Review: His Wicked Sins

Review: His Wicked Sins by Eve Silver

In the quiet hamlet of Yorkshire, the hallowed halls of Burndale School stand...and evil lurks in its dark corners. For a serial killer with a proclivity for blonde women has struck again-this time, murdering two of its teachers. Now everyone is wondering when the killer will seek his next victim...

Elizabeth Canham has accepted a teaching position at the local boarding school in Yorkshire. But her quiet life takes a surprising turn when she meets Griffin Fairfax-the handsome father of one of her pupils. His mesmerizing stare quickly draws her in, and she can't deny the fierce attraction between them...

Griffin Fairfax appears to be a doting father and gentleman. But one disturbing truth lies at the heart of the murders-all of the victims were intimately connected to him. When Elizabeth discovers this, she wonders if it's a mere coincidence or if Griffin could be a charming, seductive killer so many women have lost their hearts-and lives-to...

While I bought 'His wicked Sins' months back, it's been sitting and gathering dust in my TBR pile. Recently, both AmyC and Barbara gave the novel glowing reviews and I decided it was definitely time to give this gothic romance the reading it deserved.

Miss Elizabeth Canham is a fraud but a fraud with a righteous cause. She is a woman shaped by terror and tragedy that has left her riddled with phobias of the dark and the tightness of enclosed spaces. Yet despite the bleakness of her past and the subsequent character flaws, Beth is strong. The livelihood of her family rests upon her shoulders and that burden doesn't go unnoticed as Beth makes her way from London to Yorkshire for Burndale Academy and the young female charges it houses. The position as a teacher awaits her, a position she isn't the least bit qualified for but one that she is determined to secure and retain.

Dark and foreboding, Burdale Academy rests amidst a dark forest and is guarded by three gnarled and long dead trees. As winter looms on the horizon and the wind blows cold, it carries with it the whisperings of death, death so gruesome that it couldn't possibly be real. But the dark manse has known death. Two teachers have died by what was ruled a ravaging by beasts. As clues to the ultimate riddle are revealed, Beth suspects, but can't fully believe, that the beautiful and dark Griffin Fairfax is to blame.

Rumor swirls around Griffin but he cares not for what they say. He knows he's a monster and he doesn't need others to confirm his thoughts. When Beth enters his life with her moon lit ringlets and sky blue eyes, the monster within him howls. His attraction and yearning for her holds no bounds and he hopes to scare her, to drive her back by using the very ugliness that surrounds him. Yet his anger is ignited as well his desire when Beth shows no hope of turning away from him in fear or otherwise. As a man born to privilege then cast into poverty, he has done his worst to survive. When fate renders him the last surviving member of his family, Griffin finds himself once again to be the possessor of a great fortune. But his worst deeds were still yet to come.

Beth can no more stop her heart from fluttering or the tingles of desire from spreading than she can stop the wind and it's Griffin Fairfax that ignites her deepest yearnings. Beth is no fool to think that any man would want to marry a woman with her anxious tendencies that may be passed along to his children and with that knowledge comes the fact that she'll never know a man's intimate touch. Yet her desire for Griffin has grown to such proportions that she's accepted the fact that she will know him with every physical inch of her body and damn the consequences.

Although Griffin has tried his best to scare Beth away from him and the darkness that resides in his soul, Beth's resounding thought in his presence is safety. When she observes him with his frail daughter, she witnesses the shining love for another within his eyes and with it the tragic loss of faith. Griffin's daughter, Isobel, fell mute over three years ago after witnessing the death of her mother by his very hands. A girl with eyes wise beyond her years, she floats through the halls of Burndale Academy with only the slightest hint of awareness yet it's Beth who slowly awakens her from her stupor. It's Beth who finally takes an interest in his daughter. Who speaks to her as though she is really amongst the living and that Isobel too has a soul; one worth saving. It's this that endears Beth to Griffin.

Meanwhile, in the midst of Griffin's and Beth's lingering looks and stolen kisses, a stalker awaits the perfect time to strike. Although Beth feels the hungry eyes of a killer upon her, she dare not voice her concern. She can't prove that she's being watched, nor can she prove that someone has been in her room and touched her belongings. Her position at Burdale Academy is far too important to jeopardize and perhaps all that she is feeling and seeing are figments of her terror filled imagination.

Yet Beth's fears are realized after stumbling upon the body of another victim. Given sanctuary at Griffin's home while being questioned by local authorities, an overheard conversation unlocks the doors of the past within Beth's mind. As renewed terror oozes thick in her veins, she flees the saftely of Griffin's arms and straight into a killers.

Eve Silver paints the most eerie pictures with her words. She manages to create a bleak landscape rife with darkness and fear yet her words never become tedious or over descriptive. My mind was lost in Burndale Academy and it's evil secrets and I liked journeying through it all with Beth and her bravery. Ms. Silver even managed to dupe me with the identity of the killer. I thought I had it all figured out but she managed to creatively surprise me.

