Category / Toe Curler!!

by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Skin Deep by Pamela Clare

Format: E-bookskindeep
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: I-Team After Hours, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Nathaniel West
Heroine: Megan Hunter
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: May 15, 2012
Started On: May 17, 2012
Finished On: May 25, 2012

 

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 90 A
Suck me in Factor 85 A
Heat & Sensuality  85 A
Conflicts 80 A
Writing Style 100 A
Quotable Factor 80 A
Ending 95 A
Overall Grade 88.5 A

Score Sheet Summary

Skin Deep by Pamela Clare is a spin-off novel from her bestselling I-Team series which is an absolute favorite of mine. Being her first self-published book as well, Skin Deep tells the story of the sexy Marc Hunter’s younger sister Megan Hunter who finds love and redemption when she least expects to.

Megan’s childhood had been a painful one, one filled with abuse of every kind imaginable. Reading Marc’s story would paint a vivid picture of just how much Megan had suffered at the hands of people whom she should have been able to trust, people who misused and abused the position of authority they had over people in situations like the one Megan found herself in. 

Nathaniel West is ex-military, scarred on the inside and out, taking one day at a time in his attempt to move forward in his life. When he sees Megan from community shelter his family donates ground beef to, his interest is piqued enough for him to sit up and take notice. And when Megan and her adorable little daughter Emily’s life gets thrown into danger, it is then that the relationship between Megan and Nathan fosters and grows giving you a beautiful story of love amidst bits of action and humor that only Pamela Clare can deliver. Recommended for fans of I-Team novels.

Favorite Quotes

She didn’t wait for him this time, but rested her palms against the hard wall of his chest, rose up on one knee, and caressed his lips with hers, increasing the pressure.
More shivers.
His eyes drifted shut, his lashes long and dark. One big hand came to rest on her hip as he steadied her. He caught her lower lip between his, and gave it a soft tug.
Belly flutters.

He hungrily took what she offered. There had to be a thousand different ways to kiss a woman, a thousand different ways for lips and tongues to meet, caress, tease. He wanted to find every single one of them.

“Geezus!” His jaw was clenched, his brow furrowed as if he were in pain.
And she knew he was in pain, the same kind of pleasure-pain she felt—precious torment, sweet distress, torturous bliss.

She collapsed onto him, kissed his chest, the left side slick with sweat. He wrapped his arms around her, drew her close, one hand stroking her hair, his heart thrumming in his chest, both of them breathless.
And as sex cooled into sleep, he kissed her tears away.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

awesomeread

by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Heart of Steel by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-bookheartofsteel
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: BookHub
Hero: Logan Grant
Heroine: Chandler Santell
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 14, 2011
Started On: May 3, 2012
Finished On: May 14, 2012

 

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 80 A
The heroine 80 A
Story line 80 A
Emotional Intensity 75 B
Suck me in Factor 75 B
Heat & Sensuality  80 A
Conflicts 80 A
Writing Style 85 A
Quotable Factor 70 B
Ending 75 B
Overall Grade 78 B

Score Sheet Summary

Logan Grant is the owner of L&G Brokerage, one of the most successful companies in the city. Chandler Santell is the owner of Yoga and Arts Center which she needs to take drastic measures in order to save and that includes going to Logan and risking it all on a deal that could go either way for her.

Chandler is a woman who has been burnt and burnt badly by those she should have been able to trust most. And understandably she is skittish when it comes to passion and feeling too much. But that is exactly what she cannot shy away from when it comes to Logan and his devastating sexuality together with that connection that is forged between these two people who are quite different from one another.

Logan finds his fascination with Chandler an enigma, the burning fire inside his soul an indication that his heart is not made of steel as most people would like to think. In Chandler, Logan finds that elusive feeling called completeness with her by his side. But any wrong move on his part could send Chandler fleeing and it is through a lot of trial and tribulations that these two eventually find their happily ever after.

I loved reading Heart of Steel. Logan and his utter focus on Chandler and the way he pursues her with that single minded intensity of his was such a huge turn on!

Jennifer Probst delivers a good bout of searing sensuality together with a story that sizzles in all the right ways. Recommended!

Favorite Quotes

Chandler prepared for a sensual, teasing game like the night before. What she hadn’t expected was the powerful, drugging need that touched fire to her body when his tongue penetrated the seam of her lips to thrust into her mouth, hungrily plundering the dark, silken depths over and over again. 

“I want you. I’ll drag out every damn secret you have. I’ll stalk every hiding place, haunt your dreams at night, and make your body burn for mine. When you finally surrender, I’ll make you feel more pleasure than you’ve ever known.”

She pressed her body against his, luxuriating in the feel of his hips cradling hers, the lean strength of his thighs, the bold evidence of his arousal. He pulled back, heard her strangled cry of protest, and re-slanted his mouth to kiss her more deeply. He used his lips and teeth and tongue to push her to the limits of control, until she became helpless beneath the onslaught and surrendered completely.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry

Format: E-bookherbestworstmistake
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Martin St Clair
Heroine: Violet Sutcliffe
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: May 5, 2012
Started On: May 4, 2012
Finished On: May 6, 2012

If you are a fan of Sarah Mayberry and her Blaze line novels, you must have come across Hot Island Nights which was released in September of 2010. In Hot Island Nights, Sarah leaves readers with a tantalizing glimpse into the relationship between Victoria and Martin and I for one was drawn towards it so much so that I mentioned in my review about wanting to read their own story. And finally, with Her Best Worst Mistake which turns out to be Sarah’s first self-pubbed story, she gives her die-hard fans the story of Martin and Violet and believe me, I couldn’t have asked for a more fitting story for the two of them.

