Category / Widowed Heroine

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Man Law by Adrienne Giordano

Format: E-bookmanlaw
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Private Protectors, Book 1
Publisher: Carina Press
Hero: Vic Andrews
Heroine: Gina Delgado
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 4, 2011
Started On: June 27, 2011
Finished On: June 27, 2011

Man Law by Adrienne Giordano is the debut novel of the Private Protectors series set to be released on the 4th of July by Carina Press. Lately Carina Press has published some very great books which in turn has introduced voracious readers such as myself to a number of fabulous and really talented authors for which I am forever grateful to Carina Press.

Man Law tells the story of the sexy Vic Andrews with his distracting goatee and his unwanted attraction towards his best friend Mike’s younger sister Gina Delgado, a single mother with three kids, who has been a widow for the past four years. Vic is a man who lives by and follows only his Man laws and he screws that up royally when he has mind numbing sexual encounters with Gina in the basement of her house, at the beach and the next time in her kitchen. Though Vic and Gina both brush those off as brain farts, they both know that the underlying attraction that always ignites whenever they are together won’t be brushed aside just that easily.

When one of Vics’s assignments come back to haunt him and the target this time is Gina and her kids, Vic knows that he won’t let anything happen to them as long as he is able to draw breathe from his body. To say that Vic has commitment issues and emotional garbage is to put things mildly. But Gina is determined that Vic decide once and for all whether what they have between them is worth exploring or walking away from. What Gina wouldn’t back down from is that she won’t say yes to a relationship with a man who puts his life constantly in danger, having once already gone through hell after the untimely death of her husband.

What made Man Law such an interesting story was because of the way the author brings in all the characters and let them do their thing. Lily, Gina’s youngest is so adorable that you can’t help but grin at her conversations with Vic who might think he is clueless when it comes to kids but does so very well in that department as well. Gina fights for what she wants and when it is Vic that she sets her sights on, she doesn’t let him that easily off the hook when the last thing he wants to do is talk about how he feels.

The twenty four hour surveillance that Taylor Security pulls off on Gina’s family certainly brings Vic that much closer for the first time in his life to saying yes to commitment, but for Vic that might not be what fate has in store for him when he leaves Gina to hunt down his enemy, knowing that without that final act of vengeance on his part, he would never  be able to look himself in the mirror ever again.

I just flat-out loved Vic’s sense of humor and the way his thoughts filter out to bring a smile to the reader’s face even during the most charged moments in the story. The thing that drew me in the most was that every part of the story felt real from the humor to the teenage crabby issues to the passion and love that flares between Gina and Vic. And if I hadn’t already been half in love with Vic by the end of the story, the last chapter would have convinced me to go all the way as I just simply adored the ending.

Filled to the brim with humor, sizzling sexual tension, romance with a love that grows on you, Man Law is a summer read not to be missed out on!

Recommended for those who love romantic suspense, adventure and romance in one setting.

Definitely looking forward to the rest of the novels in the series.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Carina Press

awesomeread

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Lady of Seduction by Laurel McKee

Format: E-bookladyofseduction
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Daughters of Erin, Book 3
Publisher: Forever
Hero: Sir Grant Dunmore
Heroine: Caroline Blacknall
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 1, 2011
Started On: May 18, 2011
Finished On: May 19, 2011

My first Laurel McKee turned out to be the 3rd book in her Daughters of Erin trilogy which tells the story of the youngest daughter Caroline Blacknell who finds her happily ever after with Grant Dunmore with whom she has a shared past prior to the start of this book.

Set in Ireland in the 1800’s, Lady of Seduction begins in the midst of the journey that Caroline makes to reach the forbidding island of Muirin Inish to seek out Grant because she wants to get her hands on a book that is in his possession, or so she tells herself. Caroline is a widow, whose husband had died just about a year back and Caroline has just begun to find her own purpose in the world. Always happier when she is buried deep under a ton of books, Caroline is the only one out of the 3 sisters who doesn’t thrive on adventure, until she seeks out Grant Dunmore, the man who has haunted her dreams ever since their encounter 4 years back.

