Vivien Dean

‘Stranded with Desire’ contains a couple of tropes I like: “personal assistant and boss are secretly in love with each other” is one, and “plane crash victims fight for survival” is the other. But that is not all this novel offers. There is some extra suspense in the form of subterfuge, betrayal, and corporate intrigue. I also really liked the great set of secondary characters: the secretive, loyal Leo who only appears via phone calls, the rugged pilot Gus who likes to be called show more Rooster, and Maine’s fiancée who remains a nice and decent woman despite the unexpected shock she experiences.

Colby is a great assistant. I loved that his background is as a theater actor, and that he was hired for his ability to put up an unflappable front when people challenge his boss, the CEO. It doesn’t hurt that Colby also turns out to be quite bright businesswise and can think on his feet. There is one further ingredient to his dedication, one that he doesn’t intend to share with his boss, Maine – ever. Colby has fallen in love with Maine despite the fact that there is no hope of them ever being together. Maine is, after all, straight and engaged, and Colby is not a homewrecker.

Maine is a hardworking businessman who has weathered many an attempt from people trying to get rid of him so they can take over the family-owned company. Maine tries very hard to be the man his father and his family need him to be, and as such, his own desires never even make it into the equation that describes his life. He loves working with Colby, and if he has begun to fantasize about more, that is his alone to deal with. Maine has decided he can’t be gay, and since his family and business are more important than his own happiness, he will marry Helen and focus on making the company a success.

With these two stubborn men, each intent on protecting the status quo, I don’t think anything short of a major disaster would have been able to shake them up enough to switch on their brains and think about what they were doing to themselves. So when their plane crashes, and they have to face the wilderness of the Cascade Mountains unprotected, a lot of things come to light. Colby opens up, Maine admits his most hidden desires, and they exchange some truths and an incendiary kiss. All of this sets in motion a change in Maine’s attitude that finally allows him to consider his happiness as well as his career and his family’s needs.

If you like self-sacrificing lovers who need a major wake-up call to realize that what they’ve been doing is not going to make them happy, if you believe that two men who work well together deserve love as much as the next guy, and if you’re looking for an entertaining read that is full of suspense, passion, and quite a few surprises and revelations, then you will probably like this novel.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. show less

Wranglers: Discovery by Vivien Dean is a 50-page contemporary romance about lawyers in love, which is an irresistible theme for me. I always enjoy reading about interesting professions. These two lawyers are hyper-masculine, competitive, quick-witted, articulate, and intensely driven. They play to win in their courtroom battles and their love affairs.

The fast-paced plot and hot sexual tension will reel you straight into the story where you’ll have great fun watching them struggling to get show more the upper hand with one another. This story is full of strong points such as the clear flawless writing that will let you relax into total escapism. The author is so skilled that she can stay in one close third-person viewpoint while conveying everything necessary about the non-viewpoint character. No amateurish head-hopping here! The part you may enjoy most (other than the hot sex scene) is the sense of humor that lights up the heroes’ snappy dialogue.

The story starts after Derek loses a court case to his opponent, Sam. Back in his office, he vents his frustration in a Wii boxing workout. Sam drops by to ask him out for a drink. Derek thinks that Sam wants to gloat and almost tosses him out. But Sam’s friendliness wins him over.

As time passes, the two lawyers realize they can’t deny their obvious chemistry. On page 33, they kiss in a parking garage:

“Sam broke away, panting. He lifted his long lashes and stared at Derek with [blue] eyes nearly black with desire, his lips swollen from the ferocity of their kisses Derek dragged the back of his hand over his mouth. ‘I can’t.’

Sam stopped. ‘Why not?’

‘Because the last thing I need is to be caught with my pants around my ankles, fucking a colleague against his car. It should be the last thing you’re interested in, too.’

A devilish glint appeared in Sam’s eye. ‘Who said you’d be the one doing the fucking?’”

I have to admit I laughed when I read that. Wranglers: Discovery gives us heroes that are a delight to watch in action. I plan to hunt down the sequels.

Val for AReCafe show less

Ten years before Brady lost his lover Cole. College sweethearts they are all for each other till the night when Cole was murdered, lost forever... or not? Actually Cole was turned into a vampire and the first thing he did, after his awakening, was searching Brady, his lover. But Brady was a cop and his duty was to kill the vampires, not to shelter them, and so for ten years he refused to let Cole re-enter his life. Till the night when an almost finished Cole knock on his door and asks for show more help. He swears and swears that he is not there to kill Brady, that he is not killing anyone as vampire. Can Brady trusts his former lover? Cole is no more the college kid he loved, the body is the same, but there is no soul in that body. So is thinking Brady, but also him is no more the same: the old Brady would immediately give shelter to Cole, he would open his arms and help Cole to fight his nightmares. And instead now Brady is an hardened man, apparently without feelings.

This is a good vampire story. Pretty original since for a time, being vampire is really a problem to the carrying on of a relationship: usually in romance, when one of the lover is turned, the other is more than happy to have him back, even if as undead... better undead than dead! Here instead, Brady refuses Cole for TEN years! He is pretty hard, and I actually felt sorry for how he treats Cole: I can really see poor young Cole, scared of what he has become, being rejected also by the only man he loved, the one he believed he would help him. And how badly Brady treats Cole when he finally allows the vampire to enter his home: like a tainted man... All right Brady is the all too good cop, and he is suffering, but still, he is too harsh.

But when they finally get together, the resulting sex scene is sweet and romantic, not too much graphic in detail, but very good.

One of the most interesting vampire romance I read lately. show less

The Boys of the Zodiac Cancer Penny Candles by Vivien Dean is an unusual and haunting futuristic, featuring appealing characters and fascinating world building. Some readers may find its leisurely pace not to their liking. Normally, I would be one of those readers, except that the world building held my attention so strongly. From its mysterious beginning, the pace shifts into a lower gear while the romance and world building dominate the middle of the story. The pace picks up towards the show more ending, which provides the answers that our characters have been seeking as they face a suspenseful development from Sullivan’s past.

The story takes place about 170 years from now with the central part of the United States sealed off by the government in a primitive state of quarantine after being the target of a bio-weapons terrorist attack long ago. Within the heartland, people live in isolated, rural communities. Outside, along the coastal area, the population enjoys a state of advanced technology, and the elite among them are bred for physical perfection to serve in the Strike military force, which acts as an army-for-hire in various conflicts around the globe.

Sullivan is a former Strike soldier, discharged after a head wound, who finds himself trudging through the quarantine zone on a mission he can no longer remember. All he knows is the name of the man (Rafe) whom he’s supposed to locate, which he does in the community of Chadwick, Kansas. Rafe and his mother are Cuban Americans who relocated to the heartland from Miami under mysterious circumstances. When Rafe and Sullivan come together, they must deal with their rising mutual attraction while unraveling the mystery of their unknown connection through Sullivan’s forgotten past.

Val for AReCafe show less