Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Historical Romance POV: Third Person, Multiple Series: Standalone Publisher: Avon Hero: Alec Tyron Heroine: Isabella Georgiana Albans St. Just Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: January 01, 1989 Started On: June 22, 2024 Finished On: June 28, 2024
Tiger’s Eye by Karen Robards, one of my go-to-authors for romance is one of those sweeping historical romances that takes a forbidden premise and pushes it to its emotional edge. The story begins with Lady Isabella Georgiana Albans St. Just, a young aristocrat whose seemingly gilded life masks a marriage filled with constraints and unhappiness. Her world collides quite literally with Alec Tyron, the notorious overlord of London’s underworld, when he rescues her from danger. It is a meeting that sparks both fear and fascination, drawing together two people who should never have crossed paths.
Kidnapped by a band of thugs intent on using her for their gain, Isabella finds herself in desperate straits until Alec intervenes. His reputation alone is enough to cow her captors, but it is his decisive, brutal action that frees her. In the aftermath, Alec decides not to let her slip away, for his own reasons both practical as well as personal, and what begins as a rescue quickly becomes a forced proximity neither of them can walk away from. For Isabella, the man who terrifies the city becomes both her savior and her undoing.
Alec is as morally grey as a hero can get. Hardened by his rise from the streets to the throne of the city’s criminal underbelly, he is ruthless, commanding, and dangerously magnetic. Yet beneath that hard exterior is a man capable of fierce loyalty and unexpected tenderness, qualities that reveal themselves in the way he treats Isabella. In contrast, Isabella is everything Alec is not; refined, privileged, and naive at first glance. But as their journey unfolds, her strength emerges, and she becomes a heroine willing to risk her reputation, her safety, and her heart for the one man society says she cannot have.
Theirs is a union that, under most circumstances, could never have worked. Their differences are insurmountable on paper, and more than once I found myself holding my breath as I read, even all the while knowing that this was a romance with a happily-ever-after ending, and yet still questioning how on earth Robards would take them to that conclusion. That tension, the constant awareness that love for these two was both dangerous and inevitable, is what made the book so compelling.
What struck me most was how realistically Robards handled Isabella’s situation. Many romances of this era shy away from adultery or paint heroines as paragons of virtue who resist temptation until circumstances align. Tiger’s Eye takes a bolder approach: Isabella succumbs to what her heart and body crave, and in doing so, her choices feel both human and honest, especially for a woman stuck in a marriage that can only be described as torturous. It will undoubtedly divide readers, but for me, it added a layer of depth and realism that made her plight all the more moving.
On the other hand, the lack of an epilogue left me feeling shortchanged. After everything Alec and Isabella endure, I longed for a glimpse of them in a hard-won happily ever after, secure and free from the shadows that dogged them. I will just tell myself that it is publishing constraints at the time that demanded that an epilogue be left out, what I feel is a crucial missing piece in an otherwise powerful story.
Recommended for: readers who enjoy historical romances with morally grey heroes, intense forbidden passion, and the not your average heroines who shake up everything!
Final Verdict: Tiger’s Eye is a scorching, emotional tale of love that dares to defy class, morality, and society itself; Alec and Isabella’s story is as breathtaking as it is impossible, and I reveled in every minute of it.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Romantic Suspense POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Gallery Books Hero: James MacArthur Callahan Heroine: Dr. Gina Sullivan Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: March 29, 2016 Started On: November 21, 2023 Finished On: November 28, 2023
First published in March of 2016, Darkness by Karen Robards delivers an intense romantic suspense, weaving together elements of cyber-terrorism mixed with survivalist themes under which the main protagonists encounter each other and find their entire lives upended, in the midst of which comes love calling. When 28 year old Dr. Gina Sullivan’s research expedition on the remote Attu Island collides with private military contractor Cal Callahan’s mission gone wrong, they find themselves thrust into a deadly game of survival against both nature’s fury and human adversaries.
James “Cal” Callahan embodies the archetypal alpha hero with compelling depth. At 34, the former Air Force Special Operations Command member carries the weight of a troubled past that makes him wary of making long-lasting connections with emotional depth. Despite his dangerous profession and the walls that he puts up, Cal’s protective instincts and underlying vulnerability emerges as he is forced to depend on and protect Gina with every fiber of his being.
Dr. Gina Sullivan, a Stanford ornithologist, bears the emotional scars of devastating loss. Her journey from trauma-induced caution to rediscovering her strength is one that readers can empathize with, and her strength something that is truly admirable under the circumstances. Ms. Robards excels at portraying Gina’s internal struggle between her desire for safety and her growing feelings for a man who represents everything she fears.
The relationship development between Cal and Gina is one that starts off on the wrong footing, with a wary and distrustful Cal trying to ignore the elephant in the room; his skyrocketing desire for Gina. While Gina tries to grapple with the situation she finds herself in, her issues when it comes to trusting a man such as Cal who thrives on danger makes her want to withdraw into the cocoon that has protected her since the devastating loss she faced five years prior. However, the connection that forges to life between the two is stronger than either of them can deny for long, and makes for excellent indulgence for the reader amidst all the danger that surrounds them.
The story’s foundation rests on a brilliantly conceived technological threat that feels terrifyingly plausible in today’s interconnected world where we shuttle from one continent to the other, wholly trusting the airplanes, pilots, and companies such as Airbus and Boeing that designs these modern marvels. Ms. Robards masterfully builds tension gradually, revealing the layers to the conspiracy which keeps the reader on tenterhooks, while Gina and Cal battle the harsh elements and their dangerous pursuers.
While Darkness delivers a compelling romantic suspense, the conclusion did feel somewhat rushed for me. The story could have benefited from a deeper exploration of how Cal (who is intensely commitment phobic) and Gina bridge their drastically different lifestyles and approach their future together. A period of separation or more extensive relationship development before the resolution would have added emotional depth to their happy ending.
I found the technological aspects explored in the story to be quite intriguing and terrifyingly plausible, adding a layer of real-world anxiety to the story which made this highly entertaining, even as I worry to death every time I have to get myself on an airplane.
The survival elements showcase the skillful Ms. Robards at her best at creating visceral, immediate danger while developing the romance at pace between Cal and Gina. I especially loved Cal as the hero; the kind of hero that authors no longer know how to write. Truly loved this for the adventure, the technology explored, the wilderness of nature, and the sexiness that was all Cal.
Recommended for readers who enjoy romantic suspense, the classic alpha heroes as they are truly meant to be, strong heroines, and survivalist themed romances.
Final Verdict: Darkness by Karen Robards makes for a compelling romantic suspense that delivers on both the romance and suspense fronts, with that classic alpha hero readers like myself crave.
Favorite Quotes
Their eyes met. Something crackled in the air between them that hadn’t been there before—a kind of current. An electric vibration. An elemental male-female thing. The sudden spark of sexual heat that flared inside her as he looked at her was so urgent it actually hurt. Her chest contracted. Her throat closed. And her body started up with a hot, sweet pulse. She instantly, figuratively, turned her back on it. It was nothing she felt the slightest urge to acknowledge, much less pursue.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” “You look mad.” “Mad? Me?” As she shook her now straggling-all-over-the-place hair back from her face, her voice was silky sweet. She was, however, all but shooting poison darts at him from her eyes. She could still feel the imprint of his hands everywhere—and she didn’t like it. “You ever think that I might be a ninja assassin planning to kill you with my bare hands while you sleep?” Infuriatingly, that made him smile. A full-on crooked and charming smile that smacked her in the face with how really good-looking he was. That smile hit her the wrong way. It made her want to— Before she could finish the thought, he slid a hand along her jaw, bent his head, and kissed her.
She started to turn away. He caught her arm, pulled her around, and kissed her. Just like that, his hands gripping her shoulders, his mouth coming down on hers hard. And she kissed him back. Instantly, instinctively, without any thought at all. Her mouth opened to his. His tongue filled her mouth, scalding hot, demanding her response. And she gave it, answering his lips and tongue with a hungry intensity that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. Her body burned for his. She went all soft and shivery inside. As quick as he’d kissed her he was lifting his head and pushing her away. “Good-bye,” he said. He didn’t smile. Gina didn’t smile, either. Her heart was thumping, her body was throbbing, and good-bye was both the last thing on earth she wanted to say—and the smartest thing she could say.
From the sound of it there were four men, all heading down toward the river. Toward Arvid. Oh, God, he’d been murdered right before her eyes. She couldn’t help it: she started to shake. Cal must have felt it, because his hold on her changed. His broad shoulders curved more closely around her. The hand pressing her face into his coat gentled. She thought she felt his cheek rest against the top of her head. She held on to him like he was the only safe harbor left in the world.
He held her fast, his big body pressing her back against the wall, and she felt a shaft of desire so intense that she shivered. Everywhere his body touched hers she burned. She only realized that she’d quit struggling and was standing perfectly still, staring up at him with God knew what expression, when his face, which had been taut with anger, changed. His eyes narrowed and the tension that had thinned his mouth into a straight line eased and— He bent his head and kissed her.
What started out as a testing, a tasting, a question on his part, changed the moment she answered, the moment he felt her response. That was when his mouth turned hard and hungry and demanding, and he started kissing her like he could never get enough of her mouth. The blast of heat he ignited inside her blew her away. Her heart pounded. Her pulse raced.
She closed her eyes and kissed him back as if she’d been dying to have him kiss her like that. Her lips molded themselves to his and her tongue answered his as he learned everything there was to know about her mouth. He kissed her with a carnality that was like nothing she had ever experienced, and fireworks went off against the screen of her closed lids. Bones melting, senses reeling, she kissed him back the same way. When he let go of her wrists to wrap his arms around her and pull her even closer against him, she slid her hands up over his broad shoulders and curled them around his neck, and clung to him like her life depended on it.
He took her mouth again and again, in a series of long, slow, drugging kisses that stripped away every last ounce of her reserve, that made her head spin, that made her body pulse and burn, that had her kissing him back just as fervently. He kissed her like he was starving for the taste of her, like he never meant to stop. She didn’t want him to stop. Arching up against him, she told him so in every way she possibly could that didn’t involve words. Words were beyond her. Thoughts were beyond her. All she could do was feel.
The chemistry between them was off the charts. She could feel it sizzling in the air. It was there in the heat of their linked hands, in the intensity of their locked gazes. The blistering kisses they’d shared were permanently branded in her memory. Her body was aware of his like a flower is aware of the sun.
Here, she realized with a blinding flash of insight, was the key to the prison she’d been locked in. She might die tomorrow. Was she really going to let the poor maimed thing her life had become be the last chapter of her existence? He wanted her. Well, she wanted him, too—badly. There was no logical reason why she shouldn’t take what she wanted. She didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant: she had long-term protection from that. And if they weren’t together permanently, so what? There was nothing wrong with being together for right now. She could have a relationship with a man with forever potential later. Forget getting involved with him: that didn’t have to happen. To put it in his terms, they could simply get it on. This thing with Cal would be her very own red-hot love affair, an icebreaker to catapult her back into the sexual arena. When this nightmare was over, if they survived and parted, maybe she’d be on her way to being free to live her life again. The prospect intrigued her. The thought of sleeping with Cal dazzled her. It made her heart start to pound.
She was still shaking, still shuddering, still gasping for breath, when he levered his big body on top of her and pushed himself inside her so fiercely that she cried out. He was hard and hot and filled her to capacity and then some. He took her with a single-minded ferocity that had her quaking and burning and wanting again, and she did the only thing she could do: wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and held on. It was the most erotic experience of her life, and the end, when it came, was so hot and intense that she thought she would die right there and then from the sheer explosive pleasure of it. She bucked, and clung, and cried out his name. “Cal! Cal, Cal, Cal!” He drove into her one final time, groaning as he found his own release. Then he held himself shuddering inside her.
