Review: Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta

This book falls under my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

Kylie McGraw has lived in Eden, Indiana her whole life. She's always dreamed of travelling to Asia, but lives in the same boring town she grew up in. She knows the same boring people and runs the same boring family-owned shoe store. She's just turned 32 and is ready for something to change. Little does she know things are about to change more than she could ever have imagined...

Jack Reynolds was Kylie's childhood crush. One of the running jokes in the book is that she's been in love with him since she was fourteen...or twelve. Jack was her older brother's best friend and moved away to join the NYPD, but after working a particularly horrific mob murder he decided to come back home to Eden and take a job as Police Chief.

As Kylie is trying to shake things up, poor Jack is charged by the town council with reigning her in - the town's annual Apple Festival is coming up and they don't want anything to ruin it. Then, Kylie witnesses something she shouldn't have seen and fears for her life. Due to the town's obsession with a Sopranos-like TV show ("Omerta"), no one believes Kylie and the town's residents think it's just another one of her attempts to break the monotony of small-town life.

What I liked about this book:

I really enjoyed the portions of the book that took place in Eden. Watching Kylie and Jack go back and forth until neither one of them could deny their feelings for each other was sweet and sexy and I really liked them both.

The small-town characters were fun. I have a soft spot for "spry, older characters" and this book had some adorable old guys - I loved the scene where they were giving Kylie sex advice!

What I didn't like:

I didn't like the mobsters. They were stereotypical Italian-Americans and the mob lingo annoyed me. Switching between the small-town Eden and mob-riddled Philadelphia felt awkward. I assume Ms. Eden did that on purpose to showcase the difference between the two lifestyles, but I didn't care for it.

All in all, I liked this book. Ms. Eden did a good job merging all the different storylines into a satisfying conclusion. I think her next book focuses on Kylie's brother, Spenser, and I'll definitely be checking it out! I give Out of Eden 3 1/2 out of 5 stars, it was a fun Contemporary read.

Out of Eden goes on sale April 1.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by NetGalley free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Hot In Here by Sophie Renwick

This book falls into my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

Jenna McCabe is a nice girl. She was born and raised on a farm in a small town and now lives in the nearby city as a PR Consultant. Bryce Ryder is a hot celebrity chef who grew up with Jenna but now owns a famous restaurant and has his own TV show. When Bryce gets some bad PR, he goes to Jenna for help.

Jenna has always been attracted to Bryce, who's never seen her as anything more than the girl next door - until they meet for dinner to talk about his PR problem. He wonders how he never noticed how beautiful she is, and he wants her - badly. After a disagreement about how to handle his case, he goes to her house to apologize and wish her a happy birthday. One thing leads to another and some hot sexin' ensues. The next morning, Jenna decides she's not going to be the one to get dumped, she'll just act like it was not big deal so Bryce won't know who much she cares for him. She doesn't realize Bryce is starting to have feelings for her....

As Bryce is trying to get closer to Jenna and Jenna keeps backing away, Jenna's sister Sarah and Bryce's brother Trey are trying to get Jenna and Bryce together using good publicity for Bryce as an excuse to force them to spend time together. Jenna doesn't want to be used, and every time Bryce convinces her that he cares about her something happens to undermine her confidence in Bryce's declarations.

There's a secondary storyline about how Jenna's family is about to lose their farm, and Bryce's father wants to buy it and turn it into a strip mall. There is also some history between Sarah and Trey that isn't resolved, hopefully it will be the next book if there is one planned.

This book kept me turning the page to see what would happen next. The sexin' was hot and the drama was good. I kind of felt like Bryce fell a bit too hard too fast, but it was still a fun story. I give this book 4 stars - I really liked it!

Review: How To Tame A Modern Rogue by Diana Holquist

When I read the blurb for this book I thought it would be a fun, light read. I was right - it was pretty cute!

Ally Giordano is a teacher who's parents left her in the care of her wealthy grandmother when she was 15. It's 10 years later and she's done waiting for them to come back. She's moving from her apartment in New York City and relocating to San Francisco.

Sam Carson is a sexy, wealthy businessman with a 1-month limit on relationships. Apparently he's quite the playboy. As he's arriving to his apartment, he sees an angry girlfriend out front and is considering leaving when an elderly lady in a carriage pulls up in front of him. When she addresses him as a Marquis, he informs her he's a Duke - Duke Whatthehell. He accepts her offer of a ride, thinking it should be an interesting trip,until she mentions to him that he'll be marrying her granddaughter.

