Caitlyn Sachs has a great life. A family she loves, check. An incredible design job working with her best friends, Tristan and Matt, check. An amazing home she shares with the guys, double check. But her upcoming twenty-fifth birthday and the desire to shed the burden of her virginity have spurred her to consider something shocking. All she wants is one uncomplicated night with one of her best friends, no strings attached. But how can she choose?

Except there’s another problem. Tristan and Matt are already involved sexually with each other, much to Cait’s shock. And both men have long harbored feelings for Cait that go way beyond friendship. When they whisk her away for her birthday to a cabin in the mountains, she discovers the extent of their lust—and her own. The gift they give her is one she'll never forget.

But when the weekend's over, will she retreat to the safety of the status quo, if they'll even let her? Or will she finally embrace what she's secretly craved for so long

Title: UNWRAPPED
Author: Cari Quinn
Series: standalone (as far as I know)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Publisher: Loose ID
Year of release: 2011, December 6
Format: eBook
Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher for review

First line:
When plotting to finally lose your virginity, being swarmed by children—cute as they may be—definitely added a douse of cold water.

Memorable Scenes:
- Cait catching Tristan and Matt in the 'act' > awesome scene, what a way to introduce the m/m part of this story!
- Every. Single. Sex scene > no explanation needed, they were trademark Cari Quinn: hot doesn't even come close!

Caitlyn 'Cait' Sachs likes her ordered life in contrast to the chaos of her family's. She wants to do well in life, she’s ambitious, has a wild imagination sometimes, and underneath her good girl reputation she's wicked and naughty when it comes to her sexual needs. She’s also independent and headstrong. Cait isn’t perfect and I loved that about her. She has her flaws and the way she perceives her family (mother and sisters) is one of them, but she’s willing to face that and acknowledge her faults.

Then there are the two heroes of this story. They were awesome each on their own but together they were irresistible.

Tristan Baldwin is seemingly unflappable, yet volatile when he loses his calm. He can be very stubborn and quick-tempered but he’s also sweet, refined, impulsive and protective.

Matt Collins is the rational, sensible one of the triad. He’s also rugged and patient. Even though he’s not the one prone to talking about his feelings he's the one who discusses the feelings between the three of them first and sets the whole ménage in motion.

So we have three best friends, working together at their graphic design business and living together with the two men turning to each other when their desire for Cait remains unanswered. What they don't know is that Cait wants to lose her virginity and intends to ask one of them to take care of it. What Cait doesn't know is that her best friends have been dying for a chance to have her...together. This is the perfect set-up for this magnificently written ménage. A wild weekend turns into something permanent, but not without some complicating factors along the way.

The sex scenes nearly did me in. They are so hot and so excellently written. I’ve said it before and I'll say it again and keep repeating it till the day I quit reviewing romance novels: when it comes to sizzling, explicit, arousing sex scenes no one beats Cari Quinn. It's like she goes into my head and finds what I find extremely hot and puts that on paper. And let me tell you that’s pretty eerie. She writes erotic romance that will heat up even the most frigid readers. And if her writing doesn't affect you that way, erotic romance just might not be your thing!

The secondary cast of UNWRAPPED is comprised of family members of all three main characters. They all played an important role in the emotional part of the story and even though some of them weren’t always likeable in their reactions, I mostly liked them and the way they offered support to the main characters. I especially liked Cait’s youngest sister Valerie. Brave, brave kid!

Cari Quinn has been on my favorite author list from the first ever book I read by her. And with every next book she just secured that spot more. UNWRAPPED is once again awesomely written. It's the perfect combination of the elements Cari Quinn always masters in a brilliant way: hot explicit sex, extremely likeable and believable characters, talented writing and the emotional intensity that just gets to me every single time!

I adore how layered Cari Quinn's work is. Both in her writing and in her characters. On the surface the topics and her characters may seem everyday and common but the layers she puts on them through her writing and the emotionality makes her books stand out in the vast pool of erotic contemporary romance. UNWRAPPED could have been just another friends-to-lovers ménage story with a holiday-themed background but Cari Quinn makes it into so much more by giving the characters and their story a uniqueness through the emotional difficulties and by putting them through some realistic and believable dilemmas.

