One of best DPs I've read so far, and a great chaser for Fearless (aka Rodrigo), which left a bad taste in my mouth. It's an early one (1984, SilhouetOne of best DPs I've read so far, and a great chaser for Fearless (aka Rodrigo), which left a bad taste in my mouth. It's an early one (1984, Silhouette Desire), and I can see with this one why DP is so beloved. Laugh out loud funny, smoking hot, and sweet without being cloying or preachy. Loved the fiesty, sharp-witted, mouthy, free-spirit heroine, who is the perfect foil and fit for the buttoned-down hero who's alpha but not invulnerable. Add in great secondary characters, a plot that moves along briskly despite being a straight romance (no spies-like-us or cop capers that take up so much space in later DP novels), and some hilarious 80s fashion references (Halston, powder-blue tuxedos, musk and British Steel cologne!), and it's a real old-skool treat!
Sure, we've got the usual virgin worship, chesty foreplay, hairy hero, and soap-boxing (conservation, a DP fave), but we've also got a hero with vulnerabilities and a case of treacherous body syndrome that's even worse than the heroine's (aside: I think it's hilarious that DP's heroes are so often "minute men" on first encounters with the heroines, hee), a heroine who kicks ass, and lots of romance and intensity. One of my fave so far in DPs immense catalog!...more
Boy, do MR MCs like to fight and fuck. Sweet but fiesty sheltered heroine falls for brooding Greek gazillionaire with dark past--we've seen it plenty Boy, do MR MCs like to fight and fuck. Sweet but fiesty sheltered heroine falls for brooding Greek gazillionaire with dark past--we've seen it plenty of times from Reid, but she does it so well! Sure, her alpha heroes can be big jerks, but since it usually causes the heroine to react by swinging for their big, arrogant faces, they've more than met their match. Well-matched MCs, enough dark backstory to allay the hero's occasional boneheadedness, a ridiculously innocent bombshell heroine who apparently grew up on a 19th century farm (whatever, it works), one-shot pregnancy, hot sex--it's all here! A quick and fun read with scrappy MCs that I enjoyed....more
I re-read Susan Fox a lot, when I'm between new books and need an angst fix. Maaaaan, she's the best at misjudged heroines and hot alpha heroes who caI re-read Susan Fox a lot, when I'm between new books and need an angst fix. Maaaaan, she's the best at misjudged heroines and hot alpha heroes who can be jerks until they turn all protective and possessive. Love it!
Wild at Heart is one of my faves. Poor heroine, who feels like an outcast even though she's been raised as a daughter by a rich rancher, for years in love with the hero, who has always rejected her as a foster sister or anything else. Heroine Rio has an appealing honesty and dignity, although she, like so many of SF's heroines, is wary and sadly isolated, other than her close relationship with her surrogate father. The grief she and the hero share after his death brings them closer together, as does the hero's realization that he's in love with her and it's time to stop fighting the attraction between them. Add in a pernicious stepmother who evilly tries to derail the relationship between the hero and heroine and the advent of a potential OM (the hero from SF's The Man She'll Marry and it's good and angsty right up to the HEAs!
It's the usual SF formula, but it works for me almost every time. I just wish she'd written more books (she wrote Harlequin Romances exclusively, I think, and is not to be confused with the other Susan Fox (Savanna Fox/Susan Lyons) who writes contemporary romance more recently). ...more
OK, after reading this one, finally I think I GET Lynne Graham. It took a while. :-D
Equally insane smitten MCs stricken witless by instalove/lust. ToOK, after reading this one, finally I think I GET Lynne Graham. It took a while. :-D
Equally insane smitten MCs stricken witless by instalove/lust. To the point where they are completely unable to resist one another--morals go by the wayside, sense and self-protection go out the window. The hero is such a Neanderthal who wants what he wants (the heroine) that he flatly REFUSES to even consider or feel the least bit guilty about the the lengths to which he's prepared to go (including cheating on his "suitable" fiancee). The heroine at least tries to do the right things (once she becomes aware of the wrong things) but it's a wasted effort. There are lies by omission b/c the hero will do anything to have the heroine, a one-shot pregnancy that changes everything, a blockheaded Gorilla Guido hero (I don't care that he's Greek, it still fits) who is gobsmacked by the heroine's pointed and accurate comments about his lack of conscience and morals but who actually seems willing to change to be the "hero" she believed he was at the beginning; a heroine who starts off like a star-struck adolescent and ends up with a typical case of Lynne Graham extreme TBS/instalove that cannot be reasoned away or resisted.
