~REVIEW of Lucy Gordon's THE VENETIAN PLAYBOY'S BRIDE~

The Venetian Playboy's Bride (Counts of Calvani, #1) 

Opening line: “Guido Calvani took another turn along the hospital corridor, trying not to think of his uncle, lying behind the closed door, desperately ill.”

 Ah Venice, what a beautiful character you portrayed in this book. Actually you may have been my favourite part of this book. The romance and mystic of Venice is captured perfectly here, bringing to life the maze of streets and canals, the language, food and music. Throw in a handsome gondolier, a parody of secrets, a jilted P.I and you’ve got yourselves a great escape, all without leaving your house.

To me this reads very much like a play, with every character trying to cover up their true identity through a comedy of errors. The romance is sweetly done with some great angst however this is clean romance so nobody gets naked. The real story here is Venice, everything else is just a backdrop.

Dulcie Maddox is a private investigator, in Italy on her latest assignment. It’s a plum job, as she’s to pose as an heiress on vacation in the hopes of catching the lowly gondolier scamming the young daughter of her client. The daughter claims to be in love but Dulcie is set to prove her gondolier is just after the money. However the joke may be on her client because Guido Calvani is no simple gondolier scratching a living but actually an Italian aristocrat heir to the Calvani title. He’s simply helping out a friend and enjoys the life of the canals.

Upon meeting there is an immediate attraction between our couple and as predicted Guido asks if he can show Dulcie the real Venice. Within days they are in love. Guido enjoys being with a woman who wants him for something other then his title and Dulcie is wondering how she is ever going to get out of this assignment with her heart intact.

However all is not what it seems and when Guido discovers he’s not the only one hiding a secret his world is turned upside down with everything coming to a head at what else but a masquerade ball. And that people is amore. Salute

~REVIEW if Jessica Bird (JR Ward's) HIS COMFORT AND JOY (THE PLAYER)~

His Comfort and Joy (The Moorehouse Legacy, #2) 
 

-To be re-released as THE PLAYER (Dec 2011)

Opening line: "The boat's engine throbbed as Grayson Bennett kept the Hacker at a low speed and close to the lakeshore."

HIS COMFORT AND JOY is book 2 in the Moorehouse legacy trilogy which I discovered through being a fan of JR Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this romance, although its within this instalment that you really begin to hear Ward's voice (and some of the Brothers too) The level of sexual tension throughout the story is such that I couldn't put it down. It's clever, interesting and Wow, can Ms Bird ever write a tortured love scene.

Joy Moorehouse has fantasized about Grayson Bennett for ages but not once during the 5 or 6 times a year that she sees him has he ever really noticed her. Truthfully, she realizes he probably doesn't even know her name. I mean she's being ridiculous right? Why would a wealthy political consultant and playboy extraordinaire notice her? She's just a small town nobody working in the family's B&B and looking after her ailing grandmother, he's a Washington big shot, several years older and experienced in the ways of the world. In fact the last couple of times Joy saw him he was just down right rude. What Joy doesn't realize of course is that Gray has to keep his distance; he simply doesn't trust himself when he's around her anymore.

Ever since he saw her in that bikini he can't seem to get her out of his head. Gray can barely breathe when she's near and is filled with raging, unexplainable jealousy (among other things.) Worst of all, nasty thoughts have been swimming around in his head, thoughts of what he'd like to do to her sweet virginal body given the chance. Yeah he'd better keep far away from Joy because the two of them together could only spell disaster he'd eventually wind up hurting her and Gray doesn't think his heart could take it.

Bird's build-up to this couple's first kiss (or in this case first dance) is well done and had me turning the pages in a fever of anticipation. When they finally touch during the slow dance it's well... amazing. As a whole this story kept me entertained and was just different enough from the normal Harlequin formula to keep me guessing. It contains a movie-worthy moment on a train and Bird's usual expertise with multiple POV's. I enjoyed the updates on our past couple as well as the continual development of future storylines. Book #3, (The First (The Moorehouse Legacy, #3) is next and I can't wait to see how Joy's wounded and grief-stricken brother Alex finally finds happiness. Yay for me, another tortured hero.

I would highly recommend that fans of JR Ward check out this series and all of Jessica Bird's earlier writings. Cheers

Here's the correct reading order (The Moorehouse Legacy)
1-Beauty And The Black Sheep
2-His comfort and Joy
3-From The First
4-A Man In A Million

(The O'Banyon Brothers) Bird/Ward has never completed this series
1-The Billionaire Next Door

~REVIEW of Loreth Anne White's THE SHEIK'S COMMAND~

The Sheik's Command (Sahara Kings, Book 1)

Opening Line: “The ragged tops of tall palms rustled quietly in a furnace like breeze and the sky pressed down over the Moorish city of Na’Jar.

Oh this was fun, whisked away to the desert land of Sheik princes, royal palaces, camels, date palms, espionage and love among the sand dunes. Not my normal fare to be sure but I really enjoyed this. Author Loreth Ann White has outdone herself with the amount of research she must have put into this story. I actually felt like I was in Africa with the sun and sand on my skin, a bejewelled scarf covering my head and a camel lurching beneath me. It was a fantastic escape.

And while this is set up a bit like the old fashioned bodice rippers -kidnapped by a handsome prince/harem situation this is definitely a contemporary romance. Our heroine is tough, independent and smart while our Sheik is realistic in the ways of running his country and modern in his thinking and dealings with women. With a sweet romance, entertaining espionage story and a couple of desert treks the only thing here that annoyed me was that the entire conflict between the H/h was based on a lack of communication (just tell him/her already) which always drives me crazy.

Nikki Hunt is on the run from her past, having lost everything seven years ago she’s changed her name, became an aid worker and is now travelling across a war torn country in Northern Africa. It’s no place for a woman, especially one in charge of a group of sick orphans. With the borders closing around her Nikki finds herself trapped and at the mercy of the “Dark King” of Al Na’Jar. Begging his help for safe passage to the Atlantic and medical aid for her children. What Nikki hadn’t counted on was being held hostage in his palace and or that she would feel such an attraction to this secretive regal man.

Prince Zakir Al Arif needs a wife in the worst kind of way. To ascend the throne he must first be married and it’s going to have to be before his progressing medical condition becomes public knowledge too. Zakir doesn’t have time to seduce a woman, which makes Nikki perfect for the job of his Queen. Not only does she speak Arabic and know the ways of his people she also appeals to his fondness of western ways. Now all he has to do is convince her that a marriage of convince would benefit both of them without falling in love. However when a traitor is revealed amongst his people and Nikki commits the ultimate act of betrayal Zakir’s time may have just run out

~REVIEW of Jessica Birds's BEAUTY AND THE BLACK SHEEP (THE REBEL reissue)~

Beauty And The Black Sheep (The Moorehouse Legacy, #1) 

Opening line:"The only warning Frankie Moorehouse had that twenty gallons of water were going to fall on her and her desk was a single drop."

I don't generally read a lot of Harlequin but I am a huge fan of JR Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood which is how I discovered her alter ego Jessica Bird. I enjoyed this, her debut novel and could definitely hear Ward's voice in the writing, particularly when it comes to her sexy yet somewhat tortured male characters. And although this is a predictable, feel good romance Bird kept my interest throughout the engaging love story with interesting secondary characters and multiple POV's. In fact she's left me curious enough that I'm going to have to read the rest of the Moorehouse Legacy series to find out what happens to them all.

Ten years ago Frankie's parents died in a boating accident leaving her to raise her younger brother and sister and care for Grand-Em who suffers from dementia (I loved Grand-Em) To help pay the bills Frankie's turned the family's 6th generation mansion into a Bed & breakfast/restaurant. Unfortunately without the money for upkeep the walls are literally crumbling down on top of them. Tonight the chef's quit and Frankie's reached the end of her endurance, she's exhausted and if business doesn't pick up soon she's going to have to sell.

As fate would have it chef extraordinaire Nate Walker's beloved car Lucille has just broken down leaving him stranded on the side of the road. In his search for a phone so he can continue on to New York, Nate unknowingly enters the chaos of Frankie's kitchen. And before she can say "no soup for you" he's saved the night, putting her naïve staff to work and whipping up a fancy chicken dish for the starving guests.

The attraction between our pair is instantaneous (this is Harlequin after all) but Frankie's not going to be taken in by Nate's green and gold flecked eyes or his athletes body easily she's been burned once too many. That's a good thing too because in Nate's opinion Frankie really needs to dial down the attitude, though he can't help wondering what lies beneath the glasses and baggy clothes or how she'd look if she would just smile. Maybe he'll postpone buying that restaurant in New York, just for the summer of course, help Frankie get back on her feet before he leaves. I mean what's the worst that could happen? It's not like he's going to fall in love or anything. It's not like he'll mow her lawn wearing nothing but a pair of cut-offs, sweat trickling down his muscled chest. Cheers

Here's the original covers

~REVIEW of Suzanne Brockmann's SCENES OF PASSION~



~FORMULATIC AND FLUFFY BUT I LIKED IT~

Opening Line:"Traffic on route 95 was a snarl again"

This book had everything that I hate in my romances so I’m at a loss to explain why I enjoyed it so much. Maybe because this fluffy, saccharine sweet romance was barely 200 pages long, I just didn’t have a chance to get as frustrated as I usually would with this kind of formulaic plot line. More the reason is I read this on my e-reader during a power outage and it was easier to see with the built in  light then with candles.

Anyways as you can guess this isn’t the greatest Brockmann going, it is however enjoyable, short and shamefully addictive with a friends to lovers theme, interesting, somewhat complex hero, the usual bland Brockmann heroine that you want to slap on occasion, more subplots then necessary and except for the heroines little brother a ton of nasty secondary characters to hate.

The story here went in many different directions with things happening quickly (due to page limitations I guess) fake marriages, real marriages, annulments, I love you, I hate you, you’re a liar, I can’t live without you, lets take a bath together, what do you mean you do/don’t have cancer, how am I going to get my inheritance/save my fathers company, no I didn’t sleep with your sister, yes I look great with a mullet, lets break up in the last couple of chapters and you will think I’m a liar and I won’t do anything to change your misconceptions of me until you feel super guilty then because its Brockmann the hero will cry a few tears and voila HEA-ville. All of this has been tied together with a community theatre storyline and a really mean director. Ha, ha. Yes really.

Speaking of the director since when does community theatre require random drug testing for its actors? Anyways that has nothing to do with anything it just annoyed me, he also makes our hero (jungle man) cut his sexy long hair and that’s when I decided I really hated him and that I would never do a musical. LOL

~REVIEW of Suzanne Brockmann's LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER~

~THIS ONE'S WORTHY OF A RE-RELEASE~

 (Silhouette Intimate Moments, #831)

 

Opening Line: "She laced his coffee with opium."

This is one of the better early Brockmann romances I‘ve read. (Shame about the cover though) Written in 97, it's really worthy of a re-release because there’s an excellent suspense filled story here that managed to surprise me several times by not following the usual cookie cutter formula required of category romances. I never really knew where this was going to go; with events setting up in one direction only to end up going a very different way. And with several steamy love scenes, a tortured hero I just wanted to hug and a heroine that was well… normal (meaning that she didn’t ‘suddenly’ know how to use a gun, or annoy me with stupid talk and the usual quarrels) I had trouble putting this one down. When Brockmann’s on her game theres just no one better and this quick romantic suspense gave me everything I could possibly want.

FBI agent John Miller is known throughout the department as “the robot”. Still reeling from the death of his partner which he blames himself for, John is unable to sleep or eat, just barely going through the motions of living. When he’s sent undercover to catch a black widow serial killer, John actually resembles the hollow, sickly cancer patient he’s meant to be.

The plan is for “Johnathan Mills” to appear wealthy, in bad health and to marry their suspect Serena Westford, gathering enough evidence to take her down before she murders another husband. The plan however is not for John to fall in love with her best friend Mariah Robinson. Somehow though she’s made him feel alive for the first time in years and even though he knows he’s sending her mixed signals (that kiss was probably a mistake as was falling asleep on her couch after a back rub) he can’t blow his cover. For as much as he wants Mariah he’s going to have to follow through and marry and sleep with Serena.

As I said the story here is not as straightforward as I first thought; the antagonist is always one step ahead of the FBI and as it turns out Mariah is not who she seems to be either. Oh and our strong, manly hero cries at the end which just did me in. Cheers.

~REVIEW of Jessica Bird's A MAN IN A MILLION~

A Man In A Million (The Moorehouse Legacy, #4)

Opening Line "Spike Moriarty raced down Park Avenue, legs pumping, arms swinging, black leather jacket flapping behind him in the night air."

This was my very first Silhouette Romance but because I'm such a huge fan of JR Ward and the Black Dagger Brotherhood I wanted to give her alter ego Jessica Bird a try. This is a good story and I loved the two main characters. Madeline is well written as a strong, take-charge kind of woman and Spike is just lovely as her troubled, tattooed love interest. I did find certain similarities between Spike and/or Zsadist/Phury and that definitely wasn't a bad thing.

A MAN IN A MILLION is relatively predictable, following the standard romance recipe. Spike and Madeline meet at a party each is attracted to the other but misread their intentions as Mad has trust issues and Spike had a troubled past he thinks would scare her away. A mutual friend sets the two up, sending Spike along as back up while Madeline confronts her brother Richard regarding her trust fund. The two manage to fall in love over the next few days at the family mansion before several misunderstandings tear them apart.

Whether writing as JR Ward or Jessica Bird the writing here is top notch. I really enjoyed the fact that Madeline was an Olympic athlete and Spike was a tattooed, Harley riding French chef. These were different character traits then I'd read before and made for an interesting story. The conflict between Mad and her brother was also well done as was the eventual forgiving found with her sister Amelia. The secondary characters are also well developed and the banter between Spike and his friend Sean is as I'd previously enjoyed between the `Brotherhood'. At times I did find myself irritated by the several misunderstandings our duo had to endure before they found their HEA but all in all this was still a worthwhile read.

If you like tattooed, Harley riding romantic leads with troubled pasts and strong females then this is a book that you will enjoy.

Here's the correct reading order for the series (The Moorehouse Legacy)
1-Beauty And The Black Sheep
2-His comfort and Joy
3-From The First
4-A Man In A Million

(The O'Banyon Brothers)Bird/Ward has never completed series
1-The Billionaire Next Door

~REVIEW of Justine Davis' STEVIE'S CHASE~



-Ya just gotta love these awesome 80's style covers 

Stevie's Chase (Silhouette Intimate Moments, No. 402) (Holt series, #1).

Opening Line: "As soon as she heard the sound, Stevie knew without looking that it was the mystery  man."

Stevie’s Chase was a super little read that really surprised me, I mean I wasn’t expecting much based on the cover however I was blown away by the depths of this love story. In fact the entire (Holt) series is just fantastic especially if you’re anything like me and have a thing for the tortured heroes and the angst. Oh the angst. It literally drips off the pages here as we watch our tormented hero Chase try (unsuccessfully) not to fall in love with his neighbour Stevie.

I adored this couple; I mean I was really pulling for them. Davis manages to get right into their heads, writing some of the most poignant and extended (due to all the introspective feelings flying around) love scenes I’ve ever read. And while I admit that this was a bit slow in getting started I really enjoyed the fact that Chase’s “dark” past wasn’t revealed right away. In fact Davis keeps the reader guessing until almost the end of the book as to all of Chase’s secrets. Who is after Chase? Why is he on the run? What’s the deal with the scar? Is he a bad guy? The biker dude persona and gun tell us he is yet he’s so troubled and selfless when it comes to love and nothing like his outer bad-boy exterior suggests. Theres a scene where Chase leaves Stevie to keep her away from the nightmare of his past and … jeez it just kills me to see tough guys cry. Anyways I’m ranting here, this was a really great read; moving, well written, suspenseful, anguished and oh so romantic.

Chase Sullivan is very aware that getting close to anyone means putting their lives in jeopardy. He’s made that mistake before so despite the fact that he lives in a close knit apartment complex he keeps himself to himself, there are no pleasantries with the neighbours, not even the beautiful strawberry blonde, Stevie that lives next door and keeps him awake at night wishing things were different.

When Chase falls ill it’s Stevie that nurses him back to health, following his no hospital rule without question. It becomes just the two of them, allowing Chase to let down his walls for the first time in years and feel a little goodness and light in the form of his sweet neighbour. He’s been so lonely and despite trying time and again to push her away Stevie accepts his strange habits and no questions asked policy and they fall for each other. Big time. Now while Stevie is kinda written as the perfect heroine it worked for me here because she’s not an idiot either.

Eventually Chase’s past does catch up with him and as I mentioned earlier he leaves to protect her in an absolutely heartbreaking scene. And its not until Stevie begins her search for him that we that we finally learn the extent of this deep dark past. The ending held quite a few surprises for me and then just when I thought HEA had been reached Davis pulled out one last suspense card.

The next 2 in the series Left At The Altar and Morning Side Of Dawn are also super good

~NEW Info on J.R Ward's THE REBEL~

-Expected publication: June 28th 2011 by HQN Books

 So for months now I've been watching this "new" J.R Ward title wondering exactly what it is. I assumed it was a re-release of one of her earlier Harlequin titles she published under the name of Jessica Bird and turns out I was right. THE REBEL is in fact a re-issue of BEAUTY AND THE BLACK SHEEP which was originally released by Harlequin in July of 2005. It is part of her 4-part MOOREHOUSE LEGACY series and includes;

Here's the correct reading order for the series
1-Beauty And The Black Sheep
2-His Comfort and Joy

3-From The First

4-A Man In A Million

This is not to be confused with The Billionaire Next Door from the (The O'Banyon Brothers series) Which Bird/Ward unfortunately never completed. There is a super fun cameo (squeal) in this story though of Butch O'Neil, mentioned as a teenaged friend of the hero.

The whole Moorehouse Legacy series is really good and I can recommend it. Its fun to catch Ward in her early days of writing and you can definitely see the beginnings of the Black Dagger Brotherhood taking shape here in her (strictly) romance heroes.  I'm assuming that the rest of the books will also be re-released at some point in the future.

Here's the link to my review

buggysbookblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-of-jessica-birdss-beauty-and.html

~REVIEW of Justine Davis' LEFT AT THE ALTAR~

 

.5

 

Opening Line:“Hospitals. He’d sworn once that he would never set foot in on again.”

Sean Holt was left (you guessed it) standing at the altar. Without so much as a backwards glance Aurora Sheridan (Rory) broke his heart and spirit without ever bothering to explain why. Instead a week later she just up and married another man and left town for good.

                      

Sean had once thought that losing his leg and a promising athletic career would be the worst pain he’d ever have to face. He was wrong. It took a year long binge of self pity and then another four years of hard work to get himself back together after Rory but he’s finally in a good place now, having started a successful business he’s matured and gained back his self confidence. Although he’s never been able to let go of the pain and bitterness he feels towards the only woman he’s ever wanted.

Now with the death of her wealthy father Rory’s back in town; sporting a serious black eye, an abusive, brute of a husband and a ton of regret for the hurt she caused and the mess she’s made of her life. With her fathers passing Rory’s husband has become violent and his true agenda has come to light, leaving her nowhere to turn except to Sean. But if she wants his help she’s got some serious explaining to do. Will he even listen to her reasons for leaving let alone give them another chance?

This was a pretty good, standard Harlequin read; the love scenes are few but certainly spicy enough, theres angst a-plenty, and while the middle part dragged a bit for me as our couple hunted down a locket, jewellery box and key the ending was romantic and very suspenseful.

You can also tell that Davis has done her research here when it comes to prosthetics and living a physically challenged lifestyle however, while I appreciated our hero being an amputee I almost felt like it was talked about or used as a reason ‘why’ for everything too much. The reason why Rory left him, the reason why her father didn’t want her to marry him. Why he could/couldn’t defend himself or walk in sand. It was just mentioned in one way or another, every single page while Davis still maintained that Sean was a whole man and more then just his leg. In contradiction by mentioning it every page she wouldn’t let us forget about it. Maybe that was the point, IDK?

Written in 93/94, this is a great older Harlequin series (despite the now lame covers) with a real penchant for the tortured hero. Do yourself a favour though and read it in order. I randomly picked up book#3 The Morningside Of Dawn and then fell so in love with its sublime wounded hero Dar Cordell (sigh) that I’ve been on the hunt ever since to find the rest of the series. Cheers people.

1-Stevie's Chase

2-Left At The Altar

3-Morning Side Of Dawn