B̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶l̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶?̶ ̶:̶X̶.

Follow up to.

But then “everyone” else had it covered. And I was waiting for a few confirmation emails in regard to donations. And now, my compusaurus [the desktop I got my senior year of high school] is dismantled, and I’m sorry but I just don’t love you all enough to buy photoshop for my mac just to make a picture collage. That and I got locked out from the blog for a bit – but then I guess that’s all fluff. I struggled with this post. That, however, is not what is important.

What is key, is that the romance community – and others – pulled together and did something pretty awesome. We raised … ok so this put a smile on my face and is totally cute… a minimum of leet! Or, you know, $1,337.00. That’s awesome because, well, wow – what a number, and in less than twelve hours! And then… you know. Gamer speak or something (1337). I’m not a gamer but that’s still fun.

Point being: Y’ALL! WE RAISED ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED THIRTY SEVEN DOLLARS! This all happened in less than twelve hours. That’s pretty freaking incredible. Yes, Social Good Day was the impetus, but I like to think we could do this any day. I’m also especially thrilled because 100% of the money raised via (RED) goes to aid.

So many of you re-tweeted the blog link – and I want to thank you for that. I honestly thought I might not get ten comments, initially (if you check some of the other posts on the blog you’ll notice comments are sparse, those precious little things). Then Shiloh Walker told me if we got 50 comments, she’d donate $50 to (RED) as well. Then everything snowballed, with Ali saying if we got 75 comments she’d donate $50 as well, and then a message from Courtney Milan, with another offer of a $50 if we got 100 comments.

Anyway, here is the list of the badass women who donated $50: Shiloh Walker, Ali Flores, Courtney Milan, Tamara Allen, Moira Rogers (both Bree and Donna, so $100 combined), Vivian Arend, Stacy A, Tigris Eden, Carly Philips, HelenKay Dimon, Lauren Dane, L.K. Rigel, a super secret donor, Jennifer Haymore, Annmarie Anderson, Shelli Stevens, Magdalen Braden, oh, and me. And my other fellow duckie, the awesome c2, donated $75. I admit I chose for her, because she just wanted an even number, and at the time that was $75 based on the amount of donation pledges I’d gotten at the time. Otherwise chronologically she fits in between Jennifer Haymore and mystery giver. And actually, one of the awesome authors above actually gave $287.00, because that’s how many comments were on the post at the time she went to (RED). This humble person doesn’t want credit, however.

Now, we have people who donated $10-$25. One said $10, like my original amount, then became even more amazingly generous and gave $25. These giving individuals are Liza Brown, Jackie, Vi Dao, Nicole, Victoria Dahl, and Sonoma Lass.
Also, Farrah Rochon saw the original post and went to (RED) and made a donation – which is why I’m saying we raised a minimum of $1,337.00 – I don’t know if anyone else saw the post/that it was social good day and decided to contribute. And, that’s cool (on so many levels) – because the point of it isn’t to be all “hey lookit what I did” but to support something important.

So here’s the story. I learned of (RED) in college, shortly after my discovery of ONE during a visit to the UN building. I follow (RED) on twitter, and they said it was social good day. I didn’t think much of it, until I saw a group of blogs who were pulling to donate $1/comment on September 23, most up to $40. I thought about it for a few hours, and thought, I can do that. So I wrote up my post with the hopes of getting a minimum of ten comments, for me to donate a minimum of $10. By the time Courtney Milan offered $50, I thought, “well hell – I should step it up.” So decided I’d give $50 if we hit 100 comments as well. It snowballed from there in the most wonderful way. I tried to guilt people into stopping by, I went on facebook and im’d people I haven’t talked to in years. (Some people ignored me, jerks.) Other people in the romance community sent family members to comment… it was an awesome joint effort.

I wanted to thank each and every one of your for your support – just for commenting, to take time out of your busy day and acknowledge that this is an important issue. AIDS is definitely an unpopular subject and not talked about enough – and yet a mere $0.40 a day saves someone’s life. You can do the math – we saved lives.

To clear some things up – no, I don’t get anything for doing this. Some people asked me “what do you get?” or “do you get a prize for X amount of money?” and the answer is no, nothing. No prize, no write up or mention, just the satisfaction of knowing that the romance community can do something awesome, and that life and people can be amazing and wonderful. Also, I didn’t collect the money – that would probably have been much more complicated, and a bit weird, since I don’t know the real name of like 80% of the people who gave. Each person went and made a donation.

Oh, and before this gets all sappy [or more so] – I found a part time job. 4 hours a week. Yes, I’m rolling in it. < / sarcasm > Actually, that’s also what prompted me to up my donation, personally. One week’s pay isn’t that much to give to a good cause. But anyway, if anyone needs a PR person, fundraiser, event planner, you know, think of me. Hopefully this would be a great plus in my resume, yes? [Oh, and also a few unpaid/volunteer gigs - so before you get on my case for having all this free time ]

But the point is – give yourselves a pat on the back. We made a difference. Gold star to each and every one of you.

And if you care to visit other places on the world wide web, I know Moira Rogers, Shelli Stevens, Courtney Milan, Shiloh Walker, and likely others blogged about it as well. [I just don't know/remember where.]

Final Update: If I have this right… ONE. THOUSAND. ONE. HUNDRED. FIFTY. DOLLARS!

WE DID IT!!! WE DID IT!!!

Our current goal is 260 comments… but I’m holding on hope that more people will step in with donations (of any amount) if we hit higher numbers! <3

Keep it coming! And to think, this started as a ten dollar drive. Rock on, Lovelies!

From $10 to $1,100!!! Incredible!!! (Also, shout out to Mara who already donated $50. As did I – you get this nice email from the UN Foundation, signed by Ted Turner. Which the wonderful Shiloh has gotten to, as well as Liza. And an amazingly beautiful other contributor.) Now please comment to make sure Ali, Courtney, Bree, Vivian, Stacy, Tigris, Carly,  HelenKay, Lauren, Donna, and Jennifer have to step up as well! Well, Ali, Courtney, Bree, and Vivian are done for. Cheers, everyone!) Likari, Ann Marie, and our very on C2 stepped in as well! And the very kind and generous Magdalen. And Shelli – and so many more.

Today is Social Good Day. You can see hashtags on twitter with #SocialGood

YOU have the power in your hands to make sure a minimum of $975 on my/our part gets donated to (RED). Please make it happen.

Most of you know about Mashable, which is actually a company/something I know less about. Social media opinions are for another post. (RED) is an organization I’ve kept on my radar for a while, because of my interest in ONE.

(RED) Video

The Global Fund (where all (RED) money goes) invests 100% of (RED) funds into HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. I’m totally cool with giving them my money.

Need or want more reasons to feel good about this?

Why you should feel good about supporting the (RED) cause today:

• Thirty-three million people in the world have AIDS. Twenty-two million live in Africa.
• Every day 3,800 people die in sub-Saharan Africa from AIDS.
• It costs just 40 cents per day for the life-saving medicine someone living with HIV/AIDS in Africa needs to help them live a healthy and productive life.

I’m poor- I have no job and have law school loans, but this is important to me. I wish I could give more… but here’s what I’m going to do. If 10 people comment on this post today, I’ll donate $10 to the (RED) fund. [And let's hear it for optimism, because if there are a whole slew of comments, I'll re-assess that amount.]

I included a [multiple links] of the (RED) video too, as WordPress hates me and strips my video code. Anyway – come on Romance Community, I know we can do something awesome. Help me give away my money – and now I challenge you. What are you going to do?

Oh – and here’s something else totally easy for you to do – and where I got/ganked the idea – comment on these blogs, and they’ll donate too! *I copied this list from My Aim is True – wanted to give credit.

• Bake It Pretty – Amanda is one of my favorite clients and best friends! Get inspired to bake some yummy treats.
• Yuping Liu-Thompkins – Yuping, a super smart friend of mine who’s an expert in internet marketing and customer loyalty
• Reina Communications – my good friend Michelle (this meetup was her idea!) and one of my awesome clients, we are going to Blogworld together in a few weeks! Vegas baby! Look for some videos from that adventure.
• Greater Good Life – Michelle’s personal blog about how easy it is to live well, be generous, and do social good
• Powerful Learning Practice – social media enhances education; over 4,000 teachers have been impacted by their brand of professional development. My mom runs this company, I am so proud to be a part of what they’re doing. They’re up for an Open Leadership award too! They’re donating $5 per comment, so please leave one and make a difference.
• OBX Design Works – William Dodson, a talented Web designer and blogger in the Outer Banks of North Carolina
• JASE Digital Media – a local digital media design consultancy that employs some of the area’s best designers (hi, Keith!); their blog offers up lots of good tips and resources on social media
• My Aim Is True – [This is Bake It Pretty's personal blog]

Really – all you need to do is comment. And you’re doing something awesome. Now get chatty. [*ETA here is "edited to add."]

*ETA!!! You guys!!! The most awesome Shiloh Walker told me if I get 50 comments, she’ll donate $50. Please! Take our money!!!

**ETA #2: O.M.F.G.! I said to a friend earlier today (when there were only 7 comments for like the longest time, it seemed) that I’d cry if we didn’t hit 50 today. Well I just got a message from Ali, one of my favorite people, who told me that if we get 75 comments, she’ll donate $50 as well. Now I might cry because this is getting to be more awesome than I thought.

And – since we’re nearing 50, which is way more than I thought, I am for sure committing myself to a $25 donation… and we’ll see if my guilt complex pushes me to $50 as well. (I mean, I’ve got to match these incredible ladies, right? So please- spread the word!)

**So to recap: I pledged $10 if I could get 10 comments today. Shiloh messaged to tell me if we hit 50, she’d donate $50. How amazing is that? And I just got word from Ali that if we get 75 comments, she’s donating $50 as well.

At this point, I’ve changed my commitment to $25, and am contemplating $50. How about, if we hit 100 comments, I’ll do $50 as well, so there you go. Simple – 100 comments, and a minimum of $150 gets donated!

***ETA 3: You guys. I might cry. I’m sniffly right now, with good reason. Courtney Milan, who is all around incredible, told me if we hit 100 comments, she’ll throw in $50 as well. That’s $2 per comment that  someone else will be donating!!!

I have no words. And won’t be using asterisks anymore. If you see in the comments, Mara said [she? they?] would donate $50 as well if we hit the 100 comments today goal. Honestly – this is for an amazing cause. And it takes so little effort!

WOW! And the hilarious and great Bree, half of the much loved writing team that forms Moira Rogers told me to put her down for $50 as well if I wanted. And I do. So I did.

! Vivian Arend asked if I wanted to put another $50 down for her. Of course I  have no problem spending other people’s money, so now she’s listed too. This makes me so happy.

Stacy is also getting in on this – come on, if we hit 150 comments, she’ll donate $50! Talk!

And now Tigris Eden has promised to contribute as well if we make it to 150 comments!!! Whee!!!

YES!!! The great Carly Phillips is joining this fabulous cause! She’s also setting the goal at 150 comments!

I have no words, really. HelenKay Dimon is a fabulous author, a fabulous person, and well, pretty much all around is fabulousity. And as incentive to make you comment and spread the word, she’ll go in $50 too if we hit 150. Not a bad deal, right?

Awesome! Liza has said she’ll contribute $10 to the cause as well. <3 Every little bit helps!

More more more!!! Lauren Dane, who is all kinds of fantabulous and awesome as well, is going in with $50 if we meet the next comment goal!

Whee! We haz VOLTRON! Heh – Donna stepped in as well, the other writing half of Moira Rogers – see? I told you that Moira Rogers is awesome! She’s in for another $50!!! <3

I LOVE THIS WOMAN! I think all? Most of you know Jennifer Haymore has been dealing with cancer. She just finished her radiation today. And she just told me if we hit the next level, she’s in for $50 – come on! Help this woman meet her goal!!!

Yes!!! And the duckies have stepped up! The most lovely, kind, and generous c2 has pledged $75. I wheedled her into it. She’s so beyond awesome.

Then, Likari stepped in with $50.

And Mean Marie, Ann Marie, who obviously isn’t that mean, is coming in with another $50 if we meet our goal.

As is Magdalen, with another $50 – BUT only if we hit 256 comments (or more) – how fun, right?

And  – Jackie is now issuing the challenge of 260 comments. For $25.

Shelli Stevens is in with another $50.

And and and!!! You guys are so awesome! Will have a complete list later!

Result? 260 comments = $975 donated to (RED) – come on romance community! Show me you care! (For those of you keeping track, Mara, Shiloh, Liza, and a beautiful silent contributor and I have donated already so that is $225 – and we’re depending on your comments to bring in the rest!)

Limecello’s review of The Billionaire’s Baby Arrangement, (Napa Valley Vows, Book 3) by Charlene Sands
Contemporary Romance released by Silhouette Desire 10 Aug 10

Although this book is last in the trilogy, the Napa Valley Vows, but I came across it first (as my books are listed alphabetically), and after I checked out the premise of the first one, I knew I wanted to read The Billionaire’s Baby Arrangement first. And with a title like that, how can you resist? It’s so ridiculous! But I don’t let that affect how I feel about a Harlequin category book. Also, the title in this incidence is rather misleading, I’m happy to say. I really enjoyed this book, and it had so many aspects and themes I gravitate toward. Friends to lovers, reuniting high school [sweethearts], an unexpected inheritance, the wonderful list goes on.

Brooke Hamilton is an incredibly likable heroine. She’s had a rough life, and has come through very well on her own. Brooke fights her attraction for Nick throughout most of the story, but she isn’t snide or hurtful about it. She also has her own issues to work through, and her complicated past with Nick. While she does hold some of it against him, in a way she has moved on, and I love that Ms. Sands is clear that what happened scarred Brooke because it underlined Brooke’s own issues and questions of self worth and concerns about socioeconomic status. Easily understandable when you’re growing up in Napa Valley and are not one of the privileged. I also love that Brooke acts a bit selfishly and for herself. At the same time it’s “sanctioned” because it’s what she and Nick agreed upon, and what he offered from the start.

Nick Carlino has a lot more depth than first meets the eye. In a way I’m glad I read his book first because it might have been too drastic a change. He’s been labeled as a playboy, and he’s careful to maintain that lifestyle, but he’s not a jerk about it. Nick doesn’t want any ties because he’s been burned before. However, his case is different from your typical hero who has been hurt and is almost a misogynist. Nick’s life was ruined, at least, he’s unable to do what he wanted to forever. He knows his life is pretty damn good, but with his dreams gone, he’s been living in the moment and fine with that. Brooke changes things, and Nick gets a wake up call.

It’s nice that Brooke and Nick learn from each other, and both are able to discuss their past and side of the story. It’s clear there was a major misunderstanding between the two. I loved that Ms. Sands had Brooke and Nick converse, rather than dance around their issues throughout the book, especially when there were so many other more prevalent and important problems. There’s enough substance to make this book different, but it’s not reaching either. The Billionaire’s Baby Arrangement is incredibly believable, and aside from the hero conveniently being a millionaire (and a few other minor coincidences), it could potentially happen to anybody. A neighbor. A friend.

And quick note, Brooke has a daughter, Leah, who is just a baby. Nothing against babies, etc, but I don’t have baby fever. At all. However, in this book, Leah was adorable, and not only a great addition to the story, but necessary.

Charlene Sands has been and continues to be one of my favorite Silhouette authors, and I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys categories, or is looking for a sweet romance that is a great summer read. Especially if you’re short on time.

Grade: B-

The highway collision had brought together more than their two vehicles. Suddenly businessman Nick Carlino was face-to-face with a woman from his past…and her five-month-old baby. Though they hadn’t seen each other in years, Nick offered Brooke Hamilton and her child shelter after the crash. It was the right thing to do as they got back on their feet.

