REVIEW: On the Run by IRIS JOHANSEN

I love Iris Johansen....

Book Info: For eight years, single mother Grace Archer has been living a picture-perfect life raising her daughter on a horse farm in the small town of Tallanville, Alabama. Watching Frankie grow into a talented and confident young girl has made Grace as happy as any mother could hope to be. Happy enough, even, to forget the past. But the past never quite goes away. Which is why a certain charismatic man also moved to Tallanville eight years ago to watch over her. 
But when violence threatens to shatter Grace and Frankie's idyllic home, the waiting is over. The ghosts of the past have returned. And they're hungry for blood. Now Grace must resume an identity she thought she had cast off forever, and match wits with an opponent as deadly as he is cunning. The prize: an extraordinary secret that only she can unfold. The forfeit: losing the thing more precious to her than life itself.

MY THOUGHTS:
This was not the best Iris Johansen book I have read but it’s not exactly the worst one either. Action-packed, fast paced thriller from the first to the last page. Spies, ruthless killers, a touch of paranormal, second chances in love, betrayals and loyalties.

Whilst there are some really likeable and engaging characters, I somehow felt I did not get to know them really well….Grace is this strong, protective woman who had been a CIA agent and when she became pregnant with one of her trainers, Jake, had to disappear because Marvot, the notorious owner of the most incredible Arabian horses known as the Pair, needs her to work with them to find a very valuable item in the Sahara desert, which men and woman will kill for. 

Her daughter Frankie is very lovable but at times I wondered how an eight-year old could be so adult and mature….although she is a child prodigy. 

Jake…so much I wanted to find out who he was exactly. How did he get here? Who is he? Not much back-story…his life kind of begins when he’s working for the CIA and training Grace.

The plot was actually interesting….some may feel a bit far-fetched but it is written in such a way that you feel it could be possible for it to happen. The settings were great…from a farm in Alabama, to Wyoming and then Morocco and finally the oasis and dunes in the Sahara Desert.

This is an enjoyable page-turner story with lots of action, romance, love, and amazing horses and holds you to your seat.
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REVIEW: Backwoods by CARA McKENNA

Another HOT series...menage, m/m and some m/f/m....SEXY MEN that just cannot resist. This is book 1....fabulicious...totally!!!

Synopsis: Shane thinks he's simply auditioning a new musician for his bar, but when Gabriel saunters into the Shivaree it becomes clear the man has more to offer than just his talent. Gabriel's got sexual charisma potent enough to make a straight man such as Shane lose his senses, lose sleep, lose himself to dark desires and not want to find his way back to reality.

What follows is not a love story. This is a story about an unforeseen attraction that brings a strong, sane man to his knees, and about lovers tangled up in each other too deep to know who's in control and who's helpless

Backwoods by Cara McKenna is one book that really got me hooked on m/m romance. Though this story is dark and deals with obsession more than romance or love and for me a real new, fresh and well-written book in this genre. 

The plot is used frequently , where the straight macho male suddenly one days finds himself attracted to a man and how much he fights this new and unknown feeling but here we find such an emotional, complex story, filled with angst, sensuality and how amazing….none of those repetitive sex scenes!!!!

I became so enthralled with the two main protagonists, Shane, the hard uber alpha male, suddenly losing it all when he meets Gabriel…omg…this is some man – dark, sexy with a hint of mystery and something you can’t exactly put your finger on….just that he’s the kind of guy a man or woman could go crazy and mad about. 

The sex scenes are explicit and burning hot….I could feel the heat myself!!!!

The backdrop is absolutely stunning….the backwoods out somewhere…and you’re telling me that this happens in those places??? What, with all these rough and ready men, comes this exotic creature like Gabriel that has all the locals – men and women – panting for him – which of course our hero just loves!!!! He doesn’t care who he does it with …he will do it if he wants…and poor old Shane just does not get it!!!! I felt for Shane at times but his total behavior – dominance, dominance… and the whole “boy” thing really got to me at times, but in the end, I felt him, his whole world exploding before his eyes and all because of this fey Gabriel!!!! This is raw and sometimes cruel sex between two men, both fighting against something that I am not sure what it was. 

The ending introduces a real surprise and I wonder where it will go in the next book.
Well written, great character development, interesting settings that had me wanting to jump right into the next book in the series. Oh yes, forgot…I loved this book!!!!

  OOH GABRIEL!!!!!!!!!

REVIEW: Crash into Me by JILL SORENSEN

New author and I loved this book.


