Due to an awful, tremendous and unexpected loss suffered by a dear friend, my blog is on hiatus until further notice as we need time to deal with this.

He never thought his next wildfire would be wearing a red dress.

“Make me your goddess and I’ll take you to heaven.” This sultry promise sparks a scorching, unforgettable one-night stand. The next morning Bram Winters awakes with a hickey and a head full of wicked memories—alone. His nameless goddess is gone without a trace, along with his shirt. And his heart.

Five months later, he stumbles across his mystery lady in a Laundromat, but she still won’t give up her name. Worse, she begs him to leave, no questions asked. Once he catches the spark of terror in her eyes, though, his firefighter training takes over—and he digs in for the duration.

Lady never wanted Bram to see her life’s ugly underside, but it’s too late—his socks are already in the washer. He was supposed to be her declaration of independence from her unstable ex, a bittersweet memory to carry into her new life.

Except the ex continues to stalks her. And Bram’s reappearance sends her emotions and desires tumbling over the edge. As the minutes wear on, sexual tension rises faster than the steam from a hot water wash.

And Lady’s ex watches from the shadows, growing more furious by the minute…

Warning: Scorching sex, icy scissor play and an anonymous woman taking a wet slide down one hot ex-fireman’s pole. Beware of hot flashes and spontaneous combustion. Correct change not required.

Title: Lipstick on his Collar
Author: Inez Kelley
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Year of release: 2010, November 23
Format: eBook, 65 pages
Source: received from author for ARC-review

First line: "Damn, it's hotter than Satan's nutsack."
Memorable Scenes:
- On the dresser in the motelroom > Need I really say more?
- Scissor scene > Wow, just wow! I was holding my breath...

"Warning: Scorching sex, icy scissor play and an anonymous woman taking a wet slide down one hot ex-fireman's pole. Beware of hot flashes and spontaneous combustion."

Seriously! With a warning like this, how can I go wrong! After that warning I just had to read this book and not only because it's an Inez Kelley sexy contemporary, who has been known to get her fingers in my panties (Don’t ask! You don’t want to know LOL)

Bram Winters is an ex-firefighter turned Emergency Communications Specialist. I loved Bram. He’s straightforward, protective and sweet. He made me weak in the knees!

Bram finds out the heroine’s name at the very end of the book and as I enjoyed being in the dark about her name and finally discovering it together with Bram, which was a beautiful moment in the book, I am not revealing it here either. So, like Bram I’ll stick with Lady when referring to the heroine. Lady is down to earth, stubborn and pragmatic. I really liked her in the beginning when she was mysterious and I didn’t know too much about her but towards the end, when I got to know her a bit better, I liked her even more.

Understandably the story is told from Bram's perspective in the beginning. We get to know the nameless lady through Bram's eyes and POV and I was curious to see if we'd get a scene from her POV too later in the story. Funny thing was that as soon as I wrote the previous sentence I was treated to a scene told from Lady’s POV. Thank you Ms. Kelley for knowing exactly when to bring what’s needed to be brought.

I really felt sorry for Bram when they met by coincidence months after the one-night stand but having read the blurb I also understood why the nameless goddess did what she did. I did think the ending was a bit abruptly and for me the whole Jason storyline (stalking ex) could have been left out in favor of some more Bram and his lady but all in all once again I truly enjoyed this red-hot novella.

Inez Kelley sets the pages on fire with her erotic scenes. They are scorching and beautifully written, just the way I like them...There’s a scissor scene that’s just so hot, it has ruined the reality shows SHEAR GENIUS (about finding the best hairstylist) for me as I can’t watch the show now without thinking of Bram's talent with the scissor and mentally naming him sheer genius.

I've said it before and I'll say it again and I'll probably say it with every Inez Kelley book I'll read but her writing just mesmerizes me, sucks me in, takes hold of me and doesn't let go. I can't even find the right words to describe her writing and why I love it so much. She just never disappoints me with her erotic contemporaries.

I don’t have the time to do a separate Quotes-Post for LIPSTICK ON HIS COLLAR so I’ve included all the quotes I marked in this review. They were picked for several reasons. Some made me sigh with joy over Inez Kelley’s wonderful writing, some made me hot and bothered and one made me put the book down and laugh out loud before I could continue (Can you guess which one that was?). I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did…

Favorite Quotes:
She opened her eyes and her gaze landed on him like a brushfire. Hot met dry, and a spark flashed, exploded and raged through him. Intense and appreciative, unblinking and direct, she did not look away.

Temptation swept over him like a blistering tidal wave, stealing inside before he could think to shove it aside to break the powerful connection. He should. He would. In a minute.

Her kiss seared his bones. This was no gentle first kiss. It was a detonation of lust, yearning and passion like he'd never felt. Sexual combustion.

"What do you want, lady?"
"Cotton candy and night at the fair. After that, you, hard and fast...and more than once."

Wet kisses, heated by flesh and served with hunger became his new favorite food, and he gorged on her mouth until he grew lightheaded.

Jealousy scented the air with an acrid odor, like a candle snuffed out by a hidden breath.

Bram in the throes of orgasm was a luscious, intoxicating sound. God, he was delicious and she wanted more.

He oozed sex appeal like an over-wet sponge and she wanted to suck every drop. One damn inch was all she needed. She closed the gap. Lust exploded. Her ears popped with the force of the attraction, and a low sigh heated her mouth before he deepened the kiss to indecent levels.

Bram wasn't supposed to be anything more than a pit stop in her sex life to repair her bruised ego and help her get back on her dating feet.

Bram didn't talk dirty until he was excited and then he melted her bones with deliciously naughty words. A lusty memory swelled like an ocean wave, tinged with the brazen light of erotic play.

Bram gripped her braid and took her mouth again. The rich taste of her blended with the robust flavor of him, and she moaned. Being claimed had never branded so hot.

His frayed breath sailed over her damp nape followed by his tongue. Low, chanting naughty words, strings of murmured eroticisms without cohesion, whispered along her skin.

