Review: Searching for Someday by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-booksearchingforsomeday
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Searching For, #1
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Hero: Slade Montgomery
Heroine: Kate Seymour
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: November 26, 2013
Started On: April 25, 2016
Finished On: May 17, 2016

“No,” she moaned, in one last attempt to deny him.
He lowered his mouth and stopped inches from hers.
“Yes. Oh, yes.”

Searching for Someday by Jennifer Probst is the debut book in the Searching For series. Jennifer Probst is an author that has impressed upon me her ability to write sexy heroes and heroines that practically burns up the pages with just the sizzling chemistry between them. It has been a while since I indulged in one of her books and this just felt like a warm homecoming that I could not get enough of.

Kate Seymour is owner of Kinnections, a matchmaking agency that has carved a niche for itself with the personal touch they offer to their client base. Kate has never had problems with keeping her distance from the men who have come seeking their services, even had there existed attraction on a physical level. That is until Slade Montgomery walks through their doors, brimming with self righteous indignation in his attempts to protect his sister from making a mistake.

Slade is the proper variety of divorce attorney, jaded and cynical with the touch of a bitter past that keeps him grounded in reality when it comes to love and happily ever afters. When his sister signs up to Kinnections seeking whatever ruse it is that Kate and her friends are keeping up in order to wrench money from their clients who pin their hopes and dreams on them, Slade practically sees no way out but to prove that Kinnections is a fraud and he would do anything, even if it means signing up on as their client, which is where the fun begins.

Kate and Slade rub each other the wrong way from the minute they lay eyes on one another. Kate is further more appalled when the gift that has guided her when it comes to matching couples seems to point towards Slade as being her one and only. Denying the bond that exists between them could prove to be detrimental in ways that Kate has never foreseen. But would  straightlaced Slade be able to move past what he deems to be the qualities that his perfect partner should have and see beyond, or would the immeasurable heartache that would come from giving into the connection prove to be more damaging than anything else ever before?

I loved Kate and Slade’s story, not to mention the premise of the whole setup as well. There is always a “magical” aspect to Jennifer’s story that glues everything together, made quite enticing by the fact that Kate and Slade could barely keep their hands off each other. Neither of them might want to give in, Kate in fact goes as far as to set Slade up with the kind of women he is looking for, but when push comes to shove, there is nothing more powerful than the attraction and deeper feelings that stems from the said connection that exists between them.

With each encounter, Jennifer delivers one breathless scene after another, until the ultimate culmination of which practically explodes onto the pages, leaving you gasping for breathe and then some. In Slade, Jennifer has created the ultimate sex on a stick hero personified. And no, I am not even sorry to say that!

What I loved most about the story was the balance it struck. There was the sexual tension that almost seemed palpable, it wrapped itself around me and I was cocooned in the feelings that coursed through both Slade and Kate. Then there are the moments that are shared between Kate and her best friends. Those moments brought smiles to my face, made me think, yeah that’s exactly how friends would react – friends who know everything about you and want the best for you and has your back, no matter what. 

The “adult” moments between Slade and Kate were just as precious, where they are mature enough to talk and listen to each other, even when it takes immense courage to say what needs to be said. That is often rare in the world of romance. Turns out, you don’t have to act like a prick to give a romance its angst factor. Jennifer Probst proves that in spades with this novel. I must not forget to mention the epilogue. That indeed, was a treat!

Recommended for fans of uber sexy tales of love! This one is so so good!

Final Verdict: Makes you believe in love, pain and the worthiness of heartache and sacrifices along the way!

Favorite Quotes

His laugh exploded through the room. The dark, husky tones stroked her like fingers plunging between her thighs and urging her to explode. Kate concentrated on breathing slowly and went back to the puppies in the shelter. “You want to talk about sex, huh? Okay. Let’s talk about sex.” She pretended to be busy scribbling so she wouldn’t have to look up. “I enjoy pleasure. I enjoy sex. I prefer a woman who asks me for what she wants so I can give it to her exactly the way she likes it, because one of the sweetest sounds in life is a woman screaming my name.”

Snap.
Crackle.
Pop.
Like Rice Krispies gone berserk, a live jolt of electricity hit her hard, wringing a gasp from her lips. Her insides shuddered, and raw, burning heat poured through her body, lighting her up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
His fingers tightened around her waist, and his tongue dove deep between her lips, devouring her in a hungry kiss that drove every other thought from her mind except the need for more.