Violet Sutcliffe and Martin St Clair tolerates each other’s presence for one reason alone. Their love for Violet’s best friend Elizabeth who happens to be Martin’s fiance is what keeps the claws sheathed behind a veneer of civility whenever they are around each other. Violet thinks Martin to be a bit stiff under the collar, someone who needs to loosen up a bit and live a little. Martin thinks Violet to be a bit too much, a bit too flashy and just a tad too much of everything. 

When Elizabeth leaves a floundering Martin behind in the wake of her realizing that her life is not going in a direction that she wants or needs, Violet is surprised by the feelings of sympathy and a riot of whole other emotions that cruises through her at the thought of Martin being all alone. While Violet battles with the unsettling feelings that seems to unravel deep inside of her all the while thinking that Martin despises her, Martin proves her wrong by turning up on her doorstep and leaves her reeling from the most explosive sexual encounter of her life.

Sarah definitely turns up the heat in this one. I for one have missed the heat she so effectively turns up in her Blaze books, not that I haven’t immensely enjoyed her Super Romance titles – I have. But, a girl needs a little bit of heat every now and then and in Her Best Worst Mistake Sarah gives us that and so much more with each encounter between Martin and Violet turning more explosive than the previous one. Don’t be lulled into thinking that its all about heat and explosions in this story. True to Sarah’s style, she gives readers two characters who have gone through their fair share of trouble in life to become the people they are today.

I loved, loved, loved Martin. I wanted to hug him and never let him go after reading the first couple of chapters. And my love for everything to do with Martin seemed to grow exponentially as the story continued. I wanted to be the one to ruffle his feathers, to make him lose that legendary cool and control of his. And when Violet does just that by merely walking into the same room as he is in; I felt like jumping out of my chair and shouting out “Hallelujah!” at the top of my voice. I was that invested in his character and the emotions that he invoked in me.

Violet was such a swell heroine. I loved her vivacious and bold nature right from the very start. Her loyalty towards her best friend is what keeps the guilt meter at an all time high when she is with Martin. But the attraction and the feelings of the more tender nature that courses through her when she is with Martin are ones not to be denied and I loved her for being true to those feelings, even when all the while conflicted with what she thinks is right and what she considers to be wrong.

The best part about the book was how well Sarah handles the crackling heat between Violet and Martin that they never even identify to be as such. I loved how realistically Sarah portrayed the turn of their relationship. I am always a reader who finds it a bit funny when two people who have such an explosive sexual chemistry right from the very start manages to just stay away from each other until the very last minute until the author is well and ready to deliver on all that tension. In my experience, if two people have that explosive a sexual attraction, it would be hard to just walk away when things tend to reach the point of no return pretty easily. And I loved Sarah for making Martin and Violet’s attraction just that – something I could identify with and loved from the very beginning.

If you have already read and enjoyed Hot Island Nights, I am sure you would have already grabbed your copy of Violet and Martin’s story and enjoyed it as much as I have. If you haven’t, don’t worry, you can still read Her Best Worst Mistake as a standalone. But reading the two books together makes for an awesome loosely tied series which I cannot recommend highly enough!

Explosive, beautiful and tender – a romance not to be missed!

Favorite Quotes

Martin smiled, the slow curve of his mouth revealing a dimple in his left cheek.
Violet frowned, as she did every time she saw that dimple.
It didn’t belong on his face. It was as simple as that. Dimples were impish and mischievous. They spoke of laughter and pleasure, not three piece suits and pipes and slippers and cardigans with elbow patches.

“Why did you lift your top the other night in my office? Why did you flash your breasts at me like that?” he asked, his voice very low, his grey eyes intent on her.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. 
“Liar,” he said, and then he closed the distance between them and his hands were cupping her face and his mouth was lowering toward hers and her heart was beating so hard and fast it was a wonder it didn’t explode. 

“I’m sorry, I have to move. I have to. You’re so bloody tight. So good,” he groaned, his face distorted with need. 
He started to pump into her, long, powerful thrusts, the slap of flesh on flesh and the wet rush of their bodies moving together mingling with their ragged breathing. Everywhere she touched him he was hard as granite, as though every muscle in his body was straining toward completion. She’d never felt more desired, more wanted, more wanton or sexy in her life and she felt her own desire rising higher with every stroke.

Her perfume enveloped him as he reached for her. His hands smoothed over soft fabric before finding the warmth of her skin. She lifted her mouth to his and kissed him hungrily, greedily. 
She tasted so good. Like sin. Like every dirty thought he’d ever had. 

Purchase Links: Amazon | Smashwords

fantasticread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Virgin Territory by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookVirgin territory_MD
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Hero: Vincent Armand Buonfiglio
Heroine: Katherine Julia Wyatt
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 13, 2012
Started On: April 20, 2012
Finished On: April 29, 2012

Ladies! The days of stereotyping geeks are over. Meet Vincent, the geek of MY dreams and please take note of the ‘my’ in the sentence while you are at it *winks*. Cari Quinn has a talent for creating geeky heroes that appeal to all your senses and Vincent was no exception to this rule.

