Laura C’s review of Trouble Me by Laura Moore|
Contemporary Romance published by Ballantine 27 Mar 12

I probably should have given this book a pass after the first scene between the hero and heroine. Jade and Rob meet up after a number of years at a hotel far from home where they are both snowed in. They have a night of wild sex without exchanging names. Not even first names. And right there, that should have let me know this book isn’t for me, because, according to the back of the book, Jade is supposed to be going home to show how much she’s grown up and how she’s ready to settle down. And all I could think is “uh, yeah, because that’s a really responsible thing to do.”

And, yeah, Jade makes a big deal—when she breaks down and tells her sisters about the incident—to say she used condoms when she slept with Rob. And when she confronts him, she says he was just as guilty as she. But…she took a stranger up to her hotel room. A stranger who’s much bigger, much stronger, much more capable of harm than she is. She never once gives any thought to the fact that it might not be a great idea to do so without at least telling someone in the hotel or, for crying out loud, asking his name.

But I pushed on. And off Jade goes to the town where she grew up only to discover that Rob lives there, too, and is, in fact, the cop who repeatedly arrested her when she was a wild teen. It was during one of those arrests, while Rob was booking Jade, that his wife died. He blames Jade for her death, for keeping him from her, though he knows he shouldn’t. Which he tells himself repeatedly and even tells his mother. (I don’t know why that annoys me, but it did. Her reaction is good, though. She basically tells him to grow a pair, only in a maternal way.)

And then he finds out that Jade, the woman he blames, the woman he had a one-night stand with, is going to be his child’s second-grade teacher. Needless to say, he’s furious, but as soon as he gets her alone . . . in the classroom . . . on parents’ night at the school . . . they start making out. Both of these people need to grow up.

As well as teaching second grade, Jade plans to teach riding to children at the family horse ranch. There’s a lot of detail about pony buying, pony riding, pony training, and pony grooming. I found it interrupts the romance. I feel as if I were reading two books: one with characters always itching to jump into the sack and a second about the care and feeding of ponies. It’s . . . disconcerting.

If I subtract my own (admittedly prudish) sentiments about how careless Jade is with her own safety, this isn’t a bad book. It’s just not very exciting, either.

Grade: C

Summary:

The youngest and wildest of the Radcliffe sisters, Jade is the last to return home to her family’s sprawling Virginia horse farm and its unsettling memories. She never planned on a night of passion with a stranger before starting her new life as a teacher and riding instructor—or the shock of recognizing the man who gave her so much pleasure standing right there in her classroom.

Officer Rob Cooper is stunned. Not only is the woman who rocked his world his daughter’s second grade teacher, but she’s the troubled teen whom he blames for his wife’s death years ago. Worse, now that he sees her in the light of day, he wants her more than ever. Time has softened Jade’s hard, rebellious edge—she’s spirited, honest, and sexy to distraction. But will the feelings ignited in the heat of desire be enough to heal a past that needs forgiving?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

LynneC’s review of A Wicked Persuasion by Catherine George
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 1 Mar 12

In this series of loose adaptations of classic novels by Mills and Boon, Catherine George has taken on Jane Austen’s Persuasion. So now it’s time to come clean. Yes, I’ve read Persuasion once, when I was eighteen. Second confession—Jane Austen isn’t a favourite of mine. I find her tone dry. I appreciate that she was a revolutionary writer who brought the novel on another leap, but I’d far rather curl up with a good Dickens or Tom Jones or Evelina or even Tristram Shandy, if I’m feeling adventurous. They’re bursting with life and in comparison I find Austen’s comedies of manners less than enthralling. Even the revered Pride and Prejudice.

There, I said it. I don’t have to be ashamed anymore. So I’m reviewing George’s book as a stand-alone.

The heroine, Harriet, is a doormat of the first order. The origins of this loose adaptation are probably clearest in the character of Harriet. I can see the book working well as a period piece, but while George’s efforts to bring her up to date are worthwhile, Harriet is still, by modern standards, a doormat. She made a promise to her mother to keep the house River House, which was descended through her mother, not her father, and when the stock market crashes and her father’s unwise investments with it, the house is under threat. Harriet finds the solution – to let the house to agencies, film companies and suchlike, not her father, who is a useless, selfish person until much later in the book, when I’d lost all patience with him.

Ten years ago, her father has Harriet’s one and only love sacked when she says she wants to move in with him. Actually James isn’t sacked, he is transferred, and returns ten years later as the owner of his own company and wealthy. To get his revenge, although he’s a sensible man who won’t let revenge get in the way of company success, so that makes the plot and motivation a little muddy.

Harriet makes herself ill looking after her selfish sister’s child, arranging for the management of her selfish father’s house and doing her regular job. She’s an accountant, and she enjoys it (so there). Told you. Martyr. James looks after her, so naturally she thinks he’s there to see her in her misery, s0 tells him to go away. Then she goes away for a few days. James joins her, and they have some weird disagreement which I’m still not sure about, but which moves the plot along nicely to its black moment.

I got lost in this story. There are far too many characters for a short novel to hold. While Ms. George does a great job at giving each person basic characteristics, I couldn’t follow them all. Just got too confused eventually. There are sisters and fathers and friends and a would-be suitor, and, as a result, the romance is pushed into the background. James and Harriet just don’t get enough time together, and because they are old flames, their relationship is merely rekindled, not renewed and refreshed.

Austen had a much longer novel to expand and investigate all the characters. There’s also the problem that she wasn’t writing a romance as such, only a comedy of manners (which isn’t to say that the novel is funny, or no funnier than Shakespeare’s comedies). I don’t really care about Harriet’s relationship with her selfish sister or her selfish father (there are a lot of selfish fathers in Austen’s books, aren’t there?) I want to read about the developing romance between a more mature Harriet and James. And I want her to tell everyone to look after their own lives. She doesn’t, they sort their lives out for themselves, and then say sorry. So there is no redemptive moment for Harriet. I am convinced that she wouldn’t continue to organise everyone’s lives for them, especially with the ultimate outcome.

However, Ms. George is a great technical writer. Her style flows and her voice is easy and confident. She’s weathered the many storms in the Mills and Boon household with ease, and as one of the old-school writers, she’s done a lot to adapt to newer requirements and not stayed in the brutal alpha/weak female rut. I’ve read books of hers with much more confident, competent heroines, and I’m sure she’ll do more in the future.

Grade: C-

Summary:

A flame that never died… One glimpse of James Crawford’s roguish good-looks sparked a fire in young heiress Harriet Wilde that burned red-hot – until her father forced her to break off the relationship. No way was his daughter going to dilute the family line! Ten years later… James, now the head of a multi-million-pound empire, returns to get revenge on the woman who thought she was too good for him. He’ll make her feel every ounce of the humiliation he once did. But he only succeeds in fanning the flames of a fire he’d thought long dead…

No excerpt available.

C2’s review of Lucky in Love (Lucky Harbor, Book 4) by Jill Shalvis
Contemporary Romance released by Forever 22 May 12

It’s time to go back to Lucky Harbor and see what’s shaking with the quirky residents.  During this visit we find out what happens when the town’s favorite “good girl” has a stormy encounter with a man known only as “Mysterious Cute Guy.”  It might be time for the good girl to take a walk on the wild side.

Mallory Quinn is one of Lucky Harbor’s good girls.  Mallory is always around to lend a helping hand and does her best to take care of everyone – she’s a nurse, for crying out loud!  And like all good girls, Mallory is looking for Mr. Right.  Unfortunately, the last couple of Mr. Rights turned out to be all wrong.  So when her best friend tells Mallory maybe it’s time to have some fun with a Mr. Wrong, it doesn’t sound like such a bad plan.  All Mallory really wants is a date for an upcoming charity auction…she never expected for Mr. Wrong to literally fall at her feet.

Ty Garrison is a former Navy SEAL.  After he was the only survivor of a crash that killed the rest of his squad, he left the military and has been working for an independent contractor. Ty still goes out on missions and gets the adrenalin rush but has a bit more control over his assignments.  He is in Lucky Harbor recuperating from an injury he got during his most recent job.  One of Ty’s military buddies is now living in Lucky Harbor and has found him a house to rent and hooked him up with a local doctor to oversee his recovery.  Ty is ready to be back on the job – he is pushing himself too hard and his doctor knows it, though.  The last thing Ty expects is a tree to fall on him during a freak snowstorm – and one of his “rescuers” to set him up on a date with one of the others.

Mallory and Ty have instant chemistry – even though she doesn’t even know his name until he has to introduce himself to the very nosy auction-attending crowd – and spend part of the evening flirting.  When Mallory has to go to a storage area to look for a missing auction item, Ty goes along and – what do you know – there is a sofa conveniently in the storage area.  Just waiting for them to put it to good use, of course.  Wheeeeeeeee!

Ty knows Mallory is a good girl and that he should stay far from her, but being with her makes him feel different than he has in ages – more alive.  Mallory knows she should stay away from Ty, too.  He is only in Lucky Harbor for a little while and she has never been anywhere else, but doesn’t she deserve something that makes her feel good, even if it isn’t something a good girl would choose?

Oh, faithful reader, I love this kind of story!  When the hero and heroine know exactly why a relationship between them should never work but can’t resist.  Playing with fire FTW! Also?  Fire is hot and so is this book…it’s sweet, too.  Ty becomes more and more involved with the good folks of Lucky Harbor, whether he wants to or not.  And Mallory finally starts to show people who she really is – maybe not always the good girl but a strong woman.

Does this book stand alone?  It does, actually.  Certainly, if you’ve read the other Lucky Harbor books, your reading will be enhanced, but it isn’t strictly necessary – but read them, why don’t you?  It’s a very enjoyable series.  :)  Also, this book is the first of a trio of connected books – each of the other Chocoholics gets her Happily Ever After very soon.  If you’re looking for a sweet, sexy, entertaining small-town romance, look no further.  Ms. Shalvis is a master.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Mallory Quinn has had enough of playing it safe. As a nurse and devoted daughter, she takes care of everyone but herself. And as the local good girl, she’s expected to date Mr. Right. But for once, she’d like to take a risk on Mr. Wrong. And who could be more wrong than Ty Garrison? The mysterious new guy in town has made it clear that he’s only passing through, which suits Mallory just fine. Besides, his lean, hard body and sexy smile will give her plenty to remember once he’s gone…

For the first time in his life, Ty can’t bear to leave. Helping this sexy seductress-in-training walk on the wild side is making him desire things he shouldn?t?including leaving the military for good. As their just-for-fun fling becomes something more, Mallory and Ty wonder if they could really be this lucky in love. After all…anything can happen in a town called Lucky Harbor.

Read an excerpt!

Other books in the series:

Sandy M’s review of Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss by Maya Banks
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 6 Mar 12

Every chance I get, I read Maya Banks. So I was happy to pick up her Harlequin Desire, Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss. While it doesn’t satisfy as much as Ms. Banks’ romantic suspense books, it’s still a fun and emotional read.

Ashley is one of those young, effervescent, happy people. She’s been sheltered, is still a virgin, and is in love with Devon, a business associate of her father’s. They’re engaged to be married, and life couldn’t be any better for her. What she doesn’t know is her father has basically pushed Devon into a corner concerning the merger of their two companies. Though Devon wants to tell Ashley the truth, her father insists secrecy is the way to go. He just wants his daughter taken of. So marry her or no merger. Not a very smart move, Dad.

Devon is also in that category early on. He doesn’t love Ashley. And he doesn’t have any problem telling her that, along with the things he doesn’t like about her, that she needs to change to fit into his world. Yes, you don’t like Devon very much at this point. But you have to realize – what he doesn’t realize yet – is that he does have feelings for her, and you see that in the way he makes love to her. Though he’s in change-Ashley mode, in private they do have chemistry, even if Devon doesn’t look at it that way. It took me some thinking after finishing the book to look at it like this, and, of course, his turnabout, as always happens with a hero, helps.

But before all of that, Ashley discovers she’s pregnant and also learns of her father’s and Devon’s deal. Devastated, she is determined to be the wife Devon wants. We lose the happy, young woman who we met at the beginning of this book. In personality, dress, attitude, everything about her changes, exactly what Devon wants. However, she can only do this for so long. Ashley knows she can’t be someone else for anyone. She’s happy with who she is, and if that isn’t enough for Devon, well, he doesn’t deserve her.

It’s when Ashley leaves him that Devon realizes he does love her. He actually misses all those things he’s told her wants to change about her. Her bubbly personality, her whimsical clothing, and her constant smile have been imprinted on his heart and he wants them in his life again. He also know he’ll have to win her back so they can start their family together. For some folks Devon might give too little too late, but sometimes that’s how it goes in romance. It’s the fact he knows what he’s done wrong and he wants to remedy that mistake, do what it takes to make it up to Ashley that counts in this instance.

I’m actually surprised I feel this way about the story. Usually a young character such as Ashley will rub me the wrong way. It’s an age thing. As the years go by I prefer older characters, but I know I’m not going to get them as often as I’d like. Ms. Banks saves the day for me in this case, her deft hand at creating likable and sympathetic characters is always a treat. So Ashley does work for me, especially when she tries to change as Devon wants, becoming the wife he think he needs. Those scenes are quite emotional when she’s at war with herself.  Devon does have to grow on you for most of the book. It’s his insatiable desire for Ashley that keeps him in a good light, because I know he’ll realize what he’s lost in the end.

This is not my favorite Maya Banks book, but it’s one that makes you think, makes you take a second look because of life’s mistakes and how you own up to those errors. A nice read for a couple of hours one afternoon.

Grade: B

Summary:

Devon Carter was her first; now Ashley wants their passion to last. But her dreams of true love are crushed by the discovery that their marriage is another of Daddy’s business deals. Her strategy: act the part of perfect wife and make Devon love her.

But Devon misses the bubbly, no-holds-barred woman his wife used to be. Who is this Ashley with the steely demeanor of a society wife? And will he find a way to rekindle the fire in her eyes…especially now that she’s pregnant?

Read an excerpt.

C2’s review of Karma (Serendipity, Book 3) by Carly Phillips
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 1 May 12

Can two people whose lives have centered on guilt find a way to move forward with their lives and find happiness together? The third book in Carly Phillips’ Serendipity series gives us the answer.

