Laird of Desire by Paula Quinn

Paula Quinn
Book 1
August 2005

He Is Every Woman's Fantasy...
Darkly handsome and sensual, Lord Brand Risande--known as "The Passionate"--is temptation incarnate. But his prowess on the battlefield and in the bedchamber hides a bitter secret: the betrayal that has sealed his heart. Now as this most feared warrior rides out to possess the lands he has won in war, he engages his most formidable enemy ever.

And One Woman's Destiny.
Lady Brynnafar Dumont is prepared to do anything to protect her people--even seduce the savage Norman knight who defeated her father. Prepared to face down a cold-blooded beast, she instead confronts a wickedly attractive scoundrel who wants nothing to do with her. It's enough to sting a lady's pride...and strengthen her resolve. Innocent as she is, now she must use all her charms to defeat Lord Brand in the only battle worth fighting--the one for his love.

My Thoughts:

I read Laird of the Mist last year. After reading that one book, I fell in love with Paula Quinn's works. She definitely did not disappoint me with her earlier work, book 1 in her Laird trilogy, Laird of Desire.

Brynna is feisty little women. She inherited her mother's passion and her father's will to fight. When the livelihood of her home is threatened by Lord Brande she vows that she will do what ever it takes to stay in her childhood home and allow no harm to come to her people. Little did she know that the man that was riding in to take her home was the same that she had been dreaming about for almost two years. This Lord Brande however was completely different, he lost his passion for life and instead of warmth he brings the cold.

Vowing to never love another woman again, Lord Brande would rather face another battle than to marry Lady Brynna. In order to keep the land that he rightfully won by defeating Lord Richard those are his only options. In taking the daughter as a wife he will avoid a war and make William of Normandy happy. But at what cost?

Brynna is just the woman to put the life back into Brande. I so enjoyed reading about these two. I could not put this one down and I look forward to reading books 2 and 3

Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory

KNIGHT OF DESIRE
1st Book in All the King’s Men Series
by Margaret Mallory

ISBN-10: 0446553395
ISBN-13: 978-0446553391
Publisher: Grand Central
Release date: July 2009

FEARLESS IN BATTLE

His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.

TENDER IN BED

Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she’s keeping secrets and dares not give him her heart. As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives.

My Thoughts:

Knight of Desire is the first book in a while that I literally could not put down. I sat here yesterday reading all day. I got through about 75% of the book before my son got home and I HAD to put it down. I was drawn into the story immediately. Catherine's first meeting with William was sweet and heartbreaking. You get a glimpse into Catherine's courage and William's desire to protect and do his duty from the very beginning.

Learning to trust is a whole other ball game. Neither of these two know how to do it. Catherine has already proven that she would betray her husband, so how is William to trust that she would be loyal and honest with him after being forced to marry him on the very day her first husband was murdered. Catherine having already experienced one brutal marriage is now suppose to believe that her knew husband will be any better than the tyrant she had before. Watching these two brought joy to my heart while setting flames to my temper. How could they not see each other for who they really were. How could William allow his friend to keep putting the bug in his ear that his wife was unfaithful. Lady Catherine experienced a lot of hardships due to her first husband and must live down the choices she made, the very ones that saved her life.

Rating 5 stars

Untouched by Anna Campbell

“I am many things,” Lord Sheene said. “Kind is not one of them.”

Beautiful Grace Paget has no reason to doubt these words. After all, she was kidnapped, spirited away to a remote country manor, and told she is to grant this man his every desire… or lose her life. But Grace is no common trollop. So she risks everything to save her virtue by planning a daring escape, even though she finds herself tempted by this dangerously handsome man. There is something in his eyes that makes her wonder if he is not as cruel as he would have her believe…

Sheene knew nothing of the plan to bring him this woman. Locked up as a prisoner, called “mad” by all of society, he will do anything to reclaim his life, and Grace’s sensuous beauty has distracted him from his goals. And although he finds her irresistible, he is horrified to hold her against her will. Now, together, they must both revolt against the strange set of circumstances that have forced them together - for only then will Grace truly surrender to him… forever.

**from the author's website

My Thoughts:
I purchased Untouched two plus years ago. I was browsing through the DoubleDay book club magazine when I ran across the beautiful cover. Yes, I ordered this book strictly for the cover. I had absolutely no idea what it was about. The couple embraced on the front cover in front of all that green just pulled me. However the cover could not make me read it. I loved looking at it but for some reason did not want to crack the book. I needed a Beta Hero to read for the Fall Challenge and someone else posted this book. I said to myself, this is the perfect time to read Untouched. I had yet to read anything Anna Campbell and I have heard such good things about her books. I have seen so many readers eagerly anticipating the release of Captive of Sin that I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. I had just been reading paranormal romance and knew I needed a change before I fell into another reading slump. So as you can tell I had several reasons to finally pick this particular book out of my TBR pile clogging my closet up. I am now ready to slap myself. Why did I let this book sit there collecting dust just to stare at the cover for so long?!!

Lord Sheene, Matthew, has experienced a pretty secluded life by no choice of his own. At a very young age he suffered a fever that made him "mad". His uncle who had been granted guardianship over him after the deaths of his parents thought it best to have him shipped off to a secluded cottage and held under lock and key. Matthew tried to escape several times only to be thwarted by his uncle and his minions. With every escape he was returned to a tortured hell. He was severely beaten and had to live with the knowledge that his actions had also impacted innocent people.

His Uncle's greed knew no limits. Wanting to keep Matthew in line and to prevent any further attempts at escape he had his minions kidnap a woman and bring her back to the cottage. The woman however was to be a prostitute, one no one would miss. They had not counted on the widow.

Eloping at the age of 16 to be with a man much older and well below her station in life cost Grace her family. She vowed she would never become the trollop her father predicted her to be with the path she had chosen. Now she must go against her vows to save her own life. She never thought that she would fall in love with her fellow captive.

I was mesmerized from the start with Matthew and Grace. The will to survive the hopeless predicament that they had been thrust into and the tremulous beginnings made for a very sweet and romantic coming together. After bungling his first attempt at making love to Grace, Matthew redeems himself and shows so much passion and love that it is breathtaking.

Rating 5 stars

Midnight Rising by Lara Adrian

MIDNIGHT RISING

Midnight Breed Series
BOOK 4

Dell Books ~ 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0-440-24444-8
First Printing: April 2008

Available formats:
Mass Market Paperback
Bookclub Edition Hardcover
E-book

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From the back cover:

IN A WORLD OF SHADOWS AND DARK, CONSUMING HUNGERS, DESIRE IS THE DEADLIEST WEAPON. . . .

Fueled by pain and rage over a shattering betrayal, the warrior Rio has pledged his life to the war against the Rogues. He will let nothing stand in his way--least of all a mortal woman with the power to expose the entire vampire race. But now an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise.

For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb. Suddenly she is at the center of a gathering storm of violence and secrets. But nothing is as dangerous as the scarred, lethally seductive man who rises from the shadows to plunge her into his world of dark desire and endless night. Here she is powerless to resist Rio's touch, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. Now Dylan must choose: Leave Rio's midnight realm, or risk it all for the man who has shown her true passion and the infinite pleasures of the heart . . . .

My Thoughts:

Rio has suffered a tremendous loss and betrayal at the hands of his very own breedmate. In loving Rio and wanting to keep him to herself she betrayed the Breed to Marick, the Breed enemy. When her plans fail to kill the leader of the Breed Warriors and severely injure Rio she takes her own life. All of this happens in book one. Rio is scarred over half his body and has some major head trauma going on. He suffers black outs and fits of rages. He fears that he is no longer useful to the Breed Warriors and is more of a threat to everyone around him. The pain he has suffered has drained his will to live.

