Cowgirls Don’t Cry by Lorelei James Paperback: e-Book Publisher: Samhain Available: November 9, 2010 Genre: Contemporary Romance – Western Source: Purchased by reviewer Reviewed by: Sophia (FV)

Jessie McKay has accepted her marriage to Luke McKay wasn’t perfect. After two years of widowhood, she’s ready to kick up her boot heels—until Luke’s younger brother shows up to spoil her fun. But if Brandt thinks she’ll ever take orders from another McKay male, he’s got manure for brains.

Brandt McKay has avoided his sweet, sexy sister-in-law ever since the night he confessed his feelings for her weren’t the brotherly type. Unexpectedly faced with proof of Luke’s infidelity, Brandt is forced to ask for Jessie’s help in taking care of Luke’s young son. Jessie agrees on one condition—she wants Brandt’s boots exclusively under her bed for the duration.

The sexual heat that’s always simmered between them ignites. Brandt is determined to make the temporary situation permanent, proving to Jessie he’s a one-woman man. And Jessie is shaken by feelings she’s sworn never to have again for any man…especially not a McKay.

First Impressions: I was not sure I was going to like the direction this book appeared to be going after reading the prologue.  I was a disappointed and really didn’t want to see Jessie going down a destructive road.  I should have known better, Lorelei James never lets me down in heroine department.  Things turned around quickly and I knew Jessie was going to be ok.

The Hero: My heart always goes out to a hero who’s been in love with his heroine from afar.  Brandt is a bit different from some of the cowboys in this series.  He’s a little more understated, mature and gentlemanly.  Not that the cowboys in this series are any less loveable, but Brandt is far more obvious and outward with his feelings and is a stand up guy all around.  He’s just as sexy and intense as all the rest of the McKay men though. 

The Heroine: Jessie has been through hell and back after a less than perfect marriage, then becoming a widow, losing her home and being forced to pick herself up and start over.  When she is faced with the undeniable evidence of her dead husband’s infidelity she is shaken but steps up and handles the situation with grace.  I liked that she stood up faced her problems when walking away would have been so much easier.

What worked: There is so much that worked for me in this book and this is supposed to be a short and sweet review so, I’ll try to narrow it down.  I loved that Jessie didn’t put up a huge fight over her feelings for Brandt throughout the entire story.  Yes, there was some reluctance but she didn’t put up ridiculous obstacles.  I also liked the we got a little dose McKay family antics throughout the book.  Good to know they have been getting’ busy, procreating and raising the next generation of wild McKays.  Of course the romance was intense and sexy and I loved both Jessie and Brandt.  Finally, if you read my blog you know I’ve developed a strange fascination with the llama.  I love’em.  Now I’m convinced that Lorelei James loves ME and specifically wrote llamas into the this story.  That’s right folks, there are llamas in Cowgirls Don’t Cry. So full of win I can’t stand it.  lol

What didn’t work: I wouldn’t necessarily say this didn’t work for me but I will say I was uncomfortable at first with the situation with Luke McKay’s baby being at the center of this romance.   But I do think Lorelei James handled this well despite the very sad circumstances and the eventual outcome was appropriate.  Also, more llama time would have been nice. *g*

Final conclusion: Lorelei James just can’t disappoint me with this series.  At ten books in and a huge cast of characters she still manages to bring a hero and heroine that are unique and stand out among the cowboys and cowgirls that have paved the way before them.  

Favorite Quote:

He whispered fiercely, “Give it to me.”

