June, 2013 Reviews - Part II

Slowly but surely, I'm catching up with my reviews from June, some of them I really loved - an unexpected surprise Western from Teresa Medeiros and a quirky contemporary from Rachel Gibson set in Idaho!  Also, a dazzling sequel to one of my all time series!  I'm realizing I'm leaning more and more towards Westerns and contemporaries now.  I'm still reading plenty of English historicals, but now I can barely get through most Scottish Highlander and Medievals.  Interesting...

He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan

Book Description:
Marketing exec Lucy Cunningham is thrilled when her firm lands The Palm Club account. The campaign concept for Miami's hottest fitness club was Lucy's idea: take one fitness-challenged woman, put her in front of TV cameras, and into the hands of the club's top personal trainer, Theo Redmond. And there's a big cash reward for each pound shed. It seems like a brilliant idea-until Lucy gets picked to be the guinea pig. It's obvious she needs to drop the pounds, but the idea of letting it all hang out in front of some Malibu Ken jock has her choking on her Milk Duds before she even begins!

After one meeting, Theo knows Lucy will be his toughest client and one of the most unforgettable women he'll ever meet. Smart-mouthed and stubborn, it's clear she isn't fond of marching to anyone's drumbeat but her own. But she shocks Theo by rising to the challenge like a pro. And he finds his heart in jeopardy long before Lucy starts to slim down and turn heads.

As Lucy sweats her way into a whole new life, things start to heat up between her and Theo. But trust doesn't come easy for either of them. They've both been burned by romance in the past. Now Lucy and Theo are about to discover that appearances can be deceiving-and in the end, true love lies somewhere between pizza and Pilates...

I simply loved this contemporary romance about a very overweight young woman who goes on TV as an advertising campaign to lose 100 lbs in a year. With the help of her gorgeous trainer, Theo Redmond, will she do it? Great story and the romance that develops between Theo and Lucy was sweet, albeit, far fetched, IMHO. Still, a quick and very enjoyable read. The characterizations were good and a thoughtful side story involving Theo's brother.  I've liked everything I've read by this author and am definitely checking out the rest of her back list.

4/5

Stolen Kisses by Suzanne Enoch

Book Description:
FIRE AND ICE ...

Jack Faraday, the Marquis of Dansbury, is rich, titled, and handsome as sin. A scandalous rake who's charmed a long string of ladies, he finally meets his match in Miss Lilith Benton, known as the Ice Queen.

Intent on restoring her family's good name, Lilith wants only to make a respectable marriage. So when the tempting but notorious Jack begins to woo her, she is determined to ignore him. Then their accidental involvement in a duke's mysterious death forces Jack and Lilith to become conspirators to clear their names - and suddenly cold disdain gives way to hot desire. Now Lilith may find his passionate stolen kisses too tempting to resist ...

Not a bad early historical romance by Enoch (notice the cover) that involves the handsome scoundrel, Jack Faraday who receives the cut direct from Lilith Benton, the beautiful Ice Queen of the ton who is out to make a spectacular and respectable match.  Jack vows revenge and wants to ruin her out of spite, but things get in the way, such as the death of his relative, a duke who is bent on compromising and marrying her in order to force her to marry him - only the old goat drops dead instead!  In her drawing room!  Jack winds up being Sir Galahad and helps her out of a pickle but only succeeds in implicating himself.  Some funny bits and plenty of drama surrounding the death of the duke and the passion that erupts between Jack and Lilith as she tries to clear his name.   Entertaining and frothy.

3.5/5

Somewhere I'll Find You by Lisa Kleypas (audio)

Book Description:
The toast of the town...

All London is at Julia Wentworth's feet—and anything she desires is hers for the asking. But the glamorous leading lady guards a shocking secret: a mystery husband whom she does not know, dares not mention ... and cannot love.

For years Damon Savage has been searching for the stranger his parents wed him to without his consent, hoping to legally free himself from matrimony's invisible chains. And he is astonished to discover his "bride" is none other than the exquisite lady he'd hoped to make his mistress! But though his wife by law, Julia will never truly be Damon's—until he conquers her fears, his formidable rivals ... and her proud, passionate, and independent heart.

An early Kleypas historical, it's the story of an aristocratic young woman, Julia Wentworth, who disguises herself and becomes an actress in London. Secretly she is married to a handsome duke, Damon Savage, who doesn't know who she really is.  Their marriage was arranged when they were children and they haven't seen each other in years - they don't even recognize each other!  There is a lot of drama (no pun intended) and back story in regard to Julia's career leading up to when she and Damon finally come together and fall in love - yet, all the while, he still doesn't realize she is really his wife!  Eventually he finds out the truth but the big deal is will he require that she leave the stage and her career? He's so controlling and he keeps on calling her "mine", it was borderline annoying. Still I thought this was pretty good for an early Kleypas and I am interested in seeing what happens with her boss, Logan Scott's story in the next book in the series. On audio, well done by Rosalyn Landor, as always.

3.5/5

Fairest of Them All by Teresa Medeiros

Book Description:

She was rumored to be the fairest woman in all of England. But Holly de Chastel considered her beauty a curse. She had already turned away scores of suitors with various ruses, both fair and foul. Now she was to be the prize in a tournament of eager knights gathering from across the land, each more determined than the last to win her hand. Holly had no intention of wedding any of them, and concocted her most outrageous plan yet: to disguise her beauty from their avaricious eyes. But she never planned on Sir Austyn of Gavenmore.

