LynneC’s review of Darker After Midnight (Midnight Breed, Book 10) by Lara Adrian
Paranormal Romance published by Delacourte Press 24 Jan 11

I wanted this book because it’s Sterling Chase’s book, but while the first part keeps the reader on the edge of her seat, the second half descends into a big wtfkery, as Adrian sets the scene for what will probably be a new series. There will be spoilers in this review, however I’ll mark them for you, but the first part won’t have spoilers as such. However, we know certain things, and I don’t really consider them spoilers, such as this is a romance, so it has a HEA.

Sterling Chase is the hyper-controlled Breed male who joined the Order after giving up the Agency. Some of the best parts of this book are when Chase returns to his old Darkhaven and muses about his previous life, what he wanted and how he’d been mistaken. We actually get insights into his character and what makes him tick. But other parts of Chase’s character aren’t carried through properly. We know at the end of the last book that he has succumbed to bloodlust and so he’s doomed. He has to go cold turkey, or maybe he doesn’t, maybe he can just fight it. Bloodlust is described as an addiction, but Chase doesn’t behave like an addict. For one thing, he falls in love and puts that person above his addiction. Addicts don’t do that. It weakened that part of Chase’s character. And (spoiler) the resolution. What resolution? We just see lurve beating all, we don’t see him kicking his habit. It’s an important part of Chase’s character, until it stops being a part of his character. Until it’s not needed anymore to move the story forward. I want more about Chase and less about the badass villain.

Dragos has been the villain through the whole series. He has never been more than two-dimensional, and here he doesn’t disappoint in that respect. He’s a megalomaniac. While other megalomaniacs had quirks (Blofelt had a cat, Goldfinger had a third nipple), Dragos doesn’t even have that. He just wants to rule the world and is prepared to create chaos while he does so. Like a spoiled child wanting a toy, he doesn’t really know why he wants it or what he’ll do with it once he gets it.

As usual, we get destruction and mayhem, but some of the story threads lead nowhere and others come out of the blue. (spoiler alert). Atlantis? Really? And when Dragos dies, it’s over so fast and so easily, that you wonder why they bothered waiting so long. Dragos’s master plan is so ridiculously simple, I don’t know why he didn’t do it earlier, before the Order had a chance to fight him.

The heroine of this book is Tavia, who is more than she thinks she is at the start. And here’s another break with the rest of the rules of the series. I feel kind of cheated when I discovered what Tavia is, because, although the explanation is plausible, it negates some of the other earlier books. Tavia starts the book as an interesting character in an interesting job, but that dissipates as, before our eyes, she turns into a Mary Sue. Everybody loves her, except the villain, who wants her, and she makes everything all right. She cures addiction, she fights, she Saves The Day, and we are meant to believe that where a group of experienced warriors fail, a scheme that the aforesaid Blofelt could have spotted with one eye closed would succeed? At the end, she does something so stupid that I lost respect or interest for her.

Originality, this book has none. I don’t mind that so much as some readers. For instance, this series is about a bunch of otherworldly, vampiric badass warriors who all live together in a great big house and find their mates. Yep, definitely been there before, again and again for that matter, but the women are more proactive and interesting, and the writing is less simplistic than others in similar vein. What’s more, the characters, especially in the first three books, are far more involving, less ciphers, with motivations that make sense and story arcs that go somewhere. For me, the series started to fall apart when she turned Andreas Reichen into a totally different character for Ashes of Midnight, but I kept reading, hoping the series would turn. At some points, it did, but this last book is one of the weakest in the series, which is a real shame, as I loved Chase in the earlier books and I wanted to read about him, not some weird outer-space-meets-mythology mashup.

This story starts really well and I couldn’t stop reading, but at a certain point, it changed, and I just wanted to get to the end. Then I wish I hadn’t. Here followeth spoilers, but I’ll try not to make it too bad.

At one point toward the end, I groaned aloud. My daughter, who was in the same room, asked me what was wrong, and I said one word. “Atlantis.” She hasn’t read this series, didn’t know what I was reading, but she groaned, too. Oh dear. It’s like having a joker in the pack or playing a black two and then saying, “Oh, by the way, black twos are wild.” It came out of nowhere and it didn’t work. For that matter, the whole interpretation of dreams subplot didn’t work for me. I was tempted to skip, but I read, hoping it would come together at the end, but it didn’t.

The end of the book is one big Harlequin Presents ending. Couples cuddling and babies. Omg the babies! Sweet as sugar.

And the speech to the world? Absolutely unbelievable. I mean I didn’t believe it. It’s like a Godzilla film, with people rushing around screaming and school buses falling off high bridges, and the everything is all right, and “We’ll build a new world together.” Nu-uh. Not for this romance reader.

The book is a bit like a torn sock. All nicely knitted and working toward something interesting, and then lots of threads and tangles and an ending that doesn’t make sense.

Adrian has obviously set up a new series here, one that reads far more like urban fantasy, but I’m a romance reader. I want characters, their dilemmas and how they overcome them, drawing on resources inside themselves. I don’t want plot-heavy stories with characters who do as they are told. So this is where we part company, but the first three books of this series remain firmly on my keeper shelf.

Grade: C

Summary:

The climactic novel in Lara Adrian’s New York Times bestselling Midnight Breed series–and her hardcover debut–Darker After Midnight invites readers to enter a thrillingly sensual world where danger meets desire.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Five Ways ‘Til Sunday (Delta Heat, Book 1) by Delilah Devlin
Contemporary Erotic Romance short story ebook published by Samhain 22 Nov 11

I haven’t had such a dilemma like this with a book in quite a while. I like the characters. I like the story. Then I didn’t care for the story. Then I’d like it again, but I’d hit another snag several pages later. Mostly, I just don’t see this hero allowing such things to happen, even if his BFFs are involved.

Jackson and Marti have a very active sex life – adventurous, sexy, and fun. In fact, the opening scene is quite fun, role playing behind Marti’s locked office door. I enjoyed that a lot. Jackson is one of those men who can win a woman over every which way, so when Marti keeps rejecting his love for her and his proposals of marriage, he tells her he’ll do anything to make her feel comfortable saying yes.

For Marti, it’s more that she’s not up to his standards – no education, tattoos, blue-streaked hair, piercings, and she manages a bar for heaven’s sake. Officer Jackson Teague deserves more than that. Of course, as far as he’s concerned, it’s all in her mind. He loves all of things about her. But when Marti fudges and tells him she has a bucket list of things to try before she marries, Jackson calls her bluff and demands to see her list.

At first he’s a little taken aback at what he reads, but with the help of his five best friends on the force with him, Jackson is determined to show Marti she has no reason to fear commitment from either one of them. So they set up the situations she wants to experience – a hooker working a street corner, making love in a cop car, and other such scenarios, each a tad more erotic than the last. And while these scenes are very erotic, ménages five ways and then some to help Marti give Jackson the answer he wants, this is where my problem with all of it comes about.

These buddies may be Jackson’s best friends, two of them since high school, but a man who loves a woman as much as Jackson loves Marti (and as much as she loves him but just won’t admit it yet), I just can’t see him letting any man put his hands and mouth on her and his cock inside her. Jackson even at one point says no penetration, but the next thing you know, all kinds of penetration are going on. And when Marti discovers Jackson sees beyond her reason for concocting the list in the first place, all of the shenanigans should have ended, but it’s Jackson himself who insists they’re nowhere near done with her yearnings. Yes, in the end Marti wakes up after her fantasies are realized; the men are still best friends despite their wild and wicked weekend, so all’s well that ends well. The journey getting there just doesn’t work for me as well as it does for them. I do love the depiction of Jackson on this cover, though. Whew-boy, just like he’s described in the book.

Despite all of this, however, I like these characters, including Jackson’s buds. They’re fun and likeable, and since this is the first book in the Delta Heat series, we’re going to see more of them in the future. It will be interesting to see what Ms. Devlin does with them all.

Grade: C

Summary:

Sometimes a man’s just gotta call for backup…

Marti Kowalski is all wrong for Officer Jackson Teague—he just won’t listen to reason. She didn’t finish high school, runs a bar. Has a tattoo and a blue streak in her hair. Yet he still wants to marry her? She can’t say she’s not tempted, but she’s got a bucket list to complete before she ties the knot.

Not just any bucket—more like a fifty-five-gallon drum of sexual wishes so explicit, there’s no way one man, even Jackson, can fulfill them all.

When Marti turns him down again, Jackson doesn’t give up, he insists on knowing why. That’s when she shows him her list. He takes it, thinks about it—and calls on the only men he can trust: four buddies from his academy graduating class.

Between the five of them, he’s sure they can come up with a plan to check off every item on her list in one wild, wicked weekend. That is, if she has the nerve to follow through—and if he can bear to share her.

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of  The Secret History of a Good Girl by Aimee Carson
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents  7 Feb 12

Aimee Carson is a new author to me, with two Mills and Boon/Harlequin books under her belt. I settled down for a good read, and on the whole I wasn’t disappointed.

Alyssa is an events planner, and she’s pitching for an important contract with the Samba Hotel. One thing I don’t understand is why these women with little experience get the big jobs in these books. What’s more, she has a secret, something she doesn’t tell prospective employers, but one, I would have imagined, that people in a position of trust must reveal. Why didn’t they know? But when she confesses to Pauolo later in the book, it comes as a complete surprise to him.

I know that realism isn’t a hallmark of Presents/Modern, but I do expect to be able to believe the setup. There are a few WTFs in this book, but I let them ride. The most successful of this line don’t depend on generalizations and vague explanations to tell the story, and while Pauolo and Alyssa are vividly drawn characters, some of the situations and internal thoughts I feel I’ve read before and didn’t really read like those of individuals.

Pauolo is the macho, tall, dark, handsome male who doesn’t believe in marriage. He’s been married before, and it ended badly. However, Pauolo loved his wife, and she divorced him to marry his brother. I don’t understand why, at thirty-three, Pauolo has given up. True, the loss of his wife six years before would have marked him, but he is young enough to consider another long-term affair, unless he is immature enough to think that once is it, and to do him justice, he is not the immature type. He left his father’s business and set up his own, leaving his brother in sole possession. He rides a Ducati and he never wears a suit and tie, though I wasn’t sure why. He just does. I’d have liked a little more background to give Pauolo more depth, but some factors of his personality are left hanging.

There is one scene that made me laugh aloud, when Pauolo gives Alyssa a chance to ride his motorbike. I’m assuming that the Ducati is one of the big ones, but it sounds more like the cute girly ones in this scene. I did enjoy imagining her on one of the beasts Ducati produces. I do ride motorbikes, and twisting the throttle will find you on your back on the ground, probably with a ton of metal on top of you, unless you know precisely what you’re doing. You don’t have your first motorbike lesson on one of those.

Pauolo is interesting, but he opens up to Alyssa a little too late in the book. I do like the way he treats her fairly, but the contrivances that keep her from being his employee are a little much, since she has an office in his hotel and works exclusively for him for most of the book. His stubbornness is irritating, but it is part of his character and probably meant to annoy.

There are some pleasant developments, not least when Alyssa decides to discover more about Pauolo’s first marriage. She does something I don’t like her doing, but in the process discovers that (gasp) Pauolo’s ex-wife isn’t a complete bitch and has a mind of her own. That I enjoyed. Alyssa annoys me sometimes, but she’s a bearable heroine, and she works hard for her happy ending.

The last scene doesn’t work for me at all, I’m afraid, but I’m venturing into spoiler territory here. I think I know what the author was trying to do, feature a facet of Pauolo’s personality that had proved significant to his character, but when he does the right thing, Alyssa responds with baffling stubbornness and that leads to another scene, which, let’s say, isn’t a bit romantic.

And the pop references drive me a bit nuts. They seem to be all the wrong things for my taste, and that is a risk you take when you use such references. Comparing the hero to Taylor Lautner doesn’t work for me. It doesn’t work for me a lot. I’m a David Bowie girl, George Clooney, even Brad Pitt, but no, not Lautner. Not even his chest does it for me (too much make up). And discussing a Lady Gaga concert as if I’d actually like to attend one—gah! Radiohead or nothing, I say. Constant comparisons until the book is about three-quarters overstrained the narrative a bit, without adding colour. While it’s nice to have modern references, in a year, maybe two, the book will be outdated (whereas Clooney and Radiohead will go on forever, lol!) Phones are always “cellular phones,” and not the more familiar “cell.” That might be an editorial decision, though. It did stop me once or twice.

The sex scenes are fairly standard, not too hot, and many are described in narrative or after the event. I wondered if Ms. Carson is comfortable with writing scenes at that level of heat, and euphemisms and the softer phrases are used in place of the more explicit. However, there’s no doubting that these two are into each other.

I did enjoy the read, but it isn’t a book that I’ll remember for too long. And please, (and this is addressed at the whole line, not just Ms. Carson) enough with the event planners already. We’re in a recession, so how many event planners can there be these days?

Grade: C+

Summary:

Play with fire…

Miami hotel tycoon Paulo Domingues knows that beneath his events planner’s southern priss, Alyssa Hunt is all sass. Little Miss Prim has Paulo’s inner rebel roaring to life – he’s determined to seduce the fire out from behind it!
And you might get burnt!

Tough-cookie Alyssa hasn’t fought tooth and nail to shake off her past to be blindsided by one smooth-talking boss. Until, punch-drunk with desire, she succumbs to temptation and realises what she’s been missing out on! But will Miami’s most wanted bachelor run when he discovers the real reason behind her good-girl façade…?

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

LynneC’s review of Stud (Cat Star Chronicles, Book Eight) by Cheryl Brooks
Futuristic Romance published by Sourcebooks 7 Feb 12

I haven’t read any of the Cat Star Chronicles before, and I plunged right in with this book, Book Eight of the series. I had few problems picking up the world and the characters, and I enjoyed the read. However, it isn’t everything I hoped it would be. I was in the mood for something different and this book certainly delivered that for me, but even though I don’t read much SF or fantasy, some of the customs were familiar to me.

The hero, Tarq, is a cat-person, and he is good at sex. Very, very good, and it helps that he has—extras. Long blond hair and pointy ears don’t usually turn me on—even when it’s Legolas—but he did have some interesting quirks, like his inability to read the menu. Not to mention his Magic Peen. He’s a very wealthy whore, who no longer charges for his services. After his world was destroyed, he is doing his bit to increase the numbers of his kind. He thinks the only thing he is good at is sex, because he’s dyslexic. The word is never used, but from the first page it’s obvious what his problem is, when he admits he can’t read the menu. I like the way Tarq copes with his problem, and it does seem realistic – learning ways around confessing his problem and thinking of himself as stupid because of it, but I don’t like the way it’s left hanging, with Lucy realizing what it is but little else.