 

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The Princess In His Bed by Lila DiPasqua Paperback: 336 Publisher: Berkley Trade Available: November 2, 2010 Genre: Historical Romance Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Sophia (FV) 

The Marquis’ New Clothes

To save her cousin, Aimee must retrieve a jeweled ring from the most sinfully seductive man at court, the Marquis de Nattes. But to search his considerable wardrobe she’ll have to get very close to the notorious rake…and soon she finds herself very close to him indeed, with his clothes—and hers—utterly forgotten…

Both Aimee and Adam are attracted to each other.  Aimee would like to deny that fact since Adam, a friend of her late husband has a reputation as a rake.  Adam has wanted Aimee for years but she was the wife of his late friend and therefore off limits.  But now her mourning period is over, and when Adam turns up the heat, he is not to be resisted.  Adam is unknowingly in possession of a stolen ring that Aimee is trying to retrieve to save her cousin and in her quest to find it, she finds herself in a few awkward, and sexy situations. I liked that although this was a very sexy story it was also written with a touch of humor.  Aimee’s internal dialog is cute and she made me laugh several times.  Adam is a sexy beast in the boudoir and any lady he sets his sites on should consider herself very lucky.  The Marquis’ New Clothes is a very light, funny story, sort of like an “I Love Lucy” episode, with a very sexy twist.  I very much enjoyed Aimee’s antics on behalf of her cousin and the hot steamy romance between her and Adam. 

The Lovely Duckling

Reputed for his carnal skills, Joseph d’Alumbert prefers amorous encounters without emotional entanglement—until a quick-witted lady stirs tender feelings as well as hot desire. Emilie suffered burns to her body as an infant, and keeps her scars—and her heart—well hidden. But Joseph is determined to peel away her inhibitions, one slow steamy kiss at a time, to reveal the beautiful swan inside…

The Lovely Duckling is an emotional romance.  Emilie, has hidden herself from society ashamed of the scars she bears as a result of a fire when she was a child.  She was chastised and shunned at her coming out and has never forgiven those who caused her emotional scars.  Joseph was present the night Emilie was devastated by the cruel remarks make about her scars and although he could have stopped it, he did not.  Now years later, Emilie is ready experience the physical pleasures of sex and attends her aunts masquerade party with the intention of indulging in carnal pleasures.  Out of guilt, Joseph has posed as his twin brother Vincent and has not only gotten to know Emilie, but has come to care for her very much.  The thought of her giving herself to another is enough to drive him mad but since he has not been honest with her about his identity, he finds himself in a tangled web of lies that could cause him to lose Emilie forever.

This is my favorite story of the three novellas in A Princess In His Bed.  Although the heroine struggles with self-confidence she has a very strong core that made me like her very much.   Joseph complicates his romance with Emilie with a mess of lies, but he truly is a changed man and wants to protect and love her.  The ending was dramatic and a came about rather quickly but I still loved how it all played out.  A wonderfully romantic retelling of this classic tale.

The Princess and the Diamonds

Princess Gabrielle can’t sleep at night. There is something hard in her bed. No, not just the stolen diamonds tucked under her mattress, but the handsome marquis on it….whose carnal talents she can’t resist. But he threatens her secret mission, and worse, she stands to lose far more than the diamonds—her heart is at stake….

Mathias is probably my favorite hero in this set of novellas in that he is drop dead sexy and his character is well developed.  His back story is touching and he’s just all around likable.  The problem I had with this story was with the heroine.  Like Mathias, her motives are noble but I never felt the warmth from her character and therefore the romance faltered a bit for me.  I did enjoy the story,  however for me this was the weakest of the three in the romance department.

I am once again impressed by Lila DiPasqua’s fresh take on the age old classic fairy tales.  These novellas are hot, steamy and entertaining.  I look forward to reading the upcoming full length novel by Ms. DiPasqua, A Midnight Dance. 

 

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***Giveaway***

I have a copy of The Princess In His Bed to giveaway.  To enter tell me, what is your favorite quality in a romance hero? 

Giveaway ends December 3, open to all. 

Abandoned by J.P. Barnaby e-Book Publisher: TBD Available: TBD Genre: GLBT, Young Adult Source: Author

Reviewed by: Sophia (FV) 

Abandoned is the second book in the Little Boy Lost series by J.P. Barnaby.  This is a series you definitely need to read in order. 

