Review: Hold on to Me (Against All Odds, #2) by Elisabeth Naughton

Hold on to Me by Elisabeth Naughton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved Wait for Me, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... and having been introduced to Mitch, who I found totally adorable and engaging, I was so looking forward to his story.
Somehow Hold on to Me, the sequel kind of disappointed me. I was totally frustrated with each page I turned..this was me…..

The reason….Simone!!!! What the hell happened to the sexy, sassy woman we met before???
She turns into this totally unrecognizable person!!!! I lost any connection I had with her!!
Her behavior towards Mitch was absolutely appalling. Why did she not come clean about her past? Why would it change the feelings she had for the guy???
So, here we have her….Oh Mitch…..I’m doing all these stupid things because I love you!!! And I want to protect you!!!! Really….is that how a grown-up behaves???

Her daughter shows more gumption than her!!!

And Mitch…jeez….this guy must get his head together!!!
Why they don’t talk and get all their baggage out of the way is beyond me!!! She has secrets….he has secrets!!! And the time they took to tell each other about them is totally insane!!!! If you love each other, why is it so difficult to open up to each other????

It would have solved a lot of heartache and misunderstandings!!!!

What I did like about this book was:
Shannon & Julia’s deviousness and antics
Seeing Kate & Ryan again and getting more about their lives together
Rock star Tate Kendrick….please can we get his book?????


View all my reviews

Review: Magic in the Wind (Drake Sisters, #1) by Christine Feehan

Magic in the Wind by Christine Feehan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Drake Sisters series is based on the extraordinary Drake sisters, Sarah, Kate, Abigail, Libby, Hannah, Joley, and Elle, bound, not by blood, but by magic, mysticism and each gifted with special and strange powers.
Their family home is the enchanting and magical Drake House

, which is set on the cliffs overlooking the sleepy, peaceful, charming and delightful coastal town named

The prophecy tells that the gates of their home will open only for each sister’s soul mate.

Magic in the Wind is the 1st introduction to this series and tells the story of Sarah, the eldest Drake sister.

Sarah, a security expert returns to her home and meets Damon Wilder, a scientist hiding in the town from his past and trying to find some peace in his life after having gone through a very traumatic time in his life. He is also hiding from very bad people who are determined to kill him. He’s drawn to Drake House and keeps hearing about Sarah.
When he arrives at Drake House, the gates open up for him. Now, of course, we all know what that means!!!!

Mystery, magic, prophecies, evil, love, intrigue, humor, romance, ..... we get all that plus introduced to some amazing characters, especially the sisters who arrive to help Sarah in helping Damon.

This is a sweet and lovely love story. I would have liked the story to have been a bit longer…it’s rather short for me to have really got into Sarah & Damon.
However, it does give us a chance to meet the characters i.e. sisters for the upcoming books in the series.

If you want to read more about the Drake Sisters prophecy….check out the poem the author gives us….i really liked it (view spoiler)[

DRAKE SISTER PROPHECY~
These things say she
Who holds the gifts of the seven
Who walks at twilight
Holding the seven golden lamps

Seven sisters intertwined
Controlling elements of air, land and sea
Cannot control the fate they flee
One by one, oldest to last, destiny shall claim them

When the locked gate swings open in welcome
The first shall find true love
As the sisters stand in wonder
At what destiny has done

Within each sisters heart now beats passion
While love turns as a key
By the time the year is ended
Each will follow thee

Remember therefore from whence you came
Knowing that in the end it is the seventh
That will renew the line again
Seven daughters of a seventh daughter

Each gifted each giving each tied to one another
For those who have ears let them hear
For those who have eyes let them see
For all that I have said shall come to be

To the eldest is gifted agility, grace
And the knowledge to see what future we face
Second in line speaks peace with a word
While the third calls truth from the unspoken word

Next comes the healer with hands that can find
That which is deadly and make it unbind
The fifth harnesses elements of air, wind and sea
As the sixth sister sings a spell over thee

Last of the seven youngest of all
Possesses the greatest gift of them all
To her falls the bearing of children to be
So that the line will continue and forever more be

Each gift has a challenge which must be overcome
The seven free sisters must act now as one
With grace and agility comes great bodily fatigue
While speaking peace raises ire and continual need

The calling for truth from the unspoken word
Gives way to illusion for naught has been heard
She whose hands can undo death for another
Will take on the illness and hope to recover

The harnessing of wind tides and sea
Gives way for the unknown to be
As the spell singer sings casting her spell
One misspoken word and alls to no avail

For the seventh child of the seventh daughter
New corridors open holding illusion, power
But which path to take and where does it lead
Choices to make while each plants a seed

These things I have spoken so harken ye well
For lives you are changing with each casting of spell But know in your heart when you must turn away For some will be lost as it is destinies way

Yours is a legacy not easily born
So beware of the pitfalls and careful of thorns
The gifts they are many
Born from the past

Surviving the years for the future to last
From mother to daughters
And back through the line
The gifts that you carry always will bind

Prophecy written by Anita Toste, eleventh daughter in the infamous and magical King family, in the year before the great wars between Magick and Science.

(hide spoiler)]


View all my reviews

Review: The Golden Barbarian (Sedikhan, #1) by Iris Johansen

The Golden Barbarian by Iris Johansen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have kind of gone off sheikh romances and not exactly mad about historical romance
…..so why I decided to read this book ?????….I have no idea!!!
Perhaps it’s that the author, Iris Johansen, is one of my favorite romantic suspense writers. I think I have read most of her books but somehow missed this series. But right now, I am so happy with this find…in fact I am ….kinda feeling like this

Why I found this story so fascinating was the fact that it’s not your usual cheesy sheikh meets virginal heroine, bends her to his rules making her a total simpering idiot!!!!

No, this is a timeless love story between an honorable desert sheik and a feisty and independent princess. Fabled kingdoms, desert tribes, fearless women, love, politics, passion and inspiration.

Galen ben Rashid, sheikh of the exotic kingdom of Sedikhan

Offers Princess Theresa Christina Rubinoff a chance to gain her independence.

Agreeing to a marriage of convenience which will benefit both of them, Tess, her independence and Galen being able to join both their kingdoms to enable him to unite his people…..they are thrown into a journey filled with danger, excitement, adventure, love and discovering what means the most in their lives. Seeing them fall in love with each other….feeling their sexual tension!!!!!! Fab Fab Fab!!

There were such a lot of things I enjoyed about this book.
Galen for me was the ultimate hero. Instead of being overbearing and over-alpha and bending Tess to his way – instead he gave her the freedom to be herself!! I adored the love for his people, his patience, his understanding and how he dealt with the obstacles that he had to face.

He was really an endearing character.

Tess was a woman before her time!!!! A pioneer of women’s liberation!!!!!! Unafraid to face the challenges in her life. Clever, adventurous, honest, straight-forward, caring and totally lovable. I could not help but fall in love with her!!!

Great dialogue. Some fabulous secondary characters….my favorite…Tess’s cousin Sacha!!!! I can’t wait for his story!!!! As I was so happy to discover….this is the 1st book in the Sedikhan Series…yes, I am going to read the entire series!!!

Wonderful love story. Wonderful story line. Wonderful characters. Wonderful settings.
And of course……..Tess & Galen……..

What more can I say????



View all my reviews

Review: Wait for Me (Against All Odds, #1) by Elisabeth Naughton

Wait for Me by Elisabeth Naughton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A love that never dies. A love story that survives anything!!!!

An almost unbelievable story but so compelling that it becomes somehow believable! Okay, maybe I am not making sense here…but let’s take a look at the storyline of this book.

Kate Alexander’s life began when she woke up from a coma a year ago. She remembers nothing before that time.
Her husband is killed in an air crash and her life is turned upside down when she discovers documents and a foto of a small child that looks exactly like her, that he had kept locked in his study. This has her going on a mission to discover what else had been kept hidden from her.

Ryan Harrison, handsome and charismatic CEO of a huge pharmaceutical company had lost his wife, Annie, in an air crash 5 years previously. He has never got over her death, which caused him to become a hard and emotionless man.

A twist of fate, kismet…whatever one calls it… the two meet and Ryan is adamant that she’s his missing wife. Kate is not sure, even though she feels some connection to him and his daughter, Julia.

This is a fast paced story, filled with suspense, great dialogue, mystery, secret and dangerous doings in drug testing by companies, lies, deceit, family, love, humor and characters that you can sympathies with .

I certainly did not expect the twist at the end…..total surprise!!!!

I liked Kate Alexander and at first I thought Ryan Harrison was a bit of a dolt…make that an asshole. His reaction and behavior towards Kate was OTT most of the time but in the end I did warm up to him. Almost understood his pain and loss and how hard it was for him to find his lost love who remembers nothing about their life together.

Adored Julia– let’s just say that at times the things she did and say were a bit…like is this kid just 10 years old!!!! But seeing her pain at thinking that she may lose her mother again was pretty heartbreaking.

The other secondary character I loved was Kate’s brother, Mitch. He was a totally endearing character and I am eagerly waiting to read his story in the next book, Hold on to Me.

My favourite quote:

This is a really good read.


View all my reviews

Review: Stolen Fury (Stolen Series, #1) by Elisabeth Naughton

Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have just discovered this author and read her paranormal romance Eternal Guardians Series which I loved.

Having seen that she also writes romantic suspense, which is another of my favorite genres, I started with her Stolen Series, described by the author as..

Filled with globe-trotting adventure, steamy romance and riveting suspense, the Stolen books are red-hot romantic adventures that will appeal to fans of Romancing the Stone and Indiana Jones.

Stolen Fury, the 1st book in the Stolen Series, gave us all of that!!!! And more!!!
A female Indiana Jones……as the lead character!!! I could not wait to start reading !!

The adventure begins from the first sentence….