Jason took a step back and swallowed. He stared at her in horror. "What's gotten into you?"
"Gotten into me? Gotten into--? Okay, know what? F#ck you. No, on second thought, don't f#ck you because you suck in bed. You couldn't make a dog come with a leash and a Milk-Bone."

Today I welcome the fabulous Inez Kelley to my little World of Romance. She has some hot stuff to say about firefighters. The hero of LIPSTICK ON HIS COLLAR (my review of it will be up some time this weekend) used to be a firefighter and let me tell you..reading LOHC only stoked up my fire and I think I need a certain ex-firefighter to come douse it...



Firefighters are… well, HOT! The mystique surrounding this most manly of professions is easy to understand. It’s a dangerous job with noble roots. They save lives, at risk to their own. They are always there when you need them and hello, you need muscles to be carting those damsels in distress down those long ladders. What’s not to love?

Well, they get dirty a lot. And smoke gets into everything and it stinks. And having your lover roll out of bed at a pager beep —no matter what you are doing— is kind of a bummer. Plus, it’s a dangerous job. You hope they stay safe and come home but nothing is assured.









So there is good and bad in loving a firefighter. But they are oh so yummy to look at.

In Lipstick on His Collar, Bram Winters is a former firefighter. He turned his experience behind a nozzle into profit as a 911 Communications Specialist. Still, the flicker of a red light, the beeped tones from a pager, the cry of a siren speeds his blood to pumping. His senses go on red-alert, poised for action.
Action just happened to be wearing a red dress. And when Bram plays with fire, somebody is getting burned. Burn, baby, burn…

The biggest fires, the ones that burn the hottest and the longest, have the most potential for a rekindle. One hidden spark can start the blaze all over again. Bram found his spark. It just took five months, a few hundred miles and a bit of sexy scissor play to set her free.

He found her hot and left her wet. And really, would you complain? I wouldn’t.

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match . . . dot.com. An on-line dating service is not Michelle Snow’s idea of how to find love but when the Big 3-0 hits, Michelle decides she has nothing to lose since she hasn’t brought a date home in ten years, she’s professionally burned out, and her climb up the corporate ladder has come at the expense of abandoning her sweet dream: to own a boutique cupcakery.

Todd Bracken, early thirties and a successful technology consultant, isn’t exactly a player after being off the market for ten years, and pours himself into his dual passions of martial arts and home-sweet-home renovations. Only there’s no one to come home to so he decides to give Match.com a try. Todd isn’t so sure the Internet dating scene is his thing – until a message pops up in the wee hours on a weekend night: “I like your smile.” Todd likes – a lot – the whole package that glides into a French bistro in Washington, D.C.

It’s serious mojo-at-first-sight but there’s a glitch: Todd and Michelle live in different cities. Will love find its way in the digital age with a You’ve Got Mail courtship when video cam kisses just aren’t enough? And when Todd challenges Michelle to not only go for her dream but also let him share it, will they be able to make it happen together despite obstacles more plentiful than a shower of rainbow sprinkles?

Title: The Icing on the Cake
Author: Alison Kent
Series: True Vows, Reality Based Romance ™
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: HCI Books
Year of release: 2010, September 14
Format: Tradesize Paperback
Source: received e-copy for review from Publisher as part of a blog-tour from TLC

First line: "Michelle! Dana’s here!"
Elbowing open her bedroom door while fastening the clasp on her necklace, Michelle Snow called out, "Be right there!" in response to Christina's update.
Memorable Scenes:
- Todd and Blake's banter in the gym's locker room > very funny
- Bakery tour in NYC > sweet in every sense of the word, and made me crave cupcakes

THE ICING ON THE CAKE is a sweet, contemporary romance about Michelle Snow, who puts up her profile on an online dating site after a talk with her longtime friends about dating or rather, the lack thereof. Cute and witty software consultant Todd Bracken is the one picked by Michelle based on his online profile. They hit it off immediately, both online and in real life after their first face-to-face meeting and a lovely romance develops through emails, texts and dates, which were funny and endearing.

Michelle is the middle child of three and in real estate marketing but she dreams of opening her own cupcake bakery. She’s independent, considerate and not a loner but used to doing things alone and on her own. Slowly she learns to lean on, trust and share with Todd.

Todd is the youngest child of three and the proverbial anchor in the storm. He’s dependable and romantic. He’s also cute and funny. He uses humor as way of defense and coping with stuff. Though he’s had plenty of dating experience he has never met and felt immediately so comfortable with someone as he does with Michelle.

Both Michelle and Todd are sweet and easy-going, yet driven and with passion for everything they do. It’s a perfect match, completing and complementing each other and compatible in many, many ways.

Though both True Vows books I’ve read cover different stages and origins of a romantic relationship and do this on different intensity levels I think each one describes romance, love and relationships in it’s own original and unique way.

What I did miss in THE ICING ON THE CAKE was a bit of intensity, a bit of conflict and yet that’s also what makes it real, because that’s funny enough I saw a lot of similarities with my own love story (I also “met” my husband online and there isn’t much conflict in our relationship). Alison Kent delivered this lovely book through very smooth writing and laced it with the humor I love so much in my romances. Subtle humor and teasing banter alternated and gave the book a genuine feel-good vibe.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE is a contemporary romance that initially starts as an online dating romance but quickly moves on to a true real life romance and slowly evolves into a solid and deep loving relationship. It's very hard to pinpoint what I love about these Reality Based Romance ™ books but I definitely love the down-to-earth, boy/girl next door, "real" characters, they appeal to me on a whole different level than non- Reality Based Romance ™ characters do. I find them wonderful to read as they form a down-to-earth counterpart to the high-intensity imaginary romances I normally read and I am definitely looking forward to the next one in this series.

One last thing about THE ICING ON THE CAKE. It made me crave cupcakes like mad and if I wasn't on a diet I'd whipped out the cake pan and made myself some of the cupcakes described in this book because they sounded just heavenly and delicious!

Favorite Quote:
Was The One really out there? Someone not to complete her, but to complement her? To see the good in her and make her better? To allow her to do the same and to build on that trust, creating something together that would be bigger than either of them could be alone?

Random.org has spoken and...

...the winner of the copy provided by me via The Bookdepository is



LEONTINE

...the winner of the signed copy provided by Stephanie Tyler is


SPAV

I will contact the winners and Steph to get the books to their destinations as soon as possible and thank you to everyone who entered the giveaways. Please note that your entries will be automatically go into the drawing for the grand prize at the end of November and I hope you'll join Steph and me in a few weeks for the release of PROMISES IN THE DARK!

WORTH THE WAIT
Ella Tipton is a survivor. In the wake of an attack that left her nearly dead, she’s spent each day putting her life back together. Once vibrant and outgoing, she’s needed to reclaim the best parts of who she was while retaining the hard won lessons. There hasn’t been room for any romantic entanglements, even if she were ready. Still, it didn’t mean she had to stop sneaking looks at Mister Tall, Dark and Tattooed himself.

Security professional Andrew Copeland isn’t quite sure when his jones for the lovely and decidedly skittish Ella developed. He’s known her for years, has watched her triumph over the pain she’d been dealt. Cope is no stranger to women, but he knows the nervous flush he gets every time he talks to her is different than any attraction he’s had in the past. Determined to get Ella to let him in, Andy does the one thing he can think of to get close: he offers her hands-on training in self-defense.

While Ella’s sure he’s just being nice, the prospect of being able to touch him and gain the tools to push away the last vestiges of her fear is more than she can resist. Soon enough, Cope shows Ella his feelings are far more than friendly and re-ignites something deep inside her. Before long desire and love turn them both inside out.

Title: Inside Out
Author: Lauren Dane
Series: Brown Siblings, book 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Year of release: 2010, November 2
Format: Tradesize Paperback
Source: Received a digital copy from author for review

First line: She arched on a gasp as the heat of his mouth met her neck.
Memorable Scenes:
- Dancing at the club scene > I love it when characters dance
- Cope's solo scene in the shower > I need some ice
- Speeches at Brody and Elise's engagement party > Yup, I cried
- Cope revealing Ella's scars > Yup, I cried again
- Andrew and Ella's letters > OMG! Talk about wooing *swoon* and emotional *sobs* The letter stuff killed me (in a good way!) and left me a sobbing mess, especially the last two.
- Ben and Cope at the hospital > Yup, another 'let's make Pearl cry' scene

I don't believe I've ever been more anxiously yearning for a book or more giddy to finally read about a character I've lusted for from the moment he set foot in the first book of this series: Mr. Andrew 'Cope' Copeland. My heart was literally thumping when I opened the digital copy and started reading.

Andrew 'Cope' Copeland is a sweet, gentle and caring man wrapped in a flirty bad boy. He’s confident and easygoing, sensitive and intuitive. With every page Cope had me crushing on him more and more and while he wooed Ella he lured me not only right into his web of sensuality but also romanced me with his caring and fun personality.

And I was happy with how Ella invariably kept calling him Andrew instead of Cope. She sees and exposes sides of him he keeps hidden from everyone. They all know Cope, laid-back pretty boy, but only Ella gets to see Andrew, sensitive and vulnerable.

Ella Tipton is a woman with a rough past that turned her from carefree and vivacious to cautious and stronger but still the vivaciousness seeps through now and again. She’s a fighter. Resilient and brave, focused and empathic. Few authors make me really (fall in) love their heroines, Lauren Dane is one of those few. Through Cope she made me fall for Ella as hard as he did.

Cope and Ella are perfectly matched. Others perceive them both others in a certain way but they have this need to have someone look past the outward and obvious stuff and get to their cores. I love it when a main couple goes from friends to fantasizing about each other to being lovers to a relationship. And that's exactly what Lauren Dane gave me in INSIDE OUT.

The secondary cast of characters in INSIDE OUT was comprised solely of (extended) family members, both on Cope and Ella’s side. It was awesome to see the characters from the first two books make an appearance and form a wonderful supporting cast to bring out the family dynamics, support and the feeling of togetherness I adore in this series.

Parents again play an important role in the back-story and character-depth. Ella's don't get her yen for independence and feel rejected when she tries to make a life for herself without completely leaning on them. They don't see that she needs it to feel a semblance of being in control of her life. Yet despite their disagreement on this, there's also warmth and love between the Tiptons and they see and understand more than Ella thinks.
Following the small thread in LAID BARE Cope's parents, especially his dad, are still struggling so much with Ben's choice of lifestyle, that they overlook Cope, who has always stood in Ben's shadow, Ben being the favorite golden boy in his parents eyes. In some parts of the story (when you read the scenes, you'll know which parts I mean) I wanted to punch Cope's dad in the face, hard!

As much as I adored INSIDE OUT for its emotional impact, its strong family and friends dynamics, its wonderful main couple and their lovely, touching journey into a deep and profound love I did miss the dirty hot sexy times and the sexual intensity that blew me away in LAID BARE and COMING UNDONE. I had the feeling that the awesome erotic and sexual zing that was present in LAID BARE has dwindled down a bit in the following books.

On the one hand I thought it was cute how sweet Cope was by reigning in his lust and taking it slow with Ella, considerate of her troubled past and fragile emotions where it came to men and sex, but on the other hand I was thinking: 'Come on Cope! Get down and dirty already!' and getting impatient waiting for the scorching hotness to set the pages on fire, which was muted by Cope's constant need to accommodate Ella and make sure he did nothing to scare her off. There's a time for sweet, gentle and cute and there's a time for sweaty dirty smexing and since I expected a sexy contemporary, not to say erotic romance (based on the two previous books) I must admit to myself that the sweaty dirty was not present enough for me in most of the book.

My problem was that there was a lot of talk (from Cope and other characters) about him being a "dirty" boy but I didn't see it in the sex scenes much. Don't get me wrong: I liked the sex scenes, liked Cope as the hero but a little more dirty would have made him live up more to my high expectations. I also understand that a great part of the minor issues I had with INSIDE OUT were due to my own high, and probably unrealistic, expectations so I want to make sure that anyone reading this review understands that this is a case of : “it’s me, not you Lauren.”