Brian is a gay teen, living  in a very conservative southern town.  Life has become extremely difficult for him since the rumors of his sexuality are running rampant through the community.  Not only does he have to deal with the hostility at school and in the town, he is also dealing with a broken heart.  He and his best friend Jamie are in love.  But after Jamie’s family found out their relationship had gone far beyond friendship, they promptly packed the family up and moved to California leaving Brian hurt, and confused and no way to contact Jamie.  But Brian is not taking this forced separation sitting down.  In nine months he will graduate high school and turn eighteen.  He intends to find Jamie no matter what it takes.  Nine months seems like an eternity for Brian, and in that time he will face some hardships that will push him nearly beyond his limits. 

J.P. Barnaby pulls no punches and brings forth the harsh reality of life as a gay teen growing up and falling in love in a community where homosexuality is not tolerated.  In Abandoned, Brian faces an extreme level of bullying both physical and emotional,  not only from his peers but from his community as a whole.  But with the loving support of his adoptive parents and a trusted mentor, he is determined to put his life back together after a vicious physical attack and work his way through the emotional pain of being shunned. 

Abandoned is a little different from Enlightened, the first book in this series.  Enlightened was focused on romance, discovery and love for Brian and Jamie.  But in Abandoned, things have gone very wrong for them and J.P. Barnaby takes her readers on a heartbreaking journey with Brian.  I was touched by Brian’s determination and strength in the face of adversity and by his resilience.  Although this series as a whole is a romance, Abandoned was a little short in that area.  The story focused mostly on Brian’s hardships and I missed the romantic elements we got in the first book and I also missed Jamie’s presence within the story.  However I was left eagerly anticipating Jamie and Brian’s reunion at some point in the future.  Being young and in love they have much to overcome and I look forward to reading more of their journey as this series progresses. 

 

Book in this series:

• Enlightened
• Abandoned

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Geist by Philippa Ballantine  Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Ace Available: September 29th 2010 Genre: Fantasy Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Catherine 

Between the living and the dead is the Order of the Deacons, protectors of the Empire, guardians against possession, sentinels enlisted to ward off the malevolent haunting of the geists…

Among the most powerful of the Order is Sorcha, now thrust into partnership with the novice Deacon, Merrick Chambers. They have been dispatched to the isolated village of Ulrich to aide the Priory with a surge of violent geist activity. With them is Raed Rossin, Pretender to the throne that Sorcha is sworn to protect, and bearer of a terrible curse.

But what greets them in the strange settlement is something far more predatory and more horrifying than any mere haunting. And as she uncovers a tradition of twisted rituals passed down through the dark reaches of history, Sorcha will be forced to reconsider everything she thinks she knows.

And if she makes it out of Ulrich alive, what in Hell is she returning to?

Wow, this book turned out to be quite the dark horse for me! It had a pretty rough start. It took me days to get past the first three chapters. I just kept setting it down for something more interesting…like cleaning. I know, right? Buuuut somewhere before page one hundred things seemed to click for me. Even though I wasn’t rooting for every character whose pov I read (yet), I finally understood their motivations and cared about their storyline.

The first chapter was incredibly awkward. If you read the first chapter while browsing in a bookstore and set it back down because it didn’t seem like it was well written, you might want to give it another chance. It was almost like the author had this great idea but didn’t know how to start it off. So the beginning felt forced and awkward. Don’t despair, it didn’t stay like that forever!

Fantasy is not my genre of choice. I like the ideas in it, but it usually comes off feeling more distant than most of the other genres I read. Maybe it’s a symptom of having so many pov’s? I know it’s not just because it’s not focused on romance. I felt the same way in C.L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul books and those were romance… Anyway, I have a problem connecting with them. I felt that same thing in the beginning, but somewhere along the line it went away. I may have had a hard time getting into the book, but I had no problem finishing it! I hit my stride around page one hundred and read the rest of the book in one gigantic gulp.

The book focused on three people. There was Sorcha, the Active Deacon, Merrick, the Sensitive Deacon, and Raed, the Pretender. Sorcha was the hardest of all of them to like. The two guys had more mellow personalities, and even though they had a strong sense of self they were more willing to bend than Sorcha was.

