Let Sleeping Rogues Lie by Sabrina Jeffries ***

Got this in audiobook for a "mini review" for the Speaking of Audiobooks at AAR. Didn't like it any better in audio - narrated by Justin Eyre, who I did like. What follows in my original review here from April 2009:

I can't believe I read this one out of order!! It's actually #4 in the series after Beware A Scot's Revenge which I read last.

This one was just average/mediocre - the whole setup/premise was a little too contrived for my taste. First, the prim schoolteacher and the rake are the protagonists - (yawn) - and the prim schoolteacher has a dark secret she cannot reveal about her father, and wants to use the rake to get the resolution, so she arranges for him teach Rake Lessons at the school (this is the School For Heiresses series) to prove he can be a responsible guardian. Yes, if you are thinking "WTF?" like I was, then we agree on the premise: it's inane. It's something about his being desperate to be the guardian of his niece to protect her from his aunt - so desperate, he'll teach the lessons; meanwhile, Ms Prim Schoolteacher is also desperate, hence her convincing Mrs. Harris to allow his niece to attend if he'll prove he's responsible.

Because of her so-called "dark secret", she pretty much lies throughout to the rake - and yet she expects him to be honorable?? Once she finally gets what she wants - well, whatever, it sorta became The Big Misunderstanding - meanwhile, he's immediately attracted to her like he has never been before to any other woman, in spite of his reputation and vast experience. Doesn't that get old after a while? So he has to have her, whatever it takes and...

Jeffries writes an enjoyable enough story but this one pushed my "so what" buttons, hence the 3 stars.

True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson ****

True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This wasn't my most favorite Rachel Gibson in print, but I'm a big fan so when I saw the audio release, I had to get it! The narrator is new-to-me Susan Bennett, who has 14 listings at audible.com. She was great! I thought she had just the right kind of voice for this genre, and although her range wasn't that great, she managed to give each character a separate, recognizable, consistent voice. The story is in the Seattle Chinooks/NHL series, and one or 2 of the other series characters make an appearance. Short, fun - if you're a Gibson fan, spend the credit!




below is my original review from May, 2009:


This book is one of many that involve Gibson's fictional Seattle Chinooks hockey team players, the first of which is... maybe Simply Irrestible? It includes See Jane Score as well, even though on Fantastic Fiction, True Love et al is listed as Chinook series #1 (that is just plain wrong!). In Simply Irrestible, Chinooks owner Virgil Duffy is left at the altar when Georgeanne runs away and gets together with Chinooks player John Kowalsky, who leaves a little souvenir behind (think Secret Baby plot). In See Jane Score, Jane is a journalist hired to be a temporary sports writer traveling with the team. In TLAOD, Virgil Duffy's widow Faith inherits the team and gets together with Chinooks captain, Ty Savage (pronounced sah VAH zhe, not savage).

So this is at least Book #3. [note: at Goodreads, it's called Book 4!]

OK, the plot has already been laid out: Faith is a former stripper and Playmate whom Virgil married as purely a trophy wife - he was too old and ill for consummating the marriage. However, she felt loved and protected, and he left her a lot of money in addition to the team. Of course, she was hated by his other family members, especially his son Landon who expected to get the team when Daddy died.

Now, think about Susan Elizabeth Phillips and It Had To Be You - blonde bombshell inherits a sports team without knowing dick about sports. Even the word Bimbo appears in the book cover blurb. The team circulates Faith's Playboy spread, and the players crack a lot of rude jokes at her expense. She fully intends to sell the team to Landon until he shows what an asshole he is - then she reneges on the deal, and steps in to try to run it herself, with the help of her loyal assistant. Yeppers, there's a lot of similarities here. There's even travel by airplane - but no Mile High Club initiation.

I did like this story well enough but it had some of those Rachel Gibsonisms that I don't like - she needs a better editor. She seems to repeat herself - no, I didn't mark any specific examples, but as I read, I kept thinking, "didn't she already say that?" as though she didn't go back over her work and pick out similar phrasing and wording while she wrote. Of course, that might have cut her word count by 10% or so, too, so maybe she was under some kind of contract and in a hurry. I dunno. But I wanted a tighter story. Authors: don't hit me over the head with what they're thinking, please.

Gibson does have a knack for steamy love scenes, I must say. And although her alpha hero was surly and rude some of the time, he did not really come off as an asshole as much as just someone who was surly, and sometimes rude. Maybe that doesn't make sense! But I didn't really have the urge to slap him like I have with, say, many of Elizabeth Lowell's heroes and even 1 or 2 of Linda Howard's. Ok, more than 1 or 2...

There's a slimy secondary relationship between Ty's father and Faith's mother that was really written to be creepy and not at all likable. I wanted to wash my hands after reading about those 2 moochers. And a dog - Valerie's dog - yuck, not notable at all.

So I'm calling it a 4 star read, because I did enjoy reading it, but not 5 star because I didn't love reading it.

Dark Lover by J.R, Ward ****

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had already read this in print, and then got it for cheap at an audible.com sale on audio. I liked it okay (4 stars) in print, and I know a lot of people love the whole Black Dagger Brotherhood series, so I figured if the audio caught my interest, maybe I'd search out the rest in audio.

About an hour in, I started to wonder if this narrator, Jim Frangione, was going to grow on me or drive me crazy. In the end, it wasn't actually either. He had a gruff sort of narration voice, like a Sam Spade mystery, and didn't do much to differentiate between characters. In fact, it was more like he was just reading it aloud and not really "voice acting". But that almost worked for me by the end (not that I'd classify him as a great narrator, but not as bad as I feared.)

I'm still not particularly drawn in by vampire stories, and after determining the rest are not available at the library, I'm not going to pursue the series. I do have at least #2 in print, so if I am searching for a book to read, it might get read...

Here is my original review of the print version from April, 2009:

============

I read this for the AAR Top 100 of 2007 challenge I'm participating in - even though I'm not exactly into vampire romance (after a disastrous encounter with some Feehan audio books). It's hard to follow the world-building of paranormals sometimes, and when there's entire species to deal with - with rules and lingo and even whole languages to understand and follow. This one even had a glossary in the front, which I consulted several times.

Plus, even though there are only 6 members (well, 7 if you count Darius) of the Brotherhood, they had nicknames and such, and even by the end I wasn't 100% clear who was who. Which one was Hollywood, anyway?? Wrath. Wrage. Phury. Zsadist. Tohrment. And one more. Oh yeah, Vishous. (and Butch, human cop, who gets sorta sucked into their lives - pun intended, they didn't actually suck human blood, heh heh.)

Even so, I can see the allure - the guys are all super-tough, beyond alpha, leather clad bad boys. Bigger than life. Vampires and ass-kickers too. Humans play a very small part in this story - the really bad guys (because, face it, the vampires aren't exactly Superman, touting truth, justice and the American way...) are the "lessers" italicized because it's a Vampire word, not the word lesser as in "less than". They are also undead, and are sworn to kill the Vampires. I sorta get the idea they aren't doing it to be evil but because they are mortal enemies. Maybe I'm wrong about that.

Wrath is the king of the vampires, and he's given the charge of helping a half-human, half-vampire woman, Darius's daughter Beth, go through the "transition" from human to vampire. I guess when they're half-breeds, it's not clear until Vampire Adolescence whether they'll transition or not. But Wrath, like all vampires, has keen senses and can smell Beth, her emotions, even that she is going to transition.

Of course, there's that soulmate thing with vampires too - there's the One "shellan" which is sorta like wife/soulmate. And hey, vampire males can have more than one, but they're territorial so shellans only have one "hellbren" which is the male version. Sorta like polygamists - sux, huh??

So while we learn the story of Wrath and Beth, we also meet all the Brothers and learn about them (as I said, I was pretty much confused about who was who) so we are prepared for the followup stories, of which the next 3 are also Top 100s at AAR in 2007.