Once a sophisticated, aristocratic gentleman that all ladies in Dublin had swooned over, Grant had left the high society to live out the rest of his life in seclusion in the cold, damp and crumbling castle that stands on the remote island of Muirin Inish after his role in the incident that had occurred before his move to the island. The Grant that Caroline encounters on the island couldn’t be anymore different from what he is in her memories, but the wild, long-haired and tattooed version of Grant still tempts Caroline beyond anyone or anything she has ever encountered in 20 years of her life.

With Caroline stranded on the island with no means of sending her back to where she came from, Grant is no match to saying no to the heady attraction that had always been there between them, that burns out of control when they are forced to spend time together. But the secrets that Grant hides in the name of righting all that he has done wrong in the past puts both of them in perilous danger. Once their journey towards Dublin is over, Grant intends to do the honorable thing and leave Caroline to find ultimate happiness with a man more deserving of a woman like her.

There are a couple of things that I loved about this story. First the setting since I have never read a historical romance in an Irish setting, so this was a first for me. Though the historical accuracy part always flies over the top of my head, the afterword included in the story tells that the author has done a lot of research into the said time period. I liked Grant who has changed his ways from the reckless young man who let his thirst for vengeance and revenge control his emotions and heart for so long to find his solace in warm embrace of Caroline who manages to see into the depth of his dark soul and still love him for who he is. Caroline is one of my favorite types of heroines, the bookish type who doesn’t care much about the righteous rules of the society which ALWAYS makes a historical romance interesting. I loved the passion between Grant and Caroline that unfolds in many a imaginatively done scenes that always had me sighing after it was over. And as always, I loved the epilogue in the story which shows the lives of Grant and Caroline one year after the end of their story.

Though I liked many aspects of the story, I still found myself at times wanting to know the details of how Caroline and Grant’s pasts entwines, skimmed over in this novel. I believe that readers who are interested in trying out the 3rd book needs to read the series in order so not to miss any vital aspects of their past which I think may have happened to me to make the enjoyable factor a little less for me with this one.

I would recommend this for fans of historical romances who would love to try out stories in new settings, who loves a brooding and scarred hero who finds happiness in the arms of a less than perfect heroine who makes you smile in all the ways that counts.

Favorite Quotes

His gaze met hers, and in that instant, Caroline felt something deep and profound shift between them. They saw each other, they understood, and every breath and every heartbeat was like one. She loved him, as she could never love anyone else. And that realization shook her deeply.

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

goodread

by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Soldier on Her Doorstep by Soraya Lane

Format: E-booksoldieronherdoorstep
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Heroes Come Home, #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Alex Dane
Heroine: Lisa Kennedy
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: July 12, 2011
Started On: May 1, 2011
Finished On: May 2, 2011

Soldier on Her Doorstep tells the story of the journey taken by a soldier who suffers from survivor’s guilt, and how a man who has been a loner for most of his life suddenly finds himself feeling a wealth of emotions towards the widow of the man who took a bullet for him and died in his place. And how in the end he finds love, peace and happiness in the most unlikely of places.

When Alex Dane drives up to Brownswood Alaska, his only intention is to deliver a message to Lisa from her deceased husband and get the hell out. But when Alex feasts his eyes on the beautiful Lisa Kennedy and her 6 year old daughter Lilly Kennedy who hasn’t spoken a word to anyone apart from her mother since being informed of the death of her father, something that has stayed long dormant inside of Alex till now stirs to life.

Lisa can’t help but be drawn towards the silent and broody soldier that shows up on her doorstep looking as if its the last place he wants to be in. However, it is Lilly’s instant connection with Alex that astonishes and pleases Lisa  the most where Lilly and Alex form a strange bond right from the beginning which turns around Lilly’s healing process from the trauma of losing her father.

The instant attraction between Lisa and Alex doesn’t come without complications. Though Lisa in her mind is ready to accept that she feels something for Alex, her emotions wage an internal battle on whether it is the right thing for her to move on so quickly. And Alex would rather cut off an arm than give into his attraction towards the widow of the man who gave his life for him. Nevertheless, their attraction proves to be a more powerful drug than either of them could hope to resist and though they do give in to it, it is Alex’s  tormented soul that needs to heal before Alex and Lisa can have any real shot at happiness.