Beth was a very strong and extremely intelligent woman. The fact that she overcame near death and faces her terror daily is a testament to her abundant strength. I liked her thought process and how she gave everyone the benefit of the doubt before drawing her final conclusions of them. I also loved her unwavering belief that Griffin was a good man and not the monster he deluded himself into believing.

Lastly, I loved how Beth's past was revealed to the reader. Interwoven in the present are numerous flashbacks. Not specifically Beth's flashbacks but rather a sub story within 'His Wicked Sins' explaining not only the beginnings of serial murderer but how Beth's terror came to be and also what inspired her bravery.

B+

Interested in Eve Silver? Check out AmyC at Romance Book Wyrm for her thoughts. Also check out Barbara's review of 'His Wicked Sins' at Happily Forever After.

Review: Wicked Burn

Review: Wicked Burn by Beth Kery

He wanted all of her…

Vic Savian knows what he wants when he sees it. And what he wants is his sexy neighbor, Niall Chandler. So when he sees her in the hallway of their building being harassed by an aggressive suitor, Vic makes his move—and finds himself greatly rewarded…

And did she ever let him have it…

Sleeping with her gorgeous neighbor—when she didn’t even know his last name—was the craziest thing Niall’s ever done. Now, she can’t seem to get enough of Vic—or the uninhibited passion he stirs in her. Suddenly, with his help, she’s opening to sensual pleasures she’s never known before. But when Niall’s past comes back to haunt her, will she and Vic let themselves venture beyond the bedroom and explore the possibility of love that’s in their hearts?

'Wicked Burn' was somewhat of a pressure read for me. Not only have blogger friends sworn it's excellent, but Ms. Kery herself sent me a copy to review. Needless to say I've been pretty nervous with regards to my reaction and it's taken me a while to read the novel. But I've finished it and when consulting my husband and mother, they both recommended that no matter what my reaction or thoughts on the novel may be, that I would be doing a grave injustice to not only my friends but to the author as well if I wasn't completely honest. So in an effort to be honest I have to say that 'Wicked Burn' is not my favorite novel.

Vic Savian, a famous but reclusive playwrite, lives across the hall from the delectable Niall Chandler. The two have locked eyes previously and even shared an elevator alone once and even then, during these mundane moments, the tension between them crackled. Than one night Vic overhears Niall arguing with a disgruntled suitor. It doesn't take him long to recognize danger and Vic makes a rapid decision to peel the bastard away from Niall and after which, even instilling a littler fear in the man as well. In the next second though he offers Niall a drink at his apartment. Lucky for Niall, hot sex was on the menu as well.

I love having characters revealed slowly to me but I thought that in this instance that revealing was too slow. In the midst of the white hot sex, we're given emotion but very little detail as to why, especially on Vic's end. Shortly after their first sexual encounter we're given limited information on Niall's tragic past and I suppose that it was both fortunate and unfortunate that I found her history so interesting because I ended up skimming the sex scenes to a certain extent to get back to the emotional story rather than the sexual.

Niall Chandler's four year old son was murdered before her very eyes. Soon after which her husband deserts her to wallow in his own grief. After suicidal attempts turn to homicide attempts with regards to Niall's life, her husband is admitted to a mental institution. Slowly coming to terms with not only her son's death but with the guilt and her husband's accusations that it should have been her that died, Niall has done her best to put her life back together over the last three and half years. Yet Niall still lives in a semi-catatonic state where her grief frequently manifests itself with debilitating nightmares. But it's Vic's earth shattering love making that awakens her to life again.

Vic has had his share of tragedy as well but his jaded demeanor, in my opinion, made him hold his fiancé's betrayal a bit too close to heart for too long. Jenny, a gorgeous movie star with a complex, broke Vic's heart after cheating on him and choreographing the timing so that Vic would walk in on her mid-orgasm with another man. It's this betrayal that makes Vic refuse to become close enough to a woman where she has the power to once again break his heart. Yet Niall soon inspires complex emotions to arise and like the man that Vic is, he explains away his intense emotions as lustful desire.

Understandably, Niall is afraid of Vic's possible judgement regarding her son's death and she can't bring herself to tell him the truth of her past despite his offering to be there for her. Vic, finally ready and wanting to know who Niall is, nearly begs her to confide in him but of course she's too terrified of his possible negative reaction to do so. When the truth of her marriage becomes known, Vic proves true to Niall's fears and not only judges her but walks away from her as well.

As a reader, I have a serious aversion to the heroine going after the hero in general and even more so when the situation should definitely be the other way around. While I can't fully say that Vic didn't try, he did at one point call Niall, but he made no effort to truly demand an explanation which I think he was fully entitled to. I also can't say that Niall was entirely innocent for she never did return his call and she did also slink away and move from her apartment across the hall without a goodbye. Yet despite all that I believe that Vic should have manned up and went after her. Niall's crumbled and heartbreaking expression at Vic's untimely realization of her marriage, warranted some further digging on Vic's part. It's like he completely forgot her night terrors and her pale and shaky reaction to her parents arriving at her apartment unannounced. Plus she also had previously informed him that she needed to tell him something regarding her past but asks for more time. How could he have forgotten all this?