But how could something so right feel so wrong? Having Brooke under his roof brought back memories the billionaire would rather have kept forgotten. And passions he needed to control. Nothing short of Carlino Vineyards’ legacy hung in the balance….

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

Limecello’s review of Rampant by Saskia Walker
Erotic romance released by Harlequin Spice 1 Apr 10

I have an admitted weakness for witchy things, that I “blame” on L.J. Smith and her Secret Circle trilogy. I’m also drawn to Saskia Walker’s writing, though in this case something in the story just didn’t quite click for me. Regardless, the premise was too good to pass up, with what seemed to be a plausible story line, and something so very unique and interesting. I mean, it’s not every day you find an erotic novel where witches in Scotland are having sexytimes and doing naughty magical things, in every sense. Throw in a mischievous, notorious ghost, and you’ve got quite the party.

The heroine Zoë Daniels starts out with such promise… but after a while she just peters out for me. I realize the entire premise of the book is pretty fantastic. I’d have a hard time believing if I were in her shoes. However, in this case I didn’t really relate to her to that degree. Zoë is a very grounded, almost cautious person, and refuses to believe in magic, even though strange things are clearly happening around her, and she’s witnessed them and cognizant to the fact. This equated to willful stubbornness and denial to me, and that annoyed me. I suppose it was meant to be realistic, but I felt Zoë protested too much, and it became something of a painful refrain. “Oh no, there can’t be any such thing as magic – I’ll just forget the past 48 hours – and decide that Grayson is just employing machinations to make me have sex with him even though I’d gladly do it anyway.” So… yes. Zoë annoyed me. She does redeem herself a bit in the end, but at that point I really just wanted everything resolved. (And in her defense she does fear Grayson is just cozying up to her for the sake of his research, and he idiotically doesn’t clarify or dissuade her of that thought.)

Grayson Murdoch is a great hero, and yet a bit of a dolt. He’s incredibly powerful, with an impressive command of magic. Nevertheless that seems less than clear, and nearly contradictory at times. That, and he’s an absolute idiot when it comes to communicating with women. He knows what pitfalls exist, due to numerous similar occurrences, and yet the professor doesn’t learn from his mistakes. Nevertheless, he’s all in, going after Zoë, and protecting the world from Cain Devot. Lucky for him those tasks are parallel. Grayson is quite sexy and commanding, but seems to lose something in the space/time between his brain and mouth, as in he thinks something, but doesn’t say it. This affected how I felt about the plot (negatively) which unfortunately reflected back onto him. Maybe it was the first person point of view, and Zoë’s impressions of Grayson that made him seem so reticent, but I simply didn’t go for it.)

I had actually expected more of a twisted or tormented love triangle, but it was clear Cain was evil and bad news from the start. Zoë really only protests Grayson taking her away from Cain to be contrary. Cain seemed unbalanced, and consequently I couldn’t quite give him all the weight of the power and magic he was supposed to have. That would even have been ok, if it didn’t seem so much of the book was Zoë dragging her feet, and Grayson trying to dance around the major crisis by tricking Zoë into being useful, without her knowing how or why. I also couldn’t help but wonder why there wasn’t more suspicion about someone who had been alive for 200+ years in the same area, even with moving to different cities.

Ms. Walker is obviously talented when it comes to writing sex and heated interludes, and I quite enjoyed the juxtaposition of then versus now, with “flashbacks” to Annabel, and then Zoë currently. (That being said, while I appreciate the writing and language I didn’t love Annabel’s story. It seemed to wander and lacked a solid intent or purpose. For something so very grave, and seemingly crucial, what with Annabel essentially haunting people, the outcome fell rather flat for me.)

I loved the imagery and setting in this book. I could picture the sea side town perfectly, as well as the drive up the coast, and even the magic Grayson and Zoë (and the others) were performing. Ms. Walker writes it in a way that was so natural that I instantly fell into line, which might explain some of my frustration with Zoë holding out.

I do have to say I read this book during my slump, so that might’ve affected my enjoyment of it as well. This book offers quite a bit in one novel – and erotic novel that has both contemporary and historical aspects, and both in a very fresh package. The premise and characters are definitely memorable. I recommend this book if you enjoy Spice novels, or Ms. Walker’s writing.

Grade: D

Possession is only half the fun…

The moment she arrives at her rented vacation cottage nestled in Scotland, Zoë Daniels feels it–an arousal so powerful she’s compelled to surrender to the unusually forceful carnal desires…with nearly anyone who crosses her path. Crawford Logan, the boat builder with the wayward grin. The devilish restaurateur Cain Davot, who seems to know more about Zoë than he lets on. And even her sexy neighbor Grayson Murdoch, whose eyes delve deep into her soul as he explores every inch of her body.

Yet there’s something unsettling about the way the locals watch her, something eerie about these overwhelming encounters. Zoë knows she’s not quite in control of herself and begins to wonder if there’s any truth to the legend of Annabel McGraw, a powerful, promiscuous eighteenth-century witch who once owned the cottage, and whose spirit is rumored to affect anyone who stays there. Zoë doesn’t believe in anything that even hints at the occult, but now strange visions are turning frightening…and only one man’s touch can bring her back to earth.

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of The Bachelor’s Bought Bride by Jennifer Lewis
Contemporary Romance released by Silhouette Desire 11 May 10

I enjoyed this book but even more, it’s important to me because I realized I don’t hate all heiress books. (Just the vast majority.) Here, that’s not an issue. While the heroine Bree seems to fit into any number of stereotypes, she’s still a unique character and person, and quite likable. While the ending is ultimately predictable (it is a romance, after all), what happens in between is not at all trite, and I found it quite enjoyable.

Bree Kincannon is your typical wallflower heroine who gets a makeover and is beautiful. However what saves it from being trite is that Gavin truly is attracted to her before she makes physical changes. Also, Bree doesn’t do anything too drastic, like change her hair color, etc. That, and Gavin is actually confused and can’t quite figure out what’s different. Apparently he’s one of those super non-observant guys when it comes to women. Anyway, Bree is pretty clueless as well. She’s incredibly sweet and kind, but unsure of herself, and has never been assertive. It’s nice to see her developing as a person and fall in love.

Gavin Spencer is an idiot. But in a good, clueless hero sort of way. He thinks Bree’s father is crazy, and undervalues her. However, Gavin doesn’t tell Bree that, nor does he tell his father-in-law. Of course that’d lead to some interesting and awkward conversations, but the point is Gavin doesn’t consider the payoff or money to really be part of his marriage. He considers it an investment, and not at all related to his relationship with Bree. It’s kind of cute how absolutely clueless Gavin is, for someone who is so put together and on top of everything in all other aspects of life.

Bree really comes into her own, and realizes things about herself and her strength. I loved that. And Gavin had some important wake up calls as well. This story packs a lot of character development into a small package, and a rather sweet romance as well. The chemistry between Bree and Gavin is there, but it wasn’t what caught my interest. Really I wanted to see how everything would play out, and what the “big reveal” would be.

Normally I dislike the fortune hunter stories – but here it works because Bree was so aware it might happen, and then Gavin never considered it a bargain for marriage. Strange logic or justification, but he just approached it in an entirely different way. More importantly, Gavin realizes he’s stupid, and does some stupendous groveling. That really worked, and the time apart developed their characters even more. Bree and Gavin realize important parts of themselves and their love. There were also some sweet notes, with Bree’s friends coming out of the woodwork to take Gavin to task. It also helps show that Bree wasn’t really as pathetic as she made herself out to be in her own mind.

I did find the ending to be a bit trite, and the courtship or initial romance to be a bit off. Gavin decides to take things slow, even though he’s determinedly pursuing Bree, and she’s rather confused as to the whole thing. And then suddenly they’re getting married. It seemed neither character really knew what he or she was doing, and why. This kept me from enjoying the book even more, although I did like it quite a bit.

This is a really cute story and a great summer read-  I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy category romances and especially if you’ve read any of the other Kings of the Boardroom series.

Grade: B-

Quietly attractive, sweet natured…and filthy rich, Bree Kincannon was just the bride ad exec Gavin Spencer had been looking for. And Bree’s father had secretly offered him a cool million to take her off his hands. With the chance to start his own agency, it took the bachelor no time to turn the heiress into his loving wife.

Yet it didn’t take Bree long to discover the real reason behind Gavin’s whirlwind courtship. And the bedroom door was slammed in his face…. Too late, he realized his feelings were very real. But could he convince his bought bride that his motives for marriage had changed?

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Hot Finish by Erin McCarthy
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 3 Aug 10

I love Erin McCarthy. Erin McCarthy is awesome. I don’t like NASCAR – and yet I love this series. It’s not something I can think about too much. I suppose it helps that the books don’t focus too much on the heroes being drivers, but at the same time it does. There are basic aspects of life that affect how they act, their schedules, and so on. It’s not a gimmick, but it doesn’t take over the story as well. In fact, Ms. McCarthy incorporates what the heroes do better than many general romances. (Can you tell I’m hesitating calling them athletes? But I know that’s what they are and that it’s incredibly difficult. It’s just… NASCAR.) Anyway, there were certain lines, paragraphs, and so on that made me stop reading and just bask in the loveliness. I wanted to just roll around in the wonderful words and sentiments.

Suzanne is a fantastic character. She’s smart, fun, loving, but has this crazy hard shell around her. She’s also someone who doesn’t process with others, and internalizes. I can, yet can’t identify with her, and I like that. Suz is extremely pragmatic, and takes everything in stride except for her personal life, where she wants and expects more. Lucky for her, she’s the heroine in a romance novel, and she gets it. Suz is also very likable and has quite a temper. I appreciated that, and found it gave her many more layers. She also brazened out any number of situations, yet dealt with some very trying people with kindness.

Ryder is adorable. I want to say he’s an idiot, and he is, but he isn’t. It’s simply inconceivable to him that Suzanne wouldn’t know how much he loves and adores her. He saw Suz and fell for her from day one. His friends see it, and he just makes the assumption that she knows. After all, they were married for four years. The sticking point is that Ryder doesn’t exactly tell her. That, and the circumstances of their marriage could be considered suspect. To Ryder, that doesn’t matter. He’s caring, sweet, sullen, hot, and … well just a guy. Ryder for sure isn’t perfect, and definitely lived his own life while he was [divorced] – but that also helps make him that much more realistic.

Suz and Ryder have major communication problems. Normally this really annoys me when characters could resolve their issues and conflict much earlier in a book. In fact, that’s one of my pet peeves. However, it makes sense here, and works. (So basically I’m opposed to baseless extended conflict.) In Hot Finish it actually wouldn’t have made sense or been believable for Suz and Ryder to talk out their problems. Fancy that. I was fine with Suz and Ryder dancing around their issues and being unwilling to bring up the sticky difficult topics.

And you know, they both thought they had been divorced for two years as well.

This book was sexy, fun, amusing, and the characters had definite personality. After the first few chapters I felt I’d have known who was talking/what characters were in each scene even if names hadn’t been mentioned. (Although I’m definitely not suggesting that is what should happen in the future.) I’m having trouble writing this review because I just want to be mushy and frivolous. Really it’s a fantastic summer read. Who am I kidding. Spring, winter, fall, all great times to read this book. Then read it again.

And… lest you think my brain has gone mushy from all this squishy happiness… I have to say while I might not have it entirely down… (if I’m right) I hate the premise/concept of the next book. The heroine I think is a gossip blogger. And… blech. Blargh. Meh. Ugh. Not to say I won’t read it. I will. Very likely I’ll even love the story (I hope to) but… blech.

I’m going to be eagerly awaiting Evan’s book. He’s the eternal bachelor, so he’s going to fall hard. But we’re talking about Suz and Ryder. And their romance. And it was fantastic. It might just be my favorite of this series. Go out and buy it. Really. Get your hands on a copy. Now.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Not all marriages last forever!

Suzanne Jefferson is broke, which is why she’s given up charity work for wedding planning. Fortunately, she has a high-profile client,and best of all, he’s paid in advance. There are just two teensy problems: The bride is a bona fide bridezilla, and Suzanne’s ex-husband is the best man. At least she thought he was her ex-husband!

But this one might…

Two years after their marriage fell apart, stock car race driver Ryder Jefferson still can’t stop thinking about Suzanne. Which is why he isn’t too upset that, due to a glitch, the two are still technically married. Now he’s imagining easing Suzanne’s woes by satisfying her needs in the bedroom. After all, that’s the one room they never argued in. Besides, with wedding bells ringing all around them, Ryder is wondering if,even though they’d quit the race a few laps too early,they can still come on strong with a big, romantic finish!

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Limecello’s review of The Wallflower by Dana Marie Bell
Paranormal romance released by Samhain Publishing 15 Apr 08

I’d heard of this book before it was released, bought it near the end of 2009, but only read it a few days ago. Just felt that little tidbit was relevant. I read it on one of the plane rides back home from RonCon, and it was a perfect for that – a quick read, with the requisite happy ending.

The story itself is short. Like really short-  but it’s a novella, so that makes sense. (Unfortunately it left me with way too much time where I was forced to entertain myself.) Also, in all seriousness, the length meant the story left something to be desired. I didn’t believe the manner in which Max and Emma get together. At. All.

I am, however, interested in reading the rest of the series – especially Simon and Becky’s story, which is next. The Wallflower was a free read, which pretty much everyone can get – and Samhain has been very clever, offering the first story of a number of series as a free read for a limited time. Well played, Samhain. Well played.

Getting to the characters, Emma is likable, but not really a wallflower. I think the title and label is just to give her a pre-developed character, so no time/space needs to be spent on exploring that. Be that for the length, or whatever, I didn’t go for it. The jokes or implications from the “mean girls” that Emma was a lesbian also seemed pointless to me.

Max on the other hand didn’t seem like that much of a catch to me. Sure, every girl wanted him, and he was the alpha… but I guess he didn’t really catch my interest. Also being so very attracted to Emma based on her voice seemed… uninspiring. I did like that Max decided he wanted Emma and went after her.

However, the whole, “I see you for the first time in ten years and then scare the crap out of you at night and kidnap you for dinner under false pretenses then bite you and give you an orgasm against your car and now you’ve turned into a puma and we’ll be together forever” didn’t really do it for me. Sadly that’s pretty much the plot of the entire story, which I generally try to avoid writing about, but I don’t feel like that’s giving much away.

I will say, however, that I enjoyed Ms. Bell’s voice in her writing, and liked the characters, just didn’t think what they did made very much sense, or that their actions were so believable. It seemed like there were a number of gaps and plot holes, which I’m going to attribute to the length of the story. This might also be Ms. Bell’s first (or at least early) book, so I’m definitely going to give the rest a try if/when I get my hands on them. Also, a giant shiny gold star to Ms. Bell for having an excerpt on her webpage.

Grade: D+

Emma Carter has been in love with Max Cannon since high school, but he barely knew she existed. Years later she’s a
small business owner, running a unique curio shop with her best friend, Becky. She’s finally come out her shy shell and
into her own.

When Max returns to his small home town to take up his duties as the Halle Pride’s Alpha, he finds that shy little Emma
has finally grown up. That small spark of something he’d always felt around the teenager has blossomed into something
more: Emma is his mate! A plot to match up his best friend (and fellow Puma) with Emma’s is a natural opening to get
her all to himself. A “kidnapping with food” and a bite to remember insure that the luscious Emma is permanently his.

And when his ex-girlfriend tries to interfere, Emma proves to the Pride that she has what it takes to be the Alpha’s mate.