I knew UNWRAPPED is an erotic romance so a HEA is guaranteed, but still Cari Quinn had me biting my nails sometimes, wondering how that HEA was going to be reached as there were many emotional moments of doubt, of fear of how other people might judge their unconventional relationship. Between Cait's insistence on their weekend together not being anything more than just living out a fantasy, Tristan family stuff and silent stubbornness and Matt's worry about the practical sides of a permanent threesome, they had me in knots and relying on my trust in Cari Quinn to make it all work in the end. This trust wasn't unfounded. She definitely did...in an awesome way!

Cari Quinn and Loose ID seem to be the perfect match as this is the second book by Quinn I've read published by Loose ID that I must give my highest rating! UNWRAPPED is the first m/m/f I've read by Cari Quinn. I love ménages but I'm picky when it comes to m/m/f as I am not fond of m/m sexy times. There are a few authors who make me love their m/m/f ménages and Cari Quinn has joined those ranks with a bang: a perfect 10 rating as there was absolutely nothing I did not love about this book!

Favorite Quotes:
He’d been attracted to her for years, and the reasons weren’t all physical. She was so funny and sexy and sweet. Cait was a nice girl. A good girl.
One he’d yearned to taint for so long he’d almost resorted to taping his dick down whenever she was within speaking distance. Another secret withheld between them. (Matt)

The sound that escaped her mouth and slipped into his spoke of pleasure, not fear. When he extended his fingers into her hair, angling her head backward so he could lick his way inside, she wrapped her tongue around his to invite him in.
Thank God.
Intensity grew quickly, hijacking his plans to go slow. He slanted his mouth over hers and consumed her hungrily, their tongues fighting for dominance while her body revved against his. (Matt)

Matt sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. She slid her gaze to his c#ck, slid it away. Slid it back again. She shook her head at the immediate liquefying between her legs. Clearly horny virgins had no shame. Or very little.

If tonight didn’t go the way he’d planned, he didn’t know how they’d survive it. All he knew was they couldn’t lose her. Tris was just as miserable as he was, sterling proof of what he’d always known deep down.
If there was no Cait, there could be no them. She was the glue that held them together. Without her, the pieces simply didn’t fit.

“Matt’s not interrupting me, but you are. Know why? Because he’s seen me in ways you haven’t. When the civility’s stripped away and there aren’t words left. The way you’re going to see me soon enough. If we let you watch.” He took immense satisfaction in the slackening of her jaw. “That’s dependent on how much talking you do between now and then. We have ways of keeping you quiet. If you think we won’t…well, you’re thinking wrong.” (Tristan)

“Well, I’d never thought of another guy till Matt. The thing people forget is you fall in love with whomever you’re meant to. It’s not always about their sex, but who they are.” (Tristan)

All he needed was them. Just them. Not trying to be sexy and rev his motor, not putting on a show worthy of a backroom sex shop. He needed to hold them and love them just as they’d given him their love in a million little ways he doubted they even realized. (Tristan)

A CRY IN THE WOODS
The scream Lena Riddle hears in the woods behind her house is enough to curdle her blood—she has no doubt that a woman is in real danger. Unfortunately, with no physical evidence, the local law officers in small-town Ash, Kentucky, dismiss her claim. But Lena knows what she heard—and it leaves her filled with fear and frustration.

Ezra King is on leave from the state police, but he can’t escape the guilty memories that haunt his dreams. When he sees Lena, he is immediately drawn to her. He aches to touch her—to be touched by her—but is he too burdened by his tragic past to get close? When Ezra hears her story of an unknown woman’s screams, his instincts tell him that Lena’s life is also at risk—and his desire to protect her is as fierce as his need to possess her.

Title: IF YOU HEAR HER
Author: Shiloh Walker
Series: Ash Trilogy, book 1
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year of release: 2011, October 25
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Received a digital ARC from author for review

First line:
Her name was Carly Watson. The final hours of her life were brutal.

Memorable Scenes:
- Lena and Ezra's first love scene > awesome, awesome scene!
- Ezra's declaration of love > awesome! Not some sappy all-of-a-sudden-in-the-middle-of-nookie epiphany but a heartfelt, almost involuntary, spontaneous outburst
- the stuff that happened after Hope and Lena went shopping > OMG OMG OMG!