The heroine, Lucy, is a waitress when we first encounter her, and she works in her father’s diner alongside a down-to-earth alien cook and a hermaphrodite, who is too lightly drawn for my liking. The hermaphrodites were by far the most interesting aliens for me. The beginning reads like a waitress in a category romance, with the father who shouts a lot, a notebook, albeit an electronic one, and the diner atmosphere that would be worthy of anything in the USA. She doesn’t recognize Tarq at first, but realizes her mistake when she sees an ad on the TV for his services. He works in a brothel and has produced hundreds of children. With his race under threat, it’s his duty as well as his pleasure. I think Tarq’s character is a little thin. Apart from his magical, athletic peen, which seemed to produce gallons of lubrication and ejaculate, here called snard, which tastes of chocolate and cream – which is described in huge detail and often – I find Tarq a bit of a cipher. His motivations are a little too straightforward, for a person who has lost his homeworld.

Lucy is a tiny bit irritating. At first she is a Cinderella, straight out of the story, and she only decides to run away when she gets pregnant. Her pregnancy doesn’t impinge much on the story, apart from a bit of morning sickness, and most of the story is, in fact, a road novel. She and Tarq decide they can’t stay together, even when circumstances change, and I feel that conflict becomes progressively weaker as the story goes on, and less believable. It turns into a big misunderstanding before it’s finally resolved.

There isn’t a romance and courtship in this book. Tarq recognizes Lucy as his mate from page one, and Lucy is dazzled by this glamorous, famous creature, famed for his prowess with sex. I don’t know why she falls in love with him and I’m not entirely convinced that she does.

This is a light read, an amusing one rather than anything involving or angsty. One or two things niggled me from the start. Lucy? Really? This book is set thousands of years in the future and they’re still using American-style diners? Furthermore, some of the cultural references are closer to our time than they are to anything futuristic. Kentucky Fried Chicken and the diner culture, together with some inconsistencies in the world-building. No communicators clipped to belts? With the ubiquity of cellphones, I would have put them in, but then, the second half of the book wouldn’t have been possible.

However, this is a fun read and light read, one you don’t have to concentrate on to find out what a tflwt is, or how F’rty is related to the clan Yu’oki. One for the long flight or the train journey. Or, as I read it, a late-night read before going to sleep.

Grade: C

Summary:

Even for a Zetithian, Tarq Zulveidinoe’s sexual prowess is legendary. Believing it’s all he’s good for, Tarq sets out to perpetuate his threatened species by offering his services to women across the galaxy…

BUT ONE FORCE CAN BRING THEM TOGETHER…

Lucinda Force is the sensitive dark horse in a self-absorbed family, repeatedly told that no man will ever want such a plain woman. Lucy longs for romance, but is resigned to her loveless lot in life-until Tarq walks through the door of her father’s restaurant on Talus Five…

No excerpt available.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of A Cowboy Comes Home (Colorado Cattle Barons, Book 1) by Barbara Dunlop
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 03 Jan 12

Books like this one seriously depress me.  On the surface, it has a lot going for it.  We have a sexy guy on the cover, a cowboy that returns to his hometown many years after leaving, it’s the first book in a projected series, and on top of the whole “reunion”-vibe, the hero falls for the sexy girl next door.  Seriously, I couldn’t download this one fast enough.  Unfortunately, it seriously flubs on the execution.

Caleb Terrell left home at 17 and didn’t look back.  Naturally he turns out to be one of those 27-year-old global CEO-types that proliferate in Romance Novel Land.  Anyhoo, his asshole daddy (the reason he left home in the first place) has finally kicked the bucket.  But the old man is still causing chaos from beyond the grave.  Instead of leaving the family ranch to Caleb’s fraternal twin brother, Reed – you know, the one who stayed behind even though Caleb begged him to come with him?  Yeah, the old man left the ranch to Caleb.  Sick jerk-wad that he was.

Mandy Jacobs is worried about her neighbor and BFF, Reed.  He hasn’t been seen since his father’s funeral, and now his estranged brother is in town.  Caleb had plans to sign over the ranch to Reed, what with him staying behind and putting up with their old man for ten years.  But now that Reed has vanished?  With only a snotty note left behind?  Yeah, Caleb can’t sell the place fast enough and get back to his life in Chicago.  Standing in his way?  Mandy.  Who isn’t about to let him up and sell the place while Reed is off pouting.

This book suffers from what I call Hero Logic.  The backstory of Caleb’s rotten childhood is certainly compelling stuff, and even if my eyes were rolling excessively at a globe-trottin’ 27-year-old CEO, you can’t help but admire his work ethic.  Unfortunately, he’s also a jerk.  He’s all set to just turn the ranch over to Reed.  But because Reed isn’t waiting for him when he gets there?  Yeah, Caleb takes this to mean that Reed must not want the ranch, so hey, he’ll just sell it and give the money to him.  Seriously, I’ve met rocks smarter than Caleb.

Mandy’s a nice enough girl, even though her meddling does get tiresome.  I like that she has a sharp tongue and doesn’t let Caleb walk all over the situation.  The first chapter in particular is really good stuff, with Mandy giving as good as she gets.

Ultimately, though, the problem with this book is that it’s a Desire (so less than 200 pages) that is the first book in what I’m assuming is going to be a long series. There’s too much noise surrounding the romance.  Mandy has six siblings, three of whom get quite a bit of lip service here, plus a sister in New York who’s mentioned more than once.  Then you have Caleb’s sexy, high-powered lawyer showing up.  Oh, and, of course, a mysterious private investigator gets name-dropped once said lawyer convinces Mandy to hire him to find Reed.  There’s also Mandy’s parents, a local gal they run into at the rodeo, and so on and so on.  I can appreciate that the author needs to set up the series, but, seriously, do all these people need to be in this book?  Uh, no.  And because they are, that means we spend less time on what the reader really cares about – the romance between Caleb and Mandy.

So, at the end of the day, I’m depressed.  Granted, I could just be hitting a wall with series, because there are moments here that really sparkle for me.  But then the noise would intrude, or Caleb’s Hero Logic would kick in, and I couldn’t slog through the rest of the book fast enough.  Reed’s book is up next, and given that he does run away to pout instead of confronting his estranged brother?  Yeah, not interested.  Moving on.

Grade: C

Summary:

At a Crossroads

After years of being the black sheep, an unexpected inheritance has finally drawn Caleb Terrell home. But that doesn’t mean the cowboy-turned-CEO plans to settle down on his family’s Colorado ranch. His single-minded goal is to sell and get out… until he’s reunited with the sexy girl next door, Mandy Jacobs.

Her mere presence reminds him of happier times. Denying Many seems impossible, but seducing her can lead only to heartbreak. There’s no room in Caleb’s agenda for such a delectable distraction. Because once he gives in to temptation, he may not be able to walk away.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Laura C’s review of The Professor by Cathy Perkins
Romantic Suspense published by Carina Press 23 Jan 12

Meg Connelly just wants to get through her complicated life as a grad student, student advisor, and waitress. She has a hard enough time with the rich, spoiled kids in the sorority she oversees, she doesn’t need hot SLED Agent Mick O’Shaughnessy upsetting her life. But Mick’s investigating a serial murderer and Meg’s right at the center of the investigation.  And even if she weren’t, he’s not so sure he could leave her alone.

I began this book with great expectations. Despite their pervasiveness, I still enjoy serial killer stories. And the descriptive passage that begins this book, with the police at the scene of a body’s discovery, is nicely narrated:

The body lay in dappled shade. Patches of light caught pale flesh—an ankle here, a hip there. Resurrection ferns spread lacy fronds, partially concealing the limbs. Mick wondered if the irony was deliberate.

This deep into the woods, the trees blocked the breeze and the humidity increased as the air sucked moisture from the thick mulch spread across the forest floor. The noxious mixture of smells pressed against him in a cloying layer that was nearly visible amid the shifting patterns cast by the overhead branches. Pausing at the edge of the clearing, he batted at the flies circling his head. He hated flies. He associated them so strongly with death that a fly in his condo drove him crazy.

Two local detectives looked up, acknowledging Mick’s presence. His short hair marked him as a cop as much as the holstered pistol and gold badge clipped to his belt. The locals would already know who he was. He hadn’t been able to escape the publicity surrounding the murders—the Captain kept putting him in front of television cameras.

Unfortunately, the procedural stuff is really the only aspect of the book that is strong, and it’s not strong enough to support the rest of the story. The characters are cardboard. There’s no real intimacy between the hero and heroine. She spends her time running away from him and he spends his time alternately chasing after her and telling himself he shouldn’t pay her attention since he knows nothing about her.

And then there’s the sex. I don’t mind whether my romances do or don’t have sex, so that’s not a problem, but this book has the worst of both worlds—plenty of perverted villain sex, but no lovemaking, no happy sex to offset the ugly sex. To me, that’s a problem, particularly in a book that calls itself a romance. I had no sense that these two characters could make it as a couple.

I also had issues with the villain. “The Professor” is such a cartoon that I had to stop reading his sections entirely in order to finish the book. Here’s a sample of the interminable scenes with the villain:

He returned to his den, intending to work, but found himself contemplating his current situation instead. All too soon, the coverage of Emily’s death would degenerate into a repetition of the same limited facts, followed by more inane commentary from a consulting psychologist. The Professor wasn’t sure if he found them an irritation or pompous frauds. Their sloppy research and analysis would never be tolerated in his field. Settling more comfortably in his desk chair, he reviewed their arguments.

They thought he was “afraid” of women; that he had “issues”—who came up with that term anyway? Whatever happened to plain-old problems?—with a domineering mother. After Ashley, they’d debated whether he was using a condom or “failing to maintain an erection.” Whether he was a homosexual. Whether he could have normal sexual relations.

He’d laughed over that. How much more normal could you get than using a woman for her sole purpose in life—sex? He didn’t use a condom to protect himself from the women or disease. Semen was evidence, so he eliminated it.

None of them—the police, the shrinks, the reporters—understood. The pleasure, the euphoria transcended mere sex. He closed his eyes, sinking into the vivid memory: He presses his palm against her flank, feeling the liquid warmth of her blood, hotter than her skin. Hot, like the passion that burns inside the human beast. Hot, like the life force that he has claimed.

He lifts his hand to his nose. The scent is distinctive and metallic. Opening his mouth, he licks the wet slickness. Even the taste is metallic. The ancients ate the flesh of their vanquished. Cut out the heart and consumed the soul, taking their enemy’s strength for their own.

Pressing his tongue to his palm, he savors the woman’s blood and feels her mystery enter him. It runs through him, triumphantly adding to his mastery. His penis stirs in response. Earlier, he’d climaxed explosively while his hands tightened around her neck. Her fear fed his appetite. Stripped of the veneer of respectability, she’d shown her true nature—a groveling whore. Pleading, desperately begging, offering her body in a pathetic bargain, as women have bargained throughout history.

Finally, I had problems with the setup. The hoary old saying “write what you know” comes to mind. Take it from a career academic with degrees from schools big and small, private and public, the atmosphere and relationships within the college are all wrong. Meg refers to one of her professors, a man she both TAs for and writes papers for, as “Mr.”  Um, no. If he’s teaching grad students, he’s a “Dr.” And Meg never goes to class. We never really see her studying. Grad students are consumed with academics. Yeah, they have jobs, frequently more than one, but nothing is more important than their classes while they’re in that phase of their education or their dissertations when they get to that phase.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Someone is murdering women on South Carolina’s college campuses: three women, three different schools. The Governor’s order to State Law Enforcement Agent Mick O’Shaughnessy is simple: make it stop. More political maneuvering diverts Mick to nearby Douglass College. There, instead of another dead body, he finds Meg Connelly, grad student and faculty advisor for the latest victim.

Determined to finish her master’s degree, Meg doesn’t need anybody’s help – including her estranged family – to succeed. There’s something irresistible about Mick, but the last time she let someone get close to her, she lost everything except her self-respect.

As the investigation heats up, so does their relationship. But Mick’s interest in Meg doesn’t just endanger her heart–it puts her in the sights of the killer.

No excerpt available.

LynneC’s review of Tool Belt Defender (Lawmen of Black Rock, Book 5) by Carla Cassidy
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romantic Suspense 20 Dec 11

Occasionally I venture into romantic suspense territory, and this book is from that Harlequin line. And, in any case, how can I resist a book with the title Tool Belt Defender?

Unfortunately, I don’t share Cassidy’s tool belt fetish, even when Batman is wearing it, and the hero of this book is no Batman. He’s an ordinary guy, an ex-lawyer from Chicago who is setting up in the small town as what we in the UK would call an odd-job man. It isn’t the most obvious place for hero material (my odd-job man also worked as Captain Mayhem, a childrens’ entertainer, so I can say that my new shed was built by Captain Mayhem – there has to be a book in that!). In this book, the occupation gives the ex-lawyer a chance to develop his muscles so he can rescue the heroine from her dilemma.

The heroine is Brittany, who was the town’s deputy to her brother’s sherriff, but is now recovering from a trauma. I found it difficult to believe she could recover so quickly from a trauma that involved her getting kidnapped by a serial killer and kept confined for four months, while the baddie tormented her every day talking about what he was going to do to her. She is shown as jumpy, but she isn’t going to therapy, something I’d have thought her employer would have insisted on for quite a long time, and she doesn’t have many other symptoms. She was kidnapped from her car, for instance, but we see her pootling around quite happily in the story. She doesn’t like to go into town because people stare, and she’s lived as a virtual recluse since the attack. Considering how quickly she gets together with the hero, especially since he’s a stranger to her at the start of the story, her trauma seems to come and go, as the story demands.

Although the serial killer is dead, Brittany starts seeing signs that he’s around, such as a red balloon tied to her mailbox and a note pushed through her door which mysteriously disappears. Her brother the sheriff and everyone, except Alex, thinks it’s part of her trauma and dismiss it as her imagination. I find that somewhat hard to believe, too, considering one of the things the experts in serial killers always look for are copycat killers. Any sign would have been followed up, unless the sheriff is incompetent, and since he’s Brittany’s brother, I don’t think he’s meant to be. And if it is her imagination, then surely they would encourage her to see a shrink?

Alex has a daughter. He’s a widower, and one reason he’s moved to a small town is for the family infrastructure he can have there (the girl’s grandparents live in the town). Although he does explain why he’s given up lawyering for odd-jobbing to Brittany, I’m not sure I buy it. He seems somewhat without ambition and a bit directionless to me, although he’s perfectly happy building Brittany’s deck. Yes, she has a deck. Alex’s daughter is a moppet, a poppet, and she is infuriating. When events catch up with them later in the book, I found her Pollyanna attitude distinctly annoying, and I would have told her about death and taxes a lot earlier. It’s just me, I know, but I really don’t like it when cute kids show up in romances. They tend to bring the sugar level right up and provide a useful McGuffin for the author, which can lead to lazy writing.

The book is easy to read, and the events unfold as they should, apart from the “oh, let’s have sex” scene which I find a bit puzzling, as if it’s put in because, well, there has to be one somewhere. I’d have preferred it towards the end, perhaps when the heroine has gone through her ordeal and the hero wants to prove his love to her. It doesn’t seem to fit where it is. They are vaguely fancying each other, and then it’s, oh, well, we might as well, and there it is.

The weakest part of the story is the internal plot, which deals with the motivations and inner feelings of the characters. All too often the reader is told how the character is feeling and not shown it, or told the feeling and then the character made to act accordingly. The reasons that keep the hero and heroine apart are weak and not altogether convincing. The external plot works well, and if the internal motivations had matched that, it would have been a better read.