The night before she's supposed to move to San Francisco, Ally's grandmother shows up at her door, dressed in Victorian garb, in a horse and carriage, with a man. After a few minutes, Ally realizes her grandmother is having some sort of mental episode and needs some help. She delays her trip to figure out what's going on, and realizes her grandmother is living out her favorite historical romance novel!

Knowing her grandmother may be declining into her last days, or could stay delusional forever, Ally decides to give her a farewell trip to say goodbye. They are going to go on a trip by carriage. Ally asks Sam for help, as her grandmother is obsessed with him, and he agrees. Ally has been on his mind and he doesn't know why.

The trip was entertaining and it was fun to watch Ally loosen up and Sam learn that love can come more than once in a lifetime. There is an interesting side story with the carriage driver that was kind of a mystery.

I liked this book, it was a fun read with a satisfying ending. There were a few spots where things moved quickly and I suspended disbelief; I'm giving it 3 1/2 stars.

Disclaimer: I won this book from Author Kelly Moran's blog.

Review: Crosssroads by Moira Rogers

Crossroads is the follow-up to Crux, and is the 2nd book in Moira Roger's Southern Arcana series. I thoroughly enjoyed Crux (my review here), and and have been looking forward to this book.

Nicole Peyton (Nick) is a bar owner in New Orleans. She's also a werewolf - not just any shapeshifter but the daughter of the New York Alpha. She's made her home in New Orleans to escape the politics of werewolf society in New York. Derek Gabriel was a regular guy with supernatural relatives until he was turned into a werewolf two years ago. He was attracted to Nick before he was turned, but since he was turned hasn't acted on those feelings because he's not sure he can control his "wolfy" urges and is afraid he'll hurt her. There's also the problem of who her father is - in this Southern Arcana world, the werewolf heirachy is very defined: natural-born werewolves consider "made" werewolves to be second-class citizens, and the governing body (Conclave) is like royalty. So naturally Derek's a bit intimidated because he's a nobody and Nick is "royalty". Nick is frustrated because she thinks Derek doesn't like her and doesn't understand Derek's reasons for not acting on his feelings for her.

As Derek and Nick finally start to act on their feelings towards each other, Nick's twin-sister Michelle and her guardian/boyfriend Aaron literally show up on her doorstep. Michelle and Aaron are in trouble with the Conclave; Nick knows the Conclave will send someone to hunt for them and knows she must do anything she can to help her twin. Nick gets her sister into hiding and decides she has to go to New York to try to save her sister and Aaron. She and Derek are also dealing with their feelings and urges for each other. The interactions between Nick and Derek were so sweet (and sexy!), and the scenes between the two of them when Nick went to New York were heartbreaking. The ending had a twist or two I didn't see coming, but was satisfying and made me smile.

This book was fast paced right up until the end - there was a lot going on. My only problem was that I couldn't keep all the secondary characters straight as far as supernatural/human and friend/relative/coworker. That was my difficulty with Crux as well, but I think it's probably just a reflection on the fact that I can't keep names straight in real life either.

I give Crossroads 4.5/5 stars - it was an enjoyable read and I'm hoping there will be more books in this series; several of the secondary characters have stories I'd love to read about. Crossroads goes on sale February 9, 2010.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Coming Undone by Lauren Dane

Coming Undone is the highly anticipated follow-up to Laid Bare (my review of Laid Bare here). Although this is a sequel it can definitely be read as a stand-alone. Coming Undone centers on Erin's older brother Brody and his new neighbor, Elise.

Brody is almost 40, tatted up, and hot; he actually owns his own tattoo parlor. We learn throughout the story that Brody's parents died when he was a young man and he left his plans for the future to care for his younger brother and sister - he doesn't regret any of it, they are a very close family.

Elise is a former ballet dancer and single mother. Her daughter, Rennie, is six years old. Elise has a pretty terrible past and works hard to protect her daughter from any of the aftereffects. Her ex-husband was abusive and Elise has is wary of men in general and Alpha-type men specifically. She's moved across the country to start a new life.

Brody and Elise get to know each other through a series of events and they end up dating. Neither one is looking for anything serious, but over the course of several months they do become serious; everyone around them knows it except Brody and Elise. There are some very sensual and tender moments, and Elise's former in-laws cause a lot of problems for Elise and Rennie. Brody wants to help but Elise is determined to handle things on her own.

While I did enjoy this book immensely, one thing I didn't like was how often Elise brought up that she wasn't going to put up with X,Y, or Z because she wanted to protect Rennie - she mentioned it a lot; such as the scene where Raven tells her off and Elise refuses to be around Raven "to protect Rennie". I felt like it really had nothing to do with Rennie and Elise was using it as an excuse to not have to deal with Raven.

