THE VIRGIN’S SECRET – Abby Green

Author: Abby Green
Line: Mills and Boon Modern/Harlequin Presents
Release month:
   UK: February 2010
   North America: July 2010
The S-Factor:   Sizzling/Sensual

Back Blurb:

Angel Kassianides is the daughter of Leonidas Parnassus' bitter enemy. Years ago her family had been responsible for seeing his family driven from their home in Athens, in disgrace.


But now Leo Parnassus is back in Athens and looking for revenge. He takes Angel as his mistress, determined to bed her and then discard her in as public a manner as possible.


What he doesn't count on is Angel's innocence...in every way.


Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

The Virgin’s Secret by Abby Green was a sensual and riveting read. It was also connected to the author’s recent release, Ruthless Greek Boss, Secretary Mistress. Revenge and getting even was the main theme of the book between two Greek families the Parnassus and the Kassianides.

Leo Parnassus for me was like no other alpha. He was extremely handsome, charismatic, wealthy in his own right and should have grown up in Greece. However, his family including his grandmother were exiled to North America because one of their own was accused wrongly by the Kassianides. Now years later due to his father’s hard work to clear the family name and along with that make the Parassus shipping business worth millions, Leo is called back to Greece to take over his father’s firm and for the first time in his life, steps on Greece soil. On the eve he is to be announced the head of the family business, he meets a waitress who takes his breath away and he kisses her. When Angel realizes who he is she flees his villa and then the worse thing happens, he finds out her identify, that she is a Kassianides. That she’s from the very same family who cost him so much of his childhood; his mother’s death, his father’s affection and not allowing his beloved grandmother to return to Greece.

Angel Kassianides was not only a beautiful and talented woman, she was devoted to her sister Delphi. Her first love was designing and making jewelry but she had to give that up to help send her sister to law school and support her family. Angel worked hard taking menial jobs. On top of that, her abusive father had turned to the bottle because of his families down fall. And just when you think nothing more can happen her sister finds her self pregnant and unable to marry her childhood sweetheart. His family won’t allow it due to the Kassianides scandal. Angel is determined to give her sister everything she wants no matter what the cost.

Leo and Angel were destined to meet, destined to be together and their love story is powerful yet very painful to read. The plot was brilliant, a family feud, passion that sizzles off the pages, anger, mistrust all of the ingredients for a roller coaster romance. So when Angel finds out that her father has broken into Leo’s villa and has the power to destroy and humiliate the Parassus family yet again, she takes the document he has in his possession and tries to sneak it back into the office at the villa. Of course, she’s caught by Leo, they argue, they kiss and he demands his revenge in the form of payment; he wants, no he desires her and demands she become his mistress! What Leo doesn't count on is her inexperience and he’s floored when he finds out she’s a virgin.

Angel has one condition for becoming his mistress. She insists that Leo makes the marriage happen for her sister and he agrees. However, not before parading her before Greece’s high society, humiliating her, flaunting their relationship especially before her father at the wedding and causing her fathers’ wrath. And this wonderful and sweet Angel, takes it all not just for her sister but because in the end she realizes no matter what she loves Leo but also realizes he’ll never love her back. However, now that her sister is married will Leo’s revenge be to discard her like the trash? Her mother had abandoned her at a young age, her father treated her cruelly and would Leo do the same? Leo struggled with emotion, his feelings and he struggled with his need for Angel and Ms. Green portrays those emotions brilliantly!

Author Abby Green charmed me with this beautifully crafted romance.   Reading about Leo letting go of his past and accepting his feelings of love for Angel was amazing to read.  The Virgin’s Secret is quite an extraordinary love story, so full of emotions and secrets, harsh secrets one will find hard to read.  In the end, this wonderful romance is about trust, forgiveness, acceptance and love.  It's a keeper, one I'll read over and over again.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book per Abby Green:

"This book was born out of my last UK release: Ruthless Greek Boss, Secretary Mistress. My hero in that book, Aristotle Levakis, does a big deal with a recently repatriated Greek titan of industry in Athens, and I suddenly found myself wondering if this man who had been in exile in the US all his life, had children? And what would it be like if he had a son who was coming to Greece - his ancestral homeland for the first time? Then I wondered what could have driven this family from Greece in the first place…and came up with a plot.

Leonidas Parnassus comes to Athens for the first time in his life and is blown away by the pull it has on him when he spent his life growing up in the states. Also he is stunned at the strength of hatred he feels for the family who were responsible for his family’s misfortune and enforced exile. For the first time he can really appreciate what he’s missed.

On his first week in Athens he meets a lowly waitress, Angel, and is captivated by her. But then he finds out that she is not just a waitress; she is the daughter of his family’s sworn enemy. And Leo vows to have his revenge…even though Angel is innocent, in all respects."   Abby


Abby Green's website

MARRIAGE: FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE – Nicola Marsh

Author:     Nicola Marsh
Release month:
   Harlequin Modern Heat - UK - December 2009
   Harlequin Sexy Sensation - Australia - October 2009
   Harlequin Presents Extra - USA - June 2010


The S-Factor:  Sexy

Back Blurb:

Brittany Lloyd faces the deal of a lifetime…with the ex who broke her heart—Italian tycoon Nick Mancini. Little does she know that her rebellious bad boy is now a multimillionaire….


Nick can't believe his eyes! His red-haired wildcat has become a businesswoman, with designer suits to match. She needs his help…and he wants her. So he proposes a convenient marriage—strictly business, of course!


Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Nicola Marsh has penned an outstanding love story in Marriage: For Business or Pleasure? It is evident that Ms. Marsh is incredibly talented when it comes to writing stories guaranteed to inflame the senses of her readers

Nick and Brittany had a past as 10 years ago they were lovers. For Nick she was the one but he sent her away.   However, Britt was determined to leave because of an abusive father and when she asked Nick to go with her, he turned her down. Now ten years later she’s back with a proposition to the Mancini’s and if they agree, she’ll get the promotion she’s determined to get putting her at the top of her field in advertising..

Nick is now the only Mancini running the family sugar cane plantation he inherited from his father. He has also become a millionaire and own several five star hotels. He can’t believe Britt has come back home and when he hears her proposal he ups the anty by offering her marriage because in order to branch out internationally if he’s married he won’t portray a playboy image. Britt still affects him but Nick doesn’t believe in love. He didn’t love her ten years ago, he felt he lusted after her. To him love meant loss, loneliness, and pain emotions he could do without.  The women in his life walked away and the only thing he knew for sure was the Mancini plantation and his hotel chain.

Ten years of wasted time away from each other for this couple, years of hurt, pain, misunderstanding and they’ve both kept secrets from each other. While Britt was here in Australia they had eight weeks together, plus she needed to visit her father and try to make amends before he died. All of the abusive memories came flooding back to her and when she saw her father, nothing had changed, he was still the same mean and angry man she left ten years earlier. So now she wants to focus on her career and that meant speding time at her new husband, out at the plantation where it all began, making her pitch to get her promotion. Can her heart stand being around the love of her life?  Yes, because they become intimate and she realizes how much she loves this man and how if would hurt to much to leave him again.  She wants it all and most important of all, his love.

His “red” still affects him; nothing has changed that fact.   However, keeping his hands off her was becoming more difficult; the stolen kisses, touching and now she was his wife and after having her, he wanted it all.  But first he had to settle the score with her father.  Back then he had the need to show the town and Britt he could be a success and now he's determined  to become a success in the international market as well.

And then things start to unravel; secrets, trust issues cause it all to explode in their faces. Nick realizes he loves her and trys to prove it but she in the end she leaves and returns to London. The ending surprised me because I had hoped all would end well for this couple. I didn’t think I would shed a tear……wrong!  I admired this Italian bad-boys stamina to get the woman he loved back. Hold on to your heart, because the ending chapters will surprise you.

Nicola Marsh ties everything together and made this the most magnificent love story taking their past into the future, giving the reader a romantic story full of second chances.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn


Behind the Book from I(Heart)Presents

From Authors Website:


Nicola Marsh’s Website

A USA Today Bestseller

THE GREEK TYCOON’S RELUCTANT BRIDE - Kate Hewitt (Greek Husbands)

Author: Kate Hewitt
Line: Harlequin Presents Extra/Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America: Feb 2010/ UK: Jan 2009
The S-Factor: Simmering and Stormy

Back Blurb:

Darkly handsome Demos Atrikes wants a wife to provide heirs to his fortune. No emotions, no complications…

Catching sight of stunning, intriguing Althea Paranoussis, he has to have her. She may be a society party girl, but he believes she's perfect wife material—and their wedding is arranged.

The chemistry between them is all-consuming. But once married, Demos discovers the painful truth of Althea's childhood. She needs more from him than he'd ever planned to give….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

The Greek Tycoon’s Reluctant Bride by Kate Hewitt is an extremely powerful story where emotions run high and that’s putting it mildly!

The way the author introduces her hero, Demos Atrikes was amazing. In the Prologue, one learns that at the early age of twelve, Demos’s father left the family leaving him responsible for his mother and sisters. And then a wonderful thing happenes, Demos met a wealthy Englishman who mentored him, allowing him to work so he could help support his family. His mentor also sent him off to school where he became a marine architect and now he builds yachts and is a very successful and well respected millionaire.

Demos’s character I adored as I could see his strength, and his determination to take care of his family. And now he realizes that maybe he needs to give up his playboy life style, marry, move forward and set an example for his youngest troubled sister. The author shows so many of Demos emotions such as the guilt he feels towards Brianna, his young sister who clings to him and his need to find someone strong who doesn’t depend on him.

One evening while attending a business associates party , he sees a beautiful and vibrant young woman, a siren with sex appeal and immediately he’s attractted to her. He wants her and he’s determined to take her out. Let’s just say for Demos it becomes a challenge to find out her identity and more about her. She interests him because he feels she’s strong, sexy, somewhat of a wild child. She’s someone he won’t have to take care of like he’s had to do for his family. He can just enjoy her and get to know her.

Althea Paranoussis is one of the most unsual heroines I think I’ve ever read about as she has so many secrets that have mapped out who she’s become, a woman who appears to be strong but is tormented. A spoilt socialite, who embarrasses her father through bad press. She wants someone to see her for who she is but Demos sees her beauty, how vibrant she is and decides he wants an uncomplicated life with a wife that will excite him and not drag him down with the need to cling.

When Demos finds out from his mentor that her father has arranged a marriage for her, he approaches him with an offer her father can’t refuse. Althea’s father threatens to throw her out on the streets if she doesn’t marry Demos and it becomes clear to her she’s trapped. In the end, Althea accepts because for her Demos gives her options and hope that maybe she has a chance to live, to escape her past, and move forward.

She’s numb during her wedding and at their reception. And then on their wedding night everything unravels because of her past. Demos is shocked by his new wife’s behaviour as he thought he was marrying an experienced woman. Their wedding night sets so many things in motion and Demos won’t stand for what’s happened and demands they go on a honeymoon to get to know each other and become a couple. Horrible secrets are revealed which makes one wonder if they have a chance. When they finally make head way because of Demos patience with his new bride, if gives one hope. And then the most horrible thing happens, they are called back to Athens due to a family suicide attempt. Because of the family guilt Demos has been carrying, he rejects Althea as he can’t take one more person depending upon him.

