lips pressed against his and the slight scratch of his top lip grazed hers as she coaxed him to open his mouth to her. Chocolate, coffee and heat flowed through her, spinning currents of delight eddying through her, feeding her need for this man like oxygen fuels fire.

Her fingertip touched his and flames engulfed her. His large, strong hand closed around her wrist. She lunged toward him as his arms lifted her at the hips, and then her legs were wrapped around his waist, and she was burying herself against his chest. She was home. Her body, so taut with ragged need for so long, stilled for a heartbeat, suspended in bliss, and then primal energy thundered through her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she lowered her mouth to his and kissed him.

His hands gripped her hips and he lifted her over him and then very slowly he lowered her down.
Her body, oh so very ready and desperate for him, opened easily, absorbing him bit by bit until she’d stretched to the limit and he completely filled her. The sensation was indescribable and she experienced the oddest feeling that she was going to cry, which made no sense because her body was on fire for him. Her throbbing muscles, which had ached for him, closed around him and need became fire driving her upward to seize the ultimate prize.

She smelled of vanilla and tasted of salt and he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her body. Reverently, he cupped her breasts in his hands, savoring the weight of them against his palm.
She gave a moan of pleasure and he felt her breasts tighten. He grinned. He’d never had a lover this responsive. Very slowly, he moved the pad of his thumbs across her nipples. Her body jerked and her eyes opened as wide as a cat’s. In the clear, green depths he clearly read desire—hot, molten need for him.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Carina | iBooks

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookbrandedbyfire
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, #6
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Riley Aedan Kincaid
Heroine: Mélisande Smith
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 7, 2009
Started On: August 3, 2013
Finished On: August 4, 2013

I’m slowly but certainly making my way through the breathtaking Psy/Changeling series that is all kinds of wonderful that I don’t think I have the sort of words required to adequately describe what each of these stories have meant to me.

The sixth book brings to the table by far the hottest book in the series which might have something to do with the fact that both characters are equally strong and dominant in their respective packs.

Riley Aedan Kincaid (Riley) is the most senior lieutenant of the SnowDancer wolf changeling pack. “The Wall” as his Alpha calls him; Riley is strong, steadfast and oh so patient that he gives off the vibe that nothing pierces through that stoic armor of his.

Mélisande Smith or Mercy is a powerful female sentinel in the DarkRiver leopard pack. Mercy is the dominant sort; female sentinels being that much harder to find a mate for because of the irrevocable fight for dominance that takes place.

Mercy might be slowly going insane with the desire that unfurls in her belly to be possessed by Riley, a Wolf of all people and though her leopard might growl at the thought, it also cannot help but purr in utter boneless satisfaction when Riley is done with her.

Though it irks Mercy like nothing else to think of herself going down the road of utter domesticity which is definitely not her, that alone tells Mercy that Riley is not the man for her apart from so many other tidbits of importance when a leopard and wolf might mate for life. However, even that doesn’t seem to stop both of them from seeking each other out and burning the sheets up every time they get together. And though both of them are of the mind that their getting together is temporary, emotional intimacy starts to breed and the walls of protection each has built around themselves start to crumble.

When one of their own is kidnapped that kickstarts a chain of events that seems to escalate in violence and the need to kill, both Riley and Mercy have their hands full trying to outsmart whoever it is that is targeting too many places at once, lending the phrase ‘danger closing in on them’ a whole new meaning. Amidst fighting the mating bond that beckons and continues to grow stronger day by day, Mercy and Riley must find a middle ground within which they can be with each other or forever lose a vital piece of themselves if otherwise.

As I said earlier, Branded by Fire is the hottest book yet in the series. Riley and Mercy start their dance right from the beginning of the story, their entwined past since the Alliance between SnowDancer and DarkRiver lending credibility to the connection that exists between them. Riley is so hot, well, I don’t know which of the heroes has NOT been hot, but man, Riley gives the term losing control a whole new load of deliciousness.

Mercy is the equally endearing, and I just loved how she reveals that tender side of hers when it comes to Riley. It is a testament to Nalini Singh’s talent to be able to write such a dominant female character that doesn’t get into a pissing contest with her mate over every little thing.

