Sandy M’s review of Smooth-Talking Stranger (Travis Series, Book 3) by Lisa Kleypas
Contemporary Romance published by St. Martin’s 31 Mar 09

I’ve been wanting to read this book for more than a year now and something has always gotten in the way. But I’ve been keeping it close by lately so that when the right time popped up, I had it handy. Finally all worked out and I got to read about Jack Travis. I’ve been anticipating his story ever since reading tidbits about him in the earlier books of the Travis trilogy. While I love Jack as much as I thought I would, I have a smidgen of disappointment with a couple of other things about the book, however.

Now, I didn’t technically “read” Sugar Daddy and Blue-Eyed Devil. I listened to them in audio format and enjoyed them both immensely, BED a little more than SD. I keep wondering if maybe that has a bit to do with my disappointment in spots while reading STS. I really don’t know.

Jack, of course, is the star of this book for me. He’s right up there with Hardy Cates as my favorites of the trilogy. He’s definitely a ladies’ man, playboy to the core, but when he meets Ella Varner, his whole perspective about women and relationships change. And that’s what I love about him most. Though he has no immediate or even foreseeable future plans to bite the bullet for holy matrimony, he’s the one who is tenacious and goes after Ella full bore, wearing her down with all that sexiness and steamy lovemaking.

My issues with the story is the beginning when we learn about Ella and her family. I realize it’s needed so we see Ella as she is after her childhood. I just felt that along with her sister’s current problems and getting their background interspersed with it all, the first few chapters were just ho-hum as we dredged through their very dysfunctional family, all thanks to their mother. Also, I didn’t like the storyline as well as I did with the previous two books. It’s an okay story, don’t get me wrong. It just doesn’t stand up well to Blue-Eyed Devil and Haven’s amazing life and survival.

Ella does a credible job in the beginning of sticking to her guns for her plans to returning to Austin and her very comfortable boyfriend of eight or so years after three months of looking after her infant nephew, Luke. The poor tyke’s been dropped off, literally, by his mother at his grandmother’s home because that poor excuse of a mom just can’t deal with him and motherhood at the moment. It’s Ella who always steps in and makes things works, and this time is no different. Well, it’s different for Ella. She falls head over heels for Luke and knows her heart will be broken in about ninety days when Tara comes for her son.

Both these ladies have issues due to the way they were raised by their mother. She’s such a lovely piece of work. She had no business having children, which Ella and Tara know and still feel in every fiber of their being even as adults. Ella has her act together more than Tara, thus Tara’s lack of interest in her son, but Ella still has issues when it comes to love. That emotion’s never worked for her, save for Tara and now Luke. So she can do without it, just as she’s done for years now.

But Jack is having none of it. He pours everything between them on so thick from the beginning, Ella doesn’t stand a chance against this man. I didn’t either. He had me from word one, smile one, kiss one. He can do no wrong, per me. He’s definitely smooth. Ella melts and puddles with every touch and caress no matter how it’s delivered. I love Jack’s way of dealing with Dane, Ella’s current but recently out-of-the-picture boyfriend, and every time Ella defended the jerk, I wanted to shake her. But Jack took care of it all in a very Jack-like way.

And while I see how Ella comes out of her self-imposed shell of a life that I read about in the beginning, all because of Jack, it still doesn’t work that well for me. Maybe the combination of finding out about her family and her current situation with Dane is just too much negativity at one time for me – I have this thing about that in my books. And if it’s too much for a reader, you can imagine what Ella’s gone through her entire life. That definitely comes across like nobody’s business.

Besides Jack, what I had fun with is the humor from Ms. Kleypas. She had me laughing out loud a number of times. The first Miss Independent letter we get in the book had me giggling for several minutes. And the way Ella has learned to handle her mother is priceless, especially when keeping the woman away from her and Luke when she’d only stir up trouble. Also, Ella teasing Jack about her yoga legs caused tears due to all the laughter I couldn’t stop.

We meet up with all the previous characters from the series, finding out how they’re doing and what’s going on in their lives. I’m really curious why Joe Travis didn’t get his own book. He’s as charismatic as Gage and Jack and would make a good hero, especially after what he goes through in this book.

So even though I have a disappointment in the way some info is doled out, the overall book is a terrific read, and Jack is everything I’d hoped for. Ella too. Some girls have all the luck.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Ella Varner has it all–a successful career as an advice columnist, a handsome boyfriend, and a circle of friends in Austin. When anyone has a problem, Ella knows the answers.

But one night she receives a call that changes everything. And as Ella’s world is turned upside-down, she meets a man who is the opposite of everything she ever wanted . . . a man who will offer her the most irresistible challenge she has ever known . . .

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Lynne Connolly’s review of Rafael’s Suitable Bride by Cathy Williams
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents/Mills and Boon Modern 1 Mar 09

I usually enjoy Cathy Williams’ books, but in this one I found too many dissonances to fully enter into it. It’s a good story that’s been shoehorned into the Presents/Modern line.

Rafael is a businessman perfectly happy with his bimbos, and then his mother introduces him to Cristina, who comes from a similarly wealthy Italian family. But Cristina is a dumpy brunette, where Rafael prefers willowy blondes. And he doesn’t want a wife, he wants an affair. At least the word “mistress” is kept mainly at bay.

So let’s start with Rafael and Cristina. Rafael is the typical tycoon, except that his business is kept deliberately vague and he spends much more time driving up and down from the Lake District, which is a gruelling drive, visiting his mother. And Cristina has a flower shop, a fairly successful one. Rafael’s character is lightly and confusingly drawn. Every now and then the author remembers he’s an alpha, and provides him with suitable alpha behavior, but I liked him better as the thoughtful man, who called up his ex girlfriend to invite her to a party because he was worried about her. The alpha who wanted to keep his heart separate from his marriage didn’t really ring true for me.

Cristina annoyed me. Although she had a successful floristry business, she seemed too dim to really make it work. Time and again she failed to see what was under her nose, and her lack of understanding of Rafael makes me think that this marriage is headed for the rocks, despite the saccharine epilogue that, frankly, out-sweeted most of the sugary endings. Sad to say, I didn’t believe it for a minute.

And Rafael and Cristina don’t behave or speak like Italians, not even the stereotypical ones. On one hand, I’m pleased, but a spell at an English boarding school doesn’t turn an Italian into a Briton. I’d have been much happier if Rafael and Cristina were Ralph and Christine, and I don’t understand why they weren’t. The action of the story takes place in England, and neither character yearns for Italy or its manners, countryside and glories. I get the feeling that their nationality was in a way imposed on the story after it was written.

Now for the bits of the plot that didn’t altogether make me happy. At the beginning of the story Rafael is heading up to the Lake District. In the snow. He chose to drive instead of taking the train, and he chose to take his Ferrari instead of his Bentley. We’re supposed to believe that he made it up there with no trouble. Snow and the Lake District is a beautiful combination, but I’ve been there in better weather, and a Ferrari just wouldn’t cut it. It’s a stupid decision, not a brave or a quirky one. You need a Range Rover. The Bentley would have been better than the sports car. It’s not as if you can go fast in the Lake District, not with the twisty mountanous roads that are the norm once you get off the motorway. So instead of being amused, I just thought Rafael was stupid. And all this to-ing and fro-ing made me wonder why Williams hadn’t sited Rafael’s mother’s home in Hampshire, or somewhere a bit closer.

Cristina is the typical ditzy type who has more sense than at first she seems to have. Or so we’re told.  She wears the baggy clothes that make her look fat, but underneath, she’s curvy. Are you groaning yet? Give me strength, I thought, but I read on. Yes, later in the story she gets with the plunging necklines and short skirts. Turns into the bimbo Rafael likes. And the career she loves so much? Set aside for babies and husband, although, thankfully, not totally abandoned. And she constantly misunderstands Rafael, doesn’t see into the inner man and doesn’t care.

The sex was, frankly, disappointing. After some delightful foreplay scenes, the sex went by in a flurry of purple prose and flat statements. “they made love” isn’t enough to describe the moment Cristina gives up her virginity. It’s over in a sentence or two of vague description. “It was glorious” doesn’t cut it for this reader, at least. I was reminded of a writing class I went to, where the lecturer told us we have to fulfill our promises. So if we say the heroine is a virgin, and she’s chosen to give it to this man, and it’s a momentous decision, we should share a little more in the scene and the experience. It was as if Williams chickened out. Either do it or don’t, and don’t give us the foreplay without the sex.

Although Williams has an appealing style and some parts of the story made me smile, others fell flat. One scene where Rafael wears Cristina’s pink dressing gown and his boxers should, I felt, have been supremely romantic, and another, just before the black moment, seemed to lack in focus. I’d give this one a D, and go on to the next Williams. Because, as I said, I usually enjoy her books.

Grade: D

Summary:

Billionaire Rafael Rocchi always has a woman in his bed, but never in his heart.
Now he needs a suitable wife…
When he meets Cristina, she is an ideal candidate: her plain-Jane looks mean she won-t be tempted to stray — and she’s a virgin!
Cristina is devastated to learn that Rafael-s proposal was one of convenience. But whilst Rafael makes it clear their marriage isn’t based on love, he intends for it to be authentic in every other respect…

No excerpt found.

Di’s review of Her Best Friend’s Brother (Tulanes of Tennessee, Book 3) by Kay Stockham
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin SuperRomance 10 Mar 09

I really prefer to read a series in print order, but I was so taken with Kay Stockham’s She’s The One, Book 5 in the Tulane Series, I ordered the other four Tulanes. The whole Tulane family from Beauty, Tennessee is very close and supportive to the point of smothering their relatives with overwhelming love. So much so that they can’t even go to the bathroom by themselves. You may laugh, but then you will just have to pick up one of these books and see for yourself.   They are truly a delightful and heartwarming family.

Luke and Shelby’s story is realistic and it had me rooting for them all the way. I didn’t exactly have a love/hate relationship with the story, more of a love/frustration relationship.  I wanted to shout at Shelby to just get over it and grow up. (I just might have, according to my husband.) You can only say “I can’t take a chance” so many times.

If the goal of the writer is to get under the skin of this reader, Kay Stockham succeeded. Shelby is very human, complete with hives. But I like my heroines to come across a little more mature than the silliness of Shelby, who can’t function just because her parents are a bad example.  I understand the off again/on again emotional drama of her parents’ marriage to be unsettling, but again I had to shout, “Get over it! You have already fallen for the guy, why see how long you can make his life miserable.”

With all the embarrassment her mother caused, a move to California seemed like a wonderful idea to me. I am not forgetting her dream of turning the old millhouse into a restaurant, but a little worldly experience would have gone a long way in making it a success. You would think her baby would be her new priority anyway.

You have got to love a guy who says “We’re pregnant.”  Sweet, wonderful, adorable Luke. No man on earth could be more understanding and considerate than the brainy computer geek turned California sunshine gorgeous, Luke Tulane. Who cannot fall for this hunk with a sensitive side?

Luke has loved Shelby forever and he really wants her and their baby.  He may not have known why she turned to him on that particular night, but there is no way he will pass up an opportunity to marry her and make it work. His every thought is of Shelby, so much so she is the heroine of the computer video game he designed. It is very off putting to him when his boss brings someone in who messes with his perfect heroine in his virtual idea. Luke’s character is so realistic you will never want to let him go. The guy really has staying power.

No romance is complete without a wicked witch. Luke’s boss is perfect in the role, destroying something he had perfected while he was getting his life in order. I really wish Shelby had an opportunity to give that woman a piece of her mind. I am glad Luke is returning to the family fold. I do wish his family were a little more open minded and understanding about his profession, though.

I felt this story was more about Shelby Brookes and not enough about Luke Tulane. After all it is the Tulanes of Tennessee series. Maybe Shelby would not have been so wrapped up in herself if she had known what was happening with Luke in his job and what he was sacrificing flying back to Tennessee. I am a firm believer in compromise and I did not see any in Shelby. She made no concessions to meet him halfway, not even in the end when she admitted she loved him and wanted their marriage to work. She still expected him to do all the giving and turn down the job offer that would take them to California.

Once again, as soon as I completed the last page I reached for another Tulanes series book. This one gives me just enough insight on Dr. Ethan Tulane that I can’t wait to see who comes back to Tennessee with him. I am definitely hooked on the Tulanes.

Grade: B

Summary

How could this have happened?
They had one night. That’s all Shelby Brookes would allow herself to indulge in with Luke Tulane. Yes, he’s gorgeous and yes, he’s the greatest guy she knows, but he’s her best friend’s brother for crying out loud! And she’s pretty sure there are rules against sleeping with friends’ brothers.
Then Shelby discovers she’s pregnant. And Luke’s determined to do the right thing—down to the bended knee proposal and the meeting at the altar. As tempting as his offer is, Shelby’s convinced she’s not the marrying kind. She’s bound to hurt him and that’s definitely against the rules of friendship. Still, she doesn’t count on how persuasive Luke can be when he really wants something…her.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Immortal Bride by Lisa Childs
Paranormal Romance published by Silhouette Nocturne 1 Mar 09

I’ve not read Lisa Childs before and because she writes Nocturnes, which is my favorite Silhouette line, and I have several of her books in the TBR pile, I opted for this one first since I haven’t read a ghost story in a while. I’m very pleasantly surprised. We get two ghosts, a love of a lifetime, and a twist at the end that keeps you guessing. Just my kind of book.

Damien is still grieving over the loss of his wife during their honeymoon. Her body has never been found, for she rests at the bottom of the Lake of Tears. He doesn’t come back to their lakeside home that often, but when he does he’s drawn to the shore where Olivia died.

And that is where his loving wife is waiting for him, waiting to make him pay for taking her life. Confused as to why her husband would want her dead, she makes her way into their home to take care of her unfinished business, but what she sees and hears makes her question Damien’s guilt.

As these two become aware of each other again, Damien finally seeing his ghostly wife and Olivia seeing Damien as a wife should, they have a very different spirit working against them. An angry, ancient shaman of Damien’s people is out for his own revenge for what he believes he lost to Damien’s ancestor. They must work together to defeat the specter’s evil and finally let Olivia rest in peace.

I like how Ms. Childs slowly works Olivia back into Damien’s life, a flash here, a movement there, a feeling once or twice, until he finally convinces himself she truly is with him. And then his disbelief when he learns Olivia blames him for her demise is also well done. Though Olivia does come close to exacting her revenge, once she spends more time with Damien she realizes he really did and does love her. I think she’s able to see it so clearly so quickly because she always believed it, death just got in the way for a while.

The ending came as a surprise, but when all is said and done, not much else could have happened in unraveling the mystery surrounding the Lake of Tears and the shaman. And there’s also an extra surprise just because this is a paranormal story and romance at its best when it comes to HEA. A solid, enjoyable read, and I’m ready to find the rest of Ms. Childs’ books in that old TBR pile.

Grade: B

Summary:

For generations, local residents have whispered about an evil menace lurking near the shore of the Lake of Tears. The recent murder of landowner Damien Gray’s bride, Olivia, confirms the worst. Now, confused and heartbroken, Olivia’s spirit survives death and seeks vengeance upon the man she desired more than life itself, the man she now suspects was her killer—Damien.

But an angry shaman has his own vicious agenda, one that will bring Damien to understand his Native ancestry. Steamy passion and ancient vendettas will draw them ever deeper into a drama of a family’s legacy, murder and a love so strong it can withstand even death.

Read an excerpt.

Limecello’s review of The Moretti Heir by Katherine Garbera
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire 10 Mar 09

I got this book because it was part of the Man of the Month series, and also because it’s by Katherine Garbera. Admittedly, there were other motivating factors, as Marco Moretti’s  description is “Italian millionaire.” I’m a sucker for these books, and I’m definitely glad I read this one. Ms. Garbera writes romances that are very enjoyable, and offer the entire package in a category length.

Virginia Festa was so normal… but not. She’s normal, in that she’s a regular woman. Virginia leads a nondescript life, and aside from attracting the attention (and more) of Marco, there’s nothing special about her. Although there is the fact that her grandmother was a strega. And… I thought she was kind of insane. Magic sperm to end a curse? Are you kidding me? (Well, a baby, actually, but I didn’t consider that to be much better.) Thankfully, I didn’t think about it too hard. And… while the story revolves around this key aspect, it also doesn’t focus on it. I can’t explain it, but although I hate that premise and part of the plot, I loved the rest of the book.

Marco Moretti is a darling. He’s sweet, human, caring, extremely athletic and talented, and falls for Virginia quickly. I liked that Marco wasn’t entirely sure of Virginia, but did want to have a relationship with her and see what happened from there. He did have some terms and overbearing moments, but I found them easily forgivable, considering what Virginia was after. Nevertheless, the Moretti brothers also believe in the curse… so in a way they were all normal in their craziness. Or, non craziness to them.

I think it’s clear I was less than enthralled by the, dare I say minor paranormal aspect of this story? I suppose it works to draw Virginia and Marco together. But… having a baby, but not falling in love, to end a curse so Virginia and Marco could each fall in love – with someone else? It sounds complicated, and it is complicated. Nevertheless, trying to get pregnant does throw Virginia and Marco together, and a relationship develops.

I liked that Virginia wasn’t able to walk away from Marco as easily as she wanted. Also, the Marco demanded rights to his child – his responsibility and sense of duty says a lot about him. Virginia’s actions while a bit off the wall and seemingly desperate, also make sense. She believes in the curse, has seen it’s effects, and is determined to not live out her life alone. I found that admirable.

The Moretti Heir also impressed me because there were so many things about it I was predisposed to dislike. The strange baby plot. The fact that Marco is a race car driver. The fact that the story is based on deception. I don’t know much about racing, but it’s definitely not my thing. However, I think it did make a difference that Marco is a Formula One race car driver. The international circuit makes it more cosmopolitan, and I liked the change in setting throughout the book. Where they were allowed Marco and Virginia to act differently, and that really helped develop both their personalities, and relationship. It’s clear that both had already formed strong emotional ties to the other.

I liked Virginia and Marco very much, as well as the secondary characters. Each had his or her own part to play, and developed the plot of The Moretti Heir rather than distracted the reader from it. I’ve already re-read this story, and plan to do so again. I definitely recommend this book to Ms. Garbera’s fans, or those who like the Silhouette Desire line.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Mr. March: Marco Moretti, Italian millionaire.

His Curse: Love or money, never both.

His Conquest: Defeat a generations-old legacy with one seduction.

His competitor’s daughter had come to him with the ultimate request: impregnate her and their families would be free of the curse that plagued them. The chemistry between Marco and Virginia Festa was electric, and the solution seemed simple. Yet begetting the Moretti heir created the most impossible of situations. They’d each fallen in love with the opposition.

MAN OF THE MONTH: Determined to end Moretti’s Legacy, only he knows to what lengths he will go!

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s review of Secret Baby, Public Affair by Yvonne Lindsay
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire 10 Mar 09

I really enjoy Yvonne Lindsay’s Silhouette Desire books, and it’s a good thing too, because her titles are not a draw for me. I might even go so far as to say that I read them in spite of the titles, because I know I can expect a great story from Ms. Lindsay. Secret Baby, Public Affair is happily, no exception.

This book is the second installment in the Rogue Diamonds trilogy, and while the books are connected, each seems to stand alone beautifully. Ms. Lindsay is one of my favorite Silhouette Desire authors, and I’d say this book is a good indication of why that is so.

Blair Carson is a great heroine – she’s career minded, but doesn’t let that dictate her life. She’s also a chef, and I have a great love of food, so that’s another plus for her. Blair is sweet and likable, but Draco really steals the show. Nevertheless, I deeply appreciated the fact that Blair has a spine, and is both able and willing to stand up for herself. It’s a refreshing change of pace for a heroine, and especially one in a category.

Draco Sandrelli is the dream hero. He’s perfect in pretty much every imaginable way, and mad for the heroine. He knows that he and Blair had a deep connection, and he’s not willing to let anyone, or anything get in his way of trying to establish a relationship. Draco is charming and sweet, heavy handed, but never to the point where he crosses the line.

I really liked the story, and the characters. Blair and Draco’s interaction and budding emotional connection is the major focus in this story. Although I’m not fond of the title, I suppose interpreted loosely it does fit. “Secret babies” seem all the rage in harlequin books, but in this case, Blair’s pregnancy is a major issue, and plot point.

Yes, there were some things that Blair and Draco could have resolved by having a simple conversation, but I wasn’t ever really frustrated. I understood and believed their feelings, and fears, and what made them hold back. Both have an interesting history and rather a lot of baggage, that puts them in the positions they’re in. I also must admit that – there’s so much about this book that I like. Blair is a chef – she owns and runs a very successful restaurant. Draco is practically Italian royalty, and a tycoon. They’re Down Under. What’s not to love?

I have to say, I really loved the ending, and a part where Blair basically says horrible things to Draco. (It fits- and there’s a good reason for that.) It was unexpected, refreshing, and perfect. That moment, where Draco just takes it – and shows that Blair is his main concern really brings everything together. I’ve already re-read this story, and I know I’ll be coming back to it again in the future.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Ms. Lindsay’s writing, the Silhouette Desire line, or if you’re just interested in trying out a category book.

Grade: B+

Summary:

She’d run from a disastrous betrayal straight into the arms of a sexy Italian aristocrat. From the moment their eyes met, Blair Carson had been under Draco Sandrelli’s spell. She’d fallen into their affair with total abandon, without thought.

Now the time had come to face reality. She was pregnant by a man she barely knew. Draco was demanding she return to Tuscany to have their baby. And never once had he uttered the word love.

Read an excerpt here.

Gwen’s review of Undead On Arrival  (Crimson Moon, Book 3) by L.A. Banks
Urban fantasy released by St. Martin’s 31 Mar 09

Sybil sends me random urban fantasies and paranormals to read and review.  I’m usually happy with the books – sometimes they suck and sometimes I’m pleased as punch with the book.  This book sits in the middle of that spectrum for me. 

My first mistake was to read this book before I read the first two in the series.  Undead is most definitely not a standalone book and relies heavily on the reader’s foreknowledge of the world, the players, and all the plottin’ and politickin’ in this series.

My next mistake was ignoring the “at sea” feeling I developed, and never gave up, during the beginning few chapters.  I should have just stopped, put the book down, and picked it up after reading the previous two books.  But nooooo.  My OCD wouldn’t let me.  Once I start something I just have to finish it.  That means I sat reading this book, puzzling thru the plots, subplots, names, personalities, and details that make up this world of Banks’s.

GAH!

Frustrating as hell.

One of the things that made me a little crazier than normal was the herky-jerky path the book takes down the plotline.  Banks does do a LOT of head and scene jumping, sometimes for only a paragraph.  It’s not that I dislike this – it’s rather invigorating to read constant forward motion down a complex path.  However, I was *completely* and *utterly* lost on several of these side trips.  Plus, sometimes a plot jump lasts for several pages and when we return to a previous plot line (frequently hours later, once some laundry and soccer practice has seen the positive side of my “to do” list), I have NO IDEA what the hell I’m reading about.  I have to go back and re-read the previous plotline just to catch up.

Frustrating as HELL.

I’m sure this series is fun if/when you start at the beginning.  It seems exciting.  It doesn’t come together very well for me, though.  There’s just too much unsaid, too much going on, too many heads and factions, and too much that didn’t seem important to the story.  Remember – I’m the Johnny-come-lately to this series.

I can recommend this book to fans of the series.  If you like L.A. Banks’ other books, then you may like this one – IF you start at the beginning, that is.

Grade: C

Summary:

Just one month ago, secret government operative Sasha Trudeau thought she’d tasted victory. Orchestrating détente between the warring factions of the supernatural world had nearly cost her life—but it also opened the door to a future with Max Hunter, her mate and fellow Shadow Wolf.

Until now. A poisonous virus is wreaking havoc on Hunter’s immune system. And the passionate man who Sasha loves has become unpredictable, dangerous—and possibly deadly. When Hunter disappears the night a human is found ravaged, Sasha is thrust into a race against the clock to find the cure for her mate…and the traitor who’s determined to see them both dead.

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Limecello’s Duckies Do Series reviews of The Hardcastle Progeny Series by Jennifer Lewis
Contemporary romances released by Silhouette Desire Feb – Apr 2009

Rawr. My original review got eaten, so please just imagine all sorts of witty brilliance throughout, ok? So – Silhouette Desire is one of my favorite Harlequin Lines. I also pick books based on author, and I know I’d read and enjoyed ones by Jennifer Lewis before. But even more so, I noticed the title to the second book in the Hardcastle Progeny series. I could be wrong, but Desire books set in Argentina are rather rare, and this one caught my attention. After reading it I realized I was in the middle of a series, so I got the other books, and here we are!

Millionaire’s Secret Seduction (Book 1)
Released 10 Feb 09

I haven’t quite managed to finish this book, but it is the first in the series! :X

Grade: N/A

Summary:

A multimillion-dollar family dynasty was hard to walk away from. And that’s what Dominic Hardcastle intended to do. Until he met his father’s employee Bella Andrews. She was intriguing and sexy beyond reason… and out to ruin his estranged, ruthless father. So Dominic offered to keep her secret if she’d keep him company…after hours.

Everything about Dominic set off alarms in Bella’s head. For he had the power to destroy her plans. Maybe some intense overtime with Mr. Tall, Dark and Dangerous was needed. Suddenly her scheme didn’t seem so simple…or her heart so safe.…

Read an excerpt here.

In the Argentine’s Bed (Book 2)
Released 10 Mar 09

This book reminds me a lot of a Harlequin Presents, but it definitely also has the tone of a Desire. The setting, the manner in which Amado treats Susannah is an interesting mix. He’s quite solicitous of her as a guest, and gentle as a lover – but as someone in a relationship… he’s your typical category hero. Of course, the interesting thing is that the heroine Susannah is the actual “bad guy” in the book. Not so much she does anything wrong, but she is the bearer of bad news and causes problems.

Amado Alvarez is a rather unique hero. He has a sense of duty, loves his home, his parents, and had a nice, well adjusted child hood. Of course, in typical romance fashion, it all comes crashing down around him. (Nevertheless, I was really excited Amado had a normal, and happy childhood. This is a good thing!) Luckily, Amado’s a big boy and can handle the skeletons that are revealed. I felt that Susannah was able to hold her own in the foreign setting, and that she could stand up to Amado. The book focused on their relationship, which I always love, but there was also a lot of plot movement as well.

I can definitely see myself re-reading this book.

Grade: B-

Summary:

It was just one “simple” mission—find out whether a winemaker in Argentina was a New York millionaire’s long-lost son. But Susannah Clarke quickly learned Amado Alvarez played by his own rules. He’d give her the DNA sample she wanted—if she spent the night with him! And in a moment of madness, she’d given in, to his demand and to her own desire. Now she had to return to South America to face this compelling, sensuous man again—and to face the consequences of that one unforgotten, unforgettable night in a stranger’s bed….

Read an excerpt here.

The Heir’s Scandalous Affair (Book 3)
Released 14 Apr 09

This book has enough material to be a novel, yet Ms. Lewis paces it perfectly, and everything that should be resolved is by the end of this category book. I also appreciated that nothing was rushed. Based on the beginning of the book I didn’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did, but everything about this book is just so right. It definitely helped that I read In the Argentine’s Bed first, because I think that gave a great -and important- foundation for Samantha’s character. If you think about it, Samantha and Louis’s relationship really is taboo. She’s his step mother. He’s… well you get the point. Even though they’re not related in any way, the social stigma exists. I was pleased that Ms. Lewis addresses this issue, and manages it in a way that I found not only believable, but convincing. (And yes, for once, the title is not only accurate, but telling.)

