The Temptation of Your Touch by Teresa Medeiros

I have been on a  2 month bender of YA and contemporary adult romances. What brought me back to historicals? Two words….Teresa Medeiros.

I have been waiting for this novel for a whole year since I read the first book of this series (The Pleasure of Your Kiss). My wait was not in vain. I pre-ordered this from Amazon and when it came on my Kindle….

 

I will fully disclose that I am biased when it comes to Teresa Medeiros as I own all of her books.

ALL. Of. Them.

So, reviewing her latest book will be like a soccer mom watching her first born play. That child can do NO wrong. I will gush. But I will try not to drool.

First off, Maximillian current Earl of Dravenwood and future Duke of Dryden… Stoic, take charge male (Yum), now heart broken and tortured (double-Yum),  former-boyscout-turned-scoundrel (triple...well you get the idea)

His heart is broken by his fiancée, whom or is it who? arrgh never did get that right in English class it took Max nine years to convince they marry (nine? Yes… freakin' nine). He then runs off to a remote corner in Cornwall to molder away in an equally moldering manor his family recently required. Instead of finding peace, he finds a senile butler, an aged cook, a motley crew of incompetent servants and a housekeeper that makes him itch in places he can’t scratch.

And a ghost.

Wait… 

Max has let one woman rule his heart for over half his life and now a second woman (a dead one) is trying to the same thing.

The music ceased abruptly, almost as if spectral hands had slammed the lid of the music box. He stood there for a long time but there was no repeat performance, no sound at all except for the muted roar of the wind and the distant crash of the waves against the rocks.

A mocking smile tugged at one corner of Max’s mouth

“I’ve been haunted by the best,” he murmured. “If you want to be rid of me, sweetheart, you’ll have to do better than that.”

GAH! Panties drop….NOW!

The White Lady was a young girl who killed herself for putting her love and virtue in the wrong man with disastrous consequenses not only to herself but others as well.

She has kept many away from Cadgwyck Manor and Annie Spencer, the housekeeper, prefers it that way. Annie is like a well made baguette. Crust on the outside and soft on the inside. Annie has her own reasons for moldering away at the mansion. Although all the previous owners disappeared at the first sign of the White Lady, Max is sticking around much to her dismay. The longer the new owner stays at the manor, the longer Annie and Max are drawn to each other despite emotional turmoil and social difference.

I have need of you.

That bold confession made Anne wonder what it would be like to be truly needed by such a man. To hear those same words whispered in her ear in the dark of night in a lover’s hoarse tones.

The constant tension between H/h makes the book waaaay more hotter than the actual sex scene (there was only one but trust me the story does NOT lack heat). Each have deep wounds that need attending that for some reason the other has the ability to mend.
Takes notes. This is how a true romance novel is written. Ms. Medeiros wrote a beautiful love story that evoked not only emotions but the imagination. You can really feel being inside an old haunted castle surrounded by memories, dust, and a spirit. How the author set the scene invoked the senses and help stage the scene for romance, humor, and the supernatural.

Not boredom (I have read plenty of books that went on and on about the fabric of the bladily-blah-blah-blah).

 I loved this book and its going to be one of those that I will pick up more than once. Oh, if you have not read the first of this series pick it up. You won't get lost by reading it out of order but you will understand Max more because of it.

Hooked by Liz Fichera

I have been anxiously waiting for this book to come out so when I unexpectedly found it on my Kindle yesterday….

This is a sweet…SWEET love story between Fred (she’s a girl) and Ryan who start out as enemies. Fred is a Native American Indian who is going to an almost all white high school and has successfully kept herself under the radar until the high’s school golf coach notices her excellent swing. He proceeds to beg (practically on his knees) for her to join the all-boys team. Unfortunately, to make room for her the coach has to kick out Ryan’s best friend from the team.
Cue the drama…

Fred faces twice the discrimination. One by being a girl and two for being Native American. She is bullied and accosted by, not only her teammates, but by their hangers-on. All of which she tried to ignore. I wish it would have been more..

At first, Ryan does nothing to defend Fred from his team mates but he slowly starts to respect her no nonsense demeanor and grace under constant pressure.
Now… Ryan’s best friend Seth on the other hand…
And Ryan’s bootie call Gwyneth
The whole time I read this book I was like…

And sometimes…

And there were some parts with Seth that was like
But in the end….
It was a great YA novels with the heat level at a solid mild. It has references to drinking and drugs but not explicitly expressed. The writing was so great and the angst level grabbed you that you really don’t miss the sex scenes. Filing this one under Favorite for sure.

