Review: "Mistress Christmas" by Lorelei James

Mistress Christmas by Lorelei James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I can always count on Lorelei James to deliver hot, steamy and fun stories. I just wish the cover of this book wasn't so, ugh, tacky. But hey, I've got it as an e-book, so why am I complaining? LOL!

Holly North is a shy accountant who, for reasons I'll never fully understand, agrees to don a dominatrix costume and fill in as Mistress Christmas at Sugar Plums, a "gentleman's" club - aka a high-class strip joint.

Detective Nick West isn't a regular at Sugar Plums - or any other strip joint, for that matter. He's there to take down the famous Mistress Christmas, who alledgedly robbed one of his friends during a lap dance. As his friend was too embarassed to press formal charges, Nick has to work undercover and off the clock, trick Mistress Christmas to give him a lap dance and catch her in the act of trying to rob him too. But one look at her has him doubting his ability to keep his mind - and another very distinct body part - focused on the legal matter at hand.

The attraction between Holly and Nick is immediate and combustible, and they don't take long to act on it. But neither knows who the other truly is, so what will happen when the truth surfaces? Is there any future for a relationship that basically starts with a misunderstanding and is based on deception? Well, this is Romancelandia. Need I say more? ;)

As expected, this was a hot, quick and very entertaining read. Nick and Holly were very likeable and the sexual chemistry between them was great, which always leads to scorching love scenes. On the "negative" side, the setup of the story annoyed me, because I don't think a shy accountant can pass for a seasoned stripper that easily. Anyway, that wasn't "bad" enough to ruin the read. All things considered, this was very good.

Note: The Wild West Boys series is kind of a spin-off of the Rough Riders series - the West "boys" are cousins of the McKay "kinky loonies" - but each series stands on its own and you don't have to read one to follow/appreciate the other.



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Review: "Past Promises" by N.J. Walters

Past Promises by N.J. Walters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The seventh - and so far, last - installment in the Jamesville series, Past Promises tells the story of former Army (Special Forces) operative Levi Mann, who was introduced in By The Book, and antiques and collectibles dealer Linda Fletcher, who was introduced in The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke.

Coming from a wealthy but dysfunctional family, Linda Fletcher is the proverbial "poor rich woman". She was supposed to follow in her family's tradition, joining the prominent law firm that was founded by her great-great-great-grandfather more than a hundred years ago and marrying one of her father's associates, but that life isn't for her. The only person in her family who's ever understood her was her maternal grandmother, so now that the old woman has passed away, Linda feels like she has no family anymore. Her ruthless father, distant mother and uncaring brother don't count. As the sole heir to her grandmother's estate, Linda has packed her bags, cut her family loose and moved to Jamesville, ready to start her new, independent life. She gets a bank loan, which she'll pay as soon as her grandmother's will is settled, and buys a three story building: she opens Past Promises, an antiques and collectibles store, on the main floor, revamps the top floor for her own personal use, and rents out the 2nd floor apartment to a friend of a friend.

Levi Mann is the "friend of a friend". He's friends with Jonah Sutter (the hero in By The Book), who's married with Amanda Barrington, Amanda Sutter now, who's friends with Linda. Got it? It's a small, small world. :) Anyway, Levi is an ex-military man who also moved to Jamesville a few months ago, needed a place to stay and was willing to work in exchange for rent, and that's how he ended up living "with" Linda and developing a friendly relationship with her. He's got the hots for her, but he thinks she's too classy for him, the rough son of a drug-addict mother and unknown father. So he stays away... until her family starts to harass her. He doesn't know much about her personal life, but it's obvious to him that her family is a sore issue. He can't not try to help her and when he pushes her into confiding in him, the attraction that both of them have been holding off for months takes over and things get hot and heavy pretty fast. Neither thinks the affair will last - she's sure he isn't in Jamesville to stay, and he still thinks she's out of his league - but we all know they're wrong, don't we? ;)

Overall, this was another nice and "feel good" story by Ms. Walters. I liked both Levi and Linda, even though I didn't feel that I got to know him as well as I could. Levi's inferiority complex wasn't completely believable, especially considering that Linda didn't have a snobbish bone in her body and he knew that. Anyway, not much angst was put on that, so I'm not going to hold a grudge against him. He also didn't know the meaning of the word "privacy", but I kind of understood where he was coming from. Linda's family was a bit OTT in their nefarious dealings, and so was the resolution for her conflict with them. Her confrontation with them would have been enough to settle the matter and I could have done without Levi's final blow, but I guess Ms. Walters wanted to make sure they were down for good. Oh well, bad guys can never be punished enough...

Now that I have no more new books in this series to read, I can't help hoping that Ms. Walters isn't done with it yet and keeps writing about the good people of Jamesville. If she writes it, I'll read it.



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Review: "By the Book" by N.J. Walters

By The Book by N.J. Walters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The sixth installment in the Jamesville series, By The Book tells the story of former Army (Special Forces) operative Jonah Sutter, who was introduced in A Legal Affair, and antiquarian and rare books dealer Amanda Barrington, who was introduced in The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke.

After the death of her elderly mentor and grandfather figure Seymour Morton, who'd unexpectedly made her the beneficiary of his entire estate, Amanda Barrington has packed her old life in Vermont and moved to Jamesville, ready to start a new chapter in her life. Having spent most of her formative years being shuffled from foster home to foster home, Seymour was the only family Amanda has ever known. Now that he's gone and she's alone again, she feels a change of scenery is due and Jamesville, where her friend Cyndi (the heroine in The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke) lives, is the place to start anew. She's barely moved into her new home when a tall, dark and handsome man comes knocking on her door... Oh yes, moving to Jamesville was the best move she's ever made, all right!

The man on Amanda's doorstep is Jonah Sutter, an ex-military man who was born in Jamesville but has only been back to his hometown a few months ago, after dedicating the last fifteen years to the Army. He's instantly attracted to Amanda, but he doesn't do relationships and doesn't want anything permanent. He knows she's a forever kind of woman, and therefore "dangerous" to his bachelor ways, but that doesn't stop him from trying to convince her to have a temporary affair with him. At first, Amanda is wary of getting involved with Jonah, because she isn't sure her heart can survive an affair with him, but when she's almost killed in an attempted robbery of her newly opened bookstore, she realizes life is too short and decides to give in to her attraction to Jonah and enjoy their affair for as long as it lasts. But will this be enough for her? Will she be able to prevent her heart from breaking when their affair ends? For she's sure it will end eventually. Won't it?

After being somewhat disappointed with the previous book, A Legal Affair, I'm happy to say that this series is back on track with By The Book. Jonah and Amanda were very likable, and their falling in love was believable. Their loves scenes were hot and, thankfully, not kinky at all. Sometimes sweet and classic vanilla is all I want... ;)

The story was fast paced and entertaining, but the mystery/suspense regarding who attacked Amanda was very simplistic. It was pretty obvious who the "perp" was and his actions didn't make much sense, but since that wasn't really the main focus of the story, I let it go.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable and easy read. I really like the "feel good" atmosphere that's part of the Jamesville series, and these books have become comfort reads to me. Well done again, Ms. Walters! :)



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Review: "Discovering Dani" by N.J. Walters

Discovering Dani by N.J. Walters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a very sweet, "feel good" story with a fairly simple plot: hero meets heroine, they develop a tentative relationship, a few conflicts arise along the way, but they manage to work everything out and live HEA. There are no mysteries to be solved and no dangerous villains to defeat, this is a straight contemporary novel set in a small town called Jamesville (I'm assuming this is a fictional town, but I might be wrong).

