Romance Book Review: Cattle Valley Days

Author: Carol Lynne
Series Connection: Book twelve in the Cattle Valley Series
ISBN # 978-1-907010-60-6
Genre: Contemporary Romance/ M/M

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Nate and his men, Ryan and Rio are back in the 12th installment of the Cattle Valley series. Years ago in honor of his son, a rich man set up an out of the way community where gay men and women could live in peace without fear of being harmed from those who disapproved of their life style. Several years ago Nate, Rio and Ryan moved to the city in hopes of finding a place the three of them could live their life. Ryan took on the job as town sheriff. Just recently Nate took on the job as the town's mayor.

While his men are proud of Nate for taking on the job as mayor, they can't help but be sorry that things are changing in their relationship. Nate is working a lot of hours helping to get everything ready for the annual Cattle Valley Days and the additional work load is putting a strain on his relationship with Ryan. Rio is making himself sick worried about what will happen in the future, but when tragedy strikes, the men and the town need to stick together and help.

This is the most emotionally powerful packed story I've read from Carol Lynne yet. It was remarkably thought out and written. I've read every book that Carol has written and continue to become impressed with her ability to weave a emotionally driven story about real people. I was also glad to see the Good Brothers and their mates again. I wish the story could have been just a little bit longer so that that aspect of the story could have been delved into a little more, but with everything else going on in the book, it might have been a bit too much.

As always I'll be anxiously awaiting the next installment to the Cattle Valley Series. It seems that there are a lot of couples who are still waiting for their story to be told.

Description:
Saddle up, Cattle Valley residents. It's time for the annual Cattle Valley Days, which means one thing. Cowboys, lots and lots of chapped cowboy butts.

We'll be checking in with some of your favourite couples from the past as well as meeting a few new residents. Our old friends from the Good-Time Boys will also be dropping by for the annual rodeo festivities.

So slap your spurs in and get ready for a wild ride!

Reader Advisory: This book is best read in sequence as part of a series

Chat Day on Twitter Wed. Aug. 5th – all day!

Two authors, Joanna D’Angelo (http://twitter.com/JoannaDangelo) and Kim Castillo (http://twitter.com/KimSCastillo) will be hosting a "Chat Day on Twitter Wed. Aug. 5th – all day!"

Romance fans are invited to take part in the Twitter Chat Day for romance authors, fans, aspiring writers and everyone interested and involved/working in the world of romance fiction.

For those of us who can’t travel to another city or state for a book signing or for those of us who can’t go to RWA or RT or other writers’ conferences – Kim and Joanna thought this would be a fun online “fan” convention. Also a great way for unpublished and aspiring authors to pick the brains of published authors.

Authors can have fun and chat about what you all love and connect with fans of your work!

Readers/Fans can connect with like-minded people chat with some of your fave authors who'll be hopping on all day!

Also – authors are free to run contests! Free books people! ;D

All you have to do is show up on Twitter and tweet and make sure you add this hashtag so people can follow along #askromancewriter or #ARW or #arw

That way we can ALL follow along and take pare in the conversation!

Kim and Joanna are doing this as a love-in basically so spread the word! :)

If you're an author and want to take part please contact Joanna or Kim - and include your name, publisher, sub-genre you write and twitter name.

Tell your author friends (to e-mail Joanna or Kim) and fan friends to show up on twitter – and if they don’t have an account to get one and familiarize themselves with twitter so they can have fun on Aug. 5 instead of pulling their hair out trying to figure everything out.

Romance Book Review: Obsession Untamed

Author: Pamela Palmer
Series Connection: Book 2 in the Feral Warriors
ISBN: 978-0061667527
Genre: Paranormal/Shape-shifters

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In the second book of the Feral Warriors series, readers get to know Bengal tiger shifter Tighe. In Desire Untamed, Tighe was the fun loving, easy going shifter who falls in love with the new radiant, but finds she was meant for another. During the fight with the mage in book 1, Tighe loses half of his soul to a mage-made clone and is now in a quest to find his other half before he he completely loses himself and goes mad.

Delaney is an FBI agent on the hunt for a serial killer who the press as dubbed a vampire. When she comes upon the killer, she survives his attack and now knows what the killer looks like. He also leaves her with the ability to visions as he kills his victims. When Tighe finds out that Delaney can see the murders, he has to convince her that he isn't who she thinks he is and that they should work together to find the clone. Delaney has always had trust issues, can she learn to trust Tighe before it is too late to stop a killer and save Tighe's life?

This is an action-packed, fast paced book. I wound up reading it in one seating, not able to put the book down to the end. The emotion that Pamela draws from her lead character is so exciting and easily believable. The shifter angle of the story is and well plotted.

Next book is Passion Untamed, scheduled to come out in September 2009.

Description:
Every time she closes her eyes, Delaney Randall suffers another nightmare. A brutal serial killer has found his way inside the tough, take-no-prisoners FBI agent’s head. Now she lives the murders through his eyes, from his deadly approach, to his victims’ screams. Until the night he breaks into her apartment and she fears she’s going to be the next to die. But the man who snatches Delaney from her home isn’t the murderer.

He’s Tighe, a dangerous Feral Warrior who needs her and her visions to stop the rampages of a creature as inhuman as he is evil. Tighe has little use for humans, but as he and Delaney join forces to track the dark fiend, he falls for the intense beauty and becomes wild with an obsession as untamed as his heart.

Romance Byte: Crashed

Author: Robin Wasserman
Series Connection: Skinned Trilogy
ISBN: 978-1416974536
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: Sept. 8, 2009

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Description:
Months have passed, and in that time, Lia has joined Jude and his roving gang of mechs, an eclectic collection of bored teenagers looking for trouble, and uniquely capable of finding it. It's a carefree life at first, but as the download process becomes more common, the opposition to the process becomes more vocal - and more hostile.