He screws up his last mission and now must rectify his actions. He has allowed a reporter to see the crypt that he was to destroy. Dylan is not only a reporter, but a breedmate. The Warriors have to retrieve the pictures she took and lose her story before it goes to press. They have given her the choice of entering into the Breed life through one of the Dark Havens or returning to her life without any of the knowledge she has come to over the last few days. Her connection to Rio is not as strong as the connections between the previous couples. She has an outside life that she is not ready to leave.

The connections between Rio and Dylan are slow to form. I was eagerly anticipating the reading of Midnight Rising. I don't know if my anticipation got the better of me, but Midnight Rising moved way too slow in the first half of the book. I was sorely tempted to put it down several times, but my desire to see Rio get his happy ending won out every time. I wanted to see how Adrian was going to spin the story for the next books in the series. What trouble is going to befall the Breed now that Marrek is out of the way, but this too moved extremely slow. The last half of the book did move at a better pace and eventually kept me wanting to finish this series. I decided however to wait a little while before venturing into the next book Veil of Midnight.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Midnight Awakening by Lara Adrian

MIDNIGHT AWAKENING

Midnight Breed Series
BOOK 3

Dell Books ~ 416 pages
ISBN: 978-0-553-58939-9
First Printing: December 2007

Available formats:
Mass Market Paperback
Bookclub Edition Hardcover
E-book

From the back cover:

HE HAS RESISTED TEMPTATION FOR CENTURIES, A STONE-COLD WARRIOR WHOSE FROZEN HEART REFUSES TO THAW--UNTIL HER . . . .

With a dagger in her hand and vengeance on her mind, Darkhaven beauty Elise Chase prowls Boston's streets in search of retribution against the Rogue vampires who took from her everything she cherished. Using an extraordinary psychic gift, she tracks her prey, well aware that the power she possesses is destroying her. She must learn to harness this gift, and for that she can turn to only one man--the deadliest of the Breed warriors, Tegan.

No stranger to loss, Tegan knows Elise's pain. He knows fury, but when he slays his enemies it is with ice in his veins. He is perfect in his self-control, until Elise seeks his aid in her personal war. An unholy alliance is forged--a bond that will link them by blood and vow--and plunge them into a tempest of danger, desire, and the darkest passions of the heart . . .

My Thoughts:

I have to agree with Lea, this is most definitely my favorite of the series thus far. After reading the first two books of the series, Kiss of Midnight and Kiss of Crimson, I was really anticipating Tegan's story. Tegan is exactly what the description from the back cover says... A stone-cold warrior. He is the most feared, the most aloof, and to this point the most damaged (if you would call it that).

Tegan suffered the loss of his Breedmate five centuries ago. The loss so consumed him that he almost went Rogue. ***this is not a spoiler for this book, you find out about this in the first book*** Lucan saved him through a long struggle, but Tegan would not allow himself to feel or get close to anyone ever again. He blamed himself for Sorcha's death, as it was his responsibility to keep her safe from all dangers. Reading about Tegan in the previous books you get the sense that there is no emotion what so ever in Tegan. He is a warrior first and foremost. He is a loner.

So when his path crosses Elise's in Kiss of Crimson, he is shocked that he feels anything at all for this lovely Breedmate who has experienced so much. It is four months after Kiss Of Crimson that their paths intercept again. This time Elise is dealing out her own kind of vengeance, which is liable to get her killed. Tegan wants nothing to do with her, but yet for some reason he feels responsible for her wellfare. After a hellacious night he returns to Elise's apartment to check on her only to find that she is suffering from a severe migraine.

He soon finds out that he is not the only one interested in Elise's daily activities. He is now dragging Elise back to the Compound to keep her safe and to share some much needed information she has retrieved.

The emotional rollercoaster that Elise had been on drove her to some really dangerous actions. Her psychic abilities were no less of a danger for her. Knowing Tegan had similar capabilities, Elise basically throws herself on the little bit of mercy one might think to find in Tegan. When this didn't work she finagled her way to Berlin with him.

In Midnight Awakening you see that Tegan is not so emotionally detached as he would like to be especially when it comes to Elise. He tries hard to treat her callously to push her away, and at every turn she is still right there pulling him in deeper. I loved their story!!!