Dani O'Rourke is a 25-year-old virgin who's spent the last eight years of her life raising her younger brothers Patrick and Shamus. Dani and her brothers were left on their own when their mother died from cancer, no more than two years after they'd lost their father to a heart attack, and then 18-year-old Dani had to quit high-school, look for work and become the family provider. Dani doesn't regret her decision and doesn't think about what-might-have-been, because keeping the family together is what really matters to her. They don't live a luxury life, but they're happy.

Burke Black is in Jamesville on a sabbatical, after spending the last five months recovering from a car accident that made him realize how shallow and lonely his life is. He has no family and no friends, only business acquaintances and employees. He's already filthy rich and doesn't need to keep dedicating all his life to his business anymore. So he's sold his business and headed to Jamesville, where he hopes to spend some time relaxing while pondering what to do with the rest of his life. Then he meets Dani, and suddenly relaxing is the last thing on his mind...

Dani and Burke feel strongly attracted to each other, but they've lived completely different lives and have opposite expectations: she wants to build a serious relationship with him and isn't willing to sleep with him until she really gets to know him - remember, she's a virgin - but he's never done this relationship thing and wants to get physical as soon as possible. Naturally, he ends up acting like a jerk and hurting her, and must find a way to win her trust (and love) back.

Oh boy, how I wanted to smack Burke in the beginning of this story! He was cold, callous, and even though I felt he really liked Dani, he didn't have a clue about how to treat her. In time, I learned to understand (and forgive) him. He'd never met anyone like her before, so he was right to be p!ssed when he thought she was leading him on and playing with him. He also earned major points from me when he came around and set out to show Dani he was worthy of her love.

As for Dani, I really liked her from the start, even though she was too sweet and saintly to be true. If I lived in Jamesville, I'd want to be her BFF. I especially loved her relationship with her brothers and how well-adjusted they were, despite what they'd been through. I know Patrick's and Shamus's stories are books #3 and #4 in this series, and I can't wait to read them.

Overall, I really liked this story, but it had some problems. The biggest one was the way Dani kept jumping to wrong conclusions about Burke over and over again. I understood her insecurities, but she'd known that b!tchy Cynthia James all her life and she should have known better than to let that jealous tart needle her. In the end, it was kind of funny to see Burke address that issue when he proposed to Dani:

"Damn it, woman! I want to marry you. God only knows why, you jump to conclusions so fast. But there's no accounting for taste, is there?"

I also had some trouble adjusting to the pace of the story, especially near the end. I didn't need to read about all the wedding preparations, and those scenes felt like fillers to me. Maybe I was just anxious to get to Burke and Dani's wedding night, when they would finally make love for the first time, LOL. Fans of N.J. Walters's erotic novels should be "warned" that this single lovemaking scene in Discovering Dani is very tame and nothing like she's known to deliver in her spicier stories. To me, the whole scene was kind of old-fashioned, but sweet and fitting to the story.

All things considered, I really enjoyed this read and will definitely read the next books in the series.



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Review: "Surrender of a Siren" by Tessa Dare

Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Tessa Dare is definitely on my authors-to-watch list now. I loved her debut novel, Goddess of the Hunt, and even though this sequel wasn't as amazing as the previous book, it was still a great read.

Sophia Hathaway has just abandoned her fiancé Sir Toby Aldridge at the altar, and she's decided to finally live her life as she wants and not as her parents and society expect. She seeks passion, adventure and excitement, and she knows she isn't likely to get that by marrying a man she doesn't love. So she packs her art supplies and four dresses, withdraws five hundred pounds from her bank account - oh, just imagine the look on the face of the bank clerk! -, wins another hundred pounds at a card party, leaves a letter to her family saying that she's eloping with Gervais, her fictitious painting master and lover, and buys a passage on the Aphrodite, the next ship leaving to Tortola. Sophia's plan is simple: pretending to be a penniless governess, Miss "Jane Turner", on the journey to her next employment, she'll be able to leave England - and thus escape her parents' pursuit - and buy the time she needs (not much, only a few months) until she turns twenty-one, when she'll assume control of her inheritance and her life.

Benedict "Gray" Grayson is, in his own words, "a liar, a thief, a libertine, and worse". He's no gentleman either, but he's the owner of the Aphrodite so Sophia has no choice but to convince him to accept her as a passanger on his ship. Gray is a former privateer, which is basically a pirate sanctioned by the Crown, but now that the war is over, he's starting a new life and this will be the first time the Aphrodite will sail the sea as a respectable merchant ship. Gray knows from the start that Sophia is going to be a threat to his decision to leave his womanizing days behind, but he's also a practical man and the Aphrodite can't afford the luxury of refusing passengers if he wants to make a success of his new business. So he takes the vexing woman to his ship, and this is how their journey begins.

Obviously, spending time together in close proximity for weeks and weeks makes it hard to control the growing attraction between them, and they end up falling in love with each other. Gray opens his heart to Sophia, and tells her things that he's never shared with anyone. On her part, she isn't that open, afraid that revealing her identity to him will turn him away. But the deception will have to end eventually. What will happen when Gray finally learns the truth? Will he be able to trust her then? More important, will he be able to trust his feelings for her? If she's lied to him all the time, does he really know her at all?

Kudos to Ms. Dare's writing to make this story work for me, because I'm not a fan of pirate/privateer heroes or deceitful heroines. Gray wasn't a privateer anymore, but this book took place mostly at sea so it was as if he still was. As for Sophia, she was almost a pathological liar and couldn't tell the truth to save her life. Strangely enough, I liked both Gray and Sophia despite all that. Sure, I wanted to shake them - well, mainly Sophia - a couple of times, but I found myself rooting for them all the same.

Gray was a true scoundrel trying to reform, and I love that kind of hero. He had lied, cheated, stolen his brother Joss's inheritance - not only once, but twice - and let his sister Bel down. He made no excuses for that and he would have done all of it again if given another chance, as he believed it was all a means to an end: to protect his brother and sister, to restore their family's fortune and to secure their future. Gray had some unfinished business with Joss, who also had some problems of his own, and I thought their relationship was one the best things of this book. I wish Ms. Dare wrote Joss's story someday, but I'm not sure it will happen.

Sophia, Sophia, where do I start? She was spoiled and selfish, but I couldn't help being charmed by her "vivid imagination" at first. Her plan to escape an unwanted marriage was, well, idiotic, but I was willing to go along with it because it was "in character". It made sense considering how her mind worked: Sophia wasn't one to go from Point A to Point B in a straight line. She needed a wake-up call, and Gray didn't mince words to give it to her after she almost died in one of her foolish antics:

"You—" He shook a finger at her. "You are so bloody stupid. You have no idea how damned lucky you are. Do you know what could happen to you, crossing the ocean alone with no money and no chaperone? Do you have any notion what a dangerous game you play, going addled with rum and then prancing before the crew like a common harlot?"

Ouch! I cheered Gray for trying to shake some sense into her, but I also felt kind of sorry for her. Yes, like the Aphrodite's sailors, I was still engaged by her "brainless" charm. But when she chose to drag her deception instead of coming clean when presented with the oportunity to do so, I had to take one star off from my rating.

As a minor complaint, the ending felt a bit rushed to me, even with the epilogue. Considering how Sophia based her postponing telling the truth on Gray's reaction to it, I was expecting a "bigger" showdown that what I was given. I wasn't disappointed, just surprised.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable read, with a wonderful hero, a likable but flawed heroine, an unusual (to me) setting - a ship! - and a story that had enough romance and action to keep me turning the pages almost nonstop. This was only my second book by Ms. Dare - well, it was only her seconnd book too, LOL - but she's already become one of my favorite authors. Her writing really talks to me.



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Review: "Mistress" by Amanda Quick

Mistress by Amanda Quick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was only my third book by Amanda Quick, but I knew what to expect from her: a funny and charming story with a bright but quirky heroine who defies society's conventions, a brooding hero who's in need of an emotional makeover and a somewhat convoluted mystery to be solved while the H/h fall in love with each other. Mistress had all that, but it was by no means predictable. In fact, the mystery plot had some very unexpected twists, and I'm still a little dizzy.

Iphiginia (ugh, what a name!) Bright is a 27-year-old financially independent country spinster who's just returned to England after a year touring the ruins of Italy, when she learns that her dear aunt Zoe is being blackmailed. Determined to find out who the blackmailer is so she can put a stop to his/her unsavory threats, Iphiginia decides to pose as the unsuspecting Earl of Masters's latest mistress in order to gain access to his inner circle of acquaintances/friends. See, she's sure she'll find the blackmailer among them and she believes Masters is dead, so her plan is quite brilliant, isn't it? Unfortunately (for her), her alleged lover is very much alive and more than curious to meet his "newest mistress"...

Marcus Valerius Cloud, Earl of Masters, is a bit suspicious of Iphiginia's charade and doesn't buy her explanation, especially after he finds out that one of his friends is being blackmailed. But even though he thinks that Iphiginia is the blackmailer, he doesn't put a stop on her charade and plays along with her, decided to see how far she'll go. The fact that he's more than enchanted by her and wouldn't mind making her his newest mistress for real isn't relevant, because he lives his life by a set of simple and straightforward rules he formulated several years ago and never deviates from them:

#1 - Never remarry.

#2 - Never discuss the past.

#3 - Never explain his actions to others.

#4 - Never retreat from an objective or alter a decision.

#5 - Never get involved with virgins or other men's wives.

Little does Marcus know, but Iphiginia is going to make him break all his rules one by one in a short time. And he won't regret it. ;)

This was another great book by Ms. Quick, and I really liked Marcus, Iphigina and the whole cast of secondary characters. Marcus's sarcastic comments and Iphiginia's smart replies were so funny to read, I couldn't get enough of their witty banter. There were some serious moments between them too, especially when he finally broke Rule #2, but the lighter scenes were the ones that sparkled.

Marcus was a bit inconsistent at first: he was known to gather all facts before reaching a conclusion and making a decision - remember Rule #4, which made him a very judicious man - but he quickly assumed that Iphiginia was the blackmailer without any evidence to support that. Granted, he didn't stick to that misconception too long and he learned to trust her beyond doubt, but his initial behavior was frustrating. Overall, he was a well-drawn hero and it was very nice to see him breaking all his rules and becoming a better person in the end.

Based on the premise, I thought I would have a problem with Iphiginia because, let's face it, her plan to unmask the blackmailer was just "crazy". As I read the book, it started to make sense - I mean, the ton didn't know her and she could "retire" quietly after the charade was over, with no damage to her or anyone's reputation - so I was happy to go along with it. Plus, Iphiginia was a blast of fun and I can forgive a lot of nonsense when I connect with the characters in a book. That said, I wasn't fully happy with the way things ended for her...

Marcus married Iphiginia and they lived HEA, but she'd be forever viewed as "the mistress who got lucky and managed to marry her lover" because her true identity was never revealed to the ton. To be fair, I don't know what other ending would have been possible, since revealing that she was in fact a single woman pretending to be a mistress would have ruined her reputation, so I guess Ms. Quick had to settle for the lesser of two evils. Oh well...

As for the mystery part of this book, it was okay but some of the blackmailer's actions didn't make sense to me. At one point, I was so confused that I had to pause and wonder what the heck was going on. I got an explanation for that in the end, but it only made me think that the blackmailer wasn't the brightest person in the world. All in all, that wasn't a big deal because the main focus of this book was always Marcus and Iphiginia's relationship, and that was nicely written.

Final verdict: not my favorite book by Ms. Quick, but a very good read anyway.



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Review: "Slightly Sinful" by Mary Balogh

Slightly Sinful by Mary Balogh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Okay, let's get it out in the open: the premise of this book didn't sound very appealing to me at first. I mean, there's amnesia, deception, and another fake marriage - the fourth fake marriage/bethrotal in the Slightly series, and the fifth if you add A Summer to Remember, which is a prequel to the series. It should have been too much to take, right? Wrong! Somehow Ms. Balogh made it all work by making me fall in love with the H/h, and the rest is history...

The events in Slightly Sinful and Slightly Tempted, the previous book in the series, take place concurrently so it's a good idea to read both books back to back. I did, on the advice of my friends Beanbag Love and BJ Rose, and I had a lot of fun realizing how things could have been completely different if "this or that" happened. What's Romancelandia, if not a place full of what-ifs? ;)

Lord Alleyne Bedwyn, who's just embarked upon a career as a diplomat, has been sent to the front of the Battle of Waterloo to deliver a letter to the Duke of Wellington. On his way back to Brussels, Alleyne is shot, falls from his horse and suffers a head injury. Unconscious and defenseless, he's robbed, stripped naked by looters, and left to die in the forest.

Rachel York was working as a ladies' companion in Brussels when she fell prey to the so-called Reverend Nigel Crawley, who was actually a con artist and managed to steal all her meager funds. He's also robbed the life savings of four whores (I don't like using this term, but that's how Ms. Balogh calls them in the book) who are friends with Rachel, so now she finds herself having to live in a brothel with these "painted ladies" while they plot how to track down the conniving "Reverend" and get their money back. But they need money to afford this chase, and the quickest way to get some at the moment is to loot the dead from the Battle of Waterloo. So off they go to the battlefield, but Rachel decides to stay behind in the forest...

As fate would have it, the first "dead" body Rachel finds is Alleyne's, and when she realizes he isn't really dead, she cries for help. This is one of the what-ifs I mentioned above, as Gervase, the hero in Slightly Tempted, happens to be passing by right there and then, hears Rachel's cries, but doesn't stop because another man rushes to help her. What if Gervase had stopped? Well, both Slightly Tempted and Slightly Sinful would have been very short novels, LOL.

Anyway, Rachel takes the nearly dead Alleyne to the brothel with the assistance of Sergeant William Strickland, the man who rushed to her help in the forest. While nursing both men to health - Sergeant Strickland was also injured in Waterloo -, Rachel develops a special "connection" with Alleyne and, between moments of blessed darkness oblivion and painful consciousness, he becomes infatuated with her. He knows that he's feverish and at least partially delirious, but what red-blooded male wouldn't fall in love with such an angel? The problem is, when this red-blooded male finally awakes from his brush with death, he's got amnesia and doesn't know who he is.

Slightly afraid of facing his new reality alone and hoping to buy some time until he recovers his memory, Alleyne decides to join Rachel and her friends in their quest to recover their lost money. So off they go back to England, where Rachel is to deceive her estranged uncle and convince him she's married to a nice gentleman (aka Jonathan Smith aka Alleyne) so she can get her hands on her inheritance. Once in posession of the jewels her mother has left her, Rachel can sell some of them and finance the chase after the dastardly "Reverend". But when they arrive at her uncle's estate, things get a little tricky, and Alleyne and Rachel are forced to spend more time together than they've planned. Pretending to be happy newlyweds in love for a month for her uncle's sake is due to take its toll, isn't it? And what will happen when Alleyne recovers his memory? Will he be back to being the haughty Lord Alleyne Bedwyn and forget about the group of misfits he met in Brussels?