BOOK DESCRIPTION: In this heart-stopping novel, Jill Sorenson delivers a romantic thriller featuring one too-tough female agent, one too-hot male suspect, and a head-on erotic collision.
Though he’d gone into virtual seclusion, Ben Fortune was still the world’s most famous surfer, known as much for his good looks as for his skill. He’s also a suspect in a series of brutal murders that may have begun with his late wife. Now FBI Special Agent Sonora “Sonny” Vasquez has been sent undercover to the elite beach community of La Jolla to make friends with Fortune. With her fierce beauty and take-no-prisoners attitude, she’s more than equipped for the job, and soon she and Ben have collided in an affair that is both intense and irresistible. But for the first—and worst—time in Sonny’s career, her emotions are threatening to get the better of her. Could this sensual, wounded man, who is genuinely anguished over his troubled daughter, really be a killer? And could falling in love blind Sonny to the greatest danger of all?

LOVED IT...ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!

I can’t believe I purchased this book from Amazon in 2009 and only discovered it in my TBR shelf now……….how could I have missed out reading this incredible book sooner!!!!!!!!!!
Crash into Me is one of those books that I will read again and again……..

Why is this book one of my favorites??

Once I read page 1…all I wanted to do was read and read. I entered a world so interesting and fascinating that I wanted to stay there and no way was I going to be distracted or pulled away from it.

An emotional story so well written, filled with vivid descriptions that made the characters and the settings so believable that made it all seem so real to me. The conflicts and tension between the characters was totally so believable.

Beautiful, flawed and endearing characters that you immediately connect with, feel for.
Sonny, the undercover cop is so interesting and intriguing…lots of emotional baggage but wow…so centered. Loved her strength, kick-ass attitude and her hidden sensuality………
Ben Fortune…omg…..this is some gorgeous male. Sexy, dark, mysterious, caring and not afraid to admit his failures.

The chemistry and sexual tension between Sonny & Ben is emotional, thrilling, exciting and sensual and sex scenes that are so hot and sizzling and sexy.

I thought the way the author handled the secondary plot of Carly and James and first teenage relationships was superb, so sweet and tender. James was such an incredible teen, who despite coming from such an abusive family situation, tried to rise above it and remain a good and moral person. How he handles the situation with Carly and her father is so admirable. 

A unique, so different, intense and emotional love story. A fast-paced plot with suspense, mystery, murder, with unexpected twists that have you guessing until the last page. 

I found the background of the surfing community so captivating. It felt so romantic, charming, alluring and totally spellbinding. 

Jill Sorensen has become a favorite author of mine and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

 this is so Ben.....

REVIEW: Genetic Celebrity by TARA LAIN

4th book in this so amazing series....and I am totally so hooked!!!!

Synopsis: Tommy "Tick Tock" Reilly, amateur gourmet cook, would have the perfect simple life as assistant to fashion model Roan Black if he wasn't so damned confused. Though attracted to men since he was a teenager, he's fallen in unrequited love with Angie "Booky" Edelson, an older ambitious modeling agent who only seems to love Tommy for his cooking. Then Roan brings home Shay Shaleen, the pierced and tattooed androgynous beauty who Roan and Booky turn into a top male model. Tommy is attracted to the gorgeous man too, but Shay becomes the "Muse" of a glamorous fashion designer while Booky still can't see past her next booking. Why does Tommy have to fall for two people who can't love him back? Hey, is this something a little extra whipped cream can fix?
I am simply hooked on Tara Lain’s Genetic Series, which have become my most favorite ménage books ever. Her characters are lovable, funny, warm, adorable and unforgettable, so much so that often I find them popping into my head when I read other books in this genre.

Another thing I love is meeting up again with characters from previous books and see how their lives are progressing and then there’s the whole warm interaction between them all. It’s just fabulous.

Genetic Celebrity is the 4th book in the series and we now have the story of Tommy, an incredible chef & Booky, an agent who we met in the first book and who work for Roan – that amazing gorgeous lovely supermodel now happily married…I loved his storyhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11... andhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...

Tommy is bi, has been in love with Booky for ages but afraid to make a move. Booky is into Tommy but thinks he’s gay and she has no chance with him…so ..Tommy cooks these AMAZING and INCREDIBLE meals …and I mean FABULOUS meals….i kept thinking…I want that recipe Tommy!!!!!. Tries to seduce her with his heavenly food instead….whilst thinking how he can seduce her totally as she blows off to have dinner with her family……..I absolutely adored her family….her mother…..loved her “Jewish mama” thing and giving it to Tommy straight when they meet……..that dinner party…….i have to read this book again!!!!!!!!

Anyway, one night Roan saves Shay, this gorgeous homeless man, who he takes under his wing.
Needless to say more….Tommy is attracted to Shay, still wants Booky and Booky wants Tommy and Shay too!!! I’m not going to say much more and give too much away except that if you want a story filled with warmth, love, family, lovable characters and erotic sex scenes filled with love, deep feelings and not just used as fillers, then read this series.

I loved this sweet and so romantic story.

