Shannon C.’s review of Seduced by Magic (Magical Seduction, Book 1) by Stephanie Julian
Fantasy erotic romance eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 5 Mar 08

When Stephanie Julian e-mailed us requesting that someone review something of hers, I gladly agreed to do so, since her premise looked interesting. Unfortunately, while there were quite a lot of things I liked about the book I read, I’m not sure I can recommend it with the heartiness that Ms. Julian would no doubt prefer. 

Scarletta has reasons to be suspicious of Justin. She thinks he intends to capture fairies and study them scientifically, and she’s determined to kill him before he gets the chance. But when she sneaks into his home, she realizes he’s hot, and random sexoring commences. But there are some people far more dangerous to Scarletta and her people than Justin, so the two end up running from them and Justin learns far more than he bargained for about his own life.

One of the things I really liked about this story was that aside from the random sexoring that Scarletta indulges in, I found her a competent heroine. She knew exactly what she was doing most of the time, and I could believe that she was usually good at her job. She’s not excessively TSTL, which is nicely refreshing. I also loved that Justin was allowed to be something of a geek, because, well, I think that’s hot. I even liked the romance, though I think I would have liked it better if it hadn’t been so rushed.

What I didn’t like very much, and what brings the grade down considerably, was the world-building. There’s something to be said for having the fairies have their own unique names for each other and for humans, as it lends a certain verisimilitude to the story, but it was something I actually grew rather annoyed by. I never did figure all the Italian words out, and every time I encountered one, I was thrown out of the book.

The plot suffers quite a bit, too, as the characters easily circumvent any conflict that is thrown their way. I didn’t feel any tension from the plot, and when Justin has his big reveal of magical powers, I actually rolled my eyes, because of course it turns out he is way more powerful than Scarletta. I mean, he is the man after all.

I did like the hero and heroine, and the secondary characters were interesting enough that I could see some of them carrying their own stories quite well, but I’m not sure this is a series I’m going to follow. There isn’t enough here to let me recommend it particularly highly.

Grade: C-

Summary:
Justin Johannson knows there are mythical creatures living among us. After all, he has been trying to prove their existence for ten years. Research gets a whole lot more interesting when he finds a winged woman in his bed and his sexual fantasies come to life.

Etruscan folletta Scarlata is convinced Justin is in league with an evil businessman bent on capturing her for scientific study, which is so not going to happen. She decides that Justin needs to be taught a lesson to leave her and the rest of the mythical creatures in peace — but before, she might just have a little fun of her own.

The beautiful folletta never expected to fall for a human and Justin is about to discover that true magic really does exist in the world. And in him.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

LauraD’s review of Compromised by Kate Noble
Historical Romance released by Berkley Trade 4 Mar 08

Historical Romance gains a new author in Kate Noble and Compromised is her first novel. In an unusual move, Penguin has released it in trade paperback format. The cover is lovely, the story sounded fun, and I was totally in the mood for a good historical. 

Gail Alton and her sister Evangeline are newly returned to London after spending years traveling with their father. Their new stepmother considers bookish Gail to be the perfect foil for older sister Evangeline’s beauty, and insists that they make their come-out together. Maximilian, Viscount Fontaine, attends their debut ball and encounters both girls. While he finds a tipsy Gail to be a brat, he is smitten with Evangeline when he encounters her alone in the conservatory and that is a good thing because he has compromised her and they become “secretly” engaged. Gail becomes the couple’s chaperone, and she and Max find that while they might bicker quite a bit they also have a lot more in common than Max and Evangeline.

I’m a sucker for stories where the heroine is in love with her sister’s/friend’s fiancé, and this is a good one. There is a nice dynamic between all three characters. Gail and Evangeline are friends as well as sisters, and both feel protective of the other. The whole Alton family is portrayed as loving, including stepmother Romilla; their time away from England has made them a close unit. Ms. Noble gives plenty of time to establishing all four characters, so none of the family is a cardboard cutout.

Max is a good man; he wants to do the right thing by marrying Evangeline, even as he begins to see it’s Gail he truly loves. He’s definitely a beta; I grew frustrated with his unwillingness to just take action regarding his engagement after he made his decision about Gail. I appreciated his character’s more intellectual pursuits — while Max is attractive and sought after he’s not portrayed as the typical drinking and carousing romance leading man. When he takes the girls on an outing they go to the British Museum, and we readers get a view of the museum in its infancy. [Ed: I adore the British Museum - you have to see its basement - chockablock full of ancient sculptures, row after row after row...]

Compromised might not work for readers who need their historicals to ring true 100%. Speech and personalities are more 21^st century than 19^th. At one point, Gail and Max have a discussion about whether or not the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece; that sentiment seems so contemporary that it jarred me out of the story.

Ultimately, I found Compromised to be a very enjoyable romance featuring both a truly likeable hero and heroine. Their path to a HEA is interesting and a pleasure to read. I really appreciated the author’s decision to make Romilla a loving and well-intentioned stepmother, avoiding the Cinderella cliché. I recommend this book, and happily give it a solid…

Grade: B

Read other reviews by clicking on the Compromised tag.

Summary:

Miss Gail Alton was not having a good day. Or a good year. First, her new stepmother strong-arms her into attending the Season as a foil to her beautiful sister Evangeline. Then while riding her mare in the park, she gets toppled by a stuffy, self-important, too handsome-by-half ‘gentleman’ who has the audacity to blame her for their fall into the chilly lake! Little did she know that the same man would soon be found in a compromising position with Gail’s sister…Forced into asking for Evangeline’s hand in marriage, Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, can’t take his mind off the irksome girl who threw him from his horse and insists on matching wits with him at every turn. He’s determined to follow through with his best intentions, yet he can’t deny that every encounter with Gail makes him want to cast propriety aside – and whisk away the sister of his soon-to-be bride…

Read an excerpt.

Shannon C.’s review of Crossing Swords (Emissaries of Belthalas Series) by Kirsten Saell
Erotic fantasy romance eBook released by Samhain Publishing 11 Mar 08

I’m still enough of a baby reviewer that I can count on both hands the number of authors I actually would call friends. So I’m still anxious about reviewing them when their books come out. I haven’t known Kirsten Saell very long, but our emails have been wide-ranging and sometimes epic-length. I was fairly sure I’d love her debut, Crossing Swords, but I put off reading it because I didn’t want to hate it. I’m glad to say that I did, in fact, love the book, so I needn’t have worried. 

Saell’s debut is set in a fantasy world that, while it’s not developed just yet, seems like an interesting place. Lianon, our heroine, approaches the hero, Gil, an assassin, dressed in drag and takes a contract out on… herself. They fight a duel, whereupon Gil realizes that this comely young man is, in fact, a woman. Needless to say, this irritates him. But he’s even more dismayed to learn that Lianon still has powerful enemies that want her dead.

Why did I love this story? One word: Lianon. I love a strong, kick-ass yet vulnerable woman, and Lianon is all that. Her angst felt very real, and at no time did I want to tell her to get a Kleenex and get over it the way I usually do. Plus, I loved that Gil recognized Lianon’s strengths. This isn’t one of those stories where the butch girl gets a makeover, becomes feminine, and suddenly her life is easier and everyone wuvs her. Gil even mentions that, the one time he sees Lianon in a dress, she is aluring but a bit diminished. I really liked that.

As for Gil, he’s cool in his own right. Like Lianon, he has his baggage, but he complements her well. I especially appreciated that Gil has friends and interests outside of Lianon, which made him seem to be a well-rounded character. And the chemistry between himself and Lianon? Definitely hot.

the secondary characters, particularly Viera, a local whore, and Aru, the local healer, are well-drawn and not simply thrown in because Yay sequel-bait! Aru in particular should be an interesting break from cliches because he’s not portrayed as an especially masculine man. And Viera seems to revel in being a whore, which I also find refreshing.

Ms. Saell manages to subvert a lot of the romance tropes that irritate me. Lianon is definitely not a placeholder to show how great a guy Gil is. Gil is alpha without being an asshole or totally emasculated. And the F/F interactions, (which I personally think there need to be more of in romance) weren’t simply foreplay so that Lianon would be ready for a real sexual experience.

In short, Ms. Saell writes exactly the kind of book there needs to be more of, one that is both empowering and sexy. And she accomplishes more in a short novel than others can manage in an epic doorstopper. Yes, I’ll be following this series, and I recommend it to anyone who likes well-written fantasy romance or romance with subversive elements.

Grade: A

Summary:
One duel. Easy money. Then Gil fell for his opponent.

A straight duel to the death. A professional opponent who’s paying him to win. This was going to be the easiest money Gil had ever earned. Except he never counted on his opponent being a woman. And he never counted on falling for her.

After avenging the brutal murder of her lover, all Lianon wants is to die a clean death. Too bad the man she hired doesn’t do women, and he’s furious over her deception. Not only does he renege on their contract, he has the gall to lock her up in his apartment—naked, no less!—to punish her for her ruse.

If she could just get her mind out of the gutter, she’d cut him a new smile. But ever since he saw through her boy’s clothes, all she can think about is getting him naked, too.

But just when she’s found something to live for, the father of her lover’s murderer surfaces. He wants Lianon to die screaming—and he’s all too happy to take Gil down with her.

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, including f/f; bad language; violence; bland, rubbery veal; a little sexual healing; and one killer blowjob.

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Forgotten Kisses by Rena Marks
Contemporary Erotic Paranormal Romance eBook released by Ellora’s Cave 26 Mar 08

Just from reading the prologue in this book, I had high hopes for getting a good read that’s right up my alley: vampires, werewolves, hot and sizzling sex, a great story, and a good mystery to go along with it all.  I only ended up with one or two of those things by the end of the book.  The others either irritated me or bored me, which is usually hard to do, as folks here around The Pond (a.k.a. TGTBTU) will tell you.

First of all, it took nearly half the book to get to the good part of it, the mystery and the reason for reading in the first place, so after a while I was bored with it all.  The first half is spent with Anjelia and Julian, the vampire part of the story, finally coming together after she has rebuffed him time and again.   There’s only a little bit of Leo, the werewolf part, here and there.  I honestly didn’t expect to see much more of him after meeting him once or twice, so it was another surprise to find later that he becomes a major part of the book.  I thought I’d been reading about the hero, Julian, all along, but apparently that wasn’t so.

Julian is the master vampire of the city and Leo is the werewolf king, both alphas, powerful, and handsome as sin.  They’ve been bitter enemies for eons and they’re now embroiled in a tug-of-war for Anjelia and just a plain old war between their factions due to a serial killer that’s on the loose.   But it takes Leo to make Anjelia see that all is not what it seems in her relationship with Julian.

I liked Julian up until this point.  Anjelia is a lot more forgiving of his transgressions concerning her than I ever would have been.  With Leo waiting in the wings, I would have walked away from Julian and straight into Leo’s arms at the drop of a hat once Julian’s deceit was revealed.  She supposedly still loves Julian, though, even after all that, but I never really felt it.  It seemed more contrived, needing to be that way for the ending of the book down the road, which is another whole story when I get to it.  Eventually Leo is brought into the storyline on a more regular basis, we learn more about him through his “friendship” with Anjelia.  He wants more, of course, because, as he tells her, she’s destined to be his queen, but she has the taint of vampire in her blood and his pack is reluctant to accept her.

After getting through way too much of Julian and Anjelia’s budding relationship — it could have been cut way down to get to the good part of the book — finally the meat of the story arrives.  Anjelia is kidnapped, held captive for weeks, which causes Leo and Julian to work together, to become bonded, to have the power to find her.  This part of the book is actually very well done, it’s interesting, the mystery of it all is kept alive, and it works.  Even the impossible odds of Leo and Julian working together works during these scenes.  It’s afterwards that it all falls apart for me again.

Anjelia’s feelings for Leo grow, but she keeps telling herself it’s the feelings of friendship, until she just can’t deny it’s love she truly feels.  But she still loves Julian.  Even after his deceit is revealed for a second time.  Okay, maybe you can love two men at the same time, loving them in different ways, which in itself is an interesting concept, but the way it’s done here just didn’t fly for me.  The author basically created circumstances where Anjelia is tied to the two men that compels their need for one another, which led me to the feeling of it being contrived.  Love should be an all-out, flaming, out-of-control emotion and I never felt it here, not even with Leo, who was my favorite of the book.  So to have it divided between two men just didn’t feel right.