Branded by Fire delves quite deeply into the relationship between the sexier than sin Alpha of SnowDancer Hawke and Sienna who drives him crazy enough to commit murder. As usual, the Psy and its Councillors with their own agendas lurks in the background, giving the series the edge that has made it one of its kind.

Recommended for fans of the series and fans of paranormal romances. If you aren’t reading Nalini Singh, you are doing yourself a grave injustice as a reader!

Final Verdict: Scorching hot installment in the series; Nalini Singh continues to prove why she is is a force to be reckoned with!

Favorite Quotes

“Now,” she ordered as they broke apart, her body close to vibrating with ever-tightening need.
“No.” He slid down her body and suddenly her dress pants and panties were gone. She felt the kiss of claws against the insides of her thighs and knew it had been on purpose. No pain, not even a real touch. Just a hint.
Just enough to remind her cat that he could take her.

She moved with him, kissing him back, running her hands over his body and nipping at him just because. He kept her pinned to the earth as he took her, as if he knew just how damn much she needed a good, hard ride. When she orgasmed, it was with a sharp cry, a lush clenching around the thick heat of him, and a burst of starlight behind her eyes.

He pulled her down to sheathe him. She could’ve resisted. She didn’t.
Instead, she moved above him in a sinuous curve of fire and gold, her beauty bathed in sunshine. The fire fractured minutes later. And Riley’s wolf could do nothing but watch her as pleasure gripped him tight, then broke him wide open.

She began to slide one hand down his body. He caught it, brought it back up to his shoulders. Pulling his head up, she pointed to her lips. It wasn’t a hard order to follow. And her kiss . . . oh, but her kiss. All heat and lush, seductive pleasure. It was a promise, that kiss, a promise of a slow ride to oblivion.

“So, staid Riley Kincaid has a kinky secret.” She moved on his fingers, relishing the building tightness in her body, the sheer pleasure on his face. “Do you have a whip?”
“With you, it might come in handy.” His fingers slid inside her.
And she came.
Just like that.

She came on his tongue the first time, hot and wild. And when he shifted her limp form back down his body, coaxing her into sitting up enough to take him inside, she was a scalding silken glove, one made for him alone. He didn’t last long.
The last thing he remembered was his cat licking over the mark she’d made.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Guilty as Sin by Jami Alden

Format: E-bookguiltyassin
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Forever
Hero: Tommy Ibarra
Heroine: Kate Beckett
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 30, 2013
Started On: August 1, 2013
Finished On: August 3, 2013

Jami Alden is one of my go-to authors for novels of the romantic suspense variety. She has a style of writing similar to that of authors like Cynthia Eden that makes a book hard to put down. Thus when I came across the publication date of Guilty as Sin which happened to be the 30th of last month, I didn’t hesitate to mark my calender and purchase myself a copy the very day it was released.

33 year old Tommy Ibarra is ex-military, specialized in the weapon of information retrieval amongst other things. 30 year old Kate Beckett is the daughter of a US Senator, working with families of child kidnappings, a calling she had paid heed to after the fateful night 14 years back when her younger brother Michael had been kidnapped and brutally killed. The guilt that Kate has harbored since then proves to be one of the reasons that the budding romance between Tommy, the son of a rancher and Kate had not accounted to much.

When a fresh kidnapping brings an altogether more poised, collected and a professional Kate to Tommy’s hometown once again, the feelings that he had pushed aside into a deep and dark corner of his heart clamors to be let out from its prison and embrace the only woman that Tommy had ever truly loved. However, with the dark shadows that linger between them, reconciliation of the feelings that are very much alive between them is easier said than done, especially when things aren’t what they seem to be and the case puts Kate’s life in danger in more ways than one.

Guilty as Sin is sort of a spin off from the trilogy that featured the books, Beg for Mercy, Hide from Evil and Run from Fear. I remember Tommy making an appearance in one of the books, don’t know which for certain. Tommy is a brooding hunk of a hero with an army tattoo to complete the package. His past run-in with Kate, an altogether younger, softer and a much less cynical version of him had been burnt badly and Tommy is of the mind that nothing would make him take that step towards Kate and claim her as his, no matter how much his body might want him to.

Kate knows she has a lot to apologize for where Tommy is concerned. And though being in close quarters with Tommy is the last thing she wants, Kate finds she has little choice where the matter is concerned, and if truth be told, Kate is as much enamored by the brooding and a much cynical version of the boy she had fallen head over heels in lust and love with all those years ago. But the ugly sword of guilt that she harbors inside of her heart rears its ugly head, especially when the new case brings too close to comfort the memories of a night that has tainted her life so much.