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of CEO’s Expectant Secretary by Leanne Banks
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire 8 Jun 10

This book is the last of the Kings of the Boardroom series. I enjoyed the series very much, and have said time and again that Leanna Banks is one of my favorite category authors. It was a great finish and I liked the book even more than I expected to. Why? Because I really dislike the revenge type plots, or trying to sabotage someone, but here, it worked. Nobody was truly a villain, and I liked all the characters.

Elle Linton is a likable character, but confusing. I’d “met” her in a previous book (as the Kings of the Boardroom books are all loosely connected), and liked her a lot. I felt the same way about Elle in her own story, but her motives for doing what she did … well gave me pause. She basically lets her estranged grandfather pressure or blackmail her into an untenable situation, to pay for her mother’s necessary medical care. It seems like it should be more dramatic and more of a focus, but it wasn’t. At least not to me. Elle is likable and actually a strong woman, aside from “allowing” her grandfather to control her. It’s clear she hates what she’s doing, but is stuck. What I really appreciated is that Elle refuses to be a victim, or make excuses. She doesn’t protest uselessly, or try to convince Brock either. This also helps make Elle sympathetic.

Brock Maddox is someone I want to say is an asshole… but he isn’t. He’s rather cold to Elle, but unfortunately he has good reason. (Not to say I think he should have been mean to her without a reason, but it’s just sad how closed off he becomes.) Brock has been burned before, and Elle does it to him again. He’s definitely in love with her, but has difficulty trusting her as she’s been revealed to be a corporate spy. What is nice about Brock – and he actually points this out as well – is that he required irrefutable proof before he was willing to believe Elle was the spy. He didn’t want to suspect or accuse her of something so reprehensible. Brock cares a lot, but has difficulty showing it.

I suppose now the question is why it’s ok for Elle to do what she did, but she does feel miserable. Basically, all the characters are put in an untenable position, and it even makes sense (at least to and for Brock) for them to get married once he finds out Elle is pregnant. That and you know, he’s in love with her and wants her around even though he can’t admit that to himself at the time. (Can you tell I just eat this stuff up? I can’t quit categories. They seem ridiculous in summary, I suppose, but the stories can be absolutely wonderful and brilliantly written.)

I will have to say I love that Ms. Banks stayed true to the characters and situations. I almost expected Elle to be some wronged person because there was a ridiculous twist. But no, everything made sense and worked out naturally and in a believable manner. And that’s why I absolutely love reading categories and books by Ms. Banks. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has been following the series, likes Silhouette Desire books, or is a fan of Leanne Banks.

Grade: B

Maddox Communications was his life—until he allowed a woman to come between him and his business. CEO Brock Maddox had been betrayed by his lover…his own secretary. And when he finally confronted Elle Linton, he discovered she’d been keeping an even bigger secret. Elle was carrying his baby.

Vowing to let nothing else out of his control, Brock declared Elle would marry him. Their union solidified his claim on their child…and allowed him to keep a close eye on his ex-assistant. Yet Brock knew he might succumb to the lure of his lovely wife…if he dared let his heart rule his head.

Read an excerpt here.

My thoughts on RomCon are all over the place. If you want an extremely detailed minute by minute playbook, this is not where you’ll get that. RomCon? Well, I’d do it again. I’ve never been to any conferences/conventions before 2010, but this year I’ve hit up RT, Lori Foster’s get together, and now RomCon. I think of the three, RomCon was my favorite. It just has more. (I really enjoyed Lori Foster’s get together, and I have to say RT was my least favorite.)

Incidentally, most of the pictures have nothing to do with my rants – I just needed somewhere to put them. So for the second one there, I have nothing but nice things to say about Nalini Singh et al. Also, I’m not in any of these pictures, in case you were Lime hunting.

Straight off the bat, however, I vehemently, 100%, completely, cannot tell you how much I disagree with people saying there were too many authors. [I cannot help but say this snarky thing: apparently there was a lounge for authors. Well, maybe if there hadn't been one, or if authors didn't go to it, they would've been out there mingling with readers. Not to say there wasn't enough of that. But I mean, hello. If you're going to be in an author only room, of course it's going to seem like all authors and not enough readers. And that's my snarky bit. I of course understand that authors who went to the lounge weren't there the whole time and a lot of them did interact with readers and I pretty much saw every author I wanted to.] Did I get enough time with each and every one? No. And guess what? If more more more more more readers go we’re not going to be able to interact with the authors at all.

And on a different note, there were a lot lot lot of scheduled conflicts. Like a lot. I don’t know if I can stress this enough. The conference is short – something like 48 hours, and you know sixteen of those hours are allotted for sleeping. It depended on what event you were going to. For example, the teas were filled with what looked like  60 people.  Likely most readers. At the same time there were intimate chats with authors, which generally had 10-15 readers in the room. The teas and intimate chats being the “coveted events” as they were ticketed, all other panels I’m sure had less people, and it made it appear as if there were no readers. Well, based on what I observed, say during the day 150 readers were at “closed” events and the remaining were sleeping, meeting with people, or otherwise attending one of 2-4 scheduled panels. Yes, I can see how it seemed that readers were thin on the ground. However, I don’t think that’s the case and really really really hope the numbers don’t shift too much. (And here’s more snark – come on now authors. Do you really need that much more of a rockstar feel?)

Some of us were discussing – readers do talk to each other. Yes some people don’t know about the online community, but that seems to be the exception to the rule these days. And you know – maybe we’re just not that interesting. I don’t know. I feel completely fulfilled without going to conferences in my book talk and gushing. That’s what blogs, twitter, chat, texting, and phones are for.

So that’s my rant. Sure, let the conference get bigger. But don’t limit the number of authors. That’s probably at the top of my list for reasons to not come back to RomCon

Now, I will say I was unimpressed with the panels that I attended. Admittedly, I’m not very much of a panels type girl. I “just” got out of school. I don’t need to sit and be talked at. However, I dutifully followed friends to the controversial Fairy Godmother one, and felt as if I was being lectured and reprimanded. Every single person in the room I talked to felt the same way. (And as I hear it, there was only one person who thought the panel was enjoyable. Telling.) It could have been interesting, and fun and interactive, but that’s not the tone of the panel. It made me quite angry. I had to use the restroom, so I left, but after that, I didn’t want to, and was told not to bother going back in. Some people I hear were tweeting about it, but I went straight to texting my WTF feelings. Why was I annoyed? Piracy was brought up immediately after introductions, and the way it was approached and discussed we all felt like we were being attacked, and that we were all pirates. It only got worse. I truly felt that this was a[n understandable] pet peeve but those on the panel had finally gotten a captive audience/a trapped room of human bodies and faces that they could yell at. Not amazing. I ran into Sarah (from Smart Bitches) that evening and she was still unhappy. Of course I later found out she’d also gone to the book reviewer panel with Jane (from Dear Author), and that one was full of head exploding material was well – and led to the “books are not babies” discussion and hashtag on twitter. I’m still curious as to the results of Tessa Dare’s “experiment.”

I will say that in a way, coming to RomCon (I’m sitting in the hotel lounge/lobby as I write this, because I’m staying two extra days in Denver) was to play with friends. I didn’t know originally that they were going to be here, but I figured I’d meet fun people anyway. (It worked well enough at the Lori Foster event.) However, Ali and Joy did come, and that basically was the highlight for me – seeing friends. But in a more conference centered manner… meeting authors I’d interacted with online, but never met in person.

My list would be Julia Quinn (admittedly I’ve never interacted with her online but I always read her books and it was so cool to meet her. And talk about Outrageous Tacos.) Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, Carolyn Jewel, Pamela Clare, Leanne Banks, Melissa Schroeder… There are more but I’m realizing this is turning into a something I don’t want, and anyway not really – I guess I talked to the same people/nobody. (And I’d met Carolyn Crane and Coutney Milan previously at RT.)

My random fun things and highlights? I tried to hang out with Carolyn Jewel all weekend, and it never worked. On Friday night for cocktails just when we were about to sit it was time for dinner- and Julia Quinn was at the table so I walked over to dinner with her (and ran into Ali and Joy and Eli) so we all sat together. We got there late. Bad us. I also sat next to Sally MacKenzie, whose books I’ve enjoyed, and had no idea who she was. (Sorry! I think I need to put in here that I’m just… not much of a fangirl. I barely recognized Julia Quinn and actually hadn’t recognized her the first time I saw her in the hallway. There. My secret shame.) Anyway, Sally MacKenzie is a fun, fabulous lady. We were bad and chatting throughout dinner and the “performance” because we were sitting in the back, the acoustics were bad, and we couldn’t hear a damn thing. This is also where the No Ordinary Taco discussion started. (Somehow Julia heard that instead of No Ordinary Cowboy. I don’t know either.) I didn’t know who the other two ladies  at our table were either, but I had a lot of fun with them. [Erm, Lavinia Kent was one of the them. So sorry to the third!]

Saturday was full of events – intimate chats with authors, and author sponsored teas which were ticketed events  – you entered a raffle to get into them. The historical one was fabulous, with a goody bag and prizes for all. I also went to the contemporary author tea the previous day, where it was more of a Q&A panel. I didn’t go to publisher spotlights on Friday, but had heard they weren’t that impressive. Saturday just seemed to be a more fun and worthy day all around. And I have to say the publisher spotlights on Saturday were extremely generous with the swag. (Swag is stuff we all get – and we all got books. It was nice.)

I also got to spend more time with Courtney Milan, because she sat with us at the HCI launch party. I have to admit, I had thought she might not really care for me – but I knew that was equally likely not to be true as nothing had happened to make me think that. So I figure if Courtney Milan didn’t like me, she wouldn’t have chosen to subject herself to my company during something she couldn’t leave. (I also didn’t know another author at the table was an author but she was incredibly gracious. Sorry!) Anyway, our table talked about dogs, and there was a girl across the table from me (sorry, woman) and she was the most adorable thing and I wish I’d gotten her name. So – Courtney showed me pictures/video of her dog. I’d heard of him before and seen pictures via twitter, but I want to meet him! (I love dogs.) He’s an Australian Shepherd and so adorable.

On Saturday night I sat next to Elizabeth Hoyt for dinner. I had no idea who she was (she looked familiar but I couldn’t remember, and I’m horrible about names and faces, so I’m pretty sure I committed some sort of faux pas and asked her what she did.) I also joked with her in a way I might not have if I had known she was Elizabeth Hoyt at the time, but I’m actually glad about that. Being too restrained isn’t fun – and not really how I am.

I do wish the hotel had been one downtown. I’m actually shy, and hate people. (Heh.) So it’s important for me to be able to leave a conference hotel and go do something. This was not possible at the Crowne Plaza and their concierge was not accommodating on Saturday night. I have/had mad love for Crowne Plaza concierge services (especially for the one in Columbus – I love you!) but this one disappointed. Of course I also became annoyed at a few of the hotel staff, but that’s all tied into the being trapped here issues.

Something I’d like to make a note of that every single person [reader] I spoke with mentioned – yes we were getting books, and that’s wonderful, but we were getting the same books. It seems like we were getting the same books over and over again. I know there a bunch I have two of – so guess what? I’m going to give them away. [At the moment I'm still figuring out how I'll do that.] I also gave away a number of books as soon as I got here – Jessica and Carolyn Crane were nice enough to let me stash stuff in their room, and when I went to pick it up I gave them books I already owned in hopes that they’ll read them. This process was repeated throughout the weekend.

Um… oh and this is totally a personal thing non-conference related. But a lot of people complimented me on my purse (and thank you! You’re all too sweet) – so I want to say, it’s the Lorca bag from Hayden-Harnett, and I think they’re such a fabulous company that I’m giving them a shout out. You should buy from them. Get your own Lorca. Really – and their customer service is basically unmatched. In excellence. And I also wore a flower ring that I’d just gotten as a birthday present – and that was Kenneth Jay Lane. Just in case you wanted to know O_o. (Well, if you want it, I think you should get it, right?)

Oh and my plug – if you haven’t read Julia Quinn, do so. Not only do I love her books, but she’s fantastic. She’s incredibly nice and fun – but not like nice in the way you’re scared you’re going to be bad and really have to be on your best behavior. She’s sarcastic and has a great sense of humor. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever was a book I got here and gave away in hopes the person will enjoy it. That’s one of my favorite books by her. Also The Duke & I, The Lost Duke of Wyndham, Splendid, and I think my favorite book by her is Brighter than the Sun. (Ok and/but since I’m me, I will say I don’t love love love all her books. Some people also got What Happens in London here, and that didn’t work for me. Nor did I go for Mr. Cavendish, I Presume, even though Liv tells me I’m wrong.) Anyway, not only are Julia’s books great, but she’s nice. I was going downstairs and had a book I wanted her to sign – there was a historical authors event. However we ran into her at the elevators, and she actually got back off and came and signed a book for me. I mean, I know not a huge deal and like she gave me a kidney or anything, but I thought it was super sweet. Because I was like “oh wait-  oh no!” I did meet some authors who gave me the “I don’t want to talk to you but we’re so close to each other in passing it’d be rude not to acknowledge you and I’m a professional here so I’ll give you the curt hello.” So you know, I’m that much more thrilled with Julia Quinn’s awesomeness.

So, I hope RomCon is essentially the same next year as it was this year, with some tweaks. The entertainment ” ” was… not amazing- and most people seemed to flee the dance parties. There is that – I didn’t really talk about them because it wasn’t so much worth going. [Oh and along the same "keep going what you're doing line - reader focused. Please. Please please please don't assume all readers are wannabe writers. I know some readers are aspiring authors. But not all of us. Do not, for all that is good and holy on this Earth, turn this into another RWA/RT thing. Because let's be honest- RT is now more like RWA than anything else. I almost felt more like an intruder than anything else there.]

And I did like the format of the signing. With books elsewhere, you don’t feel a sense of obligation to buy a book just by looking at it. (It’s so awkward to pick up and book and put it down – unless you tell the author you already own it.) And with the ability to book browse people do buy more books, I heard at RT some people didn’t buy books they were curious about because they didn’t want to check out the book then realize it wasn’t for him/her and be obligated to take it. Also, it got rid of the whole ridiculous sticker business of RT. If you walked into the signing with books at RomCon, they were obviously yours. That was amazing. I think it would just help or be nice to let authors know this is the format, so they could have something in front of them at the signing – swag, little props, extra books, what have you.

So again, I have to say, I really hope the book signing format remains the same. But you know, I‘m just a lowly reader. What do I matter? [Sarcasm!] Also an author had a fantastic idea – of panels with readers sitting on the panels, answering questions. I love that. So… maybe not panels because that’s a lot of pressure, but how about round tables? I think that would also really fit in with the idea, concept, and spirit of RomCon. Incidentally, Carolyn Crane had this idea – and I think it’s amazing. [Incidentally NO those aren't all the books I got at RomCon. A few pictured, yes, but this is why I'm not too torn up about not getting books. And why I'm so avidly going for ebooks. Don't need to add any more to my book graveyard.]

And… those are my rambling wandering RomCon thoughts. If you’d like to know more about something [anything] I’ll do my best to answer any questions. Or gossip more

Limecello’s review of The Secretary’s Bossman Bargain by Red Garnier
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire 13 Jul 10

A number of things made me decide to read this book. First of all, I adore Silhouette Desire and Harlequin Blaze books. They’re hands down my favorite category lines. Next, I’ve been meaning to try something written by Red Garnier for a while. Someone also recommended it to me, but it didn’t even matter, because I’d already bought it based on the premise. I’m a big sucker for secretary-boss romances. I do feel the need to state how much I dislike the title.