Now in my last little review of the Midnight Breed I mentioned how I was jonesing for Rio's story as well. He surprises us and makes a come back in Midnight Awakening. He is still very volatile but there is nothing that is going to keep him from fighting this war on the Rogues. So up next is Rio's story!

Rating: 5 stars

Breed series by Lara Adrian---Kiss of Midnight and Kiss of Crimson

Prepare for seduction as Lara Adrian unleashes a dark new breed of vampire . . .

Part human, part otherworldly, the Breed has lived among humankind for thousands of years, maintaining a tentative peace built on secrecy, power, and the dark justice carried out by the formidable warriors of the Order.

But now, a blood war within the race is set to ignite. Vampires are going Rogue in startling numbers, feeding without discretion, killing humans in the streets. It is up to the Order to stop the spreading threat of Rogue domination--and in so doing, each of the warriors will be forced to confront private demons, darkest secrets, deepest fears. Some will know triumph, some will know loss, but each warrior can count on one thing: Love, when it finds him, will often come at the worst possible moment, with the least likely woman . . . and it will bring each of these powerful males to his knees.

I have been reading this series by Lara Adrian lately. I read Kiss of Midnight several months ago and apparently forgot to do a "My Thoughts" on it. Having finished Kiss of Crimson last week and starting Midnight Awakening this week I thought that I would do a mini review on the first two books in one post followed individual reviews on the rest of the series.

Midnight Breed Series
BOOK 1

Dell Books ~ 432 pages
ISBN: 978-0-553-58937-5
First printing: May 2007

Available formats:
Mass Market Paperback
Bookclub Edition Hardcover
E-book

From the back cover:

INSATIABLE DESIRE. ENDLESS SEDUCTION. ONE TOUCH IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle's deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night--or this man--is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed--a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises the violence carried out by his lawless brethren. A vampire himself, Lucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kind--and the unwitting humans existing alongside them--from the mounting threat of the Rogues. Lucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal woman, but when Gabrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into the dark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the Breed's formidable leader, Gabrielle will confront an extraordinary destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all . . . .

My Thoughts:

Gabrielle is a photographer trying to break into the Art world. She has a few very close friends and no family. One night after the opening of her Art Showing her friends drag her out to a club. Leaving early, she witnesses a brutal attack on a man in an alley and starts snapping pictures with her cell phone. The police thinks she is crazy, so she is a little surprised when Lucan shows up at her door questioning what she saw that night dreadful night and requesting to take her phone down to the station.

There is an intense pull between these two. And Lucan has given himself the task of making sure no harm comes to this startling beauty, especially once he finds out that she has been stalking several Breed and Rogue locations. Gabrielle also has the mark of a Breedmate. Very few women carry this mark, but those that do are made especially for the Breed.

Kiss of Midnight really sets up the story line for the rest of the series. You are introduced to the major players of the Order and the Rogue leader. I guess this could be the reason it moved slowly for me or it could be that I was also reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There were a lot of things happening in Kiss of Midnight... betrayal, forgiveness, and the uncovering of a long held secret.

Rating: 4 stars

KISS OF CRIMSON
Midnight Breed Series
BOOK 2

Dell Books ~ 416 pages
ISBN: 978-0-553-58938-2
First Printing: June 2007

Available formats:
Mass Market Paperback
Bookclub Edition Hardcover
E-book

From the back cover:

BONDED BY BLOOD AND DARK SECRETS, THEY ENTER A PLACE OF DANGER AND INFINITE PLEASURE . . . .

He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world--a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need--but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm . . . and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself . . . .

My Thoughts:
Kiss of Crimson started out with a bang, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next.

Dante seeks a safe haven in the clinic that Tess runs after being attacked down by the river. Tess falls asleep at her desk and is awakened to Dante's not to subtle attempts at finding anything to help him. She walks in on him and knows that she should be calling the police but that part of her that wants to help heal can not turn away from him.