The villain though is twisted as they come is easy to figure out even from the very beginning of the story. Even though that’s the case, the outcome of the story is not affected because Jami certainly knows how to keep the pages turning and the momentum going. I loved Tommy and Kate and felt for both of them, especially Kate who struggles with a lot of dark memories. It is a wonder that she can stand as she does and work so closely with families who are going through something that she herself had gone through with much more terrible an outcome.

The heat between Tommy and Kate is classic Jami Alden, and I say classic because Jami is an author who definitely knows how to turn the heat up.

Recommended for fans of Jami Alden and fans of romantic suspense with heat and twisted villains.

Final Verdict: A villain who’s beyond twisted, a love that defies the most terrible a tragedy & heat of the scorching variety. Jami Alden’s signature shines through & through!

Favorite Quotes

Her memories of Tommy’s kiss, his touch, didn’t come close to what she was feeling now. It was like being thrust into a vortex full of heat and light, where nothing mattered but the taste of him, the soft rasp of his tongue against hers as he tasted every corner of her mouth. She opened her mouth wider, pressed her lips harder, sucked his tongue into her mouth like she was starving for the taste of him.

Then he was there, as deep as he could go, deeper than any other man had ever been.
Tommy Ibarra is inside of me.
That was all it took to send her careening over the edge. Her orgasm hit her with sudden, stunning force. He didn’t even have to move—just the feel of him, buried deep, so big and hard her body could barely contain him, was enough to make her shudder and clench around him as waves of pleasure like nothing she’d ever known poured through her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Dark Waters by Toni Anderson

Format: E-bookdarkwaters
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Untitled Series, #2
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Brent Carver
Heroine: Anna Silver
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 6, 2013
Started On: July 29, 2013
Finished On: July 30, 2013

Nearly 40 years old, Brent Carver is an ex-con who is on parole after being served life sentence. Brent likes to keep to himself, living on a remote island that he knows like the back of his hand. Handsome as sin and tempting as they come, Brent is a man tormented by the dark shadows of his past, paying a penance that had seen half of his life spent behind bars.

26 year old Anna Silver is a teacher who likes her life calm and chaos free, something she strives hard to achieve be it even by locking down all her emotions. With a past that is shrouded in darkness that more than explains her ice cold character that is a front for every emotion that she keeps at bay, Anna is not at all prepared to receive the news of the death of her father and the fact that she has to run for her life and rely on the only man that her father trusts to keep her safe.

When Anna turns up on Brent’s doorstep, she unravels all the layers of protection that Brent uses to keep people at bay. The attraction that flares to life between him and his best friend’s daughter is not one that settles well with Brent who is hellbent on keeping her at arm’s distance which works well and fine until Anna discovers that she practically smolders in the presence of Brent and Brent alone and that she would rather burn than turn away from the way he makes her feel.

With merciless killers hunting her down, it is a race against time as Anna tries to figure out the truth behind her father’s message, something that is a tougher challenge given the fact that she has little trust for her father. With the viewpoints of multiple characters in the story told in the 3rd person, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson is a romantic suspense novel that would shake the readers to their very core and is definitely the kind that would make one lose their precious sleep over!

Brent Carver was just the right mix of hot, broody, intense and darkness to melt me from the inside out. And yes, I melted on the spot from the very first encounter with the heady specimen of male he is and never looked back. The sacrifices he made, perhaps through a misguided sense of responsibility for a life that had gone awry when he had been a mere teenager more than makes up for the “crime” that he has been serving more than half of his life for. The beauty and the unleashed passion deep inside of him comes when he lets go & puts paintbrush to paper. His connection to Anna is one that is forged long before Anna even knew of his existence and that is the thread that continues to pull at him and totally eviscerates the walls he has built around himself to keep those whom he cares about at bay.

Anna is a wonderful heroine who has just the right balance to complement a man like Brent. Her nightmares are still vivid and haunts her even though she refuses to acknowledge their existence. But Brent and the sharp shards of awareness that shoots through her with each passing day in his presence makes it near impossible for her to shut him out, and the protection and safety she finds in his arms becomes the soothing balm that seems to heal the old hurts that had never seen the light of day.

