Category / Widowed Hero

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Wolfsbane by Ronie Kendig

Format: E-bookwolfsbane
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Military Romance
Series: Discarded Heroes, Book 3
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
Hero: Captain Canyon Metcalfe
Heroine: Lieutenant Danielle Roark
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: July 1, 2011
Started On: April 29, 2011
Finished On: April 30, 2011

Wolfsbane is the 3rd book in the series entitled Discarded Heroes by Ronie Kendig. This series focuses on men who have served their country in the military, men who have been discarded by their government who are then infused with hope by a high ranking official who gives them a chance to become a member of an elite black ops team known as Nightshade.

Captain Canyon Metcalfe is such a hero whose career as a Green Beret medic had been ripped out of his hands 24 months prior to the start of the novel. Discharged from service with little to his name apart from shame and guilt  that hounds him day and night, Canyon is a loose cannon until once again he is given a purpose in life as a member of the Nightshade team.

26 year old demolitions expert, Lieutenant Danielle Roark is a woman who has visited hell on earth and survived. Having spent almost six months in Venezuela as a captive raped and tortured at the hands of the VFA i.e. The Courage of Bolivarian Army headed by the notoriously evil General Humberto Bruzon. Danielle escapes with her life barely intact only to be labelled as a traitor by her own country requiring that she return to Hell on earth once again to prove that she had not been fabricating the story of how she was captured and was held against her will.

Though it is Canyon’s younger brother that lays claim on Danielle at first, it is the undeniable connection that springs forth between Canyon and Danielle that makes her feel safe for the first time since her ordeal at the hands of General Bruzon and his men. Though Canyon tries to do the honorable thing and step aside to leave the field clear for his younger brother, emotions that Canyon had thought long since buried after losing the woman he loved renders Canyon unable to turn away from how Danielle makes him feel. And as luck would have it, it is Nightshade that is tasked with the responsibility of getting Danielle safely in and out of Venezuela to find the proof that she needs in order to clear her name.

Ronie Kendig does a swell job of describing the many a risky situations in which the hero and heroine finds themselves in, together with the team of Nightshade. The descriptions were vivid enough to make me feel as if I were watching a movie rather than reading a book, which was one of the best parts about this story. I loved how Canyon and Danielle’s relationship unfolded, both broken people who heal along the way to deserve each other and the love that springs forth between them as time works its magic on their bruised emotions and feelings. A realistic pace is what the author sets with Danielle, a woman who endures the worst type of horrors that anyone of the fairer sex can undergo, and emerges as a broken woman in body and soul, nearly driven to take her own life until she learns to gather strength from the man who stands unwaveringly by her side through the worst of times in her life.

When I picked up this novel from Netgalley, I really had no idea  that this was also categorized under Christian Romances though I later saw the label which at first I missed. I usually refrain from reading books that preach any sort of religion and was keeping it in mind to stop reading if the book were to get too preachy for me. However it turned out that reading a Christian Romance wasn’t so bad after all – in the end its just about instilling hope in those who seem to have lost their way.

Though Ms. Kendig brings to life the sizzling attraction that flares up between Canyon and Danielle right from the very start of their relationship, there are no scenes of any explicit variety included in the story. So this would be an ideal romance for those who like the build up to the act and leaves the actual act of sex to the imagination of the reader. I recommend this title for fans of the Discarded Heroes series, Ms. Kendig definitely knows what she is doing with these hot-as-sin ex-military heroes and I’m sure her fans would agree with me on this 100%. I would also recommend this title for those who love military themed action-packed romances because this is one story that delivers on all counts.

Favorite Quotes

His deep laugh rumbled through the night – and straight into Dani’s soul. As he scooted in and looked around, his gaze stumbled into hers. He stilled, his smile slipping.
Dani’s pulse hiccuped. She wanted to look away. Even told herself to. But if she did, she might never find a moment like this again.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Comanche Eagle by Sara Orwig

Format: Paperbackcomancheeagle
Read with: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Comanche, Book 2
Publisher: Zebra
Hero: John Dancer Black Eagle / Travis Black Eagle
Heroine: Crystal Spencer
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 1, 1998
Started On: March 25, 2011
Finished On: March 26, 2011

I had a hard time obtaining a copy of this romance, a recommendation I got off of an Amazon discussion thread. Although my copy arrived and has been in my possession since sometime late last year, I have refrained from taking the plunge because there aren’t that many raving reviews about this book. However with the current list of lackluster reads that have been my picks for the last couple of days, I decided what the heck and took the plunge. To my delightful surprise Comanche Eagle turned out to be really good making this a memorable read of the theme of marriages of convenience.

Set in Cheyenne, Wyoming territory in 1871, Comanche Eagle tells the story of Crystal Spencer, the first woman to ever hold the position of the Justice of the Peace in Cheyenne. 26 year old Crystal is known amongst citizens of the county as Judge Spinster and has a prim and proper outlook on life and upholding the law where no shades of gray are ever allowed  to cloud her judgement. Crystal has been rejected by a man once before and she has no intention of ever letting a man close enough to hurt her like that ever again and is quite content with her spinsterish existence with her brother and town doctor Ellery Spencer whose vices include drinking and gambling. Crystal yearns to leave the volatile Cheyenne territory where upholding law and order is a challenge day in and day out and wants nothing more than to leave to California to start life over and live in peace.