Dare Barrons’ entire life has been colored by a high school incident that left a classmate dead.  When a fight broke out at a party, one of the guys fell hard on a concrete patio.  Panic followed and a lot of kids, Dare included, fled the scene.  Dare’s guilt over running away and remaining silent about what really happened had a huge influence over all his future choices – the foster home he went to after his parents were killed in a car crash and even his choice of careers.  Now Dare is a police officer in his hometown and he still has regular run-ins with the person responsible for their classmate’s death all those years ago.  The only small bright side is that Dare also gets to see the guy’s older sister when she comes to bail him out of jail.  She was the only reason Dare went to the party to start with – he had a crush on her and hoped to see her.

Liza McKnight’s life has mostly centered around her brother.  Her parents always thought he could do nothing wrong and she could do nothing right – they did everything they could to make her brother’s life easy.  Now that her parents spend most of their time away from Serendipity, taking care of Brian has become her responsibility.  He has a job at the family’s architectural firm but isn’t a diligent worker, by any means, and has a drinking problem that has him regularly in and out of jail.  Liza knows he needs more help than she can give him, but he is an adult. He helped her once in college when she really needed it and it has always been beaten into her brain that she is supposed to take care of him.

Liza had noticed Dare when visiting the police station to bail out her brother – hot guy in a uniform??  Yes, indeed.  But his open hostility to her brother and her general discomfort with the locals keeps her from being friendly.  And Dare’s high school crush on Liza?  Still crushing along, even though he thinks she is an enabler to her obviously troubled brother.

Really, Liza and Dare have a lot in common – both feel guilty about their parts in that high school party that went wrong, both had less than stellar childhoods. Just as they begin to explore a relationship, Brian gets into more trouble. There have been instances of missing money and mishandled accounts at Liza’s firm and Brian works in that department. When Brian goes missing and Liza’s brake line is cut, it seems his enemies are trying to get to him through her.

I appreciate the fact that Liza isn’t one of those too-stupid-to-live heroines we encounter sometimes. When she finds out she is in danger, she accepts all the protection offered from the police and from Dare’s family. She doesn’t go rushing off in a misguided attempt to save the day – and bless her for it. LOL

Can Liza accept that someone actually cares about her and won’t push her aside for something or someone more important? Can Dare let go of his guilt from the past and look toward the future without bitterness?

I enjoyed this book much more than the second in the series, although not quite as much as the first (I loves me some bad boy/good girl plots). This is a good, steady small-town romance and Ms. Phillips’ fans should be quite pleased to see all the Barrons brothers settled and happy.

Grade: C+

Summary:
Police Officer Dare Barron has had a crush on Liza McKnight ever since he was a teenager. But despite his lifelong attraction, the closest he’s ever come to interacting with her is watching Liza regularly bail out her brother at the station.
 
Dare’s dark past with Liza’s brother, Brian, has always kept him from pursuing her. But suddenly Liza finds herself in need of protection and Dare appoints himself as the man for the job.  And while the sizzling attraction between Dare and Liza draws them together, the past that Dare and Brian share threatens to keep the two apart forever.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Dinca’s review of The Would-Be Mommy by  Jacqueline Diamond
Contemporary Romance Published by Harlequin American Romance 1 Feb 10

The Would-Be Mommy is the first book in the Safe Harbor Medical series. It’s all about falling in love. First with the adorable baby girl, who is dropped off at the Safe Harbor Medical Center due to a mistake in the news, and then with the reporter, Ian Martin, covering the story.

Jennifer Serra is the PR director for Safe Harbor Medical.  She has always wanted a child and she agrees to temporarily take home one of the unwanted babies which flood the Medical Center. She bonds with baby Rosalie quickly. While trying to stay focused on the baby, she finds herself looking at Ian as father material.

Dredging up the past is not a good way to get into the good graces of the lovely Jennifer Serra with the big heart and pain-filled eyes when she talks about babies. But a reporter has to take a story where it leads, no matter how hard or damaging it can be to all involved.  I’m surprised how Ian grows as a  reporter and into a better person and, thus, has turned into one of my favorite heroes.

Jacqueline Diamond does a wonderful job of combining the past with the present. I look forward to the other stories in the series.

Grade: A

Summary:

From the moment he arrives at Safe Harbor Medical, Ian Martin is on infant overload. But the story he’s covering gets a lot more interesting when the adventure-seeking reporter meets Jennifer Serra, an intriguing PR director who has created a stir by taking home one of the center’s unwanted newborns!

Jennifer has always wanted a child of her own. Her dream becomes thrilling reality when she agrees to temporarily– permanently?–be a mother to a sweet baby girl. Ian could complete the picture–Jennifer sees how easily he bonds with little Rosalie.

But just when she begins to look at Ian as potential father material, the dashing journalist dredges up a scandal from Jennifer’s past that could
jeopardize her plans for adoption…and for a future with Ian.

Read an excerpt.

The M.D.’s Secret Daughter – 4 Sep 12

LynneC’s review of The Fireman Who Loved Me (The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel, Book 1) by Jennifer Bernard
Contemporary Romance published by Avon 24 April 12

A small town romance featuring a reporter for a local TV station and a fireman from a station labelled the one with the hot bachelors. It should make for a cute romance, and on the whole it does. However, some distractions and deviations from the romance make it less than the hot romance promised in the blurb. In fact, it’s almost a case of false description, because the hot sex is a long time coming, and when it arrives, it’s on the vanilla side.

On the other hand, it’s quite a cute read, and worth picking up. I’m not sure who decided to sell it as a hot romance, but I don’t think they were doing the book justice, because while it doesn’t deliver on the erotic front, there are other enjoyable parts of the book.

Melissa is a producer for a local news program being upstaged by an airhead presenter. The presenter is a standard bimbo type who shows up in many, many romances and is increasingly uninteresting. She’s shallow, egotistical, and only there to present a foil and a conflict for the main female character. More effort put into that part of the story might have increased the interest there, and I might not have been tempted to skip those parts, since the outcome is as predictable as sunrise.

Melissa has a grandmother who is determined to see her married off. To that end, she puts her savings into a bachelor auction and buys Ryan, a hunky fireman, for an astronomical sum. But Ryan is hot, so Granny wants him for her granddaughter. Of course, all she has to do is put them together. When Ryan chickens out, after thinking his date is with Granny, and he’d never hear the last of it, his boss, fire captain Brody, steps in. And he ends up with Melissa.

To be honest, I’d have shoved Granny in the lake years before, not put up with her indulgently. Granny is cute as the old person who pushes into line at the supermarket, yelling, “Let me in, I’m eighty.” It’s one thing to allow someone into line, it’s another when they push their way in. Granny, aka Nelly, is like that. She’s clueless, she makes her presence known, and she’s as subtle as a sledgehammer. She isn’t cute or feisty, she’s the most annoying character in the book. She’s a caricature.

In fact, that’s my problem with most of the secondary characters in the book. They are less characters, more types, and you could pick out the ones meant for sequels, because more thought is put into them, although it’s of the “give this person three basic characteristics and take it from there” type.

What’s worse is that the secondary characters eat into the time Brody and Melissa have together. The book isn’t focused enough on the romance, and it doesn’t develop so much as lurch from incident to incident. We get Nelly’s point of view when we want Melissa, we get shenanigans at the TV station when we want to know what Brody thinks of his last encounter with Melissa.

The whole setup is so cute, my teeth are starting to ache. A fire station full of hot men, apart from one with a big belly, and two women we never really get to meet. They cook, they have an enlightened attitude to the opposite sex, they are great firefighters. A small town with no serious problems.

I kept reading, and unfortunately, it doesn’t improve a great deal. In fact, more characters and a distracting plot development detract even more from the romance. The trouble is, I don’t care about the other parts. The characters are sketchily done and the plot doesn’t have much to do with the romance. I couldn’t get interested, and had I not been reading this book for review, I’d have put it down at that point. Gently, and with regret, but down.

While this book doesn’t do it for me, I’ll keep an eye on Ms. Bernard to see what else she comes up with.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Fearless, smoking hot, and single: meet the Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel. These firemen might be heroes, but it’s their bad luck in love that makes them legendary.

News producer Melissa McGuire and Fire Captain Harry Brody couldn’t be more different, though they do have one thing in common: they’re both convinced they’re perfectly wrong for each other. But when Melissa’s matchmaking grandmother wins her a date with Brody at a bachelor auction…

Sparks fly. Passion flares. Heat rises. (You get the picture.)

Add a curse, a conniving nightly news anchor, a stunningly handsome daredevil fireman, a brave little boy, a couple of exes, and one giant fire to the mix, and Melissa and Brody’s love may not be the only thing that burns.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

C2’s review of About That Night (FBI/US Attorney Series, Book 3) by Julie James
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 3 Apr 12

What happens when a prosecutor meets up with an almost-hook-up from college – across a courtroom??  In Julie James’ most recent release we find out.

After a long-term relationship ends, Rylann Pierce moves back to Chicago and a position in the US Attorney’s Office – a change of location and a return to old friends might be just the thing to get her new life going. Her very first assignment sends her to court to handle the resolution of some charges against “the Twitter Terrorist.”  (An aside – I LOL!  I love me some Twitter and that it weaves its way through the story made me giggle so much.  :-D)  Little does Rylann know said Terrorist is billionaire heir/computer geek Kyle Rhodes…the very same Kyle Rhodes she spetd a flirtatious evening with years before.

Kyle is just glad to finally be getting free of house arrest – which was much better than his time in prison, sure.  The last person he expects to see representing the prosecution is Rylann.  Circumstances kept him from keeping their date all those years ago (she knew what happened, don’t fret, faithful reader) and they never found each other again – he didn’t even know her last name, for crying out loud.

The old spark is still there but Rylann is the new person in her office and still finding her place – a relationship with the defendant of a very high-profile case could be awkward.  Plus she is just out of a long-term relationship.  But…hot billionaire heir?  Who can resist that??  Also, umm…

Where were we, faithful reader?  I got distracted for a minute.

Kyle is ready to get his life back on track.  He had lots of time to think and plan in prison and now it’s time to put those plans into action.  Does he have time for a relationship after his last one imploded in a spectacular fashion and landed him in jail?  Rylann will have to be pretty convincing…

I so enjoyed this book!  It is my favorite of Ms. James’ books so far – and I have liked them all.  Kyle is a genuinely good guy.  He wants to do the right thing and make his own way and has matured a lot since we first met him in A Lot Like Love.  Rylann’s job is very important to her but not to the exclusion of everything else – she makes time for her friends and for herself.  It is nice to see a romance between two realistic characters – people who, if we knew them in real life, we would want together.  This book is charming and an all-around fun read.

Grade: A

Summary:

HE’S PLAYING GAMES

Though Rylann Pierce tried to fight the sparks she felt for billionaire heir Kyle Rhodes the night they met, their sizzling chemistry was undeniable. But after being stood up on their first date, Rylann never expected to see him again. So when she finds herself face to face with Kyle in a courthouse nine years later, she’s stunned. More troubling to the beautiful Assistant U.S. Attorney is that she’s still wildly attracted to him.

BUT SHE’S MAKING THE RULES

Just released from prison, Kyle Rhodes isn’t thrilled to be the star witness in a high-profile criminal case—but when Rylann comes knocking at his door, he finds she may be the one lawyer he can’t say no to. Still as gorgeous and sharp-tongued as ever, she lays down the law: she doesn’t mix business with pleasure. But Kyle won’t give up on something he wants—and what he wants is the one woman he’s never forgotten. . .

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

C2’s review of Crazy On You (Lovett, Texas, Book 2) by Rachel Gibson
Contemporary Romance ebook novella published by Avon Impulse 1 May 12

Can a woman determined to be responsible unbend enough to have a fling with the new, cute next-door neighbor?  And what happens if the fling turns out to be more?

Lily Darlington led an interesting life when she was younger but finally, at 38, she has put “Crazy Lily” behind her.  Now Lily is a homeowner, successful business owner, and single mom.  The last thing she needs is to get involved with the exceptionally hot, younger man who just moved in next door.

Tucker Matthews is relatively new to Lovett, Texas.  After serving ten years in the Army, Tucker left and began a law enforcement career and just started working for the county Sheriff’s Department.  After Tucker pulls Lily over for erratic driving (darn those cell phones!), he realizes she is his neighbor and is intrigued. And when her son Pippen’s bouncing basketball keeps him from sleeping (again), Tucker goes next door to negotiate with him – and gets another chance to talk to Lily – who doesn’t recognize him out of uniform.  Heh.

Lily is resistant to starting a relationship with anyone.  She has just gotten her life on track and doesn’t want to give the town reason to start reminiscing about Crazy Lily.  But Tucker is determined…and hot. Soon Lily agrees to a fling if Tucker doesn’t tell anyone.  He doesn’t understand what the big deal is but agrees. Soon, though, the sneaking around begins to bother him – is she ashamed of him?  What does it matter what other people think?  Finally, he tells Lily she has to decide whether she cares enough to go public or is she ready for the relationship, such as it is, to be over.  What’s a formerly crazy chick supposed to do?  Is it more mature to let the opinions of others rule your life?  Or should you be allowed to reach out and grab something potentially wonderful?

Crazy On You is an enjoyable read, but it feels very much like what it is – a bridge between Daisy’s Back in Town (Lily’s sister’s story) and Ms. Gibson’s next full-length release, Rescue Me (we very briefly meet the heroine).  It is a bit formulaic and feels like something I’ve read before, but, if you enjoy Ms. Gibson’s writing, you should enjoy the book – and it’s a bargain at $1.99. So if you’ve never tried this author…go for it!  I doubt it is necessary to read Crazy On You to read Rescue Me, but I can’t say for sure because I haven’t read it yet.

Grade: C+

Summary:Lily Darlington’s been called crazy in her day—and, yeah, driving her car into her ex-husband’s living room probably wasn’t the smartest move ever made—but the louse deserved it. Now Lily is happily single, and she’s turned it all around. She knows she’s a good mom, a homeowner, and a businesswoman, all wrapped up in one good-looking package.

A package that police officer Tucker Matthews is dying to unwrap. This ex-military man sure doesn’t need another woman in his life. His last girlfriend left him with nothing but memories and a cat named Pinky! But living next door to Lily has been driving him nuts. He dreams about her long blonde hair and even longer legs. And maybe it’s time to go a little crazy . . . and fall in love.

