by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Catch Me by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-bookcatchmejp
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: 1 Night Stand, #89
Publisher: Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Hero: Rick Steele
Heroine: Tara Denton
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 16, 2012
Started On: February 18, 2012
Finished On: February 18, 2012

 

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 85 A
The heroine 85 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 80 A
Story’s ability to suck me in 90 A
Heat & Sensuality  95 A
Conflicts within the story 90 A
Writing Style 95 A
Quotable Factor 80 A
The Ending 80 A
Overall Grade 87 A

Score Sheet Summary

Jennifer Probst always tells a good story. That unbeatable combination of likable characters, searing heat and sensuality that just melts you right on the spot and beneath all that her ability to convey the story that she has to tell is one of the reasons why I flat-out adore her books.

Catch Me is a very short and quick read that is part of the 1 Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing. Rick Steele is a man who refuses to allow himself to acknowledge that he is lonely, that he misses that elusive something which he doesn’t want to name. Rick allows himself to be talked into indulging in a one night stand, arranged by the infamous Madame Evangeline’s 1Night Stand dating service.

Tara Denton is a woman who has been scarred both on the inside and the outside by her previous boyfriend. Looking for a man who would teach her to look beyond the fear that cripples her whenever she tries to initiate physical intimacy, Tara doesn’t envision the “Thor” like personality that obliterates everything else that surrounds her to be the man to break past her barriers.

Their attraction towards one another is an immediate one that brings down the walls of resistance that Tara has built around herself. But one thing remains certain in Tara’s mind even as she gives herself over to the man whose tender, demanding and evocative touch brings her pleasure beyond anything she has imagined; that come morning she would leave because she doesn’t want to be beholden to any man ever again.

It was seeing Rick through Tara’s eyes that made me fall for him – big time. From the moment Tara envisioned Thor, I was hooked line and sinker. Tara’s vulnerability reached out to me from the very beginning and I wanted all good things for her, things I knew that Rick would be able to give her once she gave herself up to his magical touch. And Rick did that and much more, giving her the space she needed in order to believe in herself and her ability to be loved and desired by a man who wanted to love and cherish her until death does them apart.

Recommended for fans of Jennifer Probst and fans of red-hot novellas! You cannot go wrong with a Jennifer Probst.

Favorite Quotes

He waited one beat. Two.
She lifted her head.
A strange longing rose up and caught him in a chokehold. Her eyes widened as they locked with his. The anxious worry he glimpsed deep in their depths caused a protectiveness to surge from within. His second thought centered on what she would look like when he thrust deep inside her and brought her to orgasm.
He hardened instantly. Son of a bitch. It was going to end up being an interesting night after all.

[Rick] “Do you know how beautiful you are?”
Disbelief shimmered in her eyes. “Thank you, but—”
He closed the distance between them. She gasped as he grabbed her hand and laid it on his straining erection. “This is what you do to me. From the moment I laid eyes on you I wanted you. By the end of the night, you’re going to believe it, sweetheart. Make no mistake.”

He wanted to make her scream with delight, to cry his name as she orgasmed until she couldn’t remember the last time another man ever laid a hand on her. Possessiveness was not a natural part of him, but he didn’t fight the urge. Instead, he embraced the basic male tendency to hunt. Conquer. Claim.

[Rick] “Tara.”
The sound of his voice snapped her away from the memories. His command brooked no argument as he looked up from between her spread thighs.
“Eyes on me.”
His voice told her not to think, dominated every part of her soul, until she couldn’t fight him, and she slipped firmly back into the present. 

Purchase Links: Amazon | Smashwords | Decadent Publishing

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Time Out by Jill Shalvis

Format: E-booktimeout
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlequin Blaze Publisher Series
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Mark Diego
Heroine: Rainey Saunders
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: February 19, 2012
Started On: February 11, 2012
Finished On: February 17, 2012

I am finding out that whether it be a short length or a full length novel, if it is Jill Shalvis that holds the steering wheel, there is no wrong turn the story can take. Time Out which is set to be released sometime within this month is one wild and enjoyable ride, a romance that just completely reeled me in and I couldn’t have found a better way to drop off to sleep afterwards, dreaming of a Mark that was all my own to do whatever I please with. *sigh*

Rainey Saunders has just turned thirty years old and is single, looking for that special someone. She and her best friend Lena both work at the North District Rec Center in Santa Rey, a small mid-California beach town. Rainey is a bit of a control freak, has the frizzy hair thing going for her and has a heart of gold that shines through right from the very start. She might have a hard time connecting with anyone in her dating life the way she did when she was dumb and crushing so hard on the delectable Mark Diego when she was just 16 years old. But she is way past that crush, or so she tells herself until Mark walks in, more delectable than ever, tempting her to take just a little bite out of him to satisfy all those cravings that practically fall all over themselves trying to get closer to him.

