Sandy M’s review of Moon Burning (Children of the Moon, Book 3) by Lucy Monroe
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 1 Feb 11

I lovelovelovelove this series by Lucy Monroe. And Moon Burning is my favorite so far. I’m totally intrigued with Barr – a wolf – and Sabrine – a raven – and their totally opposite personalities and beliefs. Barr is the confident laird with the responsibility of an entire clan, Sabrine his enemy, a warrior and spy with the responsibility to locate her people’s lost magical artifact to prevent their extinction. So much conflict between them, but also so much heat, emotion, respect, and admiration. They’re a mesmerizing couple.

Barr has been sent by the Sinclair laird to lead the Donegal people and to train their young heir to be the future laird of their rundown, fearful clan. He’s learning their previous laird led with a brutal hand, but he himself is a fair leader and knows he’ll get to the bottom of the underhandedness to give these people their peaceful and happy lives back. On a hunt he’s stunned to come upon a naked woman in the woods. Carrying her to the castle, he feels a connection to her, something he’s never had happen before. He knows she’s keeping secrets, but he’s determined to find out everything he needs to know about this fascinating woman.

Her people have kept their lives separate and secret from others like them. Sabrina has sacrificed everything in her life to be the warrior she now is to keep their world safe from those who would destroy them – Faol. Wolf. She goes a step further, decides to infiltrate the Donegal clan, knowing someone there has to be the one who stole the legacy that keeps her people from dying out. Her brother’s coming of age celebration is imminent, and Sabrine vows to have done her job before that time so that her brother, her people’s future leader, will mature into the man, with all of his magical powers, he’s meant to be. The roadblock she runs into is Barr. He’s Faol, but he’s also much more and Sabrine finds herself wanting to be with him more and more, despite the man’s arrogance.

I love reading about these two characters. They’re perfect together. Sabrine is right, Barr is arrogant but he wears it humbly. He knows his mind, he speaks his mind, and he goes for what he wants, which isn’t much as laird. But when Sabrine comes into his life, he knows she’s meant for him and he’s going to keep her. In doing so he’s alpha to the core but also very romantic about it. Sabrine, little by little, has to let go of her prejudices against wolves and also let go of her warrior self just a tad to give herself permission to love, to have a life of her own. And she has to trust. Especially her new-found wolf. She almost waits too late to do that totally. The scene where Barr realizes he doesn’t have her trust as he thought he did is one of the best of the book. Ms. Monroe does a wonderful job of showing his emotion in that scene.

There is also a side story with Earc, Barr’s right-hand man, and Verica, the clan’s healer. They’ve been dancing around one another for a while, and when things heat up concerning the former laird, Earc steps up to the plate and claims Verica. Their banter and interaction is just as much fun as Barr’s and Sabrine’s. And speaking of the former laird, what a piece of evil work he is. He’s the reason the clan is voracious in giving trust to Barr. At least those who are worth their salt. The others who still fear for their lives have to be wooed, and Barr is very good at that. There are beautiful little nuggets like these throughout the book – the  that pull everything together for such an emotional, humorous, magical, and romantic read.

Though I know better than to ask an author, “How much longer till your next book in this series?” or “Can’t you write faster??”, Lucy Monroe is one who I’d trip over my tongue for, because those questions would be asked one on top of the other. I lovelovelovelove her work!

Grade: A+

Summary:

Barr never asked to be made laird over the struggling Donegal clan, or leader of its werewolf pack. But he’ll do his duty and although he hasn’t yet found his mate, he hopes she will be among his people. He expects his new role to be difficult; he doesn’t expect to discover a naked woman in the forest whose memory is as fragile as her human body—her delectable, all too appealing body. Could this woman be his true mate?

On a mission to save her people from extinction, Sabrine pretends she has no memory in order to gain access to her enemy: the Donegal clan. A raven shifter, she is determined to retrieve the sacred stone that rightfully belongs to her people. But soon she’ll be engulfed in her burning desire and growing love for Barr—and the dangerous and inescapable secrets destined to keep them apart…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

I always have such a hard time pulling out the books I really like from a previous year. Yes, there’s too many, but it’s also difficult because sometimes you can’t choose because you can’t compare books in different genres. Though I read mostly historical and paranormal, I also enjoy contemps and romantic suspense a lot. Thus, I poured over my entire 2010 review list, chose those that I really loved, and then the difficulty began in whittling it down. My biggest hurdle is books from a series, if an author released more than one book in the year. Sometimes one of many stood out. Sometimes I couldn’t choose one over the other and sometimes I could. In that case, I’ve cheated and listed all the books I loved in that series.     It’s my list and I can do what I want!

So here they are:

10.  The Taming of the Wolf by Lydia Dare

While I’ve so far enjoyed all of the books in this series, it’s the hero, Dashiel, who stole my heart and has ended up my favorite of the series. Lydia Dare has stayed true to her characters and given readers solid, consistent, and intriguing stories. See my TTotW review here.

9.   Lessons From a Scarlet Lady by Emma Wildes

As I said in in my review of this book, it’s a breath of fresh air. Emma Wildes writes a terrific couple who I loved to read about. They kept my interest the entire book, and I wanted more of them when I was done reading. I’m a new fan for sure.

8.   Broken by Shiloh Walker

It would be surprising to me if a Shiloh Walker book didn’t make my Top 10. She’s become a favorite very quickly and she’s never once disappointed me. Though I also enjoyed Fragile, it was Quinn who caught my interest and I anxiously awaited his story. I love a broken, tortured hero and Quinn fit the bill to a T. Read about him here.

7. The Fire Lord’s Lover by Kathryne Kennedy

I became a huge fan of Kathryne Kennedy from the first book of her Relics of Merlin series and was really disappointed when I found she’s not been able to write more it at this point in time. But with her imagination, I shouldn’t have worried at all. Ms. Kennedy has given us another series that is simply awesome. The Fire Lord’s Lover is a perfect start and I can’t wait for more. My review is here.

6.  Raising Kane by Lorelei James – Shoulda Been a Cowboy, Cowgirls Don’t Cry & Slow Ride short story

I can never get enough of Lorelei James. Her stories are real, as are her characters. She doesn’t pretty up a book if tragedy is called for, and in doing so she tugs so hard on your heartstrings it ain’t funny. Her cowboys walk the walk and talk the talk. Her love scenes range from intense and raw to fun and lighthearted. You get everything in a Lorelei James book. Every book she released in 2010 is a Top 10, but Raising Kane is my fave. See my RK review here.

5.   Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman by Lorraine Heath

Lorraine Heath has been a favorite of mine since I read her Texas trilogy and nothing changed when I read her first Regency. She’s simply and truly wonderful. I loved this entire London’s Greatest Lovers trilogy, but it’s Stephen’s story that I really remember. I had my doubts about him, as I said in my review, but he turned out to be one of those heroes you’ll never, ever forget.

4.   Moon Craving by Lucy Monroe

You know those books you wait for? And wait for? Forever, it seems? Moon Craving is one of those for me. I fell in love with Lucy Monroe’s werewolves in her first book, Moon Awakening, in her Children of the Moon series, and I wanted more. But it took a few years for that next one. The wait was worth it, however. Another terrific story for Monroe and paranormal fans. Read my review here.

3.   The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks – No Place to Run

I have so fallen in love with the Kelly Family in Maya Banks’ KGI series. Especially those Kelly boys. They’re alpha and yummy and they still obey their parents. And they fall hard when they find their heroines. So, hell, what’s not to love?? Read about those Kelly boys here.

2.   Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh – Play of Passion & Blaze of Memory

Nalini Singh is one of those authors who you’re going to love no matter what she puts on the page. I can’t imagine anyone arguing with that, if they’ve read any of her books. Bonds of Justice takes the No. 1 spot – by a very narrow margin over Play of Passion – for me of her books in 2010 because I sobbed reading this book. I very, very rarely cry when reading. It takes something so very special for me shed a tear while reading, but when it happens, I remember it. So due to my full-out sobbing near the end of BoJ, I’ll never forget Max and Sophia. Read my review about them here.

Now for my No 1. pick, I couldn’t decide between these two books, so they’re co-winners. They win not only for the story, the worlds the authors have created, but also for the beautiful, lyrical, haunting writing these authors possess. It takes an awesome author to be able to keep momentum and creativity and imagination in a series going, to make the next book better than the last. Both of these authors have those things down pat. I never have to hope the next book will disappoint me because it won’t be as good as the first or the one just prior. I know the next book will be even better.

1.  Haunting Warrior by Erin Quinn & Crown of Crystal Flame by C.L. Wilson

Erin Quinn’s Haunting series is just that, haunting. In storyline. In characters. In writing. Absolutely stunning all the way around. I am breathlessly waiting for the next installment this April. I will have myself locked in my room until that book is finished.

C.L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul series was a treat and a treasure to read. This last installment brought everything together for an absolutely stunning ending that left readers gasping. The way this woman strings words together is just amazing. I’m sad this series is now complete, but readers of the series know that their favorite characters will be featured in future books. That’s worth waiting for.

Notice I used “absolutely stunning” for each of these authors. Wasn’t a mistake. Completely intentional. Cuz it just is.

Because I had a huge list picked out before I cut it down to my Top 10, I do want to give mention to those that just barely missed the cut.  So here are my Honorable Mentions in no particular order :

Drink of Me & Stealing Kathryn by Jacquelyn Frank – An imagination that is just awesome!

Shadows at Midnight by Elizabeth Jennings – I know Ash didn’t care for this one, but it’s on my keeper shelf!

Taming the Highland Bride & The Hellion and the Highlander by Lynsay Sands – I love Lynsay Sands! I need to start reading her vamps…

Legend of the White Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf & Wolf Fever by Terry Spear – Yuuuuuuuuuuumy werewolves!

A Highlander’s Homecoming by Melissa Mayhue – Time travel. Scottish Highlanders. One of the best at both!

Marked & Entwined by Elisabeth Naughton – Zodiac warriors to die for! Also try her Stolen series.

Naked Edge by Pamela Clare – Hawt love scenes! Oh, and a great mystery and thrilling suspense too!

A Kiss to Kill by Nina Bruhns – Oh my! I want more, more, more!

Infamous by Suzanne Brockmann – I love her romances within a romance. And I love this cowboy!

The Chief by Monica McCarty – I love this concept of Highlander Special Ops! Fun, intense, and so romantic!

Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison – Debut author done good. Terrific and dark!

Shut Up & Kiss Me by Christie Craig – Only humorous book on my list. There’s a reason for that. She’s one of the very best!

Destined to Last by Alyssa Johnson – Beautifully written with such engaging characters. Can’t wait to see what she does next!

The Treasure Keeper by Shana Abe – Dragons! ‘Nuff said.

And even I have a few books that didn’t make the grade for me in 2010. Mikey really doesn’t like everything!

4.   Mad, Bad and Blonde by Cathie Linz

Waaaaaaaaaay too much snipping and sniping and insulting going on between the hero and heroine for me. It went on and on. And on. And on. And on. And that’s too bad because the first part of the book is good. Right up until the heroine went blonde. See my review here.

3.    Time Storm by Samanta Winston

Sigh. Even the time travel didn’t help this book. We only get to know the characters through their fucking. Pirates and danger and all that goes with it was okay, as was the time travel, but it just wasn’t put together to keep my interest. I remember being glad it’s a short story. My review can be read here.

2.   Tomorrow is Another Day novella by Sandra Hill in the Ladies Prefer Rogues anthology

Even the play on Gone with the Wind didn’t save this novella. The characters didn’t work for me either all because of their attitudes. At least the time travel element worked. Guess I should be grateful for that. My review is here.

1.   Passionate Pleasures by Bertrice Small

This book is just a mess all the way around. The characters are likable but that’s about it. It felt like Ms. Small just tried too hard to write erotic romance. I think her niche is historicals and she should stick with that. You can read my review here.

Sandy M’s review of The Sicilian’s Marriage Arrangement by Lucy Monroe
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 1 Feb 07

This isn’t a book that I’ve had in line to read or review, mostly because of its age and I acquired it just recently in a box of books someone gave away. Then something I don’t normally do, I forgot to take my current read with me when running errands the other day.  Deciding to stop for lunch, I wanted to read. Imagine my surprise and flash of pissed off that I didn’t have my book with me. But then I remembered the box of books in my car. Ha! Sometimes things just work out, and this time I chose 1) Harlequin Presents because Lynne Connolly’s reviews of late have made me curious, since I haven’t read the line in absolute ages, and 2) Lucy Monroe is a favorite of mine, so I decided to give this particular HP a chance just because it’s her title.

I was gong to say I’m pleasantly surprised I enjoyed the book just because it’s a Harlequin Presents. Not that Presents aren’t good books now and again, as Lynne attests to in her reviews, but maybe because I remember the old Presents I read eons ago. I know I more than likely wouldn’t care for those today, because I know my tastes in romance have dramatically changed from those days. And, of course, it goes without saying that I like this one because it’s a Lucy Monroe book. That’s not to say I don’t have an issue or two with it, but for the most part I did enjoy it.

Hope is a shy young woman, blending into the background at her grandfather’s soirees after her hostess duties are complete, even ducking out and no one even notices. So on New Year’s Eve, she’s torn on whether to stay around for midnight when all the kissing will be going on. There’s no one for her to kiss and ring in the new year with. But out of the blue, dark and sexy Luciano, a business associate of her grandfather’s and the man she’s dreamed about for five years, disses a leggy blonde model and sweeps Hope into his arms for the kiss of her life. And his.

Stunned at the depth of his reaction to kissing Hope, Luciano hightails it out of the party, not to see Hope again for six months. And only then he seeks her out because her grandfather is holding all the cards, forcing him to marry Hope or lose more than his pride. Seeing Hope again in Greece, where she is enjoying her European tour, brings on a jealous rage when he spies her holding hands with a man. Stretching the truth and Hope’s patience just a bit, he hijacks her evening and the rest of her tour.

Hope isn’t sure what to make of Luciano’s sudden attention, but she’s not about to push the man away when he’s making her dreams of being with him finally come true. They end up in Palermo, Luciano’s home, and a relentless pursuit ensues until Hope agrees to marriage, a union that agrees with her when Luciano introduces her to the pleasurable world of lovemaking.

Of course, we know something has to happen to eclipse such happiness, and this is about the only nitpick I have with the book. It’s misunderstanding time. Luciano overhears a phone conversation between Hope and her grandfather, which leads him to believe she’s been in on the blackmail from the beginning, and he treats her thusly. Hope can’t figure out why her husband suddenly doesn’t want to touch her, why he’s now taking trips abroad and leaving her alone. And it’s not as easy as Luciano thinks it is to walk away.

I like these two characters a lot. Hope flourishes with Luciano. He’s of the old world, wants a wife who will stay at home and have his babies, but he learns to adjust quickly to certain things when dealing with a modern woman, especially when hurt and she’s pissed off at him. But at least they eventually do talk and work things out, so that makes up a little for the misunderstanding and assumptions on Luciano’s part.

I know it’s mostly due to Ms. Monroe’s writing that  I like this book so well, but because of that I do think I will try more Harlequin Presents in the future. As they say, I’ll never know what I find until I try.

Grade: B-

Summary:

Hope Bishop is stunned when darkly sexy Sicilian tycoon Luciana di Valerio proposes marriage. Brought up by her wealthy but distant grandfather, she is used to fading into the background. But Luciano’s sensual lovemaking makes her feel vibrantly alive. Hope falls in love with her husband and is blissfully happy—until she discovers that Luciano married her to fulfill his own ruthless agenda…!

Read an excerpt.

I want to try to do something different here. Recently I read two books from the Harlequin Presents/Mills and Boon Modern line. One I really enjoyed and one I thought a complete disaster, but they had similar tropes – Greek tycoon hero, virginal heroine. I’ve enjoyed books from both authors in the past, but these just happened to be at either end of the spectrum and it goes a long way to explain why I read category romance, particularly this line.

Both books use well-worn tropes of the line, but where one was big fat fail, the other did it with humor and some originality. So I’ll try to see how and why this works. And I have to add the caveat here that these are solely my opinions. You might love them, or hate and love them in exactly the opposite way that I do. It sounds far too personal to put it like that, but reading is an intensely personal experience. And I hate to condemn a book and think that I’m stopping someone somewhere from a pleasurable read.

Okay, so breaking the book down into its components, here are the setups of each:

The Shy Bride by Lucy Monroe
1 Jul 10 – Contemporary Romance

Neo Stamos is a workaholic, so his partner and friend, Zephyr, buys him piano lessons in an auction. Every year, ex concert pianist Cassandra Baker offers piano lessons for a charity auction. The lessons are to take place in her home. She usually gets teenagers, whose parents want their children to take lessons with her, but this year she gets Neo.

Cass is a virgin in her late twenties, but she isn’t saving herself, and she hasn’t somehow slipped into virgin-hood. When she was a concert pianist, driven by an ambitious parent, she didn’t have time, and after that period of her life came to a close, she developed agoraphobia. Cass doesn’t go out.

She is attracted to Neo, but she gives him lessons for six weeks before their relationship develops. Neo knows about her condition, there are no Big Misunderstandings, and they begin to admit that they care for each other. When Neo takes her virginity, she gives it willingly and he treats her with care and respect, even though neither of them sees a long-term relationship at this stage. Of course, it develops from there.

Read an excerpt.

His Penniless Beauty by Julia James
1 Jul 10 – Contemporary Romance

Nikos accompanies a young friend to a club and finds that the woman he once loved, Sophie, is working there as a ‘hostess.’ He suspects the worst and is furious.

Sophie has lost all her money, and her father is in an expensive nursing home after a stroke has left him helpless. All her earnings as an assistant in a shoe shop and a hostess go to his fees. When Nikos met her, she was a music student, a protected, loved child, and innocent. Nikos fell in love with her and wanted to marry her, but she rejected him. He thinks she betrayed him.

Nikos doesn’t want the news of Sophie, his ex fiancée, hitting the papers, so he pays her to go out of London while he’s here and he gives her somewhere to stay, a run-down country house.

Sophie does her hello cows, hello sheep! routine and the story develops from there.

Read an excerpt.

The heroes: Nikos (James) is the ruthless tycoon who doesn’t do much work. He has luxury everything. He is totally, completely selfish and uses Sophie without wondering much about her or her circumstances. But it’s Sophie I really disliked.

On the other hand, Neo (Monroe) is a self-made man who is comfortable in his own skin, but knows how to empathize. He is kind to Cass without being condescending,  and he never uses her for his own ends, despite what she wants. He is autocratic, but Cass puts him right when he assumes too much, and he accepts it.

Heroines: Sophie (James) wasn’t a bright heroine. Sometimes this works, but in this case she was just infuriatingly annoying. Mostly by the way she refused to tell Nikos why she wanted the money, leaving him to assume the worst. When he tried to find out, she’d change the subject by bedding him, losing her temper or running away.

Cass (Monroe) was intelligent although naive sexually. She’s well aware of her naiveté, but it doesn’t make her a pushover. She has a penchant for designer clothes, and I was delighted to see that she knew her designers, and even her collections. Considering my previous post about “designer,” none of that applies to Monroe. Cass knows what she wants and is realistic in her expectations. She doesn’t lean on Neo, or expect him to solve all her problems. She thinks things through and doesn’t keep important facts from the man she falls in love with.

Plot: The Monroe was straightforward, and progressed in comfortable, satisfying stages. There is a problem with the paparazzi, which is a nightmare for Cass, so Neo arranges extra security for her. She doesn’t hide her condition or the results of it from him. Although Neo is commitment-shy, he’s honest about this without being hurtful, and makes it clear what he can give Cass and what he cannot.

The James was packed with big misunderstandings, all of them easily solveable, if they just sat down and talked. There was no believable reason why Sophie shouldn’t tel Nikos about her father’s condition and where the money went, and when he believed the worst, she let him. The martyr complex at its worst. My palms itched to slap her. And her sweetness came across as irritating stupidity. I didn’t believe that she could take a job as a hostess and not know that sex was involved, and Nikos’s reaction was brutal and deeply hurtful. Any self-respecting heroine would have kicked him into touch and left him there. He kept jumping to the worst conclusions possible, and we are supposed to believe that he loved her once, and could love her again?

Style: this is a real killer.

The Julia James is told with so many exclamation marks that I wondered if she’d got a big box of them for Christmas and had to use them up before they went out of date. Hundreds of them in this book. The prose is purple to the max, maybe indigo? The best thing I can do is give you a sample from Chapter One of His Penniless Mistress.

Nikos felt emotion cresting through him like a dark, killing anger. Out of nowhere, like a black tide, he felt the urge to wrest Cosmo’s hand from her wrist, tell him to go and find his fun somewhere else! He clamped it down, quelling it by force, slamming down the lid on it as if it were glowing nuclear waste. Sophie Granton was not worth a microgram of emotion—not a moment more of his time. Not then, not now.

His eyes flicked over her one last time. She showed nothing in her eyes now. Nothing after the first shock of recognition. Or was it dismay? He felt the question sting. Yes, he thought with turbid anger, why not dismay? Four years ago she had nearly, so very nearly, succeeded in making a fool of him. Well, she would deceive no one now! He could look at her with impunity. With the only kind of look she deserved. His mouth twisted in contempt as his eyes flicked over her again. She was blanking him, he could see, and his eyes narrowed. There was something about her blankness, her closed, expressionless face, that sent a stab of anger through him. She hadn’t been like that when he’d peeled her off him.

In contrast, the Monroe is written in an easy style that just slips past the senses. I could immerse myself into this book and enter into the dilemmas of Neo and Cass. Descriptions are evocative and immediate, and most of all, believable. A sample from Chapter One of The Shy Bride:

The bell rang a third time just as she swung the door open. Mr. Stamos, who looked even more imposing than he did in his publicity photos, did not appear in the least embarrassed to be caught impatiently ringing it again.

She stared at him, uncertain how to take his arrogance. He didn’t appear to mean anything by it. His expression said he believed it was simply his prerogative to call her by the name he felt suited her, rather than the one she used with the few people she had regular, ongoing communications.

I believe it will be easier to start the lesson if you let me inside.” His voice was tinged with impatience, but he did not frown.

Nevertheless, he made her feel gauche and lacking in manners. “Of course, I…did you want to park your car in the garage?”

He didn’t even bother to glance over his Armani-clad shoulder at the sleek Mercedes resting in her driveway before shaking his head, a single economical movement to each side. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Okay, then. Let’s go inside.” She turned and led the way to the piano room.

It had been the back parlor when the house was first built in the late nineteenth century. Now it served beautifully to house her Fazioli and practically nothing else. There was a single oversized Queen Anne-style armchair for the use of her rare guests, with a tiny round side table, but no other furniture cluttered the room.

She indicated the wide, smooth piano bench, the same exact finish as the Fazioli. “Have a seat.”

He did as she suggested, looking much more relaxed in front of the piano than she would have in his high-rise office.

A few inches over six feet, he was tall for the bench, and yet he did not look awkward there.

His body did not have the lithe grace or, conversely, the extra weight around the middle of most male pianists she knew, but was well-honed and very muscular. His hands were strong, with long but squared fingers bearing the wrong calluses for a pianist or a billionaire, if she were to guess it. His suit was more appropriate for a boardroom than her music room, and yet he did not look ill at ease in the least.

Perhaps the sable-haired, super-rich Adonis simply did not have the awkward gene like normal people.

So there you have it. For sheer readability, realistic characterization and a great read, go for the Monroe. I loved this book and I’m looking forward to reading Zephyr’s story.

On the other hand, although I have enjoyed James’s books in the past, I won’t be revisiting this one in a hurry. The themes are so similar, that it was tempting to compare them and see what worked and what didn’t.

It also helps to explain why I read so many Harlequin Presents. I love romance, and a good romance makes me very happy. A bad one upsets and occasionally annoys me. Sometimes it can just miss, go over the line between enjoyable into TSTL. The James failed for me because it was written in an old-fashioned style that I never enjoyed in the first place, featured characters I didn’t care about, and provided a set-up I couldn’t believe in. The Monroe I bought, despite the presence of a 29-year-old virgin. It worked because the reason was believable and she wasn’t stupid with it. It featured a powerful hero with vulnerabilities, a man you could understand why the heroine fell in love with.

Summaries:

The Shy Bride

Untouched — and bought for $100,000!

Thrust into the limelight, child star Cassandra timidly enchanted audiences night after night…But when her parents died, Cass retreated into her own world — too shy to leave her home. Once a year she shares her musical passion by offering lessons in a charity auction… This year, money talks…the winning bid: $100,000!

Enter: Neo Stamos, arrogant Greek tycoon. He wants Cass with a burning desire, though he knows that, shy and sweet, she will need a gentle awakening… But Neo’s the master of seduction!

His Penniless Beauty

Four years ago, Sophie loved Nikos Kazandros with all her heart. What she didn’t know was that Nikos would take her virginity and then move on..
Now, not knowing where to turn for money, Sophie has taken a job she wouldn’t normally have considered. But on her very first night things go disastrously wrong when she bumps into. Nikos. He’s outraged to see how she’s earning a living and knows he needs to stop her immediately. But the only way to do that is to keep her close and pay for her time..

The Monroe gets a straight A from me, and the James, a D- because I hate giving Fs. Love to know what you thought of the books, especially someone who felt exactly the other way about to me!

Sandy M’s review of Moon Craving (Children of the Moon, Book 2) by Lucy Monroe
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 2 Feb 10

I’ve waited three years for this book.  Long years. The first book in the series, Moon Awakening, was terrific and I wanted more of these characters from that moment on. So much time had gone by, I actually stopped checking on a regular basis for when the next edition would be released. Seems like the time went much faster that way, because finally here it is. And I am not disappointed one bit.

I love Ms. Monroe’s werewolves. Strong alphas who expect to be obeyed at every turn, who protect what’s theirs with an iron hand, and who take advantage of a good thing when the opportunity presents itself. Talorc is no exception. He hates the English with a passion, and for good reason. When he’s directed by his king to marry an Englishwoman, the sister of the woman he narrowly escaped wedding before, he will only do so if he doesn’t find her too distasteful, as he did the first sibling.

Abigail has come to want marriage to the Highland laird her sister refused to have. Since her hearing was taken after suffering a childhood fever, Abigail’s mother has scorned her, treated her abominably. Hoping for a better life with a stranger, she goes to Scotland willingly, and, if nothing else, perhaps she will end up with her sister and her husband if Talorc chooses not to keep Abigail.

But from the moment these two meet, on a moonlit night just days before they’re to wed, there is a subtle attraction between them that surprises them both. On the journey to Talorc’s home, Abigail begins to fall in love with her new husband and ideas of living with her sister no longer have any appeal for her. Wanting nothing more than to make Abigail his own, he hurries his entourage to Scotland to consummate their vows. He refuses to take his wife on English soil.

Talorc and Abigail begin a beautiful new relationship, learning each other inside and out, the joys of loving and being loved. But they each have secrets they’ve yet to share with one another. Talorc has to make sure Abigail will not betray him as his father’s English wife did. He has to be very sure of his new wife before trusting her with his pack’s secrets. Abigail has not told Talorc of her deafness, believing he would not want her either, just as everyone else in her life hasn’t due to her disability.

Betrayal is eventually felt by them both, and thus begins the task of finding their way back to one another, all the while fighting members of the clan who are divided when it comes to Abigail and her English-ness. These characters are charismatic in their own way and you find yourself as lost in them as they are in each other. I also enjoyed several of the secondary characters who befriend Abigail. Betrayal is not solely for the hero and heroine in this story.

I am glad to see on Ms. Monroe’s website that the next book in this series will not be so long in coming this time around. It’s due out either later this year or early next year. Thank goodness. Waiting for these stories is just too hard!

Grade: A+

Summary:

If it were up to him, Talorc—laird of the Sinclair clan and leader of his werewolf pack— would never marry. But when the king orders that Talorc wed an Englishwoman, the lone wolf is shocked to find his mate in the strong-willed Abigail. And after an intensely climactic wedding night, the two fiercely independent souls sense an unbreakable bond…

Deaf since childhood, Abigail hopes to keep her affliction from Talorc as long as possible. And for his part, he has no intention of telling her about being a werewolf. But when Abigail learns that the husband she’s begun to love has deceived her, it will take all of his warrior’s strength—and his wolf’s cunning—to win his wife back. And Talorc will have to face his biggest challenge yet: the vulnerability of a man in love…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Lynne Connolly’s review of The Sicilian’s Marriage Arrangement by Lucy Monroe
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Presents 1 Feb 07

I have to say that this isn’t my favourite Monroe book. I usually enjoy her books, but not this one. 

My personal hot button was pushed when I learned that the hero was 42 and the heroine a young 25. When that happens I usually ‘imagine’ them closer in age. In the main HMB lines, it can be more of a problem because of the relative power. The hero is always alpha, always a powerful megatycoon or the equivalent and the heroine is usually the virginal, innocent type. Certainly in this book that was the case.

What made it worse was that the heroine was involved as a friend with the hero’s son, who was much closer to her age, and the son had feelings for her too.

Ick. She sees the son as her friend. But, dude, no. As a result there is some father/son rivalry over the same woman, which made me feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Add to that, the hero and heroine keep falling out with each other and every time it happens, she runs away. I never felt that Luciano was a fully realized character, he never came alive for me.

I did like that Hope was a real waitress and proud of it, though there is a point later on in the book that made me cheer, because I was thinking “Okay, she’s a waitress” when it got to that point. And the hero actually does some work of an executive nature, which was a nice change. The chemistry between the hero and heroine is lacking, too. I didn’t really believe in their happy ending, I could see divorce maybe five years or so in their future, when he grows up a bit and he wants a bit more – well, more personality, maybe.

It won’t stop me getting more Monroe books, though. It might just be my thing, that father/son rivalry over the same woman isn’t for me. So…

Grade: C-

Summary:
.
Hope Bishop is stunned when darkly sexy Sicilian tycoon Luciano di Valerio proposes marriage. Brought up by her wealthy but distant grandfather, she is used to fading into the background and being ignored.
.
But Luciano’s sensual lovemaking makes her feel vibrantly alive. Hope falls in love with her husband and is blissfully happy–until she discovers that Luciano ruthlessly married her…for convenience!
.
Read an excerpt here.