Which leads me to the ending of the book.  Just didn’t work here for me either.  I kept asking myself how is the author going to come up with a way to leave Anjelia free to make her own choice.  The answer is she didn’t.  At least for me.  The idea of these two men agreeing to such an ending and not go ballistic as most heroes do when their heroine is in another man’s domain, well, it just isn’t justified for these men and their feelings.  I know some readers will like the way this all ended, but I’m still too disillusioned with Julian that I didn’t want him anywhere around at the end.  So it’s only the fact that I liked Leo, I did get at least a pickup in the second half of the book, and I liked most of the secondary characters that the grade isn’t any lower.

Grade: C-

Summary:
Anjelia Romere falls in love with a vampire, yet is pursued relentlessly by his rival, the werewolf king. Her life is turned upside down when she realizes her vampire betrayed her by erasing her memory of being the wolf queen.

Now she wonders whether the vampires are the good guys and if the werewolves are really the villains.

Tied for life as a human servant to the master vampire, yet destined to be the wolf king’s mate, Anjelia wonders: Whom shall she choose? For one option is death; the other, insanity.

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Lifelines by C.J. Lyons
Romantic suspense released by Berkley 04 March 2008

Every once in a while a book comes along that just doesn’t work for me, and I can’t seem to put my finger on why. It’s competently written. It’s got an interesting storyline. The characters seem like intriguing people. But it doesn’t grab me. That’s usually when I fall back on clichés. Such is the case with C.J. Lyons’ debut novel. By the final 100 pages, the appropriate cliché finally came to me: Too much of a good thing.

July 1 is the most dangerous day of the year at Pittsburgh’s Angels of Mercy Medical Center. It’s the day that the new interns arrive to start their rotations, and anything that can go wrong usually does. It’s also the day that new ER attending physician, Dr. Lydia Fiore begins work. Leaving bad memories, and Los Angeles behind, Lydia is looking for a fresh start in Pittsburgh. Instead she immediately lands in hot water, her very first day on the job.

It’s a busy day, with all going well, until Lydia loses a patient. A young man, who began behaving erratically outside a bar, wandered into the street and was hit by a car. Lydia does everything in her power to save his life, only to lose him. That’s when all hell breaks loose. The young man she couldn’t save was the chief of surgery’s son, and he’s personally blaming Lydia for his son’s death. She’s immediately persona non grata, and her career is going up in flames right before her eyes. Lydia knows she did everything in her power to save the young man, and is determined to get some answers.

Besides the suspense thread there is also Lydia’s budding romance with a hunky EMT, her personal baggage concerning her horrible childhood, and a very large cast of secondary characters. The main players are three other female characters destined for their own books – Nora, the ER charge nurse, Gina, a doctor and third year resident, and Amanda, a medical student. Not only do these three crowd the landscape but there are also other doctors, police officers, EMTs, and bad guys to keep track of. It makes for a crowded menagerie of characters and kept this reader at arm’s length. There was too much “set up” going on for the series, and not enough delving into the character’s lives and personalities.

I never felt invested in Lydia’s life. Far too often she seemed like a “type” as opposed to a flesh-and-blood character. I also found the timetable to be extremely problematic. I understand that people can be drawn together during times of stress and struggle, but this story takes place over the course of one week. One week, and prickly, fiery Dr. Fiore is becoming best friends with three women and falling in love with a man? Given her horrible childhood, her haunted past, I found it all a bit hard to swallow.

Despite the fact that I never truly connected with this story or characters, I would still recommend it to people who love medical dramas, and those who enjoy sagas. There’s a lot going on in Lifelines, some of which I found to be a hindrance, but that other readers, those hungry for big, meaty stories with a large cast of characters, will very likely devour.

Grade: C

Summary:

Growing up in LA, tough as nails ER doc Lydia Fiore thought she’d seen everything. When she arrives in Pittsburgh, eager for her first shift as a newly fledged attending physician, she realizes how wrong she is.

During her first days at work, Lydia finds herself embroiled in the murder of a gay-rights activist, targeted by a right-wing militia, stalked by an unknown assailant, and racing to stop a plot to ignite a race riot.

At first Lydia yearns for the mean streets of L.A, but, with the help of her new colleagues and hunky paramedic Trey Garrison, she overcomes her doubts and embraces her new life at Angels of Mercy’s ER.

Read an excerpt.

Limecello’s review of Night of Love by Diana Palmer
Contemporary Romance released by Silhouette Desire on Aug 93 & Dec 98
Released again in Mar 08 as one-half of Man of the Hour (see end of review)

This book is interesting, in my opinion, because it’s not part of Diana Palmer’s Long Tall Texans series. Of course, that’s not the only intriguing facet about it. The characters are well written and developed, though their story is slightly similar to Ms. Palmer’s other books.

Meg Shannon is a ballerina, and I have to say, I didn’t particularly like her based on how the book started. She gets a phone call from a woman and automatically assumes it’s one of Steven’s f**k-bunnies (although I’m sure that’s not a term that would have occurred to any of the characters, much less the author, especially at the time it was written), and pretends she’s just rolled over from a marathon session with Steve in bed. The scene just didn’t fit in with the rest of the book, or her personality. Still, her character becomes more developed, and enjoyable. Meg protects herself, and is generally able to go toe to toe with Steven, which is fun to read.

Steven Ryker, is of course, a business tycoon. He’s good friends with Meg’s older brother, and owns the company where they both work. He and Meg were involved a number of years ago, but circumstances split them up. Steve never got over it, and he’s rather cruel to Meg as a result. I enjoyed seeing how he changed throughout the book, especially as he became more certain of his relationship with Meg, and began to open up. He’s a good guy.

As usual, in a Ms. Palmer novel, much of the conflict, if not all, is due to an utter lack of communication between the characters. They do stupid things, yes, which result in relatively normal reactions, but the fact that all the problems could be easily solved both annoy the reader, and grips them. Meg has hang-ups about marriage, especially having children, and Steve doesn’t think Meg loves him for himself, and that he’s her second choice. Some pictures and unhelpful words and interference from parents led to Meg running away to New York from Wichita, KS after she had a blow up fight with Steve.

Luckily, the book begins with Meg’s homecoming, and both characters older, and slightly wiser. One thing I really enjoyed about the story was the secondary characters. They’re well written, a lot of fun, and a great support to the main story. You have to feel badly for Meg and Steve, who did love each other so much, but their own uncertainties as well as outside factors kept them apart. There’s the star crossed lovers aspect that has you rooting for them.

Another component to the book that I don’t know if I like or dislike, is … well the interaction of the characters. Specifically, the sex. The characters are generally repressed (which in a way is fun) – but the love scenes are a bit odd. Something like the proverbial train wreck, where you can’t look away. It’s horrid, yet fascinating at the same time. The characters are awkward, yet it works, especially for them, and in the context of the story.

I know this book is tied to at least three more, but I feel that a number of others are slightly connected to it as well. One thing that is definitely true of Ms. Palmer would be her mastery of series. I did like Meg and Steve, and their story, but this wouldn’t be labeled one of my favorite Ms. Palmer books. It is fun, however, and a necessary read if you’re a Ms. Palmer fan – especially because so many of the secondary characters get their own books.

Grade: C+

Mr. August

The Man: Steven Ryker, strong-willed, determined… dangerous to love!

The Myth: That this tough guy didn’t give a thought to any woman.

The Legend: He was a man no female could resist, with a heart no woman could claim.

The Awful Truth: Meg Shannon was in town – and Steven was in trouble!

Once Steven had given sweet Meg his love, but she’d thrown it all away fro a life that excluded him. Well, he didn’t care that she was back in town; he’d learned his lesson the hard way. This bachelor wasn’t going to get burned again, no matter what Meg said about “circumstances beyonf our control.” His control was doing just fine, and she could forget all about rekindling their flame…

Night of Love can also be found as one half of the single-author anthology Man of the Hour (HQN, 1 Mar 08). The other half is Secret Agent Man – review to follow.

Limecello’s review of Secret Agent Man by Diana Palmer
Contemporary Romance published by Silhouette Desire on Dec 93
Released again in Mar 08 as one-half of Man of the Hour (see end of review)

I really like this book. I enjoyed reading about the characters, and found both the story line and subplots interesting, and important. What I really appreciate about the book is a minor aspect, but one I think is important, and love when romances “teach” real life lessons. Here, it’s how important knowledge of self defense is for women.

Kirry Campbell is a great heroine (especially for a Diana Palmer book). She’s smart, a business executive, and isn’t naïve. If you’ve read other Ms. Palmer books, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. She had a relationship with Lang, but that ended badly, and while it did affect her, she doesn’t approach him like a wounded puppy. I like how Kirry stands up for herself, and doesn’t particularly have a terrible past. She’s a regular career girl, and a good person. I also loved the fact that Kirry is never pathetic in regards to Lang.

Lang Patton is an interesting character. In other novels, he’s something of a clown, and torments other characters much to the reader’s delight. Here in his own story, however, he’s much more serious, and it’s rare for his strange (yet fun) sense of humor to make an appearance. Likely because Kirry has him tied in knots and he’s rather out of control. The impact is greater when you know Lang is a former CIA agent who has come home to take over as head of security for a private security job (in San Antonio).

As usual, misunderstand kept these two lovebirds apart. A bad situation, outside factors, words exchanged in the heat of anger, and personal hang-ups all worked against them. Also, their age, and the fact that each still wanted, and needed to live their lives. I thought it was interesting that Lang was the one who had issues with marriage and intimacy. It isn’t often the hero has the baggage and issues (although in Ms. Palmer’s books almost every character has a tragic story).

The development of Kirry and Lang’s relationship is natural and believable. The steps they take and how they react to secondary characters and outside factors was realistic, and enjoyable. One major plot device that throws the two together is Kirry’s stalker. Lang moves next door to her to protect her. He also teaches her self-defense, which comes in quite handy for Kirry. The serious and important undertones of the book are something I think every person should consider. (Although I will admit to being too lazy to look up whether or not stalking was/is a crime, etc.)

There are a number of secondary characters both good and bad, but I liked how they all acted as a “supporting cast” and never detracted from Kirry and Lang’s story. Too often a secondary character steals the show, but Ms. Palmer balances the two perfectly. Seeing how Kirry and Lang work through their issues and build an actual relationship (the second time around) is gratifying. The selfless acts of the characters, their personalities, and the plot all make Secret Agent Man a welcome read.

I did think it was interesting the publisher decided to put Night of Love and Secret Agent Man together in a novel – I would have thought King’s Ransom would have taken the place of Secret Agent Man – or at least it would have been included as well. King’s Ransom is a satisfying end to this little series, and is a book I still need to find.

Grade: B-

The Man: Lang Patton, former secret agent, scarred – body and soul,

His Mission: Adjust to everyday life and avoid romance at all costs.

The Obstacle in His Way: Ex-fiancée Kirry Campbell, currently being stalked by one very angry admirer.

Lang Patton had battled his conscience for years after breaking his engagement o pretty Kirry Campbell. She had wanted promises he couldn’t make, needed him in ways he couldn’t fulfill. Now Kirry was back in his life, whether he wanted her there or not. She desperately needed his skills to protect her from a violent pursuer. And this time, Lang vowed not to let her down – or let her go!

Man of the Month: He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it!

Secret Agent Man can also be found as one half of the single-author anthology Man of the Hour (HQN, 1 Mar 08). The other half is Night of Love – review to follow.

Shannon C.’s review of Undeniable Magnetism by Bonnie Dee
Contemporary M/M Erotic Romance Ebook released by Loose ID 25 Mar 08

I really like Bonnie Dee’s writing. I’ve only read a couple of her books so far, but I love that she tackles a variety of genres, and her characters have a lot of warmth and seem like people it would be fun to get to know. In Undeniable Magnetism, a recent release from Loose ID, Ms. Dee continues in that vein and provides a nice character study with two protagonists who are both the kind of guys one might actually run into at some point in real life.

Essentially, the plot here is simple. Simon Chase goes to a bar to de-stress, a bar owned by Jay Moran. After a heated encounter, Jay never expects to see Simon again, but on a whim, Simon calls him and the two begin a relationship. The conflict here is that like in the real world, not everybody in Simon and Jay’s world really embraces the men’s sexuality, and the two of them have to come to a place where they can accept that.