34 year old Mark Diego is the youngest, most popular NHL head coach in the country. With fame and fortune in his hands, Mark doesn’t allow himself to feel those niggling bouts of “emptiness” that hits him once in a while. Mark has always been ambitious, wanting to rise above the poverty in which he had grown up. Wanting to teach two of his players a lesson Mark makes his way towards his hometown, not at all expecting his life to take a totally unforeseen turn when he butts heads with the altogether grown up and too alluring for her own good Rainey who pierces through the rough and tough armor of his to lay siege on his heart.

The story that unfolds is what only Jill Shalvis herself can deliver. Though Rainey keeps reminding herself that she doesn’t want anything to do with Mark, her hormones keep sending the opposite signal, and time and yet again, both Mark and Rainey finds themselves in one clandestine position after the other which serves to be such a feast for the senses. There wasn’t one part of me that wasn’t clamoring to swallow Mark Diego in all his glory in one big gulp or should I say I wanted to savor him in nibbling bites so that the whole feast would last for a lifetime.

The thread of humor that is always a part of a Jill Shalvis book is there in this story as well, and the underlying issues that are much serious in nature also makes their impact on the reader as Jill takes the reader through stories of families hard hit by ravaging forest fires, abusive fathers and all that is brushed under the carpet by people who are mostly at the receiving end of such violent physical and emotional abuse.

The only thing that I was a teeny bit peeved about was the abruptness of the ending of the story. Though Jill managed to deliver that happily ever after I was clamoring for right from the very start, Mark and Rainey’s story ended a bit too hastily for my taste. But apart from that, everything in this story, and I mean everything was top notch, the type of contemporary romance that is too far and few in between these days. 

Delivering a Harlequin Blaze as it should be, Jill certainly packs a punch with Time Out. Intense and sexy as sin with characters of the caliber that only Jill can create, Time Out comes most highly recommended from the sunny side of life!

Favorite Quotes

“It’s good to see you as well,” she said, her mouth against his ear, her lips brushing the lobe.
He went still at the contact, then instead of trying to pull free, merely folded her into his arms, trapping her against him. And damn if her body didn’t burst to life, as if all this time it’d been just waiting for him to come back.
“Yeah, you’re different,” he murmured, doing as she had, pressing his mouth to her ear, giving her a shiver. “The little kitten grew up and got claws.”

At twenty-one, Mark had been long and leanly muscled, not a spare inch on him. Rainey’s gaze ran down his thirty-four-year-old body and she had to admit he was even better now. In fact, the only way to improve on that body would be to dip it into chocolate.

Her hands tightened on him. “I mean it,” she said. “We’re not doing this.”
“Define this.”
“We’re not going to be friends.”
“Deal,” he said.
“We’re not going to even like each other.”
“Obviously.”
She stared into his eyes, hers turbulent and heated. “And no more kissing—”
He swallowed her words with his mouth, delving deeply, groaning at the taste of her. He heard her answering moan, and then her arms wound tight around his neck.
And for the first time since his arrival back in Santa Rey, they were on the same page.

“Mark.” She fisted her hands in his hair and pulled his mouth to hers, her entire world anchored on his finger. When it slid inside her, she thunked her head back against the door and panted. Then his thumb brushed her in a slow circle.
She cried out against his lips, arching into him, yanking his hair. She couldn’t help it. She was going up in flames. He merely pressed her hard to the door, locking her in place. Continuing the torture, he added another finger. She came hard and fast, the power of it sweeping over her like a tidal wave. 

His gaze swept over her, hot and approving, as he lifted her up. “Wrap your legs around me— There. God, yeah, like that—” His voice was a low command, caressing her as much as his hands. “Hold on to me.” Then his mouth crushed her own as he pushed her back against the door.
She threaded her hands into his hair as he thrust deep inside of her. He made a rough sound of sheer male pleasure, his fingers digging into her soft flesh as she rocked into him. Again he thrust, slowly at first, teasing until she was begging. It was glorious torment, hot and demanding, just like the man kissing her.

The kiss ignited like a rocket flash. Not that this surprised her. Everything pertaining to Mark seemed to burn hot and fast. Frustration, lust…
His mouth was rough, hot and hungry on hers as he pulled her closer, taking control. She heard herself moan, kissing him with helpless desperation. If dessert was her usual drug of choice, it’d just been replaced because she couldn’t seem to get enough of him.