Lia gets swept up in the idea of being a revolutionary and fighting for a cause, but as the plans escalate, she starts having second thoughts - especially when she figures out Jude's real agenda. Yes, he's loyal to his cause - fiercely, desperately, blindly loyal. But only to his cause. Not necessarily to his people. In the end, Lia must make a choice. How many people - mechanical and organic - is she willing to hurt to protect her freedom? How far is she willing to go to protect the people she loves? And, when she betrays Jude - as she eventually realizes she must - how will he take his revenge?

Romance Byte: Devoured

Author: Amanda Marone
ISBN: 978-1416978909
Genre: Paranormal/Young Adult
Release Date: Sept. 22, 2009

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Description:
Megan’s twin sister Remy died in an accident nine years ago, and she’s been haunting her ever since. Knowing how crazy that sounds, Megan keeps this secret to herself and tries to lead a normal life. But when she takes a summer job at Land of Enchantment to keep an eye on her new boyfriend and his lovesick best friend, Samantha, she meets fellow employee Luke who can see Remy, too. Things get even twistier because Megan’s new friend Ari is sporting a massive crush on Luke, who seems to be developing a massive crush on Megan…making for a love triangle that’s positively possessed.

Megan wants to keep her distance from Luke, but when Remy’s visions get crazy violent; she knows she needs his help. Because someone’s definitely in danger...the only question is who?

Romance Byte: Sea Glass

Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series Connection: Glass, Book 2
ISBN: 978-0778325802
Genre: Paranormal

Facebook Book Club Member

Description:
Like the colorful pieces of sea glass washed up on shore, Opal has weathered rough waters and twisting currents. But instead of finding a tranquil eddy, Opal is caught in a riptide. Her unique glass messengers which allow instant communication over vast distances have become a vital part of Sitian society.

Once used solely by the Councilors and magicians, other powerful factions are now vying for control. Control of the messengers equals control of Sitia. Unfortunately that also means control of Opal. If that isn’t enough of a problem, Opal’s determination to prove blood magic is still being used is met with strong resistance. The Council doubts her, her mentor doubts her, and even her family is concerned. When her world is turned upside down, she begins to doubt herself. In the end, Opal must decide who to believe, who to trust, and who has control—otherwise she will shatter into a million pieces and be swept out by the tide.

Romance Byte: Blood Promises

Author: Richelle Mead
Series Connection: Vampire Academy, Book 4
ISBN: 978-1595141989
Genre: Paranormal/Young Adult
Release Date: Aug. 25, 2009

Facebook Book Club Member

Description:
DIMITRI'S HEART HAS GONE DARK

Now Rose must journey to the ends of the earth to find--and kill--her one true love...

Or has the time come to join him?

BOUND BY LOVE, BUT SWORN TO KILL...

The rest of the world had considered Dimitri dead. And to a certain extent, he was. But I hadn't been able to forget a conversation he and I had once had. We'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead—truly dead—than walk the world as Strigoi. It was time to honor our words.

Guardian Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

Romance Byte: Dark of the Moon

Author: Rachel Hawthorne
ISBN: 978-0061709579
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: Aug. 25, 2009

Facebook Book Club Member

Description:
I've loved him forever, but he can never be mine.

brittany is determined to prove herself to the Dark Guardians. And yet she's been keeping a devastating secret: She hasn't experienced any of the intense, early signs of change that mark a Dark Guardian's transformation. The only intense feelings she has are for Connor—and she's kept that a secret, too. But she knows she'll never truly have Connor's love if she's not a Shifter like him.

At the first full moon after her birthday, her greatest fear is realized: She doesn't transform. Brittany is so desperate to become a wolf that she'll go to extremes she never thought possible . . . and put all the Dark Guardians in incredible danger.

Romance Book Byte: Ballad

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series Connection: Sequel to Lament
ISBN: 978-0738714844
Genre: Paranormal/Young Adult
Release Date: Oct. 1, 2009

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Description:
Nuala is part muse, part psychic vampire. While the freedom to sing or write or create is denied her, her mark across history is unmistakable: a trail of brilliant poets, musicians, and artists who have died tragically young. She has no sympathy for their abbreviated life spans; every thirteen Halloweens she burns in a bonfire and rises from her ashes with no memories of what has come before other than the knowledge of how her end will come.

James is the best bagpiper in the state of Virginia—maybe in the country—plus he's young and good-looking: just Nuala's thing. But James, supremely confident in his own abilities and in love with another girl, becomes the first to ever reject Nuala's offer. He's preoccupied with bigger things than Nuala: an enigmatic horned figure who appears at dusk and the downward spiral of Dee, his girlfriend-who-isn't.

It becomes obvious to James that Nuala's presence, the horned king of the dead, and Dee's slow self-destruction are all related, and that Dee is the center of a deadly faerie game. While James struggles to unwind the tangled threads of the story, Nuala shadows him, seeing her conflicted, dual nature reflected back at her in him. She finds herself lending him inspiration for nothing. Not quite for nothing—for the hope of requited affection. But even as James begins to realize his feelings for both Dee and Nuala have changed, the thirteenth Halloween descends, with its bonfires and rituals for the dead, one deadly to Nuala and the other to Dee. James can only save one.

Romance Byte: Goddess of the Hunt

Author: Tessa Dare
ISBN: 978-0345506863
Genre: Historical Romance

Description:
Ever the bold adventuress, Lucy Waltham has decided to go hunting for a husband. But first she needs some target practice. So she turns to her brother’s best friend, Jeremy Trescott, the Earl of Kendall, to hone her seductive wiles on him before setting her sights on another man. But her practice kisses spark a smoldering passion—one that could send all her plans up in smoke.

Jeremy has an influential title, a vast fortune, and a painful past, full of long-buried secrets. He keeps a safe distance from his own emotions, but to distract Lucy from her reckless scheming, he must give his passions free rein. Their sensual battle of wills is as maddening as it is delicious, but the longer he succeeds in managing the headstrong temptress, the closer Jeremy comes to losing control. When scandal breaks, can he bring himself to abandon Lucy to her ruin? Or will he risk his heart, and claim her for his own?

