Romance Book Review: Jennifer Blake's Lancelot of the Pines

Author: Jennifer Blake

Series Connection: Louisiana Knights

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Steel Magnolia Press

Purchase Link: Amazon

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 

Mandy runs into hiding in small town Louisiana after her husband shows up missing and someone tries to kidnap her. To make matters worse the police are skeptical as to whether she offed her husband or not. 

When police deputy Lance, short for Lancelot (there's a story behind the name), shows up at her doorstep she wants nothing to do with his kind of help. It doesn't take long before the everything blows up on Mandy. Soon she's running with Lance from killers and she learns her husband was violently killed. 

Lance doesn't trust beautiful women who marry for money and as far as he can see Mandy is just like his ex who thought he had all kinds of money. 

Good start to a three book series on three cousins from a small town. I liked both characters, flawed in their own way, but working to be better people. Good prose throughout the story. My only true issue was when it came to the background story. There were a couple of intense scenes that include encounters with the bad guys, but in the end the case is solved without much work throughout the story. 

Description:

Bullets, betrayal and forbidden love--Meet Deputy Lance Benedict, the first of the Louisiana Knights...

CHIVALRY LIVES IN THE SULTRY SOUTH!

Mandy wants only to be left alone; she knows nothing about the disappearance of her much older husband, and less about the thug who tried to abduct her. Forced to hide out in a backwater town, the last thing she needs is an overbearing deputy's protection.

Lance, saddled with the protective instinct that goes with the name of Arthur's most trusted knight, is stunned by his reaction to Mandy's courage and beauty. But is he putting his life on the line for an innocent in danger--or for a Black Widow?

_____

Book 1: LANCELOT OF THE PINES

Book 2: GALAHAD IN JEANS

Book 3: TRISTAN ON A HARLEY

All 3 books in The Louisiana Knights series are standalone reads. The above is suggested reading order only.

Romance Book Reviewed: K.L. Middleton's Tangled Beauty

Author: KL Middleton
Series Connection: Tangled Mess
ISBN: 978-1482524758
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Publisher: KL Middleton

Purchase Link: Amazon

Hairstylist Sinclair Jeffries agrees to pose as her best friend, Jesse's, girlfriend at his parents 25th Anniversary weekend as a favor. Jesse is worried that his parents won't approve of his gay lifestyle and hopes that by seeing him with a woman they won't find out. During the weekend Sinclair meets Jesse's dysfunctional family. His mother is a bit of a prude, his father is an adulterer and his brother, Reed, is not only gorgeous but also very much engaged.

Sinclair can't help but fall a little for the sexy Reed.

Reed is having big time second thoughts about his engagement. He pretty much is at the point where he can't even remember why he want to settle down with the woman in the first place. Then there is Sinclair. The woman is driving him crazy, but he has a lot of obstacles to get through before he can even pursue her. He'll not only need to figure out things with his fiance, and find out what Sinclair is doing with his brother, but there is someone else out there hellbent on getting his hand on Sinclair as well.

This story is told in the first person in three different character's point of view. This writing style isn't one of favorites, but it is easy to keep tracks of the characters. I liked the story and it's execution, however, I think that suspenseful scenes was rushed through too much.

Description:

Sinclair Jeffries thought she knew what she was getting into when her zany, gay friend, Jesse Eddington, talked her into portraying his girlfriend during his parent's anniversary party on Huntington Beach. That is, until she met Reed, Jesse's sexy as hell older brother, and ends up getting much more than what she'd bargained for. 

Reed Eddington assumed his future was settled until he met Sinclair, his brother's so-called "girlfriend", but the raw, sexual tension between them is hard to ignore. As he watches their ruse from the sidelines, he finds himself wanting to uncover more than just the amusing little facade. 

Due to sexual content and heavy subject matter, this book is recommended for ages 18+

Romance Book Review: Sarah Storme's Starks' Reality

Author: Sarah Storme
ISBN: N/A

ASIN: B00IGW34D4

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance

Publisher: Amazon Digital Service

Purchase Link: Amazon

Heather Cooper is taking time off of school to take care of her father and get his business back on track, when she meets the new police chief Jake Starks. She isn't looking for anything remotely like a romance, but she can't help but notice just have gorgeous the new police chief is. 