Samantha’s character also impressed me. Generally, the put upon window, poor me, is not someone I feel bad for. Oh boo hoo, I’m so beautiful I’ve been married so many times because men want me, and want a fabulous life. However, there’s so much more to her, and I think her character is sufficiently explained, and developed in The Heir’s Scandalous Affair (yes, this book). By the end, I was convinced Samantha and Louis had to be together, and that it not only made perfect sense, it was right.

I also liked Louis’s character. He’s very unique, and quite special. His attitude towards life is refreshingly new, and I felt that he was a great match for Samantha. Not to mention he owns a lot of restaurants, has a crazy mother, a blase outlook on life, and is mad for Samantha.

The different settings really highlight each character’s personality, and life as well. It’s nice that Samantha first goes to find Louis in New Orleans, and then after the initial meeting they go to New York. There was also enough closure to the series, and nice cameo appearances by the other “Hardcastles” as well. I definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy Silhouette Desire books.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Young widow Samantha Hardcastle longs to find her late husband’s heir and bring him into the family. Even so, restaurateur Louis DuLac won’t respond to her calls or letters—or knocks at his New Orleans door. All alone, Samantha succumbs to the sensual refuge offered by a gorgeous stranger. Who turns out to be Louis DuLac.

Louis never knew his father’s identity. Now this trophy widow wants him to take a DNA test to prove—or disprove— that he is a Hardcastle. No problem—if Samantha agrees to spend another evening with him….

Read an excerpt here.

Overall Grade: B-

I think that there’s something very unique and rather special about Ms. Lewis’s books. Granted the “lost heirs” seem to take their place in the Hardcastle business or family with great equanimity – more than one might generally expect. Nevertheless, there is a reason for that, and the characters all stay true to themselves. While the basic premise of the stories I suppose aren’t that different, the way in which Ms. Lewis approaches them gives new life to these romance tropes. Although I was sure there would be the happy ending, I didn’t know how the characters would get to it. I definitely recommend these two stories to anyone who enjoys Ms. Lewis’s books or Silhouette Desires.

Limecello’s review of Scandalized by Lori Foster
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin 1 Oct 97, rerel’d 1 Mar 09

The story begins “She was the perfect woman to have his baby.” Tell me that doesn’t get your attention. I really enjoy Lori Foster’s older stories, and this was no exception. You’ll notice that the book title is actually Scandalous because it’s a reissue that has both Scandalized and Sex Appeal. (Actually, these stories have all been re-released 3-4 times, so if you’re a big Ms. Foster fan, it’s likely you’ve already read one or both of these stories.) I, however, missed the Harlequin Temptation line, so I was glad I got the opportunity to read Scandalized. I really enjoyed this story, and found it had a storyline similar to a number of romances I’ve read that were published recently. However, I felt that Ms. Foster dealt with the “infertile heroine” issue in a more realistic manner, which I appreciated.

Olivia Anderson is a career driven woman. She’s something of a loner, but she’s filled her life with purpose through developing her lingerie stores. Olivia is nice and sweet, but aside from having a somewhat sad personal life, there isn’t much substance to her. I liked her, but she doesn’t really stand out from the sea of romance heroines. I do like, however, her rationality, and the fact that she isn’t all mushy and useless. She also takes the somewhat unexpected step of telling Tony she wants to have a physical relationship, and demanding sexual satisfaction. She’s a self actualized woman. (So maybe that does make her stand out.) Of course, she’s only twenty-six, which makes me hate her a little bit.

Tony Austin wants a baby. He’s thirty-five, and realizes he has everything he wants in life, except for a child. He wants someone to love, that belongs completely to him. Accordingly, he’s decided to have a child – not a wife and family, because that’s not something he can control, and he hasn’t found a woman he would like to marry either. I like Tony’s character because he’s fun, and determined, and the way he goes about getting what he wants is entertaining. He’s also extremely sexy, and caring, and pretty much the perfect man. I really liked how gentle and sweet Tony was with Olivia. He’s a tiny bit clueless at times, but is a good guy.

While the plot isn’t so believable, I didn’t really mind. It was plausible in romance land, and what gets my attention and what I read romances for are the relationship, so I’m much more willing to suspend belief for plot. I really liked the secondary characters, and how Olivia and Tony’s relationship develops. Did I believe they really and truly fell in love as a result based solely on their interaction in the book? No – but I can believe they were in love considering a totality of the circumstances, and their history.

I like the “switch” – with the hero having the ticking biological clock. It was also nice to have the hero be the one who wants the relationship and is pushing for more. I LOVE that. There’s a slight reversal of roles here, but it’s not excessive or comedic, and Tony never becomes maudlin. Tony and Olivia have a lot of similarities, and their personalities match well. They both understand and run successful businesses, but also both have been looking for (though afraid of) personal connections. I think that’s why they’re so perfectly matched.

I didn’t actually know what to expect- when Olivia was so sure she couldn’t have a baby – when she was “magically pregnant” I wasn’t as annoyed, because Ms. Foster covered her tracks here. Olivia’s doctors never told her she couldn’t have a baby, Olivia simply only has one ovary, and she herself decided she could never get pregnant. In fact, this misconception is addressed in the book, which I appreciated. I would’ve been a lot more annoyed if Olivia had gotten magically pregnant when doctors had previously told her it would be impossible. (There’s a bit of a question/sticky situation near the end, but that was after all the conflict resolution so I didn’t really think about it.)

This is a really cute story, with a lot of great sexy scenes between Tony and Olivia. It also draws in a lot of Tony’s family, and it’s nice to see the characters interact with each other, and others. I thought that developed their personalities nicely, and made the much morel likable and personable. As I said, I really like a number of Ms. Foster’s earlier books, so I’m glad this was republished to everyone can now read it. I recommend it to her fans, and also anyone looking for a nice, sweet contemporary. (I also read Sex Appeal a few years ago – I liked it, but liked Scandalous better.)

Grade: B-

Summary:
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To fulfill his desire to father a child, Tony looks for a woman who’ll have his baby and then disappear from his life. Olivia doesn’t want a husband or a child—but she would cherish a special night with Tony. But sometimes passion gets out of control, and love upsets even the best-laid plans.
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Read an excerpt here.

Shannon C.’s review of The Accidental Human (Accidental Friends, Book 3) by Dakota Cassidy
Paranormal romance released by Berkley 3 Mar 09

There’s something intrinsically satisfying about reading the final volume to a series. I always close the book with a smile, a bit wistful that I’ll never get to spend time with these characters again, but pleased that I can move on to see what else the author is capable of writing. And, in the case of the third book in Dakota Cassidy’s Accidental Friends series, I was even more satisfied that not only did the series wrap up completely, but it did so with one of the strongest books she’s written. 

Wanda, cosmetics consultant and reader of romance novels, has always been the peacemaker in her small circle of friends. The mouthy Nina and the ditzy Marty are always at each other’s throats, and it’s Wanda that manages to calm them down. But now Nina and Marty have met their mates–a vampire and a werewolf respectively–and Wanda has received some shocking news, namely that she doesn’t have much longer to live. (This isn’t really a spoiler, since it’s clearly hinted at in the previous book.) Anyway, to complicate Wanda’s life, Heath, the sexiest man she’s ever seen, answers her add for Bobbie Sue consultants. Wanda needs some convincing that a man can sell cosmetics, but soon she discovers he has a knack for it, and she finds herself curious about why a (very) straight guy would be all up on the selling of makeup. She fights her attraction to Heath, and must also figure out how to tell her friends about her cancer.

Needless to say, I really liked Wanda. My problems with the other heroines in this series have been that they tended to sound the same, and that same was a level of shrill that got irritating to read about. But, well, having cancer kind of tilts my sympathy, and I didn’t find Wanda shrill at all. I was really touched and moved by her struggles, and this was one of those books where the paranormal turn the plot took was very much welcome because I thought Wanda deserved some happiness.

Heath was great, too. He wasn’t overpoweringly alpha, and he kind of subverted a few paranormal tropes himself. I mean, a guy’s got to be pretty comfortable with his masculinity to not feel any qualms about selling Bobbie Sue and later using his car as a mobile advertisement for sanitary napkins so he can get money. I also adored the genuine love and friendship he had for his manservant, Archibald, who stole each scene he was in. While the predicament Heath and Archibald are in strains credibility, it was nice to read about a man in a paranormal romance who wasn’t loaded with cash and who had to find some way to earn a living.

I absolutely bought the romance between Wanda and Heath, and I loved that yet again Ms. Cassidy brings the funny,. This time out, I thought the sexual tension struck the right balance, and the plot moves at a good clip.

There are bits of the story that strain credibility. Like I said, Heath’s predicament made me go, “…huh.” and not necessarily in a good way. I also thought the climax was a tad over the top. But as I said, the end result couldn’t have happened to a more deserving couple of characters and I totally bought their HEA.

Ms. Cassidy’s sense of humor falls in line with my own, for the most part, and it’s been fun following the lives of Marty, Nina and Wanda. I absolutely can’t wait to read whatever she’s got coming next.

Grade: B

Summary:
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Immortality bites— new from the author of Accidentally Dead and The Accidental Werewolf.
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Wanda Schwartz is raking in the dough selling Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics—and she’s a pro at recruiting new saleswomen. So, she’s shocked when a man comes to one of her in-home parties—a very hot man. Heath Jefferson is sure to put some extra spin into a lot of women’s color wheels.
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When Wanda is diagnosed with a terminal illness, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. With a werewolf and a vampire for best friends, she has options that most ordinary people wouldn’t. As Wanda ponders what to do about her mortality, Heath reveals he has secrets, and one of them is that his former bloodlust has turned into an old-fashioned lust—for Wanda. And he’s already given up too much to lose the love of his lifetimes.
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Liviania‘s review of His Cavalry Lady (Aikenhead Honors, Book 1) by Joanna Maitland
Historical romance released by Harlequin Historical 1 Mar 09

What’s this?  A Harlequin Historical review by someone other than Wendy the Super Librarian?  Could it really be?  I must admit, I don’t pick up much historical fiction. It’s not my favorite genre.  (I should note that I evaluate Romancelandia different from standard history.)  But I’ve really wanted to read a couple of the recent HH releases, because their summaries hit my buttons.  This one had cross-dressing and Russians.  Cross-dressing!  Russians!  Tell me you don’t want that in your Regency!

Joanna Maitland hooked me from the beginning.  The Tsar has decided to honor one of his enlisted soldiers for saving the life of an officer, but our heroine knows the jig is up when he reveals a letter from her father.  However, he decides to let her continue with her disguise since she’s demonstrated she is a valiant soldier and grants her a new name, Alexei, attached to nobility so that she can be an officer.  Fast forward and she’s part of his retinue during a visit to England, set to spy on a spy – Dominic Aikenhead, Duke of Calder.

Dominic is in charge of the ill-named Aikenhead Honors, a generally nice guy who happens to pass on some of the sensitive information he comes across.  He could be the stuffy type, but his interactions with his brothers and Alex show off his sense of humor.  He’s the honorable guy who most find less interesting than a bad boy, but I really liked him.  (For those who prefer the bad boys, the other Honors fulfill that role.)

The structure of the story helps.  Since Dominic thinks Alex is a man, they first develop a solid friendship.  Dominic enjoys Alex’s company because of her wit, skill, and attention to duty rather than a pretty face.  They earn each other’s respect before anything romantic occurs, and it allows me to forgive Maitland when they go far pretty quickly.

As far as I can tell, the history is well-done.  Maitland owns up to changing the timeline of some events in the author’s note, but it matters more that she gets the feel of the societies correct.  Alex, while half-Scottish, was raised in Russia and fought for Russia.  Dominic is English and likewise loyal to his country.  It is fun to watch Dominic teach Alex about English culture . . . and to see the Russians make Dominic perform a salutation he finds humiliating.  (Plus, Russians are awesome but they seem to pop up less than Vikings, Highlanders, and sheiks of questionable ethnicity.)

I haven’t read anything else by Maitland, but I know I’m picking up the other Aikenhead Honors books.  I liked what I saw of the Knight and Knave and thoroughly enjoyed the way Maitland told the first story.  I’m very good I had His Cavalry Lady with me on the long bus ride.

Grade: B+

Summary:
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Alex instantly fell for Dominic Aikenhead, Duke of Calder, knowing that he would never notice her–because to him she was Captain Alexei Alexandrov, a young man and a brave hussar!
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Alex longed to be with her English duke just once, as the passionate woman she truly was. To be swept off her feet, wearing the finest of gowns, would be a dream come true. But there was danger in such thoughts. What if Dominic ever found out the truth?
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

Gwen’s review of The Betrayal (The Ælven, Book 1) by Pati Nagle
Romantic fantasy released by Del Rey 24 Mar 09

I don’t get much chance to read fantasy, though it is one of my first literary loves.  I cut my reader’s teeth on J.R.R. Tolkien, Roger Zelazny, and Terry Brooks.  To this day, I hear music that I listened to while reading and I still get a nostalgic whiff of what it was like to first experience those books.  It’s like being touched by the ghost of a wonderful old friend – a bit of a shiver and peaceful feeling all at the same time.  I got that same feeling, and a touch of romance, with this book and it was a very nice homecoming. 

All fantasy has some romantic elements in it, but seldom is there a central romance around which a story is based.  Fantasies are often these big, sweeping tales of strife and ambition, pitting magic and mundane, good and evil against each other and there’s seldom much room for romance.   In The Betrayal, we have a juxtaposition of these two genres and in some ways, while it’s a more “limited” tale in it’s sweeping scope, it’s almost a more intimate one because of the emotion involved.  There’s still the sweeping “good vs. evil” saga, but it’s told with the central romance between Turison and Eliani as the focus, and I really enjoyed the read.

Nagle has created a very complex, natural world for the ælven.  The characters are one with their environment and, when they’re not, it’s considered an abomination.  We’re left wondering why an abomination would occur in the first place and are left with some tantalizing hints as to why this has occurred.  (Yes, yes.  There is some not so subtle subtext about ecology, etc., which I choose to ignore.)  Nagle’s is a very complex world and I highly recommend keeping handy the map and glossary on the author’s site; I read the ARC, so I’m not sure if these are included in the final print version of the book (hopefully they are).