Grade: C

Summary:

“It’s party time.”That’s the “invitation” shoved under her door. It’s got Brittany Grayson fearing for her life…and her sanity. She’s sure the monster who once held her captive for months is dead, so why his chilling words in the note? His menacing face in the window? And why won’t anyone —even her lawmen brothers—believe that somehow he’s after her again?

Brittany just wants a normal, independent life in Black Rock. Romance is out of the question…although she’s okay as friends-with-benefits with Alex Crawford, her hunky, marriage-phobic contractor. Alex, a single dad, has his own good reasons not to fall for Brittany. But none of them matter when the race is on to find the killer who’s kidnapped her!

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

Other books in this series:

LynneC’s review of Carrying the Rancher’s Heir by Charlene Sands
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 3 May 11

They caught each other at a vulnerable time for them both, decided to forget the past and the future and spend the night together. A delicious premise for a romance novel, but sadly, one we only see in brief flashbacks. But for all that, the book didn’t disappoint, and we get to see Tagg and Callie together through the force of circumstance, and then falling in love, despite their determination not to.

Callie is the daughter of local rancher Hawk Sullivan, and when she finds she is pregnant with Tagg’s baby, she at first doesn’t tell him. However, she knows she will have to, she doesn’t make the idiotic mistake of playing with another person’s life (her unborn child). So she goes to tell Tagg, but ends up telling him that she’s working at the charitable facility that his brother, Clay, has opened. Tagg isn’t happy, and he doesn’t like his renewed attraction to Callie, but when he discovers she’s pregnant, he insists on marrying her.

Tagg has a troubled past (whoopee, I love a hero with a troubled past, as long as it doesn’t prove an excuse or a plot device). He is a cowboy (another whoopee in the Connolly household). Callie isn’t a shrinking virgin, she knew exactly what she was doing when she slept with Tagg and she doesn’t regret it (oh yeah). She also faces up to the consequences and so does Tagg.

They have what the romance book calls “chemistry.” In other words, they fancy the pants off each other, and they prove it very nicely indeed, once they marry, but they don’t trust each other. Callie is the daughter of Tagg’s biggest business rival, one who has snatched a contract from under Tagg’s nose recently. And yet they both try to put that aside. However, deep down, both know they’ll have to cope with that problem sooner or later.

Tagg was married before, and his wife died in an air crash after having an argument with Tagg. While he hasn’t blamed himself unnecessarily, he still blames himself for the way his marriage was heading and what he said to her. He vowed not to let another woman that close to him again, but he isn’t so stubborn that he doesn’t recognize sexual attraction and liking when it happens. He feels both for Callie.

I’m a bit disturbed to see Callie riding all over the place after she knew she was pregnant. I hadn’t got on the back of a horse since I was about eleven years old, and still when I got pregnant, my doctor insisted on telling me that I mustn’t, in any circumstances, ride a horse. I have no idea why, but I presume it’s the danger of being thrown. Even the best rider falls sometimes, and arguably the best are the ones that fall more often, because they might take chances a more cautious rider wouldn’t, but I didn’t see this ban in this book, although I’ve seen it in others. I did want Tagg to enforce the no riding thing, but he seemed unaware of the problem, as well.

I really enjoy the description of a modern ranch and the management involved, as well as Tagg’s other business ventures. It takes me to a world I never hoped to see until a few years ago, and it will perform that function for other readers, too. I just love me a man in chaps, a big hat, and an easy way of talking. So you might say I was already prepared to enjoy this book.

There is nothing groundbreaking about this Desire, but there doesn’t have to be. Sands takes well used themes and uses them to enhance and illustrate the characters of two likeable people who still have some things to learn about each other and themselves.

Grade: C+

Summary:

The passionate, impulsive evening Tagg Worth had spent in the arms of brown-eyed beauty Callie Sullivan was madness. Visions of their tryst still haunted him, but their one-night stand was a mistake the wealthy rancher swore he would not repeat. Hawk Sullivan’s daughter was strictly off-limits—especially since Hawk’s main goal in life was to put Tagg out of business.
Then, suddenly, there was a baby on the way. His baby. Tagg vowed to do the right thing, no matter what it cost him. But his inconvenient new bride tempted his solitary heart down a path a Worth didn’t dare follow….

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of The Unlikely Wife by Debra Ullrick
Inspirational historical romance published by Love Inspired Historical 03 Jan 12

One of the reasons I like historical western romances is that I love heroines with a harder edge to them.  Granted, there were many civilized parts of the world that were unforgiving to women, but you had to be a tough cookie to survive in the American frontier. Being stupid wasn’t really conducive towards….oh, survival. Debra Ullrick’s latest inspirational romance features my kind of heroine, but sadly it fumbles on the execution.

Michael Bowen is a prosperous rancher in Idaho Territory and is ready to get married.  So he places an ad, and begins corresponding with Selina Bowen.  Her letters are magical, and she thinks pretty highly of him as well!  Before you can say Big Misunderstanding Ahoy these two get hitched, sight unseen, by proxy. Naturally Michael about swallows his tongue when his wife gets off the train looking like an outlaw – wearing trousers, a beat-up hat, and carrying a rifle(!) – instead of the genteel lady who wrote those letters.

Turns out that Selina cannot read or write, so her BFF wrote the letters for her. Selina told her what to say, but it turns out the BFF fudged with the truth just a wee bit.  Loathe to go back on the oath he took before God and his local preacher, Michael takes Selina home.  However, he’s torn by the fact that the woman he fell in love with doesn’t seem to exist.

Many a historical western has been written about a mail-order bride arrangement gone awry, and Ullrick’s spin on it is actually quite believable. Unfortunately, the bulk of the conflict for a very good portion of the early going seems to sit squarely on the fact that Selina wears…..pants! Seriously, the hero practically has a raging case of the vapors over it.  I get that a chick wearing pants would be rather unconventional, but the guy is living in Idaho Territory. You’re telling me there ain’t one unconventional chick within spitting distance of him? It’s also hard to be tolerant of his dislike for her wardrobe especially when his entire blessed family seems to love the girl, on sight. So exactly what is the problem? She’s resourceful and his family adores her.  Ooooooh, but she wears pants!  ::eyeroll::

Selina is a straight shooter, is shaped by a life lived in poverty, and is pretty unbending about changing herself for a man considering the types of relationships she witnessed back home.  The main issue here is dialect.  Yep, the author writes all of Selina’s dialogue in the vernacular.  I swear the word “iffen” is going to haunt me in my dreams.  There is a way to convey Selina’s background (poverty, lack of education) without having the reader slog through hillbilly dialogue that even the writers of Hee Haw would have axed from a script.

This book is marketed as an inspirational, and the God Stuff here is pretty heavy.  If you’re a reader who reads inspirationals because you want a Christian message?  Yeah, you’ll probably be right at home.  However, if you read inspirationals more because they are “clean” than any overt religious elements?  Be prepared for things like:

“The Lord wants His children to depend on Him, Michael.  You may not be able to love Selina on your own, but God can do it through Christ as you submit to Him.  Ask God to give you a deep, lasting love for your wife, Michael, and He will.”

Just what every girl wants to hear, I love you because I asked God to make me love you.  Who said romance was dead?

Despite my varied issues with this story, I still managed to inhale it in one day. It’s also hard to outright hate on a book when the main message of it (it’s OK to be different) is so genuine.  In other words, the story’s heart was in the right place.

Grade: C

Summary:

The arrival of Michael Bowen’s bride, married sight unseen by proxy, sends the rancher reeling. With her trousers, cowboy hat and rifle, she looks like a female outlaw—not the genteel lady he corresponded with for months. He’s been hoodwinked into marriage with the wrong woman!

Selina Farleigh Bowen loved Michael’s letters, even if she couldn’t read them herself. A friend read them to her, and wrote her replies—but apparently that “friend” left things out, like Michael’s dream of a wife who was nothing like her. Selina won’t change who she is, not even for the man she loves. Yet time might show Michael the true value of his unlikely wife.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

LynneC’s review of Say It With Diamonds by Lucy King
Contemporary Romance published by Mills and Boon Modern Romance 1 Jan 12

Lucy King has considerable talent as a writer, and her first book for Harlequin was fabulous. However, the subsequent ones are evidence that she hasn’t yet settled in properly. It is fascinating to see the development of a writer with this house, since their requirements are so stringent. I do have hopes that eventually Lucy King will become one of Harlequin’s stars. Or she could break out and join another house, writing the books with more open requirements.

In this one, the heroine is old for a Harlequin heroine, thirty-five, but she doesn’t always behave that way. But then, what thirty-five year old does? Bella has her own jewelry business, and a man visits her out of the blue to ask for her opinion on several pieces he produces from his pocket and tosses carelessly on the counter. Lucy examines them and realizes that despite their fabulous appearance, the stones in them are fake. She accompanies the man, Will, to a bank vault, and it’s here that she learns that her new client is a duke. He takes her to the vault and she spends time splitting the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Then a woman enters, a lovely blonde in fashionable clothing, and Will realizes that she has been taking the gems and replacing them with fakes.

I had a few problems with this beginning. First, if Bella is a jeweler and she knows her stuff, surely she’d recognized pieces from a great and famous collection? Second, Will wouldn’t be carrying the pieces in his pockets, because of the potential damage that would cause. They’d be in boxes, carefully packed. Third, I would have thought that she’d need some kind of security. The security at the bank vault seems worryingly lax, too. There is this lack of attention to external plot detail throughout, and sometimes I stopped and went “huh?” Like the time Bella is working on an emerald in a pendant. In a pendant? Surely the jeweler works on the gem before it’s set? And we didn’t hear if the jewel was an engraved cabochon or a faceted one, in which case she wouldn’t be cutting it in situ. Things like that kept recurring. I’d have liked a more authentic background and a bit more research. I know the background and setting are secondary considerations to the romance, but done properly they can enhance and add to the characters and the individuality of the story. I can’t help comparing this story to Day LeClaire’s Dante’s Inferno series, where the jewelry background has helped to make the series something really special.

The lovely blonde turns out to be Will’s aunt, who looks younger than she is, and she’s been selling the gems to make money to feed her internet bridge addiction. Bridge? Not poker or casino games? And the problem is easily solved. Will makes her promise not to do it again, and off she goes. The whole situation reeks of plot device, just something to bring the hero and heroine together and to hint at Will’s difficult background.

Bella is desperate to marry and have children. I wasn’t too keen on that aspect. While I could understand it, the desperation seems to indicate that she hasn’t thought of alternatives, like artificial insemination, asking for a donor, or even adopting. Is it marriage or children she wanted, and why? The motivation doen’t reflect on her behavior in the book, which starts with her bonking Will in the back of his chauffeured car and then lusting after him afterward. She confides in him that she wants a lasting relationship, and they part, only to come back together in uncontrollable lust later on.

Will is as thinly drawn as Bella. He has deep motivations for not wanting what Bella wants, but until later in the story, it seems like another contrivance, something taken out of the “how to write romance” textbook in the “provide a conflict” chapter. As a writer who sometimes finds that bit tricky herself, I do sympathise with Lucy King, but the conflict is a bolted-on one, provided because they need something to keep them apart. Although that’s better than providing a conflict from outside the relationship, I still find a disconnect between what the characters say they want and what they actually do. Will chases Bella, even when he knows she wants the thing he doesn’t, and she goes with him. When she states they would have a short, torrid affair, my heart sank a little, because this is a trope that is fast tiring me. “Let’s go at each other until it burns out.” The problem with it is that if they do that, and if they do burn out, there’s no story as far as a romance writer is concerned, so it’s one we know will end in a lasting relationship. There’s no danger there, no worry they’ll split.

But King can write. Her descriptions are excellent and she doesn’t often veer into purple territory. The sex is hot, and it’s nice to have the woman in charge for a change. Good that Bella carries condoms with her, as well as Will, although that does rather run counter to her wish for a lasting relationship. I would have liked more depth in both characters, more of the desperation in Bella, for instance. And a reason why she wants the whole caboodle instead of part of it. So a nice read, but needs more work, I think.

Grade:C-

Summary:

All that sparkles… At thirty-five, Bella might be an expert on diamonds – but she’s still missing a big fat one on the third finger of her left hand. However, at least she has her successful jewellery business – with very interesting new client William Cameron, AKA the Duke of Hawksley, no less! She’s expecting portly and chinless – but actually Will’s tall, dark and so distractingly good-looking it’s hard to concentrate on his jewels! More of a surprise: this weird chemistry between them is actually mutual. Urgent… And it catches them completely unawares in a black London taxi… All that glitters is not gold. All that sparkles isn’t diamond. All men who turn you on aren’t the real thing. But being cynical gets boring…maybe it’s time for Bella to throw caution to the winds…?

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of A Dangerous Infatuation by Chantelle Shaw
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents Extra 3 Jan 12 (M&B Modern – 1 Nov 11)

This is an old-style Modern Romance and is very much a book you can sink into for an hour or two’s pleasure. It’s a woman struggling with her life and a billionaire. Don’t expect anything revolutionary, but sometimes you need a break from revolution, and this book provides it.

Emma is a district nurse in Northumberland, and it’s snowing. She’s driving to the house of the last patient on her round, an old lady who lives in a large manor house on her own. She comes across a man who has just crashed his unsuitable but dashing car in the snow, and she gives him a lift. He turns out to be the grandson of the old lady, Rocco, an Italian and the chief exec of the car company that makes his flashy car.

So far so usual. It carries on in the same vein. While this isn’t an earth-shattering book, with one proviso it’s written in a clear, smooth style that makes the story easy and pleasant to read. Let’s get the problem over with. And this could well be my preference. It might not bother you. There’s a lot of POV transitions. A lot. I won’t call it head-hopping because that’s when you don’t know which character’s head you’re in and Shaw is skilful enough not to do that, but the reader is constantly moved from one head to another and back again. That does bother me, quite a lot, because you can’t go really deep and I’d rather not know what both characters are feeling in a scene. If the kind of thing exemplified in the passage below doesn’t concern you, then you’re good to go.

“ ‘Thank you,’ he murmured, closing the door and feeling a welcome blast of warm air from the car’s heater. It was only now sinking in that he was lucky not to have been injured in the crash, and that he could have faced a long, cold walk to find civilisation. ‘I was fortunate you were driving this way.’
Emma released the handbrake and carefully pulled away, her hands tightening on the steering wheel when she felt the car slide. She rammed the stiff gear lever into second gear, and tensed when her hand brushed against the man’s thigh. In the confines of the vehicle she was even more aware of his size.”

His thoughts, then hers, in two adjacent sentences. Then the narrative could easily move back to him again.

Now to the characters. I like that Emma is competent and, although struggling, good at her job. Not in abject poverty. Her small daughter is three, but she’s a precocious, annoying three who seems to be fully potty trained and speaks in complete sentences (not impossible, I admit). The child seems to be a five-year-old transposed into a three-year-old. I could have done without the child, who could have stepped out of a 1930’s “cute kid” movie.