Read an excerpt.

Connected books:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Always In My Heart (Harts In Love #1) by Kayla Perrin
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Kimani Romance 17 Apr 12

Let this be a lesson for us all – this is what can happen when you pick up category romances willy-nilly.  I saw this book and thought, “Oh, I’ve read Kayla Perrin before and I’ve enjoyed some of her books” – which resulted in me not reading the back cover blurb that closely.  If I had?  Yeah, I would have read in between the lines and discovered that what I picked up innocently enough was actually a dreaded Secret Baby book.

Callie Hart is the oldest of three girls and is back home in Cleveland for her aunt’s funeral.  The girls were raised by their loving aunt and uncle after their mother abandoned them on their doorstep, an event that has cast a long shadow in their lives.  Her two sisters have been feuding ever since the youngest one boinked the guy the middle one was dating (Niiiiiiiiiiice!) – and Callie found herself stuck in the middle, with each of them wanting her to choose sides.  She’s hoping that now their aunt has passed that they can all bury the hatchet and move on with their lives.  But first she has to take care of some unfinished business, and that means righting a wrong with former beau Nigel Williams.

Nigel was heartbroken when Callie left him, without a word, and seemingly vanishing off the face of the earth.  No word.  No communication.  No closure.  Sure, they had a falling out over his becoming a police officer, but they were so good together – and he thought she loved him.  Now she’s back in town, standing on his doorstep and dropping the bombshell that her nine-year-old son, Kwame, is his son.  Yeah, when she ran away from Cleveland?  She was pregnant with his baby.

From now on, I will refer to Callie for what she is – The Stupid Cow.  This is the problem with Secret Baby plots – unless the guy is an ax murderer or a child molester, I cannot think of one good, solid reason when it is ever okay to willingly not tell the baby daddy that he is…well…a baby daddy.  The Stupid Cow’s reason?  Oh, well, she was “scared,” dontcha know.  It’s so hard for her to trust because Mommy abandoned her.  And then Nigel had to join the “enemy” (that would be the police academy) after one of their friends was a victim of police brutality.  Never mind that The Stupid Cow and Nigel both were socially active, fighting injustice, organizing drives and protests.  Gee, why would Nigel want to be a cop?  Oh, maybe because HE THOUGHT HE COULD DO SOME GOOD?!?!?!  You know, because becoming a police officer could in no way possibly be an extension of his social activism /end sarcasm.

The author wants readers to feel sorry for The Stupid Cow, to chalk up her keeping their child away from the father as a sign of emotional immaturity.  To this end, the fact that The Stupid Cow’s Mommy “abandoned” her is used as an excuse early and often.  Exactly what did Mommy do?  She left her daughters with their loving aunt and uncle – who raised them in a healthy environment and showered them with love.  Wow.  What a bitch!  Certainly the girls did not get “closure” from Mommy’s disappearance, but then The Stupid Cow turns around and does THE EXACT SAME THING to Nigel and her family!  Just up and leaves, with no word – and then on top of that she doesn’t TELL HIM ABOUT HIS SON!  And, golly, he just seems so angry and will he ever be able to forgive her?

Unfortunately, for us, this is a romance novel which means Nigel does forgive.  Ugh.  Just ugh, ugh, ugh!

By now you’re probably wondering why I kept reading this story.  Part of it is because Perrin can deliver in the writing department, and this book flowed easily for me even though it drove me bat-shit crazy.  Also, Lord help me, I found myself curious about what happened to The Stupid Cow’s Mommy.  This bit of mystery will, undoubtedly, carry over to the next two books in the trilogy.  But as much as I’m interested in reading about that?  I don’t think I’m all that interested in reading about The Stupid Cow’s sisters, who I wanted to bitch-slap early and often in this story.  Someone pass the vodka…..

Grade: D

Summary:

The oldest of three adopted daughters, Callie Hart has always loved being the protector of the family. But now she is all grown up—with a young son of her own to protect. Callie can’t wait to show him off when she reunites with her two sisters in Ohio. But that also means coming face-to-face with the lover she left behind. Nigel Williams is even more irresistibly attractive than ever. But what will he do when he learns about the secret she kept hidden from him for ten years?

Nigel has never forgiven Callie for fleeing Ohio—and the passion they shared. And when she shows up on his doorstep asking for forgiveness, the Cleveland cop is furious at her deception. But how can he deny the feelings Callie reawakens in him? Blindsided once again by the heat of desire, Nigel vows to fight for his future with the woman he has always loved.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Sierra Falls (Sierra Falls, Book 1) by Veronica Wolff
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 3 Apr 12

I’ve read a few of Veronica Wolff’s historicals and time travel romances, some which worked for me and some which didn’t. So I was excited to see her try her hand at contemporary romance. I’m very glad to say that her work in this genre really scores big for me. This book is a fun, heartwarming read with a touch of mystery. The characters are charming, especially the hero, and the whole town gets involved when things are shakin’ around Sierra Falls.

Sorrow Bailey, walking in the footsteps of several ancestors who suffered because of that name, has always wanted to get out of Sierra Falls, a small town nestled in the Sierras, just like everyone else who’s lived there all their lives, including her brother and sister. They left as fast as they could, and when their father suffers a stroke, it’s Sorrow who gives up her dreams to stay and help out in the family business, the Big Bear Lodge. Sorrow loves to cook. The dishes she prepares take her to whichever country she chooses, thus experiencing their flavor in some little way. Only thing is, her father won’t allow her to cook at the lodge. The man doesn’t seem to care for fancy schmancy food over the burgers and other fare Tom Sullivan, a Vet who wondered into Sierra Falls and has stayed a few decades, currently dishes out.

The new town sheriff has been noticing young Sorrow lately. Billy Preston is about ten years older and a widower. He tries not to act on these new emotions when he’s around Sorrow, but though the guilt eats at him a bit, he begins to spend a lot more time at the lodge just to see her. And I love Billy Preston. I adore an older hero, though in this case he’s only in his early 30s, but that’s better than the alternative. You feel more for him at that age for being a widower, so it all works wonderfully well. He’s old enough and has been through enough to know to keep away from Sorrow until she’s broken up with her boyfriend – more on him in a minute! – and then to know he has to take it slow with her once they start dating. He has just the right experience to pull Sorrow from her sexual shell. She’s not a virgin, by any means, but it’s just been sex for her until Billy. He also makes an excellent sheriff, moving from the city after his wife’s death. He’s got a very deft touch when dealing with local citizens in every situation imaginable.

Knowing she’s feeling something for the sheriff, Sorrow examines her relationship with Damien Simmons, son from a well-to-do local family, the golden boy who has a finger in a lot of pies around town and can pull strings to help out the Bailey family whenever needed, and that seems to be a lot lately. Sorrow realizes she doesn’t feel anything for him like what she’s beginning to feel for Billy. What I love is when she’s finally free, her sister, who has mysteriously come home for a spell, encourages Sorrow to hightail it to Billy’s door for a night of seduction. The man hasn’t got a chance in hell of getting past this new Sorrow. And what a night it is. Something special has definitely begun.

In between all of this, when the lodge roof is damaged during a snowstorm, Sorrow finds a stack of letters written by her great-great grandmother, Sorrow Crabtree. Once the infamous information learned in these letters becomes public knowledge, the local historical society makes big plans for their upcoming festival. It’s fun amid those ladies and their speculations about the town’s founder and Sorrow’s namesake. You get the feel of small-town American with scenes like these and others throughout the book.

In the meantime, Billy has begun to suspect foul play after a series of seemingly crazy accidents around the lodge – around Sorrow. Vowing that nothing will happen to her on his watch, his investigation takes him further and further into territory everyone in town finds incredulous. Things get a bit dicey before it’s all over. Not a riveting, over-the-top mystery, but one that fits in with this community and its quirks. We also get a side romance with Tom and Marlene Jessup, a recent divorcee, both of whom finally decide to live life their way. I appreciate romance for older characters, being a little bit older myself. 

Personally, I like Ms. Wolff’s contemps better than her historicals. There’s just more character and charm to the stories for me. Her voice compliments the genre in every way. I look forward to more, especially in this Sierra Falls series.

Grade: B

Summary:

Family is important to Sorrow. She gave up her dreams to run the struggling family lodge. Even her name is a family relic, though lately it feels like a curse that might determine her fate. Things look up when she discovers a collection of letters from her three-times great grandmother and namesake, telling the story of a forbidden love affair.

Billy Preston is the new sheriff, a widower escaping the grief of his former life as a big city cop. He helps out after an accident at the Bailey lodge, and what begins as admiration for Sorrow’s quiet strength quickly becomes something much more. When Sorrow’s discovery brings fame to Sierra Falls, and her dreams of a better life are within reach, one too many “accidents” have Billy wondering whether someone is willing to kill to keep them off the map.

As the community pulls together, Sorrow takes a lesson from her ancestor’s letters: only in family, friends, and love do you find true joy.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Timber Creek – Jan 2013

LynneC’s review of What Lies Beneath by Andrea Laurence
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 3 Apr 12

I am so very sorry I can’t do a more positive review for this book, but it has serious flaws which eventually  prevented me enjoying it as much as I might have done. Huge plot holes and a Mary Sue heroine aren’t my favorite tropes, but if you can ignore the holes and go along with Mary (actually called Adrienne), then you will enjoy this one.

I’ve learned that it’s (almost – let’s not get carried away here) as hard to write an unfavorable review as it is to receive one. but I can’t give this book a pass. Several elements make this a disappointing read for me, starting right at the beginning. Since Ms. Laurence is a new author to the Desire line, I tried, but, in the end, I knew it wasn’t a book for me.

Unusually for a Desire, there is a prologue, but in this case it’s definitely needed. Adrienne has just wound up her New York fashion business and is on the plane going home to Milwaukee. She finds herself sitting next to a society beauty who has been downgraded to economy. She and society beauty Cynthia trade places and the plane crashes leaving only three people alive. They assume Adrienne is Cynthia. We, the reader, know better, because the story is told from Adrienne’s point of view, not Cynthia’s.

Anyone else find that whole thing hard to swallow? First, the first-class passenger downgraded. That’s a tricky premise right there. In all my years travelling, I’ve never come across that. Upgrading, sure, and a passenger downgraded for bad behavior, once. Okay, never mind, let it through. It could happen, after all.
So the whole assuming Adrienne is Cynthia part of the story, necessary if the story is going to work.

The amnesia Adrienne/Cynthia suffers is only one of the injuries which also damaged her face and destroyed her front teeth. She has new teeth implanted (can you have that done?) and plastic surgery has rebuilt her face. That’s some expense there, and Adrienne is doing it, albeit unwittingly, on Cynthia’s insurance. Wouldn’t the hospital or the insurance company sue to cover its own ass, when the truth comes out? I’m assuming here that Adrienne’s insurance is basic and Cynthia’s is much better, plus she can afford private treatment.

Wait a minute. There’s a lot of blood involved in plastic surgery, especially facial surgery. So they must have taken her blood type, right? What if it was different to Cynthia’s?

The fact that Cynthia and Adrienne have swapped places on the plane is no indication of their identity and no insurance company or anyone else in their right mind is going to accept it as such. When Adrienne wakes up with a smashed face and amnesia, they’re going to take her “parents’” word that she’s their daughter? I don’t think so. Especially when DNA testing is fast and painless. And what about dental identification? A significant number of back teeth is acceptable for ID, especially when there’s been work done in the past. Since this happens right at the start of the book, I tried to just accept the situation and read on, but things kept nagging me.

The real story starts some time later when our heroine is due to leave hospital. She’s had extensive plastic surgery, but she only seems concerned that her new teeth don’t fit right and she can’t remember anything. I had to fight to stay with the story here. The accident had rendered her unrecognizable and given her amnesia. She seems okay with that, and later, when she meets her real relative, her aunt, the lady accepts her as if she looks just the same. There’s no mention of her learning her new contours or getting psychiatric treatment, almost a requirement of surgery like she’d had.

Peripheral to my concerns are the lack of any mention of possible PTSD and the way the author kills off a plane full of people. She’s created them in the first place, I suppose, so she could kill them. Nobody seems too bothered about that, Adrienne/Cynthia included.

Oh, and the doctor at one point in the story says that one bang to the head gave her amnesia and another restored it. Really? I thought that idea went out a long time ago. Actually, the restoration of memory doesn’t exactly happen that way, but that a doctor should actually say that…?

The character of Adrienne gets more annoying as the book goes on. She’s beautiful but curvy, not model-thin. She’s very kind, very thoughtful, and people in distress upset her. She’s a sweet girl whom everybody loves, from the nurse in the hospital to Cynthia’s fiancée, who she goes to live with after she comes out of hospital. She can design clothes. It’s obvious that the author knows something about sewing and a bit about the fashion industry, but I can’t remember the last designer who made their own clothes. Oh, yes, I can, Yves Saint-Laurent (my mother worked for him for a short time). But, of course, he didn’t. He just could.

Adrienne not only has the money to buy runway-quality fabric, she can make it all up into what she wants with a domestic sewing machine. Not an overlocker or heavy-duty machine for leather in sight. But, again, development of that side might have made Adrienne more interesting. But at this stage of the story, she is Cynthia, a spoiled society beauty who never took an interest in sewing before. And nobody remarks on that? Oh, yes, and she makes a collection worthy of an important magazine in a few days. Makes it herself, on her handy-dandy sewing machine. Vera Wang wishes (or maybe she has more sense). In short, Adrienne is a Mary Sue of the most egregious. Hearts and flowers and skippety-skip.

Ah, yes, the hero. There is an unavoidable spoiler here, but I’ll mark it and try not to go into specifics. Will owns a newspaper, which is doing a deal with Cynthia’s father to go into e-readership. I like that part, it sounds plausible to me and interesting. Would have liked more of that. But there is no real barrier to the main relationship, although Cynthia’s father wants the marriage between Cynthia and Will to cement the business relationship. In the end, though, like everyone else, he falls in love with Adrienne, so that’s all right then.

Will is a cipher. He never comes alive for me, although there are several scenes in his viewpoint. He does what is needed for the plot. There is another character and a side plot. It seems that Cynthia was in love with a poor, struggling man who, when we finally meet him, comes across as a sleaze and a bully. I have no idea what he was doing in the book at all. He pops up and disappears when the plot needs a bit of a stir.