Speaking of Raven - Ooohhh! I loved hating her!!! She was great (in a totally bitchy way, of course), and I couldn't believe Brody was that clueless about her.

I liked this book, I liked Brody and Elise, and I was glad we got to see Erin, Todd, and Ben again. I'm hoping the next story is the third sibling, Adrian, but I read somewhere it's going to be Cope's story (Ben's brother, I think?). Either way, it's an auto-buy for me!

I give Coming Undone 4/5 stars.

Review: Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara

Night's Cold Kiss is the first book in the Dark Brethren Series.

Antoinette Petrescu is a Venator, a highly trained vampire hunter. Vampires come in two types: Aeternus - regular vampires, and Dreniacs - vampires who drink until they kill the human. While Antoinette has been trained to fight Dreniacs, she doesn't like Aeternus vampires either. Her mother was killed by a Dreniac in front of her when Antoinette was a child and therefore she has an obsessive hatred of all vampires.

When Antoinette is charged to a mission partnering with an Aeternus, Christian Laroque, she is vehemently opposed but is overruled by her superiors. On the way to the mission, Christian discoveres Antoinette has been injured in a recent vampire attack and it's become infected. He makes a poultice to heal it, which includes some of his blood. Apparently vampire blood is a powerful aphrodisiac and they have hot vamp sex in the airplane. Once vampires go into Blood-thrall (intense sexual arousal) they must complete the act for relief. Naturally when she comes down off her vamp-blood thrall Antoinette is mortified. Christian is confused because the sex with Antoinette was unusually powerful. The romantic tension between them zinged throughout the rest of the book as Antoinette is attracted to Christian and fights her prejudice against vampires.

While investigating some mysterious deaths of females - they all look like Antoinette - some of her superiors are attacked. Antoinette witnesses the attacks; they were attacked by the vampire who killed her mother. He's supposed to be dead - permanently! No one believes Antoinette and she is briefly a suspect.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. I liked this story - there were a couple of twists I didn't see coming. The death of one particular character was so sad, and the bad guy was not who I thought it was. I'll be on the lookout for book 2 - Death's Sweet Embrace, to be released in September 2010.

Disclaimer - I won this book at Yankee Romance Reviews.

Review: Tangled Up In You by Rachel Gibson

Tangled Up In You is my second book by Rachel Gibson. I really enjoyed this one, too.

Maddie Dupree is returning to the town where her mother was murdered by her married lover's wife when Maddie was a toddler. Now it's 29 years later, Maddie's a true crime writer who's decided it's time to write her mother's story.

Mick Hennessey owns the family bar. His father was killed by his mother when she killed him and his lover, then shot herself, leaving two young children behind.

Maddie comes back to town, determined to get answers and write her book. She doesn't count on falling for the handsome bar owner. She's going to tell him who she is, but the time is never right. Then, after she attempts some interviews with the townsfolk, Mick finds out she's writing a book about his parents. (Maddie's been using her pen name so no one has made the connection that her last name is the same name as the Other Woman.) Although he tries to stay away from her, he's drawn to Maddie. Maddie's going to tell him her mother was the Other Woman, the woman killed by his mother, but she's fallen in love with Mack and she's afraid to tell him.

The reveal is so bittersweet. Mack is so betrayed and leaves. Maddie throws herself into writing the book. And the way she tries to reconnect with Mack is touching.

I liked the characters, I liked the plot. Mick had other issues with his sister that made him a sympathetic hero, and Maddie was chasing the truth to say goodbye to her mother. I really liked this story, I'd give it 4/5 stars.

Happy New Year and Review: Bending the Rules by Susan Andersen

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year celebration! I'm back from vacation and feeling refreshed; my book slump seems to be over and I'm excited about reading again! I read a few books on my kindle during the drive back and forth to Houston...I LOVE MY KINDLE!!!!

I've fallen a bit behind in reviews so I've got to get back into that - I don't think I did reviews of any of the books I read in December. My resolution at this point is to get back on track as far as reviews, figure out Goodreads and book blogs, and jump into Twitter. I downloaded Tweetdeck at home but then went to bed so I haven't looked at it to see what's what. Not sure if it's a good idea to download it at work as it seems to be addicting and my boss thinks I'm actually here to work, not just collect a paycheck.

Is anyone thinking about going to the Richelle Mead book signing on Jan. 16? I'd love to meet if anyone else will be there.

So, on to the review:





Poppy Calloway had two best friends as a child. They grew up inseperable, although their socioeconomic backgrounds were not the same. Once again, I unknowingly picked up the 2nd book in a series. I liked this book and will be going back for the first book, Cutting Loose. I found out today at Book Binge that Harlequin will not be publishing the 3rd book in the series, and all I can say is, WTF?


Poppy is on the neighborhood business board, and there was some vandalism by young spraypainters (taggers). The board is trying to decide if they want to press charges or not as the offenders are first-timers. The police officer the board invites to the discussion is Jason deSanges, who Poppy can't stand. He assisted them in the first book, and she finds him abrasive and rude. When Poppy wants to have the kids clean the damage and give them a wall to do art on, Jason disagrees. After a vote, it ends up that the kids will clean and have a wall, but Poppy and Jason will supervise to make sure they do a good job and don't get into trouble.


The three taggers are not thrilled but agree in order to escape having a police record. The night before they're supposed to begin, one of the taggers, Cory, witnesses a mob-sanctioned robbery. When she does her tagging, Cory dresses like a boy, so she hopes the mobster will be looking for a boy, not her. Cory's past has lead her to not trust the police, so she does not tell anyone what she witnessed.


Working with the kids is bringing Poppy and Jason closer. He's not as hard-ass as she originally thought and is actually good with the kids. He fights the attraction, as he was a foster-system child and doesn't think he's capable of love and knows Poppy is the kind of woman who deserves to be loved.


The story was interesting, told from Poppy's, Jason's, Corey's, and the mobser's point of view. The interconnecting storylines were good and I liked the characters. I felt like at one point Poppy and Jason moved a bit quickly, but honestly, in this day and age I think that might happen quite a bit in real life too. Her interactions with her two girlfriends was fun too, but the main focus was Poppy and Jason and Poppy and the kids. Normally I find kids in books annoying but these kids were part of the plotline and did not put me off at all.


I'd give this book 3 1/2 stars.

Shattered by Joan Johnston

I have a lot of thoughts about this book, so I'm just going to jump right in; this book had a lot going on. This book is #8 in Ms. Johnston's Bitter Creek series and I have not read any of the other books in this series. I could tell while reading that there are a lot of backstories, but I didn't have any problems following along. I would be interested in reading the other books in this series to get a more in-depth background to these characters, but it's not necessary to do so in order to enjoy the story.

Kate Pendleton is a single mom raising twins. She's in love with Texas Ranger Jack McKinley. Jack is separated from his wife, Holly. As the story opens, we soon learn that Kate's former husband, J.D. Pendleton, whom the world thinks is deceased, is not dead, but hiding from the mob boss Dante D'Amato. We also find out that Kate's eight-year-old twin boys are not J.D.'s sons, but the product of a one-night stand Kate had with Wyatt Shaw after walking in on J.D. having sex with another woman.

Wyatt Shaw is Dante D'Amato's illegitemate son. He's a highly successful businessman and hates his father because he believes his father killed his mother. He has refused to take over the "family business", which angers his father. The general public thinks that because he's successful, Wyatt must be involved in his father's business and he has been accused of murdering a woman in his bed.

As soon as Wyatt learns about the twins, he rushes to find out the truth. When he learns Kate's husband is J.D., whom Wyatt knows is still alive and in a LOT of trouble, Wyatt whisks Kate and the boys off to his private compound for protection. He's got eight years of missed time with his sons and he wants very much to know and love them.

At the same time that this is going on, Jack learns that his soon-to-be ex-wife is pregnant and will be having his baby in about four months! Holly is a pediatric oncologist and is moving back to the area and wants Jake to live with her and their son while they wait for the birth of the baby. She knows how Jake feels about Kate but is hoping for a reconciliation with Jack instead of a divorce.

You would think that with all this going on it would be hard to keep up with who's who and what's what, but it wasn't. J.D. was such a slimebag! He really, really just kept making Kate's life miserable and sooo many people were unhappy with him. I also didn't like Jack at all. He struck me as such a jerk - he was going back to live with his ex-wife whom he got pregnant while Kate was in a coma, but he got upset about Kate going to live with Wyatt who is the father of her children?!? As the story progressed, by the time I got to the last page of Chapter 36 I decided I was right and he was an ass. I liked Wyatt. He was doing his damdest to get together with Kate; granted, he was going about it all wrong at first, but I could kind of see his point of view and felt like even though he looked like a bad guy he really wasn't.

As I mentioned above, there was a lot going on in this story: political inrigue, double-crossing, mob action, secret pregnancies....but Ms. Johnston wove it all together and made it work. There were one or two scenes where I said to myself, "really?" but then when I sat back and thought about it I saw how the circumstances could lead the character to those actions. Ms. Johnston did use multiple POVs, and while some people find that annoying it didn't bother me at all. I enjoyed this book and was pleased with the way it ended.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Beloved Highlander by Sara Benentt

Gregor Grant was the son of the laird of Glen Dhui. Then, there was a rebellion against the English, and England won. He and his father were thrown from their land and the English took over.