Jake Starks is looking for a break from the high pressure of being a police officer in Dallas. He decides to take a job at a small town police force where his former partner lives. 

In his first day on the job he quickly realizes that this job may not be the peaceful little town he envisioned. Immediately the Chief is investigating a murder and taking care of Heather and her father. Before long Jake can't get enough of Heather and although he tried to fight a relationship between the two of them he is quickly becoming addicted. 

The emotion and real-life issues of this story make it a definite five heart book, but while I like a good erotic romance, this book had a few too many sex scenes and not enough suspense for the secondary part of the story. I would have liked to know a little more about those involved in the background crime that Jake was investigating. It would have made a good book into a great book. 

Description:

Heather Cooper should be completing her engineering degree. Instead, she's working to straighten out her father's business. Port Boyer’s new police chief may be attractive, but she certainly has no time for another man in her life. 

Jake Starks accepted the job as Chief of Police in the quiet coastal town so he'd have time to come to grips with his past. Within a week, however, he’s in the middle of a murder investigation, and trying to protect the woman of his dreams and her father from a killer. 

Romance Book Review: Constance Bretes' Delayed Justice

Author: Constance Bretes

Digital ISBN: 9781940744087
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Beachwalk Press

Purchase Link: Beachwalk Press

For five years Sami has lived under the cloud of accusation. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time but the town just can't believe in her innocence. So she hides herself away in a cabin in the mountains, goes out of her way to do her shopping and goes to the post office at midnight to pick up her mail just to avoid the town members. When the man who actually commits the crime is arrested and getting ready to stand trail, the sheriff needs her help to convict him, but the people are still suspicious.

Sheriff Makeeta Robertson needs his ex-lovers, Sami's, help to put away the man who bombed the pharmacy his fiance was in and killed her. At one time he accused Sami of the crime and he knows she is weary of him, but now he can't win his case without her. He also needs Sami's help in forgiving him for ever doubting her innocence in the first place, because now he realizes that she's his soul mate and he needs her personally as well.

The only problem is Sami is finding it hard to forgive him and she has a secret of her own that could tear them apart. Can they find it in themselves to help each other heal. 

Delayed Justice has a great concept and good set of characters, but what it was sorely missing was any background story, description of elements of the story and the characters. It took me a little to get passed the stilted dialog, but as the story progressed it seemed the author became more confident with her storyline and I actually began to get into the story more. 

This book is worth the read for those who like court room drama stories and those interested in cultural references in their romance. 

Description:

Can two former lovers set aside their differences and work together to bring a criminal to justice?

Five years ago, Sami Parker's life was changed forever when she was injured in a bombing incident which left another young woman dead—a woman who happened to be the fiancée of Sheriff Makeeta Robertson, Sami's former lover. Initially, Sami was a suspect in the crime, but the sheriff was forced to release her due to a lack of evidence. The town, convinced that she got away with murder, turned against her.

At last an arrest has been made and the sheriff needs Sami's help to get a conviction, but can she trust him? Although wary and cautious, she wants to see this man brought to justice and wants to clear her own name once and for all. But the awakening feelings she has for Makeeta bring yet another problem. Then there's the secret she's kept for the last five years—one she may not be able to keep any longer, and one that may change the outcome of the trial.

Amazon's Romance Book of the Year #2

Title: Witnes

Author: Nora Roberts

ISBN: 978-0399159121

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Putnam Adult

Purchase Link

Description:

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security  systems—and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail’s reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something—and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

Romance Byte: Virna DePaul's Shades of Desire

Author: Virna DePaul

Series Connection: Book 1 in the Special Investigations Groups Series

ISBN: 978-0373776351

Genre: Contemporary Suspense

Publisher: Harlequin

Purchase this book here

Description:

What She Can't See Could Kill Her...

Natalie Jones is the lucky survivor of an elusive killer who preys on young women and then disappears from view. And since her harrowing ordeal, the once gutsy photojournalist has remained isolated in her home, paralyzed by fear and her failing vision.