REVIEW: Genetic Attraction by TARA LAIN

My love for the series continues.............
Synopsis from Tara Lain’s Blog: In the erotic romance menage, Genetic Attraction, Emmaline Silvay, PhD, loves two things, her work as a genetic researcher for a major University, and her handsome young research partner, Dr. Jake Martin. While she's a huge success in genetics, her passion for Jake is secret because he's 11 years younger, works for her and just moved into a new house in Connecticut with his girlfriend who Em has never met. Then, at a late, after-work dinner, Em discovers that the lover she thinks is Jake's girlfriend is actually his boyfriend. When she goes to spend the weekend with this gay couple at their new home -- well, let’s just say that's when the fun, and the challenges begin. 

Genetic Attraction is Tara Lain’s debut book, which I think is absolutely amazing. It’s so much more than just a m/m/f ménage – it’s a love story between three of the most real, delightful and lovable characters ever. It had me wanting, wishing so much to be one of their close friends, having a place in their lives and hearts. They have my heart.

Since reading The Scientist and the Supermodel, where we first meet Jake, the gorgeous scientist geek and Roan, the nicest and beyond beautiful male model and share their finding each other and Emmaline, Jake’s smart and beautiful boss, I was hooked. I needed to continue sharing their lives. I cared about their happiness and just wanted all three to have their HEA. And this story gives you that and so much more.

The plot is so fresh with enough tension to keep you glued to the pages. Characters are interesting and funny and are so well developed.

What I really loved was there were no dark and tortured people, hiding painful secrets and having to overcome some emotional and painful past before getting together. Yes, there are things in their lives that they have to deal with such as prejudice, how to overcome the set ideas the world has about their unusual lifestyle – but it’s handled in such a positive manner that you know they will get past all the hurdles placed in front of them and be happy together.

The love scenes are just mind-blowing. Graphic, sexy, beautiful and so so hot and so sizzling – you feel the chemistry between them, in and out of bed. I liked the fact that the story shows us the explosive chemistry in bed and out – doing everyday things together, like looking at antiques, going on Roan’s fashion shoot, dinners, attending an awards party and even the university’s dislikeable professor’s Halloween Party. Three people who love and care for each other just having a “normal” life.

This is an incredible, tender and passionate love story that reiterates that love is all it takes.

Now, hopefully I will continue meeting Jake, Roan and Em in the future…and please can we have a baby to add to their happiness???? Please. I can’t stop thinking about this family and would love to join them again.

REVIEW: The Scientist and the Supermodel by TARA LAIN

I have discovered a new, exciting fabulous genre........erotica, menage, m/m.....wow some fabulous reads.
This is the first book in a series I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT *******
THIS IS A 5* STORY!!!

Synopsis: Geneticist Jake Martin has brilliant scientific vision, but he’s blind to his own nature. Despite his flagging interest in women and his past experience with a man, he’s convinced himself he’d be happy if he could just have his older boss, Emmaline Silvay, as his lover. Living in his closeted dream world, he’s unprepared for the powerful attraction he experiences to supermodel Roan Black, “the most beautiful man in the world.”

Jake can’t resist the gorgeous, androgynous creature. Who could? he thinks. But Roan refuses to accept him until Jake admits that it’s a man he wants and this man in particular. Jake tells himself it’s just sex, but his refusal to understand what he really needs threatens the best chance at happiness he’s ever had. 

I have just discovered m/m romance books – I am an absolute lover of romance and I had thought I would enjoy this genre as much as I do. Saying that, I have to admit that some of the books I have read so far I have loved and some not that much, reason being that a lot of them follow the same formula like:

-straight man suddenly discovers he’s attracted to me and does everything possible to fight it or hide it
-gay man acting macho to hide his gayness from the world and the guy he’s now hot for and thinks he has no chance because he’s straight
-they fight off the attraction until suddenly straight man realizes he’s now gay, discovers they guy he’s been attracted to is gay and they get it together, lots of times even in scenes that have nothing to do with that point of the story
-they have their HEA

I have been wondering if I would ever find a story where the plot, whilst having conflict, angst and obstacles, the main focus would be on the romantic journey of the two persons. And The Scientist and the Supermodel, by Tara Lain, is, for me, one of those books. And yes, it may not be a total m/m romance so some readers – there is a ménage scene between the protagonists and a woman, it’s Jake and Roan’s story of their relationship.

I could not put this book down. I was enthralled and captivated by these two men, who I fell totally in love with from the first time I met them. 
The gorgeous and brilliant Jake Martin, a scientist geek who has never come to terms about his sexuality and OMG…Roan Black, beautiful, sensitive and sweet supermodel!!!!!!!! The chemistry between the two is explosive, tender, sweet and so so romantic!!!!

I adored the side characters – Jake’s family…totally amazing parents, so accepting and loving. His brother Cal..what a hoot…loved him too. And Roan’s “family”…fabulous characterization.

Tara Lain captured it so beautifully – acceptance of who you are and finally finding the courage to go with what you feel in your heart in this warm, uplifting and sweet love story that leaves you with such a good feeling for a long long time.

