Love Romance Passion » Category http://www.loveromancepassion.com Because Books Don't Fall Asleep Afterwards! Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Review: Beauty is the Beast (Woodcutters Grim Series, Book 7) by Karen Wiesner http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-beauty-is-the-beast-woodcutters-grim-series-book-7-by-karen-wiesner/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-beauty-is-the-beast-woodcutters-grim-series-book-7-by-karen-wiesner/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000 Sandra Scholes http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13265

Reviewed by Sandra Scholes

This novel serves as the last in the four book mini series of Woodcutters Grim which has the curse on the Shaussegeny family as the main arc of the story.

As the others are roughly based on popular fairy tales, this one deals with Beauty and the Beast. Here Ransom Shaussegeny decides once and for all to try and get rid of the curse on their family forever, but it will be a tricky task, and one which has its pitfalls. One of them is that Ransom is cursed with becoming a werewolf when the full moon rises in the heavens and life as a ravening beast isn’t the best he can hope for.

Shaussegeny finds himself amazed that he might believe that a kiss from a woman might save him from the curses grip, but even he thinks it is nothing but fairy tale nonsense – until he has the chance to have the one woman who could be his own.

Beauty is the Beast follows a similar story to the original fairy tale as a man who intends to take a rose for his daughter has to make a deal with Ransom so he can have his daughter when the time is right.

From the first few pages there is a nod to Glynnis Shaussegeny and her new husband which formed the sixth in the Woodcutter Grim series of novels previously. Beauty comes in the form of Tess, the old man’s unfortunate daughter, who turns up at the Shaussegeny family house. Ever since the old man had come to his house wanting the rose he had cultivated, he had never imagined that Tess would come, but he finds out his father didn’t have to send her to him-she came of her own free will, and being a lover of plants and flowers, she couldn’t stay away as she has a great fondness for all flora and fauna of every kind and she is fascinated by them as she ends up being fascinated by him.

Unlike the Beast in the fairy tale who wanted a woman through his own selfishness, and didn’t think that it would lift the curse, Ransom is well aware that she could be the one to lift the curse from his family if she is a willing woman.

As in this excerpt he feels he might be asking a lot of her to tolerate:

“A monster, that’s what I am. She’ll never know who and what I really am. I can’t allow her to see me that way. I have to trust in science. The new formula I’ve created has to be the one. It’s shown more promise than anything else has before. Under the full moon at the end of this month, I’ll inject it and, if it works, everything will change. Tess and I will be free to fall in love without the curse hanging over us.”

Even though this is a novel where the characters have their problems, everything can be worked out for the better, and it ends up being an interesting and compelling retelling of a popular fairy tale.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: Woodcutter's Grim Series - Classic Tales Of Horror Retold

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Reviewed by Sandra Scholes

Set in the town of Woodcutters Grim, the place concerns all the strange happenings that have happened there for many years, and how they have managed to keep the unusual monsters that reside there at bay for so long, and continue to do so. These are the guardians who have sworn and oath to protect them from the evil that lurks around every corner, and wants to destroy wherever it goes. These evils lurk in the woods, and lay in wait for any children who decide to be foolish enough to take a walk there.

Bewitched Book 5 of the Woodcutters Grim Series is based around the curse that has been put on the Shaussegeny family thirty years ago, and how the family have coped with it. The curse itself transforms each of the family into beasts at the full moon, namely werewolves and the idea of fate and hatred coming upon them for what they are is all in this book. Also as part of the curse, the one who cursed their family only allows each cursed member one soul mate, and as long as they are faithful to them, they will remain lovers forever more, if not, some evil fate will befall them soon.

As are most in the Woodcutters Grim series of novels, they are based on fairy tales, this one is loosely based on The Little Mermaid, and as in the title, young Glynnis Shaussegeny is bewitched by one man who lives nearby, and comes to see her. She wonders why he would take any interest in her until she realizes she has a dark personality, and thinks he might top it with his own stories of what he has done in the past. Aric Sayer is his name, and he is as interested in her and curious of why she comes to the black lake as she is of who lives outside the village.

Readers will like what Karen Wiesner has made Glynnis into, as it fits into the whole fantasy/fairy tale story idea nicely. It is the story of two people who have been apart all their lives but who need to be together, and Aric doesn’t know who that one woman is until he meets her purely by chance one day. It is then he feels that she has been the one who can fill his heart with love – she is the one part of him that can make him whole again. So far he has been living alone and has felt so empty.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: Woodcutter's Grim Series - Classic Tales Of Horror Retold

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-bewitched-woodcutters-grim-series-book-5-by-karen-wiesner/feed/ 0 Review: Sex, Lies, and Mistletoe by Tawny Weber http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-sex-lies-and-mistletoe-by-tawny-weber/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-sex-lies-and-mistletoe-by-tawny-weber/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:53:39 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13659

Hero: Caleb Black is an undercover DEA agent ready to get out of the game for good. As a favor for a friend he returns to his home town to sniff out a new drug cartel that has set up shop in the area. The number one suspect is his father, and as much as he hates the guy, Caleb knows this line of work his beneath his dad. He doesn’t count on falling in love and that really messes with his head.