I liked her writing - she makes the vampires out to be headbangers with tattoos, and it works. While they all have slight accents, they still speak American slang, carry a lot of weapons and are mostly looking to kickass all the time. Beth is pretty normal - she was raised in the foster system, didn't know she was half-vampire, but has her own apartment, a cat, a job at a newspaper. She's completely unaware of even the existence of vampires and lessers.

Well, I'm not sure I made any sense on this - the story was suspenseful, confusing, hot - Wrath had a serious jones for Beth, making him a fairly besotted hero by the end (but not all the way through so I'm not tagging it). The heroes were bad and the bad guys badder. And some loose ends to get you to read the next books. 4 stars. Serial Challenge, Spring 2009 Challenge and AAR Top 100 Quest.

Rising Tides by Nora Roberts *****

First reviewed July 2008 when I read it - I have now listened to it on audio book as well!

ORIGINAL REVIEW

I have now finished the trilogy and love them all, although Sea Swept is still my favorite. Maybe it was Cam's personality, or maybe it was the freshness and newness of just meeting all the characters, but that one grabbed me and ran with it and left me breathless and smiling and - but not quite happy because it does leave the mystery open!

Ethan has been secretly in love with local girl Grace for years. I had a hard time figuring out the Quinn brothers' ages - I guess they were all about the same age? But he was about 7-8 years older than Grace, and first noticed her when she was only 14 and still officially jailbait. That, coupled with his fear that he was bad blood, has kept him from acting on the relationship even though Grace is now 23, divorced and has the cutest baby ever to grace the pages of a novel. That Nora - she writes men, she writes women - she even writes toddlers to perfection.

Grace is trying to make ends meet - all the time. As a single mom, it's tough. It's tougher still when you have parents nearby that you feel didn't lend their support when you needed it, so you refuse to ask again. Growing up, Grace wanted to be a dancer, but when push came to shove and it was time to go to NYC and give it a try, Daddy put his foot down. After years of dance lessons, he felt it was time for her to get realistic and stop dreaming. I never did get a feel of whether she actually had the talent and motivation to make it - that part is sorta skipped over. But when Daddy cut the dance funding, she was going to do it on her own - but met the baby's father and married him instead when she got pregnant. Speaking of skipped - that's what the baby's father did before the baby was even born.

Ethan was pretty much an asshole to Grace a lot of the times - more than seemed judicious, more than seemed necessary and more than I liked. He was protective, but he didn't seem to want to discuss it with her, he just made wild and crazy ultimatums and accusations about her jobs and her life. So what if she worked in a bar, so what if she flaunted her body a little to get better tips - that's how it's done. It seemed a little weird to me that he kept offering to pay for things, like getting her car fixed and such, when they had no relationship other than she was the Quinn housekeeper and they were friends.

Meanwhile, the story of Seth continues and we learn more about his upbringing and get more tantalizing clues about his mother.

Ethan has to think he's dreaming when Ray Quinn appears to him as he did to Cam - eventually Ethan accepts Ray's presence and guidance, which I found to be a great addition to all 3 books. Ethan's main hurdle is overcoming his fear of himself - he has spent all these years thinking he was genetically off and couldn't have a relationship for fear of exposing his bad side or passing on his bad seed. He needed to look around, wake up and smell the goddam coffee!! Lucky for him, Grace was a kind of take-charge girl who pushed him to figure it all out.

While it wasn't quite as good for me as Sea Swept, it's still a 5-star keeper. Now I have to find Seth's story - and see what secret he'd been hiding from us!

Serial Readers Challenge 2009

Beth AKA Just Your Average Carpool Queen has challenged us to read books in a series in 2009! I love series just as much as she does and for the very same reason: I love knowing what happens after the Happily Ever After of the characters! In fact, today I spent an hour or so reading the Extras PDF from Suzanne Brockmann's Into the Fire, which is Book 13 of the Troubleshooter Series (which I read as an audio book this fall). If you're a TSS fan and haven't done this, you must go to her website and find all the extras she offers - short stories, writing tips, excerpts - it really enhances the experience for me.

I am so in with this challenge - and it works out well for me that I have a couple of Mary Balogh series to complete, with AAR Top 100 of 2007 books in the series, so that will make 1. Also, I just bought a Lot of Sandra Hill books (not "a lot" but a Lot as in a bunch) on eBay - assuming I like her writing style (I have no idea... hmmmm... I just GLOMMED before reading!), there are at least 4 series in my physical Mount TBR right now. And Brockmann has #14 of the TSS scheduled for release in January... And I've been promising myself a re-listen to the entire Chicago Stars/SEP... AND Gabaldon's Echo in the Bone is scheduled for a 2009 release as well; I'm working up to a complete re-read.

The real question is: CAN I WAIT TIL JANUARY 1ST TO START THESE BOOKS??? Update - no I couldn't wait and read a series before it started. I have now changed the date on the post to keep it at the top of the blog.

Here's my potential list:
(1) Mary Balogh's Slightly Series
One Night For Love ****
A Summer To Remember *** READ IN DECEMBER 08

(2) Mary Balogh's Simply Series

(3) Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Chicago Stars Series on audio
It Had To Be You *****
Heaven, Texas ***
Nobody's Baby But Mine *****
Dream A Little Dream *****
This Heart of Mine *****
Match Me If You Can *****
Natural Born Charmer *****

(4) Linda Howard's CIA Series (aka John Medina series)
Kill and Tell ****
All The Queen's Men ****
Kiss Me While I Sleep ****

(5) Sandra Hill's Cajun Series
The Love Potion ****
Tall, Dark and Cajun ****
The Cajun Cowboy

(6) Sandra Hill's Jinx Series - ooops read it in 2008, couldn't wait.

(7) Sandra Hill's Viking Series - there are 2!
The Reluctant Viking - Series 1 #1

(8) Sandra Hill's Creole Series

(9) Robyn Carr's Virgin River Series
Second Chance Pass - #5 - ****
Temptation Ridge - #6 - ****
Paradise Valley -#7 - ****

(10) Robyn Carr's Grace Valley Series
Deep In The Valley - #1 - ***
Just Over The Mountain - #2 - ****
Down By The River - #3 - ****

(11) JD Robb's In Death series - hmmm I'm partway through already

(12) Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series (Ok, it is NOT ROMANCE but it is a series!)
I plan to do a reread in time for Echo In The Bone's release - whenever that is (can't find any reference to it right now, late in 2009 I think?)

(13) Suzanne Brockmann's Tall, Dark and Dangerous series
Prince Joe - *****
Forever Blue - *****
Frisco's Kid - *****
Everday, Average Jones - ****
Harvard's Education - ****
Hawken's Heart - *****
The Admiral's Bride - *****
Identity Unknown - **
Get Lucky - *****
Taylor's Temptation - ***
Night Watch - ****

(14) Elizabeth Hoyt's Legend of the Four Soldiers
To Taste Temptation #1 - ***
To Seduce a Sinner #2 - ****
To Beguile A Beast #3 - ****

(15) Linda Howard's Duncan/Evangeline (related by characters)
Duncan's Bride - ****
Loving Evangeline (read in 2008) ****

(16) Nora Roberts' In The Garden trilogy
Blue Dahlia - ****
Black Rose - ***

(17) Mary Jo Putney's Fallen Angels
Thunder and Roses - **

(18) Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooters
Dark of Night - **** #14

(19) Elizabeth Lowell's Only series
Only His - ***** #1

(20) Susan Andersen's Marine Series
Hot and Bothered - ***** #3

(21) Julia Quinn's Bridgertons
When He Was Wicked - ***** #6 audio

(22) Pamela Clare's MacKinnon's Rangers
Surrender - **** #1 (read in 2008)
Untamed - ***** #2

(23) Julie Garwood's Medieval Series
The Secret - **** #1 (read in 2008)
Ransom - *** #2 (read in 2008)
Shadow Music - *** #3