I SO DID NOT WANT THIS BOOK TO END!!!!!

This is the first book I have read from this author and I cannot wait to read the next one in the series.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE...CAN'T WAIT

Hotting up in the city...........soon it will be covered by the purple colours of the jacaranda trees...my favourite time in Johannesburg.

Sitting on my patio, looking out into the garden...colours, more colours....blooming roses, lilies, huge ferns with the leaves moving slowly in the cool breeze, birds singing, blue pool, blue skies, dogs barking in the distance..........so relaxing....wow...a small yellow lemon on my very ancient lemon tree.......forget working....forget all your worries.....suddenly i am struck with the memory of the song SUMMERTIME.....and the living is easy...........

I feel energized.........i can't believe i haven't written any reviews on the so mamy books I have read the in past few months..........so with this new "energy".......i am going to get into it.......before having to dash off to...where else....no, not to my dream shack on a small greek island but to WORK..........yes JIMMY'S here I come...soon....

So check out some pics of summer in the city, listen to some summer music........and have fun and enjoy the moment...

  

SUMMERTIME

Love this song by Ella Fitzgerald...........

Summertime and the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin'
So hush, little baby; don't you cry

One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky
But till that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by

One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky
But till that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by

Jimmys Fish and Chips

REVIEW: Tears Of Jade by Leigh Riker

  Tears of Jade by Leigh Riker has been on my all-time favorites shelf of my bookcase for almost 20 years and I no longer remember how many times I have read it…and each time….i love it more and more!!!!!!!! It’s as fresh today as it was then….a timeless book!!!!! 

This is such an incredible story filled with passion, lost and found love, blackmail, secrets and so much more.

Synopsis:
Nearly twenty years have passed since Jay Barron kissed Quinn Tyler one last time and disappeared out of her life. Twenty years of wondering what happened after his plane went down in the steamy jungle and he was classified "Missing in Action." Now married and with a fabulously successful career in advertising, Quinn can't stop believing the love of her life is still alive.

When a twist of fate brings her face to face with darkly handsome Welles Blackburn, a man who might even be Jay, she is consumed by her need for answers. Soon she is within reach of a truth that could put her life back together again--or tear it apart forever.

Quinn Tyler & Welles Blackburn are just such an incredible couple…..the chemistry between them is palpable from the first time they set eyes on each other. You can feel the connection and it is so clear that they are meant to be together.
The pain they share when they realize the obstacles facing them….the guilt…even though her marriage has broken down and his unhappiness with a wife he does not love and just staying together because of his love for his beautiful young daughter. I so wanted them to be with each other and was praying that they would overcome all the hurdles in front of them and find true happiness.

Quinn is such an amazing heroine…gorgeous, talented and a successful owner of her own ad agency. She has such a capacity for love, she’s warm and caring and so fallen in love with this amazing man…and I mean truly amazing. He’s such a tortured and sad hero and he feels so much for Quinn, who has brought light into his life. And what a fabulous lover…he certainly knows how to seduce a woman…just not any woman…just Quinn.

These are some of the scenes that I always remember:

This man means business, Quinn thought, but still she didn’t move. Welles leaned closer, then closer again, bending his head until their mouths met at just the right incline. The kiss was soft, smoky, sending a slow curl of heat through her body. Wanting to go limp in his arms, Quinn realized that in fact she wasn’t being held, that he had one arm braced now on the wall above her head, the other at his side. Yet she felt as if he were touching her everywhere.
“No good-byes” he whispered against the corner of her mouth. Then, in the next breath, he let her go.

“Welles, I don’t know who I am when I am with you.”
“Yes, you do.” He moved closer, his hand at the nape of her neck, and drew her to him. Quinn stared at his mouth until his head dropped the last inch to cover hers. “When you’re with me,” he said, “you know exactly who you are.”
She moaned, slipping her arms around him.
“And so do I,” he whispered.
After long moments, Quinn ended the kiss.
“I don’t know what you want from me.” She whispered.
“Everything.”

I loved Hannah, Welles’s teenage daughter. She’s a beautiful mixture of her father and her Vietnamese mother and is signed up by Quinn as the new face of the jeans ads that catapult her into the supermodel stratosphere. A lot of tension and anger between Welles and her mother, who is such a cold, beautiful and manipulative woman, who does everything to keep Welles for herself even though she knows he does not love her. A glimpse of the glamorous world of fashion when Hannah moves into Quinn’s apartment in New York during her photo shoots.

There’s quite a surprising twist at the end….a nice one too. And I can’t help myself…but the last words of this book are such so incredible that I have to share them ….
“I think I’ve waited for you all my life,” she told him.
So no surprise, Quinn and Welles do get their HEA….and I was so so happy for them.

