Eagerly Anticipating

                       

Review: Baby, Drive South by Stephanie Bond

SOUTHERN TOWN SEEKS SINGLE WOMEN. LOTS OF THEM!

The hardheaded Armstrong brothers are determined to rebuild their tornado-ravaged hometown in the Georgia mountains. They’ve got the means, they’ve got the manpower…what they need are women! So they place an ad in a northern newspaper and wait for the ladies to answer their call…

Porter, the youngest Armstrong, is all for importing women. Still, he’s so blown away by the sheer numbers, he falls off the water tower. Luckily there’s a doctor among the newcomers—sweet and sexy Dr. Nikki Salinger.

And Porter has every intention of checking out her bedside manner…

A newspaper ad placed in a dying Northern metropolitan area inviting females to move to a (practically) dead Southern town -- genius!  Through the course of Baby, Drive South, we learn that Kendall, the middle brother who placed the ad, had ulterior motives for doing so. 

But I'm jumping the gun.

Ten years after the events of Baby, I'm Yours, the Armstrong brothers have returned to their hometown on Sweetness, Georgia, set on rebuilding it.  They've been away serving their country in various divisions of the armed forces.  Now they're back with a strong-ish plan on how to restore and rebuild the town.

Porter has his comedic, klutzy moments and is quite convinced he isn't attracted to Nikki in the least.  He manages to offend her almost at every turn.  That's not to say that Nikki is prickly or jumpy; she just believes she's made a mistake by coming to Sweetness (essentially running from her broken heart), especially when the men working to rebuild the town won't take medical advice from a female doctor. 

Porter's assignment from his brothers to keep Nikki in town at all costs is an issue only when Nikki finds out, though Porter has lied to her regularly, which doesn't look good.  His romantic feelings at the time of this reveal far outweigh his desire to keep her in town simply because she's an "in" with the ladies.  Nikki, however, isn't convinced Porter wants her romantically because he has lied to her in the recent past.  His grand gesture to prove he does love her puts him in almost the identical predicament they met under, so you can gather that a future with Porter would not be boring.   

I'm a big fan of Ms. Bond's Harlequin Blaze books, so I was fairly confident I'd enjoy this series.  I'm very interested to read the remainder of the trilogy, particularly given Holly from The Book Binge tweets about book 2, Baby, Come Home, and I'm curious to see what kind of woman will end up with the eldest brother, Marcus.  Also, of course, I want to see a happy ending and new beginning for the town of Sweetness.   

(A very special thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Baby, Drive South.)

Review: Ripe for Pleasure by Isobel Carr

Second in line, first in love

A secret society of younger sons, sworn to aid and abet each other, no matter the scandal or cost.... Their fathers and brothers may rule the world, but they run it . . . and when it comes to passion, they refuse to accept second best.

Searching for hidden treasure, finding forbidden fantasy.

London's most sensual former courtesan, Viola Whedon, is incapable of being seduced-she does the seducing. Until she meets Leonidas Vaughn. Her salacious memoirs have made her the target of half the lords in England, and Vaughn is the only man she can turn to. When he promises to protect her-and to make her beg for his touch-the alluring beauty finds both offers impossible to refuse.

Leonidas Vaughn secretly believes Viola possesses a fortune given to his family by the King of France. So the strong and sexy Vaughn charms his way into Viola's life . . . and her bed. But when their arrangement is consummated, he'll experience pleasure far beyond his wildest fantasies-and realize his heart may need the most protection of all.

There is a lot to like about this story based on the cover copy, and I did enjoy Viola and Leo as separate entities.  Both are fully drawn and formed on the page; Viola as a courtesan and author is such a treat, and the secondary characters in The League of Second Sons are very intriguing too.  What I didn't like was the romance or seduction between Viola and Leo.

Oh, I believed they were in lust, and I believed they wanted the other very badly; I just didn't believe they fell in love with one another.  That being said, however, I do think they'll have a very idyllic life together in the country.

I also didn't like Charles, the villain, who is SUCH a villain with no comeuppance until the very end.  That he and Leo are family despite being after the same fortune shouldn't have hindered Leo from beating Charles about the head several times for his misdeeds.

Regardless of my lukewarm feelings toward Ripe for Pleasure, I am very interested to read Ripe for Scandal.  Men romancing the little sisters of their friends is a favorite trope of mine.   


(A very special thank you to Forever Romance, Hachette Book Group, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Ripe for Pleasure.)

Review: Never Again by Michele Bardsley

Welcome to Nevermore, Texas, population 503, where witches and wizards live side by side with humans.  Small towns like Nevermore are vanishing in America--and in this case, that could be the work of a freelancing witch...

CURSED AND DOUBLE CURSED

Lucinda Rackmore never would have been caught dead in a town like Nevermore.  Of course, that was before the "great reckoning" drained the family finances and her former lover, ruthless master wizard Bernard Franco, snuffed out Lucy's magical abilities.

But can Lucy really expect protection from the Guardian of Nevermore, her ex-brother-in-law, Gray Calhoun?  Gray wants nothing to do with her--and Lucy can't blame him.  Not after her sister sacrificed him to a demon lord.  Still, with everyone in town looking to settle a score with the Rackmores and Bernard bent on dragging Lucy back into his clutches, Gray might be her only hope for survival...

What first attracted me to this book was the cover.  Yes, I'm shallow, and I can admit it.  Then I read the back cover -- wizards, dragons, magical beings; okay, I'm pleasantly intrigued!  I've never been a big fan of fantasy, but stick some magic in a small town and apparently I cannot look away.  (See On The Edge by Ilona Andrews.) 

The initial issue between Gray and Lucy is that they're ex-in-laws, and Gray was wronged -- horribly wronged -- by Lucy's sister, so to say Lucy showing up at his door unannounced is a happy time is a lie.  Gray turns Lucy away, then feels instantly bad.  Because she's got a bit of a head start, he has to "chase" her around town in order to tell her he acted rashly.  All the while, he gets a good look at the town of Nevermore, surprised and horrified that he, as Guardian, has let the town fall to ruin.  When townspeople start dropping like flies, Gray understands there's a serious problem.

Attempting to summarize any further would make a convoluted mess.  That's not to say the plot is intricate or confusing; there's just a lot happening.  And A LOT happens in a short time.  Never Again is a fast-paced book, one I enjoyed, but a book nonetheless that left me with questions once I reached the end.  As it's the first in a trilogy, I hope we're able to pick up the story immediately in Now or Never.

Review: Baby, I'm Yours by Stephanie Bond

Emory Maxwell has come home to the small town of Sweetness, Georgia, with one goal in mind—to get his childhood sweetheart Shelby Moon to marry him. They've been in love with the second grade, but Shelby's father is determined to keep his daughter in Sweetness, not moving around the country as a soldier's wife. No matter what she chooses, Shelby knows she'll hurt one of the men she loves.

But when a tornado rips through town, will she and Emory lose their chance to be together forever?

An ebook prequel to Ms. Bond's new contemporary romance series featuring the Armstrong brothers returning to their town of Sweetness, Georgia.  Porter Armstrong, hero of Baby, Drive South, makes an appearance in this novella.  

Emory is determined to ask Shelby to marry him despite not having a plan, not asking her father for his blessing, or not getting along with Shelby's father period.  What made this story emotional for me is the timing of when I read it -- the destructive tornadoes in Alabama had just happened -- so to see an entire town literally taken off the map and read various townspeople's emotional reaction to the storm and its aftermath was unexpected.  I do wonder if we'll meet Emory and Shelby again, perhaps in the final book of the series, because we last saw them driving out of Sweetness as husband and wife.

Cover Love

A witch desperate to save her brother is forced to team up with the witch hunter who doesn’t know she carries the same bloody stigma as the brother he’s hunting.


Prepared to risk everything on a nest of half-truths and lies, witch and witch hunter form an unwitting bond—a bond based on blood, murder and an attraction so devastating, it will put everything they know in danger. In the aptly monikered City of Glass, the once-unbreakable threads of loyalty will be put to the ultimate test.

Giveway (Redux) - The Guardian by Margaret Mallory

Four fearless warriors return to the Highlands to claim their lands and legacies. But all their trials on the battlefield can't prepare them for their greatest challenge yet: winning the hearts of four willful Scottish beauties.