Special Agent Liam “Mac” McKenzie has scars of his own. But despite his efforts to ignore the attraction that simmers between him and Natalie, he needs her help to catch a predator. Soon, they will forge a tentative alliance—charged with desire. Through a soft-focus lens, Natalie dares to envision a future with Mac beyond the investigation...never guessing that the clues hidden within her photographs are drawing them into an explosive confrontation with a madman.

Romance Book Review: Trista Ann Michaels' Fast and Furious

Author: Trista Ann Michaels
ISBN 978-1-59578-931-0
Genre: Erotic Romance/ Action/ Suspense
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Purchase this book here

Allie has a problem that she just doesn't know how to get out of alive. Little does she know that her father has sent three Navy Seals her way to help her out.

When seals, Chase, Logan and Blaine are called into SECNAV's office they have no idea just what they are getting into. Taking a deal to retire for service once they get Allie out of trouble, the three men take off for Florida where Allie owns a automotive shop.

The three men have shared women before, but one look at Allie and the three know that they are in trouble because the last thing they want to do is get caught doing more than just resucing their bosses daughter. Then their is the problem that Allie turns out to be in the worst kind of trouble and undercover cop can be in with no chance to get help. Can the seals save her before the Russian Cartel does?

Talk about hot sex scenes...this book is filled with them as Allie uses her off time to explore every sexual fantasy she's ever had with the three men. In the mean time fast cars and action fill out the rest of the story as the group race against time to get Allie away from the cartel before her cover is blown.

Description:
Allie likes things fast—cars, men, as well as every aspect of her life. She lives for the moment, which is probably how she found herself waist deep in the middle of a Russian drug cartel. As an undercover cop, she thought she had things well in hand. She was wrong.

Three Navy Seals are sent in by Allie’s father, SECNAV, to assess the situation. There’s concern Allie’s in serious danger, and her father wants her out; preferably in one piece. Chase, Logan, and Blaine are all attracted to her, but she will become much more to one of them.

Unfortunately for Allie, witness relocation isn’t an option. The Russians can always find them. For Allie to get out, she’ll have to bring them down.

Multiple partners, anal sex, violence.

Romance Book Review: Tamaria Soana's Obsession

Author: Tamaria Soana
Digital ISBN: 9781937325213
Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Contemporary
Publisher: Beachwalk Press

Purchase this book here 

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Alex's life seems completely blessed. She has a wonderful husband, a great career as a romance author and great friends. But there is something she doesn't know. Someone is obsessed with her life and wants what Alex has. This person feels that Alex doesn't deserve anything she has.

When Alex decides to start a Twitter account she doesn't realize she is opening herself to the one person she would never want in her life. As time goes by Alex's life becomes even better. Already a best selling author, now she is working on a movie deal for one of her books. She's also made a new friend, one she's met on Twitter and one she doesn't realize doesn't want to be a friend at all.

Interesting story idea, nicely written love scenes are featured in this novella. Although the a little speed up happens in the story line and would have been interesting to see the scene between Alex's husband and her stalker played out, I like this book.

Description:
Is there anywhere safe when you're the object of someone's obsession?

Alexandria Stevens is a New York Times best-selling romance novelist. After she makes a guest appearance on a popular TV talk show, she creates a Twitter account. Within a few short weeks she meets a fan, and they become fast friends…or that's what Alex thinks. When Alex finds herself being stalked, the person she least suspects is her new friend Jillian. What she doesn't know is that Jillian has been obsessed with her for years. She wants everything Alex has, even her husband.

Content Warning: sexual situations, adult language, violence,

Romance Byte: Maddie James' Murder on the Mountain

Author: Maddie James
Series Connection: Ladies of Legend
ASIN: B0078EOJTO
Kindle Release
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press

Purchase This Book Here

Description:
A Ladies of Legend Romantic Suspense Novel

Kate Carpenter thinks her Tennessee State trooper husband is dead.

ATF Agent Michael Lehman knows he is not.

When Michael goes undercover into Kate's elementary classroom for a few weeks, posed as a school drug cop, his mission is to find out what Kate knows about her husband's supposed death, and to determine if she has any involvement in hiding away the AWOL trooper turned drug runner.

His mission is to get answers. Get into her life. And not into her panties.

But somehow things go haywire....
***
Murder on the Mountain was previously released by Resplendence Publishing in 2008. This is a revised and updated edition of the novel. First time available on Amazon for Kindle.

