The Wedding Gamble

The Wedding Gamble

by Cindi Myers

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
Laura went to Vegas to celebrate her sister's bachlorette party, but it's also her birthday. It seems that no one even remembers that she has a reason to celebrate too, so she ends up wandering the strip on her own and feeling a little loopy since one of the other bridesmaids slipped her something with her drink. That's when she meets David, who pulls her in to a wedding chapel and asks her to do him a favor and marry him. You see, he's FBI, tracking someone in the mob and some goons are getting too close, so he needs a plausible excuse for being in Vegas.

The whole night of the wedding is pretty blurry for Laura, but the next morning she decides to stick around and help David out. She's used to helping and taking care of people and she likes feeling worthwhile.

I loved watching Laura come out of her shell. It feels like it was always there inside of her but David was able to give her the courage to actually be someone instead of just watching life pass her by.

David was a nice hero. He was protective and treated Laura really well. He didn't seem all that great at his job; we never see him getting much done, but there sure is a lot of running around and lots of zig-zagging to try and keep the bad guys off their trail.

Laura was pretty quick on her feet and came up with some nice distraction techniques. I enjoyed some of her musings like: “Not that standing in the middle of the floor naked was going to help matters, but hiding under the covers didn't seem the appropriate response to a crisis.”
And as some of the guys start their macho, alpha dog routine, “Where was a water hose when she needed one?”

I found the phrase “we need to talk” a bit overused. Nothing like making everything into freakout proportions. Our lives are in danger and we just can't discuss relationship stuff right now, but “we need to talk”.

Overall, a nice book with a fun storyline, but not hugely emotional. It's a good beach read or for an afternoon distraction. Nothing too heavy, but also nothing too gripping.

Run To You

Run To You

by Charlotte Stein

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review:

When I read the synopsis for this book, I was a little so-so. I read a couple BDSM-type books recently that just didn't do it for me. But I shouldn't have worried. This is Charlotte Stein, after all. There's lots of kinky, dirty situations, but she writes so well that it's all wonderful. I was enchanted and slack-jawed through the whole book, it was just so awesome.

The first chapter or two got so many highlights from me because of all the great lines. The following chapters didn't get as many highlights because I was so involved I couldn't be bothered to stop and highlight. I swear, I lived as Alissa during this book. I'll probably think of this book years from now and be disappointed that I haven't had that vivid of a dream in ages, until I remember that it's really a book and I can relive it anytime I want (which will be often!).

First person narrative can be hard to pull off, but it works so well here and you don't feel like you're missing out with only the one perspective. Set from Alissa's perspective, she describes every eyebrow lift and facial expression and she's wonderfully cognizant of all that's happening around her.

Alissa feels abandoned that her friend moved away, so she find her friend's diary/calendar. When she sees the one odd entry "assignation", she's curious and decides to use her friend's appointment to see what this is about (with the deviant hope that maybe something happened to her friend instead of her just leaving). She chickens out after she arrives and hides in the closet, but is intrigued when the man in the room leaves his business card asking for her to call him. They start talking, then meeting, then work up to an almost relationship. Which is a strange thing because these "assignations" are always pretty clear: the participants know ahead of time what game they're playing and they never see each other more than once.

When they finally meet, Alissa is nervous that it's going to be some strange, kinky thing and Janos makes it better:
"'You do understand that I'm not going to suddenly perform strange perverted acts on your innocent young body, don't you?'
'Of course I understand that,' I snort, but I'm still standing by the door.
And he's still raising that one eyebrow. We both know I'm not fooling anyone.
'All right, maybe I didn't completely understand that.'"

But when things get weird and they stop talking, Alissa starts feeling insecure and like this must be the end; she's done something wrong and now she'll be abandoned again. Neither one is quite willing to let this "thing" (whatever it is) be lost. Every little interaction between these two is just so wonderful. They're not perfect, but they're amazing together. They have their difficulties, but they care about each other and accept each other.

Alissa and Janos get hooked on each other, but they each have their insecurities and vulnerabilities that are difficult to overcome. Here is where Charlotte Stein's writing is so awesome. She writes all the characters' foibles with just a hint of the absurd. Not quite that I'm laughing about them, but I say "OMG, I've really thought something like that". Like, how many time do you look at someone and feel like they're better than you, but Alissa takes it that extra step: "She's wearing a snake on her head, only the snake is beautiful and blonde and so much better than me." And it's so out of the ordinary that you have to stop and think about your own insecurity and it's slightly less scary to overcome right along with Alissa.