After six months of separation, Niall conspires with Vic's sister and boards at the farm that Vic owns south of Chicago while on a brief teaching foray at the local high school. Vic of course is still reeling over his discovery of Niall's marriage and is not particularly happy that she's foisted herself upon his life at the farm. Vic was beyond cruel and arrogant with his treatment of Niall and he even does the unforgivable in romance land: getting caught making out with another woman not once but this is now his second offense (the first was earlier with his ex. Jenny and I didn't like his explanation for that one at all).

On the other hand, I wanted Niall to rail at him and download her history on him so hard and fast that his head would spin. I wanted him to crumble under her valid anger and after wallowing in his guilt, he needed to get down on his knees and beg her for mercy. Yet my wishes didn't weren't realized. Instead, when I finally thought that Niall had had enough of Vic's abuse and found the will to walk away, what does she do? She runs back to him again! Vic, of course by this time knowing in detail Niall's tragedy, says he's sorry for his ugly behavior but although Vic internally realizes his love for Niall(and I could be wrong even after a second look through), he never voices it.

'Wicked Burn' wasn't by any means a bad read it just struck a lot of general dislikes for this reader. It's one of those novels that everything could have easily been cleared up with one simple and revealing conversation but where would the fun be in that, right?

This novel is definitely a very erotic read and I was surprised that the sexual content didn't merit a posting somewhere on the cover announcing this. It's categorized simply as Contemporary Romance. Perhaps there's more leniency with regards to what context requires an erotic warning to be printed with the entire romance genre heating up between the sheets these days. Either way I hope readers aren't caught off guard.

In closing, my thoughts on 'Wicked Burn' will not by any means prevent me from picking up subsequent author works. I definitely plan on purchasing Ms. Kery's 'Daring Time' based on Lea's excellent review. See below for links.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank Beth Kery for asking me to read and review 'Wicked Burn'. It's been a wonderful experience and although it's presumptuous for me to say but I hope that my thoughts won't prevent you from asking in the future.

C+

Interested in Beth Kery? Visit Lea at Clostwriter for her fantastic reviews of 'Wicked Burn' and 'Daring Time'.

Also, you can visit Beth Kery here for more details.

Review: Coyote's Mate

Review: Coyote's Mate by Lora Leigh

He always knew he would betray her...

Anya Korbin was only sixteen when she first came to Del-Rey Delgado - the genetically altered rebel known as the Coyote Ghost. For six years they plotted to free a group of Coyote women kept in Anya's father's lab. As Anya matured into a woman she and Del-Rey grew close...but on the day of the ambush, he broke his promise and shot her father.

Filled with rage over the betrayal, Anya discovers an even stronger emotion is consuming her mind and body - the animalistic desire known as mating heat. Though Del-Ray feels it with same intensity, Anya questions whether she can forgive him or trust him again. As they stealthily maneuver to bring the freed Breeds to safety, one question reigns supreme: Can Anya and Del-Rey survive their own heat?

Lora Leigh continues to reign supreme! I fall more and more in love with this author and her amazing writing with each novel she releases. 'Coyote's Mate' brought forth within me a surge of emotions while satisfying my insatiable need for great erotica. While humor is easy to open within me, bringing tears to my eyes is a much more difficult endeavor. At first I feared that I was going to have to grade 'Coyote's Mate' really low because the hero, Del-Rey, really pissed me off on several occasions and in all honesty I don't believe that he groveled enough for his heroine. Maybe I should revoke my assigned A grade status...? Nah, this book made me cry! It deserves an A. Besides, emotion in the reader is what authors hope to inspire and Lora Leigh did her job splendidly.

Anya Korbin is a familiar character in Leigh's large collection of heroines. Young, beautiful, and of course - terrified of the strong and abundant sensations brought upon her by the hero. But Anya was the first heroine, to my knowledge, to truly show the hero what he was losing by way of his ignorance.

Raised in the Council Labs by her father, head of security and Breed training, Anya befriended five Coyote females. In hopes of their rescue, Anya contacts the Coyote Ghost, a.k.a. Del-Rey Delgado and Coyote Alpha. At sixteen, first contact is made. It's not until six years later that Anya's hopes finally come to fruition but at a price. Del-Rey's previous promises that he would not kill or harm Anya's father and three cousins unless the outcome of the exraction necessitated it, is tested. Yet when all hell breaks lose, Del-Rey breaks the trust and faith that his previous pledges instilled. Instead, Del-Rey not only unnecessarily shoots Anya's family, not to kill but to wound, but he also kidnaps her and forces her to accept his hormone laced kiss. Plunged ruthlessly into foreign sensations, Anya can't refuse when Del-Rey acts upon the lust riding them both so hard, leaving Anya cold afterward.