Romance Byte: The Dragonslayer's Sword

Author: Resa Nelson
ISBN: 978-1-59426-488-7
Genre: Fantasy

A Facebook Book Club Member

Description:
For Astrid, a blacksmith who makes swords for dragonslayers, the emergence of a strange gemstone from her body sets in motion a chain of events that threaten to destroy her life. Her happiness is shattered when her lover--the dragonslayer--disappears without a trace, and the life that she knows and loves implodes without warning.

Astrid lives in a world of shapeshifters whose thoughts have the power to change not only themselves but others. Everything Astrid knows to be true is called into question when she learns the truth about her past and the mysterious family from which she was separated as a child.

Reality turns inside out as Astrid gradually learns the truth about the people she loves as well as those she disdains. With the fate of dragons, ghosts, and slaves in foreign lands resting on her shoulders, Astrid faces the challenge of deciding who she is and how she will stand up inside her own skin. Will she withdraw and hide from the world that has disappointed her so much...or will she rise to lead others to freedom and peace?

President Obama and a romance novel

Check out this great story from the Huntinging Post featuring author Geri Krotow and her encounter with the President and the First Lady. There are several pictures of Geri and the President as she is giving him a signed copy of her book for the First Lady. She expects the president to give the book off to one of his assistance, but instead takes the time to check it out.

Here are some details on the book:

A Rendezvous to Remember
Author: Geri Krotow
ISBN-10: 0373654227 • ISBN-13: 978-0373654222
Genre: Harlequin Everlasting Romance/Historical

Description:
World War II to Present. "My dear Melinda, I hate to see you throw away what may be the love of your life..."

Melinda Thompson knew that her grandmother had always adored Nick. But Grammy's gone now and Melinda's on the verge of divorce...

When she comes home to her widowed grandfather, Grandpa Jack hands her a leather-bound journal and invites her to look into some family secrets. Grammy's voice rings out from the journal, begun when she was in her twenties and living in Nazi-occupied Belgium. Breathlessly, Melinda reads the story of a young woman involved in the Resistance and the British airman whose life she saved. The story of passionate love and a wartime promise. One that saw her grandparents, Esmée and Jack, through World War II. And a marriage of more than sixty years. With the example of her grandparents' lives, Melinda looks for the courage to believe again. In the love of her life.

About the Author from her Website:
Geri Krotow has travelled the world, first as a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman, then as a Naval Officer, and now as a Navy wife. She’s been to four of the seven continents and saw number five from a Navy ship on her 21st birthday. Geri never left her hometown of Buffalo, New York until she was nineteen but obviously made up for lost time.

Romance Book Review: Almost Home

Authors: Debbie Macomber, Cathy Lamb, Judy Duarte, Mary Carter
ISBN: 978-1420108866
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 28, 2009

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This anthology boosts a 1996 novella from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Debbie Macomber, but the other three lesser known authors have brand new never released stories in the book.

While all of the stort stories are great romantic stories, the first story in the book, Whale Island by Cathy Lamb was just outstanding. The author's wit and charm came through in flying colors throughout the story. The story was written in the first person, which I generally don't like that much, but the author was well versed and made the text flow. I couldn't put the story down. I found the hero and heroine so true to life characters I could easily picture their romance happening and the two sticking together forever.

The other three stories were equally interesting and fun to read. There were heartwarming romantic stories that you don't get to read often enough these days. Judy Duarte's Queen of Hearts, was a little slow to get into at first, but I simply enjoyed the way Judy wove the letters from the advice columnist's readers into the fabric of the story that soon I was engrossed in the story and couldn't put it down until the very end.

The Honeymoon House featured two sets of friends that just knocked my socks off. I just loved Kate's friend Amanda and her relationship with her on again-off again fiance, as well as Kate's relationship with Andy.

Debbie Macomber has long been a favorite of mine. Her inspirational stories full the need for any romantic at heart. I liked the fact that the lead heroine, Katie, has a conscious and worries for the bride-to-be, even as she gets carried away with the moment, with the groom.

Delightful stories every one, I think that the traditional romance novel lovers will like this collection of stories.

Description:
The Marrying Kind by Debbie Macomber
High school sweethearts Katie and Jason haven't seen each other in ten years - and now she's walked back into his life. With one look, the love they shared comes flooding back - only now the odds seem stacked against them.

Whale Island by Cathy Lamb
Family secrets and imposing friends are making Chalese feel like an outsider in her very own home on beautiful Whale Island. But it's only when a shocking revelation makes her feel truly lost that she opens her heart to the possibilities the past offers - including a chance at love with the last man she expected.

Queen Of Hearts by Judy Duarte
Her high school reunion is coming up, and advice columnist Jenn Kramer couldn't be dreading it more - until she lays eyes on Marcos. Jenn hardly noticed him when they were kids, but know he's all grown up.

The Honeymoon House by Mary Carter
It doesn't get more romantic than Andy Beck's cottage on Marth's Vineyard. But love is the last thing on his mind - he just wants to get the cottage ready for his best friends honeymoon. At least that's the plan, until he finds the gorgeous Maid of Honour ransacking his house - in the most irresistible way.

Decent Exposure to become a Fox-Lifetime Movie

Author: Phillipa Ashley
ISBN: 0755334612
Published by Headline Little Black Dress
Release Date: October 2nd 2006

Phillipa Ashley announced today that the male lead has been chosen for the December 2009 release of the movie based on her 2006 book "Decent Exposure". The roll of "Will" is being played by the gorgeous Josh Hopkins who played in Private Practice—a Grey's Anatomy spin-off . He was also in Ally McBeal, The Perfect Storm and Cold Case and is currently in Cougartown.

Tony Award winner and Emmy nominee Kristin Chenoweth, of the Pushing Daisies fame, was previously announced as the lead heroine in the movie. Fox has changed the name of the book for the movie to "Twelve Men of Christmas". It will air as a Lifetime Original Movie set to premiere as part of the Network's annual "Fa La La La Lifetime" programming event in December 2009.

The network describes the movie story line as a romantic comedy that tells the story of a down-on-her-luck public relations executive who uses her media savvy to generate some sizzle in a small Montana town.