Through a new strength gained because she knew she loved Demos and with a new found determination, Althea convinces her husband not to give up, they can have a future. She forces him to see they both love each other. All I can say is that Kate Hewitt has written an engrossing plot with shocking twists and turns and I found myself on the edge of the seat. It’s takes two people so opposite yet meant to be and in the end the most wonderful happy ending.

Hero Hotness Factor♥♥♥♥♥
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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book From I(heart)Presents:

THE VENADICCI MARRIAGE VENGEANCE – Melanie Milburne (Latin Lovers)

Author: MELANIE MILBURNE
Line: Harlequin Presents Extra/Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North Ameriica: Feb 2010/ UK: May 2009
The S-Factor: Sizzling and Sensual

Back Blurb:

Wedded for revenge, bedded for pleasure!

Gabriella St Clair is desperate: she and her family face financial ruin. One man can help her. But he’s the very man who wants to see her beg...

Merciless tycoon Vinn Venadicci had a heart once. But after an encounter with the young, spoilt hotel heiress Gabriella, any feelings he had were locked away for ever. Now she’s on his doorstep --- pleading. He could send her packing. Or finally have a little vengeance of his own. After all, Gabriella Venadicci has quite a ring to it.

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Melanie Milburne takes her readers on a sensual and emotional journey with The Venadicci Marriage Vengeance. It’s a very engrossing and emotional love story.

For Vinn Venadicci it was going to be a pleasure to tame the woman who he couldn’t seem to forget and now she was going to become his wife after seven long years. Vinn’s mother was the St. Clairs housekeeper and during her teenage years Gariella had taunted him and on the eve of her wedding when he asked her not to marry because he knew the truth about her husband, she refused but not before kissing him back. And then he knew someday they had to be together, even though she was marrying out of duty to her family and to a family friend.

He was ruthless, rich and had the power to save her father’s company and the choice was hers as Vinn gave her only one option……to marry him. Gabby agrees for her parents sake but she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She might marry him but he was definitely not going to have her. In her youth she had been shallow and cruel to Vinn, had taunted him and now she thought he was going to get even with her. However, she needs Vinn to settle and save her father’s company as someone is calling in the loan and trying to take the company. What Gabby doesn’t know is who and the secrets concerning the takeover. All she knows is due to her father being hospitalized, he can’t take one more stressful event in his life.

The sexual chemistry between Vinn and Gabby leaps off the pages. She can’t seem to control her temper around him where Vinn controls his quite well. Is he out for revenge because of the way she treated him in the past? Has there always been an underlying attraction to this Italian bad boy by this spoiled rich girl? Yes to both but you will absolutely not believe how spectacular their love story is and how they work though their past, their present and their future.

Their marriage begins with all sorts of barbs, accussations and the honeymoon, well let’s just say, Ms. Milburne wrote one romantic masterpiece. My heart ached for them both because trying to read between the lines, I sincerely believed they must have loved each other all of those years ago when Vinn had visited her brother and his mother at their mansion. All of those years of Gabby teasing, taunting and making fun of him. And now, the tables are turned because their time honeymoon spent together at the St. Clair’s island resort had their emotions skyrocketing! When Gabby reveals about her abussive marriage and Vinn reveals a few things himself, you actually wonder how they can make this marriage work.

In the end, it was about forgiveness, understanding and accepting each other, loving each other. The Venadicci Marriage Vengeance is one incredible romance and gives one a new meaning to second chances.

Hero Hotness Factor♥♥♥♥♥
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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book at I(Heart)Presents:

VALENTINE BRIDE - Christine Rimmer

Title: VALENTINE BRIDE

Author: CHRISTINE RIMMER

Line: Silhouette Special Edition

Release month: February

The S-Factor: Sensational and Sensuous

Back-Blurb:

FROM HOUSEKEEPER TO BLUSHING BRIDE?

Regal, reserved Irina Lukovic was the perfect live-in housekeeper. Until she found out she was being sent back to her war-torn homeland. So Caleb Bravo came up with the ideal solution…one where they’d still be living together on a more permanent basis…The handsome bachelor proposed!

Irina couldn’t believe that the footloose mogul was giving up his freedom for her. But now that they were officially husband and wife, she suddenly yearned to belong to Caleb in more than name only. To be his wife…in every sense of the word…

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

If I counted right, this is the fourteenth Bravo Family Ties book Christine Rimmer has written. It is every bit as good as the first one -- no, it's even better.

It’s a good thing Caleb came home when he did, that afternoon. Or Irina would have been gone, and he’d have had one horrible time finding her. Actually, he has one horrible time convincing her that the best thing to do is to stay and marry him.

I have to hand it to Irina. She’s frightened out of her mind, the last place she wants to go back to is the awful country that she came from, where unspeakable things happen – to everyone. . . But she stands up for herself to Caleb. She doesn’t just let him dictate what she’s supposed to do. She makes conditions for their marriage, and she makes him promise to stick to them.

So who breaks the conditions first? What are they doing when the woman from Immigration shows up first thing in the morning? How does Caleb gain her trust so that she tells him about the things that happened to her in Argovia?

The farther along I read in this book the more I fell a little in love with Caleb myself. He was strong and sure of himself, yet gentle, and confident enough to allow himself to agree to the conditions Irina set in their marriage without it causing damage to his ego.

How does he go about finding out who set Immigration on her in the first place without breaking his promises to her?

In the end there was one huge WOW! that surprised me almost speechless. Actually, there were two surprises. . .

Those of you who are regular Bravo readers will be very satisfied with this book, and for those of you who have yet to read one of Christine Rimmer’s books, I encourage you to pick this book up today. You will not be disappointed. Christine’s expertise in finding the surprising hook leaps off the page and grabs you when you least expect it. This is a real page-turner! A book that will keep your attention from cover to cover!