Lynne Connolly’s review of The Sicilian’s Marriage Arrangement by Lucy Monroe
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin 1 Feb 07 (U.S. rls date)

I have to say that this isn’t my favourite Monroe book. I usually enjoy her books, but not this one.

My personal hot button was pushed when I learned that the hero was 42 and the heroine a young 25. When that happens I usually ‘imagine’ them closer in age. In the main HMB lines, it can be more of a problem because of the relative power. The hero is always alpha, always a powerful megatycoon or the equivalent and the heroine is usually the virginal, innocent type. Certainly in this book that was the case.

What made it worse was that the heroine was involved as a friend with the hero’s son, who was much closer to her age, and the son had feelings for her too.

Ick. She sees the son as her friend. But dude, no. As a result there is some father/son rivalry over the same woman, which made me feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Add to that, the hero and heroine keep falling out with each other and every time it happens, she runs away. I never felt that Luciano was a fully realized character, he never came alive for me.

I did like that Hope was a real waitress and proud of it, though there is a point later on in the book that made me cheer, because I was thinking “Okay, she’s a waitress” when it got to that point. And the hero actually does some work of an executive nature, which was a nice change. The chemistry between the hero and heroine is lacking, too. I didn’t really believe in their happy ending, I could see divorce maybe five years or so in their future, when he grows up a bit and he wants a bit more – well, more personality, maybe.

It won’t stop me getting more Monroe books, though. It might just be my thing, that father/son rivalry over the same woman isn’t for me. So for this one…

Grade: C-

Summary:
.
Hope Bishop is stunned when darkly sexy Sicilian tycoon Luciano di Valerio proposes marriage. Brought up by her wealthy but distant grandfather, she is used to fading into the background and being ignored.
.
But Luciano’s sensual lovemaking makes her feel vibrantly alive. Hope falls in love with her husband and is blissfully happy–until she discovers that Luciano ruthlessly married her…for convenience!
.
Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s Duckies Do Series reviews of the Langley Family Trilogy by Lucy Monroe
Historical Romances released by Berkley Sep 2005 – Oct 2006

I’ve had this trilogy in the TBR pile for quite some time, and since I was lucky enough to find all three of them there at the same time, I had to read them now while they were in hand. (Books have a way of getting up and walking out around my house, so I read them when I can see them.) I’ve enjoyed Ms. Monroe’s contemporaries that I’ve read over the last couple of years, so I wanted to check out her historicals. I am certainly glad I did.

Touch Me (Book 1)
6 Sep 05

This is a great start to this trilogy. We get a taste of the betrayal that happened which affected so many lives, a look at how those lives have flourished, or not, over the years since that time, and we get to experience the love as a result of those long-ago actions, plus a very nice set-up for the next book in the series.

Thea’s mother ran from her husband when the man stole her first born from her arms when the boy was only minutes old. What none of them knew was another babe was about to be born, so keeping her daughter a secret, Anna tried to stay in London to secretly see her son, but when her beast of a husband found out, Anna chose the West Indies as a home for her and her daughter, hoping one day to return to see her son when he was man. That day never came, Anna dying of fever before she could make the trip.

Growing up in the West Indies, away from the social confines of London and the ton, Thea is her own woman, intelligent and independent, vowing never to marry and give herself over to a man only to be treated as her mother was. She’s a partner in a prosperous business with the couple who took her and her mother in years before and Thea has discovered discrepancies in the business books. She decides to go to London to confront the man she believes responsible. When Pierson Drake appears looking for the services of a blacksmith to repair his ship’s boiler, she has found a way to the city much sooner than waiting for one of her own ships.

Drake is on a timeline racing to bring his shipment into port so that his investors will not lose money when they put their faith in him; his damaged boiler is costing time as it is, so he doesn’t need a woman trailing along, even one as intriguing as Thea Selwyn. But the woman surprises him at every turn, and he’s determined to find out who is causing the sudden accidents that come too close to fatally injuring the woman. By the time they reach London, their feelings have grown for one another, but Thea is still of the mind she doesn’t need marriage, despite Drake’s insistence they will be together.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the fact the lead characters are together so much of the time, either getting to know one another, irritating the hell out of one another, or lusting their hearts out and taking care of that lust. Mystery and danger are well represented in the story and there’s a nice twist at the end that you don’t see too early.

Grade: A

Summary:
.
Outspoken, opinionated Thea Selwyn is no ordinary lady. Raised in the exotic West Indies, she has none of the starchy propriety Pierson Drake is accustomed to—rather, there is a lush sensuality about this impulsive beauty that tempts him unmercifully. Her delectable curves and wide, innocent eyes are enticing enough, but her breathless response to his touch is a lure he can’t resist.
.
On a voyage that takes them from tropical paradise to the glittering ballrooms of London, Thea and Drake are pulled into a firestorm of illicit passion. Thea knows that once they reach England, the secrets she’s been keeping will kill whatever Drake feels for her. But Drake’s own history has taught him the value of acceptance and the desolation of loss. Thea is the one women Drake has ever trusted with his heart, and he has no intention of losing her— not to the ghosts of the past or the threats of the present. But can he convince Thea to forget the hard lesson she’s learned and take a chance on love?
.
Read an excerpt.

Tempt Me (Book 2)
4 Apr 06

I’m normally not a fan of misunderstandings between main characters when reading. Misunderstanding happens a number of time between Lucas and Irisa, but it’s mostly because of her innocence and naïveté, so it didn’t really bother me all that much because they would talk it out, argue it out, and go on. I actually had to laugh at these times because Lucas would become so frustrated not understanding the female gender, though he was at fault a few times himself and did not help the situation at hand.

Now the misunderstanding between Lucas and Irisa’s father is another matter altogether. It’s perpetrated by this poor excuse of a father to guarantee that Lucas would not back out of asking for Irisa’s hand; though at this point nothing mattered to Lucas, he wanted Irisa, and I was happy he felt that way. Of course, the misunderstanding comes to light too late, causing Irisa to once again take the blame on herself and try to give everyone an out to save their reputations at the expense of her own.

She’d been raised in a very unloving home, parents wanting her only for what she could bring upon her marriage. Irisa made sure she was biddable on everything except the choice of a husband. So turnabout is fair play, she blackmails her parents into refusing inappropriate suitors. That is until Lucas makes his request for her. All of her “properness” goes out the window once she’s engaged to the man, however, getting herself into trouble right and left with Lucas to the rescue every time. And still he chooses to stay with her instead of walking away.

Irisa expected him to walk away because she’s courting scandal just as Lucas’ mother and brother did and that’s the one thing he doesn’t want in a wife. He’s been a courtly gentleman for years in order to bring the family name back from ruin, but by the time Irisa manages all her trouble, his feelings are full blown for the girl and he refuses to lose her.

Even with the misunderstandings, I enjoyed these characters together. If they hadn’t talked things out, the story could have become quite worrisome, but it actually worked for me. And we’re set up very well for the last book in the trilogy, Jared’s story, which I really looked forward to while reading this one.

Grade: A

Summary:
.
Humiliated by his family’s indiscretions, Lucas, Lord Ashton-nicknamed “The Saint” – wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with the prim and proper bride of his choice. And if the innocent young lady in question gives him some decidedly devilish urges, he is determined to control himself-much to her dismay.
.
Lady Irisa Langley is at her wit’s end. Much as she loves her exasperatingly perfect fiancé, she’s starting to think it would be wrong of her to marry him. For Irisa has a secret that would shock even the world-weary denizens of the Ton, and someone-who doesn’t want her anywhere near Lucas-knows it.
.
Lucas never knew that he could desire more in a bride than impeccable manners and an unblemished pedigree. But even as scandal looms, a loyal little spitfire with heated kisses and silken skin is making him forget every rule of etiquette he’s ever known…
.
Read an excerpt.

Take Me (Book 3)
3 Oct 06

Of the three books, this is my favorite. I was actually curious about Jared, Thea’s twin and Irisa’s half brother. He is called “Lord Beast” by the ton due to the scars he bears from saving Irisa from a wolf attack when they were teenagers. He has his own estates and stays away from London society and cares not one whit about what they think of him. After he learns what his father did to his and Thea’s mother, he wants nothing more to do with his sire. So we pick up in Take Me after his father and stepmother have left London for an extended time to hopefully downplay the gossip that is sure to abound when the family scandal is let out.

Calantha is a widowed duchess, experiencing freedom for the past four yours after the death of her abusive husband. She’s closed herself off to all feeling, knowing she’ll never marry again. But when Jared seeks her out, shows interest in her, her heart begins to thaw, and especially more so when she finds out that he’s the one who took in her friend and former servant Mary when the girl disappeared from her home years before. But then she realizes that Jared sought her out only because Mary had asked him to bring her daughter, Hannah, to Calantha, to The Angel, as the ton calls her. Their attraction to one another keeps growing despite the circumstances and she finds herself wanting what she’s never had before, and they eventually marry so that they both can take care of Hannah.

But when Hannah is nearly kidnapped, all evidence points to Calantha and Jared and his family, all of whom she has come to love, look on her with suspicion, except for Irisa, who never doubts her innocence. This breaks Calantha’s heart because she trusts Jared completely and he can’t seem to have the same faith in her. As the entire family hunts down the villain, Calantha once again has to harden her heart with that regal duchess air she does well because she knows it will break her if she allows Jared to burrow any further into her life.

This book was so much more moving than the other two. I actually became misty-eyed several times at scenes dealing with Hannah and Calantha and Jared and then Jared’s realization of how he hurt Calantha with his doubts. And the scenes when Calantha see and touch Jared’s scars for the first time are wonderfully emotional.

Grade: A+

Summary:
.
Jared, Viscount Ravenswood, has no choice but to honor the deathbed wish of his ailing servant. All she asks is that Jared introduce her soon-to-be orphaned daughter to the notorious and reclusive Calantha, Duchess of Clairborne. No ordinary request, for this is no ordinary child. She is, in fact, the key to the Duchess’s most private secrets, and to Jared’s own past-one that has branded him Lord Beast among the ton.
.
But when the Viscount meets the Duchess, he finds not the pitiless dowager he expected, but a lovely and wary angel-survivor of a brutal marriage left now with only her roses and the breathtaking mystery that is her life. For Jared, to solve it is to fall in love, to make her believe in the impossible, and to follow the promise that comes with the most intimate whisper of all… Take me…
.
Read an excerpt.

This is a terrific family trilogy and I highly recommend it!

Overall Grade: A

Holly‘s review of Forbidden: The Billionaire’s Virgin Princess by Lucy Monroe
Contemporary romance published by Harlequin Presents 1 July 2008

It’s no secret that I love Harlequin Presents, and Lucy Monroe is definitely my favorite Presents author. Her stories are usually well rounded and emotionally fulfilling. Although this is definitely a good story, I don’t feel it was quite up to par with what I’ve come to expect from her in the past.

I think the reason this one fell somewhat short had something to do with the way the couple separated and then were reunited. Sebastian, owner of a very prestigious personal security firm, is hired by Lina’s father to keep an eye on her as added security detail because her life has been threatened by one of his enemies. She’s going to university in America and Sebastian poses as a student there himself in order to keep her safe without her knowledge. That’s the whole problem right there. Without her knowledge. He doesn’t tell who he is or why he’s there. Not only that, but he expects complete trust from her and wants her to open up and tell him she’s a princess. The double standard of that bothered me.

They’re reunited three years later when Lina’s father hires Sebastian to track her down. Lina decided she wanted to live her own life, not the one her father is mandating for her, so shortly after that fateful night with Sebastian, she flees. Now he’s been hired to track her down. But Lina isn’t the headstrong girl he remembers. She’s calmer, more sure of herself and willing to be brought back to her father…for a price. She’s never been able to get Sebastian out of her head, and she wants him to have sex with her so they can burn out the passion between them and she can finally get over him.

I’m totally on the fence about my final feelings. The way things ended between the couple, and then the way they were reunited really left a bad taste in my mouth. But in the end I enjoyed both characters and the overall story arc. Lina was a good heroine. It’s obvious in the beginning that she’s young and headstrong and very naive about men, but she grows into a lovely woman who’s comfortable with herself. I love that she was willing to stand up to her father and didn’t just bend to his will. I also like that she stood up to Sebastian and didn’t let him off the hook for his actions in the past.

Sebastian was different. He’s definitely colder than some of Lucy Monroe’s other heroes, and I’m not sure I could have forgiven him had he not apologized for the way Lina found out who he really was. I understood his dilemma (wanting Lina but not wanting to risk war to have her) but I think I would have liked to see him be a bit more proactive about keeping her for himself.

Still, it turned out to be a good story, even if I didn’t appreciate the way it began.

Grade: B

The Summary:

Sebastian Hawk is a master in business and in the bedroom. There is no place for emotion in his world.

Lina is a headstrong and reckless princess in need of protection and Sebastian is called in to provide round-the-clock security. Her provocative innocence is too enticing, and Sebastian loses his legendary self—control and beds her…only to discover she’s still a virgin….

You can read an excerpt here.

I’m sitting here in my living room typing this up and trying to recover from my fabulous weekend spent in West Manchester, Ohio at the Lori Foster and Dianne Castell Reader/Writer Get Together. This was the 4th year for the event, my first and it brought together over 250 authors (published and epub), readers, future writers, editors and publishers. The event also raised money for the Conductive School of Learning, the Animal Adoption Foundation and our troops serving overseas.

The event started Friday evening. It was a chance to get to mingle, eat pizza, get books signed by the authors and just hang out. We also were able to check out and start dropping our tickets into the drawings for all the fabulous (and I do mean fabulous) gift baskets that were donated by authors, publishers, and even a couple of readers. I actually was able to win two baskets (YAY me!!) and I got to say it was like Christmas morning going through them. A couple of the raffle baskets contained eReaders and they of course were very popular. Also about 20 of the authors got together and had a drawing for a Kindle eReader that everyone got to participate in just by being there. We also had a pirate quiz for some prizes and a few door prizes were given away. Thanks to some very generous donations from publishers and authors we all received at least 3 books and Samhain Publishing gave all the attendees very nice bags for the event (Thank You Samhain!!!).

After dinner, a trivia event was held hosted by J.C. Wilder, Lauren Dane, Megan Hart and Anya Bast. We divided up into teams (well kinda people came and went as the event progressed) and had 4 categories to choose from, sort of a mini version of Jeopardy (but more fun). Pop Culture category was surprisingly the favorite of the evening. We also had General Trivia, Hero and Heroines and Books and Authors. Prizes were hands out throughout the night. After that everyone kind of scattered and did their own things.

Saturday was a big day for everyone. Breakfast was served and we spent some more time mingling with everyone. There was a small panel discussion and question session with a Border’s buyer, 3 epublishers, Michelle Buonfiglio of Romance By the Book and Barbara Vey of Publisher’s Weekly. Then we got down to the serious stuff–raffle basket giveaways, lunch and then more raffle basket giveaways. That afternoon there was a session open to the public and some of the authors sat up tables to meet and sell their books. Barnes & Noble also had a room set up to sell books of many of the authors in attendance. There was also a book exchange. Attendees were encouraged to bring books to trade. It was a bit of a madhouse, but I was still able to clear out some of my old books and pick up a few older titles that I missed. That evening several different group outings were scheduled from shopping at malls and bookstores to line-dancing (which unfortunately didn’t get to happen, but hopefully we will get to next year).

