Review: Unmasking Kelsey

Title: Unmasking Kelsey
Author: Kay Hooper
Publishing Date: 1988, rereleased 2012
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: I was making a long car trip and I needed an audio book for the trip.  This was about the only thing that was available for immediate check out.

I really only listened to this because I was desperate.  I have read Kay Hooper before and I have liked her books, but I had a feeling that this would seem very out dated to me since it was originally published in 1988 and then rereleased in 2012.  Here is the new cover, but the one I have posted below is the original cover.  They send quite different messages don't they?!?!  You can imagine how someone would feel if they picked up the new book cover, only to find its not quite a suspense, but a category romance.

On to the review... Unmasking Kelsey is the 6th book in Hagen series.  This series is about a team of operatives for some special unit that solves crimes that other government agencies can't touch.  The mastermind behind the special unit is Hagen and he is a bit of an unintentional matchmaker.  All his operatives have ended up in love and then leave his team.  One of remaining few is Kelsey.  He is sent to the town of Pinnacle to investigate a manufacturing company called Metatron.  Something shady seems to be going on and his investigation leads him to the stunningly, beautiful Elizabeth.  Elizabeth has been raising her sisters on her own since her parents death and seems to be in over her head.  Kelsey can't resist coming to her rescue.

Mainly, its just that the book is really outdated and is an extremely old school romance cliché.  The beautiful, helpless woman needs rescuing by the emotionally, distant operative.  Of course, once he sets eyes on her, he can't help but be taken in by her beauty and everything he has ever known changes in the blink of an eye.  The book was just very silly to me.  The plot had lots of holes and was overly ridiculous.  At the end, the heroine puts herself in danger on purpose, which sets me on edge.  Also, the narrator of this book did a southern accent because the book takes place in South Carolina, and let me tell you, not good.  For some characters it was like nails on a chalkboard when she did their voices.  Steer clear people, steer clear!!

Review - Pack Challenge

Title: Pack Challenge
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Publishing Date: 2006
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: This was a free download as an ebook.

Pack Challenge is the first book in Shelly Laurenston's Magnus Pack series. This is Zach and Sara's story. Zach is passing through town when he needs work done on his motorcycle. He notices Sara at the shop and can't seem to get her out of his mind. Sara doesn't need Zach complicating her life right now. With her poor health and something strange after her she has no time to devote to her love life.

As you can see by my rating, this book did not work for me AT ALL. It was a combination of things. First and foremost was the heroine. I just could not STAND her. Ugh. She was such a bitch, LOL! She was rude and snarly. She is the type of person who solves problems with physical violence. I can see why she would make a perfect Alpha female, but it did not endear me to her. I tend to like my heroines a little more soft and cuddly, if you know what I mean. I just found her too abrasive and manly for my tastes.

My other main issue was that I felt there was no real development of the pack. There really were no references to pack politics or hierarchy, or really any details at all. It was all very superficial; nothing special to make it stand out from the crowd. I also didn't feel any real connection between Zach and Sara. To be quite honest, I didn't see why he would be attracted to her. This book was not my cup of tea.

Review - Weekend Warriors

Title: Weekend Warriors
Author: Fern Michaels
Publishing Date: 2004
Genre: Fiction
Rating: D
Sensuality: subtle
Book Disclosure: I borrowed an audio book from the library.

Weekend Warriors is the first in the Sisterhood Series by Fern Michaels. Myra Rutledge, a wealthy billionaire takes it upon herself to form and fund a vigilante group of other women who have been victimized and whom the law was unable to help. Myra formed this group after her own daughter was hit by a drunk driver and could never place charges on the man. These women formulate a plan to vindicate each woman in the group. The first woman whom they help is Kathryn Lucas, who was raped by three motorcyclists while her invalid husband watched helplessly.

First let me say that my dislike of this book was not due to the writing, it was more due to the content of the story. The whole premise of the book is one of revenge, anger and hate. These women are out to get those who did them wrong. Since the law didn't help them they are now going to take matters into their own hands and the punishment will fit the crime. The subject matter was too brutal for me.

I had trouble connecting with the women’s' vindictiveness. I understood where they were coming from, but in my mind what they were doing was wrong, even if justified. It made it difficult for me to enjoy the story and the characters. I didn't like how Myra enlisted the women to join her group. I felt like she coerced them into doing it. On lots of levels this book just didn't work for me.