Original Book Description:
When a nice girl asks twelve men to get naked, is it decent exposure or indecent exploitation?
Emma Tremayne has left her high-powered PR job and moved to the Lake District. She was expecting to find some much-needed peace and quiet, not to end up cavorting on a hillside with a naked guy…

Emma thinks she’s being community-minded when she agrees to help the local mountain rescue team put together a ‘tasteful’ nude calendar in order to fundraise for their new headquarters. Unfortunately quite a lot of the community seems to mind what she’s up to. Including the extremely handsome Mr July, Will, who appears to have got completely the wrong impression about Emma’s intentions. So how does she convince him that he’s more than just Flavor of the Month…?

About the author from her website:
"I first started writing when I was four, when I sent in a joke to The Beano. After leaving school, I went on to read English Language and Literature at Oxford. Since then, I’ve worked in a vinegar brewery and in advertising, journalism and PR. I’ve also written non-fiction articles, including interviews with authors, actors and sportspeople such as Richard Armitage, Tim Henman, Nigel Havers, Ian Rankin, Sir John Mortimer and Brian Blessed. My first novel, Decent Exposure, a sexy romantic comedy set in the Lake District, was published in October 2006. Since then I’ve published two more books and number four - It Should Have Been Me - comes out in March 2009.

"I live in a Staffordshire village with my husband and daughter but I try to spend part of the year in the Lake District - walking, visiting literary locations and trying to track down the ultimate Lakeland pub and tea shop!"

Romance Byte: In the Flesh

Author: Livia Dare
Series Connection: Sapphire, Book 1
ISBN: 978-1420100907

Description:
AN INFAMOUS BEAUTY. A DARING WARRIOR. . .

For five years, Sapphire has been the King of Sari’s most treasured concubine. Independent at last, she refuses to put herself in anyone’s control again. But now another’s meddling has led her into the path of proud, arrogant Wulfric, Crown Prince of the rival kingdom of D’Ashier. . . a man who is dangerous to her in every way.

AND A SEDUCTION THAT COULD DESTROY THEM BOTH

The daughter of Wulfric’s fiercest opponent, Sapphire is a prized warrior in her own right and highly skilled in the sensual arts—in short, Wulfric’s perfect match. A lasting union is unthinkable, but the bargain they strike—to spend one night together, and then part—proves impossible in the face of a desire powerful enough to bring two countries to the brink of war, and two hearts to the point of surrender. . .

formerly known as Sapphire’s Worth

Romance Book Review: Under the Radar

Author: Fern Michaels
Series Connection: The Sisterhood
ISBN: 978-1420106831
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

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This is the 13th in Sisterhood series by Fern Michaels. I'm really go back and forth about what I think of Fern. I like some of her books, other just don't do it for me. This one wasn't bad, but it did seem to have some of the reoccurring issues that I have with Fern's work. It starts a little on the slow side, but picks up toward the middle. I liked the change in the series where the "Sisters'" fearless leader doesn't make all the decisions for the ladies and they get to show themselves a little more in this book.

When the sisters receive a call from their friend Pearl Barnes, Annie takes the command. The ladies don't really have a plan as to what they are going to do, but they follow their instincts and hope for the best.

This is a really a fast read with some cute dialog, which is something I really do like about Fern Michaels' writing style.

Description:
In the middle of the night, the sisterhood is your only hope. A sister's work is never done - not when there are wrongs to right and underdogs to defend. Just returned to their mountaintop hideaway after their latest successful mission, the seven fearless friends enjoy a celebratory dinner and retire to bed. But within an hour, an alarm sounds, and the ladies rush into the compound in time to see Myra and their mentor, Charles, climbing aboard a helicopter. All that's left is a mysterious note, signed by Charles. Still reeling, the Sisters receive an urgent call from retired justice Pearl Barnes. Pearl runs an underground railroad to help abused and displaced women, and she's just rescued fourteen pregnant teenagers who belong to a highly secretive and controversial polygamy sect. But keeping the girls safe will require the kind of help only the Sisterhood can provide - if they can band together and go it alone...

Romance Book Review: Extinction

Author: Carol Lynne
Series Connection: Book one in the Refuge Shifters Series
ISBN: N/A—Resplendence Publishing
Genre: Paranormal/Shifters/ M/M

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Carol Lynne, one of my favorites in M/M genre, takes her stab at a shapeshifter series. I'm a big fan of shapeshifting series and love to see what the authors come up with for explaining the existence of the different breeds and history about why humans do or don't know about their existence. One of the best parts about the book is the way that Carol explains in great detail how shifters came to exist in our world and their vast history and struggles against those who hunt them to almost extinction.

Carol starts her story with Jack, a professor on a quest to find if stories his great-grandmother told him in his youth are true. His travels led him to Toby, a young shifter alone in the Mountains.

Toby has been alone for a long time and when he comes upon Jack he knows he has found his mate. With the help of "The Guardian", Jack and Toby go in search of the wolf shifters who are still alive and battle some of the hunters that are after them.

This series has the potential to be a good group of books on shapeshifters. I love Carol Lynne and her novels on M/M love. The emotions she interjects into her stories are real and inspiring. This book would have received a full 5 Hearts if not for the way she just jumps into the sex scenes in the beginning. They don't have enough of that something to make the scene seem a natural progression. It was too much like "this book is about sex, so let's just jump right in." It just didn't work for me. After the first scenes though, she seemed to dive back into her usual style and I was impressed with the rest of the book. Definitely a book for fans of the M/M scene.

Description:
Professor of Environmental Science/Wildlife studies at UNLV, Jack McBain has spent his adult life trying to track a legend overheard during his youth. Born and raised in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland, Jack’s grandparents related stories of a race of people eradicated by European settlers in 1829. According to the legend, the Beothuk people didn’t die out as first thought, but were transformed into wolf shifters.

On Spirit Mountain, he finally comes face to face with not only the shifter he’s been looking for, but the man of his dreams he didn’t know he needed.

Toby has lived a life afraid of man. Hidden among the mountains of California and Nevada by his parents, he’s longed for the one person he can share his life with, his mate. When he smells Jack McBain for the first time, he knows he’s finally found him.

