Cover Alert! Broken by Shiloh Walker

Broken by Shiloh Walker

Releases March 2, 2010

Shattered

Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter and bail bondsman in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s tempted by her beauty—but he knows from experience that anyone desperate enough to live in his building is damaged goods. Besides, he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.

Desperate

Sarah McElya is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She’s not an abused wife, and she’s not a criminal. But she does have a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding. There’s just too much at stake.

Driven to desire…

But Quinn must get closer to Sarah when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and he discovers that there is something more complex and dangerous to her than he thought. Now, both Quinn and Sara will have to expose their true feelings—as well as their fragile hearts—if they hope their love will survive…

This is the Sequel to 'Fragile'.

I think the covers resemble each other nicely. While I'm partial to the silvery glint of 'Fragile', I am lovin' the cover model on 'Broken'. Doesn't he look like David Boreanaz? Just the tiniest bit?

Excerpt Alert! Untouchable by Kresley Cole

Deep Kiss of Winter Anthology "Untouchable" by Kresley Cole

Releases October 13, 2009

A brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time...

Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela the Ice Maiden--the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can't be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure.

A Valkyrie aching to be touched...

Soon desperate for closeness, in an agony of frustration, Murdoch and Danii will do anything to have each other. Together can they find the key that will finally allow them to slake the overwhelming desire burning between them?

Read an Excerpt HERE!

Cover Alert! Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Releases December 29, 2009

Book Seven in the Midnight Breed Series

Features: Kade

Review: Tempt Me Tonight

Review: Tempt Me Tonight by Toni Blake

Trish Henderson has returned home to Eden to take care of some family business...and some personal business, as well. Though she's achieved remarkable success as a high-powered Chicago attorney, Trish has never forgotten her small-town high school sweetheart, Joe Ramsey, or the devastation of heartbreak.

Now she's come face-to-face with the gorgeous sex god Joe has grown into, and she's determined to get him out of her system once and for all - and maybe take a little revenge, too. And this time, she has all the power. After all, where is it written that only men can explore and enjoy a physical relationship without commitment? Her plan: seduce him for just one night, then walk away...

But there's just one problem. Trish is about to find out that one night with Joe may never be enough...

Fourteen years ago, Joe Ramsey broke Trish Henderson's heart in two. High school sweethearts in the small town of Eden, Illinois, the two had planned on getting married the moment that Trish returned home from college in four years but instead the two were fated for betrayal that changed both their lives drastically. Now, unwillingly back in Eden to help her parents sell the family diner and set them up for retirement, Trish is taking a two week vacation from her life in Chicago as a major player and soon to be partner at one of the most prestigious law firms in Chicago. The last person she wants to see is the person from her dreaded past: Joe. The man she loved. The man who broke every dream and promise that had once led to heaven, now only reminds Trish of hell.

Unfortunately, that electric spark they shared as kids is now combustible as adults and no sooner does Trish lay eyes on Joe that her body begins to heat and her heart starts beating a tattoo against her chest. The handsome boy she once knew had grown into the hottest thing on two legs to ever grace the earth and it's in that instant that Trish knows that she's in big trouble. But instead of trying to resist the magnetic pull of Joe Ramsey, Trish is going to get what she wants. She's going to rock Joe's world and leave as soon as she's done.

Joe can't help but think he's died and gone to heaven when he opens his front door to reveal a scantily clad Trish who takes control of his fantasy and blows it out of the water. But when dreams of morning pancakes and a chance to get to know the new Trish are dashed the moment he awakens to empty arms, Joe can't help but determine that Trish is punishing him for his mistake fourteen years ago. If this a game of love 'em and leave 'em then two can play. But when passion sweeps through his heart, he can't help but be affected and he suspects that it's the same for Trish.

As the two become closer. As the hot sultry nights blend together with passionate kisses and loving embraces. As secrets are revealed and the heartache of the past is slowly pieced together and rectified, both Trish and Joe have to face the glaring facts within their hearts that neither ever lost the love between them even after all these years apart. And as Trish submerges herself deeper and deeper into small town life, she begins to realize that things had been missing in her life.

While she was caught up in the competitive world of climbing the career ladder, she now sees that it was all in an attempt to shield her heart from any and all who could potentially break it once again. For years after Joe's betrayal she'd cried herself to sleep, yearning for him and wishing that he had tried in some way to come to her; To bring her back and make her stay with him. She wanted the grand gesture and all this time that need had been there but she'd been so busy protecting herself that she hadn't realized it. All this time she had been distrusting of others; always assuming the worst and therefore preparing and maneuvering her life so that the worst could never be allowed to happen. Now, back with Joe, Trish realizes how she's let life pass her by. But can she truly forgive Joe for the past? Can she allow herself to take the ultimate risk? Make the ultimate sacrifice for a man that she can't in all certainty believe in again?

Joe Ramsey is a hero that all others aspire to be. A hero that I've read before and loved but also a hero that is rarely penned so well. I can only rattle off a handful of heroes that embody the same luscious traits as Joe. That lazy confidence. The utterly cool aura that draws people in like a magnet. A man's man who works and thrives in a man's world. He's like the sexy construction worker or titillating garbage man. Joe's an auto mechanic and a damned good one. Yet even though he's male to the core, Joe is also the keeper of a kind heart, a nurturer who has raised two girls in some shape or form. And his heart is reserved for one woman. Despite his renowned experience, there is only one woman in the world that can grant him the ultimate satisfaction. She's the one woman that he'd give up anything for. He'll risk it all if she'll just say yes and it's Trish that Joe wants.

Trish was an enjoyable but often times, frustrating heroine. She portrays a strong and assured exterior but inside, she's still that frightened girl with a broken heart. Unknowingly, even to herself, she's held on with white knuckled fingers to her tragic past in an effort to block any future pain. She's done this with her job, her loft in the city, her wardrobe of pantie hose and five hundred dollar suits. She's allowed herself to become wrapped up in a competition where she never truly even wished to win. Trish has made sure that no one could present that kind of risk to her heart again after Joe. And it's only after she looses Joe that she truly sees the fortifying walls that she's erected. Now all she wants to do is tear them down to pieces. For Joe she'll make the ultimate sacrifice. For Joe she'll give up the life that she's worked so hard for. For Joe she'll be his cupcake in truth and her heart will forever be his.

I have to thank Barbara for urging me to read this book. 'Tempt Me Tonight' embodies a strong and easy flow that draws you in and captivates until the very end. Joe makes your heart flutter and your body tingle while you simultaneously clench your fists over Trish's fear. While I understood her pain, I wanted Trish to just give in to the magnet that is Joe. If I had written this book, it would have been over in a few chapters. That's why I'm so happy to not be an author today for I'd be hopelessly unemployed. Instead, I willingly give myself over to the torment of the women who pen the beauty that is romance. I submit to the angst and nerves pulsating in my heart with the only reassurance that all will work out in the end. I don't know what I would do without the bliss of a guaranteed Happily Ever After. Nothing is guaranteed in real life but in a romance novel, I can pitch a fit and scream and rail at the hero and heroine while knowing that happiness is their destiny.

Hussy Approved Reading Material!

A

Monday Musings: Virginity - Relevant or so over?

I recently read a paranormal in a contemporary setting that featured a twenty-six year old virgin. Now, the majority of the time I find that the author can provide a solid and convincing theory for this phenomenon but others leave me scratching my head. It's all comical of course because while my brain believes the heroine to be a blood sucking vampire, it can't grasp her twenty-six year old virgin state without justifiable cause.

In both straight contemporaries and contemporary set paranormal, I find myself searching for the virgin card. It almost distracts me from the book at times because I'm wondering about: a) if the heroine will be a virgin and b) if she is a virgin, will I be able to believe in the reason given.

If the reason for the heroine's virgin state provides enough proof to the cause, then I can understand. For example: Gena Showalter's heroine in 'The Darkest Kiss', Anya, is a self assured, independent, gorgeous goddess but she's also a centuries old virgin. For those that haven't read the novel, I'm sure you're shaking your head over this. But Anya's virginity is justified. This goddess was cursed at an early age. If she were to allow a man inside her, she would forever be bound to that man and if he were to die, then she'd mourn him tragically forever. This I can understand. Proof positive.

Although, unfortunately even if the book has good cause, I still kind of want to say "come on already. Do we really need another book featuring a virgin heroine?" You know what I want? I want more virgin heroes. And beyond that, I want more sex from the hero's POV. But that's another discussion entirely. Back to the heroine. Why do we place so much importance on the virgin heroine anyway? Men, the same as woman, must loose their virginity at some point. Is it that we want our heroes experienced in the ways of pleasure? Do we want that fantasy where the man knows exactly where to move, touch and kiss to give the ultimate ecstasy? If so, why do they have to achieve this by sleeping with numerous women to achieve that perfect lover status? Why can't it just be instictual?

Now, with historicals, it's pretty much a given that the heroine will be a virgin. In almost no cases do you have a virgin hero. And both these facts are accepted practically universally. Although I've noticed, and much to my delight, that the historical romance market is introducing fallen women and widows as their heroines. Loretta Chase is and has been writing an entire series of fallen women. Anna Campbell has written two novels featuring courtesans (and one with a virgin hero. Yay!) and I've found myself becoming excited over these cultured and more experienced women. Is it because it projects the more modern woman? Perhaps, but I find myself being gravitated to this new historical heroine.

More to the point though, do we even want virgins these days? Does it make sense in contemporaries to have a virgin heroine? Understandably, historical romance authors have a perfectly valid excuse but again, is it virgins that we want to read?

Bushes

I'm a huge fan of stupid humor so this one really brought out the laughs.

Review: Edge of Danger

Review: Edge of Danger by Rhyannon Byrd

Read an Interview with Rhyannon HERE.

Check out an Excerpt of 'Edge of Danger' HERE.

Read a Review of Book One, 'Edge of Hunger'

Saige Buchanan travels the world studying her dark past, guided by a strange gift that enables physical objects to tell her their secrets. Yet nothing can protect her from her family's sadistic enemies. Until—in her hour of greatest need—she encounters a mysterious, impossibly sexy shape-shifter.

Sent to find the woman whose darkness has yet to awaken, Michael Quinn battles his primal hunger for Saige. He alone can help her lay claim to her full powers. Yet in doing so, he will destroy her innocence, and mark her as his forever….

Primal Instinct Series Book Two

Rhyannon Byrd is fast becoming very accomplished at writing the stubborn alpha hero and her efforts shine admirably in 'Edge of Danger'. Michael Quinn is a raptor shapeshifter and Watchman for the Consortium - a organization charged with the task of monitoring supernatural activity. But with the reemergence of a being so fierce and destructive, Quinn and his fellow Watchmen have decided to take action. Quinn's task: Go to Brazil, find Saige Buchanan and bring her back to the base in Colorado. Sounds easy enough but as Quinn will soon find out, nothing about Saige is easy.

Unlike her brothers, Saige has understood and accepted the radical changes in store for her. Her Merrick, the once dormant primal being that lurks beneath her surface, is awakening and with that awakening comes the knowledge that her will to live will soon be tested.

For centuries the Merrick genes have been dormant after their arch nemesis, the Casus, were banished into a metaphysical holding cell known as the Meridian. But now, something or someone is releasing the Casus from their prison. After years of isolation, the Casus are mere shades of their former self. As their shades are released from the Meridian, they overtake a human with Casus genes, forcing that humans soul from its body yet retaining their memories and thereby assimilating into the modern world with frightening ease.

With her awakening triggered, Saige knows that a Casus is searching for her and not only is the monster looking to avenge its centuries long imprisonment, but she soon discovers that it's looking for the Dark Markers as well. A brilliant anthropologist, Saige has been searching the globe for the mystical crosses that throb with power and protection. It helps that she has the power to read any object she touches and thereby glimpsing its past. After touching many different objects in her search, Saige finally discovered the first Dark Marker in Rome. Sending the Dark Marker on to her brother, Ian, Saige uses the maps that she also discovered at its location to search for the others. The maps are coded and only with her power was Saige even able to decipher the location of the second Dark Marker in Brazil. But when her Merrick senses come alive, Saige knows that the Dark Marker is in jeopardy and she devises a way to have it taken safely out of Brazil. Yet her journey home isn't destined to be easy.

Quinn is a dark mystery to both Saige and the reader. Ms. Byrd never let's us forget his gorgeous good looks and rasping deep drawl. The man oozes sexual energy and Saige is helpless as she hungrily soaks him up.

Saige shook her head at the rich, deep rumble of Quinn's voice, thinking the guy should come with a warning label. Caution: Approach this male at your own risk. Possible dangers include excessive drooling, rapid heart rate...and in some cases, hormone-induced spontaneous combustion.

Edge of Danger © Rhyannon Byrd

And it's not just her human psyche that sparks at Quinn's nearness, her Merrick is stirred up as well and Saige is soon spinning in desire. But it's her distrustful nature that provides her some measure of control. All the men in Saige's life have abandoned her in some way or another and despite the fact that she knows Quinn is a Watchman and is here to protect, her suspicious nature blurs her rational. Quinn's mysterious allure also doesn't help Saige's initial judgement of him either and she resolves quickly to escape but first she wants answers regarding her Merrick. While she has a vast knowledge of the Merrick and Casus, little is known of female Merricks and she wants to understand what her change will entail. Lucky for her, she doesn't Hulk out yet retains the amazing strength that surpasses any human but her need to feed the primal being within her requires fangs and Saige is more than interested in sinking them into Quinn.

A dark and tragic past weighs heavily on Quinn's soul. He was betrayed, tortured and forced to watch as his fiance was raped and executed at the hands of the Collective - a human organization bent on the task of eradicating the existence of all supernatural beings. Quinn will do anything to protect his broken heart even if he has to harshly push Saige away and hold her back at a vast distance. He'll not let her become part of his tragedy nor will he ever give her the opportunity to betray him. And while he wants her with a terrible fierceness that would surely scare her, Quinn will not bring himself to get close to her even when she begs. But his heart can't stay shielded forever and he's helpless against Saige's onslaught as she steadily chips away at his resolve.

Christ, he wanted to spread her out and do things to her that he'd never even thought about doing to another woman. Desire was a raging, biting beast in his gut, demanding its due. He didn't care how he had her. He just wanted her, in every possible way there was, until he'd imprinted himself on her so deeply, she couldn't get rid of him. Until she was marked by his scent...his seed...his soul, to the point that any man coming near her would know exactly who she belonged to.

Which means you've gone out of your ever-loving mind.

Edge of Danger © Rhyannon Byrd

Both Saige and Quinn are naturally distrustful creatures which allows for a lot of back and forth angst coupled with highly explosive sexual tension. Makes for great reading, in my opinion. Funnily enough, both are also highly protective of each other and find themselves in a couple of life threatening situations based on their need to protect the other even if it means lying to achieve the intended outcome. But when push came to shove, Saige proved to be the most courageous with her heart.

"You know, for a man with wings, you're awfully bound in place," she murmured, thinking of the nightmares he suffered from each night. Nightmares she believed were a part of why he was so afraid of letting himself get close to her.
...
"You have more freedom than anyone I've ever known, and yet, you can't move beyond the past. It's just ironic, when you look at it that way."

Edge of Danger © Rhyannon Byrd

Yet when Quinn finally comes to realize that Saige is strong, that she can handle his dark possession and raging passions, he doesn't waste time.

Slipping his fingers between her legs, he pressed his open mouth against the pounding beat of her heart and asked, "Can you take me again?"

"Always," she whispered, already desperate for him as he moved over her, pushing back into her with a thick, possessive stroke.

Edge of Danger © Rhyannon Byrd

I really enjoyed 'Edge of Danger'. While Quinn was a stubborn hero, he wasn't as frustrating as Ian from 'Edge of Hunger', which made falling in love with him much easier in comparison. I also loved how Ms. Byrd reminded me time and again of Quinn's melting sexuality. And there is just something about a hero asking the heroine if she can take him again. He's so desperate that one earth shattering session of hot sex simply won't be enough and he must have her again, immediately. Be still my hussy heart!

Saige was wonderfully refreshing as well. I love when a character already knows and understands the ins and outs of their supernatural abilities and better still, that they accept it. It gives the reader the opportunity to focus solely on the relationship between the H/h rather than read tedious monologues of their irrational fears with regards to their awakening powers. While Saige tended to throw herself at Quinn, I don't think she would have cracked his shields nearly as effectively if she held her heart from him. Quinn needed to be reassured time and again of Saige's desire. She certainly didn't make it easy for him to ignore her and really he found that he couldn't stay away even if he tried.

I'm also enjoying the over-reaching plots and my curiosity has definitely been piqued over the Collective and the corruption that's taking place within the ranks. Definitely some interesting surprises there. It appears as though the Watchmen's roles are not only be questioned but changed as well. These shapeshifters are brave as they are loyal and I can't wait to learn more about each of those sexy heart-throbs.

Hussy Approved Reading Material!

B+