Sunday morning several choices for breakfast with the authors were set up. My friend and I went with Lauren Dane, Megan Hart and Anya Bast and had so much fun. (Sidenote to Lauren, Megan, Anya and Laura B.–I am so sorry for getting us a little lost going to Half Price Books. But, really it was my GPS’s fault *g*). Then it was time to say goodbye until next year.

I will be going next year. This was such an awesome event that was laid back, relaxed and just gave everyone a chance to hang out and have fun as well as raise money for some very deserving organizations. I got to see and catch up with some authors that I have met before and even met a few that I have wanting to meet (SQUEE–Lucy Monroe!!) and I met some of my online book friends (it really is great to have a face to go with a name now). The money raised for the organizations was amazing. $525 plus supplies to send to the troops, $1064 for the animal shelter plus supplies and $4,552.50 for the Conductive School of Learning and that doesn’t include what B&N is donating from the book sales.

Lori and Dianne have already begun planning for next year’s event, which will be held June 5th-7th, 2009. I’m sure Lori will be posting information about the 2009 event as soon as she recovers from 2008′s event and gets more information on 2009′s.

Sybil’s review of The Power of Love by Foster, McCarthy, Laurey, Stockham, Blake, Castell, Sargeant, McLane, Monroe, Kelley, Maynard, and Wilder
Special Romance Anthology released by Berkley on 3 Jun 08

The Power of Love isn’t at all what I thought it would be. Novellas are hard to do well. Make it a short story and it more often than not doesn’t work for me. Add in the awesome fact the author’s proceeds go to The YMCA Battered Women’s Shelter of Cincinnati – well I was expecting more women’s fiction than romance. I was very wrong.

Each of these women deserve a round of applause. Not only did they put together a book for a great cause, they did it well. These are not throw away stories. Each story ranges from a nice bite to a snack size and the overall book will give you a great taste for each author’s writing.

We are talking 305 pages and 12 authors, so I am going this a touch differently than a normal review. You can find the summary and a bit of background here. And excerpts Vol I and Vol II have been posted as well. The reviews are arranged by grade, not order of appearance in the book.

Grade: A+

Salesman of the Year by Karen Kelley
This was a hard story for me to grade because I so adore the author but haven’t been able to read a book of hers lately that worked for me. Karen Kelley is awesome on the funny, which rarely works for me. Salesman of the Year is a tale of second chances and finding the stregth in yourself to be who you want and not what you are told to be. In 20 pages she wasn’t able to flesh out the heroine as well as she could have but since I knew to expect that going in I went with what I was told. Because no woman deserves an Adam…

Angel in the Alley by Patricia Sargeant
Completely loved this story and was surprised because I admit I saw ‘Angel’ in the title and my reaction was ACK here be inspy. I am not sure if Patricia was going for an inspy feel to her tale or not but it is a fabulous story. My complaint is I wanted more pages because it was wanted more with more time with Archer.

Grade: A

Unpredictable by Erin McCarthy
Predictably I loved this story. The h/h were fantastic and interesting. McCarthy shines in novella form and this, while not her best, shows just what she can do. I really hope Kensington does for her what they did with Foster’s Truth or Dare and McKenna’s All About Men – release her Bad Boy novella’s in a MM book with just her connected stories.

Chicken Soup for Annie by Luanne McLane
This is an author I have never been able to connect with and don’t think I have finished a novel by her yet. Again she is one who does well with the funny (and I don’t). I was shocked by how much I adored this story. I would have given it an A+ but honestly I wish she hadn’t of put it in here (although it fits perfectly with the theme) because even though the story begins and ends to where you KNOW where they are going. I wanted to read it all.

Dance the Fandango by Rosemary Laurey
This is another tale of 2nd chances only this time it is for LOVE itself not a love lost. I didn’t expect a 65 year-old heroine and honestly do not pick them up to read that much. Dance the Fandango works perfectly in The Power of Love and is done very well. But man the kids annoyed and hello they were in their 30s.

Grade: A-

Sweet Dreams by Lori Foster
I LOVED how this story unfolds and Foster shows why so many people love her novellas. She is awesome at building a story, characters you care for and telling a whole story in a short page count. This one was 23 pages! I would have given this an A+ but the five year wait didn’t work for me – just too long

The Mouse Who Roared by J.C. Wilder
This is the one story I would say isn’t a romance, doesn’t tell a whole story and is more of a moment in time. But more than that it is THE beginning of a woman taking control of her future and embodies what “I think” this gift of stories is about. I was too bummed that it ended like it did to give it an A but it is a fabulous story of finding your strength and going for it.

Grade: B+

The Girl Next Door by Janice Maynard
TGND seemed a touch out of place because it starts from Jason’s pov (the hero). A tale you all know, parent’s die sibling comes home to raise the younger kids. Somewhere along the lines lurve developed between a best friend forever of one of the sibs. I love those stories. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea. And I loved Jason and Felicity.

Grade: B

No Angel by Lucy Monroe
This is a would be office romance story and I like those. No Angel has a Harlequin Presents feel to it but too much time was spent away from the h/h. With the page count being so small I would have like to have more time with Cheryl and Zack.

Hannah’s Choice by Kay Stockham
Another 2nd chance at love story… do so love those. Hannah and Mitch are great characters. And you feel so much for them in so few pages. This is a grade A story that is missing at least 10 pages. (at least) Hannah’s choice to run made sense but not from Mitch. Mitch is too great a guy and the author doesnt have enough time to sell why Hannah made such a bonehead move.

Grade: C

Last of the Red-Hot Mammas by Dianne Castell
I think this was my least favorite story. It isn’t really bad but I just couldn’t take that ride. The plot seemed to unbelievable and the characters didn’t click with me enough to over come that. It is a sweet story but I can’t see any school wanting the Principal to behave like that.

After Hours by Toni Blake
More lurve in the office… only this one the hero annoyed. And there wasn’t enough room for Michael to grovel enough. Odd it seemed like there wasn’t enough connection between the h/h, thinking back on it I think this was the steamiest story. Blake can do really steamy really well when she wants too.

Overall this really is a great novel to pick up and get a chance to try out 12 different authors. Or, if you are already a fan of Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy, you will want to pick this up. And of course it is supporting a great cause – by helping people by buying a book .

Overall Grade: A-

Blurb:

In this engaging anthology of never-before-published stories, twelve award-winning and bestselling authors are united by their unique visions of the resilient woman and her quest for self, for fulfillment, for empowerment, and for an enriching new appreciation for what love really means—and why it matters.

A young woman is torn between the overbearing security of her fiancé and the excitement of an old flame…a desperate wife is forced into the workplace for the first time in her life…an ambitious professional woman finally finds the courage to take control of her career—and her man…an emotionally fragile divorcee finds resolve in the ethereal visitations of an archangel. These are just some of the women who discover and rediscover their wonderfully fallible selves in the shadow of love—romantic love, platonic love, new love, and lost love. You’ll be touched, inspired, charmed, and amused by these twelve original stories of disparate longings, unsettled lives, and the power of love.

Read short excerpts of each story here.

The Power of Love, Special Anthology. Coming from Berkley Trade June 3, 2008.

Since this is an anthology with 12 authors the stories range in size. So the excerpts are pretty short. But hey we got you something! We will have two posts a volume I and II.

enjoy!

“Girl Next Door” by Janice Maynard

Felicity bit his bottom lip … lightly … and then soothed it with her tongue. Her pretty grass-green eyes were hazy with arousal, and a tiny smile on her lush, red lips taunted him.

“Jason?” Her voice was husky… strained.

“Yeah?”

“What would you think about me coming to live in Charlottesville?”

His minute hesitation cost him dearly. As did the unmistakable way he tensed up. Shit.

She went from cuddly to caustic in a split second. She jerked out of his embrace so suddenly she almost fell over a nearby pile of boxes. Her eyes were bright. With tears? The possibility wounded him.

She backed away, heading for the door. “Oh, shoot,” she said, her voice wobbly. “That was just the hormones talking. Forget I said anything. I’ll see you later.” And then she fled.

“Chicken Soup for Annie” by LuAnn McLane,

“Right,” Josh nodded but he couldn’t help but smile at his cute little volunteer. The sudden rosy color in her cheeks had him hoping that the attraction that he was feeling was mutual. Although she had mentioned a daughter her ring finger was bare so he assumed that she was a single mom and he intended to find out before her shift was over. He decided not to come on too strong since she seemed rather skittish… not that he was a smooth operator. No, quite the opposite. When it came to women Josh tended to get tongue-tied…

“No Angel” by Lucy Monroe

“Do you make it a habit of sending someone’s apology down the garbage disposal?” he asked dryly.

“Is that what it was?” Her brow lifted. “An apology?”

“Yes. Damn it. What else would it have been?” …
“Well they were an apology,” he huffed.

“Say it.”

“You want me to say that I’m sorry?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that a little juvenile? I’ve already told you the flowers were meant to convey that.”

“So, say the words.”

“Fine. I’m sorry for the way I treated you Friday morning and for expecting you to lie to get me out of a tight spot.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

He grimaced. “Hard enough.”

She laughed. “You are forgiven.”

And why those particular words should make his dick go hard as granite, he had no clue, but he wasn’t knocking it.

“Angel in the Alley” by Patricia Sargeant

Sara’s voice shook only a little. “I want to be independent. I want my own identity. And I don’t want you in my life any more.”

“You need me.” Asa stressed the words. “When your mother died, I took care of you. You didn’t have anyone else.”

Sara stared at him, realization freeing her mind. “No, Asa. You need me to make yourself feel superior, stronger, in charge. I’m through with letting you or anyone else control me.”

“You’re going to regret leaving me.” Anger stripped his mask and revealed the brutality just beneath his surface.
She watched Asa stalk off. Rage made his body stiff, his movements jerky.

Her gaze shifted to Raphael. He nodded once and Sara relaxed.

“Hannah’s Choice” by Kay Stockham,

“Hey! Hey, don’t do that! Stop!” Hannah Pruitt didn’t take the time to think, much less pause and remove her leather sandals or the ridiculously expensive watch she’d
splurged on six months ago as an “I am woman, hear me roar” present to herself.

Instead she vaulted over the rail of the foot bridge crossing the twelve-foot deep canal that sliced Orchard Park in two, and entered the cold depths with a choking gasp.

When a bubble escaped, she belatedly reminded herself that keeping her mouth closed would be a good idea. God knew jumping in hadn’t been her brightest.

The moment her leather-clad toes touched the canal’s rocky bottom, she pushed herself to the surface, arms and legs working as she frantically searched for the burlaplooking
sack she’d seen a man toss into the water. Had it gone under? Where?

“The Mouse Roared” by J.C. Wilder

Just what in the devil are you waiting on girl?

The shriek of tires and the loud, insistent blare of a horn jolted her back to reality.

The bumper of a bright yellow cab was mere inches from her right leg. She blinked.

What the heck?

With a start she realized she stood in the center of an intersection, the busiest in Haven.

Not twenty yards away was the storefront, the place she’d always dreamed of. But what if she never made her move? What if tomorrow, she were struck dead and she’d done nothing to halt her slide into mediocrity.

Was she destined to die an unfulfilled woman?

The Power of Love, Special Anthology. Coming from Berkley Trade June 3, 2008. Read on for the blurb, a video and some very special news about this new anth.

12 Original Stories by Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, Rosemary Laurey, Kay Stockham, Toni Blake, Dianne Castell, Patricia Sargeant, Luanne McLane, Lucy Monroe, Karen Kelley, Janice Maynard & J.C. Wilder

In this engaging anthology of never-before-published stories, twelve award-winning and bestselling authors are united by their unique visions of the resilient woman and her quest for self, for fulfillment, for empowerment, and for an enriching new appreciation for what love really means—and why it matters.

A young woman is torn between the overbearing security of her fiancé and the excitement of an old flame…a desperate wife is forced into the workplace for the first time in her life…an ambitious professional woman finally finds the courage to take control of her career—and her man…an emotionally fragile divorcee finds resolve in the ethereal visitations of an archangel. These are just some of the women who discover and rediscover their wonderfully fallible selves in the shadow of love—romantic love, platonic love, new love, and lost love. You’ll be touched, inspired, charmed, and amused by these twelve original stories of disparate longings, unsettled lives, and the power of love.

*All author and agent proceeds go to a battered women’s shelter.*

The blog will be buying a copy to give away. And will pick a winner from the comments out of the PoL excerpts and this post. We will announce the winner Friday May 23, 2008.

You can pre-order your copy here. I know Laura J will be picking it up. And I will be… hey Erin McCarthy, Lucy Monroe and Lori Foster… those are some of my faves just right there. And if you like teh funny, you can’t beat Karen Kelley. Really, you should buy two copies .

Just released in paperback from Samhain! Meagan’s Chance by Lucy Monroe. Read on…

Can a free-spirited woman teach an uptight professor what he needs to know about love and faith-outside the classroom?

Shattered by her ex-husband’s infidelity and her own infertility, Meagan O’Hare is starting over. Tossed in the midst of a family crisis by a flat tire, she meets Adam McCallister. The last thing Meagan wants is to get involved with Adam and his children. It’s just a painful reminder of what she can never have-her own family.

Adam couldn’t agree more. The son of an alcoholic, Adam desires stability and security for his children. An undisciplined, too attractive woman who wears tie-dye T-shirts is not his idea of the model nanny. His children disagree. They have prayed for someone exactly like Meagan and aren’t above giving God a helping hand in getting her.

In less than twenty-four hours, Meagan turns Adam’s neatly ordered world upside down. While the children love it, Adam questions the wisdom of his decision to hire Meagan, even temporarily. So-why is the knowledge that she’ll be there when he comes home so enticing?

Living in the same house isn’t easy for Meagan and Adam as they grapple with a growing attraction and a different way of looking at life. Yet their very differences are the things that draw them together. Can the free-spirited Meagan teach the uptight professor something new about his faith while he leads her to discover something new about unconditional love?

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

© Lucy Monroe

She was going to drive him crazy. She’d only been there a few hours and Meagan had already upset his neatly ordered life. If he wasn’t so grateful to her for watching Jason and Mandy for him, Adam would be tempted to shout. He never shouted.

It had all started innocently enough. Jake and Patty invited everyone out to eat. Jason asked if they could go to McDonalds. He of course had said, “No.” Meagan had wheedled him into it. There was no other word for it. She wheedled. First she commented how much she liked their fries. Then she rubbed her stomach saying how she could really go for a Big Mac. Finally, the decision was taken out of his hands when Jake announced they were going to McDonalds. Hungry women had to be fed. The evidence of Meagan’s growling stomach could not be denied.

If that wasn’t bad enough here he sat on the couch watching Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang with Meagan and two children that should have been in bed an hour ago. This time Meagan hadn’t wheedled. She’d used logic and guilt.

“You’re going to be gone and the children will miss you. Surely they can stay up a little past their bed time to spend some quality time with you.”

Watching an old movie was quality time? Jason and Mandy seemed to think so. They had both nearly gone through the roof when he agreed.

“Dad, this is so cool.”

Jason’s voice broke through Adam’s irritated thoughts. His nine year-old son snuggled against him eating pop corn. It had been popped on top of the stove. Meagan wouldn’t use the microwave popcorn. She said it was unnatural.

