Review - Ravishing in Red

Title: Ravishing in Red
Author: Madeline Hunter
Publishing Date: February 2010
Genre: Historical
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Hot
Book Disclosure: I purchased this one new.

Ravishing in Red is the first book in Madeline Hunter’s new Rarest Blooms quartet. Audrianna's father committed suicide after being accused of approving a bad batch of gunpowder the resulted in the deaths of man soldiers. Audrianna is positive that her father was unjustly accused and vows to clear his name. When she sees an advertisement in the paper that is meant for her father, she plans to attend the meeting herself. Lord Sebastian Summerhays, one of her father's persecutors also sees the advertisement. He plans to attend the meeting too. Unfortunately, things to go as planned and Sebastian and Audrianna are caught in a scandal. Sebastian offers a marriage of convenience in which they will mutually benefit.

First off, I should let it be known that I love the marriage of convenience theme. I love it when two people are forced into intimacy and learn to adjust to each other and eventually fall in love. That's exactly what happens in Ravishing in Red. I read this book in one day and had a difficult time putting it down. I enjoy Hunter's writing style. Her characters feel true to the time period and are solidly developed. Also, for a mainstream romance this book had a surprising number of love scenes. It seemed more sensual than most, although they weren't quite graphic enough to quality as erotic.

Besides Audrianna and Sebastian learning to adjust to each other, Adrianna has to learn to deal with Sebastian's mother and also Morgan, Sebastian's crippled brother. Audrianna develops a very close friendship with Morgan. When Sebastian realizes this it sparks jealousy over Audrianna and Morgan's relationship. Sebastian comes to the realization that his feelings for Audrianna run deeper than just lust. The conclusion to their marital woes is very satisfying indeed. There are illusions to future books, but they never overshadow the main romance. I am very much looking forward to Provocative in Pearls which releases at the end of this month.

Here is what others had to say:

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

I am so happy!!!

I usually don't do posts about my personal life, but something has happened to me and I just have to share it because I am so excited about it. Last week I faxed my resume to Sunny Ridge Farms to apply for a job as a Product Group Field Representative. What is a that, you ask? Well, I wasn't completely sure either, but the job description sounded interesting and the starting salary made me sit up and take notice.

That Tuesday an HR person called me asking if I would do a phone interview. I set up one for the following day. She told me a little bit about the job. Of course, by this time I had googled the company and read everything I could get my hands on, so I already know quite a bit about the company. This company packages and distributes berries to stores like Publix and Walmart. They have contracts with independent farms for the berries. That's where I would come in. I would be a liason between the grower and the company. So, if the farmer encountered any kind of berry problem, I would help him solve it. Also, I would be in charge of inspecting various farms in the south for quality and safety. There is a lot of travel involved with this job.

After the phone interview, HR wanted to know if I would come in for another interview with the person who would be my supervisor. I jumped at the chance and had one scheduled for Friday. The interview went very well as far as I could tell. I found out that I would get a company car, a cell phone, lap top and company credit card. I'll get to go to trade shows and possibly travel internationally!!! Everything is sounding very good, but I am now worried that my family is not going to be happy with me traveling so much. When I got home, I explained everything to my husband and he suprised me by being very supportive, as were my in-laws. So that was a load off my mind.

On Tuesday - yesterday, I recieved an offer for the position!!! I am so thrilled. This is an awesome opportunity for me. At my current, job my supervisor is retiring in 3 years and there is no opportunity for advancement. Unfortunately, it is a dead end position. I knew I would eventually have to leave, but change makes me nervous. I am still nervous, but I have very good feelings about this job change.

I wanted to share my news with all of you because 1. I am very excited about it and want to tell the whole world and 2. I may not have as much time to blog as I once did. I certainly still have plans to continue, but I will have to make adjustments to my new schedule.