Virginia Hollis is a heroine who falls into a lot of stereotypes, yet manages to remain unique on some level. Her situation and experiences aren’t something a reader wouldn’t expect from a Desire book [yes I know, double negative], but there’s something about Virginia that is quite likable. It’s also clear that the attraction between Virginia and Marcos is undeniable. I also liked that Virginia was generally realistic and level headed. While she couldn’t resist Marcos, she held out on hoping for more until the end. Basically, she wasn’t the one who was misguided.

Marcos Allende is a master of seduction. It sounds cliche to say that- even to write it, but there’s no other way to describe him. Virginia never had a chance against him. Marcos is also a very nice guy. Ms. Garnier writes him as someone who we’re supposed to believe is cold hearted and out for destruction (well, of one company), but I never really got that from him. It seemed that Marcos had simply been biding his time, or more fighting himself to not be with Virginia.

The word I’d use to describe the book would simply be “lush.” The language is decadent and gripping. The Secretary’s Bossman Bargain is very sensual, with the reader following the combustible sexual attraction between the hero and heroine from the start. I really liked that. It was so up front.

The conflict, however, was weak.The all too overused “I love you but won’t admit it so I’m going to ask you to be my mistress instead of wife” the usual conflict ensues with hurt feelings, a panicked then grovelling hero, and quick forgiveness.

However, aside from those issue I’d say this a bit better than an average read (hence the C+ grade), and I’ll definitely be looking for more category romances by Ms. Garnier. The Secretary’s Bossman Bargain is a fantastic summer read, and I definitely recommend it to those of you who enjoy contemporary romances, and especially Silhouette Desire categories.

Grade: C+

He’d desired her—and denied himself her company—for far too long. Now Marcos Allende finally had his secretary right where he wanted her. He’d convinced her to play the role of his lover while he conducted the deal of his life. And once the pretense was over, Marcos would move heaven and earth to make Virginia Hollis his true mistress.

She longed to be more than merely Marcos’s dedicated assistant. Yet she’d readily agreed to play along, hoping to ensconce herself in his bed…and then his heart. But could she keep a permanent place in his life once he discovered her secret?

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of One Perfect Rose by Mary Jo Putney
Historical romance reprint by Zebra 1 Apr 10 (originally released Jul 97)

I’m not sure what prompted me to buy and read this book. I’m pretty sure it was very reasonably priced and people on twitter told me they loved it, so I listened to the hive mind and made a purchase. That, and I’d been wanting to read a historical romance, and was feeling nostalgic and sentimental, so reading a novel by Mary Jo Putney just fit. Ms. Putney seems to have a fixation with heroes that are dying, presumed dead, or generally missing. Or, it seems a number of her books that I’ve read have that theme.

All in all, this was an average read. Parts of it reminded me why I started out reading historical romances, and actually read historical romances exclusively. At the same time, I found myself flipping through parts and giving bits the old grad school read. Suffice it to say I have mixed feelings about this story.

The premise of the book was quite interesting, as were the characters. For some reason it didn’t all come together completely for me… but the plot and the characters are cute. The premise of the book promises so much. I think I was a bit thrown by the fact that the hero believes he’s dying throughout the novel. It adds some immediacy and humanity to his character, but I didn’t feel quite as sympathetic as I thought I should be.

The heroine, Rosalind Jordan is quite likable, and extremely competent. She easily could have become a Cinderella type character, but Ms. Putney gives her a warm and loving family. Rosalind is almost interesting because of her family, not in and of herself. There’s a slight plot twist which elevates Rosalind, and almost feels too pat, but could make perfect sense with a slight stretch of imagination. Rosalind definitely isn’t your typical heroine, and I enjoyed that aspect about her. She could have fallen into a number of stereotypes, but doesn’t. I wish I had connected with her character better.

Stephen Kenyon, Duke of Ashburton, after learns that he is dying leaves home and all responsibilities. Stephen ends up meeting Rosalind’s family, and stays with them for a bit, in this idyllic jaunt of sorts. I hesitate to use the word “selfish,” because he isn’t truly, but Stephen decides to pursue Rosalind because he wants her and cannot give her up. I liked the depth of emotion and the fact that Stephen is finally acting for himself in the first time of his life. The fact that Stephen is so warm towards Rosalind, and a kind person makes this much more acceptable than with your typical hero.

NB* the ebook I got was deeply flawed. About 50% of the time the word “the” was replaced by “die” which is quite disconcerting. There were also numerous typos, where a word was made of consonants. Generally I could figure out what the word was by shape (definitely not by number of letters) – or luckily a character would repeat the jumbled word in subsequent dialogue. [This may or may not have affected how I felt about the book.]

In the end, I am glad I read this book, and miss these types of historicals. It reminded me that romances were (and some still are) books of substance, with complexities, and plot twists that were unpredictable and clever. (A lot happens in this novel.) I definitely hope to read another book like this soon. This book is a reprint, and I know it was well received when first published I believe in 1997 – New York Time best seller, etc.

Grade: C+

Stephen Kenyon, Duke of Ashburton, has always taken the duties of his rank seriously — until shocking news sends him running from his isolating world of wealth and privilege to roam the countryside as an ordinary man. When he meets the lovely Rosalind Jordan, a foundling who has grown into an enchanting, compassionate woman, she stirs the deepest desires of his heart. Yet how can Stephen declare his love when he is haunted by the knowledge that made him flee his old life? And how can Rosalind risk loving a man who fulfills her secret dreams but can never be hers?

Read an excerpt.

AKA What will make me wildly unpopular. Or, even less than wherever I am now? Whatever. This is a culmination of a number of thoughts and posts and conversations. In part, it’s why I’ve been quiet lately. Who am I kidding. For the past year. I’m blogging it now because… well, it’s a blog and I can talk about what I want [so long as Sybs hasn't forbidden it], and I want to “explain” where I am right now/what has contributed a bit to my reading slump. (Because every so often I issue cries of help/book recommendations. I am trying to get out of it.)

This is also going to be a meandering post that I’ve merged with what I was going to title “No Book For Me!”

A number of things are changing in publishing. Blogs are coming and going. This is nothing new. (Well the latter part. Publishing is slow to change, or at least it feels that way.)

I guess I’ve been disillusioned, or more annoyed by the “us vs them” mentality that seems to show up online consistently. There’s also the sense that “readers are the enemy” and frankly, I’m sick of that. No, readers are not the enemy. And I know not everyone feels that way, of course, but I see it consistently enough to annoy me. This also makes me sad, because I used to read at least a book every two days. Maybe two to three books on a good day. (More if they were categories.) Reading for pleasure was a priority for me. I mean I did this throughout my undergraduate career, law school, and while studying for the bar as well. It’s been a few months since I’ve read for pleasure daily. At first it felt strange. I used to read before I went to sleep, no matter the time. Now? I … don’t. I tried a few times, but just couldn’t get into books.

More explanation on being turned off reading? Sorry… but… authors. Social climbing, diva behavior… laughing while saying “oh I just write the same story over and over.” But … really the “I’m so much more important than you” vibe. Like an author who will be all “oh hiiiiiii” and excited to talk to you when you’re standing next to someone who is a “super star.” But if/when you’re alone – you’re more than invisible, said author actively is looking through you.

Maybe it’s because this is my first year attending conferences/signings, etc. Or I have bad luck. Or I’m over sensitive. Perhaps it’s all of that in a small part. But I’m also not the dullest crayon in the box. I’m fed up with that behavior, and I for sure know not all authors are like that, but I’m just really… over it. (I’ve been to RT this year, as well as Lori Foster’s Reader & Author Get Together. I didn’t like the former very much, enjoyed the latter… and will be going to RomCon as well. So, we’ll see. Either people will make an effort to ensure they aren’t marked by me as snobs, or will avoid me madly. And, for those of you going to RWA, you’re safe. I won’t be there to judge you.)

I also got sick of seeing rave reviews on every. single. book. out. there. I mean, yay for authors. Hooray for you, and job well done, and all that. However, call me a skeptic. Cynic. I don’t believe it. What makes it worse is people would agree with me in private – that, yes, s/he didn’t love that book more than his/her first born. I give a number of “C” reviews, which here at the pond is an average read. At many other places that’d be a 3 star/book/whatever review. (But a “C” looks so much worse and meaner, right?) I enjoy most books. I don’t love them all indiscriminately. I don’t love having to defend myself for being a discerning or critical reader. And no, actually, I’m not talking about authors behaving badly.

Anyway, readers are the enemy. No. Not true, and very annoying. Readers are consumers, who want reasonable prices, and to not be dicked around. Readers are consumers who expect this across the board. I guess in a way I’m waiting it out. After all, Bluray and HD DVD got figured out. The problem is a number of us aren’t patient enough to wait. Although I suppose now my life is more well rounded? I used to never watch movies. I’d see maybe three a year. So, being called or treated as the enemy makes me want to pirate books. I don’t, but gosh – every time I’m lectured about it it makes me want to. In fact outraged rants complete with swearing is what made me aware of book pirating in the first place. (Yup. Guess I was naive. Also – no worries. I’m too computer/technologically inept to pirate books even if I decided to. Which, if you didn’t pick up on that, I wouldn’t.)

Now? I’ve been watching a lot of TV, and many more movies. Oscar nominees, new box office hits, etc. Whatever I can get from the library. As for television… my newest show I watch? The Ultimate Fighter. I’ve come a long way from not even being able to watch Macbeth in AP English. (Violence! No!) Um, guess a lot of stuff annoys me? Iron Chef, Burn Notice… So You Think You Can Dance… sometimes Chopped. Catching up on The Office, Bones, maybe re-watch Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Justified, Deadliest Warrior, Merlin. Giada at Home. Gordon Ramsay’s F Word. Kitchen Nightmares. Sometimes Hell’s Kitchen, and if I remember, Master Chef. (I don’t have Bravo, otherwise I’d watch Top Chef. No Cooking Channel either, sadly.) And more. The United States of Tara. The Tudors.
Movies? I’ve been on a Takeshi Kaneshiro kick. Or as much as I could. Watched Red Cliff/ Chi Bi, the international version, and Warlords. Love the former, meh on the second. The Young Victoria. Inglourious Basterds. Sherlock Holmes. Law Abiding Citizen. 9. It’s Complicated. And so on.

And my secret shame? I have even watched the odd episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. >.<

So that’s my meandering rant, as usual. Now my questions for you? Have you been annoyed by something lately? Or have you have stopped doing/participating in something you enjoyed due to being turned off from/by it? Do you have slump buster books to suggest? Or your own secret shame shows? (Or shows in general you enjoy – obviously I’m not picky right now.)

*ETA: My point in this post is… why can’t we be nice or at least civil to everyone? Why only be nice to a person when you think s/he is someone “special?” It’s really not a “ZOMG PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEE” – it’s a “Hey – how about throwing that stranger a smile and a simple hello?” I’m willing to bet the person [especially in the closed setting of a romance conference] doesn’t have leprosy, and it’ll be ok. Promise.

Limecello’s review of Veiled Seduction (Veiled Series, Book 2) by Alisha Rai
Contemporary romance released by Samhain Publishing 1 Jun 10

I read Veiled Desire and I knew I wanted to read Veiled Seduction, because Sasha’s story was going to be very fun. I’m definitely looking forward to more of Alisha Rai’s books. In fact, I hope she writes more quickly. I definitely will read them. I love the interaction between the characters that is so real but sweet, the personable the story was. I’m also a huge fan of friends to lovers stories, and this was a fast read that I know I’ll be revisiting.

Maira is a genius. She’s one of the people you read about in the newspaper, that started medical school at age eighteen. What I really like about her, and how Ms. Rai writes Maira, however, is how normal she is. Maira’s brain is just a part of her, and the fact that she’s so frighteningly accomplished is very matter of fact. Not to say that it’s a non issue. Ms. Rai realistically addresses the difficulty Maira had in fitting in, and the fact that she feels slightly awkward socially due to her development and experiences in life. Maira herself is very likable. She’s sensible and smart, and has gumption. Granted it takes a life or death situation to push her into action, but she decides to make the first move. For all that she’s conservative and really respectful of her parent’s wishes and her upbringing, Maira isn’t going to let anyone dictate how she should live her life.

Sasha Kirami is … an idiot, and an all around great guy. He’s normal, but not. He’s a cop who was just doing his duty, but is also a hero. I love the extraordinary paired with the mundane here. He also gets a little bit of his own back because he tormented his sister and best friend in Veiled Desire. Sasha is your typical clueless guy, and possibly even a little more macho. He’s also quite stubborn and likes calling the shots. I liked that Sasha had a possessive side, and especially that he kept it to himself. As in, he feels it, but he doesn’t impose his machismo on others or be overbearing. And he realizes when he’s just this side of cave man. The fact that that’s how he is, but doesn’t act on it is appealing.

A number of the scenes are quite sexy, but they are an equal number of scenes that have nothing to do with sex. It’s clear that Sasha and Maira are perfect for each other, and that they did take it slow, in that their two year friendship essentially was dating, without the physical aspect. (So I realize it’s not, but they know each other. Their likes, dislikes, family friends and background, and they’re comfortable with each other as well.)

I will say that the book ended a bit abruptly to me. I just thought there might be something more. But, it was a sweet moment, and when reading into it a bit more, it’s clear Sasha and Maira will be together. There were some great moments of comic relief, my favorite probably being when Sasha meets Maira’s mother. Your significant other’s traditional parents are always scary, and worse when you don’t meet them at your best.

I know I say I don’t like series, but Ms. Rai’s books can definitely stand alone, and I think Sasha’s friend Keirnan deserves a little romance in his life as well. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick romance that very well written, has great characters, and also has a little spice.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Beneath Dr. Maira Khan’s reserved exterior, her heart beats triple-time for only one man: Sasha Karimi. For two years she’s waited patiently for the handsome police lieutenant to wake up and see her as more than a buddy. When he’s injured in the line of duty, though, she realizes time is too precious to waste. Ditching her scrubs—and her shyness—she cooks up her very first seduction.

Sasha’s had a hell of a week. Thanks to the national media, amorous women are pouring out of the woodwork, all wanting a piece of America’s newest “hero”. The biggest disappointment? Maira seems to have contracted the same case of mass hysteria. Betrayed, he pushes her away—but not before he samples a taste of her luscious mouth and body.

It works. Maira retreats, mortified and ashamed. And Sasha realizes he’s just driven away the perfect woman. Now all he needs is a foolproof plan to win her back, starting with a proper courtship—and restraining his lust. Except once Maira glimpses the man behind the uniform, she sets out to show him that pure need has its own ideas about what’s proper…

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

I haven’t had a good long blog title in a while. I love the meaty ones but learned early on to shorten them because of link issues. And spacing. Also short and pithy gets more attention, right? I should know – I have the attention span of a two year old. No really. I’m happy to be having five different conversations at the same time. With a single person. (The other person is generally less thrilled.)

But! This is a post/review/defense of reading out of order. Exhibit A: Broken by Shiloh Walker. (And for any of you who think I’m biased – which is the good thing, not prejudiced- which is bad – I read this book before I ever met her. In fact, in the interest of honest disclosure, I bought this book to enter a contest to try to win a nook. A nook! I really wanted it. I didn’t win.) But the blurb looked good and I’d thought the previous titles I’d read by Ms. Walker were okay as well, so I gave it a go.

This is the premise/blurb:

Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter and bail bondsman in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s tempted by her beauty—but he knows from experience that anyone desperate enough to live in his building is damaged goods. Besides, he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.

Desperate
Sara Davis is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She’s not an abused wife, and she’s not a criminal. But she does have a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding. There’s just too much at stake.

