by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Year of Living Shamelessly by Susanna Carr

Format: E-bookThe Year of Living Shamelessly
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: NAL Trade
Hero: Ryder Scott
Heroine: Katie
Date of Publication: October 6, 2009
Started On: November 7, 2009
Finished On: November 7, 2009

Being the first book that I tried of this author and I would have to say I absolutely loved every bit of this book.

Katie has been in love with Ryder ever since like in forever. Ryder is best friends with Katie’s brother and has always been an integral part of Katie’s family. Being abandoned by his mother when he was quite young, Ryder feels that he is unlovable and although he desires for Katie, Ryder believes that once Katie really gets to know him, she too wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

Katie tries on many unsuccessful attempts to make Ryder notice her as a woman so that they could both embark on the journey of their lives together. However, Ryder proves a tough nut to crack. Embarking upon this journey together with Katie are her two likable best friends Melissa and Hailie and their many attempts together makes for a laughable rendezvous.

Ultimately, Ryder makes plans to move to Dubai and leave everyone of his hometown behind, because Katie seems to grow more desirable every day and Ryder doesn’t want to ever break the promise he made to himself in that he would never take what Katie is offering ever.

So in comes Katie with all the kinky stuff that she can find, persuaded by Ryder’s ex-lovers that that’s what he is into. And I  had so much fun finding out that Katie goes through all those painstaking hours of research for nothing, when it turns out, Ryder just wants Katie as she is.

This book is a great romance with hot and steamy interludes between Katie and Ryder with a lot of laugh aloud moments which I am sure any reader of romance books would appreciate.

This book does open up the possibility of a good romance novel between Hailie and Katie’s brother and I really do hope that Susanna Carr writes up as good a romance for those two as she had done for Katie and Ryder.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Mercenary by Cherry Adair

Format: E-bookmercer
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: T-FLAC, Book 1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Marc Savin
Heroine: Victoria Jones
Date of Publication: February 1, 2008
Started On:  November 2, 2009
Finished On: November 7, 2009

This was my favorite kind of romance novel. Throw in a strong alpha hero, a heroine who doesn’t get on the reader’s nerves and a bunch of bad guys who could just topple everything over for the blossoming romance between the hero and heroine, I would say that makes for a pretty good read.

Previously I have read other books in this author’s T-FLAC series and I would have to say this would have to be one of the best novels in the series. Victoria Jones leads a spinsterish life when her twin brother Alex, who is a T-FLAC agent goes missing during a mission and is declared dead by the T-FLAC organization.

Marc Savin, who brought Alex into the organization, trained him and was his partner for a couple of years, now lives a secluded life on a ranch looking after horses in Mexico. Betrayed by the woman he loved once who turned out to be working for one of the terrorist organizations that they were investigating, Marc doesn’t trust any woman to get close to him.

Victoria and Alex share a telepathic bond which allows her to know that her brother is not dead, but being held captive by one of the terrorist organizations that the T-FLAC was investigating, and seeks Marc’s help to bring her brother back to safety. Astounded at first to know that Alex even has a twin, and reluctant to believe anything Victoria was saying, Marc decides to drag Victoria along to find Alex and bring him back home.

Hiding in a cave in an island controlled by terrorists, Marc finds that he is not immune at all to the lady by his side. The romance and the exciting adventure that unfolds makes for a great read. Of course, happy endings always makes a book worth reading especially when a hero has to grovel his way back into the heroine’s graces, which is hard to come across in novels these days.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to readers who love a good romance novel with a bit of adventure tossed right into it.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Betting Hearts By Dee Tenorio

Format: E-bookBetting Hearts
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Rancho Del Sielo, Book 1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Hero: Burke Halifax
Heroine: Cassandra Bishop
Date of Publication: June 6, 2006
Started On:  October 30, 2009
Finished On: November 1, 2009

This was my favorite kind of romance novel since its a swell story of two best friends turning into lovers. Cass and Burke have been best of friends since they were in their early childhood. Although neither Cass nor Burke has ever professed to have underlying romantic feelings for one another, Cass and Burke has always known they could count on one another with their lives.

This delectable story starts when Cass runs into  her ex-fiance’  Luke who broke up with her through a letter professing that she wasn’t woman enough for him and that he was actually gay and left town, turns up with a fiance’ in tow, who turns out to be a pretty blond.