With a smug smirk, he kissed her again, then slid into her. Pleasure flooded her, so intense it arched her back and had her crying out, clutching at him. The teasing and fun vanished in a blink, replaced by something so intense she could hardly breathe. Mark’s eyes were dark and sultry, and she reared up to press her mouth to his. He took control of the kiss, making her melt into him all the more as he buried himself in her over and over, deeper, harder, faster, the entire time holding her gaze with his, letting her see everything she did to him.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Harlequin

fantasticread

by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Midnight Run by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-bookmidnightrun
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romantic Suspense
Series: Midnight, Book 2
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Tyler ‘Bud’ Morrison
Heroine: Claire Parks
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: February 18, 2004
Started On: February 15, 2012
Finished On: February 15, 2012

 

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 90 A
The heroine 90 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 90 A
Suck Me In Factor
 100 A
Heat & Sensuality  100 A
Conflicts within the story 90 A
Writing Style 90 A
Quotable Factor 70 B
The Ending 80 A
Overall Grade 89 A

Score Sheet Summary

Stopping after reading just one Lisa Marie Rice book is an impossibility for me. Midnight is a series that I have read completely out of order and because of that very reason I am able to say that Midnight Run sort of reads like a mix of the 3 books in the series put together. 

Bud is a cop, working undercover at a dance club in Portland known as The Warehouse when he sets his eyes on the beautiful Claire Parks. Bud is a tough, larger than life, total alpha hero who succumbs to the lure of the gentle and altogether too pretty for her own good Claire. Though Claire might be the last virgin in Portland, she has no intention of staying that way for long and its a weekend of decadent pleasures that Bud introduces Claire to, each and every encounter bringing the deeper emotions to the surface as their lovemaking grows more explosive as the weekend goes on.

Midnight Run is a book that is a feast for the senses. I say this because there wasn’t one non-tingly nerve in my body as Bud came into the picture and practically depleted the oxygen levels in the room with his take charge attitude in bed and out of it that serves to be a major turn-on. Though Claire is no pushover, it is always with pleasure I welcome heroines that Lisa Marie Rice creates, no feminists clouding up the story with their attitude in her novels.

The one disappointment for me was how the story ended. There was a lot of angst towards the end, and for me there were some “issues” that needed to be resolved between Claire and Bud before their happily ever after could begin. Of course, the love they have for each other is an unquestionable one, but I would have loved to see a bit of a prolonged ending to a story that had me reading the book in one sitting, giving my mind that much needed relaxation from the cloudy atmosphere of politics that is the current Maldivian environment.

Recommended for fans of the author and fans of the series.

Favorite Quotes

Yes, she, Claire Parks, who by all rights should have been dead these many years, her bleached bones rotting in the cold ground, was turned on. Waves of heat rolled through her body in liquid surges. The heat became almost incandescent in her breasts and in her loins, but her entire body burned and tingled with heat and life.

The rest of what she wanted to say was lost in his mouth. A red mist rose in his head. Fast as lightning, he picked her up, stripped her, pulled off his sweatshirt, pushed his sweat pants down—he deliberately hadn’t put on underwear, either—and embedded his c#ck in her. Just shoved it in because he’d die if he didn’t have his cock in her now.

With any other man, Claire would have been a little afraid, his expression was so fierce and dangerous-looking. She wasn’t frightened. This was Bud. He would never hurt her. “Why are you asking?”
Bud shifted his hips, pushing forward, moving even more deeply into her. “I want you to be comfortable,” he whispered, “because this is the position you’re going to be in for a long, long while.” His gaze held hers. “I’m going to fuck you all night.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB | Ellora’s Cave

awesomeread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Nightfire by Lisa Marie Rice

Format: E-booknightfire
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Erotic Romantic Suspense
Series: Protectors, Book 3
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Michael Patrick Keillor
Heroine: Chloe Mason
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 7, 2012
Started On: February 11, 2012
Finished On: February 15, 2012

It seems like I have been waiting forever for the release of the 3rd book in the Protector series. If you like myself have read the 2nd book Hotter than Wildfire, you would know why. Hotter than Wildfire ended on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader in a serious state of anticipation for this book to come out. And though Nightfire didn’t live up to all my expectations, it still managed to deliver the sort of sensually charged read that only Lisa Marie Rice can deliver.

35 year old Michael Patrick Keillor (Mike) is one of the 3 partners of the RBK Security Inc., one of the most successful security companies in the country. While his two brothers and best friends Harry and Sam had found their happily ever afters with wonderful women, Mike remains single, wandering as the restless soul that hides a wealth of pain deep inside of him. His home while stark, antiseptic and empty are a contrast to Mike’s emotions remain chaotic though he manages to hide it well.

