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

Other reviews on GoodReads

Author’s Website

Purchase Links: Amazon || Book Depository

Fair Game by Josh Lanyon e-Book  Publisher: Carina Press Available: Aug 02, 2010 Genre: Romantic Suspense Source: NetGalley

A crippling knee injury forced Elliot Mills to trade in his FBI badge for dusty chalkboards and bored college students. Now a history professor at Puget Sound university, the former agent has put his old life behind him-but it seems his old life isn’t finished with him.

A young man has gone missing from campus-and as a favor to a family friend, Elliot agrees to do a little sniffing around. His investigations bring him face-to-face with his former lover, Tucker Lance, the special agent handling the case.

Things ended badly with Tucker, and neither man is ready to back down on the fight that drove them apart. But they have to figure out a way to move beyond their past and work together as more men go missing and Elliot becomes the target in a killer’s obsessive game…

Reviewed by:  Samantha 

Elliot Mills is a former FBI agent who is now a college professor after a terrible knee injury while on duty took him away from the job that he loved. The injury also took him away from his lover and FBI agent Tucker Lance. Their affair might have been a brief one, but it was a passionate one that appears to have ended badly. When boys start going missing on campus, Elliot can’t help himself with being drawn into the cases at the request of his father and the campus president. Little did Elliot know when he agreed to help that it would force him into close contact with Tucker.

In Fair Game, I believe Josh Lanyon does exactly what he does best – provides an interesting and fast paced mystery with well-rounded character development for all the major players and then still manages to throw in the heat and emotion amongst Elliot and Tucker that always give the reader a little hope things will work out for the two of them without the their relationship casting a shadow over the mystery plot. The pain and loneliness Elliot feels from the loss of his beloved job, his lover, and the way he has had to come to grips with a debilitating injury just oozes right off the pages. The mystery surrounding the missing boys is not one that the reader immediately figures out what is going on – it unfolds slowly but is still kept interesting. And best of all, each character has their own uniqueness and own voice which keeps the story fresh.

What I really liked about this book aside from the well written mystery that kept the pages turning is the way you see the communication between Elliot and Tucker start to blossom. It was clear that so much had been unsaid in the time since Elliot’s injury that when the two men slowly start to open up to each other and not be afraid to communicate it’s a beautiful thing. If you have not read a Josh Lanyon book before, I think Fair Game would be a great way to start. It is a stand alone book (I would love another!), fast paced, and I think gives a good example of what one should expect from a Lanyon book.

Favorite Quote:

"It was dark."

"I’d know you in the dark, Tucker."

Tucker’s eyes flashed up to meet Elliot’s. He said curtly, "Yeah, I’d know you too."

 

Other reviews on GoodReads

Author’s Website

Purchase Links: Amazon || Carina Press

Something Wicked by Michelle Rowen Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Berkley Available: October 5, 2010 Genre: Paranormal Romance

Living in Eden isn’t exactly heaven on earth…

Darrak, the demon inside of Eden Riley, is able to take physical shape during the day. And Eden wouldn’t mind getting her hands on him-if it wasn’t a threat to her immortal soul. But while trying to rid themselves of the curse that binds them, they could get the distance they need…or each have their own private hell to pay.

Reviewed by:  Catherine 

I was so nervous to read this book! Things were settled to a point in the last book, The Demon in Me, but a lot of larger issues were still up in the air. Darrak and Eden still needed to find a way to separate without hurting either one of them, and they needed to find a way to break Darrak’s curse if they had any hope of ever trying to have a relationship.

I wanted to watch it all unfold, but I was worried that the author would drop the ball and I would end up disliking it. That’s not a slur against the author’s skill, that’s just my history with some other series making me skittish. So, I entered the book with mixed feelings but soon found myself just as into it as I was the first book.

I practically inhaled this book. The author has an extremely readable style and the pages just flew by for me. I reread the last quarter of The Demon in Me before starting this so I would be fresh. It was actually really helpful because I didn’t realize I had forgotten so many of the little details that happened at the end! I think skimming it again really enhanced my experience with this book. I was so much more attached and in the moment.

Darrak was such a fabulous character in the last book. For all those who read it, never fear, you won’t be disappointed with his personality in this one! I am pleased to report that he is just as funny and just as reluctantly caring as he was in the first one. His banter and inner dialogue just pops for me. One of my favorite funny quotes from him happens on page 9.