Refusing to glance in the mirror, he marched out like a penguin on parade and simmered with temper.
“Here. Satisfied?”
Kennedy grinned like the badass she was. But it was the look in Kate’s eyes that froze him to the spot.
Hunger.

She panicked and lost her patience. Desperate to get away and drop the subject, she hurled the words at him. “Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m a witch. I cast wacky love spells on our clients, and I was practicing on you to see what I’d need to create to match you. Satisfied?”
That should do it. She’d read somewhere to wrap a little fact with a whole lot of fiction. He seemed to calculate, weigh, and judge her reaction. Her thighs quivered and moisture drenched her core. God, she loved a brainiac. Was there anything sexier than a man with a sharp mind?
“Know what scares me the most, Kate? I think some of it’s accurate. You did cast some spell on me because ever since I met you, I keep dreaming of burying my face between your thighs and watching you come.”

Kate clutched at him, digging her nails into his shoulders, and he pressed his body against hers for full contact. She groaned with sheer relief, needing his firm strength to hold her up as her knees gave out. His hips cradled hers, his erection notched between her thighs, and a rush of liquid warmth pulsed between her legs. She tried to shift to get closer, to ease the empty ache that was slowly tearing her apart.

She sank into emerald depths so hot they turned to molten gold, full of power and masculine demand that battled past all barriers and smashed them to pieces. The raw need carved in his features told Kate she was past the point of no return, that this man was meant to claim her, all of her. She sucked in her breath, poised on the pinnacle of a massive change that terrified her to the core. “From the moment we met, I’ve been imagining your face when you come, my fingers inside you, my tongue in your mouth, my dick buried so tight in your heat we don’t know where one of us ends and the other begins. I’m tired of being denied you. Now, come for me, Kate, show me what you’ve been hiding from me all this time.”

Rage and frustration mingled and rushed like a choppy tidal wave through her body. “Fuck you and your games, counselor.” He pushed his knee in the center of her pussy and her legs gave out.
“Oh, I intend to fuck you all right. All day and all night, making you come in so many ways you beg me to stop. But I won’t stop, Kate, I’ll use my dick and my teeth and my tongue to make you scream.”
The shock of his words ripped a shudder from her weak muscles. She cursed him and hated him but gave him the words. “Kiss me. Put your tongue inside my mouth and kiss me properly.”
“About time.”

His eyes blazed. “Give me everything. I won’t settle for anything else.”
She sucked in her breath, suddenly terrified at her vulnerability. What was she doing? Giving her virginity over to a man who believed in nothing but the moment? He’d destroy her, take everything she had, and leave her with nothing. Panic reared. With a cry, she opened her mouth to stop him, but it was too late. He surged inside with one long slide and claimed her.

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

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Requested ARC Review: All the Way by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-bookalltheway
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Hero: Gavin Luciano
Heroine: Miranda Storme
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 4, 2013
Started On: February 26, 2013
Finished On: February 28, 2013

Hero: Gavin Luciano is sexy with a take-charge dominant attitude that can make any heterosexual woman go weak at the knees and then some. Coming from an Italian family, Gavin is a man who has always been determined that nothing would ever prevent him from living his life and following his dreams as he sees fit – even at the cost of losing the only woman he has ever loved.

Heroine: Miranda Storme, as the name suggests is a feisty heroine if ever there was one. She is a food critic, a famous one at that, a name she had earned for herself fair and square when the one man who had invaded her heart had left her reeling when he had walked away from her without a backward glance. Bold and beautiful, Miranda is a heroine that is hard not to fall in love with.

Storyline: Gavin returns home to help his family’s ailing restaurant Mia Casa and runs into Miranda, the woman who still has the ability to take his breathe away. Gavin knows that it had been a mistake to walk away from the best thing to ever happen to him. But then winning Miranda back is not as easy as he thinks it would be as he navigates the minefield of seething emotions on both ends to conquer the woman he loves, once & for all.

Time Period: All the Way takes place in present time in New York and is told from both Gavin and Miranda’s points of view.

Awareness between Gavin and Miranda: If there is anything that Jennifer Probst excels at, and believe me she always tells a darn good story; it is the sense of awareness & heat that she creates so well between her characters which always leaves the reader begging for more. There is always a thread of sensuality spun into every scene that Gavin and Miranda appear in that sometime spins out of control and for most Jennifer leaves it up to the reader to imagine their inevitable conclusion.