Romance Byte: Burn

Author: Linda Howard
ISBN: 978-0345486561
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Description:
It’s true what they say: Money changes everything. And in Linda Howard’s red-hot novel Burn, the changes come fast, furious, and filled with the kind of sexy suspense, heart-stopping romance, beautiful people, and risky business guaranteed to give you the most bang for your buck.

Money certainly changes Jenner Redwine’s life when she wins a lottery jackpot. But it also costs her plenty: Her father rips her off and disappears, her fortune-hunting boyfriend soon becomes her ex, and friends-turned-freeloaders give her the cold shoulder when she stops paying for everything.

Flush with new money, Jenner can’t imagine ever finding a place in the world of the wealthy. Seven years later, though, she’s rubbing elbows with the rich, despite the fact she still feels like a party crasher. Luckily she finds an ally–and a guide to the rarefied realm of privilege–in shy, kind-hearted heiress Sydney Hazlett, who quickly becomes Jenner’s confidante and surrogate sister.

When Sydney invites Jenner on a charity cruise aboard a luxury liner, Jenner reluctantly agrees. But while she’s expecting–and dreading–two weeks of masquerade balls, art auctions, and preening glitterati, what she gets is more like a Hitchcock movie than a Love Boat episode. Taken hostage by a menacing stranger, Jenner must cooperate in a mysterious cloak-and-dagger scheme–or else. With nowhere to run, and with Sydney’s life as well as her own at risk, Jenner is drawn into a game of dizzying intrigue and harrowing danger. But as her panic gives way to exhilaration, and fear of her captor turns to fascination, Jenner rediscovers feelings she hasn’t had in years–and realizes she’s found a life worth living. If she survives.

Romance Book Review: Black Hills

Author: Nora Roberts
ISBN: 978-0399155819
Genre: Romantic Suspense

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As a huge Nora Roberts fan I would have to say that I was a little disappointed in this book. In general terms this book wasn't bad it had a decent story line. I liked the lead male character Coop. I wasn't too crazy about the heroine, Lil, she was just too whinny for me. Otherwise the book has all the great features of a romantic suspense. There was a decent mystery involved in the story and the author plays it well in the book.

I think that because this is Nora, I've just come to expect more in her writing. Something different in the story line that stands out from the rest of the books out there.

All in all, if you are a Nora fan you'll enjoy this book. If you are new to reading Nora Roberts, however, don't let this book sway you into thinking the author isn't all that...because she can do better and has.

Description:
A summer at his grandparents’ South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan’s idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he’s discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn’t as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, with Coop’s annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker’s body.

As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her dreams of becoming a wildlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father’s demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most.

An investigator in New York, Coop recently left his fastpaced life to care for his aging grandparents and the ranch he has come to call home. Though the memory of his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something . . . or someone . . . has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil’s beloved cougar, recollections of an unsolved murder in these very hills have Coop springing to action to keep Lil safe.

Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. But now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey.

Romance Book Review: Midnight’s Master

Author: Cynthia Eden
Series Connection: Book Three in the Midnight Trilogy
ISBN: 0758234260
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense/Demons

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There is are all kinds of "other" in this world that live among the humans that humans know nothing about. Reporter Holly Storm is coming to grips with learning about the "other" after almost being killed by one. One of the darkest demons around saved her once and now she has asked him for help once again. Her demon sources are dying and see wants to find out who is killing them before anymore get hurt.

Niol is one of the strongest Demons in Atlanta. As a level 10 demon, even the strongest "other" fear him. Ever since Niol met Holly he has been attracted to her. He longs to get her in his bed and to take the fear out of her eyes every time she sees him. The little reporter has guts though, he would give her that. When a low level demon is killed, Holly comes to him to hunt down the killer. He would do it by himself, but he knows that Holly won't let him work without her. And anyway, this could be his best chance for getting her to share his bed.

Midnight's Master features the leads in the other books in the Midnight series. It is a fast paced, sexy, suspense novel leaving readers to the end guessing on who the villain in the piece is. Niol isn't an ordinary hero, he is definitely a bad-boy to the max and he doesn't apologize for who he is. That's what I like best about him. Holly is stubborn and can be just as pushy as Niol. They make a great match.

It isn't necessary to read the previous books to the series, but readers might get a little more enjoyment out of this book if they did pick up Hotter Than Midnight and Midnight Sins to read first.

Description:
In a world of shadows, desire conquers all…

In this sexy, gripping novel, Cynthia Eden draws readers deeper into the realm of the Others—vampires, shifters, and sinfully attractive demons whose powers are matched only by their dark hungers…

Tall, dark, and formidable, Niol Lapen is the last demon on earth most people would ask for a favor, yet the sexy little reporter who wanders into his club dares to do exactly that. Holly Storm already knows too much about his kind, and Niol has no wish to help her get in deeper over her head. But working alongside her may be the only way to stop a killer, even as it ignites a primal desire unlike anything he’s known.

Holly has seen firsthand what Niol is capable of, but that doesn’t frighten her nearly as much as her body’s instinctive reaction to him, or the wild, fierce passion that would tempt her to follow him through hell itself. Something evil and relentless is prowling the streets of Atlanta. And as Holly’s search leads her into danger that even Niol could never have predicted, she’ll uncover a secret that could rip her world apart….

Romance Book Review: Instant Gratification

Author: Jill Shalvis
ISBN: 978-0758231253
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Click here to purchase this book

4 Hearts

For two months, Dr. Emma Sinclair has been working in her father's clinic while he recuperates from a heart attack. Ever since she was six year's old she has lived in New York City, so moving to a small town like Wishful, California is culture shock for Emma. She just doesn't feel like she fits into the small town community and can't wait to get back to the big city and resume her life as an ER doctor.

Stone Wilder, one of the three Wilder brothers who runs Wilder Adventures in Wishful, is the glue that keeps his family together. He runs Wilder Adventures, keeping the paperwork filled out and the schedule going, while also taking clients on expeditions, helping the local foster kids and everything else that is good. At first Emma thinks Stone is just an accident-prone ski bum who is deathly afraid of needles, but she learns quickly there is more to the man.

