PROPOSITIONED BY THE BILLIONAIRE - Lucy King

Author: Lucy King
Line: Mills and Boon/ Harlequin Presents Extra
Release month: North America: Sept 2010 UK: Jun 2010
The S-Factor: Sensual/Sizzling

Back Blurb:

Mixing business with pleasure has never been more fun!

When a drop-dead gorgeous mystery man comes to PR exec Phoebe Jackson’s rescue at a party she’s hosting, she can’t help but be tempted by the sparks of desire igniting between them…and soon both their attraction and the party go up in flames…

But her rescuer is Alex Gilbert – and he has her career in his hands! Now Alex has a daring proposition for her: she must prove her worth by staging a prestigious charity event on an island paradise or she’ll be fired! It would normally be a walk in the park for Phoebe – but with the oh-so-sexy Alex by her side 24/7 can she keep her mind on the job…?

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Propositioned by the Billionaire by Lucy King was absolutely a magnificent love story and a very sensual and intense journey for Phoebe and Alex within weeks of meeting each other. It was one of those beautiful love stories once you began you had to finish it leaving you smiling one moment and crying the next.

Phoebe Jackson came from a family of over achievers with most of her siblings having PHD’s in high-powered positions. From her parents to her siblings she never felt good enough even though she was good at what she did and had her own PR Firm. And now she’s done something that no one else could; she secured a highly coveted venue for Jo Douglas, launching her new purse line and was determined to get fashion houses to buy her handbags. However, Jo’s boyfriend was drunk and was wrestling not just with a bottle of champagne but also with a flamingo, six stories up and dancing around in a pool. Phoebe was beside herself and determined not to have anything ruin Jo’s event, so she tried to take care of the boyfriend and then he swung the bottle and this dashing, strong man wrestled him to the ground and got rid of him.

Alex Gilbert was furious with his younger sister Jo because she didn’t use his PR firm for her event. He was jet lagged and determined to fire her PR person. What he didn’t realize was Phoebe was that person and he had just picked her up making sure she was not hurt and kissed her senseless. For both Phoebe and Alex it was an electric and sensual moment. And then everything fell apart, from Alex realizing Phoebe was not only the owner of Jackson Communications, she was also running inside as his sister’s handbags were on fire. Could she do damage control and save his sister’s name and reputation?

The answer was yes but he still wanted to fire her. Talk about sneaky, he offered her the chance to keep working with Jo, but he gave her a unbelievable task of flying with him to his private island to oversee a fund raiser and he was sure she would fail. The deal was if she failed, then he could take over using his own firm. What neither of them counted on while on the island was their passion for each other. It ignited and went up in flames. However, unbeknown to them was disaster going on back home with Alex’s sister so they had to immediately and take care of the PR nightmare.

Their passion was like neither of them had ever experienced and they continued seeing each other when they returned back to London. All I can say is it was such a blazing and hot romance, with some ups and downs. Alex has trust and guilt issues from his past and Phoebe had such a lack of confidence, even though she knew she was good at what she did, the effects from her upbringing and the fact that she might let her family down took it’s toll on her, plus she also suffered guilt. So when he asked her to begin an affair she refused but later changed her mind because she didn’t want to let Alex go.

Alex was a very private man. When a tabloid magazine came out with both of their pictures in it, showing them together in intimate settings, with some quotes, he immediately jumped to conclusion that Phoebe was responsible for them and it ripped out her heart. Reading Alex’s struggle to see her for the genuine and lovely woman she was, broke my heart and Phoebe’s need for him so sweet because she was going to fight for her man. Propositioned by the Billionaire was such a sweet and wonderful love story ….simply amazing!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book:

“A year or so ago I read somewhere that PR was one of the few industries not to suffer in a recession, and it got me thinking. Modern Heat is about glamour and what better excuse to write about parties? I then decided to give my heroine her own PR Company and an over-achieving family and focused on what would be her worst nightmare. Everything else sort of slotted into place. Eventually.” Lucy King

HIS RING, HER BABY (Billionaires and Babies) – Maxine Sullivan

Author: Maxine Sullivan
Line: Silhouette Desire
Release month: UK/North America/April 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back Blurb:

The job title was housekeeper, not fiancée! But billionaire cattleman Kirk Deverill couldn't throw the lovely single mom off his ranch. Especially when he knew the job would help her keep her son. Of course, the eligible bachelor hadn't expected her to tell everyone she was also Kirk's bride-to-be!

He agreed to Vanessa's ruse for her adorable son's sake. And for the opportunity to claim some "husbandly" pleasures. Of course, making their fake engagement a real union was never going to happen. The Outback loner had his reasons...and even the most desirable of women wouldn't get him to change his mind.

Review: ♥♥♥♥

His Ring, Her Baby was a compelling romance, part of Billionaire and Babies series by Maxine Sullivan. A very sensual romance with sparks flying.

Vanessa Hamilton was in a world of trouble. She had lost her husband, had his parents hounding her for custody of her one year old son, had no money and thank God for her cousin who provided shelter for them while she helped them at their motel. Then Vanessa’s cousins Linda and Hugh informed her they had sold the motel. On top of that one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen billionaire Kirk Deverill walked in and when their eyes met it was electric, so much so he asked her out for dinner.

Kirk kept asking and Vanessa kept refusing. Just one kiss and he knew he wanted more and then he felt betrayed because he knew she was aware he needed a housekeeper and she was looking for a job and a place to stay. He felt she worked everyone to get what she wanted. Pressured by her cousin Linda, he offered Vanessa and her son Josh a place to stay and a job as housekeeper on his extraordinary ranch located in the Outback and at first their relationship was tense. Gradually Kirk became more involved in Josh’s life and felt more at ease around Vanessa but there was always the strong sensual tension between them and he always seemed to be rescuing her. Due to his last relationship he did not to trust women, however with this one, he was drawn in like a moth to a flame. Their passion exploded but Kirk was keeping a secret, one that would keep him from marrying.

Her ex-in laws came unannounced and it was obvious to Kirk they were snobs and that had no feelings for Vanessa, in fact they annoyed her and were critical. Again, Kirk felt the need to protect them. And then he took them both on a business dinner dance and their time spent together was magical until the little one became ill. Again her in-laws tried to cause trouble and Kirk again came to the rescue. And then she realized she loved this man who put himself before others.

Again due to a slip of the tongue, things came crashing down on them and he made arrangements for her to leave. Would Vanessa wake up and fight for her man? We all love a happy ending and this one will have you smiling at how this beautiful woman and her son found their future together with Kirk, giving them all a chance for a real family.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book

SOS: CONVENIENT HUSBAND REQUIRED - Liz Fielding

Author: Liz Fielding
Line: Harlequin Romance
Release month: UK/North America: July 2010
The S-Factor: Sweet and Sexy

Back Blurb:

May Coleridge must marry before she's thirty to inherit her family home and keep her new business afloat.

Adam Wavell comes from a long line of wastrels—but he's turned his life around. He's a corporate success story and a pillar of the community. Only, now his flaky sister has left him with her screaming baby!

A deal must be done. May will help Adam with his niece if he'll answer her SOS!

Review: ♥♥♥♥

SOS: Convenient Husband Required by Liz Fielding was a sweet romance with a few twists thrown in for good measure. The heroine May Coleridge a strong and loyal woman and Adam Wavell a sexy hero who was an accomplished billionaire and a man from May’s past……a man she once loved but had to give up!

After May’s grandfather dies and the will went to probate her attorney found that the family home that had been the only home she ever had was not to be inherited from her grandfather due to a clause that she must be married by her 30th birthday which was only weeks away. She had staff who depended on her, she ran a small business from her home and had also taken out a loan for improvements. All of it would be lost. When her grandfather had been alive, May had also taken care of him, she also was to be married but in the end she backed out of getting married because her fiance wanted to put her grandfather in a nursing home.