Years later, General Mackintosh now owns Glen Dhui. His daughter, Meg, is his only heir. He has promised her in marriage to the Duke of Abercauldy, but recently found out the Duke was responsible for the death of his previous wife and is scared for Meg's future. He sends Meg out into the country to find Gregor and bring him back to Glen Dhui. Meg does not know it but her father plans to ask Gregor to marry Meg - that way she'll be safe from the Duke.

When she finds Gregor, he is drunk and injured from a duel over a woman. He eventually agrees to go back to Glen Dhui for a fee, and she patches him up. Of course, on the way back to Glen Dhui she finds she is attracted to him and he is attracted to her, but stubbornly they each decide not to act on it.

Once they arrive at Glen Dhui, her father fills Gregor in on his plans and all the problems that would be solved by the marriage. The people who rely on Glen Dhui for protection will all rally under Gregor, whom they all remember and respect, and Meg will be safe from the Duke. When Meg learns of the plan, she fights it but eventually agrees it would be the best solution. The wedding is rushed when some of the Duke's men come over to the castle to check on Meg. Passion abounds in the marriage bed, but neither is sure if the other cares for them or if the marriage is just one of convenience and sex.

To make matters more confusing, the woman Gregor had dueled over in the beginning of the book shows up on their doorstep! Gregor grabs her to tell her to leave, but Meg sees and thinks he's embracing her. Hurt, she turns away. While this is going on, the Duke has learned of the marriage and is enraged. He sends a party back to Glen Dhui and kidnaps - the wrong woman!!

This story was pretty good. It's better than my review makes it out to be. There was a secondary story going on with some of the side characters that was interesting. I liked watching Gregor's development from a gruff, grumpy loner to an upstanding and honest character.

Undercover by Lauren Dane

I picked up this book because I liked Laid Bare, and while browsing Amazon saw this book was on sale. Whoo-eee! I didn't realize it was a futuristic story, as I don't usually enjoy that sort of book, but this one was great. Sooo sexy.

Sera Ayers was in love with Ash Walker 10 years ago. He was totally Dominant and she loved submitting to him. He was the love of her life and he ended up having to marry for political reasons. Sera refused to be his sanctioned mistress. She was bitter and depressed and channeled her energy into advancing her military career.

Fast forward 1o years, and Sera is called in to her commanders office for a new assignment. She'll be working with Ash and Brandt Pela as an undercover group to travel to another planet to gather information about who is selling weapons and information to federation enemies. She is supposed to pose as Ash's concubine, but she refuses and agrees to pose as Brandt's concubine. Once they're there, though, someone notices she has Ash's mark on her (she never had it removed) and ends up having to pose as concubine to both men. I liked that the men interacted with each other as well as Sera.

Ash explains to her what's happened to him in the last 10 years, including divorce from his wife and that he never got over Sera. Sera never got over Ash either, but she's wary of seeing him again. Because of their mission, she's already involved with Brandt, and when Ash gets involved everyone is happy.

The covert mission is interesting, and the relationship between the three is complex. I enjoyed the ending once the mission was over. This was a fun read with a lot of sexin'!

I'm In No Mood For Love by Rachel Gibson

I picked this book up in the bookstore about a week ago, and I must have liked the looks of it because I bought it up again two days later! Yes, that's right - I bought it twice.

Clare Wingate is a young, wealthy woman who just walked in on her fiance doing the washing machine repair MAN. She doesn't get any time to think about it because she has to stand in her best friend's wedding that evening. After the wedding, she has a bit too much to drink and wakes up in a hotel room, naked, and can't remember much after the wedding. Then her childhood friend/nemesis Sebastian Vaughn walks comes out of her shower! He tells her she was wild in bed; she's mortified and makes a quick exit.

Sebastian Vaughn is a world famous journalist who's come home to try to connect with his estranged father. His mother recently died and he realizes his father is all the family he's got left. His father is Clare's mother's gardner. He doesn't know why he lied about sleeping with Clare at the hotel but thinks it was fun to tease her.

Clare and Sebastian are thrown together a few times and the attraction is strong. She tries to fight it as she is still hurting from the betrayal of her ex-fiance and Sebastian is not looking for a commitment. The end up dating but when Clare realizes her feelings may be more than casual, she gets scared and Sebastian gets angry.

I won't give anything away but the ending was good.

