Review: Byte Marks by Mardi Ballou
May 12, 2008
Laura J’s review of Byte Marks by Mardi Ballou
Contemporary paranormal romance eBook novella released by Samhain Publishing 13 May 08
I like paranormal romances but I prefer that they are on the lighter side. I love Mary Janice Davidson and Kimberly Raye’s vampires and even though Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampires are a little darker and more suspenseful, I still find the humor and mystery outweighs the suspense you find in most paranormals. This book was definitely for book for those who are like me, the ones who want sexy vampire heroes, some good vampire loving and a good storyline to go along with that.
Tags: 2008, Byte Marks, Contemporary Romance, eBook, Erotic, Grade C, Laura J, Mardi Ballou, May 2008, Novella, Review, romance, Samhain PublishingReview: To Catch a Cheat by Kelley St. John
May 10, 2008
Finn’s review of To Catch a Cheat by Kelley St. John
Contemporary romance released by Forever 1 Nov 07
Marissa Kincaid is a serial cheater dater. She only seems to date men who cheat. She and her friends decide to start a database of cheaters to warn other women of the horrible men who have broken their hearts.
Tags: 2008, Contemporary Romance, Finn, Forever, Grade A, Kelley St. John, November 2007, Review, To Catch a CheatReview: Natural Born Charmer (Chicago Stars, Book 7) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
April 29, 2008
Sandy M’s review of Natural Born Charmer (Chicago Stars, Book 7) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Contemporary Romance Audiobook published by HarperAudio on 6 Feb 07
I’m glad I listened to the audio of this book instead of sitting down and reading it. The characters are simply wonderful, so full of depth, and hearing them coming to life was so much better than anything I could have come up with in my head. The humor and the emotion of those characters deserved to be spoken, to be appreciated. In putting this review together, I found out the woman who narrated the book, Anna Fields (her real name was Kate Fleming) has passed away since her perfectly read narration. What a loss for those of us who enjoy audiobooks. She was one of the best.
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Review: A Month From Miami by Barbara Meyers
April 25, 2008
Laura J’s review of A Month From Miami by Barbara Meyers
Contemporary Romance released by Samhain 4 Mar 08
In this light romantic comedy, Kaylee Walsh is headed to Miami for a new life. She is tired of being stuck in a small town, tired of her loser ex-boyfriend and ready for a change. Now she just has to get there, if only her car would cooperate. She’s still at least a day’s drive to Miami and her new life, when her car breaks down and won’t restart. After walking into a town very similar to one Kaylee is anxiously leaving she finds a garage and a handsome mechanic to hopefully help get her on her way. Unfortunately for Kaylee, the repairs are going put a major damper in the money she has saved for her move and those jewels she found in the gas tank, well they’re not hers and she would rather not know where they came from.
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Review: Killer Secrets (Tempting SEALs, Book 5) by Lora Leigh
April 25, 2008
Sandy M’s review of Killer Secrets (Tempting SEALs, Book 5) by Lora Leigh
Contemporary Romance released by St. Martin’s 4 Mar 08
This book is intense. No other word readily comes to mind when thinking back over this story. From the moment we meet Ian, vowing to his tortured and comatose best friend that he will avenge Nathan’s nightmare at the hands of two of the world’s most notorious and bloodthirsty drug lords, we are caught up in the intensity of his life. His need for revenge. His need to rid the world of these monsters. His lust for the one woman who can distract him from his mission, and his need of and love for that woman to keep him sane and assure him of a future.
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Review: The Billionaire Next Door (O’Banyon Brothers, Book 1) by Jessica Bird
April 10, 2008
Sandy M’s review of The Billionaire Next Door (O’Banyon Brothers, Book 1) by Jessica Bird
Contemporary Romance published by Silhouette Special Edition 1 August 2007
Isn’t it just wonderful when you find a book you can’t put down, a book that calls to you, makes you feel a gamut of emotions, and gives you the romance you were looking for in picking the next book to read? Oh, and a hot hero to boot? Look no further. Jessica Bird has made the choice easy for your next read.
[Ed.: Read on to the end of the review for information about J.Bird’s plans for her next series…]
Tags: 2008, August 2007, Contemporary Romance, Grade A, Jessica Bird, Review, Sandy M, Silhouette Special Edition, The Billionaire Next DoorReview: Just a Taste by Deirdre Martin
December 27, 2007
Lawson’s review of Just a Taste by Deirdre Martin
Contemporary romance released by Berkley January 2, 2008
As a closet pseudo foodie (ok so I just watch way too much Food Network), this really appealed to me. Romance, rival chefs, and fun in the kitchen. Add in some emotional growth and wanting to move on and find love again, it could be a good thing.
Anthony is used to being top dog in Brooklyn. Though he’s not a classically trained, he’s got style, flair and a talent for home cooked Italian goodness that has helped his family restaurant grow in the last decade or so. Though he’s still grieving his wife, he’s starting to move on. He’s got to deal with his brother, a retired hockey player and now stay at home dad, but he can handle that. When Vivi barges through his kitchen, things start to change and maybe Anthony isn’t ready for it.
Vivi has come from France (full of mean sexist male chefs) to start fresh and be her own boss. With her is her half sister Natalie, who ends up causing lots of harm and very little good. Vivi wants to be neighborly and introduce herself to her restaurant neighbor, but she comes across as more a snooty know-it-all rather than a friendly person.
Vivi warms throughout the first half of the book as she and Anthony have some private, then public, cooking competition, which then leads to some pretty steamy sex. Though really, what serious chef actually would make love to someone for the first time in their own kitchen? Germs anyone? Kind of ick. . .
Vivi, though, starts to listen to things other than her heart and breaks things off with Anthony. To which the reaction could be something like “You two dance around each other, then get together, then spend the last 1/3 of the book dancing around each other again? WTF?” It rang false, and seemed to be something to throw a kink in the romance and make the book longer, rather than some justifiable romantic troubles.
It also didn’t seem to help that the discussions and descriptions of the foods seemed to have more chemistry than the lead characters did. Or maybe I was just happy to have a foodgasm due to such wonderful images of tasty foods.
One nice thing was the fact that though this was a part of a series, most of the rest are hockey books, one of which is about Anthony’s brother and sister-in-law (perhaps worth checking out due to seeing Anthony as a married man, or at least him before he met his wife? I don’t know), who have an integral secondary part of Just a Taste in helping run Dante’s and helping get Vivi’s restaurant off the ground.
Though a cute (and drool inducing) premise, the romance wasn’t up to standards with the cooking. Or maybe I didn’t like it because Vivi and her sister are French. . .I don’t know. The style was good, I liked the New York-isms and in general the relationships between characters were good, whether family or friend, if Vivi and Anthony had cooked up things in the bedroom as well as the kitchen it would have worked better.
Grade: C-
Tags: Berkley Sensation, Contemporary Romance, Deirdre Martin, Grade C, Just a Taste, Lawson, ReviewFor delizioso pasta, go to Dante’s. For a sumptuous Cordon Bleu, go to Vivi’s. To really heat things up, get them together.
Since his wife’s untimely death, Anthony Dante has thrown himself into his cooking, making his restaurant, Dante’s, a Brooklyn institution. So far, his biggest problem has been keeping his retired hockey star brother out of the kitchen. But now, a mademoiselle is invading his turf. And you know what they say: too many chefs spoil the neighborhood.
Stunning Vivi Robitaille can’t wait to showcase her tastebud-tingling recipes in her brand new bistro, Vivi’s. Her only problem is an arrogant Italian chef across the street who actually thinks he’s competition. The table is set for a culinary war until things start getting spicy outside of the kitchen…
Read an excerpt.
Kat Spencer’s Desert Island Survival Kit
September 11, 2006
(Limit to 10 items. Never let it be said I can’t be frugal.)
1. My cell phone charger. If I’d remembered to pack it the last time, I wouldn’t have gotten stranded in the first place.
2. A boat. Another key item that could keep a girl from getting trapped on an island. The last one was blown to smithereens by some scary guys, but at least Brock Denton my long lost lust, now an FBI agent was there to protect me. On the other hand, who needs a boat when you’ve got Brock?
3. Sunscreen. I remembered to take the sunscreen last time, but I sort of forgot to put it on when I got the bright idea to sunbathe topless before Brock’s surprise arrival. You see where this is going Major ouch.
4. Some clothes. On that last trip, I thought all I would need was a bikini. Then Brock showed up. Good thing he didn’t mind me being scantily clad.
5. A radio. Of course, the little island in the Gulf of Mexico picked up just one station that played only 70’s music, but it kind of grew on me.
6. Romance novels. Those sexy books by Toni Blake totally flip my trigger! I get so caught up in them that I could almost forget about Brock. Yet that’s a big almost, since he’s total romance hero material, right down to that sexy tattoo. I’d tell you where it is, but it’s a secret.
7. A gun. Yikes, a gun? Shocking, but true. I’m not exactly a weapons expert, but a gun sure would have come in handy when those bad guys were chasing us around the island.
8. My secret stash of frozen Milky Ways. They hit the spot after being chased by bad guys. I even shared with Brock.
9. My sparkly pink flip flops. Not great for outrunning gun-wielding whack jobs, but they’re soooo cute, and just because a girl’s stranded doesn’t mean she can abandon her fashion sense.
10. Brock Denton. Mmm, what can I say - it’s hard to want to be rescued when you’ve got Brock and a hammock and no place to go. Just so happens he didn’t have many clothes, either. Lucky me!
Hell on Wheels by Karen Kelley
September 6, 2006
Hell on Wheels by Karen Kelley
No doubt about it: Cody Carlyle is the hottest bounty hunter around with a well-deserved reputation for bringing in the toughest skips. If she’s learned one motto in this business-and in life-it’s this: never turn your back. Never give an inch. And never, ever offer your heart.
Fellow bounty hunter Josh Pierce has had his eye on Cody’s every luscious curve for quite some time. The hunky ex-undercover cop would love to show her that some things are worth believing in, things like the kind of ecstasy he’d happily show her in bed. Hey, fighting this kind of white-hot attraction is just wrong. So why not give in to a little Josh Pierce temptation? Why not share one amazing, toe-curling night of indescribable, head-scrambling passion and then walk away, no hard feelings? But the night they spend together is beyond amazing. It’s sheer bliss. Not that it could ever happen again. Could it?
What was supposed to be a one-time deal is quickly becoming a very tempting habit—one they could stop at any time, of course. Like after the next time. Or maybe next week—no rush. Suddenly, two bounty hunters who never believed in anything are open to everything, scared of it all, and ready to discover what happens when you go after the biggest catch out there… true love…
Chapter One!
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Review: The Kept Woman by Susan Donovan
July 9, 2006
Sybil’s Review of The Kept Woman by Susan Donovan
Contemporary Romance released 27 June 06 from St. Martin’s
I liked!
There was a big plot hole, at least in my mind that just has to be over looked. The fact that this is such a big fat hairy deal Sam has to sign a confidentiality agreement it doesn’t make sense they (Jack, his people and Sam) keep telling people. Kara asks Sam be Jack’s fake fiancee in front of Monte and I get that Monte is Sam’s BFF. But duh… why doesn’t Monte have to sign an agreement? And the kids are told and good night they are kids! So this ’secret’ was set to spill from the get go.
Once I just got over that huge lil detail, and went with it, I found the whole story very amusing, quick, quirky and entertaining. Loads better than He Loves Lucy, which I didn’t enjoy at all.
And yes, Jack was a big ol bastard who has fucked his way through town but really so what? That is the point, rake falls in lurve! Right after they do the deed for the first time this cracks me up:
“Oh well, you know I wasn’t exactly suave. You felt too good for me to manage suave. And it’s been a while for me, too.”That made her laugh. “Oh?”
“It’ll be three weeks on Tuesday.”
“My God, how have you survived?”
He patted her shoulder. “I ask myself the same thing every day.”
hee, the whole scene is just a laugh, or maybe you just have to read it… hmm or I could just be twisted. OH! maybe all of the above
Anyway, the kids are a bit much at times and Sam has a serious TSTL moment at the end but neither killed my enjoyment factor. I will be looking for her next book…
Grade B
Tags: Contemporary Romance, June 2006, Review, St. Martin's, Susan Donovan, Sybil, The Kept WomanWHEN A GOOD-GIRL DIVORCEE
Playing by the rules has left Samantha Monroe with an AWOL ex-husband, maxed out credit cards, and the task of raising three children on a hairstylist’s salary. It’s time for a new game plan. When Sam learns that politician Jack Tolliver needs someone to play the part of his fiancee for six months in return for a generous paycheck, she’s ready to sign up on the spot.MEETS A BAD-BOY POLITICIAN
Jack needs Sam and her kids to help tone down his image from womanizing cad to dependable dad. But he was expecting Sam to be a frumpy single mom, not a wickedly smart, sexy redhead. Keeping nosey newshounds from discovering that his engagement is a charade is going to be a tough job, but one mind-blowing kiss from Sam and suddenly Jack is ready to put in all the overtime necessary…LOVE WINS IN A LANDSLIDE…
Now, with scheming opponents itching to bring Jack down, Sam’s ex returning to stir up trouble, one stubborn pre-schooler, two squabbling teenagers, a crazy dog, and some out-of-this-world sex, Jack and Sam are discovering that playing make-believe can be complicated-but not nearly as much as falling in love…
