Review: Understood by Maya Banks

Title: Understood
Series: Unspoken
Author: Maya Banks
Read copy: eBook
Published: December 19, 2006
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 1599983028
ISBN-13: 9781599983028

When she breaks free from the bondage of her past, he’ll be waiting.

Jake Turner committed the ultimate mistake of falling in love with his best friend’s wife. The distance he puts between them costs both him and Ellie Matthews dearly. Jake will never forgive himself for not seeing what a bastard his friend was. Now that Ellie is free from her nightmare, Jake waits, needing and wanting. He’ll be there when Ellie is ready to spread her wings.

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Review: The Return of Rafe MacKade by Nora Roberts

Title: The Return of Rafe MacKade
Series: The MacKade Brothers
Author: Nora Roberts
Read copy: eBook
Published: June 20, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1459213238
ISBN-13: 9781459213234

Ten years after disappearing from Antietam, Maryland, the bad boy has returned. Cleaned up and successful now—and still dangerously good-looking—Rafe MacKade sets the town on fire, and tongues wagging.

Lovely newcomer Regan Jones is intrigued—what kind of man could cause this sort of talk? She's just about to find out....

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Review: Hide in Plain Sight by Michele Albert

Title: Hide in Plain Sight
Series: Avalon Prequel
Author: Michele Albert
Read copy: eBook
Published: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing
ISBN: 1416523073
ISBN-13: 9781416523079

APPEARANCES ARE DECEIVING

Fiona Kennedy can tell a forgery from the genuine article in a snap. Drop-dead-sexy Grif Laughton, however, is not so easy to read. He's clearly a masterpiece of the male variety — and the attraction he sparks is definitely the real thing. But Grif is a man of secrets, and the potentially priceless manuscript he's asked her to appraise is just one of them.

PASSIONS ARE DEADLY

But someone is willing to kill for the manuscript, and Grif reveals that he's a mercenary, hired to protect Fiona. Is he really who he seems, or is he just using her as bait? On the run from an unknown enemy, Fiona gives in to her all-consuming need for the man who may be her one chance for survival — or her final chapter.

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Review: My Hero by Marianna Jameson

Title: My Hero
Author: Marianna Jameson

Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: June 7, 2005
Publisher: Signet
ISBN: 0451215656
ISBN-13: 9780451215659

Southern romance writer Miranda Lane may be famous for her sensitive heroes, but her new editor wants a brooding, sexy cop that female readers will die for. Unfortunately, cops leave Miranda cold, so she turns to the arrestingly handsome Detective Chas Casey. The commitment-shy Chas is the perfect role model for her book. Soon enough she realizes that she's losing her heart to a man who specializes in drive-by romance. Now she's writing her own personal love story with a hero like no other-and a happy ending all her own.

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Review: Skin on Skin (anthology) by Jami Alden, Sunny, Valerie Martinez

Title: Skin on Skin
Author: Jami Alden, Sunny, Valerie Martinez

Read copy: eBook
Published: July 1, 2007
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
ISBN: 0758226306
ISBN-13: 9780758226303

Mouth to mouth, body to body. When it comes to sex, nothing should get in the way of unbridled carnal pleasure. And this summer three of erotic romance's boldest new voices show you exactly why barer is better in three novellas that will take you to the heights of naked desire...

"China Doll" by Sunny

When Rand and Anna meet in the lush heat of an Indonesian hotel, it's strictly one night only for two strangers looking to banish the ghosts in their pasts. But more than their skin is bared when they come together in the tropical heat, and before long they're aching for more.

"Tempted" by Jami Alden

Friends as well as coworkers, Lauren and Tony have maintained a strict hands—off policy with each other—until an out—of—town party gives them an excuse to share a hotel room. And when they do, their clothes come off—and the new rule is definitely hands on.

"Hot Wired" by Valerie Martinez

Spending a summer in San Francisco before starting her career, Lola is looking for fun. And when she meets the driver of a fire—engine red pickup—a guy with plenty of muscle under his own hood—she finds herself in for the hottest, hardest ride of her life.

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Review: Smart and Sexy by Jill Shalvis

Title: Smart and Sexy
Series: Sky High Air
Author: Jill Shalvis
Read copy: eBook
Published: April 1, 2007
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
ISBN: 0758224419
ISBN-13: 9780758224415

Noah Fisher has worked for months to make Sky High the most prestigious charter airline in California. He's long overdue for a break—something involving ski slopes, cold beers, and hot ski bunny babes. The itinerary doesn't include being hijacked by Bailey Sinclair, gorgeous widow of one of Sky High's wealthiest (ex-) clients. But here they are, and being crammed in a cockpit with the scared, stubborn, unbelievably sexy former model he's been fantasizing about invokes Superman tendencies that could get Noah in serious trouble.

Bailey is desperate to find the stash of money hidden by her conniving, thieving late husband—before the bad guys he owed find her. It's a long shot, but nothing compared to the gamble she's taking by being so close to Noah. Every minute in his company has Bailey thinking about doing crazy, reckless things like touching, grabbing, kissing...and oh wow, being kissed right back...