Driven to desire…
But Quinn must get closer to Sara when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and he discovers that there is something more complex and dangerous to her than he thought. Now, both Quinn and Sara will have to expose their true feelings—as well as their fragile hearts—if they hope their love will survive…

Admittedly, parts interested me, and others didn’t. Bounty Hunter and bondsman didn’t really move me one way or the other. But the fact that Quinn fell in love with his target, Sara… well I love the forbidden romance stories. The angst and yearning – the delicious wanting… I eat it up.

So, we have the characters. First of all, Quinn is incredibly likable, which is strange because… he’s definitely not a people person. In fact, he’s down right surly and mean. I’d say that’s part of his charm, but it really isn’t. He’s a brick wall. What saves him, is that he has a huge heart. It just takes a lot of digging – and it’s not easy going. I liked that Ms. Walker kept him true to himself. Quinn isn’t friendly. He doesn’t want to be friends, and rather dislikes people. But in all that, you know he’s a good and decent human being. That his coldness isn’t complete. He’s definitely not a marshmallow, but he isn’t soulless.

Sara… I like, in a way because she fooled me. I won’t go into spoilers here, but Ms. Walker tricked me but good. I generally figure out books quickly. Too quickly, which is yet another reason why I don’t go for romantic suspense. Ms. Walker, however, had me snowed. I definitely didn’t suspect right off the bat. I also like Sara because when we meet her, she’s taking charge, and ready to make a change. She’s also lived and is living a hard life, and you just want good things for her.

A reason for that is because Sara is so real. She’s definitely not perfect, and makes mistakes. She isn’t always put together, but she’s driven. Part of that is clear in how disciplined she is.

Suffice it to say, I really liked the characters, and the plot, and the book. It’s one of my favorite reads of the year. I’d give it an “A.”

Because I enjoyed the book so much I immediately bought the book that actually comes first in the series. Actually, I was enjoying Broken so much, I bought Fragile about halfway in, riding the high of a good read.

I did not like Fragile as much. At all. The beginning of Fragile was very different to me. The whole tone, everything. Of course the setting was different, but for Broken it was authentic, and made sense. For Fragile I felt that I was expected to suspend my relief more often that I’m prepared to. I also felt that Quinn stole the show – pretty much as soon as we met him. And, the problem is that Luke Rafferty’s story comes first. Yes, there were some slight spoilers in Broken (which I obviously picked up on) that may have contributed to my less than love of Fragile. However, I contend that it didn’t truly matter.

Here is the blurb/premise of Fragile:

Sometimes the last thing you want is exactly what you need…

BATTLE SCARRED

Six years after trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs, Luke Rafferty still hasn’t found what he’s been searching for: a normal life. At his job, Luke is faced with things just as heartbreaking as those on the battlefield, none more so than the abused children brought in by a pretty red-headed social worker.

HEARTBROKEN

For Devon Manning, being a social worker is a rewarding job, but also a constant reminder of her own troubled youth. Devon takes everything one day at a time—unable to form a relationship with anyone except the children she rescues.

A DESIRE TO HEAL…

When Luke meets Devon, he thinks he might have found what he’s been looking for, but in order to get the life he wants, Luke has to break through Devon’s emotional barriers and make her realize that his healing touch might be just the complication her life needs…

I started out liking Devon a lot. Liked her more than Sara, even, and was all in. And then… she got hit with a stupid stick. It’s a phrase that I think should come back. Because, she really and truly was. Yes, there were parts I liked, but Devon essentially cut off her nose to spite her face. She decided to avoid Luke, and was just awful… for no good reason. In fact, she knew it was the wrong choice and was unhappy. Generally, I can respect such stubbornness. In fact, that was fine.

And here, we come upon spoilers. I’ve whited them out for you if you haven’t read the series and/or can’t stand spoilers. (If you’d like to see the text, just highlight it.)

Devon is/was attacked. She’s a social worker and had a crazy dad out to get her. Not. Cool. She sensed it, and knew something was out there, but sneaks around because “she can handle herself” and avoids the people trying to protect her. Maybe I’m just overly paranoid, but if I felt that someone was stalking me, I’d be keeping close to whoever was assigned to protect me. And ask a security guard to walk me to my car, instead of trying to brazen it out. Seriously – it’s not fun walking at night from point A to point B wondering if someone is going to stab you. Devon understand this… but doesn’t follow it. *Even though she knows there’s a threat.*

Even more… crazy stalker dad dies. She passes out, and (to my mind) didn’t think she killed him – yet somehow crazy stalker dad is dead. So… she obviously did it, right? Even the book doesn’t spell out a third party does the deed, but come on now, Miss Devon. I’m getting frustrated just writing about this.

And then – to make it all worse, Devon breaks up with Luke. She thinks he’s attacking her. Well, you know what? Ok fine. Our girl is finally showing some survival and protective instincts. But, things don’t get better. In fact, they get worse. She dreams someone is doing horrible things to her. She wakes up with her clothes off. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never stripped off my clothes while I was asleep. And I’m not one of those sleeps like the dead people either. Strange occurrences like that don’t give her a clue. I could not believe that. It was too much for me. The fact that she had “waking nightmares” – couldn’t distinguish dreams from reality it seemed… but the fact that physical objects were moving – things she hadn’t done, when she was supposed to be the only person in the house?

Anyway, the ending was fine. It was great and everything was resolved and happy. Unfortunately at that point I wanted to smack Devon upside the head and say “look, you idiot, if you had any sense at all you wouldn’t have let it escalate to this degree. Set up a nanny cam. Something. Anything.” I suppose she did suffer enough… but it annoyed me. And so… if I had read Fragile first… I’m not sure that I would have read Broken. I likely would have suspected a similar story or device… which would have been a shame because Broken is fantastic.

So there you have it. And, if you don’t have the book? Go buy it. Honestly. I think you should. And then come back and discuss the plot with me.

Now, your turn. Will you read books out of order? Do you read the end before reading the book? Did you ever have a good experience reading out of order? Bad?

Limecello’s review of While She Was Sleeping by Isabel Sharpe
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Blaze 1 Apr 10

I have to admit, I got this book because it’s a Blaze book, and because of the premise. Also, while I can’t remember if I’ve read a book by Isabel Sharpe before (I think I have), I’ve heard good things about her. So, I had to give it a try. That being said, it wasn’t quite what I expected – and almost in a good way. I thought there would be a whole forbidden love focus, and while there wasn’t as much of that as expected, an extremely complicated relationship between the sisters did exist. It was a very enjoyable read.

Alana Hawthorne is a heroine who wants to be superwoman, in the sense that all of us do. She wants to be the have it together girl who is in control. She’s always been the good one, and has a strong sense of familial duty. It’s something a lot of us can relate to, but Alana still is unique, and her own person. She just lets her responsibilities become her priority a lot, which makes it challenging for Sawyer. After all, he’s pursuing her, but Alana is about to leave the state. Really, that’s a good thing. Alana is likable, and I enjoyed “getting to know her.”

Sawyer Kern is one of the good guys, but he’s also got a wicked sense of humor, which just made me like him more. He’s caught up in a situation that’s rather delicate and difficult, but can’t resist needling Alana – just because he can. Not fun for her, but very enjoyable for the reader. Sawyer pretty much has it all, but also realizes what’s most important to him in life. He’s also reasonable, and doesn’t turn down opportunities out of spite, and is able to get over resentment or issues he might have.

I really liked this story – while the plot wasn’t what I expected, I thought it was nice and believable the way things turned out. I was a little annoyed at how much Alana was dragging her feet, but it did fit her personality. I also liked Sawyer a lot. There was also the interesting kink how Melanie met Sawyer first. Alana obviously has a fit, but it says good things about Melanie that she’s able to let it go. What bothered me was that Alana was so obviously doing something she didn’t want to do, because she felt she should – even though it wasn’t necessary. However, it wouldn’t really have made sense for her to not act that way.

That being said, I enjoyed the complex dynamics and tricky situation between Alana and Melanie, who although sisters are so very different. I didn’t like, however, how very clueless Melanie was. I did buy her story, however, and while I’m not thrilled with the back cover copy, based on what happened in While She Was Sleeping I’m happy to give it a shot. So… watch for my review of Surprise Me. (But um, with this reading slump I’ve got going, don’t hold your breath.)

Grade: B-

Alana Hawthorne is asleep. And she’s having what can only be described as the Best Dream Ever. There’s a deliciously hot guy, some pretty incredible moves and a conclusion that makes her toes curl. Mmm…yes. But the next morning Alana is shocked to find her fantasy man—for real—sprawled naked beside her in bed.

It only gets worse. The excellently hot Sawyer Kern is her sister’s brand-new boyfriend. The very same guy Alana came by to check on—because Melanie can be just so impulsive. Only now, Alana’s really worried. Because gorgeous Sawyer seems to be looking for a repeat performance….

Limecello’s review of Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson
Historical romance released by Brava 1 May 10

Mistress by Mistake is Maggie Robinson’s debut book, and I think she’s off to a good start. I read and heard absolutely raving reviews for this book, so I knew I wanted to read it. I enjoyed the book, but there were some basic points the plot rested upon that I couldn’t entirely get over. The fact that I was generally able to compartmentalize it, however, is an indication of Ms. Robinson’s quality of writing.

I want to say wonderful things about Charlotte Fallon, but I just can’t bring myself to make that blanket statement. I did quite like her, and pretty much everything about her, except for how Charlotte felt about, or reacted to Bay. To be quite honest, it made my head a little “splodey.” Let me explain. Charlotte rushes to London to see her sister. Basically for no reason, and ends up involved with Michael. (Her sister was supposed to be his mistress. But her sister runs off. No, we’re not at the illogical part yet.) What got me was that Charlotts didn’t like Michael. In fact she tries to escape a few times, stealing paintings, attempts braining him, etc. Yet she’s more than happy to have sex with him (a lot), and stay on, and cares for and about him. Stockholm syndrome doesn’t even fit here. Anyway, the basic development of the romance or relationship was rather nonexistent for me. Later, I could believe Charlotte stayed and had affection for Bay. It’s just – what initially made her stay/fall for him? (His minor threat wasn’t enough for me.) That’s what kept nagging me throughout the book.

That being said, Sir Michael Bayard is an interesting hero. He’s rather a mix of things, and nothing about him particularly stands out. Not that he isn’t a good guy and a worthy hero of a romance novel. Bay is somewhat selfish at turns, but is entertained by Charlotte, or Charlie, and does his best to get to her. I liked that he was smart and generally rational, yet at times stupid. Bay is incredibly persuasive, and generally gets his way with Charlotte throughout the book. His servants adore him, and he gets himself into a few scrapes, trying to get what he wants, but helps others along the way. In short, he’s an English gentleman who is willing to lend a hand to someone who needs it. His letters are also very sweet, and it’s charming how he thinks Charlie knows how he feels about her, when he hasn’t said a thing. (Bay is also your typical idiot male who can’t admit to himself he’s in love.)

The secondary characters were interesting. The servants were more likable than Charlotte’s sister… and the plot definitely had a lot more than I had expected. There was a time or two when the story lagged a bit for me, but then an unexpected twist or turn would occur. There’s a crazy woman from Michael’s past (there’s always a crazy ex lover, right?) who simply cannot leave Bay and Charlie alone. For all that the story line was new, I felt the “villain’s” character was a bit flat.

As a total aside, I didn’t think much of the title as/for a romance – rather par for the course, right? However, I ran a search on the title to get the information on this review, and found some “real life” mistress by mistake stuff… so that was quite interesting.

But, back to the story. I loved the description of Charlie’s home, and then her encounter with her neighbors while acting as Bay’s mistress. The secondary romances were also cute, very short, and definitely didn’t distract from Bay and Charlie’s story, which I appreciated. I’ll definitely be looking for more of Ms. Robinson’s books. I enjoyed her writing and voice, and can’t wait to get my hands on Mistress by Midnight – the premise of that story!!! In conclusion, I recommend those of you who enjoy historical romances and are looking for something new give this book a try.

Grade: C

Passion is all they have in common …

Scandal is only the beginning…

Charlotte Fallon let her guarded virtue fall once—and she’s paid dearly for it ever since. She swore she’d never succumb to men’s desires again. But even a village spinster’s life miles from temptation can’t save her from a sister with no shame whatsoever. Or a heart that longs for more, whatever the cost…

Sir Michael Bayard found more than he expected in his bed when he finally joined his new mistress. He’d fantasized about her dewy skin and luscious curves, assured her understanding that what passed between them was mere dalliance. But he didn’t expect the innocence and heat of her response in his arms. Nor her surprisingly sharp tongue once she was out of them…

A few days of abandon cannot undo the hard-learned lessons of a lifetime. Nor can an honest passion burn away the restraints of society’s judgments. Unless, of course, one believes in nonsense like true love…

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
Paranormal romance released by Avon 9 Feb 10

I’ve heard a lot about Jeanine Frost’s books, so when I had the chance to read First Drop of Crimson I couldn’t resist. It didn’t hurt that this book is the start of a series, so I knew I wouldn’t have to go hunting for a back list. I haven’t read anything by Ms. Frost before, but I know this definitely won’t be the last. In fact, much as I hate to admit it (it’s the whole series prejudice I’m cultivating), I’m looking forward to the next book, Eternal Kiss of Darkness. And of course the premise of First Drop of Crimson is essentially a forbidden love, and I can’t resist those stories.

Denise MacGregor is a great heroine because she’s strong and unique, yet she’s someone everyone can relate to. The prologue of the book is somewhat confusing, but at the first chapter it seems like you’re reading a regular contemporary novel – because that’s what Denise has determinedly made her life. Every day. And she’s sticking by that. Nevertheless, Denise is able to cope with the situations that arise, and does more than she needs to in order to ensure the safety of her loved ones. (And not so loved ones.) At some points Denise is almost too good – but that’s who she is, and she wouldn’t be such a fantastic heroine without that.

Spade is a complex hero, who puts a smile on my face. I just really liked him. He seems like a jerk, but it’s because he’s protecting himself. Also, because in the world he lives in, there is no room for anything that can be considered weakness. Not that Spade is cruel – he allows those who challenge him to live (after teaching them a lesson) – when he could easily just cut them up. Literally. There are some scenes that would really gross me out if I allowed myself to think about them. (Let me share. For example fighting while his entrails are spilling out. Mmmm guts on the floor. While you’re alive. Delicious.) Anyway, the concern Spade exhibits about Denise’s humanity is touching.

I have to say, I’m a sucker for a book where the hero falls hard for the heroine first. I found it adorable how into Denise Spade was. And then the assumptions that she’s going to become a vampire. The reaction she has, as well as the disbelief of the secondary characters was entertaining, and charming. Denise has clearly said she wants nothing more to do with anything out of the ordinary. Also, based on the attitude of all the vampires et al she meets, they think humans are substandard. Denise takes this personally, and it’s a point of contention and misunderstanding between her and Spade. (She thinks he wants her to change because she isn’t good enough as a human. He wants her to change because as a mortal she’s way too well… mortal and easily killed. It’s sweet, really, and resolving this issue brings the two of them closer together.)

Ms. Frost stopped just shy of the point of no return a number of times for me throughout this book. Characters acting unusually and the action or reaction just sliding. Nevertheless, it either was a minor point, or something Ms. Frost explained. For example, near the end Denise decides that she’s sick of waiting or allowing those around her to take action, and that she’s going to take matters in her own hands. Generally, this would be a TSTL move – much like the heroine who is an every day person but decides to run into a firefight because she’s going to “take control!” Luckily, this is not the case with Denise. Sure, it’s the unknown and rather foolhardy, but not completely idiotic, and there’s the possibility that everything will turn out right. (As opposed to requiring the reader suspend all belief and just allow that some ridiculous series of events transpired.)

