The Hunk Next Door

The Hunk Next Door by Debra Webb and Regan Black

Publisher: Harlequin

November 2014

ISBN: 978-0-373-69795-3

Pages: 218

Contemporary, Romantic Suspense

Belclare, Maryland

While the town is celebrating the season of hope it seems someone isn’t enjoying the season and is out for blood.  Abigail Jensen is the police chief and she is determined to keep her town safe from harm.  She is also trying to avoid falling too hard for the new guy next door, Riley.  Abigail has to decide who she can trust because trusting the wrong person, especially someone with deep secrets, can be deadly.

Riley O’Brien is an agent with the CIA’s covert Specialist task force and he is on a mission.  He needs to protect a small-town cop from a terrorist.  No matter what.  He has traded his identity for an undercover guise.  Riley is a handyman which is all part of the plan.  What isn’t part of the plan is getting too close to Abigail on both a personal and passionate level. 

This is a great romantic suspense story that starts out fast and doesn’t stop until the very end.  The characters are complex and interesting and make for a story that is hard to put down.  As the clues and story unfold it makes for a story that pulls readers in and they try to figure out just what everyone’s angle is and who can be trusted.  The reader never knows what will happen next and how everything will turn out.  This is the start of a spin off series that will have readers that haven’t read the original series wanting to read that and also want to read the other books in this series.  This is a different romantic suspense series that makes for a read that is hard to forget even when the reader is done with the book.

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH

A Beautiful Dark

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Publisher: Harper Teen

August 2012

ISBN: 978-0-06-199066-3

Pages: 390

Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

Colorado

The night that Skye turns seventeen she meets two very different and enigmatic strangers.  Their appearance in her life also manages to send it into a tail spin.  Asher is dark and wild and Devin is his complete opposite being fair and aloof.  The only thing Skye knows about them is that their presence seems to coincide with several strange events that are happening.  She doesn’t know what they want from her or why they seem to follow her everywhere.

Skye ends up discovering a secret in the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter night.  A secret that threatens to shatter the world she has always known.  She is falling for Asher and yet can’t seem to stay away from Devin which is tearing her apart.  What she soon finds out is that her choice will end up reaching farther than the three of them could begin to imagine. 

This is the start of a series that starts out fast and pulls the reader into the story without letting go even after the last page is reached.  The characters are well written and intriguing.  The story slowly unfolds in such a way that it makes it very hard to put the book down until the reader finds out what is exactly going on.  While it ends on a cliffhanger it proves to work with the story line and will have readers eagerly wanting to read the next book in the series.  The story also takes some great twists and turns to keep the reader on the edge of their seats.  This is one book worth checking out.  It is also a book that while it seems to be lengthy once the readers starts they will find that they quickly reach the end long before they are ready too. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH

An Heiress for All Seasons

An Heiress for All Seasons by Sophie Jordan

Publisher: Avon Impulse

November 2014

ISBN: 978-0-06-236364-0

Pages: 144

Historical, Holiday, Romance

England

Violet Howard is feisty and independent and she is also an American heiress who is determined to never wed a crusty British Aristocrat.  Will is the Earl of Merlton who is determined to save his family and salvages the family fortune without having to have a marriage of convenience. 

Suddenly a snow storm leaves Violet and Will alone and stranded.  It also brings out the chemistry they feel for each other and that will challenge all their good intentions. When their desires end up burning too hot they end up tossing their reservations aside in favor of the heat they find in each other’s arms. 

Now a holiday blizzard has brought them together and it also threatens their reputations.  It also just might cost them their hearts in the process.  Now they have to decide if their passion will survive past the storm.  They also have to decide if the love they have found together is enough to last them through all seasons.

This is a great novella that is sure to put readers into the spirit of the holidays.  It is at a length that is sure to give readers a much needed break during their holiday preparations.  For such a short story it packs a lot of heart and warmth in just a few pages.  This is one book that will prove to be a favorite to read especially at the holiday seasons.  The characters are well written and carry the story very well. This is part of a series but can be read as a standalone though it will have readers wanting to read the first book in the series. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH

Storm

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Publisher: Kensington Teen

May 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7582-7281-2

Pages: 353

Contemporary, Paranormal, Young Adult

Annapolis, Maryland

Becca Chandler is finding herself getting all the guys especially the ones she doesn’t want.  It started when her ex-boyfriend spread lies about her.

Then Becca finds Chris Merrick getting a beating and manages to save him.  Chris is different.  More different than she could possibly imagine.  He can control water just like his brothers that can control wind, fire, and earth.  The brothers are powerful and dangerous.  They are also marked for death. 

Now that Becca knows the truth she is also marked for death.

When your life is at stake keeping secrets becomes a lot more difficult.  Then a mysterious new kid turns up around the school and seems to have a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time.  Becca thinks she can trust Hunter because of that.  When Hunter and Chris go head-to-head Becca has to wonder who is hiding the most dangerous truth. 

This is a fast place story that keeps up until the very end.  It gives a twist to the paranormal genre that proves to be all its own.  The reader will find themselves sucked into a story that is different from other paranormal stories and proves to be very engrossing.  The characters are fascinating and watching how they are dealing with their lives and the tragedies that have happening in each of their lives proves to be a story that the reader gets lost in as they read to see just what will happen to each and every character.  This is the first book in a series that if the others are like this one will be one series that will have readers wanting to re-read it over and over. 

I give this one 5 red roses

LRH

Christmas at Twilight

Christmas at Twilight by Lori Wilde

Publisher: Avon

October 2014

ISBN: 978-0-06-231024-8

Pages: 384

Contemporary, Romance

Twilight, Texas

Christmas in Twilight means the Cookie Club is baking and the town is decorated. 

“Hutch” Hutchinson is a Delta Force Operator that has come home albeit very reluctantly. Finally returning home only to get pepper sprayed by a stranger who’s taken over his house, a stranger who is very delicious looking.  Jane immediately sets down some ground rules the top one being no touching.  Hutch might have been wounded in action but at least one part is working very well and that makes for a situation that is not easy to handle.

Then Hutch learns the truth about Jane.  She is harboring some frightening secrets.  Namely that she is really Meredith Sommers and is on the run from a dangerous ex-husband.  She also desperately needs the safety that Hutch can provide. That is the moment that he vows he will do everything in his power to keep her safe.  With Christmas approaching they are learning that the love they share has the power to overcome any obstacle in their path and it can also conquer their pasts. It also just leaves one question and that what is the price they will be forced to pay for that love.

This is another great book set in the town of Twilight.  It gives readers another glimpse is a town that has some great characters and proves that while small towns everyone can know everybody else’s business when it really counts they are very warm and welcoming and will always help their own.  It will also leave readers wishing they could visit Twilight during the Christmas season to enjoy all the fun that is possible.  It also gives readers another chance to check up with some other characters and see what is happening with them.  This proves to be a heartwarming story that is sure to put readers in the mood for the holidays.  It will also be one book that readers will enjoy re-reading over and over and not just for the holidays. 

I give this one 5 red roses

LRH

Charming the Beast

Charming the Beast (Purgatory Book 3) by Cynthia Eden

Publisher: Cynthia Eden

October 2014

Pages: 206

Contemporary, Paranormal Romance

Washington

Connor Marrok works for the Seattle Para Unit.  Though he never intended to do so.  He’s a real monster and his beast doesn’t play nice so he isn’t one of the good guys.  Now he finds himself being blackmailed into doing one new assignment.  It is supposed to be his last one.  His latest mission is to protect beautiful Chloe Quick.  He needs to keep her alive and destroy her enemies.  Connor figured it would be easy to do until he started falling for her.

Chloe is tired of being a prisoner. She wants to run fast into the night and get away from the Para Unit.  Chloe knows trouble when she sees it. Connor is a very big dangerous package of trouble even if he is the sexiest guy she has ever met.  When an obsessed werewolf starts stalking her, Chloe soon realizes that Connor is the one man she needs the most. 

The more time Chloe and Connor spends together increases the attraction they have for each other.  Chloe has never felt desire so dark or so strong before.  The beast inside Chloe has always been silent though it seems Connor is suddenly stirring her animal instincts.  Soon Chloe is wondering how far she is willing to go to spend one more night in Connor’s arms even as the danger and desire twist together.

This is another book in a series that is proving to be very addictive.  The characters are complex and intriguing and make for a story that is very hard to put down.  While each book can be read as a stand alone there is enough common thread through each one to tie them together that the reader gets a better understanding about the books and characters if they read the whole series in order.  This story also leaves the reader wanting more from this world and series.  It also shows why this author is on many readers’ auto buy lists.  This is another amazing book from an author that delivers to her fans over and over again.

I give this one 5 red roses

LRH

Discern, Katon University

Discern, Katon University Book One by Andrea Pearson

Publisher: Andrea Pearson

August 2014

ISBN: 1500913499

Pages: 294

Contemporary, New Adult, Paranormal

Seattle, Washington & Moab, Utah

Nicole Williams is a fourth child with magical abilities also known as an Arete.  No matter how hard she tries she just can’t Channel her power.  It seems she is the only student at Katon University that is unable to do so and to fail at magic.

While she might not be able to control or Channel her power it doesn’t stop power from finding her.  She is dealing with possessed books and cursed spiders.  And that is only the beginning as things move quickly to magical currents and freaky shadows.  Soon Nicole turns to both her best friend and a fellow student that is considered a magical rarity, Austin Young, for help.  Austin also happens to be the hottest guy on campus.  He also just might be interested in her.

Now Nicole is competing to be included on a university-led expedition to Arches National Park.  Nicole is determined to show that she does belong even if it is mostly to herself.  Though to qualify for the trip she needs to produce at least some Wind magic and so far that seems impossible.

Nicole begins to wonder if she made the right choice as the competition progresses.   Especially when she learns that the fossils they are studying might not be as dead as everyone thinks they are.

This is a very different story about magic and starts the series off very well.  The reader learns more about this world at the same time that Nicole does and it makes for an engaging read.  The characters are well written and with some mystery woven into the story it makes for a story that is hard to put down.  It will also have readers wanting to know what will happen in the rest of the series.  The book ties up some loose ends while still leaving enough to lead into the next book but it is not really a cliffhanger and makes for a satisfying read. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH