Pleasured by the Secret Millionaire - Natalie Anderson

Author: Natalie Anderson

Line: Mills and Boon/Harlequin Presents

Release month UK - Jun 08 ; US - Jun 09 ; OZ/NZ - Aug 08


The S-Factor: Sensual and very Sexy


Back-Blurb:

One night of hot loving...

Gorgeous millionaire Rhys Maitland is tired of women throwing themselves at him because of his power and wealth. When he meets beauty Sienna Rendel, Rhys decides to hide the truth, and insists on being with her for one night only...

Sienna's quite happy with Rhys's offer of fast, furious lovemaking! She doesn't know she's being pleasured by a secret millionaire, but when she and Rhys realize one night isn't enough, they'll have to strip themselves bare - in every sense!


Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Natalie Anderson has written the most amazing love story which literally sizzles off the pages with extreme passion, major secrets, an incredible journey and a most romantic and teary ending one a romance reader will definitely want to read.

While reading this I went through many thought processes because Sienna the lovely young woman made me wonder what I would do in her situation. The reader is given her background that she was coddled by her family due to a heart problem and now as an adult she has left home to begin a lifetime journey with her journal and a wish list. Not knowing her fate, she has a list of things she wants to accomplish and when she arrives in Australia and meets the handsome Rhys she believes to be a band promoter, one of the items at the top of her list is to experience a night of passion like no other and you won’t believe how she accomplishes her task. In fact, next time I see a storage closet, I’m going to blush!

As for Rhys, being a well known doctor, a man of wealth from a well known Australian family and one with past experiences with women who only wanted him for fame and fortune, he’s decided to take a short and needed vacation using another identity. What he doesn’t count on is meeting Sienna and how much he’s attracted to her and wants to continue the vacation romance but discretely.

When Sienna’s medical issues are revealed to Rhys, you will see such a wonderful softness in him, however you’ll be angry when you realize he’s invaded her space and read her journal. The lesson he learns is that she matters and he wants to be more than a vacation romp and in the end how he makes everything right. But it’s how they both get there is what’s important.

Sienna’s journey is just that, she needs to experience, life without constraints, live, laugh, love, and take chances. After spending time with Rhys she realizes that leaving him is going to be painful but she must leave him and follow her dreams. In the end and yes your tears will fall especially when they both realize how very special and unique their relationship has become and they must forgive each other.

Rhys and Sienna’s energy, strength and passion are beautiful but Rhys realization that he needed to forgive himself, learn to trust and believe were wonderful to read. The “new list” they agreed to create together to keep up with the zest for life was extremely sweet and emotional.


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Natalie’s Website: http://www.natalie-anderson.com/

Reviewed by: Marilyn

ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID

Author: Nina Harrington

Line: Romance

Release Month: July 2009

The S Factor: Sweet

Back blurb:

Amy Edler is a baker, not a wedding planner! But along with making her best friend's wedding cake, Amy finds herself planning the wedding--with only her friend's disapproving big brother for help!

Gorgeous entrepreneur Jared Shaw hasn't made his millions letting other people run the show. So, although he's normally allergic to weddings, he has rolled up his sleeves and is helping sweet and sexy Amy with every last detail!

And his last job is to buy the bridesmaid the perfect gift ...

Review: ♥♥♥♥

I am a huge fan of the 'romance' line and so it was an absolute pleasure to be given Nina Harrington's debut book to review. Nina has a warm engaging style of writing, not unlike Jessica Hart's.

The heroine, Amy, is a chef so you must be prepared to hear about sweets, cakes and pastries to die for sprinkled throughout the text. Fortunately reading about these treats does not expland your waistline!

Amy has a secret she would really rather keep secret from the hero, Jared. They join together to help his sister's wedding go to plan after the wedding planner runs away. Forced to spend time together, her feelings for him grow quickly. However, she is afraid of his reaction when he finds out her secret.

Jared has secrets of his own, his difficult childhood has helped to turn him into a self made man who is very driven. Work is literally his life. Until he meets Amy. She was once a high flying executive and he wonders how and why she has given up that life to become a baker.

They battle their attraction, desire to give Jared's sister the perfect wedding as well as their secrets to arrive at a beautiful resolution. Mini sub plots were woven perfectly into the story line so the ending is perfectly plausible and right for these characters.

I look forward to reading this author's next release ... and her next ... and her next. It truly is a stunning debut with characters that will remain in your thoughts long after you have closed the book.

Hero Hotness Factor: ♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor: ♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor: (will it last?) ♥♥♥♥♥
Humor Factor: ♥♥
Weepy Factor: ♥

Reviewed by: Joanne Cleary

SUMMER AT THE LAKE - Linda Barrett

Title: SUMMER AT THE LAKE

Author: LINDA BARRETT

Line: Harlequin SuperRomance

Release Month: May

The S-Factor: Stirring and Sensual

Back-Blurb:

Kristin McCarthy hears him before she sees him. The melody of his saxophone glides across the summer night. The music’s healing effect on her daughter has Kristin seeking the person who can play so beautifully. Too bad Rick Cooper is a cop. With all she and her daughter have experienced, police don’t rank high on their get-to-know-you list.

Still, Rick could be one of the good guys. Something about him challenges all Kristin’s assumptions. And their time together sparks her hopes for a future beyond this lakeside retreat. But before she can bring those dreams to life, Rick has to prove he’s the man she and her daughter can trust…forever.

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Kristin had brought her daughter, Ashley, to Morningstar Lake in the Catskill Mountains in an attempt to help her heal from a devastating and traumatic incident that had happened a few weeks ago. It was heartbreaking to see such a vibrant and enthusiastic little girl reduced to a pale shadow of her previous self. Hopefully relaxing by the side of the lake in this borrowed cottage would return the soon-to-be-teenager to her usual exuberant self.

But they’re barely unpacked when they realize someone is living in the house just down the beach from them. Rick, too, has come to the lake to heal. His job is one of the most stressful there is. He is trying to recover after a hostage situation goes bad and he loses three innocent lives.

Can Quincy really help? How does this canine “save the day”?

At first I wondered how I would feel reading about such a terrible trauma to a young girl, but Linda Barrett handled this subject with so much grace and tact that it didn’t make me uneasy at all. She focused on how Kristin and Ashley struggled together to recover. She wrote about the things they did to regain “normal”. This book is truly an inspired piece of art.

Hero Hotness Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Humor Factor: ♥♥
Weepy Factor: ♥♥♥

Reviewed by: Donna B

The Emergency Doctor Claims His Wife - Margaret McDonagh

Title: The Emergency Doctor Claims His Wife

Author: Margaret McDonagh

Line: Mills and Boon Medical Romance

Release month: May 2009

The S-Factor: Sweet

Back-Blurb:

There’s a sexy new doctor in town!

Pulses rise at Strathlocan Hospital when a tall, dark-haired, drop-dead-gorgeous new doctor strides purposefully through the doors, especially Dr Annie Webster’s! Nathan Shepherd is her ex – the very man she’s never been able to get out of her system.

It’s been five years, and they both have very different recollections of their break-up. Whatever the tensions between them, neither can deny the smouldering passion they still share.
It’s clear to Nathan they have unfinished business, and this time he’s not leaving without answers…or his woman!

Margaret McDonagh welcomes you back to Strathlochan Hospital

Review:

The Emergency Doctor Claims His Wife is the heartwarming new novel from one of my favourite romance writers: Margaret McDonagh

Nathan and Annie had fallen head over heels in love from the very first moment they met, as medical students at university. They had thought that they were going to be spending the rest of their lives together, but when a ghost from Nathan’s past prevented him from moving forward, Nathan found himself having to say goodbye to the woman he loves above everything else.

But Nathan had never forgotten Annie and when he gets a job at Strathlochan Hospital, working alongside her, Nathan vows to reclaim the woman he loves. But will he be able to convince Annie that he wants to commit to her body and soul?

Five years ago, Nathan had broken Annie’s heart and she is not prepared to give him a second chance. But as the two begin to spend more and more time together, her old feelings for Nathan resurface and she soon realizes that the only place she wants to be in his arms.

But is the confining hold of the past preventing the two of them from moving forward?

A poignant and tender romance that will bring a tear to your eye, in The Emergency Doctor Claim His Wife, talented author Margaret McDonagh has truly outdone herself. Realistic, engrossing, moving and absolutely breathtaking, The Emergency Doctor Claims His Wife more that deserves its place on every romance reader’s keeper shelf!

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HER LAST CHANCE - Terri Reed

Title: HER LAST CHANCE

Author: TERRI REED

Line: Love Inspired Suspense

Release month: June

The S-Factor: Sweet but Scary

Back-blurb:

MISSING MOTHER FOUND

The mysterious man at her door swears he recognizes her. She’s Leah Farley. Mother, wife – and suspected murderer. But her amnesia has wiped away memories of her former life. When a shower of bullets follows the man’s claims, Leah is forced to accept the truth. She’s in danger. And unless she can make herself remember, there’s no way to stay safe. With bounty hunter Roman Black’s help, she must uncover her lost memories – before the killer succeeds in keeping Leah’s past and future buried forever.

Without a Trace:
Will a young mother’s disappearance bring a bayou town together. . . or tear it apart?

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Who was she? Was she Abigail, like the hunched old woman said? Or was she really Leah, the missing woman from another town? The one the papers all said had killed her husband and run off, leaving her small daughter behind.

Roman Black thought he knew, but was he right? And if he was right, why was someone trying to kill her? He had led them right to her, so now it was his responsibility to protect her. After all, if she died, he wouldn’t get paid for finding her. But was that the only reason he needed her alive?

This book is number six in the mini-series Without a Trace. It is the conclusion to a mystery begun in January with What Sarah Saw by Margaret Daley. All the authors in this series did an incredible job, working together to keep the facts straight, and the story flowing. They could not have picked a better author to conclude the series. Terri Reed’s marvelous control of the English language, and her vivid imagination kept this story moving from one exciting scene to another. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

And the murderer – came as a complete shock to me. A wonderful read. Even though the story is part of a series, it stands alone very nicely.

Hero Hotness Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Humor Factor: ♥♥
Weepy Factor: ♥♥♥♥

Reviewed by: Donna B

TEMPORARY DOCTOR, SURPRISE FATHER - Lynne Marshall

Title: TEMPORARY DOCTOR, SURPRISE FATHER

Author: LYNNE MARSHALL

Line: Mills and Boon Medical

Release month: June

The S-Factor: Sensual and Secretive

Back-Blurb:

Her baby secret. . .

One-time bad-boy Dr Beck Braxton has been assigned a temporary role in the ER department of his old local LA hospital. Fine – until he discovers that the nurse he’ll be working with is the woman who broke his heart thirteen years ago…

Of all the ERs in all the world, he had to walk into hers… Jan can’t believe the rogue she’s never been able to forget is back in her life! While he’s changed, Beck is still as devastating as ever – and the chemistry between them is still very much alight…

Now all Jan must do is to tell him her secret…that Beck is the father of her child!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

This story opens with Beck trying to convince January to wait for him while he goes out to explore the world. While she was willing to wait for him, other things come along that make it impossible for her to keep this promise.

Thirteen years later. . .

January has decided she wants to be called Jan. She has been married and divorced, and she is the best Emergency Room nurse Los Angeles Mercy Hospital has ever seen. She also hasn’t seen or heard from Beck in all that time, not since her mother forced her to break up with him right before she shipped her off to have her baby elsewhere.

Until today. . .

Does the full moon have anything to do with the fact that Officer Beck Braxton, who needs a refresher course for the National Guard, is assigned to work with her for the next month?

So how does she go about telling him about the little girl she gave up for adoption? The one who looks just like him? Does he realize that at 16 she didn’t have a lot of choices? Is he able to work through the fact that her mother made very sure they were kept apart?

Lynne Marshall’s excellent writing skills lend excitement and credibility to this story. The medical scenes are realistic, adding much to the substance of the story. Her love scenes are sensual. The tension between Jan and Beck is realistic, and keeps you reading to the very end. A very satisfactory end.

Hero Hotness Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Humor Factor: ♥♥
Weepy Factor: ♥♥

Reviewed by: Donna B

BLACKMAILED BRIDE, INNOCENT WIFE - Annie West

Author: Annie West

Line: Mills and Boon Modern

Release: May 2009 - UK (Mills and Boon Modern Romance
June 2009 - Australia/NZ (Harlequin Mills and Boon Sexy)

The S-Factor: Sizzling, Sensual

Back-Blurb:

Forced to wed...
Hard-hearted magnate Dario Parisi will reclaim his stolen birthright - even if it means forcing the granddaughter of his family's sworn enemy to marry him.

...and share his bed!
Alissa Scott is certainly not the biddable wife Dario wanted - yet he's consumed by red-hot desire for his unwilling bride. So when she tires to change the rules, he demands she honour all her vows. Finally he undresses exactly the kind of wife he wanted: a virgin bride!


Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

A captivating, powerful and sensual read as written by contemporary romance author Annie West. Blackmail, revenge, passion, and secrets from the past, all rolled into one in this entertaining romance Blackmailed Bride, Innocent Wife.

I so admired both Alissa Scott and Dario Parisi for their passion and reasons for wanting the castello which Alissa would inherit if she married. However, Alissa had secrets for why she wanted it because all of her life she and her sister had suffered under the abusive hands of their grandfather. Now Alissa’s sister needed medical attention and they couldn’t afford it so she was forced to find a bridegroom, marry and in the end divorce to received the money her evil grandfather had stipulated in his will. Her friend agrees to a marriage and in the end backs out as one will learn Dario paid him off and now he is determined to marry Alissa and reclaim the castello the “old man” took from his family.

Dario Parisi is one incredible alpha Italian with pride, passion and determination to make restitution from deeds of the past. Not only the promise he made to his father but to revenge the family who took everything away which he holds Alissa’s grandfather responsible. What neither Dario nor Alissa count on is the lust and passion they shared. For him, something about her was different and beyond his experience.

While their story was lovely to read, I wept for Dario and his struggle. I adored Alissa for her determination to save her sister and for her strength to walk away from the love of her life when she believed the crumbling castello meant more to Dario than the passion and joy they both shared. Blackmailed Bride, Innocent Wife is a passionate and sensual journey one won’t want to miss!


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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the book from the author’s website:

This story developed because of some non-fiction writing. I was preparing an article about using the senses in stories, (see 'The Power of Scent' on my website) and giving examples. As a romance writer an obvious choice of scene was the wedding ceremony. I used examples of how the various scents we associate with a wedding might impact on the bride, depending on whether she was delighted, anxious or even horrified to be walking down the aisle.

And then that tingling sensation began as I latched on to the notion of a bride, all in white, walking to the altar, sick with dread at the very thought of marriage. What an idea for a story opening! After that I let my imagination really let go and came up with the idea of her marrying not the man she’d intended but a complete stranger as all her plans go awry and a dangerous man with a take charge attitude turns the situation to his own ends. Now that was real fun! I was hooked and all I had to do was work out who she was, why she was getting married despite her own inclinations, who the groom was, why he’d hijacked the wedding and how they could legally marry. Easy!

Annie West

lyn

UNDER HER SKIN - Susan Mallery

Author: Susan Mallery

Line: HQN

Release month North America/UK: May 2009

The S-Factor: Sizzling and Sensual

Back-Blurb:

Lexi Titan can just see the headlines. All of Titanville will be buzzing. Not that she has any other choice. Faced with exactly thirty days to come up with two million dollars, she is out of options. Marry Cruz Rodriguez or lose everything—the successful day spa she built herself, her tyrant of a father's respect. And the long-standing competition with her sisters for the family business.

Cruz has money, success, smoldering good looks—everything but the blue blood needed to become a true member of Texas society. If Lexi agrees to be his fiancée for six months, lending him her famous father's influence and connections, he'll hand her a check on the spot. And in six months they'll go their separate ways.

But neither one is prepared for their long-ago shared passion to throw a wrench into what would seem to be the perfect deal….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Under Her Skin, the first book in author Susan Mallery’s Lone Star Sister’s series was literally amazing; full of passion, family secrets and very emotional. You will fall in love with the very beautiful Lexi and her sisters Skye and Izzy and their close friend Dana. Each woman has one thing they’re searching for and Lexi’s is revealed in this book. It’s to be acknowledged for her business savvy by her father, have his love and have him admit they are a family.

Their town Titanville was founded by her family and her father runs a very successful corporation which Lexi walked away from. He has also challenged his girls to compete for the family business holdings and their family home, Glory Gate, and the sister who wins, wins it all! Lexi is interested in Titan’s corporation while her sister Skye is only interested in the family home. It’s amazing to see how this competition has not destroyed the sister’s relationship and you will love how they band together and how close they are as Lexi had a different mother than Skye and Izzy. And now Lexi is in trouble and stands to loose her spa business because of an anonymous loan which is now being called in. Add to the mix when they find out they have a brother unknown to them who wants to take them down!

Cruz and Lexi have a past, one night of passion years ago when they met under unusual circumstances. Cruz was racing to win at all costs, pink slips and Lexi that evening was daring as well and experienced an incredible night with Cruz. Only to be hurt the next morning when he walked away. Cruz has come up the hard way and is now worth millions. However, there are social doors still closed to him and that’s why he’s decided to attend Lexi’s sister Skye’s charity and renew his friendship with Lexi. He sees her as a way to get ahead and when he hears about her need for two million to pay off her loan, he makes a deal…..the money for society introductions. To make everything look real she must move in with him, become engaged and help him get the social connections he needs.

Lexi and Cruz have so many secrets and obstacles to get past and to come to terms with and it’s this journey and her love for him, her sister’s and friend Dana’s support that make her get through it all. Lexi’s past with her father have put up all sorts of barriers, can she let herself love and what if she’s not loveable back? However with Cruz she could be herself.

For Cruz, he has so many scars from his youth which his father caused for he and his mother and he’s afraid to give his heart. His realization that he can have it all with Lexi and coming to terms about their pasts will have one in tears. Again, Susan Mallery does not disappoint with this wonderful story, extremely interesting characters and so many lessons to be learned…..trust, love and believing in oneself! Thank you Susan Mallery!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Tidbit about author: Under her Skin made the New York Times Bestseller list. Congratulations, Susan!

THE BILLIONAIRE'S BABY - NICOLA MARSH

Title: The Billionaire's Baby

Author: Nicola Marsh

Line: Mills and Boon Romance

Release Month: May 2009

The S-Factor: Sweet

Back-Blurb:

Billionaire Blane Andrews has come to Melbourne to win back his wife. He walked away from Cam, believing he wasn't good enough. Now he's risen to the top, but he wants the one thing money can't buy.

As Blane romances her, Cam realizes that the magic in their marriage never faded. Yet she can't give Blane the baby he's always wanted. This time she must say goodbye….

But hold on to your dreams, Cam! Miracles can happen, and Blane's penthouse might need a nursery after all….

Review:

Heartwarming, emotional and believable, The Billionaire’s Baby is the latest page-turner by talented Mills and Boon Romance author, Nicola Marsh!

As a teenager, Camryn had yearned to escape from the stifling confines of small town Australia for the bright lights of city life. But when drifter Blane Andrews turned up at her parents’ dingy coffee shop, her life changed completely. Cam was bowled over by Blane’s charm and charisma, and when he proposed, she accepted straight away even though she knew that they were too young to make such a huge commitment.

But Blane soon realized that their marriage would hold Cam back from achieving her objectives, so he did the hardest thing he ever had to do and walked away from the woman he loved. But he never managed to forget his wife, who broken-hearted had vowed never to let another man get under her skin ever again.

But a lot of time has passed and Cam and Blane have grown up. Cam now has achieved her objective of owning a trendy café and Blane is now a billionaire. When the two meet again, the old spark soon reignites. However, can there ever be a hope of a future when Cam can’t give Blane the one thing he wants: children?

The Billionaire’s Baby is just a wonderful story of second chances, new beginnings and the sheer strength of the human spirit. Nicola Marsh writes wonderful stories about modern women who know what they want and smart and sexy heroes her readers cannot resist falling in love. Romantic, engrossing and realistic, The Billionaire’s Baby shines with pathos, charm and heart and readers looking for a story they can lose themselves in shall certainly not be disappointed.

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Review: The Surgeon's Special Delivery - Fiona Lowe

Title: The Surgeon’s Special Delivery

Author: Fiona Lowe

Line: Mills and Boon Medical Romance

Release month : May 2009

The S-Factor: Sweet

Back-Blurb:

From top-notch doc to daddy!

Dr Tess Dalton couldn’t wait to give her two closest friends the greatest gift – a baby of their own. But when tragedy strikes Tess finds herself alone, carrying her friends’ baby…

Enter the baby’s uncle, Callum Halroyd, leading surgeon and dedicated bachelor. Returning to the Outback for the sake of his family, he’s shocked to meet Tess…and to discover she’s about to give birth to his nephew! Becoming an adoptive dad certainly wasn’t in Cal’s plan!

But newborn Oscar and beautiful, vibrant Tess make Cal reassess everything… Soon he realises just how much he wants to give Tess and the baby the love and care they so very much deserve…

Review:

The Surgeon’s Special Delivery is the latest delightful Medical Romance by the fantastic Fiona Lowe!

Leading surgeon Callum Halroyd dreamt of saving the world with his surgical skills alongside his brother James. But when James had opted to settle in a rural Outback town instead of the on the frontline, Callum had vowed to never speak to his brother ever again, concentrating his energy on doing the best job he can in the war zones which he has made his home. But when Callum hears the tragic news that his brother and his wife were killed in a tragic accident, Callum finds himself returning to Australia, regret dogging his every move.

The last thing Callum is expecting is to find a pregnant woman in his brother’s apartment. Tess Dalton was James’ wife best friend who had selflessly decided to act as a surrogate mother for the couple who couldn’t have children. Tess is determined not to be pushed around by the autocratic Callum – nor is she going to let herself fall for the sexy surgeon.

But when baby Oscar is born, Tess and Callum are thrown into further proximity together and both of them begin to wish that they were a real family. However, with commitments on the other side of the world, will Tess and Callum put their heads before their hearts?

Wonderfully moving, beautifully written and impossible to put down, The Surgeon’s Special Delivery is another keeper by the talented Fiona Lowe. Peopled with gorgeous characters, intense medical scenarios and searing emotion, The Surgeon’s Special Delivery is not to be missed!

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