I feel like I might have missed some things by not reading Ms. Frost’s previous series, but at no point did I feel lost, so I’m happy to start here and move forward. This book, and indeed it seems this series can easily stand alone. (That’s for all of you OCD types who must read in order. Pick up this book. You’re safe.)

I have to admit there were some parts of the story that surprised me. At times I thought everything was over (although I knew it wasn’t because there were more pages…) but some new conflict would pop up. I really liked all the secondary characters. Spade has a great set of friends, and it’s nice that Denise is essentially plugged into the same social network on her own. The fact that a number of settings are used also keeps the story fresh. As I stated before, I’m looking forward to the next book. I was definitely intrigued by the Master Vampire Mencheres, and will definitely read his book.

Grade: B-

The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows – her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield – and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family’s dark past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness – and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who craves a taste of her.

He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human – even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the demon nightmare together…

Because once the first drop of crimson falls, they will both be lost.

Read an excerpt here.

Aka: My thoughts on the Romantic Times Convention. (As for why this title? Well… you’ll have to read on.) First of all, it was held in Columbus, Ohio. I think you all know I love the Buckeye Nation. I’m quite attached to it, and for good reason. (GO BUCKS!) On my “RT Report”… let me apologize now. I’m totally out of the loop and unpopular, and wasn’t invited to any special author room parties, or author lunches and author/reader get together type things. And as this is being posted you know, well over a week after the actual event, everyone else has already said what you’ve wanted to hear – the juicy good stuff, and actual event run downs.

I thought it’d be weird to run around as “Limecello” – so I went as “me” – or “Elle Cello, Reader.” We had some mishaps with my name tag, but eventually I got it – and I wish I had the name of the woman who printed it out. She looked so harassed and I was very grateful she squeezed me in right before shutting down on Wednesday night. Granted, I had been hovering around the desk off and on (mostly on) for the past three hours. And been told the previous day that my badge would be ready first thing in the morning. (Hey, no badge = not allowed into anything. It’s important.)

I’ve always heard that the Romantic Times Convention is a reader-focused event, but that’s definitely not the impression I got, from the RT Virgin thing, to the end. I heard some colorful language in regards to thoughts about this RT compared to previous ones. I know there was a significant focus on book sellers this year, and all of them seemed quite pleased, so one supposes that’s a good thing.

I was grumpy Lime at times because of sleep deprivation… but I did have fun overall at RT. (Just, you know, not enough to entice me to go back.) In fact, let me tell you my highlights. I got to meet and play with Shiloh Walker. She has awesome fruit wines. I can’t be bought with books or e-arcs… but this blueberry wine she had… Anyway Shiloh is super fun and hilarious and definitely not adorabubbles. (Pst  – she is, but don’t let her know I said that. She’ll come after me. And possibly vomit a little. On me. Not cool.)

Mr. Romance Contestants, Shayla Black, Sylvia Day, Lora Leigh

Totally tongue in cheek here – believe it or not I don’t look like a lime, and I’m, in fact, not even green. It made me difficult to recognize. For a very short period I amused myself by picking out authors, and smiling politely, wondering if they’d say hello. We’d be standing in the same group/within a few feet of each other. (Most didn’t. It’s ok – authors are solitary types and not necessarily social creatures. I wasn’t feeling the social butterfly vibe so I didn’t put myself out either.)

Cavemenboys

I had dinner with Shiloh Walker, Beth Kerry, and Julie James on Wednesday – which was totally random, and fun. They were chatting books. Shiloh and I  bumped into Beth and Julie later at the EC party, and Julie James made me take a picture of the infamous EC Cavemen. She’ll deny it, but she said I had to. I have witnesses. I resisted until the bitter end, and, in fact, missed most of the show, and only got a picture of all the cavemen turning away, as you can see. During, Jay (one of the Mr. Romance contestants), Julie and I played a game of one-upmanship using the EC covers on the decks of cards at each table. I hands down won with the card that had a corgi on it.

Actually most of my favorite parts of RT happened off the conference site. Major highlights were meeting Ali (@simplyali), and Joy (@JoyfullyReviewd). Yes, twitter was my connection to 97% of the people there Those two were basically my constant companions and partners in crime for a number of events. I also took them out of the hotel to a few local bars. (Ok, so we stopped at the second one. Brother’s. I’ve got more stories about that but those are better left for another time and place. We had cheap – as in not expensive – drinks, and Joy introduced me and Ali to Patron. In fact, the saying “one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor” – is not true.)

Prior to that, I went out for happy hour with the super fun, and super nice Lauren Dane and Anya Bast. We went to Due Amici, where they disappointingly didn’t have any happy hour drink specials, (boo site that lied to me!) but did have fantastic appetizers. I now regret not taking pictures, but we were having too much fun chatting, eating, and drinking. And rushing. We were on a tight schedule. Otherwise, another personal highlight/victory was convincing the concierge from the Crowne Royal that I was staying at that hotel and getting a ride around the city.

I also have something about me that makes people tell me very strange things. For example, one of the Mr. Romance contestants told me he only has 4% body fat. Then an author’s husband told me he and his wife were together for XX years, but it took them ZZ years to get married, but now he lives in state AB and she lives in state CD. Believe me – it was weird and awkward. It was basically his introduction and I have no idea why he was telling me that.

I also met Lucy Monroe (and her husband), Shelli Stevens, Carolyn Crane, and Jess Granger. And others. I’m avoiding listing more people because I don’t want to forget anyone. I have to mention Carolyn though, because I walked up to her, and said “Hi Carolyn, I’m Limecello.” And she stood up and said “Oh! Hi it’s so nice to finally meet you and put a face to the name!” Then we talked a little bit more, she signed her League of Reluctant Adults passport, and I left. I then tweeted updates, and Carolyn said “Wait, I met you?!?!” This was on Thursday, so I proceeded to tease her mercilessly for the rest of the convention. I even rudely yelled across our table at the Fairy Ball to reintroduce myself. It was good fun. And the rest is extraneous.

Louisa Edwards (Kindly posed 3x's, told me I was less cute w/ each pic )

Lynne Connolly

Victoria Dahl (She's mad I destroyed her in the round face competition. Sorry, Vicki - next time!)

Oh – right, the signing. I hated it. Too many people. Reminded me of Times Square which I also abhor. Also I lived essentially without my luggage for two days, so I had nothing… but after that, I made Ali and Joy go to Louisa Edwards’s event with me. Free booze! It ran against Mr. Romance but… well – you can look up the “#mangeant” tweets. And, I wasn’t blown away with the whole thing… (The Mr. Romance competition, I mean. Although I saw some pictures and oh man camo pants and bad dancing? Still. I have no regrets.) Anyway – Louisa’s event was hands down one of my favorite parts of  “official” RT. And I’m not saying that just because I won a bottle of rose petal infused vodka.

Lauren Dane

Lucy Monroe

Courtney Milan

Finally… Saturday night. Ali, Joy, and I tried to leave the hotel again, but 280 N. High Street defeated us and we couldn’t figure out the plaza. So we went back to the hotel bar, broken hearted and discouraged. I took the heat of the hot wings I ordered personally, and was determined to defeat them. I did. Then, we moved to the bar area, and caught Jess Granger as she was about to go to bed. We had some awesome conversation, and for some unknown horrible reason Joy brought up strange shifters. Were-trees were definitely mentioned . Then, were-ducks. Jess proceeded to traumatize us with stories about ducks on her campus…and mating season.  Considering here at the pond we’re duckies… it was too good to pass up.

I also have to give Jess a shout out because I may or may not have threatened to bring the wrath of God down on her if she was lying to me/us about the number of books in her current series. (Seven to nine books – now you can all help me keep her accountable.) However, my feelings/rant on series is fit for another post.

Oh, and I’m sure I offended some people. I’m not a very gushy person. I squee and eee when I’m happy. Even in person. But nothing particularly set off my “whee” meter at RT. I actually met some authors that I’ve heard of but haven’t read/haven’t read in a while, so I had nothing to say. Considering how “big” [as in successful and popular] a few of these authors were, I think they expected more “yay!” from me. Sorry there. A few awkward silences occurred when I was introduced and followed with an “Oh hi, It’s nice to meet you.” And then… silence. Awkward, of course.

In the end… I don’t think I’ll be going to another RT. Or, at least I don’t plan on it, and I can’t particularly see what would entice me to go. I know other people loved it and had a great time, and others said “well at least it wasn’t the worst one I’ve been to,” but… enh. So for those of you who missed out… or are feeling totally crushed, personally, I didn’t think it was anything super special.

I also felt that books people were getting were grudgingly given. Maybe it was the last day burn out. But that’s the vibe I got from the start. I won a grand total of four books during the whole conference, but managed to get more at “free for all” type things. And, I got some swag in promo alley and at the book fair. I hate crowds, however, so I only hit up a few authors and then sat along the side of the room.

I am giving away a swag bag, however, stuffed pull of promo items – signed and unsigned blurb books, bookmarks, cover flats, pens, knick knacks, and… 5 books. That’ll be on twitter so find me there.

And, of course, I’m happy to discuss more etc in the comments.

Limecello’s review of Love at First Flight by Marie Force
Contemporary romance released by Sourcebooks Casablanca 2 Jun 09

I have to say that I was a little apprehensive starting this book. The premise was interesting, but I wasn’t quite sure how it’d work. I decided to read it because I enjoyed Line of Scrimmage so much, Marie Force’s first book. I have to say, I’m so pleased that I did. This was a complex, engaging romance that really represents and reminded me of my favorite things about this genre.

Juliana Gregorio is a hairdresser, and our heroine. She’s very down to earth and, well, normal. Aside from being gorgeous. (Come on now, could she really be the main character in a romance novel if she wasn’t?) Juliana starts out in a long term relationship, and with a lot of baggage. Her family being a major drain. I liked Juliana’s loyalty, and how she was so kind and sweet across the board. At times I could almost have labeled it naivete, but I knew that’s just her personality. (Juliana is a much nicer person than I am, or most people are.) She’s also resourceful, but not a paragon of virtue or perfect. In fact, at times she takes the easy way out and hurts people. Yet Ms. Force writes such a real and personable character that you can’t hate Juliana for the actions she takes. While reading I was completely invested in the situation, and while disappointed, still rooting for the perfect happy ending.

Michael Maguire is a prosecutor in Baltimore, MD. I actually purposefully didn’t pay too much attention to this, because I didn’t want to get hung up in the details. Also, there were no glaring red flags, so I was good. (I tend to get nit picky about details and hung up in them. That takes me out of the story and book, and makes me unhappy.) Michael is a fantastic character. He seems so perfect, but at the same time you know he isn’t because, well, at the beginning of the book he was engaged to someone else. It seems like it could be so smarmy, but it isn’t. Michael is simply imperfect, and let himself get in a comfortable situation. He can act like a jerk, but only when pushed to his limits. Any girl would be extremely lucky to get a guy like Michael, and I had a great time reading about him.

One aspect I really loved was that yes the romance is natural and believable, but Ms. Force also manages to resolve some of the issues Juliana had with her family. No, it’s not all candy coated and saccharine perfection… but that makes it real. Life is gritty and uncomfortable and often leaves us unsatisfied. But the end result is a happy ending, which is why we love our romances.

At one point, the plot dragged for me. And as I said, the was relegated to a lesser role than usual for me, because I didn’t want to get hung up on details like cost, and whether or not X, Y, and Z would happen during a trial. Or some of the drama at the end. However, every aspect of the storyline was there to showcase certain aspects of Michael and Juliana’s personality, and bring the two together.

I really appreciated that there was no extraneous flashy scene just to push the envelope. The romance and character were the main focus of this book, and it’s a fantastic example of what a romance should be. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like this book. I’ll definitely be re-reading it, and look forward to more of Ms. Force’s writing. I’m crossing my fingers for a similar experience, and definitely recommend that you read Love at First Flight, and in fact Line of Scrimmage as well.

Grade: A

A Baltimore prosecutor set to begin the murder trial of his career and a hair stylist with a dysfunctional family meet in the airport on their way to visit their significant others in Florida. After they each endure a disastrous weekend, they meet up again on the flight home, striking up an unlikely friendship that leads to love.

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Line of Scrimmage by Marie Force
Contemporary romance released by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Sep 08

I love football. I really enjoy reconciliation stories. It stands to reason that I would like Line of Scrimmage, and I did. I have to admit that it was the price, and sports hero that attracted me to the book first. I bought an electronic copy, and it was well worth my money. I’ll definitely be looking for more books by Marie Force, especially if she writes another story with a sports hero.

The focus on this story, at least for me, was the romance between the characters, and how that was developing. Susannah is already engaged at the beginning of the book… while still married to Ryan. This actually didn’t bother me as much as I would have thought because she’d been separated from her husband and would have been divorced but for some fancy footwork by the judge. While that part did seem to be something of a deus ex machina…somehow it works here. That being said, on to the characterizations.

I found Susannah to be a likable character, albeit a little clueless. But that didn’t matter so much, because Ryan really stole the show. The fact that Susie could hold her own against him even a little bit really made my estimation of her increase. Also, the two of them simply had a perfect relationship. He was mad for her, but she kept him in check… and also, Susie absolutely loved Ryan too. While she wasn’t perfect, and at times rather confused and somewhat selfish… I think it was that Susie had a difficult time being honest with herself.

Ryan is a character that should be something of a villain or scummy, but he simply isn’t. He had the opportunity to do a lot of wrong, but didn’t. However, he definitely wasn’t perfect either, and made a lot of mistakes. Mostly before the book began, however, so it’s easier to forgive him of those faults. That, and he absolutely knows he did wrong, and is desperate to make amends. It’s always nice to see a nice, powerful guy who is on top of the world brought to his knees for love. And that’s exactly what happens here.

There’s one line where Ryan asks Susannah, “Do you like knowing you can have me any time you want me?” I love that at this point, Ryan gets it. While it seems like all the “power” is with Susannah throughout the book, near the end she has to scramble a bit, and I think it’s important to keep in mind that her husband is the superstar quarterback of the NFL. That has to be unimaginably difficult, and… well good thing it’s fiction. This story definitely worked for me.

I definitely recommend this book if you like sweet contemporaries, with a kick of heat, as well as sports heroes. (I’m quite fond of both.) I’ve got Ms. Force’s second book Love at First Flight in my reading pile. I hope that Ms. Force’s voice carries through, as the premise is entirely different.

Grade: B

In the Hail Mary play of a lifetime, a sexy NFL quarterback has just ten days to convince his wife to give him a second chance before their divorce is final—and he has to act fast because she’s already engaged to her high school boyfriend. Line of Scrimmage is a story of reunion, redemption, rejuvenation, and renewal. Readers will laugh and cry and hope—that at the end of the day, these two lovers, who clearly belong together, will somehow find their way back to one another.

Read an excerpt here.

A post in which I finally get some things done, and prove why I shouldn’t post straight into Word Press, especially at 2AM+.

Way back in the dark ages, I had a pondering titled “Heroine Anthems.” (Wow, really. It went live in early June, which means I probably had it done some time in May… so uhh… six months is O_o a reasonable follow up, right?) Lucky for me I have some friendly tweeple giving me not so subtle hints and reminders to get it done. (Sadly these days my twitter account is probably the most reliable medium for contacting me.)

So – for a number of the videos, the embedding has been disabled by request, and I respect that. I also want to link to the official music video whenever possible because well, a myriad of reasons.

First up, the current state of our hero. He’s a mess. He needs the love of a good woman. [And perhaps some loving, depending on what sub genre you read/write.] Animal I Have Become. This is for the “angry, wounded heroes. The hero who has been to war or killed and thinks he’s irredeemable.” (I can’t say it any better, so thanks, Lorelie!)