Rocco doesn’t let it faze him. He gets on with seducing the sexy nurse after their meet cute, when she’s wrapped up so much she resembles a bowling ball. “Good for her,” I thought. Snowy Northumberland isn’t to be messed with. But does she have a Geordie accent, I want to know? In the version in my head, she did. “Why aye, Rocco, you gan canny!” would have fit rather well into the story and might have made the heroine a bit different. Rocco is pretty much your standard hero. But I happen to like the tall, strong, wealthy Italian type, so that’s okay by me. And Rocco isn’t too arrogant. On the whole he’s a likeable character.

There is a big misunderstanding at the beginning, where Rocco thinks Emma is too bossy and managing and Emma thinks Rocco is heartless because he left his aged grandmother to live alone (he employed help, but his grandmother fired her after finding her stealing). Since that all happens in the first three chapters, I don’t feel that’s much of a spoiler, and that’s why I didn’t mind this particular misunderstanding. Emma and Rocco talk, and explain themselves, and, lo and behold, they come to a better understanding of each other.

There is a secret in Emma’s past, again revealed to the reader early, that her husband, while a hero, was also a cheater in his marriage. So she’s understandably wary of handsome bastards who go from woman to woman. While many Moderns use the trope of the character’s past life affecting their present beliefs, this time it worked for me because the past is recent for Emma – to some extent she’s still hurting. So her reticence to accept Rocco as a lover is understandable.
And that’s the way to use Mills and Boon tropes. They are part of the story, they reveal the character and they’re not stretched to unbelievable levels or tedious levels. They’re not strained. When one problem ends, another begins, or is bounced off the first one. Their past lives affect both characters, but they’re intelligent enough to reason with themselves and deal with their problems. When they come to a mutual understanding, they deserve it, although Rocco does get stuck with the precocious kid, and he even wants more. Let’s hope they find some great nannies.

Grade: C

Summary:

Rocco D’Angelo doesn’t do needy women—and he certainly doesn’t do commitment! But the spark notorious playboy Rocco feels with his beloved grandmother’s nurse, Emma Marchant, is more than the usual thrill-of-the-chase adrenaline!

Never in her wildest dreams did cautious Emma imagine she would be swept from a sleepy English village to the exotic climes of the Italian Riviera—especially by a man as disreputable as Rocco.

Emma could be the one to tame the untamable—unless her infatuation is more dangerous than she imagined….

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of There’s Something About A Rebel by Anne Oliver
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents Extra 1 Jan 12 (M&B Riva Aug 11)

I picked this because of the hunk on the cover – so unlike Mills and Boon’s usual male models and so tempting! But inside, I found the same old story with a slight twist. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, just that I expected a little more.

It’s part of the Riva line and is supposed to be a little different. That’s the trouble. It is a Modern Romance, tweaked a little. The attitudes and the dilemmas are Modern/Presents all the way.

The difference? The hero was a navy man, a diver part of a special unit like the SEALS, but after he lost a young colleague, he retired from the Service. He blamed himself for losing the young man, because he was in charge of the operation, and he brooded a bit. But the conflict isn’t deep enough for me. Perhaps losing the young man was the final straw in a series of tough assignments, but we never hear about them. Many SEALS, or the equivalent, retire because they’re burned out after a series of operations. I’d have preferred something of that nature, as it makes for a richer backstory. But Blake doesn’t appear to be too jaded, apart from a few bad dreams. He sets to organizing Lissa’s life with enthusiasm, when they get over their initial problems. Yes, that’s right, Blake is wealthy. This is a Modern/Presents book, despite its sexy cover.

The problems are that Blake’s no-good father sold his houseboat twice – to Blake and to Lissa. Luckily, Blake also owns the nearby luxury house and a considerable fortune, because his mother was a wealthy woman. Another problem lightly touched on was that his mother spent more time with her charities than she did with Blake, a bit like Mrs. Jellyby in Bleak House, presumably, except that Mrs. Jellyby and her daughter were more surely drawn.

Lissa is straight out of the Modern/Presents line. She’s in her mid-twenties, she’s an interior designer who isn’t doing too well but has bags of talent, she’s beautiful, she’s been in love with Blake for years, since before he joined the navy. Her brother is Blake’s friend.

Blake sets out to help Lissa. The problem with the houseboat disappears quickly (literally), and Blake persuades Lissa that he should invest in her business. Then they sleep together, although they know it is wrong. He takes Lissa to parties and introduces her to his mother’s rich friends and she gets on fine, her business grows like Topsy.

I think that’s my problem with this book. None of the conflicts introduced seem to meet much. The houseboat, Blake’s nightmares, Lissa’s money troubles, all melt away. It’s a true fairytale story, and nothing goes deep enough to have any bite, to get the reader conflicted or involved. It would have been better had Blake’s nightmares been true fatigue syndrome or Lissa had been a rubbish interior designer. But she’s not, she’s brilliant, and everyone loves her work. So she would probably have succeeded eventually anyway without Blake’s help.

The Riva line isn’t working for me as a separate line because the books read like their origins – Cherish or Modern. I like the Moderns, and some of my favorite authors write for that line, including Anne Oliver, but this is presented more honestly in the US as a Harlequin Presents Extra, although the cover is in itself a spoiler. However, even as a Modern/Presents, I would have liked a little more.

All in all, this is a perfectly good book about a nice couple. But that’s also its problem. It’s too nice. So there’s really only one grade for it.

Grade: C

Summary:

Her fantasy man – in the flesh! Lissa Sanderson is at an all-time low – so why does her brother’s gorgeous, brooding best friend have to come back into her life now? Even worse, the teenage crush she once had on Blake Everett is back with a vengeance, despite his scandalous reputation and the fact the ex-Navy officer would clearly prefer to be left alone. Only now she’s a woman. And Blake’s not quite so immune to her as he makes out. There’s definitely something about a rebel – and Lissa’s going to enjoy finding out just what that ‘something’ might be!

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of A Win-Win Proposition by Cat Schield
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 4 Oct 11

This is a makeover/boss-secretary book, so be warned, it does have its problems. However, if you don’t take it too seriously, it’s a pleasant read, although some points made me a little uncomfortable.

Sebastian Case is attending a summit with his PA, Missy Ward, in Las Vegas. Missy has a makeover and decides to move on with her life, so Sebastian is shocked to find the sexy redhead under his previously dowdy assistant. Sebastian is a player and enjoys his bachelor status, but Missy turns the tables when she takes him to the roulette table and bets five thousand dollars on red. She wins, and she also wins a bet with Sebastian. She’s had the hots for him for years, and now she wants one night with him. She resigns, determined to leave her crush on her boss behind.

So my first doubtful moment is the “take your glasses off, Miss Smith.” I really dislike it when a man only notices his secretary after she’s had a makeover. So her intelligence, long service, and friendship means nothing? Not next to a day at the spa, a new haircut, and some new clothes. I went along with it, but Sebastian doesn’t ever give a reason why he never noticed Missy before, apart from the fact that he doesn’t mix business and pleasure, so only after Missy resigns is she fair game. I don’t buy that, or that he never noticed her in that way. She’s not a new employee, she’s worked for him for years.

Then, when they have sex, there is no mention of protection. Later in the story, there is a mention that they “used protection,” but in the scenes themselves, they don’t stop for the condom moment or even to discuss it. These days, what idiot has sex with someone who is a known player without even mentioning a condom? I don’t care how carried away you are, if you’re intelligent, as Missy is supposed to be, then you think about it. She might be inexperienced, but she isn’t stupid and she isn’t that naïve.

With a few tweaks, those aspects of the story could have been sorted out. But this isn’t a deep read and I don’t believe wholly in the characters. Sebastian doesn’t have a huge amount of depth, he works things out as he goes along, but his devotion to Missy is sweet, and I like the way he wants to take care of her and takes responsibility for her after they become an item.

Missy is an enigma. A dingbat in bed, a supposedly clever woman with an MBA out of it, we don’t really get to see the clever side of her. We do get to see her home life, after a development later in the story, and we learn that she’s a terrible cook and she can’t bake. Basically, an oven is an oven, whether it’s meatloaf or cake, so I didn’t get that part. Missy does what’s needed for the plot.

Sebastian’s father is described as interfering, and I don’t quite understand why he would want to stymie the deal Sebastian is working on in Las Vegas. I do understand that his father is regretting his retirement, and I would have liked a little more of the father and son relationship. It might have given Sebastian more depth.

Ms. Schield does have an easy, readable style, which drives the story along at quite a pace, but I wish she’d have put her skills to better use on characters with more depth and motivation. Something a little outside the norm, perhaps. I’m sure she can do it.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Sebastian Case relies on his irreplaceable assistant for everything. But since arriving in Vegas for a conference, mousy Missy Ward has transformed herself. From ordinary to ravishing. From modest and reserved to bold and sensual. And Sebastian, who’d barely noticed she was a woman, finds himself dazzled by her allure.Now she’s quitting and Sebastian will do anything to keep her. Including accepting her outrageous bet. One spin of the roulette wheel—black and she’ll stay…red and Sebastian owes her one night of passion. What can he lose, except maybe his heart?

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

Dinca’s review of Taming the Texas Playboy by Crystal Green
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Special Edition 15 Feb 11

I am not sure what the title of this book has to do with the story. I find no evidence in the hero’s character to warrant his supposed bad reputation

Ally Gale has her life in order and it does not include a commitment-shy playboy with seduction on his mind. She has lived through enough scandal to last a life time. Now she looks forward to a quiet life with a child of her own.

Jeremiah Barron is stunned to discover he wants the one thing he cannot have – Allison Gale. He follows her to California and insinuates himself in her life. He is shocked when he realizes she is keeping a low profile because she’s trying to adopt a child. Her mind is made up and he is confounded to find he’s not turned off by her decision.

I do feel the author is working too hard with her thesaurus, coming up with new words and changing them from nouns to verbs and not making the sentences read well. It really takes away from the story line when you get distracted by the unrelenting creativity by the author’s attempt at demonstrating her vocabulary.

I find Crystal Green’s descriptions also weak and unrealistic. As an example:

“She ran her free hand over the back of his neck, around the front, where she rested her fingertips over his jaw line.”

I even had to stop reading to try it out on my husband. He asked me if I was trying to put him in a headlock. We were entertained a bit over that one.

The storyline’s an unusual one, although lacking and unrealistic. There is not enough interaction in the brief encounters between the hero and heroine to warrant such emotion on the short, infrequent times they are together. I would have enjoyed the story if it was a little longer with more interaction between the main characters.

Grade: C

Summary:

It was meant to be a game of seduction—a distraction from his epic family scandal. And devilish tycoon Jeremiah Barron was the ultimate player: cool, calculating and in control both in business and the bedroom. When sexy, reserved socialite Allison Gale breezed into his life with an exclusive property to sell, he was determined to acquire a lot more than her real estate.  But what he didn’t expect was for one soul-touching kiss to knock his world completely off its axis!

Single mom Ally knew a commitment-shy playboy when she saw one. But beneath his Stetson beat the heart of a compassionate cowboy. A man worth loving—if she was willing to take the ultimate risk….

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green, Book 6) by Julie Anne Long
Historical Romance published by Avon 27 Dec 11

Julie Anne Long has a lovely, light style that lends itself well to historical fiction. It’s just a shame that it’s not a history I recognize (yes I know, here she goes again!) So seriously, if you don’t care about history and you can put up with the fantasy in this book, have no hesitation in picking this up. It’s part of the Pennyroyal Green series, but you don’t have to read the series in order, or at all, come to that. And I pray and hope that the final version is better than the ARC, because that made reading an adventurous experience.

First, the ARC. I had it sent to my Kindle from NetGalley. Mostly this leads to a pretty decent copy, but this copy is a disaster. Every chapter has an “nm” below the heading for no perceptible reason. The leading capital is separated from the rest of the text. The first chapter has indents for paragraphs, then they just stop. And then start again. It drove me demented after a while, but I kept on reading. And there are haphazard capitalization, too. “His Lordship,” where it refers to “the marquess” earlier in the paragraph.

The hero is Julian, usually known as Jules, the Marquess of Dryden (I can’t bring myself to call him the Marquess Dryden. That “of” makes a huge amount of difference). He is tall, dark and handsome, the leader of the ton. You know the deal. The heroine is Phoebe Vale, who is a schoolteacher at a girls’ school in Pennyroyal Green. She’s blonde, lively and answers back. I like both of them. Jules is a man who takes his responsibilities seriously, and Phoebe seems intelligent enough to cope with him.

They meet in the country, when Jules visits the local country house in order to give the once-over to a young lady he is thinking of marrying, Lisbeth. Phoebe’s family holds a parcel of land he wants, the last one his father sold off to pay his debts. Jules has bought them all back but this one. The young lady is charming, sweet and a product of her class. She is kind to Lisbeth but never sees her as her equal. She proves benevolent compared to what Lisbeth has in store, but to say what it is constitutes a spoiler, and, although that’s one of the best parts of the book, I’ll refrain.

But this is a Regency where Faberge has started making his eggs, a Regency where pound notes are in common circulation. Fireflies and crickets populate the countryside and gentlemen drive landaus. Gentlemen wear trousers, not pantaloons or breeches, and their shirts button down the front. Where they drink whiskey. Where a Marquess foregoes the proper title. Where they say “Bloody hell” and “bloody,” and sometimes they’ll stay “stuff it.” Where young ladies go to school. Where there appear to be a lot of Catholics about, and nobody questions it. Rosaries and maids called Mary Frances seem to be around everywhere. Where men drink in pubs and say “gotten.”

What’s wrong with this? Faberge made his first egg in 1885. Pound notes were very unusual until the Victorian era. Fireflies and crickets aren’t native to the UK. Landaus were a lady’s vehicle, much favored by widows (Queen Victoria was fond of them and the present Queen uses them on state occasions) and were not made for travel, merely for pottering about in town. The Cossack trouser was a particular style, heavily pleated at the top, narrow at the ankle and what’s described in this book isn’t the Cossack. Whisky (definitely not whiskey) was a product of the mid-Victorian era. Only the illegal stuff was available before, and it could be clear, not the caramel color we associate with it today. The rank of Earl and above, and definitely Marquess was styled “the Marquess of Dryden,” not “Marquess Dryden.” And a knight or baronet, someone with the title “Sir” is addressed by his first name, not his last. Harry Dildo would be “Sir Harry,” not “Sir Dildo.” The people in the story would definitely know this. “Bloody hell” as a curse wasn’t used until World War One, and “bloody” wasn’t just rude, it was vulgar. Crude and rude were allowed, but vulgar, no. My grandmother used to say it was “common” and this was a woman who used “bugger” regularly. Girls of good family didn’t go to school. Despite extensive searches, the only schools for girls in this period seem to be the charity schools for poorer girls, to give them a better start in life. There was no need to educate girls of good family and their upbringing was haphazard, to say the least. Catholics were still looked down on, even the Catholic peers, who lost out on a lot of privileges, including taking their seats in Parliament, because of their religion. There is more, but I stopped taking notes after a while.