Honestly, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson is one of the best romantic suspense novels I have read this year. Toni Anderson completely blew me away with what she has brought to readers with her realistic characters, gritty emotions and the out of this world suspense with enough twists & turns in the story to keep the reader guessing that keeps the momentum going at full throttle. Only thing I missed was an epilogue to give a glimpse into how Brent and Anna fairs later on; its only right to give readers a beautiful epilogue to let the story really seep into the pores and cement the deal in my opinion. Regardless of that little trifling detail, Dark Waters by Toni Anderson comes highly recommended & doesn’t change the fact that it was a read that rocked my world. Fans of romantic suspense who loves the perfect balance in the romance, heat and suspense of the dark edged variety would love this one!

Final Verdict: Dark & gritty with excitement and danger at the turn of each page; Dark Waters is definitely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

A low growl rumbled through his chest and then he was kissing her hard and deep, his tongue tangling with hers in a searing dance. Hunger exploded along her nerves. Her heart hammered. Breath coming in gasps. Her fingers slipped beneath his shirt, sliding over taut hot skin. She felt him shiver even though he made no move to touch her. He was letting her take everything at her speed, giving her the sort of control she usually craved.

“I want you to touch me, Brent. I want you inside me.”
“I am touching you.” He was annihilating her. He let go of her wrists and shifted one hand to torture a beaded nipple. “And I am inside you.” His teeth grazed her neck. Two big fingers plunged deep, the heel of his hand pressing against her clitoris just hard enough to make her explode from the onslaught of sensations. Every nerve blasted like a firework, white light blinding her and she opened her mouth in a silent scream as it went on and on and on.

She held on tight to his shoulders, wanting to touch him, but knowing if she let go, she’d fall, and if she fell, he’d stop touching her.
She did not want him to stop.
One of his hands moved south and eased inside her panties. Her back arched up as he slid one finger inside her. “You’re so fucking hot.”
“For you,” she gasped, and let her head fall back as he moved his finger inside her, then added another, the fullness testing her. She dug her nails into his shoulders. “I want you, Brent.”

Then she started rising up and sliding down and he thought he was going to black out. He couldn’t stand it anymore and gripped her hips and drove deeper, deeper, harder. Grinding against her, wanting to get more inside her so she could swallow him whole. Then she cried out in those small gasps that curled around him and squeezed so tight he could no longer breathe. He let himself go, the hard release catapulting him to the moon as a nuclear explosion of white-hot ecstasy burned his mind, obliterating every thought in his head except this. Except her.

There was nothing gentle this time. No holding back as her body demanded more, fingers biting, ankles digging into his ass. This was therapy. A way of getting off and getting some sleep. It was raw sex on a deserted beach and they both needed it.
He drove her to another orgasm and followed her over the razor’s edge, resting his forehead in the curve of her shoulder as he shattered. Then he carried her into the water and they did it again.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Home to Laura by Mary Sullivan

Format: E-bookhometolaura.jpg
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Untitled Series, #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Nick Jordan
Heroine: Laura Cameron
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 1, 2013
Started On: July 27, 2013
Finished On: July 29, 2013

Right after reading and finishing up In from the Cold by Mary Sullivan, I had to go and buy the second book in this sort of series that tells and concludes the stories of the other two Jordan brothers, Nick and Tyler. While Tyler is the middle brother who is the most easygoing of the trio, Nick is the brother who has a chip on his shoulder, not because he had a terrible childhood or was abused; but rather he feels that he is invisible when he stands next to his brothers given the poverty within which they all lived in.

At 32 years of age, Nick is the proverbial story of success. A multimillionaire and CEO of Sanderson Developments, Nick seems to have got it all from the high powered job to a daughter who fulfills the rest of his life. But appearances can be deceiving and of late Nick has to admit that his life has been tinged with an emptiness that he cannot shake off, and it is the  thought that he might end up an empty shell of a man like his ex-father in law, mentor and boss Mort Sanderson that galvanizes Nick into taking action that would save him from a future filled with nothing but a gut aching loneliness and despair.