(24) Laura Kinsale's Medieval Series
For My Lady's Heart - **** #1
Shadowheart - #2

(25) Rachel Gibson's Author Friends Series
Sex, Lies and Online Dating - ***** #1
I'm In No Mood For Love - ***** #2

(26) Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series
Slave To Sensation - **** #1

(27) Sabrina Jeffries' School for Heiresses series
Never Seduce A Scoundrel - **** #1
Only A Duke Will Do - **** #2
Beware A Scot's Revenge - **** #3
Let Sleeping Rogues Lie - *** #4

(28) Lori Foster's Men To The Rescue series
Caught in the Act - ****#1 read in 2008
Treat Her Right - *** #2
Mr. November - *** #3

(29) JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series
Dark Lover - **** #1

(30) Tracy Anne Warren Mistress series
His Favorite Mistress - *** (not sure which - not #1)

(31) Julie Garwood Buchanan-Renard series
Heartbreaker - *** #1

(32) Elizabeth Lowell MacKenzie Blackthorn series
Reckless Love - ***** #1 audio

(33) Marsha Canham's Dante series
Across A Moonlit Sea - ***** #1
The Iron Rose - ***** #2

(34) Gaelen Foley's Knight Miscellany series
The Duke - ***** #1

(35) Erin McCarthy's Fast Track series
Flat-Out Sexy - *** #1

(36) Lisa Kleypas's Hardy Cates series
Sugar Daddy - **** #1
Blue-Eyed Devil - **** #2

(37) Nora Roberts' Chesapeake Bay series
Sea Swept - ***** #1 (audio this time)
Rising Tides - *****#2 (audio this time)
Inner Harbor
Chesapeake Blue

(38) Rachel Gibson's Chinooks
Simply Irrestible (read in 2008)
See Jane Score (read in 2008)
True Love and Other Disasters - ****


Ok: HERE IS MY OFFICIAL 2009 READING LIST:
(1) Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke, audio **** part of his Dave Robicheaux south Louisiana homicide detective series
(2) Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught - *** - part of the 1800 series, also an AAR Top 100 for 2007
(3) The Love Potion by Sandra Hill - **** - Cajun Series #1
(4) One Night For Love by Mary Balogh - **** - Slightly series #1
(5) Kill And Tell by Linda Howard - **** - #1 in the CIA/John Medina series
(6) All The Queen's Men by Linda Howard - **** - #2 in the CIA/John Medina series
(7) Kiss Me While I Sleep by Linda Howard - **** - #3 in the CIA/John Medina series
(8) It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - ***** #1 Chicago Stars
(9) Deep In The Valley by Robyn Carr - *** - Grace Valley #1
(10) Just Over The Mountain by Robyn Carr - **** Grace Valley #2
(11) Down By The River by Robyn Carr - **** Grace Valley #3
(12) Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - *** - Chicago Stars #2 audio
(13) Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - ***** - Chicago Stars #3 audio
(14) To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt - *** - Soldiers #1
(15) Duncan's Bride by Linda Howard - **** - Duncan/Evangeline #1
(16) Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - ***** Chicago Stars #4 audio
(17) This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - ***** Chicago Stars #5 audio
(18) Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - ***** Chicago Stars #6 audio
(19) Tall, Dark and Cajun by Sandra Hill - **** Cajun Series #2
(20) Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts - **** In The Garden #1
(21) Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - ***** Chicago Stars #7 audio
(22) Thunder and Roses by Mary Jo Putney - ** Fallen Angels #1
(23) Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockmann - **** Troubleshooters #14 audio
(24) Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann - ***** Tall, Dark and Dangerous #1
(25) Only His by Elizabeth Lowell - ***** Only Series #1 audio
(26) Hot and Bothered by Susan Andersen - ***** Marine Series #3 audio
(27) To Seduce A Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt - **** Soldiers series #3
(28) When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn - ***** Bridgertons #6 audio
(28) The Reluctant Viking by Sandra Hill - **** Viking series 1 #1
(29) Untamed by Pamela Clare - ***** MacKinnon's Rangers series #2
(30) Forever Blue by Suzanne Brockmann - ***** Tall, Dark and Dangerous #2
(31) Shadow Music by Julie Garwood - *** Medieval Series #3
(32) Frisco's Kid by Suzanne Brockmann - ***** Tall, Dark and Dangerous #3
(33) Second Chance Pass by Robyn Carr - **** Virgin River Series #5
(34) Black Rose by Nora Roberts - *** In The Garden Trilogy #2
(35) For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale - **** Medieval #1
(36) Everday, Average Jones by Suzanne Brockmann - **** Tall, Dark and Dangerous #4
(37) Temptation Ridge by Robyn Carr - **** Virgin River Series #6
(38) Sex, Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson - ***** Author Friends #1
(39) I'm In No Mood For Love by Rachel Gibson - ***** Author Friends #2
(40) Paradise Valley by Robyn Carr - **** Virgin River Series #7
(41) Slave To Sensation by Nalini Singh - **** Psy-Changeling Series #1
(42) Never Seduce A Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries - **** School for Heiresses #1
(43) Only A Duke Will Do by Sabrina Jeffries - **** School for Heiresses #2
(44) Treat Her Right by Lori Foster - *** Men To The Rescue series #2
(45) Mr. November by Lori Foster - *** Men To The Rescue series #3
(46) Harvard's Education by Suzanne Brockmann - **** Tall, Dark and Dangerous #5
(47) Let Sleeping Rogues Lie by Sabrina Jeffries - *** School for Heiresses #4
(48) Beware A Scot's Revenge by Sabrina Jeffries - **** School for Heiresses #3
(49) Dark Lover by JR Ward - **** BDB #1
(50) His Favorite Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren - *** Mistress series, not sure which #
(51) Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood - *** Buchanan-Renard series #1
(52) Hawken's Heart by Suzanne Brockmann - ***** TDD #6
(53) Reckless Love by Elizabeth Lowell - ***** MacKenzie/Blackthorn #1
(54) The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann - ***** TDD #7
(55) Across A Moonlit Sea by Marsha Canham - ***** Dante series #1
(56) The Duke by Gaelen Foley - ***** Knight Miscellany #1
(57) Identity Unknown by Suzanne Brockmann - ** TDD #8
(58) Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy - *** Fast Track #1
(59) Get Lucky by Suzanne Brockmann - ***** TDD #9
(60) Taylor's Temptation by Suzanne Brockmann - *** TDD #10
(61) Night Watch by Suzanne Brockmann - **** TDD #11
(62) Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas - **** Hardy Cates #1
(63) The Iron Rose by Marsha Canham - ***** Dante #2
(64) Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas - **** Hardy Cates #2
(65) Sea Swept by Nora Roberts - ***** Chesapeake Bay #1
(66) True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson - **** Chinooks #3
(67) To Beguile A Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt - **** Soldiers #3
(68) Rising Tides by Nora Roberts - **** Chesapeake Bay #2

To Beguile A Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt ****

This was somewhere between 4 and 5 stars. I enjoyed it but it's not a keeper for me. It's the 3rd in the Legend of the Four Soldiers series, and this time I just completely skipped over the fairy tale beginning to each chapter because that is starting to irritate me as a writing conceit.

In this one, the hero is the Beast - Sir Alistair, who lost an eye and some fingers to the Indians during an attack in the Colonies. He's a naturalist, writing a book on flora and fauna, and was just traveling with the British troops for security and safety - his own.

The heroine, Helen Carter, is the Beauty - but she's also a Beast in her own right, since she has been the mistress of the Duke of Lister for 14 years, with 2 children by him. She's been cast out from her family, and she feels she is in danger from the Duke, who is very possessive. She has run away from him, with her 2 children, to hide undercover as Alistair's housekeeper in Scotland.

Alistair is surly and rude and tries over and over to throw Helen and the children out of his house - especially since it's obvious to him she is quality and doesn't have a clue about housekeeping. Desperate as she is, she figures a good housekeeper just oversees the housekeeping staff, so she hires several people from the village to do the actual work.