Travis Black Eagle, farrier and owner of Cheyenne’s livery stables and a successful rancher in his own right is two years older than Crystal and a half-breed that earns his his share of black looks throughout Cheyenne. Happily married to his very pregnant and beautiful wife Elizabeth, Travis is devastated when Ellery attends her birthing with his senses clouted with drink and Ellery’s incompetence lands Travis a widow and a single parent in one night. Grief, anger and deep abiding sorrow are Travis’s companions until he realizes that his son needs a mother, a female presence in his life for him to grow up.

Crystal is left completely alone as her only living relative in the world is shot dead, leaving her with a mount of debt from Ellery’s gambling ways with nowhere to turn to. Travis storms into her life, demanding that she marry him and help him look after his son for which in return Travis would give her a home and security, something which has been sorely lacking in her life the past couple of months. Though Travis’s promise that he has no interest in her as a woman whatsoever drives away Crystal’s feelings of unease which always leaves her with a prickling sensation in Travis’s vicinity, it also leaves her with a vague sense of discontentment that she would never know a man’s warmth and his loving embrace even in marriage.

The marriage of convenience that Travis and Crystal embark upon with their mutual need of providing Jacob, their son with a loving home becomes a journey of discovery for both of them. For Crystal, Travis presents everything that has been missing from her life until now. Tall, broad shouldered and handsome as sin, Travis makes her senses clamor to reach out and touch him and makes her quiver with longing to be possessed by her fierce warrior of a husband in whose eyes she could be just a sack of potatoes for all the interest he shows in her.

For Travis the journey of discovering Crystal is a slow moving one. With grief and love for his dead wife clouding his sense and judgement, Travis barely recognizes Crystal beyond what she provides for his son and it is a deep abiding respect for the woman who loves Jacob like her own that takes a hold of Travis at first. Awareness about his wife whose beauty she tries so hard to keep hidden comes as a shock to someone who has sworn off caring for any woman and giving up his heart for fear that he would once again be subjected to that gut wrenching grief that had taken him over upon Elizabeth’s death.

Want and need which grows deeper by day war with Travis’s need to keep his hands off Crystal who proves to become more alluring as days pass by until finally Travis concedes and gives into the raging inferno that has kept him hot enough to burn a hole through his bedding for the past couple of months. Crystal who is so much in love with her strong and handsome husband who shows his kindness and gentleness in so many little ways couldn’t be happier when Travis finally succumbs and shows her the wonders of giving herself completely to the man she loves.

But Crystal and Travis’s idyllic existence comes to an abrupt halt when Travis’s past catches up with him, creating a chasm between husband and wife that continues to grow by  the minute as both Crystal and Travis choose the opposite sides on a matter of upholding the law that shatters Crystal apart at the mere thought of being true to what she believes in and losing her Travis in the process. In the end, Travis and Crystal’s happily ever after when it comes is a more rewarding one because of their struggles and I loved each and every moment of the sensual and emotional discovery that took them to their final destination in the end.

I think Travis Black Eagle is the closest I would come to in terms of getting a six foot plus hero who makes my heart go aflutter with his utter masculinity and strong character for my birthday. Travis was worth each emotional upheaval I went through in the story, his strength, kindness and loyalty which just adds  to his already strong appeal. I loved him for the way he couldn’t help but be drawn to the honest beauty that is Crystal and the way he seems to have a fascination for stroking Crystal’s neck just makes shivers of the right kind run up and down my spine. And lordy, did I love those hot kisses exchanged on their rides to and from their ranch into town, where every noble intention Travis has of staying away from Crystal seems to evaporate right in front of him.

Crystal’s character is an endearing one in itself because she stays true to who she is regardless of how torn apart she is when it comes to her views on upholding the law and the shades of grey that her husband tries to make her see that is the inevitable reality of life. Her love for Jacob and her intense responsiveness towards Travis together with her fierce love for the both of them made her a heroine who earned all my earnest approval throughout the story.

Comanche Eagle has whetted my appetite to read the other 2 books in the series, both of which promise to be excellent romances if the blurbs are anything to go by.

Highly recommended for fans of historical romances with an American Indian setting, a brooding hero who just about takes your breath away and a love when it comes sweeps you away on a journey that will hold you enthralled till the very last page.

I finish off my review with the scene from the story where Travis’s hold on his tightly reined in control breaks when Crystal declares that it is because Travis finds her odious that he doesn’t want anything to do with her need to have a baby of her own.