I have been trying to get copies of this author’s books but most of them are out of print and when I checked her site there is not much info….but if you are lucky enough to find a copy of Tears of Jade….read it….and I know you will love it as much as I did

REVIEW: ONCE A FERRARA by SARAH MORGAN

Sarah Morgan is one of my favorite Mills and Boon’s authors and I enjoy most of her books.

I loved the story of Once a Ferrara and would have given it a 5 star review except for one thing that really irritated me (more about this later on).

This is a very intense, compelling and emotional story about Cristiano and Laurel Ferrara and I was captivated from the moment I started page 1 and I was so engrossed in the story that before I realized I had finished the book in one reading.

You are totally drawn into the lives of Cristiano & Laurel Ferrara from page 1 until the Epilogue which is by the way, their second HEA (what a luck having a chance again after their disastrous first and very short HEA, two years previously).

This is such an intense, compelling and emotional story and the author and at times I could feel their pain and anguish. The author has an incredible way of writing dialogue and building up her characters – the interaction between the two is truly amazing. It’s as if you know them personally and you are actually feeling their emotions.

I am irrevocably in love with Cristiano. A beautiful, rich as sin, sexy, gorgeous, strong alpha male, with a hot hot body – an Italian ….no a Sicilian one….that is not afraid to show his heart and emotions….not often seen in these type of men….I was knocked out by the depth of his love for Laurel and how hard he tried to understand her even when he was being rejected …..in such a horrible manner by her.

And the reason I did not give the higher rating is because I found Laurel to be so horrible to Cristiano…okay in the end she discovers that he is not the man who she believed had let her down and that she still loved him. I was irritated by her constant moaning about being let down, how she could take care of herself, how she didn’t need anyone to do anything for her, what a horrible childhood she had – okay she did…but that doesn’t mean that one has to allow that to control your life.  Even when she is told by his sister and brother how much Cristiano loves her and how heartbroken he was when she left him, she still continues to give the poor guy a hard time. At times such childish behavior, feeling sorry for myself… and throughout all this drama, Cristiano continues to be caring, loving and understanding never giving up on her.

I adored Cristiano’s sister – who believes in love and fairytales and tries to get Laurel back together with Cristiano. Even his brother, Santo becomes involved – I wonder if there is going to be a book about him? I think he would make a great hero for some lucky heroine out there!!!!!

Settings are stunning – a resort and spa for the rich and famous, you feel the magical, enchanting and mythical atmosphere of Taormina with its winding streets and tiny passages….oh what a man….buying the woman he has always and will always love a medieval castle!!!!!

I was elated that the true love for each other overcame all the misunderstandings and obstacles and found happiness together…and with their growing family.

Second thoughts after writing this review…..i am giving 5 stars because I think it deserves it. It’s a fabulous fabulous book and I can guarantee that anyone who reads it will love it as much as me.

REVIEW: Lover Enshrined by JR Ward

I only discovered JR WARD’s books early this year and had no idea what this series was about but I found some of her books on a special price section of my local bookstore and finding the covers and titles quite different and interesting…I thought? Why not? So I bought the first 4 books in the series. 

I became totally addicted. I couldn’t stop reading….as soon as I finished the one I began on the next and before I got to the 4th book I had bought the entire series. 
What fascinates me about her books is that each one has different plot lines, different POV’S, sub-plots and there are secondary characters that we meet and continue to grow so one has a sense of getting to know a little bit more about them and kept in suspense of WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!!!! 

This book is the 6th book in the series and it’s not really one of my favorites..I am not saying I didn’t like it it’s just that It’s Phury and Cormia’s story but it does not focus that much on them. There is so much happening with other characters that you kind of lose track of their story … 
Phury is very different to the brothers in the previous books. He’s an angst-ridden, artistic, guilt ridden by being secretly in love with Zsadist’s (his twin brother)shellan, Bella, He has spent his life- hundreds of years - making sacrifices for others even giving up one of his legs and celibacy to save Zsadist from slavery and torture. His struggles with his addiction to red smoke and then onto to heroin which nearly kills him.. He’s so out of control that Wrath kicks him out of the Brotherhood….which I thought was pretty grim…even his own brother turned against him. 
Being the person he is…self-sacrificing ---always putting others before himself…doing everything for others safety, even the cost to his life, he volunteers to take Vishous place as Primale to the Chosen so that V can stay with Jane. 
Phury will now have to mate with one of the Chosen to continue the pure line of the next generation of the Chosen and the Brotherhood. His first duty is to mate with Cormia, one of the Chosen who we met in Lover Unbound, who is sweet and gentle and falls in love with him despite his problems…she, sees the other side…how noble and great person he is. But despite knowing he’s in love with Bella, she wants his love and body for herself and no one else, not even to share with the other Chosen. 
Phury soon realizes that he wants only Cormia but can he forsake his duty as a Primale? Their journey takes quite a turn and Phury finally finds a purpose in his life and a solution to the problem with the Chose. …. absolutely amazing. I really admired his courage in not giving up on something he believed was right and moral. He finally finds joy and peace in his life with the woman he loves at his side. The sensuality between them is pure and hot…the real hot scenes happen more between the secondary characters. . I would have loved to see a bit more romance in the story. 

