Lusting For Covers (53)

Lusting for Covers is a meme found on TBQ so come and join in on this fun meme!!! 1- Take the graphic (left) to use on your post. Remember to give credit to the original host (TBQ). 2- Choose your own book cover that you've fallen in "lust" with in the past week. It can be new, old, a reprint, or even a book that is not yet out-- it's all up to you! If you find a cover that catches your eye, then showcase it on your blog, and let others see the pretty covers out there. 3- Copy the direct link to your own L4C post into the comment section on my post (when in doubt, use this link and then scroll down to find the post), and allow others to come and see what you picked! (OPTIONAL): 4- Besides posting the picture of the book cover you chose, it's nice to provide the book summary, title, author, or a website link for the book. It's not required, but it can help you readers' to add more books to their own list! A brief "Why I choose this cover" is also appreciated, but not required

SIREN'S SONG
Jim LaTour wasn't the marrying kind. With a wild past behind him, he planned to spend the rest of his days in peace, enjoying the favors of the local fancy ladies and running his bar. He didn't realize what he was missing until an irresistible songbird threatened his cherished independence and opened his heart.

Pursued by the man who had murdered her husband, Sage Larkin faced an uncertain future on the rugged frontier. But when she landed a job singing at the Trail's End saloon, she hoped to start anew. And though love was the last thing Sage wanted, she couldn't resist the sweet seductive melody of Jim's passionate advances.

Library Loot (33)

Eva with A Striped Armchair, and Marge with The Adventures of a Intrepid Reader, which you should check out both of them, they are great!!! This meme is created to encourage bloggers to share books that they get from the Library, and since I am a avid lover of Libraries this is going to be one meme I am going to love doing every week.

Waiting On Wednesday (53)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine,that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.This week I’m waiting on, Coming Out July 31 2012

Maya Banks, the New York Times bestselling author of erotic romance, romantic suspense, and contemporary romance, has captivated readers with her steamy Scottish historical novels, perfect for fans of Julie Garwood. In Highlander Most Wanted, a reclusive woman content to live in the shadows shows a Highland warrior the true meaning of love.  
Genevieve McInnes is locked behind the fortified walls of McHugh Keep, captive of a cruel laird who takes great pleasure in ruining her for any other man. Yet when Bowen Montgomery storms the gates on a mission of clan warfare, Genevieve finds that her spirit is bent but not broken. Still, her path toward freedom remains uncertain. Unable to bear the shame of returning to a family that believes her dead or to abandon others at the keep to an imposing new laird, Genevieve opts for the peaceful life of an abbess. But Bowen’s rugged sensuality stirs something deep inside her that longs to be awakened by his patient, gentle caress—something warm, wicked, and tempting.

Bowen seizes his enemy’s keep, unprepared for the brooding and reclusive woman who captures his heart. He’s enchanted by her fierce determination, her unusual beauty, and her quiet, unfailing strength. But wooing her will take more than a seasoned seducer’s skill. For loving Genevieve, he discovers, means giving her back the freedom that was stolen from her—even if it means losing her forever.

Book Review- Mate Claimed

Mate Claimed
 Shifter Unbound (4)
Jennifer Ashley
 E Book
 Berkley Pub.
336 Pages
Published Oct 2012
Shifter/Paranormal Romance

Eric Warden knows that half-Shifter wildcat Iona is passing for human, living without a Collar in the human world. He also knows that if she does not acknowledge her Shifter nature and her mating hunger, it could kill her. Iona finds the mysterious and dangerous Eric, a wildcat and leader of his Shiftertown, haunting her dreams, but she vows never to "come out" and take the Collar, fearing backlash against her mother and sister for hiding the fact that she's Shifter. But Eric is a compelling Shifter male, and Iona's hunger calls to him.

My Review-
Summary
It starts out with half shifter Iona Duncan, being chased by the shiftertown leader Eric Warden, who has constantly been chasing her of late. Iona, is a shifter without a collar, and refuses to go through the collaring, she wants to be free. However Eric knows the danger that Iona is in, if she doesn't put on a collar, soon her shifter side will take over and her common sense will be gone, and all will remain will be her panther side. However even though Eric's argument is a good one, Iona knows that there is more than one reason for not taking  the collar. Iona was raised by a human mother, she never knew her father, and if it comes out that she is a shifter than her mother and sister would pay the price, and she refuses to put them at risk. Even though the chemistry between Eric and Iona is explosive, there is a danger lurking threatning to destroy everything that Eric has worked so hard for both himself and his people.