Best of all, with all the implied angst, TPB is FUNNY! There are some genuinely laugh out loud moments with these clueless and helpless two. Funny LG is at her best--it makes her MCs so much more likable when I finally understood how helpless they are in the face of their mutual feelings. They literally cannot help themselves.
One of my fave LG books to date, with all the things that make her readers such fervent admirers. ...more
Everyone seems to judge Lynn Graham's "sophisticated caveman" heroes, but I honestly can't stand some of her heroines. Morally ambivalent, strident, dEveryone seems to judge Lynn Graham's "sophisticated caveman" heroes, but I honestly can't stand some of her heroines. Morally ambivalent, strident, desperate--just ick. Take this one--stalkerish chick seizes first opportunity to inflict herself on her trope-stricken (view spoiler)[--a classic: amnesia! (hide spoiler)] MoC partner, whose money she took after insisting she would just NEVER take money to go through a marriage ceremony and who has ignored her ever since. She has every opportunity to tell him the truth about their arrangement but instead falls into bed with him at first opportunity. He's clearly moved on in the four years since the wedding, even if he hasn't gotten around to dissolving the marriage, but she's still as pathetic as when she was begging him for dates when she was his hair dresser. Yeah, Graham dresses it up--she gave back MOST of the money, she needed it for selfless purposes, she only does what she does because true love--yeah, whatever. I just didn't like her and thought she acted dishonestly, entirely selfishly, and with zero self respect, let alone self control.
But that's okay, the hero was a douchebag anyway, and no doubt her "reward" will be living as his doormat for however long he keeps her around, putting up with his cruel comments just for the hot sex.
Maybe I'm too harsh! But in the other LG book I read recently, the MCs end up defending the heroine's trope-tastic evil twin for defrauding an old man out of his inheritance, so I was primed not to like her characters in this one. And they didn't disappoint. These two get a "deserve one another" HEA....more
I went in to this read with a chip on my shoulder for some reason--it's written in first person, which I don't usually like; the heroine is an ex-cheeI went in to this read with a chip on my shoulder for some reason--it's written in first person, which I don't usually like; the heroine is an ex-cheerleader and daughter of a beauty queen; it's a romantic suspense novel, which are never really my cuppa (I love romance and I love suspense but find the combo usually too diluted in both measures).
Well, I should have known Linda Howard could pull it off. For one thing, she writes southern characters, with all their quirks and conventions, really well, being one herself. For another, she's funny as hell sometimes. And that humor shines in TDF! Blair Mallory is a hilarious heroine, full of self worth and confidence, ready to act the ditzy blonde that she most assuredly is NOT if it will smooth her path, and definitely ready to make the hero, who dumped her two years prior without explanation after a couple of dates, work hard to get her back (in keeping with her ethos: if he walks out, he crawls back, hee).
Ah, but cop hero Wyatt Bloodsworth is a worthy match (and he has a secret weapon in his arsenal when it comes to breaking down her defenses). These two scrap and spar and very sexily come together when he strides back into her life after she witnesses a murder. When she becomes a target, Wyatt's all in in his efforts to protect her and to resume a relationship that he's ready to commit to now. Blair definitely puts him through the ringer. She won me over too, because for all her strategies to make him a little crazy and her games, there's a sense of fun and self-knowledge that made her, for me, truly likable. Her family dynamics were fun to read too.
And first person voice really worked in this one--we get a real sense of who our heroine is at the core and amusing insights into her thought processes and value system. Really funny stuff, with the trademark Howard heat. Sure, I guessed easily and early who the likely villain was, but it was still fun getting to the end.
Another winner from Ms. Howard, and I'm looking forward to more antics from Blair and Wyatt in LH's sequel, Drop-Dead Gorgeous. I guess Howard liked these characters as much as I did and probably had a good time writing about them. I definitely enjoyed reading about them!...more
Sweet and steamy tale of a deposed princess who wants nothing more than a normal, quiet life and a roguish knight who is not above a con if it serves Sweet and steamy tale of a deposed princess who wants nothing more than a normal, quiet life and a roguish knight who is not above a con if it serves his ends but who becomes a better person when called upon to take care of his own. Loved the characters, who were very distinct from the MCs in Coldbreath's other books. Una especially was really appealing, with a sweetness that hadn't been lost in the course of her sad and difficult life as a political pawn but someone who was well aware of the uglier side of life despite her royal lineage. Lots of quiet angst that was not OTT but very effective in understanding the heroine's nature and choices. Hero Armand was equally appealing, a scoundrel with a good heart and a twinkle in his eye, but who has a capable and formidable side, not to mention the possessiveness and sexual dominance that make her heroes so hot to me. There's never any doubt for long of the MC's feelings in Coldbreath's books!