Now, in the U.S. and at the Wolf compound of Haven, Anya petitions the Breed tribunal for separation from her mate, Del-Rey, a petition that has never before occurred. Claiming that not only can Anya not trust her mate, but that her emotions and willpower have been raped by the mating heat and thereby taking away her rational. Granted: Anya will receive one year to acclimate to her new role as Coya to the Coyote Breed and mate to Alpha Del-Rey Delgado.

Now eight months later, Del-Rey misses his mate and is ready to fully claim her. The agreement never stated in writing the full amount of time for acclimation. Back at Base, Del-Rey has arrived to claim what's his whether Anya is ready or not.

The hurt of Del-Rey's betrayal has receded for the most part over the last eight months and Anya's heart no longer feels like it's breaking in two. Except the ever present cold that had seeped into her bones since Del-Rey's enforcer position had taken him away from her has become more than she can bear. Reconciled to the fact that they needed to work things out, Anya stays on Base for Del-Rey's arrival as opposed to transferring to Haven each time before.

Del-Rey and Anya's first few confrontations are as hilarious as they are entertaining. Del-Rey loves to get a rise out of his little coya by purposefully igniting her temper with sarcastic little endearments such as cupcake or cuddle bunny. Here's my favorite involving cuddle bunny:

"Fine, I'll sleep in your bed with you." He shrugged. "Either way, you're gonna be my cuddle bunny for a week. It gets damned cold at night for some reason, Coya. You can keep me warm."

His what? His cuddle bunny?

"Oh, you are so reaching," she said scathingly. "Warm your ass on a brick, because it's not getting in my bed."

And of course when these two get heated up they scorch the sheets in bed. Del-Rey is quite the lover and he certainly makes up for the pain of their first time. But his arrogance soon seeps into their burgeoning courtship. Bound and determined to protect Anya at all costs, Del-Rey feels that by publicly rejecting Anya as his Coya he will keep assassins at bay. It's a known fact that the high ranking wives and lovers of the Breeds are the most targeted. Of course he'll be sure that in private Anya knows her true place and that she will slowly come to understand his decision and agree that her protection is what's most important. Boy does his plan backfire and it's very outcome brought this reader to tears.

Publicly rejected, Anya becomes known amongst the Breed as Del-Rey's whore. His systematic rescission of all rights and duties once held as the Coya allows suspicion and separation to brew within the Coyotes at Base. Left only to be a glorified housekeeper, Anya's bright light within her soul has begun to grow dark with pain. And as disrespect is thrown her way and tempers snap, Anya soon finds herself in a very dangerous situation and a physical altercation takes place with one of Del-Rey's Coyote soldiers. Del-Rey's ignorance had created a conspiracy of betrayal within his ranks against Anya for surely no Coyote Alpha would reject his mate unless she had done something truly wrong to deserve it.

Broken hearted once again and physically hurt, Anya flees with her bodyguards to finish one last task that will probably leave her locked in cell forever. Going against her Alpha's express orders, Anya has gone behind his back to contact two Council scientists that she worked with in the Russian labs. The genetics of the Coyote Breed are just different enough from Wolf to make treatment of them difficult and sometimes life threatening. Thinking ahead and the possibility of a child, Anya wants to make sure that Base and the Coyotes have their own qualified medical staff. But this is something that Del-Rey can't allow because the only thing that he hates more than humans is human Council scientists. Having put a bullet in every previously known Coyote scientist, Anya, fearing their lives, asks Alpha Wolf Gunnar to grant them asylum and housing at Haven. Asylum granted. But when personal contact is made by Anya, a traitor shows himself and his plans aren't pleasant.

Some of my favorite characters in 'Coyote's Mate' were Anya's hilarious but brutally loyal female Coyote bodyguards, Sharone, Emma, and Ashley. While as Breeds, one would assume that one of their kind would hold the rank as leader, but it's the little human Anya that leads this pack of fierce ladies. But it's not only her leadership that the girls need, it's Anya's companionship and sheer light that she's brought to their lives. Horribly abused in the labs, Anya promised the then young girls dressed in rags, that she would make sure that one day they would wear pretty clothes, have nice beds to sleep on, and good food to eat. It's the fact that Anya kept her promises even though those very same promises could have brought upon her death.

On the other hand, Del-Rey is not my favorite Leigh hero, but in the end he did make sure that things were put to rights again for his mate. Oh, and I forgot, he does get down on his knees at one point. But still, he was cruel in his complete ignorance of what Anya needed. Some of this was of course due to his Council lab upbringing but he really did piss me off a number of times.

Ms. Leigh does dangle the bait for this obsessed reader at the end of the novel with a glimpse of our next hero: one very sexy Bengal and his mate Cassa, a journalist. His story, 'Bengal's Heart', is scheduled to release this August.

'Coyote's Mate' was a fabulous addition to Lora Leigh's Breeds and I can't wait for the next installment.

A

Interested in Lora Leigh's Breeds? Check out my reviews of 'Mercury's War', 'Dawn's Awakening', and 'Aiden's Charity'.