Crossing the room to her with a determined gleam in his eye, he ducked a flying tin cup that struck behind him. As she picked up a plate, his hand banded her wrist tightly. His arm swept around her waist.
“The last thing I find you is odious.” He ground out the words in a husky tone. “My God, Crystal!” His dark eyes held fires as he looked into her eyes. He lowered his head, his mouth coming down over hers as his arm tightened and he pulled her against him.
Stunned, Crystal had one moment of shock before a flooding wave of hot desire burst inside her with the press of his mouth on hers. His lips were warm, tender, yet insistent. His tongue was hot and wet against her mouth. Her anger and argument went up in flames of passion.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Abe Books

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Loving Luke by Jenny Andersen

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Hero: Luke Stone
Heroine: Hannah Bluefield
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 17, 2009
Started On: March 23, 2011
Finished On: March 25, 2011

Romances featuring ex-convict heroes are one of my favorite types to read. I got this title off a discussion thread on Amazon and the promising blurb had me acquiring this book into my to-be-read pile. Eons later I suppose, I finally took the plunge and read Loving Luke, and while there were things that could have made this book a better read all around, I still enjoyed reading about Luke’s journey to happily ever after with Hannah.

The story kicks off with Hannah Bluefield going to visit Luke Stone at Deep Mountain Prison to offer the man she has loved all her life who is up for parole a job at her ranch. Hannah dreads finding a miserable and hopeless Luke and instead finds a bleak and hard version of the Luke who had taken over the reins of his family ranch to skyrocket it from thriving to mega successful in a few years. Sentenced to prison for the murder of his wife Chrissy, Luke had been one of the most successful horse trainers in the country before his arrest.

Luke grabs the lifeline that his childhood friend Hannah throws at him though marriage to any woman or giving up his heart once again to be trampled all over is not on his agenda. Luke is determined to remain celibate throughout their marriage, until he can prove his innocence and walk out of Stone Crossing for good, forever. Hannah dreams of finally achieving her dreams of having Luke in her arms and her life for good when Luke doesn’t even remember what took place between them 12 years back, the night she had given up her virginity to the only man she has ever loved.

Life is far from idyllic when the one man who pursued the avenue of Luke doing time for murder is now the new mayor of Stone Crossing and is determined to send Luke back to where he rightfully belongs. However in Hannah he finds a worthy opponent, who would do anything to keep the man who is her only from going back to prison, even if it means that he would walk out on her once his name is cleared.

A fresh murder in Stone Crossing, similar in M.O. to Chrissy’s have the local police hounding on Hannah’s doorstep making Luke fear that his freedom is going to be a short lived one. Though Luke starts depending on Hannah and considers her his lifeline, Luke has trouble letting go of his past, how he was duped before into loving a woman more than his last breath and continues to reject all his emotions where Hannah is concerned until the very last minute when the turn of events towards the end makes him realize that what he has yearned for since his prison cell door slammed on him 10 years back is right in front of him.

I liked the premise of the story well enough and Luke is a yummy hero to dream about. The horse training business that serves as the backdrop was an interesting one and proves to be something that both Hannah and Luke have an immense talent for. I liked Hannah well enough and considered her mother-tiger-protecting-the-cub routine when it comes Luke an endearing one. Though she wears her heart on the sleeve and would love nothing more than for Luke to return her feelings, that doesn’t stop her from trying to ease Luke’s pain and make him see that if he wants, they could have a wonderful life together. And I reveled in the simmering tension between Hannah and Luke which was of the toe-curling variety and lent the story the spice it so rightfully deserves.

However, even with all those things that I liked, there were a certain things that didn’t work for me in the story. I wanted glimpses of Hannah and Luke’s past which Hannah seems to think about a lot. I wanted to know how she fell in love with him, and I wanted Luke’s fascination with Hannah which had started when he was 20 years old to come to the spotlight as well. These issues were just skimmed over, the momentous night in which Hannah gave herself up to Luke all but forgotten and his proposal to Chrissy the very next day just mentioned. The emotions both Hannah and Luke had felt would have made this story a much better read with insights into their shared past lending the story what it needs to make this a 5-star read.  But nevertheless, Loving Luke is a good read, recommended for fans of western romances in a contemporary setting.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo | Wild Rose Press

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

Format: E-booketernal
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Night Huntress World. Book 2
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Mencheres / Menkaure
Heroine: Kira Graceling
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: August 1, 2010
Started On: August 16, 2010
Finished On: August 17, 2010

Jeaniene Frost has penned another winner with the second book in the Night Huntress World Books series. Before starting out on reading this book, I did skim through reviews written to get a feel on what to expect in this book. But I should have known even then that when it comes to Jeaniene Frost and her tales, you never know what to expect and each page just keeps you riveted with the surprises that come along your way. Needless to say I completely fell in love with Mencheres, I mean who wouldn’t? So here is my take on this wonderful story, which had me glued to every single word, right from the very beginning.

Mencheres whose the grandsire of Bones from the Night Huntress series, is a very old vampire. So old in fact he was born in 2553 B.C. and was a pharaoh when he became a vampire. Mencheres is one of the most powerful or should I say the most powerful vampire we have yet come across in the Night Huntress series. His power is such that he can move a lot of things simultaneously, fly at speeds that amazed me and could foresee the future before he assisted Bones in killing his wife Patra.

Marriage to Patra and the knowledge that he shared with her about the ways of the dark magic has continued to be one of the biggest regrets of his life. Patra’s thirst for power and worldly riches had ultimately ended in her demise, and Mencheres had been shouldering the blame for all the havoc and disaster that she brought about, nearly destroying everything and everyone that Mencheres had held dear to him.

