Vivian Arend

I bought this book for 2 reasons: First, Vivian Arend is cool, and if you're not following her on Twitter, you should be. Second, the heroine has my name. That never happens. I've met a few Robins, but I've only met another Robyn-with-a-y once. We're rare, unique snowflakes. And it did mess with me a bit, but I liked the character. She's very different from the typical "surprise, you're a werewolf!" heroines I've seen before, and I liked that.

I usually don't gravitate toward werewolf books, show more because I prefer vampires to werewolves, but I enjoyed this story. I think what sold me was the fact that these are very down-to-earth werewolves. There's no whining about being infected with a beast or whatnot, they're "I'm a werewolf and that's okay." It was a refreshing change. :) I rather liked these werewolves, even though they were obsessed with skiing, and unless it's the Winter Olympics I have no interest in skiing.

Wolf Signs is good stuff. I recommend it if you're looking for a paranormal with some steamy (literally, there's a sauna involved) love scenes. The only beef I had with it is a personal thing, because the heroine is named Robyn. The hero nicknames her "little bird", and I'm sure he thinks that's adorable, but if a guy did that to me, especially in a nekkid situation, he'd run the risk of injury to his dangly bits. I have zero tolerance for bird jokes. They stopped being cute...actually they were never cute, or funny. But aside from that, I approve of this book. ;) show less

I received an ARC of this through NetGalley. Stories are available as an anthology or separately.

Tangled Tinsel by Vivian Arend
Overall, this story is funny, playful and sexy.

However, there were certain word choices and references that made me go huh?, like when there was "palatable" tension in a room. It's possible that that was a stylistic choice, but it read more like an error that hadn't been caught in the editing process. Those instances didn't happen too often, but in something the size show more of a novella they tend to stand out. Also, the plotline about Kyle's undercover investigation efforts and his super-powerful family knowing nothing about the agency he worked for really didn't make any sense to me. It might be related to an ongoing series that I'm not familiar with, but as a new reader I found that whole storyline distracting and baffling.

My issues with the plotting aside, the characters were so charming and the energy of the story so positive that I'm glad I read this and am looking forward to trying more by the author.

No Angel by Vivi Andrews
Sasha, a Hollywood stunt double, wants to bring her boyfriend Jay home to meet her mother for Christmas. Jay doesn't know how to tell Sasha that the reason he can't is because he's a half-demon. Before he gets the chance, he's abducted to Hell... and Sasha is charged by an angelic visitor to retrieve him.

I'm not normally a fan of the angels, demons, Christmas sweetness shtick, but the story is so vivid and funny and smart that I was sucked in despite myself. Very nicely done.

Freeze Line by Moira Rogers
After the humor and lightness of the first two stories, entering this dark, cold, dystopian landscape was quite a shock. At its best, it was like a fabulous blend of Ilona Andrews and '90s-era Linda Howard--tender, sexy and adventurous. At it's worst, there were some awkward transitions, both in writing and in character development, that made me wonder if perhaps some scenes had been edited out because of space constraints. Overall, though, I enjoyed the characters enough to hope that the authors plan to write more stories in the saga of Shane and Nadia. show less

Review done for http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot.com

Mel used to love climbing until a horrific accident left her with massive scarring and a fear of heights. She turns to Derrick, and his climbing tuition, after deciding that she has lived in fear for long enough. Watching each other’s body closely day after day leads to an attraction that neither can deny. Pretty soon, they are starting to enjoy their after-hours sessions as much as the climbing. A spanner is thrown into the works by show more the appearance of hunky photojournalist Nate. Mel has had a crush on Nate ever since she was in her teens, and he proves to be even less resistible than she remembers. Nate has tracked her down to do a “where are they now” piece on famous athletes. (Well, that’s the reason he gives her anyway!) It’s clear that Nate and Mel are attracted to each other, it’s equally clear that Mel and Derrick have started to develop feelings for each other beyond lust. The scars that the accident has left Mel aren’t only physical so can Derrick and Nate put aside their differences to try to heal her together?