Bored with paranormals? Check out my reviews of Leigh's contemporary romances, 'Wild Card', 'Killer Secrets', and 'Nauti Dreams'.

Visit Lora Leigh for more details and excellent excerpts.

Review: This Is What I Want

Review: This Is What I Want by Megan Hart

Back Cover Blurb (Taken from Megan Hart's Website):

By day she was Eve Grant, customer service drone in a drab office cubicle. But at night she became Eris Apparent, sex goddess of the blogosphere, where she could express her true self in sizzling erotic fantasies. As Eve she entertained aching, unfulfilled fancies about her sexy co-worker. But as Eris Apparent she was outspoken and demanding as she carried on a steamy cyberspace affair with the mysterious Tell-me.

'This Is What I Want' by Megan Hart is a super fast, fifty-two page ebook, that's more like a little erotic snack.

Eve Grant, a.k.a. Eris Apparent, lives in a nice safe bubble where by night she can explore her inner fantasies on her blog while by day she can keep to herself as a good worker bee for Digiquest. The truth, Eve's actually afraid of real relationships. Scorned in the past, Eve isn't about to let her heart get trampled again. But Lane DeMarco, fellow employee and I.T. genius, may just ignite her former flame for real flesh and blood as opposed to keyboard and monitor.

The two have never really exchanged more than "hi", "goodbye", or "thank you for fixing my computer", and Eve isn't about to change that either no matter if her heart beats a tattoo in her chest each time she lays eyes on him. But Lane's not the only man vying for her attention.

Eris Apparent has a new admirer, Tell_me. After posting another one of her fantasies starting with "This is what I want", Tell_me's short and to the point statement "I am what you want" leaves Eris intrigued. Now the original rush of receiving comments and emails regarding her blog entries has ramped up to a scorching high. Yet, coincidental things are occurring at work with Lane.

After writing about her secret fantasy of ties, Lane walks in wearing one the very next day which has previously not been a part of his wardrobe. Eve can't help but heat up while staring at his new accessory. Next, after a detailed encounter with a cowboy, Lane walks in wearing the sexiest pair jeans that should really be outlawed and the scruffy boots only make Eve's appetite for Lane whet even more. But Tell_me wants more from Eris and Eve wants Lane. Who will she chose?

'This Is What I Want' was fast little escape. The plot is minimal to nonexistent with an ending that I guessed about three quarters of the way through but with only fifty-two pages to work with, one can't expect a whole lot. Still the Spice Brief was tight and most definitely erotic. If you care for a little erotic snack or mini escape, check out 'This Is What I Want' by Megan Hart.

B-

Interested in Megan Hart? Check out my reviews for 'Stranger', 'Dirty' and 'Tempted'.

Review: Scandal

Review: Scandal by Carolyn Jewel

The Earl of Banallt is no stranger to scandal. But when he meets Sohpie Evans, the young wife of a fellow libertine, even he is shocked by his reaction. This unconventional and intelligent woman proves to be far more than an amusing distraction - she threatens to drive him to distraction. Unlike the women who usually fall at Banallt's feet, and into his bed, Sophie refuses to be seduced. And soon Banallt desires her more than ever - and for more than an illicit affair.

Years later, the widowed Sohpie is free, and Banallt is determined to win the woman he still loves. Unfortunately, she doesn't believe his declaration of love and chivalrous offer of marriage - her heart has already been broken by her scoundrel of a husband. And yet, Sophie is tempted to indulge in the torrid affair she's always fantasized about. Caught between her logical mind and her long-denied desire, Sohpie must thwart Banallt's seduction - or risk being consumed by the one man she should avoid at all costs...

Joey W. Hill paints the most stunningly detailed visions with her prose and Megan Hart's writing is raw and real in it's simplicity while Carolyn Jewel captures the complexity of human emotions. All three of these authors have made it onto my Top Reads of 2009 and if this is any indication of how the year will play out than I'm looking forward to a lot of fabulous and compelling reads.

'Scandal' snared my attention back in November with a spectacularly intense first chapter excerpt. Jewel encapsulates the root conflict of the novel in an intense and passionate opening first line:

The first thing Gwilym, earl of Banallt noticed when he rounded the driveway was Sophie perched on the ledge of a low fountain. Surely he thought, some other explanation existed for the hard, slow thud of his heart against his ribs. After all, he hadn't seen her in well over a year. Nearly two years, and they had not parted on the best of terms. He ought to be over her by now. And yet the jolt of seeing her again shot straight through to his soul.

Essentially a reformed rake story,'Scandal' is formatted with bits of the past interspersed throughout the present showcasing the tenable friendship that Sophie and Banallt shared, plus his irreproachable attempts to seduce her.