What we get with this story is a nicely wrought tale of passion, betrayal, and fantasy.  I hesitated reading it – thinking that I didn’t want to read a dry fantasy tale – and now wish I hadn’t waited.  It was a very good story that I highly recommend to any of you who have – like me – not dabbled in fantasy for a while.  Really a lovely story with quite the cliff-hanger ending.  I can’t wait for the next entry coming next Spring.

Grade: A

Summary:
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When the touch of a hand and a caring thought create a psychic bond that can span vast distances, the lives of two young ælven strangers are forever changed. Turisan and Eliani share the legendary gift of mindspeech, which can aid their people on the eve of war—but only if they are willing to embrace an irrevocable intimacy.
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Read excerpts and deleted scenes.

Other books in the series:

Heart of the Exiled (The Ælven, Book 2), late spring/early summer 2010

Shannon C.’s review of Desire Unchained (Demonica, Book 2) by Larissa Ione
Paranormal romance released by Forever 3 Mar 09

It says something about the compellingness (is that even a word?) of an author’s series when it doesn’t take me six months between reading books. I didn’t wait long at all between reading Pleasure Unbound and starting in on Desire Unchained. And I have to say that this is an awesome paranormal series, and if Larissa Ione keeps it up, she will land on my very short list of auto-buy authors.

Yet again, we are treated to the three brothers who run Underworld General Hospital. This time, the focus is on Shade. When he is captured and chained, he is startled to find his ex-lover, Runa, sharing a cell. Turns out they’ve been nabbed by the ghouls who keep stealing organs from supernatural creatures, and Runa, far from being the clingy, needy woman Shade remembers, is strong, has new abilities, and isn’t so happy with Shade for breaking her heart.

Yet again, I was drawn into the world Ms. Ione has created. Ms. Ione’s style is reminiscent of J.R. Ward, only tighter. I believe the world she’s created and I like the fact that, yet again, we are given an anti-hero in the form of Shade, who isn’t always the nicest guy. Runa is a good match for him, and while she’s not nearly as strong a character as Shade, I was afraid she’d be a clingy weakling and was grateful she wasn’t.

The plot is tight, and resolves nicely, with enough of the major arc left hanging to make readers eager for the third book in the series. The secondary romance begun in the first book is even continued and I’m really hoping it gets resolved in the third book. What’s more, the romance is strong, with the leads having great chemistry and hot scenes together.

I do have a quibble though, which rather significantly detracts from the grade. I wish Ms. Ione hadn’t come so close to pushing the envelope only to back down at the last minute. Case in point: Shade has a dungeon. He has a need to be dominant, but he doesn’t like this fact about himself. He hates that Runa eventually wants him to engage in BDSM play with her, and he ends up feeling like he can’t do that with someone as pure as Runa. Blech. If a book is going to have BDSM themes, then it by god should have BDSM themes. It shouldn’t pussyfoot around them in an attempt to be edgy. Because the fact that Shade thought being a dom was something horrible made me lose lots of respect for him.

Overall, I liked this addition to the series. Ms. Ione is a talented writer, and I enjoy visiting the paranormal world she’s created. I just hope next time she’ll either push the envelope all the way or leave it alone.

Grade: B

Summary:
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Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .
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Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.
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A Seminus Demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever.
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As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts-or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.
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Read an excerpt

Lawson’s review of Revealed by Kate Noble
Historical romance released by Berkley Sensation 3 Mar 09

Kate Noble, in her second book, goes for a bit more intrigue and some derring-do with a story about a former spy in the fight against Napoleon and the Queen of Society.  I do have to mention that after reading Lynne Connolly’s post about class in historical romance, perhaps my view of this book has changed a bit, but it is a lively tale that keeps one turning the pages.

Mrs. Phillipa Benning is the nearly unrivaled leader of polite society in London. Her one rival is Lady Jane Cummings, though no one really knows why the two women don’t like each other. Phillipa, wanting to have all of society at her feet, wants to of course score the proposal of the season from the Marquis of Broughton. To gain his attention, she agrees to meet him in secret in a library at a ball where a romantic rendezvous is implied, though not promised.

Instead Phillippa stumbles upon another secret meeting between the head of the Home Office and one of his operatives, Marcus Worth. When the name, the Blue Raven is brought up in the conversation, Phillippa decides she is going to unmask the Blue Raven at what will then become the event of the season, the Benning Ball, which also happens to be one of the last major events of the season. She ends up gaining the cooperation of Marcus Worth in her plans with some help of her own in getting invitations to other major society events.

Marcus needs the invitations because he has suspicions of a plot made by an old enemy from the war to attack various society events. The purpose of the attacks is not known, nor has the villain shown his face, but Marcus has instincts that haven’t let him down and he knows he has to do something. As he works with Philippa he begins to worry for her safety, for as she proves valuable in finding the rival spy, she is also putting herself in danger and Marcus has realized he doesn’t want her hurt, for any reason, because of him. Nor does he want to let her go.

Phillippa is a character that is pretty much what she appears to be on the surface. She has a bit of a stand-offish demeanor from having most people in her life disappoint her or never pay over much attention to her, like her deceased husband and her mother. As such, she does what she likes and is not thought of less before it because she’s very wealthy and very intelligent. She hides her true smarts from society, but then she wouldn’t be the head of the fashionable world without using her intelligence to get her to her current position.

Marcus is happy with being on the fringes of society. When he’s forced to get invitations and become seen about town he does it with good humor and is able to see beyond Phillippa’s public image to her caring nature underneath. He’s very protective of her, as he sees Broughton as a popinjay and not good enough for her (which he is of course). What Marcus doesn’t like is being nearly on display for society, which he inevitably is when he’s on Phillippa’s arm. Marcus is used to working behind the scenes and not out for all the world to see.

While it is believable that these to characters could end up together, Phillippa never seems to grow past some of her selfishness and overconfidence in her abilities to get what she wants. She’s rather cruel at times to some secondary characters as she thinks that is befitting her position as a leader in society. That Marcus can break through that to get to her vulnerabilities underneath shows that she’s not (for lack of a better word) a bitch, she still holds herself a bit apart from others around her.

The spy storyline trying to sabotage events in society in the end didn’t come out to be wholly plausible, but it did provide the necessary elements to get the plot moving to the point of a sort of climax that forces the two characters to come together in the end. The story was well written enough to keep my interest, but this book wasn’t as good as Noble’s first, Compromised.

Grade: C+

Summary:
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Phillippa Benning is the unrivaled beauty of the Season. But when another lady challenges her for a marquis’s attentions, Phillippa entices him to a secret rendezvous—only to stumble upon The Blue Raven, England’s most famous spy, lurking at the site of her planned tryst.
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The Blue Raven has uncovered an enemy plot directed at upcoming society functions, but he’s unable to infiltrate London society. Phillippa makes an offer: in exchange for entrée among the ton, he agrees to have his true identity revealed at the Benning Ball—guaranteeing her unrivaled notoriety. As the danger draws closer, the mysterious spy and Phillippa give in to mutual desire. But when the game turns deadly, betrayal waits around the corner, and Phillippa must decide once and for all—is it the myth that captured her heart, or the man?
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Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Animal Attraction by Charlene Teglia
Contemporary Paranormal Erotic Romance released by St. Martin’s 17 Mar 09

This is one of those books that readers are going to really like or it’s just not for them. There will those who will say there’s not enough story to go along with all that sex.  Sometimes I’m one of those people. There will be others who will say more meat is needed  the storyline. Sometimes I one of those people too. But not this time around.

I’m happy to say that on both those counts Ms. Teglia comes up with a nice balance. Yes, it’s an erotic story, so there should be sex. In most of these types of books the sex is so gratuitous it’s not even funny; and, of course, you don’t get much of a story when that happens. Though Animal Attraction has a basic story of shapeshifters protecting their territory and people from adversarial shifters, it’s the characters and the little extras the author gives the reader that makes this book more fun and enjoyable than all those other so-so books out there.

Chandra has started to feel jumpy, out of sorts lately and she has no idea why. Meeting a mysterious man in the store where she works at the mall is another one of those things she can’t explain, especially because she’s drawn to the stranger. But when he saves her from three different strangers who would do her harm and he tells her to come home, she’s needed there, that only makes things more murky for her. Added to that are her nightmares of images and people that scare her but that also feel familiar.

Taking Zach at his word, when Chandra finds him and her other nocturnal visitor, David, at their home they share with nine other men, she feels like it’s her home too, a place where she finally belongs. And when she eventually learns who and what she is, things seem to make more sense to her. But there are other things she has a hard time getting beyond. Because her parents died when she was young, she’s never known her heritage. She’s a werewolf and her first transition is about to take place, so she has a lot to take in. Chandra will also have to choose a mate, the wolf who will then be alpha of the pack, king of the wolves. Before that happens, though, she has to get through a night of mating and marking with the men of the pack.

In between all this it’s the neighboring panthers, along with rogue wolves, who keep attacking, trying to take what isn’t theirs. As Chandra learns more about herself and her new pack, however, the stronger they become. Her feelings are divided between Zach and David, but she doesn’t want to choose wrong to cause a weakness that can be exploited by the panthers. How can she choose between these two men she loves in so short a time? As her shifting gifts become more apparent, her new-found strength gives her confidence and she’s ready to put an end to the fear and scare tactics the panthers are fond of.

How can Chandra have sex with eleven men in one night and you don’t roll your eyes while you’re reading? Believe me, I thought that was going to happen when I realized where the story was headed at that point in time. All in all, those scenes are quite intense, but Ms. Teglia puts that balance I mentioned earlier into play. The first few scenes with different men do go into a lot of detail and emotion of the moment, but the later scenes are kept to a minimum so you don’t end up in overload. But it’s all enough so that you get to know these characters as they interact with Chandra. If enough care hadn’t been taken for that along the way, I don’t think the whole thing would have gone over nearly as well.

Also, the two heroes, Zach and David, are very alpha and very likable, but Chandra holds her own with them. Sure, they want her at every turn, but they also care for and take care of their own. You see how all the men interact with one another in both human and wolf form. You see how much they need Chandra in their lives to make their pack whole. Chandra herself is a very strong and independent woman. Even before she knew she was a wolf, she was smart and quick witted in times of danger.

I also liked the twists that happen among their pack and also with panthers near the end of the story, things you don’t quite expect. Even a blade of grass takes on a whole new light. There were probably a few things here and there that didn’t work in the story, but they’re so negligible that I don’t even remember what they may have been. This is why I love reading paranormals. The author takes that free rein she’s given and runs with it, but doesn’t go overboard, something I wish I’d see a lot more often when reading erotic romance.

Grade: B+

Summary:
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Chandra Walker always hoped to find out who her birth parents were; she just didn’t expect the truth to put her in the middle of a shapeshifter war with the power to determine the outcome, complicated by a forbidden love for two mates.
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Read an excerpt. (scroll down)

Gwen’s review of Nobody But You (A Grayson Friends Novel) by Francis Ray
Contemporary romance released by St. Martin’s 3 Mar 09

I discovered something when I read this novel: there’s a whole sub-genre of romance novels for NASCAR fans.  I know!  Go figure!  Not that there’s anything wrong with that (a la Seinfeld), but I was surprised.  I’m not such a big racing fan, so the whole “car thing” was a bit lost on me, but I just imagined he was simply a professional athlete of any sport and I could roll with it.  Read on to see what I wasn’t so successful rolling with…

I’m a sports follower, if that sport is American football, that is.  I love that game.  I’ve been known to watch a golf tournament or two, especially when Tiger is playing – it always amazes me how he can twist his body like that.  I’ve watched a quarter or two of basketball when channel surfing.  Actually been to several pro hockey games.  The one sport I’ve never gotten into is auto racing.  It just always seemed like such a “guy” kind of sport and was loud, and circular, and, well, dull.  (Reading this story in the news from last weekend just shows that God loves to prove me wrong.)

So imagine my surprise when I found myself reading a NASCAR romance.  I enjoyed the book.  It wasn’t great – I had real difficulties with the heroine – but it was different.  Sometimes different is good, sometimes different is average.  In this case, for me, it was average +.

The romance in Nobody But You is lukewarm for me.   The hero is a little too forgiving and the heroine is a little too craven.  This is a story about two people who were in love enough once to make it all the way up until their wedding day.  The bride/heroine left the hero literally at the altar because his profession, professional race car driver, scared her.  Sorry.  But no.  That just didn’t wash with me.  I realize she was traumatized by her father dying in a racing accident.  I realize she was further frightened by witnessing a fatal accident on a track.  What I didn’t buy was the whole “left him at the altar” thing.  I just didn’t see that happening.

Then the heroine falls pregnant and keeps the child secret for almost five years?  No.  Nuh-uh.  I cannot bear a romance character who is so ruled by their fears that they turn their backs, and consciences, on what is right.  Running away never solved anything and it makes me a bit nuts to read about someone who who thinks it does, and then to read about someone who totally forgives such cravenness?  ARGH.  Actions have consequences.

On a positive note, the hero is yummy and his large family brings a bit of “real life” into the fantasy of the romance.  I enjoyed reading about his parents’ dilemma and sincerely hope they have a happy ending eventually.  I also thought the secret son introduced an interesting complication.  This all kept the book out of the lower C rankings for me.

If a long simmering passion, NASCAR, and secret babies are your thing, then this is the book for you.  If, however, you want your heroines to be honest and honorable with themselves and others, then perhaps you don’t want to read this book.

Grade: C+

Summary:
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NASCAR star Cameron McBride is poised to win this year’s Sprint Cup. But being a successful race-car driver comes with a price: His own life. Cameron knows that his profession puts him at high risk. Thankfully, his latest visit to the hospital left him intact. That is, until he bumps into Caitlin Lawrence…and is thrust back into his painful past.
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The one-time love of his life who left him at the altar, Caitlin could never accept Cameron’s fast and furious existence. The threat of losing him on the racetrack was just too much for Caitlin-and the young son Cameron never knew he had. Now that this chance meeting has changed their lives forever, will Caitlin and Cameron find a way to recapture what might have been?
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Read an excerpt.

