Roman and Juliet (The Aerie Doms series #4)

Book: Roman and Juliet (The Aerie Doms series #4)

Author: Christina Thacher

Rating: X (explicit sex)

Bookshelves: 2012,Colorado, Denver, erotica, fiction, romance, USA

Begun: December 17, 2012

Finished: December 17, 2012

Media Type: eBook on Kindle app (read on Nexus 7) - FREE ON AMAZON AS OF DATE THIS BLOG WAS PUBLISHED

Setting: Denver, Colorado

Characters: Juliet Howard, Roman Grainger, Xavier Greer,

Synopsis: Juliet is a submissive whom most dominants won't touch because she looks very frail and fragile with white/silver blonde hair and huge doe eyes. Juliet likes it rough though and is saddened by the few men who given her a second look at The Aerie (a BDSM club in Denver, Colorado). Until, that is, the sexiest cowboy she's ever seen steps out of her fantasies and walks into the club. Can Roman and Juliet make a connection?

Review: This was a good novella. Took about an hour to read and was very enjoyable since it was the fourth book in a series. You don’t feel like you are missing anything not having read other books in this series. The characters were dynamic and well rounded. Thacher is a quality writer. My only complain is that of the “book,” only about ½ of the book was the novella and the other ½ were the first chapters of her other three books in the Aerie Doms series. Granted, this wasn't so bad since they were all pretty good reads and enticed me to look up the other books. I just felt tricked that I would be reading more than what I had in front of me.

In my opinion, this book gets:

4 out of 5 stars (good book that I'd pick up again and recommend to friends)

A Wizard For Christmas (A Protector Series novella)

This book was read as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) provided for free by the publisher.

Book: A Wizard for Christmas (part of the Protector series)

Author: DorothyMcFalls

Rating: PG (slight violence - a creature attacks a woman and there a couple dead bodies but they aren't described in detail - just that they are dead)

Bookshelves: 2012, Chicago, fantasy, fiction, paranormal romance, romance, USA, wizard

Begun: December 6, 2012

Finished: December 7, 2012

Media Type: ebook (read on Kindle)

Setting: present day Chicago, Illinois (USA)

Characters: Holly, Hadrian

Synopsis: Holly was an orphan who grew up to be a loner. When her friends ask her about her Christmas plans, Holly lies and says that she’s going to her family’s home where all sorts of fun things happen (like a cousin who keeps the memory of her dead “uncle” Burl Ives alive by singing Christmas songs to the family). But a strange … stranger keeps popping up in her neighborhood. Hadrian is a Protector and knows that Holly is not what she thinks she is. She’s really a wizard, or, as they call themselves, a Protector. And Hadrian knows that to defeat the big baddie on the lose killing innocent mortal Chicagoans Holly will have to learn the truth and start to trust someone other than herself.

Review: I was not a huge fan of this novella. In the beginning of the novel, I found Holly to be a dynamic character and that her interactions with the mysterious Hadrian were intriguing. But, the author fell flat creating a completely three dimensional world with Hadrian and Holly at the center.  Very quickly, Holly became the kind of heroine that I despise: insular; never listening to anyone else (especially those with more experience that can help her); and one that runs away from problems (both real life and perceived problems). She spends more than 3/4^th of the books hating Hadrian and running from him and then in the last few pages (when the ultimate confrontation occurs), she totally flips her stance on the matter. Magic played a very, very small role in the novella and was discussed only as a cursory item (which is strange since the title is A Wizard for Christmas).

In my opinion, this book gets:

3 out of 5 stars (fair - could be better/could be worse)

Babycakes (Cupcake Club series #3)

This book was read as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) provided for free by the publisher.

Book: Babycakes (Cupcake Club series #3)

Author: Donna Kauffman

Rating: M (Mature audience) sex scenes but not overly explicit

Bookshelves: 2012, romance, fiction, Georgia, ARC,

Begun: September 12, 2012

Finished: September 15, 2012

Media Type: eCopy (read on iPhone 4)

Setting: Sugarberry Island, Georgia (USA)

Characters:  Kit (Katherine Mary Margaret) Bellamy, Franco, Lilly Westlake, Morgan Westlake

Review: Kit Bellamy had it all: her family around her, her longstanding family business was a huge success and pie, delicious peanut pie. What more could a girl want? How about family who doesn’t rip the business from her hands and turn it over to a conglomerate? How about a job to return to every day? How about sisterly love?

When Kit’s world dissolves around her, she decides to take a friend up on an offer to begin a new business, Cupcakes sold over the internet. Kit jumps at the chance to start fresh but the ghosts of the trail that brought down her family’s business keep her gun-shy.

The Westlakes are known for their ruthless tactics in the courtroom and their business acumen. But Morgan Westlake disassociated himself from his family’s practice from the beginning. He’s recently moved to Sugarberry Island with his niece following the accidental death of his brother and sister-in-law. Can time near her maternal grandmother start to heal some of Lilly’s wounds? Can cupcakes help? What will happen with Kit meets up with a Westlake?

Personal Review: Babycakes was a good read. I don’t know that I would have put down other books to ensure I read this one but it was enjoyable.