As soon as my hubby gets home I plan on celebrating! (waggles eyebrows)

Review - Truly, Madly

Title: Truly, Madly
Author: Heather Webber
Publishing Date: February 2010
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Subtle
Book Disclosure: Received an ARC from a friend.

Truly, Madly is the first book in the new Lucy Valentine series by Heather Webber. Lucy Valentine comes from a long line of matchmakers. Her family has a very special trait that is passed down from generation to generation where they can see people's auras. When Lucy was fourteen she lost her power to read auras and gained the gift of finding lost items. Lucy has always felt like a failure. Her father needs her help to run his matchmaking business after he has a heart attack. Lucy knows she is no good at it, but she doesn't want to let her father down. When one of her clients needs help tracking down his childhood sweetheart, Lucy teams up with one sexy PI, Sean Donahue. She instantly gets thrown into a mystery when an unexpected dead body pops up. Hopefully, with Sean's help she will get to the bottom of this mystery.

Truly, Madly is told in the first person from Lucy's point of view. The writing style is very light hearted and humorous. The tone is reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's contemporary romances like Hot Stuff, not necessarily her Stephanie Plum books. It has a fun, quirky characters and nothing too dark or heavy. The romance is very subtle, just establishing Lucy and Sean's relationship. Lucy’s relationship with her family and friends also adds to the story.

Lucy at first doesn't appreciate her gift. She doesn't find it very useful and that frustrates her. As the story progresses, she discovers that her gift does have its advantages. This helps to add growth to Lucy’s character. Although at times, it seemed like we are only scratching the surface of these characters. They did seem a little superficial. Hopefully, as the series continues the characters will have more layers and depth. Readers who want to take a break from the broody, dark world of demons, vampires and shifters will want to give Lucy Valentine a try.

Here is what others had to say:

The Reading Spot
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This book can be purchased in print format from Amazon.

Review - Air Time

Title: Air Time
Author: Hank Ryan Phillippi
Publishing Date: 2009
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B
Sensuality: Subtle
Book Disclosure: Received a free copy from publicist.

Air Time is the third book in Hank Ryan Phillippi's Charlotte McNally mystery series. Charlotte or known to her friends as Charlie is an investigative reporter for a television news station in Boston. This time she is investigating the corruption behind knock-off designer hand bags. Turns out there is big money in fake purses, even the FBI is involved. Charlie's relationship with Josh, the handsome English professor is getting more serious. Although, Josh feels like he plays second fiddle to Charlie's career. Will Charlie be forced to choose between the two?

Air Time is another excellent addition to the Charlotte McNally series. Once again the mystery is all encompassing and gripping. There are a lot of twists and turns to keep fans of the cozy mystery happy. Although, it is in the back of my mind how coincidental that Charlie always happens to be in the right place at the right time. Still I thought the mystery was very good.

One of my complaints about the book would have to be Charlie's relationship with Josh. Josh feels neglected by Charlie, because she tends to put her job before him. I completely feel where he is coming from and if I had to take a side, it would be his. Since I am a romance reader first and foremost, the relationship part of the book is disappointing. I would like to have the relationship be in the foreground, not the background. But hey, that's just me and my own personal preferences. I still really enjoy this series and highly recommend it to fans of the cozy mystery.

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

Review - Bed of Roses

Title: Bed of Roses
Author: Nora Roberts
Publishing Date: 2009
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: C+
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: Borrowed from the library

Bed of Roses is the second book in Nora Roberts Bride Quartet. Emma Grant and her three best friends started the wedding company Vows. Emma runs the flower portion of the company. She is in it for the romance. Everything she believes centers around romance. She has noticed her increasing feelings for their good friend Jack, but she hasn't wanted to act on them for fear of ruining their friendship if things don't work out. It seems fate has other ideas, as Emma and Jack keep getting thrown together.

I really loved the first book in this series Vision in White and was really looking forward to Bed of Roses. Unfortunately Bed of Roses did not live up to my expectations. It's true that Bed of Roses did have some of the same elements that I loved about Vision in White in that the friendship between these four amazing women is still there. Where the book was lacking was in the actual execution of the main romance between Emma and Jack. Since this is a romance, that's not exactly a good thing.

