Ever since I discovered the Harlequin SuperRomance line not all that long ago really, Sarah Mayberry is an author I snatch up as soon as I see her newest release. Some are good and some are incredibly wonderfully good. This book for me, falls somewhere in between.

I found Melanie to be a very unusual heroine. She’s taller than normal, and bigger than life though her ex-husband has tried his very best to drum that out of her. It was a very emotionally abusive relationship and understandably Melanie is very wary of getting into another one with Flynn so shortly after getting out of it. She has taken her money and opened a B&B. While she’s met Flynn a few times in the past and he has certainly noticed and been attracted to her, Melanie doesn’t know him that well. At the beginning of the book, Flynn stays at her B&B with his girlfriend at the time. But he realizes he admires and is developing deep feelings for Melanie so breaks with his girlfriend in a real emotional scene.

As I said, Melanie is very gun shy about getting involved with Flynn, and then when they do begin a relationship, she is most reluctant to let it progress further. But Flynn is the definition of patience and understanding and doesn’t pressure her at all.

And Flynn – what a hero. He’s almost too good to be true. He is dealing with his fathers advancing Alzheimer’s, a wonderfully written, realistic side line story, and gives up his own business to take on his fathers company. His feelings and show more admiration for Melanie keep growing and although he finds it difficult not to push her, he manages not to. He allowed her to make her own choices in her own time and I really appreciated that about him.

This isn't my very favourite Mayberry book, but it's certainly up there in the top percent. show less

While I was reading this book I wondered why I hadn’t been reading as many historicals in recent times as I really enjoyed this book – everything about it. From the stubborn but not annoying (to me) heroine Chelsea Mills-Beckham, to the scrumptious hero Oliver (Beau) Blackthorn to the well drawn secondary characters, this book was such a pleasure to read.

Beau and Chelsea first meet years earlier when he is coming to call on her older and very spoiled sister. But alas, his suite is not at all welcome as he has the unfortunate stigma of being a bastard born. Not only is he thrown out of the home, he is whipped like a dog by the older brother.

Fast forward to years later and Chelsea is all grown up and about to be married against her will and wishes to a wet-mouthed dour reverend who has a secret hate on for women. Her brother, still a nasty piece, has changed his ways after a real scare with chicken pox and embraced the horrid man of the cloth. In order to escape this farce of a wedding,

Chelsea high tails it to the home of Beau and suggests they elope to Gretna Green, she to avoid marriage and to Beau’s benefit a way to get back for the humiliation done to him years ago. Beau agrees to the scheme to ‘get even’. Beau is currently being visited by his devil-may-care brother Puck and the three of them set off on a road trip to Gretna Green.

I found this book charming. I loved the character of Chelsea. I can see why she might get on some readers nerves, she’s quite show more bossy, but Beau or Oliver as she kept insisting on calling him, thought she was a ‘character’ and when the readers sees her through his eyes, well, I thought she was one too.

And Beau makes for a most fine hero. Although he’s been limited in society by his bastard status, he’s still managed to make a good life for himself. He made good friends when he joined the army after being treated so cruelly years earlier. He’s making a successful living looking after his fathers estates even though he can’t inherit them. While not wild about his situation and he does hold a certain anger at his parents because of their selfishness, especially his mother, he doesn’t hold any bitterness.

I also love the character of Puck, the youngest brother. He is with Beau and Chelsea much of the time and seems to be a real hoot. His book is out now too and although it didn’t get that high a grade at AAR, I still think I’ll give it a go if only to read more on the third rather mysterious black sheep brother Jack.

With books like this one out there, I think I’m going to have to rethink my reading habits and take up reading more historicals. show less

One of my very best discoveries last year was Ellen O’Connell. I loved Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold and Sing My Name. I’ve read both 3 times now. She is a self-published author so she doesn’t come up when I check Fiction DB for upcoming releases, but thank goodness someone at AAR posted that she has a new book out now. The same day I read that, I visited my local coffee shop, since my Wi-Fi doesn’t work with my IPad at home and any e-book purchases have to be done somewhere else, which at the rate I’m buying them is for the best. I bought the book that day and started it last night.

I probably said it about EOS, EOG and Sing My Name, but wow this author awes me. She is self-published and more technical type readers may find errors, or others who read it may not be entirely happy that the story takes a while to get going, but once it does, my goodness does it pack an emotional wallop for an emotional type reader. And since I am, it did.

A bit of a note to begin with. This is an ‘Indian Romance.” Now this particular genre has gotten a bad rap in many ways because of some of the truly horrendous books written. Cassie Edwards comes immediately to mind. There are other authors who do a bad job in this job, very bad. There are also authors who write wonderful of cross cultural love stories. Of those authors, I think Kathleen Eagle and Roseanne Bittner are the best. Pamela Clare also does wonderful portrayals in her historical romances I think.

So I wasn’t quite show more sure where this book would fit it. I didn’t have many worries though as she had done such excellent writing previously. And I was RIGHT! This book is such another true winner. It’s everything I love in a romance.

I adored Katherine. She behaved just as a heroine should when faced with the kind of situation she was faced with. First her stage coach was robbed, then she taken hostage by an Apache raiding party, one of whom was particularly hostile to her. She’s justifiably scared but never acts stupid about it. She gives in when she needs to and stands up for herself when she can. She really is a wonderfully written character.

Gaetan, the hero is an equally richly written character. He hates whites with good reason. He and his younger brother were taken away from their people and raised in a missionary where they were looked down on and scorned. Although he does know both English and Spanish somewhat, he refuses to speak the language of the people he hates and for much of the first part of the book, until Katherine learns to speak Apache, there isn’t much verbal communication between them. But there is PLENTY of communication going on non-verbally wise. Despite the fact that Gaetan hates the white man, Katherine is different. He admires and respects her courage. And he is forced to follow up on a promise in regards to taking care of her.

This book is outstanding, outstanding, outstanding. The author doesn’t make a caricature of Gaetan, which often happens with less talented authors. He is a stoic kind of guy and stays in that character throughout the entire book. But although he keeps many of his feelings to himself, he expresses how he feels towards Katherine through his actions, even if they are misinterpreted at times.

At times this isn’t an easy book to read. It’s very realistic and true to the times. Something happens to one character in particular that almost had me in tears. But I highly recommend this book to all who are even the slightest bit curious about this often poorly written genre. At only $2.99 at Amazon or same price at Smash words, it’s a great opportunity.

Although most of me wants to give this a 5 out of 5 and in some ways I am, it gets a 4.99 only because the interaction between Katherine and Gaetan takes so long to get going, though I could understand why. It’s my own personal impatience waiting for their poignant love story to begin that got in the way. In fact, after writing up this review, I started reading it all over again even though it wasn't that long ago that I read it. show less

I'll be honest here and say when I read the first two books of this series, Cam didn't make that big an impression on me. And my main thought was that I would have to read his story before I got to Harts' the one I wanted most after reading all about Ian and the rest of his MacKenzie brothers. So going into this one I wasn't expecting a whole lot.

I don't know if that's the reason or what it might be, but this one turned out to be, as Tony the Tiger says, GREEEEAAAATTT!! I LOVED it - almost, but not quite as much as Ian and Beth's book.

It starts out with a bang when Ainsley is scoping out Cam's bedroom for some missing letter stolen from the queen when in walks Cam and the thieving woman who is using the letters to blackmail the queen. She has hidden them with Cam, though he doesn't know it and as one of the queens lady's, Ainsley is trying to find them and give them back. Cam of course, discovers Ainsley's hiding place and is wickedly delighted. You see, they had a similar kind of meeting six years previous when Ainsley was trying to find something in Cam's room. They had an immediate attraction to each other though Ainsley refused to act on it as she was married and while not in love with her much older husband, respected and cared for him a great deal. But neither has forgotten the other over the year and now that Ainsley is a widow, Cam is determined to 'get in her skirts' this time 'round.