You can't help liking these two. They've got their issues, but they want to be together. Their issues are their own and they fess up to them and don't try to cruelly use each other to hide their problems. They're shocked and thrilled when one of them is able to overcome an issue. The sex is kinky and filthy and sometime sometime you go "did they really just do that?!", but it never veers into a place where someone is cheap and used. The relationship between Alissa and Janos is always paramount and the sex (while there's a lot of it) always furthers the story behind their relationship. Now that I've finished this book, what I want most is to immediately read it again.

I received this book as a complimentary ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

And Babies Make Four...

And Babies Make Four…
by Ruth Owens
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was a colorful, cute story. Originally written in 1996, it's just what you need when you're looking for a throwback to a time with less technology and some nice, passionate angst. Sam and Noel burn hot and cold all the time. They'll be thinking happy, loving thoughts about the other and then a random comment will entice all kinds of angry vitriol, followed closely by tears and making up.

I loved the way Ms. Owens has with words in this book. She was able to seamlessly weave tropical metaphors into everything. All of the ideas and emotions in the story were tied to hurricanes, winds, waves, riptides. I was truly amazed at how well written and poetic all of the imagery was.

It was amusing to read all of the computer related tidbits. All of the ideas that we had back in the 90's about what computers would turn into; some things came true and some things are just fun nostalgia. The computer personalities went back and forth between advanced adults, small petulant children and Islander teenagers. But they were fun to read and remember how we thought things would develop in the 90's. It made me stop and reminisce about what I was involved with computer-wise back in the 90's.

I didn't buy into everything in the book. There was the almost requisite surprise pregnancy that just didn't add up when calculating days. The main part of the plot, trying to solve this "Eden Equation", was a little confusing to me. Even by the end of the book, I wasn't sure why is was necessary to go to the tropical island. It almost seemed that there was some supernatural force involved in some of the decisions, but it was only slightly eluded to and I would have liked to see that explored a little more.

After seeing the epilogue and browsing Ruth Owens books on Amazon, I think this book might be the last one in a series of interconnected books. So maybe some of the other books give a little more context for this one. As of this review, the other books have not been reissued yet.

This was a nice book to sit back and read to put a smile on your face. I wouldn't say it was a hugely emotional book for me. I liked the characters and the setting, and the prose was very captivating, but I didn't feel completely invested in Sam and Noel's happily-ever-after. It was a good way to relax and unwind at the end of the long day though.

Undercover Professor

Undercover Professor
by December Gephart
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
This is a new author for me and I really liked this book. I wish I had an empty afternoon where I could have read the book in one sitting. As it was, I only got a chapter or two in at a time.

Lucy is working hard to get her degree, further her career and fulfill her other life goals of marriage and a family. She's been burned so many times before, in lots of unique ways, that she has a whole list of what kind of person she'll be in a relationship with. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Things that we'd all put pretty high on the priority list. She's even got a guy that seems to meet the whole list. But no zing from him. A kiss from him was "like he was swashbuckling her mouth". Although swashbuckling looks can be nice, thinking about a kiss described like that sort of made me vomit in my mouth.

But when she meets and is attracted to Andy, things get complicated because he seems to break almost every requirement from her list. Lucy has a very open personality and is honest about her attraction to Andy and we see a lot of her internal debate. And I loved some of the lines:

"She was too warm with the sweatshirt and she considered pulling it off. But then, what if - oops - her tank top came off with it? And then maybe his shirt would be ripped off too, and the next thing you know, naked."

Andy actually fulfills Lucy's requirements just fine except for the big one - no lying. Which is why it looks like everything else is wrong with him. But these two have so much in common and have such a good time together that they just can't stay away. They like the same books and music. They have a good time going out together and talking. The lead up to their realization that they love each other was very natural and well written.

I felt like the secondary characters were a little flat - mostly used just as plot devices. Lucy's cousin, Becca, is in a lot of scenes and I liked her when she was interacting with Lucy. But when she's around Andy, I just had trouble liking her. It felt a little too unnatural to the rest of her personality - like her version of crazy can just turn on and off. Lucy was almost, vaguely cheating on her sort-of-boyfriend Dell that I had a twinge or two of "oh no", but he was such a flat, uninteresting person that I just didn't really care. I was glad Becca and Dell both ended up resolved by the end of the book.

The sexy-times were hot and enjoyable, but not overly explicit. I thought Andy/Drew did a really good job of making things right at the end. This was a cute book with an entertaining premise and I'll be happy to read more from this author in the future.

The Spy Who Left Me

Another one of my early ones.  I wish I could find a way to write more, but I don't remember much of the story anymore.

The Spy Who Left Me
by Gina Robinson
Rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Review:
I picked this book up as part of Kindle's 100 discounted books per month just because the description looked interesting. It took a while before I got through it. I kept picking it up and reading a little bit every now and then. I was drawn into the story but I felt a lot of pain from the heroine and it made me sad so I'd keep switching over to happy books.

The adventure was interesting and I enjoyed seeing Treflee emerge from her shell a bit and find her power. But book seemed a bit long and it was rough getting to the end.

Everyone still loves each other but the whole super-spy thing means that neither character really got to know the other one.  Once they figure things out and talk, everything was out in the open and they just sort-of move on. It felt complete, but just a bit sad - like the only problem with the relationship was that they hadn't talked to each other about the problems. Then everything is healed with just a little talking and a little time to stop feeling upset.

I'm glad everyone felt good at the end, but it didn't feel like a real relationship that you want to root for.

Making It Last

Making It Last
by Ruthie Knox
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
Wow! I couldn't believe how spot on this book was at the beginning. Within five pages, I was crying because it voiced so many unspoken nuances of being a stay at home mom.

Amber and Tony have been married for 10+ years, with three kids. The story opens with the whole family in Jamaica on the way home from their first vacation since their third child was born (he's now six). Amber is so downtrodden by the disappointment of how much harder life is on vacation when you're mom and you have three kids. She's lonely and feels unseen. I have to be honest that some of my tears were because of the fears I have that even as my kids get older, this will be the way life plays out.

As the story continues, we see all of the pain that Amber's been carrying. She feels completely isolated and wishes for something that's just hers. But even having the chance to stay in Jamaica for a few days on her own, she feels bereft. It's been so long since she's wanted anything that she doesn't even have any conscious desires. And everything that used to be what she wanted or what would have made her happy, does not feel like anything to her.

Tony's been working non-stop for a long time and knows there's a problem but has no idea how to get out of the endless loop they're stuck in. When he heads back to Jamaica to try and save their marriage, the two of them pretend to be strangers and Amber's able to begin revealing why she's been depressed.

Within the first couple pages of reading, I had really high hopes for how this book would end. Like maybe it would give this magic solution of how to get through these feelings. I finished the book feeling hopeful and happy with the way it ended, but felt like it left out some of the serious concerns. Yes, hope-found can be life giving when you've lost sight of why you're with someone. But even hopes and dreams and "someday things will be better" can only take you so far when life has been dragging you down for so long.

It really felt like all of the characters love each other, but they can't really figure out how to make boundaries. I felt good at the end, because Amber and Tony decided to look forward to the future and could see that they'd be together and work out what was wrong. But it didn't feel like them as a family were getting the help they needed. Maybe some of it is my own pet peeves.

I'm glad that Amber felt hopeful again but from my own experiences, not feeling for a long time takes a really long time to unlearn. Maybe in one to five years she'll have realized some of her dreams and be feeling good, but for right now, today, it's back to the daily grind that's weighing her down.

The kids were totally, understandably freaking out about their mom being gone for the first time, but so much of their words and interactions were over the top nasty feeling to me. And the adults said and did nothing about it. In fact, Amber wanted to do something but was so burned out that she stayed in Jamaica so Dad and Grandma gave the kids whatever they wanted because it just wasn't worth the fight. At the very beginning, Amber thinks that she's correcting the boys so they won't grow up to be monsters, but as soon as she's not actively in control, everyone steps right on her rules to do whatever they want with the kids. This is honestly one of my biggest fears with raising my own kids - that no matter what I do, it's not going to matter and they'll be little monsters like this.

I wish this could have been dealt with a little more in the book - showing Amber standing up to Tony or her mom to get them to treat her rules as important. Or how they helped the kids figure out how to treat their mom like a person too. If she's getting better from being numb, I would have expected her fight to come back too - to stick up for herself with her family and kids.