Romance Book Review: Long Road Home

Author: Maya Banks
ISBN: 978-1-60928-300-1
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Samhain Publishing


Purchase this book here through Barnes and Noble

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

On a trip to France after her college graduation, Jules is kidnapped and forced to work for a terrorist group and leave safe and secure world behind. For three years she did what she had to do to protect her family and the man she left behind.

Manny has used every connection he can through his work as a CIA agent to find Jules after her disappearance three years ago. When he finally finds her, he will do anything just to get her safe and back into his arms. But there is deception at every turn and too many people who want to make sure that Manny doesn't succeed in getting Jules back to Washington D.C. so she can finally be safe.

This book was previously published by Maya Banks in 2007 under the author name of Sharon Long. The book has been re-edited and re-released.

Long Road Home has all the earmarks of one of Maya Banks' finest suspense story. If you've only read her category romance books, pick up this one. Maya is such a versatile writer she does extremely well with action thrillers, such as this one, and in the same vein is an extremely talented erotic author.

Description:
CIA counter-terrorism expert Manual Ramirez has spent the last three years looking for the woman he loves, who disappeared without a trace while on a post-graduate trip to France.

Then, as suddenly as she disappeared, Jules Trehan turns up in a small-town Colorado hospital bed, injured in an explosion that killed her parents. Manny is shocked by the change in the woman he once knew. Kidnapped by a shadowy organization, Jules has been forced to become the very thing he’s pledged his life to defeat—a terrorist assassin.

Knowing her testimony will finally bring down the organization, Manny races to get her to Washington, D.C. in one piece. Just when there’s a glimmer of hope of overcoming her past, Jules must pull off one last job or Manny’s life will be forfeit. It’s a mission she must complete…even if it means betraying the only man she has ever loved.

Romance Book Review: Sweet Possession

Author: Maya Banks
Series Connection: Sweet Series
ISBN:  978-0425239070
Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Contemporary Romance/ Erotic Romance
Publisher: Berkley Heat

Purchase this book here through Amazon

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

For some Maya Banks fans this book may not be as loved as some of her others in this series. Pretty much the Sweet series started out being a submissive/BDSM type of series, with the exception of Sweet Seduction which featured Julie and Tucker, the books were pretty hard core sex with a lot of interaction in the BDSM world.

In Sweet Possession, Maya Banks brings in two characters, that while the sex scenes are hot and very passionate, they are pretty much vanilla compared to the other books in the series. While I believe that Maya Banks is one of the best in the Erotic Romance genre, and does a great job in writing the very erotic BDSM style of books, I'm just as happy with her less than erotic books, as well.

In Sweet Possession Conner Malone, Faith's brother, has met his match. Conner has been asked by his father to protect a pop diva, Lyric Jones, when she comes to stay in Houston for a couple of weeks. Lyric is being stalked by a fan and there is a worry that the stalking may turn violent.

From the beginning Conner is attracted to Lyric, but he can't help but be attracted to the superstar. Lyric isn't all that happy with the disapproving looks she see from Conner either. Despite the fact they don't like each other much they much they resign themselves to being together. Soon Conner can't think of a better place he'd like to be and for the first time Lyric is learning to trust someone.

As usual, Maya Banks' writing shines in Sweet Possession. She creates a world of strong characters and real people. There are scenes where readers will laugh out loud with the antics of Lyric and her three new friends and the way Conner reacts those scenes.

Description:
She’s a singer who lives for the spotlight—and can’t resist her adoring fans…

Outrageous and out-of-control, Lyric Jones is a spoiled pop star who lives hard and fast, always outrunning her past and the nightmares that haunt her. She’s used to getting what she wants—groupies included—because she can’t stand to be alone. So in bed, it’s the more the merrier, even if it means closing off the deepest part of herself…

He’s a hands-on bodyguard—and a one-woman man.

There is nothing Connor Malone wants to do less than babysit the celebratty songstress while she’s on vacation. But part of him relishes taming Lyric and showing her what it’s like to be possessed—body and soul—by one man. And though Lyric’s crazy antics nearly drive Connor to the edge, his quiet intensity penetrates her defenses, leaving them both vulnerable to the secrets that could topple Lyric from the stage.