Lena Riddle, chef at Running Brook Inn. She lost her eye-sight but despite her blindness she is perfectly able to take care of herself. She’s confident, outspoken and quick-tempered.

Ezra King is a police detective on leave due to an injury on the job. His past involves being betrayed by a woman he loved and trusted both personally and on the job. This leaves him guilt-ridden and untrusting of women. He’s sharp and direct.

I loved the chemistry between Lena and Ezra. It was hot but still had this laid-back ease about it. That is, until the first love scene...everything they (especially Ezra) were holding back came out full-force and made it a memorable scene. The romance was perfect! The love scenes were sizzling hot and scorching. Ezra was a (dirty) talker and he and Lena were perfectly balanced and matched. What more could I want?

As is usual in romantic suspense there are a lot of secondary character introductions and quite some walk-ons and mentions. I wondered how many of them will survive to appear or star in future books. While reading and getting introduced to these intriguing characters I kept wondering how it all fit together because I just knew Ms. Walker wasn't introducing these secondary characters and giving them POVs just for the fun of it.

I really liked how Shiloh Walker inserted the multiple men into Lena and Hope’s lives. Lena had Ezra, Law and Remy. Hope had Remy and Law, though Law was more protective in a friendship kind of way than really smitten with her. I definitely liked how Ezra and Law were circling around each other, scoping each other out while vying for the same woman but again Ms. Walker did an awesome job of keeping it all focused on the main romance.

The first page immediately grabbed me and I wasn't let go until the very last page. The suspense is gritty as heck. Mind-blowing good! The last few romantic suspense novels I read didn't have the villain POV and reading IF YOU HEAR HER, which does, made me realize once more how much I like that. For me it adds another layer to the suspense, which I like a lot.

While reading and enjoying this book I was analyzing the different POVs and that of the villain to see if I could deduce who the villain could be...adding suspects to my list, crossing suspects off when the villain's POV would give me little pieces of information that didn't fit certain suspects. Now THAT'S a perfect romantic suspense!

Shiloh Walker's writing never fails to amaze and captivate me. Her suspense is awesome. Her characters, both primary and secondary, are fleshed out with back-stories and great characterization, giving them depth and likeability (and making them horrifying in the case of the villain). The romance is in perfect balance with the suspense.

I was at about 65% into this book when a friend asked me what I thought about it as both she and I were anxious for this book to come out and both ecstatic when I got an ARC. When in answer all I could do was make unintelligible sounds and weird sighing and grunting noises I knew this was a book headed to another 5-star/perfect 10 read. Individually the suspense and the romance were awesome! Put together and combined with the characterization, back-stories, intertwined character connections and Shiloh Walker's brilliant emotionally gripping writing style they turned IF YOU HEAR HER into the nearly perfect read for me.

That is until I got to the end, because when I got there I wanted to kill and hug Shiloh Walker at the same time. The ending could have made this a perfect 10 read but because it did not give me what I wanted, I have no choice but to give this book an almost perfect read stamp. I am not telling what it is that I wanted because that would spoil this book. All I can say is that Shiloh Walker is a brilliant and evil genius when it comes to romantic suspense and the start of this trilogy!

Favorite Quotes:
His mouth came down on hers, easy and light, keeping it slow at first. She opened for him and shuddered as he traced his tongue along her lower lip. He tasted like coffee and chocolate cheesecake and man. Delicious.

Looking at her mouth had him all but drooling for another taste, just like looking at her body had him wanting to touch. No. Forget want. Need. He needed to touch.

Don’t you “Hello, Lena” me, she almost snapped. She managed to bite it back simply because she didn’t want him to know she’d been looking forward to him calling her . . . like he’d said he would. Bastard.
“You okay, Lena?”
“Oh, I’m just peachy,” she drawled, resisting the urge to cross her arms over her chest. Just the sound of that low, sexy drawl had her body doing bad, bad things—her nipples beaded up, her belly went hot and loose, and her heart was racing.
Sexy, so damned sexy, the sort of voice a woman wants to hear murmuring in her ear during just the right moment— hell, with that kind of voice, any moment would be right.