I give this book 4 stars for it's realism but it's definitely not a beach read and if I were close friends with Amber and Tony, I'd say that I don't believe their "happily-ever-after" will stick without a lot of work. This book has stuck with me long after I read it and I hope there will be more books in the future that are able to voice this part of life and continue to explore how women can be whole no matter what their life choices are.

In Love With The Man

In Love with the Man 
by Marjorie Lewty
Rating: 1 of 5 stars

My Review:
Oh the things you can find at library book sales.  So many books that you're not really sure about, but for 25 to 50 cents, how can you go wrong...

This is the story about "the Man". "The Man" is important. "The Man" makes the decisions. "The Man" is smart and capable and will do what needs to be done. But wait. This is a romance novel from the 80's. There needs to be a female. We need to know all the feelings that she's having. But don't forget, this story is about "The Man".

Any time anything exciting might happen, the heroine is confined to the hotel room while "The Man" takes care of things. One time she's allowed to go and sit in the lobby, drinking tea, while business is taken care of. She's allowed to go because she broke down crying about how alone she felt being left behind.

This woman is really, really a doormat and she's supposedly smart because she got this job as an almost programmer, but we never see her do anything smart. "The Man" even tells her at one point to stop thinking (and not in a "don't over analyze" way, it definitely felt like "you're the woman, I'm the man, so I'll do the thinking for us").

There's a vengeful woman/ex who visits the heroine to imply that the hero is involved already, but one word from the hero and this heroine doesn't care. This book is really good at showing you, quit your job, don't care if the hero is two-timing you, don't ask for explanations, don't tell a man what you want. He's "The Man" and he'll give you what he deems you need and that's as good as it gets.

Can't Hurry Love by Christie Ridgeway

This was the first review that I have recorded in my review file.  I don't know exactly when I wrote it, but I know it took a lot of effort.  I'm hoping I can look back at some future point in time and see that my writing and ability to explain things has improved since I started these.

Can't Hurry Love
by Christie Ridgeway
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
I just finished Can't Hurry Love yesterday. I read the first book in the series ages ago but I never read the second book. I didn't feel at all lost reading the books out of order. I felt like I couldn't put the book down. I'm not sure that it'll find a place on my keeper shelf, but I NEEDED to find out what happened. 

The book caught my interest from the beginning and Ms. Ridgeway was really intriguing with the hints of secrets and motivations. This book felt very emotional and I felt drawn in to the story. I enjoyed how the book played out although I felt there were loose ends and a couple things could have used a better explanation. I would have liked to know what Kohl was doing each time he blacked out.

The villain felt flat - I couldn't figure out why he wanted Grace back (especially with him being so superstitious). I also had a hard time accepting that Liam and Jules left their marriage alone for 10 years. It seemed both of them had relationships with other people during those 10 years and especially as we get the backstory on how Liam viewed marriage I just don't see how they could both go on with their romantic lives knowing that they're still married. It also really bothered me that there was no conclusion to how possessive Liam was. I eventually understood where it was coming from, but Jules seemed like way too independent of a person to allow Liam to suspect her of some kind of infidelity each time she talks to a man.


Overall, I liked the book as an engaging story and I've thought about it often since I put it down. But I don't think it'll be one that I read over and over again.

His Favorite Mistake

His Favorite Mistake

by Mary Eason
Rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Review:
This felt like a nice older Harlequin novel. Some nice dramatic angst, no external conflict, just two people trying to overcome their past and miscommunications to be together. Lots of tears from the heroine. Lots of virginal innocence. Some nice, anger from the hero - that's not really anger because the heroine is just too innocent to see it as desire.

There were only very passing mentions of sex. One paragraph from start to finish in most cases and not at all graphic. Brody was occasionally very eloquent, but could also tend towards the silent, make-her-say-it-first type, just like most older Harlequins. Reyna had been through so much that she didn't have much trust left and it takes her a long time to trust Brody.

Like a lot of the older Harlequin novels I've read, this one barely mentions anyone outside the two main characters. Secondary characters are occasionally mentioned simply to further the plot and then dropped immediately afterwards. I thought this book could have been developed a lot more. Brody and Reyna would have been much stronger characters in my mind if they had other people surrounding them, helping them grow.

There were lots of plot points that were mention towards the beginning of the book and then resolved within a couple paragraphs later in the book. Brody's dream home is introduced, but then it's not brought up again after he shares it with Reyna. Reyna was getting her degree, but that's not mentioned again either. Reyna's ex-father-in-law seems like he could cause a lot of trouble socially for Reyna (because of his social standing), but there's never anything beyond the idea he planted in Brody that Reyna was using drugs.

Some things were inconsistent and made me stop to research. The beginning of the book implies pretty clearly that Reyna and her husband had been intimate, but then *surprise* she was still a virgin when she slept with Brody. It seemed like a pretty stock plot device for a Harlequin-style book, but just didn't jive with earlier parts of the book. Then Reyna takes the subway to work. In Denver. I had never heard of a subway in Denver, so I had to look it up to be sure. Looks like lightrail and bus only.

Then we get to the editing. That's the bulk of this lower rating. I couldn't believe how badly this book was edited. The first half is so filled with commas that it's difficult to decipher. The second half is missing almost all commas which makes for some very comical reading. There are words missing or used poorly (accept instead of except, out shadowed instead of overshadowed, etc.), characters names wrong and sentences that run off to infinity (especially considering the comma problem).

It was a touching story that I enjoyed reading. The angst and emotions were well drawn and it was a nice world to get pulled into for an afternoon - and I was pulled in, even with the editing problems. I hope this book gets an editing make-over quickly and then I'd give it a solid four stars. I'd definitely read this again when I'm in the mood for a light, soap opera romance.

The Theory of Attraction

Theory of Attraction
by Delphine Dryden
Rating: 2 of 5 stars

My Review:
I thought this book started off pretty well. I could really appreciate how well the author wrote the socially awkward hero. He had some really great phrases like "If people are dumb, it's not my job to educate them all the time". I also found the author's geeky phrasing very fun such as "Two arguing geeks were stoppable. Three arguing geeks created an infinite argument vortex of doom that sucked time down like a black hole." It gave the book a lot of promise in my mind.

I couldn't wait to see Ivan come out of his shell and figure out how to form relationships and interact with people. I thought Camilla and her friend Agatha would be a good contrast to Ivan's lack of relationships.

Then the sex scenes started. I didn't realize it was going to be so heavily and only BDSM. These were some deep, dark scenes that skirted the border of consent, but never actually crossed it. And Ivan was a completely different person in his BDSM world. I would say the middle half was basically composed entirely of BDSM scenes. Which ended up being a bit too much for me. I'm ok with a little bit of BDSM, but this felt like it happened at the expense of a real relationship for these characters.

I kept waiting for Camilla to grow some backbone and insist that they have some form of relationship outside of the bedroom. I kept hoping that she'd force Ivan out of his comfort zone and let her be an active member of their sexy times. I kept thinking that some of Ivan's secret smiles would actually lead to him wanting something more because he actually liked Camilla. For the whole middle half of the book, we don't get anything about the characters other than what they are to each other in their scenarios.

I ended up not liking either character because they didn't feel like real people. It didn't feel like Ivan even looked at Camilla like an actual person. She was his Sub and he'd never had "his own Sub" before, so this was special to him. Camilla was an empty shell for him to use as he pleased. He liked that and she didn't mind it either, but it felt like she left all forms of her personality behind the farther I read. Her initial goal had been to help him in social situations, which I assumed would mean "forming relationships". But instead he just used his Dom abilities to focus on a couple conversations.

From the parts we see of the book, if I were Camilla's friend, I would have been worried for her that Ivan seems to be isolating her from her friends, not caring about her job, and wants her to only be around him whenever he feels like having a Sub. But reading this book, Camilla wouldn't have taken that advice from her friend anyway because by the end she had no interaction with anyone but Ivan.

Bottom line, I liked a lot of the phrasing in this book. It started out with a lot of promise. I didn't care for the BDSM, but if that's your thing you'll probably like this book. I wouldn't really classify it as a romance though. Read if you like sexy, heavy-duty BDSM, but not if you're looking for a hero and heroine who grow into more complete people because they're together.

The Story Guy

The Story Guy

by Mary Ann Rivers
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review:
From the title and the description, I was expecting a mostly lighthearted story. You know, makes you feel good as you read it and is covered with a nice sensual haze. I mean, the book opens up with Carrie being lonely and replying to an anonymous ad for once a week kissing sessions. So, you know there's going to be kissing. And you know there's going to be a story behind the kissing-only thing.