Vincent Armand Buonfiglio is a network specialist by day and an erotic romance writer by night. Oft late, his muse has sort of disappeared leaving him in a dry spell in more ways than one. Vincent needs to find something to jolt start the words that needs to flow in order for him to finish his book and Katherine Julia Wyatt (Kiki) seems like the best bet when she has been occupying far too much of his thoughts ever since he had seen her around 5 months back.

Kiki is determined that her crush on Vincent remain just that, a crush. She has no intention of getting entangled with a man who is notorious for leaving bleeding hearts in his wake and Kiki knows that although her girly bits would love nothing more than to jump his bones, her heart and other emotions are more wary of laying her heart on the line ever again.

But somehow, through a quirky set of events, both Kiki and Vincent find themselves in each other’s company, saying yes to that undeniable desire that courses through them whenever they lay eyes on each other. For Vincent, Kiki is someone who tests and pushes his comfort zone and tests his boundaries when it comes to his emotional involvement. Kiki has no doubt in her mind that when it comes to Vincent, everything between them is temporary and she is determined to not put her heart on the line.

But sometimes, the best of intentions are waylaid, and through all the chaos that reins, two people do find that special something called love that is worth holding on to, and that is exactly what Cari gives her readers with the story of Vincent and Kiki.

Vincent is such a fabulous hero. I swear. He is broody, a bit tortured and possessive enough to make this girl melt in all the right ways. I loved how possessive Vincent’s thoughts turn when it comes to Kiki, a foreign concept for a man like himself. And his ‘surliness’ as a result lends him that edge that I find extra appealing when it comes to heroes that I love. And yes, Vincent wins any contest in that department hands down.

Kiki was a wonderful heroine, everything that Vincent needs in his life and more. She is beautiful inside and out and her giving nature is what drew me to her and kept me a fan until I turned the very last page. She has her own issues when it comes to relationships and giving her trust, understandable after what she has gone through. But her willingness to put it to test with Vincent who makes all her senses hum just by being in the same room made her win my affection. I love a heroine who doesn’t dilly dally and Kiki is someone who is gutsy enough to go after what she wants and I loved her wholeheartedly for that.

A little toned down in the sexual aspect than what Cari usually delivers, nevertheless Virgin Territory makes for an awesome read, a book that is worth your time and money if a good, emotional contemporary romance is what you are itching to get your hands on.

Favorite Quotes

He threaded his hand through her hair, tugging her closer. Her body strained toward him, her breasts all but bursting the buttons of her flannel pajamas. She swallowed the last of the candy cane as he lowered his mouth to hers.
He didn’t ravage, as she’d expected. His mouth was soft and warm on hers, and the scrape of his stubbled jaw added to the thrill. She moaned and clung to him, her mind emptying like sand tumbling from a bucket.
Resist? Absolutely not. She wanted this. Him.

He tugged her over the threshold with his good arm, barely cognizant of her startled squeak before his mouth swooped down to cover hers. She tasted pepperminty, as if she’d been sucking on a candy cane again. He swept his tongue between her lips to taste more of her while her arms locked around his neck.

There were so many ways he could have answered her snarky question. But sometimes, direct worked best. Leaning forward, he hooked a finger in the waistband of her pants and tugged. She stepped forward without hesitation and met his mouth hungrily.
Well, hello.
[…]
She wound her hands into his hair, arching against him so that her thighs pressed against his. With the added height from her heels, everything lined up perfectly. Center to center, mouth to mouth, heart to heart.

Soft. She was so soft, and warm. So giving as she moved with him. Rising to take him in, the covers shrouding her back as she arched.
His lips clasped her nipple and she cried out, her fingernails dragging down his hips. She clamped around him. Squeezing. Taking. Giving more.

She surrounded him. Wet, hot. Indescribable. Spasms rocked her, and she lost herself in their rhythm, riding him so fast she was nothing but a blur. But as much as he wished it would never end, no times tables and no images of grungy linoleum floors could keep the flood of her orgasm from inciting his own.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Decadent Pub

awesomeread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Uncaged by Lucy Gordon

Format: Paperbackuncaged.jpg
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Silhouette Desire, #864
Publisher: Silhouette
Hero: Detective Inspector Daniel Keller
Heroine: Megan Elizabeth Anderson
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 28, 1994
Started On: April 4, 2012
Finished On: April 6, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 80 A
The heroine 75 B
Story line 80 A
Emotional Intensity 70 B
Suck me in Factor 70 B
Heat & Sensuality  75 B
Conflicts 80 A
Writing Style 75 B
Quotable Factor 60 B
Ending 75 B
Overall Grade 74 B

Score Sheet Summary

Uncaged by Lucy Gordon is a novel that has a promising and different premise that sucked me right in. Rather than the hero who has been wronged, it is the heroine Megan Elizabeth Anderson who finds herself accused of a murder that she did not commit and jailed for a period of 3 years until a technicality overlooked during the investigation sets her free. During the time that she had lost from her life, it had been the thoughts of her son Tommy and her burning hatred for the man who had been relentless in his belief that she was the murderess and set about to proving it without any thought or feeling that had been the focal point of her thoughts and dreams.

What makes Uncaged different is that it is the hero Detective Inspector Daniel Keller who makes the biggest mistake in his career when he wrongfully convicts and sends an innocent woman to jail. Daniel’s life had been far from perfect when the case had come to his attention and he had heeded advice from well meaning friends to take a break and grieve as he deserved to before trying to bury himself in work.

Thus circumstances, guilt and a whole lot of other conflicting emotions brings Daniel to Megan’s door, Megan who wants nothing more than to make Daniel as miserable as she is feeling. But as mistrust and other hostile feelings give away from both ends, there comes to light a desire for each other that surpasses any other emotion that they both have known, a desire that blinds them both into accepting the reprieve and emotional high that only they both can give each other.

Daniel is a hero who awakens so many emotions deep inside of you. You feel for his suffering, his anguish and empathize with what he was going through when he had made the worst mistake of his life. His guilt is an almost tangible one, that never ending grief in his eyes one that reaches out to you from the very start. Megan is quite the heroine who belongs in my list of unusual heroines. She is bold, vivacious and has a temper that fires up quite easily and she is a beauty that drove and continues to drive men crazy. Both Megan and Daniel have suffered so much in the past and the way they are able to see beyond their own suffering to empathize with the other was what made this book unforgettable.

Though the execution of the story could have been better, nevertheless I enjoyed the story and would recommend this read to those who love romances based around female convicts.

Favorite Quotes

With a low growl from his very depths, he pulled her against him and smothered her mouth with his own. There was madness in the passion that swept over him, engulfing him in its pounding urgency. Everything about this situation was insane. He knew that, but he was helpless in the grasp of sensstions that he’d never experienced before.

Through the roaring of her senses she managed to murmur, “Daniel…”
“Yes,” he said hoarsely.
“We shouldn’t do this…I know we shouldn’t….”
“Then tell me to stop.” She looked up at him helplessly, and with a groan he covered her mouth again. “Tell me to stop,” he repeated in a voice that was half command, half plea.
“I can’t…you know I can’t…”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | AbeBooks

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: The Nurse’s Not-So Secret Scandal by Wendy S. Marcus

Format: Paperbackthenursesnotsosecretscandal
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Medical Romance
Series: Madrin Memorial Hospital, #3
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Hero: Ryan ‘Fig’ Figelstein
Heroine: Roxie Morano
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 6, 2012
Started On: March 26, 2012
Finished On: March 27, 2012

The Nurse’s Not-So Secret Scandal is the 3rd and final book in Wendy. S. Marcus’ Madrin Memorial Hospital series. I am not one who reads much of medical romances but Wendy has a way of putting it out there that just makes her books compelling reads that I want more of. 

27 year old Ryan ‘Fig’ Figelstein comes to Madrin Falls in upstate New York to visit his best friend Kyle. When he meets the larger than life and certainly colorful character that is Roxie Morano, Fig is definitely more than intrigued enough to pursue the attraction that flares to life between them right from the onset.

But things aren’t as easy and lighthearted as they seem to be on the surface. Both Roxie and Fig have their own fair share of secrets and painful pasts that still persists in their lives at present making their struggle to achieve some form of normalcy almost impossible. But through it all, Roxie and Fig manage to wade their own way through the many ups and downs in their not-so-normal-relationship and in the end attain a happily ever after that was so well deserved that I was grinning from ear-to-ear when all was said and done.

You can’t read the 1st book in the series i.e. When One Night Isn’t Enough without getting intrigued enough to see through to the rest of the characters that make their way into the story. Wendy has a talent for creating heroines who have the odds stacked against them, who are hard working, loyal and have had a lot of bad happen to them in their pasts. But what makes her heroines special is that drive to be true to who they are, to do their best to make do with a bad situation that fate throws their way. And the plus point as always turns out to be the beautiful men, and yes I use beautiful because there is no other way to describe these guys who go out of their way to win over the women they love.

Roxie Morano is a character of contrasts if ever there was one. She is spunky, has an attitude that may seem off-putting at first and wears colors bold and vivacious just like her character; but underneath all that tough and brave facade is a woman who is torn between the need to do the right thing and making her own way in life, a woman who shoulders more than her fair share of responsibility in looking after a mother who is a disaster waiting to happen. Roxie takes her fun wherever she can find it, a release she needs so badly after working intense hours as a nurse and coming home to a depressing state of affairs that makes her want to howl at times. But even her closest friends at work have no clue as to just how much of a juggler she is in order to present a normal front to the rest of the world.

Fig comes from a totally different side of the equation. As a child Fig had been smothered by the attention he had received from his mother as a result of being a recurring patient of leukemia until he had hit his teens. His past is one that haunts him, his mother continuing to try to rule his life even when he has made it clear that he is more than capable of running his own life. Fig has hangups that you won’t believe a person may have and he knows it, but his attraction for the fireball of energy that Roxie is poses complications on his heart that he would never have thought possible.

Two equally damaged people with a whole lot of baggage meet and ignite the sparks of desire and want that paves the way towards something more meaningful as both Fig and Roxie strip themselves bare emotionally and physically to let each other in, a quest that is doubly dangerous for two people who have had their trust trampled upon by people closest to them. Roxie is all about living in the moment and rushing towards the ultimate explosion of pleasure while Fig is more laid back and has the patience to wait – as good things always comes to those who wait. So when these two meet in the bedroom it is more than fun, it is about exploring the extent to which each can push the other and both discovering sides to themselves that are uncharted waters as well.

Wendy has done a remarkable job with creating a character such as Roxie who is different, someone who grabbed my heart and invaded it with her usual style and flair from the very beginning. Fig like his laid back nature waited and hovered around a bit before plunging that stake into my heart to stake his claim and boy I could definitely understand the appeal of taking it slow and taking your time when it comes to a man like Fig.