The Perfect Wife

Title: The Perfect Wife
Author: Victoria Alexander
Publishing Date: 1996
Genre: Historical
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: I received this as a free book from a friend a year ago.

Sabrina Winfield has longed for stability for her daughter and herself since her first husband died young and virtually left her penniless. She has been an example of just what a young woman should be, not calling attention to herself and living an exemplary lifestyle. The Earl of Wyldewood's son is engaged to her daughter, yet he might just have designs on the Mother of the Bride. After all, he is in need of a wife himself and what a lovely woman she is. Sabrina has vowed never to need to depend on a man. Very uncharacteristically of her she decides to head to Egypt in search of treasure that will provide her daughter with a proper dowry.

I had a lot of problems with this book. I will say that I was quickly sucked into the story by a charismatic character in Lady Sabrina and her wild adventure after a treasure. However, Lady Sabrina after a few short chapters turned out to be a very annoying character. She was extremely hard headed with her own perception of things with not much bending room. She came across as immature and flighty, which I did not find endearing in the least. I liked Nicholas more than I did Sabrina. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and I was quick to take his side over things rather than Sabrina's, but in the end, I wondered what he saw in her.

There was a secondary love story between Sabrina's daughter Belinda and Nicholas's son Erick. Their relationship was just touched upon but did not really delve beneath the surface. I cringed at Sabrina's reaction to her daughter at times and vice versa. Belinda was exactly as Sabrina raised her, yet Sabrina would get annoyed with her daughter's behavior when that was how she was taught to behave. Sabrina and Nicholas’s love story was moderately believable at best. I can't really recommend this book. It was definitely not my style.

Review - Sinful

Title: Sinful
Author: Charlotte Featherstone
Publishing Date: 2010
Genre: Historical/Erotic
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: I received a used copy from Paperbackswap.com

Matthew, the Earl of Wallingford needs money. His father has decided to cut him off from funds because of his wild and reckless lifestyle. Matthew holds an auction for one of his very risqué paintings. This money will allow him to open his own art gallery. After the action Matthew is jumped by a couple of thugs and is brutally beaten and left for dead. Someone finds him and he is taken to a hospital where he is nursed by Jane Rankin who is considered shy and plain by most.

Sinful started out with promise. Charlotte Featherstone's writing is very sensual and the characters were intriguing, each with a mysterious past. Unfortunately, things went downhill after the first quarter of the book. There is a point when Matthew insults Jane with such cruelty. It was such an ugly hurtful scene that I felt in order for things to work between them Matthew was going to have to grovel. He never really does. I believe they do talk about the incident but not much in the way of an apology is given.

Then the ending of the book was a complete an utter disappointment. Matthew had some major baggage in his past and I don't feel that it was ever resolved. Also, I felt cheated at the way that Matthew and Jane get their "happy ever after". I can't really go into details without spoiling it for other readers. Just suffice it to say that I was majorly disappointed. I almost wish I had not finished the book and just stopped in the middle. I would have been more satisfied. Sorry, but this is not a book I can recommend.

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Review - Blood Born

Title: Blood Born
Author: Linda Howard and Linda Jones
Publishing Date: April 2010
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: I purchased this book new.

Blood Born is the first book in a new vampire series. Luca Ambrus is a vampire. I guess you could call him an enforcer of sorts. The governing vampire body calls on him to hunt down and kill those vampires who break the law and threaten other vampires. The most important thing is to keep the knowledge of the existence of vampires away from the human race. When Luca's good friend on the council is killed he learns that there is a traitor in their mist. He must uncover and stop the traitor before a war starts between his people and the human race.

Humans are not without help. There are people who are called conduits. These people channel spirit warriors into Earth's dimension. Chloe Fallon is one such person. Luca follows a rogue vampire to her home and saves her from the vampire as he tries to kill her. Chloe cannot be left alone because she will always be susceptible to another vampire attack. Luca vows to protect her at all costs.

Sounds good right? I thought Blood Born had great promise, an exciting plot with an otherworldly Alpha male written by a well known favorite author of mine. But alas, this one just wasn't what I was looking for. For one thing, I was reading this book during RT and it had a lot of competition for my attention. It started out really slow. The beginning of the book was a major info dump and the hero/heroine don't even meet until page 105. I am sorry, but 100 pages before they even meet???? It took real perseverance to continue the book and I'll admit, I read another book between this one to give me a quick fix.

The book has many multiple view points and it felt like less than half of the book focused on Luca and Chloe's relationship. The world building was great, but it dominated the book. I even checked to see how this book was labeled. Maybe it wasn't a romance, but right on the back it does say paranormal romance. This book just wasn't what I was expecting. *Sigh*


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This book can be purchased in print or kindle format from Amazon

Review - Dark Lover

Title: Dark Lover
Author: Brenda Joyce
Publishing Date: October 2009
Genre: Time Travel
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: Rented from Paperspine

Dark Lover is the fifth book in Brenda Joyce's Masters of Time series. Ian Maclean spent 66 years imprisoned by a powerful demon suffering from unspeakable torture as a nine year old boy. His father eventually freed him from this demon, but Ian carries horrible emotional scars. He has spent the last twenty five years building up his wealth and power in the hopes that nothing like that will ever happen to him again. Samantha Rose works for a secret government agency which keeps track of demonic activity. They hear that Ian Maclean has acquired a page from an ancient text, one that has a very powerful spell attached to it. Sam is assigned to get the page back from Ian before it falls into enemy hands.

Dark Lover is one of those books that I should have just given up on and stopped reading after I realized it wasn't for me. Instead, I managed to keep reading (after all I am a fan of Brenda Joyce's work) but it just never got any better. It seemed like there were many things about this book that hit my hot buttons. I am going to focus on the two main issues.

First, I didn't like the characters. Ian had two personalities, neither of which were appealing a.) he would act like an arrogant jerk or b.) a scared little boy. I understand that he was tortured, but Ian's behavior just didn't sit right with me. Sam's personality wasn't all that great either. She keeps herself at an emotional distance from everyone. She likes meaningless sex and will have it with anyone. She starts to feel, *gasp* compassion for Ian when she learns what he went through. But there is a lot of mental head hopping which explains the emotions of these characters, but not enough action with them working through these issues and they are very heavy issues. They are not something that can be glossed over, which is what I felt happened.

The second major complaint I had with the story was the plot/world building. First of all, the evil bad guy from a previous book comes back to play in this story. I'm sorry, but if the characters already took the time to battle with him in the last book you can't just resurrect him and have him show up again. I mean, who's to say the guy doesn't just keep showing up again and again. Enough is enough. The author does take the time to explain it, but seriously it all just seemed way to flimsy to me. There are still a few characters who could get their stories, but at this point I have no desire to read them. This series is on the outs with me.

This book can be purchased in print or kindle format from Amazon.

Review - Tasting Fear

Title: Tasting Fear
Author: Shannon McKenna
Publishing Date: July 2009
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot

Three sisters each find love while trying to discover who murdered their foster mother in this collection of novellas. In Outside the Limit, Nancy meets carpenter Liam Knightly on the stoop of her Mother's house. Before she died she had hired Liam to do some remodeling. In Ask For More, Nell answers an employment ad requesting a poet to help with a video game. She discovers that her new employer Duncan is none other than the gorgeous man who she waits on at the diner where she works. Then in Ready or Not, Vivi goes to live on the property of Jack Kendrick, a former military operative and good friend of Duncan's. Vivi needs protection from the killer who has yet to be apprehended.

The biggest issue I had with Tasting Fear was that is was the same story told three times, only the names were changed. The women all had the same personality, just interchange a different focus on art. One was a poet, one a sculptor and the other a musician. The men were all grunting, cave dwellers with super-sized penises, that once they found out their woman was in danger wanted to control every aspect of their lives in order to protect them. It really was the same story told over and over again.

Because these stories were short, no real character development was able to be done. The characters very quickly fell in love and it seemed staged and unrealistic. This time McKenna's writing lacked emotion and failed to hook me. The story would have had much more appeal had it only been one couple as the focal point. Then that couple would have had the proper time to develop their relationship in a reasonable and believable time period. I am sorry to say that I can not recommend this book. Fans of Mckenna, I suggest reading an old favorite to pass the time until she publishes a full length novel.