Likes: There are so many things to love about All The Way. I started out reading thinking this would be just another one of those second chance romances where the heroine would play hard to get at every turn and get on my nerves. But no, there is none of that as Jennifer always creates such lovable characters in each of her stories. Miranda has good enough reason to be leery of Gavin and the second chance he offers at being a couple. At the same time I could understand Gavin’s reasons for leaving before though he could have done a better job out of it. But the fact we are all humans means we all make mistakes, sometimes of gigantic proportions that seems irreparable.

One aspect of the story I loved was the ruthless determination which Gavin puts into winning Miranda and her affections back. And by ruthless I don’t mean that he strides into the room and kisses Miranda senseless and all’s right in their world again. Hardly that. There is so much underlying emotions within the story that if Gavin had been any different, the way he won Miranda over would not have been believable at all.

I liked the fact that both Gavin and Miranda had matured enough during their time apart to understand the nuances of a relationship that makes it work and long lasting and that is exactly what Gavin tries to prove to Miranda though hiccups are encountered along the way.

And dear me, I loved Miranda’s friend Andy and of course Gavin’s well rounded family that gave me a couple of good pauses and much needed hilarity from the otherwise at times intense read.

Dislikes: For some reason though I can’t put my finger on it, I felt that in the end Gavin was the one who ended up making all the ‘sacrifices’. Perhaps sacrifice might not be the right term to use because he had changed along the course of the 3 years he had been away and his priorities had changed. But I’d have loved to see Miranda meet him half way in making their relationship work for the second time around.

Recommended for: Fans of Jennifer Probst & fans of contemporary romances, Italian heroes and second chance romances.

Final Verdict: A well rounded, sizzling story of two people whose karma lies in their entwined lives. Jennifer Probst hits all the spots with this one.

Favorite Quotes

She bit down on his lip. Her nails curled and dug into his biceps. He groaned and caressed her breasts, flicking her nipples with his thumbs, urging them to tighten and swell and obey his command. She arched.
With a growl, suddenly he lifted her up from the stool and placed her on top of the bar. Never breaking the kiss, he devoured her mouth and pushed her thighs apart. Swollen and ready, she sank into a pit of greed and lust, her body craving release and dominating her usual control.

Fear choked her and she moved to push him away, her mouth open to tell him no.
But it was too late.
Gavin surged inside of her with one strong thrust.
Fire.
Fullness.
Completion.
He interlaced his fingers through hers. Stared deeply into her eyes.
And moved. Again. And again.

Purchase Links: Amazon

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Requested Review: The Marriage Trap by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-bookthemarriagetrap.jpg
Read with: Adobe Reader for iPad/iPhone
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Marriage to a Billionaire, #2
Publisher: Pocket Books
Hero: Michael Conte
Heroine: Maggie Ryan
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: October 2, 2012
Started On: January 24, 2013
Finished On: February 2, 2013

On the surface, both Maggie Ryan and Michael Conte seems to  have everything going for them. Maggie is a successful photographer of male models and someone who is in absolute control of every aspect of her life. Though the fact that sometimes she yearns for the kind of love that her best friend Alexa has found with her brother Nicholas; the kind of love that would make her belong in every sense, well, Maggie ain’t going to focus on that.

Michael is a billionaire whose success is legendary. But coming from an Italian family means familial customs do take precedence over certain modern principles and that is how Michael finds himself scrambling to come up with a woman who would pose as his wife for a short duration of time. Michael doesn’t want the hassle of emotions or any untoward demands to cloud the arrangement. And Maggie seems like the perfect choice until Michael realizes that he should have known better and that with Maggie nothing would ever be as simple as he thinks it to be.

So amidst the charade these two set out on, Maggie finds a side of herself that she thought she had suppressed far too well for it to exist after all this time. She finds herself a slave to the scorching desire that had drawn her to Michael in the first place. Michael had known from the very first encounter with Maggie that she was the kind of woman who could get under his skin and really tempt him to look beyond the aspect of just appeasing his physical needs. And that is exactly what happens when these two fight, kiss and make up in true lovers-who-can’t-get-enough-of-each-other fashion.

Though The Marriage Trap started out with the feel of characters who seemingly lead these perfect lives, its far from that. True, materialistically neither Michael nor Maggie needs much from the other. But emotionally they are both vulnerable in their own way, complementing the other in ways that neither would have thought possible. Maggie’s childhood consists of memories of being passed off from one nanny to the other. There is this gaping hole in her heart that she refuses to acknowledge though sometimes the emptiness inside of her is enough to make her question what she really wants.

