(R) The Frenchman by Lesley Young

 

Fleur Smithers has traveled to France to spend time the birth mother who gave her up.  One night, she meets Louis Messette, star player on an international rugby team.  Immediately attracted to each other, she takes him home only to have him reject her when he realizes she's still a virgin.  But he cannot stay away from her - they quickly fall back into each other's arms... but with stipulations.  The main one being Fleur must keep their relationship a secret.  Confused but willing, Fleur agrees.  She accepts a necklace of the family crest, a fleur-de-lis, as a symbol of their love.  Soon, Fleur is caught between her biological mother who happens to be a high-ranking officer of the French Police Force and her lover, whose family she discovers is criminal royalty.  Fleur's mother discovers Louis is her boyfriend and is enraged.  Storming into his apartment, she quickly arrests Louis and his brother, Georges.  When Georges is charged with drug trafficking, Louis tries to make Fleur realize her mother is not the upstanding police officer she appears to be.  As an American in a foreign country, a girl finding her mother for the first time, and a woman who's heart is fighting to be heard, who does she believe?

I LOVED this story!  It took me a few chapters to get into but once I was, I was hooked.  I love how Fleur talks - she's a true American.  Many of the things she would say are things that, I feel, many Americans would say when they are found in a foreign country with foreign laws.  "I'm an American in France, what do I know?"  You really start to feel her confusion as the book goes on.  She knows Louis is hiding something and when she finds out, she's torn, being the daughter of a police inspector and all.  But she loves Louis - all dominating, confusing, loving parts of him.  As I read the book, I often questioned how Louis treated her but when you realize that Louis is also torn between protecting his family and protecting the woman he loves, you understand why he does the things he does.  And the very end... *swoon*  You will never question how much Louis loves Fleur when you reach the end.  One of the best endings of a confused set of lovers ever.  I cannot wait to read more by this author in her upcoming The Australian.

ARC was provided by the editor in exchange for my honest review.

(R) Control by Laura Marie Altom

Ella Patton is escaping from an abusive husband by adopting a new identity and working at a local store as a deli clerk.  Its there that she meets Liam Stone.  She thinks he is merely an every day kind of guy, looking to flirt (and more) with a local girl.  But she couldn't be more wrong.  Liam Stone is a billionaire who is used to getting what he wants by throwing money at it.  So when he throws his money at Ella, she turns and runs.  And then runs back to him.  Deciding the best way to hide is to go across the country, she agrees to become Liam's latest conquest.  They soon fall in love and Liam decides to take his relationship with Ella even further.  But what will happen when a drastic secret is revealed?

I have mixed feelings about this book.  At first, I couldn't connect with the characters and I spent a good majority of the first chapters wondering what in the world was going on.  But as I continued reading, I got the impression that the author was trying hard to make the reader FEEL what Ella and Liam are feeling.  The confusion; the panic; the uncertainty; the love; the lust.  Once I realized that was the author was aiming for, I was able to pour myself into the book more and I found myself enjoying it much more after that.  You know something is going on in Ella's mind - a secret she doesn't want known - but you are still rooting for her to understand Liam wants the girl he met at the deli who found him wasabi mustard.  And when you find out the secret, you are just as devastated as Liam.

So why only 3 stars?  Because I felt it took too long for me to realize the author's intentions with this novel.  Sometimes I wanted to slap both Ella and Liam and send them packing far away from each other; other times, I was just waiting for them to jump into bed so they could show each other just how much they loved the other.  I will certainly read the conclusion to this story because I want to know how Liam and Ella handle conquering this secret that could tear them apart.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(E) Mastering the Marquess by Lavinia Kent

Louisa, Lady Brookingston, has a secret.  Despite being happily married to the love of her life for six years, she remains a virgin.  A war injury prevented her husband from fulfilling his martial duties before he passed away.  When she decides to remarry, she knows she cannot dishonor his memory by entering into a marriage as a virgin.  And she knows of only one woman who can help her:  Madame Rouge.  A woman owning a house of "ill reput", she is compassionate about Louisa's situation and feels she has the perfect man for her.

Geoffrey, the Marquess of Swanton, is in need of a wife.  He knows he needs an heir to carry on the family line but his sexual appetite prevents him from going after any woman.  He craves control; the control he receives at Madame Rouge's establishment.  When she comes to him to explain she is in need of a man to show a widow about carnal passion, he is intrigued.

After a night of passion, both players are drawn towards each other; both wanting to know who was with whom.  As a stipulation of Louisa's, neither know the identity of the other.  Until Geoffrey spots Louisa from across a crowded ballroom.  His body knows hers, his lone colorful memory is that of her beautiful hair.  Can he convince her that he is the man for her and that he is just the man she needs?

I absolutely adored this novel.  This is historical erotica at its finest.  Yes, the sex scene where Geoffrey unleashes Louisa's passions goes on for page after page, you never once feel that it is being drawn out.  You watch as Louisa's inner woman comes out after being a perfect housewife to her husband.  You watch as Geoffrey becomes enamored with Louisa and desperately wants to find out her true identity.  Underneath it all, this story is about each person's search for themselves.  Louisa struggles with this newfound sexual awakening; Geoffrey struggles with his desire for control and his "by day" gentlemanly appearance.  I loved taking this story with them and watching as both of them came to terms with both sides of their lives - together.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(R) The One by Belle Ami

I've only had the good fortune to read bad books very few times in my life.  This, unfortunately, is one of those times.  I could not even get beyond the prologue of this book.  I mean - REALLY?  I felt like I'd walked into the middle of a movie without even knowing the title or seeing a trailer for film.  Your thoughts are random and completely don't make sense.  This is how the prologue felt to me.  I understand that romance novels are supposed to be in this magical world where things can be made right and perfect by the end of the book.  But at least make them SOMEWHAT realistic!

I was originally interested in book based on the synopsis about a young woman who is an equestrian.  I ride Saddlebreds so I was obviously interested.  In the prologue, the main male character, Miles, is looking to hook up with a prostitute.  Who he sleeps with and, supposedly, after one sexual encounter, he realizes how terrible her life is and gives her money to help her leave this life sexual servitude.  So........... yeah, where do the horses fit in?  Unless you're a psychic, you aren't going know someone's deep, dark pain and secrets after have an S&M shagging session.  That sort of stuff takes an ENTIRE book to read and figure out!  Maybe the book got better after the prologue.  But I was so put off by the prologue I didn't even bother.

Note to the Author:  Not everyone know French.  If you're going to put in a different language, either use context clues or a translation.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(R) Blind Faith by Rebecca Zanetti

Nate Dean is a man who has loved and lost.  The woman who stole his heart betrayed him and he has vowed to never love again.  He and his brother are running on borrowed time as they try to figure out a way to stop a chip in their spine from killing them.  Yet when Nate realizes the one person who can help is the woman he has spent his life trying to forget?  As a man who will do anything for his brothers, including seducing the woman who broke his heart, he goes in search of Audrey.

Audrey Madison still loves Nate.  And when she spies across a crowded ballroom, she realizes the boy she knew and loved has now grown in a man.  A dangerously sexy man.  But Audrey has her own secrets.  Despite her mother being the woman who helped create Nate and his brothers, Audrey wants to bring down the man behind it all - no matter what the cost.  She infiltrates a government office to help make this happen, joining forces with Senator Nash, hoping to bring down the machine that created Nate, his brothers, and a bevy of other soldier-assassins.  And then, there is a deeper secret, one that hits much closer to home, and not just her own.

This has been my favorite book in the Sin Brothers series.  We have had seen bits and pieces of Nate in the other two books in the series, Forgotten Sins and Sweet Revenge, and I'm glad to see this book of his own.  Nate is my favorite brother - he loves hard, he protects without thought to his safety, and his sense of duty runs deep.  (Who wouldn't love that?) We've known since Forgotten Sins that he still had feelings for Audrey and I had hoped that when he went to find her that she would be worthy of the deep feelings that run through this man.  And, boy, was she ever!  Audrey is a great heroine.  Her love of Nate runs so deep - even deeper than the misplaced love of her mother.  Even though Audrey hopes that her mother loves her and, deep down, wants to be a good person, Audrey knows that the things her mother has done are wrong and unforgivable.  When Audrey finds out that her mother only loves her as a science experiment, she realizes that no one will ever love her as much as Nate does.

A side note about Senator Nash.  Omg.  I LOVE this character!  He may be an old man but I'd kill to see a novella, just with him, after everything is all said and done with these characters.  When he rises to the challenge of helping Audrey and Nate defeat the Commander - it is the funniest part of a serious book.  He is a lovable character and one I'm looking forward to seeing more of in the final book of the series, Total Surrender (due out in 2015).

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

(NA) Dare to Kiss by S. B. Alexander

Lacey and her family have moved to a new town to escape the trauma of the murders of her mother and sister. As a result, Lacey has PTSD and spends a great deal of time looking over her shoulder - the killers of her family were never caught. One of the things that helped her get through was her love of baseball. And another of the reasons they moved was also because Lacey had a chance of making it onto the school's all male baseball team which could mean a scholarship for her.

Enter Kade. The rough, tough bad boy with a soft side to him. Unless you mess with his family or someone he loves. Returning back to school after another incident with a student, he quickly turns his eye to Lacey. Kade has a family of strong brothers who all rally to protect what's theirs. So when Kade's enemy returns to settle the score, his brothers and Lacey are there. Is their love strong enough to make it through Kade's enemies, Lacey's PTSD, and high school?

I really enjoyed this book. One of the things I most loved about this book was Lacey. Sure, she was annoying some of the time but what high school girl isn't? But she stood up for herself and went after what she wanted - the rest of high school be damned. She wasn't going to wait around to be saved. She did the saving herself. Yes, her PTSD did present a lot of issues but it was one of the things that brought her and Kade closer together (especially after she blacked out when he brought her home one night).

Another thing I liked? Kade's brothers. Lord help me, all of them need their own books *hint, hint* They were hilarious and strong and had a moral compass beneath their heavy exterior. I would definitely love to see more of them!

I really enjoyed this book and I think it would be a great read for anyone who loves a heroine who can stand on her own two feet, with a great guy standing next to her.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

(R) Necessary Force by D. D. Ayers

Georgia Flynn is a freelance photographer in Washington, D.C., used to photographing senators, dignitaries, and major events.  But when a friend calls in a favor, asking Georgia to photograph sexy members of law enforcement and their working dogs for a fundraising calendar (to benefit retired K-9s), she can't help it when she becomes attracted to one man in particular.  Out of every man there that day, one strikes up a conversation and in a moment of weakness, she takes him home for a one night stand, completely understanding she'll never see him again.

When Eric Lawson and his dog Zander are called in for a suspected bomb threat, he is shocked to see Georgia Flynn standing across from him.  As a suspect.  The woman who had photographed him and slept with him.  He knew there was no way she was the terrorist he was chasing after but he has a job to do.  After working it over with his superiors, he pushes himself into her life after seeing that she is in danger - not only from a stalker but a stalker who may end up being the terrorist he is looking for.  While he does wonder if Georgia knows about what is going on, he eventually learns that her life is seriously in danger and he will do anything to protect her.

As someone who works with dogs, I could NOT resist requesting this book, especially when I found out the dogs are going to play a big role in this series.  (Who can resist a man in uniform AND a dog?)  While I think that this book would have been better suited to have just been told from Georgia's point-of-view, I still enjoyed the book.  Knowing this is a novella, you can only expect so much character development within it.  I really liked being able to see things from Eric's side as an investigator.  The action was fast-paced and I loved how she made sure that Zander was an integral part of saving Georgia.  I'm really looking forward to seeing more from this author and of this series!!

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.