As I said in the first paragraph of this review, I loved Alleyne and Rachel. They were great together, and I could easily see why each fell in love with the other. There was a small misunderstanding in the beginning of their relationship, and Alleyne was aware of it and could have cleared it sooner than he did, but it wasn't bad enough to ruin the progress of the story. In fact, I understood why he chose to keep his silence and let Rachel keep her misconception about his feelings. It was just the way he found to resist his attraction to her.

I also loved Rachel's relationship with her uncle and her friends. Granted, those four "painted ladies" were unbelievably nice and kind-hearted - I could have bought one, maybe two "whores with a heart of gold", but four at once was too much - and I had to suspend disbelief with their antics at Rachel's uncle's home, but they made me laugh so they didn't really bother me overall.

As for the plot, I was okay with the amnesia and the deception in the beginning, but they lasted a bit too long. I got really nervous near the end of the story, when there were only three chapters to read and there was no resolution in sight. As it was, I was afraid the ending would be too rushed because there wouldn't be time to set everything right. Trust Ms. Balogh to turn my fears to dust! The ending was just perfect, and I admit that the scene where Alleyne was finally reunited with his family made me sigh like a ninny. I know this book is about Alleyne, but I have to say that his brother Wulf completely stole the scene there:

"Bewcastle had already seen him. His gaze was steady and silver-eyed and inscrutable. His hand reached for the gold-handled, jewel-studded quizzing glass he always wore with formal attire and raised it halfway to his eyes in a characteristic gesture. Then he came striding along the terrace with uncharacteristic speed and did not stop coming until he had caught Alleyne up in a tight, wordless embrace that lasted perhaps a whole minute while Alleyne dipped his forehead to his brother’s shoulder and felt at last that he was safe.

It was an extraordinary moment. He had been little more than a child when his father died, but Wulfric himself had been only seventeen. Alleyne had never thought of him as a father figure. Indeed, he had often resented the authority his brother wielded over them with such unwavering strictness, and often with apparent impersonality and lack of humor. He had always thought of his eldest brother as aloof, unfeeling, totally self-sufficient. A cold fish. And yet it was in Wulfric’s arms that he felt his homecoming most acutely. He felt finally and completely and unconditionally loved.

An extraordinary moment indeed."

Okay, I'd better stop now because this is no longer a review, but a rave from a die-hard Balogh fan, LOL. When it comes to her books, I just can't stop gushing about them. I. Just. Love. Her. Writing!



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Review: "Indecent Suggestion" by Elizabeth Bevarly

Indecent Suggestion by Elizabeth Bevarly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wow, this was one smoking hot Blaze novel! *fans herself*

Turner McCloud (gotta love this name!) and Becca Mercer are best friends who have know each other since first grade and now work together at the same advertising agency. As the story opens, their smoking addition gets them in trouble with their boss, who doesn't allow smoking inside the office. They've tried to quit smoking many times before, with no success, so they - or better, Becca - decides it's time they took one final "drastic" measure to quit: to visit a hypnotherapist. The problem is, they arrive early to their appointment, the hypnotherapist mistakes them for another couple - who's seeking the hypnotherapist to help them with their sexual inhibitions - and, there you have it, Turner and Becca end up being hypnothized to respond sexually to each other.

Turner has been in love with Becca for years, so the hypnosis doesn't really change anything in him. On the other hand, Becca finds herself very unable to control her lust for him. Unlike Turner, she's not really in love with him yet, but she's always been attracted to him and the only reason she's avoided "getting horizontal" with him so far is the fear of losing their friendship. But now that she's been hypnothized to let go of her inhibitions, there's no stopping her. But as they get closer and closer and she falls in love with him, the truth about her hypnosis session comes to light and Turner wonders how real her feelings are. Is it all due to the hypnotherapist's indecent suggestion?

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was LOL funny - the opening scene was amazing -, the plot was a bit quirky, and Turner and Becca were adorable. And the love scenes... Wow, they were sizzling hot and borderline erotica. I wasn't completely comfortable with their love scene in her cubicle - I mean, at least get inside one of the conference rooms! - but Ms. Beverly's writing was so engaging that I gave it a pass. All in all, this was one of the best HQ Blaze novels I've read, and I'm going to dream about Turner tonight. ;)



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Review: "No Rest for the Wicked" by Kresley Cole

No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I guess third time is the charm... At least, with the Immortals After Dark series. I wasn't impressed with The Warlord Wants Forever and A Hunger Like No Other, the first two entries in the series, but now I understand what all the fuss is about. To be honest, I wasn't "feeling the love" in the first half of this book, but things got much better in the second half.

Back in 1709, Sebastian Wroth was turned into a vampire by his brother Nikolai, the hero in The Warlord Wants Forever. That happened against his will, and Sebastian has never forgiven his older brother for it. When Valkyrie Kaderin the Cold Hearted shows up at his castle to kill him, he's more than happy to oblige... until he realizes she's his Bride, the one and only female destined to be his eternal wife. Now he doesn't want to die anymore. Too bad Valkyries hate vampires and Kaderin is the best vampire slayer on the face of the Earth, er, the Lore.

Kaderin isn't called "the Cold Hearted" for nothing. She hasn't felt any emotion in a thousand years, ever since her two sisters died by the hand of a vampire whose life Kaderin had just spared out of pity. Devastated by guilt and grief, she was given the blessing of feeling nothing so she could move on with her life. She's cold, fearless and ruthless, the ultimate vampire killer. But all that changes when she meets Sebastian and she starts feeling and experiencing emotions again. However, she isn't the least interested in consorting with a vampire, and she pushes him away.

Besides, she needs to focus on the Talisman's Hie, which is basically an immortal version of the TV show The Amazing Race. Kaderin is the Hie's reigning champion and has won every single edition of the deadly competition, so winning the Hie is a must. But there's more than pride and ego at stake this time around... This Hie, the winner will be given Thrane's Key, a powerful weapon that enables its possessor to time travel to the past. Here's Kaderin chance to go back in time and save her sisters! Her competitors are fierce, but she's positive she'll be able to defeat them. Sebastian offers to join her in the competition, but she flatly refuses his help. So he decides to enter the Hie himself and win the prize for her - after all, she's his Bride and he'll do anything for her. And while they're "globetrotting" in search of the talismans, he'll make her see they're meant for each other. Or will he?

Awww, I loved, loved, loved Sebastian! How could I not? He was adorable, protective, caring, honorable, and sexy as hell. And I think he was a virgin! I loved how he got all nervous and tentative around Kaderin, before he realized she wasn't fragile like the women he knew in his previous human life. I have to say I didn't fully understand why he didn't end his own life in all the three hundred years he lived as an unwilling vampire before he met Kaderin and found a purpose to live, though. I guess I should believe it was fate and he was just waiting to meet her, but Kaderin's behavior didn't make it easy to go along with that idea because she was so not worthy of him... Not in the beginning, at least.

I wanted to throttle Kaderin for the most part of this book. She was cold as expected, given her nickname, but I had a hard time figuring her out. I just couldn't understand how she remained imune to Sebastian for so long. At one point, she even lied to him and tried to use his feelings for her to get her out of a jammy so she could complete a task in the Hie. Thankfully, she came to her senses later in a wonderful scene that made my heart skip a beat. Was it enough to win me over? Not completely, but it was enough to stop me from wanting to smack her, LOL.