Michael, though he comes from one of the most loving close-knit families, the sacrifices that he has made along the way to step up to the plate and be everything he is expected to be had changed a part of himself that he had not been able to get back. And with Maggie he finds himself willing to take the chance again to be free deep inside of his heart, to reach out and grab the happiness that he yearns for.

Maggie turns out to be what Michael needs in his life, for him to open his eyes and realize that while he had been playing the role as the head of the family and big brother, all his sisters had grown up and were more than capable of making their own choices. For a man like Michael who is used to taking charge, that is not an easy conclusion to come to. Likewise Maggie finds herself continuously challenged by the man who is her pretend husband, someone who shows her all the reasons why surrendering all of herself to him could be the best thing to happen to her ever.

Filled with spine tingling moments of the sensuous variety, The Marriage Trap is a good read that is recommended for those who love romances of this variety.

Favorite Quotes

With one final plunge, Maggie shattered.
She screamed his name, and heard his hoarse shout right behind her. The world broke around her in jagged pieces, and she rode out the pleasure to the very end. When she collapsed on top of him, and his arms came around her, one word echoed over and over in her mind, her heart, her soul.
Home.
Then she closed her eyes and slept.

She moaned. He caught it and pressed a bit deeper, and Maggie opened her mouth and gave in.
He plundered and commanded in complete thrusts, reminding her of how he’d claim her body if she gave him a chance. She tried to surface and gain control of the kiss, but her mind crumbled and her body sang. He murmured her name, and her legs got shaky as she held on to him for dear life and kissed him back.

He moved. Each motion claimed her for himself, told her of his emotions and need for her to belong to him. The last of the fight eased from her body and she matched him thrust for thrust, her heels digging into his back as they climbed higher and higher. She exploded beneath him and he let himself go. The unbearable pleasure wrecked him, overtook him, and threw him over the edge. When the storm finally passed, Michael realized his life would never be the same.
And he didn’t want it to be.

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

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Score Sheet Review: Heart of Steel by Jennifer Probst

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

 

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

Score Sheet Summary

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

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

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

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

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

Favorite Quotes

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

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

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

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

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Review: The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-bookthemarriagebargain
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Marriage to a Billionaire, Book 1
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Hero: Nicholas Ryan
Heroine: Alexandria Maria McKenzie
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: February 14, 2012
Started On: February 18, 2012
Finished On: February 18, 2012

All romance lovers out there, make way for the superbly talented Jennifer Probst who has succeeded in earning herself an auto-buy spot on my already long list of authors whose books I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase. Not only do I immediately purchase Jennifer Probst’s books, but I stop everything I am reading at the moment and plunge into her books with an enthusiasm that tells a story of its own.

27 year old Alexandria Maria McKenzie (Alexa) is in a bit of a dilemma. She needs a husband, preferably with $150,000 to spare and she needs it fast. Brushing aside her ideals and her image of the perfect husband to share her life with isn’t easy for Alexa. But she will do it because she is willing to do everything in her power to rescue her family home. And so Alexa casts a little love spell, all the while feeling a bit silly but nevertheless hopeful that Mother Earth would send her way, a man who would meet all those qualities that she wants in a man together with that wad of cold hard cash to give as well.

30 year old Nicholas Ryan (Nick) is in a bit of a fix as well. Nick has a fortune at his fingertips, but his Uncle Earl had changed all the rules of the game at the last minute and left him hanging. His dream of owning Dreamscape, the architectural firm that brings out all his emotions and creativity in one stride would belong to him, only if gets married before the stated time is up. Nick is a man who doesn’t believe in happily ever afters, large families and the strength of a love between two people that defies all odds and logic. And he is certainly the direct opposite of what Alexa envisions as a husband for herself and nor is he too thrilled to know that his only viable option of a wife for a year is none other than his childhood tormentor Alexa herself.

14 year since that humiliating experience that had broken Alexa’s heart, she meets an altogether more controlled and formidable Nick, whose cold and hard way of looking at a marriage leaves a lot to be desired. But Alexa is desperate enough and thus she enters into a bargain which would give them both a marriage in name only, merely a business transaction on both sides, cold and aloof right from the onset until the 1 year period is up and both parties go their separate ways. But neither Alexa nor Nick thinks of those messier emotions that could botch things up, or those tendrils of desire that slowly erupts, leaving them both wanting more and brings in the possibility of that elusive thing called love that could last a lifetime.