For not being a character who made me sit up and take notice in the previous show more books, with his own story it was an entirely different matter when reading it. Cam is a man who was betrayed beyond belief by his first wife. Not only did she take many, many lovers over the time they were married, but she also tried to kill both Cam and their son Daniel and indeed ended up taking her own life. She was clearly mad but that didn't keep her from leaving deep, deep scars on Mac, both physical and emotional. He uses his gift with horses and meaningless sex to try and escape his demons. But when he's with Ainsley, he feels a deep sense of peace though it takes him a while to recognize it as love he is feeling. I just loved this poor tortured man to pieces and pieces. He loves his son deeply, and Daniel is a wonderful secondary character by the way who will be getting his own story, but doesn't really understand how to be a father. His own father was a monster and all the MacKenzie heroes have a lot to overcome with their horrific childhoods.

Once he gets Ainsley into his orbit again, he is so gone for her. I've said on many occasions I love a hero who is so gone for the heroine.

And Ainsley is exactly the kind of heroine I enjoy. She's sharp and she's funny and she's intelligent. No false miss is she. After a bit of hesitation and then consulting with friends, when Cam wants to take their relationship much further, she goes for it, with no second thoughts. She has very fond thoughts of her first husband and admired him even though he was much, much older than her.

I love that the author didn't go down the cliched route and make her first husband evil. Even the character that was blackmailing the queen didn't turn out to be evil, evil. She just wanted the money to desperately escape an unhappy marriage. The most evil person in the book was Cam's first wife Elizabeth and her evilness was needed to turn Cam into the kind of person he was.

I finished this book in a very short amount of time as I couldn't bare to put it down. I, um, ah, may have taken longer breaks and lunches than I'm allowed as work since I really didn't want to stop reading this Very Enjoyable Book. I still like the first one better, but just by a shade. But this one also is getting very high marks! show less

I enjoyed this one. I read it a week or so ago now and need to read the blurb to remember it, but that’s more of a case of declining short term memory retention then the book not being memorable.

Ross Coltrane, our hero, was first introduced in Here Comes The Groom. He is part of an elite Special Forces group – think Seals – only a New Zealand company, who were attacked and lost two of their own in Afghanistan. Each surviving member has reacted differently. In Ross’ case, he is hell bent on getting himself back into fighting shape and avenging his lost friends. He hasn’t time for anything else and holds all feelings in to the point that his nickname is Iceman. His plans are thrown into turmoil though when his step-mother perishes while exacting a nasty revenge on him. He’s had a ‘fractious’ to say the least relationship with her for years, though he is very fond of and close to his younger step brother, Charlie.

The heroine of this book, Vivienne, is walking a fine line. She is a designer in New York, but has taken time out to help out her twin sister, Merry a wife and mother to the nth degree, who has broken her leg and needs surgery. Her twin is married to Ross’s step brother but they are currently separated. Ross is taking his brother’s side and Viv, her sisters. In order to help, it’s too complicated to go into detail, Viv impersonates her sister and I had a number of laugh out loud moments while reading this book with the complications that come show more along with this deception. Ross is decidedly angry at his sister-in-law for what he considers a betrayal of his brother and when he thinks Viv is Merry is not the warmest cube on the block. It doesn’t take too long though before he realizes it’s not Merry he’s dealing with, but her twin Viv. Viv, the sister he’s lusted after for years.

Viv pleads with him to go along with her plan and he reluctantly agrees to – for a short while.

This book, as I said is delightful and I’m so very happy I discovered this author. She writes believable characters, people you wish were real so you could meet them. I liked this book better than the first one, Here Comes the Groom.

One thing I have to add, please, please, please do not judge this book by it’s completely horrid cover. I never would have read this one if I based picks on covers alone. The cover of this one is a real eye sore. So IGNORE it. Please! Just Ignore Cover! show less

I LOVE this series. The hero Max Savoie is like no other hero I’ve read before and he just leaps off the page with his presence. A bit of background for those who haven’t read the first few books. Max was the ‘enforcer’ for a very influential, very bad crime lord. Jimmy Legere ‘rescued’ Max when he was just a child hiding in the swamps of Louisiana after his mother was brutally murdered. But Max wasn’t an ordinary child; he was a shape shifter who because of circumstances didn’t know anything about his heritage. Jimmy used Max, aimed him, pointed him, and sent him after anyone in Jimmy’s way and Max was so grateful to Jimmy, he would have done anything for him.

This was the situation at the start of the first book, Masked by Moonlight. It begins when Max meets up with Charlotte Caissie or CeeCee, a detective with the NOPD. Max’es loyalties are tested. The first three books are wonderful and CeeCee and Max try and work out a relationship with both of them on either side of the legal fence.

Max is, well, Max is unique. He’s a criminal with a strong sense of right and wrong and a sense of loyalty that won’t quit. And he is so totally wrecked for the heroine. He doesn’t see how she can love him as he considers himself part monster and in some ways he is. He breaks the readers heart with his damaged soul. When he is in his animal form, he almost repulsive, but so broken up by who and what he is when he’s not. The author never really explains what show more animal he is, but whatever it is, Max has powers that no other has; powers that even he isn’t aware of. He is so lost as to what he is considering his mother died when he was very young before having a chance to explain what he is and his father is a mystery.

CeeCee comes from an equally horrific background. Second generation cop, she was captured, held prisoner and tortured when she was young and it was in fact Max who saved her, though she hadn’t been aware of it until after the start of the first book.

In some ways, these books can be compared somewhat to the In Death books by JD Robb in that both heroines are cops and both heroes are or were part of the criminal element. But in other ways they are vastly different. Unlike Eve Dallas, CeeCee doesn’t have the same moral code when it comes to police duties. She’s a rule bender with an attitude that the ends justifies the means and Max, unlike Roarke, is still involved in the criminal element. And he’s not a cultured or suave as Roarke. And unlike Roarke he is very conflicted about everything except those he is loyal to.

All this so far and I haven’t even got to this particular book. But I’ve very enthused about this series and background is needed. As this book opens up, CeeCee and Max are finally taking their relationship to a more open level. They have shown up together at a charity event. As one can imagine, this sends shock waves throughout both the criminal and cop element. CeeCee is called away to work on a case where women have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered. When the daughter of a rather bully of a cop disappears, CeeCee fears she has been taken by the serial killer and races to find her. Because of some of Max’s supernatural powers and his more than willingness to bend rules and out and out break the law, he helps CeeCee in unobtrusive ways. But he has history with the bully cop. Which makes for some wonderful conflict.

Unlike the other books in this series, we don’t learn too much more about Max’s mysterious background. Rather this is more concentrated on solving the case as well as CeeCee and Max trying to establish the boundaries of their relationship.

There is a real shocker of a twist towards the end that I did not see coming and I think will have huge ramifications in future books. Books I will be reading.

For me, this is a great addition in a great series and it gets a real thumbs up from me for a very unforgettable hero. show less

A time travel Western!!! Ke-wl. I’m guessing here, but I think this one is one of the the books in the new Amazon Line that Connie Brockway is part of and can I just say I am So In with this? I’m glad I have an i-pad with a Kindle app so I can read these books. A Western Time Travel isn’t a trope you see very often. Since I really like both, that’s why I was sold on this book right away.

In order to enjoy a time travel book, you have to be willing to suspend belief more that say a contemporary or romantic suspense or even some historical. Luckily I’m able to do that pretty well so I was able to enjoy this book quite a bit.

Jessica is a modern day heroine thrust back into the old West. Of course at first she has a hard time believing what’s happened. I found her reaction quite believable. I enjoyed her as a heroine. She was smart and intelligent and wasn’t intimidated by her situation.