She closed her eyes with one of her sexy little moans that made every muscle in his body tighten, every time she did it. Then, with his fingers moving purposefully in and out, with her body undulating on top of his like she was deliberately trying to drive him out of his mind, with her panting and flushed on top of him and her nipples practically branding his chest and enough heat rising off the pair of them to steam up the air, she opened her eyes, gave him a dead-sexy look, and said in a throaty growl, “I knew there was a reason I pulled you out of the sea.” That surprised a laugh out of him. First time he could remember laughing while he was in the middle of some serious foreplay, with his cock begging for action and his balls aching like they were getting ready to explode. “Lucky me,” he said, meaning it, and rolled so that she was beneath him again.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Paperwhite Length: Novel Genre: Western Historical POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Dell Hero: Seth Archer Heroine: Olivia Morrison Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: December 18, 2007 Started On: April 21, 2023 Finished On: May 20, 2023
He staged a predatory assault upon her senses, determined, ruthless, driven by a fierce passion that overwhelmed every inhibition she had ever had.
Karen Robards’ “Ghost Moon” is a suspenseful and emotionally charged novel that weaves together elements of romance, family secrets, and chilling mystery. The story begins with a haunting scene from 1969, where a young girl is murdered in her sleep, a girl who had been terrified of the monsters lurking in the shadows. This tragic event sets the stage for a tale that spans three decades, culminating in a gripping narrative of past and present that meshes well together.
26 year old Olivia Morrison, returns to her childhood home, LaAngelle Plantation, after a prolonged absence. As a single mother, Olivia brings her eight-year-old daughter, Sara, back to a place filled with painful memories and unresolved emotions. Once the glamorous and rebellious member of the prestigious Archer clan, Olivia has fallen on harder times and is barely making ends meet. Her return is anything but uneventful, as she is immediately confronted with family tensions, especially with 37 year old Seth Archer, her step cousin that she had faithfully followed around until things had gotten complicated between the two.
Olivia’s homecoming stirs up long-buried memories that haunts her, including the trauma of her mother’s death, and the family dynamics that left her feeling like an outsider. Her struggles to reconcile her past mistakes with her present, and forge newer bonds with the family that she had left behind, made me root for her wholeheartedly.
Meanwhile, the darker elements of the story continues, with chilling accounts beginning from 1979 of young girls kidnapped from their beds. These incidents, echoes eerie similarities to the murder that sets the opening stage of the novel, and brings to the story a different kind of tension that winds the reader up as the story progresses. The recurring theme of young girls fearing monsters in the shadows underscores the lurking danger which echoes patterns of parents being dismissive of their fears as mere fantasies until each and every one of them are taken, never to be found ever again.
Ms. Robards masterfully captures Olivia’s complex emotions as she navigates the memories of her mother’s mysterious death and her difficult past with Seth. The chemistry between Olivia and Seth is tangible, their shared history adding delicious nuances to the story which I reveled in. Seth, who once acted as a protective older brother, now finds himself battling his renewed attraction to Olivia, despite his engagement to another.
Obviously the one factor that I thoroughly loved was the friction between Olivia and Seth and the push and pull that draws them tighter together. There is no denying that both feel the same way about the other, and the delivery on that front I would have to say, was classic Ms. Robards, who does a mean job on the built-up sexual tension in her novels.
While Ghost Moon delivered a great story for the most part, I felt that it occasionally faltered in its pacing. I for one would have loved to learn more about the villain and their backstory, as they brought a facet to the story that kept me intrigued throughout. I am always keen on understanding well crafted villains, as much as I adore the main protagonists and want to know as much my heart desires about them. What makes the villain tick? What made them into who they are in the stories? What role did society play to create such monsters to begin with? I would have loved to learn more on that score.
Recommended for fans of romantic suspense, with a good dose of spicy romance on the side, along with the family theatrics that keeps the pages turning.
Final Verdict: Ghost Moon is a compelling read that blends romance and mystery with a Southern Gothic flair and an eerie undertone of lurking danger of the heart pounding variety.
Favorite Quotes
‘‘Seth,’’ she whispered, unable to help herself as her chin tilted up and her mouth moved infinitesimally closer to his. ‘‘Better?’’ he asked, and his voice was hoarse. His gaze slid from her eyes to her mouth and back. Olivia nodded. Her breathing had quickened, and so, she saw, had his. From her shoulders down her body was so close to his that they were practically fused together. Some of it was her fault—she pressed against him like they were two halves of the same piece of Velcro. But his arms were wrapped around her, too, and he wasn’t letting her go.
‘‘Jesus Christ, Olivia.’’ His voice was thick, hoarse, almost unrecognizable. This time he moved, pulling her up on tiptoe as his mouth came down on hers. His mouth slanted across hers with fierce hunger. His tongue slid between her lips, touching hers, possessing her mouth. Olivia kissed him back just as fiercely, opening her mouth for his taking, possessing his in turn. She couldn’t get enough of him, just as he, it seemed, couldn’t get enough of her.
He took her fiercely, driving into her with an urgency that made her strain and buck and writhe in frenzied response. Her hips arched up off the bed to receive him. She shook, and clung, and at the end, when the firestorm took her, cried out his name. ‘‘Livvy,’’ he groaned in response, huge and hard and hot as he thrust into her trembling body. ‘‘Ah, Livvy.’’
Format: E-book Read with: Kindle for iPad Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Hero: Sam Eastman Heroine: Lisa Bennet Collins Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: April 05, 1988 Started On: September 23, 2016 Finished On: September 24, 2016
39 year old Sam Eastman is a mercenary soldier working within the borders of Rhodesia, amidst the civil war that was taking place. A single father, Sam is determined that no job is too despicable if it were to get him the money he needed to start over.
25 year old Lisa Bennet Collins is the rich socialite heir apparent, who had pretty much had her life handed to her on silver platter. She had believed that happiness was hers for the taking, and simply followed the steps which she thought would bring her that. Getting engaged to the dreamily handsome football-playing son of a state senator had been the natural progression of that life, until it had all come crashing down, bit by bit.
A lifetime later, when Lisa turns up in Rhodesia as part of an assignment that would propel her into a career where she could write stories that actually mattered, she gets into more trouble than she bargained for, and gets rescued by none other than Sam. Their attraction to each other is instantaneous, their coming together as passionate as it gets, giving Lisa pleasure of the kind she has been denied all her life.