This was a nice story. There were no villians, no natural disasters or horrible accidents, just the interaction between the H/H moving the story along. I liked it. Ms. Gibson is a new-to-me author and I'll be looking for more of her work.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. It's gotten great reviews but I was a bit hesitant as I had decided I wasn't a fan of Steampunk. Not that I'd ever read any, but just like I know I don't like bungee jumping despite it's popularity, I was pretty sure I didn't like Steampunk.

Boy was I wrong! I did enjoy this book. In this world Ms. Carringer created (during the 1800s), supernaturals are considered to be so because they have an excess of soul. It's difficult for humans to try to cross over to become vampires or werewolves because you must have a lot of soul to survive the transfer. Alexia Tarabotti is a 25-year-old spinster who is considered, by other paranormals, to be soulless. What this means is she negates other supernatural's powers. For example, if a vampire attacks her, when she touches it it loses it's vampiric abilitis and for all intents and purposes is human while in physical contact.

As the book opens, Alexia is at a dance, in the library trying to get something to eat (her appetite is a running joke throughout the book), when she is attacked by a vampire and ends up killing it. We meet Lord Maccon, an alpha werewolf, who is in charge of the supernatural police force. He and Alexia drive each other nuts....which turns to romance. Watching these two attempt to court each other was pretty funny. Between his alpha tendencies and her victorian sensibilities (to a point, she is what would be considered a bluestocking) they bumbled along nicely, the whole time trying to solve the mystery of disappearing rogue vampires and werewolves.

I liked the secondary characters, especially Ms. Histlepenny and Professor Lyall (Lord Maccon's Beta wolf); they were quite entertaining in their own rights.

One of the funnies things that caught my attention (I have a teenage boy's sense of humor) was Alexia thinking about how wolves mark their territory and wondering if Lord Maccon marked his territory around his castle!

I give this book two thumbs up!

The Year of Living Shamelessly by Susanna Carr

Katie Kramer is in love with her brother's best friend, Ryder Scott. Not only is he her brother's best friend, he's practically part of the family. Katie is frustrated he doesn't see her as anything else than a little sister, so she makes a New Year's resolution to have a wild affair with Ryder. She changes her look to something sexier, goes on more dates than she would have normally, and flirts with Ryder.

At a Christmas party almost a year later, she hasn't had her wild affair with Ryder and she learns he is leaving the country on New Year's Day to take a job in Saudi Arabia. She can't believe he's leaving and she decides she's going to get together with Ryan before he leaves.

She learns that Ryan is into D/s and convinces a friend to go to a local D/s club. Ryan learns she's gone and goes chasing after her. He tries to convince her that she doesn't really want to be with him but she's not having any of it. They do get together, but he feels guilty (she's his best friend's little sister!) and tries to keep his distance. She pursues him and things are going well until he learns about her New Year's resolution and feels used. It's a race against time to see if Katie can convince Ryan her feelings are real before he's gone forever.

I enjoyed this book. Katie was cute and seems like she'd be a fun friend. Ryan seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Katie's brother was kind of a jerk and I wanted to smack him a few times. There were some funny scenes between Katie and Ryan, especially the one where he explained to her the extent of his D/s involvement. This was a fun read, it would be especially good as the holidays come around.

Be With Me by Maya Banks

This was my first Maya Banks book. I liked it. I had heard good things about Ms. Banks, but I was leery going into it - the blurb said it was a story about one woman and three best friends....that seemed like a lot of people to me, but Ms. Banks made it work!

Reggie Fallon is a cop. She's also the Mayor's daughter. When she comes across a murder scene the killer is still there and he tries to kill Reggie. He almost succeeds, but back up arrives and he gets away.

When Reggie wakes up in the hospital, her three best friends from childhood are there - Hutch Bishop, Cam Douglas, and Sawyer Pritchard. They'd remained best friends until about a year ago, when one night of passion between the four of them had her running away from them. She couldn't handle the truth of what they had done and had managed to avoid them for the past year.

When they heard she'd been hurt, they brought her back to recuperate in the home they had built for her. They explained what they wanted, a relationship between the four of them, and she fought it. How could that possibly work? What would people say? Hutch, Cam, and Sawyer convinced her to think about it. They all loved her and didn't want to give her up. They knew she loved them too, and they would never make her pick.

Her first day in their home there was a break-in. Then her car exploded right after she'd gotten out of it. And the men's childhood home (they were foster children who lived together with an adoptive mother) was attacked. Were these attacks aimed at her? Or someone close to her?

The guys were very protective of Reggie, and she in turn was protective of them. Watching their relationships with Reggie grow, individually and as a group, was interesting (and steamy!). I will say the killer was not who I thought it was, and the final showdown was good. And when Reggie and the guys had to decide if this relationship was what they all really wanted, their decision-making process was, erm...unique.