Alistair is in with the 2 previous heroes of this series, trying to discover who the traitor was in their midst who told the French their location. However, not much time is spent in pursuit of the traitor in this story - mostly it centers around their relationship and Lister's pursuit of Helen.

The story is about 2 flawed characters coming to terms with the choices they've made in their lives and dealing with an unknown future. Alistair's slow conversion from Beast to Human is helped along by his compassion for animals, especially his dog Lady Grey and the new puppy, Puddles. He also develops a relationship with the children. Helen, while admirable as a mother, isn't exactly the most commendable heroine - it took her quite a long time to start to atone for her decision to be the Duke's mistress and bear him 2 bastard children.

It's also in the Serial Readers Challenge 2009, as well as notable pets.

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts *****

I wrote this review 7/12/08 when I read it. I've now listened to it on audio and have some additional notes at the end.

Oh that Nora! She is good!! This is the first in a 3 or 4 book series (started out as 3 but I'm thinking there's a 4th now?) about the Quinn brothers - Cam, Phillip and Ethan - all adopted as troubled adolescents by Ray and Stella Quinn.

The hero of Sea Swept is the oldest, Cam. He's a guy who likes things fast. Fast women, fast cars, fast boats. He left home and has been traveling the world in the company of all things fast - not spending much time with his now widowed father in their small hometown in Maryland on the coast. When we meet Cam, he's just won some boat race and is in the midst of getting a hot French model into his bed when he gets the news that Ray has had a car accident and isn't going to make it. He drops that model fast and heads homeward.

The mystery of the series centers on Ray and his newest foster kid, Seth. There's rumors around - that Seth is Ray's biological child from a dalliance with a student while Stella was still alive. To top it off, Ray has paid the child's mother large sums of money, and in his car is a blackmail letter from her demanding more. Ray drove the car into a telephone pole for no apparent reason - other than maybe suicide. On his deathbed, he gets a promise from each of the grown sons to take care of Seth.

The heroine is Anna Spinelli - she must be a Gemini, because during the day she's a buttoned up social worker who's been assigned to the Quinn case, but during the evening she's a hot-blooded Italian babe. She also has a troubled past which led her to social work. She and Cam have instant chemistry - and I like Anna because she doesn't beat around the bush or try to hide her attraction. She lets Cam know she's interested too - but Seth comes first.

This book practically drips testosterone from the pages, Cam is such an Alpha. But he's hiding his marshmallow core from everyone but Anna - she sees him develop a relationship with Seth that's protective and supportive and understanding, when Cam himself isn't even aware of it. And she falls head over heels for him, until she decides she will never break through his tough-guy shell. He'll always be a rambling man and she's just another of his hot conquests, and she pulls back.

Roberts writes funny, hot, drama, mystery - you want it, she gives it to you in spades. I haven't read a ton of her work (who could keep up? The woman is prolific!) but I haven't yet found her to be repetitive or boring, criticisms I've seen in Romance forums and blogs.

The mystery of Ray's death isn't solved in this book so I'm now halfway through Rising Tides, Ethan's story. I haven't yet figured Ethan out - he's a tougher nut to crack than Cam, but I'll report back.

This is an AAR Top 100, so I'm checking it off my challenge list. 5 stars for me.

----- end of original review -----

I got this as a download audio book from the library in May 2009. The narrator is good. And I have a slightly different take on Anna Spinelli this time - she's a manipulating, nervy bitch!! I felt like Cam was as open as he needed to be with her, and she jumped all over Cam for what I think was NOT a good reason!! But I still enjoyed the book and will be listening to the others as well. It fits the Spring 2009 Challenge as a book from one of the first romance authors I read, and also fits the Serial Readers Challenge 2009.

Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas ****

Yes, it's raining pigs and ice cream floats are free in Hell. I liked another Lisa Kleypas! I'm guessing it's her contemporary semi-women's fiction-slash-romance style that I prefer VASTLY to her mediocre Regency historicals which needed major editing and a dash of interest.

This is the second in the Hardy Cates series, and once again it's told in first person entirely from the heroine's POV. Haven Travis is the youngest child and only daughter of Churchill Travis from book 1, Sugar Daddy. She had a rich, privileged upbringing in Houston's swanky River Oaks community (which is seriously posh and exclusive) but always felt a little ashamed of the conspicuous consumption and the over-use of privilege to get ahead. She considered herself something of a rebel and a feminist, and while she was away at college in the northeast, met a fellow Texan, Nick, who became her first husband.

Her father warned her that Nick was no good, and threatened to cut her off if she married him - just the right button to push to send her into Nick's arms. There was one encounter with Hardy Cates - Haven thought it was Nick when she first started kissing him in a dark corner of a party.

Good as his word, her father did cut her off, and Nick and Haven moved to Dallas where they tried to support themselves. Quickly Nick began showing his true colors - he was manipulative and soon became abusive, first emotionally and then physically. Within 2 years, he had beat her up more than once. When he kicked her out on a cold night, barefoot, no purse or money or ID, she walked to a pay phone and placed a collect call to her oldest brother, Gage, who sent someone to pick her up and get her to Houston.

Once in Houston, she wanted to make her own way without (too much) help. Several times I wanted to wring her neck and tell her to just let them help her a little, but I have to admit she stayed true to character. She refused an offer to be the manager of the downtown building Gage (or the family?) owned, accepting the manager's assistant position instead. The manager was brought over from another property and ended up being as manipulative and abusive in her own way as Nick had been. And Haven, true to form, just took it, didn't tattle, didn't ask for help.

When Hardy finds out Haven has divorced her husband and is living in the building, he leases an apartment there and takes up where they left off - the kiss at the party a little over 2 years before. Everyone in Haven's life, even her best friend, the bisexual playmate from her childhood (male... what was his name?), warns Haven to watch out for Hardy. Hardy had betrayed Liberty in the first book by using some information she innocently revealed to him against the Travis family, so there is an element of a family feud between the Travis men and Cates, although they all respect him.

The descriptions of Haven's slow slide into trusting Nick and then his use of emotional manipulation to control her into thinking his behavior is normal are chilling and no doubt true to life. For women who swear they would never stay with an abuser, listening to his reasoning, his begging forgiveness and promising never to hurt her again might make them rethink their holier-than-thou position. Abused women don't ask for their situation, and they don't stay because they want the abuse to continue. Haven had to rebuild her life and learn to trust again, and this is where Hardy Cates shines as a true romance novel hero.

I'm sticking by the women's fiction genre again - with a dash of romance - because once again the heroine has 2 men, and although you soon realize Hardy will play a bigger part later, once again he's separated from the heroine for a big part of the book. It's more about Haven, about her life and how she reacted to her upbringing and how she survived Nick's abuse. 4 stars.

Oh, I meant to add: I listened to it on audio. This is a different narrator from the first book. This narrator has a different approach, one that was very, very dramatic - almost too much. Her Texan/southern accent is quite a lot thicker and more pronounced than someone who actually grew up in River Oaks would really have - a girl Haven's age would have gone to the best private schools, and would have had a more cultured, rich-girl Texan accent, regardless of her parents' speech. But somehow it still worked for me. It was a dramatic tale, after all. She managed to whimper and sound scared and hurt when appropriate, and to sound contrite when speaking to her husband and her boss and even her father. I liked it, even though I sometimes winced when she went a little over-the-top.

The Iron Rose by Marsha Canham *****

Maybe I should add another star rating just for Canham's books - 5+, or 6, or maybe 10! She has a way of capturing my imagination, grabbing my hand and running with me tagging along behind as she describes worlds, histories, adventures, characters, situations that all become so real I can feel the wind in my hair and the sea spray on my face, even the sting of the dagger cuts and the blood running down my arm.