The characters could have used more development. They weren’t exactly flat but they also weren't well rounded. I didn’t even think Morgan had any guts until the last 10 pages of the book (or so). It was like the author was trying to pass him off as an alpha male but he’s just a beta (at best).

Recommend to:  romance genre fans.

In my opinion, this book gets:

3 out of 5 stars (good but not great/not terrible)

Bah, Humbug!

As of September 15, 2012, this book is free at (to be downloaded onto the free Kindle Cloud Reader which you can downloaded (for free) onto your laptop, desktop, or Kindle). Click here forthe link. 

Book: Bah, Humbug! 

Author: Heather Horrock 

Rating: G (So tame your 8 year old daughter could read it) - Couple kisses once! - Not your typical romance

Bookshelves: 2012, romance, Christmas, Colorado, fiction

Begun: September 13, 2012

Finished: September 15, 2012

Media Type: Kindle Edition (read on Kindle Cloud)

Setting: Colorado

Characters:  Alexis “Lexi” Alexander, Trista Alexander, Steven Alexander, Kyle Miller, Kenneth Miller, Keefe Miller, Alyssa Miller

Review: Up-coming, Martha Stewart-wanna-be Lexi Alexander has moved from her old life and ex-husband to … Christmas Lane. She’s trilled to create a holiday hubbub for her son and daughter but, on the first day at her new house, she finds a stranger pulling the head off the snow man that she and her family just made. What kind of Scrooge would destroy a child’s snowman?

Kyle Miller is stuck. Current author in vogue of children’s adventure novels, Kyle is struggling to make his main man, character Jared Strong … do … anything … What has possessed this Christmas miser to pull the head off a neighbor’s snowman?

Personal Review: I thought the novella was cute. It took a while to get into the characters of Lexi and Kyle (since this was a novella that’s not a good thing). But, once I got to the middle and enjoyed Christmas Eve with the family, I had to say I was in tears. Just as quickly, I found myself saying “this plot is moving too fast. There is no build up to this. This would not happen in real life.” Understandably since this is a novella things need to move fast but I think that this was a little lacking at the end. The climax and resolution happen in the last page and a half. I would have rather a little more development in plot. Characters were well styled and ambitious. They did not fall flat; rather the plot could have used a little more buoyancy at the end.

Recommend to:  romance readers, fans of free stuff, kindle reader

In my opinion, this book gets:

3 out of 5 stars (fair - could be better/could be worse)

Virgin River (Virgin River series #1)

Book: Virgin River (Virgin River series #1)

Author: Robyn Carr

Rating: M for mature (no explicit sexual scenes - well within the realm of romance literature)

Bookshelves: 2012, fiction, California, Virgin River Series, Robyn Carr, romance, alpha male, widow/widower, USA, Marines

Begun: August 31, 2012

Finished: September 4, 2012

Media Type: Book (library copy)

Setting: Virgin River, California (USA)

Characters: Melinda “Mel” Monroe, Jack Sheridan, John “Preacher” Middleton, Doc, Ricky, Cheryl Creighton

Review:  Virgin River is the first book in a long (we’re talking 20 books as of September 2012) series. As a reader of this series, you can tell you’re going to get to know the ENTIRE town … and that’s not a bad thing.

Melinda “Mel” Monroe is fleeing Los Angeles, months after the death of her husband, a former ER surgeon who was shot and killed in a robbery at a convenience store that he just happened to walk into. Mel is emotionally battered and devastated but after talking to Mrs. McCrea of Virgin River, California, she’s hoping that she can detox from all the adrenaline she has been mainlining as a physician’s assistant working in maternity in the same hospital as her husband.

Mel needs this change of locations and jobs but her older sister, Joey, thinks that the same town of a little over 600 is crazy. When Mel pulls into Virgin River and sees her “accommodations” for the next year, she baulks and decided that maybe living with Joey in Colorado for a while is a good idea.

The Virgin River in Zion National Park

Mel had been lured to Virgin River with the promise of a quaint cabin as lodging and a Doctor who desperately needed (and wanted her help). Problem is … the cabin is falling apart, the Doc doesn’t want any city girl following her around and Mel’s Cole Haan boots are already starting to scuff. Is there any way this fancy highlight having, Prada wearing, BMW driving girl could stay in Virgin River where the deer outnumber the population?

Mel doesn’t think so, at least until she stops into the only bar and grille in Virgin River and finds a bright spot, fantastic food served up by … well, one of the hottest men Mel has seen in years. Rugged and just a bit … older, former Marine Jack Sheridan came to Virgin River to start over and settle down to a life of peace and quiet. Then, this hot little number with bouncy blonde hair with a behind in a pair of jeans that should be illegal walks into his bar … oh boy. Jack doesn’t know who she is but he really wants her to stick around.

On her way out of town, Mel is suddenly needed. Someone has abandoned a baby on the front porch of Doc’s clinic. No way is Mel going to let a newborn baby stay with that crotchety old man. She’s just stay in Virgin River until Child Protective Services can be contacted … just till then …

Personal Review: This was a fantastic start to the Virgin River Series. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the vivid portrait that Robyn Carr drew of all her characters (and not just the “main” ones). You get a real sense that you know everyone with the depth and detail that she uses in her writing. I found myself looking at the summaries on the backs of the coming novels to see who else I get to meet and wondering about the other back stories that I’m getting woven in. (I really can’t wait to find out more about Ricky and how his life turns out.)