This has all the elements that have made me such an Alice Coldbreath fan: the very alpha hero (despite his sunnier-than-usual (for a Coldbreath hero) nature; a sweet but not cloying heroine; steamy sex scenes; intense focus on the relationship between the MCs; lots of humor; and some memorable secondary characters. I love Coldbreath's mix of spice and sweetness and can't wait for the next one in this series!...more
This may be my favorite of all of Coldbreath's Karadok books--and that's saying something. She's terrific! She writes the kind of books that I *love*-This may be my favorite of all of Coldbreath's Karadok books--and that's saying something. She's terrific! She writes the kind of books that I *love*--reminiscent of Johanna Lindsey in her heyday, but with stronger, funnier heroines and super-smitten uber-alpha heroes. I just love the chemistry, camaraderie, and snappy dialogue between her characters, and the D/s-y sex scenes that are hot as hell. AC does a great job of stretching out the sexual tension too--in this one, the MCs gradually build up to consummation with increasingly intimate (and very hot) scenes that allow them to build emotional connectedness and partnership before the Big Moment occurs. Her world building--a medieval kingdom called Karadok--gets better with every book too.
I think I liked The Unlovely Bride so much because I had read the other books featuring heroine Lenora before reading this one. She grows from being a vapid and spoiled court beauty who can't even be bothered to talk to other people in Coldbreath's Vawdrey Brother books (although her love for her cousin, the heroine of the 3rd VB book, softens her a little) into the gutsy, very likable heroine of this book, who has lost her looks and survived a horrific experience as a pox victim but who becomes a real and better person as a result.
There was so much I liked about this book, but as with other AC books, it's the core relationship between the surprisingly unspoiled heroine and the seemingly rude, crude brute of a hero who, like AC's other heroes, turns out to be an excellent mate in the end, that really makes the story. AC may write the same kind of big, brooding, intimidating and very Dommy heroes in almost every book, but maaaan do I like her kind of hero! And her heroines do a pretty good job of standing up to them, albeit within the confines of the medieval settings of the stories. The scenes where Garman comforts Lenora, awakening her from her nightmares with the assurance that she's safe and he's there, are really moving and set the stage for their relationship from the start. Well drawn secondary characters, including the heroine's cats, really round out the story.
Great tension, romance, heat, and characters, written in a clean and amusing style that shows real talent at work here. AC has managed to blend what I liked most about steamy vintage romance with a more modern sensibility, and it just WORKS. She is my absolute favorite modern romance writer working today, and I can't wait for more from her. ...more
Gotta love Elizabeth Lowell, who writes series that are essentially the same book over and over with just a few details changed--and yet manages to maGotta love Elizabeth Lowell, who writes series that are essentially the same book over and over with just a few details changed--and yet manages to make each one an entertaining read. Doesn't hurt that she writes great sexual tension that's maintained a good long time before culminating in hot--if very drawn out--sex scenes; hard-ass uberalpha gunslinger heroes; and tender-but-tough heroines in these historical Westerns. Her landscape descriptions and Western "flavor" are her real gifts, conjuring up open vistas, dangerous renegades, and a gritty, if romanticized, Wild Wild West.
So this is the one with the Biblical-justice-dealing hardass Caleb and the spunky "Southern lady" Willow, who is determined to bring her Arabian horses through the dangerous Colorado Territory to reunite with her brother (who she claims is her husband and who Caleb suspects is her lover). What she doesn't know is that Cal is out for her brother's blood--and doesn't have much of an opinion of the "fancy lady" who he's been hired to guide. Lots sexual tension, hero-heroine sparring, slut shaming, dangerous outlaws (the villainous Culpepper clan, who appear in all the "Only" books as well as the two related "Maxwell brother" books), and quite a few very sexy encounters.
For fans of very alpha asshattish heroes who turn protective; innocent heroines who are saved from Mary Sue status by virtue of stubbornness and sharp tongues, and good Western detail, Lowell delivers. Her character types and plots differ very little from book to book (in this one, it's "get the horses through the mountains with outlaws tracking you down and shooting at you; in others, it's find the silver (or gold) with outlaws tracking you down and shooting at you), so I would suggest spacing out the books in the series, but overall I enjoyed the heat, the battling MCs, the heartless heroes being felled by the irresistible forces of love, and Lowell's skilled, if sometimes violet-tinged, writing. Good vintage Western romance, with recurring characters....more
AC does it again, concocting a tasty mix of hot sex, smitten MCs, a fairytale fantasy kingdom with just enough grit, and an amusing supporting cast. WAC does it again, concocting a tasty mix of hot sex, smitten MCs, a fairytale fantasy kingdom with just enough grit, and an amusing supporting cast. While this story of the third and youngest Vawdrey brother, Roland, can stand alone, having the knowledge of the characters and framework from the earlier books definitely makes it a richer and fuller read.