What happens next is what makes the story a hard pill to swallow. Misunderstandings, plus the behavior on the part of both Sam and Lisa makes it difficult to identify which character you should be rooting for. Like many readers, I felt that Sam was an asshole of the first order. Given that, I do have to mention the fact that his past, the scars he carries from a marriage that had eviscerated the man he was, his childhood; all of that contributed towards making him react the way he does. Inexcusable, but I understood where all that stemmed from.
Lisa on the other hand, is just as scarred, but in a different way compared to Sam. It is not easy for Lisa to relate to a man of Sam’s caliber, masculinity, and brashness, but in his arms Lisa does find what she has been craving for, what she had not thought possible all her life. Her scars run just as deep, and somewhere along the way, fall she does, and hard, for Sam and his touch that brands her as his right from the start.
The ending was what saved the story from being categorized as one of those reads that most women wouldn’t find pleasure in reading. I believe that the time apart gave Lisa as a character the time to grow, to learn how to stand on her own, which I see as something important if you are to love someone the way she loves Sam. The groveling was done to a fine art on the part of Sam, with him going after Lisa proving to be the saving grace, which otherwise I would have probably thrown my e-reader to the wall.
Recommended for those who can take a hero who is pretty rough around the edges, who will test your patience, and reforms to a point where you can at least think about forgiving him for all that was said and done.
Final Verdict: In To Love a Man, Robards delivers a hero that might not be for everyone.
Favorite Quotes
He thrust into her with hard urgency, and Lisa gasped with pleasure, thinking she would die of pure bliss. His answering growl inflamed her. She rose and fell with him as he moved in, then out, then in again, in a relentless, driving rhythm. Her head was thrown back, her mouth wide open as he took her, her nails digging mindlessly into his muscled back. There was no room in her head for anything except the wonder of her own need. Then his hands closed over her buttocks, lifting them so that he could thrust more deeply inside her, and his mouth clamped over hers with a harsh groan. Lisa could stand no more. Pleasure that had been denied for years burst gloriously inside her, and she cried out against his mouth. He felt her joy and responded with one final, savage thrust, holding himself inside her, shaking. Then it was over.
“God,” she heard him mutter. The word sounded strangled. Then his hands were tugging at her shorts, his fingers shaking as he fumbled with the knotted rope that served as her belt. She lifted her hips off the ground, aiding him as he dragged her shorts and panties and shoes off together. Then his big body was upon her, his weight crushing her into the ground as his hands thrust her bra out of the way of his marauding mouth. “Now,” she cried, moaning, her legs opening to him of their own volition. “Oh, now, Sam, please, now!” He thrust into her urgently, his hardness impaling her soft flesh.
Format: E-book Read with: Kindle for iPad Length: Novel Genre: Historical Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Dell Hero: Matt Mathieson Heroine: Caroline Wetherby Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: July 1, 1991 Started On: September 21, 2016 Finished On: September 21, 2016
32 year old Matt Mathieson, is the widowed and single father of two boys, going two years since his wife had died. Determined never to marry again, Matt’s life and that of his small family changes drastically when his wife’s sister turns up on his doorstep, having traveled all the way from England.
22 year old Caroline Wetherby is the beautiful half sister of Matt’s deceased wife. Having being left destitute with the death of their father who had made his life in the gambling halls throughout the city, Caroline travels all the way to America to find refuge with her sister, someone she has not seen in 15 long years. Wary of what would happen, telling herself its a mistake, she nevertheless has no choice, only to turn up and realize that her sister is no more.
Though Matt does not want much to do with Caroline, a small part of him is unable to turn away from Caroline’s need for a place to stay. The practical side of his character tells him that they all need a female presence around them, that his boys need a motherly influence in their lives. Against the wishes of his boys, Matt offers her shelter in return for her services as a female of the household, never knowing truly, how Caroline would prove to him that she is unlike any woman he has known before and would ever come across again.
This Side of Heaven has a trope that I love reading about. The reluctant and widowed hero, who for whatever reason believes that he would never remarry and the woman who turns up and throws his life into complete disarray. That was one of the reasons why I picked up this title, plus the point that I am a fan of Karen Robards, mostly of her earlier works. Though some of her books have failed to deliver on a large scale, the ones that do, do so remarkably well, which is one reason why I keep revisiting her older titles every now and then.
Though I liked the story that unfolded, the slow sizzle of awareness between Matt and Caroline, the story that I envisioned for them failed to materialize in between. On the plus side, Matt was not a hero of the asshole variety, as most heroes tend to be in earlier historical novels. However, their coming together was not the joyous and fireworks filled affair I thought it would be – at first. Nevertheless, Matt & Caroline were characters that grew on me.
Though the ending where Caroline nearly meets her maker at the hand of the villagers who see her for something else other than what she is proved to be sort of anticlimactic, I would still recommend This Side of Heaven because I enjoyed reading this in one sitting.
Final Verdict: Though not Robards’ best, This Side of Heaven delivers a great read!
Favorite Quotes
Matt looked at her for a long moment without answering, his face dark and his eyes restless. Then he laughed, a short, harsh sound that had nothing of amusement in it. “What does that mean, my poppet? Are you sure you want to know? But I’m going to tell you, since you’ve asked, whether you want to hear it or not. It means that you’ve been a raging fever in my blood for months. I can’t think, I can’t work, I lie awake nights going mad with wanting you. Is that enough to send you flying back to the house, or do you want to hear more?”
He kissed her as if he was starving for the taste of her mouth, kissed her as if he’d been hungry for eternity and, now, having been offered the sustenance he sought, was determined to have his fill. This was no gentle wooing, but a hard, needy taking, and Caroline could do nothing but cling to his shoulders and open her mouth to his and yield.
“Trust me, poppet,” he whispered in her ear. Caroline was briefly reminded of Eve and the serpent, who must once have murmured something very similar. But then his long fingers were moving lower yet, sliding down between her legs to touch her there so gently that the fire that ignited inside her as a result was almost shameful, and she no longer entertained any rational thoughts at all. Because surely that undemanding pressure should not in itself be enough to create such an inner burning! It was like liquid fire, a most pleasurable liquid fire that made her breathing quicken until she was almost panting and her body writhe against the hand that caressed her and the hard male body pressed close against her back.