Hero Hotness Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Humor Factor: ♥♥♥
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Reviewed by Donna B

EMERGENCY: PARENTS NEEDED

Title: EMERGENCY: PARENTS NEEDED

Author: JESSICA MATTHEWS

Line: Mills & Boon Medical 2 in 1

Release month: February

The S-Factor: Sweet and Sexy

Back-Blurb:

Paramedic Joe Donatelli finds himself caring for a baby daughter he never knew existed, but what does a dedicated bachelor know about babies? It takes bubbly colleague Maggie to make this sinfully handsome man realize he really can be a good father…and husband!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Maggie Randall has almost gotten to the point where she hates to go to the job she loves. Why? Her new partner, that’s why. Joe is only her temporary partner, but he seems to think he can tell her what to do at every turn. And if she offers an opinion, he picks apart everything she says and does. So when she learns he has taken some personal time, does she go on her way rejoicing? No. She makes chicken soup and takes it to his home, thinking that the only reason he would take personal time is because he must be sick. What does she find when she gets to his house?

The always-right Joe is at his wits’ end. A tiny scrap of a girl, just a few months old has brought him to his knees. Does he welcome Maggie with open arms? Is this the start of something wonderful? Or is he still going to be his usual do-it-my-way guy?

Jessica does her usual magic and turns a few words into a heart-warming story of how two people come together to save a tiny child from the world’s woes, and end up living happily ever after. The tension between Maggie and Joe makes you tingle from head to toe. So, do they ever find out if Joe really is Breanna’s father?

Another wonderful read from Jessica Matthews, with realistic and believable characters, this book will warm your heart, (and have you looking at paramedics in a new light). Emergency: Parents Needed is definitely something you need to pick up on your next trip to the book store.

Hero Hotness Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Humor Factor: ♥♥♥
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Reviewed by Donna B

CHICKASAW COUNTY CAPTIVE - Paula Graves

Title: CHICKASAW COUNTY CAPTIVE

Author: PAULA GRAVES

Line: Harlequin Intrigue

Release month: February

The S-Factor: Scary and Satisfying

Back-Blurb:

WHO’S AFTER HIS CHILD?

When someone tries to kidnap his daughter, Jefferson County D.A. Sam Cooper sees red. He wants little Maddy protected, at any cost. Even if that cost includes working with a distractingly attractive detective, Kristen Tandy. He knows Kristen wants to solve the case…so why does she try so hard to stay distant from him and his little girl? Remaining professional is something he fully understands, but the emotional—and physical—scars Kristen tries to hide make Sam deeply interested in turning things personal. And the more protection Kristen offers his daughter, the more her closely guarded vulnerability draws him in. Before long, as the truth of her past is slowly revealed, Sam realizes just how desperate someone is for her to remain silent. . .

One family determined to do what’s right. COOPER JUSTICE

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

I thought the first book in this series was exciting. This book is even more intriguing. After all, who wouldn’t find a child’s abduction heart-wrenchingly agonizing.

The first attempt at Maddy’s abduction leaves her cousin in a coma in the hospital. How does Maddy escape detection? What causes her to try this again?

Sam is beside himself with worry when it appears that Maddy has been kidnapped. What does Kristen remember from her childhood that helps her figure out where Maddy is?

Kristen does not want to remember her childhood, but it seems like remembering is the only way to figure out how to keep Maddy safe, and she loves that little girl like she was her own. Who’s arrival causes even more turmoil – and causes Maddy to hide again?

Paula Graves is a master at intrigue. The twists she brings into this story almost make your heart stop. She does such a wonderful job of masking the real villain that you don’t figure out who it is until the very end. An excellent second book for the Cooper Justice series, Chickasaw County Captive also stands alone beautifully.

Hero Hotness Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor: ♥♥♥♥♥
Humor Factor:
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Reviewed by: Donna B

HER LONE COWBOY - Donna Alward

Title: HER LONE COWBOY

Author: DONNA ALWARD

Line: Harlequin Romance
Release month March ‘10

The S-Factor: Sensitive and Sensual

Back-Blurb:

“Grouchy Noah was a challenge, but a Noah who started to trust Lily was far more difficult to handle…”

Noah Laramie has come back home to run Lazy L Ranch. Injured and now out of the army, he wants to shut himself off from the world.

Lily Germaine is just there to help him, but loner Noah is the most stubborn-as-a-mule man she’s ever met. Losing an arm doesn’t mean he has to lose sight of who he is. His courage, strength and loyalty make him one in a million. She just needs to convince him of that…

The Laramie brothers are coming home to Lazy L Ranch…

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Her Lone Cowboy is book 2 in the Cowboys and Confetti miniseries by this author. It is a powerful story, written about the love and loneliness of someone so courageous he was willing to give his life for his country – then he met Lily.

Noah has lost his right arm in a skirmish in the war. He’s lost his arm, but he saved his men. Does that make him feel any better? No. He still feels it was his fault that they were there in the first place. So here he is, trying to re-learn how to do everything with his left hand, and not succeeding very well. He’s grouchy, he’s frustrated. . . and then the doorbell rings. You just know something’s going to happen. What a hook! We’re only on page two, and I am NOT putting this book down!

Lily is used to belligerence and surliness -- after all, she teaches home-economics at the local high school. Does she let him get away with snarling at her? Does she meekly do as he wants her to do? Not Lily! She stands right up, looks him in the eye and gives as good as she gets. She does not let him get away with anything just because he’s missing part of one arm. She makes him take a good long look at himself, and answer some hard questions.