Once an infamous rake, libertine, and fellow ne'er do with Sohpie's husband, Tommy Evans, and whose name is synonymous with scandal, the Earl of Banallt is now a changed man; the catalyst - his love for Sohpie. Despite the fact that their final moment together didn't end well, Banallt, compelled by his love, asks Sohpie's hand in marriage. Her answer though must be no. Finally free of heartache and regret, Sohpie is not about to allow herself to once again be shackled to a man who has no intention of ever being faithful. While his claim to care for her may seem sincere, a rake like Banallt, who is constantly proceeded by rumor and scandal, couldn't possibly ever come to love plain Sohpie Evans.

Sohpie is a survivor. As a young and naive girl of seventeen, she ran off and eloped with a man she believed was as much in love with her as she with him. Turns out that what Mr. Evans loved was that which followed Sohpie's name - heiress. Unfortunately once the wedding was consummated, Tommy Evans took Sohpie's sizable dowry and ran off to London. Heartbroken and alone, Sophie makes friends with the characters in her head and spends most of her days writing fanciful stories.

Enter the man of her fantasies.

As a child, Sophie spun wondrous tales about the Earl of Banallt and his magical castle in her home town of Duke's Head. But one night, far away from home and her childish dreams, Sophie comes face to face with Banallt but he is far from being the prince she imagined. Drunk from a night out carousing with her husband, Sophie meets Banallt for the first time when he arrives at her home with Tommy and draped upon his arm is a woman of a questionable reputation. Struck by that first encounter, Banallt embarks on his immediate seduction of Sophie only to be slapped in the face. Having never been told no, Banallt's interest in Sophie takes a firm hold. Yet from this initial interest stems intrigue than fascination and eventually respect. Banallt and Sophie, although fragile, establish trust and Sophie begins to see Banallt as a friend. But that trust is soon tested and broken by a means that isn't immediately disclosed to the reader, and whereby Banallt leaves for Paris. After which, Sophie's world falls apart with the sudden death of her husband and the loss of her home to pay back the huge debt incurred by him. In Duke's Head once again, Sophie vows to herself to never be beholden to a man who has no intention of ever loving her.

Although Sophie turned down Banallt's initial marriage offer, she once again extends her hand in friendship. And as trust is reaffirmed, Sophie finds herself falling once again under Banallt's friendly, yet intense, attention. When fate leaves her destitute once again, Sophie's only recourse is to marry the Earl of Banallt.

While 'Scandal' by no means was perfect, I still loved every word of it. Jewel takes some immense risk in the novel by bringing her heroine down to the lowest of the low but I feel that this worked well for Sohpie and her inherent nature. Having been burned to atrociously by love, the walls around her heart are thick and well fortified. The only true way that she would ever accept Banallt would be if those walls crashed into heaps of rubble and that would take quite a force.

Meanwhile, Banallt made me pant and my heart flutter. His charisma and magnitisim was painted so realistically that I thought he might walk right off the pages. The love scenes, while not overly graphic were still hot and I loved the intense emotion associated with each experience. Banallt was definitely a drool worthy hero.

I also loved how Banallt didn't beg and plead for Sohpie to acknowledge his reformation. In all honesty she really couldn't for even right up till the end his name was still glued to scandal but he never once argues his case in this matter. Instead he shows his changes through his actions. And as other high ranking members of the peerage whisper his loss of wickedness, the impact is so much more real and intense. Yet even with these examples Sophie still guards her heart from Banallt. In some respects this was frustrating for I trusted Banallt and I wanted the heroine to do so sooner as well but you had to admire her tenacity. She didn't make anything easy on Banallt but than again he didn't deserve easy.

Yes, there are a lot of insipid historical romances out there today, but if your looking for something that packs an intense emotional punch, give 'Scandal' a read. Carolyn Jewel is definitely an author to watch.

A

Interested in 'Scandal'? Visit Carolyn Jewel for more details.

Also check out a sneak peek of Carolyn Jewel's next historical, 'Indiscreet'.

Review: Red

Review: Red by Jordan Summers

War is brewing in a near-future world where murder is all but unheard of and the existence of creatures known as the Others has yet to be proven. In the end, one woman will face her fears to stand and fight.

Gina Santiago is a member of an elite tactical team in charge of protecting the world. She’s devoted her life to apprehending the most heinous criminals that prey on society—and now she’s after the worst one yet.

On her own, with no backup, the trail takes her to a dusty, tight-knit town on the fringes of society, where everyone’s a suspect. Even the sexy sheriff, Morgan Hunter, isn’t telling her everything.

The closer Gina comes to finding out the secret of this sleepy little town and its big, bad sheriff, the more scared she gets—because she’s beginning to realize that she has a secret, too. A secret that will change her life…and make her the killer’s next prey.

Book 1 in the 'Dead World' Series.

This was a very creative take on the "Little Red Riding Hood"/big bad wolf fairy tale. I loved the references and crime scene findings that linked back to it by drawing attention with the phrases "what big ears, teeth, and eyes etc., you have". I'm also loving how authors are expanding romances. In other words I'm enjoying how the romance between the H/h is going beyond the prior pre-requisite 300 or 400 pages. Now readers can experience the the push and pull of a new relationship over the course of an entire series. Plus there is the added bonus of the novel being a romance whereby the HEA is of course guaranteed.