Lots of side plots going on in this book…...I really liked the part where we meet the new brothers..John Mathews who goes through his transition, Qhuinn …love this brother…hot hot….and Blay…..a bit bland…. Just love these sexy, gorgeous guys….black leather, designer labels, the talk..wow…wish I could meet one of them!!!!! It’s another world out there..….exciting, dangerous, dark and oh so cool!!!!!I couldn’t wait to read more about them in the next books…I just know we will get to know them really well. 
Then there’s Bella’s brother Rhev, a sinful looking sympathy, dealer of drugs who owns a nightclub and wears a long sable coat…..he’s a dark and interesting character. 
The lesser are back with a bang….lots of action, fights… a new leader called X and Lash …what a depraved guy!!!! There’s bound to be more about him in the next books. 
And Xhex, the amazon who works at Rhev’s club –wow what a woman!!! I actually believed that she was a gay woman….why I am not sure…just she is so strong, remote, complex and shows no interest in the men around her….I loved her character….sure she will appear in her own book soon….. 

I liked this book much more the second time I read it. I felt a bit more connected to Phury and Cormia’s HEA than the first time I read it 

What I love about this series is the great, strong dialogue and the way the writer makes me feel that I am actually there…I can see the white colors in the Fade, feel the softness of that sable coat –….you can see, smell, taste, feel and hear everything in her books. 
I am so crazy for this series that I read each book over and over again and find them just as exciting as the first time I read them. 

REVIEW: Cold Blooded by Lisa Jackson

Lisa Jackson is brilliant at creating nail-biting and exciting suspenseful romantic thrillers with some really scary and evil villains and characters that just pull you in. 

Cold Blooded is the 2nd book in the New Orleans Series, is the follow up to Hot Blooded ….. and having read most of the series before, I have become quite attached to the characters which appear in each story.

Rick Bentz…I so really like this man…what he has gone through in his life would shatter anyone….losing his job with the LAPD when he killed a kid by mistake, his wife’s infidelity and mysterious death, discovering that he is not the biological father to his daughter but fathered by another man, who is very “close” to him, trying to find a new life in New Orleans whilst battling so many issues and angst, overcoming his drinking problem….but still he is not about to give up..well on women he is…trust issues abound.

Olivia Benchet is quite an interesting character. Talk about dysfunctional family….a grandmother who had the “sight”, which Olivia has inherited, a lush for a mother who just loves getting married and divorced, an ex-con father who has just come out of jail after serving a sentence for murder and who has now discovered he has been saved and found religion…could there be a more screwed up family!!!! How can anyone rise above all that…but indeed Olivia does. I really liked her…she has spunk, not afraid to take chances…wow loved the scene where she and Bentz get it together…pity he had to spoilt it all by his reaction to the situation he finds himself in…attracted to her but unable to break through his issues with women. Boy, did that wife of his do a number on him!!!!!

They first meet when Olivia gives a report to Bentz and his partner, Reuben Montoya (another great character…hope we get to discover more about this hot guy, with some really great stylish dressing issued!!!!) on the visions she has been having about a serial killer, who looks like a priest and who is killing women in staged settings of how female saints had died and who calls himself the Chosen.
They race against time to find the killer before he strikes again…and though I had a few characters in mind, I was kept guessing until almost the end of the book. And what a surprise that was finding out!!!!!!! Not once did I even think it was possible. The suspense just kept building up.

I was really not prepared to what happened to Father James, who is Bent’z half brother, his wife’s lover and his daughter’s real father. He was just an interesting character and I would have liked to have read more about him I just wished he had taken the plunge from the beginning and just maybe he would have found true happiness instead of wasting years questioning his belief as a priest.

Though this series is termed as romance suspense, I did want to see a bit more of the romance bit…..just not enough for me. The chemistry between Olivia and Bentz could have done with a bit more zing…..however, in the next book Lost Souls we meet up with them again and you find out what happens after their HEA in this story..

Story is set in steamy New Orleans (before Katrina), which I really liked and Olivia’s house just suited the mood of the story. Her dog…talk about a weird pooch!!!!!
A few twists in the epilogue..which we have to wait for the next book to discover the answers.
Great read. 

REVIEW: Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger by Heidi Rice

Could I possibly have resisted reading this book???? A gorgeous man looking into my eyes, telling me that I wanted to meet him, wanted to know him….omg….this has to be the BEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL COVER of any M&B books ever!!!!!!!!! 