Radje or Radjedef is an uncle of Mencheres, and a Law Guardian of the vampire race. Being a Law Guardian meant that he was a member of the vampire ruling council, and being the power hungry and corrupt vampire he was, Radje had been after Mencheres for eons, claiming that the power Mencheres’s sire had shared with him upon turning him into a vampire, rightfully belonged to Radje.

With the cease of his visions, Mencheres feels adrift, and knowing that the centuries old feud between him and Radje would just eventually hurt those who belonged to him, and the fact that he kept seeing total darkness whenever he tried to look into the future made Mencheres come to the decision that death was all that awaited him now. Mencheres knows that as the co-ruler of his line, Bones would be able to handle whatever that could come their way, and Mencheres was determined that a personal feud between him and Radje wouldn’t harm those that belonged to him. So it is with this in mind that Mencheres decides not to wait for the sure death and eternal darkness that awaits him, but rather commit the vampire form of suicide and embrace death before its too late.

Kira works as a private investigator and has two half siblings Tina who was terminally ill of whom she was really protective of and Rick, who was a drug addict, always trying to leech off money from Kira on the pretext of turning over a new leaf and getting his act together. Kira is well versed in the art of self defense, having trained to become a cop. Kira’s ex-husband had definitely left his mark on Kira with the physical and emotional abuse that he had heaped on Kira during their marriage. Kira’s salvation had come in the form of an old cop friend of her ex-husband, Mack Davis whose motto in life had been to save one life, an advice that always runs through Kira’s mind.

So when during her walk home from work Kira hears a man in agony, she can’t turn her back on whoever it was that was in so much pain. Mencheres had walked in on the ghouls who were effectively butchering him up in order to put his plan of getting killed/committing suicide into action, when a beautiful human woman walks in, commanding his torturers to give it up. To say the least, someone who had presumed to have seen everything life has to offer is more than surprised when a woman who doesn’t even know him, walks into the danger that surrounded him willing to give up her life. And when the ghouls attack the woman, Mencheres knows that he has to save the woman and stall his plans for now.

Knowing that the one thing that all Law Guardians held in contempt was flaunting the fact that vampires existed to the human race, Mencheres knows that all he has to do is erase Kira’s memory and send her on her way. But her fatal injuries end in Mencheres feeding her his blood, and right from the get go, Mencheres is unable to read Kira’s mind or effectively manipulate her with his green-eyed gaze. Thus Kira becomes a captive, a captive that Mencheres treats well, earning Kira’s respect amidst the other feelings that Mencheres’s deep black eyes and his perfect bronze body evokes in her.

Mencheres yearns for the beautiful courageous woman Kira is. Emotions that he had controlled ruthlessly and tamped down on for more than 900 years suddenly burst into the surface, urging him to let go and succumb to the feelings that Kira roused in him. Mencheres, a vampire who has always been coveted by others for what he could provide for them, whether it be from his wealth or his undeniable powers as a vampire, has never been really wanted for the man he is. And it is this cynical viewpoint that prevents Mencheres from laying a hand on Kira no matter how much he comes to desire her within the week that she resides at his home.

But the time comes for Mencheres to let Kira go, when he knows that he would never be able to manipulate Kira’s mind like he can for most of the human race, and when Kira’s sister Tina is hospitalized, Mencheres knows that the time has come to let her go. Kira thinks that Mencheres would help save her sister’s life only in exchange for her captivity to him for life, and she is more than surprised and a little lost when Mencheres releases her and sets her free. Though she is freed, Kira’s undeniable feelings for Mencheres makes her seek him out and it is then that Radje puts his evil plan into effect to draw out Mencheres to finally get the power that he wants.

In the end, Radje’s harsh sentence ends Kira’s life as she knows it and Mencheres changes her into a vampire, refusing to let the one woman who stirred his senses after centuries die away. Someone reviewed that there wasn’t enough heat between Mencheres and Kira and it was all about control with Mencheres. Maybe that particular reviewer and I didn’t read the same book, cos I definitely felt the heat and seductive lure of the power Mencheres yields so effectively to make Kira his. And I wouldn’t say when you have ceiling banging encounters with the woman you love, you are in control. Definitely not!

With Kira in his life, Mencheres suddenly yearns to live and doesn’t want his vision of eternal darkness to come true. And Mencheres knows that he has to pull all the stops and use every bit of knowledge and power he has to beat Radje at his game and save Kira from his clutches before its too late for either of them.

Mencheres definitely made me sigh all over and Kira is definitely the woman for him. I absolutely fell in love with Mencheres’s sleek good looks, the way he tamps down his power and cares for those around him and who belong to him. Its not that Mencheres is a vampire who hasn’t made mistakes or is one without flaws. But the fact that with absolute power in his hands, Mencheres still manages to be the man he is definitely makes him a vampire to sigh over!

Needless to say, the longest review I have ever written so far is due to the fact that I loved this story so much and wanted to capture its essence in my review. This book is definitely very highly recommended for Frost fans as well as those who have never read anything from Frost before. Try it out. It might just be your cup of tea! And for fans of the Night Huntress series, its always a treat to see our favorite couple Cat and Bones from another hero or heroines’ viewpoint. Always good to revisit them.