Roland is sufficiently different from his brothers, and from the arrogant and spoiled young Roland we met in the previous books, to make this tale just different enough from those other books. The different settings--mainly jousting tournaments and the hero's dog-filled fortress--helped give it a unique flavor as well. Basically, it's a "jock jerk and valedictorian fall in love" story (if I put it in high school terms), except that our jock jerk has grown up a bit, and our prissy miss isn't so perfect once she's freed of the fear of being rejected for being anything else. Roland is actually, and surprisingly, the sweetest and most smitten of the three brothers, it turns out--something I never would have imagined from reading the other two books, but AC pulls it off!
I really enjoyed all three of the books in this series (part of a series of six books so far, set in Coldbreath's imaginary pseudo-medieval kingdom of Karadok). Having read all three in pretty quick succession, I could see a lot of repetition in character types and traits, but somehow each set of MCs managed to be just different enough for it to work. AC's stories work for me because I find her mix of almost instantly smitten characters and very alpha and sexually dominant heroes just what I like in the romance genre. There's a sweetness to her characters that just works for me, too. And her secondary characters (including the animals--a pack of dogs in this one) are a lot of fun. All that pounding sex is pretty hot too! ;-)...more
GR reviewers come through again! Frothy, funny, sexy, and utterly entertaining—I went in skeptical, but consider me a convert. Coldbreath writes a vibGR reviewers come through again! Frothy, funny, sexy, and utterly entertaining—I went in skeptical, but consider me a convert. Coldbreath writes a vibrant and fun cast of characters, including the growly, deliciously Dommy-in-the-sack warlord hero; the sweet, smart, freckled Sleeping Beauty heroine, and a cast of amusing and engaging secondary characters. The MCs reminded me a bit of the MCs of Julie Garwood’s The Bride—particularly the heroine, who is innocent, self-effacing but growing in confidence by leaps and bounds, and entirely endearing. And seeing the commanding hero so completely baffled by his feelings for his wife of convenience and trying to figure out what’s happening to him (hint, hero: you’re falling in love) was a riot. Great heat too! Sure, the world building in this mythical kingdom is cheerfully sketchy, the language is a ridiculous mix of modern day idiom and “romance-novel medieval;” the vaguely medieval setting relies pretty much on references to clothing (braes and chausses and veils, oh my!) and castles, but who cares? This was super-cute and a lotta fun and I am eager to read the other books in the series....more
Alas, my honeymoon with Sara Craven is over. After three good ones, this book (pfffttt), featuring a mousey (but incredibly sexy, once she gets a WhatAlas, my honeymoon with Sara Craven is over. After three good ones, this book (pfffttt), featuring a mousey (but incredibly sexy, once she gets a What Not to Wear style makeover) poor relation in love with her cousin’s macho Brazilian fiancé, started off promising but then completely failed to deliver, mainly because of the idiotic, childish, selfish heroine. We’ve seen this setup plenty of times—Violet Winspear goes full OTT wrecki-drama in Child of Judas by having the poor-relation cousin pull a bold and insane substitute-bride switcharoo at the altar (with punishing results); Betty Neels has the mousey sister deliver the jilting letter and suggest an MoC (with lovelorn results) in the The Hasty Marriage; The Devil’s Bride by Margaret Pargeter has jilted and blind JERK fiancé force the imposter cousin into an MoC with benefits (with punishing results again)… just to name a few. We are on well-trodden terrain here but it usually delivers, so I was off to a happy start. This is one of my favorite tropes--so how did SC screw it up so badly?
In this case, the heroine completely ruined it for me. Most of SC’s heroines, in the books I’ve read, seem to have nitwit tendencies but Abigail is not just a total nitwit , she’s completely self centered and obsessed with the supposed hurt the hero inflicts--because she thinks he doesn't wuv her. The thing is, he is clearly besotted from almost the beginning and despite some alphahole tendencies and vintage behavior, is actually a nice guy most of the time, when he’s not being jealous because of her “friendship” with the douchey American manager of the neighboring Brazilian cocoa farm or being driven crazy by her hot-and-cold behavior towards him. I felt bad for Vasco (although SC shows him in a bad light when he insists on sex, perfunctory and unsatisfying, with his wife a few times, so there’s that). He would have been better off with the heroine’s horrible cousin—who was still a better bet than Abigail ended up being. He even would have been better off with his neighbor, who was known as The Black Widow. And the Big Misunderstanding at the center of their conflict was stupid--literally, one completed sentence on either side would have cleared things up. Weak.