The errors spoiled my enjoyment in what could have been a fun book. Likeable characters and an engaging plot should have meant hours of pleasant reading, but it didn’t. Almost every page contains something that made me go “huh?” and make a note (since I knew I was reading this book for review – I don’t usually make notes, I just give up and take the author off my reading list). One or two little slips? Okay, fine. Nobody’s perfect, but this number is close to insulting, both to the age and the reader. Is it considered not important enough? To many people it won’t be. But it will destroy some people’s enjoyment of what could have been a good read. It wrecked mine. I would have DNF’d the book after the third chapter were it not for the style and the characters, and the fact that I wanted to find that elusive new historical author to love. If you don’t care about the plethora of errors, then go ahead, because you’ll enjoy it. If you have any knowledge of the history of Britain, then maybe you’ll want to think again.

But always remember, this is the opinion of an Englishwoman, brought up with this history and taught to regard it as hers. So if you’re not, then you might love this froth of a book. I felt like I was kicking a meringue while I was writing this review, but I had to be fair and give my honest opinion. Never forget that it might very well not agree with yours.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest—in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond.

She’s not afraid to play with fire…

But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone: this quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy façade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous: for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted.

No excerpt available.

Ash’s review of Shaedes of Gray by Amanda Bonilla
Urban fantasy published by Signet Eclipse 06 Dec 11

I think maybe I am getting burnt out on paranormals because I feel like I never have anything new to say. I like Shaedes of Gray, but it doesn’t blow me away. With so many books out in this genre, I want to be wowed, and, sadly, it doesn’t happen very often anymore.

Darian (whose name I do not like, for a woman anyway. Not important to the book but still, it bugs me) is a bit more of the annoying urban fantasy heroine. She believes she is the only paranormal being in existence and, therefore, she believes she can never get close to someone, she always has to be alone, etc., etc., etc. I’m pretty tired of the whole “I want to love you, but I don’t know what love is and never will” thing she has going on. I also find it a little hard to believe that not once in her 100 years or so of life she never got even the smallest hint of other beings, considering it turns out that there is a pretty damn big paranormal population with their own government systems and everything.  At times Darian comes off as just stupid and arrogant, not a person who is very appealing. Which makes me wonder why so many men seem to want her. I honestly don’t get it.

Everything else in the book I pretty much like. Shaedes of Gray doesn’t have the typical creatures. There are Shaedes, obviously, Jinn, Oracles, Fae, and other things both good and bad. I think this is what saved the book for me. It’s something refreshing that I am not used to reading about. The other characters are fascinating as well. The Shaedes are a mix of modern and old world who, as Darian says, feel like they are from Lord of the Rings. I want more of them and I hate when they aren’t the focus. Their king, Xander, is vying for Darian’s affection, and that is one thing that disappoints me. It’s as if a love triangle is thrown in just to add drama. I am hoping it doesn’t continue much longer because I really hate those. Tyler is my favorite for the hero, and, even though he messed up in a huge way (I wouldn’t have forgiven him as fast as Darian did), I still really like him.

Shaedes of Gray held my attention pretty well, and for me lately that is a huge feat. It does suffer from some bad dialogue, with the characters speaking like they are out of a bad made-for-TV movie. The constant repeating of the same things makes me roll my eyes every time (we get it Darian, you are a good assassin, you don’t kill innocent people), but I’m able to look past that and enjoy the story. It isn’t too complicated, nor is it a simple good vs. bad. I’ll probably read the next one, but I don’t think I would rush out to buy it.

Grade: C+

Summary:

In the shadows of the night, Darian has lived alone for almost a century. Made and abandoned by her former love, Darian is the last of her kind-an immortal Shaede who can slip into darkness as easily as breathing. With no one else to rely on, she has taught herself how to survive, using her unique skills to become a deadly assassin.

When Darian’s next mark turns out to be Xander Peck, King of the Shaede Nation, her whole worldview is thrown into question. Darian begins to wonder if she’s taken on more than her conscience will allow. But a good assassin never leaves a job unfinished…

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Rodeo Daddy by Soraya Lane
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Romance 01 Nov 11

Note to Harlequin Authors: Yes, I will stoop to this level.  If I enjoyed your previous books, I’ll read your latest release – even if the Book Gods slap you with a cringe-worthy title and cover.  A fairly new author to the Harlequin Romance line, Soraya Lane has hit the ground running, with this already being her third release.  I enjoyed her first two books, which featured military heroes, so it was a given that I’d pick up the book with a cowboy on the cover.  I’ll just pretend to not notice that cutesy kid.

When a fall ended his rodeo career and marriage, Lark Anderson moved his seven-year-old daughter halfway across the world to New Zealand, looking for a fresh start.  While driving home in some nasty weather, he sees some obviously abused horses wandering along the road.  He stops to help them, and almost lands himself in hot water with the local law.  Yeah, the horses aren’t healthy, but they also aren’t his.  Getting him out of this jam is Sophie Baxter, who is back in her hometown to lick her wounds and volunteering at the animal shelter.  She vouches for Lark, even though she doesn’t know him from Adam, and agrees to oversee his rehabilitation of the horses.  The local law agrees, and now the gun-shy single dad finds himself spending time with an equally gun-shy heroine with several Big Secrets.

This is an uneven read for me.  Lark is a hero who wants to do the right thing, and that means overcompensating for his ex-wife who has literally washed her hands of him and their daughter.  His relationship with Lucy showcases classic Beta traits, but underneath he’s classic Alpha – right down to keeping his temper in check.  There were moments when he’s a little too hot under the collar for my tastes, but at least this is a man who will admit when he’s wrong about something – which is appreciated since at one point in the story he tars and feathers Sophie with the “She’s just like my rotten ex” brush.

Sophie is a much more problematic character for me.  She’s your typical Running Away heroine.  She ran away from The Big City and her career as a surgeon when she lost a young patient on the table.  OK, that’s understandable.  The real issue is the major Big Secret in this story – a choice Sophie made when she was in medical school and is still haunted by.  I’ll admit I’m probably reading way too much between the lines, but my big red feminist button is pushed and not in a good way.  I “get” that Sophie made a choice, and I “get” that it’s not an easy choice – but the fact that she is then subsequently “punished” for that choice really irritates.

Naturally, this makes Sophie feel ill at ease around young Lucy, which Lark misconstrues and ultimately leads to Sophie running away.  Twice.  She acts so much like a teenager that I have a hard time seeing her as an adult getting through the rigors of med school, let alone being a surgeon!

In the end the author rights the ship, but between Sophie’s “punishment” and the fact that she dwells incessantly on “children of her own” (admittedly a major pet peeve of mine), this story just didn’t sparkle the same way as the author’s previous two books did.  It has its moments and the story flows well, but it’s kind of a letdown.

Grade: C

Summary:

Rodeo champion Lark Anderson lived for the sound of crowds chanting his name. Now all he hears is a small voice saying, “daddy.” A fall ended both his rodeo career and his marriage—leaving him a single dad.

The town is suspicious of its new “celebrity” resident, and town darling Sophie Baxter has been nominated to keep an eye on the hot-tempered cowboy.

But the sight of his strong arms hugging his daughter and tucking her in at night makes Sophie’s heart ache with longing. Could this little family ever find a place in their hearts for her?

Read an excerpt.

LynneC’s review of Classified (Colby Series, Book 46) by Debra Webb
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Intrigue 4 Oct 11

I picked up a copy of this book on NetGalley, and I’m really not sure why Harlequin chose to put this book up. It’s part of a series, and although the couple in the story play out their romance here, such as it is, the story is most definitely an ongoing one and doesn’t make for a satisfying individual read.

The story concerns an agency and a mysterious person who is no doubt getting the last book of the series to himself. To find out more about him, one of the agency owners, Lucas Camp, asks his goddaughter, Casey Manning, to investigate. Casey doesn’t work for the Colby Agency, she’s a CIA agent currently on probation for reckless behaviour, so she’s free to go to Mexico. Although she doesn’t use her agency credentials or her agency issue weapons, I’d have thought the Agency wouldn’t have approved of this.

I can’t say I warmed to Casey, I’m afraid. She is irritating in her take-charge-I-know-best attitude, and she doesn’t listen when Levi makes some suggestions, just goes her own way. We are told this, but I ended up on the Agency’s side.

Unknown to Lucas, his wife, Victoria, asks agent Levi Stark to investigate the lead, too. I found Levi a sympathetic character, although if he’s supposed to be the character in a frankly strange pose on the cover, he loses some votes right there.

So we have a basic Big Misunderstanding. Casey and Levi hook up fairly early in the book, but they won’t tell each other who they work for, so the basic suspicion goes on through the whole book and irritated me somewhat. Because it is a bit contrived and sometimes matters and sometimes doesn’t.

The adventure takes them through Mexico and they end up in a luxury hotel room in Acapulco. Which they take because the view is just right to target their quarry. Not because there’s a nice big bed there, which they don’t use at all, btw.

The romance is patchy and consists of a bit of lusting and a couple of kisses. At the start of the book there is little sexual tension, barely an awareness of each other, and then in one scene about half way through, they suddenly go into full lust mode, staring at each other and fancying each other like crazy. There is no below the waist touching and they never get close to sharing a bed. The end of the story is sudden and unpersuasive, but I can’t go into it without spoilers. But if you are looking for hot, then forget it. It’s not here. There is an inconsistency that doesn’t convince me that these two are meant to be together. I know critics sometimes complain about sex in inappropriate circumstances in other romantic suspense books, but really, I’d prefer that to this passionless on and off romance.

The style is also more descriptive and “telling,” rather than expository and “showing.” Take this sentence:

“Casey bolted forward and whacked him on the head with the beer bottle in her hand. Glass shattered on the floor.”

That tells you what happened, but not what it felt like to hit the unfortunate man on the head, if the impact jarred her arm, or if the glass cut the man, if there was blood, if he shouted. It doesn’t take the reader into the action, it doesn’t make you feel as if you’re there, experiencing it alongside Casey. So I read this with a sense of dissociation, as if I were watching from a distance. Not good for a romance book.

Plus, only part of the story is told in this book. I was constantly aware, from the flood of backstory at the beginning to the unsatisfactory ending, that this is wrenched from a series and isn’t a standalone. But this story isn’t enough to make me hunt out the rest of the series and discover who the mystery man is because I didn’t care enough.

Grade:

Summary: C-

Colby Agency investigator Levi Stark had been prepared for the worst when his boss sent him to find her agency’s deadliest enemy. But deep undercover in a Mexican mining outpost, Levi met danger from the unlikeliest source—an unknown blonde spitfire on the same trail.Casey Manning had been secretly sent by Levi’s boss’s husband. The benched CIA agent trusted no one and worked alone…until she and Levi found themselves outmanned and outgunned. Around her sexy new partner, Casey had a feeling that protecting her identity—and her heart—would prove tougher than keeping them safe from the Colbys’ most wanted.…

No excerpt available.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Baby, Let It Snow by Beverly Jenkins & Elaine Overton
Contemporary Romance published by Kimani Romance 18 Oct 11

I cannot say no to holiday-themed romances; and given the sheer volume that romance publishers churn out every year, it looks like I’m not the only reader with this affliction.  No line in the Harlequin universe is immune to this slathering on of holiday cheer, and this offering from Kimani features romance veteran Jenkins, along with Overton, who has several category romances under her belt.

I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Beverly Jenkins

Dina Caldwell and Morgan Todd grew up next door to each other in the same Detroit neighborhood.  She went on to become a major Broadway star, and he’s the hottest celebrity chef in the business.  It would be natural that these two beautiful people would fall in love and get engaged.  Until Dina gets smacked in the face with a tabloid and photographic evidence of Morgan’s cheating ways.  She calls the whole thing off, and four years later she still hasn’t spoken to him.  However, his little sister is getting married, and Dina cannot miss the wedding of such a close family friend.  She’s just going to have to suck it up and somehow survive the magnetic attraction she has with Morgan.  But how well will she resist when she discovers that the bad boy is mending his ways and that he wants her back?

What I tend to really like about Jenkins’ romances are her cast of characters.  This story features a wonderful family dynamic, with two close-knit families who are the best of friends.  I also think it’s impossible for Jenkins to write a story that doesn’t feature a strong sense of community.

The problem here is that Morgan was a cheater and he broke Dina’s heart.  Yes, he apologizes.  Yes, he’s mending his ways.  However, the whole thing seems to wrap up a little too easily.  It’s possible I am a vindictive soul – but I wanted more groveling here.  Oh, and having the hero crawl naked through broken glass might have been nice too.  But it is a nice reunion story, with a lovely sense of place and a tender holiday feel.  For the less vindictive among you, that may be enough.

Grade: C

Second Chance Christmas by Elaine Overton

With both their parents now gone, Diana Rogers and her brother Shawn are left to run the family winery-slash-bed-and-breakfast.  Unbeknowst to Diana, Shawn has other plans for his life and has sold his 50% of the business to none other than Robert Fenton.

Robert lived a nomadic childhood, but the happiest years were at the winery – until Diana’s Daddy found out he was boff’ing his baby girl, and before you can say smear campaign, Robert was hitting the road again.  Now, several years later, he’s a big honkin’ success in the hotel business, but he’s got one thing on his mind. Yep, revenge.  Even though the old goat is dead.  How’s that for some typical romance hero logic?  Anyway, once he’s back at the winery and sees Diana again? Yeah, revenge begins to take a back seat.

I know some readers cannot tolerate the revenge plot, but it works fairly well here in a shorter format.  Robert begins to reevaluate his motives once he sees Diana again and realizes he’s never gotten over her.  Also, Diana is a suspicious soul, and isn’t about to play doormat to Robert, who she is convinced is “up to something.”

That being said, I feel like the past isn’t rehashed enough here.  What Diana’s Daddy did to Robert was pretty sneaky and underhanded, and the couple never really talks about it.  They gloss over it, and given the severity of the nature, I guess I want a big, dramatic scene.  Readers do get such a scene, but only after Diana learns the truth about Robert’s original motives and, in true romance heroine logic, runs away.  Sigh.  But the story had its moments, even though the execution didn’t always work for me.

Grade: C+

These are quick, holiday-themed reads that feature a strong sense of community and family.  For readers who don’t want Christmas shoved down their throats, both authors focus more on Thanksgiving, family camaraderie, and throw in snow storms to liven up their climactic finishes.  I’ll also admit that being a Michigan girl at heart, I love that both of these stories take place in my home state.  Like being home for the holidays but cheaper and less annoying than the airlines.

Overall Grade: C

Summary:

Four wish lists. Two holiday stories. The most wonderful time of the year.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Beverly Jenkins

Three years ago, Broadway star Dina Caldwell and celebrity chef Morgan Todd were passionately in love. Now America’s onetime favorite couple are about to be reunited in Morgan’s Detroit hometown for the holidays. Is this the season for forgiving and forgetting? With sizzling kisses under the mistletoe, Morgan vows to make this a Christmas Dina will never forget!

Second Chance Christmas by Elaine Overton

Diana Rogers is ready for some holiday R & R. Until Robert Fenton comes home for Christmas. The handsome, powerful hotelier has plans to take over her beloved family winery. But this is the season for miracles. And Diana’s seductive ex-lover has his own secret wish list—one that includes a second chance with the woman he’s never stopped loving.