This is the sequel to Across A Moonlit Sea, another 10 star book. Simon and Beau Dante now have 3 grown children, 2 boys (Gabriel and Jonas) and a daughter Juliet. They are living on a secluded atoll in the general vicinity of the Caribbean with a community of their sailors and families, with a couple of dozen other privateers living similar lifestyles nearby. Juliet is out testing her new ship, The Iron Rose, when she comes across a Spanish galleon that is fighting a British ship and she slips in to save the day. Her crew manages to force the Spanish to surrender (cowards!!) and while the British ship sinks, most of the crew is saved, including the king's envoy, Duke of Harrow, Varian St. Clare.

Varian is a on fool's errand to get the various British privateers to adhere to the most recent treaty between Spain and England to stop sea warfare. Hah! Little does he know that many have been sent before and turned away!

The conflicts between Juliet and Varian are many - and the gap is wider than it ever was between Simon and Beau. Varian already has a future bride, chosen by his mother to carry on the St. Clare name. Although he has years of experience as a British officer, his seafaring experience is lacking. He's a whiz with sword and dagger, but only knows the civilized rules of land-based warfare, not the cutthroat ways of pirates. Juliet grew up a tomboy, tanned, wearing men's clothing as a way of life, not as a rebellion. She's never been schooled in the ways of the nobility. Her immediate reaction is to mock and challenge him constantly. She comes across as realistically immature - she is only 20 or 21, to his 28 - in her treatment of him. He, on the other hand, shows more maturity and tolerance of her behavior. I liked it!!

When they return to the Dante community, Beau reads all of the papers that were saved from the Spanish ship and discovers written proof that the Spanish are preparing to invade England in violation of the treaty. This convinces Varian to join in a plot to stop the ships currently in the Carribbean from crossing to aid the effort. Then Varian must try to convince Juliet that they have something worth fighting for - both the effort of the privateers to stop the Spanish invasion, and the growing love between them!

In classic Canham style, the story is both a swashbuckling adventure and a steamy love story. Juliet is shown to be strong, capable of taking care of herself and leading her own crew on her own ship, while still being immature about men and relationships. She thinks she knows what she wants - no cowering virgin - but she is still cowed by the thought of competing with Varian's lifestyle in England, with his betrothed, his 65-room castle, his rich lifestyle. Varian also has to face his own choices - to return to his duties as a duke, a peer of the realm, or to face a lifetime of privateering alongside Juliet.

I took a long week to read and savor this book, grabbing pages while working, a few pages before sleep. It was worth it in every possible way and is joining the first book, as well as most of my other Canham stories on my keeper shelf!

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas ****

Well, I guess it's a cold day in hell and pigs are flying - cuz after reading 7 - count 'em, 7 - books by Lisa Kleypas and being pretty darn sure I did NOT like her writing, I have now read one I liked pretty good!

To be honest, it's completely different in every way from the historical romances of hers I read, and I listened to it on audio book, so it's not really that surprising after all.

Sugar Daddy is the first in a series of contemporary women's fiction by Kleypas. The difference between women's fiction and romance is pretty subtle, but there are 2 components of romance - one is the focus on the main protaganists' relationship, and the other is the HEA (happily ever after). What separates this book from the straight romance genre is the relationship - this book is more about the heroine's life and it's not clear until the very end who gets the girl in the end!

In Sugar Daddy, we have a heroine - Liberty Jones - and the story of her life from about age 15 - 25. Told in first person POV, Liberty talks about growing up poor in east Texas, not far from Houston. Her mother is raising her by herself, her father - Mexican American, from whom Liberty got her dark hair and coloring - deceased. They live in trailer parks and scrape by on the meager income her mother makes, with occasional infusions of cash that Liberty never asks about.

Diana Jones has a shiftless, no good live-in boyfriend that she eventually runs off, just before she reveals she's pregnant. After having her second daughter, Liberty's half sister Carrington, Diana apparently goes through some post-partum depression during which Liberty bonds with her sister. When Diana is killed in a car accident, Liberty gets custody and becomes Carrington's legal guardian, raising her.

Hardy Cates is a local boy from another trailer park family. Liberty has a crush on him from the start, even though he's a few years older. He becomes her hero from the first time he manages to save her - and he continues, even after he leaves the little town to make it on his own. He admits right before leaving that he's always wanted her too, but knew if he gave in to his desire for her, he would never leave her and never realize his goals. So she keeps him in her heart as her own true love goal, even as she dates and even sleeps with others.

Liberty meets Churchill Travis at her hair salon job, becoming his personal manicurist and then hairdresser. Although her friends tell her about "sugar daddies", she doesn't have that kind of relationship with him - it's more a father/daughter kind of relationship. She confides in him things she's never told anyone else, including her love for Hardy. He gives her a job as his personal assistant, and insists she and Carrington live with him in his River Oaks mansion.

Because the story takes place in Houston, where I lived for more than half my life, I'm familiar with most of the places she mentions - I always like reading about places I'm familiar with because I can really visualize where things are happening. I guess I should just get over her writing about Katy, Texas, being north of Houston when it's due west and not a bit north!!

When Liberty first meets Churchill's son Gage, Gage is suspicious and not a little angry - assuming that Liberty is a gold-digger, sleeping with his father. But their relationship changes over time, slowly, as they realize they are attracted to each other - which was apparently part of Gage's trouble with her right at the start. Right after they consummate the relationship, though, Hardy Cates comes back into Liberty's life - and she's conflicted. She's still drawn to her childhood hero, even while she's falling in love with Gage.

Herein lies the split from straight romance to womens' fiction. For one thing, Hardy is gone from most of the story. As soon as he leaves the trailer park, he exists only in her mind where she compares him to other men - he doesn't contact her in any way for years. Although other romance novels do have separations, they don't introduce a second candidate for the heroine's heart! For another, in straight romance, there's no question of who the hero of the book is - the one that gets the girl is made clear throughout.

The conflict is now clear - is the love Liberty has held for Hardy strong enough to carry them through, or has she now matured and left that childhood dream behind? But there are other conflicts that arise too - who is Carrington's real father? and... how does Churchill figure into Liberty's and Carrington's lives?

The narrator was pretty good - she managed to develop consistent, distinct voices for each character, even though I didn't particulary like all the voices (her own voice was so young that some of her male character voices just didn't work for me). If I could offer her a critique, I would say she needs to re-think her pauses after commas - she somehow manages to make some of the phrases seem like completely different sentences even though they are related to the previous phrase. An example would be if you used a comma between adjectives, and she paused enough for you to think it was a period instead - a cold, brisk day sounding like A cold. Brisk day. (that's not a direct quote from the book, just an example, by the way!)

All in all, I give it 4 stars - I'm pretty surprised I liked it, although I should not be. After all, I got it and listened to it, even knowing how I feel about Kleypas's writing. I just kept reading about the series and was too curious not to give it a try, since I could get it free from the library!

Night Watch by Suzanne Brockmann ****

Finally! I'm done with Tall, Dark and Dangerous, ending with Wes's story.

It was slightly better than Bobby's story, but once again a SEAL is attracted to a sister, and tries to keep his distance. The 2 twists on the "can't boink a SEAL's sister" theme are that it's a sister-in-LAW, and he has a major crush on another SEAL's wife too, so he's conflicted.

Wes has always had a thing for Lana Quinn, "the mighty" Quinn's wife. And Mighty Quinn is a cheater to boot - he's always out hounddogging with the single guys, picking up chicks in bars and pretty much being an asshole. In fact, Lana actually says to Wes she figures if anything happened to Quinn, she and Wes would get together.

So when he goes on a blind date with Brittany, it's just as a favor to Melody and Cowboy. But hey - Brittany GETS him. She understands him. And there's some major chemistry going on too. OK, another conflict is Brittany's adopted, college-age son - only this kid's great, and he wants Wes in his mom's life, so it isn't really a conflict.