The pace of the story was a bit uneven to me. I struggled to get through the first half, when Sebastian and Kaderin didn't really spend much time together and I couldn't see how they would manage to fall in love if they didn't get to know each other. Following the Hie was fun, but it wasn't enough to hold my interest for itself. Once Sebastian and Kaderin started to interact more often, things improved. The second half of the story had a nice mix of action and romance, and I would have read it in one sitting if it wasn't for the darn power outage that took my country by surprise last night. All in all, the final half of the story saved the book for me and the ending had a nice tease - not exactly a cliffhanger - that made me want to read the next book, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night. Yay!



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Review: "Highland Fling" by Jennifer LaBrecque

Highland Fling by Jennifer LaBrecque

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'd read only two books by Ms. LaBrecque before this one and I wasn't very impressed, but she's a favorite author among several GR members so I thought I'd give her another try when I found this book at the UBS. Well, the old saying is true: third time is the charm...

Kate Wexford is an ER doctor who finds herself attracted to an 18th-century painting of a Scottish laird, Darach MacTavish. The painting is part of a sex exhibit being held at the museum, and she can't help visiting the museum and ogling the painting every day after work. On the last day of the exhibit, she is approached by a strange man who gives her some info about the man in the painting and then just pushes her into it. When Kate "wakes up", she finds herself lying naked on the Scottish laird's bed.

Darach is more than surprised to find a naked wench on his bed and, not knowing how she could have sneaked into his castle undetected, suspects she's a spy sent by his enemies. This impression is short-lived, as Kate and Darach soon realize she somehow traveled back in time. At first, they don't understand why she's there and don't know how to get her back to her time, but they eventually figure out she's to help him prevent his death and the destruction of his clan in the near future (his future, not hers). As they work together and travel through time (his and hers) in search of the answer to his imminent problem, Kate and Darach fall in love with each other and are faced with another dilemma, as she doesn't particularly like life in the 18th century and he can't abandon his clan and stay with her in the 21st century. As this is a romance novel, they sort things out and get their HEA, of course.

I know suspension of disbelief is a must when I read time travel stories and I don't necessarily expect them to have a scientific approach based on the laws of physics, but I do expect them to have some consistency within the logic the author creates to explain the phenomenon. Here's what bothered me in this book: the first time Kate time traveled, she reached her "destination" without her clothes on but with her watch on her wrist and her purse on her shoulder; the following times she time-travelled, she didn't "lose" anything during the "journey" and arrived at the "other space in time" fully clothed and accessorized. What was the logic behind that? As far as I could tell, there was only one explanation: Darach needed to see Kate naked so he could appreciate what a bonny lass she was, LOL.

The other thing that bothered me was how easily Darach fit into the 21st century. For example, he was surfing the internet less than one hour after Kate explained him what a computer was! No matter how intelligent he was, I found that very hard to believe.

Anyway, those were only small annoyances that didn't prevent me from enjoying this read, probably because I fell in love with Darach and was willing to buy anything Ms. LaBrecque wrote, LOL. Darach was a wonderful Highlander hero - strong, protective and a bit arrogant, just the way he was supposed to be - and Kate was a funny and charming modern-day heroine. Their scenes were sweet and funny, and they had great chemistry together. All in all, the time travel "logic" was a bit convoluted but the romance part of the story was very good and worth reading.



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Review: "Miss January" by Madison Hayes

Miss January by Madison Hayes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nice H/h, even though they were sometimes too quick to jump to conclusions, interesting setup - I really liked the way they "met" and I know what I'll be doing the next time a sexy stranger with a velvet voice dials the wrong number and reaches me - and smoking hawt love scenes. That's what I call good smut! ;)

If you're wondering what Cash looks like, here's a pic that fits him - and the story - perfectly:



Seriously, there's a scene in the book that's exactly like that pic!

Note: After I read this book, I found out that it isn't the first in the series. How come? Isn't January the first month of the year? Darn, my OCD can't process that, LOL!



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Review: "Key of Knowledge" by Nora Roberts

Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Even though this is the second book in the Key trilogy, Key of Knowledge can be easily read as a stand-alone because Dana, the heroine, gives a pretty good - and funny - recapitulation of what happened in the first book, Key of Light. That said, I still recommend reading this series in order, as you get a better understanding of how things work in this PNR realm created by NR.

That certainly helped me to guess where the "key" Dana was assigned to find was hidden, because the pattern had already been established in the previous book. I had it all figured out pretty soon, and it was only Dana's stubbornness and blindness about all things involving Jordan, the hero, that prevented her from getting it too. There was a twist in the end that shifted the pattern a bit, so it was nice to be surprised and see that not everything was predictable.

As for the romantic part of the story, Dana and Jordan had good chemistry and I enjoyed reading their scenes together. Theirs was a "lovers-reunited" kind of story, and this plotline doesn't always work for me - I mean, if you couldn't make your relationship work the first time around, why rehash it? - but I think NR did a good job showing why their first time together wasn't meant to be and how they needed to go their separate ways - Jordan being the one who had left - before getting back together for good.

As it happened in Key of Light, there's a lot of talk about symbolism, coincidences and fate in this book too. All interesting, but I confess my eyes started to glaze during some parts. Thankfully, those scenes were minor bumps in a story that, as a whole, flew quite smoothly.

Now, on to the third and final book in the series...



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Review: "Key of Light" by Nora Roberts

Key of Light by Nora Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As the first book in the series, Key of Light did the job: it set the story arc up, introduced all the main characters and, in the end, wrapped up the first couple's love story in a nice HEA.

The PNR aspect of the story was interesting, with a gothic vibe that was eerie and unexpected. An old mansion named Warrior's Peak, guarded by gargoyles, sitting at the top of a hill surrounded by mist... A dark and stormy night... A woman driving alone, wondering what she was going to find at the mansion... That was on the first pages of the book and, no matter how cliché that was, I was chilled to the bone and wondering if Malory, the heroine, would turn out to be one of those TSTL blondes whose aim in life is to step willingly into the arms of death just to keep the story going. Thankfully, it wasn't like that and the story moved along quite nicely, once Malory and her newfound friends/partners Dana and Zoe, the heroines in the following books in the series, were presented with the task they were supposed to do: find the keys that would release the souls of three demigoddesses who had been imprisoned hundreds of years ago. I'm not going into details here, but the tale about their lives was very charming and romantic - regardless of the sad ending, that is.

Flynn, Dana's brother, joined the quest for the keys in no time, even though he was skeptical about the whole thing... Well, all of them were skeptical at first, but they changed their minds when strange things started to happen. Back to Flynn... He was the all-around good guy, charming, seductive and, of course, commitment-shy. Malory was soon in love with him - who could blame her? :) - and he was in too, even though it took him longer to see it that way. There was really no conflict in their relationship, and that was a problem for me. Not that I wanted them to go all angsty or start a fight just for the sake of it, but there wasn't anything that prevented them from being together and their relationship felt kind of boring to me.

On the other hand, I think NR did a much better job when it came to showing Flynn's friendship with Jordan and Brad - not coincidentally, the heroes in the next books in the series. I actually thought that Flynn's scenes with his friends were more interesting than his scenes with Malory, and that's not a good thing in Romancelandia. Malory's scenes with Dana and Zoe were less entertaining and felt a little too juvenile to me. They would have been more fitting if they had been in their early twenties, IMHO.