I'd say the first third of the book was pretty much just as I would have hoped from any book I choose to read - a great, novel premise with an emotional writing style. Then things started getting intense. The story grabbed me hard and I could barely put the book down. I started expecting a Jane Eyre-style reveal - the twists and turns were so gripping but they were very original.

I ended up reading as I tried to make spaghetti, just because I couldn't leave these characters behind. I tried really hard not to cry too much while I worked on dinner, but it was really emotionally intense (in a good way). I can't say that everything was resolved by the end of the book. But both characters found a way to be together and grow through their issues. I think this author will need to go on my auto-buy list.

Arrested By Love

Arrested by Love

by Virna DePaul
Rating: 4 of 5 stars


My Review:
This book contains three separate but almost-interconnecting stories. All of the men know each other and are all cops. It's billed as an erotic romance and oh boy, does it have a lot of sex in it. All kinds; exhibitionism, anal, two guys and a girl, etc. Nothing painful and the men are insatiable.


It's a fun fantasyland where the guy(s) do whatever they can to give the girl pleasure. Some of the saying are very poetic, "like a daisy wilting on its stem". Some of them are amusing like "a wonderland of warm cushioned flesh". Some of it didn't work for me, like describing the male anatomy as a "stalk" - it just made me think of broccoli for some reason, which made me laugh.


In terms of story, it felt like each set up was only used to fuel the sex. Like in the first story, the cop is working undercover in a biker gang who mostly deals in sex orgies. Somehow the heroine knows he's working undercover and it was like everyone (good guys and bad guys) knew who everyone else was, but played along anyway. As soon as the couple works out that they belong together, the plot is neatly wrapped up and finished. Find out guy is stalking girl, have lots of sex, arrest bad guy with no incident, "I love you", the end. That's from the second story, but each story uses the setup in exactly the same way.


I spent a free afternoon on each story and didn't feel like I wasted my time - they were all fun daydreams and when I'm in the right mood, I'm sure I'll read each of these again.

Any Duchess Will Do

Any Duchess Will Do

by Tessa Dare
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
The description of this book didn't jump up and grab me like some books, but it's a Tessa Dare book so I had to get it. I didn't remember much about Pauline from the rest of the series and I couldn't figure out who Griff was for a while. I'd say it took a couple chapters for me to get into it, but once I did, I could barely put the book down.

We met Griff briefly in "A Week To Be Wicked". He wasn't really someone I cared anything about in that book - he seemed a bit too dissolute for my taste. Now, one of the questions I've mulled over is: Do I really believe that this Griff could be the same person as in "A Week To Be Wicked"? That Griff really seemed pretty irredeemable and just not even likable. The Griff in this book was completely different and I'm not sure that I believe the trauma he went through can account for the complete transformation.

There was also an issue for me that Pauline felt "In her youth, she hadn't guarded her 'favors' as closely as she should have. But Griff knew about that, and he never made her feel lesser for it." Maybe there should be some allowance because this is a historical, but this idea is problematic for me because Pauline is such an independent person and also because Griff just a year ago left his debauched lifestyle. Maybe the intention was to say that since her prior experience was less than stellar, she should have been more tuned in that the other guy wasn't treating her as an equal. But really, what ground did Griff have to stand on anyway if he did make her feel "lesser" - he was throwing bacchanalian orgies pretty constantly up until a year ago. If he did say something, I'd look at him as more of a pig - so the opposite (him not saying anything) does not make him a better choice in my opinion, it just makes him a decent human being.

I also found the concept of "tasting ripe as berries" rather funny. It just kept making me think, ripe body odor with a berry undertone. This is before the time that baths happened regularly, after all.

But Ms. Dare was able to carry the story and within the first few chapters and I was on the edge of my seat to see how Griff and Pauline worked out their differences. Even Griff's mother, who starts out looking very cold and manipulative, is shown to be a caring human who just needs help showing it. And all the characters are very amusing. They're good at poking fun at themselves and not taking themselves too seriously.

Pauline handles every hardship in a very open and honest way. Even though life hasn't been kind to Pauline, she has aspirations of opening her own bookshop in Spindle Cove. Griff is a duke. I had no idea how they'd be able to compromise. I really didn't want to see Pauline give up her dream just to be a duchess. But I can say, everything worked out splendidly for both of them. Their romance was "Not dreamlike or perfect, just more real." Over and over, Griff's brain says "Her. I want her." And every time it made me say "awww". It was very romantic. I got lots of happy tingles from reading this book.  

