Under Your Spell

By Lois Greiman

http://www.loisgreiman.com/

Avon Historical 

ISBN-10: 0061191361

To London society, they were nothing more than a group of will-bread ladies gathering to gossip about the bachelors of the ton. But the women of Lavender house share an uncommon gift that will lead them to days filled with danger-and nights of unquenchable desire.

With her smoldering glances and dazzling beauty, Ella St. James, Countess of Lanshire, could bewitch any man. But she isn’t about to squander her unique attentions on the mundane task of finding a husband. After all, the perfect man is a mere fantasy, and she has more urgent worries. A close friend and fellow Lavender house lady has gone missing, and Ella is determined to find her. But everywhere she turns, she finds only the handsome, alluring, and troublemaking Thomas Donovan. 

Thomas has secrets of his own, secrets that could destroy him, and his attraction to the tantalizing leads her into mortal peril, Thomas cannot help but try to rescue her love her, and devour her… for he has fallen under her spell.

If you appreciate a strong woman with special talents Ella won’t disappoint. Thomas is a tortured man because of his past but Ella is able to see passed that to the man inside. Ella maintains her secrets but Thomas has a way of getting her to open up.

This story had some surprises and wasn’t my usual fair but I liked the characters and the plot line. Interesting read.

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The books we review on this site, unless otherwise noted, are our own personal copies. The Petit Fours and Hot Tamales blog members do not accept payment in exchange for a review or mention.

 The Hellion and The Highlander

By Lynsay Sands

http://www.lynsaysands.net/index.html

ISBN 978-0-06-134479-4

HarperCollins Historical Romance

Only one man could set her heart ablaze…

Lady Averill Mortagne learned to control her fierce temper as a young girl. But if her father insists on parading her before one more English lord who looks askance at her flame-colored hair, she’ll simply scream! Her only respite is the time she spends with Kade Stewart, the wounded Scot her brother brought home from the Crusades. Who could have imagined a Highland warrior would be the only gentleman around?

Lady Averill helped save his life, and for that Kade is truly grateful. She is also almost unbearably beautiful, but he could never subject such a sweet and gentle lady to the rough life of a Stewart laird’s bride…or could he? When she braves an unexpected danger by his side, Averill will prove to Kade that her heart is as fiery as her hair… and that submitting to their scorching passion would be heaven indeed.

 I’m a sucker for a historical set in the highlands of England. The beauty of the area alone is romantic. The Hellion and The Highlander has a nice spin on the right man can see the beauty in the right woman and the right woman can humble the big, strong, can do it all himself man and him like it. The story also has a nice surprise twist that makes for an interesting ending.

Boomerang Bride

by Fiona Lowe

Publisher: Carina Press

ISBN:  978-14268-9200-4

Media:  e-book

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Matilda Geoffrey flew from Australia to a small Wisconsin town to surprise her online “fiancé”, only to discover she’s been scammed.

Returning to his small hometown for a family visit, Marc Olsen sees a bride with a Read the rest of this entry »

When One Night Isn’t Enough

By Wendy S. Marcus

http://wendysmarcus.com/
Harlequin Mills and Boon Medical

ASIN: B0055PQAIG

Buy it Here

Confessions of an E.R. nurse…

Nurse Ali Forshay has swapped dating disasters for nights out with the girls. But after spending more time than is strictly necessary discussing the man she loves to hate–the notoriously delicious Dr. Jared Padget–Ali’s horrifying realization is that she’s one hundred percent crazy in lust with him! Her conclusion: Read the rest of this entry »

Dare She Date the Dreamy Doc?

By Sarah Morgan

http://www.sarahmorgan.com/

ISBN: 978 1-4268-6069-0

Harlequin Medical

Buy It Here

DARE SHE DATE THE DREAMY DOC? Sarah Morgan Nurse Jenna Richards did not come all the way to Glenmore to fall head-over-heels for the first sexy doctor she saw. But what’s a single mum to do when devastatingly dreamy Dr. Ryan McKinley has his eye on you, and the entire island community is mischievously matchmaking…?

Read the rest of this entry »

Man Law

By Adrienne Giordano

Carina Press

ASIN: BOO5078OLA

Security Consultant Vic Andrews lives by his Man Laws:

Never mess with your best friend’s sister

Never get caught

Never get attached

But he can’t deny his irresistible attraction to Gina Delgado, a young widow with three kids and plenty of strings attached. Even so, having a physical relationship doesn’t mean they’re “in a relationship.”

Gina lost her husband to tragedy; she is not getting emotionally involved with another man in a dangerous profession. Sleeping with Vic is just stress relief.

Until one of Vic’s assignments goes wrong and the target selects Gina and her kids for revenge. There’s nothing Vic won’t do to protect Gina and the children—the family he realizes, too late, he wants. He’ll accomplish his mission but will he have lost his only chance at true love?

I read an excerpt of Man Law and it intrigued me enough that I bought the book. I wasn’t disappointed. This book isn’t about the sweet romance of the young but the life changing love between two mature people who know what they want and go after it. There is enough conflict and relationship issues for this couple to overcome that they keep the reader turning the page to see what happens next. The book has plenty of intrigue driving the reader to see if the good guys, right to the end. The strong story over shadows the strong language.

Best read I’ve had in a long time. This was a debut novel for Adrienne Giordano and I look forward to her next book.

Burn

By Linda Howard

Ballantine Books

ISBN: 978-0-345-48656-1

Amazon

It’s true what they say: Money changes everything.  Money certainly changes Jenner Redwine’s life when she wins a lottery jackpot. But it also costs her plenty: Her father rips her off and disappears, her fortune-hunting boyfriend soon becomes her ex, and friends-turned-freeloaders give her the cold shoulder when she stops paying for everything.

Flush with new money, Jenner can’t imagine ever finding a place in the world of the wealthy. Seven years later, though, she’s rubbing elbows with the rich, despite the fact that she still feels like a party crasher. Luckily she finds a ally—and a guide to the rarefied realm of privilege—in shy, kind-hearted heiress Sydney Hazlett, who quickly becomes Jenner’s confidante and surrogate sister.

When Sydney invites Jenner on a charity cruise aboard a luxury liner, Jenner reluctantly agrees. But while she’s expecting—and dreading—two weeks of masquerade balls, art auctions, and preening glitterati, what she gets is more like a Hitchcock movie than a Love Boat episode. Taken hostage by a menacing stranger, Jenner must cooperate in a mysterious cloak-and- dagger scheme—or else. With nowhere to run, and with Sydney’s life as well as her own at risk, Jenner is drawn into a game of dizzying intrigue and harrowing danger. But as her panic gives way to exhilaration, and fear of her captor turns to fascination, Jenner rediscovers feeling s she hasn’t had in years—and realizes she’s found a life worth living. If she survives.   

I’m a huge Linda Howard fan and once again she didn’t disappoint. Burn builds in intensity and ends with a smash bang. The characters are real and likable. If you are looking for a book to read on the beach that you’ll get so involved in that you might burn, this is the one. Have a cold drink nearby