My only peeve with the book was its cover art. Definitely doesn’t match the Mencheres that I envision in my mind.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Daniel’s Bride by Linda Lael Miller

Format: E-book
Read with:  Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Daniel Beckham
Heroine: Jolie McKibben
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 1, 1992
Started On: June 24, 2010
Finished On: June 25, 2010

I have been following and reading up stories on the theme where heroes were previously married or dote on someone else apart from the heroine with whom the hero has to enter into a marriage mostly for conveniences sake. Daniel’s Bride is one such novel, one when I started reading I had the inkling that I had previously read it and halfway through I knew with certainty it was so.

Jolie is about to be hanged for a crime which she didn’t commit when Daniel saves her from her fate by agreeing to marry her then and there. Jolie realizes that she would rather get married to a total stranger than die and pay for a crime she never even knew was happening until it was a trifle bit too late. Daniel marries her and whisks her off to his farm where Jolie discovers that her brand new husband is a man who has vowed never to love again.

Daniel has been grieving for his dead wife and two children, one who had died without even being born into the world. Daniel knows that he needs children to continue the family line and it was with this practicality in mind that he saved beautiful Jolie, who unnervingly had the power to skim right through his thoughts no matter how hard he tries.

Its a hard life for men and women back in the 1800’s and when you read through the book, you find yourself in awe of those who have lived under such hardships in the past. The preparation of a simple meal back then took hours and though the description makes one think Jolie embraces the hard life effortlessly, I felt twinges in my back from just reading about the backbreaking work she does on a daily basis.

Right from the start Jolie is drawn to the quiet enigmatic man that Daniel is. A man of few words, Daniel introduces her to the wonders of sensuality and before long she is in love with Daniel. Daniel doesn’t like the fact that he continues to be enchanted with his wife and decides to send her along to San Fransisco so that she may start a new life as a divorcee once the harvesting period is over.

But the best laid plans have a way of getting over one’s head as two children who have no where else to turn to end up living with Daniel and Jolie. Little by little, the rigid structure Daniel has built around his heart starts to crumble, but it is a battle that is hard won for Jolie. And to make matters worse, the outlaws who actually committed the crime for which Jolie was prosecuted for starts turning up around the farm when Daniel is not around, keeping Jolie at a loss as to how to get rid of them before they destroy the family that she has found for herself and holds so dear.

This story is one that moves slowly, like a cup of hot tea warms your insides on a cold day. Sometimes I got frustrated with Daniel because he rarely shows how he feels towards Jolie and the ending of the book too seemed a bit empty to me because maybe I was wishing that Daniel would profess his undying love to the woman who would walk to the ends of the earth for him. But anyhow, its a good story which makes me more appreciative of all those gadgets that eases the hardships that we too might have had to face if it weren’t for their invention.

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sarah’s Child by Linda Howard

Format: E-booksarahschild
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Spencer-Nyle Company Series, Book 1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Rome Matthews
Heroine: Sarah Harper
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: April 1985
Started On: June 22, 2010
Finished On: June 23, 2010

This is the third time that I read this story and I have to say that this is one story that doesn’t get old for me ever. People have mixed feelings about this novel. Some hate it because they don’t like Rome’s actions in the novel. But for me, this story is sweeter and more meaningful because of it and I wouldn’t want to change even one word of this  beautiful story.

Sarah has always loved Rome. But she has stood quietly on the sidelines when Rome married her best friend Diane, and had two beautiful boys Justin and Shane. She had never let Diane know of her feelings towards Rome and when a senseless accident takes away Rome’s family he is devastated beyond belief.

Two years on, Rome has finally healed enough to sell the house within which he had made a home with Diane and it is there in a moment of grief that he finds out that Sarah too feels the strong attraction that Rome has always felt towards her but never acted upon because he had always loved his wife and stayed faithful to her. At first Sarah thinks that all Rome wants with her is a tumble between the sheets, but she is more than surprised when Rome proposes that Sarah marry him on the condition that Rome would never provide her with children. Sarah agrees to the condition and marries the man that she has loved since forever and embarks upon a journey that no matter how many times I read, I always get a huge lump in my throat from all the emotions so well described.

Rome doesn’t want to give away his heart to another woman but gradually Sarah’s unwavering love and quite affection wins him over. Of course the immense white hot attraction that never ceases between the two certainly helps things along. Just when Rome professes that he has at last fallen for Sarah, she finds out that she is pregnant with Rome’s child.

Rome is at first furious and it nearly rips Sarah apart when Rome accuses her of deceiving him. Things come to a head when Rome requests Sarah to get rid of the baby and Sarah refuses. I admired Sarah’s character so much for working towards achieving what she believed in. Life wasn’t easy for her during pregnancy when there was practically no help from Rome since he doesn’t want anything to do with the child that they had created.

It was heart wrenching to feel Rome’s pain and it was a glorious moment when in the end when Rome finally heals and begins to appreciate the fact that God has given him a second chance to love and be loved.

I would most probably end up re-reading this book again sometime cos I so do love the story of how Rome falls for Sarah and gives himself the chance to grasp and hold onto love the second time round. Loved every single bit of this great story.