That being said, I absolutely loved the way Lauren Dane shows the power of friendship and love in all its facets in the books of this series and INSIDE OUT is no exception. The intricate bonds and emotions between lovers, friends and family members that run like a thread throughout the book, is one of the strong points that I adore in this series. They are what give the books and the characters a depth that goes beyond any hot sex scene could.

Lauren Dane never fails to bring me new and refreshing stuff when it comes to sex speak. Some new-to-me terms I picked up: eye-f#cked and sex voice. And there was a remarkable obsession with licking (if several body parts, not just the obvious ones) in this book. I'm not complaining about this, just noticed it as it was mentioned from the start on the very first page, it was on both Ella and Cope's mind a lot throughout the book and it was in every sex scene.

In conclusion, INSIDE OUT is a must-read and can’t be missed once you’ve started this series. Though it didn’t meet my (enormously) high expectations in the erotic sense, for me it was a sexy contemporary romance that redefines the meaning of romantic and it was an emotional depiction of the bonds within a group of family and friends, colliding family members and love in its purest form.

Favorite Quotes:
That voice. Holy crap, his voice was like sex in a jar. Or whatever. But it was hot and sexy, and she heard it lots and lots. Usually when her eyes were closed and she was masturbating. Wrong. Bad, bad Ella!

She'd unleashed something deep inside him. Had held up a mirror, and the man she saw-- the Andrew she believed him to be-- was so much more than the Cope he'd allowed himself to coast into.

Snippet from a letter from Cope to Ella:
"You are mine, and I don't think I know all the words to tell you just what that means. Only that when you breathe, I do, when you smile just for me everything inside me stills and knows it's found the key."

Today I'd like to welcome the AWESOME Stephanie Tyler on my blog, my romantic little corner of the web. I am really honored that she made time to write a truly wonderful post about her view on multiple POVs. And with this post we discovered that we "get" each other and that, to me was the best discovery -related to my reading- of 2010!

So, please welcome Steph and make sure to check out the giveaway information at the end of the post to see how you can win a (signed) copy of LIE WITH ME! And a chance at the grand prize at the end of November.


When Pearl graciously invited me to guest blog, she gave me a few questions she had and one of them centered around my view on the power of multiple povs in romantic suspense. I mean, obviously, I love multiple points of view – in all books – both when reading and writing. But exploring the reasons why was really interesting and it was hard for me to try to articulate it.

And then, when I read Pearl’s fabulous review of LIE WITH ME, she gave me an aha moment of my own when she said:

“I had several aha-moments where seemingly unconnected things clicked together, linking the plots and offering deeper knowledge and understanding for events earlier or later in the book. Awesome how Stephanie Tyler does this with all her military romances. And I’m a big fan of the "come full circle" feel her suspense plots have.”

Larissa always used to laugh at me when we’d talk about themes in the Sydney books – because my thing was always, and then it comes full circle and I love full circle!

See, when I’m writing, I picture a big circle – and then all the other circles are inside the big circle, getting smaller and smaller, like pulling a drawstring until that final moment when it’s all pulled tightly together.

And I honestly find that multiple povs are the perfect way to achieve this in an RS. First of all, I’m nosy – I like to be inside of everyone’s head, hear their thoughts. But beyond that, each character’s thoughts / pov has to advance the story along. They have to contribute something that no one else could. It’s an ensemble cast supporting the main hero and heroine – it’s showing you a larger glimpse into their world. And I want to know about the whole world and how it affects the main characters – no one lives in a bubble. I also like the complications different povs bring – I like juggling them when I’m reading and writing.

See, my favorite way to get into a new TV series or continue an old one is to wait for the DVD of the season to come out – it’s so freakin’ satisfying to watch all the episodes in a row, so to speak, and watch how the writers tie in all the threads from all the episodes.

When I’m putting together my books, I like to think of them as if they’re a season’s worth of shows packaged into one book – you’ve got all the ups and downs and I think sometimes, that it’s okay to have questions, to not understand….but you’ve got to trust that the author will get you there. And I think that’s hard in today’s world of instant gratification. I’m just as guilty of it – I love spoilers and before I see a movie, I need to know the ending. But I also love looking for the clues along the way – because a good writer won’t put anything in a book or movie that won’t be important at some point.

So, to that end, to me, the points of view of the characters who speak in my books are your clues. How they feel, what they do…what one character tells you in their thoughts can’t be told to you by anyone else but them. And to me, the switching back and forth helps with the tightening of the noose, so to speak.

Now you’ve got a small glimpse into my (scary) mine. Sorry you asked?


GIVEAWAY
Over the course of about a month (from October 24 until November 30), Stephanie Tyler and I are giving away:
- 2 copies of LIE WITH ME
- 2 copies of PROMISES IN THE DARK and
- a grand prize of a signed set of one of her trilogies (either the Hold trilogy or the Blaze trilogy).


All you have to do is leave a (meaningful) comment with the reviews and/or the guest-posts and you are entered. Each comment is entered for the grand prize in the end.


Up for grabs with this post is a 2nd copy of LIE WITH ME , provided by Stephanie Tyler.
This giveaway ends November 2 (winner announced November 3) and note your comment will be entered for the grand prize.


Make sure you come back on November 23rd for my review of PROMISES IN THE DARK and a chance to win a copy of it, provided by me.

Katie Long was supposed to be undercover. She was just supposed to watch Deputy Prosecutor Eric Kimura at his ex’s wedding and gather intel on his campaign for prosecutor. But he’s a lot hotter in person, and the kind of intel they accidentally shared in the hotel bathroom might lose both of them their jobs. Especially since it seems to be a recurring incident. Is it possible for a one-night stand to last ten days?