Once Noah realizes he can trust Lily, he won’t let anyone else help him with anything. She has to go with him when he gets fitted for the tuxedo he has to wear for his brother’s wedding. So how does Lily handle measuring his inseam? How do they work it out for him to hold her while they dance? What decision does he make, in the end, regarding his career?

Lily is so afraid, because of the things in her background, yet, in the end, she digs deep into her soul for the courage to say “yes” to Noah. Noah learns that he is still a very valuable person, in his own eyes, in the eyes of his family, his friends, and his country.

Donna Alward treats the very sensitive topic of amputation with finesse and delicacy. She presents the emotions in this book with such strength as to almost bring you to your knees. Once again she has gifted us with a book impossible to set down. This Larch Valley series has magically taken us to a most beautiful part of our country, with believable characters, passion, and drama, and I truly hope that Donna will honor us with another title from here very soon.

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

Reviewed by Donna B

QUARTERBACK DADDY - Linda Barrett

Title: QUARTERBACK DADDY

Author: LINDA BARRETT

Line: Harlequin Superromance

Release month: February

The S-Factor: Satisfying and Sensuous

Back-Blurb:

A party-loving sports figure is not an ideal parent in Alexis Brown’s eyes. Too bad quarterback Dan Delito is the only parent her niece has. Alexis isn’t in a position to raise the baby on her own, which means she needs Dan’s help. And that means she’ll have to make nice with the unsuitable man. Fine.

Much to Alexis’s surprise, however, Dan is good with his daughter. He also knows he needs help, so he convinces Alexis to act as a nanny until he gets this parenting thing down. And soon their uneasy friendship changes into an unlikely romance. But can a football player, a lawyer and a baby really make a family?

Life will never be the same.

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

“MURDER-SUICIDE ENDS WITH BABY BORN IN AMBULANCE”

Now if that isn’t the best hook ever, I don’t know what is. After that opening line, I was not about to set this book down, no matter what my husband thought he needed – like sustenance. . .

Alexis Brown’s sister had been murdered, but before she died, she gave birth to the baby Alexis was now raising. She’d used up all the time she had available, so she really needed to get back to work. But what could she do with the baby while she was at work? There is no way she could afford to pay someone to babysit, not with all her student loans and other financial burdens. Was now the time she needed to use the name her sister had whispered in her ear with her last breath?

I have to hand it to Dan. When confronted with the evidence of his fatherhood, he immediately took responsibility. But why was Alexis so reluctant to believe he was sincere? How did Alexis get along with Dan’s family? Why was she so determined to not like football? What grief held Dan in such a grip as to render him almost incapable of action?

What is the final secret that Alexis reveals to Dan at the very end of the book? Does it have anything to do with them getting together or not?

Like I said at the beginning, this story started out with a hook so strong as to make the book almost impossible to put down once you read the first page. Linda Barrett started strong, remained strong through the middle, and finished even more strong.

This is not Linda’s first book, as you can tell. Her excellent command of the written word can only have come from her love of her work, and her passion for it. This is a story written from the bottom of her heart, it has you laughing on one page, crying on the next, and both laughing and crying together on still the next page. It is going straight onto my keeper shelf. I would recommend it to anyone.

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

Reviewed by: Donna B

Marriage: For Business or Pleasure? - Nicola Marsh

Author: Nicola Marsh

Line: Harlequin Presents

Release Date: February 2010

The S-Factor: Sensual

Back-Blurb:

Brittany Lloyd faces the deal of a lifetime…with the ex who broke her heart—Italian tycoon Nick Mancini. Little does she know that her rebellious bad boy is now a multimillionaire….Nick can't believe his eyes!

His red-haired wildcat has become a businesswoman, with designer suits to match. She needs his help…and he wants her. So he proposes a convenient marriage—strictly business, of course!

Review:

You're bound to enjoy the latest steamy sizzler by USA Today best-selling author Nicola Marsh: Marriage: For Business or Pleasure?

Nick Mancini and Brittany Lloyd had been childhood sweethearts, but the differences in their social backgrounds had managed to come between them and push them apart. Broken-hearted Brittany had left the Australian town of Jacaranda for London, putting all of her energy and her time into her job; whilst bad boy rebel from the wrong side of the tracks Nick had worked hard to become one of the richest men in the country. Nick and Brittany think that they will never see each other again...but the past calls Brittany back to Jacaranda, where she has to face her past - and the man she has never stopped loving!

With her job on the line, Brittany needs Nick's assistance to help her transform his home into a viable business. But Nick is not about to let Brittany waltz back into his life without paying for all the pain and suffering she put him through! Although, Nick is now rich beyond his wildest dreams, his fellow businessmen still treat him like the boy from the slums. He needs to be accepted by the Australian jet-set - and he needs a refined, classy and sophisticated woman like Brittany on his arm if he is to be taken more seriously! So, he strikes up a deal with Brittany: he will sell her his property, if she becomes his wife!

Backed into a corner, Brittany accepts Nick's proposition. Their marriage might be strictly business, but their passion is anything but convenient!

Will the past continue to hold Nick and Brittany captive? Or will they have the courage to move on and embrace their future...together?

Nicola Marsh heats up your winter nights with this blazingly sensual tale of lost love, second chances and old secrets! In Marriage: For Business or Pleasure? , Nicola Marsh blends hot sensuality with tender romance, witty humour and nail-biting drama which will keep readers eagerly turning the pages of this spellbinding contemporary romance!

Hero Hotness Factor ♥♥♥♥♥

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Awww Factor ♥♥♥♥♥

Humour Factor ♥♥♥♥

Weepy Factor ♥♥♥

PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE – Caitlin Crews (Bride on Approval)

Author: Caitlin Crews
Line: Harlequin Presents/Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America: Feb 2010/UK: Jan 2010
The S-Factor: Sensual

Back-Blurb:

As quiet and dangerous as a jungle cat, achieving the impossible is one of Luc Garnier's defining characteristics.