Every time Adam walked by Coleridge House he remembered as a teen trying to make love to May Coleridge, bringing her red roses and having her grandfather turn the hose on him in the dead of winter. And then he remembered May would no longer look at him nor talk to him. She was a close friend of his sister Saffy. He also remember sneaking into their stables and helping her take care of all of the animals she would rescue and he called her “mouse”. And now Adam needed May because his sister snuck into his office past his security and left her baby along with a note and disappeared. However, she also suggested that he as May for help until she got her life in order and came back for her baby. However, it was more complicated than that because she left France and her boyfriend was looking for her as he wanted his baby and she fled.

So May and Adam each had a problem…..May needed a husband of convenience and Adam needed a Nanny. He was soon to leave the country for a huge business deal so he set off along with his baby niece Nancie to ask May for help only to see her up in a tree rescuing a kitten. So she falls out of the tree and lands on him and they end up in a muddy puddle. What a day for them both, so they go back to Coleridge House to clean up and to talk about his sister and could he entice May to take care of her? And then May spills the beans and tells him what her problem is and being the smart man he was he offered her the marriage of convenience she needed to keep her family estate and in return she would take care of Nancie. And Adam moved his things in that evening and with a smirk decided he would get a little revenge from her grandfather and he would sleep in the old man’s four poster bed knowing that he was probably rolling over in his grave.

The chemistry between them over the years had not diminished in fact with them both taking care of Nancie, with Adam organizing their wedding, getting reacquainted came naturally for them both. Adam would have any woman he wanted but after kissing May to seal the deal, all of the hurt she had caused him years ago, went right out the door. It left both of them wanting more. And then his sister called the evening before he left for South America on business causing stress for both of them. Adam was away for weeks and Saffy showed up and moved in with May. And then a chain of events happened which could have changed everything for both of them making one wonder if they would get their second chance because it was obvious they were both drawn to each other.

I so enjoyed reading SOS” Convenient Husband Required as it was a very engaging and fast paced romance.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book from Dear Reader

HER SHEIK PROTECTOR (Desert Sons) - Linda Conrad

Line: Silhouette Romantic Suspense
North America/UK: July 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling, Suspense

Back Blurb:

Darin Kadir had to protect American Rylie Hunt at all costs. Seeking answers, she'd traveled halfway around the world to find him. Now she is a target of his family's arch nemesis and must trust Darin in order to survive.

Caught up in a covert war between two families, Rylie wants only to find her father's killers and bring them to justice. She doesn't want to fall in love. But the desire burning in Darin's eyes is unlike anything she's ever known. Will she surrender her heart—or become a casualty of a war across the ages?


Review: ♥♥♥♥

Her Sheik Protector by Linda Conrad is the first book in her Desert Sons miniseries and was not only interesting to read but kept me on the edge of my seat with all of the intense intrigue and danger.

This was so unlike most sheik books which are usually set in the desert. The heroine Riley Hunt was from Texas and Darin Kadir even though he was from a Middle Eastern bedouin tribe, the book began in Geneva, Switzerland and then moved on to Milan.

Rylie’s father, Darin’s uncle, dignitaries, Hunt employees and the press were attending the grand opening celebration of Hunt Drilling. Before Rylie’s eyes, she witnessed a huge explosion which took all of their lives. It took six long months for her to heal. Because Kadir Shipping was also involved in the partnership, Rylie was going to attend a conference in Geneva and get to the bottom of things because she suspected the Kadir’s to be responsible for the explosion. She would make them pay because she and her mother had lost everything by trying to do the right thing and pay off the Hunt employees families who had lost their loved ones.

Kadir being the oldest felt it was his responsibility to attend the very same World Industry and Shipping conference in Switzerland. He and his brothers thought because of a century old feud between the Kadir and Taj Zabbar family, they might have been responsible for the explosion due to recent changes in the Taj Zabbar family’s financial and political positions.

So much for being subtle……the spunky redhead who was barley able to stand and still weak from the accident, literally accused Darin and his family of her father’s death. And then such an unbelievable chain of events occurred. During the conference they noticed each other across the room but Rylie knew which one was Darin Kadir, with eyes locked on her, Darin witnessed her on unsteady legs fall to the floor and he was at her side immediately. Then she told him who she was an accused his family of being responsible for the explosion.

Darin and Rylie set up a meeting at a bar to discuss the explosion and then everything went haywire, from Taj Zabbar watching them, from the head of their family trying to abduct her in hopes of finding out information she might know. Then attempted kidnapping of Rylie, Darin killing one of the abductors and finding a Taj Zabbar secret document. Darin agreed with his brother’s to bring the document to Milan where they suspected the Taj Zabbar would try to follow. Rylie followed Darin and he had no choice but to take her with him to protect her. Then they both boarded a train to Milan and everything changes! Trust me, it was brilliant how everything was tied together and how Linda Conrad documented the family feud and the history of the two families. Don’t think the feud is over.

What I loved about Her Sheik Protector was immediately Darin Kadish new they were destined to be together. And for him that was quite something because he protected his brother’s after their mother died, he was afraid to love but in the end after they made love he was so moved and determined to have and protect this woman it was fierce. Darren was a planner and a man with lists. A man who didn’t fall in love; however Rylie moved him to tears. she was his…..had to be his and he would go to any lengths to protect her!

And Rylie, she was determined, strong, feisty and scared because she loved this man only after a few days together. He gave her magic and he scared her to death. But let me just say this, her determination to help him, in the end. what she would do for him was so incredible. I can’t remember ever reading about such a strong heroine as Rylie and in the end how she dealt with everything ……the abductions, the attacks, everything……she was fierce!

Her Sheik Protector was an high paced romance suspense combining family, feuds, passion, danger all rolled into one. I’m certainly adding Ms. Conrad to my auto-buy list and I look forward to the next story in this miniseries.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book from Dear Reader

THE GOOD GREEK WIFE? - Kate Walker

Author: Kate Walker

Line: Mills and Boon Modern / Harlequin Presents Extra

Release month: North America: October 2010 UK: July 2010
The S-Factor: Sexy
Back Blurb:

The return of the proud Greek husband…..

He was declared missing at sea - but now notorious Zarek Michaelis is back and ready to take control! First he'll see to his business, and then to his wayward wife…..

For two years Penny has struggled to come to terms with Zarek’s disappearance. But enough is enough. It’s time to move on…..

Her proud Greek husband is still as darkly handsome as ever, and the attraction between them is just as potent. But Penny can’t trust Zarek’s motives - does he just want her body and the fortune he left behind…….or to try again?

The Greek Tycoons Legends are made of men like these!


Review: ♥♥♥♥
The Good Greek Wife? by author Kate Walker was an intriguing romance which addressed piracy on the high seas. It made this reader wonder how one would feel if your husband’s vessel had been boarded like those incidents which have appeared recently in the news? I would be devastated to think of the person I loved being threatened , killed or missing in action and gone for two years. And that was the case with shipping magnate Zarek Michaelis. All he physically suffered and then not remembering who he was or if he had a family.

After pirates boarded his yacht the Troy, he was injured and thrown overboard and left for dead. However, he was rescued by a wealthy man from Malta and suffered amnesia for over two years. However, even though he didn’t know his identity, he was troubled during the day and night because for some reason embedded in his heart and head he knew their was someone else in his life. Some one of importance . So when he finally remembered his identity, he sent an investigator to his Greece homeland to investigate the lay of things with his stepmother and brothers, his shipping empire and his wife. And then as planned, he walked in on his family during a board meeting in which they were going to declare him legally dead. Shocking them all with the fact that he was alive! Can you imagine the impact that would have had on his greedy family and his grieving wife?