Overall, a fantastic read. I would recommend it to all romance readers that they give the Virgin River series a try!

Recommended by:  VictoriaMichaels

Recommend to:  Jennifer Crusie fans, Nora Roberts fans, romance genre fans

In my opinion, this book gets

4 out of 5 stars (almost perfect)

Second Sight Dating by Marianne Stephens

As of August 30, 2012, this book is currently free on Amazon.com (to be downloaded onto the free Kindle Cloud Reader which you can downloaded (for free) onto your laptop, desktop, or Kindle). Click here for the link. 

Book: Second Sight Dating

Author: Marianne Stephens

Rating: M for Mature Audiences (typical romance but "scenes" are not explicit)

Bookshelves: 2012, fiction, romance, psychic, USA, police, dating

Begun: August 29, 2012

Finished: August 30, 2012

Media Type: Kindle Book (on Kindle Cloud on laptop)

Setting: Never stated (assumed to be Wichita, Kansas as it is referenced twice)

Characters: Serena Xavier, Anthony Xavier, Gino Conti, Dan Reese/Carrington

Plot: Serena runs a psychic dating agency. She matches up men (whom she gets number readings from) with potential women (with whom she sees letters for). Dan Reese Carrington is a police officer who has been roped into posing as a potential client for Serena’s agency after the mayor’s daughter is solicited after a date.

The police now want to get to the bottom of it and Serena is their primary suspect. They think she is a kind of psychic madam.

Serena’s legit but the feels she’s having for her new client are less than professional. How can a man this handsome be dateless? How can a guy with this much chemistry blow off all his dates? How can Serena protect herself and her business from someone she knows she is falling for?

Personal Review: Serena seems to me to be a “weak” female character. I would have liked to see a little bit more backbone from her and a lot more character development from the author.

In both main characters’ cases, you get an inkling of their histories: Dan has an ex-wife who he kind of love but they divorced and Serena has an ex-boyfriend, named Alan, that is often referred to but only give one page in the entire book. Stephens could have garnered more sympathy for Serena and the position she lands in by the end of the novel by playing up both of the “failed” relationships. 

I could easily have put this book down and walked away from it (never to pick it up again). I would suggest the author go back and flush out the characters a little more, add some depth, and she might just have a decent novel on her hands.

In my opinion, this book gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Book: Agnes and the Hitman

Author: Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, Georgia, mob, romance,

Begun: October 15, 2011

Finished: October 19, 2011

Media Type: Book on CD (downloaded to and listened to on iPod Touch)

Setting: Two Rivers Mansion in Keys, Georgia (about an hour outside of Savannah, Georgia)

Characters: Agnes Crandall, Rhett (the bloodhound), Taylor Beaufort, Brenda Fortunato Dupre, Joey Torcelli, Shane Smith, Lisa Livia Fortunado, Maria Fortunado, Carpenter

Plot: Agnes Crandall's life just got infinitely more complicated. On the hectic week before her bestfriend (Lisa Livia Fortunado)'s daughter's wedding to the Keys family heir (of KEYS, Georgia - where they live), a man (a boy really) shows up at Agnes's door looking to steal her lazy bloodhound, Rhett. Defending herself with a frying pan, Agnes hits the kidnapper (dognapper?) and he falls against teh wall and then ... disappears. Falling to his death, the boy fell through a boarded up door to a basement that Agnes didn't know existed.

In all the hubub of the police showing up and discovering the body and an entire entertainment room (resplendent with a pool table and a Venus Demilo (sans arms of course)), Joey (an old friend of Agnes's and owner of a local dinner) calls his nephew to come and help Agnes with her little ... security problem. Shane, the hitman, shows up and tries to help Agnes ... not die!

Protecting Agnes from those out to kill her for unknown reasons, Shane helps her plan for the big Fortunado/Keys wedding while Brenda Fortunado (the grandmother of the bride) does everything in her power to destroy the wedding and get her mansion back. (A provision in the sale of the wedding to Agnes was that they HAD to have the wedding of Maria Fortunado at Two Rivers).

Will Agnes survive her week with the mob family, the nutty Fortunados, and Shane, the hitman?

Another great Crusie novel!

Thorn's Challenge (Westmoreland series #3) (Silhouette Desire #1552)

Book: Thorn's Challenge (Westmoreland series #3) (Silhouette Desire #1552 - December 2003)

Author: Brenda Jackson

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, Georgia, motorcycle racing, romance,

Begun: October 30, 2011

Finished: October 30, 2011

Media Type: paperback (library copy)

Setting: Collegepark, Georgia and Dayton, Florida

Characters: Thorn Westmoreland, Tara Matthews, Sheriff Alisdare Julian "Dare" Westmoreland, Rochelle "Shelly" Brockman, Stone Westmoreland (aka "Rock Mason"), Chase Westmoreland, and Storm Westmoreland

Plot: Dr. Tara Matthews has just about had it with men. Between a fiancé who jilted her at the altar to run off with her maid of honor (and best friend) and the married womanizing doctor at the hospital, where she was interning, who (when his advances were rebuffed he had Tara transferred out of his hospital to another in the Atlanta area), Tara has just about given up on ever finding happiness.