"I hate that guy," Darrak said. "Loathe him. And I can’t believe you let him kiss you. I almost made you slap him, but luckily for him he didn’t try to slip you the tongue. It’s obvious to me that he’s only after one thing from you and–" "He’s gay," Eden said simply. "Oh." There was a pause. "I totally knew that."

He’s such a spaz sometimes! LOL!

While Darrak is still funny, we really get a more well-rounded view of him in this book. We spend a lot more time in his head and get to watch him struggle with his identity. I really appreciated the identity crisis (even if I wanted to strangle him a time or two). I think watching him struggle with who he was now and the question of whether he even wanted to be that person made him so much more to me. It really made me empathize with him and have more patience while he occasionally behaved badly.

Eden continues to be a character that I love too. She just feels so much more realistic than a lot of heroines out there. She doesn’t melt at the thought of being bound to Darrak. She wants him out! She likes him, but she hates her will being violated like this, and she’s still not quite as sure of him as she’d like to be. In short, she’s smart. She’s always looking out for what’s best for her, but she doesn’t constantly bemoan the circumstances life has thrown at her. She’s had it pretty rough lately, but she’s willing to cope if she can keep a light at the end of the tunnel in sight.

How can I not like her? Even the dumb stuff she does—which I thought was pretty freaking dumb at times!—is understandable. She’s scared, and she’s looking for a helping hand. How can I resent her being willing to trust someone else when that’s the same thing Darrak is asking of her?

Quite a few things happened in this book that I wish I could talk about more. Alas, the dreaded spoilers stop me! I’ll restrain myself, but I do have to mention how pleased I am with how their relationship is progressing. There are no real easy answers for them, but they’re both still pushing themselves to hope for the best. Their determination is such that I can’t help but believe in them, even when the odds are against them.

The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star for me was my impatience with some of Eden’s actions. I wanted to smack her a time or two! She kept making a specific promise (vague for spoilers!) to Darrak and then breaking it. I could see why she was doing it, but it was frustrating. I empathized with her, but I still couldn’t help but get an eye twitch at the same time. But don’t let that discourage you! It was a very slight irritant in my overall enjoyment of the book. I still love Eden’s character and I still love this series for the sheer fun of it.

I can’t wait to get my hands on the third book so I can get more of this excellent series!

Other books in the Living In Eden series:

• The Demon In Me – May 4, 2010

Other reviews on GoodReads

Author’s Website

Purchase Links: Amazon || Book Depository

Seven Nights To Forever by Evangeline Collins  Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Berkley Trade Available: November 2, 2010 Genre: Historical Romance

She offered him one week of pleasure. No more and no less…

Some sacrifices are more difficult than others. Left destitute after her father’s death, Rose Marlowe has debts to settle and a younger brother to support. But she also possesses an unmatched beauty-one that could command quite a price…

Now, every month, Rose secretly travels from her country home to spend one week at a decadent London brothel, where she’s become a sought-after prize. Elegant and accomplished in the art of pleasure, she spends her nights fulfilling the fantasies of the gentlemen of the ton while denying the wish buried deep in her heart.

Then one night a wealthy merchant gentleman walks through her door. Handsome, kind and compassionate, with a lonely soul that matches her own, James Archer is not her usual client. Falling in love with a client, never mind a married one, is unthinkable. Yet Rose can’t help but lose herself in his arms as one night becomes seven-and seven nights lead to a chance at forever…

Reviewed by: Sophia (FV) 

After her father’s death, Rose Marlowe soon realizes he has gambled away most of the family’s money leaving her and her brother deeply in debt.  In order to protect her younger brother who idolized their father and to save their family home, Rose seeks a protector.  Not wanting to be a mistress she leaves her first protector only to end up with another who becomes abusive.  Once Rose realizes she must find another way to support her brother and repay her fathers debts she makes a decision.  Once a month she works at a posh London brothel where gentlemen are willing to pay a very generous price to spend time with her.  She has became so sought after that she earns enough working as a prostitute one week a month to repay her debts, maintain her country home, as well support and send her brother to University. 

James Archer, a very wealthy merchant is miserable and lonely.  He is in a loveless marriage arranged by his father in an effort to gain standing in high society.  His wife is not happy at all about being married to James and makes no secret of it.  She takes many lovers and flaunts her infidelity in his face, however she will not allow James to take a mistress, threatening to withdraw her sponsorship of his younger sister if he does.  James loves his sister and wants to see her marry well so he tolerates his wife’s emotional battery since his sister will hopefully marry soon.