Fast forward a 150 years into the future and you'll find an Earth scorched by the sun. The parched land boasts skeletal remains of giant forests, fields of dirt where crops used to grow and nearly non-existent plant and animal life. Food and drink are no longer reaped from from the Earth but are now synthetic. Genes have been manipulated so that humans can withstand the dangers of radiation. And then there are the Others. Beings created by man, for man, and then exterminated, leaving their kind as the folk of lore.

Gina "Red" Santiago is in the grips of a nightmare that even wakefulness can't unclench. Fully clothed and covered head to toe in blood and dirt is something that Red is not unfamiliar with. As a high ranking officer of an elite tactical team charged with the Republic's safe keeping, Red deals in death all the time. But coming awake fully clothed, covered head to toe in blood and dirt while not remembering how you came to be in that state, is something else entirely. Add a pound of flesh heaved from her stomach and Red can pretty much throw life as she knew out the window.

As a social pariah and team outcast, Red is already at odds with her tactical team leader, Bannon. Red ruffles feathers again after being unable shake the feeling that a mauled woman left for dead in a copse of dead trees, was cut down by a human rather than a pack of hungry animals, which is Bannon's assessment. Determined to seek justice for the woman and her family, Red follows the trail, alone and on her own time, to the small town of Nuria, Republic of Arizona. It's here that she meets the ruggedly handsome sheriff, Morgan Hunter.

Morgan Hunter can't believe his eyes when a beautiful unclaimed female waltzes into his dissecting lab. Although he is soon on guard after a slow body perusal alerts him to the black combat boots that are only issued to tactical team members. One thing he doesn't need right now is his town and lab raided by the International Police Tactical Team, but he also can't help but feel instantaneously intrigued by the woman standing before him. The urge to mark and claim her as his own becomes nearly overpowering but when he realizes that she has no idea who or what she is let alone himself, gives him pause. Who is Gina Santiago, and more importantly, what is she doing here?

Red learns real quick that there's something strange going on in the town of Nuria and Sheriff Hunter is definitely a part of it. One, she feels inexplicably and unnaturally drawn to the sexy sheriff. Two, the whole town seems to give Morgan Hunter differential treatment and not only because he's the sheriff. It appears as if one direct look from him has the recipient lowering their eyes before him. And three, he's definitely hiding something from her and she's determined to find out what that may be.

There is someone else besides Morgan that's interested in Gina Santiago and his fascination may just be the death of her.

As things heat up drastically between Red and Morgan, so does her suspicion of him. But Red may not be the only one capable of potential homicide. After awaking once again to find herself covered in blood, Red has her clothes analyzed and discovers something horrible. The blood on her clothes is not hers, but the blood of another mauled woman discovered after her arrival in Nuria. Has Red been killing and feasting on innocent women? And if so, why can't she remember having done it at all?

In addition, unbeknown to Red, Morgan has in fact claimed her as his mate with the evidence marked all over her well pleasured body. But how can he tell her that she's not the pure-blood that she's been led to believe and that she is now in fact mated to an alpha werewolf.

Ms. Summers did an excellent job of world building in her 'Dead World' series. The landscape is well detailed but not burdensome or distracting. The technology of her future was interesting yet not overly complex. And the romance was great. Summers is an obvious master of sexual tension and get ready for some scorching sex scenes when Morgan and Rad finally get together. Whew, Morgan is one smokin' HOT wolf! I really loved how when he decided to claim Red as his own, he would stand by her no matter if she was some how responsible for the recent killings (of which he isn't truly convinced that she dealt the death blow but she was involved somehow...). In addition, the novel had great pacing yet there was one draw back. I wanted more time with the H/h. Summers spends a lot of time in other POV's, including the numerous villains and this left me breezing through their commentary to get back to Red and Morgan. Otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable read.

B

Interested in Jordan Summers? Check out her website for more details.

Coming Soon...

June 2009
Book 2 in the 'Dead World' Series.

Review: Stranger

Review: Stranger by Megan Hart

For starters, I'm a funeral director taking over my dad's business. Not exactly the kind of person you'd expect to fork over cash for the lust and urgency only live skin-to-skin contact can create. Looking at me, you wouldn't have a clue I carry this little secret so close it creases up like the folds of a fan. Tight. Personal. Ready to unravel in the heat of the moment.

Unsurprisingly, my line of work brings me face-to-face with loss. So I decided long ago that paying for sex would be one of the best (and arousing) ways to save myself from the one thing that would eventually cut far too deep.

But Sam was a mistake. Literally, I signed on to "pick up" a stranger at a bar, but I took Sam home instead. And now that I've felt his heat, his sweat and everything else, can I really go back to impersonal?

Let's just hope that he never finds out about my other life...