There's a lot of talk about symbolism and coincidences in this book: some interesting, some confusing. I thought the "key" Malory was supposed to find was only a metaphor but it turned out to be "real" - or the next best thing, since this is a PNR story. As for the ending, I was as fooled by Malory's trick as the villain: I thought Flynn would have to rescue her with a bang, but I should have known that she was smart enough to do it by herself. Girl Power, yay! ;)

All things considered, this was an overall good, although not stellar, read for a nice and lazy afternoon/evening. And, referring to the first paragraph above, it did the job: I'm interested enough in keep reading the series.



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Review: "Dangerous Secrets" by Lisa Marie Rice

Dangerous Secrets by Lisa Marie Rice

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was another enjoyable read by LMR. Strangely enough, Nick and Charity were my least favorite H/h by this author so far, even though this wasn't my least favorite book.

I don't know, I got the impression that Nick wasn't as uncomfortable as he should have been about lying to Charity and, quite frankly, he should have never agreed to let her pull that stunt in the villain's mansion before all hell broke loose - especially if you consider that he knew she wasn't a good liar and couldn't be expected to fool the most vicious criminals on Earth. I had never expected to see a LMR hero let his heroine enter into a dangerous and life-threatening situation so willingly, and that made me see Nick with some contempt.

Charity was somewhat boring to me: not a bad heroine, but nothing to talk about either. But I cared enough for her to feel a small pang in my heart while I "watched" her trying to deal with Nick's "death" (this isn't a spoiler, since his "death" is stated in the prologue).

As for the plot, this story had some uncanny similarities with Dangerous Lover, the previous book in the series, but it was better developed, IMHO. It was almost like LMR had heard all the readers' complaints and decided to dedicate more time to the aspects that were found lacking in that book. I was happy to see that, this time, there was a more satisfying ending and epilogue. :)



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Review: "Dangerous Lover" by Lisa Marie Rice

Dangerous Lover by Lisa Marie Rice

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


LMR's books are one of my comfort reads. Is her writing "formulaic"? Yes, it is. But I happen to like her "formula" - especially her alpha heroes, who always fall hard and fast for their heroines - so I have yet to find a book by LMR that I didn't enjoy.

Dangerous Lover was no exception. It was hot, sexy and emotional. Even though Jack was basically obsessed with Caroline and his behavior at the beginning was borderline stalker-ish, I was OK with it. A guy like him would have freaked me out in RL, but he lives in Romancelandia and I can give him some leeway there, LOL. Seen through Jack's eyes, Caroline was the perfect, almost saintly heroine. Too good to be true but, again, it didn't bother me.

Now, the ending... WTF was that??? I'm kind of used to LMR's abrupt endings by now, but I thought this book took it way too far. Okay, there was an epilogue but, seriously, who cares about the darn diamonds? It was a given that Jack and Caroline would live HEA - after all, this as a romance book! - but I'd like to have seen at least some glimpse of it. That would have been a true and more satisfying epilogue.

Anyway, that was the only thing that bothered me. All things considered, this was still a very enjoyable read to me. :)



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Review: "Slightly Tempted" by Mary Balogh

Slightly Tempted by Mary Balogh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After being somewhat disappointed with Slightly Scandalous, the previous book in this series, I'm glad to say that things got back on track in this book. Slightly Tempted tells the story of Morgan Bedwyn, the youngest, most beautiful of the Bedwyn siblings, and the only one who had the fortune of not being afflicted by the famous, prominent Bedwyn nose.

Thirty-year-old Gervase Ashford, the Earl of Rosthorn, has been living in exile on the Continent for the last nine years after being banished from England by his own father due to a scandalous and humiliating affair involving the Duke of Bewcastle. If there's one person Gervase blames for his situation and hates with all his heart is Wulfric Bedwyn, the Duke of Bewcastle, and his bitterness and thirst for revenge gets the best of him when he meets Bewcastle's youngest sister, Lady Morgan Bedwyn, at a ball in Brussels. Ah, it looks like fate is finally smiling his way after all these years... Is there any better way to get even with Bewcastle than to involve young and innocent Morgan in a scandal and leave the duke to deal with the consequences?

Eighteen-year-old Morgan is in Brussels looking for a respite from her first Season in London, where she was bored to tears by the ton's brainless events (balls, assemblies, rides in the park, etc.) When she's invited to join one of her suitor's family to Brussels, she jumps at the chance of participating in a meaningful and most certainly historic event, the coming Battle of Waterloo. Bonaparte has escaped his prison in Elba and the threat of a new war against him is in everyone's minds. Unfortunately, the life of a lady in Brussels turns out to be the same as in London, and Morgan is annoyed to find herself attending the same brainless events where no one is willing to "worry her pretty little head" with talks about the iminent war. So when she's introduced to Gervase at one of these infernal balls, she's bored enough to give him the attention she wouldn't think of granting him in other circumstances.

Gervase's sole purpose in pursuiting Morgan is to have a quick (and very public) dalliance with her, so he sets out to charm and woo her. She isn't stupid and doesn't take him seriously - he's obviously a rake, not to mention much older than she is - but she decides to have some fun with his flirtation, all the while letting him know that nothing will come out of it. But as they spend time together and he gets to know her, he begins to like her and to question his plan to use her as a pawn in his revenge against Bewcastle. Then war erupts, chaos ensues, her brother Alleyne goes missing on the front line, and Morgan ends up alone in Brussels with no one to lean on but Gervase. He becomes her faithful friend while she waits to hear any news from Alleyne, helps and escorts her around the city - and thus compromises her reputation in the process, even though he isn't thinking of revenge anymore.

When Morgan is informed of Alleyne's death a few days later, there's no reason to stay in Brussels anymore and Gervase escorts her back to England. When he's confronted by Bewcastle right upon their arrival, all the hatred comes back and he can't help feeling some satisfaction with his enemy's "distress". It took nine years, but Gervase got back at Bewcastle. So why does he feel that it isn't over? And what will Morgan do when she finds out that he's used her? Will she ever forgive him?

I'm not a big fan of revenge-driven plots, mostly because the character who's seeking revenge usually ends up doing something nasty and unforgivable. Fortunately, Gervase didn't do anything to that extreme in this book and Ms. Balogh did a great job making me understand and even support his hatred for Wulf. I'm not saying I agree with what Gervase did to Morgan - because I don't - but even I hated Wulf at one point. Obviously, the conflict between the two men was resolved in the end - the HEA wouldn't be complete without that - but I can't say I was completely satisfied with its resolution. Gervase's beloved father died without knowing the truth, and there was no way to make amends to that. I can't say much more without revealing a big spoiler, but suffice it to say Gervase was too forgiving.

That was actually one of my problems with Morgan. She was the one who kept urging him to forget the past and forgive those who had hurt him, but she didn't suit her actions to her words. So it was good and right for him to forget and forgive, but she was allowed to keep nursing her grudge against him? That was a little hypocrit, wasn't it? I also thought that some of Morgan's lines were too mature for her age. I know, she wasn't a regular eighteen-year-old brainless woman and she wouldn't be a good match for thirty-year-old Gervase if she were, but her "philosophical" talk didn't ring true.

As for the plot, I really liked the first half of the story that takes place in Brussels. There was action, some suspense (whatever happened to Alleyne?), and interesting encounters between Gervase and Morgan. That was when Ms. Balogh showed how they fell in love with each other, even though neither was aware of it then. When the story moved to England, it became more predictable and less thrilling, but it was still enjoyable. The fake bethrotal made its appearance in this series again - I really hope it doesn't show up in the next books! - and so did the Bedwyn family. The sad note in that gathering was Alleyne's absence, since he was (presumed) dead, and that rendered a wonderful little scene with Wulf that brought tears to my eyes:

"She did not knock on the door. She opened it quietly, intending to creep inside without drawing attention to herself.