“He talk to himself a lot?” Ezra asked, trying to distract himself. It was either that . . . or lean in and press his face against the curve of her neck. She smelled good, something light, almost citrusy, but not quite. Female, and sexy. Completely delicious.
Friends, he reminded himself. They were just going to be friends. F#ck . . . that smell was killing him. He desperately wanted to find the source of it and just start licking it right off her skin.

[...]and his hands . . .whoa. He could do things with his hands that just might
be illegal in some countries. Then there was his mouth— his mouth could almost put his hands to shame and if she wasn’t careful, she just
might start whimpering in need if she thought about it too much.

“I started to fall for you that night, Lena. I guess it’s why I backed away . . . maybe I didn’t think I could handle it.”
“And what makes you think you can handle it now?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure I can’t. But then again if I wait until I can handle things, then I never would do anything,” he murmured, rubbing his lips against hers.
“Things happen when they happen, not when you’re ready for them.”
She sighed against his mouth, a smile curling her lips. “That sounds kind of . . . well, romantic, Ezra. Never would have thought it of you.”
“Hmmm.” Lifting his head, he smiled at her. “Oh, I can get plenty romantic.”

This pen-ultimate post starts the wrap-up of my Bandicoot Cove Experience (a feature on the Blog beween August 19th and and September 21st with Previews, ARC-reviews and Guestposts from the authors Vivian Arend, Lexxie Couper and Jess Dee). I am sad to see this experience coming to an end (for now). I had a blast reading the books and hosting the authors with their posts. Three awesome authors, each in their own way, with their own writing styles and personalities. I feel honored to have been given this opportunity!

Today marks the day of the last ARC-Review and boy did this book blow me away. Completely and unexpectedly Jess Dee gave me one of my all-time favorite ménage-reads so far and one of my favorite reads this year!

Coming up next:

• Jess Dee’s Guestpost – Wednesday September 21st

Adolescent fantasies can grow into very adult realities.

Sienna James has come to Bandicoot Cove to mourn the end of her eight-year relationship with Ben Cowley. The last person she expects to meet is the star of every one of her high school fantasies.

Joshua Lye is not only as appealing as he was in high school, he reveals she was the main feature in his adolescent wet dreams. As kids they never got it together. But they’re adults now, and there’s nothing keeping them apart.

When Ben arrives at the resort determined to win Sienna back, finding another man in her bed kind of throws a spanner in the works. But he isn’t deterred. Rather than admit defeat, he comes up with an alternative plan: Let Sienna sleep with both men—at the same time. Then she can make an informed decision as to which man she wants.

Sienna shouldn’t want to go through with this shockingly sexy plan, but she does. Desperately. Except after the sexual storm passes, she could have it all…or be left holding an empty heart.

Warning: Contains a suggestion beyond risqué, a solution beyond orgasmic, and two men who know how to play dirty. Really, really dirty.

Title: ISLAND IDYLL
Author: Jess Dee
Series: Bandicoot Cove, book 4
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Year of release: 2011, September 20
Format: eBook
Source: received an e-ARC from the author for review

First line:
Sienna James drew her arm back, took aim and flung a flattish oyster-colored shell forward with as much gusto as she could manage.

Memorable Scenes:
- Josh and Sienna meeting for the first time after 12 years > sparks flew in that short delicious scene
- Ben's entrance scene > Wow! That was some first impression
- the scene that followed Ben's entrance > heart-wrenching


A relationship of eight years gone wrong, a high school crush and adolescent fantasies left unfulfilled and a romantic luxurious resort with one man happy to finally discover if the real thing is as good as the fantasy and another man desperate enough to save his relationship by suggesting something risky. The woman looking for a hot holiday fling is in for some good and dirty times. The main characters in this smokin’ hot 4th installment of the Bandicoot Cove series are Sienna James, Joshua Lye and Ben Cowley.

Sienna is friends with Kylie, the resort’s manager and has accepted the invitation to the soft opening without hesitation. Sienna is a determined, bold and sexually inhibited woman who is just coming out of a long-term relationship and ready to dive into the dating-pool again.

Her first encounter with a man after leaving her ex is Joshua, who happens to be the resort’s IT-guy. But Joshua is no stranger. They went to high school together and they had mutual crushes on which they never acted. Joshua has a great sense of humor, he’s direct, a fighter and he’s gentle and considerate but absolutely no pushover.