28 year old Chloe Mason makes her way towards the building that houses RBK Security not for the usual reasons women seek them out. She comes to find out whether Harry could be her long-lost brother, hopeful and a bit apprehensive at the same time. Chloe is beyond ecstatic when Harry welcomes her with open arms, his fragile younger sister who had suffered and gone through so much in her life already. 

The attraction between Mike and Chloe is an immediate and an all encompassing one that flares to life right from the very minute the two of them lay eyes on each other. Chloe though fragile and delicate with zero experience when it comes to the opposite sex knows instinctively that Mike would never hurt her. However, after one very explosive kiss that burns hotter and brighter than any usual kiss, Mike’s less than stellar activities the previous night proves to be the reason why Mike takes a step back, though he doesn’t completely step away from Chloe’s life.

Story continues six months later, at the point where Mike is ready to bring and end to a promise that has kept him from completely claiming Chloe as he would have liked to do from day one of their “relationship”. And when Chloe’s life is suddenly under threat from ex-Russian military personnel, nothing and absolutely no force on this Earth is going to prevent Mike from claiming Chloe as his, and protecting her from any sort of harm that may come to her.

Nightfire combines all the elements that makes a Lisa Marie Rice book so memorable. Mike is alpha hero personified and Chloe is the delicate, beautiful and serene heroine who just makes you think of flowers and sunshine right from the very minute that you meet her. And the fireworks that bursts forth right from the very start is trademark Lisa Marie Rice, the heat and the off the charts sensuality always a reason to keep coming back for more of her stories.

There is none who can make a reader sweat right along with the hero and heroine as they dance around the heat that is between them, succumbing to the deep pull that is a constant throughout the story. Every single sliver of desire between Mike and Chloe was one I felt to my very bones, the reason why I loved this story so much. There were certain aspects of the story I didn’t like overly much, like the constant re-telling of emotions that seems to grip both Chloe and Mike until towards the latter part of the story. Yes, Mike has a story to tell, an immensely sad one at that too, but I wanted more action on the suspense side as well as the relationship that was fostering between Mike and Chloe to be the center of the story.

Even with all those little things that didn’t work for me, I still enjoyed the story of how Chloe and Mike find that special something with each other, the epilogue at the end that put a smile on my face the reason why I would rate this as a great read, recommended for any fan of Lisa Marie Rice.

Favorite Quotes

Her hand lifted without any volition on her part, as if it were the hand itself that wanted to be held by his. He gently grasped it in both hands, instead of the impersonal handshake she’d been expecting. His hands were as hot as a furnace. Slowly, watching her every second, he brought her hand to his mouth and—oh my God—kissed it.
Something inside her, something she’d never even suspected existed, pinged to life. Heat, excitement . . . desire. 

She whimpered, the sound lost in Mike’s mouth. She was entirely his, completely without willpower or volition. His mouth ate at hers, his shoulders curved in to her like some powerful wall of flesh. He moved his hips against her in short, stabbing movements, hands lifting her hips against his.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB

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by mvbookreviewer

Guest Post by Author Linda Andrews & Giveaway!!

LindaAndrewsSo guys, author Linda Andrews is here with me today, sharing with us how she finds her characters and those little things that she looks out for when she comes up with a hero and heroine who would find that special something with each other. So a little bit about Linda before we move onto the guest post.

Linda Andrews lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, three children and a menagerie of domesticated animals. While she started writing a decade ago, she always used her stories to escape the redundancy of her day job as a scientist and never thought to actually combine her love of fiction and science.

DOH! After that Homer Simpson moment, she allowed the two halves of her brain to talk to each other. The journeys she’s embarked on since then are dark, twisted and occasionally violent, but never predictable.

The Character Train

Like many authors, I find ideas for stories everywhere–watching a news program, reading a magazine, or just spying a picture on the web. The hardest part is finding the characters to bring those stories alive. That part is like waiting on the platform of the busiest train station in the world with a cardboard placard in my hand stating: looking for Mr and Mrs. Right.

I don’t want to know what that sticky stuff is that I’m standing in. Most characters don’t make eye contact as they hustle by to meet a different author. Others just bump right into me, spinning me around as they pass, because they’ve got a more important story waiting.

Now, I like to people watch but sometimes the right characters for my stories are on the slow train.

Other times, they’ve missed the train altogether.

Then there are the nagging times when I think the characters are right. I pick up their baggage–making sure it is suitably worn and tattered or very, very heavy for the trip to come and load them on the Storytime Express.

Then I meet their friends.

And family.