And here’s the  SPOILER ALERT (although if you read many Harlequins, you’ll see this one coming a mile off. Like a train screaming down the track you are helplessly bound to, you beg “no, no, don’t do it” but it arrives anyway).

About the Black Moment. A more contrived one I have yet to read. When Adrienne realizes who she is, Will assumes she’s been trying to con him and he throws her out. At this stage of the story, it reveals a fundamental weakness in Will – doesn’t he trust his own judgment of the woman he’s come to know? And it screams “plot device.” If Will is the brutal alpha type, it would have been more believable, and while I’m happy to read betas, to see one turn like this is a bad jar out of the story. *END OF SPOILER ALERT*

To sum up – the story has serious issues. The initial premise is unbelievable, the heroine is Mary Sue and then some, and the hero is manipulated by the plot. If this book won lots of awards, it must have been in another incarnation, and having been subject to the sometimes brutal editing Harlequin imposes on its authors, I can see how a first-time author would do her best to work in what they wanted and leave ends dangling. However, the book has some style, although the syntax is rather simplistic, and if Ms. Laurence writes another, I’d be interested in taking a look, to see if the next effort is smoother and more interesting.
Sorry.

Grade: D-

Summary:

They say she’s Cynthia Dempsey, fiancée of media mogul Will Taylor. But try as she might, she can’t recall their high-society life or the man sitting by her hospital bed. Though her body certainly remembers him. Even as she senses the distance between them, the electricity when they touch is undeniable.

Will can hardly believe Cynthia’s transformation. Gone is the ice queen who betrayed him, and in her place is a woman who seems genuine and warm. But can he risk his heart again, not knowing what might happen when her memory returns?

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Unbreak My Heart by Helen Scott Taylor
Contemporary short story romance ebook published by Helen Scott Taylor 3 Apr 12

I jump at each and every chance to read a Helen Scott Taylor book. After her success in the paranormal genre, Ms. Taylor is branching out into contemporaries. I always love her characters, who draw me into their lives, and the magical worlds they live in in her previous books. So I have to say, I was curious to see what happens in this new contemp world she’s decided to try.

As usual, I really like the hero, Andre, in this book. He’s a strong man whose dreams had to change after the death of his grandfather. He’s also gentle and tender when faced with the unexpected arrival of a past young love, along with her sweet little bundle. What’s unusual is that I didn’t warm up to Kate until really late in the book. I sympathize with her to a point, but things get too out of control on her part for me.

Kate has just left the father of her newborn daughter, a man on his way up in the television world, and suddenly he’s a man she doesn’t know anymore. Her stepfather turned her away at her mother’s door, and after a brief stay with the gypsies who took her in, she’s now heading toward Andre, the boy she hasn’t seen in eight years. The boy who left her behind without a word, never to return for her as he promised. Knowing Andre may not be happy to see her after all this time doesn’t stop Kate. She has her daughter to look out for now, and running from the paparazzi, who want the scoop on her little girl’s birth and parentage, has frayed her nerves nearly to the breaking point. Andre is her last hope.

Andre is surprised to see Kate back at the Caspian Manor Hotel, where they romped as children and fell in love as teens. He’s been in charge since his grandfather’s death, taking the job of making the place one of the premiere hotels in the world quite seriously, just as he promised his mentor. Surprised or not, he takes Kate and Keiko in, offering her the job of creating a redesign for the Caspian, something he’s been unhappy about with other designers. Kate agrees, and so starts the process of their getting to know one another again.

Being a talented artist and designer, Andre encourages Kate to change her look and hobnob with the rich to make her place in the industry, as well as to make a living for herself and her child. Kate, however, takes exception to this. She feels Andre is trying to change her, he doesn’t want her for who she is. I feel she’s a tad hypocritical because she’s having a hard time seeing Andre as a grown man and not the sixteen-year-old she remembers. Why this bothers me is the fact Kate keeps on and on about Andre’s motives in this regard. By the time she looks at his side of it all, it’s nearly too late to appreciate the actual change in her.

Though Andre also eventually questions himself about his “suggestions” to Kate, I have to say I agree with him on all counts. He’s only trying to help her. She’s outgrown the childish apparel and hairstyle she’s worn since childhood. The way to take care of your child is to be responsible. He does think about all of his requests later in the story, perhaps he is pushing his way of life on her, not letting her be with what she’s comfortable with. But if she wants to be part of Andre’s life, she does have to stand by his side. What she does reflects on him. Maybe it’s my age. These two are in their mid 20s. My mindset is way beyond that age, so perhaps I’m not being fair. I even agree with Andre’s way of taking care of the paparazzi. Another strike against him as far as Kate is concerned.

So while I have an issue or two with the heroine, our hero saves the day all the way around. I love his acceptance of Keiko, his gentleness and generosity toward her. Of course, his patience with Kate goes without saying.    This is very much a character driven story, so for me Kate needs a bit of compromise a little earlier than she actually finds it.

All in all, though, a job well done.

Grade: B-

Summary:

Andre Le Court first set eyes on Kate Frost when he was two and she was a baby in her mother’s arms. He’s twenty-five now, and he still remembers the moment perfectly, the moment Kate Frost slipped inside his heart.

His family owned a big hotel, her parents worked there. Andre’s father spent years trying to separate his son from the daughter of the hired help. Eventually he grew desperate and sent Andre away to boarding school.

Nine years later, Kate turns up on the doorstep of Andre’s prestigious hotel with the paparazzi at her heels and the six-week-old daughter of her celebrity ex in her arms. She has nowhere left to run except back to the place where she left her heart all those years ago.

Andre lost Kate once. He won’t lose her again. But he has an image to maintain, a reputation as a successful businessman. A bohemian young woman with beads in her hair is not a suitable wife for him.

In Andre, Kate sees tantalizing glimpses of the boy she adored. But most of the time she hardly recognizes the powerful, successful man he’s become, his lifestyle so like that of his despised father.

Can they forgive the pain of the past, accept each other as they are now, and rediscover the childhood love that was snatched away from them?

No excerpt available.

Laura C’s review of Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire
Contemporary Romance published by Forever 24 Apr 12

I am a huge fan of romantic suspense, so I was devastated to hear that one of my very favorite romantic suspense authors, Roxanne St. Claire, creator of the Bullet Catchers and the Guardian Angelinos, is switching genres. Luckily, I also like contemporary, so the minute I could get my hands on this one, I did. And it doesn’t disappoint.

Lacey Armstrong is the queen of excuses. She wants to build a B&B on her grandparents’ land, but she doesn’t have the money. And why bother looking for investors when they wouldn’t want to partner with her? And why should she date anyone? They’ll only leave as soon as she pins her hopes on them the same way her daughter’s father did fourteen years earlier when she told him she was pregnant.

Which makes Clay Walker — “sorry, I don’t date, I just like sex and I’d like to have it with you, please”—just about perfect for her. Especially since he’s her polar opposite in other ways. He refuses to hear the word “can’t,” and plows his way under, through, around, or over any excuse or blockage she throws at him.

He’s also an architect and builder, which is just what she needs to transform her hurricane-devastated property in to a classy resort.

Of course, Clay has a secret. More than one, in fact, and they’re just bound to blow up in his face. Which, of course, they do. But you never think “why doesn’t he just go ahead and tell her…” St. Claire is very good at drawing you in so you don’t feel like it’s a “big misunderstanding” that’s just being used as a plot device. It’s integral to the way the characters think and act.

Not that all their problems are Clay’s fault. He’s got secrets, but Lacey’s past has returned with a vengeance…her ex, who hasn’t bothered to show up since her daughter was a year old, has had an epiphany about the importance of family and now he wants to come home and make more babies with Lacey.

Just what a girl who’s sworn off relationships needs—one man she wants but doesn’t want to love, another she wants to leave who wants to stay. And a town dead set against her plans to modernize it.

Lacey also has three “best” friends who—obviously—will have their own books as the series continues, which sometimes annoys me, but here it’s fun getting to know them. They’re all very different and they all have romantic pasts as disastrous as Lacey’s own, though she is the only one with a child to show for it.

What can I say? I can’t wait for more, and I’ll be happy to see Clay and Lacey again whenever they appear in future books set in Barefoot Bay.

Grade: A

Summary:

When all you hold dear is taken away . . .

When a hurricane roars through Lacey Armstrong’s home on the coast of Barefoot Bay, she decides all that remains in the rubble is opportunity. A new hotel is just what Mimosa Key needs, and Lacey and her teenage daughter are due for a fresh start. And nothing, especially not a hot, younger architect, is going to distract Lacey from finally making her dreams a reality.

A second chance is the only thing you have left.

Love has already cost Clay Walker everything. And if he’s going to have any chance of picking up the pieces of his life, he needs the job as Lacey Armstrong’s architect. What’s not in the plans is falling for the headstrong beauty. Her vision of the future is more appealing than anything he could have ever drafted for himself. Will Clay’s designs on Lacey’s heart be more than she can handle, or will she trust him to build something that will last forever?

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of We’ll Always Have Paris by Jessica Hart
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 03 Apr 12

I made the mistake of starting this book on a Monday morning.  A Monday morning where I eventually had to pull myself up out of my comfy lounge chair at home and go to my job.  My job that expected me to work the entire week.  My job that kept me from inhaling this delightful story in one sitting.  Seriously, where’s a Greek tycoon when a girl really needs one?  I’d tolerate the punishing kisses for financial security and a few hours of uninterrupted reading time every day.

Clara Sterne is a production assistant for a small production company that plans to film a documentary for the BBC called Romance: Fact or Fiction?.  The plan is to have two divergent personalities discuss the idea of romance in various romantic locales – Paris, a tropical island, and the wilds of Scotland.  They’ve already landed the female personality, a footballer’s wife who is famous for being famous.  Now they just need to land the guy – Simon Valentine.  Unfortunately, he’s proving to be a very hard sell – which would mean bad news for Clara since 1) the project will die on the vine without him and 2) she’s hoping to parlay this assignment into a promotion.

Simon is an economist who has turned into an unlikely, and unwanted, celebrity.  His passion is micro-finance and lending, and his employer is keen on publicity for the firm.  However, one appearance on a news show (think CNN) has landed him a pack of swooning female fans.  Now he’s got this ridiculous Clara person phoning him, showing up to lectures he’s giving, begging him to do this silly documentary.  How many different ways can he possibly say no?  Naturally, being a romance novel, events take place that lead Simon to saying yes.  And before you know it, they’re off to Paris to begin filming.

This story has a lot of classic romantic comedy traits that give it a very cinematic feel.  Clara is bubbly, out-going, a woman with a passion for dancing and show tunes.  Simon is the drab, straight-laced, buttoned-up guy who sees everything in black and white.  She’s romance and passion.  He’s a cold shower.  It’s the classic opposites attract storyline, yet with the twist that the opposites are actually perfect for each other.  They complement each other in every way – they just need the 180-some pages to figure it out.

There’s so much I like about this story.  The characters are likable and charming, even stick-in-the-mud Simon.  I love, love, love the fact that it isn’t love-at-first-sight for either of them.  Simon muses that Clara is not elegant and beautiful – more like a bohemian mess; and Clara cannot figure out why women are a swooning mess over….this guy?  Really? Naturally, the more time they spend together, the more their personalities come out, the more those first impressions give way to something more.

Hart pads up the conflict by including two exes – one for each character.  Simon is still smarting over the fact that the elegant colleague he was dating threw him over for a swarthy Italian playboy and Clara is still a bit stung by the fact that her former beau tossed her aside for an old flame.  Simon thinks he wants his ex back, Clara is ready to move on but unwilling to play second fiddle anymore.

There are lovely moments of insight on the part of both characters and realization dawns that they are hopelessly attracted to each other, but fearful that it could never work because they’re “too different.”  On that score, there’s a fantastic Big Romantic Gesture at the end of this book – on the part of both characters – that really ties the whole thing together.  Clara understands Simon, and Simon understand Clara.  All the while, neither one of them has to morph into pod people to make that happy ending work.  It’s charming, it’s sweet, it’s everything I want in a romance.

Grade: A

Summary:

I’ve done it! Thanks to my awesome powers of persuasion, elusive-but-dreamy TV star Simon Valentine is starring in our new romance documentary!

It wasn’t easy, though—Simon thinks his status as prime-time financial guru turned celebrity is ridiculous! He says he now steers well clear of affairs of the heart, but surely he must have one romantic bone left in his body?

Much as I’d like to find out firsthand, I’ve sworn off men after a disastrous ending with my last boyfriend. Must remain professional—though it won’t be easy…we’re filming in the most romantic city of all….

Clara x

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Diamond Dreams (The Drakes of California, Book 1) by Zuri Day
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Kimani Romance 20 Mar 12

Going to conferences tends to be dangerous business for me.  I go, I mingle, I meet a lot of really fabulous people, and then I want to read every single one of their books.  When your TBR can be seen from space, this is not necessarily a good thing.  But that’s how I came to pick up this first category romance by Zuri Day.  I met her at a conference, had a nice time chatting with her, and was hooked by the premise of this first book in a trilogy – which is set in Southern California wine country.  Wine and romance?  Could there be a better combination?

Diamond Drake is the only daughter in what can only be described as a “wine dynasty.”  Her family has owned the land just north of San Diego for years and has built quite a reputation.  Diamond and her two brothers now play integral parts in the family business, with the latest project being a boutique hotel.  The idea is to make Drake Winery a vacation destination with good food, good wine, and excellent accommodations.  To make that happen they hire Jackson Wright’s construction company.

Jackson “Boss” Wright started out life in Inglewood, California with an absent (and unknown) father, a drug-addicted mother, and a pack of inappropriate friends. When his mother gets shipped off to prison, his prosperous aunt and uncle adopt him.  He now runs the family construction company and is doing very well, only to have someone gunning for him – literally.  Still haunted by his past, he’s been receiving threatening letters and someone breaks into the office. Add into the mix his attraction to Diamond, and the guy has a full plate.  Is the notorious playboy ready to settle down now – especially with a woman like Diamond, who most definitely has wedding bells and babies on her mind?