Beverly Jenkins Excerpt

Elaine Overton Excerpt

LynneC’s review of A Vampire For Christmas by Laurie London, Michele Hauf, Caridad Pineiro & Alexis Morgan
Paranormal Romance published by HQN 18 Oct 11

Most anthologies are the curate’s egg kind of book, with good bits and bad bits or not-so-good bits. This is no exception, but on the whole it is a decent read and a nice introduction to the flood of seasonal books. There are four stories by authors established in the genre.

Enchanted by Blood by Laurie London

This story takes part in her world, one I hadn’t read before but I had no problems catching up on. It is a story complete in itself and is about Trace Westfalen and Charlotte Grant, who have met before, although Trace wipes Charlotte’s mind and she doesn’t remember their previous encounter. This sets up an interesting situation in which Trace remembers and Charlotte does not, so she is learning him from scratch. This is the kind of story where the big bad vampires share a house, the kind with chandeliers and antiques but go out hunting dressed in leather with fearsome weapons. You have been warned.

Trace is forced to step in when Charlotte is in danger, and this inevitably leads to their involvement again. I do think that the couple end up in bed too soon, considering Charlotte doesn’t know him from Adam at this point in the story, but this is a short, and it’s sometimes tricky to do that.

However, London does have one maddening habit which brings the story down for me. Every time the action heats up, she ends the scene on a cliffhanger, and then starts the next with a recap of what happened. That means the reader isn’t there and doesn’t experience it. It happens too many times, and it irritates me, and brings my grade down.

Grade: C

Summary:

All they want for Christmas is you -

It’s the time of year for twinkling lights on trees and kisses under the mistletoe. Yet the passing of another year means nothing to the stunning immortals who lurk in the shadows of the new-fallen snow.

And they don’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice.

Let four fanged lovers open your eyes to a passion you never dared to imagine. After all, there’s no place like home for the holidays and these dazzling vampires can’t wait for an invitation.

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

Monsters Don’t Do Christmas by Michele Hauf

The hero in this story has only been a vampire for a year. He was a money man and had lots of it, until he was turned, and I’m still not sure why he gave it all up. He roamed the streets and fought werewolves, who, we are told, hate vampires. I don’t know why. The heroine is Olivia Adorata, a pop star who takes every Christmas off and lives in a small apartment on her own, celebrating the season. She thinks of herself as a monster because of her fame. So why didn’t anyone recognise her? That is only one problem I had with Olivia. I can see what Hauf was trying to do, have two people reconcile the monsters within themselves, but in neither case does the motivation and the conviction go through them deep enough for me to really understand why they feel that way. There is the possibility for some breathtaking moments, but they aren’t taken. I don’t feel I know Daniel at all, and Olivia is too sweet to be true. Neither character entirely works for me.

Grade: D

Summary:

Sexy singer, Olivia isn’t at all frightened by the vampire she finds fending off werewolves outside her door. Why should she be? She’s just as much a monster as he is. Daniel Harrison hasn’t been vampire long, but the monster he is does not do Christmas. That doesn’t keep him from trying to rescue another who could transform before the full moon—but can he do it and win Olivia’s heart with but a flash of fang and his desire for her to ‘sway with him’?

No excerpt available.

When Herald Angels Sing by Caridad Pineiro.

Although Pineiro’s recent full-length paranormal release didn’t quite do it for me, she is a considerably talented author with a great, smooth style and a willingness to tackle unusual situations.

This story takes place in 1931. The hero, Damien, is or was a rum-runner, and it is a century since he first met his love, Angelina. Their enemy, a demon called Pedro, tears them apart, or makes Damien make the wrong decisions, and they are torn apart again, only to be reborn to have another attempt at getting it right this time.

Although this story has a few of the vampire clichés, they are almost impossible to avoid in this genre, and it doesn’t stop me enjoying this story of everlasting love constantly thwarted. Angelina has a secret of her own, but when she is dumped on the beach, she is injured and needs Damien’s help. He tends to her, and they get together again, knowing that yet again, Pedro has the upper hand.

Of course, this is a romance, so you know it will work out, one way or another, but you don’t know how it will work out. Angelina and Damien are believable, interesting characters with the depth that a story of this length will allow.

Grade: B

Read an excerpt.

All I Want for Christmas by Alexis Morgan

The last story is, IMO, the best one. It is a sweet, poignant morsel of a Christmas tale and took me from beginning to end. I made fewest notes on this story because I wanted to enjoy the read and let the story take me away, which it does. The setup is simple, so little backstory is needed. Eagan is an undercover cop and vampire looking for some rogues. Della is a human woman who runs a diner, peopled, although she doesn’t know it, by supernatural beings as well as humans. Della likes Christmas and is determined to bring it to the people who frequent her diner. Despite his better nature, Eagan is strongly attracted to Della, and soon they begin an affair. Della is under threat and is put into danger, so Eagan has to find and rescue her.

Simple setup so the author can concentrate on the characters, something I really enjoy. The characters are believable, the setting well depicted, and I was just drawn into this one.

Grade: A

Read an excerpt.

Overall Grade: C

C2’s review of Serendipity (Serendipity Series, Book 1) by Carly Phillips
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 6 Sep 11

I seem to be on a good run with contemporaries lately.  Carly Phillips is an author I hadn’t read in ages – too many books, too little time – until Serendipity turned up in my mailbox.  Since I was in a contemporary mood, I decided to try it and see what I had been missing out on.  I really enjoyed this story.

Faith Harrington has just returned to her hometown to start a new life. Her father is in jail after swindling lots of people – including many residents of Serendipity – and her (now) ex-husband, who had used her father’s influence to further his career but managed to remain unscathed, was cheating on her.  Now all Faith wants is to take back her life, be herself and make it on her own.  The last thing she expects is to bump into her high-school-bad-boy secret crush.

Ethan Barron has also returned home to make some changes in his life. Ethan feels responsible for the death of his parents – and the result of his younger brothers ending up in foster care.  His parents were on their way to deal with some consequences of his youthful bad choices when they were killed in a car accident.  Years later, Ethan still blames himself…and so do his brothers (ah yes, faithful reader, the sweet, sweet smell of sequel bait).  Now Ethan can work wherever and has returned to Serendipity to try to mend things with his brothers.  The last thing he expects is to suddenly be responsible for a sister he never knew he had.

Apparently, his dad, who traveled a lot for work, had a long-term girlfriend in another town and they had a child together just before his father was killed.  Now the girlfriend is dead and the half-sister cannot deal with their mutual half-sister any longer.  His little sister, Tess, has already been in and out of trouble at school and with the police and needs more adult supervision than her half-sister can provide.  Kelly (the out-of-her-depth sister) tells Ethan that Tess is his for the summer.  Ethan decides he isn’t going to abandon another sibling who needs him – besides, he recognizes some of his youthful rebellion in Tess.  And maybe he and his brothers can work together to help her get back on track before it’s too late.

But what about Faith?  After meeting her again, Ethan realizes the old spark of attraction is still there – maybe more now than when they were young.  He wants to see where things will go and needs a way to keep her from avoiding him.  Conveniently, he moves into the fancy house she grew up in (it had to be sold after her dad’s legal problems) and it needs some serious redecorating.  Faith’s new business in town is interior design.  Perfect!  He will be her first (only – the townspeople aren’t exactly excited to see her) client and will help her get the new business off the ground.  Faith is reluctant.  She just got out of a bad relationship and is still reeling from her father’s situation.  Still, beggars can’t be choosers and she needs the business.

Faith and Ethan both are trying to find their way and fighting the shadows of their former selves. The townspeople can’t see past the idea of Faith being the spoiled daughter of the man who stole their money. Ethan’s brothers can’t get past their anger and still blame him for ruining their lives. Will they manage? Well, this is the first book in a series so, yeah. But, since it is a series there are plot points left dangling. Ethan’s relationships with his brothers is still unsettled and Faith’s relationship with her mother is not completely comfortable.

All in all, I enjoyed Serendipity. The characters and storyline weren’t the most unique, but Ms. Phillips stays out of cookie cutter territory and I remained engaged enough to be interested in where the next book will take things.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Faith Harrington was the classic girl of privilege–until her father was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme and then her marriage crashed and burned.

Now Faith is back in her hometown, hoping for a fresh start. But her father’s betrayal has rocked Serendipity – and not everyone is ready to welcome her with open arms. Then she runs into her teenage crush — the dark, brooding Ethan Barron. Ethan, no stranger to scandal himself, never imagined he’d own the mansion on the hill, much less ever again come face to face with Faith–the princess he once kissed senseless. The chance meeting reignites the electric charge between them.

Still, when Ethan hires her to redecorate what was once her childhood home, Faith is sure that getting involved with the town’s notorious bad boy will only lead to trouble. But her heart has other ideas. And so do the townspeople of Serendipity …

Read an excerpt. (click link)

Laura C’s review of Deadly Little Lies by Jeanne Adams
Romantic Suspense published by Zebra 01 Sep 11

Billionaire Davros Gianakopulos has lusted after Carrie McCray for years, but with his own murky past and her unfortunate one, he’s kept his distance. Finally he makes his move…just as a vengeful enemy from his past makes a move of his own. Soon Davros and Carrie are running for their lives in the jungles of Central America. Davros’ security team is close behind, but there are far more villains in the picture than any of them are aware and no one may get out alive.

Although romantic suspense is probably my favorite subgenre of romance, I think it is the hardest to write well. All too often one side–either the romance or the suspense–fails to satisfy. When it’s the suspense, I can forgive it because my emotions are still wrapped tight in the romance, but when it’s the romance, well, that I find more disturbing.

Unfortunately, while the suspense plot in Deadly Little Lies is nice and twisty, with different villains around every blind curve, with double and triple-crosses, the central romance falls flat. Compare these two sections, one of a conversation between the two main characters about their relationship, the other an action sequence:

This occurs about one-third through the book:

“I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that you believed in me.” She found his hand again, squeezed his fingers, then brought them to her cheek. “You never wavered, did you?”

“Never,” he said, because it was true. He couldn’t help it, he had to touch her, hold her and ease her sorrow.  Using the anchor of the hand she held, he moved closer, found her face with his other hand. “Carrie, you’re like a dark flame to me, with your beautiful black hair, your sapphire eyes, and your brilliant mind and wit. I carry a picture of you in my head.” He caressed her cheek, felt the dampness of a tear, but didn’t let that deter him. “I measure other women against you and they always come up lacking.”

Okay, let me just say that if my husband said that to me, I’d ask him where he put his…manly bits. And if a guy I was just dating said it? He’d be out the door before he knew what hit him (which would be my knee).  But they go on that way for the entire book!  It makes me want to scream.

And then the action:

Not good. Too many forces at odds. To many pieces on the chessboard.

He continued to watch, unwilling to shift the balance yet. He gritted his teeth when the men turned to the hole as well, having finished with their work at the road. They crept over to the same place Niko had, but they were more intent. When they aimed their weapons downward, he could see both night-scopes and suppressors. Shifting to his work, Jurgens sighed, focused and let out a long, slow breath.

Idiots.

He squeezed the trigger once, then twice. Pivoting fast, he shot again, taking out the sniper who had been watching the camp as intently as he had. The fact that that watcher hadn’t shot meant that he worked with these men. Therefore, he had to be taken off the chessboard.

Oh, so much more interesting! At various points Ms. Adams throws a little a conflict into the romance, but as readers we never take it very seriously. Too much has been given away already too quickly, so what we have is a romance novel with no build in the relationship.  The thriller part, no matter how much fun and how exciting, can’t overcome that.

(My recommendation? Read Jeanne Adams earlier series—Dark and Dangerous, and Dark and Deadly—instead. They’re both excellent.)

Grade: C+

Summary:

Billionaire industrialist Dav Gianikopolis believes in working hard and enjoying the fruits of your labors.  He believes in legacies, but given the dark and dangerous legacy his own father passed on, he’s not sure he really wants to take the chance on love and marriage.  Nearly getting killed – and having his best friend nearly die in his arms – changes his mind, and Dav decides its time to settle down.  He decides he’s going to marry Carrie McCray, the woman he’s been drawn to for years, but never been able to reach.  When she finally agrees to a date, everything goes horribly wrong and Dav and Carrie are kidnapped, whisked away to an unknown location, with the threat of death hanging over every move, every word.  Locked away underground in an impenetrable cell, how can Dav and Carrie survive, much less, escape?  When their captors are murdered before their eyes, with no warning, they must work together to escape, or perish.  Having finally found a woman he can trust, and maybe even love, Dav isn’t giving up, and neither are his friends and colleagues Gates Bromley and Ana Burton-Bromley.

Other books in this series:

LynneC’s review of Fatal Heat by Lisa Marie Rice
Contemporary Erotic Romance novella published by Avon Impulse  8 Nov 11

Max is a retired SEAL, recovering from terrible injury that has left one leg very afflicted. He did his best to restore his health after being blown up in Afghanistan, but he is now coming to terms with the fact that he isn’t going back.

Paige is used to hunky ex-navy men moving into the apartment next door, because her godfather lends his place to them from time to time when he’s not in residence. But this one blows her away, especially after an encounter on the beach, when they find out that her dog and the man next door have the same name. Paige is working in bio-genetics and she’s academically clever, but that doesn’t seem to translate into her ordinary life.

The first part of this short novella is Max and Paige meeting and connecting, which they do very quickly. They fall for each other too fast, but this story gives them a believable ending and a sweet epilogue, set a year after the main events. Then, in the second half of the book, something else happens, and suddenly we’re in combat mode with Paige in danger.

This part of the story is the least successful. I didn’t find the story believable, or the motives of the villain. The whole plot is paper-thin and contains a few holes you have to try to ignore in order to enjoy the rest of the story. Paige does some silly things, even though she has a godfather in the SEALs and is involved in a sensitive project.

Max does a bit too much moaning in the first part of the story, lots of reflection about his lot and not much action. But it’s understandable, considering. He doesn’t know what to do with his future, but he knows he has to do something. I’m not sure why he comes to the decision he does, but it’s a tiny bit pat for me. However, there isn’t much room in a novella to develop all the themes. He does a bit of SEAL-ing later on in the story, and there he comes to life. I’m also interested in his colleague, and I’d love a story about him.

Paige is an interesting character, until she turns into a McGuffin. I do feel more in sympathy with Max, and I feel that Paige is a little less well developed. But the best part of the story for me is when they come together and begin to learn each other. That is fun, and the sex is nicely hot. Very hot, in fact. I’m quite surprised when the C word turns up a lot in the book, but it is the way Max would think and I, for one, didn’t object to its use.

I am surprised when the story ends, because there’s still nearly 40% of space left of the story on my reader. The rest of the book is filled in with extracts and teasers. I don’t mind, but in this case it isn’t well telegraphed and I’m left wondering how the person who plunked down their hard-earned would feel (I got my copy from NetGalley).