And Truman Wade, our hero was just plain yummy-licious. A combination gunslinger AND a sheriff; one who wears spurs and a gun; one who has blue eyes and is strong confident, hunky and a sense of humour is very hard to resist. He doesn’t know what to make of Jessica, or Junebug as he calls her. She’s not like any woman he’s met before. He’s attracted to her but knows she is keeping secrets and is reluctant to get involved despite being very attracted to her, in case those secrets will compromise his job as sheriff. And Jessica is very attracted to Truman but she is also show more reluctant to get involved since she is determined to return to her family in her own time.

The resolution to this book was a bit unexpected and had me almost weepy. Not to worry though, it is a romance and has a HEA.

Amazon knew what they were doing when they put this one on my recommend list. I really enjoyed it. And at that price? My advice is to give it a try. It says on the site that this book will be available in print in August. show less

the heroine is a prostitute in the old west. She has run away from the brothel and agrees to be a mail order bride without informing her bridegroom Nathan Lantry of her past.

I get that this kind of heroine isn’t for everyone and I can respect that. But for any on the fence on this kind of heroine, or those contemplating trying one, they don’t come much better than Ella. Ms. St. John, as she has with so many of her heroines, writes Ella in such a way that she will break your heart. She makes her past so tragic, and she is still so vulnerable. But never does the reader sit in judgment on her. It’s a case of it was what it was and now she has an opportunity to make a new life for herself. She feels bad about not telling Nathan about her past and doesn’t really consider the consequences she’s so desperate to escape her past.

And Nathan makes for quite an endearing hero. He didn’t stand out for me as much as Ella, but I really did enjoy how considerate he was of Ella and how concerned he was that he not make the same mistakes with Ella.

There’s nothing big or showy about this story. It’s a gentle book about how a young woman struggles to overcome her past with the help of a gentle and loving man.

I LOVED this book. I started reading it late last night. I reluctantly put it down and picked it up again today. I read it at the doctors office. I had to renew some prescriptions so after dropping them off, I read it in the food court while I waited. I read and I read and I read. I glanced up ever so often and there were 3 different groups of people at the table nearest me that came and went while I was absorbed in this book. I simply couldn't turn it off.

John Murphy has just moved into the neighbourhood when a sexy lace bra that blew off the line ends up on his side of the fence. He returns it and is smitten with it's owner, bake store owner and pastry chef Livy. They are instantly drawn to each other, but Livy is reluctant to get involved with John or Murphy as she calls him to avoid the Grease name similarities. He comes across as the typical 'bad boy' and that's not the kind of guy she wants to get involved with. But as they get to know each other, her attraction to Murphy can't be denied.

I loved both these two characters.
Murphy is broken almost beyond repair. He has suffered horrible, horrible abuse when he was young and that abuse has messed him up big time. It has completely warped how Murphy sees himself. He spent years protecting his younger sister from the monster that raised them. Once Livy begins to get a sense of what Murphy is hiding and what he has suffered, she is determined that nothing he does will drive her away.

Murphy, for his part, is show more heartbreakingly afraid to believe in love. For every little part of his heart he lets Livy into, he keeps her out of another. At one point in the latter part of the book, he really goes for the jugular in order to drive Livy away and if we, the reader, didn't already have our hearts broken by what he has gone through and if we didn't see how much pain he was in, it might be hard to forgive him. But because we do, we only want what he needs and that's Livy.

One of the fascinating parts of this book is the stories that John writes. Because he dealt with monsters as a child, he has made those monsters work for him in his professional life. He's a writer of YA fiction; a series about monsters and Inez Kelly also parallels the story of John and Olivia along with the latest book that John is writing and it's almost as interesting.

This is a book that will have me thinking of it long after I finished and that's the mark of a Real Good Book for me! show less

This was another book that I was quite pleased that I took a chance on. I've really been enjoying this line by Harlequin and this is another reason why.

Kate owns a business in Vegas that's in trouble. Desperate for money, she decides to blackmail the man who fathered her, but refused to acknowledge her. She figures he owes her something, if only child alimony from when she was dirt poor, living in a trailer park and being raised by her grandmother. But her plan backfires when her father demands that in exchange for the money she needs, she spend at least two weeks with he and his wife. He's had a narrow brush with death and he wants to make amends to those he has hurt and number one is his illegitimate daughter. He sends Rick Mendez after her. Rick was a good friend of Kate's legitimate brother, a young man who died to early. Rick is also depending on Kate's father Justus Mitchell to help him with a program he is setting up to help former gang members start a new life. Rick himself is a former gang member who changed his life around and wants to help others do the same.

The attraction between Rick and Kate is flammable, but one of the ways Rick has changed in no more one night stands and that's all it would be with Kate as she has every intention of returning to her old life once she does her penance.

Kate is a somewhat bitter heroine. I didn't mind that for the most part though as she's certainly had a rough go of it. She did get a tiny bit tiresome in her bitterness as show more she seems to have quite a few friends and supporters in Oak Stand. But I know as adults things are often different than they way they seemed as children and sometimes we still see things through our inner childs eyes so all in all I understood why Kate acted as she did.

And whatever I may have found frustrating in Kate is balanced out by Rick our hero. He's a yummers, that's for sure. It's different reading a story where the heroine is the one in pursuit and the hero is the one holding off for a more meaningful relationship so I found it rather refreshing *g*. I'm not sure how realistic it was, but it was atypical of most romances. This one is actually the third book in a series and after finishing this one, I went and purchased the first two as ebooks I enjoyed it that much. show less

As I went into this one one a whim really, I didn't have the same kind of expectations that I would have if it was an author I'd read and enjoyed before, or if there had been a lot of on line buzz. I went into it blind - readingly speaking. So it was a delightful surprise to discover how much I was enjoying this book as it went along.

Miranda Grey, our heroine, was a mess. As the blurb says, she was barely coping and was on the verge of total collapse at the beginning of the book due to her ability to read the thoughts and feelings of those around her with no way to turn it off. She was defeated and the only thing keeping her going was her music and her gig as a singer at a small bar. Her life changes though, when one night on her way home she is viciously attacked and raped. This event acts a kind of a catalyst and she releases her rage, along with some pretty powerful abilities she wasn't aware she had. But she's still left in pieces at the end until she is rescued by our hero David Solomon.

Now I've gone on the record as not being too fond on the whole of vampire heroes, but there have been exceptions and David Solomon is certainly a wonderful example of those exceptions. Although he is the Prime - the leader - and ruthless when it comes to enforcing the rules he set in place when he took over as Prime; rules that include making sure humans aren't killed and butchered like the way they were under the old regime, he has a tenderness in him. He does what he has to do, but show more it hurts him that he does. And this tender side is really brought out when he rescues Miranda and works on showing her how she can shield and ground herself. Through their interactions with each other, David and Miranda slowly begin to have deep feelings for each other. But he's a vampire and, well, she isn't.

Both characters are standouts in this book. I love that Miranda grew in strength throughout the story. She starts out as this broken character and slowly emerges as a strong, forceful woman who makes a good mate for David. And David is an equally fascinating character. Although he's a vampire, he's also a computer geek and are a number of times I smiled at this geeky, tender, alpha vampire.

All in all, I was more than pleased with this book and if you're a fan of vampire series, readers who are, should check out this books with it's strong and compelling hero and heroine show less

If someone had told me I would really enjoy an ongoing series where, although labeled romance, that aspect kind of takes a back seat, and the setting in years in the future after an apocalyptic ‘end of the world’ scenario, I would have said ‘right, and pink pigs fly. But I would have been forced to find those flying pink pigs because I do love this series and Night Betrayed is no exception. Though the hero, Theo Waxnicki is in his 80’s, he stopped aging when the catastrophe happened fifty years earlier. I had to smile to myself as I was kind of guilty of age discrimination. Theo has quite the libido cause he still looks young, but he’s in his 80’s and I thought ‘wouldn’t he need Viagara or something?’ I have to say that in the middle of this tense story, I was distracted by something rather silly.