Jennifer Probst surprised me with The Marriage Bargain. I was already in high anticipatory mode when I started on the book, knowing that Jennifer would not disappoint me. What surprised me, and all in a good way I must add, was the thread of humor that was introduced into the book right from the very beginning. Humor and red hot passion is an unbeatable combination in any romance novel and I was a goner from the first chapter itself.

Alexa was a character I loved right from the very beginning. Her sense of humor, her loyalty and kindness, the way that she gives everything she has got with no expectations of gaining anything back in return were some of those traits that drew me towards her in the same way way that Nick continued to be as the story progressed. Alexa is a woman who is comfortable with who she is, a woman who is helplessly drawn towards her husband as she had been when she was much younger and more naive, already in love with a man who had no illusions about love and happily ever afters. And Alexa’s well rounded family certainly makes for a heartwarming addition to an already character driven story that proved to be of the unputdownable kind. 

Nick *sigh*, Nick is a character I am going to be remembering for a long, long time. He is a man torn between the desire he feels for his altogether too alluring for her own good wife, a woman who confuses and befuddles him as no other woman ever has and his need for control that remains to be a thing of the past when Alexa steps into his life. He has no intention of staying around after the one year period is up  to see where  their relationship could go, already convinced that he would never make a good husband, a conviction born out of a childhood that had seen the endless battles of war waged between his parents.

The sexual tension that Jennifer so cleverly weaves into the story is of the scorching variety, the tingles and jolts that the reader experiences right along with Nick and Alexa one of the best parts of the story. Jennifer has a talent for building up the tension until it is an either do or die impasse that the characters reach, and the reader cannot help but be drawn towards the magic that unfolds that just left my throat parched, in dire need of a cool, tall glass of iced water to smooth things over. Without gushing further on this aspect, I will just let my quotes section do it for you.

And don’t let me forget the verbal warfare between Nick and Alexa, Nick finally meeting his match in every way. A woman who doesn’t back down, a woman who brings those little bits of color to his otherwise stark and empty life, showing Nick that life as he had known it is no longer an option for him. It is Alexa’s patience when it comes to Nick, the way she draws the inner soul inside of him that years to embrace those emotions which Nick is afraid to name that just makes this one of the best romances I have read in a long while.

A passion that is explosive as the love that unfolds is tender, a beautiful happily ever after that encompasses everything; Jennifer Probst delivers a fiery and wild romance that goes straight to your heart.

Highly recommended!

Favorite Quotes

[…] Some parts were totally inappropriate. The corded length of his arms. The broad shoulders and chest that stretched and molded the fabric. The deep bronze of his skin as if he had been lying in the sun for hours. The animal litheness of his movements. He had grown up, and he was no pretty boy. Nick Ryan was all hot-blooded man—and still looked at her as Maggie’s little playmate. 

“Your mother’s coming,” he said.
“I know—she probably heard us arguing. Do something!”
“What?”
“Anything!”
“Fine!” He grabbed her around the waist, dragged her body flush against his, and ducked his head. His lips crushed hers as his hands wrapped around her tightly so they were plastered against each other, hip to hip, thigh to thigh, breasts to chest.

She expected a precise, controlled kiss to calmly show her mother they were lovers. Instead she got hot testosterone and raw sexual energy. She got warm lips melded over hers. His teeth nipped. His tongue burrowed inside and plunged in and out with sheer command, bending her back over his arm to take every last drop of her resolve.

He’d been ready to push her away, and then she’d grabbed him at her mother’s call. Wasn’t his fault he gave in to instinct to save their ruse.
Until her hot, wet mouth opened under his. Until her sweet taste swamped his senses, and the maddening scents of vanilla and spice made him want to howl at the moon. He finally knew she approached sex the same way she approached anger—no holds barred—no prisoners taken. Demanding. Punishing. Passionate.

She waited as he perused the room, skated over her, stopped, then came slowly back.
Their eyes met.
Alexa hated clichés, and what she hated most was becoming one. But at that moment, her heartbeat thundered, her palms sweated, and her belly dipped and plunged as if on a rollercoaster ride. Her body went on full alert, begging him to come to her, promising him surrender. If he told her to go home, get in bed, and wait for him, Alexa was sure she’d follow his instructions.

Nick stood alone and watched her.
A strange emotion bubbled up inside of him. Since he’d never experienced it before, he couldn’t seek out a name. There was little left in life that touched him, and he admitted he liked it that way.
Tonight, something changed.