This book was hard to put down and I am definitely going to read more books by this author!

Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks

Danielle from Alpha Reader did a review on this series a few months back. I noticed we had several series we liked in common, so I picked up the first three books in the series. I am so glad I did!


Tempting Danger is the first book in Ms. Wilks' World of the Lupi series, and it was great! I'm not going to get into all the world-building, but it is contemporary and the existance of werewolves is common knowledge. There are also hints of other supernatural beings, but I was unclear if they were common knowledge or "don't ask, don't tell".


The heroine, Lily Yu, is a homocide detective in San Diego, and she's assigned a murder investigation that they think is a werewolf kill. Lily is a Sensitive, meaning she can feel magic when she touches it. Her initial suspect is Rule Turner, a werewolf prince, who has a reputation as a playboy. When she goes to interview him, she gets a funny feeling but ignores it.


As soon as they meet, Rule thinks there's a possibility that Lily is his Chosen. He's not thrilled about it, because she's a cop and cop/werewolf relations are not friendly. As the investigation moves forward, Lily knows Rule is not the killer and she is attracted to him although she tries to fight it. After Rule is framed for another attack, when Lily tries to defend him she is put on suspension, leading her to believe the killer has an in with the police. She contacts the Feds, who have an interst in the case, and they get Rule out of jail. He goes back to her apartment and tells her she is his Chosen, that's why she's been feeling like she does. She doesn't believe it at first but comes to accept it's a possibility but wants to think about it more. They have sex and strengthen the bond - they can't be physically more than a few feet from each other.


Meanwhile they're still investigating the deaths, and Rule's best friend is missing. They're working with the Feds and Rule brings the Lupi into it too. Lily's grandmother is a bigger player in the game than we are led to believe at first.


My review can not do this book justice. It had a kick-ass heroine, a sexy werewolf hero, crooked cops, family betrayals, evil magic, the list goes on and on. The world was believable and I rushed through it in an evening, not wanting to put it down. I loved the ending and can't wait to get more of Lily and Rule!

Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

I actually read the 2nd book in this series, Start Me Up, first. I liked it enough that I bought this one to see the back story on some of the characters.

Molly Jennings has returned home to the small town of Tumble Creek, Colorado. During her years in the city, she's just left a manipulative ex boyfriend, Cameron, so when she inherited her aunt's house in Tumble Creek, she decides it's a good time to leave the big city and go back home. Her brother Quinn, lives nearby in Aspen, and his best friend, Ben Lawson, is the town Sheriff. Molly had a childhood crush on Ben that never went away.

Molly does have a secret, though. She's hidden her occupation from her friends and family for years. When she starts dating Ben, he worries about what her job could be, even though she promises him it's not illegal. Ben's family had some scandal when he was a child and he is very concerned about appearances as a result, plus, as Sheriff he's worried she might be doing something illegal but can't imagine what it could be.

On several occasions, Molly finds her doors unlocked, and at one point finds someone staring at her through her window in the middle of the night. She's afraid to tell Ben about Cameron, a big-city cop who is a master manipulator. He's befriended her last few boyfriends and convinced them that she was not over him. Her family loves him and wants to know why she doesn't marry him. Molly is afraid that as soon as Ben meets Cameron he'll get chummy with Cameron and drop Molly like her last few boyfriends, and Molly really likes Ben and doesn't want to give him up.

Ms. Dahl winds a great story here. Molly's occupation is hysterical; I loved it! When Ben (and the rest of the town) find out what it is, it does make life difficult for Ben for awhile, but Molly is willing to fight for him. I love the bet they wagered over who the stalker could be - it was not who I expected...exactly. I definitely recommend this book for a fun contemporary read.

A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix

I found this book on Dirty Sexy Books. Rebecca has some great Top 10 lists (seriously, if you haven't checked out her site - it's smart and witty, go now! Well, after you finish this post, I guess.) and a lot of my favorites are on her lists, so I decided to give this one a go. (I'll just ignore that Red and Scarlet are on one of her lists!)

Anyhoo, I bought A Rush of Wings at B&N, and had the 2nd book, In the Blood, in my hands but put it back because I was nervous I wouldn't like it. *hits head - stupid, stupid, stupid!* Ok, better now...

A Rush of Wings is set in New Orleans (you know how much I love books set here!). F.B.I. Special Agent Heather Wallace has tracked a serial killer to New Orleans. During the course of her investigation she meets Dante Prejean, a bar owner and singer. He's a suspect but Heather doesn't believe he's the killer, she thinks he's the target. Dante is famous for being a vampire, but Heather doesn't believe in vampires. Dante gets migraines - he can't be a vampire!