PASSION IGNITED
After years of fighting abroad, Ian MacDonald comes home to find his clan in peril. To save his kin, he must right the wrongs from his past . . . and claim the bride he's long resisted.

As a young lass, Sìleas depended on Ian to play her knight in shining armor. But when his rescue attempt compromised her virtue, Ian was forced to marry against his wishes. Five years later, Sìleas has grown from an awkward girl into an independent beauty who knows she deserves better than the reluctant husband who preferred war to his wife. Now this devilishly handsome Highlander is finally falling in love. He wants a second chance with Sìleas - and he won't take no for an answer.



Thanks to Hachette Book Group and Forever Romance, I'm giving away one copy of The Guardian by Margaret Mallory.  Please leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw the winner via random.org on Monday, May 16th (extended due to Blogger's outage).  

Review: The Guardian by Margaret Mallory

Four fearless warriors return to the Highlands to claim their lands and legacies. But all their trials on the battlefield can't prepare them for their greatest challenge yet: winning the hearts of four willful Scottish beauties.

PASSION IGNITED

After years of fighting abroad, Ian MacDonald comes home to find his clan in peril. To save his kin, he must right the wrongs from his past . . . and claim the bride he's long resisted.

As a young lass, Sìleas depended on Ian to play her knight in shining armor. But when his rescue attempt compromised her virtue, Ian was forced to marry against his wishes. Five years later, Sìleas has grown from an awkward girl into an independent beauty who knows she deserves better than the reluctant husband who preferred war to his wife. Now this devilishly handsome Highlander is finally falling in love. He wants a second chance with Sìleas - and he won't take no for an answer.

Ms. Mallory's books are so great, honestly.  If you're a history buff, love romance, and well-written books (like me), she's a wonderful author to follow.  I enjoyed her debut trilogy, so I was very excited to discover she had a new quartet of books on the horizon.  The Guardian, the first in the new series, doesn't disappoint. 

Ian MacDonald has known and protected Sileas since they were small children.  She was the girl he invited on his jaunts with his friends, the girl he wouldn't leave behind.  Such childhood affection doesn't translate into adult love, however, especially when Ian and Sileas are caught in an innocent yet compromising position and they are forced to marry.

Five years later Ian returns from France dead-set on putting Sileas aside to marry someone -- anyone -- else.  Except Sileas isn't the same girl he left behind.  She's stronger, fiery and passionate, and is not about to let Ian swoop in and break her heart again.

I enjoyed the fact that Sileas wanted to make Ian earn her trust and her love again rather than immediately be happy and accept Ian had come home and now wanted to make a true marriage with her.  Given the Scottish Highland setting, there are warring clans and political strife as conflicts but those play nicely into the storyline without overshadowing the romance of Ian and Sileas.  I cannot wait to read Alex's book, The Sinner (November 2011.)

 

(A very special thank you to Forever Romance, Hachette Book Group, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Guardian.)

Review: Scandal of the Year by Laura Lee Guhrke

One tryst was all she wanted . . .

From their very first meeting, Julia knew that Aidan Carr, the oh-so-proper Duke of Trathen, had a bit of the devil in him, a devil who secretly yearned for what he could not have, a devil who harbored a desire for her. So when she needed to be caught in a compromising situation, Aidan was the answer to her prayers.

One tryst just wasn't enough . . .

Aidan is supposed to be looking for a bride, yet his scandalous liaison with Julia is all he can think about. Hot, erotic memories of kissing her skin, falling into her bed, pulling her naked body on top of his own continue to torment and tempt him. What is it about this brazen seductress that he finds so hard to resist? And how can he stop himself from falling into her bed a second time?



Enemies to lovers is a trope I enjoy time and time again.  While Julia and Aidan aren't necessarily enemies, theirs is a chafing sort of existence: they tolerate one another.  Aidan is engaged to Julia's cousin, Beatrix, so she'd willing to tolerate him for the sake of Bea's happiness.  Julia's behaviors aren't what Aidan would consider ladylike, but he's willing to tolerate her and what he considers her negative effects on Bea.

Once the engagement is off, however, and after Aidan and Julia are caught in flagrante delicto, they keep bumping into one another in various social circles.  It's unusual for Aidan because every time he sees Julia again, he cannot stop thinking about her or the first time he met her and how much she's changed from that girl.   