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Review: Come Monday by Mari Carr

Title: Come Monday
Series: Wild Irish
Author: Mari Carr
Read copy: eBook
Published: November 6, 2009
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 1419925601
ISBN-13: 9781419925603

Monday's child is fair of face...

After the death of her mother years prior, Keira Collins became a surrogate parent to her six younger brothers and sisters, her own dreams put on hold. At twenty-seven, she's finally pursuing a college degree. Between classes, working at the family pub and still tending to siblings, she's no time for romance. So why is she spending all her rare free time fantasizing about hot Professor Wallace bending her over his desk?

Will Wallace recognizes Keira's unfulfilled desires, her habit of hiding her beauty, her obsessive need to command every aspect of her life. But Will has needs of his own-and they run far darker than Keira's. As he initiates her into his lifestyle, offering sweet punishments and sweeter rewards, Will's sexual authority slowly strips away some of her precious control. The one thing Keira's not ready to relinquish...

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Review: The Reluctant Nude by Meg Maguire

Title: The Reluctant Nude
Author: Meg Maguire

Read copy: eBook
Published: April 4, 2011
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 1609284194
ISBN-13: 9781609284190

Chipping away at her resistance, one touch at a time...

Fallon Frost’s late foster mother had done so much to heal the wounds of her damaged childhood. So when a lecherous developer plans to bulldoze her old home to make room for a strip mall, the practical, ordered life Fallon has built for herself is threatened.

Then he makes a twisted proposal. He’ll leave the land alone if she poses nude for a sculpture that’ll end up in his collection. Seeing no other choice, she heads for Nova Scotia—only to find something totally unexpected. A sexy, hot-blooded, infuriating sculptor.

Guarded, sexually detached Fallon is a challenge Max Emery can’t wait to tackle. Yet with each tap of his chisel, he uncovers a woman who rekindles a dream he thought lost. Home, family…love. And the closer he gets to her core, the harder it becomes to accept that he’s carving her naked body for another man’s eyes.

As progress on the sculpture almost grinds to a halt, their fragile fantasy world collapses under the weight of reality. Threatening Fallon’s one chance to save her foster mother’s land…and any chance she and Max have to find love.

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Review: When Day Breaks by Mary Jane Clark

Title: When Day Breaks
Series: KEY News
Author: Mary Jane Clark
Read copy: eBook
Published: July 10, 2007
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0061456322
ISBN-13: 9780061456329

On the day she died, Constance Young was the undisputed star of morning television. But her plans to move herself and her loyal audience to another network were cancelled when she ended up at the bottom of her swimming pool. And the fabled unicorn amulet that Constance had been wearing during her final hours—a gift from King Arthur to his beloved Guinevere and the centerpiece of the upcoming Camelot exhibit at New York's Cloisters museum—is missing.

A morning show veteran and now anchor of the KEY Evening Headlines, Eliza Blake is shocked by the death of her former colleague, and is determined to discover who wanted Constance out of the way . . . and why. To do so, she enlists the aid of three KEY News coworkers: "Jane-of-all-trades" Annabelle Murphy, who can switch from producing to sleuthing at a moment's notice; charming and fearless cameraman extraordinaire B.J. D'Elia to add brains, brawn, and a much-needed male perspective to the team; and Dr. Margo Gonzalez, on-air psychiatrist, who understands the complex puzzles of the human mind. Calling themselves "The Sunrise Suspense Society," they set out to get to the bottom of the heinous murder, in a case that will test their ingenuity and their courage to the very limits.

The deeper they dig, the more twisted the trail to Constance's killer becomes—as the list of suspects grows longer by the minute. Was it her spurned and enraged medievalist lover, or a muckraking author who blamed her for ruining her life? Perhaps money was the motive, and Constance's sister, jealous of her wealth and fame, was responsible. Or possibly someone at Key News was angry enough—or frightened enough—to commit cold-blooded murder. The one sure thing is that Constance Young made a lot of enemies—and now one of them is Eliza's enemy as well. And the closer she and the Society get to unmasking the murderer, the closer they each get to dying, suddenly . . . and brutally.

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Review: Eat Prey Love by Kerrelyn Sparks

Title: Eat Prey Love
Series: Love at Stake
Author: Kerrelyn Sparks
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: October 1, 2010
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 0061958034
ISBN-13: 9780061958038

Wanted: Bride. Must love children. Mortals need not apply.

Carlos Panterra is looking for a mate, a woman who will love and care for the young orphans he's recently taken under his wing (or paw, as the case may be). When the shape shifter spies the beautiful Caitlyn, it's like sunshine amidst the darkness. At last, he's found the perfect woman, except...

Caitlyn Whelan is mortal. Worse, her father is the head of a CIA agency bent on hunting the undead. Still, Caitlyn knows that Carlos is the man for her, shape shifter or not. So she jumps at the chance when her sister offers her a job to work with him, determined to show Carlos their attraction is more than just animal magnetism. But danger lurks in the night, and their unleashed, untamed passion might just get them both killed...

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