My, oh my, I loved this book. I know you’re all in shock that I liked a ménage tale :D However, this is NOT a typical ménage. Melanie was a fabulously complex heroine. Before the accident, she was this fabulously talented and confident woman. The accident left her with physical scarring and this, along with the horrible comments made by a man she took to her bed, had left her introverted and ashamed. She had made the decision to begin her mental recovery long before she met Derrick and that strength of will made me like her. Derrick was amazing. Not only was he sexy, not only was he completely kinky but he was also the most generous lover I think I have met in a story such as this. Everything he did was to make her feel beautiful, to make her see that the scars were not the only thing that he saw. The sex scenes were explosive; I can safely put my hand on my heart and say Vivian Arend writes good sex! My favourite (yes, I’m going to put a spoiler) is a Shibari scene... I do love a man that can put rope to good use :D

At first, the addition of Nate caused me a little dismay. I don’t normally like bringing a third person into an existing couple, it tends to feel a little wrong. However, Nate isn’t brought in as traditional third. Nate is brought in as an aid to making Mel feel good about herself (Don’t worry readers, he enjoys being used in such a way!) He is another lovely man, a contrast to Derrick, but it’s clear that he cares about Mel just as much. One thing that I admire about this story is its foray into voyeurism. Anytime this has been touched on in other stories I’ve read, it has tended to feel a little seedy, a little peeping Tom-esque. In this book, it’s accepted and even used as a plot device. It was hot...I liked it!

This novella was fabulous. It had complex characters, kinky sex and a plot that you could sink your teeth into. I haven’t read the first in this series, but I managed to keep up OK so I don’t think sequential reading is essential!

I want a Derrick. show less

Gabe Coleman has worked his fingers to the bone to help run the family ranch, even in the face of severe adversity from his nasty Father. Now the ranch is now longer making money, hindered by his Fathers inability to change with the times and bring some much needed innovation to the ranch. When Allison reappears in his life after more than a year, it’s with an offer he simply can’t refuse; she’ll help him bring in the much needed changes for free and make sure his ranch is used to show more stock a local restaurant. There is only one thing she needs in return; she needs him to pretend to be her fiancée so she has a reason to be back in the area to care for her very stubborn mother. Can’t be too difficult right?

Finding out her mother was sick was one of the worst days of Allison’s life but having to scheme to be near her is damned difficult in itself. For her ruse to work, every single person they know has to believe that their relationship is real which makes a hell of a lot of people to convince. When the chemistry becomes the only distraction in their daily nightmares, they quickly realize that they need to cling to their shared desire to keep themselves sane.

But how long can they pretend to be a couple, sharing a bed and secrets, before the bonds between them begin to strengthen into something deeper? And when family start to stir up trouble, will they trust each other enough to see the truth?

I love this series. It’s sweet and sexy and exactly what I needed at the time. I had wanted grumpy Gabe’s book for a while and it is everything that I hoped for. It can be read as a standalone but the series is so fricking good, I don’t know why you’d want to!

Gabe is a deeply tortured cowboy. Plagued by a deep-seated guilt and tormented daily by a cruel father that seems to live to make him hurt, he has very little in his life that he actually considers good. He loves his family, but they don’t make him any happier, often taking advantage of his generous nature to suit their own ends. I knew I was going to love him within three chapters. He is all gruff, manly and tortured, but beneath all that is a lonely cowboy, just wanting some love. My love for him was cemented when he saved and looked after a kitten (the awwww factor was high here) and he got even more drool-worthy when he instigated sex on a front-porch :D This man was a rock to the very emotionally stressed Allison throughout this book and I loved the scenes where he simply was there for her in her darkest hours. Favorite hero in this series by far.

Allison was a good heroine. She had a lot to deal with, having to deal with her mother’s illness and also keep it quiet that she knows about it. I felt so sorry for her yet oddly pleased about how well she was holding it all together. She carried on with life as usual, even managing to interfere a little in the live of Gabe, and didn’t break to pieces. She was refreshing. The scenes between her and Gabe were pretty awesome too. Fraught with sexual tension from the start, it was blatant that they would end up hitting the sheets at some point and when they do it certainly smokes up the pages! Vivian Arend always seems to write amazing smexy scenes and this book just kept getting hotter and hotter. I liked!

With an amazing heroine and a FANTASTIC cowboy hero, I couldn’t recommend this book more. If you like nice guy heroes with a hint of angst and strong heroines, this book is one to try whether you’ve read the rest or not. It’s scorching hot and satisfyingly sweet; five stars all the way. show less