Dante is a very tortured hero, literally. He can't remember his past,but he knows it's not good. He's got a close group of friends who protect him; some of whom have secrets - big secrets. He's got a rap sheet a mile long and has weird hallucinations. Heather is pretty cut and dry - she's there to catch a killer and protect the innocent, no matter what. But she is drawn to Dante and she's not sure why. She goes from suspecting him to trying to protect him.

This book has it all - crooked cops, brooding vampires, fallen angels, psychopathic scientists, and some vampire sexytime. The story was complex - Ms. Phoenix takes us down some twisty turns to get to the end. In a few spots I found myself wishing it would pick up a bit, but overall a good read.

I wanted to start book 2, but alas, I didn't have it yet. (edit - I just got it in Monday - yay!!!!)

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews - Quickie Review

I follow Ilona Andrews' blog religiously (see sidebar at right). I'm a huge fangirl of her Kate Daniels series and am anxiously awaiting book 4. I wasn't sure what to expect from this new series, but it was getting such great reviews I decided to give it a go. I liked it!

Rose Drayton is kind of like a magical hilbilly. She lives in the Edge with her two younger brothers and grandmother. The Edge is where a magical magical reality (The Weird) overlaps with our normal reality (the Broken). There is some magic in the Edge, but not much. Magic users and "bluebloods" (royalty) live in the Weird, and regular, non-magic people live in the Broken. All magic ceases to work in the Broken. People who live in the Edge can travel to the Weird or the Broken with just a small amount of pain involved, but people from the Broken can't travel into the Edge and people from the Weird can travel into the Broken but it is very painful.

Rose has a special power that makes her very attractive to other magical people and is very protective of herself and her brothers. When a stranger from the Weird shows up on her doorstep (Declan), she tells him she will not marry him. He offers to perform three challenges of her selection to win her. While this is going on, Rose is having some other issues: There's a stranger in the Broken who's taken an interst in her as well (William), and some pretty creepy monsterdogthings are starting to kill her fellow Edge dwellers.

This book had a lot going on - I'm impressed at how Ms. Andrews managed to tie it all up. I liked Rose and Declan. I also liked her brothers; usually kids in stories annoy me but these two were different. And Grandpa - I don't know what to say about him! Yuck?

While the Kate series is still my favorite, I did enjoy this book very much and am watching her progress on Book 2 (William's story). Now, in addition to tapping my fingers impatiently waiting for the next Kate Daniels installment, I'll be tapping the fingers of my other hand waiting for the next Edge story!

Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

I've been in the mood for contemporaries, and I remembered seeing a few reviews about this book, so when I saw it on the shelf I grabbed it. I'm glad I did, I enjoyed it.

Lori Love is a mechanic/body shop owner in small town Tumble Creak, near Aspen. She had gone off to college and dreamed of traveling the world, but her dad was injured and she had to come home and take care of him - for 10 years. During that time she ended up taking over the auto shop, and when he died she stayed. It's been a year, and she's tired of being alone but doesn't want the stress of a boyfriend. Her best friend Molly (in Talk Me Down, which I haven't read yet) writes erotic books, and over drinks Lori tells Molly she needs an uncomplicated fling.

Molly's brother Quinn is a rich architect who is back in town building his dream home. He asks Lori to come over and fix his backhoe. The next day, he stopped by her house to talk about it, and Lori jumped to the conclusion that Molly had told Quinn she was looking for a fling - so she told him she would not have a fling with him. Quinn had no idea what she was talking about, so then Lori is embarassed and Quinn starts thinking it's a great idea, as he gets forgetful when he's busy and a "friends with benefits" kind of thing would work for him too.

At first Lori says no, they've known each other too long, but he convinces her to give it a try, so they start datin' and sexin' and it seems to be working, except when they run into an ex-girlfriend. And Quinn wants to get serious, but Lori doesn't. In addition to her regular job obligations, Ben, the town sheriff and Molly's boyfriend, has re-opened her father's file and is investigating his death as a murder instead of an accident. Then someone starts breaking into Lori's shop and vandalizing it. Lori thinks it must be someone trying to get her to sell the piece of land her father bought right before he was injured, she's been getting a lot of offers recently. Conveniently, dating Quinn puts her in the right place to try to get some clues about why anyone would be interested in her land.

I liked this book. I felt bad for Quinn - he was a nice guy and Lori seemed to not give him a chance through most of the book. They argued a lot, but I think that was supposed to up the sexual tension a bit. I enjoyed the part the Paranormal/Erotic Romance books played in this story - Lori liked to read them and Quinn stole a few for "homework"; I will say that he's a good student!

I would recommend this book if you're looking for a fun, light read.