One night, feeling lonely and worn down by his wife’s demeaning behavior toward him, James decides to visit a brothel in search of physical comfort.  He is introduced to Rose and is taken by her beauty, and lovely demeanor.  Although he has paid to spend time with Rose and basically have his way with her, James finds it such a relief to just spend time with a lovely woman who seems to welcome his company and he spends the evening talking and getting to know Rose.  Rose in turn finds James to be a charming gentleman but she is confused by James’ lack of interest in having sex with her. 

James cannot get Rose out of his head and he returns the following night to see her.  In the course of the week, Rose and James develop a lovely friendship and they eventually become lovers.  Not wanting to let Rose go at the end of the week, James tries to come up with a way for them to be together.  James has much to lose if his relationship with Rose is discovered and Rose does not want to become his mistress.  She has many responsibilities and is determined to manage them herself. 

While Rose and James lead very different lives and it seems unlikely they would find any sort of commonality with each other, they come together out of loneliness.  As they begin to know each other  it is revealed that they are both selflessly making a huge personal sacrifices for the well being of a younger sibling.  James is not your typical romance hero.  Although he puts up with his wife’s brow beating for the sake of his sister he never comes off as weak or wimpy.  Instead I always got the sense that he was simply willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his sister’s future.  He is a gentleman and gives the typical alpha hero new levels to aspire to.  Rose, is a strong heroine, determined to use her assets to keep what’s left of her family afloat.  Not wanting her brother to face the shame of finding out their father squandered the family coffers, essentially leaving them in dire straits, she does whatever she has to do to see to it that her brother lives well and gets an education.  Both James and Rose are kind and generous to those they love and they are perfect for each other as well. 

One of the things I loved most about Rose and James is although they had misunderstandings, they were refreshingly honest with each other and avoided serious relationship issues with their openness.  Trust was built between them slowly and they both constantly surprised me with their gentleness and kindness.  They were strong characters yet very vulnerable and I found them both to be extremely likeable. 

Seven Nights To Forever is a lovely story about about two very endearing people who, against the odds, fall in love and find their way to happiness together.  Evangeline Collins delivers a wonderful historical romance novel that is well written, nicely paced and a pleasure to read.  I look forward to more from this author.

Favorite Quote:

“Do you plan to join me, or do you plan to linger by the door all evening? I hope you aren’t expecting an offer from me to watch,” he said, all playful indignation.

A laugh burst from her throat at the unexpected comment. Her back almost propping up the door, she must look just as he had nights ago, when he had hesitated to take more than a step into her bedchamber.

“Not expecting, but if the offer’s there . . .” she trailed off, arching a suggestive brow. His eyes flared slightly, his expression momentarily blanking. Goodness, was that a blush staining his cheeks?

 

Other reviews on GoodReads

Author’s Website

Purchase Links: Amazon || Book Depository

I have a copy of Seven Nights To Forever to giveaway!  Leave a comment on this review to enter, open to all.  (Leave a comment even if you don’t want to enter, just let me know)  Giveaway is open until November 6, winner announced soon after.  Good luck!

Sinful In Satin by Madeline Hunter Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Jove Available: September 28, 2010 Genre: Historical Romance Source: Author

Celia’s quiet life ends when her mother, a famed London courtesan, dies, leaving her a small house in town-and a darkly handsome, reputedly dangerous tenant.

Reviewed by: Catherine 

I’m so glad that I ended up liking this book! I enjoyed the first book in the series, Ravishing in Red, but I was rather unimpressed with the second book, Provocative in Pearls. I had a deal with myself that this would be my tiebreaker on whether or not to continue the series. I was lying to myself, of course! How could I not read the fourth book when I heard it was about Castleford? I do have to admit that I am relieved that I’ve liked two out of three of these books, though. It makes me confident that I’ll love Castleford’s story as much as I think I will. ;P

Wow, I really wasn’t expecting a heroine like Celia. I knew her circumstances from the previous books, but I thought she’d end up being toned down for her own book. What can I say, everyone else does it. How was I to know that Madeline Hunter would make her character feel so real? Kudos to her, though! I was definitely impressed.

Celia didn’t spend any time with her mother, Alessandra, a famous courtesan, while she was growing up. But when she was sixteen she was brought to live with her. Alessandra began grooming Celia to walk in her footsteps and Celia didn’t react how you would expect in a romance novel. She took to it like a duck in water. She appreciated the thought of having pretty things and a nice house. She took most of her mother’s lessons to heart and had a very upfront attitude about pleasure. She embraced it and learned to focus on her own pleasure even if she didn’t really like who she was with. It was just business. Here’s a little hint of her view while she’s talking to Jonathan from page 131.