Not only is the heroine a complete brat who focuses incessantly on her supposed woes (mainly that the hero doesn’t love her as she “loves” him), she also keeps vital information from him (about a plant fungus that is potentially devastating to his crops and does indeed wreak near-ruin on his property. She's vapid, stupid, horrid, insipid, and probably a whole bunch of other negative words ending in "id" that I can't think of (oh, and completely id-driven, so that works). She ruined the book for me, despite a hot Latin hero, some interesting information about Brazilian cocoa farms and the many dangers that face them, an exotic locale, and some decent occasional heat. After a handful of SC books that I enjoyed, this one was a dud....more
I’m three for three with Sara Craven (and thank you Iris for reminding me about her!). The sexual tension in DA is unrelenting from beginning to end, I’m three for three with Sara Craven (and thank you Iris for reminding me about her!). The sexual tension in DA is unrelenting from beginning to end, with heat shimmering between our mutually infatuated MCs whom circumstances have forced to be antagonists. Is there anyone who did sustained sexual tension with a side of angst better than SC?
She was conscious of him all the time. Above the laughter and chatter of the women there seemed to be a silent zone where the two of them existed alone. A place where she could look at him, and smile, and say the words of love and desire that she dared not even think. Where his kisses burned on her parted lips and her body bloomed under the touch of his hands. A secret place, she thought, which would haunt her for the rest of her life, tormenting her with all kinds of unfulfilled yearnings.
The innocent (but not naïve) heroine’s desperate determination to NOT succumb and become just another of “Xandreou’s women” is palpable throughout and makes her a good match (both as an antagonist and future mate) for our ruthless, autocratic hero. Nic potentially holds all advantage in their “negotiations,” really, but to his credit, he doesn’t really steamroll the heroine as he probably could, and overall his intentions are good, although he needs to realize his sibs are grown up and that his experiences will not necessarily be theirs. It’s a pretty angsty read because Camilla is netted by her own unmanageable reactions and growing feelings for the arrogant Greek hero, who is just as infatuated but determined not to become emotionally involved with her, at first because he thinks she and her sister are out for a payoff but also because of a previous disastrous marriage to someone who was not from his culture. It’s clear he’d be happy to have sex with her but our heroine makes it clear (with a good wallop at one point) that that’s not going to happen if she can help it. SC sets up a conflict/relationship that should be unbalanced, given the hero’s wealth and power, neither of which the heroine has, but in making their roles as defacto parents to their younger siblings so similar and in making it clear that their mutual attraction is equal on both sides, the balance of power isn’t really so uneven, the heroine’s inexperience notwithstanding. It’s nicely done.
(view spoiler)[Camilla’s younger sister, Katie, and Nic’s younger brother, Spiro, had previously met in Greece and Katie came back with a souvenir (the kind that emerges after a nine-month gestation). When Spiro fails to show up in England as promised, Katie insists that they go to Greece to find him, and Camilla reluctantly agrees.
They travel to our Greek shipping magnate hero’s Aegean island, where Camilla finds her inquiries blocked by the locals and soon determines that Spiro is the scion of a wealthy family, and his brother is more or less the big man on the island. She manages to find out where the Xandreous compound is located and rides a scooter up to their eyrie. She is met by an armed security guard who, once it's approved, escorts her into the compound, where she meets the “dark Apollo” of the title—hero Nic Xandreou, who purposely insults her, as he wouldn’t a woman of his own country she is aware, by emerging naked from the pool and casually drying himself off as he tells her curtly to state her business. She thinks he is Spiro; he thinks she is Katie, and the spat at cross purposes, as he slut shames and she furiously demands he take responsibility for “his” actions. She storms out and gets accidentally run off the road by his sister and is taken back to the house for first aid. From the very start, there’s an explosive physical reaction between our MCs. They bicker some more as he cleans up her scrapes (and strips her ruined shirt off her to her outraged chagrin), and drives her back to her hotel, where he loses his temper and punishing kisses ensue. The heroine is enraged and humiliated to know that the sniggering townspeople now think she’s just an easy conquest for our hero Nic.
Nic is autocratic and ice cold, and is determined that neither of his younger siblings, whom he (like the heroine) has parented from a far-too-young age, will make the same mistake that he made and marry outside their culture. As a young man, Nic had fallen for and married an aspiring actress who soon became bored with being the wife of a busy and often absent businessman and returned to Hollywood, where she found the success that had previously eluded her. She also found one hell of a drug problem and ended up dying of an overdose. Nic is haunted and bitter about the past and sees his attraction to Camilla as a weakness. He’d be fine with a fling, it soon becomes obvious, but Camilla is not that kind of girl.