For the most part I felt that Emma and Jack's relationship was overshadowed by the other things taking place in the book. The weddings being coordinated by Vows, the set up of Parker and Laurel's future books, and even Mac and Carter's relationship all detracted from Emma and Jack. Then to compound the problem, Emma's work took up so much of her time that she and Jack weren't together much of the book. This made their developing passion seem a tad unbelievable. Their relationship just didn't work for me. I found myself more interested in the teaser scenes for Laurel and Parker's books than the main romance of this one.

Here is what others had to say:

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

Review - Lessons in French

Title: Lessons in French
Author: Laura Kinsale
Publishing Date: February 2010
Genre: Historical
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm
Book Disclosure: Received an ARC copy for review from a publicist.

Callie Taillefaire at the age of twenty-seven has resigned herself to be a spinster. She has been jilted not once, not twice, but three times at the altar. Callie didn't mind for herself, as she never really loved those men, but she did want to please her Papa. Callie's heart is still tied to her childhood sweetheart, her next door neighbor Trevelyn. Trevelyn went away to France after Callie's father caught him doing unspeakable things to his daughter. Ten years have passed and Trev's mother is on her death bed. He comes back and finds he also still has feelings for Callie.

Lessons in French is a definite gem of a book. It has a very light-hearted vibe to it that I found pleasantly refreshing. But it's also balanced by a touch of angst, and the two go hand in hand to create an enchanting read. Callie is a heroine that readers are going to fall in love with. She is terribly shy and is often embarrassingly awkward in social situations. Callie has a bull, Hubert that she has raised since he was a baby and he is almost like a pet dog.

When Trev appears back in her life, mayhem and havoc ensue. Callie and Trev were always getting into trouble going off on one adventure or another. Trev was always the ringleader, tasking Callie with some impossible role which she delights in playing. Callie can never seem to resist Trev's charms, and she is so lucky to have all his attention. But both don't think they are worthy of the other and that is where the angst comes into play. Lessons in French is a solid comeback for Ms. Kinsale.

Here is what others had to say:

Leslie's Psyche
Love Romance Passion
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This book can be purchased in print or kindle format from Amazon.

January Reading Summary

January was a good reading month for me. Once I let go of any goals, and therefore any pressure, progress just flowed like honey. I read a nice mixture of books. I think the biggest and best surprise was A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James. It was just an amazing book and it has enticed me to read more books by that author.

I did have a couple of disappointments by two authors I normally enjoy, Untouchable by Kresley Cole and Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts. I do have a review planned for Bed of Roses, so be on the look out for that.

Also, I have included the two short Sookie stories in my summary, but I don't plan on reviewing them. They are so short. One of them was only 19 pages. I didn't even feel like I could give them a grade because of their length.

1. Blue Diablo, Aguirre (Urban Fantasy) Rating: B+
2. Breathless, Guhrke (Historical) Rating: B
3. Switch, Hart (Erotic) Rating: B+
4. Untouchable, Cole (Paranormal) Rating: C+
5. Shattered, Johnston (Contemporary) Rating: B
6. A Duke of Her Own, James (Historical) Rating: A-
7. Fault Line, Eisler (Suspense) Rating: B+
8. Dead to the World, Harris (Urban Fantasy) Rating: B
9. Simon Says, Foster (Contemporary) Rating: C+
10. Lessons in French, Kinsale (Historical) Rating: B+
11. Bed of Roses, Roberts (Contemporary) Rating: C+
12. "Fairy Dust", Harris (Urban Fantasy) Rating: NR
13. Air Time, Ryan (Mystery) Rating: B
14. Ravishing in Red, Hunter (Historical) Rating: B+
15. "One Word Answer", Harris (Urban Fantasy) Rating: NR