"People always build some story around pleasure. The story of marriage or the story of love, or at least a brief tale of commerce.”

Her pragmatic attitude was extremely refreshing. She may have chosen to walk a different path than her mother, but she didn’t reject it out of repugnance for the life. I really liked that, because she knows growing up who she is and what her place in society is going to be. It was nice to see a character who didn’t martyr herself for her pride and honor.

All that practicality and acceptance was in every aspect of her personality as an adult. She was just so grown up. It felt like I was reading about a real person. Sometimes I was a little turned off by her choices, but I still liked her because it made total sense for her personality.

Jonathan was another interesting character. He really turned out to be such a nice guy. I wouldn’t say that he carried the relationship, but I really feel that without him Celia wouldn’t have ended up in quite the same arrangement. She was too aware of her place in the world to dare ask for more. Luckily he was there to insist that she was worth it! I really liked how things turned out in the end. I also Awwwww’ed when I found out about his role in her past when he talked to her mom. That was such a good guy thing to do.

I really appreciated how things turned out for both Jonathan and Celia with their families. While it might not satisfy everyone who desires perfect endings, it satisfied me for its very lack of one. It just made it feel more authentic. Especially when a certain something at the very end was predicted to take so long. There’s no magic snap of the fingers here to solve all their problems.

Where I think this book really shined over the other ones in the series is in the friendships between the men and the women. We’ve met all these characters before, of course, but by the very nature of the girls’ stay with Daphne we never felt like we knew them very well. Everyone just had too many secrets. Here they feel like puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. They talk and they laugh and they gossip. I really like it. One of my favorite quotes in the book comes from one of those conversations. On page 149 Verity (from Provocative in Pearls) and Daphne were teasing Celia about the possibility of her and Jonathan getting closer.

"…did I mention, Verity, that Mrs. Hill tried a new kind of trifle the other night? It had a bit of lemon in the cream." "It sounds delicious," Verity said. "I do favor trifle myself, so I must ask her for the recipe. I wonder if trifle is called trifle because it was once served on trifle? That is what my father called our everyday pewter when I was young. Trifle." "How interesting. One could serve trifle on trifle to a man at dinner, who later trifles with–" "Could we return to the topic at hand?" Celia interrupted pointedly. Daphne looked innocent. "I did not realize we had left it, Celia."

It cracked me up! But it wasn’t just the women who seemed like more of a real unit. The men were more abrasive and joking with each other too. I think we’re finally getting to see them act like a close group together.

The only complaint I had was that the pacing felt a bit slow in the middle. I still enjoyed it, but it broke the momentum enough that I couldn’t love it.

I cannot wait until next May so I can finally get my hands on the next book! The author has been teasing me with little fascinating snippets of Castleford’s life and personality since the first book! He was almost unlikable in the first book, but something about him was just so compelling that he stole the show every time he came on scene. I’ve loved watching him grow with each book. His attitude on Tuesdays cracks me up! I have to end this review before I write a book myself, but let me leave you with some great quotes involving Castleford that I found in this book. Maybe it’ll whet your appetite enough to want to read about him too.

page 247: He ran his fingers through his hair. And froze. "What the hell–" He groped around his head, trying to make sense of what he did and did not feel. "I had my man cut it while you slept," Castleford said. "It looks much better now. He did a fine job of it." Jonathan glared at him. "You go too far." "I can’t be seen around town with a man whose hair is so unfashionable. You will thank me once you see it. The women will be swarming you now."

page 282: "Rather suddenly Castleford did not appear very drunk at all. Sly intelligence showed in the gaze he settled on Jonathan."

page 342: "They should have used me during the war, not you, Albrighton. I have a knack for this investigating business. My analytical powers even impressed me this week." "Being a duke probably helps too." "In investigating? Probably so." "Also in impressing yourself, and in convincing yourself you have the right to interfere."

page 343: "So I went there. Hence my sore ass. I did not want to waste too much time on this and thought riding cross-country would be best. I asked some polite and discreet questions and–" "You are incapable of being discreet, so you are already turning this tale to make yourself look better," Hawkeswell said.

 

Books in this series:

• Ravishing in Red (The Rarest Blooms, #1)
• Provocative in Pearls (The Rarest Blooms, #2)
• Sinful in Satin (The Rarest Blooms #3)
• Dangerous in Diamonds (The Rarest Blooms, #4) (2011)

Other reviews on GoodReads

Author’s Website

Purchase Links: Amazon || Book Depository