The Nurse’s Not-So Secret Scandal is my favorite in the series. And I tell you, Roxie Morano is a character who rocks your boat – in more ways than one. And the best thing about this series? You can read all 3 books as a standalone and never flounder to find your way.

Recommended for fans of medical romances and those who love spunky heroines and yummy tattooed heroes who can show you that patience is a good thing; when it comes to a man like him!

Favorite Quotes

Fig leaned in close, his chest pressed to her back, his palm flat on her belly. “Time to muster up some moxie, Roxie,” he whispered. “Every woman in this bar is wishing she had a body as gorgeous as yours, and every man is wishing he had your long, beautiful legs clamped around his butt.”
Roxie relaxed. Smiled even. “Does that include you?” […]
“Nah.” […] “My wish involves them wrapped around my head.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | M&B

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins

Format: E-bookjustoneoftheguys
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Chic-lit
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HQN Books
Hero: Trevor James Meade
Heroine: Chastity Virginia O’Neill
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 1, 2008
Started On: March 22, 2012
Finished On: March 24, 2012

Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins is a book that always ends up in one recommendation list or the other. And the hero Trevor James Meade seems to be a real hit amongst the ladies so much so that I decided to give this book a try because when it comes to Kristan Higgins you are always in for a laugh-fest no matter what.

Chastity Virginia O’Neill is the youngest child and the only daughter in the O’Neill family. She is a plus-sized heroine if there ever was one and a jock to boot, a mark left over as a result of growing up and competing with 4 brothers in the household. After moving back to her hometown of Eaton Falls, Chastity is determined that she would find someone to fall in love with, someone to settle down with and have 2.5 kids with, even if the man who holds the key to her heart remains completely oblivious the ferocity of her feelings towards him.

Trevor James Meade can almost pass off as Chastity’s fifth brother because Trevor is almost like a son to her parents, biology be damned. Chastity falls in love with Trevor during the darkest period of Trevor’s life and she holds her feelings towards Trevor close to her heart, the one time that she and Trevor slept together a memory that she treasures and remembers all too often for her peace of mind.

However Trevor acts as if the thought of her settling down with someone else means nothing to him and goes as far as to encourage her to date and find someone who would provide her with everything her heart desires. And when the sexy new doctor in town notices Chastity and they both start dating, Chastity couldn’t be happier, or so she tells herself until everything starts falling apart around her, forcing Chastity to face the reality of her feelings and move on.

I had a hard time classifying Just One of the Guys as a romance. Chastity and Trevor spends the majority of the book apart from each other even though they live in the same town and run into each other almost every day. There were no romantic interactions between the two except for one very invigorating “nipple” scene that brought to light Trevor’s obvious attraction towards Chastity. I was disappointed because for the whole duration of the novel, Chastity and Trevor both date other people, sleep with other people and Chastity gets ready to even say her I-do’s before she comes to her senses and stops herself from settling for the second best. 

Trevor was delicious, as delicious as everyone raves him to be. And I loved him. I truly did. Kristan managed to do a mighty fine job of bringing him to life through Chastity’s eyes, and I loved how his character turned out to be. But I did want to slap him a time or two because he seemed to stubbornly hold on to his belief that if he and Chastity were ever to get together, he might lose her and that is one moment in time that he doesn’t ever want to face.

The reason why I hesitate to read books written in first person is the fact that the reader misses out a lot on the point of view of the other characters involved in the story. I especially missed having Trevor’s take on things, his feelings or non-feelings towards Chastity and what makes him so hesitant to stake his claim on a woman he seems to look out for in all the little ways that matter.

As always, Kristan gives the reader a healthy amount of laughter, the antics that Chastity gets involved in being moments that still bring a smile to my face. Just One of the Guys is the story of how Chastity as a character grows and becomes more, how she learns to face the truth in the light of the day, regardless of whether she might or might not like what she sees. And I loved the story of how Chastity’s mother moves on, against all odds and against all the stonewalling she receives from both her ex-husband and her children for whom their mother moving on is something of an alien concept.

There were so many emotional moments in the story, some of them rendering me to tears and other times I seriously had a lump the size of an island in my throat. Those were the moments that defined the story for me and I had a hell of an enjoyable time reading Just One of the Guys.

Just One of the Guys is a book that can make you laugh, bawl your eyes out and smile through your tears because Kristan is an author who demands no less, and if you are a fan, I cannot recommend it to you highly enough!

Favorite Quotes

Then before he could break the moment, before he could turn away, I kissed him, and he didn’t stop me. Instead, he pushed my hair out of my face, and he kissed me back, gently, sweetly, his hand slipping behind my head, his lips moving just right against mine, smooth and warm. I gripped his shirt and sighed against his mouth, and knew that as long as I lived, this would be the one perfect kiss that I’d remember forever.

“So you can’t marry Harry, Mom! Not if you still love Daddy!” I sound like a ten-year-old, but I can’t help it. Buttercup comes over to me and puts her head on my lap.
“Love gets used up, Chastity,” Mom says gently, reaching up to smooth my hair. “If it’s not returned, it gets used up.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Book Depository

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Challenging Carter by Kate Davies

Format: E-bookchallengingcarter.jpg
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd
Hero: Carter Matthews
Heroine: Dani Williams
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 13, 2007
Started On: March 19, 2012
Finished On: March 19, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 80 A
Emotional Intensity 80 A
Suck me in Factor 80 A
Heat & Sensuality  90 A
Conflicts 85 A
Writing Style 85 A
Quotable Factor 60 B
Ending 85 A
Overall Grade 82.5  A

Score Sheet Summary

It was my hankering to read a friends-to-lovers romance that led me to purchasing and reading Challenging Carter by Kate Davies. Carter Matthews and Dani Williams are best friends and have been together in business for the past 8 years. While Carter heads Outdoor Sports Equipment, Dani is the Financial Analyst of the company who constantly tries to get Carter to stick to the estimated budget for expenses.

Dani has always been in love with Carter and he has no clue. Dani is an introvert, who feels more comfortable working than socializing. It is Carter’s pestering about a Fitness Challenge that has Dani taking up strip aerobics that gives her that extra edge which starts driving Carter out of his ever loving mind.

The scenes of passion were of the steamy hot variety. The thing I loved most about this novella was the friendship between Carter and Dani and Carter’s ability to goof around and get Dani to lighten up. This was evident even in the most sensually charged scenes of the story and that is one reason why I loved Dani and Carter’s story.

The one thing that I did miss however was the lack of background story which I know is not possible most of the time when it comes to a novella. But a friends to lovers romance becomes that much more real if their past comes up and delivers those tidbits that makes the characters more appealing and give that extra bite of sexual tension that drives the reader to the very edge. 

If you are looking for a short story to stick in between lengthier reads and if you love the friends to lovers trope, give Challenging Carter a go.

Favorite Quotes

Then he strode across the room and kissed her.
It was a crazy, impulsive act, but the minute his lips touched hers he knew it was the right thing to do.
She tasted like sex and sin and forbidden fruit, and he couldn’t get enough.

It should have been awkward. They’d taken their relationship from casual to over-the-top intimate in six-point-two seconds, without all the typical steps in between.
But all Dani could think, wrapped in Carter’s arms, was that finally she was right where she was supposed to be.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Best Man by Maggie Osborne

Format: Hardcoverthebestman
Read with: Hardcover
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hero: Dal Frisco
Heroine: Fredrick Roark
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 1, 1998
Started On: March 17, 2012
Finished On: March 18, 2012

The Best Man is a novel that is going to be hard to review, not because it wasn’t a splendid read in all the ways that counts. It is going to be difficult to put into words just how much the story affected me, how the characters that were brought to life in front of my eyes continued to worm their way into my heart and later on etched themselves onto my very soul to stay there for the time to come. As I have said before and I will continue to say this, Maggie Osborne is an author who is one of a kind. She delivers romances that takes you to place you rarely get to go and she gives you a story that you can sink your teeth into and cannot let go!

Joe Roark, owner of the King’s Walk Ranch dies leaving behind 3 daughters and his fourth wife a widow. Each of them grapples with the astounding will that Joe leaves which dictates that his daughters prove their mettle before they are to receive their due inheritance. If that fails to be the case, all the sweat and hard work that Joe had put into building his ranch would be in vain and would be handed over to a wife that he detested more than he did  his daughters.

A man who only wanted sons and got saddled with daughters, Joe refused to let his daughters forget their place in the world. Alexander Roark Mills (Alex), Fredrick Roark (Freddy) and Lester Roark (Les); the 3 daughters whom he had pampered in his way and each of whom had disappointed him in one way or the other suddenly finds themselves tasked with driving a herd of longhorns to the market in Abilene, Kansas. 

Dal Frisco is a man who is looking for a second chance, a chance to turn his life around and achieve his dream of owning his own spread in Montana. To do that, he needs cold hard cash and the news of the infamous will Joe left to his daughters pave the way for him to do exactly just that. What he doesn’t bargain for is to find daughters who look like the high strung type who carry smelling salts in their fringed wrist purses who look and behave as if they have never engaged in an honest day of work in their whole lives. But even then, Freddy with her dark hair and green eyes catch him unawares with the bolt of desire that strikes him upon the very first time their eyes meet.

For Dal, the success of the mission ahead hinges on his ability to prepare the 3 women to face and cope with the challenges of being on the road, to actively take part in delivering the herd in the exact number their father has stipulated in the will. But the number of foes who want nothing more than to see them fail work from within to bring chaos and mayhem to their venture. And through it all, the 3 sisters continue to discover the hard truths about themselves, become better women and go on to form a bond with each other that would remain unshaken till death does them apart.

Labeling The Best Man as the story in which Freddy and Dal discover each other and fall in love would not do justice to a story that is so very much more. The Best Man brings to life the characters of 3 sisters who had grown up trying to compete and outdo each other during their childhood, each resenting the other for one thing or the other. And later when adolescence had hit, the 3 of them had found themselves going their separate ways, never forging a connection befitting that of sisters. Alex elopes while Freddy sets off to embrace her dream of performing in a theater which drives a further wedge between the sisters. Les, the youngest is the one who stays behind, who feels betrayed when her father brings home a wife that disrespects everything they stand for.

For 3 people who have never tried working as a team or have never worked hard a day in their life, the training and the pace that Dal sets serves to be sheer torture. But Dal is the man who forces them to force out their inner strength, to straighten that backbone of steel that each sister has in spades, to embrace the true hidden characteristics within each of them that makes them such appealing characters. Each of them has their own fair share of faults, fears and dreams. And learning about each of them was a journey in itself and I loved every minute of it.

The men who enter into their lives are nor less appealing. Dal plays the most prominent role and he is the stuff that pure alpha men are made out of. He is strong, stubborn, has that inner qualities that makes him a good leader. But he is not without his fair share of faults either. A recovering alcoholic, Dal battles his inner demons day in and day out and the focus shifts from his desire for the drink to his need for a woman that sets his senses afire by merely just existing. Freddy drives him crazy in more ways than one and though Dal might try to tell himself otherwise, Freddy invades his heart and his soul before he is even aware of it happening.

Alex was one of the most complex characters in the story. With a past that portrays her as the most tortured soul in the story, Alex is a character that rouses equal amounts of sympathy and admiration in the reader. At first she comes across as a snob who later transforms into a woman who is able and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that she and her sisters get what is entitled to them. How Alex discovers love, forgiveness and the courage to move on in one of the most unlikely heroes to crop up put a huge lump in my throat and made me ache in ways I cannot explain. If it is only to discover Alex and the magical transformation she undergoes in this story, it is worth getting yourself a copy of The Best Man.

Les is the sister who has problems with asserting herself. The one who enters into a relationship with an abusive fiance and believes it to be her due. The sister who has the hardest time in putting one foot in front of the other and taking the next step. The one who continually faces the dilemma of doing the right thing and choosing the easy way out. And hers was a story that I read all the while wanting to infuse her with the strength to move on, to be able to stand up and give as good as she gets. And she does get there eventually, surprising herself more than anyone else by just how far she has come by the time the story ends.

Freddy is the dreamer, the one who envisions life as a stage set for acting and she plays the lead role. One hard bump after the other and the tough lessons day in and day out teaches her to face reality, forces her to come crashing down into the world of living rather than continue to walk the Earth with her head up in the clouds. Her desire for Dal is one that catches her by surprise, her innocence the factor that lures her towards a man who shakes her up and tosses her into a maelstrom of desire that she cant shake lose from. 

With Maggie Osborne, you never get a simple straightforward story. She takes you on a journey filled with twists and turns, ups and downs, traversing through roads that brings joy as much as peril comes seeking you out and later on at the end you emerge victorious from all the hard labor you have toiled in, which in the end transforms your reading experience into something wondrous that you won’t forget anytime soon.

Recommended for fans of Maggie Osborne. If you have never read a Maggie Osborne, you are definitely missing out!

Favorite Quotes

His mouth came down on hers hard and hot and deliberate. His kiss was so unexpected that Freddy went limp in his arms with shock. She didn’t fight or protest, couldn’t move or breathe. No one had ever kissed her like this, selfishly, unemotionally, taking with no thought of giving. This kiss was hungry, domineering, something that seared and scorched physically and left her mind reeling.

He kissed her then, not gently, not tenderly. He didn’t kiss her to comfort her. He took her mouth hungrily, almost savagely, wanting to punish her for having a body that tormented him, for telling him that his last kiss had meant nothing, needed to punish her for letting scum like Jack Caldwell call her honey, and for ever thinking about a man who wasn’t him.

He found her breasts with his hands and dropped his lips to her arching throat, tasting dust and woman sweat and a trace of something that reminded him of apples. She tore his shirt at the throat, ripping it downward, and slipped her hands inside, her fingers like brands of fire across his skin. One minute she was straddling him, the next minute he’d fallen on top of her. It was like a dam had burst within them both, releasing a flood tide of desire and urgency. And God help him, he would have taken her right there on the ground with a stampede winding down a hundred yards behind him.

For a long moment they gazed at each other, and Freddy felt her mouth go dry and her heartbeat accelerate. If the evening ended right now, she would still remember this moment for all her days. The music, the perfume of the flower baskets, and the hard look of desire in Dal’s eyes.

“Dal … Dal …” Mindlessly, she whispered his name as his kisses deepened and became possessive and deliberate. But slow. Exploring. Teasing. Never quite enough. Kisses that drank desire from her mouth and left her frantic with wanting, wanting, wanting.

Winding her arms close around his neck, she closed her eyes. To be embraced, safe in a man’s arms when she had never expected it to happen again, this would be enough.
Time sheltered their embrace, enfolding them within a summer scented capsule that felt endless and theirs alone. The fragrance of grass and sunlight and nearby water sweetened each breath. Theirs was the music of birds ans the lazy buzz of insects and the beating of two hearts. Yes, she thought, she didn’t need more. This would be enough.

This time his kiss was full and provocative, summoning sensations she had believed, had hop, were submerged too deeply to be awakened. But his fingers on her face, his mouth, his lips, stirred slumbering emotions and coaxed them to life. His hands moved to cup her head, to spread across her spine, and he crushed her against him as their kisses deepened.

He molded her body to his and another gasp tore at her throat. She had never expected to be held in a man’s arms again. Hadn’t dared to hope that she would ever stand chest to chest, hip to hip with a man who desired her. She had truly believed lovemaking was a pleasure she would never again experience in her lifetime. That was her choice and destiny.
His hands moved from her waist to her face, and he kissed the tears shining on her cheeks and eyelids. “I love you,” he whispered. “I have loved you from the moment I saw you.”