35 year old Laura Cameron is the owner of the delightful bakery in the town of Accord, Colorado. Lushly beautiful and sensual, Laura yearns for a family of her own, the chance for one which she destroyed the night she slept with her fiance’s brother Nick and he discovered them together. Nick might have been motivated by spite and the need for revenge on his older brother Gabe but Laura had always harbored a secret fascination and attraction towards Nick, something which she buried in the deep recesses of her heart along with the contempt, anger and loathing for the man who wouldn’t think twice and would go to any lengths to get exactly what he wants.

When Nick returns to town with his daughter Emily in tow, Laura and Nick’s paths cross once again, a more vulnerable Laura this time, who just had her “last” chance at a family slip away through her fingers. A one night of incandescent passion once again occurs between the two and this time Laura bears the fruit of their union which Nick wants to vehemently shake himself off from. Amidst the story of misunderstandings and coming to realizations on Nick’s part is also threaded the story of Tyler and Tammy and also the deliciously lovely and sensual story of the Scottish artist Aiden McQuorrie and Laura’s mother Olivia Cameron.

Truth be told, though I am a huge fan of heroes who have a bit of a dark edge to them, oh well who am I kidding, the darker they are the more I like them; I found it impossible to really like Nick as a person, much less a hero. I found him to be vain, self-centered and had a lot to really learn where life and its intricacies are concerned. The way he reacts to Laura’s pregnancy was one which I couldn’t get over from, but I think an honest reaction from a man like Nick who refuses to be tied down and does not want to bear anymore children. I felt like slapping Nick a time or two on his face, just so he would see exactly what was happening, how unfair it was of him to really believe that everything he wanted was his for taking and that deep sense of resentment he had harbored in his heart for his eldest brother something that should never have existed in the first place. The effect of spoiling a child rotten is what Nick is, with just a hint of goodness inside of him, buried under layer and layer of resentment and old hurts that I could not really get on board with.

Laura is the type of heroine that reminded me of Sarah from Sarah’s Child by Linda Howard. She is gutsy, sensual, beautiful and not afraid of being who she is, though Nick makes her regret her impulsive earthy behavior after the night of passion they share. Nick’s one saving grace was the fact that he, be it even out of sense of duty to Laura as a “friend”, takes care of her when she needs it and later on, goes to restore her sense of self confidence where her sensuality and impulsive passion is concerned.

The one bit I loved in the story was the tale of how the very much younger Scottish artist wooed Laura’s mother Olivia. Now, that should have been the center of this whole story which would have made for all sorts of deliciousness in my opinion.

I would still rate Home to Laura a good read because even though there were bits that didn’t work for me in the overall story, the chunks that did work seemed to make up for them.

Recommended for fans of Mary Sullivan & fans of this untitled series set in Accord, Colorado.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: In from the Cold by Mary Sullivan

Format: E-bookinfromthecold
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Untitled Series, #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Gabe Jordan
Heroine: Callie MacKintosh
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 5, 2013
Started On: July 27, 2013
Finished On: July 27, 2013

37 year old Gabe Jordan is the ultimate recluse, or so it seems to people who barely know him. The owner of a dogsledding business on family owned property in the town of Accord, Colorado, Gabe is a man who harbours a deep sense of guilt and an ultimate sense of responsibility for those under his care. The nightmares that won’t leave him be makes him retreat into a shell of his own where his world has no colour, joy or the hope of a better future in it until one feisty little redhead comes bulldozing her way into his life.

33 year old Callie MacKintosh is a city girl to the very core, with determination pretty much marking every single line of her small body. She might look small but what she doesn’t make up for in size is more than made up for by the vital energy that surrounds her and the beauty which sees in life no matter how tough things get for her.

Told from the viewpoints of both Callie and Gabe in the third person, Callie and Gabe’s worlds collide when Callie is tasked with swaying Gabe’s mind on selling his share of the family property to his brother Nick who happens to be Callie’s overdriven and overly ambitious boss. Callie has no choice but to go against the very principles she has lived by all her life to do Nick’s bidding, even when she starts to feel more than she should for the man on whom she is supposed to be working her powers of persuasion on.

The reason I love Harlequin Superromances is the fact that yes, they are so much more than a hero and heroine falling in love with each other and finding their happily ever after. Though that forms the basis of the storyline, what is surprising is the depth of characterisation brought into each of these stories that makes these books worth delving into.

In from the Cold served to be a great read, a story that compelled me to keep turning the pages until the very end, not only just because Callie and Gabe enticed me to do so, but because the secondary characters and romance in the book urged me to keep going.

