To prove her love and save her man, she has to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Francis McKade is a man in lust. He’s had a crush on his best friend’s little sister for years but he has never acted on it. Besides that fact that she’s Malachi’s sister, he’s a Seal and he learned his lesson with his ex-fiancé. Women do not like being left alone for long months at a time. Still, at a wedding in Hawaii anything can happen—and does. Unfortunately, after the best night of his life, he and Mal are called away to one of their most dangerous missions.

Shannon is blown over by Kade. She’s always had a crush on him and after their night together, it starts to feel a little like love. But, after the mission, Kade never calls or writes and she starts to wonder if it was all a dream. Until one night, her brother Mal drags him into her bar and grill and Shannon gets the shock of her life.

Kade isn’t the man Shannon knew in Hawaii, or even the last few years. Twelve hours of torture changes a man, especially one who had never felt so vulnerable. He still can’t shake the terror that keeps him up at night. Worse, he is realizing that the career he loves just might be over.

Shannon is still mad, but she can’t help but hurt for the man she loves. He is darker, a bit more dangerous, but beneath that, he is the Kade she’s known for so many years. When he pushes her to her limits in the bedroom, Shannon refuses to back down. One way or another, this military man is going to learn there is no walking away from love—not while she still has breath in her body.

Warning: This book contains two infatuated lovers, a hardheaded military man, a determined woman, some old friends, and a little taste of New Orleans. As always, ice water is suggested while reading. It might be the first military Harmless book, but the only thing that has changed is how hot our hero looks in his uniform—not to mention out of it.

Title: INFATUATION
Author: Melissa Schroeder
Series: A Little Military Harmless Romance, book 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Military Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Year of release: 2011, November 14
Format: eBook
Source: Received an e-copy from author for review

First line:
The sound of Hawaiian music drifted lightly through the air as Kade took a small sip of his beer.

Memorable Scenes:
- the one (first) night in Hawaii > It was so hot it melted my brain cells
- the scene with the scarves > the action with that one scarf... OMG! *fans self*


INFATUATION is the first book of Melissa Schroeder’s I’ve read for review and the third one in total. I read her first two Harmless books way back when I didn’t even fathom reviewing the romance novels I was reading. So when this book was offered for review I grabbed it with both hands!

And I do not regret the grabbing! With a heroine (Shannon Dupree) who is strong, capable and positively a woman whom any man would want standing in his corner and a Navy Seal hero (Francis ‘Kade’ McKade) who is sexy, quiet and commanding Melissa Schroeder gave me an awesome read.

Melissa Schroeder knows how to crank up the heat in the love scenes. The start of the book set the tone and it didn't let down till the very last page and word. The added subtle hint of BDSM just made it all the more interesting. When sex scenes in a book give me goose-bumps I know I have a scorcher in hand.

And next to the burn-the-pages heat there was so much more to INFATUATION. Starting with the small, subtle military plot of a mission gone FUBAR and the consequences of that to the members of the team. But there was also great characterization and a cast of secondary characters that were intriguing to say the least.

Schroeder has a writing style that I took a liking to from the very first page. She combines heat and emotions with humor, great characters and fabulous dialogues, making this book fast-paced and character-driven. Reading INFATUATION makes me want to go back and start the Harmless series again from the start and review them all.

INFATUATION is an awesome contemporary, erotic and military romance that was such a joy to read, I finished it in 24 hrs while having to work. It was sizzling hot and emotional. The two things I always seek in the erotic romances I read.

Favorite Quotes:
Her sister’s eyes danced with barely suppressed amusement. “It couldn’t be because of one hot Seal with a hint of an Aussie accent, could it?"
Shannon closed her eyes and sighed. “That man gets my temperature up. All he has to do is smile, and I’m ready to strip naked and jump his bones.” She opened her eyes. “Is it that obvious?”

“Now, naughty girl, you can’t move.”
She opened her eyes and frowned at him. When she opened her mouth to respond, he placed one finger against her mouth.
“You’re the one who awoke the beast, so you get to live with the consequences.”
She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but there was something so...sexy about him commanding her, telling her what she could and could not do. Unlike her brother, Chris, she had never been into BDSM, but with Kade, the possibility was titillating. And dammit, arousal deepened his accent. That alone made her toes curl.

She was laughing at something Deke said, and dammit, he couldn’t help the way the air backed up in his lungs.
“Looks like they had a good time,” Mal said.
Indeed it did. Her face glowed with happiness as she looked up at Deke. He leaned closer and said something to her. She laughed, and although it wasn’t loud, he could hear it. It wrapped around his heart and gave a little tug.

Mal shook his head. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Yeah, dammit.” He started walking again. “I’m going to get my woman.”

With danger closing in, all they have is each other.

Haunted by a mission he barely survived, Delta Force operative Mace Stevens still carries a soldier’s burden. Running a small bar in upstate New York, he remains a stone cold warrior who guards dangerous secrets and stays ready for anything. Anything except beautiful, vulnerable Paige Grayson, who shows up at his door, demanding answers about her heroic stepbrother’s death under his command.



Paige bears burdens, too. She’s plagued by demons unleashed by an older brother who committed mass murder before her eyes. But here in this snowy haven with Mace, she almost feels safe from the menacing promises of her insane sibling. As a nurse whose hands can read the deepest thoughts of anyone she touches, Paige knows Mace needs her as desperately as she needs him. And when a faceless killer begins unleashing fresh terror, Mace proves just how far he will go to save the woman who means everything to him.

Title: IN THE AIR TONIGHT
Author: Stephanie Tyler
Series: Shadow Force, book 3
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Military Suspense
Publisher: Dell Books
Year of release: 2011, August 2
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Received a digital ARC from author for review

First line:
The gun pressed to the side of Paige's bare neck, the cold barrel barely registering against her skin.

Memorable Scenes:
- Mace and Paige in the backroom > hot!
- Vivi and Cael in the bathroom > they temporarily stole the thunder from Mace and Paige with this scene


Paige Grayson is ER nurse with a traumatic past. She has gift of psychometry and survived a high school shooting by her brother at 14. She’s on the run constantly from a past that always follows her. Paige is Gray’s stepsister, a loner and very stubborn.

Mace Stevens is Delta Force and a bar owner. He’s Gray's best friend and owns a bar, which he’s runs. Mace is cautious, longing to belong, to be worthy of loving and protective,

The romance in this installment of the series was a little complicated because of Paige's gift but nonetheless very hot and intense. A few interrupted and stopped action but when they finally went all the way it was explosive. In the beginning I wasn’t sure I was going to like that Paige had this psychic gift and when I got to the end I still wasn’t wild about it but it did give the story a unique vibe.

It also felt like there were fewer POVs in this installment. I know not many readers love the multiple POVs like I do so even if I missed them I think this will be an appealing factor to those readers. A secondary romance was continued from the previous book, PROMISES IN THE DARK and it was a storyline I was waiting for to get its conclusion ever since I turned the last page on that book.

There were things about the plot like Cael/Caleb's amnesia and remains of DMH (I thought that storyline was wrapped up in previous book) that surprised the crap outta me because after the last book I thought I knew the direction things were going, but of course Stephanie Tyler managed to surprise me with totally unexpected stuff. The killer plot was another storyline that intrigued me and I wondered where it was taking me. In the end there was stuff that I expected to happen but Stephanie Tyler also surprised me with some things right at the finish that made me hold my breath and wish it would be okay when I turned the last page. And that’s why I love reading her books.

Though I really enjoyed reading this book it didn't wow me like Stephanie’s other books have. I missed the abundance of multiple POVs, I wasn’t thrilled with Paige’s psychic ability and I missed the military action. However, on the other hand I understood why it had to play out like it did and I loved the conclusion to Vivi and Cael’s storyline. So even if I wasn’t blown away I really liked it and I see it as kind of a transitional book between Cam's and Kell's.

Even with the things I described above and though the first half wasn't packed with military suspense action as the other books were, it's still fast-paced and attention-grabbing as, like the characters, you want to figure out what exactly happened on that FUBAR mission and how everything is going to come together in the end. Once I started reading I couldn't stop and I raced through the book as fast as the other books in this series.

Favorite Quotes:
Most people thought he was a suspicious asshole, and they were right. Paige had picked up on it immediately—and he’d had such a strong attraction to her that he’d hidden behind the great wall of defenses he had built so well.

He tasted like brandy and man. She felt the danger lurking beneath the protective nature he’d shown her, and that only made her revel more in the feel of him. She never thought she could like danger, but Mace’s was deep and dark and so rich, and the way it beckoned her like a beacon in a storm, she knew there was no way she could ever resist it. Not for long anyway.
Nor did she want to..

She wanted to be naked under him, wanted him to fill her until all she could feel was pleasure, because she’d had enough of the pain. Her pulse hammered and my God, she could unravel easily for him, detonate in seconds if he was half as talented with his other body parts as he was with his tongue.

(Vivi & Cael) His kisses weren’t angry—far from it. His tongue’s penetration was a lazy, swirling, mesmerizing force. Her hands gripped the porcelain sink behind her, unable—unwilling—to move a muscle, and she responded
to the kiss as if it quenched every thirst she’d ever had.


(Cael & Reid) He turned to the sink to grab a rag to wipe down the back counter as Reid walked through the crowd and ducked under the bar. Cael didn’t have to ask where his teammate had been—the man had the remnants
of lipstick and a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Tell me you didn’t use my bed,” he groaned.
“No comment.” Reid wiped his face with a wet napkin. “Dude, and I thought the Amazon was out of control. Tonight’s like spring break in a trailer park explosion.”

He jerked slightly, tried to pull his hands away, but she held them fast. “I can’t imagine . . . you were so confused. Helpless. Angry. I hate that you felt this
way.”
“I hate that you have to feel it, don’t want to burden you,” he murmured.
“Burden me, Mace. I want all your burdens. Every single one of them.”

(Vivi & Cael) “I’m remembering . . . but I still feel like I’m going
to break apart.”
She moved to him, pulled his sweatshirt up and off,
stroked her hands down his bare back. And then she
let her hands roam along his chest and down to the
button on his jeans before she murmured, “Go ahead,
break apart. I’ll put you back together.”
[…]This orgasm would devastate him, he knew that . . . and he needed it. If he detonated, he could come back together

Two guys. A girl. One incredible game of pool…

Scarlett wants to escape, even if it’s just for a little while. So she heads to Southern Comfort, where she’ll find a certain marine she can’t get out of her head. And she knows he won’t be alone.

Michael spies the uptight woman of his dreams the minute she fights through the crowd. She’s sexy as sin and he can’t take his eyes off her while she flirts over some liquid courage. When she finally heads his way, it’s time to find out if she can live up to her end of the fantasy.

Red-hot chemistry may call the shots, but once you take the double hit… The game is on.

Title: SOUTHERN COMFORT
Author: Eve Cassidy
Series: Standalone, part of Ellora’s Cave EXOTIKA line
Genre: Erotica, Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Year of release: 2010, September 2
Format: eBook
Source: Bought via Jasmine Jade eBook store

First line:
Scarlett Bailey approached the entrance to the bar with equal parts trepidation and excitement.

Memorable Scenes:
The scene just before the pool game starts > hot!


Quick & Dirty-review:

Ingredients/Summary:
Interesting stuff on a pool table, a little bit of dirty talk and the fulfillment of a fantasy.

Characters:
Normally I break this part down into hero and heroine but because the story was so short I didn’t get an extensive enough picture of the characters to send them through my usual character analysis so I’m sweeping them all up together in one short paragraph

The main characters of this story are the commanding and forceful Sergeant Michael Conner and Scarlett Bailey. Scarlett is a passionate wicked woman underneath the veneer of a straight-laced marine, looking for a good time with the man she's longed for, ever since she was placed in his unit.

Writing:
I need to read more of Eve Cassidy's work to be able to form a founded opinion but this short story definitely made me want to taste more

Likes:
- set up of the story and build-up of the sexual tension
- the unexpected twist at the end of the story

Dislikes:
- the shortness of the story that didn’t leave room for exploration of the characters

Verdict:
Extremely short (only 32 pages) but very hot ménage story with an unexpected little twist at the end. Liked it but would love to read 'the whole story' on Michael and Scarlett.

Favorite Quotes:
Then she spotted him in the form of snug jeans riding low on his waist and a black . . . between her thighs and her skin tingled clear to her scalp.

He looked up just in time to see her lick it, slam it and suck it on a tequila shot and his mouth watered at the sight.