The thing that really works here are the characters. Jay and Simon are both guys. Sometimes when I read plot descriptions of gay romance, I feel like the author could just give one of the guys a set of breasts instead of a penis, do the occasional find and replace, and you’d have a het romance. This frustrates me as a reader, because if I wanted to read a het romance, I would, well, read a het romance. But both men do very masculine things and they talk like men. Their issues were very realistic, and because of that, I was rooting for them the entire time I was reading.

I also liked the fact that Ms. Dee subverts a few stereotypes. Simon is the upper-crust one who attended the best schools and parties. Simon is black. Jay grew up in a poor, ethnically mixed neighborhood and owns a bar. He’s white. The race thing does come up occasionally for both of them, and I felt it was addressed in a sensitive way.

Overall, I think this is a great example of M/M romance. I didn’t even mind the relatively short page count, because Ms. Dee manages to pack a lot into those pages. I definitely recommend this one.

Grade: A-

Summary:
When Simon walks into Jay’s bar for a drink, he never expects to find himself having an afternoon quickie in the back room. Although he’s very attracted to the blond, blue-eyed bartender, he’s never experienced a real relationship with another man and isn’t ready for the commitment that entails.

Jay is ready for Mr. Right, and when he meets hot, hunky Simon, he believes he’s found his match. But convincing the reserved man that their brief encounter could evolve into something more will take all his considerable persuasive skills.

Jay is blue collar, Irish. Simon is an African American from a society family. Can two men from such different backgrounds find common ground? Undeniable magnetism draws them to one another, but only love can keep them together.
You can read an excerpt here

Finn’s review of The Kiss by Sophia Nash
Historical romance released by Avon 26 Feb 08

I love a story about people that were childhood friends that got separated and then find each other again years later. The struggle they go through to get to know each other again and the path they take to each other’s hearts is inspiring.

Quinn and Georgiana were childhood friends who got separated because of a horrible childhood accident. Quinn comes home to Penrose, his family’s estate in Cornwall, to find Georgiana, his cousin’s widow, working her fingers to the bone to run Penrose. Although Georgiana is now the lady of the manor she is also the steward’s daughter and is being treated horribly by Anthony’s mother who does not think Georgiana was good enough for her darling boy.

Well Quinn starts making changes to remedy Georgiana’s status at Penrose while he fights his growing attraction to her. Georgiana does the same. She loves Quinn and always has since they were children but she thinks he doesn’t like her because of her disfigurement.

I really like this story. It shows how much we all just want to be loved for ourselves.

Grade: A

He had once been her cherished childhood companion, and then the man she lusted for in secret, but Georgiana Wilde hasn’t seen recently widowed Quinn Fortesque since the day he married another woman and shattered her heart. Then fate intervenes and brings the man she dreams about each night back to her . . . .

Returning to the estate on family business, Quinn would like nothing more than to turn the land over to Georgiana and leave the memories of his former life behind. But then the brooding marquis finds himself under the spell of the beauty he once left behind. With her barely concealed passions, Georgiana melts his coolly guarded heart. Suddenly his well-ordered world is in danger of crashing down. And it all began with just one kiss . . . .

Finn’s review of How to Propose to a Prince (Royle Sisters Trilogy, Book 3) by Kathryn Caskie
Historical romance released by Avon 26 Feb 08

How to Propose to a Prince, I think that is advice every gal needs! I was interested to learn how a woman goes about proposing to a man, much less a prince. Well if we are to believe Elizabeth Royle you just don’t take “No” for an answer.

This is the third book in the Royle sisters trilogy by Kathryn Caskie. Elizabeth’s sisters have married a duke and an earl but she is determined to marry a prince. Why, you might ask? Well because it is rumored that the Royle sisters are indeed the illegitimate offspring of none other than George IV!

Elizabeth has a chance encounter with Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield and knows she has met her prince. What she doesn’t know is that the man she met is really Sumner Lansdowne, Marquess of Whitevale who is the cousin of the prince and is impersonating Leopold because of an assassination attempt. What follows is a hilarious tale of clandestine meetings between Leopold and Princess Charlotte and Elizabeth and Sumner. Of course Leopold, Charlotte and Sumner are in on the ruse but not poor Elizabeth. So while all this is going on the Royle sisters are still trying to figure out the clues left to them by their physician “father” as to the real origins of their birth. Which luckily you find out at the end of the book! (I can’t stand a mystery not being solved.)

Grade: B+

If the tiara fits, wear it! And that is exactly what Elizabeth Royle intends to do. After all, if you can’t be acknowledged as the daughter of a prince, the least you can do is marry one.

When Elizabeth Royle, youngest of the notorious Royle sisters, comes face-to-face with her future husband, a man she’s seen only in her dreams, she nearly swoons–especially when she discovers he is a prince. But her ecstasy is short-lived as she quickly learns that the man she longs for is soon to be betrothed to someone else–a princess no less. A lesser woman would give up, but Elizabeth is a Royle, after all.

Refusing to surrender her dreams of a royal wedding, Elizabeth takes the position of lady-in-waiting to the princess, determined to get close to her perfect match. But the lover she desires is not who he seems…and only once she discovers the true man behind the crown will she find the perfect love she’s been longing for all her life.

Limecello’s review of Island Heat by Sarah Mayberry
Contemporary romance published by Harlequin 11 Mar 08

I happened to get my hands on another Sarah Mayberry book, and it’s the first in Harlequin’s (relatively) new Mediterranean Nights series that I’ve read. I enjoyed the book, and while I’m contemplating reading more in the Mediterranean Nights series, I know I’ll be buying more of Ms. Mayberry’s books.

Island Heat is yet another book that involves chefs – which personally I think is interesting, because from what I know, Ms. Mayberry’s books generally involve characters in the entertainment industry. However, I was happy because I’m a foodie. Island Heat is a great balance of romance, setting, plot, and food.

Ms. Mayberry’s books generally involve characters that have history, and it’s a trend carried through in this book as well. Victoria Sanderson and Ben Cooper were classmates at the Culinary Institute of America. They parted on bad terms upon graduation, but being stuck together on a cruise ship results in them resolving their issues. After all, not only are they stuck together on a ship, they have to work together.

Ben and Tory are both interesting, have great personalities and are well developed characters. I really enjoyed was the fact that they communicated. Of course, they lie and indulge in minor pettiness – which simply makes them human. Actually, the antics they engage in are quite entertaining and devious. Ben and Tory are also perfect foils for each other. Tory is type A, and a micro-manager. Ben, however, is the quintessential island boy – relaxed, and more big picture, bad boy willing to indulge and put play before work. Food is what brings them together initially, but once each sees the other for the person they truly are, they find out they have more in common. A lot more.

There were a few secondary stories. One, that developed more in the end, I truly enjoyed, and it was heart warming. I won’t talk about it more, because it’s a secret- no spoilers! The other, involving a dancer on the ship, didn’t get me, and I found her story distracting, and rather irritating.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and found it interesting to read one of Ms. Mayberry’s stories with a different setting. Once again, Ms. Mayberry delivers a story with terrific characters, an emotional and rewarding story, with sun, fun, and mystery thrown in. Island Heat made me want to book a cruise, and eat some jerk chicken.

Grade: C+

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold… but what do you do with the leftovers?

It’s been eight years since Tory Sanderson has seen Ben Cooper—eight years since she found out he seduced her to win a bet with some classmates at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, and eight years since she got her revenge.…

After fulfilling her dream of publishing a cookbook of island recipes, Tory is thrilled when she’s invited on a Caribbean cruise as a guest lecturer. But excitement turns to anxiety when she finds out that Ben, who is now a celebrated restaurateur, will join her as the guest chef.

Ben accepted the guest chef gig in order to enjoy a week of Tory sweating it out in the kitchen. But once the heat starts to climb, getting even turns out to be the last thing on his mind. In fact, picturing a future with Tory in his kitchen might add just the right amount of spice to his life….

Read an excerpt here.

Connie’s review of No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane
Romantic Suspense released from Avon 25 Mar 08

This book is set in San Antonio and features a female detective whose sister was abducted and killed and no one was ever caught. Understandably she wants to be in on the investigation but her superior feels she is too close to the case.

When the body of a young girl is found interred in an old theater it becomes important to find out what happened to her and give her family a sense of closure. While on the search for what happened to the girl she meets the most delectable man who leaves her white roses on her fire escape.

Diego Galvin is rich and a hunk but is he involved with what is going on in the city? Rebeccca found him at the crime scene and then finds him when she talks to the wealthy man who once owned the theater and he pretends to just meet her. I he to good to be true?

There is no shortage of suspects and no shortage of really bad people and Diego and Rebecca seem to be caught in the middle .I really enjoyed this book and even the Hunk was one you want to be one of the good guys.Hope to see more of this author.

I really enjoyed this book and even the Hunk captures you as he did Rebecca. How many men even know what flowers are?

Grade: B+

Burdened by Grief, She Hunts a Killer

They never found her sister’s body, but Detective Rebecca Montgomery knows her murderer is still out there. In the five months since Danielle went missing, there have been two more brutal abductions. A savage menace stalks the women of San Antonio, and the relentless detective will do anything to find him.

And a Seductive Stranger Shadows Her Every Move

But her latest case—the discovery of a young woman’s remains inside the wall of a burned-down theater—plunges Rebecca from her grief into a brand-new nightmare. She soon meets handsome, mysterious Diego Galvan at the crime scene, and his shadowy connections will lead to her first break in both cases. But when Rebecca submits to his considerable powers of seduction, she will leave herself vulnerable to a merciless killer . . . and when he attacks, no one will hear her scream.

Shannon C.‘s review of Compromised by Kate Noble
Historical romance released by Berkeley Sensation 4 Mar 08

This book was fun. I didn’t expect I was going to be as engrossed by it as it turned out that I was. It’s also that rare kind of book for me that gets better as I contemplate it, hence the A grade it ended up with. There are so many small scenes, great moments, and turns of phrase that I liked that I wanted to spend large sections of this review talking about. As I was running errands today, I found myself thinking about the book, hoping I’d remember to mention one small thing or another. If that’s not a sign of a good book, I’m not sure what is.

I won’t summarize the book, because Lawson did that in her review, but I will start out with an observation. When I was reading the book, and having met Max and Gail, our leads, I ended up thinking about Jo March and Laurie Lawrence, the most wronged romantic couple ever in any book I’ve read–yes, even more wronged than Butch and Vishous, if you can believe that. (Seriously, why did Jo have to marry the stodgy German guy, leaving Laurie bereft and heartbroken so he had to go marry Amy, the twit!) Anyway, while Max and Gail certainly did remind me of Jo and Laurie, they were very much their own characters, and furthermore, they were fun to read about.

I admit it. I love a well-written Regency bluestocking, and Gail definitely was. I only rolled my eyes a little bit when Gail started going off on how wrong it was that the British colonized the rest of the world, because the idea seemed a bit too 21st-century, but for the most part, I enjoyed Gail. I felt that her awkwardness in social situations was entirely justified, and I liked that she wasn’t a completely feisty little hoyden out flouting conventions left and right. She was a very strong woman, very much capable of holding her own without being abrasive.

Max works well as a foil for Gail. He wasn’t really the roguish Regency rake, dallying with every lightskirt in London. I liked that he actually was seen earning his own living, and didn’t go around throwing money around. His personality was complimentary to Gail’s, and there was a nice give and take between the two of them, with each of them winning a fair number of their contests of wills. I loved Max’s sense of honor, and I loved that when he finally realizes he’s in love with Gail, nothing will sway him from that course. There were opportunities for some big misunderstandings, too, and Max and Gail were very adult about them, which was such a nice change.

The family relationships between the characters were another strong point. I particularly liked seeing that the relationships between the various family members weren’t completely one-sided. The characters acknowledge that they don’t always behave well toward each other, but they move on. And yet, I liked the undercurrent of family loyalty that ran strong between these people. (My favorite scene is when Evangeline, Gail’s much quieter, sweeter older sister informs their stepmother that she has just been extremely petty, and the stepmother realizes that, yes, she was.) The relationship between Max and his father also had surprising depth, and I absolutely loved the way that plot resolved itself.