But if Sienna thought Ben was going stand back and accept her leaving him without a fight, she has another think coming because Ben decided to follow her to the resort and is willing to go to extremes to get her back. Even allowing another man in their bedroom. Ben is mercurial to say the least. He’s a bit forceful yet not domineering. He is commanding, raw and a strategist.

At some point I was hoping Sienna would make Ben grovel more than the little effort he was making before she considered taking him back. It was as if she'd forgotten he was more committed to his career than to their relationship of 8 years. And the minute I was thinking that about Sienna she did me proud and reminded Ben exactly why she'd left him in the first place. Love it when an author does that!

The sexual chemistry between Sienna and the two men was off the charts. And the dynamics between the two men "fighting" over Sienna's affection, challenging each other, egging each other on, was the icing on the cake. It was intense and super-hot. And a very different kind of ménage compared to the themes in the other books of the series. This is what made this book stand out in the series and made it the best one! I will elaborate later in this review why without spoiling, which is very hard

Jess Dee's writing is just mesmerizing. It flows so smoothly and paints vivid images in your mind. It oozes wit and heat with a very down-to-earth vibe to it. The sex scenes are carnal, explicit and dirty in the best sense of the word. They are exquisitely written and I may have found another author trying to kill me with overheating while reading her sex scenes. Thanks, Jess!

I spent a great part of the book wondering if Sienna was going to have to choose between Ben and Josh and if so, who would she choose? In the end an emotional twist that I was expecting and yet dreading made it seem Sienna didn't have to choose at all and I thought that was that. But no, Jess Dee threw a final but major twist at me (one I was secretly hoping for) and she totally gave me what I wanted, taking that uniqueness of her ménage story to an even higher level. Not to mention making me cry my eyes out at the same time.

On top of that Jess also gave me the ending I wanted though I wasn't expecting it because it was not the safe, PC (romance-wise) path to take. So I applaud her for taking it anyway and giving me this awesome reading experience.

ISLAND IDYLLE is a more than worthy addition to the Bandicoot Cove series. With its own unique approach to the ménage theme it was definitely my favorite of the 4 books so far. It’s a perfect combination of explicit, luscious eroticism, heartbreaking emotions and awesome writing skills. It was an awesome, almost perfect, story that just checked all the right boxes with me. It moved me to tears, it aroused me to combustion and it resonated deeply, even after having finished reading it!

I hope the wait for the next Bandicoot Cove book won't take very long as I'm already in withdrawal.

Favorite Quotes:
“Josh?” she asked tentatively.
He nodded. “In the flesh.”
And, oh, dear Lord, what flesh it was. If the teenage Josh had made her blush like a fool, the very adult version made every nerve ending stand to attention. At sixteen, he’d been cute. At thirty, he was full-blown sex on a stick.

He looked downright lickable. Sienna could only thank her lucky stars the waitress arrived with her daiquiri at that moment. Otherwise, she would, without a doubt, have licked him.
Not all over. Just a little sample of his neck. And maybe his lips. And, if she could just get that T-shirt out of the way, then maybe a nipple as well.

Holy f#ck! She’d parted her lips for him, inviting his tongue in, leaving the hot, sweet cavern of her mouth open to his exploration.
Her taste hit him with the force of a cannonball, smashing into his chest, winding him. Sweet and tangy, like strawberries and rum. And salty, like the sea air. Innocence, mischief and…sadness, all rolled into one.

Did he want her sympathy? Tough! He wasn’t about to find it here. “Whose fault is that?” She didn’t wait for his reply. “How the hell do you think I felt all those times you had to work? All those times I pleaded with you to spend a little time together, and you said no? You think the loneliness wasn’t unbearable? You think it didn’t break my heart?” Uh-uh. Too subtle. “You think you didn’t break my heart?” Her hand shook as she pointed at him, jabbing his chest with her finger. “ You broke us. You broke you and me. If you’re feeling a little lonely now, there’s only one person to blame.”
Ben’s groan was guttural. “You’re right. About everything. I fucked up. I broke us. And I was too damn blind to understand it at the time.” He rapped his chest. “It was my fault.”