Kimura isn’t usually the impulsive type. He’s driven, he’s ambitious, and he knows what he wants—a respectable future in Hawaii politics. Which means wild half-public sex with a beautiful stranger in a short little caterer’s skirt is just tabloid fodder waiting to happen. Conveniently, just as his campaign is coming under attack. Sabotage, media gossip, and an insatiable desire for a woman he just met? If he’s not careful, Counselor Kimura might lose all control…

Title: Impulsive
Author: HelenKay Dimon
Series: Men of Hawaii, book 4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Brava
Year of release: 2010, October 26
Format: Tradesize Paperback, 320 pages
Source: Received a digital copy from author for review

First line: Katie Long wasn't sure how they'd gone from "would you like another drink" to crawling all over each other half-naked in the oceanfront estate's hall bathroom, but that's what happened.
Memorable Scene:
Katie surprises Eric in his office scene > HOT! no desk smexing but office chair also definitely works for me!

Eric Kimura is still hung up on his ex and at her wedding to another man, he has sex with a stranger, a waitress, in a bathroom stall. At least it’s better than getting drunk and making a scene. But what he doesn’t know is that the waitress is not an ordinary waitress. Someone hired Katie through an old acquaintance to spy on Eric at the wedding. I was utterly surprised to find out who it was and outraged on Eric's behalf.

Katie Long is an impulsive young woman with a penchant for getting in trouble. She really tries to stay out of trouble and behave but it seems like it just follows her wherever she goes. She’s sassy, vibrant and a wild child with a heart of gold. And while she didn’t plan to fall in love with Eric, she does and once she finds that out she jumps in with both feet.

Eric is the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, about to campaign to be elected Prosecuting Attorney. He’s strait-laced, ambitious and a workaholic. He’s also fair and conscientious. Katie’s zest for life and her spontaneity make him open up and live a little and she’s also that last push he needs to get his ex out of his mind.

As for secondary characters, I loved seeing Deana and Josh from HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO again and must also praise HelenKay Dimon for not cluttering the book with too many secondary characters but instead using the amount needed to support and complement Katie and Eric and the plot. The political intrigue plot that accompanies the romance was subtly written into the rest and, like the secondary characters, never took over. Yet it was a plot that kept me on my toes. First with the who, then with the why.

The first page of IMPULSIVE is the perfect example of a beginning that immediately hooked me. It was hot, with just enough information to make me very anxious for the rest of this story. And the title is absolutely fitting. Eric's behavior though, was also very unexpected and out of character for the Eric I got to meet in HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO so I was curious to see how it all was going to be played out. And I can say now that it played out great. I loved this Eric, who truly and pleasantly surprised me by being more playful and less of a the cool politician than he appeared to be.

HelenKay Dimon writes awesome banter and dialogues. I noticed this in HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO and in IMPULSIVE it continued right from the start with Eric and Seth and later with Eric and Katie. Seriously! HelenKay Dimon takes dialogues to a higher level and this puts her on the top of my favorite contemporary romance authors. Her dialogues are a mix of witty banter and humorous fun and a way of showing her characters' personalities and at the same time creating depth in them. I almost salivated reading them and must admit that while reading IMPULSIVE I would regularly go back to certain dialogues and read them a second time, just to experience the joy of awe-inspiring dialogue again.

What more can I say about IMPULSIVE? It's contemporary romance and then some! It has fun, passion, arguments, chemistry, trust issues, commitment, love and a little bit of suspense. It's delivered through excellent and smooth writing, witty dialogues, serious dialogues, strong main characters and interesting secondary characters. The ending was so sweet it's good I have a major sweet tooth and therefore loved it.

With HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO and IMPULSIVE HelenKay Dimon has written herself straight on to my favorite contemporary romances list and made a new fan for life. If you love contemporary romance and you haven't read HelenKay Dimon's Men of Hawaii books, please remedy this because they're an addition to any lover of contemporary romance’s bookshelves.

Favorite Quotes:
He mumbled the denial right before his head lowered and his lips brushed against hers. For the second time, an engulfing heat swept through him. He'd had sex before. Hell, he'd had great sex before, but there was something about Katie that rubbed him raw and sent a blast of want shooting through him.

Seth and Eric
"You poor bastard."
"What?"
"You're about to get your ass kicked in the female department and you don't even know it."

Just when she wanted to bonk him in the head for being clueless, he said something sweet enough to melt her bones.

Katie's stomach dropped to the floor. Went right through her pantyhose and smacked the space between her feet.

Score one for the underdog…er…wolf.

TJ Lynus is a legend in Granite Lake, both for his easygoing demeanor—and his clumsiness. His carefree acceptance of his lot vanishes, though, when his position as best man brings him face to face with someone he didn’t expect. His mate. His very human mate. Suddenly, one thing is crystal clear: if he intends to claim her, his usual laid-back attitude isn’t going to cut it.

After fulfilling her maid-of-honor duties, Pam Quinn has just enough time for a Yukon wilderness trip before returning south. The instant attraction between her and TJ tempts her to indulge in some Northern Delight, but when he drops the F-bomb—“forever”—she has second thoughts. In her world, true love is a fairytale that seldom, if ever, comes true.

Okay, so maybe staging a kidnapping wasn’t TJ’s best idea, but at least Pam has the good humour to agree to his deal. He’ll give her all the northern exposure she can stand—and she won’t break his kneecaps.

Now to convince her that fairytales can remake her world—and that forever is worth fighting for.

By popular demand: Clumsy sidekick wolf grows up, sarcasm reigns, and the wilderness gets wilder. Includes hot nookie in places you expect—like a remote cabin—and places you don’t.

Title: Wolf Tracks
Author: Vivian Arend
Series: Granite Lake Wolves, book 4
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Year of release: 2010, October 26
Format: eBook
Source: Received digital ARC from author for review

First line: Pam let out a long, slow whistle and stared out the window to admire the scenery one more time.

Memorable Scene:
- TJ singing a-capella to Pam > so lovely

TJ is the younger brother the Granite Lake Wolves’ Alpha and from the moment he appeared in WOLF SIGNS and WOLF GAMES I fell for him and his klutzy, clumsy ways. He’s a wilderness guide and has the keenest and best sense of smell in the pack. His clumsiness makes him prone to accidents. TJ is a sweet, cute combination of lighthearted and goofy with protective, calm and reassuring. His boyish charm and confidence come across very clearly and he has many hidden talents. When I read TJ sang I got a little giddy, when he whipped out a guitar I positively swooned.