The more I ruminate on this book, the more I absolutely love it. It’s not without its flaws, but most are relatively minor–a few times when a character spoke in a way that seemed too American, the presence of some other Regency-lite cliches, that sort of thing–but they don’t detract at all from my enjoyment of the book. (Well, I do have to admit I snorted a little when the author had some character use the phrase “Good gravy!” but like I said, minor nitpickiness there.) Kate Noble is an author to watch, and I sincerely hope that someone has given her a really hefty contract so we’ll see more books from her.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Miss Gail Alton is not having a good day. Or a good year. First, her new stepmother strong-arms her into attending the Season as a foil to her beautiful sister Evangeline. Then, while riding her mare in the park, she gets toppled by a stuffy, self-important, too-handsome-by-half “gentleman” who has the audacity to blame her for their fall into the chilly lake! Little does she know that the very same man will soon be found in a compromising position with Gail’s sister.

Forced into asking for Evangeline’s hand in marriage, Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, can’t take his mind off the irksome girl who threw him from his horse and who can match wits with him at every turn. He’s determined to follow through with his best intentions, yet he can’t deny that every encounter with Gail makes him want to cast propriety aside-and whisk away the sister of his soon-to-be bride.

You can read an excerpt here.

Lawson’s review of Her Every Pleasure by Gaelen Foley
Historical romance released by Ballantine 25 Mar 08

I have to admit that maybe I should have learned my lesson after the first two books in the Spice Trilogy, Her Only Desire and Her Secret Fantasy. When Sybil gave me this one, though, I couldn’t say no. I’ve loved Foley’s Knight Miscellany series and even though the first two didn’t work for me, I had hopes that Gabriel Knight’s story could help redeem things. With intrigue, a small measure of scandal and a enough chemistry to start a few explosions things may be looking up.

Last seen, Gabriel Knight had given up his inheritance to go live in the country to find peace after his life of warfare and violence in India. His near death experience has given him a new view of life, but when he finds a wayward girl in the loft of the barn things get thrown out the window. He things she’s been sent by his brother to ease his many needs, but he instead offers her a job as his maid.

Some sudden attraction later and a couple of misunderstandings they end up doing some things strangers usually don’t do and she steals off the next day leaving Gabriel hurt. He’s then summoned to help in a diplomatic matter and finds out his maid is in fact the princess, and soon queen, of a small Mediterranean island country that England wants to help. Gabriel then agrees to help protect Princess Sophia, but ends up promising more than his military knowledge and skills, and of course, risks everything.

What could be seen as a run of the mill plot, well it really is. If you’ve seen “The Bodyguard,” you’ll know how things work in this story. The only good thing was that Sophia never really did anything TSTL. She followed orders, protocol and had a sense of duty that a princess would have. At least where her safety was concerned. After Gabriel becomes her lead bodyguard, she’s rather reckless with her virtue for a princess and acts as petulant as a spoiled 21 year old princess might.

Gabriel is definitely the main attraction to the story and his nobility, honor and sensuality saved some of the dreary maudlin parts that Sophia tends to bring out. Their chemistry overrode the kidnapping and assassination plots on Sophia’s life by her enemy the Terrible Turk, Ali Pasha. Some of the secondary characters had some life, such as her Greek royal guards, but most of the secondary characters were members of the Knight family Foley wanted to revisit in this, which is probably the last of the Knight stories.

Unfortunately the great hero that Gabriel is and the nearly burn off the page chemistry can’t make up for one major flaw that I’ve tended to notice in Foley’s recent books. The dialogue is great, but it’s become more and more. . .modern. Not that I don’t mind that really, but the phrasing, some of the words and even the thoughts of the characters just don’t fit with the setting Foley is trying to create. For someone who takes pride in historical accuracy, how the characters talk, interact and think might help promote that feeling with the rest of the setting descriptions.

Though a good way to end the Spice Trilogy, with a better story than the first two, it seems the series was just a way to extend the Knight family when it wasn’t necessary. Hopefully Foley’s next series will help her have a fresh start and give a new set of characters to enjoy instead of going where she didn’t need to to continue the Knight stories.

Grade: C

Blurb:

From the glittering ballrooms of Regency England to the sapphire waters of the Mediterranean, the dazzling finale of Gaelen Foley’s Spice trilogy unfurls the passionate tale of a rebel princess and the powerful warrior destined to become her champion.

Princess Sophia was only a child when Napoleon conquered the island paradise ruled by her father. Raised in England and now twenty-one, she means to claim the throne that is rightfully hers and bring peace to her war-torn land. But an ambush by enemies forces Sophia into hiding outside London. Disguising herself as a peasant girl until she can safely return, she meets Major Gabriel Knight, a wounded warrior whose brush with death has utterly changed him.

Heir to a great fortune, and a master swordsman, Gabriel has given up his worldly possessions and laid down his arms. Sophia is fascinated by his brooding magnetism, and Gabriel, lured by her fiery beauty and healed by her touch, is drawn back inexorably toward the world of the living.

But when Sophia’s royal destiny is revealed, Gabriel knows he must take up his sword again, whatever the cost, to protect his princess from those who would destroy her. And as longing blossoms into passion, Gabriel discovers the one cause that is truly worth fighting for. . . .

Limecello’s review of Seduction of an Unknown Lady by Samantha James
Historical Romance released by Avon 25 Mar 08

I really like historicals, and tend to enjoy books by Samantha James. While I wasn’t absolutely blown away by this book, I liked it. I still can’t remember or tell if this is part of a series… I know there will be more books dealing with the family, but as to already published books, I am unclear.

Fionna Hawkes is an independent on the shelf woman at age twenty six. She’s smart, witty, capable, and has the means to live how she wishes, and she does. She’s a writer of horror novels. However, as a woman, she has to keep her identity secret, especially due to the content of her stories, so she writes under the pseudonym F.J. Sparrow. (Her name is Fionna Josephine Hawkes – clever, no?) Lord Aiden McBride is newly back from the Punjab, and sorely in need of distraction. By chance, he happens upon Fionna during one of her solitary walks at midnight, which leads to a series of events that tie them together.

Some of the characterizations were a bit much. While Fionna had her head on straight, at times I felt like she needed a girlfriend to smack her. There were some times that I felt Fionna was being foolish – but she never reached TSTL proportions, and I appreciate that she was a very levelheaded heroine with a brain. Aside from that and a few scenes that seemed unnecessary, used to build tension and conflict but actually felt patronizing, I have no complaints.

I liked this book, and was extremely impressed with the fact that I was kept guessing the identity of the stalker until the end. I narrowed it down to two characters, but Ms. James had me guessing/switching until the end. As someone who figures out plots in both books and movies too quickly, this was a novel experience. Thank you for that, Ms. James! I really liked how Aiden realized he was in love, then went after Fionna full tilt. I love when the hero pursues the heroine, rather than the woman eating her heart out over a man and generally acting pathetic.

I’d say this is one of the better Samantha James novels – I liked A Perfect Groom and The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell. And the McBride family! I can’t wait for Alec’s story. Also – who is the McBride cousin?! Did she have some previous story? (And their sister Annie?) Anyway, I would definitely recommend this book!

Grade: B

     Blurb: 

     Seduction is something Fionna Hawkes knows nothing about. So when she encounters a sexy stranger on a moonlit street, her first instinct is to defend herself against her darkly handsome suitor. But letting go of suspicion and allowing herself to fall for Lord Aidan McBride brings even greater danger. In his eyes, she glimpses a powerful passion she longs to fulfill. In his arms, she aches with the secret she longs to unburden. A secret that could cost her livelihood-and her life.

     Aidan McBride could never resist a mystery, especially one as mesmerizing as the lovely Miss Hawkes! Drawing her into the shelter of his embrace, he won’t rest until he convinces her to reveal everything. Braving the danger that stalks Fionna at every turn, Aidan is determined to defend her-and just as determined to claim her as his own.

     Read an excerpt here.

Lawson’s review of Compromised by Kate Noble
Historical romance released by Berkley Sensation 4 Mar 08

When receiving this book, I will admit I was not very excited. Okay, so I was bad and didn’t even read the blurb until I had finished the first couple of chapters. When you’ve got a story with pratfalls and a little slapstick, but the hero ends up engaged to the heroine’s sister things could be interesting. And they were. It’s funny, it’s light, it’s got some passion and it does have a bit of a social message as well.

Poor Gail Alton is not having fun. She’s been traveling with her diplomat father all over Europe most of her life, but now the family is back in London. Her sister, Evangeline, is excited about the prospect of a Season of balls, fashion and new friends, but Gail isn’t. It doesn’t help their new stepmother, Romilla, wants to push for Evangeline’s success and nitpick Gail’s faults. Gail keeps it all in stride though, because she always has her father’s support.

Gail is riding in the park early one morning when an incident happens and she ends up in a lake with a man. Though she doesn’t get his name, she gains an instant dislike of his arrogance and highhandedness. She doesn’t see him again until her debut ball where she’s been given spirits by an unscrupulous young lordling. Drunk and sick she throws up on his shoes and then escapes to her room. Max goes to the conservatory, cleans off his shoes and is seen kissing Evangeline.

Since the story does come out, Max and Gail are in each other’s presence quite a bit since Evangeline wants Gail’s opinion of Max. Max then brings in his friend Will Holt to distract Gail to get to know Evangeline, but as most plans do, this one goes awry. The more time Max is around Gail, the more he sees they have things in common and that she hides from society.

What was very nice about this story was it took its time. There seemed to be a good amount of time the characters all talked with each other, got to know each other. Some books seem so rushed between meeting, talking, bedding, conflict, resolution. Not that this was a slow read, but the story gave a good impression of a true getting to know each other period. Which gave the moment when Max and Gail first kiss and those other sexy moments truly sexy, passionate and sweet.

Will and Evangeline are sweet characters as well. Romilla means well with her actions, but sometimes she was a little cartoonish. Max’s father was an interesting if arrogant and unbending but lonely old man and when Max comes around to seeing his father in a better light, it makes Max a better hero for it. There was also a good feeling for the time period with the aspects of the girls’ father’s diplomatic career and how it affected their social lives.

One thing that may bother some readers is the fact that Gail is 18. Though she does at times act older than her age, she’s generally the way an 18 year old is thought to be. Insecure at the loss of her mother and unsure about her new stepmother’s role in her life. She’s passionate about various things, and sometimes doesn’t know how to keep her mouth in line with what’s acceptable in society. At the same time, she is not an immature, trying 18 year old heroine who just throws caution and life into the wind.

All in all nice character-driven story that was a pleasant surprise and it’s a sweet read. I recommend it.

Grade: B

     Blurb:

     Miss Gail Alton is not having a good day. Or a good year. First, her new stepmother strong-arms her into attending the Season as a foil to her beautiful sister Evangeline. Then, while riding her mare in the park, she gets toppled by a stuffy, self-important, too-handsome-by-half “gentleman” who has the audacity to blame her for their fall into the chilly lake! Little does she know that the very same man will soon be found in a compromising position with Gail’s sister.

     Forced into asking for Evangeline’s hand in marriage, Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, can’t take his mind off the irksome girl who threw him from his horse and who can match wits with him at every turn. He’s determined to follow through with his best intentions, yet he can’t deny that every encounter with Gail makes him want to cast propriety aside-and whisk away the sister of his soon-to-be bride.

     Read an excerpt.

I figured that if I wait until I have time to do full reviews of these six books, airborne porcine would be commonplace. So I decided to just do it – write a bunch of quick hits. These are all over the place as far as genre and release dates, so bear with me. Below are short reviews for:

~ A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry, Book 6) by Laurell K. Hamilton – fantasy fiction

~ The Kiss by Sophia Nash – regency historical romance

~ The Last Warrior by Karen Kay – American west historical romance

~ Creation in Death by J.D. Robb – Furturistic thriller

~ How to Propose to a Prince (The Royle Sisters, Book 3) by Kathryn Caskie – regency historical romance

~ Midnight Rising (The Midnight Breed, Book 4) by Lara Adrian – contemporary paranormal romance

A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry, Book 6) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Fantasy fiction released by Ballantine (hardcover) 23 Oct 07

This is a very good entry in the Merry Gentry world. We finally learn what Frost is and where he comes from. Plus the overall plot in this slow moving series actually moves forward in steps in this book and not in the millimeters it had before. Love the cover, too.

Grade: A

Summary:

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world.

To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me.

My royal guards surround me, and my best loved-my Darkness and my Killing Frost-are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs.

Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime-and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.

Read excerpts (scroll down).