In the very beginning Sorcha came off as hard instead of strong. She reminded me of a warlord in a way. All rough edges and hard and in control with no real care for anyone else’s say in the discussion. She’s the boss and what she says goes. You either agree or get out of her way. She grew and softened the more she got to know the people she was stuck with and she became more likeable without losing any of her strength. I’d actually venture to say that she became stronger as her worldview expanded. It may have taken a while for me to truly like her, but she grew on me to the point that I wouldn’t have changed a thing about her.

We met Raed right off that bat, but his story didn’t actually intersect with Sorcha and Merrick’s for a while. It was interesting getting to see how difficult it is to be him. I wish we could have gotten a bit more history about his family and how they lost the throne, but I suppose we’ll learn more as the series continues. We did get enough information about Raed’s past and curse to keep me satisfied. I rather like the thought of getting to know him slowly.

Merrick was quite the surprise to me. I liked him in the beginning, but I expected that the author would just have him fade into the background and become the “sidekick.” He ended up being a very compelling character. I liked that something specific about his past was revealed at the end. It just helped bind them all even closer. I really liked his love interest and all the secret potential I sensed there, but ended up shocked by how some of those things turned out. I wish I had my hands on the next book!

The world was interesting but it wasn’t given to you in one big dump. We learned new things as the characters experienced something that brought it up. I liked that the author didn’t overload us all at once. The world was important to the story, but I felt that the author spent more time focusing on the characters and developing their relationships and connections. Some might be bothered by that, but I consider that a boon. There’s nothing worse than having an intricate world with flat characters. I’d rather have a slightly less detailed world with richer characters.

Just as a warning: Sorcha is married to someone other than the guy she falls for in this story. Some of you may be giving me the fish eye because of my previously stated hatred of cheaters. I still don’t like them! I really wish she hadn’t been married, but my rules for Romance are different from my rules for other genres. I didn’t expect a romance going into this one, so it was just a sweet bonus for me. It wasn’t a very in depth relationship, but I have hopes for it.

I would have given a higher grade for this one if only the beginning had been smoother. I think that I’m definitely going to have to reread this one before reading the next book. I’ll need to be fresh on all the reveals and machinations that happened in this book.

Favorite Quote: (Page 194)

"I’ve been running all my life, Sorcha–I shouldn’t trust anyone, and yet I have already given my life into your hands twice this week." Sorcha’s lips twitched upward in a beautiful and cruel smile. "I’m just that sort of woman, my lord Pretender."

 

Series list:

• Geist (Book of the Order #1)

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Inside Out by Lauren Dane  Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Berkley Trade Available: November 2, 2010 Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance Source: Author

Ella Tipton is a survivor. In the wake of an attack that left her nearly dead, she’s spent each day putting her life back together. Once vibrant and outgoing, she’s needed to reclaim the best parts of who she was while retaining the hard won lessons. There hasn’t been room for any romantic entanglements, even if she were ready. Still, it didn’t mean she had to stop sneaking looks at Mister Tall, Dark and Tattooed himself.

Security professional Andrew Copeland isn’t quite sure when his jones for the lovely and decidedly skittish Ella developed. He’s known her for years, has watched her triumph over the pain she’d been dealt. Cope is no stranger to women, but he knows the nervous flush he gets every time he talks to her is different than any attraction he’s had in the past. Determined to get Ella to let him in, Andy does the one thing he can think of to get close: he offers her hands-on training in self-defense.

While Ella’s sure he’s just being nice, the prospect of being able to touch him and gain the tools to push away the last vestiges of her fear is more than she can resist. Soon enough, Cope shows Ella his feelings are far more than friendly and re-ignites something deep inside her. Before long desire and love turn them both inside out.

Reviewed by: Sophia (FV) 

Ella Tipton, manager of a small café owned by Erin from the previous Brown Sibling books, has been through hell and back.  She was attacked and nearly killed by her ex-husband and has spent the last several years rebuilding her life and getting back on her feet.  She’s a tough lady but still suffers from the fallout of the attack now and then.  Although romance is not on the menu she has a crush on Andrew Copeland, longtime friend to the Brown family.  He stops by the café often and aside from some light flirting their friendship is pretty casual.  But that doesn’t stop Ella from fantasizing now and then.

Andrew Copeland has had his share of women.  They’ve come and gone through the years but he’s had a special attraction to Ella for a long time.  But the time has just never been right to make a move.  Ella has been through a lot of personal trauma and so he’s kept his distance romantically, only offering friendship and support when he can.  He’s watched her grow and he knows she’s something special.  When he offers to teach her some self defense techniques Ella accepts.  Spending time getting physical sends their mutual attraction into overdrive and bumps their relationship up to a whole new level.

Although neither Cope (Andrew) or Ella is related to the Browns they are both are still considered family and treated with the love and care the Browns are known for.  Cope is related to the family by marriage, his brother Ben is married to Erin Brown.  Ella is a long-time friend to Erin and is the manager of her café.  While Ella and Cope share a mutual attraction to each other they are both a little unsure of how or if their relationship should move forward.  They’ve been friends for so long and there is a little awkwardness as they move toward a more romantic relationship.  They may be unsure, but their circle of friends and family see it clear as day, these two belong to each other. 

Cope has a reputation as being a ladies man but he is always quick to point out that he’s not a jerk who treats women badly.  Although he’s never settled down and committed, he’s still a decent guy and respectful of the women he’s been with.  But Ella moves something in him and he soon realizes he’s ready to leave that lifestyle behind.  With a lot of heart to heart with his buddies, Cope decides Ella is the one. 

Ella is one of the cutest heroines from this series.  She a tough survivor but her exterior is fun and cute and I really liked her.  Even though she’s has a lot to deal with from her past and still suffers from panic attacks ,she’s not over dramatic or whiney.  On the other hand she doesn’t overdo the bravado either.  She’s dealing with life, family issues and is falling in love with a man she has crushed on for years.  She fits in perfectly with the Brown family circle of friends and things are looking up for her.

One of the things I noticed as this series has progressed is how the gentlemen have evolved.  They’ve always been good strong characters to love, but in this book we see them spending lots of bonding time together having deep and meaningful relationship talks.  As they have one by one fallen in love and settled down, they’ve learned a few things about relationships and are willing to share their insight with their friends.  The big, tough tattooed hotties don’t mind sharing a few beers and getting mushy now and again. 

What I like about this series is the constant presence of the protagonists from previous books.  Lauren Dane doesn’t give them a happily ever after then send them on their way.  She has created a big family and keeps the characters we love present and accounted for with each book.  While she gives us wonderful new romances with each installment, she also allows the reader to be a part of the relationship ups and downs after the happily ever after.  Inside Out is no exception and we get a little peek into Brody and Elise’s life as they plan their wedding.  We also get some time with Ben, Erin and Todd as Erin nears the end of her pregnancy.  There was a some turbulence in this sub-plot and I think it overshadowed Cope and Ella’s story at times, but it was nice to see the Brown family do what they do best and come together as a family in hard times. 

In the previous books we saw some pretty intense external conflict.  However with Inside Out the story is mainly focused on the developing romantic relationship between Ella and Cope.  They both have some personal issues to deal with, but the obstacles that need to be overcome are not as threatening as in the previous books.  There are some familial problems for Cope and Ben, and hopefully we’ll see those conflicts resolved in the future. 

Inside Out is another great installment in the Brown Siblings series.  Lauren Dane writes good solid characters that face life head on, love big, and put a fresh shine on the concept of friends and family in the romance genre.  I enjoyed watching Cope and Ella fall in love with the support of the friends and family they love. 

Favorite Quote:

I know he’s a nice guy, but he comes in bad boy wrapping paper.

Other books in the series:

• Laid Bare
• Coming Undone

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