The darkly handsome Welshman had come looking especially for a plain bride, and Holly seemed to fit the bill. Suddenly she found herself in the possession of this mysterious stranger, ensconced in his castle, and forced to keep up her carefully planned illusion. Why did this electrifyingly passionate male, who could have any woman he wanted, desire a homely bride—and what would happen when he learned he'd been tricked? By the time Holly found out, it was too late to avoid the searing fires of passion—and the dark curse of Gavenmore.
This is a Medieval historical romance of beautiful maiden, Holly, who has the harebrained idea of disguising herself as homely to avoid being married off by her father.  Little does she realize, Austyn, a Welsh knight, is in need of an ugly wife due to a curse on the long line of men in his family (involved story) in which they've killed their beautiful wives - out of jealousy.  He takes her back to his castle as his bride having no idea she's really a beauty underneath.  So much of this book was far fetched and plodding, it took a long time for me to even get into it.  I disliked Holly's deception from the beginning and the long drawn out disguise and expected betrayed feelings of Austyn when he learns the truth just only made me think he was so stupid he deserved what he got!  Plus, his anger just went on much too long, locking her in the North Tower of his castle?  All because he resented her beauty, it was so ridiculous!  I just wanted to get this over with!  I've found this author hit or miss - this was a miss.  Read on, and you'll find a hit!
3.5/5

Nobody's Darling by Teresa Medeiros

Book Description:
Billy Darling never enjoyed being a wanted man until the day Miss Esmerelda Fine marched into the Tumbleweed Saloon and pointed her derringer at his heart. Lucky for him, she's a mighty poor shot. Instead of killing him, she hires him to find her runaway brother. He should turn down her offer. He should resist her charms. But he doesn't. Because there comes a time in every man's life when he's got nothing left to lose...but his heart.

I love, love, loved this western historical romance - it was so much fun!  It has everything I love - spinster heroine, Esmerelda Fine comes to New Mexico to track down the man she thinks killed her brother. At first sight she can't stand the charming cowboy she nearly murders in the saloon, but he eventually wins her over.  Plenty of laughs, sexy, heart stopping love scenes and - cowboys! A great story, one of my favorites by this author now!  I wish she'd write more Westerns, this is the only she has written as far as I can tell.  Remember what I said about this author and hit or miss?  This is a hit!  A real keeper!

4.5/5

Roaring Midnight by Colleen Gleason

Book Description:
Amid the glitzy age of Jazz, when gangsters and bootleggers control the cities, there lies another, more insidious threat ... the undead.

Macey Gardella is a typical young woman of the Roaring Twenties: she works a job, has her own flat, and loves to dance the Charleston. But when a mysterious man named Sebastian Vioget informs her she belongs to a family of vampire hunters, Macey is stunned and disbelieving.

Yet, strange and frightening things begin to happen, and when Macey comes face-to-face with one of the fanged creatures, she has no choice but to believe Sebastian. And when she learns his own soul depends on her willingness to carry forth the family legacy and hunt the undead, Macey capitulates and joins the fight.

As she begins to learn about her new life, Macey meets the handsome newspaper reporter known as Grady - who seems to know more about vampires than he should. When he begins to ask too many questions, she has to juggle her strong attraction to him with the need for secrecy.

Slipping into speakeasies and sampling bootlegged whiskeys, dodging gangster gunfire and trying to keep her nosy landlady from finding the stakes in her flat, Macey Gardella must navigate through a world of stunning violence, passionate romance, and dark betrayal...

Ah, it's nice to be back in the Gardella world again.  I fell in love with Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire Chronicles a few years ago and I was thrilled when I found out she'd come out with a sequel to that series set in the roaring 20's!  A very satisfying addition to the Chronicles, featuring Macey Denton, descendant of Victoria and Max who has now taken on the mantle of Venator in the gangster-ridden 20's of Chicago.  Like her g-g-g grandmother Victoria before her, Macey has to be convinced first of her Calling.  Then she undergoes her training of how to kill the vampires that are sweeping through Chicago and cozying up to Al Capone.  Like Victoria, Macey is torn between her "real" world which involves the new man in her life, an Irishman reporter named Grady, and her "new" world as a Venator, where she must prowl around all night killing vampires with her new mentor Chas.  There's quite a lot of similarities to the old series - but that's a good thing!  We meet some old friends like Sebastian and new ones like Grady and Chas.  I really loved it!  Bring on some more!

4/5

The Trouble with Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson

Book Description:
Dumped by her boyfriend, stressed out by her job, Kate Hamilton needs to regroup and get back some self-esteem. She moves from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the wilderness of Gospel, Idaho for some small-town fun. But when her first attempted seduction of a hunky stranger is completely rejected, she wonders what else could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters she quickly realizes that the Mountain Mama Crafters Original Poetry reading is about as good as it gets on a Friday night. Then she comes face to face with Rob Sutter, former ice hockey madman, owner of Sutter's Sports—and the hunky stranger who told her to get lost!

Rob's been more than burned by love—but then he and Kate find themselves in an ultra-compromising position in the M & S Market after-hours, giving the phrase "clean-up in aisle five" a whole new meaning, and cause a whole lot of gossip in Gospel...

OMG, I loved this story so much of ex-NHL player, Rob Sutter, getting over some bad times and a divorce.  He unexpectedly finds love in the unlikeliest of places - Gospel, Idaho, yet he's too stupid to recognize it. Great story with lots of heat, although I could kick him for being such a horse's ass after one particularly crucial moment in the book! Grr! Men!  Otherwise I loved him.  *grin*  Lots of humor and plenty of loving and good old fashioned romance.  He and Kate's courtship was a pleasure to read about.  A keeper for me!  Best in the series so far.

4.5/5

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June, 2013 Reviews Part I

I have been remiss in posting my reviews, I'm just having a very busy summer and I'm loving reading all my books!  So without further ado...

Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare

Book Description:
What’s a duke to do, when the girl who’s perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can’t live without?

Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season—or any season—but his diabolical mother abducts him to “Spinster Cove” and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.

Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn’t dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week’s employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother’s “duchess training”… and fail miserably.

But in London, Pauline isn’t a miserable failure. She’s a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure—a woman who ignites Griff’s desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won’t be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess—can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?

I simply loved this Regency story of Pauline Simms, a pretty tavern girl who is swooped up by Griffin York, the Duke of Halford and his granny-driven mother.  Taken to London to become his duchess, the duke has no intention of marrying her, but wants to teach his mother a lesson - yet, he falls hard - and not in the way he expected. Hottest of the novels in this series so far - the scene on his desk - whoa! *fans self* Tons of chemistry and loved both Pauline and Griff  - his mother was great too!  This whole series is fantastic!  I can't recommend it enough, it's sexy, full of humor and cleverly written, a real pleasure!