Romance Book Review: Dangerous Pleasure

Author: Lora Leigh
Series Connection: Bound Hearts Series
ISBN: 978-0312541873
Genre: Erotic Romance/ Romantic Suspense
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Purchase this book here through Amazon



While this book is part of the Bound Hearts Series it could really be read as a stand alone or with just the previous book in the series. Apart from characters from the last book, Guilty Pleasure, Dangerous Pleasure only makes a vague reference to the first part of the stories.

While I enjoyed hearing about the intrigue of the Mustafa family in these last two books, I miss the previous theme of the Sinclair Club and all the other characters that are often brought back in those stories. This book, as well as Guilty Pleasure, held a lot more of a suspense feel to the story and in a lot of ways that is good for the series, which often times was too centered around sex.

In this story we learn more about Paige, Khalid's half-younger sister. Paige has spent a lifetime loving Abram, Khalid's half brother (but no relation to Paige). As with Khalid, Abram has a lot of ghosts in his life. Already his father has killed Abram's first two wifes. Abram is trying very hard to stay away from Paige, the woman who owns his soul. He knows that if his father found out about his feelings for Paige she would be in grave danger.

Try as he might to stay away, however, his father decides to kidnap Paige anyway and Abram must save her before they are both killed. Lots of action and sex with a weary hero who just wants his life to be able to love the woman he wants and forget about his homeland, by forming a fresh start in America.

I wouldn't say that this book was bad or poorly written, just not what I'm looking for in this series. I'm hoping the next will bring the readers back to the Sinclair Club. Plenty of intrigue can happen there if the author wants to keep the Romantic Suspense going in the series.

Description:
Abram Mustafa faces the test of his life and his heart when his terrorist father kidnaps Paige Galbraithe, the one woman who has always been able to touch Abram's soul. With Paige's life now in danger, Abram knows that his plans for escape from the only home he has ever known have suddenly become more imperative than ever.

Paige has always wondered if the dark, cool and mysterious Abram el Hamid Mustafa is hiding a wicked side...a wicked side that will allow her to explore the kind of pleasure she has dreamed of. But when she is kidnapped by his father, she finds that she must trust Abram with more than her fantasies. Paige must trust him with her life...and her heart.

Secret, dangerous desires will bind Abram and Paige together as the forces surrounding them try to tear them apart.

Romance Book Review: Courting Disaster

Author: Carol Stephenson
Series Connection: Legal Weapons, Courting Danger
ISBN: 978-14268-9137-3
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Carina Press

Purchase this book here through: Amazon

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Carol Stephenson continues on a theme she started in 2005 with the Bombshell line from Silhouette with Courting Danger. In her new book, Courting Disaster, the author brings back the heroine Kate from Courting Danger. Kate's partner Carling is the heroine in Courting Disaster. Carol Stephenson also plans to have a new book out next month called Courting Death.

In Courting Disaster Carling is a defense attorney who works hard for her clients, even if sometimes she doesn't like them very much. She's not having a really great day when we first meet her. She has a killer of a headache and on her way home from work she gets into a car accident.

After spending a couple of days in the hospital she heads home and starts having flash backs from an event that happened a year ago. A year ago, Carling's life was very different. While in conference with a client, Carling and the man are shot. Her client is killed, leaving Carling with a head injury and no memory of what happened the day of the event.

Now a year later things start coming back to her, only there are some people who would rather she didn't remember. In to help save the day is Carling's former boyfriend and state attorney Jared. Jared still loves Carling and only stopped seeing her because she changed after the shooting. Now she's trying to pull he pieces together before she runs out of time.

Fast paced romantic suspense featuring a strong heroine remaking herself after a tragedy in her life. Lots of actions, fast paced hot love scenes, strong hero and a sneak peek at the characters for the next book in the series.

Descriptions:
She’s Gone Too Far…

A year ago, criminal defense attorney Carling Dent woke up in a conference room with a bullet wound, a murdered client and no memory of what happened. Since then, she’s grown reckless. She’s gained a reputation for representing defendants no one else will, and her own partners are beginning to question her conduct.

