Category Archives: romance

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Mountain Man

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I adore this author and usually relish the tales I read, but this particular story didn’t fully meet my expectations. Initially, I could predict the plot from the first chapter and character introduction. The characters were well-developed, to the extent that I genuinely disliked one of them for her lifelike portrayal. However, I missed a sense of the town and its inhabitants, as I enjoy rich backdrops. The main characters received some background, but it felt insufficient, providing just a skeletal understanding of their identities before they came together.

William Black relocated to Marshall Heights to escape what he viewed as unforgivable failures, believing he didn’t deserve to be part of society. Living reclusively on the mountain, he’s the subject of much speculation, yet the truth of his past remains hidden. Delilah, a bank employee, encounters William during his biweekly visits to cash checks. Despite the rumors, she senses they’re unfounded. Her admiration turns to affection after witnessing an act she deems heroic. Complicating matters is Janet, the proverbial thorn in the side, who seeks to rekindle a relationship with William for less than noble motives.

The romance was endearing and somewhat steamy. I would suggest it to others, as the author’s talent shines through, and fans of this book are likely to appreciate their other works as well.

My rating: 💖💖💖

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The Handbook

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The story begins at a leisurely pace, introducing the main characters individually, but gains momentum when Nikki and Derek meet. While some characters are mere stereotypes, they serve to advance the plot effortlessly. More classroom interactions would have been preferable, as the main characters, particularly the teacher, often end up clubbing instead.

Nikki Sloan, after being dumped by her long-term boyfriend, spirals downward, despite the relationship not being right for her. As she starts to recover, a disastrous date sends her plunging back into despair. Discovering a notebook claiming to transform her into the ultimate seductress, she embarks on a journey to gain confidence and power.

Derek Anderson, a professor rumored to be involved with his students, finds himself coerced into taking over another instructor’s classes when the dean hears of his alleged affairs. This twist of fate brings him and Nikki together. Derek, who prides himself on bachelorhood, begins to see the potential for change.

Initially, Nikki appears immature, but she matures significantly as she follows the notebook’s advice. Derek, too, starts off seeming juvenile but reveals deeper layers. Although this genre isn’t my usual preference, I find these stories quite engaging and am open to exploring more.

This book should appeal to anyone who enjoys a heartfelt romance with a guaranteed happy ending.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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The Taking

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Another good entry in Jillian’s diary as she and Dean take things to the next level in their sexual journey. This couple is having a wonderful time finding out what the other likes and can handle. It gets more interesting and sensual with every entry.

Jillian and Dean play a game of Hide and Seek that brings out the animal in Dean. They then finally enter their playroom which Jillian has filled with a few good toys for them to explore.

You have to read it to believe it.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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The Seduction

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The characters are the same but change as they fall further into the Awakening that Jillian set in motion when she visited dean’s office. There was no significant story here more like 3 experiments being done by the couple which were broken up. This is a short story with three short stories within. I really like this couple because they seem very real and I hope that anyone would be as open as they are.

Dean and Jillian Noble are a married couple having a sexual awakening after 19 years of marriage. The journey is good for both and especially for Dean who has wanted to try things with the woman he loves that he felt were too dark and kinky. When Jillian opens the door Dean is more than happy to go through and find out what works for them both.

This was just an alright entry for me though I like them I think it would have been better to have something else going on besides just the set-up for more sex. Not to say that I don’t like sex but give me something more about them. Where does Jillian work, or does she? Still, I think it will be enjoyable for most.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟

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The Protected

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I always enjoy the exploits of the psychics attached to the FBI unit because they are not simply suits. These agents have backgrounds and stories that are in some instances heartbreaking but that only makes them more interesting to read about. The characters whether good guys or bad guys are going to be nothing short f great because you are going to get someone who is either going to make you like them or creep you out and make you dislike them, both very good things while reading.

