Recent Reads

Dangerous Lover by Lisa Marie Rice

Why this one: I read the Midnight series and liked them so I was willing to splurge for this one

Steam Level: This will burn your lips, your throat, and your tongue; just about everything if you’re not very careful

Amazon Blurb: "I don’t want to be alone tonight."
Caroline Lake can hardly believe she would ever say these words to someone she'd never met before. When a tall, dark stranger arrives wanting to rent a room in her beautiful empty shell of a mansion, she hesitates. Though she is in dire financial straits, the man looks dangerous—dangerously sexy. She's overwhelmed by the desire he sparks in her—hotter than anything she's ever felt before, making her ache to experience his sensuous touch. But who is this armed and mysterious man with danger following in his wake? He's not who she thinks he is . . .

Jack Prescott has wanted Caroline forever. He has spent the past twelve years dreaming of her, desiring her, while fighting in some of the worst hellholes on earth. Now he's back, with twenty million dollars in blood diamonds and a relentless enemy stalking him. But this time Jack's determined that nothing will stop him from finally making Caroline his.

My thoughts: I am so glad I’ve found this author. She has a way of writing very vulnerable yet very alpha heroes. Her heroines tend to be a bit on the weak side, but as long as I don’t read a steady dose of that type, it doesn’t bother me when the heroines aren’t all that kick ass and a bit on the shy, quiet type. This is exactly the case in this book.

I loved Jack right from the beginning. There is a prologue where he is a young homeless guy and Caroline was his light in the darkness. He carried that torch for her for 12 years until finally he was in the position to see what had happened to her in the intervening years. He was very alpha but at the same time he came across as appealingly naïve when it came to the heroine even though he spent years in the military. I wouldn’t call him needy, but he does need the heroine. This made for a very appealing hero!

And I quite liked Caroline too. To say she was down on her luck is an understatement! She’s had everything go wrong in her life and if Ms Rice wasn’t such a good writer, it might have been a bit too much. But while skirting the edge, the writer doesn’t go over.

I only have a few quibbles that keep this from being a 5 out of 5. The ending is a bit abrupt. I would have liked to have seen a summing up conversation between Jack and Caroline. There was a lot revealed at the end of the book and just one more conversation would have satisfied me.

There was also a wee bit of time spent on the villain. I loved the scenes between Jack and Caroline and as it was, when it switched to the bad guy, I wanted to go back to them and just skimmed the villain.

As I said, I’m just delighted to have found this author. I have some of her backlist, but I want ALL her books. Now!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

High Noon by Nora Roberts

Why this one: I don’t read her trilogies anymore but I’m still as mad for the JD Robb books as ever and I still enjoy her single titles. When I found this one at half price – it was a done deal

Steam Level: Certainly more than tepid but not quite as hot as some of her books

Amazon blurb: At the start of this scintillating slice of romantic suspense from prolific bestseller Roberts (Sweet Revenge), Lt. Phoebe MacNamara, the chief hostage negotiator for the Savannah, Ga., PD, meets Duncan Swift, a sports bar owner, as they both try to prevent a suicidal bartender Duncan fired from jumping off a roof on St. Patrick's Day. In the aftermath, a romance develops between Phoebe and Duncan, though in typical Roberts style the enigmatic Phoebe's devotion to career and family, who include a young daughter and an agoraphobic mother, creates tension in their relationship. After Phoebe survives a vicious attack within her own precinct house by an unknown assailant, it becomes clear that someone is intent on harming Phoebe and those close to her.

My thoughts: Not to gush or anything, but I am in awe of how she comes up with book after book after book and they are always so good.
First off – even though they are both lieutenants, Phoebe is nothing like Eve Dallas of the In Death books. Phoebe is a much gentler person than Eve – so no comparisons to be made.
But Phoebe was an equally compelling heroine. Ms. Roberts has a way with a heroine that’s for sure.
Duncan was a little more of a beta type than many of her heroes. I like her alpha heroes and I like her beta heroes. Duncan was just kind of there for Phoebe whenever she needed him. He didn’t push his way into her life. I liked that.
Also the secondary cast of characters were also as vividly drawn as the hero and heroine. Although this one didn’t speak to me quite the same way it did to Rosie, nevertheless, it was another top notch book by a Very Talented Author.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5


OH! And as promised - I wasn't sure I should put these up or not but then it occurred to me that both boys (and I do feel odd calling them that) have My Space and Face Book sites that they plaster with Very Weird pictures of themselves, so why not?
It seems the two of them got together and had professional pictures done for me. Now I didn't have recent pictures of them. The last ones I had were when they were in high school. And the last time I tried to have pictures taken of them was when they were very small - like about 6 and 8. They were both MONSTERS and the photographer couldn't get any picture of them at all they were crying and screaming and not smiling. I never tried again after that episode. They still don't like posing for pictures but they did it for their mama.
So here I am - a proud mama bear showing off her cubs.
Brent - the one in white, is the oldest and just turned 29 and Ryan, the one in black will be turning 27 at the beginning of September.
Aren't they just so handsome?
These are just the proofs. The real pictures won't be ready for a couple of weeks yet.























'til later


ETA

Here are three more that I picked too. They aren't as clear but I like them too.