Actually more like 4.5 stars. This was pretty flipping fantastic, especially the audio version with Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton...absolute perfectActually more like 4.5 stars. This was pretty flipping fantastic, especially the audio version with Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton...absolute perfection with those two in my ears (Yes Jack-Stone).
Story was well done, sexy & funny, lacking an antagonist or any real angst though as this is just about two guys falling in love. The ending is where I'm lowering my rating as we got epilogue after epilogue, after HEA, after yet another sweet epilogue. I get it, you're in love and rainbows follow your happily ever after for all eternity. I will definitely be giving this one a re-listen though....more
Opening Line: “Lieutenant Nola Seabrook accepted that she could face death on Monday. But for the weekend she intended to celebrate life to the fullesOpening Line: “Lieutenant Nola Seabrook accepted that she could face death on Monday. But for the weekend she intended to celebrate life to the fullest.”
I’ve come to the conclusion with Catherine Mann (in particular with her Wingman Warrior series) that while she writes really excellent opening chapters for some reason the rest of the book tends to fall into very forgettable mediocre-ville. As was the case here, within a couple of pages I was thinking this is going to be an amazing read; exciting, sexy and immediately drawing me into the characters lives so that I’m left super curious about their upcoming story. Unfortunately though as things progress Mann struggles to keep that same level of intensity going.
Fully Engaged is still a good read, I’d give it 3.5 stars (5 for the opening chapters) I enjoyed this couple and appreciated reading a romance where both the H/h are recovering from injuries. There’s not many romances out there that have the hero on crutches for the entire read (while still kicking ass) and I can’t think of any I’ve read that deals with the aftermath of a breast cancer survivor. So kudos to Mann for including the C topic without making it a public service announcement. These were just two realistically damaged characters who found each other and compared scars (damn that was a touching scene)
As I said the first couple of chapters here are great. We meet Pararescueman Rick Demassi in an Officers club bar. He’s engaged in a push-up contest, like some kind of training scene out of a Rocky movie, doing them one-handed with a waitress on his back when Air Force pilot Nola Seabrook catches his eye. Rick is exactly what Nola is looking for tonight, a perfect male specimen; strong, virile and most importantly healthy although it takes a while for us to learn why that’s important. Before long our couple is banging away and then just like that Nola is gone.
We then travel 5 years ahead, Rick is in a medical centre learning to walk again after suffering career ending injuries during hurricane Katrina recovery. Nola is ticking names off a list, a list of all the people she’s hurt so that she can close the door on the recovery part of her cancer journey. And while their initial meeting is terse, neither can deny the attraction is still there even though they’re both very different people now.
As it turns out Nola also has a stalker (crazy huh) and when her car blows up in the hospital parking lot Rick steps up to act as her bodyguard. (This made little sense to me because the man can barely walk and still needs a nurse but whatever it got them in close quarters and gave us a stalker/bodyguard storyline.) I should mention that Rick’s daughter also plays a key part in this story and that divorce is also a hot topic. These matters are both handled realistically whereas the whole stalker storyline is pretty silly. Cheers ...more
Opening line:"Ellen Layne knew it was a mistake to leave the house without a book."
Originally published in 1997 and at just 215 pages LADIES MAN is yoOpening line:"Ellen Layne knew it was a mistake to leave the house without a book."
Originally published in 1997 and at just 215 pages LADIES MAN is your average stand-alone romance. Not my favourite of Brockman’s however it’s a quick read and stands up fine today. I enjoyed all the characters and while the plots quite basic it is helped along by a plausible enough stalker mystery and some hot older woman-younger man lovin.
Of course I should mention that the first 5 chapters (1/4 of the book) is taken up exclusively by ‘the limo ride’ and that’s reason in itself to read this book. Yum.
Ellen Layne is in the airport newsstand glancing over the bestsellers when she see’s him;
“From the back he was a living breathing advertisement for Buns of steel”
All faded jeans, blond hair and impossibly handsome. According to Ellen he looks even better from the front too. Unfortunately for Ellen he’s also at least 10 years younger then she is. But what, oh he’s seen her looking, checking him out. He’s coming over now, flirting with her with those blue eyes, dimples and perfect teeth. Damn even his voice is sexy. I wonder how old he really is?