Then a car accident triggers flashbacks, and Carling is driven by the need to find out what really happened that day. Her investigation begins to uncover a twisted web of secrets someone doesn’t want exposed. The threats against Carling escalate, and she turns to the one person she wants to trust—her former lover, prosecutor Jared Manning. The passion between them is as hot as ever, but when more memories start trickling back, Carling starts to wonder just whose side the man she loves is on…

Romance Book Review: Memories of You

Author: Bobbie Cole
ISBN: 9781426891342
Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Romantic Mystery/ Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Carina Press

Purchase this book here through: Amazon

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ½

When Houston Detective Charlie Vargas gets a phone call that sounds exactly like a man she once dated who disappeared over a year ago, she doesn't know what to believe. Especially when that man tells her he's been in an accident and doesn't remember anything but her phone number. As the two work together to dig up clues about the man Charlie thinks this stranger is, she worries he might not be the man she thought he was at all.

Mason is living a life that just doesn't seem right to him. A year ago he was in an accident, but he can't remember who he is. When he looks in the mirror he sees a man he doesn't recognize and it goes far beyond the fact that he can't remember. After the accident his face had to have reconstructive surgery, so he has no idea what he even looked like before.

The only thing he does know is a phone number from his past. He calls the number and when he hears the woman who the number belongs to is a cop, he hopes she can help him fill in the blanks.

Kudos to the author. This book is filled with suspense and mystery that keeps the readers wondering what is truly going on. There is just the right amount of betrayal and secrecy to keep reader guessing. Charlie is a wonderful heroine filled with spirit and the wounded Mason/Seth is willing to ask for help, even though he would rather be the one protecting Charlie.

Description:
Cold case detective Charlie Vargas is searching for a killer-but what she really needs to know is what happened to her lover, who vanished several months ago. When the phone rings and she hears Seth's voice, she's skeptical. He tells her his name is Mason Alridge, and the only thing he remembers after his accident is the number he called...hers.

Mason looks nothing like her former lover, but there's something about his mannerisms, if not his face, that draws Charlie in. As they begin to piece together what few clues and skimpy details they have, Charlie and the man she believes is Seth slowly discover a mutual passion. With the Feds following at a distance and someone trying to kill them, will they live long enough to find out his true identity?

Romance Byte: Into the Crossfire

Author: Lisa Marie Rice
Series Connection: Protectors
ISBN-10: 0061808261
ISBN-13: 978-0061808265
Genre: Erotic romance/ Contemporary Romance/ Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Avon Red

Click here to Purchase Into the Crossfire: A Protectors Novel 

“Edgy, sexy, endlessly exciting, Lisa Marie Rice never disappoints! I can’t get enough of Lisa Marie Rice’s sensual, hard hitting stories!”
—New York Times bestselling author Shannon McKenna

A rising star in erotica, author Lisa Marie Rice launches her new Protectors series with Into the Crossfire—introducing the first of three super-hot ex-Special Forces operatives willing to walk through fire for the women they love. Romantic suspense has never been this thrilling and scintillating!

Description:
Former Navy SEAL Sam Reston keeps to himself. His world is dangerous, uncertain, violent...and there is no room in it for the helpless and weak. Then the most beautiful woman in the world moves in next door to him . . . .

Nicole Pearce's life is complicated enough—with an ailing father and a new business to worry about—and the last thing she needs is to get involved with a secretive, hard-bodied, hardheaded neighbor. Yet Sam leaves her breathless—her body tingling with erotic desire—and it takes every ounce of her fabled control to resist offering herself to him, no strings attached. What she doesn't know is that Sam Reston is on an undercover assignment . . . and she's about to step into the crossfire.

Never has Sam ached for a woman so badly, and he's never fallen in love before. Now that Nicole is in grave danger, he will become her shield, and guard the tempting body he longs to touch and taste. Because a terrorist plot hatched half a world away is heading to their doorstep—and it can only be derailed by one man and one woman.

About the Author from her website:
Lisa Marie Rice is tall and willowy and beautiful. She has won every major book prize in the world. She is a black belt with advanced degrees in archaeology, nuclear physics, and Tibetan literature. She is a concert pianist. In truth, she is a virtual woman who exists only at the keyboard when writing erotic romance. She disappears when the monitor winks off.