“Walk away, princess,” he whispered. “If you can.”
She shook her head, but before words could form in her mouth, telling him she couldn’t and she didn’t want to, hands fastened around her shoulders and twirled her around, out of Josh’s grasp.
“She doesn’t have to walk,” Ben snapped at Josh. “I’ll take her.”
And take her he did, straight into another kiss, just as forceful and just as exquisite as Josh’s.

“Kiss him,” Josh said in her ear. “Enjoy his mouth. But when you come, know who gave you this orgasm, because this time it won’t be your fiancé.”
O-orgasm? This time? What the—?
Before the thought could solidify, Ben tore his mouth from Sienna’s. “Touch her—and die!”

Watching Sienna kiss Ben had been a huge, freaking turn-on.
It shouldn’t have been. It should have made his c#ck shrivel up and die. It should have made him want her less. It hadn’t.

“That’s assuming I want to have a threesome with you,” Josh said, just as dangerously as before.
Screw the gentleman act. “Mate, you had your dick buried against my fiancée’s naked #ss, while she kissed me . You and I both know that had Sienna given you the okay, you would have buried it inside her #ss without a second thought. So don’t feed me your crap about me and threesomes.”

“Tell us what you want. You’re in control, baby. Lead us.”
Josh nodded, murmuring in her ear. “I’ll follow wherever you take us.”
The only trouble with their request was that it meant Sienna had to talk, and since she was a raging mass of hormones, a multi-pleasured sack of bones, speech was not all that easy.

“You created the magic, [SPOILER]. Not him. It sparked the second I saw you by the pool and exploded into something undeniable when we made love yesterday afternoon. [SPOILER] got caught up in our magic. Yours and mine. That’s why the sex was so good. It wasn’t about him, it was about us.”

Her heart belonged to him completely. Him, and no one else. And his mouth told her his heart belonged to her—and no one else. Which was a damn good thing, because Sienna was just as selfish as [SPOILER]. She too refused to share.

Buy links: Samhain | Amazon |Barnes & Noble

Vivian Arend | Lexxie Couper | Jess Dee | Bandicoot Cove
Paradise Found | Tropical Sin | Island Idyll | Exotic Indulgence

I had planned to do this overview at the end of 2009 and in the first week of 2010 at the latest. Unfortunately due to serious lack of time and illness I wasn't able to meet that self-imposed deadline, so I decided to do the overview later and leave it to post during my vacation.

The first book of 2009 was ONE LAST BREATH by Laura Griffin and the last book of 2009 was ALL JACKED UP by Lorelei James.

Best reading month: September, with 13 read books (in 2008 it was July with 12)
Worst reading month: November with 5 read books (in 2008 it was February with 6)
Author with most read books: Lorelei James
New to me author discoveries: Evie Byrne, Victoria Dahl, Susan Donovan,Lorelei James, Joely Sue Burkhart, Maya Banks, Lauren Dane, Moira Rogers, Ava Gray, Vivian Arend, Shannon K. Butcher, Suzanne Brockmann, Andrea Kane, Stephanie Tyler, Dawn Halliday.

Top 10 favorite reads (in random order):
 1. Bound by Blood by Evie Byrne
 2. The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann
 3. Skin Game by Ava Gray
 4. Branded as Trouble by Lorelei James
 5. Hard to Hold by  Stephanie Tyler
 6. The Darkest Whisper by Gena Showalter
 7. Sweet Persuasion by Maya Banks
 8. Seduce the Darkness by Gena Showalter
 9. Whisper No Lies by Cindy Gerard
10. Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

Heroes added to favorite list:
Jack Donohue (Rough Riders, Lorelei James)
Billy Chase (Tumble Creek, Victoria Dahl)
Damon Roche (Sweet, Maya Banks)
Cabal St. Laurents (Breeds, Lora Leigh)
Colt McKay (Rough Riders, Lorelei James)
Jake McGregor (Magic, Cheyenne McCray)
Stacey Quinn (Knock Me Off My Feet, Susan Donovan)
Johnny Duane Reed (Black Ops Inc., Cindy Gerard)
Gregor Faustin (Faustin Brothers, Evie Byrne)
Ben Lawson (Tumble Creek, Victoria Dahl)
Rehvenge (Black Dagger Brotherhood, J.R. Ward)
Nikolai (Midnight Breed, Lara Adrian)