Princess Gabrielle is invaluable—a pearl beyond price. Yet Luc has defied the odds, and a contract for marriage is drawn up. This will be a union on paper first, and in the bedroom later….

Except Gabrielle is just the same in private as in public—well-bred, well behaved and a credit to her country. Luc is determined to find the wanton within and leave his pure princess in total disarray!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

For Luke Garnier it was all about a proper marriage, a marriage without scandal like his parents, a marriage where he was in control, a royal marriage with the perfect princess, one of breeding.  In fact, to make sure his future wife would cause no scandals nor find herself in the tabloids he personally followed her to make sure she would be worthy of becoming his wife. Now as he watches her walk down the isle, she takes his breath away and he’s absolutely positive he’s made the right choice. She’s regal, elegant and beautiful, the perfect bride.

Gabrielle, the Princess of Miravakia lost her mother at an early age and always first and foremost tried to please her father. She spent years trying to earn his love, was the King’s perfect hostess and still there was no acceptance from him. Now on behalf of his daughter he’s signed a contract for an arranged marriage unbeknown to her. She marries Luc Garnier, because her father demands it. However, she panics immediately after the wedding reception and feels the urgent need to get away from this man who affects in physical ways she can’t explain….he’s so powerful, stern, handsome and the emotions he stirs in her confuse her and what he expects of her, she’s frightened. In spite of Luc and her father, she flees.

Luc was a handsome, hard, fierce and a ruthless business man. However, under all of that hardness one senses while reading this particular story he’s protecting his heart because of what he suffered during his youth. It becomes evident when he chases his new wife to California because she ran out on him, causing them to be splashed all over the tabloids. His perfect princess has made a fool of him just like his mother did to his father and he’s not going to stand for it. His wife will do as he says and she will be his wife in every sense of the word. What this handsome, successful billionaire didn’t realize was the attractions he would feel towards her and how much he would want her. Luc was magic to Gabrielle and she was afraid that he would hurt her and in the end she would loose herself.

For a debut romance, Caitlin Crews has written a brilliant royal romance, a roller coaster romance with extremely intense emotions oozing from both Luc and Gabrielle. I enjoyed reading Pure Princess, Bartered Bride, loved reading about them becoming comfortable with each other. Luc and Gabrielle were both intense characters because of their scared pasts but in the end, it was so moving when Gabrielle realizes she loves her husband and the lengths she goes to protect him. And for Luc, scandal and betrayal were always at the back of his mind. So when he feels betrayed he lashes out and let me tell Luc’s rage was very hard to read.

As with all love stories, Luc and Gabrielle’s was one I shall long remember. In the ending scenes as Ms. Crews states, Gabrielle says “she spent her whole life loving someone who could not love her in return.” She said, “I think love is feeling free. Not hidden away, not afraid. But finally whole – together.”

Hero Hotness Factor♥♥♥♥♥
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Awww Factor♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor ♥♥♥♥♥
Weepy Factor♥♥♥
USA Today Best Seller
Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book and Author’s Call Story

Caitlin’s website:

BLAZING BEDTIME STORIES: VOLUME III: YOU HAVE TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS - Tawny Weber

Title: BLAZING BEDTIME STORIES: VOLUME III -- YOU HAVE TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS (ANTHOLOGY)
Author: TAWNY WEBER
Line: HARLEQUIN BLAZE
Release month ( North America/ UK / Australia): North America - January
The S-Factor: ( Sizzling! / Simmering / Sweet) Sizzling
Back-Blurb:

Fan favorites Tori Carrington and Tawny Weber invite you to indulge in two tales of love, adventure…and really hot sex!

The Body That Launched a Thousand Ships by Tori Carrington

Elena Anastasios is finally going to get her fairy-tale wedding. Little does she know that ultra-hot Ari Metaxas is about to steal her away from her groom-to-be. Or that he intends to give her multiple mind-blowing reasons to believe that he's the better man!

You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs… by Tawny Weber

Reporter Sebastian Lane knows he's tangled with the wrong woman when she puts a curse on him to lose his sexual mojo! It's going to take a real woman to save him. Luckily, Jordan Olliver has a weakness for Sebastian, warts and all….

Review: ♥♥♥♥

Ms. Weber crafts another sexy page turner with YOU HAVE TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS.

Sebastian Lane's fighting both the curse that's put a damper on his sex life and his sudden attraction to the boss' daughter in close confines. Ever since that gypsy put a curse on him, he's been unable to be the 'playboy' everyone thinks he is. What he needs is a weekend away and a chance to try and figure out what's going on with him, but the cabin has an unexpected occupant when he arrives: the beautiful boss' daughter, Jordan. Finding himself alone with Jordan for the weekend may have been a dream come true, if it wasn't for the curse.

Jordan Olliver needs a weekend away from the stress of working for her father's magazine where she keeps continually being passed over. Despite her best attempts, her father would rather she get involved with the 'golden boy' at the magazine, Sebastian, so he has someone to pass the magazine over to whenever he decides to step aside. But Jordan's determined that her father see her true worth and has one goal—to get the column that's up for grabs and get her father's attention that way. But the weekend away turns from a chance to recharge to a chance for seduction when Sebastian shows up unexpectedly.

Sebastian and Jordan are a well matched pair. When Sebastian sees the truth behind Jordan's working at Machismo, a way to try and attempt to prove herself to her abrasive father, he realizes he's been wrong about her and tries to find a way to help her professionally. Jordan is unknowingly the catalyst for breaking the gypsy's curse. The chemistry between Sebastian and Jordan is strong and almost leaps off the page. I loved the scene where she appears on the stairs in just a towel, unsure whether or not she should go through with attempting to seduce Sebastian, unaware of the curse that hampers him.