Julia never meant to hurt or scandalize Aidan with their sexual encounter.  She timed it perfectly to the arrival of her husband, however, and testified in open court, so it's safe to say Aidan is almost as ruined as she.  They want to stay away from one another; they simply cannot.

I was surprised by the lengths at which Julia would go to escape her marriage and why she hadn't attempted such a feat before.  I also felt the ending was rushed and a bit of a compromise for Julia, given her reaction toward marriage and re-marriage.

Review: Duchess of Sin by Laurel McKee

Blonde and beautiful Lady Anna Blacknall is in the mood for mischief. Entering Dublin's most notorious den of vice, she finds herself in the arms of a mysterious, emerald-eyed Irishman. And although he is masked, his tender kiss is hauntingly familiar.

Conlan McTeer, Duke of Adair, has come to Dublin to fight for a free Ireland. But he's suddenly reunited with the young Englishwoman who had once claimed his heart, and his passion turns from politics to pleasure. When their sizzling encounter brings danger to Anna's door, she must decide where her loyalties lie-and quickly. For someone will do whatever it takes to destroy Conlan . . . and anyone he dares to love.

Lady Anna Blacknall, introduced in the first book of the Daughters of Erin trilogy, Countess of Scandal,  and almost overtook her sister in my mind as the more intriguing heroine.  Anna, unfortunately, suffers harm during her family's escape of the uprising, but she meets the dark and mysterious Duke of Adair while on the run.  In Duchess of Sin, Anna is still a bit of a wild child, not doing proper or safe things, though she is at times haunted by what she went through, yet she's willing to put aside her desires and marry a safe, respected man who can offer protection to her mother and her sister. 

Conlan has been intrigued with Anna since their meeting during the uprising and somehow he cannot forget her.  When he spots her masked in the Olympian Club, it leads to their reconnection -- and the fact that they continue to attract one another regardless of their respective devotions not to.  As with Countess of Scandal, the political climate is an intense one and does offer immediate tension throughout the novel.   

Just as Anna overshadowed Eliza, the youngest Blacknall, Caroline, is something to behold.  I'm very interested to read her book, Lady of Seduction (June 2011).

Review: The Chase by Erin McCarthy

When racing for the checkered flag...

Kendall Holbrook is determined to make it to the top, even with the challenge of being a woman on the male-dominated racing circuit. She doesn’t have time for romance--especially not with racing rival Evan Monroe, the man who nearly crushed her dreams years ago. Forced into meeting up with him, Kendall is experiencing all those old feelings again--and she can’t deny that they still have more than enough chemistry to set fire to the track.

...expect a few speed bumps.

After getting dropped by his biggest sponsor, Evan is watching his racing season go up in flames. Now, the only replacement available is completely humiliating: a co-sponsorship for his-and-her deodorant with Kendall Holbrook--the girl who once broke his heart. Acting like Kendall doesn’t still get him all hot and bothered is bad enough, but the biggest challenge awaits him on the track--where Evan has to decide if a second chance at love is more important than making it to the finish line…

I have been following Ms. McCarthy's Fast Track series since the beginning. Flat-Out Sexy is still one of my favorite contemporary romances.  The problem I have with this series is that I inhale it, meaning other life and responsibilities don't exist.  I guess that's a good problem to have!  Of the four books thus far in the series, however, I'm sorry to say this is the one I've enjoyed the least.  

Kendall Holbrook felt thrust upon me, as if I was supposed to immediately like her from the get-go.  She's the first female driver in NASCAR, and she's certainly qualified to be in that position, given her knowledge of racing and race cars.  She also has a past with Evan Monroe, so it's only natural theirs would be a rocky reunion.  It seems to me they would have passed one another in the garage or pit areas at various racetracks, despite being in different areas of the NASCAR arena (she in the truck series; he in the Sprint Cup racing series).

Perhaps their reconnection romance would have been better told as a subplot in another Fast Track series book.  There was nothing that really connected me to Kendall and Evan, no learning (or relearning in this case) or watching them grow into their romantic relationship and subsequent marriage. 

I am looking forward to Slow Ride (October 2011), and I'm confident it'll help return my giddy feelings about this series. 

(A very special thank you to Berkley Sensation, who provided me with an ARC of The Chase.)