The car is getting crowded and we haven’t even pulled out of the station. On occasion, I just have to stop letting people inside. Sorry, car’s full. Move along. Move along. Nothing to see here.

But be careful.

Sometimes the chosen hero will slip off the train after spying the heroine. Sure he’ll wave as the train slowly eases out of the station, but now I’m left with the guy in the hoodie slouched against the wall, who’s staring at the gum pepperonis on the floor like they’re fabulous abstract art.

And having spied the new hero, the heroine is doing her best to lower the window so she can jump onto the subway’s third rail. After I pry her cold fingers from the pane, I point out that Mr. Slouch gave up his seat to allow her dear old granny to sit. Reluctantly she agrees to at least meet him before transposing her phone number when she enters it into his cell and says he can call her.

I smile as I write this because I know the universe just gave me the perfect couple for a romance. And best of all, I know somewhere in the story, the cowardly hero who ran away will return and make Mr. Slouch look all the better. How do I know this? Because both the heroine and Mr Slouch care about dear old granny. The heroine brought her along and Mr. Slouch gave up his seat for a stranger on a crowded train.

Despite their behavior, these random acts of kindness they bestow on each other will draw them together and make the reader root for them all the while the weight of their baggage keeps them apart. As the train speeds down its track, they’ll each decide discard a piece of baggage here and there. Some will be lost, some will be happily discarded, and other times the hero might carry something for the heroine.

Of course, the clothes usually go in the part of the journey where each thinks they can keep the remaining luggage and still be happy. Delusional about the hazards ahead, they’ll squeeze into a private space and do a little intimate exploration. When they emerge, there’ll be those awkward moments of facing family and friends and trying to surreptitiously find a new pair of panties.

Which means opening a new piece of luggage, exposing the things you never meant anyone to see. Ultimately Mr. Slouch and the heroine will have to unzip that toiletries bag and decide that the familiar, safe broken pieces protected inside can be replaced with something bright and shiny.

Only then can I and the reader expect them to permanently reside somewhere beyond Happily Ever After Station.

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

Linda Andrews is giving away an e-copy of her latest release Blue Maneuver. 

Here is a bit on what the book is all about.

Rae Hemplewhite didn’t believe in aliens until a close encounter with out-of-this-world technology drags her into the extraterrestrial security program. Helping alien refugees adjust to life on Earth is difficult enough, but her first clients have a price on their heads. Plus, her new partner seems torn between the urge to kiss her or kill her.

And that’s the good news.

The bad news: Alliances are forming in deep space. If Rae doesn’t keep her witnesses alive long enough to transfer their top secret information to the right faction of humanity, Earth will become a battlefield.

All you have to do to win is to leave a comment telling us what it is about romance books that always makes you come back for more!

And don’t forget to help spread the word and leave a valid e-mail address behind as a way to contact you.

Giveaway begins: 00:00 hours, February 15th,  Maldivian Time

Giveaway ends: 00:00 hours, February 17th, Maldivian Time

Maldivian Time Zone: GMT+5

by mvbookreviewer

Winners – Romancing the Valentine Giveaway Hop!

Thanks to all who made this giveaway a fabulous success.

So the winners:

  1. Evie who requested for a Paperback copy of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
  2. Kryskat who wants an e-copy of Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer
  3. And last but not the least, Jewel who requested for a Paperback copy of Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I will be sending out e-mails to the winners shortly. 

Thanks to all those who helped make this giveaway hop a success!

by mvbookreviewer

Requested Review: Heart Signs by Cari Quinn

Format: E-bookheartsigns
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Hero: Samson Miller
Heroine: Rory Fowler
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 3, 2012
Started On: February 4, 2012
Finished On: February 10, 2012

Cari Quinn’s first release of the year 2012 is an emotionally gripping one. Samson Miller (Sam) is a man who is unable to let go of the memories of his dead wife. Sam keeps punishing himself for all that he had failed to do during their marriage by working to keep the love he had for Dani alive by posting love notes on billboards. 

Rory Fowler works at JD Signage and deals with Sam’s requests to put up the billboards. Rory and Sam’s many interactions had certainly made them e-mail friendly over the past 2 years. Rory finds Sam’s love notes romantic, her fascination with his love notes something that she keeps to herself. When she finds out that Sam had recently become a widow, her only intention in reaching out to Sam is to pass on her condolences. But Rory reaching out to Sam sparks something that has long since being buried deep inside of him and thus starts a chain of events that changes both their lives for the better.

The small spark of feeling that flares to life inside of Sam has him seeking out Rory’s company because for the first time in 2 long years, Sam feels something more than desolation and despair. Rory’s quirky and energetic nature, together with the way she blurts things out without thinking and the way the big and beautiful man that Sam is practically melts with Rory’s touch works as a healing balm on his tattered soul, bringing Sam back to life.