Or is she? She suffers terribly from treacherous body syndrome. But she detests him for his refusal to consider letting her sister even see his brother Spiro, who is recovering from a car accident (and amnesia, that classic Harley trope, yay!). Given that they are the impetus for most of the action and conflict in the story, we actually see very little of sister Katie (who is generally resting or on the beach) and even less of Spiro.
His sister Arianna becomes Camilla’s and Katie’s ally, mainly because she is in love with the local doctor and thinks that by helping Katie and Spiro, she might help herself avoid an arranged marriage if they can crack Nic’s inflexible and old school attitude toward his younger siblings. When Katie and Camilla get thrown out of their hotel (because the witchy owner’s wife hates Camilla for getting her cousin in trouble with Nic for renting her a dangerous scooter), Arianna insists that laws of hospitality require that they offer alternative accommodation, and since both Nic and Camilla react with vehemence against the idea that the sisters move into the villa for the rest of their stay, they are offered the family beach house, a short distance by sea (but not by land) from the villa.
We have a near seduction when Nic shows up early one morning at the beach house, but Camilla comes to her senses and he backs off. Yay for a self-protecting heroine who can say no (despite wanting very much to say yes). But it’s clear where things are going, even though Camilla knows she's fallen in love and is doing her best to keep Nic at arms-length because she knows there's no future for them. And when Camilla agrees to keep Nic out of the say for a day so that his sister can bring Katie to see Spiro, hoping the shock of seeing her will help him to recover his memory, Nic and Camilla end up having sex on the beach (after he rescues her from drowning when she swims out too far).
More angst and misunderstanding, as Camilla accuses Nic of a cynical seduction and Nic thinks Camilla deliberately let him seduce her to buy time to bring their siblings together against his wishes. He still seems vehemently opposed to the couple marrying but his brother, memory recovered, tells him that he doesn’t care—he’s marrying Katie with or without big brother’s approval, so suck it. Nic realizes he will destroy his relationship with his brother forever if he doesn't back down, and he finally realizes Spiro is all grown up (and he and Katie are the real deal), so he relents and our baby-making couple will get their HEA.
Camilla doesn’t see Nic after their blowup and is heartsick and fearful that she, like her sister, might end up pregnant from her ill-advised moment of weakness, but she’s heading back to England and not sure if she’ll be back for Katie’s wedding. She’s packing to leave on the late afternoon ferry when Nic’s sister shows up hysterical, saying that Nic is sending her away to stay with some aunts until he has arranged a marriage to her. Camilla refuses to help her flee to England with her, knowing that poor little rich girl Arianna isn’t going to live in a tiny flat with her and thinking that Nic hates her enough as it is, so Arianna says she’ll be on a flight to anywhere asap and takes off. Camilla is fearful that she’s set an even worse scenario into play and decides—like an idiot, given that she almost drowned once already—that she’ll swim across the bay to the villa to warn Nic about his sister’s stupid plan (and to clear up some misunderstandings about her motives in sleeping with him before she leaves for good). Apparently sex with hot Greek millionaires scrambles the brain, because she sets off in the night to do her Channel crossing and almost drowns midway.
But as Fate (resident on the island of course) would have it, Nic fishes her out of the water onto his obligatory Greek tycoon caique and takes her back to the villa to be dried out, wrapped up, warmed up, and mildly (for him) admonished for idiocy. Explanations (including that he’s dumped his Athens-based mistress, whom we know he hasn’t seen since the heroine’s arrival, so no cheating), plot threads tied up, marriages in the near future for all three Xandreou siblings (Arianna will get to marry her doctor), and an HEA for our happy couple. (hide spoiler)]
SC did old-skool so very well in this one—a deliciously dommy hero who manages not to be a complete ass; a mostly steel-spined heroine who doesn’t give up too easily and isn't cowed by the powerful, arrogant hero; some really great heat and sexual tension as only SC can deliver; and a tight focus on the MCs even though a central conflict between them rests heavily on secondary characters. This should read as far more cliched than it does, especially given HP’s love for arrogant Greek heroes, but SC makes it her own somehow, despite the familiar tropes. She’s rapidly becoming one of my fave vintage Harley authors....more
Sara Craven does Caribbean Gothic (it's a thing!), with pirate ghosts, stalkeriffic crazy ladies with slashing scissors, an innocent heroine coerced iSara Craven does Caribbean Gothic (it's a thing!), with pirate ghosts, stalkeriffic crazy ladies with slashing scissors, an innocent heroine coerced into an MoC with a piratical descendent of El Diable with a penchant for spanking (so, typical SC), the most unlikely custody battle ever, a rebellious and resentful stepdaughter, a beautiful housekeeper who may or may not be (1) Mrs. Danversing the heroine and (2) possibly the hero's mistress... shall I go on? Because there is more: punishing kisses, forced almost-seduction, unforced almost-seduction, instalove, a smitten hero behaving badly, drinks thrown in faces, skinny dipping, lots of advance-retreat seduction scenes, more stepchild antics (fake drowning! Ghost messages in mirrors!), hurt feelings, misunderstandings, some angry angst. And throughout all of this, our teenaged heroine somehow mostly keeps her cools and deals, for the most part, practically and sensibly with all the OTT drama!
Wow, this was a lot of fun, I have to say--ludicrous, old-skool, no holds barred. Somehow SC managed to make this funny, dramatic, suspenseful, and pretty hot all in one 187 page package. Quite a feat! Boogenhausen thoroughly and amusingly recaps the entire thing, so read her review for more deets--or just plunge on in, like our intrepid heroine does. ...more
Think "Romancing the Stone" with a Conquistador-descended sexy Colombian hero (with an eyepatch!) and a young nitwit heroine bungling in the jungle loThink "Romancing the Stone" with a Conquistador-descended sexy Colombian hero (with an eyepatch!) and a young nitwit heroine bungling in the jungle looking for her spoilt brat geologist brother who has disappeared looking for a legendary emerald (the titular "flame of Diablo"). Good sexual tension between our virginal English miss and the dashing and dangerous hero who saves her from all manner of danger (rape, snakes, bad guys) but wants payment "in kind" (wink wink). It's pretty clear from the beginning that our hero is smitten, and our heroine is in insta-love, but they argue and miscommunicate to the point where all seduction attempts end in mutual frustration. (view spoiler)[ On route through the jungle to find her brother, with the hero as her guide, the hapless heroine gets captured by the villain who half-blinded the hero when he was a child and killed his father, finds that he's also holding her brother, and the hero has to bargain the long-held family secret location of the emeralds in exchange for their lives. The evil desperado agrees (OK) to let the heroine spend a last night with the hero, since they'll be, I dunno, torturing and killing him after he shows them the mine? and our hero and heroine FINALLY knock boots. The hero effects their escape (with the help of the army, which was closing in on the bad guys) as the mine collapses; takes the heroine home to mama at his ancestral manor; and insists they get married because she might be pregnant. More misunderstandings almost tear them apart, but explanations and love will out, and we have our HEA. (hide spoiler)]
The heroine (and her brother, for his brief chapters) were annoying but this wildly romantic and improbable story was actually a lot of fun. Great heat between our hero and heroine, some very old skool happenings (bratty, immature heroine; dangerous but patrician alpha hero; a spanking!--SC seems to have liked to throw those into her earlier novels), and a satisfying resolution. I forgot how good SC was--silly escapist fun!...more
This suffered from the same flaw as Linda Howard's Mackenzie series (and I'm amused at the similarities between the two series): after a while, the heThis suffered from the same flaw as Linda Howard's Mackenzie series (and I'm amused at the similarities between the two series): after a while, the heroes are kind of rehashes of other heroes in the series. In LH's case, the diffs between superspy heroes Zane (Mackenzie's Pleasure) and Chance (A Game of Chance) seemed minimal to the point where the difference seemed to come down to eye color and a slight difference in levels of bitterness. Ditto here: Hero Nevada Blackthorn is pretty much a carbon copy of his older brother Tennessee Blackthorne, hero of EL's Outlaw, except for eye color (ice-blue vs. ice green) and is even MORE damaged by war than his brother and equally determined not to let the heroine breach his emotional defenses.
Heroine Eden is a wildlife biologist who studies cougars, and the comparison of our our sleek, dangerous, cold-eyed hero to the big cats is endless. EL's high desert landscapes are, once again, the real star, of this book. I can't really remember much about the heroine other than her job and the fact that she hails from Alaska, brought up by "off-the-grid" parents and can handle herself in the wilderness pretty well. She has a tame half-wolf for protection because why not? She's an improbable virgin if I recall correctly, but whether from choice or trauma I can't recall (which is a little telling given that I read this book within the last couple of weeks and have forgotten most of the details). This one follows the usual pattern: shuttered hero is determined to withstand any emotional involvement with the heroine; thinks he can keep it to sex only, finds out he can't but by then she's gone off (view spoiler)[ to have his secret baby (hide spoiler)], chases her down, HEA. A tasty enough confection, but not particularly filling.
The entire series was pretty good but I liked the first two books the best. I wish Lowell had written a book about the Rocking M ranch founder, Case MacKenzie, but the closest we get is his brother Ty's story in the one historical novel in the series, Reckless Love, which was completely ridiculous but pretty entertaining. Overall, this was a fun western romance series with pretty good world/history building and an interconnecting group of MCs who were all fairly similar and indistinguishable after a while. Part of the problem might be my tendency to rush through series, so don't let my ambivalence deter you if you enjoy western romances: lots of good stuff in the series to like if you have a hankering for jerk alphas, self-sacrificing heroines, angst, good sexy heat, and gorgeous descriptions of western landscapes....more
Third in a series of related Western romances (originally Silhouette Desire line). Not bad! Archaeologist Diana Saxton visits the ranch at the heart oThird in a series of related Western romances (originally Silhouette Desire line). Not bad! Archaeologist Diana Saxton visits the ranch at the heart of the series to research Anasazi artifacts and is instantly attracted to "ramrod" (ranch foreman) Tennessee Blackthorn. Unfortunately, Diana has a bad experience in her past that has made her afraid of men and sex: (view spoiler)[ she was raped by her fiance (hide spoiler)]. Ten is a gamma hero--alpha and fearless when it comes to protecting his own, but patient and understanding as mutual attraction kindles between him and Diana. The heat between them builds slowly and sweetly. The descriptions of the high-country redrock landscape are wonderful, and the tie-ins with other books in the series and the fictional history of the families and the land are a nice frame for the story. Lots of interesting details about potshards, pothunters, Anasazi, etc.
The resolution of the heroine's trauma is a little lightweight (love conquers all!), but overall this was an entertaining book. I liked Tennessee as a hero (he's not nearly as alphaholish as the heroes in the first two books in the series, and while I enjoy my vintage asshats, it's nice to take a break). I'm looking forward to the remaining two books in the series!...more
Story/schmory--the sex scenes in this were smoking hot! The story itself was okay--MoC between a grieving widower determined not to love again and a sStory/schmory--the sex scenes in this were smoking hot! The story itself was okay--MoC between a grieving widower determined not to love again and a southern belle who falls for her emotionally unavailable priapistic rancher husband. The writing is a little purple and clunky, the Western period details are just decent, and there's not a ton of character development (and we're told over and over again about the hero's Tragic Past and refusal to let the heroine into his heart to the point where I was willing to settle for the hot sex on her behalf)--but those D/s-y sex scenes, whew! Come for the angst; stay for the sex!...more
I forgot how much I liked Johanna Lindsey back in the day. PoMD is a no-holds-barred bodice ripper that is full of tropes and events that should probaI forgot how much I liked Johanna Lindsey back in the day. PoMD is a no-holds-barred bodice ripper that is full of tropes and events that should probably appall me, but I cut my teeth on these old-skool reads so probably much too late for me to muster up much moral indignation about 'em. ;-) At least JL has her heroines dish it out--(view spoiler)[the heroine in this one (unwillingly) rapes the hero (in order to beget an heir and save her mother's life), and his revenge is like for like. They both suffer terribly from treacherous body syndrome as well, so they're a well matched, to be sure. (hide spoiler)] Warrick is ALPHA and unrelenting, and for me that was pretty hot, especially given a heroine with a spine of steel who may not be in much of a position to fight back but who never really yields.
I enjoyed this re-read a lot--it definitely hits the right buttons for me, given that I find dub-con, Ds-y reads hot. If that's not your bent, this might not be for you. That aside, Lindsey does a good job of writing strong, interesting characters and building a nicely detailed medieval setting. A fun, unabashedly outrageous blast from the past! ...more
Linda Howard doing what she does: sexy heated romance spiced with a little danger and a touch of the paranormal. This novella is short at 70 pages (KiLinda Howard doing what she does: sexy heated romance spiced with a little danger and a touch of the paranormal. This novella is short at 70 pages (Kindle) but manages to build decent characters and great atmosphere (Alabama swamps), and we get not one but two hot sex scenes between our MCs. It's instalove, sure, but that's nothing new for LH characters, who quite often bond sexually and emotionally and team almost from the get-go. Likable MCs (a rural lawman and a shotgun-wielding fiesty heroine) are familiar and much-loved territory from LH. The suspense/danger elements get lip service but in a story this short, something has to give. Overall, an enjoyable, if not stellar, escape in short form....more
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