Agent Vaughnne MacMeans would do anything to avoid going back to Orlando after the last assignment in that city. Her new assignment, keeping an eye on a psychic kid who may or may not be in danger forces her right back to the city where her sister was murdered. As an added bonus she finds herself attracted to the kids’ guardians in a big way.

Gus does not understand Alex’s gift but he knows that some people would kill to have it. And he is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep the boy safe from anything. His first inclination is to run when the beautiful woman moves into the house across the street from his, but figures getting to know her first might not hurt. When danger does show Vaughnne may be the only person standing between them and death.

Things start a little slowly but pick up swiftly and things start happening that keep you wondering. There are a number of people who come into play some known and some new. The tension builds perfectly and keeps you waiting for the next event. There is also a romance that develops which you want to see grow and hopefully work. I would definitely recommend this!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Jabril

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I enjoyed this second book just as much as the first in the series. The old characters were more well defined and the new characters were pretty much brought in with full personalities that made you either like or dislike them immediately upon meeting them. You knew who was who and who could be trusted in a tense situation.

Jabril Karim is one of eight Vampire Lords and headquartered in Houston, Texas. While Raphael rules through loyalty and respect, Jabril uses fear and threats. Mirabelle is a young woman who was placed in Jabril’s care as a 15-year-old along with her 10-year-old sister. In order to get his hands on her money and control her, he turned her one day after her 18th birthday, but he still needs her because she does not get the bulk of her money until she becomes 25, but after that, he will not need her.

When Mirabelle’s sister runs away to avoid the fate of her sister Jabril hires Cynthia to find her, though he does not believe a woman can do the job. What he wants is to claim Cyn and rub it in Raphael’s face for not making her his. With her arrival in Texas Cynthia decides that what Jabril wants is something she will have to thwart in order to save her sisters who were given to a monster.

While the main story is good we have a secondary story that is just as good and compelling. Enjoy this book and be ready for the next which should prove just as good.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rumor has it Raphael used a private investigator, a very private investigator from what I hear, but one who resisted even that arrogant bastard’s charm.” “You would hire a woman?” “Oh hardly, Asim,” he said with a dismissive flip of his fingers. “Talk to the lawyers and find a proper man for the job. But call this woman of Raphael’s anyway. I want to meet her, and that bastard’s ego could use a good pricking. Do you think he would mind sharing?” “I think he would rather share with a snake, my lord,” Asim said with a sharp smile.

Jabril
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Smolder

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Smolder by Gina Watson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Love the St. Martin family Saga! The stories are all self-contained but still allow for the cameo appearance of others from previous books. You get a heads up on who the next story will be about with the introduction of another family member who may have been mentioned but never seen before. The sex scenes are hot without being trashy and definitely heat up the page. The characters are worth getting to know because they feel right and make you want to know them better. The setting is contemporary and so you can feel even more a part of things since you are looking at your reality more or less.

Campbell Lee St. Martin is a millionaire businessman who has grown bored with vanilla sex. He doesn’t want BDSM but a little lust and aggression that is sorely missing. Camp is engaged to Kim, a very repressed young woman, but because he has been divorced before he does want to admit defeat once again.

Along comes Jenny who is nothing like Kim. While he is totally taken with her he cannot decide whether he wants to kill her or date her. Jenny has had a hard life and decided that a permanent man in her life is something she does not need. But once Campbell has set his mind to something or someone, he intends to succeed.

A nice hot and sweet story with a perfect ending.



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“My parents had pushed me to accept your engagement. I thought I could learn to be all the things that you wanted, but your… your raw sexuality scares me. You deserve to be with someone who can satisfy your desire. I love you as a sister loves a brother. Let’s not be sad about this. It wasn’t meant to happen for us.”

Kimberly to Campbell St. Martin
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Suited

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Suited by Gina Watson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I do love the St. Martin clan, they are a family of good-looking but very flawed individuals who are all looking for the redemption of one kind or another. We finally get to one of the twins and it’s the brother who seemed to have the most issues with their father. This is Cash’s story, Cashel Gray St. Martin, who has been called a disgrace to the St. Martin name by the people of the town. Each new character adds something different and unique to the story.