It felt good to hug his son.

Mandy yawned and scooted to cuddle against his other side. “Yeah, this is fun.”

Adam smiled down at her. His daughter was keeping her eyes open by sheer willpower. Certain she’d lose the battle any time, he laid his arm around her shoulders to support her head.

Meagan sat on the other side of the white sectional watching the movie. He could have watched her instead of the television screen. Her mobile features displayed every new development in the plot. When the children were tricked into the jailer’s wagon, she leaned forward intent on the screen.

“Don’t listen to him. Can’t you tell by that nose that he’s the bad guy?”

Adam couldn’t help it. He laughed. “I thought you said you had seen this before.”

Sitting back on the sofa, Meagan pulled a cushion in front of her and held it in her lap. “I have. It’s one of my all time favorite movies.”

“Then you do know that everything turns out all right?”

She looked at him askance. “Of course I know that, but the children don’t”

“Jason and Mandy have seen it before too.”

“I didn’t mean them.”

She meant the children in the movie. “Meagan, they’re actors.”

“I know that.” She sounded offended.

© Lucy Monroe

Another title that gives it to you in 5 seconds or less.  We don’t want that from our heroes but it apparently works in a title . Forbidden: the Billionaire’s Virgin Princess by Lucy Monroe, a new Harlequin Presents that comes out this July. Here’s a sneak peek…

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

© Lucy Monroe

ISBN-10: 0373127391
ISBN-13: 978-0373127399
July 2008 both UK & North America

CHAPTER ONE

Lina Marwan stood on the edge of the bridge, her eyes shut as she searched for her center.

A slight breeze caressed her sun warmed skin. It was a beautiful day to be alive. She released the railing and nothing stood between her and open air…a fifty foot drop to the rushing waters of the river below.

Adrenalin coursed through her at the thought of what she was about to do. Her breaths came in short pants and sweat formed on her temples and palms. She curled her fingers into fists and then released them several times as she forced her lungs into a more relaxed rhythm.

Loud voices from behind her disturbed the peace she was trying to attain. Opening her eyes, she looked back over her shoulder and saw him.

Sebastian Hawk.

The last person she expected to see at this moment in her life. The last man she expected, or wanted, to see ever again. Before, or after, death. God wouldn’t be so cruel as to put her and the deceitful bastard in the same part of Heaven.

Well, there was nothing for it. He was here and it would only be a matter of seconds before he convinced the officials holding him off the bridge into letting him come for her.

She faced forward again, spread her arms like wings, and let her body fall forward as the sound of Sebastian’s roar echoed off the ravine’s rocky walls.

Soaring through the air like a bird diving for its prey, memories from eight years before flooded Lina’s mind in a reel by reel play of her time with Sebastian Hawk.

***

Headed toward the University Center, Lina rushed across the quad. She was late for the meeting, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d had to ditch her bodyguard. Again. He was reading a book on Ancient Egypt on the ground floor of the library. He believed she was in a study group meeting in one of the rooms on the second floor. If the poor man knew how many hours he spent in the library while she was elsewhere, they would both be in a lot of trouble.

He was easy to fool. Too easy for her ego. In his mind her high grade point average attested unequivocally to many hours spent studying. She did study, just not nearly as much as he believed. However, like her father and far too many other men from her country, her guard did not believe a woman could get the grades she did without putting a huge effort into the task. All of the guards in her current security detail were similarly afflicted in their thinking.

When she had discovered the benefits to this particular formerly annoying trait she had been grateful for her father’s insistence on supplying her bodyguards from her home country for the first time.

Raised in America since she was six, she’d often chafed at the attitudes exhibited by her Marwanian guards. Then she had arrived at university and discovered how easy it was to gain temporary freedom on the pretext of studying. She grinned. Life might not be perfect, but it certainly was fun.

Her grin changed to a grimace as she ran into a rock wall dressed like a man.

She bounced backward, landing right on her bum in the grass. “Ooof.”

“Are you all right?” Oh, wow. The rock wall had a voice that made her insides ping.

She looked up…and up…a couple of inches over six feet of rip, until their eyes met. His were gray. A dark, mysterious gun metal gray. Though, right at that moment, their expression was perfectly readable. They were lit with concern. For her.

Nice.

Her smile returned and she stuck her hand out. “Fine. Thanks. Give me a lift?”

His lips quirked. “Certainly.” He reached toward her and their hands connected.

Starbursts might have gone off, she wasn’t sure. Because the momentum from his tug landed her body against his and her senses went super nova. Her dazzled brain registered that his mouth was still curved in that half-curve. She wondered what he’d look like with a full blown smile. Devastating, probably. She probably wouldn’t survive it.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, looking really concerned now.

And darned if she didn’t really like that. “Wonderful.”

“You don’t need help to remain standing?”

“No.” Did she look like she needed help?

“Then, maybe you’d like to let go? Not that I mind the close contact.” Warm amusement laced his words.

“I should…let go I mean.” But her body made no effort to move backward.

He laughed. “My name is Sebastian Hawk.”

Ulp. His laughter sent shivers through her as she found herself mesmerized by the absolutely gorgeous smile that accompanied it. Okay, so she’d survived a close encounter with his smile, but wasn’t so sure about her mental faculties.

This man was very destructive to rational thought processes.

“And you are?”

Right. Very bad for normal brain activity.

“Oh, I’m Lina Marwan.” She never used her complete name Lina bin Fahd al Marwan in America.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lina,” he said as he gently set her away from him.

She had to fight the urge to press forward and reconnect. Was this what it felt like to be attracted to a man? If it was, she could now be glad she’d spent her teen years at an all-girls school. Unlike her classmates, she’d never had the opportunity to spend time with boys her own age during school breaks. Her family kept too close of tabs on her for that.

In the year and a half since she came to university, she’d hugged a couple of boys, friends she met in her secret pursuits, but they’d never affected her like Sebastian Hawk. She’d always wanted to know what it was like to kiss a boy, but only in the abstract. Now she wanted to know the very concrete reality of kissing Sebastian Hawk.

The craving was so strong, her lips twitched. Sebastian’s gray gaze was knowing-as if he could read the unfamiliar desire surging through her.

The tower clock chimed the quarter hour across the quad and Lina’s body jolted with memory.

“Shoot. I’m late. I hope I haven’t missed my chance to sign up for the kayaking trip.” She still hadn’t worked out completely how she was going to get away from her bodyguard and family for an entire weekend, but she was determined to go on this trip.

“You kayak?” Sebastian asked in a surprised tone.

“It’s one of my favorite things. Not that I get to go as often as I like.” She started walking briskly toward the University Center.

He kept pace with her. “When did you learn?”

“In high school.” There were benefits to being the female offspring to a Middle Eastern king.

Sure, at first, when she’d been sent away from all that she knew, she’d felt abandoned. But as she’d grown older, she’d realized her parents’ lack of interest in her daily life was to her benefit. They were very conservative and that attitude influenced their Americanized relatives they’d placed her with at the tender age of six.

However, she still had more freedom living with her relatives than she would ever have had at home. And she’d gotten her first taste of real freedom when she’d gone to boarding school in seventh grade. The exclusive, all-girls prep school was far from the typical American middle and high schools, but she’d been allowed to do things there she would never have been able to do when living with family. Things like kayaking.

“I see. I thought the kayaking trip was a three-day get away.”

“It is. Are you going?” she asked, unable to stifle the hope in her gaze as her eyes remained locked with those of the tall, dark-haired hunk.

She felt the same adrenaline rush she got when competing in a race. Man, this being attracted to a guy thing was nothing like she’d expected it to be. It was almost scarily consuming. As exciting as taking a kayak out on white water. Maybe even more so.

***

Hawk had to bite down on an ugly four-letter word.

The diminutive princess was just full of surprises. The first had been when he’d seen his newest charge hurrying across the quad when she was supposed to be safely ensconced in the library studying with a small group of female friends. The plan had been for him to confer with her bodyguard and then arrange to “bump into” the princess on her way out of the library later.

It was a good thing he’d seen her, or he would have been just as ignorant of her true whereabouts as her hapless guard. The man needed to take a course in security from Hawk Investigations.

“I don’t kayak,” he said to her, “but I’d like to learn.” Which was a total lie. He had no desire to learn, but he had experienced canoeing. Even if it wasn’t his favorite thing, it was close enough to the other that he was confident he would make a good showing of himself on the water.

A man did what he had to for his job. And Hawk’s current assignment was sticking close to Princess Lina bin Fahd al Marwan.

Her smile was dazzling. “If we hurry, maybe we’ll both still get a chance to sign up for the trip.”

Options clicked through Hawk’s mind. One, he could prevent her from making the meeting at all. Two, he could scuttle any chances she had of going on the trip with a single phone call. Or he could follow his instincts and go on the trip with her.

Her obvious attraction to him would make it easy to arrange for her to miss the meeting, but this woman would probably find a way to sign up for the trip regardless. Lina Marwan, as she called herself, was nothing like the shy, quiet, studious, nineteen-year-old he had been led to expect.

Did anyone in the princess’ life know who she really was and how she amused herself?

The answer was no doubt in the negative, which was why he also did not want to scuttle the trip entirely.

He’d been hired as extra security during a time of increased risk for the Royal Family of Marwan. However, if his interaction had the benefit of allowing him to help her security detail enhance her overall safety-so much the better. He had to identify the ways she circumvented it in order to prevent her from doing so in the future.

Letting her make the trip while he accompanied her to ensure her safety, would give him the opportunity to see what measures she took to avoid her security detail.

He made all these determinations in the space of seconds.

“Lead the way,” he said with a smile.

She nodded, but instead of increasing her pace, she stopped, her dark brown gaze fixed on his lips.

“Lina…”

“Uh, yeah, right…go.” She made a visible effort to look away. Flipping her long black pony-tail over her shoulder, she started jogging toward the University Center. “The meeting was supposed to be upstairs.”

His long strides matched her speed with little effort, but his body heated in reaction to the enticing bounce of her feminine curves. The attraction was definitely mutual, which should make his job that much easier. He wouldn’t have to pretend an interest to stay close to her. Though his original intention had been to strike up a friendship, being just slightly more than friends would be an even better “in” to the princess’ life.

However, he would only take it so far. He didn’t do long term and for so many reasons, Lina was not a candidate for a short term affair. Not only was she the daughter of a client and herself his assignment, but she was a princess from a part of the world that placed a lot of importance on a woman’s virginity. It wouldn’t be fair to the princess to take their association beyond friendship and mild flirting.

Although he had a sense of honor that would not allow him to use the innocent, he was not above using her attraction to him.

Lina stopped in front of an athletic looking blond man who had been coming down the steps in front of the U.C. “Hey, Bob. Did we miss the meeting?”

“Yeah, but no biggie. All we did was pass out info sheets and take names.”

“Can we still sign up?” she asked enthusiastically.

The jock put his hand on Lina’s shoulder and squeezed, his smile practiced and more than a little flirtatious. “Anything for you, sweetie.”

Another curse fought for release from Hawk’s mouth. Did she have a boyfriend her family didn’t know about too?

“Great.” The diminutive princess bounced on the balls of her feet. “Sebastian’s a new kayaker. I’d like him assigned with me…” She turned to look at Hawk. “I mean if you don’t have an issue with a woman teaching you.”

“No, I’d like that.”

“Hey, Wayne could train the newbie and then you could be my partner,” Bob suggested.

“The newbie would prefer to partner his new friend.” It was the only way the princess was getting out on the water. A bodyguard could hardly do his job from the shore or another boat.

“Oh, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to talk about you like you weren’t there.” Lina’s doe-like eyes shone with genuine repentance. “I hate it when people do that to me.”

He supposed, considering the strongly conservative and male centered family she came from, she’d had a lot of experience with it too. “No problem.” But the look he gave Bob told the other man not to mess with him.

From the expression on the college boy’s face, he got the message, but didn’t look happy about it. Again Hawk wondered if the relationship between Bob and Lina was closer than merely friends with a mutual interest in kayaking.

“Look, I’ll sign you both up, but I’ll need your contact details, dude,” Bob said to Hawk. “I’ve got Lina’s. In fact, I already signed you up, babe. I was going to bring you the info sheet in World Politics.”

Lina smiled at Bob, her eyes lit with gratitude and excitement. “You’re the best. Thanks.”

Bob slipped his backpack off his shoulder and dug out a notebook. “Here, just put your stuff in here.” He didn’t let go of the notebook when Hawk reached for it, though. “You are a student here, right? This trip is only open to students at the university.”

Lina frowned, but her expression cleared when Sebastian said, “I’m in the MBA program across the street.”

“Oh. Okay then.” Bob let go of the notebook.

Hawk took it and flipped through the pages until he came to a list of names under a handwritten title, “Kayaking Trip.” He pulled his pen out of his pocket and took pictures of the list of names under the guise of clicking the pen open. He added his name and cover contact information to the bottom of the list.

He would have someone at Hawk Investigations run a report on the names on the list to make sure none of them represented a threat to Lina’s safety.

He wondered how she planned to dupe her bodyguard for an entire weekend, but he had no doubt, whatever her plan was, she would succeed. A princess who had managed to become an expert kayaker while going to the exclusive boarding school she had attended without her family’s knowledge was adept at getting around their strictures for her life.

Bob looked at his watch and then at Lina. “We’ve got almost an hour before class. Do you want to get coffee with me at the Starbucks on State Street?”

She bit her bottom lip and looked sideways at Hawk, then nodded. “Can we get our coffee at the cafeteria though? I need to pick something up at the library before class.”

Hawk almost laughed out loud. She had to pick something up all right…her bodyguard. “You don’t mind if I tag along, do you?” he asked. “I could use a cup of coffee myself.”

Lina’s mouth curved into another blinding smile. “No, of course not. You’ll have to let me buy though. It’s the least I can do after running into you in the quad.”

“You’re the one that ended up on your derriere. I think I should buy.”

Bob shook his head. “Whoever wants to buy, let’s go. I need my fix of caffeine.”

“Were you up studying late again last night?” Lina asked him.

“You could call it that.”

She smacked his arm lightly. “You are so bad. Who was it this time? The sexy sorority girl with a boyfriend at a different school or the gymnast?”

“I’m not seeing the gymnast any more. Her coach told her one more late night and lack of focus the next day and she was off the team.”

So, Bob was a player. And Lina knew it. The question was, did he plan on adding Lina to his list of conquests? Not on Hawk’s watch, he wouldn’t. Her family had hired his agency to see her to her safety and he would do so. On every front. What she and the jock-boy did when Hawk finished with the case was not his problem.

He studiously ignored the tightening in his gut that occurred at that particular thought.

The student cafeteria coffee wasn’t bad. They even had an espresso machine. Not that Hawk drank specialty coffees, but both Lina and Bob did and from the hum of pleasure Lina emitted as she took her first sip, Hawk assumed it was good. He’d won the argument about him paying, but then he had expected to.

He wasn’t in the habit of losing-at anything.

“Are you going to the environmental demonstration tonight?” Bob asked Lina as he leaned back in his chair, his gaze following a curvy co-ed cross the dining room.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll try to be there.”

“There’s a rumor the Young Republicans are going to show up to heckle us.”