Nick knew the moment she realized her robe had dropped. Knew when the knowledge she was naked hit her full force. Watched her lips purse a small circle of horror right before sanity hit to make her reach for the robe.
Nick used his two-second time span to make a decision.
Her fingers started to yank up the material when he blocked her motion, lowered his head, and stamped his mouth over hers. Shock held her immobile and he used the time to his advantage. One quick thrust parted her plump lips and allowed him entry—entry to every slick, feminine heated corner of her mouth. Drugged on the taste of her, he circled her tongue with quick, urgent strokes, begging her to give it all back to him.
And she did.
Full power.

He closed the distance another tight inch. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and her nipples were hard little points stabbing out of the scarlet material, begging to be freed. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her perfume swamped his senses. He grew hard, and her eyes widened as his full length throbbed against her leg in demand. 
“I’m calling your bluff, baby.” 
Pure shock registered on her face as he removed one hand from the wall to casually unbutton his shirt, slide off his tie, then grasp her chin with a firm grip. 
“Prove it.” 
He stamped his mouth over hers, not giving her a chance to think or back off or push him away. He invaded her mouth, plunging his tongue inside the slick, silky cave, then closed his lips around the wet flesh and sucked hard. 
She grabbed for his shoulders, and made a little moan deep in her throat. 
Then she exploded.

He tenderly mated his tongue with hers, stroking, tracing the swollen flesh of her lips in an action that bespoke pure humbleness. And when he opened his eyes and looked into hers, she sucked in her breath as he finally let her in, let her see it all, and gave her what she needed. 
The truth. 
“It’s always been you. I don’t want anybody else, I don’t dream about anybody else. It’s only you.” 
She cried out as he buried himself to the hilt inside of her. Her body opened and accepted his swollen length, hugged him deep and demanded more.

He surged upward and paused at her entrance. 
“Look at me, Alexa.” 
Half drugged, she opened her eyes and gazed at the man she loved with every part of her being, waiting for him to claim her, waiting to take anything he could give. 
“It’s always been you.” He paused as if to be sure she heard and understood the words. Intensity gleamed within amber depths. He gripped her fingers, as if trying to speak beyond words. 
“And it will always be you.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | BoB

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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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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

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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ARC Review: The Tantric Principle by Jennifer Probst

Format: E-booktantricprinciple
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novella
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Red Sage Publishing
Hero: Grant Madison
Heroine: Arianna Devlin
Sensuality: 4.5
Date of Publication: April 1, 2011
Started On: July 7, 2011
Finished On: July 8, 2011

The Tantric Principle by Jennifer Probst is a story that had me grabbing for my non-existent oxygen mask right from the start. Grant Madison, the deeply controlled yoga instructor who indulges in tantric sex pairs up with the energetic and highly ambitious Arianna Devlin, his exact opposite in every way which lends this story that explosive quality that I absolutely loved.

26 year old Arianna finds herself burning out as fast as a candle placed in the midst of a stormy sea and that is when she finds herself seeking Grant who introduces her to an old yoga technique that has her more relaxed, energized and happier than before. The downside of every session is the escalation of her need to be possessed by her instructor whose very touch makes her insides melt with his intensity and electrifying presence.

Grant has been burned before and has a rule about never crossing the line with a student but Arianna tempts him beyond anything he has ever felt. But once these two attend a yoga workshop together, all bets are off as Grant takes control of the situation and gives Arianna the best sex of her life which plays havoc with her emotions in a way that has never happened before. Suddenly their one night of passion is no longer enough and as deeper emotions get involved, Arianna readies herself to take the plunge with a man who is afraid to let go of his hard earned control in bed and out of it.

The Tantric Principle is a sizzling piece of work that any fan of romance that LOVES a high dose of sensuality in their novels ought to read. Though a short novel, the book doesn’t leave the reader hanging and delivers on all counts with a hero whose sinful sexiness alone is enough to make a woman surrender her everything.

Highly recommended.

Favorite Quotes

“Were you avoiding me?” he asked.
He closed the gap. Her back hit the wall. Arianna tilted her chin up and met his gaze head on. “A little.”
The slow, masculine grin that transformed his carved features took her breath. “Good, at least you’re still telling me the truth. Now kiss me properly.” He didn’t wait for her response, just took her in his arms and dived right in. His mouth urged her lips open with a sensual persuasion, then slipped his tongue in the wet depths of her mouth to play. Arianna drank in the heady taste of male hunger and coffee. Her nails dug into his shoulders in punishment and a need she couldn’t seem to slake.
He lifted his mouth from hers and cupped her face in his hands. “Hi, babe.”
Her heart melted.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Red Sage

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