Heroine: Pandora Easton has to find a way to save the family’s New Age Shop. A failure out in the big world, she can’t stand the idea of failing at home too. With a little help from a girlfriend they strike upon a unique idea – why not serve up aphrodisiacs? The idea is a hit locally, but her idea combined with her recent past makes her a suspect for running a drug ring. Isn’t that just her luck?

Review: Adorable and sexy! A spicy tale with a dash of mystery and a hint of intrigue! This small town / return to your roots romance is perfect for an afternoon retreat. The town has always been full of gossip but now it’s on aphrodisiacs – can you imagine the laughs? An insecure heroine who’s afraid of failure and an honorable hero not willing to accept anything on face value find love when they weren’t looking. It’s not particularly a holiday themed story, but that’s okay.

Rating: ★★★★½

Buy: Sex, Lies and Mistletoe

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Heroine: 21 year old Alex Hill works as an interpreter. Between 17 and 21 she lived in a convent after her parents died because the mother superior was related to her (aunt). She has an irrational dislike (fear) of elevators.

Hero: Playboy Max Goodwin is a mining magnate in his mid 30s. He needs an interpreter for several weeks while he woos a new Japanese client. When they first meet he’s unimpressed but after a makeover this confirmed bachelor wants her in his bed.

Sour Grapes: Max demands Alex get a makeover to make her presentable for being around the events he’s meeting his client in to which she accepts with a lot of grace (though she quibbles over who will pay for the makeover) considering how insulting he was. Then immediately following her makeover he makes a scene with a comment demanding to know what had been done to her in a makeover. Now she was too pretty? WTF, jerk.

Review: The constant switching in thoughts from one paragraph to the next. It was a mental tennis match. The switches were too obvious and too immediate, sharing what one thinks or the other thinks about a situation instead of letting the narrative progress. It was distracting and ruined the reading experience of interpreting information. This book is an example why for so long getting into the hero’s head wasn’t on the table or until the end of the book for his “Oh crap - I’ve got to grovel now or lose her forever!” moment. The dialogue between them was so full of cheese that I rolled my eyes until I got dizzy.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Buy: The Billionaire Boss's Innocent Bride (Harlequin Presents Extra)

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Heroine: Joanna Veron is somewhere around 19. In her father’s world she plays at being a high maintenance vapid beauty, but inside she’s really just a sweetheart looking for a way out of her father’s lifestyle (without having to go to her perfectly nice uncle) ever since a particularly bad incident when they were living in Australia where they swindled a youngish man named Peter out of a lot of money. She extracts a promise from her father to never use her in such a manner again, but of course Denys doesn’t hold to it for long.

Hero: Vassos Gordanis (I see his name and think vaseline) is somewhere in his 30s. He’s out for revenge against Denys and Joanna (though of course she’s clueless.) When he wins Joanna in a high stakes poker game he believes he has the chance to accomplish both punishments as he believes Joanna is Denys mistress. Obviously he’s not buying the “she’s my niece” they both claimed ever since Joanna joined her father on his jaunts around the gambling dens of the world. (Why does Joanna allow this? Gross.)

Favorite Moment: The first and second time they make love when he learns of her innocence (read virginity surprise!) and then tries to teach her about lovemaking which she tries so hard to hate ... There’s flavors of Stockholm Syndrome in this, but honestly it worked for me because there’s also the play on the Persephone myth.

Missed Opportunity:
If I remember right they were talking about her real relationship to Denys, but it could also have easily alluded to her virgin state.

Vassos: Why didn't you tell me?
Joanna’s answer should have been: Would you have believed me?

It seems like a perfectly standard response, but it never came up.

TSTL Ending: Why did the HEA have to include a flowery all is forgiven resolution between Joanna and Denys? What a crappy way to tie it off. Sometimes splitting family units is okay and in this case her dad is such a scumbag there’s really no way I’d buy his remorse and sudden “Oh shut up” speech to his new wife (whom he married right after Joanna was taken by Vassos to avoid his debts and to get the hell out of dodge, the bastard didn’t even look for her to get her back.)

Rating: ★★★★☆ - I know the rating seems incongruent with the story's flaws, but I'm also factoring in the *guilty pleasure* I got out of it, because what worked, worked really well for me.