The Kiss by Sophia Nash
Historical romance released by Avon 26 Feb 08

This was a very nice historical. Some of the details surprised me – I haven’t seen too many authors deal with characters in quite so real a way before and it was refreshing. I did think The Big Misunderstanding was carried on about 50 pages too long, however. I just wanted to see the hero and heroine get together and see how they overcame their collective histories. Enough preamble already. Would have gotten an A from me if that had happened.

Grade: B-

Summary:

He had once been her cherished childhood companion, and then the man she lusted for in secret, but Georgiana Wilde hasn’t seen recently widowed Quinn Fortesque since the day he married another woman and shattered her heart. Then fate intervenes and brings the man she dreams about each night back to her . . . .

Returning to the estate on family business, Quinn would like nothing more than to turn the land over to Georgiana and leave the memories of his former life behind. But then the brooding marquis finds himself under the spell of the beauty he once left behind. With her barely concealed passions, Georgiana melts his coolly guarded heart. Suddenly his well-ordered world is in danger of crashing down. And it all began with just one kiss . . . .

Read an excerpt (scroll down).

The Last Warrior by Karen Kay
Historical sorta paranormal romance released by Berkley 4 Mar 08

Even I, Nathan Kamp’s #1 Fan, have to admit that this is a craptastic cover. Totally not the author’s fault, but I do with the publishers could have found a model who looked remotely like a Native American.

This was an okay book. The premise was a little unbelievable, and the author didn’t do much to suspend my disbelief. It was a decent poolside read, though. Nice romance and interesting time period (1892).

Grade: C+

Summary:

Many centuries ago, a village killed the children of the Thunder God. For their crime, the Creature bannished them to live a half existence in the land of mists, neither dead nor alive.”

But once in a generation, a brave is given the opportunity to save his clan. In 1892, that warrior is Black Lion

There was only one way for Black Lion to melt the Thunder God’s anger; listen for a sacred white-man’s song — and sing it perfectly with the one who introduced him to it. He joins Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and travels to London, where he encounters the daughter of two opera singers — the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. However, Suzette Joselyn is already engaged to another man…

But the two are destined to meet again when Suzette shows up in America, pregnant and abandoned by her fiance. Reunited with Black Lion she finds it impossible to turn down his offer of marriage to save her child from life as a bastard. But she doesn’t realize that her brave new husband is consumed with a mission that may force him to choose between his people and the woman he loves…

Read an excerpt.

Creation in Death by J.D. Robb
Futuristic thriller released by Putnam (hardcover) 6 Nov 07

I’m an Eve & Roarke fan from way back (Roarke = dark chocolate in my fantasies). I feel CiD is the least “romantic” of all the In Death books. It is definitley more a “thriller” than a “romantic suspense”. I also get less of the “futuristic” sense in this book than is evident in the other In Death entries. Nevertheless, the tension is very high throughout and I really had the feeling of “time running out” the whole time I was flipping pages faster and faster. Terrific read.

I was a little disappointed by something that Eve asked Roarke to do at the end, though – it seemed dishonorable to me and a little out of character. But it’s something I think will likely create an interesting problem for our hero and heroine in future books.

Grade: A

Summary:

NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn’t save-and the killers she couldn’t capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. The city was on edge from a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days, courtesy of a man the media tagged “The Groom”-because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims.

When it turns out that the young brunette was employed by Eve’s billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him in on the case-a move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made his attack personal. The victim was washed in products from a store Roarke owns, and laid out on a sheet his company manufactures.

With the Groom’s monstrous return, Eve is determined to finish him once and for all. Familiar with his methods, Eve knows that he has already grabbed his next victim. Time is running out on another woman’s life.

And chances are he’s working up to the biggest challenge of his illustrious career-abducting a woman who will test his skills and who promises to give him days and days of pleasure before she dies: Eve.

Read an excerpt.

How to Propose to a Prince (The Royle Sisters, Book 3) by Kathryn Caskie
Historical romance released by Avon 26 Feb 08

I mostly didn’t like was irritated by this one, but it was readable. The heroine kept insisting that the hero was her soul mate (not in so many words, thankfully) and that they would be married, all because of a dream she keeps having. Perhaps I would have believed it more if the author hadn’t kept hammering it in, over and over again. The heroine comes off as a little desperate and the hero a little callous.

I REALLY hated some of the details at the end. They made me want to say “then why the f__k have you dragged your characters through all that crap!?” – but the author wiggles out of it at the very last. Barely.

Notwithstanding the teeth-grindingly irritating details, it’s another poolside read if you’re a fan of light historicals. Not awful, but not great.

Grade: C

Summary:

If the tiara fits, wear it! And that is exactly what Elizabeth Royle intends to do. After all, if you can’t be acknowledged as the daughter of a prince, the least you can do is marry one.

When Elizabeth Royle, youngest of the notorious Royle sisters, comes face-to-face with her future husband, a man she’s seen only in her dreams, she nearly swoons–especially when she discovers he is a prince. But her ecstasy is short-lived as she quickly learns that the man she longs for is soon to be betrothed to someone else–a princess no less. A lesser woman would give up, but Elizabeth is a Royle, after all.

Refusing to surrender her dreams of a royal wedding, Elizabeth takes the position of lady-in-waiting to the princess, determined to get close to her perfect match. But the lover she desires is not who he seems…and only once she discovers the true man behind the crown will she find the perfect love she’s been longing for all her life.

Read an excerpt.

Midnight Rising (The Midnight Breed, Book 4) by Lara Adrian
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Dell 25 Mar 08

This was a good entry in this series. However, I don’t recommend it if this is your first foray into it. I liked how Adrian made the hero a little more “human” – well, as human as an alien vampire can be, I suppose. Good read with some interesting twists.

Grade: B

Summary:

In a world of shadows and dark, consuming hungers, desire is the deadliest weapon…

For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb, thrusting her into the center of a gathering storm of violence and secrets. But nothing is as dangerous as the scarred, lethally seductive man who rises from the shadows to draw her into his world of dark desire and endless night.

Fueled by pain and rage over a shattering betrayal, the warrior Rio has pledged his life to the war against the Rogues. He will let nothing stand in his way—least of all a mortal woman with the power to expose the entire vampire race. For an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise. Suddenly Dylan is powerless to resist Rio’s touch, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. And now she must choose: Leave Rio’s midnight realm, or risk it all for the man who has shown her true passion and the infinite pleasures of the heart. . . .

Read an excerpt.

And that’s it for now folks! I have a couple of others, but I’m saving those for a “themed” post (can you say, “Kresley Cole is a Goddess”? I knew you could).

Ok, so the Duckies have been so very remiss as to announce the winner to this contest. The contest is now TWO MONTHS OLD. Right, well better late than never (really Lawson was waiting for it to show up so she could read it and I had to break it to her that no hon going to the winner so she gave in). . .

Before we get there though, I thing this is a great thing to share, because I agree with Lisa Kleypas about Sherry Thomas:

“Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today. She is a rebel, a rule-breaker, and above all, a romantic. Searing, tender and filled with passion, her writing is nothing short of a revelation. ‘Private Arrangements’ clearly heralds the beginning of a dazzling career, and I am looking forward to more brilliantly told romances from this accomplished writer.”

Now, on to the reason for this post, the winner.

Congratulations to Beverly!

The prize, if you don’t remember, is an ARC of Delicious, Sherry’s next book due July 29, 2008 and a Private Arrangements t-shirt.

Congratulations to our winner and you need to email your physical address to Sybil at redwyne @ gmail. com so that she can get your prize to you.  Be sure to put “SHERRY THOMAS IS A GODDESS” in the subject line of your email!

Lawson’s review of Bedding the Baron by Deborah Raleigh
Historical romance released by Zebra 1 Mar 08

This the first in a new trilogy by Raleigh about three friends, nearly brothers, that grew up at the same boarding school. I haven’t read anything by this author before.  It was nice to see this story about these three men who occupy very different places in life, but came from the same place. Self-made heroes are always a great thing to read about.

Fredrick Smith is one of three men who have found out a very interesting secret. Their teacher, mentor and dear friend, a Mr. Dunnington, had blackmailed each of their fathers for a large sum of money and left it to each of the three men upon his death. All three of the men are illegitimate and thus curious about the secret that would induce their fathers to part with a great deal of money.

Fredrick sets out for Wessex to ferret out his father’s secret and stays at the Queen’s Arms Inn. The inn is run by Portia Walker, a managing widow, who Fredrick takes a liking to, even if she is prickly and standoffish to his attempts at charm and flattery. Though he comes on strong, he realizes the way to her affections are to help out her business. Not that Portia appreciates things.

She’s used to taking care of herself and her staff alone and doesn’t appreciate Fredrick’s interference. She gradually warms to Fredrick, but keeps her self separated from things to guard herself from hurt. As Fredrick’s life is thrown into turmoil and he has to reassess who he is, Portia is there for him. It takes her a bit too long, though, to figure out that Fredrick is different than the other men in her life and will be there for her.

One thing that struck me in the middle of the book was the fact that Fredrick is a bastard, but the book is called Bedding the Baron. . .yeah. It kinda gives away a big thing with the title. It did ruin the story for me after I figured out that big part of the story. Portia does have her own secret, which was about what I expected, and it made me happy that it wasn’t the fact she was a virgin widow.

Though there is some decent chemistry, it takes awhile to build due to Portia’s “protest too much” attitude. Fredrick’s father is a sad story, and while it could have happened that way historically, it’s a little over the top, especially how hard it made Fredrick’s life.

In the end though, the HEA hit in the right spots and everything turned out alright. The next book, I’m guessing, follows Ian Breckford who makes an appearance helping Fredrick in is quest for the truth of the blackmail.

Grade: C+

     Blurb:

     In the first in a dazzling new trilogy, Deborah Raleigh introduces three unforgettable heroes united by a friendship closer than brotherhood, a mysterious legacy, and a talent for seduction that no woman can resist…

     He Has The Face Of An Angel

     Only the most damnable curiosity could compel Fredrick Smith to seek the truth about the father who abandoned him. And only a torrential storm could force him to stop at an inn en route. But what a treasure he finds there–a raven-haired beauty whose drab attire can’t disguise her latent sensuality. And soon Fredrick’s most pressing need is to melt Mrs. Portia Walker’s icy reserve, and make her smile, sigh, and cry out with pleasure…

     And A Kiss That Would Tempt The Devil…

     From the moment Fredrick enters Portia’s inn–wet clothes clinging to sleek muscles, angelic features, shimmering gray eyes–she is vibrantly aware of the danger he presents. Portia was almost ruined once, and swore that no man would control her destiny again. But vows are no match for a desire that could be pure folly–or the most exquisite bliss…

     Read an excerpt.

Shannon C.’s review of Dark Sentinel (Book of Netherworld) by Melissa Lopez
Paranormal erotic romance released by Samhain Publishing 17 Mar 08

Melissa Lopez has a gifted and fertile imagination. There are no cliches and same-old same-old paranormal plot devices in Dark Sentinel, which earns the book points. Unfortunately, the writing style and the characterizations drove me crazy.

Lash is a damned soul, condemned to spend eternity in Netherworld, which is essentially Hell. Then he’s given an opportunity–he must see to it that Teva, a mortal, is condemned to join the ranks of souls in Netherworld.

Teva isn’t sure what to make of this quiet giant of a man. He seems to be suffering from amnesia, and he takes pleasure in little things, like being able to drink water. She takes him in when she finds him, naked, on her property, and soon she and Lash must fight their sizzling attraction to each other. Her soul is at stake if they give in to temptation.

The characters are very problematic, most particularly Teva. I just didn’t ever get a sense that I knew who she was. She seemed to have been bred from innocent-heroine central casting. She’s entirely too sweet and too trusting, and I didn’t really get what Lash saw in her. Plus, and this is a tiny thing but it still bugged, Teva was the kind of person who says “gosh” and “heck” in everyday speech. This made her come off sounding not like an innocent young thing, but like someone’s middle-aged mother.

Lash I liked a bit more, but he still didn’t entirely work. He’s a tortured soul–aren’t they all in paranormal romances–and some of the stuff he goes through was pretty horrendous. My heart broke for him when he experienced small pleasures like being outdoors and doing comparatively easy hard work like splitting wood. He just seemed like an adorably nice guy, but even he was a bit too good to be true, the sort of guy that, aside from the whole tortured repeatedly thing, would be any woman’s dream man. Hell, the man uncomplainingly watches chick flicks!