The Truths About Dating and Mating by Jaycee DeLorenzo

Rating this one 3.5 stars. Really wishing GR would allow you to do half-measures but I digress. The lowdown: Ivy and Ian have been best friends since they were tadpoles. The bond between them has been forged through fire (on his part) and Ivy has always been there for him. Although, she regards him much like an appendage, necessary and taken for granted, Ivy started to see him a more hotter way hotter light. Too bad he is the town bicycle and most of the girls in their college have gone for a ride. I love how the author handled the attraction between the H/h. They were both in denial to the point that it was pushed back into their subconscious. Ivy reacts to Ian’s casual hookups by being ultra-bitchy (sometimes to the point of judgmental). Normally, I hate when the h acts in a passive-aggressive manner but the reader is lead to believe that she honestly thinks she does not know she is already more than halfway in love with her best friend. Her actions then become understandable.

And Ian when Ivy shows any interest with someone else? Well…


There are face-palm moments a-plenty in this novel but it was well written and I enjoyed reading it. The other characters in the novel were well rounded enough that they can have their own stories (hmmmm… smelling a series here?)
The heat: a solid medium spicy.

Ian watched me through dark, hooded eyes and I was too busy trying to figure out what to say to make out what he was thinking.
“Hey.”
I cleared my throat. “Hey.”
“Were you just checking me out?”
“Yeah, maybe a little,” I admitted with a shrug.
I waited for the smugness to appear. It didn’t
“What do you think?” he asked, his tone serious.

Whew

P.S. Not too enthused about the cover. I actually prefer the older version to this one. The guy just looks....weird. I have learned to ignore bad covers (and bad titles) and pay attention to the synopsis and reviews by my peers. You tend to pass over really good stories otherwise. Unfortunately, a lot of other readers will turn down a book just because the cover looks a little off. So maybe, change it back Amazon?

Catherine's Awakening by Joanna Wylde

Very short but very good (and steamy) read. Within the first few pages, Wade makes a move on his widowed sister-in-law who he has been in love with since she was way too young to mess around with.
And boy-oh-boy does he let her know that he will NOT be waiting for her any longer.


Sometimes you are in the mood for quick, mindless, HOT, romance without too much depth and emotional investment. Wade completely made this book for me. He was all caveman when dealing with Cat and her misgivings.

I was more than fine with that

His Kiss by Melanie Marks

I really loved this book. Ally Grange is a shy, bookish, goody-goody, churchy-church girl who is trying to keep her boyfriend, Aiden, from being beaten by Griffin Piper for being such a poser.  Griffin offers Ally a way out for Aiden in a way she never expected. Keep your shorts on, the novel is PG-13, so there are no real salacious activities that occur.

Which baffles me more that I actually liked this book. Not that I always look for heat in my books yes I do.

 

Throughout the novel, Ally’s heart and libido sway towards Griffin while her mind is telling her Aiden is a safer bet. As it happens, Aiden is not so great for her either but that’s for the book to reveal.  In other books, I usually hate this type of wishy-washy behavior. However, the author makes Ally’s struggle against her attraction to Griffin believable because of her upbringing. She was raised to have moral standards and sees Griffin behaving, well, badly. It is Griffin’s past behavior that makes her leery of forming an attachment to him. As for Aiden, I believe Ally reacted accurately for someone who is in a relationship that is past its expiration date (especially when the boyfriend hastened its end).

And Griffin… he can do no wrong in my book, that boy is just plain YUMMY! Hot, strong, rascal with hints of inner turmoil

GRRRR

 Very, very cute YA novel and I will be killing the rest of Melanie Marks' books. Hopefully, it will be as good as this one.

BTW, their story continues in High School Boys which is an anthology. YAY!

Altered by Jennifer Rush

I had a hard time rating this one. I was going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars.
So… 3.5 then?


Anna’s father runs a lab for a shady corporation called the Branch that sanctioned four genetically altered boys to be imprisoned in her basement for tests. She interacted with these boys while they are imprisoned behind concrete and plexi-glass (like Hannibal’s prison). Sam, Nick, Cas, and Trevor are faster, stronger, smarter and more dangerous than your average teens. Oh, and they have no recollection of who they were and how they ended up in Anna’s basement in the first place.
Suspend disbelief... NOW!




It was a descent dystopia with good action scenes. Kept me entertained since I finished it (I’m known to drop a book like a hot potato if it doesn’t hook me within the first 10%). I dunno why I am not so invested with Sam as the main squeeze. Maybe because he was so squeaky clean. Not that he wouldn’t kick ass if he had to but I like my heroes with a lot more attitude as Nick had started to display.

Nick immediately scared the crap out of me. [Anna] had stared at his hands, tightened at his sides, tracing the swell of veins threading up and around his arms. It was like he’d known he hated me right from the start.