In walks Thorn Westmoreland. A motorcyclist who builds the coveted and beautiful Westmoreland bikes and rides them (and wins) all over the country. He's gorgeous and talented but dangerous to Tara's well being. She is falling for the moody, temperamental hunk who does everything in his power to sidestep the beautiful doctor.

There is just something about the gorgeous Dr. Matthews that causes Thorn to want to break his self-imposed, prerace vow of celibacy for one night with Tara. Finally, they make a vow that Thorn and Tara will share a week of passion after his race in Dayton Beach, Florida.

But what happens when Tara starts to fall in love? Will she be heartbroken like she was with her ex-Fiancé? Or could there be roses behind the Thorn...

Great third book in the series. Brenda Jackson knows how to write so as to capture emotion and make you feel along with her characters! I can't wait to get my hands on more books in this large and ever-expanding series!

A Little Dare (Westmoreland series #2) (Silhouette Desire #1533)

Book: A Little Dare (Westmoreland series #2) (Silhouette Desire #1533 - September 2003)

Author: Brenda Jackson

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, Georgia, police, romance,

Begun: October 28, 2011

Finished: October 28, 2011

Media Type: paperback (library copy)

Setting: Collegepark, Georgia

Characters: Sheriff Alisdare Julian "Dare" Westmoreland, Rochelle "Shelly" Brockman, Alisdare Julian "AJ" Brockman Westmoreland, Thorn Westmoreland, Stone Westmoreland (aka "Rock Mason"), Chase Westmoreland, Storm Westmoreland, Delaney "Laney" Westmoreland Yasir (aka "Princess Yasir"), and Prince Jamal Ari Yasir

Plot: Sheriff Dare Westmoreland has just about had it with the little hooligan in his office. After throwing rocks at cars from an overpass, AJ was hauled into the police station to face the well loved and respected Sherrif that AJ feels nothing but contempt for (after growing up in LA and seeing his mother racially profiled and then harassed by a police officer someplace in Texas while driving all their belongings to their new home in Collegepark, Georgia).

Turns out, AJ is Rochelle "Shelly" Brockman's 10 year old son. Shelly was the one girl that Dare has loved all his life (since they broke up when Dare was leaving Georgia to become an FBI agent). Dare is initially upset that Shelly wasted no time after they broke up to go and get pregnant with some other man's baby.

Then he does the math when he learns the boy's birthday and demands AJ's full name: Alisdare Julian Brockman. AJ is Dare's son.

Initially furious, Dare decides that, with Shelly's assistance, they will overcome Dare's hatred of authority figures. Shelly will tell AJ that Dare is his father but she will lie to her son and tell him that she can't decide whether to tell Dare about AJ. Ultimately, she will leave the decision to AJ when/if he thinks that Dare should know about him.

Over the span of the book, Dare and AJ become closer and closer (without AJ knowing that Dare already knows that AJ is his son). AJ gets to know the entire, very large, Westmoreland clan and finially starts to have a sense of family.

But what about Shelly and Dare? Dare is almost instantly in love with his old flame but how difficult will it be to convince Shelly to come back to him?

Good book. I really felt the emotion and the writing is not forced like so many romance novels are. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie

Book: Manhunting

Author: Jennifer Crusie

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, golf, Kentucky, romance

Begun: October 10, 2011

Finished: October 12, 2011

Media Type: Book on CD (downloaded to iPod touch) (library copy)

Setting: Kentucky, USA

Characters: Kate Svenson, Jake Templeton, Will Templeton

Review: Kate Svenson is a modern woman. She’s a powerful player in the financial world, having joined her father’s company after leaving a low paying job (which she loved and found fulfilling) bring businesses from just adequate to money making juggernauts. At her friend’s prompting, Kate decides to go to a resort in Kentucky, where she can find a new fiancée who meets all of her boring requirements.

After dumping three fiancées in three years, Kate needs love. Real love, she is hesitant but thinks it might be a good idea to at least star looking again. Because with her list of “must haves in a fiancée, Kate knows just what she wants.

Jake and Will Templeton run the resort in Kentucky. A former tax attorney, Jake knows success. Jake left that life behind to run the resort as a silent partner and as the head of grounds and maintenance on the golf course. Jake’s become the king of guy who watches the sunrise, fishes without a hook, and enjoys a good game of pool.

Trying to escape the pushy social director, Kate ends up taking an early morning boat ride out on the secluded lake with Jake. First, she sees him as a brother that she never had and, then, overtime, he becomes a very good friend and confidant.

All the while, Kate has been going on dates with successful and respected men that she meets at the resort. Each guy seems to be perfect and all of them fit the requirements on Kate’s list but none of them have the spark to keep Kate’s attention. And, fate seem to be thrown in her opinion too, causing Kate to injure all of them!!!

Slowly, her opinion of Jake changes but will she scare away Jake too or just maim him?

Jennifer Crusie’s first book is a great novel. A quick and entertaining read, Crusie’s writing is definitely not as polished as her later books but you can see all that raw Crusie talent in there!