He was standing before the empty hearth, staring into the fireplace, his back to her. His shoulders were shaking. One of his hands was balled into a fist on the mantelpiece above his head. He was sobbing, choking on the sounds as Aidan had done days before.

Morgan gazed in horror for a few paralyzed moments.

Then she closed the door even more quietly than she had opened it and fled upstairs to her room.

If Wulf was weeping, the end of the world seemed near indeed."

Oh boy, Wulf definitely doesn't have ice in his veins like his enemies like to say. I can't wait to read his book!

Overall, Slightly Tempted was a very good read. Not the best in the series, but totally worth the reading. It's Balogh, what else can I say? :)



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Review: "Love is Blind" by Lynsay Sands

Love Is Blind by Lynsay Sands

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was my first book by Lynsay Sands and it was really good. My sister loves her books and had urged me to read one of them for ages, but I only caved in yesterday. Now I'm wondering why I didn't pay attention to her sooner.

Lady Clarissa Crambray is extremely nearsighted and "blind as a bat" without her spectacles, but her stepmother Lydia has forbidden her to wear them - in fact, she has broken them and thrown them away to prevent Clarissa from disobeying her. Lydia is trying to get Clarissa married off this Season and believes no gentleman will look at Clarissa twice if she's wearing those ugly spectacles, but this silly "scheme" isn't really working. Without being able to see anything but blurry colors and shapes, Clarissa has one graceless accident after another and is soon nicknamed "Clumsy Clarissa" by the ton. Clarissa is a pretty and wealthy lady, but her "clumsiness" has sent most of her suitors away. Nonetheless, Lydia still refuses to allow Clarissa to wear spectacles, arguing that "being clumsy is better than being ugly". Okay, if she says so...

Adrian Montfort, the Earl of Mowbray, is back to London after a ten-year self-imposed exile in the country, where he's been "hiding" from the ton since he came back wounded and scarred from the Peninsular War. He's very self-conscious about the scar he has on his face and doesn't believe any woman will have him as husband because of it - silly, silly man! -, but he knows it's time he did his duty and found a wife, so here he is in London, enduring the Season and the marriage market. He meets Clarissa in one of the ton's balls and, lucky for him, she can't see his face, his scar, or anything else for that matter...

Even though Clarissa's "blindness" is very attractive to Adrian, he quickly grows to like her for who she is and enjoys spending time with her. She also appreciates his company and the way she doesn't feel clumsy around him. But as they start falling in love with each other, doubt arises. She can't remain spectacles-less forever, can she? Adrian is sure she's going to run away screaming when she finally sees his "horrible" scar, while Clarissa is afraid he's going to be disgusted by the sight of her in her "ugly" spectacles. So each tries to buy time in his/her own way - Adrian delaying the purchase of new spectacles for her and Clarissa hiding the fact that she's already purchased them - while working to make the other fall in love. After all, love is blind.

In the meantime, it looks like there's someone out there trying to harm Clarissa. When she's almost killed in a suspicious "accident", Adrian hires an "investigator" to find out who's after her. Considering Lydia's dislike of her stepdaughter, she's Adrian's prime (and favorite) suspect, but is she that evil? And is the killer really after Clarissa, or is he/she indirectly after Adrian?

This was a charming and funny story that kept me captivated right from the start. When Clarissa set one of her suitor's wig on fire in the opening scene, I couldn't help laughing out loud - which immediately prompted my sister to say, "Ha! What have I been telling you all these years?" Anyway, my sister's teasing aside, I knew then that this was going to be a humorous read and I got myself ready to enjoy it. There were several funny moments in this book, but my favorite were the ones regarding Clarissa's wedding night, her "pie" and Adrian's "truncheon". "Her mind was filled with the image of the truncheon smashing into the pie, and the red juice spilling out." LOL, what a way to explain what happens on the wedding night to an innocent woman!

Adrian and Clarissa were very likable characters, and I really rooted for their HEA. Their interactions were sometimes sweet and sometimes hilarious, and they had great chemistry together. Aidan was caring, sensitive, and I loved the small things he did for her (like reading to her and arranging a private picnic for her) to compensate for the restraints imposed by her temporary "blindness", but he could have given up on the idea of delaying the purchase of new spectacles for her a bit sooner that he did. That was selfish of him, and he lost some points with me for that. As for Clarissa, she was adorable but too naive and soft-hearted. Normally, that wouldn't be necessarily a flaw, but it ended up being one due to a particular event that I can't reveal here. Suffice it to say that I wasn't happy with the way she dealt with the situation.

As for the secondary plot, the mystery regarding the attempts on Clarissa's life, it was interesting but the culprit and his/her motive were easy to guess. As I wasn't reading this book to get my "romantic suspense fix", I wasn't bothered by that. The romance was well written and Adrian and Clarissa made me smile and sigh, so I was more than happy with this book. I will definitely read more books by Ms. Sands!



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Review: "Instant Attraction" by Jill Shalvis

Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first book in the trilogy about the Wilder brothers - T.J., Stone and Cameron -, Instant Attraction was an enjoyable and easy read.

Cameron Wilder is the youngest of the Wilder brothers, a former Snowboarding Olympics and X-Games champion who "lost it all" when an accident ended his career one year ago. Used to the adventurous life and the adulation that came with his fame, he's having a hard time dealing with his current situation and doesn't know what to do with his life anymore. After spending the last year wandering around the world and trying to "find himself", he's finally back home in the Sierras - but he's still pretty much wallowing in his private pity party.

Katie Kramer is also struggling with a traumatic accident - she was the sole survivor of a bridge collapse that killed thirty other people - but the way she chooses to deal with it is completely different from Cam's. While he's basically decided to shut himself to the world and hide from life, she's decided to live it to the fullest. So she quits her boring job at LA, gets into her brand-new used car, hits the freeway and, eight hours later, finds herself in the wild Sierras, where she ends up taking a temporary job at the Wilder Adventures, a local outdoor adventure and expedition compay owned by the Wilder brothers. Is there any better way to start her new adventurous life? :)

Cam and Katie are instantly attracted to each other but, unlike what's become a standard in recent releases, they don't jump into bed right away. Neither wants anything permanent - Katie's only staying in the Sierras for a month before leaving for her next "adventure" and Cam, well, he doesn't know what he wants - so they take their time trying to figure out how to deal with their feelings. They slowly fall in love with each other but don't realize it right away. Katie convinces herself that she doesn't want more than a nice fling with Cam, but he really cares for her and he's afraid he'll hurt her in the end. So they dance around each other...

Overall, I really liked this book. Cam and Katie's interactions were funny and sweet, their relationship was romantic - as much as they had the hots for each other, I never felt that lust was their main focus - and the story had a nice pace.

There were a couple of times when I wanted to smack Cam in the head - enough with the self-depreciation already! - but I cut him some slack because I believed he really loved Katie, he just didn't know how to deal with his feelings. To be fair, he'd never learned how to, because that family of his wasn't the best example to follow when it came to communicating with each other. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the Wilder clan - Cam, Stone, T.J., their aunt Annie and her husband Nick - but communication wasn't their forte.