In the previous books, I hadn’t really warmed up to the character of Theo, so when I heard this was ‘his’ story I couldn’t help wishing it might have been someone else’s. But once I started reading this book, that was a non issue. Once more this world that Joss Ware has created is so compelling, so interesting yet so bleak at the same time, and just so damn well written, that I found myself on the edge of my seat as I read along.

In this one, Theo has been brought back to life by the heroine, Selena in a small community far from his home in Envy. Theo is smitten with Selena but just getting over a broken heart when the woman he loved chose another. show more Selena for her part, is leery of getting involved with Theo as she has many secrets and has been burned in the past because of them.

As with previous books though, the romantic relationship isn’t really in the forefront. Instead it’s the mystery of the events that resulted in the end of the world as it was known and what has been happening since then. And it’s utterly and completely fascinating. It’s edge of your seat exciting. People who you hope make it don’t.. This isn’t a happy and sunshine series, that’s for sure. But it’s such a compelling read that I highly recommend it. I can’t say too much so as not to give too much away – that’s the way it is with this kind of series I think.

Now – should you read the first three books in order to read this book? I’m not sure – probably. But the first ones are so good you will want to anyway. show less

Wow!! Just Wow!! I just got this one yesterday and I started reading around 2:30-3:00ish and couldn't go to bed until I read the whole book. I finally finished at 1:06 am. Then I couldn't sleep - ack! I think the people at Wendy's substituted a regular coffee for the decaf I ordered. See, I couldn't take time away from reading to make supper so I went through the drive through - not to mention I love their new fries - but I'm getting off topic. So while trying to fall asleep, I kept going over this book in my head, trying to think of how to put down in words how much I loved it and how much it moved me.

It's been a while since I've loved a heroine as much as I love Anne Wells. I think I have a girl crush on her - in a strictly platonic way of course. I love how well written she is. She's open and honest and brave in such a refreshing way. And what I especially loved was how fiercely protective she is of the hero, Cord Bennett, against anyone who she thought was wronging him, including his rather thickheaded brothers. There isn't anyone she won't take on to protect him. There were so many instances when there could have been frustrating misunderstandings, but instead Anne meets the issues head on and handles them directly so there are no festering resentments.

And as much as I love Anne, I love Cord just as much. Although quite reticent at first due to the prejudice he has experienced most of his life, he's more accepting of it and not the bitter kind of hero he could so show more easily have been. He is matter of fact about his life and while it is a lonely one, he doesn't really expect anything different. That is until Anne comes into his life. They knew each other briefly as children and then their paths cross again when Anne stumbles across Cords farm when trying to run away from a forced marriage. Her father catches her and in order to 'punish' her for her obstinacy, he forces the two of them to marry, and then has his henchman almost beat Cord to death. But Anne stays and nurses Cord back to health and after discussing the situation matter-of-factly, they decide to remain married. Cord is convinced it will only be for a short while; that Anne is too good for the likes of him. But he doesn't count on her sense of honour and her growing love for Cord, and his for her.

This is a great story of two lonely people brought together and discovering they are perfect for each other. Cord has a rather dry sense of humour that I really enjoyed and as mentioned earlier, Anne is ferocious in her defense of Cord. As their love builds, so do the love scenes which makes them even more a vital part of the story. Anne and Cord are friends first so there is not a doubt that this is a couple that will last.

While Anne's father for the longest time seems to be a Very Evil almost cartoonish villain, the author gives an explanation towards the end that makes very good sense. And I quite enjoyed Cord's two older half brothers, Frank and Ephraim. Time after time they misjudged Cord, thinking him a wild man in some of his actions. But instead he had very good reason for all the violence. He just couldn't have been bothered trying to explain himself to his brothers. His attitude makes for some delightful scenes that had me smiling.

{I'm having to go through this and make sure everything in this review is in the current tense as I plan on going back and reading this book again soon, very soon, slower this time so as to savour it the way it deserves to be savoured}.

The only thing keeping this from being a perfect 5 out of 5 is a very small thing that bothered me but probably wouldn't bother most readers. When referring to some of the towns people who let prejudice and anger rule their actions, the author referred to them as 'haters'. This is very much a 2010 expression and took me out of the old west where I doubt this expression would have been used. And since this word and expression just drives me crazy, I wish the author had used another expression. But that is a very, very small niggle in what is almost a perfect book. There was a certain.... distance is the only word I can think of in the first part of the book, a slight failure to connect with the characters. But very soon the author hit her stride and I felt as if I was right along with them, taking the journey of their love story with them. show less

I was blown away by her first Western and when I finished it and it came to picking the next book to read it was a no-brainer that this would be the one I'd read. As with the previous book, this, THIS is the reason I love Westerns so much. This book is all that I can ask a romance to be; poignant, moving, sad with tenderly sweet funny moments. Both the hero and heroine are to die for great and as with EoS,EoG, the characters are HONEST with each other even though they may not agree.

The story starts out with Matt being mistaken for an outlaw by a couple of bounty hunters. The fact that they have the wrong guy doesn't bother them at all. It picks up after the two bounty hunters and their prisoner have joined an army wagon train heading west. Sarah is headed west to join her fiance, and army officer. She's not in love with him, but is going along with the engagement as she thinks he is better than she can expect and her parents are quite impressed with him. During their journey, she is horrified at the way Matt, our prisoner is being treated and she takes measures to make sure he is treated more humanely. Not long after this, the entire party is attacked by Indians and Matt and Sarah are the only survivors. While Sarah has lived a life of pampered luxury, Matt is well versed in how to survive and the two of them head out to try and make it to the nearest fort. As it's just the two of them, they get to know each other very well. Sarah soon realizes that Matt couldn't possibly show more be the criminal he was under guard for and for his part, while Matt realizes that Sarah has lead an entirely different kind of life than he has, he admires her tremendously for her 'pluck'. Along the way they fall deeply in love and while Matt is aware of the difference in their stations, he succumbs to the growing love between them. Because they spend time talking, and getting to know each other, the reader can feel the love developing between them. Unlike many a romance where the hero/heroine only have a surface knowledge before declaring their love, with Matt and Sarah, we know it's solid, but undeclared on Matt's side.

They finally make it almost to the fort where they are headed before giving in to hunger, thirst and exhaustion. When Sarah awakens, it's too a livid fiance; a fiance with power who doesn't hesitate to use it. Matt is sent to jail on trumped up charges and Sarah reputation is ruined. At this point there is a separation between them and those reader who aren't fans of long separations may be disappointed in this next section. But it didn't bother me as I was loving the story and I felt that this parting was necessary. The time focuses on Sarah and how her life is a struggle and yet she is so determined to wait for Matt no matter what obstacles are thrown in her way. It serves as a real transition time for her from a somewhat helpless young woman unsure of her own strength into a woman with loyalty, patience and, well, true grit who will survive anything.

Matt is finally released from prison and takes up with a gang of gunslingers. While they don't do anything illegal, they skirt the line at times. He believes the time is lost where he and Sarah could have made a go of it, but Sarah has never faltered in her love for Matt and when circumstances bring them together once more, she absolutely refuses to take no for an answer. I've mentioned before how I love it when a hero is gone for the hero but in this story it is Sarah who is completely gone for Matt. Obstacles? What obstacles. The only one she sees is Matt himself and simply will not take no for an answer.

Sing My Name is simply..... beautiful. It's gritty at times and not easy to read in some places but it's balance out with gently humour and a hero who no matter what life throws at him, meets it with a level headed kind of acceptance. While he had every right to be bitter and angry, he's mature enough to know that he would be the one hurt the most. Sing My Name is REAL. The characters are wonderfully written, from Matt and Sarah, both young and innocent at the start of the book, to mature and capable at the end. The secondary characters are also so very well done. The gang of men Matt is a member of come alive, two in particular. A very dear friend of Sarah betrays her and while she did it thinking it was in Sarah's best interest, there is no simple forgiveness that often drives us readers nuts.

I loved Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold but I think I love this one just a tiny bit more. I know I'll be reading both of them over and over. show less

This book was an impulse purchase, having not read the author before and not reading any reviews of her books. It turned out to be a very good purchase! I enjoyed it so much that despite just buying two books I've been waiting months for, I kept reading this one. I was late getting dressed today 'cause I was so busy reading. I haven't done the housework I had planned because I was too busy reading. Gotta love when that happens.

I adored the heroine in this book. Willow is one tough cookie. She's had to be since her mother was murdered when she was only ten. As soon as she was old enough, she made it her life's goal to track down and wreck vengeance on the man who killed her mother even though Willow only knows him as The Bad Man. After tracking him for years, she finally hopes to corner him in San Francisco, even as she is aware that The Bad Man has probably lured her there. She is on her way to a meet with a private detective she hired when she comes across two dead bodies, the detectives and another man. Also at the scene is a police Inspector, Rick Ramirez. He senses Willow's presence, but because she has some pretty awesome superpowers, he's unable to find her; either that night or at other times when she seems to be at the same scene as other crimes. He suspects her, but doesn't really want to as their attraction to each other is overwhelming.

I really enjoyed Rick's character too. He's a rules kind of guy. He lives buy the book and his world is one of black and white show more until he's confronted by Willow who is all kinds of gray. Their opposite personalities really made for some great and spicy scenes between them. It was rather fun watching Rick having his carefully ordered world rocked.

The secondary characters were also very interesting - from his rather mysterious herself grandmother, to Morgan, Willow's computer geek best friend and partner. This is the third book in a series about Guardians, a select group of people who have inherited supernatural powers, but even though I haven't read the first two, it was no problem following this story at all. show less

Unguarded was a total impulse buy and sometimes one regrets impulse buys reckoning they wasted their money. Sometimes one is happy with their impulse buys, glad they went for it. And sometimes one is really amazed at one's own genius in giving into impulse. With Unguarded, my reaction is the third one. I'm amazed at my own genius. This book is really, really, really good. The back blurb isn't written so well and I bought this book almost despite it. One thing that's not mentioned in the blurb is it's a younger hero/older heroine storyline. I like this kind so it was a nice surprise.

Both lead characters in this book were very well done I thought. Rhiannon survived a tragic event in her past - barely. It turned her life upside down and though she is managing to survive, it's a struggle for her. She is less than pleased when she is hired by the younger and flirtatious Shawn, to plan a party he is throwing since his graphic novels have been sold to Hollywood to be made into a movie. Although she is just as attracted to him as he seems to be to her at times, an involvement with a younger guy is not something she plans to give in to. Rhiannon has many facets to her character and I really liked her. She's vulnerable yet stronger than she gives herself credit for. She is working on rebuilding her life and she has come much further than she realizes, considering what happened to her.

And Shawn is an equally great character. I'd say his most charming feature is that he's a nurturer. show more He realizes very quickly that Rhiannon has suffered something in her past and he is determined to help her. This kind of trait in a hero can be very yummy and it is in Shawn's case. He's not bothered at all by the age difference, another plus in his favour *g*. He does have some reservations though, as his cherishing nature has led him to heartache in the past. But it's really too late as he is totally gone for the heroine.

The only thing keeping it from being a 5 is I felt it was a scene short. Considering all the work that Rhiannon had done and the party planning was the basis for their meeting each other, I was disappointed that it didn't have that final scene I felt it needed. But all in all I was very pleased with this emotional love triumphs romance. show less

Now, getting away from the monstrosity that is the cover and onto the book itself. I hadn't gotten very far into this book before I realized why I had loved Ms. Carlyle's earlier books. In fact in one of my trips to Chapters, I picked up a book I didn't already have.

The book starts with murder; the murder of Grace Gauthier's employer and secret fiance. It doesn't take her long to realize that she needs help as she seems to be top on the suspect list. She looks for an old friend and army officer that served under her Army father. But it seems her friend is out of town and instead she tells her worries to Adrian, Lord Ruthveyan. He's a rather mysterious guy, he and the other members of his club. Still, Grace who has always been a very good judge of men, does trust him and puts her faith and trust in his hands.

And Adrian is mysterious. He's one of those tortured soul kind of heroes that are so very delicious. He has an odd talent that leads him to keep his distance from just about everyone. If he touches them or looks into their eyes, he can 'sense' things about them, such as how they will die. This keeps him apart from everyone but those in his club who all have similar kinds of 'gifts'. But for some reason he is unable to 'read' Grace and this is very calming to him. In addition, he is very attracted to her though he fights it, thinking in time, he will get glimpses into what her future holds in store for her and he will once again suffer. He tries his best to resist show more falling for her. He spent much of his life in India and his mother in fact was an Indian Princess and his father English which makes him a half caste hero. This doesn't really play into the story though except as another way he is separate.

Grace also has had an unusual upbringing. Her mother died early and she has spent most of her life following her French Legionnaire officer father. She had come back to England after his death and was just finding a new life when it was torn apart by the death of her employer/fiance. She is also strongly attracted to Adrian, but like him, is determined to resist as she sees no future with him. But as they work together to try and clear her name, they finally are unable to resist each other.

I do believe with this book, that Liz Carlyle is back on my list. I enjoyed it. Adrian was a very good tortured and mysterious hero. Grace was a heroine I really appreciated. She was quite practical and pragmatic. Despite being terrified at being a suspect, she is realizes that Adrian is her best hope for clearing her name and she trusts him to do exactly that. show less

This author has a formula. And while she doesn't deviate from it much, as long as I don't read too many of her books in a row, it's a formula that works very well indeed for me. Ms. Rice's formula; total alpha hero, often ex seal or other type of military, heroine in distress, alpha hero lusts after heroine, falls very quickly for heroine and takes over and saves heroine in distress. Heroine falls for hero despite his overbearing ways and allows him to help her after a token resistance. Now one might think that might get a bit tiresome and were I to read too many of her books in a row, it does. I know this because I did it with the Midnight series, reading them back to back to back and by the time I got to Midnight Angel, the sameness really took away for me. In fact I don't think I even finished this one. But if I leave space and read all kinds of other genres between them, I just adore her books and once again I'm happy to say I adored this one too *insert happy face* As per usual, when hero Sam Reston, former Navy Seal and now part owner of his own detective agency first spies Nicole Pearce, his new business neighbour, he is instantly smitten. But he's undercover on his latest case, trying to put a criminal in prison and is in no shape to make any kind of approach. But once he's back to himself, he wastes no time in bargaining her into a dinner date. Sparks fly between them but Nicole is in no state for any kind of relationship. She's had to rearrange her whole life to show more take care of her dying father. She is trying to get a new business, translating, off the ground and when not working at this, she is looking after her much loved father. But Sam isn't about to let her go. He's never felt like this about a woman before and is willing to do whatever it takes to be a part of her life. He really gets his chance when something strange happens and her office is broken into. He goes into full Protector Mode as he works with his two foster brothers to find out who is after Nicole and what they want with her. As with all of Ms. Rice's heroes, I loved Sam. He's determined to help 'his' woman. He knows his way around the bedroom and he's willing to be flexible with Nicole. Although yes, a bit formulatic, nevertheless he makes for great hero material. And I equally enjoyed Nicole. Despite having her life turned upside down by the illness of her father, she holds no bitterness at her circumstances. Although give many opportunities to become one of those TSTL heroines we all despise, she doesn't. While she wants to hold Sam at arms length, she knows he can help her and she is open and honest with him when she needs to be. Along with every other book by this author with the possible exception of Midnight Angel and I need to read it again with distance this time, I loved Into the Crossfire and most heartily recommend it. There are two other foster brothers and I really hope they each get their own story. I'll be a happy camper if they do show less

I have an odd relationship with Ms. Feehan. Either I adore her stories or I can't stand them. I don't like the Carpathian books at all, at all. And I read Lair of the Lion and HUGE yuckers. But still I didn't totally abandon her and tried Wild Rain and loved it and then read the first couple of the Ghostwalker series and really enjoyed them. But for some reason she kind of dropped off my radar and I hadn't read any other of her books for a while.

I'll be honest and say what intrigued me about this book was reading that the heroine had a form of high functioning autism. I thought this worked very well in the hero in Jennifer Ashley's The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie so I was curious as to how it would work in the heroine in a contemporary. And I'm quite pleased to say for me it worked very well. There is no question that Rikki Sitmore has her share of 'quirks'. She had a terribly sad childhood, losing her parents at an early age due to fire and having the nightmare of fires follow and destroy after that. She has finally found a home in Sea Haven, the same town setting as the Drake Sister series. She has found a family of sisters now; not sisters by blood, but sisters of the heart. She also has a successful job as a sea urchin hunter. She is drawn to water in many mysterious ways. For example, when having nightmares about the fires that have destroyed her life, all faucets in her home mysteriously turn on. She can manipulate rain and she is never completely at home unless show more she is diving in the ocean. Her life is going along as well as it can considering her quirks until she rescues a strange man in the middle of a ocean disruption. I know some of this sounds odd - it's odd to write it, but trust me, when reading this book, it made perfect sense. The man she rescues, Lev Prakenskii, is peculiar in his own right. He has no memory for quite some time, but he does know he is a dangerous man and one who should stay far, far away from Rikki. But he quickly becomes one of my favourite kinds of heroes, the kind that is wrecked for the heroine. He realizes that he is no good for Rikki, yet he can't leave her. Because of the fires that have dogged her all her life, Rikki is afraid she's been the one setting them, but Lev knows she couldn't possibly be the one and he is determined to keep her safe and take care of her. For example, she is very sensitive to different textures of food and exists almost exclusively on peanut butter. She refuses to allow others into her 'space' whether it's her boat, her house or even to the use of her dishes. But Lev 'gets' her and is determined to both protect her and expand her narrow live. He is constantly challenging her to move outside her narrow comfort zone but always there for her in case she stumbles. This is an odd book due to the nature of the heroine, but I adored it. Rikki is a heroine I really enjoyed; one who has had to adjust to the world because of her differences, but has done so very well. She's a tad to prickly at times for me to keep this book from being a five, but she is a very strong heroine and I really liked her. And Lev makes for a mighty fine hero. He has done some very violent things in his past. He's been pretty ruthless, but then again because of his history he has had to be. But he is totally redeemed by his acceptance and respect and protectiveness of Rikki. The reader knows he will die to protect her and as already mentioned, he is totally wrecked for her. This book was a real treat! show less

Ms Andersen is one of a very few authors that I can say hasn't written a book I haven't enjoyed to one extent or another. Just about every author except for her has a dud or two for my me. So it goes without saying when she has a new book come out, I read it.

I really, really liked the character of Macy. Sometimes it's the hero who is more the standout of the two and sometimes it's the heroine and in Burning Up, I found it to be the heroine. The book can be a tougher sell if the heroine is the stand out and I have issues with her, but in the case of Burning Up it was all good since Macy was great.

Macy O'James had come back to the small town of Sugarville to help out her cousin who had suffered a broken leg (gee - what a coincidence) in a hit and run. Although she didn't hesitate for a moment when Janna, her cousin needed her, it wasn't that easy for Macy to come back home. Years ago in high school, one of the popular boys spread all kinds of nasty rumours about her and that combined with one particular incident had made Macy a most unpopular girl. And while it's been many years since then and she has had quite a successful career, first off as a star of music videos and later behind the camera of them, nothing brings out her insecurities like coming back to such unhappy memories - mixed with some good ones too.

Gabriel Donovan, fairly new to town, is the local fire chief of the volunteer fire department that makes up the Sugarville fire department. He has heard the rumours show more about Macy and kind of sort of believed them for the most part. He isn't too impressed with the series of 'outfits's' Macy wears as a shield for her insecurities and he is rather tough on her at times. It would be rather easy to dislike him, but as a guy who had a rough go of it himself, I went a bit easy on him. And he does straighten up and sees Macy for who she really is and not who rumour says she is fairly quickly.

There was also a cute secondary romance between the shy, quiet local former girlfriend schoolteacher of Gabriel's and the tatooted rocker dude musician friend of Macy's.

This wasn't my favourite of Susan Andersen's book, but it does keep her streak going of books of hers that I've quite enjoyed. It helped while away some hours and helped pass away time here in the hospital and that was quite fine with me. show less

Shadows at Midnight was a real page turner, or rather a real hit the little right side button as the case may be since I got this one as an eBook. I think this is the fastest I've clicked since I got my Kobo. I was late for work; I was late getting back from break; I was late getting back from lunch and the minute I left at the end of the day, I had to sit outside on the bench reading since I couldn't wait long enough to get home to read it.

First off, it has the kind of hero I adore, the heroes that are totally gone for the heroine. And this was certainly the case with Daniel Weston. He caught a glimpse of Claire Day when she was working in the embassy in Makongo, a fictional West African country where she worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency and wheeled and dealed until he got himself assigned to the same location. He had yet to talk to her until one Thanksgiving when they were the only two people left at the embassy when it came under attack by rebel forces. Daniel is seriously injured and Claire is killed in a bombing - or so he believes until she shows up over a year later, not the same person at all that he remembered.

Daniel is so gone for Claire that he deeply mourned the whole time he thought she was dead, mourned to the point where he lost all interest in sex with anyone else. You just gotta love a hero like that! Due to his injuries, he's forced to resign from the army and has started his own successful private detective agency in Washington DC, but he show more still feels responsible for Claire's death.

Things haven't gone so well for Claire either. She was in a coma after the explosion and is unable to remember anything of what happened. On top of that she is suffering from PTSD and has become a real recluse without any kind of life to look forward to. When she watches a news story where Daniel has risked his own life to save a mother and her children and thinks she recognizes him, on the spur of the moment, she takes a big risk to go see him, hoping he might be able to fill in the blanks of missing memories.

As you can imagine, Daniel is delighted to see the Claire didn't die in the explosion and he is determined not to let her out of his sight. It soon becomes apparent that someone is after Claire and as they try and figure out who wants her dead and why, they grow closer and closer.

Daniel makes for a great hero. He feels unworthy of her for all kinds of reasons. He came from a nasty childhood, he figures she could never feel anything for a guy who is 'just a soldier' when she could get someone much better and he feels such regret that she was injured so badly on his watch. But this doesn't keep him from being so adorable protective. He truly respects her and at no time does he think he knows better than her. While he disagrees with some of the things she wants to do, he thinks things through and allows her to do things her way.

And Claire also makes for a great heroine. She starts out a real mess, she can't eat, she can't sleep, she's cut off from any real connection with anyone, but as time goes on and she and Daniel begin to figure things out, she grows and gains strength and slowly becomes the intelligent and determined person she used to be.

Together Claire and Daniel make a great team. They each have their own talents and each respect the others gifts. It would have been so easy for the author to make Daniel out as this big macho marine who knew better, but she didn't do that. As I said, I found myself racing through this book, wanting to find out what would happen next.

The only small, small thing that kept this from being a 5 out of 5 book was the slightly over the top villain.

I love her writing as Lisa Marie Rice and now I love her writing as Elizabeth Jennings. Good thing I have her new LMR book on the TBR pile. show less

When I did the research before getting this book and discovered the hero had been in prison for either a) a crime he didn’t commit or b) a crime he committed but in defense of someone who couldn’t defend themselves, I knew this one would be on my Very Short List of books to read. I LOVE this trope and some of my favourite books have this theme.

And Dillon makes for a very scrumptious hero indeed. He’s been out of prison for a while now, living in the apartment over the bakery owned by Nina, our heroine. While he had gone to prison, he fell in the second category – he was defending his younger sister who he had almost raised himself. But still the townspeople don’t particularly care to have an ex-con living amongst them, including Nina. She’s about to toss him out on his kiester after listening to her parents and bossy jerk of an ex. And Dillon isn’t really surprised. He doesn’t expect any support from the townspeople, figuring they would just as soon see him run out on a rail. But while his relationship with his sister is rather strained, more on his end, still she’s family. So when Nina gives him the book, he’s ready to move on. That is until a tough teenager living in a foster home with a gigantic chip on his should crashes into Nina’s bakery and Dillon offers to stay and fix the damage.

Nina is reluctant to say yes to the help, her family is opposed, but she does reluctantly agree. Dillon is slowly, and almost against his will drawn into the circle show more of family and friends around Nina. Her children like him and as penance, he has the young man who did the damage helping out too.

I really enjoyed this book. There’s no question the real draw was Dillon; he’s the kind of hero I adore, withdrawn, almost surly yet drawn to the heroine in spite of himself. As for Nina, well – she was a doormat. She let her father push her around. She let her ex-husband push her around. This can be very irritating, especially the ex-husband bit since he’d pushed her around even in the literal sense. But thankfully she grew a backbone during the story, although a couple of times I did get very irritated by her, when she didn’t stand up for Dillon, when I thought she should have. But I suppose old habits are hard to break and being a wimp that other wimps pick on, isn’t something that’s going to change overnight.

Overall, I was quite pleased with this book and now I have a new author to BOTLO for – one with more books about these people. I like that! show less

When I read a review of this book, the main objection seemed to be that the heroine was alternately drawn to and repelled by the hero because she thought he had got her sister pregnant and then abandoned her. I agree with Wendy, that that was a bit squicky. It wasn’t until fairly late in the story, after Dean and Parker had become intimate that she finally breaks down and tells him why she has run so hot and cold. I have two younger sisters and to me that’s a big no no. You don’t sleep with someone your sister has slept with.

BUT

Damn but I love her writing. Although I thought Parker was wrong in what she did, keeping to herself what she thought Dean did, the story kept me fully engaged. And the love scenes – wowzers – very well written. I left a comment on Wendy’s review that I would probably love the hero and she was right. I did really think Dean was mighty fine. He really took charge of Parker, but in a good way, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Since he didn’t know what she seemed to have against him, he didn’t know why she was holding him off, but he was very good at accepting and respecting her boundaries, even if she did seem to run hot and cold.

In fact, I had no sooner finished this book, then I went searching for more books she’s written and luckily I've found a couple I plan on getting.

I’ve been jonesing for this one ever since reading The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie. While I didn’t expect to be knocked over the head with this book like I was Lord Ian, I was hoping that still I would really enjoy it. And, joy of joys, I did!

We got to see quite a bit of Mac and Isabella in the first book and though I can’t say for certain, I would recommend those planning on reading this book should read the first book, well first. One, because it’s a great book and two, because we get a glimpse into the troubled marriage between the hero/heroine of this one.

First off, they were both very appealing characters in this book. That’s a big plus. I was already predisposed to liking them both and it continued on in this book. It was never a lack of love between the two of them that tore their marriage apart so going in, the reader can already sense the love. Rather it was Mac’s wildness and an inability to communicate that drove them apart. They are both passionate people and theirs was a ‘love at first sight’ kind of marriage. They eloped the night they met without getting to know how the other one ticks that caused such contentious issues. And Mac was on one of his many absences when Isabella suffered a tragic loss. And his drunkenness and childish attitude doom the marriage.

But since a lack of love was never the issue, Mac spends the next several years growing up and when an opportunity arises for him to spend time with Isabella and show her that he has show more changed.

I really enjoyed this ‘marriage in trouble’ book and ended up being quite pleased with it, but waiting for the next one in the series. show less

I know this is not the first time this has been said, not by me and not by others, but Anne Stuart writes some of the darkest, most twisted heroes and I love that about her writing. She takes a hero, takes him almost to the edge of us readers hating him and then manages to pull him back from the brink to the point where we just love their twistedness. And Francis, Viscount Rohan is no exception. He's the leader of the Heavenly Host, a group of depraved, bored aristocrats living in France to whom nothing is forbidden. He first meets Elinor, our heroine, when she breaks into one of his wild parties determined to find her mother who is dying of the pox. Francis is bored, bored of his 'friends' with the exception of one, bored of his decadent lifestyle, just bored of everything. So when he meets Elinor, a rather plain, prickly young woman who so obviously has fallen on very bad times, he is intrigued and can't quite seem to get her out of his head. Much to his dismay he finds himself thinking of her, even to the point of becoming her benefactor, much to her dismay. You see Elinor is horrified by him and even more so, afraid he will set his depraved sights on her younger sister Lydia. But her family is in such reduced circumstances, that she is forced to accept his contributions.

Francis is confused. At first he's determined not to have anything to do with her, then he figures he'll marry her off. Then he figures he'll marry her off, but have her for himself later. It would be show more so easy to dislike this vain, hedonistic man, but as I said, Ms. Stuart can find a way to make us route for such a hero and I found myself smiling at his self-delusion since we know what's really happening is he's falling in love with her, though he would be appalled to think such a thing himself. He's wonderfully and deliciously wicked.

Now Eleanor Harriman I found a bit problematic for me. At times she was more than a match for Francis. In fact most of the time she was. But I also found her too self-sacrificing and I would get annoyed with her. She gives up EVERYTHING for the sake of her sister's welfare, even to the point of forgoing milk in her tea so her sister could have it. I'm not to fond of martyr heroines and/or heroes and she crosses that line a few times to much and too many for me. Lydia, her sister, is a lot more savvy than Eleanor gives her credit for and I found it too much at times. And I really didn't understand her loyalty to her mother. Her mother pulled some real nasty sh#t on Eleanor, yet at one point in the story, she was ready to die herself to save her mother. I didn't get that.

There's also a lovely secondary romance between Lydia and Francis's only real friend, Robert. It's a touching romance between two people who fall in love, but feel their love cannot flourish due to circumstances.

Overall I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I adored Francis, but thought Eleanor could have been a little less selfless. But I'm glad her next one comes out so soon. I'll be getting it for sure! show less

I wasn't exactly sure what I was in for when I started reading this one. There may be reviews for it, but they've passed me by. By reading the back cover blurb, it sounded like it could have been a paranormal and probably was, and yes, it is.

There is a whole lot I love about this book. But what really makes it a standout is one of the most shocking heroes I've ever read. He just about breaks your heart with his vulnerability towards the heroine.

This series could be compared to the In Death series in some ways I think. So far there are three books with Charlotte and Max and I really hope there will be more.

Charlotte, or CeCe is a cop in New Orleans. Years earlier she, along with her best friend, were held captive as a means to keep her father, a dedicated cop, from going after the leader of crime syndicate. They were finally rescued but only after unspeakable horrors were done to them. Her friend Mary Kate became a nun and CeCe became a cop who lives and breathes the job. After a particularly gruesome murder in which the name of the man she holds responsible for her father's death comes up, she goes to question him - again - as he seems to have his fingers in many of the crimes she investigates. His right hand man and enforcer Max is standing behind him as always. She has long had unwelcome feelings for Max, him being and enforcer for a crime syndicate and her being a cop. But they've only exchanged few words in the intervening years. But things are about to change.

What is show more so delicious about this book is Max is what he is - and then some. Yes, he's killed for Jimmy, his boss whom he also sees as a very strong father figure. He's a loner who has never had friends or lovers. And he's been in love with CeCe for years. And now that CeCe is starting to admit to her feelings for Max, he is torn between his love for Jimmy and his love for CeCe.

