Tag: #romance

Book Review: Perilous Trust by Barbara Freethy

RATING: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

PERILOUS TRUST (Off the Grid: FBI Trilogy #1) by Barbara Freethy is an exciting start to a new romantic suspense series. This is a fast paced story loaded with action, suspense and romance. Each book features one of five friends who formed a secret group while in Quantico with the promise to always help the others.

Sophie Parker is an archeology instructor at NYU, who receives the devastating news that her father was killed in a car crash. Her father was the head of the Organized Crime Unit in the NY FBI field office. When she gets a chance to check her phone, she listens to her father’s last frantic and cryptic messages with instructions she must follow and to not trust anyone including his fellow FBI agents.

FBI agent Damon Wolfe cannot believe what he is hearing. His mentor and reason for being in the NY FBI office is dead and his daughter is missing. Four years ago, Damon and Sophie came together for one night of solace and life-affirming passion over the death of a mutual friend. They never contacted each other again, but now Damon knows he has to find Sophie and help her.

Sophie does not know if she can trust Damon, but as the bullets start flying, they flee together to follow Sophie’s father’s clues and hopefully solve his murder and eliminate the threat to Sophie’s life.

The plot is an intricate puzzle and has a lot of players that need to be kept straight. Besides Damon and Sophie, you are introduced to Bree and Wyatt, who are members of the five from Quantico. Sophie’s father had a lifetime group of friends from Yale that may be involved in his death and his job as head of the Organized Crime Unit also brought in several players. Keeping everyone straight was my only problem while reading this book. Other than that, it was a surprise for me when all the pieces where discovered.

Damon and Sophie’s chemistry was intense and pretty much instantaneous from their one-night-stand four years ago. While on the run, they get to know more about each other’s pasts and families. It brings them closer and their relationship builds from there. The sex is hot, but not explicit and well balanced with the feelings of loss and fear during other parts of the story.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series and getting to know more about the other friends from Quantico.

Book Review: The Lost Letter by Mimi Matthews

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE LOST LETTER: A VICTORIAN ROMANCE by Mimi Matthews is a beautifully written historical romance set in the Victorian era. The story flows between the hero and heroine, past and present, as they are given a second chance at love. The story is captivating and only a little longer than a novella. I just kept turning the pages and was done before I knew it in just one sitting.

Sylvia Stafford was the beautiful and charming daughter of a Baron. She had many suitors, but the man who claimed her heart was a dashing career Calvary officer and second son of an Earl. Before his return to India, Sylvia shares a chaste kiss with her dashing soldier and gives him a lock of her hair. As Sylvia waits for her word from her love, her father’s gaming debts become too much and he commits suicide leaving Sylvia with nothing and no one. Sylvia becomes a governess to a merchant family away from the society and friends she grew up with.

Colonel Sebastian Conrad returns from India a badly scarred and tormented man. He retreats to his family’s estate to hide. His father and older brother have died and that leaves Sebastian as the Earl. One day, his little sister is visiting and spies on Sebastian crying over a lock of hair and asks his man-servant who it belongs to and after some questioning finds where Sylvia now resides as a governess and invites her to Hertfordshire to help her stop her brother from doing something drastic.

The two are reunited, but under very different circumstances and each believes the other did not truly share the same feelings three years ago. As the two each learn truths about the intervening years, their love begins to grow once again, but will it be enough to clear up all the misunderstandings and let these two have their HEA?

This is an extremely romantic and emotional story in all its simplicity of plot. The characters are so realistic and just walk off the page and into your heart. This love story will stay in my memory for some time to come. This is a definite keeper that I can highly recommend.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Second Chance Cowboy by Joanne Rock

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SECOND CHANCE COWBOY (Road to Romance Book, #2) by Joanne Rock is a second chance contemporary romance that demonstrates this author’s seamless ability to immediately allow you to become emotionally invested in her characters and immerse you in the beauty and uniqueness of her settings. Even though this is the second book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone.

Larissa Martine left Cheyenne, Wyoming eight years ago for the bright lights of Broadway and a career in dance. It was a promise she made to her dying mother. But as she leaves, she also devastates the boy she loves in a text message.

After a possible career ending injury and on her way to an audition in Los Vegas, Larissa is detouring to her hometown to honor a pact between girlfriends, to make peace with past wrongs and hopefully clear the future to turn bad luck to good.

Matt Briggs thought he had it all. He purchased Split Fork Ranch next to his family spread and was ready to move ahead with the girl he loved. That was not how it worked out. Now Larissa is back and he does not want to hear about her regrets, but he does want her stay for his sister’s wedding next week. The intense attraction is still there and maybe if they have one more night together it will give them both the peace with the past they seek, or they could repeat past mistakes all over again.