Gabe is a sweetheart of a hero, there is no way on Earth you can read his story and not fall in love with this gentle giant of a man who harbours such a wealth of pain in his heart. And Callie served to be just the right sort of woman who could get him to open up and dare to hope for a future that is not the bleakness that has been his life for far too long. Callie has her own share of worries and demons to deal with and Gabe serves to be the one person who sees through all the protective layers that surround her and see right through to the heart of the woman.

Nick serves to be the villain that is shrouded in shades of grey. His story is up next and I cannot wait to find out what has got to be coming his way. He deserves to be smacked on his forehead a couple of times for being such a selfish person whose drive and ambition to succeed in life is the root of all the problems in the story. But then, I loved the emotional upheaval his character brought to the story and wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The best bit about this read? These are characters that have made mistakes and make mistakes along the way to their happily ever after. These are characters are what you would call real in every sense. And that’s what makes this book a winner for me.

A great read, recommended for fans of Harlequin romances with substance.

Final Verdict: A story that grows on you & makes you burn for the happily ever after.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan

Format: E-booktheheiresseffect.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Brothers Sinister, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Oliver Marshall
Heroine: Jane Victoria Fairfield
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 15, 2013
Started On: July 14, 2013
Finished On: July 17, 2013

He wanted her, everything about her.
Everything except… Her.

Oliver Marshall is a duke’s son born on the wrong side of the blanket. Though Oliver hadn’t wanted for much as far as familial love went, society had never let him forget that he would always be left wanting because his father had never claimed Oliver rightfully as his. Ambitious & driven by the need to prove himself, Oliver is a man at times torn between the desire to do whats right and walk a bit on the darker side for the greater good, or so he tells himself.

Miss Jane Victoria Fairfield or the Feather Heiress as she is famous for has only one goal in mind. Protect her younger sister Emily at all and any cost, even if means making a spectacle of herself in the society. Jane counts herself as a loner, fighting a lonely & dangerous battle if the ones that hold the power in their hands were ever to figure out just how good she is at deceiving them into believing what she wants them to believe. Never quite seeming to fit in, Jane is the one that vividly stands out, a little too loud & bold for society’s comfort.

When Oliver’s ambitions collide in the path that Jane walks upon, Oliver is decidedly torn on whether to carry through with the nefarious task designated to him, which would be oh so easy if it were’t for the fact that Jane and her plight seems to echo a bit too closely with what Oliver had experienced during his childhood and adolescence. Somehow, the woman that Oliver bluntly says is the opposite of what he wants as a wife begins to grow on him, the taunting memories and dreams on the impossible woman for him being oh so deliciously right for him driving him to the brink of wanting that refuses to be denied. But the ultimate question lies in whether Oliver would be courageous enough to take that step towards accepting the fact he needs Jane in his life or would he walk on the path society dictates and leave Jane behind, even if it tears him into bits and pieces on the inside.

Set in Cambridgeshire of England in 1867, The Heiress Effect is the second full length novel in the Brothers Sinister series. Told from viewpoints of multiple characters, The Heiress Effect can be read as a standalone though I’d recommend reading at least The Duchess War before proceeding with The Heiress Effect.

You know those books that are hard to part with, not because it didn’t give you what you wanted but because it delivered exactly and rightly what you wanted that they are hard to let go? Well, The Heiress Effect is a book of the sort that makes you want to soak up and wallow in the emotions left behind in the wake of the story for a day or two before even attempting to pick up another book to read.

Courtney Milan skyrocketed her way to my auto-buy list of authors right after my very first novel from her which was the first book in the series. Ever since, I’ve been waiting a tad impatiently for the rest of the books in the series to come out and Courtney certainly have made the wait worthwhile. There are authors who can draw you into the story just be the prose & at times poetic and hypnotic writing style that begs a reader to lose themselves in the unfolding story. And Courtney definitely is one of them.

There are so many things I loved about The Heiress Effect. Namely Jane’s character that surprised, beguiled and made me fall in love just like that. The strength of her character and the burdens she shoulders all alone is admirable, her honesty refreshing and the way she cannot help but talk a person’s ear off when nervous endearing. The fact that Jane stayed true to her character, even towards the beautiful little epilogue tucked at the end which takes place 6 years down the line was what made the story in my opinion. I’ve seen very few authors manage to keep a character true to who they are, and so Courtney, I bow down to the refreshing honesty the story brought forward.