“God in heaven!” he muttered as her lips brushed the whitened ridge and were withdrawn. The grin disappeared entirely in favor of a grimace as his eyes flared and turned dark “Then he was pushing her back down and lowering himself atop her, kissing her as if he would steal her very soul, his hands everywhere, caressing and arousing and possessing, lifting her legs to encircle his waist even as his body staked the most primitive claim of all.
Format: E-book Read with: iBooks for iPad Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Dell Hero: Thomas S. Quinlan Heroine: Veronica Honneker Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: January 12, 1998 Started On: August 23, 2016 Finished On: August 24, 2016
Karen Robards is an author I have good memories of even though I don’t read her as often now as I used to. Some of her books like Wild Orchids has been in my favorite shelf since forever, books that I continue to revisit every now and then because of the sheer pleasure they bring to me. The Senator’s Wife is a novel that might not be very well received by readers of the genre. Looking at the ratings on Goodreads, it is fair to say that it is pretty much true. Published in 1998, Karen Robards puts together a heroine who is married, a hero who would rather not mix business with pleasure and gives a combustible story that contains elements of suspense to it that I absolutely reveled in.
Veronica Honneker (Ronnie) grew up dreaming of a better life. A life where she would not have to worry about money and putting food on the table. She had basically modeled her life to reach that goal. And in becoming a senator’s wife, she basically clinched the deal and shouldn’t have been feeling like an empty shell wondering whether the price she had paid to get where she was had become too high. Someone who has to put up a strong wall of pretense just to get through every single day on the campaign trail to get her husband re-elected is not the life she had in fact envisioned for herself.
Then comes Thomas S. Quinlan to polish up her image, to help get the Senator re-elected. With Tom’s reputation on the line, he can hardly believe it when he starts seeing Ronnie in a light that others seldom see. The way she tempts him to take a walk on the wild side, everything else be damned, is a feeling he certainly does not like or particularly want. But fate has a way of bringing these two together time and yet again, and though Tom might despise himself for lusting after the wife of another man, it is a losing battle that he wages with his inner caveman when it comes to Ronnie.
At first, Ronnie for me was a difficult character to love. She came off as vain, selfish and more interested in materialistic benefits that are to be had in the world. But then, as the story progressed, she started to change, subtly and then more visibly, until I grew to love her as much as I did Tom right from the very start. Tom is a hero who is earthily sexy in a way that few heroes of recent times tend to be. Men depicted as they should be perhaps, what I miss dearly in most romances of today.
Most readers would definitely not like this story because of the aspects of adultery involved in the novel. But then, I believe that that is life for you. Sometimes your happily ever after starts and evolves from a messy tangle that you think would never sort itself out. It is a hard and treacherous road that one takes. But sometimes, it does give one the happily ever after they would never have had otherwise. Of course, circumstances has to be right for readers to be able to muster up sympathy for the character. I believe that Karen Robards did justice to Ronnie’s character by not painting her in such a light – I liked the story better this way.
Definitely recommended for those that love unconventional stories!
Final Verdict: Unconventional in the emotions it elicits, The Senator’s Wife makes for a compulsive page-turner!
Favorite Quotes
For a moment he just stood there, unmoving, while her hand slid behind his neck and her mouth coaxed his. She watched his reaction from beneath lowered lids. His eyes were open and fixed on her face. When her tongue slid between his closed lips, he stiffened. She could sense resistance in every hard line of his body; she worked her fingers down inside his shirt collar at the back of his neck, caressing his warm skin. At the same time, she drew his lower lip into her mouth and bit down. Dark color suffused his face. He made an inarticulate sound. Then his lids shut, his mouth opened, and the hand that held hers prisoner between their bodies released its grip to slide around her waist. He took control of the kiss with a thoroughness that dazzled her.
“God, I’ve wanted this,” he said in a low, hoarse voice. Then he was yanking her panties down her legs and rolling on top of her and kissing her with quick, savage movements that told her that he, too, had reached the limits of his control. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he slid between her thighs, so ready for him that she thought she would die if she had to wait another second. He thrust inside her, huge and hot and hard, driving deep and fast over and over again until she was mindless, crying out at the wonder of it, gouging his back with her nails until at last she came with an intensity that she had never dreamed she was capable of, her preconceived notions of herself and the world shattering into a million pieces as she cried out his name.
Without another word he picked her up and carried her to the bed. His lovemaking was hard and furious, nothing like the previous times. He demanded and she gave, entering her almost immediately, almost forcing her to a response that was shattering in its intensity. He set the pace, taking what he wanted, manipulating her expertly until she could do nothing but writhe and cling and cry out his name. The end, when it came, was explosive. Then he started up again.
She didn’t stop, couldn’t stop. Her hands were urgent, tugging at his snap, pulling down his zipper, reaching inside his boxers until his member was free. He was huge and hot and pulsing and alive, and she took him in her mouth, cupping the vulnerable softness beneath with tender care. She kissed and suckled and nibbled and bit until every breath he took sounded like a groan. Then his hands clenched in her hair. He pulled her mouth off him, yanked off his jeans, and dropped down on his knees in front of her. He pushed her onto her back in a glowing patch of moonlight, pulling her nightgown up and off as he did so. Lying on top of her, pulling her legs around his waist, he came into her hard.
Format: Paperback Read with: NA Length: Novel Genre: Historical Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Harper Collins Hero: Jocelyn San Pietro Heroine: Delilah Remy Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: December 26, 2006 Started On: April 15, 2012 Finished On: May 5, 2013
Desire in the Sun by Karen Robards is a book that has been sitting in my TBR pile since I bought a paperback copy of it when I was in Malaysia in 2009. I have been putting off reading this for one reason or the other and almost one year after I started reading, I actually managed to finish the story and loved it too!
Delilah Remy (Lilah) is the much pampered and only child of her very rich father who has ensured that she led a very privileged life growing up. Though Lilah dreams of being swept off her feet by some mysterious man who would turn up and make her heart beat faster and make her go all dewy eyed in remembrance, Lilah is of the mind that such things do not happen in real life. That is until Jocelyn San Pietro (Joss) happens into her life who shows her a glimpse of how wonderful it could be and everything goes so horribly awry afterwards.