And the blurb on the back gives away another conflict point - because suddenly Lana is free. That actually happens right at the end, and once again doesn't actually present much of a conflict. It's just Wes's insecurities and Brittany's mixed messages that keep them apart. When yet another conflict pops up - which truly comes out of the blue for me - Wes steps in with his SEALs to save the day and the woman.

At least Brittany has the presence of mind to actually follow Wes's orders to save herself when that comes up, instead of charging some UZI-toting terrorist like that other TSTL heroine. 4 stars, and it's a Serial Readers Challenge submission too.

Taylor's Temptation by Suzanne Brockmann ***

OK, as the Tall, Dark and Dangerous series winds down, well... it's running out of steam. Whether that's just my opinion reading them so close together, or it's a fact the author just can't keep this series interesting, I'm not sure.

Remember Bobby and Wes? Wes and Bobby? The "twin" SEALs, only 1 is short and wiry (Wes), and the other is huge and muscular (Bobby)? Mutt and Jeff. Ren and Stimpy.

Basically, Bobby Taylor has had the hots for his best buddy's little sister Colleen since he met her when she was about 18. OK, he first met her younger, but it was when she was of legal age that he really got it bad for her. But he's several years older, and she's his best buddy's little sister! Off limits! (why? I dunno, I never had a brother so I never experienced this.)

And - guess what - she's always had the hots for him too! She's a left wing liberal do-gooder in law school, and she's hooked up with a group going to Turgeria (yeah, Brockmann has this thing about making up countries filled with dangerous terrorists) to help orphans. Since Wes is going "wheels up" on a mission, and Bobby is recuperating from gunshot wounds and can't go, Wes insists on Bobby's going to stop Colleen.

Let's see if you, the reader, can just write this story for Ms Brockmann and save her the trouble. (Too late, it's already published...) But you can save yourself some time - Bobby goes to Colleen, Colleen's too stubborn/stupid to back out of going to a dangerous country where terrorists are teeming and shooting everything that seems to be American. Plus she's pushy and since Wes isn't around, she throws herself at Bobby constantly. Friend that he is, he manages to avoid her passes for several pages then gives in, and then... yada yada yada, boink, boink, boink, Wes comes back and fists fly, they all go to Turgeria together, something something something, wedding bells.

3 stars for average, Serial Readers Challenge...

Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy ***

I read this for the Spring 2009 Challenge as a book reviewed in the Winter Challenge. There was an awful lot of buzz about this book as being a model for contemporary, non-paranormal romance, the likes of which readers haven't been able to find in books recently published.

Which is why I feel like Oscar the Grouch for rating it only 3 stars - aka Average. OK, I liked it. I liked the characters, I liked the storyline. It's probably considered "romantica" or romantic erotica - to me, partly that means to expect the characters in bed before page 100. And the sex is steaming too.

The characters are Tammy, the young widow of a race car driver, raising their 2 sons on her own, and Elec, a rookie race car driver, who is 6 years younger than Tammy. He's almost 26 and she's 32, and that is one of 2 major sticking points for Tammy who feels like she's robbing the cradle. The other is she doesn't want to be involved with any race car driver again for fear of losing him like she did her first husband.

Tammy bumps into Elec, literally, at a fund raiser peopled with race car folks, and the attraction is instant - the chemistry is there - and it's been a while for her. She has a couple too many glasses of wine, and with her inhibitions lowered, they end up doing the deed in a fellow driver's motorhome and spending the entire night. She's more than a little embarrassed when the friend shows up and catches them late the next morning - and spends a few days blushing and avoiding Elec.

Elec wants more of what he got that night - and eventually more of everything. He insinuates himself (credibly and sweetly, really) into her and her children's lives, and pretty soon everyone except her in-laws are aware there's something going on there. The 2 conflict points are a blonde bimbo stalker and the potential for danger in a race - which, when it happens, causes our brave heroine to run screaming in the other direction so she can get a lecture from her father-in-law. OK, there's also a plot that Elec's family and the in-laws are bitter enemies, but that is never really explained in detail and doesn't really cause much conflict.

All that aside - the writing style just did not appeal to me. The writing style, in my humble opinion, should be like lighting in a theatrical production. It should brilliantly illuminate the story without your ever being aware that it's there. When grammar errors and injudicious use of adjectives jolt me out of the story, it's like the a gel burning out on stage, making one spot glaringly white while the rest is in shades of amber and blue. I'm not sure if McCarthy herself does not know the difference between the use of "you and I" and "you and me", or if she is using that as a character defect (at least 3 times). But Tammy is a college professor, and if college professors don't know how to use those phrases correctly, we are in trouble. Then again, the style may have been reflecting some younger generation use of language to create a particular ambiance that I didn't get. Or maybe McCarthy just needs a better editor, which is what I think.

So - good story, hot sex, imperfect style. 3 stars. She's a new author for me, it might even be a series, so it meets a lot of criteria for me to read - so maybe I am Oscar The Grouch?

Identity Unknown by Suzanne Brockmann **

First of all, I wrote almost the entire review, and then inadvertently closed the window before saving. Shit.

Second of all, I don't feel the book was worth rewriting the review. I'll just say this: after 7 books where Brockmann had me believing the characters were acting in accordance with their background experience and training, she finally slipped in a Waaay Too Stoopid To Live heroine. Here's what I wrote in a post on PBS forum:

So I'm reading along, enjoying the story. Oh No Mr. Bill - the bad guy is around the corner and he's got a gun!!! What does TSTL heroine do when SEAL hero says to get outta there? SHE STORMS THE VILLAIN WHO IS HOLDING THE UZI. And does she have any training in weapons, firearms, survival, rescue? No. She's a cowgirl and she can ride a horse.

Bang! Sigh. Bangbangbang. The first bang is the book on the wall. The last 3 are my head on the desk. But does that end it? NO. I pick the book up, and the villain makes them get in the truck and they drive far far away. All 3 get out, and while SEAL and villain fight, hero yells: Hey Heroine, get in the truck and get outta here! (note: they already called the sheriff, so if she would just LISTEN to the SEAL she could get him and direct Sheriff with gun to them) What does the TSTL heroine do? SHE GOES INTO THE WATER TO HELP THE SEAL.

Yes, you read that right. He's a SEAL and she thinks she can save him while he's fighting a UZI-toting villain IN THE WATER. This is the same heroine who, earlier in the book, was not able to save a small child clinging to a branch in the water.

I did finish the book. The hero has amnesia for most of the book and doesn't know he's a Navy SEAL. He goes to the address in his pocket, a dude ranch in New Mexico where he meets TSTL heroine Becca, Dude Ranch Manager, who tries to save him over and over, like he needs it. Meanwhile, the Team Ten Alpha group guys are looking for Mitch, the Gray Group member/SEAL who has gone missing with the load of plutonium he was using to lure the bad guys. Did Mitch become a turncoat and betray his country?? (no, silly, he has amnesia) All this while Mitch wonders, Am I a convicted felon/murderer/assassin?? (no, silly, you have amnesia but you're a hero Navy SEAL undercover) There's no mystery for us because, duh, we're being told both sides. The only mystery is, what was Brockmann thinking when she had this stoopid heroine try to save a Navy SEAL?

The plot just didn't work for me, and those TSTL moments had me so riled up I wanted to scream. But I still only "didn't like it" (2 stars) as opposed to 1 star/hated it/DNF. Grrrr.

The Duke by Gaelen Foley *****

I read this book because it's on the AAR Top 100 of 2007 and I have a quest to read them all. To be perfectly honest, about 1/3 of the way in, I was thinking this was a 3-star/average read. Frankly, the writing style wasn't particularly stellar, the way I like 5 star reads to be. If another character crossed his arms over his chest, I was gonna scream. I was envisioning all these people with their hands on their opposite shoulders - how else does one cross one's arms over one's chest??

And also, there was the idea that a gentlewoman who had been raped once could become a worldly courtesan in just a few weeks - and still not have had sex any other time than the brutal rape - and yet she was highly sought after, with no experience whatsoever. She must have been quite an actress, is all I can say. It just stretched my personal credibility somewhat.

Of course, the author finished the story with such a bang, that by the time she was done, I had already decided to go up to 4 stars and then maybe even 4.5. Since I don't use 1/2 star ratings here, I just went ahead and gave it 5 stars and can totally understand that some feel it's a true keeper. (I did not put it in my keeper shelf, however.)

To be honest, although the story blurbs indicate it is a story about a duke and a courtesan, it's very important to realize that Belinda Hamilton didn't start out a courtesan, and indeed did not want to be a courtesan. She felt that was her very last resort - at a suggestion of a lowly prostitute, who told her she was beautiful enough to be one. She was penniless, having been abandoned by her boyfriend, and her father had been thrown in jail by another titled gentleman (Dolph) who was obssessed with having her, and so sought to ruin her so he could.

The Paragon Duke of Hawkscliffe was for all intents and purposes a saint. He had raised his younger siblings, of whom only 1 was fully related, the other 3 were by-blows from his mother's affairs. He had one true love who died young, married to another, that he only loved from afar. He was a Tory by birth but felt personally responsible for righting injustices that were really only espoused by the rival party, the Whigs. Nary a scandal was associated with Hawk... until...

His lady love's widower, the elderly Earl of Coldfell, led Hawk to believe the young woman was murdered - and by his nephew, Dolph. Yes, the same Dolph who is also besotted with Belinda, enough to ruin her so she would be in his clutches. He's an evil, evil man!! Allegedly anyway.

As revenge, Hawk presents Bel with a proposition: he will be her protector for 2 months for some enormous sum; she will go along with the ruse to help him get a confession from Dolph; Hawk will not require her services in bed. WTF?? Well, as it turns out, it's the perfect arrangement for Bel since she is all but a virgin, and scared of men to boot. And he's such a paragon - how could he press her for sex?

As time goes by, they do grow a serious attraction one for the other, and Bel - harlot that she is - does step up the intimacies without actually getting a home run for a while, if you catch my drift. Hawk is totally, deeply falling in love with her BUT he is still conflicted, and part of him still sees her as a money-grubbing social-climbing high-priced whore. And face it: he's a duke and cannot marry someone of her station, either as the poor gentlewoman or the high-priced courtesan.

Eventually he realizes he must marry elsewhere, and he must break it to Bel. At this point, she's regained her self-esteem and sense of worth. Plus she did make one rule when she became a courtesan - she would not have a married man as her protector. Keep in mind, she's only had sex with 2 men - the rapist, and Hawk by this point, so she's still pretty inexperienced except for her lessons in Hawk's bed.

This is when it really started to tug on my heartstrings in a big way. He was so fully besotted but still had his honor and could not imagine marrying Bel or not marrying at all either. She stuck to her principles, though, and when she learned he was to marry, she left him. (this was after confronting Dolph about the alleged murder of Coldfell's wife)

There were a couple more plot twists which I had figured out pretty early on, and then not only a HEA but a major grand gesture that was really quite heartwarming. Yes, Lord Hawk groveled like the worm he was.

As it turns out, this is the first book in a long series - which I started to suspect as we met various of Hawk's siblings and they were introduced as if we might learn their story later. Plus it fits the Spring 2009 Challenge as a book from the AAR Top 100. 5 stars.

Across A Moonlit Sea by Marsha Canham *****

OMG! OMG! I'm squeeing like a little fangrrl with pleasure from reading this wonderful, fabuloso book!! I love it so much!!

OK - deep breath. First, like all of MC's books, it's chock full of adventure, spelled out in such a way that you feel the deck of the ship rocking under your feet and the spray of the sea in your face. It will make you want to grab your pirate costume and run out the door to board the ship for their next seafaring adventure, shouting ARRRRRRR the entire way.

Whew! The heroine is Beau - aka Isabeau, the daughter of Jonas Spence, who has kept her by his side as he sails the seas in search of treasure and booty on his ship, the Egret. Beau has become a daring helmsman as well as good with knives and pistols by her 20th year.

The hero is Simon Dante, a French count who prefers to spend his time at sea, stealing Caribbean treasure from right under the Spaniards' very noses. But on his last trip, he's betrayed by one of his comrades who steals away with the supplies and the booty, leaving him to the mercy of 6 enemy ships. He manages to limp the ship and some of the crew away - and is rescued by Jonas Spence and the Egret.

Of course, at first he is so filled with hate and rage that he cannot be civil to his rescuers, and is even less civil to the slip of a girl - a girl of all things! - that is piloting the ship. She is insolent, outspoken and insulting to him. And he does have a past life that makes him wary of women in general, with a wife who had 2 children by other men while they were married and he was at sea.

But a run-in with another Spanish galleon changes his mind about Beau and her talents as a helmsman, and with his appreciation of her skill, his appreciation of her as a woman also grows. Eventually the 2 succumb to their attraction, and have to deal with the aftermath.

When the Egret runs into a British armada led by Sir Francis Drake, Dante is confronted by the coward who left him. Dante and his sworn rival must join forces with Drake to fight the Spanish, and Dante sends Beau and the Egret back to Britain to wait for him.

But when does she ever take orders from him? (Answer: rarely!)

This was such an incredible romp! Beau is a wonderful heroine, full of spit and vinegar, able to hold her own against the men around her. She also wasn't a blushing virgin - she'd had more than one affair. And Simon - ahhh! he's a droolworthy hero. There's also a secondary romance with Simon's sidekick Pitt and their Spanish hostage, a young duchess. I'm definitely putting this in my top 10 favorites!! It's a title with the word Moon in it, for the Spring 09 challenge, and it's the first in a series for the Serial Readers Challenge.

The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann *****

This is book 7 in the Tall, Dark and Dangerous series - and it's another great story! This contains a spoiler for book 6... the hero is Jake Robinson! Jake was supposedly assassinated in book 6, although you learn at the end that he didn't actually die.

Jake was Crash's sort of substitute father - Jake and his SO, Daisy, helped raise Crash. Jake was also a SEAL during the Vietnam war, and through his heroic efforts, saved hundreds of American soldiers' lives - including Matthew Lange, who was left to die with several other severely wounded Marines. Matthew's daughter Zoe was conceived after he returned from the war - and today (in the book) she's 29, and a secret agent specializing in biological warfare.

Zoe is called in to consult on a special, supersecret Gray Group mission: a crazy white separatist group in Montana has stolen 6 canisters of an incredibly potent and dangerous substance from the government testing labs and have it within the walls of their compound. The plan: Jake and Zoe will go into the compound as husband and wife, with Jake's cover being that he's running from the government and has a lot of secrets to share with the group. They will get the dangerous powder and save the day.

Most of the story - in spite of its interesting premise - actually revolves around Jake's and Zoe's attraction. It's been 3 years since Daisy, the love of Jake's life, died, but face it - Jake is in his 50s and obviously old enough to be Zoe's father! But Zoe's been attracted to the war hero forever - she's read his biography, heard the stories and alway thought he was wonderful. Then when they meet, she realizes he's also shockingly handsome and buff to boot.

I found Brockmann's characterization of Zoe as a remarkably intelligent heroine, capable of holding her own and knowing what she wants, as credible and refreshing. Credible heroines are something I've remarked on in my last few reviews - to me, as long as the author has shown me the heroine has the background and personality to match her actions, I'm satisfied. It's when the heroine is some desk jockey wearing stilettos who wants to protect the highly trained superman cop from danger that I start rolling my eyes!

The plot was interesting and credible as well, ok, except for that part about following all the video cameras around the compound - is that really possible?? We got to hear a little bit more about Lucky (Brockmann considers books 7-9 all part of Lucky's story) and the others: Joe Cat, Harvard, Blue, Cowboy, Wes, and there was suspense and even grief when the team all believes Zoe has been killed. Hey, it's romance, no romance author kills the heroine at the end!!