Sam Miller is such a big sweetie that all the while I was reading the story I just wanted to draw him into my arms and never ever let go. There wasn’t one inch of him, and I mean this literally and figuratively, that I didn’t want. Sam’s is a bleeding soul, the love notes that he writes to his wife practically seeping with emotion that one cannot help but be drawn towards the man who writes such beautiful words made all the more poignant by his tortured nature.

Rory Fowler is the character that zaps this story to life. Her vivid and vibrant nature that brings color to the story as well as to Sam’s life, lighting both up until you can’t help but be mesmerized by the events that unfold and lead Rory and Sam to a place where they attain their happily ever after. And beneath all the emotional angst that Cari so effectively delivers in the story lies that unique thread of humor that had me bursting out into laughter in several places.

Recommended!

Final verdict: Lovable characters, intense emotions and mind melting hot sex. Erotica doesn’t get any better than this.

Favorite Quotes

You hold my heart. Even when you didn’t want it anymore. I waited for you since the beginning of time and no separation will ever keep us apart.

… she stepped into him, tipping her face upward until their mouths brushed. Her soft lips heated under his, encouraging him to press his tongue against their parted seam. She made a sound of acquiescence, of excitement. The deeper he slid, the more she made the noise. Almost a purr. Carefully, he reached up to hold her head in his palms, tilting her so he could explore. She tasted like grape bubblegum. Sweet, a little wicked. A lot sexy.

He waited for her to say something. Anything. But she only watched him watching her, their equally ragged breathing fighting for dominance. With a flick of his fingers, he slipped beneath the cotton and absorbed the feel of her delicate skin, now way past warm. Past even hot. She burned for him. Skating lower, he brushed her thatch of damp curls. His heartbeat kicked up and that lightheaded sensation overtook him again, stealing his attention from her face for as long as it took him to get control. Then he met her eyes once more before he slid into the steam.

I can’t stop loving you. If I do that, what will be left of me?

“… The moment your tongue met the head of my cock I almost fucking lost it right there. Just looking at you made me so hard.”
“Like you are right now?”
The hope in her tone made him smile. “Yes. Believe me, baby, I’m like steel for you and I only have a memory and your sexy voice to guide me.”

He leaned in and took her mouth with his, snatching away her words and her protests and whittling the moment down to just them. No words, no worries. Just two pairs of lips, two eager tongues and two unsteadily beating hearts that throbbed against each other when she pressed close.

Longing for you is the sweetest anticipation I’ve ever known.

She was whole and real, not someone he held in his mind and heart but whom he couldn’t touch. God, she was so alive.
“Rory,” he managed, lifting his hands to frame her flushed cheeks. Her startled gasp became a moan that flowed between his lips when their mouths fused. She opened for him at once, her dark lashes falling down to hide her eyes. It didn’t matter. He tasted what she felt when her tongue tentatively curled around his.

“… You were summer and freedom and everything I hadn’t had in so long. Everything I hadn’t allowed myself. I’m going to allow myself tonight.” He tossed his shirt aside and she glimpsed his broad chest in the flickering light from the portable woodstove she’d noticed out of the corner of her eye. “You’re going to be my ocean and I’m going to drown myself in you.”

Rory,
I used to think home was a place. Four walls with a door. Now I know it’s your voice. Your laughter. Waking to your smile against my throat and your breath fluttering over my pulse while I turn you over and bury myself inside you…that’s home. That’s life and I’ve never appreciated it more.
~ Sam

Purchase Links: Amazon | EC

amazingread

by mvbookreviewer

Review: In the Marshal’s Arms by Emma Jay

Format: E-bookinthemarshalsarms
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Historical Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Rhys Burgess
Heroine: Maddy Colby
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: December 15, 2011
Started On: February 6, 2012
Finished On: February 6, 2012

US Marshal Rhys Burgess is on the hunt to bring bank robber Edward Colby to justice. His search brings him to the somewhat derelict home of Maddy Colby, mistress to the brothers who had wreaked havoc with their penchant for stealing and being one of the most ambitious bank robbers of the past decade.

When Rhys meets Maddy, she is unlike the woman he has envisioned in his head. Maddy intrigues him with her intelligent mind, the way her hair seems to shimmer and shine with the most contrasting vividness and the way his senses start humming whenever Maddy is around.