Pam is a dog handler for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Maggie's (heroine WOLF GAMES) best friend. She’s a little cynical and very outspoken. She’s competent and doesn’t hesitate to say what’s on her mind. The last thing she’s looking for is a relationship, let alone a life mate but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that when you’re the mate of a wolf shifter like TJ.

The chemistry between Pam and TJ is strong and palpable. It carried the story wonderfully next to the witty bantering between them. There were moments it seemed Pam would outshine and predominate TJ but those moments were rare.

Pam took the news of TJ, Maggie and the others being wolves better than I thought. The being mated to TJ was more difficult for her to come to terms with but eventually she took that in stride too. I thought it was very refreshing and inventive of Vivian Arend to pair TJ with a full human, this was new to the series as previous pairings have all been werewolf with werewolf (full-blood and half-breed). It just fitted TJ and the set-up for his character perfectly. Why take the easy road when the hard road is so much more likely to trip you up?

While my very high expectations for TJ's book were definitely met in terms of heat, chemistry and humor I did miss some sort of conflict in the story...expected something like TJ having to make a choice between Pam and his pack or Pam resisting more. However, I understand that with the low page count (in other words WAY too short) there was no room for a conflict to be set up and resolved without sacrificing the strongpoint of the story.

I would have liked a more elaborate epilogue though, especially after finding out this is the final book in the Granite Lake Wolves Series. But...as I also found out there'll be a spin-off series (Yay Shaun! Yay Jared?) I'm hoping for glimpses of the Pam, TJ and the others of the Granite Lake Pack.

Having thoroughly enjoyed reading this series I know that if you loved the previous books in the series, you shouldn’t miss WOLF TRACKS. It’s a worthy last installment of a lovely and humorous set of books and I’m glad I won’t have to miss the wolfies forever as there is more coming from the same world and setting.

I was all hot and bothered and laughing at the same time. I really like this combination in Vivian Arend's writing that never fails to please me. The humor, her signature humor was there in full force from the start. The smile that leeched itself on my face from the second sentence stayed there throughout the entire book. Another great read from one of my favorite Samhain Publishing authors.

Favorite Quotes:

He leaned forward and kissed her knuckles. An icy chill slipped up her spine and oh my God, her body grew instantly wet. Damn! Did he just lick her skin? She knew she was staring, but there seemed to be no way to tear her gaze from his. Even after he straightened, he refused to let her fingers drop and she stood there like some freaking garden gnome statue with her hand limp-wristed in his, hoping by some weird circumstance they’d magically turn out to be standing alone in a bedroom with a mattress on the firm side bumping the back of her knees. Lust stole her tongue.

It was a good thing Maggie had warned him, because incredibly his first impulse upon laying eyes on the beauty was to shift and bury his nose in her dark brown hair. He wanted to sniff her all over, then change back to human form to lick her, starting at her toes and getting delightfully distracted long before reaching anywhere near her throat.

This was driving him mad. He smelled her skin, the natural perfume of her body. Her arousal. His heart pounded, and he strove to keep his face neutral and not pant like a dog.

“I can feel your heart in my soul.”

==================
Make sure you stop by Vivian's Blog to check out her 'Fans and Favorites'-week in honor of WOLF TRACK's release. Just click on the image below to get there.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT…
Deana Armstrong needs a hero—not for herself, but for the nephew all her moneyand time can’t seem to get out of jail. Unfortunately, the best hero in all the
Hawaiian Islands is set on turning in his badge and getting his excellent butt into
another line of work. If that wasn’t enough, Josh Windsor also has a big-time
grudge against Deana herself. But if there’s anything being rich, smart, and
stubborn has taught Deana, it’s never to settle for second best…

Josh has had it with saving people. He’s had it with getting
hauled into court. And boy, has he ever had it with Deana. Or well, he hasn’t had it.
Yet. But the more she pops up sounding infuriating and looking good enough to eat,
the more her hot bod and her cold case wriggle into his mind. And there’s only so
much even a hero can resist…

Title: Holding Out for a Hero
Author: HelenKay Dimon
Series: Men of Hawaii, book 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Brava
Year of release: 2009, October 1
Format: Tradesize Paperback, 320 pages
Source: Received this book from Fatin (@mad4rombks) as a gift in 2009.

First line: He sensed her before he saw her.
Memorable Scenes:
- any scene with Josh, Kane and Annie > awesome banter

Josh Windsor is a federal officer with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). Who decides to quit after his boss sacrificed him to save his own position. He’s blunt, uncompromising, strong and confident. Money is a big deal for him, people who use money and power to their advantage earn his disdain. After a crappy childhood he doesn’t want to be used or taken for granted ever again. Oh and HelenKay, I think Josh has a pen-tapping problem ;) And I wrote this down way before I read page 266...

Deana Armstrong is serious, tenacious, smart and strong-willed. She keeps a tight reign on her emotions, which is why she comes across as cold and in control. She does this with a reason however. A tragic incident in her past triggered it. She’s also wealthy, a fact that on its own earns her the disapproval of Josh Windsor.

Josh and Deana have a past, a past where Deana did some not so nice things, but now she needs help and he's the only one she's willing to ask. Understandably saying Josh isn't forthcoming with his help is an understatement. I loved seeing the tension build between Josh and Deana as they both fight not to like each other. I was immediately getting ready for the inevitable climactic erruption of the chemistry that was building.

Their backgrounds couldn't be any more different. They aren't perfect, have their flaws and hang-ups but HelenKay Dimon wrote a wonderful couple that had depth and were extremely likeable even if they were stubborn (Deana) and acted like an ass occasionally (Josh).

While reading my mind was working overtime. I was wondering about the things going on and a few questions popped in my head. These questions were all answered and satisfyingly so as little by little things from the past were explained and unraveled an intricate backstory. The murder-case plot was important for the romance and the external conflict between Josh and Deana and I really liked the resolutions for both the plot and the conflict. No magical, perfect solutions in order to get a HEA.