 And then, I turned to the back cover and went weak at the knees…..yes I wanted to get into this book like right now!!!! Would you want to buy this book if you read this????.....
Honed, handsome, and needing the kiss of life! Millionaire entrepreneur
Ryan King is mortified: he’s just been pulled from the ocean by a pretty female lifeguard! Why, after months recovering from a horrific motorbike accident, did he get back on his surfboard? For the same reason he wants a hot, wild woman back in his bed – to prove he’s the same man he was before… Maddy is shocked to find that this half-drowned, totally gorgeous surfer has her body humming! She always ends up getting used – maybe this time it’s her turn to do the using? It’s the short, sizzling affair they both need – until their dangerously addictive liaison careers out of control…

Heidi Rice is one of my favorite M&B Modern Heat authors and I love her books. She just knows how to write hot, sensual and emotional, passionate stories and Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger is no exception.
Ryan A gorgeous, sexy millionaire, who has been rendered impotent from a motorbike accident, is recuperating at Trewan Manor, a fabulous house on top of a cliff….and is saved from drowning when he’s attempting to do some surfing, by a woman lifeguard…this is a new career from your usual M&B heroines…loved it.

Maddy Westmore is one of those heroines who has had it with men…they are not to be trusted ever…from her father’s affair with his secretary, which she had observed personally to the men who had passed through her life….it was always her who was used and never received anything back. But she has a soft heart and a caring nature so of course she wants to know how Ryan is after the rescue. She is also very innocent when it comes to handling the full seduction scene with Ryan…..who sleeps with her to prove that he is not impotent…(one of the symptoms from his motor cycle accident). And wow are the sex scenes hot…does this man know what to do with a woman’s body!!!!!!! I wanted to be in Maddy’s place…I wanted to be her….

After a mutual decision to have an affair with no strings attached, it soon becomes clear that they have a special chemistry between each other.

There are a lot of issues that both have to overcome before they can truly find their HEA.
Loved the dialogue…. Loved this part…”I hate to rush you. But if you’re not annoyed, could you tell me what you are? Exactly?” … and the humor….She grinned, the charge of excitement making her erogenous zones do a happy dance. “Time to seize control of your sex life, Madeleine Westmore.” …. the description of the settings….Cornwall…such a beautiful and romantic place…. and the secondary characters….Maddy’s brother…now I wanted to know his story….which I am hoping to read next…..Cupcakes and Killer Heels.

Oh and the epilogue….loved loved it!!!!!! I was so into this book and have read it 3 or 4 times and each time I am still excited as if it was the first time I read it…

REVIEW: Lure by Brian Rathbone

This was a free ebook which I was asked to give an honest review.
I just couldn’t get into this book. I put it aside and a few days later went back to it and gave it another try and I have to be honest and say that I did struggle to finish it.

When I read the synopsis, the plot and the characters...an ex-cop driving a souped up car and who is interested in the paranormal sound good to me. But as I turned the pages, I was so disappointed....I found her totally uninteresting and as for her friend Shells (I hated the name...sorry!!!!)..if I heard “dude” one more time, I was going to scream and smack her!!!!! I could not engage with any of the characters and after a while I skipped a few lines and at times pages.

I could not connect. I kept waiting for something to happen....and really nothing to pull me right into the story.
This could have been a good book but I felt it lacked something

REVIEW: The Mediterranean's Wife by Contract by Kathryn Ross

I am in two minds about this book. I liked it but at times not. This is one of the only books I have read by Kathryn Ross and whilst I did enjoy some parts of the story at some point I really got irritated by the heroine’s behavior. 

It’s not about marrying a man that you are absolutely crazy about but who you just know does not love you, but for the sake of the love you have for your godchild!!! Well, if she was prepared to do this, why spend the entire time acting like an idiot!!!
Carrie first met Andreas, a gorgeous Greek on a blind date set up by her best friend and it did not have such a happy ending….she left despite being offered the job of being his mistress…well so would I!!!! Rather go back to your career in London. But life is full of surprises!!!

Jo, her best friend since they were at foster homes, had married Andreas’s brother and they were both killed, leaving their six-month baby girl, Lily in his care. Carrie loved the little girl and tried to get custody in a very devious way…thank heavens he saw through her little ruse on time…..and the only option offered to her is to marry him so that they can become parents together.

Andreas hadn’t been a great guy to her but hey, people can change. And he does. He tries everything to make her happy. A lovely wedding in the local church and then the honeymoon…how could she resist it???? Here she is in this fabulous yacht that her very gorgeous and rich husband owns, romantic dinners laid out, awesome honeymoon cabin..and she just goes ahead and whines and moans…yes she does that when he eventually makes love to her…and discovers she’s a virgin….but still she persists in ignoring him and trying to get close to him. Okay, I know she feels insecure, unloved because of her childhood but how can she truly believe that Andreas could never fall in love with her????? What, she’s gorgeous, beautiful, and clever and loving...what more is there…how could he possibly not fall in love with her!!!!!! Such insecurity drove me bats a few times….how could she not get it, I wondered.

