Review: All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins

One Happily-Ever-After Rocking Chair…


and no sign of any forthcoming babies to rock in ol' Georgebury, Vermont. For Callie Grey, turning thirty means coming to grips with the fact that her boss (and five-week fling) is way overdue in his marriage proposal. And way off track because Mark has suddenly announced his engagement to the company's new Miss Perfect. If that isn't bad enough, her mom decides to throw her a three-oh birthday bash in the family funeral home.

Bad goes to worse when she stirs up a crazy relationship with the town's not so warm and fuzzy veterinarian, Ian McFarland, in order to flag Mark's attention. So Ian is more comfortable with animals…. So he's formal, orderly and just a bit tense. The ever-friendly, fun-loving and spontaneous Callie decides it's time for Ian to get a personality makeover. But dang, if he doesn't shock the heck out of her, she might actually fall for Vermont's unlikeliest eligible bachelor….

This was the first book I've read by Ms. Higgins, despite having bought each of her previous releases.  What made me decide to continue with this one past the first chapter, I cannot say.  It might be Noah, because by Chapter Three, I was hooked (and half in love with the cantankerous Grampy). 

Callie's relationship with Ian is certainly unusual.  They are almost polar opposites, though that made for some of the funniest dialogue exchanges and situations.  I didn't like the "big misunderstanding" toward the end of the novel (though I predicted it would happen).  Also, there shouldn't be death in romance novels.  (I realize life isn't 100% happy all of the time but dang, I didn't expect it -- and it made me cry.) 

Still, a sweet contemporary romance with happily-ever-after chair included. 

(A special thanks to Net Galley for providing me with the ARC of All I Ever Wanted.)

Review: Hot Finish by Erin McCarthy

Desire is about to reach its peak.

Suzanne Jefferson is broke, which is why she's given up charity work for wedding planning. Fortunately, she has a high-profile client-and best of all, he's paid in advance. There are just two teensy problems: the bride is a bona fide bridezilla, and Suzanne's stock racer ex-husband is the best man. At least she though he was her ex-husband...

Who knew Suzanne would be like this??  I never imagined it, given the short moments we see her in Flat-Out Sexy and Hard and Fast.  But I love her.  She's sassy, spunky, fun, smart, and guarding her heart like nobody's business, especially once she discovers her ex-husband of two years isn't so much of an ex-.  Here's just a few of Suzanne's gems: 

Why, so every day can be a special plunge into hell?

You have nothing to worry about.  Your penis is very pretty and more than enough to make any woman happy.

I’m hotter than two rabbits screwing in a wool sock.

Maybe you ought to slow down there, Shakespeare, because that tequila is clearly going to your head, given that you’re talking crazy.

I loved Suzanne's depth; again, because this is her story, we learn so much about how she and Ryder met and married, and how their marriage fell apart.  Their journey back to love -- and the realization that they still loved one another -- may have come a bit too quickly and easily at times, but we've known Ryder and Suzanne push one another's buttons from the previous two books in the series.  

[As an aside: is it too much to ask that Tamara and Elec just have the baby I keep imagining Ms. McCarthy is foreshadowing?  Please?]

I'm not sure what to think about The Chase, featuring Elec's younger brother Evan, which releases in March or April 2011.  Evan appeared a various times in Hot Finish, but it was difficult to pin exact character traits to him.  Regardless, I know Ms. McCarthy will write an amazing book, so I cannot wait for a continuation of this series.  

(A special thanks to Dear Author and Berkley for hosting the contest in which I won a copy of Hot Finish.  I do wish Nascar would bring short tracks back to the circuit.)

Cover Love

Miss Kate Daltry doesn't believe in fairy tales…or happily ever after.

Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince…and decides he's anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman—a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.

Gabriel likes his fiancée, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn't love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.

Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.

Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble…

Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune…

Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.

A Secret Identity

When pirates storm Viscount Steven Ashford's ship upon the high seas, it brings him closer than ever to the nefarious criminal he seeks to ruin. Only one seductive detail threatens his victory: the scandalous beauty imprisoned with him, Lady Valerie Monroe. Temptation has never been so intoxicating or so forbidden, for Steven is disguised as a French priest. If they make it off the ship alive, to protect her from his enemies he must never see her again . . .

An Undeniable Love

Back in England, and under the ton's scrutiny for a reckless past she hasn't escaped, Valerie dreams of the breathtaking "man of the cloth" with whom she shared her greatest adventure. Then he reappears in society under his true identity, Viscount Ashford, but, despite the danger, their consuming passion cannot be denied. Now standing in the way of their desire are Valerie's wounded heart, Steven's lone destiny, and a villain who will stop at nothing to crush them both.

Eagerly Anticipating

Review: Redline Lover / Undercover Lover by Charlene Teglia

When it comes to cars, former race driver Adam Richards knows how to maximize performance. Love? It doesn’t come with a maintenance manual, and it’s just as well. The secrets he’s hiding behind his partnership in a racing garage don’t lend themselves to lasting relationships. Now that Maggie Parker is back in town, though, he’s got a few ideas to make her purr like a finely tuned engine.

Life taught Maggie that men don’t stay. Leaving Adam before he got bored was supposed to protect her from heartbreak…only it didn’t work. If helping her sister was the only reason for coming home, she might have got away unscathed. But the story she’s been assigned to write is going to bring her within scorching distance of her old flame.

Adam is as irresistible as ever—and just as stubborn. He won’t give her a story, but his offer of a no-strings fling is one she can’t refuse. Passion pushes them to the limit, sparking Maggie’s belief that loving Adam is worth the risk.

Until she digs deeper and discovers some things just don’t add up…

The first in the series, I actually read Redline Lover second.  I liked it, and I wanted more of Adam and Maggie.  This is erotica rather than erotic romance, I think, because we don't see Adam and Maggie fall in love -- we see them reconnect with sex.  Lots and lots of sex.  Things move fast between Adam and Maggie, so Redline Lover felt more like a setup of a longer story arc rather than something to be enjoyed and let go of once finished. 

When Anne Parker yanks open her front door, she’s armed and ready to aim cold fury at her ex. Instead, she finds herself staring up at Pete Crenshaw, a man as disarming as he is dangerous to her battered defenses. A man whose touch sends her I-remember-sex hormones soaring into the red zone.

Those hormones sure have picked a hell of a time to surge, though—with New Year’s around the corner and the ex suddenly making noises about worming his way back into her life.

Pete’s been biding his time. More accurately, lying in wait for precisely the right moment to take their relationship from friends to lovers. He’s aware of Anne’s trust issues, but it’s time to make a move before she has a chance to do what she does best—overthink it.

Her ex isn’t just back to make another play, though. He’s after secrets Pete and his partner hide under the cover of their garage business. Pete finds his heart caught between Anne’s safety and the secrets he’s sworn to keep—unless he can find a way to preserve both…

Thanks to Undercover Lover being free for Kindle, I downloaded a copy to my iPhone and was pleasantly surprised.  I've never read Ms. Teglia and because I felt I was missing the bigger picture, I bought Redline Lover too.  My feelings about Undercover Lover is the same song, second verse: Liked it.  Needed more from it.  As there are 2 more installments available from Samhain, I may have to continue this in the hopes of meeting up with Adam, Maggie, Anne, and Pete again.  There's more of their respective stories left to tell (I hope).

Review: Twice Tempted by a Rogue by Tessa Dare

The daring members of the Stud Club are reckless gamblers and no strangers to risk—until love raises the stakes in Twice Tempted by a Rogue.

Luck is a double-edged sword for brooding war hero Rhys St. Maur. His death wish went unanswered on the battlefield, while fate allowed the murder of his good friend in the elite gentlemen’s society known as the Stud Club. Out of options, Rhys returns to his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire, expecting anything but a chance at redemption in the arms of a beautiful innkeeper who dares him to take on the demons of his past—and the sweet temptation of a woman’s love.