I also didn’t really buy the chemistry between the characters. Once more, this has to do with writing style. Lopez uses a lot of words that are designed to make the sex scenes hot, but after a while I kept wondering if all the stuffing Lash does to his cock would hurt. And while I’m not a fan of the “love grotto” and “turgid manhood” school of romance novels, I definitely prefer something other than “he shoved his cock into her sticky hole.”

Regarding the plot, it was interesting. It’s very clear that Ms. Lopez has thought long and hard about this world she’s created, and I liked that the story was fairly dark. I think there are lots of directions she could go with the Netherworld books, and lots of types of creatures it would be interesting to meet. But I will say that the human villain in the book was so screamingly obvious, not to mention horribly cheesy that I had a few eye-rolling moments. The book also took too long to hit its stride for me. There are also a lot of scenes of graphic violence. After all, a condemned soul gets to die repeatedly over and over, which means there’s a lot of opportunity for gratuitous torture.

I am curious enough to keep reading Melissa Lopez’s next book, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it except to those who are really, really die-hard fans of dark paranormals.

Grade: C-

     Summary:

     Their love could give him a second chance at life—or condemn her to an eternity of damnation.

     A Book of Netherworld

     Yanked from his tortured existence in Netherworld and dumped naked in the Louisiana Bayou, Lash could swear he’s died and gone to heaven. Except for the fact that a millennium ago he died a condemned soul, forever barred from Paradise. His new life feels like the next best thing, full of small miracles. Like silence. And ice water. And the company of a beautiful, compassionate woman.

     Teva is a woman with a taste for heavy-metal music, an inherited talent for magic, and a trusting heart. She knows nothing about the mysterious stranger she’s taken in, only that he needs her help. And the fact that he’s gorgeous hasn’t escaped her attention. She can’t see Lash as anything other than a sexy, gentle man who soothes her nightmares away.

     Then Lash learns the real reason for his reprieve from Netherworld—he’s been sent to corrupt Teva’s soul with sinful pleasures. Starved for tenderness and aching with desire, Lash yearns to accept the loving embrace Teva offers. But he can’t give in to passion without tainting her, condemning her to the horrors of Netherworld.

     The ultimate battle between good and evil is brewing, and Lash stands caught in the middle between Teva, who owns his heart—and Satan, who owns his soul.

     Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, and graphic violence. Netherworld is a dark, forbidding place.

     Read an excerpt here.

Laura J’s review of Dead Over Heels (Anthology) by MaryJanice Davidson
Contemporary Paranormal Romance anthology released by Berkley 4 Mar 08

While many romance readers will trace their love for romance books back to sneaking their grandmother’s old Harlequin books or the late Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, but for me my first romance book that I read was MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead and Unwed and from there I was hooked.

I spent the next two weeks catching up with all the Undead books that were out to that point and then anxiously waiting for her to write more. It is really hard to wait for the next book in a series from you favorite author, but fortunately Ms. Davidson gave us a little something to help us get through those long months of waiting – a single author anthology featuring three stories from three of her most popular series.

(**Spoiler Alert if you have yet to read Undead and Uneasy**)

Undead and Wed: A Honeymoon Story

After surviving an attempted dethronement by Margery the Librarian, Queen Betsy and King Eric are honeymooning and shoe shopping in New York City. Hoping that they will finally get some time alone from their well meaning friends and roommates Betsy and Eric arrive in New York City by private plane thanks to the generosity of her best friend Jessica. Once they get to their hotel, Betsy and Eric are shocked and just a little peeved to see Jessica and her boyfriend Nick waiting for them in the lobby. Nick still hasn’t forgiven Betsy and Eric for trying to make him “forget”, but Jessica really wants her best friends and her boyfriend to get along. So not only are the newlyweds dealing with unwelcome guests for their honeymoon but someone is killing children and it looks like it is another vampire.

My favorite of the three stories, of course, was Queen Betsy’s honeymoon. Let’s just say, Betsy has an interesting way to decorate with shoes, even when it’s an accident. That scene was one of the best I have ever read. Even with the “darker” subject matter facing Betsy and her friends, I never felt put off by it and I’m curious about how this will effect Betsy in future books.

Grade: A+

Survivors

The second story takes us to Ms. Davidson’s world of mermaids. Con Conlinson is the host of a tv survivalist show. During the shooting of an episode in the ocean, Con is left stranded in a row boat after a sudden storm separates him and his film crew. While floating along and wondering how he got himself in this mess, he sees what appears to be a severed head. That turns out to be a mermaid who has been watching him and has come to his rescue.

Of the three stories the mermaid story was my least favorite, but probably only because I was hoping to have a few more of the regular characters from the book in this one as well. Con is an over the top kind of guy, much of what you would expect for a tv personality that has a show on survival show. One who is willing to do anything for entertainment. Reanesta is a caring, but stubborn mermaid, who has self esteem issues where she feels unbeautiful like her counterparts. Con and Ree (as he calls her) butt heads often, most often over how Con should take care of himself while he is stranded and this leads to some very comical scenes.

Grade: B+

Speed Dating, Werewolf Style

The third and final story in this novella catches us up the on the Wyndham Werewolf pack. It introduces us to Cain a young female werewolf who is feeling her clock ticking after seeing some of her old friends from the pack settled down and raising families of their own. Her 30th birthday is 22 days away so seeks the help of best bud Saul to help her find her mate.

I’ve not been a big fan of the Wyndham Werewolf stories, but this one was good. Maybe because I get tired of romance novel heroines always being tall, with long legs and perfect breasts. Cain is a small, competitive, kick ass then ask questions kind of girl. I really like her. Her speed dating dates and blind date set up by Saul, her best buddy since they were kids, reminded me of some my old dates. I really hope we see more of Cain and Saul in future books. I would love to see what happens when Cain actually says “Stupid Vampire Queen” to Betsy instead of thinking it. Could be interesting.

Grade: A

Ms. Davidson’s books never fail to make me laugh and this one had me laughing out loud many times. I really had to be careful reading this book in public as I found a couple of times people were staring at me and wondering what I was laughing about.

If you are looking for a quick, funny read then I highly recommend this book. And if you are lucky enough to meet Mary Janice Davidson as I was last summer when she came to a book signing, GO! It was one of the most entertaining evenings I’ve ever had.

Overall Grade: A

     Summary:

     Three all-new paranormal stories of lust, laughter, and love from the New York Times bestselling author, including an original novella featuring Undead queen Betsy Taylor.

     With her trademark “sassy dialogue, lusty lovemaking [and] irreverent humor”* New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson delighted fans with her wickedly sexy and wildly funny anthology, Dead and Loving It-stories in which the worlds of the Wyndham Werewolves and Undead Queens collided. Now she returns to that sensual and irresistible after-dark realm of werewolves, vampires, and mermaids in three more original novellas–including an all-new Betsy Taylor novella.

     No excerpt available at the time this review was published.

Sandy M’s reviews of Wolf Unbound (Cascadia Wolves, Book 4) & Standoff (Cascadia Wolves, Book 5) by Lauren Dane
Contemporary Paranormal Romance eBooks published by Samhain 1 Jan 08 & 4 Mar 08

I’m the typical reader who needs to read a series of books in order. However, reviewing books doesn’t give you that luxury very often. I’ve never read Lauren Dane before and suddenly I had the last two books in her Cascadia Wolves series in hand and once I started reading, I didn’t care one iota I hadn’t read the first three books before beginning these two.

I was immediately drawn into this world of wolves to whom family means everything, and they’re in the middle of the fight of their lives to save everything and everyone they hold dear. These books are action packed and full of love and romance, along with loads of alphaness and women who know how to handle all that testosterone.

Wolf Unbound (Cascadia Wolves, Book 4)
Paranormal erotic romance eBook released by Samhain 1 Jan 08

Tegan Warden is just beginning to live again after four years of grief and lonliness. She lost her mate in Afghanistan and has overloaded herself with her job as an enforcer for her pack. After a little pushing from her sisters, she decides to take that first step and heads to a local bar. As a wolf and an enforcer, Tegan is by nature and training always in control and ready to protect her pack when danger is at hand.

She likes to give up that control and is submissive in the bedroom, something she shared with her late mate. She never dreamed she would find another dominant male to give her what she needs, but meeting Ben Stoner is a step in the right direction. Imagine her shock after a night of sex he turns out to be her mate as well. Tegan is thrilled to have that intimate connection with someone again, someone she can love and someone who can hopefully love her. Ben, however, is not that happy about the situation.

As attracted as he is to Tegan, Ben isn’t ready to give his whole life over to someone he’s just met, even if she’s a dream of a submissive behind closed doors. He’s been betrayed before and isn’t looking for a mate for life, but it seems no matter what he does, his connection to Tegan won’t let go of him. He feels her every emotion even though he’s human, and being away from her is hell. But he has to get his head on straight before he can commit to such a relationship, especially to a woman whose brothers would rather pull him apart than give him the chance to hurt her.

Plus, there’s the fact that he wants to protect her from the danger facing her pack and she definitely loses her submissiveness when she’s on the job. Just because she can tear him to pieces with little effort makes no difference, Ben wants her safe and he’ll do what he has to, by God, to make sure that happens.

I’m normally not a fan of the D/s storylines, mostly because I just don’t understand the appeal, but that’s just me. Dane, however, doesn’t go overboard with it in this book. She makes it sexy and there’s more of a caring overtone than I’ve read by other authors. Even though you know Ben is in dominant mode by voice and action, he makes sure Tegan is comfortable, asks her if she’s okay, and this is all before he realizes how deep his feelings go for her.

And I enjoyed the contrast of Tegan being his equal outside of the bedroom and Ben having to learn to deal with that. Most of all I really liked the family interaction of these books, how they accept a new mate, how they take care of their differences, how they respect and protect their alpha. We get the added plus here with Ben’s family and the repercussions of him falling in love with a werewolf.

Sandy M’s Grade: A

Read Teddypig’s review.

     Wolf Unbound Summary:

     Werewolf Enforcer Tegan Warden has been alone since the death of her mate four years ago. Until she meets Ben Stoner at a local club and she feels something she thought died inside her. Things move very quickly and she finds herself mated to a human man who’s not altogether sure he wants a forever kind of love with a woman he’s just met.

     Ben realizes in short order Tegan is not only worth forever love, but a woman who’ll stand at his side without tolerating anything other than a full partnership.

     In the bedroom it’s another story, as Ben has finally found a sexual submissive with a spark, and Tegan a man worthy of her submission. Together they work toward building a permanent relationship even as the specter of danger from the Pellini Group grows in the world of wolves.

     All around them, the rising violence threatens the Packs and the only thing they know for certain is one another.

     Read an excerpt.

Standoff (Cascadia Wolves, Book 5)
Paranormal erotic romance eBook released by Samhain 4 Mar 08

Standoff basically picks up where Wolf Unbound left off. The packs are still after Warren Pellini, trying to end his reign of terror. Cade, the Cascadia alpha, has declared war on Pellini and his outlaw wolves, and when meeting with someone who has volunteered vital information about their enemy, Cade gets the best and worst shock of his life. Their informant is Cade’s mate. He knows it the second she walks into the room. She is also Pellini’s sister, Grace. Of course, this matters not to Cade. The pull of his mate is stronger than anything and this is something he’s waited so long for and something he’s wanted more and more recently. She’s strong and independent, his equal is nearly every way. She will make the perfect alpha alongside him. Now more than ever he has to rid the world of this rogue wolf and his desire to be a mega-alpha, because the most important thing, even more important than pack, is on the line and she must be kept safe.

Grace Pelilli is only trying to do the right thing when she returns to work for her brother. She knows he’s out of control and must be stopped. The only way to do that is pretend she’s on his side while working in his lab to outsmart him and get what information she can to the packs. In doing so she never thought her life would change so drasticially. But realizing she is Cade’s mate gives her a sense of peace along with the want and the need to be part of him. She never really had a family; her parents supported her brother so she wanted nothing to do with them. Becoming part of Cascadia’s family is at first difficult because not all of them trust her, but when she is finally accepted as alpha, she embraces the warmth, the love, the camraderie of family. Even better than that feeling is the emotion, the deep, binding emotion, she now shares with Cade.