See? Yum. I know… I know… I need professional help

Liked it, didn’t love it but will pick up the sequel if when I remember to.

Collide by Gail McHugh

I must admit that I am on a love-triangle, I-know-you’re-with-someone-but-I-don’t-care trip right now. Yes, I know cheating is wrong. Yes, I know this type of behavior not only hurt others but yourself as well. However, this is fiction my friends. What are we even doing picking up a book if not to escape what really goes on out here?  What we find titillating in books is the main reason why we pick them up in the first place. Ok, that’s enough soap-box.

First off  OMG GAVIN!!!! . Gorgeous, self-assured, man-candy, etc. etc. etc.

All he wanted was Emily. You can’t feel nothing but hurt for Gavin as he looks on while she is with his friend Dillon the Dickhead as her best friend likes to call him.

Emily inwardly flared but kept her tone to a whisper. “You want to know what I’m upset about?” He nodded, not taking his eyes off her. “I’m upset that you blatantly go out of your way to make me uncomfortable. What happened to your whole wanting-to-be-friends gesture?”

 “Am I making it that hard for you?” he asked mockingly

 “Yes. Gavin, you are”

 He leaned in closer, dropping his voice. “Good, because whenever you’re near me, I fucking lose every bit of self-control I have left.”

Emotions were all over the place with this book
At first, I was like.....

 By 71% of the book, I was like…

Then, I was like Emily nooooooooo!

At the end of the book, I was like ...

This book has a lot of angst, lust, love and longing. Not to mention a lot of face-palm moments. Sometimes al lot of timesI’d like to smack Emily upside the head. But also that, in itself, makes the book a great read.

Rocked Under

Rocked Under by Cora Hawkes

My first official blog and this book is not even about one of my favorites. Anyways, let’s begin.

Emma and her mom left England to start a new life. She’s moved in with her cousin Ashley into a new home to start as college freshmen. That’s when she meets Scott, their upstairs neighbor. He’s a tattooed singer in a local rock band with a predilection for fights and easy women. Sounds beautifully familiar so far? That’s because it is.

For the most part, Rocked Under follows the same format as Beautiful Disaster with slight variations. One, Scott is a rocker and not a fighter (although, he does fight a lot). Two, this book is not written as well. Ashley has the same characteristics as Abby A. She’s the virgin freshman who won’t give the school man-whore the time of day. She also has the same daddy issues.

Now, I must fully divulge that I am a huge, HUGE BD fan. Big as in I-read-it-seven-times-and-will-possibly-make-it-to-18-by-the-end-of-the-year big. So, even with the seemingly bad review, I still liked it only because it seemed so familiar. Just like I love reading all the adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. Calm down all you Austenphiles. I am not comparing BD to P&P. I am comparing my love of re-reading favorite material in all of its variations.

Okay, one last time to b*tch. I really started to get irritated with Ashley’s character about midway throughout the book. Let’s leave out the instant, lusty, in-love obsession Ashley had for Scott. Personally, I like it more when it’s the other way around (Scott is plenty obsessed too but the book was written only in Ashley’s POV).  But it’s just that…that…she won’t stop obsessing about him. The book is nothing BUT her musings on how obsessed she is with Scott. She does think about her dysfunctional background but only in reference with her feelings with Scott.  But when Scott shows any interest in her, out comes the sneer, running, scorn and out-right b*tchery. Maybe if the author wrote about something else that captured Ashley’s interest, anything else at all, then it wouldn’t have been somewhat boring at time. It just got repetitive after awhile.

                Second, well... View Spoiler She loses her virginity to a guy she can’t even stand just to show up Scott. What the what???!!! So, let me get this straight. After keeping your vajay-jay intact for 19 years, you just throw it away to a guy you have no remote connection/attraction to. A guy that practically peer pressures her into having sex. I even understand why the writer decided not to give the Vcard to Scott because he really was a scumbag towards women but Holy Jeebus. The whole time she was with this other guy she kept getting creeped out by him. So naturally, she picks him out to relieve her of her, well, you know.  It really made no sense and her reasoning made me dislike her. Close Spoiler

 I KNOW, I KNOW, she’s a college kid and they do silly things sometimes but that’s dangerous ground in romance books. We like our characters flawed but we want them to have a back bone. When I start rolling my eyes because the h’s is acting all wishy-washy, it’s a slippery slope. Those books tend to end up in my unfinished pile.

I recommend this book for an easy, no brainer read. It was somewhat entertaining and some of the scenes when Scott goes after Ashley were admittedly hot as hell. I don’t regret reading the book but I would most likely would not be re-read either.