Meredith Maddox believes in hard work, not fate, and romance isn’t part of her plan. But when Rhys returns, battle-scarred, world-weary, and more dangerously attractive than ever, the lovely widow is torn between determination and desire. As a deep mystery and dangerous smugglers threaten much more than their passionate reckoning, Meredith discovers that she must trust everything to a wager her heart placed long ago.

For as much as I loved One Dance with a Duke, I felt a bit more lukewarm toward Twice Tempted by a Rogue.   (If memory serves, I had the same experience with the second book of Ms. Dare's previous trilogy.)   The problem is I cannot quite put my finger on what specifically I didn't like. 

Rhys isn't the "average" hero for a historical novel.  He's quiet, not necessarily reserved but not flashy like a true member of the ton.  He doesn't converse or even feel comfortable in society.  He's the muscle, an accurate description given to him in One Dance with a Duke.

And Meredith isn't your "average" heroine.  She's not in danger; she's not seeking a husband.  She's actually quite content with her life and has a plan for the future of the inn she inherited from her late husband.   Despite being relatively happy, she has a problem, though she doesn't know it -- Meredith is wishy-washy.  Now, to be fair, she may not have been wishy-washy until Rhys returns to their small community.  But after it's determined who Rhys is and what his life goals are, boy...

(Okay, maybe Meredith is what I didn't like...)

Rhys and Meredith have moments, serious moments, full of sexual tension, written as only Ms. Dare can write them.  Her prose is so descriptive, so fluid, it's like listening to a symphony.  Each part comes together effortlessly and right on cue.  And it's exactly what you needed, just the right amount, even if you consciously realize.  So while I love (love, love) her writing, Twice Tempted by a Rogue fell flat somewhere along the way.

Review: Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas

She harbors a secret yearning.

As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Even though she participated in the London season in the past, the classic beauty and free-spirited Beatrix has never been swept away or seriously courted…and she has resigned herself to the fate of never finding love. Has the time come for the most unconventional of the Hathaway sisters to settle for an ordinary man — just to avoid spinsterhood?

He is a world-weary cynic.

Captain Christopher Phelan is a handsome, daring soldier who plans to marry Beatrix’s friend, the vivacious flirt Prudence Mercer, when he returns from fighting abroad. But, as he explains in his letters to Pru, life on the battlefield has darkened his soul — and it’s becoming clear that Christopher won’t come back as the same man. When Beatrix learns of Pru’s disappointment, she decides to help by concocting Pru’s letters to Christopher for her. Soon the correspondence between Beatrix and Christopher develops into something fulfilling and deep…and when Christopher comes home, he’s determined to claim the woman he loves. What began as Beatrix’s innocent deception has resulted in the agony of unfulfilled love — and a passion that can’t be denied…

The final book featuring the Hathaways, and I'm going to miss them so much.  We've seen Beatrix grow and mature throughout the course of the series, yet she's never lost her naivete or innocence.  As she's grown and watched her sisters (and brother) marry, I wondered if Beatrix would ever find someone to love her for herself, as she was, without trying to change her into what Society deems a proper young woman should be.  I'm so glad she found a tolerant and loving man in Christopher.

Christopher, however, is not without his issues, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder.  The war changed him and while he is a highly decorated soldier, he would love nothing more than to blend in with the woodwork.  Luckily, Beatrix can spot a soul in trouble -- whether human or animal -- and is able to help.

The one aspect I didn't like was the use of 'deception' to describe Beatrix's letters.  Yes, she did sign Prudence's name, per Prudence's request, but I never felt it was Bea's intention to deceive.  She was moved by Christopher's original letter (while Prudence was not), so she resolved to write back to him.  And Beatrix, for all her good intentions, fell in love with Christopher via his letters, then decided to put a stop to the correspondence.  Maybe deceit is too harsh a word, though I cannot think of another to replace it.

Still, I've enjoyed the Hathaways and will certainly miss them.  An excellent series by an amazing historical romance author.