This story felt very much like a throwback to me, in a lot of ways.  You have the pampered princess daughter, the charming, flirtatious Alpha hero who is not ready to settle down, the heroine’s overprotective father and brothers, fancy cars, fancy clothes, and enough glamor to send Joan Collins into a swoon.  Chalk it up to an obsession with Dallas and Falcon Crest as a kid, but these were actually my favorite aspects of the story.  The whole family dynasty angle.

What didn’t work as well for me is pretty much everything else.  The suspense plot flits about, never really coming into focus, seemingly serving as a convenient device to spur the plot forward when needed.  Also, the hero’s reasoning behind not going to the cops over this issue just irritates (nothing to do with his past, everything to do with it could be bad for business). The sex scenes are just bad.  Besides the tendency to delve into purple prose territory, I’m not sure I want to live in a world where I read things like “vajayjay” and “joystick” in a romance novel.  I also find myself wearing beyond thin over the overprotective daddy and brothers trope when it concerns who their precious snowflake daughter/sister is dating.  Never mind that she’s a grown-up and doesn’t really exhibit any irresponsible behavior at all in this book.

However, I love the setting – probably because I know the area that the author writes about.  It makes for a great back-drop, and a family that makes wine?  Sign me up.  Plus Diamond’s brothers?  Sure, they’re over-protective, but did I mention they’re hot?  Like, smoking, yummy hot.  So yeah, I’m signed on for book two.

Grade: C-

Summary:

As the only daughter of Southern California’s most famous wine dynasty, Diamond Drake devotes all her waking hours to the family business. Burned by love, she’s not sure she ever wants to fall in love again. But construction millionaire Jackson Wright is sweeping her up in a whirlwind romance. Is he the real thing? Or will the sinfully sexy bachelor prove to be all flash and no substance?

From the moment he sees her, Jackson is dazzled by the stunning, sultry Diamond. He knows it’s dangerous to mix business with pleasure. If only Diamond will say yes to a future glittering with their passion and love.…

Read an excerpt.

Veena’s review of About That Night by Julie James
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 3 Apr 12

Julie James writes contemporary romance for today’s reader. About that Night is a timeless love story with sparkling wit and the sizzling conversations that suck you into Kyle Rhodes’ and Rylann Pierce’s romance as though you were one of their circle of friends.

Kyle and Rylann come from opposite sides of the track. He is a billionaire hacker extraordinaire who hacked into and brought down Twitter in a drunken fit of rage. Forever labeled the Twitter Terrorist, he is convicted and sentenced to eighteen months in prison. She is Chicago’s newest Assistant US Attorney, and her first case is the motion hearing to reduce Kyle’s prison sentence to time served.

Rylann has an excellent reputation from her time at the San Francisco office where she worked before coming to Chicago, and dating a criminal isn’t exactly the best way to establish her credentials in her new job.  Kyle is content to avoid publicity and explore their mutual attraction, which had sparked the first time he saw her in a bar nine years ago when they were still in college. In the most romantic fashion, he spectacularly makes up for standing her up nine years ago by taking her to the same bar for cheeseburgers and fries paired with a $300 champagne.

This book is the third book in the FBI series. The author seamlessly brings in the characters from the first two books where they are pertinent to this story. I love this story as well as the previous two books. When I read and enjoyed A Lot Like Love so much, I immediately went out and bought Something About You. I have been anxiously awaiting this book and it certainly more than lives up to my expectations.

Grade: A+

Summary:

He’s playing games.

Though Rylann Pierce tried to fight the sparks she felt for billionaire heir Kyle Rhodes the night they met, their sizzling chemistry was undeniable. But after being stood up on their first date, Rylann never expected to see him again. So when she finds herself face-to-face with Kyle in a courthouse nine years later, she’s stunned. More troubling to the beautiful assistant U.S. attorney is that she’s still wildly attracted to him.

But she’s making the rules.

Just released from prison, Kyle Rhodes isn’t thrilled to be the star witness in a high-profile criminal case—but when Rylann comes knocking at his door, he finds she may be the one lawyer he can’t say no to. Still as gorgeous and sharp-tongued as ever, she lays down the law: she doesn’t mix business with pleasure. But Kyle won’t give up on something he wants—and what he wants is the one woman he’s never forgotten.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of The Witness by Nora Roberts
Contemporary Romance published by Putnam Adult 17 Apr 12

This is Nora Roberts’ 200th book. A huge milestone. A mega-huge career. Can she keep writing amazing story after amazing story after all this time?

You bet your ass she can. And does. The Witness, for me, is one of Nora Roberts’ best. The storyline is one we’ve read here and there – heroine witnesses a murder, agrees to testify, safe house is compromised, she runs for her life, hiding out from town to town to town. But what makes this book so much more than a sum of those parts is the characters.

We meet Elizabeth when she’s sixteen. She’s grown up under the thumb of a very controlling mother. The good girl, she’s always done what she’s told. Though she’s late coming into her rebellion, she finally lives up to that teenage tantrum the night before mom leaves for a conference. The poor girl just wants to wear a pair of jeans and pursue the career she wants, not the medical path in her mother’s footsteps. Taking her rebellion a step further, Elizabeth heads to the mall after her mother’s departure, really not knowing exactly what she should do there. She runs into a girl from school, they make plans to shop and later have a night out at a local club, which is owned by the Russian Mob.

After crafting fake IDs and they make it into the club, Liz is having the time of her life. She receives her first kiss from a handsome man with a Russian accent, and when it’s proposed they move the party to his cousin’s home, Liz isn’t sure she wants things to go any further. Once there, however, too much drink and excitement exacts its toll on her and while Liz is pretty much out of it worshiping the porcelain god, her world begins to fall apart. Murder, fear, panic, flight, and finally safety finish out her night but are also the beginning of a new life for Elizabeth. Despite her mother’s demanding she return home, Liz insists she must, as the only witness, testify against these men, and she’s taken to a safe house to wait until trial. Having no contact with her parent, she blooms as much as she can under the watchful eyes of two U.S. marshalls. Her seventeenth birthday starts out with gifts – fun, girly gifts she’s never received before – but ends with an ambush and Liz running for her life again, while the blame for the whole fiasco is laid at her feet.

Twelve years later, after successfully, though narrowly, hiding and avoiding the Russian Mob from state to state, city to city, identity to identity, Liz has become Abigail Lowry and finds a kind of peace in Bickford, AR, a small town nestled in the Ozark mountains. She feels as though she’s finally come home, keeps to herself in her high-tech house, her Bull Mastiff her only friend. When the police chief, Brooks Gleason, takes an interest in her, she’s not sure what to do with the man when he never takes no for an answer and charmingly pushes his way into her life.

What makes Abigail such a terrific heroine is you still plainly see her lack of socialization and friends, though she’s been separated from her mother for so many years. She’s direct and blunt; says what she means, means what she says. She’s very intelligent, a computer hacker, software guru, crack shot, and socially inept. But none of that even comes close to scaring Brooks off. Abigail fascinates him. She’s a walking contradiction every time he interacts with her. His slow and easy way is quite misleading with his sharp mind and wit always alert. Their banter throughout the book, from tense and fun early on to loose and sensual later, pulls the reader further and further into their relationship, learning more about them in every scene, while a good time is had by all involved.

Nora Roberts is a master at creating family on the page. What’s so much fun this time around is it’s our hero who has the loving family and has flourished because of it. Brooks gets his respectful and easy-going attitude from his hippie parents, who still hold to their ’60s beliefs, though not as tightly as in those early years. That’s what makes them so much fun. The entire family is unique, and I, for one, would flourish, too, to be a part of their love, loyalty, and generosity. Brooks is a man with all of the very best of that family wrapped into one handsome package. Abigail, at first, doesn’t know what to do with them. And that’s what makes reading her scenes so entertaining. She’s definitely out of her depth, but because of her draw to Brooks, she eventually goes with the flow when they come streaming through the door and then embraces them as fully as the reader does.

Once Abigail learns to trust Brooks, more fun is on the way. This time we get to see Abigail in action, using her intellect her and technology skills to the max. Brooks has told her all along they’ll beat whatever it is she’s hiding, but he doesn’t even dream half of what she’s gone through. It doesn’t daunt him all that much when he finally finds out, however. They work together beautifully.

With 200 books under her belt, it’s more than amazing that Ms. Roberts still comes up with intriguing storylines and charming characters. Brooks has come very close to eclipsing the Quinn brothers as my favorite Roberts hero. I know I’m looking forward to her next 200 books.

Grade:  A+

Summary:

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security  systems—and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail’s reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something—and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of The Price of Honor by Emilie Rose
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 1 Nov 11

This is a difficult book to like, because of the hero and what he does. But Emilie Rose’s smooth writing style and her skill in depicting characters, together with the heroine, make this a worthwhile read.

I appreciate when a writer, especially a category romance writer, steps outside the box and tries something a little different. While the plot is familiar, the treatment of it and the characters make this an interesting read

Megan has been with Xavier for some time, until the morning she reads about his engagement in a newspaper. She thinks it’s a joke, but Xavier confirms it. He is to marry. He explains to Megan that it’s a marriage of convenience for his business, so he can regain what his father lost, and says there’s no reason they can’t be together until his marriage in twelve months’ time.

Not surprisingly, Megan is hurt, upset, and angry. Xavier doesn’t understand it and is angry when Megan leaves France to go to work with her cousin and friend in the States.

Megan is an equestrienne, and Xavier, who owns a perfume company, is funding her, but she won’t take anything from him, won’t accept him even when she discovers she’s pregnant. But this is no secret baby book. She tells Xavier at the urging of her friend, who comes up with some very cogent arguments. Even then Xavier won’t marry her, but he decides to sue for full custody, since his bride-to-be isn’t keen on having babies.

So far Xavier sounds like a dick. He is, no mistake. At this point we want Megan to kick him into touch. He’s not worth it. But Megan loves Xavier, despite his treatment of her and, while she won’t accept second best, she decides to get him back.

I like Megan. She doesn’t feel sorry for herself, she accepts that she could lose, and she wants to do her best for her baby, but she’s not convinced that, even though Xavier is rich, letting her child be brought up by two busy people is the best for the child. She puts her baby first. Fantastic. Megan is also building a life for herself, and she knows she’ll manage, but it will be a struggle at first. And while she wants Xavier back, it’s on her own terms. An exclusive commitment.

Xavier is hard to understand, until you realize—he’s French. Practical to a fault, with a coldness and a ruthless eye for business. Don’t forget, at the funeral of President Mitterrand, his wife and his mistress with their children walked side by side in the cortege. And the French kings would appoint official mistresses. Although Madame de Pompadour held that title until her death, she probably didn’t have sex with the King for at least the last ten years of her life. The French do things differently.

Emilie Rose has done a good job of depicting the way Xavier thinks. He just doesn’t understand why Megan would be upset. He’s prepared to look after her—even take the child off her hands and raise it as his own, as his heir, and doesn’t see his marriage as an impediment to that. While the conventions of the romance novel would insist that he’s faithful, sometimes a marriage of expedience held that kind of compromise. He’s doesn’t understand the nature of love and the demands it makes, and this is what he has to learn during the course of the book.

The equestrian background is also done very well. I know little about this field, but the story has the confidence and the feel of authenticity. While I can’t say I like Xavier, I could understand him, and that goes a long way towards the fact that I read this book all the way through. Some people will hate it, and even DNF it, because, in American terms, the hero is the definition of a jerk, but maybe it’s not too much of a spoiler to say that the grovel is pretty good, and while it doesn’t make up for some of his behavior, it goes some way towards it.

Read the book for Megan, who is a strong, believable character thrust into a nightmare situation, who copes with it with dignity and independence. She wants Xavier, but if she can’t have him, she’s prepared to accept the consequences and to work towards a future for herself and her child. Without being a martyr. She has a job, she can make it work, but before she dumps his sorry ass, she’s going to have a good try at making him see why his actions are wrong and getting him back.

Grade: B-

Summary:

Aristocratic billionaire Xavier Alexandre had nearly everything: wealth, fame and the love of the beautiful American equestrienne Megan Sutherland. But he also had a secret—a mistake he was honor-bound to reverse.

Megan has her own secrets, but her plans for the future are no match for the Alexandre heritage. When her dashing lover reveals what he must do to safeguard his family name, she knows their destiny is to part. Unless Xavier can win her back. But to do so he must sacrifice all he has been taught to hold dear.

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

Veena’s review of Spellbound Falls (Spellbound Falls Series, Book 1) by Janet Chapman
Paranormal Romance published by Jove 28 Feb 12

“I’ll move heaven and earth and any mountains that get in my way” is a promise that Olivia Baldwin has waited years to see fulfilled. Janet Chapman continues her love story with Maine in Spellbound Falls, home to Olivia and her eight-year-old daughter Sophie. Olivia’s quiet world is rocked by the arrival of “supernatural agent of human affairs” wizard Mac Oceanus and his newly discovered six-year-old son Henry.

Suddenly car doors, seat belts, and jacket zippers seem to have a mind of their own, albatrosses walk the highway far from their natural habitat, and people arrive on snowflakes and thunder claps, and the small town of Spellbound Falls will never be the same again. Lonely Olivia and Mac connect instantly and their love story, aided and abetted by their two children, moves forward at a good pace.

This is a sweet, heartwarming story of new beginnings and a second chance at love. One clearly sees how the good wins out over the bad and the ugly in families and relationships. I wanted to cheer as Olivia journeys from the shadows of despair and abandonment into the light of love and family. One can totally relate with Mac as he understands, through his own bonding with his son Henry, the path to understanding and reconnecting with his parents, particularly his father.

This is my first book by Janet Chapman and while I did not understand all the references to incidents and characters from other books, they did not necessarily take away from my enjoyment of this book. I think every woman wants a man to move mountains and rock her world, as Mac does in more ways than one, to prove his love to Olivia. I am definitely looking forward to Olivia’s friend Peg’s story up next.

Grade: A

Summary:

A newcomer to Spellbound Falls, Maine, Maximilian Oceanus is trying to get a handle on fatherhood. But his newly discovered six-year-old son wants to find his father a wife. Too bad Olivia Baldwin wants nothing to do with the dangerously seductive Mac–especially with all the weird stuff happening all around him…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

LynneC’s review of Untouched By His Diamonds by Lucy Ellis
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 6 Jan 12

There’s nothing revolutionary about Untouched by his Diamonds. It’s just a good, solid story, well told, the kind that often gets overlooked in favor of the different and the sparky. But it kept me engrossed for an hour or two, so that can’t be bad, can it?