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And if you are a glutton for punishment, this book can be purchased in print or kindle format at Amazon.

Review - Lip Service

Title: Lip Service
Author: Susan Mallery
Publishing Date: June 2009
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot

Skye Titan fell in love with the neighboring rancher's son when she was just 18 years old. Only her father put the kibosh on their budding romance and Skye was left with no choice but to leave her feelings for Mitch behind and marry the man chosen for her by her father. She had a daughter with him and they had a nice marriage, albeit a passionless one for several years until he died leaving Skye a young widow. Mitch did not take being dumped by Skye very well and left his Texas home to join the Navy. He became a SEAL and saved lives on a daily basis, until he lost his leg to an explosion. Now he is back on his ranch, bitter and angry with the world. He wants to make Skye pay for the hurt she has caused him only his passion for her still hasn't diminished over the years, nor hers for him.

Lip Service frustrated me dearly to no end. It has nothing to do with Mallery's talent as a writer. She is extremely competent, but if only her characters Skye and Mitch could be too, would this book have been a better reading experience. The first part of the book, Mitch is a complete and utter ass to everybody he encounters, his own family and of course Skye. He is bitter and angry and feels like he has nothing to live for. Skye is frustrating because she has no backbone when it comes to her father, Jed. She is constantly trying to prove herself to him, even though it is obvious to the reader that nothing Skye does will ever be good enough for Jed. She just needs to get away from him because he is a poison in her life. Skye needed to come to this conclusion much sooner than she did in the book.

The real kicker that made me want to throw the book at the wall came towards the end of the story. Skye finally manages to win Mitch's trust back and not two seconds later she is off repeating the same mistakes that she made eight years before. Once I could understand, but twice pushed me passed tolerance. I was extremely disappointed with Skye's growth in the story. On a positive note, I am curious to see how the plot with Skye's half-brother Garth will turn out. I am not sure I want to devote anymore time to this series, as the first two books have been less than stellar reads. Maybe I'll wait and see what the word on the web is about Izzy's book (#3).

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You can purchase this book in print or kindle format from Amazon.

Review - Red Kiss

Title: Red Kiss
Author: Deidre Knight
Publishing Date: June 2009
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm

Red Kiss is the second book in Deidre Knight's Gods of Midnight Series. River Kassandros is a shape shifting spartan warrior sworn to protect mankind from Demons along with six of his spartan brothers. Each of the warriors were given a special gift that helps make them unique. River can shapeshift into any weapon of his choice. But his special gift comes with a negative side effect in that when he emerges from his weapon form he in a berserker state and has the lust of battle riding him hard. River has been lost to his brothers when Sable, a Djinn Demon tosses River in the shape of a dagger into a river and he washes out to sea. For four months he remained in his dagger form at the bottom of the ocean. It isn't until Emma Lowery, a descendant of the Oracle with special powers of her own, hears River calling to her for help. She is able to save River and unite him with his Spartan brothers.

The biggest problem I had with Red Kiss was the hero, River. I'll be honest. I hated him. He was a big whinny baby most of the time and he drove me absolutely nuts with his constant yammering about how he isn't worthy of his fellow Spartan brothers' and Emma's love. I wanted to slap him upside his head and tell him to get over it already. So many times River's actions were that of a petulant child, not a grown man. I like my heroes to be confident and believe in themselves. River was constantly doubting himself and it slowed the pacing of the story to a snail's pace.

There are some interesting side stories within Red Kiss. The king and the Oracle were back. They didn't have much of an appearance and that was a mistake in my mind. Plus, a few of the other Spartans started to begin their stories. Knight even makes one of the warriors homosexual. I thought this was a unique twist to a romance series, where usually all of the men are heterosexual. I also liked how the villain tried to redeem himself in the end. Again, it is unusual to find that in the books I read. However, the poor pacing and execution of the story was still sorely lacking for my taste.

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Review - The Spy Who Loved Her and The Mistress's Secret

Many of you who follow my blog know I received the iPod Touch for Christmas. Lucky for me, Harlequin was running a promotion for iPhone or iPod Touch owners that they could download four of their Harlequin Mini books for free. Free books, you say? That's right, free. So of course I jumped at the opportunity to add them to my ever growing collection, because really, can you ever have too many books? Is there such a thing? Anyway, I ended up reading two of those books and here are my thoughts on them. These books were very short - novella size, I suppose. Since the books were so short, so will the reviews.