Romance Book Review: Diamond Bay

Author: Linda Howard
Series Connection: Midnight Rainbow, White Lies
ISBN: 978-0727868855
Genre: Contemporary Romance Suspense
Publisher: Severn House Publishers

Purchase your copy of this book here

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This is a reissue of one of Linda Howard's most popular books. Kell Sabin is a repeating character in several books, but mostly remembered in Midnight Rainbow and White Lies. He is the mysterious head of a special secret government organization that takes down drug cartels and the like. Kell decides to take a vacation on his own and while out on his boat the bad guys find him and blow up his boat. Getting away in the nick of time he washing up on a Florida coastline where he is found by Rachel Jones.

Rachel has no idea who the man is who washes up on her beach, but she can't help but think he is in real trouble. When he asks for her help she can't say no. This puts her life in considerable danger. Both Rachel and Sabin call in reenforcements from friends that Linda Howard writes other books about.

This is romantic suspense is short but filled with action, lots of gunfire, explosions and love. Sabin and Rachel have an instant and passionate attraction. Linda Howard is part of a small group of romance authors who in the 1980s and 90s sparked the first erotic romances in the romance genre. Although not as descriptive by some in todays erotic genre, Linda Howard is really remembered for her passionate and graphic love scenes. 

Description:
Any hopes Kell Sabin has about taking a month's vacation from work vanish the minute several of Kell's "business associates" try to kill him. Although he manages to escape with just a bullet hole or two, he wouldn't have survived if Rachel Jones hadn't found him when he washed ashore not far from her cottage on Diamond Bay. Because her previous career as an investigative journalist taught her that things are not always what they seem, Rachel knows she is going to have to find out more about the wounded man who ends up in her home.

Helping Kell is a risk Rachel is willing to take, but the risk becomes even greater once Rachel realizes she is falling in love with a man with no future.

Romance Book Review: Leave Me Breathless

Author: HelenKay Dimon
ISBN 9780758229076
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Kensington Brava

YYYYY

For readers who love a good romantic suspense you won't be able to put done, HelenKay Dimon's Leave Me Breathless should be your next pickup from your local bookstore.

Callie can't believe that someone as smart of Judge Bennett Walker is being so irresponsible with his own life. She has been sent to protect him from a stalker out to kill him, but he won't hear of having a bodyguard. When his brother overrides him and tells him he has no choice, the handsome Judge finally relents.

Ben thinks his brother is totally over reacting by getting him a bodyguard. The former solider turned judge is in top shape even though he has spent years in a court room. Besides the bodyguard is a barely there 120 pound woman, he'll have to worry about protecting instead of the other way around. To make matters worse she has no respect for his position and has a mouth on her as sharp as a knife.

The attraction between the Judge and Callie is pretty strong. Now if Callie can live through hours of tedious courtroom politics and Ben can get rid of his stalker they just might have a future together.

I loved Callie's sassy no-holds-bared attitude. She is the perfect counterpart Ben needs to keep his interest. Ben has spent too much time in the judge's seat and can't believe that someone would actually disrespect him the way Callie has. Callie just see another stubborn male in her mist. As with all of the HelenKay Dimon books I've read this past year, great dialog, sexy heros and an interesting plot keeps readers engaged. This isn't one to miss.

Description:
Permission To Approach

According to Judge Bennett Walker, trying to kill him is a dumb idea. They might make him wear a big black nightgown to work, but it covers a lot of muscles, and he’s definitely packing beneath it. He’s also an ex-prosecutor and an ex-GI Joe. So when his brother brings in Callie Robbins to protect him, Ben has a few issues. First, he doesn’t need a bodyguard. Second, she’s a 130-pound girl—more smoking hot than smoking gun. And third, what if his body wants her guarding the night shift?

Callie has no problem brushing aside Ben’s disbelief. She left the FBI to escape the boys’ club, but she can be deeper undercover and twice as lethal as any beefy John Doe. As for whether someone’s after Bennett or not, the death threats and car bombs look pretty convincing to Callie. Of course, she might get distracted, sitting inches from the sexiest judge in DC for ten hours a day. Keeping him safe is no picnic. Keeping it professional—that might be impossible.l

Romance Byte: Dangerous Ladies

Author: Christina Dodd
Anthology
ISBN: 9780451228826
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: NAL Trade

Purchase this book here

Description: Two sexy, suspenseful bestsellers- together in one volume! Two stories of dangerous women entangled in the arms of deliciously treacherous men...