The Cursed

The Cursed

by Alyssa Day

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review: 
I was a little hesitant to read this book. Some of the Alyssa Day books I've read before have had villains that were a bit too sadistic to me. But the description of this one was too good and I couldn't resist. I'm glad I read it. There was no sadism and in fact there weren't necessarily "bad guys" in the book either - each person simply has different motivations for their actions.

Rio is an orphan living in Bordertown - a magical section of land near Manhattan that's not on any maps. A place where magical beings can be free or hide out from their enemies. When Rio witnesses a kidnapping, she goes to Luke, the resident wizard and private eye, to help find the missing girl. But all in the span of a day, Rio loses her job and apartment and is being chased by multiple bands of magical beings. Somehow it has to do with Rio's birthday and she's in a race against time to figure out what's going on. Rio is upbeat and makes friends wherever she goes. Mostly because she treats all people with respect.

I could really picture Rio and Luke, and I loved both of them. They're tough, but broken and they need each other. They're super funny too. They're joking with each other all the time and it felt really natural and actually funny. I never felt like I missed the silliness. It was drawn so wonderfully that you could tell Luke and Rio enjoyed being around each other and were on the same wavelength.

In terms of magic, I didn't feel like very much was explained. Even at the end of the book, we don't know what Rio's powers are or what she's capable of. I'm hopeful that this means it's just an introduction book to the world of Bordertown and that Rio and Luke will get more airtime as the series continues. From giant ducks, to quoted movie lines, to jokes like "wizard pendulums hang low", I found the book to be very entertaining. I'll definitely be buying the next book when it comes out.

No Strings Attached

No Strings Attached
by Nicolette Day
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
I enjoy the stories of friends becoming more and this was a really great incarnation of it. Hayden is getting ready to leave on a trip for her dream job and wants one night of sex before she leaves to prove she's moved on from her ex. Jace has been her best friend for years, but hasn't spoken to her in two weeks (since she announced she's leaving).

Hayden goes to Jace's bar to let loose and pick up a guy, but Jace gets overprotective and keeps the guys away. One thing leads to another and Jace and Hayden get it on and find that they've both been pining for the other.

I was surprised how many times the f-word was used in this book. Seeing that the whole book covers about 18 hours worth of time and most of that time involves something sexual happening, I expected the explicit sex scenes. But after the fourth or fifth f-word, I started noticing more and just feeling surprised because I so rarely hear it said in normal conversation or read in romance novels. The book is so short that I don't feel I knew the hero's character enough to say if he was the type that just generally uses that word in everyday conversation. I didn't notice many other swear words - just this one. So if this is something that bothers you, it's probably not the book for you.

For me, this was a perfect story to spend an afternoon with. I'll keep an eye out for this author's next book.

Officer Off Limits

Officer Off Limits
by Tessa Bailey
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was such a fun story. Daniel was so larger than life, he filled up all the pages with his blatant man-whore ways (he calls himself that multiple times). Although Story wasn't a passive spectator, I would say she was pretty often overshadowed by Daniel's presence. Daniel constantly has pet names for Story, like "sunshine" and "gorgeous". It felt like it could have gotten old, but it was so in character for him that I never felt like it detracted from the story. It just added to his over-the-top nature. And I loved that Story called him "trail mix".

This book was full of sex and insta-lust, but again, it went right along with Daniel's character so I didn't feel it was overdone. This book is only about the two main characters. We never really meet any other characters unless they are useful to further the romance. I would have loved to see a little more about Daniel and Story's relationships with their family and friends.

That led to the one part of the plot that just felt a little too forced. Story's father plays a role in bringing Story and Daniel together and I just didn't believe it completely. It fit into the romance plot well and seemed to fit everyone's personalities, but we're told at the beginning of the book that Story and her dad haven't seen each other (and I think haven't talked to each other) in 10+ years. I just had trouble believing - not that you wouldn't keep up with each other's lives somehow, but that you could somehow know and manage people when you have no real relationship with them.

As long as I left that bit of disbelief behind, I enjoyed everything about this book. I'll definitely look for more books by this author.