“Well, if they do, they’ll be heckling half their membership. Environmentalism isn’t the partisan issue big politicians say it is. There are conservationists on both sides.”

“If you say so.”

“You know I do.”

“Are you a political science student?” Hawk asked Lina, already knowing the answer, but wanting to get her to tell him more about herself. How much honesty was she willing to give?

“We both are,” Bob answered for her. “Lina’s a fence sitter though. She won’t identify with either of our major parties.”

Lina simply shrugged, but didn’t mention what Hawk assumed was her real reason for not identifying with either party. She was a citizen of Marwan, not the United States.

“I’m not a Young Republican and it kills my dad.” Bob’s satisfied smirk said a lot about why he leaned to the left politically.

Lina sighed and shook her head. “I swear you go to the rallies simply out of reactionary rebellion.”

“Didn’t you tell me once that you decided to study politics because your dad told you not to?” Bob asked pointedly.

The princess nodded, not looking the least bit phased. “It was a little more complicated than that, but his negative reaction to my interest in the subject did spur me on. However, how I react to what I’ve learned in my studies is the result of personal convictions. I hold beliefs different from my family, but not because I want to get a rise out of my dad. I doubt he’d even deign to notice, but my family’s political beliefs have had a strong and sometimes negative impact on my life.”

“In what way?” Bob asked.

Lina merely shook her head and changed the subject. Apparently Bob was not a close enough friend to be aware of Lina’s position as daughter to a desert king.

© Lucy Monroe

Lucy Monroe has another Presents coming out in August, Hired: the Sheikh’s Secretary Mistress. Read on for some yummy goodness – a LOVELY and LONG excerpt – that ONLY can be had from a Harlequin Presents…

E-X-C-E-R-P-T

© Lucy Monroe

ISBN-10: 0373235119
ISBN-13: 978-0373235117
August 2008 both UK & North America

PROLOGUE

“Please, Your Highness, let me alert the sheikh to your presence.” Agitation laced Grace’s usual even tones as the doors to Amir’s inner sanctum opened.

But then his family tended to have that effect on people – though rarely his always efficient and coolly composed personal assistant. Five years of exposure had almost made her immune, but an unexpected visit from a family member they’d both thought in Zorha was enough to unnerve even her.

Amir stood up behind his sleek glass topped desk. “I see you are still harrowing the help,” he said to the tall man who’d opened not one, but both of the double doors leading into Amir’s office.

Grace made an offended sound at his use of the word help while his brother simply strode into Amir’s office with a somber air that belied the possibility of a simple family visit.

“To what do I owe the honor of your arrival?” Amir asked.

He had a feeling he already knew the answer, but admitting knowledge was as good as admitting culpability and he was not willing to do that…yet. But he should never have gotten involved with Tisa. The sex-kitten had a love affair with the paparazzi that few could rival. However, at the time, Amir had needed a diversion badly and he had seen Tisa as the answer. For a while it had even worked.

Zahir did not answer, but simply stared at Amir for several tense, silent seconds. Being the youngest of three brothers had taught Amir many things, one of which was when it was politic not to talk. Now happened to be one of those times. He would not make the mistake of breaking the silence first.

He traded oblique look for oblique look with the man that could have been his twin but for the seven years that separated their ages.

They shared the same dark hair worn neither too short nor too long. While Zahir’s was styled in a way that reeked businessman, Amir wore his in an artful tousle. They also shared the same square jaw line, angular cheekbones and aquiline nose. All three brothers were tall, but he topped their brother Khalil by an inch and at six and a half feet tall, Zahir exceeded them both in height. Taking after their father, they all had whipcord lean bodies. Amir’s muscles bulged slightly more from his time in the gym while Zahir showed the development of a man who spent time several hours a week riding. They were both dressed expensively, but while Amir favored designers like Hugo Boss, his eldest brother wore cool Armani.

Their matching brown-eyed stares did not waver until Grace cleared her throat and both their attention swung to his willowy assistant.

Below her red hair pulled back into a severe bun, her perfectly formed nose was wrinkled with displeasure. Full pink lips adorned with nothing but clear balm tilted in a downward curve. Behind the narrow dark frames of her glasses, her hazel eyes shimmered with disapproval at the brothers’ stare down.

“Is this a meeting you need me for?” she asked Amir pointedly.

Bless her. Unquestionably loyal, she was letting his brother know that while Zahir might be in line to their father’s throne, it was Amir who called the shots here in his New York office. She was also subtly encouraging his brother to answer Amir’s initial inquiry without him having to repeat it.

Zahir might ignore him, but he would not show bad manners by dismissing Grace’s question with his silence.

Zahir stepped forward and dropped a tabloid on the desk. It was quickly followed by one after another, each folded open to the page of interest – if the story wasn’t on the cover. Which it was with most of them. Every headline screamed some lewd innuendo about The Playboy Prince and his latest conquest.

Amir grimaced.

Grace made another noise of disapproval. And Amir had no way of knowing whether that disapproval was directed at him or his brother for bringing the scandal sheets into his office. Grace didn’t think much of the revolving door in his bedroom, and she’d let him know it on more than one occasion.

Zahir looked at Grace. “You have something you wish to say, Miss Brown?”

Grace might be shy in most circumstances outside her role as his personal assistant, but here, she was in her element. No doubt, he was her employer. However, there was also no question that she reigned supreme in his office. At least in her own mind. They’d had a few discussions about that fact as well over the years.

She gave them both a look of displeasure. “I don’t know which one of you gets the wooden spoon for having the poorest taste, Amir for getting involved with a media hound or you for bringing that trash here into the office, Your Highness.” She straightened her inexpensive and incredibly banal suit jacket. “Regardless, I can see this is not a meeting I need to be included in, so I will take my leave.”

With that she left, closing the doors with a definitive double-snick behind her.

Zahir actually smiled. “I thought Mother was a tough audience.”

“Grace keeps me in line,” Amir said with some humor, while he willed his libido back into check.

These moments of attraction for his indispensable assistant were coming too frequently for his comfort. But the spark in her eyes when she chastised his brother and him had lit a fire somewhere else entirely in Amir.

Zahir shook his head. “I only wish that were true.” And just like that, the air of gravity was back.

“Tisa was a mistake,” Amir admitted.

“Yes.”

Amir refused to allow his pride to elicit offense at his brother’s honesty. Tisa had been a mistake. In more ways than one. “Are you here on your own, or did Father send you?”

“Father sent me.”

A cold fist tightened around Amir’s heart. Some might think that King Faruq sending his eldest son in his place was an indication that he did not place as high of an importance on the message as he would one he delivered personally. However, Amir knew that was not true. Sending Zahir said more than Amir wanted to hear about how disappointed in him his father truly was. It implied the king was so angry, he did not even want to see his youngest son.

“You know, I realize that Tisa courts the limelight a bit too much and maybe I showed up in more than one story with her, but damn it…I never moved in with one of my flings like Khalil did with his mistress. He lived with Jade for almost two years before he decided to marry her.”

And in any other universe that would have made Jade untouchable in the marriage stakes for a man in his family, but she had friends in high places. Their uncle had taken an interest in Jade and Khalil’s romance and seen to it that Jade had a place in the royal family of Zorha.

Zahir’s frown said how little he appreciated the reminder that his sister-in-law had been his brother’s live-in lover. “Misdirection will not undo the results of your actions.”

“You can assure the king that his youngest son will be more circumspect in choosing companions in future.” Amir’s jaw tightened against words he wanted to add, but would regret saying later.

“Unfortunately, such an assurance will not be enough. Our father has grown weary of you dragging the family name through camel dung. It is time for you to tame your wild ways permanently.”

Once again, Amir had to bite back words it would be impolitic to speak. But his father and brother’s attitude grated.

He was loyal to his family and to his people. He had put the needs of each ahead of his own on more occasions than he could count. He lived away from his desert home to oversee the royal family’s business interests. His position left him little time to himself and if he chose to spend that time with beautiful women in uncomplicated liaisons, how did that make him a bad person?

“I don’t date innocents or married women. My companions are aware of the transitory nature of our association before I ever take them on the first date.”

“So is the rest of the world.”

Amir winced, but he said, “So what?”

“Your lifestyle reflects negatively on our family and our people.”

“There is nothing wrong with my lifestyle.”

“Our father does not agree.”

“What does he want me to do, remain celibate?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

A brief flash of pity flared in his eldest brother’s dark eyes. “The king has decreed that you shall be married.”

The king? So, this was coming as a royal command. Camel dung was right. “And has he chosen my future wife?” Amir asked in disbelief.

Zahir had the grace to look at least a little uncomfortable. “Yes.”

“That’s positively medieval.”

Again that short flicker of pity, but then Zahir’s expression hardened. “Are you refusing the king’s command?”

Foreboding skated up Amir’s spine. He knew that to deny his father would come with a very heavy cost, maybe even his position within their family. His father almost never pulled royal rank, so when he did so, his family knew he would not be moved. If Amir refused to marry the woman his father had chosen, he might as well start looking for a new job. One that didn’t have prince in its title.

He had been raised to do his duty and could not imagine refusing his father, unless the dictate were so untenable he could not possibly live with it. This one was not.

“I will marry the princess…I assume the woman he’s chosen is a princess.”

“Actually, yes.” If Zahir was surprised by his youngest brother’s acquiescence, he did not show it.

“Who is it?”

“Princess Lina bin Fahd al Marwan.” Zahir dropped another sheet of paper on the desk.

This one was a single page dossier on the princess, including a picture of the beautiful woman. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. The last thing he wanted was to marry for love and if he was honest, he would admit that the transitory nature of the women in his life was starting to get old.

He wouldn’t have chosen to marry for some time yet on his own, but he wasn’t completely against the idea.

Besides, he had his own reasons for wanting a more permanent distraction than Tisa and the others like her.

“When’s the wedding?” he asked.

CHAPTER ONE

“What did you say?” Grace felt like Amir had just punched her right in the solar-plexus, but all he’d really done was ask her a question.

“I want you to find me a wife.”

She closed her eyes and opened them again, but he was still there, her gorgeous, totally sexy, only man in the world for her boss. The expression of expectation on his too handsome face said he had actually made the request that she was desperately hoping had been a figment of her imagination.

Hadn’t it been awful enough when he’d announced to her a mere six weeks ago that his father had decreed Amir was to marry some princess from a neighboring sheikhdom? Grace’s heart had shriveled and come close to dying at how easily her usually independent and stubborn boss had so easily submitted to his father’s demand.

Then a reprieve had come for Grace’s bleeding emotions when Princess Lina had ended up eloping with an old flame and nullifying the contract the two powerful sheikh’s had signed. That had happened almost two weeks ago and Grace was just overcoming the jagged edges of pain left by the king’s edict and his youngest son’s acceptance of it.

Now Amir wanted her to find him a wife? Just kill her now because life couldn’t get much worse.

Okay, maybe it could, but even plain PAs has the right to their moments of drama.

“What? Why?” He was happy in his serial liaisons, or at least he’d always acted like he was.

Definitely, he’d never fallen in love with any of them. As far as she knew, (and she knew him better than anyone else in his life, including his family) Amir had not been in love since he was eighteen years old. Not that he admitted now that it had been love then.

But she knew the signs of a true and abiding love. Didn’t she live with them on a personal basis every day?

Amir had loved his Yasmine enough to ask her to marry him. They were only engaged for three months, the wedding less than month away (which in Grace’s mind showed just how much he had loved the other woman to press for such a speedy wedding) when Yasmine was killed in a freak accident. It was Grace’s personal belief that the loss of his first love had impacted Amir more strongly than he ever wanted to admit to himself or his family.

But even so, this was unbelievable.

“My father wants me to settle down,” Amir said with a shrug.

How could he be so blasé about this? Didn’t he care that he was breaking her heart into tiny, bitty, never to be put together again pieces? All right, so he didn’t know, but did that excuse him? The jury was still out on that one, just like it was out on the issue of the pain he caused her regularly with his little liaisons.

“But he hasn’t said anything about selecting another wife for you, has he?” she asked with desperate logic.

“No.”

“So…”

“I see no reason to wait on him to do so. If you find me a wife, at least I’ll have control over the final choice and will get married on my own terms, not his.”

Grace had to stifle a groan and the urge to smack her own forehead. She should have expected this. Amir was far too alpha to let another man choose his wife. Now that he’d been given a reprieve, rather than wait for his father to exert control again, he would pre-empt the king by acting on his own. She understood the reasoning, respected it even, but no way in the world was she going to help him.

That was simply asking too much.

“No.”

His dark chocolate eyes widened almost comically. “What do you mean no?” His shock at her refusal was so blatant, she could feel it like a physical presence between them.

“I mean that if you want to find a wife,” she said very slowly and very firmly, “you’ll have to do it on your own.”

The shock melted under his obvious discontent. “Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t make this kind of choice without your input.”

Her body jerked as if the words were knives directed at her heart rather than the backhanded compliment Amir intended them to be. “I’m not being anything of the sort. I’m your personal assistant, not a matchmaker. Finding wives is not even remotely in my job description.”

“That’s exactly right. Your title is personal assistant, not administrative assistant because you help me with more than just business.”

“The selection of a wife is way too personal.”

“No, it isn’t. You’ve picked out gifts for my companions, how is this any different?”

“How can you ask me that?” She loved this man more than her own life, but sometimes he was so dense she was tempted to question the obscenely high I.Q. level he was purported to have.

Amir leaned his hip against her desk and crossed his arms, a sure sign he was settling in for the siege. “We’re just arguing in circles here, Grace. I need your help.”

“No. I won’t do it.” She would never survive it.

It hurt enough to love him like she did and know there was no chance between the two of them, but to be forced to find a woman to hold the place she wanted more than anything? That was too much. Much, much, too much.

“Come on, Grace. Don’t let me down now. I’ll make it worth your while.”

That was all she needed, the promise of a bonus for doing the one thing she never, ever, ever, not in a million years, wanted to do.

“No.”

Before he could continue the argument, the phone rang and Grace leapt for it like a drowning victim going for a lifeline. When she managed to drag the call out past a minute, Amir’s natural impatience got the better of him and he pushed away from her desk.

The look he gave her over his shoulder said he wasn’t finished with their discussion however.

***

Amir paced his office. What was the matter with Grace? She’d been acting strangely ever since his father had insisted he marry. At first he’d thought it was because she was worried she’d lose her job when he took a wife, but he’d assured her the opposite was true. He couldn’t imagine trying to function without his insightful and efficient PA.

She’d continued to act oddly and had only settled down in the last couple of weeks. Since the marriage plans with Princess Lina had fallen through.

Try as he might though, he didn’t understand why Grace was balking at finding him a wife. She didn’t approve of his lifestyle any more than his father did. She’d made that clear enough, though she’d never gone as far as the king and suggest Amir resort to marriage.

He would think she’d want input into choosing the woman that would play a key role in her life. As his PA, Grace would no doubt find herself conferring with the woman Amir married in order to arrange schedules and the like. In fact, he would expect her to help select his spouse’s personal assistant so the two would work together seamlessly.

Grace had to know this wasn’t something he wanted, or even felt qualified, to do alone. She understood what he needed, often before he did. She would be able to find the best candidates to fill the role to compliment his life.