4.5/5

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (audio)

Book Description:
The gifted young Swiss Victor Frankenstein discovers the secret of renewing life where death has apparently devoted the body to corruption, and makes a creature of his own - the most celebrated monster in the history of literature. 

Starting out handsome and cultured, deterioration turns this intelligent freak into an appalling creature, spurned by his maker, shunned by his fellow citizens. Victor wants nothing but company and affection, but instead learns to kill as he encounters only rejection and loathing. When his demand for a female counterpart is turned down by Frankenstein, the grim tale moves towards its horrifying climax as the monster tells his creator "I will be with you on your wedding night!"   To put it simply, the gist of the story is "don't mess with Mother Nature" because playing God is never going to do you any good. Poor Victor Frankenstein learned this lesson the hard way when he creates the "monster" who, because of his feelings of alienation from his "creator" goes about killing all of Victor's closest and dearest friends and relations. A depressing story overall and quite a lengthy lead in, but interesting philosophically on the theme of responsibility of the creator of what he "creates".  A classic I'd never read before.   Narrated by Simon Vance who did a fine Swiss sounding accent for Victor, and a very good monster.    

3.5/5

My Lady Notorious by Jo Beverley

Book Description: 
Desperate to help her widowed sister and baby escape a deadly pursuer, Lady Chastity Ware dresses as a highwayman and captures the first coach to travel down the road. Coming face-to-face with its occupant, the arrogant aristocrat, Cyn Malloren, she orders him to drive her to a remote cottage.   Little does Chastity realize that after long months of recovering from his war wounds, the handsome Cyn is looking for adventure, and being abducted by a cocky highwayman—obviously a lovely woman in disguise—is even more than he had hoped for. Willingly he is drawn into her devilishly reckless plan...and helplessly he is seduced by her wonderfully wicked ways. 

My goodness this book had me up and down and all over the place!  First of the never-ending Malloren Series, I really enjoyed the chemistry between Chastity and Cyn and they had some very sexy moments - boy! Food sure is their thing! I also really liked Cyn's brother Rothgar - I can't wait to read his story! (sort of like a Wulf, Duke of Bewcastle).  Still, I was very uncomfortable with their first sex scene since it was not honest because she is in disguise, even though he knows she's disguised.  It just didn't sit well with me. Also her father was awful and a bit over the top about what he did to her. Really made me squirm.  The orgy they attended was a bit too much too, but overall a good story and vintage romance.    

4/5

Forever a Lord by Delilah Marvelle

Book Description:
Lady Imogene Norwood lives a sheltered life of quiet respectability and routine...until she debuts at her first Season. There among London's elite she meets the wild and broken Lord Atwood. And the very shy English rose suddenly realizes that a little chaos might just be what her heart desires.

Lord Nathaniel James Atwood doesn't believe true love exists. Since scandal tore him away from his family at an early age, he has spent his life fighting for what he wants. That attitude has made him a rising star in bare-knuckle boxing, and now leads him back to London to reclaim the life that was stolen from him. But upon meeting the innocent Imogene, his beliefs are trounced...as guarding his heart against her proves to be the fight of his life.

I think this last installment in The Rumor Trilogy is the best of the three, although I really enjoyed the first a lot as well.  Imogene and Nathaniel make a good - albeit unorthodox team.  Nathaniel, kidnapped as a child in NYC, learns he is a lord as an adult and is not taking to it too well.  While in London, he is going for the title of the best prize fighter in England.  He trains for while romancing Imogene.  A quick read with a touch of trendy bondage thrown in to please the latest romance craze.  I enjoyed it, but not the most unforgettable romance.

4/5

That Summer in Cornwall by Ciji Ware

Book Description:
A different latitude…a different world…

Meredith Champlin unexpectedly finds herself the legal guardian of a child she’s never met: Janet Barton Stowe, an unruly eleven-year-old “Beverly Hills brat,” whose mother – Meredith’s cousin-- has died in a private plane crash.

At the urging of the child’s Anglo-American aunt, Lady Blythe Barton-Teague, Meredith and her Welsh Corgi decamp from Wyoming to spend the summer at Barton Hall, a shabby-chic castle perched on the remote cliffs of Cornwall, England.

Taming the wild child proves a handful, but Meredith’s summer escape gets even more complicated when former British Army Lieutenant Sebastian Pryce, veteran of a bomb-sniffing K-9 squad in Afghanistan, proposes they establish the Barton Hall Canine Obedience Academy and that she join him on the Cornwall Search and Rescue Team. She wonders whether their instant attraction is an unexpected blessing or the prelude to another heartbreak like the one she left behind in the Rocky Mountains.

Even with an assist from a novice search dog named T-Rex, the odds seem long that three months in the land of Meredith’s Cornish ancestors can transform her troubled ward into a happier child, heal the wounds suffered by her soldier-turned-rescuer, and save the Barton-Teague estate from pending insolvency.

As a friend of Meredith’s confides, “It all sounds like a stretch, but we never rule out miracles.”

It was a welcome return to Cornwall and the Barton-Teague family in this sequel to Ware's A Cottage by the Sea, though this one has no time traveling or supernatural hopping around from century to century.  Meredith Champlin flies to Cornwall, England with her bratty niece who has just lost her mother (sister to Ware's heroine from the last book, Blythe) in a plane crash. Her father, a film director is too busy to take care of her. While in Cornwall for the summer, Meredith finds love in a hunky search and rescue veterinarian who is also an Afghan War vet. Lots of different plots going on and overall I liked it, but Meredith's pushiness when it came to having Sebastian (the vet) reveal all his past irked me. She knew she needed to lay off - but did she? No! and it sent him scurrying. But, eventually they find their way back to each before she leaves for Wyoming at the end of the summer. I liked this a lot, but it lacked the emotional oomph I have found in some of her earlier books and most recent A Race to Splendor.  Still, it really makes me want to go to Cornwall myself and see this area of the world.

4/5

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (audio)

Book Description:
You met star quarterback Kevin Tucker in This Heart of Mine. Now get ready to meet his shark of an agent, Heath Champion, and Annabelle Granger, the girl least likely to succeed.
Annabelle's endured dead-end jobs, a broken engagement . . . even her hair's a mess! But that's going to change now that she's taken over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. All Annabelle has to do is land the Windy City's hottest bachelor as her client, and she'll be the most sought-after matchmaker in town.

Why does the wealthy, driven, and gorgeous sports agent Heath Champion need a matchmaker, especially a red-haired screw-up like Annabelle Granger? True, she's entertaining, and she does have a certain quirky appeal. But Heath is searching for the ultimate symbol of success -- the perfect wife. And to make an extraordinary match, he needs an extraordinary matchmaker, right?

Soon everyone in Chicago has a stake in the outcome, and a very big question: When the determined matchmaker promised she'd do anything to keep her star client happy . . . did she mean anything? If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town.

This was sensational on audio! I laughed and laughed so much! It's definitely one of the funniest in the series and the incomparable Anna Fields voice-overs were priceless!  I won't go over the whole plot-line, but some scenes were a riot, like the the book conversation on the golf course between the men - hilarious!  Another favorite was the scene at Annabelle's house with both teams settling in for pizza and Chinese and all that ensues, I felt like I was there in the midst of it!  I loved Bodie as well, his voice was a scream!  An odd coupling there with Portia, but I was happy for them in the end, but kind of weird.  Dean Robillard was hysterical too, I'm gonna love his tale.  Overall, a great book and on audio even better!

4.5/5

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Goddess of the Sea by P.C. Cast

Book Description:

On the night of her twenty-fifth birthday, alone in her apartment, Air Force Sergeant Christine Canady wished for one thing: a little magic in her life. After drinking way too much champagne, she performed, of all crazy things, a goddess-summoning ritual, hoping that it would somehow make her life a little less ordinary...but she never believed the spell would actually work.

When her military plane crashes into the ocean, CC's mission overseas takes an unexpected turn. She awakens to find herself in a legendary time and place where magic rules the land—occupying the body of the mythic mermaid Undine. But there is danger in the waters and the goddess Gaea turns this modern, military gal into a beautiful damsel so that she can seek shelter on land.

CC is soon rescued (literally) by a knight in shining armor. She should he falling in love with this dream-come-true, but instead she aches for the sea and Dylan, the sexy merman who has stolen her heart.

Quickie Review:
This is the second novel in the Goddess Summoning Series that I've read, though this one is the first in the series.  Not as good as Goddess of Spring, but it wasn't half bad telling the story of a girl that becomes a mermaid and finds true love that cannot be.  The story is in three parts.  Part I sets us up introducing the reader to CC, a female air force sergeant who wants some magic in her life.  Heading out to the middle east, she embarks on the plane taking her there and meets a handsome and considerate air force pilot who catches her eye.  He changes seats with her because of her fear of flying and the next thing she knows the plain crashes over the Mediterranean, mortally wounding the nice pilot and CC nearly drowns herself by trying to retrieve his body.  She is stricken by what has happened to him because he changed seats with her.  In the nick of time, instead of drowning, she finds herself trading places with a mermaid princess Undine, who's fleeing the unwanted advances of her creepy merman half-brother.  

Part II is when we follow CC's journey as a mermaid and the deal she makes with her counterpart's mother, the goddess Gaea who agrees to let her be a woman on land if she can get someone to fall in love with her so she can permanantly remain a woman.  The catch is, CC must return to the water every two days or else... Wouldn't you know it, as soon as CC gets to dry land, she meets Dylan, a handsome merman whom she is intrinsically drawn to on her nights when she must return to the sea.  Her time with Dylan is special and she falls in love with him and he teaches her how mermaids and mermen make love (okay, it was a bit far-fetched, but this is a fantasy afterall and suspension of disbelief is needed.) CC's life becomes ever much more complicated.  Not only has she become a mermaid, but she has gone back in time as well to the 11th century, living a double life living in a Welsh abbey monastary as a guest, pretending she is a princess with amnesia.  But the misogynistic abbot is suspicious of her and the noble knight who "saved" her from drowning remains a puzzle to her.  His changing moods from gentleman to sex fiend cause her to realize he is possessed by the spirit of her evil merman half brother who is relentless in his desire to have her.  As CC and Dylan spend more and more time together, CC realizes she wants to remain a mermaid with him, but her brother is stronger than Dylan and when he finds out about their affair he will kill Dylan - what can they do?

Part III, as you might have guessed, deals with the aftermath of all that happens to CC when she is no longer a mermaid and she is back in the United States recovering from her plane crash.  Did she imagine everything?  What happened to Dylan?  What happened to the nice pilot who gave his life for her?  You'll have to read the book to find out.  Goddess of the Sea is a poignant tale and overall I enjoyed it, although some parts dragged at the monastery.  Keep in mind it's a fantasy romance/paranormal as well and much of the book takes place under water. :). Still, I liked it and I will continue with the rest of the series.

3.5/5

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About That Night by Julie James

Book Description:
Though Rylann Pierce tried to fight the sparks she felt for billionaire heir Kyle Rhodes the night they met, their sizzling chemistry was undeniable. But after being stood up on their first date, Rylann never expected to see him again. So when she finds herself face to face with Kyle in a courthouse nine years later, she’s stunned. More troubling to the beautiful Assistant U.S. Attorney is that she’s still wildly attracted to him.

Just released from prison, Kyle Rhodes isn’t thrilled to be the star witness in a high-profile criminal case — but when Rylann comes knocking at his door, he finds she may be the one lawyer he can’t say no to. Still as gorgeous and sharp-tongued as ever, she lays down the law: she doesn’t mix business with pleasure. But Kyle won’t give up on something he wants — and what he wants is the one woman he’s never forgotten...

Another winner from Julie James - I am in love with her writing! I loved, loved this story of Kyle Rhodes and Rylann Pierce. I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put it down. Great story, great chemistry, snappy dialogue and a legitimate quandary about their relationship. I didn't want it to end!

When I first heard that James' next book was going to be about Kyle Rhodes, twin brother to Jordan, the heroine from her last book, I was not overjoyed to hear it.  The fact that he was supposed to be a billionaire, good looking dead ringer for Sawyer on "Lost" (I've never even seen the show) did not wow me.  I thought this was going to be the story of how a spoiled trust fund baby playboy can change his roguish ways thanks to the love of a good woman who teaches him how to be a responsible grown up.  Yes, About That Night isn't too far off the mark from that scenario, but I was wrong to pre-judge.  In fact, my reaction was very similar to Rylann's the first time she meets Kyle  in a campus bar at the end of her first year of law school.  As he turns on his charm to get to know her better, she writes him off, wanting nothing to do with him, convinced he's only interested in a one night stand.  Yet, he manages to worm his way into her good graces and walks her home that night, lending her his flannel shirt when she gets soaking wet.   They share an unforgettable kiss good-bye and he asks her for a date for the following night.  Against her better judgment, she acquiesces. What happens on their date?  He stands her up, succeeding in fulfilling all her preconceived notions about privileged rich kid jerks.

On the surface Kyle Rhodes is the son of a billionaire who has had it easy most of his life.  He dates Victoria Secret models, drives an amazing sports car and is devilishly good looking.  Is it any wonder my initial reaction was just like Rylann's first impression of Kyle?  It just goes to show, you cannot always go by first impressions.   About That Night picks up where A Lot Like Love leaves off and James' goes back to the winning formula borrowed in part from Pride and Prejudice (a favorite of mine) in which you cannot judge a person based solely on the size of their bank account and, in the case of Kyle Rhodes, if they also happen to be an ex-con.  I'm over-simplifying the plot line, but that's basically what happens.

Fast forward several years later.  Rylann is now a successful U.S. attorney, newly arrived in Chicago from San Francisco after recently breaking up with her long time boyfriend.  What has Kyle Rhodes been doing?  He's been in jail.  Yes... jail.  Because he hacked into Twitter after a humiliating public break up with his Victoria Secret model girlfriend he broke all sorts of federal laws and was sentenced to jail time.  Although, he was only there for a few months, he technically is now an ex-con and is faced with an uphill battle of having anyone take him seriously.  He and Rylann's paths cross in court at the time of his release (thanks to some deal making in A Lot Like Love).  Of course, both remember "that night" and the sparks fly between them once again.  This time, they're captured on film together and a picture of Kyle looking at Rylann's boobs is plastered all over the newspapers.  Of course, they both deny that's where his eyes are directed.  I loved this scene when they meet again.  James' courtroom scenes are her forte, they are the BEST!  Rylann is cool, calm and collected on the outside, but inside Rylann is simmering.  Kyle is even more handsome than ever and Rylann has already forgiven him for the way he stood her up all those years ago.  It turns out on the same night as their date his mother was killed in a car accident.  I'd say that a pretty good excuse.

Once they meet again they are thrown together often because he agrees to help her as a witness for a case she's working on about a shady prison guard and the murder of an inmate at the same prison where Kyle was serving time.  I won't go into the details of the case, but it serves it's purpose in bringing Kyle and Rylann together again.  He wants to see more of her and this is a great excuse to get close to her.  They become friends again by working together, but their mutual attraction complicates things and creates an ethical dilemma for her.  He's her main witness in a case and it would be completely wrong for her to date him at the same time.  Plus, she's new to her Chicago office and he's an ex-con, the notorious Twitter Terrorist her office went after ruthlessly.  How can she possibly date him?  She'd come across as completely unprofessional and it could probably damage her career irrevocably-or so she thinks.  Once the murder case wraps up, that solves one part of her dilemma, but Rylann is still really hyper sensitive about what her new office's reaction will be about her dating him openly.  She's convinced that the fact he was in jail, no matter how briefly, will reflect badly on her.  They decide to see each other on the sly, but Kyle becomes dissatisfied with the arrangement and begins to feel like she's embarrassed to be seen with him.  You see, Kyle is trying to get past the Twitter debacle.  He has a great idea of how to start up his own Internet security business and wants to be taken seriously.  It irks him that he and Rylann can't go public with their relationship.  Does she care enough about him to risk her job?  This is the big dilemma in the novel.  What does he have to do to earn her approval?  And why should he have to earn her approval in the first place?  Shouldn't she accept him for who he is as a person and not his public persona as the Twitter Terrorist playboy billionaire heir?  I sympathized with Kyle more than Rylann, but she has her reasons.  She's the new girl in the office, her last boyfriend really did a number on her and as a woman in a man's world in the U.S. Attorney's office, she feels a need to be taken seriously.

This is where Julie James excels, she shows us both sides of the coin, but for the most part, I identified with Kyle more often than Rylann.  In fact, the whole book is really Kyle's story.  His fears, his insecurities, the poignant love for his sister and father after his mother's death and his desire to become successful without the help of his father.  Now add in his need to have Rylann's unconditional love.  We see Kyle come a long way from that guy Rylann first met in Urbana.  Kyle is smart but he has to be respected in the computer industry as well.  Even though he's a whiz when it comes to computers and the ins and outs of security he's facing an uphill battle to get over the Twitter episode and it's repercussions.  He has a great idea for his business and runs with it.  I loved how we see the whole thing come to fruition and how he launches his new company - it was great!  I was so happy for him, I won't spoil it all, but he cleverly manages to find a way to clean the slate and start over.  Yet, as much as things are looking great for his new company, there is still that nagging worry about Rylann and her preoccupation with her job and reputation.  Things come to a head between them, he doesn't want to sneak around anymore and she's going to have to make a choice.  Either it's him or her job.

I won't tell you what happens next, but I can assure you there is a happy ending. This is a winning contemporary romance, albeit it may seem dated twenty years from now, but it was a fun read.  Third in her U.S. Attorney's office series, I also enjoyed seeing some of the old favorites from the previous books, particularly Jack Pallas from Something About You, one of my all time favorites!   

Julie James is an auto-buy author for me.  I expect her books to have loads of humor and snappy fast paced dialogue which keep the stories moving forward all the way to the end.  They're tight and well written, no dull parts which make them quick reads as well.  I always identify with her characters and laugh and cry along with them.  Did I mention the sex scenes are hot as well?  *fans self*  You can't go wrong with her books!

This is a keeper!  Read it and enjoy!


4.5/5

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Open Season by Linda Howard

Book Description:
Be careful what you wish for....  

On her thirty-fourth birthday, Daisy Minor decides to make over her entire life. The small-town librarian has had it with her boring clothes, her ordinary looks, and nearly a decade without so much as a date. It's time to get a life -- and a sex life. The perennial good girl, Daisy transforms herself into a party girl extraordinaire -- dancing the night away at clubs, laughing and flirting with abandon -- and she's declared open season for manhunting. But her free-spirited fun turns to shattering danger when she witnesses something she shouldn't -- and becomes the target of a killer. Now, before she can meet the one man who can share her life, first she may need him to save it.

This was such a great read, I loved it!  Funny, suspenseful, hot - you name it! Plus it had an adorable golden retriever puppy in it! What more could you ask for! I adored it! 

Staid small town librarian, Daisy Minor, gives herself a makeover on her birthday.  It's high time she moved out of her mother's house and got a place on her own - and a sex life.  She's thirty-four years old and really needs to change things.  With her new blonde haircut, make up and an updated wardrobe she happens to attract the attention of the town's brawny police chief  - Jack Russo!  A brash out of towner from Chicago, she is less than thrilled with Jack and his Yankee ways.  Yet, they keep bumping into each other and pretty soon the whole town is talking about their hot love affair!  But... wait a minute... there is no affair - yet.  Meanwhile, Daisy is testing out her new look at the nearby dance clubs and unwittingly witnesses a murder one night in the parking lot of one of them and becomes a target herself.  Who's there to save her? You guessed it!

The plot is a complex one, full of interesting side characters involving the mayor of the town who is behind a white slavery ring, bringing girls in from Mexico and Russia, selling them to the highest bidders - virgins commanding the highest prices.  Daisy has witnessed the murder of one of the guys working for the ring and she has to be gotten rid of so she can't testify.  The cast of characters are colorful and lively and I was really drawn into the story - it was nearly impossible to put down! I loved the way we see how it all unfolds and just what kind of a mess the mayor finds himself in - all very clever and well written!

Back to Jack and Daisy... soon enough, Jack and Daisy's non-affair turns into a full blown real one, the chemistry between the two is electric and despite Daisy's early protestations that she doesn't want to have anything to do with Jack, she's ripe for a fling and finds he's too hard to resist.  His large countenance (in every respect) and "won't take no for an answer" attitude is impossible to ignore.   Plus, he's great in bed.  *sigh*  The one catch - she thinks he's not into getting married - yet she's not getting any younger and she wants to have babies!  Hence her whole reason for the make over.  She's out to snag a husband and have a family!   Hmmm... what to do, what to do?

One of my very favorite things about this book was the humor.  I found myself chuckling over and over again over the frequent meetings between Jack and Daisy.  One particular moment in the drugstore with a box of condoms is hilarious!  They have many funny moments and conversations throughout the book.  The dialogue between them is fast and sassy, she can hold her own with him.  Yet, as they get closer, he becomes ever more protective of her.  Since Daisy has moved out and living alone in a not so great part of town - albeit a small southern sleepy kind of town - she buys herself a watch dog.  Jack has advised her to get a no nonsense canine - something like a German Shepherd.  What does Daisy get - a golden retriever puppy!  As the owner of a golden retriever myself, I thought Jack's reaction was priceless. 

"That's a golden retriever puppy."  She cuddled the baby to her. "So?"  With measured movements, Jack closed the door, locked it, then rhythmically beat his head against the frame.  "What's wrong with my puppy?" Daisy demanded.

"He's a puppy."  ...

"He'll grow," she said.  "Look at the size of his feet.  He's going to be huge."

"He'll still be a golden retriever."

"What's wrong with that? I think he's beautiful."

"He is.  He's gorgeous.  But goldens are so friendly, they're no protection at all.  They think everyone is their friend, placed on earth just to pet them.  He might bark to let you know when someone comes up, but that's about it."

"That's okay, he's perfect for me."  She kissed the top of the puppy's head. He was squirming trying to get down so he could investigate this new human.

Sighing, Jack reached out and took the little guy in his big hands.  The puppy began licking madly at every inch of skin he could reach.  "So, his name's Killer?"

"No, I've just been trying out names.  Nothing seems to fit."

"Not if they're like Killer, they won't.  You name goldens something like Lucky, or Fuzzbutt."  He lifted the puppy until they were nose to nose.  "How about Midas or Riley or --"

"Midas!" Daisy said, her eyes lighting as she stared from him to the puppy. "That's perfect!" She threw her arms around him, stretching up on tiptoe in an effort to kiss him, but the newly named Midas got there first and licked her on the mouth.  She sputtered and wiped her mouth, "Thanks sweetie, but you aren't half the kisser the guy is."

"Thanks," Jack said, holding Midas at a safe distance as he leaned down and their lips met.  And clung.  The kiss deepened.  The melting started again. 

"Do you mind if I spend the night?" he murmured, trailing kisses down her throat. 

He is sinfully sexy.  I loved Jack.  He's big and commanding - a real alpha.  Yet he knows when to be sweet and gentle when it matters.  Aside from his too short haircut and a little overdoing it with the muscles, I'd say he was near perfect.   I also really loved Daisy, but she got a little left out of the book towards the big climatic ending.  Jack told her to stay put and keep out of trouble while he handled things with the bad guys - and she did!

Do yourself a favor and read this book, it was so much fun and a real keeper!  Linda Howard has become one of my favorite contemporary romantic suspense authors, she really is great with this genre.

4.5/5

P.S.  Ms. Howard's descriptions of owning a puppy are right on target.  Lo and behold, I looked it up and yes, she is the proud owner of a golden or two.  I knew it!  They are such scamps as puppies, but so adorable!  I'm treating you to some pictures of my Hector when he was a little pup - about 10 weeks! Oh my how time flies!  He's nearly ten years old now!

Those cute little legs behind him, only a puppy can do this!

Always smiling up at you - always happy!

 

What a sweetie!

One of his two speeds: sleeeping

All Grown Up

 

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Take A Chance on Me by Susan Donovan

 
Book Description: 
For animal behaviorist Emma Jenkins, romance has been at the bottom of her daily "to do" list since making it through a messy divorce. But everything changes the day six-feet-of-gorgeous Thomas Tobin walks into her office with a quivering Chinese Crested named Hairy, a canine that looks more like an underfed rodent than a dog. Sure Thomas is sending her mixed signals-but that charming smile just sent Emma's dormant sex drive through the roof... 

Thomas isn't looking for a fling. In fact, he wants nothing to do with women. He just wants to know if Hairy witnessed his owner's murder. But something tells him that asking Emma to help him with the case will spell nothing but trouble-trouble in the form of serious temptation.

Thomas knows that relying on Emma's expertise-and her soft touch with a weird dog that has somehow become his-may be a crazy way to track a killer. Especially when Emma's down-home warmth makes him want to believe that anything is possible-even true love.

There are spoilers in this review.

This was a cute contemporary about a lady vet, Emma Jenkins, who meets studly gorgeous law enforcement undercover investigator, Thomas Tobin, who has acquired a Chinese Crested - this little pipsqueak of a dog with some big emotional problems because it witnessed its owner's brutal murder. Emma is a behaviorist with animals and Thomas has brought the dog to her to see if she can help him get the dog back to "normal."  You see, this little dog is a mess - poor thing!  Plus, this dog might be the only chance the police have to finding the killer.

Emma and Thomas both have issues when it comes to relationships.  Recovering from the recent divorce from her husband who was also her partner in their veterinary practice, she is now living with her father out on his farm.  In addition, she's recently become the surrogate mother to the teenaged daughter of her best friend who was killed in a car crash - under dubious circumstances in L.A.  Between her practice, her "new" daughter and the fact she hasn't been laid in about a year - Emma's a bit stressed out.  On the other hand, Thomas has his own set of problems, mainly because he doesn't trust anybody and his wife abruptly left him when she found out he was sterile.  As far as he's concerned, everybody has an ulterior motive for what they do - especially women.  In his line of business, he's seen the worst side of relationships because his undercover work is to pose as a hit man who people hire to kill their spouses.  As fate would have it, these two are thrown together when one of Thomas' informants has been murdered and Thomas is stuck with the scared and traumatized dog left behind - hence what brings him to Emma's office.  Little do they know this odd little dog will bring them together, and he winds up being more emotionally stable than our hero and heroine, who's insecurity problems mirror his.

There's an attraction as soon as they meet, both are ripe for a relationship.  But they are both so skittish and clumsy!  Thomas winds up making a total ass of himself over and over again and Emma keeps misreading his signals and misunderstands just about everything he says and does.  For an animal behaviorist, she hasn't a clue when it comes to humans, but Thomas isn't making it easy with his mixed signals at first.  There is a mutual lust thing going on big time but neither is willing to take a chance on getting hurt again.  Thomas does some really incredibly awful things at first, but finally he wises up, yet by that point he has some major hurdles to overcome to get Emma to go out with him.  Yet despite their relationship handicaps, and the fact that Emma is raising an impressionable teenager - falling in love is a certainty.   

I really enjoyed this quick and entertaining read.  Plus, the sexual build up was great, but I did find it annoying that just when they're finally going to do the deed, his idea of foreplay is to come clean and tell her that he's sterile!   Full disclosure and all that. But, couldn't he have managed to pick a better time to drop the bombshell?  Thank goodness, it didn't completely ruin everything - but it came close!  Then, once they're happily ensconced in a relationship and things are looking rosy, she drops an unexpected zinger on him and again - he acts like a complete jerk!  Uggh!  I hate it when heroes do stupid knee-jerk things and disregard any attempts at understanding and listening to an explanation!

Aside from Thomas' stupidity when it comes to important relationship building blocks like love and trust, I really liked these two and was rooting for them to work out their issues while evading Emma's psycho ex-husband.  The writing is smooth and well done, I enjoyed all the side characters too.  They're not just cookie cutter figures, they have personalities and add a little oomph to the background.  I also liked the locale of Baltimore, Maryland and the whole "crab feast" thing that goes on there.  A crab dinner with a mallet, melted butter, spicy crab seasoning and cold beer made for an interesting first date, though all I could think of was how poor Emma wore her sexy nice dress to such a messy dinner!  LOL!  It was a good story with many funny moments in it too with some laugh out loud scenes.   I really enjoyed the whole canine aspect with Hairy - the ugliest dog that ever existed.  Although I must say, when I looked up a picture of what a Chinese Crested looks like they don't seem so bad to me.  This one below is pretty cute! But wearing a maxi pad? OMG!  And Thomas' underwear as a chew toy?  No wonder Thomas was embarrassed!  

Still, I'm glad all ended well and Hairy was able to continue his "career."  I must admit, I learned a few things!

I recommend this romance and will definitely read more by this author.  I met her at RWA last June in New York and told her how much I loved her collaboration with Celeste Bradley on A Courtesan's Guide to Getting Your Man.  I explained how I wasn't a big contemporary reader, but Susan convinced me to try one of her romances.  I'm glad I finally did and I look forward to reading more of her books!  Thanks Susan for giving me that nudge in the contemporary direction!


4/5

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Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book Description:
Dear Reader,

Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day.

As a love-slave, I know everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and onto the world. She taught me to love again.

But I was not born to love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace--the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse?

Julian of Macedon

Quickie Review:  This contemporary paranormal romance set in New Orleans, started out sort of interesting but then fizzled somewhere in the middle.  First of the Dark Hunter Series, Grace Alexander, a sex therapist, (of all occupations), hasn't had a boyfriend for umpteen years.  For her birthday present, her psychic friend conjures up a sex slave for her for a month - Julian of Macedon. Julian has been trapped in a magical book for two thousand years.  The only time he gets out is when he is summoned to be a sex slave to some lucky woman.  How did he get in this predicament?  A curse was put on him way back when in ancient Greece by his half brother, who is a god - an angry god.

The summoning works and Grace finds herself face to face with this gorgeous hunk of man.  But, she's wary of the whole set up and refuses to have sex with him until she gets to know him better.  But that doesn't stop her from doing everything else with him!  She also doesn't want to "use" him as others have over the centuries.  Did I mention he can't have an orgasm either - until the curse is broken?  Poor man!  So, instead he spends all his time pleasuring her - lucky Grace! ;)  As they spend more and more time together she wants to help him break the curse, which isn't easy.  They must wait to have sex in order to break the curse.  For the rest of the book, we are waiting for the big moment when the time comes to break it.  If they do it wrong - he will be sent back immediately to the book forever.  Julian and Grace have a rollicking good time together leading up to the big night, but always there is the worry of the curse hanging over their heads.  It stops her from completing falling head over heels for him and both are tense and sexually starved by the end!   In addition to that, Grace is convinced that once the curse is broken, he'll go back to his own time and forget all about her.  He does want to go back - but for revenge.   He falls in love with her, but he worries about what would he do in modern day America - he's a Spartan warrior!  They wind up bickering and the usual big misunderstanding due to a lack of communication.  Meanwhile, there's a pesky weirdo stalking her and wouldn't you know it - Grace kicks Julian out of her house just when she needs him the most to protect her!

Frankly I got a bit fed up with this whole storyline.  Grace did nothing for me, and I found this whole love slave thing ridiculous.  Yes, I know this is a paranormal romance, but it was so far-fetched and I didn't have much sympathy for either the hero or the heroine.  I just wanted to get to the end and see them finally have sex and break the curse already!

This is a very popular series, so I'm sure the rest of the books are better than this prequel - but I'm just not really sure if this is my cup of tea.   Fantasy just isn't a favorite of mine, but I'll give it one more chance...

3.5/5

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Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole

Book Description:
Néomi Laress, a famous ballerina from a past century, became a phantom the night she was murdered. Imbued with otherworldly powers but invisible to the living, she haunts her beloved home, scaring away trespassers - until she encounters a ruthless immortal even more terrifying than Néomi herself.  

To prevent him from harming others, Conrad Wroth's brothers imprison him in an abandoned manor. But there, a female only he can see seems determined to drive him further into madness. The exquisite creature torments him with desire, leaving his body racked with lust and his soul torn as he finds himself coveting her for his own.  

Yet even if Conrad can win Néomi, evil still surrounds her. Once he returns to the brutality of his past to protect her, will he succumb to the dark needs seething inside him? 

I loved this story, which was very different from the previous Immortals After Dark books.  Here in Book 4, we have killer vampire, Conrad Wroth, who has been a vampire assassin for centuries and is now going insane because of this whole mess that's inside him from killing so many people over the past several centuries.  He is the biggest, baddest, craziest vampire around - and he's out to kill his brothers because they turned him into a vampire in the first place! His brothers succeed in capturing him (not an easy task) and chain him up in an old abandoned plantation house near New Orleans (a familiar locale for this series) where they hope they can cure him of his insanity before he kills them!  

While chained to his bed, in and out of consciousness, Conrad becomes aware of a ghost, Néomi, the former owner of the manor and now a phantom who is able to communicate with him.  A well known ballet dancer from the roaring twenties, Néomi was murdered on the night of her big party in the same house.  Her jealous ex-fiance brutally stabbed her and she's been alone as a ghost ever since - without being able to leave or communicate or touch anyone - until Conrad.   This ghostly scenario reminded me a tiny bit of Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.  Néomi is fascinated to finally have someone to talk to - and he's this big, luscious specimen of a man - well, okay a vampire, but a manly vampire! A virgin vampire too!

It was a great and compelling story which I read it one day.  Over the course of several weeks, Néomi is able to help Conrad regain his sanity and the two gradually fall in lust love.  Of course, she is beautiful and he is gorgeous (as all these immortals are) but she is incorporeal, he can't touch her - hold her, kiss her.  And boy, does he want to!  The sexual build up was great as was the chemistry between this unlikely couple.  It's a bit difficult, if you get my drift - though they manage to do some creative things to overcome this basic problem.  Still, its not enough, Néomi wants to have sex (who wouldn't?) and a body!  Some nearby witches from the same coven we've gotten to know in the last book in the series are able to cast a spell to give her a body, but there's a catch - it's temporary.  Néomi doesn't know for how long it will last before she gets killed somehow.  She won't tell Conrad the truth of how she became incorporeal, she wants to just have this chance to be with him with no sadness hanging over their heads.  Of course, she knows and it's tearing her apart, but he's oblivious and is loving her, wants to marry her.  She is his lifelong mate as far as he's concerned - the whole nine yards - he's been blooded (it's what they call it for vampires when they've found their soul mates).  Yes he has no idea it's all going to come crashing down on the two of them any minute. Néomi puts him off and won't agree to marry him because of the uncertainty and he wonders why...  there's something she's keeping from him...

I kept wondering how were they going to solve the problem of keeping her alive. For everything does come crashing down eventually.   It kept me reading and I couldn't put it down.  At first I wasn't crazy about Conrad, for good reason since he was so crazy and a monster.  But, he changes completely over the course of the book, once he's solved his sanity problem (at a cost!) and forgives his brothers. Néomi was also hard to gauge at first too, she's so different since she's a ghost, but I grew to really like her and her background and dilemma!  They made a great pair and I wanted them to be together and have their happy ending!  It was good to see some old characters from the previous books too, it's a cool world that the author has created for this series and this is a great addition to it as well!  This is a good one!

4/5

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