Too Hot to Handle by Victoria Dahl

Too Hot to Handle by Victoria Dahl

Merry is good at any job she takes on, but she’s never found a career she’s felt strongly about…until now.  Moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to be close to her best friend, Merry takes a position as the curator of a ghost town.  She was fortunate to find the position with her year of curatorial experience and falls in love with Providence in all its run down glory at first sight.  But she soon learns that there is trouble afoot.  The Board neglected to tell her that the property, the whole project, is tied up legally and that bringing her in was just a move to help the lawsuit.  Merry is determined to make this work.  She hires a carpenter on the sly to start renovations to show the Board the potential of Providence as well as the potential she has as the curator.  Too bad she hired the guy who is suing the Board.

Of course sparks fly between the carpenter/cowboy and Merry.  And of course there are misunderstandings and steamy scenes.  What makes this romance stand out is the witty dialogue and the plain niceness of the main character.  You want her to be your best friend – she’s an eternal optimist and her way of looking at the world just makes a reader smile.

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean

Lady Philippa Marbury is to be wed in fourteen days, hence her education must commence immediately.  She knows she is fortunate to marry an Earl but she feels that she is lacking the knowledge everyone else seems to intuitively know about marriage.  Like kissing, for instance, how exactly does that work?  Needing answers for her scientific inquiries she goes where she feels the answers are – a notorious gaming hell in London to meet with one of the owners, Chase, a man with a reputation for pleasing the ladies.  She figures he holds the answers to any questions she may have and she’s not going to stop until she gets answers.

Pippa is a delightful heroine; she’s smart, blunt, funny (typically not purposefully) and kind.  She finds emotion disturbing and what she seems to be experiencing around Chase is perplexing to her scientific mind.  At least she’s not alone in this; he’s quite disturbed about what he’s feeling for her.

This story is the perfect blend of sexy and humorous.  The author never steps out of Regency London, but the contemporary feel in the lighthearted tone is a pleasant mix of old and new.   

The Cursed: The League of the Black Swan by Alyssa Day

The Cursed: The League of the Black Swan by Alyssa Day

Luke Oliver is a detective in the Borderlands.  He tries to keep himself to himself but everyone is always after him for help.  Sexy bike messenger Rio keeps popping up in his life and he’s having difficulty keeping his distance.  Each of them has secrets, some known, some unknown, and the kidnapping of a human girl throws them together to help track down the bad guys.

I really liked the setting of the story.  The Borderlands are an extra dimensional area entered through Highline Park in New York City.  The NYC personality mixed with the fantasy elements really works well.  Rio and Luke have great chemistry and there is a lot of humor mixed in with the sensual bits and action.  Fans of romance and urban fantasy will find something to like here.

Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Miranda was born with a gift she sees as a curse; she has the ability to summon fires and to make things suddenly heat and burn.  She now has control over her power but not in time to save her father’s warehouse and keep them from ruin.  Destitute and desperate she is wed to the notorious Lord Archer, a man in black who always wears a mask and is rumored to have committed all sorts of heinous acts.  Is he as evil as he is rumored to be?  Can she keep her secret and not destroy anyone else?  Can she learn to love him?

This is a retelling of the beauty and the beast tale with a much darker twist.  The romance parts of the story are very steamy and perfect for fans of paranormal romance.  Set in gaslight London the dark, dank atmosphere matches perfectly with the dark fantasy elements.  Enough secondary characters with mysterious backgrounds are introduced that you know there will be sequels for a long time to come.

The Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie

The Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie

Abigail Chantry is living life as a governess when she has to save her sister from horrid circumstances.  Abigail not only rescues her sister, but two other young women as well and the four become inseparable and quickly destitute, since Abigail has gotten sacked and the other three have no employment.  When her sister Jane becomes ill Abigail does what she feels she must to secure money for a doctor, she climbs into the window of the mansion across the way hoping to find something to sell.  Instead she finds Lady Beatrice bedridden and in an awful state of neglect and vows to help her.  When Abigail returns with soup Lady Beatrice makes an intriguing offer – the ladies should live with her as her nieces.  Hence the four friends become the Chance Sisters and their luck has surely changed.  At least until Lady Beatrice’s nephew, off at sea for a decade, returns and finds cousins he knows he does not have running the household.

This was a delightful listen.  The reader is extremely talented and I could listen to her talk for hours!  Her very proper British accents (and not so proper when called for) made the tale come to life and I found the story moved quite quickly.  Thankfully the passionate steamy bits were all relegated to the last disc so I didn’t have to blush throughout the entire story.  I have to admit I am not quite sure if I would have enjoyed it as much if I had read it, but I would give anything Alison Larkin voices a listen!

Dangerous Seduction by Zoe Archer

Dangerous Seduction by Zoe Archer

Fans of romantic suspense don’t miss this one!  It’s 1886 and Nemesis, Unlimited (the organization dedicated to righting wrongs) receives an anonymous letter that injustice is happening at a mine in a small Cornish village.  Simon takes the case and disguises himself as a machinist to gain employment.  Alyce Carr is a bal-maiden, she breaks up the rocks brought up from the depths of the mine, and has been complaining about the mine for years, ever since new ownership changed over to the American model.  Workers are paid in chits instead of real money.  These chits can only be used at the company store which can stock whatever it wants, including items that have gone rancid, and charge whatever it wants.  Good luck leaving this small town – how would you even buy a train ticket?  Simon notices Alyce right away for her outspoken manner and her attractiveness.  The two form an alliance which they know can never last, but they will be together for as long as it takes justice to be served.
 