Clementine is working in publicity and her job has taken her to Moscow. Although she can’t afford the luxuries, she can’t resist the thigh-high boots she sees in a shop window, and she goes in to try them on. When she looks up, she sees Serge. He’s taller than her, although she’s nearing six feet tall, and gorgeous. But proprietorial. However, she lets him pick her up and take her back to his luxury hotel room. They get it on. Of course, it’s not all hearts and flowers.

Clementine is a likeable heroine, sassy, smart, but not to the point of snarkiness. The constantly sarcastic heroine is one I can well do without, and it’s one reason I haven’t enjoyed my occasional forays into urban fantasy. Sarcasm far too often turns into corniness and heartlessness, neither of which I enjoy. Clementine doesn’t go that far, but she does know her own mind and she’s sharp enough to stand up to the frankly macho and alpha Serge.

Serge is an interesting hero. I had thought that Serge was a French name and Sergei the Russian version, but I could buy into it for his sake, and I didn’t spare much time wondering about it. Besides, Russia always used to have a close connection with France, and the Russian court spoke French customarily instead of the more “common” Russian.

The first scene is delicious. When Clementine realizes Serge is watching her, she puts on a bit of a show for him, flashing some thigh, smoothing the boots over her legs. He’s hooked, but he doesn’t realize that Clementine is a relative innocent. She flirts as part of her job, knowing it’s a power she can use against some of the powerful men she works with. I’m not so much a feminist that I’m above using what weapons we have, so I was with Clementine here.

Serge has an unusual job for a Presents hero – he’s a sports promoter, specifically, cage fighting. Brutal and unforgiving, it’s something Clementine finds hard to come to terms with, but she persists, knowing it’s important to Serge and seeing an opening for herself in the area. Told you I like her. For Clementine, it’s not all about pleasing the hero, and although he makes her melt, she won’t take shit from him or become his doormat. Go, Clem.

The story is told with pace and verve, with both the main characters behaving in character and without absolute stupidity. It flows, and I had no problem losing myself for a couple of hours.

Grade: B

Summary:

The only thing this Russian’s money can’t buy… To merciless Russian Serge Marinov, Clementine Chevalier’s Mona Lisa smile and siren’s body could incite a male riot! She’s so bewitching that ground rules are required: he’ll give her nights of endless pleasure – but in the stark light of St Petersburg’s dawn he’ll be gone! Serge is Clementine’s secret fantasy come to life, but she has no interest in money – his diamonds leave her skin cold! So she sets some terms of her own: she won’t be warming his bed until he shows her she’s more than just this magnate’s plaything!

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of The Man Who Risked It All by Michelle Reid
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 20 Mar 12

Well, actually, he doesn’t. Not his life, not his money, not his reputation. At least, not for the heroine.

Franco races power boats, and the story starts with a disastrous crash that takes the life of his best friend and injures him. Franco has already decided that he wants his wife back, the one he wanted three years before, and he sets about doing it.

He arranges it all so that Lexi will abandon everything and run back to him. His father begs her to, she hears that he’s seriously ill, on the point of death even. So she dumps everything to fly to his bedside. He’s injured, but not as badly as he’s allowed her to believe, but when Lexi discovers that and tries to leave, he threatens to rip the shunt from the back of his hand and follow her.

That’s right. A real prince. A manipulative, selfish prince who’s determined to get his own way, whatever it costs other people. All through the story, this selfish man doesn’t let up. He takes her back to his palace (I kid you not, the building described is pretty much a palace) and uses emotional blackmail to keep her there.
Which, of course, means that he has a doormat on his hands. Lexi does what he wants her to, despite constantly whining that she has to get back to her life in London. She left him three years before and has just served him with divorce papers, but he’s not going to let her get away with that. She’s his, dammit.

Add to that the most inventive collection of speech tags I’ve read in a long time. I kept getting distracted from what they were saying by the way they were saying it. During the course of one conversation at the beginning of the book, we get “he challenged harshly,” “she denied,” “she admitted,” he clipped out,” “she contended,” “he sliced back,” “pressed home,” “reminded him gently.” All that in one page. I admit, I’m a bit of a “said” purist, but I can get by a few different tags. But all these had me wondering what tag she would come up with next, instead of taking in the information. There are a lot more, and Franco does a fair bit of “husking.”

There are also a few point of view switches, so that characters can somehow see their own eyes and how they look at a distance.

There are misunderstandings built on misunderstandings. Lexi thought Franco was cheating on her when she was in hospital miscarrying their child. For that alone, Franco should have grovelled, even though, of course, he didn’t do it. But one of my disappointments is the lack of a really good grovel at the end.
There’s another man who loves her, an older man named Bruce. He wants her back in London, and Franco feels that he is manipulating her and has for a long time. Pot, meet kettle. They both do it for her own good, of course. Oh no, silly me – they do it because it’s some kind of stags locking antlers thing, and they want the prize. I never got the feeling that either of them really wanted Lexi or understood her needs. Otherwise, they’d both leave her alone.

Lexi is supposed to be a bit kooky and buys soft toys for her men friends. Oh goodie, so we have a “crazy chick” here, one who probably shouldn’t be allowed out on her own. She shows no real judgement and absolutely no independence of thought. If there is any consolation, it’s that at least both Lexi and Franco won’t be bothering anyone else anytime soon. They really deserve each other.

Grade: D

Summary:

This fearless playboy has everything to lose… For Franco Tolle, the golden boy of Europe’s jet-set society, life is just a playground – filled with racing speedboats on the azure Mediterranean Sea. When you’re rich and famous money is no object…and to hell with the consequences! But he once took a risk with a price bigger than he was willing to pay… In a rush of red-hot infatuation he put a glittering diamond wedding ring on Lexi Hamilton’s finger, yet within months they were living separate lives. Now Franco’s daredevil life has caught up with him – but he’ll risk it all for the one thing he craves…his estranged wife!

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Believe It or Not by Tawna Fenske
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 6 Mar 12

I’ve been looking forward to Tawna Fenske’s second book since I read her debut, Making Waves, a number of months ago. She sold me on that book and any future works with her humor and her lovable and quirky characters. Is the sequel as good as the original, so to speak?

Almost, but not quite. Even after all these months I still remember Alex and Juli from Making Waves, their unique and hilarious first meeting, their high sea adventures, their steamy love scenes, and the unusual use of that black thong. While I like Drew and Violet in this book, and the quirkiness is still there, all told Believe It or Not just doesn’t have the same punch as MW.

Violet has come home to Portland, Oregon from Portland, Maine to help at her mother’s psychic shop while she goes through surgery and subsequent recuperation. Mom is a psychic, though Violet doesn’t believe in them, but she agrees to take over as resident psychic until her mother is home. That’s even though she knows she doesn’t have a psychic bone in her body. She’s an accountant, for heaven’s sake. Her life is orderly and she thrives on repetition and off-the-wall facts and trivia. But because it’s her mother, she’s determined to do what it takes to keep the business afloat.

Having gotten rid of one high-maintenance, high-strung woman, Drew isn’t ready for another one, especially the daughter of Miss Moonbeam, the quacky psychic who’s been against his two-night-a-week exotic male dancers from the start. His club isn’t a strip joint, so he gets a bit agitated when people refer to it as such. Even Violet gives him grief over it. Another reason to stay very far away from her. Wonder why he’s unable to do that?

These two are so different from one another and they want different things. And they’re each wrong for the other. Or so they think. As Violet goes through her days giving readings to her mother’s clients and taking care of new clients’ books. Drew goes through his hiring a new dancer to be trained, choosing accompanying music for their routines, and continuing to date the bimbos he’s gotten used to since his divorce. He also can’t help rummaging through the mutual storage closet situated between his place and Moonbeam’s just to get a look at Violet. When she begins to see Moonbeam’s boring doctor, that doesn’t sit well with Drew at all.

Violet does enjoy her time with the doc, however. He’s normal. Something she’s wanted her entire life, something she finally has on the East Coast – away from her mother. Why then doesn’t her heart stutter and her blood pump like it does when Drew is near? After a bit of success with her readings – all due to the music Drew plays next door – suddenly everything begins to go wrong. Blackmail, threats, and the possible loss her mom’s business are just the tip of the iceberg. Her problems even cascade over into Drew’s business, and he’s not a happy man when he finds out.

I expected to laugh out loud a lot while reading this book, just like I did with Making Waves. Mostly I had smiles, maybe a few chuckles, and only a couple of really laughter-filled moments. One of those I do have to share with you. Because Violet has one of those brains that has a lot of crazy and useless info running around in it, this scene is priceless and gives an example of the banter between her and Drew at times.

After a long silence, Violet sighed. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. It wasn’t your job to tell me about Frank.”

“I know.”

“I’m just scared.”

“I know.”

Moonbeam trusts me to keep her business running. It’s my job to protect it…to make sure everything goes okay.”

“I know.”

She looked at him. “Is there anything you don’t know?”

Drew thought about it for a minute. “I don’t know what that blue stuff is in the Magic 8 Ball. That’s always perplexed me.”

“It’s alcohol with blue dye dissolved in it.”

Drew grinned. “Now my life is complete.”

Violet sighed again. “I’m going to bed.”

“Okay. Need company?”

I have to say that I did laugh at that for several minutes. This is Violet to a T, as you’ve come to know her throughout the book. Actually, same for Drew. He’s the happy-go-lucky guy who’s out for a good time before it all changes for him later on. They are a cute, fun couple. For me, what’s lacking is the charm Alex and Juli have. Drew and Violet take their individual reasons for not starting a true relationship too far, there’s too many interrupted love scenes. Sexual tension can only go so far before that very taut string just breaks, and by the time they actually do the deed, the string had been broken for a number of chapters for me.

Maybe it’s not fair to compare this book to the previous one. But that’s something readers do all the time when they find that gem of a book that’s remembered for a long time. Believe It or Not has its moments. The quirkiness and humor are still a plus. Ms. Fenske does both well, and she gives me a good time reading, despite my issues with this story. I do look forward to her next book.

Grade: B-

Summary:

It’s your typical “reluctant fake psychic” meets “jaded owner of a male strip club” love story. With a twist.

Violet McGinn doesn’t believe in psychic powers. That’s one thing she has in common with Drew Watson, the infuriatingly hot owner of the bar next door to Miss Moonbeam’s psychic studio. There’s just one problem – Miss Moonbeam is Violet’s mother. And for the next few weeks, Violet must fill mom’s shoes at the psychic studio.

Drew can’t figure out who’s nuttier – Miss Moonbeam, or her gorgeous daughter trying desperately to live the normal, straight-laced life mom never gave her. The one thing he knows for sure is that he doesn’t need another type-A female meddling with his life, career, or heart. So why can’t he get her out of his head?

Before Drew and Violet know what hit them, they discover that while normal may be nice, weird can be wonderful. Even worse, there just might be something to this psychic crap after all…

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
Contemporary Romance audiobook published by Random House Audio 6 Feb 07

I listen to a lot of audiobooks while driving; can’t do without my books for even that long! Every now and again one of those audiobooks keeps me interested in the story more than the driving. This book certainly did that when I missed my freeway exit and ended up 15 miles down the road to the next town before I realized what I’d done. While that’s not the best thing in the world to have happen right at that moment, at least that tells you this is a darned good story.

Hugh and Dana Clarke are expecting their first child. This is a time in their lives of joy and anticipation. When the baby finally decides to come into the world, they’re prepared and all goes well, mother and daughter are doing fine. But when they get a good look at their new daughter, besides ten tiny fingers and toes, they notice little Lizzy also has traits of African American descent in her appearance. While they’re both a bit stunned, Dana is giddily happy with her perfect little girl. It’s Hugh who hesitates too long, who has doubts.

Then Hugh’s family begins to pressure to him to find Dana’s father, a man she’s never met, never known. The only family she has now is her grandmother, and she knows not much more than Dana. But Dana has never been interested in locating her father; she’s the result of a casual college relationship between her mother, who is now deceased, and a man who has never taken an interest in Dana. Hugh warns her they need to be prepared to answer questions people will ask when they see Lizzy. He knows there’s no African American ancestors in his family, it’s been traced back generations. If they don’t have answers, folks will assume the worst, like an affair.

Dana is dumbfounded that Hugh is giving in to the pressure around him, doubting her and her fidelity. He finally goes so far as to get a paternity test – just to quiet the nonbelievers, or so he says. Crushed that her husband doesn’t trust her – a marriage without trust isn’t a marriage – she reluctantly agrees to the test. The strain between them only grows. While all of this is going on, there are also plenty of other happenings around. Dana’s grandmother owns a local yarn shop and we get to meet and interact with a few characters there, some of whom knew Dana’s mother, and this is where Dana begins with the scant information they have to start her search. Hugh has taken on a pro bono legal client, one he met at the hospital, who is trying to get help from her father’s child to pay for the medical care due to his injuries as a result of a car accident. It ends up being a very high-profile case, and he fights to the end for what’s right.

The results of the paternity test put Hugh’s mind at ease, though Dana is still angry with him and his reason for needing it in the first place. The search for Dana’s father finally bears fruit, and they’re assured there’s no such ancestry in her family. She’s so overwhelmed at what she finds out that Dana just can’t handle the new family that comes out of the woodwork at this point. It’s during a routine checkup for Lizzy that it’s discovered she’s a carrier of the sickle cell, found predominantly in people of color. Dana is immediately tested, with negative results. The twist in all their lives comes when Hugh tests positive and all his family secrets that are at the core of the issue plaguing them are finally emotionally revealed.

I find this concept interesting, to say the least. Ms. Delinsky does a terrific job at building the reader up to go a certain way in the story and then turning the tables on both reader and characters. For Dana, she never cared where the baby’s color came from. It doesn’t matter. Though it matters to Hugh, more from family and social pressure, he does find that it’s not really as important as he thought. All that truly matters is that little girl and her family.

Grade: B

Summary:

An explosive novel about family, and choices people make in times of crisis.