Other related books:

Shannon C.’s review of Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
Contemporary romance released by Berkley 3 Mar 09

Originally, I hadn’t been particularly interested in reading this book. The phrase “feminist heroine” usually fills me with an unnameable dread. But after reading Jessica’s take on the gender politics and feminism in the book I decided I should read it myself since her review was very positive and I figured that if she liked the book, the chances of me hating it would go down. And I did enjoy this book. I haven’t quite embraced Julie James as the best thing to happen to the romance community since Nora Roberts, but I would definitely read her again.

This is a workplace romance between J.D. Jameson, a conservative, golf-playing member of his country club, and Payton Kendal, a vegetarian liberal feminist. Both are lawyers, and both have been in competition since they started working at their new firm. Both are hoping to make partner, and when their boss throws them together to help win an important client, they are forced to work together. At least until the decision comes down from on high that only one of them will, in fact, make partner.

I really liked both of these characters. Both Payton and JD seemed like real people you could actually meet and have a conversation with, and I thought that the ways in which they reacted to the world were realistically portrayed. I’m a sucker for witty banter, especially when it comes out of realistic characters, so I really enjoyed their interactions, and I enjoyed the build-up of their romance. I didn’t particularly even mind that Ms. James closed the bedroom door on the sex scenes. I also loved the way that both of them related to their friends.

The conflict played itself out in a way I liked. Though the book does feature its share of wacky hijinks, particularly when JD and Payton start playing pranks on each other, they were generally not distracting from the overall focus of the story. Even the obligatory dark moment, when Payton finds out about something JD did in the beginning of their relationship, worked for me.

What I didn’t particularly like–and this is kind of a minor nitpick but it irritated the crap out of me regardless–was that I felt that JD’s parents and Payton’s came out of Blatant Stereotype Central Casting. Payton’s mom is particularly obnoxious, and, sadly, she appears with alarming frequency in the story. Each time she showed up with her strident hippie-ness, I wanted to punch her in the face and/or stick some bacon in her mouth to shut her up.

If you haven’t yet read this book, you definitely should give it a try. It’s a great workplace comedy with some truly likeable leads. I definitely plan to check out Just the Sexiest Man Alive, Ms. James’ debut novel, and I’m hoping it’s just as good.

Grade: B

Summary:
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WHEN IT COMES TO THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION . . .
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Payton Kendall and J.D. Jameson are lawyers who know the meaning of objection. A feminist to the bone, Payton has fought hard to succeed in a profession dominated by men. Born wealthy, privileged, and cocky, J.D. has fought hard to ignore her. Face to face, they’re perfectly civil. They have to be. For eight years they’ve kept a safe distance and tolerated each other as co-workers for one reason only: to make partner at the firm.
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. . . THERE ARE NO RULES.
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But all bets are off when they’re asked to join forces on a major case. At first apprehensive, they begin to appreciate each other’s dedication to the law—and the sparks between them quickly turn into attraction. But the increasingly hot connection doesn’t last long when they discover that only one of them will be named partner. Now it’s an all out war. And the battle between the sexes is bound to make these lawyers hot under the collar,
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Read an excerpt.

Lauren: Hey everyone, thanks so much for having me here today!

If you got through the above silliness – you know a little bit about my upcoming contemporary erotic romance release, Taking Care of Business. One of my favorite things about the book is that I wrote it with my bestie, Megan Hart. We came up with the idea as a way to pass the time while waiting in line for a dinner at the 2007 RT Convention in Houston. The whole process has been a lot of fun and there’s something to be said about every once in a while taking a project that is just about fun – if the opportunity comes up, I highly recommend it! Megan and I have a lot of goofy fun so writing a book was really just a lot of us talking too much on IM and ripping ourselves off when we needed dialog. I’m sure it’s not always this enjoyable – this time around, I had a huge last minute deadline drop in while we were writing No Reservations and so we had to write around my schedule. Luckily, we know each other pretty well and we share the same basic attitude about work so it didn’t cause any tension. But a lot of the time, it was like, “I think Kate needs to go to a strip club with Dix.” And Megan would ping me back, “WHEEEEE!” Some days, this job is really fun.

I loved writing Katherine because she’s a woman who knows what she wants. She’s focused on her career and she knows the hard way that things in business are different for women than they are for men so she keeps a big wall between her personal life and her work life. I loved that about her character, I loved that she wasn’t a woman who hated sex or who was afraid of love, she just has to figure out if she can let someone from her work life into her personal life.

In her case, her man, Charles Dixon, isn’t having any excuses. But he’s respectful of her space and her independence. He doesn’t think she’s being silly but he wants her and he’s not going to let her walk out of his life until she admits she wants him too. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that in my head, Dix is totally Dr. Christian Troy from Nip/Tuck. Poor Dix, I think Kate sullied him a bit, and left him sweaty and weak kneed.

Anyway, it was a great experience. Two friends writing about two friends. The story is simple and straightforward with two adult women facing a lot of the same things many women face with men who aren’t jerks or too good to be true. I hope if you pick up TCOB you have as fun reading it as we had writing it.

Pre-Order from Amazon US – releases March 31, 2009
One conference, two friends, two men who know how to take care of business.
Blurb: After leaving the wrong man, Leah Griffin’s not ready to look for the right one. All she wants is to survive the conference she’s planning and spend some time with her best friend Kate Edwards. She’s not expecting the conference services manager to be so tall, dark and handsome…or so eager to please. It’s Brandon Long’s job to make Leah happy, but after a scorching interlude in her hotel room, neither can deny business has become pleasure.
Smart, driven and successful attorney, Katherine Edwards has spent her life making the right choices. Directly counter to those right choices, she’s involved in a long distance, secret love affair with a co-worker. Charles Dixon is a bad choice she can’t help but make – over and over. A conference and a promotion bring Kate back to Pennsylvania and suddenly, Dix wants far more than a few nights in random hotel rooms. He wants something permanent and Katherine has to figure out if sometimes a wrong choice isn’t exactly what a woman needs.

We had a great time with this project and were lucky enough to also sell the follow up book, NO RESERVATIONS which follows Kate and Dix, Leah and Brandon this time to Las Vegas

 [Ed note: Lauren is going to give away a copy of her book, so chime in and say incredibly witty things. It might just be your lucky day.]

Limecello’s review of Taking Care of Business by Megan Hart and Lauren Dane
Erotic romance released by Black Lace on 31 Mar 09

I really enjoy books by both Megan Hart and Lauren Dane, so I was looking forward to reading Taking Care of Business. I also love the cover – it’s eye catching, sexy but not raunchy, and has a great color scheme. The content of the book is just as good – better. This is a sexy book with a lot of strong characters that I really enjoyed.

Leah Grifffin and Kate Edwards were great heroines. Both of them are high powered businesswomen, and not only know what they want in life, but how to get it. Charles Dixon and Brandon Long, on the other hand, are perfect hero material, and men any woman would be happy to have.

Leah Griffin is newly out of a semi abusive relationship, and uses the conference to regroup, and find her footing. The dynamics of her burgeoning relationship with Brandon are quite interesting, and very provocative. Leah takes a complete 180 from her recently ended two year relationship, but it’s clear that she cares not only about Brandon, but in general. She’s a warm person who has insecurities, and is getting over a number of hang ups. Brandon, while different, is the same. He also dealt with a bad break up, but he’s incredibly stable. I really liked his quiet confidence, and soothing demeanor. In fact, the calm that Brandon projects really helps balance out all the other characters.

Yes, the focus of Leah and Brandon is borderline kinky, with a dominant/submissive relationship. Leah just broke up with her ex Mike, who didn’t really understand D/S and wasn’t good to Leah. She now, however, is exploring her new found freedom by exerting her will over Brandon. But it’s not that she’s coercing him or that he’s weak. Brandon is simply very into Leah, and willing to follow her lead. He’s a people pleasure, and their roles fit, but are fluid. I’m eager to see how this develops. (Yes there is a “sequel” of sorts.)

Kate and Charles (“Dix”) are a great couple. In fact, they’re the power couple. Both successful attorneys, their personalities are incredibly similar, but rather than clashing, they mesh well. Kate has been burned from a “work relationship” before, so she’s very cautious about what is happening with Dix.  For Dix, it isn’t so much work, as his personal life. He has a strange continuing relationship with his ex-wife, and it takes from blunt conversation with Kate for him to realize that it’s not quite as simple or over as he thinks.

I like that Kate and Dix do have real issues that they need to work through. First, they have to deal with a crazy assistant, and being partially caught at being intimate in public. Then there’s Kate’s past, but more importantly, Dix’s current situation with his family. I liked how self actualized both of them are, and their willingness to be vulnerable. I appreciated the fact that sometimes they made mistakes and knew they were being stupid – but that only made them human. Both Kate and Dix are willing to own up to their mistakes and behavior, and discuss it once they’ve had a chance to reason it out. I’m so glad they didn’t have over dramatic or ridiculous, pointless conflict.

There is a lot of heat in this book. The majority of it is the characters having sex, talking about sex, or at least thinking about sex. That can be, and is a lot of fun. Even so, the personalities of the characters are all quite clear, and each of them has a developed back story. I felt that I knew something about all of them. (Although it would be nice to get a little more of Brandon’s story.) I also felt that the book flowed nicely, which is impressive when there are two authors who wrote it.

I do admit that after hearing about it, I started reading the book trying to figure out who wrote what, and I got it right. While the book is by no means choppy, Ms. Hart and Ms. Dane have distinct writing styles. There’s something that can be a bit stark about Ms. Hart’s writing and characters, while Ms. Dane’s characters can get heavy on the dialogue. (It just seems unnatural to me because I’ve never met people who talk or have conversations like the characters do. But it’s a minor distraction.) The two combined act as a nice balance. The emotions and drama caused by Kate and Dix really help and warm Taking Care of Business while the interaction between Leah and Brandon is almost stoic at times.

I’ve already re-read a number of parts of this book, and cannot wait for the second book. I know I say it a lot, but I don’t want to wait for it. I read the book blurb for No Reservations and I know it’ll only get better. It was nice to see four extremely different characters and personalities be brought together. While they were generally paired off, all four did have some interaction with each other, and I can’t wait to see how their relationships develop and become stronger.

I definitely recommend this book.

Grade: A-

Summary:
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One Conference. Two friends. Two men who know how to take care of business.
.
After leaving the wrong man, Leah Griffin’s not ready to look for the right one. All she wants is to survive the conference she’s planning and spend some time with her best friend Kate Edwards. She’s not expecting the conference services manager to be so tall, dark and handsome…or so eager to please. It’s Brandon Long’s job to make Leah happy, but after a scorching interlude in her hotel room, neither can deny business has become pleasure.
.
Smart, driven and successful attorney, Katherine Edwards has spent her life making the right choices. Directly counter to those right choices, she’s involved in a long distance, secret love affair with a co-worker. Charles Dixon is a bad choice she can’t help but make –over and over. A conference and a promotion bring Kate back to Pennsylvania and suddenly, Dix wants far more than a few nights in random hotel rooms. He wants something permanent and Katherine has to figure out if sometimes a wrong choice isn’t exactly what a woman needs.
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Shannon C.’s review of Angels’ Blood (Guild Hunters, Book 1) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal romance/urban fantasy released by Berkley 3 Mar 09

Nalini Singh is easily one of the best writers writing romance these days. She manages to create vivid and compelling worlds, as well as love stories with enough sexual tension and smoldering sensuality to require ice buckets while reading. So I’ve only read two of her Psy-Changeling books, but I was curious about her new series, and eagerly read it as soon as I got the ARC. Sadly, this book was a victim of too much hype. 

Elena is a Guild Hunter who works with angels to track down rogue vampires. The angels are the only ones who can create vampires, and the process is undertaken with the understanding that a new vampire will be in service to his creator for a century because they’re a menace to society otherwise. Anyway, Elena’s really good at her job, which brings her to the attention of Raphael, the archangel of New York City, who has an offer she can’t refuse. This time it’s not a rogue vampire she must track, but a rogue archangel. She can’t turn down the job, and she knows her chances of surviving it are slim.

Overall, I liked this book and would keep reading the series. Elena was a strong character, which is good because most of the book is told from her POV. She’s had a difficult life, a life that’s not going to get much easier after she meets Raphael. Raphael was fascinating, too, though it took me a bit longer to warm up to him. I’m used to arrogant heroes. I’m not so much used to ones who feel completely alien. But after a while he did grow on me, and I found the romance to be quite satisfying.

The plot is interesting, but I felt it took a bit too long to get going. Only toward the end of the book, when Elena was able to do her job did it take off. Prior to that, there were a lot of seriously draggy sections which slowed me down considerably.

This book got so much hype before it came out from the blogosphere that I was expecting it to be brilliant. The fact that the plot took a while to get moving and that it took me a while to warm up to Raphael disappointed me. I really wanted to love this book, and had expected that I would, but I didn’t.

Still, if you like Singh and you like darker settings, this is a strong book. I just wish I’d loved it more.

Grade: B

Summmary:
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Nalini Singh introduces readers to a world of beauty and bloodlust, where angels hold sway over vampires.
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Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.
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The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break.
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

and Book 2, “Angels’ Judgment” in Must Love Hellhounds anthology, Sep 2009

Sandy M’s Duckies Do Series reviews of the Montana Creeds Trilogy by Linda Lael Miller
Contemporary western romances released by HQN Feb – Apr 09

I really enjoyed Miller’s McKettrick series, so when the opportunity came along to read her Montana Creeds trilogy, I didn’t hesitate. And I have this thing about reading about brothers, so I figured these were the books for me. I love it when I’m right.