Oliver is definitely not the type of hero you’d go gaga over because of his good looks, rather you go crazy over him in spite of all of that. He might not be handsome in the classical sense but he more than makes up for it by that sheer intensity of his character alone. He has this way of saying certain things like, “Keep talking Jane”, which might be a very innocent statement given the circumstances and all, but the way he says it goes deep and I was sighing over his fascination with Jane and how out of character she makes him feel.

The secondary romance tucked into the story was a delight to read as well, not to mention other characters such as Oliver’s younger sister Free and his aunt Freddy that lends the story an extra richness that at times brought tears to my eyes. Courtney Milan just doesn’t write a romance, she paints a beautiful masterpiece everytime she puts pen to paper and that’s exactly why I’d always keep coming back for more. I cannot wait for Sebastian’s story to come out. I have a feeling that the pages are practically going to explode from the sheer force of his character alone which I am absolutely looking forward to!

Recommended for fans of Courtney Milan, fans of the series and practically EVERYONE who loves a good romance that can make you sigh and swoon in all the right doses. This one’s for you!

Final Verdict: Poignant, beautiful and poetic, there are few authors who can rival what Courtney Milan brings to the genre.

Favorite Quotes

She kissed him back, lips to lips, and then tongue to tongue. She kissed him until he wasn’t sure who was kissing and who was kissing back. The kiss took on a life of its own, roaring through his blood. As if somehow, if he kissed her hard enough, he could avoid the past and the future altogether. He might stay in the present forever.

And then there was just him—his weight, his breath, his body bearing her down, joining with her so intimately. His hands, turning her face up to his, and his kiss, warm and sweet on her lips. There was no other time at all.
Just now.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Trust In Me by Dee Tenorio

Format: E-booktrustinme
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Rancho Del Cielo, #5
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd
Hero: Havelocke Jackman
Heroine: Susie Packard
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: July 23, 2013
Started On: July 13, 2013
Finished On: July 14, 2013

Havelocke Jackman (Locke) is the man who gave up most of his youth and raised six siblings on his own. A man of few words, Locke is someone who is tied down to his hometown of Rancho Diel Cielo.

Lingerie designer and owner of Susie’s Suite Shoppe moves into Rancho Diel Cielo to finally stop running from the demons that haunt her. Putting down roots is something Susie doesn’t believe to be an option available to her. Neither is giving into the answering heat that flares to life in the depths of her soul whenever Locke is around.

From the moment Susie had breezed into town and opened shop right in front of his own, something inside Locke had clicked into place and there had been no going back for him. Now, to convince the stubborn & infuriating woman he had fallen in love with to give them a chance? Well, thats a totally different matter altogether.

With a contemporary setting and told in third person from both Locke and Susie’s points of view, Trust In Me is the 5th book in the Rancho Del Cielo series. It can be read as a standalone.

Trust In Me is a novel that lives up to its name. Its about Susie’s inability to trust – with good reason of course, in anyone being there for her without wanting anything in return. The man who takes up the task is someone who is equally stubborn, maybe even more so because Locke certainly has a way of pushing all her buttons, just by being in the same room as her.

Locke is the dreamiest sort of hero, the type of hero that would make any woman go weak at the knees. A bit growly, a lil bit broody and a whole lot of sexy, his bewilderment at certain times given the situation is as endearing as his patience when it comes to Susie. For Locke, its Susie or no woman at all; for him making her feel the same way about him becomes his life mission, even if it means breaking his own heart in the process.

One thing that continually draws me into Dee’s stories is the thread of acerbic humor that is always a part of her storytelling and Trust In Me is no exception. Don’t get me wrong in thinking that Trust In Me is all light and fluff; hardly that. There are dark bits in the story that stirred something deep inside of me. I flinched while reading some parts, the horrors of what Susie had gone through something no one should be subjected to but is far too common in society for one’s peace of mind.

I’d say Locke’s patience makes the story. If it hadn’t been for his unwavering love for Susie that is tried & tested too many times to count, well lets just say this happily ever after would have gone in a whole different direction then. Sometimes Susie had me wondering whether she would be worth all the hassle of going back and forth and treading lightly where she’s concerned. Well, you gotta read and find out for yourself. If you love intense, broody and over the top protective sort of heroes, Trust In Me is definitely recommended.