Heroines added to favorite list:
Molly Jennings (Tumble Creek, Victoria Dahl)
Crystal Debrowski (Black Ops Inc, Cindy Gerard)
Gwen (Lords of the Underworld, Gena Showalter)

Books of 2009 in numbers
Please note that in the lists below any info in maroon is in relation to the numbers of 2008

Total books read: 103 (including 6 novellas). -This is about the same as in 2008 when I read 99 books-
Total books reviewed: 92 -No 2008 info for this-
ARCs: 17 (8 for ROOB, 9 for Blog) -Almost double of 2008 when I reviewed 9 ARCs-
Requested Reviews: 7 (5 for ROOB, 2 for Blog) -more than triple the requests in 2008-
Rated perfect reads (10 out of 10/5 stars): only 2 --- Evie Byrne's BOUND BY BLOOD and Suzanne Brockmann's The UNSUNG HERO, this low number is pretty remarkable with all the amazing authors I discovered in 2009... -apparently 2008 had more perfect reads: 7-

Breakdown by format:
Ebooks: 35 -I read only 7 ebooks in 2008, so this is quite an explosive growth and I expect this development to continue in 2010-
Mass Market Paperbacks: 50 -No 2008 info for this-
Tradesize Paperbacks: 10 -No 2008 info for this-
Hardcovers: 8 -No 2008 info for this-

Breakdown by genre:
Erotica/Erotic Romance: 26 (22)
Paranormal: 23 (25)
Contemporary: 18 (9)
Historical: 17 (23)
Romantic Suspense: 15 (16)
(Urban) Fantasy: 4 (4)

Breakdown by month:
January: 12 (6)
February: 6 (6)
March: 8 (10)
April: 10 (7)
May: 9 (9)
June: 7 (10)
July: 6 (12)
August: 7 (11)
September: 13 (8)
October: 8 (8)
November: 5 (6)
December: 12 (8)

HEROES(in random order)

• Damon Roche (Sweet, Maya Banks)
• Cabal St. Laurents (Breeds, Lora Leigh)
• Colt McKay (Rough Riders, Lorelei James)
• Jake McGregor (Magic, Cheyenne McCray)
• Stacey Quinn (Susan Donovan)
• Johnny Duane Reed (Black Ops Inc., Cindy Gerard)
• Gregor Faustin (Faustin Brothers, Evie Byrne)
• Ben Lawson (Tumble Creek, Victoria Dahl)
• Rehvenge (Black Dagger Brotherhood, J.R. Ward)
• Nikolai (Midnight Breed, Lara Adrian)
• Jake Lowell (Dark Crescent Sisterhood, Anna Windsor)
• Sean McCloud (McCloud Brothers, Shannon McKenna)
• Lucien Knight (Knight Miscellany, Gaelen Foley)
• Kane Tyler (Breeds, Lora Leigh)
• Raine (Lords of Satyr, Elizabeth Amber)
• Lachlan MacLean (McLeods of Skye, Monica McCarty)
• Evanor (Sons of Destiny, Jean Johnson)
• Ethan MacCarrick (MacCarrick Brothers, Kresley Cole)
• Jack Cole (Wicked Ties, Shayla Black)
• Ven (Warriors of Poseidon, Alyssa Day)
• Butch O'Neal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, J.R. Ward)
• Vane Cynster (Bar Cynster, Stephanie Laurens)
• Vane Kattalakis (Darkhunters/Werehunters, Sherrilyn Kenyon)
• Jack Devlin (Suddenly You, Lisa Kleypas)

FUTURE HEROES (Their books have not been released/written yet)

• Addison Foster (unnamed "Skin" series, Ava Gray)
• Wade O'Riley (Pacific Heat, Jill Shalvis)
• Brennan (Warriors of Poseidon, Alyssa Day)
• Aeron (Lords of the Underworld, Gena Showalter)
• Sterling Chase (Midnight Breed, Lara Adrian)

HEROINES(in random order)

• Molly Jennings (Tumble Creek, Victoria Dahl)
• Crystal Debrowski (Black Ops Inc, Cindy Gerard)
• Gwen (Lords of the Underworld, Gena Showalter)
• Riley Dawson (Warriors of Poseidon, Alyssa Day)