The Hero (Eric Warden)
Eric, is leader of Shiftertown, and with another shiftertown being shut down and combined with his, problems are escalating to say the least. But when he feels a chemistry build between himself and Iona he knows he is in deep trouble for sure. And admist all the issues he is having to deal with is a wild half shifter female running around and causing him to go near insane with wanting her. But even there is chaos amid his shiftertown he knows that Iona is his future.

The Heroine (Iona Duncan)
Iona, is half shifter, her mother human and her father was full shifter, but left her mother before he even knew she existed. Iona runs with her mother a profitable business, but lately Iona has felt the need to run in her panther form, and its been happening more frequently and she knows she is starting to slowly lose control, and she is aware that there is only one person that could truly help her, one who is insistent on putting on a collar which she refuses to do. But the instant he kisses her, all bets are off and she realizes that things are definitely about to change...

My Thoughts 
 Mate Claimed is the most recent book in this amazing series, that I have just fallen in love with. Jennifer Ashley is by far one of my favorite authors, I have loved each and every one of her books, and Mate Claimed is at the top of my list. We see Eric in previous books, and he always seemed very sexy and HOT to me and I was so glad when Mate Claimed came out, and the cover is just delicious. The plot starts out with a chase of sorts beween two people that obviously have some strong chemistry going on, but are at the refusal stage. As the story progresses, the plot escalates into suspenseful scenes and a plot that will surprise you when you least expect it, and I just loved the romance of the story, there were a few tender moments that were tearjerking, and other moments that could heat up the room and fog the windows. Overall, a well written, action packed filled romance with a love story that will charm any reader!!!  A Remarkable Read!!!

My Grade On This Book 
5 Blossoms

Other Books In The Series 
Pride Mates
Primal Bond
Bodyguard
Wild Cat
Hard Mated

Lusting For Covers (52)

Lusting for Covers is a meme found on TBQ so come and join in on this fun meme!!! 1- Take the graphic (left) to use on your post. Remember to give credit to the original host (TBQ). 2- Choose your own book cover that you've fallen in "lust" with in the past week. It can be new, old, a reprint, or even a book that is not yet out-- it's all up to you! If you find a cover that catches your eye, then showcase it on your blog, and let others see the pretty covers out there. 3- Copy the direct link to your own L4C post into the comment section on my post (when in doubt, use this link and then scroll down to find the post), and allow others to come and see what you picked! (OPTIONAL): 4- Besides posting the picture of the book cover you chose, it's nice to provide the book summary, title, author, or a website link for the book. It's not required, but it can help you readers' to add more books to their own list! A brief "Why I choose this cover" is also appreciated, but not required

Book 3 in the Regency Pirates series. This is a full-length novel (80,000 words, twenty-six chapters).

Honoria Ardmore has a secret. Four years ago, the notorious pirate Christopher Raine, arrested and condemned for stealing a ship full of gold bound for Napoleon, makes one last request of Honoria. She grants it, and Christopher is taken out to be hanged. -- Or was he?

Honoria couldn’t have seen him alive again in the rather thick fog outside Covent Garden Theatre, could she? Christopher is long dead and gone, Honoria’s secret with him. Her life has moved on, and now she’s betrothed to a respectable English gentleman.

Christopher has other ideas. His sentence commuted at the last minute, Christopher was press-ganged onto a ship bound for Asia, and he's spent the last four years working to return home and get everything back—his crew, his treasure, and Honoria Ardmore—his wife.

Meet the crew of the Starcross, and revisit the crews of the Argonaut and the Majesty for more pirate fun and adventure!

Short Book Review-Hard Mated

Hard Mated
Shifter Unbound (3.5)
Jennifer Ashley
E Book
Published Aug 2012
160 Pages
Shape Shifting/Paranormal Romance 

A short novel of the Shifters Unbound series. Spike, a wildcat Shifter and the champion fighter of Shiftertown, is stunned when Myka, the best friend of a dying human woman, announces that Spike has fathered a cub. What's more, the mother is giving the boy to Spike to protect and raise.

Myka, who'd been raised by an abusive stepfather, is not sure that a wild fighter named Spike is the best man to bring up the cute little jaguar cub. She goes to Shiftertown to check out Spike, and finds that the man behind the name is a lonely Shifter who's lost most of his family and is a fierce caretaker to those he has left.

Spike is torn between the cub and his duties as tracker to the Shiftertown leader, and begs Myka, the only person who understands, to help him. He starts to like the sassy Myka, a horse trainer who's not afraid of working with animals, even if they're wildcats who turn into humans.