Somehow, Cass ends up breaking Luke’s nose, and Luke in turn plans to hold the wedding in their hometown, and just somehow Cass ends up with a bet that Cass could turn on her feminine wiles and become the woman that Luke never saw underneath her tough-as-nails exterior. Burke unwillingly helps along this scheme, whilst the whole town watches for the sparks that fly between Burke and Cass, all the time wondering when they would succumb to the chemistry which is so obvious to everyone else but the couple-to-be in question.

I would have to say that I enjoyed this novel a LOT. It was a refreshing change to see all issues tackled with a lot of humor and the dialogue between all characters are pretty fun and made me want to laugh out loud several times. I recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good bout of romance with a sexy hero to die for and a heroine who gives as good as she gets with humor to keep the ride through their story a memorable one!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer

Format: E-bookMorning Glory
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Hero: Will
Heroine: Elly
Date of Publication: January 1, 1991
Started On:  October 29, 2009
Finished On: October 30, 2009

The first book that I ever read from this author and it proved to be a real satisfying read. The story takes place during the World War II period in the US. Elly was labeled as the crazy one and the town folk didn’t care much for her. Her husband dead, with two kids and one more on the way, she advertises for a husband in the local newspaper.

Will was a drifter who walked into the town looking for a job, after serving time for murder. Answering the ad for a husband, Will never thought that his life would forever be changed by Elly and her children, who give Will something to live for in life.

This story is really sweet, because you can feel both characters develop throughout the novel. Both Elly and Will had given up hope that they would one day be loved by someone like the love described in the novel. The novel was a refreshing change because there were no silly problems that went unresolved because the hero and heroine couldn’t bear to talk honestly with one another. All in all, a real good romance novel, packed with a whole lot of emotions that romance lovers would find themselves reading this book in one go.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Reckless by Tori Carrington

Format: E-bookReckless
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin
Series: Indecent Proposals, Book 1
Hero: Kyle Trapper
Heroine: Heidi Joblowski
Date of Publication: November 1, 2008
Started On: October 28, 2009
Finished On: October 28, 2009

Kyle and Jesse, Heidi’s boyfriend since high school are best friends. Kyle has had the hots for Heidi like in forever although Heidi has no clue. Heidi has a strict plan to which she tries to adhere every moment of her life. Wanting to prove to the world that she is different from the family that she comes from, although her family ain’t half bad, Heidi never thought for a moment that even the best laid plans could meet glitches and fall apart within mere seconds.

Heidi realizes her attraction to Kyle quite unexpectedly, and these two burn the sheets one night with moments of sizzling passion. Guilt stricken that she had in a moment of weakness betrayed her long term boyfriend Jesse, Heidi tries hard to keep anything else from happening between her and Kyle, and plans to spill what happened to Jesse as soon as she could get her affairs sorted out.

Of course the cheating part was easier to digest when readers come to know that Jesse had been cheating on Heidi throughout their relationship and Kyle had always covered for Jesse at these moments. In the end, Heidi is forced to acknowledge that somewhere along the way, she had forgotten how to have fun, how to love and how to enjoy life and works towards resolving issues both with her family and Jesse, who finally gets together with his old-time flame.

Its a happy ending for Kyle and Heidi in the end. I have to say Tori Carrington doesn’t disappoint with this novel since it was a pretty interesting read with a good story line. And the forbidden moments between Kyle and Heidi heats things up just the right amount for the reader. All in all a good book for a light read.               

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

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: A Few Good Men by Tori Carrington

Format: E-bookA Few Good Men
Read with: Stanza
Length: Short Stories
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin
Series: Uniformly Hot, Book 1
Hero: 4 heroes
Heroine: 4 heroines
Date of Publication: January 1, 2009
Started On: October 2009
Finished On: October 28, 2009

Tori Carrington is one of my favorite authors of the Blaze line in the Harlequin series. When I first found this author, I was surprised to know that Tori Carrington is the name used by Tony Karayianni and Lori Schlachter (husband and wife) who write these delectable books together. Their books are totally hot and tend to give great story lines as well.

A Few Good Men is a collection of four stories about men who serve in the military and their lives back in their home country. Each story is relatively short, thus wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been, though issues were hastily resolved so that it wasn’t a total waste of time to read these four short stories.

The four absolutely hot men in these novels are Corporal Eric Armstrong, Corporal Eddie Cash, Lieutenant Matt Guerrero and Captain Brian Justice. From the four of these stories, I didn’t read Brian’s story because it didn’t seem to interest me that much. Of the three that I DID read, I would have to say I loved Eric’s story the best.