So I absolutely loved the beginning of this book. It is just the perfect fantasy, older woman meets younger gorgeous man and through mistaken identity and happenstance they wind up sharing a limo together. Sam the ‘ladies man’ puts the moves on Ellen as they tour around New York drinking champagne and taking in the sights. Ellen in a moment of recklessness allows herself to give in to the fantasy and experience a night of unbridled passion. A little something to remember because surely this player won’t want anything more then that? Sam however in an uncharacteristic move phones her the very next day hoping to see her again and in a ‘this is how the other side must feel’ move Ellen turns him down cold.
Unfortunately after chapter five the whole feel of the book changes and it’s no longer great --it’s okay. As it turns out Ellen is recovering from a divorce, has 2 precocious (see annoying) children and although a professor wants to try her luck at acting over the summer. She’s staying with her Uncle Bob, a famous talk show host when the phone calls start. They are soon accompanied by hate mail and then of course the police get involved. Fate intervenes here because who do you think is a member of the NYPD? Well it’s Sam the ladies man of course and he’s got some unfinished business with Ellen but first he’s got to figure out who the increasingly violent stalker is and possibly step in front of a bullet in the name of love.
So the ending is pretty exciting, oooh who’s the stalker? Who’s his intended victim? And the beginning… sigh. But the middle part as well as being so different from the beginning floundered to me. And as much as I liked Sam, he was supposed to be a ‘ladies man’ (hell that’s what the books called) yet as much as I was told this I never saw it from him. He was just a nice guy who seemed to be searching for someone to settle down with. Maybe if his character had been flushed out a bit more. Cheers!...more
Opening Line: "Gabriel Rossiter unzipped his pants only far enough to free his…"
Well, what can I say? Another fantastic addition to the I-Team seriesOpening Line: "Gabriel Rossiter unzipped his pants only far enough to free his…"
Well, what can I say? Another fantastic addition to the I-Team series (#4) I’ve come to the conclusion that Pamela Clare can do no wrong, as each book in this series is unputdownable. Just excellent romantic suspense that never dumbs down the reader. Actually I think that’s what I appreciate most about her writing (besides the smoking hot love scenes) the fact that Clare writes a clever story with characters you can believe in, faults and all. I never catch myself going yeah right, that’s ridiculous with one of her books and I usually learn a thing or two as well.
And DAMN, let’s just get this out of the way, can she ever write a drool worthy hero. Gabe… oh my god do they get much yummier than him (acknowledging all her past heroes of course.) But Gabe, the climber, the descriptions of him scaling rock faces, hanging on by his fingertips while his muscles bulge and tense just about did me in. These men of Pamela’s truly are in a league of their own. How could a girl ever choose a favourite?
“Wearing only his dark green uniform trousers he was climbing on the underside of an overhanging lip of rock perhaps thirty feet above the ground. She couldn’t see any ropes…”
“His body moved like she’d never seen a body move before, powerful arms reaching for handholds, fingers gripping holds she couldn’t see, his feet finding their own invisible purchase. His body seemed weightless, muscles bunching and shifting in their own rhythms as he worked his way along the length of the overhang, his motions strong and beautiful. Oh. My.”
So yeah now that I’ve got that out of my system. Naked Edge is actually a very sweet love story in amongst all the bullets and danger, revolving around journalist and Navajo nation member Katherine James and “Rock Jock” Park Ranger/adrenaline junkie Gabriel Rossiter. I won’t go into the plot as there are already so many fabulous reviews out there but I will say that there was a shocking event towards the end that I had to read twice because I just couldn’t believe it and add a couple of things I loved.
-Loved that Marc Hunter and Darkangelo had significant page space here, so that as well as giving us updates on their lives we get to see that their new bromance is progressing well (Dorkangelo) these guys are hilarious together. I can easily see Gabe joining their ranks.
-Loved all the Navajo nation, Diné history and language and have to compliment Pamela Clare on her extensive research and the time and love she puts into every one of her stories. It is noticed and appreciated.
-Loved, loved, loved the epilogue. 10 months later which really gives you an insight into their HEA and how their new life together is progressing. Very well I might add! Cheers 381jb4...more
Opening Line: " Marine Corps Captain Zachariah Clark was so tuckered out he could barely put on his uniform, much less speed up the process."
This was Opening Line: " Marine Corps Captain Zachariah Clark was so tuckered out he could barely put on his uniform, much less speed up the process."
This was a pretty good Harlequin Blaze. Not as formulaic as some I’ve read because our couple here does everything backwards. It was fun watching them fumble along, finally getting to know each other after 18 months of marriage (I’ll explain later) However this loses points for the stalker/suspense storyline used to carry the plot along and a heroine described on the back cover as “steely" but who for the most part I‘d just call a bitch. I will say that Julie Miller writes amazing love scenes though and that’s really what saved this for me.
At Your Command starts with a bang. Marine Corps Captain Zachariah Clark has just spent a week having the best sex of his life with a women he picked up in a bar (truthfully they picked each other up) He’s now just 5 hours left before reporting to his base in Quantico Virginia and active duty in the Middle East. So of course they have more steamy sex before Zachariah impulsively asks her to marry him. Becky (still in an uncompromising position) replies simply “Okay”
18 months later Zachariah (who the author never refers to as Zach and honestly what woman calls out “Ooh Zachariah” during sex? This just bugged me. Anyways, 18 months later Zack is Stateside on a short leave and now nursing a serious case of PTSD as well as several ugly scars. He’s had very little communication with Becky during his time away (it was classified) and yet here they are together again, knowing only that they have great chemistry together but almost nothing about the others life or who they really are.
Becky’s a busy divorce lawyer and as it turns out also an East Coast heiress which should give Nebraska farm boy Zack pause for concern especially when he learns she hasn’t yet told her parents she’s married. Becky isn’t very empathetic where her husband is concerned although we do get some honest conversations regarding whether they can make this work or if their entire relationship is just based on sex.
So to keep things moving along Becky begins receiving threatening phone calls, letters and even part of a bomb on the hood of her car (which is ironic because Zack is a demolitions expert) we also get some very silly moments in the head of Becky’s stalker while he rips up photographs and says nasty psycho things along with several sub-characters to keep you guessing his identity.
Because Beck’s parents don’t know she’s married Zack is forced to pose as her bodyguard when she returns home to the family mansion. Sleeping in separate bedrooms the two finally get to know each other and even go on a few dates. During this time we meet Becky’s cancer stricken mother and except for the mammogram preaching done here (once would have been enough) She became one of my favourite characters. Lily and Zack’s sweet relationship and the fact that she sees and knows all is awesome. The stalker storyline reaches its explosive conclusion and I’ll admit I sighed at the touching ending.Cheers ...more
Opening line:"John Smith checked his watch and looked around the plaza Hotel's ballroom."
Originally released in 2004, An Unforgettable Lady was just rOpening line:"John Smith checked his watch and looked around the plaza Hotel's ballroom."
Originally released in 2004, An Unforgettable Lady was just recently re-issued with a fancy new and improved cover. I’ve enjoyed all of Jessica Bird aka JR Ward’s earlier writing and thankfully this was no exception. No matter the stage in her career Bird/Ward can write the desirable and initially unobtainable dark and tortured heroes like no other. As a result I fell hard for John Smith the cold, scarred, I am an island, and everybody back the hell off bodyguard. Yup he’s all kinds of ways yummy. And if any of you BDB fans need a little more encouragement he reminds me very much of an early Zsadist prototype, here’s why from page 147;
His first instinct was to yell. He was infuriated that she had challenged him, exposed him. That she was near enough so he could smell her. That she was offering compassion and understanding and warmth when he was battle scarred, hard and ugly. I think you're beautiful" she said softly, looking up at him. "Then your f***ing blind" She shook her head slowly "I see you, all of you. Clearly."
I should also mention that the sexual tension in this story is off the chart hot. While I had trouble relating (on any level) to our glamorous billionaire heroine, Countess Grace blah biddy blah and all her fancy galas, gowns, gems and uppity social status the palpable sexual tension and opposites attract theme between our couple more than made up for it. And I just have to say again John Smith--well his character is reason alone to read this book.
Forced into the spotlight by her considerable wealth, soon to be divorced heiress Grace Hall has just found herself the target of a serial killer. Following the publication of a Times article showcasing the 6 most prominent women in New York, one by one those women, her friends have started turning up dead. Reluctantly Grace is forced to hire a bodyguard, now however she finds herself subject to the ironclad rules of her captivating protector. Oh and did I mention he’s moved into her Penthouse? In spite of their differences and his cold demeanour Grace is drawn to him in ways she can’t explain or stop herself from acting on.
John Smith is a ghost. As a military trained assassin, professional bodyguard and all-round badass John hasn’t heard his real name spoken in so long now that he’s almost forgotten who he used to be. With no fixed address, social insurance number or ties to anyone he moves from one job to the next, content in his solitary life. Meeting Grace changes everything though and with the attraction between them growing stronger and harder to ignore with each passing day, John may be forced to break his own rule. Never get personal with the client. For John she was just meant to be another assignment how is it that she’s managed to get so thoroughly embedded in his skin? And how is he going to leave the only women he’s ever loved when the jobs over?
Oh I forgot to mention, anyone that’s read Bird’s Moorehouse Legacy series will be thrilled with a brief cameo from another awesome tortured hero; Alex Moorehouse the sailing champion from.From The First. I just love how Ward ties all her books together this way. Cheers...more
Opening Line: "Dark she could do, Eve Garrett thought as she sat by the curb, her Mazda motor running."
Eve Garrett has never forgotten her first love Opening Line: "Dark she could do, Eve Garrett thought as she sat by the curb, her Mazda motor running."
Eve Garrett has never forgotten her first love Tyler “Mac” McCain, the arrogant boy who seduced and then abandoned her all those years ago. Now a member of her family’s security business (E.D.E.N) this former FBI agent is on the hunt for the missing teenage daughter of Florida’s most reclusive billionaire. A frantic message from the missing party girl takes Eve to a midnight rendezvous where she’s attacked and left for dead.
The attack leaves Eve more determined then ever to find Tiffany and even though she’s officially been taken off the case Eve sets out for Key West where, surprise, surprise she runs into Mac, now a PI who’s also trying to find “Tiff” At first Eve refuses to share any information with Mac but after a couple of attempts on her life and because he keeps turning up at every new lead, she realizes that they’ll have a better chance finding the girl working together rather then against each other. Besides he’s changed and Eve doesn’t think she can fight her attraction to this new improved Mac any longer. The search takes our couple (who remain two steps behind) from Florida to New York, into Las Vegas and finally small town Arizona.
I loved the chase aspect of this story; following leads and travelling to different cities and Mac was a fun and sexy character. He was also a real guy with a bum knee and limitations not one of these black op superheroes we see so often in romantic suspense. I never quite warmed up to Eve though and for the most part found her annoying. Their trip to the bondage sex club was just weird (reminding me of Lora Leigh without the graphics) although in saying that the ride home in the limo afterwards and the leather cod piece was pretty funny. I also liked the peeks we got into Tiffany’s head and grew more and more sympathetic towards her as the story went on.
I have to say that at times this story stalled because there was so much introspective dialogue going on. Every single thought or action seemed to get analyzed for at least half a page when I just wanted them to get on with it. The romance itself never really grabbed me either, as delightful as Mac was the connection just seemed to be missing.
This is book 2 from Cindy Gerard’s Bodyguard series and a pretty good romantic suspense, although I still prefer her (BOI’s). Cheers ...more
Opening Line: "Even among the masses populating West Palm Beach, Florida, Nolan Garrett found hundreds of places to be alone."
After 5-star-ing every bOpening Line: "Even among the masses populating West Palm Beach, Florida, Nolan Garrett found hundreds of places to be alone."
After 5-star-ing every book in Cindy Gerard's Black Ops series I was very excited to go back and read her Bodyguard series which I'd somehow missed before. However in saying that I think my love for her BOI's may have caused me to go into this with (unrealistically) high expectations because while this was good it also never quite hit the great mark that I'd been expecting.
TO THE EDGE is definitely a slow burning romance And while I appreciated tough guy, bodyguard Nolan's "don't get involved with a client" ethics and especially his "you don't want to get involved with someone as damaged as me" (love those tortured heroes) I reached the point with them where I was like, enough, get it on already. Stop with the meaningful looks and double talk and just get it out of your systems.
That said once the sex (finally) got thrown in the mix and the stalker upped their game things really took off. Gerard managed to keep me guessing about the stalkers identity with several well placed suspects and Nolan and Jillian's chemistry was smoking hot. I also loved the fact that Jillian wasn't your typical spoiled damsel in distress and let's face it she had potential to go that way. Instead she fought for her man and managed to keep her head above, TSTL. Then we have Nathan's adorable (I don't need anyone but really I do) guilt complex, PTSD issues and that fantabulous ending on the boat, sigh. I really don't have anything to complain about here and I'll definitely be returning for the rest of this series and a croquet game or two from the looks of things.
Jillian Kincaid is a TV anchor and the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Because of her father she grew up in the continual presence of bodyguards and hated it. Now when she begins to receive death threats Jillian is more then a little hesitant to except the bodyguard/hired thug that her father has secured for her.
Recently retired special Ops soldier Nolan Garrett has only been out for three months when his brothers and sister (of E.D.E.N security Inc) grow tired of his continuous drinking and depression and force him to take on one of their clients. He doesn't want the case and Jillian sure as hell doesn't want him in her apartment and shadowing her every move.
However Jillian soon proves not to be the spoiled princess Nolan was expecting and despite himself he starts to care even if she is super frustrating. Why won't she just leave him alone, why do they have to talk about...stuff? And how is it that she's not repelled by his back off, tough guy (I am an island) image? As Jillian's stalker gets closer and events turn deadly Nolan is willing to lay his life on the line and now possibly his heart too. Gah I just love these tortured heroes....more
Wow this was fantastic, probably up there as one of my top 5 romantic suspense’s ever. I was completely wOpening line: "Ethan. Um. Hi. It's...Darcy."
Wow this was fantastic, probably up there as one of my top 5 romantic suspense’s ever. I was completely wrapped up in this story and had trouble putting it down for anything. It actually reads more like an action movie then romantic suspense, the thrills are just non-stop, with a retired Special Forces soldier trying to extract his ex-wife from terrorist kidnappers.
The jungle rescue (which takes up most of the book) goes from bad, to worse, to FUBAR and really had me wondering how the hell are they going to get out of this mess? Yet somehow between all the bullets, bad guys and blood loss Cindy Gerard also managed to completely suck me into the romance aspect. (Sigh) Yes, with a few well placed cherry lifesavers she created a balance between the two and by the end gave me a couple that I was genuinely cheering for.
I’ll admit though I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to the reunited lovers theme and Gerard does a brilliant job here with Ethan and Darcy. I loved their love story. And unlike some of the other reviewers really enjoyed seeing their failed marriage played out in flashbacks throughout the book. For me this gave an added element of suspense because while we get to see the beauty of their initial meeting and falling in love we also know from the onset that it ends in divorce. I was morbidly curious about its unravelling; I mean they were so in love what happened?
“Eight days. She’d know him eight days. And she said yes without hesitation."
When he reached her, he touched a hand to her face. Smiled. “Important. That’s one word. Everything. That’s another. Loved,” he said, adding the most important word of all. "God Darcy you are so loved”
Darcy Prescott is working for Diplomatic affairs in Manila when she realizes she’s in big trouble. It may have been 5 years since her divorce but the first and only person she can think of to save her is Ethan Garrett. Moments before she’s taken Darcy places the call to her ex-husband and then disappears.
Ethan may have left the military behind but he’s never been able to fully let go of his wife. A plea on his answering machine see’s Ethan assembling a rogue rescue team from within his family’s bodyguard business (EDEN) and hitting the fast track for the Philippians. Armed with a pocket full of cherry life savers and a big gun Ethan easily slips back into combat mode. He’s extracting his wife and taking her home if it’s the last thing he ever does.
“Wake me up in a few hours and keep your eyes on the rearview” “What am I looking for?” She asked glancing into the glare of headlights shining in the mirror “The bad guys, babe. The bad guys.” “They’ll be carrying signs right?”
To The Brink is the 3rd instalment form Cindy Gerard’s Bodyguard series however to me it read more like one of her Black Op BOI's books, especially when you compare it to the first two from this series which were just kind of average and didn’t have any exotic locations or crazy combat scenarios. Anyways I cannot recommend this one enough. Cheers....more
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