Dante realizes too late that Tess has the mark of a Breedmate. Now he has irrevocably bound them together, forcing her into a position that she may not want.

Dante is on the trail of a drug dealer and it leads right back to Tess. The drug Crimson is proving to be lethal to the Breed and someone is distributing it at the Raves that these young Breed frequent. The Order must get the drug producer and dealer before Boston is infested with more Rogues than they can handle.

In Kiss of Crimson we are showed a little more of the warriors Tegan and Rio. Tegan is the warrior that everyone makes a B-line to avoid. Rio experienced some very tragic stuff in Kiss of Midnight. I can't wait to really delve into these two warriors and find out how they will be healed of their demons.

Rating: 5 stars
(Fall 09 Challenge)

Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton

STOLEN FURY
Elisabeth Naughton
Book One
Release Date: December 30, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-505-52793-6


Blurb: To unearth a centuries-old secret, an archaeologist must team up with the rakish thief who's stolen both an ancient relic and her heart...

Oh, is he handsome. And charming. And sexy as all get out. Dr. Lisa Maxwell isn’t the type to go home with a guy she barely knows. But, hey, this is Italy and the red-blooded Rafe Sullivan seems much more enticing than cataloging a bunch of dusty artifacts.

After being fully seduced, Lisa wakes to an empty bed and, worse yet, an empty safe. She’s staked her career as an archaeologist on collecting the three Furies, a priceless set of ancient Greek reliefs. Now the one she had is gone. But Lisa won’t just get mad. She’ll get even.

She tracks Rafe to Florida, and finds the sparks between them blaze hotter than the Miami sun. He may still have her relic, but he’ll never find all three without her. And they’re not the only ones on the hunt. To beat the other treasure seekers, they’ll have to partner up—because suddenly Lisa and Rafe are in a race just to stay alive.

My Thoughts:
Dr. Lisa Maxwelll has been hunting for the Furies for fifteen years when she finally stumbles across the second one in a cave in Jamaica. The night before she is to fly to Greece to have Alecto authenticated it is stolen right out from under her nose.

Having a detective for a brother can come in handy in times like these. She is quickly able to track her sexy Latin thief, Rafe, down in Florida.

Rafe needs Lisa's help to find the third Fury so he can fulfill promises made. He completely expected her to track him down, just not so quickly. He convinces Lisa to work with him, while still holding on to her relic.

Neither Lisa nor Rafe were anticipating the sparks that would fly . There seemed to be a magnetic current that pulled at these two and denying each othe soon became a foolish thought. Together they must run for their lives and find Tisiphone before it is too late.

Stolen Fury wasn't extremely fast paced but it sure did move at a speed that kept you turning the pages and kept you on your toes. The steamy romance between these two was nothing less than electric! A totally awesome story that I highly recommend to anyone that loves a great adventure and romantic suspense. I can't wait to delve into Elisabeth Naughton's newly released sequel, Stolen Heat!

Rating: 5 stars

Highland Obsession by Dawn Halliday

In the Scottish Highlands, two warriors are about to clash over a woman of passion...

They were the unlikeliest of friends debauching their way through London: The Earl of Camdonn, a nobleman of vast wealth and power, and Scottish laird Alan MacDonald, a respected Jacobite with ambitions of his own.

But their friendship is destroyed when Alan marries the beautiful Sorcha Stewart—only to witness Cam kidnap her from their bedroom. Then Alan learns the truth: his bride was not an innocent. She took a lover before him—his friend—who taught her the ways of pleasure.

Now, Alan will do anything to get his wife back. Cam fights to redeem his honor, even as he refuses to give up his desire. Torn between love and duty, Sorcha must watch as the two men she desires go to war over her. And when the battle lines are drawn, all three lovers are lured into a triangle of forbidden passions...

My Thoughts:
First off--- this cover is gorgeous!! I could just eat it up!!!!