Eric, while on duty in Afghanistan/Iraq, starts meeting up with a woman online. And it turns out to be his best friend’s wife. His best friend was killed whilst on duty. This story, if it had been a long one, would have made a very satisfying read, although it wasn’t half bad as a short story.

Corporal Eddie has an affair with a woman whilst on leave, and goes back on duty to find out that she is pregnant with his child. Eddie’s story is pretty sweet considering how he tries to woo the mother of his child, without really knowing how to go about it, except for the fact that he is a pretty decent guy and wants to do everything according to his well laid out plan, which tends to backfire on him at moments. This too could have made a great story, but I wouldn’t wanted to have read it as a long novel.

Finally Matt’s story is slightly different, such that he is married and has three kids of whom two are teenagers. I felt that Matt’s story was too rushed, and there was really no resolution of the problems that both Matt and his wife had actually being having.

All in all, this book is a good read to pass the time. Could have been better if all books could have been published as full length novels.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | eBookMall | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: You’ve Got Male by Elizabeth Bevarly

Format: E-bookyouvegotmale.jpg
Read with: Stanza
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Spy Quartet, Book 1
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Dixon
Heroine: Avery Nesbitt
First Published on: October 1, 2008
Started On: October 2009
Finished On: October 21, 2009

Being the first book that I have ever tried from this author, I would have to say that it was a pretty good read.

Avery Nesbitt, the heroine is this genius computer buff who created a virus that would have halted all cyber traffic across the world, and this too when she was a teenager by accident, her motive being to teach her cheating boyfriend a lesson he would  never forget, ends up doing time in jail. Her family, the overly wealthy Nesbitts, cut her off from that day onwards. After 2 years, being released from prison, Avery sets up her own techie firm and has been living alone with her cat, and suffers from agoraphobia i.e. the fear of being out in open spaces. Then she meets Mr. Supposedly prince charming online, whom she finds to be cheating on her again.

Unknown to Avery, Dixon, who works in this un-nameable organization set in the US government after 9/11, has been tracking her online activity without much success, because the one agent who went rogue on them is actually the Mr. Supposedly Prince Charming that Avery has been in contact with. Avery is taken into custody, a deal made with her, so that Dixon and Avery has to work together to bring this rogue agent to justice by luring him to meet Avery out in the open.

The story that follows is pretty charming and romantic as well. I got to learn a lot about this new phobia (since there are so many, one can never keep track of all of em’). Dixon is the super sexy type of hero that any heroine would fall in love with immediately. And throw into the mix the crazy Nesbitt family, you’ve got a hell of a novel on your hands.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | eBookMall | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Coveting Amazon’s Kindle

Ever since Kindle was released by Amazon in U.S. on November 19, 2007, I have wanted one. It’s not surprising since IKindle_Front read tons of e-books, given that it’s pretty tough to get a good selection of books in Male’. So imagine my happiness when I saw that Amazon is releasing the international version of Kindle on the 19th of October, next Monday. It is available for pre-order now and costs US$ 279.00.

It is said to be light weight, just 10.2 oz., and quite slim in fact 1/3 of an inch which is as slim as most of the magazines available. And since this device supports 3G network, there is no need for one to go about connecting the device to the nearest pc available in order to download books onto the device, which seems to be the deal with Sony’s e-book reader. The Kindle device has an internal memory of 2 GB which could hold up to 1,500 books.

And for me, the coolest feature would have to be the fact that all New York Times bestsellers would be available for just under US$ 10.00 i.e. US$ 9.99. I mean how cool is that. For instance, Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol, the hard cover release which is available for around US$ 29.95, you get it on Kindle for just US$ 9.99 and save around US$ 20.00 while you are at it!

Some of its other cool features include its anti-glare display, adjustable text sizes, built-in dictionary with instant look-up, compatibility for audio books, and its experimental read-to-me feature. It also supports MP3 format so that you could listen to music while reading.

Although its going to land me with around US$300 deficit in my bank account, I’m thinking that it’s gonna be worth it, when I hold a Kindle in my hands, and start reading all those books, which for now, I barely prevent myself from purchasing because of the hideous amounts of money that I have to pay for shipping.

If I do land myself with a Kindle, I will let you all know how I rate this much coveted device of mine!