Megan Hart's characters continue to fascinate me. Her writing is both amazingly simple and intensely complex making her first person narratives flow seamlessly. While sexually erotic, her novels also embody a stark reality that resonates with real life and real people. Megan Hart is an author who deserves to be on top.

There is one garishly loud technical problem with Grace Frawley owning Frawley & Sons and that being the obvious. Living in a small town leaves Grace with limited clients. But after working tirelessly, cutting her pay down to the minimum, and ramping up marketing opportunities, she's been able to pull the business back from the brink of closing. This, of course is unrecognized by her anal retired father who needs to find a hobby that doesn't involve checking up on Grace's every move as far as the business is concerned. Yet despite her father's recriminations, Grace is good at her job and she loves her work. While some may think a funeral director and it's corresponding job objectives as being morbid, Grace would say the very opposite. She is there to help people through the most difficult time of their lives. Not only does she help bury their loved ones in the most respectable manner possible but she is also there to assuage their grief by lending them a hand of understanding.

Grace also has a little secret...

Grace awaits him at a local bar. She's there to meet a stranger, a stranger in fact but not in the sense whereby stars align and fate bestows the one. Grace has paid in advance for this meeting with her stranger and she hopes to get exactly what she paid for, and boy does she ever. His name is Sam and he gives Grace the most gratifying sex that she's ever had. The only problem - Grace didn't pay for Sam. Her hired rent-a-boy happened to be late and Sam truly was a stranger...

While confident in her own skin, Grace is not confident in her life. Death and grief have marked her soul, leaving her with only one option - protection. Terrified of one day losing a husband, Grace has made the decision that she'll never allow a man close enough to cause her pain when he is gone. Her paid escorts provide a scratch to an itch and the impersonal quality of their dates gives Grace comfort. But two men are going to change Grace's life, one is Sam and the other is Jack.

Jack and his jaw-dropping, pantie-wetting, and immobilizing megawatt smile steals Grace's heart from almost day one. Fresh after her wild night with Sam the stranger, Grace is looking for any man to take her mind off her lingering and arousing thoughts of him. Her escort service has paired her with a man who is different from Grace's general type with his tattoos and body hardware, plus he's young but boy can he smile. Jack, new to the business but eager to learn, takes Grace through some of her most daring sexual escapades that are heavy on the role play. Yet as the layers pull apart one by one, Grace finds that she really likes Jack. For the first time in a long time, a man knows her.

Meanwhile, fate has stepped in again. Sam hurls back into Grace's life with the tragic death of his father. After mistaking him for a burglar and nearly bludgeoning him with a golf club, the heat between Sam and Grace erupts with as much force as before. But Grace, terrified of Sam's effect on her, denies his attempts for a relationship at every opportunity. But Sam's persistence pays off.

For the first time in long line of paid dates, Jack and Grace have unpaid sex. Dropping their masks, the two have true sex and it's during this one moment of pure reality that Grace imagines that it's Sam, not Jack. It's at this moment that Grace realizes that her yearning for Sam has reached the ultimate crescendo and she decides to give him the chance he's been begging for.

Yet as their relationship blossoms so does Sam's drinking. While outwardly he may appear like his father's death has meant little, his drinking shows something else entirely. As her job and family pressure escalates, Grace finally breaks down and tells her secret to Sam. Now with the ball in his court, can Sam accept Grace's past or will it just be the icing on the cake that will send him along with his drinking to an early grave?

I loved this story. I stayed up all night reading it in order to discover whether or not Sam and Grace would be able to work out their differences and try to make a life together. Hart writes some of the best erotic love scenes in the genre. Each experience it new and each provides further growth of her characters. 'Stranger' was stunning and I challenge my blogger friends to give this author a chance.

A

Think you might like 'Stranger'? Click here for more details and excerpts.

Interested in Megan Hart? Check out my reviews of 'Dirty' and 'Tempted'

Coming Soon...

Release Date: July 2009

Back Cover Blurb:

Some lovers never leave you...

Twenty years ago she had her whole life spread out before her like a mesmerizing map. She was Bess Walsh, a fresh-scrubbed, middle-class student ready to conquer the design world. And she was taken. Absolutely and completely.

But not by Andy, her well-groomed, intellectual boyfriend who hinted more than once about a ring. No. During that hot summer as a waitress and living on the beach, she met Nick, a dark haired, local bad boy. He was, to put it mildly, not someone she could take home to Daddy.

Instead, Nick became her dirty little secret; a fervent sexual accomplice who knew how to ignite an all-consuming obsession she had no idea she carried deep within her.

Bess had always wondered what happened to Nick after that summer, after their promise to meet again. And now, back at the beach house and taking a break from responsibility, from marriage, from life, she discovers his heartbreaking fate--and why he never came back for her. Suddenly Nick's name is on her lips...his hands on her thighs...dark hair and eyes called back from the swirling gray of purgatory's depths.

Dead, alive, or something in-between, they can't stop their hunger.

She wouldn't dare.

Click here for more details and here for an excerpt.