When Spike's job puts his cub and Myka in danger, Spike is forced to choose between those to whom he's pledged his loyalty and his need to protect the woman and cub he's come to love.

My Review
As this is a short novel in the Shifter Bound series, I though I would do a shorter review for it....Ever since the series started I have been wanting Spike's story, and when I noticed that he was the hero, I was thrilled to say the least. He always made me laugh, and he had spunk, and I really liked that.It starts out with him in a fight with another shifter bear, where he meets Myka who comes to him with a shocking announcement, one that would change him, that he has a cub, a little boy, and this the mother was dying. Thrust into fatherhood pretty quickly, he finds himself overwhelmed but overjoyed as well to have a child. However Myka isn't just going to lie down and let him take over without knowing if Jordan would be safe with Spike. But before she knows it, sparks fly between them and a passion explodes, and Myka realizes she is falling in love with a shifter when she least expected it to. I found Hard Mated to be a fun and enchanting story, with the usual spark that is always in Ashley's novels, and I am growing to love this series even more, since each book just gets better. I have loved her historicals, but I have a weakness for shifter novels, and I think this series is at the top of my list. From the first moment I picked it up I was enthralled, and couldn't put it down!!! A KEEPER!!!!

My Grade On This Book
5 Blossoms

Feature And Follow (16)

The Feature And Follow (Follow Friday) is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and its tons of fun to do this meme and find tons of new friends and great blogs!!! So come and join in this fun meme every friday!!!!

Q: When you step out of your USUAL genre what do you like to read? Best books in that genre?

A: I would have to say something like a suspense thriller or a Mystery Novel, something like Clive Cussler or Mary Higgins Clark. 

Book Review-Lyon's Bride

The Lyons Bride
The Chattan Curse(1)
Cathy Maxwell
Avon Romance
Paperback
Published May 2012
371 Pages
Regency Romance
ISBN 978-0-06-207022-7

"When a Chattan male falls in love, strike his heart with fire from above..."

They call him Lord Lyon, proud, determined-- and cursed. He is in need of a bride, but if he falls in love, he dies. His fervent hope is that by marrying-- and having a son--without love, perhaps he can break the curse's chains forever.

Enter beautiful Thea Martin--a duke's headstrong, errant daughter and society's most brilliant matchmaker. Years ago, she and Lyon were inseparable, until he disappeared from her life without a word. Now she is charged with finding Lyon's bride--a woman he cannot love for a man Thea could love too well.

My Review 
Summary
Thea Martin, after struggling for years to make by after losing her husband, has managed a almost profitable business as a matchmaker, saving her earnings for her son's schooling. Then she is informed that Lord Lyon is looking for her for her matchmaking abilities because he desperately needs a wife. Once, many years ago Thea and Neal were close friends as children, but then Neal one day just abandoned Thea, and they hadn't seen each other since; until now. Neal, needs a wife, one he could never love or care for, just one to tolerate and someone to give him children. His family suffers from a curse, where all the men will die if they fall in love, so he is determined to make sure he never does so. However upon seeing Thea again, he is overwhelmed with feelings of desire for her. Only as Thea finds suitable matches for him, his only thoughts are for her and before he knows it he knows he is in love with her, only, will he be able to make the right decision, Marry her and risking dying but having a chance of a few months of love and warmth in his life, or marrying someone else and live a lonely and desolate life?

The Hero (Neal, Lord Lyon)
Neal, along with his brother and sister, had a miserable childhood and had to cling to each other, Their father although he lived a much longer life than any of his ancestors, lived a bleak and cold life, marrying someone he didn't care for at all, a woman that was cold and distant to her children. Neal has known all of his life how real the curse really is, but has suddenly become very real upon finding Thea again. Even though his brother and sister are much against Thea because they know how dangerous it is for Neal to give in to these feelings that has developed for her, he knows he must make a decision that could cost him his life.

The Heroine (Thea Martin)
Thea, is shocked to see that her next client, is none other than Lord Lyon, the one person who had hurt her more than any other. Later she thought herself in love and married someone beneath her station, and her family disowned her, and even though she is a widow, and she has two wonderful sons, she is still alone, trying to be a single mother supporting two children. However when she see's Neal again, she knows her life will never be the same....

My Thoughts 
Lyon's Bride is the first installment in Cathy Maxwell most recent series: The Chattan Curse.  Lyon's Bride, we see the start of this amazingly fun and exciting story, about three siblings, and in Lyon's Bride Maxwell starts with Neal, who would make any woman sucuumb to his charms. He is sexy, intelligent, and willing to fight for those he loves, who could resist? Then we have the heroine Thea, who doesn't believe in the unseen like some old curse, she just believes its superstition in the beginning, and it was amusing to watch Neal convince her otherwise. I also loved the interaction between Neal and Thea's two sons, it was tearjerking at times. The whole story overall was very emotionally provoking, it had elements through the whole story, that would bring a tear to one's eye, and then a sparkle of laughter in another moment. It definitely was full of passioin, witty humor, exciting plot that keeps the reader entertained to say the least. Overall a very well written story that engages the reader at every turn!!!! Loved Every Moment!!!

My Grade On This Book 
4.5 Blossoms

Other Books In The Series 
The Scottish Witch
The Devil's Heart

Book Review-How To Capture A Countess

How To Capture A Countess
The Duchess Diaries (1)
Karen Hawkins
Avon Romance
E Book
Published Sep 2012
384 Pages
Historical Romance

Urged by her favorite nephew, the intimidating Duchess of Roxburghe agrees to transform a thorny Scottish rose into a lovely bloom. But even she isn’t prepared for fiery Rose Balfour.

At seventeen, Rose fell wildly in love with Lord Alton Sinclair, known as Lord Sin for his wicked ways. Stung by his indifference, the starry-eyed girl tried to win an illicit kiss, but then panicked and pushed the notorious rakehell into a fountain. Leaving Lord Sin floating among the lily pads to the mocking laughter of his peers, Rose escaped back to the obscurity of the Scottish countryside.

Six years later, Sin convinces his aunt, the Duchess of Roxburghe, to invite Rose to her annual house party, where he plans to get revenge by making Rose the laughingstock of polite society. To his astonishment, he finds she has become an alluring woman who threatens to turn the tables on his nefarious plans. Thus Sin and Rose begin an epic battle of the sexes that becomes more passionate at every turn. Eventually, one will have to surrender . . . but to vengeance? Or to love’s deepest passion?

My Review

Summary 

When Rose was seventeen, she was very innocent and impulsive, and kissed Lord Sinclair, but overwhelmed by the sensations, ended up pushing him into a fountain and fleeing the scene and hiding from everyone inculding him, and leaving him to face the consequences, and Lord Sinclair has been wanting revengefor six years, and has found her again and is determined to get back at her, only he never thought he would fall in love with her. Rose, regretting her foolish act six years ago, has lived in the countryside taking care of her father and sisters, but when she is invited to a house party by her godmother (also Lord Sinclair's Aunt), she knows she has no choice but to except, especially for her sister's sake. However when she bumps into Lord Sinclair, she is shocked to see him again, but she starts to feel alive whenever he is near, and even though they are in one wager after another, she starts to fall in love with him again, but doesn't know if she can truly trust in their love and in Lord Sinclair......

The Hero ( Alton Sinclair )

Ever since that dreadful night six years ago, Sin has lived up to his name, living in a life of debauchery. He suffered the consequences of the scandal years ago, and still suffers from it, and now that he has found Rose again he plans on revenge, but he never expected that Rose would have grown into such a beautiful and capable woman. As he pursues her in a very sensual way, but she starts to worm her way into his heart, and he knows he couldn't do anything to hurt her.....

The Heroine (Rose Balfour )

Rose, when she was young fell in love with Lord Sin, charmed and intrigued by his wicked way, only to ruin  both her and her sisters' futures in the process, and has suffered in guilt ever since. Even though her family has never blamed her, she has suffered just as Lord Sin only in a different way. When she see's him again, she has no idea how to handle him, and when he kisses her she knows she is lost and doesn't know how she could protect herself from falling in love with him again.....

My Thoughts 

How To Capture A Countess is the first of a new series "The Duchess Diaries" by Karen Hawkins. Karen Hawkins has been one of my favorite authors, and I just loved the energy of this new book, it definitely had Hawkins spark and flair, and the story had the same feeling of fun and humor that I have always seen in the past. Lord Sinclair, just cracked me up especially in the beginning, especially his attitude toward life, and women, and I loved the playful interaction between Lord Sin and Rose. I also loved the spirit of Rose Balfour, at first she seems timid and reserved, but as the book progresses she comes out of her shell into a playful and full of life heroine, that you just want to cheer her on......a beautifully written romance filled with passion, zest and humor that will definitely enthrall you for more!!! A Must Read!!! 

My Grade On This Book 

5 Blossoms