SPOILER ALERT:

Paige’s friend discovers that the super-crop they’re working on is also super-carcinogenic. The villain decides to take advantage of this by buying and selling shares. The subject of insider trading is brought up, and rightly so. Surely the villain must have known that he’d be caught, prosecuted and sent to jail? It’s just not that easy to do it these days. And the super-crop is in a final stage of development. One of the first things they’re checked and monitored for is the carcinogenic effect. If it is massively carcinogenic, the project wouldn’t have survived for long. There are also some decisions the heroine makes that I find hard to understand, if she’s so bright. When she’s sent the offending file, surely she should have sent it into the cloud? Besides, there would be residual copies and there wouldn’t be just one report. But to do the plot justice, it is never assumed that the crop will hit the market. Just that the project will last long enough for the villain to get his money.

But it’s a sweet novella, and I will definitely be looking for more books by Ms. Rice.

Grade: C

Summary:

Former Navy SEAL Max Wright is out of the SEAL Teams forever after being almost killed by an Afghani RPG. He retreats to his former XO’s beach house to lick his wounds. He wants to snarl at the world but finds it hard to snarl at his new neighbor, his XO’s beautiful goddaughter, Paige Waring, who also comes with a ridiculously likable, totally undisciplined dog.

As a plant geneticist, Paige has always been focused on her work, but when she and her dog run into Max, she recognizes the lonely, shattered man behind the rugged exterior. To her mind, sexiness always comes with a white lab coat, not with acres of tanned muscle and a tough mind-set.

When Paige’s work becomes the target of criminals and she’s abducted, Max springs into action. Though still terribly wounded, this tough as nails SEAL goes on his last mission—stopping at nothing to save the woman he loves.

No excerpt found.

LynneC’s review of Love Without Lies by Lee Wilkinson
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 16 Aug 11

and

Innocent in the Ivory Tower by Lucy Ellis
Contemporary Romance published by Mills and Boon Modern Romance 1 Oct 11

I read these books one after the other, and they were both hmm, I don’t know books, but for very different reasons. So I thought it would be interesting to do a compare and contrast. One is a book by a veteran Mills and Boon/Harlequin author, and the other is a debut novel. Both are polished and exactly what you’d expect from the Modern/Presents lines and both are acceptable reads. But for very different reasons.

Lee Wilkinson is a long-term Mills and Boon writer, whose last book seems to have been Captive in the Millionaire’s Castle from 2009. Lucy Ellis is a writer formerly writing as Lucy Snowe (shades of the Brontes?), but I could only find fanfiction under the Lucy Snowe name, so I think we’re safe to assume that she hasn’t done much before this.

In Love Without Lies by Lee Wilkinson, Madeleine is a physiotherapist who deals with a minor injury that Rafe has suffered when he crashes his racing car (of course!) and then she dates him. At first it all seems perfect, then she learns things about him that worry her, and she doesn’t like it.

It’s a Big Misunderstanding book, the kind that can be sorted out if the hero and heroine are honest with each other. But they don’t trust each other enough, or they don’t trust themselves, and they don’t confide. The Big Misunderstanding is really difficult to get right, and even more so in the shorter category format, because the writer has fewer words to do it. It doesn’t work here for me. Madeleine is depicted as a mature woman who is intelligent, knows her own mind, but is sexually inexperienced. However, all her vaunted intelligence flies out of the window when she’s approached by a complete stranger and told that Rafe is a wolf who goes around seducing women and abandoning them. So all that time Rafe has lavished on her and the courting counts for nothing when Madeleine meets a bitch who lies to her. She doesn’t have the sense to do any research online or to just ask him. Oh no.

I do enjoy the dialogue between the couple. It flowed easily, read well, and had a touch of humor that I enjoyed. But the actions of the characters tell another story.

There are a few too many disembodied body parts. It’s a technique that, used sparingly, can be okay, but I wonder that Wilkinson’s editor let so many through: “his hand wandered over her,” “his mouth returned to pleasure her,” “his fingers found the nest of pale curls” – and that’s just one scene. Too many of those and you start to wonder if his body breaks up into little bits that do their own thing independent of their owner. And it starts to get a bit weird.

When Madeleine finds out about Rafe, or thinks she does, she does something so crassly stupid, he goes away. But this is his Big Misunderstanding, because Rafe doesn’t ask and doesn’t wait for an explanation. He just storms off. For two so-called intelligent people, they really act stupidly.

The book is told mainly from the heroine’s point of view. Insights into the hero are few and fleeting. And that makes me wonder. For some reason, the book was published in 2006 in the UK and is only just now coming out in the US, so that explains its slightly old-fashioned approach. Recently, Mills and Boon editors have made a real effort to update the tropes and themes and have taken on quite a few new writers. One imagines that life as a Mills and Boon author is increasingly precarious.

But such as it is, the story is explained smoothly and the story flows. So well that you can predict “they’re going to kiss around here” and “this is where they come back together.” Wilkinson has been writing so long for Harlequin/Mills and Boon that she can probably write one of these books in her sleep.

On the other hand, Lucy Ellis has her debut in Innocent in the Ivory Tower. A more ridiculous title is hard to think of, but Ellis’s original title seems to have been A Russian Affair, which I like much better. For a start, an “ivory tower” tends to indicate, to me at least, a scholar, locked away from real life, not, as in this book, an innocent person living in luxury. So I was expecting something a bit different to the book than I actually got. I know that in biblical terms it means an innocent, but in most uses today, it means an academic locked up in their own world.

Maisy is working for her friends as a nanny to their small child when said friends are killed in a car accident. They leave the guardianship of their son to playboy and tycoon Alexei Ranaevsky. There is a reason, but it’s hard to think of a less qualified guardian. The money is about all Alexei has going for him as far as guardianship is concerned. Maisy, one of the titian-haired, pale-skinned, curvy beauties, is shy, sexually inexperienced and has the magic vayjayjay that captivates Alexei from the start. The book has the rich bitch character and the usual denigration of the sophisticated woman who knows how to dress properly and may have had a little cosmetic work done on the side. That trope really annoys me, the way women who actually make an effort are contrasted against the sweet, innocent, naturally beautiful heroine. Maisy is all those things and unworldly, too. She doesn’t like Alexei spending lots of money on her and she won’t accept the jewelry and clothes he wants to give her. Yep, that’s right, Maisy is one of those heroines you want to slap. Or I do, anyway. I should add if sweet and innocent and not too bright is your fantasy, and I know it is of many readers, then this is so your book.

Alexei is delicious, and Maisy just doesn’t deserve him. He’s Slavic, self-made, and he gives Maisy everything he can, until she forces him to give it all.

The bits that I enjoyed most are the parts that went off-base. There are certain expectations of a Presents novel, and when Ellis obeys them and makes her characters play their allotted parts, the story goes a bit flat and unbelievable in parts. Can anybody these days be that innocent, that stupid? But it’s required for the mechanics of the story. But when Maisy forgets she’s a Modern/Presents heroine and takes her fate into her own hands, I started to warm to her. She becomes an innocent with a mind of her own, and I could see what a story like that could do. But then we are back in the dance.

So while Wilkinson has few problems getting her characters to run along the tracks, you could sometimes see the way Ellis has to force them. I suspect that Ellis received a harder edit than Wilkinson, because there are parts of the story that read listlessly, the kind of read you get when a story is overworked. The rich bitch, for instance, is completely cardboard and is obviously only there to move the plot along a bit and give Maisy yet another reason to doubt herself. However, when she gets drunk and Alexei looks after her, I enjoyed that part. It shows Alexei’s protectiveness and Maisy’s despair and exasperation really well.

Although both these books are Cs for me, it’s for very different reasons. I’d like to see what Ellis produces next, but I’d hate for her editors to pound all the originality and fun out of her voice and style. I’d like to see what she does with different tropes, because there’s definitely a spark there. Wilkinson I haven’t seen for a few years, and this book is an older one. So did she walk or was she pushed? Or is there more to come?

Grade: C

Summary:

Love Without Lies:

The whirlwind romance Rafe Lombard lavished on Madeleine Knight was enough to win him her heart. It was only when she learned of secrets in his past that Madeleine knew he would never be hers. So she ran—as far away as she could…. Rafe is determined to prove that no woman leaves him without his say-so. He is determined to have Madeleine back, and he knows there is only one place to keep her—close by his side…

Read an excerpt.

Innocent in the Ivory Tower:

When purity and passion collide… Nanny Maisy Edmonds is furious when a stranger tries to take her orphaned little charge – stealing a shockingly explicit kiss from her into the bargain! Can infamous tycoon Alexei Ranaevsky really be the child’s godfather? Installed in Alexei’s remote Italian villa, Maisy is intent on protecting little Kostya – and nothing else… Alexei’s childhood-turned-nightmare means he allows himself no emotional attachments. But Maisy’s beguiling sweetness has the uncompromising Russian determined to seduce her down from her inexperienced pedestal

Read an excerpt.

Ash’s review of Untamed Highlander (Dark Sword Series, Book 4) by Donna Grant
Paranormal Romance published by St. Martins 26 Apr 11

I have been trying to figure out for days now how to write this review. Hayden and Isla are my favorite couple of the series so far, but I feel their book was cut short.

Isla is my absolute favorite type of heroine. She is alone against the world, trying to prove herself, and I love a character who can overcome their situation. After the previous book, I wanted her with a different warrior. I didn’t think much of Hayden, but he changed my mind in a big way. He doesn’t want to want Isla, but he can’t resist her. Her kind is responsible for the death of his family and he would rather kill all the evil druids than love one. Now that I am actually writing this, they remind me of my one of my top romance couples, so I guess it’s not surprising I enjoy them together so much.

So the characters are great, but my issue came with everything else. I feel almost cheated in a lot of ways. I want more of a resolution to what their problems are. Hayden learns something about Isla that should affect him more than it does. I understand that by then he loves her, but there is this build-up from both of them and then because there is other stuff going on, it is kind of pushed to the side.

Then there is Deirdre, the bad guy. I thought as a villain Deirdre is severely lacking in the previous books. The direction Donna Grant takes with her in this book is interesting and has potential. It doesn’t last though, and it looks like she is right back to her usual self, which just bores me.

Untamed Highlander feels like part one of a book. Not much action happens, I’m left wanting to know more about Isla and her magic, plus I want more of an ending to the romance. As for the ongoing storyline, it’s like it goes nowhere. Nothing really changes from the book before or even the one before that, and if it weren’t for the characters I would have given up on the series. I haven’t yet, though, and I’ll continue to read for the warriors I can’t seem to let go of.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Druid-born and magic-blessed, Isla is one of the deadliest she-devils ever to serve the forces of darkness. As an immortal Highland warrior, it’s up to Hayden Campbell to destroy her and her kind. But for Hayden, Isla is more than a sworn enemy. She is temptation…

Taking Isla captive, Hayden hopes to avenge his kinsmen who died by Druid magic. But when he looks into Isla’s eyes, he sees the secrets of her past. When he touches her skin, he feels the passion in her soul. And soon Hayden comes to realize that this beautiful, beguiling woman is not his enemy at all—she is his destiny. And, even as the forces of darkness conspire against them, their love will conquer all…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Liviania’s review of If I Tell by Janet Gurtler
Young Adult published by Sourcebooks Fire 1 Oct 11

I knew almost nothing about the book when I began If I Tell.  That’s a good situation to go into the book with, because it may be slim, but If I Tell covers a wide range of topics, from first love to growing up bi-racial in a small town.

Jaz is seventeen, the same age her mother was when she got pregnant.  Now her mother is pregnant again.  Jaz would be happy – she got along well with Simon, the first real black presence in her life.  But the other night, Simon got drunk and kissed the also-drunk Lacey, Jaz’s best friend.  (Not as gross as it could be: he’s 27; she’s 21.)  A drunk kiss isn’t the end of the world for an adult, but for a teenager . . . well, she’s been betrayed by the two people she’s closest to and the one person she really wants to tell is particularly vulnerable at the moment.

Janet Gurtler is excellent at making Jaz seem like a real teenager.  Every problem is amplified in her mind, and her issues take precedence over the issues of those around her.  But that’s a problem sometimes, because real teenagers are often awful people and it’s hard to sympathize with Jaz.  She tries not to hurt her mom by telling her about the kiss, but decides the best way not to tell her is to avoid her completely.  (Hurtful)  When Jaz finally meets someone else who is bi-racial, she’s rude and dismissive of their experience due to their passing privilege.  (Sorry for the awkward third person, but I don’t want to give the identity away.  It’s a pretty good surprise.)

The slow-building romance between Jaz and Jackson is my favorite part of the book.  He’s a good balance for her.  He’s an already reformed bad boy and thus more reflective than your average teenage boy.  He knows his actions have consequences.  Unfortunately, there’s so much going on in If I Tell that he drops out of the story quite often.

I like how lived-in Gurtler has made her world.  But sometimes I wish she’d cut some things out.  There’s an attempted date rape plot that goes nowhere and is utterly infuriating because no one calls the guy out for getting an underage girl drunk in order to have sex with her.  Jaz gets mad at Nathan and makes it clear that they were never together and are certainly not going out again.  She doesn’t, however, get mad at her friends who are surprised she’s not dating him.

The bullying subplot is also handled awkwardly.  Gurtler creates a head mean girl who has it out for Jaz.  She’s the only true human antagonist in the novel, but she only shows up for two short scenes and delivers a bit of karma to Nathan.  I’m cool with nothing bad happening to her in the end, because plenty of bullies get away with it.  But it feels odd to have the bullying move from general and systemic to personal and then have no further development.

I love Gurtler’s prose, which is smooth and unhurried.  If I Tell is very easy to read.  I enjoyed the realistic approach, but felt it was just too realistic at times.  The action needed to be a little more contained and Jaz could’ve been less bratty.  At the same time, Jaz’s motivations are understandable and it allows her to develop and mature.  I just wish she started growing up earlier.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure… people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a onenight stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn’t raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she’s never fit in hasn’t been easy. But she’s been surviving. Until she sees her mom’s new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?

Read an excerpt here.

LynneC’s review of Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors, Book 7) by Pamela Palmer
Paranormal Romance published by Avon 25 Oct 11

I had a few disconnects with this story, but there’s no doubt that Palmer knows how to write. Interesting characters and intriguing world building is let down a little by a few plot holes and an overlong book.

Faith is living in Poland helping street children. She’s an immortal, a Therian (I kept reading this as theramin, that awesome instrument Jimmy Page plays, but that’s my own fault for spending most of last night watching theramin performances on You Tube), a race of people once shapeshifters but now unable to shift. The only shapeshifters are Feral Warriors. One of them, Maxim, discovers her and claims her. He’s about to go to America to the compound. So she goes with him.

There she meets Hawke, who is a shapeshifting Hawk. And she feels an immediate attraction. Since she understood she was to be mated with Maxim, this confuses her. She’d felt the mating pull, or so she thought.