Soldier on Her Doorstep is a novel that has real good potential. I liked Alex and Lisa and Lilly as well, the 3 of them served to be endearing characters who lend the story a charm of their own making. I loved Lisa because she is someone whose character is strong enough to heal the very tortured soul of Alex who needs all the love and TLC in the world for him really put his demons to rest. Lilly makes for a very adorable character as well and I loved the descriptions that brought to life the connection between Alex and Lilly that serves as the healing point for Lilly’s trauma.

However there were a couple of things that could have made this story better. The constant retelling and rehashing of what William (Lisa’s husband) means to the budding relationship between Lisa and Alex gets a bit old after sometime. I would have loved to see more interactions between Alex and Lisa to witness firsthand how Alex heals from Lisa’s love and care.

Recommended for fans of Harlequin romances.

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

satisfactoryread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Return by Jan Bowles

Format: E-bookthereturn
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand
Hero: Robert Tremayne
Heroine: Marielle Stevens
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: December 1, 2009
Started On: March 22, 2011
Finished On: March 23, 2011

A fan of tortured hero goodness through and through, I picked this book up on a whim because the blurb promised a tortured hero which guarantees a whole lot of emotion wrenching goodness in a story. However, I found myself just a tad disappointed with how the story unfolded, not because it wasn’t an interesting one, but there was something about the character development together with how the story is narrated that just didn’t sit right with me.

The Return is the story of Marielle Stevens whose soul mate Robert Tremayne captured by Islamic Jihadists in Iraq who the British government gave up on returns two years afterwards, a changed man inside and out. Robert who has regretted his trip to war torn Iraq in order to make a name for himself as a journalist comes back home to the devastating news that the woman whose image had pulled him through hell and back in Iraq has gone and married his best friend James.

The story picks up 3 years later when Robert finally returns back home after that fateful night which had literally brought his world crashing down. The news that James had died and left Marielle a widow certainly helps his decision to come back and tie up loose ends back home where memories that are better left alone continue to haunt him upon his return.

The mother of all shocks leaps up when Robert discovers the truth about Marielle’s 3 year old daughter Jemma. The sense of betrayal that he feels on missing out on his daughter’s life for the past couple of years cut deep and Robert is unwilling to forgive and forget what Marielle’s marriage to James had done to their relationship.

But when Robert’s celebrity status brings focus onto Marielle and his daughter Jemma, Robert does what he thinks best to save them from the vicious cycle of their whole life being plastered all over the British tabloids. Robert proposes marriage to Marielle, who professes to have never stopped loving him all throughout the years.

Marielle has her work cut out for her to bring back the caring and loving man Robert was before he left to Iraq, glimpses of the man Marielle yearns for which she sees in Robert’s tormented soul. Marielle knows  that although the heady and scorching hot attraction between them runs deeper than ever, without learning to talk about the past and willing to forgive and forget what the past 5 years have meant to both of them, they would not have a chance of making their marriage work.

Before their happily ever after comes calling, Robert has to learn to slay his demons, the emotional scars left behind by the 2 years he spent in Iraq barely making it day after day and listen to what Marielle went through and hear her side of the story to finally begin to thaw the ice around his heart.

Though the storyline is an interesting one set in the UK, I found myself a bit impatient with both Robert and Marielle. I found myself irritated with Marielle because she professes to love Robert more than anything else in the world but hesitates to give Robert the chance he needs to see what they could be together. Robert on the other hand is a tortured soul yes, but I just couldn’t grasp on the fact that he kept on blaming his emotional trauma suffered in Iraq as the sole reason for his coldness and aloofness when it comes to relationships. In my opinion, the betrayal he suffered at the hands of his best friend served as more of a catalyst to make him completely close himself up to any sort of relationship with the opposite sex apart from just getting together for sex. I wished Marielle would grow up a bit and Robert would try and be an adult for once and listen to what Marielle had to say without running off to wallow in his emotional scars.

Jan Bowles is an author who shows promise and I believe her stories will continue to get better. I would certainly not say no to reading another novel by her. However, I do wish that publishers wouldn’t use the same cover on different books which just most of the time turns me off from buying a book. This cover sports the same cover art as that of the novel Just My Type by Erin Nicholas, which might be the reason why this book caught my eye in the first place.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

averageread