I like the wolf characteristics that Dane keeps consistent with all of her characters even when they are in human form, including the submissive posture one takes when they’ve done wrong; the way they all have the need to touch, feel a touch, rubbing a cheek on a shoulder, a group hug when needed, and helping a wounded family member bring their wolf out to allow them to heal (this was done especially well in Wolf Unbound). Of course, all of the love scenes are sexy and hot. All the characters are paired perfectly, so anything from sex to teasing to raising their young is done exactly right.

This is one series I will never get tired of and I’m so looking forward to the next book, Fated, due out in August 2008.

Oh, Sybil!

Sandy M’s Grade: A

Read Teddypig’s review.

     Standoff Summary:

     Cade Warden has put his Pack first for most of his life and now Warren Pellini and his thugs threaten everything he holds dear. Into that life of intense focus and increasing loneliness walks the woman he’s been waiting for.

     Grace Pellini isn’t just Cade’s mate, she’s the sister of his greatest enemy and she’s been putting herself in grave danger to gather information to aid the Nationally Allied Packs. Cade is everything she could have hoped for in a man even if he is overprotective and pushy at times.

     Against the backdrop of their increasing passion and deepening bond, they race against time to find a key to stop Pellini’s biological weapon. And then the stakes rise again when Pellini calls an ancient Challenge. It’s up to Grace to stand by and let her mate risk everything for his people. And his life is in her hands.

     Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
Contemporary Romance Audiobook released by Brilliance Audio on 25 Mar 08

I wasn’t sure I was going to continue to like Hardy Cates because of some of his behavior in Sugar Daddy where we first meet the man. However, I knew I would like him because, well, he is the hero of this book and I know he will be redeemed. I never dreamed, though, I would like love him as much as I do after listening to the audio version of his book. Its narrator, Renée Raudman, does a brilliant job of bringing this book to life, including making Hardy one damn fine sexy hero.

First things first, though. This book is also about Haven Travis, the only daughter of millionaire Churchill Travis who has better relationships with his sons than he’ll ever have with Haven. It’s her father who thinks he trying to save her when he really pushes her into a marriage that turns horrifying with realistic scenes of domestic abuse. Haven loves Nick and is ready to marry him, but when her father refuses to give his blessing because he knows Nick is only after Haven’s money, instead of sitting down and talking with his daughter adult to adult so Haven might look at the situation differently, she jumps in with both feet despite Churchill’s threat of cutting her off from the Travis wealth. Things go well between the newlyweds only for a little while, until Nick begins to show his true colors and takes his rage out on Haven because they’re getting none of the Travis money to make his life easier. Haven does her best to make the bastard happy, and it’s when he literally throws her out on their doorstep for the night that she calls her brother Gage to help her get out of her living nightmare.

By this time Haven’s memory of her one and only meeting with Hardy is the furthest thing from her mind while she’s going through therapy, but when she runs into him again, that memory hits her full force, wondering what her life would have been like if she’d gone with the man who made her burn with passion and lust in a dark wine cellar at her brother’s wedding. And let me tell you, that scene is as sexy as hell. Between Ms. Kleypas’ writing and Ms. Raudman’s narration, a reader does’t have a snowball’s chance of getting through that scene with wanting Hardy’s hands and mouth on her.

And things only get better. Even though Haven doesn’t want anything to do with men at this certain point in her life, she’s still drawn to Hardy. Her father and brothers have nothing good to say about the man, but that doesn’t stop her. This time she knows she’s got a good man because of the way he patiently goes through her emotional roller coaster ride with her of wanting to get closer to him but still being afraid to let a man that close again. They take things slow and easy, learn about one another, and when that final trust is put in place by Haven, the long and winding road to get there is definitely worth it. For me, Hardy’s redemption comes in the many different ways he stands by Haven. Yeah, he’s sexy in the bedroom, but he’s even sexier because of the man he is.

Haven’s triumph over one of the most degrading things a man can do to a woman, Hardy finding the one woman he can share all of himself with to show the reader how he’s changed, and a cast of characters from a controlling father and later a controlling boss, a scum of man who deserves every little thing he gets, to brothers who only want their sister to be happy make for a very compelling book brought to life through audio. Ms. Raudman does an excellent job throughout the entire book, but it is those scenes with Hardy I found myself anticipating. This is one time that the hero in my head truly came to life just how I imagined him.

Grade: A+

Summary:

     MEET THE BLUE-EYED DEVIL

     His name is Hardy Cates. He’s a self-made millionaire who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s made enemies in the rough-and-tumble ride to the top of Houston’s oil industry. He’s got hot blood in his veins. And vengeance on his mind.

     MEET THE HEIRESS

     She’s Haven Travis. Despite her family’s money, she refuses to set out on the path they’ve chosen for her. But when Haven marries a man her family disapproves of, her life is set on a new and dangerous course. Two years later, Haven comes home, determined to guard her heart. And Hardy Cates, a family enemy, is the last person she needs darkening her door or setting her soul on fire.

     WATCH THE SPARKS FLY….

     Filled with Lisa Kleypas’s trademark sensuality, filled with characters you love to hate and men you love to love, Blue-Eyed Devil will hold you captive in its storytelling power as the destiny of two people unfolds with every magical word.

     Listen to an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Pickpocket Countess by Bronwyn Scott
Historical Romance published by Harlequin on 1 Mar 08

This book is so much fun. Not only do the hero and heroine of this story enjoy the witty repartee between themselves, but the reader does too. Plus the mystery of the heroine’s alter ego is an added twist. Then, toss in the hero’s dichotomy of desire between love and justice, blended with the romance that develops between two of the unlikeliest of people, and you end up with a smile in your heart.

The very night The Cat sneaks into his home to steal what she can is the night Brandon Wycroft is meeting with his townspeople to come up with a way to stop the thief who is making a fool of them all. Thinking to catch The Cat at “his” own game, Brandon corners the thief in his bedroom, but the surprise is more on Brandon than the burglar — The Cat is a woman. An intelligent woman and one who does the unexpected every time he thinks he has her figured out.

After just a few meetings between them, and although she is working against him and his new factory he hopes to build, Brandon finds himself attracted to this daredevil who knows how to take care of herself, and how to kiss to make him wish for more. He tries to tell himself it’s his duty to bring her to justice, but how can he put a woman with such heart behind bars. The more of herself she shows him, the more he understands her need and her drive to stop the industrialization his community, and others like it, needs. Should he go with what’s right? Or with his heart?

Nora is driven to stop new factories from being erected, to stop the rich from becoming richer by exploiting children, and to stop people from being killed in those factories because of unsafe conditions. People like her parents. Since their unnecessary deaths she has moved from town to town, donning her masquerade of “The Cat,” the notorious thief stealing from the rich to help the poor widows and children affected by men who care for nothing but themselves. Deciding to finally make the Earl of Stockport her victim may be her downfall, however. The man affects her as no other ever has and as much as she tries, she can’t keep her mind off of him to concentrate on her own nocturnal activities. Showing him the other side of town is the first step in making him see what his new business will wreak if he goes ahead with it. Or has she shown him too much? Will he turn on her when she least expects it and send her to prison?

I just loved Brandon and Nora together. Even when he knew her only as “The Cat” there was something between them, something that grew each time they were together, whether that was bantering back and forth to the point of ravishing each other or sharing the Christmas spirit with the less fortunate, thus a lesson learned no matter which way it went. The whole situation is a double-edged sword for Brandon, one of his own making when begins to fall for his little thief, but Nora is determined to save him from himself and from the men who would take him down if they find out his duplicity. I also loved that you never knew what Nora would do next, especially when she was cornered and had to escape being captured.

The humor is fun. The villain gets what’s coming to him. The romance is delightful. And the cover is one of the very best to look at, frequently, just for the heck of it!

Grade: B+

     From the back cover:

     It’s Brandon Wycroft’s duty as the Earl of Stockport to catch “The Cat,” a notorious thief who is stealing from rich local homes to feed the poor. Discovering that The Cat is a woman, he changes his plan of action to a game of seduction!

     Mysterious and tempting, she teases him. And, as the net closes around The Cat, Brandon realizes he wants to protect her as well as bed her. But the only way to catch her is to spring the parson’s mousetrap — and make her his countess!

     Read an excerpt.

Devon’s review of Having Justin’s Baby by Pamela Bauer
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin SuperRomance 11 Mar 08

Despite the ridiculous title, I had to read this book as soon as I read the cover blurb, as it combined two of my favorite themes: accidental pregnancy and friends to lovers. Paige takes solace in the arms of long time best friend, Justin, the night her fiancé takes off for Vegas. Uh-oh! They are just barely getting back on their old footing when Paige realizes she’s pregnant. Double uh-oh! You know what Harlequin’s tagline should be?

Harlequin: Making Bad Decisions Romantic.

This book started off strong. It had a fun, breezy style, and the characters seemed like genuine late twenty-somethings-on a career track, starting to think about the future, but still enjoying life to the fullest. Justin and Kyle own a landscaping business and until recently shared a house with their other childhood best buddy, teacher Paige. Kyle has always had a crush on Paige. Justin has also loved Paige for years, but in deep secrecy. Now Paige has moved out to be with her fiancé, who both men despise. [Too bad it's not an Ellora's Cave, where all three of them could live HEA.] When her fiancé betrays her, it’s Justin to the rescue.

Things started to go downhill with the morning after, for them and for me. Paige is one of those people who has very, very strong ideas about how things should be, and who does not do well when life does not go according to her ideas. I tried and tried to be sympathetic, but damn if she wasn’t a bee-yotch. She is so nasty to Justin, and just kind of a buzzkill in general. Paige is particularly upset because she always wanted to be a virgin on her wedding night. Yup, she wouldn’t give it up for the fiancé, but she hops in the sack with Justin? Of course she gets pregnant! That’s the punishment! That always used to happen to the “good girls” on the soaps too. Lame.

I do usually like beta heroes, but Justin was waaaaay too beta. He was really too much of a “real” guy. We are told over and over that he’s in love with Paige, but he really didn’t show it. He let her walk all over him, and was relieved for things to go back to normal, so his friend Kyle wouldn’t be mad. Even when he finds out she’s knocked up, he’s underwhelmed. When Paige wants him to go with her to a baby expo, he wants to stay home and watch football. Really dude? You love her, you want her to marry you, but you’re passing up a chance to show her you care for college football? On TV? I kept waiting to see his passion revealed, for some grand gesture, but no. His declaration of love happened offstage. When he reminds her of it, I went back and checked, and…no. I wanted to scream.

In the end, I didn’t really buy that they were in love. Especially Paige. It was more like she realized what a loyal, steady guy he was. Perhaps it should have been called “Settling for Justin” instead.

Grade: C

     From the back cover:

     There’s no turning back once Paige makes a colossal mistake that could cost her the best friend she’s ever had. How can life possibly stay the same for her and Justin after they spend one passionate night together? If only her fiancé hadn’t run off with another woman. And if only Justin hadn’t been there to comfort her when she’d been so utterly vulnerable.…

     But now she’s pregnant and Paige can’t turn back the clock and things couldn’t get any more complicated. Because this innocent little baby puts a whole new spin on the term “just friends.”

     Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Another Man’s Baby by Kay Stockham
Contemporary Romance released by Harlequin SuperRomance 1 Mar 08

Proof that online promotions do work. I saw this book on blogs everywhere, and finally had to go and read it. I’m glad I did.

This is the first book in the Tulanes of Tennessee series (and it always made me think of the University in N’awlins…). I was a little skeptical starting the book, but it got me. We’re introduced to Darcy Rhodes minutes after her car has an unfriendly meeting with a guardrail on a mountain road. Luckily, Garret Tulane happens to come by.

She’s a massage therapist, and a very pregnant unmarried woman. The typical “wrong side of the tracks down on her luck” heroine. He’s the administrative chief of staff at the local hospital, an attorney, and from one of the prominent families in town. It couldn’t be more clichéd, could it? Yet somehow, Ms. Stockham makes the story new and believable. Oh, and I forgot to add, Garret also has an almost fiancée, and she happens to be his boss’s daughter. (Yes, still a believable story.)