Cash ran away from his family eight years ago because his father cut him off and demanded he becomes what he wanted him to be. Not the gambling, drug-addled, alcohol-dependent college student he seemed to be. When Cash ran however he left not only his family but the girl he claimed to love, Isabella Petrovich, who had been alone before him but who at least gained his family in his absence.

Cash went away and made a name for himself as a professional gambler, author, and TV star but is it enough to gain the love of a father who shunned him. Cash also has bridges to mend with the woman that he claimed to love and then abandoned without a word. How can he make it up to her after hurting her so deeply?

These are basically short stories that give you a look at a member of the family as they attempt to get past a block in their life. The stories are somewhat erotic but I think it still works for the stories. Enjoy these short intimate stories that give a look behind the lives of the characters.



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Rise of the Fallen

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I have to say that as soon as I started reading I was pulled directly into the world of Micah Black. Though I did not know who he was at first I knew that this was going to be someone I could like based on how dark and tortured he appeared because you know that he feels deep. The plot of this book is very straight forward and keeps moving at a good pace which allows you to follow the action without getting bogged down. There are no slow spots of weird changes to deal with, no shifts in time or tense to keep track of, you know what is going on every step of the way.

When you consider that most of the main characters are vampires, you can still relate to them and what they are dealing with as people. I could imagine knowing someone like Trace, a nice guy who is quiet and keeps to himself but is looking to make a friend of the guy everyone else avoids. I know sometimes the dialogue in these books can seem kind of stilted or forced, but that is not the case here. The dialogue seems to be very true to who each of the characters are, keeping in mind that some of them are quite old. 😉

Our main character is Micah Black who works at AKM (All the Kings Men) as an enforcer, he keeps the peace between the drecks (lower vampires) and upper level vampires. Micah has fallen into a dark place because of the lose of his mate and is looking for a way to continue living as he is or to die. Samantha Garrett is working as a stripper after leaving her abusive husband and simply wants to make enough money to get a new identity so she can feel free. They have nothing in common but when they cross paths it is salvation them both.

My favorite quote from Micah, “If they made a move on Sam, he’d fuck up their world so righteously the galaxy would shift from the gravitational pull of his wrath.”

Micah is not a man you want to get in the way of, he is fierce, passionate, and loyal. Who wouldn’t want a man to feel like that about them. You see these traits in all the characters, they are a group I cannot wait to find out more about! In this first of the series we get to meet Micah but in subsequent novels we will get more on the other enforcers at AKM. Each should be just as exciting and hot as this one. I will be reading them as fast as I can get them.

There is some talk of BDSM but it is fairly mild though some of the scenes are good and hot even without it. Also if M/M action makes you squeamish you may want to skip.

**I listened to this for my second time around and it was just as good or even better than my reading it. The narrator, Mikela Drew, does a fantastic job of bring this story to life. While the second book is available, and I plan to listen to it also, I can only hope that they soon bring the rest of the series to audio too.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Christmas Alpha

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Christmas Alpha
(Alpha #1)
by Carole Mortimer

This is a new to me author who I would like to read more of in the future. This is a book with Christmas in the title that has little to nothing to do with the holiday. The story and dialogue go back and forth between the main characters giving you a look at both. The characters are a little vague none the less because there is no real development to start with. I was lost for the first half of things but knew it would be something simple and a bit mundane because that is how it was set up, not that it was a bad thing.

Things start out pretty strange with Finn Devlin telling the girl who comes to his door to get undressed and on the bed. Eva Shaw has come to the house to deliver a package and finds herself being told to get naked before the door is open good, not your typical request. But with a major storm brewing and no way to leave, she may have to deal with the situation the best way she can.

I ended up liking this and the characters even if they fell in love a bit fast for my taste. There were some hot moments and some emotional moments. Even if its not a real Christmas story it kind of fits the season.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars