Archive for the ‘Contemp Romance’ Category

Title: The Missing
Author: Shiloh Walker
Release: Out in Trade Paperback now, Mass Market July 6th, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Borders | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Suspense
Rating: 4 Stars

The Missing is only my second Shiloh Walker read and it served as a good reminder that I really need to pick up more of her books. In spite of my “paranormal/romance burnout” I flew through this book yesterday and could not put it down. I was cursing Shiloh Walker and updating my goodreads status at 4 am, wondering where the night had gone.

Taige, pronounced like Paige with a t (I asked!), has a unique gift. Ever since she was a little girl Taige has had visions or dreams that help her find missing kids. As a young girl she does her best to ignore her gift and the inconvenience it causes. Yet, events in her life push her toward using it to help kids any way she can, no matter the cost her own life.

Taige and Cullen were a sweet, but electric, couple. At first I wasn’t sure where things were going and I was a bit apprehensive about meeting them as teenagers. Over the first 50 pages all reservations I had disappeared and I was smitten. Shiloh Walker wrote them in such a sweet, yet realistic courtship it was impossible not to fall in love with the pair. She then went on to take my heart, rip it out of my chest and stomp on it. Shiloh Walker is evil, in the way all good tragedy writers are. She made me cry. There I admitted it. Taige and Cullen were so perfect for each other, yet their relationship takes such a heartbreaking turn. I hated it and I loved it. I couldn’t put it down once I got to that point. I would have liked to see Taige drag Cullen around by his “you know what” a bit to make him suffer, but that could just be the evil bitch in me talking.

The suspense of The Missing was haunting and readers are given enough clues to figure out bits and pieces here and there, yet I didn’t have an clear hunch about the bad guy until three quarters of the way through. I think portions of the missing children plot could have been prolonged and I would have enjoyed seeing Taige and Cullen’s relationship change during that hardship, but overall the story worked well as it was.

The only annoyance I had were the dreams Taige and Cullen shared. I knew where that subplot was going and I just couldn’t get on that train. It felt too easy and neither of them seemed like the kind to not face their feelings and be honest with each other. In the end I think the couple really needed a knock down, drag out, all things on the table, tupperware thrown at your head type of discussion and I felt shorted that because of the dreams. It didn’t annoy me enough to not love the book, but I would be a slacker blogger if I didn’t mention it.

The Missing is a haunting and emotional story you will not want to put down once you start it. Clear off your schedule for the day, bake some brownies, grab a box of tissues and curl up with some Shiloh Walker. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Other Trusted Reviews:
WickedLilPixie – 4.5
Bibliophilic Book Blog – 3
Stacy’s Place – 4.5

FTC Disclaimer: Book was given to me for review by author

Title: Make Your Move
Author: Samantha Hunter
Release: May 1st, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4 Stars

I am a relative newbie to “vanilla” contemporary romance novels, and by that I mean romance novels that don’t involve special ops, seals, or very dominating men. I started Make Your Move a little uneasy because I wasn’t sure I could fully enjoy it… it has no guns or secret missions, no super evil kidnapping plots, and no growly men. Yet I had enjoyed Samantha Hunter’s Kindle Short, Barely There, so I was pretty sure I would enjoy the writing. Luckily I was right, and Samantha Hunter didn’t need any of those things to get my attention, I was caught up in this sweet and enjoyable story from the first chapter.

Jodie is a naughty vixen. Yes I said vixen. She is a girl who is not afraid to get what she wants, and for her that is short and sexy flings with a new man each week. She doesn’t want a committed relationship and she isn’t ashamed of it or afraid to admit that. I loved how confident she was and Samantha Hunter did a fabulous job of portraying her as an empowered sexy woman when it would have been easy to cross into promiscuous slut. It’s so unusual for women in romance to be given the OK and ability to enjoy one night stands and I really enjoyed the twist.

Now let’s talk about Dan. Oh Dan, sigh. Dan is not a growling heavy handed alpha man, yet I loved him just the same. He is so sexy in his uber geeky ways. Dan is sweet, and caring, yet unexpectedly smoldering when he gets to the bedroom. How can you not love a guy who can gauge a relationship and how it will fare based on a combination of statistics?

“Additionally, you can’t argue that our sexual compatibility is off the charts. Do you know the odds against the number of orgasm that you had–”

Jodie put up a hand. “No, I don’t, and I don’t think I want to. Listen, Dan, people can’t become lovers based on statistics.”

“Why not?”

She looked at him long and hard, as if trying to figure out whether he was serious.

The relationship develops between Jodie and Dan in such a sweet and realistic way it was hard not to love. The characters are likeable and easy to relate to. If you are looking for a fun, sweet, and sexy read I would highly recommend Make Your Move. It was just the thing I needed to break me out of my tortured urban fantasy bender I was on.

FTC Disclaimer: Book was given to me by the author for review

Title: Lead Me On (Tumble Creek, book 3 )
Author: Victoria Dahl
Release: January 5th, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Rating: 5 Stars

I have only just recently realized my love for contemporary romances, and usually its the strong overpowering alpha males that get my toes tingling. When I heard there was a skull tattoo in Lead Me On I knew that I had to read it. I mean how can a man with a skull tattoo not be a growling alpha male that would make my heart go pitter patter? I am happy to say that Victoria Dahl has shown me I don’t need a contemporary romance with an overbearing male to keep me interested.

Jane Morgan is reserved, immaculate, and the picture of professionalism. At the age of 29 she has left behind the troubled girl of her youth. She changed her name and her appearance, moved to a new town, and dates only men who would make good husband material. She often feels like a fraud but continues doing everything she can to convince herself she isn’t the girl she used to be.

William Chase likes to blow things up. He likes his worn jeans and boots, and he really really likes to blow things up. He is big, tattooed, manly…. when he walks into her office looking like a man out of her past Jane tries to convince herself she can’t have Chase. What would people think? Yet, she gives in to her desires and decides a one night stand would be the perfect treat for her birthday. Little does she realize that Chase is more than just sex on a stick.

Oh how I adore Chase. The thought of him with his tattoos wrapping around his arms and up along his buzzed skull gives me the tingles. I full expected him to be the growling tough guy who took charge, but instead I got a growling and sexy man who knew how to be compassionate, loving, and patient. I was so used to the tough alpha male who tries to deny his feelings and pushes the heroine away for her own good that Chase took me by surprise. Even when I thought he should walk away from Jane and her stubbornness, he hung in there and was honest with her about his feelings. As if Chase alone wasn’t enough to make me drool on my Kindle, the passion between Jane and Chase was scorching.

Her eyes flew to his tattooed skull. Jane licked her lips.
“You’r going to miss your chance, darlin’.”
He knew. He knew she wanted to nibble her way all the way up, wanted to lick him, wanted to look down and see that tattooed head between her thighs…God, he was so arrogant.

Um yes, please. I don’t want to give too much away, but a certain parking lot/truck scene will forever be annotated on my reader.

I will admit that Jane annoyed me a little. She comes across as shallow and uptight at first. She is far too worried about what other people think and I found myself frowning at her behavior on more than one occasion. She pushed and used Chase and I was worried he wasn’t going to push back. In the end tho, Jane grew on me. I get where she is coming from and some things are hard to get passed. She is flawed and there wouldn’t be a story to tell if she wasn’t.

I was originally going to rate this a 4 or 4.5 star book because of my annoyance at Jane’s issues. But the truth is that Lead Me On kept me awake until 3 am last night because I just did not want to put it down. The writing is smooth and flows easily. The story telling and character interactions were amusing and entertaining. Many times I simply typed “lol” next to a line because it got a smile out of me. Lead Me On gives you witty dialogue, sexy men, and a passionate romance that will keep you up all hours of the night – if that isn’t a 5 star romance than I don’t know what is!

Other Reviews:

Smexybooks – 4.5
FictionVixen – 4.5
Bibliophilic Book Blog – 5
Alpha Reader – 2

FTC Disclaimer: This book was acquired through NetGalley

Title: Broken
Author: Shiloh Walker
Release: March 2nd, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Rating: 4.5 Stars

I have heard about the greatness of Shiloh Walker all over twitterverse for a while now…. but my time has been limited and being that urban fantasy is really my favorite genre, I had put her books low on my list. When the opportunity to join the ARC tour sponsored by the Book Vixen, I jumped at the chance! Thus my Shiloh Walker virginity is gone and I was oh so wrong to wait so long!

Sara is on the run, tho we don’t find out why til the very end. I found myself assuming she was on the run because her husband was abusive, the snippet flashbacks point to that. Yet, everything we see of her personality led me to think there was something else going on. She is a fighter, she didn’t seem like the running type. These contradictions had me invested in her character from the start. I love a good strong female lead who can be strong yet maintain her compassion and femininity and Shiloh Walker gives us that in Sara.

Quinn. I could say so much about this man, but the easiest thing to say? Wow. Somehow Walker crawled inside my head and created a man I couldn’t help but drool over. He is broken, tormented, wounded. He is protective and strong, but still respectful of Sara as a person. He is so emotional within his own head, but expressing it was next to impossible. Somehow Walker makes this fault both endearing and lovable.

I loved the plot of Broken, great twists that I didn’t see coming! I did wish for a bit more action throughout the story, but I am not sure it would have fit in and that doesn’t keep me from loving this book. The development of the relationship between Quinn and Sara was certainly strong enough to carry the story. It was passionate and desperate in all the ways we book sluts love. One of my favorite dialogue scenes from the start of their relationship:

Sara cocked a brow at him. “Didn’t you tell me a few days ago I’d be better off keeping my distance from you?”
“Yeah, I told you that.”
“Hard to do if you come looking for me.”
Quinn shrugged. “I don’t see you walking away.”
“I was here first,” she said pointedly.

But what really gets me about this book is the smokin hot sex appeal of Quinn and his mouth. He talks at all the right times, and I love it. For a man who claims to not know how to flirt, he sure picks it up quickly.

Raking his teeth over the soft skin of her wrist, he said gruffly, “You really shouldn’t look at me like that in a public place, Sara.”
“Look at you how?” she asked, her voice almost as hoarse as his own. She blinked at him, looking a little dazed.

This book is not in a series, per say, but it is related to the previous book Fragile which features Quinn’s brother Luke. I will be picking Fragile up without question. Broken is an excellent read for any romance reader and Shiloh Walker is definitely going on my “must buy” list of authors!

Other Reviews:

The Book Vixen – 4
Peace, Love & Pat – 4

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the author as part of an ARC TOUR