I did begin to like the story more as I continued and by the end I began warming up to Carrie ….and just by the way, Andreas is actually quite a cool Greek guy with a fabulous sense of humor…none of that stuffy Geek tycoon thing!!!!! And did I breathe a sigh of relief when they found their fabulous HEA.

Yes, let me be honest. I did enjoy their story!!

REVIEW: Blackmailed Into The Greek Tycoon's Bed by Carol Marinelli

This book is the last one I had to read in the International Billionaire’s Series and it’s one of my favorite ones. I am not that crazy about rugby, which is the theme of the books but there wasn’t too much about rugby mania in it making the story of Karin Wallis, a beautiful titled English woman and Xanthus Rossi, a beyond gorgeous, rich and powerful Greek tycoon. 

Karin has been labeled by the tabloids as the “Ice Queen” who jets around the world doing nothing but living the high life and they couldn’t be more wrong. She has been trying to keep her family together since the death of her beloved grandfather, a rugby legend and it seems that things are not really going well. Her drug-addicted parents had been killed after blowing most of the family’s fortune and now her horrible brother is continuing the saga which has her having to sell off the last of the family’s heirlooms to pay for her younger sister’s education.

Xanthe has clawed his way out of the Athens alleys to become a very rich man, who can have anything or anyone he wants. From the first moment he lays eyes on Karin, in one of his hotel’s foyer, he is totally smitten. But before he can make his move, she has flown away with one of his prized rugby mementos….the rugby rose which had belonged to her grandfather before her snarky brother had sold it without her knowledge. She needs it badly.
I just loved these two. Xanthe is really an amazing hero…yes alpha-male all the way but with such HEART.!! I couldn’t believe how beneath this hard exterior, was a gentle, caring person who goes out of his way to help Karin…on the way falling totally in love with her.

Karin seemed so bowed down by the things that had happened in her life, the terrible things she experienced with her parents before their death, the responsibility she feels for her sister, the result of her scars from an accident…I just wanted to cry for her. The feeling that you can’t trust or believe in anyone. But wow….does that mean she just gives in???? Absolutely not!!! She shows such courage and determination. She fights all the way…including the chemistry that is so sizzling between her and Xanthe. She can bite….some of the things she says to Xanthe…hurtful and spiteful…so cold at times…but I felt this was the way she believed she could remain strong and not be hurt again. Afraid to trust, to love. The patience Xanthe showed…really did me…I mean, here is this guy being snubbed, disrespected, bluntly told to go somewhere else…and what does he do??? He does everything possible to help her, to care for her, to love her!!!!! This is one of my most amazing heroes…..he has heart and soul!!!!!!! One of the things I think he learnt was that you cannot force anyone to love you….you have to believe and trust in them….something he also had an issue about. And that letter he sent Karin……..if that’s not poignant, romantic…then nothing else is!!!!!!

There were so many surprises in this book….even in the last few pages you learnt something new in their lives. You just had to keep reading page after page because you needed, wanted to know more.

This is just a wonderful love story, filled with hope, forgiveness, learning to trust and to love. It just made me feel so good after I finished reading and I could have quite happily continued reading about their life together.

REVIEW: Call of the Desert by Abby Green

Call of the Desert by Abby Green, one of my mostest favouritest Mills and Boon authors, ha the cliché plot of the desert sheik but with a great difference. What, you may ask? Well, here they are: 

1 Julia Somerton is gorgeous, intelligent and not the usual young, naïve virgin who is swept away to a far away land by her sheik….though meeting her sheik when she was twenty and working on a archaeological dig in his country and do indeed fall in love and have a passionate affair and due to misunderstandings forced to go back to England, she has been married, divorced and is now a career woman.

2 Kaden is not your typical sheik..yes he’s alpha male, ruler of his country but he has a gentle and caring soul. He has been unable to forget Julia even through his marriage and divorce.

3 Seeing each other after all those years , both realize that they still feel a strong physical attraction for each other and are unable to be away from each other. As they rekindle their relationship, Kaden starts coming to terms with the distrust he has for her and what really matters is that he has never stopped loving her. He invites Julia to accompany him to his sister’s wedding which is taking place in his country. Impulsive…something he has never been. I just wondered how they would get together…I mean, she’s divorced and not a virgin!!!!!!! But to a man like Kaden, these issues are not important. He wants to be with her and that’s it!!!!!

4 Some really sensual and hot sex between the two…..just shows how far Mills & Boon have come!!!!!!

5 Loved the part when Julia discovers she is pregnant and being unsure of what to do or where to go next. Of course Kaden is not the type of man to abandon her even though they had made a mutual decision to end their affair…well Julia more than him!!!!!!

6 I so totally engaged with Julia and Kaden. This is such a wonderful love story….having a second chance to finding happiness together. I so wanted them to be with each other….and they do.

Abby Green’s books are always filled with passion, conflict and incredible characters. She writes great stories that are always fresh and new. I am an absolute fan of this author. (less)