Alan has spent most of his life in England but the time has come for him to journey back to his homelands in Scotland and take his rightful position as Laird. His best friend, Cam, has already made his journey back to Scotland to secure his lands. Now the two men live as neighbors in Scotland on different sides of the political drama that is taking place.

Alan feels that the time is right to find a wife and settle down, seeing Sorcha only confirms his thoughts. Alan is completely mesmerized by Sorcha's beauty and asks for her hand in marriage. Alan is so gentle with his new wife on their wedding night. He would never have suspected by her performance that she was any less than what she says she is. The realization of her lies comes crashing down around Alan's head after Sorcha is abducted by none other than his best friend Cam.

Alan must learn to trust his wife, redeem his honor, and find a way to forgive his best friend or he will lose the two most important people in his life. This love triangle is definitely intersting. I had a little bit of a hang up with the story but don't want to give anything away. All in all this was a delightful story that I really enjoyed. I highly recommend reading it!

Rating: 4.5

With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke

Her proposition . . .

London Society is harsh for a young woman with no family connections who has to work for a living. But when Daisy Merrick is sacked from yet another job, the feisty and outspoken miss comes up with a plan that could give her a future beyond her wildest dreams. There's only one problem. Her success depends on a man, the most infuriating, impossible, immovable man she's ever met.

His resolution . . .

Sebastian Grant, Earl of Avermore, is England's most infamous author. Known for his notorious reputation, he is more interested in play than work, and has no intention of cooperating when Daisy shows up on his doorstep with a mad plan. The provoking, fire-haired beauty stirs his senses beyond belief, and Sebastian knows he has only one way to stop her. Seduction.

My Thoughts: When the owner of the publishing house that Sebastion writes for decides to take matters into his own hands Sebastian won't know what hit him. Sending the fiesty Daisy out to partner with Sebastian was jus the ticket to getting the creative juices flowing for both of these to writers.

Everyone know that rewards are the best way to get something done. It gives just the right amount of a kick to get you going and gives you something to look forward to at the end of the job. This is the tactic that Daisy implements on Sebastian. Now Sebastian must write a hundred pages before he is able to experience the taste of Daisy's kiss again. This will surely drive both to distraction!

This was a fun and enjoyable story.

Causing Havoc by Lori Foster

Description:Sexy, sculpted extreme fighter Dean "Havoc" Connor has knee-melting good looks-and thick skin. But not from his brutal sport's enclosed rings. Orphaned and torn from his sisters as a boy, he has no family. That is, until he gets a letter revealing how much the once-little girls want him back in Harmony, Kentucky.
To stop his sister from marrying a man as sleazy as he is wealthy, Dean finds himself teaming up with her pretty-but-smart-mouthed friend Eve — who's heard of "Havoc's" reputation and doesn't need some hunk trampling on her heart. Now all Dean has to do is protect his sisters, win Eve over, and expose a devious criminal.
And he thought winning the heavyweight cage fighting belt was hard.

My Thoughts: Cindy has done it again! She sent me a book to read saying that I would love it... and Yes I absolutely loved Causing Havoc. I don't know how she does it, always finding really great books and authors and sending them my way at just the right moment.

Dean heads to his childhood home after receiving a letter from his long lost sister. In the letter his sister seems desperate and full of hope, hope that catches Dean and sends him to find out what she needs. Arriving in Harmony, Dean finds anything but harmony. He has just walked into a mountain load of family problems and can't seem to shake the desire to help out the sister that he thought lost to him forever. It helps that Eve, sister's best friend, is one hot little ticket that he can't keep his hands off.

I really loved how the family dynamics just kicked into gear full force. The interaction between the three siblings reminded so much of my own life with my siblings. You have to have at least one smart ass and a mother hen... which definitely describes me and my sister. I would like to think that my brother would have continued to be a smart ass and the big over protective brother that Dean wound up being.

Then we have the hot and heavy romance between Eve and Dean. These two were perfect for each other. There time together was definitely electrifying!!

I can't wait to get to the rest of this series!