Dana Clarke has always longed for the stability of home and family—her own childhood was not an easy one. Now she has married a man she adores who is from a prominent New England family, and she is about to give birth to their first child. But what should be the happiest day of her life becomes the day her world falls apart. Her daughter is born beautiful and healthy, but no one can help noticing the African American traits in her appearance. Dana’s husband, to her great shock and dismay, begins to worry that people will think Dana has had an affair.The only way to repair the damage done is for Dana to track down the father she never knew and to explore the possibility of African American lineage in his family history. Dana’s determination to discover the truth becomes a poignant journey back through her past and her husband’s heritage that unearths secrets rooted in prejudice and fear. Barbara Delinsky’s Family Tree is an utterly unforgettable novel that asks penetrating questions about race, family, and the choices people make in times of crisis—choices that have profound consequences that can last for generations

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of The Rancher and the Rock Star by Lizbeth Selvig
Contemporary Romance published by Avon Impulse 27 Mar 12

Music is an important part of my life. I have soundtracks for each book I write, and I get excited when I discover new artists who can evoke an emotion in me, so I’m always jonesing for books about musicians. (except for country and western. I just don’t get it, and believe me, I’ve tried. I think I’m missing the country and western gene). When I saw The Rancher and the Rock Star, I decided to give it a go, despite the terrible cover.

Half way through, I DNF’d this book. The unbelievability of the hero and his situation, the super sweetness and the managing heroine did me in. While I love stories about someone extraordinary and an “ordinary” person, I need to be sold on the idea. A non-cursing rock star who believes in virginity (about as mythical as the unicorn to the rocks stars I’ve met, and I’ve met a few) who falls for a Mary Sue doesn’t cut it for me, I’m afraid.

For the first three chapters, the hero’s alias confused me. Many rock stars have stage names, and I wasn’t sure if Gray Covey was a real name or a stage name. A bit distracting. But I decided I could live with that and read on. Far worse is the first chapter. The hero arrives at the heroine’s farm and “thinks” all the plot so far. To himself, as if he didn’t know it. And while thinking to himself, he uses words like “darn.” I’m sorry? He’s not born-again, and as I read on, I realized that he wasn’t precisely a rock star either. About as much as Elton John is a rock star. I can’t complain about the technical details, they seem about right, so there is a measure of authenticity in the research. While the author tries to keep the references current by talking about Bon Jovi and Elton John as rock dinosaurs and people Gray and Abby had grown up loving, there’s little or no mention of current bands, and you don’t have to look far to find the glorious Elbow, Radiohead and the Foo Fighters to reference, instead of mainstream pop stars of yesteryear. (Not sure I’d call Elbow rock but glorious, definitely).

I just couldn’t believe in Gray. He’s perfect, doesn’t take drugs, doesn’t drink to excess, and he is the star, it seems, while the rest of the band and crew work for him. Maybe he’d have been better as a country star, but he doesn’t work as a rock singer. But no, his internal voice is far too feminine to work. He uses “female” words and thinks in a female way. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean “effeminate.” It’s hard to pin down, but I never get a sense of Gray as a real person. He is an object, perfectly built, behaves impeccably and falls in love with a hard-working widow.

Groan. The hard-working widow is the most Mary Sue I’ve read in ages. She’s feisty, whatever that is, she’s God-fearing, she’s beautiful but holds no store by her beauty. And she isn’t special in any way. Why would Gray fall for her? I have absolutely no idea. I find her a bit boring. She does nothing but scold him in the portion of the book that I read, and she pays more attention to the irritating teenage children than she does to him. Oh yes, and she cooks and tidies like a dream. I have no doubt that if they do have sex later in the book, it’s good, and sweet, and missionary, perhaps in a tent or a deserted cabin so they don’t disturb the children.

Gray has a sixteen year old and Abby has a daughter, and that’s what initially brings them together. Abby runs a ranch, only it’s not a ranch like I imagine it. A bit small, or do you get ranches of 40 acres? (Even in the UK, farms have at least 200 acres. I thought ranches were big-ass places). And in Minnesota? I can’t say too much, because I really don’t know much about the set-up, but it does strike me as mildly odd. Gray’s son has run away from his boarding school in England and come to this ranch to meet his online best friend. Yep, you read it right. A sixteen year old managed to fly half way across the world with nobody checking his details. I have to tell you, that’s pretty much impossible these days. Meh, never mind, perhaps he flew on a false passport that he bought from a man in a pub that gave his age as eighteen. Or something like that.

And the title. The Rancher and the Rock Star? It just doesn’t work for me. Too clichéd, I guess. The cover, also, is one of the worst I’ve seen recently, from anywhere but Siren, which, I’m convinced, does it on purpose. This one is badly photoshopped, with a model ripped in that particular gym-bunny way, plonked against a background with a guitar whose perspective doesn’t make sense. It is so poorly done, you can see the lines around the outside of the male figure where it had been detached from its original background. Someone didn’t even bothered to blur it or do the cutting out properly.

Although this book isn’t described as Inspirational, it comes very close. While I don’t object to a character referring gratuitously to God, it is jarring when you’re not expecting it. It annoyed me, to be frank. Evangelicism always has. Perhaps that’s my main problem with this book. The evangelical attitude spread to the other characters, Abby in particular, who decides she’s going to help Gray for his own good. Ick. And it’s so sweet it comes in the tooth-aching section.

I try to read books with as few expectations as possible, but I did know going in that the author had won the Golden Heart. Winners of the Golden Heart often have one book that they tweak and tweak, and I believe that is the case here. Some sections are overwritten with too much description and language so well thought out that it dies on the page. It also has hallmarks of a pet project that the author wouldn’t quite let go of. There are a few alterations I’d have loved to see, like making Abby a bit less wonderful and managing and giving Gray a bit more grit, but they are there, all spread out on the page. Honestly, the book might have worked as an inspirational, but as a mainstream romance about a particularly sleazy business, rock music, it doesn’t work at all.

I did skim the rest of the book, to see if anything remarkable happens in the second half. Nope. But typical of the editing errors sprinkled throughout, at least I got a laugh on the last page. “He craved the taste of her mouth like an addict needed heroine.” I kid you not. Kill me now.

I’m sorry, I couldn’t read further than halfway, and I need something a lot grittier and realistic to satisfy my yearning for reading about rock music.

Grade: DNF

Summary

To the world, Gray Covey is a rock superstar. But to his runaway son, he’s simply the father who never has any time for him. To prove that he’s more than his rock star lifestyle, for the next few weeks Gray must put aside his fame and become…a farmhand?

Abby Stadtler has built the perfect, quiet life for herself. Neat and orderly is the name of the game for her and her beloved farm. When Gray shows up on her doorstep, looking like he stepped straight off the front cover of a magazine, she is determined that he won’t upset her routine.

But what neither counts on is the love that springs up between them. Abby knows that life on a ranch in Minnesota can never compete with an exciting world tour. But for Gray, it’s time to decide what’s really important. With Abby’s help, will he be able to decide, once and for all, that love and family are the answer?

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Lori Wilde
Contemporary Western Romance published by Avon 27 Mar 12

What a delightful book this is. It’s also my first Lori Wilde read, and the fact she writes sexy, sensual, and fun cowboys makes it that much more enjoyable.

The opening scene sets the tone for the book, and what a riot it is. Mariah Callahan has made her way to Jubilee, Texas, to find out what her recently deceased father has left her in his will. Her plan is to get rid of it all and then hightail back to her life in Chicago. A life that has fallen apart and needs desperate mending. When her boss should have backed her up during a sexual harassment incident, she fired Mariah instead. So now Mariah hopes to make her dream of opening her own wedding planning business finally come true. But first she has to deal with the backlash of a father who loved his cutting horses more than he ever loved his daughter.

When she arrives at the ranch, she finds a cowboy – one good-looking, sexy thing – naked in a horse trough. How to take care of this situation? And the banter between them is just hilarious. I think this is the earliest I’ve ever laughed out loud reading a book. Joe is expecting Mariah. This is the daughter who didn’t give a shit about his best friend, her dad. Joe has gone through horrible loss in the last few years, including losing Dutch just weeks before. Thus his bender of last night, ending with his “bath” in that gold-plated trough. I have to share part of that conversation with you.

“I’m calling the cops,” she threatened, pulling her cell phone from her purse.

“Are you always this friendly?”

“Whenever I find a naked cowboy in my gold-plated horse trough I am. I’m pretty sure there’s laws against public nudity, even in this backwater place.”

“First off, I’m not naked,” he said.

She couldn’t stop herself from raking a gaze over his amazing body. “You look naked.”

“Appearances can be deceiving. For instance, you look stuck-up.”

“Sometimes appearances can be deceiving, but on the whole, I’ve found that generally what you see is what you get.”

“So you’re saying you are stuck-up?”

“I’m saying you look like a drunken derelict.”

“Hungover derelict,” he corrected. “I’m not drunk anymore.”

“Excuse me for missing the distinction. I’m sure your mother is so proud.”

“I have underwear on,” he offered.

“How comforting.” As if a little strip of soaking wet cotton cloth hid anything. Why she should find that even more tantalizing than full nudity, she had no clue, but she did.

And that bothered her, a lot.

“Secondly, this isn’t public,” the cowboy continued. It’s private property.”

“I know,” she said. Had she driven down a rabbit hole when she wasn’t looking and ended up in Wonderland? She half expected to see the White Rabbit pop up at any moment, muttering about being late. “My property.”

“Thirdly, it’s not your horse trough.” Her finger hovered over the keypad. Should she call the cops? By challenging him, was she making things worse? Maybe she should just walk away and let him get out of the horse trough at his own pace…

There’s some banter about the sheriff’s deputy just pulling up being a woman, and then they get back to the fact Mariah is upset because he’s in her horse trough, they’ve come full circle.

“It’s not your horse trough.”

“It is.”

“Nope, because it’s not your ranch.”

“It is and I can prove it.”

“It’s not and here’s the reason why. My name is Joe Daniels, this here is Green Ridge Ranch, and I have a sneaking suspicion you’re looking for Stone Creek.”

I actually should have stopped this scene after the appearances can be deceiving part, because that’s where I laughed the hardest, but until their relationship moves to the next level because of the heat between them, this all is the fun to be had whenever Joe and Mariah are together. Even after the tide turns for them, the banter turns too, becomes even more fun and intimate.

Mariah’s plans change a few times during her stay in Jubilee. First she wants out as fast as she can. She agrees to wait, though, a few months, until Christmas, when Joe enters his cutting horse in the local futurity. He knows he’ll win and he can pay her for the property. The amazing horse came from Dutch, in exchange for the Stone Creek Ranch. Then the longer Mariah stays, the more she gets to know the people, which you can’t help but do in small-town America, she begins to think maybe this life could be for her. Maybe her wedding planning business could work here. When she meets a couple of people to push her in that direction, she talks to the bank and gets her hopes up. But they’re dashed quite quickly when her history is revealed.

But this is where her relationship with Joe with becomes truly cemented in love. He offers to bring his men over to build her wedding chapel for her. And they get it built in no time. Mariah sees her dream coming to life before her eyes. Her barn is transformed into a reception hall. She even has a wedding to plan, and all goes off without a hitch. She’s well on her way now.

Interspersed in all of this is Joe’s feelings for his deceased wife. Theirs was a wild albeit short relationship, and he’s missed Becca terribly since her accident. The town also loved her to death. So every time Mariah comes up against Becca in Joe’s life, she takes a step back. Joe’s not ready for another relationship. There’s too much guilt, too much left-over love to deal with. He has to learn to let go, but when he tries it never works.

And there’s Mariah’s feelings for her father. The father she never really knew because he loved his horses more than he loved her. The father who left her and her mother behind years ago, who embarrassed her, who left her his ranch. At first she doesn’t understand how the people of Jubilee could love the man so much, but as she learns more about him, sees inside his heart, she begins to discover the person he was, and she’s sorry she missed knowing that man.

When disaster strikes, it strikes with a heavy hand. Both Joe and Mariah are hit, but it’s Mariah who loses the most. Which helps her make her decision to flee Jubilee in the end, along with other factors, of course.

We also get a side story with Joe’s sister-in-law, Ila, who has been in love with Joe for years, and Cordy, Joe’s right-hand man. Ila hasn’t given Cordy a second look because he’s shorter than she is, but he’s done with her ignoring him. He pulls out all the stops and makes her sit up and take notice, while also getting her to let Joe go. They’re a lot of fun.

The one thing I don’t like that much in the book are the parallels to Sleepless in Seattle. The references to it to help Joe with his feelings about being a widower are fine, but then it goes a little too far with the call-in show and all that follows, just like the movie. It really isn’t needed. The author does fine on her own, and I feel she would have kept doing fine with a true, straight course as she’d been doing all along. But all’s well that ends well, as they say.

This is a fun and funny read. The characters are charming, the folks next door, people you’d like to know. I like the slow-growing love between Joe and Mariah, despite their fears. I’m definitely going to be cracking open a few more Lori Wilde books.

Grade: A

Summary:

Welcome to Jubilee, Texas: where everyone knows everybody’s business—especially if that business is love!

Ex-champion bull rider turned cutting horse cowboy Joe Daniels isn’t quite sure how he ended up sleeping in a horse trough wearing nothing but this Stetson and cowboy boots. But now he’s wide-awake and a citified woman is glaring down at him. His goal? Get rid of her ASAP. The obstacle? Fighting the attraction he feels towards the blond-haired filly with the big, vulnerable eyes.

When out-of-work wedding planning Mariah Callahan learns that her estranged father has left her a rundown ranch in Jubilee, she has no choice but to accept it. Her goal? Redeem her career by planning local weddings. The obstacle? One emotionally wounded, hard-living cowboy who stirs her guilt, her heartstrings, and her long-buried cowgirl roots…

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of The Real Rio D’Aquila (The Orsini Brothers, Book 6) by Sandra Marton
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 15 Nov 11

This is the last book about the children of a Mafia don, who turn their backs on him and his ways and find their own way in life and to love. This series has been guilty pleasure after guilty pleasure, although I haven’t read them all.

This one is the last sister’s story. Isabella, or Izzy as her siblings call her, is a gardener, trying to make it to the big commissions. Her brother-in-law puts a big job her way, doing the landscaping for a house in the Hamptons, owned by a self-made billionaire (this is the Modern/Presents line, don’t forget!). She arrives late and disheveled, having crashed her car.