Logan (Montana Creeds, Book 1)
Released 1 Feb 09

The oldest of the three wild Creed boys, Logan is the first brother to come home to Stillwater Springs, Montana.  He’s come from visiting his McKettrick cousins and seeing how that family has stood together for years has put a crimp in his heart.  Knowing he’s not blameless in the fight with his brothers on the day of their father’s funeral, he’s ready to end their five-year estrangement.  Even seeing the old homestead looking a little worse for wear doesn’t deter him. He digs right in and begins putting the place back to rights in between talking to his brothers and trying to get them to come home.

That’s when he meets Briana Grant and her sons, Josh and Alec.  She works at the local casino, has worked her way up the ladder and lives from paycheck to paycheck to take care of her boys after her no-good husband dumped them off in front of WalMart and simply drove off, leaving them staring after him.  They may not have much materially, but they’re a family and they survived the worst heartache.  From the moment she meets Logan Creed during their picnic at his family cemetery, something clicks between them, and the more Briana tries to keep her distance, the more she falls for the handsome cowboy.

This is a great start to the trilogy.  I really enjoyed how Logan got his brothers fired up enough to hightail it back to the ranch. They didn’t stay that first time, but it’s enough to get them thinking about home again. The way Logan took to Briana’s kids is a nice touch. They need a father desperately and theirs is a real piece of work. I do have to say he tried, though, eventually. Briana is one strong lady. She has to be for her boys, instead of crawling in bed and crying under the covers when their world is toppled. But she finally picks right when her heart lets her fall for Logan, a man who doesn’t run from a ready-made family.

Grade: A-

Summary:
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Descendantsof the legendary McKettrick family, the Creeds are renowned in Stillwater Springs, Montana—for raising hell…
After years of wandering, Logan Creed, a cowboy with a dusty law degree, has returned home. To put down roots, to restore his family’s neglected ranch… to have kids of his own proudly bearing the Creed name.
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Divorced mom Briana Grant has heard the stories about her gorgeous neighbor. So Logan’s kindness with her young boys is a welcome surprise, especially when her ex reappears. And when an unknown enemy vandalizes her home, Logan shows Briana—and the folks of Big Sky country—just what he’s made of.
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Meet the Creed cowboys of Montana: three estranged brothers who come home to find family—and love.
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Read an excerpt.

Dylan (Montana Creeds, Book 2)
Released 1 Mar 09

Dylan is still on the rodeo circuit and also working as a stunt man when he receives calls from his older brother Logan talking nonsense about rebuilding on the old homestead and putting up fences on his property.  But it’s when a one-night stand can’t take being a mother any longer and leaves his two-year-old daughter Bonnie in his truck one night that he even seriously thinks about going home.  Once he gets there and sees what Logan has in mind and finds out that his lost love is still unmarried, he realizes that home is exactly where he belongs.

Being the town librarian isn’t the fanciest job in town, but Kristy Madison is happy with her life.  Or is she?  She’s suffered so many losses in the last few years, including the family ranch, but what else is she to do.  When Dylan shows up on her doorstep, wanting to reacquaint himself with her in every way, she can’t resist him or his daughter. They have a lot to get straight between them before a relationship will really work, but when it’s so good between them in bed, the talking isn’t far behind.

Dylan makes a terrific father and the scenes with his daughter are lovely. I liked the slow way Ms. Miller lets the brothers work out their differences and become a family again.  Though they all have their separate problems when they come together, they learn quickly those problems can be solved when working together. And Dylan and Kristy’s situation is no different. There’s a hurtful past between them and it takes time and work to get through it all. But everything is worth it with a family waiting for them on the other side.

Grade: A-

Summary:
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Hailed as “rodeo’s bad boy” for his talent at taming bulls and women, Dylan Creed likes life in the fast lane. But when the daughter he rarely sees is abandoned by her mother, Dylan heads home to Stillwater Springs ranch. Somehow the champion bull rider has to turn into a champion father—and fast.
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Town librarian Kristy Madison is uncharacteristically speechless when Dylan Creed turns up for story time with a toddler in tow. The man who’d left a trail of broken hearts—including her own—is back… and this time Kristy’s determined to tame his wild ways once and for all.
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Meet the Creed cowboys of Montana: three estranged brothers who come home to find family—and love.
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Read an excerpt.

Tyler (Montana Creeds, Book 3)
Released 1 Apr 09

This is the brother in the series who is the most hurt, both by his brothers and by his parents.  The youngest of the three, Tyler refuses to come home to make up with his siblings, but when he finally gets back to the ranch, there’s more waiting for him than he could have ever guessed.  Not only is Lily back in Stillwater Springs, but he happens upon a young boy who may be his son.

Lily left town years ago with a broken heart after Tyler went from her bed to another woman’s, but now a widow with a daughter in tow, she’s home taking care of her ailing veterinarian father. It takes no time at all for her to realize she’s still in love with Tyler, but with so many things working against them, including a son by the woman he chose over her years ago, will they really have a chance to make a life together?

This is my favorite of the three books, but only by a hair. There’s just more hurt to be salved in Tyler’s story, so it was much more emotional for me than the other two. As with the first two couples, Tyler and Lily have a lot to work out, but they are a great couple and end up sticking together with each other and this big new Creed family that has grown so much. And that’s what was fun about all three books, seeing a seed planted with Logan being the first to come home and then at the end of the series, this family has healed itself, has grown into a healthy and happy bunch and will leave a legacy for generations to come.

Grade: A

Summary:
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Whether winning championship belt buckles or dealing with Hollywood types for endorsement deals, former rodeo star Tyler Creed can handle anything. Except standing on the same square foot of land as his estranged brothers. Yet here they are in Stillwater Springs, barely talking but trying to restore the old Creed ranch—and family.
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Lily Kenyon knows all about family estrangements and secrets. The single mom has come home to set things right, to put down roots for her daughter. What she doesn’t expect is Tyler Creed, whom she’s loved since childhood. Now the handsome, stubborn cowboy who left home to seek his fortune just might find it was always under the Montana sky…
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Meet the Creed cowboys of Montana: three estranged brothers who come home to find family—and love.
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Read an excerpt.

Overall Grade: A

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Flower Arrangement by Adelaide Cole (no author site found)
Historical erotica ebook short story released by Spice Briefs 1 Mar 09

While perusing the eHarlequin ebook site, Flower Arrangement caught my eye for a couple of reasons: 1) It’s a shorter read, and I’m a bit of a ‘ho for short reads; and 2) it’s an erotic historical story set in 1903 London. When I actually opened the story to start reading, I noticed a couple of things.  First, when they say Brief, they mean it; this story clocks in at 27 pages on my Sony Reader.  And second, the story is strictly erotica.  Anyone hoping for an “erotic romance” is going to be sorely disappointed.

Emma is an independent-minded girl with ambition. Selling flowers on street corners had been a somewhat lucrative gig, until her supply dries up. So she lands herself a job as a maid in an affluent household where she hopes to save enough money to open her very own flower shop. She quickly develops a lustful crush on the man of the house, Master Riggs, and assumes it’s strictly a one-way fantasy. Imagine her surprise with the handsome master takes a shine to her, and proposes an “arrangement.” Satisfy his carnal desires and she’ll be that much closer to realizing her dreams.

Basically what we have here is the 1903 version of the young woman who works as an escort to pay for grad school. It’s hard to not think of Emma as a prostitute – because essentially she’s trading her sexual services for money and a ticket to a better life. The story did supply my one basic requirement for erotica – and that’s that the heroine has control over her own destiny. Certainly Emma enters into this adulterous affair to “get ahead” [Gwen ed.: heh] – but one never feels like she couldn’t have told Master Riggs to go screw himself, that she couldn’t be bought. Emma wants to have some fun with the man, and why not use him to get where she wants to go?

And that’s going to be the stumbling block for a lot of readers. If you’re looking for a (very) quick, hot read that’s straight-up erotica, this story is certainly going to fit the bill. However, if you’re a reader who needs the romance to go along with the hot sexing? Yeah, keep on walking. Nothing to see here.

Grade: C

Summary:
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London, 1903
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Emma is a maid with ambition. She dreams of opening her own flower shop one day, determined never to lose her independence…or the pleasure she finds in lifting her skirts for a handsome boy.
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Emma also dreams of what it would be like to share that pleasure with the master of the house—a fantasy that Master Riggs apparently shares. For when hears about Emma’s plans, he proposes an arrangement: he will help Emma achieve her ambition if Emma will help satisfy his desires in exchange…
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No excerpt found.

Limecello’s review of Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas
Contemporary romance released by St. Martin’s Press on 31 Apr 09

I read this book in less than five hours. I read it instead of writing my thesis/article which was due the next day. I think this book may have moved Lisa Kleypas to the top of my favorite authors list. This is an A+ book. I really don’t like books written in first person, yet I adored this book. Smooth Talking Stranger is the third book in Ms. Kleypas’s Travis family series – her first contemporary series, and it’s my favorite of the three, and possibly one of my favorite books.

Ella Varner is a fantastic heroine. She’s smart, kind, warm, incredible, and damaged. I was continually impressed with her throughout the book. Ella is clearly the shining star in her family, yet it’s nice that she’s so real and human. You have to respect her for putting her life on hold and taking care of her sister’s abandoned baby. Then, even more for keeping her head on straight and being so pragmatic. I want to be like Ella when I grow up.

I also loved her wicked sense of humor and the fact that she can stand up to Jack and doesn’t take his crap. I also appreciated the fact that Ella was willing to be honest with herself. I felt that I really understood who she was, and why – and that really made the book incredible. Ella is also sensible, and there never was a time that I felt she was being stupid, which was a refreshing change of pace to so many novels. (Although her being vegan at the beginning of the book didn’t quite jive.)

Jack Travis may just be my favorite member of the Travis family. I like how he knows what he wants, and goes after it. Jack is also satisfyingly deep. It’s nice that he’s so perfect, and in control, able to bend and shape the world how he wants – but… vulnerable. It was also enjoyable that he’s a character that falls in love both deeply, and quickly. I think I may have found a new favorite type of hero. Jack is a lot of fun because he knows he’s being pushy, and possibly even a little chauvinistic, but does it anyway to get his way. He’s like an incredibly sexy, perfect, naughty boy who gets his way with his charm – but you don’t mind giving in to him. (Have I mentioned how excited I am to read about a hero who is willing to fall in love, and realizes that he is in love? Fantastic.) He’s also smooth, charismatic, ridiculously wealthy, and sweet.

I positively melted – and definitely squee-d when I read the “letter” Jack writes to Miss Independent near the end of the book. I really want to post it here – but don’t want to have any spoilers. You need to read it for yourself. And you’ll die a little because it’s just that perfect. Ella and Jack have a great relationship – from the moment they meet, to the very last page. They’re so different, yet similar, and fit perfectly. I like that they’re a little wary of each other, and that the relationship develops rather normally and is genuine. The banter, and their interaction, are great and flow naturally. They also have a great physical relationship – and it’s cute how Jack seduces Ella. And hot.

The only thing that might have bothered me was how toxic Tara Varner and Candy Varner can be. However, Ms. Kleypas did an excellent job there as well. Both characters are believable, and not over the top. It’s unfortunate that such people exist, but in my opinion, Tara and Candy were incredibly realistic and believable as written. In terms of characterization, I was never fed up with their actions or personalities. (Well, for complaints, maybe also that the cover flap summary has a few misstatements.)

I also loved the secondary characters and the cameo appearances they made. Living at 1800 Main, it was perfect for Ella to form friendships with Haven and Hardy. I also liked how the other Travis’s were brought in, and the fact that they all blended well. The personalities and stories work, and really make Smooth Talking Stranger come alive. The other characters and plot lines all fit together perfectly to highlight the developing relationship between Ella and Jack. I have to admit this book was different from what I was expecting – so that may have colored my view, but honestly, I loved it.

I cannot wait for Joe’s book. I know it’ll be about a year, so I plan on re-reading Smooth Talking Stranger. Possibly next week. I was inspired to write a review minutes after I put the book down, but I know my opinion won’t change. This book was fantastic and probably the best one I’ve read this year.

I recommend this book to everyone. I don’t care if you like historicals, or don’t read contemporaries, or dislike first person point of view. You should give Smooth Talking Stranger a chance. You’ll hopefully likely be pleasantly surprised.

Grade: A+

Read more reviews and info by following the book tag here.

Summary:
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He answers to no one…
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No one has ever truly touched Jack Travis’s heart or soul… until Ella Varner come along. She appears one day on his doorstep with fury in her eyes and a baby in her arms. Her troubled sister is the mother and, according to Ella, Jack Travis is the father. But when Ella demands that Jack take responsibility for the first time in his life, e ends up taking much more than that…
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She trusts no one…
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Ella Varner is responsible and controlled. Her childhood taught her that love is fleeting and best avoided. That is, until baby Luke appears on her doorstep after her reckless sister, Tara, abandons him. What Luke needs now is stability, and Ella’s determined to do what is best for him. As her bond with the helpless child grows stronger every day, Ella goes to Houston in search of the father. What she finds there will change her life forever…
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And when things heat uip between these two, the time for talking is long gone…
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of A Night Of Wicked Delight by Joanne Rock
Historical romance ebook short story released by Harlequin Historical Undone 1 Mar 09

Joanne Rock has written several books for both Harlequin Blaze and Harlequin Historical. Now with this story for the Harlequin Historical Undone short story line, she can safely blend her two worlds into one. What could be a fairly conventional medieval captive storyline, A Night of Wicked Delight is punched up by the addition of a forthright, intelligent heroine, and a love scene that just about sets the tapestries ablaze.

Lady Emma of Westleigh is truly in a bind. Her protector and guardian, her cousin Hugh has vanished and she’s now at the mercy of her odious cousin, Edward. Edward has made no secret that he wants to be rid of Emma, and with no dowry, he plans to wed her off to a knight who has a brutal reputation. Emma’s plan? Since this knight only values her virginity, she’s going to do her best to rid herself of her troublesome maidenhead. Then it’s off to the nearest convent.