Now, our intrepid “I won’t commit” hero. He also considers himself something of a player- and the previous women he’s dated or been with in the past have only proven him right. Of course. He’ll Break Your Heart.

And I can’t have a post without some love to the angsty hero, so… come on- brace yourself for some hilarious awesome Duran Duran, and Come Undone!

This is also our slightly recovered hero, who is now madly playing the field. Come on – “you can have whatever you like…” This song is so dirty, and fun – perfect. “Brain so good – swore you went to college…I want your body, need your body, long as you’ve got me you won’t need nobody…” Come on! Listen to this song! (Of course it’s “Whatever you like” by TI.)

The next song is for our hero who is falling in love. Conveniently titled, Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop.

I “discovered” Landon Pigg a few years ago, and am happy for his success – or at least that fact that tons of commercials have picked up his songs. This is a really sweet song, and I like his style. And one that ties in – the hero who is already in love, but… it didn’t work out. Come on – you know you’ve read/written the “oops it didn’t work out the first time, but lets try it again baby, because you’re the one who got away and I’ve never forgotten you or stopped thinking about you.” Again, aptly titled- Can’t Let Go.

Now we move on to the hero pining after the “unattainable” heroine. I love this song so hard. Yay Vertical Horizon – Everything You Want. You know – the hero who thinks the heroine should be with X guy (not him) who is so perfect because he (the hero) is too messed up for her… <3 <3 <3 “I am everything you want. I am everything you need. I am everything inside of you that you wish you could be. I say all the right the things at exactly the right time but I mean nothing to you and I don’t know why…”

And more angsty hero. [I like this song - it seems upbeat, but if you listen to the lyrics... it so isn't. So, so not.]

Seriously – the song title has nothing to do with it – and its not supposed to be dirty. But… Deep Inside of You. Who doesn’t love Third Eye Blind? Come on now. This also works as the “a-ha” moment a hero has. Maybe after a knock out thrown down fight he has with the heroine – after they’ve “broken up” as it were… I imagine this is how he’d feel.

This is another great song that fits somewhere in this close range of emotions. Voxtrot is under exposed and under appreciated. Especially this song.

More in love hero.

“I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I feel about you now…” And the whole saving part… come on now. This is the hero who is about to give in – willing to take a chance on that elusive thing we call love.

And… this is the hero ready to take a stab.

So here we have is All I Want, by Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Anyway, Mark McGrath is/was incredibly pretty. And he had a good voice. Rumor has it Sugar Ray is coming back. I have mixed feelings about the band – loved/hated their songs- but… this one is just so so… “Answer the phone… I know that you’re home…” Come on. This works for so many genres.

More happy – (ok so this post isn’t linear. Get over it.) This is perfect for when the hero discovers the heroine. Fascinating New Thing. Fits perfectly, yes? And who doesn’t like them a little Semisonic?

Then there’s Stand Inside Your Love. “You and me/ Meant to be/ Immutable/ Impossible/ Its destiny… You’re everything that I want and ask for … Who wouldn’t be the one you love? … You’re mine forever now…”

And… the happiest song here. The hero realizes he’s in love! And this is a good thing, and he’s happy about it. Anyway this song makes me happy too. And it is so cute. And perfect. “But I know one thing – that I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you…”

And finally… we end with Follow Through. I’ve never seen the video before now. Hello, Gavin Degraw. Seriously – “Oh, this is the start of something good…” The perfect song for the cautiously happy and upbeat happily ever after.

Heart. So – what do you think? Do any songs come to mind instantly as “hero anthems” for you? Have you read a book then heard a song, or thought of a song and said *this one*? This list is by no means comprehensive or exhaustive – but I had to limit myself.

ETA: And… this post might be a little… scattered, because it’s been a year in the making, marinating in the “back part” of the blog.

Limecello’s review of Anybody But Justin by Shelli Stevens
Contemporary romance released by Samhain Publishing 12 May 09

I love friends to lovers stories. There’s just something about them – the connection, history, inside jokes… so much goodness for an author to work with. Shelli Stevens puts a slight spin on her take, with Gabby and Justin being friends, but more like acquaintances or buddies. They have what I’d consider a “surface” friendship. And it works for them. I picked up this book because I loved the premise, it’s short, and I’ve been in the most awful reading slump.

As is a short story, I don’t want to over analyze it and risk ruining things or drag. Gabby and Justin were roommates, but one shared kiss freaked Gabby out, and she ran, moving out and avoiding Justin. Her reasons are that he’s a womanizer. What I actually really like about the story is how similar Gabby and Justin are. They both dated freely and often, and they’re happy with not settling down. Or they were while living together. It was pretty much an ideal roommate situation. Still, they were becoming really good friends and developing what could have been a great relationship, and Justin realizes it. This gives him depth, and makes him quite likable. (Who doesn’t cheer for the guy putting it all on the line to win the heart of his [true] love, right?)

Gabby’s reasons for breaking things off with Justin and not entering a relationship are valid, and important, but not too heavy. Gabby essentially works for a battered women’s shelter, and runs a program with a few of her friends and other co-workers. It was a nice secondary story that also explained a lot for Gabby, and kept her from being contradictory, or having a double standard, which could have been easy to assume.

In the end, I enjoyed reading about Gabby and Justin. They’re perfect together, and just work. It’s nice to read a relatively light story that still has substance and covers important issues. I’ll definitely be reading more of Ms. Steven’s books.

Grade: B-

The line between friends and lovers can get a little blurry…especially when you add tequila. A Chances Are story.

Gabby is serious about her search for Mr. Right, but no one can say she hasn’t had a good time looking. She enjoys her numerous dates and the sex that comes with them. Until she finds herself falling for the one man she vows to never love. Her best friend and roommate, Justin. A player in every sense of the word—and a reminder of her awful past.

One night, with the help of a bottle of tequila, things get a little too hot for comfort. She moves out, intent on removing him from the line of temptation.

Justin has different plans. The tequila did more than just change how he sees his good friend. It made him realize he doesn’t want to be just friends any more. He’s ready for something more intimate, and he’ll do whatever it takes to find out why she’s running. And convince her to stay.

Read an excerpt here.

Ok – so I’ve decided to celebrate random holidays each year. Last year it was the Chinese/Lunar New Year. This year, after a quick and random, totally unscientific twitter poll… it was decided 2010 I’d highlight Earth Day.

Being green is very popular now. I’m all for that. I’ve been accused of being a tree hugger, but I’m definitely not on top of everything. I don’t turn off all my electronics, etc – anyway there’s more I could be doing.

I’m not going to give a little Earth Day lesson, because you can find all the information online. I do like that it’s such an international holiday – more than 175 countries celebrate it each year!

I’ve been meaning to give away an ebook as well, so… what’s the prize? A copy of Maya Banks’ new and improved Colter’s Woman. That’s how I plan to celebrate Earth Day this year.

My question is then – what do you think about Earth Day? Did you ever celebrate it? Do you? And… if you read them, what book would you most like to see as an ebook? If you don’t read ebooks, why not?

Personally, I most want As You Desire by Connie Brockway to be released as an electronic book.

And because I’m always for more frivolity…well, me being me I’ve forgotten – so I’ll put it on you! Tell me something lighthearted and fun, that is relevant to this post! (Earth Day, ebooks…)

*NB: As usual, the winner will be announced in the comments. Contest closes a week from Friday.

Limecello’s review of The Earl’s Forbidden Ward by Bronwyn Scott
Historical romance released by Harlequin Historical 1 Mar 10

I now see the light. Or at least, a glimmer of it. I know Sybil and Wendy love Harlequin Historicals. My feelings toward them aren’t quite as warm, but now I think I’ve been unlucky in my choices. I decided to read this book, yes, based on the premise. Amazon suggested it, I love these story lines despite the fact that I think they’re hilariously wrong, and I bought it. I took a gamble that paid off, and now I want more. A lot more.

Tessa Branscombe is a model heroine, in my mind. I think that’s also why I liked the book so much. She’s a diplomat’s daughter, and has been acting as her father’s hostess for a number of years. Tessa is very sensible and intelligent. She knows she’s in danger, and nothing is as it seems. Essentially everything Tessa did made sense to me. It may not have been the best possible choice, but given what she knows and her circumstances, it’s the only available choice for her. I like that she didn’t blindly trust Peyton, even though her affections are engaged much more quickly. Tessa is protective, and capable as well. No, she couldn’t have saved herself, but that’s also an integral part of the story.

Peyton Ramsden, the Earl of Dursley, really makes me think “cold fish” from the outset of the book. As I read, however, he began to grow on me. Peyton has a lot more depth than one would think, but at the same time he’s flawed. He’s rather arrogant, but needs to be when he first took over the estate. Over a decade later he’s realized that may not have been ideal, but it was his way of coping. Peyton doesn’t think he’ll marry – and part of him is still a mystery to me. I didn’t think him entirely developed, but all the essential points are covered. He’s rich, smart, experienced, and desperately in love with Tessa. He’s also trying to protect his country’s interests and not let anyone know anything about whatever secret plans or ulterior motives he might be embroiled in.

I think there is a nice balance between plot and character focus. Events happen that put Tessa and Peyton together, and while no, not everything is believable, it works for the story. I like that Ms. Scott writes about Tessa’s frustrations in feeling bowled over and then Peyton’s determination to be the hero. It’s rather gripping.

I really like this story. I don’t even know what it was about this book – because when I think about it, the romance doesn’t particularly make sense. We are just supposed to believe that the hero and heroine fall in love… well, because they’re supposed to. Maybe I’m overthinking. (Then again, with more thought, I guess it works. She’s incredibly beautiful, smart, and capable – as well as being a novelty, and then he’s handsome, eligible, and incredibly protective and responsible. Okay, so it works.) I think I also like it because I’ve been in a horrendous reading slump, and I still managed to read this book in a day. Considering I’ve been reading next to nothing, that’s significant in my book.

I’m definitely interested in reading more books by Ms. Scott – I just wish she’d update her web page. Anyway, if you like historical romances, I definitely recommend this one. It’s sweet, but there’s enough intrigue and sophistication to keep it from being trite. The characters are definitely the focus, and it’s very well written. I have an inkling that the next book may be about Crispen, Peyton’s younger brother, and Petra. For once, I hope so. They seem to be “opposites” that would mesh perfectly. I’m definitely keeping an eye out for that story.

Grade: B-

Innocent debutante Tessa Branscombe senses that underneath her handsome guardian’s cool demeanor there is an intensely passionate nature. The arrogant earl infuriates her—yet makes her want to explore those hidden depths….

Peyton Ramsden, Earl of Dursley, has no time for girls—especially those who are suddenly given over to his care! Miss Tessa Branscombe, in particular, is trouble. She tempts this very proper earl to misbehave—and forbidden fruit always tastes that much sweeter.

Limecello’s review of Sweet Temptation by Maya Banks
Erotic romance released by Berkley Trade 6 Apr 10

I’m going to tell you a secret. I didn’t think I’d like this book. First of all, I didn’t really like the excerpt I read in the end of the previous book, Sweet Seduction (which I did love). Second, I’m really not into the whole pain/BDSM thing that Micah and Angelina are into. Nevertheless, I did like this story. I felt that there was a strong emotional connection, and the angst was believable. And I do love me some angsty heroes who suffer for love.

Now my second confession is that… I don’t think I would have liked this book as much if I hadn’t read Sweet Seduction. Specifically, one scene that essentially explains BDSM and how/why the participants enjoy it and don’t feel degraded or anything. While it still doesn’t float my boat, I understand and accept it does others’, and the characters’.

I believe that I compartmentalized Sweet Temptation. Really, I have no other way of explaining it. There’s the scene in Miami, which I didn’t like. Then the scenes in “The House” – which is basically a BDSM club – which I’m also not into. I’m not into spanking already, and when whips and stocks are brought out? So, those parts to me are fuzzier, or factor as “gratuitous smexiness” and not really into the development of Micah and Angelina’s relationship. [But let me tell you - they are hot - especially later on in the book.]

Yet at the same time it does. Micah seeing Angelina at the house makes him realize that she’s grown up, is a woman, and a sexual being. I love the forbidden love story lines, and that’s at play here. Micah used to be in a ménage à trois [Dear God not a menage a trio - I want to smack anyone who writes that. Or cry when I see it] – and Angelina is the younger sister of the other male in the former relationship. Anyway, it’s the whole “she’s the kid sister of my best friend” type of unreachable woman story. Added to the fact that Micah’s wife and Angelina’s brother are dead… well, there’s survivor’s guilt as well. On both their parts, and that helps bring them together as well. (It’s also strange to think of Micah as a widower… yet fitting.)

I loved that Angelina had a “wake up” moment, wherein she realizes she can’t make Micah love her, and trying to integrate herself into his life if unwanted is not good. This really excuses so much of her other actions in the book which might have annoyed me otherwise. (What also helps is the fact that Micah is mad for her, and everyone knows it but him, so he  does need a bit of nudging.) Angelina also has some really stupid moments, but they weren’t too bad, and when it really counts she makes good choices.

Micah Hudson is… well, he’s a sexy bad boy that keeps himself removed from everyone. He’s a good friend but has secrets, even from those he’s closest to. Sweet Temptation also shows the network of incredible friends Micah has developed, which also makes him a dynamic character. I liked that he struggled with himself, and had to suffer the potential loss of Angelina. I love a tortured hero, and Micah does his fair share of suffering.

The plot and really smutty scenes (and there are a few of them – after all, this is Micah’s and Angelina’s story – it’s them, and part of them, and … almost necessary, in a way) were almost like different stories for me. I liked the plot, but wasn’t that surprised to learn who the villain was. (I also figured it out early.) Ms. Banks had mentioned a “huge plot twist”  – but I wasn’t blown away. In fact, I asked her if I had missed something. (I didn’t.)

I suppose I looked at what occurred as a rational and logical consequence or conclusion. Maybe it was a bit convenient but… then again, not – it was realistic. (And yes I’m being purposefully vague to avoid spoilers.) So in the end… I liked this book, and I plan on re-reading it. It’s still not my favorite of the series, but at this point it’s second on my “Sweet” list. I also have to give a “shout out” to the secondary characters. Most of them have gotten their own books, and I love revisiting with them, and seeing how their relationships are developing, both romantically, and then the friendship angle with the other couples. It’s fantastic.

I will have to say though, that I highly anticipate Conner’s book, and I expect to like it more than Micah’s. The question will be if I like it more than Nathan and Julie’s book (and as I said – I loved Sweet Seduction.) So if you’re a fan of Ms. Bank’s writing, and especially the Sweet series, I do recommend that you read this book. If you like a sweeter story, as opposed to something scorching hot… perhaps you might wait for Conner’s book. And as an aside… I really want Cole to get his story – so Ms. Banks, if you see this (or her publisher) … please give us Cole’s story!

Grade: B

Summary:

He was a by-the-book cop who broke the rules in the bedroom…

Micah Hudson has painful secrets he’s run hard from. He has new friends, a new life, but he’s about to be confronted with the one person who reminds him of all he’s tried to forget—Angelina, the sister of his oldest friend David. She knows everything about his past, including how he and David fell in love with the same woman, and how they decided the best way to prevent her from tearing them apart was to share her between them. But then a terrible accident left Micah alone…

She was willing to do anything to make him see the woman she’d become…

Micah lost the two people who meant the most in the world to him. Angelina lost her only family. And she kept her deepest secret close to her heart. Her love for Micah. No longer willing to wait, she decides it’s time to go after him and bring him to his knees. She knows his secrets, his desires, his kinks and fetishes, and she’ll use whatever it takes to reel him in. Behind the easy going, loves women exterior lies a man with dark needs and passions. She can give him what he wants. But will he decide she’s what he needs?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Limecello’s review of Money Man’s Fiancée Negotiation by Michelle Celmer
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire 13 Apr 10

I generally enjoy Michelle Celmer’s books a lot. I liked Money Man’s Fiancée Negotiation as well, but I kept thinking “is this a mislabeled Harlequin Presents?” I don’t think I’ve ever felt the two lines were so similar as when I was reading this book. There’s so much going on. Secret Pregnancy. Amnesia. Runaway Mistress. Fake Fiancée. Revenge. Who could resist? This is part of the Kings of the Boardroom miniseries, and I’m definitely going to read all of the books in it.