One minute Joss is his own boss, the commander of his own life who has a feeling that meeting Lilah has changed his life in an inexplicable way and that life would never be the same for him ever again. The next, he faces ultimate betrayal and finds himself taken as a slave, his fierce pride and the anger that flares to life at the injustice nothing short of violent in its desire to be unleashed on those who caused the misfortune to befall on him.
Though it seems unlikely that Lilah and Joss would ever find a way to make things work for them, fate seems to have a different plan in store as they find themselves thrown together time and yet again. When stranded on an island with no one else to act as a buffer to the smouldering passion that is almost always a tangible part of the connection they have with each other, its inevitable that the dam burst open and the passion held on a tight leash find free rein in its abandoned glory.
The trials and tribulations that Joss and Lilah go through in their journey to finally be able to love each other freely and on their own terms was an amazing journey, every minute of which I loved. I loved both Lilah and Joss. I found Joss to be a refreshingly different hero from Jonathan, the hero from Island Flame and Sea Fire who turned out to be the material out of which ass-hole heroes are made of. Joss has this sweetness about him even though he is all alpha when it matters. Lilah seems to be the perfect fit for him and even though there were some gruesome bits to the story, there were those moments of hilarity that occurs between Joss and Lilah that gives the reader no choice but to laugh out loud.
All in all a very enjoyable historical romance by one of my favourite authors in the romance genre, recommended for fans of the genre and fans of Karen Robards.
Favorite Quotes
Lilah gasped as she felt the fiery heat probing against her. Then he was inside the first little bit and his hands on her hips were tugging her down, down until he filled her and she was squirming against the hugeness of him.”Love me,” he muttered again, the words thick. His eyes were glazed, his face flushed with passion.
Lilah cried out as his hands closed over them. As if that small sound had snapped something inside of him, he groaned and pulled her down to him so that he could take her breasts in his mouth. He suckled with savage hunger, his hands hard and hot on the silken roundness of her bottom as he held her still above him and ground himself upwards into her.
She clasped her arms around his back and lifted her hips to meet him as he thrust wildly inside her. At last, when he had brought her trembling to the brink and then pushed her over, she got what she wanted. As he convulsed inside her and groaned the words in her ear: “I love you, I love you, I love you.” Over and over, like a litany.
Format: E-book Read with: iBooks for iPad Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense Series: Standalone Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Hero: John Roberts “Max” Maxwell Heroine: Lora Susan Harding Published on: March 15, 2001 Started On: August 28, 2011 Finished On: August 28, 2011
Reading Wild Orchids by Karen Robards for the 3rd time doesn’t seem to have diminished my enjoyment factor of the novel by even one iota. Call me crazy but even with the massive amount of books I have on my review pile, I just had to pick this one up and read it in one sitting yet again because the magic that is Max and Lora is an unbeatable one for me.
37 year old John Roberts Maxwell (Max) is a man hardened by the reality of war that had been his way of life when he had been enlisted in the Vietnam war. Leaving a piece of his soul behind due to the decisions he had been forced to make, Max comes home a changed man, a man incapable of giving what his innocent wife had demanded of him. A cynic to the core, Max doesn’t realize that life as he knows it would cease to exist the moment he kidnaps the prim and proper Lora in his attempt to evade the authorities of Mexico.
27 year old Lora Susan Harding is finally a free woman with the right to while away her time as she pleases. Having spent most of her life trying to put others needs first, Lora is ecstatic with the thought of exploring the exotic Mexico, the first vacation she has ever taken in her life. However, from the very start, her vacation refuses to proceed along as she envisoned it and being kidnapped at gun point by a disreputable looking man with an American accent just seems to be the icing on the cake.
At first, Lora is scared out of her wits at the thought of the less than savory acts her captor might try and force on her. A lady through and through, Lora hardly accepts herself to find her captor ridiculously sexy to the extent of ogling him and eating him up with her eyes every chance she gets. No stranger to the world of intimacy, Lora however has no clue that the uninhibited creature that emerges from deep within her that just wants to lick her delectable and broody captor from head to toe is a side of her that exists.
After Lora’s multiple attempts to escape which falls flat on her face every single time, Lora comes to the disturbing conclusion that she has a bad case of the Stockholme’s syndrome if judging the way all her emotions go haywire around Max is anything to judge herself by. Through a chain of events, Lora finds herself stranded in the midst of a Mexican jungle, depending on Max for her very survival. As the proximity heightens the already taut live wire of sexual tension between them, both Max and Lora find themselves to be no match for its heady power.
Wild Orchids would always remain by far my most favorite novel by Karen Robards. For some, Max might not be the stuff dreams are made out of. But when push comes to shove, Max is a man who delivers and Lord does he deliver! A man who is leery of commitment and relationships, Max cannot believe himself when he starts lusting after the prim schoolteacher who lands in his life. The harder he tries to shove her thoughts and presence out of his mind, the more tenacious her hold on him becomes and its a match that Max loses, rather ungraciously at first. Vital, sexy and the ultimate dangerous hero is how I would describe Max.
Lora’s character is an endearing mix of innocence and practicality all laced into one with a body that practically drives Max to the brink of insanity. It is the way she reaches far deeper than just his baser emotions that has Max struggling to shove her away with all his might, a man reluctant to share his demons with a woman Max thinks would be just as incapable of handling reality as his ex-wife had seemed to be.
Though towards the end, I definitely want a bit more grovelling from Max every time I read this one, I think the ending itself might be growing on me as I didn’t find it that sorely lacking the third time around. It seemed a fitting ending based on both Max and Lora’s characters and my bet is Lora loves Max too much to even give him enough leeway to do much grovelling even if it were to come to that.
The best thing about this book, hands down is the raw, explosive and primitive passion between two people that just serves as one whole session of sensory overload from start to finish.
Highly recommended!