Final Verdict: Sass, toe-curling sex and love with a dash of big, broody & hot.

Favorite Quotes

“I love you so much, Locke.” Her eyes, where so many secrets hid, were clear and true, shining with proud tears that wrenched at the scars connecting his heart to his soul. “Only you. Only ever you.”
His mouth crashed down, finding hers through the blinding sensation of his body taking over. He pulled back, thrusting into her to the hilt. No finesse, no thought, just raw, driving instinct. She clung, crying out as her channel spasmed around his cock. He had no idea what he was doing now, lost in the feel of her, the hot, wet clench of their bodies continuing to strain… Whimpers turned to hoarse screams, her arms clamped around his head, her hold as unrelenting as his force.

She jerked in his hold, curving back so far her hair splashed into the water, his name echoing off the walls as she cried for him. Her sheath gripped him, shuddering strokes stealing the last of his restraint, throwing him over the edge with her. He pulsed with her, aware of nothing but the feel of her coming back down into his arms. Her breath, hot and panting against his neck. Soft kisses, soothing kisses. Her hands smoothed into his hair, cradling him as he finally laid his head on her shoulder. He held her too tightly, he knew, but he couldn’t let go.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Beat of Temptation by Nalini Singh

Format: E-bookbeatoftemptation
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, #0.5
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Hero: Nathan Ryder
Heroine: Tamsyn Mahaire
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 2, 2007
Started On: July 12, 2013
Finished On: July 13, 2013

29 year old Nathan Ryder (Nate) is one of DarkRiver’s top soldiers, who is soon on the way to becoming a sentinel.

19 year old Tamsyn Mahaire (Tamsyn) is DarkRiver’s healer who assumes her position at the tender age of 17, taking on a responsibility that would have broken a woman of lesser strength and maturity.

Few Changelings get to recognise and meet their mate so early in life. A bond that can never be broken, much less ignored without being slowly killed on the inside, Nate and Tamsyn recognise the fact that they are mates the day Tamsyn turns 15 years old. But Nate resists taking what’s rightfully his, leading Tamsyn to think that he might actually not want her as his mate unlike her who wants him and all of him with everything in her being .

This novella is set at the very beginning of the series, much earlier than even Lucas’s story, ‘Slave to Sensation’ that is the 1st book in the Psy-Changeling series. Set in San Francisco, Beat of Temptation is told from both Tamsyn & Nate’s points of view.

Anyone who loves this series would have an innate sense of curiosity to learn about the stories of the various couples you encounter in the series that have already settled down and lend considerable fodder to the story as secondary characters. Tamsyn and Nate are one of those couples that you always come across and it was while reading ‘Mine to Possess’ that I was actually thinking along the lines that I would love to know about them too! And to my delighted surprise, there it was, the story of Nate and Tamsyn, tucked inside the anthology ‘An Enchanted Christmas’.

Beat of Temptation is quite the angst-ridden read, much more so than any other book in the series I have read to date. Nate resisting a bond that is a visceral part of both of them is painful in the extreme. With the sexual need as well as the need to be held which is an aspect of Changelings that is essential for their survival, Tamsyn feels torn on the inside and the animal inside of her breaks with too many rejections to count.

Though Nate’s reasons for holding back are quite understandable given his past, the fact that he makes his mate believe that she is not important enough in his life in his misguided attempts to keep her at arms lengths lends that gut wrenching quality to the story which I absolutely loved.

I fell in love with Nate, just like Tamsyn did, when he buys her violets, a flower so delicate which is symbolic of the love they share more than anything else. Loved the little epilogue tucked at the end which just made me want my own Changeling hero to pet and stroke and to be petted in return.

The only thing that disappointed me was the fact that there wasn’t even one good solid sex scene in Beat of Temptation. The sexual tension between Tamsyn and Nate is one that can be cut through with a knife and to not get anything out of all that honest to goodness tension was a bit of a letdown.

Recommended for fans of the series & those who are curious about stories of other secondary characters already settled down with their mates.

Final Verdict: Beat of Temptation echoes like a beat of want in your body. Nate & Tamsyn are a must-read!

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

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