Until my next review comes up, happy reading everyone! xoxoxo

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Remembrance by Jude Deveraux

Format: Paperbackremembrance
Read With: Paperback
Length: Novel
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Atria Books
Series: Standalone
Hero: Tavey/Talis/Tariz
Heroine: Catherine/Callie/Hayden Lane
Date of Publication: October 1, 1997
Started On: October 7, 2009
Finished On: October 10, 2009

I am not much of a fan of Jude Deveraux, but the novels that I have attempted to read of hers has been interesting. A Knight in Shining Armour is one of my all time favorite romances. Apart from that I attempted to read one novel of hers, the title of which I have forgotten, which didn’t end pretty well. Remembrance is one story that I have always wanted to read, ever since my sis discussed with me about this novel, which she remembered to be a wonderful romance, which is saying a lot since she doesn’t read romance novels that much. And after reading this book, I have got to say that this book is a pretty wonderful read.

The story picks up with Hayden Lane, who is an author about to reach her forties, unmarried, who writes romance books. Remembrance starts off in first person and most of the story is narrated in second person although it does end again in first person. Hayden Lane, starts to visualize a character (Jamie), for a book of hers, which makes her lose interest in the real world, and inevitably makes her fiance’ walk out on her. Hayden, for the life of her, can’t even feel a twinge of disappointment because he left, but rather this gives her all the time in the world to absorb Jamie into her mind and soul. After her editor starts worrying about her, Hayden finally realizes that she is in deep trouble when she refuses to share what she has written about Jamie with her publisher, starts on her quest to find out what is wrong with her. Endless therapy sessions later, (which points out she wants to sleep with her father!), the self humorous dialog is quite funny and made me laugh out loud several times, Hayden visits a psychic, who points out that Hayden is so unsatisfied with this life because she has loved so deeply in her past lives, and that a curse prevents her from finding that special someone in this life.

Hayden, being someone who can’t just sit by until two lifetimes pass by for her to find her true love again, takes matters into her own hands, and gets hypnotized which starts off the story of a love that is so deep and intense that I felt like crying at times. Hayden time travels all the way to when her life began in the Edwardian times, where Callie and Tallis, born at the same hour, are two halves of one soul, that is quite beautifully described by the author.

All in all, at the end, it is a happy ending for Hayden when she meets Tariz at the end of the story. I was enraptured by the story of Tallis and Callie, as I am sure rest of the readers of this book were. This might end up as one of the books that I re-read time & time again, because Callie and Tallis’s story is one that you can read more than once and still fall in love with over & over again!

Purchase Links: Amazon

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Guilty Needs by Shiloh Walker

Format: E-bookGuilty Needs
Read with: Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Series: Standalone
Hero: Colby
Heroine: Bree
Date of Publication: September 19, 2008
Started On: October 10, 2009
Finished On: October 10, 2009

Shiloh Walker is absolutely one of my most favourite authors. Her books have a fantastic mix of emotions that can make you really cry, and throw into this wonderful sexy characters who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go after what they want. This is the THIRD time that I have read this book and it wouldn’t be a lie to say that I will most probably read this book again in the near future cos I just can’t seem to get enough of this wonderful story.

Bree, Colby and Alyssa are the main characters in this story. Bree and Alyssa have been the best of friends since childhood rather like sisters to one another. Colby is the shy introvert who bloomed late in life. Alyssa and Bree both notices him in high school, but Alyssa is the one who ends up going after him and eventually marries him.

All the while Bree, silently loving Colby all her life, stands on the sidelines, envying what Alyssa and Colby have together, but determined not to lose what she has got with Alyssa, never acts on her feelings. That is until, Alyssa gets diagnosed with rapidly advanced cancer and dies leaving behind a devastated husband and a beloved friend in great turmoil with Alyssa’s dying wish which strikes a chord of longing deep within her heart.

Guilty Needs is a very appropriate title for a book that is steeped in unvoiced longings and desires that just creates the most wonderful sexual tension that I absolutely reveled in. Colby finds that he has an attraction, (which is putting it mildly), towards his wife’s best friend which fires up all the guilt inside of him which makes him leave everything behind until he gets himself sorted out. 

This is a really moving story and the passion between these two scorches ones hard disk drives whilst reading. I highly recommend this book for all romance lovers and especially for those who love books from Shiloh Walker. I tell you, you wouldn’t be disappointed.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | eBookMall | iTunes

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