Favorite Quotes

He lifted his head, his eyes still damp, and the darkness of his pupils had become so total that there was no brown in them at all. He stared at her, then reached out and tenderly wiped the moisture from her cheeks with his thumb. “Sarah,” he said on a whispering sigh, and touched his mouth to hers.
She went still, all breath suspended in her body, as thousands of her prayers were answered in that light touch of his lips. Her hands moved to his shoulders, the nails digging into the layers of muscle that corded his frame. It was just a simple kiss of thanks, but the bottom dropped out of her stomach and the blood rushed from her head, so intense was the pleasure that assailed her. She sank against him, her soft body melding to his from shoulder to thigh, as they knelt there on the floor.

There was no sense of time or location, nothing but the spiraling physical need that had flamed between them, unexpected and out of control. She felt his hands on her body, touching her breasts, dipping down beneath her skirt to rub her thighs and stroke intimately between them, wringing a wordless cry of need from her lips. No word of protest surfaced in her mind. She let him do as he wanted, mindless of everything but the delight his knowledgeable hands were bringing to her. He knew women, and his expertise made her wild. She offered her slim body for his delectation with no conscious thought of anything except how sweetly, hotly satisfying it was to be in his arms, to know his kisses and his caresses.

“Good night.” But he didn’t leave. Instead he stood in the doorway, soberly regarding her. He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek with his forefinger, then slid his hand around to cup her chin in his palm. He leaned toward her, and Sarah went weak with anticipation, her eyes widening as fevered delight shot through her. He was going to kiss her again. Lightly his mouth touched hers, his lips moving with tender expertise over her parted, breathless mouth. His warm taste filled her, and Sarah’s lashes fluttered, then slowly closed. With a zephyr of a sigh she swayed into his arms; he needed no more encouragement than that. Locking his arms around her, he pulled her up against his chest and gradually deepened the kiss, as if he were wary of going too fast for her, giving her time to accept or reject each new move.

“Would you like coffee?” she invited, dropping her small purse on the sofa and moving away from him to the kitchen.
“No.” His refusal was flat.
“I think I’ll have something to eat, just to be on the safe side,” she called over her shoulder. “How about one of those chicken sandwi—”
Without warning, he seized her from behind, his hard hands locking on her waist and pulling her back against him. His head bent, and his hot breath blew over the curve of her neck, lightly touching her sensitive skin and awakening all her nerve endings. She shivered a little, but didn’t try to pull away; instead she pressed back against the virile contours of his body.
“I don’t want a sandwich,” he muttered, nipping at her neck with his teeth, then soothing the slight sting with butterfly strokes from the tip of his tongue. Sarah’s eyes closed in ecstasy, and she let her head fall back against his shoulder, baring the vulnerable curve of her throat to him.

“Rome…please!” But she didn’t know if she begged for mercy, or for more of the primal pleasure he was giving her. Her body was growing heavy and liquid, and a deep inner throbbing made her move restlessly against him.
“Yes,” he said against her throat, interpreting her plea as he chose. He bent her over his arm to give himself access to her tempting breasts, and she gave a thin cry when his hot mouth closed over her nipple, sucking it strongly into his mouth. Blackness swirled over her, a warm, velvet blackness that blocked out any reservations she might have had about belonging to him. She dissolved into a purely physical animal, instinctively seeking more of the pleasure he offered her. Her hands roamed his body as his had roamed hers, impatiently brushing away the layers of cloth that separated her from his hard muscled flesh. He trembled wildly at her intimate touch and pleaded with her for more.

He took advantage of her unselfishness, his greedy mouth plundering her flesh as he bared it. Sarah clenched her fingers in his hair, gasping as he pulled open her robe and dispensed with it, then rapidly slid down the straps of her nightgown until the silk fell away from her breasts. He bent his head and closed his hot mouth over one sensitive nipple, wringing a cry of pleasure from her.
“Do you like that?” he muttered fiercely against her, filling his hands and his mouth with velvet mounds and firm jutting nipples.
“Yes…yes.” Her answer was thin and faraway, and she tried to put her arms around him, but the strap of her night-gown prevented her from moving her arms. She struggled in mute frustration against the silk bindings, trying to draw her arms out, but he held her too tightly, and he was too close, the things he was doing to her too delightful to halt.

“You… make… me… crazy!” he growled jerkily, tearing at his jeans until they opened and he could push them out of the way. Sarah moved her mouth back to his, holding the kiss as he eased inside her, his entry taking her breath.
She moaned his name, moving against him, her skin so hot that it felt like wildfire. She was wildfire, her slender body dancing, searing, taking him until the only sounds he could make were incoherent words of passion and need, of rising sexual desperation that held him taut in the chair, on the edge of madness.

In the gray light of dawn, she came slowly awake, stretching under slow, warm caresses that roamed over her body and touched her with familiar intimacy. There was a magnetic warmth beside her and she turned to it, her head finding the hard pillow of Rome’s chest, her arms wrapping around him without thought.
“Wake up,” he crooned softly in her ear, nipping at the lobe with his sharp teeth, then kissing his way along her jaw to find her mouth.
“I’m awake,” she murmured, sliding her palms up his naked back and feeling the hard ripple of muscle under his warm skin.
He took her immediately. She was warm and pliable from sleep, her body rosy, and she drew in a quick breath of pleasure as he moved with slow power into her. “I can’t wait; I have to have you,” he muttered.