Title: The Mistress's Secret
Author: Julia James
Publishing Date: 2004 (this is what it has for the copyright date, but I thought mini's were new to the Harlequin line)
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm

Alanna Richards used to be the mistress to one very wealthy Leon Andreakos. Can you guess his nationality? I don't know why this one wasn't titled The Greek Tycoon's Mistress's Secret. Too Long? Title was already taken? Anyway, back to the story. Something happened in their past that lead her to flee from him and is now living in borderline poverty. Four years she has managed to avoid him when she accidentally runs into him in a department store. Leon hasn't ever been able to get her out of his mind and after he see her he wants her immediately.

The good news: this story was really short. I read it on my lunch break at work. The bad news: the majority of the story was a retelling of what happened in Alanna and Leon's past. It was all very cliched, with a secret baby plot and a big misunderstanding. All of this was just too much for such a short story. Leon's reason for wanting to marry Alanna was very flimsy. Like I said, good thing it was short.


Title: The Spy Who Loved Her
Author: Marie Farrarella
Publishing Date: 2000
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Kisses

Marla O'Connor an English teacher is at a teacher's convention in San Francisco. After a day of seminars she is eagerly looking forward to a hot shower and curling up with a good book. But surprise, surprise, when she unlocks the door to her hotel room she discovers a stunning specimen of a man, naked in her shower. For the sake of her own safety, Erik must keep her with him until he can secure his package (not that package - get your mind out of the gutter). That's twelve hours they will have to allude the bad guys.

I liked this mini much better than the previous one. I was able to read it in the same day and I found the differences to be quite drastic. Where as with the previous one I was told the story, this one was all action right from the get go. There was lots of interaction and witty banter between Erik and Marla. I was much more engaged in these characters. I still needed some suspension of disbelief because the story was very short, but nothing was super over the top. I could roll with it. My main complaint would be that when Erik and Marla finally get busy between the sheets, the story fades out and it picks up morning after. I know I sound like a pervert, but hey, I wanted to be apart of it too. What? Three's a crowd? Sheesh.

Review - The Courage To Love

Title: The Courage To Love
Author: Samantha Kane
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Historical/Erotic
Rating: D
Sensuality: Burning

The Courage To Love is the first book in Samantha Kane's Brothers in Arms series. Jason Randall and Tony Richards return from their sojourn on the continent to claim the woman they love. Kate has been living as a mistress to several men. Jason and Randal received a letter from one of Kate's friends suggesting that Kate needed their help and would be ready to settle down with them and start a new life as their wife. When Jason and Tony, go to see Kate, they know immediately that something is not right. She is not her usually happy self. She seems jumpy and frightened by them. They need to find out what happened to Kate while they were away.

I had quite a few problems with this book. The biggest problem I had with the book was the believability factor. I just couldn't grasp how open these men were with their unusual relationship with each other and Kate. In no way could I suspend disbelief to believe that two men, in this time period would be that open about their homosexual feelings. Back in this time period sodomy was a hanging offence. I don't think these men would have been as flagrant about it as they were in the book. Nor, do I think Lord Randall's mother would be as accepting as she was.

I also felt like the dialogue was very weak. The men would say things that no man would ever be caught dead saying, or think thoughts no man would be likely to think. One other minor detail that left me grinding my teeth, was that Jason is a titled Lord, but it is never specified to exactly what title he holds. Little details like this would have gone along way into beefing up the story.

It is never really explained as to why these men love Kate. The beginning of the story starts with them already having an established past together. While this helps the believability of the characters being able to jump into the sex right away, it also weakens the plot. I think the story could have been strengthened with flash backs, or something to give the reader insight into how they fell in love. As far as I am concerned that the author could have inserted any woman into Kate's role and it would have read the same.

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Review - Pleasures of the Night

Title: Pleasures of the Night
Author: Sylvia Day
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Paranormal (Erotic)
Rating: D
Sensuality: Burning

Aidan Cross is guardian of the realm of Twilight, a place that exists only between the real world and the dream world. It is Aidan’s mission to guard humans from Nightmares when they are dreaming, by having mind blowing sex with them. Also, his other duty as an elite warrior and the reason for his existence is the find and kill The Key. Unfortunately for Aidan, Lyssa is The Key and he falls in love with her.

I don’t know why I decided to read this book. As I was summarizing the plot, I realized just how ludicrous the whole book seems. It could have been fun, albeit a little campy, but for me it didn’t measure up. (Although there were quite a few references to how Aidan’s package did).

I think the main problem for me was that the characters just felt bland. There wasn’t really anything to hold my interest and I felt disconnected from them. I didn’t feel any urgency with the problems Lyssa and Aidan faced. As a matter of fact the issues revolving around Lyssa and Aidan are never fully resolved. It seems to me they just got brushed under the rug. I think there was potential with the prophecy and the world building, but it wasn’t fully developed. There is another book in this series, so it’s possible more things will be disclosed in that book. I am not certain I am interested enough to continue on though.

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Review - Chance the Winds of Fortune

Title: Chance the Winds of Fortune
Author: Laurie McBain
Publishing Date: 1980
Genre: Historical
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm

Dante Leighton is the Captain of a cargo ship that sails from the Caribbean to the Carolinas. He won a map to a sunken Spanish ship in a card game. He is used to seeing treasure maps, but this time it appears to be the real thing. He crosses paths with Lady Rhea Claire Dominick when he finds her asleep in his cabin on his ship. She had been kidnapped from her family and shipped from London to the colonies to be sold as an indentured servant. Dante can’t just let her go because she has seen the map and he believes her to be a spy, not the daughter of a Duke as she claims.

Let me be frank. If I had not chosen this book as one for my fall book challenge, I never would have finished it. The biggest problem I had with the book is that Dante and Rhea don’t meet until page 281. Yes, that’s right page 281!!!! What kind of nonsense is this? The first part of the book is devoted to recapping everything that happened between Rhea’s parents. Apparently, they had a book. Sure enough, I look up the information and yes their book was Moonstruck Madness.

Okay, so for 27 pages we have Dante and Rhea interacting and it’s good. The book has finally grabbed my attention. Then what does the author go and do? Yep, you guessed it. She jumps back to Rhea’s family for another 60 pages. So out of a total of 500 pages, 340 of them are spent on other plot points not devoted to Rhea and Dante’s relationship. That is more than half of the book. How is this book even considered a romance? I know it is, just look at the cover.

Since Dante and Rhea were given so little time to develop their relationship I didn’t buy into their love for each other. It felt extremely rushed considering this book is 500 pages. Rhea was super sweet. Think Snow White with the dwarves. She is like that with Dante’s crew. She could do no wrong in anyone’s eyes. Dante is very hard to pin down. I don’t feel like I got to know him at all. The good news about this book is that for a bodice ripper, no bodices were harmed. Rhea is never raped by anyone, nor does Dante ever “forcibly seduce” her.

Review - Smart and Sexy

Title: Smart and Sexy
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot

Noah Fisher is one of the co-owners of a private airline that caters to the filthy rich. After six months of taking a hiatus from flying, he has decided to get behind the wheel again. Only unfortunately for him, this day wasn’t the best day to pick. Bailey Sinclair’s husband died in a ski accident six months ago. After his death, it comes to light that some of his investments went bad and that he was in fact broke, not rich. To make matters worse the investors want their money back and swear that Bailey knows where it is hidden. So Bailey hijacks Noah Fisher to have him fly her to one of her husband’s resorts where she hopes the money is hidden.

Oh dear. I wanted to like this one. I really did. But alas, I just can’t, in all honesty, give it a higher grade. Bailey and Noah were nice enough, but they were completely superficial. If I had to read one more time about how broad his shoulders were, or how nice of an ass she had, I’d scream. On top of that, the whole book takes place over two days (possibly three) and they are on the run from these goons the whole time. But somehow in the middle of running for their lives, they have plenty of time to stop and do the horizontal mambo. I mean priorities people! Then to make matters worse, at the end of it they are completely in luuvvvvve. Only it is just not believable because it was lust, not love that brought these two together. Actually, the whole book takes an inordinate amount of suspension of disbelief, from their headlong fast fall into love, to the silly decisions that the characters kept making.

I will admit to enjoying Brody and Maddie. Brody is one of Noah’s partners and Maddie is their secretary. Maddie stole the show with her candor in telling the boys like it is. She has a secret though and it’s that she has feelings for Brody. I think Brody does too, but it will take a lot of pushing to make him admit it. I have a feeling that they have a book with their name on it. I am such a sucker that I will probably even read it.

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Lyon’s Gate

Title: Lyon’s Gate
Author: Catherine Coulter
Publishing Date: 2005
Genre: Historical
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm

Lyon’s Gate was a big fat disappointment. It is the ninth book in the Sherbrooke Bride series. After reading The Sherbrooke Twins, I was excited for Jason’s story. Unfortunately, it was a real let down. Jason Sherbrooke has dreamed of starting his own stud farm and plans to buy Lyon’s Gate. However, when he and his brother James venture there to look at the property, they meet a rather outrageous young lady Hallie Carrick. There she is on top of a mean horse in britches and a shirt, she can barely hang on to and she wants to start her own stud farm. She plans to have Lyon’s Gate for herself and thinks she can outsmart Jason. It seems they are pretty evenly matched.

The problem I had with this book was that it was sooooooo boring. The beginning starts out really slow because the reader has to slog through numerous characters from previous books and even some that belong in an entirely different series. I happen to know this because I have read the other series. It all seemed unimportant to the story and just bored me to tears. Finally Jason and Hallie meet and even their meeting is underwhelming. Nothing really stands out.

There really isn’t anything wrong with Hallie and Jason per say, it’s just that nothing about their lives is really gripping and intriguing to the reader, at least this reader. Most of the time I was bored out of my mind and my mantra was to hurry up and finish it so I can start on another book. Plus, I was hoping something would capture my attention. I am sorry to say, that nothing really ever did.

Review - Nights in Black Satin

Title: Nights in Black Satin
Author: Noelle Mack
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Time Travel (Erotic)
Rating: D
Sensuality: Burning

Nights in Black Satin begins with a young artist, Sarah Ryan who has traveled to Venice to appreciate the history and art of the city. She attends a wild party because a friend gave her the invitation. She meets a mysterious compelling man, Marco who walks her home from the party. The next day they meet and begin a tryst. Marco acquires an old book of spells that Sarah reads out loud from and the next thing they know they are transported back into Venice in the 1700’s (although, that is my best guess as to the time period).

I thought the premise of this book was very promising. Venice is a setting that is not used a lot in romances. I love time-travel novels and with the romance of Venice I was very excited about this book. I am sorry to say that it did not live up to my expectations. This first half of the book was actually pretty good. Marco comes across as very worldly and mysterious and Sarah who is young and naïve can’t help but be attracted to him. Fortunately for her the feeling is mutual. I liked that after their first encounter they don’t end up in bed right away. The time they spend together the first night is actually kind of sweet.

After they travel through time though, Marco takes on a different personality. He seems more selfish and even petulant. Sarah herself began to grate on my nerves because she was just as selfish. For this couple to have a lasting relationship was not at all believable. They never talked or worked out their problems or worries and none of the major issues were ever really addressed, at least not to my satisfaction. Also, there were hardly any steamy scenes in the last half of the book. It just became very boring and it was a real struggle to finish. I don’t recommend this book at all.

Review - Lawless

Title: Lawless
Author: Diana Palmer
Publishing Date: 2003
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: D
Sensuality: Warm

Christabel Gaines married Judd Dunn when she was only sixteen years old. It was a marriage in name only so that Judd could protect Christabel and her ranch. Now five years later Chrissy will almost be twenty-one years old and she has strong feelings for Judd and wishes her marriage was more than in name only. With Chrissy experiencing a threat to the ranch and possible danger to her life, Judd takes a more active role in Chrissy’s life. He starts to notice she is not a child any longer and starts to have more than platonic feelings for her. Judd likes the freedom he has and doesn’t want to be tied down.

I had a strong reaction to this book. It seemed like it hit all my hot buttons. First off, there is a huge age difference between Judd and Chrissy, fourteen years to be exact. I have a hard time believing in the validity of the May-December romance. The relationship is too uneven. The older person has more experience and knowledge and it leaves them with too much power over the younger person. I find I am uncomfortable with that. Add that to the fact that Judd is pretty much a big jerk and it becomes even more uncomfortable.

Another thing I can’t stand is when one of the characters decides that they are going to be less than honest with the other person because they know what is best for the other person. In this case, Chrissy decides that she doesn’t need to tell Judd about the trouble at the ranch because he won’t believe her anyway. Judd takes it upon himself to lie to Chrissy too. Uaahhhhhh! That is so annoying. Why can’t they just be honest with each other? There reasons are so noble though (insert eye-roll).

To summarize, I just didn’t like the characters and I didn’t like the plot. So, there wasn’t much I did like about this book. I will say there wasn’t anything wrong with the writing. I actually read the book relatively quickly. So that wasn’t the problem. I think people who like May-December romances might like this book. Beware of big misunderstandings because of LIES.

Review – The Loner

Title: The Loner
Author: Rhonda Nelson
Publishing Date: July 2008
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot

Lucas Finn was a former Ranger in the US Army. He sustained a career killing injury to his knee during a training op and is now working as a security operative for Ranger Security. His first assignment is to guard an heiress, Sapphira Stravos. She does not want to have a guard following her every move so she devises a plan to act as annoying as possible so the guard will quit. She manages to fool her first three guards, but Lucas quickly sees through her act.

This book is just one bad cliché after another. Love at first sight; check. Silly heiress secretly gives all her money away to charity because, what does she need it for; check. Her daddy doesn’t love her; check. This book is silly, silly, silly. The prose is so purple it borders on fuchsia. I actually found myself giggling several times and I am sure that is not what the author intended. Although, maybe it was, what do I know?

I didn’t want to finish it, but it was so short, I thought, “Eh, why not see it through to the end.” I am sorry I did, because the ending was just ridiculous. I guess you could say it was a fantasy, since reality never made it to the pages. Other than the ridiculousness of the characters and plot, half the book was told through mental diatribes that went on and on in the characters heads. Then to top it all off there was an over abundance of mental lusting. Maybe I am being just a tad bit to harsh on this story, but for me it was one big eye roll.

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Review - 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover

Title: 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover
Author: Linda Wisdom
Publishing Date: April 2008
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot

Jasmine Tremaine (Jazz) is a 700 year old witch with a penchant for trouble. She has the bad habit of using her magick for her own benefit, usually when she looses her temper, which is forbidden. As punishment, the High Council has banned her from their “witch world” casting her into our mortal world. She lives in Los Angeles has the fun job of banishing curses for people. She also is a chauffer for All Creatures Limo Service. This world is inhabited with all kinds of magickal creatures, werewolves, elves, vampires etc. Speaking of vampires, her ex-lover Nick Gregory, who she hasn’t seen in thirty years, needs her help. Over the past few years vampires have been steadily going missing. Nick wants Jazz to help him solve the mystery of the missing vampires. She doesn’t want anything to do with Nick, because every time she helps him she winds up in jail.

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover is quite a silly, whimsical read. There are quite a cast of eccentric secondary characters starting with Irma, the ghost who haunts Jazz’s 1956 convertible Thunderbird sports car. Jazz also owns a pair of bunny slippers, Fluff and Puff who are indiscriminant when it comes to food. Then you have Dweezle, the owner of All Creatures Limo Service, who looks like a big green olive with three arms. There is quite a bit of world building but it all felt a bit shallow to me. The impression I came away with was only superficial. A more in depth look into Jazz’s world was needed to claim my attention. As it was, my mind would wander and I found it difficult to keep the pages turning.

Jazz’s personality comes across as a little abrasive with some attitude. She does show a sweeter side sometimes, too. She has been hurt by Nick in the past but she can’t help herself for being attracted to him. She doesn’t want to have these feelings for him and she tries to fight it. Nick just wants Jazz and has no qualms about letting her know. The story focuses mainly on Jazz. We only get into Nick’s head a tiny amount. I would have liked for there to be more on the relationship between Nick and Jazz. The world building seemed to be more of the focus of this book, rather than the romance. I was looking for something light-hearted but what I got was more slap-stick or screw-ball comedy. It’s just not my cup of tea.

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