The oppression in this company run town is palpable and you are rooting for the miners on every page.  Alyce and Simon have an interesting chemistry and it’s fun to watch each continually surprise the other with their talents and resilience.  There is a lot of history, a lot of suspense and the romance is steamy, but doesn’t overwhelm the plot. 

I Own the Dawn by M.L. Buchman

I Own the Dawn by M.L. Buchman

Kee Smith has worked her way through the Army ranks and has finally landed a spot as a gunner with SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment).  These are the highly elite helicopter crews that get the Green Berets and Delta Force teams where they need to go, or get away from.  Kee is only the second female to be admitted to SOAR and she is placed in the unit led by Major Beale – the first female in SOAR.  Tension forms between the two as Kee wonders if Beale has what it takes or not.  Tension also forms between Kee and the co-pilot, Lt. Archibald Jeffrey Stevenson III, but it is tension of an entirely different type…

Want to learn about current life in the military?  How a forward base operates in the mountains?  How a team functions about a Black Hawk?  This is a good introduction.  There is a lot of information about machinery and weaponry but not too much, the narrative is not bogged down.  The characters are well developed and the multiple storylines are interesting (Kee’s life story, the story of an orphan girl brought back to the base, the forming relationship between Kee and Archie, and the shady goings on of a military mission).  The romance does get steamy, but the focus is on the trust forming between Kee and Archie and their missions.

Oh, and I can’t forget to relay this tidbit: this is a military romance series written by a man!

The Bridegroom Wore Plaid by Grace Burrowes

The Bridegroom Wore Plaid by Grace Burrowes

Ian MacGregor, the Earl of Balfour, needs money to keep his estate running smoothly.  One more bad year for crops and his people will be starving.  Genie Daniels’s father wants a title and he feels that his daughter’s marriage to the Scottish lout will do nicely.  Too bad Ian and Genie don’t really have feelings for each other; they do have feelings for other members of each other’s households.  That’s when things get REALLY complicated.

I am not a big fan of historical romance, but I really liked Burrowes’s writing style.  She puts dashes of intrigue and suspense in at all the right moments.  While the focus is on a particular pairing there are also three other relationships blooming simultaneously.  (These two families are going to be so intertwined the family tree is going to be looking pretty odd.)  It was nice to have more than one pairing because there were multiple storylines to follow.  At times very sensual, other times humorous and even still nail biting.  One of my favorite historical romances to date!

The Player and the Game by Shelly Ellis

The Player and the Game by Shelly Ellis

Stephanie is following the “rules” of relationships as her mother schooled her daughters: finding a rich man and marrying him.  Collectively the four Gibbons sisters have a reputation of being gold diggers in their small Virginia town.  But Stephanie is about to go off the market.  The feisty real estate agent just got engaged to a wealthy, handsome financial advisor.  She doesn’t love him, but she knows he will take care of her in the manner she wants.  That is until he skips town abruptly with her savings.  She fell hard for a conman.  And she wasn’t the first.  That handsome guy she’s seen around town is Keith Hendricks, a private investigator on the conman’s tail.  Stephanie plans on sticking by Keith as he tracks the conman, and her money, first to the Carolinas and then Florida.  Unfortunately for Stephanie she seems to be falling in love for the first time with a man *gasp* without a lot of money.

I had a little difficulty warming up to Stephanie knowing she was only in relationships for money.  But it’s sad how hollow her relationships are.  There is real chemistry between Stephanie and Keith, but I can’t help but be concerned that her upbringing, and her expectations from relationships, is going to break them apart in the future.  The investigation had a real feel to it, and the author keeps you guessing.  This is the second in the series, but I don’t feel like I missed anything not reading the first book first.

Rule: A Marked Men Novel by Jay Crownover

Rule: A Marked Men Novel by Jay Crownover

Shaw is a classic beauty from a wealthy family studying to be a doctor.  Rule apprenticed right out of high school as a tattoo artist and is fully inked, pierced and only does casual relationships.  Shaw has been in love with Rule since she was fourteen and on her twentieth birthday she goes home with him and so begins a turbulent relationship between two opposites.

This book falls into the “new adult” category.  Two adults in their early-twenties, trying to find their way in the world, are figuring out what love is and how to co-exist in a committed relationship.  Like all new adult novels (at least the ones I have read) the love story is central, but the emotional baggage often takes center stage.  In this case Shaw has to come to terms with her cold parents and her abusive ex-boyfriend/stalker.  Rule has to come to terms with his turbulent relationship with his mother and the death of his twin brother.  These are two people with immense problems to overcome, but they are able to do it when they are together.

If you’re looking for a love conquers all novel, especially one that is pretty steamy and features a bad boy gone good, this may be the read for you!

The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom

The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom

After multiple personal tragedies, including the death of his wife, Sully Harding returns to his hometown with his son to start over.  But quiet little Coldwater, Michigan becomes anything but quiet when a local resident receives a phone call from heaven and spreads the word to the world.  People flock to the tiny town to pray or protest the idea of phone calls from heaven, especially when other residents come forward that they too are hearing from people who have died.

Sully is convinced it has to be a hoax; he knows deep down that you can’t get a phone call from heaven.  He starts to investigate the calls when his young son starts carrying around a plastic telephone because he’s waiting for a call from his mother and it breaks his heart to know they will never hear her voice again.

This is a mystery with an interesting twist which takes a deep look at what would happen if these claims were actually made.  What would the media frenzy be like?  What makes a miracle?  Does it matter if something is true or not if the result is a better, happier, existence?