Favorite Quotes
(Max) He shook his head impatiently. “You’ll be all right. I’ve got to go. Lora…” he hesitated, then with a muttered, “Hell!” swooped over her. Before she knew what was happening, he had her pinned back against the seat and his mouth was on hers, hard and hot and almost brutal in its demand. His hand was rough and warm on her breast. Lora’s senses exploded. She forgot the men outside the car, her anger with Max, everything as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a hunger that had been building inside her forever…
“Lora…” Her name was a tormented whisper as he kissed her harder, fiercer than before, as if he was starving for the taste of her mouth. She twisted in his arms, not trying to get away but to work her arms free… She managed to push them up through his crushing hold and lock them around his neck. He groaned deep in his throat, and she groaned too in protest as his mouth suddenly left hers. He was looking down at her, his breathing heavy, a wild glitter in his eyes. Lora lifted one hand from the corded nape of his neck and lightly stroked the rough, wet edges of his hair.
He smiled then, a slow smile that sent the blood racing through her veins. Lora felt the throbbing inside her intensify until she was sure she would not be able to stand it another second as he slowly, oh, so slowly, lowered his head. His target was her left breast. Lora felt his hot mouth close on the straining nipple, felt him tug the crest of her breast into his mouth to rub it with the rough wet surface of his tongue, and cried out in a frenzy of need. And in that instant he took her. She climaxed at once as he squeezed inside, enormous and hard and fiery hot and filling her to bursting.
Lora followed his eyes to the subject of their conversation. He was such a masculine man, tall and strong and sure of himself, cocky almost. A male chauvinist to his toenails, she suspected, as incapable of admitting to feeling hurt and lonely and afraid as a pig was of flying. But he was vulnerable too, enormously vulnerable. More than many people who openly asked for it, he needed love. He needed someone to hold him in her arms and convince him that what he had done was not so bad, was not unforgivable, did not put him beyond the pale of normal society. To convince him that he was lovable. And loved. And she meant to be that someone.
Funny, she had always thought that thin, bespectacled, intellectual types like Brian attracted her. Lora had to smile at her own naivete. Who would have guessed that she, Lora Harding, would buckle at the knees over a hunk of male beef?
Reviewers Note:From time to time, I get a hankering to re-read my favorite novels and sometimes I find myself with the urge revise the review that I had written down previously. Since I feel that revising a review that had been published a long time back is not something that ought to be done, I have resorted to start a new reviewing process aka the Re-Read Review. Books that rate a Re-Read Review would mostly be books that I am quite gushy about and cannot recommend highly enough!
Format: Paperback Read with: Paperback Length: Novel Genre: Romantic Suspense Series: Standalone Publisher: Dell Hero: Jess Feldman Heroine: Lynn Nelson Sensuality: 3 Date of Publication: August 24, 2011 Started On: May 22, 2011 Finished On: May 22, 2011
With the end of the world stuff circulating around the Internet and the world media, I picked up quite a fitting read for the occasion, and I promise you that it was all by coincidence. Karen Robards is a favorite author of mine and every now and then I pick up something of hers just to get my fix of Ms. Robards who delivers kick-ass romantic suspense with a superb dose of sensuality in almost all of her novels of the genre. Similarly Heartbreaker is a contemporary romantic suspense packed with non-stop action and a race against time as well as the bad guys with a heady mix of humor in it that makes this a great read!
35 year old Lynn Nelson, anchorwoman of WMAQ Chicago is on a vacation from Hell. Lynn had signed up for a 10 day long wilderness vacation just so she can try and work on her relationship with her 14 year old daughter Rory who seems to have a bone to pick with her lately. Lynn is not someone who is at all prepared to “bond” with nature and with her plans to spend more time with Rory backfiring in her face, Lynn is resigned to having a miserable time on the 1st vacation she has taken in 3 years when danger strikes propelling Lynn and her daughter to depend on the last person she would trust for survival.
35 year old Jess Feldman co-owns Adventure Inc. with his elder brother Owen. Jess is handsome, charming and easygoing and has the hots for Lynn from the moment she steps down from the plane to become part of the wilderness vacation which is promoted and carried out by Adventure Inc. And though Lynn makes her disdain for “fake” cowboys clear right from the start, Jess is glutton for punishment as Jess is a man who likes beautiful babes with “balls” as his brother Owen keeps saying.
When a freak accident of nature separates Lynn and Rory from the rest of the group, it is Jess who comes to their rescue, proving that he is the “real” cowboy material time and time again. Surviving the freak accident only to stumble upon one’s worst nightmare, Jess, Rory and Lynn are forced to run for their lives as they are chased through the forest not really knowing what lies in store for them. When a clearer picture emerges from the unfolding events, Jess and Lynn are horrified by the scale to which a mad man who is hell bent on achieving his prophecy of the world coming to an end become true, even if it means taking matters into his own hands, in the most devastating ways possible.
I loved the adventure aspect of this novel. The pace though at the very beginning of the novel tended to be a bit slow for me, once danger comes calling, there is no stopping the chain of events that follows making Heartbreaker a great adventure romance.
I loved Jess’s character. He is the furthest thing from being broody and tortured and all that that makes us ladies go weak at the knees. Contrary to that, Jess is charming, sexy as sin and has a way of teasing Lynn that just brings to light the his endearing qualities. Now before you all go on and think that he is a beta hero, let me stop you right there and say that every single inch of Jess is alpha through and through. When push comes to shove, he is the guy to you can depend on to save you and he certainly proves himself much more than able in ALL the areas that matter *wink*. And I damn near broke out into an applause each single time that Jess kept on surprising Lynn with his true character!
Though the romance aspect of the novel is kept at a minimal, that does’t make the impact of the sexual tension that rises between Jess and Lynn any less and of course the scenes of passion any less memorable. And I so loved the humor-filled tone of the whole story that just kept me on the verge of laughing out loud even through the most tension wrecked moments.
Moving onto Lynn, at first I was ready to project myself into the story and bitch slap her a time or two because she kept getting on my nerves with her less than wonderful attitude. But she does a wonderful job of turning herself around and knowing where her ballsy nature comes from helped in settling my emotions down where she was concerned. In the end, she turns out to be a champion as much as Jess and things do finally end on a happy note with her daughter Rory too! All in all, a very well rounded tale that earns 4 solid stars from the sunny side of life!