Trouble in High Heels
When Brandi Michaels discovers her fiancé hopping a flight to Vegas to marry his other girlfriend, she pawns her ring, buys herself a fabulous outfit, and spends one sultry night in the arms of a gorgeous Italian stranger named Roberto Bartolini. And when Brandi becomes the mark for a killer, she has no choice but to turn to Roberto-a man who's destined to be either her savior or her downfall...

Tongue in Chic
Devlin Fitzwilliam catches Meadow Szarvas breaking into his mansion to steal a priceless painting. In sheer desperation she tells him she has amnesia. But then he claims she's his wife-and Meadow finds herself locked in a match of high-stakes deception. She doesn't dare take her eyes off him-and doesn't want to-yet the danger is just beginning...

About the Author:
Christina Dodd is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into twelve languages, recorded on books on tape for the blind, and has been called the year's "best" by Library Journal.

Romance Book Review: Dark and Deadly

Author: Jeanne Adams
ISBN: 978-1420104301
Genre: Romantic Suspense

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Dark and Deadly is a non-stopped action packed book that starts with Torie Hagan being left at the alter five years before. Ever since than Torie has been having some strange problems. All of the men she dates have been having bad things happen to them. The problems seems to be escalating until one day someone throws a pipe bomb into her house. Then her ex-fiance is found murdered and now Torie is a prime suspect. If that isn't bad enough, she's being shot at, cars are exploding and people are getting hurt. Through it all the last person she ever wanted to see again steps back into her life.

Paul Jameson has known Torie since college. He was her ex-finance's best friend and he was very against Torie marrying his friend. Now he's here to help and Torie needs all the help she can get. What would happen though if the killer finds out he's helping her, Paul could be his next victim.

This is the first book I've read from this author and I was pretty impressed. The book is a classic suspense with lots of twists and turns so it keeps the readers guessing on who the killer is and exactly why he has targeted Torie. The romantic scenes are pretty much in the sensual category which I appreciated because the story was much more wrapped around the mystery rather than the sex scenes. I really liked the heroine, Torie, and her friend Pam. Both Torie and Paul work well as a couple in the story, leaving the readers to wonder why it took eleven years for them to get together.

Description:
Cursed. Bad things happen to men who get close to Victoria Hagan. Now one of them has paid the ultimate price. Her ex-fiance, Todd, has been found murdered in the very church where he left her at the altar - and Torie is the prime suspect. Her only hope is the last person she wants to see...Ever since he advised his best friend not to marry her and the bride-to-be walked in on the conversation, Paul Jameson has stayed far away from Torie - and resisted their dangerously hot mutual attraction. Still, Paul promised Todd he would take care of Torie. She certainly needs him now...almost as much as he wants her. And that's exactly what a killer is counting on...

Romance Byte: Knock Out

Author: Catherine Coulter
Series Connection: FBI Series
ISBN: 978-0399155840
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Release Date: July 16, 2009

Description:
FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock are back in this electrifying thriller from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author.

Seven-year-old Autumn Backman has a gift: She can communicate telepathically with others. Not everyone, mind you, but with a select few with whom she shares a special kinship. When Autumn and her mother, Joanna, take her father’s ashes to be buried in the family plot in Brickers Bowl, Georgia, the child witnesses a horrifying sight: her grandmother and two uncles, burying a pile of dead bodies in the middle of the night.

They head to Titusville, Virginia, to seek the help of an old family friend, but Autumn senses they need assistance on a grand scale. Using her telepathic powers, Autumn calls a man she’d seen only on television: FBI agent Dillon Savich.

But before Savich and his wife and partner, Agent Lacey Sherlock, can get on the scene, Autumn and Joanna flee, fearing the retribution of her uncle Blessed. A huge manhunt ensues, with Titusville Sheriff Ethan Merriweather racing to reach the girl before Blessed can get his hands on her.

Blessed’s got big things planned for Autumn and her gift, and he’ll stop at nothing to force her into his growing army of exploited children. Savich, Sherlock, and Merriweather face their most elusive foes to keep Autumn out of harm’s way—before it’s too late.