It doesn't matter because as soon as her father is up to going back to work she's going to blow this popsicle stand and she doesn't need the likes of Stone Wilder complicating her life. It's just too bad that the local bad-boy is just too hard to resist.

Jill Shalvis has a great sense of human and it plays well in her books. Although I found a couple of scenes in the book pretty cliché as romance books go, the story we well put together, the plot endearing and romantic. Her sex scene sizzle throughout the pages of the book. The verbiage between the hero and heroine is priceless throughout most of the book. Can't wait to read Wilder brother's T.J.'s story.

Description:
Wishful, California, is 3000 miles from Dr. Emma Sinclair's last job in a New York City ER. It may as well be another galaxy. Here, running her father's clinic for a summer, Emma treats bee stings, stomach flu, and the occasional pet cat. Plus, she has to contend with patients like Stone Wilder: gorgeous, laid-back, and irritating beyond belief. The man laughs at her. A lot. And Emma loathes him. All except that tiny part of her that wants to throw him on her examining table and break every doctor-patient rule in the book.

When Stones tries to help Emma learn to loosen up a bit, he pictures white-water rafting or scenic mountain hikes. Not a mind-blowing affair that shakes them both to the core. Emma's sure she has no place in a town like Wishful, but Stone knows different. Emma belongs here - in this town, in his life. It is convincing that this strong-minded, stubborn, sexy woman of that fact will be a challenge no Wilder man could resist.

This week's Featured Author is:
Nicole North

She my interview with author Nicole North in this week's Featured Author section on www.romancebookscene.com.

Romance Book Review: Secrets (27)

Author: Leigh Court, Hannah Murray, Nicole North, Liane Gentry Skye
Anthology: The Bet, The Boy Next Door, Devil in a Kilt, Heart's Storm
ISBN: 9781603100076
Genre: Contemporary/Fantasy/ Historical/Mystery/ Paranormal/Erotic

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Four novellas from different romance genres complete this anthology from Red Sage Publishing. These stories are fun quick reads offering readers a chance to get a little of everything.

In the first story, Liane Gentry Skye tells the story of a mermaid who is the last in her family to be able to produce children. Sirenia sister was tricked by a miserable excuse for a merman who is hoping to do the same to Sirenia. If he can get her to produce his children he will be the new heir to the throne. Sirenia believes he isn't the rightful heir and goes off to prove it, but gets side tracked into helping a human, Byron, before he drowns. It just might be that Byron is exactly what Sirenia needs especially since trouble has followed her.

In The Boy Next Door, Hannah Murray tells the story of a woman who just can't seem to find the right man to make her sexual fantasies come to life. Six months ago Isa turned down her new neighbor Jacob when he asked her for a date. He was just too nice and would probably run away screaming if he heard what she wanted from a date. As it turns out Jacob may just turn out to be the perfect date after all.

In Devil In a Kilt, Nicole North (this week's featured author at www.romancebookscene.com) tells the story of a normally dedicated professor, Shauna, who can't stop daydreaming about a perfect Scottish warrior that she saw on the cover of a romance book. But is he a figment of her active imagination or is he from another time just waiting for her to help break a curse?

And in the last story, The Bet, Leigh Court tells the story of two friends, a bet and a younger sister. The time is 1800s London where all good girls don't have a clue of what sex is all about until they are married. Claire is a good girl. Her brother think she's too much of a prude so when his best friend bets him that he can make a woman have an orgasm just with words alone, he wagers that he can't and uses his sister as the mark. What neither of the men count on, though, is that Claire just might be eager to learn all she can.

All four stories are well written and give a good taste of each genre. I liked the Devil in the Kilt and Heart's Storm the best. They were well written and had great erotic love scenes, which was the common factor in all four novella's. I liked the villain in Heart's Storm. He added some of the best scenes to the story.

I'm not all that into to tie-me-up stories so I didn't really get all that into The Boy Next Door story as much. Although I will say the author is well versed. The same can be said for the last story, The Bet. I just can't get into historicals where the women really are treated poorly. Although the hero in story was remorseful about the bet from the beginning. What was up with the brother? Betting on his own sister and he was just down right mean to her throughout the story.

Description:
THE BET - LEIGH COURT
I can make a woman come using just my words…
That outrageous claim by a very drunk Damian Hunt, Viscount Atherton, somehow escalates into a high stakes wager between two best friends: Damian bets his prized racehorse that he can do it… George Beringer gambles his London townhouse that Damian can’t.
And the surprising woman George chooses for the bet is not only a virgin, she’s also George’s very respectable sister, Claire -- and to complicate matters even more, once Damian lays eyes on her, the stakes escalate in the most unpredictable way…

THE BOY NEXT DOOR - HANNAH MURRAY
Isabella Carelli isn’t just looking for Mr. Right, she’s looking for Mr. Tie Me Up And Do Me Right. In all the wrong places. Fortunately, the right place is right next door. And the boy next door is just about ready to make his move...

DEVIL IN A KILT - NICOLE NORTH
A trip to the Highland Games turns into a trip to the past when modern day Shauna MacRae touches Gavin MacTavish’s four-hundred-year-old claymore. What she finds is a Devil In a Kilt she’s had erotic fantasies about for months. Can Shauna break the curse imprisoning this shape shifting laird and his clan before an evil witch sends Shauna back to her time and takes Gavin as her sex slave?

HEART'S STORM - LIANE GENTRY SKYE
Sirenia's final breeding moon is upon her. She is the last fertile mermaid of her brood. Racing against a hurricane, she must search out and mate with the only merman who can save her kind--the prophesied Lost Son of Triton. When Sirenia rescues injured Navy SEAL, Byron Burke from drowning, she seals herself into his life debt. When the time comes to ask Byron for her freedom, her heart threatens to stand in the way of the last, best hope for her kind.