Gareth of Domingart is determined to have his revenge against Edward – a man who stole his lands and left him physically scarred. To do that, he kidnaps Emma. Emma tells him it’s unlikely that Edward will bloody well care what has happened to her – but sees this as a golden opportunity to achieve her goals. These two both have something the other wants, but the question is – once they help each other, will they be satisfied with only one night together?

While a fairly traditional captive-captor seduction story, this one elevates itself because Rock avoids some common pitfalls. Edward is such a lout – that when Gareth tells Emma what her cousin did to him, she believes him. There’s not a lot of tedious doubt and “Can I trust him/her?”nonsense going on in the story. Certainly Gareth kidnaps her, but his actions towards her early on assure Emma that she’s better off with the scarred warrior than her loathsome cousin.

The declarations of love seem a bit hasty, but given the smokin’ R-rated love scene, it’s easy to see how these two could fall so fast and so hard for each other. Certainly Edward hasn’t been totally dispatched, but the conflict at hand is wrapped up, and one is left with the impression that the wounded warrior, and forthright heroine, will make a nice go of their happily-ever-after.

Grade: B

Summary:
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Gareth of Domingart has abducted Lady Emma of Westleigh to get revenge on her cousin, the man who plundered his home and sold him into slavery. Gareth meant to simply hold Emma for ransom, yet once he brings the fiery noblewoman back to his keep, the urge to possess her becomes overwhelming…especially after Emma makes a startling demand:
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“You must steal my innocence.”
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For Lady Emma has a plan of her own: to lose her virginity and thwart her guardian’s plot to marry her off to a brutish knight. And the scarred warrior holding her captive is just the man to save her…
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But once their revenge is complete, will Gareth and Emma be satisfied with only one night of pleasure…or can they have a future filled with wicked delight?
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No excerpt found.

Other books in this series:

Stacy‘s Guest Review of Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas
Contemporary romance hard cover released by St. Martin’s 31 Mar 09

Jack Travis leads the uncomplicated life of a millionaire Texas playboy. He makes no commitments, he loves many women, he lives for pleasure. But no one has ever truly touched his heart or soul. Until one day, a woman appears on his doorstep with fury on her face and a baby in her arms. It seems Jack is the father and this woman is the baby’s aunt. The real mother has abandoned the child to her more responsible sister. And now, Jack is being called upon to take responsibility for the first time in his life. With delicious romantic tension, characters so real they walk onto the page and into your heart, Lisa Kleypas delivers the kind of novel that makes you laugh, love; cry and cheer.

For those of you who are not familiar with her work, just so you get an idea of how amazing she is, Lisa Kleypas is one of those rare authors who could write poetry on toilet paper and I would gladly shell out good money to buy it. Smooth Talking Stranger is Lisa’s 3rd contemporary, set in Texas, that revolves around the affluent Travis family. STS is Jack Travis’ story.

As the older sister, Ella has always been the more responsible one, even more so than her erratic, selfish mother Candy. Basically taking care of herself and her sister Tara without much parental guidance has left Ella with a few hang-ups, especially when it comes to the relationships in her life. Years later, as an adult with a degree, a job, and a steady boyfriend who has his own idea of what he wants and doesn’t want in a partner, Ella has carved out a satisfactory, if not quite fulfilling, life for herself.

But one day, a bomb is dropped into her lap in the form of an innocent baby boy, and Ella is faced with all kinds of decisions that have utterly foreign and intimidating to her. Yet with resolve and determination, she realizes that the most logical step involves going back to the beginning, and that would involve finding out who the father of this baby actually is.

Ella’s search takes her from Austin to Houston, and into the path of one very impressive and larger-than-life Texas tycoon, Jack Travis. Now tracking Jack down wasn’t so difficult, but getting the opportunity to actually speak with him is quite another story. Besides being a rich playboy and heir to a dynasty, Jack is also a very powerful man in his own right, and not an easy man to get an audience with. But armed with a newborn baby and perseverance, Ella’s not one to give up easily, and manages to catch the attention of the most vital, exciting male she’s ever seen in her entire life.

Despite their dubious first encounter, Ella finds an unlikely ally in Jack, and soon they are working together for the welfare of one tiny baby, and as they grow closer, Ella begins to question some of the choices she’s made in her life, most especially the one about never having children of her own. Little Luke has managed to worm his way into her heart without even having to try, and soon Ella’s every action and consideration is based on what’s in the best interests of this litle boy, no matter how difficult the choices are going to be for her to make.

Jack is fascinated by Ella, as well as incredibly attracted. This unique, independent woman has the physical appearance of a very sexy librarian and some very open and unconventional ideas about commitment, brought on by her upbringing, which vary greatly from his own traditional values on family. A man like Jack is extremely possessive and cannot fathom the idea of sleeping with her and then letting her go back to her boyfriend. That’s just not how he’s programmed, not when he wishes to stake a claim on Ella for himself, drat the stubborn woman. Yet as much as she drives him crazy, he also sees the love she has for Luke, and admires her for taking on such a huge responsibility when she is sure to have her heart broken in the process.

Regardless of what happens between them, Jack is going to help Ella in any way she needs him, that’s one thing he’s perfectly clear on. He may not agree with some of her choices, but when he decides to do something, he follows all the through. Because Jack, being Jack, and I paraphrase his own words from page 228: “…never does anything in half measures, including falling in love.”

My thoughts:

This was a challenging review in the sense that I didn’t wish to include any spoilers about the book, and also because it’s a Kleypas, and my thoughts never seem adequate enough to express the way in which Ms. Kleypas can immediately hook me in with just a few short sentences. “Smooth Talking Stranger” is no exception.

What I love about these stories is that despite the eye-catching and deceptively simple titles, they are so much more than that. When I think of a smooth talking stranger, I’m expecting a heated one-night stand between two good-looking strangers who end up going their separate ways, without regret. But when you dive into these pages, you are getting something so much richer, more poignant and real, and it’s a story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

I’ve read all 3 of Ms. Kleypas’ contemporary novels, which are set in Texas and revolve around the charismatic Travis family, and have found something to love about each one. I will admit that upon my initial read, this was probably my least favorite of all three, but not by much, and it is mainly because I had difficulty warming up to Ella for quite some time. After a quick re-read, I did have to re-evaluate my opinion and give her more credit. I had no problem with Ella being smart and independent and stubborn. In fact those were what made her so compelling when it came to the dynamic in her relationship with Jack, along with her unexpected sense of humor, which I think came from her being a more confident woman in his presence. And instead of melting into his arms and letting him get his way from the get-go, Ella asserted herself and continually kept Jack unsure of where he stood with her. That attitude I could appreciate, especially since she wasn’t doing it because she wished to manipulate him to get her way, but because that’s just the way she was, the way she thought she had to be.

What made it hard for me to initially relate to her was the lack of warmth she emanated at times, except when it came to her feelings for Luke. I understand that Ella had developed a protective shell over time in order to soften the hurt and frustration she experienced at the hands of her family, yet at times she came across as cold, and I didn’t always like her. I tried very hard to rationalize her behavior because of her upbringing, but sometimes you have an affinity towards a character or you don’t, and that’s what ended up happening, at least in the beginning. It took me awhile to just accept her for how she was.

But then she’d have this wonderful conversations with Jack, and she started to open up and she was funny, sometimes vulnerable, and that’s when she became more likable, more human. Some of the things she did or said were out of self-preservation, but when faced with real, solid love from a good man, Ella blossomed. She let herself be, and she was truly a wonderful person. I wanted Ella to find her happiness.

However the real star of the show here is Jack Travis. No doubt about that. Jack is the kind of guy who says what he means, means what he says, and more importantly, follows it all up with action. In fact the main reason I fell in love with him was not because of a bunch of sweet words or sugary compliments. It was because the man “showed” his love. Through his actions, he proved how he felt about Ella beyond what any words could have said. He was her rock, the person she could unequivocally depend upon without thought, and he could say “I love you” more eloquently with a profoundly heartfelt gesture than he ever could with a thousand words. That is the wonder that is Jack Travis. If he doesn’t make your list of top 5 heroes of all-time, I will be sincerely shocked. Nobody makes ‘em like Ms. Kleypas, and I have 25+ years of reading romance to prove it.

So yes, run thee to a bookstore, and grab yourself a copy of this engaging, heartfelt, sexy romance, and let yourself escape to a place where the hero is as unforgettable as the love story. You won’t be sorry.

Grade: A

Summary: 
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Jack Travis leads the uncomplicated life of a millionaire Texas playboy. He makes no commitments, he loves many women, he lives for pleasure. But no one has ever truly touched his heart or soul. Until one day, a woman appears on his doorstep with fury on her face and a baby in her arms.
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It seems Jack is the father and this woman is the baby’s aunt. The real mother has abandoned the child to her more responsible sister. And now, Jack is being called upon to take responsibility for the first time in his life. With delicious romantic tension, characters so real they walk onto the page and into your heart, Lisa Kleypas delivers the kind of novel that makes you laugh, love; cry and cheer.
.
Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of Confessions of a Little Black Gown (The Bachelor Chronicles, Book 4) by Elizabeth Boyle
Historical Romance released by Avon 31 Mar 09

I’ve got a Witch’s Brew for you: mix equal parts of “Mission: Impossible,” Regency romance, “Thelma & Louise” (even with the somewhat tragic end), and a good old fashioned yarn and you’ll have reached this book.  In Confessions Boyle has crafted an engrossing tale that would be fun for even the most jaded of historical romance reader. 

I haven’t read the preceding books containing the events leading up to Confessions, but I wasn’t lost in the story – this book stood alone quite nicely.  Nevertheless, I wish I had read them simply because they sound like so much fun.  If you’ve read them, you MUST read this book.  There’s a twist at the end that I have a feeling you’ll never suspect.

The heroine in this book, Tally, is my favorite kind of heroine: intrepid, smart, and brave.  She even recognizes her own shortcomings, which is a brand of bravery all on its own.  The hero is a lot of fun as well: steadfast and stalwart, but a little bit of a rogue and not quite a nice man.  I believed in the romance of these two and really enjoyed the emotional development.  I LOVED the cat and mouse while Tally tried to discover who he was and while she was befuddled at how she could fall in love with a vicar who used smelly pomade.

The suspense arc of this books was a lot of fun to read.  There are a lot of moving parts that all come together very nicely at the end.  Nearly everyone makes out very well in the romance department, but there are a couple of surprises that I’m looking forward to reading about in later entries.

Boyle has created a very fun vignette with these characters, their families, and cohorts.  The villains are very nicely venal and easy to hate.  You never know what is going to happen next, which is a nice change.  There is a lot of action, some nicely steamy romance, and terrific dialogue.  The characters are what takes this story to the next level, though – they’re all so richly detailed.

I highly recommend this to anyone following the series, fans of the author, and anyone looking for an historical romance that is a change of pace.  You’ll love it.

Grade: B+ (very nearly an A-)

Read reviews and other information about this series by following its tag.

Summary:

Thalia Langley spied him in the shadows and in an instant, knew the man before her was no pious saint. He might claim to be the Duke of Hollindrake’s unassuming country cousin, Milo Ryder, but no man that handsome, so arresting could be anything but… well, he simply must be an unrepentant rogue. His cat-like grace and power leaves Tally shivering in her slippers at the notion of all the wicked, forbidden things he might be capable of doing . . . to her, or the secrets he could uncover.

Indeed, Lord Larken is no bumbling vicar, but a master spy there in His Majesty’s service to find-and murder-a notorious pirate freed in a daring prison escape. Devoted to the Crown, Larken’s not about to let an interfering (and not entirely innocent) Mayfair miss disrupt his ruthless plans. He cannot be tempted . . . not even by the little black gown she dons to tantalize him . . . a dress revealing enough to lead even Larken astray.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

P.S. I didn’t know they wore bathing suits in Regency England. Check out the tanlines.  Couldn’t they have airbrushed that?

Liviania‘s review of Deathwish (Cal Leandros Series, Book 4) by Rob Thurman
Urban fantasy released by ROC 3 Mar 09

The thing about really loving a series is that when the new book comes out you’re either elated, or frustrated when it doesn’t meet the expectations you’ve been building for a year.  There’s no hate like hate for a disappointing book in a series you love.  Luckily for me, Deathwish didn’t let me down and I shall once more wait on eggshells for the next release in my favorite series.  (And I shall once more go to multiple bookstores until I find one that has it.  Why has this happened to me twice with this series?  The universe is taunting me.)  Seriously, if Rob Thurman writes a disappointing book I’m probably going to become depressed.

Deathwish‘s gimmick is that we get more than Cal’s point-of-view; the chapters alternate between him and older brother Niko.  We learn two very important things from this format: Niko isn’t as zen as he seems on the outside and Cal doesn’t exaggerate as much as you might assume when he refers to himself as a monster.  (Cal is an unreliable narrator.  Niko seems slightly more reliable, though perhaps he simply lies better.)  Plus, this series wouldn’t be half of what it is without their intense relationship so it’s nice to see the other side of things.

As always, there are multiple plots going on for maximum action.  The detective agency is hired to protect Seamus, an old flame of Promise, who is less-than-thrilled by her current relationship with Niko.  Promise’s daughter shows up, on the run from a guy who is seriously bad business.  (And no, Niko isn’t thrilled to learn his girlfriend has a daughter.)  And don’t forget the Auphe.  (Who could, after the cliffhanger ending of Madhouse.)  They’re still unhappy and still prone to show up at really bad times.  I saw one of the reveals regarding the Auphe coming, but it’s suitably horrifying I can’t blame the brothers for being in denial.

While the brothers’ relationship is as strong as ever, their romantic relationships may not be.  Promise and Niko’s trust issues come to the fore (they have been brewing since Moonshine) and it seems Cal’s chance at even a friendly relationship with George is dead.  Of course, it seems like more than a just sex relationship could develop with Delilah, which would be excellent since she’s a total badass.  Of course, the puck Robin is ever lucky in lust and he may be lucky in love as well.

But basically, what makes these books great holds strong.  There’s tons of snappy dialogue and narration, strong friendships, and tons of action that manages to not blur into a mush.  However, my sense of “this can’t end well” greatly increased during this book.  Deathwish really hammers home the facts that Niko is a human in a world of beasties and Cal ain’t all there.  And I really want things to end well.

For those who haven’t read the first three books in the series, I think you can really start with any of the books including Deathwish.  All of them integrate the history into the story so that newbies can be caught up and oldies won’t be annoyed.  Thurman does play pretty loose with mythology which might throw some people off, but each beastie’s abilities are well-defined within the series’ world.

I want the fifth book now, but unfortunately have to wait until next year.  Luckily, the first book in a new series, Trick of the Light, comes out in September 2009.  It’s already on my to-buy list.

Grade: A

Summary
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In a nightmarish new york city, life is there for the taking…Half-human Cal Leandros and his brother Niko are hired by the vampire Seamus to find out who has been following him—until Seamus turns up dead (or un-undead). Worse still is the return of Cal’s nightmarish family, the Auphe. The last time Cal and Niko faced them, they were almost wiped out. Now, the Auphe want revenge. But first, they’ll destroy everything Cal holds dear…
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No excerpt available.

Other books in this series:

Gwen’s review of Highland Scoundrel (The Campbell Trilogy, Book 3) by Monica McCarty
Historical romance released by Ballantine Books 24 Mar 09

This was my first reading of a Monica McCarty Highlander book.  There were some things about it that I found interesting and some I wanted to rip out of the book so it didn’t mess up what I liked.  That’s the case with almost any book, really – some parts you love and some you don’t.  I guess it’s a bit like marriage that way – the compromise is what makes it bearable.  This book balanced out for me, weighing a tad more one direction than the other, however. 

For example, I loved the historical perspective and points of reference.   McCarty gives the reader enough information to understanding motivations of what is going on around our characters.  Thankfully, this detail is not heavy-handed and serves to paint the landscape of the book so that we understand not only the main characters’ motivations, but also that of the secondary characters.  This gives a nice rounded feel to the overall story arc – we understand why the social snubs/accolades, etc., without having to delve too deeply into individual relationships.  This all allows the plot to move more quickly.

An example of what I didn’t like was the very long and complex flashback at the beginning of the book.  I like books to move forward.  I generally don’t care for flashbacks – I think they bog a story down.  Why not just tell the events in sequence?  Why bother with a flashback?  It didn’t add any tension or emotional drama to the book. The first scene of the book is one where the heroine is being TSTL – taking a swim outside of her keep’s walls with one guard (just days after a thwarted kidnapping, by the way) – and who does she run into?  You got it, the hero.  Then BLAMMO!  We flashback six years, for nearly a third of the book (long-ass flashback), to when they first meet, fall in love, and leave each other.

Yuck.  Talk about a screeching halt to the story.

And let’s talk about TSTL, shall we?  To Stupid To Live.  It’s a fascinating concept.  The heroine in this book has many TSTL moments and suffers the consequence of most of them.  Nevertheless, I feel that McCarty lets Jeannie (the heroine) off the hook too often.  Either suffer with the rest of us, or make her a tad smarter.  Which leads me to an interesting question – do we readers insist that our heroines (and heroes) be smarter than we are? Or are we content for them to be more average? I vote for smarter-is-better, but what if an author pens a less-than-smart heroine?  Would it sell?

Any how – back to the book.  (See what I just did there?  VERY SHORT flackback/diversion.)

This was a good enough story.  It had an awfully slow start with the long, long, long and complex flashback, but the last half of the book was better. Even if I wanted to regularly slap the livin’ shit out of the heroine for being such a ninny and not trusting her man or her feelings for said man.  Consequently, what resulted from my assaultive desire was that I didn’t really like the heroine.  At several points in the book I felt that neither she nor the hero acted with any maturity or honor even after they were supposedly older and knew better.  Plus I’ve decided that I really hate it when the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING is the sole plot device keeping the main characters apart.  They’re in the same geographic place, same century, speak the same language – nothing to keep them apart, except… TALK TO EACH OTHER ALREADY.

So, while this book wasn’t necessarily my cuppa tea, it wasn’t a horrible book and is probably right up someone else’s alley.  If you’re a fan of the McCarty novels, or of highlander books in general, you’ll like it.  To me it was average, plus it made me want to punch something – which is never good.

Grade: C

Read other reviews of books in this series by clicking on its tag.

Summary:

Framed for a crime he did not commit, Duncan Campbell, the illegitimate son of a chieftain, has returned to the Highlands determined to clear his name after ten years in exile. He is drawn to the unforgettable sensual beauty of Jeannie Gordon, the headstrong girl who once pledged him her love, gave him her innocence, and then betrayed him. Now, in the glow of the moonlight, she defiantly shows Duncan the bad end of a pistol.

Jeannie is stunned to discover that the broad-chested brigand she just shot is the rogue who broke her heart years ago. No longer a starry-eyed girl but a woman with dangerous secrets, Jeannie cannot forgive Duncan’s shattering mistrust of her-nor can she sign his death warrant by turning him in. Soon passion flares hotter and bolder than before, sealing a fate the onetime lovers can no longer deny. Caught up in a deadly game of murder and intrigue, Jeannie is willing to risk everything for a man and a love she vows never to lose again.

No excerpt available at the time this review was written.

Other books in the series:

Sandy M’s review of Branded as Trouble (Rough Riders, Book 6) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Erotic Romance eBook released by Samhain 3 Mar 09

I know the big draw to the Rough Riders series for Lorelei James fans is the erotic.  Her heroes and heroines steam up the pages something fierce. Ms. James never runs out of ideas for her love scenes. That’s a big draw for me too, but what I like just as much is the sense of family that has run throughout this series. It’s secondary to the romance and the sizzle, of course, but it’s there in every book and sometimes just as powerful as all that lovin’ that’s goin’ on.

Colt McKay has been sober for three and a half years, a huge milestone for him considering his wild and crazy days of booze and sex that went on for a good eighteen months before he realized he needed help. But no one even acknowledges his sobriety or the effort it takes to maintain it. His brothers are just waiting for him to fall off the wagon. Then he finds out his parents feel the same. Colt keeps right on plugging along, however, enduring Sunday supper with his family, doing his work on the ranch and other community activities his family knows nothing about.

The only one who can even come close to understanding him and really knowing him is India Ellison, sister to his cousin’s wife and a fellow AA member. Indy always feels the outsider with her body tattoos and piercings, though she does a steady business in her tattoo shop. She’s been Colt’s sponsor for the time he’s been attending meetings, but lately she’s been wanting something more with him. They have so much in common thanks to their pasts. She’s not sure if they have a future, but she’d definitely like to find out.

Little does India know that Colt’s been in love with her for the past three years. When they decide to take their relationship to the next level, it’s Colt who wants to take it slow. Though he can’t remember much during his year-and-a-half bender, he knows none of it was good. So he wants to date India, show her his gentlemanly side. So they take it easy and nearly drive each other nuts with wanting before their two-week deadline is up. And though things sizzled between them with all the sexual teasing, the world shakes, rattles, and rolls when they finally let loose. Their love scenes are intense, demanding, and oh-so-hot.

In between all this, Colt is still struggling with his family. It’s his youngest brother Cam who gives the family what-for, how they’re not helping Colt by doubting his every move and expecting him to return to his former ways. That was a terrific scene and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next. Ms. James took her sweet time getting there!  She made me wait a while, but it was worth it. Colt’s brothers come to him, hat in hand, to apologize for their behavior and to let Colt know they’re behind him.  And while that was a nice scene, it’s the scene with his father later that tore at my heart. The McKay men don’t cry, but they do tear up as Colt does when talking to his father. I was hoping for a tad more emotion between them, a quick hug at the least, but what’s there works wonderfully.

India and Colt have their misunderstandings along the way, but I really enjoyed how they went to each other and talked things out. They may have yelled and thrown things, but in the end they did the right thing to make sure their relationship worked. They are both so tortured by the past, and the present and future give them fits too, push them to take another drink, waiting to see how they’ll survive. They may be branded as trouble because of their past, the future is bright for them, even if they have to work extra hard for it. That just makes it all the sweeter.

Grade: A

Summary:
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It’s hard to trust the future when you’ve been branded by the past
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As a walking advertisement for the tattoo shop she’s set up in a small Wyoming town, India Ellison is well acquainted with preconceived notions. Despite the odd looks and off-color comments about her off-color hair, life is good. She’s clean and sober, dotes on her sister’s kids and, best of all, spends most of her free time with her best buddy, cowboy Colt McKay.
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Reformed bad boy Colt never expected three years of sobriety to lead to three years of abstinence. Curbing his craving for booze and random sexual encounters is nothing compared to the ever-increasing craving for his hot-tempered, hot-bodied best friend, India. Too bad she’s his A.A. sponsor. Too bad she hasn’t a clue that Colt’s been head-over-bootheels in love with her from day one.
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After an unexpected, steamy interlude, all India can think about is riding the sexy cowboy instead of her motorcycle, even when Colt is determined to show her a slower ride is worth the wait.
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Or are they risking their friendship for a fling that could burn them both?
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series (print releases linked below, go here for eBook releases):

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of A Texan On Her Doorstep by Stella Bagwell
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Special Edition 1 Mar 09

Ever begin reading a book and you’re immediately sucked into it? It’s emotional, it’s got a competent heroine, the hero is yummy beyond words, and the conflict is compelling and heartbreaking. Sounds like a great book, right? So you keep reading and the further you get into the story you start to notice that the whole affair is heading south. It goes from good to bad the more you read, and by the end of it you can hardly remember the fact that you had any initial goodwill towards the story at all.

Mac MacCleod and his brother Ripp are lawmen in south Texas. Ripp is married with kids, and Mac is divorced with no desire for another trip down the altar. They have good jobs and good lives. Then a friend shows up on their doorstep with a packet of letters he found while he was sorting through his deceased mother’s belongings. The letters mention Ripp and Mac and were written by a woman named Frankie. That was their mother’s name. The same mother who ran off and abandoned them when they were children. With their father dead, and this new evidence falling into their laps, Mac decides to head to New Mexico to meet this Frankie. To find out if she really is their long lost mother.

However when he gets there he finds out Frankie is in the hospital. She’s so ill that her doctor isn’t allowing any visitors other than family. When Dr. Ileana Sanders hears Mac’s story she’s floored. Frankie is a trusted family friend. The idea that she has children she abandoned is inconceivable. She fears that Mac confronting Frankie now would cause the woman to have a heart attack, but she promises him that he’ll be able to see her just as soon as her health improves. In the meantime, the doctor and long-lost son start spending a lot of time together.

The conflict is what immediately drew me to this story, as it sounded particularly gut-wrenching, which it is. By far the best part of this book is the moment when Mac and Frankie finally have their face-to-face meeting. It’s enough to rip your heart out. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for me to overlook aspects of the romance that really pushed my buttons.

Warning: I do my best to not write spoilers into reviews, but I have to here. There’s no way for me to express what did not work for me in this book without some spoilers. You’ve been warned.

Ileana is a Plain Jane. She’s a successful, well-respected physician, but she’s a failure when it comes to her personal life. At first I thought she was just painfully shy and a little unsure of herself. No, our girl is dead below the waist until, of course, the hero comes along. She’s 38 years old and still a virgin. Do 38-year-old virgins exist? Yes, I’m sure they do. But this one? It’s like reading about a 14-year-old bookworm who suddenly finds herself out on a date with the football quarterback. That’s how nervous she is around him. I wanted to reach through the pages and shake her senseless. You’re 38-years-old! You’re a doctor! You are pretty! You’re supposed to be a woman, not a 14-year-old girl! Snap out of it!

Mac starts out as a great hero. He is a tad too good to be a true – a cowboy with heart-stopping good looks and good manners to boot. The kind of guy who is nice to old ladies, helps women put on their coats, and holds open doors. I was half in the love with him, and then the love scenes show up. Our rugged, handsome, sexy cowboy talks during the love scenes. Yep, we get a poetry spouting Care Bear. The sexy cowboy starts saying things that no real man would ever say, let alone while having sex. Words like “lovely,” “precious,” and “sweetness.” Um yeah, sorry. Not buying.

The final straw was the ending. The inner feminist in me was so angry I set my Sony Reader down, not so gently, on my desk. It made a banging sound. It was only after I did this that I panicked, and yes, turns out my baby is fine. I wish I could say the same thing for my blood pressure. Yes it does have a happy ending, just as any romance should, but it’s one where the heroine gives up her entire life for twu wuv.

And the worst part is, she doesn’t have to. The hero is more than willing to meet her halfway, but she brushes him aside and basically says, “No, no, I’m ready to get hitched, move away from my family, quit my job and start squirting out triplets for you darling. I love you so much my sexy cowboy. The only man to look at me twice. Please let me give up everything for you. You should sacrifice absolutely nothing. Let me do it all! Oh and we’ll just completely ignore the fact that I told you previously over the course of this story that I find my career fulfilling and rewarding. Now that I’ve had mind-blowing orgasms with you my darling, I know I was just talking nonsense.”

OK, so I might be paraphrasing just a bit.

That pretty much sealed the deal for me. I wanted to like this story, and in fact I did, at first. The author managed to effectively pull my heartstrings during the mother/son reunion scene, and the story is well written. But the rest of it? I just couldn’t look past it. Note to self: Sony Reader is more breakable and expensive than Dead Tree Book. Not a good idea to fling it across room, up against a wall, or slam down on your desk.

Grade: D+

Summary:

As deputy sheriff, Mac MacCleod gave difficult news—but now he’s about to get it. He’s planning to confront his long-lost mother—until he’s blocked by her formidable doctor. Ileana Sanders isn’t about to let any long, lean Texan in a Stetson stress her patient. And this news would set off fireworks!

But she can’t help being there for this tormented man. A sexy stranger who sees past her plain-Jane facade to the woman who yearns for a partner, a protector…a lover. In helping Mac search for a family, could Ileana end up with a man of her own?

Read an excerpt.