So - it's a 5 star read for me, and it's in my Serial Readers Challenge to boot.

Reckless Love by Elizabeth Lowell *****

I find that Elizabeth Lowell's prose is a bit of an acquired taste - and that sometimes her treatment of a story can be wonderful, and the next time annoying as hell. This time I found it wonderful, even though it's over the top and there were probably a dozen times or so I wanted to bitch slap the hero (usually it's her heroines I don't like, but not this time).

I got this on audio download from the library, and I must say I really did like this narrator, Laural Merlington. I wouldn't compare her to Anna Fields, or Barbara Rosenblatt, who I think are truly incredible actors who bring the story to life. But she's good - really good - with this story. Her voice is pleasing, her characters' voices are good, distinct and consistent, and she really brought a sense of urgency to the big chase scene (no, not car chase - it's a historical western!) as well as reading the love scenes just right.

The hero is Ty Mackenzie, who has just managed to escape the gauntlet after being caught by Indians. The local "bruxa" is a white woman who lives alone in the area - Janna - and she follows him and heals his wounds while they both hide from the Indians seeking them.

Janna's father died a few years back, leaving her alone in the territory. He was a doctor, so she has healing skills, and she has also developed survival and coping skills that keep the Indians and locals away. Her only real friend is a local gold miner who shares his wealth with her because of her father. She's managed to befriend the local mustangs - and Ty was there looking for a mustang named Lucifer to start his horse ranch, make a lot of money and marry the silken lady of his dreams. AKA highborn, soft, probably rich.

Of course Janna doesn't fit this description by any stretch of the imagination - in fact for several days, he thinks she's a boy. Well, she does dress in men's clothing and binds her breasts for that very effect, as a survival mechanism, but it still pisses her off that he can't figure it out. And it pisses him off that he's attracted to this boy!

The story is about Ty getting the mustang back to his ranch, and Janna's part in it. She really doesn't want the mustang(s) caught and tamed, but she's willing to help him if he will do it her way, especially since she realizes it will mean the mustang will be well-cared for. It seems the locals and the Indians are considering killing Lucifer. And while Janna and Ty are hunting the mustang, they are also avoiding the Indians and the locals. And playing a little hanky panky too (in fine Lowell style).

Of course, Ty assumes she's not a virgin, because of talk he heard in town and also - in fine Lowell style - because of her sensual reaction to his touch, so he figures it's no big deal to seduce her. Once he realizes she is a virgin (and boinks her anyway), he decides he has to protect her or else she'll end up having to be a whore. What a broad minded guy, huh? Yeah, he's a typical Lowell historical hero. His idea of protection is to get her to town and find someone to marry her. Needless to say, she wants nothing to do with this idea.

Ty almost comes around to accepting her as she is - then at the end, he makes a complete ass of himself which requires a brotherly intervention. His brothers shoulda beat him to a pulp, but instead I think they just talk to him and he finally owns up that Janna is the woman of his dreams and he was deluded to think otherwise.

The action/adventure scenes really are edge-of-the-seat exciting, and Janna is a credible, independent heroine. I liked her retorts to Ty when she tells him exactly what he's been saying to her and how it affected her! You go, girl!

It fits the Western book of the Spring 2009 challenge and it's a series for the Serial Readers Challenge. 5 stars!

Hawken's Heart by Suzanne Brockmann *****

This is book 6 in the Tall, Dark and Dangerous series - it was originally titled It Came Upon A Midnight Clear when it was released (I read the version with this title). This one stars Billy "Crash" Hawken, the SEAL who filled in for Frisco after his accident. He wasn't originally a member of Team Ten's Alpha Squad - he was on Team Twelve.

As a child, Crash spent his summers with his mother's cousin Daisy and her long-time SO, Jake Robinson, a Navy Admiral. Because his own mother had died, and his father sent him to boarding school and summer camp rather than raise him himself, Crash always felt that Daisy and Jake were more like parents.

Nell Burns is Daisy's personal assistant, and when Daisy is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, she is tapped to go tell Crash in person. She and Crash have met several times, and although she's always been attracted to him, he has never so much as acknowledged her with more than a few words. They both end up living with Jake and Daisy in Daisy's last month, and at her death, they give in to their mutual attraction and passion with one night - which Crash attributes more to seeking comfort and grieving than anything else, and he considers it over and done.

What we have here is a very well drawn character: Crash has developed a very strong coping mechanism against opening his heart to anyone, ever. He has learned to detach himself emotionally - which works well for his job, and he even uses his job to hide his heart. It's obvious to him he can't ever get emotionally involved because he has to travel so much for his job.

Nell has also developed similar coping mechanisms, but as she watches her boss and mentor die, she realizes that sometimes you have to open up, reach out and ask for what you want. So she is more forthright with Crash about her feelings for him - but is still spurned.

When, one year after Daisy's death, Crash is involved in an ambush that results in Jake's assassination and is consequently framed for killing Jake, Nell comes forward again. She feels that she knows Crash well enough to know he would never harm Jake, much less be involved in a conspiracy to kill him. So she puts all her will and strength to helping him - even though he doesn't want her to. It's not just him protecting his heart, though - he's concerned that Nell is now a target of the person behind the conspiracy and cover-up.

There really wasn't anything about this book I didn't like - it's another tight story, with well-developed characters, and a strong, determined and still credible heroine. Nell may be just a personal assistant, but she had access to big-time contacts through Daisy and Jake that helped her. And this story has more than one happy ending, as well. So I'm going with 5 stars - and it's a series for my Serial Readers Challenge.

Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood ***

This might be the first non-historical Garwood wrote - it's definitely the first I've read of hers, and I liked it ok, so it got 3 stars from me. The style was vastly different from her historicals, and it really was more a murder mystery/suspense than a romance.

Father Tom hears a confession that chills him in spite of the oppressive summer heat: a parishioner that he doesn't recognize confesses that he's planning to kill Tom's sister Laurant, the way he killed another woman, slowly and with a lot of pain. Laurant and Tom were separated for most of their childhood after their parents died - Tom moved in with a family friend in Boston, while Laurant lived with their grandfather (somewhere in Europe, I guess) and after his death, in a boarding school in Switzerland.

Laurant is now living in Tom's adopted home in small town Iowa, and has ingratiated herself with most of the small town community with her volunteering and good deeds. However, she hasn't had much luck with men - enough bad luck, in fact, to get the notice of the local gossip/society columnist, who has even written fake relationships made and broken in her column, mainly to embarrass Laurant. Laurant has never met Nick, Tom's best friend and now an FBI superagent - not until Tom calls him about the confession. (This is kinda odd, since she apparently knows all of Nick's siblings...)

The rest of the book is spent trying to catch the alleged serial killer, whose POV is also told from time to time. He's (theoretically) obsessed with Laurant, so as a ruse to catch him, Nick and Laurant play newly-affianced lovers to draw him in. Of course, while they are doing this, they are also wildly attracted to each other, making the sting operation a little sticky.

Here's what I liked: there was some suspense, and the story did keep me guessing til the end.

Here's what I didn't particularly like:
(a) the small town characters - too "stock", too stereotypical. I'm having a hard time buying the society columnist who prints notices of false engagements, and chases people down the sidewalk. The nosy elderly sisters - ok, they were slightly better than the columnist, but still...
(b) the style of writing wasn't particularly... well, tight is the word that comes to mind. I just found it not that ... pleasing I guess. At some points it was almost too simple, and while the main characters were credible, I just didn't get emotionally involved.

Garwood threw in a lot of ringers and misdirection that were pretty obvious (even though I didn't guess the actual perp until almost at the end). One of the misdirections was way over the top, too, and I think there were some details that needed some 'splaining on that misdirection, like how the actual perp was watching her in an earlier scene after the misdirection was revealed. But I wasn't interested enough to go back to that scene and read it again for clues.

It's the first in a fairly long series - so it fits my Serial Readers Challenge, but nothing else.