On the bright side, Annie was just adorable. Like Cam, she was also emotionally damaged but her positive attitude towards life was engaging. She wasn't perfect either, and I thought it was very realistic to have her refusing to talk about her accident and, at the same time, "forcing" Cam to talk about his. It's human nature: sometimes it's easier to focus on other people's issues than to look inside oneself.

While Cam and Katie's romance and emotional healing was central to the story, there was also a secondary romance involving Cam's aunt Annie and her estranged husband Nick that provided some funny moments. I loved her aprons - you could always guess her mood by the saying that was printed on them - but her stubborness made me want to shake some sense into her. Hmm, smack Cam in the head, shake Annie... I sense a theme here. Maybe the Wilder family had a knack for pushing my emotional buttons, LOL. Not enough to annoy me, though. In fact, I can't wait to read Cam's brother's stories.



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Review: "Chasing Trouble" by Anne Stuart

Chasing Trouble by Anne Stuart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I can always count on Anne Stuart for a good read, and I'm glad to say that this book was another winner. It was written as a clear hommage to noir movies, from the heroine Sally's fascination with Bogart, Bacall, Sam Spade and Raymond Chandler to the cynical lines uttered by the jaded hero P.I. Diamond. Gotta love that! :)

Diamond smoked too much, drank too much and lived a life-style that was as foreign as it was romantic, but he was so charming doing it that I couldn't help falling for him. Obviously, it was only a matter of time before he changed his ways due to Sally's "nagging", and it was fun to watch him trying to fight that lost battle.

Sally was kind of ditzy, prone to lying and, let's say it, acted TSTL at times, but I ended up loving her anyway. Probably because she drove Diamond nuts, making room for a lot of funny banter between them. Bottom line, Diamond and Sally's interaction was what made this story work for me.

The plot was a bit convoluted, with a few twists thrown here and there, but it was in sync with the film noir setting so I'm guessing that was planned and not a result of "bad writing". As for the ending, the final showdown with the bad guys wasn't as thrilling as I had expected it to be, but Ms. Stuart made up for it later with Diamond's delightful proposal:

"James," she said in a broken little voice. "You really do love me, don't you?"
He'd almost reached her. "I thought you'd already figured that out. Who else could make me give up cigarettes and hooch?"
"You said you wouldn't love me till 1999."
...
"I'm a quick learner. So what's it gonna be, doll? Marriage to a shamus like me, or a life full of empty pleasures? Name your poison."
"Diamond," she said happily, "I'm yours."

And so am I, honey!



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Review: "Slightly Wicked" by Mary Balogh

Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but here it is: another Balogh, another winner! She hasn't disappointed me yet, and I just love her writing.

Slightly Wicked is the second book in Balogh's series about the Bedwyn siblings, and tells the story of third son Rannulf (aka Ralf).

As the story opens, Ralf is on his way to Grandmaison, his grandmother's estate, well aware that, once again, she's going to try and persuade him to finally take a wife. He's used to her "gentle persuasion" and understands her concern, since she's named him heir to her property and fortune and has every right to be worried about her heritage, but this doesn't mean he's ready to settle down with the newest young lady she's chosen for him and start procreating. Ralf doesn't really know what he wants to do with his life - ah, what a joyful and idle life these rich aristocrats live! - but he knows that marriage isn't in his immediate plans. However, fate intervenes - of course, LOL - and, in the middle of his journey to Grandmaison, he comes upon an overturned stagecoach and one particularly lovely passenger who introduces herself to him as Claire Campbell.

Claire Campbell is actually Judith Law, an impoverished clergyman's daughter who's on her way to her wealthy aunt's estate to live the life of a "poor relation", i.e., to "work" as a companion to her grandmother and be subjected to all kinds of humiliation by her rich relatives - excluding her grandmother, who turns out to be the only person in the family who likes Judith. Think Cinderella and you'll know how Judith's life is in the hands of her vicious aunt. But before she reaches her destination, the stagecoach she's traveling in has an accident and all the passengers end up stranded in the middle of the road. That's when help comes in the form of a young gentleman on horseback, who introduces himself as Ralf Bedard and offers to take Claire/Judith with him to the next inn and send people to help the remaining passengers as soon as possible. Needless to say, Ralf Bedard is no other than our dear Rannulf Bedwyn, and the stage is set for a little deception by both Judith and Ralf.

Thinking of the imminent dreadful life that's waiting for her at her aunt's house, Judith throws caution to the wind and decides to experience one "grand adventure" before resigning herself to what's going to be close to Hell on Earth. So she pretends to be an actress - and we all know what kind of reputation actresses have! - and gives free reign to her attraction to Ralf, surrendering her virginity to him and enjoying two nights of passionate lovemaking in the nearest inn. Ralf is willing to spend more than these two nights with Judith - not that he's alreay in love with her, but he's definitely smitten - but she knows she can't keep the farce much longer, so she tricks him and leaves without notice, taking the next stagecoach and resuming her journey to her aunt's house. Ralf gets more than unhappy when he finds out she's left him, but he isn't about to go after an actress just to get some satisfaction.

Naturally, fate intervenes once more to get Ralf and Judith together again... As it turns out, Ralf's grandmother's estate and Judith's aunt's estate are in the same neighborhood, Ralf's grandmother and Judith's grandmother are close friends and, worse, the latest young lady Ralf's grandmother has selected to be his wife is Judith's brainless cousin. It's a small, small world, indeed! But now that the early deception is over and Ralf and Judith know who the other really is, how do they feel about it? They're not in love with each other, but there's definitely something between them. However, he's a Bedwyn, a wealthy aristocrat, son and brother of a Duke, and she's only a poor daughter of a clergyman, so a match between them would be extremely inadvisable. He's also a gentleman and she's a gentlewoman - impoverished but deserving of his respect - so he's obliged to ask her to marry him after having "compromised" her, isn't he? ;) Well, what follows was just delicious to read...

This story wasn't particularly original - there were some echoes of the fairy tale 'Cinderella', which I've already mentioned above, and also Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - but Ms. Balogh's writing was so good that I never felt shortchanged. As a bonus, this book was a bit spicier than I came to expect from Ms. Balogh and I really enjoyed reading Ralf and Judith's lovemaking scenes. Ralf was definitely sexier than his brother Aidan was in Slightly Married. :)

Plotwise, there was a "mystery" involving the theft of Judith's grandmother's jewels in the second half of the story, but the resolution was quite obvious so it was only a matter of finding out how the culprit would be caught and not who he was. The whole incident was kind of predictable, but it added some light action to the story and was the perfect opportunity to introduce Judith to Ralf's siblings. And what a scary lot they are, the Bedwyns... I thought Judith would be eaten alive by them, considering how insecure she was.

I have to say, Judith grated on my nerves a couple of times with her insecurities and the way she let her aunt stomp all over her. The only reason I didn't think she was a complete doormat was because she had no problem standing up to Ralf. On the other hand, Ralf was just perfect. Okay, he was basically an aimless playboy in the beginning of the story, but he started to change his ways when he fell for Judith. There was more in him than I'd expected, and now I must eat crow: I really disliked Ralf in A Summer to Remember but now I'm in love with him. Kudos to Ms. Balogh for redeeming him!

Overall, I had a great time reading this book and I can't wait to get the next one. As far as I can tell, Ms. Balogh can do no wrong.

Note: The next book in the series is Slightly Scandalous, and I admit I considered skipping it because I still don't like Freyja and can't make myself root for her HEA. But I'm going to take a deep breath and read it, even if it's only to see what kind of "loser" will be leg-shackled to her. It should be an interesting experience, cheering against the heroine, LOL.



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