He wasn’t looking for love, but he didn’t want a wife who didn’t fit in with the lifestyle he was most comfortable living. Grace understood the sheikh under the Western clothing. She understood how important his family and home were to him, even if he lived in Manhattan and reveled in his New York existence.

He thought of how she had looked when he first asked her. Stunned. Totally shocked, which actually surprised him. He would have thought she would have foreseen this move on his part. She was usually much better at anticipating his actions.

She knew he didn’t want his father controlling his life, even if the older man was King of Zorha. If not now, then sometime in the future, his father would come back with another parentally approved bride. Amir’s only choice was to get there first. And he would have sworn Grace would realize that.

He had half expected her to have a list of suitable candidates already compiled. This intransigent refusal to help was completely out of character for her. Not to mention unacceptable.

It didn’t help that Grace was kind of cute when she was startled like that. It wasn’t a look he saw often and frankly, that was probably for the best. He couldn’t afford to ruin the most important relationship with a female that he had in his life for sex.

His mother might be hurt to know he placed Grace above her (and everyone else) in importance, but there was no contest. His PA impacted his reality in both big ways and the minutiae on a daily basis. No one had more influence on his day by day existence than she did.

Unfortunately, she was not the type of woman he could have a fling with and then go back to life as normal. Or he would have scratched this particular itch a long time ago. And he wouldn’t have ended up with Tisa either, thus preventing the subsequent edict by his father. Regardless, he recognized that working together afterward would be impossible.

He refused to risk something as important as his relationship with his perfect for him personal assistant for something as ephemeral as sex.

The fact that his desire to experience that side of his dowdy assistant was getting stronger all the time only enhanced his certainty that finding a convenient wife was the best course of action for him. Which meant he had to convince Grace to help him.

They both needed the protection. Because he knew that Grace would be far too easy to persuade into his bed. She watched him with an innocent hunger that had caused him to hide more than one hard-on behind his desk. He’d long since stopped questioning why a woman so unaware of and poor at showcasing her feminine attributes would affect him this way. He simply accepted that he craved pulling her long, curly mop from its tight bun and run his fingers through the red silk.

He also wanted to expose and taste the expanse of her alluring skin…the light dusting of freckles looked like sweet spice on the untouched creaminess. Did those delectable little dots cover her whole body? Were her delicious looking apple shaped breasts adorned with the cinnamon looking specks?

He adjusted the hardness in his trousers. Damnit. He had to stop thinking like this or he was going to have to start taking mid-afternoon showers – of the cold variety.

He must convince Grace to help him find a convenient wife…the only kind he wanted.

Memories of the one emotional entanglement of his life and its aftermath sent chills through his heart. No love. No intense emotional connections. He was never going there again. Not in his mind, not in his heart and definitely not in his life.

***

Grace settled into her seat beside Amir at Fenway Park. They’d flown to Boston on business and he had surprised her with Infield Dugout Box seats. She loved the Boston Redsox and any other time would be in absolute alt over his generosity. Only she had a bad feeling they were by way of a bribe.

He hadn’t said another word about her finding him a wife in almost a week, but she was too smart to think he’d forgotten about it. That wasn’t Amir’s way. She’d worked with him for five years and couldn’t think of a single instance he had ever given up something he wanted after only one argument. He was much too confident and strong willed to be easily dissuaded from a path he’d chosen.

And he’d made it clear he wanted her on that path, choosing with him.

This wasn’t right. Or even remotely fair. She should be enjoying the game. Instead, her mind was whirling with ways to convince Amir she meant business and fears that she wouldn’t be able to hold the line against him.

It was hard saying no to the man you loved, even if he saw you as a piece of handy office furniture.

Amir looked sideways at her. “Everything all right?”

“Yes. I’m really happy to be here. Thank you.”

The smile he flashed her was both sincere and incredibly sexy. “I am glad. And you are welcome. You deserve much more.”

Okay, so not a piece of office furniture. Guilt suffused her. She sighed. She’d be willing to bet that if asked, Amir would not only describe her as a top notch personal assistant, but he would claim they were friends too. And they were. The truth was, Sheikh Amir bin Faruq al Zorha was her best friend. She was pretty sure he considered her the same or close to it.

The problem for her was that she longed to be more than his friend and knew that could never happen. He was so far out of her league, she might as well be considered a player in pee-wees while he was definitely a top player in the major leagues.

None of which was anything new to her, so why was she allowing the situation to ruin her current experience? The answer was, she wasn’t going to. This was a wonderful treat for an obsessive baseball fan like her and she wasn’t going to diminish it with depressing, but old and familiar thoughts.

Grace forced her attention back to the men on the field. And if her senses were more in tune with the man beside her, no one had to know.

***

Amir had been biding his time before approaching Grace again about the issue of finding him a wife. Whatever had caused her to be less than receptive the first time around would not doubt get better with time.

This strategy had worked before. He would put an idea to Grace and give her time to think about it. If her first reaction was negative, more often than not she would talk herself into it more effectively than he could. Usually. He was hoping this was one of those times. But if it wasn’t, he’d taken care to soften her up with a trip to Fenway Park and was in the process of buying her a team jersey after a rousing win by her favorite team.

She’d chosen one that was made for men and obviously at least a couple of sizes too big. When he’d pointed out one that would have been more form fitting, she’d shaken her head.

He couldn’t complain about her propensity to wear either shapeless or oversized clothing (or both) because it was one of her habits that helped him control the frustrating desire that plagued him around her. Though even that habit was rather endearing.

He had never known a woman so clueless regarding her feminine appeal, or how to showcase it.

For this small mercy, he could only be grateful.

He waited until they were in the limo before broaching the subject on his mind and in the end, she made it easy for him.

She settled back against the leather seat facing him. “Okay, what gives? As if I didn’t know.”

He poured her a glass of lime Perrier and himself a finger of Absolut. Too bad she did not drink. Enhancing her malleability right now could only improve his cause. “If you already know, there’s no point in me saying it.”

She took the sparkling water. “Thank you.”

He inclined his head.

She took a sip, regarding him over the rim of her crystal tumbler.

“Thank you also for not denying that tonight has all been about buttering me up.”

Now that stung. “Do you really think so?”

She just shrugged, her hair for once not pulled up in a tight bun, but barely confined in a wild ponytail than made her look younger than her twenty-five years. She was dressed in a Redsox t-shirt he’d bought her the year before and a pair of jeans that made her legs look a mile long. Thank goodness, they were in her typical baggy style.

He gave her a chiding look. “You’re not being fair, Gracey-girl. And that’s not like you.”

She pouted, her lip protruding adorably and he had to slam down on the urge to kiss her.

“Oh, all right…it’s not all about buttering me up. Even if you didn’t have something you wanted, you probably would have arranged tickets for the game.” She rolled her eyes. “And bought me the jersey, which I’m sleeping in for the foreseeable future…so, thank you.”

The image of Grace in bed was not one he could afford, so he thrust it from his mind with ruthless precision.

“I might have gotten regular box seats.” Though he wasn’t stingey with her and she knew it.

Grace had few passions and baseball was one of them. He indulged her as much as possible. An excellent PA like her deserved a few perks.

“Maybe…but regardless, I know you aren’t above using my good mood and sense of gratitude toward you for your own ends right now.”

“If I were above it as you say, I wouldn’t be a very good negotiator, would I?”

“I suppose not.” She bit her bottom lip and looked out the window for several seconds of silence.

“What is holding your interest? It is simply the clogged traffic we encounter after every one of these events I’ve taken you to.”

She sighed and turned her attention back to him, her hazel eyes troubled. “You want me to find you a wife.”

“Yes.” He had her, he knew it. And no, he didn’t feel the least guilty for getting her in a moment of weakness.

She glared at him. “You think you’ve won, but you haven’t.”

“I will.”

Her frown grew more fierce, but she didn’t deny it.

“If you really wanted my cooperation, you should have arranged for me to meet Big Papi.” Her eyes glowed with something that disturbed him on many levels.

“I have no desire to introduce you to your hero. Sports stars like him could benefit from have a good personal assistant too. I will not lose you so easily.” He said the words as a joke, but felt them deeply.

Was he not willing to marry to protect her position in his life?

“You think so? I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“I am not amused.” The idea of her leaving him to work for the Red Sox’s lauded designated hitter filled him with annoyance, even though he knew it was in no way possible.

She laughed, but then sobered almost instantly.

“I’m not saying I’m going to do it, but if I did, what are you looking for in a wife?”

The question took him unawares, though it shouldn’t have. He opened his mouth and closed it again immediately. Nothing came instantly to his normally agile brain.

She stared at him, the knowledge in her eyes growing. “You’ve got no idea, do you?”

“That’s why I asked you.”

“But Amir, this is your wife we’re talking about. I can’t just make a list of candidates and ask you to choose.”

“Why not?”

“Because you have to tell me what you want first!” For some reason, her agitation made him feel better.

“You know what I want.” Probably better than he did.

“You were happy with your father’s choice.”

“All but the fact that it was his choice, that is true.” Was that pain that chased so quickly across her features? She had no reason to be hurt. It must be the subdued lighting in the limo playing tricks on him. “I prefer to pick out my own wife,” he said when she did not respond.

“Then why are you demanding I do it?”

“It’s different, and you know it. Now stop being difficult.”

“I’m not the difficult one. How can you possibly expect me to do what you ask without giving me some guidelines in which to work?”

“Fine. She needs to be physically attractive.”

“Is that all?” Grace asked with a sarcasm few could match.

“No. She has to be cultured and diplomatic.”

“I see.” Her formerly animated attitude had become subdued.

Was his lack of helpfulness bothering her that much? “I want to marry a woman who will complement me and my position, both in the business world and within the political realm when I am operating within my role as sheikh-slash-prince.”

“I got that.”

“Oh.”

She sighed.

“I’m not sure what you mean by attractive.”

“Are you being deliberately obtuse?” He would not put it past her. His PA could be very stubborn and going passive aggressive was not beyond her repertoire.

“You think so? You once said you did not see what made Jade so special for Khalil. Obviously, you two have differing tastes. Most people do.”

“But you know the type of woman that attracts me. You’ve seen and spoken with, hell you’ve shopped for, the women I’ve dated.”

“But one must assume these women lack something, or you would have married one of them by now.”

“I am ready to marry. Perhaps if I had been before, I would be married to one of my former companions.”

“But you never loved any of them.”

“I don’t plan to love my wife either. This is a marriage of convenience.”

“So, then what difference does it make if your future wife is attractive, or not?”

“Now you are being naïve. A beautiful wife can only benefit me.”

“You mean like a trophy wife.”

I mean like a feminine companion that will add to my éclat, not detract from it.”

“That is so shallow.”

“It is realistic.”

Whatever.”

He had disappointed her…again. She was very good at her job, but still very innocent to the ways of the world. He decided to explain in a way that might embarrass her, but would not offend her sense of fairness.

“I do not wish the need to remain faithful to become a Purgatory for me, either.

“So, you plan to be?”

“Faithful? Yes, of coursse. The men in my family are not philanderers.”

“Everything you have listed up to now, is superficial…what about you and she having interests, likes and dislikes in common?”

“Not necessary. It’s not even preferred. As long as we are compatible in bed, we can live totally separate lives.”

She looked at him like she questioned his sanity, which was frankly a marginal improvement over her doubting his integrity.

“That’s not the best environment to raise children in, or didn’t you plan to be a father?”

“I do not have to be a besotted fool to be a good father.”

“Your parents love each other.”

“So?”

“Are you saying you don’t want that for yourself and your family? Not even a little?”

Thoughts of the only time he had ever known anything close bombarded his brain, leading to memories of Yasmine.

The time right after Yasmine died, his mind shied away from what those images, and the pain and wekness they represented. “Not everyone craves that kind of relationship. I definitely do not.”

Her frown was back full force. “With an attitude like that, it would serve you right if I did it.”

“That’s exactly what I’m hoping.”

But she wasn’t listening, or at least she wasn’t looking at him. She was too busy glaring out the window again. What was her problem?

Was it possible his ultra efficient secretary who dressed like a dowd and never dated had a severely hidden but equally deep romantic streak? It would certainly explain her negative reaction to his proposed marriage of convenience…both the one his father had decreed and the one Amir himself was trying to facilitate with her help.

It would also explain why she never dated. Because no matter how dowdily she dressed, he knew other men had to have noticed the latent sensuality in his Grace. But apparently, she was waiting for Mr. Right…the knight in shining armor to come along and sweep her off her feet. In a way, he was glad she had this hidden streak of romanticism. It kept her working by his side rather than off dating and/or married to another man.

“Will you just think about it, Grace?” He played the card she’d never been able to ignore in the past. “Please.”

Her gaze slid to him, another expression he could not read settled in her hazel eyes. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

Victory was his, if he just waited.

Something of his certainty must have shown on his face because she pursed her lips with affront. “Don’t look so smug. I may yet say no.”

It was so unlikely as to be an impossibility, but he was savvy enough to her ways not to say so.

Sandy M’s review of Satisfaction Guaranteed (The Goddard Project, Book 1) by Lucy Monroe
Contemporary Romance published by Brava on 1 May 2007

All it takes is another man sniffing around his home turf and Ethan Crane sits up and takes notice. Much to Beth Whitney’s delight — and consternation. She’s had all kinds of sexy and lusty fantasies about the agency’s No. 1 agent for two years and not once has he stepped out of that polite, friendly, and teasing posture whenever he interacts with her. But when Beth’s ex-fiance is hired as the new agent on the block, suddenly having Ethan’s attention zeroing in on her is spine rippling and disconcerting all at once. Wait till she finds out what her father has up his sleeve.

When her fiance left her at the alter three years ago, Beth knew she’d never have a relationship with another agent again. They’re just not family material and a family is what she wants. She suffered enough growing up without her father around for the milestones in her life. He was too busy protecting the country to help her blow out birthday candles or see her in a school play. She’ll work for the agency herself, but all of the men who work around her are off limits. Even Ethan, who is handsome, sexy, and a dare devil, an adrenaline junkie who takes all the dangerous cases and isn’t ready to settle down any time soon. She can fantasize about him, but she’ll never let it never go further than that. Famous last words until her father pulls her into Ethan’s current case. She’s doomed before they even get started.

When the new recruit begins to show an interest in Beth, Ethan begins to show a little possessiveness toward her, something he’s never done before. He even gets into a friendly but icy pissing match with Alan, trying to protect her from empty come-ons, but she’s not one to let a couple of men call the shots in her life and she tells them so in no uncertain terms. That heightens Ethan’s awareness of her that much more. Then when they’re thrown together on the case that Ethan is raring to get started on, after his initial disapproval because of the potential danger due to her not being a trained agent, he finds Beth is a woman who can hold her own and think on her feet — when he’s not got his hands all over her. Something clicks fast and furious between them, so intense he’s thrown off balance to the point he backs off and ends up hurting Beth, which bothers him almost as much as not having sex. And that’s not like him one bit.

For not having any type of relationship, not even flirting, before these two characters are thrown together for a good cause, sparks that turn into fireworks begin to fly right off the bat. I loved their initial “getting to know each other” scenes so they would be able to realistically portray lovers for the case. They check out each other’s apartments down to the most minute details, all the while the sexual tension grows until they — and you — are about to explode. When Ethan gives himself over to Beth to play out her fantasies, things get hot fast and eventually burst into flames, despite the handcuffs. From there the love and sex just gets better between them, and even with some insecurities and hurt feelings along the way, Ethan and Beth learn to work together, trust one another implicitly, and finally want the same thing, each willing to compromise to gain what they both thought they’d never have.