That basic plot is fine, but it’s at this point I get my first disconnect, or huh? moment. There are only nine Feral Warriors left. They’re very precious, very special people. And they all live in the same house? That’s a big no in my book. Surely they should live at opposite ends of the earth? Well, there’s a plot reason for that. They need to be in contact with the Radiant, who at present is the wife of their leader, Lyon, who is a shapeshifting lion. As far as I can gather, the Radiant is a kind of battery, and they have to recharge. That, to me, read like a plot contrivance. There’s no internal reason why that should be. Why there should be a battery, why they have to use it, why, in all their existence, they haven’t discovered a scientist clever enough to invent a way of remote-control charging, or even more of the batter—er, Radiants? It just didn’t work.

Yep, they all live in a mansion close to Bos—well, no there, but it’ss very, very reminiscent of the BDB headquarters, right down to the antiques. They all have bedrooms, a bit like a dormitory for Ferals. Very sweet. I don’t like this setup, but because these creatures are the last of their kind and precious, it seems criminal, Radiant or no Radiant, to put them in the same place. One hit and they’re gone. And why can’t they spell? Kougar, Lyon, Vhyper – just why? They also have very unimaginative nicknames, and I mean unimaginative. Lyon’s nickname is Roar and Hawke’s is Wings.

And, of course, ordinary humans know nothing.

Anyway, there are other creatures. There are shamans and ilinas, who were ghost-seeming people with power. Their enemies are Mages. To me, this all came across as a contrived world. I couldn’t believe in it. There are definitely echoes of North American native beliefs, but I know next to nothing about those, so I can’t go into more details. Perhaps it makes more sense if you’re more familiar with that world. Oh and there are draden, jellyfish-like creatures that we mere mortals can’t see, but that doesn’t matter, because they’re not interested in us. Only the Ferals and theramins (sorry, Therians).

Once Faith has realized that it’s not actually Maxim who floats her boat, much sexing ensues. They are sweet scenes rather than erotic or arousing. I’m not really sure why they’re there or what they’re doing. There is a plot about rogue Ferals, but if I wanted to question the reasoning, I came unstuck. See, there’s this virus, and—it really read as if Palmer just threw it at them as something for them to overcome.

There are some very long scenes where they sit around and talk or engage in not-too-interesting rituals, and the beginning is a big ol’ lump of exposition, but I’m not holding that against her because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to jump right in. Actually, I probably would. But there’s no depth to this world. Question it too much and it falls apart. every time you think you’ve got a hold on the story, Palmer throws something in to confuse you. I was constantly scratching my head and thinking, “Why?”

On the whole, an unsatisfactory read. I understand the world, but it’s confused and superficial. The most interesting part of the book is the characters. I enjoyed Hawke and Faith, but without them and their interaction, there wouldn’t be a whole lot left.

And I don’t blame the author for the cover. It’s not her fault, but oh, my eyes! I remember Lynn Veihl complaining about the pink cover on one of her books. Just as well she didn’t get this one.

Grade: C-

Summary:

They are called Feral Warriors—an elite band of immortals who can change shape at will. Sworn to rid the world of evil, consumed by sorcery and seduction, their wild natures are primed for release . . .

Shattered by recent nightmarish events, Hawke feels his bond with his animal spirit weakening—and once it breaks, he’s finished. The arrival of Faith sends his life spinning even further out of control, for although she delights him and enflames his deepest primal passions, she’s promised to Maxim, the newest Feral Warrior.

Faith is drawn to Hawke from the start, but Maxim holds her in his thrall and has secretly bent her to his malevolent will. Though gravely damaged, Hawke is the only one who can end Faith’s slavery and protect the Feral Warriors from Maxim’s evil designs. But first they both must embrace the wild . . . and surrender body and soul to a forbidden, all-consuming ecstasy.

Read an excerpt.

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LynneC’s review of  Too Wild To Hold (Legendary Lovers, Book 2) by Julie Leto
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Blaze 23 Aug 11

This is the first book I’ve read by Julie Leto, I think, and I had a good time with it. It isn’t without its faults, but I would recommend it.

Michael is an FBI agent, and also the descendant of the inspiration for Zorro. Recently a Zorro wannabe has been kidnapping and raping women, and once his crimes cross state boundaries, the FBI is called in.

Claire is a private eye who was asked to leave the police force for not adhering to procedure. She is looking for a woman who has abandoned her husband and children to pursue a life of pure hedonism. But while she and her ex are divorced, she hasn’t yet signed over the children, so her ex’s new wife can’t adopt them. So Claire is after the signature.

She follows her quarry to a house where people pose as masters and mulattoes, in, of course, New Orleans. I did enjoy the evocation of the city and the old plantation house in this book. It’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit. It’s a house of kink, and when Michael makes himself known to Claire, they are immediately attracted. When they find the woman she’s there to confront, she’s involved in a threesome. It’s nice to read a hot scene in a Blaze,  and the subsequent scene in an upstairs bedroom is just as hot.

There are shades of voyeurism in this book, something both participants admit frankly to, but not enough to be skeevy. It works well with the mad stalker rapist plot, as they are aware they are being watched at certain times.

Michael’s brother makes an appearance in this book, and while he’s certainly sequel bait, he also has a part to play. The other brother, whose story has already been told, is referred to but doesn’t play a part. I like that, and I have to admit, Michael is an interesting prospect. I’ll be reading the other two books in the series.

Back to this one. There are some interesting secondary characters, including Michael’s FBI partner Ruby. The serial rapist is a distant figure, more a McGuffin than a character.

I did have one or two problems with the book. Although the plot takes place over a few days, by the end of it Michael and Claire are in love and Michael has made an important life change. This didn’t ring true to me, and there are no foreshadowings to speak of. They also have unprotected sex and because she’s on birth control pills, that’s okay. Pardon me, but it most definitely isn’t. Pregnancy could be the least of her troubles.

Michael has a ring passed on to him by his brother, a ring that belonged to their “Zorro.” It is supposed to change your life. While it’s cute, it doesn’t really fit well into the story, and it is a touch “deus ex machina” for me, but it didn’t intrude too much.

Towards the end of the book Claire does the TSTL thing. Coming off the back of writing two romantic suspense novels for Carina, I can sympathise with the dilemma. In order to move the story on, someone has to do something out of character, or foolhardy, or something, especially with the short length of these books. It’s hard to cram a suspense plot and a believable romance into the book. But in this one, the heroine does something that isn’t only foolhardy, it’s against the law. She twists the law to get a result. That’s something I really don’t like. It’s why she had to leave the police force. Of course, you might feel completely different, but up until that point I really enjoyed Claire. Is there such a thing as over-feisty? But she’s fun, she’s frank about her sexual preferences, and she does a good job.

Still, there’s enough here to make me hunt up more books by Ms. Leto, and I do hope she sets more stories in New Orleans.

Grade: C+

Summary:

In the sultry heat of New Orleans, a masked man stalks his next prey…private investigator Claire Lécuyer. In order to protect her, FBI agent Michael Murrieta—the descendant of a real masked legend—must go undercover at her hiding place…a sensual retreat, where decadence and sin beckon from every room.

Once immersed in this world of pleasure, Claire and Michael find themselves teased by the languidly sexual environment—and their blazing attraction to each other. But even as they “mask” their true identities, it’s too late.

Now Claire and Michael are caught up in the danger…and their desire. And the longer they stay in the sensuous world, the more dangerous it is!

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LynneC’s review of Sex, Gossip and Rock and Roll by Nicola Marsh
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 4 Oct 11/Mills and Boon Riva 6 May 11

I love me a good rock star, so the title and the cover picture on this book got me all excited. Perhaps Mills and Boon had relented and allowed that rock stars can be alpha. No such luck. The hero of this book is Luca, who is a finance manager, and the heroine is Charli, the manager of the tour of an aging rock star. Sigh.

The title is more than a bit misleading, since rock is only a lightly drawn background and there is no gossip at all.

Luca is compared favourably against the rock star, but, really, would you take a finance man over the likes of Mick Jagger, Duff McKagan, and Bruce Dickinson? Really? Nah, a rock star has a louche, decadent attraction that a finance manager just can’t compete with. At one point Charli, the heroine, describes rock stars as skinny and pale. Really? That’s the cliché, not the reality.

Whatever. The rock star featured in this book, Storm Varth, is on a comeback tour, and he plays “hits” and “medleys,” making him sound like something out of the Ark. I didn’t find the portrayal realistic or convincing. He’s a cliche, not a real character. Most rock stars have actual talent, for instance, and certainly the ones that last for a long time do. Storm is more a figure of fun, and I don’t really get a feel for him. He’s a caricature, and he releases CDs instead of albums (the difference being, of course, that downloads are as important as CDs these days). The tour is also the place where the money is made these days, not the albums. Everything has changed recently, even in the world of dinosaur rock.

Niggling apart, I did find the read a little tedious, but that might have been the fault of my toothache as much as anything else. I know we’re supposed to be impartial, but it wouldn’t be fair not to admit that I read this book in the throes of raging toothache.

I put aside the toothache, my disappointment in the sketchy background, and the preconceptions that Harlequin had evoked and got on with the read.

Luca and Charli both have commitment issues and even involvement issues. That makes for a frustrating read, as they spend nearly the whole book dancing around each other, refusing to commit, coming close, backing off. What’s more, their commitment issues are caused by their childhoods, Luca after he was rejected by his father and Charli after her no-good mother went off. I’m finding the “My mother made me into a wimp,” and “My father made me into a bastard” tropes increasingly tiring, and they are serving as an easy excuse for the premise of the story. How about making the characters their own people, taking responsibility for their own lives, and creating something rich and full? Writers for this line (Caitlin Crews, Kate Hewitt, Sarah Morgan) have shown it can be done.

And, throughout, they keep on referring to their horrible childhoods, until I want to scream, “Get over it, already!” Everything is blamed on that. And they knew and used it as a crutch. If their backgrounds affect them that much, then maybe they should have gone to a shrink for help. In fact, I’m not sure their relationship would last an awful long while, despite the happy ending in the book. They still didn’t seem to be over it.

If this book had instead a sexy rock star hero and a manager heroine and showed an understanding of rock music, I would have loved it to pieces. As it is, I’m a bit lukewarm.

Grade: C

Summary:

In all her time as premier tour manager to Australia’s stars, Charli Chambers has never had someone as infuriating – or delectable! – as successful businessman Luca Petrelli along for the ride. He might always be in the gossip columns, but there’s no way she’s letting him claim VIP status! But Luca’s wicked eyes are just too tempting…

In spite of herself Charli’s soon attending after-parties – just for two. She wants to believe this is one duet that’s about to go platinum, but in spite of Luca being unprintably good in bed can she ever get close enough to the real Luca for their fling to be more than just a one-hit wonder?

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of In the Heat of the Bite by Lydia Dare
Historical Paranormal Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Jul 11

I’ve been looking forward to this offshoot of Lydia Dare’s Westfield Brothers series. I didn’t really know what to expect, just that vampyres are being introduced into the mix. Unfortunately, I missed reading the first book in this new series, so I’m not sure if that has somehow dampened my enjoyment of this book , if it’s something else entirely, or perhaps a combination of both.

While the majority of my disappointment in this story is more than like a combo, the main sticking point for me is it’s the hero who let me down this time. I’ve enjoyed most of the heroes in these books, a couple more than others, so I’m slightly surprised Matthew doesn’t work as well for me. He does everything right. He’s a gentleman and a vampyre. He takes his responsibilities seriously. And he’s taken immediately with Rhiannon, even despite her witchly powers. But in comparison to those other heroes, Matthew is…a tad boring.

Rhiannon is in London for her sister’s coming out, but their aunt won’t her anywhere near the girl. The woman looks down on those witchly powers. It’s due to this aunt that Rhi pitches a fit of a storm – she controls the weather – in the middle of the night in the middle of a park, and Matthew just happens by. He’s fascinated. Rhiannon, not so much return fascination. She hasn’t had much luck with vampyres, having been attacked by one, so she’s a wee bit lukewarm toward Matthew.

From this point on, things kind of get tiresome. Matthew isn’t the typical alpha hero for being a vampyre. All those traits he has are fine, but he’s a supernatural being. Gimme alpha along with it. So he’s just ho-hum, as is the story for a good portion of the book. While there’s a spark between Matthew and Rhiannon, nothing else all that exciting goes on. There’s not much conflict. In fact, there’s more conflict between Matthew and Alec, who is now a vampyre himself – something that happened in the first book, which I’d really like to know about. I think it would definitely help my understanding of this story more. The only thing that perks me up is Rhiannon’s weather control problems. While she can, of course, control it when she desires, she has none whatsoever when it comes to extreme emotion, and there are some fun scenes when rain and other elements show up at all the wrong times. Matthew has control problems with Alec, but he controls his desire for Rhiannon, despite her best efforts to make him lose every ounce. So there’s a whole lot of control problems, but none of the really wake the story up.

The one element of the story that really irritates me, though, is the fact that Matthew, once he falls in love with and acknowledges his love for Rhiannon, becomes human again. Sigh. That negates one of the main reasons why I read these paranormal books. Okay, I realize perhaps Ms. Dare is trying to give readers something different, but this is just too much. Happily ever after in a paranormal is just that, happy forever. Don’t take that away when that’s the ultimate romance, being with the one you love for all eternity. In hindsight, I see the clues in Matthew missing his long-gone human traits, always feeling the outsider, and the like, but this concept just caught me off guard, and I didn’t like it. And the fact that Rhiannon knew this could happen, something else from the previous book, and she never mentions it to a soul? Really? Doesn’t make sense when she talks about everything else under the sun with her coven sisters.

What I do like is Alec’s story, and I’m looking forward to his book. I’m hoping to read It Happened One Bite before I get to his, however, because I do want to know what happened to him as it happens and not from his or anyone else’s recollections or conversation about it, and I believe that will fill in the holes I’ve fallen into already. All of you read-my-series-in-order readers know how that goes. But I’m anxious to find out who his lady love will be after his infatuation and constant protection of Caitlin throughout all of these books.

We also get to reacquaint ourselves with past characters, and I’m still especially fond of Dashiel. He has his hands full with Cait and his brothers, whom at times seem a little too childish but do then show great character at others. I’m not sure I really like Callista’s character. She’s Matthew’s maker, and when she realizes she’s losing him, in more ways than one, she goes a little ballistic. I’d rather she’d been happy for the man after his being alone and basically unhappy for more than six centuries.

So, all in all, there’s just a mish-mash of goings-on all the way through this book, and that’s just not up to what I expect from Lydia Dare after four very successful books. Quite bewildering.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Chivalry is far from undead…

Matthew Halkett, Earl of Blodswell, is one of the few men in the ton who can claim to be a knight in shining armor- because that’s precisely what he was before being turned into a vampyre. When he spies a damsel in distress in the midst of a storm in Hyde Park, his natural instinct is to rush to her aid…

But not every woman needs to be rescued…

Weather-controlling witch Rhiannon Sinclair isn’t caught in a storm-she’s the cause of it. She’s mortified to have been caught making trouble by the imposing earl, but she doesn’t need any man-never has, and is sure she never will…

But when Rhiannon encounters Matthew again, her powers go awry and his supernatural abilities run amok. Between the two of them, the ton is thrown into an uproar. There’s never been a more tempestuous scandal…

No excerpt available.

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