Awards: none

Recommended by: no one

Recommend to: Crusie fans, Nora Roberts fans, romance novel fans

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Book: Chasing Fire

Author: Nora Roberts

Bookshelves: 2011, action, America, fiction, Montana, romance

Begun: October 8, 2011

Finished: October 10, 2011

Media Type: book on CD (copied onto iPod Touch) (library copy)

Setting: Missoula, Montana (USA)

Characters: Rowan Tripp, Gulliver (Gull) Curry, Lucas (Ironman) Tripp, Dolly

Review: The book opens six months after the death of Rowan’s jump partner, Jim. Jim was caught in the wind during a fire jump and was pulled into a forest fire that Jim and Rowan were flown into “jump” and fight.

Still haunted by nightmares, Rowan is uncertain that she will be able to handle the new fire season. New recruits and old vets come together in Montana to make up the “Zulies” who are elite firefighters who jump from plans into the middle of fires.

But, trouble stats when a former lover of Jim’s shows up asking for her job back as a cook on the line. Dolly, comes back to camp with a baby, who she claims is Jim’s, and a vendetta against Rowan, who she tells anyone who will listen that Rowan is a slut, was sleeping with Jim, and who she blames for Rowan’s death.

Gulliver (Gull) is a rookie jumper but is already known for his skills and prowess as a former Hot Shot in California and as the man who broke the base’s running record for speed. Gull is taken with Rowan (known as the Swede) with her ice princess beauty and jumper skills. As the daughter of Ironman (a base legend), Rowan is a tough cookie.

Gull gets through the tough exterior and into the Rowan that Rowan is hiding.

Attacks around the base begin with Rowan walking in on Dolly splashing pig’s blood on her bed, clothes, and walls. Then, Dolly disappears and her body is found in the woods, burned after a forest fire is extinguished. A second body in the woods and a sharp shooter trying to take down Gull and Rowan on base are just icing on the cake.

A killer is on the loose at the height of the dangerous summer months where fire rages in the forrest and in the bedroom. Who will get burned?

You Suck (A Love Story series #2) by Christopher Moore

Book: You Suck (A Love Story series #2)

Author: Christopher Moore

Bookshelves: 2011, California, fiction, paranormal romance, romance, San Francisco, vampires

Begun: August 8, 2011

Finished: August 13, 2011

Media Type: book on CD (copied onto iPod Touch) (library copy)

Setting: San Francisco, California (present day)

Characters: Jody Stroud, C. Thomas Flood, The Emperor of San Francisco, Bummer (a dog), Lazarus (a dog), Abby Normal, and the Animals (a group of Tommy’s coworkers at the Safeway)

Review: Tommy and Jody are back after their first adventure with the living dead. After having her turned into a metal plated statue (along with her maker), Tommy “releases” Jody from her prison and she turns him into a vampire too. Now, to be able to function during the daytime hours, the pair has to find a minion.

Into their lives walks Abby. Abby Normal. Well, that’s not her real name but she’s decided to change it because she likes it better. Slightly nutty … ok bat-frickin’-crazy, Abby helps Jody and Tommy move from their loft to a new apartment, which isn’t too far from the first one.

Then, the Animals show up. In the weekend since they defeated Jody’s maker and then fenced all his artwork, they have spent their share of close to $1 million they earned. Of course, they spent it all on liquor, drugs and a blue hooker.

Blue, the hooker, wants more money so she can retire from the oldest profession on earth. Her eyes set on Tommy, she takes him prisoner and starts to “torture” him. As a new vampire, Tommy gets pissed at this impromptu session and kills Blue, who, the gang later finds out, becomes a vampire after the attack.

Now Blue’s going around changing and/or killing the Animals and Jody and Tommy are still dealing with Jody’s maker. What’s a vampire to do?

I don’t think You Suck was as good as Blood Sucking Fiends but it wasn’t bad. This series is more urban fantasy than paranormal romance.

Awards: none

Recommended by: Milli

Recommend to: Fans of Christopher Moore, paranormal romance fans, urban fantasy fans

Hot Stuff (Hot Zone series #1) by Carly Phillips

Book: Hot Stuff (Hot Zone series #1)

Author: Carly Phillips

Bookshelves: 2011, fiction, football, New York, romance, sports

Begun: August 9, 2011

Finished: August 11, 2011

Media Type: paperback (library copy)

Setting: New York City and upstate New York

Characters: Brandon Vaughn, Annabelle Jordan, Yank Morgan, Lola, Sophia Jordan, Micky Jordan

Review: When Annabelle, Sophia and Michelle Jordan were just little girls (12, 10, and 8 years old respectively), their parents were killed in an accident. Their care was given over to their bachelor uncle, Yank Morgan, who kept them together as a family and raised them as a bachelor would.

Years later, all three girls have gone to college and come back to Uncle Yank determined to help him with his business, a sports agency known as The Hot Zone. Annabelle Jordan, the oldest of the Jordan girls, is especially good at her job, as a publicist at the Hot Zone. When one of Yank’s former clients returns for help, everyone is a little skeptical.

Brandon Vaughn had it all: Fame, fortune, and the love of a good woman. Until a sports injury sidelined his football career and he learned that while in the hospital, his wife had screwed him over. She had begun talks with Spencer Atkins to lure Vaughn away from the Hot Zone and the only father figure who had ever helped him out, Yank.

Long divorced from his wife, Vaughn is back at the Hot Zone because he needs Yank’s help. He is building a lodge type resort for winter “campers” and, during the summer, it will be used for building up the confidences of children with learning disabilities. But problems have been cropping up, orders are being canceled or delayed, electric wires cut the day before the inspectors are due in, and everything is falling apart. Vaughn really needs Yank’s help.

Yank’s solution? Annabelle. The PR genius will work her magic at Vaughn’s lodge. But what Annabelle never thought she’d do again … she does. Slowly, Annabelle relaxes around the ex-sports star and lets her guards down. Vaughn no longer sees her as just a vapid blonde bombshell who dates her uncle’s players. No far from it. As Annabelle opens up to Vaughn, he learns of her loses and past while she learns just how much the lodge means to him, and how much it will help him with his own troubled past.

But when the sabotage at the lodge begins to turn quasi-deadly, will any of them be safe?

Great little read. Fun time trying to figure out who the saboteur is (not someone you would guess at first glance). I did read this series out of order and all I have left to read is the last book, Hot Property.

Awards: none

Recommended by: none

Recommend to: contemporary romance fans

Bloodsucking Fiend (A Love Story series #1) by Christopher Moore

Book: Bloodsucking Fiends (A Love Story series #1)

Author: Christopher Moore

Bookshelves: 2011, comedy, fiction, San Francisco, romance, vampires

Begun: August 8, 2011

Finished: August 10, 2011

Media Type: book on CD (copied onto iPod Touch) (library copy)

Setting: San Francisco, California, USA

Characters: Jody Stroud, C. Thomas Flood, The Emperor of San Francisco, Bummer (a dog), Lazarus (a dog) and the Animals (a group of Tommy’s coworkers at the Safeway)

Review: I picked up Bloodsucking Fiends after finishing Lamb (The Gospel According to Biff: Christ’s Childhood Pal), which was hilarious, incidentally. I do have a soft spot for vampires and paranormal romance in general. Throw in comedy … and I’m totally sold on it!!!

Poor Jody Stroud. Walking home for work, late one night in San Francisco, she is jumped by some random person who then decided to kill her. Low and behold, Jody wakes up the next day UNDER a dumpster with a blackened and burnt arm. Going back to her boyfriend’s apartment, she gets into a huge fight with him. She’s been missing for an entire day and the bf is pissed at her for that! After cracking his head with a plant pot, Jody starts to lick at the blood … and that’s when it hits her.

Jody’s a vampire.

Time for some help. After checking into a motel for the night … errr … day … Jody goes out to find a “minion” to help her during the day and rent her an apartment (since she broke up with her boyfriend and decided to move out). That’s when she runs into C. Thomas Flood, otherwise known as Tommy, an aspiring writer from Incontinence, Indiana who just came to San Francisco to get some life experience and brood a bit.

Tommy’s car gave out in the middle of the street just as he was pulling into San Francisco and now he’s living with 5 Chinese guys in a boarding house. Flowers show up every morning and Tommy has no idea who they are from but someone has taken a fancy to him.

After getting a job as the head stocker at the Safeway, Tommy meets his stocking crew known as the Animals. Half insane and mostly pharmaceutical-ed up or drunk, the Animals take an instant liking to Tommy (one of them even going so far as to help Tommy figure out who is leaving the flowers at the boarding house – the five Chinese men were smuggled over to the US in a Chinese steamer and found out that if you marry an American, you can stay in America legally. And then, they learned that in San Francisco, men got together with men. So their next logical thought was that Tommy should be their bride … all FIVE OF THEM!!!).

Needless to say, when Tommy first meets the gorgeous red-headed Jody, he falls in lust with her and decides right away that he will help her out. I mean who doesn’t love an older woman (that part kind of weirded me out a little. Jody is 26 and Tommy is 19 … yeah five years isn’t that big of a deal … but Tommy’s still technically a teenager – whatever).

It’s a great book that mixes humor, mythology, crime, and romance into one. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series, You Suck.

Awards: none

Recommended by: Milli

Recommend to: anyone who likes vampires, comedy, romance, crime or San Francisco

First Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson series #1)

Book: First Grave On The Left (Charley Davidson series #1)

Author: Darynda Jones

Bookshelves: 2011, angels, demons, fiction, New Mexico, romance, paranormal romance, the Devil, the Grim Reaper,

Begun: August 6, 2011

Finished: August 8, 2011

Media Type: audiobook (book on CD – downloaded to iPod Touch)

Setting: present day New Mexico, USA

Characters: Charlotte (Charley) Davidson, her uncle, Reyes Alexander Farrow, Garrett Swoopes, Cookie

Review: Charlotte (Charley) Davidson is a little … different. Sure she’s like every other girl. She likes her car. She loves her job as a “consultant” to the Albuquerque, New Mexico Police force. She has a host of friends and neighbors. And she has a disturbing ability to see the death. Not so much “Sixth Sense”-I-See-Dead-People … as … I am a Grim Reaper and I help ferry people over to the other side.

Yeah, so that kinda makes life awkward at times. Charley has a dead man (she calls Mr. Wong) living in the corner in her living room and a naughty elderly (dead) neighbor who just walks into her bathroom all the time to look at her naked.

As a consultant to first her father and then her uncle, Charley helps out a lot of cases when the recently deceased come to see her and explain what happened (or even who killed them!). But there are some strange occurrences in Charley’s past that she is having trouble coming to terms with (and if Charley’s calling them strange, then you know that something has to be downright odd).

A man has been entering Charley’s dreams and having mind blowing sexual encounters with her. Who is the strange man? She doesn’t know his face but there is something about him that is familiar to her … until one day, he calls her “Dutch.” No one has called her “Dutch” since a brief meeting with a teenage boy back when she was around 14 (and she estimated him to be 18 at the time).

Slowly things are starting to click for Charley and the case she is working on (3 dead lawyers all working on the same case of a wrongfully accused man who supposedly killed a runway boy) is moving fast and Charley is smack dab in the middle of it.

Great read. I’m glad I found this new series. I can’t wait to get my hands on Jones’ second book, Second Grave on the Left.

By the way ... Reyes is super model hot ... and this is Pickyme's depiction of him ... with all his flaws ... he can come and eat crackers in my bed ANY night. (check out Pickyme's blog - click on her name above - she's a fantastic cover artist with SERIOUS talent!!)

Awards: Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award (2009)

Recommended by: Jade (Goodreads.com friend)

Recommend to: all lovers of paranormal romance

How to Abduct a Highland Lord (MacLean series #1)

Book: How To Abduct a Highland Lord (MacLean Curse series #1)

Author: Karen Hawkins

Bookshelves: 1800s, 2011, England, fiction, historical romance, London, Scotland, romance,

Begun: July 27, 2011

Finished: July 28, 2011

Media Type: paperback (library copy)

Setting: 1800s Scotland highlands and 1800s London, England

Characters: Fiona MacLean, “Black” Jack Kincaid

Review: The Curse, handed down from generation to generation of MacLeans, has struck again, killing the youngest of the MacLean brothers. To stop the curse from killing anymore of her brothers (and it is assumed, her also), Fiona will marry “Black” Jack Kincaid, brother of the man who killed her younger brother. Even though Jack is estranged from his family, Fiona knows that the Kincaids won’t go after her brothers (or the MacLeans won’t go after the Kincaids either) now that they are family.

But how to get Jack to marry her? They had a love affair years ago and Fiona has never loved anyone since Jack. Finding him face down in a puddle in the road, Fiona takes advantage of her luck and drags Jack to the altar, lying to a priest telling him that she was pregnant with Jack’s baby.

Now married, Jack drags Fiona to London to his house in town. He refuses to give up his drinking, gambling and carousing ways. His one concession is giving up the extra women in his life, like the married noblewoman who doesn’t want to give him up.

When accidents start to happen all around Fiona and the MacLean brothers come to London will Jack survive the MacLean curse? And what will happen to his heart?

Awards: none

Recommended by: I don’t remember

Recommend to: Anyone who likes Lynsay Sands’, Kresley Cole’s, and Sherrilyn Kenyon/Kinley McGreggor’s historical romances

The Darkest Secret (Lords of the Underworld series #7)

Book: The Darkest Secret (Lords of the Underworld #7)

Author: Gena Showalter

Bookshelves: 2011, Budapest (Hungary), demons, fantasy, fiction, romance, paranormal romance, the Underworld,

Begun: August 1, 2011

Finished: August 2, 2011

Media Type: paperback (personal copy - later donated to the Grafton Public Library)

Setting: present day Budapest (Hungary) and the Underworld (aka Hell)

Characters: Amun, Haidee, Paris, Strider, William, The Lords of the Underworld,

Review: Amun was dragged from Hell, literally, kicking and screaming.

Keeper of the demon of secrets, Amun must remain mute or he will divulge all the secrets of those around him. As Secrets, Amun picked up some extra demons when he went into the Underworld and now he’s carrying those around with him too. Locked by himself in a cell and then his bedroom, Amun is literally waiting to die. The angels have decided that they will kill him if he doesn’t start to get better soon.

Bring in the Hunter Haidee, Strider is stricken to see his best friend in so much torment. Leaving Haidee in a locked bedroom adjacent to Amun’s Strider goes to check in with the rest of his Lord friends, of which Torin seems to be the only one around.

When she awakes from her drugged stupor (the only way to get the blood thirsty and vicious hunter back to the Lord’s mansion), Haidee hears Amun mentally calling for help. She fights her way through the wall, literally (she finds a closed off doorway between their two bedrooms).

Thinking that Amun is a former lover of hers, Haidee cozies up to him. Like salve on a burn Amun’s demons retreat and he is able to heal slightly while Haidee holds him in her sleep.

Sparks rage between the two and secret abound (no pun intended!). Haidee isn’t all human. She’s been reborn many many times but always forgets the “good” things about her former lives.

Will Amun help her or kill her once he finds out that she was the one who killed Baden?

Awards: none

Recommended by: Kim

Recommend to: Sherrilyn Kenyon fans, paranormal romance fans.

Hot Item (Hot Zone series #3) by Carly Phillips

Book: Hot Item (Hot Zone series #3)

Author: Carly Phillips

Bookshelves: 2011, contemporary, Florida, fiction, football, Mississippi, New York, romance,

Begun: August 1, 2011

Finished: August 5, 2011

Media Type: paperback (personal copy - later donated to the Grafton Public Library)

Setting: present day New York City, Florida, and Mississippi

Characters: Sophia “Sophie” Jordan, Riley Nash, Yank Morgan, Spencer Atkins, Harlon Nash, Anne Nash, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Nash, Annabelle Jordan, Michelle “Micki” Jordan

Review: Sophie Jordan, middle sister of the Jordan three. She’s always been the tight laced, upright, go-to sister. You wouldn’t want anyone else at your back in a fire fight. She’s got the brains, the talent and the heart to run the PR divisions of the newly merged Hot Zone and Athletes Inc.

Until, the unthinkable happens. Someone spills the secrets of one of the new co-owners. Spencer Atkins, a long time bachelor and close friend of Yank Morgan’s is out-ed. Afraid that, in an ultra masculine world of sports agencies, his clients will leave him for a straight sports agent, Spencer goes into hiding … just as the first draft of the football season begins.

It’s up to Sophie to find her uncle’s best friend and co-owner before it is too late and the damage behind the out-ing can’t be undone. Sophie’s only lead is two outrageous and nutty sisters who live in Florida. Just as she’s making plans to leave New York City, the very yummy Riley Nash saunters into her office demanding to speak to Spencer. To insure her silence, Riley hires Sophie as his publicist and then spills that Harlan Nash (a Mississippi senator) is not his biological father … Spencer Atkins is.

Sophie doesn’t know if she can handle Riley. He lusts for the little blonde in her power suits and bun-ed hair but he is a man on a mission: to protect his family. He’s got a 13 year old daughter to think about and a father with his sights on the election in November. In a Bible-belt state like Mississippi, it might mean disaster for Harlan Nash’s career if it was discovered that his son isn’t really his and that son’s biological father was gay.

For once, it was nice to read a novel where the male lead isn’t the one in total denial of his feeling. It’s Sophie. Riley knows what he wants after the weekend spent in Florida but Sophie is still afraid of losing everything that matters to her … her heart. Carly Phillips did another good job with this novel (the 3^rd in the Hot Zone series). But honestly, at the very beginning, I had trouble getting into it. It just wasn’t a “seat of the pants” novel. It didn’t grab me. I had to push through it in the beginning but I’m glad I stayed with it!

Although, I DO plan on reading the next book (Hot Property) in this series which apparently is about Sophie's metrosexual friend (and Damian Fuller's teammate), John Roper. OH and I have to go back and read Annabelle's novel too!

Awards: none

Recommended by: no one (found the book on the shelf at the library when looking for new stuff to read!)

Recommend to: chick lit fans, sports fans, romance fans

Hot Number (Hot Zone series #2) by Carly Phillips

Book: Hot Number (Hot Zone series #2)

Author: Carly Phillips

Bookshelves: 2011, baseball, contemporary, fiction, Miami, New York, romance,

Begun: July 30, 2011

Finished: August 2, 2011

Media Type: paperback (library copy)

Setting: present day New York and Miami

Characters: Michelle “Micki” Jordan, Damian Fuller, Yank Morgan, Lola, Annabelle Jordan, Sophia Jordan

Review: Micki Jordan has always felt more at home in the locker room of a major league sports team with her uncle, Yank Morgan, than with her sisters in front of the makeup mirror. All grown up, the youngest of the three Jordan orphans (whose Uncle Yank raised them when their parents were killed in an accident), Micki wants to shed her tomboy ways … for the right guy.

Since a drunken New Years Eve kiss with the uber-hot New York Renegades outfielder, Damian Fuller (he was drunk … not Micki), she’s hopped her remembered her. But … alas … he ignores her at every chance and oogles the busty blonde TV sports show anchors while his trusty publicist, Micki, is forgotten at his side.

Except, that’s not how it really is. Damien can’t help but remember his kiss with the innocent and perfect Micki but he “knows” he’s not the right guy for her. He’s still too wrapped up in his own career (or the possible lack thereof). But after saving her from a younger upstart team mate who spikes her “ice tea” (ordering two Long Island Ice Teas in place of the regular ice teas Micki had ordered at the bar) and pulling her out of a strip joint, where she had just decided to do an impromptu drunken strip tease, Damian’s rethinking his options.

Micki and Damian have to decide whether it’s worth all the misery of the crap life throws at them to be together.

Good read. Much better than Carly Phillips usually pops out with. Maybe it’s the baseball lover in me but I totally bought the entire plot (especially the baseball stuff). Even though this is the second in the series (yeah I skipped over the first because I didn’t realize it until I was ½ way into this book and by then it was too late for me to stop and get the 1^st book to read), there is no loss (as in, you can pick up the book and just read … no biggie). Look for my coming review on Hot Item (Sophie’s book - #3), and Annabelle’s book (can’t remember what it’s called sorry ;) )

Awards: none

Recommended by: no one (found the book on the shelf at the library when looking for new stuff to read!)

Recommend to: chick lit fans, sports fans, romance fans