Format: E-book Read with: Amazon Kindle Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Standalone Publisher: Dell Hero: Will Lyman Heroine: Molly Ballard Sensuality: 3.5 Date of Publication: September 1, 1996 Started On: September 4, 2010 Finished On: September 4, 2010
Hunter’s Moon was the first book ever that I read from Karen Robards which made me ultimately fall in love with her stories and writing style. Though certain titles from Ms. Robards leaves a lot to be desired, most of her stories continue to enchant me and leave me wishing that there were more authors like Ms. Robards out there.
Hunter’s Moon starts off during the year 1982, when 12 year old Libby Coleman disappears on the night of 15th November never to be seen again. The story then continues 13 years later with Will Lyman from the FBI from Chicago who had worked on big time cases is assigned to chase the pettiest criminals he had the misfortune to come across in his career over in Kentucky. City born and bred, Will felt suffocated with the fresh air that he had to breathe in. Will knew that he landed with the assignment because his boss Dave Hallum was pissed off at him him for the fact that the criminals that he had been chasing on a case had blown up his cabin cruiser. For that alone, he had landed in Kentucky with John Murphy as his partner, who is as laid back as they come. Will who was naturally a quick talking, quick thinking and quick acting kind of guy found himself gritting his teeth with Murphy’s attitude. Will who was 39 years old, has an 18 year old son Kevin, and had been married to Kevin’s mother Debbie who had been killed in car accident two days after their son had turned 3 years old.
Will had been assigned to find out what was happening in the horse racetracks in Kentucky where Senator Paxton who bets on race horses suspected that something fishy was going on when his usual bets had turned up losses recently. Senator Paxton had asked his friend and Hallum’s boss to investigate and in turn the assignment had landed in Will’s hands. Will had found out that in fact, Senator Paxton’s suspicions were true and was laying down a trap to lure in Dan Simpson, the horse trainer of the Wayland farm, one of those suspected in substituting the actual racehorse with others and betting on them to draw in huge amounts of money. A burlap feed bag with 5000 dollars in cash had been placed inside the barn and Will and Murphy were monitoring what was going on when a woman whom neither Will nor Murphy has any clue who she is, finds the bag of cash and leaves with it.
Molly Ballard had quit her job at the Wayland Farm four days ago in a fit of fiery temper when Thorton Wayland, the obnoxious grandson of the stable owner had grabbed her butt. Molly knew that her family could not afford the loss of her job and she was determined that Dan Simpson, her boss would pay her the two week’s pay that he owed her. Knowing Dan and his ego, Molly knew that he might refuse to pay what he owed her. Thus Molly had come in earlier than usual before Dan came in so that she would have no chance of missing him. It is inside the barn that Molly finds the bag of cash and without thinking takes it and goes home.
When Molly realized what she had done, the recriminations of her actions had slowly started to sink in. If she were to go to jail or if someone were to kill her for the money, Molly knows that there would be no one else to look out for her 4 younger siblings. Molly had been a baby when her father had walked out on them. Her mother being a manic depressive had born 4 more kids, each for a different man. Ashely who was 17, Mike 14 and Sam and Susan who were twins were 12 years old. With an unreliable mother, Molly and her siblings had all spent their early childhood in various foster homes until Molly had turned 18. Together with her mother, Molly had brought her siblings home and things had been good for a while until her mother had committed suicide in her newest boyfriend’s apartment. It was Molly who had found her with her slashed wrists and blood everywhere. Molly had never notified the authorities of the fact that her siblings were living with her and thus looked after the 4 of them and she wouldn’t have it any other way even though money was always tight and they barely got by.
When Will shows up on her doorstep, Molly fears that everything in her life is about to come crashing down. Mortified more than anything that she had indeed stolen the money and with Will having videotaped evidence of the fact, she is more than relieved when Will believes her version of what happened. But when the informant that Will and Murphy had been relying upon commits suicide, Will needs to work out another plan to make his case work. Thus Will approaches Molly again, this time offering her the 5000 dollars if she would help him nab those he was after. With Will holding all the cards, Molly knows that she has no choice but to do as Will has asked and she agrees to pose as Will’s girlfriend for the duration of the assignment.
Unwittingly, Will who has always maintained perfect control on his emotions and had never mixed his professional life with his personal one suddenly finds himself yearning to do just that with the delectable Molly. At first, Will had felt sorry for the hand life had dealt Molly and her family, but then the stirrings of attraction and awareness begins unlike any he has ever felt before. Will knows he is too old for a 24 year old woman who looks like a teenager at the best of times. Molly who has never had a lack of male companions and had always had the upper hand with the men she dated finds herself out of her depth with the intense emotions she feels for Will. Molly knows that if she is not careful, she would end up falling for a man who would leave them all when the case was over. Nevertheless, the careful control Will yields on his emotions breaks apart and both Molly and Will decide to give in to what they feel for each other.
When Molly falls in love with Will though she tries so hard to deny it and walk away from it, in the end it is Will who walks away when unknowingly Molly stumbles upon the evidence that supports Will’s case. After a final showdown in which both Will and Molly say things that they regret to each other, Will goes back to Chicago and life continues though the pain Molly feels is unlike anything she has ever known. And then 3 weeks later, on the 15th of November, tragedy strikes when a bunch of violent horse mutilations on various nights throughout October culminate in Susan being kidnapped whilst in bed asleep and it is this turn of events that brings Will running back to Molly. Will has to face the fact that what he feels for Molly and her package deal is the forever kind of emotions before its too late for all of them as the maniac killer who had laid dormant for the past 13 years is back with a vengeance and in a frenzy to kill.
Will is an intense hero who makes me melt all over and Molly and her family bring a heartwarming glow to this wonderful romantic suspense novel. The witty banter between Will and Molly always brought a smile to my face and the intense attraction that simmers between the two is always something to be savored. My favorite scene from the book is when Will loses his legendary control with Molly because he is so infuriated with her and they have sex on top of his car, right before he walks out of Molly’s life. That scene was HOT!
A Maldivian's Passion for Romance 