He was a darker outline against the night. He pulled the covers back and bent over her, pulling the nightgown over her head and dropping it to the floor. Sarah felt his hands on her breasts and thighs; then his heavy weight came down on her and his mouth closed fiercely over hers. A shudder of relief shook her, and she put her arms around his neck, letting him part her legs and take her.
“All of me,” he demanded harshly, as she lifted her hips up to him. “Take all of me. More. More! Yes, like that. Just like that!”

“Is this to tide you over?” she murmured teasingly, her eyes bright.
“Something like that.” He unzipped his pants and shoved them down, then knelt on the bed, between her relaxed thighs. “You’re my credit card; I don’t leave home without this.”
She laughed, twining her arms around his neck as he lowered his weight to her. The laughter caught in her throat at the slow delicious shock of his entry, and he heard the little intake of breath she always gave when he took her. It was music to him, and he buried his face against her neck in sudden need, pulling her legs up around his waist. “I miss you like hell when I’m gone,” he said roughly, and with his confession he began thrusting deeply into her, reconfirming their partnership with the bond of their flesh.

Sarah was totally lost in the intensifying physical sensations as he fondled her breasts and sucked them in just the way she liked, as he stroked her and touched her in ways that made her cry out. His slow, steady thrusts were driving her mad, carrying her just to the brink of satisfaction but not putting her over.
She clutched at him with damp, frantic hands, begging for release. He held her hips, not letting her speed the pace, holding her to his rhythm. He kissed her deeply, then lifted his mouth just enough to command deeply, “Tell me you love me.”
Her response was automatic, plucked from a deep reservoir of primitive need that she couldn’t control. Without thinking about it, without even realizing the significance of what he asked and what she answered, she moaned, “Yes. I love you.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Harlequin
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Reviewer’s Note: The quotes were added to the review on 07.10.2017 after the author re-read the book for a third time.

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Baby, Oh Baby! by Robin Wells

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Love Spell
Hero: Jake Chastain
Heroine: Annie Rose Hollister
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 2001
Started On: June 19, 2010
Finished On: June 22, 2010

Jake is a man haunted by the senseless death of his beloved wife Rachel. Jake and Rachel had been like two peas in a pod with similar goal-oriented focus in life. Rachel had always planned her life and stuck by it. When it had been time to start a family, she had focused on the task with all her might and problems had led to Jake and Rachel getting treated from an infertility clinic. But fate had other plans in hand when Rachel and Jake’s parents are all killed in a car crash which had left Jake bereft for the past two years.

Two years later, Jake comes to find out that the doctor at the infertility clinic had played God with the sperm samples and now a woman in Colorado has had his child. Angered beyond belief, Jake sets out to gain full custody of his child and encounters the mother of his child which throws him for a loop. Annie is not at all what he had expected. Living on a farm breeding llamas, reading tea leaves to gain insight into people’s future and believing that her dead grandfather speaks to her through billboards, Jake is at a loss on what to believe of the mother of his child.

At first, wanting full custody of the child and threatening Annie that he would do so doesn’t seem to be the best of ways to start on getting acquainted. Annie knows that the gorgeous specimen of a man who turns out to be the father of her child is everything she is not. Annie doesn’t want the complication of having a man in her life which is the reason why she had opted for artificial insemination in the first place. But there is no denying the fact that Jake is Meredith’s father and that he is here to stay, for good.

Distrustful of one another, Annie has no choice but to entrust Jake with Meredith’s welfare when Annie has to be hospitalized for surgery. What Jake goes through during the first couple of days with an active Meredith had me laughing out loud at several points. During this time both Jake and Annie come to realize that there is more to each other than meets the eye and decides to give joint custody of the child a try.

However, Jake’s ex-father-in-law Tom has other plans in mind. Though Susanna his wife seems quite taken with the idea Tom doesn’t like the changes that are coming about and feels that Jake is betraying the memory of Rachel by doting on the child. And he definitely doesn’t like it when Jake goes ahead and marries Annie.

Jake marries Annie with the best of intentions thinking of foregoing the physical aspect of the relationship just to give Meredith everything she would need. But Jake didn’t count on the fact that his new wife would be oh so appealing on so many levels. He can barely keep his mind off of her and every single time their eyes meet its as if they are the only two people in the room. The sexual tension that simmers between the two finally explodes and Annie falls headlong in love with Jake, who still refuses to let the memories of his dead wife go.

The side story of Susanna and Tom’s marriage which hits the rocks when Susanna goes into depression after the death of Rachel is quite enticing as well. With a rich cast of characters that vividly come to life with the turn of each page, this book is a great and wonderful read.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Forbidden Passion by Emilie Rose

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Silhouette Desire
Hero: Sawyer Riggan
Heroine: Lynn
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: May 24, 2010
Started On: June 3, 2010
Finished On: June 3, 2010

Ever since I read the book Condition of Marriage by Emilie Rose and went through the list of published books by the author I have wanted to get my hands on this book as the synopsis seemed to hint at an intriguing story. And of course the raving reviews this book has received on numerous bookseller websites didn’t help. I have been scouting all over the Internet to find whether an e-version of the book had been released for quite sometime now. And to my delightful surprise last night I found that the book has been released on Kindle in April this year. (Woohoo!)