Romance Book Review: Wild Wolf

Author: Karen Whiddon
Series Connection: The Pack
ISBN: 978-0373618149
Genre: Paranormal/shape-shifter/ werewolf

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Right off the bat this book attracted me with just the cover. The use of color and graphics drew my attention. Of course to book publishers that is one of the most important steps to the sale of a successful novel. Many times a bad looking or boring cover can mean that even the best of books stay on the book store shelves.

The story drew me in even farther. I loved the no nonsense heroine in the book. Raven has lived in the human world for most of her life and didn't care for it. She was born as a shapeshifter, but had no idea what or why she was. She believes that she is a freak of nature and the only one of her kind. Her parents died in an automobile accident and Raven is raised by a foster family. Later she finds herself in the hands of evil professors where she is kept caged and the subject vile and unspeakable acts.

When she is set free from him, Raven moves into the mountains and takes up with a pack of wild wolves. She's happy in her life, until one day she sees another who can shift to a wolf like she can. When she meets Simon she has a million questions. The only problem is, just like Raven has found before, the world is not a safe place for her kind and those like her want her dead. Even as she begins to fall in love with Simon, she isn't sure she can trust him to keep her safe.

The characters in this book are believable despite the fact that they grow fangs and get all hairy. The love story is well written and the action keeps the readers attention. I'm sorry I missed the other books in the series and am investigating finding them online to add to my collection.

Description
Turning her back on humans because of her ability to shape-shift into a wolf, young and beautiful Raven doesn't believe she needs anyone. Until the day a darkly handsome man appears near her remote cave…and she watches him turn into a wolf.

Simon Caldwell has been sent to assess the threat of a new feral wolf prowling the Rockies. But he's wholly unprepared for his intense attraction to Raven. His investigation is about to take a deadly turn as he and Raven become the hunted. Now their very survival depends on Simon's ability to win what this wild wolf holds most dear!

Romance Byte: Blood Daemon

Author: Angela Cameron
ISBN: 978-1-60088-442-9
Genre: Paranormal/Vampire

Description:
Local vampire leader, Raven Montgomery, is on the verge of an impossible accomplishment among female vampires, gaining her full power without the aid of a mate. Under pressure from her creator and the threat of death, she is forced to entertain the attentions of Astor, the French suitor chosen for her.

As blood daemon, Jareth is the hired help. As her bodyguard, he must follow her through this journey of lovers and hide his true feelings for the woman he’s always protected.

Can Raven accept her fate as someone’s trophy wife?

Or will Jareth’s jealousy be too much for them both?

Content: Erotic Romance
This title contains explicit language and graphic sex.

Romance Book Review: Dream Man

Author: Linda Howard
ISBN: 978-0671019754
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Mystery

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As part of an experiment this weekend I decided to find a good romance book that I could purchase over the internet in audio version. The idea was to try and kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Since I waste hours on the internet playing games on Facebook and My Space, I thought instead of listening to music like I usually do why not listen to an audio book. After a quick search I found one of my favorite authors, Linda Howard, and decided on a book I hadn't read yet. Dream Man was the one.

For six years Marlie Keen has not had any psychic episode. She has been able to have a relatively normal life, until one night on her way back from a late movie she has a vision from a killer's eyes of him raping and killing a woman. When she goes to the police, of course, they are skeptical. She didn't expect anything less. After all when she was younger she had worked with skeptical police before.

Detective Dane Hollister at first thinks Marlie is a quack after media attention, but after he gets to know the young woman he realizes that she isn't what he thought she was. Now he needs Marlie's help to find a serial killer before he strikes again.

Linda Howard is great at piecing together a good mystery. She leads her readers on a path to finding the answers to her mystery right to the end filling scenes with suspense and erotic love making. She was also one of the original erotic writers in the suspense genre. Dream Man is an action packed suspense novel that isn't perhaps as gory in the crime scenes as other books that Linda has put out, but it doesn't take anything away from the story.

One note on the audio version. I'm sorry but listening to this book on audio really takes away from the suspense style in the book. I'd have to give it very low ratings. The male voice trying to imitate the female lead was at time just so bad I was laughing out loud. She sounded so pitiful when he tried to voice her emotions that she came off sounding like a real wimp, even when the character was supposed to be mad or being stubborn. It might have been better to have a female read this particular book.

As far as listening to the audio book while I was playing my Facebook game and such, that part really worked a little too well. I wanted to keep listening to the story, but I didn't have anything else to do on the games. So I wound up putting a picture slide show and watching the pictures pass while I was tethered to my laptop.

Description:
Marlie Keen was trying to lead a quiet, ordinary life. She thought the knowing - the clairvoyance that allowed her to witness crimes as they happened - had been destroyed in the nightmare of her past. Then one night it returned with a vengeance, and she desperately needed to find someone to make it stop.

Detective Dane Hollister of the Orlando police department had never met anyone like Marlie. He had doubts about her clairvoyance, but there was no doubt how much he desired her. Her soft, sweet scent set his blood afire, and he wanted to wrap her in his arms and chase the sadness from her eyes. To Marlie, Dane was all heat and hard muscle, and he made her body come alive as it never had before. But not even she could foresee where their passion would lead: a hungry quest for the elusive, dreamy ecstasies of love...and a dangerous journey into the twisted mind of a madman who would threaten their happiness and their lives....

Romance Byte: Street Magic

Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Series Connection: Black London
ISBN: 978-0312943615
Genre: Paranormal

Description:
Her name is Pete Caldecort. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger than life mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete's eyes—or so she thought. Now a detective, Pete is investigating the kidnapping of a young girl from the streets of London...a case that brings her face to face with Jack.

Strung out on heroin, Jack is a shadow of his former self. But he's able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget's kidnappers are hiding: in the supper-natural shadow-world of the fey. Pete follows Jack into the fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget—and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago...

Romance Byte: Killer Bunny Hill

Author: Denise Robbins
ISBN: 978-1-60318-130-3
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Description:
A wrong turn down the Bunny Hill hurled her into a chilling race against a killer’s bullet.