The dialogues are just awesome! Quick-witted, sharp, functional and never redundant. Oh how I enjoyed the dynamics of fun conversations filled with jabs and quips between Josh, Kane, Annie and Derek.

After reading an Harlequin Intrigue and an ebook novella by HelenKay Dimon I suspected I was going to love her full-lengths, as the only thing I found lacking in the aforementioned shorts was the length, and I was right. I loved HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO and can't wait to read IMPULSIVE [note from reviewer: In the meantime I’ve read IMPULSIVE and I loved it!] and the other full-lengths and up next is the first book in this series, because I just have to read YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY soon as reading HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO made me want to read Kane and Annie's story asap.

Favorite Quotes:
She [Annie] rapped her fist against the table. "Don't make me get up and smack the crap out of you."
"For the record, I'd like to see that," Kane said.

Annie shook the receiver in his face. "Then I will climb over this table and beat you to death with this phone."
Kane laughed. "That's one of her favorite threats."

Then he was kissing her, deep and long. The kind of kiss that turned a woman's knees to liquid and her common sense to mush.

"How about a round of mind-blowing sex?" Before the words left his mouth he treated her to a long , hot kiss.
The man excelled at kissing. Curl-your-toes, hide-your-daughters kissing. The kind where short breaths lingered long after his lips left hers.

Today I'm happy to welcome Dee Tenorio to my humble little World of Romance. Make sure to answer her question at the end of the post for a chance to win a copy SHAKEN, her awesome and heartbreaking novella, that came out October 19th! My review of SHAKEN can be found HERE

Many Shades of Love


I've had a lot of time to think about love over the years of my writing. Love is supposed to be my topic of expertise, but you know, it's not as simple as studying a topic and knowing all the right answers. At any point of my life, I thought I knew what love was. Thought I understood it, only to discover that what I knew wasn't complete. Love changes.


When you're young and have yet to truly learn the value of anything, love is so easy to feel and understand. You love mommy and daddy and brother and sister and puppy and kitty and teacher and friends... The list is unending because if it makes you happy, it's love. And that isn't wrong.


Get a little older and love gets a little more complicated. There's different kinds now. Some like roots that are just a part of you. Some that are new and exciting. You find out that what you love, you might not always get. Love isn't always fair. Sometimes, even if you do get it, it's not going to stay. Love can hurt and those first, wrenching slices of loss can cut deep. While memorable, you also discover that you can recover. Learn from it. And that's not wrong either.


When you're grown, love can be consuming. Blinding. Destructive. It can be exhilirating and fulfilling. It can give you a connection and ground you when your life is upside down or up in the clouds. You've learned what it is to love deeply and give a part of yourself away, fully accepting that the part you give isn't coming back. But new parts come along to take it's place. Love from others—the ones you choose and the ones who choose you. And sometimes, the hardest lessons are how to recover when the pieces of our hearts are taken away.


I always thought of love as a feeling. An emotion or a connection only. But it continually surprises me. Love is all those things, but it's also a comfort. A choice. A gift. A joy. Love is what's left when we're gone. What gives us a reason to keep going when we're here.


I know that in my field, I'm supposed to have answers or insight, but the truth is...I'm still learning. I'm still figuring out the ways that love grows and changes. I'm still trying to understand how it scars and heals, how it makes a better person out of me.


So take a moment to help me learn. Tell me how love has made your life better and I'll enter you into a drawing to win a free copy of my latest novella, "Shaken".


Hope to hear from you,
Dee

Bio:
Dee Tenorio has a few reality issues. After much therapy for the problem—if one can call being awakened in the night by visions of hot able-bodied men a problem—she has proved incurable. It turns out she enjoys tormenting herself by writing sizzling, steamy romances of various genres spanning paranormal mystery dramas, contemporaries and romantic comedies. Preferably starring the sexy, somewhat grumpy heroes described above and smart-mouthed heroines who have much better hair than she does.

The best part is, no more therapy bills!
Well, not for Dee, anyway. Her husband and kids, on the other hand...

If you would like to learn more about Dee and her work, please visit her website at http://www.deetenorio.com or her blog at http://www.deetenorio.com/Blog/.

Or check her out at on of the following Social Networks:

This review is the start of a series of posts surrounding the releases of Stephanie Tyler's first two Shadow Force books, LIE WITH ME and PROMISES IN THE DARK. There are books to win and a grand prize at the end of November. More information after the review.

Forced together by fate, bound together by desire.

Framed for a double murder, Delta Force operative Cameron Moore is given a new lease on life by the CIA—provided he pays them back by doing their black ops dirty work. Now Cam is ready to renegotiate their deal, and he thinks he’s found the perfect bargaining chip: Skylar Slavin, bestselling author of espionage thrillers and the daughter of the CIA man who saved him from a prison sentence.

Skylar has been living in anonymity, never suspecting that someone so dangerous—and so desirable—would plunge her into a world as treacherous as one of her spy novels. But how can Cam go through with his plan to kidnap Skylar when just the sight of her sets off an explosive attraction he’s never experienced before? And when Skylar falls prey to an even more perilous threat, this special ops soldier must call upon all his combat skills to protect the one person who can help him win his freedom—and the only woman he’s ever loved.

Title: Lie With Me
Author: Stephanie Tyler
Series: Shadow Force, book 1
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Military Romance
Publisher: Dell Books
Year of release: 2010, October 26
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Source: Received digital ARC from author for review

First line: The sleek, dark bitch tailing him over the crest of the mountain was definitely not standard Army issue.
Memorable Scenes:
- Riley and Dylan by the pool scene> dampen-the-panties hot!
- Zane contemplating taking coffee through IV > funny
- Car chase scene > I was literally holding my breath

Cameron 'Cam' Moore is Delta Force. Hard, proud and honorable. Thanks to things in his past he’s indebted to Gabriel Creighton and forced to do black ops for him as it's either the black ops or 2 consecutive life sentences in jail. Easy choice. There’s no love lost between them and Cam wants out. He’s had enough and is going to use Gabriel's only daughter as leverage to get out of from under the man’s thumb.