Yeah, there’s a story in this book. A really good story. I liked it too. But love scenes by Lucy Monroe just work their magic and you find yourself so entranced in her characters coming together to explore new-found sensations and feelings while having the time of their lives that everything else fades around you just like it does in real life.

Grade: A+

From the back cover:

Anytime, anyplace, Ethan Crane’s your man. An agent’s agent, he’s tough, smart, and fearless. Exactly the guy you want when the stuff hits the fan—and precisely the kind Beth Whitney avoids like the plague. It took a fiancé (make that ex-fiancé) in the business to teach her, but she’s learned her lesson: Don’t. Date. Agents. Ever. It’s this little rule that’s kept her gainfully employed at the agency, doing her part for world security from behind a desk. So when a case throws the two together, Beth’s determined to keep it strictly professional. So far, so good—except for the steamy kisses, the red-hot phone sex, and…What was that rule again?

To Ethan, Beth couldn’t be less his type if her father ran the agency, which, oh yeah, her father does run the agency. Still he can’t help but be impressed by her inspired work in the field—a total turn on. Off the field it’s even better. Seems the old adage that opposites attract happens to agents too. Even if Beth insists it’s just a fantasy. Hot pursuit of a notorious information broker is what they should focus on—not each other. That can wait until they’ve accomplished a job well done. Or can it?

Holly’s review of Housekeeper To The Millionaire by Lucy Monroe
Contemporary Romance released by Harlequin Presents 1 Apr 08

I started reading Lucy Monroe several years ago. If I’m not mistaken, it was towards the beginning of her career. Although I love pretty much everything she’s written, I feel she really excels at writing for the Presents line. Her stories are the perfect blend of sweet and intense, if somewhat predictable.

Although I enjoyed this one as much as I have her past novels, I was somewhat disappointed in the heroine. She’s rather insecure, but I found her reasons for being so to be rather contrived and – let’s face it – a bit on the ridiculous side. You see, Carlene Daniels has issues because she’s too pretty. She’s got killer curves and her whole life she’s been treated like a sex-crazed bimbo because of them. I believe she’s described as looking like a centerfold and as such people (read: men) don’t expect much from her outside of the bedroom.

Now, this is the first novel I’ve read where the heroine has a complex because she’s too pretty, but the way Carlene reacted to even being looked at with appreciation was odd. At times she’d enjoy the attention, and at others she’d cringe and feel dirty. I found the entire situation (her insecurities and her reactions to them) very contradictory. The author tried to give a credible reason for Carlene believing her looks were a curse, but it fell somewhat flat for me. I think a bit more time spent on Carlene finding peace with her looks would have worked better for me than the short amount of time spent on the issue did.

But the novel was saved for me, because though I felt the reasons behind Carlene’s issues weren’t the best, the relationship she developed with Win Garrison while in the role of his housekeeper was wonderful. I truly felt their connection and the sexual tension between them sizzled. Win doesn’t look at Carlene like she’s just a piece of meat – though he does make it clear right from the beginning that he’s interested in having a physical relationship with her – and I think that was a pivotal part of the story.

The conflict between them is something different, too. It didn’t come from outside the relationship, but rather from them wanting different things for their future. Win has been married once already and it wasn’t a good experience for him. That combined with the way his mother went through men before her death has convinced him he doesn’t want to go there again. But because of the way she was treated in the past, Carlene doesn’t want to start some tawdry, short term affair. And she doesn’t want to do a one night stand, either. I love that both characters felt passionately about their positions, but didn’t resort to treating the other badly because s/he didn’t agree with their choice. It was very refreshing.

Win’s niece and nephew provide some levity to the story and pulled some cute little stunts I couldn’t help but smile over. I also enjoyed some of the additional secondary characters, like Win’s sister Leah and his ranch hand Shorty. They played key roles in the story but still managed to stay in the background.

Although I think the reasoning behind the main conflict (Carlene’s insecurities and Win’s scars from his past) weren’t as fleshed out as they could have been, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

Grade: B+

     Summary:

     Vacancy: housekeeper needed for eligible millionaire!

     Sexy Win Garrison wants a new housekeeper to make his life easy, not someone who tries to get a ring on his finger!

     When curvy Carlene Daniels arrives on his doorstep, Win isn’t fooled by her oversized jumper and hastily pulled-up hair. She’s a knockout! So why is she trying to look like a frump? It makes him want to get her out of those clothes—and into his bed! Carlene doesn’t seem to want to play…but what this millionaire wants, he gets!    

     Read an excerpt here.

Sandy M’s review of Deal With This (The Goddard Project, Book 2) by Lucy Monroe
Contemporary Romance published by Brava on 1 Dec 07

I discovered Lucy Monroe in 2005 and have loved everything I’ve read of hers so far. It’s her heroes and the slow, sexy, sensuous way she tortures a reader on the way to some great love scenes that keep me coming back time and time again.

This book is no exception. Alan is one of those tall, handsome, sculpted men who had a bad relationship and has vowed to never allow himself to get involved so emotionally with a woman ever again. He’s a former FBI agent now with a covert agency that even the U.S. government doesn’t know exists. His ex-fiancee ended up marrying another agent, so Alan knows it’s not necessarily the job that women can’t live with. He’s happy with just sex and with a job that takes him wherever he’s needed. Alan’s contentment is about to get a huge shake-up. His current assignment includes a cover as a freelance reporter infiltrating the entertainment business to find the person responsible for stealing unknown technology to sell to the highest bidder. He’s to rent a room from Jillian Carlyle, an actress and a suspect, a beautiful redhead who keeps him hot and bothered night and day.

Jillian also is one who doesn’t believe in love, has an ex-fiance, and has rules to cover just about every aspect of the man-woman relationship. Her career is the most important thing to her, she doesn’t need a deceitful man in her life. Enter Alan and all of Jillian’s good intentions and her rules are right down the drain. Oh, she tries very hard to stick to her guns, but Alan’s personality and sexuality chip away at her defenses one by one. The teasing, hot scenes between these two last a good long while until both you and they can’t stand it any longer. They burn up the pages every which way before they finally get down to the deed. But the deed itself is even that much sweeter by this time, and they are both lost afterwards and they both refuse to admit it, to acknowledge the feelings and the sparks when they’re together. It’s like they’re not sure what to do with all this sudden emotion, so it’s better to go on pretending this is a short-term fling and they’ll go their separate ways in the near future. However, after analyzing, a life without the other in it doesn’t sit well with either of them. After a lot of soul searching, they begin to talk and to see all they need to do is compromise and life and love will take care of itself and them.

I really like how Alan accepts Jillian’s friends with no questions asked and no prejudice — three are gay men, each confident in their sexuality and the kind of man Alan has never known before. He gets to know the men inside, the person each of them is and doesn’t judge their lifestyle. Monroe’s characters are always three-dimensional and getting to know them is a joy. But it’s Alan and Jillian’s relationship that makes this book. Considering their pasts and their jobs, they’re as honest as they can be with one another, they revel in each other, and they understand the other’s emotions and reasons for being so hard headed about love. But they each come around in their own way, they work together, and you can’t have a better happily-ever-after than what you get in Monroe’s books every time.

This series is loosely related to Ready (Kensington, Jul ’05), Willing (Kensington, Jan ’06), And Able (Kensington, May ’06), which are my three favorite Monroe books. If you read romance for the heroes and a fulfilling, loving, and sexy romance, you have to read Lucy Monroe.

Grade: B+

From the back cover:
     Alan Hyatt could do his job in his sleep, and when the Goddard Project sends him to investigate a case of high-tech espionage in the Vancouver film industry, he finds a perfect reason to work in bed. But sizzling actress Jillian Carlyle also happens to be his landlady, and she’s got a hard-and-fast (so to speak) rule that keeps her from dating her renters. While Alan’s cover as a reporter gets him close to all the suspects on the set of Jillian’s sci-fi show, playing a background actor at her suggestion to get his story? Well, that’s something else–but he’s not about to turn down a red-hot redhead, even if she keeps throwing him curves…

     Jillian just can’t understand it. Sure, Alan is six-feet-something of chiseled ruggedness with gray eyes and an irresistible growl in his voice. But hello? She doesn’t do relationships–even of the casual kind–with men who impact more than her senses. No one is getting a chance at her heart. Especially not one of her renters. Still, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying Alan from afar–but not too far, or she wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate his rock-hard abs when he’s working out in the home gym. If only he didn’t make her feel safe and oh so right when they touched…

     Read an excerpt.

Lucy Monroe, author of the upcoming re-release of 3 Brides for 3 Bad Boys (5 Feb 08, Brava), shares her travel destination wish list with us…  

12 Places I’ve Been and Would Like to Go Again

1. My backyard in the summer – brrr, it’s cold out there!

2. Frankfurt, Germany – wonderful shopping, friendly people and a great public transportation system.

3. Washington D.C. – fell in love in the first five minutes after arrival.

4. My great-grandparents farm – it’s gone now, but the memories linger and so does the desire to return.

5. Victoria, B.C. – it’s a family favorite and we’ll use any excuse to go.

6. Lora Leigh’s Breed world – thankfully, she keeps writing books so I can keep going back.

7. Walking on the beach with my husband – corny, much? Sigh…I’m guilty.

 8. Dancing in Spain at a nightclub – though it would be even more fun now with dh.

9. On a cruise – but this time I’d like to take one around the foot of Italy and into Greece.

10. The Portland Art Museum – it’s less than half an hour away and filled with treasures, so why is it so hard to make it back as often as I want?

11. The Little Store – have no idea what it’s real name was, but it was up the street from my house as a small child and the magic of nickel candy has never left me.

12. England – some people dearest to my heart live there and I’m missing them.

Happy Holidays to all!

Hugs,
Lucy Monroe

So where have you folks been that you want to return, or where would you like to go that you’ve only seen in your imagination?

I would have so blown it today. And I didn’t even step into a bookstore. Go figure but since they are all trade size the only way really to get them and not pay out the nose is online. Here is hoping my Books A Million order goes well this time.

New Books Coming Soon to A Home Near Me!
Larger Than Life by Alison Kent
Didn’t AAR review this already? I can’t find it. Ah well I thought I had already bought this book. But I can’t find it. Which means it didn’t make it to the register with me or hell if I know. But since I loved Kiss & Makeup I have been on a Kent glom.
used I have picked up:
Four Men and a Lady
Bound to Happen
and I already had the SG-5 books… now I just need time to read them

Kick Ass by Maggie Shayne, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight, Jacey Ford
Not sure if this will be worth the 9.80 I just paid but I have hope…
The last anthology I bought I still haven’t finished. But I do so love me some MJD and AK so with luck those will be good. And Maggie Shayne, I don’t think I have read her yet, even though I have a few other anthologies she is in. And I am have no clue who Jacey Ford is. So hope hope hope hope I might find two new faves.

Really Unusual Bad Boys by MJD
I don’t care what you guys say, I loved Derek’s Bane. So there.

Mercenaries by Angela Knight
This could really fuck up my order. I thought it came out in December but both BAMM and Amazon are saying Sept and I think it was in the RT. So here is hoping.

Ready by Lucy Monroe
LLB had great things to say about this book and even though I haven’t read The Real Deal yet I finally have it. And I think I will likey.

Five new trade size books, don’t you love how I stick to not buying them.

hmmm I want to say I have bought some other things this week… good god I am working too much my brain is cloudy
OH I finally got my hands on Heidi Betts Blame it on the Blackout. Since reading Blythe’s review I have been dying to read this. Having the book is a good step in that direction .

Nobody’s Saint by Paula Reed was another find I have been wanting. I have been waiting to blog on the other two after I read this one. So who knows when the hell that will be. But it is mine mine all mine. I am way sad Reed’s next book sounds line women’s fiction.

There was one or two others I had been looking for I found but I damned if I can think of the titles at the moment. And I have picked up a handful of Blaze’s, of course not finding the one I wanted. I will blog on those later. Probably before I get a chance to read any but who knows, next week might hold wonders that give me more time to blog. Like not working 7 hours on a saturday… yes I know, bitter much…

Ok off with me. I am gonna go read Spell of the Highlander and try to keep Maili’s voice out of my head.

geeze wasn’t someone suppose to be watching me or something? next thing you know, I am gonna have to be responsible for my own actions… 

But hey I could drink my money away or have a shoe habit or whatever

hi my name is sybil and I am a bookaholic

Trade:
Men of August – Marly’s Choice By Lora Leigh
Thanks nicole! I really need to set up a trade list or something.

Used:
Southern Comfort by Karen Kelley
I have never heard of this book or this author. Anyone have an opinion?

Widow’s Little Secret by Judith Stacy
I am a Harlequin Historical whore, what can I say.

Letters From a Stranger, Forever and a Day and Unspoken Vows by Connie Rinehold
Kristie J made me do it. Well she rec’ed Letters and I am easy.

New:
Jamie by Lori Foster
This is the end of the Visitation series. I really didn’t think I would like this and had Just Say No to Joe forever before I read it. For whatever reason it completely caught my interest. Lori Foster is a hit or miss author for me. I hope this ends the series well.

Beach Blanket Bad Boys by Linda Lael Miller, Alison Kent, Lucy Monroe, Jill Shalvis, Susanna Carr, Morgan Leigh
note to self: order trade size books from amazon or bamm. I just paid 15.00 bucks for this. The line up of authors is great so I am hoping it was worth it and it is the second of the bad boy books I have bought new. So all in all it is worth the price. But the next one, will be purchased online.

Bad in Boots – Colt’s Choice by Patrice Michelle
I love a good western, make it a hot western and I am in heaven. I have only read one story by Patrice Michelle Hearts Are Wild with Cheyenne McCray , Patrice Michelle , Nelissa Donovan and I enjoyed her story. This is the second in the Bad in Boots series and in sybilfashion I don’t have the first one yet. oops I do have Dragon’s Heart, A Taste for Passion (vamps) and A Taste for Revenge (vamps) to read. She does say there will be more BiB books coming as well as the vamps.

Beauty Like the Night by Liz Carlyle
New to me author, I am really enjoying her backlist.

Marry the Man Today by Linda Needham
I am not really sure why the hell I bought this. I have only read two books by Needham and didn’t like either. I am trying to cut back on my ‘spy’ books. And she is a dreaded avon author (looks at kristiej). I didn’t even know about this book and honestly, ::hangs head:: the cover caught my eye. It is purple with a carriage and really pretty font. I picked it up and was in a rush (got there 20 mins before they closed). I am going to look up what I can on the book and I MIGHT go back and exchange it tomorrow for something else. Ten to one I throw it in the tbr pile and use it for that avon post I am going to someday do.

Hero, Come Back by Stephanie Laurens, Christina Dodd, Elizabeth Boyle – talked a lil about this one earlier

Master of Pleasure by Jessica Trapp – talked a lil about this one earlier

hee and the library sale is tomorrow at 11 Then I think I am set for the week. The thing that really sucks ass, is I am going into work in the morning. le sigh I would have had more time tonight to read the shit load of books I have but real life got in the way.