For Maddy, Rhys is a temptation that is hard to deny. A woman who is completely comfortable in her sexuality, Maddy has no qualms about seducing and being seduced by Rhys who makes her feel desirable, cossetted and loved all at the same time. But then reality is not too far away and intrudes right at the moment where Maddy is willing to put her faith, trust and love in the one man who has broken down her barriers, the one man she wants to spend the rest of her life with.

In the Marshal’s Arms was a short and hot read that features a most refreshing heroine. Emma Jay has a way of writing her heroines bold, sexy and comfortable with who they are and Maddy is no different. Rhys is a bit shy and uncertain when it comes to expressing his desire for a woman who he has no intention of getting involved with at first. But the heart has an agenda of its own and that is how Rhys finds himself in the best kind of trouble he has ever gotten into in his life.

I loved the ending, the way Rhys wins over Maddy’s affections. In the Marshal’s Arms is a good read, recommended for those who love historical erotic romances. Emma Jay has a way with her heroes that just makes you want to sigh over & over again once you are done.

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by mvbookreviewer

Requested ARC Review: Behind Closed Doors by Sherri Hayes

Format: E-bookbehindcloseddoors
Read with: Adobe Reader for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Series: Daniel Brothers, Book 1
Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop
Hero: Christopher Allen Daniels
Heroine: Elizabeth Marshall
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 9, 2012
Started On: February 3, 2012
Finished On: February 3, 2012

27 year old Elizabeth Marshall is finally free from the shackles that has bound her when she had been married to Jared, the man who had slowly and surely chipped away any self-confidence or feeling self-worth she might have had before she had married him. To start over afresh, Elizabeth makes her way towards Springfield, Ohio where she gets more than she bargained for when she meets the larger than life Christopher Allen Daniels.

32 year old Christoper is a cynic when it comes to women. The ultimate betrayal at the hands of his ex-wife Carol leaves Chris with a bad taste in his mouth when it comes to getting close to any woman, even though he is tempted to from time to time. But none has tested his resolve to stay away from the fairer sex as much as his new housemate Elizabeth, who from the very first encounter he desires with everything that is primal deep inside of him.

Though Chris is determined to ignore Elizabeth and the effect she has on his control and baser emotions, all his best laid plans somehow fly out the window when circumstances find both of them spending time with each other. Little by little Chris starts to see that Elizabeth is nothing like his ex-wife though his insecurities remain and Elizabeth starts to feel safe and secure in the fact that she is all woman and more than enough when it comes to Chris.

But somehow the fragile connection that is forged between these two is tested when someone starts threatening Elizabeth, somebody out to settle a score and out for Elizabeth’s blood. Chris is surprised at the ferocity of all the protective instincts that flare to life deep inside of him and from then on there is no turning back for either Chris or Elizabeth as their relationship grows and fosters and is tested against all the hurdles that they face along the way.

It would be an understatement to say that I loved the 1st installment of the Daniel Brothers series. Chris the hero was just ultra-yummy. Brooding, tortured and a hot mess of a man who just made me go weak at the knees with his carnal thoughts about a woman who brings forth too much emotion from him right from the start. Chris doesn’t want or need any complications in his life, and he certainly doesn’t want that off-kilter feeling that strikes him whenever Elizabeth is around. But, when push comes to shove, there is none like Chris, his protective nature which just set off all the right emotions deep inside of me and I couldn’t have asked for more from him, a hero I adored on all counts.

Elizabeth was just plain wonderful. I love heroines who are dainty, feminine and are not trying to prove every second of the day that they are as strong as or stronger than men. I especially loved how Sherri handled the abuse that Elizabeth had gone through and how Sherri portrayed the journey of self-discovery Elizabeth goes through and how she emerges that much stronger because of what she had been through. Her need for a man who is as crazy about her, maybe even more so, and the way Chris manages to chase away those shadows of self-doubt that continue to linger long after was one of the best parts of the story. I loved that it wasn’t just Chris who was the giver in their relationship. Rather Elizabeth too acts as the soothing balm that soothes the tattered and frayed edges of Chris’s heart and shatters down the walls of reserve that has held his emotion intact until Elizabeth turns up in his life.

Though the villain was easy to figure out more than half way into the story, the element of suspense in the novel proved to make this already well-rounded tale of romance that much more enticing. For me, the Daniel brothers and the whole family signifies a family as it should be. Relationships of the believable and heartwarming kind is what you find here and those bits certainly added towards making the story a well developed tale in all aspects. I am so looking forward to the story of each and every brother in the family, and up next is Gage’s story, the playboy and the pro-football player and I will continue to wonder what Sherri has got in store for him. Winter 2013 seems so far away right now and the wait seems like an endless one.

For fans of tortured heroes, abused heroines who together finds the beauty that is love as it heals all scars and wounds on the surface and on the inside; this one’s for you!