This only daughter is author Skylar 'Sky' Slavin, who writes thrillers. She recently (5 months earlier) had a kidney transplant, donated by her father, after which he’s disappeared of the grid. With both parents in the CIA she’s been taught to distrust military types and knows her way around explosives, firearms, self-defense and locked places. As all Stephanie Tyler's heroines, Sky is tough and resilient, having survived stuff she’s determined to hold on to her strength, yet she has a vulnerability that makes it impossible for me not to like or admire her.

I love enemy's daughter tropes, and LIE WITH ME has that trope written all over it! But it's so much more too: it's intricate with complex and characters that are fleshed out well with back-stories that delve deep under the surface. The romance did feel a bit rushed in the beginning, relying very much on instant attraction and sexual chemistry. Though it was really hot I expected a little more build-up there. That being said, the love scenes are awesome and beautifully written, rough, raw, intense and fitting the characters and the story. And I liked that the characters themselves (Cam and Sky) were questioning the speed with which their feelings were developing.

Next to Cam and Sky there are two important secondary characters that are also the couple having the secondary romance in this book. Cam’s best friend Dylan Scott is a former fellow Delta Force now turned sort of a rogue spy-for-hire. He’s paired up with Riley Sacadano, former Navy now on her own, a private contractor and in search of what happened to her dad, a CIA agent who was murdered in the line of duty. Both Dylan and Riley play crucial roles both the main plot and a few subplots.

When an author writes a villain that I feel tempted to sympathize with for his crappy childhood while at the same time despising him for what he puts other the people in the book through, you deserve my praise! Also when you give me a semi-villain with so much back-story delivered gradually enough to slowly come to the conclusion that even though he's not a good or honorable man, he would go through fire for his loved ones.
And this is the kind of characters Stephanie Tyler gave me in LIE WITH ME next to the awesome main and secondary couple. How can I not love her books?

There were quite a few plots going on in the book and the common factor in the different plotlines seems to be Gabriel Creighton, actually he was an element in all the plotlines except for the romances. It was fascinating to slowly figure out how everything locked together and find out what was going on and working towards the inevitable and climactic conclusion where all loose ends get tied up and the separate threads come together.

I am not telling anything more about the plots than I already did as with romantic suspense, you need to find out and put things together for yourself when you read it. Suffice to say that I love the multiple plots that come together approach that is familiar in romantic suspense and which Stephanie Tyler takes on splendidly. I had several aha-moments where seemingly unconnected things clicked together, linking the plots and offering deeper knowledge and understanding for events earlier or later in the book. Awesome how Stephanie Tyler does this with all her military romances. And I’m a big fan of the "come full circle" feel her suspense plots have.

Romantic suspense books are filled with characters; primary, secondary and walk-ons, however Stephanie Tyler keeps it very manageable, only introducing characters that are necessary for the plots that are unfolding. And those characters all contribute with their own POVs, some –understandably-- more than others.

I must also include a warning that I don't think LIE WITH ME is for people who didn't like Stephanie Tyler’s first trilogy. I know there are people who didn't like the many POVs Steph uses, I however love that. To me they give insight and depth to the suspense and the characters. LIE WITH ME is written in that same style with multiple storylines and POVs and the occasional flashbacks. I loved the tiny reference to HOLD ON TIGHT, no matter how small if you've read HOLD ON TIGHT you'll pick up on it.

I adore Stephanie Tyler's writing and her brand of romantic suspense. Her men are capable, unapologetic and ruthless, yet tender and passionate with their woman. The women are vulnerable yet strong and independent. The suspense in LIE WITH ME is thrilling, intricate and awesomely put together including some kick-ass fight sequences. I was jumping from one speculation to the other. The romance is poignant and intense, the love scenes fog up will your glasses and an added treat was the secondary romance and the way she set up the next book's couple without giving away too much.

If you like a romantic suspense with several subplots coming together from different angles combined with a touching and complicated romance, you'll love LIE WITH ME as much as I did.

Favorite Quotes:

She raised her chin defiantly, her voice shook hadn't held her against him and let her take a piece of his heart, when he hadn't thought he had anything left to give to anyone.

Sleeping with Sky now would be wrong. Cam knew that and somehow couldn’t shake the ridiculous notion that she could somehow heal him. Fix the pain inside. Unbreak him.

“I can forgive a lot, Cam. But don’t keep up the charade if you don’t feel anything.”
He dipped his head and kissed her neck, letting his lips linger on the soft skin there before he responded. “You melted me, Sky. I was fucking ice before this. Before I met you, things were just getting worse.”
She wanted to ask him why, but the need to kiss him, to succumb to the seduction, was stronger. The brazen, open lust she felt showed in her face, she was sure.

Dylan and Riley (secondary romance)
“Feel good?” he asked.
“I thought . . . you wanted me . . . to shut up.” The words were punctuated by moans, and he smiled, a lopsided grin, his eyelids heavy. His voice was thick when he spoke. “I want you to scream my name. Long and loud. […]”

“Because I love you, Riley. I goddamned, no holds barred, can’t not admit it any longer, love you!” he yelled. Probably wasn’t the most romantic declaration ever uttered. But it had been honest.

==============================


GIVEAWAY
Over the course of about a month (from October 24 until November 30), Stephanie Tyler and I will be giving away:
- 2 copies of LIE WITH ME
- 2 copies of PROMISES IN THE DARK and
- a grand prize of a signed set of one of her trilogies (either the Hold trilogy or the Blaze trilogy).


All you have to do is leave a (meaningful) comment with the review and/or guest-post and you are entered. Each comment is entered for the grand prize in the end.


First up to win is a copy of LIE WITH ME , provided by me and anyone can enter, provided you reside in a country where The Bookdepository delivers.
This giveaway ends November 2 (winner announced November 3) and note your comment will be entered for the grand prize.


Make sure you come back on October 28th for Stephanie Tyler's guestpost and another chance to win LIE WITH ME, provided by Stephanie.