A killer is on her bunny trail. Shot while snowboarding, Samantha Spenser lands on a stranger’s doorstep without her memory, but with a shooter on her tail. Even after the stranger saves her from the gunman and offers her refuge, Sam begins to fear for her life when Max, holding a gun to her head, demands to know the location of his abducted brother. Is the man with the whiskey-colored eyes her savior who will protect her or the shooter who wants her dead? If Samantha trusts the sexy man to unravel the mystery of her amnesia, will he discover she is an innocent bystander or a deceitful criminal?

The last thing he wants or needs is the complication of a gorgeous snow bunny half dead from bullet wounds on his doorstep. Frustrated by the lack of clues and even more discouraged by the lack of help from his agency and his brother’s, special agent Maximilian Stone sets out in search for his kidnapped brother. First, he must solve the mystery of Samantha, the intriguing woman sleeping in his bed. Is there a connection between Snow Bunny and his missing FBI brother? Or was she brought in by a darker enemy to destroy Max before he can find them?

Romance Byte: The Amoveo Legacy

Author: Sara Taney Humphreys
Series Connection: Devine Destinies
ISBN: 978-1-55487-293-0
Genre: Paranormal/werewolf

Description:
What if everything you knew turned out to be a lie? You find out that you aren’t even human—at least not entirely. What if, one day, you realize your world will never be the same again? These are the questions that Samantha Logan must face in “The Amoveo Legacy”. A dream on her thirtieth birthday compels her to leave her artists loft in New York City and move back to the beach with her Grandmother, Nonie. However, the instant Samantha steps foot on the salty shores of her childhood home, she realizes the landscape has changed.

The moment she encounters the mysterious, arrogant neighbor Malcolm Drew, her life is never the same. Through a seductive courtship, he introduces her to the magical mystical world of the Amoveo. The dream walking, telepathic, shape shifters that he claims are her true heritage. However, Malcolm holds back a secret that could destroy them both. Will he be able to protect Samantha and convince her of the secret legacy buried deep inside of her?


From June 1st - August 31st, Sara will donate a portion of my proceeds of her books sales to ASMBASTAR, a fund for veterans and their families.

Romance Book Review: Slow-Play

Author: Carol Lynne
Series Connection: Poker Night Series
ISBN: 978-1-907010-42-2
Genre: Contemporary Romance/ M/M

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Carol Lynne is my favorite author in this genre. She does an excellent job at conveying love and romance between men. I find her writing to be refreshing and without the standard stereotypes that can be found in the genre.

Slow-Play is no different. The second book in the Poker Night series leaves me hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for what will come next in the poker buddies lives.

The story between Bobby and Jules was developed for such a short novel. The characters were well written and the men as a couple were quite compatible even though they came from different positions in their life. Carol didn't play on the angle of age too much, which was appreciated because that would have just been another barrier that the couple in the story didn't need.

Waiting in anticipation for book number three, but I haven't seen any indication of when it will be released. I hope soon.

Description:
Charter Captain Bobby Quinn loves life on the water. What he hates is working for his brother.

Charter Captain Bobby Quinn loves life on the water. What he hates is working for his brother. After years spent restoring an aging wooden yacht, his brother bought it out from under him. In Bobby's mind, if family will screw you at the drop of a hat so will everyone else so, except for his bi-weekly poker game, he sticks to the solitude of the boat he loves.

Dr. Jules Peters knows all about solitude. When not working endless hours as Head of Emergency Medicine, he's tinkering in his garage. A collector of vintage cars in need of TLC, Jules has an impressive collection of cars but few friends.

Jules meets Bobby when he's given a cruise around the San Francisco Bay as a gift. Although their mutual attraction is explosive, neither man is ready to move out of his comfort zone. It might take a meddling med student and an off-season football coach to get these two loners to see there's more to life than caring for inanimate objects.

Romance Book Review: Circe’s Recruits: Hale

Author: Marie Harte
Series: Circe’s Recruits
ISBN: 978-1-59632-939-3
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Shape-shifter/Paranormal Menage

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First let me say I really like reading series like this one, one right after the other. When you read as much as I do it is sometimes hard to remember all the players a month or six after you've read the first book of the series. So while Marie Harte's Circe's Recruits first came out several months ago this book about Hale has only been out a short time. With the magic of the Internet all of these books can be found on the Loose-Id website to be read one right after another like I did.

As a wrap up to this part of the Circ series I liked Hale's story. While I loved Hale and his playboy, nice guy image, the star of the book for me was the former bodyguard of Elliot Pearl, McKinley or Robbie as he becomes known. He was always the wild card in the last two books and developing his character to match with Hale worked out really well because he seemed to the be the most easy going of the whole bunch. McKinley's tie in with the remainder of the intrigue of the story worked itself out kind of nicely as well.

All and all the Circe's Recruits series wasn't a bad read. There was a lot of action packed, bloody scenes, lots and lots of great sex scenes, strong female leads and while all the guys in the story were sexy men that turned into sexy beasts they still had their sensitive moments.

According to Marie's website it looks as though she's planning to continue with the Circ theme in the future as she has a new book on the horizon called Dawn's Endeavor. There is no exact date for the story's release, so Circ fans might want to keep their eyes open for future reports.

Description:
In the three years since Project Dawn disbanded, Hale continues to fight the good fight. Now civilians, his squad--Circe's Recruits--work for a private organization bent on cleaning up the mess left in the wake of Project Dawn's rebirth. Pearson Labs continues to create Circs, people who have been genetically changed. When needed, these Circs take on an altered form--one neither man nor animal, but something in between. But unlike the squad, the Circs coming out of Pearson Labs aren't sane.

Hale's dreams are more than nightmares--the prophetic doom of a beautiful woman he doesn't know and a man he wishes he'd never met: two people meant for him that are too involved with his enemy for Hale's peace of mind. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and Hale's beast won't accept less than the woman and man destined to become his mates. Then word arrives that Pearson Labs is finally coming down, and Hale has to race to save his mates from the fallout. Can they survive or will their love crumble under the enemy's chaos and deception too close to home?

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices, ménage (m/f/m with m/m sexual interaction), sex in shifted form, violence.