What saves this book from rehashed storyline oblivion, is how very well it’s written. Darcy comes across as a very real person, and you like her. She knows the masseuse jokes, and the assumptions people make as soon as they learn what her profession is. Garret and his relationship (or lack thereof) with his not-fiancée is also very believable. I liked how honest the characters were with each other–it showed a quality and maturity to them that I appreciated. Darcy also stands up for herself, which I love. The characters work for their relationship. The roadblocks to the relationship and all the machinations of Garret’s boss, were at times excessive, but didn’t seriously detract from the book.

I wasn’t that big of a fan of the secondary romance. I knew how it would play out, and I couldn’t really respect the characters. Regardless, this was a great book, and I’m glad I read it.

Grade: B+

     From the back cover:

     He’s her shelter from the storm.

     Garrett Tulane is Darcy Rhodes’s personal knight in shining armor. Not only did he rescue her from being stranded in the middle of a snowstorm, but he’s also given her a place to stay. His close family ties and his caring support create the secure home life she wants to give her unborn child.

     That security is an illusion, however. Despite the growing closeness between Darcy and Garret, she knows he has obligations and commitments that don’t include her – or another man’s baby. But feeling as she does, when the time comes, will she be able to walk away?

     Read an excerpt here.

Gwen’s review of Temptation of the Warrior by Margo Maguire
Historical paranormal romance released by Avon 25 Mar 08

Holy smokes! This was a really fun book! Paranormal, regency historical, action, romance, time-travel. All of it between just two covers. It was like going to a really good Chinese buffet where you can eat anything you want.

This is not your typical romance. A warrior chieftain and high-magic user time-travels, loses his memory, falls in love, fights the bad guys, gets his memory back, fights some more bad guys, etc. The down-on-her-luck regency heroine never quits trying, never quits striving for something more, and is never daunted by her circumstances. Okay – that last is a bit typical, but work with me here.

This was a real page-turner for me. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. When would the hero get his memory back. When would he realize the heroine had special powers too. When would the really, super bad guys (as compared to the normal bad guys who are also chasing them) catch up to them. I carried this book every I went and stole a page here and there every chance I got.

The action only bogged down a bit for me when the author cut to the scenes without the h/h – scenes of the hero’s homeland where his cousin is fighting the really, super bad guys. There wasn’t much fighting and it was a little confusing how much time they could afford to wait for the hero to regain his memory.

I liked how multidimensional the author made even the secondary characters and scenery. This was a nice, meaty story I could really sink my teeth into. All parts of the book were fully fleshed out and nothing seemed to be given short-shrift.

I haven’t read the previous book in this unnamed series, A Warrior’s Taking. I might have understood more back-story if I had read Taking, but the lack wasn’t fatal to enjoying this book. By the way, Taking has a very old-style cover, though it was published just last June. If Temptation had a cover like that, I don’t think I’d have ever read it.

I recommend this unique book to fans of paranormal romance, fantasy romance, or historical romance (much of it has little to no paranormal elements).

Grade:B+

Summary:

981 A.D. … To protect his people from a great evil, Merrick MacLochlainn, newly crowned high chieftain of his clan, must travel forward in time nearly 1,000 years. But when he awakens in 19th Century England, he has no memory of his mission to save his race, nor can he recognize Jenny Keating, the spirited young beauty who calls herself his wife.

1826 A.D. …Orphaned and on the run from a cruel headmaster, vulnerable and alone, Jenny never dreamed of being rescued by any man, much less a chivalrous and handsome warrior like Merrick. Drawn to his powerful physique and mysterious ways, she begins a dangerous deception and poses as his beloved. But her feelings of desire are all too real. Together they will battle a dark threat that jeopardizes their very lives, all the while tempting each other with a pasison too powerful to resist.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Laura J’s review of Fortune’s Deception by Karen Erickson
Contemporary Romance Ebook released 4 March 2008 by Samhain Publishing

After winning a record jackpot in the lottery, Brittany Jones and her friends have hired financial planner Charles Manning to advise them. Unfortunately for him, Brittany is driving him crazy in more ways then one. She spends her money like it’s going out of style and he is worried that she’s not being responsible enough. But she also drives him crazy physically even though she’s not the type that he is usually attracted to. When Brittany comes to him for financial advice, he’s shocked to learn that there may be more to Brittany than what he originally thought.

Brittany has had her fun with her money and now she wants to do more with it by helping out troubled kids. She knows personally what it’s like and wants to make sure these kids are given a better chance than she got. She’s knows Charlie can help her, if only he weren’t so serious and grumpy all the time. When she catches Charlie looking…interested in her, she starts having thoughts about the two of them together. Brittany begins to wonder if he will be as good in bed as he is with numbers.

Ms. Erickson has written two wonderful characters that I enjoyed spending time reading about. There are times I feel that with the shorter novellas I am cheated out of getting to know the characters, but that isn’t the case with this one. Brittany seems flighty and self-centered at first, but you quickly learn that despite the past she has endured, she is a smart and warm person. Because of a past incident, Brittany finds it hard to trust men. And she finds i especially hard to believe that she could actually be loved by one. She sees Charlie as a fun guy who needs her help to relax, and who can help her satisfy her needs as well.

While Brittany is a fun person, Charlie is serious, tense and a little uptight. He believes in planning for the future. His attraction to Brittany doesn’t make sense to him, but he is willing to let her help him unwind and have some fun. I liked that in Ms. Erickson’s description of him he sounds a little geeky. He doesn’t come across as knowing that he is a great looking guy and this is refreshing from some of the heroes I’ve read in romance books. He’s alpha when he needs to be, but still has a tender and patient side that Brittany needs to help her get over her fear of relationships.

The intimate scenes are hot but also playful with Charlie and Brittany showing the fun side that they (especially the serious Charlie) keep hidden. There is a very hot scene in a bathroom that may leave you needing a fan.

We are briefly introduced to Brittany’s two best friends, Lauren and Madeline, who share in the winnings from the lottery, but I hope that we will also get their stories as well.

Overall, this is a wonderful book with warmth, humor and a hero and heroine that you will be cheering for to get their happy ending.

Grade: B

Winning the lottery changes her life forever…in more ways than one.

One minute Brittney Jones is living paycheck to paycheck, and the next she and three friends win a record-breaking lottery jackpot. Sure, she’s spent some money on herself—after her rough childhood, she figures she deserves a few indulgences, big and small.

To financial advisor Charlie Manning, his client Brittney is a shallow beauty out to spend all of her money. He thinks she should rein it in. She thinks he should loosen up, and resolves to help him do just that—in a very naughty way.

The passion between them burns hot and fast, and Charlie comes to realize Brittney’s heart is as big as her newly fattened bank account. She’s not only smart, but beautiful and sexy. And he can’t resist her.

Still, Charlie is aware that Brittney’s keeping secrets from him. If only she would trust him enough to tell the truth!

Read an excerpt here

Wendy the Super Librarian’s review of Twisted by Andrea Kane
Romantic suspense released by William Morrow 25 Mar 08

While most romance readers spent their teen years cutting their teeth on Kathleen Woodiwiss, Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux, I was reading suspense novels written by Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton and Mary Higgins Clark. Long-time romance readers can spot a contrived Big Misunderstanding plot ten miles off the way I can spot poorly executed suspense threads. Which is ultimately the biggest problem with Andrea Kane’s latest hard cover, Twisted.

I knew who the bad guy was well before page 50. To make it even worse, I knew this thanks to a throwaway piece of dialogue that didn’t have to be inserted into the story. The author later introduces another viable suspect as way of a red herring, but the fact remains, the bad guy can really only be one of two guys. Not exactly a brain bender.

Sadly, the romance doesn’t make up for the lost ground. Sloane Burbank left the FBI when she injured her hand in the line of duty. This injury has meant several surgeries, a lot of physical therapy, and the disintegration of her relationship with former Army Ranger, now FBI agent, Derek Parker. Their problems totally stem from them both being Type A personalities, and their inability and unwillingness to communicate with each other. Sloane is traumatized and ticked off that Derek doesn’t understand. Derek is ticked off because Sloane shuts him out and doesn’t behave the way he thinks she should.

But naturally, their sex life was off the charts.

Can a relationship between two Type A personalities work? Certainly, but I imagine it takes a lot of work. I never really felt like Sloane and Derek worked very hard at it. They do argue, hash out some of their past, and have incredible sex. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that if something “bad” was to happen to either of them again? Yeah, they’d fold like a house of cards.

All in all, this is a readable story. Even with a weak suspense thread, and a romance I didn’t completely believe in, I still kept turning the pages. It’s the kind of book that if I was stuck in an airport, waiting for my connecting flight, and this was the only book I had to read, I would be mildly entertained. That said, for a hard core suspense fan like myself, Twisted never registered above mildly diverting.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank has survived a life-threatening injury sustained in the line of duty, only to face leaving a job she loves in order to recuperate. As an independent consultant, she now uses her specialized skills to train law enforcement and private organizations in crisis resolution. But when one of her closest childhood friends mysteriously disappears, and the woman’s devastated parents beg for her help, Sloane takes the case-even though her ex-lover Derek Parker is the FBI agent in charge.

Special Agent Derek Parker, now assigned to the Asian Criminal Enterprise Task Force in the FBI’s New York Field Office, has no time to spare for a year-old case he sees as a dead end-especially since it would mean working with a woman he never expected to see again. He’s pursuing the leader of a Chinese gang and trying to solve a series of grizzly murders in Chinatown, so he initially offers Sloane the case files and minimal cooperation.

But as more women disappear and others turn up brutally murdered, Derek’s priorities shift, and he and Sloane come to the sickening realization that these random crimes are linked to the same crazed killer. No one can anticipate when he will strike again, but when Sloane becomes the target of his twisted obsession, it becomes clear that his ultimate fantasy is even more psychotic than either of them ever imagined.

Read an excerpt.

Laura J’s review of A Month From Miami by Barbara Meyers
Contemporary Romance released by Samhain 4 Mar 08

In this light romantic comedy, Kaylee Walsh is headed to Miami for a new life. She is tired of being stuck in a small town, tired of her loser ex-boyfriend and ready for a change. Now she just has to get there, if only her car would cooperate. She’s still at least a day’s drive to Miami and her new life, when her car breaks down and won’t restart. After walking into a town very similar to one Kaylee is anxiously leaving she finds a garage and a handsome mechanic to hopefully help get her on her way. Unfortunately for Kaylee, the repairs are going put a major damper in the money she has saved for her move and those jewels she found in the gas tank, well they’re not hers and she would rather not know where they came from.

An opportunity presents itself when the daughter of Rick Braddock, the handsome garage owner, is suddenly in need of a babysitter for a month. Even though Rick is reluctant to allow Kaylee to babysit his daughter, Molly, he finally agrees to it, in exchange for repairing Kaylee’s car. Rick sees in Kaylee his ex-wife, a woman with dreams much too big for a small town and he doesn’t want Molly to get attached or even himself for that matter.

This was a fun romance book with just a bit of a mystery thrown in. Ms. Meyers has created very likable characters in Kaylee and Rick. In the beginning I wasn’t real sure I was going to like Kaylee, but she quickly grew on me as I learned more about her and saw how she was with Molly and Rick. Rick seems so sullen in the beginning and is wary of Kaylee and his attraction to her because she seems to have the same dreams as his ex-wife. But he is an excellent father, protective, but not overly protective. Kaylee is a perfect match for Rick, bringing him out of his loneliness and helping him heal his heart. Usually I don’t like kids in stories as they are sometimes distracting (even when they are a part of the plot), but Molly is cute and a well written character and I adored her.

I’m looking forward to reading more books by Ms. Meyers.

Grade: B-

They told themselves it was only for a month…

Perrish, Florida was supposed to be just an eye-blink for Kaylee Walsh on her way to a glamorous new life in Miami-minus her sleazy ex-boyfriend. She’s not about to let a little car trouble or an empty wallet throw a monkey wrench into her plans. Not even when there’s a handsome mechanic on the other end of that wrench.

Rick Braddock knows better than to give a second glance to a woman with big-city dreams. But getting Kaylee back on the road means car repairs she can’t afford. So he offers a trade. His services for hers. As a babysitter and housekeeper, that is.

They tell themselves it’s only for a month. But as they settle into comfortably domestic days and intensely intimate nights, Rick realizes what a treasure he’s discovered in Kaylee. And for Kaylee, the lure of Miami is losing its shine.

Then Rick discovers a fortune in stolen gems hidden in her gas tank. Is Kaylee the woman he thought she was-or is she taking him for a ride?

Read an excerpt here