Larissa and Matt are both trying to live up to what they perceive that others wanted for them. The love and attraction has always been an easy part of their relationship, but the emotional communication between the two is difficult and lacking. Even though eight years has passed, they almost repeat their past and the author leads them towards their HEA in a realistic and believable way. The sex scenes are steamy and also emotional. The secondary characters where as well fleshed out and entertaining as the H/h. This is a quick read packed with emotion and what I expect when I read a book by this author.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Married In Montana by Jane Porter

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MARRIED IN MONTANA (Paradise Valley Ranch Book 2) by Jane Porter is a wonderful historical romance that takes you back to 1890 Marietta, Montana. This book has a marriage of convenience storyline that focuses almost completely on the emotional growth of the hero and heroine without any trope scenes of external jeopardy or harm to force a sudden declaration of love. This story has a few references to Book 1 in the series, but can easily be read as a standalone.

Ellie Burnett is the pampered and spirited child of Archibald Burnett who is dying. To protect their large ranch and her father’s legacy, Ellie must marry and quickly. Though she can ride, shoot and run the ranch, her father wants her settled with an honorable man. What Ellie wants is to still be in control even after she marries.

Thomas Sheenan has come from Ireland to work hard and be his own man. The last thing he wants is a wife. He had to care for and bury his family in Ireland and he believes he is emotionally dead inside. When Ellie comes to him and proposes, he cannot turn her or the opportunity down, but he tells her he will never love her.

These two strong, independent and stubborn characters are then taken on an emotional journey by this author. Ellie starts out not knowing why anyone would not want the ranch and money that comes with her and an immature view of marriage. Thomas starts the marriage by taking complete control to gain the respect of the ranch hands and keep Ellie at a distance. The death of Ellie’s father devastates her and after months of depression, we begin to see small steps forward in understanding as Thomas forces her back into day to day living.

Ellie and Thomas are portrayed with strong emotions that continue to change and grow as the two become a couple. The sex scenes are well written and add to the growth of intimacy between Ellie and Thomas. These two start from very different places in life and yet deserve to find their HEA together.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: When Darkness Whispers by Lisa Carlisle

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

WHEN DARKNESS WHISPERS by Lisa Carlisle is a mix of military romantic suspense, paranormal/urban fantasy and serial killer thriller all woven together to make an AMAZING book!

Eva Montreaux is a biologically enhanced Marine. She leads the NEO (Night Eagle Operations) team 17 sent to Okinawa to investigate who or what is brutally murdering American servicemen. With the increased tensions between the American military and the Japanese it is essential to solve and stop these killings as soon as possible. As she works with her special team, she runs into military colleagues from her time in Afghanistan, but her enhancements have made that portion of her memory incomplete until she sees Gunny Delacruz.

Gunnery Sergeant Marcos Delacruz has had three years since Eva left Afghanistan to come to terms with promises not kept. When he runs into Eva on Okinawa, he cannot believe she shows no emotion at seeing him again. The past will have to be dealt with, but right now he is on a mission. With his special ability to communicate with spirits, his superiors hope he can solve the serial murders. What he does not expect is to continually cross paths with Eva during the investigation.

Eva and Marcos both have secrets that cannot be revealed to others in regards to their missions. They also have misunderstandings that are tied to their pasts in Afghanistan. As Eva struggles to remember Marcos and their shared past, they both have to find a serial killer that does not appear to be human.

I loved this whole book. Eva and Marcos are great main characters that are fully fleshed with flashbacks that in no way confuse or interfere with the main plot. Trust is a huge issue for them in the past and present that has to be resolved for them to work together. Their romance is written past and present and grows throughout the story. There is great sexual tension as well as tender yet hot sex scenes.  I also really enjoyed the last chapter of this book which is unique.

Ms. Carlisle has delivered a well written military romantic suspense with paranormal characters. She has then intertwined the whole story with Japanese folk lore that adds to the uniqueness of the story. This is a book that I highly recommend!

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Clone Me a Lover by Rosalie Redd

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

CLONE ME A LOVER (An Interstellar Lovers Novella) by Rosalie Redd is an enjoyable and quick sci-fi romance novella and a possible start to a new series.

Angelo Thirteen is a human clone from future Earth who desires to fall in love. All emotions have been banned on Earth, but Angelo Thirteen is good at hiding his so he will not be sent for reprogramming. When the spaceship he is piloting is hit by space junk, the pods disengage and his pod is sent tumbling into deep space. Before he passes out, all he regrets is that his chance to escape Earth and live a free life with emotions is over.

Elle is an Altonian spaceship captain on a mission. She must sell her payload to get the money to free her brother from a future in her home world’s prison mines and pay off her beloved ship. When she rescued the pod from space, she was not expecting to find a sexy life form on board. She has to keep to her goal, but this human clone keeps surprising her with his gentleness and kindness which is breaking down the hardened wall around her heart.

For the short length and the introduction of new world-building, this is a well written sci-fi romance. The sex scene was hot and sexy and well placed in the story. Both Angelo and Elle are well portrayed and realistically change and grow together in this short romance plot. My only problem with this story was the harsh transition between Chapters 2 and 3. It pulled me out of the story and had me checking back if I missed something.

Other than that one point in the story, it flows very well and had me anxiously waiting for how this author would give me my HEA. I was not disappointed and will be looking for more books in this series in the future.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.