Buy: The Highest Stakes of All (Harlequin Presents)

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-highest-stakes-of-all-by-sara-craven/feed/ 0 Review: The Forbidden Wife by Sharon Kendrick http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-forbidden-wife-by-sharon-kendrick/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-forbidden-wife-by-sharon-kendrick/#comments Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:54:34 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12212

Before you start: Have you read Jane Eyre? Did you like it? Well The Forbidden Wife followed Jane Eyre to a Tee, which is great if you love Jane Eyre (which I do) but awful if you’re looking for new surprises (I was and there wasn’t any).

Heroine: 18 year old Ashley Jones is an orphan who grew up in the foster care system. She’s got lots of debt and so desires jobs that include room and board. She’s pretty perceptive and has a lot of insights on people’s behavior because of her upbringing. Working as Jack’s live-in assistant at Blackwood Manor is her ticket for something better, even if it’s located out in the middle of nowhere on the moors.

Hero: 30 something Jack Marchant is working on a novel about his experiences in the military where something bad happened (but is never explained). He suffers a lot from bad dreams which might be indicative of PTSD (but again never specifically stated). He wants Ashley, his little oddball, something fierce, but the trick is making her realize she wants him and can have him.

Wife in the Attic: Or in this case the cruel wife in a coma. She tricked Jack into marriage with a fake pregnancy, which he honored even after finding out because he didn’t want her to swindle him out of money for a marriage that was only 3 months old and also because his pride demanded he make it work anyway.

Review: I wanted Forbidden Wife to do more. If it explored more emotional depth out of Ashley and Jack it could have been a solid update on Jane Eyre. I found this review of the story hilarious because it really tells it like it is.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: The Forbidden Wife (Harlequin Presents)

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This is the last book in the The Husband Fund trilogy.

Heroine: Piper Duchess is the last remaining single Duchess triplet and she’s feeling it. At the advice of her shrink she bucks up and firmly places her feelings of abandonment and loneliness behind her and dives headlong into her commercial art business. She gets a partner and expands it globally, proving once and for all that she didn’t need a man and she especially did not need Italian aristocrat Nic de Pastrana.

Hero: Nic de Pastrana has wanted Piper from the first time he saw her, but circumstances made it so he could not and he had to be cruel to get the message across. Now free of his year long formal mourning for his late fiance, Nic is determined to win back her trust and love and prove to her that she does need a man -- him! Like his cousins, he plans to trick her with partial truths to get her to come to him. And a little marriage of convenience wouldn’t hurt his chances either.

Review: The story was too wrapped up in details from previous books of the series and I felt a lot of good to know background for Piper and Nic was missing. Readers were suppose to recognize and have knowledge of conversations/scenes the two shared previously and while they were briefly elaborated on it was dismissively instead of extensively. The excuse for the MOC was just that an excuse and overall the story was pretty flat. There was little chemistry between hero and heroine.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Buy: To Marry for Duty: The Husband Fund (Harlequin Romance)

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-to-marry-for-duty-the-husband-fund-book-3-by-rebecca-winters/feed/ 0 Review: Dark Sins and Desert Sands (Mythica Series, Book 5) by Stephanie Draven http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-dark-sins-and-desert-sands-mythica-series-book-5-by-stephanie-draven/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-dark-sins-and-desert-sands-mythica-series-book-5-by-stephanie-draven/#comments Sun, 13 Nov 2011 09:03:20 +0000 Lynn Reynolds http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12739

Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

Stephanie Draven's Dark Sins and Desert Sands is book 5 of the "Mythica Series".

Main characters: Rayhan Stavrakis, he’s a military man with some very special abilities. One side effect from his abilities is that he gets bloody noses (think Firestarter). Dr. Layla Bahset is an American Psychologist. Or is she? She wants to help the lost souls of Las Vegas. Ray and Layla have a previous connection. She doesn’t remember and he wants to find her because of that connection. Layla also has no memory except for the last two years. His memories aren’t that pleasant.

Minor characters: Dr. Nat Jaffe, Psychiatrist. He has been out a few times with Layla. Seth Carey – scorpion king and resident evil. He is the head of a very shifty American company that works with the government. Isabel is Layla’s right hand in the office but she is more than what she seems. Missy is a young woman who starts helping out Ray but seems to blossom.

One issue I had with this book was how fast scenes seemed to switch. Sometimes my mind would get a little confused. In one case, Nat was having dinner with Layla and right in the middle, we would switch scenes to Ray. I think doing this instant switching, stops the flow of the story. For some, it may just confuse them.

In one scene, Seth comes to Layla’s office and meets Isabel. For some reason, she seems to appeal to him but Seth is there to see Layla. They also have a past but Layla fakes her way through the meeting giving him an indication that she knows who he is. She knows that something isn’t right and disappears. Ray and Layla connect but the only way for Layla to remember anything is if Ray kisses her. Ray needs to get information from her and he isn’t above using sex to get it. As soon as we get to the good part, Stephanie switches the scene on us. My mind was definitely not ready for the scene to switch.

We then find out why Seth wants Ray. Seth is a collector of sorts – makes you think of “Star Trek”. But not every collector gets everything they want. I will say that this adds to the suspense – will Ray be a part of Seth’s “collection” or not?

I felt, while reading this story, that Isabel and Seth had more of a connection than Ray and Layla. As I was reading the interactions between Isabel and Seth, I was hoping that Isabel would give Seth a great big kick in his butt. They just seemed a better fit as a couple than Layla and Ray.

The more time that Ray and Layla spend together, the more that Layla remembers about her past. But when Ray finally admits to Layla that he loves her, I just didn’t feel that I ever read that type of connection between the two of them (even with the sex scenes). To me they seemed more like “friends with benefits”.

When Seth finally captures Ray, you can just about see the two of them interact with each other – as if you can see the scene play out right before your eyes. Layla makes Seth a promise that she will go to him if he will let Ray go.

This story was just like a train ride. It starts off slow and picks up speed toward the end of the story. This is finally when we see the love that Ray and Layla have for each other. But at this point, I would rather read more of Seth and Isabel’s story.

You will have to decide if you want to read any more of the series. 

Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy: Dark Sins and Desert Sands

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Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

Jessica Andersen's Lord of the Wolfyn is book 3 of the "Royal House of Shadows Series".

Our main characters are Prince Dayn who is the second son of the king of Elden. Alfreda Weston is a police officer who lives in Salem.

Right at the beginning, Jessica introduces the reader to the Wolfyn. They are ravenous shape shifters who are deadly beasts. Because of their habits, they need to be killed.

In this book, Dayn's father can mind speak to him and tells him what must happen to the Blood Sorcerer (the evil element from books 1 & 2). We also see that Dayn is considered a hunter.

Reda lives in a town that is known as a magical town. But Jessica makes Reda a non-believer. We first see Reda reading a book and for some reason she feels a connection to a guy who has green eyes. While reading, Reda says a "spell" that she learned as a child. After saying this "spell", Reda meets Dayn.

Jessica has Reda seeing things that no human should be able to see. It's made so realistic that you feel it's something that could possible happen to anyone. Then the action starts to happen.

You can almost hear Dayn's snide attitude after his first confrontation with Reda. Reda doesn't believe what's going on - she hasn't hear a word that Dayn said. Even with all that, she still agrees to help Dayn. Would we behave the same way?

Jessica then gives us their first kiss. But just as it starts getting good, Jessica gives Dayn a conscience. But she also has a way of having her main characters compliment each other. She gives them a past full of hurt. But there is also something else there that seems to draw them together.

There is a part in the story that Jessica has put an obstacle in their way. When Reda first views it, you can just about hear her comment. Dayn, being an alpha male, has an interesting way of getting her to cross that obstacle.

None of the sex scenes were forced. They just flow within the story. They are made to feel natural. Reda and Dayn loved with no expectations from the other. But the heat that is generated between the two continues throughout the story.

In Jessica's book, she adds another evil element and her name is Moragh. Moragh is there to stop Dayn from fulfilling his objective. This prepares us for the fourth book - "Lord of the Abyss".

You will definitely want to finish out the series.

Rating: ★★★★½

Buy: Lord of the Wolfyn

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-lord-of-the-wolfyn-royal-house-of-shadows-book-3-by-jessica-andersen/feed/ 0 Review: The Doctor’s Forever Family by Marie Ferrarella http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-doctor%e2%80%99s-forever-family-by-marie-ferrarella/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-doctor%e2%80%99s-forever-family-by-marie-ferrarella/#comments Sun, 11 Sep 2011 09:14:43 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=11856

Genre: Contemporary, Category

Summary: NYC radiologist Dan Davenport moves to small town Forever, Texas to fulfill his dead brother’s promise to become the town doctor. There he meets single mother Tina Blayne who’s working at becoming an accountant and winds up as his secretary/office administrator. They think they have each other pegged, but do they?

Review: I’m not a big fan of doctor plots so that really affected my reading of the story. I also didn’t like how the single mother has a sick child in the story just because the hero’s a doctor. Too cliché and rarely do I like the sickness trope that brings the main couple together because one takes care of the other (or in this case the kid.) I also felt Dan’s inner angst about his brother and why he was in Forever was a little convoluted and cookie cutter.

What I did like was all the people in the small town coming together to help get his home ready before he arrived (though you’d think they would’ve done this before he got there – except the point was to show him small town hospitality) and Dan’s thoughts where he wondered if they were helping because they thought to barter their help as handymen for his medical services. Too funny!

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Buy: The Doctor's Forever Family (Harlequin American Romance), The Doctor's Forever Family (UK)

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