Rating: 5

Deeper by Megan Hart

Megan Hart
Publisher: Spice (July, 2009)

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.

My Thoughts:

I have heard many great things about this author and her books, but having not read anything by her I jumped at the chance to borrow Deeper from an online friend. I will definitely be purchasing books in the future by Megan Hart.

The first chapter moved a little slow, maybe I wasn't in the mood for this particular book, but I was sorely tempted to set it aside and try it later. However, it being a borrowed book I wanted to get it read quickly so I could send it back, so I pushed through. Once the story got really going I could not put the book down. The unrecognized love that Bess and Nick shared was heart-breakingly sweet and only such a love could hold the spirit to this world and allow it to come back to right the mistakes from the past.

Deeper moves between now and twenty years past. Bess has moved back to her grandparents beach house in Bethany while dealing with a marriage on the rocks with a divorce coming soon. Coming to the beach and this house stirs her memories of a summer love, memories that were never forgotten and never far from the surface. Young Bess and older Bess are dealing with the same relationship issues with Andy.

Twenty years ago: Bess is living in the beach house while working at Sugarland to pay for college. She has been in a relationship with Andy for three years and suspects him of cheating on her. He has become distant and is not answering her calls or calling when he is suppose to. She meets Nick at a party when she says she "sort of" has a boyfriend.

Nick has a bad rep and Bess has been warned away from him on several occasions by several of her friends. This does not stop Bess's desires. She keeps it on a friendly level until she decides that she has had enough of Andy's antics. Bess and Nick's relationship progresses pretty quickly, moving from a roll in the sack to being unseperable over night. Neither one of them are willing to put a name to what is going on between the two of them. They won't admit their feelings for one another.

Present: It has been twenty years since Bess has been back in Bethany. She has not seen or heard from Nick in as long. With her marriage falling apart she takes herself to the beach and is comtemplating her life and the summer love that she shared with Nick, when out of the blue he is there. She thinks it must all be a dream until he shows up at her door the next morning soaking wet and smelling of the beach and summer. Thing progress very quickly again. This time everything is different. Bess wants to know why Nick never came for her but is afraid the answers will send him away again.

The time that they share in the present shows a different side of Nick. He can't answer where he has been only that he wanted to come back to Bess. And until Bess said his name that fateful night on the beach he couldn't reach her. With the time that they have together, Bess and Nick are more honest with each other about their feelings and what happened in the past.

Deeper had tears stinging the backs of my eyes and my heart melting over and over again. The love shared between Bess and Nick was a love that would stand the test of time and bring them together again. I truly loved this story.

5 stars

Haunting Beauty by Erin Quinn--Review

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (August 4, 2009)

Erin Quinn

Danni always believed she was an abandoned child. Then the seductive Sean Ballogh appears out of nowhere with a startling story challenging everything Danni thought was true. He claims that Danni's family has been searching for her ever since she disappeared twenty years ago. He's come to bring her home to Ireland. Now, Danni must rewrite history to save her family, to fight a force more evil than she ever imagined, and to reunite herself with the man she was destined for-or risk living forever in time as nothing more than an ethereal memory, a tragic and haunting beauty.

My Thoughts:

Always feeling like she was different she hid her gift to the point that she completely blocked her past, remembering nothing more than an image of her mother dropping her off at preschool, never to return again. She grew up being shuffled from foster home to the next. She can no longer block out her gift and is faced with the haunting images of a family torn, a gorgeous man that she senses wants her for some purpose.

Sean walks into her life with stories of her disappearance and the knowledge that her family has been searching for her. They are swept into another time and place where they must put the clues together before the sands of the clock run out. Danni must right the wrongs done to her family in order to find a happiness to last her for a lifetime.

Haunting Beauty is a spellbinding mystical story of love lost and paths crossed. It is not an epic romance by no means, but it surely will drag you into the lives of this family and have you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to find out if the pull that Danni and Sean feel toward each other will finally bind them. My only problem with the book is that I thought it lacked in the romance department, great paranormal though.

Rating: 4 stars