As I said, this book is packed with what seems like every Harlequin trope there ever was. While it could easily be too much, generally it works. However, there is a glaring “can he or can’t he” issue that I feel should have been dealt with differently -and is the premise of the entire book. So, we can’t have logic winning over plot, right?

I want to say that Melody Trent is your typical Harlequin heroine, but she’s not. She is after her accident (once she has amnesia) – and you find out that’s how she always was secretly… but with Ash, she’s this vixen, exhibitionist almost pushy sexual being. It’s… interesting to say the least. Odd, but necessary to justify Ash’s immediate conclusions about her. I feel that Melody’s character is incomplete, and possibly contradictory. It didn’t seem sufficiently explained why Melody is so not herself when she is with Ash, pre-amnesia.

Ash Williams is a jerk, really. And most, if not all, of the problems that occur are his fault. I suppose I didn’t like how easily everything worked out for him. It seems like he got a free pass for being an incredible asshole. Aside from that, Ash is nice… it seems he actually does want a relationship and a ‘softer’ woman. He’s likable, but not. However, he does begin to change – slowly, and I feel an entirely new facet to her person is revealed when he met with his ex-wife. (Oh yeah, there’s one of those too. She’s not evil -anymore- though.)

I think it’s also because I never like the revenge story line of “well I hate her and think she’s horrible, so I’m going to make her fall in love with me then dump her ass so she suffers.” That concept creates no end of cognitive dissonance for me. I just… don’t understand it. The fact that Ash does feel guilty and knows he’s wrong does help redeem him a bit.

Although I have a number of issues with the book, everything did fall into place nicely. And Ms. Celmer writes a strong romance. I’m definitely looking forward to what she’ll write next, as well as the next installment to this miniseries.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Finally, after an intensive search Ash Williams had found his runaway mistress. Melody Trent couldn’t even remember him, but Ash was determined to discover the truth. Had he fathered her child? And the only way to bring her to his home was to claim her as his fiancée—even if she had no memory of him whatsoever. At Maddox Communications he could handle any crisis with icy calm. Even so, having Melody back in his life—amnesia or no—would mean using all his resolve to keep his heart from ruling his head.

Read an excerpt.

So… you might remember my part 2 of 3 post awhile back, titled Speak, Boo Boo, Speak. I wanted you to know that winners have been chosen and notified, and prizes have gone out.
First up, there’s the grand prize winner who got a copy of Leave Me Breathless by the fabulous HelenKay Dimon. Names of winners haven’t been added to protect the guilty. (Of course if they want to step up and say in the comments, that’s great. It’s just I was threatened with dire consequences by some of the entrants if I revealed their identities.)

Dear Helen Kay,

Notice that I’m spelling your name the proper way. Why do you smash the Helen and Kay together? That’s really weird. Do you do it on purpose, or did your parents do that to you? Can they speak English?

Anyway, I wanted to write to you for advice. I keep trying to write a book but can never get past the first page. Can you help me? Maybe if you read my page you could give me advice. And don’t give me some bullshit legaleze about being unable to read unpublished work. No one has to know except you and me, and I’m totally trustworthy. I would never sue you, even if your next book was a complete ripoff of my ideas.

Thank you for your time, and I’m enclosing the page. Please read it. If you don’t, I’m going to make sure everyone knows how selfish you are, and no one will ever read your books again. (That’s not a threat, just a fact, because if you’re a selfish person, I just think people should know.)

Your fan,

Wanna Be

And we have a second winner, who got a book by Larissa Ione (Pleasure Unbound). I’d like to note at this point, that there was a panel of 3+ impartial judges who picked winners. Because I totally wouldn’t have picked this one. (Kidding!)

Dear HelenKay Dimon, Larissa Ione, Jaci Burton, and Lauren Dane.

I know you receive a lot of fan mail. Some of it questionable. However, I am not a nutjob. I read your books, I put them up and other than sacrificing a newborn kitten every year on the release date, they stay on the keeper shelf waiting to be re-read.

I’m writing today about Limecello

For years now I’ve read her blog. Her reviews make my change purse jingle. Sometimes she’s made my Amazon account sob. And ooo the times I’ve giggled!! Even when she gets snippy and tart she’s still a wonderful blogger gal.

So in her honor I’m sending you this list of things to make out of limecello…

With Limecello juice you can make:
Margarita
Lime Pie
Lime Marinade to soak meat in

With any jiggly bits:
Lime Jello Mold

Crunchy bits:
Crispy Lime Cookies
Lucious Lime Crusty Chicken

So for the sweet, savory, jiggly and the crusty end this letter with a heartfelt appeal to you. Please Authors, send me Limecello’s address so I can GPS her and squeeze the juice outta her. Feel free to roll her around on the countertop to soften her up before I get there.

Signed,

Freaky Fruit Freak.

So there you have it. And stay tuned to part 3/3 of my “Boo Boo series” (Hah!) That will go live… you know. Some time. Up for grabs there will be a copy of Jill Shalvis’s baseball book Double Play. (And possibly others. Or not. We’ll see how the wind blows. ‘Cuz that’s how we roll.)

Limecello’s review of Instant Temptation by Jill Shalvis
Contemporary romance released by Brava 30 Mar 10

Jill Shalvis is now one of the authors whose new releases I keep an eye out for. I’m quite curious as to her next books. (Hopefully I’ll love them as much as I liked the Wilder brother’s books.) Instant Temptation is T.J.’s book, and I’d been waiting for it since the first book, Instant Attraction. This book has so many things I like about it. The story is based on a friends to lovers issue – a girl who is trying to move on with her life, a guy who is essentially running away from his… it’s good stuff.

Harley is not quite the heroine I was expecting. First of all, she’s a mechanic. In the previous books, she’s generally wearing dirty coveralls. Harley is also a student, but we’ve mostly met her in work mode, not science mode, and, well, this is stereotyping, I suppose, but with a name like Harley… she’s not entirely a tom boy, but doesn’t shy away from girly girl stuff either. (I distinctly remember nail polish, and girly magazines.)

I like that Harley is trying to do something with her life, and that she feels responsible for her family, but while it’s stressful for her, she doesn’t resent them. It shows great emotional depth and that she’s a very generous and loving person – and that she and her family are close. (Her family also doesn’t wish to be a burden, which helps.) Harley is a strong and likable character, and I’m glad that things end up nicely for her.

T.J. seems to be the most elusive, least friendly Wilder brother. Of course he’s also hot, and a really good guy – just not that approachable. He and Harley have always had chemistry or a spark, but they’ve always been dating other people. In fact, at the beginning of the book, Harley has a boyfriend. (Admittedly, I love that – it adds so many complex dynamics to a developing relationship, and really forces the hero to be introspective, and proactive.) I like that T.J. cares so much for Harley, and it’s entertaining how entirely blindsided he is by his emotions and what he now wants.

Friends to lovers stories are some of my favorite romance novel premises- and Harley and T.J. actually have a past as well. I really like how Ms. Shalvis deals with it – both when revealing what had happened – and why Harley is so curt with T.J., and how he reacts. Of course the chemistry is incredible between T.J. and Harley, and yet it’s a lot of fun too. This is a humorous, sexy, well written story. (I hate spoilers so I’m purposefully vague.)

I also enjoyed the cameo appearances by the other characters from the previous books – and feel that the series ended nicely. I like all three books in this trilogy, but I will say that Instant Gratification is my favorite – in fact it is one of my favorite books of 2009. Instant Temptation and Instant Attraction are close seconds. I’m sad to see it end, and I know I’ll be re-reading all of these books. I definitely recommend you read the Instant trilogy – and especially Stone’s book (Instant Gratification). I also know I’ll be reading Ms. Shalvis’s future books- and likely catching up on her back list when I get a moment.
Grade: A–

T.J. Wilder is the perfect package of breathtaking adventure and raw sex appeal. Even better, he’s about to reconnect with the one woman he’s never been able to forget…

Get Your Pulse Racing

To Harley, the landscape around Wishful, California, is exhilarating, untamed, and more than a little dangerous. The same could be said for T.J. Wilder, who’s invited himself along on her trek to study a rare coyote. Harley’s career is riding on this trip, and she doesn’t need a stubborn, incredibly sexy distraction. But T.J. is a professional guide who knows when to stay back and when to provide invaluable expertise–just like he’s done since they were in high school. And Harley, as usual, is torn between throttling him and giving in to the raw attraction that’s been smoldering all these years.

T.J. knows how proud and capable Harley is, but he’s damned sure not letting her put herself at risk when there are illegal hunters in the area. She needs him, with the same soul-stirring urgency that he’s always craved her. And here, in this beautiful place days from civilization, he’ll finally have a chance to prove it–over and over again. . .

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Veiled Desire by Alisha Rai
Contemporary romance released by Samhain Publishing 2 Feb 10

This is the first book I read by Alisha Rai, but it definitely won’t be the last. Veiled Desire also has so many of my favorite romance themes. The friends to lovers aspect. Then the “forbidden romance” – Leyla is Mason’s best friend’s older sister. I had high expectations going in and Ms. Rai did not disappoint. I can’t wait to read her next book.

Leyla is a special character, in that she seems to be full of subtle contradictions. She’s quite conservative outwardly, but in private (in really private) settings, she’s quite adventurous. I liked that Leyla is so real. She’s a mother figure, and wants to make sure everything is smooth, and resolved, and everyone is happy. Difficult when she’s one of the principle actors in the conflict, as it were, but it’s how her personality is.

I found Mason to be cute and quirky. He’d be a great hero for anyone, but he’s the perfect fit for Leyla, and the fact that he’s best friends with her little brother Sasha makes it priceless. I like that Mason is so determined to pursue Leyla, and that he understands and respects her. Mason is all in from the start, and it’s clear how invested he is in making the romance work, and maintaining all relationships – romantic, and platonic.

I enjoyed Ms. Rai’s sense of humor. It’s a bit wry, and tongue in cheek. The characters can be self deprecating in the best way possible, and they’re just random enough to be refreshing, but not confusing or over the top. It worked for me. Everything is connected, and complete. The characters are realistic, and true to themselves, all changes felt natural, and believable.

The interpersonal relationships are also great – Sasha provides another way to view Leyla, and that givesher a lot of depth. The outraged brother also provides humor, and I love the conversations between Mason and Sasha. The fact that they’re all friends also adds another layer to the story, and more warmth. I’m definitely looking forward to Sasha’s story, which I believe will be out in a few months. If you want to read a fun, sexy contemporary romance, I recommend  Veiled Desire.

Grade: B-

Leyla Karimi can’t keep her eyes off the hunky guy living in the house behind her. How could any woman resist ogling Dr. Mason Barrett, especially when he makes it so easy by parading around in his skin and skivvies?

If it was only their age difference, she would have made a move a long time ago. Except Mason is more than a neighbor. He’s her baby brother’s oldest friend. It’s not like they can have a casual fling and walk away in the morning.

Mason’s been doing a little lusting—okay a lot—for quite some time. When he catches Leyla peeking, it’s a sure sign she could finally be ready to heat up his nights with loving. One taste of her lips, though, and he doesn’t want a “little” of anything. He wants it all.

Unwilling to jeopardize a lifetime of friendship for a one-night stand, Leyla is reluctant to throw caution to the wind. When he’s kissing her senseless, though, it’s hard to remember all the reasons why she should hold back…

Warning: Contains a hot hero who doesn’t mind baring it all in the name of love, a heroine who doesn’t settle for less, a sweet romance, steamy sex in a car and more good lovin’ in bed.

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Back in Black by Lori Foster
Contemporary romance released by Berkley 2 Feb 10

This is the last book in Lori Foster’s Supreme Battle Championship (SBC) series, and I have mixed feelings about that. To be honest, I’m glad the series is over. (But I know I feel differently about series than a number of people.) About this book particularly, I liked it more than I thought I might, but not as much as I hoped I would. Ms. Foster used to be one of my favorite romance authors, but at this point, I get her books from the library, not store.

I will say, I was pleased this book was a straight contemporary romance. I tried to read My Man Michael and could not. I have a feeling much of the positive feedback has to do with the fact that this book is “back to business as usual.” As the last book, however, I felt that Ms. Foster had more she wanted, and it felt like there were four main characters, as opposed to a primary and secondary romance. Consequently, it seemed that the characters all got a bit cheated in their romances.

Nevertheless, Gillian Noode is the main female love interest. Gillian is one of Ms. Foster’s better heroines. She’s smart, successful, self confident, and in control of her own life. I liked her personality, and the fact that she’s willing to hold her own in a fight. Of course sexing wins over ethics, but that’s a romance, right? (Okay, so that did bother me, but I know it could have been worse…) I also liked that Gillian was flexible, and understood Drew, and people in general.

Drew Black is a great character when you list his attributes. However, he seemed a bit unrealistic to me. (Somehow, a perfect hero just felt off to me.) He’s not a fighter, but is essentially in charge of the SBC. That’s fine and perfectly reasonable. He holds his own, he’s a genius at business… essentially there’s nothing wrong with him except for his potty mouth [couldn't resist] and bad temper. But oh wait! Somehow those are good too! [So, yes, maybe I found him a bit too shiny.] Drew is a guy any woman would be glad to have, but nothing stood out to me about him. Ultimately, and unfortunately, Drew is forgettable.

The secondary romance really wanted to be a primary romance. It wasn’t, however, and thus felt a bit choppy. There were cameo appearances by characters from the other books. I normally enjoy that, but this time I actually had almost forgotten who most of them were until a good way into the book. Still, it was adorable how Drew was subtly trying to woo and feel out Gillian.

I get the sense or impression that Ms. Foster doesn’t much like females. I’ve never met her, but I’m sure that’s not how she is in person. It’s just the way she writes female characters. They’re generally incredibly naive, and unrealistic, clueless, and helpless. Or, just bat shit crazy. But not in the general sense where we all know someone who is like that – but pretty much a psychopath. I don’t know if it’s possible to be ‘written out’ but seems Ms. Foster is rehashing a lot plot devices.

Nevertheless, aside from those issues, the story was well written. The chemistry between the characters is very real, and enjoyable to read. For the end of a series the story arc felt rather open ended, but the romances were definitely complete. I knew Drew and Gillian were madly in love, and would be together forever.

If you’ve read the previous books in the series, or are a huge fan of Ms. Foster, I do recommend you read this book. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Foster writes next. Hopefully, it’s something new, complete with the great character interaction she creates.

Grade: C

SBC president Drew Black is as controversial as they come. But the hot-headed entrepreneur is a perfect match for his popular sports club venture: uncompromising and extreme. Maybe too extreme. With a reputation for saying what he thinks, Drew’s been causing a lot of friction. That’s why someone’s been called in to clean up his image—before he does any permanent damage.

The lucky lady is Gillian Noode, a PR expert who’s smoothed out the rough edges on many a man. But Drew is rougher than anyone she’s ever met, and he refuses to change for any woman, for any reason. To make matters more complicated, Gillian’s starting to like him raw. Now, opposites aren’t only attracting, they’re igniting. But in the rising heat, which one of them will end up on top?

Read an excerpt here.