Ms. Weber creates a wonderfully sexy and enjoyable story in the short confines of YOU HAVE TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS.

Reviewed by: Lis


Hero Hotness Factor ♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor ♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor (will they have a happily ever after) ♥♥♥♥♥
Humour Factor♥♥♥
Weepy Factor ♥

CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING - Paula Graves

Title: CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING

Author: PAULA GRAVES

Line: Harlequin Intrigue

Release month: January

The S-Factor: Scary and Sensuous

Back-Blurb:

Her lips were sealed until the long arm of the law cracked them wide open.

What was supposed to be a quiet vacation in scenic Wyoming turned deadly when Hannah Cooper became the target of a serial killer. Although she survived the attack, the ordeal was far from over. But she wasn’t alone. Not when Riley Patterson appointed himself her protector.

Beneath Riley’s strapping, solemn exterior hid a hard-driving sheriff who would stop at nothing to catch a killer. He promised Hannah safety, but it was the danger he posed that drew her in. Riley was as much a mystery as the man who sought to take her life. Trapped on his ranch, with no one but each other to trust, only justice could set them free. . .and possibly separate them forever.

Cooper Justice. One family determined to do what’s right.

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Hannah Cooper was on vacation. She’d gone to Wyoming to do a little fishing with her friends. . . (and maybe get away from her six brothers for a bit?) So why would someone try to kill her? What advice from her brother does she make use of to get away from the killer?

If she wasn’t even attacked in his district, why was Riley called when the facts of Hannah’s attack became known? Why was he so interested in what Hannah had been through? Who was Jack? And why was his opinion so important to Riley?

Here we have a hero and heroine who have real human faults, yet they also have common sense, and they use their common sense to help them find the solution to the horrifying set of incidents that happen to Hannah with increasing regularity.

Paula Graves’ expertise in writing intrigue is second to none. From the first page to the last the story unfolded with one heart-stopping, dramatic, occurrence after another. Not only does Paula write excellent intrigue, she also has some top notch advice for women who travel alone.

This is the first book in her miniseries Cooper Justice. The second book is also already out, entitled Chickasaw County Captive. If you love Case File: Canyon Creek, Wyoming, then you will surely also love Chickasaw County Captive.

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

Reviewed by: Donna B

THE BLACKMAILED BRIDE’S SECRET CHILD – Rachel Bailey

Author:                Rachel Bailey
Line:                   Silhouette Desire
Release month    February 2010
The S-Factor:      Sexy

Back-Blurb:

Nico Jordan's world shattered when his lover Beth betrayed him by marrying his brother. Now, seven years later, Nico wants some answers. But that's not all he wants. When he lays eyes on Beth again, the overwhelming desire he once had for her comes surging back.

Beth never forgot the only man she's ever loved—or the scandal that surrounded their union. Although their attraction is still strong, Beth knows she must resist his advances. Succumbing to even just one night of unrelenting lust could unravel her secret—a secret that would threaten more than their relationship.

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Author Rachel Bailey has written an extremely heated and entertaining romance in The Blackmailed Bride’s Secret Child. It’s about secrets, betrayal and second chances set in beautiful New Zealand’s wine country.

As I began reading this wonderful romance I asked myself would I be able to walk away from the love of my life, to sacrifice happiness to keep a secret that I knew would destroy him. Well that’s what Beth did because her lover Nico’s brother Kent, blacked mailed her into marrying him and whisked her away from Australia and took her to New Zealand. Now the very evil step-brother Kent has passed away and who should arrive on her doorstep but Nico himself to provide his condolences from his father and him.

Nico Jordan is determined to have Beth in his bed again. He’s here on his father’s behalf for two reasons, to meet his nephew, persuade Beth to allow access to his father to see his grandchild and to attend the launch of a new Jordan wine. However, his main goal is to bed Beth. And then walk away. He doesn’t give her much of a choice because unbeknown to him, Beth still loves him. He taunts her, demands to take her to the launch and then keeps touching her and she succumbs to his charms and spends the night with him. Always first and foremost in her mind is that she can’t let Nico meet Marco because when he does, he’ll realize he’s Marco’s father.

There were so many secrets to the fabulous love story. For Nico, Beth still takes his breath away even though he fights it because he feels so betrayed that she left him for his brother and he can’t seem to let it go. For Beth, she needs to find the papers her deceased husband has left hidden so that Nico and his father aren’t hurt by that secret she’s been keeping. Also, the fact that Marco is Nico’s son and she still loves Nico.

When the inevitable happens, and Nico accidentally meets Marco, well everything changes. Their meeting will have you weeping, Ms. Bailey’s has written such and sweet and moving meeting of father and son. However, it’s the heartache for Beth, seeing father and son and knowing they would probably never be a family unit because of her betrayal and hurt she caused Nico. Be prepared for this roller coaster romance because you’ll wonderful if Nico will ever be able to forgive Beth and give her a second chance.

The Blackmailed Bride’s Secret Child more then satisfies readers by giving them a fully developed love story in a short contemporary romance.

Hero Hotness Factor♥♥♥♥♥
Heroine Lovability Factor♥♥♥♥♥
Awww Factor♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor ♥♥♥♥♥
Weepy Factor♥♥♥
Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book:

Author Rachel Bailey says in Dear Reader "There's something about a tortured hero, something I find irresistible.  And my heroine B eth, finds Nico Jordan quite irresistible too--so I know she'll need a very good reason to have left him five years ago (though he wasn't tortured back then, just the plain old garden-variety irresistible!)  Luckily Nico finds Beth just as tempting."

Rachel also spent some time in the Marlborough region of New Zealand researching and wine tasting.  What great fun!

THE TEXAS BILLIONAIRE'S BABY - Karen Rose Smith

Title: THE TEXAS BILLIONAIRE’S BABY

Author: KAREN ROSE SMITH

Line: Silhouette Special Edition

Release month: March

The S-Factor: Simmering and Satisfying

Back-Blurb:

After fourteen years, Gina Rigoletti had finally returned to Sagebrush, ready to start a new life as the town’s first baby development specialist – and finally forget her haunted past.

Then Logan Barnes walked back into her life. . .

Desperate to help his baby, Logan had no choice but to turn to Gina and her expertise. The sexy widower wasn’t sure he wanted to put his trust – or his son – in the hands of the woman who’d once broken his heart. But seeing little Daniel in Gina’s capable arms slowly melted the barriers he’d put up, and made him wonder if her homecoming might be the second chance he’d always longed for. . .

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

The Texas Billionaire’s Baby opens with Gina, heart pounding, walking into the unknown. She’d been in this house before, many years ago, but so much had happened, she’d changed, and she was sure Logan would have, also. She wouldn’t be doing this if it wouldn’t be such a huge boost to her new business.

Would she be able to work with Logan and his son? What was wrong with the child? Why did Logan need a child development specialist? Would the attraction than drew them together before still be there?

Karen Rose Smith grabs your attention right from the start, and holds it in the grip of her wonderful way with words. The story unfolds before you in heart-stopping sequence as the tension between Gina and Logan builds and builds. Does Logan have the patience to wait until Gina is ready to tell him what happened before? Is Gina able to get the words out when the time comes? And will they be able to forgive each other?

Once again Karen Rose Smith has given us a book to cherish. . . A book to hold in our heart. . . A book to find a place on our keeper shelf. . . The Texas Billionaire’s Baby is book number four in The Baby Experts Series.

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

Reviewed by Donna B

BOUGHT: THE GREEK’S BABY - Jennie Lucas

Author: Jennie Lucas
Line: Mills and Boon Modern / Harlequin Presents
Release month: North America: February 2010
                           UK: December 2009
 The S-Factor:  Sizzling

Back-Blurb:

American beauty Eve Craig fell under the spell of powerful Talos Xenakis in a hot-blooded Athens encounter….

Three months later Eve has lost her innocence—and her memory!

But she has aroused Talos's desire and his anger—she has betrayed him. So what better way to punish the woman who nearly ruined him, than marry—and destroy—her? Only she's now carrying his love-child….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Bought: The Greek Baby is about revenge and hatred all directed at his ex-lover Eve because she betrayed him. The frustration, anger and lust Talos feels for Eve Craig literally leaps off of the pages as penned by the very talented Jennie Lucas.

For months Talos has been looking for Eve and now his men have found her in London while she was attending her stepfather’s funeral. They’ve tailed her car and witnessed, before their eyes, her getting into a car accident which has resulted in amnesia. To top it off, when he arrives and speaks with the doctor he is told she is pregnant with his child. Before she regains her memory and because of the selfish person she was, he’s determined to marry her immediately to protect their baby at all costs.

I could not stop thinking about how it would feel to be that attracted to someone, to let your guard down and then to be betrayed and almost loose everything. Of course one would want to get even but for him to still be fighting the passion he felt for her….. what an emotional roller coaster for Talos.

Before she leaves London, Eve insists she stop and get her passport and things at her deceased step-fathers home. What she finds out and sees she doesn’t like. She views her bedroom, the designer clothes and finds out from the housekeeper how much her step-father loved her and is told she didn’t even return home for the holidays. She’s saddened that she was that selfish. She also finds out from Talos that she was a party girl, travelling with friends all over the world.

So Talos forms a plan…..he wants to take her places to force her memory. So the first stop is Venice where they originally met. Every man in Venice can’t keep their eyes off of her due to her beauty and figure and it makes her feel uncomfortable and cheap. So she goes shopping for a simpler wardrobe and cuts her hair. Talos can’t believe her new look, he remembers the passion they shared, and when they made love, she was a virgin. He also remembers how she almost cost him his wealth and company when she turned over important papers to his rival.

When they bump into an old friend in Venice who volunteers his Tuscany home for their wedding, he takes him up on it and she agrees. However, immediately after the wedding, he’s so frustrated with her because in this amnesia state, she’s sweet, wholesome and he’s so very frustrated and angry, he whisks her away and they fly to their home in Athens, leaving Eve bewildered and upset.

Could this get any worse? Yes it does and more! In his frustration for her to remember her betrayal, Talos is cruel. He takes her to a party where his rival was attending and forces her to dance with him. Still she doesn’t remember. And then he takes her to her favorite restaurant and tells her what’s she did and still no memory. She’s shocked at what she did, apologizes and then she tells him no matter what, she loves him.

In a dream she remembers a little and asks about her family which Talos can’t answer because they never discussed their families they only made love! Then Eve remembers and it’s quite amazing because she was also out for revenge against Talos. It was let’s say, an unbelievable twist to this magnificent story.

As a reader of romance this particular romance had so many twists and turns, was very intense, and full of revenge it kept me up most of the night. My heart was pounding, my emotions were all over the place and I so loved this story and wished for a happy ending and I got one! Forgiveness, understanding and what’s important LOVE and that’s what Bought: The Greek’s Baby was all about……..a fabulous love story with an emotional happy ending!

Hero Hotness Factor♥♥♥♥♥
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Awww Factor♥♥♥♥♥
Stickability Factor ♥♥♥♥♥
Weepy Factor♥♥♥
Reviewed by: Marilyn

About the book
Jennie Lucas website