“You are so beautiful,” he breathed. Standing over her, rampant in the moonlight, he gazed down at her body. “You are as lovely and as perfect as I imagined you would be.”
Afraid to believe, afraid to trust, she dared a look at him and felt her heart wrench when she read his expression and understood that she truly was whole and beautiful in his eyes. She was a magnificent to him as he was to her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Shotgun Wedding by Maggie Osborne

Format: Paperbackshotgunwedding
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Jesse John Harden
Heroine: Anne Margaret Malloy
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 4, 2003
Started On: March 16, 2012
Finished On: March 17, 2012

The saddest feeling in the world as a reader is to know that an author whose voice beats any other writes no more. Every time I read a book by Maggie Osborne, this is a loss that I feel profoundly to my very soul. Lately I have been very discontent with the books lining my e-book shelves, something that happens to me every now and then. Finally, I decided to dust off my paperback edition of Shotgun Wedding which I bought from Abe Books a couple of months back, and let Maggie Osborne charm her way into my heart and soul and she did exactly just that with a story that kept me turning the pages even into wee hours of the morning.

Jesse John Harden works as the Sheriff of the small town of Marshall in Kansas. A man who prefers to keep to himself, Jesse might show a laid-back front to people but he is a man who gets the job done earning him more than the gratitude of the people of his now hometown.

25 year old Anne Margaret Malloy (Annie) finds herself in a bit of a fix when she discovers that she is pregnant and that she can’t continue to avoid the fact any longer. Annie is someone who has sworn off marriage a long time back, the independence that her parents give her one that she had taken for granted and landed her in the shitload of trouble she finds herself in. Annie likes to think of herself as a New Modern Woman like those who aren’t afraid to move ahead in a man’s world and show the world their worth. But the unexpected pregnancy brings all her dreams crashing down and forces her to face the consequences of the road that she had taken when she had met the father of her child.

Even though Annie’s beau agrees to marry her and do the right thing, she cannot accept the concept of living with a man who robs banks and trains for a living. The mere thought of feeding herself and her children from the profit reaped off by robbing other people of their hard earned wealth leaves a hollow feeling deep inside of her and that is how Annie finds herself the outcast of the town, living with her parents who refuse to let her take the coward’s way out and stay at home wallowing in self-pity.

Through a chain of events, the townsfolk arrive at the conclusion that Jesse is the father of Annie’s unborn child as Annie continues to hide the identity of the man who had fathered her child. Jesse had always had a soft spot for Annie, her unruly red curls a constant source that fires his libido unlike any other. But his plans of gentle days of courting Annie into his world fly out of the window when he reels with the news of Annie’s pregnancy, until he comes up with a plan that would effectively tie Annie’s life to his, all the while convinced that with time he would make Annie fall in love with him.

Shotgun Wedding was a story that was delivered in the classic wit and style that only Maggie Osborne can pull off. She is an author who can continue to juggle a hundred characters in her stories and never make you feel as if you are floundering around trying to pin down who is who. In Shotgun Wedding, Ms. Osborne manages to bring the whole town to life, exploring those little nuances that makes you feel as if you are part of the story that unfolds rather than a guest passing through.

I loved Jesse and clamored for him with everything female inside of me. He is the least “tortured” hero that I have come across by the author and there was a definite charm about his character because of that. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that Jesse won’t make your heart go aflutter because he definitely does that and more. He has that inner strength and formidability etched onto his character that would make your heart beat a tad faster when he enters into the picture. And he is the type of man you can count on to keep the nightmares at bay, to make you feel loved and cherished in those little ways that counts. I loved how Jesse begins to court his pregnant wife and that slow simmering seduction that he begins that just made me hum deep inside and curl my toes in anticipation.

I had a bit of a problem with Annie like most readers. Annie is not without her faults but I expected her to grow out of them and show me the backbone that would make her a worthy partner for Jesse till death does them apart. At first her selfishness in not thinking about the parents who had done nothing but love her and give her everything she had wanted grated on me. But later on, she did learn her lesson and accepted her faults and showed that she was made of better stuff. The one thing that continued to irk me was how Annie tried to shield the activities of the actual father of her child from her husband, putting Jesse inevitably in danger which is only then Annie realizes the blunder she has made. But I guess once again she does learn from her mistake but I found it a bit hard to forgive her and move on like Jesse did.

The one other problem I had with the story was how Jesse didn’t feature in the story as prominently as I wanted. The story was mostly dominated by Annie and the father of her child and though the anger that he harbors towards Jesse for snatching away something that he considers as rightfully his drives the story, I wanted the burgeoning relationship between Jesse and Annie to come into the spotlight and give me a couple of chapters to sigh over long after I was done.

It is the sheer feeling of magic that surrounds me when I start a Maggie Osborne that would always leave me coming back for more. Recommended for fans of Maggie Osborne and fans of marriage of convenience themed romances.

Favorite Quotes

If only. The saddest two words in any language.

Golden shadows shimmered and the musky scent of the candles dizzied every breath. They were on the bed now, an enormous bed with sheets of glowing satin. Clasped in an embrace they rolled together, drinking deep kisses from gasping mouths, hands stroking, teasing, chasing, bodies pressing against each other as if seeking to melt and become one with the other.

He bent his head, bringing his lips near her ear. “Talk of the future confuses you, I know. But I think about it all the time.
His hands moved slowly down her bare arms. “When the time is right, when it’s our time, I want to undress you – slowly – in front of the fire. Slowly, one item at a time. I want to roll down your stockings and unlace your corset. I want to slowly take the pins out of your hair and catch the weight of it in my hands. Then I want to learn the feel of every inch of you.”

[Annie] “I just wondered … is slowly a good thing?”
“Is slowly …” His fingers relaxed and she felt rather than saw his smile. He brushed his fingertips across her lips, then sank back to his pillow. “Oh yes, Annie love. Slowly is a very good thing.”
“Oh, my.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Abe Books

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