Dr Lisa Maxwell – is the kind of heroine I adore. Mature….yes, no simpering, naïve and whiny woman…in her thirty’s, knows what she wants and goes for it.

And what she’s on a treasure hunt to find an ancient Greek relic (yes a bit of Greek mythology here!), which she does and which she has stolen from her when she allows herself to be seduced by a gorgeous and mysterious man attending her lecture in Milan.

That man is known by many names, one of them - Rafe Sullivan (just by the way, his real name is Rafe Garcia!!!!). This is the ultimate anti-hero.
Dark, sexy and gorgeous (described as looking a bit like Antonio Banderas!!!! ) Imagine any woman being able to resist a man like this!!!!!

Dr Lisa Maxwell certainly did not..pity it cost her the treasured piece she had just excavated from a cave in Jamaica…illegally I must add!!!! Totally enraptured by his seduction, she never realized what he actually was

A thief – but wait…he’s a good one though…what I mean is that this guy has a heart of gold…I kid you not…you find that out as we continue with the story!!! Look, let’s just say that he steals priceless items for a gallery he co-owns with a friend…but he only does that as a last resort – if the owner does not want to sell, he comes back to get it for free!!!!!! And one way he does it….seduces Lisa, drugs her and runs away with her treasure!!!!! Oh, he did feel a tinge of regret when he left her sleeping off the drug he gave her….especially sorry that they didn’t go all the way before she knocked out…should have checked the dosage!!!!!!!

This being the author’s debut novel was pretty impressive!!!!
Well written, believable and endearing characters, stunning settings, well researched Greek mythology and a fun and fast paced ride!


Liz tracks down the thieving Rafe to the Florida Keys…and their second meeting was so totally fabulous!

“Nice to see you again, querido." Her flat palms connected with his solid chest. She pushed hard, catching him off guard, knocking him right off his feet.”

Yes, Dr Lisa Maxwell is back to her normal self….

What follows is a funny, sexy, action packed, dangerous and exciting treasure hunt when the two form a “working” relationship that has them running from the bad guys who want the same thing they are looking for. The Greek mythical Furies statues

I loved the verbal sparring between these two. The sexual tension was – something like ….sparks flying!!!

Then trying to ignore the feelings that are growing for each other!!! It certainly made great reading….At times, it had me wanting to grab the two and get some sense into their heads…you know…

The secondary characters are really interesting. Lisa’s cop brother, Shane. Rafe’s ex wife, Hailey and Peter Kaufmann, Rafe’s business partner in the gallery they own together in Miami and I even warmed up to Rafe’s wasteful brother in the end.
I am really looking forward to their stories.

I am so looking forward to book #2, which is Peter Kauffman’s story!!!

And if you are a lover of paranormal romance, try her Eternal Guardians Series – you can check out my reviews here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...


View all my reviews

Review: Twisted (Eternal Guardians, #7) by Elisabeth Naughton

Twisted by Elisabeth Naughton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

TWISTED is book #7 in the Eternal Guardians series, a paranormal romance series, with a twist of Greek mythology, which features seven warriors, descended from the greatest heroes in all of ancient Greece.
Nick, who we first met in Marked, book #1 in the series, has always been an interesting character and we finally get his story and a chance to find out what he’s all about.

Leader of the half-breeds known as Misos, who live in the human world and outcasts from the Argolean realm, he has always put others before himself, never given recognition for the many sacrifices he has made and he’s paying dearly for the courage and selflessness he showed to save the life of Isadora, his twin brother, Demetrius’s wife, who he has been struggling to get over the fact that she’s also his soul mate.

Held prisoner by Zagreus, son of the lord of the Underworld, Hades, he spends months being tortured until he breaks so that he can come into his true god powers, which Zagreus needs to enable him to free himself from his father.
Zagreus mistress of pain, Cynna is in charge of his torture and abuse.

Cynna sold her soul to the devil, Zagreus in order to avenge the deaths of her family but has come to realize that the price was nothing like she had expected.

Cynna starts to feel something for Nick and tries to help him during his torture. He also sees something different inside her……

She decides to escape from Zagreus and takes Nick with her. When wounded during their escape, she asks him to leave her but Nick feels that there’s something about her that balances him.

I liked seeing these two playing each other off. Though Cynna, whilst I could sympathize with her and what she had been through since the death of her parents and the bad decisions she had made, I became a bit irritated with the way she acted during her escape and when she’s taken by Nick to Argolea. At times I wondered if she was the right person for Nick.

This was a rather dark and a bit twisted romance. It was also had totally unexpected and unpredictable revelations!!!! Talk about surprises!!!!

Do I like this series?????? …

Yes, I love it….. It has everything I like in paranormal romance –an unique take on paranormal romance, a fabulous take on a fantastical world , amazing characters – who doesn’t like and women who don’t take shit from anyone….totally.. Greek Mythology, epic battles, wicked Greek gods……just doesn’t get any better!!!

One of the characters introduced in this story was Ari……now this is someone who I want to know more about and hopefully the series will continue and we will be able to get his story!!!!


View all my reviews