Lynn has been married to Sawyer’s adopted brother Brett for the past four years. A time during which Lynn has learnt that love is not what it seems to be and that a person could really whittle away and breakdown from the constant emotional roller coaster her marriage to Brett was. Lynn and Sawyer end up having mind blowing sex mere hours after Brett’s funeral, an act that puts Lynn in a bit of a predicament as she and Brett had tried to make their marriage work for one final time and started trying for a family just before Brett was killed.

Sawyer and Lynn has a shared history together, and Sawyer has no idea what kind of a monster Brett really was. Believing Brett to be the younger brother Sawyer had always worked his butt off to provide for and never understanding the reason why Lynn never waited for him and got married to Brett instead, Sawyer proposes marrying Lynn when he finds out that she is pregnant even though Lynn has no idea who the father could be.

Lynn never thought that a man could be understanding, loving, kind and attentive towards her needs and wants. Marriage to Sawyer opens up all the possibilities that were closed off to her before and it is not long before Lynn falls for Sawyer all over once again all the while thinking that all Sawyer wants is the temporary arrangement they agreed to before they got married.

Skillfully seductive, this book is a good read for a quick bout of romance with characters that you can relate to. Wish the story could have been longer!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: McBride Family, Book 1
Sensuality: 3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Hero: Simon Blackwell
Heroine:  Annabel McBride
Date of Publication: April 1, 2007
Started On: February 22, 2010
Finished On: February 23, 2010

This has got to be one of the best historical romances that I have ever had the pleasure to read. I read this book sometime back and this title has always remained somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind as a book that should be re-read from time to time. So after the previous historical romance I read and reviewed, I had this itch to find this book once again and give it a a go. And this story enthralled me the second time round as well, maybe more than the first time round.

Simon Blackwell is the epitome of tortured heroes. Though he is not cynical and deliberately cruel as certain heroes tend to be, Simon is a man who hides his passionate nature behind a wall of anguish that one can never even begin to describe or comprehend. Losing his wife and two kids five years back in a tragic accident, Simon has blamed himself for their deaths and berated at the fates for snatching away the most important people in his life.

By chance on one of his rare trips to London, he meets Annie. Annie dislikes Simon for the rudeness that he showed her on their first meeting but finds herself inexplicably drawn to this enigmatic man whom all members of her family seem to like on their first encounter. The smoldering attraction between these two finally takes a turn when during their first kiss, Annie’s family discovers them with the tip off from an old nemesis of Annie’s. Forced to wed never knowing about Simon’s painful past, Annie has her work cut out for her in thawing the ice cold lock around Simon’s heart.

Simon fights the immense attraction and the intense feelings that Annie arouses in him every step of the way. Being as stubborn as Simon, Annie at last manages to crumble his defenses and make Simon embrace the smoldering hot passion that flares between the two. I have to tell you, this book has got one of the hottest and greatest love scenes ever!

Finally at the end, love triumphs over tragedy and heartache and Simon finds the courage in him to let go, to love and be loved in return. Lovely story highly recommended for historical romance lovers. Will surely end up re-reading this book in the future. Yes, it is THAT good!

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: E-mail Order Bride by Kathy Lynn Emerson

Format: E-book
Read with: Adobe Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Belgrave House
Hero: Chase Forster
Heroine: Leslie Baynton
Date of Publication:  April 1, 1998
Started On: January 11, 2010
Finished On: January 12, 2010

Previously titled as Sight Unseen, this is a sweet romance coupled with an instant family and the problems that go along with such a family. Chase Forster, a probation officer in the local office of the department of corrections, meets Leslie Baynton in an online chat forum designed for mystery book lovers. Leslie a shy woman in her 30’s finds that she and Chase share a lot of stuff in common and their friendship continues to grow online. Exchange of e-mails daily gives glimpses and insight into the lives of each other and although both of them seems to be curious to meet one another face to face, none of them wants to voice their desire to do so.

Their friendship continues until during a moment of impulse, Chase asks Leslie to be his e-mail order bride. Chase has been handed over the responsibility of taking care of his niece Calico and Jeremy his nephew both in their teens,  of his deceased brother Jake. Jake and his various forays into criminal activities had finally ended up in killing himself, whilst his wife had ended up in jail for writing fraudulent checks. Leslie who has never had kids of her own but yearns for them with her only experience with kids being the relationship she has with her close to perfect niece and nephew, really has no idea what she is in for.

Leslie and Chase meet and find that they are comfortable with each other in real life as in the cyber world and both feel the immense attraction that crops up during the first meeting. Marriage which seemed to be a practical solution and one of mutual benefit to both Chase and Leslie turns out to be a journey of discovery of feelings that continue to grow between them as well as the relationship that starts to forge between a troubled Jeremy who wants to make things for Leslie as difficult as possible.

A book that portrays love, passion and real family problems, this book is a sweet and heartwarming read that would leave you feeling good on the inside afterwards.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble| BooksOnBoard

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