Rio D’Aquila started life as Matteo Rossi. He’d been brought up in an orphanage and worked his way to the top. He is annoyed when Izzy turns up and gives her his alter ego, Matteo. He’s been digging. Rio likes digging.

Most of the book is them having a wild weekend and then a wild week in his house in Mustique. The telling of the story is enjoyable, and if you let yourself get carried away by the read, then you’re in for a good time.

It’s only when you start to question that the story begins to crumble.

For instance, Isabella is born into wealth and she has fabulously wealthy siblings. So how come she doesn’t know about Mustique? It’s extremely exclusive, if a bit démodé these days, and buying a beach hut there is beyond the capabilities of a mere millionaire. You have to be seriously rich to live there. But she swallows the story of a caretaker having a house there. I could believe that said caretaker could pilot a small plane, if his quirky boss demanded it, but when we get to the Mustique bit, I had to suppress an eyeroll. She’s a professional gardener/landscaper, but she doesn’t talk like one. When she sees the garden, she says she’ll put “some” plants here and “some” plants there. She sounds like a small-scale amateur, not the kind who remodels estates.

At times, Isabella goes past sweet and naïve into stupid. To do her justice, she does realize she is getting in way past what she should. Going into an empty house with a total stranger on her own, however ripped that stranger happens to be, is little short of criminal.

And another question. Admittedly, I don’t know the Hamptons well (for that, read not at all) but in such an exclusive area, how likely are you to meet a run-down would-be rapist? (not Rio, but a walk-on character). Isabella shouldn’t be allowed out on her own, and my growing lack of sympathy for her makes some of her story a bit hard to take.

Rio is gorgeous, and he realizes early on that he has to come clean about who he is, but Isabella doesn’t let him. She wants to make love. I enjoyed his self-guilt and his crawling at the end, but I think Isabella should have done a bit of groveling herself. However, this isn’t the Modern/Presents way. He builds his fortune easily, gets accepted into all the right places, has sex with and then discards women, you know the score. I like a little more detail about my billionaires, maybe a bit more than the vague references to him buying and selling. For me, it adds to an authentic background and lets me buy into the story.

I also find it hard to believe that they could fall so deeply in love in a few days. In some romance novels I’ve gone along with the fantasy, but in reality it takes more than a few days. At one point Isabella realizes she doesn’t know Matteo at all, and I’d have been happier if they’d have not rushed into marrying.

And for reference, you can now get pregnancy kits that will tell you for sure two days after conception. And you don’t need a doctor to confirm it. If you’ve done a reliable over-the-counter test, repeated it, and it says you’re pregnant, then you are.

I’d skip the epilogue, all but the last paragraph, which is amusing. Wrapping the series up with a corny explanation of what the father was doing all this time isn’t really satisfactory. Not for me, anyway, so I prefer to believe that bit didn’t happen.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Italian by birth, this street urchin lived a life of extreme poverty until he escaped to Brazil—where he cast off his roots, took a new name and pulled himself up from the streets.

Now Rio D’Aquila is beyond wealthy, with a reputation for being uncompromising in business…and incomparable in bed! But on meeting vulnerable Isabella Orsini, he feels something deep within him stir, and he finds himself pretending to be that long-forgotten man.

Passion flares and their affair spirals, but Isabella still doesn’t know that her lover has lied to her. Who is the real Rio D’Aquila?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

LauraC’s review of Time Out by Jill Shalvis
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Blaze 21 Feb 12

I don’t generally read category romances because the length often leaves me feeling that something is lacking in the story. But I adore Jill Shalvis, so if anyone can get me to read short, it’s her. It was with a touch of trepidation that I picked up this book just because I thought the relationship would be too simple, given the lack of length. I am more than happy to say that my fears were completely unfounded.

This story takes place after wildfires ripped through California. Rainey runs a rec center where many teenagers who have lost their homes and been forced to live in trailers or tiny apartments with multiple families hang out. Like the rest of the area, the rec center is suffering from economic trials and a lack of personnel.

Enter Mark Diego, former hometown hero, current NHL coach. He’s brought two of his players—suspended for fighting—home for the summer to do some community service at the rec center to get their reputations back in order. Of course, Mark has no idea that Rainey, who turned his life upside down years before, will be his boss.

Both Mark and Rainey are entirely likeable. Rainey has been attracted to Mark since her youth, but after a mortifying incident where she surprised him in college by entering his bedroom naked, only to find him getting a blow job, she’s stayed out of his way. But now that she’s all grown up, Mark figures his “hands off” policy can go right out the window. He won’t let her avoid him, won’t let her avoid her own feelings. Nor will he ignore his.

Mark snagged her wrist. He was extremely aware that she thought that he was in this just for the sex, but she was wrong. He was in for more. He just wasn’t sure what that more was. All he knew was that sitting in the slightly shabby living room surrounded by Rainey and her family made him feel more relaxed and calm than he could remember being in far too long.

Rainey’s life and warmth ground Mark, whose fast-paced, stress-filled job as an NHL coach, riding herd on a bunch of hot-headed hockey players while still motivating them to do their best, keeps him running in circles a lot of the time. And his can-do attitude, slight bad-boy air, and the touch of glamor he brings make Rainey’s life complete.

The kids’ sheer joy choked Rainey up. They’d had everything taken from them, everything, and yet they were so resilient. She turned away to give herself a minute, then found her gaze caught and held by Mark’s. She had no idea how it was that he managed to catch her at her weakest every single time, but he did. He didn’t smirk, didn’t even smile. Instead his eyes were steady and warm and somehow…somehow they made her feel the same.

Of course, despite the category length of this book, Rainey and Mark don’t have an easy time making their lives fit together. Despite his attraction to Rainey, Mark isn’t sure what he wants from her. He isn’t ready to move back home and he’s afraid a relationship would force him to settle down, stop traveling with his team, effectively ending his career. He doesn’t believe Rainey—despite the fact that she really enjoys her life as is—would settle for a man who travels. And Rainey has insecurity issues when it comes to him, plus she wonders whether it’s possible to make a relationship like theirs work long term.

There’s not much left to say other than if you like contemporaries, go out and get this one! You won’t be sorry.

Grade: A

Summary:

NHL coach Mark Diego’s plan to spend his off-season volunteering in his hometown goes awry when he learns that not only is he coaching teenage girls, but that the program is coordinated by energetic (and five feet two inches of trouble) coordinator Rainey Saunders, his childhood friend—and the woman he could never stand to see dating any other guy….

When their tempers flare, Mark and Rainey discover their fireworks don’t just burn angry—they burn very, very hot! But that’ll just sweeten the victory. Because Mark always plays to win. And with Rainey, he’s planning on playing very dirty, too…

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of Caught in the Spotlight by Jules Bennett
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 6 Mar 12

Jules Bennett is a Desire writer of some standing. She’s been writing for the Harlequin Desire line for a number of years and understands the tropes perfectly. The heroes are the usual alpha males but without the hard edge you sometimes find in a Presents. They have a more modern outlook, don’t expect their heroines to be prisoners of the kitchen. The heroines are often a little older, nearer thirty than twenty, and more independent, more likely to answer their heroes back. This book contains all that and more. So why didn’t I like it better?

Bronson is a film producer, the hottest in Hollywood, and the son of one of the queens of the film acting profession, Olivia. The heroine, Mia, works as Olivia’s PA, and she and Bronson fall for each other during the Cannes film festival, when he uses her as a kind of heterosexual beard – to keep the ravening hordes of predatory females away. They have one night, and several weeks later, back in Hollywood, Mia finds out she’s pregnant. She tells Bronson because he has a right to know, not because she expects him to do anything. I like that, I do think the father of a child has the right to know. In any case, she can sue the pants off him for maintenance after the child is born, especially with DNA testing to prove paternity beyond doubt. Not that sweet Mia intends to do that, even if Bronson turns his back on her. She’s too sweet for that.

That’s one of my problems. Mia is, basically, a Presents heroine. She nurtures. She loves to cook, looks after Olivia and her needs, doesn’t have any ambitions for herself. I don’t know why. In fact, I don’t know a great deal about Mia and what makes her tick. I do know that she is keeping a secret from Bronson – that his chief rival and someone he dislikes for having an affair with his ex-wife, Anthony, is really Bronson’s half-brother from an affair Olivia had when she was on the brink of stardom. But Anthony, who used to be Mia’s boss, asked her not to tell anyone.

So I don’t even mind her keeping the secret from Bronson, because it isn’t her secret to tell. I do mind her constant angsting about it and the way she doesn’t call Anthony to ask his permission to tell Bronson. Even when Anthony realizes that Bronson and Mia are an item, she doesn’t ask him. Although lip-service is paid to Mia’s independence and feistiness, she actually has very little. She instantly decides to keep the baby, cries in Olivia’s arms, and takes Bronson back as a lover. What finally finishes her for me is the inevitable “this is only for sex, I can’t love you” spiel that Bronson spins her.

I am getting heartily tired of this trope. It seems like a favorite trope is adopted by Harlequin writers and then goes into overdrive. So we have a spate of secret babies, then a bunch of Big Misunderstandings, and now it’s the I Can’t Give You Anything But Sex, Baby line. The men are emotional cripples who won’t give emotion but find the little woman winning them over anyway. Basically, they are cowardly jerks, not my idea of heroes at all.

Bronson is no exception. He wants her, he takes her, he thinks it’s fair to tell her that he can’t love her because a woman done him down once. What a jerk. He won’t even try. She wins him over despite his desire to keep separate. At least he accepts responsibility for the baby. Eventually. He starts by demanding a DNA test, which Mia reluctantly says he can have once the baby is born. So she’s a jerk, too. Because he’s a Hollywood hotshot and someone did this to him before. It makes him a jerk, but it makes Mia as stupid as a lump of sugar. She’s been around Hollywood types for a while now and she doesn’t understand the pressures they’re under?

I bought a new hard drive for my computer a couple of weeks ago. It arrived well packed. Very well packed. I swear, Bronson had more cardboard than the new hard drive came packed in. He does what he does for the plot. I never feel particularly as if I understand him, and the old “my wife betrayed me” thing is never explored, never made real, just used as an excuse.

If the whole Anthony subplot is ditched, then it might have given Bronson and Mia a bit more room to develop as real people, to give the tropes room to breathe. Because using tried and true isn’t the problem, it’s that they aren’t used to make Bronson and Mia into real people to make the reader care.

My last irritation is the confusion of tenses. Bennett uses “that’s” and “it’s” when she really means “that was” or “it was.” She even uses two tenses in the same sentence, moving from present tense to past. It happens so much in this book that it is a real distraction and I found myself looking for more of them, rather than sinking into the story.

Presumably Anthony and his wife Charlotte are heading for a sequel. I doubt I’ll follow them there. Sorry.

Grade: D

Summary:

A True Hollywood Love Story?Who’s the exotic beauty on the arm of mega-hot ladies’ man Bronson Dane? Word is she’s Mia Spinelli, recently rumored to be the mistress of her former boss—and Bronson’s longtime industry rival. Now she’s the personal assistant to Bronson’s mother. Is Mia getting “personal” with Bronson, too? He’s been spotted escorting her into a Hollywood doctor’s office, and Mia has a noticeable baby bump. Has the sultry assistant managed to get under the playboy producer’s skin—and into his bed?

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

LynneC’s review of An Inconvenient Obsession by Natasha Tate
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 20 Sep 11

This is definitely a guilty pleasure book. I shouldn’t like it, as it contains many elements I’m not fond of, but it was downright fun to read.

The hero is a self-made man, who Cate sent away years ago, although they grew up together and fell in love. She thought he should move on and have his chance and knew he wouldn’t while he was in love with her. But he resented that and subsequent events she doesn’t know about. So when she puts the island where they both grew up on sale at a charity auction, he bids on it and wins. He wants it for his father.

This brings them into close proximity and rekindles their attraction for each other. It isn’t long before Ethan realises he doesn’t just want the island, he wants Cate, too. So strike one, revenge. I don’t generally like revenge stories, but it doesn’t last too long, although the ramifications do.

She has been injured by a fall from her horse and has spent years in recovery, but she doesn’t tell him. He has heard of the accident, but she makes light of it. Strike two, the makings of a big misunderstanding, and it could also lead to the martyr syndrome. There’s no doubt that the heroine is a martyr, but I couldn’t help but admire her nerve and courage in coping with her problems. She is also very conscious of her scars. I do think her recovery from self-consciousness is a bit too easy, though.

Strike Three is her virginity. I did, however, understand why she kept it for so long, but losing your virginity up against a door strikes me as more than painful. And the hymen is misplaced again.

I did enjoy the progression of this story, the way Ethan moves from revenge to understanding. He is too ruthless at the beginning, too ready to hurt. Then he realises some things he should have known and grows to want her more. He does railroad her, and I did feel for Cate at parts of the story. Ethan’s obsession doesn’t rise to the level of Edward in Twilight, but it comes pretty close. I mention Edward because at one point, Ethan stands outside Cate’s window to watch her sleep.

Cate is definitely a victim. She is hurt by her father, then by pushing Ethan away, then by her accident. What redeems her somewhat is her courage and her determination to live her life on her terms. Unfortunately, Ethan puts paid to that, and by the end of the story, Cate is entirely dependent on him. I would have rather she had a life of her own.

Tate’s style is very intense, occasionally moving over into near-farcical, but she certainly has a way with emotional scenes. That is the main reason I read the story to the end, because of the way Tate gets inside the characters and makes us feel with them. Sometimes even if we don’t want to. She does tend to have disembodied body parts, “his eyes moved around the room,” that kind of thing, but on the whole it’s solid and well done.

Strike four, if I’m allowed to bend the rules a little, is the epilogue, but I can’t say too much about that because it would be a spoiler. But that does make me roll my eyes.

Grade: B-

Summary:

The Carrington family’s island is up for auction…
Now, that’s an invitation Ethan Hardesty just can’t refuse. This groundskeeper’s son turned global entrepreneur has it all. All, that is, except a piece of the Carrington estate—the island that holds all his most pleasurable and painful memories.
Ethan doesn’t count on the beautiful Cate Carrington handling the transaction—and providing him with the perfect opportunity to take her into the bargain. But toying with the woman who was once the girl he loved and lost soon turns from a game into an all-out obsession.…

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)