Penny Michaelis for the past two years since her husband had disappeared had been running his company and maintaining his estate. From the first moment she met him, she fell instantly fell in love with him and when they consummated their love on their wedding night she knew she loved him even more. And then over the months she realized it was a dream, that he really lusted after her and wanted an heir. Love was not involved and they argued, especially when he found out she was taking the pill and told him she didn’t want a baby. They argued the night he sailed away on the Troy and now he was presumably dead and she wanted to move on. But could she? For the past two years she left everything in his bedroom the same, the clothes in his closets and drawers, had taking up caring for his beloved dog, had learned to cook his favorite dishes. That didn’t sound to me like a woman who didn’t love nor miss her husband.

The majority of The Good Greek Wife, addressed their issues of what each of them expected from each other. However, they really didn't talk about those issues, they danced around them. It was like being on a seesaw, each one accusing the other but there was one thing for sure, the sexual attraction was so strong and Penny fought it while Zarek wanted to act upon it. They so didn’t understand each others feelings and all I could think of was they needed a referee.

The conflict kept building until I wondered if they would ever get their second chance. Kate Walker’s building up to the ending had me twisting my hands because I wondered if one of them would give up and walk out. The Good Greek Wife was just that because the heroine in the end knew she couldn’t live with her husband. But hold on to your hat, because Zarek, the hero shows and makes a miraculous declaration, giving this roller coaster romance a very happy ending. It was very clever how the author tied in Greek mythology to the ending of her “classic modern love story”.

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Behind the Book

Kate discusses Greeks at I(Heart)Presents

HIGH SOCIETY SECRET BABY - Maxine Sullivan

Author: Maxine Sullivan
Line: Silhouette Desire
Release month: North America/UK: June 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back Blurb:

He'd done his late brother the ultimate favor and now Dominic Roth was paying the ultimate price. The tycoon could not declare Cassandra Roth's child his own—society could know the baby only as his niece. So when the opportunity arose for Dominic to lay claim to both mother and child, he played his cards.

Yet even as Dominic finally had the woman he'd secretly coveted, he knew he could not reveal their daughter's true parentage. For the billionaire daddy dared not risk destroying his tenuous hold on true happiness.

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

High Society Secret Baby by Desire author Maxine Sullivan takes family drama to a new high! Talk about two people who gave up so much for the people they loved certainly deserved a chance at love and happiness, didn’t they?

Dominic Roth was an amazing man the perfect hero and an honorable one on top of everything. He would do just about anything for his family and he did when his dying brother Liam asked him to donate sperm so he and his wife Cassandra could have a child before he died. The very same woman Dominic secretly had lusted after.

Cassandra lost her parents at a young age, was sent to foster home and then to another foster home where the people adopted her and another girl Penny who Cassandra considered a sister. Her foster mom passed away and her father had to be put into a nursing facility for health care. It was so expensive that when her husband Liam declared he wanted a child and she didn’t, she bargained with him to pay for her father’s health care and then she would agree to have his baby. However, after Liam died she received a letter stating that she must marry his brother Dominic, that he had deeded over their home to Dominic and he insisted the marriage take place so that their daughter Nicole could continue to be raised a Roth. By doing so, would also give his parents great comfort after he was gone. If she agreed, in six months time his letter would be destroyed. Liam also insisted she marry his brother because he didn’t want her marrying any one else.

Talk about secrets, the nursing home situation, desperately needing money for her father and sister and Dominic being the sperm donor. On top of that the accusations against Cassandra that she was money hungry, that she didn’t marry Liam for love and that she had an affair with his best friend. Dominic and his parents believed Liam. How could her first marriage go so wrong when she had married Liam for love and in the end he hurt her. How would all of this affect Cassandra and Dominic’s marriage and would they eventually fall in love?

Cassandra and Dominic married before Liam’s estate was settled and took a honeymoon taking baby Nicole with them. They literally lusted after each other and let’s just say when they finally act on that lust, the fire and passion leaps off of the pages. It was also rather touching and sweet reading about Dominic and Nicole bonding and it will tug at your heart reading about father and daughter getting to know each other. So many pressure upon this marriage from all of the secrets, to the white lies, the insults, and the mess Cassandra finds herself suffering over her father. On top of all of that, add to the mix the tension between Cassandra and her in-laws.

Lies always have away of surfacing and these were explosive and the drama is one you’ll not want to miss. Also Dominic’s and Cassandra’s passion for each other and how her love grows for her new husband. Will he only ever lust after her and could he possibly grow to love her? Will they all become a family including his parents? You’ll want to sincerely read High Society Secret Baby as well as Maxine Sullivan's second book , High-Society Seduction, about young widower Adam Roth. This book was full of high energy and was a most fantastic read!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

More about the book

THE MELENDEZ FORGOTTEN MARRIAGE (Bride On Approval) - Melanie Milburne

Author: Melanie Milburne
Line: Mills and Boon Modern/ Harlequin Presents
Release month: North America/UK July 2010
The S-Factor: Sensational/Sensual

Back Blurb:

When fragile Emelia awoke from her coma she had no recollection of the strikingly handsome man before her, whose eyes glittered like fine-cut gems—hard and impenetrable. But he aroused something within her….

Javier Mélendez had wed Emelia for convenience and bedded her for pleasure. The rules in place during their marriage had suited him perfectly, and he'd ensured his trophy wife adhered to them…. But as Emelia's memory slowly returned, she seemed to be laboring under a misapprehension…that their marriage was based on love!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Conflict, doubt, passion, mistrust, second chances…..trust me you’ll get it all by the very talented Melanie Milburne in The Melendez Forgotten Marriage. If you like books that make your pulse and heart race, you’ll definitely feel some of these emotions while reading this particular love story.

When their eyes met, the attraction was immediate. She was playing the piano, he was in the lounge and it was electric. It was simply crazy their attraction for each other. When they finally made love Javier knew he wanted Emelia in this life permanently so within only a few months they married. However, Javier was firm on his expectations, no children, plus numerous other things which Emelia accepted because in the end she loved her husband. She so wanted to please him, make him proud of her, be the perfect wife and hostess. However, everything backfired and it reminded her of her parents marriage when her mother had been alive, it also reminded her of her father, who went from wife to wife. For Emelia, all she ever wanted was to be loved and yes she had hoped for children and hoped she could change Javier’s mind. In the end it was way too much and she knew she had to leave him so she returned to London and her childhood friend Peter Marshall.

Both Emelia and Javier had similar childhoods. They both lost their mother’s at an early age and had similar father’s who were selfish, standoffish, went from one wife to another. Neither had felt loved. Because of this Javier was firm on not having any children because he had always feared he would not be a good father. However, Emelia felt differently but she married Javier anyway, because she loved him.

Javier Melendez was angry but he had been afraid that he would loose his wife of two years because she had been in a comma from a car accident. How could she leave him, run away to her childhood friend, betray their marriage , splash their name all over the press because she was leaving him for her lover? Her accident changed everything because he needed to take her home to recoup her memory, heal and then he could seek his revenge for her betrayal.

Patience was not a easy thing for Javier. He wanted his wife to remember everything, he wanted her back in his bed and he wanted answers. It took some time for Emelia to remember but it happened finally through Javier’s ministrations through touch, taste and determination. And then everything changes in their relationship and they resume their loving making. As the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit in Emalia’s mind she remembers how much of herself she gave up, how much she wanted to be loved and then everything changes due to a chain of events which I can’t say because it would ruin the romance for you. However, trust me on this, your tears will fall, you’ll feel Emelia and Javier’s pain and wonder if they will get their second chance and who would be the one to make it happen.

The Melendez Forgotten Marriage is definitely a keeper and one to be reread and a fabulous “second chance” sensual romance.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book

AMBUSHED (Sons of Chance, Book 2) Vicki Lewis Thompson

Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson
Line: Harlequin Blaze
Release month: North America/UK: July 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling, Sexy, Sensual

Back Blurb:

Morgan O'Connelli hated the restless lifestyle she'd had as a child. All she wants now is to create a real home in small-town Wyoming. So first she hangs up her real-estate agent shingle…then she promptly borrows the horse of the hottest cowboy in town!Cutting-horse champion Gabe Chance is blown away by the feisty redhead who unexpectedly lands right in his bed…and, soon enough, his heart! Morgan's perfect for him in every way. Until he realizes that while she's turned out to be everything he never knew he wanted, he's got everything someone in her profession has ever wanted…his family's ranch.And that's a legacy he's just not willing to give up—not even for the sexiest woman he's ever fallen for….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

To say sensual would be putting it mildly when describing Vicki Lewis Thompson’s , Ambushed! The entire journey from cover to cover was “blazing hot” for these two past classmates, from Wyoming.

Morgan O’Connelli had traveled from town to town with her parents and her seven siblings. When they stayed in the small town in Wyoming for a brief time, Morgan wanted to make the most of it by getting involved in her high schools activities because other than that all she had was the job of taking care of her brothers and sisters. She loved the town so much, once she graduated from college she returned to Shoshone to set down the roots that were so important to her. So she purchased a home and started up a real estate business. Selling homes to families was important to her. She even entered the 4th of July Parade riding a horse and advertising the grand opening of her office. When the horse acted up, she was rescued by Gabe Chance a handsome cowboy she knew years ago, a young man she had a crush on, a young handsome, sexy man she had thought about over the years. In fact so much so, when she returned back to Shoshone she checked on his marital status.

While riding in the parade, Gabe Chance noticed a beautiful well endowed redhead, someone he remembered from high school. And now she was having problems with a horse she was riding, so he set out to rescue her. She was so sweet and sexy and she stirred things in him. She also was so enchanting in the way she was participating in the towns activities, her first Fourth of July celebration and she was going to make the best of it and Gabe decided her enthusiasm was contagious. That’s not all that was contagious, her smile, her sparking eyes, her figure and her determination to belong which he suspected was do to her past. So, as Gabe was home for awhile and not entered in any riding competitions, he decided to make the best of it and show Morgan a good time and if they ended up in bed together, all the better. Then all hell broke loose when they entered a watermelon eating contest and she won and he kissed her and couldn’t stop kissing her. Talk about fireworks!

This was a most amazing romantic and sensual journey and I absolutely couldn’t put it down. The Chance family, their brothers, their friends made the story come more alive in book 2, Ambushed. The loss of their father had caused such grief and in a way had caused the bothers from time to time to challenge each other. Not to mention their mother’s grief. At first Gabe’s mother and his older brother didn’t trust Morgan as they believed Morgan being a real estate agent had motives. Add to the mix that Morgan and Gabe wanted to only have a little fun which turned into a hot and steamy relationship, one neither were ready for. On top of that the family arguments over the Chance Ranch’s future and Morgan’s doubts about taking the relationship further muddied the waters. Morgan and Chance's short affair was absolutely explosive!

Ambushed was about trust, coming home and in taking a “chance”. It was a wonderful love story and a wonderful addition to The Sons of Chance Miniseries. My sincere congratulations to Vicki Lewis Thompson on this particular love story as it was most amazing!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book

INNOCENT IN THE ITALIAN'S POSSESSION - Janette Kenny

Author: Janette Kenny
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America/UK: June 2010
The S-Factor: Sensual and Sizzling

Back Blurb:

When Gemma Cardone's boss is hospitalized and Stefano Marinetti, his estranged son, takes over the family shipyard, she is caught between duty and desire….

Her duty—Gemma's friendship with Stefano's father was steeped in secrecy. But Stefano suspects that she was his father's lover. Gemma can never tell the real truth—it would tear Stefano's family apart.

His desire—Gemma has never met a man as determined or intense as Stefano. In his presence, she melts. Though she knows he despises her, between his sheets it's a different story….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

I didn’t see it coming, the sadness I would feel for both the hero Stefano and the heroine Gemmna in Janette Kenny’s Innocent In the Italian’s Possession. Betrayal, secrets, loss of family plus sensual tension that literally leaps and sizzles off of the pages of this amazing romance.

Gemma Cardone was a most dedicated personal assistant to Cesare Marinetti. Her boss had lost so much……the death of his wife and his oldest son and years without his younger son Stefano. Add to his the fact he found out he had a love child who was seriously ill in Milan. Plus the fact his business was failing and he had suffered a heart attack. Through out it all. Gemma was devoted to her boss. And now she was forced to work for Stefano Marinetti a well known Italian billionaire and playboy while her boss was in the hospital. Could she keep the secrets from him as she promised Cesare?

Stefano didn’t want to be at Marinetti Shipping, but family was family and he owed the revenge he promised his mother against his father’s PA Gemma because they both believed Gemma to be his father’s mistress. What he didn’t count on was how much he would be immediately attracted to her and want her for himself. Every step of the way Gemma tempts him, stirs him but he’s determined to find out what secrets she’s keeping from him. He’s demanding, he’s arrogant and he’s determined so much so that he demands she work for both his father’s company and his as well.

Gemma shouldered so many responsibilities…..her grandmother and the family Inn, her brother, Rachel who was Casare’s young daughter and on top of that, keeping her promise to her boss about the state of things. Add to that the attraction she felt towards Stefano and the churning emotions she experienced daily. Always doing for others and I began to wonder when would she get her turn at happiness? Could that happiness be in the form of Stefano Marinetti?

Talk about passion exploding off the pages of this rollercoaster romance from the beginning to the end. I began to wonder when some of the secrets would be revealed so this couple could have a chance at happiness. However, even though this arrogant Italian found Gemma irresistible and finally bedded her, he was so dense I wanted to shake him. It was brilliant how author Janette Kenny put up road blocks every step of the way in Innocent in the Italian’s Possession. She made this romance extremely entertaining and also a very emotional read.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book
Authors website

THE LAST LONE WOLF - Maureen Child (Kings of California)

Author: Maureen Child
Line: Silhouette Desire
Release month: North America:/UK: May 2010
The S-Factor: Sexy

Back Blurb:

Mr. May: Jericho King, ex-marine, all business

The Promise: Look after a fallen comrade's sister

The Price: She wanted his baby!

After a career of life-risking service, Jericho King desired only the solitude of his mountain lodge…and the occasional no-strings affair. But when Daisy Saxon arrived, his plans came to an end, for he'd once pledged his help if ever she was in need. Surely he could give her a job and a home, all without succumbing to his desires. But the lone wolf was in for a shock when he learned Daisy's true agenda was to get pregnant with King's baby!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

The Kings of California has been an incredible series and The Last Lone Wolf is Jericho King’s story. To say the least, this cowboy is one sexy loner who is a retired ex-Marine. He’s come back to his beautiful mountain lodge and has started a camp for corporate executives, teaching them survival and team skills. An now when he least expects it, a beautiful woman arrives unannounced to take him up on a job offer he made a year ago. The determined and sassy Daisy Saxon is the sister of a solider he watched die, a young man he loved like a brother. The same man he made a promise to that he would look out for his sister, the sister who raised him.

Daisy is actually still grieving for the brother she lost but now she is also determined to take the job as cook at the King Lodge because Jericho King offered her help a year ago. It’s taken her some time to get through her grief and she’s realizes now that her brother and parents are gone, she sincerely wants a family. She feels since the Marines took her brother and he loved and respected Jericho, what better man to assist her with this task and getting her pregnant but what she doesn’t count on is how much she would come to love the country, the lodge and the man who was so determined not to get involved nor give away his heart.

Daisy sneaks under Jericho’s radar with her vibrant and sunny personality, her beauty and her determination to help him out at his camp. As much as he tried to resist her, she wormed her way in and finally they began a relationship even though Jericho knew it could never go anywhere. He was not like his brothers who now were married with kids, he had no place in his heart for a woman and vowed to never marry.

As the old saying goes, “never say never” and for both Daisy and Jericho everything backfired. Even going away for days into the mountains, he couldn’t get her out of his mind or system. His men loved her, the executives who came to his camp loved her and in the end, he knew he was in trouble. Would the secrets they were holding back ruin a future for them? As only Maureen Child can pen, this romance was explosive, sensual and a genuine and entertaining addition to The King’s of California.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

About the book

Maureen Child’s website

OVERTIME IN THE BOSS’S BED – Nicola Marsh

Author: Nicola Marsh
Line: Harlequin Presents Extra / Mills and Boon Modern Heat
Release month: North America: June 2010 UK: April 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling and Sensual

Back Blurb:

Desperate for a job, dancer Starr Merriday is forced to hang up her ballet shoes and accept a position as a P.A. in a new city—even if the last time she saw her new boss…she was naked in his bed! Her professional pumps and pencil skirt can't hide her top-to-toe blush when she remembers their blisteringly hot night together!

But Starr won't let that suppress her sassy spirit—after all, unbuttoning her blouse is next on her boss's agenda. So she will switch on her out-of-office and go to a meeting—in the boss's bed!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Author Nicola Marsh has written the most marvelous love story in Overtime In the Boss’s Bed and as she stated at the end “nothing could beat the rush of being loved by the right man.”

Dancer Starr Merriday you’ll love as she was cheeky, sexy, and at the top of her list she just wanted to belong and have a home, because a home was important to her as she never had one as a child. Her parents uprooted her more times than she cared to remember because they were actors and moved around only thinking of themselves and never Starr.

Talk about a sexy and handsome alpha, Callum Cartwright was not only that he was a billionaire and CEO of Cartwright Corporation the family business. He was a workaholic, worked 24/7 but not by choice. His order brother Archie at one time ran it but Archie was no long alive and Callum blamed himself for his death. To prove himself to his parents he drove himself to take the business to the top for fourteen years but it was never enough for his mother and father because they blamed Cal for his brothers death. Because he was so driven, he didn’t do relationships but on one particular night while having drinks with friends, he met the most beautiful woman and that was Starr.

As fate would have it and after many rounds or sparing, Starr and Callum have a one night stand and talk about a night! Cal even went so far as to offer Starr a job when he found out she was in the midst of looking for another dance company and was without work but she refused and in the morning said goodbye. However, in the end, she did go to see him and requested she be consider for his PA position. Starr loved taking chances but this time she knew she had to forget the best sex she had ever had and really focus on building up her finances and work hard. However, how could a girl forget the best sex she had ever had in her life?

Callum was going crazy trying not to think about Starr. It was affecting his work, plus having her living in the cottage rent free on his property wasn’t helping him. And then a storm hits one physical which does damage to Starr’s cottage and the other one was sexual in nature, driving them both crazy , crazy enough for Cal to invite Starr on a business trip, one that would cost them both everything or would it?

Overtime in the Boss’s Bed was absolutely “heavenly” to read because in the end it was about love, home and finding happiness. I especially loved this book because not only did the heroine get her man, Callum the sexy hero had some closure and quit beating himself up over his brother’s death plus he got the woman he so deserved and loved.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn


Behind the Book

HOT BOSS, BOARDROOM MISTRESS – Natalie Anderson

Author: Natalie Anderson
Line: Harlequin Presents Extra / Mills and Boon Modern Release month: North America: May 2010 UK: Nov 2009
The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back Blurb:

Pampered princess Amanda Winchester is like an itch that Jared James can't scratch. But the tables have now turned—Jared is successful, Amanda has nothing and he is her new boss. It's payback time—and bedding the delectable Amanda will be his reward!

Amanda hates the fact that bad boy Jared has the upper hand, even if succumbing to his sensual demands will be sweet torture! But when Jared realizes he's taken her virginity, everything changes. Not content with one night, Jared is determined to have Amanda— again and again!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Remember your first crush? Hot Boss, Boardroom Mistress by the very talented Natalie Anderson is about a teen age crush and second chances and Natalie’s love story absolutely dazzled this reader.

From a very young age Amanda Winchester noticed Jared James dark and handsome good looks. He intrigued her so much and of course she had a teenage crush and wanted him in every sense of the word. However, not only did he reject her, he took her back to her home and to her grandfather Colin. Because of her actions and because he thought it would be best for his granddaughter, Colin sent her to boarding school, Jared left town and she never saw him again.

Jared James, talk about a success story. During his youth he grew up with a father who was a drunk and a mother who abandoned him. Due to determination, a scholarship and hard work, he finished school, made some wise investments, bought the company he wanted and became a billionaire. And now he’s on his way home but his plane has been detained. The delay, of course was due to a beautiful and spoilt woman from his past, a woman he hasn’t seen for nine years…..of course you guessed it, Amanda Winchester.

Natalie Anderson’s setting the reunion scene for these two was brilliant. First she had them sitting next to each other on the plane where Amanda was about to pitch an advertising idea to juice manufacture and then the next day at the meeting, she’s shocked when she sees Jared in the conference room. First she believed him to be one of the employees, but to her distress she found out he owned the firm. Her pitch was excellent and Jared decided due to the sparks they both felt earlier on the plane and now in the boardroom, he would award the contract to her firm. However, there was one condition and that was Amanda would work directly for him on the project. Let the games begin!

Amanda and Jared’s story was very moving not because they shared a past, it was how they dealt with the present. He wanted her sexually but was determined not to care about her. And when he took her in his office, everything changed for them both. For Amanda at that moment she knew no one would ever replace him and for Jared he wanted more of her and wasn’t ready to let her go.

Then things became complicated between them as they took their relationship further but in the back of his mind he wondered if Amanda was like every woman who only wanted him for his looks. He didn’t want a relationship, nor commitment but Amanda was in his blood. Then she told him she had to leave for business reasons because she didn’t want to tell him the truth. However, like all secrets, Jared learned the truth about her grandfather, the very man he respected and cared about and how her grandfather had health problems and they both had financial problems.

And then the painful offer came when he wanted to move her closer to him but NOT in with him. Did she want to be his mistress? Heavens no, it would be too painful for her as she loved him. Not because he moved her grandfather out of the nursing home and closer to her where she could visit, she realized she had always loved him all those years ago and now even more. Leaving him was painful and it made Jared furious because he couldn’t understand that she actually loved him. It took seeing her months later and a screaming match for everything to come out making Jared finally realize Amanda loved him, sincerely loved him for who he was not for what he could give her. Amanda and Jared’s story was a fabulous one and a wonderful “second chance” story with a very happy ending thanks to Natalie Anderson.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Natalie Anderson talks about the book

Review: Compromising Miss Milton - Michelle Styles

Title: Compromising Miss Milton

Author: Michelle Styles

Line: Mills and Boon Historical Romance

Release Date: May 2010

The S-Factor: Sensuous

Back-Blurb:

Marrying the Governess!

Buttoned-up governess Daisy Milton buries dreams of marriage and family life in order to support her sister and orphaned niece. But maddeningly attractive Adam, Viscount Ravensworth, is one distraction that shakes Daisy’s safe, stable existence.

Now ghosts from Adam’s past in India threaten Daisy’s future. Just what will it take to convince a tightly laced miss to forgo society’s strict code of conduct…and come undone in the arms of a reformed rake?

Review:

Compromising Miss Milton is an excellent Victorian romance rich in intrigue, adventure and passion that will go down a treat with Mills and Boon Historical Romance fans!

Sensible, practical and responsible are three things which Daisy Milton has always had to be. After the death of her brother in India, Daisy was left solely in charge of his baby daughter and thus she couldn't afford to sit on her laurels. With a baby to look after, Daisy decided that the only option for her was to go out to work to keep the wolf away from the family door - which is how she ends up working as a governess to the Blandish family. Being a governess is certainly not for the faint-hearted. Her charges are spoilt and indulged and their parents are always happy to blame the governess for their misdemanours. Yet, Daisy knows that she must endure it if she is to keep her family together.

One fateful afternoon, Daisy is with her charge, Nella Blandish, when she suddenly comes across a man floating in the river, close to drowning. Although, she knows that it's improper to be seen with a nearly-naked man, Daisy saves the man from certain death - and unwittingly finds herself walking into a web of peril, danger...and passion!

Adam, Viscount Ravensworth, is indebted to the brave governess for saving his life. Yet, he also knows that the enemies who tried to drown him will not stop until they wreak their revenge on him - and on Daisy, now that she has disrupted their plans. Realizing that the only way he can ensure Daisy's safety is by marrying her, Adam proposes marriage and is flabbergasted when Daisy refuses!

Daisy will not be scared by a bunch of uncouth ruffians, but when her life is placed in danger, she realizes that she must heed Adam's warnings and accept his proposal. Theirs was not going to be a love match - until a passion so powerful ignited between the two of them, that their convenient marriage suddenly became all too real...

But will their enemies succeed in their plans to claim their lives and destroy their love?

Compromising Miss Milton is sheer reading perfection from start to finish! An enthralling, poignant and fabulously readable Victorian romance, in Compromising Miss Milton, talented storyteller Michelle Styles has penned a captivating story that left me eagerly turning the pages late into the night.

I adored her heroine Daisy's sense of honour and her loyalty to her family and it's absolutely impossible for any romance reader to resist Adam! Michelle Styles never fails to pen exquistely romantic stories that sparkle with history, passion and pathos and Compromising Miss Milton is another keeper by a writer who just keeps getting better and better!

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WANTED! (Sons of Chance Series) – Vicki Lewis Thompson

Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson
Line: Harlequin Blaze
Release month: North America/UK: June 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling!

Back Blurb:

Photographer Dominique Jeffries has come to Wyoming to find herself—her creative self, her sexual self. After escaping the engagement from hell, she's dying to break loose and live a little. And seducing a shirtless, sweaty cowhand looks like just the place to start….

Nick Chance isn't exactly a cowhand but, hey, he'll be whatever the lady wants! Only he soon realizes that this is more than just a quick roll in the hay. There's something about Dominique that calls to him, something about her that completes him.

There's only one problem. Dominique wants a fling, not another relationship.

Little does she guess how easily she'll be persuaded to take a Chance—again and again and again!

Review♥♥♥♥♥

“It takes a real woman……to take a Chance”

Wanted! by author Vicki Lewis Thompson, the first book in her Sons of Chance series was an absolute joy to read as it had all of the sensual components which make a sexy and steamy romance! It was one of those books that definitely hooked me with it’s charm. Not to mention the secondary characters and the members of the Chance family.

Nick Chance and Dominique Jeffries met quite by accident out in the pastures of the Chance Ranch. Nick even though his profession was a veterinarian was out on Chance’s acreage digging fence posts for his big brother Jack who was running their family ranch. He wasn’t happy about it but was trying to help his brother’s bad moods due to the recent death of their father. However, Dominique’s reasons for being on the same acreage were entirely different. You see, Dominique was a professional photographer from the mid-West and was trying to get over being dumped by her boyfriend. She thought there would be no better way than to seduce a cowboy and so when she and her camera came upon the very hot, sweaty and well built Nick, she took advantage of the photo opportunity and Nick obliged her by posing for the shots.

All I can say is in the ensuing chapters of their “nameless” time spent flirting and getting to know each other in the “most personal way” was amazing. When Dominique revealed that she had been recently dumped and jilted, and really flirted with Nick sending him a very definite message, Nick obliged her by making love not caring that they didn’t know each other’s names. And then, he found out that she was staying at their Wyoming ranch because the local B&B was full. For them both, it was the most amazing sexual encounter either of them had ever experienced but what neither of them contemplated was how complicated their relationship would become, because trust me, it did!

Nick was determined to take advantage of the five days they would have together and Dominique tried not to become involved with Nick because there was no way she would NOT return home because she had a photography studio to run. She didn’t want to depend on another man. Then, add to the situation a horrible secret which was revealed to Nick when he went through his father's trunk in his father’s office. Everything changed for Nick, his family, those close to him and threatened his relationship with Dominique. Did they stand a chance because Nick definitely wanted her to stay in Wyoming?

Wanted! was a remarkable love story with a beautiful ending, one love story I will long remember thanks to author Vicki Lewis Thompson and her creativity.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book ( Harlequin Dear Reader)

Dear Reader,

”I'm baaaack! As some of you may know, I've been off creating books Other Than Blaze for the past several years, but along came an offer I couldn't resist—the opportunity to write about my beloved cowboys. I love sexy cowboy stories! Add in gorgeous Western scenery as found in the Jackson Hole region of Wyoming, and I'm in writer heaven.

Welcome to the Sons of Chance series, where the men are hot and the women are happy! Travel with me down a winding dirt road to the Last Chance Ranch, dedicated to the proposition that we all need a last chance to find whatever we deserve, especially love (and great sex). As you sit on the wide front porch of the Last Chance and gaze at the magnificent Grand Teton in the early morning light, you'll notice a tall, broad-shouldered cowboy climbing into a dusty ranch truck. That would be Nick Chance, the middle son. He doesn't know it yet, but his world is about to be turned upside down. And a brown-eyed beauty from back east will try to help him put it together again.

Don't you adore a man in boots, snug jeans and a Stetson pulled low over his eyes? Trust me, you'll have a really good time at the Last Chance Ranch. It's great to be back in cowboy and Blaze country again!” Happy trails, Vicki

From VLT’s Newsletter:

“The Last Chance Ranch is in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and has a breathtaking view of the snow-covered Tetons. This setting was deliberately chosen by me to enhance your summer reading pleasure, because who wouldn’t want to be in Jackson Hole in June? Or in July and August, for that matter, because after WANTED!, you can look forward to AMBUSHED! and CLAIMED!, each starring its own seriously sexy cowboy hero. Let the Sons of Chance series begin!”

Review: Hot Boss, Boardroom Mistress - Natalie Anderson

Title: Hot Boss, Boardroom Mistress

Author: Natalie Anderson

Line: Harlequin Presents Extra

Release Date: May 2010

The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back-Blurb:

Pampered princess Amanda Winchester is like an itch that Jared James can't scratch. But the tables have now turned—Jared is successful, Amanda has nothing and he is her new boss. It's payback time—and bedding the delectable Amanda will be his reward!

Amanda hates the fact that bad boy Jared has the upper hand, even if succumbing to his sensual demands will be sweet torture! But when Jared realizes he's taken her virginity, everything changes. Not content with one night, Jared is determined to have Amanda—again and again!

Review:

Hotter than a summer's morning, Natalie Anderson's latest Harlequin Presents novel, Hot Boss, Boardroom Mistress is a juicy tale of sex, secrets and seduction you'll guzzle down in a single sitting!

As a teenager, orphaned Amanda Winchester was spoilt rotten by her doting grandfather who gave her everything her heart desired. However, there was something - or rather someone - Amanda wanted whom she couldn't have: bad boy Jared, who had made it blatantly clear that he had no interest in seducing her!

No longer teenagers, both Amanda and Jared have now left the small New Zealand town they grew up in for the bright city lights, but whereas Jared is now one of the richest - and most eligible - man in the country, former society princess Amanda is slumming it and desperately looking for work and trying to find sufficient money to cover her ill grandfather's ever increasing medical bills.

Amanda had hoped never to clap eyes on Jared ever again, but when she lands a new job and finds out that her former crush is now her new boss, Amanda realizes that she's going to need to get up close and personal with millionaire Jared - both in the boardroom and in the bedroom!

But will temporary attraction lead to ever lasting love?

Natalie Anderson has written an exciting and exhilarating contemporary romance that I thorughly enjoyed! Hot Boss, Boardroom Mistress is sexy and sassy, but also poignant, dramatic and emotional. Fast-paced, steamy and unputdownable, Hot Boss, Boardoom Mistress is another mesmerizing feel-good contemporary romance by this fabulous storyteller!

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Review: The French Aristocrat's Baby - Christina Hollis

Title: The French Aristocrat's Baby

Author: Christina Hollis

Line: Mills and Boon Modern Romance

Release Date: May 2010

The S-Factor: Steamy

Back-Blurb:

One night, and she’s pregnant with the Count’s child…

Struggling chef Gwen flew to France to fulfil her dreams – she’d rather work herself into the ground than return to her smothering family. But all her determination can’t help her resist the intense gaze of Count Etienne Moreau…

After an explosive night, Etienne wants Gwen as his mistress – she’s the perfect antidote to cold-blooded business deals. But proud Gwen is outraged – in Etienne’s world money might buy him anything, but this girl is not for sale! But neither has bargained on an unexpected arrival…

Review:

A spirited Welsh chef finds herself falling head over heels in love with a sexy French count in the latest sensational Modern Romance from the fabulous Christina Hollis!

Unable to continue living with her overbearing relatives in rural Wales, Gwen decided that she needed to strike out on her own. Much to her parents' worry and dismay, Gwen booked a flight to France to help her friend Carys run an exclusive upmarket restaurant. Free to create all manner of exciting dishes, Gwen thinks that she is living the dream, but when her friend leaves her in the lurch, Gwen's dream rapidly turns into a nightmare! With no money and very high standards to maintain, Gwen realizes that she is desperately in need of cash, but where is she going to find enough capital to keep her dream alive?

Count Etienne Moreau is impressed by Gwen's culinary prowess - and by her quick wit, her curves and her sexy smile. Although Etienne had vowed never to get entangled with another woman ever again, the gorgeous Frenchman vows to bed Gwen and to make her his...

A sizzling affair soon ensues between the two of them, but Etienne makes it clear from the start that theirs can only ever be a no-strings affair. But will an unexpected arrival change all that?

Christina Hollis has penned another winner with The French Aristocrat's Baby! She deftly balances humour with dramatic intensity and expertly concots an intoxicating tale of passion, intrigue, emotion and trust that will leave readers eagerly turning the pages late into the night.

A fanastic Modern Romance that delivers on all counts, The French Aristocrat's Baby is another triumph for master storyteller Christina Hollis!

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VIRGIN ON HER WEDDING NIGHT – Lynne Graham

Author: Lynne Graham
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America: May 2010 UK: April 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back Blurb:

Already haunted by a youth of illegitimacy and poverty, Valente Lorenzatto never forgave Caroline Hales's abandonment of him at the altar.

But now he's made millions and claimed his aristocratic Venetian birthright—and he's poised to get his revenge. He'll ruin Caroline's family by buying out their company and throwing them out of their mansion…unless she agrees to give him the wedding night she denied him five years ago….

Review♥♥♥♥♥

For those who love romances with vibrant characters and a plot full of surprises Lynne Graham’s Virgin on Her Wedding Night is a story that's got to be read! For a sexy story that sizzles with sensuality and realistic characters, be sure you pick up this Harlequin Presents.

What’s not to love when an Italian alpha is the main hero? Valente Lorenzatto was used to being in the spotlight over the last five years when he made his millions and was accepted by the famed Barbieri family as the Count Ettore and the Barbieri illegitimate grandson. And now at the top of his list is to enact revenge on the Hale family and their daughter Caroline who left him standing at the altar five years earlier. Hale Transport was in trouble and Velente purchased the business and the Hale estate as revenge. The only way he would be happy was to get the wedding night that was taken from him when his bride-to-be, Caroline Hale left him standing at the alter.

Caroline Hale grew up pleasing her parents and in the end gave up the love of her life Valente Lorenzatto because her parents and her childhood friend Matthew Bailey and his family insisted she marry Matthew. And then the very man she once loved had destroyed her family financially so she approached him to plead their case. However, being the man he was he informed her he wanted her to become his mistress. It was bad enough that her deceased husband humiliated her with his unkind words and his mistresses, ruined her father’s business and now she’s faced with Valente proposition? When would Caroline ever get to please herself?

Because of the way she was raised and due to her father's poor health, Caroline realized there was only one option for her and that was to marry Valente. In the end, Valente accepted but he also had a stipulation that they will have a child, giving him an heir to his fortune. However, for Caroline that was a problem because sex was the problem for her and she believed herself to be “frigid” because she never had consummated her previous marriage due to her insecurities. While reading about her past marriage, my heart ached for her because it seemed to me that her entire life, all she did was try to please those around her who only used her for their own good, never thinking about what she wanted. And that included Valente who also forced her back into his life for his own gratification and revenge.

Explosive was how I would describe Virgin On Her Wedding Night because that’s what happened when Valente finally tried to make love to his new bride, Caroline. He couldn't believe it when she tried to hide from him, wouldn't let him make love to her and then everything changed because he found out about her virginity. However, patience and taking things slowly finally paid off for them both. But the happy ever after was definitely out of reach for this couple. Miscommunication, misunderstandings, her parents, her ex-husband and his families betrayal were all revealed. I began to wonder if there would be a second chance for this couple because Valente told Caroline he could never love her as he couldn’t seem to forgive Caroline.

Personally. I love second chance romances and this one was amazing as only Lynne Graham can pen. Caroline had already told Valente she loved him but it took him a little longer to realize how important and how much he loved her. When he realized he spent years plotting to get her back, that he married her in spite of his feelings he never wanted to marry and plus the fact that Caroline was more important to him than his business; in the end everyone got their second chance!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Virgin on Her Wedding Night made the Borders bestsellers list at #2 for week ending April 24, 2010 and the USA Today list at #88!

Lynne’s website

SCANDAL: HIS MAJESTY'S LOVE- CHILD - Annie West (Dark Hearted Desert Men, Book 4)

Author: Annie West
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America/AU/NZ: July 2010 UK: June 2010
The S-Factor: Sensual

Back Blurb:

Seduction in the sand…….

Speculation surrounding exiled rebel Prince Tahir Al-Ramiz has reached fever pitch! After being spotted causing mayhem in an exclusive Monte Carlo casino, Tahir flew home to Qusay for his brother-s coronation. But when a desperate mayday was received, and the remains of Tahir-s helicopter were discovered the worst was assumed- Until he came back from the dead, with no explanation as to how he had survived!

Now a mysterious beauty has moved into the palace. Rumours of a pregnancy abound- Could it be that this notorious playboy prince’s lost days in the desert camouflaged a secret affair?

Review ♥♥♥♥♥

Annie West has successfully succeeded in creating one of the most charming yet tortured sheikh in Scandal: His Majesty’s Love-Child. It was essential that the final book tied everything together and Harlequin/Mills and Boon couldn’t have picked a more accomplished author than Ms. West to complete the task!

The Dark Hearted Desert Men was a spin-off from the Royal House of Karedes series. Of these four devastating sheikhs who would be king and would they find love? However, let’s not forget the authors who had a hand in writing this sexy series……Carol Marinelli, Jennie Lucas, Trish Morey and Annie West…..bravo!

Tahir Al’Ramirz was larger than life…..at a very young age he was exiled from his country by his father, a cruel and abusive man, more than abusive one will learn while reading this particular book. His father not only brutally beat him he also sent his thugs to also do the job. He also betrayed his wife with a string of mistresses. Tahir had never been able to please his father no matter how hard he tried. He was a loner and self-contained. He was dark, handsome, sexy, rich and had a different woman on his arm weekly. He had long ago given up caring what his family was up to until he received a call from his oldest brother that he was needed at home. It was on this journey over the desert, flying a helicopter in a dust storm that his plane went down.

Annalisa was keeping a promise to her father. She had promised to go into the desert and take his telescope to view a comet he named after her mother. She would make sure that the comet got the recognition it deserved! Yearly, she and her father had spent time camping in the the desert when she was not working as his medical assistant as he was the village doctor. Now she really had no one with the exception of a few aunts and cousins. So out to the desert she went and was to return home in a few days with a camel caravan. Then the most amazing thing happened while bathing in the oasis, the most incredible man appeared on the horizon wearing a tuxedo, staggering down the dunes. He was bleeding, had a bump on his head and he was the most handsome man and had the most incredible blue eyes. It was obvious to Annalisa that he was in need of medical assistance.

For them both their time spent in the desert was emotional; Annalisa missed her father but was looking forward to when she returned home she could travel, see the world and then go to university. Tahir’s wounds needed to be healed but he also needed to come to terms with his past and his nightmares and his feelings for this sweet young woman who had become his caretaker. As Tahir’s wounds healed, temptation was off the charts for them both. They actually liked and respected each other but the attraction was like a magnet for them both and then out in the desert camp, under the stars they made love many times and Annalisa lost her heart and virginity and Tahir for the first time in his life really enjoyed himself, he felt at peace. However, he knew the caravan that would take them home was soon to come and he needed to make a clean break, not to give her any hope and so he was curt, dismissive but made sure she knew that if she’d become pregnant, she needed to contact him.

Annalisa returned home and Tahir was hospitalized and then he was told he was to be King as he brother Rafiq didn’t want the throne. A shock yes, but a greater shock Annalisa had to face when she found out she’s was pregnant. She wandered the streets after receiving the news and fate steps in again when she accidentally meetsTahir’s mother the Sheikha who invited her to be a guest and stay at the palace.

Tahir was a fierce leader and stepped into his responsibilities as if he was born to lead. Annalisa’s stay at the Palace made him aware that’s she was more than a pretty face, she was different from and not the typical Qusay woman based on her European heritage and her involvement in her father’s profession. Talk about tension in the palace both sexual and emotional for them both. They complimented each other in so many ways and while reading this final story I could see hope for their relationship even though it took this tortured alpha some time to see reason.

Scandal: His Majesty’s Love-Child was a roller coaster romance with extreme tension leading the heroine from innocence to mature awareness and the hero from feeling tortured to feeling content. Annie West more than deserves high praise for writing such a beautiful contemporary and ending the series on such a high!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Author's website


Behind the book

FORBIDDEN: THE SHEIKH’S VIRGIN – Trish Morey (Dark Hearted Desert Men)

Author: Trish Morey
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America/AU: June 2010 UK: May 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back Blurb:

“Bedded, by order of the Sheikh”

Sheikh Rafiq Al'Ramiz left his homeland behind-betrayed by the woman he loved. He's hardened his heart and made his fortune-and now he must return: his country needs him. But he is more powerful than ever, and vengeance is high on his agenda!

Seeing Sera again, he finds the image he's held of a heartless temptress at odds with her drab robes and downcast eyes-but he will take what he's owed! What will this ruthless sheikh do when he discovers Sera's very real innocence?

Review♥♥♥♥♥

After reading the Prologue in Forbidden: The Sheikh’s Virgin by Trish Morey, I knew this book was going to be one big bombshell! In book one learned that King Xavian abdicated when he learned he was really the missing Prince Zafir of Calista (The Royal House of Karades series). This meant then Kareef Al’Ramiz would be the next heir to the throne. However Kareef fell in love with a woman from his past, someone who could not produce an heir. Because of his love for her, he abdicated leaving his brother Rafiq Al’Ramiz the next in line to be King.

Coming home to Qusay was hard for Rafiq because of the memories and the woman he left behind, the woman he loved and who betrayed him by marrying another man. The very same woman named Sera who was now his mother’s companion and living in the palace, the woman he hated! Sera had married for wealth, privilege and status and now she was a widow. On top of it all, his mother the Sheikha wanted him to go into the desert to a village where the women of the village made beautiful fabrics to see if he wanted the fabrics exclusively for his emporium back in Australia. The same business he built from nothing which was a huge success because he enjoyed the challenge. Because of adversity it had shaped him into the man he was today. And Rafiq saw this journey as a way of getting revenge from Sera by taking her along with him. Knowing she was uncomfortable just being around him, pleased Rafiq and feeling her squirm in the vehicle, gave him great pleasure!

Sera was terrified. Remembering back eleven years ago when she loved him, all of the pain came flooding back. The Sheikha said maybe this trip was a way to put the past behind them, a chance to heal. However, sitting next to him, remembering their past love was killing her. And then at an oasis stop, emotions welled up when she held a visitors baby and if that wasn’t bad enough, Rafiq asked way too many questions, making her uncomfortable, making her remember their time spent together when they loved each other. And then Rafiq confronted her about how she had not only hurt him but had humiliated him, and he exploded in anger. She remembered how his father the King and her father demanded she marry Hussein, the Qusay ambassador, the same man her father promised her to years earlier. There had already been one scandal in the King’s family and he wasn’t about to have another.

For both Rafiq and Sera the trip was troubling. On top of that the emotion they were both feeling, remembering the past. So many secrets were revealed the entire “horror” of her marriage. Trish Morey wrote those scenes with such pain and passion she’ll have you weeping, I promise! When Rafiq realized he’d been blinded by his past pain and learned what part his father had played in Sera’s marriage he was shocked.

Just when you think they will get their second chance, the fates go against them. Rafiq wanted Sera to return to Australia and live with him but upon returning to the palace he’s told his brother had abdicated and he, Rafiq would now be King. Everything started to unravel in front of both their eyes when this proud man told her he loved her and wanted her to be his Queen. More secrets from Sera’s past marriage were revealed, horrible things her husband insisted she do, his threats and for Rafiq the enormity of these wrongs against Sera were overwhelming. Could he be King and also have the woman he loved as he wife? Or would he realize his future was with the her not the kingdom of Qusay?

As a wise village woman told him:

"Sometimes we look only with our eyes and we see only that which is right in front of us. Some people have perfect vision but will never see. For sometimes we must look beyond the pictures our mind presents as fact. Sometimes we need to see what is in our hearts. Only then do we see what is really true."

Trish Morey with her Forbidden: The Sheikh’s Virgin’s gave both Rafiq and Sera the second chance they deserved. But it also left a question as to who would be king. It left one to wonder if the youngest of the Al’Ramiz brothers’, Tahir would be found in the desert since his helicopter crashed. Would Tahir become king because it was obvious Rafiq was not giving up Sera the love of his life.


A kingdom torn apart by scandal, a throne left empty' four smoldering desert princes....Which one will claim the crown - and who will they claim as their brides?

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

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