But Max is not really human. He's a shapeshifter with uncanny abilities as far as his senses go. But because of what he is, he is also such a lost soul. He is both good and while I wouldn't say evil exactly, he has done evil things. And he is so gone for the heroine. I love it when the hero is wrecked for the heroine.

CeCe is a great heroine. Once she opens up to her feelings for Max, she will do anything for him including putting her job at risk. Although human, she's more than a match for Max and she is just as wrecked for him as he is for her. The chemistry between these two is off the charts and I'm more than excited to keep reading this very unusual series. All I can say about this one is WoWzers. show less

This book really, really worked for me. Pagan is a hero to die for! He falls and he falls hard for Gwyn but he has other duties and they are on opposite sides in a civil war. He's brave beyond belief, he's loyal, he's honourable, in short he's everything we want in a hero. Even though circumstances are against them, still he saves her again and again. And well he should. Gwyn makes for a wonderful heroine. She's stubborn, smart, brave and funny as all get out. It's not a laugh out loud kind of funny, but a smile a lot funny. The quips she and Pagan Griffyn exchange are delightful. But he knows things about her that he doesn't tell her and she knows things she doesn't tell him. Which considering they are on different sides, as well as the fact that her father stole his fathers lands from him, makes sense.

The love they feel for each other is palpable and the choices, difficult to say the least. While reading this book, I simply had to know more about the history and spend some interesting time reading about Stephen and Matilda and her son Henry Fitz-Empress. I love it when a book has me digging into history.

Everything about this book screamed unusual; the setting, the heroine's occupation, a hero in hiding, so it was a given once I got past the rather brilliant cover that this one would be high up on my 'gotta read it' list. And I'm ever so glad that I did as I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Allegra, the heroine, had a horrid young life. She was sold to a brothel by her mother who also sold her older sister into the same kind of life. She was rescued from this life by a 'patron' when she became his mistress. And Allegra is not a 'fake' mistress. She's the real deal. After her first 'patron' died, she was determined to rule her own life and she was the one who would be choosing her protectors. She became what they needed, not only skilled in the art of seduction, but also offered her intelligence. She traveled to Marrakesh to attend a friends wedding and to delay the inevitable task of telling her young niece what she really does for a living. She first notices the hero, Shaheen when she tries to buy an extraordinary horse from him. Shaheen notices her, but when he finds out her true occupation, he leaps to conclusions about her based on a tragic experience that led to his self-imposed banishment to Morocco. But still he is drawn to her in ways he doesn't like. And he is not the only one drawn to her. Nassar, the brutal and vicious brother of the Sheik he works for, kidnaps Allegra and it is Shaheen that comes to her rescue.

Allegra is everything admirable in a heroine. She is strong show more and independent, yet shows flashes of vulnerability. She has had a tough life, but has become her own person and won't let anyone tell her what to do. Although deeply attracted to Shaheen, she is determined to resist him and does a pretty good job through-out much of the book, knowing that he can have power over her she's not willing to give.

Shaheen is also pretty darn yummy. An Englishman by birth, he was willing to die because of the guilt he felt over an incident in his past. But now he has made a name for himself and a new life and family in Morocco. He has brokered many a treaty between warring tribal Sheiks and united them together. When a relative shows up looking for him, he refuses to let Allegra go after rescuing her, believing that all the work he has done will be for naught. I had some issues with him for being a bit too mired in the wrong he was done by a former courtesan. While he soon realizes that Allegra is nothing like his former paramour, at times he does seem to forget and acts accordingly - treating Allegra most unfairly. Still, overall, he makes for a good alpha type hero who suffers ghosts of his own. And we do get that grovel at the end.

The way the author has written the setting is excellent. Most of the book takes place in either Marakesh or in tribal camps and the atmosphere is excellent. When reading this book, the author made me really feel like I was there. There are fewer things finer than discovering a new author! show less

This book was a very unusual read. I can't say too much about it, as to give any kind of summary would mean giving out spoilers. So I think this review will be shorter than many and concentrate more on my feelings of the book.

First off, it's not really a romance book as I define one in my head. I don't know how to express that in words, except to say I know romance when I read it. But this was definitely romantic, very very romantic. And just because it's not your 'traditional' romance, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I did, very much so. What I did find it to be was haunting and very poignant.

I may have got a bit impatient at times with Danni, the heroine, with her insistence that Sean tell her everything yet at the same time keeping many of her secrets from him. But Sean is the kind of hero that breaks your heart. I found myself very emotionally involved in his tragic history.

Ms. Quinn has an amazing talent for bringing you into the story and feeling what the characters themselves undergo and suffer. As a 'emotional' type reader, the story really drew me in and made me 'feel' the emotions the hero and heroine felt.

It's hard to classify this book. It could be considered a time travel. It could be considered a ghost story or it could be considered a paranormal. It has elements of all this in it.

But what it is is a book that will stay with you long after you read the last page. And don't let me scare anyone thinking about reading this book. It does have a HEA, not a show more traditional one mind you, but you will have to read it yourself to see what I mean.

Grading this one is very difficult. For it's originality it gets quite a high grade. For Sean, the hero it gets the highest. But my issues with Danni downgrade it a bit. And there were aspects of the book I found a bit confusing. I can't say what for fear of giving away too much.

Now I'm very much looking forward to the next book in this series. I'm glad I read Haunting Beauty first and as soon as I'm ready to be put through an emotional wringer again, I'll return to Haunting Warrior. show less

Heroine Rachel, returns to her small town home of Destiny to help out her grandmother with her apple orchard, though she's a bit resentful that she has to take a leave from her high powered job as an add exec at a critical time. But family is family and Rachel is nothing if not an enabler to her less than successful relatives, although Edna, her grandmother mostly just wants her grand daughter home for a spell.

Rachel Farris breezes into town, but along the way she is clocked speeding by hunky, yet surly cop Mike Romo. The Romo's and the Farris's have a history of feuding and she is less than impressed by this Romo, whom she likes to call Romeo to annoy him. But despite the animosity the two feel for each other, there are some major sparks going on between them and when they end up locked in a concession booth, the sparks turn into a major bonfire and what a hawt bonfire that turns out to be.

Rachel starts out a bit brittle, disliking the fact that she's back in the small town she was so anxious to get out of years ago. But little by little, we get to see her more tender side. As she slowly reconnects with old friends and reestablishes a relationship with her really kewl grandmother, she slowly begins to see that a small town isn't as bad as she thought it would be. And of course there is the steamy relationship that is slowly building with Mike.

Mike is a rough, tough, guys kind of guy. But underneath, he is still suffering from a tragedy in his past that changed his life show more and destroyed his family. Because of that, he has to be in control at all times and is flummoxed by his growing feelings for Rachel. He's always been a love 'em and leave 'em kind of girl, but he can't seem to leave Rachel. When he finally starts letting his vulnerabilities show, he's just delicious.

I really enjoyed this book. There were a few things that I found a bit tedious - Rachel's continuing insistence that it was 'just sex' between her and Mike and her denial until close to the end that she had any warmer feelings for him. But that was a small issue. And one of the real strengths of this book was the developing relationship between Rachel and Edna. Edna is a real hoot. She's who I want to be when I get old. Slowly, piece by piece, she tells Rachel the origin of the feud between the two families and her relationship with Mike's grandfather.

This may sound odd, but I really loved the apple picking scenes too. When the boys were small we used to take them apple picking every year and reading these scenes brought back those memories - I could almost taste the apples fresh off the trees. The apples you get in stores can't even begin to compare. And I also enjoyed how the author captured the warmth of small towns with all their quirky little festivals and close knit atmosphere.

I found this to be another excellent book and for those who love a good contemporary, this is one I think you will enjoy. show less