Purchase Links: Writer’s Coffee Shop

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by mvbookreviewer

Score Sheet Review: Sex, Lies and Contracts by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-booksexliesandcontracts
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Red Sage Publishing
Hero: Jack Alexander Woodward
Heroine: Julianna Elizabeth Waters
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 2, 2012
Started On: February 2, 2012
Finished On: February 3, 2012

CATEGORY SCORE GRADE
The hero 98 A
The heroine 98 A
Story line 90 A
Emotional Intensity 90 A
Story’s ability to suck me in 90 A
Heat & Sensuality  100 A
Conflicts within the story 80 A
Writing Style 95 A
Quotable Factor 80 A
The ending 90 A
Overall Grade 91.1 A 

Score Sheet Summary

32 year old Jack Alexander Woodward is the ultimate heir to his family’s shipping business and fortune; that is if he marries within the next couple of months as stipulated in the will by his father. Though Jack might be handsome as sin, sexy and charming enough to make any woman fall for him and rich enough to have any woman he wants, his heart yearns for love and the ultimate happily ever after that comes along only with love in the equation. So Jack sets off on his own, aiming to find the one woman who would love him for him, not because of his wealth and all that is at his disposal, but someone who would love him in spite of all those things.

Julianna Elizabeth Waters lives in New Port of Rhode Island. The promise that she made to her father on his deathbed is the only thing that prevents Julianna from leaving, the freedom which she had yearned for so long once again out of reach because she cannot turn back on duty which had defined her all her life. Julianna’s deeply sensual nature is hidden behind the ugly clothes that she wears and the intimidating expression that she puts on every day that keeps people at arm’s distance. Julianna’s plan is to find a man who is rich enough to save her family home, despite her misgivings and yearnings to do otherwise.

When Julianna and Jack’s paths cross, out comes Julianna’s needs and desires that have been lying dormant for so long, reveling in the heady sense of being woman enough to shake the sexy as sin Jack to his very toes. Jack’s rules are simple once he identifies Julianna to be another mercenary woman after a man’s riches. Julianna’s nights belong to him and him alone, until she is successful in her attempts to snatch a husband who would satisfy her materialistic needs. 

The Tantric Principle was my first Jennifer Probst and I expected a similar emotional read packed with sexual tension hot enough to singe through my e-reader. And let me tell you I wasn’t disappointed at all with how the story proceeded. The raw passion that seeped through the scene on the cliffs had me practically squirming on my seat, the scene being one of the most sexually charged and explosive scenes I have read of late. And oh when Jack talks dirty, quotes poetry that just sizzles along the nerve endings; let me just say, be warned that you would require a tall, cool glass of water afterwards.

The emotion that Jennifer weaves through all the very well done scenes of the erotic variety just sealed the deal for me for this to be rated as an amazing read, a novella I would highly recommend for those who love their erotic romances with that heady spice to heat up your insides. If you are looking for a hero who knows what he is capable of and has no qualms about going after what he wants with everything he has, if you are fan of heroes who talk dirty and can make even poetry sound like sex talk, seize this book and indulge!

Favorite Quotes

He obviously enjoyed her annoyance. He took his time and uncapped the bottle of water. Removed his ball cap. Dumped the water over his head.
Julianna’s breath caught. Her body slammed into overdrive at the raw sexual scene before her. Water dripped from his thick blond hair and ran down his face. Over a carved jaw. Slid down to dampen perfectly cut lips.
His t-shirt soaked up the liquid and clung to his chest like a Women’s Night gone wild. Hunger hit hard and deep as she followed the trail down to his belt buckle, where droplets slid under the denim and hid beyond.

Her gaze lifted.
And collided with a full-sized predator.
His eyes were the dark whiskey gold her father liked to pour in heavily cut crystal glasses. Liquid fire, potent and seething with heat. 

Then his mouth took hers.
Julianna didn’t have a chance. It was the Alamo all over again. Warm, capable lips molded perfectly to hers and with one push, his tongue slipped into her mouth. Like a marauding pirate, he conquered and enjoyed his territory, his hot tongue thrusting in and out in a teasing game before he dove deep and claimed his treasure. 

The night engulfed her with silence, and the horizon pulled her further into an alternate universe. Civilization left behind, she waited for him as the boat made its way deep into the ocean, then slowed. A million stars twinkled overhead.
She never heard his footsteps.
Like a wild stallion mounting his mare, he pressed his hard body against hers and dragged her legs apart. She gasped and held on tight as he yanked her up, spread her wide, and plunged deep inside.

Purchase Links: Red Sage

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